Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

At our home on Lake Erie this summer, it seemed all we heard about was Mayor Kilpatrick. Folks, this wasn't just about sex, as you might read in an AP story.

"Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice on Thursday morning. Kilpatrick will forfeit his office and serve 120 days in jail, ending a scandal that began when the Detroit Free Press published raunchy text messages between Kilpatrick and his ex-chief of staff. Messages proving that, in spite of Kilpatrick's testimony during a civil lawsuit, the pair had, in fact, been knocking boots.

As much as Detroiters are relieved to be rid of their lubricious, dissembling mayor, Barack Obama has to be even more relieved." Story

Was it only this past May Obama was in Detroit seeking support of this super delegate?

OBAMA: So I want to first of all acknowledge your great mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, who has been...(APPLAUSE)
... on the frontlines -- has been on the frontlines doing an outstanding job of gathering together the leadership at every level in Detroit to bring about the kind of renaissance that all of us anticipate for this great city.

And he is a leader not just here in Detroit, not just in Michigan, but all across the country. People look to him. We know that he is going to be doing astounding things for many years to come.

And so I'm grateful to call him a friend and a colleague. And I'm looking forward to a lengthy collaboration in terms of making sure that Detroit does well in the future." Obama speech in Detroit in May, Right Michigan

More smears, but who’s counting?

I take most of my blog entries and links from journalists writing for real newspapers (or their blogs), even the ones I don't like (NYT, WaPo, LA Times) but increasingly the MSM is going to the hyperbologs for their sources. Crazy, innit? I'm just an elderblogger and I find better sources than trained, whipper-snapper journalists. Soledad of CNN has 4 children, I've heard (possibly gossip). I wonder why she isn’t at home with the kids? She’s obviously a bit addled by the responsibilities of a 24 hour news channel.

“I just watched CNN's Soledad O'Brien sandbag former White House Communications Director Nicole Wallace by asking her how Sarah Palin can claim to be a defender of special needs children when she cut the budget for that Alaska office by 62 percent. Wallace wasn't familiar with the charge -- which isn't surprising, since it's only being made on DailyKos and another liberal site. (Tip for Ms. O'Brien: DailyKos is not a reliable news site.)

This charge is based on looking at the budget for Alaska's Special Education Service Agency for 2007-2009. In fact, the December 2006 budget document that they cite would have been prepared by the outgoing administration -- that of Republican Frank Murkowski, whom Palin defeated.

What's gone unmentioned is that Palin signed into law a dramatic reform of the state's education financing system that equalizes aid to rural and urban districts, while significantly increasing funding for special needs students." More details at Weekly Standard Blog

Just what is a community organizer?

It got some laughs last night at the Republican Convention--that much ballyhooed resume filler. But it’s not really that funny. ACORN is no joke. Obama's job is outlined at Windy Citizen who says “community organizer” has more in common with the “brutal contact sport of Chicago politics than it does with any kind of charitable act, such as serving food to homeless people.” Saul Alinsky was the Godfather of community organizers.

“One of the most important lessons that Alinsky taught community organizers is not to rely on high-minded ideals like "brotherly-love or "the common good" to get people to fight for particular goals. Instead, as a community organizer you are always looking for ways to appeal directly to a person's self-interest, whatever that may be. This is not to say ideals do not matter to community organizers. But at the end of the day, an ideal is only as good as what it can help you accomplish.

So, if you are a community organizer and want to organize an area, you first try to meet with as many indigenous leaders as possible, the kinds of men and women who populate neighborhood churches and civic groups that others will listen to and naturally follow. The purpose of these one-on-one meetings is not to become their friend. You want to find out what their self-interest is so you can use it. This includes milking their personal connections to expand your base of support. As a community organizer, the sole source of your power is your relationships. And the more people you have in your pocket, the more likely it is that you can use them to get what your base wants.”

"This is also what most coverage of Obama's days as a community organizer fails to appreciate. For whether you are an Alinksy-schooled community organizer or a Chicago politician, you are a student of power. If you have survived long enough to succeed in either position, like Obama has, you have learned not to worry so much about the power you have. What keeps you up at night is the power you do not have. In community organizing and politics, you know the only thing that can hurt you is what you cannot control.[like Gov. Palin?]" John Maki, Windy Citizen

Obama's blog is run by Sam Graham-Felsen, an avowed Marxist who writes for socialist and marxist publications, but apparently not often enough to earn a living which is why he's on Obama's payroll, blogging. Anyway, today's entry is supposed to be an answer to just what is a community organizer. David Plouffe his Campaign Manager says he helped people who were out of work. Well, gee whiz, I did that in 1983 through JTPA. I'll have to go back and look at my resume--I don't think I had any indoctrination in political theory or methods.

"The transition of the old Democratic Party to what exists today should not surprise or confound conservatives. Nor should Alinsky's tactics seem foreign. After all, for nearly 40 years, Republicans and the conservative agenda have been getting hammered by the left through the successful use of Alinsky tactics.

In that cause, radicals and the liberal-left gravitated toward the print and electronic media, toward the university professorate and the law. The left, consciously or unconsciously, adopted Alinsky's rules. The impact changed the nature of the Democratic Party and the direction of the United States. Increasingly, the left is succeeding in changing the nature of the Republican Party as well.

Suffice to say the greatest change has taken place in the relationship between the state and the individual. America is rapidly descending from a representative Constitutional Republic to a collectivist empire controlled by elites of one sort or another." Saul Alinsky and DNC Corruption

Update: USAToday rushes to defend the honor of Barack Obama, who is hurt and angry that his "community organizer" position was a joke at the convention. You know folks, the Obama people started this by denigrating her position as mayor when McCain first announced his choice. As James Taranto noted: "Obama spokesman Bill Burton quickly denounced McCain for proposing to put "the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency." This took a degree of chutzpah, since the Democrats have just spent four days touting Obama's experience as a "community organizer" as a central qualification to put him no heartbeats away. Even after listening to those speeches, we're still not sure what a "community organizer" is."

If you can't stand the heat, Team Obama, stay out of this lady's kitchen.

Granny Gloria

Daniel Henninger observed today that "Gloria Steinem is 74. Sarah Palin is 44. Times change." Gloria seems to think this choice for VP was a ploy to get Hillary's supporters. Says Hillary and Sarah "only share a chromosome." Like they're the only women (or men) who matter. I guess she never thought about the millions of conservatives like me who haven't had anyone on the ballot since Reagan. The millions of families who are middle class and work for a living and can't identify with the elitists on the ballot and don't want their taxes raised. The millions of families who don't want us to abandon our allies. The millions of families who have members who need special care but don't want to dispose of them. Hey, I didn't even get to vote for Reagan because I was a Democrat in those days and didn't like him. So when I vote the McCain-Palin ticket, it will be the first time I ever voted for a conservative at the national level. Like many conservatives, there was a really good chance I was going to sit this one out. McCain made a good choice.

How the liberal media treated a Bush daughter

About a year ago, I blogged about first daughter's new book on AIDS. Here's what liberals thought of her effort.

Jenna Bush's book for young people

Jenna Bush has authored a book "Ana's Story; a Journey of Hope" (HarperCollins, 2007, 209 pp. $18.99). It is non-fiction, for teenagers and about AIDS, is based on 6 months of conversations with women and children with HIV or AIDS when the president's daughter was working with UNICEF. It was reviewed, probably reluctantly, by Bob Minzesheimer in USAToday. In general, he was positive, pointing out it was easy to read with 35 pages of sources addressing common myths about AIDS and HIV. The paper edition differed from the online version. In paper he wrote that it doesn't address how much U.S. support should go to organizations that distribute condoms as opposed to religious groups that promote only abstinence. How picky is that? Reviewers and talking heads always want the book they themselves didn't make the effort to write and publish. I wonder if Minzesheimer would board an airplane that had the same failure rate as condoms?

In another column this reviewer points out that when Oprah even mentions a title (Eat, pray, love; Middlesex) it leap frogs to the top of the best seller list. That won't happen to a book by a conservative, even if the topic is one of her favorites.

The commenters at the revised online article are the usual collection of Bush-haters and author-wannabees complaining about favoritism. They are well worth reading for their ignorance, pomposity and narrowmindedness, just in case you'd forgotten how green the left is. If even five young people read this book and decide that HIV is probably something in their future if they don't change their lifestyle, she will have achieved her goal.

