Do churches still do this? Take in homeless?

http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/13/nyregion/homeless-find-humanity-at-private-shelters.html New York Times article from 1988.

Our church used to do this in the late 80s, early 90s, I think—a busload of people would come for dinner and a night’s sleep off the street or away from the shelters.  Volunteers helped with food prep and baby sitting.  I don’t remember how long this went on—a year or two, but I think the volunteers burned out pretty fast.  Eventually our church took in the Hilltop Lutheran church members and facility, so our focus for volunteering shifted there.

''No matter how good the city system is, no matter how good their people are, they cannot provide the kind of care, concern and dignity that folks from churches and synagogues in the neighborhoods can do,'' said Peter P. Smith, the president of the Partnership for the Homeless.

But in practice, it is all but impossible to compare the two systems and to say how much of the difference is due to individual acts of charity and caring and how much to screening. Those who stay at the church shelters must be willing to abide by a series of rules and are carefully selected: drug addicts, alcoholics and the mentally unstable are unwelcome.

Once they pass the test, they must be willing to wait up to an hour or more for a bus ride to a distant church or synagogue, where they are often awakened at 6:30 the next morning for a bus ride back. Since some shelters, including B'nai Jeshurun's, are open only three or four days a week, they must also juggle a complicated schedule.

The screening system reduces the risks of incidents at churches and helps keep the most vulnerable among the homeless - those most likely to be robbed or victimized - out of city shelters.

So, I googled my question: and here’s what I found.  120 churches in the Columbus area had an Interfaith Hospitality Network, which began in 1988 and morphed to became a bricks and mortar family shelter.

The History of the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN)

The IHN began as the second housing network in the United States in 1988 and grew to include more than 120 churches. The system allowed homeless families to sleep on cots at various religious institutions nightly and the next morning were bused back to a day center (400 W. Broad St.). By the end of the 1990s, YWCA Columbus had assumed 24-hour responsibilities in transporting the families and managing day services. The realization that family homelessness was a social issue that was not going to go away led to a number of staff transitions and further visioning of a new model for responding to family homelessness. By 2003, the YWCA began planning its new Family Center and successfully completed a $7-million capital campaign to build it. [according another link it opened in 2005]

Annual reports for non-profits

I don't like glitzy annual reports for non-profits. If you want to find out how they are using your money and helping society for all their federal tax benefits and huge salaries for CEOs you have to wade through page after page of posed photos and graphs that tell you nothing. Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio was the latest I was trying to read--but the most recent report is 2012, and for the section for homeless (Faith Mission) it is 2011. I began my search trying ...to find out what had become of the Interfaith Hospitality Network begun by churches in 1988 (became a building run by the YW around 2005), and in the process found the new offices of the LSSCO. Fancy digs in Worthington, far, far away from hunger and homelessness. As they say in DC, bad optics. Also while waiting for pages to load, I discovered there is an app for locating homeless shelters. For the Obamaphone?

I stopped supporting LSS several years ago when I found out their health insurance covered abortion.  This was before the Obamacare push.

Remember the sad stories about bankruptcy due to medical costs Obama told us?

To Sharyl Attkisson:

October 20, 2014 at 7:59 pm
When Obamacare started, I had a first class HMO. But the entire industry exploded in costs and I could not afford $3,000/month premiums. So, I am desperate to find another insurer. And I find what is called an A+ carrier and start paying $1,000/month. BUT: (1) drug costs increased several fold; (2) no coverage for DME and other features I had enjoyed; and (3) HERE’S THE BIG ONE–IT WAS BOGUS COVERAGE! My wife suffered a stroke; after four (4) days her hospital bills exceeded $35,000; AND THE CARRIER SAID: “SHE HAD NO COVERAGE” “SHE WAS NEVER ADMITTED” and “WE PAID ALL WE HAD TO” [$750!]. We had to declare bankruptcy. I connect the bogus carrier with the total and outrageous destruction of the health insurance industry due to Obamacare. The entire system was so ravaged by uncertainty, confusion, and deceit, that FRAUD SKYROCKETED.

HAPPY ENDING: My wife and I qualified for Medicare last month–and we now pay very little. [Of course, it DOES have its limitations, but...]

More sad, terrible stories about the ravages of Obamacare and what it has done.

Using an exercise tracker on-line

Fellow blogger and Facebook friend Joan suggested this site for tracking my cycling. Can also use it for running or walking. "This site provides free online tools to encourage you to keep walking, running or cycling. It includes an exercise log to help you track your mileage. You can choose anonymous walking and running partners with your same goals and track their progress along with your own." Not sure I've figured out if it's easier than writing it down, but I think it's for someone's research. Looking at the log, I'm by far the oldest. Also, I only wanted to bike to Indy to see my sister-in-law Jeanne, but it has me going to the west coast. I’ve been tracking it, and I think I’m at about 35 miles, and it always shows me  a photo of where I am.

Today I had 5 minutes on a tread mill at a doctor’s office for an ABI test, to see why my right leg hurts (possibly PAD). It involves taking your blood pressure before and after exercise.  It wasn’t too difficult, and the technician was very nice, which is always a plus.  So I added the 5 minutes to my chart.

 http://exercise.lbl.gov/index.html

Nine schools of economics explained

http://www.businessinsider.com/table-different-schools-of-economics-2014-6?IR=T

From the man who bought you "the shortest economic textbook in the world"; and "13 things Economists won't tell you", here is Ha-Joon Chang's ultimate pocket guide to the differences (and similarities) between all the economic schools of thought.

Read more: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-25/pocket-guide-understanding-different-schools-economics

The Shady Bunch

Old, tired re-runs, pushing progressive/socialist ideas that have been failing Americans for 100 years.

The golf game wedding snafu in Hawaii

I think the biggest non-story this week is Obama's golf game forcing a military couple to change their wedding plans. I don't think much of Obama as a president, but are we really to believe he personally arranges his golf games? This is a matter of security, and lately his security has been very lax. And so was that of the golf course, which made the decision. Someone should be fired for not noticing the mix up before it became a news story. He should send them a nice gift—a phone call doesn’t do it.

With so many scandals to choose from, I hate to see conservatives wallowing in stuff like this that he had no control over. We had something similar happen at our daughter's wedding in 1993. The senior pastor decided he needed the kitchen of the church to feed Billy Graham volunteers for one of his crusades in town that week. We'd had the fellowship hall for the reception reserved for 9 months--paid up front. Fortunately we had a great Christian caterer, who managed to work the kitchen by preparing the food elsewhere and bringing it in. I was one unhappy Mother of the Bride and had a real melt down. I think Joanie Poynter, our niece and the maid of honor, was the peace maker, and it wasn't even her church. Always helps to have a cool head. And that wouldn't be me. Ever.

