How to ruin a beautiful view

Few people think of visual environment.  I saw this article in ENR Midwest Digital Wire. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501363_162-57406874/feds-5-states-to-push-for-great-lakes-wind-farms/

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - The Obama administration and five states have agreed to speed up approval of offshore wind farms in the Great Lakes.

There are no wind turbines in the lakes at present. Proposals have met fierce opposition from people worried the structures would ruin views and harm the environment.

Under the deal, federal and state agencies will develop a plan to speed regulatory review of proposed offshore wind farms. Officials say the projects would have to meet safety and environmental standards.

States that signed the deal include Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania.

Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin declined.

Hacktivism

From Technewsworld an article on hacktivism by Sam Glines.

“Hacktivism is the new, hip thing; it has become a hobby for people with higher-than-average computer knowledge. The movement is led by an elite few who have a deep, lifelong knowledge of computers, and it includes senior Fortune 100 corporate executives and highly placed governmental employees, as well as the ranks of the unemployed.

The elite world of hacktivism is at the center of the Internet's Dark Side. While governmental agencies are looking for the individuals responsible for various acts of hacktivism, they struggle with using their tried-and-true methods to move up the food chain to identify hacktivist leaders. What is not well understood is that these layers cannot be penetrated by the standard law enforcement methods that were once effective in collapsing organized crime groups.

Hacktivism exists because the Internet is an open society that has no boundaries in which normal legal process can be applied without taking significant and draconian action, like direct control of the systems that keep the Internet alive. The traditional legal requirements for evidence are hampered by the very void in which the elites live. “

You might be anti-Semitic if . . .

If you judge a Jewish state by standards that you apply to no one else; if your neck veins bulge when you denounce Zionists but you’ve done no more than cluck “well, yes, very bad about Darfur”;
if there is nothing Hamas can do that you won’t blame ‘in the final analysis’ on Israelis;
if your sneer at the Zionists doesn’t sound a whole lot different from American neoconservative sneers at leftists;
then you should not be surprised if you are criticized, fiercely so, by people who are serious about a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians and who won’t let you get away with a self-exonerating formula—“I am anti-Zionist but not anti-Semitic”—to prevent scrutiny. If you are anti-Zionist and not anti-Semitic, then don’t use the categories, allusions, and smug hiss that are all too familiar to any student of prejudice.

Please read the entire article at Dissent—it’s from 2008, but not much has changed.  http://dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=987

Americans stalking health

Today Americans will stalk the aisles of a natural foods store for the freshest and least contaminated produce, they will worry about power lines and microwave ovens, but will pour strange
chemicals and hormones into their own or their daughters' bodies in the name of either destroying an embryo before it implants or blocking the natural path of an egg.

As a former academic medical librarian well acquainted with the research and publication route of scientific literature, I can assure you NO ONE will ever receive a federal grant to investigate the increase in obesity, autism, allergies, depression, thyroid cancer and early stroke and heart attack in women since the 1960s rush to birth control pills--and if it has been investigated through non-governmental funding, it will never make it into peer-reviewed journals. The "reproductive health" industry is far more powerful and well funded than the tobacco lobby. And it has killed far more people--over 52 million. 

If nothing else, researchers should at least be looking at our water supply with 41 million women taking extra hormones and chemicals that when they are excreted from the body, are flushed into our water supplies where they can’t be filtered out.

The increase in breast cancer caused by abortion and
contraception, however, is not denied, and the increase in abortions caused by the increased availability (vending machines, drug stores, Wal-Mart, etc.) of contraceptive hormones, chemicals and tools to insert in the body cavity or apply to the skin was again confirmed in 2011 in the journal Contraception.

Please watch this video--even if you don't buy the book,
you'll learn a lot. Librarians are 223:1 liberal to conservative, so I'm quite sure you won't find it in a public library.
http://www.ignatius.com/Products/AEAP-H/adam-and-eve-after-the-pill.aspx

Not everyone can pass secrets publicly like the President

“The Obama administration has told the Russian government that it is concerned about the harassment of U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul, who suggested this week that his phone and e-mail account may have been hacked, allowing journalists from state-controlled television to track him.

McFaul, who took up his post in January, noted on his Twitter account that a crew from NTV seems to be aware of his every move, including meetings that have not been publicly announced.”

As noted in the Washington Post

Stats for the past week

Visits Total since 2003............... 450,514

Average per Day ................ 177

Average Visit Length .......... 2:15

This Week .................... 1,239

Page Views Total since 2003........... 660,500

Average per Day ................ 310

Average per Visit .............. 1.8

This Week .................... 2,172

That about sums it up

"So, in one week, Mr. Obama got caught whispering promises to our enemy, incited a race war, raised serious questions about his understanding of the Constitution, and then got smacked down over his proposed budget that was so wildly reckless that even Democrats in Congress could not support it."

Charles Hurt

Trying out Windows Live Writer

I’ve been having such a battle with the new(ish) template for my blog (long script, hesitation, etc.) I thought I’d try Live Writer (have no idea what it does). 

 

Then I’ll add a recent photo (last Saturday), then I’ll hit publish.

Something I'd never thought of

"The next time that you wash dishes by hand, here's an experiment I'd like you to try. Stop up the sink over which you hot rinse the dishes, and then at the end of the wash cycle, measure how much water is in there. I'll bet it's more than you thought you were using, because when it runs down the drain, you don't see it. How many gallons did you end up with?

I'm suggesting this experiment because, unbelievably, newer, efficient dishwashers use as little as five gallons of water for the entire dishwasher load. On the other hand, says the American Water Works Association, when you wash dishes by hand, the average person uses 20 gallons of water. Now maybe this figure comes from those that leave the tap on as they're washing and aren't conservative with water the way you are. But I'll bet that it would be a challenge for you to hand wash an entire day's worth of dishes using five gallons only-for the dipping, washing and rinsing."

I wonder if the writer factored in the energy to build and create the dishwasher? But it's good to know the new ones are so efficient. Mine isn't very old (a Maytag), but it's a piece of junk and will soon need to be replaced.

Link to Recyclebank

Research defines groups to watch--has anyone been left out?

To define the ideological motivations, LaFree and Bersani used START’s Profiles of Perpetrators of Terrorism—United States (Miller, Smarick and Simone, 2011), which briefly describes ideological motivations as:

Extreme Right-Wing: groups that believe that one’s personal and/or national “way of life” is under attack and is either already lost or that the threat is imminent (for some the threat is from a specific ethnic, racial, or religious group), and believe in the need to be prepared for an attack either by participating in paramilitary preparations and training or survivalism. Groups may also be fiercely nationalistic (as opposed to universal and international in orientation), anti-global, suspicious of centralized federal authority, reverent of individual liberty, and believe in conspiracy theories that involve grave threat to national sovereignty and/or personal liberty.

Extreme Left-Wing: groups that want to bring about change through violent revolution rather than through established political processes. This category also includes secular left-wing groups that rely heavily on terrorism to overthrow the capitalist system and either establish “a dictatorship of the proletariat” (Marxist-Leninists) or, much more rarely, a decentralized, non-hierarchical political system (anarchists).

Religious: groups that seek to smite the purported enemies of God and other evildoers, impose strict religious tenets or laws on society (fundamentalists), forcibly insert religion into the political sphere (e.g., those who seek to politicize religion, such as Christian Reconstructionists and Islamists), and/or bring about Armageddon (apocalyptic millenarian cults; 2010: 17). For example, Jewish Direct Action, Mormon extremist, Jamaat-al-Fuqra, and Covenant, Sword and the Arm of the Lord (CSA) are included in this category.

Ethno-Nationalist/Separatist: regionally concentrated groups with a history of organized political autonomy with their own state, traditional ruler, or regional government, who are committed to gaining or regaining political independence through any means and who have supported political movements for autonomy at some time since 1945.

Single Issue: groups or individuals that obsessively focus on very specific or narrowly-defined causes (e.g., anti-abortion, anti-Catholic, anti-nuclear, anti-Castro). This category includes groups from all sides of the political spectrum.

