Monday, September 30, 2013

Cooking the books, secret deals

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What benefits babies more than this OSU health plan?

Married parents. It’s been confirmed in numerous health, welfare, and financial studies.  Better health, less poverty. There is a 50 to 80 percent difference in child well-being between cohabiting and married families. Most government transfer programs encourage the parents to NOT marry.

I noticed this announcement at OSU health plan.

The Ohio State University Health Plan Inc., together with Your Plan for Health (YP4H), encourages all benefits-eligible expectant mothers to sign up for the Buckeye Babies program–designed to support moms-to-be during their pregnancy, through the delivery of a healthy, full-term baby, and to guide moms through the initial stages of breastfeeding and infant care. Post-partum health coaching is also available.

A trusted nurse, well-versed in evidence-based maternal-child health care–will work with you every step of the way to answer questions and ensure the moms receive needed support. Services are complimentary and confidential.

http://www.urban.org/publications/311001.html

Ladies—it’s up to you. You control the financial and physical health of your children.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Comparing the health care law with other important legislation, all of which had bi-partisan support

The original draft of the 1935 Economic Security Act, which established the Social Security Administration was 64 pages

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 - forbidding discrimination based on race and sex: 8 pages

The 19th amendment to the Constitution, giving Women the right to vote in 1920: 1 page

The Emancipation Proclamation, with which Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in 1863: 5 pages

Or, if you really want to get back to basics: The Declaration of independence came in at 1 page in 1776

And the Constitution: 4 pages long in 1787

Health care reform, Pelosi version - almost 2,000 pages, and she admitted she hadn’t read it.

Cavuto and Obama on the health care disaster

OBAMA:  “If you’ve talked to somebody who said, ‘Well, I don’t know. I was watching FOX News and they said this is horrible…”

NEIL CAVUTOMr. President, we at FOX News are not the problem. I hate to break it to you, sir. you are. Your words are, your promises are. We didn’t sell this healthcare law, sir. You did. Remember this?

OBAMA: “If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period.”

NEIL CAVUTONot so.  Mr. President, tell that to tens of thousands of retirees at IBM and Time Warner and dozens of others, who have been dumped from their coverage and told to find their own coverage. Now, FOX News didn’t break that news to them, Mr. President, their companies did.

FOX News didn’t push more of those firms to hire part-time workers, your healthcare law did.

FOX News didn’t incentivize fast-food restaurants to scale back their benefits, your healthcare law did.

FOX News didn’t make doctors want to opt out, your health care did.

FOX News didn’t make insurance premiums skyrocket, your health care law did that.

Just like FOX News did not grant hundreds of exemptions to companies that needed them, you did.

And FOX News didn’t delay one key provision after another, including (just today) online enrollment for those small business exchanges. You did that, sir.

Just like it wasn’t FOX News that said, “We had to pass this to see what was in this.” You did. Or, was that Nancy Pelosi?   Sometimes, I’m confused. but of this I am not.

FOX News didn’t redo basic math. sir, you did.

FOX News didn’t say you can cover 30 million more Americans and not see a hit in premiums, you did.

FOX News didn’t say you could throw in those with pre-existing conditions and not have to pay for it, you did.

FOX News didn’t all but say you can get something for nothing. You did.

FOX News didn’t come back years later and say, “Oh yeah, we did raise some taxes.” You did, Â just the other night.

Here’s where you are right about FOX News, however, Mr. President. We were on this very early. We can do math, and did. You cannot and did not. We said it and proved it. You didn’t and we’re suffering for it.

Take it from the numbers guy here at FOX. Numbers don’t lie. The number of Americans working part-time and nervous, the number of retirees days away from being dumped on exchanges, and anxious. The number of company bosses with news to pass along on those exchanges, still clueless. The number of doctors who want out. The number of congressmen opting out.

No, Mr. President, none of those numbers lie, but with all due respect, sir, I can only conclude, you do.

I know, I know, I know, you hate us at FOX, but please, please, look in a mirror and fast. You think we’re the skunk at your picnic, but that does not mean we are the ones that stink, because that smell account isn’t coming from the folks reporting on your law. Mr. President, that smell is your law.

More on bread pudding

I’m always on the look out for bread pudding that tasted like my mother’s.  I’ll just jot this one down. Haven’t tried it yet. I probably wouldn’t do the sauce.

Grandma's Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce
• 4 cups (8 slices) cubed white bread
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Sauce Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions for Pudding:
Heat oven to 350°F. Combine bread and raisins in large bowl. Combine milk and 1/4 cup butter in 1-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat until butter is melted (4 to 7 minutes). Pour milk mixture over bread; let stand 10 minutes.

Stir in all remaining pudding ingredients. Pour into greased 1 1/2-quart casserole. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until set in center.

Directions for Sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients except vanilla in 1-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and comes to a full boil (5 to 8 minutes). Stir in vanilla.

To serve, spoon warm pudding into individual dessert dishes; serve with sauce. Store refrigerated.

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Remembering Mollie Orshansky

Who invented the government's definition of poverty? Mollie Orshansky. She liked to say she was very poor, however, she managed to get a college degree in 1935 and landed a nice government job, something neither of my parents, who were about her age, were able to do during the Great Depression (extended to “great” by FDR, when the rest of the world just had a plain old depression).

Because of her research and government service, poverty will never go away, it will just get redefined with an ever rising threshold.  In fact, under Obama a higher percentage are poor than in 1965 when the War on Poverty began. If you have an ounce of common sense you know that's a lie because we have 126 federal programs that transfer money from the middle class to the bottom classes.

Here’s a bibliography of her work. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v68n3/v68n3p79_bib.html

He calls Republicans terrorists . . .

