Fat children keep many people employed

Last week the results of an important two year study on obese children were published in the April 2008 Pediatrics, "A Policy-Based School Intervention to Prevent Overweight and Obesity." According to Sandy Szwarc who writes Junkfood Science

"This is a critically important news story because there is a lot riding on proving these childhood obesity initiatives are effective — for literally thousands of organizations, special interest groups and government agencies across the country working to prevent childhood obesity and promote their ‘healthy’ eating and physical activity programs, as well as billions of dollars in government money at stake. [The CDC’s budget for its healthy eating and physical activities, alone, has grown 2,000% since 1999.] And, most at stake is the welfare of our children.

Since every school-based childhood obesity intervention to date has failed to show lasting improvements in children’s diets, activity levels or health outcomes, or in reducing obesity, this study has added importance. As the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and even the Institutes of Medicine have concluded after reviewing 6,900 studies and abstracts, there is no quality evidence to support these childhood obesity interventions. And the government’s own statistics even negate the need for them, as there have been no significant increases in the numbers of children considered “overweight” since 1999-2000 and children are healthier and expected to live longer than at any other time in our history." Complete article here with percentages, percentiles, and risks

According to Ms. Szwarc, the intervention was ineffective, although this is not how it was reported. There was no difference between the intervention group and the control group, and in healthy eating there was evidence that the intervention group actually went backward. They had been eating 5.64 servings of fruit and vegetables a day and that decreased to 4.17, plus the intervention group were eating fewer calories but not losing weight. "Clearly, the School Nutrition Policy Initiative failed to reduce overweight or obesity in the children," she says.

Last week I wrote about a delinquency prevention study of 4 years duration done here in Columbus with 6th graders back in the 1970s. After 4 years of intervention and special attention to improve the children's self-esteem and self-concept, the intervention group had just as many contacts with the law as the control group. Like the School Nutrition program discussed above which integrated good nutrition into the curriculum, the delinquency group had healthy self concept integrated into all their classes. Social and peer pressure were also used both in the nutrition and the delinquency behavior modification programs. The failure to prevent delinquency by building self concept didn't stop the "self esteem" drive of the 70s and 80s as the cure for whatever ailed Johnny, probably because so many academics and sociologists had invested their lives and careers in the concept. So I'm guessing there are already too many programs, initiatives, salaries and grants riding on obese children to stop the train now, even though Ms. Szwarc points out obesity in children hasn't changed since 2000.

The ACK Stacks

The main library (Thompson) on the Ohio State University campus has been closed for over a year for remodeling. Hard hat tours are now available to see its 1970s and 1980s cocoon of bastard designs and add-ons removed to reveal the original butterfly of the early 20th century. I'm sure it will be lovely, similar to when I first saw it in 1967. But that means many OSU students will never be in the library--not Thompson, and not the temporary one on Ackerman Road (they have to take a bus). I really enjoy the temp facility--it is close to my home, the parking is great, and I usually have the whole place to myself, because I think students have forgotten about it. The books are easy to find and the people aren't. OSCAR, the online catalog, is now pretty subservient to a behemoth that brings up everything in WorldCat and OhioLink when you do a search, with OSU as just one of the locations. So you need to learn how to limit and do advance searches or you'll be overwhelmed with books located in Atlanta and New York, and smidgens in articles and microfiche--maybe 350 matches when you were expecting 10. It's like walking down the snack aisle of a major supermarket looking for plain old Ritz crackers.



The ACK Stacks

Near the railroad tracks
on Ackerman Road
are the ACK Stacks
tucked away for me,
the vast collection
of the OSU library.

Foreign and Esoteric,
Religious and Oversize,
it’s hard for me to stick
to the task at hand.
Now other libraries
seem so bland.

A mile or two away
lies OSU main campus.
Some librarians say
a generation or so
of students and grads
to the library never go.

The Obamas and po' folk

What is it with Michelle and Barry? Are they just big city slickers who are clueless about how to talk to down state (i.e., outside Chicago) bumpkins and the fly over hoi polloi? Michelle Obama whines to an Ohio working women focus group (incomes below the state median in a county where few have attended college) about her burden of student loans from Princeton and Harvard Law School, loans that have enabled her to have a dream position making a bundle on a hospital board. But, golly, with private lessons for the girls for piano and dance, and private schools costs, and summer camps, etc., it's just so darn tough to pay back those loans!

Barack Obama's comment in California has people gasping in disbelief--I heard Christians who are normally apolitical just outraged

"It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

But his enemies twisted his words and all he meant to say, according to this pooper-scooper quote was

"So I said, well you know, when you're bitter you turn to what you can count on. So people, they vote about guns, or they take comfort from their faith and their family and their community. And they get mad about illegal immigrants who are coming over to this country."

Then what's the excuse of rich Democrats who own guns, make movies featuring gun violence, go to church, love their families, and don't want to be overrun by illegals sucking up benefits meant for Americans? Wasn't all the outrage about the illegals in 2007 way before the current real estate melt down, and actually against President Bush and Republican legislators for letting down conservatives; and isn't all this trade protectionism both here and abroad in part responsible for the food riots on the global scene; and who's been voting on guns since Hillobama started running (or limping) for the White House? Do you suppose he ought to think about how gun owners might perceive their rights if Hillobama is elected? What country does he want to run? Cuba?

"The sheer breadth of the stereotype, which would send Team Obama screaming from the rooftops if a white politician drew a similarly sweeping caricature of blacks? The crude quasi-Marxist reductionism of his analysis, which he first introduced in his speech on race vis-a-vis the root causes of whites’ “resentment” — namely, exploitation by the bourgeoisie in the form of corporations and D.C. lobbyists? Or is it the shocking inclusion of religion, of all things, in the litany of sins he recites? What on earth is that doing there, given His Holiness’s repeated invocations of the virtues of faith on the trail? Note the choice of verb, too. Why not just go the whole nine yards and call it the opiate of the masses?" Hot Air

Whole Foods has a word or two for you

Janeen alerted me to this--Whole Foods website has pod cast/ MP3 audio on a healthy body for you. The February, part 1, was on the role of inflammation, antioxidants, free radicals, etc., "Straight to your Heart."

Take-aways:

Nourish your heart with healthy eating
Control inflammation--good fats, antioxidants
Reduce stress, allergies, excess weight

How to meet a woman

is the title of an entry at my church blog. It's not what it sounds like.

A new poem

A poem came to me this morning before I even turned on the computer. I grabbed a notebook and sat down in a chair in the living room and looked at the objects of my thoughts--the two pillows I bought at Garden Ridge yesterday when I was buying the artificial flowers mentioned in my previous post. I moved a few lines around because I like symmetry, but this is pretty close to what came out the end of my #2 pencil at 5:30 a.m.

Crocheted pillows, one dollar each
by Norma Bruce
April 12, 2008


Cheap and gaudy, yet a comfort to my eyes and body
You flood the room with memories
of projects I’ve left unfinished
and mother’s busy hands
working deftly beside me,
smooth and capable, red from years of hot dishwater and laundry.

In my mind I struggle to get that strand
from my little fingers onto the needle
and wish you were here talking
advising telling and remembering,
until drowsy from the rhythm of your voice,
I put down my irregular stitches and take a nap on your lap.

Last year when my husband was in Haiti I also wrote about buying the chartreuse pillows behind the crocheted pillows (you probably can't tell but chartreuse is one of the colors in the small pillows). It is based on the information on the tags which you're not supposed to remove until after purchase. So here it is again. April is National Poetry Month--sit down and write a poem.

>The Vows
by Norma Bruce
February 2007

Polyester pillow chartreuse chamois,
in accordance with the law
Federal RN# 57893
[or is it Reg. No UT 1417 (MO)],
I will not cut off your precious tag
until we are one,
or bleach you
or place you on the furniture
or on the floor
while you are wet.

And you in turn vow that you
are 100% polyester,
certified by your manufacturer,
that the materials of which you are made
are described in accordance with law,
exclusive of ornamentation,
and that you are 19-21284CSE,
Key 67, $9.99, bar code 0 86268 05831 1
and that you were made in China
and are bilingual in Spanish.

Snip. Snip. Snip.

Preparations for Spring

You're probably thinking that I couldn't possibly have time to spruce up the house for Spring, what with keeping track of all the craziness of the politicians, academics, clerics and journalists. But here's the proof. Today I stopped by Garden Ridge and refreshed my supply of pansies with four bunches for $4, punched up my blue hydrangea blooms with 2 new bunches for $4, and a fresh wall wreath, half price for $4.99 to which I added a few blooms from several years ago. I think things look quite nice. . . from a little distance.

