Jenica Ostler My mother worked hard to be an attentive and thoughtful woman. While I lived in her home I watched her make decisions time and time again based on what she had observed would make others happy. Many of these decisions were made in the...
By Ann Bailey Have we gone mad or are we just genderally crazy? I have to wonder after all the recent headlines I’ve been reading. Check these articles out. 1. HHS board rules transgender Medicare recipients can seek coverage for sex-change surgery Now tax-payers will be required...
For the past 12 years Gallup has been conducting a poll on moral acceptability in America. Gallup published the 2014 results on May 30th. This year’s findings are a disturbing indication of the break down in the general morality of the American public. Contraceptives are largely...
Nathalie Bowman Let's face it: Parenthood can be stinky at times. It doesn't always look like we think it should. I remember the day my first child was born, 20 years ago. A daughter. She was the most darling thing on the planet. (If you have...
Kristi Kane Two weeks ago, I wrote my first blog on Civics 101. It consisted of the first 25 questions (out of 100), for the “Civics flash cards for the naturalization test.” In today’s blog, you will be quizzed on questions 26-50. People who would like...
While enrollment of children in pre-schools and kindergarten is for the most part optional, “early learning” advocates and the daycare lobbyists continue in their efforts to make preschool mandatory. These folks insist that pre-K programs promote “school readiness” and if you want your child to...
Rebecca Mallory Do you think Alice Cooper was forewarning us about Common Core with that annoying song, incessantly repeated every May by school kids across the fruited plain? I wonder how our parents would have reacted when they yelled at us to, "Turn that horrid music...
Diane Robertson Just how far will government and government agencies go to enforce complete acceptance of gay marriage from everyone? The story of the Washington State based florist, Barronelle Stutzman illustrates the measures taken to enforce someone to accept and participate in gay marriage. In March of...
Caitlin Woolbert & Alera Saul The legalization of same sex marriages has become one of the most polarizing political debates in American history, perhaps more so even then that of abortion rights. No one thinks women’s reproductive rights are unimportant regardless of the side you’re on;...
Maddi Gillel Have you noticed that often, in our society, things are not as advertised, reported, or perceived? There is usually more to the story than a casual observation.-few subjects more so than the gay lifestyle. The following is a link to a testimonial of this: http://barbwire.com/2014/05/17/love-story-happy-ending/...
Diane Robertson Last June the Supreme Court made two rulings on same sex marriage : United States v. Windsor (DOMA) , and Hollingsworth v. Perry (Proposition 8). In the case of DOMA, the Supreme Court ruled that the US government could not withhold federal benefits from...
Kristi Kane The United States is a melting pot. I learned that years ago in United States History class. We have immigrants from just about every country in the world. Most are from Europe (like my ancestors), some are from Africa, some from Central and South...
Elise Ellsworth Years ago in a class on family relationships someone asked the students what they liked about their childhood family. There were many varied responses but we all paused for a moment when one respondent offered a unique response - “forgiveness.” Most families have their...
Rebecca Mallory What's the big deal with using four-letter words, swearing, etc? And who the heck (is that bad??) gets to decide what swearing is anyway? At age 7, I remember doing dishes with my older sister, Jean, who coaxed me into yelling "fanny!" at the top of my lungs...
Janaya Johnson The well-known phrase IN GOD WE TRUST first appeared on a two-cent coin in 1864. Three years before that time, Reverend M. R. Watkinson wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, requesting that God be acknowledged, in some way,...
Diane Robertson In 1972 federal law makers came up with a law known as Title IX that prohibits discrimination in education based on sex (gender). The idea behind the law was that any educational program receiving federal funding had to apply the programs to both boys...
Maddi Gillel There are two stories I would like to tell you about: one is about my 7 year old grandson, and the other is about me when I was in the 3rd grade. My grandson, James, likes to walk off moping and saying “Everybody hates me.” ...
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKc2-hEsbOQ&w=560&h=315] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ4TPn8hjxI&w=560&h=315] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-a95v5zoQk&w=560&h=315] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB3xM93rXbY&w=560&h=315] ...
Jessica Sabin Gloria Steinem, one of the leaders in the modern feminist movement, once said. “We need to remember across generations that there is as much to learn as there is to teach.” So today we must ask ourselves, “What will the women who come after...
Diane Robertson Monday morning the Supreme Court finally came out with a ruling on the case of Town of Greece v Galloway. This case had the potential to end all forms of public prayer throughout the nation. In a 5 to 4 ruling with the justices...
[vimeo 92773428 w=500 h=281] <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/92773428">To my everyday mother</a> from <a...
Kristi Kane A year ago last April, our community was left struggling after a teenage boy in my daughter's school (one who she knew personally and was friends with) took his life. A dark shadow cast itself on all who knew him. I found myself thinking,...
Maryn Holladay My husband subscribes to Bloomberg Businessweek. This magazine and I have a good thing going on. Like weekly clockwork: the magazine arrives, I thumb through, I focus on a fascinating article or two (or six), and a few minutes (or… longer) later, I feel...
Rebecca Mallory No doubt you've heard the recent debates over capitalism. It is the American way and has been since its inception. Recently, however, many speak of capitalism in disparaging terms; that it is somehow unfair, that it promotes greed and robs the very worker that...
Diane Robertson Many parents across the nation are wary, worried, and bemused by the new Common Core standards. An important part of Common Core is the standardized testing. To prepare students for the tests, school administrators are enforcing strict instruction for much of the school day....
