Wednesday, August 31, 2011

He must have gotten bad news from the doctor!

Today I saw a man jogging. Lots of people jog, but I've only seen this guy do two things, 1) sit on his porch, and 2) walk slowly around the block with his even slower dog looking for a yard to poop in. Now he's jogging? And sweating? Must have been told by the doctor that he needed to do some exercise.

Actually, I couldn't jog even if the doctor prescribed it. Besides walking is better for you and rarely damages the knees.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Week 11--Senior Venture Week at Lakeside

This week we're learning about notable Ohioans. Sunday night I watched a movie on the Wright Brothers, and yesterday I attended a program on Ohio Astronauts. I didn't know we had 24 astronauts! The speaker covered just a few of the highlights, like John Glenn, James Lovell, Judy Resnick (died in the Challenger explosion), Sanita Williams, and Neil Armstrong. I'd sort of forgotten what rock star celebrities these guys became. We got our babies up on the night of July 20, 1969 to watch the "first step".

But we learned that NASA isn't going away even though manned space flight (now called "crewed space flight" so as not to use the word man) is being discontinued. A young female employee giving her first presentation talked to us about her research in radioisotopes and about the Discovery Mission. There is still a lot going on.

I had no idea someone had written a song about the astronauts, but I found this on the internet.

Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins
were launched away in space
Millions of hearts were lifted,
proud of the human race
Space control at Houston, radio command
The team below that gave the go
they had God's helping hand.

Yes, it was a very proud time for Americans.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Get the shingles vaccine!

Are you an older adult (over 50)? For your own sake, get the shingles (herpes zoster) vaccine--even if your insurance doesn't cover it! A friend of ours is suffering so, and it is needless. Shingles is like sleeping on a bed of poison ivy times 100. You won't die, but you may wish to!

Desperate for jobs boost, Obama taps labor economist

Really? This is what he spent his "vacation" working on? More of the same with Alan Krueger. ". . . advocated for hiring tax credits for businesses and increased government spending on infrastructure, two programs Obama aides are considering proposing this fall. There's a reason for this rut. 80% of people in government, at any level, have never held jobs in the private sector. They don't know that there's no hiring if you're being choked to death with regulation, red tape, and threats of higher health care costs.

Desperate for jobs boost, Obama taps labor economist for top White House post - The Washington Post

Nero in the White House

"Three significant historical events have been eclipsed by Obama: 1) Jimmy Carter will no longer be looked upon as the worst president in American history; 2) Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton will no longer be recognized as the greatest liars in presidential history; 3) Clinton's stain on Monica's dress, and what that did to White House in general and the office of the president specifically, will forever pale in comparison to the stain and stench of Obama."

Murray sent along this good read by Mychal Massie. I guess Massie is a racist?
Nero in the White House

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Unequal Harm: Racial Disparities in the Employment Consequences of Minimum Wage Increases

Increases in minimum wage are very popular with politicians--Democrats run on it, and Republicans don't want to appear to be meanies, so they shuffle along and agree to it. But it is those in the lowest job ranks who get cut first as employers look for ways to save (it doesn't increase their income, you know). When Democrats took over both houses in 2007, it was the first step downward for the coming recession--hit employers hard, then the poor. And most of all, young and black. Unemployment in the current recession is about 25% for young white males without a high school diploma, but 50% for young blacks. But why?

The authors find that they’re more likely to be employed in eating and drinking places–nearly one out of three black young adults without a high school diploma works in the industry. Businesses in this industry generally have narrow profit margins and are more likely to be adversely impacted by a wage mandate. There’s also substantial variation in regional location, as black young adults are overwhelmingly located in the South and in urban areas.
Unequal Harm: Racial Disparities in the Employment Consequences of Minimum Wage Increases | EPI Study

Here's how one small businessman (RV parks in Arizona) handled the problem of a 41% increase in 2 years of minimum wage in a heavily labor intensive business. In his case, it was the retirees who were let go, a trade off of experience for younger, faster, healthier workers.

Light & Tasty

The Lakeside Antique Show was yesterday and I bought a few goodies, one of which wasn't actually at the sale, but next door at the Methodist Church book sale. It was the Premiere Issue of Taste of Home's Light & Tasty, for cooks "who are looking for light recipes that don't sacrifice flavor," and it was 10 cents. I'll be writing about it at my hobby bloggy, In the Beginning.
I would never use egg substitutes, or low-fat cheese or fat free evaporated milk, but the photos are good and I've come up with a few ideas about how to use zucchini and tomatoes.


When Reiman's Taste of Home began diversifying, it wasn't unusual to find more than one cover for a premiere issue. The photo of the cover on the far right with the raspberry cream cake with chocolate topping is the one I have. Inside, they are pretty much the same.

Technically, I'm no longer looking for first issues because they were taking over my house, but if one falls in my lap (hands) at a sale, well . . .

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Week 10 at Lakeside--Civil War Week

Because of our trip back to Columbus for a meeting and a quick visit to the vet for our cat, we missed the Monday and Tuesday daytime programs by Dale Phillips, Howard Strouse and the dinner with "President Lincoln" (Robert and Barbara Brugler of Columbus as Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln). However, later in the week Randy Koch who spoke on the Presidential Election of 1860 mentioned that at the Monday night dinner he shook the hand of a WWII veteran, whose grandfather had been wounded at Gettysburg, and he had been visited by President Lincoln and shook his hand. He said he got chills thinking about it.

There were 3 women presenters this week, Marjorie Wilson of Cleveland gave a very informative talk on Mortimer Leggett, one of Ohio's generals. She's a retired school teacher who got interested in the Civil War because she's a volunteer docent at Lakeview cemetery where 800 Civil War veterans are buried. Carol Zeh, a Civil War historian from Akron, provided great maps and explanations about the Battle of Gettysburg with graphic details on the injuries and deaths. She said if you want to be a volunteer guide at Gettysburg, it's harder than getting into medical school! That same day (Thursday) I attended "Horses of Gettysburg" a PBS documentary. Other than numbers and a few bad photos, there wasn't that much, but good information on the statuary that includes horses. Joan Cashin of OSU spoke on Black & white women of the Old South, which I didn't attend. Those who did said she gave good current information on slavery today--which in numbers is higher than the 18th century. On Friday Tom Lloyd of the music faculty of Columbus State led us in some rousing songs of the Civil War era with very interesting background about instruments, military bands, song writers and publishers. I had no idea that Columbus State even had a music department.

