Throwing out the 4th draft of a 25 year old never published paper

 I think I'm in my 5th day of packing and pitching--my professional files (if you think I write a lot now, it's nothing like the 1990s), valentines from 3rd grade, letters to my parents, fiction and poetry I wrote in the 1990s. I can only do about 2 hours a day. Sad and disturbing. It's unbelievable what I've forgotten, but when I re-read those files, I don't want to throw away what I didn't know was stored in musty boxes. I have no recollection of applying for an exchange program to attend a Negro college in the south in 1958, but I told my parents about in a letter home from Manchester College.  And the next month there was a letter to them filled with my plans to attend the University of Illinois to study Russian.   And then. In a folder I found a photocopy of a poem written by Billy Collins (Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003) and published in Harper's Magazine, October, 1994. It's called simply, "Forgetfulness." I checked the internet and found a YouTube of his own performance. The audience was laughing.  I wasn't--it's a very sad poem.  

 https://youtu.be/aj25B8JYumQ   https://poets.org/poem/forgetfulness

The assumption of rising violence against Blacks

Every article I read about BLM--left, right, middle, Christian, secular, black or white--begins with the obligatory statement about violence against Black Americans by whites. Nonsense.

Violence was at an all time high in the early 90s--over 25 years ago--and is half what it was then. And violence has decreased far more in the black community than white. The only systemic violence against Blacks is from the left, in the killing chambers of abortion clinics. Otherwise, Blacks outside the womb are far safer now than 25 years ago.

Then the next error in these articles, posts or memes, and this one usually from the Christians who vote for Democrats, or Christians who don't vote at all or Democrats who don't like Christians is that more government money or programs, in other words, doing more of what we've been doing for 60 years, will somehow work the next time. (Kind of like the socialism thing--we'll get it right the next time.) For some reason, usually lack of information from MSM (CNN, MSNBC, Washington Post, NYT) which they slavishly watch or read, they don't know these programs have been bipartisan, supported by both parties, in fact, some of the most successful like EITC have been from Republicans. By ignoring our bipartisan failures, they get to demonize Republicans and demand everyone vote for Democrats--again.

A third error is white people who rend their garments about systemic racism can't even tell you what they personally are doing wrong even though they say they are part of the system. Or if they can think of something, they won't remedy it without demanding other people change.

The vast majority of violence visited on the black community is committed by black people. Not police. Not the schools. Not the government. And it’s the same for whites, Asians, lesbians, etc. although higher for blacks.  This not "whataboutism." Listen to the Chicago statistics for this past week-end. Where are the marches, riots and looting for these invisible victims?

Clarence Thomas and the racism of the Democrats

"At the time of his confirmation, the public was twice as likely to believe Justice Thomas over Anita Hill (55% to 27%), and 58% favored his confirmation. Today, only 30% of Americans believe that he should have been confirmed, and 38% say he should not have been."
https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/12/23/clarence-thomas-tells-his-story-in-a-new-documentary

I don't have a problem understanding what happened. The media and academe. They try to damage any black who leaves the plantation. They try to convince Americans that blacks who aren't Democrats are unfaithful to the "values" of America. What it really is, is the Democrat style of racism. And in all cultural venues, academe, entertainment, news media, tech giants that control social media--Democrats rule. You can hardly get hired if you don't toe their line.

I was still a Democrat in the 1990s, and I was shocked to hear a colleague at the university say that the only reason Bush nominated Thomas was because he was black! I thought I'd never heard such a racist comment. It took me a few years, but I eventually figured out the subtle racism of the Democrats--my party! I was a slow learner. I eventually left the party because of abortion, but then learned what was under my nose all the time.

Looking back on the Chicago Annenberg Challenge

The Annenberg Foundation funds one of the popular liberal Fact Checkers. But back in the mid-19 90s, it funded a huge program to improve the Chicago Public Schools. "The funding, which had also been provided to cities such as New York and San Francisco, was part of a large-scale local school reform philosophy that intended to improve student achievement and other social and psychological outcomes. In Chicago, the Annenberg Challenge reflected a democratic localism that placed great faith in the ability of local schools, in partnership with parents and their communities, to develop their own strategies to achieve professional development and instructional goals." I was a liberal in the 90s, and if I'd known about it then, I would have been supportive. . . especially the part about "local," and "partnerships."

