__coffee

What about the millions of Muslim woman worldwide, including those born in the US, the UK and other western nations, that choose to wear the veil and cover up? I agree with you that forcing someone to wear particular clothes is wrong, but if you talk to the women, many will tell you it's freeing because it prevents them from being sex objects or the targets of lust. The Taliban and such in Afghanistan used force and insisted on the burqa, but in some other Middle Eastern countries, it's totally optional. I don't wear burqas or hijab because I'm not Muslim and to me they feel excessive, but I have some long skirts (ie: hitting the floor, not showing an inch of skin) and a jilbab (overcoat) I bought from an Islamic clothier and I love them because they are modest but still beautiful. I like the burqini. I think all women desiring to be modest should be entitled to dress so. It's not Muslim women getting special treatment, it's just that no one asked for such a garment until they came along. Maybe we should have.

If you want to commit slow suicide and open yourself up to lung cancer and other smoking-associated diseases, at least don't subject other people to it. It is pretty gross that people smoke around young kids. Adults and older kids can make a choice to leave a public area where smoking is allowed or find a room in the house where no one smokes, but little kids have no choices or any way to defend themselves from it. Parents who murder their children go to prison, so it seems something serious ought to happen to those who infringe on their ability to get clean air and significantly damage their health.

Abuse against anyone, whatever their gender, isn't funny. It's pretty bigoted to assume men can't suffer and women can't get violent. It doesn't happen that often, but it shouldn't be overlooked. For the record, I'm a 5'3", 97 pound girl and my best friend is 6'4", 230lbs and male. He came over one night to surprise me and I thought it was an intruder. I threw a rock at him in self defense and it broke his wrist. That was an accident but if I could do that against him, it's certainly possible for women to abuse a man if they really wanted to. A lot of men who have had assaults and such happen to them are afraid to get help because they think they'll be stigmatized. It doesn't help to make a joke out of it.

Great! I see nothing but promise in a proposal to raise taxes for the wealthy. It is those with the most who should be expected to contribute the most to the country. I have never understood those who would try to give even more to the rich while completely ignoring the poor. To me that's just plain immoral. Good, hardworking people who make very small amounts of money should be getting the incentives and breaks, not those who have tons of money. Yay dems for that one.

Well, I think it makes sense. The woman in question is as much a part of the family as any other member, and is recognized as such by the child, the birth mother and the father. She has been carrying on a marriage-like situation with the birth mother since well beyond the child's birth, and it is probably impossible to convince the child she is raising with the birth mom that she isn't really his parent. He will always see her as such and to be told, no, she's not really your parent after being raised with her as a parent would be a horrible trauma. Unlike a friendly neighbour, a babysitter or a non-nuclear relative, she is a part of the child's everyday life, carrying out normal parental responsibilities day in and day out. She's not second best or the second tier, unlike someone outside the nuclear family. She's not a person the child sometimes sees, she is a person who makes choices for the family and determines the child's welfare. In addition, her presence doesn't circumvent or challenge the relationship the boy has with his father. His life in a family parented by lesbians doesn't stop him from enjoying time with a father that is on friendly terms with both his mothers. There might be questions when he's older, but I fail to see how three loving parents isn't as good as a family of two parents. I also see this quote as totally accurate... I think it's far better that all members of the family know they will be able to continue caring for the child and providing him with a stable home if one family member should pass away.

That's a great idea! Whether or not you are a Christian, Christianity has shaped portions of history, politics, worldviews, law, etc. Knowing more about the Bible and studying it even for non-religious reasons is pretty smart. Considering it's an elective, not mandatory, course and that the proposed course would deal with the Bible not for religious conversion but for factual information, I can't see how anybody could object.

I went on a diet when I was 13. It was medically supervised up until a point and basically there were three rules. 1. Eat less than your body needs to maintain weight 2. Exercize to burn additional calories 3. Plan your meals so your nutritional needs are met Usually they say to lose weight at a healthy weight, take in 500 calories less than you need to maintain. That can be hard though especially if you haven't dieted before. The best thing is to cut 250 cals-300 cals from your usual diet (have 1,700 instead of 2,000 for example) and then to burn the rest through moderate exercize like walking or swimming. You don't have to starve yourself and if you do it backfires and can cause big problems. You don't have to go crazy and exercize all day either. Walking 1 mile burns about 100 calories and takes less than 20 minutes. Lifting small handweights can build muscles in your arms and burn up calories too. Or go swim laps for free or very cheaply at your community pool or YWCA. It's really easy. Some diets will tell you not to eat carbs, not to eat fat, etc. Forget it. There are also no good or bad foods, just keep everything in moderation. Once you've figured out how many calories you're going to eat, keep track during the day and make sure you're getting 20-30% from fat, 20% or so from protein and the rest from carbohydrates. It's ok to have a cookie or some ice cream as long as you don't go overboard. Balance it out with some healthy fruits, whole grain bread or something else good for you. If you do eat more than you wanted, make up for it by going for a 30 min walk or doing some situps or eat a bit less the next day. Also, taking a multivitamin and a calcium tablet, plus any other vitamins your doctor tells you to, will keep you in good health and stop you from having cravings. Drink lots of water, that helps to. That's all there is to it.