Where slavery is still the strongest—30 million

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/files/2013/10/slavery-per-capita-map-wo-arrows.jpg

This is not some soft, liberal, by-modern-standards definition of slavery. This is slavery. There are 30 million people living today as forced laborers, forced prostitutes, child soldiers, child brides in forced marriages or other forms of property. There are 60,000 right here in the United States – yes, really. This map shows the proportion of each country that is enslaved. It's highest in Mauritania, a shocking four percent, due in part to social norms tolerating the practice. A little more than one percent of people in India are enslaved, which translates to 14 million Indians living as slaves today. You can see the breakdown by numbers of slaves here.

http://www.state.gov/j/tip/

http://www.catwinternational.org/

http://www.notsosuper.org/

Peter Schiff on the Daily Show—a trap

“Of the more than four hours of taped discussion I conducted [on the topic of minimum wage increase], the producers chose to only use about 75 seconds of my comments. Of those, my use of the words “mentally retarded” (when Samantha Bee asked who might be willing to work for $2 per hour – a figure she suggested) has come to define the entire interview. I'm now receiving hundreds of angry e-mails and am being described in the media as a hateful bigot." Peter Schiff

But they also edited out the other group he noted willingly works below minimum--interns--and some work for nothing, or pay to work.

“The Daily Show” was never interested in an honest debate about the minimum wage. Nor is it concerned with the intellectually disabled, whom they have no qualms about offending if they can get a laugh. In fact, it's “The Daily Show” that wants to tell the intellectually disabled they are worthless, as they want to make it illegal for them to have jobs. I did not notice any intellectually disabled people working at “The Daily Show.” I’m sure many would jump at the chance, particularly if they were offered minimum wage or higher. But since they choose to pay their intellectually capable interns zero, why should they be expected to pay the intellectually disabled more?

This is how Huffington Post spun it on their headline. "Rich CEO Tells 'Daily Show' The 'Mentally Retarded' Are Maaaybe Worth $2 An Hour."

http://www.schiffradio.com/b/The-Daily-Show:-The-Daily-Show:-Intellectually-Dishonest-about-the-Intellectually-Disabled/-525361918630098994.html

What Schiff is being charged with isn’t a $2/hour minimum, but not knowing the correct term is no long “mentally retarded,” rather “mentally challenged,” or “intellectually disabled.”  It’s OK for the left to promote aborting 90% of babies with Down Syndrome, but don’t you dare call the survivors of the massacre “retarded.”

Immigration reform? Let’s try 1986 version

We could save a lot of money and hot air by just enforcing our old immigration law. By ignoring it, we now have many millions more illegal aliens within our borders, giving Mexico a good reason not to value its citizens, mostly brown skinned, who they send north for opportunity even though Mexico is rich in natural resources.

"The act I am signing today (Nov. 6, 1986) is the product of one of the longest and most difficult legislative undertakings of recent memory. It has truly been a bipartisan effort, with this administration and the allies of immigration reform in the Congress, of both parties, working together to accomplish these critically important reforms. Future generations of Americans will be thankful for our efforts to humanely regain control of our borders and thereby preserve the value of one of the most sacred possessions of our people: American citizenship.” President Ronald Reagan

See how well bi-partisanship works?

Seasons of Gray; a modern day Joseph story

I'm watching a movie at home. Don't do that very often. "Seasons of Gray: A modern day Joseph story." It’s excellent, and I think would be appropriate for your small group or Sunday school class, or to introduce your non-church friends to the Biblical story of faith, reconciliation and forgiveness. As the producer and editor says, “We want to show how God uses for good the things man intends for evil. We’re excited about the film getting a chance to bring this message to a broader audience.”

Brady Gray is the favored son of a two-time widower on a Texas ranch, and dad makes things tough for him by showing favoritism. He has dreams. He's forced off the ranch by his jealous brothers, after a violent beating and branding. He hangs on to his faith. Brady makes a new life for himself, then is accused of sexual assault and thrown in jail.  Very touching jail scenes as he becomes accepted by the other inmates.  In his darkest moments Brady still trusts God. 

Small budget, good acting (good looking, too). Don't confuse it with the 50 shades of gray, this is a faith based film. It was produced with support from Watermark Community Church in Dallas. “Seasons of Gray” is “the culmination of a nearly decade-old dream by former Watermark staff member Paul Stehlik, now a missionary in Africa, to share biblical stories through the medium of film, updated in a modern cultural context for contemporary audiences.” This film is a great start. I loved the fresh telling of an old, old story.

The DVD is now available.  If I can talk the librarian into it, there will be a copy in the UALC church library.

 http://www.seasonsofgray.com/

Echo Light Studios

Review: Dallas Star

Facebook page

Windows Live Writer

I've been blogging for 10 years, but even so, nothing has made it easier than Windows Live Writer. I write my draft, it checks my spelling and grammar, let's me download the photos, and check the labels. If I copy something from another online source which has links, it picks up the links for me.  Then I hit publish.  It retains the drafts in case I find a mistake after I've posted it. I've become dependent and hardly know how to code or revise my template anymore.

http://www.hanselman.com/.../DownloadWindowsLiveWriter201...

The President is just wrong about the poor

Americans are not poor due to an income gap or rising  income inequality—that rate has been fairly stable over the years (also the poverty stats don’t count all the 79 means tested programs).

Here's the research, Mr. President. It's behavior and choice. People aren't poor because others are rich.

"If you do these [four] things, it’s almost impossible to remain poor:
1. Finish high school,
2. Get a job,
3. Don’t have children until you get married.

Those who do these things have only a 2 percent probability of remaining in poverty and a 75 percent probability of joining the middle class." John Goodman

The only new idea the left seems to have is universal preschool. (They don’t know how to reform any existing programs, so why not throw money after one more?) But the more common tactic (e.g., Paul Krugman) is to use inequality as an excuse for enacting the traditional liberal agenda — deficit spending, minimum wage increase, more unemployment compensation. If you think any of that is going to solve the fundamental problem, I know a bridge in Brooklyn that is for sale.