Al, Bill, Ted and Jimmy's most excellent adventure

“A cloud of sulfur dioxide gas and ash rises from a crater in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Wednesday. Big Island Mayor Harry Kim says evacuations may be necessary because the daily release of toxic gas is a health and safety concern for area residents.” AP report, March 28, 2008, various newspapers

“Instead of trying to manage the weather to fit their definition of warm and cool, hot and cold, why don’t the global warming quartet of Gore, Clinton, Turner, and Carter fly to Hawaii in Al’s private gas-guzzling jet to help Mayor Kim put a halt to the 2,000 tons of toxic gas being emitted into the atmosphere every single day, surely raising global temperatures astronomically!  Why isn’t the global warming crowd doing something, anything, right now about mini-Mt Pinatubo?
 
You and I know the answer! It’s because they can’t do anything about it just as they can’t do anything about the weather. It’s called nature, Al, Bill, Ted, and Jimmy! A recent U.N. report included a whole section about human activity (“vehicles of selfish genes,” according to Richard Dawkins) creating global warming, yet not a single word was said about the sun or its activity. Why is it so hard to admit that God’s sun (see Genesis 1) is responsible for keeping the Earth warm and livable?” From “Plunging into the abyss with Al Gore. . . “ David Noebel, at www.ChristianWorldviewNetwork.com

 

Taking a breather

I've just been stumbling my way through the ELCA Task Force on Sexuality draft statement. We were told that this report is better than the previous ones. More balanced. I'm stunned. Just stunned. Using the "FIND" command, I located the word "social" 118 times: Jesus 10. Commitment 31: Husband and/or wife 0. Society 21: Luther 14. Relationship 98: marriage 48. That should tell you something.

social forces
social location
social context
social influences
social legitimization
social influence
social scope
social framework
social institutions
social order
social trust
social trends
social conventions
yada, yada

Also, deeply, profoundly and humbly are favorite adverbs, and the report writers seem to sincerely believe that we live in special and unusual times with problems never before faced in the history of the human race. These times are so special and unusual that, "Scripture cannot be used in isolation as the norm for Christian life and the source of knowledge for the exercise of moral judgement." (line 417) Not to lose heart, dear readers, the writers go on to tell us that Scripture can shed light and can speak to us.

Also, did you know the reason God created human beings, according to the task force, was so they could be in relationship with each other? I immediately opened Genesis and didn't find that anywhere. Whether you think there is one account or two in Genesis, it's pretty clear he created them to fill the earth and subdue it. The closest you come to that is God created a woman to be a helper for the man. The man had been given some mighty strict instructions on not trying to be God even before God created the woman. Even so, the writers skip right over that MAN and WOMAN part.

Some parts sound like a sex manual with a cut and paste from a Dale Carnegie course:

"Erotic interest between adults open to romantic relationships can be a desired part of growth of trust and intimacy."

"The purpose of marriage is not solely to legitimate genital relations but to create long term durable communion for the good of others."

By page 36, they finally get to their charge--homosexual couples in the church and pastorate.

"It is only within the last decades that this church has begun to deal in a new way with the longing of same-gender persons to seek relationships of life-long companionship and commitment and to seek public accountability for those commitments. In response, this church has drawn deeply on its Lutheran heritage to dwell in Scripture and listen to the Word of God. This listening has brought biblical scholars, theologians, and rostered and lay persons to different conclusions. After many years of study and conversation, this church does not have consensus regarding loving and committed same-gender relationships. This church has committed itself to continuing to accompany one another in study, prayer, discernment, and pastoral care.

In such a situation this church draws on the foundational Lutheran understanding that the baptized are called to reflect God’s love in service to the neighbor. This social statement is grounded in the evangelical gratitude for the Lutheran tradition where with St. Paul we believe that, along with all other sinners for whom Christ died, we are made acceptable to God through the righteousness of Christ, not our own (Romans 3:21-26; 5:1-11). In our Christian freedom to serve the neighbor and to make the world a more trustworthy place, we are called to seek responsible actions that serve others. This church, both those who regard same-gender sexual relationships as sinful and those who do not, calls for mutual respect in relationships and for guidance that seeks the good of each individual and of the community."

In Sickness and in Wealth is sickening

This week the OSU College of Public Health presents as part of Public Health Week socio-economic marxist propaganda in a film produced by California Newsreel called, In Sickness and In Wealth, which I mentioned last week I saw on WOSU. It would make Michael Moore proud--my public library will probably buy dozens of copies when it is on DVD. Unbelievably one sided--at least the 10 minutes I saw before turning it off in disgust. The news blurb reports, ". . . state and local public health leaders will participate in a panel discussion, “In Sickness and In Wealth:” at 3 p.m. on Tuesday (4/8) in 160 Meiling Hall, 370 W. 9th Ave. The event, which is part of Ohio State’s College of Public Health’s celebration of National Public Health Week, is based on a new PBS series called “Unnatural Causes,” which explores America’s racial and socioeconomic inequities in health. “In Sickness and In Wealth” is the title of the first installment of the series. The episode investigates how a person [sic] a person’s work conditions, social status, neighborhood conditions and lack of access to power and resources can actually altar [sic] their human biology and, similar to germs and viruses, make them sick."

Yes, I'm white, middle-class, college educated, married, never collected unemployment, worker's comp or welfare, saved my money, tithed my income, invested in a private pension, had married parents, married grandparents, paid a ton of taxes over my lifetime, purchased private health insurance, kept my weight down, exercised, don't smoke or drink--therefore, I'm causing someone else to be a victim of poor health? I'm altering their biology! They aren't responsible at all! Check out California Newsreel; where do they find these people? California, our proud and loud left coast, of course.

Delinquencies compared to 30 years ago

Ah, the 1970s. When we read about the economic bad news today we don't hear much about the bust of the late 90s, which sapped my portfolio right as I had already announced I would retire, or the 10% mortgage rates of the late 80s, or the incredible inflation of the Carter years when you truly were better off to put your money under a mattress. Here's the bad news in the WSJ today about delinquencies

A new report by Equifax, the credit bureau, and Moody’s Economy.com shows that 4.46% of mortgages were at least 30 days past due at the end of the first quarter, up from 3.98% in the fourth quarter and up 2.92% a year earlier. Delinquencies in the first quarter varied sharply by state, but were highest in Puerto Rico (8.03%), Florida (7.03%) and Nevada (6.59%.)

But according to the Census Bureau, back in 1978 when there were no Adjustable Rate mortgages or sub-prime loans, and investors weren't flipping houses ala HGTV hype, the delinquency rate was 4.6%. Now how can that be? George W. Bush wasn't even president, was he?

Is this just 2004 again?

During the election of 2004 we were constantly being hammered by the press and the Democratic candidates (sorry to be redundant) about the horrible, losing economy. Constant scare stories, bad numbers and gloomy faces. Anecdotal stories about senior citizens and "working families" losing everything, including hope and their pets. Here's one from February 2004

But with Republicans and President Bush getting the blame for a recession that stubbornly lingers and for the loss of more than a quarter-million jobs in the past three years, Democrats say they have a better-than-even chance to switch Ohio's 20 electoral votes in November . . .

Hallett also noted a significant swing from Clinton in 1996 to Bush in the 14-county Appalachian area of southeastern Ohio, and he predicted that chronic economic problems there would probably turn those voters back to the Democrats in 2004.

Rep. Ted Strickland (D), [now our governor, elected in 2006 on family values and conservative talking points] who represents that area, said: "There is a dissatisfaction and anger with this administration I haven't witnessed since I don't know when. Unemployment and health care are huge concerns. The veterans are angry with their treatment. . . . The economy and the war have made it easy for me to be very critical of the president."

It was amazing. Within a week of Bush's victory in 2004, the economic news was bright and shining, and the press had to move on to something else, witch hunting through the Bush administration and the war, and our portfolios miraculously recovered from the "worst economy since the Depression" (paraphrase of Kerry).

We don't know how this current situation will turn out or around. All bubbles burst. But if the press has anything to say, they will drive it into the ground. I had to turn to the back pages of section C in the WSJ this morning to find the good news about the economy (and it was there), but the headlines for the bad shouted in every section

EARNINGS SEASON STARTS WITH A THUD

DUAL TRADERS UNDER FIRE. . .

RETAILER WOES WEIGH ON MALL OWNERS

EARNINGS JITTERS. . .

CAPITAL ONE IS CUTTING 750 JOBS

TECH SECTOR HELPS DRAG DOWN EUROPEAN MARKETS

DOLLAR DIPS ON UNCERTAINTY

The Big Me

Tonight we're having a congregational meeting

This blog entry has been moved to my church blog.

