A New Jersey judge recently confronted an issue that courts have been avoiding for years: Are restraining orders constitutional? Accused criminals have "due process" and many other constitutional rights, but feminists have persuaded many judges to issue orders that restrain actions of non-criminals and punish them based on flimsy, unproved accusations.  These restraining orders are issued without the due process required for criminal prosecutions, yet they carry the threat of a prison sentence for anyone who violates them.  Anibal and Vivian Crespo were divorced and rearing their children in the same household when they had a fight, and Vivian asked for a restraining order. Anibal was not charged with any crime, but the judge issued the restraining order, which banned Anibal from his own house and thereby separated him from his children.  Anibal made several good arguments that the New Jersey Prevention of Domestic Violence Act is unconstitutional. Judge Francis B. Schultz rejected most of those arguments, but he cited a long line of cases holding that "clear and convincing evidence" is required in order to take away fundamental rights, such as a parent's right over the care and custody of his children. Feminists are in an uproar about Judge Schultz's decision and would like the New Jersey Supreme Court to reverse it. Feminists want courts to uphold a woman's right to kick a man out of his home based on a woman's unverified accusations. Family courts are notorious for issuing restraining orders based on one woman's unsupported request. The New Jersey Law Journal reported that an instructor taught judges to be merciless to husbands and fathers, saying, "Throw him out on the street, give him the clothes on his back, and tell him, 'See ya' around.'" One Brave Judge Resists Feminist Agenda

'Marriage is a gateway into family life, and family life, in turn, is often a gateway into church attendance.' A dramatic decline in marriage, particularly among young adults, has led to a decline in church attendance over the last three decades, according to a study by Robert Wuthnow, a sociology professor at Princeton University. Men are 57 percent less likely to regularly attend church if they are not married. Single women are 41 percent less likely to attend church than their married counterparts. "It exaggerates only a little to say that Americans in their 20s and early 30s divide into two groups of about equal size: those who are married, the majority of whom participate in religion; and those who are not married, the majority of whom do not participate," Wuthnow said at a conference at The Heritage Foundation. Brad Wilcox, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, said the biggest factor driving the decline in church attendance is delayed marriage. "Marriage is a gateway into family life, and family life, in turn, is often a gateway into church attendance," he said. "The longer people postpone marriage, the less likely they are to attend church at a given age, and also the less likely they are to attend church down the road." Wuthnow estimates in his book, After the Baby Boomers: How Twenty- and Thirty-Somethings are Shaping the Future of American Religion, that American churches would have 6.3 million more young adults today if young people started families at the same rate they did 30 years ago. As Marriage Declines, Church Attendance Falls

It is back-to-school time, at least for my two children.  We have completed the basic preparation (buying backpacks and lunch boxes), and have reviewed academic material every day for the past few weeks. My hope is that they will brush up enough to not be totally confused when they sit down in the classroom.    The start of a new school year has always been fun and exciting to me. Students can start fresh as grades have not been determined and expectations are not yet set.  Many dread the start of the new school year, focusing on the challenges and hard work rather than the payoff of learning. However, I have always enjoyed the challenge of new material and figuring out solutions to new problems, at least academically. Schools focus primarily on the intellectual abilities of students.  However, more than just intelligence determines a person’s outcome.  In “Coaching the Gifted Child,” Christian Fischer (Scientific American Mind, August/September 2008) notes “IQ is just one ingredient among many in the recipe of success.”  Fisher writes, “motivation and persistence, social competence, and the support of family, educators and friends” are important determinants to success.  Off to An Adventure - In Learning

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