Rip Van Sanders emerges from Sleepy Hollow

Democrats haven't had a single new idea in 100 years, and Bernie's 12 points prove it. Democrats are old, tired, and running on fumes of slogans like "hope and change." They have no one on the bench except Hillary. No governors; no young exciting Senators.  They rallied around Barack Obama in 2008 and abandoned him in 2010 and 2014.   I've heard this my entire life-- improve infrastructure, raise minimum wage, throw a bone to the women (even though recent graduates out earn men), more education to keep the liberal profs employed, progressive income tax.  We have done it all, Rip Van Sanders, wake up. It's the 21st century.

 http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/12/bernie_sanderss_12point_socialist_plan_for_america.html#.

What would de Blasio tell Malik’s mom?

Gee, I wonder if de Blasio warned his bi-racial son about this, or are the police keeping his neighborhood safe for his kids?

“Sometimes he wants to go over to my sister’s house nearby, to hang out with his cousins, but he can’t because he has to cross gang lines and walk past all these gang members on some of those blocks. And all he ever hears on the news about our neighborhood is shootings, gangs and violence. Malik knows he’s not safe,” she said." (Chicago Sun Times)

I don't think Obama's letter to Malik will do much for the boy--" Please know your security is a priority for me in everything I do as President." He’s done nothing for blacks or Chicago in 6 years.  Instead,  Obama has invited race hustlers like Sharpton to the White House, and Eric Holder who thinks there are too many black criminals in prison is on his staff.

Losing our tech touch—Monday Memories

“Young people in Britain have become a lost generation who can no longer mend gadgets and appliances because they have grown up in a disposable world, the professor giving this year’s Royal Institution Christmas lectures has warned. “

It happens. I didn't know the simplest skills like plucking a chicken or cleaning the wick on a kerosene lamp or putting the bit in the draft horse's mouth that my blind grandmother could do with ease.  There was a time (in my teen years) when I knew how to change a flat tire.  I used to know how to thread a 55 year old sewing machine. And in my 50s, I could code html for a web page. I hope I don't lose my ability to make an apple sour cream pie--I've never written down the instructions. A German immigrant housekeeper who worked for my grandparents would make that for an after school snack for the children (my mom and her sibs) after the long cold walk from the country school, Pineview,  uphill both ways, carrying a cello (or so the story went).

 

My mom, second from left, front row, and her brother Clare, second from right, back row.

BulletProof coffee—new word

It’s coffee with a dollop of butter. Supposedly energizing. These directions sound way over done.  But since I prefer Half n Half in my coffee, a bit of butter wouldn’t be a stretch.  I’ve even tried coconut oil. I use decaf, but might try this.  The blender idea sounds good. Remember when butter was demonized? Remember when white margarine came in bags, with a color button so no one would be confused that it might be butter.  As a child, that was my job to mix the butter—it was great fun.  Then came sticks and tubs; then came the warnings about how bad it was for us.  I switched to butter about 2-3 years ago. Everything tastes better.

5 Steps To Bulletproof Your Coffee

#1 Make coffee: Brew coffee as you normally would.  Make sure it’s the right kind of coffee. [ad for a type], read this post to find the best coffee in your area. Use a brown paper filter.

#2 Pre-heat blender: Boil extra water and pour it into a blender while your coffee brews to pre-heat the blender.

#3 Froth: Empty hot water from the now pre-heated  blender and add the brewed coffee, butter, and MCT oil.  Blend  until there is a thick layer of foam on top like a latte. A Blend-tec or Vitamix blender will do it quickly, a normal countertop blender takes longer, and a hand blender works ok if you don’t have a real blender.

#4  (optional) Add cinnamon, vanilla, dark chocolate,  or a sweetener like Stevia, erythritol, or xylitol (this is technically a sacrilege if you use awesome beans, but some people love their mocha…)

#5 : Put on a satisfied look and enjoy the high performance buzz from your creamy mug of Bulletproof Coffee as you watch your chubby, tired coworkers eat low-fat yogurt and twigs for breakfast.  It’s almost unfair.

178.4 miles to Indy

I'm on my way to Indianapolis to see my sister-in-law Jeanne on my exercycle. So far I've gone 13.2 miles beginning Thursday the day after Christmas.  I don't have a fit bit or chart, I'm just jotting down the mileage.

Spaghetti and meatballs—healthy in modest portions

“Thanks to the iron and protein from the beef, lycopene from the tomato sauce and energy-producing carbs from the pasta, this dish is a healthy trifecta. If you stick to modest portions and lean beef, you can enjoy its benefits without overdoing it. Limit yourself to three ounces of meat and a cup of cooked pasta per serving. Pump up the health benefits by using whole-wheat pasta and adding mushrooms to the meatballs to add fiber and cut fat.”

This was on one of those ubiquitous internet lists, “10 foods that are healthier than you think.”  I thought I’d stop while I was ahead. Beef has become so expensive, it’s not difficult to “stick to modest portions.” With a nice green salad with lots of veggies, and maybe some garlic buttered bread,  this is my idea of the perfect mid-winter dinner.

Reminds me of some pets I know

There’s a reason for the perceptions—behavior

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw1lrfFN2HM#t=27

Jason Riley of the Wall Street Journal, who always has facts to back up what he says.

She had to face down a true believer at a social event

“At this point, one of the spouses, whom I’ll call Tiny Tim, announced that Obamacare would correct all this. Everyone, he said, will get better insurance and better medical care, all for a lower price, and there will be no more uninsured. (Hmm…. Where have I heard that before?) I rained on his parade by saying that many of the uninsured were not lining up to buy insurance. Instead, those enrolled under Obamacare were often previously covered people who had been forced onto Obamacare when they lost their own insurance. (See my discussion about that issue here.) Moreover, those who did not qualify for subsidies were seeing substantial increases in their premiums and deductibles, caused in part by increasing medical costs.

At this point, I offered not a statistic but an example: I know a woman from one of my conservative groups. She’s single, self-employed, in her high 50s or low 60s, and was forced onto Obamacare at the end of 2013. When I saw her at a luncheon about three months ago, she was livid. She’d liked her old insurance, which was affordable and provided the coverage the wanted. Her new policy after she lost her old one doubled her premium and her deductible, and saw her paying for a lot of things she didn’t need or want (such as fertility treatments).

Somehow this anecdote enraged Tiny Tim. He drew himself up to his full height of 5’2″ (I am not exaggerating), tried to lean over the table to get into my face (something you can’t do when your short), shook his stubby little finger at me and, with spittle flying from his mouth, announced that I was a liar. “There is no such woman. You’re lying! Lying!” Let’s just say he failed to intimidate me.”

Obama true believers can’t face it.

My run in with an Obamacare Fanatic. “Conservatives deal with facts and reach conclusions; liberals have conclusions and sell them as facts.”

Just good colors

Just looked at my FB photo--wearing the same sweater and scarf to church today. It's the reason I always ask my daughter for clothes for birthday and Christmas. Although she hasn't noticed the weight gain, so I had to remind her this year I no longer wear an S. I had to return the birthday outfit this year for a little skosh in the watchamacallit.

