Myth Under Standings

Some of my favorites. I would've made this a Thursday Thirteen, but there were too many of them.

FDR got us out of the Depression with all his social programs for recovery and reform. He probably delayed recovery, but we still have the vestiges of these programs today.

America is a Christian nation. If by that you mean a Biblical worldview on which people base their decisions, it's a myth. And everyone has a worldview.

A college education is a good investment. Compared to what other investment? The return on a public school like Ohio State is 4.2%, and on a private school like Harvard, 1.9%. The stock market averages about 10% over the same amount of time. Take a look.

Global warming is created or stopped or controlled by people. Next time this idea tempts you with self importance, look up at the stars and think about how insignificant you are. Or, try to look at the sun without going blind. "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?" Job 38

There are two Americas (according to a certain presidential candidate). Actually, there are 5 quintiles. Read about the most recent Treasury report on the upward mobility by 90% of the poor (bottom quintile) and the downward mobility by the extremely rich from 1996-2005--and its been the same almost as long as they've been studying it--at least since the 1960s.

There was a housing shortage after WWII. There was government created rent control which took housing off the market which created the appearance of a shortage. It did however create the need for Lustrons. About 20 were built in my home town, one by my grandparents. A sweet little house.

Rachel Carson was a wise oracle who saved the world from being harmed by DDT. Her well-intentioned, unscientific book actually resulted in the death and injury of millions of Africans.

Our health care system is a mess. There is no system, so how can it be a mess?

Teachers are underpaid. Their hourly wage ($34.06/hour) is far higher than many professions that require more education.

The Federal Reserve System is a system.

Women earn less than men . Not for the same work load, responsibilities, and education requirements. "Discrimination occurs when people are barred from professions for which they are qualified, or paid less for doing the same job. It is not discrimination to freely make a choice that has an undeniable economic consequence." CNN Money

It's the quality and not the quantity of time that matters in raising children. How low can you go? 5 minutes a day as long as it is quality time? 5 hours? Split the difference? Would you put up with that attitude from a task force member or your doctor?

Ratings on movies and music benefit the public. Which way is the entertainment industry moving--to more or less violence, sex and degradation of basic values and common sense? "Age-based ratings alone do not provide good information about the depiction of violence, sex, profanity, and other content, and the criteria for rating movies became less stringent over the last decade." Medscape General Medicine

There is a shortage of . . . name your field, but there isn't a shortage of librarians. If a shortage is reported in the media, stay away from that profession. It's a marketing move by the profession to fill seats in the colleges that churn them out.

There is an easy way to lose weight and keep it off. Eat less, move more. It's the only way.

Books with "secrets" in the title, actually contain something new and never before revealed. Open one (or 10) the next time you're in the bookstore.

The death penalty deters criminals intent on acting in evil ways. It's far more likely that their evil thoughts are influencing their behavior. Think about it. Has the awareness of the death penalty ever kept you from killing someone one, or is something much deeper and more spiritual causing you to behave rationally?

4320 Will illegal immigration be a wedge issue for the GOP?

Dental Flap thinks it will be and that Mort needs to get away from the Beltway for a few days. Great license photo, btw.

This prayer wouldn't have occurred to me

Barbara Nicolosi at Church of the Masses supports the Writers' Strike and is praying for reconciliation.

She comments that one estimate is the Church of Scientology owns 60% of Hollywood.

Monday Memories--the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Last week was the 18th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. In a rather odd sequence of events, we watched it on TV with my parents, who were visiting us in the off-season at Lakeside, Ohio (the only thing more off, gray, damp and chilly at Lakeside is February). They had driven out from Illinois to see what we had purchased in September 1988--a tiny, 750 sq ft home built in the 1940s, still known today as the "Thompson cottage." Dad walked around the almost deserted town looking at the 19th century summer cottages/houses with crumbling foundations, dead flowers, and windows sealed with plastic. I'm sure he thought we were crazy and wondered why he had made sacrifices to offer me a better life than he had. We had a tiny 9" screen TV (broadcast only, with rabbit ears) and the four of us sat on the uncomfortable furniture (45 year old couch, wooden nursery rocker, and a $10 chair I bought at a yard sale) and could hardly tear ourselves away. It was an incredible sight, full of so much hope. I also remember when it went up in 1961.

I'm pretty sure none of us watching that historic event at Lakeside were crediting President Reagan--Mom, my husband and I were all Democrats, and Dad was a Republican who didn't seem to like him much (local football rivalry from their youth). However, "On the anniversaries of the Berlin Wall’s collapse, we should do Reagan the honor of recognizing his prescient leadership that helped to produce that marvelous event." Dinesh D'Souza

If taxpayers question subsidizing casino tribes' gaming interests

they are called racists and hate groups. Indian casino gaming is expanding across the nation, including new sites in urban areas driven by "landless or rural area tribes shopping for land in or near cities that can be put into trust and used to site huge new casinos." Stop urban casinos

"Bottom Line: The American taxpayer and the growing number of disenrolled tribal members have become collateral damage to our government in a disastrous experiment that began with a train called the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) and given “run away status” when the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) was passed in 1988. Promoting inequality and separatism through granting gambling monopolies and allowing tens of thousands of acres to be placed into federal trust status to expand “sovereign” tribal territories within our borders because of past persecution is misguided at best and at worst will undue the constitutional protections secured to all people, tribal and non-tribal." Story here at Capitol Weekly

Gambling as easy money for the state is always a false promise whether it's in Mississippi on floating cruise ships or California eating up thousands of acres that could be producing something worthwhile and honest. Throw in a lot of guilt and greed, and you've got a volatile mix.

Veterans' Day

Today is the 89th anniversary of the end of World War I--the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. I've told this before, but on that first armistice day the signal in the rural areas of Illinois was the bells ringing. My parents were both little children living on farms in adjacent counties (Lee and Ogle) in Illinois. Both had exactly the same memory--as each farmer heard the bell, he'd start ringing his bell, then the next farm would pick it up, and thus the whole countryside learned the war was officially over. Now it is a memorial for veterans of all wars (Memorial Day in May is for those who died in or as a result of battle).


Google, which often dresses up for other occasions, finally acknowledged it--the helmets are definitely WWI vintage.


When I was in Illinois over the 4th, we found our father's name at the new veterans' memorial in Forreston. We talked about all the surnames we recognized, even from the Civil War era (we're really not that old, but knew the family names).

The U.S. Army in WWI, 1917-1918
Army Art of WWI

My other blogs about this day
Veterans' Day 2006
Uncle Clare
Happy Birthday Marines
Armistice Day, 1918
List of US military conflicts

4315

Watching Norman's Ark on Sunday morning Hallmark movie

What a travesty. Noah (1998) with Tony Danza. Fortunately there is a commentator on board at Hallmark, Kenda Creasy Dean.

For this morning's movie, I had to do more than suspend disbelief; I had to shackle it. The special effects look like my daughter's 7th grade science project: Heaven is a sexist phone company; the lion lies down with the lamb in cages that would send the SPCA into spasms; and nobody follows the Biblical script, starting with God.

That makes the story of Noah a perfect example of our tendency to tell the story of God in a way that will make us human beings look better. Norman may be a dishonest contractor; but God is the bad guy in this story, bent on an irrational flood to destroy petty people. That makes Norman the savior, not God; in fact, you could easily conclude that Norman saved his community from God-which is fine, if the movie had been named "Norman" instead of "Noah."

For Jews and Christians, the story of Noah isn't about God's meanness; it's about God's promise. In Genesis, after the flood, God sets a rainbow in the sky and tells Noah: "This will be a sign of my covenant between me and all creation. Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth." My recommendation on NOAH? Read the book instead.

Yes, read the good book!