Speaking of AIDS and abstinence, The invisible cure: Africa, the West and the fight against AIDS by Helen Epstein (Farrar Straus & Girous, 2007) reports on the Uganda campaign of "zero grazing," "love faithfully," and "sticking to one partner," later known as ABC (Abstain, Be faithful, use Condoms). Uganda's decrease in HIV began in the late 1980s, and its approach became standard policy for the USAID and President Bush's PEPFAR. Uganda experienced an unprecedented decrease in HIV during the 1990s. The US policy experienced howls of protest and outrage because of its religious implications. However, "an increasing number of scientists have concluded that an ABC approach is supported by scientific evidence . . . 1) condom use hasn't been effective in epidemic areas (they are used inconsistantly and create more risk taking) and 2) number of partners and overlapping relationships is the key to increase or decrease in spreading sexual diseases. Epstein says multiple concurrent relationships create the "super highways of hyperepidemics," and casual sex constitutes the "on-ramps." The reviewer (JAMA, August 6, 2008, pp. 587-589) reports that Epstein challenges many sterotypes and myths about Africans.

Liberals can't tell snarl from snark

The woman they love to hate. This piece by a female, liberal journalist [Hillary Chabot] shows what we can expect from the media.

"A feisty Sarah Palin charged straight at Barack Obama last night as the virtually unknown governor of Alaska transformed herself into John McCain’s snarling campaign pit bull last night before cheering delegates and the eyes of the nation at the Republican convention."

I watched the whole speech. She was charming and direct; she pulled no punches; she built on the jokes told by Giuliani and Huckabee, both entertaining speakers. And worst of all for liberals, socialists and marxists, she told the truth. She smacked back at Obama's staff and his allies in the media unkind, belittling remarks about her town, her experience and her state. She put the MSM on notice that they weren't going to tell her what to do because she wasn't going through that sorority pledging process, or show up at their parties, so they could just go find some other gal who cared. Oooo, that must have smarted. This was no snarl, but it was the truth told with a smile and a sparkle in her eye.

This [Barack Obama] is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word “victory” except when he’s talking about his own campaign,” the combative Palin said.

“But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet?

“The answer is to make government bigger, take more of your money, give you more orders from Washington and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy, our opponent is against producing it. Victory in Iraq is finally in sight, he wants to forfeit.”

Here's a good example of the press misstating and misinformation:

"She leaned heavily on her own biography, introducing her husband, Todd, as a commercial fisherman, a union member, a world-champion snowmobile racer and an Eskimo. She described herself as a mom-turned-politician with the "same challenges and the same joys" as other families." WaPo

She specifically said his heritage was Yup'ik, not Eskimo (Todd Palin's grandmother), at least to my ears, and called her husband a snow machine champion. Maybe those are little slip ups, maybe not. The news is all about slant.

Snarls are for Jeremiah Wright; attacks are for Bill Ayers and the Weathermen. Governor Palin is just a sweet little lady with a lace glove across the face when the big boys get too close compared to Obama's friends and mentors. But sometimes the truth hurts.

What do Alaskans think of Governor Palin?

Deb Frost writes at American Daughter her opinion

She has EXECTUTIVE experience *running a government* (something NONE of the other candidates can actually boast, even John McCain) as Governor of Alaska and got there by defeating the *incumbent* Republican Governor, who was definitely part of the ‘old school’ and who WAS very much in the pocket of the big oil companies. We in Alaska wanted change – and we got it in the person of Sarah Palin!

Sarah Palin is everything she looks to be and more. Her approval rating as Governor of Alaska has been as high as 95% and is currently leveled out consistently in the upper 80 percentile throughout the state (and in both parties) - the HIGHEST approval rating of ANY sitting Governor.

Sarah has been turning around corruption in the Legislature of Alaska - turning things on their ear for that matter; cutting spending in spite of the increased income the state is currently receiving due to the high oil prices - she has insisted on putting a huge amount of the ‘windfall’ into savings for the future rather than spending, spending, spending - and has insisted from the get-go on what she refers to as ‘honest, ethical and transparent governing’ - no more closed door meetings and dealings - the big oil companies thought she would be a pushover and have learned better to their chagrin.

She understands the ‘real people’ and the economic issues we all face (Alaskans along with the rest of the country) - she was one of ‘us’ not long ago. Rather than passing useless ‘laws’ or throwing money at pet projects, she (most recently) temporarily suspended the state gas tax (on gasoline at the pumps, fuel oil and natural gas for homes, etc.) and has ordered checks issued to ALL residents of Alaska this fall in an attempt to assist with the burden of high fuel costs for the upcoming winter. I could go on and on, but that’s enough for now. She isn’t doing these things to be popular – she is doing it because her constituents are HURTING financially and she can help.

She became Governor of Alaska by defeating the Incumbent Republican Governor and doing it *without* the money or the support of the Republican Party, which was amazing in itself - and she won by a landslide. The ‘powers that be’ at that time totally underestimated Sarah and learned better the hard way. She has done exactly what she claimed she was going to do and is just as popular today as the day she was elected - perhaps more so since even the Democrats up here seem to like her - she works well with both sides in the Legislature here.

No wonder our leftist media are quaking in their high heel sneakers.

Now about those tax increases promised by Obama

"Now our opponents tell you not to worry about their tax increases.

They tell you they are not going to tax your family.

No, they’re just going to tax “businesses!” So unless you buy something from a “business,” like groceries or clothes or gasoline … or unless you get a paycheck from a big or a small “business,” don’t worry … it’s not going to affect you.

They say they are not going to take any water out of your side of the bucket, just the “other” side of the bucket! That’s their idea of tax reform." Fred Thompson at the Republican Convention

And then that experience issue

MSNBC's Ron Allen asks Gingrich about the speeches and then makes the mistake of asking him about the experience of Sarah Palin. Newt Gingrich clobbers him with a comparison of the experience of Sarah Palin and Barack Obama. [Paraphrase] A terrific rallying symbol for women, for young people. Her resume is stronger than Obama's--she's been a real mayor, he wasn't; a real governor; he wasn't; she's fought corruption; he hasn't; she took on her own party. What has Obama done, tell me one thing? (reporter didn't answer). From USA Today blog: Gingrich said that if Gov. Sarah Palin's two years of experience as a governor and a decade of experience before that as a local politician are issues, "then Obama ought to resign from the (Democratic) ticket." The Democrat's experience, in his view, isn't as deep as Palin's because Obama has never been in an executive position.

How the media spin family problems--when it's not their own candidate

"The MSNBC panel is piling on Pat Buchanan for saying that Sarah Palin is a dynamite choice by McCain. The entire panel including Chris Matthews is clearly going to do anything they can to keep alive the vetting process, the baby situations, and the “inexperience” of Palin. They implicitly understand that the pick is good but they know that it is their job to see the McCain ticket fail. Meanwhile they continue to say nothing of Obama’s close friendship to terrorist William Ayers or Tony Rezko. We also hear nothing of Joe Biden’s son and brother being named as defendants in a hedge fund scam. Nothing."

How liberal and feminists journalists are squealing "no fair" because they didn't know See today's Wall Street Journal

Here is a sampler of media comment on Governor Palin this week:

- Eleanor Clift, the McLaughlin Group: "If the media reaction is anything, it's been literally laughter in many places across newsrooms."

- Sally Quinn, Newsweek: "It is a political gimmick . . . I find it insulting to women, to the Republican party, and to the country."

- E.J. Dionne, Washington Post: "Palin is, if anything, less qualified for the vice presidency (and the presidency) than [Harriet] Miers was for the court. But there is one big difference: Palin passes all the right-wing litmus tests."

- Maureen Dowd, New York Times: "They have a tradition of nominating fun, bantamweight cheerleaders from the West."

- Ruth Marcus, Washington Post: "But as a parent in the media, I also know that the Palins assumed this risk. Anyone who watched coverage of the Bush twins' barroom exploits knew that the avert-your-eyes stance toward candidates' children has its limits."

- Charlie Cook, Beltway pundit, on PBS's "Charlie Rose": "I had a friend that had a young person tell them that they had three interviews to get a job as a server at Ruby Tuesday! So this is like putting a whole -- for someone that hasn't played on a national -- Geraldine Ferraro had more -- Dan Quayle had undergone more scrutiny, had played on a bigger stage than this. This is putting an enormous risk on someone he didn't know. And he has to just pray that it works!"

How former Clintonites and Obama supporters see her

"US Weekly magazine, the tabloid published by Rolling Stone's Jann Wenner. That cover shows a smiling Sarah Palin, holding her youngest son Trig. The screaming headline: "Babies, Lies and Scandal: John McCain's Vice President."

