When Rush bores me

Rush Limbaugh is a happy, upbeat guy with a huge following (heard locally at 610 am, noon week-days) and an even bigger opinion of himself. But, lest you point fingers, he thinks everyone should have a good opinion of herself, work hard, and invest in the future of America. Your talent is on loan from God, also. Media Matters (founded by the Clintons) holds Rush to a higher standard than the other media, which makes for interesting fireworks. However, he does have some topics that bore me.

1. Golf
2. Football
3. Cigars
4. Hillary's lock box--or anything to do with the Clintons. I don't think there is anything to say about them that he hasn't already said numerous times.
5. Music--he's a former sports announcer and disc jockey, and enough younger than me that I find it a little loud and wearying.
6. The marvels of Florida.
7. Harry Reid--especially after that last round. It's like making fun of a box of rocks.
8. His weight. It's like Oprah.
9. Dinner parties he attended over the week-end.
10. Fund raising or political events he attended over the week-end.

I'm also not fond of, but don't switch channels, when he takes a phone call from a liberal. Really, it's just not fair. He's made millions, after starting at the bottom, with a great voice and wit explaining his political views, and then he gives these poor guys who've never done any public speaking some rope, and they make their own noose and throw it over the light pole. I don't know if his call screener just waits until some dolt calls in who can't put two sentences together, or if liberals who listen to him are really that confused.

Remember Mrs. Kerry?

She's the one who lost the cookie baking contest against Laura Bush. Her first husband's name was John Heinz, a Republican politician who died with 6 others in a plane accident. There is a Digital Research Library and Web-based catalog (University of Pittsburgh) for the Library & Archives of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania (HSWP) at the History Center named for him which contains over 29,000 records. The collection is non-circulating materials documenting life in Western Pennsylvania, so having them scanned and available is great. The Reading Room and collections are located at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, 1212 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222. If you're doing genealogical research for Pennsylvania family members, you might take a look. I've been browsing an old book on Beaver County where my husband's grandfather and great-grandparents lived. It seems these folks really did come from Scotland (Charles Bruce, d. 1812) way back when.

How many other problems

will the greenies compound? Steamier weather in Iowa this summer was attributed to more corn (which is driving up our food costs) being grown and narrower rows.

Climatologists are building evidence that crops, particularly corn, are driving up dew points as they put water into the atmosphere through evaporation. They also may make corn-growing areas cooler and alter rain patterns. Story

Doesn't anyone read the research from the 70s when we went through all this hysteria before the gen-xers were born? It's bad enough to drive through our beautiful farmland--90.5 million acres of corn this year, up 15 percent--and see nothing but corn planted right up to the roads, encouraging erosion and destruction of bird habitat, but just crazy when you think of rising food costs, agricultural inputs and all our tax money being thrown at it.

Cellulosic ethanol--which is derived from plants like switchgrass--will require a big technological breakthrough to have any impact on the fuel supply. That leaves corn- and sugar-based ethanol, which have been around long enough to understand their significant limitations. What we have here is a classic political stampede rooted more in hope and self-interest than science or logic. WSJ hot topic

And nary a new refinery or coal mine in sight (God's plan for storing vegetative matter for later fuel use) as the Chinese burn dirty coal putting filth into the atmosphere to make our "energy saving" light bulbs, while grabbing up the oil markets. Thank you Algorians.

Unintended consequences of planning ahead

I've always been an early riser, and I go out and meet the folks about 6 a.m. at the coffee shop (different ones depending on the day). I even blog about it. Coffee Spills. But I also bring home the refill. For a long time, I just warmed it up to drink later; then I started saving some for the next morning. Then I started saving the whole thing for the next morning. Along came the "fall back" time change. Early risers hate this time of year (we love the "spring forward". Now we're waking up at 3:30 instead of 4:30. Lately, it's been 3 a.m. because I know that coffee is downstairs waiting for me. Even if I dawdle in the shower, take special care with my make-up and hair, and don't warm it up until 4:30, my mind at 3 a.m. knows it is calling, calling. Even the cat who likes to start smacking the window blinds around 4 a.m. thinks this is way to early for breakfast.

This morning I killed a little time trying to encourage sleepiness by shifting to the couch. I didn't want to watch Birdman of Alcatraz (when I was a veterinary librarian, I had his books in the collection), so I watched a cooking show on Food Network about another bird, the turkey, thinking it would put me to sleep. But I got caught up in the techniques. Aren't these TV chefs amazing? The eye and ear are not clever enough to determine how the chatter evolves seamlessly with the green bean casserole. I know it's the miracle of writing (are their writers on strike, too?) and editing, but it's the smoothness that amazes me. The tricky biscuit dough wreath rolled in cinnamon just appears on the sheet from rolling to cutting to placing in seconds, but her cheery, instructional voice doesn't change, her jeweled sweater doesn't have egg wash splashes, nothing sticks to the rolling pin, there's nothing under her fingernails, and strands of her long, blonde hair don/t appear in the gravy. The woman is amazing.

