I think parents should have an opt out option in these cases, just like they do with vaccinations.

The sad thing is that many kids wouldn't get ANY Sex Ed unless the schools step in. That's not good for anybody.

Agreed.

If you got a mortgage and cant afford it because you either didnt read the fine print or you simply cant afford it anymore, then sell it or let it foreclose and go rent...why should you get a bailout? As a renter, if I cant pay my rent, I get evicted and I find a place I can afford...or I guess I'm homeless.

I partly agree with this, and partly think it's more complicated than that. I just recently purchased a home, and I know that without having someone I trusted to assist me with the legal terminology etc that I likely would not have understood what I was signing.

That said, people need to push for explanations of terms and what they were signing if they do not understand. I partly blame lenders for approving people for loans for a MUCH higher amount than they could realistically afford. My lender would have approved us for a loan WAY more than what we knew we could reasonably afford. That's not responsible on their part either.

This is a sensitive subject to me. I work in real estate and represent 500 agents locally. Using a GOOD Realtor should help you with all the fine print. They should be able to explain these things and answer your questions. Indiana is actually trying to increase requirements, including continuing education for it's agent because it is easier to get a real estate license than a drivers license here! There are a lot of clueless agents our there but it's easy to find a good one with exprience who can protect and explain the process to you!

In my case, I'm 24 and want to buy a home. Buying would cost me about $2-300 less a month that what i pay in rent. I've never had a credit card, I have no debt but the bank will NOT loan to me. They will however loan to someone who has filed for bankruptcy and is $100 grand in debt just because they have a history. Banks are TOO tight now and it sucks because interest rates are historically low. :sad:

I hear that on the tight banks!

We bought a home in AZ in 2004. We had a house in MI that we had up for sale but was not pending. Hubby had just gotten back from Iraq and was unemployed because his company laid him off when they found out he'd be deployed. I was a SAHM to our then 6 and 3yo. We applied for a loan and were approved for an outrageous amount - twice what we were actually looking to spend. We had no income and 2 mortgages (main loan on MI house and equity loan on MI house to use as down payment for AZ house.) and they were going to give us an absurd loan amount.

Fast forward to last year. We lived in Germany for over a year. Hubby got a new job in VA with the government. He had steady, good income in Germany and was transferring to another job with good income. We still own our AZ house but we have renters in it who are coverning the full mortgage. When we started looking for a house here we were approved for less than we were when we bought AZ. This despite having a very good income v. being unemployed, owning a house with 1 mortgage and a renter v. owning a vacant house with 2 mortgages, a job v. being unemployed, etc. Our credit scores are about the same, perhaps a bit higher even. No debt at all aside from mortgages. etc. It's gone from a circus to a strictness that would make a Puritan clench. It's crazy.

Sorry. I try to always be for people's freedoms. But anti-vaxxers are just dumb and put children's lives at risk. They distrust doctors but put their faith in the words of Jenny McCarthy. Idiots.

As a mother of a child with autism, I am not a Jenny McCarthy fan at all!

I think parents should have an opt out option in these cases, just like they do with vaccinations.

The sad thing is that many kids wouldn't get ANY Sex Ed unless the schools step in. That's not good for anybody.

I agree with you there. But I DON'T think they should be allowed to opt out of vaccinations.

Ok they can, but they can't enroll their kids in a public school.

Sorry. I try to always be for people's freedoms. But anti-vaxxers are just dumb and put children's lives at risk. They distrust doctors but put their faith in the words of Jenny McCarthy. Idiots.

Unless you can show a previous serious negative reaction to a vaccine you shouldn't be allowed to opt out. I'd say that would allow for a child to be opted-out if a sibling had the negative reaction too. By "negative reaction" I don't mean crankiness or a light fever either. If the reaction was worse than the disease the vaccine prevents then it would count.

I also don't think parents should be able to opt out on sex ed for their kids. If you don't want your kids to learn it in school then teach them at home. If you do that then why should it matter if the school does a review of what you already taught? People who don't want schools to teach sex ed, IME, are the ones who don't teach it themselves. Those are the kids who need it the most.

I hear that on the tight banks!

We bought a home in AZ in 2004. We had a house in MI that we had up for sale but was not pending. Hubby had just gotten back from Iraq and was unemployed because his company laid him off when they found out he'd be deployed. I was a SAHM to our then 6 and 3yo. We applied for a loan and were approved for an outrageous amount - twice what we were actually looking to spend. We had no income and 2 mortgages (main loan on MI house and equity loan on MI house to use as down payment for AZ house.) and they were going to give us an absurd loan amount.

