My first Social Security check

Some of you will be deciding what to do with the $250 "stimulus check." I suspect mine will have to be given back, so I haven't cashed it. Although today I heard that someone who had only been in the country 7 months in the 1930s and had been dead for years had gotten the $250 stimulus (I wonder if he voted in 2008 election). At least I'm alive. But I don't qualify for SS because I have a teacher's pension. It's called an "offset." Now it's possible that they couldn't figure out how not to give it to me, because only teachers and a few others get hit with this "double dipping" pension charge--God knows, it doesn't affect Congress or auto workers' pensions. Technically, I'm on their books as the spousal benefit of my husband's SS, it's just that STRS cancels it out--unless maybe Obama is feeling generous, and he hasn't figured out how to micromanage enough computers to toss me completely out of the system. Sigh. I do know this. That if I cash it, and 3 years later he wants it back because I wasn't supposed to get it, I'll owe $3,967.87 interest on that $250.

It's really unfortunate that in this high tech world you can't just pick up the phone and call some one.

If she would just stop lying

about what she knew when, about how much she understood, about how she was mislead (you know how we women are--just can't keep the facts straight). Our grandfathers were right about suffrage.


It would

eliminate distracting lip lines

Firm, smooth and tighten skin

Add shape and definition to nose

Return a natural fullness to lips

Maybe she could get a flight out of Washington to return to California after she resigns for lying and cheating her constituency by not paying attention at the Jack Murtha Airport stocked and paid for with pork. No one else is using it.

Update: Pelosi's redux of "I support the troops not the war" hit tune of the Bush years.

We all share great respect for the dedicated men and women of the intelligence community who are deeply committed to the safety and security of the American people. My criticism of the manner in which the Bush Administration did not appropriately inform Congress is separate from my respect for those in the intelligence community who work to keep our country safe. What is important now is to be united in our commitment to ensuring the security of our country; that, and how Congress exercises its oversight responsibilities, will continue to be my focus as we move forward. Weekly Standard Blog via Who runs Gov

What happened to the Democrat bean counters?

You remember--the ones who screamed about what that Iraq war money could be doing for the poor if we weren't protecting them from terrorists?

"The director of the Congressional Budget Office today [May 11] updated his projections for the budget and economic outlook and is now anticipating a $1.8 trillion deficit this year, and $1.4 trillion in 2010.

This is up from CBO director Douglas W. Elmendorf's January 2009 projection of a $1.2 trillion deficit this year. In short, the US government is borrowing 50 cents for every dollar it spends.

The new projected deficit is four times the 2008 deficit, which was a record high for its time.Deficit Now Projected at $1.8 Trillion for 2009.

It seems so long ago, but I can remember when I thought Henry Paulson was the most misguided man in the government. Peanuts. 700 billion? What a piker.

Ohio Artists Collection Show at UALC

Upper Arlington Lutheran Church has one of the best galleries in Columbus, Ohio, for individual and group shows at the Mill Run Campus. The current show is the Upper Arlington Art League Spring Show which will run through June 10 (3500 Mill Run Dr., Hilliard, OH 43026, closed Friday and Saturday). At the Lytham Road campus (2300 Lytham Rd., Upper Arlington, OH 43220) we don't have a gallery space per se, but we do have the Arakawa hanging system in the hall near the administrative offices, next to the library, and in the library lounge. So we have space for a small show. In April we hung 20 of our Ohio artists paintings there, plus another 7 smaller items in the display case in the library lounge. Although I've been looking at these paintings many for years, they look very different hanging out with a whole new crowd.

Howard Trump, left; Barbie Bright, right

Robert Moyer, left; Charles Rowland, right

Ned Moore, left; Fritz Hoffman, right

Ken Becker, Jeanie Auseon, Judith Vierow, Sharon Borror

James DeVore, Janet Nicodemus, David Schachne, Don Dodrill

If you or your artists' group are interested in providing a show, you can call the Visual Arts Ministry, 614-451-3736, to meet with the ministry group and receive the guidelines.

Friday family photo--new baby, new house 1968

When I was looking through the album I wondered why someone had sent us a beautiful bouquet. Our daughter is about 2.5 months and needed to be propped up for the camera. Then I looked closer. Sheets at the window? Pictures stacked in the corner? Yes! We'd recently moved from the apartment on Farleigh Rd. to our home on Abington Road, and someone (don't remember who) sent us flowers. We'd made an offer after one walk through during a January snow storm--first people through an open house by owner. The furnace failed in December 1967, so when we moved in we had a brand new furnace. It looks like I dressed her up just for the picture--a pink knit dress with matching booties. We lived there for 34 years.

Shamed into cleaning my car interior

I've cleaned out my car. I was shamed into it. On Wednesday I'd parked at the UAPL Lane Rd. next to a gray Sebring convertible (top up), with a Zanesville dealer plate holder. As I got out of my van, I looked into that car's interior--sits very low. Trash filled the entire interior up to the dash. A Columbus Dispatch unread was on top, sliding onto the dash, disgorging all the glossy adverts. There was just enough room for the driver to slip behind the steering wheel. There was more "stuff" in that 2 door sports car than in our entire garage (not counting our cabinets); more stuff than our basement storeroom; more stuff than my office. Gracious! I thought. Is that what people think when they look at that handy net between the driver and passenger seat of my van? About 4 magazines, various tissues, an umbrella, 3 or 4 pens and pencils, gas receipts, small water bottle, CDs, grocery store flyers, church newsletters from February, a bath towel/floor mat for exercise class, gloves, sun glasses, etc. At my next stop, I grabbed a plastic bag and filled it with everything that was disposable and not needed and put it in a trash can. Hoarding I don't do. Clutter, yes. Hoarders can't dispose because of the fear that something terrible will happen--like a need or desire to use it. Imagine your worst fear, and that's what they experience throwing out their "treasures." Then today I dropped off the package of donated items that had been in the back seat for 4 or 5 months. I was tempted to open the sack because I couldn't remember what that hard thing on the bottom was, but thought better of it. You can get into big trouble asking too many questions. Don't seek, don't spill.

How does this save the auto industry?

Or the unions? 3,000 auto dealerships with Obama as the CEO of the auto industry will close. Thousands and thousands of people put out of work (average of 50 per dealership). Did you Democrats and RINOs and guilt ridden Republicans know what you were voting for--destroy the little guy? Here's how much Obama knows about running the auto industry. He is destroying the local tax base in thousands of communities--city, suburban and rural.

". . . manufacturers do not own dealerships. Independent business people do. These new car dealers have invested their money to purchase real estate, build buildings, and buy inventory, tools and equipment.

The money invested by new car dealers provides customers with the opportunity to shop locally for new and used vehicles. These same new car dealers provide warranty, recall and repair services for the motoring public.

These independent business people pay real estate tax, property tax, sales tax, FICA tax, income tax (state and local), and unemployment insurance. These dealers provide employment. They pay for their employees' training, health insurance and benefits.

The dealer is the auto manufacturer's customer. That being the case, does it make any sense to claim the manufacturer's problem is that they have too many customers?" A Nebraska car dealer

Of course it makes sense to the Obama Administration! They have declared War on the Economy and on the American people.

The Four Great Pillars of Ohio

The Centennial History of Columbus, Chapter 6, reports:

The growth of the common school system of the state of Ohio is one of the marvels of the nineteenth century, not only in the cities but the towns, villages and country districts as well. What may be called the principle on which this system was founded was enunciated in opening of the third article of the ordinance of 1787, a prophetic declaration of coming things, in these far-ringing words: "Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government, and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." How wonderfully has this prophetic declaration been amplified by the history of the splendid galaxy of states, extending from the Ohio river to the great northern lakes and to the Father of Waters, carved out of the Northwestern Territory. We may well remember that his ordinance antedates the National Constitution "Done by the United States congress, the 13th day of July, 1787," since the constitution was not adopted until the 13th day of November. 1787. and did not become effective until the first Wednesday in March. 1789.

