Category:society | The Fireside Post society | The Fireside Post
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society

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Lincoln’s Rhetorical Flourishes, Shame on McCain/Palin

The idea of responding to Sarh Palin is contemptible.   Responding to McCain is bad enough.  But McCain has put the country in this position – and respond we must.  The latest attack by Palin is to suggest in a demeaning manner that Barack Obama “… knows something about rhetorical flourishes.” Be whatever you want, Sarah […]

24Oct2008 | | Comments Off on Lincoln’s Rhetorical Flourishes, Shame on McCain/Palin | Continued
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I Am A Pregnant Teen

It was difficult for me to sleep last night. I was checking the statistics on our magazine yesterday. The  statistics page gives us two views of where our readers came from.  ‘Referrers’ lists the other sites that reference our site.  ‘Search Engine Terms’ is a list of the key words individuals used to search the […]

22Oct2008 | | 1 comment | Continued
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The Prophecy of Barack Obama

Two years ago Barack Obama decided to run for President of the United States.  There were others.  Seasoned politicians.  Politicians who have been representing people in an official capacity for years.  Each of the candidates spoke to the people.  Each presented their case.  Obama said, “This is about change.” We the people cheered. Think of […]

21Oct2008 | | 6 comments | Continued
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Embracing Casino Gambling

Casino gambling has spread across this great nation.  In Punkin Center, Missouri, where this writer lives, we see our neighbors leaving to go to “the boat.”  Wow, we think, right here in Punkin Center.  But that is not all.  Casino issues are on ballots across this country.  The Presidential election will draw big crowds – […]

19Oct2008 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Men At Work

We were driving down the street this morning and we noticed three men putting in a retaining wall. We saw a couple of shovels and a wheelbarrow. There were stacks of those pre-formed hex-shaped concrete ‘stones.’ The men had dug out the bank and were placing the stones in place. No more mowing of a […]

14Oct2008 | | Comments Off on Men At Work | Continued
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Paul Newman – Salad Dressings, Gunslingers and Plastic Jesus

Paul Newman led a life we can all admire and hopefully emulate. He wasn’t just a good actor, he was a great humanitarian. This writer is not fully qualified to write a biography of this man, we would just like to host a brief celebration of his life. This writer’s first introduction to Paul Newman […]

12Oct2008 | | 4 comments | Continued
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Obama’s Journey – Don’t Stop Believing

Barack Obama is  on a journey.  The destination is unknown, but every mountain, every valley, every raging river will be crossed with determination, with hope, with optimism.  The forest is full of danger, the valley in the shadow of death, Obama fears no evil. Obama knows that the truth is with him.  His cup is […]

12Oct2008 | | 2 comments | Continued
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Finding Love On-Line For Old People

This writer is a member of the AARP – that should tell you something.  We are on the AARP e-mail list.  Yesterday we received an email titled, “Ohg, Find Love On Line.”  We are laughing as we write – the imagery of old people and internet dating was just too much for our sensibilities.  Perhaps […]

11Oct2008 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Immigration – Underground Railroad

We are talking about people. Suffering people. oppressed people. Oppressed by poverty, by repressive land owners, by corporate greed, by poor health care, and by an unresponsive government. North, they are told. North to a land of opportunity. A land where they will not be subjected to the fierce drudgery of poverty. They have relatives […]

11Oct2008 | | 11 comments | Continued
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I Am A Pregant Teen

It was difficult for me to sleep last night. I was checking the statistics on our magazine yesterday. The  statistics page gives us two views of where our readers came from.  ‘Referrers’ lists the other sites that reference our site.  ‘Search Engine Terms’ is a list of the key words individuals used to search the […]

5Oct2008 | | Comments Off on I Am A Pregant Teen | Continued
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Tina Fey In The Debate

Saturday Night Live has hit a gold mine with Governor Sarah Palin.  Tina Fey has mastered the impersonation.  This particular piece of October 4, 2008, captures the comedy of Joe Biden and Sarah Palin in their one and only vice presidential debate. …… Check out Brian Williams with David Letterman HERE.

5Oct2008 | | 1 comment | Continued
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United Way – agency corruption

This writer is a big supporter of the concept of United Way – with skepticism for the actual practice. The concept is simple – there are many social service agencies in all communities that compete for the limited local dollars available. The idea of the United Way was to eliminate all of the individual fund […]

25Sep2008 | | 14 comments | Continued
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I am a house-husband, not a space man

I am a house husband.  I think that there is still some social barrier within me that creates a stigma around staying at home with the kids. I create my own stigma, I guess, I still feel a little weird when telling people what I do. Its a lot like telling them that I am […]

24Sep2008 | | 6 comments | Continued
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Being a House-Husband

I am a house-husband. That is, I stay at home with the kids and my wife works full time. We are a non-traditional family, I guess, and it suits me fine most of the time. I get the impression, though, that the pats on the back that I get from people are not always genuine. […]

22Sep2008 | | 2 comments | Continued
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Total Loss of Control