What would Jesus buy?

This film just might save you from making huge mistakes this Christmas. It tells the story of anti-consumerism preacher Reverend Billy. Along with his Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir he goes on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse. I saw the trailer--actually saw the words "Merry Christmas" at a store--although it may have been a movie set. I don't think it's in Columbus yet.

I looked through a few blogs, and saw the usual anti-business, anti-capitalism comments from readers and wondered if the person writing had thought about where she was in the food chain of consumerism. Distribution of the product? Marketing? Salesclerk? Gas station attendant gasing up the SUV? Restaurant worker serving shoppers? Construction worker building the mall? Sanitation worker hauling the trash? Musician selling the iTunes? Farmer raising the turkeys and pumpkins? Baker making the pies and cookies? Think about it. Where do you want the consumerism to stop and how much 'til you can't pay the rent?

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But did they have a legal driver's license?

Personal vehicles were the most common conveyance used to smuggle cocaine into the United States in 2006, arriving primarily across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Seizures: 27% in California; 20% in Arizona; <1% in New Mexico; 10% in West Texas; and 42% in south Texas.

Cocaine Smuggling in 2006

Update on Ramos and Campeon

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Guess who's coming to dinner?

During the last two decades, Dengue Fever has been on the increase in Latin America and the Caribbean. It’s a mosquito transmitted disease with 4 virus serotypes, and having one doesn’t make a person immune-- he can get the other three. Each infection places the person at greater risk for Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF), a life threatening condition. There is an outbreak on the Mexican side of the Mexico-Texas border. So guess who’s coming to dinner? This is reported in a recent issue of JAMA. This content is free, and well worth reading when you get tired of hearing about bird flu and MRSA on CNN or Fox.

JAMA, although one of my favorite journals, has a strong liberal editorial bias when it comes to health issues which are impacted by current public policy, so no mention is made in this issue about U.S.-Mexico border security, only that, "Clinicians in the south Texas area and members of the public should be aware of the potential for DHF in addition to dengue fever in the region." Gee, thanks for the heads up.

JAMA also doesn’t go back to basics and point out that dengue fever, because it is mosquito spread, can be controlled with DDT. Although just a few mosquitoes can infect an entire household with the virus and those people can in turn infect co-workers and schoolmates, neither JAMA nor the WHO document it cites, mentions control of mosquitoes with DDT.

However, a 2005 document at Yale Global let it slip out:

"Dubbed "breakbone fever" when it was first diagnosed more than three centuries ago, because it causes extreme pain in the joints, dengue began its global spread around Asia during World War II, when it traveled with warring armies from country to country. After the war, Aedes mosquitoes and dengue flourished along with Asia's rapid population growth and urbanization and then was carried aboard ships and planes to Africa and the Mediterranean.

When the use of the insecticide DDT in Latin America was stopped in the 1970s after the apparent eradication of yellow fever, which Aedes mosquitoes also carries, dengue was able to stage a comeback in the New World."

The virus seems to be going first class these days, using airplanes to travel, plastic lids and containers for breeding, and residing in clean, urban settings. You definitely will not need to be living in a swampy rural area to get this virus. Dengue currently infects about 50 million people, particularly in Asia, and has researchers scratching their heads, looking at computer models, and apply for grants. "Warming globalists" will note in their hot air, alarmist messages how these diseases were once defeated, but will blame global warming on their resurgence without mentioning that DDT could be among the tools to help control them.

Maybe they think mosquitoes are on the endangered species list and need to be protected?

[Emerging Infectious Diseases also notes its mysterious suppression and then reemergence, but doesn't say why or how. The decade of the 1970s seems to hold the secret. . . could it be. . .? "In the Pacific, dengue viruses were reintroduced in the early 1970s after an absence of more than 25 years. Epidemic activity caused by all four serotypes has intensified in recent years with major epidemics of DHF on several islands. Despite poor surveillance for dengue in Africa, epidemic dengue fever caused by all four serotypes has increased dramatically since 1980. . . In 2005, dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease affecting humans; its global distribution is comparable to that of malaria, and an estimated 2.5 billion people live in areas at risk for epidemic transmission."

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The AIDS Estimate

What's the reason for overestimating the effects or spread of a terrible disease? WaPo reports on the inaccuracy of the UN estimates of the size and course of the AIDS epidemic.

The United Nations' top AIDS scientists plan to acknowledge this week that they have long overestimated both the size and the course of the epidemic, which they now believe has been slowing for nearly a decade, according to U.N. documents prepared for the announcement.

AIDS remains a devastating public health crisis in the most heavily affected areas of sub-Saharan Africa. But the far-reaching revisions amount to at least a partial acknowledgment of criticisms long leveled by outside researchers who disputed the U.N. portrayal of an ever-expanding global epidemic. Source Washington Post (may need registration)

It is good that 40% fewer will suffer, unfortunately I doubt that it means that the programs in place have been successful, but rather those who run the programs have been inflating the numbers in order to get more money. The unintended consequences are probably doner fatigue both from NGOs and governments, and less money directed to other programs that need it.

