Ban K2 and Spice?

So let me get this right.  Synthetic marijuana is bad and should be banned in the District of Columbia.  OK, fair enough, I agree (http://washingtonexaminer.com/designer-drugs-are-kids-latest-craze/article/2504599#.UL0PDnf5Vn0).

But, in that case, why have we made the sale of (medical) marijuana legal.  Is anyone under the impression that well to do DC residents will not be able to (legally) purchase marijuana by getting a “prescription” from a dubious doctor.  We are giving a totally mixed message to our young people.

It reminds me of the message about sex that the District government and Health Department gives, which basically is, you should abstain, but since you are not going to, be sure to “be responsible” and use a condom.  The correct message is to tell youth clearly the consequences of sexual activity before marriage and that they should abstain from sex before marriage.

Similarly, it would seem that it is now considered OK to use “medical” marijuana, which of course no one will use except those with dire medical conditions (not!).  Yet it is irresponsible to use synthetic marijuana. 

No wonder young people in Washington DC are confused. The adults making these laws and regulations should get their own act together, first.  Let’s make things clear.  For health, safety and success, there should be no sex before marriage.  Likewise, there should be no illicit drug use of any kind, whether “medical” or not.

One More Day

A Reflection on Life

On Monday, November 12^th, my wife Stacey suddenly collapsed while doing very gentle exercise. She stopped breathing for about 30 seconds, her eyeballs rolled back, and she was motionless. I touched her gently a few times on her face, but there was no response. Suddenly, she gasped two times and came to, and then sat up. She was just that close to losing her “lifeline”.

Fortunately, I was there holding her hands (she doesn’t like mini trampolines) so she didn’t hit her head, and our son Michael Karioki helped lift her to the nearby bed, as Sarah dialed 911

We just don’t know. We all expect and hope to live a long life, but that is not always the case. I was talking to my precious yobo, and then in about 90 seconds, she was almost gone. The ambulance was cancelled, but after calling Stacey’s doctor, he told us to take her to the emergency room, which we did, at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. She was checked, and they decided to admit her to the hospital, due to a very low heart rate of only 40 beats per second (it usually should be 60 to 80 beats per second). The heart also had fibrillation, or irregular beating. I stayed with her until 10 p.m., and then she was taken upstairs to the cardiac intensive care unit. There was another serious time in the morning, when the heart stopped, and they did CPR and gave one shock. Then she was taken for electro physiology testing, and a pacemaker was installed. She was discharged today, Wednesday, after just two days. Her doctor, who performed the procedure to install the pacemaker, was Dr. Edward Platia. He was a very kind, understanding, reassuring and competent person.

It turns out that the heart is otherwise healthy, but had a complete blockage, in which it stopped. It started back by itself when we were at home the first day, but if it had not….

I am feeling overwhelmed with the love of God and my own love combined for my better half, or as they affectionately say in Korean, yobo. I am glad to have her here. I wish to be more supportive, more kind, more helpful, and more appreciative of each moment. I am glad to have One More Day to:

Say a kind word,

One More Day to:
Love someone,

One More Day to:
Share love in my family,

One More Day to:
Make a difference in this world.

Who is to say when the “lifeline” that God has given each of us will be “recalled”. God has given each of us a very special time here on earth as His objects. We are to completely fulfill love in our families, with our spouse and children. Just as God cannot be complete without on object, which is the God-centered love expressed in a family, we cannot be complete either without a family, including at least one child, through which we can share God’s love

The experience of my better half almost leaving the earth has increased my appreciation for her, and for life. I have a newfound appreciation for seeing the sun, having a wife and a daughter and a son. God incredibly loves each of us, just as I felt the love welling up for her in me. Who is to say how many more days each of us will live? Whether it is one day, one year, 10 years, 50 years or some other period, I will strive to live each day with newfound appreciation and love, being grateful to have One More Day. As long as I am alive there is One More Day to return appreciation to God and to make God happy by loving someone, and to give Heavenly Father a place to dwell by having a Blessed family. I am very grateful that I was able to be home with Stacey when she passed out, that I could take her to a hospital where they have a specialized heart care unit, and that we received the care of the best heart doctor, Dr. Platia. Reverend Sun Myung Moon says in his autobiography, As a Peace Loving Global Citizen (p 234): (http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Books/PLGC-SunMyungMoon-091100.pdf)

Human beings have always struggled to understand who we are and

why we must live. We must realize that, just as we were not born of our own

accord, so also we are not meant to live our lives for our own sakes.

