State to mom: Stop baby-sitting neighbors' kids

Some people have way too much time on their hands. Why would a neighbor want to stir up problems? This kind of stuff drives me nuts!:


AP – Lisa Snyder, left, watches kids play at their bus stop, which is also her driveway, Friday, Sept. 25, …
By JAMES PRICHARD, Associated Press Writer James Prichard, Associated Press Writer – Tue Sep 29, 7:23 pm ET

IRVING TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Each day before the school bus comes to pick up the neighborhood's children, Lisa Snyder did a favor for three of her fellow moms, welcoming their children into her home for about an hour before they left for school.

Regulators who oversee child care, however, don't see it as charity. Days after the start of the new school year, Snyder received a letter from the Michigan Department of Human Services warning her that if she continued, she'd be violating a law aimed at the operators of unlicensed day care centers.

"I was freaked out. I was blown away," she said. "I got on the phone immediately, called my husband, then I called all the girls" — that is, the mothers whose kids she watches — "every one of them."

Snyder's predicament has led to a debate in Michigan about whether a law that says no one may care for unrelated children in their home for more than four weeks each calendar year unless they are licensed day-care providers needs to be changed. It also has irked parents who say they depend on such friendly offers to help them balance work and family.

On Tuesday, agency Director Ismael Ahmed said good neighbors should be allowed to help each other ensure their children are safe. Gov. Jennifer Granholm instructed Ahmed to work with the state Legislature to change the law, he said.

"Being a good neighbor means helping your neighbors who are in need," Ahmed said in a written statement. "This could be as simple as providing a cup of sugar, monitoring their house while they're on vacation or making sure their children are safe while they wait for the school bus."
Snyder learned that the agency was responding to a neighbor's complaint.

Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said the agency was following standard procedure in its response. "But we feel this (law) really gets in the way of common sense," Boyd said.

"We want to protect kids, but the law needs to be reasonable," she said. "When the governor learned of this, she acted quickly and called the director personally to ask him to intervene."

State Rep. Brian Calley, R-Portland, said he was working to draft legislation that would exempt situations like Snyder's from coverage under Michigan's current day care regulations.

The bill will make it clear that people who aren't in business as day care providers don't need to be licensed, Calley said.

"These are just kids that wait for the bus every morning," he said. "This is not a day care."
Snyder, 35, lives in a rural subdivision in Barry County's Irving Township about 25 miles southeast of Grand Rapids. Her tidy, comfortable three-bedroom home is a designated school bus stop. The three neighbor children she watched — plus Snyder's first-grader, Grace — attend school about six miles away in Middleville.

Snyder said she started watching the other children this school year to help her friends; they often baby-sit for each other during evenings and weekends.

After receiving the state agency's letter, she said she called the agency and tried to explain that she wasn't running a day care center or accepting money from her friends.

Under state law, no one may care for unrelated children in their home for more than four weeks each calendar year unless they are licensed day-care providers. Snyder said she stopped watching the other children immediately after receiving the letter, which was well within the four-week period.

"I've lived in this community for 35 years and everyone I know has done some form of this," said Francie Brummel, 42, who would drop off her second-grade son, Colson, before heading to her job as deputy treasurer of the nearby city of Hastings.

Other moms say they regularly deal with similar situations.

Amy Cowan, 34, of Grosse Pointe Farms, a Detroit suburb, said she often takes turns with her sister, neighbor and friend watching each other's children.

"The worst part of this whole thing, with the state of the economy ... two parents have to work," said Cowan, a corporate sales representative with a 5-year-old son and 11-month-old daughter. "When you throw in the fact that the state is getting involved, it gives women a hard time for going back to work.

"I applaud the lady who takes in her neighbors' kids while they're waiting for the bus. She's enabling her peers to go to work and get a paycheck. The state should be thankful for that."
Amy Maciaszek, 42, of McHenry, Ill., who works in direct sales, said she believes the state agency was "trying to be overprotective."

"I think it does take a village and that's the best way," said Maciaszek, who has a 6-year-old boy and twin 3-year-old daughters. "Unfortunately you do have to be careful about that. These mothers are trying to do the right thing."