Tax strategies for boomer retirees

Make sure the Bush tax cuts are kept. They are due to expire, and Miz 109 million Hillary wants to raise your taxes. And so does Mr. O-Socialist. Don't let Hillobama roll back the economy so they can take more control of your life.

The Coming Tax Bomb

The tax code changes enacted in 2001 and 2003 are scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. If they do, statutory marginal tax rates will rise across the board; ranging from a 13% increase for the highest income households to a 50% increase in tax rates faced by lower-income households. The marriage penalty will be reimposed and the child credit cut by $500 per child. The long-term capital gains tax rate will rise by one-third (to 20% from 15%) and the top tax rate on dividends will nearly triple (to 39.6% from 15%). The estate tax will roar back from extinction at the same time, with a top rate of 55% and an exempt amount of only $600,000. Finally, the Alternative Minimum Tax will reach far deeper into the middle class, ensnaring 25 million tax filers in its web.

4758

Preventing Childhood Head Injuries

April is Prevent Child Abuse month, but children are injured every day in non-abuse situations that are just as damaging, particularly to the brain. I don't know if there is a Prevent Head Injuries in Kids Month (May is a Brain injuries awareness month but that's primarily for the elderly), but since these problems are more in the open (you can see them at local sporting events or playgrounds), our input or reporting might be more useful. These figures are actually low since they are based on ER statistics and don't include reports from individual doctors, or the children whose parents don't take them to a clinic or doctor.

The top 10 head injury categories among children ages 14 and younger:

Cycling: 34,359
Football: 14,626
Baseball and Softball: 11,835
Basketball: 11,682
Skateboards/Scooters: 10,538
Water Sports: 7,836
Powered Recreational Vehicles: 7,652
Soccer: 6,494
Trampolines: 6,007
Winter Sports: 4,874

Your child or grandchild should be using a proper helmet 100% of the time in many sports. Helmets and head gear come in many sizes and styles for many sports and must properly fit to provide maximum protection against head injuries. In addition to other safety apparel or gear, helmets or head gear should be worn at all times for:

Baseball and Softball (when batting)
Cycling
Football
Hockey
Horseback Riding
Powered Recreational Vehicles
Skateboards/Scooters
Skiing
Wrestling

Head gear is recommended by many sports safety experts for:

Martial Arts
Pole Vaulting
Soccer

Reported at Neurosurgery today

April is also National Facial Protection Month, so the doctors and dentists who see damaged teeth and faces from sports injuries and lacerated faces from dog bites have their own list of precautions, which includes that ever-in-short supply, common sense.

How can kids and other athletes save face? Just remember these important tips:

Wear mouth guards for contact sports. Mouth guards can help prevent jaw, mouth and teeth injuries and are less costly than recovering from the injury.

Wear a helmet. Helmets absorb the energy of an impact. You don't have to lose your head due to a cycling or rollerblading mishap.

Wear protective eyewear. Don't become a real-life example of the age-old warning: "You'll poke your eye out."

Wear a face shield to avoid scratched or bruised skin. Hockey pucks, basketballs, and racquetballs can do severe damage.

Be aware of family pets. About 44,000 people suffer facial injuries from dog bites annually. Supervise children when they're with pets (including cats and rabbits, too).

Buckle up and use child safety seats. Unbuckled passengers are more likely to suffer a brain injury in a crash than the buckled driver. Air bags save lives!

Keep babies and toddlers safe. They crawl and climb, so pad sharp corners of tables, lock cabinets, install stairwell safety gates, and secure windows. They also teethe, so hide sharp pencils.

Be alert even as a spectator. Alert spectators can avoid foul baseballs and flying hockey pucks. Watch your step when climbing bleachers.

Use common sense. If an activity carries risk of dental/facial injury, gear up. Without it, even a basketball game could land you in the emergency room.

Why Johnny can't do math

The politics of multiculturalism

"To determine just how unbalanced teacher preparation is at ed schools, we counted the number of course titles and descriptions that contained the words “multiculturalism,” “diversity,” “inclusion,” and variants thereof, and then compared those with the number that used variants of the word “math.” We then computed a “multiculturalism-to-math ratio”—a rough indicator of the relative importance of social goals to academic skills in ed schools. A ratio of greater than 1 indicates a greater emphasis on multiculturalism; a ratio of less than 1 means that math courses predominate. Our survey covered the nation’s top 50 education programs as ranked by U.S. News and World Report, as well as programs at flagship state universities that weren’t among the top 50—a total of 71 education schools.

The average ed school, we found, has a multiculturalism-to-math ratio of 1.82, meaning that it offers 82 percent more courses featuring social goals than featuring math. At Harvard and Stanford, the ratio is about 2: almost twice as many courses are social as mathematical. At the University of Minnesota, the ratio is higher than 12. And at UCLA, a whopping 47 course titles and descriptions contain the word “multiculturalism” or “diversity,” while only three contain the word “math,” giving it a ratio of almost 16." Jay Greene, Adding up to failure.

Tinker tinker
little prof
we do wonder
why you're off.
Children flunking
basic skills
and we get
diploma mills.
Give them content
teach them math
if you deprive them
you're off the path.
.

The Reckless bad boys of Columbus

The project was intended to construct a model program to divert young boys from crime by developing their inner controls with a positive self-image. Walter C. Reckless was a well-known, frequently published criminologist who published in the 1950s and 1960s on self-concept as an insulator against deviant behavior. In 1972 he published, with Simon Dinitz, "The prevention of juvenile delinquency; an experiment (Ohio State University Press), on the role of self concept in preventing juvenile delinquency.

The authors theorized that if a youngster had a good self-concept, he would be less likely to slip into delinquency, so they studied over 1700 pre-adolescent boys in a blue-collar, deprived, working class neighborhood and school system of Columbus, Ohio for four years. They already knew that most of the children in this neighborhood, despite sharing similar lives, would NOT grow up to be criminals, but what made the difference? They divided the boys into three groups, all selected by their teachers and principals--The Experimental Group (bad boys), The Control Group (bad boys) and The Comparison Group (good boys). The first two groups, the teachers decided, were prime candidates based on their early years in school to become delinquents. The third group was considered to be well-adjusted, ordinary kids, rarely in trouble.

The Experimental Group received the same academic curriculum, but were put in special classes where they received additional attention and the teachers had had special training. They had a special "role model" interpersonal component which included relationships at work, school, government, family and getting along with others. They also had a different outcome for discipline, with strong emphasis on the rights of others, and their peers helping to bring them back into the group when they misbehaved. The other group of bad boys received nothing extra.

All the boys were evaluated at the end of their 10th grade (4 years later), and much to the disappointment of the researchers (I'm guessing) there was no difference in police contacts, seriousness of behavior problems, the drop out rate, attendance, grades or achievement level between the enriched role model group and the control group. The good boys had continued on their way, causing no problems and doing well.

If I'd spent 15 years of my life invested in this self-worth concept to reduce crime, I think I would have been distraught. But as far as I know, the researchers just decided their model program wasn't tweaked right, and I think Dr. Reckless is still being cited in the literature for his self constraint theories of criminal behavior.

What I found most interesting was that when the researchers interviewed both the students and the teachers after 4 years, they thought the program was a success! The teachers rated the bad boys in the experimental group as much improved in behavior, even though there was no evidence, and the boys themselves were enthusiastic and recommended it for their friends! But it didn't translate into better grades or less contact with the police and courts.

The Canada Geese and I

were puzzled by all the sparkly, twirly blue things in the park near the Church at Mill Run this morning. The first thing I thought was, "I hope this organization has a clean up crew ready in case we get some bad Spring weather that scatters these." Fortunately, it turned out to be a sunny, and only slightly windy day for the pinwheel demonstration for Prevent Child Abuse Ohio (www.pcao.org, 1-800 CHILDREN) in which one of the ministries of UALC, Speak Out, is participating.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and to draw attention to the problem, Speak Out is distributing blue and silver pinwheels with a prayer and Bible verse attached, as well as information about preventing child abuse. Their goal is for members to put the pinwheels in their yards to show we care and to use them as an opportunity to speak with others about preventing abuse.

I know nothing about child abuse--I wasn't abused, and I didn't abuse. When I was taking education and sociology courses in college it wasn't even on the radar. Supporting pro-life causes and speaking out about public libraries that don't prevent porn at their computers is about as far as I've stepped in. The Prevent Child Abuse Ohio website includes a newsletter which provides more detailed research and opinion if you wish to investigate so that's a place one could start.