Fast forward to last year. We lived in Germany for over a year. Hubby got a new job in VA with the government. He had steady, good income in Germany and was transferring to another job with good income. We still own our AZ house but we have renters in it who are coverning the full mortgage. When we started looking for a house here we were approved for less than we were when we bought AZ. This despite having a very good income v. being unemployed, owning a house with 1 mortgage and a renter v. owning a vacant house with 2 mortgages, a job v. being unemployed, etc. Our credit scores are about the same, perhaps a bit higher even. No debt at all aside from mortgages. etc. It's gone from a circus to a strictness that would make a Puritan clench. It's crazy.

In 2004 mortgage brokers were giving away money not caring if you were going to default or not. They were going to roll the whole thing up into a giant "Mortgage backed security instrument", pay their abettors at S&P a little something to rate the timebomb AAA, and then pawn the steaming pile off onto some unsuspecting investor. The broker didn't hold the mortgage long enough to care if you ever made a payment.

"When you figure out how to sell oregano as pot - the first thing you do is secure a reliable source of oregano". :laugh:

Nowadays that game's shut down and they have to care about whether the loan gets paid or not, so it's tougher to get a loan,,, as it should be.

I think it's pretty funny when people say they want smaller government but in the same breath want religious regulations put in place like anti-gay marriage or pro-choice measures. You can't have both, it doesn't work that way.

^^This. It really doesn't work that way.

I hear that on the tight banks!

We bought a home in AZ in 2004. We had a house in MI that we had up for sale but was not pending. Hubby had just gotten back from Iraq and was unemployed because his company laid him off when they found out he'd be deployed. I was a SAHM to our then 6 and 3yo. We applied for a loan and were approved for an outrageous amount - twice what we were actually looking to spend. We had no income and 2 mortgages (main loan on MI house and equity loan on MI house to use as down payment for AZ house.) and they were going to give us an absurd loan amount.

Fast forward to last year. We lived in Germany for over a year. Hubby got a new job in VA with the government. He had steady, good income in Germany and was transferring to another job with good income. We still own our AZ house but we have renters in it who are coverning the full mortgage. When we started looking for a house here we were approved for less than we were when we bought AZ. This despite having a very good income v. being unemployed, owning a house with 1 mortgage and a renter v. owning a vacant house with 2 mortgages, a job v. being unemployed, etc. Our credit scores are about the same, perhaps a bit higher even. No debt at all aside from mortgages. etc. It's gone from a circus to a strictness that would make a Puritan clench. It's crazy.

In 2004 mortgage brokers were giving away money not caring if you were going to default or not. They were going to roll the whole thing up into a giant "Mortgage backed security instrument", pay their abettors at S&P a little something to rate the timebomb AAA, and then pawn the steaming pile off onto some unsuspecting investor. The broker didn't hold the mortgage long enough to care if you ever made a payment.

"When you figure out how to sell oregano as pot - the first thing you do is secure a reliable source of oregano". :laugh:

Nowadays that game's shut down and they have to care about whether the loan gets paid or not, so it's tougher to get a loan,,, as it should be.

Great post!

My most controversial opinion is that we need a massive pandemic to rein in the population of humans to a number that the earth can sustain.

I swoon over you more and more.:flowerforyou:

I'm hard core crushing on both of you at this point :blushing:

I think parents should have an opt out option in these cases, just like they do with vaccinations.

The sad thing is that many kids wouldn't get ANY Sex Ed unless the schools step in. That's not good for anybody.

I agree with you there. But I DON'T think they should be allowed to opt out of vaccinations.

Ok they can, but they can't enroll their kids in a public school.

Sorry. I try to always be for people's freedoms. But anti-vaxxers are just dumb and put children's lives at risk. They distrust doctors but put their faith in the words of Jenny McCarthy. Idiots.

Now I fully vax my kids, and don't really buy into the whole vaxxing causes autism bit.

But food for thought: If vaxing is preventing all these diseases and keeping kids safe from getting them, then in theory the vaxxed kids in public schools aren't going to catch anything the non-vaxed kids bring in anyway.

Anywhoo, I guess I still think it should be up to the parents to decide what they put in their kids body.

I believe exercises like this effectively demonstrate that humans are not capable of forming their own opinions responsibly.

WOW, very well said!! I agree with you (well not about being a male, as I'm a female-- haha), but I have not been able to articulate my beliefs on this matter as clearly as you stated yours. Well said indeed.