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Saturday, September 28, 2013

The cupboard is bare! Pelosi

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NEARLY 20 PERCENT OF NEW OBAMACARE WAIVERS ARE GOURMET RESTAURANTS, NIGHTCLUBS, FANCY HOTELS IN NANCY PELOSI'S DISTRICT....OH, AND HER WEALTH GREW BY 62% IN 2011 TOO....HUMMMMM.   Blacksphere on Facebook

http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/17/nearly-20-percent-of-new-obamacare-waivers-are-gourmet-restaurants-nightclubs-fancy-hotels-in-nancy-pelosi%E2%80%99s-district/

“Crony capitalism at its most basic. Create onerous regulations and then give out exemptions to allies and constituents. The only wrinkle in this case is that the demographic subsection unburdening itself of ObamaCare is the same demographic subsection that has been most pointedly exuberant in advocating health care reform, with California Democrats even passing symbolic health care laws just like the ones that their most liberal supporters are now opting out of.”

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/05/18/pelosi-district-gives-20-percent-of-obamacare-waiver/

I was created; and you?

What if the Declaration of Independence said "all men evolved equally" instead of "all men were created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." Wouldn't that sound silly--some might be more evolved, some less. Some might still be slugs or worms trying to catch up after a few billion years in the slime (I don't believe in evolution--I'm just funning you). From the preamble to the final amendments, our founding documents say our rights don't come from the government, but from God. As wonderful and wise as those documents are, they don't give us anything and they are supposed to protect us from tyranny and over reaching of the government.

Senator Byrd and Paula Deen

Because I was in high school in the 1950s, we did learn about black Republicans, new civil rights laws passed after the civil war, and we knew that it was Ike that desegregated the schools, but I never at that time thought much about parties. Now when I read liberal websites I see "youngsters" under 40 seem to think Jim Crow and the KKK were Republicans, but they were laws and the terrorist arm of the Democrats. A prominent Democrat remained in the Senate for years who had a history with the KKK, having been a Kleagle, a Klan recruiter, in his 20s and 30s, and used the term "white nigger" in the 21st century, but a TV chef lost her job because she said the N-word in her past. Aren't political standards strange?

Margaret Thatcher on freedom

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Doctors pressured to push Obamacare

"With open enrollment set to begin next week, enrollment groups and medical societies are hoping America's doctors can inform patients about their options for expanded coverage under the 2010 health law." Medpage.

So far, I haven't met a doctor who liked Obamacare or thought it was a good idea, so why ask them to push it? Some plan to by-pass insurance plans all together.

So I asked self, "I wonder what an 'enrollment group' is?" I looked it up, and here is one called "Enroll America."

"Enroll America is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to maximize the number of uninsured Americans who enroll in health coverage made available by the Affordable Care Act. Enroll America is a collaborative organization, working with partners that span the gamut of health coverage stakeholders—health insurers, hospitals, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, employers, consumer groups, faith-based organizations, civic organizations, and philanthropies—to engage many different voices in support of an easy, accessible, and widely available enrollment process."

You should see the fancy website. My goodness--one of the best. Clicked all over the page, but not a peep on how it is funded (except the donate button, and I seriously doubt this staff, offices, website, training sessions, etc. are covered by donations). I bet this group didn't wait 3 years for their non-profit tax status.

Friday, September 27, 2013

If you like your health care plan, tough.

Courtesy photo

Blue Cross Blue Shield Nebraska informed Todd Blome  (and 46,000 policy holders) his health care plan will terminate at year’s end, and if he wants to move to a similar plan his new premium will go up 65 percent, costing him nearly $4,000 more per year.

He distinctly remembers President Obama looking into TV cameras and assuring Americans “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep you health care plan. Period.” Blome’s letter says otherwise.

“Stupid me, I took the president literally,” Blome said.

http://watchdog.org/107894/some-nebraskans-premiums-to-triple-under-obamacare/

And those subsidies that are buying off some states won’t be permanent.

Wired and transmitting

The heart monitor I’ve been wearing since September 16  apparently transmitted something I was ignoring, the doctor was contacted by the company, and then I was called about 7 p.m. Wednesday evening and told to go to the ER. Isn't technology amazing--all sorts of things going on behind our backs we don't know about!

I'm home now--released from the hospital late yesterday afternoon. When the cardiologist walked in with the flock of young docs in training, I'd already heard the discussion held outside my room. I don't know how often Huffington Post is listed in the record as a possible cause of heart problems, but it's in mine. Because of the medical school down the road at OSU, you see a lot of doctors coming through the ranks. They all seemed to know what Facebook and blogging are.

I met the most interesting people--asked most of the staff who had the time how long they'd been working at Riverside, career goals, etc. The woman cleaning my room turned out to be a former neighbor in the 1970s when we lived on Abington Rd. One guy had changed careers from real estate after the 2008 downturn; he began in a very low level job (which he hated) and kept applying within as jobs opened up. The echocardiogram guy had relocated from Cleveland where there were many med tech schools but no jobs, and we had a good laugh about Columbus residents and the first snow flake to fly.

One lady doctor looked to me to be 15, so I just had to ask--she was 28. One lady intern had the most fabulous bedside manner and special touch, that I hope she's around the next time I need her.  And I got to give my name and birthdate at least 30 times. 

The food was excellent—fresh and tasted “homemade”--and you could order any time.  All the staff seemed to have special training in being friendly.  When I raised the blind, I looked down on the new addition to the hospital.  It is always expanding.

“Atrial fibrillation is an irregular and often rapid heart rate that commonly causes poor blood flow to the body. During atrial fibrillation, the heart's two upper chambers (the atria) beat chaotically and irregularly — out of coordination with the two lower chambers (the ventricles) of the heart. Atrial fibrillation symptoms include heart palpitations, shortness of breath and weakness. “ http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/atrial-fibrillation/DS00291

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Illinois crooks

Cook County Commissioner William Beavers was convicted on March 21, 2013 on tax-evasion charges at the federal courthouse in downtown Chicago. A jury found Beavers guilty on one count of corruptly impeding the Internal Revenue Service and three counts of filing a false federal income tax return for 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Others and there are many.

Cruzing

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He did a great filibuster (it was actually a non-filibuster thanks to Harry making up more rules, but you know what I mean).

