Today, I found this article, "Poltical Campaigns and You" from the September 1972 Ensign. It was written with the intent to educate people, particularly 18 year-olds (who would be voting for the first time ever), on how to vote. It is great! I could have used this when I turned 18!
I've listed the checklist it provides, and some of the points it makes. It's worth reading the whole thing:
- Reason or Emotion- "Fight to drain your decision of emotion. If you feel strongly about an
issue, ask yourself why. If you can’t repeat back substantive reasons
for your stance based on facts, you may be motivated by undue emotion. ... Ask yourself: Does this ad portray legitimate and reasonable concern for
our problems, or does it exaggerate? Am I being approached as a
thinking citizen or as a frightened animal?"
- Knowledge or Folklore- "Separate your understanding into two groups: Those facts that you can
verify from credible sources (knowledge), and those you can’t
(folklore). Remember which is which so you won’t use folklore in your
voting decision and so you can help correct distorted ideas held by
friends."
- Issues: Legitimate or Contrived- "For each vote you intend to cast, write down what you believe to be the top five problems facing that officeholder... Now as you go into a campaign, write down the top problems each
candidate appears to be emphasizing. How do the lists compare? Which
candidate most closely emphasizes the problems that concern you and your
neighbors? What solutions does each offer? How well thought out are the
proposed solutions? How do they compare with what you personally would
do to solve each problem?"
- Image or Mirage- "Our vote is not decided entirely upon issues. A candidate’s
characteristics should also be examined. Again get out your pad of paper
and write down the five top traits you believe an officeholder should
possess...If you get stuck trying to decide, ask yourself: Which candidate do I trust the most? And then: Why do I trust him more than the others?"
- Strength or Weakness- "As each campaign tries to project a certain image for its candidate, ask yourself not only what they are saying, but more important why they are saying it."
- Promise or Guarantee- "Distinguish between promises of effort and guarantees of end results. A
legislator can promise to introduce legislation and work for its
passage, but he isn’t in a position to guarantee it becoming law if the
executive says he’ll veto it. Similarly, an executive-type officeholder
can promise to ask for authority to institute certain programs, but he
can’t promise they’ll become fact if his legislature resists."
- Standing or Posturing- "Why is a certain candidate running for a
particular office? On the basis of his past work, who stands to benefit?
How sincere do you believe he is in the reasons he cites for his
candidacy? Is he standing for office as a concerned, able citizen, or is
he posturing for ego gratification?"
- Account or Attack- "Ask yourself: Is the charge a legitimate call for accounting or a
personal attack? If personal deficiencies are claimed, would they in
actuality hinder the execution of duties, or are they immaterial to the
office sought?"
- Action or Reaction- "Ask yourself: Am I acting on the information I have gathered or reacting because of parents or peer group?"
- Candidate A or Candidate B- "You have now arrived at your decision. Take whatever time you need to
mull over the information you have gathered and then make a tentative
choice in each race. Now search out acquaintances who have made the
opposite decision. Talk with them, ask them why they are voting for
their candidates, and volunteer the reasons you are voting for yours.
You will find out how well you have thought through your decision."
Between finding old photos at my Grandma's house, a General Conference talk, a Relief Society goal, a Stake goal, and two T.V. shows, I have really been feeling a push for doing family history work. I have not yet delved into researching and finding deceased ancestors, but I have dabbled in organzing information from resources that are living (I figure my posterity will thank me for saving them the headache). It's a venture that has waxed and waned with time, as I have found that once I get going on a project, it can be all-consuming.
If you are having trouble getting excited about family history work (and its relevance in your life) here are two shows that will get you excited:
And if you have enthusiasm, but need direction:
- "That Happened to You?" is an article from the August, 2003 Ensign that gives great questions for interviewing living relatives.
