I graduated high school in a class of 160 students back in 1983. The local paper published the honor roll each quarter and 1 or 2 students would have earned all A's for that period; always the same 1 or 2 students who were brilliant and who truly worked their tails off to get perfect A's. Now, almost 30 years later, my mom still subscribes to that same local paper and they still publish the honor roll each quarter. The graduating class each year is still around 160 students, but now, each quarter, a full 10% (at least 16 students if not more) is on the honor roll for straight A's. How could the curriculum have been dumbed down THAT much -- it's a terrible shame and it's not fair to anyone that straight A's have been made so much easier to obtain.

Crazy people/criminals are going to kill people. They will use a gun, a rock, a knife, or their hands. It started with Cain and Abel. Many serial killers didn't use guns -- like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy. Two of my sons (and one wife) have concealed carry licenses. They are both military trained (one got the Marksmanship Award in Boot Camp.) And I am thankful that if a bad guy starts shooting, they can legally take him/her out. My husband and I are researching buying the best handgun(s) for us and will be getting our concealed carry licenses. You never know now, when some crazy is going to start shooting up the place. If we make guns illegal, only the law-abiding citizens won't have guns -- the criminals/crazies will still get them on the black market. My sons live in Houston (we moved from there a year ago) so this shooting really hits home. Problem is that schools are "gun-free" zones, so law-abiding citizens don't bring legal guns on campus. But criminals/crazies do. What if a law-abiding, concealed carry citizen was legally able to carry on campus and take the criminal out after the first shot? And yes, I do support armed guards in our schools. Unless someone wants to die as a suicide by police, armed guards would take away the thrill of mass murder from the sickos this society has produced.

Urinary Tract Infections: UTIs occur much more frequently in girls, particularly those around the age of toilet teaching, because a girl's urethra is shorter and closer to the anus. Uncircumcised boys younger than 1 year also have a slightly higher risk of developing a UTI. Other risk factors for developing a UTI include: * an abnormality in the structure or function of the urinary tract (for example, a malformed kidney or a blockage somewhere along the tract of normal urine flow) * an abnormal backward flow (reflux) of urine from the bladder up the ureters and toward the kidneys. This condition, known as vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), is present at birth, and about 30% to 50% of children with a UTI are found to have it. * poor toilet and hygiene habits * the use of bubble baths or soaps that irritate the urethra * family history of UTIs Yeast Infections: In most cases, yeast infections can be prevented by keeping the vaginal area clean and dry. Jock Itch: jock itch can usually be treated with over-the-counter antifungal creams and sprays.When using one of these, kids should: * Wash and then dry the area using a clean towel. * Apply the antifungal cream, powder, or spray as directed on the label. * Change clothing, especially the underwear, every day. * Continue this treatment for 2 weeks, even if symptoms disappear, to prevent the infection from recurring. There are lots of adverse effects of poor hygiene, besides dying. Even though many of these are not 'caused' by not bathing, it can worsen a problem that is already there if you don't properly clean. (besides having a stinky kid) There are many other conditions that can be prevented (or part of treatment is )by keeping clean. If parents of a newborn or infant didn't bathe their child, they would be neglectful parents. As kids get older, they get dirtier and teaching them good hygiene is the parent's responsibility. Skipping a day is probably not a big deal, but several days can be. Especially school aged kids that are in contact with other kids that pass along more germs. Who would let their kid go days without brushing teeth? or washing hands after using the toilet?

Banning assault style weapons would not reduce these numbers hugely but would still be meaningful. And it seems like pretty low-hanging fruit, too, when you consider all the other guns do have some arguable use. Not sure what the legit argument for having military-type weapons is. Remember that the United States does NOT have an official manner to track gun deaths. There is no mandatory reporting guidelines by law enforcement agencies to give a true number. So it's probably worse than the charts show. Studies suggest that suicide by methods other than gun are often failures and the person usually regrets the attempt and sometimes even gets help. (Otherwise, why bother with the oops net under the Golden Gate bridge?) Nobody knows if gun attempts would be regretted cuz...they work better. Suicides by gun is a problem. It's a different problem than assault-style weapons being used for mass random murder. They can't be addressed the same way but they shouldn't be forgotten. Shame the CDC can't support studying gun violence or suicides. So yeah, my kids' schools have drills. The middle school might have a security guard; the elementary school doesn't. The typical mid-century California suburban school has no inner halls. It's just a conglomeration of buildings. If you didn't feel like entering by the kindergarten or the front office or the library, you could enter from the other side by sneaking through the backyard of one of the 20 or so homes that back onto the field.