Whenever I see our church cooperating with or assisting an organization (Prevent Child Abuse America operates in 41 states and UALC is listed as a resource at the local level for Ohio) funded and supported by government grants, corporate gifts, and fund raisers (pinwheels cost $1), I take a second look because this means I'm supporting it several ways, through my taxes and my tithe, the products I buy in corporate gifts, or directly with donations. So I want to know its mission and vision and whether it is Christ centered and based on Truth as found in God's Word. Hosting meetings, assisting in charter revisions, and organizing new chapters to study the reasons for child abuse (2006 annual report summary of PCA) may be important, but does it bring Jesus to the hurting parents and children?

So I looked at the national organization's web page, went to the 2006 annual report and immediately saw research (not sourced) that most abuse is by biological parents in married, two parent households. That seems to be in conflict with what I've read in other sources which do have citations. Where's the research that shows an overwhelming percentage of abuse is caused either by a step-parent (male or female) or a live-in "other?" This means there are disagreements in the studies, and therefore, the solutions. Also, percentages without numbers or years or even country, mean little. If I'm reading correctly, it looks like after 35 years, they've decided to set up some type of evaluation system of their methods with other prevention groups. I'd like to know: Does "community awareness," the education component of this program, really stop child abuse? The material seems to be pro-parenting skills, but I didn't see anything about marriage.

That's all the further I've gotten. But it seems that the definition of "child abuse," with which PCA began in 1972 has expanded to include child neglect, domestic violence, gang violence (related to absent father), access to pre-natal health care and immunizations, internet safety, gun safety, and bullying by other children.

Could it be our choices?

Would more government regulation of the fast food industry really protect Americans from obesity, which is now a bigger health problem than smoking? Would posting calorie count and fat content at casual dining places influence most consumers?

Grocery store food is labeled. There's a reason for these "loss leaders" being on the front page of this grocery store flyer--a store with low prices and no loyalty card to jack up the cost to the consumer. I'll take a wild guess--no one buying 8 liters of pop and assorted varieties of chips is reading labels for calories content, sodium and calories. Even if sold at a loss, if these items bring people into the store, and they then pick up other items, even broccoli and carrots, the manager has chosen well. The cashiers, stockers, office staff, truckers, packagers, ad designers, marketers, the utility companies, the rental agent, the stockholders and eventually the farmers will all be paid a living wage. (I'm so old I remember when milk was a loss leader--but that was before global warming and corn in the gas tank!) Now it's pop*, chips, beer, and bottled water. There's a tiny column on the inside of the flyer which reveals what a good deal we can still get at the grocery store: seedless cukes from Canada, $1; 1 lb bag of mini-carrots, $1; 3 lb. bag of onions, $1; 3 lb. bag of potatoes, $1; 8 oz. pkg of whole mushrooms $1; cantaloupe $1; pears, $1/lb.; Gala apples, $1/lb.

I use as much processed food (canned and frozen) now as I did when I worked. Using frozen instead of canned often cuts down on sugar and sodium**, and sometimes there is better protection of nutrients than using "fresh" produce that's been out of the field or off the tree for a long, long time. (I think my "fresh" turnip greens have been in the frig over 2 weeks and the cabbage more than 3, and the peppers are looking sad.) In my opinion, we'd all do better and consume fewer calories if we'd cut back on variety and choices--stick with the basics and contribute your own preparation. However, that action would put people out of work, so there's a trade-off.

*The cost of corn syrup should soon be forcing soda drink prices through the roof, too.

**In the U.S. diet, 77% of sodium comes from processed and restaurant foods, 12% occurs naturally in foods, 6% is added at the table, and 5% is added during cooking. (figures may be dated: J Am Coll Nutr. 1991; 10(4):;383-393 via JAMA)--but they weren't checking my kitchen--I add way more salt than the average cook.

Vespers, prayer and bratwurst

Until Molly Ziegler in WSJ covered the problems concerning a radio show cancelation at the LC-MS owned station, Issues, etc., I had never heard of this controversy. I did have to chuckle that concerned Lutherans are gathering for prayer and bratwurst to chew on the problem and solutions.

Interview with Molly Ziegler Hemingway on Issues, Etc.

Hillary H. Hoover

I'd planned to write an entry that the economic solutions that Miz Hillary is recommending were what President Herbert Hoover cooked up to fix the 1929 slump. It didn't work for him, and then FDR made it even worse, plunging the country further into depression. A true bipartisan mess. Well, this blogger already said it with links, so I'll refer you to Music City Oracle.

Hillobama must be products of the public schools. They don't know what happened in the 1930s with the economy, the 1950s in Korea (how our negotiated settlement of that war led to the deaths of millions of North Koreans by slavery and starvation), or the 1970s in VietNam (when millions of our allies were either sent to reeducation camps or murdered because of our abandoning them) and now they want that for the Iraqi people; they don't even see their current campaign and party problems as the outcome of their plantation mentality and gender gerrymandering.

Stuckert on race

I watched a program the other day where the topic, "What is race," was presented to teenagers. One question they were asked was, "What is the race of Barack Obama." I wondered that when I saw photos of him next to Jeremiah Wright, who appears to be whiter than I am (I'm German and Scots-Irish ancestry). The light skinned Wright made a reputation and followers with hate speech against whites; Obama, the darker one, was raised in Hawaii by white grandparents.

If research published in the Ohio Journal of Science 50 years ago is credible, then Obama apparently isn't the first African American who might become President of the United States. We've probably already had a few, if Robert P. Stuckert's research is correct (because the research was done in the 1950s, the immigration statistics or assumptions about Europeans made in his article would no longer be correct). I tracked the piece forward and see that Time Magazine picked it up in June 1958, and then others cited this work (usually not the original journal article, which probably wasn't held in many libraries, but others who had cited it) in the 1960s and 1970s and later. After leaving Ohio State, Stuckert later became Professor of Sociology of Berea College, 1975-1992, and also wrote on blacks in Appalachia.

Here's what he said in that 1958 article to point out that the idea held in the 1950s of racial purity was a myth. It was just recently added to Knowledge Bank at OSU.

"The data presented in this study indicate that the popular belief in the non-African background of white persons is invalid. Over 28 million white persons are descendants of persons of African origin. Furthermore, the majority of the persons with African ancestry are classified as white."

In 1950 he estimated that 21% of white people had African ancestry and 73% of American blacks had non-African ancestry.

The citation is, "African Ancestry of the White American population," by Robert P. Stuckert, Ohio Journal of Science, 58(3):155, May 1958. It was a revision of a paper given a year earlier.

Columbus Colored Pencil Guild Spring Show

The Visual Arts Ministry of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church (located in UA, Hilliard, and Columbus, Ohio) is pleased to present for the first time the artists of the Columbus Colored Pencil Guild. Their Spring Show will be at The Church at Mill Run, 3500 Mill Run Dr., Hilliard, OH 43026, 2nd floor gallery, between March 29 and May 8, 2008.

Formed in 2001, the CCPG meets monthly at the High Road Gallery, 12 East Stafford Avenue, Worthington, Ohio, the 2nd Monday, 7-9 p.m. They have teaching sessions and members share their work. New members are always welcome and there is no membership fee. If you've been looking for a way to express your artistic talent that won't require a huge investment in supplies, why not contact them? I bought a little pack of paper and pencils at Marc's today for $.99--just to doodle. The show is small, but mighty with cats and kittens, roses and lilies.

Also at the Church at Mill Run,

you'll find the work of photographer, Rick Buchanan, hanging in Library Lane (first floor, turn right as you go in the front doors). Rick's photography show hung at UALC, 2300 Lytham Road, Upper Arlington, in February and March. VAM has recently been using this space for smaller shows, and will continue to seek out artists looking for for show space (UALC doesn't take a commission and has the best space in town). You can contact VAM (call the church 614-451-3736). Our guidelines and show information are on the church web page, and we do follow them.

Also hanging in Library Lane

is the drawing by Lee Sattler, whose ballpoint pen art appears in the film "Dash," recently produced for submission to the 168 Hour Film Project. Lee attends UALC on the Hilltop and also appears in the film as do many other church members. The world premiere of the film, "Dash" will be held Saturday April 19, 2008, 7:30pm at the Church at Mill Run, 3500 Mill Run Drive, Columbus, OH 43026.

The final show

of this season will be the Upper Arlington Art League Spring Show, May 10-June 12, 2008, then we put the hanging system away for the summer (and for VBS). We are currently scheduling for 2009.

Why I worry about the Boomers

God bless 'em, are they ready? Ready for retirement? That story this week in the WSJ was really outrageous. Jennifer Levitz opened with a story of a 59 year old who is "postponing" his retirement. Then she moves to a liberal economist who says what is happening today hasn't happened since the Great Depression. Oh really? That was before my time, but I did hear a few stories from my parents, and grandparents, and it's insulting to their memory and struggles to be whining like this. According to the article, their homes are worth less (than when, a year ago?) and their stocks are worth less (than last quarter?) so that makes it worse than the Great Depression. With all the information available in books and on the internet, do these people never look at charts?

