Daniel Garza tells of his experience as a first generation American.

His story includes hardship, perseverance, family unity, work, and then the prosperity achieved in a free country that allows each of us to decide our destiny.

Daniel's wise father, who now lives in the comfort and  abundance created by his patient labor and sacrifice, assures us that we can make it with just three things: God, good credit, and freedom -- the liberty to work.

Daniel warns us that the path to freedom his family took is disappearing.  The growth in the scope and size of government in the United States is starting to make it like the governments many immigrants were trying to leave behind.  He warns us not to get caught in the dependency that government offers.  It will condemn our children to a life that falls far short of the American Dream.  

Independence Day, also known as the Fourth of July, is the day Americans celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

What many don't fully realize is that it took more than eight long years after the Declaration was signed before the Revolutionary War was won. The price early patriots paid for their liberty, and ours, was astounding.  

The signers of the Declaration of Independence paid a particularly heavy price.  Their signatures branded them as traitors, and many were hunted and persecuted.  As they signed, they expressed their "firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence."  And they mutually pledged to each other their Lives, their Fortunes, and their sacred Honor.

This is a great time of year to learn more about the heroes who signed the Declaration and the sacrifices they made.  The biographies linked below are excellent, but are written for adults.  It would be time well spent to discuss them with your older children, and to tell stories about them to your younger children or grandchildren.

• Connecticut

• William Williams
• Samuel Huntington
• Roger Sherman
• Oliver Wolcott

• Delaware

• Caesar Rodney
• George Read
• Thomas McKean

• Georgia

• George Walton
• Lyman Hall
• Button Gwinnett

• Maryland

• William Paca
• Thomas Stone
• Samuel Chase
• Charles Carroll of Carrollton

• Massachusetts

• Samuel Adams
• Robert Treat Paine
• John Hancock
• John Adams
• Elbridge Gerry

• New Hampshire

• William Whipple
• Matthew Thornton
• Josiah Bartlett

• New Jersey

• John Witherspoon
• Richard Stockton
• Francis Hopkinson
• John Hart
• Abraham Clark

• New York

• Lewis Morris
• Philip Livingston
• Francis Lewis
• William Floyd

• North Carolina

• John Penn
• William Hooper
• Joseph Hewes

• Pennsylvania

• James Wilson
• George Taylor
• James Smith
• Benjamin Rush
• George Ross
• John Morton
• Robert Morris
• Benjamin Franklin
• George Clymer

• Rhode Island

• Stephen Hopkins
• William Ellery

• South Carolina

• Edward Rutledge
• Arthur Middleton
• Thomas Lynch Jr.
• Thomas Heyward Jr.

• Virginia

• George Wythe
• Thomas Nelson Jr.
• Richard Henry Lee
• Francis Lightfoot Lee
• Thomas Jefferson
• Benjamin Harrison
• Carter Braxton

Did you know that many of our Founding Fathers were scholars of government,  history, philosophy, and human nature?  

They sacrificed and suffered for eight indescribable years to win our independence from Great Britain, and they prepared themselves to create a government that would preserve the liberty they worked so hard to gain.  

They diligently studied important principles of liberty and government.  They discussed, debated, and refined their ideas, and memorialized them in the United States Constitution. 

The Constitution requires officials in the  Federal Government to take an oath of office and swear to uphold the Constitution.

Over the years, many government officials have honored their oath to uphold the Constitution, and liberty has thrived in America.  But we live in a day where many officials do not keep their oath of office, and liberty in America is in jeopardy.

As American citizens, we need to know what the Constitution says and why it's important, and require officials to honor the oath they made or replace them with officials who will.

Below are the oaths of office for each of the three branches of Government.


President of the United States (Executive Branch)

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."


Vice President of the United States (Executive Branch)

"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same: that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."


Members of Congress (Legislative Branch)

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."


Supreme Court Justices (Judicial Branch)

"I, [NAME], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as [TITLE] under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God.''


Learn More:  The Oath of Office

Love this beautiful video that highlights some of the many wonderful things Dads do!  

It brought back sweet memories of working in the garden, getting help with school projects, praying together, going on vacation, attending church and so many other experiences that couldn't happen without planning and effort.

