Gunk, Goo and Yuck

No, I'm not talking about Congress or Wall Street, but the trap under my office bathroom sink. I had noticed a slight odor, and asked my husband if he would release the stopper, because I couldn't figure out how to do it. Asking him to do it is just about as far as my plumbing ability goes. I watched my mother accomplish just about every household improvement and repair a non-journeyman worker could do. She painted, wall-papered, changed screens and storm windows, installed a bathroom, refinished furniture, caned chair seats, shoveled snow, mowed lawns, and made the best apple sour cream pie in the world. By the time I was 8 years old I'd vowed to never learn which end of a hammer or wrench to use--but I do make a good pie.

After he dismantled the thingy, I then poked and scrubbed, the the awful black gunk just kept coming. If you think it takes millions of years to form peat or coal, just take a look at what's going on in your pipes with a little heat, moisture and pressure. For some reason I reached under the sink to look for an old toothbrush, a housewife's handiest cleaning tool, and found water. Seems when there's a hole caused by removing the stopper lever, the water you run to clean the drain runs out inside the cabinet. Who knew? "I never thought about it," was my plumber's reply. This gave us an opportunity to reminisce over other plumbing problems faced during our life together, like when he took off a faucet forgetting to turn the water off, or emptied a pail put under the drain into the sink that hadn't been reconnected. Yes, plumbing is fun.

Big dogs and Christmas guests

If you keep a large dog or two in the house--say an overweight Lab, a friendly Rottie, a slobbery Bernese Mountain dog or a Ridgeback, please find a comfortable spot for them with toys, water and food to protect your guests from injury. Here's how dangerous that wagging tail or friendly jump is to someone on Coumadin

Side Effects of Coumadin: The most serious side effect of Coumadin is hemorrhage. Even a simple bump that does not break the skin can result in serious bleeding.

I'm no longer on Coumadin but do take a low-dose aspirin a day for A-fib (to prevent a stroke)--and even that leaves me with a lot of unexplained, how'd-I-do-that bruises. So be nice to your holiday guests. I know the dog is your baby, your snookems, your sweety pie, and "just like family," but if you had a 100 lb kid who kicked your guests in the shins, you'd probably do something about it.

This notice applies to cats, too--lots of people have allergies, and those are the ones the kitty wants to rub against. Find a nice quiet place with a closed door to restrain it. My kitty doesn't appreciate it, but my guests are happier.

This has been a public service blog for a happier, healthier Christmas.

Year end stories

As an information junkie and recovering librarian, I live for these. Especially the science "break throughs." They almost always confirm my own 6-day creationist beliefs, whether they are micro or macro. "In the beginning God. . ." But here's an interesting sociological "year end" bit of research--about how people might perform to win that end of the year bonus.

Judi McLean Parks and co-author James W. Hesford had a hunch that compensation packages had something to do with the rising tide in fraud, estimated to total $994 billion annually in the U.S. Specifically, they suspected the type of compensation plans--contingent versus non-contingent--(and the form of that contingency, as a bonus or penalty based on performance), might be related to fraudulent reporting and the misappropriation of assets.

To test their hypothesis, McLean Parks and Hesford conducted a controlled laboratory study using a random sample of students who were paid for solving anagrams according to one of three different compensation plans, although in all cases the expected value of the compensation--regardless of the form of the compensation--was identical. The students self-scored their work and in half of the cases signed a statement attesting to the veracity of their reported results.

� Participants receiving a 'flat salary' for their work were the most honest about reporting their scores.

� Many participants who received a performance based bonus cheated when reporting their results.

� Participants who were penalized based on low performance not only cheated but also stole the nice pens that were to be returned at the end of the study!

McLean Parks believes the study's results have implications for CEO compensation plans and the financial difficulties many companies are experiencing today. "All I have to do is look at Enron, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to know that this does happen. And now we've demonstrated the causal link to contingent pay." Fraud uncovered at Fannie Mae alone from 1998-2004 has been estimated to be in excess of $10.6 billion."

So a fair salary with no year end bonus, even for the big wigs? Could it stop corruption? From clerk-in-the office to CEO, I suspect no one will buy it. Even the secretaries in Dreier's law firm were making $200,000 a year. That's a huge temptation not to blow the whistle and go back to $40,000.

There's too much common sense in this research. Let me count the ways--they too are all Biblical. Greed, envy, and pride; lying, cheating and stealing; waste, sloth and addictions; anger, hate and licentiousness. Full news release at Science News Daily.

Madoff, Dreier and Blagojevich

Marc Dreier, the big spender and power hungry lawyer, has losses alleged to be $380 million plus a bunch of staff and partners wondering where their next paycheck is coming from (jail?), and the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme could be $50 billion, an amount hard to hide, so Rod Blogojevich trying to weasel a paltry $500,000 and a job for his wife looks like small potatoes doesn't it? Plus, the outrageous other stories make Obama a charmed politician again--pushed the criminal activity of the Illinois governor right off the front page. But then, Obama hardly knew him. Helped with his campaign, his staff talked to him recently, but really, he's absolutely clean. All the media say so. And look how they sniffed out all those other stories of corruption! Yah! So much for investigative reporting.

Really, I've never been so discouraged or dispirited with both our government and our greedy, power hungry movers and shakers. It's hard to say which is more corrupt. Who do you trust these days? Certainly not George Bush who has allowed the government to slide into socialism using the economy as an excuse--after he became the all time big spender; and certainly not Barack Obama who will finish the job with his marxist buddies; and not an ex-president who took millions from foreign interests who hope his wife will stroke them; and not scummy Wall Street CEOs buying art collections and mansions, and not the inept union bosses; and not an ex-vice president in business with Hank Paulson to sell phony carbon credits; and not the people we elected who promised so much and then threw it all away; and not the regulators they appointed and hired to see that everything was done right and then didn't notice a thing was wrong despite a ballooning staff and budget. . .

I think we all, especially me, need to apologize to the welfare cheats and illegal, criminal aliens who have been stealing from us for the past 20-30 years. To all the lazy bums we've griped about, my sincere apology. Yes, you screwed up, but you didn't reach for the stars, didn't set high enough goals in your petty crimes. Some of you went to jail, and Dreier and Madoff are out walking around, or on "house arrest." Is that fair? I wish now you were the only crooks we needed to worry about. These small time criminals have allowed our prejudices toward the poor and stupid to take our eye off the rich and smart crooks. I think I can even say the little guy had limited options. But what do you say about the guys who went to Harvard and Yale, who cheated the friends and charities and staff who trusted them, who sat in the pew or synagogue when not jetting around the world, who threw lavish parties, and moved in all the right social circles, who sold the voters down the river, and partied and parceled out the pork 'til they couldn't hold any more?

List of Madoff's Clients, NYT

Friday Family Photo

We no longer have a Lazarus Department Store in Columbus, but we still have our Lazzy Bear. I'm sure the same bear appeared in other stores and were named appropriately. I think the deal was you got one with a certain purchase amount--maybe $20. So Christmas 1986, our little Lazzy was sitting in the living room near the tree, home alone while we went out to eat, and our house was robbed. Yes, we'd just installed dead bolts, so they broke out a back window instead of just slipping the latch on the door. They went through my jewelry, which wasn't worth much, but did find what small amount of gold I had, like my high school class ring (ugliest class ring ever), my wedding pearls, a few crosses and pins; they bent a fork to see if it was sterling (it wasn't and I still have the bent fork); took our son's electric guitar and my husband's rifle from his childhood hunting days with his dad and uncles, our VCR and all our Blondie and Dagwood tapes copied from the TV, a pillow case to put it all in, and. . . my Lazzy Bear!

When word got around, I think my friend Nancy bought us a new Lazzy and someone replaced my pearls. We filed a report with the police and insurance company, but how do you put a value on little trinkets you got from a Sunday school teacher, or a piece of jewelry from your Mom. And an ugly high school class ring?

And who would be mean enough to steal a Lazzy Bear?

Connecting the dots, Ayers and Duncan

American Princess does research like the rest of us, she Googles it. And it's just not that hard to find out who will really be running education from Washington.