It's interesting that people who advocate the killing of the low-income and black if they are still in the womb, are not on the government watch list. Anyone in the age range of 60s or 70s complains of loss of "a way of life," and is not thrilled with Agenda 21 or China holding our debt. Are they dangerous? Islamic members of the military who advocate for their religion and then shoot up a military base, missed the filter of terrorist cells. If ones' beliefs are universal and international in orientation, or if one advocates peaceful revolution through fundamental change, or if the group can stand in front of mainstream media cameras and call for vigilanteism, START funded research will probably not notice them.

How refreshing!

"Our ministry is financially sound so we ask that only those who can afford to contribute to do so. Without your donations we will remain. What your donations do is move us more rapidly towards our goals of reaching more people in more ways with the hope that all Christians will join us in prayer in whatever way possible.

We will except donations, but we ask that you first take care of yourself, your family, and people who need your help in your own parish. If you have taken care of yourself and your family and have contributed locally and still feel you are fortunate to have “left overs” then we welcome your contributions."

This is at the tab "Want to help" at Divine Office--Liturgy of the Hours, a very peaceful way to begin, middle or end your day, with just the words of scripture, silence and a recorded hymn. Because I'm an early riser, often if I want to hear an entire podcast for morning, I have to the previous day.

From Russia with love

From Russia, John Quincy Adams wrote to his son:

"St. Petersburg, Sept, 1811

My dear Son,

In your letter of the 18th January, you mentioned that you read to your aunt a chapter in the Bible...every evening. This information gave me real pleasure...

So great is my veneration for the Bible, and so strong my belief, that when duly read and meditated on, it is of all books in the world, that which contributes most to make men good, wise, and happy-that the earlier my children begin to read it...the more lively and confident will be my hopes that they will prove useful citizens of their country."

"You must soon come to the age when you must govern yourself. You have already come to that age in many respects; you know the difference between right and wrong, and you know some of your duties....It is in the Bible, you must learn them all, and from the Bible you must practice them...

Those duties are to God, to your fellow creatures, and to yourself. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy mind and with all thy strength, and thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments, Jesus Christ expressly says, 'hang all the law and the prophets.' ...

The Bible contains the revelation of the will of God...It is an invaluable and inexhaustible mine of knowledge and virtue."

This correspondence was published after his death as Letters of John Quincy Adams to his son on the Bible and its Teachings (Auburn, NY: Derby, Miller & Co, 1848).

As retold at American Minute with Bill Federer for March 27, 2012. The entire book has been scanned and is available through Google.

How to kill a Down Syndrome baby

Selected questions from the National Abortion Federation, an organization that continues to mourn the murder of Dr. George Tiller at its website, an active abortionist who was killed while ushering in his church. Murder, whether of the unborn or the (Although they also on their webpage talk about President Bush, so maybe they are just living in the past?)

Q. Is abortion legal?
A. Yes. Abortion is legal in the United States and Canada.

Q. Can my parents force me to have an abortion?
A. No. However, some states have laws that require a minor to involve her parents in the decision to have an abortion.

Q. Do I need permission from my husband or partner to have an abortion? Will my provider contact him?
A. No. The Supreme Court has ruled that requiring a spouse's consent in order to have an abortion is unconstitutional. You may decide to tell your husband or partner, but the clinic will not contact him.

Q. Does Medicaid or other state-assisted health insurance cover the cost of an abortion?
A. Medicaid is only required to cover abortion in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment. However, some states do cover abortion as part of their Medicaid policies.

Q. Is it possible for an undocumented citizen to have an abortion in the United States or Canada?
A. Yes. The provider will require proof of identity, but your citizenship is irrelevant. Immigration Services will not be notified.

Q. Is there a difference between the morning-after pill and the abortion pill?
A. Yes. The morning-after pill (also known as Emergency Contraception, EC, Preven, or Plan B) prevents pregnancy and does not cause an abortion. It prevents fertilization of an egg or attachment of a fertilized egg to the uterine wall. The abortion pill (also known as RU-486, medical abortion, Mifeprex®, or mifepristone) terminates an already established pregnancy when used in combination with another medication.

Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Our next book club selection is “Wait till next year; a memoir” by Doris Kearns Goodwin the story of a young girl growing up in the 1950s and loving baseball. I’m not very far into the book, and although I think I know where this religious memory will go as she ages out of innocence and trust, I thought this passage very charming, and so different from my own “believer’s baptism” on Palm Sunday 1950 and 6 weeks of instruction on Sunday afternoon for an hour or so with Rev. Statler.

“Sister Marian introduced us to the text familiar to generations of Catholic schoolchildren: the blue-covered Baltimore Catechism with a silver Mary embossed on a constellation of silver stars. The catechism was organized around a series of questions and answers we had to memorize word for word to help us understand the meaning of what Christ had taught and, ultimately, to understand Christ Himself. “Who made us? God made us.” “Who is God? God is the Supreme Being who made all things.” “Why did God make us? God made us to show happiness in Heaven.” Although it was learned by rote, there was something uniquely satisfying about reciting questions we had to memorize, both the questions and the answers. No matter how many questions we had to memorize, each question had a proper answer. The Catholic world was a stable place with an unambiguous line of authority and an absolute knowledge of right and wrong.

We learned to distinguish venial sins, which displeased our Lord, from the far more serious mortal sins, which took away the life of the soul. We memorized the three things that made a sin mortal: the thought or deed had to be grievously wrong; the sinner had to know it was grievously wrong; and the sinner had to consent fully to it. Clearly, King Herod had committed a mortal sin when, intending to kill the Messiah, he killed all the boys in Judea who were two years old or less. Lest we feel too far removed from such a horrendous deed, we were told that those who committed venial sins without remorse when they were young would grow up to commit much larger sins, losing their souls in the same way that Herod did.” pp. 90-91, hardcover edition

My goodness! That’s more than I know today about the Baltimore Catechism, or even Luther’s Small Catechism. I’ve never understood the difference between mortal and venial sins before. But ratcheting up venial to mortal because of lack of remorse does sound serious to me today--although in 1950 I’m not so sure I would have understood as well as she did. It sounds a lot like our own criminal justice system, doesn’t it? Awareness and remorse. But then, I only had a few hours of instruction, and I’m not sure we even covered sin! As well written as this is, and as intense as she was (she goes on to write about baptizing her dolls in case the need ever came up, having been instructed that Catholics could do this for an unbaptized, dying person), there’s no indication in this charming story of what she believes today--only what she was taught then. At least not by page 91.

Is this treason? Or just Obama giving away the farm

Obama was overheard on a microphone delivering a secret message to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev regarding the US missile defense. What is Obama up to, and what does his secret message mean for allies like Israel? Is Obama about to hang Europe out to dry? Is this message treasonous? Do our allies feel as betrayed as we do? Admits all he needs to do to sell us down the river is get reelected. Or maybe he means, then I'll be king for life, when he says his "last election."

A very damning video

Zimbabwean marriages in the Diaspora suffer the same problems as others

When men can't be the head of the household, what country they're from doesn't make a lot of difference. The marriage struggles regardless.

"The evidence suggests that a “dependent” husband lacks the authority to make major decisions within the family. Migration to Britain has catapulted some women from the confines of the domestic sphere into the public sphere of work. While women have moved significantly into the public sphere, men have moved to a lesser degree into the private sphere, a process that has shaken up men’s authority in the household. As Tonderai Ncube noted from his own experience: “Now she is going to work and she is getting £5 an hour and I am getting £5 an hour and now there is nothing I can tell her.”23 In this case, his primary breadwinner role had become less relevant and he was no longer the sole authority. His position within the marriage was thus becoming increasingly insecure. Moreover, he thought that the UK government had also usurped his power to maintain and control his children and family by giving them state benefits, which are directly paid to his wife: “So the government is the hero of my family. What would I say, that’s the end of the story.” Hence, men’s authority and power as head of the family, previously derived from having access to economic resources and through kinship relations, has been contested and weakened."

Regendering the household

Obama keeping campaign promise to kill coal industry

So Ohio is suffering. Congress dumped his crap and trade plan, so he'll just regulate instead, by-passing the representative form of government that has 3 branches. He sees himself as a monarch, not an elected official.

The mining industry criticized the rule. “Requiring coal-based power plants to meet an emissions standard based on natural gas technology is a policy overtly calculated to destroy a significant portion of America’s electricity supply,” said Hal Quinn, chief executive of the National Mining Assn. “This proposal is the latest convoy in EPA’s regulatory train wreck that is rolling across America, crushing jobs and arresting our economic recovery at every stop. It is not an 'all of the above' energy strategy.”

