Nothing worse than kiss and tell

Governor Sanford needs to apply some duct tape to his mouth and stop embarrassing his wife and children.

"This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," Sanford said. "A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day."

Oh. Gag.

Bird Walk at Lakeside

Can you believe it? I left my binoculars at the cottage! Oh well, it was still a great event. Our leader: "Bill Thompson III is the editor of Bird Watcher's Digest by day. He's also a keen birder, the author of many books, a dad, a field trip leader, an ecotourism consultant, a guitar player, the host of the "This Birding Life" podcast, a regular speaker/performer on the birding festival circuit, a gentleman farmer, and a fungi to be around. His North American life list is somewhere between 667 and 669. His favorite bird is the red-headed woodpecker. His "spark bird" was a snowy owl. He has watched birds in 25 countries and 44 states. But his favorite place to watch birds is on the 80-acre farm he shares with his wife, artist/writer Julie Zickefoose. Some kind person once called Bill "The Pied Piper of Birding" and he has been trying to live up to that moniker ever since."

What I knew about birds could be written on my little fingernail, so I'm a whole lot smarter than I was at 7:30 a.m. We saw sea gulls, of course, which Bill told us are misnamed--they live mainly on lakes, and he told us the many names; a Caspian Tern, which lives all over the world but is named for the Caspian Sea; a male House Finch, a descendant of the 40 some that were illegally let loose in NYC and are now everywhere in the US and southern Canada; a Cormorant; Great Blue Heron; a Grackle and Starling; some Bank Swallows lined up on a wire; and finally, we gathered around our 5 Purple Martin houses, one of which had been invaded by a sparrow family. Bill told us funny stories about Purple Martin "landlords" which are a special class of bird watchers.

Now this is the way to see a bird!
She's been on lots of bird events
The Midwest Birding Symposium will be at Lakeside, September 17-20 with wonderful programs and performances by leading bird watchers, vendors, a boat cruise and other fun stuff. There will even be events for beginners like me, like a "bird sit." Based on the vast knowledge I picked up today, I think that's a Caspian Tern on the poster.

Lakeside Lovers

Along the lakefront, lovers have walked for over 130 years. Some stop to record it. A century ago they might have carved on trees; then on the flat rocks now covered up. More recently, chalk on asphalt. We hope David and Michelle will do as well as Shirley and Frank.

Week two at Lakeside

This morning we're supposed to have a bird walk, but it's very cloudy and cool. This is one of five purple martin houses on the lakefront. Usually I see many flying around. I only saw the sun briefly during my 6 a.m. walk along the lake. If you're unfamiliar with the area, that's Kelley's Island in the distance. Lakeside has a private dock that extends into Lake Erie, but no beach except that created by the association for children.





Today is also the farmers market. Last week's raspberries looked fabulous--I might look for those today. I sat next to a woman in a lecture who was eating hers out of the box. Although the sweet cherries looked great, too.

Twenty eight billboards saving lives in Columbus, Ohio

Pregnancy Decision Health Centers are using bright pink billboards to save babies. They have already documented stories of calls to their hotline from this message being on billboards, business cards, yard signs and bumper magnets that will result in babies being saved at PDHC. The billboards originally put up in April and May are staying up for much longer than anticipated because the space has not been taken by another organization.

Part of my stimulus check went to PDHC for the unborn children, and part to the food pantry for the children already here. I am most saddened by Christians who support pro-abortion laws and causes--usually because they sincerely think the child will grow up in poverty or an abusive situation and therefore will be better off dead. That's a really odd death sentence, don't you think? Not even Bernie Madoff got the death penalty, and think of the lives he destroyed.

Bush and the Axis of Evil

With North Korea threatening to wipe the U.S. off the globe, do you still think Bush was hasty in lumping together Iran, Iraq and North Korea both for what they do to their own citizens and how they threaten other nations? "I wonder what the 2002 critics of President Bush’s phrase think when they watch the YouTube footage of bloodied women in the streets of Tehran or when they read about China and Russia taking the lead in sanctioning North Korea? Read more of Anthony Bradley’s “Yes, friends, axis of evil

We're safe, of course; President Obama plans to use strong words against the missiles and bombs--or will just continue to call them silly threats to make them go away.

"North Korea has been busy, busy, busy since the election of our weak President. This week, they have sharply increased their war rhetoric. On Wednesday they issued this threat: "If the U.S. imperialists start another war, the army and people of Korea will ... wipe out the aggressors on the globe once and for all." And on Thursday they promised a "fire shower of nuclear retaliation" if the U.S. attacked them. The media is pretending that it isn't happening, whistling in the dark, but how can anyone avoid noticing that since Obama's failed policies have been introduced, the evil forces of the world have been unleashed?" Pamela Geller North Korea’s March to War

The Gangster Government

We're used to cronyism in government and the workplace. But this is much worse. Now we've got 20 czars who report only to Obama running the government instead of elected officials. Czar is the Russian word for Caesar, and the former General Motors, The Government Motors, is now Gangster Motors. Folks, Obama is a marxist; until recently I thought he was too smart to go the Russian route, but this all looks awfully familiar if you've ever studied the Soviet Union.



HT Murray.

New trees for the campus

My high school friend and favorite Democrat, Lynne, tells me that four new trees have been planted on the former campus of Mt. Morris College (where my parents and grandparents attended and which closed in 1932 after a fire in 1931). There was a terrible storm in August 2008, and a large number of magnificent trees were lost--many were diseased and frail, but still beautiful and providing wonderful shade and respite. However, trees are not “natural” to this little mound in northern Illinois. According to the Mt. Morris Past and Present of 1900

"The present site of Mount Morris, as stated before, was an open prairie, with not a tree or a shrub to be found. What is now the college campus was then the crest of a hill of considerable size, the country sloping from it in all directions. The early settlers say that before the view was obstructed by buildings and trees, the altitude of the hill was very perceptible. The prairie grass was very rank. In fact, in some places it grew so luxuriantly that it was almost impassable. Most of the ravines and hollows were in a wet, boggy state; and the streams and ponds retained the water from rains much longer than now, because of the absence of tiling in the lowlands. There abounded hundreds of springs, which have long since ceased to flow, owing to the rapid drainage now effected by the work of tiling and the development of the soil."

So, I don't know what the soil in mid-town Mt. Morris is like now, but I'm guessing it's well drained. (The local cemetery where most of my family--parents, great grandparents, sister, cousins, aunts and uncles, etc.--awaits the resurrection used to be called "burial at sea" just to give you an idea of how boggy it was.) However, last week I attended a program on the trees here at Lakeside, a totally different type of soil--very rocky, as this is called the Marblehead Penninsula on Lake Erie (a body of water that has changed shape and size many times since the glaciers passed through here). Our speaker said that for every inch of trunk, the newly planted tree needs 5 gallons of water a week, plus 5 gallons. So if the tree is 2 inches, it needs 15 gallons of water a week to get a good start. There is no way those new trees can get that much naturally. But he told about a wonderful contraption called a tree gator--looks like an ugly green bag attached to the trunk. It holds 5 gallons, and you move it from tree to tree each day, and start over the next week. It's drip irrigation and won't drown the tree the way an impatient employee or volunteer might.

Newly planted trees are under severe water stress right after transplanting. And they will remain under water stress for the first several years after planting. Maintaining soil moisture is especially important during the first three years following transplanting. So how do you prevent transplant shock and avoid water stress on new trees? The answer is simple, Treegator® slow release watering system for trees. Treegator delivers a high volume of water directly to the root system of a newly planted tree.

Maybe this could be a project for the reunion committee.

TV pitch man Billy Mays dies

Every time he came on I’d turn to my husband and say, “Why does he always shout?” But he was the best known TV pitch man, and after a head bump on a rough landing, he later died. He was 50. We don’t know yet what happened, but those type of head injuries can be dangerous.

Ohio HB 176--protection for pedophiles?

Yesterday I received an email alerting me to Ohio HB 176, which makes a number of changes in the Ohio Revised Code specific to sexual orientation or gender identity. One definition that caught his attention was that pedophilia was listed with homosexuality, or bisexuality, transvestism, etc. If you take into account that pedophilia is listed with gender orientation, which is added to the sections in the revised code, it seems like the Democrats have opened the door to public schools for the pedophiles.

What’s your take on the wording? In the current Code, the wording is "physical or mental impairment” includes any of the following" . . . and homosexuality, etc. is listed. In the new wording the specific phrase included under definitions in 16(a) on what doesn't constitute an impairment:

(b) "Physical or mental impairment" does not include any of the following:
(i) Homosexuality and bisexuality;
(ii) Transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments, or other sexual behavior disorders;
(iii) Compulsive gambling, kleptomania, or pyromania;
(iv) Psychoactive substance use disorders resulting from the current illegal use of a controlled substance or the current use of alcoholic beverages.

The wording is nothing if not strange and confusing since this part of the code involves housing and employment. If you support GLBT rights, then read it: "Physical or mental impairment does not include pyromania." Or. "Physical or mental impairment does not include illegal use of a controlled substance."

This HB 176 is presented to the people by its sponsors and advocates as necessary protection for the GLBT group, a group that conservatives say don’t meet the Supreme Court criteria for a protected class (economically disadvantaged, immutable characteristics, politically powerless). There are church officials, companies covering all their bases (or remove the b and add an a--the advocates are anything but politically powerless), state offices and community organizations supporting this bill who are probably out of touch with the people in the pew and on the street where you live and work: Cardinal Health, the Cleveland Clinic, Bishop Ough of the West Ohio Methodist Conference, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and the Mayor of the city of Springfield. My church and mayor never say boo about this sort of thing on either side, so without people who actually read the bills (which wouldn’t be the legislators) and pay attention to loopholes large enough through which to drive a Hummer-dinger, I wouldn’t usually know about these laws.

“On Tuesday, May 12, 2009, House Bill 176, also known as the Equal Housing and Employment Act was introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives. When passed and enacted, the legislation will add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of reasons for which a person may not be discriminated against in Ohio in employment, housing and public accommodations. Governor Ted Strickland has pledged his support to the bill and has promised to sign it into law when it reaches his desk. When enacted, this will be the first statewide law protecting or recognizing Ohioans based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” from Do what‘s right Ohio

Ice cream, you scream. . .

"In honor of the 44th President of the United States, Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream has introduced a new flavor: “Barocky Road.”

Barocky Road is a blend of half vanilla, half chocolate, and surrounded by nuts and flakes. The vanilla portion of the mix is not openly advertised and usually denied as an ingredient. The nuts and flakes are all very bitter and hard to swallow.

The cost is $100.00 per scoop. When purchased it will be presented to you in a large beautiful cone, but then the ice cream is taken away and given to the person in line behind you. You are left with an empty wallet and no change, holding an empty cone with no hope of getting any ice cream.

Are you stimulated?"
Seen at Common Folk

The Honeymoon of 2009

Although I don't agree that Obama is Bush-redux, I do think the honeymoon is over.

"Mark it on your calendars. It was in June 2009 that Barack Obama's honeymoon officially ended. And to be more specific, it was this past week. Through some mysterious alchemy, this was the week that Bush's economy became Obama's, Bush's wars became Obama's, and the ups and downs of a real workaday relationship with the press also introduced Obama to a more accurate sense of what life was like for Bush and for all his other modern predecessors." A run through of the links

Obama is NOT politics as usual, and the press hasn't even come close to putting his feet to the fire.

What's going on in New Jersey?

With Obama attempting to bring down the government with so much poorly thought out legislation that neither Congress nor the voters can read them [can and trade bill was 1200 pages] or keep up, it's hard to follow the money trail. Here's a poster of the 8 RINOs that voted for the Crap and Trade-it bill.

HT Stop the Liberals Now

Newsmax: "Friday's vote was 219-212. The legislation was supported by 211 Democrats and eight aisle-crossing GOP members: Reps. Mary Bono (Calif.), Michael Castle (Del.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Leonard Lance (N.J.), Frank LoBiondo (N.J.), John McHugh (N.Y.), David Reichert (Wash.) and Christopher Smith (N.J.). Forty-four Democrats voted against the bill, making the eight GOP votes all the more crucial.


“This is the biggest job-killing bill that’s ever been on the floor of the House of Representatives. Right here, this bill,” House Minority Leader John Boehner said after the vote. “And I don’t think that’s what the American people want.”

Also, we have a creek (Turkey Run) in our back yard; on Abington we had one too (called Evans Ditch by the old timers, but don't know if that's official). We also have a pot hole near one of the condo drains. Now all the water, standing or flowing, will belong to the Federal government if S. 787 passes, I guess because it takes such good care of everything.



HT Some Have Hats

Week two at Lakeside has some great seminars

Week One was terrific; and week two promises a lot. Monday through Wednesday mornings at 10:30 is Kerry Dumbaugh, a specialist in Asian Affairs with the Congressional Research Service since 1984, speaking on "China's Future," and at 1:30 on Monday there is a documentary, "China Rises; getting rich--the economic boom." Then in the afternoons Tuesday through Friday there is an astronomy series in recognition of Galileo's 400th anniversary of the development of the telescope. It begins with a film "Galileo's Battle for the Heavens" at 1:30 on Tuesday and is based on Dava Sobel's book Galileo's Daughter, which my book club read a few years ago. The Wed-Fri astronomy lectures at 1:30 are by Dr. Thomas Statler, Prof. of Physics and Astronomy at OU and who writes for the Columbus Dispatch, and Dr. Mangala Sharma, adjunct professor of Physics and Astronomy at OU. There will also be presentations at 10:30 on Thurs. and Fri. but I'll be in the China class.

If my brain is still able to function, at 3:30 I could attend Managing your Nest Egg Monday on "The Psychology of Money," with Carol Craigie, Wellness Tuesday for optimal food choices for seniors with Wendy Stuhldreher; Meet the Author Wednesday with Jason Barger Step back from the baggage claim, and Environmental Thursday on Lake Erie algae. And of course, I'll want to try Jan Hilty's gerb garden class on herbal teas at 8:30 Wednesday. She's going to distributerecipes for herbal teas.

On Monday evening, instead of a movie, we'll have Karen Vuranch, a storyteller from Fayetteville, VA presenting a program on Pearl Buck in Orchestra Hall (the movie theater). This is a tie in to the morning China series. Buck, you may recall, was raised in China and wrote many novels about it. The Good Earth won a Pulitzer Prize in 1932. Thirty plus years after she was denied a Visa to return to China and was vilified by that government, she is now honored as portraying Chinese life and customs accurately and with compassion. Link.

New shoes for walking

I bought a pair of Danskin athletic shoes at Wal-Mart yesterday called Lindsey (also the name of the granddaughter we lost in the divorce). I doubt that having the closers (shoe laces?) of elastic and Velcro is a good idea. Too much stretch and not enough support. But we'll see. I broke them in yesterday with a two mile walk along the lake front. Because I have a narrow foot, buying any shoe these days is tricky. The obesity problem seems to have spread to the foot, so the manufacturers design and sell for the consumer with a wider foot. Occasionally I can find a New Balance in a narrow, but not often. These are $22 at Wal-Mart and $17 on e-Bay with a shipping charge. I would never buy shoes I couldn' try on first because every manufacturer seems to use a different template for toes, arch and heel. I love the Nikes I bought right before our Middle East cruise in March, but I can't wear them every day, or even for every walk. Now that we're at Lakeside, I'm getting 5-6 miles a day in, 4 planned, and 1-2 just walking to lectures and programs. At home I like to do bare foot walking on the condo grounds, but here, there are just too many dogs and too few careful dog walkers with baggies.

Yes and Yes

Why do they need to waste more money on an investigation? His salary comes from the taxes of the people of South Carolina, so he used taxpayer money because it was on their time. If the lieutenant governor knew where he was, then he lied, and he should go too. Any money Sanford uses to "pay it back" also belongs to his wife, who helped get him where he is today--the governor's mansion. If I were her I'd clamp that bank account, safe deposit box, automobile, real estate, stock ownership and house shut like yesterday. She and the children should not have to pay for his catting around and it's expensive to raise children through college when you've just lost your job. She should learn from Mrs. Edwards' example.

"Democratic leaders want an investigation into Sanford's use of state money to help pay for an earlier South America trip. Others are questioning whether the governor broke laws by leaving without giving the lieutenant governor control." AP report

More on media bias

At least "Media Bias" was the title of the following piece. Actually, we knew Obama would do this, because he promised during his campaign, so I don't think the media can take all the credit/blame--unless of course, you see them as a doormat under his feet, which I do.

The Public Broadcasting Service recently announced it will not allow new religious programming on their taxpayer-subsidized airwaves. The handful of stations that have shown a Catholic Mass or Mormon devotions will be allowed to continue, but the other 300-plus stations have been instructed to avoid any kind of evangelism.

Welcome to Barack Obama’s new world order.

News reports explained that the PBS station services committee insisted on applying a 1985 rule that all PBS shows must be "noncommercial, nonpartisan and nonsectarian."

To everyone who’s watched a pledge drive or contemplated a toy store stuffed with "Sesame Street" toys, the idea that PBS is following any "noncommercial" policy is absurd.

To everyone who’s watched two minutes of "Bill Moyers Journal," with its panels unanimously screaming for Bush’s impeachment, or more recently, for a single-payer socialist health-care system, the idea of PBS being devoted to a "nonpartisan" stance is several miles removed from ridiculous.

But the atheists and secularists who want all traces of sectarian "proselytizing" for Jesus banned from PBS do have something to say about PBS public-affairs programming. Read the rest of the story.

Since you can't keep PBS out of the tax coffers, at least don't make a donation. I've always thought Bill Moyers, the left's biggest shill, was the best reason to turn off those fund drives (notice they play the doo-wop and Irish dancing lasses shows for the drives, not Bill Moyers) and drop an extra $10 or $20 in the collection plate next Sunday.

The Jackson Cover-up

While people lit candles and brought flowers, the Democrats in Congress were rubbing their hands with glee--wow, who could have planned it better? Pelosi vowed to have it passed by July 4--anyone checking out her whereabouts Thursday? Everyone was looking the other way, not paying attention. The ever non-vigilant obamedia were self absorbed and weepy, scurrying around for any story thread or film clip whether it was twitter or Perez. With some Democrats voting against it and a smattering of RINOs for it, the Climate Change bill passed.

