:iagree: The "collection agency" itself might be the scam; i.e., there never was a forged check in May. I also would prepare a brief letter to each of the Credit Reporting Agencies and ready them to send--get the proper addresses, faxes, emails . . . whatever you need. If you ever have to pull the trigger, you don't have to worry about looking up necessary information; you can just fill in details and go.

Everyone can stop worrying now. I got tired of waiting for moderator approval, so I wrote another post for the games and submitted it on the Sale board. Accepted. Information was largely the same. The first attempt and the copied second attempt never made it to the board. Weird. The two failed attempts lie somewhere in WTM purgatory. I wonder what else is there? I've read some pretty specific stuff on the boards recently--waxing horrors, menstrual cups--so I'm flummoxed about posting standards.

Nope. I tried to post the games on the sale board. When that didn't go right through, I came over here to ask whether anyone had encountered this. It's probably a whole R-rated reputation of Clue that I wasn't aware of. You know: "Miss Scarlet in the Conservatory with the rope . . .."

Anyone have any ideas?

I was just posting a few junior board games for sale, and when I clicked submit, I got a thank-you screen that said my post would be put up after moderator approval. I have never seen this and certainly don't sell so often that I would be suspected of being a dealer. Has anyone else seen this? Is this a random quality check?? Do Scrabble, Monopoly, Clue, and Boggle raise red flags (i.e., Clue Jr., the R-rated version)?

This is not quite accurate. Private is not always private. Sometimes private organizations have enough public involvement as to warrant the constitutional oversight applied to public entities. Leasing from a government, for example; if the pool leases land from the local government a court may hold that the club cannot engage in its unconstitutional practices on the land (and perhaps on ANY of its land). I'm not writing that this happened in this case; I'm pointing out that sometimes there are ways to extend the constitutional protection of equality BEYOND public entities. A way to "pierce the veil" (to use a legal term usually applied to business law).

Did you see the tag? Organic matter sublimation!

Because as an adult, you never have the opportunity to say the word turd and you certainly NEVER have the opportunity to write it. It makes you giggle like an 8-year-old. Other than that, it's just gross and juvenile and I'm shocked.

My first reaction (I haven't read the article.) is that if this private club has any form of government oversight--is it a 501©(3), for example--then it is subject to antidiscriminatory laws. By denying access, private club or not, because of race, it risks losing its tax-favored status. Am I right?

Smoking turd!!! There's a phrase I didn't think I'd read on these boards! Now if only it were wearing a bikini . . ..

Okay. I hated where the bikini thread went--thought everything got nasty--but this makes me smile.

For me, my answer is: . . . buy cheap toilet paper. We tried that once--Charmin Basic. The kids complained. No more.

This mistake is so funny I can't pay attention to the question asked. I keep chortling. I'm so immature. I guess ASS for a poor speller would be "but."

I get them. I've always thought they are from a combination of the belt buckle and me leaning into counters and the washing machine all the time, which have cleaner residue. I think by now, every single one of my cotton shirts has these holes.

In addition to Laurel, don't forget Savage. Both with antique shops.

Absolutely. But it could be improved further still.

We use Firefox. No problems except we couldn't use it with an online class--not compatible. We used Safari for the class. We have Firefox, Safari, and IE on our computer. Firefox is supposed to be a bit faster than Safari but nothing you'd really discern. Certainly nothing I notice.

I just thought of something no one has mentioned: Have your daughter (not you) talk to her summer coach about it before the next meet if it's still bugging her. Let her and the coach handle it. You stay out of it. You are there to congratulate her on beautiful swims, great sportsmanship. Don't make this a big deal; again, it's summer league. Your daughter has an opportunity here to learn how to take sometimes unfair calls with grace.

Yes, it probably is a heat thing. You should make sure to volunteer to time or be clerk of course, not so you can time your own kid, but so that you are a part of the process and understand how much work and coordination it takes to run a meet. Make sure your family understands that summer swimming (especially for a child who swims year-round) is for FUN and that sometimes human error will occur. Sometimes your daughter will benefit from someone' mistake, sometimes she will lose. But always emphasize that it's for fun. The parents who volunteer during these meets work hard to keep things on time and running as smoothly as possible.

