Polygamist Sect in Texas Gets Their Children Back

Thank goodness for this decision. I think it is amazingly appalling that this case was handled the way it was. Granted I don't agree with anyone under 18 having sex with anyone over 18 and so of course I support any child in that circumstance being moved from it and the adult being punished. It seems pretty clear to me however that the whole thing was all done because someone who didn't understand or agree with religious freedom and/or polygamy reported this case and a bunch of authorities who feel the same way ran with it. I wouldn't say this accept for that we know in ALL of the other cases where someone is reported as sleeping with children they do not immediately run in and steal the child away to "protect" them. If that were the case then there would be a hell of a lot more survivors of child molestation of one sort or another who were happier than they are now because they were taken out of the places they were in quickly. We know that isn't true. I went to middle school with someone who had been abused their entire life and didn't get any help until after she started college. Where are the authorities when religion isn't involved is what I want to know. I have to say that I have no problem with polygamy as long as everyone involved is consentual and of legal voting age. So with regards to this particular sect and others like it I would say abide by that and there will be all the support in the world coming from me.

decision appalling case sex child adult punished religious freedom authorities protect survivors child molestation abused help religion polygamy consentual legal voting age sect support world

Support Your Local Farmer And Do Away With The Worst Way of Farming

Hello All. I came across this article in the NY Times about "The Worst Way of Farming". Apparently there was a study done about farming and it was found that confined animal feeding operations are treating too many animals inhumanely and creating environmental threats, unacceptable health risks for workers, and the rest of us too. I have to say that I have recently seen some video footage of workers in a chicken factory that supplies KFC with it's chicken and I was appalled at the way they were dealing with the chickens. In the video there was a line of people at a counter where they were pulling chickens from some place on the counter and then at the hardest velocity they could muster with their strongest arm they would throw each chicken into a wall that was about 4 feet away from them. Some chickens were killed instantly thank God and others were flopping around broken and damaged. Later after the pile of dead and dying chickens got big enough people from the line would run through the pile and jump with all their weight on the pile of chickens. Even if the chickens were all dead I would think that this would be bad for the meat as far as it goes when I'm trying to eat it later. Anyway, I am not one of those dumb ass PETA people who thinks that meat makes you impotent despite the fact that we have managed to overproduce worldwide after eating billions of pounds of it on a daily basis. I am a farm kid from Oklahoma. I used to have to go get my own eggs for breakfast from right under the chicken's ass. I used to have to catch the chicken we would later eat and I learned to kill it humanely and quickly not like a cruel cold hearted asshole. I was taught that the animals on this planet were given to us by God and we hadn't ought to abuse them just because we can. As I grew up I came to know that the average person who kills animals just for the fun of it on a consistent basis eventually escalates their terror to humans. This is why I advocate the small individual farmer instead of these mass production facilities. I am from a small town farming family and I think that small town farmers have gotten screwed over by the government and our society as we have lessened our need for the small town farmer and increased our need for the mass production facility.

NY Times The Worst Way of Farming farming confined animal feeding operations treating animals inhumanely environmental threats health risks workers footage chicken factory KFC appalled PETA dumb ass meat impotent Oklahoma eggs breakfast God terror humans advocate small individual farmer mass production facilities government

What Makes A Good Parent? (Warning Long Post)

Of late I have had many discussions with various friends about what exactly makes a good parent. As I have been out with friends we have come across many parents out at the various restaurants and coffee shops we've patronized and we have seen many things we simply don't agree with at all when it comes to the bringing up of a child. This has prompted me to create a simple check list of what I think a good parent is. As the product of parents with my good points and my bad all of which is the direct result of the upbringing I had I feel I am qualified to say what I think makes a good parent and what does not. My parents had no small affect on me and I have a lot to say about my point of view on my own childhood as well as those of the children I see paraded and flaunted through the establishments which I frequent. So here goes.

A good parent .......