My favorite subject in all of this Chicago mess is the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which is the project on whose board Bill Ayers and Barack Obama served together. I love this project because right up the street from me, I have an Annenberg Challenge school, which I think is known in the community as the “Peace School,” and is very interactive with residents of my little neighborhood. They hold peace studies rallies, drum circles, indoctrinate children in what appear to be Marxist values and hold the weekly farmers market (who said communism couldn’t taste fresh?). . . Arne Duncan is Bestest Buddies with the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. In fact, he worked with the Annenberg Challenge to program curriculum in Chicago Public Schools.

I mean, we're really not that surprised, are we? We knew Bill Ayers wasn't going away. Blagojevich is just a smoke screen for all the other gunk in the engine of the new administration.

Chrysler doesn't need a bailout

Cereberus’ $2 billion stake in Chrysler represents only about 7% of its assets. That means that it has tens of billions of dollars at its disposal to engineer its own private bailout of Chrysler. Out of Control explains why it doesn't. . . "Chrysler’s management is clueless; its unions are suicidal; and the auto market for the foreseeable future is in a deep freeze. The idea that Chrysler could make a comeback under such circumstances – when it couldn’t do so during a booming economy -- would represent more than an SUV-full of triumph of hope over reality."

Visit a Nursing Home Week

"Governor Ted Strickland, the Ohio Department of Aging and the Office of the State Long-term Care Ombudsman invite all Ohioans to share their holiday celebration, fellowship and compassion with nursing home residents during the state's third annual Visit a Nursing Home Week, December 24-31, 2008."

I'll observe Nursing Home Week by sending a contribution to the Good Samaritan Fund at Pinecrest Community in Mt. Morris, Illinois. According to the letter below, half of their 123 residents rely on state assistance, and although the letter doesn't say why the state of Illinois can't support them, the total payment Pinecrest receives from Medicaid and the cost to provide the care means Pinecrest loses $4200 per day.

Click to read
Pinecrest was established by the Church of the Brethren, the first building begun in 1891 and finished in 1893. It wasn't called that when I was growing up--we just called it "The Old Folks' Home." Long before anyone had heard of Medicaid or Social Security, the Brethren were concerned about the elderly and orphans who had no family to care for them and voted in 1890 to raise funds for a shelter to care for both. The first building I remember was a brick, 2 story--although it was old by the time we elementary school children would walk there to sing at Christmas, or for a special Sunday afternoon program performed the church junior choir. It's a mystery to me how they managed that with the infirm, sick and elderly--installing toilets in 1902! It had 21 residents in 1905 ranging in age from 51 to 86, only 7 men, and all were Brethren. The residents helped grow their food with a rather large garden on site. Children, infants to teens, were cared for in a separate building across from the current building on Brayton Rd. from 1912 through 1923. A new facility was built in 1963 with an FHA approved loan--the Rockford paper said it resembled an ultra-modern luxury motel! After the old brick building, I'm sure the new facility with room for 100 residents was quite a change. Then later independent living apartments were built in 1974 and 1988, Pinecrest Village, where my parents lived their last years. An Alzheimers unit was added in the 90s called Pinecrest Terrace. [Details from Pinecrest Community; our 100th year 1893-1993]

The first chaplain at Pinecrest Manor, as the nursing home was named, was Foster B. Statler, who baptized me when he was the pastor of the local Brethren Church. He was followed by John I Masterson, father of my childhood friend and college roommate, and former Superintendent of Forreston schools. I've had a lot of relatives at Pinecrest over the years, most recently my Aunt Betty and Aunt Ada, but also many now deceased like Uncle John, Uncle Orville, and my grandmother after a surgery, who got excellent care as their lives became more limited.

I think the key is the location--a small town--with excellent, caring staff. My mother was a volunteer at Pinecrest for 30 years--one of hundreds--beginning in 1963 when her mother died, and when you have townspeople so closely involved in the care, you know someone is keeping an eye on things. Although I haven't lived in Mt. Morris for over 50 years, I recognize the names of many people who participated as volunteers, auxiliary, staff or Board members--Edna Neher, Harold Hoff, Bill Powers, Marj Powers, Vernon Hohnadel, Alma Fridley, Kenny Zellers, Rev. Carl Myers (who married us), Stan James, Harold Ross, Ralph Zickuhr, Eldo Henricks, Bob Martin, LaVerne Edwards, Art Hunn, Richard Park, Dale Henricks, Arman Stover, Robert Urish, Bill Clark, J.R. Worley, Albert Avey, Warren Reckmeyer, Dick Noser, Donna Ritchey Martin, Mary Ann Watt, Gary Montel, and others (I'm using an old list). So its development over the years was really a community effort.

Nursing homes all over the country are probably in need of help this Christmas--charitable giving is down, and endowments are suffering losses and states are struggling to meet their Medicaid obligations. If you have one close to you emotionally or geographically, now might be the time to remember them, to become a Good Samaritan.

Scatological and Eschatological

One means obscene--particularly words dealing with excrement, and the other means biblical, "end of the world" and "the last judgment." When people opened the Wall Street Journal and read the front page story about a man named Markopolos who had been warning the SEC about Bernard Madoff for NINE years, there were probably a few choice words both obscene and theological that spewed over the coffee cup. All I said was, "WOW." I don't swear or use the F-word, but if I did, this would have been the day to let loose.

"Securities and Exchange Commission investigators discovered in 2006 that Bernard Madoff had misled the agency about how he managed customer money, according to documents, yet the SEC missed an opportunity to uncover an alleged Ponzi scheme.

The documents indicate the agency had Mr. Madoff in its sights amid multiple violations that, if pursued, could have blown open his alleged multibillion-dollar scam. Instead, his firm registered as an investment adviser, at the agency's request, and the public got no word of the violations.

Harry Markopolos -- who once worked for a Madoff rival -- sparked the probe with his nearly decadelong ..."

So what were their excuses, both the SEC watchdogs and the media watchdogs? Well, it seems we had a bunch of yapping Chihuahuas guarding a pit bull.

No definitive evidence [that's your job--to find it]

Could have been a vendetta [isn't that what they said about the John Edwards' mistress story and bloggers finding the phony CBS Bush documents?]

Occasionally he got facts and dates wrong [like you never do!]

"Once" he misstated a date [sometimes I mix up my kids' birthdates--that doesn't mean they weren't born]

So "Marco Polo" discovers the guy who "Made Off" with the funds and trust of thousands of investors and charities all over the world, and the Security and Exchange Commission headed by Christopher Cox (former Republican congressman appointed by Bush) with a budget of $900 million a year and an enforcement staff a third larger than it was in 2000 can't even follow up on nine years of tips. I think once Cox falls on his sword and takes the blame, this item will be removed from the SEC page.

During his tenure at the SEC, Chairman Cox has made vigorous enforcement of the securities laws the agency's top priority, bringing ground breaking cases against a variety of market abuses including hedge fund insider trading, stock options backdating, fraud aimed at senior citizens, municipal securities fraud, and securities scams on the Internet.

And then there is FINRA, which WSJ says has an even bigger budget than SEC.

"Then there's the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a "self-regulatory organization" funded by industry. Its 3,000 employees ride herd on the brokerage industry, and these private cops are armed with an even bigger budget than the SEC. FINRA doesn't disclose tips and complaints when they don't result in enforcement action, so we can't know for sure whether FINRA was contacted about the alleged Ponzi scheme." To catch a thief

I realize the op ed page and the news pages of WSJ are different--one conservative the other the most liberal of all news sources in the USA--but just maybe if the journalists hadn't been chasing every positive story they could find about Obama, they just might have turned up this one.

Blogrunner and NYT

My blog was picked up and shown on New York Times/Blogrunner feature today--if I'd known that, I'd have provided more information!

Blogrunner is a service from The New York Times that automatically monitors news articles and blog posts and tracks news events as they develop across the Web.

Blogger (owned by Google) features various blogs daily, but to my knowledge, even with eleven blogs, it has never found me noteworthy.

