text:
Many bells must be rung, in this, our century of rampant, unchecked savagery, for the dead innocents

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Many bells must be rung, in this, our century of rampant savagery, for the dead innocents

Today, I was with a lady who is by blood, Armenian.  The history of the genocide against her people waged by the Ottoman Turks, in the very midst of the Great War, is, simply put, mind-numbing.

The rendition I heard today of my Armenian Lady’s  family history and national history had me take on the grimmest of search for statistics as to how many killed, when and where.  I didn’t have to look too far.  Shocked, even in this, our, hopelessly jaded age, I probed further on and found the follow quotes from Senor Piero Scaruffi.

As I  look over the list of the dead, mind you, simply of the 20th Century, I must, at a minimum, ask myself  “just what sort of creature is man—God’s highest Creation?”  Lamentably, the answer is most unpleasant.  Of singular importance in the roll of death provided me by Senor Piero Scaruffi is that these are dead innocents, not merely warriors.  This is not a roll call of lost combatants, but instead a call of the innocents.  What do they call back to us about ourselves, these dead innocents, about who we all are, of what we are, all apparently, capable?  About mankind itself? There are so many dead and from every corner on this earth.

I very much hesitate to say that I am thankful to Senor Piero Scaruffi for his fine work, which, as an abstract academic exercise goes, truly is sterlingly brilliant.  I hesitate to thank simply because I ask all here this:  who can thank any man for a roll of the dead innocents such as Senor Piero Scaruffi now provides us?

***That said, I here commence to quote M. Piero Scaruffi in full below, until, and unless,  noted as otherwise.  This caution: Senor Scaruffi adopts an oft-strident politic in his synopsis, about which, I’ve nothing to say but I leave his thoughts on that for you to read as he wrote them after providing us the roll of the innocents***

First, a note about the author of this work we are about to read.  Senor Piero Scaruffi  was born in TriveroItaly, in 1955.  He took down his degree in Mathematics, summa,  in 1982 from University of Turin, where he put himself to the General Theory of Relativity.  Nicely done, Piero, nicely done, that.  So, Senor brings here the requisite bona fides in the counting of  things, which I’ve always thought to be what mathematics is, or am I wrong about that,  to his important but dismal task of writing the roll of the innocents that we will now read ourselves.

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piero scaruffi is an author, cultural historian and blogger who graduated in Mathematics in his native Italy before undertaking a career in the software industry of Silicon Valley, where he directed an Artificial Intelligence Center. In parallel he pursued his interests in the arts. Visiting scholarships at Harvard and Stanford in Cognitive Science and lecturing at UC Berkeley resulted in the book “The Nature of Consciousness” (2006). All along he also continued writing poetry both in Italian (for which he has been awarded several prizes) and in English. His main books on music are: “A History of Rock and Dance Music” (2009) and “A History of Jazz Music 1900-2000” (2007). He also co-wrote the first “History of Silicon Valley” to cover the century from the founding of Stanford University to the boom of social media. All along he also continued writing poetry both in Italian (for which he has been awarded several prizes) and in English. “Synthesis” (2009) collects poems and meditations.  His main books on music are: “A History of Rock and Dance Music” (2009) and “A History of Jazz Music 1900-2000” (2007).  All his writing is hosted on his website:

Modern Genocides

by Piero Scaruffi | Email

TM, ®, Copyright © 2009 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved.

Here is a tentative list of modern mass murderers and the estimated number of people killed by their orders (excluding enemy armies). In many cases (notably Stalin’s and Mao’s cases) one has to decide how to consider the millions who died indirectly because of their political decisions. The Chinese cultural revolution caused the death of 30 million people (according to the current Chinese government), but many died of hunger. Stalin is held responsible for the death of millions by Ukrainians, but “only” half a million people were killed by his order. Khomeini sent children to die in the war against Iraq, but it was a war.
Read the bottom of this page for frequently asked questions on controversial actions such as the atomic bombs, the Iraqi war, etc (that always involve the current superpower and usually the current president of that superpower).
I welcome feedback if i forgot anything or posted the wrong data, but please always provide reliable sources: webpages are gossips, not sources (and the worst one is Wikipedia, edited by anonymous people). Reliable sources are books written by professional historians who spent decades researching the event.

See also Wars and Casualties of the 20th and 21st Century.

The worst genocides of the 20th and 21st Centuries

Mao Ze-Dong (China, 1958-61 and 1966-69, Tibet 1949-50) 49-78,000,000
Adolf Hitler (Germany, 1939-1945) 12,000,000 (concentration camps and civilians deliberately killed in WWII plus 3 million Russian POWs left to die)
Leopold II of Belgium (Congo, 1886-1908) 8,000,000
Jozef Stalin (USSR, 1932-39) 6,000,000 (the gulags plus the purges plus Ukraine’s famine)
Hideki Tojo (Japan, 1941-44) 5,000,000 (civilians in WWII)
Ismail Enver (Turkey, 1915-20) 1,200,000 Armenians (1915) + 350,000 Greek Pontians and 480,000 Anatolian Greeks (1916-22) + 500,000 Assyrians (1915-20)
Pol Pot (Cambodia, 1975-79) 1,700,000
Kim Il Sung (North Korea, 1948-94) 1.6 million (purges and concentration camps)
Menghistu (Ethiopia, 1975-78) 1,500,000
Yakubu Gowon (Biafra, 1967-1970) 1,000,000
Leonid Brezhnev (Afghanistan, 1979-1982) 900,000
Jean Kambanda (Rwanda, 1994) 800,000
Saddam Hussein (Iran 1980-1990 and Kurdistan 1987-88) 600,000
Tito (Yugoslavia, 1945-1987) 570,000
Suharto (Communists 1965-66) 500,000
Fumimaro Konoe (Japan, 1937-39) 500,000? (Chinese civilians)
Jonas Savimbi (Angola, 1975-2002) 400,000
Mullah Omar – Taliban (Afghanistan, 1986-2001) 400,000
Idi Amin (Uganda, 1969-1979) 300,000
Yahya Khan (Pakistan, 1970-71) 300,000 (Bangladesh)
Ante Pavelic (Croatia, 1941-45) 359,000 (30,000 Jews, 29,000 Gipsies, 300,000 Serbs)
Benito Mussolini (Ethiopia, 1936; Libya, 1934-45; Yugoslavia, WWII) 300,000
Mobutu Sese Seko (Zaire, 1965-97) ?
Charles Taylor (Liberia, 1989-1996) 220,000
Foday Sankoh (Sierra Leone, 1991-2000) 200,000
Suharto (Aceh, East Timor, New Guinea, 1975-98) 200,000
Ho Chi Min (Vietnam, 1953-56) 200,000
Michel Micombero (Burundi, 1972) 150,000
Slobodan Milosevic (Yugoslavia, 1992-99) 100,000
Hassan Turabi (Sudan, 1989-1999) 100,000
Jean-Bedel Bokassa (Centrafrica, 1966-79) ?
Richard Nixon (Vietnam, 1969-1974) 70,000 (Vietnamese and Cambodian civilians)
Efrain Rios Montt (Guatemala, 1982-83) 70,000
Papa Doc Duvalier (Haiti, 1957-71) 60,000
Rafael Trujillo (Dominican Republic, 1930-61) 50,000
Hissene Habre (Chad, 1982-1990) 40,000
Chiang Kai-shek (Taiwan, 1947) 30,000 (popular uprising)
Vladimir Ilich Lenin (USSR, 1917-20) 30,000 (dissidents executed)
Francisco Franco (Spain) 30,000 (dissidents executed after the civil war)
Fidel Castro (Cuba, 1959-1999) 30,000
Lyndon Johnson (Vietnam, 1963-1968) 30,000
Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez (El Salvador, 1932) 30,000
Hafez Al-Assad (Syria, 1980-2000) 25,000
Khomeini (Iran, 1979-89) 20,000
Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe, 1982-87, Ndebele minority) 20,000
Bashir Assad (Syria, 2012) 14,000
Rafael Videla (Argentina, 1976-83) 13,000
Guy Mollet (France, 1956-1957) 10,000 (war in Algeria)
Harold McMillans (Britain, 1952-56, Kenya’s Mau-Mau rebellion) 10,000
Paul Koroma (Sierra Leone, 1997) 6,000
Osama Bin Laden (worldwide, 1993-2001) 3,500
Augusto Pinochet (Chile, 1973) 3,000
Al Zarqawi (Iraq, 2004-06) 2,000

For a list of casualties in wars, see this page.

