Kent Smotherman's blog

"We are not free, separate, and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way."
Thomas Mann

"You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result." - Mahatma Gandhi

"The rights of parents to the care, custody and nurture of their children ... cannot be denied without violating those fundamental rights ... protected by the Amendments 1, 5, 9, and 14." - Doe v. Irwin

"[s]imply because the decision of a parent is not agreeable to a child or because it involves risks does not automatically transfer the power to make that decision from the parents to some agency or officer of the state." - Troxel v. Granville, 530 US 2000 (99-138):

"Our lives end the day we become silent about the things that matter." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar." - Thich Nhat Hanh

"Half a truth is often a great lie." - Ben Franklin

"There is normally no reason for the State to inject itself into the private realm of the family to further question fit parents' ability to make the best decisions regarding their children" - Troxel v. Granville, 530 US 2000 (99-138):

"A man that doesn't stand for something will fall for anything." - Peter Marshall