COLUMBIA, S.C. - A group that advocates separation of church and state filed a federal lawsuit Thursday to prevent South Carolina from becoming the first state to create "I Believe" license plates.
The group contends that South Carolina's government is endorsing Christianity by allowing the plates, which would include a cross superimposed on a stained glass window. LINK
Separation of Church and State? Anytime the government starts mucking about in religious issues, i'll be one of the first to throw a fit over it, but this lawsuit is ridiculous. Different states in this country have license plates ranging from pro-life, pro-choice, gay rights, environmental issues, education, Just say no, ect... if there is a cause or belief somewhere in this country there is probably a license plate that represents it. Making the license plates available at the request of some of our citizens is not forcing religion on anyone nor does it mean the government is endorsing religion. It just means its making available something some of our citizens want. If they want to stop this one from being made based on a supposed appearance of government endorsement then every single specialty license plate in this country needs to stop being made because all of them represent one kind of special interest or another.
What are five things that make you unique?
Submitted by RA<3TA.
Unique hmm... let me think about that... how bout everything at least according to my husband. My husband lovingly calls me strange, eccentric, different and many other things that mean unique. Most of the time its a compliment but every so often i do wonder... :) To me im just me, i put my pants on the same way every body else does.
What's your favorite type of donut?
Submitted by tomatshonino.
Im not really into donuts, dont get me wrong i love the flavor of donuts themselves but i cant stand glaze of any kind and now days trying to find a donut without glaze and that isnt to dry is near impossible.
This election ive heard a lot of people who are considering not voting, i know every so often i'll get disgusted enough where i consider not voting to especially when i take a in depth look at the candidates. Usually though something inside of me cringes when i think of not voting so once again i start looking for the good in the candidates instead of seeing the bad which now days gets harder and harder with each passing political remark or smear.
The problem seems to be on one hand you have people saying that if you dont vote you get what you deserve but is that really true? Who's fault is it that none of the candidates really inspire a person to vote for them. Is it better to vote for someone you dont truly believe in? or not vote at all?
Has anyone thought that maybe our poor selection of candidates in general is based on our overwhelming desire to vote based on duty? The political parties can offer up anyone they want and they know because many Americans feel a responsibility to vote they will vote even if the parties offered up nothing but criminals, by gosh we have to vote for one of them or we are not doing our duty...
So tell me whats more important....
Voting because its your duty or standing up for your principles even if that doesn't allow you to vote for the latest Micky Mouse candidates thats been thrown at us?
(Note: this isnt referencing any of the current candidates, its about elections in general.)
What's the hardest part about the role you play in your family?
I often get caught in the middle of my husband and my daughters arguments. My husband and I have very different parenting styles, im a dont sweat the small stuff kind of person and he is the small stuff adds up to big stuff kind of person. So sometimes i feel he is going overboard but sometimes i think the girls are way out of line. Sometimes i cant win for losing, i either make my husband mad or i make my girls mad. Sometimes I feel they both are being unreasonable.
When you start a step family after your children are already in their teens with it comes complications you cant foresee. Things like my girls resenting a new parent in their life when nearly all of their lives ive been the only parent they have ever had to listen to. My husband trying to parent my girls the way he parented his own kids when my girls have been parented in completely different way. Most things we eventually work out but sometimes i feel like im caught as the old saying goes..... between a rock and a hard place.
Ive always wondered why people post articles and commentaries yet never say a single word after the fact, each and every time i read one, i always end up thinking so whats your point?
Sure some may say the material of the article itself is the point, but id argue with that. More often then not what the article means is in the eye of the beholder so adding a little comment after you post it lets your readers know why you believe that article is worth bringing it to their attention. If i want to read just articles i'll go read the newspaper, i read blogs for a whole different reason, i want to see and hear other peoples views whether they agree or disagree. I want to know what they think of the articles they post and what or why dont they like or like about them. Its really not hard to add a word or two after posting an article. I wish more people would do it.
So anyway thats my little pet peeve of the day......
I agree we have a problem with people getting health care in this country and ive looked over programs in other countries, ive researched the national health care solutions thats been offered up by our candidates and still i dont see one of many problems with health care being fixed.
Health care costs... I know this really doesnt seem to have anything to do with health care but id like to share with you something that my own family is facing now. Its about dental insurance, now you might think this doesn't have anything to do with health care but it does because the exact same thing is happening in the health care industry.
The problem... I recently took my daughter to the dentist, the office for some reason had my insurance company wrong so when they sent me my daughters treatment plan with the dentists price, what my insurance would pay and what was going to come out of my families pocket the information was based on a different insurance. The price of the dentist was around $1600. I called the dentist and corrected the mistake expecting to get another treatment plan with the same dentist fees but with what the insurance would pay and my out of pocket costs adjusted to fit my actual insurance.
