Let’s Talk About It is a graphic novel (comic-style) book by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan and is published by Penguin Random House. On the front cover the book is described as, “The teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human.” On the back, it states the book is, “Open, modern, and intelligent. An essential addition to any library.” Those are the claims but, is it appropriate for school libraries, public libraries, and children? As always, that is the question I want to answer for parents as I review the book.

While serving her first term on the Washington Elementary School board in Arizona, Tamillia Valenzuela made national news. She describes herself as a “neurodivergent Queer Black Latina,” but that isn’t what brought her to the attention of the media. Recently she stated that the board should consider “where our values lie.” She went on to state how “disheartened” and “opposed” she was to discover that the district had an ongoing contract with Arizona Christian University that enabled their student teachers to be placed in the district’s schools for field experience. The contract opened up opportunities for recruitment and hiring.

Is Angela Reading a security threat to the United States? According to Lt. Col. Christopher Schilling the leadership of nearby Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst believes, “[T]he current situation involving Mrs. Reading’s actions has caused safety concerns for many families. The Joint Base leadership takes this situation very seriously and from the beginning have had the Security Forces working with multiple state and local law enforcement agencies to monitor the situation to ensure the continued safety of the entire community.” What has Angela Reading, a previously law-abiding wife, mother, and member of the school board, done to require such scrutiny from the military and local law enforcement?

When I first heard of the New York Times editorial by American fashion designer Heather Kaye, I thought it would be another looney liberal expression of a misguided desire for authoritarian government control. Her opinion piece is titled, “China Helped Raise My American Kids, and They Turned Out Fine.” I figured the title told me all I needed to know and nearly stopped reading. Then I recalled the old adage, never judge a book by its’ cover, or in this case an article by its title. After reading the piece, I still believe Kaye is misguided—but she made some good points.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) recently defended a proposed government ban on gas stoves. In the embedded video she supports her own use of a gas stove and later said, “This is about a decision about what may be sold and regulations in the far future, OK? So everyone, just take the temperature down a little bit. No secret government agency is going to bust down your door and take your gas stove away.” She is probably correct about that but, only because the federal government has a better method to make you comply.

I like to spend money at places that appreciate my business. Often these are shops where I know the owner or, businesses that I hear of through my network of family and friends. Since I’m a conservative Christian, my friends tend to move in those circles. Redirecting my meager funds to support like-minded companies has been a slow-growing, but natural, part of my economic philosophy for years. However, I’m not the only one that has moved in this direction. The idea of a conservative Christian parallel economy has grown in influence over recent years. This has led to a surge of interest in creating a more distinct economic structure that reflects the values of this movement.

Christian Nationalism, A Biblical Guide to Taking Dominion & Discipling Nations, is a print-on-demand book of 105 pages by Andrew Torba, and Andrew Isker a pastor from Waseca, Minnesota. Occasionally, there is a book where both the subject and the author are of interest. This is such a case. Andrew Torba is the founder of the Gab social media platform which Wikipedia described as, “a haven for neo-Nazis, racists, white supremacists, white nationalists, antisemites, the alt-right, supporters of Donald Trump, conservatives, right-libertarians, and believers in conspiracy theories such as QAnon.”

Cracker Jack announced last week the 126-year-old company will be packaging special-edition Cracker Jill snacks to support American female athletes through the Women’s Sports Foundation — and reworked the old song “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” to include lyrics about female athletes.

Girls love sports as much as boys — softball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, swimming, tennis, golf, etc. And they probably like to nibble on the all-American treat of caramel popcorn and peanuts — and find the prize inside.

But it took more than a century for them to earn a spot in the world of athletics, a struggle outlined in vivid detail during an excellent St. Helens Club presentation Wednesday in Chehalis by Corene Jones-Litteer titled “Overcoming Hurdles: Women in Sports.”

I’m old enough that I should know better. Many pundits declared a Republican red wave would sweep the nation on November eighth. I allowed myself to be caught up in their pre-election enthusiasm. I thought we had good candidates and that the issues were on our side. I continue to believe that defunding the police, cashless bail, and open borders are bad ideas. I felt certain that people would see that and vote in a massive way for change. More people did vote and an assortment of America First candidates did win but, more progressives were also elected.

My Son Hunter is a satire of Hunter Biden’s drug addiction and the alleged corruption that permeants the entire Biden family. Indeed, the movie starts with Joe Biden sniffing the hair of a Secret Service agent, played by Gina Carano. After he walks away she turns to the camera and states, “This is not a true story…except for all the facts.”