Later: I got so many comments and compliments.

Martha and me

If you wake up in the middle of the night (and can change rooms) turn on Martha Stewart. The other night she made a roux (white sauce) out of sour cream and flour. That was it. So I tried it on Christmas Eve, and it's so simple and tastes really good on hot vegetables. A bit more pizzazz. She said you can add it to hot broth (when making soup) and the sour cream won't separate.

I’ve checked the internet to see if this is listed, but didn’t see it. Really, it wasn’t a dream.

Quiz on heart disease—I got about 70%

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States, killing more women than all forms of cancer combined. One in four women die of heart disease, while one in 30 die of breast cancer. Obesity isn’t the biggest risk. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 39.5% of Americans are at risk for heart disease because of inactivity. The percentages of U.S. adults with other key risk factors are: obesity, 33.9%; high blood pressure, 30.5%; cigarette smoking, 20.8%; high cholesterol, 15.6%; and diabetes, 10.1%.

http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/rm-quiz-heart-myths

Internet users say they are better informed than 5 years ago

I'm definitely better informed about some rather specialized things than I was 5 years ago--my 2nd cousins once removed, Beyonce and the Kardashians, crazy scandals of the Obama administration, but I think I know less local stuff since we no longer get a newspaper. I did all my research for my new kitchen appliances on the internet, and they still are not properly installed and we're looking at January 2015 (purchased in September). I don't use a cell phone except to call my son, but I saw a woman at Kohl's this morning doing amazing things with hers that I didn't even know were possible. I'm using the internet more for recipes, and my own file less. Data isn't information isn't knowledge isn't wisdom, as the sign in my office used to say.

http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/12/08/better-informed/

Report is based an online probability survey conducted September 12-18, 2014 among a sample of 1,066 adult internet users, 18 years of age or older.

Is this the worst Christmas song ever?

“Do They Even Know It’s Christmas?” is voted as the worst Christmas song ever by this writer at a Catholic site. It's from Band Aid 1984. He says it disrespects Africa and has images of neo-colonialism. However, efforts to end poverty or hunger always improve the heart of the giver, and rarely the recipient in the long term, in my opinion.

http://www.catholicismusa.com/worst-christmas-song-ever-po…/

Frankly, I didn’t remember it, even when I found it on the internet it brought back no memories.  But it must mean a lot to some because there were people defending it, believing they had made a difference.

http://thefederalist.com/2014/12/03/do-they-know-its-christmas-is-the-worst-christmas-song-ever/

http://www.acton.org/pub/commentary/2014/12/17/worst-christmas-song-ever

“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” was released in 1984 as part of Band Aid, an effort organized by Bob Geldof in response to a famine that struck the east African nation of Ethiopia. The song certainly captures the spirit of the season, as its charitable aims are noble enough. The problem, however, is in how these good intentions are translated into word and deed. The song describes Africa largely as a barren wasteland, “Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears.” It continues in this vein. Africa, the onetime breadbasket of the Roman Empire and home of the Nile River is a land “where nothing ever grows, no rain nor rivers flow.” The title question likewise plays into the supposed desperation of the continent. The only “Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom.” The response to this call is supposed to be charity from the affluent West, to “feed the world” and thereby “let them know it’s Christmastime again.”

https://medium.com/@magattew/stop-raising-money-for-relief-and-start-investing-in-africa-bd5c44a75557

In 1984, when Geldof’s first African Christmas song was released, no one thought of investing in Africa. Since then, China and India have already begun their path to prosperity.

Now some of the fastest growing nations on earth are African. Yes, Ebola is an urgent humanitarian cause that must be addressed, but we have long passed the point where it is legitimate (if it ever was) to re-enforce the stereotypes of a billion people when we have a very specific health crisis at hand.

Update on Miley the rescued Husky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guXVL-mMcbI

Includes a cute Chihuahua called Frankie in the story who became Miley’s friend. I watched an interview with her new owner today on Fox News.  Her dogs and her husband had died.  She was one of about 500 who applied to be Miley’s owner and says the dog has save HER.  She’s the one shown in the back ground taking photos and from the looks of her home, Miley is one lucky dog.

Maisie Dobbs mysteries

If I didn't belong to a book club, I'd probably never read fiction. But last year the group read "Maisie Dobbs," by Jacqueline Winspear, a mystery about the aftermath of WWI. For porch reading, my husband who reads less fiction than I do, picked it up this past summer, and liked it, so our daughter found 2 for him at a Marblehead (OH) used bookstore. I bought him 5 more for Christmas. There is another (the 11th) due in 2015 and I still need the 2nd and 3rd. http://www.jacquelinewinspear.com/novels.php

Much of our culture—books, movies, history—focuses on WWII.  We forget what a terrible tragedy WWI was—lives lost and countries realigned.  The series is interesting from that point of view.

http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2007/03/3601-only-7000-dead-and-wounded-today-i.html

Biblical archeology—list of resources

Bibarch.  http://www.bibarch.com/

  Seems to be a list of sources and links. Biblical archaeology, with its concentration on the Levant, deals with the study of the archaeology of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. Through biblical archaeology scholars gain a fuller perception of the events and the lifeways of the peoples described in the Bible. In biblical archaeology we reconstruct the lifeways of biblical peoples and learn of the cultural change, known as cultural process, in their civilizations.

Biblical archaeology review magazine  http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/magazine/

“Biblical Archaeology Review is a one-of-a-kind archaeology magazine that acts as a bridge between the academic study of archaeology and a broad general audience eager to understand the world of the Bible better.” Written for scholars and lay people, Christians and Jews, Catholics and Protestants, Evangelicals and main line members. I signed on for a free e-book, but not sure of its direction or slant; included with e-mail updates.  I think the church library at UALC has this.

American Schools of Oriental Research http://www.asor.org/ 

Digital newsletter archives at the site. Publishes The Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (BASOR)  “a leader among peer-reviewed academic journals of the ancient Near East.”  Digitally you can read table of contents, abstracts and preview of the first page.  I could read this on JSTOR (if I’d up date my OSU record). Latest issue (in Dec. 2014) seems to be May 2014, and there are 2 issues a year.  Other features like archives of photographs. http://digilibtest.bu.edu/sth/archon-asor/index.php?p=digitallibrary/thumbnails&collectionid=32

This will be updated as I find more that interest me.

The Serenity Prayer—”enjoying one moment at a time”—don’t miss that!