I've written about this before: "Western interference in the economies, politics and cultures of third world developing countries has not turned out well. The American Left loves to point fingers at Christian missionaries who started hospitals, schools, churches and developed a written language for Africans, Asians, and Islanders, but their footprints are tiny compared to the disaster of foreign aid from Europe and the U.S. The missionaries at least were accountable to God and their denomination; the governments and the U.N. agencies who soaked the guilt-swamped for more money funded various interventions in their societies which were accountable to no one, not even us taxpayers, elevating a class of dictators, bureaucrats and home grown thieves."

For all the statistics on what aid has done, check The White Man's Burden; why the West's efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill and so little good, by William Easterly (Penguin Press, 2006) and The Trouble with Africa; why foreign aid isn't working, by Robert Calderisi (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006). From WaPo's review of Easterly's book: [He writes about] "the spirit of benign meddling that lies behind foreign aid, foreign military interventions and such do-gooder institutions as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United Nations. In his account, such efforts are fatally contaminated by what the philosopher Karl Popper called "utopian social engineering." Easterly's list of well-meaning villains stretches from the economist Jeffrey Sachs to the rock singer and charity impresario Bono."

Sleep soundly

Baldilocks says, because SSgt Lawrence Dean, USMC, is watching out for you. See the interview.

Christian basher tries to intimidate

I'm being watched for racist comments because I'm a "self-proclaimed" Christian by

Dr. R. Watnicke
The University of British Columbia
2329 West Mall Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4
tel 604.822.2211

He left a comment on my Thanksgiving entry of four years ago when I noted the international diversity of the crew working at White Castle, the only place open on that holiday. He didn't like my humor I guess. I said the Supervisor was Canadian because his haughtiness (with the staff) reminded me of Peter Jennings (he was alive and well then). In Canada it is currently considered a hate crime to publicly criticize any identifiable group, or to say they are wrong for any reason. Especially from the pulpit. Witnessing to a non-Christian about Jesus I suppose could be hate speech in Canada, because you would be telling him you think he is a sinner, and therefore doing something wrong, and that would be an attack. This is what passes for tolerance in some countries.

I did offer at that post White Castle's turkey stuffing recipe, not realizing I'd pick up some turkeys along the way.

10 White Castle hamburgers, no pickles
1 ½ cups celery, diced
1 ¼ tsp. ground thyme
1 ½ tsp. ground sage
½ tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
¼ c. chicken broth

In a large mixing bowl, tear the burgers into pieces and add diced celery and seasonings. Toss and add chicken broth. Toss well. Stuff cavity of turkey just before roasting. Makes about 9 cups (enough for a 10- to 12-pound turkey). Note: Allow 1 hamburger for each pound of turkey, which will be the equivalent of ¾ cup of stuffing per pound.

Vancouver is one of my favorite cities.

Are Canadians wimps or just socialists?

Today I read that Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura can't be broadcast in Canada because of Canada's strict "hate speech" laws. I just can't believe that Canadians would put up with their government telling them what they could listen to. I've never heard either one of them say anything even remotely hateful--harsh, yes; funny, yes; annoying, yes; narrow, yes; conservative, yes; bombastic, yes; parody, yes; snide, yes; repetitive, yes; smart, yes; incisive, yes; common sense, yes.

Dr. Laura, at least back in the days when I could get her program, was awfully hard on stupid people, racist people, whiney people, and people who had not treated their children well. Dr. Laura got bumped here in Columbus (in my opinion) in the fall of 2001 because she was outrageous enough to say that babies should only be adopted by a married man and woman. Money talks, and sometimes it says good-bye. As far as I know, single adoptive parents didn't interpret that sound research as hate speech, but gays did, and they have tremendous power--far beyond their numbers might suggest, because they are wealthy, educated, and political. They certainly had some power with Clear Channel. There's a solution--you change the channel if it makes you mad.

Read Dr. Laura's blog entry, "For years," to see what Canadians and Ohioans are missing.

I watched Limbaugh interviewed on Fox this afternoon. He said the 5 weeks he spent in drug rehab were the most valuable of his life. He became addicted to OxyContin after spinal surgery. Later he lost his hearing and had a cochlear implant,a device that converts a mechanical signal of hearing into a electrical signal that the brain can interpret. Usually the Left would wet themselves, fawn and shuffle to show sympathy to a druggie with a handicap, a two-fer. But not Rush whom they hate so bad it makes them feel good, like they're doing something patriotic or spiritual. I guess it got them in shape for hating Bush.

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The Writers' Strike

It's hurting California's economy even if the rest of us are breathing a sigh of relief for the hurting culture. This Californian supports the strikers.

