Marybeth Hicks is a weekly columnist for the The Washington Times and editor of Family Events, a weekly e-newsletter and blog site for women from the publishers of Human Events. She is the author of Don't Let the Kids Drink the Kool-Aid: Confronting the Left's Assault on Our Families, Faith, and Freedom (Regnery Publishers, 2011). Mrs. Hicks began her career as a writer in the Reagan White House, and later was a communications specialist in the educational, healthcare and corporate sectors. A Michigan resident, she served as a gubernatorial appointee to the board of the Michigan Children's Trust Fund. She currently serves on the national advisory boards of the Parents Television Council and Eduguide, a non-profit that promotes school success. Mrs. Hicks is a graduate of Michigan State University. She and her husband make their home in Michigan and are the parents of four children. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks http://media.townhall.com/TownHall/icons/TH-feed-icon-128x128.gif http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks TownHall.com, Where your opinion counts. 128 Copyright (c) 2012 Townhall.com, A Salem Communications Web. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED jim.dearras@townhall.com (Jim De Arras) Wed, 09 May 2012 04:01:00 GMT Wed, 09 May 2012 04:01:00 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ Last week, in an advertorial slideshow on ObamaForAmerica.com, the president's re-election campaign introduced "The Life of Julia" about a fictional "everywoman" whose government-subsidized existence is intended to... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/05/09/julias_carefree_life_offers_no_real_appeal 79733662-3686-484a-9ebd-acd10572b622 Wed, 09 May 2012 04:01:00 GMT I hate to say I told you so, but . well . I did. In my book, "Don't Let the Kids Drink the Kool-Aid," I posited that radicals within the gay lobby are using the important issue of bullying to indoctrinate America's... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/05/03/when_bullying_for_the_gay_agenda_is_ok 55f9e5ed-3a5e-4d68-8632-e5c4c039d1f4 Thu, 03 May 2012 04:01:00 GMT It's official. Brad and Angelina are engaged, succumbing to pressure from family members to finally tie the knot. Back in the day, that pressure would have come from a worried mother, or more likely, a protective... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/04/25/for_societal_wellbeing_marriage_is_foundational 9c60d272-bc90-47be-84e3-8897fbfc7d0c Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:42:00 GMT The smell of pot roast escapes from the lid of the slow cooker and wafts down the hallway to my home office. My washer and dryer hum harmoniously in the distance while generating hours' worth of laundry for me to fold... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/04/19/mommy_wars_is_class_warfare_in_disguise 6216b5a6-d0bf-4c3c-aff2-917edd795ade Thu, 19 Apr 2012 04:01:00 GMT In 1968, cigarette maker Philip Morris launched a brand of smokes just for women. Marketed with the provocative slogan, "You've come a long way, baby," Virginia Slims offered an elegant profile and an image that... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/04/12/democrats_war_talk_says_women_are_gullible 1408e35d-2c2e-4a57-aaf3-1770d58e8946 Thu, 12 Apr 2012 04:01:00 GMT If there's one way to determine whether an event has devolved into a circus maximus, surely it must be the entry into the public debate by Roseanne Barr. The erstwhile comedian and celebrity took up the Twitter cause... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/04/05/trayvon_martin_case_shows_racist_epithet_persists ad39a56d-4fd2-4494-a4fe-f279b249956a Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:57:00 GMT If there's one thing liberals and conservatives generally have agreed upon with respect to President Obama, it's that by all indications, he's a good father to his daughters Malia, 13, and Sasha, 10. The president... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/03/29/fathering_daughters_the_oldfashioned_way e51bf20c-07b9-4fb3-8805-f40294720ae9 Thu, 29 Mar 2012 04:01:00 GMT This is a story with no good ending. There's not likely to be a peaceful reckoning, or a positive life lesson. It's just pointless and sad, no matter how you look at it. It's the story of Tyler Clementi, the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/03/22/a_sad_true_story_shows_morality_is_lacking e1902d77-83a2-49c1-8e18-6959a001c282 Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:01:00 GMT Last week, amid the furor over Georgetown University law student and feminist activist Sandra Fluke's now-famous congressional testimony about the "financial burden" of contraception for college coeds, the ensuing media... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/03/13/furor_obscures_real_issue_religious_liberty 91cc9150-e5ba-4ad3-b127-1cbbfe09adde Tue, 13 Mar 2012 04:01:00 GMT If you get a text from your teenager in the middle of the school day, something's wrong. It might be something minor, like a paper forgotten on the printer at home or gym clothes left sitting in the back hall, with... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/02/29/why_of_ohio_shooting_deeper_than_bullying 0d839fcf-6a25-4858-8b96-c00af4b9ec6a Wed, 29 Feb 2012 05:01:00 GMT In 2007, while still a member of the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama said, "I am absolutely convinced that culture wars are just so '90s. Their days are growing dark." Until recently, I've been inclined to agree with Mr.... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/02/23/obamas_values_spark_return_of_culture_wars 08ee7229-8ce3-4250-b3ee-50c94094effb Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:01:00 GMT When it comes to 21st-century environmental and energy debates, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Especially when what little knowledge you may have is incorrect. And most especially when could be a... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/02/15/frack_nation_digs_up_the_notsoscary_truth c9bdc43d-ce6c-40eb-aabf-ee93dbb05858 Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:16:00 GMT Last week in his State of the Union address, President Obama claimed to share President Lincoln's opinion "that government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more." I thought... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/02/01/dotgov_has_it_all_to_help_americans_do_better 0a153b7f-8b0c-4b0c-8935-c25274eb8286 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:49:00 GMT Last week in his State of the Union address, President Obama claimed to share President Lincoln's opinion "that government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more." I thought... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/02/01/dotgov_has_it_all_to_help_americans_do_better 5657f8dd-b634-4b2a-b9d3-c87296e04d49 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:01:00 GMT That rumbling sound you hear isn't a snow-removal truck, a low-flying plane or a train inadvertently chugging through your backyard. No, it's the low, slow churning of civic discontent, fomenting thanks to the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/01/25/disgusted_parents_occupy_the_classroom 96a9bb93-ddd2-4777-a525-e1d7f5f1515f Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:38:00 GMT The subject line of the email from my daughter read, "I shudder." The text said only, "You won't believe this," and included a link to a video that my 14-year-old freshman, Amy, wanted me to see. The video that... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/01/18/kids_reaction_to_perry_is_whats_shuddering 9492e9ca-36e1-4886-b907-3cbcd238c4d9 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:27:00 GMT Just how frustrated are American parents with the leftist Kool Aid being passed off as curriculum in our nation's public schools? It's come to this: Last week, the New Hampshire legislature overturned a... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2012/01/11/new_hampshire_learns_lesson_in_parental_rights 6310e18b-f8a0-4dd7-a60c-4a337f82c423 Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:01:00 GMT When I climbed into bed, the sheets felt like thin strips of refrigeration. I pulled the comforter up to my ears and shivered as I waited for my body to generate enough heat to turn my toes from blue to... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/12/24/silent_night_for_mother_and_son d43faed3-cd9d-4025-a756-fa7b5268419d Sat, 24 Dec 2011 05:01:00 GMT Cable's Home and Garden Television (HGTV) appears to have a new reality show about what happens when the government buys itself the right to tell you what to do. In theory, anyway. According to HGTV.com, the new... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/12/14/accepting_help_only_to_find_rights_forfeited 933d456d-3f3a-433e-9427-8b481fad433c Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:01:00 GMT Chicago news anchor Robin Robinson probably should expect to find some coal in her stocking this year. At least that's the consensus of most of the folks who learn about her recent on-air gaffe. Last week, the local... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/12/07/yes_virginia_there_is_a_way_to_protect_childhood 405178e3-9bd2-4f85-83f1-c08450fa1cdd Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:27:00 GMT Putting our fingers to the wind being a national pastime, Harris Interactive has quantified thankfulness for 2011. In a survey conducted last month of 2,463 adults, only a third of respondents report having more to... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/11/23/a_measure_of_gratitude 3e013a3c-0b71-4abc-9a52-1c7fa53e8b4c Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:56:00 GMT Halloween came and went, but Marion Salmon Hedges wasn't able to hand out the hundreds of dollars worth of candy she purchased for the underprivileged children who annually visit her Manhattan neighborhood. Instead,... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/11/09/searching_for_a_moral_to_story_of_immorality 2e29e854-7906-40ab-b9cc-27af4de132af Wed, 09 Nov 2011 05:01:00 GMT If my email is any indication, the great divide in our nation is not between the haves and the have-nots, but between the literate and the folks who never learned the difference between there, their and they're.... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/11/02/occupiers_prove_point_of_column_in_emails f059a1bb-7b56-4eae-8267-20e29209fba4 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:01:00 GMT If there's one thing virtually everyone can agree on, it's that bullying is bad. In fact, a recent survey commissioned by Care.com, a caregiver referral company, revealed that bullying is the No. 1 concern of parents... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/10/26/cant_we_battle_bullying_without_battling_politics 07c6db37-9bbb-4b62-94a2-70240d6bbf81 Wed, 26 Oct 2011 04:01:00 GMT Call it an occupational hazard, but I can’t look at the Occupy Wall Street protesters without thinking, “Who parented these people?” As a culture columnist, I’ve commented on the social... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/10/20/some_belated_parental_advice_to_protesters cd0228c2-17f5-496f-b2e9-a814d3996ff0 Thu, 20 Oct 2011 04:01:00 GMT I hate to say it, but watching the various YouTube videos of the Occupy Wall Street protests and reading accounts of protesters' goals and "demands," prompts me to shake my head with a resigned, "I told you... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/10/12/wishing_i_was_wrong_about_the_occupiers 67300f49-7068-41fd-a410-e59b973e4590 Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:01:00 GMT If you've been too busy holding down a job (or two), juggling the demands of a busy family, engaging in community service, and occasionally taking the wife and kids out for a pizza on a Saturday night, you may not have... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/10/05/occupy_reality,_kids 783f2b8b-91fe-436d-a00b-51edf30d102b Wed, 05 Oct 2011 04:01:00 GMT Barely enough time has passed for bologna sandwiches to begin rotting in school lockers, yet the 2011-2012 school year is shaping up to be one of the stinkiest ever, if we're measuring in episodes of putrid political... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/09/28/what's_the_purpose_of_public_education_anyway 3816f097-5b8a-4117-9190-b1aef7891779 Wed, 28 Sep 2011 04:01:00 GMT Here’s a pop quiz: What percentage of elementary school children in Washington, DC public schools is proficient in math? What about reading? What is the proficiency of DC high school students in... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/09/21/is_this_a_test_dc_students_will_pass_with_flying_colors bda1f2b4-9e6b-4e4e-89af-78cd7d0ad524 Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:01:00 GMT Last week while thousands of children were outfitted in their "Sunday best" attire to attend memorial services for their parents, victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, some children in... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/09/14/using_bullying_to_club_patriotic_pledge a01d28c9-dea8-43e1-b749-3427e3d5d57c Wed, 14 Sep 2011 19:24:00 GMT Backpack? Check. Transformers lunchbox? Check. Leftist political Kool-Aid? Check. Looks like the school year can begin. This week, millions of American children return to their classrooms. Unfortunately, the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/09/07/schools_serving_leftist_kool-aid_as_curriculum 9c8524d5-e4fc-4a1f-8c3d-65b024363597 Wed, 07 Sep 2011 04:01:00 GMT Ok, fess up. Are you a good parent or a bad one? Last week, bad parents were all over the news, so if you weren't plastered throughout the media for pouring hot sauce down your son's throat, shaving your daughter's... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/08/31/all_the_bad_parents_out_there_raise_your_hand 983bffb9-3577-47c0-a426-4c419ff0468c Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:06:00 GMT Among last week's troubling headlines: " 'Jersey Shore' scores most-watched season premiere ever: Opener drew 8.8 million total viewers." Apparently, last Thursday night, overcome with news of our economic woes,... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/08/10/role_model_opposites_snooki_and_kirk_cousins 6b0976fe-a293-4e26-a257-278434195670 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 04:01:00 GMT When my daughter was researching prospective colleges and universities a few years ago, she claimed for a time that her No. 1 choice was a world-famous Jesuit university in the East. A friend, revealing a touch... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/08/03/college_students_need_to_keep_their_faith db4e69a7-5bb6-4983-990d-10ddb91140a6 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 04:01:00 GMT I'm working the refreshment tent this week at the music festival in my hometown, putting in my volunteer hours for our children's school, when I realize I am not shocked by the tattoo-covered, fifty-something... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/07/20/zinging_a_new_song_of_a_culture_gone_wrong 301dad86-84cd-436d-a685-b18b6484c373 Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:53:00 GMT Benjamin Franklin said, “Sin is not hurtful because it is forbidden, it is forbidden because it is hurtful.” Someone ought to hang that quote in every doorway of every school and office of the Atlanta... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/07/13/public_school_systems_cheating_nations_youth 6de0dd55-f342-435f-9660-4861c0e76235 Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:37:00 GMT In May, a Toronto couple made international news when they revealed what they’re not revealing: the gender of their baby, Storm. Parents Kathy Witterick and David Stocker claim they want their baby to grow... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/07/06/storm_clouds_ahead_for_more_than_1_child f66610f4-305d-4434-8f80-1e5c00b46aaf Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:49:00 GMT Earlier this month, NBC reminded us of the power of good television. In the opening segment launching its coverage of the final round of the U.S. Open Golf Championship, NBC aired a stunning montage of images meant... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/06/29/agenda_behind_botched_pledge_still_a_mystery 3bd00354-1fbf-4cfe-9b78-0867386883ec Wed, 29 Jun 2011 04:01:00 GMT For years, I have arduously avoided the one topic that most certainly will incite a reader riot. However, I find I can stay silent no longer. The issue? Spanking. As hard as I am trying to fulfill a promise made... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/06/22/spanking_hits_bottom_line_in_parenting_debate ab6914dd-6803-4ce8-84c0-fdee21eb1750 Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:25:00 GMT It must be said: Rep. Anthony D. Weiner is what's wrong with America today. Once again, when confronted with behavior that clearly speaks to the character of a man's heart, we're being asked to accept that he's not... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/06/15/if_weiners_sick,_so_too_is_much_of_the_nation 76999dcf-01d4-43e0-9f7c-42644de2bc5e Wed, 15 Jun 2011 04:01:00 GMT I have to confess my initial reaction to the headline was to roll my eyes in contempt for yet another government entity that I assumed was trying to legislate good parenting. After all, it's a trend that has gained... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/05/18/california_bill_respects_authority_of_parents 74e0d1fa-5081-476d-a27a-b93bd36c84a7 Wed, 18 May 2011 14:08:00 GMT You hardly could blame Prince Charles for the raspy voice with which he lectured the students of Georgetown University last week, what with his speech on sustainable food coming just five days after the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/05/11/prince_charles_feeding_hogwash_to_the_world ca915927-9d39-4df2-ae24-7e0c5f0be30d Wed, 11 May 2011 14:47:00 GMT Like every other American, I remember with crystal clarity where I was and what I was doing the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. My children were off school for a teacher in-service day. I had taken the dog to the vet for... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/05/04/911_became_a_primer_on_virtue_and_values 9e3b3ef6-3d5a-4b80-9acd-345e14db905c Wed, 04 May 2011 13:17:00 GMT It's a minor issue, really, but when you think about it, the decay of a nation happens a little at a time. Last week, bowing to pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Sweeny Independent School District... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/04/27/chipping_away_again_at_bearings_of_america dc8bbeaa-cce7-44ad-a27d-dca443f405dd Wed, 27 Apr 2011 04:01:00 GMT A month ago, President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hosted a summit to focus attention on the national bullying crisis. Convened at the White House by the U.S. Department of Education, the forum was meant to... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/04/20/video_games_and_bullying b0989af2-c46d-4223-9c6a-016a67c82c64 Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:57:00 GMT The school lunch debate took center stage this week with a Chicago Tribune story about a public school on the city's West Side that prohibits children from bringing lunches from home. Little Village Academy banned... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/04/13/menu_is_mandated_at_the_nanny_cafe 925d60b0-bee0-4808-99a5-1a3209c44540 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 04:01:00 GMT First, Amy “Tiger Mom” Chua caused a national stir by accusing Western parents of being too lax in their approach to child-rearing, resulting in self-indulgent, spoiled kids who aren’t as successful... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/04/06/lax_parenting_is_something_to_regret f1254e25-c88f-40a8-85c4-ac1e00076e40 Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:11:00 GMT It would be so much easier to pray if God would get a Twitter account. Or at least a Facebook page. And how much more effective would our prayers be if we simply could instant-message them to God, and he could reply... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/03/30/dont_let_digital_media_crowd_out_prayer_time 18b616d1-1074-4ad8-90a2-ced210869db7 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 15:00:53 GMT It's that time of year - time for teachers to infuse some life into the curriculum with that reliable instructional tool: the educational video. Those of us who rode woolly mammoths to school recall the evolutionary... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarybethHicks/2011/03/23/human_footprint_gives_capitalism_the_boot d7ba4dcb-cb49-4e66-85ee-68b5a9f19385 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 04:01:00 GMT