God, grant me
The SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change,
The COURAGE to change the things I can,
And the WISDOM to know the difference;

LIVING one day at a time;
ENJOYING one moment at a time;
ACCEPTING hardship as a pathway to peace;
TAKING, as Jesus did, this sinful world, as it is, not as I would have it;
TRUSTING that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will;

So that I may be REASONABLY happy in this life and
SUPREMELY happy with You forever in the next. Amen.
Adapted from Reinhold Niebuhr

Helman and the VA scandal

Oh my.  Do I really want to look into this expanded VA mess? It had all been swept under the table by removals and firings, and now Helman brings a law suit to get her job back, and someone unwraps the garbage. She couldn’t be blamed for the wait times, but could be fired for accepting improper gifts from lobbyists.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2886481/Judge-weighs-firing-Phoenix-VA-director.html

Sharon Helman was removed from her job after the Phoenix VA became the epicenter of allegations that veterans died while waiting to see a doctor

Judge also found Helman could not be fired because of the secret lists and long wait times, saying the VA did not prove that Helman was involved

House VA committee chair Jeff Miller said the ruling serves as a reminder that additional Phoenix VA employees must be held accountable

Dismissal was justified by acceptance of nine improper gifts from a lobbyist including airfare around the country and entry into amarathon

Other gifts were a trip to Disneyland for 'what appears to be six of her family members for an 8-night stay' and $729.50 for five tickets - and parking - to an August 2013 Beyonce concert

She continued to receive an $170,000 annual salary even though she was on administrative leave.

A trip to the library

I went to the library this morning to return a book that had been sent by mistake (same title as the one I wanted) and ended up spending a lot of money. It wasn't open yet, so I took a walk around the park for 10 minutes—it was a beautiful day and not cold, plus the land is flat there and doesn’t bother my bursitis.  Then  I went to Giant Eagle to do a little after x-mas shopping (always a shock since I usually buy groceries at Marc’s).  Then on to Macy's to check out some sales. While there I found a "little black dress" and used what was left of my Sept. birthday balance from my daughter. Now I need some place really nice to wear it. Libraries can be very expensive.

Liberal judge encourages violence

This liberal white judge is endangering people in the black community and police officers. These two thugs are violent, and should be off the streets to cool down. The excusers claimed the man who shot 2 police was just one crazy lone wolf; these two have also advertised their anti-social, irrational behavior and the judge is ignoring that and the law. What's her record on domestic violence or child abusers? Are they getting freedom after threats and violence? Devon Coley was freed by Judge Johnson without bail two days ago after making threats against NYPD. Travis Maye was freed after punching a police officer.

http://nypost.com/2014/12/25/judge-frees-another-cop-hater-who-punched-officer/

Criminal Court Judge Laura Johnson wouldn’t be ignoring threats and punches against women by their boyfriends—or would she?

 

http://nypost.com/2014/12/26/de-blasio-must-decide-by-new-years-eve-whether-to-appoint-anti-cop-judge/

When Harry met Obamacare

Harry Lewis writes: “After signing up for ObamaCare on Christmas Eve (ObamaCare forced the cancellation of my private health insurance), I now realize that people on public assistance waive virtually all of their privacy and autonomy rights as a condition of being eligible for public assistance. And ObamaCare treats you like you're on public assistance, forcing you to waive your privacy and autonomy rights to get health insurance. That's because of the "tax credits", really government subsidies, paid for by other taxpayers, that the poor are getting. That's the high price of the ObamaCare entitlement: millions of Americans surrendering their privacy and autonomy against their wills, whether they're poor or not. ObamaCare defines the deviancy of government intrusions down in a profound and shocking way, as millions more Americans are about to discover.”

When I was being interrogated by the ObamaCare representative over the telephone about my background as part of my application for new health insurance through the federal exchange, she asked me a series of intrusive and demeaning questions, i.e., are you an ex-con; are you an illegal alien, etc. (after she knew I was a lawyer) without ever asking me a key question: have you had health insurance before? That's an important omission. The Obama Administration doesn't want to collect that information, because it exposes how many Americans (like me) were stripped of their insurance as part of the ObamaCare debacle. Democrats then proclaim ObamaCare a success as part of a propaganda campaign that discloses only the number of people signed up, without disclosing how many sign-ups are casualties of ObamaCare's first phase: the forced cancellation of millions of private policies like mine. Even the Nazis kept scrupulous records of the number of concentration camp inmates they executed. Not so the Obama Administration with ObamaCare.


The omission also highlights the moral depravity of ObamaCare in two other important respects: Obamacare deliberately destroyed continuity of care, while lying about that destruction to those of the American people who already had health insurance and doctors. The Democratic Party lie: "If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor" and "if you like your health plan, you can keep your health plan", which they thought politically expedient, was a lie about continuity of care to those who already had a health plan and a doctor. As every health care professional knows, continuity of care is about keeping records of medical histories. Without a medical history, a physician is practicing medicine in the dark. That greatly increases the risk of medical malpractice, and of injury or death to the patient. The Democratic lie about continuity of care hugely increased the risk to patients of being injured or killed in the medical system because of the catastrophic destruction of continuity of care on a system-wide basis. The previously uninsured, of course, without a health plan or a doctor, bear no such risk.

Finally, health insurers know that people who have been insured before tend to be more responsible in their personal lives, and that there's a previously existing database of patient information that can be drawn upon to adjust risk in their actuarial calculations. ObamaCare's failure to ask about previous insurance makes a final, damning point: responsible behavior by patients doesn't matter in the veterinary health care system that ObamaCare has created. In veterinary medicine, the degree of health care the pet receives is determined by the budget of the owner, not by the pet itself.

Friday family photo, Christmas 1982

Gabby Hayes was his nick name—his beard was coming in white but his hair was still red. The cat’s name was Mystery and she lived to be 18. After that Christmas I became the shortest person in the family.

The unvaccinated

With the exception of meningitis, I had these plus scarlet fever.  Trust me, it’s not pleasant.

Lots of jolly eating this season

Christmas letters—I love them

Some people make fun of Christmas letters, the ones from friends you hear from once a year, but I love them. Monday we caught up with friends in Texas who had lived in Columbus only one year during a recession and her company transferred her here. He worked briefly for my husband (so it was probably 1994) while trying to find a job. When we visited San Antonio 20 years ago his former employer gave us a tour of the city. Their darling little pre-school boys whose school photos we got every year are all grown up with careers, homes and one is married. Hardly seems possible.

Now instead of school and sports we're reading about the frailties of their parents, assisted living, and Alzheimer's. Janice writes of her dad: "On one of his more lucid days he told me he was going to sit right there in his chair until God came to take him home. Amen." Praise the Lord, he still knows what is important and eternal.

Today I got my first Christmas letter from cousin Barry and his wife Rose Anne. We’ve connected on Facebook, although didn’t know each other well.  I’ve only met her once, in 1993 at a family reunion.  But from the photos of the grandchildren, I’ll need to be updating the genealogy database. Another Christmas letter (hand written) from cousin Sharon in Canada included photos of the homes of our ancestor in Lancaster, PA.

