My sister and her husband aren't bad people. They are just mindblowingly selfish. I truly hope you are right. My niece is such a beautiful, wonderful baby. She deserves only the best things in life.

 

What?? When did this happen? I thought he was just moving to the east coast??

 

lol

 

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/nutrigrainad.html

 

I totally am. It's a crutch for the mentally ill-prepared, and has done more harm than good.

<----doesn't believe in the boogyman, or santa claus, either

 

Oh, are they still together? They still go to the same church? People being people (Christian or not) there must be a lot of gossip going around.

Ryball, I hope you and your wife have and continue to have a good relationship with your niece.

My wife and I have a friend that had this happen to her. Husband cheated, she took him back, had a baby, then he cheated again at least one more time. They are now separated and divorcing. BTW the last person he cheated on was with a minister/pastor's wife!!

Let it out! Rant all you want!

 

Dude.. I feel your pain. It sounds like you are a fairly well-adjusted person who pays attention to your surroundings, wellbeing and life. Your sister has been assimilated, and the only hope for her has to come from her.

Re the baby thing... There is not much I hate more than when people yell at their kids, let alone yell at a baby. A good analogy would be to study Japanese for a while, and whenever she pisses you off, grab her by the shoulders and scream at her in Japanese - maybe she will get it. Prolly not, but hey - it's better than a baseball bat or a stressball. For me, I try to hang around people I admire - people that aren't ignorant. BUT being popular in high school and all that tends to lead to these things, because it's making BORGism an ingrained habit and lifestyle. Basically, those sorta people find one thing to the next to tell them how to live their lives. Religion is great and it really helps people get centered, however I see a lot of people walking around as hollow shells relaying "data" they "learned" in church. And that's too bad, for them.

Hope it's all good.

-Jacob

 

Like anything, in moderation. If used as (IMHO) it was originally intended, religion can serve as a way to better structure your life and learn ways to be a better person. It isn't however a way of life (just like cars, alcohol, drugs, cults, fishing, llamas, etc are also not ways of life) and when people use it that way, it seems like and can fully be - a crutch for the mentally ill-prepared and yes, like many other things, it can do more harm than good. Just important to remember that, we all have our strengths and weaknesses - some people need heavy life structuring (or think they do). And dude, santa claus is totally real - he lives near Scott's Valley I think.

-Jacob

 

I totally am as well...

 

That is the best commercial I have never seen.

 

The Democrats have a closer agenda to Biblical social justice.
The Republicans have a closer agenda to Biblical moral standards.

I am a Christian, and I attend an Evangelical church. I am registered independent, (like a good San Franciscan should be).

One problem I see in American politics is that it's a 2 party system. And because of that, many people feel trapped in their choices. People feel that casting a vote for one party means pissing on the other party. Now, if you align wholeheatedly with a party, then that's a good thing.

But when you feel split in the parties (where many Christians I've spoken to seem to be,) then for whatever reason, many people side with the party that alienate them less on the matters that are the main concern on their hearts. For example, a good friend of mine (who attends the same church) is very anti-war, and will probably vote for Kerry, because that's her big issue in this election.

Another friend of mine, will vote for Bush, because he is anti-abortion, even though he is very big on social justice.

Me? I'm still trying to decide, as one i-clubber so accurately stated, "is the lesser of two evils."

 

You asked for it...

They are still together and going to the same church. She said, "There are a lot of things that you don't know in his childhood that he is still dealing with that led to this and I did a lot of things that forced him away."

whatever. What the hell in his childhood would make him cheat in adult life?

If I got to the point that I wanted to cheat on my wife, I would divorce her first. I told her that, too and I got some good lovin' out of it. "Really? You would divorce me first? That is so sweet." *mauled*

My sister said, "If you were in the same position, you don't know what you'd do."

Um... yes I would. I wouldn't cheat on my wife. I have two little things called love and self control. I love my wife too much to cheat on her, and I can keep my **** in my pants. the end.

I sincerly hope that my niece turns out okay...

Oh, two more things that **** me off (though I feel bad about telling my sister how to raise her baby):

Those of you that have kids will appreciate the absurdity of this...

1. She has her baby on a feeding schedule. The baby gets a regulated amount of food/formula at a set interval. It's called the "parent directed feeding plan". No deviations. She got this out of a book called Baby Wise. A notice went out from the American Pediatric Association or something warning parents about the feeding methods taught in this book.

For example, the 'parent directed feeding plan' that Ezzo and Bucknam (the authors who, by the way, aren't doctors) advocate calls for adherence to a strict feeding schedule. If your newborn doesn't finish what he's given at one feeding, contends Ezzo, he shouldn't be fed until three hours later - even if he displays signs of hunger - because 'babies learn from natural consequences.'

ryball's method:

Baby eats when baby is hungry. She has different cries for "I'm hungry", "I'm tired" and "I have crap in my pants". You just have to PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BABY. Early on, those are their only concerns. My 7 month old looks older than her 10 month old. Chubby and happy. Her 10 month old is way under weight, too.

2. Since the age of 2 WEEKS, she has been laying the baby down for sleep regardless of if she is actually tired or not. Then she just leaves her there screaming until she falls asleep. It is widely thought that babies don't have the capacity to comfort themselves to sleep until at least 4 MONTHS...

I'll be the first to admit that I still don't do this... I don't put the baby down for bed until she is sleepy. I'm supposed to, but I don't. And you know what? We have been lucky enough to have a baby that sleeps through the night pretty much since we brought her home. So nah, nah, nah, nah, nahnah!

I can't stand listening to my neice screaming for 30 minutes before she too exhausted and just gives up. If they scream their heads off for more than 10 minutes, you're supposed to check on them...

whatever.

 

I did not realize from your post that the church was telling her to vote for Bush. I also do not agree that the church should tell you who to vote for, especially if the y are telling her that she is not a good christian of she doesnt vote Bush. (I ahve a hard time believing that they would do that, but I also wouldnt be suprised if they are). SOrry for hte misunderstanding.

 

hahaha!!! That is awesome. hahha.

I don't know, but for me, it didn't seem so divisive in the past. Democrat was not that different from Republican. But now it's like you have to be all "one or the other" black or white.

I think this is true and how it should be on what you said about the alienation part. What I don't like is churches telling people how to vote. I think that is wrong.

Just out of curiousity, do you think my comments have been anti-Christian?

 

"Religion is the opiate of the masses" - Karl Marx