It is not the correct thing

are little items that comes from my grandmother's book, The Correct Thing in Good Society, by Florence Howe Hall, c1902 (daughter of Julia Ward Howe). These guide and manner books were very popular in the 19th and 20th century, with about 5 or 6 new ones published each year. Writing and etiquette guides are still popular today, particularly as people struggle with new technology. Some of this advice holds up in cyberspace, the mall, the airplane or the office. The page on the left had the correct thing, the one on the right, the incorrect. It is not the correct thing

to be quick to take offence where one is not recognized, since elderly, near-sighted or absent minded people often fail to observe those whom they meet

to carry bandboxes, bird-cages, newspaper bundles, growing plants, or more than one basket or numerous package of any sort when travelling

for young ladies to enter into conversation with or accept favors from strangers, especially if these by young men

to tread on other people's feet or deposit baskets or bundles on them

to be untidy and careless, as if one were a royal personage on whom domestics would never tire of waiting

to look down upon your parents, because they know less Latin and Greek than you or are ignorant of modern science, forgetting that they stand high in a school on the threshold of which you have set your foot--the school of life

for the women, when newly admitted to a male institution, to ask for unnecessary innovations or to interfere with time-honored customs

for employees to talk to each other while customers are awaiting their attention

to let the door of a shop slam in the face of another person

to buy very cheap goods presumably made up in sweat shops, thus endangering one's own health or even life, as well as helping to perpetuate a cruel system of human slavery

4313

Flat Panel TVs

The other day we saw our neighbors' children haul away their TV armoire. They have a new flat panel TV which fits in their den (I use our den for my office and a 12 year old TV is in the living room in a nice cabinet and a 21 year old TV is in the family room).

The WSJ suggests as many as 40,000 armoires may be looking for new homes by the end of the year as they are moved out of hotels. Craig's List is loaded with them. Some liquidators have dropped the price to $50!

We have a cable box for that TV, so I think we can keep our living room set, although it's not HD. We watched a few minutes of a football game on an HDTV flat panel the other day, and I must say the picture was spectacular. But it still invades the room, so I don't mind keeping it behind closed doors. Maybe we could have someone remodel the back so it would be the same depth as the side units. I use the side units for displaying glass and pottery items and the drawers for table linens. I really need this unit!

Check out ACLJ to know your rights

The American Center for Law and Justice works to protect your religious and constitutional freedoms. They have an excellent website, and regular radio shows that will take calls and e-mailed questions. Right now I'm listening to the November 9 broadcast which explains the recent Supreme Court decision on partial birth abortion. One caller wanted to know his rights for distributing religious literature at a court house. Another caller wanted to know why the ACLU wouldn't take her case if they care about civil liberties. The discussion moved to ACLU defending convicted felon/pedophiles using parks where children play. Another call from Ohio was about vanity plates with religious words which was denied by the BMV.

Locally, this is broadcast on 880 am (WRFD) at 1:30 p.m. You can check their listing for your area, or go to the website and download the current program or something from the archives. This is news and information you probably won't uncover in the mainstream media, or if you do, it will be so slanted it won't be of much use to you.

4311

Geographical Terms

The University of Illinois, whose football team* will be in town today along with fans, has an on-line writing guide. I see I've been doing a few things wrong, at least according to today's standards. Somewhere I might have learned not to abbreviate the word "Ohio," but I certainly didn't remember that rule, probably because I lived in Illinois when I was learning the rules.

When they stand alone, spell out the names of states and U.S. territories and possessions.

Spell out the names of states, territories, or possessions when they follow the name of a city or other capitalized geographical term. Example: Chicago, Illinois. When it is necessary to save space, the abbreviations listed below can be used. Do not abbreviate Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, or Utah:

Ala., Ariz., Ark., Calif, Colo., Conn., Del., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Kan., Ky., La., Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Neb., Mev., N.C., N.D., N.H., N.J., N.M., N.Y., Okla., Ore., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.D., Tenn., Tex., Vt., Va., Wash., W. Va., Wis., and Wyo.

Only use post office abbreviations in complete addresses that contain a ZIP code. See the current ZIP Code Directory for official Postal Service abbreviations. Example: Champaign IL 61820.

Spell out the names of countries. The abbreviation U.S. is acceptable when used as an adjective. Examples: foreign policy of the United States or U.S. foreign policy.

*Illinois (7-3, 4-2) at #1 Ohio State (10-0, 6-0)

4310

Women of the Me Generation--focus on self instead of others

I suppose it's the logical result of the constant drumbeat of the importance of self-esteem we've been hearing for 35 years.

The not-for-profit National Women's Health Resource Center's (NWHRC) new third annual Women Talk survey has uncovered a newfound sense of self-empowerment in regard to women's health and their priorities. An overwhelming ninety-four percent of women state that "Making time for myself is one of the best ways I can help to take care of me and my family" and seventy-five percent of women went a step further to say that "Taking care of myself is my top priority."

Read about it at It's a Survey

Even though most of the women taking the survey rated their physical and mental health to be good to excellent and rated their physical health very high and older women actually rated their mental health higher at a 9.1 verses 7.9 for women aged 18-39, the article still includes mind-shattering breakthroughs like having a cup of aromatic tea instead of a latte.

What would we do without surveys?

4309

Sunday Trolls

Sometimes when you are attacked by left wing trolls, it just bumps up the stats. They didn't like flaws I pointed out in the Clinton team.

Friday Family Photo--Summer of '63

If I knew where this photo was, I'd rescan it because I think I could do a better job. However, I think it is the summer of 1963 and we were probably in Indianapolis because my husband's sister (far right) was visiting from California. Last Friday I showed the Goff family, and the young teen on the far right, is the older woman in her late 70s on the left in his photo, my husband's grandmother, his beloved Neno. I'm not sure why we are "dressed up," but perhaps we weren't--it's possible we just dressed better in those days. Even if it was a Sunday afternoon, I don't recall ever attending church there except when we were dating. You can't see our feet, but we all had on high heels--mine were white.

The smiles look a bit forced. I don't think it was the sun. I'm second from the right and in the middle of what was the worst two years of my life (although I didn't know it that summer, thinking things couldn't get worse) and my sister-in-law wasn't in a good place either, as things would turn out which I didn't know then. Neno had been a widow for 7 years and still grieved her loss, and Aunt Marg, a nurse (2nd from the left), was slipping into poor health and would soon retire and move to California to live with her widowed sister as an invalid.

4308

Lions for Lambs

The reviews have been underwhelming.

Windbags of War--Columbus Dispatch
"Lions for Lambs plays like an off-off-Broadway workshop production assembled by a committed liberal troupe with more interest in expressing its agenda than in involving its audience in human drama."

Lions for Lambs will have you counting sheep--Joe Morgenstern, WSJ

Film Flim Flam--me

Dumpster Diving for Doves--me

And I haven't even seen it. Redford, Cruise and Streep--caricature, hot shot and media babe. How original. It's a no brainer for politics-on-the-left 101. That Redford says he made it "to get people to think," is almost laughable. People who support the mission don't think? Think his way, he means, and if you don't, you're a tool for big oil and that wealthy guy [whoever that is].

"I don’t know [how audience will react] but I think I know what will be pretty predictable–pathetically predictable–and that would be the people in charge of the Swift Boat stories or Sinclair Oil or that institute that wealthy guy has in Pittsburgh. You know where they are going to go and it will be predictable because they will have decided already–in fact, that has already happened on their blogs." Bitchslap

I wonder why reactions are so predictable? Couldn't be that it's a predictable, boring film. Isn't it predictable also that the left has appropriated "swift boat" as their own verb, when all the guys who served with Kerry called him a liar.

