Killing off the next level of jobs

There are some well-off Americans, not rich by their estimation, who are now feeling the affects of "going for baroke." They had nice jobs with philanthropies and non-profits. They'll soon see the tuition rise at the kids' private schools, as more parents pull out in order to cut back to pay for the mortgage, the summer house, the SUV, and basketball camp for junior. In two income families where both are lawyers or executives and one loses a job, that's a drastic cut in money spent in the community. Their tony communities will be raising taxes and it's just possible Maria will head back for Mexico. Yes, when Obama or the governors soak the rich, ask them to pay more than their "fair" share, they just move, and that hurts the local economy. It's really tough on the people who were basing their incomes on the rich folks' donations to good causes, many of which benefitted the poor, the mentally ill or handicapped, the immigrant and the disabled, or the rich folks' shopping habits, or the rich folks' leisure plans.

Philanthropy is a huge industry in the USA--Americans have always been generous, but they also get tax breaks for this generosity, and here's President Obama calling those tax laws written by our Congress, "loopholes." In 2006 Americans gave about $300 billion to charity, and 65% of that came from people earning less than $100,000. But that's over now. Bye-bye executive and administrative level jobs in philathropy. Let's see how it has worked out, soaking the rich, that is.

"Maryland couldn't balance its budget last year, so the state tried to close the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy. Politicians in Annapolis created a millionaire tax bracket, raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25%. And because cities such as Baltimore and Bethesda also impose income taxes, the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%. Governor Martin O'Malley, a dedicated class warrior, declared that these richest 0.3% of filers were "willing and able to pay their fair share." The Baltimore Sun predicted the rich would "grin and bear it."

One year later, nobody's grinning. One-third of the millionaires have disappeared from Maryland tax rolls. In 2008 roughly 3,000 million-dollar income tax returns were filed by the end of April. This year there were 2,000, which the state comptroller's office concedes is a "substantial decline." On those missing returns, the government collects 6.25% of nothing. Instead of the state coffers gaining the extra $106 million the politicians predicted, millionaires paid $100 million less in taxes than they did last year -- even at higher rates." Read the rest here.

I don't like to see people I care about losing their jobs, but it is so tempting to say, "I told you so." Well, eventually, the rich will have no where to go--there are very few states standing up to the massive takeovers by the federal government. Or they will just put all their assets out of the country or in even more clever "loopholes."

Then Obama will come for you, dear friends and relatives, who thought we needed hope and change and a radical leftist in the White House. That's about all we'll be left with--a little change, and the type of hope the 3rd world peasants have for a better day.

A Two-fer

Or three-fer. Sonia Sotomayor is a woman, an Hispanic, and also a "first." First childhood diabetic nominee to the Supreme Court, first daughter of a nurse. First Puerto Rican woman diabetic first appointed by a Bush. So why do some liberals think she's the wrong pick?

Update: I listened to Obama on the way to the grocery telling why he chose her--she's part of the "common people." No, Mr. President, I'm common. I didn't grow up in the city, my mother wasn't a professional woman, my brother isn't a doctor and I didn't go to fancy, private schools and get a law degree. She's about as common as you are. What he really means is she is a leftist who will vote her party's desires and preferences and cause of the day. And it will be called "empathy." Anything but constitutional law.

And she believes that judges make law! So much for our three branches of government.

Swine flu deaths now at 12

Another 30,000 and there will be as many as the regular, non-hyped flu.

Health savings proof demanded by Obama

Nice try, sir. How about proof that the universal coverage by government fiat and computerized medical records feeding into a government database will save money? The recent hijacking of Virginia's 8 million health records and 35 million prescription records hasn't brought much attention to this problem--probably because there are thousands of government employees and Democratic Congress people involved as "victims" in that heist. It is proof positive of what happens with centralized medical records. I think it has been 3 weeks and the site is still down as the "criminal investigation" continues into the crooks holding the records for ransom. The irony is this "secure" web site was set up to discourage illegal behavior.

Monday Memories--When Mom was a war wife

This is another great book I picked up at a Memorial Day yard sale (how appropriate). It was only fifty cents, but what makes it special, besides the interesting content, is it still has the cover. That's unusual for a book going on 70 years old. When I checked on e-Bay I didn't see any that still had the cover. The book was given to someone named Emily on Christmas 1944--and I'm guessing she was entering this new experience of being the woman left behind. Oddly, the handwriting looks exactly like my mother's, who in March 1944 had to learn all the tips and tricks the author Ethel Gorham writes so well about as a war-time wife. My review here.