To us a child is born, to us a son is given

That must be on a million Christmas cards, that passage from Isaiah 9, and it is just one example of the gospel in the Old Testament. Martin Luther writes in his "A Brief Instruction on What to look for and expect in the Gospels," [1522]:

"When you lay hold of Christ as a gift which is given you for your very own and have no doubt about it, you are a Christian. Faith redeems you from sin, death, and hell and enables you to overcome all things. O no one can speak enough about this. It is a pity that this kind of preaching has been silenced in the world, and yet boast is made daily of the gospel. . . Christ as a gift nourishes your faith and makes you a Christian. But Christ as an example exercises your works. These do not make you a Christian."

He could almost be talking to the speakers in the 21st century pulpits and the congregation in the pew, waiting expectantly through warrenized, emerging and peace and justice sermons. Luther's warning almost 500 years ago has fallen on death deaf ears, because people prefer reinventing ways to find God and push away the gift--even in this gift giving season.

"Be sure, moreoever, that you do not make Christ into a Moses, as if Christ did nothing more than teach and provide examples as the other saints do, as if the gospel were simply a textbook of teachings or laws."

In proofing this I noticed I'd written "death" instead of "deaf." But isn't that the end result when churches forget the gospel and preach either law or example, and not the gospel, which Luther says is briefly summarized in Paul's letter to the Romans, 1:1-4.

"The gospel is a discourse about Christ, that he is the Son of God and became man for us, that he died and was raised, that he has been established as a Lord over all things. . . even the teaching of the prophets, in those places where they speak of Christ, is nothing but the true, pure, and proper gospel--just as if Luke or Matthew had described it."

I don't have the almost 60 volumes of Luther on my bookshelves, but I did recently buy from a used book dealer Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings, edited by Timothy F. Lull (Fortress Press, 1989). There is a 2005 edition and parts of it have been scanned by Google. I'm perfectly happy with my $9 used copy because I don't like to read books on a CRT. But if you do, the material I quoted is on pp. 94 and 95 of the 2005 edition.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

No more paper in newspaper.

The American Society of Newspaper Editors scheduled an April vote in Chicago to become simply the American Society of News Editors. Under the proposed changes, which require membership approval, editors of news Web sites also would be permitted to join, as would leaders of journalism programs. Google news story

Is it over yet?

The only channel I can get in the guest room is WOSU--and it seems they've been running their funds drive for about 6 weeks. The same thing is on every night, all night! We've had some colds here in the Bruce house, so I've had about 2 weeks of sleeping in that really nice room with some really boring TV.



Celtic Woman. Do-Wap. Great Performances with people I've never heard of in front of wildly enthusiastic audiences. And some dopey people riding around Europe in a convertible stopping to eat. What's so bizarre, is that they try to act as though this is what public TV is about. But the rest of the year they show such slanted, leftist drivel to keep some Hollywood unemployed marxist film maker busy that it is ridiculous. At least during funds drive they should show the really ugly, anti-American stuff so people can make a reasonable choice whether to support them.

Antiques Road Show. Now that's worth watching.

Pot Dodd accuses Kettle Madoff

"The SEC, already faulted in connection with the collapse of Bear Stearns Cos. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., now faces criticism for failing to detect what Madoff termed “a giant Ponzi scheme.” Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, and Senator Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, have questioned its vigilance in enforcing securities laws." Bloomberg

And where was Dodd during the banking failures, during the Fannie Mae melt down, during the scummy scammy non-profit housing agencies blackmailing the banks in the name of diverse neighborhoods and multicultural mortgages? We've got the foxhound watching the fox watching the hen house with nary a yelp or growl.

Too much too soon and too little too late

That's FDR in the 1930s. He extended the Great Depression through government interference and an alphabet of failed public works programs and allowed millions in Europe to die in Hitler's aggression, not getting into the war in Europe until two years--TWO YEARS PLUS--after Hitler invaded Poland. And my goodness, how long had Japan been terrorizing China--certainly years before they bombed Pearl.

The other day I was at the temporary location of the OSU Libraries off Ackerman Road and pulled the September 1939 Life magazine off the shelf, schlepped to a table (they are huge), and sat down to browse. It's really fascinating to see what we the people (I was not yet born, but you know what I mean) knew when and how the U.S. government in our name did nothing. Who knows if it was the will of the people--the polls of the time, mixed in with ads for corsets and clunky shoes, said supplying (either England and/or Germany) arms was OK, but go ahead and you guys have a world war without us. The writers even called it a world war--and we weren't in it. I looked through several issues. Despite Bush's failures on the financial front in 2008, I was again so glad that he pursued the terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq and has kept his word for all these years. He acted with virtually total support of both parties, and one by one they fell away, abandoning principals and allies.

Really folks, the USA's record for the 20th century is pretty crummy. Yes, you can talk about the "greatest generation"--they did respond after millions had already died in Europe and China. But we dawdled around in WWI, jumping in at the last moment/months of the war. We abandoned millions of our east European allies to the Soviets in 1945. We negotiated Korea and 55 years later we're still messing with north Korea. Then we ran out on the Vietnamese thanks to our home-grown spoiled boomers like Bill Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn and Jane Fonda.

God bless George W. Bush and we'll let history decide if we had any Presidents in the last 100 years who had all the body parts those guys are reputed to possess, spine, balls, and guts.



Life Magazine September 18, 1939 : Cover - Britain goes to war, gunner loading anti-aircraft shells. Germans beat British - French in first week of propaganda. German tanks push Poles 150 miles in seven days. French vs. the Westwall. Sinking of the "Athenia" - British ocean liner, two page art by Seielstad. American neutrality - Legion commander says stay out of war. Photo essay - Submarines, R14, James Hicks. The week the war began - a retrospective. Beltsville, Maryland research center helps farmers grow more - color feature. Postilion hat. Girls legs on campus go Scottish. Sidney Waugh designs America's first modern glass. Ted Allen wins horseshoe meet. Girls shoot in National target matches. Air-Raid shelters. London moves art treasures to safety. Full page Elgin watch ad with Robert Edison Fulton, Jr., explorer, mountain climber. Full page red movie poster ad for "Dust be my destiny" with John Garfield and Priscilla Lane. Full page Vanta ad, garments for infants and children. Modern American glass. Eleven-year-old soprano Gloria Jean. Life calls on Winston churchill. Photo of Barber Clay Cope shaving Pete Hilton.

The Coming Depression

Instead of calling it The Great Depression which was jointly widened, deepened and lengthened by Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt, we can call this one BOB's Depression, Bush-Obama-Bernancke Depression. Apparently, Bernecke if not a fan of FDR seems to be an apologist.

"It's clear to me that Ben Bernanke wants to go down as the Franklin Roosevelt of this episode, not the Herbert Hoover," said Laurence Ball, an economics professor at Johns Hopkins University. . .

"The financial system now is collapsing as quickly and as completely as it did during the Great Depression, but right now the monetary authorities are doing everything right," said Gary Richardson, associate professor of economics at UC Irvine and a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. "In the Great Depression, they did lots of stuff wrong; the problem got worse because they exacerbated it." LA Times, Oct. 11, 2008

Can the man not count the number of years after FDR took office where he ran the economy into the ground? He seems to be a believer in more is better (interference). It would make no difference what Bush does now--he's been totally marginalized by his own party, Hank and Ben, and the "office of the President-elect," and Obama will certainly wait until after January 20, to suggest anything, if he and his Clintonistas have a plan, so he can get the credit.

March 2, 2004 Speech
June 15, 2007 Speech

All in the Family

Today a friend was explaining to me an educator's theory (I've forgotten her name) of class and education:

the lower and working class families tend to live for today, without saving a lot, or looking ahead, and they hold their family members very close and rely on family;

the middle class and upper middle class are more goal oriented, they save, they encourage their children to take risks and achieve, and they are less bonded emotionally to their kids and immediate family;

the upper class and extremely wealthy live on past loyalties and connections, and they also hold their values, family and wealth very close.

Watching the Madoff ponzi scheme meltdown and his family ties I think she's on to something. Madoff's niece married a SEC employee, and Walter Noel (Fairfield Greenwich Fund with close ties to Madoff) has 4 or 5 sons-in-laws in the business and they have involved banks and clients for billions around the world--Spain, Brazil, Switzerland, etc.

