Clipmarks | wiccantexan's 'children' clips

Joe Biden's remembrance of single fatherhood forges a listener bond

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:52:49 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Sarah Palin wasted precious little time trying to establish a personal connection with the huge audience that tuned in for her Thursday night debate with Joe Biden.

In her very first answer, she evoked the image of Saturday soccer games where parents, while watching their children dash about from the sidelines, candidly discuss their concerns about the economy. Just a few minutes later, she dropped the phrases "Joe Six-Pack" and "hockey mom" into one of her responses.

Biden -- as much a creature of Washington as Palin is not -- waited much longer to seek to establish a visceral bond with his listeners. Indeed, the 90-minute verbal joust was nearing its end when he did so.

But the story he movingly related -- of his experience as a single dad to two young sons seriously hurt in a car accident that killed his wife and daughter -- widely was viewed as his standout moment in the debate.

Tags: biden, family, debate, children, palin

Big Daddy: 'World's Tallest Man' Has Son

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 19:45:30 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

The world's tallest man, China's Bao Xishun, became the world's tallest father this week with the birth of his first child, a boy whose initial height seems a compromise between his gigantic dad and average-sized mum.

Although slightly taller than average for newborn children, Bao's boy came up well short of the 29.5 inches claimed as a record birth length last year, also in China.

Bao, a 7-foot-9-inch herdsman from Inner Mongolia, last year married Xia Shujuan, a pygmy by contrast at 5-foot-6 inches.

"I hope he or she can be about 2 metres tall," Bao, 57, said last year about his wishes for a child. "Then he or she can play basketball."

Bao's son was born on Thursday but news of the birth only spread widely on Saturday, with the Chinese press according the newborn a level of privacy that is rare for the world's tallest man.

Tags: children, family, china, world record

No Gay marriage

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:53:07 GMT

clipped by: lifecyce1898
clipper's remarks: Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

Clip Source: bw.org

Ten Reasons Gay Marriage is Un-American

I saw this posted on a BBS -- there was no attribution.

Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

Court Affirms Custody Case Involving Allegations Of Wicca

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:15:42 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.arkansasnews.com

A Southeast Arkansas woman who argued she lost custody of her son because of a judge's perception of her alleged practice of Wicca lost her appeal Wednesday before a divided state Court of Appeals Wednesday.

In a 4-2 ruling, the appeals court affirmed a decision granting custody to the child's father, though the judges disagreed on whether the lower court considered the mother's religious beliefs.

In the appeals court ruling Wednesday, Judge Robert J. Gladwin wrote that religious beliefs and practices are material only as they affect children's best interests, and in this case "no party explored connections between religious belief and upbringing."

Tags: wicca, religion, custody, children, legal

Dad who gave up 9 kids says he 'fell apart'

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 23:24:10 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

When Nebraska lawmakers passed a unique “safe-haven” law that allowed parents to abandon children as old as 19, they never seriously thought such dropoffs would become common.

The latest example happened Wednesday, when an out-of-work widower left nine of his 10 children at an Omaha hospital, saying he was overwhelmed by family responsibilities.

Gary Staton went to Creighton University Medical Center to surrender his five sons and four of his daughters, who ranged in age from 1 to 17. He did not bring his oldest daughter, 18.

Staton’s wife died in early 2007, shortly after giving birth to their 10th child. The man told police he hasn’t worked since July and was struggling to make ends meet.

“I was with her for 17 years, and then she was gone. What was I going to do?” Staton said to Omaha television station KETV. “We raised them together. I didn’t think I could do it alone. I fell apart. I couldn’t take care of them.”

Tags: family, legal, teens

Evangelist compound raided in child porn investigation

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 03:11:05 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

FBI agents and state police raided an evangelist's headquarters Saturday as part of a child pornography investigation, and social workers interviewed children who live at the complex in southwestern Arkansas to find out whether they were abused.

The raid at the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries south of Texarkana started an hour before sunset, but state police said no one was arrested. Armed guards regularly patrol the headquarters of the group — which critics call a cult — but there was no resistance as agents moved in, state police said.

