Debating Dad

Friday, 12 March 2010 08:07

Written by Daddy Files

(2 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)

Hillbilly I've never been to Mississippi. And after reading this, I hope I never have to endure entering such an idiotic state.

In a nutshell, the Itawamba County school district scheduled a prom for next month. But one of their rules was all students had to bring a date who was a member of the opposite sex. One student, who is openly gay, saw that for what it is: a clear-cut violation of her civil rights and the worst kind of discrimination. So she enlisted the help of the ACLU (yeah, yeah roll your eyes all you conservatives out there but they're right on this one) who sued the school district to allow her to take her girlfriend to the prom.

It should've never gotten to that point. The school should've recognized how ridiculously intolerant it was being. You would think school officials would back down, allow ALL students to participate regardless of sexual orientation and save what little face and honor they had left by doing the right thing. But apparently Mississippi is an old Native American term that translates to "stubborn bunch of ignorant redneck hillbillies." Because guess what they did?

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Leave My Son's Penis Alone

Sunday, 28 February 2010 08:08

Written by Daddy Files

If you're a parent of a boy, or if you're expecting one, there's no doubt you've spoken at some point about circumcision. And if you've joined any kind of online parenting forum on which this topic has come up, you've likely witnessed the venomous wrath of the anti-circumcision crowd.

I'm circumcised and I circumcised my son. I mean I'm not a freelancing mohel or anything, I had the doctor do it, but I conducted lots of research both online and by talking to our pediatrician and I believed it was the right thing to do for my son. Yet when I expressed this sentiment to some other parents shortly after Will was born, I was met with condescending looks and -- even worse -- complete strangers telling me I had irreparably harmed my son.

They used words like "barbaric" and "mutilation." They compared my son's circumcision to female genital mutilation in third world countries where they remove the labia and clitoris, which is absolutely ridiculous. They told me the American Academy of Pediatrics said circumcision is "medically unnecessary" and does not recommend it, so I shouldn't do it. I've been told the practice started as a means to prevent men from masturbating because circumcision allegedly decreases the sensation during sexual activity. There's even talk of legislation that could ban circumcision altogether.

But you know what I say to these people? Mind your own business. And for what it's worth, I don't buy the masturbation deterrent theory because I'm circumcised and, well, let's just say ain't nothing gonna break a my stride and ain't nothing gonna slow me down in that department.

Saturday, 13 February 2010 08:54

Written by Daddy Files

(2 votes, average 4.50 out of 5)

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The Kevlar vest weighs a ton. At least 60 lbs. I wore it for 20 minutes before my shoulders and back started screaming in agony. The helmet and goggles impeded my range of vision. The HETS (Heavy Equipment Transporter Systems) I was riding in was not helping things either. It’s made for hauling M1 tanks and payloads of up to 80 tons through the desert and minefields of Iraq, so needless to say comfort is not a priority. As we bumped along as part of convoy training my mind started to wander. I thought about how uncomfortable I was. I thought about my leg that was starting to cramp up after half an hour in the HET. And the pain in my back and neck was second only to how much I missed MJ and Will after two days of not seeing them. But suddenly my mind was snapped back to the present.

“IED, curbside.”

While I was internally bitching and moaning about my out-of-shape body and missing my family, Army Sgt. Sousa from southeastern Mass. (first name and hometown withheld for safety reasons) had spotted a 155 mm artillery shell on the side of the road put there to simulate an Improvised Explosive Device, which is one of the leading causes of death for our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And just then I realized exactly how spoiled I am.

Thursday, 04 February 2010 21:59

Written by Daddy Files

(2 votes, average 3.50 out of 5)

Heisman Trophy Winner {{w|Tim Tebow}}, before ...

Image via Wikipedia

For years, the worst commercials during the Super Bowl have been the ridiculously boring car ads and the (more than) slightly disturbing erectile dysfunction spots.

But this year will feature something much more offensive.

Tim Tebow — Mr. Super Christian Homeschooled Heisman winner and soon to be NFL flop — will appear in a 30-second ad with his mother, during which time they are expected to deliver an antiabortion message. The $2.5 million spot is being paid for by the ultra right wing group Focus on the Family, and represents a marked departure from the long held CBS policy that did not allow advocacy ads of any kind. Tebow’s mother is expected to talk about how doctors told her to have an abortion due to a medical condition that could have killed her and the baby prior to birth, and how she ignored their advice and ended up giving birth to a quarterback.

Look, let’s get a few things straight right off the bat.

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What To Do About Bullying?

Thursday, 28 January 2010 22:46

Written by Daddy Files

(2 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)

poster_no_bully_zone The big news out of South Hadley, Mass. recently is the tragic story of Phoebe Prince, the 15-year-old high school student who committed suicide because she was relentlessly bullied by a group of girls at her high school.

Prince moved to Massachusetts six months ago from Ireland. For some reason, a group of real life "Mean Girls" made it their mission to turn Phoebe's life into a living hell. They called her an "Irish slut" at school and used social media networking sites to bombard her with a steady stream of insults and put-downs. Apparently it was over Phoebe's date to a big school dance that was coming up. And despite school officials counseling all the students involved and doling out unspecified punishments, Phoebe hung herself in her house earlier this month.

And perhaps the most disgusting part of all of this is the fact that even after her death, the Mean Girls continued to log onto Facebook and other similar sites to trash Phoebe further.

Let's get one thing clear and out in the open: the girls who did this to Phoebe are disgusting human beings. I don't care that they're teenagers. Anyone who would take these extreme measures through verbal attacks, texts and online assaults to the point that a poor girl hangs herself, is a deadbeat and a rotten human being. It's yet to be seen if the schools could've done something more to prevent this, but now school officials say they've taken some sort of disciplinary action against the girls.

Personally I think they should be suspended or possibly even expelled depending on the details which haven't been fully divulged yet. After driving a girl to suicide and then, even worse, continuing to degrade her even in her death, they should not be allowed to cause more trouble at their current school. And this should go on their permanent academic records so any other schools they attend will know what kind of horrid person they're getting.

However, I do not think they should be charged criminally.

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