4307

Unintended consequences of over protecting children

Yesterday there was an article in the WSJ about "the bubble wrap generation." Using that article, plus my memory of being in public school in the 40s and 50s and having children in the public schools in the 70s and 80s, I came up with a list of what may not be allowed anymore (can vary by district).

dodge ball
tag
chatter on the baseball diamond
chasing on the playground
running in the halls
swings
teeter totters
hugs between classmates, same sex or opposite sex
sand boxes
cops and robbers
cowboys and Indians
touch football
junior ROTC
prayer
moment of silence
Bible reading
Pledge of Allegiance
Christmas programs
Halloween parties
single sex sports
chastity
creation
walking to and from school
unshaded playgrounds
any words that could be perceived as harming another’s self-esteem
pranks of any kind
sharing an aspirin or Excedrin with a classmate (zero tolerance)

Teens are bringing alcohol and drugs to school in candy dispensers and water bottles, but being expelled for sharing an aspirin. I asked a teacher why the zero tolerance rule, and she said school administrators refuse to make judgement calls--they won't accept the responsibility since parents blame them for everything, big or small. What does that teach the kids about personal responsibility and making choices, I asked. She just shrugged.

And yet, on the far side of overprotectiveness--all the way to harmful to the environment--are the blue dyed, shredded and mulched automobile tires spread on the children's playground where we voted on Tuesday. When it rains, the 1/2 inch dyed chips wash out under the fence into the parking lot, get on our shoes, tracked into our car, and I'm guessing animals might eat them, or even small children. All to protect kids from a few bumps and bruises. Green greed turned blue.

Thursday Thirteen--13 warnings

1) For the last four days a "low on ink" reminder from HP pops up on the screen in the morning. Actually, I think it's zip, nada, zero ink in the black cartridge. The questions for Monday night bookclub were printed in royal blue.

2) And the microwave beeps to tell me my coffee has finished reheating. If I don't press the off button, it will beep from here to eternity, waiting for me to do something.

3) The other morning about 5 a.m. the microwave started randomly beeping about every 5 minutes--no reason, I hadn't even used it, so perhaps it had started doing it during the night. "Hello--anyone home? Can I help?"

4) The dryer calls from the laundry room when the clothes are not quite dry--just about. I suppose that's for women who plan ahead and already have hangers ready to whisk a few things out at the last minute to hang out the wrinkles. I hear it, but usually don't stop what I'm doing.

5) There's a light on my van dash that warns me when I'm low on gas. My husband responds immediately because he only drives it occasionally, but I know that it is just teasing and it will be a few more miles until we're on fumes.

6) A mild twinge in my lower back warns me that I've been stepping over the baby gate instead of releasing it. It belongs with all the paraphernalia for puppy-sitting. When the children were toddlers, I had a similar gate and tore up my back for several months executing this same maneuver.

7) There's a little 4.5 lb. Chihuahua here in my office, just visiting for the week, but our cat in the hall is issuing warnings. "Hissssss, Hisssss, Arrrrh. Don't you even think of sitting on her lap, that's my lap, you worthless bag of doggie bones." The pup wags her tail and ignores the warnings.

8) Every morning since returning from Ireland in September my bathroom scales has been warning me that I need to get back to a healthier routine like I did last year at this time. Otherwise, all the new clothes are not going to fit by Thanksgiving.

9) I drove my husband's Explorer to the coffee shop today. It doesn't like me. On the dash a red warning light was flashing, "theft, "theft."

10) I have double ovens, but I've never been able to figure out how to set the digital timer, so I have no warning when something is done--like last night's roast, which could be called, "tender crisp." I just have to pay attention to the clock.

11) But the oven also will start beeping on its own--sometimes for a long time--warning about what, I don't know. Usually about 3 a.m. I push a lot of buttons--so many I have no idea why when it finally stops.

12) My PC is making crunching, grinding, moaning noises, and taking longer to boot up. This is a warning I need to heed. Time for service, or time for a new computer. And if you have lots of ads on your TT, or music, or winky-blinky things, it just sighs and won't load.

13) Our investment adviser has never said anything political in the 7 years we've known him, but as we discussed the required draw down of our investments yesterday, he warned us the Democrats will raise taxes (because that's just what they do). When the economy is getting soft (the spreading mortgage meltdown, the cost of oil, etc.), he said, that's the absolute worst thing for recovery. Retired people don't have the time span for recovery when we also have a required withdrawal from our accounts. There's more revenue for the government with lower taxes, so why would they do this? Because they can. A warning, indeed.

Check out Karen's site for TT banners.

I have visited Sandee; Denise; Vicki; Mark; Home with the kids;

Thursday Thirteen

4305

The Writers' Strike

Warnings of the Writers' Strike have been coming for weeks. But I'm ahead of the game (unless the writers contribute to the evening news, radio talk shows, and Book-TV). Except for re-runs, I stopped watching most of our cultural wasteland years ago. Dancing with the Stars was a top rated show on Monday and Tuesday of this week, and I did watch the first season, which was a summer replacement, and the second season. Not sure they use writers. I wouldn't watch Desperate Housewives even if I were desperate, but obviously many people do. John Corby (local radio) suggests they go back to the first season of shows like 24 so that people who joined the series late can get caught up.

I'm sure all the writers make more than nurses, librarians or teachers who contribute much more to society. And they probably don't even have to attend workshops on multi-culturalism or recruiting minorities for writing jokes for white performers. Which makes me wonder, how many in this union are actually minorities? Women? Over 55? Normal? Anyone know?

And what will happen to all the little guys, who probably make much less and may not be unionized, like the caterers, chauffers, parking lot attendants, make-up artists, hair designers, clothing alternations, set designers, or the stores and restaurants where these strikers shop and eat, etc. You gotta hope these folks didn't have adjustable rate mortgages.

4304

The Robber Barons

Good observation, but I think they were called that even 50 years ago when I was in school--

After seeing a piece of my son's history curriculum at school, I realized for about the hundredth time just how poor an understanding most people have about the great industrialists of the 19th century, so unfairly painted as "robber barons." While it is said that "history is written by the victors," I would observe that despite the fact that socialism and communism have been given a pretty good drubbing over the last 20 years, these statists still seem to be writing history. How else to explain the fact that men who made fortunes through free, voluntary exchange of products can be called "robber barons;" while politicians who expropriate billions by force without permission from the most productive in society are called "progressive." Coyote Blog

4303

Two words sum up crazy politics

Pat Robertson. Not to say anything negative about Rudy, I'm sure he's a nice guy, but he's beyond RINO--he's a conservative Democrat. He is not pro-life, pro-marriage (except for himself--3 times married), pro-secure borders, or anything else conservatives admire in a candidate--except he's strong on security (just not at the border) and did a wonderful job in his city after 9/11. The only explanation I can come up with is that Robertson is more afraid of an honest, conservative Mormon than he is a controlling, conniving, liberal Methodist. Not that he's said much worth listening to in the last 10 or 15 years, but this was a huge surprise, and if he has a "base," I'm guessing they feel dusted and kicked.

Campaign for Children and Families
Wildmon endorses Huckabee

4302

Liberals and Uppity Blacks

Liberals turn up their noses at Clarence Thomas' autobiography, "My Grandfather's Son." Thomas says it was all about abortion, and I wish it were so, although I'm pro-life. It is racisim, pure and simple. Look out Obama--don't you dare go after Hillary. Daniel Henninger in today's WSJ writes about Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" which has sold 30,000,000 copies. She has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom award.

"By now, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is wholly folded into the political life of the country. It is safe to say that most Democrats would consider the book to be an iconic testament to their legacy, liberalism's greatest achievement. One imagines that Harper Lee would agree with this. . ."

