That explains it.

I found the following article on The Local--Swedish news written in English. I lived in Sweden for 5 1/2 years and found the attitude toward SAHM downright aggressive. I was constantly pressured to put my children in full-time daycare so they could be properly socialized.

Anyhow, I find it disturbing that managing a household is not considered work and now it is a legal opinion.

http://www.thelocal.se/23670/20091205/

That is one of the reasons I struggle with the steady trend toward socialism of our country. It really increases the pressure for women to work outside the home. There are a host of reasons that this is so. Sweden prides itself on its stance of equality for the sexes. In the 70's they changed the taxation system dramatically to push more women into the workforce. And it ceases to become a choice. I think women should work outside if they home if they want to, but never be forced by the government and social pressure.

Texting, Facebook, Twitter-- do you understand me?

I think you'll enjoy this fascinating article from the Wall Street Journal:

Why Gen-Y Johnny Can't Read Nonverbal Cues

All the more reason to keep talking at the dinner table. My teenage boys don't have texting on their phones but I do find it useful in communicating with the Young Women in our ward. Texting is a useful tool but it seems to have gotten out of balance so quickly. What can we as parents do to ensure that our children still learn interpersonal communication skills?

you know what they say about the difference between men and boys

I'm kind of surprised none of my BILs has tried this.

Yet.

"We probably don't kill a lot more animals with the camo vehicles, but we sure do feel a lot better while we're doing it," Linam says. "We feel the part a whole lot more. It's like you women are with your shoes. You have to have the right shoe for the right environment, so you can feel good about what you're doing. It's the same thing about us hunters."

Kudos to Tom

I'm not a huge fan of Hollywood, but I do have a couple of favorites. One of them let me down big time last week by saying something completely ignorant about people of my faith. (By the way, I thought the church's response was right on).

This week he apologized. I have great respect for people who are BIG enough to apologize when they are *wrong. People who do so publicly earn even more points with me.

Nicely done.

Last week, I labeled members of the Mormon church who supported California's Proposition 8 as "un-American." I believe Proposition 8 is counter to the promise of our Constitution; it is codified discrimination. But everyone has a right to vote their conscience – nothing could be more American. To say members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who contributed to Proposition 8 are "un-American" creates more division when the time calls for respectful disagreement. No one should use "un- American" lightly or in haste. I did. I should not have.
Sincerely,
Tom Hanks.

*Wrong not because of his opinion, but for not allowing people to have an opinion different than his. His apology indicates he knows how to agree to disagree. I with there were more of that in this world, particularly over this extremely divisive issue.

WHAT!?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/washington/22scotus.html

Now I'm all for free speech, really I am, but I do not understand this. Is there more to the story that I don't know? I know it's a difficult place to tread -- protection of children vs. freedom of speech, but do we allow the Man/Boy Love Association to publish child pornography because that's "Just who they are"?

Ack.

miracles, understatement and, well, the Hudson

By now everyone has heard about The Miracle on The Hudson, but of all the news stories I've seen, I liked this on best because it contains three of my favorite things: a miracle, understatement and, well, a funny comment about *the Hudson.

Sheikh Ali was waiting at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport for Matt Kane, a co-worker aboard Flight 1549, and did not know why it was late.

So Mr. Ali sent an e-mail message from his BlackBerry: “Where are you?”

Mr. Kane’s five-word response told the whole story: “I landed in the Hudson.”--James Barron of The New York Times

Note he said in the Hudson and not on it. The whole story is quite remarkable. And it's always nice to hear some good news...






*One of my favorite lines in the movie National Treasure is when Nicholas Cage's character disappears into the Hudson River and someone asks agent Dawes if she has visual contact with the suspect and she simply replies, "Sir, it's the Hudson." Another news article reported that diving crews who are searching for the plane's two engines in order to determine what happened will actually have to search by hand, not by site. The engines are believed to be buried in deep sediment that is characteristic of the murky river.

thank heavens for women's rights

Because life is better now for those poor pretty faces charged with the impossible task of hawking cars at the annual North American International Auto Show.

Apparently you've come a long way baby from the days of mermaid suits and tiger bites (OK, it was a lion, but tiger bites sound so much worse). But what does this say about people who still need just another pretty face to rev up interest in new cars people won't buy anyway?

I guess I thought (hoped) we were a little more evolved than that.

Porn Industry Seeks Federal Bailout

Oh yes they did. Right here.

Dear Ellen...huh?

I just stepped downstairs to gather up the dirty dishes from the family room and Ellen was opening her show with what apparently is a continuation of something she calls "George Clooney is mine in '09."

And I have to ask, huh?

I mean the Rosie/Tom thing was possibly a little bit plausible to the world (not so much to me because I really don't see the attraction. In fact when it comes to TomKat I honestly find Katie the more appealing of the two) because at least it was staged before Rosie came out.

But Ellen has been out for ages and she just got married.

So what's her obsession w/ George?

Is she trying to land an interview?

I hear Ellen is the heir apparent for Oprah. Maybe she's hoping she can get George to jump on her sofa.

Or something.

Did you hear about this story?

Maybe it's not a story worthy of debate and discussion, but I had an emotional response and this seemed like a good place to put it.