Remember welfare reform of the mid-90s? Even a job, any job, reduces the poverty rate. Wealth transfer doesn’t solve poverty.

"The poverty rate among full time workers is 2.9 percent as compared with a poverty rate of 16.6 percent among those working less than full time and about 24 percent for those who don’t work. Unfortunately, the percentage of adult males working has been declining for decades. The work rate among young black males is below 50 percent. By contrast, when single mothers substantially increased their work rates in the mid-1990s, the poverty rate among mother-headed families reached its lowest level ever.. .

We already spend more than enough money on means-tested programs for poor and low-income people to bring them all out of poverty. There were about 46.5 million people in poverty in 2012, a year in which spending on means-tested programs was around $1 trillion. If that money were divided up among the poor, we could spend about $22,000 per person. For a single mother and two children, that would be over $65,000. The poverty level in 2013 for a mother and two children is less than $20,000. So this strategy would work, but giving so much money to young, able-bodied adults would not be tolerated by the public. Besides, if government gave this much cash to non-workers, many low-wage workers would quit work so they too could collect welfare.”

Ron Haskins, http://www.brookings.edu/.../19-war-on-poverty-what-went...

Why is it called a farm bill?

This isn’t what the Founders meant

Black Chicagoans give their State of the Union response

Watch this SOTU response. One of the best you'll see.

 http://allenbwest.com/2014/01/incredible-video-black-chicago-sotu-response/

Thursday Thirteen--13 cities in the U.S. named for saints

How many of these have you visited?

The big ones everyone knows. . .

1. St. Louis
2. St. Augustine
3. San Francisco
4. San Antonio
5. San Diego
6. Santa Barbara
7. Santa Clara
8. Santa Ana
9. Santa Maria
10.Santa Monica
11. St. Paul

And then the not so well known

12. St. Joseph, Illinois
13. St. Mary’s City, Maryland

I have visited 1,3,4,5,6,9,10,11 and 12. That I can remember. We were in Maryland a few years ago and so St. Mary's City is a possibility. This shows the Catholic Spanish and French influences.

And there are many more cities, states, rivers, parishes and counties named for saints. But. . .I only needed 13.

Los Angeles isn't named for angels, but for Mary. "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reyna de los Angeles" (although it's a little murky).
Sacramento is named for the sacraments (after the river), but that's not its original name.
Santa Cruz is Holy Cross.

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Thirteen, check here.

Income inequality?

Inequality? Income gap? Actually white collar workers and particularly CEOs or business owners may work 60-70 hours a week, some with no vacation for years if they are owners of small businesses. Why are they demonized by this President? Years ago when a $60,000/year salary was pretty good money for a new college graduate, I knew a young woman in the investment field and thought she had it pretty good--and she did (and still does and now makes 6 figures with a stay at home husband to watch the kids and manage the household help and investments), however, she was working 70-80 hours a week at 21 for that salary and sharing a tiny apartment in New York with 2 other  women. The Wall St. company brought in catered meals--entry level workers didn't even get a break for lunch or dinner. Her annual income today should not be compared with other women who have made different choices, like working part time, or a 37.5 hour week, or 10 months a year so they can be home in the summer with the kids, or going into the arts or becoming a pastor. Oh yes, the first job for this honor student was below minimum wage as a summer resort waitress working for tips.

POTATO PUFFS

I’ll probably never make this, but it sounded good. Potatoes combined with milk are practically a perfect food, but this may be gilding the lily. Potatoes are high in vitamin C, have no cholesterol, are fat-free, have many vitamins and minerals and are cheap and easy to store. It's the gravy, cheese, sour cream and sides that give it a bad name

Ingredients

• 3 cups of mashed potatoes
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup sour cream (optional extra for serving)
• 1 heaping cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives or parsley
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly grease with butter 8 - 9 of the wells of a nonstick muffin  pan.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk the eggs then mix in the sour cream. Stir in both cheeses and the chives. Add potatoes and mix well. Spoon them into the pan filling the cups to slightly below the top. Bake 25- 35 minutes until they pull away from the sides of the cup and are golden brown. Remove from oven and let them cool 5 minutes in pan. Serve with sour cream if desired.

However, there is some bad news, too

Another bad storm is predicted for next week with a lot of snow.

“If this verifies [Chris Bradley, Channel 10] we'd be looking at a classic storm for Ohio with low pressure moving up from Texas and Oklahoma into Central Kentucky. The snowfall projections are above a foot across nearly the entire state.”

Income inequality

The number one advantage for a poor or low income child is to have married parents. That and a job for dad, any job, will provide those parents with the opportunity to leave poverty behind. No government program makes that kind of promise. It should at least get lip service during any speech about income inequality.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/kathleen-parker-to-defeat-poverty-look-to-marriage/2014/01/14/33e274ae-7d5f-11e3-95c6-0a7aa80874bc_story.html

More to the point, we know that being unmarried is one of the highest risk factors for poverty. And no, splitting expenses between unmarried people isn’t the same. This is because marriage creates a tiny economy fueled by a magical concoction of love, selflessness and permanent commitment that holds spirits aloft during tough times.

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2003/09/childrenfamilies-haskins

Unwed childbearing has risen from 6.3 percent of all births in 1964, when President Lyndon Johnson launched the War on Poverty, to more than 40 percent today. As Rector shows, these single-parent families with children are six times more likely to be poor than are married couples with kids. Put differently, marriage lowers the probability of child poverty by 82 percent.

http://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2010/11/marriage-shows-the-way-out-of-poverty

This, not that, is the real State of the Union

• Jobs: Ninety-two million Americans are out of the workforce.

• Health Insurance: Five-plus million Americans who had health insurance have now lost that health insurance. As many as 25 million more could lose their insurance this year. All of it due to Obamacare.

• Poverty: Fifty million Americans now live below the poverty level, a number which has risen to the highest level in American history since the 1960’s as calculated by the US Department of Labor.

• Food Stamps: A record forty seven million Americans are on Food Stamps.

• U.S. Debt: Now stands at a first-time record of over $17 trillion. The national debt has increased by $6 trillion under Obama, surpassing George W. Bush’s eight years back in 2012 — after just three years and two months in office.