Socially, it's been a busy week. Dave and MaryAnn were with us Friday and Saturday and we had lunch at the Hotel Lakeside; Tuesday evening we had Dan and Joan here for dinner on our deck; Wednesday evening we went to the community picnic with Rob and Lynn; then Thursday morning we were at Dan and Joan's B&B for breakfast with Marsha, a former architecture colleague of my husband; then Friday night we went out to Crosswinds for great perch with Wes and Sue and then back here for dessert and an evening program of eclectic music--mostly Celtic.

With Dan and Joan at the Idlewyld B & B in Lakeside.

With David and Mary Ann at our cottage.

With Rob and Lynn at the picnic in the park.




Friday, August 26, 2011

Solar Manufacturers Slowly Closing Up Shop In U.S.

Even with loans from China and subsidies from local governments, solar is having a problem catching on in the U.S. and "green" jobs are evaporating as solar plants close.

Solar Manufacturers Slowly Closing Up Shop In U.S. | Institute for Energy Research

Thursday, August 25, 2011

What you can do to make sure your kids don't smoke

This is the heading of a 2 page ad in a women's magazine--sponsored by Lorillard Tobacco Company! Hmmm. Not sure that's the best source. Anyway, this tobacco company which is dedicated to getting your kids hooked into a life time habit that costs about $4,000 a year, says these things will keep them from smoking: 1) Reinforce the immediate consequences, 2) instill strong values and beliefs. Ha, ha, ha. That's rich.

What 13 year old have you met who could weigh the risks of bladder and lung cancer against being included with the kids he admires? Peers win every time.


I'm guessing this advertisement is included as part of a law suit.

Sonia Hermosillo Arrested For Throwing Her Baby Off A Parking Structure

An uncanny resemblance to Casey Anthony, another killer mom.

Sonia Hermosillo Arrested For Throwing Her Baby Off A Parking Structure

An Overview of the U.S. Department of Education-- Pg 2

Is there anything in this expensive federal agency that actually improves education? I realize it pays a lot of salaries which in turn buys groceries, pays mortgages, and shops for new clothing, but really, what has it done for education of our young people if we're still so far behind other first world countries?

An Overview of the U.S. Department of Education-- Pg 2

Sustainability--the new squishy buzzword

Like nailing jello to the wall. Here's some meanings for the corporate world.

Key Practice Area - Sustainability - What is Sustainability - NAEM

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Living with an aging parent--JAMA Aug 17, 2011, vol 306.no.7

JAMA has a bimonthly series called, "Care of the Aging Patient; from evidence to action," and the most recent was Living with an aging parent, a well written summary with citations to the medical literature of one family's exerience. In the library field, we used to call these articles, "How I done it good" papers. JAMA solicits these articles from actual experience, assures the authors of "peer review" status to put on their CV, and gives a $500 honorarium.

The three authors tell a story of a healthy couple, 89 and 86, who move across the country in 2006 to live with their daughter and husband after the husband begins showing signs of dementia. The daughter invites them, rather than have them go to a retirement community. The backstory is that for 15 years, the parents lived with this family in the summer to take care of their children while the parents worked. The article describes the health condition and living arrangements and how things changed between 2006 and 2011. There are 3 tables which would help anyone considering this type of living arrangement, and one list of "issues."

I could have written this article myself, and I don't have an MD, PHD or MSPH, but my good frinds Jim and Jackie did a similar move to Colorado a few years back with similar results. Nor would I need 5 grants from the U.S. government, or various awards from foundations, all listed as an appendix to the article.

Now I say this for two reasons: 1) the article is an interview with 46 citations from medical databases to confirm the points made by either the interviewer or the interviewees. There is nothing wrong with this method--it's informative, easy reading, and although it would seem to be common sense, many people don't have that, so it will be very helpful for anyone considering a multigenerational living arrangement; 2) this type of writing isn't rocket science, but for the tax payer it is very expensive.

As near as I can determine, Alabama has received nearly $9,500,000 from the federal government of Title VIII just in 2010. Glancing through the list I think this is all geriatric health issues. That's just one state, one issue. The lead author, Christine S. Ritchie, according to her vita which I looked up, has at the moment, 7 simultaneous positions/titles, and if my experience in academe is to be trusted, she's being paid for each one. I found two different amounts for Dr. Richie, both over $200,000, for grants that supported this research--research that I could have written given a few days off my regular duties. The other two authors also report (disclosure) support from grants.

Monday, August 22, 2011

No heroic measures


We came back to Columbus on Sunday and I got an early a.m. appointment today with the vet. Our cat stopped eating on Thursday, and has had very little since then and has lost a pound. The vet could find nothing in the physical exam and recommended some tests--blood, urine, etc. We've been through this before with 2 other cats, and know that not only are the tests expensive, but that more medications will follow and usually something uncomfortable for the cat or the owners. I decided against the "panel" and requested an appetite stimulant and rehydration. I went to the store and bought some "people" food she might like--tuna and salmon--and cooked her a little chicken. At this point, anything she will eat is OK.

Rich Americans Poor Americans

Why aren't we dancing in the streets?

Red Tape: Rising Cost of Government Regulation

Full employment for regulators creating and monitoring red tape.
In the first six months of the 2011 fiscal year, 15 major regulations were issued, with annual costs exceeding $5.8 billion and one-time implementation costs approaching $6.5 billion. No major rulemaking actions were taken to reduce regulatory burdens during this period. Overall, the Obama Administration imposed 75 new major regulations from January 2009 to mid-FY 2011, with annual costs of $38 billion.
Red Tape: Rising Cost of Government Regulation

What Do We Do With Barack Obama?

Michael Wolff said this 11 months ago--September 2010
Some mass misperception put Barack Obama in the White House and now nobody knows what to do with him.

What Do We Do With Barack Obama?