“I’m in a tough spot. I really am,” Rep. John Salazar (D-Colo.), one of the Democrats who opposed the bill, said before the vote, citing his fears the legislation could raise energy costs and hurt the coal industry in his low-income, rural district. “Either way I’m going to get creamed.” Politico.com

We know just how you feel, Mr. Salazar. We're all screwed. This country runs on energy. It's not about putting Ohio, Indiana, W. Va., Illinois, Kentucky and Pennsylvania coal miners out of work--although they will be. But if you use electricity in any form, or any product made from petroleum, from house paint to wind shield wipers to carpeting, or eat anything that's been prepared or grown in this country, you are about to see your job and life style disappear and your taxes go to the moon. If you've ever been transported from point A to B by plane, train, truck, car, bicycle or boat, you're now a very permanent resident where you are. The cap and trade boys, including Al Gore, will get very rich at your expense. And they'll be as successful at stopping weather change as the SEC was at stopping Bernie Madoff's scam with all their rules, boards and regulations.

We Americans bought the myth that we are "dependent" on foreign energy sources--we are because the government made us that way. It made our own coal, gas and oil so expensive through regulation and taxes, the investors and producers went elsewhere and just shipped it here for business as usual. Well, now that you bought into that big lie, it's a short stretch to part 2, alternative energy sources. Meanwhile, all those American businesses can just go elsewhere, like China and India and Southeast Asia, or Africa or the Phillipines--anywhere but here. If it's one thing we know about a good capitalist, he goes where the money can be made, and it sure won't be here.

The picture of modern American, energy dependent society and economy is not the smoke stack that the LA Times prints with its article. The picture is your house, car, clothing, church, yard, leisure, hobby, your clean water. It's a picture of your freedom. I'm cooking collard greens with onions and bacon this morning, but all of it was grown somewhere else and trucked to Ohio--I don't have a garden and there is no livestock roaming the back 40. It's cooking on an electric stove standing on a linoleum floor in an enameled pan with a plastic trash bin next to the stove while I write on the internet.

Actually, I suppose it is fitting that Jackson's death covered up the final vote--he was about 400,000,000 in debt, broke, and has a bunch of kids from different women that don't look like him. His business life was far more complex than his personal life, and that's pretty bad.

Obama has no intention of either saving the earth or the economy. He is well on his way to destroying the United States, and if you voted for him, you helped.

Anal cancer

Before Michael Jackson's death wiped the topic clean, the media were preparing for another slow news day of not being honest about Obamacare with wall to wall coverage of Farrah Fawcett's death, a woman who had both insurance and personal wealth. From Michael's death we'll hear all about drugs (all speculation since the toxicology reports take a long time); from her death we might find out something we don't hear much about--anal cancer.

So I looked it up. This is a topic even the medical sites treat pretty delicately. I'm not sure, but they seem to be afraid of offending someone or some group. But what I gathered was, don't have anal sex. Gay guys don't have much choice. But women can say NO--there is an alternative.

Anal cancer is one of those cancers no one likes to talk about because it's, well, anal cancer. But we really should discuss it as much as, say, cervical cancer. Both are predominately caused by the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus. In fact, a 2004 study of 6,000 anal cancer patients (the majority of whom were women) found that 73 percent of the patients tested positive for the strain HPV-16, one of the strains that the Gardasil vaccine protects against.

What's worrisome is that unlike cervical cancer, which has dropped dramatically since the advent of the Pap smear, anal cancer is on the rise. Incidence rates over the past 30 years have jumped by 78 percent in women and 160 percent in men, probably because more people now have more sexual partners and more people have anal sex (both among heterosexuals and gay men), says Lisa Johnson, a cancer epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle who led the 2004 study. "What Farrah Fawcett can teach us about anal cancer"

It's not just a convenient way to avoid a pregnancy or some new experience to be talked into; it's just a way to have sex with a guy who'd probably prefer to be with another guy and you're the convenient cover and the repository for a sexually transmitted disease. That's just my opinion, of course. The anus is for waste removal, not sex. It's also rather delicate and tears easily.

The good news is this is treatable.

Treatment for most cases of anal cancer is very effective. There are 3 basic types of treatment used for anal cancer:
surgery – an operation to remove the cancer
radiation therapy – high-dose x-rays to kill cancer cells, and
chemotherapy – giving drugs to kill cancer cells. Link.

James Line at OSU on anal cancer.

Now here's a romantic slide to think on the next time.

Should Governor Sanford resign?

Yes. This is a no brainer. He was willing to throw his career and trust away for a sex fling, so why not throw it away for a principle? If he's willing to cheat on his wife, throw his four sons overboard, lie to his staff, and make fools of his closest friends and advisors, why in the world should the people of South Carolina, who are complete strangers and know him only from TV and personal appearances trust him? This is not a matter of forgiveness. Yes, they should forgive him, but they deserve better. The man has a proven record of deception and also misusing his office and the tax payers' money. Show him the door!

To say nothing about his naivete of putting his smarmy love life in e-mail. So add stupidity and technologically challenged to the list.

Jackson coverage way overdone

It makes you wonder what's going on in Congress and the White House that isn't getting coverage since the press is doing nothing but the Jackson death. The President is throwing the kitchen sink at us, just as in the plan book to bring the country to its knees, so when we don't hear of any major take-over--major industry, energy, media, health, military, etc.--for 24 hours, I start to wonder. I made the mistake of googling "media overdoes Jackson death," and it tried to change it to "overdose." Even the overload of Twitter became a story. No! I mean hasn't anything else happened on the globe? For once I found myself agreeing with Gibbs:

"White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that Obama sent his condolences to the Jackson family and fans. When asked why a formal statement would not be released, Gibbs said, "Because I just said it." "

And how many days before Obama sent condolences to the family of the recruiter, William Long, one of his soldiers, murdered by Muslim terrorist? Three. Will he need to note every entertainer who dies? What about Farrah?

Also, let's not forget how the media reported on Jackson in the past for all the cosmetic surgery, child abuse charges, etc. when he was no longer a cute, youthful performer. Since they blamed the rest of us for the deaths of everyone from George Tiller to John F. Kennedy, will they now take the blame?

When they come up for air, they report on Gov. Sanford.

Remembering the taste of an egg

It goes way back. We had chickens when we lived on Hannah Ave. in Mt. Morris. Mom use to say, without a smile, the eggs cost about $1 a piece, which in the early 50s was a chunk of change. She bought special feed, and shell hardener, and equipment to keep them safe from predators. They would drop their feathers, look peaked with half closed eyes, and fall over and die. It never paid off the way the garden did. Nor do I remember what a fresh egg tastes like. Until today. I learned.


I stopped at the Farmers Market today and picked from a basket a dozen eggs retrieved from the nest yesterday. The lady sitting next to me in the Greek Civilization class said she had lived in the Dominican Republic for 22 months, and there fresh eggs would last about 30 days, longer than refrigerated eggs.

I fixed my husband and me fried egg sandwiches for lunch (his had ham salad too, which affected the taste) and then took my treasure to the basement just in case they need to be cool. However, these will never last 30 days, because this was just about the most heavenly sandwich I'd ever tasted. No wonder Mom was willing to put up with that mess in the back yard and why my Dad kept fixing himself a fried egg sandwich the last years of his life. Looking for the good old days, I think.

It's not poverty, it's income gap

That's about all we hear today. What about the gap between Michelle's salary and that of most working women? Not bad for a part time job that doesn't need to be filled when you move on. I don't have the source for this, it was passed along by Bill L. in an e-mail.

Replacing Michelle in Chicago (UNCLASSIFIED)

At the top right hand corner of Page 17 of the New York Post of January 24th, 2009, was a short column entitled "Replacing Michelle" in the National Review "The Week" column. Here it is, word for word, as it appeared: Some employees are simply irreplaceable. Take Michelle Obama: The University of Chicago Medical center hired her in 2002 to run "programs for community relations, neighborhood outreach, volunteer recruitment, staff diversity and minority contracting".

In 2005, the hospital raised her salary from $120,000 to $317, 000 nearly twice what her husband made as a Senator.

Oh, did we mention that her husband had just become a US Senator? He sure had. And that he immediately requested a $1 million earmark for the UC Medical Center, in fact?... You betcha by golly... He surely did... Way to network Michelle!

But now that Mrs. Obama has resigned, the hospital says her position will remain unfilled. How can that possibly be??? Especially if the work she did was vital enough to be worth $317,000?

Oh, by the way, let me add that Michelle's position was a part time, 20 hour week job at $317,000.00 per year !! And to think they were critical of Blagojevich's wife for taking $100,000 in fuzzy real estate commission.

Question is.. How did this bit of quid pro quo corruption escape the sharp reporters that dug through Sarah Palin's garbage and kindergarten files?

And to think how she whined in her way through those Ohio campaign appearances before unionist and pink collar workers--oh! the pain of paying off college loans and paying for private school and piano lessons for the girls. Fer sure, fer shame.

And the liberal Annenberg Fact Check really takes this one apart--the salary was lower, she worked part time only after 2007, etc. etc. Her husband's position wasn't a factor, yada yada yad. Oh yeah. I'm guessing nepotism is alive and well even at Annenberg--it certainly was at OSU where I worked.

Perspective class at the Rhein Center

These are the projects my husband's class has been working on this week. The first week population is low, but he says teaching a smaller class is easier. These are his demos (does them in class) of one point, two point, and using shadow and shade for perspective. The painting over the mantel is not his; it was done by Ned Moore of us on the beach in 1974.

This class will be offered again during the 3rd week of the season.

For Democrats, hypocrisy is the biggest sin of all

The mess the S.C. governor has made of his family life, marriage, and career is for the liberal media a mud puddle to play in. Why? It's not that their team doesn't commit adultery, fornication, steal from the office kitty, have dangerous sex with leather and various objects in a variety of body openings or bring gay lovers into prominent government positions. No. When Democrats are caught, it's "Oh well," boys will be boys. Or almost-a-boy will be a boy. If Chastity becomes Charles, she's just finding her true self. Never you mind that you watched her grow up in frilly dresses on TV in the 1970s. What I found very interesting listening to Harry Smith yesterday was to hear him call Sanford "a rising star," as though he would have had laudatory comments like that before the star crashed and burned. Today's ABC website shows mostly photos of Republicans, flanking one Democrat, the former presidential candidate, John Edwards. Now that, dear readers, is the picture of hypocrisy.

Skipping the wind energy program at Lakeside

Today's afternoon seminar was "Building advanced energy economy with off-shore wind power; Great Lakes wind energy" by the exec dir. of the Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force. Lakeside is a Chautauqua community with wonderful educational programs, but they do list to the left like a water logged boat. About 1 p.m. my husband went down to sail, came back in 10 minutes. No wind. I went down to the lakefront about 2 p.m., sought out every piece of shade I could, but the lake was like glass. So I came back to the air conditioned cottage, powered by coal.

This is the picture of wind energy--now you see it now you don't; you can't store it; you can't depend on it. God created the forces, such as temperature change that create wind, but he also created all the stored energy in coal from rotting vegetation. God had the original recycling program, but the pantheist greenies don't want it. What God hasn't provided is more tax money to throw money at these projects labeled "task force" or "feasibility study" or "potential proposal" or Obamanomics. The American people have heavily invested through government perks and tax breaks in the system we already have; now many of the same energy investors want even more gov't money to start from scratch. These guys didn't get rich by not spotting a good deal. However, down the road, President Obama may have a surprise for them--his intentions are to destroy, not to build.

Wind generates about 1% of our energy needs. Coal does the heavy lifting. Coal is at the heart of Ohio's economy (like farming), a state where the governor is closing libraries and parks while crying in his beer. As American politicians, regulators and CEOs dabble and tinkle on the energy problem, repeating every lie they can think of several hundred times a day about economy of scale, China and India will continue to use coal. Whatever the pollution they create, I'm sure the friendly wind will bring it our way.

What do you want to bet that Michelle and Barry, Barney and Nancy, Ted and Harry won't want this view from their back yard or yacht? Just like they won't want the health care coverage they expect you to take?

Don't follow me home

I told the friendly guy at the grocery check-out yesterday. I was kidding, of course, but he was certainly interested, not in me, but in the rhubarb pie I had discussed with the owner when I came in to buy oil and flour. The young man had heard about it several aisles away. But then, he was also buying vodka and it was only noonish.


How many circles can you count--I got at least 28, assuming you don't count the spaces between the burner coils. It was still in the 90s last evening so I frozen the filling in the shape of the pie pan, and made the pie this morning when it was cooler. Even then a kitchen at 450 for 30 minutes makes the AC work harder.

Jim and Marion are coming over tonight to help us eat this rhubarb pie with Cool Whip. It's all sugar free, but certainly not calorie free. I might have to add another round to my daily walks which are now up to about 6 miles. She is also a retired librarian and he and my husband sail together in the "Society of Old Salts."

The Obamacare Infomercial

ABC really looked foolish. What was apparent during the 2008 campaign is now chiseled in stone--we have no free broadcast press in this country anymore than they do in Muslim countries. And the other sources like cable and talk are under great pressure through regulatory agencies run by Obamaclones to preach and teach the Obamadminews. Wonder what the ratings were? Saying "others disagree," is hardly giving 2 or 3 sides to the debate. So, what are our TV choices here: sitcoms with snarky, skimpily clad, jiggly women with few lines, law and crime investigative shows where plots involve cops or priests who are crooked, PBS green-go-only shows, or "news" media falling at the feet of the President. I may have to start watching football.

It finally feels like summer

It might hit the low 90s today. The weather has held--no rain, and cooler than northern Illinois or central Ohio, but the lake is very still today which means more heat. I've been able to add a street each day to my west end to east end walk--all the way east along the lakefront, then Monday I returned on 3rd, Tuesday on 4th, and today, Wednesday on 5th. Fifth is a bit of challenge in that there is a hill between 4th and 5th. But it's interesting to see the changes from year to year--although there are more houses for sale than I realized. Yesterday I saw a huron sillouetted against the sunrise but didn't have my camera. Today I took the camera, but he/she saw me first and flew off. The only wildlife I caught was this very shy calico (she's feral but gets food from all the neighbors).


Usually, I can get 2-6 more short walks in to equal 1-2 additional miles. Today it was to the coffee shop, then the herb class, then to the sports class then to the grocery story to buy oil for the rhubarb pie crust.

Sports and Faith and Herbs and Pastels

Week One of the Lakeside 2009 season has been a bunch of Firsts for me. I've been attending Greg Linville's class on Sports and Faith in the morning. It has been outstanding. If you ever get a chance to take one of his classes at Malone University in Canton (Evangelical Friends related church school) or hear him at a conference, be sure to do it. I'm a complete non-athlete--have never even played golf, which Murray says has deprived me of one of the two best pleasures in life--the other being beer, which I've never tasted. Linville has opened up scripture in many areas, particularly in his lecture about Eric Liddell, the missionary to China, who ran in the Olympics (Chariots of Fire movie).

Then Monday and Tuesday I took a pastel class at the Rhein Center, and both efforts were total failures, but you never know you have no talent for a particular medium unless you try! My record is at my new blog, called Norma's Art.

This morning was the big--huge--stretch. The herb class led by Jan Hilty. It was so interesting I even signed up for the trip to Mulberry Creek Herb Farm in 2 weeks. I learned that this is the year of the bay, according to the Herb Society of America. It seems everyone but me knows you can keep bugs away with bay leaves. In your cupboard, just lay it on the shelves, or inside a pastry cloth, to keep those pesky visitors away. Our instructor said it is great for slow cooking, fresh or dry, although she prefers dry. It has a pleasant balsamic aroma and is good with heavy, fatty meats. It can also be added to sweet dessert dishes. We received some recipes, then walked over to Lakeside's herb garden where Jan went over the details of what was growing there. I'm sure for the old thymers it was well worn material, but it was all new to me and I came home with some freshly cut chives.



Jan cut various herbs and we all smelled them; some people took home various kinds that were ready to be harvested, but I only took the chives. I loved the lemon geraniums.

The road to nowhere, now here

The law suit about Obama's valid birth certificate will go nowhere, even if the Supreme Court were to decide to take it (it won't). The alternative media and internet discussion will be shut down, you can betcha that! You don't really think his handlers wouldn't be prepared for this, do you? The big talkers aren't touching it.

From Top News: The campaign challenging the legitimacy of Obama's 1961 birth certificate or the legality of his taking office is chronicled by WorldNetDaily, a popular, politically right-leaning site. Moreover, it appears that Peter Boyles - KHOW's morning drive time talk host - has taken up the mantle this issue; as have strong Obama opponents, like Jerome Corsi. In addition, lawyers in at least six states have argued Obama is not a natural-born citizen and cannot be president.

In an article on World Net Daily, Corsi contends that, in response to his requests for the Obama birth certificate, Linda Lingle, the Governor of Hawaii ordered the Obama birth certificate under seal, and ordered the state Health Department to refuse all press requests for the original documents.

The birth certificate on both the Obama and 'Fight the Smears' website does not reveal the name of the hospital at which Obama was born. In fact, to many it looks much more like a simple registration of birth, which Obama's mother could have applied for according to Hawaiian law, regardless of where Obama was actually born.

Joe the Lip promised us a disaster after Obama was elected

And he was right! He said we'd question his plans and results. And he was right! Biden's all over the Ohio northwestern TV stations, spreading it deep and thick. Not only has his administration taken over and destroyed what was left of the auto industry of northern Ohio by giving it to the unions with our tax money, but it is planning to destroy our energy based economy with the phony baloney cap n trade, which will benefit the same rich corporate execs (plus Al Gore) but will destroy local jobs. We've got counties up here with a 17% unemployment rate, compared to about 6% during the 2006 campaign in which Strickland and other Democrats constantly griped about "this economy." Now they want to make it even worse with green pie in the sky and kill the southern half of the state.

Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky and southern Illinois are all coal states. You know, the "dirty" stuff that has supplied about 90% of your electricity and powers the industries where you work. Now they want to clutter the prairies and lakes with windmills, a very unreliable source of energy, but 3 guesses who will own the stock and who will be trading those credits!