Article from LA Times

This isn't just a Catholic thing

Yes, there really is a war against women, and it isn't being waged from the Right. It's called the Sexual Revolution; women have been badly damaged and society has been permanently changed.

"In severing sex from procreation, humankind set into motion forces that have by now shaped and reshaped almost every aspect of life in the Western world. Families are smaller, birthrates have dropped, divorce and out-of-wedlock births have soared. Demography has now even started to work against the modern welfare state, which has become harder to sustain as fewer children have been produced to replace aging parents.

The sexual revolution has transformed economics, culture and law. Witness this week's Supreme Court case, in which the question at hand is whether an individual's Social Security survivor benefits belong to children conceived with his sperm months after he died.

Even on the religious playing field, this isn't just a Catholic thing. Christian teaching against artificial contraception dates back to the earliest Church fathers confronting pagan Rome. Christians remained united on that teaching until relatively recently—1930, to be exact, which is the year that the Anglican Communion made its first, carefully circumscribed exceptions to the rule. Orthodox Jews, Mormons and some traditionalist Protestants have also pondered the issue and ended up proscribing or limiting contraception in different circumstances."

Mary Eberstadt in the Wall Street Journal, March 24

What Obamacare forces on the state Medicaid programs

The amicus brief by Cato--states can't opt out, but still have to send money to Washington. Tim Sandefur of the Pacific Legal Foundation explains some of the implications of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. Obamacare forces more people on to Medicaid. States will lose all the federal money if they don't comply. "Your money or your life," is not exactly a fair trade. The demands exceed the constitutional powers of the federal government.



Four free market advocacy groups filed a 39-page amicus brief to the Supreme Court supporting the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that the individual mandate in President Obama’s health care reform law is unconstitutional.

If the PPACA is upheld swelling insurance coverage by 32 million (leaving 18 million still uninsured, according to NEJM), they will be pushed onto the 2/3 of physicians who currently accept Medicaid patients. Then the government will have to force physicians, and costs will increase. People already don't like this legislation, so if the court backs the President, it could doom his reelection.

Obamacare shell game:

HHS has now finalized a rule requiring insurance plans operating in states that permit elective abortion coverage in their exchanges to segregate premium costs into two separate pools: one to cover abortion services and another to cover all other benefits. That abortion surcharge, which must be at least $1 a month, must be paid with private dollars by every enrollee in plans that cover elective abortion. The affordability tax credits, according to the Obama Administration, can then be used to subsidize other non-abortion-related benefits coverage for eligible enrollees.

With this shell game in place, the Obama Administration has attempted to declare itself free from accusations of using taxpayer funds for abortion. Nevertheless, this new rule will force all enrollees in plans that cover elective abortion to pay the abortion surcharge with private funds—or drop out of the plan entirely and hope a comparable one exists in the state exchange without abortion coverage. In some states, there will be options; in others, there will be few or none.

Moreover, under the rules finalized last week, insurance companies that provide abortion coverage are required only to disclose the abortion surcharge at the time of enrollment. It is possible that many individuals who would otherwise object to paying for coverage of abortion will not even be aware of the surcharge on their insurance, since the rule requires the premium not to be itemized and the required disclosure at the time of enrollment may be as little as a single sentence in a massive plan document. New rules for the shell game

Roy Rogers and Trigger

The cover of the Ohio Historical Society's Timeline, April-June 2012, is Roy Rogers and Trigger, rearing up. Rogers real name was Leonard Slye and he was born in Duck Run, Ohio. I just glanced at the cover, but it looks like Trigger has been airbrushed, so I checked the internet to make sure he was a stallion (yes, purchased when he was 4 years old and died in 1965). Rogers owned several Palaminos, so maybe this was a stand in. The saddle gear looks the same as the 1943 Life magazine pictured on the inside, but that Trigger has four white stockings, whereas the one on the cover of Timeline does not. Could explain the missing "other" gear. A picture of the cover is not on the OHS website yet. . .

Oil is expensive, but water is priceless

I own stock in Pentair. "More than one billion people worldwide – roughly one out of every seven – have no choice but to use unsafe, contaminated water. To help solve this issue, Pentair, Inc. (NYSE: PNR), a leader in sustainable water solutions, and its Foundation announced today (Mar 21) a new five-year grant totaling $1 million to the non-profit Water Missions International (WMI). The multi-year grant will fund the implementation of clean water and sanitation projects in developing countries, further building on the work of Pentair's Project Safewater initiative with WMI."

I don't get too excited about companies making donations to non-profits--their usefulness on the planet is job creation and supporting investors. However, it's good PR and brings attention to very worthwhile projects like WMI, a Christian effort.

From the WMI website: "At the core of our work with safe water and sanitation is something called the Great Commission. Jesus Christ told his followers to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them.” Those first followers of Christ spread throughout the known world, healing physical hurts and sharing the good news that God had reached out to people through Jesus Christ, making a way for us to know God and have a relationship with Him. Often, the healing that people experienced opened their hearts to hear the message about Jesus. The same is true today.

When people see the “miracle” of filthy disease-laden water turned into clean, clear water, they see a tangible picture of what God does in the lives of those who believe in Him. He cleanses us, washing away the filth of the past, so that we can offer our lives as vessels of hope to the world around us. This is the Living Water message. As we work all over the world to provide sustainable safe water solutions, we share this message of hope and transformation. And we marvel again and again at its power to transform the human soul."

A product of rape, a product of conception

Mike Adams, a criminology professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington wrote of his love for his fiance:

"After we became engaged, Anna revealed a secret to me. I always knew she was adopted. But I did not know that when she was 32 years old she embarked on a mission to locate her biological mother. She did this so she could learn the reasons why she was given up for adoption. She did it for peace of mind but the result of her research was unsettling: Anna found out she was a product of rape.

When I found out the news, I acted immediately. I killed Anna while she was sleeping and then dumped for body off of Johnny Mercer’s pier at Wrightsville Beach. And now I face a long legal battle in which my lawyers will attempt to argue that Anna, as a product of rape, does not have the same rights as other persons. In fact, whatever rights she may possess are outweighed by a compelled need to destroy evidence of rape, which might remind a rape victim of a past sexual assault.

My argument will be simple: I believe that Anna was no more or less of a person as an adult than she was as an unborn child. Therefore, it would have been permissible to kill her at either stage of development so long as that killing was motivated by compassion for the victim of rape."

And the arguments for and against will be: here.

The Manhattan Declaration

Sometimes I have to step outside my conservative Christian safe place and answer those who think I'm just weird or going over the edge. Really, friends, there are millions with my view. Perhaps it's you who is out of step or over the edge with your wish for government care 24/7? I had this viewpoint before they drafted theirs, but it's nice to find such confirmation.

"While the whole scope of Christian moral concern, including a special concern for the poor and vulnerable, claims our attention, we are especially troubled that in our nation today the lives of the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly are severely threatened; that the institution of marriage, already buffeted by promiscuity, infidelity and divorce, is in jeopardy of being redefined to accommodate fashionable ideologies; that freedom of religion and the rights of conscience are gravely jeopardized by those who would use the instruments of coercion to compel persons of faith to compromise their deepest convictions." From the Manhattan Declaration; a call of Christian Conscience, Nov. 20, 2009.

The Manhattan Declaration

Today's thoughts

Washington Post is reporting Islamists took more than 70 percent of legislative seats in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party alone has nearly half of the seats in the newly elected parliament. My goodness. What paranoia. At least isn't that what the conservative talkers like Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity were told when they warned of this a year ago? When they didn't see a lot of hope and change in the Arab Spring?

Link to Washington Post , because some people think you're quoting Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh if you don't use their source.

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

Remember watching our current President, then campaigning in 2008, when he said energy prices would need to go up? Well, he sure called it. AEP is going along with it. He's even hurting the homeless.

"Jennifer Eschbach of the Ohio Association of Nonprofit Organizations said the rate increases faced under the most recent rate plan, which since was rescinded by the PUCO, raised the monthly rate of a homeless shelter in Canton from $786 to $1,728. Dispatch story"

"In classic Obama heavy-handed style, the President is using the regulatory power of the EPA to manipulate the free market to favor natural gas and renewable energy by regulating coal-fired electricity out of existence.