"The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to probe the relationship between the niece of financier Bernard L. Madoff and a former official at the agency, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. The probe comes on the heels of an admission by SEC Chairman Christopher Cox that the agency was aware of numerous red flags raised over Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, the focus of an alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme." Market Watch

"In 2002, Vanity Fair dispatched the photographer Bruce Weber to shoot a lavish spread of Mr. Noel’s wife and their five grown daughters at his home in Connecticut (“Golden in Greenwich,” read the headline). That was followed, in 2005, by a Town and Country story on the Noel family’s tropical retreat in Mustique." NYT

Makes you wonder if the glossies will be the next victim of the meltdown, because they follow all the socialites and charity balls. Some charities are closing their doors, and the wealthy aren't answering their phones. In today's WSJ, Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. asked, "When has the SEC ever found a fraud except by reading about it in the newspaper.?" These allegations surfaced in the late 90s, but the SEC never recommended any action. Sort of reminds me of the banking committees in Congress, aka The Barney and Chris Dog and Pony Show. They didn't think there was any problem in the Fannie and Fred housing schemes to back loans to people who couldn't possibly pay it back. Jenkins also suggested that the government, when Madoff makes bail which is tough since the people who could help him are his victims, he be put in charge of Social Security, an even bigger ponzi scheme.

Chart of Madoff losses

Keeping track

Some things are just easier on paper. Over a year ago I found this journal in the freebie box at church, "God's Little Devotional Journal for Teens." There's a devotion and a column for writing on each page. The original owner had only written on 2 or 3 pages, and then moved on, and someone had dropped it off at church. I thought there might be something in the essays or quotes I could use, so I brought it home, where it sat for some time. Then one day I decided to record the names of people to whom I'd sent notes, because each page was dated (but no day of the week, so the year didn't matter). Although I use e-mail and blog, I still enjoy sending and receiving first class mail the old fashioned way. Along with the name of the person, I also noted why I'd sent the card or letter--illness, death in family*, birthday, new baby, baptism, etc. Today I looked through it, and found over 100 names--and since I didn't have it with me in the summer there may have been more. It is a nice way to recycle an old calendar or day book, and it's much easier than trying to enter it in a computer program. I sit at the kitchen table, go over the names in the church newsletter, or notes I've taken during the week of others I need to thank for something, or that I jotted down from names read during a church service, write out a few words on my little card, record it in the journal, and put them in the mail slot. It's probably not more than 30-45 minutes a week, if that, since I don't do it every week.

I'm so glad I thought to note why I was sending the card--I realize looking through the names that for many people this will be a difficult Christmas because of a death or loss--I've forgotten, but they certainly haven't. And I'd completely forgotten that Tom (our best man and my husband's friend since childhood) and Pat welcomed their first grandchild. Also, it's a reminder that some people are still "at home" or in a nursing facility, and perhaps I need to send another card. I have trouble moving information from my short term into my long term personal memory bank, and just like my computer hard drive, I get glitches and unexplained shut-downs. I also noted if I used my own cards--which I sometimes make just because it's fun, or if I sent a blog post to someone who doesn't use the internet. I used to make little notes on my calendar so I could remember, but this works much better. There's still enough room I can use it another year or two.

Also, looking through it today, I see there are many sayings and proverbs that are great. They have no attribution, so I hope they are in the public domain.

Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it, you will land among the stars.

Definition of status: Buying something you don't need with money you don't have to impress people you don't like.

The way to get to the top is to get off your bottom.

You can lead a boy to college, but you cannot make him think.

Don't ask God for what you think is good; ask Him for what He thinks is good for you.

No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.

There are times when silence is golden; other times it is just plain yellow.

Then the little essays are worth reading too, even though some are directed toward teen-agers.

"According to nutritionist Pamela Smith one hundred laughs a day provide a cardiovascular workout equal to ten minutes of rowing or biking." [My note: I've never counted how many times I've laughed in a day, but this idea might be worth watching a funny movie rather than riding a bike.]

"Farmers have a saying that goes, "Once you're standing in the pigpen, it's a little too late to worry about soiling your Sunday clothes." And that sound piece of advice carries beyond the farm. The key to avoiding wrongdoing and compromise in life is to decide in advance to stay as far away from it as possible." [My note:] Good advice for future Madoffs and Blagojeviches, whose misdemeanors and crimes are all over the paper today.

After a paragraph or two about a job interview, the essay concluded: "There are a few things you should never discuss with coworkers: your love life, your medical history, and your salary." Good advice at any age!

After a Mark Twain anecdote about a lawn mower, this advice: Treat what you borrow as if it were a prized possession, returning it promptly. If something happens to it while it is in your possession, make repairs or replace it, not to your satisfaction, but to the satisfaction of the owner. Always remember, while the item is in your hands, it is not yours, It still belongs to the other person." [My note:] Rush Limbaugh likes to say, "Talent on loan from God," but that applies to everyone. Instead of thinking God has "gifted" you something think of it as a loan to be given back.

Notes at the end of copied manuscripts: "He who does not know how to write supposes it to be no labor; but though only three fingers write, the whole body labors." [My note: And so it is with blogging, but 9 fingers instead of 3 (I'm a touch typist--ca. 60 wpm. My left thumb has nothing to do; does yours?).

*You can google anything--advice on writing a condolence letter.

Christmas weddings and frozen car doors

There must be some women having second thoughts about a Christmas wedding--or maybe it's Spring. My "How not to marry a jerk" post has been getting a lot of hits lately. Maybe it's gay guys realizing that now that they can, it's time to rethink this. Not as many as "frozen car door"--some really cold weather north and west of us, but enough to make me think someone, maybe Mom, has noticed some problems. I put the jerk (not the car door) into 3 categories, might be, definitely is, and run as fast as you can. With frozen car doors, I just listed a range of possibilities. Seems no one agrees. But one commenter defended her jerk, too.

How's your state doing on freedom of speech?

Nearly three-quarters of colleges and universities maintain unconstitutional speech codes, according to a report released today by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). Here's my alma mater--the school that used really poor judgement and hired Bill Ayers as a professor of education. Everyone else has to be silent, but terrorists can speak out about this terrible country and the state that pays his salary, I guess.

"In September 2008, faculty and staff members at the University of Illinois received a memo from the university’s Ethics Office informing them that, “when on university property,” they were prohibited from engaging in a wide variety of political expression, including attending a rally for a particular candidate or political party or wearing “a pin or t-shirt in support of the Democratic Party or Republican Party.” The memo even implied that faculty and staff could not drive onto campus with political bumper stickers on their cars. After news of the memo generated controversy, University President B. Joseph White responded with a vague statement that university employees needed to “use common sense” to determine what types of political activity were acceptable. Eventually, after extensive condemnation fromthe public and fromfree speech and academic freedom organizations including FIRE, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the American Association of University Professors, White issued another statement clarifying that faculty and staff could, after all, wear pins and t-shirts, place bumper stickers on their cars, and attend rallies on campus, provided they were not on duty at the time." FIRE'S Spotlight on Speech Codes, 2009

In last year’s report, FIRE gave 259 of 346 colleges and universities that designation: 75 percent, compared with 74.2 percent this year. I did a word search on Ohio for "red light" and didn't see Ohio State, but I think I noticed Ohio University.

WAAANNA

White and Asian Americans Need Not Apply. Although in California, it appears that Asian is a minority in a state where they are probably the 2nd largest group, and in Ohio, Asians are called "people of color." I've looked through some of the photos at the websites, and it appears the "one drop" rule still applies.

http://www7.nationalacademies.org/FORDfellowships/fordpost.html Ford Foundation

http://www.apa.org/mfp/pdprogram.html American Psychological Association and Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs

http://www.ucop.edu/acadadv/ppfp/ University of California

http://www.cis.cornell.edu/jobs/PostdoctoralFellowshipNotice.pdf Cornell

http://www.h-net.org/announce/show.cgi?ID=160822 Michigan

http://www.colorado.edu/graduateschool/DiversityInitiative/postdocs/index.html Colorado

http://www.trincoll.edu/Academics/DeanOfFaculty/AnnPlatoFellowship.htm Trinity

http://www.trincoll.edu/Academics/DeanOfFaculty/AnnPlatoFellowship.htm North Carolina

http://pharmacology.ucsd.edu/IRACDa/iracda/index.html San Diego

http://sbs.osu.edu/sbs/resources/SBS_Postdoc-ad-2008.pdf Ohio State University

The Mayflower Compact

In modern English: "In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are under-written, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine our selves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the eleventh of November [New Style, November 21], in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Dom. 1620." from the web page, Pilgrim Hall Museum

Transcription of the Original: "In ye name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwriten, the loyall subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord King James by ye grace of God, of Great Britaine, Franc, & Ireland king, defender of ye faith, &c.