A graphic at Powerline today is worth looking at. It shows the state-by-state annual taxes incurred due to cap-and-trade based on EIA and CBO data. Ohio's new tax bill? $642.5 million annually, following Texas, Indiana, and West Virginia.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/06/023883.php

Ohio turns out to be the 4th biggest loser, which is fine if you're on reality TV competing with 49 other obese contestants, but this reality is lost jobs, incomes, schools, libraries, parks, highways, and it's big votes for Democrats who always promise a thousand times more than they can deliver, and people fall for it. Just like the FDR era, where they preferred WPA jobs to real jobs. Remember, the P in WPA was changed from Progress to Projects after several years of failure.

Farmer's Market Returns

Nothing tastes quite as good--fresh from the garden. This cost me $16.00. The beets are a 2-fer--I cooked and had the greens for lunch and we had the beets and half the asparagus for supper. I didn't make a pie out of the rhubarb because I was out of oil. Maybe tomorrow. That's homemade blueberry jam in the jar--a little pricey--$4.50, but it is supposed to be good on ice cream or pan cakes. Ohio strawberries are smaller and firmer than California's, but have twice the flavor.

Farmer's market produce, if local, is very good and probably more nutritious since it hasn't sat in warehouses or refrigerated cars for days. That said, the hype from the wellness folk and environmentalists that this is the way everyone should eat is completely ridiculous. Our diet in Ohio would be extremely limited and women would again be tied to the kitchen stove, to say nothing of the various industries they are trying to destroy. Everything has trade-offs and consequences. I walked 2 blocks, brought my own bags, then walked home. That isn't realistic for 99.9% of the population. Most people will need to continue to drive to supermarkets to purchase trucked in, or shipped in produced, frozen foods, or prepared packaged foods. And it's still a good buy, and if you choose carefully, it's all nutritious.

Abigail's Teas & Treasure

Last summer I wrote about the closing of the landmark restaurant, The Abigail, in Lakeside, and the reopening of it under the name Evelyn's. Well, that didn't work out and the buildings (two cottages joined) are owned by the bank, which has leased it to a local woman. She told me her name, but I've forgotten it already. I stopped in this morning to check out "Abigail's Teas & Treasure." If you've been coming here a long time (our first year was 1974), you'll be happy to see that it pretty much looks the same, with seating on the porch and in the main room. However, it is now self-serve and primarily a bakery, deli, sandwich place. Dessert menu looks terrific and it will be open from 6 a.m. until Hoover closes, so you can stop in after the program instead of lining up down the street for ice cream.

Oh yes, free wi-fi and a computer is available if you need to check your e-mail.

Conservative bloggers losing it over Iran

"Here we get a hard dose of Hopenchange," said Allapundit at Hot Air. Some bloggers seem gob smacked that Obama was outraged over the death of baby killer George Tiller, that he called health care a ticking time bomb, but he's oh-w-t-f over Iran's election and the deaths of protestors.

Look folks, if we couldn't rally interest among the liberals in winning the war in Iraq when we had a patriot for a commander in chief, someone who understood the basic principles of freedom and democracy, who actually believed women and the unborn were worth something, why in the world would you expect the U.S. to intervene in Iran's election, when we have a marxist running the show? Check your history books. This is WAY above his pay grade and value system!

Son of Elmo

There used to be in our basement a spider so large that we named him--Elmo. He wasn't a pet, but we didn't kill him. I've heard tales of my son-in-law and his brother Pete setting Lakeside hurdles time getting out of the basement and refusing to go down there to do laundry for years. Yesterday we had the exterior treated for spiders, but we don't do anything on the inside. Maybe we should. From tippy toe to toe I'm guessing Son of Elmo is about 3 inches.

Ohio's Democratic Governor wants to cut library funding

It's hard to even imagine what Ohio's librarians would be doing if Strickland were a Republican (librarians vote 223 to one for Democrats). I'm sure they'd have a lynch mob ready, maybe they'd organized something like a tea party. But as it is, library patrons are getting e-mails (UAPL sent one to me) since there was only about a week's notice that his was going to happen. Oh, and also some day care funding for poor kids will be cut.

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has proposed cutting Ohio Public Library Fund by a jaw dropping $227,000,000 in his biennium budget. This could possibly cause the closure of many libraries relying solely on state support. Ohio is home to many of the nations highest ranked and rated public libraries. LISNews.

Remember, all you liberals, Obama's economic plan was only going to hurt the evil rich. He had to poke his long, sticky government fingers into our economic dyke that had a leak, but all he did was enlarge the holes and create a flood. Just because Obama's plan is destroying investment in business which brings in taxes which pays your salaries, or directly employs you, it's all going to be sooooo fair. This man never intended to save anything--only to destroy. Wake up! FDR managed to drag out the Great Depression for a decade; Obama could even beat his record.

One of the prettiest homes in Ogle County

Here's a lovely home in Oregon, Illinois. Check out the beautiful lawn, landscaping and new garden room, as well as a delightful home office, 3 bedrooms and 3.5 baths, fabulous views and oodles of storage with first floor laundry room. When your friends fill up the huge kitchen, just shoo them out to the lovely deck! Link.

Geithner wants YOU to play by the rules!

The biggest tax evader/cheat in Obama’s administration, our very own Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, wants to make sure you’re not doing anything funny over there in Switzerland--or Gibraltar and Luxembourg. Sweet!

From Weekly Digest, U.S. Treasury:

WASHINGTON--As part of the Obama Administration's aggressive efforts to enforce U.S. tax laws and reduce offshore tax evasion, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced the conclusion of negotiations with Switzerland to amend the U.S.-Switzerland income tax treaty to provide for increased tax information exchange. Official signing of the protocol is expected in the next few months.

"This Administration is committed to reducing off shore tax evasion to help ensure that all U.S. taxpayers are playing by the same rules," said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. "This treaty will increase our ability to enforce our tax laws and will help bring an end to an era of offshore accounts and investments being used for tax evasion."

The protocol would revise the existing U.S.-Switzerland income tax treaty to allow for the exchange of information for income tax purposes to the full extent permitted by Article 26 of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Model Income Tax Convention.

In recent months, the Administration has demonstrated its commitment to closing the tax gap. At the G-20 Leaders' Summit, the U.S. strongly supported efforts to ensure that all countries adhere to international standards for exchange of tax information. In the FY 2010 Budget, the Administration delivered a detailed reform agenda to reduce the amount of taxes lost through unintended loopholes and the illegal use of hidden accounts by well-off individuals. The Treasury Department recently concluded Gibraltar's first-ever tax information exchange agreement and also signed an agreement with Luxembourg to provide for greater exchange of tax information.

I'm sure glad they're cracking down on these rich guys. You're next.

Oops! She's done it again!

Started a new blog to keep me on my art toes this summer. I don't have a scanner connected, so I'll have to use the digital camera.

Monday Memories--Mother's mixing bowl

Do you ever freeze any leftovers and then aren't quite sure what they are? That happened to me yesterday. I thought we were going to have spaghetti for supper, and when I thawed the package (unlabeled) it was chili. So I made chili-mac by adding some cooked macaroni and added two lonely slices of cheese. Quite tasty with the fresh blueberries topped with plain yogurt, and key lime pie later. Anyway, while we were eating my husband mentioned that tonight the artists are having their potluck at the home of the Rhein Center director. I'm in class until 5:30, pot luck is at 6. So what to bring that can be reheated? The chili-mac tasted so good, I decided to go to the little grocery up the street and buy the beans and a little hamburger. This morning I began looking through the cupboard for the right dish, and found this, which I'd forgotten I have since I'm not sure I ever used it--a covered vegetable dish in the apple pear design by Harker.

I bought it a few years ago from a local "antique" store because it reminded me of a bowl that my mother had for many years. I'm a little fuzzy on the details, and it was no longer in the kitchen after my dad died, or I would have asked for it. Maybe someone else in the family also has happy memories of pies and cookies from this mixing bowl?

I heard this morning that there is an e. coli outbreak from raw retail cookie dough. When I was cleaning the bowl and spoon from Mom's bowl, there was no danger because Mom carefully checked to make sure no cracked or damaged eggs went into her food. She was also careful about washing her hands and cleaning the counter top after handling eggs or raw meat. But these days, the salmonellosis passes directly from the chicken to the eggs, and no crack is necessary. So I don't think it is safe to eat anything with eggs uncooked.

Most types of Salmonella live in the intestinal tracts of animals and birds and are transmitted to humans by contaminated foods of animal origin. Stringent procedures for cleaning and inspecting eggs were implemented in the 1970s and have made salmonellosis caused by external fecal contamination of egg shells extremely rare. However, unlike eggborne salmonellosis of past decades, the current epidemic is due to intact and disinfected grade A eggs. The reason for this is that Salmonella enteritidis silently infects the ovaries of healthy appearing hens and contaminates the eggs before the shells are formed. USDA

So, things change. Not everything in the "good old days" was safer or better, but some things, like memories of Mom in the kitchen and safe eggs were.

The Mayflies (Hexagenia) are thick

The good news is, it means the Lake is healthier--I think. Although they aren't really sure why they have returned, since farming and industrialization of this area originally also contributed to their growth. See this article. The Mayfly virtually disappeared in the 1950s, and since the early 90s have made such a come back that they pile up under street lights and can cause slippery streets and power outages! Their life on land is quite brief, exhausting themselves at any available light source, have sex, then die, but they have a rather complex life before coming ashore.




You have to avoid walking near the street lights--couple of inches thick.

Happy Father's Day at Lakeside

We're here--looks like a great season!

Packing and unloading and putting away is a pain, but we're pretty much settled in. Yesterday it looked like we were leaving home for good. And we hadn't even brought the suitcases downstairs yet when I took this photo. My husband teaches an art class this week, so he had to bring along all the supplies for the students (included in the fee). The cat was getting worried.


But she's happy to be here now, and is settled into her second, no third, favorite spot. She really likes the porch best, sitting on her "kitty condo" watching the bugs, squirrels, and neighborhood cats.



Week One seminars look good--several on "environmental challenges" which I'll skip--although there's one on Thursday afternoon on Lakeside trees which should be fairly non-political. There's several on sports and faith in the U.S.--I'm not much into sports, but it's a topic I know nothing about--could be fun. This afternoon there's "Boats that visited Lakeside," at 2. Eugene Swanger is going "Ancient Greek Insights on Thursday and Friday. He's fabulous--usually does China or Japan, so I'll for sure check this out.

Frank Lloyd Wright on What's my Line

Our local architectural tour group is planning a trip to Buffalo August 14-16, but we have a conflict and won’t be going this year. It’s a fun group and great prices, if you're interested. Buffalo is a fabulous city for architecture. Contact Patsy Frost at Schooley Caldwell, pfrost@sca-ae.com if you’d like to be included. The bus holds 36. Our main interest as a group is visiting Frank Lloyd Wright sites/designs, but we see other things too. In Buffalo the group will visit the Martin House Estate, the new Greatbatch Pavilion there, the Mausoleum in Forest Lawn Cemetery, the Heath House and the Davidson House, with stops at the newly restored Erie Canal Harbor area and the Butler mansion; they'll stop at Oberlin to tour the Weltzheimer House on the way back to Columbus.

Anyway, FLW was on What’s my Line, and at the end after they’d guessed who he was the host asked him if he’d done anything recently, and he mentioned the Price Tower in Oklahoma. We stayed there when we toured in 2006.

Beautiful chickens

Artistically speaking, poultry are beautiful animals--vibrant colors, distinct breeds, and dumb as a rock for the most part. A number of times I have passed up some great chicken art--I'm mean, unless you have a themed kitchen, what do you do with them? I remember one time I saw a huge collection of magazine or calendar art from Watt Publishing's Poultry Tribune, inside a post binder at a used book store, and unfortunately, passed it up. Another time I saw a very reasonably priced watercolor in a local gallery, but again, passed. Today I was at a tag sale at Advent Lutheran Church. Art is always overpriced at these events, but there it was. . . an original 8 x 10 oil for $1.00. The price seemed right, although I'm sure the artist is a hobbyist. It's on good quality linen canvas, not stretched and poorly framed. It's sort of folk art, with a great deal of attention to the feathers. I just love it. The artist, P. Julian, either had a good grasp of the beauty of chickens or copied a 19th century print. Isn't it beautiful?

Friday Family Photo--June 17, 1961

By authority of the Board of Trustees of the
University of Illinois
and upon recommendation of the University senate
Norma . . .
has been admitted to the Degree of
Bachelor of Arts in the Teaching of Russian
and is entitled to all rights and honors thereto appertaining
Witness the Seal of the University . . .






And today I can't speak or read Russian, but it was useful in getting into grad school to become a librarian.

Lobbyists doing very well under Obama

Here's a job growth sector Obama has really helped. Lobbying. Lobbyists began pouring money into his campaign and Democratic coffers when it became apparent Obama was the front runner, and it hasn't stopped. People who still believe the Republicans are the party of big business haven't noticed how the huge companies and sectors support increased government regulation and interference in business. Why? Well, it knocks down (but not out) the competition, and totally demolishes the little guy who might have gotten big. Only the biggest can afford to wade through that snarl of paperwork, hire the lawyers, and grease the palms of the local, state and federal officials in the pork game.

Although Obama vowed to reduce the influence of lobbyists, so far, he has succeeded in slowing the economy to a crawl and raising lobbying by 80% (from 2008) from a $1.8 billion in 2002 to $3.3 billion. (WSJ, June 15, State of Capitalism article) The $787 billion "fiscal stimulus" that we just absolutely, positively had to have or go under has turned out to be just one more slush fund for Congress, and the nose of the camel in the marxism tent.

NYT article

Tom Daschle, health care lobbyist

Total spending

Are we hearing the same guy?

Over at the Velveteen Rabbit, Rachel Barenblat is concerned that so many Jewish bloggers seemed to be hearing completely different Obama speeches (the Cairo speech, for instance): the conservatives heard one thing, the progressives another. But I had to stop reading when I got to this:

The novelty of having a president who is well-spoken may never wear off for me. :-) Beyond that, I am still gobsmacked at hearing ideas and opinions which resonate for me coming out of the mouth of the White House -- it's just amazing how much more a part of this country I feel, these last few months. May it continue!

I hear something very different. I see a head swivel as he mindlessly reads in a very monotonous tone; even if I'm not watching, only hearing, I can see it. When he's off teleprompter he can't say anything succinctly or coherently and he has a bad stammer. The only explanation is that our political beliefs influence our hearing and seeing. Lots of liberals hate Sarah Palin because she has a twangy, "You betcha," and says, "Hey," instead of hello. They thought Bush's Texas drawl was a sign of ignorance, but didn't seem to hear Clinton's or Gore's. Doesn't bother me a bit--we twang a bit in Ah-Hi-YAH too. I listen to the words. Obama electrified the Democrats in 2004--although what I heard was a novice on the race stage doing a good imitation of a black preacher, someone who grew up white and learned how to speak like a black man in adulthood and wasn't quite comfortable so he mimicked. I heard a string of platitudes, and people who knew him, pointed out he'd given variations of that speech many times, some to very small, bored audiences. He's petty and whiny, and it comes through in his voice. He's repetitious, narcissistic, snooty, and full of himself, and it all shows in his voice and mannerisms. So, Miss Rachel, are we hearing the same guy? Are you listening as he explains why he needs to take over control of more and more and more of the economy? Just what about higher taxes and trillions in deficits resonates with you? And managed care with long waits, does that put a smiley face on you? Why in the world would you want that?

LA Times still reluctant to use the T-word

Seems as though the T-word is still a No-No for journalists.

"The Yemeni Interior Ministry reported over the weekend that nine foreigners were abducted Friday while picnicking near the northern town of Sadah. They were described as seven Germans, including a doctor, his wife and three children, a British engineer and a South Korean teacher. The six adults were based at a hospital in Sadah, where foreign doctors and nurses have worked for more than 30 years.

There were conflicting reports Monday about whether children were among the dead. Some accounts, citing unnamed government security officials and local tribesmen, said police had recovered seven to nine bodies. Three, with gunshot wounds and signs of mutilation, were found by shepherds and others, according to varying accounts. According to some accounts, two children were found alive.

The British and German embassies could not immediately confirm the deaths. South Korea identified its missing citizen as a 34-year-old woman.

"We are aware of these reports. We are looking into them," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel."

And it's not that they didn't have opportunities as they poured over their thesarus.

". . . there were suggestions that Al Qaeda militants might have been involved. Kidnappings are common in Yemen, but the killing of hostages has been rare."

"Sunni extremists backed by Al Qaeda; a secessionist movement in the south. . ."

"Islamic extremists have carried out a number of attacks on foreigners. . ."

"The discovery of the bodies came a day after authorities announced the arrest of Hassan Hussein bin Alwan, a Saudi national accused of financing Al Qaeda activities in Yemen and Saudi Arabi."

If he only had a brain T.

Suspected al-Qaeda financier arrested by Yemenis

Hassan Hussein bin Alwan provided money for attacks in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, according to recent reports. His arrest "will be instrumental in understanding the system for global terrorism financing" the Yemeni Embassy annouced, boldly using the T-word American journalists have black listed.

Let's hope Obama, Pelosi and Reid don't get to decide the interrogation techniques. This guy would probably love to be on Gitmo about now.

Geithner's profile

Was it photoshopped? That photo of Geithner in yesterday's WSJ (p. A8 in our edition) was odd, did you notice? Is his nose really as long as it appeared (a sign of lying in fairy tales, and so far the BOADMIN seems one long fairy tale, mystery or true crime story). Geithner's ears looked slightly pointy, too. In fact, the eye brows. . .

Therefore and However

A very important word in the New Testament is THEREFORE. It's a sign you need to go back and reread the paragraphs that come before. That is usually (if you're reading Paul who wrote most of the NT) the death and resurrection of Jesus. Lots of peace and justice Christians miss the whole point by not checking. An important word in medical studies is HOWEVER. What often follows that word in medical studies are phrases such as "such optimism has been tempered," "there are questions about safety and utility," "more refinements are needed," "some have questioned," "seem to be unrealistic expectations," and "further studies are required to clarify the underlying mechanism." That's the part they don't mention when they breathlessly report something in 30 seconds on the evening news.

However, that being noted, there's a very interesting article in the April 15 JAMA (Vol. 301, no. 15, p. 1565-1572), "Hypoglycemic episodes and risk of dementia in older patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus."

Now I didn't know that people with diabetes were at increased risk of dementia, or that insulin can cause hypoglycemia or that there was no research evaluating hypoglycemic episodes in older patients who have diabetes. I found the results and conclusions very interesting. They certainly had a wealth of evidence to work with--27 years of records of 16,667 patients with a mean age of 65 years who are members of Kaiser Permanente in California.