The descendants of the pioneers who settled the states of Ohio. Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin, comprising the original Northwest Territory, are entitled to be proud of the fact that they are descended from the founders of the first government built upon the four great pillars: Religion, Morality, Knowledge, Liberty. The first commonwealth in history with a rescript as its unalienable birth-right, only to become more potential as it automatically divided into four great soverign states of the five and forty sisters. . .

One hundred years ago in Columbus, Ohio there were 21,675 pupils in all the schools--normal, high and elementary--10,650 were male and 11, 025 were female. The average daily attendance was 18,036, of whom 8,892 were male and 9,144 were female.

The most cherished value of many Christians--doubt

I am reminded that "doubt" and "questioning" are cherished values among many Christians--liberals, evangelicals and fundamentalists. See my thoughts on a well-known Christian author here.

Micromanaging

Have you ever worked for a principal who micromanaged recess, the janitorial supplies, and the phonics workbooks for second graders; or a library director who thought you didn't need 2 copies of a certain title you knew was in great demand and 3 would be better service; or an architect who thought that just by taking up space at the opera he was marketing with his magnetic personality; or a CFO who wanted to select your version of software for tracking funds; or hired a tone deaf pastor who wanted to chose all the hymns; or been married to a spouse who opined you didn't need to buy bay leaf when the jar from 1977 was still half full? Micromanagers. They are everywhere, aren't they? Especially in the White House. But really. We know for a fact that President Obama has never even run a lemonade stand, let alone a new car lot. But here he is making decisions on credit, advertising, model viability, location, and regulations for automobiles. He isn't even the one doing the micromanaging, despite the fact he's wearing that hat. Sort of makes you wonder who is? When a socialist/marxist team makes all the key economic decisions in a capitalist country, what do we have?

The Recession Did Not Create Our Entitlement Crisis

There have been some whoppers fed to us at the Obama buffet table of lies, but this one is almost beyond belief. Our entitlements have been in trouble for as long as I've been paying attention, which is about 25 years. Social Security and Medicare are 1/3 of the federal budget. That didn't just happen in 2008! There is no "trust fund"--and we've killed off the workers who could have paid into that fantasy program before they were born. Our population's birthrate is almost below replacement rate--just the way environmentalists want so they can save poor, tired Mother Earth, the goddess stand-in of their pantheist drivel. If every woman of child bearing age could have a baby tomorrow, we'd still have to wait 20+ years for them to contribute to our health and old age care. Talk about poor planning! Or no planning. The job losses from the Waxman Markey climate bill which will raise energy prices by 55-90 percent will kill whatever hope we had of funding not only alternatives (and their fantasy jobs), but any job growth anywhere, and create more unemployment resulting in even more of a shortfall in entitlement programs.

Here are some reform ideas. I'm sure Obama won't listen--after all, he wants this to be another crisis on Bush's watch so he has an excuse to take over even more of the economy--which so far hasn't done a thing but put us more in debt.

Miss USA 1957

Queen for a day. I couldn’t figure out why my Leona Gage blog was getting so many hits. Then I realized it must be because of Ms. Prejean and her battle with Perez Hilton, who savaged her during and after the current pageant. Gage was Miss USA 1957 for just one day--then her mother-in-law told on her, that Gage was twice-married, had two kids, and had lied about her age. She was 18, not 21.

No boys allowed?

I think single sex education is very beneficial. Kids can really buckle down and study when they don't have to worry about attracting or performing for the opposite sex. But if there were special programs excluding young girls from getting a step up to a good career in the sciences, I can't even imagine the line of lawyers ready to take that case.

Here's a few summer engineering programs just for girls I noticed, beginning with Ohio State. I also noted that "fun" and "social life" were promoted features of these camps. So that's what it takes to attract girls to the sciences?

The Ohio State Women in Engineering Program is still accepting applications to the 2009 CheME & YOU @ OSU Summer Camp, a six-day residential summer program for girls who will be entering ninth grade in the fall of 2009. Participants will live in a university dorm and will explore chemical engineering through fun, hands-on activities. The camp will run from Sunday (8/16)-Friday (8/21). Applications must be postmarked by Friday (5/15).

At Penn State we have the MTM Engineering Camp for girls--An engineering day camp for girls entering grades 9 - 12 in Fall 2009. Hands-on engineering design projects and career experiences featuring 5 engineering disciplines such as: Architectural Engineering, Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Product Design & Innovation/Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, each offered in one-day modules. Choose to attend one day, or all five! ($30/day or $125/week) A fun way to explore careers and meet friends! Full scholarships are available.

At Purdue they call it EDGE. Session I: July 19 - July 24, 2009, Session II: July 26 - July 31, 2009. EDGE is for students who have just completed 9th or 10th grade. Apply your creativity to hands-on engineering projects with teammates! Meet women engineers who are shaping our world! Discover how your talents can lead to an exciting career in engineering! Have fun working with current Purdue engineering students!

At the University of Cincinnati, the hands-on camp, which ran July 28 to Aug. 1, 2008, allows young women in grades 9 through 12 to explore careers in engineering as they work with University of Cincinnati faculty.

"Kathy Johnson, director of undergraduate student enrollment in the College of Engineering at UC, says that the camp helps motivate high school students. “It’s a chance for students to come see if they are interested in math, science and engineering,” she says. “Through the camp, the girls get a great overview of what’s available. They get to meet our faculty members and receive information on all the disciplines offered here at UC.”

My alma mater, the University of Illinois, calls it Girls Adventures in Mathematics, Engineering, and Science, or G.A.M.E.S. It is an annual week long camp, designed to give academically talented middle school aged girls an opportunity to explore exciting engineering and scientific fields through demonstrations, classroom presentations, hands-on activities, and contacts with women in these technical fields."

Oregon State University has a variety of engineering summer camps for all ages, and when the boys are very young, they are allowed to attend, but by middle school the organizers are only looking for girls. So Mom, don't get his hopes up--send the little duffer to basketball camp--it's probably co-ed.

The Women in Engineering Summer Camp at the University of Dayton is a Sunday-through-Friday experience that gives girls the chance to dabble in engineering through hands-on, learn-by-doing activities they can't get in high school [why not?].

“Guided by UD professors, you'll conduct experiments, innovate, make cool stuff, take things apart — then put them back together again — in engineering classrooms and laboratories on campus. You'll visit a job site. Meet women engineers. And spend time checking out new innovations and more.”

They've been running these special science camps for women at least since I was involved back in the 1980s (through the libraries). When will the public schools be able to pull off attracting girls to the sciences without denying boys the same summer opportunities?

Death at the Camp Liberty Counseling Center

“Monday's shooting also raises new questions about how the U.S. military screens and treats soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other combat-related psychological maladies.” Wall St. Journal story . WSJ, the most liberal newspaper in the country, provides a nice side bar chart of all the military deaths for the last 7 years--less than the number of teens we lose in a year of auto accidents or soldiers in one battle in WWI.

Yes, and the anti-war, anti-military talking heads will come out of the wood work on this one. Actually, have you ever worked or associated with a mentally ill, depressed or “stressed” person and tried to get help? There is no easy way to do this--I’ve experienced it and you might be safer to transfer or quit rather than try to battle the system that protects everyone except the friend, co-worker or boss who knows there’s a problem. Just yesterday I stopped to visit an OSU friend--we worked together 30+ years ago, and Oh the stories we could tell about our former boss whose mental stability was fragile (she was brilliant, but thought everyone else was dumb and against her). At one incident (physical danger) we just stood in terrified disbelief and one of the calm Christian student employees, who probably didn’t know enough to be scared or felt closer to God than I did, softly and quietly talked her down. She wasn’t fired or transferred--but her contract wasn’t renewed the next year and she went on to become someone else’s problem at another university.

