Peter Gabriel is a delightful, amazing, total and complete weirdo. I have loved listening to his music as far back as I can remember -- my older brothers introduced me as a wee child. I recall my JVC boombox blasting out Rhythm of the Heat while my sisters and I roasted on many a hot beach... I wore out the cassette tape for the Genesis album Trespass as well... And the tadpoles and I really like him with AfroCelt Sound System on this tune, When You're Falling.

Jack White and Loretta Lynn: here.

I remember watching Coal Miner's Daughter with Sissy Spacek on tv as a kid.

In the garden pulling weeds.

Distributing money it does not have is an immoral act by the government.

Yesterday, voting in my local school board election, I got to use the old tally machines. Tally! Tally! Tally! They are the easiest to use, and definitely the most satisfying in terms of tactile sense. And they are much harder to tamper with without anyone noticing...

(And I am pleased to report that the school budget lost -- NY State imposed a 2% tax increase limit, but of course it has exceptions, and they had proposed to increase our taxes by 4.4%. Now, under "austerity," they'll only be able to raise taxes by 3.4%. !??!!!!??!!?!)

Lance -- I enjoyed. I agree with what you say about strongly rooted in tradition but not trapped in it. And that makes me think of another band. Are you familiar with the Carolina Chocolate Drops? Here's a great song, and here's another one. I love bluegrass country style, and they do it with banjos, jugs, fiddles, bones, but also with beat box rhythm. Peace!

Lance -- thanks for the horn selection! My trumpet playing tadpole digs it. 

Allow me to brag shamelessly: My tadpoles believe that kale is a delicious food, that salad is something that children love and fight to have the honor to make it, that bean soup is a fantastic treat, that fresh eggs from the chickens taste best poached on homemade toasted bread, that roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes with rosemary and kosher salt is better than dessert, and that I am the best cook in the world.

I was once at a fine restaurant with my children and in-laws, and the staff came over to the table to pay their respects to my in-laws and see how we were liking the meal. My 8 year old began having a discussion about his fish, which he enjoyed, but he explained that I make it much better, and described for them what I do and how they could improve. (Salmon fillet, mix fresh strong horseradish and soy sauce, brush over the fish, wrap in silver foil, grill or bake on a cookie sheet in the oven about 20 minutes or until fully cooked, in case you're wondering.)

I don't serve separate meals for children unless they are breast-feeding.

Beautiful stories, friends. 

I just want to share this perspective. I consider myself a practicing Catholic. And remember: practice makes perfect!

Also, as several have commented here, the rush of joy, or the sincere and deep sorrow for sin, or the fierce love for God and fellow creatures are not the reasons we practice our faith. Those are benefits, and certainly comforts in the practice of our faith. But even without those consolations, even when doubts creep in and faith seems like a faint candle about to be blown out by the breezes of the world, the practice is essential. As creatures with a soul, the action is as important as the interior focus. Really. I mean that. Even if my heart is full of annoyance, or torpor, or totally distracting thoughts, when I stand, and sit, and kneel throughout the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and speak the words "Amen -- I believe", those actions will change me in ways I will not recognize at that time, but that are important to me and my salvation and the whole history of mankind. Really.

Finally -- the Mass makes present not only the Last Supper, but also the Passion and Resurrection. 

Papa Toad and I are clear on the fact that the tadpoles exist because he and I love each other and are married, not the other way around. The tadpoles know it too.

We have clear lines of definition -- we have date nights, mostly in-house due to finances, and we smooch a lot. He works from home most of the time, and I homeschool the children, which takes a lot of oversight, so we try to stay away from each other during most of the day because otherwise we might neglect our other duties and just want to hang out with each other. And smooch.

Without getting much into the contraception issue (I dislike contraception because of the cavalier treatment of female reproduction, among other strong reasons) I will say that another reason "baby sex" may be especially enjoyable is the fact that the ovulation hormones can make a woman feel really super sexy. 

I homeschool my six children. Or, at least, I homeschool 5 of them and the youngest is still only 3.

I appreciate Illiniguy's comments, and am glad he knows such a great family. Not all homeschoolers are like that, though. Many of them are pretty average. Only one of my tadpoles plays three musical instruments, and although we took a Spanish class we have not kept up with it. I tried to organize a science fair a couple of years ago, but it only got lukewarm support, and fizzled when I realized I only had one exhibitor (my son).

Most homeschoolers are not obese young people locked up all day with a computer. And you kind of have to think that kid wouldn't be better off in school in terms of being bullied, you know?

I can't imagine not homeschooling. It is a great joy and also a great responsibility -- I don't recommend it to everyone, but if you feel inclined toward it I can't see any reason not to!

Final post and then I'm off to finish reading "Kaa's Hunting" (Kipling) with the tadpoles. 

When the NYTimes ran their version of the ad in March, Pamela Geller prepared a similar ad addressed to Muslims that the Times refused to run. You can see Geller's ad here.

So RB's comment (#34) is substantially correct -- although I would modify it to call them Freedom from the Catholic Church, a desire that some Christians seem willing to join forces with them on?

I must interject what is, to me, an important point. The Catholic Church is not properly called the Roman Catholic Church. There exists no such entity, although it is a common mistake to make. 

The bishop of Rome is the successor of St. Peter, and the universal Church follows many Roman feasts, such as the dedication of the basilica of St. John Lateran, but although the Church has been called Catholic since at least the time of St. Ignatius of Antioch in about 110, when he used the term in a letter, the Church does not call herself Roman Catholic, just Catholic. More about the history of the term Catholic Church here, from the early 20th century Catholic Encyclopedia. 

If you read the last link, you will see a brief synopsis of the history of the term "Roman" -- it appears to have arisen mostly as a term of derision by Anglicans who scorned Roman or Romish or Popish behaviors or beliefs. 

Kierkegaard7 -- Did you read the article to which you linked? It explicitly states that the indulgences are not "sold." Instead, the sacrament of confession and exculpatory acts are required. See here. The Church has offered indulgences for centuries. More here. 

Feel free to think whatever you like, but please at least report accurately. 

My name, Mama Toad, comes from my profession/avocation - mama to six tadpoles - and Toad comes from our family name. 

Having been standing in the checkout line with my eyes unable to avoid reading about this starlet's baby bump and that starlet's pregnancy with her dream man, I am not feeling like this is a correct statement: "Showing off that you’re a mom or that your body is preparing to become one is taboo."

I will say that women today are supposed to have a very unhealthy and weird disconnect from their bodies, and it starts in my mind with the fact that the vast majority of women mis-trust their reproductive system and try for much of their lives to control it with medication or surgery, rather than understand how it works and use that knowledge to determine their actions.