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Five Best Saturday Columns: Obama Takedown Edition - The Atlantic Wire

This is one way columnists, generally supportive of only one view point, get to be "balanced;" they link, point or cite people they don't agree with. Atlantic is quite left of center, and here the author summarizes the latest unflattering stories about Obama. However, I took a look at the "tags." I'm a former cataloger of essentially Soviet propaganda, but I had to learn all the basic rules. None of these 5 writers are members of the Tea Party (even if such an organization or party actually existed), yet the tag is Tea Party. I suppose that's closer than "racism," which used to be the charge for anyone against Obama's policies. But Blow, the first link, is a black writer, and Peggy Noonan was so far out of favor with the Bush crowd and such an admirer of Obama during the 2008 campaign, she's lucky to have any readers at all. And one of the cited authors is British. So just who tagged this beef stew as left-over fried rabbit?

Five Best Saturday Columns: Obama Takedown Edition - Politics - The Atlantic Wire

Saturday, August 20, 2011

The Anti-American President--or why we want him to fail at destroying the U.S.

It is no secret that Obama doesn't like us or the country. He's not stupid; he's not inept. He wrote about it, and apparently either no one read his books, listened to his speeches, or no one believed him then. Believe him now?

"Obama gets dreams from his socialist father. His mother was a fellow traveler. Obama lived in anti-American Indonesia as a child. Later, granddad decided Obama needed a Communist mentor. O got into Harvard on the recommendation of anti-Semitic Khalid al Mansour, an adviser to Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal. In college O chose his friends carefully -- "the more politically active black students, foreign students, Chicanos, Marxist professors and structural feminists." As a professor he taught Marxist Saul Alinsky tactics, and as a constitutional scholar he believed that there are fundamental flaws in the Constitution, such as restraint on governmental power. As a community organizer and counsel he pushed sub-prime mortgages which helped buckle our economy.

He's a trench-mate with voter-fraudsters ACORN and quasi-commie SEIU. He had house parties and sat on boards with an unrepentant, revolutionary communist, who probably ghostwrote one of O's autobiographies. He attended the social-justice church of Jeremiah Wright, where he was preached at on collective salvation and black liberation. Illinois state senator and communism-lover Alice Palmer, picked O as her chief of staff. As a U.S. senator, he had the most leftist voting record. His wife's only source of American pride came in her 40s as a result of O's own success. He was endorsed by the Communist Party in 2004, and in 2008 Obama got CPUSA's endorsement again, basically running on the CPUSA platform. (And yes, CPUSA have endorsed him again for 2012!)"

Articles: The Anti-American President

Happy Birthday to my brother


My how time flies--sweetest guy in the world.



Friday, August 19, 2011

Rick Perry on evolution

If there's anything the media hate more than a pro-life candidate, it's one who doesn't believe the theory of evolution has all the answers to origins. On the other hand, maybe they love these candidates because they get so much press out of these gotcha comments.

According to the New Testament, Jesus existed before everything and created everything. Now why would he devise such a loopy plan that would take millions, maybe billions of years of death, disease and destruction before the final product finally evolved, and then have the audacity and duplicity to blame Adam and Eve for bring death into his "perfect" creation?

Paul's letter to the Colossians, Chapter 1
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,[e]
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.[f]
So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Canadian luxury bus ferries U.S. President Barack Obama through Midwest - US Bus News

Another way for Obama to thumb his nose at American workers. Go on a jobs tour in a bus made in Canada. If it were anyone else I'd call him dumb, but I think this was intentional.

Canadian luxury bus ferries U.S. President Barack Obama through Midwest - US Bus News

Where is Obama's beer summit on the race riots of 2011

In 2009, the President got off on the wrong foot with most thinking, law abiding Americans by sticking his nose into a Boston local law enforcement issue--Professor Gates being mistaken for a burglar while breaking into his own home. He was reported to the police by a neighbor who didn't know him. His handlers tried to repair his butinski image by the famous beer summit.

Now there have been "flash mob" riots in a number of large cities, and many have been created by black youth using cell phones and social media. These are not poverty or "race" riots; the people are gleeful and having a great time, but they are also intimidating law abiding citizens and other young people--especially if they are white. The President has decided he will be silent on this generation that has been subsidized with food stamps, rent subsidies, Earned income tax credits, two meals a day plus snacks at school, WIC (and about 25 other food and nutrition programs), Medicaid plus free treatment at any ER and endless jobs programs. I seriously doubt that any of these young men (although there were a few women chasing them) grew up with married parents, or ever held a job that wasn't subsidized by the government.

Many in the media are ignoring the racial aspect of these riots and only showing photos of the police, not the rioters, or they are attributing the problem to "social media." It's like SUVs being blamed for accidents instead of the driver. The media will consistently report on the racial profile of a peaceful gathering of the Tea Party, but almost never if a roving band of young blacks break into and loot a department store, or disrupt a state fair.

This obvious media blindness is fodder for the white supremist web sites--you can find them by googling "flash mob riots."

Articles: Lessons from a Milwaukee Mob

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

These flash mobs probably won't help the Obama campaign

The media is reporting it and not mentioning race, but it's fairly easy to see. These are just punks gleefully plundering. And Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia definitely has noticed.

"Pull up your pants and buy a belt 'cause no one wants to see your underwear or the crack of your butt," he said. "If you walk into somebody's office with your hair uncombed and a pick in the back, and your shoes untied, and your pants half-down, tattoos up and down your arms and on your neck, and you wonder why somebody won't hire you? They don't hire you 'cause you look like you're crazy," the mayor said. He added: "You have damaged your own race."
The Social Degeneration Of The West: Part I - Investors.com

Is there a hole in the bucket for Obama water carriers?

What is going on? Tonight on NBC news I heard a negative report on President Obama! They actually doubt his staff that this bus tour isn't part of his campaign. Wow! Followed that with news about food inflation, caused in part by bio-fuels (aka green, or alternative energy sources).