"But as with Justice Thomas's famously sphinx-like demeanor during oral arguments at the Supreme Court, there has been nary a peep in more than 40 years about the book's meaning from Miss Lee (it would sound absurd to refer to her as Ms. Lee). While schoolchildren today are assigned the book as an exercise in the formation of social virtue, Harper Lee herself saw the novel as about more than that. Indeed, one reads nearly 90 pages into the novel's account of Scout and Jem Finch in Maycomb before the racial drama arrives.

"We may assume that Harper Lee composed her remarkable story about the unjustly accused and gunned-down Tom Robinson so that some day a Clarence Thomas could rise from Pinpoint to the nation's highest Court. If so, we then have to account for this famous and still-astounding statement by Judge Thomas toward the end of his corrosive confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court:


"From my standpoint, as a black American, it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas, and it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order, this is what will happen to you. You will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured by a committee of the U.S. Senate rather than hung from a tree."

4301

She must be my age

My husband and I almost always go out to eat on Friday night. If he wore a baseball cap and athletic shoes, even to a sports bar like Rusty Bucket, I'd take it personally. It doesn't flatter me or our relationship. For a picnic with friends, or a walk along the lakefront it would be fine (although I just can't wait for the day when the baseball cap for adults will be history for anyone off the diamond). Now a reader of WSJ has expressed my thoughts on today's casual dress and behavior and what it says about the people you're with or the event you're attending. It's all about expect and respect.

"Envision a 50th anniversary party where the husband plays video games with his buddies and the kids lounge in front of the TV, because that's what they want to do.

I want to get dressed up and be taken to my favorite restaurant, and that's what I get. But I started this pattern 60 years ago." Judith Martin, WSJ 11-07-07

Huckabee on Health

When Mike Huckabee was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, he took charge of his health, began to eat a more healthy diet, and started an exercise program. Whether it's his personal health, or the nation's health, he says there is no quick fix. He was a big loser in weight loss; let's make him a big winner for the White House.

The health care system in this country is irrevocably broken, in part because it is only a "health care" system, not a "health" system.

We don't need universal health care mandated by federal edict.

We do need to get serious about preventive health care.

I advocate policies that will encourage the private sector to seek innovative ways to bring down costs.

I value the states' role as laboratories for new market-based approaches.

When I'm President, Americans will have more control of their health care options, not less.

As President, I will work with the private sector, Congress, health care providers, and other concerned parties to lead a complete overhaul of our health care system.

Our health care system is making our businesses non-competitive in the global economy. It is time to recognize that jobs don't need health care, people do, and move from employer-based to consumer-based health care.

Details at his web site

Mike Huckabee

Mike is now third in the polls

From the POTUS Blog (over 2 years ago): "Four out of the last five presidents elected were governors. (President George H.W. Bush was VP). Of the four last presidents, three where southern governors. He has a truly successful record of accomplishments in Arkansas. He has demonstrated his ability as a communicator. Gov. Huckabee also has the proper perspective on leadership."

Photo from POTUS Blog
Huckabee is now ahead of McCain and Romney in the Rasmussen poll. Among Republicans, Rudy is first, then Thompson. He was 5th until October 25, then he moved to 4th, now to 3rd.

Mike Huckabee

4298

Planned Parenthood's Plans for Denver

Deception or just clever tactics for meeting a goal? Probably makes no difference, because we know the outcome. Story here about creating a corporation to purchase the property, then lying about ownership on the construction permits by the company that is a donor to PP. Go to a PP website that is advertising for positions--I'm assuming their new employs have to be clear on their own values and support the goals and mission of PP. I wonder if the construction workers and subcontractors had a right to know that they were building a clinic to take the lives of the unborn?

Here's an organization I've been supporting about 20 years, Nurturing Network--a plan that benefits both mother and child.

4297

I voted today

but not for this, "#1 Referendum on Substitute Senate Bill #16." I read through it (very long) several times and couldn't figure out the wording, so I skipped over it, and went to the next issue. When I got home I looked it up on the League of Women Voters website, thinking that if I had no distractions and figured out which verb went with what, I would understand it. Nope. So I read the League's summary and explanation and what would happen with a Yes, and with a No. Still don't understand (not the issue, but the wording). This isn't the first time I remember an issue being written to confuse voters--especially referenda--so the vote count is low, and then the supporters can slip it through. Still, it would be nice to know what I didn't vote for.

Update: The exterminator-guy at the coffee shop explained it to me this morning (Nov. 7). Because it dealt with touching and strippers, apparently it had been discussed at his church (Heaven forbid Lutherans would do that!). The Senate Bill would have put a few strippers out of work since fewer would have been needed if bars closed earlier (there had been some murders or assaults at various places around town where stripping was involved). However, because so many of the signatures were bogus on the petition to get it on the ballot, it was invalid, but by then the machines were set to go. No votes were even counted, and it would have cost the state about $330,000 to advertise that, so it was just left on the ballot. So Senate Bill #16 has passed (the referendum was to remove it).

What's on your pantry shelves?

Lots of NOINFOCO--no information on country of origin. Have you noticed how many canned and prepared food items say only "distributed by" instead of "product of USA" or product of any country? If I choose to buy banana chips, as I did this week, I know the package says "product of the Philippines," and I can decide if I trust our long relationship with that country, and are the standards for pesticides, herbicides and cleanliness the same. Many of the items I put in the basket say, "product of Canada." I'm OK with that. What's more American than pumpkin pie in November? But do you know from the Libby's label? "100% pure pumpkin produced and distributed by Nestle USA." That really doesn't tell me where the pumpkin was grown, stored, cooked, canned or shipped does it? NOINFOCO.

This week I had one clear winner for clarity in the grocery cart. The bag of Eagle Eye Idaho Potatoes said "grown in Idaho" 3 times, as well as "produce of USA," and "packaged in Idaho." Can't be anymore forthright about their product than that.

Compare that to these Meijer brands I bought: Select Black Beans, Chunky Applesauce, Lite Pear Halves, and Cream of Mushroom Soup. All are "Distributed by Meijer of Grand Rapids, MI" with no information on where they were grown, produced or packaged. I'm told on the label percentage of calcium and Vit. C, the mg of sodium and cholesterol, the grams of fiber and protein, the serving size, how many servings in the container and the calories, how many calories are from fat, what ingredients are inside the can or package, how to cook it or serve it, how to store it after it's opened, and a "use by" date. And depending on the company, I could practice my Spanish, or have a label so cluttered, I can't even find the English words. Even the Meijer Organics Golden Sweet Corn with a seal that reads "USA organic" just may be saying there's a standard in the USA for certifying something is organic. It doesn't really say it was produced here.

Now that we're seeing corn being grown everywhere so we can burn it in our gas tanks, I think it's time to make sure you know where the food is coming from that used to be grown in Ohio or Indiana or Iowa. This is a safety issue just like the lead paint in toys or the salmonella in lettuce greens. Anything can happen even with locally grown produce, but the USA does have standards and regulations governing production and distribution. We learned from the China toys and pet food fiascos that neither the corporations nor the US government were checking to make sure those products were produced the way they were supposed to be. (China has no tradition of contract law and feels no obligation to do what they say they will do.)

So why can't we consumers be a bit more proactive, why doesn't the FDA and the USDA require "country of origin" or "product of. . ." which would be more helpful than having everyone switch from transfat to palm oil? Ask your congressional representative to . . . represent YOU. This is not a liberal or conservative issue. It's about being an informed consumer. Let's not have another food scare which will create another layer of bureaucracy after finger pointing and hearings with movie stars giving us advice. Act now.

We need Mike in the White House!

"Governor Huckabee cut taxes 94 times in Arkansas; championed the first broad-based tax cut in Arkansas history; led the charge to implement pro-family policies by protecting the sanctity of life and traditional marriage in Arkansas; cut welfare rolls by nearly half, and believes in a strong national defense, beginning with sealing America's borders. Furthermore, he does not support "sanctuary cities." Chip Saltsman, National Campaign Manager.

