Note to Self

Proverbs 25:15-19 (English Standard Version)

15With patience a ruler may be persuaded,
and a soft tongue will break a bone.
16If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,
lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.
17Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house,
lest he have his fill of you and hate you.
18A man who bears false witness against his neighbor
is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow.
19Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble
is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.

That's an arresting image a soft tongue breaking a bone. I want to be that kind of person if for no other reason than the occurrence of such an individual is so rare that it is bound to draw attention.

Monday Morning Minutes

Obviously I got nothin' today. Add something in the comments section if you like.

Quiverfull

I cringed when I heard the opening lines of this story on NPR, In Quiverfull Movement, Birth Control Is Shunned. I don't consider myself one of the quiverfull but with four kids I've gone over the arbitrary limit of two that some consider acceptable. I always have to resist the urge to roll my eyes whenever someone incredulously comments on how many children I have. One of these days I am going to respond to, "Why do you have so many kids?" with, "Well killing them or abandoning them for someone else to raise weren't really options for me so I had to suck it up and raise them myself." (I really wish that people would stop and think before interrogating me about to my choice to have the children I have about how they sound to someone who may not be able to have any.)

Those confused as to why I have "so many" kids certainly don't understand the nuances of allowing for divine intervention in family planning. If God really really wants you to have children nothing will stop that sperm from meeting that egg even if said meeting occurs half way around the world in someone else's body long before you realize you even want to be a parent (adoption for those who didn't follow the metaphor).

Now on to this quiverfull business. I know many families that, like my own, consist of more than the acceptable (to many of those commenting at the NPR site) 2 or less. Some might consider themselves some sort of quiverfull taking joy in having more than society's accepted number of children. And while they try to teach their values to their children they seem to understand quite well the trials, tribulations, and joys of parenting.

I'm not going to say much about the predictably distressed, bordering on hysterical (in the chicken little sky is falling sense of the term), comments bemoaning the evil, ignorant, racist, etc. etc. fundamentalist extremists who are over populating and destroying the planet and the country by having so many children and mooching off of the government to take care of their surely dysfunctional twisted families. I wish that was an exaggeration of the tone of the comments but it is not. The adherence to vaguely Malthusian theories of population growth (bringing to mind unpleasant images of Brave New World) and suggestions that the government should do something to penalize people for having "too many" children like China (with their forced abortions, selective abortions of baby girls, and villages full of boy children but no girls) really give one pause. But I am more interested in the reported claims of the quiverfull movement mentioned in the story.

Perhaps the most unfortunate thing reported in this story is the following,

"The womb is such a powerful weapon; it's a weapon against the enemy," Campbell says.

Campbell has 35 grandchildren. She and her husband stopped at six kids, and it is her great regret.

"I think, help! Imagine if we had had more of these children!" Campbell says, adding, "My greatest impact is through my children. The more children I have, the more ability I have to impact the world for God."

A Christian God, that is. Campbell says if believers don't starting reproducing in large numbers, biblical Christianity will lose its voice.

"We look across the Islamic world and we see that they are outnumbering us in their family size, and they are in many places and many countries taking over those nations, without a jihad, just by multiplication," Campbell says.

First the womb is most certainly not a weapon. To my knowledge it is never described as such in the Bible. The womb is a place for nurturing life. We do a grave disservice to women and the God who created us when we try to make it be any thing else.

Raising godly children can indeed have an impact on the world for God but I am reminded of a story told by one of the elders of my church about his childhood Sunday school teacher. She taught several generations of children about God touching an unknown number of people through her students' lives down through the years. Her quiver is full as far as I'm concerned but to my knowledge she had no biological children.

Children are a gift from God to be nurtured and cherished as an exercise in demonstrating God's unconditional love to another. Parenting (and otherwise caring for children) is as close as a mere human being can come to catching a glimpse of what it must be like for God in his relationship with humanity. Frankly parenting can be a bit of a crap shoot as you never know what kind of kids you're going to get, what kinds of issues they'll face in life, how receptive they'll be to whatever values you try to impart, or whether any of it will stick with them through out their lives. But I think it is limiting God to think that your greatest impact for God comes through having lots of biological kids (adoption is not mentioned anywhere in the story).

