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Terry Goodin: Not a Good Choice for Indiana

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On Tuesday, if you live in Indiana, you will have to decide whether or not to vote for Jessica McCormick, the Democratic nominee for Governor.  You will also be voting for Terry Goodin, her running mate for Lt. Governor. Before you decide to make him the second highest public servant in the state, there is something you should know about his “service” to the people of Indiana. Let’s back up to the year 2000. That is the year that Terry joined the Indiana state legislature .  At the same time, he was serving as the superintendent for Crothersville Community Schools .  That double duty continued for the next 20 years.   It may sound like Terry was really working to serve the people of his community.  But let’s dig a little deeper. The Indiana Gateway keeps a record of the salaries received by all public employees. It only goes back to 2012, but that will work for our purposes. Below is a table of what he was paid for his roles from 2012-2020. Year 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 201
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Do Dogs Feel Used?

Do you know a woman who is in a relationship with a guy that does not deserve her? As a high school teacher, I see a lot of tragic relationships - nice girls getting into abusive relationships. And while the relationship may not last more than a few weeks or months, I know that the cycle of abuse could last a lifetime as their self esteem and self worth get eroded with each successive selfish boyfriend. I've seen many great girls with a lot of potential make life changing mistakes when they let a boy take advantage of them. Sometimes they fight their way past it and still realize a bright future (albeit on a delayed schedule and with a lot of heartache), but often they stall out under the weight of the emotional baggage and physical suffering. I didn't really know what to do about it. As a science teacher, I am not considered an authority on relationships and teen dating. But as a guy who was once a teenage boy, I know a lot about what motivates boys, and I can see the mi
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Why Gun Laws are Still Not Going to Change - And What You Can Do About It

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There is one reason that the gun control situation in this country is never going to change: arrogance. We must seek to understand the other side if we ever want to change the debate from useless memes and protests to actual political action. It is okay to think you are right. Having a strong belief in your own moral position does not make you arrogant. Arrogance is believing that you are so right, so smart, and so much better that you do not need to understand your opponent in order to win. In my experience, the left thinks the right is a bunch of rednecks. They are certain that the right is just an army of illiterate zombies of patriotism backed by corrupt billionaire financing. The left is so sure of this that they make no effort to understand the beliefs, values, and reasoning of the right. Why would we? They’re stupid, simple people. What is there to understand? They like guns more than they love kids. They believe their churches more than science. They hate women, gay
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The 'F' Word - and Why We All Use It.

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        Some people use it profusely and swear that it helps.  Others abhor it, cursing it as a crutch for weak minds.  Those who use it are accused of thinking they are better than those who don't.  Those who claim not to use it believe they are on a higher plane of intellect than those who do.  In fact, there are few words in society that cause a deeper, more contemptuous rift than this word.  But oddly, despite the polarizing effect it has on us, "faith" is a thing that we all use.        And I don't mean that we all use the word faith, or even that we all use faith when we trust someone to follow through on something or when we plant a seed and hope it will grow.  No, my allegation against everyone - be they Creationist or Scientist, Theist or Atheist - is that they rely on faith for their deepest, religious convictions.  Anyone that has taken the time to form an opinion or belief on the origin of life or the powers that govern the universe is basing their e
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Why I teach my kids to believe in Santa...and why I believe, too.

Apparently everyone out there is a way better parent than I am.  During the recent Christmas season - while I was trying to teach my kids to do chores and brush their teeth - everyone else was preoccupied with whether or not Santa Clause would destroy their children.  When I saw how widespread and hotly debated this topic was, I thought, " Really?  This is the biggest problem you face in child rearing?  I must be doing something wrong ." I read the articles, though - both the heartfelt pleas to keep the magic alive and the vehement indictments of Santa as a liar, fraud and anti-Christ - and I felt largely unswayed one way or the either.  Like I said, I had bigger concerns, and I really couldn't see this as the thing that would make or break a child.  However, the Christmas of 2013 brought something with it that I had never experienced and has convinced me that teaching my children about Santa is the right thing to do - for one simple reason:  Christmas of 2013 made me
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The Six Commandments

I just read another news article about Atheists protesting the Ten Commandments being posted on a Government building, and I wondered, "Why do they care?" Seriously, are they worried that anyone stops to read them?  I'll bet if you did a poll of Christians in America you would find that they are abysmally bad at remembering all ten commandments.  Which isn't really that surprising, because if you did a random sampling of sermons across America, I doubt that you would hear very many of the ten commandments being preached.  If Atheists really wanted to attack Christians, they would be highlighting the commandments, not trying to take them down.  Make Christians aware of how poorly they keep all Ten, and maybe they would take the tablets down themselves. For instance, #4 states: " Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, y
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