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Confessions of a Homeschool Dad
Feb. 14, 2007
Texas Mandates STD Vaccine for 9-year-old Girls
By now, most of you (even from such foreign lands as Massachusetts and Californy) have heard the the (conservative Republican) Governor of Texas has mandated that 9-year-old girls have the vaccine for HPV (Human Papiloma Virus).
Now, I won't disagree that HPV is and ugly, ugly thing.
Just in case you don't know, HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that appears to cause cervical cancer in women. And it sits dormant for 10-20 or more years. And the most at-risk group (young, sexually active women) won't know they've got it until it's too late (PAP smear is the only way to detect it). Oh, and the HPV virus is both so small that it will go through the pores in a condom and spread through skin-to-skin contact as well.
Hence, there is no such thing as "safe sex" where HPV is concerned. That's why the CDC has said that the best defense is abstinence.
Apparently nobody in power in the Great State of Texas has heard about that, nor are they concerned that the HPV vaccination might not be safe.
The only good news is that the requirement for this vaccine, much like most others, is being propagated by making it a requirement to get into public school. Prior to entering 6th grade.
How about this for a new homeschooling slogan: "Home Schools. Where your children aren't lab rats." |
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Feb. 14, 2007
Texas Mandates STD Vaccine for 9-year-old Girls
By now, most of you (even from such foreign lands as Massachusetts and Californy) have heard the the (conservative Republican) Governor of Texas has mandated that 9-year-old girls have the vaccine for HPV (Human Papiloma Virus).
Now, I won't disagree that HPV is and ugly, ugly thing.
Just in case you don't know, HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that appears to cause cervical cancer in women. And it sits dormant for 10-20 or more years. And the most at-risk group (young, sexually active women) won't know they've got it until it's too late (PAP smear is the only way to detect it). Oh, and the HPV virus is both so small that it will go through the pores in a condom and spread through skin-to-skin contact as well.
Hence, there is no such thing as "safe sex" where HPV is concerned. That's why the CDC has said that the best defense is abstinence.
Apparently nobody in power in the Great State of Texas has heard about that, nor are they concerned that the HPV vaccination might not be safe.
The only good news is that the requirement for this vaccine, much like most others, is being propagated by making it a requirement to get into public school. Prior to entering 6th grade.
How about this for a new homeschooling slogan: "Home Schools. Where your children aren't lab rats." |
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Feb. 9, 2007
Passing Out Bibles Now An Arrestable Offense
Jan. 30, 2007
Christianity and Cultural Relevance
Yes, I know I haven't posted in awhile. I guess I've been busy and haven't had much burning inside of me. Until the other day.
I was in the grocery store with my kids doing some grocery shopping (helping out my wonderful wife) when I ran into a member of leadership from our old church. We talked a little bit and he mentioned their new drive to be "culturally relevant" in all of their ministries and services.
I'm not exactly sure how I looked when he said that, but I imagine that it was not a friendly look. "Cultural Relevance" is why we left that church and will never darken it's doorstep again.
In fact, upon further reflection, I discovered that Christianity has NEVER been culturally relevant. For instance:
* Christianity is foolishness in a world of the wise.
* It is peace in a world of war.
* It is the meek will inherit the earth in a world of crushing those in your way.
* It is seek ye first the Kingdom of God in a world of what's in it for me.
* It is goodness in a world where evil is ignored.
* It is giving your first fruits to God in a world of pay me first.
* It is turn the other cheek in a world of destroy your enemies.
* It is spare the rod and spoil the child in a world where we're supposed to convince children to be good because we "had a talk".
* It is do all that you do as to the Lord, rather than for man in a world of politics, backstabbing, and very little actual work.
* It is sell everything and follow Me in a world honoring wealth and accumulation.
* It is modesty in a world where mothers dress their daughters "sexy" from age 4.
* It is male leadership and female submission in a world where women are pre-eminent and men are suspect.
* It is love and acceptance in a world of hate and self-protection.
* It is grace freely given in a world where everything must be earned.
* It is peace, be still in a world where the activity never stops.
* It is the Word in a world that can't be bothered to read.
* It is the Truth for all people in all places in all times in a world of relativism.
* It is whatever you do to the least of these, you do to Me in a world of pushing around and shoving aside the powerless.
* It is 'til death do you part, for better OR worse, for richer OR poorer, in sickness AND in heath in a world of marriages of convenience.
