Time magazine has an article about overprotective parents. The Title is appropriate:
The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
Fair enough.
My problem is how the article is framed:
…we just wanted what was best for our kids. We bought macrobiotic cupcakes and hypoallergenic socks, hired tutors to correct a 5-year-old’s “pencil-holding deficiency,” … We hovered over every school, playground […]

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Salt and Pepper: Religion and Public Education
The Cheatham County Tennessee School District is being sued by four students who are protesting the District’s position that allows, and apparently encourages, religious activities in the district’s schools. According to an article in the Tennessean:
The lawsuit alleges: a planned prayer took place at graduation last spring; the Gideons […]

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I live in a housing village on Fort Hood.  On November 4th, at approximately 1:30 PM, the emergency alarms went off.  I was expecting to hear that this was a test of the “Emergency Alert System.”  Instead, I heard, “Attention.  Seek shelter immediately.  Close all doors and windows.  Turn off all ventilation systems.  Seek shelter […]

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Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, is being promoted to, what amounts to, full citizen of the United States of America for purposes of standing trial, in civilian court, for his war crimes.  He’ll get all the rights and privileges afforded citizens, and even just residents living under the laws of our […]

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I was going to get back to pontificating on what I believe this week, but have been so angered by the media coverage of the Islamic terrorist attack on Fort Hood that I felt the need to speak on this top.
First, and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and the families […]

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The NYTimes has an article on “violence” at Fort Hood. At Army Base Some Violence is All To Familiar” the headlines cry.
Yes, one more “Ain’t it awful” report on how violent veterans are, without mentioning that the “violent crime” rate is still lower than that of Chicago.
The problems of violence on military bases is not […]

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Wow! Another reality show and one that we get to see mother/daughter duos in action. This show Dallas Divas and Daughters airs every Sunday evening at 8pm EST on the Style Network. During this half-hour, we get a glimpse into the lives of five sets of mothers/daughters who live in Dallas, Texas and are considered […]

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Would Jesus pack heat?
An easy question you say, since Jesus told his followers to “turn the other cheek”, and this quote is often quoted by those opposing all war or violence of any sort…mainly by those living in safe suburbs and working in tenured academic jobs.
Yet this article states that some pastors in the Detroit […]

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October 14th. The big chill was early, even for Albany. A press conference was being held in the park across from the New York Court of Appeals. The highest court in the state was set to hear Goldstein et al v. New York State Urban Development Corporation. The press conference speakers and their supporters were […]

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The Levity Project is a social movement with the mission of shifting the paradigm of negativity, stress, and pessimism in our society to one of play, laughter and celebration.Our vision is to create a society that is joyful and buoyant.To do this, The Levity Project engages in public acts of levity for the purpose of […]

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Missouri has responded effectively to cyber bullying via web sites and text messaging; has your state?
After the Lori Drew case in Missouri, in which a MySpace account was used to bully 13-year old Megan Meier, who committed suicide, Missouri legislators passed laws criminalizing cyber-bullying, harassment and abuse, and schools created zero-tolerance policies.  School authorities and […]

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San Jose, CA-  Four San Jose police officers are on paid leave for the beating and tasing of an unarmed Vietnamese man. Officers Kenneth Seigel, Steven Payne Jr., Jerome Smith, and Gabriel Reyes were involved in a brutality incident against 20 year old student Phuong Ho, all of which was caught on cell phone video […]

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Ah, a British paper just pooh poohed the British victory at the Battle of Agincourt, saying that Prince Hal was not outnumbered 4 to 1, merely outnumbered 2 to 1.
Actually, the author misses the point, which is that the elite knights of France got slowed down by the mud and were massacred by ordinary British […]

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November 3, 2009 is a vitally important day in American politics — its the day the voters in New York’s 23rd Congressional district will decide between three candidates vying to replace Congressman John McHugh who was tagged to become the new Secretary of the Army in the Obama Pentagon. Why is this election so important? […]