So the answer to the question of how we should live our lives is simple.

We were born of love, so we must live by traveling the path of love. Our

lives were created by receiving the boundless love of our parents, so we

must live our entire lives repaying that love. In the course of our lives,

this is the only value we can choose on our own. The success or failure

of our lives depends on how much love we are able to pack into those

eighty years that are given to us.

Youths Choose Abstinence as the Path to Success

Over 20 community leaders attended the Crossroads; A New Direction for Our Youth private breakfast and reception at the Washington Times on Wednesday, November 7. The program, sponsored by Urban Life Training & Reality Assessment Teen Choice, addressed the issue of helping youth choose the path to success by raising youth leaders to develop good character and to model and teach about the benefits of sexual abstinence in preparation for marriage and successful family formation.

Co-founder Richard Urban explained that if he were in high school today, he would very likely be making wrong choices and getting sexually involved. He asked the audience if they were in high school today, would they be making right choices?

Mr. Urban challenged those present to consider two paths. One path will cause heartbreak, sexually transmitted disease and about a 50 50 chance of being caught up in baby mama and baby daddy drama. The other path will leave their lives unencumbered with heartache, disease, and baby mama and baby daddy drama. Even more importantly, it will help their children to prosper. Mr. Urban explained that if teenagers don’t graduate from high school and have a baby before marrying, there’s a 79% chance their child will live in poverty. This compares to only an 8 % chance of their children living in poverty for those who finished high school, had a child after marrying, and did not marry as a teenager. The District of Columbia Public Schools emphasize STD testing for 9^th grader students, but parents are not notified of the results, and abstinence is not emphasized.

PowerPoint slides created by Urban Life Training alumnus and Penn State Harrisburg Junior Tierra Glymph were shared. Tierra explains how we need to support and empower young people to make right choices and not just push safe sex.

Eastern Senior High School Urban Life Training Alumnus Sharnetta Tyler shared” This program really allowed me to grow in = [character] so by the time I got to college I was ok to say no, that’s not me. … So I remember being that confident when I was your age saying this is going to be life for me, so transitioning over into college Like I held on to that same virtue. Like there was never something [else]that caught my attention, nothing else said well maybe I want to be a mom before I’m a wife, nothing, that was the same goal I have now; I am still holding on to that.”

Urban Life Training STAR Guide Alumnus and Howard University graduate Erica Smith shared: “Being abstinent has helped me stay focused on my goals, kept me safe from sexually transmitted diseases, prevented unwanted pregnancy and saved my from the heartache and humiliation that could have come from having sex with men who did not have my best interest in mind…I implore you all to join this mission because truly abstinence is the best choice for those who are not married.”

Breakfast participant and youth worker Ebony Brown shared “I really enjoyed myself at the breakfast this morning. It was truly inspirational and such an eye-opener! Never have I personally thought about teaching teens about abstinence and the benefits of it. Your organization's purpose is awesome!

http://my.nowpublic.com/health/youths-choose-abstinence-path-success

Abby’s advice for sex at age 13? Use better birth control!

On Wednesday, October 24th, Dear Abby posted a letter from a 15 year old girl who had a miscarriage.  Abby advises:

Because the birth control you were using didn't prevent your pregnancy, you should ask a health care provider for advice about avoiding another unplanned pregnancy in the future. A staff member at your local Planned Parenthood health center or other clinic, or your own physician, can discuss all of your options and help you get the birth control you need.

What kind of advice is that?  Nowhere does she talk about the fact that 13 or 15 year olds should not be having sex, or admonish her at all for having sex outside of marriage, or even for having sex at such a young age.  The proper advice is, yes, to grieve, but to seek to repair your relationship with your parents and to stop having sex until marriage in order to avoid the physical, intellectual, emotional, social, plus moral and spiritual consequences of sexual relationships outside of marriage.

