This week, the American Humanist Association launched an advertising campaign in Washington, DC playing on the Christmas song, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." The ad, placed exclusively on the sides of DC buses, says, "why believe in a god...just be good for goodness sake."

If you missed the news story, see it here.

This ad, and the organization behind it, reflect bold new efforts on the part of athiests to impose their agenda on American culture. By usurping a traditional Christmas song and image (cool dude in Santa suit), the AHA isn't just promoting their humanist ideas; they're taking a swipe at Christians.

My friend, author Tim Bete, was on the front end of the pirate craze for kids when he released his current book, "Guide To Pirate Parenting," a hilarious handbook on how to turn your poop deck into a home for promising young pirates. But even Tim must be unimpressed with this year's Halloween costume craze -- sexy pirate attire for little girls.

If you're like me, there are web sites you've allowed for your kids, but only while holding your nose. We've never permitted the overtly inappropriate environments such as Bratz or even Barbie's "My Scene" because their hypersexual themes and mature situations are just wrong for young girls. (Does a 10 year old really need to be fantasizing about meeting friends at the Tiki Bar? I think not...)

On Tuesday, I was a guest on “The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet” in New York, participating in a discussion of cell phone use in children.  (See this week’s column on the specifics of the segment – we talked about  some new research that connects cell phone use in kids to an increased risk of brain cancer).  I’ve spoken out often enough on kids and cell phones that I seem to have developed a reputation as the “anti cell phone mom.” This is a little bit hilarious since we have maxed out our family plan with five cell phones.

How is I’m paying for this many phones and yet I’m becoming known as a mom who doesn’t allow them? Very simply, we don’t provide a cell phone to our middle schooler.

You’d think this wrinkle in our family policy was akin to spearheading a book burning rally. Oh the humanity! No cell phone for a 10 year old? Quick, get that crazy woman on a plane to New York to explain herself!

As the mom of three girls, I confess I sometimes treated my infant daughters like baby dolls. Cute as they were, I made the most of their babyhood by dressing them in lots of pink and yellow clothes, putting bows and ribbons on even the thinnest whisps of baby hair, and even adorning their tiny feet in soft crib shoes made to look like patent leather "Mary Janes."

I wouldn't put black on my babies unless it was a black velvet Christmas dress trimmed in scotch plaid. I never dressed them in miniature versions of grown-up clothes because I wanted them to look as sweet and innocent and unspoiled as they were. My motto became "Innocence is the new black," and when I look back at pictures of my girls as babies, I'm filled with a sense of joy because they were just so stinking cute (even when they were just stinking!).

Last week in my weekly (cough, cough) email to subscribers, I shared the web address of my new favorite political blogger, my daughter Betsy. She's a high school senior who won't be able to vote in the upcoming presidential election, but who nonetheless has lots of strong and well-considered opinions about what's going on. Jim and I suggested to her that she start a blog to share her point of view, and after only a few posts, I decided to share her blog with my readers.

My dear friend Lisa Hendey, founder of the terrific web site Catholicmom.com and a prolific blogger and podcaster, clicked through to Betsy's blog and was impressed. So Lisa blogged about Betsy's blog. Like me, Lisa is proud to be the parent of a socially aware and concerned teenager. We moms know that the future of our nation rests on the interest and commitment of the next generation.

I'm not going to pretend I don't love Gov. Sarah Palin. My only question is, "Who couldn't?" Even if you don't agree with her politics, you have to look at this woman -- just as we all look at Sen. Obama -- and realize the torch of leadership of our country is being passed to a new generation of dynamic, articulate and exciting people.

So with that full disclosure aside, here's a tidbit about her groundbreaking speach at the RNC last night: She did about half of it from memory. See this link:

Sarah Palin "winged" her speech because of "broken" teleprompter

By all accounts, Michelle and Barack Obama are geek parents! At least, that’s the way I read the news stories describing their priorities for their daughters. Sen. Obama has said he and his wife try to shelter their girls from too much cultural influence, and that they seek to protect their daughters’ innocence. They spend time reading together, playing games and building family traditions. Dad brings home snow globes when traveling (OK, so there’s now a staffer in charge of picking them up at the airport gift shop, but still)… and mom apparently limits her schedule as much as possible to attend to the needs of her children.

Several years ago, Michigan’s Democratic candidate for governor, Jennifer Granholm, announced her candidacy for my state’s highest office. At the time, she and I were the same age and had similar families – young families. I knew how much effort and energy it took to keep things going at my house and I wondered if her children would suffer if their mother pursued the governor’s office. Years later, it’s clear Gov. Granholm and her husband are raising a healthy, happy family. Certainly they’ve all made sacrifices during those years – as every family must do for various reasons – but having a family didn’t preclude Gov. Granholm from public service.

Similarly, the fact that Gov. Sarah Palin plays many roles in life – wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend and leader– means she is living to her full human potential.