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Monday Memories--head covering or prayer veil

Somewhere I have a small envelop containing a prayer covering. Mother always kept a few in her desk so that if we were visiting around Easter or the fall communion date for the Brethren Love Feast, her daughters or granddaughters could wear one to the service, and I think I may have brought one home after her funeral in 2000. There is a fairly long, but not unbiased, article about head coverings for Mennonite women here. We were not Mennonite and most Brethren women gave up the veil or covering in the 1920s. I've seen photos of my maternal grandmother in a bonnet similar to the ones on the left when she was a young married woman. As I see it, they have both a spiritual and cultural use. Among the Brethren, it was called dressing "in order," and it reminds us that there is a God given order between men and women, and humans and God. But they are also a witness to others about your faith and help maintain modesty. Women who cover their heads would look a bit silly with bellies hanging over waist bands, and bursting bosoms over the top of skinny t-shirts. Even sillier than those who do it with no head covering.

I was probably 11 or 12 when I was baptized. My parents drove from Forreston (15 miles) so I could attend the instruction classes at the Church of the Brethren in Mt. Morris, which I think were on Sunday afternoon. Most of the class was the children in this photograph. After baptism, I was given my own prayer veil which I wore to communion to sit with the women, twice a year. The last I wore a covering was about 10 years ago when I attended communion at my parents' church.

Interesting selection of head coverings for women over the centuries, including Lutherans, Episcopalians, Baptists, and Anabaptists.

Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Bush. . .

Let's break the chain. We seem to be in a rut. Elect a new name. We don't need to repeat history--recent or ancient.

William Bradford [Plymouth Colony of the Pilgrims], who was elected governor thirty times between 1622 and 1656, proved to be a steady hand in directing the colony, as well as an able historian of its courage and trials. Story of Thanksgiving

Trick my Truck

I've been enjoying watching truck makeovers on CMT this week-end. Nice personal interest stories with the Chrome Shop Mafia working their miracles. I don't know if the writers' strike will affect them or not--the banter seems pretty standard from show to show. Trick my Trucker, a weight loss and make-over show (series) for the drivers was even more fun. Seeing overweight smokers with hair and beard styles stuck in the 70s get into good nutrition, exercise get a shave and a haircut was awesome. Took 25 years off their appearance.

Eugene Jackson's Lifeline, a semi that rescues stranded big rigs got spiffed up.

Hollywood and the Iraq War

Remembering the WWII movies, it's hard to imagine today's bevy of beauties like Cruise, Clooney and DiCaprio doing the same for the Iraq War. First of all, they wouldn't be able to disguise their hatred for Dubya. But here's a second thought--about wealth and guilt:

"I used to believe that one of the reasons that a lot of the male movie stars of the 30s and 40s drank so much was out of guilt that they were making more money in a week than most Americans earned in a year, and that even in the middle of the Great Depression they were living like royalty. But I also suspected that they turned to alcohol partly out of shame because they were engaged in what would generally have been regarded as a passive, feminine occupation — playing dress up, being told what to do and how to do it by male directors, standing by while rugged stunt men did all the heavy lifting and, worst of all, wearing makeup all the livelong day."

But then along came the war and they were able to do guy stuff and be patriotic--even giving up lucrative contracts to serve their country. Those who were too old or had disabilities like John Wayne, made propaganda films. Today's mega-rich male stars? She calls them bimbos.

Poverty in America--we can end it

That's a slogan of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, not George W. Bush, John Edwards or Charlie Rangel.

No one who's ever read a government, foundation or religion report believes poverty will end, especially not in the United States because the bar is always being raised. It's not "poverty" that energizes politicians to ask for more taxes or para church organizations to seek donations, it's the income gap. Those on the bottom are in poverty, even if my early 1970s SAHM life style in the educated middle class was a pretty close match with today's poverty. No air conditioning, one older car, one TV set, no cable, no computer, no dinners out, no vacations. It was mac and cheese at the end of the month; sewing the kids' clothes; postponing repair projects until we had the money. Everyone we knew lived the same way.



The good news is that the USA is the land of opportunity and the percent of change was 90% in the bottom quintile of income 1996-2004--people who will have moved up and out within the next decade--and they have been doing that at least since the 1950s according to a new Treasury Dept. report. Many of the poor of the 1990s are now in the top quintile, because the bottom always includes young people starting out willing to make sacrifices and take risks.

Today's face of poverty, however, does have a distinct, unchanging look--women and children, some recent immigrants, the unhealthy, disabled, and elderly with no family. The bad news is new poor will flood in across the border (our poverty looks pretty good to them). The bad news is we loose to death and injury more young people on our roads in one year than we lost in 4 in Iran and Iraq. Many will never again be a productive citizen and will need care and assistance. The bad news is we have many children born pre-maturely, with their first 3 months of life costing a million dollars. Even choosing a Caesarian a week or two early causes death and injury to be paid for down the road. Neither private insurance or SCHIP will solve a million dollar hospital bill. They may never be healthy--they may always need more medical care, extra help in school and modified work environment.