• Energy: And as the cold grips America, energy costs soar.

http://spectator.org/articles/57555/king-naked

Snollygosters

SNOLLYGOSTERS

By Jack Burnette

It was grand noble thing,

When we rebelled George, our king.

And declared ourselves an independent nation.

Where patriots’ blood once stained the ground.

Hordes of snollygosters now abound.

Fattening their wallets through self-serving legislation.

Our Founding Fathers must be appalled.

To watch our congress display their gall.

To let lobbyist so easily chart our course.

Right and Left are not immune,

They’re mere puppets who’ve danced the tune,

Like the south end of a mangy northbound horse.

But the piper must have his fee,

Now it’s left to you and me,

So take heed and make a mental note.

How greedy scoundrels feed

At the trough,

And how we bleed,

And remember in November when we vote.

snol·ly·gos·ter [ snóllee gòstər ]

1. self-seeker: somebody, especially a politician, whose actions are motivated by self-interest rather than by high principles

2. This appeared in the Richmond Times Dispatch 10/21/2013

The crisis in mental health beds

Perhaps you watched 60 minutes Sunday night about Austin Deeds, son of Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds, who left a Virginia hospital emergency room, went home, stabbed his father, and then killed himself. He was mentally ill, and there were no hospital beds. The implication of the story was that America has failed, won't financially support treatment for the mentally ill. But I was around in the 1970s when there was another "civil rights" movement for the mentally ill, led by former patients of institutions, social workers, academics and church do-gooders. With new drugs, small group homes, counseling, etc., large institutions weren't needed, we were told.

In the late 70s we took a friend having a break down to Riverside hospital, he wasn't even a citizen, and he was treated for a week or so, got counseling, drugs, and his life was saved and today is a functioning, healthy person. That couldn't happen today. There are no beds. Take someone to ER today having a breakdown and you might get a few hours of help. And it was liberals, not conservatives, who did this. If the mall shooter of last week in MD had shown signs of his mental illness, his mother would have been helpless, as was the mother of the Sandy Hook shooter. We called it civil rights then; today we call it helpless to save them.

Some bi-polar and schizophrenic people do very well on medication—so well that they decide not to take them any more. But parents can’t always intervene if they are adults, and their hands are tied to get help.  Such a story was told in the December issue of (614) of Adam Helbling who felt a huge let down on medication and he was no long Jesus Christ. We did them no favors when we closed the care facilities in favor of medication.  Both are needed.

 

 http://nation.time.com/2014/01/27/lawmaker-whose-son-attacked-him-faults-mental-health-system/

The Columbia Mall Shooting

They always look for motives. He wasn't poor—a preppy; he graduated from a great pubic high school; he had a job; was environmentally conscientious; liked by others; loved by his family.  But he was suicidal and apparently did want to be known before he left this life. There are common denominators in these tragedies--young and male and mentally troubled. Three dead (including the shooter) and five injured.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/2014/01/27/

Darion Marcus Aguilar

Two law enforcement officials, speaking on the condition of ­anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said Aguilar kept a journal in which he described suicidal thoughts. When the young man’s mother reported him missing Saturday, they said, a police detective was sent to the home. He began reading the journal, but Aguilar’s mother demanded he stop.

Later, after authorities identified Aguilar as the shooter, police seized the journal. In addition to the references to suicide, it contains notes expressing hatred of certain groups, according to the officials, who did not elaborate in detail.

Update: "Howard County police said they have reviewed Aguilar's journal and are examining his cellphone and a home computer, but have found nothing that connects him with the victims. Of the journal, authorities said only that Aguilar "knew he was having mental health issues. . . For more than a year, Aguilar had lived with his mother in the 4700 block of Hollywood Road in College Park — about a half-hour drive from the mall. Before that, Aguilar and his family lived in Silver Spring, about 20 minutes from the mall.

Aguilar did not have a driver's license, according to a Rockville gun shop owner who sold him the shotgun used in the attack. Aguilar used a state learner's permit for identification when he bought the gun Dec. 10." Baltimore Sun

Stop Common Core

“Common Core was developed primarily by a nonprofit called Achieve, Inc., in Washington, D.C., under the auspices of the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The Standards cover mathematics and English language arts (although they also claim to cover “literacy” in other subjects such as science, history/social studies, and technical subjects). Currently, two consortia of states have accepted hundreds of millions in federal money to create national tests to align with the Standards.”

http://ohioansagainstcommoncore.com/ohio-timeline/

http://whatiscommoncore.wordpress.com/tag/stop-common-core/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/27/ny-teachers-union-common-core_n_4676465.html

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/01/25/CT-State-Senator-Will-Introduce-Bill-to-Stop-Common-Core-Advertising

Our corporate tax rate is the highest in the world

Our current high-rate policy is harming the U.S. economy, reducing job growth, and stifling wages—for no good reason. Abolition is a good long-term goal for corporate income tax reform, but we can start with at least chopping our federal-state rate of 40 percent down to the global average of 24 percent.

http://www.cato.org/blog/tax-reform-first-step-simple?

Dear Liberal Christian,

Your heart may be in the right place, but your hand is in my purse.  All studies show that marriage of the parents of children is the #1 way to reduce poverty in the U.S.A. With married parents, a child has only about 8% chance of being raised in poverty. A better house, or a better education doesn't do it. Lunch programs from USDA distributed by church volunteers doesn't make a dent. Social justice workshops and summits for sure don't either, except maybe to tamp down a little liberal guilt if the Bible falls open to Matthew 25.

 

I eat orange peel

I eat an orange every day.  About every third orange, I slice the peel, put it in a small amount of water and zap it in the microwave, drain, and do it again and drain.  Then I soak it in sugar water for a day.  Sometimes I save that water for my tea. I drain the water and sprinkle the peel with sugar and keep it in the frig in a closed container, where I munch a few slices a day for something tangy and sweet (much less sugar than a piece of candy). I used to let the slices dry out and then sugar them, but it didn’t really change the taste.  If I were serving them at a party as sugared orange peels, I’d probably do it the right way.  I don’t think I’ve discovered all the health benefits that this web page reports (lower cholesterol, anti-inflammatory, weight loss), but at least I haven’t had a cold in 18 months, which is pretty unusual for me.  Or it’s a fluke.  Either way,I’ve become rather fond of the peels.  I sometimes chop them (after I’ve prepared them) in small pieces and add to fruit salads.