She also wrote about Ellen Minter, 57, who had a 6 figure income before retiring--she probably made more in a year than I did in a decade. She and hubby sold their San Francisco home and bought real estate in California wine country; he retired and then their portfolio started to collapse. He's looking for work again. Why, unless you are a boomer for whom the waters have always parted, would you think the good times would always roll? If they were willing to cut back I'm guessing they could still make it, but high living is addictive--isn't it?

I retired at age 60, but I wouldn't have even considered it if a very unusual thing hadn't happened. My mother-in-law died. Now, she was in her 80s and had been in poor health at least 20 years, so that part wasn't a huge surprise. She had outlived her husband (who wasn't ill) who had retired (actually was pushed out) and moved his pension into a privately controlled account, so she got it all at a time when the stock market was on its way up. Shortly before she died, it was on its way down again, and we were going to start dipping into her principle to pay for her nursing home care. Her three children shared her estate equally, which included the primary residence and some property in Florida. Never in a million years would we have expected a dime from my husband's parents. We invested the money and I decided the income plus my pension just about matched my income if I continued to work. Now, obviously, we'd have a lot more if I'd continued working and banking that, but for what? What if I'd died or became ill at 64? Who wants to die at the reference desk answering questions about Cushings Disease in dogs or cryptorchid horses? Time is money, and I'm a millionaire if minutes count.

In 1999 and 2000, while I was still working, my 403b had three bad, bad quarters, and had really flattened after a very nice run up in the 90s. There was a technology bubble that burst. From 2001-2007, I had three bad quarters. Probably the biggest run up in history. But what did we hear from the media and the Democrats? We were told we were in the worst economy since the Great Depression. We may actually be on the cusp of a recession, and why shouldn't we? Smart people and dumb people both made bad choices on real estate investing.

But the boomers have a lot of years left to live in retirement. I hope they breathe deeply and put away a little for a rainy, down down day, because there will be more. They will further be hurt if they elect a Democrat who promises to raise taxes, tries to destroy businesses and jobs with global warming scares, and won't make us energy independent.

A sign of the times

I noticed an engagement announcement in the paper today that had seven parents mentioned for the young woman and man who will be getting married in June. And I have seen eight.

VA healthcare providers

are entitled to immunity from medical malpractice claims as provided by the Federal Tort Claims Act according to an employment ad in JAMA.

$15,568 a year

is the personal cost of obesity, including medications and food according the Helmuth Billy--but he's got a dog in this fight since he's a gastric banding advocate and that's about what the operation costs. Noted in WSJ 3-31.

My heart breaks for Ellen Minter

who at age 57 retired and is barely scraping by on her portfolio after years with a 6 figure income and real estate in California wine country. She's sold her Chanel suits on e-Bay and her convertible and is just going to ride out these tough economic times, according to a WSJ tear jerker yesterday.

God in the classroom?

At another blog I saw someone speculating on those pathetic third graders who were plotting against their teacher--something about "that's what you get when you take God out of the classroom." Wasn't that in the 1950s that Madelaine Murray O'Hare brought her law suit to stop prayer? I think God's been gone from the schools for some time, and in many communities he was never too welcome.

Can churches end poverty?

Maybe--if they toughen their message on chastity and marriage instead of having conferences and meetings about it. In 1970, 71% of all U.S. households were 2 parent families compared to 51% in 2007. Larry Elder says the 38 most important words about poverty are: “Finish high school, marry before having a child, and produce the child after the age of twenty." Only 8 percent of families who do this are poor; 79 percent of those who fail to do this are poor.

The Bureau of Labor Chart

showing restaurant growth corresponding to the increase of women working outside the home since the 70s seems to parallel the climb in obesity.

The Ohio Historical Society

is scaling back its Archives hours from 3 days a week to 2 days because of a 2% budget cut. Ohio spends less on its Archives than any other state. Something doesn't sound right in this story which appeared in the Dispatch.

Guess which state

ranks no. 1 in the nation for technology in schools.

Give up?

Sure surprised me.

Limbaugh's silliness

His "operation chaos" is silly, and so is his claim "it's working." If the Democrats are going to fail, let them fall on their swords of divisiveness, poor planning, sense of self-importance and the American people wising up to their thinly veiled socialist rhetoric. He's always saying his listeners aren't mind-numbed robots, so let's assume they won't do anything stupid he suggests. McCain, on the other hand, is actively soliciting lukewarm Democrats to vote for him and offending Republicans by ignoring most conservative principles. This is really a strange election. Is it possible we have 3 Democrats running? A socialist, a liberal and a moderate?

By the way, I heard another reason to support McCain the other day--the third. It might be the last chance to elect someone from the generation born before the Boomers, like 1930-1945. (I think he was born in 1937.) That group hasn't had anyone in the White House. Bill Clinton and George W Bush are boomers. Reagan, Carter, Bush I, Kennedy and Johnson are/were Greatest Generation, all WWII vets. So that's three: national security, Supreme Court appointments, and his generation's place in history. Sigh. Any other ideas? Help me out here.

Update: Two more opinions at Thinklings on Rush's silliness:it's unchristian and unpatriotic, demeaning our vote.

The grocery cart chart

in today's WSJ showed how food costs have jumped since the Democrats took back Congress in 2006. The change in consumer price index for food at home shows 2006 at below 1% and Feb. 2008 at 5.1%. Ouch.

Actually, I don't blame the Democrats specifically, but I do blame them generally because of their liberal policies, and Republicans RINOS helped. George Bush may be a Republican, but fiscally he isn't conservative.

1) Hostility to big retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, etc. at the local level which drives up costs for the poor and deprives them of jobs. Wal-Mart brings down prices in the area.

2) Hostility to drilling for oil and development of new refineries. This keeps us dependent on foreign oil and raises our food costs (transportation).

3) Deeply held, fundamentalist faith that man controls the climate. Regulations put in place by fear of global warming (while China and India do nothing) are promoting changes to less efficient and not yet highly developed biomass fuels.

4) Scare mongering by the main stream, liberal press even when we were experiencing the best economic upswing since the post WWII years.

5) Victimization and dependency building of minorities and lower income workers, increasing their need for government intervention, such as the latest housing problems when the meaning of "Adjustable Rate" came as a huge shock to home owners with no equity.

6) The threat of higher taxes, which both Democratic candidates are promising, has really cooled interest in investing just as boomers begin their retirement years. Hillobama makes rich people and corporations who produce goods and services out to be demons and bad guys while they and their families live luxuriously and send their children to private school. Even Mrs. Obama who earns a 6 figure income encouraged low income women in Zanesville, Ohio not to dream or aspire to a better life but to choose a service (less than $40,000) career.

But back to the grocery cart. When Kroger started its "loyalty card" program about 8 years ago, they lost me as a loyal customer. Loyalty plans are just a fancy name for couponing, and I refuse to play games with my food. (The original coupon was a wooden nickle.) So I switched to Meijer's, a nice medium sized Midwestern chain that doesn't use loyalty cards and gimmicks to save the consumer money. However, the nearest one is over 5 miles from here, so I've been trying out Marc's on Henderson Road. It is a small Ohio chain, and looks pretty low end when you first walk in with crowded aisles and check out counters that don't move. But I've been pleased with their organic selection, meat and fresh produce. Also, I'm less tempted to stroll through the household section and add to my food bill by picking up things I don't really need.

4744 I'm no math whiz

Are these statements true? Mickey, a high school friend of my husband, sent them along. (People who e-mail my husband don't know he doesn't use the computer and that I read his e-mail first.)

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $ 16,400

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%, but the percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%

Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter 'A'? A. One thousand

Interesting.

4743

Liberal Christians who speak in tongues

The editorial last week in our SNP (neighborhood) papers by Lyndsey Teter was titled "Can Columbus churches unite to end poverty?" made me think of Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth (ca. 53 A.D.). Corinth was a wealthy city with a global commerce and a flourishing art center. I don't think the tiny Christian church necessarily participated in or built that wealth, but the Christians were exposed to it and suffered under its pagan influence, much like Christians today suffer and scatter under the influences of our hyper-sexualized, hyper-materialistic culture. It's hard to always know what local problems he was addressing since we don't have their letter to him, but we know this--pride in certain types of gifts and behavior when they gathered for worship was one of them, and Paul addresses this in Chapter 14.

