3731

Dear Bill O'Reilly,

Your using the Cho clips while discussing whether it was gratuitous, was ridiculous. We are regular watchers of your show, but this is a story you bungled.

Bill's note to me:

"Dear Valued Visitor,

Thank you for contacting the Customer Service Team at BillOReilly.com.

[publicizing his show]

Sorry, but due to the overwhelming volume of emails, we are unable to respond to specific show content questions for The O'Reilly Factor."

I'll bet you are.

3730

What it means to be me. . .

Cynthia Blair Kane in The New Standard (central Ohio's largest circulation Jewish newspaper) writes:

"I have always been a Jew.
I was a little Jew in my mother's womb,
I was a Jew before my parents knew if I was going to be a boy or a girl and
I was a Jew before they picked out a name."

Reminds me of Psalm 139.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was made in the secret place...your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before they came to be." Psalm 139: 13-16

3729

Hoping-for-Defeat Harry

Senate Majority Leader Hogwash Harry Reid (D-Nev) said Thursday the war in Iraq is "lost." Heedless Harry Reid (D-Nev) said he told President Bush on Wednesday he thought the war could not be won through military force, although Haughty Harry (D-Nev) said the U.S. could still pursue political, economic and diplomatic means to surrender in Iraq.

"I believe myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense and - you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows - (know) this war is lost, with my help, and the surge is not accomplishing anything as we've successfully blocked funding, as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday," said Help-the-Enemy Harry Reid, (D-Nev). slightly adjusted for truth from Associated Press story on MyWay News

The Democrats. Constant in criticism, sniveling in surrender, but bold against the unborn.

3728

How to say thank you to your employees by age group

Today's WSJ had an article on the "kudo kids" now entering the labor force. From the time they were infants, they've been told how great they are, receiving a lot of affirmation for not doing very much. A "thank you" guru reports on how to say thank you or "good job" to your employees based on their ages.

Over 60--It's called a paycheck

40-60--A few self-indulgent treats or freebies

Under 40--Require a lot of stroking and constant feedback. They need praise for showing up.

This all started sometime ago. I remember going to a middle school athletic "honors" banquet with my daughter, maybe around 1981-82. Every child got a little trophy. I think hers was for working at the refreshment stand during sporting events. I was a bit deflated (although I knew she wasn't an athlete, I sensed a lot of praise inflation even 25 years ago).

3727

At my other blogs

• How "Hispanic" became a racial category
  
  
• Was I the only Christian disappointed?
  
  
• Children in coffee shops
  
  
• As American as apple pie
  
  
• Lake Erie Living

3726

Ask at your local library

Dear Home Editor,

I am a regular reader--my husband is an architect, I'm a retired librarian. I note that you suggest to your readers that to apply for "a chance to win great prizes," one of which is a $35 acrylic throw, they need to have internet access and an e-mail address. Then you offer the services of their local library where the staff will help them set up a free e-mail account and, presumably, teach them how to get onto your website, find the right page, the correct window, and enter all the appropriate information. Whether a person would actually go to this much trouble to get a "chance to win" a $35.00 throw, I don't know, but I do know it would cost about $100 in staff time to teach someone who knew nothing about the internet how to set up and manipulate an e-mail account.

Also, once this person is up and running on the internet, she must enter your giveaway site by noon Eastern Time. That would be 9 a.m. in California. Are libraries even open that early on the west coast? As you well know, nothing is free, not even giveaways which are part of marketing. Libraries are definitely not free, nor is information. Please be responsible in your own offers and suggest a phone number or snail mail option if people don't have, don't want, can't learn, or physically can't get to the internet. You are a print medium.

I have 10 blogs and 2 e-mail addresses, and use the internet 4-5 hours a day. My husband does not know how to turn on the computer and I don't mow the lawn. It's not for everyone.

Norma Bruce
Faculty Emeritus
Ohio State University Libraries

3725

Doing my part for the environment

You've heard the expression, "Think globally, act locally." Yesterday on my walk I picked up some trash along the way. Now, that does slow me down, but if I don't do it who will?

At one spot I found both the letter and the envelope. I don't know if it was tossed out of a car window, or if it had blown out of the garbage truck because we've had some really windy days with our very cold spring, or perhaps it blew out of a trash recepticle placed for pick up. When I looked at the addressee I thought someone had listed a fake name and address which got into database--it was just too classic. The first name was of a well known painting of a woman with an enigmatic smile; the surname phonetically was "mall walker;" and the house number was 1234. Obviously, I have way too much time on my hands, but I actually googled the person, and yes, the family lives in a nearby neighborhood. Then I found the vita of one of the residents (recent MBA from Ohio State looking for a job), with e-mail and phone number, reviewed his job history, and of course, Google showed me a map of where the family lived, and the letter from ADT told me that they didn't have a security system and that 1 in every 5 homes will experience a problem with security. If I wanted to, I could have pulled up a floor plan of the house from the county auditor site showing me the location of windows and doors, drive-way's relation to feeder streets and main arteries to the free-ways.

Trash is so informative. Don't let anything go in the trash intact that you wouldn't want someone else to find, because there are just too many ways to find you.

Poetry Thursday

"Think of places that most need to see a poem. Think of people who most need to read a poem. Go to those places, to those people and leave your words for them to find." The assignment calls this Guerrilla Poetry. Not my term, but I did pass this one out to a few people and post it on a bulletin board at the coffee shop. Actually, my blog is where I do this. I don't really like the idea of cluttering up public places. It seems a bit pushy.

I wrote this poem while reading about the difficulty of preserving archives, how memory changes over the years, varies from person to person, and is valued depending on who the victors are. The archives themselves can be biased and/or violated, as we learned in the Sandy Berger theft of 9-11 materials from our National Archives, or even by what is selected to be released, printed, digitized and stored within our various levels of government.

Interview with a western journalist
by Norma Bruce

The problem is not
that I know nothing,
but that I know everything.

Now that I've disappeared
into the general population,
it's with the locals I survive.

So when you speak to me of
identity, ethnicity and faction,
who would you have me be?

Unless you've seen your mother raped,
don't talk to me of the evils of
genocide, vengeance or escalation.

Correct your own country's history,
douse your own archives with gasoline,
then we'll talk.

For my past, present and future
I shall burn in Hell,
but at least I'll burn for Croatia.*

*Quote about Croatia from "Archives, documentation and institutions of social memory, essays from the Sawyer Seminar."

3723

Do you work with difficult people?

Fat Doctor has the answer. She "pretends the patient is Jesus. And that he's testing me. Don't wanna make Jesus angry, so I behave myself appropriately."

It's a hilarious story.

3722

What do you think of NBC's behavior

The murderer gets his wish for immortality--NBC complies, and all the other media fall in line and once out, it will never die on the internet. When I bring up my RR homepage, his ugly face and the tape is there.

A foul mouthed Don Imus MSNBC hired to say outrageous things gets fired for doing what he was hired to do. He says "nappy headed hos. A man who murders over 30 people sends NBC taped rants and then uses NBC to tell his story to the world. Same network. I'm trying to think of as many synonyms as possible for the executives of NBC (and Fox, ABC and CBS and cable affiliates) who made the decision to play the Cho images over and over and over. These words describe NBC, the main newsperp, not Cho.

money driven

bottom liners

bottom feeders

profit motivated

power besotted

goof ups

disgusting

bumblers

bunglers

shallow

muddled thinking

screw ups

rotten

fetid

odious

vile

four letter word for bottom discharge

irrational

atrocious

outrageous

scandalous

unrestrained

merciless

undignified

disrespectful to families of victims

unprincipled

brutal

barbarous

repugnant

loathsome

evil

troubled

disturbed

creepy

careless

duplicitous

rotten

3721

Nominate a library web site

I've been ranting at a library blog about how difficult most library websites are to navigate. Since the Mt. Morris Public Library was the first I ever used (when it was still in Old Sandstone) and I worked there in high school (before the present building expanded), I looked at it in my quest for easy-to-use and understand library websites. Although I don't care for the pea green background color of the site, I must say, it is easy to navigate and clear, and has a helpful form for requesting information. Good job, Mt. Morris.