Who decided we have a health care crisis?

Follow the money. I'd place my bet on the pharmaceutical companies, with the Democratic party not far behind. No one in the United States is denied ACCESS to medical care, even if they don't have insurance. About 13-15% of the population (included in the census are all the people who aren't supposed to be here, and that's millions) don't have private, employer or government health insurance. There are two substantial groups within that figure--young adults who are eligible for insurance through their employer but choose to spend the money (payroll deduction and co-pay) on something else and people who are eligible for government programs that cover health, but just don't bother to do it, or are not mentally capable of figuring out a rather complex, bureaucratic system bound in red tape. Both my children when they were young adults and first living on their own were employed, but did not opt for health insurance; both were in auto accidents which were not their fault, and fortunately the other driver had the basic coverage (required in Ohio). But in the ER, no one told them they wouldn't be treated when they couldn't produce a card. For several years we bought temporary health insurance for them because we believed we would be financially wiped out if they had a life threatening accident or illness.

If we have a crisis, which we don't, it is one brought on by behavior--smoking, drinking, drugs, over-eating, not exercising and not honoring the marriage bed. If Americans cleaned up those problems on their own volition, not only would poverty drop to unprecedented lows (very few children who have married parents are poor), but we could drastically reduce all kinds of diseases, especially diabetes, cancer and heart disease. The AIDS/HIV "epidemic" was brought on by the promiscuous behavior of our wealthiest and best educated demographic--so we know more information and more nanny state lectures aren't going to help until people take personal responsibility.

But it's much easier for the Obama Administration (Republicans do it only slightly less aggressively) to take over yet another segment of the economy by playing the crisis card.

Let me tell you about a crisis we will have--rationed care. Yesterday my husband had his regular dental check up--goes twice a year. His dentist noticed something in his throat and suggested he see his internist. No rush--next check up (in the fall) would be fine he said. Then he called today and said, No, maybe you should get that checked sooner. After checking his calendar my husband had free time the week of July 20th--about a month from now. So he called his doctor and made an appointment for the time he was free. Done deal. Not a year from now. Not two years, when whatever it is has a chance to grow into something serious or disappear on its own.

Now THAT is the coming health care crisis. Time is money. And it is also good health.

Too good to publish, too slow to sing

That's the title of my poetry collection that I've never uploaded to one of those nifty do-it-yourself publishing sites like lulu.com. It's been on my to-do list for years, but I never get that magic coin, "a round tuit," and just blog instead. When I was employed, publications were part of my job; as was being a peer-reviewer and a committee member who kept other librarian writers' noses to the publication wheel. Looking through the notebook (for me it doesn't really exist if it's not printed on paper) I found this one from 13 months ago, and am really stunned at how accurate I was in verse about the man who wasn't yet even selected by his party at its national convention. The one slip I made was assuming Michelle would continue to have a power base, but Emmanuel and Axelrod have learned from the unpopularity of Hillary during Bill's terms, and have pretty much put her in the vegetable garden, or placed her as an accessory for photo-ops. As a city girl, she's probably more comfortable jetting to fancy restaurants in expensive clothes than digging weeds like a sharecropper.

Listening to Obama, variation on a theme

Oil prices continue to rise
it should be no great surprise
next they'll raise our taxes
If we elect Presidents Obam-es.

Don't you dare question them
you're only being dense and dim
he's been made messianic
by his handlers in a panic.

Move On's the group who's in control
George Soros too is on a roll
with flubs, flips and gaps
gaffes, waffles and flaps.

No wisdom makes it past his lips
he's made more than his share of slips
how'd he ever get through college
with such a lack of basic knowledge.

Preachers who scream and shout
from his pulpit in a pout,
Roman Catholic or UCC
is this what passes as loyalty?

They took to task poor Dan Quayle
over potatoe they did wail
but mix-ups over world war two
we're not supposed to notice and rue.

Prevarication or just lies
no matter which the flag he flies
no matter what today's faux pas
We've got his Highness Obama.

Just git-er done

At my church blog I’ve written about my frustration with Philip Yancey’s book on prayer. I’m reading my less-than- favorite author because I really enjoy the group that has chosen it. However, I’m now in chapter 12 and have really appreciated this part of his message, because he seems much more sure of himself and less full of angst, remorse, and questions. (You may have noticed I easily become frustrated with people who are constantly taking their emotional temperature or licking a finger to see which way the wind is blowing.) Also, he really speaks to my own lack of both athleticism and persistence in prayer.

Although the Old Testament doesn’t say anything about athletic games, Paul in the New Testament, being a Roman citizen in a Hellenized world, is quite familiar with the discipline of mastering a sport. And so Yancey writes about how he became a runner 30 years ago, and likens it to prayer discipline. He had met Peter Jenkins, the writer of A Walk Across America and agreed to walk with him. He was not athletic at all and realized he had only a short time to prepare to walk across Texas in July.

“As our agreed-upon time approached, I realized that if I planned to walk through Texas in July with a sixty-pound pack on my back, I had better get into shape. I bought some cheap running shoes, stepped out the door, and sprinted down the driveway, expecting to run a few miles. At the end of the block I pulled up, gasping and wheezing, with an abrupt lesson in physical fitness. Lay off exercise for a decade or more, and the body no longer responds.

I ran as far as I could that day--one block--then walked a block, ran another block, and limped home humiliated. The next day I ran two blocks, kept walking, and ran some more. Within six weeks, just in time for my Texas assignment, I was running seven miles without stopping. That began a routine of aerobic exercise that continues to this day. My body has become so accustomed to the regimen that if I have to skip a few days because of injury or illness I feel edgy and restless.

I learned early on never to ask myself, “Do you feel like running today?” I just do it. Why? I can think of many reasons. Regular exercise allows me to eat what I want without worrying about weight gain. It does long-term good for my heart and lungs. It allows me to do other activities, such as skiing and mountain climbing. All these benefits represent the kind of “deferred gratification” [that regular prayer brings].

As with physical exercise, much of the benefit of prayer comes as a result of consistency, the simple act of showing up.”

Whether gay or straight

Republicans can't catch a break. Democrats can frolic and wallow in a pit of slime, and everyone says, Oh well, it's no one's business, but not Republicans. Whether it is Newt and his third wife, a gay Congressman texting young pages, or a cabinet member with a gambling problem, the press just salivates--but only for Republican meat and potatoes.

John Ensign, a rising GOP star and possible presidential candidate, says he won't resign. Sen. John Ensign, an emerging Republican leader who has been mentioned as a possible 2012 presidential ...Link

Here's a news flash: Republicans, conservatives, Christians, whatever your label, have exactly the same personal and social problems as everyone else. Faith, like a condom in the wallet, provides no protection if you don't use it. The only difference seems to be Republicans know it's wrong when they are doing it. Democrats discover it is wrong later when the wife, kids, office, peers, press, etc. find out, abort it literarly or figuratively, or pay child support for 18 years, apologize on national TV and play kissy face, or rent an apartment outside the beltway and get the guy on the staff, and no one cares and they all move on.

NFL player gets 30 days--killed a pedestrian while drunk

Maybe if you are Donte Stallworth, this seems like justice--1000 hours of community service, loss of driver's license (for awhile), 10 years of probation, paying the family an undisclosed amount of money (to bring closure), a lifetime to regret his actions, a promise to help with alcohol and drug education, and oh yes, 30 days in jail.

After a night drinking at a bar in Miami Beach's Fountainebleau hotel, police said Stallworth hit Reyes, a construction crane operator who was rushing to catch a bus after finishing his shift around 7:15 a.m. Stallworth told police he flashed his lights in an attempt to warn Reyes, who was not in a crosswalk when he was struck. Stallworth had a blood-alcohol level of .126 after the crash, well above Florida's .08 limit. Stallworth stopped after the crash and immediately told officers he had hit Reyes. Police estimated Stallworth was driving about 50 mph in a 40 mph zone.

But to those of us who aren't paid millions of dollars to run around a football field or who don't even watch those who do, who don't drive Bentleys, and don't drive drunk it smacks a bit of favoritism, wealthy owners and pulled strings. There must be a lot of people doing jail time for a whole lot less who are really wondering about the system.

Oh yes, and he gets to have his career back.

On Mustangs and other wild things

A friend of mine is thinking about buying a 60s-something Mustang, although he is 70-something. So for him I'm rerunning the Thursday Thirteen blog I did about our cars several years ago, skipping ahead from #1 to #10, the Mustang.

1. We started married life in 1960 with a 1951 Oldsmobile 88. This car used to stall at intersections in Indianapolis and I'd get out and open the hood and jiggle something to get it going, occasionally with a push from the next guy in line. Just Married 1960, 1951 Oldsmobile
8.-10. In 1986 I replaced the 9 year old Buick with a 1983 (or maybe 1981) maroon Buick 4 dr. Skylark which had all the luxury options, plush unholstery, sound system, etc. Possibly the most comfortable sedan we ever had, but being a used car it had some mechanical problems.

Which gave me an excuse to buy my dream car--a 1987 red Mustang, which I had wanted lusted after since my brother bought one in 19631964 1/2. I had a tenure track job at the university and was wallowing in empty-nest grief--so I deserved some happiness, right? However, the night I drove it off the lot it rained buckets, and I discovered that the Mustang model had no gutter around the door frame so if you opened the door after a rain (and it rains a lot in Ohio), you got soaked as the water sheeted off the roof. I hated my dream car, and because it was low to the ground, it also just killed my back. Couldn't wait to unload it.
1987 Mustang in same location as the 1951 Olds photo. See how much the trees grew in 28 years

I sold it to a woman from Worthington who wanted a car for her teens to drive to school. I think she owned it two weeks before they wrecked it.

The Mustang hurt my back whether I was the driver (getting in) or the passenger, however, driving was less painful because I had something to hang on to.

More Obamath

HT Bits Blog

For a change, try ISBNdb

I read about this at a librarian blog today--I'd never heard of it--I've been gone too long to keep up on all the techie things about library searching. But instead of just linking to Amazon, which many library catalogs do these days (don't know if they get a kick back but they should) this librarian says ISBNdb can offer a range of sites for checking prices and availability. Here's an example.

"ISBNdb.com project is a database of books providing on-line and remote research tools for individuals, book stores, librarians, scientists, etc. Taking data from hundreds of libraries across the world ISBNdb is a unique tool you won't find anywhere else."

President Obama speaks out on the Iranian election

Fox News (you google it--I can't take any more) carried a long, long, long clip--could have been said in 1/3 the time and words. I think I agree with him, but boy! is this man painful to watch when he's off teleprompter. And to think people were near fainting just a few months ago at the thought of a graceful, fluent speaker.

I've got my orders

He's an easy guy to live with, but he does have a favorite TV show--The Closer. Tonight he said, "The Closer is on tonight, so when I get home from my meeting I don't want any Book-TV or funny stuff like that on. If I'm late, you'll need to fill me in. Channel 30, TNT."

Yes, boss. The Closer.

Kuitman thru-you

My son has been encouraging me to watch (and listen) to Kuitman, who pieces together snippets of video and sound from across the internet to create something new. Check it out here. I think my favorites were Mother of all Funk Chords, and Babylon Band. Kuitman is an Israeli musician, and his site was so popular when he first put it up earlier this spring, it crashed. Somewhere while looking for it, I also saw a video of him talking about how he did it.

Monday Memories of 1959

My brother is working on the 50th reunion of his high school class. Not only is he a "local" but he was also the class president. I think he's having a good time strolling down memory lane with his classmates. In today's WSJ, which I know he reads because he is a stock broker, Edward Kosner reviews Fred Kaplan's "1959: The year everything changed."

You can throw a dart at a timeline and write a book about almost any year (except 1957, imo) opines Kosner, but when examined closely, you can see important events that got us to where we are today. The most important one, from my view--1959 is the year I met my husband at the University of Illinois. We'd both broken up with our high school sweethearts (to whom we'd been engaged) and found each other. He told me on our first date that he planned to marry me--he was a big city (Indianapolis) slicker with a good line, and I laughed at him, much too smart to be taken in by that one. Other important events of 1959 outlined in this book were:

1. Castro took power in Cuba.
2. Berry Gordy started Motown.
3. Allan Ginsberg recited "Howl" at Columbia.
4. Pioneer space craft.
5. Lady Chatterley's lover heated up book reading.
6. Toyota and Datsun (Nissan) made their U.S. debut.
7. The microchip was introduced--the germ plasm of our digital age.
"Evolved from the transistor, the silicon integrated circuit was the work of a tinkering engineer named Jack Kilby. He showed off his little gizmo at a radio engineers' trade show in New York in March 1959. The debut of Kilby's microchip -- the germ plasm of our laptop, hand-held, wall-mounted, broadband, blog-sodden digital age -- merited two paragraphs in the next day's New York Times."
8. The first U.S. soldier was killed in Vietnam.
9. Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum opened.
10. Martin Luther King studied nonviolence in India.
11. The Birth control pill Enovid was approved for sale.
12. Jack Kerouac's "On the road" was launched.
13. The rise of Malcolm X.
14. The U.S. Civil Rights Commission documents racial discrimination in a 668 page report.

Kosner notes, "And, for all the wonders integral to 21st-century life, it's hard to argue that we're happier today than in good old, prehistoric 1959."

Fair elections

There was an on-line poll about whether the Iranian elections were conducted fairly. 1282 had voted by the time I saw it. Most voted No. I voted "undecided." How would I know, or anyone who wasn't there? How would the Iranian people know? Was our 2008 presidential election "fair?" The media overwhelmingly backed one candidate, even when there were many in the primaries. The media believed in beating up the girls--they didn't like Hillary and they smeared Sarah. Was that fair? Voters were bussed into Ohio, a key state, and shock and awe, they weren't voting Republican. "Activists" didn't know they weren't allowed to register and vote here. They got a wrist slap. Was that fair? ACORN was planting little oaks all over the country. Was that fair? Money flowed into the winning candidate from outside the United States. Was that fair? Now why should I expect Iran to have fair elections if we can't even guarantee it here? Let's stop talking about fair--life isn't fair--but elections should be legal, and dead people should stop voting.

Lauer on Letterman

It comes after the gas. . . the good old boys sticking up for each other. I don’t think Lauer gets it. The left hates her because she is 1) smart, 2) capable, 3) pro-life, and 4) didn’t get to her position on the coattails of her husband or father, so they attack her family. What Letterman said was a whole lot worse than what got Don Imus fired. Remind me. Do "entertainers" ever ridicule or suggest assaulting the young sons of politicians?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

HT Blatherings Blog

Update: Sarah Palin has graciously accepted his apology, but with a zinger of her own: In a statement Tuesday, the Alaska governor said she accepted Letterman's apology "on behalf of all young women, like my daughters, who hope men who 'joke' about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve."

She's made it clear that entertainers using their bully pulpit to make ribald, sexist, sexual jokes about any women, of any age, is not acceptable. It's really been open season for disgusting sex jokes about conservative women since Obama swept into office. There's Obama's lipstick on a pig comment; Obama's chief Axelrod called Prejean a "dog;" Playboy publishing a hate f**k article using prominent Conservative women as objects; the gays attacking women who actually agree with the administration's published stand on marriage; Letterman calling Palin a slut, and 14 year old daughter getting knocked up and so on (he then later made it worse by claiming--oh no, I meant her other daughter, as if that were OK). Nice guys these Obamatons. And where are the feminists? Oh, still playing with their marxist marbles, and this game isn't worth getting into because it doesn't further their agenda.

A note of thanks from Ahmadinejad’s Teleprompter

The Totus of the Potus can speak and translate teleprompter talk, and he/she has a message from Ahmadinejad's teleprompter here. The references to "seedlings" refers to ACORN and the good ideas they used during their election.

Hello, Great Satans, unclean and eaters of the pig. It is I, the blessed screens of the newly re-elected Grand Leader of the free land of Iran.

I want to thank you for the generosities of your leader, the man Obama, whose friends of the seedlings of oak trees have made The Great Mahmoud's re-election by landslide so very possible. Now you eaters of the cloven hoof and other infidels and moneychangers, may, thank Merciful Allah, wonder why the Great Satan is so committed in secret to our Great One? . . . "

The media bias and terrorists

There certainly are more coverage and media outrage about the murder of abortionist George Tiller and a Holocaust museum guard than there was about the murder of Pvt. Long, the military recruiter by a Muslim terrorist or the women murdered and wounded at a Jewish charity in Seattle in 2006 by Naveed Afza Haq (mistrial in 2008--he's still not convicted). In fact, the buzz in the news is all about right wing extremists and conservative talkers. Well, just to provide a little balance, here's a counterterrorism list which includes the Lakawanna 6, Ali Al-Tamimi, Jose Padilla, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, Iyman Faris and others, as well as white supremists. One of the women Haq shot in the Jewish Federation building was pregnant, but she's the one who called 911 and got him to talk to dispatchers, bringing the crisis to an end. The lefty columnists like Krugman who are now blaming conservative talkers for the museum guard's death and Tiller's death weren't calling out anti-war congressmen like Reid and Pelosi and anti-Bush agitators like Code Pink when those women were shot. Why the double standard?

My stats are down, but not this bad

The Daily Kos
Oct: 82,893,374
May: 25,293,380
Change: A decrease of 57,599,994, or 69%

Without Bush to hate, the lefty bloggers are struggling.

Bloggasm

Déjà vu all over again--Iran

The Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control has an interesting page called “Iran Watch,” just as it had one called “Iraq Watch” updated until three years ago. Here is Iran’s Nuclear Timetable updated this week. “Iran tested an advanced missile on May 19 – just two days after U.S. President Barack Obama outlined a plan to engage Tehran in an effort to end its destabilizing nuclear and missile work.”

The Iraq Watch data is interesting because it documents some of the speeches and letters of Senate and House Democrats (also Republicans) in the Clinton years who were concerned about the WMD of Saddam Hussein, calling for military action. Also the traditionally liberal media were on top of the WMD story until it became a Bush problem.

"The U.N. inspectors have learned that Iraq's first bomb design, which weighed a ton and was just over a yard in diameter, has been replaced by a smaller, more efficient model. The inspectors have deduced that the new design weighs only about one thousand three hundred pounds and measures about twenty-five inches in diameter. That makes it small enough to fit on a Scud-type missile. The inspectors believe that Iraq may still have nine such missiles hidden somewhere.

