1.

This post is interesting, in light of the comments on the Food Stamp Challenge #21 and Playground Bullies post.

School Lunches Around the World

(They get steamed mussels and artichokes for lunch in France?  With a lemon tart?  Maybe I can go teach over there.  How much does Rosetta Stone cost?)

H/T The Common Room

One of our school lunches (not pictured – glass of milk): Chicken salad on whole wheat bread, cherries.  ($1.88 a pound at the HEB this week!)

2.

You knew I couldn’t just let Obama’s new health care proposal pass by without a comment, didn’t you?  Obama wants to make health insurance mandatory.

President Barack Obama says he’s open to requiring all Americans to buy health insurance, as long as the plan provides a “hardship waiver” to exempt poor people from having to pay.

This is an issue I debated quite a bit on another site before the election.  As a free American, I should be able to choose whether or not I want to purchase health insurance.  Many providers do not even accept health insurance; if I chose one of them as my primary care doctor, why should I be forced to pay for insurance on top of that?

Many people are philosophically opposed to insurance products, or to health insurance, specifically.  The Amish, Christian Scientists, and some other sects should not be force to buy health insurance in violation of their religious beliefs.

But Obama would only allow an exception for hardship – people that couldn’t afford it.  From his letter to Senate members:

I understand the Committees are moving towards a principle of shared responsibility — making every American responsible for having health insurance coverage, and asking that employers share in the cost. I share the goal of ending lapses and gaps in coverage that make us less healthy and drive up everyone’s costs, and I am open to your ideas on shared responsibility. But I believe if we are going to make people responsible for owning health insurance, we must make health care affordable.

I am grateful for the excellent coverage that my husband’s provider makes available to us; however, I don’t think the government should decree that I must purchase it.  And what happens if he loses his job?  Or starts a new one, and we’re “betweeen” coverages?  Will dental coverage be required, as well?  What coverage levels will be mandated?

And didn’t Obama say during the campaign that he was against that plan, anyway?

Read a law professor’s take on the letter here.

3.

Miss C asked if she could a drink of milk.  I said sure, but soon enough I heard sounds from the kitchen that sounded like much more was happening that a simple glass of milk.

She had decided to make a snack for herself and Mr X to share.  So she got a big bowl, which actually was a colander.  I caught her before she poured the milk – in part because the milk jug was (thankfully) empty.

Notice how she has the important part – the sugar bowl.

4.

I have some Montessori links on my sidebar, and we do a lot of Montessori-inspired activities in our home.  So I just had to share this gorgeous Montessori bedroom with you!

One thing I noticed in particular were the mirrors.  We have a dressing mirror bolted to the wall in our playroom, and the children use it constantly – to brush their hair, play dress up, make faces, and just generally goof off.  I highly recommend putting a mirror (securely fastened, of course) low down, where your child doesn’t have to stand on a stool to use it.  You can get locker mirrors at the dollar store to put on your fridge if you are out of wall space!

5.

More Obamacare.  Make a note of this:

Daschle says health-care reform “will not be pain free.” Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them. That means the elderly will bear the brunt.

Yes, when the taxpayers are all paying astronomical amounts for health care, the bureaucrats are going to start deciding who is worthy to receive what treatment.  Perhaps I’m cynical, but I predict that the best coverage will go to the active earners.  People who are not currently paying employment taxes and may even be taking money out of the system (through Social Security, never mind that seniors paid into it for years) will be marginalized.

6.

Free donut at Krispy Kreme today, in celebration of National Donut Day!

Sadly, there are no Krispy Kremes in Houston.  I remember when they came to the Denver area.  Police had to direct traffic for weeks, and the lines were HOURS long.  I think KK donuts look not quite real, like they came out of a cartoon.  They are tasty, though!

7.

I know it’s old news, but I wanted to take a moment to talk about George Tiller.

Murder is always wrong. This was a heinous act of violence and the perpetrator should be tried and sentenced to the full extent of the law.

An even greater tragedy is that now Tiller is lost forever.  (Probably.  I would never presume on the mercy of God  or His ability to change the hardest heart at the last moment.)

The worst thing in the world is not dying.  The worst thing that could happen to you is going to Hell.

That being said, Tiller was not murdered by the pro-life movement.  He was killed by a disturbed individual with a history of anti-social terrorist behavior (he’s been jailed for possessing bomb components).  He had violated his parole by refusing to pay taxes or give his employer his SS#, declaring himself a Sovereign Citizen and spent time in federal prison.  He did not belong to any of the major prolife groups (i.e., Operation Rescue, National Right to Life Committee, etc.)

Sadly, on the very same day the crime happened, radical pro-abortion site Feministing decided not to let the crisis go to waste.

May God have mercy on his soul.

Tagged as: Freebies, health care, montessori rooms, Obama, snacks, Tiller