As I recall, this collection which began as a philanthropic effort by the women's club became a public library around 1931. My mother was a teen-age college student in Mt. Morris and was issued card number 14 or something like that and used it until she died in 2000 at 88.

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

Usually I express nothing but frustration with the Ohio State University Libraries web sites, however, I've just looked at the Cartoon Research Library (part of OSUL) and after staring at it for 2 or 3 seconds, figured out how to use it. I loved the special database, especially searching by genre. How cool is that--especially if you are unfamiliar with the names of the artists or even what to call their art.

Just ignore the little band of boxes across the top which send you off into the larger library system (don't go there unarmed without vast knowledge of how to work the system).
-----------------

Bismarck, North Dakota: address (name and state) at bottom; four columns, too many colors, difficult to read and find information; couldn't find a link to staff names or comment/contact window--possibly buried on a hard to find page.
----------------

New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, IN: Very amateurish, too many colors. Main photo appears to be of an office through the glass doors, but it's hard to tell. Purples, green-blues. Blobs of information. Can't find a list of staff or way to comment or request.
-------------------------

Alameda Free Library, California: seems to have a new library. All the money must have gone for the building, leaving none for the website, which is amateurish, with poor color choices (what is it with libraries and sense of color--I've never seen so much purple and pea green!) Can't find any list of staff or way to contact them. Might be there, but not easy to locate.

-----------------------------
Toledo Lucas County, Ohio: although the site is attractive and eager to please, the main features are the lyceum--all programming, not the collection. That's not why I come to a library, and for a web site, it is really disappointing. I wasn't allowed to even look at the database titles without a pin number, so can't tell you much about that. The staff, at least, is not in alphabetical order, although based on their titles, there are no librarians there, only "managers." I did finally find a "suggestion for purchase" form, which my library doesn't have. This library has a very long list of rules, procedures and guidelines, maybe being urban they have to, but the overall impression is sort of oppresive.
---------------------
Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library: The main page is a bit hokey--can't decide between flashing cartoons and dignified photos. I'd not miss it a bit if all library sites dumped the free, flashing cartoony stuff. No address or state name on the main page; no list of staff, only departments. You'd have to hunt a bit to find a way to send an e-mail or request. Very nice history page--more libraries should have one. The long list of rules to get a library card really makes my PL look like the tooth fairy--I suppose they have more of an illegal immigrant problem than we do. There you have to show your ID and proof of address--mine lets you register online, but does want your SS#, which I'm against. But everyone seems to do it, even with the high turn over of staff who have access to it.

3720

Amazing gifts for women soldiers

If you ever need a reason to feel crummy about your craft skills, just go visit a knitter or quilter's blog! Oh my goodness those folks are talented. Somewhere on a shelf in my laundry room I have some yarn and needles, but have never even made it to "purl." Today I wandered into the blog home of Debra Spincic of Texas. Not only is her own work amazing, but she had photos of a quilt show that I assume is a local Texas group. Then scrolling down, I see she is buying quilt tops on e-Bay, having them quilted (finished, I assume), and then they will go to injured women soliders at Walter Reed. See her project here. Here's the quilt show favorites she featured.

I'm so depressed by my total lack of talent, I'm going out for coffee where I'll try to post my poetry for our Poetry Thursday assignment, "Think of places that most need to see a poem. Think of people who most need to read a poem. Go to those places, to those people and leave your words for them to find."

Nominated again!

I got another Thinking Blogger Award from RennyBA, who blogs from Norway. Right now he's enjoying Springtime and a Lifecruiser Cyber cruise. So stop by and say hello. Although he gets a lot more comments than I do. Since I've already nominated a few other thinkers in a previous post, I'm assuming I've fulfilled that requirement.

Politicizing the tragedy

Within minutes of the news of the shootings at VA Tech, the terrible tragedy was being politicized on both the left and the right, by the talking heads, the talk show hosts, the blogs, the politicians. The poor parents hadn't even been notified yet--they were still trying to call their dead children, and we had started a very angry, politically charged "conversation" about gun control, American culture, "we" and "we're all to blame." Rosie O'Donnell and other hot shots have a private security force to protect them, so we know she'll call for gun control for others--that's what left wing entertainers do. But it was equally upsetting to hear the conservative talk hosts railing against the lefties who they believe are trying to bring them down with this issue, and then second guessing the police investigation of the first murders in the dorm. The blame game was unbelieveable. I feel so sorry for the school officials who never ever thought they would be facing a carnage like this. A pox on both houses. As I understand the laws of Virginia, the murderer had done everything legal. I think the college administration and the police who must have faced a scene most would only see in war or horror movies have behaved with honor and dignity. No one would ask a city of 30,000 to secure a shut down after a murder or have cameras in every building, but that's what people are shouting now! Let the parents at least bury their children before you get on the soap box for your favorite cause.

This man, as it now turns out, was criminally insane. You don't pass legislation or make grand judgements about an entire nation because an insane college student has fantasies, is paranoid, or is a psycopath--and consumed with or by evil. What we may need to look at, instead of gun control, is our privacy laws and disability laws which have put many of us in danger both from disease and people who can't control their minds or take their medication.

3717

Do smoking cessation pills and programs work?

I know many former smokers; my son-in-law quit 9 years ago, his father knows the exact day in 1980 that he quit after 37 years of being a smoker. Both my father and my husband's father began smoking as teen-agers; one quit at 39, the other around 50 (his wife didn't quit and died of lung cancer). A good friend of ours quit about 5 years ago in his 60s after heart surgery, but has recently been diagnosed with cancer. I know many people who thought they could not live without a cigarette but miraculously discovered after lung cancer, COPD or triple by-pass, they could indeed live well and not smoke. Of all the former smokers I know, all quit by. . . quiting. They stopped lighting up, usually cold turkey not gradually, and just suffered the short term consequences and discomfort rather than the agony and pain of losing a lung or the disability of having a stroke or heart attack.

So when I read about Medicaid paying for smoking cessation programs I wondered if that's the best use of our tax money. 41 million Americans have their health insurance through Medicaid, and 29% of them are smokers. Medicaid is handled by the states--in Ohio, 37.6% of our state taxes go to fund Medicaid. Thirty-eight of the 50 states offer some sort of coverage for at least one smoking treatment according to MMWR 2006:55:1193-1197. Some are a mix and match between drugs and behavioral modification.

Obviously, it's not healthy for anyone to smoke, but does any one but the pharmaceutical companies and the people who run these programs really benefit?

3716

Global warming, wind, wet ground and change

If it hadn't warmed up in Ohio several thousands of years ago melting our ice cap*, we wouldn't have this old tree to mourn. I don't know how old it is--maybe 75-100. The rain fell, the winds blew and it toppled over. We're grateful for its life and service in making this world a more beautiful place.






*North America ice sheet was 3500 to 4000 m thick over Ontario covered the continent to as far south as St. Louis, 500 m thick over central Ohio. Climate change

Apologies are NOT accepted!

"We regret to inform you that during the weekend of March 31/April 1 there was a criminal intrusion into a university database of current and former employees and that some of your personal data--your name, social security number, employee ID, and date of birth--has been compromised and could be misused. . . Please accept our most sincere apologies"

I first read about this in today's paper, but because it was the OSU Office of Research, I retired in 2000, and because I hadn't been notified of something that happened over two weeks ago, I figured I was safe. I was wrong. I never applied for a grant through the Office of Research, never worked there, had no reason to even think my name was in their data base. I was the co-author of an article in JAVMA in the 90s and that information may have in some way been cycled through the Office of Research by the other author if he obtained a grant. With 14,000 names hacked and thousands and thousands of faculty and staff members at OSU who get money for research, what were the chances one would be mine? I'm baffled.