Ms. Teeter first tells us that Columbus churches of various traditions will join for a revival on April 16 and set their faces to fight poverty in a "justice revival." It is being led by Jim Wallis of Sojourners, who "has come to represent the Christian left, a counter to right-wing pastors such as Rod Parsley of World Harvest Church. . ." [if there is a pastor representing liberal churches who are silent on the Gospel, she doesn't provide a name]. After 3 days of praise and worship, the Christians will fan out to do service projects. So far, I'm underwhelmed because every Christian I know, liberal and conservative, mentors, or visits the sick and elderly, or works with Habitat, or Big Brothers, or Kairos Prison Ministry, etc.

Then she continues: ". . .getting left-leaning and right-leaning Christians united under one banner may be its larger accomplishment. . . half in the pews believe fearlessly protecting the unborn and the sanctity of marriage are tops on the agenda, while the tree-hugging hippy Christians like myself think leaders have alienated potential church-goers by pushing those two issues to the surface. Improving the social conditions of people in this world ought to be far more important, we say."

This is a well-meaning liberal Christian "speaking in tongues," code for all the social justice language and meaningless programming we've come to expect from guilt ridden Christians who struggle with having more when some have less. Read her words carefully (and she's far more accurate than most journalists). Her error is this: Conservative churches are the ones growing; studies show conservative Christians are the ones that give sacrificially. Not only do they give to their own churches to support staff and programs, but they also are more motivated to give to non-religious, helping organizations like United Way and Red Cross. As individuals, they have left the seeker status and have moved on to response mode.

What I remember most from my years in the liberal church is that everyone was always looking for the TRUTH and never hearing it from the pulpit or in Sunday School or small social groups. So they would join Vaud-Villities or run for breast cancer or jingle a pail for Charity Newsies and hope that counted for something. They were like starving little chicks, peeping and pecking away at the rocks of government programs, pebbles of good works and gravel of mystical seances, while the beckoning plump mother hen with the Gospel clucked and called from nearby.

What makes her think that Christians of all stripes are not speaking to each other unless an outsider from DC brings us together? I regularly meet with other Christians who are pro-choice and believe in evolution. Their beliefs do not represent mine, nor mine theirs. I get e-mails about end-times and the rapture, and special healing and herbal recipes, also from well-meaning Christians.

Yet Lyndsey Teter says potential church-goers are being pushed away by stances [of conservatives] on gay marriage, abortion and euthanasia. Where? Membership and growth figures prove her wrong. Why not point out the potential church-goers who are put off by what they hear and find in liberal churches? It's terribly hard for a church to grow if it has no message except commissioning a task force to end hunger or hymns to a clean environment and a Mother-Father primal parent [God]. Potential members can join a non-profit or NGO and keep Sunday open for leisure and sports if that's the extent of the message.

In their zeal to "get along" or "make a difference," conservative churches often wander away from their core truth, the message of God's redemption plan for mankind, believing and preaching it as a good starting point instead of the whole point. I hope this event is not a sign that this is happening in Columbus to some of our larger, more dynamic evangelical churches.

Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. . . Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church."

Challenging the common view

The press release from the National Science Foundation didn't raise eyebrows in this household:

"New research suggests political freedom and geographic factors contribute significantly to causes of terrorism, challenging the common view that terrorism is rooted in poverty."

I am tired of poverty or the "wealth gap" being the dead horse constantly flogged by academics and politicians so they can line their own pockets with government grants. Everything from obesity to learning disabilities to the digital divide is blamed on poverty, to say nothing of terrorism domestic and international, as though the non-poor never have social, spiritual, psychological, political or economic struggles.

The NSF has an annual budget of almost $6 billion to research these things. And it took them this long to figure this out? Who says people with money don't have problems?

Don't judge Obama by his pastor!

Conservative media are having a blast rerunning video of Jeremiah Wright's racist sermons and repeating the story that Barack Obama should have done something about his pastor. There may be 50 reasons to not vote for Obama, but his pastor isn't one of them. People who say this don't understand the structure of Protestant churches. First of all, if you criticise the pastor, the assistant pastor, the Sunday School staff, the organist, or even the janitor, you will be told nicely, and with love, that there are other churches (probably 5,000 denominations) which can meet your needs and perhaps it's time for you to go look at the alternatives. Second, for millions of Christians, their church is their home base, their family in a society where the nearest relative might be 500miles away, or friends live on the other side of the city, 45 minutes away. Third, many Christians are "Chreasters"--they attend only on the big holidays, and sermons at Christmas and Easter are usually standard fare. Where would they go where they would agree with everything? Especially Obama. He was not a Christian before meeting Rev. Wright. He was raised in the home of his white secular grandparents. How would he know what he might hear elsewhere in another black church after he'd given up a mentor and his church family?

If people have asked why Chelsea Clinton didn't stop her mother from lying about Bosnian snipers, I haven't seen it discussed. But the dynamics are similar. She loves her mother and respects her, warts and all. They've been through a lot together. Where is she going to find another family who will give her the visibility and power few women her age have? She knows her mother was lying about having war experience; she knows her father is a philandering liar. Where is she going to get another family if she turns her back on them because of their lies?

4740

Poor, lonesome, soundless letter "C"

Lately I've been reading William Tyndale's New Testament, it's excellent introduction by Priscilla Martin, and Tyndale's introduction and prologues to the NT books (1534, based on the 1938 ed). It's amazingly easy to read--large parts of the King James Version are based on this translation. Getting the Bible into the language of the English people was the dream he died for (he was strangled and his body burned). Anyway, one speech form that hasn't been modernized in this 1534 translation is the use of -eth and -th at the end of verbs. No one knows what 15th and 16th century English sounded like--we have no recordings. And there are those who think the -th and -eth were actually prounced not with a lisp, but a hiss, as an "S." And if you've ever tried it, it makes reading those older English Bibles much easier. Many more people heard the word than read the word in those days. The KJV was meant for the ear. "For God so loveth the world, that he hath given his only son, that none that believe in him should perish, but should have everlasting life."

That lead me to thinking about the letter "C" which has no sound of its own in English, but which is essential in so many words. It is either an "S" or a "K" or is combined with a consonant "H" to be hard or soft ch or sh. Sometimes a C with a T has an SH sound--but it might have the same sound combined with an I. Sometimes it is just completely ignored, as the first C in SCIENCE. I've blogged about this letter before, as in "concrete cellar chute."


Our sermon series right now is on "Faith Training," and today's sermon by Buff Delcamp was on the word "run." These are the "C" words I noted during the service:

race
face
grace
church -- Russian has one letter for the CH sound, Ч ч
come
cross
coast
command
confidence
accepted -- this word has both the k sound and the s sound
acclamation --this word has two k sounds, side by side
challenge
peace,
picture
resurrection
choir
sanctuary
precious
Nicene Creed

Tyndale's translation changed the politics of England (yes, I know why Henry VIII left the Catholic church) with just a few words. He used the Greek manuscripts instead of the Latin Vulgate (Wycliff used that 2 centuries earlier) in his translation. This means that PENANCE became REPENTANCE (Mark 1:1-3), and CHARITY became LOVE (1 Corinthians 13). Ecclesia was translated CONGREGATION instead of CHURCH. This undercut the power of the Catholic church even without the doctrine of justification which was the big issue among the German Lutherans.

Isn't language interesting. And if you depend on a translation that is either a paraphrase, or is burdening you with 16th century English, then Tyndale died for nothing! He was a stickler for accuracy, beauty and sound.

Think local, act short term

You'll do far more good. Sixteen year olds are just not going to get turned on to a project to help their grandchild inherit a better earth. On our way to Worthington last night to have dinner with our friends Wes and Sue, we were stopped at a light at 315 and North Broadway. What a mess. There is trash--bottles, bags, old political signs, posters, grocery sacks, newspapers--embedded in all the branches and grasses, smashed up against the wire fences, and strewn along the easements and berms. I'm not sure if this is a county problem or a city problem, but I know it is a local problem. Everytime a piece of paper breaks loose from a garbage truck bin, it collects itself with other trash along a fence row. Everytime a wise guy tosses a beer bottle from the car window, he's invading my space. All the schools have community service requirements "to incorporate classroom skills with the real world." A few stints of cleaning up these areas instead of the cushy inside jobs at the senior center or the local library would probably teach teens a lesson they'd never forget. Litter hurts.

Night Terrors

On radio and TV, at 3 a.m. the weirdos come out to spread lies, terrors, fears and falsehoods. The radio guys are not quite as well funded as public TV so they just report on outer space aliens, faces in syrup on pancakes, and major government plots. The stuff that shows up on your tax supported public TV channels is a lot more anti-capitalist, anti-American and more subtly about government plots. They can make Jeremiah Wright (Obama's pastor who preaches black liberation theology) look like a beginner, but with less shouting.