Main sources:

  • Charny (1988) Genocide: A Critical Bibliographic Review
  • Stephane Courtois: Black Book on Communism (1995)
  • Matthews: Guiness Book of Records (2000)
  • Clodfelter: Warfare and Armed Conflicts (1992)
  • Elliot: Twentieth Century Book of the Dead (1972)
  • Bouthoul : A List of the 366 Major Armed Conflicts of the period 1740-1974, Peace Research (1978)
  • R.J. Rummel: Death by Government – Genocide and Mass Murder (1994)

  1. Note: this website has been banned in China and Turkey since 2006. Please help boycott these countries.
  2. The crimes committed by right-wing dictators have always been easier to track down than the crimes against humanity committed by communist leaders, so the figures for communist leaders like Stalin and Mao increase almost yearly as new secret documents become available. To this day, the Chinese government has not yet disclosed how many people were executed by Mao’s red guards during the Cultural Revolution and how many people were killed in Tibet during the Chinese invasion of 1950. We also don’t know how many dissidents have been killed by order of Kim Il Sung in North Korea, although presumably many thousands.
  3. I often get asked if Hiroshima/Nagasaki qualify as a genocide. I disagree. First of all, why only nuclear weapons? The carpet bombing of German cities and of Tokyo killed the same number of people. Second, Winston Churchill and Harry Truman did not start that war: they ended it. It is even debatable if these bombings killed or saved lives: Hiroshima probably saved a lot of Japanese lives, because a long protracted invasion like the one that took place in Germany would have killed a lot more people (Germany lost 2 million people, Japan only 300,000, because Japan was never invaded, while Germany was invaded from all sides). Actually more Japanese died in two weeks of battles with the Soviet Union in Manchuria than in the two nuclear bombings. I suspect a nuclear bomb on Berlin would have killed 100,000 people but caused Germany to surrender right away, thus saving many German lives. (I know, it is gruesome to count dead bodies like this; but, again, i didn’t start that war, the Germans and the Japanese started it). The USA had a casualty rate of 35% in the battle of Okinawa: they expected to lose one million soldiers in a land invasion of Japan, and the estimates were that Japan would lose the same number of soldiers and many more civilians. Most historians believe that it was the atomic bomb to convince Japan to surrender, and it was the second one: after the first one, there were still members of the Japanese cabinet that were opposed to surrender (the cabinet had to be unanimous in order for the emperor to surrender). The dissenters who wanted to continue the war even tried a coup to overthrow the emperor rather than obey the order to surrender. After the first bomb, Nishina (head of the Japanese nuclear program) was asked if it was possible that the USA could build another atomic bomb within six months: obviously the people who asked him the question were not going to surrender unless a second bomb was possible. Koichi Kido, advisor to emperor Hirohito, said: “We of the peace party were assisted by the atomic bomb in our endeavor to end the war.” Hisatsune Sakomizu, chief secretary of Cabinet, said that the atomic bombs were a “golden opportunity given by heaven for Japan to end the war.” Thus the Japanese themselves (those who wanted to surrender) seem to indicate that the two atomic bombs were indispensable to end a war that was killing hundreds of thousands of people per battle (the battle of Okinawa killed more Japanese than the atomic bomb on Nagasaki). It is also estimated that throughout Japan-occupied Asia about 200,000 civilians were dying every month (of disease, hunger, etc): if the atomic bombs helped Japan surrender even just six months earlier, that saved the lives of one million Indonesians, Indochinese, Philipinos, Chinese, etc. (Notable dissenting voices were the two most powerful USA generals, Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur, who both felt that the atomic bombs were unnecessary to finish Japan).
    People die in wars. During the previous world-war, millions died of everything from guns to chemical weapons. The fact that a more or less efficient weapon is used to fight a war does not constitute genocide, per se.
    It is not the weapon, but the intent. Churchill’s and Truman’s intent was to end the war, not to exterminate the peoples (which they could have done easily, had they wanted to). In fact, i think that Churchill and Truman are exemplary of how to treat a defeated enemy: instead of annihilating the enemies, they helped Germany and Japan to rebuild themselves and become stronger wealthier than they had been before the war. It may have been the first time in history.
    Furthermore, we know that Werner Heisenberg in Germany and Yoshio Nishina in Japan were working on an atomic bomb: what if they had had the time to complete one? Heisenberg in Germany had failed to correctly calculate the critical mass of uranium required to sustain a chain reaction, but Nishina in Japan had just done that in 1944. It was a matter of time before German and Japanese scientists would find out the right recipe. Thus the first bomb saved a lot of lives, probably millions of lives (not just Japanese lives, but lives of all the nations that were being massacred by the Japanese). Last but not least, the USA dropped 720,000 leaflets on Hiroshima and other cities two days earlier, warning of the impending destruction of the city.
    It is certainly debatable, instead, if the second atomic bomb was necessary. The USA only waited three days to see the effect of the first atomic bomb and of its leaflets. Today sitting in our living rooms we can calmly debate this issue forever. Of course, it was a different kind of decision for the man sitting in the White House in the middle of a world war that had been raging for four years.
  4. I’ve been asked why i blame the USA only for part of the civilian deaths in Vietnam while i blame the Soviet Union for all of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan. The USA “invasion” of Vietnam is not as clearcut as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan:
    1. Even today many in Vietnam think that the aggressor was North Vietnam, not the USA, at least at the beginning, whereas everybody in Afghanistan blames the Soviet Union for that invasion. Nobody welcomed the Soviet Union, whereas about half of Vietnam welcomed the USA.
    2. When the Soviet Union withdrew, almost no Afghani followed them, whereas, when the USA withdrew, about eight million Vietnamese left with them and about three million ran away from Vietnam in the following decades risking their lives (the “boat people”).
    3. There are documented large-scale atrocities by the North Vietnamese against their own population (read the Black Book of Communism) while i haven’t seen evidence of any large-scale atrocity by the Afghani fighters against their own population
    4. The Soviet Union tried to invade the WHOLE of Afghanistan. The USA never tried to invade the northern part of Vietnam: it simply fought the Vietcong that wanted to annex south Vietnam to north Vietnam (if you read the history of the country, north and south Vietnam have fought wars for more than 1,000 years: go to the Timeline of Indochina and look for Annam and Champa. the ancient names of the two kingdoms). When the USA bombed civilians in North Vietnam, then i consider it a war crime.
  5. The most frequently asked questions are always about current unpopular USA presidents: Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II… The moment the USA elects a new president, i start receiving emails asking to add him to the list of “genociders”. The moment the president leaves office the same people forget about him and jump on the next one. Can we consider President Bush a genocider due to all of the civilians killed in Iraq under his watch? I don’t think so, because the vast majority of civilians killed in Iraq were NOT killed by US troops. It is genocide, but the “genociders” are others, and the situation is still too murky to decide who exactly killed those 100,000 civilians. (If Bush is indirectly guilty of it, then certainly Islam is too). The USA bears some clear responsibilities for the chaos, but ineptitude, miscalculation, ignorance, etc do not qualify as genocide. Otheriwse the United Nations and France would be responsible for the genocide in Rwanda (900,000 people). Putin would be a better candidate for “genocider”, since the vast majority of Chechen civilians killed under his watch were killed by Russian troops. However, i have never received a single email nominating Putin…
  6. Specifically about Bush II (the hot topic between 2003 and 2008). I have seen no evidence whatsoever that he or anybody working for him or the British prime minister or the Australian prime minister wanted to kill Iraqi civilians. And even less evidence that Iraqi civilians were killed in any large number by US soldiers. The Iraqi civilians killed by US soldiers are estimated at about 4% of all deaths, which is a little over 5,000. With all due respect for those families, a seven-year war that kills only 5,000 people (less than 1,000 a year) does not register anywhere in the history of the world. All the other civilians were killed by militias, suicide bombers, etc. and almost always in the name of Islam (so it would be more appropriate to vent your anger at that religion than at the USA). In fact, all the documents show that some caution was taken by the US and Britain to avoid mass civilian casualties. Compare with Vietnam, when the US bombed densely populated areas knowing that thousands of civilians would die. In fact, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan might be the first large-scale wars in which the winners went out of their way to avoid mass civilian casualties. Compare with any other war. Future generations (who will face other crises and will be more concerned with their presidents than with Bush II) may see more clearly who is responsible for those killings. Most of them were killed by fellow Iraqis or at least fellow Muslims, not by US soldiers. Once we remove all the personal emotions against this or that politician, it is self-evident who/what killed those Iraqi civilians. If you simply scream hysterically against the president of the USA, you are not helping solve the real problem of those places.

***That said, I here cease to quote Senor Piero Scaruffi .  I leave his thoughts for you to read as he wrote them after his providing us the roll of the innocents, a labor for which, we must, with requisite hesitation, thank him roundly here***

3 thoughts on “Many bells must be rung, in this, our century of rampant, unchecked savagery, for the dead innocents

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Americans are numb from unrelenting exposure to stories of man’s vile wickedness~but even hardened Washington confidence men feel queasy on reading this note about the abuse of charitable giving~

