The "no kids in the sea org" rule came about after they closed the "cadet orgs" (the organization for sea org children). They were getting a lot of flack for the horrible conditions, so they shut them down and then just said "no kids". If you insisted on carrying the baby you would be kicked out of the sea org, given a "freeloader" bill (to "pay back" all of the "free" stuff you got as a sea org member) and would not be allowed to continue practicing Scientology (paying for courses) until the debt was paid. Also, the father would not be required to leave the sea org, but there would be no guarantee that his assignment would be any where near by. So imagine being under-educated (since often it's teens joining, and they're education stops when they do), no savings, no real job skills, pregnant, and most likely alone, and being told to either go out and face the world in those conditions, or get an abortion, keep your job, your room and board, and your family. And make this decision while also being kept apart from the father, whose also being pressured to encourage you to abort. There are YouTube videos with Claire Headley going into further detail about what they did to her, and how they managed to hide her second abortion from her husband for *months*.

A bit silly, but dh got me a Totoro hoodie from Hot Topic. It's one of my absolute favorite movies, and the hoodie is way more $$ than I would have ever been willing to pay for one, but it's cute and it's cozy and I love it. :)

We were all Mall of America yesterday. They're was no disturbance, but security guards were checking bags at all the entrances, and there were mall police and K9s patrolling the crowds.

I think they turn the one death in the movie into something incredibly beautiful. I thought the movie was amazing. :)

The camp closed a while ago. I can't imagine the kind of mental brainwashing that convinced these parents that leaving your child and hardly ever seeing them is a "greater good" for society, and how it's totally okay that their main source of medical treatment was another child in the camp!

I've read so many books and blogs about Scientology. It goes along with my fascination with North Korea (there's a lot of overlap in their control techniques, although NK is obviously far more dangerous than Scientology). The last episode about the Bridge was hard to watch. That poor mother. :(

Many parts of the country have fewer polling places this time around though, so arrangements that may have sufficed last time won't work so well this time, because larger amounts of voters are having to use fewer polling places.

Taco Tuesday!

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4519111-155/bagley-cartoon-militia-lives-matter

My parents' church was lead by a Bishop Bishop for a time.

I've heard of people wanting to be scattered in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and Disney strongly discouraging people from doing that because it would clog up the filters. They'll stop the ride if they suspect somebody on a boat is doing such a thing. (as I'm sure there are cameras watching the boats at all times).

I enjoy the BB workouts, and believe they're a good value, when you divide the price by how many DVDs you get. I've tried the shakes, and agree that for that much $$ they sure taste horrible.

Has anybody used Harmony online school? It's an option here in Minnesota, and it has a "flex" option that would allow me to choose my own curriculum for subjects I want to teach myself, and have online instruction for the ones I want someone more experienced to teach. They also offer funds to help you pay for your curriculum and schooling supplies. Does anybody have experienced with this program? I'm considering it for my seventh grader.

Instant pot, Kindle Fire, memory card for the Fire, a mini flat iron (I have a pixie cut, so it will come in very handy!), and a couple of kids games for birthdays/Christmas.

Does it stream YouTube? Our blu ray used to, but they discontinued the app for it.

Oops, sorry. Link added!

A long but interesting read. I remember the scandal surrounding the runner from SA (and I felt so bad for her), but had no clue it was so standard to make female athletes prove just how female they really are. :( http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/magazine/the-humiliating-practice-of-sex-testing-female-athletes.html?ribbon-ad-idx=7&src=trending&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Trending&pgtype=article&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2F

While wearing a clean coin belt and sensible zills!

Well, this has been decisive. :lol: I guess he meant thongs or other types that you wouldn't want strangers to see you in. The woman was wearing what I would call "full coverage" undies.

DH and I were watching an old clip from Whose Line is it Anyway last night where a girl was carried onto stage by Wayne Brady, and her skirt rode up, showing her underwear. Drew Carrey said to her afterwards,"Aren't you glad you listened to your mother?" I then muttered "Mother always says to wear clean underwear!" and my DH looked at me and said, "No, it's always wear sensible underwear!" I had *never* heard that colloquialism worded that way, but DH insists that's the way it goes. So, is it "Mother always says to wear clean underwear." or "Mother always says to wear sensible underwear." ??????? (and yes, this is a totally frivolous post. :lol: )

Our current vehicle is a 2004 Kia Sedona with over 130k miles on it. :p Thanks to everyone who's commented so far. Lots of food for thought! :)

I don't have LGBT friends or LGBT family members, so I can't claim to feel anywhere near the same level of pain and heartache as those in this thread, but I just wanted to post and let you know that I'm thinking of you all, and praying and hoping that I may have more opportunities in the future to extend kindness to LGBT persons I may encounter. I hope I can be someone they feel safe with.

We're looking to replace our minivan, and I'm sort of considering not replacing it with another one. Are there any 5-seater vehicles that would be comfortable for 3 kids in the back seat? My kids are currently 11, 9, and 7, but we keep our vehicles until their last leg, so the older two at least will be teens by the time we get rid of it. My DH travels a lot for work, so most of the time one of the kids will be able to sit in the front passenger seat, but for those times when we're going somewhere while DH is home, what would be the least miserable? I'm mainly looking at small used SUV's and crossovers.

They're now saying 50 dead. :(

And this was at a gay club, during June, which is Pride month. :(