THOUGHTS, MUSES AND RANTS OF JAH

Why Trump World is suddenly focused anew on the Russia scandal ~ by Steve Benen It was a few days after the FBI executed a court-approved search warrant at Mar-a-Lago when Donald Trump started complaining anew about the investigation into the Russia scandal, reiterating his familiar belief that the controversy “was a hoax.” The former president echoed the line again yesterday, by way of his Twitter-like platform: Some of his Republican allies have read from a similar script. Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney — now a paid analyst on CBS News — yesterday also referred to the scandal as a “hoax.” Around the same time, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson appeared on Fox News and insisted that former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation “never should’ve happened.” The comments came on the heels of a curious New York Times op-ed from National Review’s Rich Lowry, who dismissed the investigation as “a national fiasco,” and who lamented the lack of regret among those who took s...

  In conversations about parenthood, much of the discussion ends up focusing on the mother’s role in a child’s life, but fathers carry equal importance. Not only do they often teach their children many hard skills, like how to change a tire, throw a baseball, or tie a tie, but fathers also are critically important in the development of a child’s mental and emotional development. One man decided he wanted to do something to help all fatherless children, so he created a YouTube basic skills channel to help teach them basic life skills. Sadly, there are many children who are missing this important relationship in their lives. In the United States, nearly twenty million children grow up without a dad, and for many it has a profound impact on who they become as adults. YouTube Basic Skills – Dad, How Do I? On his YouTube basic skills channel, Dad, How Do I? Rob Kenney shares what he calls practical “dadvice” for everyday tasks. His videos cover topics like checking the oil, checking you...

  Here’s What Getting Spanked as a Kid Did to Your Personality, According to Science In a 2012 survey, seventy percent of Americans agreed that “it is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a good, hard spanking.” But spanking children may have undesired results. Adults sometimes hit their children to punish bad behavior, and while it might appear to be effective in the short-term, there is evidence to suggest that corporal punishment is not effective in the long-term and that it produces negative consequences for not only your child’s physical and emotional well-being but might actually make their behavior worse. The Negative Effects of Spanking Children Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan have found that kids who are spanked more often are more likely to defy their parents and experience an increase in anti-social behavior. They are also at an increased risk for developing aggression, mental health problems, and cognitive diff...

This Mom’s Answer to a Question is Something Every Parent Needs to Read If you’ve ever googled something and ended up on Quora, you have likely spent a few hours of your life reading question and answer submissions, maybe you’ve even contributed some of your own insights and answers. When an anonymous mother posted a question, she was not prepared for the responses she received. How do I tell my wonderful 11-year-old son, (in a way that won’t tear him down), that the way he has started talking to me (disrespectfully) makes me not want to be around him (I’ve already told him the bad attitude is unacceptable)? It’s a scenario that many parents face, when your kid sprouts into the tween years and the sweet and snuggly side get overtaken by a sassy, mean, and ungrateful attitude.  Advertisement Sometimes these changes happen overnight and it can be a challenge to adapt to this phase of a sensitive yet insensitive spiral.  This mothers question received many responses, but it was o...

Here's a message you probably won't hear in church this morning--burn it down, all of it. So much of what's been made of "church" is a blasphemous degradation of the Jesus it pimps. Oozing rivers of pus-ladened evil upon a hurting world. What God meant for healing is used to inflict pain. What God meant for inclusivity is used to assert supremacy. What God meant for peace is used to declare war. What God meant for love is used to justify hate. Burn it down, all of it. Every part that condemns the different. Every part that attracts the religious and scatters the broken. Every part that lifts men over women. Every part that oppresses the least-of-these and excites the privileged. Every part that creates conditions, restrictions, rules, and limits where God created none. The world doesn't need more buildings, campuses, stages, light shows, soundboards, celebrity pastors, conferences, committees, coalitions of the self-righteous, and cults with crosses on top.  J...