The notion that biblical Christianity will lose its voice if Christians don't start having lots of kids is preposterous and certainly speaks to a limited understanding of the sovereignty of God. Since its inception people have tried to stamp out Christianity. Along the way Christians themselves have dealt some serious blows to their own witness in the world. But still the word of God and faith in him persists.

Sad to say but often Christianity endures in spite of Christians rather than because of us. I can't help but think of the numerous times the Israelites were defeated in the Old Testament accounts of their history because they took their eyes off of God and went chasing after other things. Who's to say that the perceived losing of the Christian voice is not by God's design? I am also reminded of this passage from 2 Chronicles 7,

13When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.

I know it is popular in some circles to blame any misfortune that befalls the nation, or any given group therein, on unsaved folk sinning but the sins of those who claim to be the people of God are also a source for God's judgment. Note that the prescription for forgiveness and healing of the land involves things like praying and turning from wicked ways but not having lots of babies so that in a few generations there will be enough like minded people to take over cities and governments for God as mentioned in the story.

God doesn't need our piddling efforts to draw people to him. How ever you define "the enemy" God doesn't need us to defeat said enemy. Remember that we are talking about the same God who had Gideon go up against a superior force with a handful of men and had them inflict serious damage on their foes before they ever struck a blow (see Judges 6-8 for Gideon's story).

As a side note Christians would do well to consider Gideon's story when trying to discern God's will for him concerning moving against the Midianites. I have heard sermons where Gideon was criticized for his lack of faith in repeatedly asking for a sign from God before he went up against the Midianites. But there is something to be said for diligently considering if the venture you are about to embark upon really is God's will for you. Too many Christians use doing God's will as a cover for simply following their own path.

Finally there is this from the beginning of the story,

"When we first got married, we actually didn't want children," Kelly's husband, Jeff Swanson, says.

But then the Swansons began to notice that the Bible was very high on big families. And Kelly says that she and Jeff decided that God knew how many children they could handle.

I've also heard this kind of reasoning used to support polygamy. The thing that I always notice about those large families in the Old Testament is how totally dysfunctional so many of them were. Murder, rape, incest,jealousy, and all kinds of nefarious machinations as various members of those large families jockeyed for status and power. This is not to say that all large families are totally dysfunctional or that small families are better. The Bible gives examples of whatnot to do as often as it gives examples of what to do. We should carefully read the Bible and think critically to discern the difference.

I think the quiverfull movement is more a product of unique cultural forces within a certain subset of American society. Nothing more nothing less.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for/that:

1. Hubby managed to fix the frankenputer that I was left with after a tech broke my computer while fixing a minor problem.


2. Hubby was mistaken when he thought he had lost all my data on the back up storage device in the process of wiping and reinstalling my hard drive. That was a very unpleasant afternoon.


3. The brand new kitchen faucet, made in this century, is working marvelously.


4. Spring time planting. I went on a bit of a shopping spree this week and got some new seeds.


5. Modern medicine. Being sick would be so much more miserable without all of the wonderful medicines available to ease the misery.


6. Teachers who go the extra mile to help my kids reach their potential.

What are you thankful for?

Note to Self

Proverbs 25:11-14 (English Standard Version)

11A word fitly spoken
is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.
12Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
is a wise reprover to a listening ear.
13Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
is a faithful messenger to those who send him;
he refreshes the soul of his masters.
14Like clouds and wind without rain
is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.

From Lawyer to Bellydancer and Loving It

This story on NPR caught my attention today.

The Laws Of Belly Dancing
For years, Rachel Galoob Ortega earned a six-figure salary as an attorney. But Ortega now spends her days enjoying what she describes as her real passion: belly dancing. "Saphira," as she is known to audiences, explains her career shift and what drew her to the craft, as recently featured in The Washington Post Magazine.

The following is an excerpt from the Washington Post Magazine article.

An Advocate for the Shimmy
A belly dancer with two law degrees comes to the defense of an ancient art form

The belly dancer known as Saphira sweeps onto the dance floor, a pink scarf flowing behind her upraised arms. She's wearing false eyelashes and heavy eyeliner, a pumpkin-orange bra top with gold and pink beads and sequins, and long swirling layers of a pink-and-orange skirt. Tall and big-boned, she has a soft belly that is bared and shaking along with her hips as she improvises to the live band -- a drummer and keyboardist -- at Casablanca, a Moroccan restaurant in Alexandria.

