Free, Free for You and Me!

I hate the word FREE. It has been overused, misused, misrepresented and just downright made to mislead. You always have to look for that stupid asterisk that tells you what they really mean. *with purchase of...

My kids, since they could read were always the first to the mailbox. Back with a handful of ads they came and on to the pouring over the pictures. Oh, the colors! The toys! The stuff, stuff, stuff! Then one would come running to me"Look what we can get for FREE!". This line was, as a new mom( I considered myself new for far too long), a great time for a lesson. How we need to be careful how we read and especially ads. Ads are designed to deceive and to explain this to my innocents was too much. The disappointment in their faces, unbearable. They could not understand why anyone would lie. And that is just what they called it , a lie. We put a stop on all ads coming to the mailbox.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="220" caption="Tux rules!"][/caption]

I have finally come across something truly FREE. Linux and open source. They do not call it free because it costs time and understanding. A reasonable attitude. It is an operating system. Did you know you had a choice? Windows is NOT the only thing out there! I thought it was and was confounded to see other systems show up on the internet forums and such.  I thought I was savvy when I dropped Internet Explorer for Bing and then I found Firefox!

I have been on this contraption for only about 3 years. A laptop, a remarkable machine, that is at once confounding and surreal. I have learned a lot just by using it. But you can never just accept what has been installed by the manufacturers. They are in it for the repurchasing of more software, more machines, repairs and what have you. Once you step out into the shareware and open source field there is an infinite supply of ideas.

As a home educator do you want a free paint program for kids? A math program? Planetarium? Chemistry? Office? Just imagine it and it probably exists for FREE!

Sharing is just what they do too! Free wallpapers, software,code, you name it. I won't pretend I understand it all but it is definitely worth the time to delve into.

This Linux even gives you the tools to be able bring back what would otherwise be considered dead machines.

So If you want to stretch your mind and abilities look into it!

To Let Sleep or To Drag Out of Bed? That is the Question.....

Just when do teenagers wake up???

I let mine sleep .....most of the time ...late. I remember as a kid sleeping late , only on weekends. My Pop would come into my room, lift the covers, jam his hand under me, sawing back and forth and say "I'm cuttin' the roots!". He would inform me that the day was gone, at 11Am I considered this the very start!

Now I have my own set of bed plants. I let them sleep. Isn't that why I have them at home? So  they can be allowed their natural rhythm, in life and "education". We know that the teenage brain is not ready for action until mid morning. Why bother fighting it? I wish I could get that Mommy out of my head that says 'time to get up'.

[caption id="attachment_984" align="alignright" width="300" caption="If you look close you can see the roots..."][/caption]

Still, the night's dishes not done are quite the test for me not to go roaring in and get them up! Yes, I have done it. But that is part of life too. Don't do the job, receive the consequences. The smell in their room is sometimes enough to rethink any entrance.

So , I can do the dishes. The smell will eventually go away (I hope). Let 'em sleep.

Green, Green and In Between

The environment is on all our minds lately. It should have been on our minds 30-40 years ago. While there were those out there screaming for environmental awareness, the media ignored, even quashed their voices. So is it too late? Well, that question can never really be answered because our Creator is ever merciful. So, what do we do now?

We must continue on. Even on the day we see the sun rise in the West, go out and plant your fruit tree.

I have put together some actions that our family does to GREEN up our house. If you can only do one then, at least, you are doing something, but in reality we all have to do more. Try to incorporate something else each week, ia cleaner Earth is worth the effort.

Another reward to all this is in the education of our children in environmental issues that will be a part of their lives. Just like we teach them to look both ways when crossing the street,so too must we expose them to these very real issues.

Water

~use only a newer dishwasher and ONLY when full

~In the sink put a bowl to fill with water instead of the whole sink

~ Use that rainwater! Put barrels or buckets under gutters to catch rainwater. You will be surprised at the tremendous amount of water is shed by your roof. Be sure to lid or screen for safety and mosquitos! Use the water for plants, pets or washing the steps.If you have a metal roof you may be able to use it for more.

~ Showers not baths. Littles can shower together , a mat or towel in the bottom keeps them from slipping.

~Don't run the water when brushing. Better yet fill a cup for the purpose of brush rinse, try to use one or two cups.

~ Don't flush each time you pee. Yes! I said it! While you can amend this for company the old adage...

If it's YELLOW

Let it MELLOW,

If it's BROWN

Flush it DOWN!

..really saves water. Also a brick in the tank displaces some water, so if little hand like to see the water swirl not as much will go down the drain!

Electricity

~UNPLUG! 70% or more of our consumption is when we are not using the appliance!Your microwave, computer, can-opener, toaster and if you have one, T.V. do not need to remain plugged in all the time. some may say "But I don't want to reset the clock!" Well, just how many clocks do y ou need? Just this act alone could save us all a lot. Look around at what you can unplug. If it holds time or light it is pulling energy.

~Line dry clothes. I did this even in the winter in Maine! Inside and out, even for those rainy days.

~Switch to spiral bulbs.But get the full spectrum bulbs for reading by( a study says they are better for the eyes and mood)

~Make it a principle to turn off the lights you are not using

~Outside lights can be a photo sensor that will go on only when you need it.

Food

~Grow a garden, even in pots. Herbs are expensive in the store but in the garden are beautiful! A garden saves gas and in the big picture it saves all the junk that is added to the environment if you were to buy it at the grocery, packaging bags and pesticides.

~Compost, hand in hand with gardening it keeps the trash can clean, builds the soil in the long run builds a healthier garden.

~ Buy local

~ Dry or can your produce

~ Plant something for the butterflies,bees and birds! Without pollinators our choice of food is quite minimal.

Heating/Cooling

~Don't just curtain the windows, curtain the entire wall. This is especially effective for the south pr west wall in summer, north  in winter.

