The League of Grateful Sons (DVD)

Posted on 2009-03-19 by Barbara

Format:

DVD (74 minutes)

Watch the Trailer

What is the godly legacy of the fathers of World War II? Their story has not been told — until now!

More than 406,000 American soldiers died during the Second World War, leaving an estimated 183,000 children fatherless. Hundreds of thousands of other U.S. troops did return, but many never connected with their children. However, within the ranks of these survivors was a remarkable collection of men who made it their life mission to speak the providences of God and the meaning of manhood to the boys who would one day fill their shoes. Through wartime letters and present-day pilgrimages to the bloody battlefields of their youth, the ancient warriors have spoken. Their thankful children rise to honor and surpass their legacy. They are “The League of Grateful Sons.”

Marine “Colonel” Bill Henderson

Meet tough-as-nails Marine “Colonel” Bill Henderson. He survived thirty-six days of brutal fighting on Iwo Jima and maintained moral purity, while in the midst of immoral wartime circumstances, because of the influence of his manly Christian father. Meet P-51 Mustang flyboy Bill Brown. He was shot down over Japan, but survived to train generations to sing praises to God. Now in their eighties, these ancient warriors return to the black sand of Iwo Jima to disciple a new generation in the art of Christian manhood.

Leonard and Fletcher Isacks

Joining them are sons whose fathers never returned — the Isacks brothers and “Johnny Boy” Butler — all heirs to a treasure trove of fatherly wisdom penned from the battlefield.Shot on location on Iwo Jima, Guam, Hawaii, and in Texas, and directed by veteran filmmaker, Geoff Botkin, The League of Grateful Sons will leave you grateful for America’s heroic fathers and motivated to surpass their legacy.

Bonus Features:

“This is Guadalcanal” — a victorious War Department message of thanks to the home-front (playing time 20 mins.)
“Target: Invisible” — a dramatized bombing mission over Japan explaining the use of radar (playing time 7 mins.)
“War Time Memories” — historic photos from the Pacific and home-fronts
“Trip of a Lifetime” — photos hightlighting the sixtieth anniversary journey to Iwo Jima

NZ$35.00

To order do one of the following:

send email to sales@hef.org.nz with visa number

post cheque or visa number to PO Box 9064, Palmerston North

fax 06 357-4389

phone 06 357-4399

order here:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Members/Listings.aspx?member=2366144

Information from http://www.visionforum.com/booksandmedia/productdetail.aspx?productid=67880&categoryid=159

Outside Hollywood

Posted on 2009-03-19 by Barbara

Author: Isaac Botkin

Format:

Paperback (313 pages)

Product Number: 44858

The Young Christian’s Guide to Vocational Filmmaking

Like the Berlin Wall, the seemingly impenetrable colossus of Hollywood, with its enslaving influence on American culture, will someday come crashing down, destroyed by inexpensive technologies, new distribution methods, and a rising tide of independent filmmakers. All of these factors represent unprecedented opportunities for innovative Christian visionaries who are willing to take every thought captive through a presuppositionally biblical approach to making films outside the Hollywood system.

In this groundbreaking book, experienced cinematographer, writer, and animator Isaac Botkin prepares Christians for successful Christ-honoring leadership as writers, directors, and producers. Botkin has worked as both a Hollywood outsider and an insider, and is a leading proponent of a new independent film industry. In Outside Hollywood, he smashes the myth of methodological and cultural neutrality and offers a paradigm for developing a family-friendly approach to this hugely important field of cultural influence.

Readers will benefit from his insights on the proper training and qualifications and the history and future of the Hollywood industry, as well as the key to courageous script writing, and the responsibilities of professional directing. Several appendices explain ways to get the most out of modern equipment, how to avoid the common mistakes of new filmmakers, and more.