These guys make Wall Street bandits look harmless and morally upright~

One in ten high-earning charities were a victim of fraud in 2011/12

Totals from the latest 10 years of available federal tax filings

Rank Charity name Total raised by solicitors Paid to solicitors % spent on direct cash aid
1 Kids Wish Network $127.8 million $109.8 million 2.5%
2 Cancer Fund of America $98.0 million $80.4 million 0.9%
3 Children’s Wish Foundation International $96.8 million $63.6 million 10.8%
4 American Breast Cancer Foundation $80.8 million $59.8 million 5.3%
5 Firefighters Charitable Foundation $63.8 million $54.7 million 8.4%
6 Breast Cancer Relief Foundation $63.9 million $44.8 million 2.2%
7 International Union of Police Associations, AFL-CIO $57.2 million $41.4 million 0.5%
8 National Veterans Service Fund $70.2 million $36.9 million 7.8%
9 American Association of State Troopers $45.0 million $36.0 million 8.6%
10 Children’s Cancer Fund of America $37.5 million $29.2 million 5.3%
11 Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation $34.7 million $27.6 million 0.6%
12 Youth Development Fund $29.7 million $24.5 million 0.8%
13 Committee For Missing Children $26.9 million $23.8 million 0.8%
14 Association for Firefighters and Paramedics $23.2 million $20.8 million 3.1%
15 Project Cure (Bradenton, FL) $51.5 million $20.4 million 0.0%
16 National Caregiving Foundation $22.3 million $18.1 million 3.5%
17 Operation Lookout National Center for Missing Youth $19.6 million $16.1 million 0.0%
18 United States Deputy Sheriffs’ Association $23.1 million $15.9 million 0.6%
19 Vietnow National Headquarters $18.1 million $15.9 million 2.9%
20 Police Protective Fund $34.9 million $14.8 million 0.8%
21 National Cancer Coalition $41.5 million $14.0 million 1.1%
22 Woman To Woman Breast Cancer Foundation $14.5 million $13.7 million 0.4%
23 American Foundation For Disabled Children $16.4 million $13.4 million 0.8%
24 The Veterans Fund $15.7 million $12.9 million 2.3%
25 Heart Support of America $33.0 million $11.0 million 3.4%
26 Veterans Assistance Foundation $12.2 million $11.0 million 10.5%
27 Children’s Charity Fund $14.3 million $10.5 million 2.3%
28 Wishing Well Foundation USA $12.4 million $9.8 million 4.6%
29 Defeat Diabetes Foundation $13.8 million $8.3 million 0.1%
30 Disabled Police Officers of America Inc. $10.3 million $8.1 million 2.5%
31 National Police Defense Foundation $9.9 million $7.8 million 5.8%
32 American Association of the Deaf & Blind $10.3 million $7.8 million 0.1%
33 Reserve Police Officers Association $8.7 million $7.7 million 1.1%
34 Optimal Medical Foundation $7.9 million $7.6 million 1.0%
35 Disabled Police and Sheriffs Foundation $9.0 million $7.6 million 1.0%
36 Disabled Police Officers Counseling Center $8.2 million $6.9 million 0.1%
37 Children’s Leukemia Research Association $9.8 million $6.8 million 11.1%
38 United Breast Cancer Foundation $11.6 million $6.6 million 6.3%
39 Shiloh International Ministries $8.0 million $6.2 million 1.3%
40 Circle of Friends For American Veterans $7.8 million $5.7 million 6.5%
41 Find the Children $7.6 million $5.0 million 5.7%
42 Survivors and Victims Empowered $7.7 million $4.8 million 0.0%
43 Firefighters Assistance Fund $5.6 million $4.6 million 3.2%
44 Caring for Our Children Foundation $4.7 million $4.1 million 1.6%
45 National Narcotic Officers Associations Coalition $4.8 million $4.0 million 0.0%
46 American Foundation for Children With AIDS $5.2 million $3.0 million 0.0%
47 Our American Veterans $2.6 million $2.3 million 2.3%
48 Roger Wyburn-Mason & Jack M Blount Foundation For Eradication of Rheumatoid Disease $8.4 million $1.8 million 0.0%
49 Firefighters Burn Fund $2.0 million $1.7 million 1.5%
50 Hope Cancer Fund $1.9 million $1.6 million 0.5%

Database and web production: William Higgins | Times
Dave Stanton and Mike Davis | Smart Media Creative

$970.6 MILLION

Worst 50’s record

A more typical split *

  • $970.6 million cash paid to solicitors
  • $380.3 million cash to the charities
  • $49.1 million to direct cash aid

* Watchdog groups say no more than 35 percent of donations should go to fundraising costs. There is no standard for how much should be be spent on direct cash aid.

Last updated 11/15/2013© 2013 All Rights Reserved

America’s Worst Charities is the result of a yearlong collaboration between the Tampa Bay Times and the California-based Center for Investigative Reporting, the nation’s largest and longest serving nonprofit newsroom dedicated to watchdog journalism. CNN joined the partnership in March 2013.

National Veterans Service Fund notes on its website that “war does not end on the battlefield.” Instead, the site goes on to say, American veterans and their families have been left without the help they need to overcome critical health and psychological problems at home.

National Veterans Service Fund says it offers guidance to veterans to help them qualify for aid they otherwise would go without. It also touts the “limited medical assistance” the charity hands out to needy veterans.

Those promises have helped persuade donors contacted over the phone and in mailers to give $70 million over the past decade. The for-profit solicitors paid to raise that money kept more than half. On average, the charity gave assistance it valued at about $500,000 a year to needy vets.

The percent going to professional solicitors has increased over time. In 2011, the charity raised about $9 million and solicitors kept nearly 82 percent of the total.

Philip Kraft, president of National Veterans Service Fund, said his charity buys wheelchairs, provides grocery store gift cards and pays rent for needy veterans. But no details of the grants are reported in any of the charity’s annual IRS filings, which only refer to spending on “veterans assistance and relief.”

The only cash grant mentioned in the charity’s 2011 IRS filing is a $60,000 donation to a children’s birth defect group in Orlando.

Betty Mekdeci, the Florida charity’s president, said the grant was a huge help.

“I’m sure Phil would be happy as a clam if he could put up a website and the money would roll in,”Mekdeci said. “The problem lies with the public. If they would give in the most cost-effective way, these problems wouldn’t exist.”

Kraft, who was paid $118,800 in 2011, defended his use of outside solicitors to raise money for National Veterans Service Fund. “To blame a charity for the price charged by our fundraisers is like blaming a driver for the price of gas,” he said.

Kraft said his charity has one other full-time employee and three part-timers to help veterans across the nation. Despite the millions raised in its name, the charity does not encourage needy veterans to apply for aid on its website. It can’t afford to, Kraft said.

“If we put specific stuff on our website, there’d be a gold rush,” Kraft said. “We’d be out of business in a week.”

Instead, it relies on social workers to suggest worthy recipients and sees itself as helper of last resort, said Kraft, who has headed the group since 1989.

“We have to have someone on their (the veterans’) end to ensure that they have been to all the other resources in their area, with names and reasons for rejection, before we can even think about stepping in to assist,” Kraft said.

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These guys make Wall Street bandits look harmless and morally upright~

Every year, Kids Wish Network raises millions of dollars in donations in the name of dying children and their families. Every year, it squanders almost every penny.

The money gets diverted to enrich the charity’s operators and the for-profit companies Kids Wish hires to drum up donations. Sick children wind up with less than 3 cents of every dollar raised. That has been the formula for 16 years, ever since Kids A COLLABORATION BETWEEN

Center for Investigative reporting

Kid’s Wish mimicked the respected Make-A-Wish Foundation and launched its relentless drive for money. In the past decade alone, Kids Wish has channeled nearly $110 million donated for sick children to its corporate fundraisers. That makes it the worst charity in the nation, according to a Times/CIR review of charities that have steered the most money to professional solicitation companies over time.

In addition to the money paid to for-profit fundraisers, Kids Wish has paid its founder and his own companies at least $4.8 million in salary and fees over the years. While founder Mark Breiner was still president of Kids Wish, earning $130,000 a year, he joined a former employee as a partner in a fundraising company called Dream Giveaway.

In 2008 and 2009, Kids Wish paid Dream Giveaway nearly $1.7 million in consulting fees to run automobile give-aways that raised money for the charity.

Breiner continued making money after he retired from Kids Wish in mid-2010 and left his mother-in-law on the charity board. In 2010 and 2011, the charity paid two of Breiner’s companies $2.1 million for licensing, consulting and brokerage fees.

Kids Wish violated IRS rules by waiting four years to disclose the money it paid Breiner. The charity blamed the delay on a mistake by its accountants.

Breiner declined to answer questions about his fundraising and consulting businesses, which received an additional $1.26 million from Kids Wish for a car giveaway in 2012.

But he said in an email that the charity recently completed an IRS audit that included a review of its contracts with his companies.

“They found no indication of private inurement or conflict of interest with founders or the board,” Breiner said.

The Kids Wish website is full of testimonials from families thankful for their wishes, including magic moments with the likes of President Barack Obama and pop star Rihanna. About 800 children get their wishes granted each year. But the charity spends most of its resources collecting donated items —toys and coloring books — and handing them out across the country.

Kids Wish has hired Melissa Schwartz, a crisis management specialist in New York City who previously worked for the federal government after the 2010 BP oil spill. Schwartz said the charity has hired outside companies to do fundraising so that its staff can focus on wish-granting. According to its 2011 IRS filing, Kids Wish had 51 employees

Schwartz also said all contributions made to the charity through its website go 100 percent to granting wishes.

She declined to answer detailed questions about Kids Wish’s fundraising operations or its payments to its founder, saying the charity “is focused on the future.”

Regarding the Times/CIR ranking of Kids Wish as the nation’s worst charity, Schwartz said, “There are more than 100,000 children and their families in whose lives Kids Wish Network has helped make a positive difference. They would surely refute any negative characterization as to the importance and successes of the charitable efforts of our organization.”

The rich man ought not be taxed~~he ought be compelled to employ the poor man~~

~~The principal need in America today is~~financial and industrial De-Globalization~~to facilitate the promotion of the possibility for the average man to get and keep a good job with good benefits paid by the employer~~as was done not very long ago.~~

~~Bene Nati, Bene Vestiti, Et Mediocriter Docti~~

~~La crema y nata~~

~~Artista de la conquista~~

~~In sunshine and in shadow~~I hold tight to the Republican view of time and money~~I write night and day~~yet~~while impecunious~~I am vastly overpaid~~in that taking pay to do what I love is unfair~~to my employer~~in a fair system~~under such circumstances~~I should pay him~~not he me~~I am far, far too old a man to be sexually confused~~praise Jesus~~but I am yet young enough to be politically confused~~is anyone not~~in an absolute sense~~I am a Catholic Royalist~~in a practical sense~~I am a Classical Liberal~~a Gaullist~~a Bonapartist~~an American Nationalist  Republican~~in either sense~~my head is soon for the chopping block~~to hasten my interlude with Madame La Guillotine~~I write without fear~and without favor of~any man~~

 Non Sibi~~

Finis Origine Pendet~~

 ~~Κύριε ἐλέησον~~

Rejoice and Glad!!