Generation X Becoming Less Christian, Less Republican

HARTFORD, CT, May 31, 2012 – Members of Generation X – the 35 million Americans born between 1965 and 1972 – have become less Christian and less Republican over the course of their adult lives, a new study [2012] by Trinity College shows.

Striking declines in the number of Catholics and Baptists combined with sharp increases in the number of non-denominational Christians and those claiming no religious affiliation (Nones) show increased religious polarization in this generation, even as its political re-orientation towards the Democratic Party has been accompanied by modest growth in the number of political independents.

Born in the wake of the Second Vatican Council in 1965, the Gen X-ers constituted the most Catholic generational cohort in American history, with fully one-third of them identifying as Catholics in 1990. But two decades later, approximately one out of five had fallen away from the faith. It was only thanks to the addition of approximately one million Latino Catholics their own age that the proportion of Gen X Catholics decreased to only 26 percent of the cohort.

In addition, shifts in religious identification since 1990 have resulted in the ranks of the Nones swelling by 67 percent (2.2 million persons) and those in the conservative, non-denominational Generic Christian tradition growing by 51 percent (1.8 million). Put another way, the percentage of self-proclaimed Nones increased from 11 percent to 16 percent of this cohort between 1990 and 2008. This increase is surprising since Americans have historically increased their religious identification between early adulthood and their mid-40s, as they marry, have children, and become settled in their communities.

Those were among the key findings of a new report by Barry Kosmin and Juhem Navarro-Rivera at Trinity College, who looked at the religious and political affiliations of Generation X, whose members reached adulthood during an era when American society was much influenced by the Christian Right. The findings are important as predictors about the future of American society, particularly the relationship between religion and politics, issues that have been front and center during this year’s presidential campaign.

The data are derived from the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), a large, nationally representative sample of adults in the Continental United States. The surveys were conducted in 1990 and again in 2008, highlighting trends over an 18-year period. The 1990 ARIS involved 113,723 respondents, including 16,959 adults between the ages of 18 and 25 years. The 2008 ARIS had an overall sample size of 54,461, with 6,407 respondents between the ages of 36 and 43 years.

“Generation X has shifted its allegiances to a surprising degree” said Barry Kosmin, director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture (ISSSC) at Trinity. “Many in this generation of Americans have abandoned their religious roots and political affiliations in adulthood. Historically and sociologically, that’s an unexpected development.”

In terms of political affiliation, Gen X-ers leaned Republican by 5 percentage points in 1990 (34 percent to 29 percent Democratic), but in 2008 they favored the Democratic Party by 7 percentage points (33 percent to 26 percent Republican) This partisan shift away from the GOP was even more pronounced among Generation X  Nones. In 1990, Nones were evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, but by 2008, Nones leaned Democratic by more than 2 to 1 (33 percent to 15 percent).

“The fact that identification with religion declined among Generation X as they aged suggests that the secularization of Americans is not just about young people from today’s Millennial Generation abandoning religion because it has become too politicized,” said Juhem Navarro-Rivera, a research fellow at the ISSSC. “It is also an ongoing and wider process that involves older generations in American society, as exemplified by Generation X.”

The report’s religion data are based on responses to the question: What is your religion, if any? And the political party data are based on responses to the question: Generally speaking, do you usually think of yourself as a Republican, Democrat or Independent?

For more information about the ARIS series methodology, please visit: http://commons.trincoll.edu/aris/about-aris/metholodogy.
To download a copy of - The Transformation of Generation X: Shifts in Religious and Political Self-Identification, 1990-2008 please visit:
http://commons.trincoll.edu/aris/files/2012/05/ARISGENX2012.pdf

Barry A. Kosmin and Juhem Navarro-Rivera. "The Transformation of Generation X: Shifts in Religious and Political Self-Identification, 1990-2008" Faculty Scholarship (2012).
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jnr_prri/4

Backlash—Mike Huckabee—Today

“Over the weekend, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her center-right party won the biggest election victory of any chancellor since East and West Germany were reunited. Ordinarily, Americans aren’t that interested in other nations’ elections. But this could be one more domino in an emerging worldwide shift from left to right. First, Australian voters threw out the progressives after six disastrous years and elected a conservative leader who vowed to undo all their job-killing policies. Something similar happened in Norway. In Colorado, two liberal state senators who forced gun control onto the public were recalled. France hasn’t had an election yet, but the voters are drowning in buyer’s remorse for electing Socialist President Francois Hollande. His approval rating is a record-low 23 percent.

And now in Germany, conservative leader Angela Merkel not only triumphed, but support for the progressive Green Party cratered after they proposed a weekly “meatless” meal day. Germans who once lived under communism said they’ve had enough of politicians trying to control every aspect of their lives, even down to what they eat for lunch.

I’ve always said that nothing makes people want to vote for conservatives like putting liberals in charge for a year or two. If this backlash against big government overreach is as widespread as it seems, then our 2014 elections might be very interesting, indeed. And if the Republicans do win big, it might be hard to say who they have to thank more: Barack Obama for trying to force Obamacare down Americans’ throats, or Michelle Obama for trying to force broccoli down our throats.”

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Global alarmists have a problem . . . the climate isn’t cooperating

Planet Gore at National Review Online

“Antarctic sea ice has grown to a record large extent for a second straight year, baffling scientists seeking to understand why this ice is expanding rather than shrinking in a warming world.

On Saturday, the ice extent reached 19.51 million square kilometers, according to data posted on the National Snow and Ice Data Center Web site. That number bested record high levels set earlier this month and in 2012 (of 19.48 million square kilometers). Records date back to October 1978.

The increasing ice is especially perplexing since the water beneath the ice has warmed, not cooled.”

The IPCC has a dilemma

But there’s a problem. While the climate models confidently predicted that temperatures would maintain an inexorable rise in the 21st century, in fact, although more and more greenhouse gases have been pumped into the atmosphere, the global temperature has resolutely refused to budge.