The inspectors have also concluded that Iraq's bomb design will work. Iraq, they believe, has mastered the key technique of creating an implosive shock wave, which squeezes a bomb's nuclear material enough to trigger a chain reaction. The new design also uses a "flying tamper," a refinement that “hammers" the nuclear material to squeeze it even harder, so bombs can be made smaller without diminishing their explosive force.

How did Iraq progress so far so quickly? The inspectors found an Iraqi document describing an offer of design help—in exchange for money—from an agent of Pakistan. Iraq says it didn't accept the offer, but the inspectors think it did." The New Yorker, Dec. 13, 1999

If you are of the “Bush Lied, People Died” crowd, you need to find out if you’re still being lied to by doing your own research. But do it quickly. Digital information is easily removed--I’ve been unable to find links I used the last 2 or 3 years. Some government sources disappeared on January 20. Also, if you are an out-of-work academic, they are hiring.

The Aeron chair

There was a story about it in the WSJ this week, but I wrote about the Aeron four years ago.

More diversity in management language

English is a rich language because it has borrowed so heavily from other languages--has over a million words. The President is leaning too heavily on the Russian/Ukranian/Serbian word for Caesar-- monarch, supreme ruler or king--Czar, or Tsar (царь). The blog at Heritage suggests the President needs more diversity:

"To start, let us refer to Mr. Feinberg as a pay Shogun. A shogun was a military leader in Japan serving the Emperor, so that seems fitting. Similarly, Steve Ratner could be retitled the car Kaiser. Carol Browner could be called the environmental El Supremo, befitting the supreme importance President Obama places on destroying our economy in the fight against global warming. To emphasize the warmth of his feelings toward the Arabs, the President could title his middle east envoy, Senator George Mitchell, the peace pharaoh.

A basic rule of economics is that things obtain value through scarcity. In contrast, excess, like an excess of currency, devalues an object. The proliferation of czars has debased the label. The President needs diversity in his labels. History is replete with titles for dictators great and small."

Speaking of diversity in language, it isn't enough these days to have someone on your medical staff who can speak/translate/interpret Spanish. This could create some new jobs under Obamacare. Isn't he promising that with all the money he's going to save with universal health care that there will be more for jobs? OK, maybe not in your town, or your field. So what if you were a Chrysler dealer creating jobs for 150 people in Cleveland--go learn some Spanish medical terms and be a translator at a hospice in Peoria. Unfortunately, the doctor pointing this out in the June 10 issue of JAMA, wasn't much of a linguist.

"It is equally important to appreciate various forms of Spanish dialect. Even in Spain, where Castilian Spanish is spoken, there are Basque, Catalan, Galician, Valencian, and many more variants of the language. There are major differences among dialects from South America, the Caribbian, or Spain." (p. 2327)

Basque, Catalan, Galician, and Valencian are not even Spanish, but are different languages. Basque isn't even a Romance language. Some Caribbean islands use English, French, Creole, Dutch, Portuguese or patois. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right?

Strawberry rhubarb pie

The pie I fixed for our final meeting of the Visual Arts Ministry of UALC Wednesday just tasted so good I made another one today. Pastor Drummel said that when he lived in the south he didn't get rhubarb pie. He and his wife are Baptists, but have moved to this area to help a family member who attends our church, so he is now a very popular part-time pastor at our Lutheran church. He's also an excellent artist. Maybe I should take him a piece tomorrow?

Of course, I'll have to check it out first. "No crust, no pie," is my motto. I don't care how fabulous the filling is, if you've messed up the crust, forget it! I'll never be as good as my mother, but I'm better than most. But today I ran out of flour--was about 1/4 cup shy. I was going to go knock on the door of a neighbor, but decided may 1/4 of a cup of Bisquick might work. We'll see. It's too hot to taste.

Who's a Republican?

Apparently, if you voted for George W. Bush, you be one.

KERRY: Are you a Republican? You answer the question. Did you vote for George Bush? Did you vote for George Bush?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted for George Bush and I...
KERRY: Thank you.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE sits while booed by crowd) John Kerry quotes

So why is there all this angst about not accepting Colin Powell as a Republican? He usually voted for Democrat presidential candidates in the past, and voted for Barack Obama to be his president in 2008. Case closed, according to John Kerry. I think it is pretty simple. If a man's race is more important to you than his political values, he's a Democrat and so are you.

What I was taught

Everything I was taught in school about poverty and political disenfranchisement being the root causes of so many of societal ills and revolutions has been proven wrong in just a few months of this presidency/congress. In the 50s, I was taught that the Germans accepted Hitler because the agreements forced on them by the Allies after WWI were so punitive it reduced them to poverty and they were looking for a savior, someone who could tell them how wonderful they were, and who could find a scapegoat for them to hate. They wanted hope; they wanted change. So what's our excuse? Poverty in the USA had to be redefined as "income gap" by the academics, social scientists and politicians, both Republican and Democrat. Yes, some homeless wandered the streets, just as they do in socialist countries, primarily because liberals in the 1970s shuttered all the institutions that took care of them. Drugs could take care of mental illness they said; group homes with no caring staff could handle people with special needs. Ah, the beauty of freedom to sleep on a city grate at night and panhandle during the day. Children too suffered from being born to single mothers, ensnared by the feminists' myths that marriage is just leftover of patriarchy. That was U.S. poverty--a tiny percentage even if you included the illegals and their baby anchors. Our middle class citizens who never knew want unless someone pulled their credit or raised ticket prices on a rock concert are lining up to bow to a narcissist with a big head and small heart. We have a leader who tries to diminish the accomplishments of his people so he can look bigger than life, worthy of worship--really, worthy to take over the whole world once he removes the only country who could have stopped him.

No, I don't claim to understand my friends and relatives who don't yet have buyer's remorse. They aren't even chagrined as they see their retirement accounts shrink, the job losses in their communities and watch as Obama takes over private businesses. Oh, they say, the recession started under Bush's watch. Indeed it did, and Bush inherited one from Clinton (go back and check your accounts--mine were sinking in 1999). Bush's administration had the tech bust plus the tragedy of 9/11 (now forgotten by careless voters), and turned that around quickly by encouraging investment and building our self confidence and sense of security. We all can see that Bush spent money like a drunken Ted Kennedy for 8 years--our deficit certainly isn't Obama's doing. But Obama spent more in 100 days than Bush ever thought about, but for some reason the Potus with the Totus is still racking up those points with the true believers as we slip further and further into national socialism.

Why do they hate George Bush so much?

Lots of people voted for Barack Obama simply because they hated George Bush, and by association John McCain. I don't pretend to know how McCain became the Republican candidate--he certainly isn't a conservative (but neither was Bush), and seemed even less so a Republican. The only thing positive about his campaign was Sarah Palin, and because she is so visibly pro-life (didn't even kill her baby with Down Syndrome or get her daughter an abortion) she was virulently hated by the left and snubbed by the right who really are sort of embarrassed by all those people trying to save babies). The latest Palin attack dog with a public face is David Letterman, who proposed her daughter be raped by an athlete as a joke--he even got applause, but no outrage from leftist feminists.

McCain was indeed a war hero, but certainly was a thorn in Bush's side through out his administration despite the fact we all know the country would be safer with him as Commander in Chief. It's even possible McCain would have immediately expressed his condolences when one of his miliary recruiters was murdered. Obama ignored the death of Pvt. Long, who was killed by a Muslim, although he was quick to see the political advantages of decrying the Tiller murder and the guard murder at the Holocaust Museum. I think McCain would have been the perfect Democratic candidate--far better than either Clinton or Obama. At least McCain is what I considered a Democrat all those years I voted as a Democrat up to age 60.

The Bush hatred goes back to the election of 2000. The Democrats just never got over it--that he didn't get the popular vote but the electoral vote put him in office. Oh, I know the fanatics say it was the Supremes who put him in, but SCOTUS judged the state law of Florida which was hanging by chads, corruption and ignorance in one black polling district, not even the whole state. Democrats essentially said that not that many blacks could escape the plantation to vote for a Republican. Besides, we know the lawyers were lining up to question all the close districts where the dead Democrats had voted in Florida and other states, especially Illinois, Oregon, etc. With those recounts, which would have taken forever, GWB still would have won. Democrats are so accustomed to stealing elections it is almost a birth right, and winning the electoral vote is not even stealing. Just feels like it, and Democrats rely heavily on feelings.

They didn't learn to love GWB just because was very soft on immigration--it would have been good for big business and big labor both--just very bad for the rest of us. They didn't love his Kennedy Drug Plan nor No Child Left Behind, even though if it had been a Democrat plan to throw money toward the NEA instead of away from it, they would have loved it. GWB, because he spent more money on social programs than any president before him, should have been their hero.

The Democrats in Congress voted for the war in 2002, 296-133, and we went to war in part on the intelligence of the Clinton administration. Go back and look at the Kennedy and Kedward speeches about WMD in 1999 and 2000--they were building up for their own war, and then called it Bush's war--the war they voted for. Now with Obama pursuing the war in Afghanistan, they can't even squeal about that. Where are those Code Pink Ladies--out shopping for new ridiculous outfits?

So it's not Bush's war per se, we know, because Congress declares war. Maybe it's because GWB liked to talk about military victory and Obama wants terrorists to be street criminals? I was reading one liberal/progressive/marxist blog yesterday that was comparing Bush's 2005 Annapolis speech with Bobama's. Bush's was about strength, power, victory, challenges, bravery, patriotism, and Obama's was, well, it was just one more head swiveling, yada yada speech by the teleprompter--hiding, keeping out of harm's way, reconciliation, wimp-out, negotiation, etc., so that the USA can continue the traditions of the last 64 years of going to war with no intention of winning. The blogger was salivating over Obama's ideas and criticizing Bush. You know--where we negotiate North Koreans into millions starving to death under a brutal dictatorship, and 20 years later abandon millions of Vietnamese allies when we run out.

Naked legs

We live across the street from a golf course. 99% of the men seem to wear shorts (knee length) when they play golf. Why is that? And mostly the same color--khaki, beige, buff, cream or taupe. Are there no bugs on golf courses? Do your calves need to be exposed to hit a golf ball? They even wear shorts when it's cool. When it rains. In the fog. When it's 87 in the shade. All the golfers in the TV and newspaper Flomax commercials are wearing long pants. They seem to have a good time and play a decent game. Tiger manages to wear long pants and he's a pretty fair golfer, so what's with the naked legs?

Friday Family Photo--Graduation Announcements

Thanks to someone in Europe who e-mailed me a genealogy question about an Anna Schürch (web page is in French but the ancestor I think is Swiss Mennonite), I pulled out a file and found the high school graduation announcements of both my mother (Franklin Grove, 1930) and my grandmother (Ashton, 1893), from high schools in Lee County, Illinois, just about 6 miles apart. I didn't remember I had these paper memorabilia.


The Ashton graduating class of 1893 class members were: Fannie A. Smith, Mary L. George, Alice B. Taylor, Lulu I. Canfield, Dollie E. Roat, Ethel E. Reid, Mary E. Wisman, Eva M. Ling, Henry H. Vauple, W. Cabot Hodges, and Louis C. Pollock. The class motto was "One step towards the goal." The Principal was H.V. Baldwin, the grammar department was Wm. Feldkirchner, the Intermediate department was Ida Thompson, and Blanche Vanness was the primary department.

The graduation program for Ashton was quite ambitious with lots of music and speeches by the students. It began with an invocation and music by the orchestra. The Salutatorian address was given by Fannie Smith, and Alice Taylor gave the mission speech. That was followed by a duet by Miss Smith and Mrs. F. Richardson. Then Henry Vauple gave "Earth's Battlefields"* and Lulu Canfield presented "A good cause makes a stour heart." The the school orchestra performed. The class retrospection was given by Mary Wisman, and "Chicago our pride"** was presented by Dollie Roat. Then the Glee Club and Quartette sang. W. Cabot Hodges, one of the 3 graduating men of the class of 1893, spoke on "Education, what it was, is and is to be," followed by Eva Ling's "select reading," which may mean she hadn't selected it in time to let the printer know the title. That was followed by a trio. Mary George read the class prophecy and Ethel Reid gave another "select reading." Then the orchestra played again. Louis Pollock, the class Valedictorian, gave the final speech after which they all sang the "class song." Then the diplomas were presented.

My mother's commencement in 1930 was on May 27 at the Methodist Church. Class members were Frances Genet Hussey, Olive Inez Weybright, Hazel Elizabeth Bill, Merrill C. Morgan, Clair R. Hood, Jack Johnston, Gordon Clark Phillips, Lucile Irene Buck, Norma Arlene Beachley, Ethel Catherine Nass, James Elwin Patch, Dallas B. Stultz, Charles J. Hepfer, Leslie Kenneth Mielke, and Arland Stanley Butler.

The class motto of the 1930 class was "Rowing, not drifting," their colors were blue and gold, and their flower was a rose.

*I looked up "Earth's Battlefields" in Google, and couldn't determine if it were poem or essay, but did find it listed for other turn of the last century graduation programs.

**The Columbian Exposition of 1893 opened in Chicago that year, and I'm sure all of Illinois took great pride in the recognition this brought their state. My grandmother attended the fair with her parents. One could catch a passenger train in Ashton or Franklin several times a day and be in downtown Chicago faster than one could drive there today.

Of course you can choose to keep your insurance

But. . . here's how it will really work. "Of course, no sane 23-year-old will "choose" a $400-plus per month insurance premium over whatever subsidized plan the government offers. And as younger people leave the private risk pool, older, sicker people will remain—driving up premiums more and more for those riskier folks who're left. Eventually, a steady stream of people will "choose" to abandon private health insurance altogether. And where will they go? Obamacare. All according to plan."

See how easy it is? Socializing medicine in 3 easy steps.

Collect, circulate and preserve

That's what librarians used to do. I watched a video on the new OSU Thompson Library today--"1,000 more seats, 1.5 million books." I even recognized the architects. But there used to be over 4 million volumes, I think. This video called the Nonstop Alternative Library is made up of volumes rescued from the Antioch College Library here in Ohio by a small group of students and alumni in the Summer and Fall of 2008. The Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute has taken on the task of preserving organizing and cataloging the collections. See

Nonstop Alternative Libraries from News @Nonstop on Vimeo.

Caught Between empty and a flat tire

A new 2009 or 2010 Dodge mini-van might have been in our future (assuming we could even find one on a lot), but not now, now that we know for certain that neither the government nor Chrysler will honor their agreements. There's nothing wrong with my 2002 van--but it won't be long before the government declares it is a "clunker." The new plan to get less fuel efficient vehicles off the road by offering a cash incentive of $4500 to purchase something with better mileage is of little value to people who can't afford or can't get the credit to purchase a newer, more expensive, smaller and more dangerous vehicle. Remember, not only have we bailed out Chrysler and GM, but we've destroyed the pension and investment account values because once the government can renege on those investors, it can do it to any. In other words, those of us in the lower income group will be hurt the most. That's why all these government plans whatever their good intentions for green spaces, for cholesterol, for cigarettes, for safe toys, for clean air, always hit the pocket books of the poor and fixed income seniors first, and then work their way up the pay scale.

Also, that's our tax money, that $4500 the government will reimuburse the automaker, which is really reimbursing the labor unions, the guys whose pensions Obama is trying to save because they so generously helped him buy the Presidency. We've already given the unions and automaker CEOs billions, but Obama's whiz kids are saying they still can't build a good car unless they get this ridiculous offer. An offer which most people with old cars can't afford, so there will be plenty of scammers running around buying up old cars from people who won't be able to replace them at any price. Next, they'll cap the pay of whatever executive was dumb enough to stay and not flee to another field, leaving the company with more Obama appointees. Besides, if Chrysler won't honor its agreements with the local dealers, some in business for generations, then why should it honor its agreement with me, the buyer, who buys bundled with that car the warranty on the various parts, the service agreements, and the supposed resale value, all of which is built into the cost of a new vehicle. No, I see no reason I should trust either Obama or Chrysler to give me a good deal.

Detroit has been pressured to build more fuel efficient and safer cars for 30 years; and for the most part, I think many of these regulations and laws have succeeded. Even so Americans burned 39% more gasoline in 2007 than they did in 1975, according to Energy Department figures, because more people hit the roads and drove more miles. My 2002 van (my third Chrysler mini-van) is an outstanding product and much better than my first one, a 1989. On the highway it gets around 27-28 mpg if there are no dead deer, semis or head winds to fight. In the city, not so great--maybe 19. But I'm sure the Obama car czar, who probably is too young to even drive and has never held a real job, will look at some sort of average for a 2002 mini-van made in the USA, and within a year or two, I'll be clunker driving. When I don't trade it (new it was about $19,000) with a voucher in hand for $4500 on a $50,000 model, I'll probably be cited for driving illegally, and told to take public transportation.

The cap and trade hoax, of which this "cash for clunkers" and automaker/union bailout at taxpayers expense are a part, is just the newest version of the 1970s DDT ban which killed or disabled millions and millions of black Africans, mostly children, so that European and American liberals could feel smug and self-righteous and continue to worship their pagan goddess, Mother Earth.

Eaten any sushi lately?

Wood print depicting a man passing a strobila of a broad tapeworm. The caption (not shown) said, "The man ate masu salmon. After a time, a strange object emerged from the anus and was pulled out: it turned out to be 2–3 m long." From Shinsen Yamaino Soushi, by Daizennosuke Koan (1850). Illustration at the CDC Emerging Infectious Diseases, "Diphyllobothriasis Associated with Eating Raw Pacific Salmon." Link And they do mean emerging.

". . . in the past several decades, regions with endemic diphyllobothriasis nihonkaiense have disappeared from Japan, yet the infection has been perpetuated among urban people who eat sushi and sashimi."

Sort of makes those farm raised salmon look a little better, don't ya think?

No one calls this a scandal

“Between 2000 and 2008, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union” gave 23.7 million dollars to Democrats, including Barack Obama. “In return, the UAW received 55 percent of Chrysler and 17.5 percent of GM, plus billions of dollars.” Newt Gingrich pointed this out. Where are our investigative reporters who were glued to Bush's every misstep?