Tom Browne, who runs the FBI office in Little Rock, said the investigation involved the Mann Act, which prohibits the transportation of children across state lines for criminal activity.

"We don't go into pornography; nobody in the church is into that," Alamo said. "Where do these allegations stem from? The anti-Christ government. The Catholics don't like me because I have cut their congregation in half. They hate true Christianity."

Tags: children, porn, crime, christian, religion

Obama to Media: "Back off!" Palin pregnancy

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:44:29 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Amen.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Obama To Media: "Back Off" Palin Pregnancy

At a brief press availability in Monroe, Mich., ABC News asked Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., if he had any response to Gov. Sarah Palin's statement that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant.

"Let me be a clear as possible: I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people's families are off limits," Obama said, "and people's children are especially off limits.

"This shouldn't be part of our politics," he continued, "It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor, or her potential performance as a vice president.

"And so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories," he said. "You know my mother had me when she was 18, and how a family deals with issues and, you know, teenage children, that shouldn't be the topic of our politics and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that's off limits."

Tags: palin, obama

Alleged FLDS Teen Bride Removed; Back in Foster Care

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:37:57 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.ksat.com

A 14-year-old girl allegedly married to jailed polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs with her parents' blessing at age 12 was removed from her family's home in Converse on Tuesday after a judge ordered her back into foster care.

District Judge Barbara Walther said that there was "uncontroverted evidence of the underage marriage" and that the girl's mother, Barbara Jessop, refused to guarantee the girl's safety. The girl, shown in photographs submitted to the court kissing Jeffs, was taken into custody by Child Protective Services.

In the case of the 14-year-old allegedly married to Jeffs, Walther said she felt she had to place the girl in foster care because Jessop "was unable to provide assurances that she'd be able to protect the child in the future."

On Monday, Jessop, 55, refused to answer roughly 50 questions asked by attorneys for Child Protective Services, including the names of her children, what constituted abuse and whether a parent had an obligation to protect her children.

Tags: flds, polygamy, minor, marriage, religion, belief, teens

Pagans prepare for preschool

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:19:13 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.dailytidings.com

Ashland's Rowan Tree Pagan Ministries may literally put the magic back in childhood this fall.

Rowan Tree Director of Children's Programs Selyna Faola'n plans to offer Rowan Academy, a preschool and kindergarten program for children ages 3 to 5, starting Sept. 22.

Rowan Tree Pagan Ministries is an organization that offers programs and resources for the Southern Oregon pagan community. The group received its nonprofit certificate this week.

She designed her Rowan Academy curriculum to emphasize the general basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. Her classes will also include age-appropriate lessons in natural cycles, the planets and the elements.

Other children's programs include the Magic Wheel and the Senesha School of Magic. Faola'n described the year-round Magic Wheel as similar to Sunday school. The Magic Wheel program takes place at holidays and full moon celebrations, and provides children with arts and crafts activities while their parents participate in rituals.

Tags: pagan, children, school, nonprofit, nature

Parents harm children's development by keeping them safe

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 08:59:24 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

It is a scene that epitomises childhood: young siblings racing towards a heavy oak tree, hauling themselves on to the lower branches and scrambling up as high as they can get. Yet millions of children are being deprived of such pleasure because their parents are nervous about exposing them to any risks, new research has revealed.

Children are not being allowed many of the freedoms that were taken for granted when we were children

They are not enjoying the opportunities to play outside that most people would have thought of as normal when they were growing up.

Last year, almost three times as many children were admitted to hospital after falling out of bed as those who had fallen from a tree

transformed how they experience childhood

children ought to be taking risks

Risk-taking increases

resilience

helps them make judgments

fire-building, den-making, watersports, paintballing, boxing and climbing trees

should be encouraged

your heart is in your mouth and that is normal

Gunman critically wounds 7 at Unitarian children's church play

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:55:41 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

An armed man opened fire on worshippers in a Unitarian church in Knoxville, Tennessee, during a children's play Sunday, critically wounding seven people, police and church members said.

