The Curious Case of Nadya Suleman – Octo-Mom

Is Nadya Suleman crazy, or what? She had six children by in-vitro fertilization, then had a whole bunch of frozen embryos implanted, resulting in eight babies at one birth. She now has fourteen children. She has no husband and no job. She lives with her mother in a home that is about to be foreclosed. Is she crazy, or what? This is a case of immaturity meeting Dr. Frankenstein.

Homeless Community

This writer has worked and volunteered at the same social service agencies dedicated to cleaning up the river banks, to rescuing the downtrodden, to saving the helpless, threading the eye of the needle as a gateway to Heaven. We will walk through the Pearly Gates and God will thump us on the forehead with his middle finger, look at us in disgust, and then invite us in to the ultimate shelter from damnation. We will be seated in the middle row, the homeless will have front row seats.

Breed Specific Legislation

BSL is another rights stripping phenomenon that has gained momentum through fear tactics. This is another example of individual’s willingness to accept anything from the media as the gospel truth. BSL has snowballed in that last couple of years. What this type of legislation does is either outright ban a certain breed of [...]

The Modern Retreat to the Castle Keep

The worry is not that we are getting more or less safe, but that our perceptions of safety are changing. We have recreated the walled and gated villas of the past and, between our fenced yard, our attached garage, and our parking garage at work, can go entire days and weeks without seeing someone from our neighborhood, let alone someone from around town. We are creating a sense of safety that is grounded in separation rather than reality. We are raising a generation of children who are housed in homogeneous zones that have a comfortable, rhythmic vibration of sameness.

The Poverty Paradigm – Misunderstanding Charity

We talk charitably about social justice, often with the liberal view of defending the disenfranchised. Taken out of context we might be seen as classic do-gooders who only enable irresponsibility. That is the common refrain for shallow, heartless capitalists who do not realize that there is profit in assisting the impoverished.
Dr. Muhammad Yanus, an American [...]

A Chat About Laughing – A Social Regulator

My son and I chat every day – usually on line – (We live in different States).  Sometimes we cut and paste the conversations into an article, usually when it is relevant to something that is being discussed here at The Fireside Post of when it is relevant to a current event.  This one is [...]

The Scout Initiative: Naming Social Injustice

I have been thinking more about how to deal with social injustice, and I dug up this clip from To Kill A Mockingbird. There are layers of great stuff in this clip:

There are several examples here of the actions that make a social movement. When Atticus learns that the Sheriff is not around, he begins [...]

OJ – Celebrity Tragedy

OJ Simpson has been a darling of the media for forty years.  Few celebrities reach this level of achievement, we might think of Elvis and the Beatles.  We could debate the similarities of these celebrities – rags to riches, riches to rags, stardom and tragedy.  But OJ is strikingly different.
Elvis Presley was a confused young [...]