NZ$30.00

To order do one of the following:

send email to sales@hef.org.nz with visa number

post cheque or visa number to PO Box 9064, Palmerston North

fax 06 357-4389

phone 06 357-4399

order here:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Members/Listings.aspx?member=2366144

Information from http://www.visionforum.com

School Bullying Expected Outcome of Social Agenda

Posted on 2009-03-15 by Barbara

MEDIA RELEASE 16 March 2009

School Bullying Expected Outcome of Social Agenda

Family First NZ says that concerns about school bullying are a simple result of the culture we have experimented with, which includes children’s rights, media standards, undermining the role of parents, and removing consequences.

“Why are we surprised by bullying and violence in our schools when children are fed this material through the media constantly,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ. “Kids are bullying each other, kids are bullying teachers, kids are bullying parents. Bullying is not just a school problem, and it’s not just a youth problem.”

“We cannot continue to feed the minds of our young people with the level of violence, sexual content and disrespect for authority that is prevalent in the media and our culture without it affecting the minds of some of our most impressionable and at-risk teenagers and children.”

“But schools are suffering in particular because they are being forced by the Ministry of Education to put up with increasing levels of unacceptable behaviour and are being criticised for suspending these students.”

“It is also significant that as schools have removed corporal punishment, schools have become more dangerous. School yard bullying by pupils on other pupils and staff is now the new form of ‘corporal punishment’ in schools.”

“All of these young people have entered a system of education and society where discipline and responsibility are being replaced by the politically correct nonsense of children’s rights. Ironically, this has been pushed by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner who is now crying foul.”

“The anti-smacking law has also undermined the role of parents, has failed to understand the special relationship and functioning of families, and has communicated to some children that they are now in the ‘driving seat’ and parents should be put in their place.”

Sweden, one of the first countries to ban smacking in 1979 suffered a similar fate with assaults by kids increasing 672% in the 13 years following the ban. A recent UN report on European Crime and Safety found that Sweden had one of the worst assault and sexual violence rates in EU.

“Student behaviour and bullying will continue to deteriorate for as long as we tell them that their rights are more important than their responsibilities, that proper parental authority is undermined by politicians and subject to the rights of their children, and that there will be no consequences of any significance or effectiveness for what they do,” says Mr McCoskrie.

ENDS

For More Information and Media Interviews, contact Family First:

Bob McCoskrie – National Director

Mob. 027 55 555 42

Bullies turn to hi-tech torment

Posted on 2009-03-15 by Barbara

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/2264207/Bullies-turn-to-hi-tech-torment

Cellphones and the internet now mean bullied school pupils often get “no respite”, the children’s commissioner says.

“While parents may have been on the receiving end of a small group of bullies in their days at school, their children are potentially exposed to hundreds or thousands of bullies via mobile phone and internet technology,” commissioner Cindy Kiro writes in a report to be made public today.

The report into school safety, headed by Office of the Children’s Commissioner adviser Janis Carroll-Lind, follows calls for a national inquiry by parents of bullying victims at Hutt Valley High School.

In December 2007, nine boys at the school were dragged to the ground and violated by a pack of six classmates.

The report, to be unveiled at a school violence summit in Wellington today, criticises some schools for not even having a policy to deal with bullying and violence.

It cites cases of severe violence in schools being ignored by teachers and of pupils who were too afraid to go to school.

In one case, a student took a knife to school to protect himself after another threatened to stab him. Some schools either have no systems in place to deal with bullying, or the systems are not robust enough to cope when things go wrong, the report finds.

“There is evidence to suggest that in schools where things went wrong, it went horribly wrong.”

Dr Kiro said it was “disappointing” to find that while many pupils were either bullied or knew of others being bullied, most felt there was no point speaking out.

Children who witnessed bullying needed to feel safe to speak out and not condone it, she said. “There’s an awful lot bystanders can do.”

It was also important for parents to understand new forms of bullying, which were potentially dangerous because they could attract a large audience. “In terms of cyberspace, the potential audience is enormous and you can never take it back.”