What if Mormons are right and Catholics and Protestants wrong?

that's the title of a fascinating article in the Belfast Telegraph discussing biblical and traditional defenses for baptism of the dead.

An interesting read.

Indian Givers?

I'm sure you've seen this story, because it's one of CNN's top headlines right now.   But, I wanted to know your thoughts on this:  should Native American tribes have a say in these adoption cases?

 

Please know that this is not an isolated case.  I know another family who lost their adopted son after a year for the same reason.  I also have a sister, whose husband is a member of a Native American tribe-- they have had potential adoptions fall through twice (toddler age children in foster care) because the tribe fought on behalf of the incarcerated father to let them keep the children in foster care rather than put them up for adoption.  Even though the potential adoptive father is 1/4 Native American.

Is this a well-meaning, but actually harmful law, or do think there is sound reasoning behind it?

A Chapter Closed

I don't know the ages and stages of all y'all, but there are three news events that absolutely shaped my childhood: The McMartin Preschool Scandal; The Night Stalker; and the kidnapping of Adam Walsh.

And, after more than two decades, the latter has reached a close. Thank Heavens for small mercies. This family has waited and waited for closure, all the while making things better for kids every step of the way. Milk cartons with missing kids? The Walsh family. America's Most Wanted? Walsh family. Centralized missing persons databases? Walsh family again. There would be no Amber Alerts, no Polly Klass legislation, no Megan's Law without the pioneering done by this amazing family that has undergone the worst thing that I can imagine. I am a huge fan of them.

I am just a year younger than Adam Walsh, and vividly remember when he was kidnapped and killed. At five years old I heard the story and started living my childhood with a little more fear. Which was compounded a few years later by the other two happenings on my list.

What news events shaped you?

I tried to post this in the comments of the last post and it didn't work. So here you go. This was timely and no matter what may or may not happen, it's always nice to be able to do something for someone else. Particularly this time of year.

sobering thoughts for a grasshopper like me

Because of recent and very specific counsel from my stake and ward leaders I have been pondering (and fine, I'll say it, having fears about) the future. "If ye are prepared we shall not fear." I know. But the truth is I'm not prepared. We're trying. We've been trying. But we're not prepared.

As I've watched our economy tank and been shocked and saddened by how we seemed to take everyone else's financial markets down with us, I can't help but worry about the future. As I witness the number of layoffs skyrocket (in my work I see evidence of bankruptcy and drastic budget cutbacks by companies across the nation on a daily basis) I feel on edge--because I realize it doesn't take very long for people to become desperate and I know what desperate people are sometimes become capable of.

Six months ago if I would have read this or this (shared via Google Reader by the very intelligent and thoughtful Geo of On Bright Street), I wouldn't even have considered the possibilities. But given recent events and recent statements by my very own church leaders, now I can't help but consider the possibilities.

And they are sobering.

I'm interested in your thoughts.

What would Keynes have done?

I try to avoid the financial pages--far too depressing. But I am trying to wrap my head around this financial disaster in order to prepare myself for the worst. I found this article from the NYT quite interesting.

The situation reverses, Keynesian theory says, only when some event or policy increases aggregate demand. The problem right now is that it is hard to see where that demand might come from.--N. Gregory Mankiw

“In the long run we are all dead,” --Keynes

melamine in US infant formulas

Here's the skinny: Melamine, that chemical that killed babies in China and dogs in the US, has now been found in US formulas. Not in amounts as high as in China, but in amounts higher than should be found if it were simply from processing. I got my information from this and this article. Enfamil, Similac and Nestle are the three brands that report finding it.

The problem is, the FDA had previously said no amount of melamine was safe. And now, without conducting any tests, they have decided that a certain small amount of it is safe.

How do they know?

And, would I be foolish to continue to feed our son formula? Is it worth the risk?

Family...it's about survival

I saw this Wiki How-to on my iGoogle the other day and thought it might be timely. You know, just in case you might be spending time with family over the holidays...

Warning:

* This is not a replacement for seeking help from a qualified mental health expert.

How to stay in the black for Black Friday (and the rest of the holidays)

A co-worker sent me a link to 101 ways to trim your budget along with your tree this holiday season.

Good luck and Happy Holidays!

This disturbs me

http://www.kptv.com/news/17951905/detail.html

Sorry, I'm not adept at posting links. Anyhow, the gist of the story is that a family went to visit grandparents and were sleeping in one room. The baby fell through the floorboards and was missing. The police were called in and they found the baby, safe and sound, although dirty from being trapped between the floorboards.

Social services removed the three children from the home of the grandparents and then the parents' home because both were too dirty.

Should Social Services remove children from dirty homes? Does that constitute abuse and neglect if the children are fed, clothed and loved?

Frankly, I feel torn. On one hand, I don't want children to suffer abuse or be neglected. In those cases, I support the decision of social workers to remove children from dangerous situations. But I have to question the wisdom of removing kids from a dirty home. Heaven knows, my home is not always clean. Does that mean I'm neglecting my kids and do I have reason to fear that my children will be taken from me? I'm concerned that Social Services has too much power and that there isn't a counterpoint or balance to their decisions. And its hard to trust that they are actually doing a good job when you read of kids dying because of abuse and neglect and then other children who aren't being abused but are removed from their homes.

What do you think?