Thoughts from the Middle of Nowhere

Children at play. That's all this is. The Republicans are going to throw all the toys away to please one member of the Constitution party and the Democrats won't even look at the toys because all they can do is cry about HB2 not being part of the toy chest. What ever happened to working together? Why don't the moderates on both sides of the aisle work together to fix this problem? They are present in the chamber, just not standing up and making their voices heard. They are letting the radicals on both sides hurt all Montanans.

Everybody wants to blame just the Republicans for this situation. I think both sides are to blame and it is disgraceful. If they would act like adults this would get solved reasonably and the citizens of Montana wouldn't have to suffer.

People are ridiculous only when they try or seem to be that which they are not. Giacomo Leopardi

Lawmaker wants parents' values respected in foster care

A lawmaker wants children to be raised with their parents' values, even when the children are in foster care.

House Majority Leader Michael Lange, R-Billings, told members of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday that his bill would require the state to prepare and implement a ''parental values plan'' whenever a child is placed in temporary care.

The plan would use the parents' ''values, wishes and desires'' to help guide foster parents in making decisions about the child's education and religious upbringing.

Sometimes I swear people aren't thinking with a clear head about things. The first thing that comes to mind to me is if the children are being placed in foster care, more than likely the parenting skills of the parents must be in question. There might be some kind of abuse going on and the abuse might be part of the parents "values." Do we want this poor parenting and/or abuse to continue in temporary foster care because the poor parenting and/or abuse is the parents " values?" So foster parents are going to have to abuse children in their care because that is the parents "values?" I really wonder if that is what Lange has in mind.

I'm sure Michael Lange is doing this so that Christian values can be taught in foster care but I wonder how he is going to feel about this idea when the kids of Satan Worshipers are placed in foster care. Then this law will also apply and the appropriate values of Satan Worship must be taught in the Foster home, supervised by the state. How about also a neo-nazi home schooling their kids and teaching them what they feel are appropriate amounts of antisemitic ideas. Then this law will still come into affect and the state will be in charge of making sure these kids are taught these antisemitic values.

There is an old saying to be careful what you wish for, you just might get it and that appears to be the case here. This law will cut both ways and I bet Michael Lange won't like it when it cuts the way he doesn't want to.

This is a stupid idea and needs to be quashed. There aren't enough foster parents out there to start with and this will cause more problems with them then it is worth.

I would not fear nor wish my fate, but boldly say each night, to-morrow let my sun his beams display, or in clouds hide them; I have lived today. Abraham Crowley