How should we react to the news that Gov. Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter is five months pregnant? How about with the same kind of compassion, empathy and goodwill that ought to characterize our response anytime a teenager faces a life-changing and challenging situation.

Parents across America who haven’t faced the heartbreak of sitting down to learn their teen is pregnant should remind themselves, “there but for the grace of God go I,” because statistics say most of us could easily find ourselves helping a teenager through this difficult circumstance. Those who have been through it already know it’s deeply personal and complicated – and not a situation that suggests placing blame or pointing fingers about parenting. If anything, we can all blame a culture that tells teenagers an active sex life is normal and appropriate and that abstinence is an unrealistic ideal.

But it turns out that many folks assume – at least in WSJ blog comments – that I’m advocating a parenting strategy that turns out social misfits. Ack! Nothing could be further from the truth!

Nor am I promoting the idea that parents should mold and control the personalities of their children. For some reason, saying that I think parents ought to monitor and limit the influence of media in the lives of their kids equates to some people the notion that I’m out to produce Stepford children who robotically respond to every parental command.

If you met any one of my four children, you’d know that my husband and I aren’t raising social misfits or adolescent automatons. They’re all lively, unique and outspoken. Moreover, the fact that we guide them in decision-making when they’re young has resulted in teens who make terrific decisions for themselves.

So why the misconceptions?

Blogged by Kathleen Hicks

How strange, to sit on a couch while watching the world speed past at a steady 65 miles per hour.

Strange, too, to drive a seemingly flat road and yet pass a sign that reads “Grant Village, elevation 7770 ft,” realizing that this flatness is over a mile above the sea.

Stranger still to wake up in the flatlands of Iowa and hours later fall asleep in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. And yet, this is just what we have done.

On this trip, I have spent days in some of America’s biggest cities (Chicago, Denver) and passed through desolate stretches of desert and prairie. In hours, my family has traveled from the lovely resort town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming to the relatively remote wilderness of Yellowstone Park, devoid of cell phone service and wireless internet (I say relatively because, despite the overall remoteness, Yellowstone still contains gas stations and convenience stores, handy for when we run out of essentials like milk, bread, and beer -- for Dad, of course).

This morning, I stood in my kitchen, mindlessly eating my yogurt and drinking coffee, when this headline caught my eye:

Teens sending nude photos via cellphones

The subhead describes the problem further: "Pictures meant for boyfriend or girlfriend are ending up on the internet."

Here are a couple of key items in the story:

"School administrators in Santa Fe, Texas, confiscated dozens of cell phones from students in May after nude photos of two junior high girls began circulating. The girls had sent the photos to their boyfriends, who forwarded them to others, officials said."

"Psychologists said the phenomenon reflects typical teenage hormones and lack of judgment, with technology multiplying the potential for mischief. It also may reflect a teenage penchant for exhibitionism, as demonstrated on MySpace and countless other Web sites and blogs."

"Some parents are aghast."

Only some parents?

Only a few weeks until summer vacation officially overtakes the peace and quiet of my home office. Usually, I brace myself for the inevitable whining that starts within a day or two: "I'm booooored." But not this year. What's my plan to infuse adventure and excitement into my children's summertime existence?

Jobs you ask? Well, yes, for the older ones. And household chores for the younger two.

Day camps? I've signed my kids up for a few activities, but not enough to keep me driving hither and yon for weeks on end. Mom's taxi service needs a vacation, too.

No, my plan to offset those long and lazy afternoons spent glazed in front of Disney sitcom reruns is a throwback to my own childhood summers -- months I spent tooling around on my trusty yellow Schwinn visiting friends and riding to the Tastee Twist.

I'm going to loosen the reins and allow my kids some freedom.

I confess to feeling a bit out of the loop on the political front since I didn't participate in the Democratic primary. It's a bit like being a Hatfield and watching from the front porch as the McCoys duke it out among themselves. But assuming Sen. Obama will be the nominee...

I don't see scary movies or even read scary books anymore. Why should I when I can just pick up the paper and be terrified anytime I want? I decided recently that I'm going to violate my own policy against anxiety-for-entertainment and read Best-selling author Harlan Coban's new thriller, Hold Tight. If you have kids and a computer in your home, you should read it too...

Remember those ads with actor Robert Young where he said, "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV." He knew his status as an actor didn't make him an actual expert on medical issues. Someone should tell this to actress Kate Walsh...

It rained a lot on the first few days of our spring break in Florida, so my kids spent more time than I liked borrowing my laptop to play games. But what can you do when it rains on vacation? At one point, to kill her boredom, Amy (age 10) came to me and asked if she could sign up on Club Penguin, a Disney-operated social networking site for children her age...

A while back, while surfing the net for a column idea, I ran across a web site for little film called "Indoctrinate U."

Last night I finally spoke to my college freshman on the phone...