My other blogs on WWII

Grad Student research grabs headlines

Last week I was complaining to my librarian colleagues about an undergraduate scholar poster competition at Ohio State where the website for entries contained no links to the library for research purposes, just sites for templates on formatting the posters! The first abstract I looked at which was on disproportionate representation by rural areas in the military had enough holes in the short paragraph you could have driven a tank through it. But it didn’t make the national news probably because it's been done before, and now that the war is Obama's problem, the press doesn't care. This one did, by grad student Kerri Tobin, reported at Junk Food Science on IQ and junkfood.

Last week, more than 400 news stories in just two days reported that a study had found conclusive evidence that fast food makes children stupid and lowers their school tests scores. How many journalists do you think actually went to the original source and read the study?

None.

How can we be so sure?

Because there is no published study. There was no ability for any educational or health professional, let alone a journalist, to examine the research and its methodology, data and interpretations.

Read the whole story at Junk Food Science and why and how we are so often mislead by the press with the fear of the day. "Had any reporter or editor gone to the original source material and understood it, they would have instantly realized that none of the claims they were hearing were credible."

A Thigh Master appointee?

We knew this was coming, didn’t we? More taxes to hurt the poor and grow government agencies.

“Hot dogs, potato chips, soda and beer are staples of the traditional Memorial Day cookout, but Washington wants to redesign the menu. Just in time for your neighborhood block party, the Obama Administration and Senate Finance Committee are signalling a change in your diet.

President Obama has named Thomas Frieden, the New York City health commissioner who championed a ban on artificial trans fats, as the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Frieden's campaign forced McDonald's to change the way it cooks french fries -- you may have noticed the taste -- and he has lately called for all restaurants to use less salt. Let's hope he spends at least some of his time considering flu pandemics and bioterrorism.” Memorial Day Make-over

Actually, I’m in favor of some government meddling in my food. Like, why can’t we clearly have on every label--canned item, frozen food package, and bag of carrots or lettuce--“grown in the USA.” The “distributed by” doesn’t mean a thing. I waste so much time looking for that tiny piece of information, and even then I came home the other day with carrots grown in Mexico. I’m not going to give USDA an A+ on everything, but we have a much better chance of avoiding parasitic diseases transmitted by careless hygiene, bacteria and gross amounts of pesticides, if we can buy American, even if our inspectors don't have enough staff, and we can’t do that without the information. I don’t want them off the market, they are important for trade, but I want to make the choice. That’s one area of my life where I am pro-choice.

Where it is grown or baked is more important to me than the percentage of fat or salt. I think I can figure out that a handful of potato chips won’t hurt me, but a bagful just might. And non-calorie pop must make people hungry and thirsty, because I never see a thin person drinking one. (Actually, I do buy it occasionally for my husband who wants something cold on an 84 degree day painting the house.)

Also, with so many people suffering from allergies, I think the wheat and peanut labeling is a good plan. Just don’t take the wheat and peanut products out of the store because two people within a mile of the store have severe reactions. In the last 30 years, there have been all sorts of movements by novices, animal rights groups, amateurs and environmentalist-food nazis to remove certain things because of obesity. And what has happened? We’re much fatter than we were in the 1970s as a nation, particularly men and children. Junk Food Science is the best place to go to read about the hype that comes with food warnings--it's the science that's junk, not the food, says Sandy.

If Americans need to lose weight, I suggest that Congress begin by emulating our First Couple. They are slim and trim and growing a garden in the yard (with tax paid gardeners). The Bushes were also a normal, healthy weight, and so were the Clintons (after Bill slimmed down) and the Bushes before them. It’s Congress that is fat in body and attitude--along with some of the regulatory agency employees and research staffers. Their retirement plan and health plan are also fat and sassy--and you'll never see anything like that!

If you're interested in beer, here's a cute story about beer and history at TonyRogers.com.

"The 2 most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer.

These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into 2 distinct subgroups: Liberals and Conservatives."

Sad news

I learned today of the death of Murray Weber. He was killed early Saturday morning when he was hit by a train near the Lennox Shopping Center. I knew Murray when he was a little boy growing up in Upper Arlington and he and my son were friends. I met him again later as a young adult, a veteran I think, and caring for a paraplegic in his home. I'd lost track of him during the last decade, but in my mind's eye he is still a beautiful, tall young boy, with hope, humor and caring in his heart.

"The Franklin County Coroner has identified the man who was struck and killed by a train early this morning in Clinton Township.

