War On Kids

By unidentified [FAL], via Wikimedia Commons

The War on Kids documentary film shows how the American education system is broken and needs to be fixed if we want children to develop critical-thinking-intelligent minds.


College really opened my eyes up to history, liturature, psycology, all ignored by my private Christian school.  The school did, however, instill crititcal thinking in me, although it was supposed to be for other religions, practices and lifestyles, I applied it to the Christian faith and found holes in logic.  I think I went through the stages of grief and finally moved onto my agnostic life until I found witchcraft and Wicca.  


In the documentary they show the shift from Nancy Regan's "Just Say No" to medicating our children with powerful drugs equivlient to cocain and meth and making schools a "Zero Tolerance Zone" for violence and how police arrest children for bringing nail clippers to school.

Phtographer Unknown

The documentary starts with an extreme cartoon featuring "evil children" who will not listen to their parents and prepare molotav coctails.  Are parents afraid of their children?  Yes, the war on drugs spurred a movment into making children into criminals before they became them, a kind of self-fulfilling profecy.


At first the "Zero Tolerance" only covered guns, then it would cover any kind of weapon, incuding wallet chains, then just strictly violence, like the kindergartener "firing" a chicken nugget at a teacher.  Each step pushes down on children, controlling them and when the policy doesn't work, parents drug them.


I'm not personally afraid of children, I love letting them play outside, explore and avoiding homework at all cost.  Homework is another way schools reach beyond the eight hour school day and make children work overtime.  There is no time to socialize, be creative, be interested and we expect newly graduated high schoolers to be creative, innovative and independent when they were subjected to a system of control like a prision. 


The fear in this country created a snowball effect going beyond protecting children, but openly making them criminals and refusing their rights.  It is not legal for a child to be questioned without parental concent, hardly any child is read their miranda rights and their being emotionally manipulated by the school personel they trust.


Cameras, metal detectors, police officers canvas shools now and why?  To keep guns and violence out of school, but we brought the guns and violence in.  A modern educational facility today looks more like a prision, so is it a wonder children act like criminals?

Fear feeds this mindset and the false promise of safety.  Students do not feel safer, studends feel watched and become paranoid.  

America really doesn't know what they are doing when it comes to educating out chidlren.  Teachers want quiet in an over croweded classroom where children are board, ask questions, fidget and the teacher diagnosis them with ADHD.  I would be labled ADHD now, but was I just an average child full of energy?  

Keeping children indorrs, under rules and strict schedule damages our children, so let your kids be kids, not drones of the state.

BPA is Everywhere

A few weeks ago I asked Hansen's Sodas if they use phthalates or BPA to coat the inside of their cans.  They did respond, but they didn't exactly answer my question.


"Thanks for visiting the Hansen’s website.

We understand your concern, but can confidently assure you that beverage cans are safe. It is important to remember that all components of packages that come into contact with food or beverages undergo stringent testing and must comply with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations before use. Our entire beverage cans meet or exceed federal and state health and safety standards. In fact, all components used in beverage cans, including coatings, have been and continue to be recognized as safe by the FDA.

Our company has worked with the Can Manufactures Institute to respond to claims that the chemical Bisphenol A, used in a formulation of certain can coatings, is unsafe. Bisphenol A is alleged to be a possible estrogen mimic by a small group of activists and allegedly pose threats at low-dose exposures to vulnerable populations. However, CMI, working with the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. developed very convincing data, which demonstrate the safety of foods and beverages in cans lined with coatings made with Bisphenol A. The data show the American consumer has no exposure whatsoever to Bisphenol A through canned beverages. These findings have been provided to and reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

Beverage cans are safe, and provide the highest quality packaging for beverages on the market today.



Sincerely,
Hansen's Beverage Company"

The letter basically says yes we coat our cans in a plastic that has not been proven to be unsafe for you by the Can Manufactures Institute, company supported, the FDA and the USDA, whose powers do not reach far enough to ban or challenge any claims until someone has died from said substance/ claim without a shadow of a doubt.