Why we continue pagan elements in our holidays

“So why not celebrate Christmas?  Many cite the pagan rituals that have crept into the practice of Christmas.  The Christmas tree, the giving of gifts, and the mistletoe among many other traditions do have roots in paganism.  If we go back to 4th century ancient Rome, we see a Christianity struggling to evangelize a pagan society.  One of the key ways those early missionaries evangelized the pagans was by taking pagan rituals and infusing them with Christian meaning.  Those missionaries matched pagan holidays with new Christian holidays to help the pagans make smooth transitions into Christianity.  There is nothing wrong with that.  It's a somewhat drastic method of missionary work where you help new believers to remain in their cultural context while allowing the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to transform the cultural practices.  This allows people to remain in their "people groups" making "people movements" toward Jesus a much more likely possibility.  And what do we see as a result?  The ancient Christians succeeded, and the church grew by leaps and bounds.”  A lifestyle change for peace

Major Crimes can’t come up to the level of The Closer

I sat down to watch "Major Crimes" (spin off of The Closer) last night and immediately began to complain about the writing, acting, directing, location shots, story line, etc. In short, it stinks and I can't imagine how enough people like it to make it into the 4th season. My husband was enjoying it until I came in. He said, "Well, it seemed OK until you started watching.”

“Major Crimes follows the further investigations of the detectives in the Los Angeles Police Department’s Major Crimes division. The crime drama’s cast includes Mary McDonnell, GW Bailey, Tony Denison, Michael Paul Chan, Raymond Cruz, Robert Gossett, Phillip P. Keene, Jonathan Del Arco, Kearran Giovanni, and Graham Patrick Martin. “ Ratings.

How the IRS began covering up its wrongful actions in early 2012

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has released a scathing interim report detailing extreme political "bias" throughout the ranks of the IRS that led to it targeting conservative groups in response to the anti-conservative group rhetoric "being openly and loudly espoused by the President of the United States."

http://aclj.org/free-speech/house-oversight-report-confirms-irs-bias-targeting-icky-conservative-groups

http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/December-2014-IRS-Report.pdf

Criminal behavior by the IRS affects everyone, destroys trust in the government. Too bad we can’t get protesters to go out and march about that.

Arrest related deaths

From the U.S. Bureau of Justice, “Arrest related deaths.”  42% of persons who died during an arrest were white, 32% were black, and 20% were Hispanic. ( 2003-2009). Of the 98 million arrests, 4,813 resulted in deaths, 40% of which were homicide. 75% of those who died were involved in a violent crime.

So why is homicide for blacks at arrest out of proportion to their population? The offending rate for blacks is 34.4 per 100,000 compared to 4.5 per 100,000 for whites. Based on that figure, it looks like whites are more likely to be killed by police while committing a crime than blacks.

http://www.justice.gov/search/all/death%20by%20arrest

Uniform Crime Reporting

There seems to be a definition and a code for every possible crime in this report. Criminal Justice Information  Services (CJIS) Division Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. . . User Manual.

“The FBI UCR Program is a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of over 18,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies (LEAs) voluntarily reporting data on offenses reported or known. Since 1930, the FBI has administered the UCR Program and continued to assess and monitor the nature and type of crime in the nation. The program’s primary objective is to generate reliable information for use in law enforcement administration, operation, and management. However, over the years, UCR data have become one of the country’s leading social indicators. Criminologists, sociologists, legislators, municipal planners, the media, and other students of criminal justice use the data for varied research and planning purposes.

The FBI UCR Program prepared this manual to assist LEAs in reporting crime statistics via the NIBRS. It addresses NIBRS policies, the types of offenses reported via the NIBRS, and guidelines for an agency to become certified to submit NIBRS data to the FBI.”

Example 2, Acting in Concert
A domestic argument escalated from a shouting match between a husband and wife to an aggravated assault during which the husband began beating his wife. The wife, in her own defense, shot and killed the husband. The responding officer submitted one incident report. The LEA should have reported this information via the NIBRS as two separate incidents because the husband could not have been acting in concert with the wife in his own killing. The LEA could have submitted one incident involving the Aggravated Assault perpetrated by the husband and the second incident involving the killing. This would have allowed the maintenance of the original incident number for record keeping purposes at the local level and simultaneously satisfied reporting requirements for the NIBRS.

Hate crime classifications are difficult:

Example 5
A 51-year-old black male wielding a tire iron attacked a 29-year-old Japanese-American male. The victim suffered severe lacerations and a broken arm. The incident took place in a parking lot next to a bar. Investigation revealed the offender and victim had previously exchanged racial insults in the bar; the offender initiated the exchange by calling the victim by a well-known epithet used against the Japanese and complained the Japanese were taking away jobs from Americans. The offense would be reported as 14 = Anti-Asian based on the difference in race of the victim and offender, the exchange of racial insults, and the absence of other reasons for the attack.

Do minorities not want safe streets and neighborhoods?

Harry Lewis comments:  “The Politico article about NYC Mayor de Blasio's current political troubles is revealing. The Democrats interviewed, including David Axelrod, repeatedly assert that because NYC no longer is majority white, a new paradigm of policing is necessary. So Democrats think racial minorities don't want effective law enforcement and safe streets? Instead, they want criminals coddled, and crime victims unprotected? This is condescension and cynicism rooted in deep racism and contempt for racial minorities.”

“De Blasio allies often point out that the city has changed since the days of Giuliani. Blacks and Hispanics are now in the majority. The so-called Giuliani Democrats have largely passed away or moved. The same coalition that elected Obama also swept de Blasio to an outright win in the 2013 primary, helping him avoid a runoff.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/bill-de-blasio-113755.html

At one of Ohio’s elite colleges, Oberlin, which admitted black students as early as 1835 when they must have been made of tougher mettle than today, there’s a movement to suspend the grading system for black students—I think it’s the trauma of all the recent protests (which have mainly been made up of the Occupy Wall Street crowd). That’s the left’s idea of being progressive.

http://redalertpolitics.com/2014/12/16/oberlin-college-students-ask-professors-exempt-students-color-exams/#!

Did you know

Susan Douglas vs. Donald Sterling

A University of Michigan professor, Susan Douglas, published an article and also tells her students in her classroom that Republicans are bad, she has the research, and she hates them.  She keeps her job at a state university supported by Republicans' taxes. Yet Donald Sterling, like Douglas a Democrat, who makes many black men wealthy with jobs as athletes in a private business tells his black mistress in a private conversation he doesn't want her hanging out with black men.  I’m guessing Tiger Woods didn’t want his white mistresses hanging out with black athletes either. For that Sterling loses his athletic team.

Which one has more influence on the minds of young people?  I'd say the professor. She has published five books on American history and I can only imagine the nasty slant. “She has lectured at colleges and universities around the country, and has written for The Nation, In These Times, The Village Voice, Ms., The Washington Post and TV Guide.” [her bio]  Not a single person was hurt by Sterling's racism, but Professor Susan Douglas maligned half the nation.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/394724/u-michigan-department-chair-we-should-hate-republicans-katherine-timpf

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/71095/donald-sterling-racist-nba-owner-is-dem-donor-but-black-nba-players-racism-unnoticed/

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2014/12/18/um-prof-apologizes-anti-republican-column/20611377/

God’s sense of humor—bats

Bats are 1/5 of all mammal species. I find that amazing. Twice they've found their way into our home and we don't know how. The reason for their large number is they evolve very quickly--none of that million year stuff for them (which I don't believe anyway). But their population is recovering. Don't leave the door open too long.