* It is loving your wife as Christ loved the church in a world of fad diets, dermabrasion, and plastic surgery.
* It is God's design in a world of man's desires.
* It is honor thy father and mother in a world of out of control youth.
* It is a one-on-one relationship of God in a world of self-help advisors.
* It is the One, True God in a world where we are our own gods.
* It is humble, sacrificial service in a world of people demanding to be served.
* It is justice in a world where the laws are enforced inversely proportionally to the amount of money you have.
* It is love your neighbor as yourself in a world of self-obsession.
* It is holy, holy, holy in a world of the profane.
I'm sure you can add your own to this list. There is a reason that Satan is called "The Prince of this World". And it is reflected in the culture.
Christianity is not now, has never been, nor will ever be "Culturally Relevant".
Praise God! |
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Dec. 7, 2006
Fun, FREE, Family Christmastime Entertainment
Have you noticed that most ads (TV and otherwise) are slightly manipulative? I worried about that in conjunction with my kids seeing some of them.
So, I devised a little game.
Here's the basics: Most ads, in an effort to be new and different OR to make something mundane seem a lot greater, will push the line of truth.
They won't actively lie to you (as it's illegal and they're not fond of jail), but they'll strongly imply things that probably aren't true.
The game is this - whenever there's a commercial on during Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (or whatever Christmas favorites you're watching as a family), be the first to point out the implication that leads to a false assumption.
AN EXAMPLE
For instance, many of you have seen those Head On commercials ("Head On! Head On! Apply Directly To the Forehead! Head On!"). Notice that, while they imply that it should cure a headache, nowhere in the ad does it make ANY claims as to headache curing.
In fact, it's the same if you look at their website. Here are the claims there:
1) Apply Directly to the Forehead
2) Available without a prescription.
3) Safe to use.
Nothing about "making a headache stop in 10 minutes" or, in fact, anything about headaches. Just that it's safe, available without prescription, and you should apply it directly to your forehead.
You could make the same, exact statements about water. Or potatoes. Or Chap Stick. Or bark mulch.
Now - try this out at your house and see how much fun it is (while, subversively, teaching your kids about the reality of ads).
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Dec. 5, 2006
I Know I've Got Pretty Good Kids When...
Child 1, the oldest, when told to go take a shower asks, "Can I clean up my room first?"
Child 2, the middlest, is singing the "Books of the Old Testament" song (better than the oldest) while doing chores.
Child 3, barely 2 and barely talking, gets excited when it's chore time and runs to the bathroom to retrieve toothbrush and toothpaste and brings them to me so that she can have her teeth brushed like a big girl.
Okay, maybe I won't have to sell them after all.
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Dec. 4, 2006
Anyone Know A Quiet Alternative to Sweeping?
I know this sounds like an odd question. But, consider the source...
In any case, our 7-year-old has the job of "getting junk off of the floor". Sometimes, this is called "sweeping", however, you haven't seen this child's coordination.
So, until she grows into her final, graceful form, we've got her using one of those "stick vacs".
For those of you who haven't tried them (at least, the type that we use), they can be heard clear across town. When she turns it on, animals in a 10 mile radius take shelter. In other words, it's really loud.
So, I was wondering if anyone has discovered a hard-surface (wood / tile) floor cleaning device that might save all of our hearing.
Oh, yeah. Cheaper is better, too!
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
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Dec. 1, 2006
How Many People Would Make An Important Decision This Way?
There's a lot of ways to make an important decision. God gave us a mind to determine what decision might be more honoring to Him. Prayer is always an important part.
But, after all that, what would you do to make the decision?
I will admit that my faith has been too small to do it the way thay did in the Bible:
[Judas has deserted and the Apostles are holding a meeting of the disciples to determine who will be his replacement.] "And they proposed two: Joseph, called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosed to take part in this ministry....
"And they case their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles"
So, they used their brains to figure out the two best candidates. That makes sense.
Then they prayed to God to pick the right guy. Absolutely the thing to do.
And then they cast lots. Huh? Cast lots?
Apparently they, unlike me (at least up until this point!) had faith enough that God could make a choice through casting lots (which apparently meant putting each of their names on a stone, putting the stones in a jar, and shaking the jar until one stone popped out). That is, manipulating our physical environment.
Frankly, I never thought of that. I'm pretty sure that most of the Church would ridicule that method. I'm sure the World would ridicule it.
