Jonah Goldberg’s column today is worth your time. He writes about the little-noticed (at least here on the western shore of the Chesapeake) resolution passed last week by the lower house of the Russian parliament, declaring that Stalin’s deliberate starvation of millions of Ukrainians in the early 1930s wasn’t genocide. The sensitive and [...]
Unlike a lot of these movies, I have no fond memories of Megaforce as a little kid that could possibly be smashed by my blurry memories of faux-military sweetness. I’ve been through this a million times with TV shows, movies and cartoons that I thought were the shit when I was a kid only [...]
A reader e-mailed this story to me, and even if it took me awhile to get it posted, I could not help but do so. It seems that a former pastor in Northumberland County, Rev. Raymond Clayton, has admitted to an interesting case of identity theft. Specifically, he used his parishioners' identities to obtain credit cards. He plead guilty to fraud in federal court and will be sentenced in June.I realize that Jesus needs huge sums of money, but this story seems to be yet another piece of evidence to support the possibility that con artists are overrepresented among clergy. I've said it before and will keep repeating it: the sort of blind faith religion demands makes people more susceptible to many forms of exploitation by those who cloak themselves in religion.Tags: Northumberland County, Rev. R
I got this inspiring story from our church's supplement. I would have asked permission from the author for reprinting but the author is unknown.Here is the story. I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) mad have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being has been graced with. Her last project of the term was called "Smile." The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reaction. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say, hello, anyway... so I thought, this would be a piece of cake, literally. Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son and I went out to McDonald's. it was ju
Vamos a hacer brotar la adrenalina con los maestros de AC/DC y como es costumbre por aquí con un tema con los vocales de Bon Scott.En el año 1976 los australianos editan el disco Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap en sus dos versiones, primero editan la edición para Australia en Setiembre y en Noviembre la versión internacional, salvo en Estados Unidos en donde no fué lanzado hasta 1981.No hay mucho para explicar una letra clara, concisa sin muchos dobles sentidos... en realidad iba a poner otro temazo de ellos pero al final elegí este... va dedicado para vos... sí para vos, pedazo de cara de ojete que expendés unos boletos de mierda en una boletería de ómnibus en La Plata, y sos tan cagón y tan cara cagada que te hacés el piola insultando a la gente escondido atrás de un vidrio blin
American Rights at Work is running a great poll: Vote for [Secretary of Labor] Elaine Chao's Dirtiest Deeds. Chao has developed a well-deserved reputation of being incredibly harmful to the rights of workers in the United States.
Here are the three that I chose:
Overtime: Supported policies that would cut 8 million workers' overtime pay.
Against Workers' Rights: Actively campaigned against the Employee Free Choice Act – bipartisan legislation that restores the rights of workers to freely and fairly form unions.
Safety: Refused to enforce rules requiring employers to pay for safety gear – contributing to 400,000 workers injured and 50 dead.
A reader sent me this bizarre story out of Pittsburgh that fits perfectly with my ongoing "know them by their deeds series" when one considers how eager many Christians are to play morality police. It seems that a local Christian youth group has been putting on skits in which teenage boys exchange their clothes for adult diapers, bibs, and bonnets. Have we learned nothing from the Catholic Church?According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, such a skit occurred during the Nov. 29 meeting of the Mt. Lebanon Young Life club, directed by youth minister O.J. Wandrisco. The mother of one 14-year-old boy contacted the Mt. Lebanon Police Department and the principal of the local school with her concerns, after which she and her son filed a formal complaint.Ms. Metz said at the Nov. 29 Young Life meeting, after her son and two other boys were selected to take part in the skit, they were taken to a rest room by an older teen and given adult diapers, bibs and bonnets and directed to take their clot
Nobody is suggesting that all religious people are violent, intolerant, racist, bigoted, contemptuous of women and so on. It would be absurd to suggest such a thing: just as absurd as to generalize about all atheists. I am not even concerned with statistical generalizations about the majority of religious people (or atheists). My concern here is over whether there is any general reason why religion might be more or less likely to bias individuals towards all those unpleasant things in Christopher Hitchens's list: to make them more likely to exhibit them than they would have been without religion. I think the answer is yes.
Religion changes, for people, the definition of good. Atheists and humanists tend to define good and bad deeds in terms of the welfare and suffering of others. Murder, torture, and cruelty are bad because they cause people to suffer. Most religious people think them bad, too, but some religions (for example the religion of the Taliban) sanction all of them under so
In the following press release it was announced that Investigators from the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Unit arrested Kayla Stewart, 47, Lisha Lee, 36, and Valerie Nabors, 26, at the First American Title Office at 303 West Court Street in San Bernardino when they forged the signature of a 72-year-old female victim on a Grant Deed using a fictitious Louisiana driver’s license. The elderly victim resides in Georgia and owns a home on the 1500 block of West Flores Street in San Bernardino that she was trying to sell. When the victim’s son was listing her property for sale, he discovered that her property had been fraudulently transferred to a female subject with no connection to the victim’s family. The forged deed had been filed and recorded at the San Bernardino County Recorder’s Office and the suspects were attempting to refinance the property for $160,000 through First American Title Company in Santa Cruz, Ca
The number of foreclosure deeds in Massachusetts so far this year has nearly tripled when compared to the same time period last year, according to the latest figures from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.Meanwhile, more petitions to foreclose were filed in Massachusetts during the first three quarters of 2007 than during all of 2006, The Warren Group said today.Through October of this year, there were 6,324 foreclosure deeds in Massachusetts, compared to 2,112 at the end of October 2006. There were just 2,634 foreclosure deeds in the state for all of 2006.