Sometimes it takes being a parent to help us recognize and appreciate the daily sacrifices Dads make for us when they are tired, busy, or hungry.  Sometimes we understand the times Dad had to be the "bad guy" better when we have to discipline our kids.  We would never bother if we didn't love them so much.

Father's Day is a great time to express our love and gratitude to our Dads, and to the other men who have made a difference in our lives! 

How do you think the IRS would behave if its leaders knew there would never be another GOP-controlled House of Representatives? Or if they ever became convinced that occasionally the Republican Party might seize control of a house of Congress, but that for the most part America had become a one-party system, like China, controlled by the Democrats and the left?

At the moment, there is just one, singular force holding back the IRS from making an all-out, systematic assault on conservative Americans as a way of life in this country. That force is the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Were the body not in GOP hands, the IRS targeting of a significant number of citizens for their political beliefs would have already fallen from the headlines. No hearings would be held. No one would be asked to resign. Or if they were, it would only be for show, as the agency continued to target anti-government Americans with Washington's tacit approval.

Such a one-party system can be arranged, starting this week, as the Senate begins debating the immigration bill. It's merely a matter of demographics. If amnesty is given to 11 million illegal aliens by Congress, the shift to an America one-party state will accelerate at warp speed.

That's because the amnesty isn't really for 11 million people, but for over 30 million. If amnesty for the 11 million illegal aliens currently in the country passes, within a decade, Rosemary Jenks, a lawyer with NumbersUSA tells me, at least 17 million additional people will qualify for permanent legal status, the first step in the pathway to citizenship. They will come as part of the "family unification" process that will allow today's illegal aliens to bring their family members here. These people would be eligible to enter the country not decades from now, but in the decade after the immigration bill as currently proposed in the Senate passes. Jenks says her estimate of close to 30 million illegals and their families gaining permanent legal status within the coming decade is actually conservative.

Politico recently calculated the nuclear impact that just 11 million illegal immigrants could have on America's political landscape when they begin voting, in about 13 years. Reliably red Texas would be difficult if not impossible for the GOP to win in presidential races. Florida, Colorado, and Nevada would shift into the Democrats' column in national elections. Even Georgia would likely shift into the Democrat's column in Presidential elections, given that Mitt Romney won it by only 308,000 votes in 2012, and 425,000 illegals who can't vote are currently estimated to live there.

Legalizing the 11 million alone, Politico essentially concluded, would move the presidency largely out of the GOP's reach. So what happens when we legalize 30 million-plus and they begin to vote? If the news reports of recent weeks on the IRS, FBI, and NSA are any indication, we get massive, all encompassing, authoritarian government.

Republicans and conservatives like to kid themselves that the values they hold in common with largely Hispanic illegal aliens of today could somehow make them competitive with this demographic if they mollified them with amnesty, but that won't work.

What drives Hispanic voters is simple, and it was captured with shocking clarity by a Pew Hispanic Center poll last year.

A mind-blowing 75 percent of Hispanics tell Pew they want bigger government with more services. Contrast that with just 41 percent of the American public that says it wants bigger government with more services. (Some 45 percent of the general American population wants smaller government with fewer services. For Hispanics, it's 19 percent.)

This Hispanic love affair with big government isn't a short-term result of the Great Recession. It isn't a temporary product of the first-generation poverty; immigrants, legal or otherwise, have always struggled through in America. This affection for big government is uniquely cultural for Hispanics, and so strongly embedded that it apparently persists for generations.

Some 81 percent of first-generation Hispanic immigrants tell Pew pollsters they prefer big government. In the second generation, it's 72 percent. By the third generation, the number is just shy of 60 percent. Contrast that, again, with the mere 41 percent of the general American population that feels the same.

Conservative or Republican candidates have no way to win this class of voter except to offer him an all-powerful government that provides for more of his needs than the one their Democratic opponent is offering. Otherwise, they'll lose large portions of this vote -- for generations. Once former illegal immigrants start voting, an amnesty granted a decade before by a bipartisan majority will be but a distant memory.

Under the currently proposed 13-year path to citizenship, this one-party system would officially commence around 2028. But the length of that citizenship process could be greatly shortened by the next majority Democratic Congress under Democratic presidential control.