And in a lecture today where the presenter had Obama's inaugural address on the screen and we were looking at Biblical references, a man actually said that reading the content of the speech was enlightening especially since things were so much worse today than when he took office. In Lakeside he said this. I was stunned (it's a pretty liberal place). Of course, the retired Presbyterian pastor sitting behind me, disagreed. He thought things were better. I wonder what--another war front? Inflation? The national debt? A floundering Congress? The stock market? Pretending he's not campaigning?

I guess everyone sees what they want to see, including me. Maybe I imagined that NBC story. And maybe the guy who spoke up was on the far left and thought Obama had disappointed his supporters.

Wisconsin Recall, Fleebaggers face the music

I know some Illinois women who have gone to Wisconsin to help the Fleebaggers. Seems like a fair exchange. They fled their responsibilities by fleeing to Illinois, now Illinois which has huge problems of its own created by years and years of crooked pols in Chicago and local union strikes, is going to head for Wisconsin. The unions are importing truckloads of money from outside the state, and when that isn't enough, they find volunteers.

Michelle Malkin » Wisconsin Recall, Part Two: Fleebaggers face the music

What happened to Obama? Absolutely Nothing

Some moderates are surprised, but many life long Democrats see no problem with his behavior. The social wish list of the last 40 years is what they wanted, and he looked like he could do it, plus he was a 2-fer, a guy who could absolve their guilt for a history they didn't create. Most white liberals wanted him for his racial make-up, pure and simple. His politics was a plus. No white liberal could have defeated the Clinton machine with so little experience.
But whereas the communists had in their delusional vision of the Soviet Union a model of the kind of society that would replace the one they were bent on destroying, the new leftists only knew what they were against: America, or Amerika as they spelled it to suggest its kinship to Nazi Germany. Thanks, however, to the unmasking of the Soviet Union as a totalitarian nightmare, they did not know what they were for. Yet once they had pulled off the incredible feat of taking over the Democratic Party behind the presidential candidacy of George McGovern in 1972, they dropped the vain hope of a revolution, and in the social-democratic system most fully developed in Sweden they found an alternative to American capitalism that had a realistic possibility of being achieved through gradual political reform.
Norman Podhoretz: What Happened to Obama? Absolutely Nothing. - WSJ.com

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Timeless knowledge and skills

"We can’t predict the future, but we can teach “timeless knowledge and skills that all students must master to succeed in any environment,” writes Kathleen Porter-Magee on Flypaper."

I think I can count them on my 10 fingers. And they all deal with the basic building blocks of everything else I need to know.

1. Reading, writing and spelling. And I think this is a package.

2. Basic math--addition, subtraction, multiplication tables, fractions, decimals. I wish I'd had some basic statistics--it would be much easier to read medical and economic articles.

3. Simple cooking skills. White sauce. Pie crust. Lightly steaming fresh vegetables. Setting a pretty table. How to pick beans or strawberries (from the vine, not the store), and pit cherries.

4. A few basics about physics and chemistry, like hit the nail not your finger, and water that turns to steam can cause a bad burn. Why there are snowflakes and clouds and who created the world.

5. How to use a few research tools like an encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, phone book, table of contents, index, appendix, etc. particularly those concepts that are transferable to the internet and mobile devices. Call me a crazy librarian, but knowing where to find information is useful when you can't remember all of the world of knowledge.

6. Basic hygiene and health tips like don't smoke, eat all the colors, get plenty of exercise and brownies have more calories than carrot sticks.

7. Typing and a few things about basic bookkeeping.

8. First verse of at least 10 hymns and some Bible verses to use in foxholes.

9. Driving a car. I learned that about age 15 and am still doing it. Otherwise you're terribly dependent on others--although I drive less and less as I get older and never did long distances.

10. Basic music reading skills, like maybe 3 years of piano and some time in the band with a trombone.

What would you add? Or subtract?

Notice I haven't added sewing, although I used to find that useful; or gardening, although I did try that and was required to do my share as a child; or team sports (hated that); I actually think learning to swim is very important and the younger the better, but the only time I almost drowned was before I learned to swim so actually knowing how has never been very useful.

Abortion opponents have a new voice

A very interesting story about the niece of some of my Facebook and blogger friends--particular for its anti-prolife point of view. From "antiabortion" to "seeming candor" to "like any smart girlfriend" to "stoking" her belief to "dictating the national conversation" this writer definitely sees your niece and any of us who don't want babies killed in the womb as a huge threat to women and society. I will read CSM with a fresh eye from here on out.

Christian Science Monitor isn't a Christian publication, but the word Christian is still in the title. I find it hard to imagine that this reporter asks pro-abortion mothers of their subject what type of contraception they use. Rude!

And the author actually refers to our "pro-abortion rights president" not noting his deplorable record on life and that he is more extreme than anyone in Congress and believes late term, born alive abortions are legal.Yoest frames her argument similarly. "You either believe it's a life or you don't," she says. "The intellectual underpinnings really do matter. And they matter for our culture. If you can't draw the lines, you lose your bearings. You lose true north if you can't defend innocent human life."

Abortion opponents have a new voice - CSMonitor.com

Jennifer Skalka--you've got some explaining to do to the creator of life.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Taking of Private Property for Public Use

I'm watching a video on c-span about the abuses of eminent domain to seize federal public housing to reduce black population. Most of us probably feel eminent domain in the taking of private property can certainly be unfair, particularly as it destroys homes and neighborhoods in the name of public good. But this is different--it's about taking federal public housing.

Perhaps you recall, if you're from Illinois, all the neighborhoods that were destroyed in the 40s and 50s because they were "slums" and required "urban renewal." Cabrini-Green is famous. Huge, impersonal, Soviet style architecture blobs were erected. Families and neighbors were scattered. Then 40-50 years later, those buildings came down, the families and neighbors were again scattered, and the yuppies moved back into prime real estate in Chicago. The friends of the Chicago Housing Authority probably did quite well--and may even be serving in Washington DC these days.
As public housing developments go, Cabrini-Green was never the largest, toughest or most troubled in Chicago. It was, however, the closest to the city’s rich and influential neighborhoods and perhaps the most widely known housing development in the country. It was made famous by the 1970s CBS television sitcom “Good Times,” which was set in Cabrini, and it also became known for its gang wars and headline-grabbing crimes — prompting Mayor Jane M. Byrne to move into the development in 1981 with her husband and a large contingent of police officers.

