Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Nov 1, 2011, 1:43 pm
Wayne LaPierre just phoned me and I listened to his automated message.  Wayne is the CEO of the NRA which is WTF. They really, really,  really called the wrong person. As I read it, (and I always notice that no one else seems to read it this way, even though this is how it is written) the second a...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 26, 2011, 8:34 am
Here's a Ted Talk with Richard Wilkinson explaining how larger income gaps within societies increase social maladies--poorer health outcomes, greater crime, imprisonment, shorter life spans, etc. The richer countries, those with a higher median income, don't do better.  The USA is the worst! The Oc...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 21, 2011, 9:04 am
~Adbusters
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 11, 2011, 6:03 pm
We love our little Scion.  It has loads of leg room for the kids.  It has a seat that feels like a seat and not a semi-lounge chair, and has loads of head room for me with my tall torso.  It works for our little family. We now have a replacement car, as our car is being repaired after what we tho...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 6, 2011, 8:15 am
If you're wondering why the protesters are at Zuccotti Park protesting in New York, here is a statement they wrote on Sept. 29th.  It's fairly clear why they're pissed off: Declaration of the Occupation of New York City As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 4, 2011, 4:04 pm
Hello cyber-friends.  I haven't been here in almost a year, because I've been so disillusioned.  On a positive domestic note, we successfully kept a Top Bar hive of bees in our backyard and harvested a scant two quarts of honey.  I was only stung 4 times as we were harvesting it.  And then I pu...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Nov 8, 2010, 12:30 pm
I guess that title is a bit misleading.  We've been seriously heading for a Plutocracy ever since Reagan deregulated everything in the 80s.  It's not just caused by this election cycle. However, it's at a quicker pace now that people are voting for it.
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Nov 2, 2010, 12:02 pm
Vote!! Well, except my conservative friends--you know who you are--you can stay home if you want...  No!!  No, I say!  You should go vote too!  Yes, even you and even though our votes will cancel each other out. But, if you do go vote, please try to be informed.  For example, do you know who to...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 29, 2010, 6:00 am
Werewolves of London! Happy Halloween--enjoy your weekend!
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 28, 2010, 5:15 pm
In a cage match between breastfeeding and breast cancer, you know who wins?  I bet you've never been told.  I bet you've never read it any where.  In this month of breast cancer awareness where even KFC gets in on it, despite the questionable healthfulness of their double down chicken sandwich, a...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 22, 2010, 10:07 am
Oh my God, this is classic!  Why did I not see the wit of this when I was an angsty  teenager?  Why did I not see the fun of the kitsch?  It is only now that I can appreciate stuff like this.  I couldn't back then when I was lamenting the destruction of the Brazilian rainforest and all of my pe...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 19, 2010, 1:59 pm
Christine O'Donnell asked her Democratic opponent where in the Constitution the separation of church and state is outlined. He answered that the 1st amendment guarantees it. She said, "The First Amendment does?" O'Donnell asked. "Let me just clarify: You're telling me that the separation of church a...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 18, 2010, 9:14 am
We sometimes get things new, like swimsuits from Target online for my daughter, because hers from the summer wore out and she'll need it if we go out of town to a motel with a pool. It happens. And, the underwear and socks that I recently bought my kids. We are far from perfect around here, but t...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 17, 2010, 12:24 pm
My husband had a wonderful class in college called The Sky which explored naked eye observations of the sky and its machinations. Guess who now knows what a waxing gibbous moon is--yes, that's right, my kids! My husband has been relaying all sorts of sky information to the kids with very clear exp...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 15, 2010, 10:46 am
Here is a video that converges two things I like: The Strokes and images from Koyaanisqatsi, which was just the coolest movie when it came out in the early 80's. It is fascinating to see now. Have you seen it? Koyaanisqatsi means Life out of Balance in the Hopi language. In the movie you see th...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 13, 2010, 1:42 pm
A child who has been boxed up six hours in school might spend the next four hours in study, but it is impossible to develop the child’s intellect in this way. The laws of nature are inexorable. By dint of great and painful labor, the child may succeed in repeating a lot of words, like a parrot, bu...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 13, 2010, 8:55 am
You know what is the best, most delicious kefir drink? I do! I like you guys, so I will share it with you now. Pour a half glass of plain kefir (use a 12 oz. glass or larger), add a half glass of orange juice, a half teaspoon of vanilla, a tablespoon of raw honey and stir it all up right in the ...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 8, 2010, 7:00 am
You know what is severely underutilized in the whole rock/pop/ska world? Yes, that's right--xylophone. So, here's some for you from The Violent Femmes--Gone Daddy Gone. Enjoy your weekend.