Investors interested in an income generating alternative investment may want to consider adding real estate trust deeds to your investment portfolio. Diamond Bay Investments, Inc. based out of Las Vegas NV is an example of a company that provides services for trust deed investors. They offer high yield investments in which you could receive 12% or higher returns per year.
As in most cases, the investments are only available to the residents of the state in which the company is licensed to do business in. Currently, DBI’s trust deeds investment are only being offered to investors in the state of Nevada. The information is being provided here as an example for those who want to seek out similar companies that offer trust deed investments available in their state or location.
What is a trust deed?
“A Trust Deed, known as a “deed of trust” is a document recorded against a specific property or group of properties with the county recorder’s office, encumbering the
I live in a state that is very unique. Half of the state has deeds of trusts, the others have mortgages. There are only a handful of states that use mortgages and the majority use the deed of trust. The major difference lies after a person defaults. With a mortgage, the laws are different and the owner can buy back the home after the auction for the default has occurred. While in a deed of trust the sale is the final piece to the house selling, which is why most states use it. I know that most people don't have to worry about the difference, but in states where both are used, which there are a few, it is important to know whether it is a mortgage or a deed of trust that a person is getting when they purchase a home.
You are a 22-year-old conservatively-dressed female college student, strolling across campus on your way to class. Suddenly, a street preacher who has harassed you previously charges you, cocking his fist, and swinging it to stop inches from your face. He then calls you a whore.Such is the case described by Amy Mariani in The Oracle, the University of South Florida's school paper. The student described in this incident has filed assault charges against preacher, John M. Kranert, a regular fixture on campus.As vile as this incident sounds, it appears to be nothing new for Kranert.She [the student] said Kranert demeaned her on prior occasions by saying, "I can tell you've been with every man on campus by the way you stand," and asking if she got her name from Black Entertainment Television because of her caramel complexion. He didn't know her name, nor did he ask, suggesting the question was purely racist at its roots, according to the Oracle.Is Kranert merely exercising his right to
By: {Leon} Do people understand me, I hear you ask yourself. Who really understands you! is it your mother your best friend your partner or child. Who really understands you!
Firstly do you really understand who you are? For how can anyone else start to understand you if you can not understand yourself, who are you!
I ask you to take ownership for all you have done within this world,whether it be good or bad, take ownership!
Surely what you own is part of you and a greater understanding will follow if you own something fully and take responsibility for it.
As an animal takes responsibility for it's off spring once it is born, you must take responsibility for who you are.
In nature if the animals off spring is healthy and fit it will nurture it until it can look after its self, if the young animal is weak or malformed it's mother will abandon it, as it is not going to grow to be as perfect as it's mother.
I ask you to take ownership of the good things that you have done in this
(10) Pray 2 Rakahs (Salatul Duha) anytime after sunrise and before Dhuhr. Abu Huraish (RA) - said, “My Khaleel - Allah’s Messenger sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - advised me to do three things (1) That I fast 3 days of each month and (2) To pray 2 rakahs of Duha and (3) That I do my witr before sleeping.” - Bukhari and Muslim
(9) Pray for Rasul Allah - sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam He - sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - said, “Whoever prays for me once,Allah blesses that person 10 times (because of that prayer).” - Muslim
(8) Repeat what the Mu’adhdhin is saying Abdullah ibn Amr narrates: a man said, “O Messenger of Allah, the ones That call the people to prayer receive more reward than us.” So Allah’s Messenger - sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - replied, “Say what they say, then when you finish pray for anything and you shall be given it.” - Abu Dawood
(7) Say ‘Subhan Allah - How far Allah is from imperfection!’ 100
Heyward Hickman, described as "a respected church leader" and senior warden at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Cayce, SC, has been charged with sexually molesting two young brothers (8 and 11) "more than 100 times each."The church must be traumatized. Their reaction?All Saints held a brief prayer service Thursday night. The vestry attended and determined that there are no allegations against Hickman pertaining to the church, Retzlaff said.“If the charges are true, obviously we grieve for the victims and do what a Christian community does,” he said. “Work on healing, on repentance, on forgiveness.”
