gadgetlady

Oh, OK, so it's unrelated. It was just a generic opportunity to lambast "those fundamental Christians." It had nothing to do with the situation at hand. I get it.

Because IT'S NOT THEIR MONEY! The purchaser PAID it to the corporation, not to the State! No one forced them to do it; they did it voluntarily, knowing the risks. Just because the money is sitting there doesn't mean the government gets to claim 60% of it. :faint: Why don't we just give the State ALL our money, since they're so good at "doing good things" with it? Yeah, right.

Seriously? I knew when I bought the gift card for my brother for Christmas that he might not use it right away, might hold onto it for a year or two or even more. That's a risk I took, just like the risk I would have taken buying him a Christmas sweater that he'd never wear. It's not the State's money to take! They have no right to it -- just because they see it as "sitting there" they deserve a 60% cut? Suppose they start eyeballing your savings account next -- after all, it's just sitting there, right? And you really believe if they take it they won't tax you as well? Taxes are going to go down because Uncle Fred didn't use his Target gift card? Not gonna happen. Gotta feed the beast. The more you feed him, the stronger he gets and the more he tries to take.

I am BLOWN AWAY by this story. What the hell right does the State (capital "S" intentional) have to come into a retail store and tell them to hand over 60% of the cost of "dormant" gift cards? Maine: Why let unused gift cards go to waste? - Retail - MSNBC.com The most amazing part of the story is in the last paragraph: "The refusal of national firms to pay up has left a hole in the state budget." IT WAS NEVER THEIR MONEY IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! And they put it in the budget, and now it's the retailer's fault? We live in a scary, scary world.

You seriously, seriously think Jamie Lynn Spears is an example of abstinence education gone wrong? You seriously, seriously think this child didn’t know what birth control was and that had she been instructed as to what it was and how to use it, she wouldn’t be pregnant right now? Seriously? In the world she lives in?

Personally, based on our family's worldview, we talk about what kind of trouble premarital sex can get you into, how having a baby at 16 will change her life, what the baby's life will be like, etc.

travelgirl, have you ever listened to the audio story "Tilly"? I know a lot of women who have gone through what you're going through and many of them have said it's very healing. It's a book by Frank Peretti but it can also be found on tape and I believe there's also a movie now. I listened to it about 15 years ago and it was extremely powerful.

I wonder which part of me is part Greek? I've always believed that a benevolent dictatorship was a great government option. It is unfortunate that the "non-elected" Judiciary also has their "moods", as evidenced by the current (and past) wars over long-term judicial appointments. Would that there were a non-biased, robotic way to adjudicate the issues . . .

IMO, you can be trailer trash regardless of how much money you have. Didn't you know you can only have sex after 11pm?

Wow, Elena. Just wow. Those of us who have never suffered any oppression like to think we understand, but we really have no concept, do we?

I think the biggest parenting mistake they made is worshipping the almighty god of money. I don't know too much about the family, but from what I've heard briefly, the parents' income is dependent on the kids' success in entertainment. Not a very responsible way to parent, I would say. Throw your kids to the wolves in exchange for a nice paycheck and what do you get? Kids who were raised by wolves.

travelgirl, I wept when I read this. I am sorry for your pain. Please know that we all make mistakes and you need to forgive yourself. You can't go back; you can only go forward and learn and teach others.

I rarely agree with you, TommyO, but on this issue (tyranny of the masses) I couldn't agree more. Might -- or majority vote -- doesn't always make right.

I had a pastor once who had "random blessing" dinners -- as he said, "because we don't believe in pot and we don't believe in luck."

LOL! That's precisely why I DON'T allow my kids to have any teen idols. I refuse to let them get attached to the most recent "clean pre-teen" because I fear what he/she might be in 5 years. And when I explain it to them, I use Mousekateer Brittany as my example.

Their parents must be soooo sad. One does it and you can write it off as a bad egg. Two and you have to take a good hard look at your parenting skills.

Homeschool2

SORRY - I misspoke! The quiz is on BOTH Roe AND Doe as a "combined" legal decision. (I sure wish that editing function worked [grrr])

How well do you know Roe? Click here and take the test Welcome. You can skip past the page that asks for your contact information so you don't get on any mailing lists you don't want to be on. The questions are interesting and you might be surprised at what you THINK the Roe v. Wade decision said and what it ACTUALLY said. Remember, this quiz is on Roe only, not Doe v. Bolton.

Thanks for the info, but thankfully that's no what she has. She just has normal cuticles that happen to be very thick. No yellowing at all. I WILL try the pomade, though!

I appreciate the thoughts, phyllisc and Wheetin, but believe it or not she already gets a professional manicure AND pedicure once a week! I took her to a podiatrist who recommended surgery for ingrown toenails, so we undertook the pedicure route instead hoping we could avoid surgery. And her fingernail cuticles overgrow and are very thick, so that was the reason for the manicures. I understand her compulsion to pick at them because they're so thick. We have given her lip balm but she doesn't much care for it and only uses it when we notice how awful her lips are and remind her. The problem is she's a beautiful girl who's going to start to get scars on her lips if she persists. My mom just promised her that she could wear her, my mom's, earrings at Christmas if she didn't pick at her nails between now and then. We'll see how that works. The problem is all of these compulsions are things we can't keep tabs on all the time. We only notice her picking her cuticles if she happens to be doing it in front of us. Anywho, I appreciate the ideas! You guys are (as usual) awesome.

Ohhh, I've had this too on and off. Mostly when I was pregnant. It was AWFUL! I used to have my dh yank on my legs to try to make it stop. Blech.

LOL! I just don't know if there is a solution or not. It was my impression that you either have these tendencies or you don't, and if they're severe you can medicate or be in long-term intensive therapy, but they never go away.

Thanks for the thought. I talked to her pediatrician about it and she said there's no need at this point because it's rather benign. Is there a (non-drug) remedy to OCD? I don't know too much about it. Non-destructive OCD habits I can think of: worry beads, doodling, etc. I'm looking for something she doesn't need implements for.

I'm actually looking for a non-destructive compulsion for my 10YO daughter. She switches between: picking at her lips until they bleed, picking at her cuticles until they bleed, biting her nails down so far it's painful, and picking her toenails down so far she's in danger of ingrown toenails. I understand she's a bit OCD and I'd like to find her a compulsion she can adopt that doesn't involve (mild) mutilation of her body. Any ideas?