"We regret that your personal information has been subject to unauthorized access due to this attack." What is it with apologies these days? People don't do anything wrong--only inanimate objects screw up. Stuff happens to stuff? Not even, "our firewall collapsed."

Two weeks after the theft of my identity from my employer's database, I'm offered a 12 month credit protection plan--but of course, I have to put my identifying information on-line. Goody goody.

3714

Teach the Swarm Technique

"Youngsters in a suburban Fort Worth school district are being taught not to sit there like good boys and girls with their hands folded if a gunman invades the classroom, but to rush him and hit him with everything they have: books, pencils, legs and arms.

"Getting under desks and praying for rescue from professionals is not a recipe for success," said Robin Browne, a major in the British Army reserve force and an instructor for Response Options, the company providing the training to the Burleson schools."

Story here from Oct. 2006.

Then the program was cancelled in a few months because parents didn't like it.

3713

A very sad interview

A young man from a counseling center--Christian or new age or secular, couldn't tell--was interviewed in Blacksburg today by Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts about how to counsel the parents and children in the aftermath of yesterday's shooting. Of course, he had no answers--who would? But he could have offered something positive and hopeful. He was either muzzled, tongue tied, or didn't know the Biblical truth that there is evil and sin in this world and that God has a plan. He stumbled around in some theological quicksand about "free will," but that was about as far as he got, and Robin even had to throw him a few prompts. Some students, however, knew the source of comfort.

3712

The aftermath thoughts

So many news reporters are filling air space about the VA Tech tragedy with phrases like "make sense of" or "moving on," or "what went wrong." The rush to judgement lesson of the Duke case has had no affect on these talking heads. They question why the police and administrators or even the victims didn't do this or that. Or whether recent handgun legislation worsed the situation. Or why the technology of jammed cell phones failed. The families of these children will never makes sense of or move on. Two of my sons died over 40 years ago and there's a part of our life that will forever be stuck in a time warp because even their not being here is a reminder that they aren't here. Like that Edna St. Vincent Millay poem.

There are a hundred places where I fear
To go, -- so with his memory they brim!
And entering with relief some quiet place
Where never fell his foot or shone his face
I say, "There is no memory of him here!"
And so stand stricken, so remembering him!
But I want to address the deaths of some other young people. Ben Stein commented in Terror in our Midst (and I haven't checked his statistics) that since 9-11 when 3,000 people died in a terrorist attack, 40,000 deaths have occurred due to gang killings--many innocent bystanders, but most are black and hispanic young men killing their own kind. These young people had families and friends too. Same age group--very different past and future.

The Imus double standard comes to mind. If the media reports what these young people are doing, they will be called racist for reporting negative things about minorities and immigrants. But aren't they racist and irresponsible if they don't? Doesn't that leave them with nothing to earn their living except Anna Nicole Smith and anti-Administration diatribes? Talk about the failure of law enforcement or security. Don't those neighborhoods deserve some safety too? Is it too hard for Chris Matthews or Diane Sawyer to go on location? Or how about Terry Moran who is such a class warfare expert. Give them combat pay and put the MSM on the front lines.

3711

To the talking heads that bring us the news

Before the families had even been notified yesterday of the terrible tragedy that happened at Virginia Tech, the bloggers and talking heads were in full swing, chastising the police for not "locking down" the campus. Here's my advice to them:

"Think of the campus as a city of 26,000. Would you suggest that police "lock down" a city, town or suburb every time there is a homicide, or domestic violence, putting their people out to do that rather than catching the guy? Would you have them checking every classroom and dorm room and off campus apartment and coffee shop while he has possibly fled the county and state? Talking heads need more than tongues. I hope you'll watch the entire interview with the police that appeared on Cable instead of snippets and rehashes."

3710

Thirty seven years later

I don't actually know the exact date of the current "woman's movement." I date it from 1970--because that's when I became aware of it and moved away from the civil rights activities in which I'd been involved into women's rights. Women have done a lot of good in the almost 40 years since then, but also a lot of harm, particularly to marriage and children. They've swamped certain professions like Protestant clergy, veterinary medicine, law, pharmacy and medicine tipping the balance to a majority of females, lowering standards and salaries. We have so many regulations on the books to protect women, you'd think we were either an endangered species or queens. Our society isn't really kinder and gentler and less mean, or more cooperative and egalitarian, is it? To look at our popular culture, women and girls are more sexualized and objectified than 30-40 years ago, less safe, and children are less likely to have a father in the home, not more. Single women are much more at a disadvantage financially than they were when I was a young woman, because now they need a household income that goes up against a two income household. Single motherhood no longer means just divorced or widowed, as it did 30 years ago, it could mean she decided the clock was ticking and it was time she borrowed a sperm donor.

I remember back when they made a big deal about women truck drivers and construction workers. And women on road crews. You still only see women as "flag persons," and I can't remember the last time I saw a woman in a delivery truck. They were rather common in the 70s when women decided it might be fun, then learned they didn't have enough upper body strength. And everytime I see a woman standing in the sun in her cutsy shorts and t-shirt with the SLOW sign, while the guys dressed for real work are driving the heavy equipment, I think, "Yes, lady, you really are slow if this is what you've aspired to."

But a picture is worth a thousand words--two pictures maybe 1,500. Here's the latest issue of Columbus CEO. Is there any phrase that makes a better case for how all these regs and rules have held women back than, "Women rule"? Would there ever be a cover phrase like that for men that wouldn't bring down the wrath of the thought police? Talk about different treatment of the sexes!!!


The second example is from the stock report I received today. I've fudged the faces a bit, but you can see there is one black male, and one white female on this board of directors. Sometimes there is a two-fer, and the female is black.


But I've been looking at these reports for 7 years, and it's always the same. That's why I modified the faces--who they are doesn't matter, nor what the company is. The Board of Directors and the officers of the company change little. I don't blame men for this, or even the business culture.

I wish we could go back and have a do-over. See if in 2007 without all the government bureaucratic red tape that has snarled the law books for 40 years, the enforced brain mush courses and the left socialist drivel that the colleges teach women instead of real courses, just where women would be. I'm guessing we'd have 3 or 4 women on this board. I've met a lot of women in their 70s and 80s who had careers before the women's movement and the numbers were rising. Colleges and businesses were swamped by less capable women kicking down the doors.

I don't think women want these jobs. They're tough, take 80 hours a week, lots of travel, bored meetings and creating networks. Maybe even golf! To be an executive or a board member, it helps if you have a wife to take care of things at home, and most husbands don't want to be her.

3709

Monday Memories--the last prom dress

This week there's a lot of talk about proms--how expensive they are, the cleavage, the skimpy dresses, the school rules, and the music. I've been listening to the moms call in to Laura Ingraham's show who's talking about the influence of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan on the clothing fads of middle school and high school girls. I went to my high school prom 4 years, and folks, you've just got to realize that strapless gowns were very popular in 1954. By 1957, I think they were less so, but I'm not sure why. I had a mother who sewed. I never had a strapless prom dress or strapless anything, nor did my sisters, but they were very popular in the 50s. There were girls wearing summer shorts and tops in the 50s that really you couldn't tell from underwear. Peasant blouses with elasticized scooped necks were pulled down over the shoulder to mid-arm. Halter tops were very popular. Short shorts were much shorter than anything I've seen in public in recent years; sheer nylon dresses that revealed every piece of lace in your slip were all the rage. Swim suits were more modest in the 50's and day time dresses had a lot more fabric, but it was not a modest era except in the minds of today's grandmothers.