In the following press release Wayne County officials, Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy, Sheriff Warren Evans and Register of Deeds Bernard J. Youngblood announced charges today (9/24/07) against Nelson Sumpter, 42, of Pittsfield Township, Omar Sumpter, 35 of Sterling Heights and Paul Rhoads, 35, of Novi in connection with three deed fraud cases. These cases represent many hours of work by the Wayne County Deed Fraud Task Force. In all three of the cases the defendants used the same scheme. They would claim to be real estate professionals who assist homeowners in selling their property to potential investors. They induced elderly victims to give them information such as property information, personal signatures and multiple pieces of personal documents. They were able to use the information to take possession of the property without the owner’s knowledge and consent. The defendant’s later sold the property at a profit. None of the victim’s knowingly conveyed their property to
Blessing ThroughRandom Acts Of KindnessReceive A Blessing CardsFree Downloadwww.ReceiveABlessing.com/Smile Cardswww.HelpOthers.org/Virtual Volunteer ClubCharity Guide Would LikeBloggers To Put LinksTo CharityGuide.org OnTheir BlogsCharity Guide Has SuggestionsFor 15 Minute Acts Of Kindness,Volunteer Activities and Ways ToMake A Difference Yourselfwww.CharityGuide.org/Giving GameGiving Game Cardswww.LearningToGive.org/teachers/giving_game.aspKindness CounterRegister Kind ActsAnd They Are Countedwww.ExtremeKindness.com/Kind Times Newsletterwww.ActsOfKindness.org/The Kindness ProjectKindness Knows No StrangerPass It On Tokenswww.KindnessProject.com/Kind Web Resources LinksFrom Creativity Portalwww.Creativity-Portal.com/kindness/links.htmlKindness LinksFrom Dare To Be An Angelwww.DareToBeAnAngel.com/links.phpChanging The WorldOne Good Deed At A TimeGood Deeds, Donations,Search For Volunteer Opportunitieswww.MyGoodDeed.org/Do You Want Help? Need Help?Free Donations WebpagesDonations Go Dire
Blessing ThroughRandom Acts Of KindnessReceive A Blessing CardsFree Downloadwww.ReceiveABlessing.com/Smile Cardswww.HelpOthers.org/Virtual Volunteer ClubCharity Guide Would LikeBloggers To Put LinksTo CharityGuide.org OnTheir BlogsCharity Guide Has SuggestionsFor 15 Minute Acts Of Kindness,Volunteer Activities and Ways ToMake A Difference Yourselfwww.CharityGuide.org/Giving GameGiving Game Cardswww.LearningToGive.org/teachers/giving_game.aspKindness CounterRegister Kind ActsAnd They Are Countedwww.ExtremeKindness.com/Kind Times Newsletterwww.ActsOfKindness.org/The Kindness ProjectKindness Knows No StrangerPass It On Tokenswww.KindnessProject.com/Kind Web Resources LinksFrom Creativity Portalwww.Creativity-Portal.com/kindness/links.htmlKindness LinksFrom Dare To Be An Angelwww.DareToBeAnAngel.com/links.phpChanging The WorldOne Good Deed At A TimeGood Deeds, Donations,Search For Volunteer Opportunitieswww.MyGoodDeed.org/Do You Want Help? Need Help?Free Donations WebpagesDonations Go Dire
Americans United for Separation of Church and State recently asked the IRS to investigate unlawful politicking by the First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park, CA. Now the pastor of this church has responded, only it isn't what you'd expect. Rather than denying the allegations, this pastor decided to respond by calling on his congregation to pray for assorted bad things to happen to AU staff.AU's complaint indicated that the church's pastor had used church resources to endorse Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. That is, AU alleged that the church had violated the federal law prohibiting non-profit religious groups with tax-exempt status from endorsing candidates by promoting Huckabee as "god's candidate."“Federal tax law is clear,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, “Churches and other non-profits may not endorse candidates, if they want to keep their tax exemption. I am confident that the vast majority of Americans do not want
Another tale of that Christian love you've heard so much about. This one comes out of San Antonio, TX, where a pastor and an employee of the Love Demonstrated Ministries' boot camp were arrested for aggravated assault. This "man of god," Charles E. Flowers, is accused of dragging a girl behind a van after she fell behind during a run.Surely, such a terrible accusation must be overblown by the media (unless Flowers is not a real Christian)! Somebody better call Bill O'Reilly. Or maybe not. According to ReligionNewsBlog,Authorities said both Flowers and Bassitt restrained the girl June 12, tying her to the back of a van with a piece of rope before dragging her on her stomach at the Love Demonstrated Ministries’ boot camp in Banquete, about 10 miles west of Corpus Christi.The alleged victim in this terrible incident, age 15, says that this is not the first time she was assaulted at the camp. If you are as new to the whole idea of Christian boot camps as I am, it might be helpful to h
Regular readers will know that I periodically post reports of crimes committed by Christians (and yes, they are real Christians). I often include the phrase "Know Them By Their Deeds" in the post titles of such reports and have received criticism for doing so. So, why do I do it?The meaning of the "know them by their deeds" phrase comes from the Christian bible. Matthew 7:16 reads, "Ye shall know them by their fruits," and translators of the Greek and Hebrew generally interpret "fruit" as "deed," "act," or "work." The meaning is that it is often misleading to base one's impression of someone on their words and that we are better off focusing on their acts. That is, know them not so much by what they say but what they do.I use this phrase to highlight Christian hypocrisy. We all know that believers are fond of claiming moral superiority over nonbelievers. And yet, their deeds often suggest otherwise.My use of this phrase is not intended to signify that I believe all believers are wick