Taking of Private Property for Public Use - C-SPAN Video Library

Notice how young and articulate the first speaker, Ilya Somin, is. He's a Russian immigrant who came to the U.S. at about age 9--he still remembers life in the Soviet Union. Wish our home grown children did this well--and could preserve and protect as he has the ideas of the importance of private property and free markets or even the rights of people who must live in public housing. It would be a good project for a young person to track some of the wealth created for unions and building trades of condemning, building and then condemning again and rebuilding again in the same neighborhoods. And don't forget the freebies and tax rebates that the city government hands out.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Day by Day cartoon on Fast and Furious



Use scroll bar to see all 3 frames
http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/


The Politicized Hiring of Eric Holder’s Voting Section

All sixteen new hires to the Voting Section have far-left resumes — which were only released following a Pajamas Media lawsuit.

Recently released documents — disclosed by the Obama Justice Department only after a court battle — reveal that the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice is engaging in politicized hiring in the career civil service ranks. Typical Washington behavior, you say? Except the hiring in question is nearly unprecedented in scope and significantly eclipses anything the Bush administration was even accused of doing. And the evidence of the current political activity is far less impeachable than what was behind the libelous attacks leveled at officials from the Bush years.

Pajamas Media » Every Single One: The Politicized Hiring of Eric Holder’s Voting Section

Remember, Holder is the guy who says he won't go after blacks intimidating whites at the polls because there is no violation of civil rights if blacks are the perps. And to prove his point, he hires radicals and ACLU lawyers.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

The Growing Bipartisan Consensus--Obama is worse than Carter

I really hate to see these unflattering comments about Jimmy Carter. Yes, he made himself look spiteful and resentful when he was a has-been, but he did many good things. He is a devout Christian, and he is a patriot who loves our country. Obama can't tie his shoes. And these journalists who think Obama is oblivious and dumb need to get some new tea leaves. I believe he knows exactly what he is doing.

The American Spectator : The Growing Bipartisan Consensus on Obama

Self esteem and housing bubbles

If you were a child or a parent in the 1970s-1980s, you were caught up in the self-esteem bubble. Even Christians like James Dobson did well on this misguided movement with books, TV shows, government grants, workshops for teachers, special session for child psychologists, NIH grants, etc. I know I certainly bought into it. Even Seseme Street got into the act. The idea was that instead of deriving healthy self-esteem from accomplishments, children could become accomplished by artificially ratcheting up their self-esteem. Although that’s been disproven (very evil and narcissistic sociopaths as well as deprived, abused and homely people can have very high self esteem) the memory and movement lingers on in “fairness” and “everyone is a winner” education movements. Everyone gets a prize, everyone is a success--and even 5 years ago during the booming Bush economy supervisors were looking for ways to reward workers (besides a paycheck) by inflating titles and having gimmicky staff awards for those employees who‘d had their self-esteem artificially inflated by these 30 year old, disproven concepts.

And along came the housing bubble of the Bush years. Although the idea that housing changes people instead of the other way around didn’t originate in the GWB presidency (it was birthed during the Carter years), it certainly flourished . Brilliant, educated academicians looked around and saw that very often successful, educated, well off people owned their own homes. So the idea developed, and then caught on with the unions, construction trades, real estate, and city planning professions, that if the poor and lower class and less educated or immigrant peoples could live in nicer homes and have mortgages like those people living in the suburbs who also paid higher taxes to support better schools, streets, parks, police, etc., then gradually people with a completely different set of values, would want to mimic middle class values. The pride of home ownership would somehow transform them! They would want to sit down with teachers and plan IEPs for the kids, they would decide to get married, they would not leave cars sitting on rims in front of trash filled lawns, they would choose chocolate Labs instead of white Pit Bulls, crime rates would go down, and it would all be kum ba ya.

Banks, lobbyists, think tanks, politicians, and all construction trades and their unions, did very well. The poor didn’t change. With no skin in the game, and still with that pesky low self-esteem they just moved with their values and standards, just like an earlier generation had done with public housing (now torn down because yuppies want to live downtown).

But, just as with the self-esteem movement, the memory lingers on, and the government is still shelling out billions to rescue the poor through housing--even though we all know that it’s the industries surrounding housing that are being propped up and controlled by the government. People still need shelter; they don’t need big brother or even big church to manage their lives.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Waller book gets dropped off at the Hotel reading room

I wrote about buying a "bag of books for $1.00" in Sunday's Women's Club Book Sale. Only one was fiction, James Waller's Slow excrutiating waltz somewhere in Iowa. PW gushed: "Only little old ladies with blue permed hair need be wary of Waller's second foray into fiction: this time around, his saccharine tale of middle-aged lovers gets to sex scenes right away. When Michael Tillman, an Iowa economics professor with a rebel streak, first lays eyes on his colleague's wife, Jellie Branden, he immediately wonders ``how it would feel to grab a big handful of her hair and bend her over the dean's kitchen table.'' A few pages later--still in the first chapter--he is fantasizing about stripping Jellie naked and flying to the Seychelles."

As a male romance writer, Waller just doesn't cut it. After an excrutiatingly boring page or two (autobiographical apparently) about his basketball career in college, I decided even for $.20 this book had no merit. Save your time to cut your toe nails or clean up dog poop from the yard.

So in search of a stronger internet connection today, I left it off in the reading room of the Hotel Lakeside. It's in excellent condition. I don't think any of the previous owners got past his huge ego and male parts.

"Fast and Furious" Goes All the Way to the White House

"Who exactly was behind the Gunwalker and Fast and Furious operations. Was it the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)? Yes. Was it also Attorney General Eric Holder? Well, there’s no doubt he was instrumental in Gunwalker, and it’s now known that his chief of staff was briefed on Fast and Furious. So how about President Obama? What did he know? According to information that has surfaced during ongoing investigations by Rep. Darrell Issa (R.-Calif.) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R.-Iowa), it’s certain that knowledge of Fast and Furious went all the way to the White House."