The Virginia Tech Korean immigrant student Cho had a long history of problems and “help” dating back to middle school before he went on a killing rampage, as did the immigrant center killer Wong in Binghamton. And for all the talk about “bullying” in schools after Columbine launched a thousand workshops, that turns out not to be the case in so many situations. We have a local case in Ohio where a teen has committed suicide after sexting her own nude photos, but the parents want to blame the school for not confiscating cell phones and checking them (this is illegal). And like the unfortunates at those other “gun free” zones, “Troops at Camp Liberty are supposed to keep their weapons unloaded, which may have made it harder for soldiers at the clinic to defend themselves when the assailant started shooting.” Obviously, the shooters don’t follow all the rules, do they?

I’m thinking a lot of people who worked with Army Sgt. John M. Russell knew he was in trouble--the trouble he hid from his family and close friends, because if you are stressed or depressed or even paranoid--you aren't that way 24/7. He loved the military and obviously wanted this career--he wanted to stay in, and he hadn’t risen in rank. The investigation hasn't happened yet but we know the military and the war will be blamed--at least in the media. We don’t even know how much combat he’d seen; but someone knew there was a problem and referred him for help. And 5 people died. At least six families are suffering, and our prayers are for them.

Mayo Alanen on Dancing with the Stars

We watched "Dancing with the Stars" Season 1 which was a fun summer replacement and enjoyed it, but lost interest as its popularity and complexity grew. I was flipping through the channels last night bemoaning all the “reality shows” wondering how crazy is it that people watch "reality" with a script and camera crew, believing it is real. Everything from housewives gutter sniping, to brides being bridezilla, to the obese exercising in the desert, to little people going to work, to fashion police trashing wardrobes of sweats and t-shirts, to parents raising 8 children with the papparazzi: all so the fans can thank God for their own lives. Then suddenly I saw this flash on the screen “Mayo Alanen” and a phone number to vote. I nearly fell out of bed! Unfortunately, that's all I saw--he had already performed to be voted on as the professional for next season.

Mayo’s father Erkki, a very talented tall, blond architect and cartoonist, lived with us for a few weeks back in the early 70s when he first came to the United States from Finland. Eventually, he and his wife settled in El Paso and raised three children. I have school photos of the children sent with Erkki’s original Christmas cards, although I can’t tell one boy from the other now that so many years have gone by. Somewhere I think I have a either a bookmark of a website or a disk of him and his dancing partner that his mother sent us.

Anyway, our phones are dead again, or I would have voted for Mayo Alanen. Bio and details here .

One Republican with a backbone--are there any others?

Here's one who won't roll over. A rare bird. I've never seen such a bunch of wimps--they are really an embarrassment. They should have been more concerned about conservative values and less about pork and getting reelected as "moderates."

"Cheney, who has taken heat for remaining so vocal, told FOX News that the Obama administration is "dismantling" the national security policies that kept the country safe since the Sept. 11 attacks. He said he continues to speak out to combat the mounting criticism of Bush-era interrogation policies and weigh in on what he called the "outrageous" debate over whether to punish the officials involved with designing those policies.

"I don't think we should just roll over when the new administration ... accuses us of committing torture, which we did not, or somehow violating the law, which we did not," Cheney said. "I think you need to stand up and respond to that, and that's what I've done."

Bigots attack Christians and Jews for their beliefs on marriage and family

Homosexual “marriage” and religious liberty cannot co-exist—because gay activists will not allow it. As marriage expert Maggie Gallagher puts it, same-sex “marriage” advocates claim that religious faith “itself is a form of bigotry.” Perez Hilton's recent attacks on a white, heterosexual woman are just the tip of the iceberg of bigotry and intolerance.

Read why at Chuck Colson’s BreakPoint

Don't call my van "crap"

Sorry, Glenn, but my van isn't crap--I'd probably buy a 2009 if it weren't for the fact my 2002 runs nicely and gets 28-29 mpg on the highway. But all that other stuff? You're right on!

Photos of the library protest

Pretty quiet as protests go. A grad student told me someone from security stopped by and left--I guess a bunch of old folks waving signs about books isn't too threatening. I wore scarlet and gray and made my own signs. Some of the media was there--must have been a slow news day in Columbus. I did enjoy talking to some of the grad students--they are very knowledgeable about computers, but believe the books too are necessary. They don't want to wait 3-4 days to get it from Akron or Youngstown. One man married to a librarian who works in another city says her public library depends on DVDs to keep the circulation records up.

Story about the protest here.

Channel 4 story here. I'm on about 2 seconds in the video at the beginning.

Something's lost in translation

I've apparently blogged about this wonderful CD from Concordia before--at least I had the photo in my file. It's the text and music of Luther's Small Catechism narrated by Rev. Dr. Ken Schurb (1986). When we joined UALC in 1976, they weren't using the regular small catechism for adults--and I don't think that my kids got one either when they were confirmed in the early 80s. But now I have a nice hard bound copy. The explanations of the 10 commandments, the Apostle's Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the sacraments are really amazing--and he intended the explanation for fathers to teach their children and other family members. It is by far the clearest summary of Christian faith I've ever read, and I've seen a lot of Christian books--most full of "me, my, mine and myself."

What is interesting is that older translations from German to English read:

“The Simple Way a Father Should Present it to his Household “
but the modern English reads
“As the head of the family should teach them in a simple way to his household.”

Similar but not the same. Today, a head of the family could be a single mother--widowed, divorced, never married--or grandparent or foster parent, or anyone designated "head" in the census. But I don't think that's the one Luther meant--he meant fathers, not priests, not the church, not the Sunday School teacher, have the God given responsibility to train up the child. In 1529 many people didn't know how to read, and even some of the priests were barely literate.

I've been using this disc on my walks--the question/answer format of the catechism and the wonderful hymns keep it from getting boring. I believe Luther wrote all the hymns on the CD, although I'm not sure about the tunes. "These are the Holy Ten Commands" was written before the catechism in 1524. He even versified the Nicene Creed--not an easy task. "Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" was written in 1539, and the hymn about our Lor'd baptism "To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord" in 1541. We saw the River Jordan on our recent trip to the Holy Land.

"These truths on Jordan's banks were shown
By mighty word and wonder.
The Father's voice from Heav'n came down.
Which we do well to ponder
"This man is My beloved Son,
In whom My heart has pleasure,
Him you must hear, and Him alone,
And trust in fullest measure
The word that He has spoken"

Urgent! Save OSUL from destruction!

A great library is not a building; it is not the director. It is the collection. It's the thousands of ideas and Aha! moments yet to come. And for students and faculty in the humanities and social sciences, monographs (aka books) are the basic equipment in their laboratories. This is a cause that conservatives, liberals, progressives, and tenured radicals can all link arms and yell, "Not on my watch, you won't destroy this library!"

OSU Libraries has been in renovation mode since before I retired in 2000. Now it's just about finished (main library on campus) and they are trashing the monograph collection because all the books won't fit (didn't anyone think to measure?). Not only will they not fit, the collection in the social sciences and humanities can't grow without pulling more of the collection for disposal. I can understand that Joe Schmo might think everything's on the internet, but Joe Branin (soon to leave for Saudi Arabia) and Jim Bracken and the sub-directors and the University Senate advisors? And why did President Gee cave on this--the big library supporter of the 1980s? What's up with that?

Read the statistics and weep. We can't save these, but there are more where they came from and they're going out the door!

Monographs decommissioned by OSU
January 2009 15,466
February 2009 14,588
March 2009 13,412
April 2009 12,440
1. These are monographs: the total does NOT include duplicates of journals withdrawn -- that would substantially increase the total
2. These 55,906 monographs are not going into storage: they are being trashed or given away. We can never recover them.