So the IPCC’s dilemma is this. How can it expect the public to believe that recent warming is mostly manmade when the models on which it has based this claim have been shown to be fatally flawed?

But they are certain anyway . . .

One of the expected conclusions of the report to be released Friday in Stockholm from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) -- the international group that assesses the science related to climate change and its impacts -- is that there's 95% certainty that man-made global warming is real. A 2007 IPCC report put the confidence level at about 90%.

Inflammatory, violent language from Democrats

Senator Reid calls Republicans anarchists, and Rep. Pelosi calls them arsonists. That's pretty stiff language for people who thought the Occupiers were just great.  All because the U.S. should not take on more debt? She's the one who said she didn't read the bill on healthcare.  Now that we know it’s going to increase costs and still leave millions without health insurance, she's gets all bitchy?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/22/pelosi-republicans-legislative-arsonists-government-shutdown

http://www.wnd.com/2013/09/reid-goes-ballistic-on-tea-party-anarchists/

Depopulation by choice

Many countries are being depopulated, not by war, but by birth control, abortion and natural death. Europe, Korea and Japan can't replace their own any longer, and have too few children being born to maintain the pensions and retirement costs (like medical and other social services) of their parents and grandparents.  A total fertility rate of 2.07 is required to maintain population and Japan’s is 1.39.  China, too, doesn't have enough young people, or women to continue its economic revolution.  But globalists and leftists in the United States continue the push for abortion and gender selection and households with no children.  Almost as though they had a plan to take over when certain developed countries are took weak and depopulated to fight back.

http://pop.org/content/facts-of-global-depopulation-1518

There are no “cuts”

Both liberals and conservatives have ideas about people on food stamps that need adjusting.  If you volunteer at a food pantry you'll see another side. I've worked the Lutheran food pantry in Columbus (3 days of food usually run by churches in most communities) and found people dependent on government programs are very resourceful, and if they have a special diet, they request those items. They also "budget" to a degree and manage to make their food last all but 3 days so they can come to the pantry at the end of the month. They will also turn down food if their children don't like it, or are getting breakfast, lunch and snacks at school. And like the rest of us, they pick out what they like even if they know better. Most that I observed look like they wouldn't be able to hold a job--alcoholics, pot heads, mentally ill, small children at home, elderly, handicapped, low IQ, or no transportation. With other federal and state benefits, a person on welfare in Ohio "earns" about $12.60/hour or about what an entry level teacher would get; in Hawaii they would get the equivalent of about $29/hour. That's another reason they are not working. They don't have the skills to earn that much and with TANF, Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, section 8 housing, HEAP, etc. they are better off not to work.

This is not to say there aren’t people down on their luck or in between jobs who need occasional help, but that’s rarely the regulars I see at the pantry. When a carpenter or stock broker loses his job and the mortgage is upside down or they’ve been through foreclosure, they need help too.

Pants on fire Prez

“Negotiation is how the Founders intended for things to work. They knew that people would disagree, but in negotiation and bargaining, all would come to something that was right for the country and about which everyone could at least accept, if not really agree. Mr. Obama has never really understood the office he holds, and it is always about him, not the country." Wall St. Journal 9-24-13, commenting on the lies Obama told himself and the nation about "never in the history of this country" yada, yada, when in fact 25 times since 1973 this has happened. I guess private schools (he never attended a public school) don't do any better with history than public schools. Or maybe it was that darn teleprompter again.

How the left terrorizes the poor

FoodStampGraphic092313

Monday, September 23, 2013

Republicans

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Obama is confused about al-qaeda

So Obama is expressing our national grief and concern about al-qaeda Somalis killing Christians and others in a Kenyan Mall (some of them possibly Somali-Americans), while at the same time arming al-qaeda linked rebels in Syria who are killing Christians and others. Does this make any sense?

http://news.yahoo.com/somalias-shebab-claims-responsibility-nairobi-mall-attack-182747786.html

Kenyatta, who called for patience, said he had received "numerous offers of assistance from friendly countries" but that for now it remained a Kenyan operation.

However, a Kenyan security source confirmed that Israelis "are rescuing the hostages and the injured". The Israeli foreign ministry refused to confirm or deny its agents were involved.

Taking out the trash

Sharon Jaynes writes at her website:

“Once I had a door-to-door vacuum salesman come to my house. To my detriment, I let him in. Before I could convince him I did not need a new vacuum cleaner, he had his demonstration trash sprinkled all over my foyer floor. Almost two hours later, I finally got him to leave.

What was my first mistake? You know it! My first mistake was to let him cross the threshold of my doorway and enter my house. Once he was in, it was difficult to get him out. It is the same way with our thoughts. Once we entertain a thought, once we allow the “salesman” to scatter his “trash” in our minds, it is hard to dismiss it or push it back out again. The place of easiest victory is at the threshold; don’t even let the trash in the door. It has been said, “Every spiritual battle is won or lost at the threshold of the mind.” I think victory is possible once the thought has passed over the threshold, but it sure will save us a lot of heartache and pain if we begin to recognize Satan’s lies and reject them from the start.”

I came across this looking for the exact citation for, “Hold every thought captive for Christ.” (Paul)  The complete wording and citation is, For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

At this age, I wouldn’t make the mistake of letting in a salesman of anything unless I had invited him or called for an appointment, but my goodness, the dust and dirt still creeps in and I find ways to avoid cleaning it up (often checking FB or my blog instead). Better to have a good seal and filter so there isn’t so much to clean up later.

photo

Sunday, September 22, 2013

The national debt

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First day of Fall

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Thesouthernladycooks

I eat walnuts everyday for breakfast—like their shape, I hope they are brain food Winking smile.  Here’s what Southern Lady says about that:

Walnuts are known as the healthy nut. They are high in calories but you only need about 1 ounce a day (14 halves) to get the benefit of this great food. Walnuts contain higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids than other nuts. Omega-3 fatty acids help lower triglycerides and blood pressure. My doctor is amazed that my blood pressure is perfect and I’ve never had any problems with high blood pressure. There are studies showing that omega-3 fatty acids may help with other conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, depression, and many more. Walnuts are a great source of protein, rich in fiber, B vitamins, magnesium and antioxidants such as vitamin E. Studies are showing they increase blood flow for type 2 diabetes. Melatonin is a hormone that decreases in our bodies as we age and melatonin improves sleep. Walnuts have melatonin. Do you have trouble sleeping? Eat a handful at night before going to bed. I have seen Dr. Oz talk about the health benefits of walnuts on his show. Dr. Oz said he carries them in his pockets to eat as a healthy snack and he never gets hungry during the day.