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/fruit-peel.html

Always read instructions for cleaning the peel.

Monday Memories—childhood before modern vaccines

If  you're anti-vaccine, please check out this interactive map about outbreaks of easily preventable diseases. Most vaccines weren't available when I was a child (except for small pox) and I had measles, mumps, whooping cough, chicken pox and scarlet fever; my sister and many friends and relatives had polio; in the early 60s I had a baby born with multiple defects from my having been exposed to measles—he died. My children only had chicken pox which now has a vaccine. As an adult I got tetanus vaccine and boosters. My grandmother’s brother died from stepping on a nail in the barn and got lockjaw and left a widow and 3 children.  Her other brother died of diphtheria when he was 17.  Both diseases are now preventable with vaccines.  My cousin Jimmy died of polio in 1949 and the affects of polio followed my sister all her life, and probably shortened it.  I never miss my flu shot--it's a killer of the elderly. As an adult I got a shingles vaccine after seeing the horrible pain it causes. I personally know two  people who didn't get the shingles vaccine and got it in their eyes (it can affect any part of the body). Vaccines are so successful that today parents don't realize the damage, death and disability infectious diseases can cause by jumping on the anti-vaccine bandwagon. They've never seen a child blinded by measles, made deaf from mumps, and if they've seen an iron lung it's in a medical museum.

 http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/one-map-sums-damage-caused-anti-vaccination-movement

 

Shingles: While the rash itself usually lasts two to three weeks, people often go on to have permanent pain in the area of the rash. This is known as neuralgia and is debilitating and very difficult to treat as it doesn’t respond to normal painkillers. Approximately one in 1,000 people over 70 will die from shingles

Tetanus:. Of 99 tetanus patients with complete information reported to CDC during 1987 and 1988, 68% were greater than or equal to 50 years of age, while only six were less than 20 years of age.

Whooping cough:  The CDC recommends that all adolescents and adults from age 11 and up receive a single booster dose of Tdap. In adolescents, Tdap should replace the usual tetanus booster shot that’s due around the same time. In adults, Tdap can be given at any time, although it may be better to wait a few years if a tetanus booster was recently given.

Influenza: Influenza is much more likely to result in hospitalization and death in the elderly than in young persons. As many as 35,000 excess geriatric deaths due to pneumonia and influenza occur during influenza epidemics each year. Medicare  expenditures for excess hospitalizations due to influenza are estimated to exceed $1 billion each year.

 

The wages of sin . . .

are sometimes an angry cat.

Windmills and solar power

After 100 billion in subsidies, windmills and solar power combined amount to less than 4% of the energy we use. Both are so inefficient that they only exist because they get billions in subsidies from you. Fossil fuels get subsides too, but wind and solar get 100 times more. John Stossel

 

“The Federal government has set an ambitious goal of '20% wind power by 2030,' and generous subsidies targeted at every segment of American society have been set in place.

State subsidies for wind power are equally generous and can often be combined with Federal programs resulting, in some instances, in government funding equivalent to 80% of a wind power system's total cost.

Subsidies range from Direct Federal Grants, ITC's (Investment Tax Credits) and PTC's (Production Tax Credits) to a myriad of State Grants, Rebates and Tax Credits available to all tax-payers, ranging from your family to Fortune 500 corporations.” http://www.massmegawatts.com/government-subsidies-finance.php

Solar Financing, Subsidies and Incentives

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/05/30/solar-power-subsidies-were-too-large-too-fast/

http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2013/11/14/solar-isnt-the-only-subsidized-energy-source/

“Subsidies go primarily to the rich. While subsidies allow owners to pay off the cost over time, up-front costs put solar panels out of reach for most people. Subsidies take money from working-class families and give it to people who can afford high, up-front capital costs.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2013/11/14/solar-subsidies-take-money-from-the-poor-to-help-the-rich/

Hobby Lobby and the HHS Mandate

The month after Christmas—author unknown

'Twas the month after Christmas,
and all through the house ...
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste at the holiday parties had gone to my waist.
When I got on the scales
there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store
(less a walk than a lumber).
I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;

The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt---
I said to myself, as only I can
" You can't spend a winter disguised as a man! "

So--away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chips
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
" Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie--not even a lick.
I'll want to chew only on a long celery stick.

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore---
But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!"

Conversation or kicking the can down the road?

We need to have a conversation about this phrase, "We need to have a conversation about . . ." because when anyone says it, you know they mean a monologue and do it my way or let's move on to something else. Right or left, doesn't matter. I'd put it right up there with "Let's do lunch sometime."

I Googled it—557,000 matches.

Racism. Race in America. Education. Technology. School security. Truth and art. Guns. Rape. Your lack of seriousness. Changes in our pension plan. PTSD. Minimum wage. How to do better. Unwed mothers. Gay marriage. It. Sex education. Character and values. Immigration.  Chicago.  What’s been goin’ on. Australia Day. Refinancing debt. Cops. Standardized testing. Abortion. Smurfs. Rules of the game. Big Data needs. Renewable energy. Living. Covering fires in near by towns. Classroom etiquette. Choices for seniors [elderly]. Your cat. Quaker history. Immorality. How we define that. Where we're going and how we're going to get there. A breakfast casserole. Twitter. Drugs in hip-hop music. HIV/AIDS. Hardcore atheists.  Ableism. Health benefits. New literacies. The future. Missed curfew. Spending priorities. Pluralism in Islam. Mental health.  All these things.

I looked through about 15 Google pages; not once did I see the word ACA or Obamacare.  I guess those have been talked to death.

Governor Scott Walker makes Wisconsin—a winner

Look who has a $900 million budget surplus. Wisconsin. That's why the left hates him. He's fiscally responsible. Can we get him in Washington?