According to The Arizona Republic, a youth fellowship volunteer was arrested for allegedly molesting a 13 year-old mentally retarded girl. Police reports and court records indicate that 39 year-old James Ward Chapman III admitted to inappropriate touching. As is generally the case with this sort of offense, it appears that this was not Chapman's first foray into sexual depravity and that the church had prior warnings about him.Police indicated that Chapman has generated prior complaints of inappropriately hugging teen church members, and Rev. Dan Morley confirmed that teens have complained to him about Chapman. One cannot help but wonder why the church permitted Chapman to continue in the youth fellowship after receiving multiple complaints about inappropriate behavior."The complaint was that he was engaging in too much interaction with the youth . . . too much hugging," he said. "We discussed boundaries, and he was no longer working with the youth fellowship group."The response of th
We picked up the girls' pictures today from Wal-Mart. No it's not the greatest quality, but the price is right. Molly looks so grown up in hers. We hadn't gotten them done since she was ten, and when I placed the new one up on the wall, it was a shock. I went from having a young girl on the wall to having a teenager! Mia's pictures were terrific. They did a shot of her sitting in front of a screen that looked like a tea party with teddy bears and dolls. She held a pitcher and pretended to pour it into a cup. Another picture was done against a black background with just a soft spotlight on her face. The studio is going to enter those two pictures into a competition and may use them in their advertising. Everyone always thinks that their child is beautiful, but it's awful nice to hear a stranger agree.Deeds of the Disturber by Elizabeth Peters is the fifth book in the Amelia Peabody series. Amelia and her husband Emerson, Egyptologists and English gentry, return to England with thei
Diane Steele, a 52 year-old woman participating in a Christian extremist rally in Boston to support a same-sex marriage ban, was arraigned on assault charges for attacking a gay marriage supporter at an opposing rally. It seems that Ms. Steele went out of her way to express her Christian love, crossing the street to slap her surprised victim.Boston Police spokesperson James Kenneally said Steele apparently decided to "escalate" the debate into a physical confrontation.Unfortunate and hardly the first time this sort of thing has happened. It is bad enough that Christian extremists want to take away the freedom of two consenting American adults to marry without their having to resort to violence to express themselves.H/T to Pam's House BlendTags: gay marriage, religion, Christian extremism, Christian extremists, Christianity, Christian, intolerance, homophobia, Boston, assault, marriage
According to TimesRecordNews.com, Kelly B. Bayer, a 30 year-old religion teacher at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Muenster, TX, was fired for sexual misconduct with a minor. The inappropriate sexual behavior involved a 14 year-old and occurred approximately 6 years ago (Ms. Bayer would have been 24) while Ms. Bayer was serving as a youth minister at a Catholic church in Denton. A criminal investigation is now underway.Tags: religion, Christian, Christianity, Catholic, sexual assault, Texas, sexual abuse
According to The Dallas Morning News, a woman's lawsuit against a Fort Worth pastor has led 8 other women to come forward with disturbing allegations. Rev. Allen of the Shiloh Institutional Church of God in Christ has been accused of "paddling and raping women under the guise of scriptural teaching." Worse, it sounds like his church received multiple complaints and ignored them until attorneys got involved.According to the lawsuit, the 34 year-old plaintiff sought "spiritual counseling" from Rev. Allen, during which he assigned her various biblical passages about spanking. If she did not read them, she was punished...with a wooden paddle. Paddling would eventually progress to sexual assault. It also appears that these recent accusations are not the first faced by Rev. Allen. He faced sexual assault charges in the 1980s, which were later dismissed.The obvious question is why these women would have went along with this depravity, and yet, the plaintiff's answer should not be particular
In the following press release the San Bernardino County District Attorney announced that James Michael Clancy, 44, of Upland pled guilty on Tuesday, April 10, 2007, to a felony charge connected to fraudulent Deeds of Trust. In 2000 and 2001, Clancy forged victim’s names on Deeds of Trust, encumbering properties for over $200,000. The properties were located in Orange and Los Angeles Counties. One of the victims believed she was loaning another victim over $229,000 to refinance a Newport Beach home. The actual owner of the property never received the funds nor knew of the loan. Clancy is believed to have kept the funds in an apparent real estate fraud scheme. On February 25, 2004, District Attorney Investigators from the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Unit arrested Clancy at his Upland residence.Clancy pled guilty to filing a false deed, forgery, and theft as part of a plea agreement. He will serve nine months in county jail with a three-year pr
In the following press release the San Bernardino County District Attorney announced that James Michael Clancy, 44, of Upland pled guilty on Tuesday, April 10, 2007, to a felony charge connected to fraudulent Deeds of Trust. In 2000 and 2001, Clancy forged victim’s names on Deeds of Trust, encumbering properties for over $200,000. The properties were located in Orange and Los Angeles Counties. One of the victims believed she was loaning another victim over $229,000 to refinance a Newport Beach home. The actual owner of the property never received the funds nor knew of the loan. Clancy is believed to have kept the funds in an apparent real estate fraud scheme. On February 25, 2004, District Attorney Investigators from the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Unit arrested Clancy at his Upland residence.Clancy pled guilty to filing a false deed, forgery, and theft as part of a plea agreement. He will serve nine months in county jail with a three-year pr
That’s an odd quote to hear from the pulpit of your church on a Sunday morning. Kind of graphic, but it gets the point across. I decided to look it up a bit myself. The passage being referred to is in Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses [...]