David Murray Weber, 40, of Columbus, walked onto the tracks and into the path of an empty freight train, according to a report by the Franklin County sheriff's office traffic bureau. He was killed instantly.

The incident occurred at about 1:31 a.m. on the railroad tracks behind the Lennox Town Center, south of Kinnear Road.

The report also stated that the man was seen causing disturbances at a nearby restaurant prior to the incident." Columbus Dispatch

Obituary

Randy's Ten Suggestions for Litter Critters

Randy lives on Cape Cod, and it seems some of you visitors are less than careful when you come to that beautiful vacation spot. He has posted some photos of the latest community clean up at his humor blog, and observes, "When someone comes tootling along sipping the last sip of an iced coffee and heaves the empty cup out the window, only one thing comes to my mind: Life imprisonment with no possibility of parole."

So Randy Hunt has a few ideas on how you can break that bad habit. It will work anywhere, even if it's Lakeside or Columbus, Ohio:

10) No matter how old you are, think about what your mother would say if she saw you littering.

9) Whether or not you remember the commercial released in March 1971 on the second observance of Earth Day, watch the Crying Indian Commercial.

8) If you catch your kids littering, make them pick it up.

7) If your kids catch you littering, make them pick it up. They’ll quickly learn how the rest of us feel about other people littering.

6) Instead of throwing that losing scratch ticket out the window, save your two bucks and use it to buy gas to drive to the library and check out a book on environmentalism.

5) Take your habit home with you. Rather than ruin the town for the rest of us, throw your litter onto your living room rug.

4) Save your empty Dunkin Donuts and Mary Lou’s cups. They make great gifts for the personnel at the transfer station. Trust me. They love ‘em.

3) If you find yourself throwing beer cans, liquor flasks, and nip bottles out your car window, seek counseling. You’ve got worse problems than being a litterbug.

2) Rather than throw your empty cigarette pack out the window, eat it. It can’t be any worse for you than smoking the 20 cigarettes.

And the number one suggestion for people who feel compelled to litter is:

If your name is Ron and you feel compelled to litter out your car window, consider purchasing this hip hop vanity plate: M O dot R O N.
Copyright 2009 Randy Hunt

WHO is killing Africans and why

"In 2006, after 25 years and 50 million preventable deaths, the World Health Organization reversed course and endorsed widespread use of the insecticide DDT to combat malaria. So much for that. Earlier this month, the U.N. agency quietly reverted to promoting less effective methods for attacking the disease. The result is a victory for politics over public health, and millions of the world's poor will suffer as a result. Malaria, politics and DDT

Sadly, it's not just misguided environmentalists with an agenda, many Christian groups have bought into the bed net scam, too. But then, many European Christians of the 17th century thought slavery in the New World was saving Africans from going to hell in the Old--and the DDT ban has killed far more people than the trans-Atlantic slave trade ever did.

Our Alaskan Cruise

About eight years ago we were preparing to take our first cruise--our first really big trip. I had it on my list of things to do when I retired and wrote it into my Post Employment Plan (PEP). Also in my PEP was to take up painting again (after about 30 years.) Those were the days before blogging when my family and friends just received fat envelops or stapled copies of things I wrote. When I was visiting my family at Easter, I found one of my hand painted post cards from that trip. I didn't have a scanner in those days, so had no record of it. I'd taken along a tiny little w.c. set and post card size #300 paper. I have no idea where the rest of them are or to whom I sent them.

Lakeside yard sales

I was headed for the Erie Road Mkt to buy milk and oj and just had to pass two yard sales! Got 3 fabulous CDs for $3--Sweet And Lovely: Capitol's Great Ladies Of Song with Keely Smith, Sarah Vaughan, Julie London, Peggy Lee, and others; Mary Chapin Carpenter (whom I heard live here at Lakeside in the 90s before she became famous); and a Glenn Miller. Also a one volume Bible dictionary for $1, and a midwestern garden book for $1 (I don't garden, but benefit from our son's special touch with plants). But on the way back with my treasures I passed a cottage with a laundry basket of Pfaltzgraff Yorktowne pottery for $10.00. We have more than enough dishes here at the cottage, also in blue and white (Currier and Ives), but this looked good to me. I tried to pick it up (put the money in the coffee can because the owners weren't there) and couldn't even budge it. I drafted the two young boys across the street to watch it and help load it in my van, and I came back with the car.

I think there are 5 dinner plates, a bunch of saucers, 3 cups, 6 sandwich plates, sugar and creamer, large pitcher, 4 soup bowls, serving platter and a serving bowl. I think they might be seconds, the stamp on the bottom is not clear on some, but for a cottage that's fine.