Richard says, “My Wisconsin liberal friends hate him with froth coming out their mouths when they talk about him. They tend to bring up all sorts of stories about him that are printed in Milwaukee and Madison papers that no one else will write.”

http://fox6now.com/2014/01/22/preview-of-gov-walkers-state-of-the-state-address/

Tonight, we have some really great news about the economy and our fiscal situation. The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau recently verified that the state will have $911 million more than previously projected. These new revenues are not a one-time windfall, or budget gimmick, but come from a strong economic recovery, where more people are working, more employers are hiring, and personal income is going up. They also come from good stewardship of the taxpayers’ money.

What do you do with a surplus? Give it back to the people who earned it. It’s your money. I propose that we deposit a portion of these new revenues in the state’s rainy day fund and use the remainder to provide much needed tax relief to you—the hardworking taxpayers of Wisconsin.

Job creation, prudent fiscal management, tax credits for manufacturing and agriculture, international trade, tourism, lower property taxes, new education and training programs.  Didn’t see anything about teacher’s unions, but we know the individual communities are saving a lot of money. Teachers in Wisconsin are no longer forced to join the union.

http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/09/governor-scott-walkers-teacher-union-busting-act-10-law-continues-upheld/

Hollywood Casino in Columbus

Ohio voters turned down casinos five times, but the powerful gambling interests finally won when Ohio was in a hole due to the recession. They are now in Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus and Cincinnati.  Supposedly, the taxes will help the schools--what a trade off. More crime, more prostitution, more personal losses from gambling addictions, and businesses leaving the area because after the construction, there was no benefit. The Hollywood Casino in Columbus is well named--glitz, glamor and sin. And when the money comes to the schools, will it change education, or just the sense of responsibility at the local level?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/06/05/ohio-gambling-revenues/2392697/

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-01-23/states-casino-gambling/52746498/1

Remember the 1950s witch hunt

The IRS is targeting conservatives--it wants names, just like good old Joseph McCarthy did in the 1950s. The difference is he was an elected official and we were at war with the Communists. There really were Communists in Hollywood and other industries.  IRS bureaucrats haven't been elected, and as far as I know, we are not at war with believers in the free market and personal responsibility.

http://hotair.com/archives/2014/01/24/irs-going-after-conservatives-in-hollywood-now/

A collection of perhaps 1,500 right-leaning players in the entertainment industry, Friends of Abe keeps a low profile and fiercely protects its membership list, to avoid what it presumes would result in a sort of 21st-century blacklist, albeit on the other side of the partisan spectrum.

Now the Internal Revenue Service is reviewing the group’s activities in connection with its application for tax-exempt status. Last week, federal tax authorities presented the group with a 10-point request for detailed information about its meetings with politicians like Paul D. Ryan, Thaddeus McCotter and Herman Cain, among other matters, according to people briefed on the inquiry. …

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/us/politics/leaning-right-in-hollywood-under-a-lens.html

It’s my personal opinion, due to the invasive, and sometimes criminal nature of some of our non-elected agencies, that organizations should skip the tax status. Any political activity will be investigated even though a limited amount is allowed by law.

Spread for crackers

 

Our refrigerator seems to collect a lot of jars with just a smidgen of jelly or jam or relish.  I'm sure I'm not alone.  So let an 8 oz. pkg of cream cheese soften, then zap those jars a few second in the microwave to loosen the gunk, and then mix it all into the cream cheese for a spread with lots of surprises. Today it’s onion relish and apricot.  Oh, and don't forget the crackers. Or celery.  It’s great for celery boats.

The 9-12 project

These groups were originally the idea of Glenn Beck, the guy the media are demonizing now because he’s been reflecting about his impact on America.  No liberal (he’s a libertarian and owns a very successful media company) would ever reflect if he/she has done things in the past that could have been different, and that’s the only part of the interview that they care about. Daily Beast (owned by Tina Brown) readers are such haters, it is very discouraging to believe Americans are like that.  We have a group in Upper Arlington which has had topics as diverse as tax issues, goat farming, education,the principles of liberty, signers of the Declaration of Independence, how the judicial system works and everything in between. It’s not a political group but is conservative, and opens meetings with the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer.

The 9 Principles

1. America Is Good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

The 12 Values

1. Honesty    2. Reverence     3. Hope     4. Thrift     5. Humility     6. Charity     7. Sincerity    8. Moderation     9. Personal Responsibility     10. Hard Work     11. Courage    12. Gratitude

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865594802/Glenn-Beck-Arent-we-all-a-little-wrong-about-something.html?pg=all

The Tea Party would vote for these men and women

Would you?  If not, is it their race or their conservatism that concerns you?

This will not make the national news

Everyone knows the names.  Trayvon  Martin and George Zimmerman.  The big deal is that a “white Hispanic” shot a black 17 year old while on a security detail. Politicians whipped up the crowds.  Trayvon’s friends were interviewed on national TV.  His mother received huge amounts of money to tell her story.  Jesse the race baiter showed up to perform before the cameras to make sure we hadn’t forgotten him.

No one will hear about this—except perhaps in the Houston area. ”Luan Vu, 19, is charged with capital murder in the death of 17-year-old Vy Ngoc Bao-Pham.”  If a man kills a woman, same race, and she’s not a lesbian,  no big deal. First he hit her with a tree branch and then he strangled her then he hid her body under a bridge.  No gun.  No race issues.  No hate crime.  But she’s just as dead as Trayvon.

Follow the money—or the votes

Seniors are not hurting.

"Sen. Tom Harkin (D., Iowa) has introduced legislation to increase Social Security benefits and build a government-run supplemental saving plan. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) has so captivated progressives with her demands to raise Social Security payments that she is touted as a potential presidential candidate in 2016."

What this country needs is jobs for young people, not pandering to senior citizens. Today's retirees have been warned since their 30s that Social Security won't be there for them, and most of the couples I know have 5 or 6 streams of income, from a 403-b, or 401-k, or private investments, or annuities, or IRAs, or veterans' pension, or Social Security. There are divorced women living in “committed relationships” still getting financial support from the husband that ran off with his secretary 30 years ago. If they married, they’d lose that. 