That's a pretty good sign it's the right thing to do. I'm going to give it a shot on my next big decision....
How about you? Could you do this for major decisions?
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Nov. 30, 2006
We Never Realize How Little We Know
We're still figuring out how they did things before computers were around. Apparently, we forget that there were plenty of extraordinarily smart and talented people around before our own lifetimes.
Here's a device that could track the sun, moon, and all visible planets through their irregular orbits.
Keep in mind that the Earth, which is itself orbiting the Sun, is constantly changing its position relative to all of these cellestial objects and, since they are orbiting the Sun in a different track, so are they.
About this device (apparently), Cicero "wrote that Posidonius had made an instrument 'which at each revolution reproduces the same motions of the sun, the moon and the five planets that take place in the heavens every day and night.'"
In the never-ending conceit that "we're smart and everyone before us is a cute, well-meaning, ignorant Neanderthal", the LA Times article concludes with, "Historians have generally dismissed Cicero's words as extravagant or even mythic, but the new discoveries suggest he may have been correct."
Hmmmm....I wonder what, or who, else that the "ancients" wrote about might be correct...
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Nov. 28, 2006
Childrens' Innoculation with the American Virus Keeps Us Safe!
With all that's going on in our world, it's understandable that some folks get a bit jumpy at the thought of terrorism. Particularly local terrorism.
While I understand that "only 1%" of Muslims ascribe to any radical, bomb-your-way-to-96-virgins sort of theology, that still numbers somewhere around 10,000,000 people.
And how do I know that my next door neighbor isn't one of them?
The answer, if they have kids, is that the American Virus is keeping us safe.
THE AMERICAN VIRUS
I have been to a number of devout Muslim homes over the last few months. I don't mean the ones where the women are wearing just a headscarf as a tribute to their religion. No, they're so caught up in "Western" fashion (it's interesting to see the headscarf with a tight shirt and tight jeans) that they obviously aren't going to be bombing anyone or raising little bombers.
I mean the full-on, burqua-wearing, "can't be seen outside my house by a man" Muslims. Even these housholds are infected by the American Virus.
What is the American Virus? It is everything about the culture that people cross hundreds of miles of open water in a raft to get to. It is the freedom to do more or less what you want without a government official snatching you in the night. It is the hyper-availability of everything, all the time.
WHAT INFECTION LOOKS LIKE
In these devout Muslim households that I've visited, I've noticed that the children have been infected and have started to infect their parents.
There are 3 TVs blaring "Dora the Expolorer" while children on some sort of sugar high chase each other around with Light Sabers. The kids rooms are wallpapered in SpongeBob SquarePants / My Little Pony wallpaper and filled to the gills with Barbie and Transformers toys.
Their parents might not like parts of the culture (heck - *I* don't like large parts of the culture!), but they love the freedom. The love the junk. And they've been infected with the American Virus.
These are not people who are going to strap on a bomb tomorrow (even a "My Little Pony" bomb) and end it all.
So, feel free to worry a little less, America. More effective than anything Homeland Security can come up with, The American Virus is keeping us safe in our own country.
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Nov. 22, 2006
Thanksgiving Curriculum Contest!
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving with family and friends tomorrow!
As with everyone else, I'm sure, my blog will go dark for a number of days. But not to worry - I'll be back.
I'd like to run a contest, but I can't think of a prize at the moment. We'll get to that later.
The contest is for who has actually done (as opposed to seen or heard of) the best, most creating, most engaging Thanksgiving teaching. Tell us about what you did to teach your kids about the real story of Thanksgiving and you could win a fabulous prize!
I'm sure I'll figure out the prize soon. No, really! Perhaps a genuine box of tissues....
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Nov. 20, 2006
Debate Test: Your Take on Gay Marriage
I've seen folks of all stripes weighing in on Gay Marriage. And I've seen people of all political / moral leanings on every side of this issue.
Judging from the "Marriage Amendments" that 19 states have approved, It's obvious that the majority of the population of America isn't in favor of it. However, the predominant reasoning seems to be, effectively, "I don't like it, that's weird, they're a buncha freaks!"
So, being against gay marriage myself, what is my problem with this? My problem is that I'm not hearing much "reasoned debate" on this. On one side, "It's weird". On the other, "Homophobe! Hater!".