1 - has worked on themselves physically, emotionally, spiritually and otherwise to become an intelligent, informed and mature adult before becoming a parent because they have true concern for how they may affect the world singularly and how they and their children may affect the world together. (Before conception)

2- has worked on themselves financially in order to become stable enough as a single individual that they are able to pay all of their bills without the assistance of another adult and have some money left over that can be used toward the basic needs of a child like clothing, food, health care and shelter.

3 - has worked on themselves during the pregnancy to make sure that their body is in it's optimal condition physically by eating properly, exercising and supplementing their body throughout their pregnancy to make themselves the ultimate host for the child growing within them. (During the pregnancy)

4 - has decided that it is not acceptable for them to be separated from their child immediately after birth for any reason other than an emergency or the initial "clean up and assessment" of the child because they have researched the effects of bonding and not bonding with their child and they do not think that it is right to ignore the needed bonding for a simple legal liability for a hospital or doctor. (The birth and after)

5 - has decided that they will provide breast milk as the main milk/formula for their child no less than 6 months to a year and no more than two years because they have done the research to find out that breast milk contains antibodies that are important for babies up to age two in order to prevent multiple negative health issues.

6 - has provided for the basic needs of their child such as proper clothing for particular events and environments, proper healthy foods, proper health care, proper shelter.

7 - has decided not to be under the influence of any alcohol or drug in the presence of their child. This hinders their ability to cope emotionally and make proper decisions and therefore can hinder the safety of their child. It is completely 100% inappropriate to be under the influence when your child is present and it is completely detestable to drive under that influence whether your child is present or not but ESPECIALLY when your child is present. If you cannot manage this then the truth is that you cannot manage your child whether you want to admit it or not. Someone who cannot make the conscious choice and effort in not being under the influence of drugs and alcohol around their child has a real problem that needs to be addressed. Many people drink and do drugs but if it controls you to the point where you are not able to do without it when your child is around then there is a problem. Look up what the limit is for your height and weight and limit yourself to a minimum per hour drink based on that. For instance if you are a female 140lbs you should not have more than 2 12oz. beers per hour and if you are a female 250lbs you should not have more than 5 12oz. beers per hour if you are without children. I would logically say that if you are with a child or if you are going to be taking care of a child on any given day that you abide by half the legal limit for your weight. The state of Wisconsin has been nice enough to provide a BAC calculator for those of us who are not sure what our limit is.

8 - has researched and knows that a child from age 1-7 is just learning to recognize and manage their feelings and therefore needs more guidance toward their emotional development throughout these years. They know that commands and angry looks are not the way to teach help your child learn the skills they will need in the future in order to cope with emotional distress. They know that children at this age need encouragement and independence at the same time and they work to achieve this delicate balance through teaching the child tasks they can complete themselves and teaching them how to speak what they feel instead of acting out. They know that these ages are the ages where reading, writing, math, language, physical skills and logical reasoning are developed most and that they must nurture these subjects in healthy, loving and encouraging way while making emotional coping one of the most important things in this age range. Good parents of 1-7 year old children understand that the emotional development of their child is perhaps the most important thing at this age and that everything else developmentally seems almost natural. Good parents of 1-7 year old children know that what a child learns about coping emotionally will all happen during these ages and that it is highly important that they as parents always display good coping skills when dealing with others in front of their children and that those they allow around their children do the same. This is hard for many parents because a good parent of a 1-7 year old takes people out of their own adult social life if they don't know healthy ways of coping and dealing with conflict, if they prevent the parent from healthy ways of coping and dealing with conflict. A good parent has no problem keeping negative influences out of theirs and their child's lives because they know as hard as it is it is much worse to expose their child to themselves or others when they cannot manage healthy ways of coping and dealing with conflict. Because a good parent knows that their child should be learning healthy coping skills and ways of dealing with conflict the parent will not be under the influence of alcohol in front of or near their child as it hinders their ability to cope properly themselves therefore setting a bad example for the child in emotional categories. Good parents of children in this age range will not use drugs irresponsibly or in front of their children prescribed or not as drug use hinders the brains ability to healthily cope and deal with conflict and children who see a parent taking pills or using drugs will absorb this as a lesson that they can avoid healthy coping and conflict resolving methods in lieu of an "emotional drug band aid".