And the laundry basket was included in the price!

Axelrod and Rahm need to rein him in

This constant marketing of the President as though he were still on the campaign trail is over exposure. Axelrod's profession is marketing, and Rahm Israel Emanuel's is dance. So you put the two together and you get . . . a President who dances around the truth and does the splits? As soon as I hear that odd cadence (not black, not white, not Illinois, not Kansas, not Hawaii), I rush to switch channels or stations. It's grating when you can't figure out where a guy comes from. The only thing that has changed since 2008 is the phony diction and rhythym of a black preacher. He learned to talk "black" as an adult in Pastor Wright's church and African American linguists pointed this out before he became the favorite. The Righteous Brothers of the 1960s sound more black than he does, but that's what boomers like. Then the linguists shut up because it seemed to be working, particularly on guilt-ridden moderates. It is a foreign language for Obama--only whites think it is authentic. Because I was a foreign language major and worked with immigrants a large part of my work life, I became accustomed to listening closely to make sure I understood. His accent is the proverbial two dollar bill we used to talk about--although we eventually got one.

On back of the $2 bill, "replacing Monticello, is engraving of John Trumbull's painting "The Declaration of Independence"; because of lack of space, 5 of 48 men in original painting were not included in engraving." Removing a piece of history--imagine that!

Rahm may get the credit for bringing the Democrats into power in 2006 by being ruthless, but in Ohio and elsewhere they got in by pretending to be highly ethical, soft, quasi-Christian wannabees. Also the "scandals" referred to in this review were nothing compared to Nancy Pelosi's. Usually, they were at the expense of gay Republicans, but HEY any sacrificial lamb for the Messiah! Also, the economy started going south after Democrats took over Congress, and it is Congress who has the final say.

"Responsible for everything from handpicking Congressional candidates to raising money for attack ads, Emanuel, a talented ballet dancer better known in Washington for his extraordinary intensity and his inexhaustible torrents of profanity, threw out the playbook on the way Democrats run elections.Instead of rallying the base, Rahm sought moderate-to-conservative candidates who could attract more traditional voters. Instead of getting caught in the Democrats' endless arguments about their positions, he went on the attack, personally vilifying Republicans from Tom DeLay to Christopher Shays. And instead of abiding by the gentlemen's agreements of good-old-boy Washington, he broke them, attacking his counterpart in the Republican party and challenging Howard Dean, the chairman of his own party. In 2005, no one believed victory was within the Democrats' grasp. But as the months passed, Republicans were caught in wave after wave of scandal [concerning homosexuality mostly], support for the war in Iraq steadily declined, and the president's poll numbers plummeted. And in Emanuel, the Democrats finally had a killer, a ruthless closer like Karl Rove or Lee Atwater, poised to seize the advantage and deliver what President Bush would call "a thumpin." From review of The Thumpin' by Naftali Bendavid

Learning from the past

The dueling speeches--Cheney and Obama--certainly show that we have administrations with entirely different perspectives on war and defense. WaPo version. President Obama is attempting to criminalize, after the fact, actions that were taken by the former President and Congress which were ruled legal just a few years ago. At the same time, he's attempting to shore up his support on the hard left--those who pushed him into office hoping he'd dance to their jig--who think he's backing down. Obama's view on security and defense is that of the USA/FDR of the 1930s, the drill we went through as Hitler knocked off his neighbors and threatened England--watch, wait, and talk. The other, the Bush-Cheney plan (with Congress's approval and support) was to go on the attack rather than wait any longer. Last night I heard a woman liberal on a panel critiquing the two speeches whine that Cheney had mentioned 9/11 twenty times in his speech, that it obviously was a defining moment in his mind.

I've been reading "Westminster Pulpit" the collection of sermons of G. Campbell Morgan now 100 years old. He had some interesting points about remembering the past.

The true backward look is that which sets the past in relation to God; that which lays to heart the lessons God has intended to teach by the experiences of the past; and is that which always has the future in mind. . . [commenting on Moses' use of the past] These people had been brought out of Egypt and its bondage to God, and to that freedom which was perfectly conditioned within government and within law. This was fundamental, and this they were charged never to forget. Take the Old Testament and read right through it, listening to its teachings; and whether you are reading its devotional literature, or that which is distinctly prophetic in the sense of the forthtelling of the Divine Will, you will discover how constantly these prophets, seers, and psalmists, took the people back to Egypt, and the fact of their deliverance there from. That was absolutely fundamental. V. 4, p. 10-11

Morgan goes on to make a spiritual point, and I don't think he mentions that often the escaping Hebrew people wanted to go back to Egypt where they were slaves rather than face the tough problems of the wilderness.