Politicians know seniors vote. Especially Democrats.

Book burning in the 21st century

University of Wisconsin at Madison has caved to pressure from atheists.  It has removed the Gideon Bible from hotel rooms.  Apparently, atheists become apoplectic and panic at the sight of one.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/university-removes-bibles-guest-rooms-complaint-article-1.1582450

On antenna TV I can get 4 different channels in Arabic, all evangelizing Islam.  Should I complain or change channels?

What turns a liberal into a conservative?

It seems it is a bit like alcoholism—they have to figure it out for themselves.  I did.  But here’s what others say. (Facebook conversation)

I wasn't a well educated liberal. I changed my views because of the WSJ articles in the 80;s explaining the Laffer curve. Marti

I went to education college when I was a (semi-)adult (in my 20s and 30s) and thought that some of the stuff I was learning (whole language, ugh) was not quite right. That led to some reading at the public library (this was before the internet!) and slowly started coming around. Carol

Having kids. Joseph

I have been . . . incorporating critical thinking skills into my lessons. Question authority. Follow the money. If someone makes you an offer too good to be true, it probably is. If you know someone is lying to you about one thing, you can't trust him when he's talking about anything else. . .  some times these kids are actually listening to you. Stuart

My wife is in college presently. She is taking a history course. Reagan is this weeks' topic...the stuff they teach about Reagan in college is pretty sad. I probably was fed the same propaganda back when I was in college, but I don't remember it...experiencing the college propaganda as an older person with life experiences it is easy to detect, but for the young folks it's just another class with stuff to be memorized...pretty soon what they memorize becomes historical fact even when it is blatant lies.  Jim

I was working on a wheat ranch . . . So the farmer said, "Get in the truck." I did, and he drove us into town, and to the "Employment Office." It was so full there were people standing in the aisles, every seat being taken. He loudly announced, "I need 5 people to drive wheat trucks... it is easy work and pays well... first ones to the door get the job." Not one person moved.  Ed

My sister was sounding strangely conservative as she ranted about irresponsible parents of her second graders. She was saying that any aid they get should be tied to actually parenting their children! I told her that was a conservative point of view. Just giving people money doesn't change a thing. Debbie

Discernment informed by life experience. Lynn

“Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains.”― Winston Churchill.  Hartley

[Came home from Viet Nam and enrolled in college.  Sociology teacher required volunteering.]  I went to one of the places . . . the "Blue Mountain Action Council." I was given the task of going door to door to sign people up for welfare. After an afternoon of having folks tell me that they were insulted by the offer, I went back to the office to talk with the guy in charge. He explained that the real purpose of getting more people enrolled was so that he could get a promotion and more money. He offered that if I helped him do so, he could get me hired into the position he now held. I became a conservative that day. Ed

After the stupidfada and 9/11, I couldn't understand the liberal reaction. That made me start reading conservative sources. I did some work in management consulting, which got me to understanding economics. Ariel

My sister converted me when I was a teenager, by explaining that giving minority-owned businesses preferential treatment we guarantee that they'll never believe themselves as good as we are. Essentially putting them back on a plantation- Then she went on to explain that when the gov't favors one group over another, that group proliferates and yet does not prosper. Opened my eyes to the existence of wrongheaded/good heartedness. That was the day. Kenneth

Cold humor

There are 79 means tested programs for the poor and low income

Lumped together they loosely comprise “welfare” in the jargon of the people, but that means jobs for government workers.

There are 79 means tested programs to help the poor and low income and about 49% of that is medical and most goes to children, disabled and elderly. Only 8% for able bodied, working age adults. So good luck at cutting anything. It's about $19,000 for EACH American counted as "poor" by the Census. About 6% of the budget is for those "welfare" type programs, and 4.8 % of GDP for social security (Medicare is going to pass SS in 2040). We've all paid into Social Security, Medicare, and worker’s compensation, so many people don't like the word "entitlement" for those, even though we are entitled to them through our contributions. http://www.heritage.org/.../examining-the-means-tested...

You gotta have faith

A few weeks ago we went to the movie Philomena after church at the Lennox theater near OSU campus and were surprised to find the parking lot full at 11 a.m. There were 3 services there of the Rock City Church. There was an article about the lead pastor in the December issue of the magazine 614, the cover story of which was "You gotta have faith." http://614columbus.com/article/you-gotta-have-faith-chad-fisher-6056/

For 40 years (as long as I've been paying attention) I've heard pastors and church members say their church isn't about "religion," but about "a relationship." They sort of campaign (subtly) against organized religion. But without that in their background, going back the church fathers, the reformation, the great awakening, etc., they wouldn't be around to preach the gospel. And if they are successful in their mission, eventually they too are "religious."

I think these informal, non-religious, non-churches are a form of church renewal, and apparently necessary since Christians have been doing it for over 2000 years. However, Christians who say they don't like liturgy or hymns or structure apparently haven't paid attention to their own services, which when I attend, I always see or hear a pattern, form, and style that is comfortable and meaningful for that group. Maybe they don't say, "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit," and make the sign of the cross, but they do say, "Lord, we just come before you today, . . ." or "Can I get an Amen here?" Maybe they don't have robes or stained glass windows or an organ, but they have 24 Peaveys hanging from the ceiling, loud guitars and special lighting to create a mood and emotion.

My mother, remembering you

Died January 24, 2000.

Christmas 1983

MetLife Stadium, site of the Super Bowl

As you view the crowd at the Super Bowl, think on this: "Abortionists terminated the lives of 83,750 babies in New York City in 2010, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest "Abortion Surveillance" report, which was published on Nov. 29, 2013. That is more than enough people to sell out MetLife Stadium, site of this year’s Super Bowl." About 40% of them were black.

In New York state overall, abortionists terminated the lives of 115,724 unborn babies in 2010, according to the CDC report. That is more people than have ever attended any Super Bowl.