"The gifts of the Spirit can guide and enrich our lives. They can strengthen us spiritually and temporally. They can help us bless the lives of others. Most important, they can bring us comfort in times of trial. They can help us magnify our callings. They can help guide us in our relationships. They can help us avoid being deceived." -Robert D. Hales
"It cannot be overemphasized that, as stated by Dr. Parmelee, 'Parents are never truly prepared for the degree to which the babies' sleep/wake patterns will dominate and completely disrupt their daily activities.'"
-from "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child", by Marc Weissbluth, M.D.
(This book has actually been a great resource for troubleshooting baby sleep problems... for anyone who cares.)
Here is a link to a list of ideas for entertaining children (scroll to the bottom of the page for the complete list). This is from a radio show called "Everything Creative" on the Mormon Channel, that focused on creativity in motherhood. Here are some ideas that sounded cool (and don't require venturing out into the cold):
- Make sugar cookies and instead of frosting the cookies, dye portions of a can of evaporated milk and let your kids paint the cookies before you put them in the oven.
- Put all your broken crayons in muffin tins and bake them at 150 degrees for 15-20 minutes or so (until they melt together solid), to make new crayons. You don’t have to grease the pan, they should come out once they have cooled.
- Put some pudding or shaving cream in a cookie sheet and let your kids draw pictures with their fingers.
- Play in cornstarch or flour with measuring cups, sifters, etc.
Since the Deepwater Horizon disaster started, I have been curious to know where and exactly how big the spill spans in the Gulf of Mexico. For anyone who's curious, I finally found a map that does just that.
Obviously, the damage of oil spills is horrendous and we are familiar with the effects of other ocean spills in the past. It has led me to wonder: How does the environmental impact (and risk/effects of accidents) in offshore drilling compare to land drilling? Would it be better in the long run to pursue land drilling rather than offshore drilling?
My son began to show a more serious interest in learning how to read at the beginning of the year. I had never pushed the issue, and waited for his lead on when to start the process. By that time, he was familiar with the letters of the alphabet and most of their sounds, but I wasn't sure where to go from there. When I asked around for other moms' advice on a good book to help teach your child to read, this book kept coming up.
So, I checked it out from the library to give it a little test drive. It does not have fancy illustrations (it looks more like a text book), and it takes a little preparation on your part to learn how to conduct the lessons, but my son seemed to enjoy it. It teaches the sounds of the letters, etc. so it's not necessary for your child to have any previous knowledge. I just wanted to throw it out there for you moms whose children might be approaching this new milestone. I had never heard of it before I started asking around.
(I understand after my son becomes more proficient at reading, that I will have the joy of hearing him sound out graffiti and expletives. I can't wait!)
Any other great resources out there?
If you are looking for a down-to-earth, common sense resource on parenting and discipline, I highly recommend "John Rosemond's Six-Point Plan For Raising Happy, Healthy Children".
Here's an excerpt from his introduction that kind of gives you a taste of where he's coming from:"Over the last forty years or so, we've taken the very practical and commonsensical job of raising children, dressed it in fancy language, and turned it into something very abstract and, therefore, difficult. What the 'experts' haven't romanticized, sentimentalized, and idealized, they've scrutinized and analyzed to such an extent that we are no longer able to see the forest for all the obsessing we do over the trees."In the process, childrearing- or parenting, as it's now called- has been transformed into a pseudo-intellectual 'science,' something people think they must strain their brains at in order to do properly. But parenting is anything but an intellectual endeavor."... Parents who think too much tend to say things like, 'Raising a child is the hardest think I've ever done.' I understand. I used to feel that way myself. Then I stopped thinking so much about it, stopped obsessing over all the little details, stopped worrying about whether one wrong decision was going to ruin my children for life, and started paying at least as much attention to my own needs and the needs of my marriage as I did to my kids. That's when raising children became relatively easy and enjoyable."I better stop there, or I might just transcribe the whole book for you!
Anyway, if you're in the neighborhood for a good parenting book, check this one out (like all books, you take what works for you and leave the rest). I especially like that his first point is to give more attention to your marriage than to your children.