The report notes that besides negative text messages, mobile phones can be used to gather a large number of pupils in a short time “for example, to the ‘top field’ to witness a fight”.

“Furthermore, mobile phones can film the fight so victims can potentially be re-victimised over and over when the video footage is circulated among a wide network of ‘spectators’.”

It recommends policies restricting mobile phone use at school. It also says many teachers do not use or understand “interactive online technologies” such as chatrooms and email used by their pupils. They need training to understand and address the issues relating to cyber-bullying.

The report also notes there have been instances where serious assaults occurred in schools, warranting police intervention, but police were not notified.

Children as young as five participated in the research. The youngest children reported being called names or being excluded from activities, though some had also been physically bullied with objects like sticks.

Pupils interviewed for the report suggested ways to tackle bullying, including cameras in schools, more teachers on duty, playground supervision, student advocates and red cards for bullies.

Judge orders homeschoolers into public district classrooms

Posted on 2009-03-12 by Barbara

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=91397

YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK
Judge orders homeschoolers into public district classrooms
Decides children need more ‘focus’ despite testing above grade levels

Posted: March 11, 2009
11:25 pm Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

A North Carolina judge has ordered three children to attend public schools this fall because the homeschooling their mother has provided over the last four years needs to be “challenged.”

The children, however, have tested above their grade levels – by as much as two years.

The decision is raising eyebrows among homeschooling families, and one friend of the mother has launched a website to publicize the issue.

The ruling was made by Judge Ned Mangum of Wake County, who was handling a divorce proceeding for Thomas and Venessa Mills.

A statement released by a publicist working for the mother, whose children now are 10, 11 and 12, said Mangum stripped her of her right to decide what is best for her children’s education.

The judge, when contacted by WND, explained his goal in ordering the children to register and attend a public school was to make sure they have a “more well-rounded education.”

“I thought Ms. Mills had done a good job [in homeschooling],” he said. “It was great for them to have that access, and [I had] no problems with homeschooling. I said public schooling would be a good complement.”

The judge said the husband has not been supportive of his wife’s homeschooling, and “it accomplished its purposes. It now was appropriate to have them back in public school.”

“EXPELLED”: Get the hot new documentary that is blowing the lid off censorship of ideas in American universities – particularly anything to do with the fact that God might actually exist.

Mangum said he made the determination on his guiding principle, “What’s in the best interest of the minor children,” and conceded it was putting his judgment in place of the mother’s.

And he said that while he expressed his opinion from the bench in the court hearing, the final written order had not yet been signed.

However, the practice of a judge replacing a parent’s judgment with his own regarding homeschooling was argued recently when a court panel in California ruled that a family would no longer be allowed to homeschool their own children.

WND reported extensively when the ruling was released in February 2008, alarming homeschool advocates nationwide because of its potential ramifications.

Ultimately, the 2nd Appellate District Court in Los Angeles reversed its own order, affirming the rights of California parents to homeschool their children if they choose.

The court, which earlier had opined that only credentialed teachers could properly educate children, was faced with a flood of friend-of-the-court briefs representing individuals and groups, including Congress members.

The conclusion ultimately was that parents, not the state, would decide where children are educated.

The California opinion said state law permits homeschooling “as a species of private school education” but that statutory permission for parents to teach their own children could be “overridden in order to protect the safety of a child who has been declared dependent.”

In the North Carolina case, Adam Cothes, a spokesman for the mother, said the children routinely had been testing at up to two years above their grade level, were involved in swim team and other activities and events outside their home and had taken leadership roles in history club events.

On her website, family friend Robyn Williams said Mangum stated his decision was not ideologically or religiously motivated but that ordering the children into public schools would “challenge the ideas you’ve taught them.”

Williams, a homeschool mother of four herself, said, “I have never seen such injustice and such a direct attack against homeschool.”