The result is, as soon as more people for whom gay marriage "feels okay" come of age, we will have gay marriage. And, given the attitudes of most teens / college students on this issue, it's just a matter of time.
So, here's my challenge: Can you, in a reasoned way, tell me why gay marriage is wrong? Assume that you're in Congress and you're speaking to a majority of non-Christians about the reasons why our society will benefit from not having gay marriage or, the converse, why society will fall apart (how could you tell?) with gay marriage.
Ready? Go!
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Nov. 17, 2006
Do You Want to be a Desperate Houswife?
I must be completely out of touch with society.
I mean, I knew I don't agree with most of society's values and mores, but I at least thought I knew what they were.
Recently, I've seen a spate of advertising involving Desperate Housewives and at least the implication that you, American Women, want to be a Desperate Housewife.
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES SHOP HERE
Just the title in itself (divorced, so to speak, from the show) doesn't say really good things, does it?
Does anyone want to be "desperate"?
The above title was on an antiques shop. I was tempted to check in and see if they actually got an increase in business.
If so, I'm going to rent out a store front, but some cheap junk, and put out a sign saying, "Idiotic Morons Buy Here!" Perhaps there's something to this...
SHOP LIKE A DESPERATE HOUSEWIFE
After all, if someone has such a negative view of themself as someone in a terrible, tempestuous marriage while pretending to be friends with their neighbors, who are trying to stab them in the back - perhaps these are people that are easy to sell this.
After someone comes into my "Idiotic Morons" store, they'll be met with an "associate" (we'll actually call them an "abuser") with a random piece of junk in their hands.
The abuser will tell the customer, "Buy this now, you moron, or I'll beat you over the head with it." Certainly, these already-cowed folks will buy whatever you present them with, right?
The above title was from a tourism ad for Palm Beach, Florida.
ARE YOU A DESPERATE HOUSEWIFE
These signs (and others I've seen) were repellant to me. I wouldn't go and buy anything from these places if they were paying me to do so.
What I'm wondering is if you consider yourself, on some level, to be a desperate housewife, and these ads are speaking to you.
Feel free to post anonymously to protect your reputation and the abusive follow-up posts (from me). But tell me where I'm missing the boat on this one! Please!
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Nov. 14, 2006
Are Women More Easily Led Astray?
My wife has always said that she's glad that she doesn't have my position. She doesn't want to be responsible before God for our entire family's behavior. She doesn't want that kind of pressure weighing on her.
Recently, she showed me a Bible Study book (by a famous Evangelical Christian authorette) that she and some ladies in the church were working through that I wanted to get your input on.
Basically what it said (and backed up with Scripture) was that, while men and women were equal before God (both having the Spirit and, hence, direct access to Him), He put men in a position of authority because women are more easily led astray.
It gave lots of examples, starting, of course, with Eve and going on and on and on throughout the Bible. The essence was that women are more often busy being, to put it into today's language, "in the moment" and, given a well-crafted "moment", are more liable to be led astray.*
In any case, this led me to two questions:
1) Do you think that this (women are more easily led astray) is true?
2) How does this affect what we teach our daughters as they grow up? Is there anything specific to this topic that you're teaching your daughters?
* DISCLAIMER: The fact that I put "women" in a subject of a message or that said message contains potential failings of women does not mean that I hate women, that men are perfect, or that men have no failings. Furthermore, there is no expressed or implied idea that women aren't Godly creatures, can't be good Christians, or aren't good Mothers. It is assumed that the sometimes abusive audience of this blog understands that both women and men are flawed, imperfect beings. It is also assumed that the readership of this blog believes that those flaws and imperfections are worth examining in the pursuit of becoming better, more Christ-like people.
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Nov. 13, 2006
This is Just Plain Cool
Nov. 8, 2006
Resist the Money!
Nov. 6, 2006
My Last Post on Voting
Okay - maybe it's my last post in voting for this election...
Anyway, since I'm the Confessor, I have a confession to make. When I posted about Why Women Shouldn't Vote, I was intentionally provoking you (a little).
If you care, let me explain the reason why I did it and, again assuming you care, let me tell you what I found.
And, true to me, this is apparently going to be a long post. You can just skip to the end for the conclusions BUT don't you dare post a comment about what a meanie I am without reading the supporting facts that make up the rest of the post.
THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT!
So, lately, I've been concerned about the post-modern (or, more accurately, the post-post-modern) direction that U.S. society / culture is taking. Even more disturbing is that much of the Church is following that downward slide.
