Category Archives: Family

‘Reading Rainbow’ Reaches Its Final Chapter : NPR

This sucks.

Reading Rainbow is getting cancelled. We have a country addicted to TV and internet, watching reality bullcrap or chatting online in text-speak with little ability to think or write coherently, and the powers that be at PBS – using Bush Administration “logic” no less – decides to cancel the show.

Granted, I was a bit old of a kid already when the show came on the scene, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t interesting, useful, and – more importantly – fun to it’s target audience.

And now it’s gone. I can’t even share it with my kid in a few years.

Thanks for nothing.

Barack Obama, Father-in-Chief

Hey conservatives, I’ve got your family values right here.

While Bush had the Girls Gone Wild twins, and suggestions that he was having an affair with Condoleeza Rice, you were running around as a party suggesting that Republicans had the high road on morality.

This while Mark Foley was trying to sleep with teenage boys. While David Vitter was frequenting hookers. While Vito Fossella from Long Island had two families. While Larry Craig was slumming for a blow job in an airport bathroom.

And for sure the Dems have Clinton, Edwards, McGreevey, et al, but the Democratic Party isn’t advertising itself as somehow morally superior to anyone else.

And most recently, of course, Nevada’s John Ensign not only was having an affair with a staffer, he was paying off her, her husband, and their son while publicly calling on Craig to resign at the same time for cheating on his wife.

Hypocrisy.

But enough of this filthiness.

Today we have a president who loves his wife and loves his children. A man who speaks out on the values of good parenting – on being a good father.

This comes to mind for me as CBS’s Sunday Morning gave an interview with the President on the subject of fatherhood. If they ever link the video I’ll pass it along. Good stuff.

And now, time to go chase after Gabriel this morning. Happy Father’s Day!

Explorer-Scouts Train in Post-9/11 Law Enforcement Methods – NYTimes.com

You know, when deciding whether or not to have my son join the Boy Scouts later in life, I’m going to have a few things on my checklist.

First, are they still Talibangelical enablers?

Second, do they support bigotry and exclusion when it comes to membership?

And a new third: will they try to train my son to be some kind of neo-con deathwatch stormtrooper?

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with these people?

Congratulations!

It’s official! Congratulations to Leslie for earning her Master’s degree in Counseling & Student Personnel. She’s pretty happy about that as you can imagine. You can find more pictures here.

Just to let you know, we will be out of town to the NAFSA Conference in San Antonio. Basically, Leslie will go, I will run around and enjoy my first trip out of Oklahoma in awhile. We will be accompanied by Nana & Fabrice (whose website are on the Links to Friends menu).

Also, I just want to reiterate that we do have a new message board. Visit, sign up, and try to make it interesting. As a reminder, I would like any birthdays/anniversaries/etc. from you all so I can work on a calendar. Just email it to me. Thanks.

It’s Julia

We’ve just returned from our wonderful trip to Illinois. Thanks to all those who made it a truly special visit. Perhaps more on that later. What we really want to highlight right now though is the birth of our new niece Julia Leigh Stahl. Congrats to Brenda, Tim and the boys on the new member of their family. For more info, check out this link.

Hmm…they seem to have removed a picture from that link…here it is: