But that's my point. Why does the government even allow proposals that violate basic liberties to be voted on? Either there should be some screening process that weeds these kinds of things out, or we are allowed to propose and vote on anything we want and we live with the results. Suppose Group A decides they only want Mormons to vote in Utah. They go and do whatever it is you currently have to do to get this idea put on a ballot in the next election (get a lot of signatures? A congressman to sponsor it? Not really sure on this detail). The vote comes along and lo and behold, it passes. Now only Mormons can vote in Utah. Then after the vote a judge says "What? Only Mormons can vote in Utah? That is a violation of basic liberties and the constitution. I am overturning that." Wouldn't all the people who took off work early to go vote on the measure wonder what the point of the vote was? Shouldn't someone with some kind of authority, before this idea got put to a vote, have said "Uh no...we don't allow crazy, unconstitutional ideas like that on ballots. Sorry." Because if we do allow votes an all sorts of crazy, unconstitutional ideas knowing we are just going to overturn them if they pass, then why vote at all?

I totally agree which is why I think it should be put to a vote again. If the culture has changed, and I agree that it has, why would we not put it to a vote again rather than relying on the federal government to once again tell us what is best for us?

That makes sense. But then shouldn't there be some kind of "screening process" before proposals even make it to a ballot? If something is not constitutional then why allow it to be voted on in the first place? Let's say some random group DID want to jail all homeschoolers... Why should that even be allowed on a ballot? Especially if a some judge can just say "no, that's ridiculous. You can't have that law." Wouldn't the people then say "well, then why waste everyone's time voting on it in the first place?" I just don't think the process makes any sense.

I need someone who understands government better than I do to explain this to me... So the Internet is abuzz right now about what's going on in Michigan with same sex marriage. I've been reading a few articles and as I understand it: 1. Someone or some organization got a proposal on a ballot in 2004 to ban same-sex marriages (I can't figure out who. The articles I've read just keep referring to "anti-gay" groups which seems vague to me. And although I was in Michigan at that time, I cannot for the life of me remember this.). And according to what I read 59% of voters voted in favor of the ban. 2. 10 years later a lesbian couple sued ...the state of Michigan I guess?... To overturn this law. 3. A federal, not a state, court agreed with them and overturned it. 4. Another federal court higher than that just put a hold on the overturning of the law. The topic of the law, same sex marriage, is not the question. My question is why do we bother to let people vote on something if a judge can just overrule that vote? How is that democracy? One article I read stated that the public opinion in Michigan on same sex marriage has changed in the last 10 years. I can believe that. So why not just put it to a vote again? It just seems disingenuous to let people vote on a topic and then the federal judges say "nah, you didn't vote the way we wanted you to so we are overriding you." Wouldn't it better to put it to a vote again now that it's been a decade since the original vote? Some people are thrilled with the decision of the district court, some are not. It doesn't really affect me either way. But the tides could turn and the next judge that overturns something the people voted for could be something that does directly affect me. So my problem is not with this particular lawsuit but with the idea in general that one federal judge could overturn something that almost 5 million people voted on. Just struggling to understand "democracy" right now.

I am thankful for our jobs and health insurance. I am also thankful for iPads, kindle apps and the Internet. Books feed me. :)

Diet coke almost came out my nose... :smilielol5:

Something about the word "mathy" bugs me. I have no rational explanation for that. It just does. :tongue_smilie: I think as a whole we are obsessed with labels and categories. We have this bizarre need to qualify and define everything. I'm not sure why (I even have them in my signature but I'm not sure why. I think I feel like everyone else does it so I should too). When I was kid I loved to read. It was about the only thing I loved to do. I don't recall my mother ever referring to me as "her reader" or "her book-lover" or anything really other than "her daughter." I don't like labels like those. It is too much pressure. If I define my ds as "mathy" when he is young, what happens if he hits a wall in math and no longer loves it? Do I call him my "ex-mathy" kid? My kid "formerly-known-as-mathy"? For instance, we are trying to be more paleo in our eating habits. I haven't embraced it totally yet but I am working on it. But I don't want to tell anyone "I'm paleo" because then I feel trapped...like I can't change my mind. Maybe I just have a fear of commitment. :o

The question is... What would you like to be called? Generally it should go like this: Girlfriend: hello Mrs. Lastname, it's nice to meet you You: I'm glad to finally meet you, too. Please, call me ----- That way you can decide what you are comfortable with. As a teacher/principal, I have been called Mrs. Lastname for the last 20 years so I guess I am most comfortable with that. It is really weird to hear anyone other than my friends call me Heather. I think once my ds gets engaged or possibly married I would be more comfortable with it.