~~The Original Angry Bird~~The Catholic University of America Screaming Red Cardinal Mascot~~

Sunday, 8th Decembre, Anno Domini Nostri Iesu Christi, 2013

Tweets: @jtdbegg

"Jean-Marie Le Pen is a friend. He is dangerous for the political set because he's the only one who's sincere. He says out loud what many people think deep down, and what the politicians refrain from saying because they are either too demagogic or too chicken. Le Pen, with all his faults and qualities, is probably the only one who thinks about the interests of France before his own."~~
French actor~~Alain Delon

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text:
An iPad Workflow for the Classroom Using Google Drive & Pages, Keynote or Numbers

DriveThe Google Drive iPad app is not yet all that we might want it to be, but it is definitely moving in the right direction. A recent update included the ability to create and edit spreadsheets, but it also added something equally useful – the ability to upload files from other apps to Google Drive via the “Open in” function. This creates some useful workflow options for teachers who want to assign, receive and grade student work on the iPad.

Here’s how it could work.

1. Using the Drive app, the student creates a folder for assignments and shares it with the teacher (some kind of default naming strategy would be good here: see The Paperless iPad Classroom with the Google Drive app).

2. The teacher takes all the student folders that are shared with them, and puts them in one class folder (e.g. Math 1st hour) to help stay organized.

3. The student completes the assignment in Pages, Keynote or Numbers and goes to Share and Print > Open in Another App > PDF, and then choose the Google Drive app.

4. The Drive app opens and the student puts the completed assignment in the folder that they shared with the teacher in step 1.

5. When the assignment is due, the teacher uses the Drive app to find  their class folder, and then the student folder to find the assignment they want to grade. They open the assignment, and then open it in Notability.

6. In Notability the teacher makes annotations and grades the assignment, then sends it back to Google Drive, and puts it in the student’s folder complete with annotations, comments and so forth.

7. The student accesses the shared folder to see their grade.

Easy, right? 🙂 It’s really not as complex as it might sound. The teacher could even go one step further and have an Assignments folder in Google Drive that they share with their students. They could upload digital copies of the assignments to this folder, and make it read only (so students cannot add to or delete). Then they could just tell the students that the latest assignment was in the folder.

How could teacher quickly collect all the Google accounts of the students in their class? Make a Google form with “Name” and “Google Account email address”, and get students to fill it in on the first day of class. The results all go to a spreadsheet, so the teacher can copy and paste the email addresses into the folder permissions on Google, and/or create a contact group for that class. Better still, use the gClass Folders script on a desktop machine to create all the folders for you!

For more info on a Google Drive iPad Workflow, see The Paperless iPad Classroom with the Google Drive app which goes into the concept in more detail and offers more options.

84 thoughts on “An iPad Workflow for the Classroom Using Google Drive & Pages, Keynote or Numbers”

  1. I already do most of what you are suggesting using just google drive. I share documents back and forth with my students and they in turn share documents with me. They also keep track of their grades in a google spreadsheet. I works great.

    1. Google is a great tool for collaborating and using for an assignment workflow, but it has never been great on the iPad. The recent update to the Google Drive helped with that. I’m glad it works well for you.

      1. I’m pretty sure you’d still need parental consent to create an account for any child under 13. Google Apps agreements can’t circumvent federal regulations. You can however add a clause in your Responsible Use Policy that gives the school permission to create the account and have it signed by parents.

        The other limitation of Google Drive is that you’re limited to apps that have the Open In .. Google Drive feature. For example, images, screencasts, movies, eBooks etc cannot be moved to Google Drive. Another option to consider is a service that will accept submissions via email (such as Evernote or even Dropbox via SendToDropbox) as that’s available in just about every app.

      2. Hi Sam,

        Thanks for commenting. Many schools today have a free Google Apps for Education domain. This allows them to create private Google accounts that are not subject to the same terms and conditions as a public Gmail account, because Google does not collect personal information about the users. The school can choose which Google services it wants to give students access to. There is, therefore, no age restriction on students that have a Google Apps for Education account. You can find out more about this here:

        As for Google Drive, it is more flexible than you might think. Images can be uploaded to Drive via the iOS Drive app, or even through Safari. Screencasts can be uploaded to Drive if they are first saved to the Camera Roll. So, if you made a screencast in Doceri or ExplainEverything you could have that uploaded to Drive in the same way that you upload images. (Actually, Doceri and ExplainEverything support Drive, so you don’t even need to send it to the Camera Roll first). Movies are the same. If you have an iMovie project, save it to the Camera Roll, then upload it via the iOS Drive app. eBooks are more of an issue right now, but it depends on the app.

        Email is an option, like you said, but you will know that can get complicated as email is often a 13+ deal for students, (although this does not necessarily apply for Google Aopps for Education students). Some schools set up a generic school email account on the device so that they can get around that, and could set it up so that it only sends, not receives, to protect students further. Email works well, but the complaint I get from teachers is that their inboxes go from 10 to 40 in the blink of an eye as they suddenly have a whole class or more sending them assignments. It’s a this point I usually talk to them about email filters, or the newly free Showbie.

      3. Thanks for the information about opening from within the Google Drive app. Very helpful.

        There’s still significant debate about Google Apps compliance with FERPA and privacy regulations for children under 13. See this article in the WSJ published just yesterday…
        Granted it comes from a competitor of Google (Microsoft) but it’s enough to give me some reason to play it safe and get parental permission. We underestimate the extent to which our online activities leave us exposed … and sadly we live in an extremely litigious society.

      4. I take your concerns on board for sure. Different states are going to have different ideas about this, and parental permission is never a bad idea, but a Google Apps domain is different from a normal Google account in terms of privacy and control. I think a lot of states are recognizing this. Iowa, for instance, has an agreement with Google to provide its cloud suite of apps to its schools, so you have a lot of Google Apps schools here. I believe Oregon also has this agreement, as does Maryland, Colorado, Utah and probably more, (I don’t have the full list).

        As in the Google Apps for Education Agreement “Google will be considered a “School Official” (as that term is used in FERPA and its implementing regulations) and will comply with FERPA.” The school district, again according to the agreement, has to make all reasonable efforts to ensure that all Google Apps users (staff and students) are made aware of the district’s acceptable use guidelines.

        Today we need to be more careful than ever with students online, but the trend of moving to the cloud is a growing trend, (in education and in business) so as educators we need to make sure we act pro-actively and responsibly to take the best measures we can to protect our students.

  2. I find using Edmodo to be simpler for a couple of big reasons. First, the students themselves populate your class list; there’s no need to collect emails from them. Second, and this is big, there’s no need for folders or even Google Drive for that matter. I simply click on the name of the assignment and get a list of my kids and whether they’ve turned them in. I then click Turned In after each name and their Google Doc opens up for me to grade and comment on. Fast and simple!

    1. Edmodo is great for desktop users, but can still be a little clunky on the iPad. For instance, you cannot upload assignments to Edmodo from an iPad…unless they are images. I hope they work to improve on it further so that Edmodo can be a truly cross platform solution.

  3. Thank you for sharing on this topic. I work as a Technology Integration Specialist in a district that has done a 1:1 iPad rollout in all of the high schools and middle schools and workflow has been one of the biggest frustrations for the teachers and students. I also discovered this new feature with the Google Drive app and think it has the potential to be a terrific free workflow option. There is a strange glitch in the use of Edmodo and submitting through Google Drive account that I believe is happening on Edmodo’s end; however, if they get that fixed it will take the need for teachers to set up shared folders and will really streamline the workflow on iPads issue all without any further cost to school districts.

      1. Thanks for the feedback. In my previous district I actually used Schoology with the Kindergarten teachers to set up a collaborative learning space. I actually liked it better than Edmodo. My current district has adopted Edmodo as the general LMS for the entire district, but if Schoology works better with the iPad it might be worth checking it out. Do you use the Schoology app or do you go through Safari?

      2. The Schoology iPad app is much better than the Edmodo iPad app, in my opinion, (which is basically the same as using Edmodo in Safari). The teachers I know who use Schoology with iPads use the iOS app because students can create something in an app like Pages or Keynote, then send it to the Schoology app via Open in… and put it in an assignment dropbox that is created by the teacher. It is pretty slick.

      3. We have a BYOD programme at our international school, which in practice means a mixture of lap tops & iPads. Found Edmodo works fine as an LMS solution for an online library for teachers & students as well as quizzes (looked at Schoology – looks great too with more functionality, though with a cost). Looking forward to if/when Google drive on the iPad allows images in documents & creation/editing of presentations as this is the main limitation for these tablets at the moment.

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text:
WWW Wednesday – JANUARY 30, 2019

Dear book-lovers,
Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme is hosted by Taking on a World of Words. The idea of this meme is to answer three W questions, which are: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next?

Last night I started Circe by Madeline Miller. It’s an adult historical fantasy and retelling of a story from Greek mythology. I’m on page 79 and not actually sure what to say about it. It’s intriguing because I love to read about mythology, gods and goddesses, however, I don’t have any strong feelings about this book at the moment. I guess, I just feel disconnected from the story and characters, but there is still time and potential for it all to change. Let’s see how I’ll feel tomorrow, as I have to finish it by then because I have to return it to the library.

circe In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe has neither the look nor the voice of divinity, and is scorned and rejected by her kin. Increasingly isolated, she turns to mortals for companionship, leading her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft.

