Some parents have no trouble giving their children perfectly unique‚ very meaningful names that won’t go on to ruin their adulthood. But others…well…they get an A for effort‚ but might want to consider hiring a baby name professional. Things of course get even more complicated when one parent becomes attached to a name that they’re partner finds completely off-putting. It almost always leads to a squabble‚ because the more one parent is against the name‚ the more the other parent will go to bat for it. This seemed to be the case for one soon-to-be mom on the Reddit AITA forum recently. Apparently‚ she was second-guessing her vehement reaction to her husband’s‚ ahem‚ avant garde baby name for their daughter‚ which she called “the worst name ever.” But honestly‚ when you hear this name‚ I think you’ll agree she was totally in the right. For context‚ the couple initially thought they were having a boy and were going to go the traditional route by carrying over the husband’s name. Easy Peasy. Except they were having a girl instead. And here is where our saga begins.“See‚ when we first started talking about names‚ the ‘boy name’ was immediately decided: Stuart Jr.‚ after my husband‚” she wrote. “No problem there‚ it’s a classic name and carries family meaning. But‚ for a girl‚ things got murky.”Apparently the woman’s husband thought he had come up with the perfect solve for their situation. Read on.“My husband suggested Stuarta‚. No‚ you’re not having a stroke‚” she continued. “Apparently‚ his logic is that since Stuart ends in ‘t‚’ we can just add an ‘a’ to make it feminine.” Sure‚ okay. Some names can lean feminine or masculine depending on some letter tweaks‚ like Robert/Roberta‚ Eric/Erica‚ Carl/Carla‚ etc. But I think we can all agree that this trick doesn’t work in all cases. And that was how the wife felt. “I tried explaining why that doesn’t quite work‚ how it sounds more like a furniture brand than a human name‚ how she’d be endlessly correcting people and explaining its origin‚” she lamented.AITA for rejecting the worst name ever for our offspring? byu/Beginning_Date1924 inAmItheAssholeBut‚ alas‚ “He’s adamant though‚ says it ‘honors’ him while giving our daughter a unique name.” In trying to respect his wishes‚ she even suggested some feminine name alternatives that sounded like Stuart‚ this still honoring his name. But he would not budge. At a loss‚ the woman concluded‚ “I love my husband dearly‚ and I understand wanting to honor family. But I can’t imagine subjecting our daughter to a lifetime of awkward stares and endless questions about her ‘unusual’ name. I also worry about potential bullying and the impact it could have on her self-esteem.”She also asked the forum if they had any additional name suggestions‚ but for goodness sake no other “-ta” names. “The man clearly has a theme‚ and I need to gently steer him away from it‚ not fuel the fire!” she joked. To no one’s surprise‚ everyone in the comments section thought “Stuarta” was dreadful. “It sounds like a word your cousin tried to use in Scrabble during the holidays of 1997 just to try and win the game — they didn’t‚” one person wrote. Another added‚ “Stuarta sounds like a pharmaceutical product. I can hear the commercials now. ‘In some cases‚ Stuarta can cause headaches‚ rashes and even death.’ It doesn’t have a decent nickname. And no‚ adding an ‘a’ doesn't make it feminine in all cases; this is one of them. I’d go for Stuart as a middle name.”Others felt it unfair that the woman’s husband was so hellbent on being the one honored in the first place—especially if the child is already taking his surname. Others argued that naming a child after a parent‚ any parent‚ robs them of their individuality. “WTF should any child HAVE to be named after him in some way? I get the tradition thing but this is just weird behavior. The name should be about the child‚ not him alone. It's not only selfish‚ but arrogant to insist children must be named after him.” “I always believed that if you want your child to have their own personality‚ their own name is the best place to start.”Lastly‚ folks pointed out that regardless of how adamant the husband is about Stuarta‚ both parents have to be on board with the baby name: “Remind him that baby names need a yes from both parents or it’s a no. You both need to be able to live with whatever you go with. Even if that means both of you are missing out on the one you want most.” Case closed.Hopefully the husband comes to his senses and all gets resolved before we have a little Stuarta in the world. But if not‚ let’s be kind to her regardless.

The musician's defining hit. The post How The Beatles shaped Gary Wright’s ‘Dream Weaver’ first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread economic disruption and social upheaval‚ prompting calls from the elite for a reevaluation of global systems and structures. One such initiative is the Great Reset‚ a […]

by Leo Hohmann‚ Leo’s Newsletter: Is this the first step in Vladimir Putin’s expected revenge for what he believes was a U.S.-Ukrainian-involved terror attack on Russian concert hall last Friday night? Investigative journalist Lara Logan is reporting that the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Harbor on Tuesday‚ March 26‚ by a […]

by Frank Bergman‚ Slay News: A bombshell election integrity investigation has found that between 7% and 18% of registered voters in 26 U.S. states are fake. The investigation‚ conducted by Omega4America‚ found that the fake voters either didn’t exist or their residing address had been fabricated. The firm carried out a long audit of voter rolls […]