Senior prom, May 1957, sheer flocked nylon with crinolines, forest green linen top, with matching, pleated cummerbund, made by my mother, who didn't use a pattern. No one I dated knew how to dance, so although I went to 4 proms, it was mainly to shuffle around and talk to the other kids. No one went out for dinner--the school had a banquet attended by all students in junior and senior classes
The 60s fashions were far worse of course, because dresses got short, really short, barely over the buttocks short, couldn't sit down short. The 70s saw a trend to ethnic and folk dress with more coverage, fringe, bandanas, flared slacks and more color. The 80s were big hair, and big shoulders, baggy bulky knit sweaters and tights. So if today's teachers and mommies are objecting to the prom dresses, ask them about theirs!

3708

Prom wasn't this tough when I was in school

This is a photo of a permission slip for . . . well, read it here. I didn't know things were this bad in schools. Are the children totally out of control or do administrators just not have enough to do? Maybe the folks who want to reinstate Bible reading and Creationism are right. Story at Travelin' Librarian.

Don't blame Obama for Nappy Roots

Sure, they appeared together at a Democratic fund raiser, and Obama took no offense then at their lyrics or their name then. They are quite successful and have had this name for over a decade. It's just considered a bit edgy--or was back in the 90s. Now it's just old news. It's sort of like gays using the word queers or women using the word chicks or babes. Or it was old news until the Imus double standard. This is different. . .

"He [Imus] didn't just cross the line," Mr. Obama said in an interview with ABC News. "He fed into some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal with today in America." [NYT via Taranto in OpinionJournal.]

In the first case, he was just another Democrat raising funds trying to appeal to the with-it and young. In the second, he's an African American running catch-up in the me-too race with Jesse who was chasing Al.

3706 The Justice Department and Sandy Bergler

The AG should have the right to fire anyone he hired into a political appointment. I'm not the least bit worried about "politics" in a political appointee position. And I don't give a tooten e-mail about their system (except that pols aren't catching on to the problem that e-mails and IMs don't just go away whether you're setting up a date or a sting). I am very concerned that the Justice department covered for the Clinton administration official in not breathing a word about the Sandy Berger burglarly and crimes at the National Archives in front of the 911 commission. That whole investigation was done not knowing he was a criminal. Who knows what was compromised or why Gonzalez let this happen. He was supposed to take a lie detector test, but Justice hasn't followed up on that either. I'm also concerned that certain National Archives employees attempted to "catch him" on their own, without reporting him, and possibly bungled the burglary. They should be fired. They way overstepped their responsibility by trying to second guess his motives and behavior and should have called their supervisor or security.

3705

Double your coupons and your calories

Shopping at a major super market is like a scavenger hunt--can I buy real food, just food? Can I buy without playing with my food?

There's a full page Giant Eagle ad for loss leaders today that combines the words FREE and FOR (that's not new--but many don't see the subliminal message). Thirty years ago when I wrote an anti-coupon newsletter I wrote that it is difficult to convince American shoppers that stores don't stay in business to give away their products, but it has only gotten worse. Boneless chicken and 1 lb of strawberries are both "buy one get one free" (with a loyalty card which means the base price is much higher than a non-participating store and the frequent shopper knows how to play the game with multiple cards). These are not processed foods and are sort of teasers to get you in the store--makes you feel good--buying something real and wholesome. The other "buy one get one free" is for 13 oz. of Lay's potato chips. This means that for $3.48 you get 26 oz of chips. Then you can buy four 12 oz twelve packs of some Coke products for $12.00, and three 56 oz cartons of Breyers ice cream for $10.00. Remember back maybe 3 years ago when the standard package for pop was a six pack? You can't find them anymore.

No one's going to buy just those loss leaders, but let's just play along. So you grill the chicken, put out the chips, pour the pop into giant glasses and triple scoop some ice cream on the strawberries. Maybe a 5,000 calorie meal. And we're blaming McDonald's and Wendy's for obesity? You can almost peg the weight gain in the world to the introduction of corn fructose in soft drinks instead of sugar. Now we're going to put it in our cars to make Al Gore happy (I won't comment on his weight gain because that makes liberals unhappy).

Even moderately processed and packaged food is swamped by the aisles of highly processed, overpackaged, high fat (or reduced fat--just add water), or fructose added or salt added foods. I like to shop at Meijer's because it doesn't require a loyalty card (add 10-20% to your food bill to play those games and contests). It also has a very large, well stocked produce section with a nice variety of leafy green and root crops, probably because of the high number of Hispanic, Asian and Muslim residents living in that area. First generation immigrants are almost always thinner than their children because of their traditional cooking habits. Now that a natural food store has gone in near by, it has also improved its natural and organic sections.

After I bag the apples, bananas, fresh pineapple, strawberries and the greens (sometimes cut and in bags), tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, peppers, onions, etc., I move on to fresh meat and dairy, and then swing back through for the semi-processed. With only two people in our household, frozen vegetables are a better deal than fresh because I don't have to worry about them going bad before I can get to them. But even finding a simple bag (not an icy chunk in a box) of frozen vegetables or berries out of season is a challenge. I have to find the sections, hidden away, swamped by the ones with sauces and gimmicks, sweepstakes and coupon offers.

Our abundance and craving for choices, the latest flavor or gimmick is killing us. Don't play the victim and whine. Slow down, go on a hunt for real food. Although the walk through the aisles of high calorie, over processed food will add steps to your exercise routine.

When I'm 64

John Lennon and Paul McCartney's love song When I'm 64 was sung last night at a birthday dinner for Carol, who is now 64. When people in their 20s write or sing about age, they probably don't expect to ever actually be there because it is so far off (some having a better grasp of this than others, obviously). Sharon and Eric hosted the party and we played Apples to Apples after dinner which was lots of fun, especially for me and the birthday girl who really don't enjoy games much. Certain readers of this blog wouldn't like the game because the players use words and make comparisons, but we all had a lot of laughs.

3703

The broken string

I read a very moving story about Itzhak Perlman at someone's blog today--it's apparently been making the rounds in e-mail since 2001, she received it and put it on her blog. But it is an Urban legend. However, she found it so comforting, I didn't leave a comment. There's another one going around e-mail about how George Bush's modest Texas White House is so much more energy efficient and well designed to complement the environment than Al Gore's mansion. I checked that out too, and it is true. I can't remember if I blogged about that--don't think so. I have some liberal readers who become a bit upset if GWB does something right, so I try to respect their tender feelings.

I've been waiting all afternoon for the cold rain to stop. I think it is about 38 degrees. I wanted to walk outside because I'm in a 50 Days of Easter walking group. We keep track of our minutes and miles and encourage each other. But this is better than the snow that was predicted. Flowers and fruit trees in central Ohio are certainly longing for a bit of global warming.

3702

The VPL--flaunt it

The other day I wrote that Katie Couric had pretty much taken the pleasure out of watching TV, but I'll admit to turning it on if I want to take a nap. I clicked through a pre-Don Imus comedy show because of the bad language and racism (ca. 1999 I think), past the food channel where the hostess was GRILLING her waffles in butter and cheese, and was then treated to a bevy of gay fashionistas and some skinny-babe magazine editors who collectively could have fit into a size 00 reacting in mock real horror to the VPL. Truly, you would have thought they were discussing the shortage of bird flu vaccine, the war in Darfur or the fact that carbon footprints are a complete hoax. Their little faces all screwed up, pinched and pale. What some people do to earn a living!

The mid-20th century brief was a huge improvement over the early 19th century drawers for women. Fashionistas and clothing designers have returned us to that era 200 years ago of torture and strings with no coverage.

Eeeeeek! A VPL!
Before I decided to write about VPL, I googled it to be sure it was something less frightening than an attack by Islamofacists. There were about 73 acronym matches. Vancouver Public Library; Veterinary Products Laboratory; Visual Programming Language; and so forth. Butt we all know, that's not the VPL they were so afraid of.

Hello! The country is getting older. There is now a cable channel for retirement age viewers. Can a resurgence of Granny Pants be far behind? Ladies! Let's make a case for comfort and flexibility. Flaunt your VPL. Compliment your friends on their VPLs. Put those VPL photos in the family scrap book. Teach your daughters they don't have to be a slave to a string stitched to a postage stamp. Don't let the fashion dictators decide where your elastic will go. Stick it to 'em!

