Teen Pregnancy

Teens haven't always been helpless victims of their hormones and sexual impulses. I graduated from Central High School in Memphis in 1964, back before sex ed in schools, before the pill, before legalized abortion, before the "sexual revolution" of the mid to late sixties.

I don't recall a single girl getting pregnant in my class. Possibly, in our school of over 1,000 students,(10th thru 12th graders) there were rare exceptions, but I never knew about it. It was never talked about, and believe me, there would have been PLENTY of talk!

I think the difference then was cultural, and the fact that most of us regularly went to church or synagogue, (as my class was about 1/3 Jewish). Having sex before marriage (or at least in high school) was shameful in those days. Central also set the bar pretty high for excellence in terms of academic and athletic achievement and every other category.

We also were not bombarded in the mainstream media by sexual images and messages that seem to encourage teenage sex, as today's teens are. So many factors came into play in those days that seem to be largely absent now, most importantly, more parental supervision.

Unfortunately, in some schools now, girls' pregnancies and "single motherhood" are seen as a badge of honor and proof of a boy's masculinity.

Inheritance Fraud

Unfortunately, I have first hand knowledge of how sometimes, honesty, integrity and common sense has gone out the window with some in the legal profession.

Case in Point:

Eleven years ago, my step mother-in-law, along with help from her lawyer son and her personal attorney in a small town in Arkansas, succeeded in bilking my husband and his two sisters out of a million dollar inheritance, as well as the family home, from their 88 year old father, a well respected former surgeon in Memphis.

That was my first (and I hope, my last) encounter with the legal profession. After a year of our spending thousands of dollars on attorney fees just to recover family memorabalia that was still in my father-in-law's Memphis home, we were advised, because the legal system was so corrupt, at the time, in Arkansas (where my father-in-law had been moved to,the last couple of years of his life) we might as well just forget about it and move on with our lives.

Filing a civil suit would have been too costly for all of us and we had children in college at the time to support.

I never thought I'd personally encounter such greed or persons without a moral compass, in my lifetime. The worst thing was that my poor father-in-law, an extremely honorable man who dearly loved his children and grandchildren, was horribly deceived and an unwitting partner to what went on, beginning with being talked into marrying the woman only 2 weeks after they met!

Amazingly, his new wife, and her partners in crime, were perceived as fine upstanding community members and devout Christians! In this case, common sense was usurped, as my father-in-law had a will, but because of a simple x on a Charles Schwab account that put all of his holdings (millions in stocks) in joint tenancy with her, three years before his death, his will was essentially null and void and everything done was deemed "legal". BTW, he had been declared legally blind and deaf at the time and was extremely ill. None of his children found out about this change until after his death, and by then it was too late to do anything about it.

Sadly, I've learned that the word "moral" does not exist in some lawyers' vocabulary. It is all about winning now, not doing what is right and good. While it is certainly not my intention to paint all attorneys with the same broad brush, as I am personal friends with some who are wonderful people, unfortunately there are enough bad apples to sully what used to be a noble profession.

I wanted to share this story as a warning to others with elderly parents, especially if those parents are wealthy and live out of state. Unfortunately, these types of predators abound, just waiting to pounce on unsuspecting victims. Sadly, sometimes they come as "wolves in sheeps' clothing".

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Rick Warren and Obama's Inauguration

Rick Warren is the new Billy Graham, so we will be seeing him a lot at White House events and called on for council by Obama and perhaps future presidents, as was Dr. Graham.

It seems many people opposing his role in the inauguration have not taken the time to really learn much about Rev. Warren, other than his scriptural attitude toward homosexuality.

Aside from being the author of several books including one of the best sellers of all time, "The Purpose Driven Life" which has been translated into over 30 languages, Warren and his Saddleback Church and the over 2,000 church affiliates across the country have pledged to take on the enormous task of addressing the AIDS epidemic in Africa and the devastation it has caused in that country.

Did you also know that Saddleback is one of the largest churches in America, with over 20,000 members and Pastor Warren has never taken a salary from them!

This man is a true Christian, hence the attacks on him from the far left, who absolutely hate Christians and whose mission it is to remove any mention of God from the public arena. Christian bashing, in fact, seems to be the last acceptable form of bigotry among this group.

God Bless Obama for standing up to those who would marginalize this man for taking a stand for what he believes, all the while ignoring all of the other good he has done and continues to do for people in desperate circumstances in this world.

The fact is, the Gay Gestapo, a relatively small group of homosexuals, I believe, need to understand that everything isn't just about them and their "cause". Millions of people in the country revere Rev. Warren and think his choice to be a part of the inauguration ceremony is a brilliant choice.

I was not an Obama supporter, but am changing my opinion of him, so far, based upon most of his cabinet picks and his ability not to buckle under pressure from radical far left organizations.

Obama and the Stock Market

A lot of financial experts are saying that stocks took an even greater dive after the election and have stayed down since, because investors (both foreign and domestic) are waiting to see what an Obama presidency will do in terms of the economy (taxing the rich, etc). As of now, they do not have the confidence to invest, so are taking a "wait and see" approach..