We have a big trampoline with a net. My kids jump barefoot (no socks). No flips. Kids on it must be around the same size/weight. The only ones who use it are my kids and the children of close family friends but I also don't live in a place where neighborhood kids really go to each other's homes without their parents.

Started reading: You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself by David McRaney Still reading: Follow Me by David Platt The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman Finished reading: 1. The Curiosity by Stephen Kiernan (AVERAGE) 2. The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene (GOOD) 3. Unwind by Neal Shusterman (EXCELLENT) 4. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty (EXCELLENT) 5. The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith by Peter Hitchens (AMAZING) 6. Champion by Marie Lu (PRETTY GOOD) 7. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink (INCREDIBLE) 8. Cultivating Christian Character by Michael Zigarelli (HO-HUM) 9. Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff (um...WOW. So amazing and sad) 10. Pressure Points: Twelve Global Issues Shaping the Face of the Church by JD Payne (SO-SO) 11. The Happiness Project: Or Why I spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. by Gretchen Rubin (GOOD) 12. Reading and Writing Across Content Areas by Roberta Sejnost (SO-SO) 13. Winter of the World by Ken Follet (PRETTY GOOD) 14. The School Revolution: A New Answer for our Broken Education System by Ron Paul (GREAT) 15. Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen (LOVED IT) 16. Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning by Sugata Mitra (GOOD) 17. Can Computers Keep Secrets? - How a Six-Year-Old's Curiosity Could Change the World by Tom Barrett (GOOD)

Can someone expand on the adoption issues in the film? I need to know before I let my two adopted kids go.

I didn't even get my dd a kitchen until she was 3. She is now 4.5 and plays with it all the time.

I would LOVE for my mom to come live with me. One day she will as I will take care of her when she is old. My dh loves her too and would be happy for her to live with us. My in-laws on the other hand? Uh... No. In your situation, I'm not sure. The are several red flags but they don't seem insurmountable.

We have lunch together at the Indian restaurant across the street from our work almost every single day. We discuss theology topics. We read the same books and blogs and discuss them. We watch certain TV series together. We watch tennis together.

I say this to your MIL with all due respect... Poppycock My oldest is nearly 16. My youngest is 4. They are VERY close. She lights up his world and he absolutely spoils her rotten. Our friends have a son who is 11 and they just adopted an infant. That baby is the light of his life. You have that baby and watch your older child's world change forever...for the better.

That is definitely true. It's been a rough year for Malaysian politics with the election scandal of last spring still hanging over everyone. The PM is definitely not Dr. M. I am off to bed now and I hope and pray that there are some real answers when I wake up. Not knowing is the worst part for everyone. I know it's improbable but a part of me keeps hoping they landed the plane and people survived. A student from our school was recently killed in an airplane crash from Penang to Laos and it devastated our community. It's all very sad indeed.

My family in Michigan is getting pummeled too. I feel so bad for my mom because all this cold and snow makes her arthritis more painful. My brothers are constantly trying to dig out of their own driveways so they can then go dig out my mother. It is awful. Over here we are having the worst heat wave and drought in a very long time. It is "sweat rolling down your back" hot. Have you ever been so hot you get goosebumps on your arms? It hasn't rained in two months. Everything is dead. The grass is gone and even my bamboo tree has turned brown. Dust and haze everywhere. It's like the entire island is dehydrating and shrinking. It reminds me of a verse from Yeats where he describes the Sphinx as having "a gaze blank and pitiless as the sun." I now know just how pitiless the sun is. I'll give you some of our heat if I can have some of your precipitation! :)

Singapore? I LOVE Singapore. I know it catches some flack for being so rigid and rules-oriented but as a left-brained person, their wonderfully organized country is so awesome! And everyone I have met there is so polite. Really great place.