~ Clean any filters regularly. The unit will be more efficient and effective in its job.

Crafts/Other

~Bike or walk to the grocery, park or library. It will get you and the environment healthy. Remember, when you bike dress bright and wear a helmet!

~ Don't drive or fill up with gas on very hot days. If you must get gas ,get it in the morning or evening.

~ Don't idle in your car or use drive-thrus. Turn it off and go inside.

~ Old clothes are cut into rags and buttons or findings saved for projects

~ All recyclables are put out for collection. I am amazed how few people on my street do this and yet have trash cans overflowing!

~Re usable bags for shopping. Put one or more in the car and in your pack so you don't forget them at home.

~Use thrift stores, the ultimate in recycling.

~Plan your trips in the car. A little planning can save a lot of gas.

~Baking soda and vinegar are great for cleaning! We need to stop our love affair with the chemical industry, we are poisoning ourselves right out of the planet.

~ Vinegar is great for repelling bugs. Spray a mist on baseboards to ward the nasties off.

~ Don't over buy. We all love bargains but just how much do we really need it? I do not mean family pack food but the extra toys, clothes and just plain junk that seems to accumulate then end up in the landfills. Think of all that packaging ! I think the corporations should be more responsible in how they package us to death.

Well now, that seems like a lot but there is always more to do. Start small and learn as you go. Kids love to see us learn and struggle to learn more.That's natural. Hopefully our struggle will be their ease.

Go Be Green!

Some places to go: http://products.mercola.com/light-bulbs/http://www.carbonrally.com/challenges/10 http://www.rodale.com/washing-dishes-dishwasher-vs-hand-washing?page=0%2C2

College, Smollege....... Get a Real Life!

So, I have been perusing home school sites and forums. It is my usual to vacillate between looking for ideas and going it alone. I am independent, probably to a fault. But I also realize that I shouldn't re-invent the wheel. I go looking for ideas and then feel like I am stealing if I didn't come up up with it on my own! DUH!

So, I read a lot. I have noticed that many of us have a measuring device to claim success in our choice to educate at home, college. "Johnny is wanted by two colleges." "Sue went to Harvard!" "What do I have to do to get the twins into college?"

I think that this stinks! Too harsh? Maybe, but did we choose a different path for our prodigy just to measure them by the mainstream? That is what this amounts to, going back to what we rejected to begin with.

Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.- Oscar Wilde

I am a college graduate. After high school I went to work but soon discovered that my managers were, shall we say , less than intelligent. The thing that got them their position, in my 18 year old mind, was that college diploma. If they could get one anyone could! So,I went.

Thousands of dollars later my first job was at minimum wage, so was the second and the third! They got me!! I eventually got positions that paid more but that wonderful diploma did only one thing, it got me looked at a little more. My raises were based on time on the job and my ability. My ability was not developed in college but in all my life experiences. College did teach me one thing, there is ALWAYS more to learn! And college is a business.

Some colleges are for-profit run by companies (as opposed to non-profit,state colleges).This list is NOT an Ad but a list so one might realize which are for -profit colleges!

• American InterContinental University


• Art Institute of Atlanta


• Art Institute of Pittsburgh


• Capella University


• DeVry University


• Heald College


• Kaplan University


• Miami International University of Art & Design


• Pittsburgh Technical Institute


• Post University


• Strayer University


• University of Phoenix

These have been under scrutiny for unethical practices, high interest loans and pushing students into signing and more. Read it here

The non-profits , for most of us still have to be paid for with loans. An instrument that will follow the student for years after. And to top it off there is still no guarantee of a high pay job or a job at all!.

I think that as home educators we, of all people, should see the alternative avenues to college that are available instead of college. John Holt said....

"I have come to believe that a person's schooling is as much a part of his private business as his politics or religion, and that no one should be required to answer questions about it. May I say instead that most of what I know I did not learn in school, and indeed was not even 'taught.'"

Why then, do we think that this would be good for our explorers of the world? I think a backpack and a ticket to Europe or South America would prove more advantageous. Why did we choose the road not taken only to get back out on the main thoroughfare?

“Action is with the scholar subordinate, but it is essential. Without it, he is not yet man. Without it, thought can never ripen into truth. Whilst the world hangs before the eye as a cloud of beauty, we cannot even see its beauty. Inaction is cowardice, but there can be no scholar without the heroic mind. The preamble of thought, the transition through which it passes from the unconscious to the conscious, is action. Only so much do I know, as I have lived. Instantly we know whose words are loaded with life, and whose not.” - Emerson

Like I said, I am independent. College can be a great place to learn and expose yourself to things. But it should not be looked upon by the home school community as a measurement of success or intelligence or parental diligence.  Our efforts stand out regardless .

So, I say to all of us that may be sweating the "college thing" on the forums or other venues...

"LET IT GO!"

Keep your records (some have to) but let the children explore and don't weigh them down with the race for college. It just feels right.

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,


And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Little Brown Bat?

The other day as my daughter was about to hang laundry on the outside line she noticed something on the quilt that was already hanging. She thought it was a leaf and was about to remove it when she realized it was a bat! Excited ,she ran to tell me. I, unfortunately, was sure it was a mistake.



¨How could a bat be on my quilt ? The line is only 5.5 feet high, and it is in the sun. Don´t bats sleep in the shade or hide? ¨ were just some of the thoughts in my mind.

My entourage of children and I approached very slowly the brown apparition. WOW! It is a bat!! It could not be but three to four inches long, lying in the head down position and yet still clinging to the quilt by it´s feet. Is it a baby? Why?Why? Why? As many questions filled the air as fast as all of us could form them. This velvety brown little bat was sound asleep and did not move while we studied him, except to toss a bit like we do when we sleep. I assumed it was a lost baby. It was right in the sun, I worried just that would hurt it.

The kids and I talked about that Nature is sometimes hard and we see things die, we see it with baby birds lost in spring. So with this in mind we left the bat alone to see what course Nature would take.