Wenner has contributed $5300 to Obama's campaign since 2007." Weekly Standard

And the NYT and WSJ, who couldn't find a thing to say about John Edward's affair until he confessed, have managed multiple stories about Palin's children. I think NYT had 3 on the front page yesterday, and today WSJ has 3 negative and 1 neutral spread from A1 to A5.

These people are so pathetic, I just may donate to the McCain Palin campaign. I grew up in a small town, and I can assure you everyone in their home town knew about Bristol, but because they didn't know in New Yawk City, she wasn't vetted.

Makes me worry if there are losing teams

100 Percent Hand Hygiene Club

"Congratulations to physical therapy staff at Morehouse Medical Plaza for receiving 100 percent hand hygiene compliance in July and being recognized at recent supervisory council meetings. Staff were selected from 17 inpatient units in UH, Ross, Dodd and UH East and outpatient areas that had 100 percent compliance. To properly wash your hands, wet them with water, apply soap and rub your hands together for 15 seconds. Rinse and dry with a disposable towel (use the towel to turn off the faucet to avoid re-contaminating your hands). Or, use an alcohol-based hand rub for routinely decontaminating your hands." Seen at OSU Medical College newsletter.

Now about that woman thing

Lisa Schiffren writes: ". . . some commentators object that Palin was chosen primarily as a sop to female voters, especially disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters. Well, of course the McCain campaign wants to entice those women to vote for the Republican ticket. Putting together coalitions is how elections are won. Women happen to be 52 percent of the electorate. Ignoring them, let alone insulting them as Barack Obama is perceived to have done, is politically foolish. Some worried that McCain would pick a token woman, such as Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas—she of the long Washington tenure, liberal Republican views, and few accomplishments (though she does look the part). Instead, he surprised many by picking Palin.

Is it irresponsible to put a half-term governor in the vice presidential slot? It depends on her record. But surely for a Washington novice, the vice presidency is more appropriate than the presidency. A half-term governor has more claim to leadership and experience than does a one-third-term U.S. senator who has risen through a big-city political machine. Palin is a woman of action, moreover, who has used her political capital at every stage to fight corruption and bad policy. It’s hard to find anyone in politics who does that; pols “save” their capital instead, as Obama has done by voting “present” on numerous occasions, lest spending it cost them something somewhere down the road. Her personal profile—raising five children, hunting, fishing, and being a real NRA member—make an appealing contrast with the overly cerebral, political calculations of those who merely hold positions and whose lives have been led in the service of their résumés." More here

Back when Democrats were truly liberals

"He was a good man, who had a good heart. His name was Hubert Horatio Humphrey. And he said: Divine Providence will judge a country by three things. How it treats those in the dawn of life. How it treats those in the shadows of life. And how it treats those in the twilight of life." Pat Buchanan

Cheating the poor with inaccurate information

Another alarmist article about how the poor can’t afford decent food--need to buy cheaper junk--in USAToday. Really? Tara Parker Pope even said so in NYT last December--comparing only the cost of calories! Nonsense. I just had a wonderful lunch. I had steamed beet tops (we’ll eat the beets for dinner tonight) and a delicious tomato salad of two garden tomatoes (farmer’s market), coarsely shredded carrots (from WalMart), a few sliced green olives (been around for awhile in the frig), and the left over salsa from last night’s restaurant doggie bag. No, it wasn’t “calorie dense” like donuts or cookies, but after I sneak a piece of real cheddar cheese for dessert, I’ll have a pretty good balance, for under $2.00, and it will hold until dinner. After all, how many calories do I need for blogging and napping?

The following article is from 2005, but things haven’t changed that much, unless you’ve been buying corn based products like pop (corn is being grown to burn in cars instead of feeding people and animals which in turn is raising the cost of rice and causing riots in 3rd world countries--thank you, Al Gore).

“In January of this year [2005] alternative health practitioner and self-style “health nut” Colleen Huber made an attempt to do just such a worked-out analysis of processed vs. whole organic food costs.

Colleen made two complete weekly menus, one using processed food and one using fresh foods. She did all her shopping at a single, standard supermarket, and chose mid-priced brands of processed foods (not generics). She followed some reasonable ground rules, and we couldn’t detect any particular bias in the menus she constructed. In addition to the menus, Colleen’s article lists detailed “register tapes” with prices and weights for all the foods she purchased for each set of menus.

At the end of the day, the processed food menu cost USD $123.64, while the fresh, organic menu cost USD $122.42.” Real food cheaper

I make no attempt to buy organic, but do buy a lot of fresh. So my food bill would probably be even lower. Don't let the economic scare mongers tell you what to eat.

Thanks to Janeen who's eating good for the wonderful tomatoes photo.

Ghosts at the Olympics

As fabulous as the Olympics were--the opening and closing spectaculars especially--I couldn't help but feel the death. The death of millions and millions of Chinese citizens by government slaughter, starvation, relocation and reeducation and untold millions more through abortion and infanticide (family planning). In the 20th century, no government was responsible for more deaths than Communist China and its Mao led hysteria. But in this country we fell for a lot of the same nonsense and misinformation. Remember Paul Ehrlich?

In 1967, Stanford entomologist Paul Ehrlich began a magazine article by writing that “the battle to feed all of humanity is over.” He predicted that “in the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now” to feed them. His article eventually became a book called The Population Explosion, one of the most influential books of the last 40 years.

None of Ehrlich’s dire predictions came true. People did die, but they died as a result of population-control efforts that were spurred by Ehrlich’s imaginary “population explosion.”

In the face of such a so-called “threat,” human dignity gave way. If people did not “voluntarily” limit family size, then coercion and deception stepped in. In India, for example, millions of men and women were sterilized against their will.

This story is told in a new book, Population Control: Real Costs, Illusory Benefits, by Steven Mosher. Read review at Chuck Colson’s column.

And so millions more will die as we rush head long into our anthropogenic global warming hysteria to add to the millions killed with the DDT ban brought on by Rachel Carson's book.

The smears against Palin

This morning I've been browsing the Lexis-Nexis database on presidential campaigns. Found a Democrat smear site that inserted snarky, insulting headings above news snippets, assigning all sorts of innuendos and obscure meanings to things. This one I've also seen on Ohio bumpers.

“Palin's father has a bumper sticker on his truck that says, "Vegetarian: Old Indian word for bad hunter" (Bragg, Anchorage Daily News, 9/1)”.

That one ought to rally the PETA branch of Dem kooks. Right up there with Mitt's dog riding in a carrier on top of the car 20+ years ago. Any decent animal lover would have put a kid in the carrier and made room for the dog in the car. Or released the dog to the wild, since people shouldn't own pets anyway.

Children in bars

We'd planned to go to Rusty Bucket last night--our Friday night place, but because of the holiday it wasn't open. Instead we went to Bag of Nails, our former favorite date place, located in Tremont shopping center in our old neighborhood of 35 years. Both are sort of "sports bars"--Bucket more so with multiple TV screens and a larger bar section, but Nails has two bars in two rooms. Both are family friendly, but I do hate to see people plop their children down on bar stools.

Last night I saw something at Nails I hadn't seen before. Five children ages about 8-12 years old in a booth with no adult or parent, 2 girls and 3 boys. It's possible that the oldest boy was the "babysitter." They were a little loud, but remarkably well behaved for no adult around. All had cell phones, and the activity seemed to be texting each other across the table. But something just doesn't seem right turning five children loose with lots of cash in a sports bar, even one in a neighborhood shopping center. Any thoughts?

Girls they just wanna have fun--in libraries

Can hardly believe that after almost 40 years of the current women's movement, we still need special programs to "fix" girls who chose interests other than boys. How sexist is that? It's the old "gender divide" we heard about in the early 90s.. . before these girls were born! And they still can't get teen girls to think computers are fun? Aren't they text messaging, talking on cell phones, sharing it all on FaceBook or what ever social site is popular now, downloading the latest teen music? I think they are techie enough to suit their needs. Give up and let the girls be girls.

