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That is a good point you make, swimmer.  I never really dealt with my sexual abuse until after I was raped in college. I had not learned how to properly deal with these situations until it happened again. All the old feelings of guilt and shame resurfaced. It took a couple years of counseling to come to a place where I could accept that both situations were not my fault.

To the mother who suspects her daughter may have been abused - may I suggest counseling. Pick the right counselor, though. Someone you can trust and someone you think your daughter will trust. Then, let her go in alone. I went to a lot of family counseling as a kid and never opened my mouth. But the counselor I found after being raped was an amazing, caring woman. I was finally able to talk about the sexual abuse and find closure.

posted 3 years ago
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Agreed. My grandfather was the perpetraitor of sexual molestation in my family. Unfortunately, my family is very emotionally challenged and no conversation on this topic was ever or has ever taken place. I was molested as a young child - I can only remember 1 instance when I was 6 but I know it happened before then. I told no one until I was 12 when I found out my sister had been molested when she was 3. I have 8 other female cousins and to this day I am not sure if some or all of them were likewise abused. My guess is that all of them were.

It is incredibly sad that we all had to suffer in silence. My grandfather was never tried for his crimes. I was never told as a child how to say no or that I could even talk to my parents about this. The worst part is that for the 6 years before I could tell anyone, I was convinced it was my fault. That I could have stopped it.

Every parent should talk to their kids - of all ages - about what inappropriate touching is. And create an environment that encourages their children to come to them if anything ever happens.  No child should ever have to suffer in silence!

posted 3 years ago
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I disagree. I think the purpose is to help homeowners who's home prices are now lower than they owe on their mortgage to renegotiate their mortgage to that lower price. This will bring down home values across the board back to reasonable values. (I agree that the whole American system is broken that requires 2 parents working full time in order to have kids and a home. Americans are not raising their own kids because we are slaves to our debt!)

Also, I am in my 20's and I bought a home with my husband 2 years ago at the peak of home prices. We did not get an ARM but in the last 2 years our home value has dropped well below what we owe on our mortgage. We are doing fine paying our mortgage but have wanted to refinance into the low interest rates currently available. Because we owe more than our house is worth, we can't do this currently. Obama's plan would allow us to do this which would also help save us some $$$ each month. I worry that if one of us lost our job, we would quickly go into foreclosure without much in the way of savings.

~Lisa, Aloha

posted 4 years, 3 months ago
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forgot my name: Lisa - Beaverton, OR

posted 4 years, 3 months ago
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Clearly, gambling drops as the economy goes down. Perhaps instead of putting gambling dollars towards schools, those dollars should be put towards "luxuries". Education is as important as shelter and health care - it is needed whether there is a recession or not. The arts, on the other hand, are more of a luxury. The state could re-allocate funding such that the arts receive a majority of funding from gambling while schools receive funding from more stable sources of the state budget.

Don't get me wrong - I'm an artist, myself. I have nothing against the arts. It should also be noted that during this recession, there has been a marked increase in home crafting to supplement income. The arts will still flourish in a recession, but perhaps in a different form than traditionally expected. A trip to Portland Saturday Market is a testiment to this fact.

posted 4 years, 3 months ago
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