Our friend , age 11, came by and when we showed him the treasure on our clothes line his question was ¨ Why do you guys get a Bat?!¨  ! As though we ¨were given ¨ this wild creature, we of course told him it was merely resting or abandoned and just got a blessing to see it. A kid´s mind is a beautiful thing!

An hour or so later, I got the idea to search Bat Rescue. I knew about conservation efforts but would there be a rescue? Lo and behold there was a few hits AND someone in my state. I called and got more numbers and called them. No one was close by. I was told my bat may be a Little Brown Bat. So, I did more research on my own.

Bats, like honeybees, have a disease that is decimating populations. Like honeybees, we cannot survive without the bat. Less than one half of one percent of bats have rabies. We also have misconceptions about the bat that are hard to get rid of......

No subject has generated more misinformation and fear about bats than rabies. So let's look at the facts. Worldwide, more than 55,000 people are estimated to die of rabies each year (World Health Organization), primarily from contacts with rabid dogs. In industrialized countries, most dogs and cats are now vaccinated against rabies, and the disease is rare in humans and usually results from contact with rabid wildlife, particularly bats. In the United States from 1995 through 2009, an average of two people per year have died of rabies associated with bats.

With proper education, the presence of bats does not pose public health conflicts. For example, approximately 1½ million Mexican free-tailed bats live under the Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin, Texas. A well-publicized tourist attraction, the bridge bats attract tens of thousands of people each summer to watch the bats emerge in the evenings on their nightly insect hunts. No human case of bat-transmitted rabies has ever been recorded in Austin or surrounding communities.   

From Bat Conservation International

I found that if you find a bat give it 24 hrs to see if it will recover on its own. At    Batworld.org      , they give a warning......

Do NOT handle the bat with bare hands and do not
attempt to rehabilitate the bat on your own. To do so could
jeopardize your safely as well as the life of the bat.



Fair and reasonable, a bat is a wild animal and should be treated with the same respect as any wild animal.

Our bat was not there in the morning, YEAH! This means that unless something ate it, he is not hurt nor abandoned. He is out there in my night sky eating up all those bugs that bite us or make us uncomfortable. Go, Bat, go!



Bats eat the insects that bother us and pollinate the beauty around us. We need to protect the things that give us rest( from too many mosquitoes) and give us food. The following is also from Bat Conservation Intn´l. on some ways we can help the bats.

Know what my bat is? Tell us!

Have a bat story? What do you do for Eden?

Facts on the Fly!
THINGS YOU CAN DO TO PROMOTE BAT CONSERVATION
You don’t need to travel far or have a degree in biology to help bats. You can make a difference for bat conservation by
working on local projects. Every community has unique needs. These suggestions may apply to the bats where you live.
Much more information and downloadable publications are available at BCI’s website: www.batcon.org.
Things EVERYONE can do for bats:
After centuries of myths and misunderstandings, bats have
acquired a poor public image. You can help counter these myths
by raising public awareness about bats in your community.
Because bats are mammals, they are susceptible to the rabies
virus, making sick individuals a possible risk to people who
know little about them. Due to fears that are often greatly exaggerated, many bats are needlessly killed. You can help save bats
from misguided persecution by:
• Joining Bat Conservation International and obtaining
the most up-to-date information about bats and bat
conservation. To join, visit www.batcon.org.
• Giving bat lectures to local schools, nature centers, zoos,
museums or libraries. Presentations and videos are available through BCI’s catalog.
• Donating books and other educational materials about
bats to local libraries, resource centers or schools.
• Writing a positive article about bats for your local news-
paper (especially for Halloween).
• Helping people safely remove stray bats from living
quarters. This can be done easily by covering the bat
with a coffee can when it lands and slipping a piece of
cardboard between the wall and the can. Then the bat
can be released outside. Do not attempt to handle bats
without gloves, as they may bite in self-defense.
• Answering questions or directing people to BCI during
public health scares.
• Educating local pest-control operators about humane
exclusion techniques. Exclusion is the only effective way
to remove a nuisance colony of bats from a building.
Poisons, naphthalene flakes and harmless repellant
devices do not deter bats and may actually harm
humans.
• Providing facts about bats and rabies to local health
departments, veterinarians and personal physicians. To
obtain detailed information about bats and public health
issues, visithttp://www.batcon.org/
• Installing a bat house as part of an exclusion project or
just to bring bats into your backyard. BCI’s website
provides designs and detailed instructions for building
and installing bat houses. You can also order a ready-
made bat house, the Bat House Builder’s Handbook or the
Building Homes for Bats DVD from BCI’s online catalog.
• Learning more about the bats in your state by visiting
the ‘Species Profiles’ section of www.batcon.org.
• Volunteering to advocate for bats in your community.
Things TEACHERS and STUDENTS can do for bats:
Bats rank among the world’s most diverse and fascinating mammals, yet few people know anything about them. People must
first understand bats before they can really care about their survival
. You can increase bat awareness by:
• Teaching a unit on bats. Exciting curricula aids are
available through BCI.
• Learning more about the bats in your state by visiting
the ‘Species Profiles’ section of www.batcon.org.
• Researching specific bat-related topics. Archived issues
of BATS magazine issues can be found at
www.batcon.org.
• Organizing a bat-appreciation day at your school and
educating other students about the importance of bats.
• Promoting the “Look, but do NOT touch” approach of
respecting wild animals.
• Adopt-A-Bat for the classroom. Students can take part
in conservation efforts, learn about a bat species of their
choice and receive a certificate and photo of the bat.
Things LANDOWNERS can do for bats:
Bats are losing their natural habitats around the world because
of increasing land development, agriculture and deforestation. In
many cases, bats can adapt to such changes if their needs for
water, insect prey and roosts are taken into consideration. To
mitigate the loss of natural roosts, many people also now provide
bats with alternative roosts, such as bat houses. All this and more
is available online at www.batcon.org. You can help by:
• Planting or preserving native vegetation that attracts
and supports a diversity of non-pest insects for bats to
feed on.
• Decreasing disturbance and destruction of cave and
abandoned-mine roosts via education, fencing or gating.
• Protecting roosting bats in abandoned buildings or pro-
viding artificial alternatives when such buildings must be
torn down. BCI can provide suggestions for construction of artificial roosts.
• Leaving snags in forests and woodlands to serve as natural homes for wildlife. Bats often roost in tree hollows,
under loose bark and in old snags, which are frequently
removed.
• Supplying open water resources where bats can drink
on the wing. Even a pool just ten feet by five feet can be
a big help to bats in need of a drink if the approaches
are not obstructed by vegetation.
• Constructing and installing a bat house. BCI’s
website provides designs and detailed instructions for
building and installing bat houses. You can also order a
ready-made bat house, the Bat House Builder’s Hand-
book or the Building Homes for Bats DVD from our
online catalog.
• Modifying a bridge to serve as a home for bats by work-
ing with your local highway department.
Join Bat Conservation International – Our members and donors make our conservation successes possible.
Bat Conservation International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to conservation, education and research initiatives
involving bats and the ecosystems they serve. For more information visit: www.batcon.org
©Bat Conservation International • P.O. Box 162603 • Austin, TX 78716 • USA • (512) 327-9721