"Fast and Furious" Goes All the Way to the White House - HUMAN EVENTS

Physical Activity Levels of High School Students

Healthy People 2020 recommends 60 min. a day 7 days a week of aerobic exercise for teens. What is it now (self reported)?

Nationwide, 15.3% of high school students met the HP 2020 objective for aerobic activity. A higher percentage of male (21.9%) compared with female (8.4%) students? Combined with muscle activity, only about 12% of today's teens meet the HP 2020 objective.

Physical Activity Levels of High School Students—United States, 2010, July 27, 2011, 306 (4): 367 — JAMA

But here's the phrasing you need to look out for--it's where the money is. This will be a cash cow for every city block grant, non-profit community organization and probably even churches. The KEY phrase is "multisector approach." NEPLB. No exercise plan left behind.

These strategies are being included in programs such as the First Lady's Let's Move! campaign, CDC's Communities Putting Prevention to Work program, and the Safe Routes to School program. Additionally, the National Physical Activity Plan identifies the need to use a multisector approach involving schools, communities, families, and the private sector to facilitate integrated approaches to increasing population activity levels. Continued efforts to implement these evidence-based strategies and programs will help to meet the HP 2020 objective target for aerobic activity as well as the targets for muscle-strengthening activity and both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities (once these targets have been set based on findings from the 2011 national YRBS). Public health efforts to improve participation in aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities among U.S. high school students might be most relevant for female students, students in upper grades, and students with obesity.




Review & Outlook: A Downgrade Awakening - WSJ.com

"Let's recall how we arrived at this crossroads. A credit mania of several years that no one wanted to end suddenly turned into a financial panic in 2008. In their anxiety, and with Republicans holding the White House but having no explanation, the voters turned to the candidate who seemed coolest under fire. Though relatively unknown, Barack Obama was at least promising "hope and change."

Upon taking office, Mr. Obama proceeded to unleash the entire liberal economic and social policy arsenal in the name of ending the panic. Whether or not these were his own convictions, the President allowed the Pelosi Congress to use that rare political opening—and 60 Senate Democrats—to pursue a 40-year wish list."

Review & Outlook: A Downgrade Awakening - WSJ.com

Tuesday, August 09, 2011

How did purchasing this van help the economy?

I noticed a white van parked at the hotel this morning. There are several high school sports teams in town for sports camps--we see them running past our cottage with their coach on a bike. I suppose this was their transporation. Just curious how this van helped either the town or the state since federal stimulus funds were used to purchase it. I looked up Louisville, Ohio + ARRA and discovered it received about $330,000 to fix an intersection. Didn't see anything about purchasing vehicles for the schools.





Farmers' Market August 2011 Lakeside

It was a beautiful day for the farmers' market today. There was even a street musician. I bought a red cabbage and a cucumber.











Krauthammer on Obama blame game

“Leadership starts at the top with the presidency. Here he is way into our crisis, way in this issue of the double-dip, low growth rate, high unemployment, instability. After all of this, in office three years and today he says, ‘I will have recommendations on reducing the debt.’ Where was he in December when his own commission reported and he ignored it? Or with the budget in February, which increased our deficit and increased the debt by $10 trillion. All of a sudden he discovers the virtues of presenting the proposal. He has put nothing on the table and he blames everybody else.”

Krauthammer | Obama | The Daily Caller

ABC suggests there is a free lunch (coupons)

ABC News last night was pushing coupons as a way for Americans to save money in “these difficult times.” The usual coupon queen interviews--trying to convince you that companies on stay in business to give away stuff. Manufacturers use coupons to grab a larger share of the market, and since they don’t build brand loyalty, they primarily just reduce competition, and eventually raise prices for everyone as there are fewer companies to compete for your dollar. And since ABC ‘s advertisers are also the promoters of these schemes, this really wasn’t a news story at all but a pay-off for their sponsors and owners.

Whether it's Groupon, the newest version on the internet, the wooden nickle the oldest from my grandparents' days, or S&H green stamps your mother stuck in little books, . . . I tell you for the umpteenth time THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH!

Monday, August 08, 2011

Female mosquitoes tricked by spermless males : Nature News

Unlike human females who are tricked by spineless males.

Female mosquitoes tricked by spermless males : Nature News

Obama's Close Friend Arrested During Prostitution Sting in Hawaii - FoxNews.com

His "friends" list is starting to rival Bill Clinton's.

Obama's Close Friend Arrested During Prostitution Sting in Hawaii - FoxNews.com

Obama will succeedd--in destroying the country!

Obama has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Didn’t he warn the Republicans if they didn’t play ball, or call his bluff, or eat their peas, or kick the can they’d be blamed for the downgrad? Laughs are on them. The game was fixed either way. They might as well have played hard ball.

The spending the first day of his new slush fund was higher than the cuts agreed to for the duration. No other President has been able to do what he has done and it took him less than 3 years! As a bonus play, he made the Republicans look like absolute dupes and fools and the Tea Party members brilliant political strategists.

Democrats over 60 hoping to retire with that 403-b or 401-k: I hope you like the change your guy has brought to your living standard. Democrats under 60: unless you work for the government or Hollywood, better stick with the job you have even if there is no hope and lots of change.

Dollar a bag book sale!

At 4 p.m. yesterday the Women’s Club book sale went to a $1/bag, so I went back and picked up some I had noticed earlier.

1. Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978, (the green book). HC. I’ve been looking for one. Our church has not given it up for traditional services, and I often see something on Sunday I’d like to look at later. I've tried some sections of the newest Lutheran hymnal, but it just doesn't have the lovely flow and rhythm of the LBW. Originally Missouri Synod was in on this one, but never adopted it.

2. Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis. (2000) PB originally $14.00

3. A nostalgia for camels by Christopher Rand (c1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957). HC. I noticed a number of books on the middle east with Sally Sue Witten’s name in them, but which had been written in and annotated by “Siegfried” and dated 2011. He noted ”54 years later not much has changed but we are deeply involved in A/P (Afghanistan/Pakistan?). Sorry about that.” This collection was written from 1948-1956. Unfortunately, the 2nd owner marked it up with ballpoint ink. Hate that. But for 20 cents, what can you expect?