The comments may be unflattering but they are nonetheless true. People say unflattering things about Americans on these boards all the time, and those comments often have some truth behind them. We need to be honest about ourselves and others. Honesty in this situation means that Malaysians have a blind spot when it comes to speaking unpleasant truths. This is affecting how they are communicating information with the non-Malaysian world. THAT is painting themselves in an unflattering light. It doesn't mean I dislike Malaysians. I love Malaysians. This is my home. But that doesn't mean I have to act like they are perfect. I love my family too but I don't act like they are perfect either. Same concept.

Yes I do love the people here. They are not without their faults just as Americans are not without faults. Americans are demanding... We want answers NOW. But we also value transparency and see ourselves as deserving information from our leaders and rightly so. Malaysians are fiercely loyal to their country and culture. They take great pride in it. I love that about them. But it also makes them very reluctant to admit to faults in their system. When people are asking why they can't get a straight answer out of Malaysian officials and instead get "now is not the time to discuss it" they are frustrated. I am frustrated. That is the American in me speaking. My post was an attempt to make others who think like I do understand why things are happening the way they are. Doesn't make it less frustrating necessarily but inside information hopefully leads to better comprehension and even understanding.

Have you lived in Malaysia? Do you know anything about it? Because I do. And I learned this from them. When I asked questions it was explained to me this way. It is part of our cross-cultural training that the Malaysians themselves conduct. They will tell you themselves that it is true. And i have experienced it every day for nearly five years. I think I know a bit more about it than you do so unless you want to come live here and experience it for yourself, you'll just have to trust me.

I don't know whether or not there is a criminal cover up but I am willing to bet they are covering their botched handling of the whole affair from the immigration/passport issues up until now. You have to understand the culture of "shame/saving face" to get it. They almost NEVER admit when they are wrong. It is too much cause for shame. This affects every part of their lives...even little things. You can ask them for directions somewhere and rather than tell you they don't know where the place is, they will make up directions. If you are in a store and ask them a question about a product they will tell you they are out of stock rather than admit they don't know the answer to your question. When I first arrived here I was stunned by the amount of flat-out lying that occurs about everything. But culturally for them it is acceptable to lie rather than to tell an unpleasant truth. They hate any kind of confrontation. Combine a culture of saving face with a culture of "rank and title means everything." So you have authorities who not only feel you do not have the right to question them but who also will not admit when they are wrong or give you an honest but unpleasant answer (especially if it implicates them in any way). Now combine that with a country that highly favors their Malay/Muslim population including having a set of strict bumiputra laws (think affirmative action on steroids) and will do anything to make sure nothing makes Muslims look bad (and who do we tend to automatically blame when there is a terrorist attack?). Now combine THAT with a country where rules and laws in general are basically just suggestions...no police presence anywhere, corruption, bribes, etc., and you have Malaysia. So, did Malaysia do something criminal they are trying to cover up? I doubt it. To be perfectly honest, they are not technologically advanced enough to pull that off. We don't even have decent internet here! But has Malaysia botched several aspects of this situation? Probably. Letting stolen passports through immigration, pilots hanging out with women and smoking in the cockpit on previous flights, waffling on time and radar data, and on and on... until they can spin this so that nothing reflects poorly on them, the officials will continue giving vague answers. It's just how they do things here.

As it is in most of life, the truth lies in the middle. The Chinese and Malays have a MUTUAL dislike of one another. And while the search may be difficult, it is also NOT common for people to "demand" answers from those in authority here. People in authority positions are considered to be above questioning. Just last week there was an incident at our state track meet. One of our coaches asked an official about the number of laps recorded for an individual (the official was absolutely incorrect) and was told "how dare you question me!! I am the official. You have no right to even speak to me!" Unfortunately, that is a common attitude here. So on the news shows here the Malaysian officials seem to be a combination of perplexed and perturbed that they are having to even answer any questions from the world about what happened. On the other hand, nothing like this has ever happened here. Malaysia is not used to being in the international spotlight and they don't seem to know how to handle all of it. I'm trying hard not to be cynical but cover-ups and corruption are the name of the game here so I have my doubts on their handling of this to say the least. I truly hope I am wrong.

If it is just essentially a Sunday school class and you will be nearby to change him then I don't see the problem.