Farmer, Lesley S.J.. "Girls and Technology: What Public Libraries Can Do" Library Hi Tech News 25(5)(June 2008) - Public libraries that have computers labs, offer free internet access, IT training programs and console games that all enjoy high usage may make the mistake of not analysing the use and effectiveness of those programs. After all, if it ain't broke (people are using the library and facilities are booked out) then why fix it (why waste time analysing success)? Farmer's article is a call to public libraries to ensure that their programs are meeting the needs of an underserved cohort of library members -- teenage girls. Farmer's assertions that "even in the twenty-first century, a gendered digital divide exists" and "libraries offer a safe learning environment for girls to explore technology" should remind public library managers, childrens' and youth services librarians and IT librarians to ensure that their IT programs and facilities include this important group of library members. An easy-to-read article backed up by statistics, an outline of principles to consider when planning IT programs, and some examples of successful public library programs.
Summary from Current Cites, August 2008

Maybe someone should suggest books to the teen girls. I hear they still like Jane Austen. It might just be innovative enough to work!

Women voters

“ . . . what factor is mostly likely to determine the winner of Colorado's nine electoral votes. His [Dick Wadhams, chairman of the Colorado GOP] answer: Women.” Political Diary, WSJ, Aug 31, 2008 “John McCain is uniquely situated to capture the suburban female swing vote. Mr. McCain's emphasis on fiscal responsibility plays especially well with this crowd and, as "security moms," they value his leadership on foreign policy. Moreover, helping to shift the needle recently, "these voters are really moved by the energy issue" and highly supportive of Mr. McCain's call for more drilling.”

And adding Governor Palin certainly didn't hurt.

This economy

Although we hear a lot of mumbling about “this economy” (most of the people we hang out with are Democrats), it’s been a pretty good summer for my husband. He’s sold 5 paintings and 22 prints; we have no way to judge or compare with others since he’s not a full time artist--just a hobbiest. Our neighbor here at Lakeside is an auctioneer. He says he’s had a fabulous summer. “There’s money out there,” is a paraphrase that came through our porch screen. One item (consignment auction) where the base price was $800, went for $37,000. Tibetan 17th century must be in big demand. A number of neighbors are retired teachers or university faculty with far more in STRS than I have, plus they all seem to "consult" or "substitute," or "mentor," and I know it isn't about the money.

One thing I haven’t seen addressed in the “this economy” poor-mouth, media stories is how we retirees are spending our money. Remember, the boomers are now 60. They have all their “wants and needs” for big ticket consumer goods, and so they aren’t buying homes, cars and refrigerators. With a demographic that big, even without a mortgage problem brought on by shaky loan methods of zero money down and flipping houses for investments, I would think there would be a softening of the economy.

Also, many retirees know how to tighten their belts--we had years of experience when we were younger. But like us, many retirees decided to see a bit of the world before checking into the retirement home. The first 10 years of our marriage, we had no vacations at all. For the next 30 years, we primarily vacationed at Lakeside, my mother’s farm, or visited relatives while younger families went into debt for Disney World, ski vacations, or a sandy beach on either coast. However, since I retired we’ve been on an Alaskan cruise, tours to Germany and Austria, Ireland, Italy, trips to Finland and Russia, a 16 day Amtrak trip, and several architectural bus tours through the U.S. In the spring we’re going to the Holy Land and my husband is signed up for his third mission trip to Haiti (participants pay their own way). Yes, some of that money has stayed in the United States to be spread around the travel, leisure and service industries, but an awful lot has traveled out of the country starting with foreign airlines, and going to foreign hotels and restaurants and tourist sites. The U.S. exports a lot of its travel dollars.

Also, as usual, there’s a disconnect between how people see their own lives, and the general condition of others--most Americans are optimistic about their own situation, but not others’:

“But here's the bad news for the dour Democrats in Denver -- most Americans don't share their economic pessimism. That's the finding of public opinion expert Karlyn Bowman of the American Enterprise Institute. "Most Americans are feeling pretty good about their jobs and their personal lives," she says after investigating the fine details of recent polls. Her report goes right to Mr. Gramm's concern about the gap between actual economic performance and the dreary negativity of politicians and the media.

She finds that 76% of Americans say they are actually optimistic about the direction of their own lives and their personal economic situations -- even though only 18% are optimistic about the country. That's the big disconnect. "These numbers haven't changed much over time," Ms. Bowman tells me. Political Diary

A joke? Or not?

Maybe I have no sense of humor. At first I thought it a really strange way to support Obama--by gleefully hoping that New Orleans would be swamped just so the Republicans' Convention would be interrupted. Then I thought, NO, not even Michael Moore would be that stupid, it must be a joke from the other side. Either way. Poor taste, guys. Then I thought back on what he's done, and . . . I don't know, what do you think? That logo does look a bit phony.

McCain and Palin have gone to Mississippi and I understand that Obama is offering to send his million volunteers with a personal text message.

Anyway, Zogby says no bounce for Obama. Usually a candidate can count on a good 5-10 points. Zip, Nada, Zilch.

"Republican John McCain's surprise announcement Friday of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate - some 16 hours after Democrat Barack Obama's historic speech accepting his party’s presidential nomination - has possibly stunted any Obama convention bump, the latest Zogby Interactive flash poll of the race shows.

The latest nationwide survey, begun Friday afternoon after the McCain announcement of Palin as running mate and completed mid-afternoon today, shows McCain/Palin at 47%, compared to 45% support for Obama/Biden.

In other words, the race is a dead heat.

The interactive online Zogby survey shows that both Obama and McCain have solidified the support among their own parties - Obama won 86% support of Democrats and McCain 89% of Republicans in a two-way head-to-head poll question not including the running mates. When Biden and Palin are added to the mix, Obama's Democratic support remains at 86%, while McCain's increases to 92%."

Update: The comment about God is apparently "real," but who said it may be up for debate. "Suspending the normal GOP convention activities for at least a day will cut the time Sen. McCain’s surrogates spend in the spotlight making the case for his election. But the potential political gain for the Republicans and Sen. McCain is much greater because it provides them the opportunity to change voters’ unfavorable view of their competence and compassion.

Moreover, it’s difficult to understand the view privately expressed by some Democrats, and stupidly vocalized by a former Democratic national chairman caught on video, saying the hurricane was proof that “God is on our side.” " seen at WSJ political blog.

Lakeside 2008 Our Quarry Tour

About once a week here at Lakeside we hear a rumble and feel the ground moving--our cottage has a crack across the kitchen ceiling that reappears each time we repair it. We live within several miles of the Marblehead Quarry. Until Friday, however, we’d never visited our neighbor, LaFarge Marblehead Quarry, one of the largest and highest volume quarries in Ohio and on the Great Lakes. Along with about 80 other Lakesiders and visitors for Senior Venture week, we attended a lecture by a 3rd generation quarry worker on the history and production of the products on Thursday, and then boarded school buses on Friday for a fascinating tour of an amazingly high tech operation. I believe the only other time you can tour is to see the Lakeside Daisy in May. It doesn't grow (naturally) in Lakeside, but flourishes in the sand piles of the quarries in Marblehead.

“Lafarge North America acquired The Standard Slag Company, owner of the Marblehead Quarries, in 1989, and began an ambitious program to revitalize the quarry operations with an investment of $12.5 million to build the current processing plant and boat loading facility.” Before Standard Slag, it was owned by Chemstone Corporation, which acquired it from Kelleys Island Lime and Transport which had taken over several small quarries operating from the early 19th century.

Loading Lakesiders at the South Gate Parking Lot

Loading blasted rock into the crusher
View of the other side of the Crusher
Tire cost for 992Cat went from $16,000 (2007) to $30,000 (2008)

Loading the freighter; most goes to Cleveland; others to ports in MI, PA and Canada
It seems we can’t even learn about local history without some political mischief rearing its head. When I was looking up Lafarge on the internet, I found this story from WaPo in December 2007, which was featuring a series on the various candidates.

"Bill Clinton is renowned today for the millions he commands as a public speaker and business consultant. But in the early 1990s when he was making $35,000 a year as the governor of Arkansas, Hillary Clinton was the family's breadwinner, earning more than $100,000 a year from her law firm salary and corporate board fees. Lafarge, a U.S. cement maker owned by a French conglomerate, was one of her largest sources of income, paying her $31,000 a year to serve on its board. Shortly before Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992, Lafarge was fined $1.8 million by the Environmental Protection Agency for pollution violations at its Alabama plant. A year later, the Clinton administration reduced that fine to less than $600,000. Hillary Clinton had left the board in spring 1992 after her husband won the Democratic nomination."

Another Aging American minority

Did you know that only 8% of Americans belong to what we call mainline Protestant denominations? Surprised?