http://www.batworld.org/

http://www.batrescue.org/

http://www.batworld.org/teachers-page/

Disable!

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. I am in need of recognition. I realized this as I began checking this blog daily. What are my stats? Not many look but it is thrilling to see the bar graph fill. I am interesting! OOPS! Not today....
What the HELL am I doing! WordPress furthers this mania by the share buttons, the stat page and the  Rate This  star bar.  I was enamored by the potential attention and fame. I never considered myself to be so needy. What a shock!

I began this blog for myself and for others , who like me have the children at home and more than one question not answered by the seemingly perfect home school or unschool sites. Not to be famous or care about stats. To be honest and forthcoming about the daily life of a family outside the mainstream.

It is with this new-found self I am disabling any social media and ratings. I am freeing myself of any implied expertise or fame! Should I become some sought after guru then I will enable more options. Until then I hope that someone will find something here useful ,interesting or entertaining. For us it will be a diary of sorts.

Have something to say ? Go for it but if I do not respond it DOES NOT mean I agree or disagree, just reading.

IISA Makes his first Banana Bread!

IISA got up at around seven AM and started mashing bananas. ¨This is for you!¨ he said with his sparkling blue eyes.
¨Did you take care of your bed?¨ asks Dad.
¨Yes¨
¨Then you can make what you want.¨

So he did. Mashed banana , sugar, milk and egg. Zeda helped by the addition of flour. Recipe? IIsa  just knows!

Into the oven it went. One hour, 350 degrees. Out came a very nice banana bread. Not too sweet either.

He and his siblings enjoyed it the entire day.

Never can tell what they will do next.

It´s Not Just Others that are Protesting

Food prices and unemployment are rising. This coupled with the assault on the common man, those in the lower and middle class, by the Wisconsin government  and Maine´s government have begun a people´s protest.
....But unions are right to be worried. Declining membership, being squeezed out of the private sector, and anti-union attitudes have all contributed to the labor movement's deterioration since the McCarthyist 50s, but particularly since the Reagan era. A blow like Wisconsin could never have been struck without the last 40 years of the slow debilitation of the unions after the incredible build-up of the workers' movement in the first half of the 20th century.

The corporations have been fighting a century long war of attrition, while we organizers have been either too-focused on the day-to-day, too-focused on the distant Revolution, or too willing to believe the myth of our own weakness.

The economy is but one indication that the current system hangs by but a thread. The environment is another. It's time we realized our own potential, our own power, and took advantage of the perpetual crisis to make a lasting change through overcoming--or at least balancing out--the over-concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few and redistributing them among the many.

Look around you. All is not right, all is not equal. Stop the wars! stop the war on workers!

Even children understand equal and fair. It is only when we ¨grow up¨ that we tend to rationalize why things are not fair. Why our brothers and neighbors have less or more. They don´t work hard enough, they are not smart enough. Or they are rich because they worked hard or perhaps are ¨self-made¨.  Nothing happens by it self, the CEOS of any business are nothing without the worker, the labor. The amusement park does not run without the ticket taker, computers are not made by fairies, on and on. Even Henry Ford knew if he did not pay his workers a fair wage they would not be able to buy the same cars they were making.

¨.....Although the Model T had made Henry Ford rich and famous, he continued to advocate for the masses. In 1914, Ford instituted a $5 a day pay rate for his workers, which was nearly double what workers were paid in other auto factories. Ford believed that by raising the workers' pay, the workers would be happier (and faster) on the job, their wives could stay home to care for the family, and the workers were more likely to stay with the Ford Motor Company (leading to less down-time for training new workers). Ford also created a sociological department in the factory that would examine workers' lives and try to make it better. Since he believed he knew what was best for his workers, Henry was very much against unions.¨

Solidarity!

Mardi Gras...... A party for the classes

An interesting history of Mardi Gras and class distinction is found here.   Secret Societies that were for only the rich , white , Christian males.



 

When Your Kid makes you Proud

Today started normally enough, kitchen a mess, kids sleeping late, and laundry. Everyone eventually was up to their own thing. Outside with friends. Somewhere.

About 1pm my husband went back to work. Sirah comes in crying that the police were at the football game. The game is a pick up of 4-7, 10 year olds on the lot across the street. I assure her all is fine and she is over doing it. I walk to the back of my yard, intending to just call in my crew but I see that Griffin, my fifteen year old, is in a stoic defensive posture. I am on my way!