Saphira doesn't really look like someone who once worked as a full-time Washington lawyer named Rachael Galoob Ortega. But she has two law degrees, including one from Georgetown, and used to spend her days laboring over regulatory analysis for communications companies. Now this 38-year-old self-proclaimed "Jewish girl from Oklahoma" shimmies for a living, running a Clarendon belly-dancing school, Saffron Dance, in addition to giving occasional performances. She also has become, in true Washington fashion, a public advocate for belly dance, which, she says, "allows for the discovery of your body and your spirit in a way that I've never seen anything else do."

Read the whole thing.

Monday Morning Minutes

1. This child did not have to die.
   

   Only weeks after her birth Dana, the Lennox Head grand-daughter of former Kangaroo Ken McCaffery, contracted whooping cough.
   
   On Monday she died. She was only four weeks old.
   
   “We miss her so much and are devastated that such a beautiful, innocent child is the victim of ignorance. She never stood a chance against this epidemic.”

   
   Hat tip to Left Brain/Right Brain where it is also noted that this disease is on the rise in the US. How many more people have to die before we stop letting our actions be dictated by those spreading false fears about vaccines?


2. We've been the "Great Satan" to Iran since at least 1979 so I'm not really surprised that this didn't go over too well.
   

   Iran’s Supreme Leader Dismisses Obama Overtures
   
   Iran's supreme leader rebuffed President Barack Obama's latest outreach on Saturday, saying Tehran was still waiting to see concrete changes in U.S. policy.
   
   Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was responding to a video message Obama released Friday in which he reached out to Iran on the occasion of Nowruz, the Persian new year, and expressed hopes for an improvement in nearly 30 years of strained relations.
   
   Khamenei holds the last word on major policy decisions, and how Iran ultimately responds to any concrete U.S. effort to engage the country will depend largely on his say.
   
   In his most direct assessment of Obama and prospects for better ties, Khamenei said there will be no change between the two countries unless the American president puts an end to U.S. hostility toward Iran and brings ''real changes'' in foreign policy.
   
   ''They chant the slogan of change but no change is seen in practice. We haven't seen any change,'' Khamenei said in a speech before a crowd of tens of thousands in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad.
   
   ***
   
   Khamenei, wearing a black turban and dark robes, said America was hated around the world for its arrogance, as the crowd chanted ''Death to America.''



3. There are thirteen companies who have received bailout money who owe more than $220 million in unpaid federal taxes. We don't know the names of those companies because they can't be released for legal reasons (I was sorely tempted to break the scare quotes for that lame excuse). Yet Barney Frank obstinately demands the names of AIG employees who received bonuses to be made public despite clear evidence of threats made against these people and their families. Some priorities. Also, the expression "tin ear" comes to mind.


4. What she said, "Chris Dodd: For AIG bonuses before he was against them."


5. I trust we can all agree now that writing, voting on, and signing into law a piece of legislation without first taking time to read the blasted thing and consider its implications is perhaps not a good thing? No? Oh come on. You guys are no fun.


6. Dumb. As. Rocks. (Apologies to any silicon based life forms that may come across this post.) Vandalizing a Marine Corp recruiting center. Apparently in protest of the Iraq War which did not miraculously end on November 4, 2008 nor January 20, 2009.

Birthday Boy

Sci Fi Channel Looking For A Change

Hubby and I have been wondering for years what was wrong with the top brass at the Sci Fi Channel. Now that they've decided to change the channel's name to the spiffy (and juvenile) sounding SyFy we are really wondering. I get the feeling that no one running the channel is actually a sci fi fan. If any of them were they would know better than to do and say something like this,

Sci Fi Channel Aims to Shed Geeky Image With New Name

“The name Sci Fi has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that, as opposed to the general public and the female audience in particular,” said TV historian Tim Brooks, who helped launch Sci Fi Channel when he worked at USA Network.

Mr. Brooks said that when people who say they don’t like science fiction enjoy a film like “Star Wars,” they don’t think it’s science fiction; they think it’s a good movie.

“We spent a lot of time in the ’90s trying to distance the network from science fiction, which is largely why it’s called Sci Fi,” Mr. Brooks said. “It’s somewhat cooler and better than the name ‘Science Fiction.’ But even the name Sci Fi is limiting.”

Mr. Howe said going to Syfy will make a difference.