This morning on WOSU-TV about 3:30 a.m. I came across "Unnatural causes: Is inequality making us sick," by California Newsreel--your source for "social justice." The title is a no brainer--of course they think inequality makes people sick. There was no discussion--it was incredibly lop sided. I don't know if Heritage Foundation puts out films on health, but if it does WOSU should provide equal time. In the few minutes I watched this propaganda, there was no information on wealth and class mobility (I've been in 4 of the 5 quintiles), or the wealth of households which have married parents compared to those that don't, or the fact that in Western countries with a base of socialized medicine, wealth will still buy a person a level of care (and speed) that the lowest paid subsidized worker can't have (we have friends in Finland and have seen this). We have many levels of government health care in the U.S., Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, the VA health care system, and the people who use it most effectively also use their private wealth just as in Canada, England, France, Finland, etc.

Every socialist, well-dressed think-tank CEO, consulted for this film from Warren Buffett to lobbyist, black, brown or white, was himself well-off--it was everyone else (oddly enough only since the 80s--hmmm, must be a clue) who was hurting. That's how they make their income (except Buffett whose wealth has softened his brain). No mention of the damage to the health and welfare of children that moving masses of women into the labor force since the early 1970s has done. Or the damage done to children who are scraped from the womb into garbage pails and never have an opportunity to earn any income at all. Most poor children don't have married parents. That's their gap. No, these folks want more money for daycare to push more children out of the home. And more power for government run schools (while they send their children to private schools). If only there were less of an income gap they say, there would be better health all around--i.e., redistribute middle class wealth into government grants for various pork infested programs. Maybe that will bail Arnold and California out of their spiraling debt?

After you get safe water, which we've had since the early 20th century, good health is primarily genetic and behavioral--remove the genes you inherited and your bad eating habits, your smoking and drinking, and see what this looks like. But don't compare the U.S. to countries that haven't become the home of immigrants from every continent's gene pool for 500 years.

I've composed a song just for California Newsreel to use in its trailers after viewing its list of high priced titles. Haven't got a tune yet.

California Newsreel Theme song

Oh sing along, along with me
about a socialist choppy sea
in which we all can drown drown
equally and all around 'round.

Oh, fiddle-dee-dee,
but not for me
I'm way too smart
for my good heart.

It's for you, it's for you
Your taxes, not just a few
Gimme, gimme oh let me see
The first cut will come to me!

Refrain:
Gimme, gimme oh let me see
The first cut will come to me!

Friday Family Photo 1968

Forty years ago, February 1968, I took my baby daughter to the Ohio State University Libraries catalog department, where I'd been a Slavic cataloger, to show her off. I had resigned when she arrived and didn't return to work for 9 years. Looking at this photo, what I find so remarkable is not how gorgeous she was, or that my winter coat had fur cuffs and collar, but how dressed up we all were. It almost looks like a party, but I had simply dropped by to let them see her. In those days, women library staff didn't wear slacks to work, and jeans were unthinkable. Look at that! High heels, jewelry--that's amazing. As skirts got shorter and shorter in the late 60s and early 70s, making it impossible to be graceful or comfortable, women welcomed the pants suit, and haven't looked back! And we did a lot of walking in those days--everything you did at your desk had to be checked and double checked in various printed sources or the card catalog. Looks like we stayed trim. The main building, Thompson Library on Neil Avenue, is closed now for remodeling, but at that time the catalog department was on the first floor approximately where the offices of the reference department staff were a few years back (technical services were in the basement since the mid-70s.)

If her lips are moving

Whether it is about her pre-Bush belief in the threat of WMD and Saddam Hussein, or dodging sniper fire in Bosnia, or the right wing conspiracy to bring down Bill with LIES about his sex life, or her financial scare stories about all the industries she currently denounces, you can't believe her. And the media mavens let us know what they think of truth (all quotes in today's USAToday) It's just not a big deal.

AP writer Ron Fournier: "over compensating"

Boston Globe, Joan Vennochi: "selective memory syndrome"

Slate, John Dickerson: "we should stop pouncing on every little thing"

David Brooks: "The candidates are sniping and we have to endure. . ."

Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Cynthia Tucker: "snarling and vicious smears"

Update 3-29: Peggy Noonan thinks the press and some supporters might finally be wise to her.

4735

If I were younger

I'd buy a house. The bargains right now are fabulous compared to 3 or 4 years ago when buyers were bidding up the seller's price. And 20 years ago? My goodness! We got a mortgage at 10.5% and were happy to get it. We checked at our local bank this week about some property we plan to sell, and the rates for either conventional or FHA were 5.75%. That's lower than we paid in 1962 when we bought our first home, a duplex in Champaign, Illinois. We were in the bottom quintile, the down payment was a gift from my father, he took the 2nd mortgage so we paid on two mortgages (renters paid one), and we lived on the first floor and rented the second floor. Being a landlord is a huge hassle, particularly when you are 22 years old, but that rent put us where we are today. When we sold the house on land contract upon moving to Columbus in 1967, the mortgage payment also covered our car loan. Then it turned out the bank had made an error in calculating the principle, so we got a little unexpected cash bonus when the new owner finally paid it off. Young people today have many more options, but they complain more and are less willing to sacrifice. (My parents thought the same of us because they were young adults during the Great Depression.) One option that we didn't have, which was a blessing, was that banks would not consider a wife's income in figuring what you could pay. So many people have lived to the max the last 30 years that when the economy "hits a rough patch" as it will do in cycles, they have no resources.



By the time this photo was taken, the house had been painted charcoal grey, my husband had installed a separate door for the tenants, put a wall between the stairs and our apartment, and built a wall through the upstairs kitchen to create a small second bedroom. He also remodeled our kitchen, divided our dining room so we would have two bedrooms, and built a linen closet in the bathroom. He was quite handy with a limited set of tools. The basement had a dirt floor, so on damp days it could be creepy with crawly things. There was no garage, and although that looks like grass, I think it was mainly weeds. That's my mother's car on the gravel driveway from the brick street, but eventually we bought that too.

What are you waiting for? Here's some bargains I saw in today's paper: In Chicago, on north Astor you can get a Gold Coast penthouse with 10' ceilings, living room, dining room, 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths for $1,150,000. Fabulous location. If I could choose anyplace in the world to live (and had my children near by) it would be Chicago.

In West Virginia there are some bargain homesites at New River Gorge for $60,000. The only interesting property I saw in Ohio in the WSJ was an auction for 2-3 acres near Hinkley (isn't that where the buzzards fly to?) with wooded, scenic ravines. But there are great properties all over central Ohio.

Another one under the bus?

First Granny, now Tony. Does anyone in Obama's campaign like Jews? Tony McPeak's anti-Israel, anti-Jewish "comments are worse than McCarthyism [of which he accused the Clintons]. They reflect the views of Reverend Wright and other Obama advisers who believe that Israel is just a problem to be solved, not an ally to support.

McPeak is not the only member of the Obama campaign who holds such twisted views. Others such as Robert Malley or Zbigniew Brzezinski have found themselves downgraded to "informal" advisers as their anti-Israel views are made public. Samantha Powers was dismissed for calling Hillary a monster, not for sharing McPeak's belief in the malign omnipotence of the "Israel lobby."" American Spectator

Small waist, heavy hips

We're not in great demand as movie stars or models, but I've never seen any medical studies attributing cardiovascular disease, psoriasis, breast cancer or Alzheimer's to my body shape (the classic pear). Yes, there's more bad belly news, according to the latest issue of Neurology. Large amounts of belly fat are associated with declining cognition. Just being over weight or obese nearly doubles the risk of dementia in old age, according to this study by Rachel Whitmer which looked at 6,583 who were middle age between 1964-1973. Central body fat increases the risk even more, and normal weight people with high belly fat have an elevated risk of dementia.

"What that tells you is the effect of the belly is over and above that of being overweight," Whitmer said. "One of the take-home messages is it's not just your weight but where you carry your weight in middle age that is a strong predictor of dementia."

But here's a bright spot: it's much easier to lose belly weight than those dimpled thighs or buttocks. So cut those calories and start exercising--it's the only way.

WaPo story which has been reprinted in most major newspapers.

There may be something different in this latest study, but this information also appeared 3 years in BMJ: Whitmer RA, Gunderson EP, Barrett-Connor E, Quesenberry CP Jr, Yaffe K. "Obesity in middle age and future risk of dementia: a 27 year longitudinal population based study." BMJ 2005;330:1360.