It was an impressive amount with lofty goals for 200+ elementary schools (Annenberg gave half a billion to be matched by others to 3 city school systems). Barack Obama, a rising young, handsome star on the Chicago public scene, and Bill Ayers, the 1970s terrorist, and meddler in education through the University of Illinois, worked together in the Annenberg Challenge (Ayers wrote the original grant), as it was called. By 2001 a research arm of the University of Chicago did a thorough evaluation at all levels, and pretty much found no improvement in academic scores (compared to those schools which received no funding). It's the same discouraging results that came from Head Start after a 50 year evaluation.

So maybe Obama thought it wasn't enough money and went for higher stakes? And Bill Ayers hasn't changed much either.

https://consortium.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/p62.pdf

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-run-foundation-gave-millions-liberal-groups-including-one-run-bill-ayers

Hillary's missing documents--Benghazi isn't the first

"In 1996, after nearly two years of searches and subpoenas, the White House reported it found copies of missing documents from Hillary Rodham Clinton’s law firm that described her work for the Whitewater-related Madison S&L in the 1980s. The White House previously said it did not have the records [aka lied]. The originals have not turned up.

In 1993, the White House released an official statement incorrectly saying [aka lied] that no suicide note from Clinton White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster had been found after his death. It turns out a note had been found. And more than 24 hours after its discovery, White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum turned a note over to Attorney General Janet Reno.

Also in 1993, according to a Secret Service official, first lady Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff, Maggie Williams, removed records from the office of White House Deputy Counsel Foster the night of his suicide. Other Clinton officials, including White House counsel Nussbaum, later testified that they conducted an improper search [aka illegal] of Foster’s office. At least one file was marked “Whitewater” and another was marked “taxes.”

 Another White House counsel, Bob Barnett, later picked up a box of Foster’s documents. Associate counsel Clifford Sloan’s contemporaneous notes cite the Clintons’ initials: “get Maggie—go through office—get HRC, WJC stuff.” [aka steal] "

https://sharylattkisson.com/state-department-removed-benghazi-files-after-subpoena/

Another chance, you Democrats.  You really want her to be our President?

When the Democrats got something right—tough on crime and drugs

The Democrat party platform for Bill Clinton's second term was tough on crime, drugs and illegal immigrants. You almost can't tell it from Trump's 2016 campaign. And you actually can see the drop in violent crime rates from 1993 through today--so funding more police, stiff prison sentences and stopping crime at the base actually did work. Mandatory sentencing, zero tolerance, etc.  That Democrat policy particularly benefitted black neighborhoods which were the primary victims. But that also put more black criminals in jail (rate is 8x that of white violent crime), which now Democrats are calling racism (without looking at their own party's policies). The Democrats' campaign to stop illegal immigrants with tougher border policing and monitoring employers (it was the law) didn't seem to be as successful as decreasing violent crime and putting drug sellers in jail.

Liberals (of today) blame the tough on crime movement on Republicans, but they in fact, were not strong enough to implement it because with Democrats and President Clinton behind it, Republicans went along.

Not that I care much for Newt, but truth is truth

no matter where you find it.

Two womanizers, two excellent politicians, in the worst sense of the word. And both are Christians!

Twenty years later has anything changed?

In 1990 I attended a pre-conference meeting for a White House Conference on Libraries, and I wrote in my notes (and I was a liberal then):

". . .libraries will be killed off too if they don't put the brakes on seeing themselves as the social change agent for the nation, believing: they can correct what the churches did wrong; they can teach what the schools didn't; they can prevent what the social workers missed; and stop what the government couldn't. . . Librarians will do more good in the long run if they leave Mapplethorp to the cultural arts commissions and instead see to it that a child can check out material on photography to become the best photographer she can be."

Right now because their man is in the White House, maybe librarians have lowered their expectations and will let politicians handle these things?

Marriage and income gap inseparably linked--Joseph Perkins

And that was the headline of the opinion page in the Jan. 26, 2000 Dixon (IL) Telegraph. I had saved the paper because it announced my mother's death on January 24. Today I was cleaning out a sack of old calendars and found it.

I'm not familiar with the work of Joseph Perkins (hated by Democrats for leaving their plantation), a black columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune (at that time). I don't think any person who's seen the research doubts the relationship between wealth and marriage, or crime and a father in the home. Perkins points to a "new study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute which said that "the gap between rich and poor was significantly greater in the late 1990s than during the 1980s." Don't they always say that with a moving clock? At that time our country was in the longest period of economic expansion with the economy generating more than 20 million new jobs and $2 trillion in additional economic output since WWII, but the "rich have gotten richer, while the poor have remained in place."