Haveing undertaken, for ye glorie of God, and advancemente of ye Christian faith, and honour of our king & countrie, a voyage to plant ye first colonie in ye Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these presents solemnly & mutualy in ye presence of God, and one of another, covenant & combine our selves togeather into a civill body politick; for our better ordering & preservation & furtherance of ye ends aforesaid; and by vertue hearof, to enacte, constitute, and frame shuch just & equall lawes, ordinances, acts, constitutions, & offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meete & convenient for ye generall good of ye Colonie: unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witnes wherof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cap-Codd ye .11. of November, in ye year of the raigne of our soveraigne lord King James of England, France, & Ireland ye eighteenth, and of Scotland ye fiftie fourth. Ano: Dom .1620." From Mayflower families site.

This document is fundamental in the history of the United States, and appears in The Citizen's Almanac; fundamental documents, symbols, and anthems of the United States, (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Office of Citizenship, Washington DC, 2007) U.S. Government Official Edition, ISBN 978-0-16-078027-1, for sale by the U.S. Superintendent of Documents.

However, in the official U.S. Government document, as it appears in this citizenship handbook (which is quite handsome, by the way), the words "In the name of God, Amen." don't appear, as they do in the original. It's a short document, fundamental, concise and clear; why leave that out? I couldn't see that the editors changed the words or meaning of an Emerson hymn (which I'd never come across before) or a Whitman poem.

There are researchers (University of Illinois) concerned that the Bush Administration has been making changes in government documents that only appear digitially--like numbers and names concerning the war, and that campaign promises of Obama have been scrubbed. There seems little concern about what is happening to "official authenticated and fundamental documents." If you send your child to the library to use various digital collections and compilations of American history, you'll find an extremely selective group downplaying religion, the role of churches, the great awakenings, morality, virtues, and instead highlighting corruption, racial unrest, gender inequity and depravity--probably the worst form of bias, banning, blacklisting and book burning I've seen in my years in the information field, because digital access is key (and easy) when the paper copies have all been withdrawn.

Why do people do these?

This must be the longest meme on the Internet, and I'm guessing there used to be more, because who would quit at #99? I “borrowed” this from Pauline who in turn borrowed it from someone else. The things I’ve done are starred; the ones I’d like to do are not on the list, but your mileage will differ. The ones I might never do are left alone. I guess I don't have any interest in Paris or China or seeing a concentration camp.

*1. Started your own blog. Yes, in October 2003 and 10 more--links on the right side bar.
*2. Slept under the stars. Oh, I’m sure--when I was a teen-ager--Camp Emmaus, and our own back yard (small town--different time).
*3. Played in a band. First chair trombone, high school band, Mt. Morris, IL.
*4. Visited Hawaii. Yes--1985 I think. Fabulous--nothing like it.
*5. Watched a meteor shower. Yes, seems like it was in the 1950s.
*6. Given more than you can afford to charity. Yes, but you always get more than you give--that‘s a promise from God.
*7. Been to Disneyland/World . Yes, both. 1977 California and 1986 Florida.
*8. Climbed a mountain. Someplace in California, summer 1957.
*9. Held a praying mantis Yes, as a teen. Haven’t seen one in years.
*10. Sang a solo. Yes, used to be a soprano--now have a range of about 5 notes.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. I’ve seen plenty on land and over Lake Erie.
*14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. Yes. I don’t take lessons unless I’ve learned a lot first. How else would I know I want to do it?
*15. Adopted a child.
*16. Had food poisoning. I remember that pie.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. I’ve seen it up close, but not that close.
*18. Grown your own vegetables. I dug up a small section of the back yard on Abington Rd. once. I think those were the most expensive tomatoes and pole beans on record.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa.
*20. Slept on an overnight train. We did Amtrak in 2003--great trip. Coach isn’t too great for sleeping, we did that a few nights too--cross country.
*21. Had a pillow fight. Probably camp or an overnight.
22. Hitch hiked.
*23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. I had so much sick leave left when I retired, I had to give up several months of sick days, but I’m sure I did at some point.
*24. Built a snow fort. And snow horses.
*25. Held a lamb. Or was that a calf.
26. Gone skinny dipping. No way.
27. Run a Marathon. I walked the “Raccoon Run” at Lakeside about 30 years ago.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
*29. Seen a total eclipse. With a huge crowd at a park in Illinois.
*30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. More times than I could count. Most recently in 2008 on the dock at Lakeside.
*31. Hit a home run. I’m sure I did when I was in grade school--I was a very good athlete then. We even played ball in skirts.
*32. Been on a cruise. Alaska 2001. River cruise in Germany/Austria 2005.
*33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. We were there in 1963, and again about 3 years ago. Better the first time--the tall buildings detract and create a misty fog.
*34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. How far back? Grandpa was born near Dayton, Ohio, Grandma near Ashton, Illinois. But I’m 9th generation, so that would be a lot of places to visit just in the USA.
*35. Seen an Amish community. Lots of those in Ohio.
*36. Taught yourself a new language. Not sure what “taught yourself” means. No one else can do it, right? But I’m not too good at it.
*37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. Oh, yes. Just about a year ago.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David. In Florence we saw the replica.
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
*43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant. A stranger paid for our meal once--thought our children were well behaved.
44. Visited Africa.
*45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. Ocean, but also Lake Erie.
46. Been transported in an ambulance. Can you get admitted faster if you go by ambulance?
*47. Had your portrait painted. By my husband.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
*52. Kissed in the rain.
*53. Played in the mud. And the road tar. Small town.
*54. Gone to a drive-in theater often as a teen. White Pines, between Oregon and Polo. Here's a list of some Illinois theaters that might be revived, but White Pines isn't among.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
*57. Started a business. I was certainly part of my husband’s--his staff, and I may have been named vice-president, or something. (He used to say, “The kids left home, Norma got tenure and the cat died, so it was time to start my own business.” Having benefits really helps the transition.)
58. Taken a martial arts class.
*59. Visited Russia. In 2006--took the train to St. Petersburg from Helsinki. I never thought it could happen (was a Russian major in college during the Iron Curtain years).
*60. Served at a soup kitchen.
*61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.
62. Gone whale watching .
*63. Received flowers for no reason. My husband loves surprises. One time a guy in a Gorilla costume delivered them and I think he sang.
*64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
*67. Bounced a check. Once. I had 2 accounts and wrote a check on the wrong one.
68. Flown in a helicopter. Could have done this in Alaska but I stayed in the lodge and took a nap and my husband went.
*69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. I incorporated them in the decorating.
*70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial. In high school on a church trip.
71. Eaten caviar
*72. Pieced a quilt. It only got to the top phase--never finished it, but I come across it every now and then.
*73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades.
*75. Been fired from a job. I was fired from Beaky’s Barrel (drive-in restaurant) because I couldn’t keep the orders straight and was too slow, but I was only 13.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone. Never.
*78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. It wasn’t exactly speeding--it belonged to a co-worker and I was the passenger, but we did make it to the highway.
*79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person. Breathtaking. August 2003.
80. Published a book. I wrote it--no one wanted it. Just journal articles.
81. Visited the Vatican.
*82. Bought a brand new car. First new car was a Volkswagen--1964 I think. Bright blue.
*83. Walked in Jerusalem. Coming up in 3 months. So I’m fudging on this a bit.
*84. Had your picture in the newspaper. Several times. Most recently I think was about an art class I was in.
*85. Read the entire Bible. Might have dozed off in a few places or skipped a few OT battles and laws.
*86. Visited the White House. I think my niece’s husband got us up moved up in line--he worked for a gov’t agency.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. Watched Dad chopped off chickens' heads, and cleaned by Mom, but I never did it, never want to.
*88. Had chickenpox. Yes, and measles, whooping cough, pneumonia and scarlet fever, too. In the days before vaccines and penicillin.
*89. Saved someone’s life. I witnessed to someone who became a believer and later a pastor.
*90. Sat on a jury. Hope I never get called again.
*91. Met someone famous. Ran into Rod Serling in the Columbus airport years ago. Passed the “Jackson 5” in the hall at a downtown hotel in Columbus when they were still together. I've been to rallies for John McCain and George Bush, although I probably couldn’t get past the Secret Service.
*92. Joined a book club. Great group--I joined in 2000 when I retired. They stick to business and are all nice people. They’ve been together 26 years.
*93. Lost a loved one. Many.
*94. Had a baby. Two.
*95. Seen the Alamo in person. Library conferences take you to interesting places.
*96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake. I was pretty small, so I probably waded.
*97. Been involved in a law suit. One of those group things where you get 10 cents by the time the lawyer takes his share.
*98. Owned a cell phone. Technically--although I always ask which button to push if it rings.
*99. Been stung by a bee. Twice. Once in Forreston at Sauerkraut Day, and once while watch my son play pee-wee football--crawled up inside my slacks.