4. Traveling mercies; some thoughts on faith by Anne Lamott (1999). PB I read excerpts from this about 10 years ago when I discovered her writing.

5. Slow waltz in Cedar Bend by Robert James Waller (1993) HC. Fiction, and this is an example of why I usually don’t buy it--it’s got a pretty cover and a one hit wonder author, but not much else to recommend it.

------------------------------

Sunday, August 07, 2011

The "Oslo Syndrome" and the Terror Attack in Norway

Barry Rubin is being attacked for pointing out:
One of the most sensitive aspects of the very sensitive subject of the murderous terrorist attack in Norway by a right-wing gunman is this irony: The youth political camp he attacked was at the time engaged in what was essentially (though the campers didn’t see it that way, no doubt) a pro-terrorist program.

The camp, run by Norway’s left-wing party, was lobbying for breaking the blockade of the terrorist Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip and for immediate recognition of a Palestinian state without that entity needing do anything that would prevent it from being a terrorist base against Israel. They were backing and justifying forces that had committed terrorism against Israelis and killing thousands of people like themselves.


A terrorist on the right takes his justification for terrorism from the left. Now the messenger must be attacked.

If you argue politically that terrorists are justified in the Middle East or, to put it a different way, that they aren't terrorists at all, you are making terrorism more likely to happen. It is tragic--not justifiable or deserved but horrible--that such people or such a country then becomes the target of terrorism.
RubinReports: The "Oslo Syndrome" and the Terror Attack in Norway

Friday, August 05, 2011

John Kerry: Media Has "Responsibility" To "Not Give Equal Time" To Tea Party

SEN. JOHN KERRY: "And I have to tell you, I say this to you politely. The media in America has a bigger responsibility than it's exercising today. The media has got to begin to not give equal time or equal balance to an absolutely absurd notion just because somebody asserts it or simply because somebody says something which everybody knows is not factual."

"It doesn't deserve the same credit as a legitimate idea about what you do. And the problem is everything is put into this tit-for-tat equal battle and America is losing any sense of what's real, of who's accountable, of who is not accountable, of who's real, who isn't, who's serious, who isn't?"

The only Media source that claims to be fair and balanced about Tea Party coverage is Fox, all the rest are in the pocketbook of the Democrats, so is that what he's suggesting? Or does he want to be the Big Czar who decides which ideas are "real" and who is "accountable?" It certainly can't be that he thinks ABC or NBC has given the Tea Party too much time, unless it is time denigrating them.

I'm amazed that people like Kerry, the war protestor who probably extended the VietNam war with his post-military antics, continue to get elected since they are diametrically opposed to everything that is American, but then I thought that about the Kennedys too. Maybe it's Massachusetts.

John Kerry: Media Has "Responsibility" To "Not Give Equal Time" To Tea Party | RealClearPolitics

Thursday, August 04, 2011

Being poor and not too bright is a plus

"OSU is conducting a clinical research study of an investigational oral medication for birth control. Qualified participants will receive at no cost for up to 12 months: periodic gynecological exams, investigational oral birth control medication. Females that are 18-40 years of age, sexually active, and have regular menstrual cycles may be eligible for participation. Compensation is available for time and travel."

I wonder if there is compensation for the abortion or live delivery if the medication doesn't work? Or the health problems if this turns out to be something not so great for the female body. Of course these days, even abortificants are called birth control.

Congress Should Come Back Now says LaHood

It's a labor union issue--card check (aka no secret ballot)--and the Democrats are holding the bill hostage in the Senate. They messed around on the phony baloney ceiling which no one else in the country enjoys who can't print money, and let thousands get furloughed, and returned billions to the flyers in tax money. So the Democrats further mucked up the economy. I doubt that even the Democrats (i.e. everyone) at Obama's birthday party believed him when he whined about it.

"All it will take to end this crisis is for the Senate to pass the House-approved FAA extension," Boehner said in a statement. "I respect the fact that Senators have certain objections, but they have had two weeks to respond to the House bill and done nothing, leaving tens of thousands of workers in limbo. The House has done its job, and now it’s time for Senators to do theirs.”

Ray LaHood: Congress Should Come Back Now And Pass Clean FAA Bill

Obama Tells Donors Debt Debate is all about him

We all know that Obama didn't create our debt--he just expanded it beyond belief. But Obama tells his supporters the debt debate is all about him. Everything is always all about him. He's a total narcissist, but in this case, I agree that people are figuring him out and the "happy days are here again" campaign looks a little grim since he loses against unnamed candidates. I don't claim to understand it, but this kind of whining really gets Democrats to open their wallets. The birthday boy really raked it in.

Obama Tells Donors Debt Debate Shows Stakes in 2012 Election - Bloomberg

A Reader thinks I have Lakeside sand in my ears

Says I don't see (hear) the racism of the Tea Party. Not much sand in Lakeside--it was built on rock and The Rock. 140 years later it’s pretty rock solid liberal Democrat, and if there are any Tea Partyers here, they must be white haired pensioners watching their grandchildren’s future being frittered away by two parties that are tweedle-dumb and twiddle dumber.

I have seen racist stuff on the internet about Obama and I move on, but it is still not reaching the decibel level of the anti-Bush mania of his two terms, but I suppose it could come to that. It's not close to the misogynist, anti-disabled, anti-Palin, ageist, anti-Tea Party nonsense that streams from the main stream media. If Joe 6-pack sends racist jokes to his buddies, it's free speech, but what is it when MSNBC or the View get hysterical about a grass roots quasi-organized non-party? They are talking to thousands (well, MSNBC maybe hundreds).

Is the Tea Party a party like the two who have put us in this financial mess? Do they have talking heads reading script on ABC, CBS or NBC? Has the Tea Party run up a deficit? Have they put people out of work? What subversive action have they taken? Have they shot up a military base and had it hidden by the MSM? Have they sold guns to Mexican organized crime like our Attorney General and kept their jobs? Have they been tweeting pictures of their naked skinny bodies like Weiner? I’d like to know what qualifies as terrorism and racism to a Democrat. Apparently, protected free speech, disagreeing with an unqualified black president, and ridiculing his attempts at restoring the economy would be three. Those are the ones I've heard from Tea Party representatives on news shows. I don't count the ridicule by the liberal comedians like Maher and Letterman. You have to consider the source. Maher calls Tea Partyers "morons" and "Zombies" so I doubt that he's too reliable.