I cross the street as my neighbor is just getting the first questions of a plain clothes cop."These your boys?"  There only two now and they are both mine. " Mine" I say. Idries , 10, looks red in the face and a bit scared. The cop, outside his vehicle, carries a badge, gun and tazer on his belt. He tells me that Idries was being beat up by the other boys and when he tried to question Idries (10) Griffin told him that he was fine. Just a football game.  He tried to ask more questions but Griffin told the cop that neither he nor Idries had to answer any questions! YEAH!! I told the officer that Griffin was correct and did not have to answer anything. Our neighbor called over his son (the alleged attacker) , all 60 pounds of him. The man with the gun confirmed this was the one doing the harm. By the way , Idries' best friend at the moment. But this was not the problem. The problem was Griffin's "attitude" and "back talk". His responsibility shown in asserting his rights.

This is our civics lessons in REAL LIFE!

Now, the cop never tried to hold those doing the "beating". He questioned the assault from the car but when his authority was denied he got out. Here is the best part, he called for back up. That's right, when confronting a fifteen year old that knows his fourth and fifth amendment rights and group of ten year old footballers, Pascagoula's finest calls for a squad car back up!

My son called his father when he saw the cop call for back up. The squad car with a uniformed gun toting man showed up and a second gun was at the scene of a kid's football game.Within ten minutes we were both there to back up our son. The officer was quite agitated and said that" Fine! Next time I'll let them get beat up!".

Griffin was never disrespectful. But he demanded his rights. This is what we teach him. It is very hard to do when the person in front of you has the ability to end your life in an instant.

I am very proud of my son!

 

Questions: So why didn't the cop just tell the kids to stop being rough?

Just stopping to say 'what's happening' without the power trip would be enough.

"Hey guys, that looks more like a fight than football!" is usually enough for any commotion. Why not?

The Supreme Court did not specify the exact wording to use when informing a suspect of their rights. However, the Court did create a set of guidelines that must be followed. The ruling states:

“

...The person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be clearly informed that he or she has the right to remain silent, and that anything the person says will be used against that person in court; the person must be clearly informed that he or she has the right to consult with an attorney and to have that attorney present during questioning, and that, if he or she is indigent, an attorney will be provided at no cost to represent her or him."

Carnival of Chaos 2011!

Happy New Year 2011! Welcome to the Carnival of Chaos where everyone is welcome.

For this edition submissions were few. The spam box was full and needed to be emptied regularly. As daunting as this chore is , most things start small and the weeds need to be picked.

[caption id="attachment_475" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="The Path Not Taken"][/caption]

 

For myself , this new year will be a year of calm and acceptance. I will teach myself that not all messes are to be cleaned up by me and not all clutter is bad! I have to remember that anyone with six kids at home ALL THE TIME will have clutter!

[caption id="attachment_477" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="six! count 'em!"][/caption]

 

And now to our Carnies!!

 

 



Welcome to the January 4, 2011 edition of carnival of chaos.

Read

Charles Chua C K presents Be Smart Be Knowledgeable posted at All About Living with Life We all need an admonition from time to time. Mr.Chua reminds us to be lifelong learners.





Danette M. Schott presents Help! S-O-S for Parents | Parental Involvement—the Cure for the Summer Slump! posted at Help! S-O-S for ParentsWhile it is not summer, I'm sure the Holidays can use these tips!

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Pascale Michelon presents The Top Brain Book Collection for Educators and Learners | SharpBrains posted at SharpBrains. Take a look! These are fun and sure to keep you active.





That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of chaos using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Watch The Business of Being Born online -

Watch The Business of Being Born online - Watch Movies Online, Full Movies.

This should be in every high school health class. Home birth and midwives are not out of the ordinary but extraordinary! The so called main stream birth and neonatal care needs to be seen for what it truly is, a business with only the bottom line in mind.

All of my six children were born with midwives. No C-sections or episiotomies. It makes a difference in the mother as well as the child. I'll post again with the studies that site the benefits of natural birthing. The Foundation for the Advancement of Midwifery and the Midwives Alliance of North America are good places to study your options in the care of you and your pregnancy.

Where's Wikileaks? Or Censorship in the USA by US

Wikileaks and State Department correspondence

28 Nov 2010

Index on Censorship has obtained copies of correspondence between whistleblowing website Wikileaks and the US embassy in the United Kingdom, which took place between Friday and Sunday. They reveal Wikileaks editor in chief’s last-minute attempt to seek the cooperation of the United States government in redacting information from the latest controversial release of documents.

Mark Stephens of Finers Stephens Innocent, who represents Julian Assange in the UK, is a trustee of Index of Censorship.

26 November
Julian Assange, Editor in Chief, WikiLeaks
to
US Ambassador to London, Louis Susman

Subject to the general objective of ensuring maximum disclosure of information in the public interest, WikiLeaks would be grateful for the United States Government to privately nominate any specific instances (record numbers or names) where it considers the publication of information would put individual persons at significant risk of harm that has not already been addressed. PDF

27 November
Harold Hongju Koh, Legal Adviser, United States Department of State
to
Julian Assange, Editor in Chief, WikiLeaks

We will not engage in a negotiation regarding the further release or dissemination of illegally obtained U.S. Government classified materials. PDF

28 November
Julian Assange, Editor in Chief, WikiLeaks
to
US Ambassador to London, Louis Susman

I understand that the United States government would prefer not to have the information that will be published in the public domain and is not in favour of openness. That said, either there is a risk or there is not. You have chosen to respond in a manner which leads me to conclude that the supposed risks are entirely fanciful and you are instead concerned to suppress evidence of human rights abuse and other criminal behaviour. PDF