Obama’s blunder is ignoring the transition cost of eliminating about half of the country’s cheap and dependable source of electricity. Higher energy costs resulting from the shift from coal to Obama’s choice of electricity generation will drain the disposable income of consumers and, most important, be a huge barrier to the creation of new manufacturing jobs." Tom Borelli's opinion

----------------------------
We have a lot of family in California. High gas prices; high taxes.

"One of the last states to have a tax rate as high as California is proposing was Delaware in the 1970s. Its rate hit 19.8%. Then-Governor Pete du Pont cut the rate to 10.3% in 1979 and later to 5.95%, and after five years the state's revenues had nearly doubled and its credit rating went from the worst to one of the best. None of these facts matter to [governor] Mr. Brown or his allies because the tax increase is simply about the political power to deliver money to the interests that live off government."
Link to Wall Street Journal editorial comments

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

Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin

Stalin and Hitler were both rulers of socialist nations, just a slight difference of opinion on who should be killed. I've never forgotten the simple little museum we visited in Estonia. They really, truly thought the Americans would come any day and free them from the Soviets after WWII. In Finland the wounds are still not healed.

What the author Timothy Snyder "calls the bloodlands were the territories of eastern Poland and western Soviet Union, including the Baltic states, which had the misfortune to be controlled at different times by two of the most murderous leaders in history: Stalin and Hitler. As a result 14 million people were deliberately murdered in that zone between 1932 and 1945, until 1939 almost exclusively by Stalin and afterwards by Stalin and Hitler together." . . .

"Stalin could not admit that collectivization of the farms had failed in the early 1930s and so millions had to die for his refusal to face this reality. His commissars on the ground even saw peasants dying of starvation as saboteurs undermining the Soviet economy. And Stalin’s paranoia about foreign plots drove the Great Terror and his attitude to returning Soviet prisoners of war, most of whom were sent to the Gulag.

Hitler, in turn rather, than accept the folly of his war policy, blamed the Jews for the circle of enemies around him: Britain, the USA and Russian and therefore made their annihilation the only remaining war aim once he was on the defensive."

From the blog Creativeconflictwisdom

I won't read this book; I just began reading last week the Prologue and first two chapters of Bonhoeffer by Metaxas and that's about as much evil and demon possession I can handle for now. Those of you who fancy yourselves do-good humanists or socialists/progressives will continue to blame two crazy, psychotic sociopaths, and never examine the political system that allowed them to create their killing machines.

Bookworm didn't like Obama four years ago

For all the same reasons I didn't, but she's a better writer/blogger. I suspect she's a librarian, but don't know her name or profession.

The problem with Obama’s race is that you’re not allowed to dislike him simply because you don’t like him. From my point of view, irrespective of skin color, I find Obama boring and platitudinous, I dislike and distrust his friends, I find appalling his lack of practical experience, and I disagree with him from top to bottom when it comes to his political positions. He is, to me, an utterly undesirable candidate. However, in the world of identity politics, all of this is clearly a front for my unspoken racism. It is impossible for those on the Left to believe that, if someone is in a politically correct minority, he can be disliked for reasons other than his minority status. . ."

"It will be interesting, assuming Obama continues in politics for a while (whether as a 2008 presidential candidate or a 2012 candidate), to see if we’re allowed to dislike him without being tarred with the racist brush. It will also be interesting if, God forbid, he wins the 2008 presidential primaries, to see if the press will be able to make itself write anything even slightly negative about him. And considering the horror with which Hillary’s attacks against him are being greeted, will the Republican candidate be able to say anything negative, no matter how substantive, without being tarred with the racist brush? The one thing I can promise you is that, if Obama loses, it won’t be because he’s boring, antisemitic (or, at least, his friends are), uninformed, unexperienced and a leftist. In the eyes of the MSM, whose opinion will be disseminated around the world, he can lose only because he’s black. And that’s the problem with Obama’s race."

Flashback to January 20, 2008

Trayvon Martin

Not my blog, not my writing; but does bring up some interesting points, like why is a black life only valuable or a black killing tragic only if a non-black is the perp? Most blacks are killed by other blacks; most gays are killed by other gays; most rapes happen to men and take place in prison; most Hispanics, etc. etc. Except for women. And then the press only cares if she's a lesbian.

"First, in terms of characterizing America as a racist nation, the fact that we have a black president kind of, sort of, a little bit, makes it stupid to try to paint a whole nation with the “racism” brush just because a big Hispanic man in a bad neighborhood pulled a gun on a big black guy in the same neighborhood. That’s true whether the killing was motivated by self-defense, insanity, or racism.

Second, people are beginning to catch on to the media’s games. In a way, it’s useful that the Martin killing followed on the heels of the Toulouse massacre. It’s a reminder that the media has a few templates for murder: When a black person dies at the hands of a non-black person, it’s a front-page racially motivated crime. When a non-black person dies at the hands of black person, it’s a bottom of page 27 story. And when a Muslim kills people while shouting “Allah is great,” Islam has nothing to do with it. Here, the media is sticking to its narrative with regard to both the Martin and Mohammed stories, despite pesky little details that put the lie to the media narratives.

Third, this was a one-person crime. Zimmerman didn’t belong to a White (or Hispanic) Supremacist movement. He wasn’t a corrupt small town sheriff. This wasn’t just another in a long line of racially motivated murders in the same community. It’s awfully hard to make a serious case for institutional American racism based on a sordid neighborhood dispute."

And on to the next point.

Why does the left hate Sarah Palin so?

She isn't as conservative as many Republicans; she's not running for President; she had an athletic scholarship in college. Yet, they go on and on and on. Today I got an e-mail from a liberal friend who said he admired me but. . . how could I possibly share a world view with [gasp, choke] Sarah Palin? Like I should share a world view, as he apparently does/did with Ted Kennedy or John Kerry or Hillary Clinton?

I'm convinced the ridicule, antipathy, and vitriol directed at Sarah Palin is not about her politics, but what she represents--first because she allowed her child with Down Syndrome (93% of whom are aborted after screening finds them) to live and didn't encourage her teen-age daughter to abort her grandchild, and second because she energized a flagging and failing Republican party with her zest and no-shirt-tails rise in politics and perhaps gave birth to the Tea Party movement--or at least mid-wifed it (at least she knew the date of the original, and the libs didn't).

I went to a local college to hear her speak and I can't even describe the sparkle and energy and the fresh spirit she brought, even though I'm sure she'd given that speech many times. She's everything Barack Obama isn't--pro-life in every sense of the word including pep and energy, pro-family, pro-business, pro-little guy, pro-American and pro-Christian. I gave up on her as a politician when she abandoned her post in Alaska due to the harassment and ridicule from the highest offices to the lowest scumbags (like Bill Maher and Dave Letterman) on TV, but that doesn't deny what she was able to do within one week in 2008. And Barack Obama is still afraid of her and he is campaigning against her even though she's not running. If Sarah Palin's message of hope is allowed to survive, there really would be change and the Democrats know it. Socialism in America would be writhing and gasping for air.

When I was in first and second grade there was a boy in my class, who today if allowed to live, would probably do just fine with some attitude adjustment on the part of the school system. In 1946-47 he was ridiculed by the teacher and teased by the other kids, and dropped out to work on the family farm after second grade. I had 3 classmates who had siblings who didn't attend school, but one came to church and was cherished by her family and was never kept hidden away. My Uncle Ben had a son about my Dad’s age who after he became an adult was moved into a special home, and when he died about a decade ago, my father arranged for his funeral to be buried in the town cemetery with the rest of his family.

One of my sons was born with multiple physical and mental handicaps and died shortly after birth. Whether I would have been one of the brave parents fighting for his rights who helped to get the ADA passed, or whether our marriage could have survived those challenges, I never had to find out. But our little Patrick is one reason I think children should be allowed to live, even if it is just the 9 months of the womb life. I learned a lot from him and look forward to seeing him at the resurrection.