In a rigged proceeding in which the federal government disregarded bankruptcy law in favor of the political outcome it desired, the Chrysler bankruptcy laid the predicate for the much larger General Motors bankruptcy to come. Against law and precedent, the unions were moved to the front of the line when it came to who would benefit from the bankruptcy.

The Obama Treasury Department strong-armed Chrysler’s creditors into a deal in which the UAW was given 55 percent ownership of the company while Chrysler’s secured creditors – investors who would have received priority in a non-political bankruptcy proceeding – were left with just 29 cents on the dollar.

Indiana pension funds aren't the only ones getting hit. Even Democrats are invested in pensions. They should be very worried about what their president is doing to the rule of law in this country.

HT Recliner Commentaries

It's all about me

Recently I bought two new pillows for our bedroom at the lakehouse, and brought them back here while we have guests in the house. (We only rent during the Methodist conferences.) The kitty thinks this was all done for her. She also likes my computer case, transferring her fur, one hair at a time until the case is pretty much a fur ball.

Both remarks are way out of bounds

On national TV . . ."Last night the esteemed David Letterman (why does anyone watch him?) joked that Sarah Palin’s attendance at a Yankees game went well until “her daughter got knocked up by Alex Rodriguez” (Audience laughter)." That was from a commenter at another blog. Who only made it worse by suggesting . . . what if. . . "How about joking about nappy-headed ‘hos in the White House, Mr Letterman? Oh no, can’t do that, dissing the kids of da Prez."

Both remarks are sexist and disrespectful to women and sexualize children. Letterman also said Palin looked like a slutty flight attendant. But yes, on national TV you can make sexist and sexually abusive and threatening remarks about rape of a white teen-ager, daughter of a Republican governor, but you dare not make a remark about a black first lady and her daughters--not because of their position, but because of their race. Those are the really low, rock bottom, dragging on the ground, post-racial standards of the Democrats and their backers in the entertainment industry and the media. Congratulations, folks, you're even worse than we imagined.

Again, I have to disagree with another Conservative

"Sarah Palin Says U.S. Headed Toward Socialism." Honey, we've already passed go and are hoping for our get out of jail free card in the game called Obamonopoly!

It's a small world and a small car

My friend Jerry (also a retired librarian) and her husband are on a three month tour of Europe, in a little car stopping along the way for a few days to sight see. They posted a blog to keep friends and family informed. I believe they are doing France, Spain, Italy, and are now in Germany. I think they started about April 24. On May 29, five weeks into the trip, her husband posted the following:

#1-the french yell at you when you get in their way---the italians yell at you before you get in their way--and the germans just go 120 mph so you never get in their way
#2 the french never smile at americans
#3 the french have small dogs --germans have big dogs
#4 there are a lot of churches in europe
#5 the catholics spend more money on their churches than the lutherans
#6 all churches are cool and quiet and a good place to sit
#7 churches are usually in the center of the town and are still in the center of their lives---maybe we should do that---
#8 three months is a long time
#9 you never hit your thumb if you don't have a hammer
#10 and you never say never

By today they’ve got burnout and Jerry says: “We've realized that people mean more to us than museums, churches etc. We' enjoy the other things, but will remember the people the most.”


Jerry in Dinkelsbuhl, Germany. They ran into their Michigan mail carrier at Harburg Castle in Germany. It really is a small world, isn’t it? And a small car.

We met in Boston at a Medical Library Association meeting in 1988, and have kept in touch. Last saw each other in 1994. 　

More traffic expected around here

Beginning Monday (June 15), work on State Route 315 is expected to generate heavy traffic along Kenny Road, Olentangy River Road, High Street, Lane Avenue and possibly Woody Hayes Drive. Motorists should anticipate traffic delays, and are encouraged to plan accordingly to reduce frustration. More information on this project and a detailed map of entrance and exit ramp closures can be found at http://www.buckeyetraffic.org/315. The Ohio Department of Transportation also will be staffing a telephone line throughout the construction: (740) 833-8268. Read more: http://tp.osu.edu/alerts/summerconstruction.shtml.

Looks like I may have to leave for coffee at 6:15 instead of 6:30.

Why traffic stops matter

It isn't always speed or running red lights. Here in Columbus a police chase Monday resulted in the seizure of millions of dollars of heroin. It began when officers noticed a car moving erratically on Interstate 70 shortly before 7 p.m. yesterday.

"Police said when an officer tried to stop the car, the driver drove off, tossing a bag out the window. The bag contained eight packets of heroin with a total weight of 15 pounds and a street value estimated at $4 million." Reported by Channel 10, WBNS Columbus and this morning's 610 am news.

Police believe the drugs came from Mexico and have arrested Roberto Alvarado-Cebrero, 21, who says he’s in the country illegally. What a surprise. Story here in Columbus Dispatch.

350,000 wannabees, many now unemployed

So what happened to all those idealistic campaign workers who left it all to get out the vote? Some of it illegally, like here in Ohio. This is an interesting story of the unemployed and underemployed, the idealistic Obama orphans, adrift in a sea of memories.

“Toby Osherson joined the [Obama] campaign straight out of college and gave 21 months. He frames the experience in terms of national service. “I felt this was my duty to my country…this is how I sleep at night, so that I can tell my kids that when our country hit closest to rock bottom, this is what I did to help.” “

Fella, we are at rock bottom now (at least I hope we won‘t go lower, but we could), not then when unemployment was at 5%, not near 10% like now, and the President of the United States wasn’t illegally taking over major segments of the economy and destroying the country. Back when a President would speak and you could trust him and he wasn’t getting whiplash from reading teleprompters without understanding a word he was saying. Sigh. Sorry you wasted so much of your idealism and young life for such a global disaster.

You will be inspired

to clean out your refrigerator after viewing this. Get a load of that rattlesnake in the freezer!

Here's mine.



This looks a little screwy I know--about 2 lbs. of butter and some Slim-fast in the door. But occasionally I over indulge and have a Slimfast for supper. Cheese is my big downfall, and there is some cheese sitting behind the butter. That's leftover roast chicken and sliced strawberries in the front. I got those little Pyrex bowls as a wedding present 49 years ago--still using them. There's a spring mix and tomatoes in the veggy drawer and some potatoes under the sink, so that will be supper, and then I think it's time to go shopping.

Will she find a wise Latina doctor

Rush asked today in commenting on the unfortunate accident of Judge Sotomayor

The White House says Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has broken her ankle after an airport stumble in New York City.

Sotomayor fractured her right ankle Monday morning at New York's LaGuardia Airport before boarding a shuttle to Washington for an afternoon of meetings with senators.

He was being snarky, but health is all about disparities and minorities being included in the medical system. In fact, if you read American Journal of Public Health (recent issues only contain table of contents, but older ones have full articles) the only problems the minorities and poor in the U.S. have are caused by discrimination and evil capitalists. Diseases, except for race based HIV, seem to be a thing of the past, as is personal responsibility.

If the Fed doesn't know, who does?

The Inspector General of the Federal Reserve in this video (HT Taxmanblog) acknowledges that trillions of dollars of our money cannot be accounted for. The five-minute video is taken from a Congressional hearing on May 6 where Federal Reserve Inspector General Elizabeth Coleman is questioned by Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida about huge amounts of money for which the Federal Reserve is responsible. Really, this is quite alarming.



The original Bloomberg reportreferred to in the video.

I used to wonder why Congress called upon Hollywood stars to testify on weighty problems--like oceans and apples. Now I know. They are apparently better prepared as concerned actors than the OIG of the Fed whose task is described on their website but who doesn‘t seem to know or do anything:

Ms. Coleman joined the Board's OIG in 1989 as a senior auditor. She was promoted to program manager in 1999 and to senior program manager in 2001. She was appointed to the official staff in 2004, as the Assistant Inspector General for Communications and Quality Assurance. Over the last eight years, Ms. Coleman has worked closely with the Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency, a professional organization of about thirty statutory Inspectors General who are appointed by their agency heads in certain designated federal entities, including the Board.

Prior to joining the Board's staff, she was employed by the Government Accountability Office. Ms. Coleman has a BBA from James Madison University and is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking, Georgetown University. She also attended the Federal Reserve System's Trailblazers Leadership Conference. Ms. Coleman is a Certified Information Systems Auditor.

The OIG is tasked with the responsibility to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse, and to promote economy and efficiency in the programs and operations of the Board, keeping the Chairman and Congress fully and currently informed of problems.

An Inspector General may be removed from office by the President, and must communicate the reasons for any such removal to both Houses of Congress, as outlined in Section 3(b) of the Inspector General Act of 1978.

If you ever need to draft a mission statement, be sure to read theirs. But only after you watch her testimony. It's good for a laugh.

Obama finally issues statement about Pvt. Long's death

According to LaShawn Barber, the President, after days of silence, finally commented on the death of one of his soldiers.

"Two days after military recruiter Private William Long’s murder (as opposed to hours after abortionist George Tiller’s murder on a Sunday, no less) by a Muslim convert, President Barack Obama finally released a statement, though it’s not posted on the White House web site yet (as of 9:26 a.m. PT):

“I am deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence against two brave young soldiers who were doing their part to strengthen our armed forces and keep our country safe. I would like to wish Quinton Ezeagwula a speedy recovery, and to offer my condolences and prayers to William Long’s family as they mourn the loss of their son.” (Source)

Obama’s statement about Tiller:

“I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.”

Nothing about how he has contributed to the anti-military hysteria and this act by a Muslim convert with his ridiculous stance on investigating torture and waterboarding and tearing down all Bush accomplished. But it's OK to criticize the pro-life movement and blame them for the violence of one person.

Conservatives who don't get it

When I listen to Rush or Hannity or read Karl Rove or Victor Davis Hanson, sometimes I just shake my head. They are speaking/writing as though Obama really intends to save the country instead of destroy it. They ponder the stupid, idiotic, unpatriotic things he is doing and wonder why he thinks they will work. He's not stupid, gentlemen, and those things like the apology tours or taking over car companies only look dumb if you still believe he has any intention of being a real president. Haven't you ever known anyone whose job it was to fire all his co-workers after a merger, and then finally lock up the empty store and walk out with his paycheck?

Hanson (a classicist and a farmer) begins an excellent story of his relationship with a very difficult neighbor over water rights with a note about the trillions and trillions of national debt Obama is ringing up and how there aren't enough "rich" to tax, so that will leave it to the rest of us to bail him out. He closes with

"Obama will come to his senses with his ‘Bush did it’, reset button, moral equivalency, soaring hope and change, with these apologies to Europeans, his Arab world Sermons on the Mount to Al Arabiya, in Turkey, in Cairo, etc., his touchy-feely videos to Iran, his “we are all victims of racism” sops to Ortega, Chavez, and Morales. It is only a matter of when, under what conditions, how high the price we must pay, and whether we lose the farm before he gains wisdom about the tragic universe in which we live." VDH June 5

No, he won't "come to his senses," and it isn't just a matter of time, because he hasn't lost them and there is no more time. He is doing exactly what he planned to do, just a little faster than we all expected.

Is WaPo reporter complicit in blaming U.S.?

So it was the fault of President Carter and all those nasty capitalists of the 1970s that these coddled, wealthy, ungrateful people were spies for Communist Cuba?

"What Walter Kendall Myers kept hidden, according to documents unsealed in court Friday, was a deep and long-standing anger toward his country, an anger that allegedly made him willing to spy for Cuba for three decades.

"I have become so bitter these past few months. Watching the evening news is a radicalizing experience," he wrote in his diary in 1978, referring to what he described as greedy U.S. oil companies, inadequate health care and "the utter complacency of the oppressed" in America. On a trip to Cuba, federal law enforcement officials said in legal filings, Myers found a new inspiration: the communist revolution.

Myers, 72, and his wife, Gwendolyn, 71, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of conspiracy, being agents of a foreign government and wire fraud. Their arrest left friends and former colleagues slack-jawed, unable to square the man depicted in the indictment with the witty intellectual with a prep-school background they knew. Washington Post in a much too sympathetic story for my tastes by Mary Beth Sheridan

Don't you wonder about wealthy people, children of privilege and elitist educations (like our first couple) deciding that everyone should be poor like the Cubans? What kind of guilt does that?

The author of this piece apparently was really stunned 4 years ago when through her "embedded" experience with the military she discovered such shocking things about our soldiers--they were decent, patriotic, and non brainwashed. Imagine.

"First of all, she said she was "overwhelmed by the military," but she did learn by being embedded that members of our armed forces were not "blood-thirsty maniacs." Yes, she really did say that.

In fact, she said, they were "really decent people." And even "sweet." Of course, after being shot at they were eager to shoot back — a military attitude that seemed to surprise her.

She also reported that when she asked soldiers why were they in Iraq, every single one told her, "to help the Iraqi people." Again she was surprised that the military could create such a unity of purpose even though, she said, she didn't see any "brainwashing" going on. She also noted that many soldiers had no opinion about the war. They had gone where they were ordered to go, like all good soldiers. Such an attitude seemed to dazzle her as well.

She didn't have anything much to say about "reporters as citizens," but clearly she appeared to be one citizen who had very little familiarity with, or understanding of, or even quite possibly respect for the military before her tour of duty. In a way, it is kind of sad that only after some first-hand experience did she learn what most American citizens believe: that American soldiers are "decent people." And that it is those soldiers, not our journalists, after all, who protect our freedom of the press." Reporters as citizens

Filling in

Today I made broccoli soup for lunch. But I didn't quite have enough broccoli to satisfy my tastes, so I dug around in the veggy drawer and there was about a quarter of a head of limp cabbage, so I chopped it up and tossed it into the chicken broth with the onions and potatoes. Tasted fine--maybe even better than usual. We had home made blueberry pie with that. And that's another filling in story.

Yesterday I was taking one of my barefoot walks and noticed a group of people, adults and children, down by the creek on the east side of our property. And I use the term "our" loosely since we live in a gorgeous grove of trees surrounded by a sweet little creek owned by an association of 30 residental condominiums in five buildings. If this community were to be built today instead of 1977, the builder would have tried to cram 60 units or more in the same space. When I got to this group, I saw they were building a bridge across the creek. I asked what they were doing, and the man told me building a bridge for the children to cross the creek. "Maybe you should check with our association before you continue," I said. "This is our property and if your children get hurt playing here, we'd be held responsible." The little boy, maybe 10 years old, said, "Oh we cross here all the time; it would be safer to have the bridge." "Maybe you could play on your side of the creek," I observed (their home and property could buy and sell mine several times). "Why don't you talk to our condo president," I said to dad, and I gave him his name. I returned to our unit and called him; the family continued building the bridge (and I use that term loosely--it was two timbers stuck inside four cement blocks wedged into the ground with short planks between the timbers).

Later I looked out and two couples (one the president) were standing down there. Apparently, they'd come to an agreement with the family not to proceed until it could be brought to the association meeting this month. We had missed our Friday night date, so I invited the two couples to go to the Rusty Bucket with us and to stop by after the restaurant for blueberry pie which I'd just taken out of the oven after my walk.

When I made the pie I was using the first decently priced blueberries I'd seen this spring--2 pints for $4.00. But you do get what you pay for and they were a bit scrawny and I must have pulled off 20-30 stems and thrown out some squished berries. So when I sprinkled them with Splenda, flour and cinnamon, they looked a bit shy of a full pie. So I looked in the frig and found some strawberries about a week past prime, sliced them up and tossed them in with the blueberries, although not sure how that would turn out. Actually, if I hadn't announced to my four guests last night that there were strawberries in the blueberry pie, they would have never known, because they just turned purple and blended right in. So if you're ever a little short, think cabbage with the broccoli and strawberries with the blueberries.

About that little law suit attraction--the bridge. I really hope the bridge idea gets voted down. You hate to ruin a little guy's fun, but there's a good reason why by age 13, little girls outnumber little boys (boys start life with a numerical advantage of about 106 to our 100). Boys/men are risk takers. I raised a son, and had many trips to the ER. This moves them way out in front in law, politics, economics, science and inventions of all types and fills up our prisons, but it shortens their lives. When we get a big rain, that sleepy little creek becomes a raging torrent, up over the banks by about 6 feet. Not only would the water sweep children off that flimsy bridge who snuck out of the house to get a closer look, but it would act as a dam stopping everything that Turkey Run Creek would pick up as it moved through the golf course, and roared under Kenny Road onto our property, further flooding our lawn, and possibly the lower level of the units. Many serious floods in Ohio have been nothing more than sleepy creeks that got dammed up during storms by building debris floating down from construction sites, couches from someone's yard back in the hills, and a few tires from the farmers' fields.

Look who’s bringing change from the top down now

"In the 13 years between Obama's return to Chicago from law school and his Senate campaign, he was deeply involved with the city's constellation of community-organizing groups. He wrote about the subject. He attended organizing seminars. He served on the boards of foundations that support community organizing. He taught Alinsky's concepts and methods in workshops [a Chicago Marxist who advised his followers to go after the middle class because the poor have no power, Saul Alinksy died in 1972] . When he first ran for office in 1996, he pledged to bring the spirit of community organizing to his job in the state Senate. And, after he was elected to the U.S. Senate, his wife, Michelle, told a reporter, "Barack is not a politician first and foremost. He's a community activist exploring the viability of politics to make change." Recalling her remark in 2005, Obama wrote, "I take that observation as a compliment."

And he also said, "Change won't come from the top, . . . Change will come from a mobilized grass roots." From The Agitator

But look who’s at the top now, asking all of us to change for his vision of what’s right socially, economically and politically. He even tries to change history. Yes, this is definitely change from the top down.

The Obamas date night

I think it's wonderful that the President and First Lady take a night off for a date and go to fabulous places.

The couple did not take the large 747 to New York, but flew a much smaller C-20 (G3). The press pool flew in a separate plane, identified by the military as a G5, followed by a staff in a third plane (G3). White House staff said the smaller planes were more fuel efficient.

AF-1 landed at Kennedy Airport. Marine One flew them over the Brooklyn Bridge to Lower Manhattan.

The motorcade made its way over to West Street, banged a right on a cobblestone Clarkson, then on to Carmine. They ended up at 6th and Washington place.

The first couple dined at Bluehill Restaurant where reservations are reportedly hard to get. The restaurant features "locally grown fare" and has it's own farm in upstate new York.