	One News Page > World > WikiLeaks domain killed

WikiLeaks domain 'killed' Reported by One News Page Staff on Friday, 3 December 2010 (4 hours ago) by Alice Monroe -Whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks has gone off-line after the U.S. company which hosts its domain name withdrew its support and caused the website to disappear into obscurity.Everydns.net cut the wikileaks.org domain off at 3am GMT on Friday (10pm EST on Thursday) after a number of unknown hackers persistently attacked the controversial intelligence site using "distributed denial of service" (DDOS) methods. According to the internet domain firm, the cyber attack affected other everydns.net customers and forced the company to take the wikileaks.org domain off-line after giving WikiLeaks 24 hours of notice.  Access to the WikiLeaks site will not be possible until it gets a new DNS service. DNS services facilitate the translation of domain names (e.g. wikileaks.org) to numeric internet IP addresses - a critical requirement for accessing any website. WikiLeaks issued a tweet on social networking site Twitter three hours after the support for its domain name was removed, stating: "WikiLeaks,org domain killed by US everydns.net after claimed mass attacks KEEP US STRONG https://donations.datacell.com/". State Department bans employees enter Wikileaks December 2, 2010 CubaDebate State Department bans employees enter Wikileaks A report of The Christian Science Monitor reveals that the U.S. State Department has barred its staff throughout the world to navigate through the website Wikileaks, who since Sunday has made the greatest revelation of classified documents in history from reports leaked communications between U.S. Foreign Ministry and its embassies. The passage of the Department of State continues to the same decision by the Pentagon following the recent publication in the same place incriminating papers on the U.S. war in Iraq. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has become a spokeswoman for the use of new technologies to subvert the governments of other nations, has issued this statement closed the site and ordered off their military network entity where information means were obtained from the leaked documents. Big Brother is telling us what we can look at. The thought Police are real and are working diligently.Free speech is NOT for Everyone. These acts were done in the name of the American people but we are not allowed to see what was done in our name with our money. We should hold the SAME standards for ourselves as we try to hold the rest of the world. I believe in a better way, a better world. Why would I post this here? Because this is a grande display of what we teach our children to fight against. Censorship, Ignorance, Apathy, Ethnocentrism, Imperialism, and Arrogance Besides, we have seen this sort of thing before, The Pentagon Papers . Those that can not remember the past are doomed to repeat it. <div攀 Wikileaks and State Department correspondence 28 Nov 2010 Index on Censorship has obtained copies of correspondence between whistleblowing website Wikileaks and the US embassy in the United Kingdom, which took place between Friday and Sunday. They reveal Wikileaks editor in chief’s last-minute attempt to seek the cooperation of the United States government in redacting information from the latest controversial release of documents. Mark Stephens of Finers Stephens Innocent, who represents Julian Assange in the UK, is a trustee of Index of Censorship. 26 November Julian Assange, Editor in Chief, WikiLeaks to US Ambassador to London, Louis Susman Subject to the general objective of ensuring maximum disclosure of information in the public interest, WikiLeaks would be grateful for the United States Government to privately nominate any specific instances (record numbers or names) where it considers the publication of information would put individual persons at significant risk of harm that has not already been addressed. PDF 27 November Harold Hongju Koh, Legal Adviser, United States Department of State to Julian Assange, Editor in Chief, WikiLeaks We will not engage in a negotiation regarding the further release or dissemination of illegally obtained U.S. Government classified materials. PDF 28 November Julian Assange, Editor in Chief, WikiLeaks to US Ambassador to London, Louis Susman I understand that the United States government would prefer not to have the information that will be published in the public domain and is not in favour of openness. That said, either there is a risk or there is not. You have chosen to respond in a manner which leads me to conclude that the supposed risks are entirely fanciful and you are instead concerned to suppress evidence of human rights abuse and other criminal behaviour. PDF One News Page > World > WikiLeaks domain killed WikiLeaks domain 'killed' Reported by One News Page Staff on Friday, 3 December 2010 (4 hours ago) by Alice Monroe -Whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks has gone off-line after the U.S. company which hosts its domain name withdrew its support and caused the website to disappear into obscurity.Everydns.net cut the wikileaks.org domain off at 3am GMT on Friday (10pm EST on Thursday) after a number of unknown hackers persistently attacked the controversial intelligence site using "distributed denial of service" (DDOS) methods. According to the internet domain firm, the cyber attack affected other everydns.net customers and forced the company to take the wikileaks.org domain off-line after giving WikiLeaks 24 hours of notice.  Access to the WikiLeaks site will not be possible until it gets a new DNS service. DNS services facilitate the translation of domain names (e.g. wikileaks.org) to numeric internet IP addresses - a critical requirement for accessing any website. WikiLeaks issued a tweet on social networking site Twitter three hours after the support for its domain name was removed, stating: "WikiLeaks,org domain killed by US everydns.net after claimed mass attacks KEEP US STRONG https://donations.datacell.com/".

CARNIVAL OF CHAOS - #1

 

Welcome to the December 3, 2010 edition of carnival of chaos. This is the first edition and I got more spam than I would have thought. But we must forge ahead and deliver. Most things start small and eventually bloom.

Thanksgiving just past and the light in my part of the world is less. The Christmas lights are going up around town and even in the South it seems like it could SNOW!

Chaos

A path for those that need it.Danette M. Schott presents Help! S-O-S for Parents | Orton-Gillingham Hears, Sees and Touches a Who! posted at Help! S-O-S for Parents.



Let's not forget our Fourth Amendment Rights.Steven and Debra presents Opt-out Ode to the Beltway TSA and Their Airline CEO Cronies: Take Your Planes and Shove ‘Em posted at The END TIMES Hoax, saying, "If you're not going to opt-out now, when will you?"



Mr Squarehead presents I'll Be Back !!! posted at SQUAREHEAD DIARIES, saying, "The world inside out"



I believe this may belong in the spam file but the list of art blogs are real and some are quite beautiful. Aaliyah Williams presents Top 50 Art Education Blogs posted at Masters in Art Education, saying, "One excellent thing about the internet is that it allows professionals a medium to share their knowledge and experience through blogging. For art education information, one should consult this list of 50 blogs."