The bad news is many people will by choice addle their brains with alcohol and drugs, decreasing their intelligence and ability to earn a living for themselves or their families down the road, or their ability to help others. The bad news is that some people will inherit diseases or conditions for which there is no cure, only modified living arrangements, and they will need some type of help the rest of their lives.

The worst news about poverty is that young woman you see above, barely hanging on. There are too many children being raised by unmarried mothers, with Uncle Sam as a distant and uncaring step-father, while the real "daddy" hangs out with his buddies and shows up just to get a loan or make a sperm deposit. Even if she eventually finishes high school and gets a grant to complete some college, her chances of giving her children what her married friends have are slim to none. Marriage of the parents is the best safety net a child can have--her chances of growing up in poverty are extremely slim if only her mother had made better choices about sex.

Poverty shouldn't be a slogan or a bumper sticker to be trotted out by politicians or preachers to get your vote or money. You are obligated by God to help, assist and love the poor. The poor are not obligated to be your feel-good project or "teach" your teens about life for a school requirement.

You are never obligated to close the gap between quintiles by reducing or taking the incomes of others, nor do you need to stand in the way of those who are trying to escape it--which many poverty programs do. You are not obligated to help the wealthy, fair-skinned Mexican government officials continue to be irresponsible and neglectful of its own brown children, by inviting people to cross the border for money to send home, and stay here illegally, decimating their culture and villages.

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The strong Canadian dollar

is apparently hurting some Canadian industries that supply substantial markets in the USA, and are now less competitive.

"So now that Americans are taking a second look at our goods because of our strong dollar and their weak Greenback, Quebecers like Jean Charest are beginning to panic.

My suggestion to Charest is this: Quebecers really don’t like the USA and the American people, so here is Quebec’s best opportunity ever, to wean itself from the American teat.

All Quebecers have to do is learn how to live with a little less. A little less tourism - A little less manufacturing - Maybe even a little less hydroelectric sales. And then they’ll never again need to be upset by the big bad ugly Americans.

On the brighter side though, Quebecers are crossing into the USA in record numbers to buy their Christmas gifts, and to spend their vacation money in a country where their inflated dollar buys them more.

Charest must be overjoyed at his Quebecois compatriots’ newfound buying bonanza south of the border while Quebec manufacturers, retailers and service-providers wonder if they’ll have a job in the New Year." Howard Galganov

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Political Correctness in 1994

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

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

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

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Scrap the Flight 93 Memorial

WorldNet Daily reports: "Two years ago U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo asked the Park Service to revamp a proposed memorial to the heroics of Flight 93 passengers and crew, who died trying to retake their airliner from terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001, because of its use of a crescent, an Islamic symbol.

But the crescent remains, and now he's telling officials to scrap the plan and start all over." I can't find the letter on Tancredo's web site, but it is repeated at a number of sources.

The intention of the design doesn't matter. It's the result. It's the message. If it upsets the victims' families, someone needs to take another look.


Joanne Hanley, memorial superintendent, has said all along that people are seeing things that aren't really there. The "thing" I'm seeing is a crescent. I'll bet if it were a cross, someone on her staff would notice.

Don't you just love it

when "easy to use" technology sites for non-technical folks like me are so filled with jargon you haven't a clue what they do?

Caravel is a enterprise-level Content Management System with an intuitive user interface, designed to allow non-technical users to maintain website content. Caravel allows admins to centrally maintain thousands of sites off one code-base.

Gobbledegook.

How to tell a real peacemaker

Check out their beliefs. Statement on the War in Iraq by the Mennonites (Mennonite Church USA), at the Global Anabaptist Encyclopedia On-line. Also useful for doing some genealogy searches if you have Mennonites in your family tree.

Cha-Ching a ring ding at Christmas

This is the time of year that every household that has donated in the past, ends up on the mailing list of charitable organizations. They know, as retailers do, that we're feeling a bit more generous, and that some even plan ahead for deductions on the income taxes in 2007.

Here's 3 that we support--Lutheran Bible Translators who put scripture in the "heart language" of millions; Pregnancy Decision Health Centers which helps save babies' lives and gives women in distress support when their parents or boyfriends pressure them to abort; and Pinecrest Community, a retirement complex, nursing home, and Alzheimer' care facility in the town where I grew up, affiliated with the Church of the Brethren. My parents, the parents of my friends, my grandmother and her siblings, and my aunts and uncles have all resided or been treated here at some time in their lives.

The middle class and poor give much more from the heart and wallet than the rich, and the working poor more than the middle class. I checked our zip code. We have almost double the median income of the rest of Ohio, but are just slightly below Ohio's average in charitable giving. And it's not just Ohio. In a very similar spread, families in San Francisco give about the same amount to charity as families in South Dakota: $1,300. Yet the SF families have average incomes of about $80,000, compared to only about $45,000 in South Dakota. Evangelical and fundamentalist Christians give much more liberally than mainline, liberal Christians.

