Just three days after being shipped back to Washington and relieved of his duties with hurricane Katrina, Mike Brown resigns as Chief of FEMA stating that it was "in the best interest of the agency and best interest of the president". I seriously believe if he hadn't resigned of his own accord, he'd have been fired eventually. It was inevitable, and in the best interest of the country, I think.

That's it. The last of my children has entered the world of academia (ok, if you consider coloring and being read to academia). People have been asking me questions all week: Did he cry? Did YOU cry? How does it make you feel to have your baby go off to school? How does Noah like school? 1. He didn't cry. He found his friend Mia and the two of them have been inseparable ever since, requesting each and every day if one or the other can come over to play. Without much more than a wave over ...

As I drove my daughter to work this afternoon this comment is yelled from the back seat: "That store's a RIP OFF!!" I laughed. "What makes you say that?" I asked. "Well... they put that shirt up on a hanger outside the store!" It still wasn't computing with me. "Noah, do you even know what a rip-off is?" "It's when they try to trick you into coming into the store to buy something... and all they want is cash!" Ok... so maybe it's not the technical definition, but not bad for ...

Raising Cain Abel drew in a deep breath as the scent of the fatted lamb rose in the air. He reflected on how gracious the Lord had been to his family. After his parents’ disobedience, the Lord could have struck them dead on the spot, but He hadn’t done that. Instead He had brought them here, to this new land, and provided for their needs. Abel had heard stories about the magnificent Garden from his parents, but he was happy just to live here. The mountains painted a backdrop that was ...

Each day as I head into Curves, there is a dry erase board with a brain-teaser written on it. Sometimes they're simple, others are more challenging. Either way, for a few minutes, they take my mind off the fact that it's 6am and I'm not only up, but exercising. Ugh. Here are a few of the ones I remember... do you have any to share? 1) HARMgood 2) ......mad mad you mad ...... mad 3) home..........................home ...

A new report from the Center for Consumer Freedom details the specifics of how PETA is targeting America's religious faithful. They see the religious right as an obstacle to be removed... or brainwashed. "Considering the level of religious interest in the United States, it seems unlikely that we'll achieve animal liberation without mobilizing, especially, Jewish and Christian progressives, and perhaps also many of the conservatives." (PETA vegetarian campaign director Bruce Friedrich in "D...

I’m becoming my mother. This transformation is a subtle thing, but it’s there just the same. When I first noticed it, I was… chagrined. At times, I am dealing with my children and certain phrases pop out of my mouth: “This house is not a gymnasium!” “Do you hear me?” “Did you grow up in a barn?” As I utter the words, I can almost imagine that my voice turns into the voice of my mother. There’s an edge to it, but not a course or brittle one, just different. Her voice is a little deeper...

Nope... we're not talking about driving under the influence here, but dialing under the influence. Virgin Mobile is now offering a new service to its customers: Dialling Under the Influence. For 25 cents per number, VM will blacklist certain users from your phone, so that you can't get drunk and then go off calling in a stupor. You just enter 333 before the number you want blacklisted, and they won't put any calls through to that number til after 6am the next morning. As far as I k...

I'm leaving this under "Home and Family", for lack of a better forum. A friend came over for dinner the other night and brought zucchini from his garden. Apparently he forgot about them and they grew to HUGE proportions. My plan is to halve them, scoop out the insides (not all, but some), and then stuff it with something. Anyone have suggestions for what I could put inside? I'm thinking some diced tomatoes, chopped onions and ground beef, but I'm an "all but the kitchen sink" kinda gi...

In Italian, 'puntiglio' means "a fine point," hence a verbal quibble, and is most likely the source of the English "punctilious." A pun is defined by Webster as "the humorous use of a word, or of words which are formed or sounded alike but have different meanings, in such a way as to play on two or more of the possible applications; a play on words." From www.punoftheday.com: Link Why do people groan when a pun is told? A pun is often considered obvious humor, since the person...

In Italian, 'puntiglio' means "a fine point," hence a verbal quibble, and is most likely the source of the English "punctilious." A pun is defined by Webster as "the humorous use of a word, or of words which are formed or sounded alike but have different meanings, in such a way as to play on two or more of the possible applications; a play on words." From www.punoftheday.com: Link Why do people groan when a pun is told? A pun is often considered obvious humor, since the person...

Do you have to be a "resident" of JU for a determined period of time before your recent articles and top articles are listed? Or am I supposed to put those in myself? Thanks for any info.

When a polling organization in Britain asked a thousand citizens to update the list of Seven Deadly Sins, the results showed an interesting shift in the understanding of sin. The original seven (pride, envy, wrath, sloth, lust, avarice, and gluttony, traditionally remembered with the aid of the acronym PEWSLAG) were replaced by cruelty, adultery, bigotry, dishonesty, hypocrisy, greed, and selfishness. Formerly the essence of sin lay in offending God by failing to curb one's lower nature. In t...

I've heard several different definitions of humility recently. Maybe not technical definitions, but examples... Some see humility as a weakness... yet don't we respect the humble and avoid those who are arrogant? What defines humility for you? Is there someone in your life who has modeled this characteristic in a way that made you understand it in a different way? Or who was a prime example of humility? Is there a catchphrase you associate with humility? How about these: True hu...

Aug. 15, 2005 — A Pennsylvania man is facing manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges after his 15-year-old daughter struck and killed a woman carrying a baby during a driving lesson. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to live in this situation... as the mother of the woman who was killed, as the girl who caused the death, or as the father who's looking at manslaughter charges. This was a terrible and tragic accident. I don't know how I feel about it. On the one hand...