In my academic library career (1965-68, 1978-83, 1986-2000), the most disagreeable task was "withdrawing" or "deacquisitioning," or "decommissioning" books and journals. It was like drowning puppies or kittens when I was in veterinary medicine. I used to print off the titles and give them to faculty so they could go to the book sale and purchase them. Journals weren't allowed to be sold--they had to be trashed, under cover of night so no one could see them. Yes, I the camp guard disobeyed and occasionally mentioned to a researcher that he might just select his favorite 1922 issue from the pile waiting for the executioner.

Today I'm going over to demonstrate on the campus in front of BRICKER HALL at noon with my home made signs "BUCKS for BOOKS" and "STOP the BOOK ABUSE," and my personal favorite attached to a hanger, "DON'T ABORT THE BOOKS."

Photos of the protest

Chronicle of Higher Education story

Guns and Butter

This chart always amazes me--particularly reflecting on the outrage during the Bush years about the paltry spending on social programs. One of the reasons Bush had so much tax money to direct to two wars and all sorts of little social wars at home was his tax cuts. It's unfortunate that he didn't decrease government spending, but like the rest of us, it's easy to spend when the wallet is fat. Obama is doing just the opposite, and business investment has been dropping and unemployment rising since the summer of 2008 when he became the heir and parent. Capitalists aren't stupid--they can go elsewhere to invest. He's raising taxes and creating more social wars at home as well as increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan. But instead of corraling terrorists, he plans to loose and lose them in Europe and America--and why not--they certainly aren't wanted back home where they are tainted!

Like something in the oven

"Nothing says Happy Mother’s Day like a gift in honor of your mother to an organization that makes sure a woman doesn’t become a mother." LaShawn Barber on Judy Blume's solicitation for funding for Planned Parenthood, a pro-abortion organization that also gets your tax dollars.

Judy Blume is a children's author I've never read, nor do I think my kids read her either. It's a tricky balance isn't it, since children have to be born in order to grow up and read. She's sort of promoting killing her readers! Planned Parenthood, which supports abortion rights, sent her letter of support as part of a Mother's Day fundraising push, distributing it to more than 200,000 people who had signed up to receive e-mails from the organization. If nothing else, it's in really poor taste to call a donation to an abortion organization a "gift any mother will appreciate," as Blume did. Let's give the unborn and the tough decisions some women make a little respect, OK?

LaShawn continues, "After a flood of “hate” mail to Blume, PP’s begging other pro-deathers to back up the author. President Cecile Richards said, “We rarely respond to these outrageous attacks, but when it comes to Judy Blume … well, I can’t stand by and do nothing. Please, let her know how much we appreciate her courage.”

It is outrageous, says the killer of the unborn, for “anti-choice extremists” to express their displeasure not only about the slaughter of babies but to also criticize a very important person like Blume, who’s using her name toward the cause of baby murder."

I didn't look for the link--I'm trusting LaShawn to have the story straight. She has appeared on CNN, the BBC, MSNBC, C-SPAN, and several national talk radio programs. Her political blog has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, and in the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. And don't call her an African-American--she prefers "black."

Things you never thought you'd have to defend

Isn't this just the dumbest?

"Prejean's brief reign [Miss California USA pageant] has been clouded by controversy over semi-nude photos and her comments on gay marriage. She made national headlines last month when during the Miss USA pageant she said that marriage should be between a man and woman."

Sixty percent of Ohioans do not favor legalizing same sex marriage, and it's probably about that high on the left coast. In states where it comes up for a vote instead of being railroaded through by the courts, most people believe thousands of years of history and hundreds of cultures probably got it right. And semi-nude? Have you been to the beach lately--or even the coffee shop in the summer? What exactly is semi-nude these days? I saw a quick shot of what Trump expected these ladies to prance across the stage in so he could make more money with a larger audience--mostly men, and it certainly fit my definition of "semi-nude." The screens didn't go black. No one rushed the stage in outrage to throw them a towel. Nothing that could bounce was held back. Nancy Pelosi probably has more fake parts than Miss Prejean, and certainly lies about more important things.

This is so obviously a smear against her because of her "traditional" views--the same views that are expressed by the holy books of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and those other religions I know nothing about. I never thought I'd have to defend the writers of the Old and New Testament, who frame all of life from Genesis to Revelation within the context of male and female, where God's relationship with Israel and Jesus Christ's with the church are expressed in bridegroom and bride imagery. There is zero tolerance for homosexual behavior in the Bible and the Koran (along with adultery, fornication, abandoning family, stealing, coveting, greed, etc). Christians, Jews and Muslims are being or will be denied their freedom to worship with laws on the books defining scripture as hate speech, and castigating people who have an opinion that fits in the majority of Americans, and then ridiculed and thrown out of their job (competitions) for expressing their beliefs. We are all being denied our First Amendment rights if we fall for this. It won't stop with an enhanced blond bouncing in a skimpy bikini, it won't even stop with teachers or preachers in their own churches using coded terminology. This isn't about marriage and never was. There are laws on the books to protect the 1% of the population that want to have same sex partners. If they were serious, they'd put their partner's name on the checking account, or on the investments, or on the house deed, or the insurance policy, or include them in their will, or give them power-of-attorney.

"Perez Hilton," the man who took the name of a quasi-famous woman to grab attention on the internet for his gossip column, is too low for words. And Donald Trump who owns the Pageant, if he falls for this scam, is under him.

Update: When I was walking on the OSU campus today (May 12), I saw three co-eds in the same semi-nude poses with which some tried to smear Prejean's reputation--lying in the grass east of Morril Tower.

Obama's war on health care

Or War on America, I'm beginning to think. One more sector of the economy falling into the trenches without a fight. I hope to have a doctor write from his perspective as a guest blogger. (Note: JB--hurry!) But just on a personal note, I learned today that a friend is now battling his fourth type of cancer--not a metastasis, but all four different. Obamacare, or to-the-bone care, will never help those dear people. It will be triage, wait and ration care. There will be no debate; it will be flown through Congress, past Fancy Nancy faster than you can say botox, much faster than Air Force One flying past the Statue of Liberty. You just have to hope that he doesn't decide that each American can only have one cancer and that no one over 70 should get anything so there is enough rationed care to go around. Good luck, Democrat Baby Boomers who voted for this mess! Think of it this way, with only 2% of our fuel needs currently met by alternatives like wind and solar, you would have frozen to death anyway. The heating up green movement can dovetail nicely with the healthcare meltdown.

"A recent study by the Lewin Group estimates that almost 120 million Americans could be forced from employer-based coverage into government-run insurance by the kind of two-step strategy the Democrats envision. Americans with stable job-based insurance do not know this is what Democrats have in store for them, and they will not be happy about it. Last year the Kaiser Family Foundation found that well over 80 percent of insured Americans rated their health insurance as excellent or good." Stop ObamaCare.

How ObamaCare will Affect Your Doctor

Sometimes routines hurt

This morning I headed for the coffee shop and put on a navy blazer over my navy print slacks and matching T. I patted the pocket to check for tissue, and felt something hard--my credit card. My heart sunk--not because I found it, but because I should have hung it in my clothes closet yesterday, but instead put it in the downstairs coat closet. What if. . . I would have been calling all over trying to locate it if I had put it where it belonged.

I stared at it in disbelief. How did my credit card get in my Spring linen blazer that didn't come out of the closet until yesterday? (It's been a cool Spring). I almost never use a credit card, and if I need something on Sunday I usually pay cash because it's so small, like a quart of milk or bunch of bananas. I started reviewing the week-end in my mind.

I'd bought 2 CDs of Karen Burkhart at the concert Saturday night with a check. I'd bought 2 DVDs of the prayer breakfast film with a check on Sunday. So I began to think about what I'd been wearing--it was Mother's Day and I wore a nice outfit to show off the gardenia corsage from my daughter and son-in-law. After church I needed to make some photocopies of the art show list at Mill Run, so I drove home, changed clothes to a red dress and fired up the computer for a master list. Then I selected the blazer because it was getting warm and I didn't need a coat. Went back to church, used the photocopier, and then drove to the other campus (we have 3). I placed the copies on the table next to the art show and put the master in my husband's file in the church office, and went back to the parking lot.