Walnuts are great in salads, desserts, cereal, oatmeal, yogurt and granola. Not all nuts are the same. Walnuts are unique in their many health benefits.

Toxic love

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Saturday, September 21, 2013

What ever happened to “Our Gang” aka “Little Rascals”

Our Gang group photo with dog

Tommy Bond “Butch” died in 2005 after a long and successful career directing and producing in TV. Served in WWII and graduated from college in 1951. Most of them, however, did not have a long and happy or successful life.

Pete the Pup – (? –1930) - An unknown assailant poisoned the original Pete.

Carl Switzer “Alfalfa”  (8/07/27 – 1/21/59)  was shot to death at age 31.

Robert Hutchins "Wheezer" - (3/29/25 - 3/17/45) - Died in an airplane accident at the age of 19.

William Robert Laughlin "Froggy" - (7/05/32 - 8/31/48) - Died in a bicycle accident at the age of 16.

Robert H. Young "Bonedust" – (9/15/17 - 9/10/51) - Died in a hotel fire, which started when he fell asleep smoking in bed.

Dorothy Dandridge "Dorothy" – (11/09/23 – 9/08/65) - Committed suicide after an investment scheme caused her to go bankrupt.

Harold Switzer "Deadpan" or "Slim" - (1/16/25 - 4/14/67) – As was the case with his brother, Harold was also killed following a dispute with another man.

Scotty Beckett "Scotty" - (10/04/29 - 5/10/68) – Died in a Hollywood nursing home after being severely beaten two days prior to his admittance. A bottle of pills and a note were found at the scene, however the coroner never determined the exact cause of death. He was just 38 years old.

Darla Hood "Darla" - (11/08/31 - 6/13/79) - Hospitalized for hepatitis in 1979, she soon died under what was later ruled to be "suspicious circumstances."

Kendall McComas "Breezy Brisbane" - (10/29/16 - 10/15/81) - Two weeks before his 65th birthday and apparent forced retirement from the U.S. Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, California, he committed suicide.

Robert Blake "Mickey" - (9/18/33 - present) - On April 18, 2002, he was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakely.

Darwood Kaye "Waldo" - (9/08/29 - 5/15/2002) - Killed by a hit and run driver while walking on the sidewalk.

Jay R. Smith "Jay R" - (8/29/15 - 10/05/2002) - Stabbed to death and left in the desert by a homeless man he had befriended.

William "Billie" Thomas, Jr.  “Buckwheat” (3/12/1931 – 10/10/ 80) heart attack.

Wikipedia lists the others.

Most of this is from http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/celebrity/carl_switzer/8.html

I’m longing for Jimmy Carter!

No President in my memory has so reflexively blamed SOMEONE ELSE for his failings: The economy. The Middle East mess threatening more wars.  Arming al-qaeda in Syria. 73% of the losses in Afghanistan have been under Obama.  Gun violence on military bases. Benghazi. Using the IRS to attack political enemies. NSA snooping. Operating without a budget (even when he had both houses). Obamacare train wreck and exempting cronies and campaign donors. Bailouts for unions and banks. Misspent AARA funding. The redline fiasco. On and on. I lose track. He is succeeding in destroying our country, perhaps it was in the plans all along. Nixon or Carter would be a breath of sanity and fresh air.

Health care costs—the lie

Spiraling health care costs.  We've heard it so often it's burned in our national soul.  But 100 years ago, health care was 5% of consumer income, and today it is 6%.  Entertainment has soared as a percent of income, as has transportation.  Where's the outrage? Food has dropped from 40% of consumer income to 15%, and if you cut eating out, it would drop even more. If a pill costs $100/week instead of pennies like an aspirin (which won't keep us alive), we are outraged, but don't consider the 10 years of research and FDA approvals and the recovery costs.  We want the best when we go to the hospital for surgery or illness, but we want someone else to pay the bill and seem to want the RNs and doctors, cooks and janitors to work for free.

What has increased is the amount of government in our health care, not just in research, but in expensive, ever growing regulation of the insurance industry (they are now same species partners), plus creating a new bureaucracy and red tape that steps between us and our doctors.  And now despite the soaring graft, payola and crime in Medicare, Medicaid, VA, S-CHIP, state programs and insurance companies, Obama wants an even fatter layer of government, plus he wants the IRS which is embroiled in its own scandal supervising it. (Can't wait for the IRS, NSA, our electronic medical record and the i-phone fingerprint to all be linked.) Whether or not the ACA was designed it to crash the economy is no longer the issue; that is what has resulted as we’re still struggling with Obama’s recovery.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Constitution Day in Modesto, California

No matter how liberal you think campuses are, it's worse. 62% of colleges and universities have unconstitutional speech codes. This one prevented copies of the Constitution from being distributed on Constitution Day.

A police officer at Modesto Junior College in California told a patriotic libertarian student that it was against college rules for him to hand out copies of the U.S. Constitution on campus.

Ironically, this flagrant violation of the student’s Constitutional rights took place on September 17th: Constitution Day.

The exchange between student Robert Van Tuinen and a campus police officer was captured on video. Tuinen told the officer that he wished to start a Young Americans for Liberty chapter on campus, and hoped that passing out copies of the Constitution would generate interest in that. The officer, however, maintained that Van Tuinen was not allowed to distribute flyers without college authorization.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/19/campus-cop-stops-student-from-handing-out-constitutions-on-constitution-day/#ixzz2fTHvEH3c

Guidelines for napping

So. . . looks like 90 minutes it is.

