May 7, 2004

• A widdle jokie poo… heh heh…

  
  

  Simplified 1040 Forms

  
  

  We’ve just been informed that the Internal revenue Service has simplified it’s 1040 forms for next year in the spirit of becoming a ‘kinder, gentler ‘ IRS.  It goes like this:

  
  

  (A) How much money did you make last year? _______

  
  

  (B) How much do you have left?                      _______

  
  

  (C) Send in the amount on line B.

  
  

  Thank you.

  
  

   Snicker snicker

  
  

  I believe moms are the greatest gift we are given.  Mine was.  I want to be that to my children, even though they are all grown up and need me less than when they were infants and toddlers.  Today on Chuck Colsen’s Breakpoint commentary on WAKW, I was pleased that he spoke about mothers since it is the weekend to honor them.  What he said was not the usual ‘mushy’ stuff we hear so often though.  He always seems to have a fresh and unusual view on an issue when he presents it to us and they are all thought provoking.

  
  

  Today he discussed a teacher who began instructing her students on etiquette and was shocked at how little any of them seemed to know of basic table manners.  Her assessment was that they all ate quickly, at different times usually and rarely had a ‘family dinner’ where all sat and ate and discussed the day and could receive instruction on such things as manners.

  
  

  A book, has been written by Karen Santorum, wife of Senator Rick Santorum, and published by ISI Books, called Everyday Graces:A Children’s Book of Good Manners.  And it teaches parents how to manners going in the lives of their young children.  I may get a copy for my kids to use with theirs.  a link…

  
  

  http://www.townhall.com/bookclub/santorum.html

  
  

  Dr. Colsen then related the point of manners being a starting point for reducing crime and such.  His statement was something like this.  If we teach children to be polite, it shows them there is a mutual respect between people, when respect is established, one is less likely to commit acts that are inappropriate against others than when they don’t learn to respect themselves or others.

  
  

  He summizes “When William Wilberforce set out to “reform manners” in eighteenth-century England, he sought “to eliminate public corruption and promote religion in the hearts of the people,” in order “to resist the spread of open immorality,” writes Kevin Belmonte in Hero for Humanity. Well, “manners” in a lesser sense than the vision Wilberforce pursued is the beginning of such a reformation in our society.

  
  

  It fits into the “broken windows” theory—the idea that if “small” problems, like loitering and turnstile-jumping at the subway, are eliminated, then larger crimes will, in turn, diminish. And this has proven to be true. In the same way, teaching manners prevents the “windows” from being broken in the first place, thus creating safer communities. Mrs. Santorum’s book is an invaluable resource in reaching this worthy goal.”

  
  

  And finally, the point is made that we are taught most of our common courtesies and respect for ourselves and others, by mom.

  
  

  Thank God for Mom.

  
  

  Breakpoint’s link…

  
  

   http://www.pfm.org/BPtemplate.cfm?Section=BreakPoint_Commentaries1&CONTENTID=12410&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm

  • 9:33 am
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