Perkins says it doesn't have to do with tax policy or Republicans or spending on anti-poverty programs. "The reality is that the single biggest determinant of a family's upward or downward mobility is whether the family is headed by a married couple. . . Only one out of 20 married couple families are poor. He goes on to point out that single parent families have grown during the past three decades (1970s through 1990s).

The problem of the poor is not the availability of jobs, for the economy has generated so many new jobs during the past decade that anyone who can't find a job just doesn't want to work. And the problem isn't taxes because most poor folks don't pay taxes, and many actually receive checks from the government in the form of the earned income-tax credit. No, to close the income distribution gap, the next president will have to have the courage to say that the path to upward mobility for the nation's least-well-off begins at the marriage altar."

And here it is 11 years later, we don't have a 3.5% unemployment rate, and still our leaders think the solutions are rehabing houses, more stimulus money, and jobs programs. But women need to keep their legs closed and men need to keep their pants zipped, and they need to finish school and get married before they start a family.

Perkins apparently left his post in 2005, I found him as a columnist more recently at Examiner.com, but his e-mail bounced.

He hasn't changed much, has he?

In an interview with Jet, Feb. 26, 1990, a pop culture magazine published in Chicago for African Americans, we find that no accomplishment of an African American is good enough, high enough, or satisfactory enough for Mr. O. Not even his own.

Barack Obama, a 28-year-old second-year Law student, was elected in balloting by last year's editors [student law review, Harvard]. Obama, a native of Hawaii, said his election shouldn't be seen as a sign social barriers have been broken down.

"I wouldn't want people to see my election as a symbol that there aren't problems out there with the situation of African-Americans in society," he said. "From experience I know that for every one of me there are a hundred or a thousand Black and minority students who are just as smart and just as talented and never get the opportunity," he added.

By 1999, 58% of Chicago's blacks had some college or a college degree; 54% were home owners; 39% were married; and 43% were white collar workers. (Marketing stats from N'DIGO). I'm sure the 2008 stats are even higher. And I'm just as sure, it's not good enough for Mr. O.

Can you name another nation in the 21st century with a black president or black presidential candidate who could claim statistics like this for his black population?

It's possible you weren't even aware of the black middle class because our race baiting media hide their wealth, accomplishments and achievements. It's also possible you didn't know that 100% of American historically black Protestants believe that God is alive and well, compared to about 63.6% of Mainline Protestants (mostly white). Unfortunately, about 98% of those God-fearing folk are going to go to the polls and vote for a false Messiah.

4330

Political Correctness in 1994

Today I was skimming through a letter I'd written to a high school friend in October 1994. Sounds just like my blog. Except in those days, I was a Democrat. I see the seeds of change.

I've always enjoyed large compilations of information--encyclopedias, handbooks, etc., so when I saw the title The Oxford History of the American West (1994) on the new book shelf at the public library, I checked it out. The cover is a lovely realistic painting of mountains, cowboys, cattle--probably by a WPA artist. But inside. Oh my. Political Correctness reigns. There is not a kind, decent or pleasant word about "our" country, the one we know. It glorifies every ethnic group that ever made it to either shore, and vilifies anyone of European descent. Although the authors are somewhat puzzled about how to write about the Spaniards. After all, someone might realize that Spaniards (Hispanics) were also European. Some sections are so odd, it is almost comical--if this weren't being taught in schools. For instance, the Indians knew how to treat animals, because although they killed them, ate them and skinned them, they respected them. I seriously doubt that made a difference to the animals. This is followed by a section on how the wives and slave women of the Indian men spent their lives tanning and preparing hides (not presented as a negative against Indian culture). Apparently, political correctness doesn't apply if women are abused within the culture of a maligned minority.

That got me wondering about the term, "political correctness." Looking through various articles on the internet for at least 5 minutes, I discovered that it actually began as a Marxist term, but was used tongue in cheek by the left in the 70s and 80s to describe the over zealous. In the early 90s, the conservatives snatched it and turned it on the left to describe their nit picky language ways. Seems fair.

Does anyone remember MaryRose?

There doesn't seem to be a photo of this fashion statement of the 90s, although while looking I have found photos of dresses and jackets made of Tyvek, the home insulation wrap, of all things! Perhaps too old to wear, and not old enough to be trendy. But I loved my two Mary Rose dresses. One was aqua and the other deep fuchsia. They were made of 50% cotton and 50% polyester in a heavy t-shirt knit type fabric, one-size fit all, big shoulder pads, and were incredibly comfortable. Somewhere I have a photo of me in the beautiful aqua colored MR taken one Easter when I was visiting my parents (I have dozens of photo albums, and increasingly can find nothing in any of them). The key to looking fabulous in a MaryRose was the accessories--huge scarves, enormous necklaces, and snarky belts. Ah, the memories. The colors changed according to the season, but the fabric was the same in all of them.