A Letter from a Shelter Manager - anonymous in North Carolina

Our society needs a huge "Wake-up" call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all, view from the inside if you will.

First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know.

That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays", that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.

The most common excuses I hear are; "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving too that doesn't allow pets? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! "She's tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog".

Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted. It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are.

If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.

Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down".
First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to "The Room", every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves.

When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?

I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work.

I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter.
Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.
My point to all of this DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!

Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say "I saw this and it made me want to adopt". THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

The absentee landlord fights back—guest blog by Richard

I have permission to use this letter to point out a problem many homeowners face when their neighborhood changes, and they run into a wall of bureaucracy and red tape. Richard (I’ve left off the details for his privacy) writes his local paper a letter:

August 23, 2013

Editor
Statesboro Herald
1 Proctor Street.
Statesboro, GA 30458

cc: City Council
re: zoning decision

The City Council has made a decision about the zoning of the three properties on the corner of Herty and Fair Road, as is their right. I understand the concerns of the residents of this area, though I don’t’ agree with their reasoning. There are too many examples of businesses placed on locations near or on the edge of residential neighborhoods that have had no negative effects on the neighborhoods. Be that as it may, I accept the decision of the Council with disappointment, but without anger .

I do have major concerns about the kind of publicity and reasoning that have been published by the Herald and brought up in Council discussion.

It was pointed out that the owners of the property are “absentee landlords,”  implying that we/they bought the properties as an investment, implying something nefarious on our parts. Notwithstanding the fact that any landlord who does not live on the premises is “absentee,”  this absentee landlord is seventy nine years old, and I lived in the Catherine Ave. house for thirty five of those seventy nine years I think it is clear that I did not have a desire to sell it for commercial use when I bought it. The first thirty of those years were quite wonderful for my wife, myself, and our six children, but the last five were quite difficult. People were parking in my yard for graduation, ball games and other events. My yard had become a shortcut to the campus, and anything left in the yard (including the blueberries and blackberries, pears and peaches growing at the edge of the property) was subject to misappropriation (call it theft).

My neuropathy had become enough of a problem that, after my children moved away for college, graduate school, military service and marriage, I was having difficulty maintaining the property. (If it were not for a young parolee from some kind of incarceration who dropped by one day and asked if he could mow my lawn or wash my car, and continued to come by once or twice a week to help me for four of the last five years, my place would have become a real mess. I was glad for him to get a job at Claxton Poultry, but it created difficulties for me.) Finally, I decided to try to sell the property, but as family housing, it was unmarketable. After finding another house further from the property, I rented the place to students and became an “absentee landlord”

One of the “absentee landlords,” identified as a corporation, is not a landlord at all, it is the Salvation Army. Before buying the location, they polled the entire neighborhood to see if there was any opposition to their object to build a Salvation Army facility. Finding little opposition, even when they held a public meeting to get response, with the encouragement of city officials they bought the property. When a building permit was requested, a meeting was held, THEN, the objectors from the neighborhood showed up, the permit was disapproved, and for sixteen years they have been stuck with an unusable and unmarketable piece of land.

At this time, thanks to the procrastination of the city council, postponing their decision till after the “renting period” had expired seems almost deliberate. Judging from the cheering from the members of the Council and the unanimous vote of all members, including those who had voiced support up to the moment, it was a decision that appeared to have been made at the first meeting, or before, and then postponed for no reason except public relations. As a result, I have missed the period wherein student rentals are available (August 1) so that the robust rental market mentioned in the resolution printed in the Herald and part of the negative resolution passed by the council no longer exists, at least for me and Dr. Hood.

I am pretty sure that the current Council recognizes the inevitability of this area becoming commercial, as did Marvin Pittman, or his agents who submitted the original plat to the city wherein all of the properties concerned were zoned commercial. I am not sure when this zoning was changed, or when it will be changed back, but it is as inevitable as death and taxes.
As for me, I am very concerned about getting it rented, because, if I can’t, I may end up losing it to a foreclosed mortgage.

Thank you for your time
Richard

The debt limit

Debt_TJ_450

Obama insists it’s no big deal. Easy for him to say—he’s a millionaire.

Video game violence—don’t buy it

"Many people, especially children, think that whatever they see in the media is real. If in the name of entertainment violence is glorified, anti-social behavior is approved of, and human sexuality is trivialized, this is a sin both of those in the media who are responsible and also of those supervisory authorities that ought to put a stop to it." (YOUCAT)

Sounds good, but who is supervising the adults sucked in by the same sin and supporting it financially? Look what hit the shelves and homes this week. Grand Theft Auto 5.

"Grand Theft Auto V," the latest installment in Rockstar Games' hit video game series, reaped an eye-popping $800 million in worldwide retail sales on its first day of release Tuesday, heading for $1 billion.

“ “For better or worse,” Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the decision, “our society has long regarded many depictions of killing and maiming as suitable features of popular entertainment.” As such, Rockstar, the developer of Grand Theft Auto V, the latest entry in the long-running series, which was released today, could include a prolonged interactive depiction of torture without fear of censorship. Nevertheless, the “24”-esque scene, which requires players to rotate the game controller’s sticks in order to tug out the victim’s teeth with pliers, has inspired debate—not only over its artistic merit but also over whether such distressing interactions have any place in video games. “ (New Yorker)

Where in the world are the adults? How many more mentally ill shooters will be inspired?

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Gluten free Halloween treats

I would never go to this much trouble, but isn’t it cute.

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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Is Obamacare because of costs or loss?