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/279/1734/1797

How single moms make it

A mother replies to an article in the Washington Post about single moms. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/18/the-unbelievable-rise-of-single-motherhood-in-america-over-the-last-50-years/

“As a single mom left alone with two small children after my ex-husband left, I never used public welfare, educated my children in private schools through scholarships, and put myself through graduate school. One child graduated from medical school and the other is a dean's list student in college. The secret? They had a loving, nurturing and committed parent in their life who never missed a recital, lacrosse game, etc., even while studying for the bar exam. Was it hard? Absolutely. Was it impossible, no. With the help of lots of miracles, I was determined they would not be a statistic of their parents' faltered dreams. I didn't have the time/interest in dating and chose early on not to bring men around my two young daughters. I brought these two into the world and they were a priceless gift to me. As such, they were my top priority and remain so. Being their mom is my greatest accomplishment. If people looked on children more as a gift and treated them as such, the world would be better off.”

A visit to Santa

The Beast twists the story

The Daily Beast (on line Newsweek listing to the left)  is claiming in a headline today, "Cops waging war on the mayor." Police go into minority neighborhoods and put their lives on the line every day. That's where the highest crime rates are according to the Bureau of Justice statistics. Crime has been reduced dramatically in the last 2 decades.Take the offender off the street and save black lives. But where's the political and financial gain for Sharpton in saving lives?

"Blacks were disproportionately represented as both homicide victims and offenders. The victimization rate for blacks (27.8 per 100,000) was 6 times higher than the rate for whites (4.5 per 100,000). The offending rate for blacks (34.4 per 100,000) was almost 8 times higher than the rate for whites (4.5 per 100,000)," . http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf

NYC was actually becoming a safe city for residents and tourists. deBlasio even teaches his son to be afraid of police and announces it! He ratcheted up the hate and fear for the police who were carrying out his policies on selling cigarettes. Sharpton, deBlasio, Obama and Holder have blood on their hands for this tragedy of killing 2 minority police officers and have painted a huge target on every police officer in every city.

Sarah Palin used the word "target" in a campaign ad and was blamed by Democrats for a mentally ill man shooting Gabby Giffords and others. Al Sharpton, Holder and Obama have openingly been fomenting race hatred, not speaking out when protesters were encouraged to kill cops with chants about kill the pigs. Now supporters of the protests are claiming the shooter was mentally ill and they bear no responsibility.

New to me—The Five Colleges of Ohio

It’s not that I’d never heard of these 5,  just didn’t realize there was a term, “The Five Colleges of Ohio.” I’ve actually only been on a campus tour of Oberlin, although we see Ohio Wesleyan each time we drive through Delaware. Now that would make a good bucket list, wouldn’t it?  Visit small colleges in Ohio.

“The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Higher Education and Scholarship in the Humanities Program has awarded $2 million dollars to The Five Colleges of Ohio, in collaboration with The Ohio State University. The grant establishes The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Languages to support language teaching and to build faculty interest and expertise in the uses of blended learning pedagogies.

The program will allow recent recipients of a doctoral degree in language from Ohio State to have a two-year liberal arts teaching and research experience at one of The Five Colleges of Ohio: Denison University, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University or the College of Wooster.”

So counting The Ohio State University, that’s six. Right? So that’s 5 colleges each with 2 post doctorate fellows in over lapping years for four years plus one collaborator. There should be enough even with the cuts for overhead. Not sure how it works for these, but for usual grants the institution takes 56% for overhead. . . or did when I was at OSU.

Adoption Assistance

This is odd.  I was browsing the amounts of the 126 federal welfare and anti-poverty programs, and to my surprise saw that #23 in dollar amount was "Adoption Assistance." $2,480,000,000. $2.5 billion for adoption assistance? Right up there with the School breakfast program, $2.9 billion.  Part of the $7,256,000,000 the federal budget allows for fostering and permanency for children, #17 on the list.

“Key federal programs supporting child welfare services include Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, Guardianship Assistance, Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, Promoting Safe and Stable Families, Child Welfare Services state grants, Child Welfare Research, Training and Demonstration, CAPTA state grants, the Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention grants, Abandoned Infants Assistance, Adoption Opportunities, and Adoption Incentives.”

So I Googled, and found that this is money for adopting special needs children. Each state seems to have similar requirements—the child can have physical or mental handicaps, black children are younger than white to be included, in custody of the state, can’t be returned to biological family, adopting family can be a relative, etc.

Federal description

“Adoption Assistance – The Adoption Assistance program provides funds to states to subsidize families that adopt children with special needs who cannot be reunited with their families, thus preventing long, inappropriate stays in foster care. This is consistent with ACF's goals to improve healthy development, safety, and well-being of children and youth and to increase the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and youth. To receive adoption assistance benefits, a child must have been determined by the state to be a special needs child, e.g., older, a member of a minority or sibling group, or have a physical, mental, or emotional disability. Additionally, the child must have been: 1) unable to return home, and the state must have been unsuccessful in its efforts to find an adoptive placement without medical or financial assistance; and 2) receiving or eligible to receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), under the rules in effect on July 16, 1996, title IV-E Foster Care benefits, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.

In accordance with the Fostering Connections to Success and Improving Adoptions Act of 2008, beginning in FY 2010, revised Adoption Assistance eligibility requirements that exclude consideration of AFDC and SSI income eligibility requirements are being phased in over a nine-year period, based primarily on the age of the child in the year the adoption assistance agreement is finalized. For FY 2012, the phase-in of the exclusion of consideration of AFDC and SSI applies to otherwise eligible children for whom an adoption assistance agreement is entered into and who have reached the age of 12. The revised eligibility requirements also apply to children based on time in care and siblings of children to which the revised eligibility criteria apply. In FY 2010, federally-recognized Indian tribes, Indian tribal organizations and tribal consortia with approved title IV-E plans also became eligible for the program

Funds also are used for the administrative costs of managing the program and training staff and adoptive parents. The number of children subsidized by this program and the level of federal reimbursement has increased significantly as permanent adoptive homes are found for more children. The average monthly number of children for whom payments were made has increased more than 80 percent, from just over 228,000 in FY 2000 to an estimated 429,700 in FY 2010 and 470,400 projected in FY 2012.

The Adoption Assistance program underwent a program assessment in CY 2005. The assessment cited the program’s success in increasing the permanent placement of foster care children, effective administration at the state and federal levels, and coordination with related programs as strong attributes of the program. As a result of assessment, the program is working with states to ensure that their Adoption Assistance laws and policies comport with federal requirements.” (Administration for Children and Families
Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, p. 335-336)

I wonder if families who do not release a special needs child for adoption, who do not abuse him, or abandon her, whose child is never in foster care . . . are they eligible for help?  More research needed.