You can buy these products at Whole Foods, a company priding itself on providing organic and natural products.  Bisphenol A, is an artifical hormone, estrogen to be precise, and the body cannot tell the difference between this hormone and the ones produces in our bodies.  This artificial hormone can send false signals to our cells, making them not work properly and cause damage to the body.

The FDA has taken some steps to see if Bisphenol A (BPA) is hazardous.  So, Hansen's in wrong to state there is not enough concern.  However, this concern has been going on for over ten years, and scientists have already found links between BPA and cancer, diabetes, genital defects and behavioral problems like ADHD.  People are not dying directly from this contact, but it sets people up to have issues in the future and this may be why little action is taking place.

Even the guide talking about BPA says that low doses are not harmful.  But BPA is used in everything; water bottles, sports equipment, medical and dental devices, dental fillings and sealants, CDs and DVDs, household electronics, and eyeglass lenses.  My question is when low doses invade over long periods of time and those doses are no longer low, is it toxic?  When do the doses become toxic?  It's already been banned in baby bottles and some toys, if it's harmful for a baby, should pregnant mothers beware?

I'm concerned, not only because we don't know how much BPA is toxic, but it's also everywhere.  Studies may show low levels are safe for adults, however, when it accumulates inside our bodies, is it safe then?

Ouija Board Safety

Three people seem to be the magic number in using an ouija board.  Perhaps it is just the syncing of energy between my boyfriend Mike and me.  He says he has an anti-paranormal field around him.

Mike does want to experience something, but I don't know if he would believe or understand the experience.  I could help him and maybe guide him, but he needs to find his own spirituality.

I truly believe people psych themselves into seeing things however, especially with games like Mother May I? or Bloody Mary.  I do not like looking into mirrors at night, I do think they are portals to realms and if you call on something it will respond.

If you want something bad to come, it will come to your ouija session.  I can handle mischievous fairies, but as for anything too aggressive or negative I firmly tell them I'm in control and say goodbye.  I don't do the ouija board to find negativity, but to generate fun.

There are many theories to who or what contacts through an ouija board.  One theory is ghosts or spiritual entities, another is dependent on who is there and their energy and maybe one of the people is just moving it.

I will say though if it is just people manipulating the ouija board why would they spell out gibberish?  Perhaps their aura is out of balance and they have no control over their psychic thoughts, but if someone was intentionally messing I would hope they would make some sense and fun out of the ouija experience.

I also have a theory about how nighttime and turning off electronic devices helps enhance the ouija experience.  The energy of people during the daytime can be overwhelming and cause messages on the board to be muted.  Basically energy, of any kind, can interfere with the messages and because people are usually asleep at night it becomes easier to communicate through the ouija board.

Before I start most sessions I cast a circle and ask for protection from negativity.  If you don't know how to cast a circle or feel uncomfortable you can pray or just use salt to purify the area, a very traditional way to purify.   I also, never ask the entity to move anything in the real world or poke it too much.  If I do feel threatened I say goodbye immediately.  I think this has protected me somewhat and there isn't any harm for being super cautious.

I cannot understand why people show such disrespect when attempting to contact an entity.  Maybe it's the lack of respect or understanding about the spiritual realm causing dark energy to manifest and scare people into fits of fear.  The ouija board isn't a way to make a prank call into the spiritual real and if you are using it as such how do you know the entity doesn't have caller ID?

I'm not saying do not have fun, but one grain of respect can alter a bad experience.  To go even further, if you are not comfortable with using tarot, ouija boards, tea leaves, or any other divination device, don't do it.  Your own fear and guilt can completely change how you perceive the tool.

I know there are many superstitious rules about ouija boards and thousands of horror stories, but if you use respect, protect yourself and have fun there shouldn't be an issue unless you make it an issue.