The primary reason I'm against the HHS Mandate is everything the Bible teaches about the sacredness of life and that is what the Roman Catholic Church is supporting. It's not the liberals who reach out to help the poorest and weakest, it is the church. When we see those in need and we help, even the ones who are sick or in prison, we are meeting Jesus. We are never promised that hunger or poverty will end the way the liberals do when asking for more money, or that people won't be unjustly imprisoned the way politicians do when running for office; only that we will meet Jesus when we love and care for them. You don't build powerful political allies with a philosophy like that.

How Media Matters deals with Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh insulted one woman taking on the sanctity of life teachings of the Catholic church, and apologized to her. Media Matters in an effort to shut him up permanently has launched a nationwide call to all progressives and leftists to destroy a popular, conservative radio talk show host by going after his sponsors--not just those with whom he has contracts, but anyone at local affiliate stations who advertise during the hours he is on and who have contracts with the local station. This is their business, they have employees, they contribute to the local economy. This is an attempt to destroy him, and in that effort is having a significant impact on these small businesses, many of whom can't supply their orders because their web sites have been snarled by leftists in a carefully orchestrated "book burning." The so-called fairness doctrine is just one more way to destroy the first amendment which has another clause being eroded by the HHS Mandate--the free exercise of religion. Be careful dear progressives, or you may be left with only turtles and milfoils (aquatic beetle) as your news sources.

"Anyone referring to the past to criticize the present should, together with all members of his family, be put to death. Officials who fail to report cases that have come under attention are equally guilty. After thirty days from the time of issuing the decree, those who have not destroyed their books are to be branded and sent to build the Great Wall. Books not to be destroyed will be those on medicine and pharmacy, divination by the turtle and milfoil, and agriculture and arboriculture."

Attributed to Li Ssu, in Records of the Grand Historian of China, 109 to 91 BC.

Spring Break 2012

Forsythia in bloom

I've been out for a 25 minute walk. Looks like some storms are on the way--very dark in the northwest. Our forsythia which were cut back to about 6 inches when the wall and sidewalk were built in 2009(?) are blooming gloriously--about 6 ft. tall now. New grow, new energy, we all need that. If you've got some ratty looking, spindly bushes, cut them back. They'll thank you.

A morning prayer attributed to Saint Patrick

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

Amen.

Blago's gone to jail now, but. . .

We've still got a Chicago Democrat as head of the nation, and the press never even peeked at any funny stuff going on about his Senate seat. It was all swept under the rug. . . probably for a lower sentence or a hurry up parole for Blago. From April 2010:

Chicago Democrats have run Illinois into the ground. Since Rod Blagojevich became governor in 2003, Illinois state government has spent roughly $500 billion dollars (yes nearly half a trillion). Yet, we are:

48th in job growth
36th in education
Leading the nation in youth violent crime
3rd in the nation in gambling revenue.

Are you ready to be bamboozled again in 2012?

"The Clinton campaign has specifically cited a phrase pulled from one of Deval Patrick's gubernatorial campaign speeches, which champions the power of words.

In 2006 Patrick gave a speech quoting famous phrases: "'We have nothing to fear, but fear itself,' … just words. 'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.' Just words. … 'I have a dream' … just words,'" he said, switching effortlessly from FDR to JFK to MLK.

On Saturday in Wisconsin, Obama said, "Don't tell me words don't matter. … 'I have a dream.' Just words. 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' Just words. 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself.' Just words. Just speeches."

Obama also campaigned in 2004 on the slogan, "Yes we can," which Patrick did in 2006."

ABC News account of plagiarism charge by Clinton campaign

"As reported by the Chicago Sun Times on Friday from South Carolina:
"Don't be hoodwinked. Don't be bamboozled," Obama told crowds several times during the day.
As a movie and Denzel fan, those words were very familiar to me. They're from Spike Lee's Malcolm X. I remember going to see that movie soon after Bill Clinton won in 1992.

They were the eternal words of Malcolm X regarding political maneuvering in the African American community."

Sometimes the truth causes outrage--and it should

"The billboard -- placed at the bustling intersection of Sixth Avenue and Watts Street by the nonprofit pro-life organizations Life Always and thatsabortion.com -- is about half a mile from one of three Planned Parenthood locations. Those facilities jointly reported nearly 17,000 pregnancy terminations in 2010, according to Life Always. A Planned Parenthood spokesman confirmed that number, adding that about 92 percent of terminations were conducted during the first trimester. Twenty-eight percent were medication-induced abortions performed within the first nine weeks."

Black anti-abortion billboards

Is abortion justified and merciful in rape cases? The Roman Catholic view

"Women who have been the victims of this crime [rape] have suffered a very great wrong. However, if pregnancy results, the unborn baby is entirely innocent of any wrong. Justice forbids this [an abortion], while mercy demands that the wrong already done be limited and overcome, so far as possible, with healing love. This requires correctly drawing the line between good and evil: the rapist’s act was evil, but the woman who was raped remains good, and the baby, though unwelcome, proceeds in part from her, is innocent, and so belongs on her side of the line. To reaffirm herself, she must accept the baby’s goodness, with the conviction that nothing that happened can make her and her baby bad. Nurturing the baby until its birth, she can then decide whether or not to accept the responsibilities of motherhood."

G. Grisez, The Way of the Lord Jesus: Living a Christian Life, Vol. 2 (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1986), 501.

Kony 2012 is falling apart--probably won't stop interference in Uganda

When I'm wrong, it's big time. The Kony video which I actually did research before I passed along the information, took me in too. I began to suspect something amiss when I saw that World Vision didn't list that area as the biggest problem for child soldiers. I knew Obama had already entered Uganda, which should have raised a red flag, but . . . hey, I can get suckered in by a pretty video too. I just didn't check carefully enough--a real problem with social media. Now this: "Jason Russell, whose half-hour documentary urging action against Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony has taken in more than 100 million views during the past week, was arrested Thursday night for allegedly masturbating in public and vandalizing cars, NBC San Diego reports.' "

Link to Jason Russell story

World Vision information on child soldiers in Africa

U.S. troops in Uganda

Obama and his desire to destroy the Catholic Church

I've been puzzled that the Bishops were surprised at Obama's duplicity and lies. This sermon by Father Sammie L. Maleta, Jr. of Indiana on Feb. 5, 2012 gives the background on Obama's war on the Catholic Church (and indeed all Christians), the largest non-government provider of health services. "We will go out of business before we pay to have a child murdered." So why is Obama attempting to create a crisis? So the government can step in and provide the service at higher cost and become one step closer to socialism. Why is Obama so focused on "reproductive services" when there are so many problems in the world? Why did it become more important than the Bill of Rights? Even if you voted for Obama, you didn't vote for THIS! It's a very fine sermon. Don't miss it. Now I understand, and know a whole lot more than I did before. It's not the one you heard in your parish, and if you are a Protestant, you certainly haven't heard it.

Anniversary of our First Date--St. Patrick's Ball

Thirteen things about my date to the St. Patrick's Ball
1. Balls at the University of Illinois were usually sponsored by a campus wide or large organization and held in more public places like the Armory or the Athletic building; dances were for the individual fraternity, sorority or independent residence. Other balls during that era were Sno-Ball, Beaux-Arts Ball, Military Ball, Interfraternity Ball and Panhellenic Ball.

2. Balls always had a nice dance band or small orchestra; dances usually a combo. To not have live music would have been unthinkable. There was also a photographer to take a formal portrait.

3. First we had a coffee date to get acquainted, since the St. Pat's Ball was an invitation from a guy I didn't know.

4. I borrowed a red lace dress from my housemate Sally who was slightly smaller.

5. My date wore a jacket that had belonged to his grandfather, who was slightly larger.

6. I weighed more than my date.

7. He borrowed a car from a friend.

8. I was 19 and living in McKinley Hall.

9. He was 21 living in Armory House.

10.My date was one of the few good dancers I'd ever dated. We went to many more dances.

11. He was a city boy, I was a small town girl.

12. He probably wanted to impress me so he told me that night he'd like to marry me.

13. He did.

From March 16, 2006 Blog

Principles of Economics

What won in 2008--will it work in 2012?

I was looking at my November 3, 2008 blog entry about Obama. The technology thing probably won't work this time--the kids are on to him, and even grandpa's on twitter. We know he'll lower the price of gasoline, but it certainly won't be as low as November 2008; we know he'll pull something dirty in the middle east or Africa that will look like the U.S. is coming to someone's aid; we know he'll take credit for an ever so slowly recovering economy which primarily shows the will of the American people. Can you think of anything else? Since the $1 surcharge for abortion is already in the insurance policies of Americans, can the Catholic fight go anywhere?