Open course-ware is important so while this is another for the spam-man it is included to be a resource. Canika Jackson presents Top 50 Open Access & Open Source Education Projects posted at Masters in Special Education, saying, "While we have listed some finalized resources in this compilation of the top 50 OA|OS education projects, the focus is on methodologies within OA|OS initiatives."

Thanks for your submissions!



That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Chaos using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Technorati tags: carnival of chaos, blog carnival.

Kill your T.V.! And your Video Game System Too!! ( Or Take Back Your Child)

• Lately, my husband and I have been watching TV on the internet. We generally reserve our computer for other tasks and an occasional " treat" of Gilligan's Island for the kids. But  as I like to put it, 'sometimes I don't want to think'.  TV achieves this. We do not have the big black box in our home. Not two ,not one. I don't miss TV and I hate ads. This has unfortunately become part of internet TV as well.



• 

  Is the TV holding you hostage?

  As part of the TV generation of the 70's, I cringe when I see the current selection of "entertainment". The vast array of nothingness is packaged so as to appear as something. I do remember my DAD saying something similar about the shows we watched. Maybe I am getting old..... or maybe he was right! It does seem though that the menu is filled with shows about violence in one form or another. Everybody is fighting . "Cupcake Wars" ,"Hell's Kitchen", "Big Brother', "Bachelorette" whether you want to cook cupcakes, run the kitchen, or meet Mr. Right you need to fight for it. Is this who we are? Is competition so fierce in the cupcake industry? Or did some corporate shill know that if he put a pot of gold in front of us he could conjure up the most duplicitous and obnoxious behavior? Not only was this shill right but there are those of us ready to show this behavior to the world.To say nothing of all the shows about crime, CSI( 3 versions), Criminal Minds, 48 Hours Mystery and more. All find the criminal due to the wonderful police force. Not the same police that beat down protestors or racially profile or help convict the wrong person.


• This is not what I want my children, or myself, watching. We, like it or not, become calloused to such behavior when we see it repeatedly. In the programs this behavior is rewarded, so what's the message to our brain? There are studies that the brain activity is different when watching a documentary.  There are subliminal messages in the shows that can 'help' us become better consumers. And then of course, there are commercials that tell us who we SHOULD be and How to get there. If we buy enough we will be HAPPY!




• What really concerns me is the content of video "games". They are nothing more than virtual murder/rapist training camps! This is not play and to even think that it is would be to convince yourself that the Earth is flat. Why would anyone put this virus in their home let alone the hands of their children?!?! I do not want my family to be numb to violence, oppression,or immorality.


• 
  

  After recent Pentagon research revealed that the desire and intention to enlist is highest among younger recruits (six in ten current US soldiers entered the military as teenagers),1, 2, 3 a level of subtlety, or rather subterfuge has been employed to guide teens toward recruiter offices. As one example of the many available: the US Army sponsors a website labeled “eCybermission.” It offers “web-based science, math, and technology competition” for 11, 12 , and 13 year olds, and the services of on-line uniformed Army personnel “CyberGuides.”4
  
  Since 2002 the Pentagon has developed a massive teen data base gleaned from sources, including records obtained via the “No Child Left Behind Act.” That information is filed in JAMRS, the “Joint Advertising and Marketing Research & Studies” system – a giant Pentagon run, privately subcontracted (Equifax) database containing contact and identification data on over thirty million 16-25 year olds.5

  
  


• Personally, I don't even watch the commercials. It is not something I want in my head. That said, I am one of the 1 in 10 that watched the Wiki-leaks Video of the killing of children in Iraq. This is real. It is reality that has REAL consequences. Why not set you and your family down and watch the real thing?  Because we, as parents, shield our children from the hard facts of life until they can understand them better. So when I read of parents that allow unrestricted TV or video games, I cringe at the human they are producing. Even Disney does not produce a show without the ability to market all aspects of it to your child. They are in your house , they are part of your life.

• CHILDREN


• Approximate number of studies examining TV's effects on children: 4,000
  
  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Who's Raising Your Child?"][/caption]


• Number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful


• conversation with their children: 3.5


• Number of minutes per week that the average child watches television: 1,680


• Percentage of day care centers that use TV during a typical day: 70


• Percentage of parents who would like to limit their children's TV watching: 73


• Percentage of 4-6 year-olds who, when asked to choose between watching TV


• and spending time with their fathers, preferred television: 54


• Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900 hours


• Hours per year the average American youth watches television: 1500

VIOLENCE

Number of murders seen on TV by the time an average child finishes elementary school: 8,000

Number of violent acts seen on TV by age 18: 200,000

Percentage of Americans who believe TV violence helps precipitate real life mayhem: 79

Millions of Americans are so hooked on television that they fit the criteria for substance abuse as defined in the official psychiatric manual, according to Rutgers University psychologist and TV-Free America board member Robert Kubey. Heavy TV viewers exhibit five dependency symptoms--two more than necessary to arrive at a clinical diagnosis of substance abuse. These include: 1) using TV as a sedative; 2) indiscriminate viewing; 3) feeling loss of control while viewing; 4) feeling angry with oneself for watching too much; 5) inability to stop watching; and 6) feeling miserable when kept from watching.

"We can now say with utmost confidence that regardless of research method -- that is experimental, correlational, or longitudinal -- and regardless of the cultures tested in this study [East and West], you get the same effects," said Anderson, who is also director of Iowa State's Center for the Study of Violence. "And the effects are that exposure to violent video games increases the likelihood of aggressive behavior in both short-term and long-term contexts. Such exposure also increases aggressive thinking and aggressive affect, and decreases prosocial behavior."