According to The Christian Post, sex scandals involving Southern Baptist clergy are receiving increased attention, with some fearing that we are looking at a similar pattern as the widely known epidemic facing Catholicism. I find this fitting because my experience has been that Southern Baptists are among the first to condemn other denominations as not being "real Christians."According to the article:A six-month investigation was unfolded Friday night on ABC's 20/20 which found "preacher predators" all over the country and shielding themselves in churches. Describing the case of Shawn Davies, a Missouri youth minister who plead guilty molesting 12-16 year-old boys, the article quotes Christa Brown, coordinator for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, as saying, "What's so terrible about this crime is that the weapon is the kids' faith." Indeed.Not surprisingly, the coverage and the controversy deals with the appropriate role of the Southern Baptist Convention in policing se
My deed for this day was another one that just kind of fell into my lap. On our way back home from our hotel Jesse and I stopped in at the Old Navy Outlet store. While we were there I helped a woman in a wheelchair to reach several things that she was trying to get that were laying out on a table. I had seen her stuggling out of the corner of my eye. I had also seen several other people stand right by her and not offer to help. I think sometimes people don't offer to help someone because they don't want to offend them. I admit that I hesitated at first too because I didn't want this woman to think I was saying "Here, I know you can't do it. Let me and my capable body take care of it for you." She seemed glad I offered though and accepted my help. I think it's ok to offer someone help. I hope.You know, I'm nearly 6 feet tall and even I had to strain to reach some of the things in the middle of the table. I don't know how they expected everyone else to be able to reach
On this day I honestly forgot to do a good deed. Luckily fate reminded me of what I needed to do. Jesse and I went to see Easter Parade at the Chanhassed Dinner Theater. After the play was over one of the actresses told the audience that they would be collecting money for Broadway Cares campaign to fight AIDS and support those living with it.It was not my most planned out deed but I did drop some cash into their collection basket so as of yet I have not missed a day!
My birthday! I wanted to do something special for my birthday deed so I made a donation to this group: Minnesota Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. Who knew such a group even existed? I really liked their stance on a lot of things and what really moved me to want to donate was what their website says about their "Peaceful Presence" program. From the site:"We stand in non-confrontational and pastoral Peaceful Presence outside reproductive health clinics in support of their work, their staff, and their patients to demonstrate in non-violent ways that people of faith support access to safe, legal abortions. Peaceful Presence is a strategy of silent witnessing and non-engagement. Supporters (clergy and lay people) silently hold signs with our message “Pro Family, Pro Faith, Pro Choice.” "Now that's religious activism that I can get behind!
Ack! I've fallen behind here. Let's see if I can think back and remember what I've done every day.Ok, the deed for this day was that I wrote a long, suportive email to someone I know through a message board who's going through a really tough time right now. She responded and thanked me for my kind words so I hope that it was somewhat helpful to her. I frequently have a hard time finding the right words when reaching out to someone like that so more often than not I just say nothing at all. This deed was tough because I was afraid I would say the wrong thing and make things worse but I think in the end it went ok.
Yesterday's deed kind of happened just by chance. As Joseph, Elle and I were leaving speech therapy yesterday I noticed an older lady wandering around the parking lot looking lost. The building we were at is large and has several small parking lots and it's pretty easy to go get turned around and go out the wrong door. After I got the kids in the car I called over to the lady and asked if she was looking for her car. She explained that she thought maybe she came out the wrong door. I told her I had done that myself before and asked her if she would like me to drive her around the lot so that she could find her car.She got in my car and described to me where she thought she had parked. I spend a lot of time at that building and recignized right away where she was desciribing. I drove her over and we found her car right away. She said that probably would have been the last lot she checked because that was the one lot she was pretty sure wasn't where she had parked.Of course af
My good deed for yesterday was to write an email to several members of state and local government asking them to support increased funding for education with an emphisis on early childhood servies and special education.Special education services are going to be taking a big hit here in Minnesota in the upcoming school year. Joseph's school district alone will have to cut 17 special ed provider positions. We still don't know if Joseph's wonderful IEP case manager will have a job next year. It's really sad that the kids who need the most help are the most likely to suffer when there are budget cutbacks because the services they need are often the most expensive.This is such an important issue to me, I wish that there was more that I could do.
For yesterday's good deed I made a donation to our local library. The kids get so much out of the library so I don't mind throwing a little their way. Of course, that's in addition to the massive late fees we always end up paying.