When love drives Circe to cast a dark spell, wrathful Zeus banishes her to the remote island of Aiaia. There she learns to harness her occult craft, drawing strength from nature. But she will not always be alone; many are destined to pass through Circe’s place of exile, entwining their fates with hers. The messenger god, Hermes. The craftsman, Daedalus. A ship bearing a golden fleece. And wily Odysseus, on his epic voyage home.

There is danger for a solitary woman in this world, and Circe’s independence draws the wrath of men and gods alike. To protect what she holds dear, Circe must decide whether she belongs with the deities she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love. add to goodreads

During last couple of days I have read two ARCs and both of them had their publication day yesterday, 29th of January, 2019. I very much enjoyed both of them, even thou they were very different from each other. As one was a YA fantasy romance but the other an adult contemporary romance.

Dream Keeper (The Dark Dreamer Trilogy #1) by Amber R. Duell is an amazing, imaginative and dark YA fantasy with dreams, nightmares, death, pain and sweet romance. I gave it 4.5 stars.

dream keeperThe Sandman is seventeen-year-old Nora’s closest friend and best-kept secret. He has to be, if she doesn’t want a one-way ticket back to the psychiatrist. It took her too long to learn not to mention the hooded figure in her dreams to her mother, who still watches Nora as if she’ll crack. So when Nora’s friends start mysteriously dying gruesome deaths in their sleep, she isn’t altogether surprised when the police direct their suspicion at her. The Sandman is the only one she can turn to for answers. But the truth might be more than she bargained for…

For the last five years, the Sandman has spent every night protecting Nora. When he hid the secret to the Nightmare Lord’s escape inside her dreams, he never expected to fall in love with her. Neither did he think his nemesis would find her so quickly, but there’s no mistaking his cruel handiwork. The Nightmare Lord is tired of playing by the rules and will do anything to release his deadly nightmares into the world, even if that means tormenting Nora until she breaks.

When the Nightmare Lord kidnaps Nora’s sister, Nora must enter enemy territory to save her. The Sandman is determined to help, but if Nora isn’t careful, she could lose even more than her family to the darkness.

(Please note: This story contains vivid death scenes.) add to goodreads

Check out one of the coolest book trailers out there >>> Official Book Trailer: DREAM KEEPER by AMBER R. DUELLdream keeper video

Build: A Bad Boy Snowed In Romance (Burns Brothers #1) by Gillian Archer is a sexy and entertaining contemporary romance with sizzling chemistry, a bit of angst and strong-headed characters. I gave it 4 stars.

buildWelcome to Bad@ss Builds where the motorcycles are as sexy as the brothers building them.

Austin Burns:

I thought she wasn’t real the first time I saw her. To be fair I was a hungover mess when I woke up and looked into her gorgeous eyes. After getting the second worst news of my life — that my father would be paroled soon — I’d escaped to my buddy’s posh cabin near Lake Tahoe. Now the maid with the gorgeous eyes is snowed in with me, and I wonder if she might be a better distraction than the mountain of booze I’d planned on drinking. She’s curvy in all the right places, and the snow is falling faster.

Rachel Tannenbaum:

As a single mom, I don’t have time for men, especially irresponsible tattooed bad boys like my ex. But Austin is hot. And sexy. And stuck here in the cabin with me. I can’t say no to a fling with this bad boy, especially since Austin is so gorgeous and awkwardly sweet.

One night becomes two, and I don’t know if I can risk my heart — and my little boy’s — if Austin wants it to become more when we get through the snow and back to reality.

add to goodreads

If you want to see a bit more from Build, then check out my post for an excerpt > BOOK BLITZ: Build by Gillian Archer (EXCERPT + GIVEAWAY)build quote 1

I’m a mood reader, so I never really know what I’ll be reading next. However, as I have a few ARCs that will be published soon then I won’t have much choice in what to read next because if I receive an ARC before publication date, then I do my best to read it by that date. So this week I’ll be reading For Emery by J. Nathan and maybe Resurgent by Brynley Blake. I also have a couple of library books due very soon, so maybe I’ll get to one of them as wellPeople Like Us by Dana Mele or The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan.

Tell me in comments – What books have you recently read, are currently reading or plan to read next? You can also share your WWW post link here in comments 😉

Happy reading,
Lady of Bookland

000 lady of bookland

22 thoughts on “WWW Wednesday – JANUARY 30, 2019

  1. Circe was one of my top books from 2018 – I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! I am also such a mood reader so I understand your difficulties in predicting what you will read next. At least the ARCs form a skeleton of organization right? Thanks for popping by my site!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I’m totally lateto the party but how are you going with Circe/what did you think if you’ve finished it? I think you’re the first person I’ve come across who didn’t outright love it!

    1. Sadly, I was disappointed, and didn’t love it. I liked the story, but I wanted something more. For it to be more magical or intriguing or exciting or adventurous. I felt bored for most of the book. For me it was lacking some emotional depth maybe, due to it I couldn’t connect with Circe.

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text:
How Babies Are Made (And Internet Pornography Avoided): A Guide To Launching Our Six-Year-Old’s Internet Presence

This morning P woke me by snuggling into my bed and asking how babies are made. “I don’t understand how the father helps,” he said. “Does he just sit there and watch?”

I thought it wouldn’t be too out of character if I chose this moment to bury myself under my pillow, but as usual that solution was short-lived and soon I was wiping the bleary gunk from my eyes and trying to answer his question as per my usual protocol – be calm, be scientific, use google.

About five seconds after I typed the word “vagina” into an image search it occurred to me that this wasn’t the ideal situation for my usual protocol. Pretty lucky, then, that just last Friday I decided P had reached that stage of digital independence where I really needed to put a few checks in place to protect him even if I wasn’t hanging directly over his shoulder. Or, as it turns out, if he’s actually hanging directly over mine but I’m not yet awake enough to google responsibly.

This Could Happen To You

No, actually, it might just be me. But in any case, I’m going to pass on our current techniques for maintaining internet safety as our children reach the next stage of digital awareness – covering general device settings, our arrangements for gmail, Skype, twitter, wordpress and youtube, and resources for teaching about online safety and etiquette.

And I’d be keen to hear if you think there’s something we’ve missed, or that you do differently, because clearly I need to do that tomorrow, before the followup round of questions begins.

What we did when our six year old started using the internet more independently.

Here’s our general checklist for what we do and don’t want our six year old to be doing online:

  • We don’t want him using the device to reveal his location. Location services are off.
  • We don’t want him purchasing apps or making in-app purchases.
  • We don’t want him posting content on the internet, using email, skyping people or otherwise interacting online (especially with strangers) without our knowledge or consent. Hat tip to Sarah Day for reminding me to expand this to gathering followers he doesn’t know through social media.
  • We do want him to access useful, G-rated content via a web browser, with some (nearby) supervision.
  • We do want him to email, Skype and post content with our consent and supervision, if he feels so inclined.

How we set up our devices now our eldest can read and type

Before P learnt how to read, type and ask detailed questions about how babies are made, life was very simple. We put a password lock on our devices and nobody could even start to use any of them without direct supervision; also, most of the questions were about fish or volcanoes.

Now P’s grown out of that we’ve transferred all his activities (except CIV IV) onto the iPad Mini he won in an art competition (I know – I was thinking a set of paintbrushes or something) and set the ratings to G. It’s not 100% reliable, but I can tell you the first page of image search results for “vagina” is safer than it otherwise would be*.

How we configured the iPad Mini for our children’s use:

You can follow this tutorial with screen shots.

I also found a similar article on android devices.

Because this device is just for the kids which would never have happened in the real world where we have to buy and therefore share things, I didn’t switch off the ability to delete apps (let ’em learn the hard way). On my phone delete apps is most certainly switched off, so I always know my apps are there somewhere even if a few have gone missing in some weird places never to be seen again.

Edit: Jenny of From Here To There With Kids has also written her tips on organising and child-proofing your iPad for a plane trip.

How we set up P’s gmail account

The kids have gmail accounts, to which we hold the password. We had to lie to google about their ages, but we are ok with that, under the circumstances. P has only just started using his and in fact seems to like the idea of it more than the actual use of it.

He can’t log in without direct supervision and his address book consists entirely of members of his extended family. If anyone changes the password, google will notify us by SMS.

How to set up gmail so you’ll be notified if anyone changes the password:

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Go to Accounts and Import
  3. Go to Security
  4. Go to Recovery And Alerts and enter your mobile number to get SMS alerts
  5. Go to Account History. We have enabled search history, for what that’s worth.
  6. Bonus action: scroll down to Related Settings and click on Search Settings.
  7. Tick Filter Explicit Results and click Save.

How we set up P’s Skype account

P decided he wanted a Skype account of his own, so I set one up on his behalf. Again, we hold the password and the power to approve, ignore and remove any contacts (let that be a warning to you, Pa). We have not uploaded an identifying photo.

P mainly uses his Skype account to give me wake up calls from the safe distance of the living room, on the days he doesn’t have questions about sex.

How we set up P’s twitter account

P doesn’t really have his own twitter account, which is a current point of contention. Instead, I logged in to my account and added the tweeps (do we still say “tweeps”?) he wants to follow to a list called “P’s Twitter Sub-Account” which you can look at, especially if you’re into all things space. Then to make it easy for him to find his feeds, I downloaded the Hootsuite App onto his iPad Mini.