Conservative Christians will be blamed

As the election heats up, we'll hear all sorts of nonsense and sneaky asides about the power of the Christian right. I'm sure Huckabee will get a few slurs just because he was a Baptist minister in his past life. I guess it brings out voters, because it sure worked in Ohio in 2006. We elected a liberal governor, a former Methodist minister. Oh, that it were true that Christians stood on biblical principles--or that they even flooded the polls on election day. Christians haven't been able to roll back anything. Here's what I wrote in March, and so far, no one has challenged it.

. . . liberals try to put up conservatives, particularly Christian conservatives, as some sort of powerhouse bringing down the government. No one has been a bigger spender on social programs than the Bush administration (especially education). Medicare. Biggest gains under Republicans. Illegal immigration. Huge muck job by Republicans--who was president in 1986 for IRCA? Social Security. Reagan was President when I lost mine. Legal abortion. Last time I checked, we're still killing babies--what--25-35 million since Roe v. Wade? If Christian conservatives manage to roll back a week or two in a sparsely populated rural state, the Dems go crazy ("oh no, a baby's made it out alive"), but the law's still there. DDT. Last time I ran the numbers, we'd killed more Africans with malaria in the last 30 years than died being shipped across the Atlantic as slaves in the 18th century, but not a single bird, let alone human, ever died from spraying DDT on mosquito eggs in standing pools of swamp water. . . Clean air laws. We've got bunches of empty factories in Ohio that have no smoke belching from the chimneys--the jobs went first to the southern U.S.A., then to Asia. Women's Rights. Leading cause of poverty in the U.S.A. is unmarried women having sex and babies before finishing school. The poverty gap is no longer racial, it is marital. And Democrats have a fainting spell if someone introduces an abstinence program or a chastity pledge

I'm waiting for someone to outline all the programs demanded, introduced or defeated by conservative Christians which have changed our culture as much as the above items.

How to get a driver's license in Mexico

No biggie. No test or hassle. Of course, driving is a bit more "intuitive," and you might want to think twice before taking your life in your hands. Just have the right papers. I wonder why Gov. Spitzer and Mrs. Clinton didn't think of that.

"When it comes to acquiring a Mexican drivers license, you can do so without any exams or tests, even if you have never had a previous license. Just take along your passport and your FM-2 or FM-3 and you will be issued a license within an hour at the Secretaria de Transportes y Vialidad. Tourists may drive with an international license or the drivers license of their own country. If you would like to bring your car into Mexico from the U.S. you will need to acquire a permit at the border by leaving a deposit the amount of which corresponds to the model and type of vehicle you're driving. You will also have to buy insurance. Make sure you have an international credit card otherwise you'll find this process a big nuisance. You may then gain entry into the country for a period of up to six months after which your permit (along with your FM-T tourist visa) will have to be renewed." Transportation in Mexico

But don't even think about trying to vote in Mexico using your DL. To vote, you need to be a citizen, and the requirements vary depending on which country you were born in. In some states of the U.S., a driver's license is a passport to voting, which is why so many politicians are lusting after DLs for illegals. It has nothing to do with safety on our highways.

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Fire your accountants, Warren

Buffet, the second wealthiest men in America, thinks that rich people like him don't pay enough taxes. Testimony. There's an easy solution. I'm just a pensioner, but even I know that raising taxes on the rich is full employment for accountants and lawyers, and that while we'll all pay more and the value of our IRAs and 401-ks will shrink, they'll pay less.

It's a shell game, folks. All rich Democrats should fire their accountants and lawyers who see to it that they take advantage of every loophole in the tax code the ordinary worker can't use. Don't claim any deductions for contributions (the wealthy never pay the percentage of their income that the middle class do). Get rid of those investments that hide your wealth. Mr. Buffet, you will see how quickly you are able to pay your "fair share."

4322

Support your candidate

Before the Christmas [aka holiday] rush, why not send a small check (or however you do it these days electronically) to the candidate of your choice? Campaigns are about money, no use moaning about it and sitting on your wallet. Some like Clinton and Edwards are personally extremely wealthy. Others need to raise a war chest. If Obama or McCain is your man, send a contribution. It might buy a fraction of a TV minute or buy a few posters. Today I'm sending my contribution to Mike Huckabee. He most closely lines up with the experience, personal integrity and moral clarity I think are important. I would not be unhappy with some of the other Republican candidates, but I'd sure have to hold my nose if Rudy is the choice of the party (seems like a sweet guy with loads of experience and charisma, but way too much personal baggage for my tastes).

I don't do electronic transfers and I think all these campaign websites are designed by people who are 18-19 years old, so you may have to poke around a bit to find the U.S. Mail address.

To contribute by mail, please send to:

Huckabee for President, Inc.
P.O. Box 2008
Little Rock, Arkansas 72203
"When discussing faith and politics, we should honor the "candid" in candidate - I have much more respect for an honest atheist than a disingenuous believer." Mike Huckabee

4321

How will liberals respond if there is victory in Iraq?