The Presidential election is a year off, but today is the first Tuesday of November. Across the nation people are going to the polls. Get some practice; exercise your vote. Don't neglect your rights and duty as a citizen and sit around and whine about what's going on locally, state-wide, or nationally. And don't let illegal aliens get drivers' licenses so they can become motor-voters while you sit at home.



Mike Huckabee

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Driver has no money

As I was returning from the super market this morning I passed a bread truck with "Driver has no money" painted on the side. I know just how he feels.

Checking out the religion blogs

I saw this at WDTPRS, a Catholic blog. The California Catholic Daily reports on a refresher course on the Latin Mass and Sacraments.

"The Tridentine Mass for Joe Sixpack” is the name for the first class, to be held Nov. 7. The titles for the classes to be held over subsequent weeks are “Getting Married the Way Grandpa Did It” (Nov. 14), “The Requiem Mass” (Nov. 21), and “How to Baptize Babies the Old Way” (Nov. 28)

They're expecting 200+.

Story at The Evangelical outpost Why is the Club for Growth trying to derail Huckabee?

"If the Club for Growth had been around in 1980, Reagan might not have become President. The influential fiscal conservative group would surely have done everything in their power to prevent the Gipper from gaining the nomination. They would have attempted to derail Reagan's campaign just as they are now doing to Gov. Huckabee."

He concludes, after 5 pages of analysis: "I've always considered The Club for Growth to be a respectable conservative organization. But their attempts to deceive their fellow conservatives by misrepresenting Huckabee's record have proven they are unworthy of such trust. Pat Toomey and his organization owe Governor Huckabee--and the rest of us--an apology for their attempted deception."

Rebecca is using November to post something at her blog she's thankful for every day. Then if you contribute what you are thankful for in the comments, she'll add you to her next "thankful for" entry. She lives in the Yukon and writes wonderful posts on theology and hymns. Even if you don't comment, her blog will bless you.

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Punishing the married, college graduate for her success

After reading 1776 [David McCullough, 2005], I've been thinking a lot about taxes--how they are used for many things other than raising revenue for the common good--like the so-called sin taxes and luxury taxes and success taxes. Charlie Rangel's latest proposal is just one example, but the Brits were doing it to the colonists back in the 1760s too. The economic system in those days was called "mercantile." After repealing the Stamp Acts because the Americans raised such a fuss, they came up with some minor taxes, for the sole purpose of showing them who was the boss, so they wouldn't get too cocky. Edmund Burke in the House of Commons, with a passionate, long-winded 18th century speech, essentially said, "Are we crazy? Why are we killing our golden goose (obviously a very loose paraphrase)?"

So a letter that appeared in the Nov. 3 WSJ written by Steve Walde is instructive. Why, he asks, is our government punishing people who went to college and married each other? Well, Steve, that's the "close-the-gap" mentality of most Democrats, but a lot of RINO's think along those lines, too. First tax parents/workers and force them to send their kids to government schools, then add in some regulations that will assure that female students soon outnumber the male students, and if they meet a future spouse and marry, since that's what young people with common interests do, tax the graduates even more. It's only fair, the liberals reason, because they are more successful than the people who didn't go to school, didn't get married (but had babies) and pay very low taxes.

What's happened is that women entered the workforce and in the past few decades educated women have had their incomes match or even exceed that of men. Educated and upper income people have a tendency to marry one another. And because lower-income people are less likely to be married than upper-income individuals, the statistics are skewed even more. To have an honest discussion on this subject you first have to start out with honest statistics.

I know it's a waste of pixels to ask why either party does anything, but sometimes you've just got to smack them when they are trying (and succeeding) to steal your wallet.

Are these quotes by Hillary real?

This e-mail is going around. Giving dates isn't exactly references. She sort of said them, but the lines are usually out of context. Like the first one--she said to rich Democrats at a fund raiser. Check all the quotes at Urban Legends.

Always check out the forwarded e-mails you get--most aren't worth passing along, whether on health, immigration, religion or politics. At least google it to find out the origin. The real Hillary is probably much scarier.

Guess Who Said:
1) "We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.”

A. Karl Marx
B. Adolph Hitler
C. Joseph Stalin
D. None of the above

2) “It’s time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the few, and for the few…and to replace it with shared responsibility for shared prosperity.”

A. Lenin
B. Mussolini
C. Idi Amin
D. None of the
Above

3) “(We)…can’t just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people.”

A. Nikita Khrushev
B. Josef Goebbels
C. Boris Yeltsin
D. None of the above

4) “We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own…in order to create this common ground.”

A. Mao Tse Dung
B. Hugo Chavez
C. Kim Jong Il
D. None of the above

5) “I certainly think the free-market has failed.”

A. Karl Marx
B. Lenin
C. Molotov
D. None of the above

6) “I think it’s time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched.”

A. Pinochet
B. Milosevic
C. Saddam Hussein
D. None of the above

Answers:

(1) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/29/2004
(2) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 5/29/2007
(3) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(4) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(5) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(6) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 9/2/2005

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Callow, crude, childish crumb crunchers

I'm leaving the rude, childish comments on my Hilliam entry, although I could delete the insulting and derogatory, so you can see the level of conversation from the left wing blogfesters.

Here's one bellyaching, whiny response, written by "anonymous," of course, who can't handle the content, so goes to personal attacks on my typo: "Not that grammatically rewriting your post would mitigate the idiocy of its content, but the past tense of "lead" is "led." Most third graders have mastered this one." I would match my third grade teacher, education and experience against anon's any day. Miss DeWall even had time to teach us good manners (missing from the life experience of anon), respect, kindness, orderliness, thrift, consideration for others, basic principles of good health, care for the environment and our community, in addition to all the basics like reading, writing, math, geography, and civics. All without a federal requirement in sight. Thanks for the memories, anon.

Whiny, sniveling, unhinged bloggers here.

Friday Family Photo--The Goff Family

This week we've been bustling about trying to create more storage space. I know none of you ever have this problem. My husband had already talked to one of his favorite contractors about building a slotted storage file to fit in the down stairs shower for our art work. Usually I'm aware of pending projects, but this one I didn't know about until Mark knocked on the door on Tuesday. I was horrified--where would I store our off season coats, I asked. Plus, we've actually used that shower once in 5 years for guests. I launched into planning mode, rushing around looking at all the nooks and crannies. I was completely successful and the shower has been saved. I have one large empty shelf; I've taken two sacks of books to the library sale I would probably never read; some suitcases are under the bed; and I found the photograph of my husband's great grandparents, Sarah and Herbert Goff.

Back: Charles, Herman, Walter; front: Edna, Sarah, Herbert, Eula, Irma
I checked my FamilyTreeMaker database and I did have all but one of these people, but other than their last known address, Crown Hill Cemetery, 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis where they are all awaiting the resurrection, I knew very little, and my husband couldn't remember much. I asked him why his grandmother and one of her sisters had the same married name, but he didn't know. I asked him if he could remember meeting any of them, but he wasn't sure. So, I'll need to call my sister-in-law who is a little older and probably hung around when the relatives were visiting, or maybe might have gone to funerals. From the sleeves, I'd date this about late 1890s. The photo is in very poor condition and appears to have been enlarged from a smaller one maybe 10 years later from notes on the back.

Just by chance, I googled "Herbert Goff + Vernon Indiana" and found this article at a website for the Ironton, Ohio Register, and I'm pretty sure I've found him, plus the name of his father.

Ironton Register, clippings from Oct. 25, 1888: "In a private note from our old friend, S. W. Goff, who is with his son Herbert, at Vernon, Indiana, he says "my first vote was in 1836, when I voted for Harrison. I, also, voted for him in 1840, and will vote for the grandson in 1888."