Part of the problem is that most Hispanic immigrants, legal and illegal, come from countries with deeply statist and often quasi-dictatorial governments. This is what they are used to, except that here, the government benefits are much more generous, providing a standard of living that far exceeds that of their countries of origin in most cases.

They have not been taught the value of the individual, the cultural norm on which American society is based. They have little cultural understanding of how economic freedom underpins it. And their children have no hope of learning that in our public schools.

With these voters in their pockets, Washington's elites could finally run roughshod over their limited government opposition.

And they're presently building the machinery with which to do it, as we can see from the police state they are assembling from the FBI to the NSA. Even the IRS is currently attempting to build its own spy apparatus. The ACLU is locked in a legal battle with the IRS over the latter's insistence that they have the right to read your private e-mail without a warrant and without notifying you. Exactly whose email IRS employees have read, and on what scale they are reading it, the ACLU has yet to determine.

The same body that is currently holding back the IRS from a full-scale assault on Americans who support limited government -- the House -- will soon have an opportunity to block, for now, the one-party system the left in this country has craved for so long. If amnesty passes the Senate it must be stopped in the House or in a decade or so, we won't recognize this country, or our political system.

This week on Uncommon Knowledge, Senator Rand Paul discussed his political ideas, ideals, and philosophies, noting that "we're all born with an instinct towards individualism." 

He gives his insights into dealing with immigration, unemployment, foreign policy, national security, taxes, personal responsibility, and many other issues. 

Senator Paul's unique perspective and solutions could be a starting point for getting the United States back on track.

June 14th is Flag Day, a special day to learn about  our flag, and to honor America.  

Here are some fun ways to teach our children the meaning of the United States flag and to help them appreciate their heritage.  Choose a few ideas from the list that your family might enjoy. 

Invite friends to join you (if you'd like), and create happy memories together:

Additional resources are available at USFlag.org and USA Flag Site.

Some traditions and ways of doing things have deep meaning.

Have you ever noticed how an honor guard pays meticulous attention to correctly folding the American flag 13 times?   

Each fold is symbolic and significant.

The 1st fold of our flag is a symbol of life.

The 2nd fold is a symbol of our belief in eternal life.

The 3rd fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing our ranks who gave a portion of their lives for the defense of our country to attain peace throughout the world.

The 4th fold represents our weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in time of war for His divine guidance.

The 5th fold is a tribute to our country, for in the words of Stephen Decatur, "Our Country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong.

The 6th fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that We pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States Of America, and the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

The 7th fold is a tribute to our Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that we protect our country and our flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of our republic.

The 8th fold is a tribute to the one who entered into the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day.

The 9th fold is a tribute to womanhood, and mothers. For it has been through their faith, their love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great has been molded.

The 10th fold is a tribute to the father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of our country since they were first born.

The 11th fold represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon and glorifies in the Hebrews' eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The 12th fold represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in the Christians' eyes, God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.

The 13th fold, or when the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost reminding us of our nations motto, "In God We Trust."

After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under General George Washington, and the Sailors and Marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones, who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for us the rights, privileges and freedoms we enjoy today.

 As Patriotic Moms, we can teach our children the importance of our flag, what it represents, and the important symbolism in how it's folded.  Then,  whenever they see flags folded, or fold a flag themselves, they will be able to reflect on its significance.

Please share this with the children you love and all others who love the symbol of "Liberty and Freedom."

In 2012, Ted Cruz was elected as the 34th U.S. Senator from Texas. Prior to that, he served for five years as Solicitor General of Texas and was for five years a partner at one of the nation’s largest law firms. He has authored more than 80 U.S. Supreme Court briefs and argued 43 oral arguments, including nine before the U.S. Supreme Court. He has also served as Director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission and as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. Senator Cruz graduated with honors from Princeton University and with high honors from Harvard Law School, and served as a law clerk to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court William Rehnquist.

The following is adapted from a speech delivered at Hillsdale College’s 161st Commencement, held in the College’s Biermann Athletic Center on May 11, 2013.

In the history of mankind, freedom has been the exception. Governed by kings and queens, human beings were told that power starts at the top and flows down; that their rights emanate from a monarch and may be taken away at the monarch’s whim. The British began a revolution against this way of thinking in a meadow called Runnymede in 1215. It was embodied in the Magna Carta, which read: “To all free men of our kingdom we have also granted, for us and our heirs for ever, all the liberties written out below, to have and to keep for them and their heirs . . . .” That revolution reached full flower in Philadelphia in 1787, in a Constitution that began from two radical premises.