I sold a couple of books recently and, taking out shipping costs, made a profit of about $1.25! Still, the books are off my shelf, I was going to the post office anyway, and I wrap books in paper grocery bags and cut-up cereal boxes. Please don't tell me to factor in the cost of tape or the value of my time spent trolling the hive, wrapping the books, and emailing the buyers. I enjoy the process so I do it gratis. Things I don't sell go to charity. My shelves are looking neater and neater.

My mom said that there was an article in HSLDA that talked about having your kids "labeled" as Dyslexic at an early age could cause problems with the government, etc. I have heard that there are programs out there that we could do at home (and maybe not have her officially tested). Since I think her problem now is more with writing than reading, what should I try? Having your child "labeled" as dyslexic causing problems with the government?! Baloney. That sounds a little too conspiracy theory to me. If you have testing set up, include some writing evaluation and see what's going on. Dyslexics read, they just read at a different pace, and they learn to read using methods different from those of kids w/o dyslexia. There's nothing wrong with having dyslexia (in fact, there are quite a few cool things that traditionally go along with dyslexia and that your daughter might not have if she didn't also have dyslexia), so don't worry about labeling her. Maybe with a dyslexia diagnosis she'll have to overcome a few more hurdles when she applies to Navy flight school. Maybe not. But good Lord, don't NOT have her tested b/o a conspiracy theory.

Honestly? I haven't read all the posts, but here are my first thoughts: 1. Save the money for future education costs. 2. Buy lots of pencils and wide-ruled notebook paper. 3. Make sure you have only a few curriculum items you need to give her a solid foundation. Include engaging literature. 4. Get in lots of outside time. 5. Get read-alouds out of the library or on paperback book swap. 6. Incorporate day trips into your school plans. Sorry to be a wet rag, but $3000, invested conservatively, will double in seven years. That means in 14 or so years, you might have $12,000.

For our 8th-grade boy who is by mature all over the place, we really like Fallacy Detective and Introductory and Intermediate Logic books (Nance). I had him complete Logic this year because he also was taking Geometry and I thought the two disciplines would fit together nicely. But I'd wait a bit for your son. Your son's brain probably needs a bit more maturity before the logic puzzle goes together a bit more easily and he can more naturally progress from Point A to Point F without going off on a tangent. You might want to try a logic games-based books over the summer. Or maybe 5-minute mysteries. Something light and fun, with logic and deduction hidden inside. JMHO.

Well there is the VP Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation card for The Council of Trent that states that the RCC's pronouncement that man is saved by faith and good works (rather than faith alone) was a "false teaching" and that therefore the RCC had become a "fallen or apostate church." When my kids and I read this and studied this time period, I taught them that we (Catholic) don't believe this. I also told them that VP shouldn't have written this on the card. I also emphasized to them that the RCC no longer holds itself out to everyone as the only way to gain happiness in Heaven. I told a teacher at Veritas Press that VP ought to consider revising some of its cards so as to be more inclusive, less judgmental. There is a way to teach Reformed Christian history, I believe, without slamming Catholics (and Muslims, too, btw). History during the Reformation can point out the excesses and overreaching by the Church, but it shouldn't leave the impression that the Church operates the same way today. Also, VP shouldn't wait until cards associated with later time periods to point out changes in the Church because by then, VP already has colored a child's opinion against the Church. It doesn't do our children much good always to be calling other religions false. Instead, support your view of Christianity positively with your teachings, not always by pointing out what you believe are falsehoods of other religions. (Maybe that's all part of apologetics, but I'm not teaching my young, impressionable children that Muslims are wrong or Reformed Christians are wrong or any of that. And I don't think I'm being too PC. I'm teaching respect for other beliefs. I also am confident that I'm not confusing them.) That's just my free-flowing answer to your original Q about Catholics and Classical Conversations.

Choose a play you can listen to on cd and then watch as a film. Remember that the plays were meant to be heard and seen. I vote for much ado. It is easily understood and the branaugh film is great.