Outraged about cost of medical care? Don't be. It was 5% of consumer income in 1901 and is 6% today. And look at the change in life expectancy. What has increased is the amount of our income that goes to entertainment/reading: 3% in 1901 a...nd 7% in 2003. More than health care. Food costs have been reduced tremendously in percent of income. 40% on food down to 13%. The biggest increase has been in transportation. What I can't tell from the graph (because it is consumer income), is how much we contribute to these categories through our taxes--artificially low food prices because of agricultural support, and the various government health programs and research.

spending-breakdown

http://visualeconomics.creditloan.com/100-years-of-consumer-spending/

Obamacare isn't about insuring the poor or pre-existing coverage. The employer deduction and the employee tax free benefit amounts to a "loss" to the government that is twice that of the mortgage deduction loss. It's the biggest "loophole" in the system, and the way the government controls both business and labor through tax laws. Both Republicans and Democrats think that's their money--and they want us to pay up! That said, the money that employers use to purchase health insurance comes out of workers’ wages. We would all be better off if we were just allowed to purchase the insurance we want (without employer involvement) and health care were tax neutral, but that will never happen.

Who’s reckless now?

"Wrong and reckless leadership all over the map." No, Obama wasn't describing himself, but Gov. Romney who called Russia a "geo-political foe" just about a year ago.  Putin has since proved Romney right, and Obama recklessly wrong.  Romney reminded Obama that attacking him wasn't an agenda.  (Neither is attacking Bush or the GOP, but it seems to work for keeping his supporters.) And Romney went on to say he opposed direct U.S. military involvement in the efforts to topple Syrian President Bashir Assad, which at the time was also Obama's position (although we can't be sure).
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/22/neck-and-neck-at-end-obama-and-romney-seek-foreign-policy-edge-in-final/

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Happy Birthday, U.S. Constitution

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Somebody should check the spelling on posters.

Obama, Biden and Boehner sitting on their bottoms looking for a new idiom

While Obama opened his address by calling the victims of the mass shooting "patriots" and vowing to get to the bottom of what happened, he quickly pivoted to his remarks about congressional Republicans (on Sept. 16, day of the shooting).

Biden says he's confident the nation will get to the bottom of the situation. (Sept. 16, day of the shooting)

“We still do not know who did this or why. And people shouldn't jump to conclusions before we have all the facts. But make no mistake -- we will get to the bottom of this“ said Obama about the Boston Marathon bombings.   Then the bottom turned out to be 2 Muslim brothers who were planning terrorism, but the T-word was not used.

"I think our committees in the coming days and weeks are going to get to the bottom of this so we’ll have real facts at our disposal to determine whether it is true, and if it was true, why the information wasn’t shared,"  John Boehner

“If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon. “I think [Martin's parents] are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and were going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.”  Then the bottom turned out to be a troubled teen who attacked Zimmerman first.

Obama: “We need to get to the bottom of Benghazi.” President Obama says he will “cooperate in any way that ...

"The Congress has the responsibility to get to the truth," said the [John Boehner] Ohio Republican, “whether it's Benghazi, the IRS scandal, the whole situation with The Associated Press, our committees are going to do their job to get to the bottom [of this]."

President Obama is pledging to work with Congress to get to the bottom of the IRS scandal. May 13, 2013  Follow up 3 months later finds no group targeted (41) by IRS had been contacted by investigators from DoJ  Aug. 13, 2013.

House Speaker John Boehner tells Newsmax that Congress will “get to the bottom” of the unfolding Fast and Furious scandal following new revelations about Attorney General Eric Holder’s involvement in the case.  Oct. 2011

Obama never said he would get to the bottom of the Ft. Hood shootings, probably because they knew who the murderer was.  But instead he warned the American people against “jumping to conclusions.” Terrorism was renamed “workplace violence.”

Monday, September 16, 2013

Tonight many families are suffering

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Cardiovascular Benefits of olive oil

This is just part of an article on the benefits of olive oil that was in WHFoods website (the newsletter article was shorter, but couldn’t find it on the website).

“Many different cardiovascular problems—including gradual blocking of the arteries and blood vessels (called atherosclerosis)—have their origin in two unwanted circumstances. The first of these circumstances is called oxidative stress. Oxidative stress means too much damage (or risk of damage) from the presence of overly reactive oxygen-containing molecules. One of the best ways to help avoid oxidative stress is to consume a diet that is rich in antioxidant nutrients. The second of these circumstances is ongoing (chronic) and undesirable low-level inflammation. Undesirable and chronic inflammation can result from a variety of factors, including unbalanced metabolism, unbalanced lifestyle, unwanted exposure to environmental contaminants, and other factors. One of the best ways to help avoid chronic and unwanted inflammation is to consume a diet that is rich in anti-inflammatory nutrients. Any food that is rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients is a natural candidate for lowering our risk of heart problems, because it contains the exactly right combination of nutrients to lower our risk of oxidative stress and chronic, unwanted inflammation. Many foods contain valuable amounts of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, but few foods are as rich in these compounds as extra virgin olive oil, and this fact alone accounts for many of the research-based benefits of this culinary oil for health of our cardiovascular system.

In terms of antioxidant protection for our blood vessels, olive oil has been shown to lower risk of lipid peroxidation (oxygen damage to fat) in our bloodstream. Many of the fat-containing molecules in our blood—including molecules like LDL—need to be protected from oxygen damage. Oxygen damage to molecules like LDL significantly increases our risk of numerous cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis. Protection of the LDL molecules in our blood from oxygen damage is a major benefit provided by olive oil and its polyphenols. Equally important is protection against oxygen damage to the cells that line our blood vessels. Once again, it's the polyphenols in olive oil that have been shown to provide us with that protection.

One process we don't want to see in our blood vessels is too much clumping together of blood cells called platelets. While we want to see blood platelets clump together under circumstances like an open wound, where their clumping together acts to seal off the wound, we don't want this process to occur in an ongoing way when there is no acute emergency. Several of the polyphenols found in olive oil—including hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein and luteolin—appear to be especially helpful in keeping our blood platelets in check and avoiding problems of too much clumping (called platelet aggregation). There are also two messaging molecules (called plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and factor VII) that are capable of triggering too much clumping together of the platelets, and the polyphenols in olive oil can help stop overproduction of these molecules.

