Views, Visions and Values.

Thursday 5 September 2013

Why Oregon Bakers Should Have Sold Wedding Cake to Gay Couple

There does not seem to be a week that goes by that we do not hear of a gay versus Christian issue arising in our nation. The most recent was with a bakery in Oregon. The bakery angered a same-sex lesbian couple by refusing to bake the wedding cake for their upcoming marriage.

The result was that Sweet Cakes by Melissa closed its storefront business on Saturday.

The shop's closing came on the heels of news that the lesbian couple the store rejected had filed a complaint with the state, alleging that Sweet Cakes by Melissa discriminated against them based on their sexual orientation.

Different Kingdom: Between the past and the promise

Different Kingdom: Between the past and the promise: The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father' family, and go to the land that I will ...

Captain Phillips Official Trailer #2 (2013) - Tom Hanks Movie HD

Remains of 1940s Spitfire unearthed

Fury as UN meddlers send in human rights team over 'bedroom tax': Officials sent to check houses 'provide adequate standard of living', Daily Mail

The visit of Brazilian Raquel Rolnik been criticised by MPs
She will carry out inspection of housing conditions to check they provide 'an adequate standard of living'
MPs dismissed UN official as 'over-mighty and unaccountable'

By STEVE DOUGHTY, SOCIAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT

PUBLISHED: 00:35, 5 September 2013 | UPDATED: 00:44, 5 September 2013

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With the crisis in Syria and all the world’s many other problems, you would think that the UN had quite enough on its plate.

But apparently it can spare a top official to investigate a potential human rights abuse in Britain…changes to housing benefit, called the ‘bedroom tax’ by Left-wingers.

Brazilian Raquel Rolnik has been dispatched to Britain to carry out an inspection of housing conditions to check they provide ‘an adequate standard of living’.

UN official Raquel Rolnik will visit Britain to carry out an inspection of housing conditions to check they provide 'an adequate standard of living'

The news provoked a furious reaction from MPs, who dismissed the bureaucrat as ‘over-mighty and unaccountable’.

And it is not the first time that a UN bureaucrat has travelled to the UK to lecture the Government.

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Two years ago UN adviser Professor Yves Cabannes joined protesters at Dale Farm in Essex to condemn the eviction of hundreds of travellers from illegal pitches, insisting their removal was in breach of human rights rules.

A spokesman for Mrs Rolnik, described as the special rapporteur on housing for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said she was ‘visiting the country at the invitation of the Government’.

However, it is understood that she in fact invited herself, and the Coalition’s welcome was extended only out of diplomatic etiquette. Indeed, ministers are thought to be privately unhappy at her decision to make an inspection.

The changes to housing benefit, called the 'bedroom tax', provoked protests earlier this year

Cuts in housing benefit for claimants who live in larger homes with spare bedrooms, introduced in April, will be at the centre of her inquiry.

The reforms, which ministers claim will knock £500million off the housing benefit bill, have become a central rallying cause of Labour and the Left against the Coalition, with critics claiming they amount to ‘social cleansing’ by forcing thousands from their homes.

The UN Human Rights office described Mrs Rolnik’s inquiry as ‘the first information-gathering visit to the country by an independent expert designated by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and promote the realisation of the right to adequate housing and the right to non-discrimination’.

Mrs Rolnik said: ‘The UK faces a unique moment, when the challenge to promote and protect the right to adequate housing is on the agenda.

‘Special attention needs to be given to responding to the specific situations of various population groups, in particular low-income households and other marginalised individuals and groups.’

Tory MPs Jake Berry (left) and Douglas Carswell (right) criticised the inspection. Mr Berry said she does not 'represent the views of Britons who want to get on in life'

She will tour London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast, meeting officials, human rights activists and protest groups. She plans to present preliminary findings and recommendations as soon as next week.

Douglas Carswell, Tory MP for Clacton, responded furiously to the visit, saying: ‘It may be news to Mrs Rolnik, but in this country we have something called democracy. This means people vote for their representatives. They decide how the country is run, and not overpaid, over-mighty and unaccountable UN officials.’

In the past Mrs Rolnik has criticised the ‘negative side-effects’ of the spread of home ownership and the sale of council houses in the UK.

Jake Berry, Tory MP for Rossendale and Darwen, added: ‘This rapporteur is a self-professed enemy of home ownership and right to buy, and doesn’t represent the views of Britons who want to get on in life.’

Wednesday 4 September 2013

What’s to Love About Being a Dad?, Charisma Magazine

http://www.charismamag.com/life/men/18567-what-s-to-love-about-being-a-dad

Being a dad is one of the toughest jobs in the world. It ranks right up there with being a husband. Let’s say they are No. 1a and No. 1b. Wouldn’t you agree?

But both have their perks. There aren’t many things, if any, that can provide as much joy. If you have never been in love before, once you become a dad, it all changes.

1. You get to be a kid again. Remember when you were a kid and you always wanted to be a grown-up? Your parents may have looked at you and said, “Enjoy being a kid.” Well, when you have kids, that big kid inside comes out, and you get to experience all those fun kid experiences again. I always say I am still a kid ... just a kid with responsibilities.

2. Being a dad keeps you young. Although you may not have realized it, there was a time when you were not only aging, but you were acting and feeling like it. Your music choices changed, and you were unaware of a lot of things going on around you. When you become a dad, you quickly get up to speed on the newest things. You find yourself knowing what’s hot and what’s not, just so you can understand your kids a little better.

3. You find out how much you can love someone else. How often has your kid been sick and you wished you could trade places with them? When you are a dad, you have more than one heartbeat. You have yours and your kid’s. When they hurt, you hurt. But when they have joy, you probably have more joy than they do.

4. You grow as a person more than you ever have. When our first child was born, I felt like I grew up overnight. Hanging out with the fellas and dragging into work the next day went out the door. Spending money like it was guaranteed to replenish itself the next month was no longer acceptable. Being the man I was at that point was not good enough to be the dad I wanted to be. My process of intentional growth began.

5. You become a hero—instantly. When my youngest son looks at me now, he doesn’t see my flaws. In fact, he probably sees me as invincible. When something scares him, he runs to me. When he wants something, he runs to me. (Well, sometimes he goes to my wife.) When he wants to play, he asks me to play. To our kids we are heroes, even when we mess things up.

6. You have the opportunity to pour into your kids. Your kids depend upon you to not just provide, but to teach them about life. You get the opportunity to train them up “in the way they should go” like the Bible says. What a great privilege and opportunity that is!

7. You get to hope someone is way better than you. Up until this point, your life may have focused on making yourself No. 1. But when you have kids, your focus shifts to hoping, helping and doing whatever you can to make sure they become better than you. And not just a little better, but way better!

There are so many things to love about being a dad. What do you love most about it?

All Pro Dad is Family First’s innovative and unique program for every father. Their aim is to interlock the hearts of the fathers with their children and, as a byproduct, the hearts of the children with their dads. At AllProDad.com, dads in any stage of fatherhood can find helpful resources to aid in their parenting. Resources include daily emails, blogs, Top 10 lists, articles, printable tools, videos and eBooks. From AllProDad.com, fathers can join the highly engaged All Pro Dad social media communities on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.