Position of the Presidential Candidates on Social Issues:

	OBAMA	ROMNEY
Abstinence-centered sex education	????*	FOR
Same Sex Marriage	FOR	AGAINST
Taxpayer Funding of Abortion	FOR	AGAINST
School Choice and Vouchers	AGAINST	FOR
*President Obama cut all funding (Providing $0 of funding) for already-funded 5 yr grants for abstinence-centered programs totaling over $100 million. in fiscal 2010. Obama says 'And what I have consistently talked about is to take a comprehensive approach where we focus on abstinence, where we are teaching the sacredness of sexuality to our children. But we also recognize the importance of good medical care for women, that we’re also recognizing the importance of age-appropriate education to reduce risks. I do believe that contraception has to be part of that education process.' Romney says: 'We have sex education in our schools. Let's also have abstinence education in our schools. Marriage and two parent families are fundamental to the development of children and to our success as a culture. We cannot afford to shrink from the timeless, priceless principles of human experience."

Angela McCaskill warning

Maryland voters will face the question of whether to vote for or against question 6 On Novmeber 6th, 2012.   Voters will be well advised to pay attention to the case of Gallaudet University associate provost of diversity and inclusion, Angela McCaskill.  Ms. McCaskill simply signed the petition to put Question 6 on the ballot in Maryland.  For that she was put on administrative leave from her job.  Two lesbian faculty members decided that it was inappropriate for her to serve as chief diversity officer and wrote a letter to Gallaudent Univesity president T. Alan Hurwitz.

Here in Washington DC I have had a similar experience.  In 2007, I was circulating a petition to remove the inclusion of language describing same sex relationships as normal in the revision of the DC Public Schools Health Education Standards.  (find out more about this here  Former DC Public School officials Richard Nyankori and Chad Ferguson called me in for a private, off the record meeting.  They stated that I was free to circulate the petition, but that if I did our HIV and pregnancy prevention and relationship intelligence program would not be welcome in DC Public Schools.   Nyankori and Ferguson also asked me what my position is on Same Sex Marriage.   I refused to answer, stating that it had nothing to do with our  program.  However, Nyankori and Ferguson made it clear that those not in favor of same sex "marriage' would not be welcome in DC Public Schools.  So much for "inclusion" and "diversity".

Legalization of same sex "marriage" in Maryland will have far reaching consequences.  Many of those who simply contributed to the campaign opposing legalization of same sex "marriage" in California were blacklisted and forced to resign from their jobs.  Check this blog.  Those who think that the push to legalize same sex marriage is just about allowing same sex couples to be "married" would do well to learn from the examples above.  Your personal and religious freedoms are at stake. Be sure to vote AGAINST Question 6 in order to preserve traditional marriage in Maryland as the union of one man and one woman.  Do not be fooled. A FOR vote is a vote to legalize same-sex marriage so you will want to make sure you vote AGAINST Question 6.

DC’s value-less sex education

So today I pull my van up to a parking lot near 5th St. and D St. NE to make a grocery delivery for Urban Grocery at 3:30 p.m.  There I see a group of two girls and three boys from Stuart-Hobson Middle School between the apartment building and a fence covered with ivy.  “Pull up” says one boy.  “We did that” says the other as they swagger off.  One of the girls lingers while apparently pulling her pants up. 

This is the expected end result of Washington, DC’s value less sex education.  Sex is good, just use a condom (although at least 30% do not).  No values, no idea of when you are supposed to have sex (i.e., when you are married).  Sexual exploration is good, per David Catania’s (in)famous sex education report.

And there is the small pamphlet that ninth grade high school students receive from DCPS “Going to get it on? Gotta put it on”. Click here to see the pamphlet: (warning, it shows how to put a condom on.)  Youth are tested for syphilis and gonorrhea after peeing in a cup.  All this without any parental notification or consent. 

Wake up DC parents.  If you want the best future for your children, get involved.  Be aware of what your children are being taught in school.  Ask and demand to see all sex education materials.  Invite Urban Life Training to give a free parent presentation to your Parent-Teacher association.  Urban Life Training raises youth leaders to develop good character and teach about healthy sexuality.  Click here to see the school and community-based presentations that Urban Life Training gives.