How to give your child one-tap access to a twitter list set up under your account:

  1. Download the Hootsuite app (or similar)
  2. For Hootsuite: tap on Home
  3. Tap on Edit
  4. Tap on Add Stream
  5. Tap on List
  6. Select your account and tap on the list you want to add, then save the results
  7. Remove all other streams
  8. Tap on Done

P uses this as his “news feed”. He understands (because we’ve drilled this) that it is still my account and any activity on that account will fall under my name and I will know and I might be upset if he does something in my name that I don’t particularly want to do. Occasionally we let him tweet drawings of space stuff to NASA or words of encouragement to the Mars Curiosity Rover. He needs to obtain direct permission for each separate tweet.

How we set up P’s blog

Because of course he needed a blog next. When he requested a blog of his own, I registered him for a username.

  1. Log out of your account and sign up as a new user
  2. Look for the button in the bottom right that says Sign Up For A Username Without Creating A Blog

You’ll need an email unique to the username. P is now known on wordpress as marstransformer, a nickname we negotiated with him after explaining the first thing about internet privacy.

Now you’re ready to set up the blog. Here’s what I did:

  1. I logged out of P’s account
  2. I logged back in to my own account
  3. I created a new blog under my own account. I set the blog to not show up in the reader or via search engines but I might change that to private.
  4. I invited P – aka marstransformer – to be a contributor to this new blog. (WordPress provides a tutorial on adding new users.) As a contributor, P can create posts and submit them for my approval. He needs to ask me verbally to review the content and only I can hit publish. Likewise, any pictures must be uploaded by me.
  5. I downloaded the app onto the iPad Mini and logged him in.

So far he hasn’t written a full post – not even the classic hi-there-I-am-new-to-blogging-and-don’t-know-what-to-write first post, followed inevitably by the I-can’t-believe-it’s-been-three-months-since-I-first-posted next post.

How we set up P’s Youtube account

Since he has gmail, P also has his own youtube account.

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Set Safety Mode to On
  3. Go to Privacy
  4. Tick everything as private, and allow only contacts to send messages and share videos

Hat tip to Jen of ExpatLingo for reminding me about youtube.

All That Lies Beyond (Other Resources)

P has not yet requested to join any other online social networks, thank goodness – although with some of his school friends on Facebook, that can’t be light years away. Any parental advice you have handy, chuck it here.

I’m also looking into monitors which track and control his use more generally while he gets his digital wings – so now is an excellent time to make recommendations of monitoring software based on your experience.

In the meantime, we are reading Online Etiquette And Safety by Phyllis Cornwall, and we’ve got him to play through the PBS Kids Webonauts Internet Academy game, which is exactly right for his age level. To play the game, kids need to be able to read a bit and use a mouse. The game is a space-themed cartoon game and P found it quite fun (he wants to play again). Æ sat next to him reinforcing the messages by saying things like, “Oh! It was a good idea to refuse to give that stranger your password!” and so on.

Update: Leila has also dug up this free-to-download picture book on internet safety aimed at preschoolers [pdf].

I’ve also borrowed Reproduction And Genetics by Richard Spilsbury from the library. It doesn’t mention sex at all but instead focusses on the far more fascinating molecular nature of conception, which should keep me in safely-googlable questions for some time to come.

Roundup of requests from this post:

Do you know of any good online child-proofing tutorials for other devices, in case anyone needs them? What are your feelings on kids and online social networks? Do you have experience with computer monitoring programs? How old do you think P’s going to be before he actually posts to his new blog? Anything we didn’t think of?

*Yes, of course I googled “vagina” on my own, unrestricted computer later to check the difference in results.

This post was featured on Blogher as part of the topic “Blogging and Social Media”.


text:
Sweet Simplicity:)

As I cleaned, packed, and unpacked yesterday, I thought of how much stuff I have. Ten years ago, I made an important step in the right direction. It was freeing to leave my stuff behind, but I wouldn’t have if given a choice. I have accumulated more stuff in the past decade, but I find it much easier to let go now. I have learned not to attach to stuff, and that’s a beautifully freeing feeling.

Stuff complicates and gets in the way of simplicity.  I plan to make sure that I don’t get buried by the desire to hang on to anything other than God’s love. Now is the perfect time to pass along those things I don’t need and find new uses for what I do have. There’s a sweetness to simplicity that I crave more and more.

At the heart of simplicity is knowing what’s important and letting go of all that isn’t. It has taken a long time for me to come to that place of understanding, but I suppose it’s all part of growing up. Christ knew what was important and lived a simple life, and so did John the Baptist. God’s message was, and always will be, a simple one that appeals to simple folks.

My lifestyle will change dramatically in the coming months, and I’m looking forward to the lessons and the love that God has in store. I pray I will remember that simplicity makes life much sweeter and allows God the space He needs. I’m finding that I literally have to stop what I’m doing and look at the view from time to time. As the sun set yesterday, I realized that I didn’t need to worry about hanging my pictures on the wall. God already painted an amazing landscape that changes by the second. I also don’t think I’ll worry about cable or internet service for a while:)

Psalm 116:6 says, “The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.” and Psalm 119:130 says, “The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.”

As I humbly look to God’s words for light and understanding, I will be brought low. It is a good low that puts me in the perfect position to learn  from and love Him. We are all “the simple;” we just don’t all know it. I’m learning that simple is a good thing, and simplicity is very sweet:)

Power Pointing:)

John 1:1-5 amazes me as I think of God’s Word becoming flesh. Jesus took God’s Word and fulfilled it in a way that changed everything. Hear the amazing scripture:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” NASB

Powerful words indeed! The whole of my salvation rests in the first verse, and the last verse describes Christ perfectly. I’m humbled by the notion that darkness didn’t and still doesn’t comprehend the Light. I find myself stumbling in the dark holding on to my little match when there is a flood light at my disposal.

Why God puts up with me is the first question I plan to ask Him. I already know the answer because Jesus made it crystal clear. He loves me, and that love brings life where there is death, love where there is hatred, light where there is darkness, and hope where there is hopelessness. God does not force His Light or Love upon me. He doesn’t put me in a chair, aim a blinding light at my face, and interrogate me to the breaking point. He simply shines and invites me to come.

Christ is the Light, the Life, the Way, the Truth, the Love, and God’s Word made flesh. He gives me the choice of accepting or rejecting Him. I often try to do things on my own, and that little match of mine burns the dickens out of my fingers! I’m learning to let go of my match and point to His Light. It’s better to bask in His love than worry about burned fingers. I don’t have to provide the light or be the light, I just have to turn toward it, reflect it, and help others do the same.

Once I bask in His sweet Light, nothing else will satisfy my heart or soul. The Light creates a desire to tell others about Him.  Verses 6-8 go on to say:

“There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.” NASB

John the Baptist knew who he was and who he wasn’t. He didn’t try to be the Light, he simply and powerfully pointed to the light. Witnessing is about knowing who I am and who I am not. A good witness points in a way that causes others to find His life-giving light. It’s what true love is all about, and John loved Jesus. His testimony is still bringing folks to His Light.

I cannot be the Light, but I can tell others how much I love Him and live a life that reflects His Light. It’s not only polite to point in Christ’s direction, it’s exactly what God has in mind for His witnesses. There’s power in pointing if I make sure it’s Him and not me getting the attention:)

Moving On:)

With all the moving preparations, I find myself between two homes. Both are bare and crying out for those things which make a house a home. The new house feels like home and is a beautifully blank canvas. I noticed a few sweet, pink strokes in the hallway downstairs yesterday, and they reminded me of my new little housemates. I smiled as I thought of Lillyann and Mylah running and squealing through the house.

The girls love the house and so do I. It’s filled with light, and I wonder each time I’m there which light I’ve left on. The skylights and windows bring in so much natural sunlight that you don’t need anything else on a sunny day.  The girls will take care of the sunshine on cloudy days:) They are, without a doubt, the best part of my new home.

Since I left my husband a decade ago, I’ve lived alone. The solitude provided a safe place and the necessary space for me to grow. I’m ready to live in the sweet community God has so graciously placed in my life. I’m sure there will be challenges for all of us, but I’m also sure that love will add to the glow that God has already provided in the beautiful home.

Being between the two homes is a little unnerving, and I find myself waking with thoughts of how, when, what, and where. I settle back down when I remember that the most important feature that makes this beautiful house a sweet home is who. I know who is going to be there, and that is all that matters.

The girls are coming over today while mommy and daddy move boxes and clean the carpet. I know they are wondering about the changes taking place at their house and at Gigi’s, so I decided to fill the empty spaces in my apartment with their toys. I’m sure they will like the new decor:)

Transitions are part of the transformation God has in mind, and I know He has wonderful plans when it comes to lessons in love. Love is about living together, and I’m ready to move on and love as God desires. We are designed for community, and I’m excited about the company I’ll be keeping because nobody teaches lessons in love more effectively than children. God knows that better than anyone. He knew a baby would satisfy the world’s longing to be loved.

Preparing for God’s Presence

The path which leads me through this world is a very tiny part of my journey, but it is a very important part that prepares me for God’s presence. This leg of my journey is about learning to love, and the lessons learned allow me to begin walking in His kingdom now.

The lessons in love this week have reminded me of the simple truth that God is love, and he who doesn’t love doesn’t know God. Sobering lessons indeed. Love isn’t complicated and is described beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” NASB

Love never fails, but people often do because we are imperfect. Attempts at love keep us humble in that regard:) God knows the struggles we face when it comes to love, and He hears my heart as I struggle. I take love and make it what I want it to be, and that is as silly as taking God and making Him what I want Him to be. I’m guilty of that too.

God is patient and rejoices with the truth. He never fails and neither does true love. As God reveals Himself to me, I see love in a new light. Christ’s precious love is the life and the light behind love beautifully expressed. He is the heart of God’s Word and stands as the ultimate example when it comes to love.

