Gone fishing

Every few weeks, I disappear for a bit to do some work. This time I have some training to do, too. But I’ll be back soon…Peace.

First Hispanic on Supreme Court?

Ironically, we’ve been having a heated debate on another post here about minorities in America. Now, Obama has announced his choice for supreme court: Sonia Sotomayor. She’d be the first Hispanic to sit on the court, and the third female.

It is appropriate given the number of Hispanic Americans in the U.S. Sotomayor is considered a “moderate-liberal,” which would bring balance to the court. It is unlikely that Republicans would block her nomination and risk alienating their Hispanic onstituents.

Sotomayor could be confirmed before the end of the summer.

Boy with cancer comes home

On an earlier post, we discussed Daniel and his mom, Collen Hauser. After reading this article, it seems that Daniel’s mom was just scared. Her initial reaction was one of fear, and she was trying to do what was best for her son.

You and I may not agree with her, but one thing is clear: she was not being abusive. There are parents who neglect their kids, who emotionally and physically abuse them. Those are the parents we need to follow. They should be in the media, so that society can watch them. Daniel Hauser’s mother? She’s not a bad parent. She’s just a scared mother. I’m a mother. I can relate.

This case also shows us that, when it comes to our kids, we do not have the exclusive right to decide for them in certain aspects (medical treatment, school). Yet we never have. We never have had the exclusive right to parent in any way we want–we are limited by what society deems right. For instance, we can’t allow our five-year-olds to drink beer or our ten-year-olds to work at McDonald’s. This is just another application of that same idea: a minor child with a serious illness must receive the best, most appropriate care available.

Daniel will remain in the home as long as the parents agree to the court-ordered treatment for their son.

Building Social Capital

I love this page, sponsored by Harvard’s school of gov’t.

It lists 150 easy ways to build social capital and make the world a better place. It has some great ideas for kids, too.

Practice peace.

Death penalty

If you’re on the fence about the death penalty, you should read this column about Troy Davis.

I’m personally against the death penalty. But I understand our government allows it. Yet it seems wrong for America to murder a man when there is doubt of his guilt.

Free SAT

For those of you with kids, thought you might like to know that the Princeton Review offers a free “National Testing Day,” along with study materials. On a Saturday morning, your kid can take the test, just like the official SAT (or ACT), and receive a detailed score report. The only catch is you have to sit through a two-hour info session. I didn’t find it that bad, though, since they only handed out Princeton Review sales material but never actually talked about it. The class was more about test-taking tips and a Q&A session.

There’s no age restriction, so if your child is a middle-schooler and wants to take the test, he can, too. For more info, see the Princeton Review site.

The best pets

Snakes. They’re unfairly maligned. I have friends come over who will not rest until they see that our snakes are in their tanks.

We have ball pythons, which are very docile snakes. They don’t need to be walked, brushed and fed two times every day. They don’t jump on you and scratch your legs. They don’t slobber. You feed them once every couple of weeks (and clean up their mess about that often, too). Easy, easy, easy. For kids who have asthma and allergies, there’s no dander either.

Occassionally, the snakes do get loose. And they’re getting big, so I admit that I worry a teensy bit about one being hungry and on the prowl. After all, my youngest only weighs 62 pounds.

But they never go far. Like tonight. When we got home, we found my youngest son’s snake had worked the cage loose and was under the dresser, not far from his cage. They’re not like dogs–they won’t run as far and as fast as they can. They stay close, usually in a dark place.

I bet some folks who started reading this didn’t make it this far. Snakes gross a lot of people out. As I said, they are poor maligned creatures. But they make great pets.

Tax-Free Weekend

In case you don’t know, this is a tax-free weekend for Energy Star-rated appliances, including washers, dryers, freezers, refrigerators, air conditioners, heat pumps, geothermal heat pumps, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers and programmable thermostats. Dishwashers are not included.

Energy Star appliances are more efficient and cost less to run (and, of course, are thus more environmentally friendly than older models).

Many retailers, like Lowes and Home Depot are also planning sales. Just FYI.

Gifted Education Sites

I have a lot of info about parenting gifted kids. Here are two great sites. Though they’re targeted for high IQ children, they contain information that is useful for raising kids that fall along any point in the spectrum.

http://www.coe.unt.edu/gifted/parents/

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/

I’ve found that kids–no matter their IQ–like to do a lot of the projects and activities that the gifted do (i.e. designing and building a roller coaster).