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Between all the stories of terror, selfishness, and violence, we sometimes need to read about a person who just tries to help in a small way.
So in today’s Atlanta Journal Constitution, there is a story about a retired woman, Margaret Freeman,  who helps children thrown away by their parents.
Those who are still alive, she helps […]

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I like most people knew virtually nothing about the Bounty Hunting business until I met one. While in Phoenix I met an Ex bounty hunter, he was working as the fix it man and security in a dive bar. His fix it skills might have left a few things to be desired, but there was […]

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The legislation California Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law recently is widely known to restrict the actions of paparazzi and penalize the organizations that purchase photos taken illegally.
But what is less understood is the strong language the California Legislature used in the wording of the bill. The following are quotes from the text of the new […]

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Zachary Christie, A six y/o “A” student at John R. Downes Elementary School in Delaware, brought his favorite Cub Scout camping utensil (a combination knife, fork and spoon) to school to eat lunch with it — he eats all his meals at home with it and saw no problem with taking it to school.That […]

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Well, another week and more news on the Peer Abuse front. This week, its great news and involves someone finally taking a group of bullies by the horns.
In California, there is a serious problem with the paparazzi who try and do what they can to get photos of celebrities without their consent. When I say […]

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She was the first to arrive, suitably attired in a fetching little number created by a famous designer in 1925; and was the last to leave. And why not? It was her 100th birthday celebration and she was enjoying the moment. Music, a play, champagne, and cake. It was all there, and all in her […]

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One of the more bizarre headlines in the news is a report that two people died in a “sweat lodge” and quite a few more people who were there required hospital treatment.
Any physician hearing of this will suspect the deaths were from one of two causes: One carbon monoxide (which reportedly has been ruled out) […]

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As anybody who spends time muckraking can tell you, pursuing stories about political corruption can take you to some passing strange places. Particularly in New Jersey…
In July the FBI bagged a passel of Jersey pols on corruption charges. Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini was among the indicted. An intriguing rumor about Beldini surfaced […]

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As reported in the Huffington Post, to focus attention on National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week, Disney star Demi Lovato has gone public.  She was bullied so much in school that she and her parents chose to do home schooling rather than face the bullies at school.  Her story follows Miley Cyrus telling of being bullied, […]

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I was delighted to hear that Mother Angelica and Deacon Bill Steltemeier have been awarded a medal by the Vatican. She deserves it. Mother Angelica is the founder of EWTN, a Catholic network that is found on many cable systems all over the world.
On the surface it sounds like a proper award.

But her story […]

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Using a slight of hand and having his propaganda mill obscure what has been done, the Democrats and the Obama administration are planning to fund abortion in their health care bill.
The original “compromise” on abortion was a slight of hand that would force people to pay for abortion coverage themselves, similar to the way you […]

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Rep. Dexter, I had a high school math teacher who would occasionally tell a student he was being “stupid”, but he was always quick to remind us that the word actually means ‘intellectually lazy” and merely represented a temporary state of being.
I really hope your position on payday loans is just because you are stupid, […]

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Dr. Diep Le is fixing teeth in Quang Tri province.
Ho hum, another do gooder article, let’s all look away to the good stuff: blood and guts and political mudslinging.
But hold it a second. There is a lot more to the story.

Not only is Major Le an American born in Viet Nam, but she is working […]

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Abbie Hoffman, Yippie Emeritus, died 20 years ago. He was master of the culture jam before the term was coined, whacking the establishment with its own wack.
Quoting Wikipedia: “Culture jamming sometimes entails transforming mass media to produce ironic or satirical commentary about itself, using the original medium’s communication method.”
Hello, ACORN? Can I come […]

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South Carolina is in the news a lot these days. As the story broke earlier in the summer about Governor Mark Sanford and his mistress from Argentina, we seem to have more than our share of national publicity. If the Sanford story is not enough to keep people busy, we now have another story break […]

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This week I wanted to do something a little different. Even though this event occurred many years ago, the name and event remains the same. Also, I doubt this aspect has been discussed at any great length. This event occurred before I was born and before many today were born. It even occurred before Charles […]

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