NeuroTypical

Louis Midgely tells a story about working with sex offenders that has stuck with me over the years. It took a few google searches, but I finally found it:

Hi Atticus, I fourth the compliments on your screen name. In fact, I think I'll bump that book up on our nightly reading list with my two little girls. (Gotta finish 'The Restaurant at the End of the Universe', make our way through a short ST:TOS comic book on telling the truth, and then bust through the entire collected works of Rudyard Kipling first, but then we'll hit Mockingbird.) LM (was away from the church for 6 years myself)

Something to keep in mind: You've got good odds of having a child sex offender living in your neighborhood, whether he's registered or not. They come from all income levels, family backgrounds, races, education levels, and religious affiliations. About the only skewed demographic, is that 90% are male and 10% female. Over the years, I've watched news stories go past about predators in our church. The missionary arrested for molesting children in nursery. The 87 yr old Seventy showing gay porn to teen boys. The Bishop who felt up the Beehive in the library. The Stake President of Butte Montana stake, arrested in Idaho with a box of red lingire after setting up a date with a 14 yr old girl who turned out to be a cop. Just last year, excommunicated former First Quorum of the Seventy member George P. Lee, was arrested on suspicion of failing to register as a sex offender. It had been three years since keepers of the state's sex offender registry knew Lee's whereabouts. No, not everyone is a child molester. In fact, hardly anyone is one. But "hardly anyone" is the same thing as "they are in our midst". And yes, anyone could be. LM

Sorry, icky jail people make me uncomfortable. LM (Actually, in total agreement with Ram, and will be heading to Utah for a parole hearing next year to see if there's anything we can do.)

So, I've never had a problem contesting a charge with a credit card company, why is that a problem for some of you? A credit card company has laws it must follow for such things. My card's website even lets me contest a charge online - I don't even have to talk to a human. You tell them you are contesting the charge, and you want it reversed. Then you make sure they do it. As far as I've ever experienced, it's that simple. LM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as things stand now, a released felon (assuming no conditions of parole) is free to move about the country and live wherever they wish, right? And there usually isn't someone publishing their whereabouts, right? Exception - just about everybody nowadays has a sex offender registry database. Some communities actively notify residents when one moves in (or wants to). LM

Surely they won't take back the entire $27/mo I got with the Obama tax cut...

Excellent. Here's a random thought I had about the church welfare system: The church looks out for it's own members, and if people need food or some critical bills paid, they meet with their Bishop who helps them. The backbone of the welfare system, is that there is no such thing as a free handout. You work for what you are given. If a blind member ever went to a bishop for help, that blind member would be given work to do in exchange for the assistance given. It would be work that a blind person could do, of course. I could see such a person assigned to visit and care for an elderly person, or play the organ during Sacrament meeting, or even teach a class if the person was able.Anyway, just a random thought. Some personal experiences: * I had a Bishop with a stuttering speech impediment. It was a bit of a challenge for both him, and the ward, for him to conduct Sunday services. * In a couple of wards, we've had some special needs kids. Cerebral palsy, borderline violent personality issue, a lot of wheelchairs. Sometimes (especially with the violent kid), someone was given the calling to be their 'helper' on Sunday. The person would attend all classes and basically gave the parents some time off to attend church in peace. The borderline violent kid just needed to be constantly in motion - so they got a rough old battleaxe of a lady to basically just wrestle and toss him around as he was in class. He could participate, as long as he was in motion. Try to keep him still, and he'd burst out randomly and hurt himself or others. LM

There's H.R. 45, Blair Holt's "Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act" currently in committee. It's meant "to provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes." That's code for implementing a federal firearms licensing system, and making it illegal for anyone to own a gun who doesn't have a federal firearms license. Sounds nasty, I hope it dies and rots in the neveregions of hades where it belongs. LM

That's admirable, Blue! Let us know when your book is published, some of us will probably want a copy!LM

Dear lilered, I can't seem to find and keep any good men either. I think it turns them off that I'm a covenantly sealed and happily married husband. What should I do? LM

They have exactly, precicely the amount of control over your happiness as you allow them.

Unless you are Dale Murphy, Danny Ainge or Steve Young.How come KSL broadcasts on Sundays? And how come the Deseret News is published on Sundays. So tell us Helen, are you accusing those people and companies of hypocracy? DesNews is a subsidiary of the Deseret Mgt Corporation, owned by the church. Are you accusing the church of hypocracy?If so, please state it clearly so we can respond. It's a waste of time to dance around with vague rhetoric and shadowy innuendo. LM

It's always a fun debate to have with an athiest. My claim, is that unless you have some ultimate source of good and evil (God and the devil), then the best you can hope for is a story about nice triumphing over mean.And I haven't found even the teeniest, tiniest hint of God anywhere in Harry Potter. Stuff is that way because it just is. In Rowling's world, there isn't good or evil - only power, those who can wield it, and the reasons they use for wielding it. It is, almost exactly, the same worldview of the Golden Compass books. IMHO, Tolkein's Lord of the Rings universe is far superior to both Potter and GC. There is indeed good and evil to be found in Tolkein's world. I've heard a story that Tolkein even had a hand in C.S. Lewis' conversion to Christianity - with Tolkein making the claim that the only thing that could keep someone from being Christian, is a lack of imagination. LM

A lady in my ward shared her experience about being kicked out of a 'christian' homeschooling group because she was not 'christian'. It might happen, it just depends on how inclusive or exclusive the group is. Same thing with friends - if they wish to include someone with a different belief, then things will be fine. If they only want to hang out with carbon copies of their own religious belief, well, their loss. (For what it's worth - you will probably find a couple of mormons who fall in the latter group as well - and won't want anything to do with someone who takes their kids to a christian homeschool group. But they'll hopefully be a tiny, tiny minority.) My experience in Colorado has been ok. We've taken our kid to a co-op run by the Church of the Nazarene, and they had a wonderful experience. Those are nice people. My wife tells me there was only one woman who wanted to make an issue over our mormon faith, but she was easily deflected. This fall, we'll start a new co-op run by our local mega-church. Their policy is to allow everyone regardless of religion. They make us sign something that says "here's our statement of beliefs, by signing this, you're telling us you are ok with us exposing your kids to these beliefs". There's plenty in those beliefs that we disagree on (trinity, biblical infallibility, etc), but there's no belief that says "it's our job to convince you you're wrong". So, we'll give it a try and see how we fare. LM

I recently asked an uber-liberal buddy of mine when was the last time the government put together a program of similar massive scale, that turned out to be a good thing. He mentioned Social Security. Upon being pressed for something a bit more current, he mentioned the Department of Energy. I don't know which is worse, the prospect of gubment healthcare working as efficiently and wonderfully as the DOE, or the fact that various people will indeed 'drink the koolaid' and believe it's a good thing when it's here. LM

I dunno about angry, but I do know this: From the prospective of the hubby of a homeschooling mom, if my wife doesn't agree with the environment our kid is in at church, she will correct the environment or find a new one. It's possible that correcting an environment would include boiling someone in oil, but such decisions can be made without anger. (I've never seen my wife not make such a decision without anger as part of her equasion, I'm just sayin' is all...) From the perspective of someone who has taught before, it isn't the teacher's job to fix students, or make them behave in certain ways, or raise them. It's the teacher's job to teach. I don't really care if a kid's mommy is an overprotective sheltering bear, or an overly permissive apathetic uncaring blob, or anything in between. I'll do what it takes to maintain a learning environment. If a parent doesn't want their kid in a time out seat, go get the parent and let them deal with the kid. No skin off my nose. It's not my job to click my tongue and opine about parenting techniques. LM

You can be a good, practicing, mormon in full fellowship, and believe whatever you wish to believe about dinosaurs. I've met "young-earth creationist" mormons, and mormons who believe in evolution. Well, the exact term is "third part" - it doesn't say how big the parts were. But however many of them there are, they are here on earth as spirits. Again, different mormons speculate different things about what powers they have, how they can influence us, etc - I'm not sure revealed word paints a very clear picture. Again, revealed word doesn't really contain the scientific explanation. But images projected on theater screens, rainbows, holograms, and people on the TV also don't have physical bodies, yet we can see them. (That's my speculation)LM

Very true, and very much on my mind these days. One realistic scenario we're preparing for, is getting stuck in town (30 miles away from our house), and unable to make it home up the mountain for a period of time.My pack includes sturdy boots and is as light as I can make it. I could probably make it home in two days. The car my wife and kids drive around in has a much larger pack and more cash, meant to allow them to stay put for a few days. Because my 5 yr old isn't about to become a long distance hiker any time soon. I started taking walks around my neighboorhood, and where I work. I'm going to start adding a pack to those walks soon. LM

Yesterday in Colorado Springs it hailed. And it got into the mid-40's for last night's lows. Maybe I'll go outside and try to fan some of the clouds your folks' way.

Oy. Primary caregivers have it rough. Yes, absolutely, always remember to take care of yourself first. You have to have health and energy, in order to care for someone else. You burning out doesn't help anyone. I think this is one of those "endure to the end" things that you don't have to be in your 80's to experience. LM

Quote from President Hinckley half a dozen conferences ago:

I've had overwhelmingly good experiences. A lot of speeding tickets in my younger years - there was only one time the cop was mad. He was in a neighborhood where a young girl had been hit and killed by a speeder a week ago. He apparently decided that any speeder in that neighborhood would find themselves treated like a potential child killer. I can't say I really blamed him. But all other experiences were positive. I've been through our local "Citizen's Academy", and really suggest anyone do the same if you have the opportunity. It's a great way to learn about police procedures and why things happen the way they do. (I even got to shoot one of their full-auto MP5's - woo-hoo!) LM

Amazon.com

Yah. The Birthers and the "Gore is my legal President" people need to get together and go bowling.