Unrelated, but-- as far as controversial opinions go-- can I throw in that I am a "pro-lifer" (I believe life begins at conception) who also believes in educating teens/women/men regarding options for contraception and safe sex... And making birth control more affordable and accessible for those who need/want it and cannot afford it... I would say that the majority of people who are opinionated on this subject disagree with at least half of what I said. LOL!!

Yes ma'am. I'm anti-abortion but pro-choice, because I don't believe that making abortion illegal will stop it and will only make it much more dangerous for the mother. A leader had a great policy statement, "Let us strive to make abortion safe, legal, and rare".

I think the world would be a better place if success were based only on merit. But I know the world doesn't work that way. I have many friends that feel they work hard for what they have, and everyone else has the same opportunity they did. These friends are very passionate about their beliefs. And I don't argue with them anymore. But I believe them to be wrong.

The fact that I am a heterosexual white male in the U.S. gives me opportunities that others do not have. That I was born and raised in a middle class family gives me opportunities that others do no not have. The fact that I have no physical or mental disabilities gives me opportunities that others do not have.

WOW, very well said!! I agree with you (well not about being a male, as I'm a female-- haha), but I have not been able to articulate my beliefs on this matter as clearly as you stated yours. Well said indeed.

Unrelated, but-- as far as controversial opinions go-- can I throw in that I am a "pro-lifer" (I believe life begins at conception) who also believes in educating teens/women/men regarding options for contraception and safe sex... And making birth control more affordable and accessible for those who need/want it and cannot afford it... I would say that the majority of people who are opinionated on this subject disagree with at least half of what I said. LOL!!

Not to try to dissuade you from your views, but, as I understand it, there is no actual "moment of conception".

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/issues/Vol40/Issue1/DavisVol40No1_Peters.pdf

I'm sure someone who is anti abortion has come up with a metaphysical work-around for this inconvenient truth, but it's something to consider.

I certainly appreciate that you share the idea that an excellent way to stop abortions is by effective and easily-obtainable birth control.

I believe exercises like this effectively demonstrate that humans are not capable of forming their own opinions responsibly.

So controversial.

Thank you! I try.

:drinker: :drinker:

Not to try to dissuade you from your views, but, as I understand it, there is no actual "moment of conception".

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/issues/Vol40/Issue1/DavisVol40No1_Peters.pdf

I'm sure someone who is anti abortion has come up with a metaphysical work-around for this inconvenient truth, but it's something to consider.

I certainly appreciate that you share the idea that an excellent way to stop abortions is by effective and easily-obtainable birth control.

Interesting document, thank you for sharing! I have a degree in biology, but I never studied the fertilization process in depth, so a lot of what I skimmed over was new information for me. I love science :bigsmile:

To be more precise, I think when the unique and new set of diploid DNA forms, this is "life" because it is unique, and nothing exactly like it has ever existed, nor will it exist again (barring an occasion of identical twins, though even in that case there are often epigenetic differences).

Obviously choosing that "moment" is my own opinion, but it is because I am in awe of the amazing process by which unique human beings are created, starting with that first set of DNA at "conception." That's just my opinion though, I don't think scientists will ever define the precise moment when life begins. But the new and unique DNA is really something to marvel... Learning about the tiny, detailed processes that make our bodies function is akin to seeing the hand of God at work, in my opinion... it's a beautiful thing!!'

oh, I miss my sciencey days sometimes!! :laugh: sorry for rambling!!

Now I fully vax my kids, and don't really buy into the whole vaxxing causes autism bit.

But food for thought: If vaxing is preventing all these diseases and keeping kids safe from getting them, then in theory the vaxxed kids in public schools aren't going to catch anything the non-vaxed kids bring in anyway.

Well, a lot of people believe this, but it's not entirely accurate. Massive, nationwide vaccination plans are only able to eradicate disease through what is known as "herd immunity."

Basically, somewhere around 10% of vaccinations don't "take," and the child is not actually immune-- even after getting the shot. (don't quote me on the number, it's somewhere in that range but I'm just using it for illustration.) However, if the entire "herd" is vaccinated, it doesn't matter that a few kids here and there aren't truly immune, because since enough kids ARE immune, there is nobody to catch the disease from.

The more parents decide not to vaccinate their kids, the more we risk herd immunity being thrown off-- So in theory, if enough kids are non-vaccinated, this could lead to some of the kids who DO get vaccinated still getting XYZ disease (mumps, measles, whatever).

...hope that makes sense... my brain is a bit foggy today...!!

EDIT: Info on herd immunity, if you scroll down (if anyone cares, lol)