License to have children

So random thought: I just wonder why you have to have a license to drive, to get married, to hunt, even to fish but anyone can have kids!
I realize all the politics involved in taking away someones rights to have children. Really, it would only be suspending their rights until they are proven fit (mentally, financially stable).
But seriously:

Police: Mother Stabbed 2 Young Daughters, Herself at Their Home

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

WESTMINSTER, Calif. — Police say they suspect a mother stabbed her two young daughters and then herself at an Orange County home.
Commander Bill Lewis says 911 calls sent officers to the home shortly before 7 a.m. Wednesday in Westminster and found a woman and her two daughters, ages 3 and 5, had been stabbed.
All three were hospitalized. Lewis says one of the daughters is in critical condition while the injuries of the mother and the other girl are not considered life-threatening.
Lewis says several knives were recovered from the home.
There's no immediate word on what might have prompted the attack.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,550801,00.html?test=latestnews

Just the latest in MANY! License to have children...I'm just sayin!

American Family Letter

By Ben Stein

We've Figured Him Out

Why is President Barack Obama in such a hurry to get his socialized medicine bill passed?
Because he and his cunning circle realize some basic truths:

The American people in their unimaginable kindness and trust voted for a pig in a poke in 2008. They wanted so much to believe Barack Obama was somehow better and different from other ultra-leftists that they simply took him on faith.They ignored his anti-white writings in his books. They ignored his quiet acceptance of hysterical anti-American diatribes by his minister, Jeremiah Wright.

They ignored his refusal to explain years at a time of his life as a student. They ignored his ultra-left record as a "community organizer," Illinois state legislator, and Senator.
The American people ignored his total zero of an academic record as a student and teacher, his complete lack of scholarship when he was being touted as a scholar.

Now, the American people are starting to wake up to the truth. Barack Obama is a super likeable super leftist, not a fan of this country, way, way too cozy with the terrorist leaders in the Middle East, way beyond naïveté, all the way into active destruction of our interests and our allies and our future.

The American people have already awakened to the truth that the stimulus bill -- a great idea in theory -- was really an immense bribe to Democrat interest groups, and in no way an effort to help all Americans.
Now, Americans are waking up to the truth that ObamaCare basically means that every time you are sick or injured, you will have a clerk from the Department of Motor Vehicles telling your doctor what he can and cannot do.

The American people already know that Mr. Obama's plan to lower health costs while expanding coverage and bureaucracy is a myth, a promise of something that never was and never will be -- a bureaucracy lowering costs in a free society. Either the costs go up or the free society goes away.

These are perilous times. Mrs. Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State, has given Iran the go-ahead to have nuclear weapons, an unqualified betrayal of the nation. Now, we face a devastating loss of freedom at home in health care. It will be joined by controls on our lives to "protect us" from global warming, itself largely a fraud if believed to be caused by man.
Mr. Obama knows Americans are getting wise and will stop him if he delays at all in taking away our freedoms.

There is his urgency and our opportunity. Once freedom is lost, America is lost. Wake up, beloved America.

Sneaky

The District of Columbia Council has voted 12-1 to recognize homosexual "marriages" from states where homosexual marriage is now legal - Massachusetts, Iowa, Vermont and Connecticut.

The bill now goes to the U.S. House and U.S. Senate for their approval. If approved by both, it will then go to the president for his signature.

If Congress does not act on the bill by June 6, it automatically becomes law.

It appears that Democrats will not allow a vote on the bill. By doing this, they will keep their members from having to go on record as being for or against recognition of homosexual marriage. All Democratic members of Congress can then go back to their districts and tell their constituents that they would have voted against the bill if they had been allowed to vote.

National Day of Prayer

Today is Thursday, and that means Current Events at The Surrendered Scribe!

Today is also the National Day of Prayer. It has been since 1952. For those of you that don't want to do the math, that is 57 years. 57 years...

However, for the first time in 9 years, the white house is choosing not to hold a ceremony. While this does not surprise me at all because of who our president is, it still makes me so sad.

Pray today for our country. Thank God for your blessings. Pray that you will be ready when he returns. Any time now...

Check out this 2 minute video. Make sure you are watching and listening to the very end.