9 - has researched and knows that a child from age 7-10 will need much less detail in explanations or instructions and can function on reminders as opposed to long explanations in order to be reminded of behaviors or skills. A good parent of a child in this age group recognizes that structure and routine are important though the occasional reprieve from said structure and routine are a good independent coping skill for a child to have when stressed. A good parent of a child this age knows that this is where you lay the groundwork and foundation for the rules and routines that the child will abide by until they are grown enough to leave the home. A good parent of a child at this age becomes very aware of the children and adults around their child as children in this age range will "mimic" the behaviors and actions of others and a parent may have to de-program their child and/or teach them independence and confidence in themselves and their decision making skills so that they won't be "followers" and end up being led in the wrong direction by someone outside themselves. A good parent knows that their 7-10 year old child will have more independent ideas and will need someone to listen to them and encourage them regarding those ideas. They will understand that their child will especially need encouragement in areas where they feel personally weak and that the lack of this encouragement and guidance will cause issues with insecurity in future years. A good parent knows that their 7-10 year old child will see them as fallible and that honesty and leading by example are important. A child at this age will belittle or defy the authority of any adult but it will happen much more if you are a parent who cannot do what you teach and do what you say. A good parent of a child this age knows that whether they like it or not they have to abide by the same things they expect their child to abide by. This is true at all ages but this age range is where the child will lose or gain respect for your authority and it is important that the child sees you not only as an authority figure who can tell them what to do but as someone who is mature enough to follow their own advice. If you can't do what you teach your child to do then your child will become increasingly resentful of the fact that you are fallible.

10- has researched and knows that a child from age 10-13 are in need of much more structure and clarity regarding exactly what is expected of them regarding the rules, structures and routines that will be expected from them from this point on in their lives. Some of the most important lessons for children at this age are how to balance fitting into a peer group while still satisfying the rules of their family or household and how to ask for clarification on rules or things they may not understand as opposed to acting out and talking back and a good parent knows this. A good parent knows that when their child is talking back or clown around or misbehave in some way rather than endure the embarrassment of having to ask for clarification on something they don't understand, and they know that it is important during this phase of a child's life to really show that negative behaviors like lying, cheating or stealing are not appropriate ways to fit into any environment and that others who do these negative behaviors are not appropriate to spend your time with. A good parent of a child this age knows that they have to make sure their child learns how to deal with failure and frustration without decreasing their self esteem or developing a sense of inferiority. This age is a group that will tend to point out the weaknesses of others in order to feel better about themselves without realizing how much it may affect the victim of their scrutiny. A good parent of a child this age knows they may have to reprogram their child on a daily basis to teach them that this type of bullying is not appropriate or to teach their child that they are not inferior if they have been the victim of such bullying. This is an important stage of self esteem development and a good parent will recognize this and work hard to balance this in a sincere way that their child will understand without making them feel more inferior.

11- has researched and knows that a child from age 14-18 needs to know that you sincerely listen to them and that you try to understand them as opposed to just being a dictator style authority figure. A good parent of children in this age group is able to make their children feel like they have faith in their abilities, like they are sincerely listening to them and trying to understand them, like they respect their opinions, and that they respect their privacy. A good parent of a child in this age group is able to show the child that these things are earned without making the child feel less than or un-important. A good parent of a child this age is a good role model and does not participate in things they expect their children not to participate in, they also behave in the way they expect their child to behave as opposed to being the "not as I say but as I do" type parent. A good parent of a child at this age has open and honest discussions with their child where the child feels like their point of view is respected and matters even when they don't get their way. It is important for a parent at this age to guide children at this age not by long lectures but by clear and honest disclosures of the rules and the consequences. And a good parent of a child in this age group somehow miraculously finds activities that they can do together with their child that are pleasurable for both the parent and the child without being negative or illegal.

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