For yesterday's deed I picked up some more stuff for the local food shelf. I hadn't planned on doing it again so soon but since we were at the grocery store I went ahead and did it. I was thinking that every time I go to the store for a big shopping trip I could just add $5 worth of stuff into our cart for the food shelf. $5 can go a long way if you use coupons and sales and buy the store brand of stuff. It's just a little thing but it might be a good habit to get into.
For various reasons I don't want to say to much about what yesterday's deed was. I didn't actually do anything, it was more about not doing something. It was tough and, without a doubt the toughest deed I've done so far. I have the satisfaction though of knowing that it was important and impactful. So. Yeah. That's all there is about that.
Yesterday was Firday the 13th so I'm going to mark that up as the cause for me forgetting to post my deed, several of my favorite bloggers packing it up and throwing it in, a large segment of the internet turning getting a case of the raging assholes and my own husband somehow getting infected with the aformentioned malady.Yesterday I took a bag of groceries over to the local food shelf. And not just stuff like creamed corn and pumpkin pie filling. I'll probably donate more later this month because I think this is a good cause. In the past my family has had to use thefood shelf a couple of times to kind of help us out of a tight spot. Since we're no longer in a position where we need that help it seems only right to try to pay back some of the goodwill.So even though I don't support the orgaization that runs the place I made the donation to I know that doesn't really matter to the people who will be getting the food.
I forgot to post yesterday's deed again. Maybe it's because right now I'm sort of involved in some stupid internet drama crap that's so middle school I can't even believe it. I've been both the hurter and the hurtee in this whole thing and right now it's eating up a lot of my time and energy and goodwill. So I feel stupid talking about some dumb little thing I did to try to improve things when I feel like I'm really just making things worse.To be honest I'm also more than a little let down by how this whole campaign is going. I know there are a few people out there doing but no one is leaving comments like I had hoped they would. The mom-oriented website that was going to help me promote this seemed to kind of never get around to it. Frankly, this whole thing has just become one giant buzzkill for me. I don't even want to log in and update my blog because it just makes me feel sort of sad.Am I done with 30/30? I don't know. I guess it probably doesn't matter that mu
I just realized I forgot to post my deed for yesterday. Maybe that's because the only good deed I can think of is that I was especially nice to a cashier at Target that was really rude to me. It's not much but it's the best I can do. It's hard to be nice for 30 days in a row.
An actual conversation I had with Joseph 2 minutes ago:Joseph: Mommy, can you open this toy for me?Me: Not right this second. Wait a couple of minutes.Joseph: Whhhhhhhhh-yyyyyyyyy do I have to waaaaaaa-aaait?Me: Stop whining Joseph. I have to update my blog with my deed for the day.Joseph: I know a good deed you can do.Me: What's that?Joseph: Open this toy for me and don't make me wait for it all day.That's my boy. My deed for the day is to make cookies for Jesse to take in to work for a couple of his co-workers. It's part of my extended thank you for them talking Jesse into buying me a KitchenAid mixer. (You don't even want to know what I'll do for the pasta maker attatchment.)I also want to point out this because it's for a good cause and one that I'm a big supporter of. It's also a way to do a good deed and do something nice for yourself in the process.
My deed for today was pretty similar to what yesterday's was. I made a real effort to get along and have some positive interactions with someone that I have not always gotten along with in the past. I gave her a genuine compliment, I made conversation with her and showed an interest in some stuff that I knew was important to her.Maybe it sounds kind of self-important to say "I'm so great because I was nice to someone!" but I know that this time when I was done dealing with this person I didn't find myself feeling yucky about the whole interaction. It was nice to find some common ground with someone I feel like I'm so different from.
My good deed for the day was to get along with some people that I had to be with today that I frankly really can't stand. That might not seem like a big deal but trust me, for me to even be in the same room as a couple of these people was a struggle. I just stayed determined to put out good energy and it all turned out to be not as bad as I worried it was going to be.
When I was pregnant with Elle I signed up with every formula company out there for free samples and coupons. Then I sold them all on ebay. I still get stuff once in a while and last week I sold some coupons for $10 off formula. The person who won the auction wrote me and asked if it would be ok if there was a little delay in paying because she was finding herself a little short on money. I told her it was no biggie and to just pay me when she could. So today she paid me for the auction and wrote a nice note thanking me for being so nice.I'm going to get her stuff ready to mail tonight and I'm going to include another $10 that I got in the mail yesterday. I know what it's like to be in a tight spot and I thought maybe that might help out a little bit. And, since I'm in such a good mood I won't even mention to her that she could be feeding her baby for free! (I know, I know. There might be a good reason she's not nursing. Don't bother to point it out to me.)What did you do
I had something special planned for today but I can't do it because Joseph and I are both sick and running fevers so we can't leave the house. Instead I made a donation to Habitat for Humanity. I have more hands-on type of deeds planned but I'll have to save those for a day when I don't feel like my head has been run over by a bus.
