Quote of the day

after Ds#4 had been trying to cuddle and kiss his baby brother, Ds#5 -- we heard
Ds#5 from the other room yell...

Don't kiss ME! I'm a boy and you're not my SISTER!!

Of course, Ds#5 is happy to cuddle and kiss his new baby boy cousin...

Kudos to Congressman Mike Pence for his work to defund Planned Parenthood

(Dave's letter to the Editor)

Dear Editor,

Kudos to Congressman Mike Pence for his work to defund Planned Parenthood. The American people have spoken and according to a CNN poll, reject taxpayer funded abortion 61% to 37%. ¹

Contrary to claims made in the puff piece submitted by board chair Deborah Simon, Planned Parenthood is a substandard health care center for women. Just ask former Planned Parenthood Director Abby Johnson. Ms. Johnson has stated, "Planned Parenthood is an organization that does not provide quality health care. Our tax money should go to organizations that provide comprehensive care to women, men, and children. There are better uses of our money. Planned Parenthood provides shabby, limited health care. Why would we want women to get some health care when they can go to a different clinic, other than Planned Parenthood, and receive total health care? "²

We hear over and over that without Planned Parenthood to provide birth control, more women will get pregnant and have more abortions. Such claims are tiresome and simply untrue. Lack of knowledge and the lack of available contraception are not the main reasons women get abortions. In January 2011, the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute reported that only 8 percent of women who have abortions never used birth control. Further, they found that 54 percent of women who had abortions had used contraception in the month they got pregnant.³ Part of Planned Parenthood's stated mission is "to prevent unplanned pregnancy." Clearly they are failing in this regard by their own standard. Does it make sense to reward such incompetence with continued funding? Am I the only one who finds it sick and demented that they get paid between $350 and $950⁴ to provide what they call the "solution"?

Like 61% of Americans I'm pro-choice on taxpayer-funded abortion. I choose not to pay for it and believe others should have that right as well. Who is Planned Parenthood to stand between a taxpayer and their wallet?

Congressman Pence is right. Taxpayers should not be forced to fund abortion.

Respectfully submitted,

Sources:

¹ CNN Poll (18 November 2009) http://articles.cnn.com/2009-11-18/politics/abortion.poll_1_public-option-abortion-issue-health-insurance?_s=PM:POLITICS

² Abby Johnson interview by Kathryn Jean Lopez (http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/259954/deadly-domino-effect-kathryn-jean-lopez)

³ Guttmacher Institute: "Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States" (http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html)

⁴ Planned Parenthood: "What Happens During an Abortion" (http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/abortion/in-clinic-abortion-procedures-4359.asp)

Ancient Rome - and the winner is....

As we're wrapping up the Republic of Ancient Rome before we move onto Empire, I asked the kids for representations of the Roman Government. We gave out prizes (candy).

The award for the longest representation....
The award for the most creative representation....(legos)

Our award winners....

After discussing whether Julius Ceasar is a hero or a tragic figure in history, we ended with a comparison of what Star Wars episode coorelated to which time in Rome's history and which Star Wars character related to which historical figure from ancient Rome. I left the room as the kids jointly fell into Saga Begins. All-in-all a good homeschool co-op day.

Quote of the day

Kate

"Mama, do these kinds of things happen in OTHER families?"

This was said while I was digging a half a roll of toilet paper out of the downstairs toilet and plunging trying to stop the toilet as it overflowed.

Our first indication something was amiss was the sound of splash*splash*splash*SPLAT*scream while I was reading history to the kids. It turned out there was water in 2 rooms and pouring over the step into the carpeted familyroom and seeping into the kitchen on the other side.

As we dried up the flood, Kate wondered...is it just us that has these things happen???