When I drift off course, I turn to God’s Word. He shares His journey with me and invites me to come along and abide in Him. When I accept His invitation, He abides in me. That abiding becomes the most beautiful connection possible on this side of heaven, and I can have it with Him and those with whom I share His love.

The world tempts and tries to fill me with a variety of cheap imitations, but once I taste love in God’s light, my heart will not settle for anything less. My journey here presents a perfect path to prepare my heart for love. My path has been a convoluted one which has left me reeling at times, but it has led to a greater understanding of just who God is and who He wants me to be.

As a minister once told me, all we can do is nudge a little closer to God and help others do the same. Wise words that aptly describe this path which prepares us for God’s presence:)

God Is Love

1 John 4:7-16 is a favorite scripture because it gets to the heart of love. It is easy to say God is love, but do I hear the sobering words of verse eight. If I don’t love, I don’t know God. Plain and simply stated, that verse calls for a life of love.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.  By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.  We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.  We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” NASB

Christ gives access to love. If I decide to abide in love, God will abide in me and I in Him. That’s the miracle of Christmas. I’m afraid love is often lost in the lust that surrounds the season meant to celebrate true love.

There are close to five hundred references to love in the Bible, and that didn’t surprise me at all. God is love, and His Word is a beautiful love letter that I read over and over again. Each time I read it, it thrills and fills like a warm spring rain in a cold, barren desert.

The world wrings me out and sometimes hangs me out to dry, but God is faithful to fill and refill. In fact, I am learning that love is about being filled and emptied and refilled. It isn’t riding a crazy roller coaster or a sitting on the mountaintop alone with God. It is about getting into the world, seeking the truth, and connecting to God in others. God is love and exists in all who love Him.

I have friends with whom I have the sweet connection of Christ’s love. It is the most precious thing in this world, and I thank God for allowing me to share my journey with those who share a love for Him. Henri Nouwen says that God will connect to God. Christ’s love connects me to Him and those in my path.

Sharing God’s Word and love is what I am here to do. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I hope to do just that. Christ came to give access to God’s love, and that is the miracle of Christmas. I pray that 2013 is a year filled to the brim with God’s love. May we share our journeys with one another in a way that allows the honesty to love through laughter and tears. Tears and laughter are only for a short season, but love is forever.

God’s Light

Luke 1:78-79 beautifully describes God’s light. Christ does “guide our feet into the way of peace” and bring us from darkness into God’s light. I thought of the sweet verse last night during the candlelight service.

“By the tender mercy of our God,
   the dawn from on high will break upon us,
 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
   to guide our feet into the way of peace.” NRSV

The lights dimmed as we sang Silent Night, and soft candlelight filled the sanctuary. The glow from our candles reflected God’s love in our hearts as His Spirit joined them to Him and to one another. It is what Christmas is all about. God with us. Immanuel. He was in our midst, and the silence was broken by a prayer and then the singing of Joy to the World.

We held our candles high and proclaimed the joy in our hearts. Darkness was dispelled! Again last night, I had the dreamy feeling of light heartedness. I could get used to that feeling and the sweet peace-filled sleep that came with it. I slept better than a kid last night because Christmas Eve is one night children don’t usually sleep well:) I slept more like a teenager on Christmas break!!

I thank Christ for guiding my feet in the way of peace and making God’s light available to me. Christmas is a time to celebrate His light and remember His path leads to peace. May the words of Luke 1:78-79 bring light and peace into the world.

Merry Christmas:)

Light Hearted

My heart is light, and that’s a new sensation for me. I am learning and growing in ways I never could have imagined on my own. God placed John 3:21 in my path last night, and it blessed beautifully.

“But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” NASB

The beautiful verses before this one command a great deal of attention, and I love them dearly; but this one set my heart free. I know I’ve read it many times, but as I read it last night, it seemed I’d never heard it before. God’s Word is alive and often catches me off guard. It never ceases to amaze me, and I love that about it.

Truth is the heart of love. I was brutally honest with God last night, and He placed the comforting words before me. Truth brings me to the Light where I can be His vessel. Peace came as my soul settled and left me in a sweet puddle at His feet. He lets me cry out, and when I do, I always find myself empty and ready to be filled.

I slept like a baby for over ten hours after a cup of warm camomile tea and a hot shower. Truth brings out my deepest feelings, and that includes my deepest fears. God catches each tear, feels each fear, and calms my heart and soul with His presence. The service yesterday morning and an afternoon of Christmas baking was very therapeutic:) Preparations for the sweet gathering with family on Christmas and thoughts of time with Mylah and Lillyann today lulled me to sleep. I could feel mama’s presence as I settled into bed, and my heart breathed a sweet sigh of healing release.

Being light headed is not a good thing, but being light hearted is a wonderful feeling. It’s like floating. I had to smile as I drifted off to sleep because I knew I was experiencing true self-differentiation. I wasn’t fused or confused any more. Tethers were gone. The truth set me free, and it was the most exquisite feeling I’ve ever felt. I want more of it, and I know the way to get it is to practice the truth, come to the Light, and let God manifest His deeds through me. Amazing:)

Expect the Unexpected

With God, I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. He always surprises me and then helps me see that His plan makes perfect sense.  I’ve learned to love and accept His lessons as beautiful gifts.  I’ve also come to love His methods.

God uses the unlikely to accomplish His will because the likely would want the credit. It is only when I learn that I can do nothing without God that He can begin to work through me. I am more surprised than anyone when God allows me to be a vessel for Him.

The prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi best describes the plea of those unlikely souls who seek to do God’s will in unexpected ways.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.The beautiful prayer turns me around and the world upside down. If I live this prayer, I can expect to find the unexpected lessons God has for me. Jesus lived the words Saint Francis penned, and I pray we will all seek to do the same.

God uses the unlikely in unexpected ways. He is full of surprises and the Master Teacher. There is never a dull moment with God because I can always expect the unexpected. That’s what makes learning, living, and loving in His kingdom fill me with wonder. Like a child, I am constantly awed by all God has done, is doing, and will continue to do.

I used to be a planner and liked having everything laid out before me. God knows, and has shown me, that lifestyle won’t work in His kingdom. Faith is about trusting when I don’t understand. Believing when I can’t see, and knowing God loves me no matter what. That requires letting go of the need to know and letting God have a clear, clean vessel with which to work.

It’s taken a long time for me to let go and trust God completely, but I’m learning to love the way He surprises me with beautiful lessons that catch me off guard and make me shake my head and ask, “How did You do that?” The answer is always the same, “I am God; I love you, and I know what I’m doing:)”

The Gift of Love

John 10:27-29 are the most comforting words in the Bible to me.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;  and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”  NASB

Along with the comfort comes a sobering  reminder that I must follow when I hear Christ. It is, and always will be, true that no one can snatch me from His hand; but it is also true that I can hop out anytime I want. He will let me wander for however long it takes to create my own kingdoms, make my own mountains, and plan my own projects.

Christ doesn’t close his hand around me because it would become a fist. His open palm allows me to be who I am. God is the ultimate example self-differentiation, and His love only exists in an open, honest environment. He doesn’t force or coerce, and He refuses to fuse. I must do the same if I am to love Him and others as He desires.

When my kingdoms crash, my mountains topple, and my projects fail, I crawl back into God’s loving hand. He doesn’t gloat or fuss or say, “I told you so.” He loves. His love never changes or moves, and it is best described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffereddoes not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” NASB

This is a season of love, and as we light the Advent candle of love tomorrow, I pray our hearts will remember the love that brought Christ down to where we are. There is nothing that compares to it. May we trust His love and love Him and others as He loves us. That means letting go, being who we truly are, and allowing others to be the same:)

God created His kingdom with love, and this is a season designed to celebrate His love. His love is the greatest gift ever given, and it becomes the greatest gift we can give to one another. Let love lead the way this Christmas when it comes to giving because it is what we all need and want.

Cry Out to God

I have alluded to the service for Andy several times in my posts this week, so Pastor John graciously agreed to share his notes so I could pass along the healing words that helped me so very much as I searched for answers this week. For those of you also seeking to understand why, I pray you find comfort in these words. This brief post is but a very small shadow of the powerful service. I wish you could hear the message of truth and forgiveness spoken with love from the heart of Andy’s and my dear friend.

December 18, 2012

John Alden Tagliarini

(Taken from the service for Andrew Ivor “Andy” Parris)

“Why?” Moses asked, “O Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt?” (Exodus 32:11 NASB)

The psalmist asked, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1 NASB)

We have to ask, “Why God?”

We have to ask, “Why, Andy, did you take your own life?”

And, we have to admit to no satisfying answers.

In fact, the only answer I can find here is to encourage you – in whatever trials you are going through – I encourage you to know that suicide is not the answer. Call someone, call out to God!

We usually acknowledge our lack of vocabulary as we try to address circumstances such as these. Then, without sufficient words, we continue speaking as if the sound of our voices might somehow sooth our souls and prompt some insight regarding the meaning of it all. My sense is that God is grieving with us. His anger is kindled over the evil results of our deeds.

God gives life. God desires that we enjoy abundant life. Yet, God also gives free will. The consequences of our choices sometimes leave scars. Jesus bears just such scars. His hands, His feet, His side, His brow show the results of evil running its course. Yet, God forgave, and He forgives! This is the only grace I can offer this afternoon, God’s love.