“This judge clearly took personal issue with Venessa’s stance on education and faith, even though her children are doing great. If her right to homeschool can be taken away so easily, what will this mean for homeschoolers state wide, or even nationally?” Williams asked.

Williams said she’s trying to rally homeschoolers across the nation to defend their rights as Americans and parents to educate their own children.

Williams told WND the public school order was the worst possible outcome for Ms. Mills, who had made it clear she felt it was important to her children that she continue homeschooling.

According to Williams’ website, the judge also ordered a mental health evaluation for the mother – but not the father – as part of the divorce proceedings, in what Williams described as an attack on the “mother’s conservative Christian beliefs.”

According to a proposed but as-yet unsigned order submitted by the father’s lawyer to Mangum, “The children have thrived in homeschool for the past four years, but need the broader focus and socialization available to them in public school. The Court finds that it is in the children’s best interest to continue their homeschooling through the end of the current school year, but to begin attending public school at the beginning of the 2009-2010 instructional year.”

The order proposed by the father’s lawyer also conceded the reason for the divorce was the father’s “adultery,” but it specifically said the father would not pay for homeschooling expenses for his children.

The order also stated, “Defendant believes that plaintiff is a nurturing mother who loves the children. Defendant believes that plaintiff has done a good job with the homeschooling of the children, although he does not believe that continued homeschooling is in the best interest of the children.”

The website said the judge also said public school would “prepare these kids for the real world and college” and allow them “socialization.”

Williams said the mother originally moved into a homeschool schedule because the children were not doing as well as she hoped at the local public schools.

In last year’s dispute in California, the ruling that eventually was released was praised by pro-family organizations.

“We’re pleased the appeals court recognized the rights of parents to provide education for their children,” said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice. “This decision reaffirms the constitutional right that’s afforded to parents in directing the education of their children. It’s an important victory for families who cherish the freedom to ensure that their children receive a high quality education that is inherent in homeschooling.”

“Parents have a constitutional right to make educational choices for their children,” said Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. “Thousands of California families have educated their children successfully through homeschooling. We’re pleased with the court’s decision, which protects the rights of families and protects an avenue of education that has proven to benefit children time and time again.

The North Carolina ruling also resembles a number of rulings handed down against homeschool parents in Germany, where such instruction has been banned since the years of Adolf Hitler’s rule.

As WND reported, Wolfgang Drautz, consul general for the Federal Republic of Germany, has commented previously on the issue, contending the government “has a legitimate interest in countering the rise of parallel societies that are based on religion.”

“The minister of education does not share your attitudes toward so-called homeschooling,” said a government letter in response. “… You complain about the forced school escort of primary school children by the responsible local police officers. … In order to avoid this in future, the education authority is in conversation with the affected family in order to look for possibilities to bring the religious convictions of the family into line with the unalterable school attendance requirement.”

WND also reported recently when a German appeals court tossed out three-month jail terms issued to a mother and father who homeschool their children. But the court also ordered new trials that could leave the parents with similar penalties, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association.

The case involves Juergen and Rosemarie Dudek of Archfeldt, Germany, who last summer received formal notices of their three-month sentences.

The 90-day sentences came about when Hesse State Prosecutor Herwig Muller appealed a lower court’s determination of fines for the family. The ruling had imposed fines of about 900 euros, or $1,200, for not sending their children to school

Muller, however, told the parents they shouldn’t worry about any fines, since he would “send them to jail,” the HSLDA reported.

HSLDA spokesman Michael Donnelly warned the homeschooling battle is far from over in Germany.

“There continue to be signs that the German government is cracking down on homeschooling families,” he reported. “A recent letter from one family in southern Germany contained threats from local school authorities that unless the family enrolled their children in school, they would seek fines in excess of 50,000 euros (nearly $70,000), jail time and the removal of custody of the children.”

HSLDA officials estimate there are some 400 homeschool families in Germany, virtually all of them either forced into hiding or facing court actions.