In my mind (figuring this out), I'm sitting in the parking lot. Then I remembered. The low gasoline light had come on while I was on the bridge over the Scioto River, and I decided I'd have to find a station before driving home. I just never pump gas, so that's how the credit card got from my purse into my pocket. I had inserted it into the pump and then into my pocket, and never put it back in my purse.

And that's how I almost lost my credit card--because I might only pump gas once a year, and it was so out of my routine, I'd totally forgotten it.

But you would never misplace anything, would you?

BTW, the Upper Arlington Art League Spring Show will be in the Church at Mill Run Gallery (2nd floor) until June 10. Building is closed Friday and Saturday. At Lytham, my husband and I have a show of about 30 pieces, all done by Ohio artists in the main hall, the fireside lounge and the library lounge.

Where our nation has gone wrong

I've only skimmed it, but I'd say, along with this reviewer at Amazon that it's right on target. It's easy to spot the liberal book reviewers. They rarely speak to the overwhelming content and intent of the authors--just to the typos or incorrect citations, even if they are minor. Then that's the grounds for the rant.

". . . those who find fault with the citations cannot really overcome the overwhelming evidence in this book that the current courts have far overstepped anything that the founders intended in not recognizing and establishing a single church vs. their views that religion is a fundamental foundation for the Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution. If you read this book, you should also read the Federalist Papers, the words and works of the founders, including Washington's first inaugural address to understand that the current courts have radically departed from the intentions of the founders when it came to the role of religion, vs. established churches in the USA. For many generations, the original intent of the founders was well understood, but it was only until the 20th century that judges decided to re-write the Constitution and take on the role of "a national theology board" that makes earlier debates about how many angels fit on the head of a pin look enlightened.

p. 241: "As a result of the two distinctly differing philosophies of constitutional interpretation, there have now been two distinct eras of judicial decisions. . . the second era, which began with the slow accumulation of positivistic Justices on the Court throughout the 1930s and 1940s, was not fully actuated until the Court's 1962-63 decisions. Those decisions openly repudiated the transcendent, Biblical, natural-law standards which had prevailed--or had at least not been set aside--since the time of the Founders. and institued legal positivism as the replacement."

Now, you might love and support the changes of the 30s and 60s, you might say "The Founders are dead and gone and I'm here and I want an entirely different constitution." That's your right as an American the last time I checked. But then you might not like the results, and there are a number of disturbing charts to chronicle the unintended consequences. This is just one scan, and like it or not, agree or disagree, we pay for both results either in health care for long term and life time consequences of STDs, or in poorly educated citizens.


This book, Original intent; the courts, the constitution, and religion by David Barton, WallBuilder Press, 2000, is available both at the Upper Arlington Public Library [342.73 Ba, 2000] and the Upper Arlington Lutheran Church Library, Lytham Road, [973 Bart]. Whether you're liberal, progressive, conservative or libertarian, and even if you hate the theme of the book, you'll find the 200 pages of citations useful.

I'd never heard of this publisher, WallBuilders, so I took at look at their webpage. It gives a pretty good idea what to expect, which is more clear in intent than the real meaning of say a Norman Lear patriotic song, "Born again American" that's been whipping around the globe or an ACORN mortgage assistance website.

"In the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, the nation of Israel rallied together in a grassroots movement to help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and thus restore stability, safety, and a promising future to that great city. We have chosen this historical concept of "rebuilding the walls" to represent allegorically the call for citizen involvement in rebuilding our nation's foundations. As Psalm 11:3 reminds us, 'If the foundations be destroyed, what shall the righteous do?' "

It didn't work, but alarming nevertheless

"The Connecticut state legislature recently considered a bill to wrest property away from the Catholic—and only the Catholic—Church, giving ownership of Catholic parishes to boards of local parishioners. The bill never had much chance of enactment: Nearly every available law professor declared it wildly unconstitutional, and a quick bout of agitation from the state’s Catholics sent the leaders of the legislature back­pedaling in panic.

Still, the sheer fact of the bill revealed something about the character of our present moment. It had about it a mildewed, musty scent, as though we were witnessing the return of, say, 1979—as though thirty years had rolled back without a trace. The effort to strip the public square of all religious content may have sat in angry abeyance for a while, but it now feels bold enough to overreach, and who’s to say that what appears overreaching today won’t seem the norm tomorrow? The exercise carried a revenant, graveyard odor: the stench of ideas we had long thought buried, clawing their way up to confront us once again." The Public Square
No, it's not the 70s. It's much, much worse. It's not even the 30s, unless you count the mock Soviet trials. Oh, 'scuse, please! Is that hate speech? Or is it just a look back on recent history?

Happy Mother's Day

Even if you're not a mother, you had a mother, or maybe two or three, so go ahead and celebrate. This is the most amazing mother story I've ever read, and you'll think so too.

The bat, the cat, and the splat

I don't even step on ants; when I find an insect in the house, they are waterboarded into the toilet, where I'm pretty sure most survive the cruise through the pipes and live to fly another day. I certainly don't kill animals! But when desperate to protect my health, family and pet, I can call on some reserves of evil.

Last night about 8:45 I was checking my e-mail, the cat was in my lap and something making a shadow flies past my head. There was no noise so I am pretty sure it wasn't an insect, and the cat went berserk. I look around and can't see anything. Kitty is sure there was something--maybe Abbie our grandpuppy come to pester her. I call to my husband in the living room--"There's something flying in the house," I shout. "What?" he shouts back. Then he said, "Oh my gosh, there's a bat in the living room," and he leaves to use the rest room. Faithful kitty, who is 11 years old and weighs 7 lbs, goes into action and transforms herself into a large mountain lion protecting her territory. I'm ducking, cowering and yelling as the bat swoops lower and lower, first my office, then the hall, then the living room, around and around. I am afraid to open the door because the cat might chase the bat outside, and she's an indoor rescue cat who used to be homeless and has serious issues to this day about being on the street. Also, I have no idea how the bat got in--and maybe he has cousins and brothers looking for him. I had just walked in the front door at 8:30, so possibly he quietly crossed the border then.

I run to the basement and grab the first weapon I can find, a yellow, pink and green duster with a long handle--I think it cost $1 about 10 years ago and is very fluffy and colorful. Meanwhile, the cat has actually made contact on several swoops of the bat by jumping up, and the bat is tiring, gliding more slowly and lower. Smack--the cat knocks the bat to the hall floor, blending with our tasteful brown and gray marble; splat--I hit the bat with the duster. The bat, completely covered now with the colorful fringy duster is squealing and screaming. On my knees I reach for the door knob. The door is locked! Holding the bat down firmly with the duster, I unlock the door, and with my other hand scoot the bat across the marble, across the threshold and flip it out the door, my eyes tearing as it screams in its little bat alarm voice (probably calling for reinforcements).

Bats are some of God's most amazing creatures--he must have had a blast designing their incredibly ugly faces. I know bats are very useful creatures--they eat 2000 insects a night and pollinate plants, and only a few are rabid, but I couldn't take any chances--he might be one of those few. Their little bat bites are so tiny, we might not even know if we or the cat were bitten last night. After all, he was confused, and tiring easily--signs of a virus, possibly. Maybe he was sick. Ten minutes later (my husband was out of the bathroom by then) I open the door just a bit (they can enter spaces as small as 1/4")--he had stopped struggling and was in a little brown ball on the green porch mat. I look again in 20 minutes--and breathe a sigh of relief seeing he is gone. I didn't want to pick up a dead bat on my way to coffee on Sunday, and really was hoping he'd survived my cruel blows. I probably just stunned him, and in the cool air, he collected his thoughts, spread his wings, and flew off to catch some bugs. With a great story to tell the other bats.