If headlines in the Nov 15 USAToday are any indication, here's how it will go: big headlines for anything not going well, tiny print for anything that is.

"Taliban fighters escalate attacks in Afghanistan"
"The increased activity comes as security in Iraq improves."

I've never heard a liberal or Democrat or Progressive even suggest that victory would be a good thing. So it will be "improved security," or "surge draw down" or "withdrawal of troops," but you'll never hear them claim victory.

If your company ignores Christmas--Plow & Hearth

Dear Jim McCann, CEO and
Chris McCann, President
1-800-Flowers
Carle Place, NY

You didn't ignore Christmas! Good for you! I see that you now own Plow & Hearth. I just may send an order, because it's a neat holiday catalog, and they managed to insert the word "Christmas" into several descriptions of gifts. The word Christmas is actually on the cover of the print edition (even if it is an adjective modifying delivery) and on the verso where it appears on musical miniature music boxes. There's a tiny mention of what it's all about in "Star of Bethlehem" bulb garden on the back cover. On page 11 they also advertise that if I order a live fir sapling ($24.95), they'll send me a tree-shaped ornament engraved "Merry Christmas 2007" along with planting instructions. There are 11 pewter ornaments on this page, and for each one sold, a tree will be planted by the Canadian company that creates them. I'm guessing there are at least a few million Canadians who know the real meaning of Christmas, and perhaps next year Plow & Hearth could request a religious symbol of the infant Jesus and his mother be included along with the secular, like the baby penguin and its mother.

I wish you could have done more for the millions of Christians who might be potential customers, but so far, you are definitely winning in my Christmas Catalog competition!

In 2005, Plow & Hearth celebrated its 25th anniversary. It was sold to 1-800-Flowers in 1998. It has grown from a small country store into a multi-channel retailer, a leader in the catalog industry and the premiere source of products for the home, hearth, yard and garden. It participates in and has won awards for many state (Virginia) and local projects that help people and the environment.

Barnes & Noble
Lowe's

Ohio State hires aide to General Petraeus

From OSU Today

"The Mershon Center for International Security Studies and the Department of History have selected Col. Peter R. Mansoor as the next Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair of Military History. Mansoor, currently executive officer to Gen. David Petraeus in Iraq, will begin his duties at Ohio State in September 2008. He was one of the major authors of the report on the situation in Iraq, delivered by Petraeus to Congress on Sept. 10-11. He also served on the Council of Colonels that assisted the Joint Chiefs of Staff in reassessing Iraq War strategy and devising the surge strategy currently being employed. Mansoor is also the founding director of the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Story here.

In addition to the endowed Mason chair, the center also has an endowed Woody Hayes chair(former football coach who loved military history, and a peace studies chair.

If your company ignores Christmas--Barnes & Noble

Carolyn Brown
Director of Corporate Communications
Barnes & Noble.com

Dear Ms. Brown,

I'm looking through your on-line holiday catalog (for something to blog about or purchase on my membership card), and I see that you ignore my holiday, Christmas. There are many items for an unspecified holiday, a winter event, a joyous memory, and a seasonal gift, but nothing about Christmas, which millions who receive your catalog celebrate every year. Can you account for this? Why should I support you if you don't support me?

Thank you,
Norma Bruce

See also letter to Lowe's

4327

Ethnic differences in surviving Alzheimer's Disease

The on-line edition of Neurology (Nov. 14, 2007) reports that Latinos live about 40% longer than whites after being diagnosed with AD, and blacks live about 15% longer. Asian Americans and Native Americans appear to have about the same survival rate as whites.

"The 30,916 AD patients in the NACC were followed up for 2.4 ± 2.9 years (mean age 77.6 ± 6.5 years; 65% women; 19% nonwhite [12% African American, 4% Latino, 1.5% Asian, 0.5% American Indian, and 1% other]). Median survival was 4.8 years. African American and Latino AD patients had a lower adjusted hazard for mortality compared with white AD patients (African American hazard ratio [HR] 0.85, 95% CI 0.74 to 0.96; Latino HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.69). Asians and American Indians had similar adjusted hazards for mortality compared with white AD patients (p > 0.10 for both). African American and Latino autopsied AD patients had similar neuropathologic characteristics compared with white AD patients with similar clinical severity.

Conclusions: African American and Latino Alzheimer disease (AD) patients may have longer survival compared with white AD patients. Neuropathology findings did not explain survival differences by race. Determining the underlying factors behind survival differences may lead to longer survival for AD patients of all race/ethnic backgrounds."

Some researchers suspect underlying ethnic or cultural differences in the higher survival rate for minorities. Isn't that fascinating. Usually, if whites survive longer, poverty and access to health insurance among minorities are to blame; but when minorities live longer, there might be an ethnic difference in severity of disease?

4326

New magazine for secular homeschoolers

I collect first issues, and I'll probably miss this one since I usually go for news stand magazines and journals, but the first issue looks really good whether you're secular or religious. In fact, The Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List is priceless. And the editor has a blog. A two-fer.