I've never been a member of a Tea Party group, but I have been a registered Democrat. I know how they think--or don't think. It's why I left. Too much feeling and not enough thought.

Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Cleveland Landmarks Commission to vote on demolishing century-old Columbia Building

It came down this week. That's what Ohio needed--another Casino where people could throw away their money. Legal gambling hurts the poor the most. Especially the lottery. The "something for nothing" appeal is very strong--much stronger than work, save, invest, and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Ohioans voted down casino gambling year after year, but the big boys finally won. Going to help our tax base. Yeah. Sure.

Cleveland Landmarks Commission to vote on demolishing century-old Columbia Building | cleveland.com

Back to school shopping

Schools in Georgia are already in session (hope they have AC). In the Columbus area I think they start in about 3 weeks. When I was young, it was usually around Labor Day week-end. One year, I think it was 1953 or around then, it was so hot we were dismissed to come back after the week-end. Wal-Mart has been showing back to school items since right after the July 4th stuff went to the remainder stores.

What were your "must have" items in your back to school wardrobe? In 1956-57 it was pencil straight wool skirts (mid-calf, getting shorter), sweater sets, cool colors pink and grey (even for cars), white collars, fake flowers for neck pins, cute scarves, winter "car coats," boy's jeans for casual wear, saddle shoes, or bucks for the feet, and 3" heels for Sunday dress up. Within a year the empire waist was replacing the cinched look and skirts were right below the knee cap.

From my blog Memorypatterns: "Young ladies of the 50s usually had four wardrobes. School. Sunday. Leisure/casual. Party/prom/dance. Our styles had flare and balance. Darts and starch. If you had a nice figure it would show; if you didn't you could cover it. You could sit down and not see London or France. You could twirl and swish, or run the bases in a softball game."

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

I think we can kiss that civility schtick good-bye--Democrats have gone over a cliff

James Taranto counts the ways the Democrats have gone bonkers on the wild, violent language to describe the Tea Party. And so soon after Obama launched his 2012 campaign at a funeral where people were shot by a crazy man who was inflamed by Palin's use of the word "cross-hairs."

Joe Nocera rants: You know what they say: Never negotiate with terrorists. It only encourages them. These last few months, much of the country has watched in horror as the Tea Party Republicans have waged jihad on the American people. . . . Their goal, they believed, was worth blowing up the country for, if that's what it took. . . . For now, the Tea Party Republicans can put aside their suicide vests. But rest assured: They'll have them on again soon enough.

Last Wednesday Thomas Friedman described the Tea Party as the GOP's "Hezbollah faction." The same day Maureen Dowd approvingly quoted "some Democrats" as describing the Tea Party as "the Republican 'Taliban wing.' " (In fairness we should note that the Times's Roger Cohen registered a partial dissent: "Hatred of Muslims . . . is a growing political industry. It's odious, dangerous and racist.")

We're hanging Christmas lights

We've never participated in the Light up Lakeside week-end, but this year bought several strings of lights. My husband is on the roof seeing if he can make this work. I don't think they'll do much lighting up, but it's our first try. Maybe they'll look better at night. I passed a cottage on my morning walk that had created two American flags on their hedge out of decorative lights and chicken wire.


Met a man at the coffee shop with a nice fawn colored short legged dog this morning. "A corgi?" I asked. "Yes," and then he told me they'd found her at the Humane Society a few weeks ago, they thought she was about 3 years old, and she was a wonderful pet, already one of the family. I don't know much about the breed except they are Queen
Elizabeth's favorite. This one didn't have a distinctive white collar, but she had a beautiful face and eyed me a bit suspiciously like she should be protecting her newly found savior.

Farmer's Market was in really good shape today. I bought collard greens, onions, beautiful tomatoes, green beans, and small potatoes. Earlier in the season there wasn't much, and last Friday it rained so hard that there were only two vendors.

Walking to the little store this morning I passed a really cute wicker rocker in a drive-way for sale for $55, so I bought it. I now have my side chair wicker in my drive-way for $30. Switched the cushions. This one could use some paint touch up, but right now it's too hot.

I stopped at the community hoe-down last night, which is sort of country dancing in the street. Lots of fun to watch people from 3 years old to 80 dancing together. There was a live band--3 women and 2 men. Everyone got a bandana and dessert and soft drink.

Monday, August 01, 2011

ACORN Thugs Stink Up the Wrong Bank - Big Government

"Predatory lenders Herb and Marion Sandler paid ACORN $11 million over the years to attack Wells Fargo, the main competition in California for their lending institution, World Savings Bank. The Sandlers are radical left-wingers who belong to George Soros’s Democracy Alliance, a club of billionaires that funds political infrastructure aimed at pushing America to the left.

The Sandlers are loan sharks whom Time magazine included in its “25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis” list. They preyed on the poor for years and paid ACORN, which also preys on the poor, to help them."

» ACORN Thugs Stink Up the Wrong Bank - Big Government

"In the early 1980s, the Sandlers' World Savings Bank became the first to sell a tricky home loan called the option ARM. And they pushed the mortgage, which offered several ways to back-load your loan and thereby reduce your early payments, with increasing zeal and misleading advertisements over the next two decades. The couple pocketed $2.3 billion when they sold their bank to Wachovia in 2006. But losses on World Savings' loan portfolio led to the implosion of Wachovia, which was sold under duress late last year to Wells Fargo."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1877351_1877350_1877343,00.html #ixzz1TolDsX00

"Through their charity, the Sandler Family Supporting Foundation, they gave at least $5,723,222 to the ACORN network. Specifically, the charity gave $4,498,222 to American Institute for Social Justice (since 2003), $700,000 to Project Vote (in 2005), $525,000 to ACORN (2000–2001 according to Activist Cash). This excludes any contributions that either Sandler may have made personally to ACORN or its affiliates." American Spectator