Category Archives: in the news

Just the Sort of Thing Congress Excels At

The public was scared about the lead found in cheap, imported toys. So, Congress nearly unanimously passed a law, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) with lots of new regulations to keep American children safe. Result of said law? Every manufacturer of children’s clothing and toys has to subject every batch to a third party for very expensive testing. Goodbye handmade toys. Goodbye anything for kids on Etsy. What is supposed to keep our kids safe will push the best toys out of the market completely. And baby slings? We’ll be back to only having a handful of mass produced choices. Some people have even dubbed the day it goes into effect “National Bankruptcy Day” because of the vast numbers of small businesses which will have to close their doors.

You can help. Go here for more information. Write your senators and congressman. Tell everyone you know. We have until February to save handmade for our kids!

Doctrine, Population and Postmillenialism

I loved this article about Amish migration and population growth. I am a religious studies nerd, though. It’s interesting to think about the growth of religious movements like the Amish, LDS and even Islam as their views of children and contraception allow them to grow at a faster rate. As evangelicalism in general promotes couples waiting longer and having less children, conforming to national trends, we are loosing ground. Lest we forget, there is a middle ground between the societal status quo and being quiverfull.

Praying for the Carolina Family

Student Body President Eve Carson was murdered in what seems to be a random act of violence off campus, in Chapel Hill.

I’ve been thinking all afternoon about what to write, but all I can say is that I am praying for her family as well as students, faculty, staff, and those in campus ministry in this difficult time.

Suburbia: Future Slums?

This article in the Atlantic is alarming, and likely very prophetic.

10% of My Fifteen Minutes

The babywearing group I helped to found was featured on the local news this week. You can watch here.

. no words .

In light of this local tragedy and Heather’s recent post about her journey, I wanted to remind all my readers that postpartum depression is a very real and very serious condition. If you think you may be suffering from it, please seek help. The local woman was a friend of a friend. If you would, pray for her husband, Chip.

Dick Durbin Is an Idiot.

Thanks to the internet, Senators have had 46hr and 8m to read a 3,417 page omnibus spending bill. Apparently, thanks to the internet (and Al Gore!), that is plenty of time for any senator read all 3,417 pages of this spending bill. HOWEVER, Durbin forgot that not all senators are well-educated northern Democrats. We’ve also got us sum dum southernerz in the group (thanks to the internet?) who need a little bit longer to actually read it (at least the small words).

But why bother reading it all at? The democrats like it and they are the ones to clean up Washington, reform Congress and get rid of the pork, right?

What a Man!

First our fearless leader of Birmingham refuses to talk in federal court, then he decides to monitor my every movement by video camera!

Maffly-Kipp on Mitt

My former professor wrote an article for The Christian Century called “A Mormon President?” that’s worth checking out. Laura Leigh and I took her senior/grad seminar on Mormonism.

The Cornucopia of Blog Posts

My link post a few back? Mostly stolen from Gaines.

Driving the other day, we heard this interesting story on literacy and reading for pleasure. Basically, reading for pleasure is declining at a startling rate, with corresponding drops in comprehension and literacy. The best indicator for children being lifelong readers was how many books are in their home. I think our kids are set! Seriously, though, I know some people who have become interested in those Teach Your Baby to Read programs, but I am glad we’re holding out. I want our girls to understand the power of reading to some degree before they learn to decode. Because reading is so much more than decoding, and I’d hate to reduce it to that.

My mom is from Northeastern Pennsylvania, a peculiar place, with a peculiar dialect, which is not highlighted nearly enough on The Office.

I’m nearly finished Christmas shopping, and I’m excited about the number of handmade gifts I was able to buy. Etsy rocks! Supporting real people using their real talents is exciting. I recommend luvlugs for baby stuff, some made with salvaged fabrics and sweetpea76 for cool prints.

FYI–Seinfeld was NOT cancelled.

Wait, John! What’s a Record?