What i received was a new treatment plan the dentist fees had went up to $2,300. I called the dentist office and asked them why their price had went up just based on a change of insurance when the wrong insurance company and my insurance company paid out the exact same amount in benefits., after a few minutes of the woman stumbling around trying to explain the inflated price, she finally landed on some junk about the fee being changed based on the area i lived in. I then tried to get her to explain why the fee had changed when i hadnt changed areas. She then tried to say the insurance company decided the price. Now anyone in the US with insurance knows that with most insurance companies they have a maximum amount the insurance will pay on each service but they do not decide what fees the actual provider charges. My out of pocket expenses went from 800 to 1500 just over the change of insurance and it wasnt that my insurance paid less but that the dentist charged more for each service. I had a friend call the same dentist and tell them they had no insurance and ask how much it would cost for the same services, i was amazed but not amazed when they were told the total fees from the dentist was less then $1000. It seems im better off not having dental insurance, the same can be said about health insurance because many health care providers do the exact same thing as the dentist office.
How will a national health care plan address that problem? A provider can still do the same thing leaving me with a higher out of pocket expense then i had in the first place. In countries with national health care plans, how do they deal with issues like that?
Ive heard a lot about that now days with Hillary running for President and all. She's somehow became the idol of the womans movement, the problem is some of us woman dont want to move that way. I wish people would just leave us alone and stop generalizing us.
Im a stay at home woman, i havent always been at one time in my life i was the sole provider in my family, then went to a single working mom and now days im blessed with the ability to stay home and i love it. Some would like to paint me as a doormat, as someone incapable of providing for themselves, as someone who is powerless. My husband would laugh his a** off if you suggested I was any of those things to him as would most people who really know me. Just as id laugh my a** off at anyone who suggested my husbands contribution to our family is little more then a banking account.
Stay at home woman have it rough, not only do we have to put up with the sexist attitude from some men who still live in the stone-age we have to put up with sexist attitudes from our our very own gender. The only difference is those men think our place is at home and those woman see staying at home as a threat to the womans movement. Both are wrong and both are just as disgusting as the other. My husband enjoys working outside the home just as much as i enjoy working within the home. If you look at a home like a business, you could say my husband provides the financial backing while i run the company. Both of us are equally important and equally needed. Both of us have equal voices in how our company runs and what assets we obtain. Sometimes he wins in the boardroom and sometimes i win in the boardroom. Without one or the other our little company would fall apart.
People need to realize stay at home woman are not defined by a definition from the early 50's. We are a diverse group of woman who have decided it makes us happier to stay at home. Some of us are strong independent voices within our homes, some of us choose a more pacifist type of approach, some of us want to be soccer moms, some of us hate school functions with a passion, some of us enjoy cooking, others prefer ordering out, some want children, some dont. Staying at home doesnt define us, its not who we are. Stay at home woman are no different then any career woman. We are fiercely protective of our rights to do what makes us happy. What you do or dont do doesnt make you equal. Equality isnt based on your way of life. Its based on how you are treated and how we see ourselves. We stay at home woman are equal so stop trying to take the equality away from us. Whether your a man who wants a wife bare-foot and pregnant or a woman who thinks they are well meaning and trying to help us. We dont need your help, we are exactly where we want to be and exactly what we want to be. We made our choice and if thats not your choice, tough!
What are your first thoughts upon waking?
Submitted by Cher Cabula.
ugh... i need a cup of coffee!
Ive said it and im now hearing Hillary supporters say it. I understand it and maybe some of you should try to understand it to. For once in a very long time people are voting the way they should vote and just because they choose McCain over Obama doesnt mean they are being spiteful, vengeful or any of those other shallow things. It just means that they are for once voting where their hearts and heads tell them to vote.
As someone with no party loyalty at all, (the only thing im loyal to in the political arena is the founding principles of my country) maybe its a little easier for me to see or hear someone say "Id rather vote McCain" especially when ive said the same thing myself. There seems to be some kind of growing consensus that Hillary supporters have to support Obama because Obama and her views on the issues are much the same. Sorry people but thats not exactly true and even if it were i wish voting were that easy at least for me.
Ideas, issues and all the other specific things do play a large part in who i pick but they are not the only part. That persons history plays a part, whether i think they are capable of carrying out their ideas and stands on the issues plays a part, whether i think they are trustworthy plays a part, if they can play well with others plays a part and even how long they have been in office plays a part. There are so many different things that i look at when i decide who i will vote for that its not unusual at all that i can look at two candidates who have similar stands and really like one of them but really dislike the other.
We really need to give Hillary supporters credit. It takes guts to stick to your principles against your fellow party members. They are not being petty (at least not most of them) they are doing exactly what they should do.... Vote for whomever they think is best for this country political parties be damned.
Now what all of that means for the Democratic party itself, i dont know and i dont care. As for the country as a whole, it can only mean good things, people are thinking outside of party lines and no matter how i look at it, that can only be a good thing in the long run.