And mine probably won't go into my archive of old clothing (I have kept favorites from the 1950s-mid 1990s). When I was looking for storage space about 2 weeks ago, I pulled out a suitcase and found my two MaryRose dresses. I decided I wash them before I hung them for storage. The aqua dress was wet when I hung it up, and there was printing on the paper cover of the hanger, and it bled through. So I decided to run it through again with just a touch of Clorox in the water. The ink stain faded a bit, so I ran it through again, but forgot about it. About 24 hours later I remembered, and when I pulled it out, I could see that although the stain had lifted, so had some of the aqua. So now I have a ruined dress.

I'm thinking of crocheting it into a rug. I used to watch my mother do that. She'd cut material on the bias about 1" wide, roll it in a ball, and then in the evening while we did our school work or listened to the radio, she'd crochet an oval rug. They were quite pretty and very useful, easy to wash. Everything we wore as children--t-shirts, dresses, socks, blouses, even Mom's nylons--eventually saw a second life as a rag rug.

Cut up a MaryRose? Walk on it? On second thought, I think I'll just put it back in the suitcase.

Friday Family Photo

Our mothers, 1993
This photo was taken the day after our daughter's wedding--the best party of my life. We had all the out of town wedding guests for brunch--the bride and groom were on their honeymoon. This was perhaps the fourth time our mothers were together, and it was the last. They were 76 and 81. My husband's mother (on the left) died in 1998 and Mom died in 2000.

My mother was rather short--maybe 5'1"--medium complexion, just a bit plump, intellectual, bookish (she wanted to be a librarian), shy, sweet, iron-willed with a missionary spirit, who quietly went about making changes in her sphere of influence to make the world a better place. She was a saint, in the best meaning of the word--and most who knew her say the same. My mother-in-law was tall and fair--maybe 5'7", glamorous, outgoing, stylish, funny, spirited, loaded with charm with "Betty Davis eyes." She was a party girl--and there was never a dull moment when she was around--and most who knew her say the same. Both had grown up in the church with devout parents who were Sunday school teachers. June was a city girl and a good athlete when young; Mom grew up on a farm and preferred to curl up with a book. When I first met June (I think she was 42), she lived in shorts--she had long slender legs. I don't think my mom ever owned any. June made a spaghetti dinner that couldn't be beat, and Mom's pies were to die for.

My mother was five years older, and at the time this photo was taken, both women were about the same height, but my mother looked 10 years younger, in my opinion. Mom could still mow the lawn, work in the garden, walk briskly, and run circles around her daughters--that's a real garden tan you see. My mother-in-law in 1993 could barely hobble from the car into the house, and had a little hop like a wounded sparrow from an improperly healed broken leg. Her moments of clarity were infrequent although we still could see flashes of humor and personality.

My mother-in-law was an alcoholic, a heavy smoker and a picky eater; my mother didn't drink or smoke and was always pushing a second helping of her home grown vegetables and watching everyone's weight, including her own. However, I think it was cigarettes that really destroyed my MIL's health. Fair complexioned, thin women have a problem with osteoporosis, but if they are also smokers, the damage to their bones after menopause is just horrifying. Heavy smokers, women and men, have lower bone density and are at higher risk for fracture. She had several fractures, shoulder, arm, leg, after age 50, and the bones of smokers, women or men, do not heal well. She began smoking as a young teen which means she may have started the damage to her bones in their developmental stage. Older smokers' risk of fracturing a hip increases with age and is about a 71% increase over non-smokers by age 80. Thin men and women who smoke really have a problem. I don't think my mom ever had a broken bone or even a sprain. She hardly ever had a cold. Even photos of June in her mid-50s, show her loss of height.

By the time this photo was taken in 1993, my mother-in-law was sober--she had actually forgotten that she ever drank, and her mind recovered considerably. Although her memory wasn't great, it was possible to have a conversation and enjoy her company. I never heard her say she wanted to quit smoking--she loved it. However, she stopped smoking the last two years of her life, probably because it hurt. And by not polluting her small assisted-living apartment with smoke (she was a widow by then), she again had an improvement in alertness. But sadly, alcohol and cigarettes had stolen the last 30-40 years of her health and ravaged her body, and we grieve for that loss for her and us. We miss them both, especially now during the holiday season.

cigarettes
smokers
osteoporosis
Women's Health
ageing

3190 Monday Memories

Did I ever tell you about my sister Carol?