I don't think we decided to take our children out of the mainstream public education to hand them over to corporate strangers to educate and raise. But this is what unrestricted viewing is. So are you going to let a shadow raise your children? Plan what they see. Control your eyes, control your reality. To truly think outside the BOX turn the Box OFF! Better yet, throw it out.

Responsibility and a Home School Forum

As a home educator it is nice to participate, be it electronically, with others who do the same.  We share educational resources. Free things found in our travels and tips on all kinds of topics from the family dog to the mother-in law that thinks home school is crazy.  It can keep you from feeling alone and can broaden your educational resources. A great idea. The one I belonged to was the PEAK Network . It was an inclusive group, no faith-based or schooling style affiliation.

The topics were generally light even when controversy was in the air. Not quite a forum as a bulletin board. Not many opinions were ever expressed. This may be what some like but to exchange ideas some opinions must be expressed. I don't have to agree and I can remain civil .  It was to be a place where we shared the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful.

The other day a member began a thread on DHS . First an inquiry then her story. A nightmare was unfolding before our eyes. I suggested she might be more comfortable in Private Messaging and expressed my concern and offered any help I could give. In the span of about three days, almost 100 views of this thread only had eighteen replies. I offered links to lawyers and other sites that fight CPS/DHS .  Me and a few others told heer about the history of the agency's lies and deceit. Then the thread was LOCKED. The  founder of the network expressed that this conversation was BEYOND the forum and should be dealt with by lawyers.

I was amazed! Here was someone asking for a sympathetic ear, help,or an outlet. The forum turned away. DHS/CPS  actions toward home schoolers nationwide are well-known.  The Home School Defense League is always defending cases from this agency. I wrote to Lioness, her user name, and told her I disagreed with the action. Then I started a new thread and stated my disagreement. This  was  deleted within minutes.

Now, I understand forum rules but while this is not a nice topic it is a reality in home schooling. It is not political because there is no side or lobbying effort. It just was not comfortable . The PEACE of  our little world was shaken with the reality of what CAN and DOES happen. My first attempt at rebuttal deleted I set about another. This time I sent personal messages to those on-line at the time. Again ,the admins cut off my privileges and in short order I could not read or post.

Well,  when do we stand up for our right of free speech? The little fight is as important as the big. We must use our rights in every aspect of life. Our responsibilities to our fellow humans are never diminished because of the space we are in at any given moment. The following is my rebuttal to the removal of the initial thread( the name of the founder was added after my first attempt was deleted);

By the removal of the DHS thread posted under 'Chat', Natalie, our Peak founder, has become complicit with DHS and those who wish to isolate and persecute homeschoolers.

This is not a personal issue....this is a national issue. So much so, that the Home School Defense League provides a training manual for members on dealing with DHS threats.

It is well known within homeschooling communities that DHS is used often to isolate homeschoolers from their communities under the pretext of vague accusations.

This was a plea from a fellow homeschooler. It is our responsibility to help those in need, to speak out against ugly truths, and share beauty.

The Peak founder failed us all with this gross injustice, and further discredited herself by removing all threads that chastised her for this act. It is no longer a forum but her ivory tower blog, where nothing is wrong.

Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. The text of the quotation is usually presented roughly as follows:

They came first for the Communists,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me

and by that time no one was left to speak up.

I AM SPEAKING UP!!! Join my eviction from Peak, and speak up also.

Peace
"To accept passively an unjust system is to cooperate with that system; thereby the oppressed become as evil as the oppressor. Noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. The oppressed must never allow the conscience of the oppressor to slumber..." - M L K Jr

I will take the words of Martin Luther King and Pastor Niemoller to heart. What will you do?

Take Action | National Audubon Society Policy Issues & Action

Take Action | National Audubon Society Policy Issues & Action.

Seeger Live!

Pete Seeger is a folk hero and the workers friend! Sit back sing and enjoy!!!!

You May be Entertaining Angels

Read this and click on the title Guerilla  Midwife and see the movie when you can. Empower yourself and your family!

Birthdays and UnBirthdays

    On August 18th, Abdur  Rabbi turned four years old. His favorite color has changed from orange to red. He has blue eyes that look deep into your soul just like his brother IIsa. Auby is my last child.  He slept in our bed and from the first night he would coo , letting us know he was comfortable. If we cooed first he would answer. He was and is a very happy child. May God continue to bless us.



August 28th is my birthday and Zeda's birthday. She turned into a teenager and I went to the downhill side of middle age. Zeda is a gorgeous, nurturing, silly young lady.  She makes her brothers crack up. She can whip up a loaf of bread from scratch in no time at all. I need a day just to prepare then a day to cook! People say we look alike but I don't see myself as beautiful as she is. I never did. I hope she believes me when I tell her .





She has asked that I buy her make up. I  worry that this is an indicator as to her self-reflection. I don't want her to base herself on outside influences. So, what did I say ? I said I would get her  'some' make up, lip gloss  and kohl. I used to wear the stuff  but now only once in a while and sparingly. Zeda is  a feminine spirit, natural and wholesome. I will help her experiment and experience things as I hope to keep her grounded.

When I look at my kids, especially around the birth-days, I think of how fast the years have gone by. I hear my mother's words coming out of my mouth. I still FEEL  like I'm in my twenties!  Then the mirror screams reality. I remember that I never thought I would get married or have kids! Boy, was I wrong!!  The funny thing is , now, I can't imagine life without them.( Except on bad days I imagine I am a hermit artist, alone with my art in a tropical paradise.) They are my raison d' etre, my joie de vive. I am swirling with mixed feelings of being old and young at the same time. How is it that the events of the past ten years are like a lifetime and yet I can remember the smell of the top of baby's head, peach cobbler!

It's like the Talking Heads sang  "Is this my beautiful life?"

                                                                  "How did I get here?"

I think now I prefer to celebrate  like the Mad Hatter - " A very merry un-birthday! To me!"