Isn't the internet amazing?

"Crown Hill is the third largest cemetery in the United States at 555 acres (2.2 km²). It contains 25 miles (40 km) of paved road, over 150 species of trees and plants, over 185,000 graves, and services roughly 1,500 burials per year. It sits on the highest geographic point in Indianapolis. (Wikipedia)." "Crown Hill Cemetery was constructed in response to a movement for a new cemetery in the 1860s. Unlike the tidy rows of pioneer cemeteries, Crown Hill was large in scale and picturesque in appearance. Its massive stone gates and Romanesque Revival waiting station gave the cemetery an imposing quality. The individual stones and mausoleums provide a remarkable collection of sculptural work.[National Park Service]" If you think you may have family there, the data base is terrific. I've only been there once that I can remember, in 1996 for Aunt Babe's funeral, but it is lovely.

I know just how he feels

This blogger was writing about comments that go off-topic here,

"That actually validates my thesis. When you read my blog, you read what you want to read, or what you think I ought to have written, rather than what I actually said"

but what blogger hasn't experienced the same results regardless of the topic (his is "sacramental magisterial authority" and I have no idea what that is).

Scrolling down to his bio, I read

I've been blogging for a long time. Since any other detail I could put in my profile would either offend somebody or be used as a launch-pad for personal insults, that's all you get to know.

I should have thought of that. Too late now.

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Should women look to the government to be a sugar daddy?

This has to be the dumbest survey I've ever read about gimmee women.

"In an electorate that is hungry for change, this cohort [unmarried women] is the hungriest, with 78 percent saying the country is on the wrong track. Unmarried women’s ire is focused firmly on the Republicans, and this is reflected in new poll findings that show Democrats poised to blow Republicans out among this group in 2008. In a generic presidential match-up, unmarried women favor the Democrat by a 70 - 24 point margin." Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner report in my mailbox today

With Democrats in charge of every major city in the U.S., sinking under the weight of their own failed social programs, why would any woman with half a brain look to Democrats as a sugar daddy? Women can solve the poverty problem in this country all by themselves by finishing high school, marrying the father of their children, and not starting a family until they are adults. Unless you want the government making those "intimate" choices for you, ladies, I don't think I'd ask the government for any more help than they are already giving you with Title IX, affirmative action, extra time for tests and tenure, welfare, special housing allowances, women's studies programs, sexual harrassment laws and speech codes. Someone might conclude you're the weaker sex.

About that poll and those scary numbers? Librarians vote 223:1 Democrat to Republican, and no one's afraid of them.

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Hilliam Clinton

Today's WSJ has an excellent editorial on the candidacy of Mrs. Clinton--the name, the dodge, but no pizzaz.

"The political strategy is clear enough. Mrs. Clinton wants to roll to her party's nomination on a tide of "inevitability" while disguising her real agenda as much as possible. But Democratic voters ought to consider whether they want to put all their hopes for retaking the White House on Mrs. Clinton's ability to obfuscate like her husband without his preternatural talent for it. Aside from lacking her husband's political gifts, Hillary's challenge is that we've all seen this movie before. And performances like Tuesday's might be enough to convince voters to opt for a candidate who is his own man."

We know the Clinton years' incompetencies lead up to the Iraq War; let's try something--someone--fresh. Like Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney or Tom Tancredo.

Late October Walks

In Ohio we had a very late spring, and a rainy August, and that has made for an interesting mix of colors this fall. No frost and not many storms have kept the leaves on the trees, although not as vivid as some years, with some still being completely green today. The maples are coming through for us, however. Our hydrangea bush didn't bloom all summer, then budded in September, and gave us 3 small blooms in October. The flowering crab apples, which usually drop their leaves in August and messy fruit in September are green and fruit-free. I've had some beautiful walks.

Maple on Lane Road

Late for the party?

Not so crabby and still green on Nov. 1

Along the creek
Now aren't you sorry you don't live in the Midwest?

Notes for bookclub on McCullough's 1776

Non-fiction books don't usually bring me to tears (well, the documentation and notes for Seabiscuit did), but there were times I had to stop reading David McCullough's breath taking 1776 and go for a walk--even the second time around this week. And this morning, I went out and bought the new boxed, illustrated, coffee-table 1776 with 140 images and 37 removable replicas of the sources he used. I had planned to loan it out, or donate it to the church library, but it is such a treasure, I may just hug it for awhile.

First a note about reviews and questions. Unlike most of the other books I remember reading for bookclub over the years, I couldn't find any questions for club discussions on the internet, although I found many clubs reading it and interviews with McCullough that included questions. Second, there are wonderful reviews available on-line, but I want to point you to two that are not so wonderful--one on the right and one on the left. Their distain for anything patriotic and dislike for a book about politics and war which isn't anti-war, political or flag waving is quite apparent--at least to me.

The first is "With God on our side," reviewed by Preston Jones for Christianity Today, in July 2005. Jones teaches at John Brown University, a small Christian college in Arkansas. This vacuous and inaccurate comment really turned me off:

"Either you like this kind of history or you don't. Of course, it's possible to enjoy a well-told, well-documented tale while yet recognizing that it's couched in fluff. Even leisured academics, one hopes, can see that if books like McCullough's pull people away from the tube, then a good thing is happening."

And then he goes on to ask some "interesting questions" that make you wonder if the 18th century was even covered when he went to school. What was the editor thinking when he accepted this piece?

The second is the review that appeared in The New Yorker, also in 2005, by Joshua Micah Marshall. He is best known as a blogger, who early on saw possibilities for moving from cyberspace to print, as long as he hung way left of center. 1776 is completely built on the character and leadership of George Washington, whom Marshall decides was half marble, a man who invented his own persona by copying "101 Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior," as a child and reading deeply in the classics and history. God forbid that a gen-xer steeped in gaming, downloading and digital wing-dings would think books could improve a man! Apparently no one told him that most children for several centuries, even in the 19th century, used something very similar for learning good manners and deportment. There are several versions, and I think some homeschoolers (the kids who are beating the pants off the public school grads) are still using them. So far, no more Washingtons have emerged from exposure to these rules that I know of.

I also want to refer you to some important maps which you can find at Military.com. I printed The battle of Long Island, the Northern campaigns, Operations around Trenton, and the Battle of Trenton, and the Christmas Campaign. You'll see multiple maps on one page, but it only takes one page to print each selection, so I had 3 printed pages. They will be useful in following the important battles of 1776.

Finally, we have read McCullough before (John Adams) and most of us are acquainted with his works. If we had a national historian, it would be him because his writing is so accessible to the layman and the envy of the academic whose prose eludes most of us. One of the best sites on McCullough I found was "The Glorious Cause of America," where he lectures without notes on Sept. 27, 2005 at Brigham Young University. This is reprinted at http://magazine.byu.edu, and if you don't have time to read the book, I'll give you a pass and let you in with this article. If you read nothing else, it's worth it.

See you at Peggy's on November 5.

Where's the down side?

One of the unintended consequences of the crack down at the border is fewer illegals coming in and a reduction in illegal immigrants being used as "mules" for drug smuggling. But there is an increase in the professional drug runners. So apparently, the guys who we were told just wanted to work, were bringing it in before and now the pros have to do it. More drugs are being confiscated as they crack down on the dealers and drug cartels. [story in WSJ 10-25]

Message to Mexico: Keep your poor at home, improve your job opportunities and infrastructure at home; you're a wealthy country. Arrest and jail your own drug dealers--again, at home--our jails are full. Both countries will benefit and you won't be emptying your small towns of their young generation.