Love him or hate him, admire or denigrate him, his minions and lackeys are masters of puppetry, show, fluff, alinskyized groups, speed and visual impact. He picks an old-time, aging liberal for a running mate and uses text messaging to announce it, and the kiddoes swoon from excitement, ignorning the fact that Democrats refused Biden several times. They get little old ladies to leave their home in Illinois and paint store fronts and make coffee in Wisconsin; they get honor scholars to come home from Europe and give false addresses in Ohio and live in a dump so they can bus in the homeless and confused who haven't voted in years, or maybe never. They build a Greek Temple for $5 million to announce what we all knew--he was going to be the candidate and then rip into Palin for her clothes; he prances around Europe posing with fascist imagery but the kids have never studied history, so still they swoon. His agents and organizers, managers and gurus understand that what matters is the feeling, the excitement of the moment, not the facts. Norma, Nov. 3, 2008

60% of pregnant black women in NYC abort

But a billboard that pointed out how dangerous a black womb can be? Rude, wrong, disgusting, inappropriate--the billboard not the statistics about the abortions of black babies. So they took the billboard down. Anti-life groups are very rich and have stunning political ties on the left. They are really going after life groups who place billboards that tell the truth. No one denied that this billboard told the truth.

New York abortions by zip code

Does a culture of contraception increase or decrease abortion?

At first it seems counter-intuitive. Look at the money we are shelling out for Title X (a Nixon program for family planning services for the poor). Unless you really think it through. Over half the abortions are for women who used birth control. Many birth control methods, unless used exactly as directed, like the patch or the ring, or when used in conjunction with certain medications fail. But easily available and heavily used contraception increases abortions.

From the proponents of the Sexual Revolution and the Abortion Industry:
“Sexologist” Alfred Kinsey, 1955: “At the risk of being repetitious, I would remind the group that we have found the highest frequency of induced abortions in the groups which, in general, most frequently uses contraception.”

Abortionist Malcolm Potts, the former director of Planned Parenthood of England, 1976: “As people turn to contraception, there will be a rise, not a fall, in the abortion rate…”

Alan Guttmacher Institute (Planned Parenthood’s Research Arm) researcher Stan E. Weed: “[F]or every 1000 teens between 15-19 years of age enrolled in family planning clinics, we can expect between 50 to 120 more pregnancies”

Abortionist Judith Bury, 1981: “There is overwhelming evidence that, contrary to what you might expect, the provision of contraception leads to an increase in the abortion rate.”

Now, a 10-year study, the largest of its kind (based in Spain), has concluded that increased levels of contraception increases sexual intercourse at a rate that drives up abortion rates by overcompensating for the decreased conception rate per sexual encounter. Contraception. 2011 Jan;83(1):82-7. Epub 2010 Jun 17. "Trends in the use of contraceptive methods and voluntary interruption of pregnancy in the Spanish population during 1997-2007."

RESULTS: During the study period, 1997 to 2007, the overall use of contraceptive methods increased from 49.1% to 79.9%. The most commonly used method was the condom (an increase from 21% to 38.8%), followed by the pill (an increase from 14.2% to 20.3%). Female sterilization and IUDs decreased slightly and were used by less than 5% of women in 2007. The elective abortion rate increased from 5.52 to 11.49 per 1000 women.

The Catholic Populist

She just loves this book!

Namaste's back. I've had a link to her for years, but she hadn't been blogging for awhile. Now she's returned refreshed because she read a book. Librarians love that.

So I read this book recently and I was like, HOLY CRAP!! I need to blog!

You know I love you readers, I do. But for the last few months of my blogging I had begun feeling outnumbered and overwhelmed by the leftist monopoly of the MSM. Yup, I confess, the liberal madness was under my skin, giving me a headache. It was beginning to feel as if I was seeing the liberal message in all things, screaming at me, everywhere I turned. Television, movies, books, magazines, newspapers!

If I went on-line to check the weather or get a little news, I had to first click past stupid yahoo or the idiot msn dot com with their slanted sucky headlines. Grrr! And then! If that wasn't enough, glassy-eyed black people who love Obama, were friggin surrounding me! Ugh! These glassy-eyed strangers would assume, because I happen to be black, that they could chat me up about their love for O-moron. Seriously. I needed a break.

But then! I never thought I'd say this, but thank God for Facebook! One of my friends started a discussion on his FB page that led me to discover The Content of Our Character by Shelby Steele, a must read for anyone who has spent any time living in our GREAT COUNTRY, AMERICA. The book, published over 20 years ago, takes an honest look at the effects of race relations on each of us and how it's evolved since the 1950s.

Steele, a conservative, advocates eliminating affirmative action in favor of rewarding individual performance based on merit. Here here! I will say more on my feelings about race in America today in later posts. But for now, let me say this. Having read this book, I feel like I found a long lost friend. Among Americans, I feel completely at home. That's a given. I LOVE my America. But it has also saddened me to feel so alienated from most black people. So many blacks are left-leaning and voted for Obama, not for his politics, but for the color of his skin. I did not. And I hope to see Obama booted out from my White House in November.

Five CME for this abortion workshop

It can be a good parenting decision to decide not to parent. p. 56 Early Abortion Trainers Workbook
"This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint sponsorship of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP) and Advancing New Stanards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH). ARHP is accredited by ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians."

WHO HAS ABORTIONS
• 52% of U.S. women obtaining abortions are younger than 25. Women aged 20-24 obtain 33% of all abortions, and teenagers obtain 19%.
• 43% of women obtaining abortions identify themselves as Protestant, and 27% identify themselves as Catholic.
• 2/3 of all abortions are among never-married women.
• Over 60% of abortions are among women who have had 1 or more children.
• On average, women give at least 3 reasons for choosing abortion: 3/4 say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities; about 2/3 say they cannot afford a child; and 1/2 say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner.
CONTRACEPTIVE USE
• 54% of women having abortions used a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant. 76% of pill users and 49% of condom users reported using the methods inconsistently, while 13% of pill users and 14% of condom users reported correct use.
• 8% of women having abortions have never used a method of birth control.
• As much as 43% of the decline in abortion between 1994 and 2000 can be attributed to the use of emergency contraception (Wind 2002).

INCIDENCE OF ADOPTION
• 2% of unmarried women place their child for adoption (Moore 1995). This percentage has steadily decreased since the 1970s (National Adoption Information Clearinghouse 2000).

There are interesting "values clarification" exercises, and how to reword the question if the participant remains a reluctant student of abortion.

For patients who express fear that, “this is a sin and God will punish me,” you might respond: “This is a difficult decision. Many women from different religious backgrounds struggle with this decision, even though they know it is the right thing for them to do.” or, “In many religions, people are permitted to ask for and be granted forgiveness.”

Rather than, “Don’t have intercourse for the next week” try instead: “If you want to reduce the risk of infection, then you will want to avoid vaginal intercourse for the next several days. How will this work for you? [Does this sound like the doctor is suggesting oral or anal sex? Do you suppose she knows about HIV or oral HPV?]

These women are studying how to abort more babies

The original photo of four attractive, young white doctors sitting around a table discussing "Turnaways" has been removed at the request of the photographer. So I'm reposting this one of Obama working through the Bill of Rights as he tries to destroy the Catholic Church and all its social service agencies which help the needy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Sounds crazy, but read through the website. They are concerned about "Turnaways," or women who get to the clinic too late to abort their babies (legally, I guess). It says that abortions are notoriously under reported. I guess the 50 million plus that Guttmacher reports isn't enough (reporting arm of Planned Parenthood).

These attractive, young, well-educated women are from the University of California at San Francisco, Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), a collaborative research group and “think tank” at the University. Virtually all the websites I checked that were promoting abortion as a "health solution" showed attractive, vibrant, youthful white women (or so light and ethnically mixed you couldn't tell), talking to black women and children. I'm not sure to whom that message is going.