3701

The FTO gene

"A nondescript gene that no scientist has studied before determines why some people gain more weight than others. A new study of nearly 40,000 Europeans found that people with mutations in both of their copies of the gene known as FTO are 70 percent more likely to be obese than those with regular copies of the gene. Researchers says that identifying a genetic basis for obesity could lead to novel treatments for the increasingly prevalent condition blamed for life-threatening heart disease and type 2 diabetes, among other disorders. . . Obesity is on the rise worldwide, correlated with gains in affluence. According to a recent study in JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association, nearly 100 million men, women and children in the U.S. alone are considered obese." Reported in Scientific American.

It is called FTO, not for fat-to-obese, but because it was originally studied in a mouse that had a fused toe.

Nowhere does it say this gene makes people fat, only that if you have this gene, you may need to be more careful about your calorie intake because you'll take on weight more easily than others. I don't think I have this gene--but I have gained 100 pounds since I graduated from high school 50 years ago. Usually I gain about 20 pounds over a period of years and then work hard to lose it, and it slowly comes back. I don't remember exactly all the details, just the big efforts--1960 I lost 20 lbs by turning down desserts and second helpings; 1982-83 I lost 20 lbs in an aerobics class; 1993 I lost maybe 15 through intensive walking and cutting calories; 2006-2007 I lost 20 lbs by reducing calories.

Diets are not difficult; keeping weight off is just awfully hard. We are constantly faced with groaning tables and restaurants on every corner. None of our ancestors had that problem--affluence, abundance and desk jobs. When I jumped about 15 pounds in two years between 2002 and 2004, I could see exactly where the scale was going, so I've "lost" it yet again. However, I know it isn't truly lost, that it is hiding behind every bag of potato chips and box of take-out pizza. And I can't blame grandma. It's just me.

Also, the research says don't wait for a pill, that ELMM is the only real solution if you have this gene--Eat Less, Move More.

3700

How God uses the Internet

Here's a neat story about how God uses the internet to meet the needs of his children. I got an e-mail today at my medscape.com account which I use on this blog from a Chaplain in Australia. A 97 year old woman in the nursing home where he serves sang in a weak voice a line of a table grace for him and asked him if they could sing it at lunch some day. He'd never heard it before but checked the internet. He got 3 matches for the first line, one was mine, and I had the entire grace.

I was really baffled and had no memory of ever writing about this grace which we used when my children were small. I knew it was from an InterVarsity hymnbook, so I spent about 15 minutes tracking the book down. I thought the cover was black, so that threw me off a bit (it is light beige). Anyway, I found it in Hymns II (1976), a paperback hymnbook, and sent him the information. I gave him the author, tune name, number of sharps and time, and hope he can find it. If not, I'll try to copy and fax it to him, hoping that this is the hymn she remembers. Often the elderly can recite liturgy or sing a hymn even when they say nothing else for days or weeks.

I couldn't find it on my own blog using the search window, but finally tracked it down in a Thursday Thirteen I'd written in February 2006 about my Prayer Job Jar. I had mentioned rote prayers like table graces and listed that one. The search didn't work because of the slash at the end of the phrase (my theory). I like this grace because it includes the gospel and our response to it, and is easy for children to learn. Although I think we used "you" instead of "thee."

We thank Thee, Lord,
for Jesus Christ,
And for the blood He shed;
We thank thee for
His risen life,
And for our daily bread.

3699

The unintended consequences of protecting women

Don Imus and Mike Nifong aren't the only guys with funny names apologizing in stories about women. Now Paul Wolfowitz is doing it for having a girlfriend at the World Bank. And she's Arab. Frankly, what DA Nifong did makes all the others pale by comparison, and is a horrible abuse of power, but since the MSM helped create that lynch mentality (Ladies of the View included), it is being soft pedaled and Imus is getting the play by play. He's expendable.

"Paul Wolfowitz's position as president of the World Bank appears shaky, as the bank's Board of Directors met overnight to discuss what to do about a favoritism scandal he is involved in. . . The World Bank's board released a statement early Friday detailing its review involving Wolfowitz's girlfriend, Shaha Riza. She was given a job at the U.S. State Department when Wolfowitz took charge of the bank in 2005. World Bank rules ban romantic involvement between workers and supervisors." Story here.

As I understand it, you can't supervise a "friend," and if you help her get a job somewhere else on the advice of your ethics committee, you are then violating another rule. Should he have just put her out on the street, or should he keep her as a paid mistress off the payroll of the bank?

This happens all the time in academe, but because salaries aren't the greatest and they don't have much power (and no ties to the present administration), no one objects. Presidents and deans are recruited. But a deal has to be struck to bring along the wife, the girl friend, boy friend or significant other. I remember one time getting a science librarian with no science background but who had a husband recruited for another department in the university. If the wife didn't get the job, he didn't come. If there is no position open at the university that fits her/his qualifications a position miraculously opens up on the art faculty. When he finds a better position at Yale or Brown or in industry marketing pet food, there will be only one position open when he/she leaves.

Bankers and former Bush appointees (there wouldn't have been a problem if he'd been a Democrat from Clinton's reign) need to learn that "me two" excuse that deans and college presidents use.

3698

Why librarians won't protect your children.

It's your responsibility. It's that simple. Movies, internet, e-books, music or books. Our UAPL head librarian says so. Our local news channel had an interesting interview last night with a reasonable, educated Upper Arlington parent who discovered her child was checking out X (or maybe it was R) movies from the public library when the overdue notice came. She requested a block on her child's library card so that he couldn't check out this material, but was told it isn't the library's responsibility (interview with a very stone faced, reasonable, educated library director). Apparently, parents need to go to the library with all children under the age of 18 to protect them from porn on the computer screens and disgusting movies. Because kids will be kids. In my day we had the National Geographic Magazine.

The other extreme is the parents who use the library as a drop off day care center. I've been at the terminals when they come in from the nearby school. For some reason, library staff put up with this role for the really careless parents, but won't cooperate with the really caring parents. I've read articles in professional journals about what a service this is.

I was a librarian. I have a master's degree plus. And 23 years of working the desk, budget, committees, publications circuit, continuing education requirements and stacks duty. True, I've never been employed by a public library--I'm just a client, a tax payer and a critic. This much I know. Librarians are very smart people--some aren't the most charming folk you'll ever meet--but they have a lot of education and high IQs. Can find information for you on all kinds of things and amazing excuses not to buy what you suggest if it doesn't line up with their political and religious views.

There must be a way for librarians to figure out they are responsible to and paid by their community--especially when when the main building sits in the city park next to the largest elementary school. At least get a clue in time for the next bond issue.

UAPL has recently created a $47,000 a year public relations position to work on its image. There's a cheaper way to do this: be responsive to the concerns of the community.

3697

This month's word

Worthington is a city north of Columbus. We're not supposed to call it a suburb because I think it was there first. Columbus just sort of oozed out to meet its southern boundaries. On my way through Worthinton on Rt. 161 the other day I noticed a small sign in its city park: "Character trait of the month: Commitment."

I've spent more time than I should on this month's word, let me tell you. Do you suppose people will be more committed to their spouse, children, church, job, parents, values, party, country or book club schedule because of a sign in a park? I've been married 47 years. That's commitment. I attend church even when I don't feel like it. That's commitment. I had three months of sick leave accumulated (although I didn't get to keep it) when I retired. That's commitment. I blog every day. That's commitment. I don't believe Al Gore, but I've done my part to cherish the earth because the Bible tells me so. That's commitment. Never in my life would I adopt a value because I saw a sign in a city park. I wouldn't even apply for a grant to do this warm fuzzy. That's commitment.

3696

Them bones, them dry bones

If Tyrannosaurus Rex is 66 million years old and related to the chicken, then it's easier to understand what happened to the British Navy. (story in USA Today).

