Wednesday, April 02, 2008

A sign of the times

I noticed an engagement announcement in the paper today that had seven parents mentioned for the young woman and man who will be getting married in June. And I have seen eight.

VA healthcare providers

are entitled to immunity from medical malpractice claims as provided by the Federal Tort Claims Act according to an employment ad in JAMA.

$15,568 a year

is the personal cost of obesity, including medications and food according the Helmuth Billy--but he's got a dog in this fight since he's a gastric banding advocate and that's about what the operation costs. Noted in WSJ 3-31.

My heart breaks for Ellen Minter

who at age 57 retired and is barely scraping by on her portfolio after years with a 6 figure income and real estate in California wine country. She's sold her Chanel suits on e-Bay and her convertible and is just going to ride out these tough economic times, according to a WSJ tear jerker yesterday.

God in the classroom?

At another blog I saw someone speculating on those pathetic third graders who were plotting against their teacher--something about "that's what you get when you take God out of the classroom." Wasn't that in the 1950s that Madelaine Murray O'Hare brought her law suit to stop prayer? I think God's been gone from the schools for some time, and in many communities he was never too welcome.

Can churches end poverty?

Maybe--if they toughen their message on chastity and marriage instead of having conferences and meetings about it. In 1970, 71% of all U.S. households were 2 parent families compared to 51% in 2007. Larry Elder says the 38 most important words about poverty are: “Finish high school, marry before having a child, and produce the child after the age of twenty." Only 8 percent of families who do this are poor; 79 percent of those who fail to do this are poor.

The Bureau of Labor Chart

showing restaurant growth corresponding to the increase of women working outside the home since the 70s seems to parallel the climb in obesity.

The Ohio Historical Society

is scaling back its Archives hours from 3 days a week to 2 days because of a 2% budget cut. Ohio spends less on its Archives than any other state. Something doesn't sound right in this story which appeared in the Dispatch.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Parents: I give up who are the other six? One for each of the two cells of the zygote. List 2 or none, please lets get some perspective.

Healthcare providers: They also don't have to screw around with insurance and billing. A much bigger perq than coverage for malpractice. I know plenty of VA docs, PAs, ARNPs and RNs and they are all quite good practitioners.

$7784: I am having baby carrots as a snack get off my back!

Elle: I read that too, I am wondering if she needs a 40 year old boy toy?

God in the classroom: God was in every classroom I was ever in. I had 12 years of nuns. I thought the nuns could kill us, but we never thought of killing a teacher. I wonder how many were medicated, I would wager a large sum that it was more than half. Why be a parent all day when you can be a pharmacist for 20 minutes.

Churches: I had two married parents, I am not poor. My peers, and my co-workers that are poor or even living week to week are from single parent families. While correlation does not equal causation I have to agree with L.Elder. I am Cathoic we seldom divorce, we try to work out our problems with the help of the priest- at least the Catholics I know do.

Restaurants: When I was a kid the bowling alley in Elma, NY restaurant had a diet plate - a grilled hamburger patty, a peach half, and a scoop of cottage cheese. Now that is not really diet, but it beats the ~ 2000 Kcal superlatte vente (used without permission as I am not describing a 20 ounce drink) coffee with whipped cream and 3 shots of debit card.

Ohio State Archives: I know absolutely nothing about the Ohio Archives. I know I offered to volunteer at the local county archives two times but no one returns my call.... well I tried.

Norma said...

Hanging out with you Matthew is like having a personal librarian.

Norma said...

About the parents: The bride had four (both parents had remarried) making the announcement, and the groom had 3 (dad hadn't found anyone yet). The second dance at the reception should be interesting. We went to a wedding once where the formerly married parents shared a dance--they were pretty good--then switched and danced with ex's spouse.

WDL said...

I just read a story about people giving up their pets because they can't afford to take care of them....which is also sad.

I'd walk to work to save gas money if it meant getting my kitties food.

WDL

Norma said...

WDL: I read a similar story in the WSJ--which I'm more inclined to believe than some of the usual anecdotes they hang their thin stories on, but only because I'm appalled at how people treat their pets even in good times.