Something Good

Thursday already?? Well most Thursdays I like to join the amazing Julie from The Surrendered Scribe for Current Events.

Today I wanted to share something I caught the end of during Good Morning America while I was getting ready for work. The only thing I remembered was the name. Birthday Blessings. I thought wow that sounds cool so I wanted to check it out. Of course I searched online and found their website. On their website this is their introduction:

Birthday Blessings began as a family outreach project in the fall of 2005, with a desire to bring happiness to underprivileged children while also providing a meaningful and hands-on service opportunity for our own young children. As we considered how we could work together to help make a difference in our community, we began thinking about homeless children and the sadness and emotional challenges they face. Knowing how important birthdays are to our family, we decided to help homeless children celebrate their birthdays; an idea built upon the hope that every child, no matter the circumstances, deserves an opportunity to feel the joy and value of being recognized on his or her special day. Today, with the help of numerous volunteers and supporters, Birthday Blessings continues to grow, bringing joy and support to hundreds of homeless children every month.

To date, Birthday Blessings has provided parties and presents for over 500 homeless children, celebrating with more than 2,000 underprivileged youth in our city.
Since November 2008, our Blessing Baskets program has provided a healthy and positive start to life for over twenty homeless babies.

What an awesome concept! I know how expensive birthday parties can be nowadays. This idea just really touched my heart. You can donate to this cause on their website.

Current Event Thursday

It's Thursday. Today I am joining The Surrendered Scribe to talk about Current Events. Julie always has great things to say so check out her blog. Some weeks I like to jump in and give my opinion on things going on in the world too. A lot of times I stay quiet because I don't want to start any fires, I am after all very opinionated! My blog, my opinion right? Well once again this week I am going to play it safe and just bring something to everyones attention.

I like to watch the show "What would you do?" on ABC. I think it really is trying to bring forth a great message. This last Tuesday I saw a segment so heartbreaking I just started to cry. It was called Aiding the Fallen. They took a well dressed woman, had her walk down the street, then suddenly just fall down to see if anyone passing by would help her. I think they said she was helped within 6 seconds almost every time even though sadly, some people still walked right by her laying in the street!

They then took a man who appeared to be homeless and had him do the same thing. The result was drastically different. It took an average of 3 minutes for people to help him. What really made me cry, was a homeless woman Linda Hamilton did stop to help him. It showed her standing there asking people who passed by to please call an ambulance for him. She had no cell phone to help him. It was so heartbreaking to see people still walk by and not only ignore the man on the street but 26 people walked by and ignored her too!! You can watch the segment with the above link if you don't watch the show.

In a NY hospital waiting room last year everyone ignored a woman who passed out for 45 minutes!! She died as a result. In a hospital waiting room!! This is insane! She was in the most perfect place to pass out, or so one would think.

The fact that people can be so inhumane just floors me. We treat animals better than we do each other. Okay here is where I can really get on my soapbox so I will wrap this up. Most of us carry cell phones today. I don't think it is too much to ask everyone to dial 911 if they see someone who needs help. Even if you are not sure it is better to be over cautious than to just do nothing.

Scary World

I am sure by now most of you have heard about the pastor who was shot to death during service! If you have not, you can read about it here: One News Now

I could not believe it when I first heard about it. I am still a little shocked today. I just can't imagine being there, in the one place you should feel so safe. I almost can't stomach the news anymore. It is just full of devastation and tragedy. Every time I think I can't hear about something worse, something like this is reported. I am anxiously awaiting Jesus coming to take his people home.

Current Event Thursday

Thursday already?! Really?
Ok well I saw this story and while I am not going to jump on my anti obama soap box I am just going to put the story on here and refrain from giving my opinion at this time.