3695

Our infectious lifestyle

Peter Huber wrote an essay for the Wall Street Journal called "The coming plague." I think it is from a work not yet published. The principles of privacy and personal autonomy combined with the resurgence of germs was a very interesting and . . .almost poetic motif. Here's my poem based on his essay. Please note: he didn't say anything about libraries--I took that from concerns I've read in the library literature and my own use of library terminals.


Ode to our infectious lifestyle
of freedom and privacy

I’m nimble on needles
enjoying the bathhouse
prisons and lockers,
on board for the fast louse.

I choose from the choicest
of pustule and sputum
then scan the horizon for
addict and meth bum.

I'll resist your meds while
with staph I’m cavorting,
on TB and syphilis
I’m munching and spawning.

I’ll take guts, skin or marrow
Although I prefer brain--
lungs and liver will do
while you look for my strain.

Faster than lawyers
Smarter than scientists,
I’m brighter than interns,
ahead of hospitalists.

At your library keyboard
I arrive safe and hardy
on the street person who
just wants me to party.

Update: Here's Huber's article on germs that appeared in Spring 2007 City Journal. He has incredible phrases--if you love words, or hate germs, be sure to catch this one. "It was the demise of a germ-hating culture that had helped clear the way for new epidemics of venereal disease". . . "A legal system that affirms the individual’s right to do almost everything at the germ-catching end now struggles to decide when, if ever, we can force the Typhoid Marys of our day to stop pitching what they catch." . . . "In the pantheon of disease and death, lifestyle and genes have completely eclipsed germs." . . . "nature designed an “immunodeficiency” virus—an all-purpose anti-vaccine, so tiny, quiet, slow, methodical, and gentle that it spread unnoticed for decades, and so innocuous that it never quite gets around to killing you at all. It leaves that to the old guard—the bacteria, protozoa, and viruses that invade when your immune system shuts down,. . ."

The title tells all

I just noticed this, and the title certainly reflects my views--Crazies to the left; Wimps to the right.

Poetry Thursday

Today I am poemless, rhymless, and without meter. I'm seeing nothing in syllables, no images in words, no sound in the rain and wind--except rain and wind. No canto or calligramme. I've locked my muse in the hall closet and she can't get out even by being coy. Not even by slipping Shakespeare or Shelley under the door.

The prompt for this week is, "we want Poetry Thursday participants to be inspired be one another’s work. The idea is that you leave a line from one of your poems in the comments, knowing that other participants might use that line as a jumping-off point for a new poem of their own." This is not that. I participated the last time. For today, I've looked through a thoroughly disappointing February issue of Poetry, a journal I usually devour. None of the poems made much sense--well, Billy Collins' was OK, but you'd expect that from a poet that famous. Therefore, I'm submitting the first line of each poem--thinking this accumulation makes about as much sense as anything else in that issue.

February rolls out its first lines
lifted, fitted, mixed and matched by Norma

If Parmigianino had done it. . .
Having failed for a third time to witness
Starlings’ racket; the straining redbud,
a red-feathered bird on a fence post
cooked by crooked
flames from the burn barrel
in the lost city of gold that was Oroville
I see you in your backyard’s lavender.

If they’re right, the whizkid physicist-theorist think tank guys,
She could be any woman at all.
In this sentimental painting of rustic life
A guitar has moved in across the street
Of course nostalgia Of course brooding
The world is wasted on you. Show us one clear time
You can tell by how he lists
That greasy letter into which my legs entered.

3692

Peace Democrats

We've been chasing around this Bush before, haven't we? In a review of Jennifer Weber's Copperheads, the rise and fall of Lincoln's opponents in the north, American Thinker finds some similarities and differences to today's Democrats.

"There is a long history of comfort provided to the enemy by the "peace" advocates in their very public undermining of the war effort. Copperheads consistently worked against what they saw as Lincoln's war. "Confederate confidence soared while Northern partisans bickered." (p. 45), Ms. Weber tells us. Robert E. Lee regarded the Copperheads as allies. He told Jefferson Davis that the best way to weaken the enemy is to give all support "to the rising peace party of the North." (p. 99). One can easily imagine similar encouragement today that is given to the Islamists by our Neo-Copperheads by calls for deadlines, the "peace" rallies, the constantly negative press, and the fatuous recommendations of the Iraq Study Group.

Because history does not repeat itself in the way that Santayana suggests, there are interesting differences as well. For instance no where does this book mention any Copperheads who tried explicitly to redefine "patriotism" as citizens undermining their own elected government's foreign policy. None in the North seemed to have had the nerve to call advocacy of Southern victory "patriotism." It would take the twentieth century triumph of the Orwellian manipulation of language, and the victory of postmodernists in today's trendy colleges and universities to bring about this sort of degradation of language and meaning."

3690

Terrorism, war, pestilence and immorality

OK. That's out of the way. How about global warming? When BP starts running full page ads in the Wall Street Journal about energy by the bushel, it's time to stockpile some food. We have perfectly wonderful stores of decayed vegetation called petroleum, coal and shale which will do fine while entrepreneurs are encouraged and given a chance to wean us off the gas tank and fuel oil. But no, through the hysteria of ALarmist Gore, a political has-been looking for another run at the White House, in combination with global energy companies who see a cheaper way to stick it to us, we're going to plant oceans of corn and burn that. Maybe this is a good case for evolution--we're on our way to the amazing shrinking human brain with the help of liberals, greenies, fanatics and global capitalists.

Did the media front the Don Imus story?

Did you see any of the major papers today? The Imus "nappy headed Ho" story is getting more ink than the finding that the Duke University lacrosse players' rape story was a complete hoax from start to finish. That works well for the MSM because they bought right into the outrageous railroading of those kids. Even good old (and I do mean old) Lionel Tiger got into the fray in WSJ today, scolding Imus, pointing out how this is street language regularly applied to black women by black men, but then excusing them because (shock and horror), during slavery times, black men weren't allowed to protect and marry their women. Well, what about the late 19th century and early 20th century Professor Tiger? Black men had no problem doing the right thing then, and black women were probably even stronger then. That is such an old, limp, tired academic excuse. Plus, white guys are following right along, shacking up, dissing women, and buying the music that makes rappers worth only 50 cents rich. What's their excuse?

Don Imus can't steal anyone's joy, not for a minute or a lifetime, and those young ladies better get a bit tougher. Their coach did them a terrible disservice--she could have been strong, but she was a sucker for the media. She could have been bigger than Imus. ("Don Who? Don Ho?") But an out of control prosecuter can certainly steal the life and reputation of anyone falsely accused with the help of bench warmers like the Duke faculty, and "leaders" like Jesse Jackson who offered the accuser a college scholarship. I hope the Duke trustees and alumni shake up those faculty cowards and administrators, and parents boycott the school so that no decent young adult enrolls there.

A new conspiracy machine is at work, of course. 1) Seems Imus has been extremely unkind to Hillary Clinton (particularly in his ridiculing of her body and plumbing, as well as her politics), so the Clinton machine is said to be at work bringing him down. He's small potatoes compared to some of the pols who appeared on his show--now they've been given notice. This can happen to you.

Another conspiracy theory: 2) this is really the back door for liberals to get conservative talk radio closed down. Not that Imus was conservative, by any stretch of the imagination, but we'll be hearing chatter that it needs to be regulated (even though he's been a shock jock for years). Silence the right, even if you've got to kill off one of your own. I've never heard Rush Limbaugh make a racist slur, unless he was repeating one made by the MSM and commenting on it, or ridiculing Kennedy for messing up Obama's name, but a liberal was whining that he leads the way in this degrading language. He'd better be prepared to listen to some tapes.

My vote goes for #2. How about you?