The first is that our rights come not from kings or queens—or even from presidents—but from God. As the Declaration of Independence put it, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Second, in the Constitution, America’s Founders inverted the understanding of sovereignty. Power comes not from the top down, but up, from “We the People,” and governing authority for those in political office is limited to set periods subject to elections. As James Madison explained in Federalist 51: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary . . . . In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”

Even from my short time in elected office, I can assure you there are no angels in Washington, D.C. And that is why Thomas Jefferson said the “chains of the Constitution” should bind the mischief of government. Only when government is limited are rights protected, the rule of law honored, and freedom allowed to flourish.

You who are graduating from Hillsdale are familiar with these ideas. As the late conservative writer and educator Russell Kirk observed, “Hillsdale does not subscribe to the notion that all books published before 1900 are obsolete. Against all odds, the College speaks up—as it did during the nineteenth century—for ‘permanent things.’ ” And with those as our foundation, what has freedom wrought?

Simply put, the American free market system is the greatest engine for prosperity and opportunity that the world has ever seen. Freedom works. No other nation on Earth has allowed so many millions to come with nothing and achieve so much. In the centuries before the American Revolution, the average human lived on between one and three dollars a day, no matter whether one lived in Europe, Asia, Africa, or North or South America. But from that point on—from the beginning of the American experiment—for the first time in human history, per capita income in a few countries began to grow rapidly, and nowhere more so than in the United States.

(If you cannot see the rest of the speech, please click the tiny "Read More" link below.)

Louisiana State Senator Elbert Guillory, formerly a Democrat, recently — and enthusiastically — joined the Republican party. Not long after announcing his move, Guillory released a video explaining why he is now with the GOP. The powerful video is titled, "Why I Am a Republican."

This is a WONDERFUL video!  In 4 minutes Senator Guillory explains why the Republican Party is the right place for him, and for all his brothers and sisters in the black community.  He is knowledgeable, eloquent, warm, and persuasive.

As Patriotic Moms, we need to prepare to communicate our guiding principles as well as Senator Guillory. 

Each day we should prepare and share.  We prepare as we study issues, principles, and history.  We share by talking to our families and teaching our children the things we've learned.  They need to build a solid political foundation in their minds and hearts so they will be able to withstand the tsunami of deceit in our classrooms and culture. 

More of us are needed to follow Senator Guillory's example!  
   

Read More:  The Blaze

Rand Paul spoke out yesterday against the NSA's surveillance programs and expressed his intent to challenge the government's unconstitutional intrusions into our privacy at the Supreme Court level.

Senator Paul is a proven American hero for a number of reasons.  

He is a leader of courage and integrity.

He knows and loves the Constitution, and he is one of the few politicians in Washington D.C. who honors his oath to uphold and defend it.

Senator Paul speaks out boldly and eloquently, knowing he will face powerful opposition, even from members of his own party.

When he sees a violation of constitutional principles, Rand Paul clearly condemns the violation, but he doesn't just express his opinion.  He cites the Constitution.  He teaches Americans what the Constitution says, where it says it, and why it's important to honor the Constitution.   

Then he presents a plan to remedy the problem.  In this case he plans to invite Americans to join a class action lawsuit.  He told Chris Wallace, "I'm going to be asking all the internet providers and all of the phone companies: ask your customers to join me in a class action lawsuit.  If we get ten million Americans saying we don't want our phone records looked at, then maybe someone will wake up and something will change in Washington."

Watch Senator Paul in action in the video below.

At great risk to himself, 29-year-old CIA worker, Edward Snowden, recently became a whistleblower to expose the government’s growing “architecture of oppression.”  

Edward has two great fears.  

First, he worries about the "harmful effects" on his family. 

Second, he fears that nothing will change -- that people won’t be willing to take the risks necessary to stand up and fight for their freedom and force their representatives to take a stand in their interests.

He warns that if people do not demand change, it will only get worse.  We will live in a dark world of “turnkey tyranny.”