If you've ever heard some Church try to explain away the Bible (Female leadership in the U.S. Anglican Church? Gay Bishops? Deciding that there really is no "sin" except not being true to yourself?), you've heard this in progress.
But how far has this come? How deeply has our culture penetrated the Church?
As you may or may not know, I consider you to be the best hope for our future. A group of people so fed up with the poor academic education and the excellent anti-Christian eduction that they are willing to go against the flow to fix the problem.
In other words, you are people willing to take a stand for Truth, regardless of what your surrounding society says. In my opinion, this is the nest from which the most promising cultural change agents will take flight.
So, I thought to myself, how different is the education these little birdies are getting from the rest of the culture? Hence, a post was born.
FIRST CATEGORY OF RESPONSE: OFFENDED!
Before I get into what I found, let me say that I know there were a lot of people who read my post and didn't comment. I can only base my findings on the response that I received.
The responses fit into two main categories. The first category of response was (predictably) one of offense. There is nothing wrong with that, incidentally, but let's look at why people were offended:
- I am a Sexist / Racist and the Women Cited are Morons - Keep in mind that, while provoking, I did so from a base of facts. An organization not kindly to conservatives determined why women didn't vote.
Well, the reasoning that came out of the survey was apparently more than some people could take. I was a very bad man for even citing it. And the women in that survey were just stupid.
- The Title is Offensive - And it would run women off and they wouldn't get to experience my gloriously offensive arguement.
Really? The title? Of all things to get excited about, you pick the title?
- My Tone Is Mean - Assuming that I'm just trying to get women to vote, I went on and beat up on you too much. I am, in other words, a big meanie.
- Yeah, well, Men are Just As Stupid! - I would be the last one to suggest that this isn't true, but what does this have to do with why women shouldn't vote? If anything, it should mean women should vote more.
Has anyone noticed a disappointing trend? Yes! You're exactly right! Every single arguement made is Post-Modern!
Whether it is attacking me or men or just saying I'm a big meanie for posting / citing / wording the way I did, nobody actually decided to take on the arguement made.
Nobody cited any contrary facts, nobody cited why my facts might be wrong, and nobody attempted to explain why it is that women don't vote much.
THE SECOND CATEGORY OF RESPONSE AND MY FOLLOWUP POST
Others who were not so offended that they couldn't think straight posted about their own voting experience. These posts were mostly in the vein of, "I do vote, but some of the issues are confusing / beyond me / uninteresting enough for me to understand, so I lean on my man to understand these issues."
Again, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, it inspired my second post, What is a Husband's Responsibility When Voting?
Keep in mind that this post was in direct response to the answers I was getting on the other post, if also slightly provocational. And, to this post, there was basically the same split of comments:
- Offense - For instance, how could I insult a woman's intelligence, the title was still mean, etc.
- In My House... - An interesting and educational look at how many people team up on an understanding of the issues to go vote.
Again, those offended were primarily emotional about what a bad, bad man I was and not what I had suggested.
THE SURPRISING AREAS OF SILENCE
Throughout all of this, I was waiting for someone to be offended about the actual facts. Namely:
- Women vote significantly less than men - That Scientology lady must be rolling over in her grave. All the fighting for the right of women to "be their own person" and vote, only to find that it's too much trouble.
- Women not voting for frivolous reasons - The reasons cited (not created) by me were pretty solid nationally. Women are too busy, they aren't interested enough, and they don't know when an election might happen.
- Maybe I'm a crackpot - In my research of this issue, I found enough contravening evidence that anyone could have cited. Perhaps the Women's League of Voters used a tiny sample to make big conclusions. Of course, if that were true, it might have hurt the "women should still vote" arguement.
- We've wasted an amendment - All of the work, lobbying, voting, and re-voting in order to get the 19th Amendment passed is lost a little more on every new generation of girls. If it ain't about lip gloss, they don't want to know about it.
Any of these areas could be patently offensive. I'm pretty offended at all of them. And yet, nobody attacked these wide-open areas. Instead, I was just a bad, bad man.
POSTMODERNISM AND THE CHURCH
For those who don't study such boring topics, Post-Modernism is the replacement of "the facts" with, more or less, "what feels good / right". Thus if a title of a miniscule, insigificant blog posting by an obvious blowhard offends you, you should skip actually reading it and post about how offended you are.
