Reasons 343 through 353 to not have children

It is no secret that Mrs. Bald Man and I prefer spending our time tending to four legged little ones than their two legged, drooling, diaper soiling human counterparts. In our house the pitter patter of little feet is instead the clickity clack of paws when we are remiss in clipping the dogs nails and late night cry fests are replaced with the occasional bark to be let in or a whine to go out from the dogs. The cats bitch about everything but they aren't too loud when they do it.

Knowing this, you'll realize my call to arms tonight is more self-serving than altruistic but I beseech you breeders out there to keep reading for this is important and has ramifications well beyond concern for the blood pressure of your humble follicly challenged author. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or UNCRC, is an international convention setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention and opened it for signature on 20 November 1989 and as of last December 193 countries of fertile loins and less fertile savvy ratified the convention and are now bound by it. As was bemoaned by the soon to be First African American President of the United States on the campaign trail last year, this count of countries includes every member nation of the United Nations with the exception of the United States and Somalia.

I can't comment on why the Somali warlords haven't taken a break from training the prepubescents in their country to fire RPGs at Black Hawk helicopters to hunt for a pen and scratch their illiterate X on the dotted line of the CRC but I am imagining the optional protocols banning the involvement of children in military conflicts, and the second one prohibiting the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography may be giving Mohamed Farrah Aidid and his ilk pause. So that leaves just the good ole U S of About to be socialists left to pony up and make the world safe for children to eat ice cream and ride ponies.

You contributors to global overpopulation are probably at this very moment looking at your progeny wondering what is wrong with our country that it is not immediately jumping on the little red bandwagon that is the CRC so that we too can ensure this country, like the rest of the civilized world, is one big happy sandbox for the diapers and short pants crowd. Numerous Churches, from the American Baptists to the United Methodists support it as does nearly every liberal "every child is a wanted child" group. Picture that same chocolate covered urchin front toothlessly smiling up at you now as a self-serving unrestrained power hungry tween running roughshod over you in a Lord of the Flies like coup after you insist he do his homework in order to have the car on Saturday night. If you think it is hard to make Junior brush his teeth, take a bath and not paint the dog blue to match his recently painted sister now, it will be damn near impossible if the CRC is ratified.

Once ratified, the CRC would be an international treaty that, albeit arguably, would supersede our domestic constitution and would make parental rights the purview of an international court. That is not the drunken rambling of an empty nester. Yes, I have been drinking but only to sooth the dull pain in my head that arose reading the entire CRC while listening to heavy footed ankle biters in the hotel room above me running to and fro and fro and to and back to fro once again.

The obviously socially inept home schooling types have somehow banded together to educate the masses who don't happen to live with them on this bill and they point out that in Missouri v. Holland, (252 U.S. 416), the U.S. Supreme Court held that under the Supremacy Clause a treaty made by the President, with concurrence of two-thirds of the Senate present at the time of voting, would become the supreme law and take precedent over contrary state laws. Thus, the U.N. Convention would constitute legally binding law in all 50 states.

Ten things you need to know about the substance of the CRC.

1. Parents would no longer be able to administer reasonable spankings to their children.
2. A murderer aged 17 years, 11 months and 29 days at the time of his crime could no longer be sentenced to life in prison.
3. Children would have the ability to choose their own religion while parents would only have the authority to give their children advice about religion.
4. The best interest of the child principle would give the government the ability to override every decision made by every parent if a government worker disagreed with the parent’s decision.
5. A child’s “right to be heard” would allow him (or her) to seek governmental review of every parental decision with which the child disagreed.
6. According to existing interpretation, it would be illegal for a nation to spend more on national defense than it does on children’s welfare.
7. Children would acquire a legally enforceable right to leisure.
8. Teaching children about Christianity in schools has been held to be out of compliance with the CRC.
9. Allowing parents to opt their children out of sex education has been held to be out of compliance with the CRC.
10. Children would have the right to reproductive health information and services, including abortions, without parental knowledge or consent.

As if that isn't enough, how about this:

Article 7: In order to insure State and U.N. control over their development, all children must be immediately registered after birth.

Article 15: This article declares "the right of the child to l freedom of association." If this measure were to be taken seriously, parents could be prevented from forbidding their child to associate with people deemed to be objectionable companions. Under Article 15, children could claim a "fundamental" right to join gangs, cults, and racist organizations over parental objection. Parental rights and responsibilities are unmentioned.

Article 29: It is the goal of the State to direct the education of the people it governs toward the philosophy of the New World Order as "enshrined in the charter of the United Nations." Each child must be prepared to be a responsible citizen by having "the spirit of understanding, peace, toleration, equity of sexes, and friendship [for] all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups of indigenous origin," including, presumably, cultic, anti-Christian religions, and those regimes which embody authoritarianism and intolerance.

Article 43: An international committee of 10 "experts" is to be established to oversee the progress of the implementation of the Treaty.

If you are brave enough, there is even more here.

When I first found reference to this convention online I figured it could never happen here. In fact it took an hour of searching to find postings and articles opposing it. Recent actions by our newly elected leaders and the perennial governing class in the Congress are making me think this is right on course for the direction our country is heading. Nationalization, or whatever Harry Reid wants to call it, of our banking system is soon to come as are more restrictions on gun ownership. Why would the taking of parental rights and giving them to the Village Hillary says it takes be out of lock step for this crowd. Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer has asked that this convention come to the floor of the Senate within sixty days as she feels the CRC would protect "the most vulnerable people of society." Of course in Boxer's world the most vulnerable are on their own from conception until they push their way in to the world. Once out, then we can worry about them.

The Family Research Council is warning that the man about to be named number two in the Justice Department is fully on-board with the CRC and the President will surely sign it once it reaches his desk and he is off the campaign trail where he is signing more spending packages.

There are groups trying to fight this travesty and they put forth excellent arguments. They even take the time to refute those challenging them. I suggest you lock the kids in a room in front of a properly parentally controlled newly HD converted television and take the time to follow some of the links on this post and decide for yourself if my concern is valid or just a flair up of rug ratitus caused by my having to cross through the children's section of WalMart on my way to buy a belt this morning. I think you will see I am not a hypochondriac and that, once again, we need to scream and yell like we are five year olds at a Wiggles concert so that everyone within the sounds of our voices hears us and makes it known to our representatives in that childlike city of power in the District of Colombia that this can not pass. If you don't, the next time you kid asks to borrow the car you won't be able to say, "go ask your mother or father". You will have to say, "go ask the UN." Then again, they won't even have to ask permission, it will be their right to take it.

S2