Learn More

• The Blaze
  
• The Guardian
  
• Interview Transcript
  
• Edward Snowden Answers Questions 

Stories are a wonderful way to share the things we treasure with our children.  Family stories can give kids heroes from their own family, and a heritage they are proud of and want to pass on. 

It's never too early or too late to start.  

Some mothers share special stories as they nurse their babies.  Little ones don't understand your words at first, but they will understand the love in your heart and voice as you tell them.  

Other mothers share stories with their grown children and grand- children in phone calls, emails, and at family gatherings. 

If your children are at home, you can share your favorite stories and experiences at mealtime, in the car, as you work together, in quiet moments in the evening, on special occasions, and during any other meaningful time you can create together.

Let your kids be the heroes of some of your stories.  Watch for things they do that take courage, hard work, honesty, compassion, and other important virtues.  Catch them at their best and let them know how much you appreciate their goodness.

As kids get older, they may not act like they want to hear your stories as much, but they will remember them, and inspiring stories will continue to help and guide them.

Write family stories in your journal.  Record your most meaningful insights and experiences on paper so you can inspire and strengthen your loved ones long after you are gone.  

Gather stories from your extended family.  Visit with parents, siblings, cousins and others and see what you can learn.  If you don't want to tell your own family stories, you can always share other inspiring stories and they can become an important part of your heritage.  

PatrioticMoms.com has some wonderful stories you can use.  Kids will learn to love their American heritage as they become friends with the great heroes of American history. 

Telling your children inspiring stories may be one of the most important things you will ever do.  

You will be forever grateful you made the effort to create meaningful, loving memories together.  And, with very few exceptions, your kids will come to treasure the precious heritage you gave them, one story at a time.

Watch this video and see how reading his Grandpa's journal changed a young man's life...

Five years ago, two Marines from two different walks of life who had literally just met were told to stand guard in front of their outpost's entry control point.

Minutes later, they were staring down a big blue truck packed with explosives. With this particular shred of hell bearing down on them, they stood their ground.

Heck, they even leaned in.

I had heard the story many times, personally. But until today I had never heard Marine Lt. Gen. John Kelly's telling of it to a packed house in 2010. Just four days following the death of his own son in combat, Kelly eulogized two other sons in an unforgettable manner. 

 
Speech Given by Lieutenant General John Kelly  
November 13, 2010

Two years ago when I was the Commander of all U.S. and Iraqi forces, in fact, the 22nd of April 2008, two Marine infantry battalions, 1/9 “The Walking Dead,” and 2/8 were switching out in Ramadi. One battalion in the closing days of their deployment going home very soon, the other just starting its seven-month combat tour.

Two Marines, Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, 22 and 20 years old respectively, one from each battalion, were assuming the watch together at the entrance gate of an outpost that contained a makeshift barracks housing 50 Marines.

The same broken down ramshackle building was also home to 100 Iraqi police, also my men and our allies in the fight against the terrorists in Ramadi, a city until recently the most dangerous city on earth and owned by Al Qaeda. Yale was a dirt poor mixed-race kid from Virginia with a wife and daughter, and a mother and sister who lived with him and he supported as well. He did this on a yearly salary of less than $23,000. Haerter, on the other hand, was a middle class white kid from Long Island.

They were from two completely different worlds. Had they not joined the Marines they would never have met each other, or understood that multiple America’s exist simultaneously depending on one’s race, education level, economic status, and where you might have been born. But they were Marines, combat Marines, forged in the same crucible of Marine training, and because of this bond they were brothers as close, or closer, than if they were born of the same woman.

(If you can't see the rest of the speech, click the tiny "Read More" link below.)

Trey Gowdy is impressive.  

He consistently speaks out with clarity and courage.  He is a tireless advocate for liberty and justice in America -- especially when the stakes are high and it appears the battle may be lost.

Yet he's never been more eloquent than in these remarks as he defends Americans from the tyranny, waste, intimidation, and corruption of the American Goliath, otherwise known as the IRS. 

Today, D-Day,  we pause to  remember the 6th of June, 1944 when thousands of courageous Allied troops faced almost certain death or injury as they stormed the beaches of occupied France.

Their courage changed the course of history. 

Can a person be against drug use, yet be for legalizing drugs?

Yes. In less than 5 minutes Julie Borowski explains why.  