Ok, Day 3. All I know for sure is that I am in a monstrously bad mood today. It might have something to do with the fact that the weather just said we could get up to 6 inches of snow today. Sometimes I hate Minnesota so much!Joseph's school is taking part in in the American Heart Association's Jump rope for Heart. In Joseph's words "We have to raise money to give to 'hostiples' so they can buy new medicines." Isn't that a good cause? And yes, he still says "hostiples" and frankly I hope he never stops because I think it's so cute. Anyway, I set up Joseph's on-line donation page (you can find it here) and for today's good deed I'll be donating money to that cause.On a hilarious/sad note, Joseph told me that his school doesn't have any jump ropes so rather than do that, all the kids are just going to go in the gym and jump together.I know there are a few people out there doing good deeds because I've seen my banner on a few sites. Leave me a comment about what you're doing
I haven't done my deed yet today but I'm going to post about it now because I will be doing it this afternoon. I am going to drop off a bunch of stuff at Anna Marie's. I have some clothes and shoes and bath stuff from my MIL that I'm going to take over. I also have some baby clothes and toys that we no longer need here that I'm going to take over. I was going to save some of that stuff for a garage sale but I think I would rather see it go to someone who really needs it. I'm also going to get together some bathroom stuff to take over too since they're always in need of basics like shampoo and soap.Anna Marie's is one of my pet causes and I take stuff over there several times a year. I wonder if I should look into doing some hands on volunteer work there? Can't wait to hear what your deed was for the day!
I decided to go global for todays deed. I wanted to give this website I found a try. For my first deed I went to Kiva.org and donated some money. If you've never heard of Kiva it's acutally pretty cool. From the site: "Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back."The site is really easy to use and search so if you're so inclined, give it a look. Check out the profile of the person that I donated to here. I won't lie, I picked her because I can see little baby feet sticking out from behind her. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing.Leave me a comment! I can't wait to hear what you're doing!
Share!: Ctrl+A to select all, Ctrl+C to copyI will be turning 30 on April 20th and I decided that this year I would like to do something special to celebrate. I've come up with something that I think will be a lot of fun. It's called 30 Deeds for 30 Days.The idea behind 30/30 is that for every day in April you do one small thing (or big thing) to make a difference in your world. A couple of ideas for things that you could do are:Donate some time to a local charity.Help an elderly neighbor with some yardwork.If you go out to eat and your waitress is good, make a point to mention to the manager how good her service was (and leave a good tip).Pick up a couple of extra things at the grocery store and drop them off at a food shelf.Give a genuine compliment to someone you don't really get along with.Drop a couple of coins in a meter that's about to expire.The point of this is no good deed is too small. 30 small deeds can add up to a lot of positive change in your world. The more peop
Sexual molestation of youth in one's charge is not limited to Catholic priests; Catholic church aides sometimes get in on it too. According to this disturbing story from the Associated Press and printed in The Times Argus, a church aide from a Florida's New Life youth group has been accused of molesting several teenage girls during a field trip to Vermont. The accused is an assistant youth minister from the St. Louis Catholic Church in Pinecrest, FL.Maybe religion really does foster sexual predation.Florida church aide accused of sexual assault in VermontMarch 11, 2007Staff ReportThe Associated PressBURLINGTON — An aide with a Florida church group is accused in a lawsuit of molesting "multiple" teenage girls while they were on a field trip in Stowe.A 15-year-old girl and her parents have sued Anthony B. Ricco, 19, an assistant youth minister with the New Life youth group at the St. Louis Catholic Church in Pinecrest, Fla., according to court papers filed with the 11th Judicial Circ
In this story out of Kansas, a Kansas church has been delinquent in paying both tax bills and several bills from building contractors. In fact, it is now facing a variety of liens from contractors attempting to collect the money owed to them. Rather than being a simple misunderstanding or a temporary oversight, it appears that this church and its pastor have a long history of tax problems."Former church members and contractors also complain that despite the money flowing in, the church also is slow to pay its bills."So much for being a responsible member of the community.
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” Zechariah 4:10 NLT
What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War 2 he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi anti aircraft guns. even though his gas tanks were hit the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land it. On the morning following the raid Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell, to keep as a souvenir of his good fortune. The chief explained that not just one, but eleven shells had been found in the gas tank, none of which had exploded. Technicians opened the shells, and found them void of explosive charge. They were clean and harmless, and with one exception, empty. The exception contained a carefully rolled piece of paper. On it a message had been scrawled in the Czech language: “this is all we can do for now.” A courageous assembly line worker was disarming bombs and scribbled that n
I usally just open the bible and pick a section and read from there. But lately I've felt I nedeed to get back to the roots. Most of the time I read the new testament from Romans, 1 John, Ephsiens or Phillipians soemthing like that. I would never read Matthew, Mark , luke or John. So lately I'm getting back to the roots of my beginnings and ready the book of Matthew. I hope to get a lot out of it
It is so important to teach our children to give freely of themselves and to be thankful for the blessings bestowed upon them. But how do we teach them, keep track of the events and be prepared in time? Create an Annual Children’s Good Deeds Calendar!Take a brand new calendar for the year 2007. Go through the calendar with your children and circle the date of a holiday or just select an appropriate date each month and decide on a good deed that, with a little help from you, your child can easily perform. If your children are having trouble coming up with their own ideas, here are some suggestions:January - It’s a New Year with New Babies in Need! - Call your local hospital and find out what articles they take for donation of babies born to low income families and infants going out for adoption. When my husband and I adopted my son (abandoned by his birth Mom), we were given a lovely hand knitted cap for the baby. Your children can select (from a dollar store) some baby bibs, caps,
"There is a situation in my life that I have yet to mention to my closest family members. I'm afraid of their reaction; I fear that it'll crush their dreams and expectation of me. I ask God to forgive me for not being true with my close ones
I came to Florida in 2003; I was [...]
