Hillary Clinton: Why she is the Only Real Anti-Abortion, Whole-Life Choice for Christians

As a life long pro-life Democrat, my interest has always been a genuinely whole-life platform. It has been clear to me, this year more than ever, that the Democratic platform is more …

Source: Hillary Clinton: Why she is the Only Real Anti-Abortion, Whole-Life Choice for Christians

I miss my grandma

Some years ago now my grandpa PBUH passed unexpectedly just before Thanksgiving. I recall talking to him on the phone the week prior and happily telling him that I’d see him next week, but I never got to see him again. Everyone who knew my grandfather loved him. He would cheerfully talk to strangers, he would always listen, and he was smart and funny. My grandfather was a great man and he will always be missed.

Unfortunately now this year my grandma PBUH will not be joining us either. Opinionated, ornery, and particular, she was perhaps less easy to love but – leaving it at that #respect – my grandfather adored her and appreciated her. She raised a fine family the best she could under often difficult circumstances. Like many separated by generation, she and I disagreed on politics and religion, but I will always credit her for her determined efforts to save my soul and her constant willingness to freely debate the issues of the day. Too many people refuse to discuss and defend their opinions but not my grandmother. She loved many and many loved her, and we will all miss her this year and every Thanksgiving we have left.

It’s important to be thankful for the time we get to spend with family. You never know when it will be the last.

Study on online charter schools: ‘It is literally as if the kid did not go to school for an entire year’

Reading this study about online charter schools is troubling. Even though I’ve no children to worry about (thankfully), these people will be taking care of us when we’re old. Of at least equal importance is these are the people who will be called upon to advance and protect our civilization and our species. A book I’m reading now talks about how when the Soviets launched Sputnik, American parents, teachers, and politicians were shocked into awareness that something wasn’t right with our educational system. By and large they banded together at that time (1950s) to aggressively tackle the issues. Nowadays we have governors taking money from universities to give it to the already wealthy, underfunding public schools suffering from decades of white flight, school shootings, rampant homeschooling, privatizing and/or closing schools, etc. In Ohio these ‘alternative’ schools seem to be gaining a terrible reputation, and then this about online charter schools. It’s troubling to me and I don’t have any children, so hopefully people with children are doing something besides complaining about standardized tests or Common Core. Mostly over the past 10-15 years I’ve just seen conservatives defend No Child Left Behind against liberal critics, and then the same conservatives inveigh against Common Core and what seems like teachers in general. I don’t know what the answers are but I can see where we rank against other countries, and we’re not #1. We should be #1.

“Is our children learning?” – George W. Bush