Ironically, on its history page, the founder of ANSIRH (now deceased) is referred to as the "mother" of the "reproductive health" movement, which as I've noted is code for "legal abortion and population attrition through contraception" the exact opposite of motherhood From her obituary, I see she also foster mothered Plan B, and there were eulogizing comments left from NARAL, National Abortion Federation, Reproductive Freedom Project ACLU, Population Council and Abortion Access Project as well as close associates and friends. My, what a proud legacy to take to Christ's throne--to have assisted with the deaths of thousands through research and advocacy.

Many "reproductive health" sites are pushing OTC contraceptives for underage women

Tylenol, Ampicillin, Coumadin, Lipitor, and Synthroid are really common medications. Millions of women use these medications for pain and headaches, sinus infections, heart rhythm problems, high cholesterol and thyroid deficiencies. Did you know they could mess with your birth control pill's effectiveness? No? Why the push for over the counter and underage use? Did you know the later a woman has her first pregnancy the higher her risk for breast cancer? No? Did you know that abortion increases a woman's risk for breast cancer? Well, then, just where did this "war on women" originate? It's certainly did not come from the Catholic Church or Rush Limbaugh (who would have been in grade school when this type of experimenting with women's hormones began). Remember the stats from the abortion workshop guidebook. . . ‎54% of women having abortions used a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant. 76% of pill users and 49% of condom users reported using the methods inconsistently, while 13% of pill users and 14% of condom users reported correct use. Coumadin is a blood thinner, so is aspirin. An aspirin between the knees just might be an effective contraceptive.

Who is College Confidential to be grading U.S. News and World Report top anything schools

This morning I was reading at the OSU Today website about OSU placing in the top twenty of the various categories of U.S. News and World Report. There are so many categories, it would be difficult to not get listed for some reason. So while investigating the reliability of the USNWR rankings, I came across College Confidential--but who are they? At least USNWR has been around in some form since the 1940s (the magazine is now defunct, I believe).

College Confidential gives U.S. News and World Report a B- “for making a big splash at first, with little real, residual value in the final analysis” but an excellent source conveniently arranged for comparing a wealth of data. But who then is College Confidential? Not even Wikipedia seems to know much about it except it was created in 2001. The best information I could find about College Confidential which critiqued U.S. News and World Report was this blog by a Johns Hopkins admissions counselor. He begins with the addiction problem you have with any social networking site, and how he periodically had to withdraw from the forum where he tried to educate students about the process he understood and they didn't. Then he moves on to a frustration we all have who do e-mail, blogging, facebook or twitter.

Information is not knowledge and knowledge is not widsom. At a time when humans have more information available than at any other time in history, never have we been such poor stewards of it. It is a commodity, it is gossip, it is bought, sold, and hyped. There are gatekeepers who want no new studies published lest their own careers are threatened; and there are idiots spewing lies just for the fun of it. There's a Christian newsletter I continue to get (will remain nameless) to see if anyone but their own little group is ever right about anything--theology, politicians, food, diseases, etc. If I Snope, JunkScience or FactCheck something, I'll be criticized by someone who wants desperately to believe there is a plot to kill all Republicans. If I point out a dangerous program by President Obama, others call me racist--even if Bush had the same program and they railed against him. It's the nature of the beast.

"For me the most frustrating part of College Confidential is that for certain students it becomes the only source of information whatsoever. If one can’t find it on College Confidential than it must not be true. Why are people asking about a university’s standardized exam policy on College Confidential rather than going to that school’s Admissions site? Why are people asking what to do if all interview slots are filled on College Confidential rather than calling the Admissions office? Why are students asking about personal parts of their application and what they should do about something linked to them personally rather than sending an e-mail to the Admissions office? For Johns Hopkins, our Admissions site is easy to navigate and there is a ton of information at your fingertips. Our phone staff are polite, helpful, and available during normal business hours to help with any and all inquiries. And our e-mail account is cleared out on a daily basis with thorough responses even over the weekends and holidays. It just makes no sense that one has to turn to “CCFan326” to find out if Hopkins requires SAT scores, or ask “HopingforJHU” what the last date to request an alumni interview is for Hopkins."

Please go directly to the source--on anything--if you can.

Where is the real War on Women?

A recent study shows an increase in breast cancer with injectable and oral contraceptives and a decrease in others--but then, many studies have shown that. What surprises me is that the anti-life "reproductive health" industry (abortion/contraception) which is huge and probably more powerful than the tobacco industry even lets this stuff get in print. The link between abortion and breast cancer no one denies because it's so strong. Scroll down to see how I've been looking at the published warnings included with contraceptive chemicals and tools (which many women never read). It's enough to turn my gray hair brown again. Do you really want your teenage daughter or granddaughter starting this stuff, or having it available as over the counter medications with no input from doctor or parents?

Injectable and Oral Contraceptive Use and Cancers of the Breast, Cervix, Ovary, and Endometrium in Black South African Women: Case–Control Study
World Health Organization Data on Birth Control Pill and Estrogen Replacement Carcinogenicity
If you have a young woman in your life, and especially if you have breast cancer in your family or she has other risk factors like weight or smoking, please get this book into her hands. If you are her mom, she probably won't listen. But then, you should read it, or give it to her grandmother. They sometimes have avenues that moms don't.

Maybe it's protected speech

But it sure is poor taste--the Obama flag. Flying over Democrat headquarters, of course. Isn't this the guy who doesn't want to wear a flag pin?

About that Arab Spring --taking women back, way back

"Although the 1979 revolution in Iran is often called an Islamic revolution, it can actually be said to be a revolution of men against women. Before the revolution, women's rights were recognized to some extent. But the revolution led to the enactment of numerous discriminatory laws against women.

After the revolution—even before drafting a new constitution or establishing parliament—the revolutionary councils changed the laws. When I first read the Islamic Penal Code instituted after the revolution, I couldn't believe my eyes. The drafters of this document had effectively taken us back 1,400 years. . .

I hope that in the Arab countries where people have risen against dictatorships and overthrown them, they will reflect and learn from what happened to us in Iran. My recommendation to Arab women is to focus on strengthening civil-society institutions and to familiarize themselves with religious discourse, so they can demonstrate that leaders who rely on religious dogma that sets women's rights back are doing so to consolidate power."

At today's Wall Street Journal

The Obama Administration standards for military crime

When military doctor Major Nidal Malik Hasan killed 9 and wounded 30 at Ft. Hood the Obama administration called it "work place violence," ignoring his ties to extremist Islamists for years, and still haven't brought the guy to trial after 3 years. But when an obviously deranged soldier kills Afghan civilians, within 3 days Panetta and higher up Democrats are asking for the death penalty? Do they think that will make the pain go away for the families. Is that Islamic justice? It sure isn't what we've come to expect from either U.S. justice or military justice. Where are the liberals who hang around prisons singing with candles in the dark after 20 years of appeals for rapists and cop killers when you need them? "The US soldier who went berserk and killed 16 innocent Afghan civilians could face execution, according to the US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta."

Terrible story of slaughter here.

I'll have no excuses not to walk

After a warm winter, we're getting a warm spring. I'm getting over a cold, probably am not dangerous anymore, but I'll try to get out and enjoy the warm weather and do some walking, which is the all-round best exercise there is for older people--it helps the brains, bones and balance.

And it all starts with one step and good shoes.

The hound of heaven snatched her -- guest blog

One of my high school friends was a Latter Day Saint (Mormon) - I went to camp with her when we were freshmen in high school... the leaders were very nice. We took pot with us and smoked out in the woods with a couple other campers, who later turned us in. The leaders tried to get us to confess, but we were happy stoners and didn't care. When they pulled out the book of Mormon to do a study, I laughed all the way through the stories about Jesus showing up in South America... like a good Catholic girl on weed...

To the point - the Mormon faith does not save souls - it teaches followers to be good citizens, i.e., they are non-judgmental, non-authoritarian, non-offending - they do also use the Bible on the side. . . but somehow miss the spot where Scripture says, "if you add one jot or tittle" - I suppose since the Book of Mormon IS a different tome, it isn't technically an addition to Scripture... but the practice is full of bad doctrine that directly contradicts the Hebrew revelation.

The LDS adults had no power to discipline, curb or guilt me into appropriate behavior - but then, by my senior year I was smoking pot in the school building. . . so go figure! - Remember, God had been removed from the schools (I'm a gen-Xer), so I had nothing to fear there... no one was in legitimate authority over me... at that point in time, my parents had swallowed the whole lie.