Hate Crime bill is hateful

"The hate crime bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives April 29 is an attempt by democratic socialists and progressives to silence dissent against alternative lifestyles. Their incessant iconoclastic attacks on once established values and morality have nearly eroded this nation’s spiritual and cultural legacy. Instituting same-sex marriage and prosecuting hate speech will complete the process and shatter the remaining hopes for cultural regeneration and tear down the last vestiges of the country’s Judeo-Christian ethic.

In America’s brave new post-modern multiculture, homosexual and transgender people will become a federally-protected class under the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, HR-1913. Under this act, anyone who publicly opposes the practice of homosexuality or any of the 30 other sexual orientations as designated by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) could be charged with expressing “hateful words” and convicted of a “hate crime.” Continue reading here.

I didn't even know we had 30 forms of sex we shouldn't speak of disrespectfully, although I had read about that amputee thing, and strangulation (sometimes they die getting a high and it's passed off as a suicide), but here they are. Among those sexual orientations being protected by S.909 (and HR1913) are these:

Apotemnophilia - sexual arousal associated with the stump(s) of an Amputee
Asphyxophilia - sexual gratification derived from activities that involve oxygen deprivation through hanging, strangulation, or other means
Autogynephilia - the sexual arousal of a man by his own perception of himself as a woman or dressed as a woman
Bisexual - the capacity to feel erotic attraction toward, or to engage in sexual interaction with, both males and females
Coprophilia - sexual arousal associated with feces
Exhibitionism - the act of exposing one’s genitals to an unwilling observer to obtain sexual gratification
Fetishism/Sexual Fetishism - obtaining sexual excitement primarily or exclusively from an inanimate object or a particular part of the body
Frotteurism - approaching an unknown woman from the rear and pressing or rubbing the penis against her buttocks
Heterosexuality - the universal norm of sexuality with those of the opposite sex
Homosexual/Gay/Lesbian - people who form sexual relationships primarily or exclusively with members of their own gender
Gender Identity Disorder - a strong and persistent cross-gender identification, which is the desire to be, or the insistence that one is, or the other sex, "along with" persistent discomfort about one’s assigned sex or a sense of the inappropriateness in the gender role of that sex
Gerontosexuality - distinct preference for sexual relationships primarily or exclusively with an elderly partner
Incest - sex with a sibling or parent
Kleptophilia - obtaining sexual excitement from stealing
Klismaphilia - erotic pleasure derived from enemas
Necrophilia - sexual arousal and/or activity with a corpse
Partialism - A fetish in which a person is sexually attracted to a specific body part exclusive of the person
Pedophilia - Sexual activity with a prepubescent child (generally age 13 years or younger). The individual with pedophilia must be age 16 years or older and at least 5 years older than the child. For individuals in late adolescence with pedophilia, no precise age difference is specified, and clinical judgment must be used; both the sexual maturity of the child and the age difference must be taken into account; the adult may be sexually attracted to opposite sex, same sex, or prefer either
Prostitution - the act or practice of offering sexual stimulation or intercourse for money
Sexual Masochism - obtaining sexual gratification by being subjected to pain or humiliation
Sexual Sadism - the intentional infliction of pain or humiliation on another person in order to achieve sexual excitement
Telephone Scatalogia - sexual arousal associated with making or receiving obscene phone calls
Toucherism - characterized by a strong desire to touch the breast or genitals of an unknown woman without her consent; often occurs in conjunction with other paraphilia
Transgenderism - an umbrella term referring to and/or covering transvestitism, drag queen/king, and transsexualism
Transsexual - a person whose gender identity is different from his or her anatomical gender
Transvestite - a person who is sexually stimulated or gratified by wearing the clothes of the other gender
Transvestic Fetishism - intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving cross-dressing
Urophilia - sexual arousal associated with urine
Voyeurism - obtaining sexual arousal by observing people without their consent when they are undressed or engaged in sexual activity
Zoophilia/Bestiality - engaging in sexual activity with animals
APA's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," Fourth Edition, Text Revision (Washington: American Psychiatric Association, 2000), pp. 566-582 (DSM-IV)

And all you Methodists and Catholics thought it was about playing nice together and getting cozy in the privacy of your bedroom. Ha. It's a great time to be a liberal, isn't it?

GM to move jobs overseas--with our bailout money

"A simmering pot is reaching the boiling point. Did GM forget that Barack Obama owns them now? Obama doesn't like those overseas jobs. Obama doesn't care a fig about profits. His plan is to provide jobs and infinite union benefits. Who needs profits. Socialism doesn't need profits." Maggie's Notebook. I guess that's what you get when you don't read the small print.

He will take the credit and shift the blame

The recovery funds really aren't out the door yet, not even the extended unemployment benefits or the $250 boost; certainly not that tax cut for 95% of the people. That first sidewalk hasn't been poured, and no spreading around of trickle sideways dollars has begun so people can buy cars or go out to eat to help the salesmen and busboys. And yet the media have been mildly optimistic recently--have you noticed? Unemployment, which shot up as soon as it was known in the summer that Obama would be the Democratic candidate and most likely the President, has started to level off. The stock market is making a weak recovery--at least that's what our retirement accounts show. This is pure and simple because of the efforts of the American people and their backing off from fear--fear of a collapse, fear of Obama, fear of the steamroller roaring down at us.

But Obamaides will claim victory if it continues even though no ARRA programs have begun to work, and they will blame Bush if they fail. Heads he wins; tails he wins. But he really wins if we let him destroy our economy in the process of "saving" us. All industrialized nations are struggling more than the U.S., have slower growth, higher taxes, more stagnant work force--and why not? Their workers get more generous time off before they really need to look for work. And it's self-fulfilling. Take a vacation; fix the car; read some good books; build a web page, hike in the mountains. Then maybe after 18 months of 90% salary replacement you can dust off the resume. What's the hurry? It's just the economy--it will be there when you get back.

There's only one way to jump start and fuel the economy--reduce taxes and reduce government spending. It works every time. It's just hard to get re-elected if you don't bring home the pork if a Republican, and hard to get reelected if you don't punish the rich if you are a Democrat. It even partially works if you just reduce taxes the way George Bush did--but he threw money at every domestic program he could think of, particularly education--President Bush increased federal education spending 58 percent faster than inflation--instead of dialing back. Democrats who supported him on the war screamed bloody murder about the tax cuts--said it was criminal--but he brought in more money than they ever did--and he spent it too. President Bush became the first President to spend 3 percent of GDP on federal anti-poverty programs, but President Me-Too Obama has already in­creased this spending by 20 percent. He won't be bringing in more tax money the way Bush did and will have to raise taxes. Social spending was out of control during the Bush years. That's another big lie the Democrats love to tell--that Republicans are stingy on DoE, USDA, HHS, HUD. Oh, that it were true, we'd be so much better off with a smaller federal government.

The BushBamBudgets
WaPo graphic
Bush 8 years includes 2 wars

Biden Says Act As if "We're At War"

Joe Biden--the gaffe that keeps on giving. After the 20th of January we saw less and less of him. He called the economic crisis a WAR requiring hasty action at this ABC site, in January, shortly before the coronation. The readers thought otherwise--their comments in boxes. And 3 months down the line, they are still right on target.

“Someone tell Joe Biden that if you’re at war, you need to identify the enemy first. That means one of the first orders of business is to remove Barney Frank from the Chair of the House Financial Services Committee.”

“Biden declares war!! That's a hoot!! This man is a TRUE coward and HE declares WAR!! If the POTUS and VPOTUS were serious about this they would get to the bottom of who started this, who allowed this to continue and start tossing Congress and Senate BUTTS in the Federal Prison system and collect every penny back from those criminals!! Sell all their property and assets! Stop all the photo-opts and the posturing.

How dare you people criticize the GREATEST PRESIDENT ever before he takes office!