The first couple arrived at the Belasco theater on West 44th Street, where they will see "Joe Turner's Come and Gone." ABC News Blog

However, now that he is a CEO and head of the union and major stockholder of two automobile companies telling us all what we can drive, how far, and how many miles per gallon, and whether executives can use their private jets to attend meetings, and what their pay scale should be, shouldn't he be setting a better example? Shouldn't the Obamas have to scale it back a bit; aren't they asking EVERYONE to sacrifice for the children and grandchildren? Are there no nice restaurants or good theater in D.C.? And how much does that truck garden produce cost by the time the "truck" brings the produce from upstate NY at current gasoline prices? Is the restaurant owner driving a hybrid with the radishes, onions and potatoes in the back seat in canvas bags? What would the Car Czar and the Pay Czar say about the Obamas' misuse of valuable resources?

We will have our Friday night date tonight (Saturday) at Rusty Bucket--and every week that we can, driving our wonderful Dodge van and Ford SUV while we are still allowed to own American full size cars.

ABC did hold seats for the View ladies on Amtrak

Scott Baker at Breitbart TV did some investigating to check on the "outrage" because Barbara Walters and Whoopee Goldberg called Glenn Beck a sack of Dog Poop on national television.

Glenn Beck, his wife and friends, took Amtrak to the Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C. When they boarded they found a conference table on the train and were told those seats are reserved. It turns out Walters and Goldberg of the View got on and took the table, and Glenn joked about it on his radio show--I heard him. And although I almost never watch the View, I must have had it on at the cottage the day he was their guest victim, and heard these women literally boil him in oil for lying. No Salem witch trial could have been more vicious. Well, (HT Maggie's Notebook) they were the ones lying, and you can follow the story of the lies and hilarity at Breitbart TV about the 7 minute View Ambush. Although, it's quite possible that the ladies of the View have been celebrities for so long that they don’t realize that not everyone gets the kind of treatment they received on Amtrak. And they took 7 minutes of their show to call Glenn a liar. But he didn’t lie--they did. Do you suppose they will ever apologize? Of course not. It really isn’t about Glenn Beck, but about the Media being able to lie about conservatives--who's to stop them?

Scott's original show which he refers to in the interview with Beck.

In 2003 we rode the Southwest Chief from Chicago to LA, stopping several days in Flagstaff to visit the Grand Canyon.

The firing of Jackie Norris

Obama's teleprompter suggested it was because Michelle was getting such low-level events (elementary school graduations), but in Iowa, well, this snark was suggested, "I guess it’s possible that Norris was the one who urged Michelle to wear those $800 ugly ass shoes to a homeless shelter, and encourage the First Couple to go out on date nights that cost the taxpayers $250k a pop, while everyone else is struggling to make ends meet." Iowa Republican Whatever the reason for the change, we sure know it wasn't the one given by Norris! I'm with Michelle on this one. Maybe they just didn't get along. I've heard some of the ridiculous things she's said about . . . well, just about everything. . . and quite possibly Jackie noticed too. Iowa helped put the Obamas in the White House, but like their religion, their memory and loyalty leaves much to be desired.

John Stewart calls Harry Truman a war criminal

Oh, these liberals. They are so screwed up. See this excellent film at Pajamas TV.

What will you do with your "stimulus" check?

According to the AARP web site:

"More than 52 million Social Security beneficiaries will today (May 7) begin receiving an extra $250 payment, as part of the effort to reinvigorate the American economy and boost consumer spending. The additional bonus check, which also will be sent to older veterans and railroad retirees, is part of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—the so-called stimulus package—passed by Congress and signed by President Obama on Feb. 17.

You won’t have to file any forms to get the money. Payments will show up through May as an extra check or an automatic bank deposit, depending on how you receive your benefits. Couples who are eligible will receive a total of $500.

A spokesman for Social Security says those who usually get their benefit checks during the first week of the month will be the first to receive their additional payment, which could be as early as today.

No one knows yet what recipients will really do with their $250, but that hasn’t stopped the Social Security Administration from asking. On April 9, the SSA posed the question on its website. So far, more than 4,000 people have responded. Their answers suggest that recipients are likely to go out and spend their windfall—exactly what the plan’s architects hoped for."

If you read my blog, you know I've been debating whether to even cash mine--I really can find no evidence in any of the government sites or government media that I am eligible. I don't receive SS, not on my own work account, and not on my husband's, because I receive a state teacher's pension. Back in the 1980s receiving both was declared double dipping--but only for teachers and state civil servants--private pensions weren't affected (but just you wait--I'm sure you too will be asked to save the system). So we called our accountant, and she didn't know either, but there was something new, that I hadn't seen. Apparently at one site, it is reported that people receiving FEDERAL pensions (but not SS) were eligible for the stimulus check. So we're extrapolating from that comment that STATE pensions also apply (civil service, teachers, etc.) Our accountant did say, however, that it is virtually impossible to give back a check from the government, even if they were wrong to send it.

OK, now what to do with it. I'd hoped to donate the entire amount to an organization that doesn't take government grants--so that wouldn't be most church run social services. So I was thinking our *local pregnancy distress center, PDHC--maybe a donation to honor the service of Pvt. William Long, whose death has been covered up by the hoopla over the murder of George Tiller, a man who killed thousands of babies through out his career. President Obama has not commented on Long's death by a Muslim terrorist, but expressed great concern over Tiller's death, which shows who his supporters are. But then last night's Channel 10 news reported that many Southern Ohio food pantries have closed, and they're sending our mobile Lutheran Food Pantry Truck once a week to help some of the smaller cities, like Ironton, which used to be a thriving town. The food banks, which depend on government surplus, warehouses, food processing plants and buy outs are stretched pretty far, and church members are taking up the slack. So I may divide my check by purchasing food for the food pantry to feed the children already here, and donating the remainder to save the children not born yet.

*Other cities in Ohio

This looks much harder than blogging

But maybe I should try it. My New Year's Resolution to get back to painting lasted about 3 weeks. Peter Yesis is painting a 30 day, self-portrait challenge. He's got a few more days to go and is reall bored. He even painted a portrait of his feet! Go to the left column of the blog for the thumbnails.

The Voca People

do a pretty good overview of the music I remember the last 50 years. "The Voca people are 8 friendly aliens from the planet Voca, a musical planet that has no verbal communication but use vocal expressions only. They have heard the music from earth for decades now and with their imitation abilities they have decided to pay a one evening tribute to humanity and to perform the songs they love as musical- gratitude." Actually, they are Israelis. Remember them, President Obama?



HT Lady Light who also sent me this one for Cotton Eyed Joe--which will really perk you up if you’re down!

EFCA; Free or Forced Choice?

What ever happened to the secret ballot? What else should we let unions destroy? How many more businesses do you want to have micromanaged by Washington? Let’s intimidate the worker and owner alike! What a concept!

Many conservatives believe “Employee 'Forced' Choice Act (EFCA) is legislation that would severely damage small businesses and eliminate worker freedoms leading to job loss and increased unemployment. EFCA would open workers up to intimidation and allow a government arbitrator to mandate contacts without the consent of employer or employee."

You’ll only get the union views from the Obamedia, so here's the other side.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce describes three provisions of the bill, each of which is unacceptable:

* Elimination of Secret Ballot: This legislation mandates that a union be recognized if a majority of employees in a designated bargaining unit sign authorization cards. This is the provision from which the nickname for the bill, "card check," comes. If this provision is enacted, the current system where a federally supervised election process with secret ballots determines whether employees will have a union in their workplace would be effectively eliminated.

* Writing contracts through government imposed arbitration: The second provision would result in contracts being written by federal arbitrators instead of the process of collective bargaining and negotiating.

* Unreasonable and one-sided penalty expansion: Finally, the Employee Free Choice Act imposes dramatic new penalties on employers for violations of the National Labor Relations Act, but not a single new penalty on unions or labor organizers. Read the full explanation of their objections here.

“This legislation — the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) — would hurt both workers and businesspeople, and it is not the type of legislation we need if this nation’s economy is to make a timely recovery.

While it may be convenient to paint a picture of business owners and workers having contradictory interests, the current economic situation illustrates how shallow that thinking is. When businesses fail, workers lose their jobs. And when workers aren’t treated well, businesses do not thrive. The interests of workers and business owners are not in conflict — they coincide.

The centerpiece of EFCA is the weakening of workers’ ability to vote by secret ballot on whether or not a union should be formed, by allowing unions to replace these elections with a public card check system. When workers are forced to declare their allegiance to a union in the open, they are far more subject to intimidation and coercion.” Doug Wheeler

“Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, a state business association with nearly 4,000 members, reports that about 70 percent of state respondents to a survey conducted May 17 oppose ending the current secret ballot system. The study was sponsored by the Economic Freedom Alliance, a vocal opponent of the measure.

"The business community is united like never before in opposition to this legislation," said James Buchen, WMC vice president, in a statement. "Wisconsin businesses need to continue to fight this legislation because organized labor isn't going to stop." More than 300 Wisconsin businesses - including several in west-central Wisconsin - signed a letter to Congress in opposition to the legislation.” Leader-Telegram (WI), June 3, 2009

HT Maggie Thurber

Half a page on George Tiller

nothing on Pvt. William Long. WSJ, June 4, 2009. What media bias?

Well, at least one of the paragraphs described the gruesome details of late term abortions. There possibly are people who are unaware of the brutality of the procedures. Why Tiller's "preferred" method was considered good for the mother, I have no idea. I suspect it was just easier for him. His method wasn't to stab the baby in the skull and then dismember it after it was dead (Obama is the only elected politician who has said that's O.K. to my knowledge). *SCOTUS upheld the ban on late term abortion procedure known as "partial-birth abortion." Tiller preferred a lethal injection into the baby--sort like the death penalty they use for condemned murderers who've gone through years of appeals and which bring out the crowds for candle light vigils. After the injection which kills the baby the mother goes back to her motel room to wait to go into labor, and in a few days returns to the clinic for the still birth. If this was an agonizing decision, as the proponents claim, even though Down Syndrome or a heart condition or a tumor aren't fatal diseases for either mother or child, it has to be a terribly uncomfortable wait, knowing you will give birth to a dead baby, especially if initially the pregnancy was a source of joy. Do you go sit by the pool? Read a novel? Watch reality TV? And since Tiller performed abortions at a clinic and not a hospital, I don't know what he did if there were complications like hemorrhaging.

*Here's what happened:

"The Supreme Court handed a victory to the Bush administration and abortion opponents on Wednesday with its decision to uphold a 2003 federal law that bans partial birth abortions.

The decision enforces the law that prohibits the procedure of partially extracting a fetus 20 weeks or older intact from a woman's uterus and then crushing or cutting its skull before it is fully delivered.

"This is the most significant upholding of any restriction on abortion ever by the Supreme Court," said Stephen Wermiel, who teaches constitutional law at American University." FoxNews, April 18, 2007

If this was a "victory" for Bush, it's right up there with him freeing millions of women from the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Bare foot walking, pt. 3

When I was a student at the University of Illinois I used to pass two disabled students at lunch time--I think it was in Lincoln Hall (now closed for renovation). I believe one may have been blind and in a wheelchair and the other had no arms. The U. of I. was a forerunner in services for the disabled, beginning I believe with disabled veterans after WWII. The armless man would push/guide the wheelchair with his pelvis, and ate his lunch using his feet as his hands. He was quite limber, as was I at age 19, and his toes functioned as fingers. Blind students attending college didn't surprise me because my grandmother was blind and I'd seen her do many remarkable things that sighted people didn't or couldn't, including distinguishing her many grandchildren by voice (she often mistook me for my sister, but so did sighted people). But I'd never seen someone hold a sandwich with his toes. (Don't know who prepared his sack lunch.) At that time I could pick up objects with my toes, I know, because I tried it after seeing him. But walking barefoot the last few days I discovered that the joints in my toes no longer are flexible--at all. I have no idea when this ended, because I so rarely go barefoot, I haven't tried to move anything with my toes in probably 40 years.

I suspect that a healthy, limber foot should be able to pick up objects. Aren't joints supposed to move? What do you think?

Today I wore hose on my barefoot walk. The temperature has dropped about 30 degrees and we've had a lot of rain, so I thought I'd just check this out rather than not do it at all. It works fine (assuming you aren't planning to use those hose for anything else) and washing your feet afterwards is much easier because anything that sticks, is probably on the hose. Not sure why, but I found the wet grass less slippery. I thought it would be the other way.

When walking barefoot in the grass you certainly see and hear and feel more of nature, even listening to Luther's Catechism on CD. A multi-sensory experience, this barefoot walking.

Give us this day our daily bread

And let us all be clothed and fed.

Save us from hardship, war, and strife;

In plague and famine, spare our life,

That we in honest peace may live,

To care and greed no entrance give.

Luther wrote his small catechism in 1529, but this hymn of the Lord's Prayer in catechetical form was 1539. The tune on the CD is not the one Luther wrote.

The Obama Car

"Incredibly “green,” this car runs on hot air and broken promises. It has three wheels that speed the vehicle through tight left turns. It comes complete with two Teleprompters programmed to help the occupants talk their way out of any violations. Built by union labor with full benefits, its base price is only $83,000, but low government financing is available for any payment requested. Subsidized insurance available." From Polipundit, HT Taxmanblog.

Not to worry--it's just Karl Marx!

Well, that's comforting.

. . . the bankruptcy filings of General Motors and Chrysler, and the transfer of stock ownership from the firms' long-suffering shareholders to the government and unions, communists of the world can rejoice. The workers are now, finally, significant owners of the means of production. The United Auto Workers control about 65 percent of Chrysler and 17.5 percent of General Motors."

So Daniel Gross of Slate says it's no big deal. No Mr. Gross, it's not what you think--that maybe unionists will start thinking like owners. We've zipped right over socialism and communism in four months and landed on National Socialism, i.e., Nazi, for short. That's not when the government owns the means of production, but when it through a charismatic leader controls the owners of production and has them--the press, the church, the military, academe and the unions--in a choke hold and scared to death to speak up. The power grab in the past four months has been stunning; we haven't seen anything like it since the 1930s.

I've heard and read some very naive conservatives discussing the elections of 2010--that Obama will then have to face the growing opposition from those liberals with buyer's remorse who've realized "hope and change" was just a catchy slogan and the conservatives who've finally gotten a grip. Sorry. I don't believe it. By 2010 he'll own the state governments, beginning with California, through bail-outs. By then, all opposition communication channels from radio to TV to newspapers to the pulpit to the internet to satellite will be gone, silenced by "regulation," hate speech laws, and fines for carbon footprints.

How to kill a red state

There are lots of ways a Democratic president can punish a traditionally conservative state.

1) Destroy the coal industry

2) Destroy the auto industry

3) Use their own tax money to relocate an industry that's been here for 125 years.

"Prompting protests from Ohio officials, a Georgia city has asked the federal government for money from the $787 billion stimulus package to help finance the transfer of NCR Corp. from Dayton to Georgia.

Although Columbus, Ga., Mayor Jim Wetherington said he does not know if the federal government will approve his request, he wants stimulus money to help refurbish a 340,000 square foot facility and construct a 100,000 square foot building for NCR to make ATMs." Columbus Dispatch.

So much for keeping "American jobs" at home. Just move them around with their own tax money.

Orange Health Alert by Norma

Last week I checked out a book from the local library called "Food Cures," published by Reader's Digest. The cover says, "fight disease with your fork." You wouldn't be allowed to say that on an actual food product by law, but you can say anything in a book title, even if it's false. In fact, if you open that book, there's not a single study cited.

But there are five things you can do that may help you live a longer life--and I've mentioned them many times.

1) You can't beat good genes. That's still the number one factor in good health and a long life, and you didn't have a thing to do with it. If you're still alive tomorrow, give thanks for your biological parents and grandparents who gave you a good start. My mother died in her 88th year, her brother at 99, her father at 94, and her sister is still going at 92. Dad died at 89, his father at 92, and his grandfather was 88 in 1950 when he died, and one of his daughters is still going at 92.

2) Don't smoke.

3) Drink alcohol only in moderation, and if you think a 6 pack after work is moderation, you need to relearn the meaning of the word. You're using Obamath.

4) Reduce your calories.

5) Get some regular exercise.

There are several to compete for the next five, and I'll just mention some I've noticed recently among my friends who are over sixty.

Bicycling doesn't seem real smart to me, even with a helmet. Motorcycles almost look safer.

Stay off ladders whether cutting tree limbs, cleaning gutters or painting the house. My husband who got 1-5 right, is really bad about this one.

Only the marriage bed is undefiled, as the Bible says. Think of the diseases and heartache you can avoid.

If your doctor can't be bothered to return your calls (or your wife's calls), you need to get a different doctor.

Colon cancer can be prevented through testing--and I think it's the only cancer that can--it's called a colonoscopy, and if polyps are found, they can be removed before they turn into cancer. Don't bother with the FOBT--by the time it finds anything it's probably too late--that's why they're cheap.

If you use sun screen because you're in the sun a lot, don't forget to increase your vitamin D, which your bones need to fight osteoporosis; broken bones kill a lot of us old folks, especially fair skinned women like me.

Remember to get your flu shots--ordinary flu kills a lot more people than swine flu.

Unless you or your spouse have allergies, get a pet. They'll add laughter and comfort to your life, and you may even need to take them out for a walk.

Terminally stupid

A judge has tossed a California woman’s would-be class action lawsuit finding that a reasonable consumer would not expect the brightly colored balls in Cap'n Crunch to be actual berries. Per Kevin Underhill, Lowering the Bar: “Plaintiff did not explain why she could not reasonably have figured this out at any point during the four years she alleged she bought Cap’n Crunch with Crunchberries in reliance on defendant’s fraud.” And could the Plaintiff's name really be Sugawara? Sounds a lot like a child trying to say, "sugar water." Listen (read) carefully. Fruit Loops do not contain fruit; Crunchberries are not real berries.

HT Underlawyered, always a great read in blogdom.

Obamath

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on the 31st that “President Obama has a sweeping goal for his speech Thursday in Cairo, Egypt: to begin remaking the dynamic between the United States and Muslims abroad.” By lying?

Although the number of Muslims in the US has grown a lot in recent years, it certainly is no where near “one of the largest Muslim countries in the world” as our President offered as more disinformation (propaganda) to Egyptian leaders this week.