Update: Another conspiracy theory: 3) This Don Imus thing is all about Al Sharpton grabbing the spotlight from Jesse Jackson and trying to be the big negotiator and go-to guy for getting more blacks on TV (will he want them to have proportional representation on athletic teams or continue to dominate the boards and fields because they are better than the other players?). Hip Hop and Rap. Should blacks be proportional in popular culture? Tell us, Big Al, what exactly do you want?

3689

Katie Couric

The other day I realized I'd almost completely stopped watching TV. I used to catch Book-TV on week-ends, Fox News occasionally in the evenings, HGTV once in awhile. Boston Legal if I was up late. Maybe 10 minutes of Dancing with the Stars. WOSU Antiques Roadshow.

Gone. The thrill is gone. I think it is Katie. I really do. Tonight I walked into the living room as she was interviewing the parents of one of the young men from Duke who've just been through the worst nightmare a parent could imagine. I almost gagged. I whined. Complained. She and the other talking heads contributed to this mess. Stalked out of the room. Then it hit me. She's the reason. Katie has permanently turned me against TV.

She always looks like she's sincerely speaking at a wake; she asks asinine questions; her voice is like fingernails on a blackboard; her wardrobe looks like they dressed her from my own closet. Please. Send her home.

3688

I felt the same way about the Master's

""Who are all these people?"

"All very bad Jews," he told me.

It was, afterall, the first night of Passover. But for about 300 of New York's fanciest (plus a few book types), yesterday evening was also time to gather. . ." rest of the story here.

As the men in my family gathered around the TV on Easter Sunday to watch the Master's, I said, "Why are they playing on Easter?" My husband said something about the dates are set way ahead, to which I replied, "So are the dates for Easter."

3687

Let me spell it out for you

When the year end annual reports drop through the slot I'm always a bit surprised to find out what we own. I love those AFLAC commercials but didn't really know what it is, so was surprised to learn I own it (well, me and a lot of others). Now known by its acronym (and the duck), it used to be American Family Life Assurance Company. It's an insurance company to help workers meet their bills in times of crisis started by the Amos brothers, and I see there is an Amos who is Chairman and CEO.


Anyway, the report explains that the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor to encourage companies to provide prospective information, but it has to have meaningful cautionary statements so that investors don't misunderstand that these are projections. So, the report lists the words to watch for in "forward looking statements." I think you'll find this helpful, in case you need to write something forward looking with no guarantees.

• expect
  
• anticipate
  
• believe
  
• goal
  
• objective
  
• may
  
• should
  
• estimate
  
• intends
  
• projects
  
• will
  
• assumes
  
• potential
  
• target

And then there is a long list of events to watch for which could screw up your forward looking words making results different than hoped for. I won't repeat all of them, but they include. . .

• legislative and regulatory developments
  
• changes in U.S. and/or Japanese tax laws or accounting requirements
  
• catastrophic events
  
• general economic conditions in the U.S. and Japan

There. CYA. Done.

3686

McGrorty vs. County of Los Angeles Public Library

Although I've never heard of a person being denied a job in a library because he is a military veteran (we had to give them--especially Vietnam vets--preference when I was interviewing), I suppose that is possible in California where "patriotism" can't even salute the flag and conservatives can be shouted off podiums on campuses. Still, it is one of the oddest employment cases I've read, because usually librarians are very liberal (223:1) and in favor of all the knee deep employment regs that the left uses to keep people out of jobs. Especially if they have one of their own waiting for it. I'm guessing, just from his name, that he's the wrong ethnicity for the positions he wants. Or maybe he's straight. Or not transgendered. Who knows. Maybe he's over 45?

McGrorty is one of the best writers you'll ever find on the internet, no matter the topic. I have no idea what sort of librarian he is, because I'm not sure he's ever been one.

3685

Hamburger Helper

Professor Paul Apostolidis of Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington (isn't that a tongue twister) published an article "Hegemony and Hamburger" in 2005 that points out the obvious--organized labor depends on a ready source of new workers and can manipulate the Mexican immigrant story to its advantage. So while I was googling this academic to see what else he'd written, I discovered he'd published a book in 2000 titled, "Stations of the Cross; Adorno and the Christian Right." Hmmm. Have no idea who Theodor Adorno is (was), but this certainly sounds like a PhD thesis being shopped around for a bookshelf on which to gather dust. So I poked around in some book reviews and read some sections online. It's a "nuanced, dialectical study," apparently linking James Dobson, an American Christian psychologist who has a radio show, to a German anti-semite about whom Adorno wrote in 1943. Nuanced. Well, you bet! Isn't that a word for "no one knows what I'm talking about but me?"

I read Dobson when my kids were little. He was a voice of reason in the midst of all the hysterical academic child writers of the era who appeared on Phil Donahue and Merv Griffin. I was a Democrat at the time and pretty liberal on just about everything. Don't remember when Dobson got political, but I know Phil Donahue threw him in head first by muzzling him on air when he was a guest, and he decided he needed to go on the offensive.

Apostolidis, like many left wing academics, gets his shorts in a knot when Christians speak up about anything. They can't get it figured out that Christians aren't some sort of monolithic block--they can't agree on how or when to baptize, how many days or eons God took to create the world, what exactly did Jesus mean in the parables, or which version of end-times to promote. I've seen Christian websites where they listed all the modern heretics, and I think Billy Graham and James Dobson are both listed.

Apparently the conservative Christians didn't have all the power the U.S. socialist professors thought, because Republicans were roundly defeated in 2006, although I personally think it had nothing to do with religion, unless of course, your religion teaches you to tell the truth and not go on wild spending sprees with other people's money. Republicans were tossed out because they refused to be the conservatives they pretended to be when they ran for office. I'd hardly call George W. Bush a stellar conservative on immigration, would you? The only religious change that came out of that election is that the liberal Democrat candidates worked very hard to sound more interested in family values and the welfare of children. They learned to talk the talk. So if all the liberal posturing and publishing that has poured forth since Bush got in office (most of which is on my public library shelves) did nothing else, it at least was successful in turning the issue upside down, so maybe next time the Democrats will be tossed for pretending to be something they weren't.

At the moment, conservatives do "own" talk radio. But it is a competitive medium and liberals just haven't done well getting their ideas across and attracting sponsors. Liberals don't do well with facts--and feelings do better on TV (like Rosie saying absurd hateful things with a sneer) than on radio which is more a thinking medium. Most of the national conservative talk hosts don't do religion--they may occasionally mention it, but their audience is too varied to risk it. Dr. Laura is a Jew, Glenn Beck is a Mormon, Laura Ingraham is a Catholic (I think), and the other big names I don't know. And Dobson I'd call a pretty small fish in a big pond. Is that nuanced enough?

3684

It keeps the money coming in

Because I worked in academe and was required to publish (actually I liked that part of my job), and purchased for my library publications paid for by government grants and foundations with an axe to grind, I should know better than to be surprised by "research studies." Still, some are so obvious, you just have to hope that the P & T committee saw through them. Here are two, one in the social sciences, one in medicine:

"Who evaluates a presidential candidate by using non-policy campaign messages?" by Marisa Abrajano, Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 1 (March 2005): pp. 55-67. Apparently Ms. Abrajano discovered this no-brainer, which will allow her to be cited in the literature. When candidates give out non-policy campaign messages (my brother is married to a Mexican (Bush), or my son was born on Cinco de Mayo (Gore)), the less education the Latino voter has, the more likely he is to fall for it and think favorably of the candidate. Imagine this break through. The candidate needs to give different campaign messages depending on the age, education level, ethnicity, sex, and income level of his audience.

I remember chatting with a salesman in the Chef-o-Nette (my coffee spot) thirty five years ago who was always a snazzy dresser. One day he came in wearing khaki slacks and open collared shirt, but no jacket. "What's up? Got the day off?" I asked. "No, I'm going to my southern Ohio territory today, and you don't want to look like a city slicker with the good-old boys down there. You'd be laughed out of town." See? Didn't even need a government grant or a voter survey--he knew his product and his customer.

