Waiting for a Ruling

While we wait for the Supreme Court to render their ruling on Obamacare, let's take a moment to discuss a fantastic legal organization.  The ACLJ's mission is to protect religious and constitutional freedoms:

Founded in 1990 with the mandate to protect religious and constitutional freedoms, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) engages legal, legislative, and cultural issues by implementing an effective strategy of advocacy, education, and litigation that includes representing clients before the Supreme Court of the United States and international tribunals around the globe. 

Today the ACLJ celebrates Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow's first Supreme Court win 25 years ago.  Since then, there have been many victories.

Take a minute and look at their website.  Consider joining their email list. You can get updates on Pro-life/Abortion, Israel & the Middle East, Freedom of Speech, Religious Freedom, Radical Islam & National Security, Marriage & Family Values.

Also, depending on where you live, you might be able to catch Jay Sekulow on the radio.  You can also listen through their website.  More than once has he taken a call about homeschool issues and referred to cases they are currently litigating.

Go visit their site.  You will not be disappointed - unless you're a raving liberal, in which case, read some and get educated.

~ G

Talk About Spin!

Excuses, excuses, excuses.  

~ G

I Smell Spin

Secretary of Commerce John Bryson was allegedly involved in two hit-and-runs over the weekend.  In the first one, he crashed into the car in front of him, got out and talked with the three men in the car he hit, then fled the scene without giving any information - hitting their car again as he escaped.  Read about it here.

He then proceeded to hit another car.  He then passed out.  Had he not needed hospitalization at that point, he would have been arrested.

The story coming from the Department of Commerce is that Bryson suffered a seizure, which caused the crash.

While that might be, I find it difficult to believe he could exit his vehicle, have a conversation with the men whose vehicle he hit, and then manage to flee the scene.  This does not sound like a seizure.  This sounds like a character flaw.

Do we need to discuss character flaws in the Obama Administration?

Didn't think so.

~ G

US Commerce Secretary Charged

The US Commerce Secretary allegedly committed several hit and run crashes in Los Angeles on Saturday.

"He was cited for felony hit and run but was not booked into jail because he had been admitted to the hospital. His condition was not known."

Take a look at the article.  

I feel confused, bewildered.  This does not corroborate with what we assume about Democrats and Republicans.  Why would the Democrat Commerce Secretary John Bryson, who apparently is a "fierce proponent of alternative energy" commit crimes in a gas-guzzler and fail to stay at the scene?  

I thought only Republicans were supposed to be utterly callous and convinced of their holier-than-thou status.

We hope Secretary Bryson has a full recovery.

And can be booked.

~ G

Create Your Own Caption!

Doesn't it look as if he might be about to say, "Meh, I fouled it up."

Have a better caption?  Post it below.

~ G

This Is Why We Have Mommy Wars

I was at a function the other day and sat next to a mother who works full time outside the home.  As we were chatting, she shared this nugget:

"When my kids were younger, I scheduled a camp every single week during the summer for them.  My husband was home, but I couldn't imagine expecting him to do the childcare."

Did you catch that?  The childcare.  

I just stared at her.  She obviously thought she insulted me and proceeded to give me the full palm "stop"  hand gesture and rushed to say, "I completely respect what you do and know you do the most important job, I just couldn't do it."

Now, here's the thing.  She did not insult me.  She stunned me, but did not insult me.

My first gut-emotion when she called being home with the kids "childcare" was sadness.  I feel desperately sad for her and her children.  First, those kids do not get to lay around and rest during the summer.  They go-go-go through the school year and then hit the summer, only to go-go-go some more.  When do they rest?  When do they have a chance to get bored and learn to expand their imaginations?  When do they get to just "be?"  It is hard to "be" when you have a constant schedule.  When do they get to sleep as long as they want?  When do they get to set up a tent in the backyard or stay up all night with a flashlight and a book?  When do they have... summer?

Mostly, I feel sad that this woman honestly does not know the joy of sitting around with her kids and just "being."  Has she ever sat on the couch with the kids and laughed at Spongebob for a couple hours?  That's kinda hard when you're working 60+ hours a week and have the kids in camps all summer.  Does she know the deep satisfaction of a child curling up in her lap and not having to be anywhere but in that moment - for as long as that moment might last?  Has she ever gotten up in the middle of the night with a sick child and been thankful to God that she did not have to be anywhere in the morning, but could nurse her sick one through the night?

As she talked and backpedaled, I added up how much all those camps cost for a couple kids.  They probably spend several thousand dollars by the end of the summer.  Even if I wanted to put my kids in a camp each week, we just do not have the money.

We are a one-income household.  My husband works full time, but I am not bringing in any money.  Being home is not a simple "luxury."  It is a sacrifice.  Our cars are 8 years old.  I do not have a lot of new clothes.  My kids do not have multiple pairs of shoes.  We live on a budget that requires me to cook from scratch for most meals.  

Whether a woman chooses to work outside the home or not is immaterial to me.  How she chooses to view either side of the equation is.  What struck me most was her use of the word "childcare."  When I spoke with my husband about the encounter, he responded with "doesn't she mean child-raising?"

The Mommy Wars do not continue to rage because women have to work, but because some women refuse to see that raising one's own children is not a lesser-than activity.  The mindset that spending time with the kids, getting creative in how to spend that time, is not menial work for the under-educated, but noble work.  Her Freudian Slip gave me a glimpse into her mindset that made me feel sad for her and her kids.  

And she thought she insulted me.

~ G