Happy New Year

Yes, it's a bit early, but I want you to click over and read the University of Nebraska at Lincoln Extension website, by Alice Henneman. I signed up for her newsletter many years ago, while I was still with Ohio State. This year she's looked for a way to use the letters in Happy New Year, and I think she's done a good job. The "R" stands for "reading materials." She uses a quote from Mark Twain, "Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." Now with the internet we have access to all sorts of strange theories, drugs, spiritual health gurus and health hype. Most of us, assuming we don't have a serious disease or haven't been in a terrible accident, need to eat less move more. ELMM. I know I do. (Would you believe I caved yesterday and bought a bag of corn chips--they weren't Fritos, but tasted just as good, and now I'll have to throw out what's left.) Of course you'd believe it. You've done the same thing. I have a friend from high school who has battled cancer twice, but she keeps walking and is an inspiration I'm sure to the entire town, who see her out there in all kinds of weather. Plus it pumps up those endorphins and strengthens her bones and resolve.

But back to UNL Extension in Lancaster County Nebraska, Go and read it.

Christmas shopping finished

It will be low key this year. Usually we've made a major gift to the children, but this year it will be a modest gift card and a book or two. Always a mistake, however, to stroll through Wal-Mart without lots of resolve. I went there to get my son's gift card, but wandered around finding things I didn't really need which almost doubled the bill. Like 6 kitchen towels for $5. My 40 year old towels are a bit faded and ragged, but they still work. I did find a floor mat made in the USA--"I'm proud to be an American." Didn't buy it. Found some wash clothes--those always get grungy fast--but passed on the towels. I was out of paper towels and some food items, so I picked those up. One bright spot--I had the most pleasant check-out person.

We haven't yet worked out how we're doing Christmas dinner--I think someone's waiting for me to act. Tomorrow we've got our couples group dinner and I'm taking my Christmas salad. I've had 3 hits on it today. So someone else is looking for ideas too--it's great--and very festive. The cards and letters are slowly coming in.

The Network

Usually I don't care for anything Chris Matthews does, but I think this MSNBC video of the Blago-Obama links is pretty good. He left out Patti's sister who is in the Illinois state legislature, but I'm not sure she was on the list to be considered for Senate. Also, Chris missed the opportunity to point out the other governors who went to jail were Republicans. Illinois is an equal opportunity state.



Also, I think the Illinois AG bears a striking resemblance in voice and face to that movie star formerly married to Bruce Willis. I've forgotten her name, she married a kid star, but remember she used to be on a soap, and I was always struck by her deep, husky voice.

Obama’s solution for corruption in government

The Blago story moves closer to BO with Rahm Emanuel's involvement (although I would be surprised if the Team O wasn't interested, money or not--appointment to open seats, usually through death or disgrace of the holder is hands in the cookie jar in every state that doesn't hold a special election). But Obama's ideas on how to reduce corrunption are instructive, seen at James Taranto's column.

It's just human nature, “making enough on the job” includes just about every official’s idea of his own needs, including Blagojevich, but I like Obama’s solution--more private sector jobs.

“We know that the temptation to take a bribe is greater when you're not making enough on the job. And we also know that the more people there are on the government payroll, the more likely it is that someone will be encouraged to take a bribe. So if the government found ways to downsize the bureaucracy--to cut out the positions that aren't necessary or useful--it could use the extra money to increase the salary of other government officials.

Of course, the best way to reduce bureaucracy and increase pay is to create more private sector jobs.”

Unfortunately, this speech was given in Kenya--I don’t think we’ll hear this theme at home. With so many jobs going to the non-profits and faith-based organizations who use government money to run their programs, the party in power doesn't have the patronage and control that a large bureaucracy does--and during the campaign, Obama promised to return that money to the government payroll. His handlers can see that this spreading the money around to the private sector through non-profits and government partnerships with business didn't bring the Bush Administration any loyalty or power base the way one would have if the government payroll had been engorged.

Why do they think they can make automobiles?

“The waste highlighted in this report is only a fraction of the more than $385 billion the federal government throws away every year through waste, fraud and duplication. Yet, each example in this report is a snapshot that tells a larger story, just as the Bridge to Nowhere justifiably became a symbol of the corrupting nature of earmarks. The story the American people already understand is that Congress’ inability to make common sense decisions about spending priorities is putting our children’s future at risk. Until Congress abandons the short-term parochialism that gives us LobsterCams and inflatable alligators, we will never get a handle on the major economic challenges facing this country,” [Senator Tom Coburn, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Relations]. See Full Report, "2008 Worst Waste of the year."

"We could say they spend money like drunken sailors, but that would be unfair--to drunken sailors. It would be unfair, because the sailors are spending their own money." - Ronald Reagan on Congress

Putting political pieces on the board the Chicago Way

Chicago Tribune writer John Kass writes on December 12 that Jimmy DeLeo is the real Illinois powerhouse who controls not only the governor, but Rahm Emanuel. Rahm is vacating a House seat, Rahm works for Obama, who is vacating a Senate seat. Why wouldn't Obama, or any incoming President, want a say in who gets appointed? Why shouldn't these guys trade favors for seats in Congress? These are politicians, for Pete's sake. The man behind the curtain

Other Tribune writers report U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. discussed raising at least $1 million for Blagojevich's campaign as a way to encourage him to pick Jackson for the job. Link.

The amount of money passing hands in Illinois is pennies compared to the give-aways in Congress. I don't know who DeLeo or Kass are, but do you feel like you're stepping in quick sand and afraid of what you'll find at the bottom? Is there a bottom? Or does it sometimes feels like a trick by the bailed out banks (remember those guys?) or the Fannie Mae execs or the Ben and Hank show so that we stay busy reading the headlines linking Chicago-Springfield-DC and not noticing what they did (or didn't do) with all our money?

Small business bears the brunt of regulatory costs

"The research finds (2005) that the cost of federal regulations totals $1.1 trillion; the cost per employee for firms with fewer than 20 employees is $7,647. . . Governement regulations cost more per household than health care.

Environmental and tax compliance regulations appear to be the main cost drivers in determining the severity of the disproportionate impact on small firms. Compliance with environmental regulations costs 364 percent more in small firms than in large
firms. The cost of tax compliance is 67 percent higher in small firms than the cost in large firms."

The 2005 findings were consistent with those of 1995 and 2001. So how will our government help small business in this time of economy strain? By adding more environmental regulations and higher taxes.

Read the full report for SBA here.

Serbs say he's forgotten his roots

Rod Blagojevich, whose first name is Milorad, son of Radissa, is a second-generation Serb-American. Blagojevich was the second person of Serb descent elected governor in the United States (after U.S. Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio, who served as governor in the 1990s).