Update: Another law, proposed. Don't know if it passed the Senate. H.R. 4980 requires states to track and report disruptions to finalized adoptions and guardianships, one of the biggest blind spots in research on the child welfare system. The few sample studies on the subject suggest that up to 30 percent of adoptions fail.https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/news/house-passes-adoption-incentives-package-senate-expected-to-act-soon/7653

Shouldn’t every student have AVID?

If this is a good program that inspires, motivates and moves ahead children “in the middle,” or who are “under represented minorities” and it shows such remarkable success, why isn’t it standard for all students?

“AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap by preparing all students for college and other postsecondary opportunities. Established more than 30 years ago with one teacher in one classroom, AVID today impacts more than 800,000 students in 44 states and 16 other countries/territories.”

http://www.avid.org/avid-impact.ashx

AVID:

• Teaches skills and behaviors for academic success
• Provides intensive support with tutorials and strong student/teacher relationships
• Creates a positive peer group for students
• Develops a sense of hope for personal achievement gained through hard work and determination

AVID students complete college entrance requirements at a rate of 2.5  times greater than U.S. students overall.

The War on Poverty

Notice that the bottom quintile is lifted briefly about 10 years, and after that the top quintile takes off. Poverty is lucrative business for politicians and bureaucrats.

With 126 programs to transfer wealth, there's not enough incentive to give up the government safety net and take the risk that education, investing and marriage require.

Who is behind the current racial unrest, and what do they gain?

Harry Lewis observes: “Two NYPD officers, one Asian and one Hispanic, were shot dead in Brooklyn execution-style by a black gunman who identified "revenge" for the deaths of Brown and Garner as his motive. The gunman had murdered his girlfriend in Baltimore the previous day. The racial tension on the streets of New York and the nation fomented by the President of the United States, the Attorney General of the United States, Sharpton, and others, and encouraged by the mayor of NYC, among others, has created an atmosphere in which violent criminals are emboldened to murder police officers in cold blood. Anarchists, communists, and fascists who have been stirring the racial pot for months with protests and demonstrations are celebrating these murders. The multicultural polarization of America, the deliberate policy of the Democratic Party, is leading to race hatred and cold-blooded murder. Is race war next?”

God is not dead in Gotham

Cheer up, you’re worse than you think,” Rev. Timothy Keller says with a smile. He’s explaining that humans are more weak, more fallen, more warped than they “ever dare admit or even believe.” Then comes the good news: At the same time people are “more loved in Christ and more accepted than they could ever imagine or hope.” Many Millennial Christians in NYC attend his Presbyterian church--and respond to his message. “Every other religion has a founder that says: ‘I’ll show you the way to God. Only Christianity of all the major world religions has a founder that says: ‘I’m God, come to find you.’

http://www.wsj.com/articles/kate-bachelder-god-isnt-dead-in-gotham-1419032446

My little book group that met at Panera’s a few years ago used his book,

And it is outstanding.  Maybe I’ll reread it.

Part 1: The Leap of Doubt
There Can't Be Just One True Religion
How Could a Good God Allow Suffering?
Christianity is a Straitjacket
The Church is Responsible for So Much Injustice
How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?
Science Has Disproved Christianity
You Can't Take the Bible Literally
Part 2: The Reasons for Faith
The Clues of God
The Knowledge of God
The Problem of Sin
Religion and the Gospel
The (True) Story of the Cross
The Reality of the Resurrection
The Dance of God

O-H-I-O

I don’t think we’ll have enough snow soon for this.  Weatherman Chris Bradley’s FB page.

Al Sharpton and Bill de Blasio should be considered accomplices in this murder

Preach hate for police and this is what you get. Two policemen killed. Assassinated. Targeted. From the surnames, I’m guessing both were minorities—one Asian, one Hispanic.  Alleged shooter Ismaaiyl Brinsley shot himself after being chased on foot.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/20/us/new-york-police-officers-shot/index.html

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/12/20/2-nypd-cops-shot-in-car-critically-injured/

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/nyregion/two-police-officers-shot-in-their-patrol-car-in-brooklyn.html?_r=1

“I’m Putting Wings on Pigs Today,” a person believed to be the gunman wrote in an Instagram post that referenced both Brown and Garner posted just three hours before the officers were shot, the New York Post reported.  Al Sharpton has been arousing emotions of protesters who show up for all these rallies. deBlasio hasn’t been defending the NYPD.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/kerik-police-killings-nypd/2014/12/20/id/614261/

Actions have consequences

According to Reuters, 8 days before the Taliban faction known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) brutally massacred over 130 school children in Peshawar Pakistan on Tuesday, the U.S. released the terror group’s second in command, Latif Mehsud. He had been captured in October 2013 and held in an Afghanistan prison.. http://www.reuters.com/…/us-pakistan-afghanistan-militants-…

http://gopthedailydose.com/taliban-leader-just-released-by-obama-involved-in-the-pakistani-school-massacre/

http://www.hngn.com/articles/53165/20141218/pakistan-tragedy-prevented-taliban-commander-released-u-s-eight-days.htm

In a perfect world

That’s the name of a blog  by Don whom I vaguely remember meeting blogging or in a Usenet writers’ group. I’ll note it here so I don’t lose it again. http://mytypewriterbroke.blogspot.com/  The crazy thing about blogging, or the internet in general, is it’s just too easy to get side tracked.  And I really wasn’t looking for Don when I found him. Or Paula.

And Paula is still blogging. Goodness.  How many years.  Longer than me I think. Light Motifs. http://lightmotifs.wordpress.com/  I met her on Usenet. Likes to write romance novels.

Top 10 liberal superstitions

To read the complete article by Kate Bachelder (from October 2014)

1. Spending more money improves education. The U.S. spent $12,608 per student in 2010—more than double the figure, in inflation-adjusted dollars, spent in 1970—and spending on public elementary and secondary schools has surpassed $600 billion.  
2. Government spending stimulates the economy. Case in point is the $830 billion 2009 stimulus bill, touted by the Obama administration as necessary for keeping unemployment below 8%. Result: four years of average unemployment above 8%. . . .
3. Republican candidates always have a big spending advantage over Democrats. Yet the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee  raked in $127 million this cycle, about $30 million more than the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and Democrats have aired more TV ads than Republicans in several battleground states, according to analysis by the Center for Public Integrity. . . .
4. Raising the minimum wage helps the poor. . . .Nearly 30% of the benefits would go to families three times above the poverty line or higher, in part because half of America’s poor families have no wage earners. Minimum-wage increases help some poor families—at the expense of other poor families (who won’t be able to find jobs at those salaries).
5. Global warming is causing increasingly violent weather. Tell that to Floridians, who are enjoying the ninth consecutive season without a hurricane landfall. . . .
6. Genetically modified food is dangerous. Farmers have been breeding crop seeds for 10,000 years, but the agricultural innovation known as genetic modification makes liberals shudder. . . .
7. Voter ID laws suppress minority turnout.  GAO released an analysis of 10 voter-ID studies: Five showed the laws had no statistically significant effect on turnout, four suggested a decrease in turnout (generally among all ethnic groups, though percentages varied), and one found an increase in turnout with voter ID laws in place. . .
8. ObamaCare is gaining popularity. . . the law’s approval rating hovers around 40%, and 27% of people told Gallup this month that the law was hurting them, up from 19% in January, while only 16% reported it was helpful . . .
9. The Keystone XL pipeline would increase oil spills.  In 2013 pipelines with a diameter larger than 12 inches spilled 910,000 gallons. Railroad tankers spilled 1.5 million gallons. Yet pipelines carry 25 times the oil that tankers do . . .
10. Women are paid 77 cents on the dollar compared with men. The mother of all liberal superstitions, this figure comes from shoddy math that divides the average earnings of all women working full-time by the average earnings of all full-time men, without considering career field, education or personal choices. When those factors are included, the wage gap disappears. A 2009 report commissioned by the Labor Department that analyzed more than 50 papers on the topic found that the so-called pay gap “may be almost entirely” the result of choices both men and women make.