Remember the story of the gingerbread boy? He ran and ran as fast as he can? Got away from the little old man, the little old woman, the farmer, the duck, the pig, etc. But the fox got him when they crossed the river together... snip, snap... I am the gingerbread boy. I ran and ran till the fox got me! However, there is another version of the story where the gingerbread boy realized his error, and ran home as fast as he could! Me again! Only it was the hound of heaven who snip snapped me - and it was the Spirit of God that brought me under His ultimate authority! Praise and Glory to you, LORD!

Second point - unless the Spirit of God is Romney's ultimate authority, he is just another gingerbread boy running as fast as he can to be a good citizen for the sake of contributing to society - is that bad? No... civil duty is a great thing and pleases God. These leaders get things done - and our Constitution has plenty of room for Mormons.

I really liked those soft LDS leaders... They contributed nicely to my narcissistic youth... That doesn't mean that I believe everything they believe - but then I rebelled against the Catholic church, too... and against just about every authority figure that ever tried to cross my path...

But then, what else would you expect from a cookie?!

What you should know about Ethinyl Estradiol and Norelgestromin Transdermal patch

There are so many do's and don'ts for this patch, I can't imagine it ever passed FDA approval. Read the list here. At a web site for teens it clearly says 8 out of 100 couples will get pregnant using this method.

Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious side effects from the contraceptive patch, including heart attacks, blood clots, and strokes. This risk is higher for women over 35 years old and heavy smokers (15 or more cigarettes per day). If you use the contraceptive patch, you should not smoke.

Apply the contraceptive patch to a clean, dry, intact, healthy area of skin on the buttock, abdomen, upper outer arm, or upper torso, in a place where it will not be rubbed by tight clothing. Do not place the contraceptive patch on the breasts or on skin that is red, irritated, or cut. Do not apply makeup, creams, lotions, powders, or other topical products to the skin area where the contraceptive patch is placed. Each new patch should be applied to a new spot on the skin to help avoid irritation.

Do not cut, decorate, or change the patch in any way. Do not use extra tape, glue, or wraps to hold the patch in place.

•tell your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, and nutritional supplements you are taking. Be sure to mention any of the following: acetaminophen (APAP, Tylenol); antibiotics such as ampicillin; anticoagulants ('blood thinners') such as warfarin (Coumadin); antifungals such as itraconazole (Sporanox) and ketoconazole (Nizoral); ascorbic acid (vitamin C); atorvastatin (Lipitor); clofibrate ; cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune); griseofulvin (Fulvicin, Grifulvin, Grisactin); HIV protease inhibitors such as indinavir (Crixivan) and ritonavir (Norvir); medications for seizures such as carbamazepine (Tegretol), felbamate (Felbatol), phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton), oxcarbazepine (Trileptal), phenytoin (Dilantin), and topiramate (Topamax); morphine (Kadian, MS Contin, MSIR, others); oral steroids such as dexamethasone (Decadron, Dexone), methylprednisolone (Medrol), prednisone (Deltasone), and prednisolone (Prelone); rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane); temazepam (Restoril); theophylline (Theobid, Theo-Dur); and thyroid medication such as levothyroxine (Levothroid, Levoxyl, Synthroid). Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects.
•tell your doctor what herbal products you are taking, especially products containing St. John's wort.

What you should know about ethinyl estradiol and estonogestrel --NuvaRing

From the product warnings:

This medication can cause birth defects. Do not use if you are pregnant. Tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant.

Do not use this medication if you have any of the following conditions: a history of stroke or blood clot, circulation problems (especially if caused by diabetes), a hormone-related cancer such as breast or uterine cancer, abnormal vaginal bleeding, liver disease or liver cancer, severe high blood pressure, migraine headaches, a heart valve disorder, or a history of jaundice caused by birth control pills.

You may need to use back-up birth control, such as condoms or a spermicide, when you first start using this medication. Avoid using a diaphragm with the ethinyl estradiol and etonogestrel vaginal ring. Follow your doctor's instructions.

Taking hormones can increase your risk of blood clots, stroke, or heart attack, especially if you smoke and are older than 35.

The ethinyl estradiol and etonogestrel vaginal ring will not prevent pregnancy if you wear it only during intercourse. You must wear the ring for 3 full weeks, followed by 1 full week without a ring. The timing of ring insertion and removal is very important for this medicine to be effective as a form of birth control.

Some drugs can make ethinyl estradiol and etonogestrel less effective, which may result in pregnancy. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use, including vitamins, minerals and herbal products. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor.

Obama runs campaign ad against Palin--in 2012

He pitches like a girl, in my opinion . . . It's like the Democrats blaming her for Gifford's shooting--it's just ridiculous the hate they have for this woman. The same PR firm that is promoting the anti-Palin HBO movie is advising Sandra Fluke--Obama's former commie admiring staffer, Anita Dunn. From Sarah Palin's Facebook page:

Exhibit A in these diversionary tactics is an absurd new attack ad President Obama has released taking my comments out of context. I’m not running for any office, but I’m more than happy to accept the dubious honor of being Barack Obama’s “enemy of the week” if that includes the opportunity to debate him on the issues Americans are actually concerned about. (Remember when I said you don’t need a title to make a difference?)

Just off the top of my head, a few of these concerning issues include: a debt crisis that has us hurtling towards a Greek-style collapse, entitlement programs going bankrupt, a credit downgrade for the first time in our history, a government takeover of the health care industry that makes care more expensive and puts a rationing panel of faceless bureaucrats between you and your doctor (aka a “death panel”), $4 and $5 gas at the pump exacerbated by an anti-drilling agenda that rejects good paying energy sector jobs and makes us more dependent on dangerous foreign regimes, a war in Afghanistan that seems unfocused and unending, a global presidential apology tour that’s made us look feeble and ridiculous, a housing market in the tank, the longest streak of high unemployment since World War II, private-sector job creators and industry strangled by burdensome regulations and an out-of-control Obama EPA, an attack on the Constitutional protection of religious liberty, an attack on private industry in right-to-work states, crony capitalism run amok in an administration in bed with their favored cronies to the detriment of genuine free market capitalism, green energy pay-to-play kickbacks to Obama campaign donors, and a Justice Department still stonewalling on a bungled operation that armed violent Mexican drug lords and led to the deaths of hundreds of innocent people.

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I'm a better Catholic than Biden or Sebilius

and I'm a Lutheran. I can't imagine the Democrat Catholics that are backing this President. They can't even be called "cafeteria Catholics," not even "snack machine Catholics." I've never said a confession to a Catholic priest, or attended a Catholic Mass, but I believe the church has a right to decide whether or not it should pay for contraception and abortions. I think it's time for Biden, Sebilius, Kerry, and Kennedy, Jr. to start church shopping or "come home" to the Catholic church and start showing some respect for the values and teachings.

Where's the outrage?

I was just wondering if the MSM would have exploded with outrage and Bush Burning if this latest Afghanistan tragedy had happened under Bush. Doesn't killing 16 civilians, families with children, seem a tad more serious than escapades of bored servicemen guarding a prison? That went on for weeks, or maybe months. Congress (Democrats) were relentless, as was the media. The press seems to have yawned over this one and gone back to watch the president play golf. Here's another speculation from the left--Politico.

Salon columnist Glenn Greenwald, an icon of what the Obama White House famously dubbed “the professional left,” also sees a strange lack of interest toward some of Obama’s policies. Among them: his administration’s claim that the Constitution allows executive use of armed drones to kill U.S. citizens abroad deemed to be terrorist operatives.

“Virtually all the Democrats who were apoplectic about Bush and were constantly complaining about him ‘trampling on our values’ over eavesdropping and detention have been silent about assassination, even though it’s so much more severe,” Greenwald said. “It isn’t that Obama is necessarily any worse on civil liberties than Bush. The point is he’s able to get away with so much more.”

Eric Holder is going after pro-life sidewalk counselors, but waving off Fast and Furious. He shrugged at Black Panther intimidation of voters but seems to think showing an ID to vote, which is required here in Ohio, is discrimantory for Hispanics. Obama can take out American citizens--kill them--no trial, and he can have us arrested is we're walking near a federal building.

What's up Demicrats. Why do you still support him?