People of faith may be target of 'stimulus' package
The administration's economic stimulus bill needs a fix to avoid a courtroom confrontation.
Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law & Justice, tells OneNewsNow there is a provision of the act that actually allows for funds to be given by the federal government in the form of grants for renovation of existing colleges and universities.
"But when you read a little bit further into this legislation, there's a specific prohibition on two things," the attorney explains. "One, if the university itself is a religiously based or faith-based institution, it does not qualify. And if the facility that is being renovated allows religious worship to take place, it also does not qualify."
Specifically, the provision reads that stimulus funds may not be used for "modernization, renovation, or repair of facilities -- (i) used for sectarian instruction, religious worship, or a school or department of divinity; or (ii) in which a substantial portion of the functions of the facilities are subsumed in a religious mission."
Under that provision, according to Sekulow, many schools would bar on-campus worship or even Bible study because it will put federal funding in jeopardy. That, he says, should raise a warning flag in a federal courthouse.
"It is unconstitutional -- and while I'm prepared to challenge it in court, and we're already working on a possibility, it really needs to be handled in the legislation," the ACLJ leader suggests. "That needs to be job one...remove this provision and get it out of the legislation."
Sekulow states that a "troubling pattern" is developing regarding the use of taxpayer money -- and that this provision is the latest example. He contrasts it with the new administration's swift move to make federal funds available for abortion-providers overseas.
"There is a priority problem in Washington," he says in a press release. "This is not what 'economic stimulus' is about. We know that the American people don't want their tax dollars used for discriminatory measures. That's why this provision must be removed now."
The attorney says if the discriminatory provision is not removed from the stimulus package and is approved and signed into law, the ACLJ will challenge it in federal court.
Stimulation of discrimination?
Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, agrees that the "anti-faith" language of the provision will censor and force people of faith from the public square.

"In order to receive stimulus money our public schools will have to expel after-school Bible clubs and weekend religious meetings," says the Christian attorney. "People who want to speak about their faith will be unwelcome in public places."

He adds that President Obama's idea of faith-based initiatives apparently is to "remove faith from all initiatives."

You can find this story here: One News Now

Current Event Thursday

There are just so many things I could talk about. So many I want to cry about, gripe about, just how do you decide? Today I want to share two stories that just break my heart. I don't want to share these to bring you down, just to ask you to pray. There are so many demons having the time of their "lives" now adays. I know I am guilty of not stopping to pray for all the innocent children in the world who are born to parents who either can't or don't want to care for them. For the elderly who have no one to watch out for them. Some children are just caught in the middle of horrible circumstances and no one knows about it so they are not getting help. They need our prayers. Some elderly people may have isolated themselves for various different reasons and are cut off from family, or maybe just don't have any family. They need our prayers.

A father allegedly threw his four-year-old daughter off a bridge in front of the girl's two young brothers and scores of motorists during rush hour in Melbourne today.
Witnesses said Arthur Phillip Freeman, 35, suddenly stopped his family car – which also had his two young sons inside – and, with young Darcey Iris in his arms, walked to the side of the West Gate Bridge, just after 9 a.m.
He then allegedly dropped his young daughter over the railing and into the water, 190feet below. Freeman reportedly got back in the large white family Land Cruiser, and drove away.
Darcey miraculously survived the fall and was pulled from the water by police within 10 minutes and ambulance officers spent the next 50 minutes resuscitating her on the bank on the side of the Yarra River. Darcey died in hospital from massive internal injuries.
The family had been in the midst of a custody battle.
Yes being with Jesus is better than her circumstances but she has two brothers 7 and 2 who witnessed this and are still in the midst of the situation. They need our prayers.

BAY CITY, Michigan — When neighbors went inside Marvin Schur's house, the windows were frosted over, icicles hung from a faucet, and the 93-year-old World War II veteran lay dead on the bedroom floor in a winter jacket over four layers of clothing.
He froze to death — slowly and painfully, authorities say — days after the electric company installed a power-limiting device because of more than $1,000 in unpaid bills.
One of the saddest things of all was that Schur appeared to have plenty of money, and, in fact, one of the neighbors who entered the home reported seeing cash clipped to a pile of bills on the kitchen table. Schur's nephew suggested the old man's mind may have been slipping.
Schur, or "Mutts," was a retired foundry worker who lived alone, his wife having died a couple of years ago. The couple had no children. He could often be seen through the big front window of his comfortably furnished home of 50 or 60 years, watching TV or keeping an eye on his neighborhood.