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 6, 2010, 9:33 am
We had to go get the car's emissions tested yesterday. Illinois law mandates it every so often for all cars, although it would probably be more efficient and effective if the testing was saved for older cars alone. But, we went. My daughter assured me that she was fine dressed in her 1880s prairie...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Oct 3, 2010, 11:38 am
I am reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to the kids. I just started it last night, complete with dead-on accents and full emoting. The kids thought the whole Tom Sawyer gang requirements were hysterical: no telling the secrets of the club upon the penalty of family being killed. If no fa...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Sep 9, 2010, 8:27 am
I have a friend in our homeschooling group who has counted up all of her kids' outside commitments for the week and it totalled 19! That's classes and swim practice etc. for three kids. Some of the kids are in the same classes or have lessons at the same time, but it still means making sure they ...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Sep 1, 2010, 8:54 am
*PLEASE NOTE* This post looks like absolute crap because I linked from several places with different fonts and point size and now it is crazy. Please ask for clarification if you need it. I did not intend for some lines to be HUGE and others tiny... I can't fix it--I've tried. Enough time has b...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Aug 14, 2010, 12:35 pm
I'm not feeling it lately, I gotta be honest. My kids are great. My husband is great. Our life is great. However... I am sad. I feel overwhelmed by the news lately and what I know to be true--we're all in trouble. When I am only concerned with my own life and our own little struggles and trium...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Jul 29, 2010, 9:10 am
Is Global Warming real? Yes, it is. Phytoplankton: the starting point of the marine food chain and producer of oxygen. Now, 40% less phytoplankton in oceans than in the 1950's due to Global Warming...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Jul 3, 2010, 9:24 am
The First Amendment Rocks, you know that? Despite my husband's quote at the bottom of this page, "You know, the problem with the internet is it gives everyone a voice.", I think he truly appreciates our ability to say whatever the hell we want in this country--even those from the intolerant right o...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Jun 25, 2010, 12:28 pm
I heard this musician on NPR recently. She is amazing. She uses foot pedals to loop herself, make a recording and then within seconds plays it back and plays with it. She harmonizes with her own voice, she plays a melody and then a solo against it. It is not just gimmicky, it's good music, I thin...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Jan 27, 2010, 10:14 am
Sweet! Cool pattern for a leisure suit you can sew! This is hilarious and accurate--check out a few pictures from a JC Penny catalog from 1977. I remember everyone and everything looking like this. Well, almost everything. My parents were more into a Scandinavian Design kind of look back then...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Jan 26, 2010, 9:56 pm
It's my birthday today--I'm 44. Which means that the kids made me homemade cards yesterday with my husband's prompting, hid them in their rooms, and when they woke up this morning, they got them and gave them to me in bed. It was very, very sweet. It also means that I had to go and ge...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Nov 26, 2009, 7:00 am
Guess! No really, what might it be? Give up? OK, I'll tell you. Another homeschool conference presenter has dropped out who was also going to do five workshops. Ha! Cosmic joke on me. Could be worse--could be rainin' (Name that movie) When you have 10 workshops all lined up, don'...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Nov 20, 2009, 7:00 am
OK. I'm trying to do my part for the upcoming homeschooling conference. I agreed to be on the Children's Workshop Planning Committee so that I could help arrange presenters. I will be rewarded with a hotel room and free admittance to the conference for my entire family--this goes a long w...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Nov 16, 2009, 7:00 am
I just spent a ridiculously long time cleaning out my sock drawer in my dresser. Waaaay in the back I came across 6 unopened packages of white pantyhose. Why? How? When?? I am boggled. Somewhere out there there may be some need for a pair of white pantyhose and so the good folks at Goodwill or...
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Laura posted an article on We Don't Buy It - Nov 13, 2009, 7:00 am
Is there? Is there life on mars? Maybe a stray amino acid or some other unknown life building block? It could be there frozen in the polar ice, couldn't it? It's all a bit wistful. Still, a good song. Enjoy your weekend.
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Laura posted an article on - Nov 13, 2009, 7:00 am
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