As a fisherman in Maine’s groundfish industry‚ Geordie King is used to uncertainty: Once your net is cast‚ you never know what it will haul up when it returns‚ if it returns at all. This unpredictability holds true in general when it comes to the sea‚ which swayed King’s 49-foot‚ teal-hulled gillnetter‚ the Brittany Lynn‚ in gentle rolls as we sat in her wheelhouse‚ the boat’s engine idling beneath our feet. But even for King — who‚ after fishing in the Gulf of Maine for 40 years‚ was used to his work being affected by the volatility of innumerable factors — the abruptness with which the pandemic upended the fishing industry was remarkable. “It pretty much came to a dead stop for several months‚” King remembered‚ his eyes searching somewhere beyond the wheelhouse’s window‚ where the water of Casco Bay sparkled in the tilted winter sun. “The markets momentarily dried up‚ trucking dried up … the whole infrastructure came to a grinding halt. So that basically put a stop to fishing.” Geordie King‚ owner of the Brittany Lynn‚ has been fishing in the Gulf of Maine for 40 years. Credit: Kea Krause It wasn’t the fishing itself that was the problem. In fact‚ many boats were able to safely resume operations within the first year of the pandemic — the coastal breeze supplied adequate air circulation; the open ocean‚ with no land in sight‚ provided ample social distancing. But as Susan Olcott‚ the director of operations of the nonprofit Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA)‚ lays out‚ just about every other aspect of the industry was in crisis. Fishermen “didn’t have a market for their catch. Restaurants were closed and overseas markets were not happening‚” Olcott explains. “It was not profitable for people to keep fishing.”  When the pandemic struck‚ MCFA had already been supporting Maine’s fishermen and working waterfronts for 15 years. And as Olcott‚ along with Ben Martens‚ MCFA’s executive director‚ witnessed the pandemic’s havoc on the community‚ the nonprofit launched a program called Fishermen Feeding Mainers (FFM) to help out people like King as they navigated the unfolding disaster. Using federal COVID relief funding‚ FFM purchased fish at the Portland Fish Exchange from groundfish captains‚ which guaranteed competitive prices. By investing in their fish‚ FFM enabled fishermen to return to work‚ confident that they would receive fair pay for their catch. In turn‚ FFM would make good use of the fish: by donating it to local food banks and the food programs of public school districts. 

In 1984‚ women began asking the questions: “Where have all the good men gone‚ / And where are all the gods? / Where’s the streetwise Hercules / To fight the rising odds?” Thank you‚ chart-topping singer Bonnie Tyler‚ for your musical inspiration! Tyler’s song “Holding Out for a Hero” first hit a nerve back in 1984 in the movie “Footloose.” And it continues to hit a nerve today as we find ourselves in what many call “a boy crisis.” Brenda Hafera‚ a frequent guest on the “Problematic Women” podcast‚ says this crisis manifests as men and boys are “struggling mentally‚ physically‚ academically‚ economically‚ and spiritually because of the absence of fathers‚ the failures of our education system and policies‚ and changes in both the job market and our culture.”  As employment and IQ rates for men fell in recent years‚ suicide rates increased.  The crisis being experienced by men “is the result of decades of harmful ideas‚ policies‚ and even technologies‚” Hafera‚ assistant director and senior policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation’s Simon Center for American Studies‚ writes in a recent report. (The Daily Signal is Heritage’s news and commentary outlet.) “These elements have often exacerbated each other‚” Hafera writes‚ adding that “because the state of men helps to shape the state of society‚ the boy crisis is at once a driver and symptom of fundamental societal ills.”  the surface‚ the solution to the problem is simple: good fathers! Hafera is among many scholars who argue that a direct correlation exists between boys and men who have a present‚ loving father in their lives and rates of success and achievement. Hafera points to research on the importance of fathers‚ citing the book “The Boy Crisis” by Warren Farrell and John Gray.  “Whether or not dad is present impacts school achievement‚ verbal intelligence and quantitative abilities‚ school dropouts‚ employment‚ suicide‚ drugs‚ homelessness‚ bullying‚ victimization‚ violent crime‚ rape‚ poverty and mobility‚ hypertension‚ trust‚ and empathy‚” Hafera writes.  Of course‚ establishing loving fathers in homes across America is more difficult in practice. So how can this be done? What are the real solutions to the modern-day crisis of men? “The solutions to the boy crisis will be far-reaching and multitudinous‚” Hafera says‚ “including policies that may not immediately seem obviously relevant to the boy crisis.” Among them: Promoting school choice and classical and civic education. Disrupting the accreditation monopoly. Reforming colleges and universities. Increasing vocational and apprenticeship programs. Invigorating mentorship and single-sex activities and spaces. Renewing positive media portrayals and societal respect for men and fatherhood. Establishing and revisiting age-appropriate curtailments on technologies‚ drug policies‚ welfare and disability regulations‚ and family law. Hafera joins the “Problematic Women” podcast to discuss how these solutions can begin to address the “boy crisis” and what role we as women have to play.  Listen to the podcast below: Read Hafera’s full report on “the boy crisis” here. The post ‘Where Have All the Good Men Gone?’ Solutions to the ‘Boy Crisis’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

After nine long years of prosecution against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton‚ the staunch Republican managed to avoid any jail time for securities fraud charges. Instead‚ he will have to perform 100 hours of community service‚ among other requirements laid out in a pretrial agreement‚ The Texas Tribune reported. This...