Barack Obama doesn't take on Washington politics, he takes on Republicans. He knew Gov. Blagojevich was selling his Senate seat, and he said nothing. When Gov. Murkowski bought a private jet for the Governor's office with taxpayer money, Sarah put it on eBay. Gov. Richardson was giving away state government contracts in exchange for campaign contributions, and in exchange for his endorsement in the Democratic Primary, Barack Obama nominated him for Sec. of Commerce. When Sen. Stevens brought home $300M in federal pork for the Bridge to Nowhere, Gov. Palin said "thanks, but NO, thanks." I'm a Democrat that supports Sarah Palin because unlike Barack Obama, she doesn't think her party can do no bad.

I used to support President Elect Barack Obama, but the Bush-Obama bailout is an outrage. Only George and Barack can call their record deficit spending "investments" "in the future." We the American people voted with our dollars to put General Motors out of business. The Untied Autoworkers Union makes $73/hr, $150K/yr for assembling vehicles, but when we, the American people, say "that's too much" by buying Toyota, and Nissan, and Hyundai, the United States Government says "noooo... if you don't buy their cars, we're going to give them your tax money." They don't deserve to exist. The UAW striked GM's only profitable factory, the Chevy Cobalt's, as soon as GM turned in a profitable quarter last year; by definition, they will never be a viable company, ever.

And now Blue states want "federal" money because they can't keep up their spending. New York Gov. David Paterson (D), New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D), Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D), Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) just said they need $1T of "federal" money to "stay afloat," and by "stay afloat" they mean to keep up their frivolous spending. They spent and spent and spent, and now that they're out of money, they are asking the "federal government" to give them money. But ladies and gentlemen, what they mean by "federal government" is red states that actually lived within their means, states that spent no more than they collected in taxes. Now they want the "federal" government to send the message, if you spend too much, don't worry, we will take it from someone that saved. And if you don't spend like drunken sailors, if you actually save your tax revenues for a rainy day, like today, you're wasting your time, because the federal government is going to come in and take it from you anyway. Red states make and Blue states take.

Presidential Pixels

Reason has posted an article by a man who did at-home computer piece work for the Obama Campaign for under $3.00 an hour; the promised "transparency and sunshine" for legislation we were supposed to be able to see before Congress voted, has never materialized (nor does our congress read the bills); the scary fly over of Air Force One could have easily been photoshopped by any high school kid, so there are rumors that wasn't the real reason, but the official (who says it was discussed in front of Obama) has taken the fall; webpages with campaign promises are being altered to fit the crisis of the moment; the viewing of ARRA money infusing the economy isn't up yet because the economy is recovering without it. [This one is "total gross outlays = zero, but you can check others--not that they shouldn't be careful in spending, only that with or without planning it will make no difference]. In some ways, it's business as usual--good 'ol boys, back room deals, calling in your markers. In many other ways, we've never seen anything like this in the history of our country. It's always been easy to be a criminal in office; but technology has certainly given that a big boost.

The Obama Campaign was oh, so high tech--remember? Ridiculed John McCain, the old fogy who let others do his e-mail (he has crippled arms, but the Obama campaign teeny-boppers didn't notice his war time sacrifices). They hired ChaCha to do the work which was farmed it out [but to American workers we assume].

"For every query I expedite, I make three cents. If traffic is heavy, and when I'm in top form, I can average four queries per minute, or $7.20 an hour—but these high volume periods are rare. I calculate my career average to be approximately $2.85 per hour. That's less than half of the federal minimum wage. ChaCha Search Inc., in other words, is a high-tech 21st century sweatshop.

Headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, ChaCha has approximately 55,000 home-working guides and expeditors under contract. The expeditors are all paid the piece rate described above; the guides receive 10 or 20 cents per query, depending on the quality of their answers and their level of expertise. It's a young, hip company whose advertisers have included AT&T, McDonald's, and the Barack Obama presidential campaign.

The Obama campaign's use of ChaCha was simple and brilliant. Messages would go out advising customers to vote early for Obama and to text back the keyword OBAMA for more information. That would direct them to pro-Obama websites such as VoteForChange.com. If the keyword failed to trigger the automatic response, an expeditor like me would route it to a guide."

Clouds without rain, trees without fruit--twice dead

That's the message of Jude to the 2009 U.S. Congress, attempting to foist all manner of evil on the citizens of this country. He wrote a letter 2000 years ago warning the church not to be fooled by people who reject common decency and morality--the big word would be antinomians. They perverted the Gospel of Jesus Christ and filled their own minds and bodies with perversion, particularly sexual, basing their "truth" on their own personal experiences and beliefs. The real problem was the Christians were allowing these lawless folks who thought they were beyond criticism and the law to take over. Sounds like reading today's beltway news, doesn't it? Jude, very short and right to the point:

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them.

Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion.

. . . They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted--twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. Jude 3-12 NIV

Jude's letter uses a lot of Old Testament images--and even if you're not a church goer, you've probably seen some movies or read a novel or two with themes of rebellion, licentiousness, or greed. Cain, of course, committed the first murder; Balaam was an ancient pagan sorcerer who was greedy, and Korah led a rebellion against Moses.

Congress is again attempting to foist "hate crime" legislation under the guise of protection for special interest groups, although we are loaded with laws that prohibit murder, assault, libel, etc. The FBI statistics show that in a nation of 300 million people, there were only 242 "violent" crimes against homosexuals, bisexuals or drag queens in 2007. This is hardly an epidemic worthy of liberals' attention--but it is really a cover-up and an attempt to silence any criticism (not prevent violence) from the press, from the churches, from private discussion, from bloggers, or even playground teasing of sexual perversions. Most crimes against ethnic groups, minorities, gays, wiccans, polygamists, etc. are committed by their own kind--black on black crime, gay men against gay men, etc. Women are not protected in the bill proposed by Kennedy unless they are lesbians, yet assaults on women continue despite all manner of laws, protection orders, self-defense classes, and light the night programs. Based on percentages of assaults on a special group, maybe Ted could introduce legislation to protect women with the name of Peterson.

Wake up folks--especially liberal and moderate Roman Catholics and main line Protestants. This is not what you think it is. It is an assault on the First Amendment masquerading as something warm and fuzzy--like mold in your basement eating the foundation, causing a stench. An assault onn freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom to choose your associations, and your right to redress grievances.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

"A bill that would provide federal money to train law enforcement officers to identify and criminally prosecute speech and thought offensive to homosexuals has been introduced into the U.S. Senate, matching a House-approved bill that critics fear will be used to crack down on biblical teachings.

The proposal, from Democratic Sens. Edward Kennedy and Patrick Leahy, aligns with H.R. 1913, which was approved in the U.S. House yesterday.

It denies protections to classes of citizens such as pastors, Christians, missionaries, veterans and the elderly that would be granted to homosexuals and those with gender issues." Link

The Left keeps the mustard story going

Obviously, William A. Jacobson did not support the president, "Obama won the popular vote 52.9/45.6%, with the media cheering him on and refusing to ask hard questions, hundreds of millions of dollars raised through questionable credit card tactics, and the inability of anyone to question him for fear of being called a racist. I guess that makes him President-for-Life, means that Republicans are on their way to oblivion, and prohibits anyone from poking fun at him or his party. Sorry, but this isn't Venezuela... yet."

But an innocent little post about Dijon mustard has the "Obamakins" really mad.

“Like most of my posts, Dijongate could have and probably should have fallen into the black hole of internet punditry, never to be seen or heard of again. But the reaction from the nutroots was widespread and swift, and they have kept the story alive,”

but why he asks?

"The nutroots and mainstream media understand that Obama and the corresponding Democratic majorities in Congress were elected through a unique confluence of circumstances which may never be repeated. The historic election of the first black president; an unquestioning mainstream media which embarrassed itself with its biased coverage; an economic credit crunch just weeks before the election; a Bush administration which lost its will to fight for its policies soon after the 2004 election; a Republican candidate who refused to attack Obama's relationships with seedy characters even though Democrats showed no such restraint as to the Republicans; and a generalized discontent with the existing Republican power structure.