I'm not sure anyone is doing this meme anymore--Debbie has dropped out as hostess, but I write these mainly for my family. This will be brief because I hadn't planned it.

This morning when I came down stairs and was preparing the cat's breakfast, I turned on the radio, something I rarely do at 5:15 because only the paranoids looking for UFOs and plots to poison our food supply seem to be on. I scooted through the dial, and got an oldies station which was playing Frankie Laine singing "That lucky old sun." And I immediately thought about Carol, because I think she had this record.

UP IN THE MORNING OUT ON THE JOB
WORK LIKE THE DEVIL FOR MY PAY
BUT THAT LUCKY OLD SUN HAS NOTHING TO DO
BUT ROLL AROUND HEAVEN ALL DAY

I never did that typical teen stuff like collecting records of favorites and putting photos of movie stars on the bedroom walls, but she did. I think Audie Murphy was her guy--had his photos everywhere. I always attributed that to her health, and spending a lot of time alone, but reflecting back, I guess I was the odd one out. Carol sure did "work like the devil." But also, she really couldn't sit still for long.

Carol died of a diabetic stroke in 1996 complicated by her post-polio problems. Despite poor health since childhood, she had a long career as a nurse and administrator, was adored by her children and grandchildren, and is remembered for her hearty laugh, devotion to her family, famous garage sales, clam chowder and long struggles with her health.

If you're still doing this meme, drop a comment and I'll visit.
1. Chelle Y. 2. Irish Church Lady, 3. Ma, 4. Mustang Mama,

Monday Memories of Heritage Lake, Indiana

The date on this photo is 1992 and it was taken at my sister-in-law's home on Heritage Lake, a 320 acre lake near Coatsville and Danville, IN west of Indianapolis. She's a lot of fun and a great hostess, always has a crowd around her. One night while visiting there we went for a moonlight boat ride--it was warm and balmy, the music was playing, we were all having a great time, sigh.

Well, the lot next to her was for sale--$25,000. We decided in the heat of the moon to make an offer--but weren't terribly serious because we already had a second home on Lake Erie. Truly, I've put more thought into buying a pair of shoes. We made an offer through a sales agent (a niece) of $10,000. We knew they'd already turned down $20,000, although since then the husband had died. We left and continued on to my parents' home in Illinois not giving it another thought. One evening we got a phone call from the realtor that our offer had been accepted! We were practically in shock--we hardly remembered the moonlight and the crazy offer for a lot 4 hours driving time from Columbus.

We kept the lot about a year, visiting it occasionally and looking at the beautiful view of the water, then listed it for $25,000, and it sold almost immediately. I just googled a lake front lot on Heritage (don't seem to be many now), and it was around $114,000.

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Heritage Lake, Indiana
vacation property
impulse buying

Friday Family Photo

Here it is September already. We were married in September 1960, and in our little photo album, there was no photo of us with Rev. Carl Myers, who married us. So we fixed that in 1999 at my sister's wedding in the same church, same pastor (although he was retired from the pulpit). His brother was my high school English teacher. Carl also officiated at my father's funeral and I think he was the soloist at my mother's funeral.

Friday Family Photo

More about cousins

These are photos of my son and his cousin Rich, who are about 8 months difference in age, which when they were children made quite a difference in size, but none at all when they grew up--in fact, I think Rich might be a bit taller. Both were almost white blonde as little guys, and now both are very dark. Rich is on the right in the 1973 photo and the left in the adult photo.

Easter 1973

And in 1999

Friday Family Photo

Even most of my family couldn't tell you how these two photos are related. I'm guessing the b & w is 1940, but I have no idea what the occasion was. The children are my paternal cousins Kirby* and Melvin, Evelyn and Jimmy, my uncles Derril and Gene (my father's brothers), my two sisters, my uncle Ken (dad's brother-in-law) and a family friend who I think was Bud Wilson (I'm sure if Dad were alive he could provide a positive ID). However, my cousin Gayle, who is a maternal cousin, is sitting in the front. So perhaps Mom was babysitting, and maybe she took the picture, because the format size looks like hers--and it was in her box of photos.

But did they all get in that little car? Probably not. I'm thinking it was a family picnic--maybe the annual "Tennessee Reunion"--held at a farm, and the car was just parked along the road.



The second photo shows the children (with spouses) and grandhildren of my two sisters (who are in the b & w photo) almost 60 years later with my Mom in 1999. My niece Karen, who's the family photographer, set it up and then got in the back row.

*More about Kirby and his music career on Monday Memories next week.