See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/babies-aborted-nyc-1-yr-would-fill-super-bowl-stadium

Heating bills are on the local news

Our son says his gas bill is up 50%.  Our electric went from $331 to $496—difference between this January and last January electric bill (we're all electric, no gas). And that's before the truly cold weather hit, aka polar vortex. Last year's February bill was $109--can't even imagine what it will be this year (covers January, paid in February). Story on the local news tonight how businesses and non-profits are hurting. I wonder if it's the weather, or just Obama keeping his 2008 promise to raise electric bills.

I checked and there really is a 14 Holy Helpers church. It is Roman Catholic and in Gardenville, NY. http://fourteenholyhelpers.org/paris.../changes-in-the-mass/

It takes it's name from this church, and here are the 14 Holy Helpers.

Are you seeking revenge? Here’s how to do it.

The Saint Day of January 23 is St. John the Merciful, or St.John the Almoner.

“St. John the Merciful” is not a saint name I know—although that wouldn’t be unusual for a Protestant. He was the Patriarch of Alexandria, and was born on Cyprus in the seventh century. Remember those days—before the Christian church split apart? 

“There was a time when a certain citizen insulted George, the Patriarch’s nephew. George asked the saint to avenge the wrong. The saint promised to deal with the offender so that all of Alexandria would marvel at what he had done. This calmed George, and St John began to instruct him, speaking of the necessity for meekness and humility. Then he summoned the man who insulted George. When St John learned that the man lived in a house owned by the church, he declared that he would excuse him from paying rent for an entire year. Alexandria indeed was amazed by such a “revenge,” and George learned from his uncle how to forgive offenses and to bear insults for God’s sake.”

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2013/11/12/103286-st-john-the-merciful-patriarch-of-alexandria

http://dailygospel.org/main.php?language=AM&module=saintfeast&localdate=20140123&id=10167&fd=0

The current Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa is Theodoros II, born Nicholas Horeftakis in Crete in 1954.

Planned Parenthood calls January 22 a “birthday,” although they weren’t born alive

"Celebrating the most tragic Supreme Court decision in history, Barack Obama urged his cadres to "recommit" themselves to the "guiding principle" of abortion on demand. Why? "Because this is a country where everyone deserves the same freedom and opportunities to fulfill their dreams." Well, not everyone -- 56 million dead Americans would certainly object to that characterization. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, tweeted something perhaps even more mindless: "Happy 41st birthday, Roe v. Wade." Did they really just use the word "birthday" to celebrate a decision that prevents birthdays? What a gruesome thing to celebrate." Patriot Post.

Remember this video?  Obama would have his own grandchildren aborted!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZF-_EZ8mb0

And I’m entitled

A 72 year old friend noted this in the no parking zone at the store in below freezing weather.  She had parked legally. The driver of this car “by-passed all the regular parking spots and all the handicapped spaces and parked her vehicle in the striped no-parking space, energetically got out of her car and pranced into the store. Her bumper sticker left out "I'm Entitled".”

To think we all laughed at “community organizer” in 2008

It’s not ACORN—it’s Surdna (Andrus spelled backwards after a very successful businessman who came up through poverty). “New York’s Surdna Foundation used to focus on the usual left-wing causes: environmentalism and so-called smart growth, community development, and the arts.  Sensing an opportunity when Barack Obama became U.S. president, the charity changed its mission to promote community organizing above all else. Its benefactor would not have approved of its old mission statement or the new mission statement.”

https://www.capitalresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/FW0114.pdf

Founded by a practical, hard-nosed,
free market-loving capitalist, over the
past century the Surdna Foundation
Inc. was transformed into a hotbed of revolutionary
radicalism. Created by legendary
industrialist John Emory Andrus, the New
York City-based foundation now adheres to
the Weltanschauung of extremist agitator Saul
Alinsky and Alinsky acolytes like Barack
Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Andrus
was no utopian, holier-than-thou dreamer or
activist. . . .

Surdna’s radical objective is to remake
America in the image of a European social
democracy and to minimize the traditional
forms of American self-governance. The
foundation prefers that freedom and individual
rights take a back seat to equality
and the sacred cow of coercive redistributionism
through the agency of the federal
government.

Thursday Thirteen--13 tips on getting fit without making a New Year’s Resolution

1. Sit up in your chair and visualize a golden thread running from your crown to the ceiling. Also good for depression.
2. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.   Take 2 at a time for extra challenge.
3. Get off the bus a stop early.
4. Park a block away from your destination or at the outskirts of the parking lot.
5. Invest in a pedometer to gauge how far you walk each day—try for 10,000 steps.
6. If you’re sitting at work, or blogging at home, get up and move around for 5-10 minutes every hour. I walk around when I talk on the phone.
7. Do some office yoga for stretches. (from pinterest)

               

8.  If your grocery bags have handles use them for impromptu weight lifting, one on each side, keeping your shoulders, hips, knees and ankles in a straight line.

9. I’m not sure this is because of exercise or what you eat (fresher, smaller portions), but people who go shopping every day live longer than those who shop only once a week.

10. Tone your buttocks by clenching them as tightly as you can for three seconds and releasing. Repeat 10 times, twice a day.

11. To prevent incontinence simply squeeze your pelvic floor muscles, then hold the squeeze for a few seconds and then release slowly.

12. Simply sitting up rather than lying down increases energy output by 25%, and standing up really ups the ante. Standing up burns more calories than sitting or lying down.

13. While watching TV lie down on the floor, slowly bring one knee up to your chest, pulling it in with your arms, and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times, then do the other leg. To firm your stomach, thighs and bottom all in one go, lie with your arms by your sides, lift your hips and clench your buttocks so you are in a straight line. Now raise one leg as high as possible, and lower it. Repeat 12 times and switch legs.

                             

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/11/get-fit-without-noticing-do-something-active

Helping churches and parents to help their children

La Verne Tolbert, Ph.D., is author of Keeping You & Your Kids Sexually Pure. She details her five-year tenure on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood, NYC when death certificates were required for all abortions.  Her research on school-based clinics—abortion mills in public schools—explains why condom availability encourages kids to become sexually active.  Written in everyday language, she urges pastors, parents, and teachers to teach teens why and how to save sex for marriage.

How I plan to use up the rest of the black beans

I made a huge crockpot of black beans today.  I mixed some with brown rice and we’ll be eating that forever, plus I have a lot left over.  I’m guessing I have 10-12 servings for $1.50.  Here’s an idea.