. . .the actual organizations at the center—the defining churches in each of the denominations that make up the Mainline—have fallen to insignificance. The Disciples of Christ with 750,000 members, the United Church of Christ with 1.2 million, the American Baptist Churches with 1.5 million, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) with 2.3 million, the Episcopalians with 2.3 million, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 5 million, and the United Methodist Church with 8.1 million: That’s around 21 million people, in a nation of more than 300 million. The conservative Southern Baptist Convention alone has 16 million members in the United States. The Catholic Church has 67 million. The death of Protestant America

I'm a member of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, an evangelical, multi-campus, believing congregation within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, one of the Mainliners sliding into insignificance, losing millions of members to more conservative groups since its last merger 20 years ago. UALC has thrived because it has a message--you are dead in your sins and need salvation through Jesus Christ. ELCA has wasted thousands of hours and dollars over seven years trying to decide whether marriage means one man and one woman. We know where it's going--liberals can kill a church, congregation or synod this way, and then our congregation along with thousands of others will leave ELCA and create something else. Mainline Protestants are leaving for conservative churches, for Catholicism, for Orthodoxy, and for sleeping in and turning off.

I grew up and was baptised in Church of the Brethren (Anabaptist) and although it doesn't get counted in these numbers because it probably only has 50,000 members, it is also mainline in theology and culture. Our churches need to have something besides a glorious past and a present of worshiping at the feet of the gods of environmentalism, feminism, pacifism and leftist social causes. Anti-Catholicism and anti-semitism are now found primarily in the Mainline churches because of leftist politics and anti-Israel rhetoric.

Mainline Protestants have the oldest average age of any religious group in America, at almost 52 years, with 28% of believers over age 65. Adding happy, clappy guitar music and praise tunes to the service will not turn this around. Down with spirituality--we need a future. Jesus.

America was Methodist, once upon a time—or Baptist, or Presbyterian, or Congregationalist, or Episcopalian. Protestant, in other words. What can we call it today? Those churches simply don’t mean much any more. That’s a fact of some theological significance. It’s a fact of genuine sorrow, for that matter, as the aging members of the old denominations watch their congregations dwindle away: funeral after funeral, with far too few weddings and baptisms in between. But future historians, telling the story of our age, will begin with the public effect in the United States.

The audacity of hype

"Barack Obama has made his economic thinking excruciatingly clear, so it also is clear that his running mate should have been not Joe Biden, but Rumpelstiltskin. He spun straw into gold, a skill an Obama administration will need in order to fulfill its fairy-tale promises." George Will, Aug. 24, 2008, WaPo, WSJ

"Despite the incessantly repeated mantra of "change," Barack Obama's politics is as old as the New Deal and he is behind the curve when it comes to today's economy. . . Barack Obama's "change" is a recycling of the kinds of policies and rhetoric of the New Deal that prolonged the Great Depression of the 1930s far beyond the duration of any depression before or since." Thomas Sowell, Aug. 30, 2008

Two similarities and one huge difference

Michael Medved has a long list of what Governor Palin brings to the ticket, and specifically addresses the experience of her and Obama, emphasizing that "ready to lead" should refer to issues, not years. He does address the charisma feature; I liked these points.

It begins to close the energy gap. The biggest problem for the GOP this year is that Obama devotees were vastly more energized than McCain supporters. Even though polling looked close, the other side was more excited about their candidate. The Palin pick will help Republicans to catch up, exciting the party’s base – particularly religious conservatives.

Palin allows Republicans to compete on the novelty front. One of Barack’s biggest advantages has been the widespread sense of wonderment he inspires: “I can’t believe we can really elect a black guy on a national ticket!” Now McCainiacs can claim a miracle of our own, as we pinch our delirious selves: “I can’t believe we can really elect a woman on a national ticket – and a conservative woman at that!”

Black voters have admitted that they never thought they'd see a black man or woman in the White House in their life time and are 97% behind him (but that's not racism according to Civil Rights leaders). But they are probably no more surprised than conservatives that a real conservative might get there! I don't think she'll attract any PUMAS, but she might draw some back from the libertarian candidates who had despaired at the McCain candidacy and in a race this close really matter.

What she doesn't bring to the ticket are heaps, loads, and swamps of white guilt. Occasionally guilt is an energizer, but mostly it's a stand in for actually doing something. Conservatives just don't feel that strongly about the gender issue. Most don't support abortion, which when women's topics are raised among Democrats, it is always at the top, and often they don't get to point 2. Occasionally feminists mention elder care since that usually falls to daughters, but eventually, abortion will take care of that too--elderly, retired career women will have no off-spring to look after their needs. They'll be able to hire government workers from government agencies with their generous government pension. Or maybe the elder care worker will be assigned. I'm not sure the Obamanation have looked that far ahead.

Like fraternity hazing

"Mrs. Palin now must clear a daunting hurdle -- first the media, then public opinion. Since the press is unfamiliar with her, she will be treated as a target for aggressive scrutiny. In the past, surprise picks like Mrs. Palin have faltered in the face of a media onslaught and never recovered. Mrs. Ferraro, though more familiar, became an albatross for Mr. Mondale. In 1988, Dan Quayle was quickly turned into a joke for late-night comics."

I've been appalled by the bizarre, crude, rude, ungratious, sexist, hateful remarks about her--not her politics--but her body, her hair (no hair plugs), her choice not to kill her baby, all by the left, that appeared within minutes of the announcement. Of course, I'm reading comments on the internet. They could be the mind of 13 year old boys stuck between the legs of a 60 year old guy. They are really scared. The Obama campaign sneered first, leading the way, then realized how stupid they looked (especially after dissing Hillary), and eventually and belatedly, Obama congratulated her.

The best blog was two photos juxtaposed--Obama wearing a helmet on a bicycle, and Palin on a Harley. Vroom, vroom. Can't wait for the debates.

Lakeside 2008--The end of summer

Golden August Sunset at Lakeside
We got here on July 5 after our lovely tour of Italy, and my brief stay in the hospital from a gastrointestinal bug which required lots of IVs and bedrest. But from that week on, we’ve had a wonderful stay at our summer home, particularly enjoying the many arts activities and seminars. Here’s a brief run down. I didn’t attend a lot of these, of course, since I needed a little time to paint, draw, read, visit friends, entertain, walk along the lake, and ride my 40 year old no-gear bike. Lakeside pulpit and programming leans a little too far toward liberal guilt (been there done that in my 30s and 40s) for my tastes--peace and justice, removal of Indians, global health--but I was still able to pick and choose some very interesting topics, especially local Ohio history. Over all, our Director of Education, Gretchen Curtis, did a fabulous job, and yesterday she reported over 9,000 in attendance at the daytime programming during the summer of 2008.

Week 1: June 23-25 Lives & Legacies of Charles & John Wesley
June 26-27 Religious Environmentalism in the U.S.

Week 2: Jun 30-July 3 Health & Wellness Week (with Nursing CE credit)

Week 3: July 7-11 U.S. Presidential Elections: Then and Now (10:30 a.m.)
Spiritual Biography (1:30 p.m.)

Week 4: July 14-18 Four Gospels with Tim Grannon (10:30 am)
The Great Lakes (1:30 pm)

Week 5: July 21-23 Historic Chautauqua
July 25 Historic Building Design and Preservation

Week 6: July 28-Aug 1 Middle East Foreign Affairs (10:30 am)
Global Health Challenges (1:30 pm)

Week 7: Aug 4-8 22nd Annual Peace with Justice Week

Week 8: Aug 11-15 Interfaith Week

Week 9: Aug 18-22 5th Annual Civil War Week

Week 10: Aug 25-27 Indian Removal from Ohio (Senior Venture Week)
Aug 28-29 Lakeside Neighbors

Thur 10:30 a.m. History of Camp Perry: 1907 to Now
SSG Josh Mann, Historian, Ohio Army National Guard
Thur 1:30 p.m. History and Operation of the Marblehead Limestone Quarry
Ted Dress, Night Supervisor, LaFarge Quarry, Marblehead OH
Fri 10:30 a.m. Bus Tour of LaFarge Quarry
Fri 1:30 p.m. Celebrating Chocolate: Sweet Ending to Lakeside’s 135th Season
Gretchen S. Curtis, Lakeside’s Director of Education

Also there were 3:30 seminars for book reviews, nutrition programs and Foreign Affairs Forum; Sunday history lectures; and week-day walking tours, tree identification walks and herb classes. Week-end events of plein air art, boat and auto shows, ice cream social, craft fair, and quilt show brought in thousands from outside the grounds.