Arthur Erickson, 1924-2009

Arthur Erickson, the famous Canadian architect, died May 20, 2009. Story here. His firm and a Columbus firm Feinknopf Macioce Schappa were partners in the competition for the Wexner Center for the Arts.

Their submission won the popular vote, but wasn't selected by the jury. In fact, it was so popular, even the other participants thought they'd won. Too bad. If you're familiar with the Wexner you probably know it has been extremely expensive to maintain for a named "gift." The most recent renovation cost $15.8 million for a building built in 1989, named for the primary donor, Les Wexner, founder of Limited Brands, which includes Victoria Secret, and Bath and Body Works.

In 1982 the OSU Board of Trustees authorized a competition for an arts center and my husband’s firm (he was a partner) Feinknopf Macioce Schappa was paired with the Arthur Erickson firm of Vancouver, British Columbia. Trott and Bean, both OSU grads (Bean lived across the street from us) was paired with Eisenman/Robertson of New York. Three other Ohio architectural firms from Dayton, Cleveland and Columbus also participated. The program was vague--an understatement. The participants didn't even have the place for the building specified let alone a firm focus.

In the vicinity of the supposed location there once was an armory which was removed in 1959. To tie into the history of the location, Peter Eisenman's design (with two loyal OSU alumni) includes faux towers reminiscent of the armory at the corners of the building and some sort of alignment with the football field and flights into Port Columbus! Not being familiar with this piece of OSU history, the Eisenman building always reminds me of a collection of glued popsicle sticks.

Although FMS + Erickson didn't win, it was an exciting time in my husband's career with Erickson's people coming to Columbus several times, and he going to Vancouver to work with them. He loved working with this group and fell in love with Vancouver.

In 1996 we visited Vancouver after my MLA meeting in Seattle, and stopped at the Erickson firm again, but much had changed (downsized, different location). It had been about 12 years. My husband didn't know many of the people. But we did visit several of Erickson's buildings in that area: Museum of Anthropology (1972) Vancouver; Simon Fraser University (1963) Burnaby, B.C.; and Robson Square (1973-79) Vancouver.

Update: If you think I'm tough on librarians, you should read my thoughts on architecture and the rush to be green.

There is a photo of the Erickson/FMS popular winner on p. 9 of "Design by Competition" by Jack L. Nasar. It has been scanned by Google.

The "Give Back" theme of the Democrats

It's graduation season. Giving back is always and forever the theme of speeches at graduation, but it seems only the Democrats have recently discovered it as a way to smack down Republicans. And that's so strange. Because all research for years and years has shown that conservatives, particularly conservative Christians, are more generous with their time, talents and money than liberals. Joe Biden and Al Gore's contribution record is laughable, and President Obama's was almost as paltry until he got serious about campaigning for the presidency and one of his advisors noticed this moral flaw.

I personally was a bit uncomfortable with George H.W. Bush's "thousand points of light" theme. I was a Democrat then, but also an evangelical. It just didn't seem right to me that the President was doing a Preacher's job. Later I found out it was Peggy Noonan, his speech writer, who came up with "kinder, gentler nation," and "thousand points of light." Liberals absolutely hated this Bush theme because it encouraged Christians to do even more (and apply for government grants to do it). After Democrats were trounced in 2004, they had many pity parties--I know this because I watched some of them on C-SPAN. The conclusion apparently was to pretend to care more than conservatives, so that they could gain political office. Play down the liberal-progressive drivel. In Ohio we elected a former Methodist pastor as governor on an ethics platform because our former governor played golf with someone and it wasn't recorded as a donation, or something silly. Our new governor, who seems a nice person, has had nothing but trouble with some of his morally-challenged appointees. You remember, don't you--the folks who decided to investigate Joe the Plumber for calling Obama's bluff accidentally.

But that Presidential leadership into good works wasn't good for the churches, either. Christians were getting a bit fat and sloppy at the government money trough.
"Wanna feed the hungry? Wanna rehab housing for the poor?"
"You bet!"
"Just apply for a USDA or a HUD grant."
"What will it cost?"
"Not much. Just take down the cross of Jesus and don't hand out literature."
"Well, OK, it's for a 'good' cause."