Inspired by Bill Cosby – he is making a big toot about the irresponsibility of his fellow black people. Rather than lump a race into the same bucket – we should probably consider behavior rather than color. We have some literature that is not of our making. This literature has been copied and copied again. […]

18Sep2008 | | 5 comments | Continued
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Clean Electricity in Ten Years

We have written several times on Global Warming – now real money is being invested in educating the human populations about this fundamental truth of our time. The following is a video advertisement running on many television networks – This writer likes the music and the imagery. [wp_youtube]ydOPBL5iO2Y[/wp_youtube] Wecansolveit.org has several good videos.  We are […]

10Sep2008 | | Comments Off on Clean Electricity in Ten Years | Continued
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English – a Mandatory Language?

We have a new pork processing plant in our town – we think the Triumph Foods Human Resource office is located in Mexico City. You know how these big corporations are. Our local school system is being challenged to offer a regular old American education to children who cannot speak the language. There is great […]

2Sep2008 | | 2 comments | Continued
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Sex Addiction – Real or Not? (Video)

CBS has done a nice job reporting on actor David Duchovny’s recent admission to a rehabilitation facility for Sex Addiction. My question is the same as most – Is Sex Addiction a legitimate addiction, or a legitimate mental illness, or both, or what? This writer believes that Obsessive Compulsive disorders are real, they are destructive, […]

31Aug2008 | | Comments Off on Sex Addiction – Real or Not? (Video) | Continued
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Michael Phelps, Pro Bowl in Eight Positions

Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in one Olympics.  Mark Spitz won seven in the 1972 Olympics.  Johnny Weissmuller won four in the 1928  Olympics.  All in swimming.  So multiple gold medals is not unheard of.  But it is certainly unusual.  Why is this so? This writer has been digesting the news of the Phelps […]

20Aug2008 | | Comments Off on Michael Phelps, Pro Bowl in Eight Positions | Continued
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Phelps sets Olympic record

Michael Phelps is an American Swimmer. That felt good to type – and it is sweet music to American Olympians. His story is remarkable. Some questions are posed because of changes in the technology of swim wear and the configuration of the pool in Beijing – we’ll get to those issues in a moment – […]

13Aug2008 | | Comments Off on Phelps sets Olympic record | Continued
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The Bird’s Nest – Cradle of the Future? (Video)

China has given the world a demonstration of their claim on the future. The opening ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics are unrivaled – and will remain unrivaled for generations. The grandeur of the Chinese coming out party was a delicate mix of technology and humanity. At the center of the spectacle was “The […]

10Aug2008 | | Comments Off on The Bird’s Nest – Cradle of the Future? (Video) | Continued
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intimate anonymity in the electronic age

If you are reading this article, then it is no surprise to you that our electronic culture is changing faster than we can measure and our connectedness boasts the largest geographical and numerical network in history. The phenomenon of our communication age is a child of several technologies that all dramatically shaped our culture, and […]

2Jun2008 | | Comments Off on intimate anonymity in the electronic age | Continued
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Oprah and Barack – transcending race

Son, A curious phenomenon is taking place. Oprah Winfrey is going on the stump for Barack Obama. So what? It is not unusual for celebrities to endorse candidates for political office. But this phenomenon is unusual, for several reasons. Oprah does not normally do this. Oprah has been on television for 25 years and has […]

26Nov2007 | | Comments Off on Oprah and Barack – transcending race | Continued
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Blunt Abortion

The Governor of Missouri is Matt Blunt, son of a Missouri Congressman of a similarly appropriate name. The headline in today’s paper is “Blunt task force examining abortion affects on women.” How appropriate. This is a good article – good because it slants in my direction. Apparently Governor Blunt has formed a task force of […]

29Oct2007 | | Comments Off on Blunt Abortion | Continued
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Housewives; House…Husbands?

My wife was reading a book a while back and there were some interesting points about language and the way that we relate to our family. I only read the parts that she showed me, so i don’t have an entire picture of the subject material, but a couple of things stuck with me. One was that we have moved into a culture of “stay-at-home moms” and even “stay-at-home dads,” and we have vilified the idea of a “housewife” as being derogatory.

21Sep2007 | | 4 comments | Continued
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Denial – Outdated Mythology

Son, There is a huge mistake by Addiction Treatment Professionals, law enforcement, and the courts in addressing the problem of alcohol and drug addiction. The dominant philosophy the past thirty years has been that the central problem is one of denial. That is to say, the belief that alcoholics and addicts have abnormally robust denial […]

12Sep2007 | | Comments Off on Denial – Outdated Mythology | Continued
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Addictions – Losing Control

Son, Dante wrote The Inferno. I am not sure about this – anyone can correct me if they wish, but I think Dante described the greatest sin as giving up control of your life to something external – gluttony, sloth, envy, greed, power, or addiction. The punishment for violating the greatest sin was total loss […]

11Sep2007 | | Comments Off on Addictions – Losing Control | Continued