And if you feel like a law was meant for a different situation than yours, you don't need to obey that law. Heck - it's those other people that it was created for - go get them. They're probably doing something wrong right now, anyway.
And if you feel like something in Scripture is just there as a lark and meant for a different people and/or a different culture and/or a different time, you don't really need to consider that "Scripture". Just do your own thing.
And, frankly, I haven't seen God down here cooking, cleaning, educating kids, and trying to make a husband happy, have you? So, really it is more important to you have some "you time" and recharge than worrying about God. Heck - He (or She) knows how hard you work and wouldn't want you to get too stressed out.
Welcome to the theology of the 2000s.
THE IMPACT ON YOUR FAMILIES
So, why am I going to so very, very long?
Because this has a direct impact on your kids.
If your kids are unable to take a fallacious arguement based more on emotion than fact and rip it to shreds, they will have major problems not falling into the habits of a post-modern society.
The devil is a very smart guy. He approached Jesus with Scripture (which is Truth) and slightly mis-applied it. But, to those who don't know Scripture, his arguements might sound good. And he will approach your kids the same way.
The most successful con artists are the ones that follow the example of the devil. Take some verifiable facts, mix in some base emotion (greed is most common, but others like revenge, feeling good about yourself, and recognition work, too), and take whatever you want from people.
Not coincidentally, this is what politicians on all sides do every election season. They tell half-stories based on truth to get you to either vote for them or at least drive enough doubt and/or confusion into your head so that you don't vote for his opponent.
So, are you going to vote tomorrow? Or is it too much trouble?
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Nov. 2, 2006
What is a Husband's Responsibility When Voting?
Some of you have noticed that I've been talking a little bit about Why Women Shouldn't Vote.
And by that, of course, I mean "shouldn't be allowed to vote" since they pretty much don't anyway....
During that calm and reasoned discussion, a point has come up that I wanted to discuss separately.
Many of the (female) respondants have noted (and I have seen this with our friends, too) that they don't understand many of the issues involved or just don't know why one candidate is better than another, so they rely on their husbands to tell them.
My wife does this, too. She'll ask me who / what to vote for and then will (usually) make it to vote. She freely admits that she probably wouldn't vote if she weren't married to me.
SO - WHAT SHOULD THE HUSBANDS DO?
While all of this serves to make the 19th Amendment useless, we saw the need to tack it onto the Constitution and, unfortunately, it isn't likely to be undone.
So, that being said, what is the God-honoring thing for us husbands to do? Here are the options that we have that I could come up with.
1) Explain the "straight ticket" vote, tell her to pick R or D, and send her on her way.
2) Just tell the wife how to vote, drive her to the polling place, and point her in the direction of a voting booth.
3) Explain the main differences in the candidates and let her make her own decisions. Obviously this would be biased towards the husband's views, but I'm assuming that she knows this going in.
4) Have several sessions between now and voting day (That's November 7th - Next Tuesday, by the way) explaining the issues and the different sides involved. Then explain where each set of candidates stands on those issues.
5) Let her sit at home and cackle gleefully knowing that his vote will count for another person.
What happens in your house? What should happen?
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Oct. 30, 2006
Is Stem-Cell Research Illegal?
Let's admit here, first of all, that I'm weird. I like to find these odd issues to ask my friends about. Okay, I'll ask just about anyone...
I like to see what "typical, everyday people" think / know about certain topics. Pick a wierd topic. Joseph McCarthy. Ken Lay. Living on One Salary. Teacher's Unions.
Well, recently the topic is Stem-Cell research. Probably because of the Michael J. Fox ad for a Missouri politician.
The question is, "What, relating to stem-cell research, is legal in the United States?" Most of the answers have been "nothing". In other words, people think that stem-cell research is illegal in the U.S.
The reality is that President Bush is the first president that has provided some government funding for stem cell research, but eliminated any government spending on any new stem cell lines.
In other words, researchers are free to spend their own money on anything related to stem-cell research that they want to. And how much are they spending?
Check here for the answers. They may surprise you.
They certainly surprised folks I've talked with.
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Oct. 24, 2006
Illegal Heavy-Handedness
Can someone tell me why school districts do this?
Drugs, School Shootings, Poor Attendance Rates, Poor Test Scores, and all they can think about is mimicking the thugs in their schools?
Ridiculous!
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