There is a lingering question, however, as to just who Barack Obama is, and whether we elected a blank slate who makes it up as he goes. This point is made not just by conservatives (who made this argument prior to the election), but also by Democrats and left-wing activists who openly wonder whether Obama's election promises on terrorist detention, gay rights, and a host of other issues were "just words." The nutroots doesn't know who Barack Obama is anymore than I do, and anything which fills in the void in a negative way [the mustard post] is viewed as a threat."

Story with more mustard updates here.

Today’s New Word, Specterenfreud

It was coined by William A Jacobson, but I like Obi’s Sister’s definition:

"That’s what happens when you stab your party in the back by switching to the other party, but the other party, which is now your new party, reneges on all their promises, stabs you in the back and boots you to one step below the guy who scrapes the gum off the bottom of the Senate hot tub.

There is justice in the galaxy, and sometimes it’s a mite painful, there, sport."

Friday Family Photo--the cost of having a baby

An article in the WSJ health section really caught my attention--Anna writing about the cost of her newborn--$36,625. I dug around in my file for the medical costs of our oldest son's birth in 1961 (see photo), but could find every tax return except 1961, which means I've looked at it before and misfiled it. So I looked at 1964, for Patrick, and found the total medical costs for all of 1964 were $459, and it looks like $315 of that was for the clinic, so the doctor's bill was probably included in that. Our hospital insurance was $114, which paid $45 of that bill. However you slice and dice it, I was able to itemize the entire event in about 7 short lines for our taxes even though there were many complications, follow up visits, and I was high risk. I recall that I paid cash at the business office of the Carle with each prenatal visit, and I think the doctor's invoice was folded into the clinic because I had no separate item for him. Anna writes:

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles provided excellent care and thoughtful treatment during my uncomplicated traditional delivery in December. Then the invoices started coming. The hospital sent one for me, and another for my baby. The doctors billed separately. The total charge for three days: $36,625.

People lucky enough to have good health insurance, including me, don't have to come up with such sums. Insurers typically pay a lower, negotiated price for hospital care, and patients pay a portion of that amount. Even people without insurance often get sharp discounts from list prices on their hospital bills.

She then attempts to decipher that $36,625. She’s on a preferred provider plan and her employers negotiated with the insurance company.

“For hospital and surgery services from these providers, I am on the hook for 15% of Aetna's negotiated price. [She later found out, probably researching this article, that Aetna’s price was about $17,300 (much higher than average) and her percentage was based on that.] I also have a $400 annual deductible. Fortunately, there is a $2,000 cap on how much I might have to spend out of pocket each year for my in-network care. I owed a total of $2,118.90, a sum I arrived at only after adding figures from five separate documents.” [Her son had his own deductible when born.]

She decided to check the itemized invoices, 34 items for her and 14 for the baby, not including doctors' fees. “Those charges I could decipher seemed stunningly high. A "Tray, Anes Epidural" cost $530.29. (After inquiring, I learned this was the tray of sterile equipment used to give me an epidural anesthetic injection.) An "Anes-cat 1-basic Outlying Area" was billed at $2,152.55. (I was told this was the cost of the hospital's resources related to the epidural.) These items were in addition to the separate anesthesiologist's charge of $1,530 for giving the epidural. Even though the pain-killing epidural shot felt priceless during my 20 hours of labor, I was amazed that its total cost could run so high.” Then there was $2,382.92 for her recovery, when there had been no Caesarean section. It turned out the charge was for the 90 minutes in the birthing room after delivery.

In the end, patient reader, there is no way to know what the real cost of this newborn was--and she was told it was a mistake that Cedars didn't give her the estimate she had asked for before the baby was born.

There's also no way to know what 1964 dollars are worth in 2008--there are perhaps 6 different ways to figure it (on-line). But using purchasing power figures (we're buying a baby here), $315 (my costs after insurance payout) in 1964 would buy $2,186 in 2008, or higher than what Anna said were her out of pocket costs of $2,119 at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.

Insurance, both private and government, is what caused health care costs to sky rocket (keeping in mind she didn't pay anything near $36,625 or even the negotiated cost). Notice Anna's comment on how good her insurance is? Well, her "costs" are high because her insurance company is also paying for those people who don't have insurance--they don't put them on the street to have those babies when they show up in ER--they get the same excellent care Anna does, maybe better, because they don't have to negotiate with anyone!

In the 1960s, we purchased our own hospital insurance--our employers didn't. My own parents had no insurance at all--Dad bought "polio insurance" in 1949 because there was an epidemic (a real one, not like the Swine flu scare), but that's all. My parents paid cash for their babies, and I think Mom had a hospital stay of 10 days to 2 weeks. That had shortened to about 5 days in the early 60s, and now--do you even get to stay 48 hours?

When we have Obamacare, and it is definitely coming, it will be even more costly and more limited and more difficult to find out what it really costs. Just go back to the early 90s scare of Hillary and Magaziner and see what happened to health insurance costs when everyone feared a government take over. That nice epidural Anna was so grateful for (as was I)? I'm guessing that will have to be negotiated or rationed several months in advance, and only politicians' daughters will make the cut (no pun intended).

Bill of Rights
Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Read that paragraph 3 or 4 times, and think about how precious it is, how few countries have this. Then think about what has happened since September 2008, and specifically in the last 100+ days. Our government has done more to encroach on this important amendment, than at any period during my life time, and that includes the McCarthy era, that little blip the Communist Party of the USA looks back on as their shining moment of martyrdom and glorious myth. But they are very clever. Now, no law has to be made. Only a regulatory commission or agency is needed to silence political speech on the radio or marriage sermons from the pulpit; only a charge of hate speech to silence a preacher or synod or priest; the press can be silenced by destroying advertising (no market, no competition, why advertise?) so what’s left is a mouthpiece of the government; only comedic goons such as Garafalo or Hilton on TV threatening with impunity those who peaceably assemble to redress grievances of taxation or voice their sincere beliefs about what is in God‘s Word.

Today's new words

You probably thought I'd forgotten my New Year's Resolution to learn new words. I haven't done too well keeping this up, so here's a whole batch, and I found them all in the same book review of What the nose knows By Avery Gilbert published in JAMA, 2009;301(16):1719-1720. It was the mention of David Sedaris by reviewer Alan R. Hirsch of the Chicago Smell & Taste Treatment & Research Foundation that sucked me in:

"Avery Gilbert is the David Sedaris of the nostril, the Mark Twain of the nasal passages. In this irreverent tome, he manages to interweave olfaction and the science of smell with virtually all aspects of human endeavor, from the scatological to the heavenly. This fun, relaxed approach can be vaticinated from the opening page, which quotes the 1967 Mad Magazine satire "Fantastench Voyage." Like the Ygdrasil, the mythical Norse ash tree that unifies heaven and earth, Gilbert seamlessly intertwines the scientific with pop culture, enlightening the reader all the while about common, oft-repeated olfactory misperceptions. For instance, how many odors can humans detect? 10,000? 30,000? 400,000? As Gilbert traces the evolution of this answer, he exposes the number as a myth perpetrated from generation to generation of smell researchers, like a perverted game of telephone. (The answer: no one knows.)"

You probably spotted some unfamiliar words--like vaticinated, which means foretold or predicted. New to me. As were decoction, phantageusia, ventoseness, noisome, hyposmia, anosmia, retronasal, orthonasal and habromania. In fact, I'd settled down to read a short book review with my lunch, and it took 30 minutes and 3 dictionaries, a Webster's New Collegiate, a Webster's 2nd International, and a Taber's. I'm not sure if these are Gilbert's words, or Hirsch's, but I think I'm caught up for awhile. Ygdrasil?

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