The phrase “first do no harm” isn’t in either the ancient Greek version of the Hippocratic Oath or the widely accepted current version, but perhaps it should be. The issue of harm swirls around the topic of gender dysphoria, the sense of discomfort that a person may have due to a perceived mismatch of biological sex and gender identity. As a medical term, gender dysphoria is modern and first appeared in medical literature in the 1960s or ‘70s. But since then, the medical and political debate surrounding gender dysphoria has grown. Are the doctors providing care or operating a transgender money making-machine?

In May of 2022, someone leaked a draft of the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision. The document indicated that the court planned to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the abortion issue to the states. The news triggered an avalanche of violence and vandalism against pro-life centers and churches that continues to this day. According to the Religious Freedom Institute, since the leak of the Supreme Court decision, “perpetrators have attacked at least 63 pro-life organizations, across 26 states and the District of Columbia.” While some local law enforcement agencies have conducted investigations, the response of the FBI and other agencies to these federal crimes has been impotent.

For years I’ve said that school tax dollars should flow through the student to the school the child attends. Allow the family to choose a public or private school that meets their needs. I believe most families would continue to choose their local public school but, the competition would force all schools to improve. This concept is gaining ground however, the teachers’ unions and their political supporters vigorously fight against the change. I found evidence for this in a pair of recent news articles.

Gender Queer is the graphic (comic-style) memoir of Maia Kobabe, published by Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group and released in 2022. We are told that the 256-page book was originally written for adults but it seems to this reader that it is aimed directly at middle-grade students. The book won the American Library Association Alex Award for its “special appeal” to teenagers, but is it appropriate for school libraries and children? That is the question I want to answer for parents as I review the book.

Recently an FBI whistleblower reported that the agency has lowered the priority of child sex abuse cases. This was done to allow the agency to focus on the January 6th probe and cases of domestic extremism and white supremacy. This shift of priorities would be disturbing enough but, we should not forget the recent cases that the FBI has chosen to ignore. These include the protests around and attempted assassination of Justice Kavanaugh, the Hunter Biden laptop, the political intrigue of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and the mishandling of classified documents on Hillary Clinton’s email server. Beyond that, there are allegations that FBI Director James Comey, Agent Peter Strzok, and Lisa Page had engaged in political misconduct regarding the Russia probe and the Trump administration. None of this has had a thorough investigation.

Fans were upset before they’d seen the first episode of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. There are many reasons fans are mad. Tolkien Scholars suddenly discussing transgender narratives in Lord of the Rings made fans suspicious. Some allege Tolkien scholars were bribed by Amazon. Also, an actress, Sophia Nomvete, boasted that she was the first female dwarf. She’s wrong. Several women play dwarfs in previous Tolkien movies. The production team gas-lighted fan claims that if they didn’t like the direction the Rings of Power was headed they were racist.

Toward the end of his 325-page memoir, Mike Lindell quotes a billionaire acquaintance as saying, “You’re not like any other CEO we’ve ever seen.” For thirty years, cocaine and gambling controlled his life. My wife read the book first and told me that his addictive habits continued even after he founded his now-famous pillow company. I wondered how anyone could start such a company, have it flourish, and keep it while addicted.

Since I’m certain to disagree with them, I don’t usually listen to speeches by Democrat politicians. If I need to, I can always find the text online. However, on the first of September President Biden walked out of Independence Hall in Philadelphia and, flanked by Marine guards, delivered what was called, Remarks on the Continued Battle for the Soul of the Nation. When the president speaks about a fight for the very essence of our country I thought I should listen. I wish I had stuck with my practice and looked it up later.

Many early Americans lived by the creed of self-determination and self-reliance. People like Henry Thoreau, Charles Ingalls, and his daughter Laura Ingalls Wilder come to mind. Homesteaders plowed the soil to raise food for themselves and the country. They raised cattle and chickens for meat, dairy, and eggs. If they didn’t have bacon they might trade for it or buy it from a nearby farm. However, if you try that today, armed U.S. Marshals might bang on your front door and demand entry.

“What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money—That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!” That’s the theme of Rich Dad Poor Dad, a 294-page financial education book by Robert Kiyosaki. This insightful book begins with young Robert asking his father, a schoolteacher with degrees from several prominent universities, how to get rich. His father told him to use his head. The author laments that schools focus on scholastic and professional skills but not on financial education. He states, “A person can be highly educated, professionally successful, and financially illiterate.”