Black Bean Brownies

(gluten-free)

• 1 1/2 cups black beans (1 15-oz can, drained and rinsed very well) (250g after draining)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder- dutch or regular (10g) (add a little extra if desired)
• 1/2 cup quick oats (40g) (See nutrition facts link below for all substitution notes.)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup or agave (Honey will work, but not for strict vegans.) (75g)
• 2 nunaturals stevia packs or 2 tbsp sugar (or omit and increase maple syrup to 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup coconut or vegetable oil (40g) (See “nutrition facts” link for all substitution notes.)
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup chocolate chips (115-140g) (Not optional. Omit at your own risk.)
• optional: more chips, for presentation

Black Bean Brownies Recipe: Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all ingredients except chips in a good food processor, and blend until completely smooth. Really blend well. (A blender can work if you absolutely must, but the texture—and even the taste—will be much better in a food processor.) Stir in the chips, then pour into a greased 8×8 pan. Optional: sprinkle extra chocolate chips over the top. Cook the black bean brownies 15-18 minutes, then let cool at least 10 minutes before trying to cut. Makes 9-12 brownies.

I don’t have a food processor, so I may have to try the unrecommended blender way.

41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Today, approximately 250,000 people will descend on Washington, DC in the annual March for Life--41st anniversary of legal killing the unborn. About 56 million. Pray for them--it's terribly cold and snowy. Also pray for abortion providers that they will leave their careers. Also I've seen about 15 seconds on Fox, but I doubt the other media will even give it that much. EWTN usually has great coverage if you can get that cable network. Right now I’m watching the closing mass at the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., scene of the crime.

On this 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade when the Supreme Court invented a law roughly half of Americans now identify themselves as “pro-life,” and strong majorities support commonsense policies to protect women from abortion’s harms. Abortion harms all of us. It has created a culture that disregards the dignity of human life, endangers women, demeans motherhood, and denigrates men’s role as fathers. http://www.scribd.com/doc/201208788/How-to-Speak-Up-for-Life.

“Pro-choice” has certainly become a misnomer.  It is estimated that over 60% of the women and girls who have abortions do so because of pressure from boyfriends, husbands, parents, or peers.

http://www.publiceye.org/ark/reproductive-justice/articles/forced-abortions-america.php

Mythical sons

The President on marijuana, by Dave Perkins

“Dear President Obama--

Are you SURE marijuana doesn't harm you? Obama compares it to alcohol, to point out that the intoxicating chemistry of weed is not any more dangerous than that of alcohol. Fair enough.

But each joint, say researchers, contains the tar and toxins of a whole PACK of cigarettes. And aren't the same lefties trying to legalize weed also trying to push cigarette smokers off a cliff on health grounds?

Only the American left could be against cigarettes and for weed at the same time.

Cultural leadership is trickle-down. What is embedded at the top eventually finds its way into the mainstream.

Even if it's incoherent and cynical.”

From the FB page of Victoria Jackson, a very funny lady.

http://adai.uw.edu/marijuana/factsheets/respiratoryeffects.htm

Multi-millionaire chastises us about income inequality—a Democrat, of course.

This is what I just don't get about Democrats.  And I’m not talking fashion here.  Hypocrisy. Duplicity. Treachery. Deceitfulness.

"Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who is worth millions of dollars according to her congressional financial disclosure statement, says Congress needs to tackle income inequality because it “poses an existential threat to our nation and our way of life.” "

But what is worse, half the population will fall for this income gap nonsense. It’s Obama’s talking points to create class envy, which is supposed to help Democrats who are floundering because of Benghazi, NSA, IRS, and Obamacare. According to one site, she was worth only $5 million when she got Congress, and is now worth over $17 million—in just 5 years. I think that’s more money than the Clintons were able to stash away.

President Obama is campaigning on income inequality hoping you'll forget that "The wealthy took home a greater share of the nation’s income during the years following the recession, under Obama, than between 2002 and 2007, under Bush, according to a 2012 analysis from Emmanuel Saez, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley." (Huffington Post)

What does the Fox say?

http://www.today.com/video/today/53254690#53254690

Over 350,000,000 YouTube hits  and it was all a joke.  That’s how difficult it is to write a hit song at least for Bård Ylvisåker and Vegard Ylvisåker.

Hamilton Co. Ohio Abortion Clinic to close

From Ohio Right to Life, Columbus, Ohio--Today, the Ohio Department of Health affirmed its order to shut down abortionist Martin Haskell's Sharonville clinic, the Lebanon Road Surgery Center, for failure to meet Ohio medical standards. Specifically, Haskell's clinic operated without a transfer agreement with any area hospital and was unable to identify any doctors within the region that wanted assist his abortion business. Haskell's abortion clinic must cease all operations and close it's doors on or before February 4, 2014.

According to Ohio law, Lebanon Road Surgery Center exists as an Ambulatory Surgical Facility and because of this legal status, the clinic is not a full-service medical facility. To operate legally, Lebanon Road Surgery Center must have a transfer agreement with a full-service private hospital to handle all cases of abortion complications against the mother. In the case that an abortion facility is unable to acquire a transfer agreement, it can apply for a variance (exception). Lebanon Road Surgery Center failed to obtain either.

Late-term abortionist, Martin Haskell, who owns Lebanon Road Surgery Center, has performed abortions for more than 30 years. He is notorious for his advocacy of partial-birth abortion and is credited for popularizing the now banned and illegal procedure. With the closing of Haskell's clinic, only one abortion facility remains open inside the county with the third highest rate for abortion deaths in Ohio.

To view the adjudication order click here.

This is good news, but doesn’t explain why he and his wife were allowed to operate illegally. http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/late-term-abortionist-haskell-sues-city-for-denying-request-for-illegal-sign/

http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/woman-rushed-to-hospital-from-haskells-late-term-abortion-clinic-outside-dayton/

http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/late-term-abortionist-martin-haskell-allowed-to-avoid-ohio-law/

http://www.sharonvilleclinic.com/martin-haskell.html