The final week, Senior Venture Week, was open to all Lakesiders this year (in the past I think we had to pay a fee on top of our gate pass). Last week's archeological tour of Johnson's Island and this week's tour of the Marblehead Quarry were really some of the most interesting local events I've attended. A homeschooler from Port Clinton brought her 2 children for Ohio history credit. Wasn't that smart? Thursday and Friday I was very busy, and it was topped off with a delicious offering of CHOCOLATE!

Gretchen lectured on and served chocolate

The Women's Wage Myth--2004 campaign redux

Equal pay for equal work? Or equal experience? Or equal risk? Or equal degrees? Or equal professional contributions? Ah, the feminists are going after John McCain because in spite of all the laws, regulations and law suits of the last 35 years, they still complain about women's work. Here's what I wrote in 2004 during that misinformation mess by Kerry.

The Women's Wage Myth

George W. Bush has freed millions of women in Afghanistan and Iraq, although feminist groups have been pretty silent about that. And John Kerry continues to promote the myth of the gender wage gap--I think he said $.76 to $1.00, but they haven't been silent about that. Actually he's wrong. There are many reasons women earn less. I stopped working from 1968 - 1978, then worked only part time until 1986. And I was in a low-paid, female dominated profession. Any profession with a large number of women has depressed wages. And even with all the laws and law suits, we still have women putting home and family before careers.

“. . . most studies of pay discrimination don’t weigh in such factors as experience and the desire of many married women with children to work shorter hours, and even seek less demanding jobs, so they can spend more time at home with their families. Studies that do account for those factors have concluded that across the board, the pay of unmarried men and unmarried women doing the same work are just about equal.” Independent Women’s Forum*

During the 1990s two OSU librarians wrote an article that showed that male librarians really don't make more than female librarians--they publish more and relocate more often and are more likely to accept the more challenging jobs. That translates into better pay. If anything, the higher pay that male librarians are willing to go after pulls up the median. The women indirectly benefit from having more men in the field. See Bradigan, Pamela S. and Carol A. Mularski. "Evaluation of Academic Librarians' Publications for Tenure and Initial Promotion" The Journal of Academic Librarianship, v. 22 September 1996 pp. 360-365.

*Didn't link to article, try this

We report; you decide

That's what I like about Fox. It drives liberals crazy because if they don't hear their own off-key choir in their own reverb echo chamber, it's bias. However, facial expressions, voice and adjectives go a long way. And today, Fox did show an enthusiastic news corp over McCain's choice. I watched reporters on ABC and Fox discuss Sarah Palin. The ABC news dude first interviewed a Democrat (that is standard--sometimes only Democrats are interviewed), then a Republican whom he literally attacked and interrupted each time he tried to say something positive. By contrast, on Fox a female reporter who had been following the Minnesota governor closely thinking he might be the choice, was interviewed about reactions to the Palin choice. She practically bubbled with enthusiasm while reporting her "absolutely amazing personal story." The ABC guy twice demanded to know how a special needs baby was going to affect her campaigning. Then there's that NYT stalker-feminist (a brunette Ann Coulter) who has already smeared Palin, but Cokie Roberts was interviewed to balance that (on ABC) noting that her appeal wasn't her "female plumbing" as the accuser suggested, but her conservative core beliefs.

Liberal Fascism

A really unfortunate title choice for an excellent book, says Albert Mohler, who writes some of the best book reviews on the web. Liberal Fascism: the secret of the American left from Mussolini to the politics of meaning by Jonah Goldberg also contains one of the words I hate to see in a book title, "secret." But surprise! My public library, UAPL, actually owns four copies of this title, all currently in use, so perhaps I won't need to buy it! Just from the following excerpt this sounds like a title wafflers and fence sitters need to read in the months coming up to the election. It's not your grandfather's party.

An excerpt: "American liberalism is a totalitarian political religion, but not necessarily an Orwellian one. It is nice, not brutal. Nannying, not bullying. But it is definitely totalitarian -- or "holistic," if you prefer -- in that liberalism today sees no realm of human life that is beyond political significance, from what you eat to what you smoke to what you say. Sex is political. Food is political. Sports, entertainment, your inner motives and outer appearance, all have political salience for liberal fascists. Liberals place their faith in priestly experts who know better, who plan, exhort, badger, and scold. They try to use science to discredit traditional notions of religion and faith, but they speak the language of pluralism and spirituality to defend "nontraditional" beliefs."

Reinvigorated Republicans

To shake things up, Sarah Palin might not have been my first choice (i.e., a black woman, or a GOP ex-senator, cabinet level) but then what do you do to counter a media-made messiah, long on glamor and short on substance and finally get some attention? So I've been browsing the columns, pundits and a few conservative bloggers to see what Sarah Palin brings to the ticket. No sense wasting time watching the news anchors, although I did last night just to raise my blood pressure (it's always low). They dug as deep as these surfacers know how, even the PBS foots-asleep folks whom I watch even less than broadcast. So I found this at Hugh Hewitt, who gives 6 reasons, but I thought this summed it up well.

"The long run of Congressional power drained a lot of the energy from the GOP when it came to the battle of ideas, and Palin is a representative of the non-Beltway GOP that wants very much to get back into that fray. Winning the war remains the first priority, and Supreme Court justices after that, but on a host of key issues Governor Palin represents the Reagan wing of the party, and that's a great thing." Hugh Hewitt Aug 29 2008

So we've got 2 old guys who've been in Washington forever, and two-forty somethings, handsome and articulate, with no Beltway ties, one of whom is so independent she has no federal or foreign experience and the other beholden to all sorts of muck-stuck pols, both the traditional Chicago back room boys and the anarchist lefties. Let's hope Sarah gives Republicans a reason to go to the polls, and that she's a really fast learner!

Sarah Palin on energy--some hope and change with specifics instead of hype.

Michael Medved on Sarah Palin's experience record

Shut up George

Charlie broke away from Sarah Palin's speech, one of the best I've heard this entire campaign, to interview George Stephana- stepa- stupa-, well you know, the former Clinton aide with all the hair. Then George S. announced that if Gustave hits NOLA, McCain should scale back the Republican convention and go to Louisiana, the "site of GWB's disaster." No, George, that was a Democratic city with a Democratic governor. With Democrat disaster plans. Republican states fared much better. The failure was theirs. And Charlie? Thanks for nothing. We had to switch to radio to hear the rest of her speech.

McCain Palin ticket

Another history making event--not a woman as a VP choice, because we’ve had that, but a parent of a special needs child. Her youngest child has Downs Syndrome; the parents knew, and chose to give him life and lots of love. Unless you are pro-life, you probably don’t know that statistically, births of Downs Syndrome babies are down. Not because fewer are conceived--the age of women giving birth is going up and that’s a serious risk factor. But prenatal testing has given parents the choice of not carrying a disabled child to term. There are also many couples who choose to adopt Downs babies.

That said, I actually believe a woman with 5 children ought to take some time off to raise them. Call me a reactionary, but that's a huge job and I think kids need their mother around, not just high paid nannies. (Please, no Queen Victoria stories.) I wouldn't vote against McCain for that reason, but I believe women have a different career track than men. You can do and have it all, but not all at the same time. The vice president, whether Biden or Palin, is a heart beat away from the oval office. She better have some outstanding executive qualities (she's Governor of Alaska) or this could be called one up(wo)manship.

Of the four running for the White House, Biden has been in Washington the longest, which makes Obama's complaints about business as usual and need for change sort of silly, and Palin is a first term Governor with many reforms to her credit, which makes McCain's criticism of Obama as inexperienced fall flat.

Well, she's still the youngest and prettiest (former beauty queen) of the four.
Update: And she gives the best speech of the four (Dayton, OH, August 29, 2008)if content counts.

Voting with Bush?

Is it really true that John McCain voted with President Bush 90% of the time as a recent Obama speech claimed? Yes! After all, we do have a two party system, and they belong to the same party, although neither is particularly "conservative" on many issues. McCain portrays himself as a maverick and one who reaches across the aisle (Obama sounds like he's lifted some of McCain's phrases). In 2007 McCain voted with the President 95% of the time. Obama votes along party lines 97% of the time. So?

. . . consider that Obama's votes were in line with the president's position 40 percent of the time in 2007. That shouldn't be terribly surprising. Even the Senate's Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, voted with Bush 39 percent of the time last year, according to the way Congressional Quarterly rates the votes.

The McCain campaign points out that Obama told a local TV interviewer recently that "the only bills that I voted for, for the most part, since I've been in the Senate were introduced by Republicans with George Bush." Obama was actually wrong about that. In 2006 he voted alongside the president 49 percent of the time, and in 2005, the year before Democrats took control of the Senate, Obama voted with the president only 33 percent of the time.