Trust Deeds are considered as a convenient settlement of debts a debtor is no more able to pay off. Usually elsewhere for lessening and time bound pay off of debts, debt management is sought by the debt ridden person. But trust deeds are quite different from any debt management.While in debt management there is complete payment of the debts in a certain period and usually involves a fresh loan, in trust deeds the emphasis is on making an accepted debt clearing plan legally binding to the lenders.Usually trust deeds are opted for when a debtor has come to worst financial situation where he can no longer pay for the clearing debts. In such a case the debtor usually files for bankruptcy. But trust deeds enables in avoiding bankruptcy.Under trust deeds, the debtor makes a proposal to his creditors for paying off the debts in an agreed duration. But the preparing of the proposal requires a careful calculation of debtor's financial position. The proposal is sent to the creditors for their
Rev. David Thompson of the Columbus, OH, World of Pentecost Church has been accused of stealing almost $1 million from his church. And it appears that he's not the only one. This story from The Columbus Dispatch and reprinted by ReligionNewsBlog notes that the lawsuit filed by members of the congregation names "several other church officials" as defendants.The best part of the story is Thompson's reaction when confronted with his misdeeds by members of his congregation.According to the suit, George Thompson attended a Bible study service on Jan. 23 and told the congregants that his son made a mistake and that they must forgive him. And if they pressed his son for answers about the money, they were "children of the devil"Tags: religion, Christian, Christianity, World of Pentecost Church
According to a report in the U.K's Hemel Gazette, the Catholic Church "is abdicating its responsibility for children's welfare by refusing to target homophobic bullying in schools." Evidently, the church has rejected repeated calls to institute any sort of policy for preventing homophobic bullying on school grounds.Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT union, is quoted as saying, "The Catholic Church is abdicating its responsibility to look after the health and well-being of youngsters." The article also notes that victims of homophobic bullying are not necessarily homosexual but may be labeled as such based on their appearance.Tags: Catholic church, church, religion, homophobia, bullying, education
According to an AP report in the Union-Tribune (San Diego), a Catholic priest has been arrested in Arizona on suspicion of sexually assaulting a Vegas parish worker. The priest is wanted in Las Vegas for "attempted murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and battery with a deadly weapon." I wonder how many hail-Marys that will require?The woman told Las Vegas police that she was sitting at her desk when Chaanine broke a full bottle of wine over her head, grabbed her by the hair and dragged her down a hall toward his office.She fought back, lost consciousness, and awoke with Chaanine groping her, according to the police report. She continued fighting until Chaanine straddled her and grabbed her throat. She told detectives she began to pray for her life before the attack suddenly stopped.Tags: religion, Christian, Catholic, Las Vegas, priest
Remember all those knock offs of America's Funniest Videos? One was called Kids Say the Darndest Things and featured, as you'd expect, humorous clips of kids. Kids do say the "darndest things," and most of us delight in it because it reveals their innocence and reminds us what it is like to view the world through the eyes of a child. Unfortunately, not all parents find what their children say to be cute or endearing. This is the disturbing tale of a Georgia couple who killed their 8 year-old after the child claimed to be a "soldier of the devil."Before you protest that these were obviously crazy parents and that their motivation had nothing to do with religion, there are some facts of which you should be aware. First, the father claims that he regularly beat his son "because the child carved death threats on the walls and claimed to be a 'soldier of the devil.'" Second, the parents told police that their son died after an internet-linked prayer session with their church. Third, aut
Again, for the record, TTAC has never accused Chris Bangle of being a racist. We accused the BMW designer of racial insensitivity. He singularly failed to realize the potential impact of his "axis of white power" remark on a minority audience. Invidious distinction? Well, the fact that Bangle's apology-free reply dealt entirely with the inadvertent origins of his faux pas-- rather than its possible effects on sensitive listeners-- does nothing to allay our misgivings. The subtext of his defense: it's all about me. Of course, it isn't about Bangle. It's about his desire (or lack thereof) to respect the dignity of those people who may be offended by an unfortunate turn of phrase. And BMW's responsibility to this same audience. TTAC is no stranger to these issues; we've stepped over these same boundaries. When commentators have pointed out our racial, sexual or political insensitivity, we have immediately withdrawn the offensive text and apologized-- despit