"To our knowledge right now, he is the lone suspect in this case," Roehl said.

The man entered the church and began shooting during a children's production of the musical "Annie," said Steve Drevik, a church member who arrived after man's arrest.

"We have a lot of scared, traumatized children and they just don't know what to think," Drevik said. iReport.com: Are you there? Share photos, video, accounts

The suspect, whose identity was not immediately released, was taken into custody without a fight after police arrived, Roehl said. Drevik said the man did not appear to be a church member.

"We don't know this particular individual. We may never know why," Drevik said. "All of this will come out in the next couple of days."

Tags: religion, children, crime, guns, church, unitarian

Satanist Father, Christian Mother Fight For Sunday Morning Custody Rights

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 02:48:52 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

A custody battle between a Satanist and his Christian ex-wife has raised constitutional issues after both demanded the right to share their religion with their three young children.

Kristie Meyer has cited the religious beliefs of her former husband, Jamie, as the main reason why an Indiana judge should restrict his visitation rights.

She wants the three to go to church on Sunday mornings - technically, when they are with Mr Meyer - but points out they are unlikely to do so if they are with their father, a member of an organisation calling itself the Church of Satan.

However, legal experts have warned that the American Constitution prevents judges from showing a religious preference.

Meyer may now be asked to prove that Satanism, which he says is about celebrating man's desires rather than worshipping the devil, is a real faith.

his former wife may have to show that Satanism - which is recognised as a religion by the US Internal Revenue Service - is harmful to their daughters' upbringing.

Tags: satan, satanism, christian, religion, children, rights, legal

Obama Knocks Critics Of Language Comments

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:36:53 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.cbsnews.com

Democrat Barack Obama batted away conservative criticism Friday over a comment he made about Americans' lack of foreign language skills.

"The Republicans jumped on this. I said, absolutely immigrants need to learn English, but we also need to learn foreign languages,"

"This is an example of some of the problems we get into when somebody attacks you for saying the truth, which is: We should want our children with more knowledge. We should want our children to have more skills. There's nothing wrong with that. That's a good thing. I know, because I don't speak a foreign language. It's embarrassing," Obama said chuckling as his audience did the same.

The Americans for Legal Immigration PAC said in a statement, "Barack Obama has stepped on a political land mine by stating Americans should be forced to learn to speak Spanish."

But that's not what Obama said.

he said he doesn't understand people who say "we need English only."

Tags: obama, language, foreign, children, school, english

'Kid-sick' parents hate to let go at camp time

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:25:21 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

Then Pidgeon looked around and noticed something else: “There were no children crying — just parents.”

These days, camp leaders and family counselors say it’s an increasingly common dynamic. It used to be the homesick kid begging to come home from camp. While that still happens, they’ve noticed that it’s often parents who have more trouble letting go.

They call it “kid-sickness,” a condition attributed in large part to today’s more involved style of parenting. Observers also say it’s only being exacerbated by our ability to be in constant contact by cell phone and computer, as well as many parents’ perception that the world is a more dangerous place.

He says there’s something to be said for a parent who cares, but not to the point of becoming a “helicopter parent,” a term used for parents who constantly hover over their children, stepping in to monitor their choices and solve their problems, even into adult life.

Tags: children, parents

World's oldest mom age now 72

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:21:15 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

A 72-year-old woman who has two children and five grandchildren has given birth to twins, making her the world's oldest mother.

Omkari Panwar delivered twins, a boy and a girl, by Caesarean section last week.

Singh was reluctant to speak because he has received negative publicity for his wife's having children at such an advanced age.

"The desire for a male child has always been there, but God did not bless us with a male child," he said of the son who is a product of in vitro fertilization. "Now, we are very grateful to God, who has answered our prayers."

The septuagenarian couple spent their life savings and took out a loan from the bank for Panwar to undergo in vitro treatments. For the couple, the desire to have a son was most important because they wanted to carry on the family name. They know that their son may never be able to care for them in the traditional way because of the age gap.

Tags: children, elderly, pregnancy, old, woman, twins, medical, health