Learning to read

Everyone learns differently, and if you're lucky, when you were learning to read you had phonics. Some people have a good eye and a tin ear. Others an outstanding memory. Some will never enjoy reading no matter what method is used--it will be only utilitarian. Theories of reading have been changing for 200 years. Since I had both Dick and Jane (see and say, or repeat the words until you know them) and phonics exercises (my first grade teacher recently died at about 103 and she was a killer for phonics, punctuation and spelling), I had a good blend. Here's Jeanne Chall's summary from Learning to read (1967, rev. 1983) as reported by Dr. Diane Ravitch.

Chall said that there are two primary approaches to teaching reading: one stresses the importance of breaking the code of language; and the other stresses the meaning of language. Phonics programs had a code emphasis, and look-say programs had a meaning emphasis. The research, Chall said, unequivocally supported the use of a code emphasis for beginning readers—and she stressed “beginning readers.”

She found that the first step in learning to read in one’s native language is essentially learning a printed code for the speech we possess. The code emphasis was especially important for children of lower socioeconomic status, she said, because they were not likely to live in homes surrounded with books or with adults who could help them learn to read. Knowing the names of the letters and the sounds of the letters before learning to read, Chall said, helps children in the beginning stages regardless of which method is used. She concluded that for a beginning reader, knowledge of letters and sounds had even more influence on their reading achievement than the child’s tested IQ did.

Her report was followed by an even more interesting one about the differences in achievement of black students living and attending public school in Fairfax County (wealthy DC suburb) and those in Richmond, VA. In Richmond schools that were 99% black were outperforming the black students in schools that were 99% white. Apparently the Richmond administration had decided to stop blaming poverty and the parents for the students' poor showing and decided it was their job to teach, and to use the best methods to do that (there's not a lengthy discussion of phonics, but it was included).

Read the entire discussion here.

4731

How was your Easter?

Were you asked to be a witness to history, to what happened to Jesus, or were you asked to examine your inner life, motives and attitudes? Was it all about you, your problems, your solutions, your purpose on earth, your good moral behavior and example; was it about renewing the environment and saving the earth for the bunnies, flowers and blue skies, ending the war in the Middle East, Sudan, or Somalia, fighting AIDS or poverty? Did you get a long list of do's and don'ts, or did you get the full Gospel? Was the miracle of the resurrection explained away, with a patronizing pat on the head if you chose to believe? Were you asked to crucify those bad thoughts and roll away the stones in your life that keep you from reaching your spiritual goals, or were you asked to see and believe what happened to Jesus Christ? 1 Corinthians 15 (NIV):

Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel . . .By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word . . . Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

Paul didn't preach "personal relationship," or about life's purpose, he preached Christ crucified and raised from the dead.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. . . .If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith."

Can you imagine Paul enduring (2 Corinthians 11) prison, stoning, shipwrecks, hunger, thirst, bandits, and 40 lashes minus one for the sermon you heard on Easter? If you didn't hear what Paul believed on Easter Sunday, he says you are to be pitied. And if you only hear it on Easter and not the rest of the year, I'd suggest that's a pity too.

4730

Does this seem honest to you?

"Selective Service does not collect any information which would indicate whether or not you are undocumented. You want to protect yourself for future U.S. citizenship and other government benefits and programs by registering with Selective Service. Do it today."

Back during the 18th and 19th century the U.S. government used to sometimes grab the new immigrants and put them in the service before they knew what was happening. That's why you've got Irish immigrants as heroes in Mexico, because they switched sides being so disgruntled because of mistreatment as a Catholic minority. Immigrants since the Revolutionary War have always enlisted in the service as a fast track to citizenship. There were German divisions in our Civil War. In the sense that immigration wasn't as codified then as now, I think we can still say it is dishonest to promise benefits to an illegal for registering for the draft. Luring illegals (who apparently can read English) with the promise that by registering for the draft their status within the country will be secure doesn't quite seem right to me. Not right for us; not right for them. They've already violated the law. What other law violators do we want in the armed forces?

HT Where's your brain.

Selective Service site.

4729

Bad reporting on the uninsured

Jane Zhang reports on the growing number of uninsured government contract workers in today's WSJ. Unfortunately, she hangs the story on the case of a 44 year old, obese woman with MS. The woman, you find out at the end of this sad story, was working for a blind contractor as a food service worker earning $7/hour. She worked approximately 2 years before being diagnosed with MS and had no health insurance.

Under the federal Randolph-Sheppard Act, blind vendors get priority in winning certain federal contracts. In an illustration of the thicket that contract workers face, there is disagreement over what benefits blind vendors who participate in a government program that gives them preferences, are required to offer employees. The Labor Department says blind vendors must comply with the Service Contract Act and provide benefits. But the Education Department, which administers the Randolph-Sheppard program in conjunction with states, says that is decided on a case-by-case basis. The District of Columbia administrator of the program says the blind vendors aren't required to provide benefits.

Zhang builds her story of uninsured contract workers on a case where we find out (at the end) the woman gets full disability from Social Security, Medicare, and $19,000 worth of free drugs a year from the drug company. It's a matter of conjecture (one doctor's) that insurance could have done anything about the MS.

What Zhang points out, but barely, is that contract workers can receive a cash equivalent of $3.16 an hour to buy their benefits according to the McNamara-O'Hara 1965 law which covers private contractors. So what's the gripe? Well, most federal employees have outstanding perks and $5,587 (average) apparently isn't enough to purchase what they would get as full government employees. But the big problem as I see it is the workers, who are often at the low end wage scale, don't use the cash bonus to buy health insurance--they use it for rent, or clothing, or cigarettes and beer. Who knows. But given the choice, they choose not to buy health insurance. There are on-going investigations to catch and punish contractors who don't abide by the law.

There were 650 investigations of contractors by the Labor Dept in 2007, and I assume something triggered the investigation. If there are 5.4 million contract workers, how many are not getting either the insurance or the cash benefit to buy insurance? She uses only anecdotes. There's no information on which is what. This may be a serious problem--but based on the flimsy evidence she has reported, we'll need to look elsewhere for the answers.

When we find out why people who can buy health insurance either privately or through their employer but don't, then maybe we're getting somewhere. It's odd that there isn't a law as there is for car insurance putting the responsibility on the worker.

4728

New endeavor

This is probably a difficult time to start a new magazine, but I did buy one for my collection this morning and have posted it at my In the Beginning blog about premiere issues. This perky blogger is responsible for the artwork and content, I think. Its original title was Homegrown Hospitality, and it has already changed it to Home and Heart. An inside librarian joke was to create a serial with the name Title Varies*--the topic, of course, was title changes. The issue I purchased said, "display until 10/9/07" but it must have become wedged behind some others and wasn't pulled. Lucky me. The hobby angel saved it.

*A piece of history at Serials Round Table history site: "One periodical which reflects this flurry of serials activities was Title Varies which began in December 1973. Those familiar with this publication remember the infamous acronym, LUTFCSUSTC (pronounced “lootfasustic”, or “lutfasustic”, depending on who was pronouncing it) which stood for Librarians United to Fight Costly, Silly Unnecessary Title Changes. Texas serialists were a very vocal group in their contributed letters, articles, and serial title changes." One librarian wrote in Title Varies in the 1970s wondered who puts up the money for new serials (high mortality, high cost) and who subscribes (libraries) even pondered what we would do without new ones appearing all the time . . . "Imagine what would happen if all that information kept building up and had no way to disseminate itself until finally it would have to propel itself outward in random directions at high velocities, accompanied by heat, light, and noise. That would be a real information explosion." Doesn't that sound like a prediction of cyberspace?

Easter 2008

We served communion at the Sunrise service, 7 a.m. When we've done this other years, we've gone a second time with our children, but this year we told them they were on their own. So our daughter and son-in-law went to the 11 a.m. traditional service in the sanctuary and heard Pastor Dave Mann, back from Haiti for Easter week, the organ and the choir, and our son went to the 11:15 a.m. x-alt service in the fellowship hall and heard Joe Valentino, and the loud rock band, which he thought was excellent (he has a band), except he thought the drums were too loud.

Sunrise services don't seem to have the appeal they used to--at least not when Easter is this early. Counting the choir, I'm guessing we only had about 90 people--and almost no young people. When I was a teen-ager it was a big event to go to the school athletic field for a community shared service in Mt. Morris dressed in our Easter best--hat, gloves, high heels, etc., and sit and shiver on the bleachers. Even kids who didn't go any other time, would attend that service. I remember one year I over slept--must have been a junior--so when my date got to our house it was dark. We lived in a small town and people didn't lock the doors. So he let himself in, realized everyone was asleep, and walked upstairs to my bedroom and woke me up.

Here we are for Easter 1969. Bad quality polaroid, but my husband had red hair.



Easter 2007