But here's my favorite. There's a study in the Archives of General Psychiatry (2004; 61:73-84) which uses PET scans and glucose monitoring to show that methamphetamine users lose their ability to control negative emotions, and so that might be why they are involved in so many serious crimes that involve violence. I'll bet you are surprised by that one, aren't you? Meth users out of control? I'm thinking there are a few cops on the street who could have put this one together without PET scans or glucose monitoring.

One of the big dangers from the meth users is their toxic "footprint." The walls, carpet and drapes of their "labs" are a toxic waste dump for the next tenant. You don't need to be a user in the traditional sense of the word to have your brain damaged. Here's a 59 page guidebook for cleanup (including sheetrock, plaster, counter tops, fabric) from Minnesota.

3683

Mike Bassett wants to give you a house

Mike Bassett owns a supermarket and hardware store where I often shop in the summer near Lakeside, OH. Nice guy--his family has been in the grocery business for over 100 years. He used to own a house on our street. He must be expanding in Bellvue, OH because he owns a very nice home there and will give it away, but you have to move it. I saw the item in the Columbus Dispatch, but when I googled it for a link, I see it was in a lot of papers and on several TV shows--even in Canada. AP must have picked up the story. I couldn't find a photo on the web, but it has 3600 sq. ft., lovely wood work, beveled glass windows, big porch of natural stone and a fireplace. I would judge it to be (from the Dispatch photo) built around 1910-1920 because it sort of has an Arts and Crafts look with maybe a touch of Green and Green or early Frank Lloyd Wright influence. You'd need a really big lot and probably about $80,000 to move it. Bellvue is 45 miles south of Toledo.

3682

Is it safe to let kids read?

We've all heard about librarians who don't want filters to protect children. What about books? Who's watching the publishers? Greg Smith's blog notes that recently he looked through a publisher's catalog at the YA titles and found:

A book on paralysis
A book on death of a parent, alcoholism, and unwanted pregnancy.
A book on death of a parent through cancer
A book on alcoholism
A book on armed assault with a deadly weapon
A book on death of both parents in a car crash
A book on death of both parents in a car crash and an unwanted pregnancy
A book whose catalog copy is vague, but appears to involve at least armed robbery and child abandonment
An historical book on suicide
A contemporary book on suicide
A book on death of a parent and economic hardship
A book on censorship. And sex.
A book on death by accidental shooting (or general stupidity)
A book on child abandonment, alcoholism, and an accident of indeterminate nature (resulting in, possibly, death)
A book on divorce
A book on death of a parent, economic hardship, robbery, and risking death.
Two books on (1960s) sex, drugs, and rock & roll (and therefore, at least metaphorically, death)

I'm glad I read only horse and dog stories when I was a kid (and Laura Ingalls Wilder); a lot of them were sad, but at least they didn't commit suicide or steal.

3681

It works in academe, too

Jared Sandberg in Cubicle Culture (WSJ) today listed a guide for horn tooters, gas bags and self-promoters. I recognized all of them, although I've spent most of my professional life in libraries not in business.

1. Move on to another job before the project fails.

2. Copy the boss with all your e-mails.

3. E-mail late at night to suggest you haven't left work.

4. During meetings, reinforce the boss' position with "Wouldn't you agree that. . . "

5. Cut down your colleagues or competition with, "You're saying what exactly. . . "

6. Wrap a self-serving argument in the flag of moral principle.

7. Be the ventriloquist's dummy, "What a great idea."

8. Speak first and often.

9. Distribute minutes or notes of the meetings, even if you aren't the one appointed.

10. Make the toasts at the office parties and social gatherings.

3680

Here we go again!

We're closing in on the last room of the home we moved into five years ago. The gay decorators who lived here in the 90s were fabulous and successful, I'm sure, but the brown living room, orange dining room, red family room, and dark hunter green and black guest room (all with a faux glaze with ceilings to match the walls) were a bit over the top for us, especially with enough yards of heavy drapes at the windows to canopy Scioto Downs. Now we're about to tackle the master bedroom which is dark blue with a lighter comb glaze, or maybe it is gray with a dark blue glaze.

This is the new bedspread--sort of a blue and creamy ivory and pale green
It's never easy, is it? There are light fixtures that should be replaced, holes in the walls that will need to be patched from the removed drapery rods, a medicine cabinet that must have cost all of $10 when new, and bathroom marble tile that won't exactly work with the paint I've picked out. I'm guessing the patching and light fixtures and new mirror will run us $1,000, and that's before we even buy the primer. To make matters more complicated, the comb faux glaze has a texture that may not cover properly.

When the painter (recommended by a friend) came by to give us an estimate, he brought his tiny, preemy baby (I weighed more than he does when I was born). Originally, he and his wife were in this business together, but now she has a "regular" job and the baby was a surprise. Then the mother-in-law from out of state to help out until July, but she got sick and was hospitalized and is now in a local nursing home.

Goodness. I guess funny wall colors isn't much of a problem to have, is it?

3679

Poverty stories--unintended consequences

The Columbus Dispatch a few weeks ago reported on the front page the sad story of a "Decade of Gains Dissipating." A decade ago the Ohio Supreme Court issued four rulings that the state funding system for schools was unconstitutional, and there were dramatic changes in the Appalachian areas of southern Ohio.

In "Southern Local" new schools replaced the old, the high school was renovated, special teachers were hired, science labs opened, and computers brought in. Graduation rate went from 88% in 1997 to 94% in 2006. Spending went from $4,780 per student 10 years ago to $10,043 today, and teachers with 20 years + an MS are getting $51,686.

Now salaries have been frozen, and special programs are being dropped. What happened? Life. The local property taxes can't keep up with costs, like benefits. The district has many expensive students--two thirds qualify for free breakfast and lunch, one fourth have special needs. Once the children are educated, many move away for better jobs. The young man whose parents brought the law suit against the state went on to college, is married and lives in a city in central Ohio and is considering private school for his kids.

Do these stories help or hurt? I think a 94% graduation rate is pretty spectacular--in fact, 88% is waaaaaaay above Cleveland's and Columbus' graduation rate, which have much higher costs per student, nicer buildings and better paid teachers.

I think we need to send a few administrators to southern Ohio to find out how they are doing a better job with less money and poorer facilities. I think I know the answer. Do you?

3678

Lest we diverge from the evolution party line

The Feb. 15 issue of Nature (445/7129) has an interesting article on the plants native to South Africa's Cape region. There are more than 9,000 plant species, 6,000 found in no other country in the world, and most of those are in the western region. Compare this to the entire area of the British Isles which is home to about 1500 plant species.

There seems to be some fear by the author that a person might conclude such fantastic variety, beauty and diversity were designed by a mind larger and more complex than ours rather than just happening by accident over a few million years. The terms "evolutionary approach," "evolutionary isolation," "evolutionary tree linking," and "bouts of evolution," appeared once; "evolutionary heritage," "evolutionary radiations," "evolutionary tree," and "evolutionary diversity," appeared twice; but the phrase "evolutionary divergence," (which reminds me of idiopathic, meaning "we don't know why this happened") appears 10 times in the article. And it isn't even a very long article!

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Maybe it's time to reread

All the King's Men. Sherry at Semicolon is one of my favorite book reviewers. Today she's taken another look at this 1947 novel by Robert Penn Warren whose character Willie Stark appears to be Huey Long, Governor of Louisiana in the 1930s.

"Willie has a gift for making the poor white hicks of rural Louisiana feel as if they’re an important part of the power structure. He’s one of them, he says, a hick, too, raised up by God to lead them on to good roads, decent sanitation, free education, and universal health care. And he’ll pay for it all by taxing the rich. Gee, haven’t we all heard that speech before? Maybe old Huey/Willie has been reincarnated several times since the 1930’s."

Read it here. She hosts an interesting Saturday Review of Books where you can contribute one of your own book reviews from your blog. I don't read enough books to participate, but it sure looks like fun.