HT Dancing Boys Mom

If your company ignores Christmas

don't expect my business.

Dear Melissa Birdsong,
Vice President,
Lowe's Companies, Inc.

Thank you for sending our household "Lowe's Creative ideas for Home and Garden." Winter 2007-2008. I noticed you had a lot about "holiday season," "winter season," "holiday trees," and "holiday cheer," etc. Fine, but the holiday we celebrate in this house is known as Christmas, a time when we celebrate our Savior's birth. The only nod you give to my holiday is an article about how a family can blend Hanukkah (listed first) and Christmas traditions in one unique decorating scheme where your decorators have cleverly mixed blue and green (sorry, but I missed the importance of this). And then in the next article you feature a Kwanzaa celebration. It's so little known, you actually explain what it is in a specially highlighted spot. It might have been nice if you had done the same for the Christian holiday, since it looks as though you might need to research it to learn what we celebrate.

Thanks, but no thanks. Maybe I'll stop by the store in the spring when it's time to clean up the yard, but if you don't recognize Christmas, I'll skip your promotions.

"With fiscal year 2006 sales of $46.9 billion, Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE® 50 company that serves approximately 13 million customers a week at more than 1,450 home improvement stores in 49 states. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe's is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world." Stock price today (Nov. 15) is $24.81.

DDT is no panacea

and is not always appropriate for every exotic disease, but neither does it kill millions of people every year the way the environmentalists do. Yes, people die when politics gets in the way of saving lives. I urge you to read the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Health Policy Outlook No. 14, November 2007 "The rise, fall, rise, and imminent fall of DDT."

The modern environmental movement began with concerns about DDT. Rachel Carson's 1962 book Silent Spring questioned the effect that synthetic chemicals were having on the environment. Her argument was that DDT and its metabolites make bird eggshells thinner, leading to egg breakage and embryo death. Carson postulated that DDT would therefore severely harm bird reproduction, leading to her theoretical "silent spring." She also implied that DDT was a human carcinogen by telling anecdotal stories of individuals dying of cancer after using DDT.[19] . . .p.3

The delisting of DDT as the method of choice in many countries was a direct result of Ms. Carson's book and resulted in years of death and injury of millions, mostly in Africa. DDT was reintroduced in South Africa in 2000, and in just one year malaria cases fell nearly 80% in one of the hardest hit provinces. In 2006, malaria cases in that province were approximately 97% befow the high of 41,786 in 2000. Zambia too had great success when a private mining company restarted a malaria program reducing malaria incidence by 50%. But that's all about to change. Environmentalists are again raising their voices exaggeratimg the dangers.

Bias in the academic literature is accelerating. A recent article in The Lancet Infectious Diseases alleges that superior methods for malaria control exist--without providing a single reference for this claim.[52] The authors claim that DDT represents a public health hazard by citing two studies that, according to a 1995 WHO technical report, do not provide "convincing evidence of adverse effects of DDT exposure as a result of indoor residual spraying."[53] Furthermore, the authors misrepresent those defending the use of DDT. They claim that supporters view DDT as a "panacea"--dogmatically promoting it at every opportunity--yet they do not provide any evidence to back up their opinion. . . p.7

DDT has a better record than any other intervention. Every day people die. Someday another method might be developed. But meanwhile, environmentalists might be killing the very people who could do the research.

Does anyone remember MaryRose?

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

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

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

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

Planted Questions

What's the big deal? Why shouldn't a candidate, Mrs. Clinton or someone else, have people from the audience who are prepared to ask an articulate question that will help move the discussion? If not carried to extremes, I have no problem with this method of getting out the message. I don't know why she needs to explain this one unless

the Democrats lie about it

or say everyone does it

or she doesn't really answer the planted question even when she knows it ahead of time

or she flip flops, denying what she said last week or last year

or she opens with, "I'm glad you asked that," which sounds a bit tacky, given the circumstances of the question

or says "Many are wondering about that. . ."

or she screens out honest, hard ball questions about illegal immigration, tax increases, victory in Iraq, etc.

4321

Small waist, full hips

My husband stuck his head in my office tonight and said, "Did you hear the news? Women with small waists and large hips are smarter. Something about omega3 fatty acids." I thought he was kidding, but the story was on the evening news. Of course, I always sensed that women with my body shape were smart, but I thought maybe they just didn't have as many dates so they stayed in the dorm and studied more. I did both. Studied a lot and dated a lot.

"In the research, scientists at the Universities of Pittsburgh and California, Santa Barbara, used data from a study of 16,000 women and girls, which collected details of their body measurements and their scores in cognitive tests. They found that those women with a greater difference between the waist and hips scored significantly higher on the tests, as did their children."

"A number of scientific studies have shown that men are “hard-wired” to find women with a greater waist-hip differential the most attractive. No one has yet been able to explain this, although theories include enhanced fertility, better childbearing abilities and longer life expectancy."

Reported in Evolution and Human Behaviour

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.

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

Thursday Thirteen