Drug criminalization fills our prisons to overflowing, but it's not solving the drug problem.  In fact, by giving teenage drug users criminal records, it makes the problem much worse.  

Our last three Presidents of the United States were youthful drug users who escaped prison, but many of their classmates weren't so lucky.  Surely we can do better for America's youth.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy can't seem to understand why every political community on earth until the year 2000 recognized marriage as the union of a man and a woman. In his mind, this can be explained only by anti-gay "animus."

Justice Kennedy is wrong.

The state isn't in the marriage business because it cares about love or romance, but because the sexual union of a man and a woman can produce new life and this new life deserves a mother and a father. When a newborn isn't raised by the man and the woman -- the mother and the father -- who gave him or her life, social costs run high.

Today, let's look at what marriage is and why it matters. Tomorrow we'll consider how redefining marriage will undercut the public purpose and social function of marriage. On Thursday, we'll preview where the marriage movement goes from here.

Marriage exists to bring a man and a woman together as husband and wife to be father and mother to any children their union produces. Marriage is based on the anthropological truth that men and women are different and complementary, the biological fact that reproduction depends on a man and a woman, and the social reality that children need both a mother and a father.

There is no such thing as "parenting." There is mothering and there is fathering. Although men and women are each capable of providing their children with a good upbringing, typically there are differences in how mothers and fathers interact with their children and the functional roles that they play.

Dads play particularly important roles in the formation of both sons and daughters.

"The burden of social science evidence supports the idea that gender-differentiated parenting is important for human development and that the contribution of fathers to childrearing is unique and irreplaceable," Rutgers University sociologist David Popenoe explains.

"We should disavow the notion that 'mommies can make good daddies,' just as we should disavow the popular notion ... that 'daddies can make good mommies,' " Popenoe concludes. "The two sexes are different to the core, and each is necessary -- culturally and biologically -- for the optimal development of a human being."

Government recognizes marriage because it is an institution that benefits society in a way no other relationship does. Marriage is society's least restrictive means of ensuring the well-being of children. State recognition protects children by encouraging men and women to commit to each other and take responsibility for their children.

Social science confirms this. The best available research evidence shows that children fare best on virtually every examined indicator when reared by their wedded biological parents. Studies that control for other factors, including poverty and genetics, suggest that children reared in intact homes do best on educational achievement, emotional health, familial and sexual development, and delinquency and incarceration.

"It is not simply the presence of two parents ... but the presence of two biological parents that seems to support children's development," a study published by the left-leaning research institution Child Trends concluded:

"Research clearly demonstrates that family structure matters for children, and the family structure that helps children the most is a family headed by two biological parents in a low-conflict marriage. Children in single-parent families, children born to unmarried mothers, and children in stepfamilies or cohabiting relationships face higher risks of poor outcomes."

A study in the Journal of Marriage and Family concluded that "the advantage of marriage appears to exist primarily when the child is the biological offspring of both parents."

Promoting marriage as the union of a man and a woman doesn't ban any type of relationship: Adults are free to make choices, and they don't need government sanction or license to do so. All Americans have the freedom to live as they choose, but no one should redefine marriage for everyone else.

While respecting everyone's liberty, government rightly recognizes, protects and promotes marriage as the ideal institution for childbearing and childrearing.

-Ryan T. Anderson is the William E. Simon Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and co-author, with Sherif Girgis and Robert George, of the book "What is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense."

Watching this inspirational video by 20-year-old Spencer Timme about his autistic brother Mitchel may be the best 3 minutes you spend today!  

Mitchell explains:  “Hey guys, here is a short video I made about what it is like for me to have an older brother with autism. I hope you enjoy it and see how blessed I am to have Mitchel as my brother.” 

“He has this ability to make everyone around him happy. He has taught me the joy in little things. I can’t wait for him to be the best man at my wedding.”

"Note:  Every case of autism is different, some more severe than others.  Not every autistic person is like my brother."

Just wanted you to know...

For over a month now, Facebook hasn't allowed posts from the blog part of PatrioticMoms.com.  Nor have they allowed posts on PatrioticMoms.com to be LIKED or SHARED.  Facebook traffic has dropped to about 20% of what it was before. 

So it's time to start a new blog!  The old blog is under ARCHIVES on the Main Menu above and is packed with wonderful articles, activities and resources.  The new blog begins today.  :)