Re: Letter To Mr. Obama... Voters must read...

Are you kidding when you ask this? If you are then remember that McCain palled around with Keating, Palin's husband belonged to a possibly subversive organization, and if we look hard enough I'm sure we could find something about Biden.

Both Bush and Cheney were picked up on DUI charges and Bush admitted that he drank too much and snorted cocaine, Kennedy took drugs allegedly because of his bad back, and on and on and on.

I guess I should add the connection JFK had with the "alleged" Mafia.

Where do these stories come from??????

I've stayed out of this fray from the beginning, content to just sit back and watch the rest of you (and, boy, it sure has been "interesting" at times! LOL). This statement of yours, though, has brought me out of the proverbial woodwork!

Just *how* many children do you suppose there are who actually become what they decided on at age 6 or 6 1/2 or 7 or 8 or 10 or 15 or even

21????? My guess is the answer is so minuscule as to be immeasurable (unmeasurable?). To even think they'd have the capability and knowledge of laws to think so far ahead is preposterous.

Joan

How in the world is that preposterous? I know several Middle School aged kids (ages 11-13) who've already completely fulfilled the requirements for Bright Futures Scholarships and are already speaking to counselors on applying to MIT, Cornell, and Harvard!

My oldest child is in 9th grade and she's already been speaking to colleges - determining what they want to see in terms of acceptance requirements. And she's not even the most serious about college in her group of friends.

Not to mention how many police, fire, and military families there are out there that have so many generations serving the public that it's a tradition of sorts. While not all of those sorts of careers require SC, they do require at the very least, a high working "knowledge of laws."

Kids aren't stupid. And they're certainly more "driven" than we were at that age (probably due to parental influence - since college tuition is so high, I'm sure parents are driving their kids more than our parents did in the hopes of saving money).

Personally, I know a lot of kids that would be highly insulted by that. Many kids DO know exactly what they want and take steps to ensure their goals. Just because they don't necessarily tell the world they want to be "X" or "Y" doesn't mean they don't have aspirations or goals. :(

Poor kids....they haven't really had a "child"hood, imo! It's just a

*guess*, but I'm guessing these middle school children are from high- income families whose parents would be appalled if their precious baby went to a public institution and have been pushed to be overachievers since birth.

They may have "fulfilled the requirements" but they don't have their careers yet. Many *many* college students change their majors mid- stream, sometimes multiple times. I know. I work at a university (over 30 years) supervising students.

Write to me in 15 years and let me know where these kids are then.

Joan .

You'd be surprised. A lot of the pressure comes from the schools here. Our MSs have even added COLLEGE CREDIT courses, if you can believe it. We had several kids last year graduate from the local community college with degrees while they were still in 9th grade!

I agree completely with you on the childhood being a CHILDhood. When I was a kid (am 39 now), summers were for being social, having fun (and possibly getting filthy) .... nowadays, it seems to be more for "networking" and extra-extra-curricular activities. :/

I know several kids that have only had Sundays "off" since they were in elementary school. Every other day is filled with that sport, or that club, or that activity. In our house, we've made a strict rule (which our kids get teased about) that evenings, ESPECIALLY weekends are for family time. FUN time.

Life's too damn short.

My DD is only 14 and she's already planned her next 14 years of life to ensure her dream of being a lawyer (she wants to be a member of the Innocence Project -- and has since she was 11). She's only stopped short of having a pin-up poster of Barry!! LOL! (she's hoping to go to Cornell and haunts their website's legal database)

Oh, I know. I did. DH did. DH didn't even pick a major until the VERY last minute (if his student loans had been cheaper, he probably would have tried out a few first!).

But this generation's crop of kids seem to be so .... different. When I teased one (just a couple of days ago) about her career choice (aerospace engineering), she told me in all seriousness that it's been her dream since she was a child -- that she'd lie on her back and gaze at the sky, desperate to be a part of the future -- and a pioneer of space exploration.

I can tell you that NOW -- deep in student loan debt! :/

That's just plain sad.

Well, I'm glad we agree on this.

And those will probably be the kids in therapy in a few years, if not sooner.

Good for you! That's sooooo important. I wish all families would think this way.

Agreeing again! :)

Hadn't heard of this so I looked it up. Looks like a worthwhile project! I hope she realizes her dream.

ROTFL! That is sadly true, too, as two of my children (22 & 25) are currently finding out.

Joan

That's just plain sad.

Well, I'm glad we agree on this.

And those will probably be the kids in therapy in a few years, if not sooner.

Good for you! That's sooooo important. I wish all families would think this way.

Agreeing again! :)

Hadn't heard of this so I looked it up. Looks like a worthwhile project! I hope she realizes her dream.

ROTFL! That is sadly true, too, as two of my children (22 & 25) are currently finding out.

Joan

Absolutely.

Though I have a feeling that they HAVE to be concerned about such things. Its getting more and more competitive in qualifying for scholarships. The days of "if you have the cash, we have the classroom space" are at an end (or at least, coming close to it).

Again, absolutely! If not dead at 20 from a heart attack from stress.

(BTW, GRD is higher than ever for children. One of the main causes is stress)

Our kids are busy -- don't get me wrong. My daughter has Student Government, Key Club and Swim Team (and tennis this Spring) and my DS has Karate, baseball and Boy Scouts. Those activities take roughly 3 nights a week. And they're for FUN. They do them because they love them.

My daughter enjoys socializing with her friends -- the pizza parties and whatnot. And my DS enjoys his sports and hanging out with his friends from the groups. But the MOMENT those activities are more "work" than fun, it's time to call it DONE.

Yep. While I fully understand and encourage preparing for the future, there's no guarantees that any of us will SEE that future. Life's for living, not just planning!!

One of my best friends saved for YEARS for her retirement, passing on oodles of fun activities (a cruise, one year and a family reunion trip to the Bahamas another year) only to die before she ever even came close to retiring. In memoriam, her family and close friends had a trip for her. Took her ashes on a cruise and sprinkled her ashes on the beaches in the Bahamas. It was a real shame that she never allowed herself to enjoy it in life (she had always wanted to go and just thought she'd do it after she retired). :(

I do, too. I'm a criminalist by profession, and even though I've met a few who *should* be put to death, I'm proud of her for her convictions. In our area, her views are NOT popular, but she's defended them and held them regardless.

Every time "Her Barry" exonerates another inmate, it's like a party around the house! Every time an inmate is successfully executed, you'd almost think it were someone she knew personally.

She's the only kid I know of that can relate facts and statistics on executions and exonerations on command. :)

Ugh. We'll be paying for our SLs probably until the day we die. Well, not really, but most days it FEELS like it!!