Someday, God will bring into His world the fulness of abundant life which He began in Christ Jesus. Until that day, let us find ways to affirm life, to accept others, to listen deeply and to stand firm against all that destroys the life God intended. Let us trust God to heal our hurt, to love and to forgive.

Speaking as we have of love and life and suffering and pain, God reminded me of the picture painted by the prophet Isaiah of the suffering of our Lord. Though stark, Isaiah’s words are laced with hope. It is the hope that God heals us through the suffering of our redeemer. It is the hope that Jesus bears our sins away.

Let us hear the word of the Lord.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
 And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
 He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
 But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
 Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
 So He did not open His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:4-7 NASB)

As a result of the anguish of His soul,
 He will see it and be satisfied;
 By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
 As He will bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:11 NASB)

In Christ Jesus, God bears our sins away and offers forgiveness and love and comfort.

With the psalmist, we ask, “Why?” The psalmist answered his own question with honest trust in his God. He said, “O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest. Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them. To You they cried out and were delivered; In You they trusted and were not disappointed” (Psalm 22:2-5 NASB)

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7 NASB)

Whenever God’s people are hurting or are in trouble, they call out to Him for deliverance. The people of Israel experienced times when it felt as though all the blessings of God, all the good work of growth in the Promised Land after Exodus from Egypt was wasted, and that God had rejected them. Yet, the people called upon God. They prayed that God would shine His face upon them in renewed blessings.

Hear some verses from just such a psalm of petition.

Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel,
 You who lead Joseph like a flock; you who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!” (Psalm 80:1 NASB)

..stir up Your power
And come to save us!” (Psalm 80:2b NASB)

You have fed them with the bread of tears,
 And You have made them to drink tears in large measure.” (Psalm 80:5 NASB)

We cry out to God today. “O Lord of hosts, restore us; Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved” (Psalm 80:19 NASB)

We have an affirmation of faith, penned by the shepherd David in Psalm 23.

The Lord is my shepherd,
 I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul;
 He guides me in the paths of righteousness
 For His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
 I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
 You have anointed my head with oil;
 My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
 And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. “ (Psalm 23 NASB)


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General Dentistry

When you are looking for the best dentist for your particular needs, you will want to find a practice that offers a broad array of services for you and your family.

At Dr. Huggins Office, we offer just that to families in DeSoto County and surrounding areas.

While offering a wide variety of restorative services, our primary objection is preventing the problems that necessitate reparative work in the first place.

To help protect your family from dental damage, we provide the following services:

When situations do warrant, Dr. Huggins’ office is capable of providing a variety of restorative services, including Tooth-Colored Fillings, Extractions, Crowns, Bridges, Root Canals, Partials, Dentures, and Implant Restoration.

Dr. Huggins has a good working relationship with many of the dental specialists in the area and will refer to them as situations requiring their expertise arise.

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Keeping your mouth healthy is very important. It actually affects your overall well-being. Both males and females who suffer from gum disease, for example, are at an increased risk of developing a variety of systemic health conditions, including:

Dr. Huggins stresses the prevention of periodontal disease. Preventing substantial problems, including tooth decay and gum disease, is always her goal. Oral Cancer screenings are performed at checkups as another way to protect you and your family. Oral Cancer is an aggressive disease that is responsible for thousands of deaths every year. Early detection is always best for possible successful treatment. Dr. Huggins and her staff stress smoking and smokeless tobacco cessation.

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July 15, 2020

ROAD TRIP: 2 weeks

FILED IN: Travel

I feel like every time I sit down to actually write a blog post.. it seems like decades since the previous one. WELL, here we are! As you probably know, we did a road trip (we meaning Pat and I). As requested this is a blog post on everything you need to know. You ask, I conquer, always. I never thought I would do a road trip to be honest..not something I ever had on my bucket list. Now that it is done…we are literally planning out our next one. Such a cool, unique experience in only 2 weeks. Instead of writing out this whole thing step by step, I am going to list below our basic itinerary, what we did (in 2 weeks) and what I think was the KEY important items to bring. By the way…we did this in 2 weeks and everyone said “you need more time, etc”. We thought it was the perfect amount of time although, we were cruising!

DAY 1- Leave at 6 am from south jersey- drive straight through to South Bend Indiana ( about 10 hours )

DAY 2– Leave Indiana around 7 am drive straight through ( basically as far as we can ) end up spending time in Iowa ( Walnut ).
– Ended up staying in a hotel in Grand Island Nebraska

DAY 3– Wake up early and drive our last 10-14 hours to the Grand Tetons in Wyoming
– WYOMING- We had a friends place to stay at here although there are tons of cute places to stay right in Jackson hole!

DAY 4-5 Jackson hole Wyoming

DAY 6– Left Jackson hole around 11 and drove north right through Yellowstone National Park to Gardiner Montana
– spent most of the day in the car/ getting out at stops in Yellowstone although it was raining that day

DAY 7-8 spent in Gardiner Montana ( we stayed at the Wonderland Cafe & Lounge)

DAY 9-10- Choteau Montana on a ranch with a friend! Our original plan was to be in Glacier National Park but because of COVID…most of the east part of the park was closed.

DAY 11- South Dakota– THE BAD LANDS
We spent 2 nights in SD but basically just one full day of exploring Rapid City + The Bad Lands which were super cool and fun to explore (especially at sunset)

  • Hiked Jenny Lake (7 miles around although you do not HAVE to do the entire hike) (we did not know this lol)
  • Watched sunrise at Teton National Park (right near Jenny Lake) (lots of Bison as well)
  • Moose Wilson Rd- to find Moose!
  • Oxbow bend is where we saw bears ( I think it is pretty rare )

  • Shops- Boyers Indian arts & crafts
  • Pearls Market St grocery
  • ROAM- very cute
  • Restaurant – Gather- upscale date spot + happy hour (may have been the best meal we had the whole trip out in the mid west) – Eleaven Breakfast (quick & easy & yummy)

  • Wonderland Cafe & Lounge/ Hotel- This is where we stayed
  • – The best Kombucha cocktail & Pickles
  • Two Bit Saloon – DIVE BAR
  • Nomad Taco (taco truck)- across from Wonderland Cafe – They had an amazing breakfast bowl or taco that was vegan friendly as well!

South Dakota:

  • Rapid City- Where we stayed
  • Tally’s Silver Spoon- cute dinner spot
  • Essence of Coffee- Coffee + Breakfast
  • Dixon Coffee company
  • Mount Rushmore – research the history before going
  • The Badlands Hike – about an hour from Rapid City

We drove a total of 35 hours on the way there- took 3 days to get all the way out to Wyoming which is pretty damn good on timing. We originally thought we would need 4 days but we hustled LOL. Pat and I got pretty lucky with places to stay of people we knew along the way so we ended up saving a LOT of money that way.

I would say there are plenty of cheap hotels/ air b along the way to help with that if you do not have many friends out there along the road! All along with gas, a few hotels, food etc, we spent under 2k. I would plan for a little more than that if considering this road trip! ALSO- this depends on the time of year etc . Our goal was not to save all of our money for this road trip so before this we really did not think about that. If you are on a budget– there are ways to do it.

Some items we brought that I will never regret

  • Cooler/ snack bag (DUH?!)
  • 2 Bowls from target- comes in handy when eating in the car and one of you is driving
  • Trash bags- we kept the car as clean as possible and would throw out the trash bag every 1-2 days ( I am NOT about to be in a messy, smelly situation)
  • Fan– Pat and I love white noise while we sleep and not to mention this one we bought was portable so did not need to be plugged into a wall.
  • Rain gear- we forgot this 🙂
  • Extra Blankets
  • Water Bottles ( re- usable )
  • Liquid IV- These came in handy for energy and hydration!

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Square Hoop Earring (ER446)

  • $29.00

Diagonal square hoops with latch closure.  Round wire at the top transitions to a flattened section at the bottom.  Handmade in Frisco, Texas.
14k gold and sterling silver plated stainless steel.
2.5" length.
Please note: Due to the handmade, one of a kind nature of our jewelry, exact colors and textures may vary slightly from the image shown.


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Progress update: PHSO, NMC and Adult Safeguarding investigations together with applications for the disclosure of information withheld from Sally’s inquest in 2014 .…more

We were allocated a new Case Investigator in May and subsequently met with him and his manager in Manchester to discuss the terms of reference for the new investigation. We had made a formal request to Rob Behrens, Ombudsman, several weeks previously, for the original report to be quashed prior to the commencement of this investigation.  At the meeting it became clear that there was some internal confusion about the status of our request, which we finally managed to clarify post-meeting by reverting back to the Ombudsman, himself.  Following a further delay we received his decision not to quash the original report. However, he has agreed to personally oversee our case and to that effect met with the investigation team last week. We are awaiting confirmation of the terms of reference.

The NMC have allocated another Investigations Officer and consideration of the three cases of the three Humber Trust nurses is now proceeding.

We have now received the draft report from Hull Adult Safeguarding Board. We met with the Chair and Manager this week to feedback our comments on the report which they have agreed to consider prior to publication of the final report.

Our pursuit of the information omitted from Sally’s inquest continues. Since the beginning of May we have had numerous written exchanges with both Humberside Police and Humber NHSFT legal departments. The Trust so far has declined all of our requests for disclosure whereas Humberside Police Legal Services Department have yet to inform us of their decision 11 weeks on.

The truth is a luxury that many cannot afford. It is very expensive, not just emotionally but also financially. As with the inquest there is no level playing field or equality of arms for bereaved families. Public bodies can procrastinate at their leisure funded by taxpayer. Bereaved families pay twice, once in their taxes and again in the necessity to fund their own legal costs, if they can afford to.

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