“It gives us a unique word and it gives us the opportunities to imbue it with the values and the perception that we want it to have,” he said.

1. I'm a 32 year old stay at home mother of 4 and I've been a fan of science fiction (and the related fantasy genre) since the second grade. Stereotype much?


2. Is the Sci Fi Channel really going to yield ground to the purveyors of this snobbish stereotype of sci fi fans by changing its name?


3. Who cares about being "cool" and impressing the "cool" kids in the lunch room? I want good science fiction stories not "coolness". "Coolness" is over rated. I thought we were grownups here.


4. The new name "SyFy" sounds like something an unimaginative teenager thought up (with apologies to all of the imaginative teenage sci fi fans out there).


5. This move will surely alienate long time fans like myself who have put up with all of the other weirdness (wrestling, reality shows, and those horrible Sci Fi original D movies, come on now) from Sci Fi channel execs so far. As it stand the only thing I'm watching on Sci Fi are the last few episodes of BSG and reruns of the other good shows that have been canceled (SG1, Atlantis, Enterprise). I'm getting tired of hving to wait forever and a day for new episodes of Eureka and Doctor Who (get a move on already).


6. And another thing, if it weren't for those so called "geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games" and their girly counter parts (women do go in for the geeky stuff too you know) the very medium in which we are having this discussion wouldn't exist. You better know which side your bread is buttered on.

Then there is this,

In terms of television, the new brand better reflects that the channel has programs that are not about the typical sci-fi themes of space, aliens and the future.

You know there is more to sci fi than space, aliens and the future. There is the past, the present, the exploration of human intellect, human morality, and personhood to name just a few sci fi topics.

See also, Sci Fi Channel Has a New Name: Now, It’s Syfy

One big advantage of the name change, the executives say, is that Sci Fi is vague — so generic, in fact, that it could not be trademarked. Syfy, with its unusual spelling, can be, which is also why diapers are called Luvs, an online video Web site is called Joost and a toothpaste is called Gleem.

Reminds me of earnest youngsters who, in looking for a special and "unique" name for their offspring, totally massacre the English language leaving one wondering about their common sense.

Kids and Food Allergies

Sometimes it pays to get a second opinion. Study: Kids Often Misdiagnosed With Food Allergies.

Many children with allergies and eczema are often misdiagnosed as having food allergies, according to a study presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology conference in Washington, D.C.

Researchers at National Jewish Health in Denver conducted "food challenge" tests on 125 children with allergies and eczema and found that more than 50 percent of the kids could tolerate foods they had been told to avoid.

Note to Self

I'll be mining Proverbs 25 for the next few weeks as seems appropriate.

Proverbs 25:20 (English Standard Version)

20Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart
is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,
and like vinegar on soda.

I was tempted to bring baking soda, vinegar, and dish detergent for a practical demonstration of this verse when we covered it in Bible study a while back.

Monday Morning Minutes

1. So the lifting of the ban on creating new embryonic stem cell lines wasn't really a lifting of the ban at all. This new new speak is hard to keep track of.


2. Everybody is all up in arms over how AIG has spent the money that the government has been throwing at it. It's a bit late now to try putting the toothpaste back in the tube. The millions that have already been paid out are gone and we ain't gettin' it back. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Hopefully somebody is paying attention and will stop giving them money.


3. So is the economy totally in the tank or are things starting to look up? I've lost track of what the message is supposed to be this week.


4. There is an unsavory whiff of protectionist xenophobia about this:
   
   Amazing how Americans managed to get jobs with the glut of foreigners (we're talking legal workers here) taking all the good jobs before we started throwing money at failing companies.


5. Mexico is disintegrating from within, has been for years. The border area is over run by lawless drug gangs and corrupt government officials. Colour me surprised. This is the country who's government printed comic books detailing how to illegally cross the Mexico U.S. border. U.S. government officials say now is not the time to militarize the U.S. Mexico border.
   

   Mexican officials say the violence killed 6,290 people last year — and more than 1,000 in the first eight weeks of 2009. Warring drug cartels are blamed for more than 560 kidnappings in Phoenix in 2007 and the first half of 2008, and killings in Atlanta, and Birmingham, Ala.

   
   I'm wondering how much worse it's got to get for the government to take that step.
   

   Rufe said while the violence along the border in Mexico is appalling, violent crimes have not increased in U.S. border cities as a result. He said kidnappings are up, but violent crime is down.
   
   "We're not so concerned, at least at this point, about that violence spilling over into our cities," he said.

   
   So lots more people on the U.S. side of the border have to die before the government will act?


6. HOw could I forget the one year anniversary of the implosion of the political career of former governor Eliot Spitzer.

What did you say?

Haven't had one of these in a while. Here is a selected reporting of things over heard in my house or said by the children when I was near by.

***

Sophia: Mommy why did Isaiah put part of the chocolate box in the toilet?

What had happened was, I sent Isaiah to throw something in the trash. Since he came back from the kitchen without it I assumed he had completed the task. Some minutes later Sophia declares that she's going to the bathroom and runs off. A minute or two go by and she comes running back to ask the above question. Isaiah apparently got lost on the way to the trash can and had to improvise.

***

Ethan: Oh! What are you making?
Me: I'm cleaning the stove but when I'm done I'm going to make mac and cheese.
Ethan: It's macaroni and cheese not mac and cheese.

Well excuse me.

***

Someone: What colour is the baby?
Sophia: Pink!
Me: What colour are you?
Sophia: [Looks down at her shirt.] Blue and purple!
Me: What colour is Mr. John?
Sophia: Black and green!
Mr. John: Just like a swamp monster.

***

Med Student in ER: So, what brings you here today?
Ethan: Umm, my mom.
Med Student in ER: [Pause] Okay, that's a good answer.

The med student made sure to more carefully construct his questions to Ethan after that.

***

Isaiah: Good bye! All done!

I was about to attempt combing his hair.

***

The following exchange took place last night as I was reading her a chapter from a Magic Tree House book.

Me: We're going to have to build you a tree house some day.
Sophia: Tomorrow?
Me: Uh, no.
Sophia: Saturday?
Me: No.
Sophia: Sunday?
Me: No dear.

A few minutes later after reading and talking about something else.

Sophia: Maybe you can build me a tree house on Monday.

I have a feeling I'm going to find her and Ethan out in the yard someday with my tools trying to build tree house on their own.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for/that:

1. Warm sunshine.


2. Frolicking in the warm sunshine with the kids.


3. The first flowers of spring signaling the inevitable end of winter.


4. We got Isaiah's communication device! He's practicing on it at school before it begins coming home with him regularly.


5. A free day of pampering for moms of extraordinary kids.


6. Summer vacation.


7. Hope.


8. Endurance.

What are you thankful for?

Note to Self

1 Samuel 8 (English Standard Version)

Israel Demands a King

1When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

4Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations." 6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them."

Samuel’s Warning Against Kings

10So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11He said, "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day."

The LORD Grants Israel’s Request

19But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, "No! But there shall be a king over us, 20that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles." 21And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD. 22And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey their voice and make them a king." Samuel then said to the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city."

Monday Morning Minutes

1. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apparently went to Switzerland to meet some European diplomats and mistakenly gave a red button labeled "over charge" in Russian to her Russian counter part that was actually meant for the American people. She was supposed to give him the button saying "reset" to indicate that our current President is not like our previous President.


2. I remember being relieved that the President had dodged an ethical bullet when he chose to limit federal funding of embryonic stem cell research to those stem cell lines already in existence at the time. It was a good compromise I thought between a desire to increase scientific knowledge and a desire to avoid destroying more embryos that so many find morally repugnant. Now our new President is set to reverse that practise, despite the fact that there are sources of embryonic stem cells that come free of any ethical and moral entanglements, mostly it seems to prove that he is not like our previous President.


3. I don't know about you but I'm starting to wish our new President would put a little more effort into being President of the United States and less into proving that he is not his predecessor.


4. Recent events have reminded me of the episode in the Old Testament where the Israelites demanded a king so they could be like the other nations around them. God essentially said, you want a king? I got your king right here. God proceeded to give them exactly what they wanted and we all know how that turned out. (That story starts in 1 Samuel round about chapters 8 and 9 and goes down hill from there.)


5. New Yorkers are nuts. Rather than trim the state's spending they want to squeeze more blood from that turnip known as "the rich." Class warfare and plain old stupidity are alive and well in this state. I wonder if anyone here is paying attention to California's situation.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for/that:

1. Our trip to the ER this week was uneventful.


2. Sunshine!


3. Growing things. There are little green shoots poking their heads out of the ground all over the place.


4. A walk to the park with the kids. My feet are killing me but it was so worth it.


5. Health, if somewhat reckless, kids.

What are you thankful for?