Olive oil is one of the few widely used culinary oils that contains about 75% of its fat in the form of oleic acid (a monounsaturated, omega-9 fatty acid). Research has long been clear about the benefits of oleic acid for proper balance of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol in the body. When diets low in monounsaturated are made high in monounsaturated fat (by replacing other oils with olive oil), research study participants tend to experience a significant decrease in their total blood cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and LDL:HDL ratio. Those are exactly the results we want for heart health. In addition to these cholesterol-balancing effects of olive oil and its high oleic acid content, however, comes a new twist: recent research studies have shown that olive oil and its oleic acid may be important factors for lowering blood pressure. Researchers believe that the plentiful amount of oleic acid in olive oil gets absorbed into the body, finds its way into cell membranes, changes signaling patterns at a cell membrane level (specifically, altering G-protein associated cascades) and thereby lowers blood pressure.

Interestingly, a recent laboratory animal study adds one note of caution for anyone wanting to bring the unique cardiovascular benefits of olive oil into their diet. This study found that cardiovascular benefits from olive oil and its polyphenols were not realized when the laboratory animals consumed too many calories and too much total food. This result suggests that olive oil—outstanding as it is in polyphenol protection of our cardiovascular system—needs to be integrated into an overall healthy diet in order to provide its expected benefits.”

For anyone seeking the truth about the Tea Party—guest blogger Kay

As a supporter of the Sauk Valley Tea Party [Illinois], I know the liberal media has steered you wrong. The majority of the active members are people like you, retired and concerned about the future of the country. Our group focuses on education and we have people like Congressmen Manzullo, Schilling, radio hosts like Dan Proft, local leaders like the owner of Jimmy Johns in Dixon, representatives from a state-wide organization to point out facts of Common Core Curriculum.

The nation-wide Tea Party is comprised of people of all races, ages, and ethnic backgrounds. (And I'm quoting this from a statistic of a few yours ago.) I protested Pelosi Care in D.C., when it was staged to be voted by the Democratically controlled house. The "tea party" people at that protest included families with young children, all ages and races and even Democrats. Anyway, the point is: I was next to the security and as the security guards shifted around, their number one comment was: This group is the best group. . . never any problems occur with the Tea Party people, they are well organized and very respectful.

I hope you find peace with yourself in your quest for the truth.

Monday Memories—Caribou Coffee

For many years I had my morning coffee at Caribou on Lane Ave., and then would walk indoors at the Lane Avenue shopping center, then head for work at the Sisson Hall Veterinary Medicine Library. Now all are gone. Caribou has become Peet's, the enclosed mall disappeared—well, it was remodeled but now you have to walk outside, and the veterinary medicine library was torn down.

Ohio State fan on game day in Caribou on Lane Avenue, Oct. 2007

"Going out" for coffee is something I've done for about 60 years--starting probably when I worked the counter at Zickuhr's Pharmcy in my home town, Mt. Morris, Illinois. That's when it was $.10 a cup and I'd get a dime tip (or even a quarter occasionally) and all the town's gossip for free. It is still a social event, at least for me. No matter what McDonald's or Caribou or Cup 'o Joe's I enter, I see a group of regulars solving the day's problems. That's why I have a special blog about coffee shops. So you see, I've been on the other side of the counter too.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Friday Family Photo—the Ford Explorer

In the fall of 1999 we bought a 2000 2 dr. Ford Explorer, forest green, shift, good gas mileage.  It has been a great car and still looks good. There was a recall on the original tires very early, so we're still on those replacements after 14 years. The bumper got bumped about 5 years ago and developed some rust, so we had that replaced.  Because it's basically a truck, it's not comfortable for my back when I’m a passenger, but the step ladder fits in the back, so we keep it for the art shows and our kids hauling things. This week our daughter borrowed it while her husband was in Cleveland with their car, so we had to make some adjustments in our schedule.  We could probably manage with 1 car, but this is just too convenient and useful. (This is not our Explorer in the photo—it’s pulling a boat.)

Ford explorer

Why you can’t reason with ignorance

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I contribute to Huffington Post political FB page. I don’t call people names, slander the president or make biased statements.  I just contribute sourced statements.  Like this one about why the food stamp program is expanding as unemployment drops and so mean old Republicans want poor people to starve by cutting back. All you have to do is check a reasonable source like the USDA or a non-profit that works with the poor—left or right—and you see that recruiting of low income people was expanded with ARRA money--the money that was going to get people back to work in 2009 was used in part to add more people to SNAP (the new name for food stamps).  I even pointed out that the N in SNAP stands for nutrition, and that EBT cards can be used at fast food restaurants.  For that easily researched information I was told I was stupid and uninformed.  My posts are always researched and reasonable, and the left calls me a troll, stupid, tea bagger, racist, homophobe, etc.  That’s the level of political discourse.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Just say no, Doctor.

I've often wondered about this--why do pharmaceutical companies advertise to us, the consumer, as if we know what the doctor needs to prescribe.  It seems it's not that old.  Claritin was the first in 1997, according to the University of Illinois LAS newsletter (May 2013).

http://www.las.illinois.edu/news/2013/rosenberg/

Worked as planned

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Divots on the golf course and pivots on the economy

"Because Obama speaks with such authority, it often takes several repetitions before I realize that what he’s saying is total nonsense." Caroline Baum, Bloomberg, on his "growing the economy" meme, A User’s Guide to Obama’s Inside-Out Economics, Aug. 7, 2013

He's pivoted again; it's back to the economy. The rich have recovered; the low income not so much. Five years and Obama can't fix it. The recession has been over since June 2009. Truman had a recession, Eisenhower had several, Nixon got a recession, so did Carter, so did Reagan, so did both Bushes, and all were brief and the economy quickly recovered. But then, they didn't try to take over health care and pay back and bail out unions and bankers. You have to go all the way back to FDR's mishandling of the Depression in the 30s, extending it a decade, to find a record this poor.