Now the very sad thing about this story is it is being reported he had a nephew who may have known his mind may have been slipping. Why did he not check on him? Was he too busy? This is even more sad to me than the electric company not bothering to check on the situation. He paid his bill for 50 years with no problems and yet after 4 months of unpaid bills, they sent someone to the house to put a restrictive meter on the home but couldn't send someone to knock on the door to see if he was ok?! Seems he could have handed them the money had they done that. Yes I know they can not go door to door for everyone that does not pay the bills. However when the temperatures go that low, no one should have their heat turned off or restricted. Where is all the government bail out money for that?! They are spending millions to give people coupons so they can watch tv but what are they doing for people with no heat? I would like to know if there is such a fund.
The only good thing to come out of this:
The old man's sad end two weeks ago has led to outrage, soul-searching and a resolve never to let something like this happen again. Now, let's see if any action follows.

Current Event Thursday

I have been saving this since last Friday! I am so happy to be taking part of Current Events Thursday with The Surender Scribe

Washington Court: Teachers Can Have Sex With 18-Year-Old Students

SEATTLE — Washington state law does not bar teachers from having sex with 18-year-old students.

That's the decision of a three-judge panel of the Washington Court of Appeals, which on Tuesday ordered the dismissal of a case brought against Hoquiam High School's former choir teacher.

The teacher, Matthew Hirschfelder, was charged with first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor. He challenged a judge's refusal to dismiss his case. The appeals court unanimously agreed that the state law is vague, and that the Legislature only intended to forbid sexual contact between school employees and students who are 16 or 17.

Hirschfelder was 33 in 2006, at the time of the alleged relationship with the young woman. He resigned the next year.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479817,00.html

U.S. pledges $700K to rebuild Babylon

More signs:

WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States has pledged $700,000 to help preserve and restore ancient Babylon.

In a news release, the U.S. State Department says "'The Future of Babylon' project exemplifies the American people's commitment to the preservation of human heritage and their respect for the cultural heritage of Iraq."


The State Department says the funding will allow the World Monuments Fund and Iraq's Board of Antiquities and Heritage to plan for Babylon's "conservation, study and tourism."


In the Bible, Isaiah prophesies that Babylon "will never be inhabited, nor will it be settled from generation to generation."

www.onenewsnow.com

Current Event Thursday

Every Thursday check out current events at The Surrendered Scribe.

I included my little FYI below even though I did not write it.

PepsiCo promotes the gay agenda

PepsiCo gives $1,000,000 to help promote the gay agenda

Company forces employees to attend sexual orientation classes

January 8, 2009

PepsiCo has refused a request by AFA to remain neutral in the culture war. The company indicated that it will continue major financial support of homosexual organizations. AFA wrote Pepsi two times (on October 14 and October 29) requesting a meeting to discuss Pepsi’s neutrality in the culture war.

On November 17, AFA received a condescending letter (dated Nov. 7) from Paul Boykas, director, public policy, in which he refused to address Pepsi’s support of the homosexual agenda.

In the last two years, Pepsi has given $500,000 to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and $500,000 to the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). The $1,000,000 was to be used to help promote homosexuality in the workplace. Pepsi refuses to give money to any pro-family organization that opposes the homosexual agenda. Plus, every homosexual organization we know of is overwhelmingly pro-abortion.

Both HRC and PFLAG supported efforts in California to defeat Proposition 8 which defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. HRC, the homosexual group financially supported by Pepsi, gave $2.3 million to defeat Prop 8.

Pepsi forces all employees to attend sexual orientation and gender identity diversity training where they are taught to accept homosexuality.

Take Action!
• Sign the Boycott Pepsi Pledge. After signing the pledge, please call Pepsi (914-253-2000 or 1-800-433-2652) and tell the company you will boycott their products until they stop promoting the homosexual agenda.

https://secure.afa.net/afa/activism/signpetition.asp?id=1800

• Call the Pepsi bottler nearest you and ask the bottler to ask Pepsi to stop supporting the homosexual agenda.

• Pepsi’s products include Pepsi soft drinks, Frito-Lay chips (800-352-4477), Quaker Oats (800-367-6287), Tropicana (800-237-7799) and Gatorade (800-367-6287).


http://www.afa.net