At Politika:

Miodrag writes: "Blagojevich asked American Serbs to help him financially but he's never done anything for Serbia. To the contrary, he voted for sharp measures against Serbia. ... He came to Belgrade in 1999 with Jesse Jackson to release four American soldiers captured in Kosovo [during the NATO bombing campaign against Serbia]. He did it only to promote himself. That person has never done anything for Serbs." Milos writes: "I'm glad that justice finally caught up with Rod Blagojevich. When he was a member of the Congress, he appealed to Serb Americans to give him donations because he was allegedly fighting for Serb issues. However, when he received thousands of dollars from naive Serbs, he never did anything positive at all for the Serb people. Rod Blagojevich always took care of himself and his pocket." Janko writes: "If somebody is not clear enough on what is a true American myth, the so-called American dream, he should look into the biography of Rod Blagojevich. He was always fighting for himself alone and went from zero to somebody. Serbs did not vote for him. He was elected governor of Illinois with the votes of African-Americans—that is Obama's voters." Slobo writes: "Well, one more piece of evidence that the Americans hate us. They don't let us steal."

Some people drop their middle name, some their first name. It's an American custom, and it's OK unless you're Joe the Plumber.

I didn't smell anything

The Jacksons vs. Obama

Remember last summer when Jesse Jackson didn't have his mike off and said he hoped for an Obama castration? Literally. I'm much too refined to quote him. You can just go to Google. So Blagojevich after the election finds out that he will get nothing for appointing Obama's favorite, Valerie Jarret, but can get a pay off from Daddy Jackson who has all that blackmail money from CEOs with the wrong number of minorities on their staff. The Obamarama Crowd then decided to pay Jackson back by turning on his son, the infamous #5. Now both dad and son have hired lawyers, Obama's still claiming to be tri-squeeky clean (heard nothing, saw nothing, said nothing), and the press is all shaking its collective talking head suggesting, "Oh well, we all know Blago was crazy." That way when he sings, as we know he will do to reduce his sentence (I've watched Law and Order for about 15 years), his reputation and credibility will be totally destroyed. Never you mind that Obama was on his team when he was running for Governor of Illinois--and didn't notice he was a few bricks short of a load. Jesse just needed that pay back. You just don't cross an Obama. After all, Grandma was a bank vice president and he's got all those Ivy League creds.

How do they find these sob stories?

My parents weren't wealthy, but they also didn't borrow money to send their children to college (I think one of us four were in college continually between 1953 and 1963). There were very few loans or scholarships in those days, and colleges weren't dependent on them as they are now. The more money is available for loans, the higher the costs go, is my theory. See the Measuring up 2008 report if you want to see how college costs have leap frogged over all other segments of the economy.


I went to a private Christian college, Manchester in Indiana, and then transferred to the University of Illinois; the costs at the two were comparable. I worked in high school and had enough saved ($1,000) for one year, but my parents covered the next two years. I got a small scholarship from my church, which embarrassed my father and he donated it back. I worked during summer break and about 10-15 hours a week while I was in school, usually either in the library or at a drug store near campus. I got married before I graduated and that was the end of the "gravy train," so I then had to borrow money from my father and pay it back, and I cobbled together some graduate stipends. I had to beg the powers at U. of I., as I recall, to be considered a state resident, because I'd married an out-of-state student, and like our names, the residency seemed to change with the spouse. I also got turned down for a better paid graduate assistantship because I was married, and had "a spouse who could support me." Ah those were the days!


Still, it doesn't sound as silly as one of the examples in today's WSJ, about a real estate agent working one of the most fabulous vacation spots in the country, San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington, who is struggling with her son's University of Chicago tuition as sales drop off. To add to the economic down turn stress, her husband has lymphoma. Someone in that family needs a spinal implant--either the mother or son. In a blink of an eye, I knew what my dad would have done. I'd be called home, the facts of life would be explained, and an offer presented--I'd either transfer to a state school, or I'd get a job.

Jane Sawyer, a real-estate agent in San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington, is struggling to keep her son, Michael Guard, enrolled at the University of Chicago, where he's now a sophomore. "I'm trying really hard so he doesn't graduate with a mountain of debt," she says.

As house sales fell this year, Ms. Sawyer says, her income tumbled to a third of what she'd made in previous years, while her expenses rose. Her husband, Michael's stepfather, recently had a stem-cell transplant for lymphoma. All of that has left Michael, 19, scrambling for money to stay at Chicago for the quarter that begins after Christmas. He already has some grants and student loans, covering about $20,000 of Chicago's $50,000-a-year bill. But he's been relying on his mother and savings from summer jobs to cover the remainder.

Michael, who studies philosophy and Spanish, is now considering asking his step-grandfather for a loan. He says he may skip the winter quarter and transfer to a cheaper school next year. "I hate the idea of having to borrow money," he says."

And to top it off, he's studying philosophy--what's the return on a degree like that? For this his mother lies awake at night trying to figure out how to pay his bills? Oh, yes, it is a very different time.

The PUMA's roar

There’s a big discussion on Rod and Patti Blagojevich and ties to Rezko who helped create the Obamaphenoma (she use to make really huge deals in real estate) over at PUMA P.A.C. (they call it Blagobamagate) where I saw this great old song by the Supremes. Sing it Blago!

Stress, work and health--of your baby

It's been a lot of years since I was pregnant--over 40, in fact. I do remember it being a time of some stress, although not from being employed. It wasn't all that easy to get or keep a job back in the 60s if you were pregnant. Some of the protectionist employment laws (there were special lounges and required work breaks for females--thinking I guess that men and women were different, something the feminists have tried to disprove) probably saved a lot of women. I do remember running the cash register at the Green Street Pharmacy and that my legs got really tired from hours of standing. However, emotional stress is probably just as damaging. I came across the following in "Take control of your aging," by Dr. William Marlarkey of Ohio State (Wooster Book Company, 1999). He did a lecture series at our church a few years back, but I didn't go--maybe didn't want to know? But this week I checked his book out of the church library.

"A study of pregnancy in attorneys noted that working a great number of hours during the first trimester of pregnancy was associated with a greater risk of miscarriage compared with lawyers who worked fewer hours. This study of 584 attorneys compared those who worked more than 45 hours per week with those women who worked less than 35 hours per week. The more hours a woman worked, the more likely she was to report feeling stressed. Those women who were partners or associates in a law firm were more likely to report stress, as were those involved in criminal law and litigation. Facts inducing stress were political intrigue, backbiting, lack of opportunity for promotion, advancement not determined by the quality of work, and lack of respect from superiors. Working more than 45 hours a week was associated with a three-fold increase in the miscarriage rate when controlling for other factors as age, smoking, and alcohol intake. Women who drank seven or more alcoholic drinks a week in the first trimester were five times more likely to have a miscarriage." p. 128-129

I don't like the bibliography in this book. Like many books that are written for a lay audience but contain technical material, there is a bibliography at the end, but no references to it in the text. So I had to go to Google to find the source of this article--in fact, as near as I can tell, his staff missed this one for the chapter on Stress, Emotions and Health. Here it is with the abstract, just so you know Dr. Malarkey isn't full of malarkey.

Self-Reported Stress and Reproductive Health of Female Lawyers.
Original Article
Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine. 39(6):556-568, June 1997.
Schenker, Marc B. MD; Eaton, Muzza PhD; Green, Rochelle MS; Samuels, Steven PhD

Abstract:
We studied the prevalence and relationship of stress and working conditions with adverse reproductive outcomes in a cohort of female US law-school alumnae. A total of 584 female lawyers (74% response), aged 25 to 63, responded to a mailed questionnaire. Job hours per week was a strong predictor of job stress. In a logistic regression analysis, women working >45 hours/week were five times as likely to report high stress as those working <35 hours/week. Marriage and length of time on the job showed a small inverse association with stress. Women who worked more than 45 hours/week during their first trimester of pregnancy were more likely to report high stress at work during pregnancy. After being adjusted for confounding factors, weekly job hours during the first trimester of pregnancy showed a strong independent association with spontaneous abortion risk (odds ratio [OR], 3.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4 to 6.6). Seven or more alcohol drinks/week was also independently associated with spontaneous abortion risk (OR, 4.8; 95% CI, 1.5 to 18.1). Self-reported stress during pregnancy was positively but not statistically significantly associated with spontaneous abortion (OR, 1.4; 95% CI 0.8 to 2.3).