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See Hillary Run

Last week I saw something about the election that stated about 45% of the voters will line up for the Republican candidate no matter who he is just because it's their party. Same with Democrats. That means everyone is going after the currently undecided, or the so-called moderates and independents--or maybe 6% of the voters will decide whether Mrs. Clinton returns to the White House. If you aren't registered to vote, or you sometimes don't bother to go to the polls, you'd better start thinking in that direction. Obama has nothing to offer--especially not African-Americans (have you ever seen the photos of his supporters--they're whiter than my suburb); Edwards is coming across as a whiny rich kid-lawyer with good hair. Mrs. Clinton has the money, her husband's base, and gaggles of feminists clucking and ducking. Never thought I'd say how good Al Gore is looking these days. Whatever few successes the Clintons had during their 8 years, he was behind a lot of them, and then they stabbed him in the back when it was his turn.

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A good rule of thumb

If it sounds too good to be true, someone's going to print it anyway. Peggy Noonan commented on The New Republic getting snookered by Scott Thomas Beauchamp (pseud. Scott Thomas, author of "Shock Troops" his diaries) in the week-end edition of WSJ. She says she smelled a rat early on, as she did when TNR published the Young Republicans piece by Stephen Glass in 1997. OK. Hindsight. But apparently there was an actual investigation and nothing he wrote--places, people, events--checked out. TNR begged him to confirm, but he's abandoned them, just as he did his fellow servicemen. Now TNR is getting all rathered. According to the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz

"The soldier whose New Republic article about military cruelty in Iraq was labeled false by Army investigators refused to defend his accusations when questioned by the magazine, even after being told that the editors could no longer support him unless he cooperated.

In a recorded Sept. 6 conversation, the writer, Pvt. Scott Thomas Beauchamp, said from Iraq that the controversy had "spun out of control" and had become "insane" and "ridiculous" and concluded: "I'm not going to talk to anyone about anything."

TNR has pulled his comments from the web, so I couldn't check it. Even Wikipedia, which I don't usually check because it is written by biased users, is blocking any further editing of the story, waiting for some confirmation.

Michael Yon, one of the best known journalist/photographers of the Iraq War wrote on Oct. 25

I was in Iraq when it first hit the stands and someone asked me about the plausibility of the events described in the article. I skimmed the story but it did not even pass a simple sniff-test. With a shooting war going on, there is no time for trivial pursuits, so my only comment was something like, “It sounds like a bunch of garbage.” Turned out it was.

Someone at TNR needs the journalist's version of gaydar. But it's just more sad evidence of how desperately the left wants the U.S. to lose this war. They say they just want the truth; no, this story will never go away. If the Dems won't cut the funding or set a deadline, the media will just lie. Fellas, war is hell; people die and those who don't do awful things. Young people have their lives changed forever, if they survive. Let's not make it worse than it is.

Checking the stats

They are way down. Don't know why, but there's been about a 1/3 drop since last fall. I know I'm tough and I don't write about comfortable things, but that has always been the case. Certain topics always bring people in--like the Dodge Magnum. Yes, that's one of my most popular entries; and fixing broken zippers, opening frozen door locks and my Fornesetti Julia plates.

Lately there's been an uptick on Agnes Sanford. Maybe she was mentioned on a Christian talk show and people have been googling her (she died in the 1980s). I wrote about her maybe 1.5 years ago, and here's a rerun, just in time for the Halloween stories of spirits and vibes.

Agnes Sanford belongs in a public library

but not in a church library. I was browsing our Mill Run campus library today (I volunteer at and use the church library at our Lytham Road location) and saw her autobiography on the shelf. I don't know why Christians think Sanford is a Christian, but they do (God has the final say, but I don't think she recanted her writings). Even pastors who don't appear to make serious errors about other teachings see no harm. Sure, she was a sweet, dear lady (died in 1982) who said and wrote "spiritual" things, but if you get a paperback of one of her titles and underline the nonbiblical drivel in red, and the Gospel based material in green, you'll see my point. About 25 years ago I actually did that, and hid her books in my laundry room packed inside an old briefcase. And although I don't believe her nonsense about vibrations, and auras and spirits, I could swear I felt a heaviness unrelated to the ironing basket when I entered that room. So I threw them out. Better she should give off her vibes at the dump rather than inside my house or the church building--if you believe that sort of stuff, and she does. What makes her so harmful is that she has so many spiritual descendants who are still speaking and writing on the inner healing circuit. It's snake oil folks. Don't be taken in.

I'm thinking that there are just fewer people looking for the Dodge Magnum, but it still gets my vote as the best looking car on the road. It's being "refreshed" for 2008--hope they don't ruin it.

Fellowship of the Cane

If you read no other blog today, stop by Arkansas and read Hokulea's Fellowship of the Cane, or what she learned after breaking her foot. It's better than anything I ever heard at a "sensitivity training," disability workshop and she speaks directly to all of us, able-bodied or not:

"I found myself saying that I don't think I could do this forever, and whining about my little issues. I have learned what a wimp I am in general and as this episode winds down and my mobility is returning . . ."

Then hang around a bit and look through her beautiful photos of Arkansas and Hawaii, as well as other travels. She's a writer with an artistic eye and a sensitive soul.

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St. Paul to Richard Dawkins

Yesterday when clicking through the channels I saw Richard Dawkins for about 10 seconds--probably a C-SPAN rerun. Nothing new here--someone or other has been saying the same stuff for 2,000 years. Including Paul, the author of most of the New Testament. He too was an educated man persecuting Christians, probably saying the same things as Dawkins, although he didn't have the benefit of C-SPAN to spread his views, or the internet for people to down load it.

Here's Paul writing to Titus, which just happens to be the Oct. 28 selection in my One Year Bible (NIV), but he could just as well be writing to Dawkins (all Christians could be praying that Dawkins have a Damascus Road experience). He would be a terrific Paul Jr.:

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and peasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."

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Community Theater

Last night we drove 62 miles (round trip) to see the premiere of David Meyer's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Condominium Association, Inc." performed by the Pickerington Community Theatre at the Violet Grange in Pickerington, Ohio. It takes a lot to get me out at night, and Pickerington seems like we're driving almost to Wheeling. Only for a friend. However, we had a good time and enjoyed the show. I think community theater is great fun, and I love seeing people I know on stage (David had a cameo appearance at the end). It's a perfect Halloween vehicle, too, with all the Sleepy Hollow stuff and Rip Van Winkle and a headless guy. Auditions for the next production, Godspell, will be January 4,5, and 6, for performances March 21-31 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

One performer, Karen Haueise, who played Madame Perdieu/Roz Purdy was so gifted and natural I inquired about her and was told she had never been in a theater production before. I think some people can fill a stage without overdoing it or stealing attention from other actors and yet make it all seem real. I hope she continues to do community theater.

OCLC has a new logo

Let me just say for starters, congratulations OCLC on your 40th birthday. It's probably a good time to put out a new corporate logo. The concept (news release) has a nice, trinitarian feel to it, not exactly Father, Son and Holy Ghost, but close.

Connecting libraries at the local, group and global levels
Connecting people through libraries to knowledge
Connecting past, present, and future through access to library collections

Saying things in threes is just so . . . rhythmic. "OCLC. The world's libraries. Connected." "Enhance processes. Extend collections and access. Strengthen your users’ experience." "Establish, maintain and operate a computerized library network." "The evolution of library use, of libraries themselves and of librarianship."

This knowledge thing is inaccurate, however. "Information" is not "knowledge," and that's what giant corporations like OCLC have--it harvests, stores, compacts, reconfigures and distributes information, not knowledge. You wouldn't say wheat is bread, or sugar is candy. Don't say information is knowledge. Nor is it necessarily power. Of the top 15 management posts at OCLC, 4 are held by librarians, who should be the most powerful people in the world if that old saw were true.