It's not that Candidate Obama didn't notice that U.S. citizens were already volunteering for all manner of projects from community concerts, to cleaning up rivers and streams, to recycling yard waste, to helping immigrants learn to read. No, of course he knew. But he needed something to make us feel guilty and morally deficient, like we couldn't decide for ourselves if taking an elderly neighbor to the doctor was the right thing to do if the government wasn't tracking it. So he's going to make it mandatory.

Right off the bat I can tell you what will happen.

First, volunteering in a religious activity where evangelizing or proseletizing takes place will not count, in fact, it might even be penalized. If that activity takes place in a church basement--like a food pantry--all religious symbols will need to be removed.

Second, certain 501-c-3 non-profits (religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, public safety, amateur sports, or prevention of cruelty to children or animals) will count more than others--like the ACORN, Saul Alinsky-type, left-leaning organizations, animal rights organisations (as opposed to animal welfare) and radical "greenies" claiming concern about safety. Signing up illegals to vote, for instance, will be a credited, gov't approved volunteer activity. Helping someone refinance a mortgage they can't afford, will count if the helpee is a minority. Helping a woman avoid an abortion or going back to Mexico to give birth in her home community will not.

Third, many non-profits, if not allowed to use government money because they won't dance to Obama's tune, will have to close shop. People who wish to remain in the "giving" field will increasingly need to be employed by the liberals and socialists.

Fourth, your mandatory volunteerism will become a factor in your job security and promotion ladder. Maybe even in hiring. The "volunteerism" required of many school children (begun years ago) can barely pass the sniff test.

Fifth, eventually, only those volunteer activities that directly promote the government approved agenda (what ever it is at that time) will be allowed.

How to screw up the language

I could swear President Roosevelt declared war after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, but apparently not--he declared a discussion or negotiation, as Bush should have done, but didn't. Congress must have misunderstood him. And it was his words, and not Japan's actions, that propelled us into war.

"I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire." FDR, December 8, 1941

Yet that's what this article in Scientific American Mind implies. We have terrorists because of the words we use. Reminds me of the mothers of pre-schoolers, "Now sweet dumpling, use your words not your fists. Johnny's nose is bloody." It's not their fault--we're inflaming them with our choice of words. We should have treated the attack like street crime. Declaring war is for a country, and this was just a world wide movement. And apparently Obama read the article!

"The Bush administration’s framing of terrorism as an act of war is a departure from past administrations’ ways of thinking. Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Ronald Reagan, for example, preferred a disease metaphor. President Bill Clinton’s general themes were the pursuit of justice, law enforcement and international cooperation. Clinton wanted to deny “victory” to terrorists, but he and other previous presidents stopped short of the word “war.”

President George W. Bush adopted the war construct immediately. On the morning of September 12, 2001, after a meeting of the National Security Council, the president told reporters: “The deliberate and deadly attacks which were carried out yesterday against our country were more than acts of terror. They were acts of war.”

Refresh my memory. Did Nixon or Reagan or Clinton field any attacks on US soil the way FDR and GWB did? Must have missed that in the news.

The author is hoping now that there are more academics in counterterrorism, we can develop more successful strategies. Must be working. We haven't had any attacks for 7 years, thanks to Bush and Cheny. Article here. I wonder if these are the guys who gave us "enhanced interrogation techniques."

Whoopi and Rachel exchanging misinformation

Walking through the living room to wash the dirt off my hands and straighten up my back (working in the yard, a task I'm not accustomed to) I heard Rachel say to Whoopi that obese people tell her they'd love to cook some of her recipes but they can't afford broccoli and fruits and vegetables. That's such an outrageous lie! If they want to believe it, that's one thing, but she shouldn't be spreading gossip. Yesterday I was in the "12 items or less" line and the woman in front of me bought 7 packages of Jello and a small can of mixed fruit. She paid more than I did and I bought 4 apples, 2 bananas, l lb. of carrots, a pint of organic grape tomatoes and a pound of strawberries--I know I paid with a ten and got back change and some bills.

The myth that the poor are obese because of "expensive" processed food (i.e., it's the fault of capitalism) is just ridiculous. They are fat for the same reason everyone else is--too many calories and too little exercise.

Come on, Whoopi--you aren't skinny and you sure aren't poor!

The weather is cooperating

We're at the Lake. My husband is painting the house this year. The weather has cooperated--in fact, a bit too hot yesterday--84. Milder today with a slight cloud cover. I keep reminding him about sunscreen, but you all know how husbands love to be nagged about their health and safety.