I mention this report because we think that being unemployed or having hours reduced is stressful, but based on what the workplace does to your emotions and body, perhaps it might be a blessing in disguise--especially if you are pregnant. But even if you're not pregnant, many things that happen in the workplace are not good for you. This layoff, cut back, job change just might save your life, or at least give you more years to enjoy your retirement when you've packed away the briefcase, locked the meeting room door, and sumitted your last report.

Cindy Hefner leaves Playboy

The photo I saw in the paper showed her in a business suit. Yes, although the women who work for her don't wear clothes, she does. Interesting that when you're head of a flesh for sale media giant that exploits both women and men, you get to appear in public fully clothed. Maybe it's the salary; maybe it's the brains; or maybe she's smarter than old dad (photos of him usually show him in pajamas or a robe)? Disagree if you wish, but it's been proven over and over that pornography and the exploitation of women are links of the chains that run through trafficking in humans, i.e., slavery, much of it for sex, an industry much larger in the 21st century than it was in the 17th and 18th. Ms. Hefner said she would like to engage in public service after she retires in January--maybe some non-profit work or serving on a corporate board. I have some ideas how she might expiate some of her sins:

• http://www.theirc.org/what/irc_antitrafficking_initiative.html


• http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/


• http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/


• http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2006/index.htm


• http://www.stopthetraffik.org/language.aspx


• http://www.freetheslaves.net/Page.aspx?pid=183&srcid=-2


• Red-Light Rescue

First Axelrod, now Emanuel, misremembered

It's getting so crowded under the bus with Wright, Grandma, Rezko, etc. The blog at ABC, also dancing around what is fast becoming obvious to everyone who is not on Obama's payroll

According to Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., Mr. Obama's incoming White House chief of staff, Emanuel, then-state senator Obama, a third Blagojevich aide, and Blagojevich's campaign co-chair, David Wilhelm, were the top strategists of Blagojevich's 2002 gubernatorial victory.

Emanuel told the New Yorker earlier this year that he and Obama "participated in a small group that met weekly when Rod was running for governor. We basically laid out the general election, Barack and I and these two."

Wilhelm said that Emanuel had overstated Obama's role. "There was an advisory council that was inclusive of Rahm and Barack but not limited to them," Wilhelm said, and he disputed the notion that Obama was "an architect or one of the principal strategists."

(An Obama Transition Team aide emails to note that Emanuel later changed his recollection of this story to Rich Miller's "CAPITOL FAX," saying, "David [Wilhelm] and I have worked together on campaigns for decades. Like always, he's right and I'm wrong.")

And have you seen the NYT chart of influence? Almost funny with the blank spaces.

Update: And now an Illinois a news source is not only pulling the story, but denying the meeting took place. "KHQA TV wishes to offer clarification regarding a story that appeared last month. . ." Funny they didn't correct it until today. And Jesse Jr. says he absolutely had no input. Personally, I think Blagojevich will really sing in order to get the charges reduced. You can't trust a guy with hair like that.

Laughing at Palin, but not Gore

This California wit twice mentions Sarah Palin in Alaska--three times if you count a reference to her husband--in writing about a coming snow storm for California. Nothing about global warming hype and Al Gore worship, however.

Shallow research

If it's possible for journalists to drown in a mud puddle, Cam Simpson and Jonathan Weisman of today's WSJ certainly fell in and died from lack of effort in this one, "Obama ties in the spotlight." Two sources are cited for the most part in this "investigation" written mostly in the passive tense: an Obama biographer, David Mendell, and an Obama mythmaker, David Axelrod. And so we get investigative depth such as

embarrassing the 2 aren't close no suggestion of inappropriate behavior public spotlight on the episodes highlights ties name will be linked little mud on his suit no relationship say aides unclear how much Obama worked on Blagojevich campaign not involved with Emanuel say transition officials gone separate ways (Axelrod and Blogojevich) says Mendell "I was mistaken when I said Obama spoke directly to Gov. Blogojevich about the Senate vacancy," said Axelrod.

Some articles are best left unwritten. The WSJ has the most liberal news coverage of any American newspaper, but this has to be an all time best obamapology.

Rod Blagojevich, Obama, Bush, Frank, Pelosi, et al

And these are the public servants who want to tell us how to run the economy? And the world? For four years they've been investigating Illinois' governor, while he told the Illinois tax payers to tighten their belts, make grandma hostage at the nursing home with unpaid Medicaid bills, and close the local parks, even the ones that were self supporting. And Obama, the man with change and hope in his belly, heard and saw no evil, and spoke only beautiful rhetorical phrases. Meanwhile Blagojevich (is that hair real?) is negotiating a cushy job for himself and his wife with the Obama/Pelosi crowd. Will children's services remove the kids from an unfit home? This place sounds more corrupt than a few renegade Mormans. Who knew what when? Does it really matter? So, do you suppose this is what Biden tried to warn us about? Or was it some other disaster we're suppose to ignore and trust that our leaders know best?

This post has a record number of question marks, at least for me. This Blagojevich story has left me only with questions. My condolences to the citizens of Illinois. I think it's time to clean up Chicago.

Censorship or common sense?

As a librarian I think I've seen or read just about everything that's out there (that's stupid) about digital porn, filters, libraries and access. It's always about freedom and never about protecting children or library patrons who have to sit next to the perverts. "Well, what if they are doing a school report about AIDS in Africa, and you've got a filter on the computer?" Yeah, sure. I know people who will not take their children to public libraries unattended--and that's just fine, indeed recommended, by some library directors. God forbid some slimeball should be prevented masterbating at the terminal or stacks while he views naked girls and women. Now it's Wikipedia. What? Librarians on their board/staff? Here's the story in E-Commerce News.

A decades-old record album cover showing a young girl posing nude may be illegal in the UK, but the controversial image has not been banned in the U.S., where Wikipedia is hosted. The user-created online encyclopedia has therefore determined it would be censorship to remove the image from its pages. Several British ISPs have restricted access to the page, however, in response to a complaint.

The Times of India

Here's another interesting video I saw at Rainy Day--how the Times of India, the world's largest English language newspaper, supported a campaign to find new, fresh leadership. It's fascinating--this is a reality show I could watch if we did this in the U.S. Considering the events of last week in Mumbai, it may be even more important to watch this video now.

New Christmas song about Joseph

With mixed sacred and secular images, this video presents a recording for this Christmas made by The Killers, Elton John and Neil Tennant. Proceeds will benefit Product Red, an AIDS benefit.



HT Rainy Day, for anything you need to know about Ireland.

The Freshmen of 2008

When I saw that I had a message from Mabel Freeman, I almost deleted it. Could have been anything--like a guy shoveling snow in the buff from a Floridian, or a Nigerian princess offering me a loan or ink cartridges. However, I'm glad I looked--at her message, not the guy. It was about the OSU class that entered in September 2007 (not sure why that is called the class of 2008 instead of 2007). It really is impressive. I thought they were fudging a bit on the stats for "students of color" since that includes Asians, and I think there needs to be a better term for students whose ancestors didn't come from Europe like SWANE, although eventually, I suppose if colonial emigres to Britain study in the U.S., even that one won't work. I thought this was impressive: "75% enrolled having earned college credit from AP performance, post-secondary enrollment, or international baccalaureate participation." It looks like the College of Engineering snagged most of this talented group, with business coming in second. I don't know what "exploration" means, but probably "still thinking," or "present." When I was at Ohio State, there was a lot of concern and effort about retention of minority students, because they were heavily recruited, but so many failed or transferred. Therefore, I was thrilled to see this: "African American and Hispanic retention reached a new high of 91%." Also foreign student enrollment is way up again, after falling off after 9/11 when security measures got stricter.

Good job, Ohio State University!