Overall, Obama's judgement has been impressive as far as most of his cabinet picks and his retaining Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense. It was also heartening to see that he did not back down on his choice of having Pastor Rick Warren be a part of the inauguation, despite being under heavy fire from the "gay gestapo" for doing so. Perhaps he will not pander so much to the special interest groups as was feared by many.

It is being predicted the market will recover somewhat, after he takes office, especially if these bipartisan choices become the rule. President elect Obama is an extremely smart man, and since being briefed by the White House on confidential, top security, matters, his stance on ending the Iraq war seems to have have been altered, as he has gained a more comprehensive sobering view on how the outcome of that war (misguided as it has been) relates to America's security (after all, the #1 responsibility of the government is to keep us safe!) The fact that he wants to increase our troops in Afghanistan is very promising.

Unfortunately, a lot of people who voted for him will be undoubtebly, disappointed that all of the entitlements they expected, are not going to come to fruition. There is a glimmer of hope now, for a lot of us naysayers, that Obama might turn out to be a president for all the people after all, and potentially one of our greatest presidents. He certainly has inherited a big mess!!!! May God be with him and

Homosexual "Marriage"

The union between two persons of the same sex and that between a man and a woman will never be "equal", no matter how many laws are passed or rulings by activist judges are made. They are entirely different and therefore, require different words to describe them.

I believe that a committed homosexual couple ought to be afforded the exact same legal rights as a married one through civil unions, etc., however, I along with the great majority of Americans, simply do not want the definition of marriage, that has stood for over five thousand years and is the very bedrock of civilization, changed.

The term marriage ought to be reserved for the union of one man and one woman. I do not believe this is really about the term marriage, however, it is about forcing the acceptance of a lifestyle that most of us find repugnant.

As far as legalizing gay marriage not affecting all of us, one has only to look at the ramifications of the law in Massachusetts. Parents now have no rights at all in terms of what their children can and cannot be taught about the subject. Gays are pushing their agenda heavily in the schools through books and mandatory "education" programs.

Parents are being told they and their children may not "opt out" of these indoctrination sessions since gay marriage is now the law of the land.

http://www.massresistance.org/docs/ma...

Sarah Palin, Bright Shining Star of the New Republican Party

Gov. Palin may not have fancy degrees from an ivy league school, but she is a dynamite lady with amazing administrative abilities who has an unprecendented 80%+ approval rating in the state she governs. She is being credited now, in part, for the double digit victory of Saxby Chambliss yesterday, even after the Dems sent in their big guns, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and the rapper, Ludicrous. Imagine that!

Over the next four years, the Republican Party, which sadly, lost its way over the past 8 years, will rally and rediscover its Reaganistic ideals: smaller government, fiscal responsiility, more individual rights and freedoms . All of this and lower taxes.

Sarah Palin is one of several dynamic new stars who have a bright future in turning the party around to accomplish those goals.

Musings on Muslim Extremism

The attacks by Muslim Extremists in India, in the past several days, have me doing some serious thinking in terms of why the world is in the midst of turmoil largely created and being perpetrated by this faction of Islam, ironically, called "the religion of peace".

I am growing quite weary and troubled by those who want to justify the actions of this group by denigrating all religion, especially, Christianity.

In simplistic terms, Christians follow the teachings of Christ (hence the name Christian) who came "not to condemn the world, but to save it". No where in the New Testament are Christians mandated to kill in his name. On the contrary, we are admonished to "love our neighbor as ourselves", "hate the sin, but love the sinner". The Old Testament is an accounting of Jewish law, which was mostly abolished with the coming of Jesus. The United States' judicial system was, however, patterned after the Ten Commandments, which are in the Old Testament.

Muslims follow the teachings of Mohammed, a warrior and founder of Islam. Islam was established 600 years after the birth of Jesus. The followers of that religion are bound by the teachings of Mohammed, which are clearly outlined in the Koran. The mandate to followers of Islam is to kill all unbelievers, if they cannot be converted. It is all is in there, in black and white, though most Muslims do not take that literally, (hence the Extremist view, which is to interpret it in that way).

Those who refuse to believe that, are courting danger in this very real "War on the West" we are experiencing and which is the source of most of terrorism in the world today. If suddenly and miraculously this war by Muslim Extremists were to cease, the world would be a decidedly more peaceful place.

As stated earlier, this is a simplisitic view, and is much more complicated, but basically that is the way I understand it.

To compare Christianity with Islam is folly at best, and ignores the very real dangers inherent in the teachings of Mohammed. I can only think that a large majority of the world's 2.3 billion Muslims are either illiterate and therefore, haven't read the Koran (just as a lot of people who claim to be Christians haven't actually ever read and studied the New Testament) or simply choose to ignore the part of their holy book which does indeed incite them to violence against unbelievers.

I continue to be amazed at the lack of an outcry among Muslims, as a whole, condemning these violent acts of terrorism.