I did make an important reservation yesterday. I reserved the pavilion for our 50th anniversary party (for lake friends) on August 15, 2010. We've got a rain room too, because the weather here is very iffy. We have not a single computer model that can tell you what Lake Erie will be doing this afternoon, let alone a 15 months from now. We'll have our Columbus event on the real date in September.

I'm cleaning. Decided to tackle the throw pillows. Two will be tossed. There is no way to wash them. I'm washing two that my mother made for me about 20 years ago. From the looks of the stitches to close, I've washed them before. She was neat and careful; I just get the job done and hope for the best. I remember when my parents visited for the first time in 1989 and she and I went shopping over in Marblehead to pick out the fabric. She took the pieces home and made pillows. They are very special. It would be nice to be able to pick up the phone and wish her a Happy Birthday (next week).


I'm going to plant a few more flowers--white impatiens. We already put in 2 flats, but they always seem too thin. When our daughter-in-law planted our flowers one year for Mother's Day they were fabulous--only year they looked really good. A good cook, too. I have the proverbial brown thumb and don't like dirt under my fingernails.

We actually had an offer to buy the cottage yesterday. Although it was a bit of a joke. The neighbor said, "I'll pay you twice what you paid for it." That got a good laugh. I'm not sure how real estate is holding up here, but the county, the people who want to kill the golden goose that is supporting their school system, says it is worth about 6 times what we paid. It's interesting how home values come down, but the taxing entity doesn't reevaluate. They just want more. But we will be selling (he promised) in about 5 years. We'll need the money to pay the higher energy costs as the President destroys Ohio's coal industry and auto plants and everyone has to put a windmill in their back yard. And the higher food costs. And the higher cost of everything made with petroleum products from highway paving to shoes to carpet to windshield wipers. And health care (if you think it's high now just wait 'til Obama Amtracs it).

Sigh. Life is just political, isn't it?

Update: I just checked a real estate list. Prices here are still crazy. I noticed a tiny "fixer upper" that would get you laughed out of town at $80,000 if it were on Columbus' west side listed at $209,000. The coffee shop building is listed at $689,000 and that's not the business--just the building. There's a wooded lot on our street (waaaay back) for $174,000.

Today's new word--less unaffordable

What ever happened to "affordable?" Now it's "less unaffordable"

"It is well known that the largest percentage losses in house prices occurred early in the housing bubble in inland California, Sacramento and Riverside-San Bernardino, Las Vegas and Phoenix. These were the very southwestern areas that housing refugees fled to in search of less unaffordable housing in California’s coastal metropolitan areas (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and San Jose).

Yet now the prices in these hyper-expensive markets are beginning to fall. Once considered widely immune from the severe housing slump, the San Francisco area now has muscled its way into the list of biggest losers. The newly published first quarter 2009 house price data from the National Association of Realtors indicates that prices are down 52.5 percent from the peak. Only Riverside-San Bernardino and Sacramento have experienced greater losses out of the 49 metropolitan areas with a population of more than 1,000,000 for which there is data (see table below). Other metropolitan areas that have seen prices drop more than 50 percent include Phoenix, Las Vegas and, for very different reasons, that rustbelt sad sack, Cleveland." Housing downturn update

We may have more relatives in California than Illinois--so we keep a close watch, and don't like what we see.

And of course, we like to eat, too. Environmentalists along with Mother Nature seem to be conspiring to bring down the agriculture industry in California. Governors of either party are helpless and hopeless. That's higher priced food for the rest of us, shipped from a "country" that won't use its own energy resources.

Friday Family Photo--Biggie

Sunday I was moving winter coats to storage when I pulled out a forgotten maroon, hand-knit, zip front sweater in a dry cleaner bag that had belonged to my husband's grandfather, Stanley, or Biggie as he was known to his grandchildren. I think I have the story straight when I say that the oldest grandchild, whose name is Norma Lou, gave him that nickname. Probably because she was little and he was "big." She was raised by her grandparents; her cousins, my husband and his sister, visited on week-ends. These three little ones were all children of divorce, so Biggie was the one monumental and consistent male figure in their lives. Yes, he was BIG. The whole family always called them "Neno and Biggie," and so did I (although I never knew his grandfather).

I decided to take the sweater out of the bag and check for moth holes because it is 100% wool and probably close to 90-100 years old. It was made at a time when knitting or sewing for the family was just a feature of the homemaker's life, a necessity rather than a "craft." (Neno had been a police woman before marriage.) I had a vague recollection of my husband wearing it on very cold days back in the 70s (when all the talk was about global cooling and we couldn't keep our house warm enough), and I think I used to occasionally wear it to work in the 80s because we couldn't control the air conditioning in Sisson Hall. Frankly, I'm not sure either one of us could get this sweater zipped today. And no, the dry cleaners didn't shrink it. It would definitely be an XXS in either a men's or women's size.