I think I know what a local level is and possibly what a global level is. However, level is one of those squishy overused English words that is forced to work overtime at low pay--tool, device, line, measurement, equal, balanced, surface, magnitude, calm, proportional, governmental body--so you almost can't go wrong by using it.

When I arrived in Columbus 40 years ago to catalog Russian books at The Ohio State University Libraries (I also had to type the cards on a manual cyrillic typewriter), the Ohio College Library Consortium (54 libraries) had 3 employees, one of whom was the founder and visionary, Fred Kilgour, and was located on the 3rd floor of Thompson Library. I used to go to lunch with one of them whose name I've forgotten, because we were both new in town and didn't know anyone. Then it moved over to Kinnear Road for awhile, eventually changing "Ohio" to "On-line," and "College" to "Computer," and then to Dublin, Ohio, changing its legal name to an acronym, serving 60,000 libraries in 112 countries.

Observing All Hallows' Eve

Although Halloween looks pagan, especially considering the slutty costume you can buy for $30 to make your 5 year old daughter look like a slutty prostitute, its origins are Christian according to Fisheaters website:

The Vigil of All Hallows' ("Hallows' Eve," or "Hallowe'en") came, in Irish popular piety, to be a day of remembering the dead who are neither in Purgatory or Heaven, but are damned, and these customs spread to many parts of the world. Thus we have the popular focus of Hallowe'en as the reality of Hell, hence its scary character and focus on evil and how to avoid it, the sad fate of the souls of the damned, etc.

How, or even whether, to celebrate Hallowe'en is a controversial topic in traditional circles. One hears too often that "Hallowe'en is a pagan holiday" -- an impossibility because "Hallowe'en," as said, means "All Hallows' Evening" which is as Catholic a holiday as one can get. Some say that the holiday actually stems from Samhain, a pagan Celtic celebration, or is Satanic, but this isn't true, either, any more than Christmas "stems from" the Druids' Yule, though popular customs that predated the Church may be involved in our celebrations (it is rather amusing that October 31 is also "Reformation Day" in Protestant circles -- the day to recall Luther's having nailed his 95 Theses to Wittenberg's cathedral door -- but Protestants who reject "Hallowe'en" because pagans used to do things on October 31 don't object to commemorating that event on this day)."

On All Saints Sunday, which this year is November 4 (first Sunday after All Hallows'/All Saints Day, Nov. 1) our church remembers/memorializes the Church Triumphant, saints of the church in heaven, by reading the names turned in by members. The other day while delivering the intercampus mail, I picked up a stack of cards so the names of my deceased family members and friends (the saints) could be read at the 8:30 service at Lytham Road. Then I noticed the cards are for Mill Run services. So forgive me, dear ones, if I scribble on your cards. It's the thought. . .

Friday Family Photo

This portrait was probably taken 120 years ago in 1887 when Stanley C. Byrum was about a year old. It hangs in our cottage, in a fragile old frame coated with thick paint. I was the only one who wanted it when my in-laws' home was being sold after their deaths. He was my husband's grandfather, and the single most important adult in his life. "Biggie" is always in my husband's conversation when values, character or family come up. I never met him; he died in 1955 at 68 while my husband was still in high school. The little face is amazing--it has reappeared in several generations. My mother-in-law had this face, but not her sisters; his great-grand daughter Julie, but not her sister, had this face as a baby, as did her daughter Erin.

Adverbosity

I'm a sucker for qualifiers--"sort of," "rather," "just," "quite," and "too." And I'm crazy for dashes. Every editor wants to chop my adverbs. Zinsser says,

"Most adverbs are unnecessary. You will clutter your sentence and annoy the reader if you choose a verb that has a precise meaning and then add an adverb that carries the same meaning. . . "blared loudly," "mostly flabbergasted," and "moped dejectedly."

But then, Zinsser doesn't think much of adjectives, either--"stately elms," "frisky kittens" and "hard-bitten detectives.' He likes strong verbs. At nHumanities it was suggested

"Kill the modifiers. This is machete work, so wrap a bandanna around your face and grab some shop goggles. No reader is going to believe that your process is innovative or your product is world-class just because you say so, so kill those adjectives. Don’t feel sorry for them. They have no feelings."

So I struggled with film critic Joe Morgenstern's article today on Dan in Real Life, and the new Jimmy Carter documentary. There were so many adverbs (and adjectives), I was mostly and dejectedly flabbergasted.

strives desperately
romantically involved (if a man and woman are involved, doesn't that mean romantically?)
awfully heartily (adverb modifying an adverb--double whammy)
singularly unpleasant
notoriously homely
inexplicably awful
terribly tedious
extremely small (how about tiny?)
quite disarmingly
genuinely sweet

unquenchably energetic
singular passion
slightly stooped
essentially undiminished
mostly calm
patiently didactic
uncomfortably admiring advertisement
narrowly focused
mostly uncritical view
uncritical but not unaffecting
peregrinating conscience (I had to look this one up--means traveling)

Whew! Is it just me? Maybe he's British. They like their sentences fully and heartily packed.

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Pumpkin ice cream

This is one of my fall favorites (Sept-Nov), and it's only available a limited amount of time. Today I bought two half gals of Edy's. Well, not really 1/2 gallon, because they are all cheating on their measures (1.75 qts), but you know what I mean. And technically it isn't ice cream because Edy's calls it "frozen dessert." I take one of these, softened, and mix it with a small carton of thawed sugar-free Cool Whip, then refreeze. This reduces the sugar content, lowers the calories, but hardly affects the flavor or texture, because it is the fat that makes ice cream wonderful. Edy's also makes an apple pie flavor and a peppermint flavor that are seasonal.

INGREDIENTS: Whey (Dairy), skim milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, pumpkin, maltodextrin, spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger), salt, guar gum, Propylene Glycol Monostearate, citric acid, monoglycerides, Yellow #6, carrageenan.

Propylene Glycol Monostearate. Isn't that C21H42O3 an ingredient in antifreeze, solvents and detergents? On second thought. . .

Are Georgians an endangered species?

I sure hope not. We University of Illinois Alumni (plus one IU) spent a lovely 10 days with University of Georgia Dawgs in September touring Ireland. Midwesterners are so practical and blunt; in Georgia they know how to sweet-talk-ya'll. I loved it. Anyway, to the point. Did you see the article in today's WSJ about that little mussel that's protected by all the government agencies, but who's looking out for the people?

The Amblema neislerii, or as it is widely known by a more unflattering name, the fat threeridge mussel, is on the endangered species list according to Ann Carrns, "Atlanta is flexing muscles," p. 1, WSJ, Oct. 26, 2007. Georgia has filed suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers which controls the reservoir, Lake Lanier, from which Atlanta gets its drinking water. It's a busy little lake--sending water also to rivers downstream including one in Florida where these endangered mussels live--and it cools 2 power plants and freshens the spawning grounds of Gulf sturgeon.

In a drought year (it's Bush's fault that we got too much rain in Ohio and not enough in Georgia), that's a lot. Not only do you have several state governments involved--Georgia, Alabama and Florida--but also FEMA, the Corps, EPA and Fish and Wildlife. Not to worry! There's 9 months of water left!! Florida (pot to kettle) is accusing Atlanta of over development, squandering its water resources. Well, ggggolllleeee, like we've never seen the countryside and drained wetlands eaten up with housing developments in Florida!

This is why I don't like burning corn in our cars, Mr. Gore. The inputs including fertilizer, water and herbicides are humongous--it's a negative energy balance. We on the Great Lakes (11 states and provinces) can see the rest of you eyeing our water. Stop it!

After thoughts: Isn't it scary that there are some willing to fight for the mussel which needs a flow of water to survive who think it's OK to stop the survival of a baby moving down the birth canal ?