Double standard for two men of color

Listening to the President's speech before he took off for Hawaii, I reflected again on the jail time for Dinesh D'Sousa who made a movie critical of Obama. His terrible offense? A minor political donation infraction. But it's hugs and kissy face for tax evader ($4.5 million) Al Sharpton from the President. The President in addressing the Norks talked a strong line about the tradition of creative freedom in film. . . something about this was a comedy, and what happens when it is a documentary. Like something about him? I think we've already got that answer. Nothing will happen to the North Koreans, but an immigrant American who is a conservative? Look out!

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2014/09/23/documents-federal-prosecutors-misled-judge-in-pursuit-of-prison-time-for-dinesh-dsouza-n1895285

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2014/11/19/lessons-from-rev-al-sharptons-4-5-million-tax-bill/

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2014/dec/19/obama-fbi-sony-hack-north-korea-china

Snail mail, for sure

Kelly Rogers Denton of 4 South Hannah Ave.,  Mt. Morris, Illinois says she received this letter on Tuesday, December 16th. It's postmarked December 15th, 1963 from Dixon, Illinois with another postmark from Seattle, Washington on December 11th of this year. Kelly put it on Facebook hoping to find out more information about the letter and who it was actually intended for. Kelly didn’t open the letter but believes it's a Christmas card. On FB, a discussion on the Mt. Morris determined that Carolyn Hackbarth (I went to high school with her) sent it.  I think someone knows where the Kiddell family lives. A Rockford station will do a story on Carolyn opening it. (Isn’t it illegal to open someone else’s mail?)

For me it’s doubly interesting since my family lived at 4 South Hannah where the letter was delivered.  Back in the day of 4 cent stamps you could make a wild stab at an address in Mt. Morris and the postman would get it there.  This one must have stuck in the bottom of a mail bag.  Would be interesting to know how it got to Seattle.

Elbert Guillory

Our protected victim classes are clashing

The left wing crazies are making it difficult to identify the protected victims!  A Muslim student at the University of Michigan is taken down for satire because he's a conservative. At Marquette, a Catholic university, a tenured professor was taken out for criticizing (in a tweet) the lack of free speech and discussion in the classroom of a female grad student instructor of a philosophy class (no tenure) who shut down a student (no first amendment rights) in an after class private discussion on gay marriage, accusing him of homophobia for believing the church's teaching on marriage which the university thumbs its nose at.  Wow.  You need a score card. Al Sharpton is attacking a female executive (there are very few) at Sony.  What if she turns out to be transgendered.  Would that trump Sharpton’s shakedown because of his race?

http://insider.foxnews.com/2014/12/18/student-says-his-home-was-egged-he-was-fired-conservative-column

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/12/17/marquette-university-tells-employees-opposition-to-same-sex-marriage-could-be-unlawful-harassment/

Leader of the swap was serving 2 life sentences

“The three Cubans released as a part of the deal belonged the so-called Cuban Five, a quintet of Cuban intelligence officers convicted in 2001 for espionage. They were part of what was called the Wasp Network, which collected intelligence on prominent Cuban-American exile leaders and U.S. military bases.

The leader of the five, Gerardo Hernandez, was linked to the February 1996 downing of the two civilian planes operated by the U.S.-based dissident group Brothers to the Rescue, in which four men died. He is serving a two life sentences. Luis Medina, also known as Ramon Labanino; and Antonio Guerrero have just a few years left on their sentences.”

http://video.foxnews.com/v/3951389545001/family-of-brothers-to-the-rescue-victim-rips-cuba-deal/?#sp=show-clips

Slap in the face of the families of the killed men.  They were not told the swap was going to take place.

Sharpton and Sony

Al Sharpton is beginning the shakedown of Sony. Will he ask for white executives or just roaming around money for this?. A white female Sony executive makes a remark about Obama, and suddenly all 12.5% of Americans need an apology?  She probably voted for him—twice.  Sharpton’s got some kind of gig blackmailing cities for protecting these "peaceful" protesters, many of which show up for all the lefty events. The reps from the police unions said on TV that the police are practically on first name basis with some of them. You can bet the organizers aren't paying. The police get overtime, Sharpton gets face time on TV, and the tax payers get the bill (except Rev. Al, he cheats on taxes big time).

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/nyregion/questions-about-al-sharptons-finances-accompany-his-rise-in-influence.html?_r=1

http://redalertpolitics.com/2014/12/11/sony-executive-jokes-obama-race-leaked-e-mail/

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/12/12/uk-sony-cybersecurity-obama-idUKKBN0JP29L20141212

Dennis Prager on the Pope and the Dictator

It took a Pope, a President and a Prime Minister to bring down the USSR. now a President and a Pope are propping up a dictator regime.

I don’t get to hear talk show host Dennis Prager often, but had him on today during a late lunch.  He is not happy with the Pope. And I paraphrase him on Obama's normalizing relations with the Castro dictatorship. The Pope is a very nice man, he said, but he is a Latin American. They find it hard not to love a leftist dictator. Can we imagine such nice things being said about the right wing dictatorship of South African apartheid?

Am I a victim of police harassment?

I've been stopped by the police 2.5 times (the 3rd time I was telling my husband what to do, so that gets a half although he was driving). It was always my fault, and I didn't argue with the police. Police have also come to the house when we called (burglary) and when a neighbor called (saw a strange car in the drive-way she didn't recognize). I called the police when there was a flasher in my library following young women around in the stacks and another time when a suspicious guy hung around a female employee at night. More recently, I took a cell phone to our local police which I found in my car that had drug messages on it (fell out of the pocket of someone who parked my car for me we found out later). I'm wondering now if I might have been a victim instead of being protected? (That's sarcasm.)

Jack Webb on being a policemen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7COcohB9n3w