According to Debbie Schlussel The Pew Center(a liberal think tank)--“found that only 0.6% of Americans are, in fact, Muslims, or 1.8 million out of 300,000,000 residents of America. That includes Muslim illegal aliens, too (of which there are far more than the conventional wisdom admits).”

According to Pew, 78.4% of the US are Christian, 1.7 Jews, .7 Buddist, .6 Muslim, .4 Hindu, 16.1 nothing, and the rest, various religions.

Truly, you can’t trust anything this man says, not about his own religion, his father's religion, his grandmother's religion, Rev. Wright's religion, and certainly not about the country’s.

And lookee what surfaced AFTER the campaign. My apologies to all the conservatives I said were wrong about Obama's faith. HT Deb.

Joyce Kilmer and Lucy Stone

When I was growing up, I thought Joyce Kilmer, the author of the poem Trees, was a woman.

I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree. . . etc.

After all, Joyce is my name too. However, he was an American who died in WWI at the age of 31, and whose daughter died in 1917 of the after affects of polio, but which had been instrumental in his conversion to Catholicism.

Well, every morning for months I stopped on my way to the office and prayed in this Church [of the Holy Innocents] for faith. When faith did come, it came, I think, by way of my little paralyzed daughter. Her lifeless hands led me; I think her tiny feet know beautiful paths. You understand this and it gives me a selfish pleasure to write it down."

Lucy Stone was a 19th century suffragist who kept her maiden name after marriage. She was involved in the big three of that century--temperance, slavery, and woman’s suffrage--all stemming from her religious beliefs. She received her degree from Oberlin here in Ohio. After a very full life of activism, Lucy Stone died on October 18, 1893 at the age of 75.

Now the reason I’m putting these two very different, talented people together is that The National Marriage Project of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in Piscatawy, NJ, is located at 54 Joyce Kilmer Avenue in Lucy Stone Hall B217.

The National Marriage Project has released a study that shows what poor preparation for marriage living together is. According to the study, “since 1970 the number of Americans living together outside of marriage has increased more than 1,000 percent, with such couples now making up about ten percent of all couples.” What has resulted are weaker marriages, worse marital relationships, and children often put in danger through the impoverishment of the mother, or the abuse from her boyfriends. Try giving this to your graduating daughter. Should they live together? Here’s what the research finds:

l. Living together before marriage increases the risk of breaking up after marriage.

2. Living together outside of marriage increases the risk of domestic violence for women, and the risk of physical and sexual abuse for children.

3. Unmarried couples have lower levels of happiness and wellbeing than married couples.

The main stream bias and the Tiller murder

Today's WSJ has a tiny, 4 paragraph AP boilerplate article about the Moslem convert who Monday gunned down Army recruiters in Arkansas, killing one. Then it has a 24 paragraph article about Scott Roeder who killed abortionist George Tiller.

In 2008, according to the story, Dr. Tiller aborted 192 future American citizens, killing them during late term abortions under a Kansas law that allows for this to save the mother's mental or physical health. This murder has shocked many in the pro-life movement, some of which have devoted their lives to saving the lives of others. I've heard of no prayer vigils or remorse among the leftists who picketed V.A. hospitals or the Bush appearances, or even Laura's speaking engagements in front of ALA (librarians). Nor has there been a peep (that I can find reported) from President Obama about the death of Pvt. William Long by a home grown terrorist. Is this his way to placate Muslims? Or to encourage them?

And just as the leftist media tried to blame you and me for the deaths of President Kennedy and his brother Robert, Martin Luther King, and the school shooters, now as a conservative Christian who believes in the sanctity of life, even that of butchers like Tiller, I'm lumped together with a fanatic like Scott Roeder who acted out of his own animus and hatred for Tiller. Like the guy who killed Pvt. Long, he was being "watched."

I didn't kill Nicole Brown Simpson just because I believe in marriage, and she was married to a jealous, has-been athlete. I didn't kill Vince Foster, that Clinton aide who committed suicide in a park with an ancient gun, after he got unflattering press. I didn't send Susan Boyle to a mental health clinic just because I thought she was fabulous and she couldn't handle the adoration and the press.

George Tiller was a murderer of thousands of innocents; Scott Roeder, if he did this, is also a murderer of one.

Ad ditional nonsense

Why KIA thinks this is a good ad, I have no idea. But everytime I see it, I think of the Obamacar, our government motors car we've been condemned to buy through a combination of his driving us off a cliff through micromanaging, cap and trade and sell-outs to the unions. So, what does this say-- you can get two rodents on the exercise wheel instead of one? Is that the message? We're rats in a trap? Smaller families through selective abortions? We are going 'round and 'round? Who knows.

Rectal herpes

I write a lot of medical stuff, although not as much as I used to as I get further and further away from my former job (veterinary medicine library). Today someone visited my site looking for “rectal herpes,” so I checked to see what I’d written, and found a 2006 article about what must be one of the dumbest characters in the anals annals of medicine. Not only did he smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, but was also a user of marijuana and meth AND he was a promiscuous 31 year old gay man.

“He has AIDS, rectal discharge, pain when defecating and blood in his stool, pelvic pain, nausea, and weakness. It's the pain, not the AIDS that has sent him to the doctor this time. He has regular anal intercourse without condoms with his "usual partner" who also is HIV positive, and he has other partners.” NEJM, Jan. 19, 2006 .

He was diagnosed with AIDS as a teen-ager (12 years before) and over the course of his disease has received at various times zidovudine, lamivudine, nelfinavir, ritonavir-lopinavir, cephalexin, clarithromycin ethambutol, didanosine, stavudine, and efavirenz. In addition to AIDS he developed Kaposi's sarcoma, oral thrush, rectal herpes simplex and anal condylomas because even with all this medical treatment (or because of it) he never gave up his promiscuity. Then he was treated with acyclovir, fluconazole, and dapsone; for the current problem, he got ceftriaxone and azithromycin. Now he had lymphogranuloma venereum proctitis. A series of lab tests showed he didn’t have gonorrhea, herpes simplex, chlamydia and syphilis--all common among gay men--maybe those bacteria couldn‘t survive the chemical soup floating through his body.

I’m sure that under Obamacare, these careless, do-nothings (except for bath houses, male prostitutes and voting) will have full access to the government run pharmacies, and the elderly and poor will have fully managed and minimum care of aspirin and 7-Up.

Let them drive golf carts

One Oar in the Water, an Ohio blogger, has a good piece on golf carts. I'd been thinking the same thing. Two weeks ago when we were at Lake Erie I stopped at a produce stand. Across the street was a thinly populated Chrysler dealership. The building and out lots looked almost new. It’s not hard to imagine what the taxes from the business, real estate, and employees mean to that area. Every business up and down that high way, all through the county and on into Port Clinton are affected. This is what President Obama doesn’t seem to understand by micro managing this business--how many models, how much for advertising, imports, who can be a dealer and who can’t. Or does he? I believe he has no intention of “saving the economy,” and what he’s doing to the auto industry, and next the health care industry, all the cap and trade nonsense, is just fast tracking us into the waiting arms of the Chinese.

Has the President expressed his sorrow and advice yet?

"The suspect arrested in the fatal shooting of one soldier and the critical injury of another at a Little Rock, Ark., Army recruiting booth today was under investigation by the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force since his return from Yemen, ABC News has learned. The investigation was in its preliminary stages, authorities said, and was based on the suspect's travel to Yemen and his arrest there for using a Somali passport. The suspect, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 24, had changed his name from Carlos Leon Bledsoe after converting to the Muslim faith.

Law enforcement sources said he offered no resistance when Little Rock police arrested him today. It was not known what path Muhammad, a U.S. citizen who is a recent convert to Islam, had followed to radicalization."

Just wondering. After all, President Obama is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. This was his man who was gunned down. He ran for this job, and it included being a war time commander. Does he have nothing to say? Here are his comments at the death of Dr. Tiller, the civilian, the abortion doctor, just in case you've forgotten, comments made before there was any investigation as to movtive: "However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence."

". . . today's Democrats really are isolated from the military. Harry Truman had been an artillery captain; John Kennedy and Carter, Navy officers. But Bill Clinton did everything possible to avoid the draft, and Obama, motivated as he was to public service, never gave a thought to volunteering for the military.

Nonetheless, circumstances made Obama commander in chief of a nation fighting two wars." David Broder

Bare foot walking, pt. 2

My feet and legs felt good this morning, so I took two more walks bare foot, one in the morning and in the afternoon, then decided to look it up. Google found some interesting stuff, keeping in mind Google can find something good to say about every imaginable health cure from eating bugs to amputating limbs.

But according to my limited research, I was correct in sensing that my body aligns itself very differently in bare feet than in shoes. This very interesting article in New York Magazine contained some references, interesting snippets, and some great photoshopped pictures of feet.

The sole of your foot has over 200,000 nerve endings in it, one of the highest concentrations anywhere in the body. Our feet are designed to act as earthward antennae, helping us balance and transmitting information to us about the ground we’re walking on.

For all I know, other areas of the skin are also well endowed with nerve endings, but after a few strolls in the back yard my arches, ankles and toes were starting to feel more alive. I wouldn't call it a tickle, but they definitely had been in prison far too long.

Try this test: Take off your shoe, and put it on a tabletop. Chances are the toe tip on your shoes will bend slightly upward, so that it doesn’t touch the table’s surface. This is known as “toe spring,” and it’s a design feature built into nearly every shoe. Of course, your bare toes don’t curl upward; in fact, they’re built to grip the earth and help you balance. The purpose of toe spring, then, is to create a subtle rocker effect that allows your foot to roll into the next step. This is necessary because the shoe, by its nature, won’t allow your foot to work in the way it wants to. Normally your foot would roll very flexibly through each step, from the heel through the outside of your foot, then through the arch, before your toes give you a powerful propulsive push forward into the next step. But shoes aren’t designed to be very flexible. Sure, you can take a typical shoe in your hands and bend it in the middle, but that bend doesn’t fall where your foot wants to bend; in fact, if you bent your foot in that same place, your foot would snap in half. So to compensate for this lack of flexibility, shoes are built with toe springs to help rock you forward. You only need this help, of course, because you’re wearing shoes.

Other articles made reference to the coolness of walking bare foot, which was true if I was in the shade, but some areas of the lawn are already dry and crusty from the current heat; other articles get close to spiritual--in touch with the earth, being grounded, etc.

Another mentioned it as a natural form of reflexology, with the manipulation of joints and tendons in the foot and toes.

"[Reflexology is] A type of massage applied to the feet to compensate for the lack of barefoot-walking on uneven ground. Small rocks and roots would randomly work with your body weight, stimulating the release of static charged channels of trapped energy linked to other areas in your body. Also stagnant blood and lymph flow is discharged as the renewal of oxygen fresh blood is supplied, stimulating tissues at a cellular level. Similar to acupressure principles, reflexology works with the body’s energy flow to stimulate self-healing and maintain balance in physical function. This technique reduces pain, increases circulation and thus relaxation." Some kind of sanctuary

I don't know about energy flow, but nothing is more boring (or hot in June) than walking or running along an asphalt road, and nothing more punishing to the knees and feet than walking long distances on concrete. At least walking in the grass is low impact and fun. I had none of the usual shin splints. The real test for me will be when I put a pair of sandals on--stay tuned.

She tried to walk home from church bare foot.

Bush was a big spender

especially on social programs. He increased government spending more than any of the six presidents preceding him, including LBJ. You’re thinking, well, it was 2 wars, but it wasn’t that. Some of the increase was from mandatory spending--would happen regardless, but much was discretionary. He added thousands of new programs during his eight years in office. In 2008, there were 1,816 subsidy programs in the federal budget that spread hundreds of billions of dollars annually to special interest groups. The number of subsidy programs grew by 30 percent since 2000 and by 54 percent since 1990 according to Mercatus Center at George Mason.

Then President Obama, in just four months, has made President Bush look like a stingy piker, carefully monitoring the government purse strings. According to Obama’s own ten-year deficit projections, this so-called "New Era of Responsibility" will have deficits every single year that will be bigger than the deficits of the Bush years. Mercatus analyzes Obama’s budget and concludes: “Based on his budget, the only promises the President can credibly make are high marginal rates, higher tax burdens for all, dramatic spending increases, and unprecedented and sustained levels of debt for the American people, their children, and grandchildren. Unfortunately, we know the consequences of such policies: slower growth rates, higher unemployment rates, lower standards of living, and higher levels of poverty.”

Not to mention all the segments of the economy that have been taken over in Obama's War on the Economy (O WOE) to create a socialist country.

I don't believe in the death penalty

but if I did, this man, Daniel Wilson, would be first on the list to go. Locking a woman in the trunk of her car and setting the gas tank on fire, or beating up an elderly neighbor and leaving him to die, Yup. And you know what? Because he's a white male who killed a white woman and another white male, they aren't even "hate" crimes.

Deploring violence is a one-way street

"Shortly after the murder of George Tiller, pro-life groups put out statements denouncing the crime. These statements came from all over the pro-life camp. Some were more forthright than others, it is true, but most were admirable in their categorical rejection of vigilante killings.

This morning, a U.S. Army recruiting station was attacked. One recruiter was killed, another hurt. Any statements from the antiwar Left deploring that violence? I've seen none from Code Pink, which has called U.S. servicemen "war criminals" and worse in service of a "fascist dictatorship," and whose rhetoric has, in general, been comparable to that of the less temperate branches of the pro-life movement. If you want to check International ANSWER'S press statements, you'll find nothing deploring this violence." Media Blog

To Mary Mapes and the establishment left, where are you with your outrage and condemnation today? Will the President make a statement about the murdered Army recruiter like he properly did yesterday about the abortion Dr? Will he condemn the vigilantes in Berkeley? Founding Bloggers

Governor Palin has also put out a message deploring the killing of Dr. Tiller. And she has a child most pro-abortion people wanted to die because he is has Down Syndrome (93% are killed before birth). We wait to hear a Democratic governor or the President speak out about a U.S. serviceman being killed.

It’s ironic and angering that only three weeks ago, Democrats in Congress shot down a bill to include military veterans on a bill giving them “hate crime” status and protection, but did grant it to convicted pedophiles. The Democrats felt including members of our military would be insulting to gays and minorities (but adding pedophiles would not be insulting).Vicki

The class of 57 had its dream

And that probably didn't include growing old, but we did. Our former high school, new when we graduated, is located between the town cemetery and the retirement home--so we should have had a clue. Some of us have already passed the 70 mark, some will soon, but most of the class of 1957 were born in or around 1939. The country was in the midst of the Great Depression that had been dragging on for 10 years. That was the year Hitler marched into Poland, and we were toddlers when Japan dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor. It was hard times and some of our parents might not have been thrilled by our showing up! If you look through the yearbooks of my home town at the class of 1953, it was about half the size of ours. People were cautious about the future in the 1930s. Here's a column from the Cleveland Plain Dealer that former classmate Mike and wife Judy sent me. Regina Brett’s "50 life lessons," written when she turned 50 in 2006. Can you think of 20 more to make it 70?

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.


51. Here's one from the 1880s: "The husband must not see and the wife must be blind." The Gospel Messenger, December 18, 1888.
52. Less stuff means less stress
53. Naps and chocolate (dark).
54. Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.
55. "It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." Laura Ingalls Wilder
56. When it comes to politics, keep an open mind. It will pay off in the end. Murray
57. Having more than one political party can be good but it can also be very ugly. Murray
58. "Life by the yard is hard; by the inch is a cinch." Or something like that I saw on my sister-in-law's refrigerator.
59. "I know folks all have a tizzy about it, but I like a little bourbon of an evening. It helps me sleep. I don't much care what they say about it." Lillian Carter

How could it be worse?

I just noticed at a right wing on-line site that pro-lifers fear a backlash from the President because of the murder of an abortion doctor. Murder is always wrong; whether it be the innocent unborn or the guilty perps. However, how is it going to get worse? This is already the most anti-life president in the history of the country--he's way far left of Congressional Democrats on the born alive issue. He has co-opted the most Catholic of the Catholic institutions, named for Jesus' mother, for goodness sake, to promote his pathological, twisted view born of some hatred for babies of teen mothers in difficult circumstances. He doesn't wring his hands over the murder rate of black men; or the pedophiles on the internet; or the people in the auto industry having their lives destroyed by his take-over; or the millions of African children dying due to misguided western environmentalists; or even the state of poverty of some of his own first degree relatives. This man needs to get a grip.

Monday Memories of going barefoot

I looked through my albums, but I was a poor deprived child--my mother's camera broke after the first two children, and I can't find a photo of me in bare feet. Although I'm pretty sure that like most children growing up in the 1940s, I rarely wore shoes in the summer except to go to church. Several years ago my son had a summer job mowing lawns. I was a bit concerned because he was suffering from a bad back--stenosis of the spine, I think. Anyway, after a summer of walking behind a lawnmower, he was fine. I'm not sure he was barefoot, however, he might have been.

To stay on track here, the toes on my right foot began to hurt last summer while I was wearing a pair of sandals and giving a presentation in front of the Green Gables (Lakeside) on 19th century architecture. I sort of limped home and put the sandals away. Most of the time, the foot didn't hurt as long as I didn't wear them.

Last week-end I put on a different pair and the same pain started--I think it is a nerve between the 3rd and 4th toes, but I suppose it could be on the ball of the foot. So I googled it--found a picture and pointed. I read through the stuff, book marked it, but have already forgotten what that nerve area is called. (Cousin Bill, help me out here.) But I did remember my son. So today I went outside with my CD of Luther's Small Catechism, took off my shoes and socks, and walked for about 30 minutes in the back yard. It's a very different sensation. For starters, you have to lift your foot a little higher because dragging your toes through grass is not a fun feeling. Then you have to watch for sticks and rocks. And dog poop. I wouldn't say my foot feels better, and my back hurts a little from the awkward gait, but it wasn't too bad for a childhood memory.

Reassuring China

According to today's WSJ, Timothy Geithner "is expected to try to reassure China--the largest holder of U.S. Treasurys--about its U.S. debt investments as well as the strength of the dollar." Now, the Obama team can't be blamed for China owning us--that goes back a bit. But the Chinese aren't stupid. They thought they were investing in capitalism! What a surprise! One more company, GM, taken over today and given to the unions, and the President announces it is only going to get worse. Old Timmy's going to have to really peddle fast to get out of this mess. Plus, doesn't this sound a tad tentative?

expected
to try
to reassure