Also, Obama voted in line with fellow Senate Democrats 97 percent of the time in 2007 and 2005, and 96 percent of the time in 2006, according to CQ. FactCheck.org

The future of conservative books

I've often written about my frustration with the collection policies at my public library, UAPL. It's very difficult for a conservative author to get a review in PW or LJ, and many librarians seek no other source. Like many liberals in the information and education fields, they wear blinders.

Conservatives can’t help but be flooded with “the other side” in information, essays, editorials, opinions and library shelves full of liberal and leftist views. Actually, we benefit from that exchange. We are the “liberals” in the truest sense (we also protect the weakest in society with our anti-abortion stance) because the willingness to take into consideration multiple viewpoints should be the hallmark of liberalism. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work the other direction. Liberals don’t read or review conservative books or magazines, watch conservative shows, and their minds suffer from lack of light and new ideas as a result. And film? Don't even go there. The media--broadcast, cable, newspapers, publishing and the public libraries’ review Bibles, Publisher’s Weekly and Library Journal (owned by the same conglomerate)--are overwhelmingly left wing, but don‘t even see it, because they speak, write and read in an echo chamber. The academy, both private and tax supported, is so packed with liberals in university administrations and faculties that conservatives not only have a problems getting hired and promoted, they probably can’t find advisors for the PhD theses that will mentor and advocate for them so they can even get in the job pool.

About five years ago, some major publishers started their own conservative imprints when they saw how successful some conservative political books were put out by a small, fringe house, Regnery. These imprints such as Sentinel, Crown Forum and Threshold were dedicated to publishing conservative authors (kind of like keeping the funny uncle in a closet off-site). But their titles aren’t well promoted or reviewed and the conservative publishing houses that remained independent are still better for the conservative author than the siren call of the more established liberal houses.

But no matter what happens to those imprints, conservative publishing will certainly survive—and thrive. If liberals continue to ignore the power of conservative books, moreover, the losers will not be conservatives—who cannot help but be endlessly exposed to left-wing views through the networks and leading newspapers—but liberals themselves, complacent in their ignorance of the other side. “There’s always another side, that’s a classically liberal argument,” observes [Adam] Bellow with a laugh. “The problem for contemporary liberals is that they really don’t understand it applies to them.”

Read the whole story
The future of conservative books

Lakeside bumps on a log--mystery sculptures

The date on my photos says July 31, but I'm not really sure when I took these. That's probably close. From time to time someone creates an arrangement of stones on the lakefront. These were cute and must have required a lot of patience. The first is looking west over the dock with Mouse Island in view; the second to the east with Kelley's Island in the background; the third is a close-up.

Sportsmen for Obama?

A “Lifelong Republican” Tony Dean isn’t. Chad Baus must have watched BO’s speech last night (I didn’t). He says in an e-mail, “Obama just mentioned gun owners in Ohio in his "big speech", so he's obviously got us on the brain.” He knows Ohio is a key state--I think he was planning a visit to Toledo this week. According to Chad, Dean was mentioned a few years ago as a possible Democratic candidate for Congress and has supported anti-gun Democrats in the past according to this source

“For Tony Dean to have "switch[ed] parties to head a Sportsmen for Obama group" he would have to have done so at least two years before Obama was even elected to Senate, and five years prior to when he announced his presidential bid. Indeed, it appears the word "lifelong" is as difficult for Dean and the Obama campaign to define as the word "is" is to Bill Clinton.

Dean is quoted by the Dallas News as saying he's "99 percent sure a President Obama isn't going to infringe on gun rights." But seeing as Mr. Dean - who one blogger has dubbed 'South Dakota's Al Gore' because of his fervent belief in human-caused global warming - describes himself as a "moderate on the gun issue" who "opposes the NRA on most gun issues," his assurances about Obama aren't likely to be much consolation to pro-gun voters.

On his website, Dean has castigated the NRA for having "done little to protect gun ownership" and for having differing views on conservation issues, even while posting op-eds from the likes of Humane Society of the United States Executive Director Wayne Pacelle, who has been quoted as saying "we are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States...We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state."“

A politician who lies about his core beliefs, friends and associates? This is change and hope? I could call myself a life-long Democrat, as long as I don’t count the last 8 years, or the 4 years before that when I couldn’t find a single Democrat to support for any office local or national, or the 4 years before that when I was waking up after voting for Clinton. Surely, even life-long Democrats who have worked their buns to the bones for this empty suit Obama must be getting tired of this “change” mantra.

The 8 hour day and 5 day work week

This entry at Hispanic Pundit is 3 years old, but it's a good read any time, on how the desire for profitability works in our favor.

So, who gave us the 5 day, 8 hours per day, work week? Was it really the unions, was it really higher regulations? No, the historical answer is that it was Heny Ford who gave us the 5 day, 8 hours per day, work week. Ford was tired of continuously losing good employees, he was trying to increase employee retention and at the same time increase profits, so he basically doubled wages and implemented a 5-day work week, and in the process effectively invented the modern weekend. It is Henry Ford who is widely credited with contributing to the creation of a middle class in the United States.

In addition, if you look at why Henry Ford did this, you will see that his reasons had nothing to do with charity, and everything to do with increasing profits and dealing with the forces of competition.

It was also a profit motive that gave us health care through our employers (sort of a form of indentured servitude if you ever want to change jobs). After WWII, offering health insurance was a way to attract better workers in a tight job market. Of course, only the biggest firms could do it, so in the long run it was not good for competition or the worker.

What does Health Care Obamanation mean to you?

We've seen the ads. Is there anything in them that actually tell us what the state of health in the U.S. is? What do we really know about the uninsured, and if we knew, would it make any difference to the politicians or to the voters?

The percent of uninsured rose a bit in the U.S. during the Clinton years, dipped slightly in early 2000s (probably from SCHIP, a new program of the late 90s) and now rests at about 14-16% of the population (virtually unchanged in 20 years), depending on which source you use, the U.S. Census CPS and SIPP reports being the most accurate with the longest record. The actual numbers are up because the population has increased, so that's what will be cited in political ads and speeches. No politician will stand at a podium and say, "Despite all our promises and all the taxes you've paid, we're no further along on this than we were 30 years ago because we're inefficient, pork-fed pols who need poor people in order to get elected." However, only about half of that small group are uninsured for a whole year, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates about 16% of the uninsured go for 24 months without insurance. If it’s your family and you’re paying out $1000 a month to COBRA to your new plan, even one month is too long. It’s a bit like rejoicing that military deaths are far lower today than 20 years ago when there was no war. If it’s your son or daughter who died in Iraq, that’s not much comfort.

Who is uninsured? Actually, it’s the youngest (19-24, who also tend to be the people with “it will never happen to me” attitude), better educated, married, and higher income people who are more likely to go without insurance. Some people who claim to be uninsured on surveys actually have it through a government program (Medicaid or SCHIP), and some people who are eligible, don’t apply, and some who could have it through their employment, don’t choose it because they don’t want the co-payment.

Also, being uninsured does NOT mean a person gets no health care. If you've ever been to the ER, you know that. We all wait together. The uninsured may not seek care as early as they should, however, and that might cause problems down the road. Most of the political ads I’ve seen about health care actually involved people who had insurance (like Obama’s mother, or Hillary’s examples), but they were brought up as examples of the need for it to be “universal,” lessening what you and I have, and increasing what others have.

Still, with a new hurricane approaching New Orleans and all the reminders of stranded people, drowning buses, a racist mayor wanting a chocolate town, and a woman governor who didn’t know when to say “help,” I really can’t imagine that we want to FEMA-tize our health care.

What's going on in Spotsylvania County?

Its school conduct code is 40 pages! I haven't checked Upper Arlington's, so maybe they are all having this much trouble. I looked at the first page, which really seemed sufficient.

a. attend school regularly;
b. arrive at school ready to participate in learning activities;
c. accept responsibility for one's own behavior;
d. cooperate with school personnel and fellow students;
e. abide by all school regulations;
f. abide by all laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia;
g. complete all assignments fully and in a timely manner;
h. cooperate with school officials in the investigation of any violation
of school rules;
i. refrain from any action which hinders other students' safety,
welfare, peace of mind or achievement;
j. respect the right of teachers to teach and students to learn; and
k. assist the principal and faculty in the operation of the school as a
safe place for all students to learn and to develop socially.

Sounds reasonable to me. This doesn't--no one (parents and students, I assume) is allowed to link to the school web sites without permission, according to the code (p. 32, #14).