Seen On A Bumper Sticker

"Lets all get a long. I'll hug your elephant if you kiss my ass."

I'm trying to decide if this is an example of hope, change, or bipartisanship.

Autism Research

Now this is the kind of autism research and advocacy we need.

Autism coverage and insurance premiums

Autism insurance coverage at the rate of 20,000 per year would result in an insurance premium increase of $2.18 per month for the average family.

A review/summary of: James N. Bouder, Stuart Spielman, David S. Mandell (2009). Brief Report: Quantifying the Impact of Autism Coverage on Private Insurance Premiums Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders DOI: 10.1007/s10803-009-0701-z

Health care expenditures for children with autism and other ASD are disproportionally absorbed by families as compared to expenditures for children with other chronic developmental or medical conditions. This is mostly due to the reluctance by many insurance companies to pay for services needed for children with autism. This has led many States in the USA to consider enacting laws mandating insurance companies to cover services for children with ASD. Yet, opponents (mostly the insurance companies) argue that such laws would result in significant increases in insurance premiums for all families.

The current study examined data from Pennsylvania, which requires insurance companies to pay for up to $36,000 per year in services for children with ASDs from birth to the age of 21.

The authors estimated the impact on insurance premiums using a formula that took into account 1) the prevalence of autism, 2) the number of insured children in Pennsylvania, 3) the average medical expenditure for children with ASD, 4)the % of revenues of insurance premiums actually spent on paying for services, and 5)the total revenues obtained by the private insurance companies.

More discussion of this paper at Left Brain/Right Brain where I first read about it.

Note to Self

Proverbs 17 (English Standard Version)

1Better is a dry morsel with quiet
than a house full of feasting with strife.
2A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully
and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
3The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and the LORD tests hearts.
4An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
5Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
6Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.
7Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
still less is false speech to a prince.
8A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
wherever he turns he prospers.
9Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
10A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.
11An evil man seeks only rebellion,
and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs
rather than a fool in his folly.
13If anyone returns evil for good,
evil will not depart from his house.
14The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
15He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the LORD.
16Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
when he has no sense?
17A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
18One who lacks sense gives a pledge
and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
19Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
20A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
21He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
and the father of a fool has no joy.
22A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
23The wicked accepts a bribe in secret
to pervert the ways of justice.
24The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25A foolish son is a grief to his father
and bitterness to her who bore him.
26To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
27Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,
and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Monday Morning Minutes

Well it's afternoon now but I like the alliteration in the title so I'm leaving it as is.

1. Did you know that you can essentially sprain the ligaments that hold your teeth in place? I do now thanks to Ethan. He and Isaiah had some sort of collision that left Isaiah unscathed but Ethan was very much afraid that he had knocked his permanent teeth loose. After consulting with our family doctor's office we hauled him off to the ER. There we learned that while he would be sore for a few days his permanent teeth were in no jeopardy. We'll set something up with his regular dentist just to be sure though.


2. Having to haul your kid (Isaiah in this case) on a one hour 45 minute journey, ONE WAY, just to get his teeth X-rayed and cleaned because no dentist in your major metro area will sedate kids with disabilities who are super anxious about going to the dentist STINKS. BIG TIME. It's either that or wait till some life threatening situation arises and then we can take him to the hospital. Looks like I'm road tripping to Rochester which is apparently the only city in this part of the state with a dental practice that will sedate kids if they need it.


3. Has Roland Burris resigned from the Senate yet? Apparently not. I hope his pride and reputation are worth whatever it is he thinks he can get by remaining in the Senate as the man who tried to buy his position from former Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich Blagojevich was cut loose with break neck speed over this. Why was Burris seated in the first place and why is everyone trying to be so delicate about kicking this shady character to the curb?


4. Barbie is old. Some people think this is important. Some people think Barbie is evil because she messes with little girls' heads. Is it really the doll that does this or what people say about the doll/little girls/women in general? Personally, my dolls were just play things. I never thought I needed to look like or be like them. They were who and what I said they were not the other way around. Besides, who needed Barbie when you had siblings who were happy to pretend to be part of CHiPs with you and a nice couch for your motorbike?