I think it is regional. I've been having problems cleaning the 'y' out of my words. IOW, you say ant with the whiny a, I say it aynt (not aunt, but a-y-nt).

I think there's a lot of people that fall into the 'whatever works for you' category too. I don't really care, as long as people are feeding their babies something besides sugar water and juice. Honestly, the most vocal folks, furthest from center, are not the majority, they're just really loud.

I found this: A quote - 'Sorrow with his pick mines the heart, but he is a cunning workman. He deepens the channels whereby happiness may enter, and he hollows out new chambers for joy to abide in, when he is gone.' - Author unknown from the free on-line book psychological self-help. here: http://www.ask.com/bar?q=who+wrote%2C+%22Grief%2C+with+his+pick%2C+mines+the+heart%22&page=1&qsrc=2417&ab=0&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.peterfox.com.au%2Fanalect_archive04.htm

Heather First, not everyone sees this as the result of a single election, rather the direction the government has been heading for quite some time. Second, no one, that I'm aware of, is stockpiling weapons just yet. People are starting to get edgy and uncomfortable at what they see as the wearing away of their rights. Finally, push come to shove, yes, I could see standing and fighting for what I believe is right. The question is, at what point will it become too much?

Imo, the kid should've watched where he left his bike. Technically, though, isn't it their fault, because it happened on their property? Not sure about the liability there, but I think that's right. I wouldn't pay for the bike, it shouldn't have been there, and he had warning, she said she was leaving.

Thank you. I never heard you had to pass a test, or learn some secret ability to have an opinion.

One might be tempted to say the same for you. She comes from a different set of circumstances and different background. Her view of race is different. That does not mean that her view of Obama centers around his race. She made a comment about his race, her views concerning his race are different from yours, obviously, but it does not automatically follow that ALL of her opinions on Obama are centered around his race. IOW, not as exclusively black. Some people have more distinctions where race is concerned. Personally, I don't even try to guess anymore. I say what color if it's important (light tannish whatever), but I avoid trying to nail down someone's race, because people today are so mixed, it's pretty hard to get it right. Just because you or society see things one way doesn't a. make it right or b. make any alternative wrong. It's interesting because it almost seems as though you're trying to make people adhere to the old standards, which were, imo, rediculously vague.

Ooooh! Okay. Then go out of order. I was coming from the perspective of sites that are open year round, I didn't realize they weren't "open" when you would've covered them.

Mommaduck answered above, since she was the one you asked ;) My point was that people with brains have the "ability" to have opinions, even ones you don't agree with or may find faulty. She thinks, therefore she has the ability to have an opinion.

Personal opinion.

I would have loved to have voted for Colin Powell. I see what you're saying now, about the CN. I hadn't heard anything about all that (side effect of no t.v.). I do agree with your slavery statement.

I really have SpyCar to thank for introducing me to MEP. I have been stunned by the "higher level" math that ds has done. For every other subject, I expected my kids to do well and never took "I can't" or "it's too hard" for an answer, but in math... well, I expected it to be so HARD. With MEP, the level he's reaching is incredible, to me anyway :)

I've noticed it runs towards special interest groups to the point where the majority is completely ignored. IOW, in an ironic twist, the majority is silenced and all of the special interest groups get their way. I voted for him :( I'm shocked and upset by the direction he has gone. I expected someone that would do what he thought was best, not someone that would do things 'for our own good.' Imo, there's a vast difference. Rank them with the anti-christ people. Sheesh.

Are you planning on moving any time soon? We live near George Washington's Birthplace, Stratford Hall and a ton of other historic sites. I plan on going to all those places specifically for that point in history when we get to it. Granted, we go pretty often anyway, but we don't usually pay too much attention to any of the tours and just wander, soaking it in. If you aren't planning on moving, then go for the excitement of attending, but go again when you're covering it for history. That second visit, you can go more in depth :)

People wanting less government intervention does not necessarily mean they're racist or want "all white" anything. It means they think the government has gotten too big and has stopped listening to the voices of the people they're supposed to be representing. ETA, that's a pretty big jump.

DD was a surprise and I was foolish. With older ds, I hadn't had my time for four months and was not pregnant. I was scared to go to the doctors, we have cervical issues in the family and I didn't want to know. We stopped using any bcmethod, thinking I was sick or there was something wrong. I went to the docs, dragged by Mom and big sister, and found out I was pregnant, but only a few weeks. We never figured out why I'd missed the other four months. Youngest ds...... well......... older ds was looking like such a big boy and we both thought, golly we should have another baby, so we tried, once... the next day we thought, that was crazy let's never speak of it again... And now we have Luke :)

:001_huh: You've only gotten to read one of my good posts... trust me ;) :lol:

Lol, in our house that's known as 'doing a Grampa.' Dh's grampa used to rattle the plates when he wanted me to do dishes, or mow the grass under dh's window (repeatedly) when he wanted dh to cut the grass... :lol: That's what dh does now when he wants me to do something and I warn him off from being a grampa....

Have you asked him? That's what I did. Dh and I worked out a system together. Really, if you ask him what to do it will solve half the problem already. He'll know that you don't want to nag, and he'll know he's putting you in a position where you don't know what to do other than nag. Plus you'll be asking him for advice, that will give him the warm fuzzies, and since you gave him a voice in how to deal with it, he'll appreciate the system more.

Don't get me started on the Romulans.:glare: Those people (why do I still not have a smiley that's rolling its eyes???). :lol:

Perhaps they prefer to keep that private? Maybe they think they'll be "attacked" if they come forward? Pretty sad, imo, that people would need to be leary of stating their opinions for fear of a public forum lynching, but I can't blame them. There are some opinions I keep to myself for the same reason. Also, the definition of "privately" could be taken differently by different people. Maybe they think, as long as no one realizes that is what you're doing, you're fine. IOW, as long as it's not obvious. For those people, maybe, breasts are considered too private to be "out" in public. Who knows?

I heard a program on NPR where they discussed a person's needed level of risk. They said that laws that reduce risk only increase a person's need to risk. IOW, seat belt laws mean that a person has to drive twice as dangerously to fulfill their needed level of risk. It's not exactly what you're talking about, but pretty close, imo. One of the reasons that mankind has moved forward is through the risk takers, pushing the limits and doing things that couldn't be done. The survival instinct, fight or flight, could feed into that. So, as a society, maybe we look for reasons to spur on the fight or flight survival instinct and then those give us reasons to take more risks?

If you haven't read "The Well-Trained Mind," you should. She explains how to after-school, if you'd rather not home school. How much is it worth to you to keep your daughter's love of learning alive? It sounds like they're squelching it where she's at.