The school web site has all sorts of interesting things that I suppose bloggers or complainers could use. You can even find the nutritional value of the cafeteria meals on the school web site which seem to be 2 days Mexican and 2 days Italian with a meat/potatoes, or Asian or Jamaican item the 5th day, and a Grab 'n Go selection of salads or sandwiches.

Seen at James Taranto, WSJ, Best of the Web, who received the school link from a parent in the district who needed to hide her identity to pass along the information because she signed the code of conduct.

So what's in your school's code?

The stealth candidate

And I thought Clinton was Slick Willy and Nixon Tricky Dick. Obama has them both beat because even his most ardent, naive supporters know very little about him. You can't judge a man by his character if you don't have a clue who he is.

"Time and again, the man who draws so openly on King's legacy refuses to sacrifice an iota of possible political support by taking a principled stand on matters of racial justice that King said are matters of right and wrong. Instead, Obama makes cryptic or general comments that leave his position on important racial issues ambiguous or unknown." Juan Williams in today's WSJ

Unfortunately, I think we'll be finding out who he really is very soon. Republicans have contributed to this by choosing a candidate whose biggest attraction seems to be he's not as far left as Obama and will be tough on national security and doesn't advocate killing helpless babies. I wish there were more.

Do children need day-care or daddy-care?

If Democrats want to wag a finger this week, get all the men in a room and demand that they mentor and cajole young men about their responsibilities and to marry the mother of their children. And if you are divorced and can't take care of your first family, don't start a second. Even if the new wife or girlfriend nags. Barack Obama essentially did this during the primaries, and so did several other black leaders. I may not like his politics but he is a good role model for young men. But when the numbers are crunched, it will show that women contribute to poverty when they don't marry the fathers of their children and have babies before finishing high school. Feminists on the left need to report this instead of blaming President Bush, or men in general. Birth control? Just Say No, my sister.

These media poverty stories never change. Even though we can all look around and see an incredible difference between 2008 and 1988 or 1958, in the news it is always the same--doom and gloom. No opportunity. No jobs. Hunger. Hopelessness. It's extremely political, and if I were a Democrat, I'd be ashamed that none of the "hope and change" programs we promised in the past have made any difference. Except that one in the mid-1990s under President Clinton, when welfare was cleaned up. Oops. He was forced into that one by Republicans, and the left was fighting mad. But that is his legacy. Millions of women grabbed hold and became energized tax payers, developed a back bone and showed that old American spirit. Obama will try to change that if he becomes President by sneaking in reinforcements to keep women with a step-daddy in the house named "Uncle Sam." Universal pre-school? One more way to get more taxes and more control and show no gains. Universal pre-school will create more feel-good programs, a demand for more taxes to fight poverty, more low-income jobs to be administered by educators, and more reasons for mothers to get into the labor force. Head Start is over 40 years old--no gains beyond the early years of elementary school.

Take away: The poverty gap is no longer racial, it is marital.

Toledo's poverty statistics

Just in time for the convention, we're getting "new" stories on poverty and minorities. In Toledo ABC Channel 13 is pulling stats from the latest census report. 22.6% Toledo residents in poverty (family of 4) compared to 12.3% nationally. And 41.3% of those in poverty in Toledo are black. Instead of tracking the story by race, they should report it by marital status, because that's what causes poverty among women and children. No father in the home.

How is an unmarried woman with children going to show the same economic gains as a married woman and man with children, when counting "households?" That's two incomes against one. A four person household can be a woman with 3 children, or a husband and wife with 2 children, or two gay lawyers and their adopted children. Plus, now that boomers are retiring, the MSM should be reporting that incomes fall after retirement, even if "wealth" hasn't changed at all. But that doesn't play well in speeches and poverty stories.

Toledo Blade: "Overall, the Census found 37.3 million people living in poverty in 2007, of which 13.3 million were children. The poverty level for a four-person family in 2007 was $21,203. Among age groups, seniors had the lowest poverty rate at 9.7 percent, while children had the highest at 18 percent. The poverty rate for 2006 was 12.3 percent, but the change in 2007 was not statistically significant."

Apparently all our poverty programs put in place in the last 30 years have failed. According to a 1987 article in the NYT, “In 1980, Census Bureau figures show the country's overall poverty rate was 11 percent while it was 32 percent for blacks, 25 percent for Hispanic people and 10 percent for whites.” Poverty pimps will find ways to show it is higher now even if the poor own their own home, have an automobile, cable TV and cell phones. If you point out how poverty has decreased in cities (decreased around 50% in Toledo and Columbus by 2000), the Democrats will just tell you that's because the poor moved to the suburbs! Maybe all the "urban development" didn't help the poor? Perhaps all those environmental regulations pushed out industry so the working class have moved to retail and service industries?

Also, in reporting what's happened to gas prices under a Democratic Congress, let's also ignore the gains made during the Bush administration. The median household income in Lucas County, Ohio rose from $40,348 in 2005 to $42,296 in 2006. The percentage of people below the poverty level dropped to 16.8 percent in 2006 from 17.4 percent in 2005.

Smack down for Nancy

The most powerful woman in Washington needs to go back to catechism class.

“After Mr. Tom Brokaw, the interviewer, pointed out that the Catholic Church feels strongly that life begins at conception, she replied, 'I understand. And this is, like, maybe 50 years or something like that. So again, over the history of the church, this [when life begins] is an issue of controversy,' " the release said.

[Archbishop Donald W.] Wuerl strongly disagrees.

He said, "We respect the right of elected officials such as Speaker Pelosi to address matters of public policy that are before them, but the interpretation of Catholic faith has rightfully been entrusted to the Catholic bishops. Given this responsibility to teach, it is important to make this correction for the record."

Wuerl pointed out that the Catechism of the Catholic Church is clear, and has been clear for 2,000 years. He cited Catechism language that reads, "Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception … Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.”

My silk scarf project

I went back to the Rhein Center today to pick up my scarf, the one mentioned here. The pretty lady showing it off is our instructor, Sue Wills, a former youth pastor who now leads tours for young people with WorldStride's Christian Discovery at historical sites primarily in the East like DC and Philadelphia. She was very bubbly and encouraging--I'm sure the kids love her.



There was an opening in tomorrow's class so I took it and hope to make a much more stunning effort. This one is pretty, but has many mistakes on it. The white pipe frame is what we attached the scarf to in order to do the painting.

Columbus The Musical Crossroads

David Meyers knows more about the Columbus music scene than anyone I know, and he has a new book in the Arcadia series, Images of America, called Columbus The Musical Crossroads. It follows the usual format of about 130 pages and 2 photos per page with text. That's probably murder for a guy like Dave who has boxes of research and documentation, but it's fun for the reader.

“Columbus has long been known for its musicians. Unlike New York, San Francisco, Kansas City, Nashville, or even Cincinnati, however, it has never had a definable “scene.” Still, some truly remarkable music has been made in this musical crossroads by the many outstanding musicians who have called it home. Since 1900, Columbus has grown from the 28th- to the 15th-largest city in the United States. During this period, it has developed into a musically vibrant community that has nurtured the talents of such artists as Elsie Janis, Ted Lewis, Nancy Wilson, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Dwight Yoakam, Bow Wow, and Rascal Flatts. But, in many instances, those who chose to remain at home were as good and, perhaps, even better.”

I have only leafed through it (my husband brought it back to Lakeside with him), but I think Columbus boomers will get a kick out of Chapter 8, "Out of the Garage," which features the local high school rock and roll bands of the 1960s.

"Every high school had its personal favorite, and at Thomas Worthington it was the Dantes. Anchored by the precocious guitar work of Dave Workman and lead singer Barry Hayden's Mick Jagger-Ray Davies posturing, the quintet, which included Lynn Wehr, Joey Hinton, and Carter Holliday, had the best equipment and dressed in the latest mod clothing purchased on trips to New York.

Within a couple of years, at least one member of the band was earning more than his father playing weekends and holidays from school. The Dantes released three 45s before they found out the hard way that opportunities were limied for a cover band, no matter how good it might be." p. 110

Other Columbus teen bands of the 60s: The Triumphs; Vadicans; The 5th Order (Electras); The Grayps; The Rebounds; The Epics; The Shilohs; The Toads; The Thirteenth Dilemmas; The Dubonnets (Phantom Duck); The Trolls; The Edicates; Lapse of Time; In-Men; Four O'clock Balloon; The Fugitives.

Good job Dave--looking forward to dinner at the Bucket on the 11th.