A mish-mash of links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

* Authenticity, Honesty, and the Stay-At-Home-Mother -- "The mommy wars have made great advances in battling the false fronts of picture-perfect blog posts, where dinners always look fabulous, children are always beautifully dressed, and husbands always come home with roses. But..."
* California Students File Suit Aimed at Tenure Law -- "In a packed courtroom, attorneys unveiled opposing views Monday on the emotionally divisive issue of whether California public school teachers should be protected from dismissal if they are found to be grossly ineffective in their jobs."
* Controversial 3,700-Year-Old Sumerian Clay Tablet Discovered–Claims Noah’s Ark Was Round? -- "The story told on the cuneiform clay tablet is nearly identical to that of the Holy Bible..."
* Iran's FM: 'Glimmer of Hope' for Pastor Abedini -- "The ACLJ reports Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif suggested clemency could be an option for Abedini."
* Manual Transmission Stymies Massachusetts Car Thieves -- "A trio of would-be car thieves had to hit the brakes on their plan because none of them knew how to drive a stick."
* NSA Spying Isn't Just an Illegal Invasion of Privacy—It Doesn't Stop Terror Attacks -- "We have not identified a single instance involving a threat to the United States in which the program made a concrete difference in the outcome of a counterterrorism investigation."
* Starbucks Is Already in Front of the Next Specialty Beverage Craze -- "Starbucks owns two major tea brands: Tazo and Teavana."
* Texas husband named brain-dead wife's fetus -- "I'm just glad they are not in my shoes. I hope every day that no one ever has to go through what I went through."
* Useful Church History -- "Here are ten stories from Church History that I tend to use in my ministry as the pastor of a local church."
* Were you charged $9.84? It might be fraud -- "Be on the lookout for a recent $9.84 charge on your debit or credit card. It might be part of a massive, worldwide scam."
* What Macklemore got wrong…and right -- "The lyrics to Macklemore’s song took aim at Christians and their views on marriage."