The item on the sweater is Biggie's gold pocket watch, and we don't have much else that belonged to him. When I asked my husband where it was, he couldn't remember, but then found it in the first box he checked--along with the silver cuff links we bought our son for his wedding or graduation--don't recall which--and a few other odd items.) The photo below is Biggie, Neno and brother Jimmy, and was probably taken about 1948.





There seems to be a strong family resemblance--photo of my husband at about the same age in 2003.

Ed Asner--a very hate filled man

My little converter box here at the lakehouse works great--except I get programs I'd never watch at home. This morning in the background (can't see the TV from this angle) I can hear Tavis Smiley interviewing Ed Asner who is spewing the most hateful, anti-American drivel I've ever heard from the Hollywood left. It's enough to make you stop watching old re-runs. This man desperately needs to retire.

Here’s what the Waxman-Markey energy bill will do for you

“Nothing. Zip. Zero. Zilch. There are no benefits for the American people in the Waxman-Markey energy tax bill. Whenever defenders of the free market point out how much an energy tax will cost the economy, the enviro-left always tries to change the subject to “the cost of inaction.” But here is the dirty little secret about Waxman-Markey: it does nothing to prevent global warming/climate change whatever you want to call it. And that is before House Democrats gutted the bill.” Heritage.org Indeed, in a Congress full of downright scary people, thieves, murderers, adulterers, and brain dead, Henry Waxman reigns supreme.

Here are the numbers. My detractors always want the facts, not the unintended consequences, not the run up to the War on the Economy by smart investors and CEOs who were ducking for cover hiding their assets in foreign countries as soon as an Obama presidency was on the horizon, while contributing to his campaign. Not an historical survey of the Kulaks loss of property and life by Stalinists. OK, here they are. Here’s what higher prices on everything for the sake of a global warming myth looks like. Waxman's energy bill will mean the loss of your job (especially if you are paid on local tax money such as a teacher, librarian, policeman, street sweeper, dog catcher, etc.)

By the year 2050, the “clean” version reduces projected global temperatures by 0.044ºC (or ~3% less than the rise without the legislation), the “dirty” version gets you about half of that, or 0.022ºC (~1.5% less), and the “dirtier” version saves half of that again, or 0.011ºC (<1% less). By century’s end, you don’t do much better–the temperature reduction amounts to, respectively, 0.112ºC (0.20ºF), 0.046ºC (0.08ºF), and 0.013ºC (0.02ºF).

They only crunched the job loss numbers on the clean version and found it would reduce aggregate gross domestic product (GDP) by $7.4 trillion by 2035 and destroy 844,000 jobs annually. Maybe on your planet that sounds like a worthwhile trade, but not on mine!

Burying the lede

It probably pained the NYT to even report on the foiled terrorist plot against two Jewish synagogues, but since they were in New York, it is sort of local news. They didn't mention until the end that all those arrested in the year long investigation were Muslims. And of course, Chuck Schumer (D-NY) calls them unsophisticated. That should be a comfort if it is your family that is blown up. According to James Taranto's column, May 21, in WSJ:

At the end of the ninth paragraph comes the revelation that the suspects "are all Muslim, a law enforcement official said."

According to Rod Dreher of BeliefNet.com, "This is what is called 'burying the lede.' Some editor in that newsroom found this to be an inconvenient truth, and tried to hide it. You can practically hear the Times cringing when it has to disclose this fact, which most fair-minded readers would find rather pertinent."

According to the NY Daily News:

Among those arrested was [James] Cromitie, of Newburgh, who is the son of an Afghan immigrant and his African-American wife. Cromitie, who also called himself Abdul Rahman, has served a long stretch in prison.
David Williams, Onta Williams and Leguerre Payen - his alleged henchmen - were busted with him. Cromitie allegedly recruited them at the Newburgh mosque.

Cheney, a man who will protect us

from enemies without and within. It was shocking to hear Obama, as a first act of his presidency, criticize the former administration like he was some third world potentate ready to throw his opponents in prison. Then when he also threatened the people in the administration who kept us safe for 7 years, it was time for an answer. Al Gore brags that he kept quiet for 2 years before criticizing Bush for using the security developed on his watch--Obama/Biden couldn't wait even 2 weeks. They are lackeys for the leftist who got them elected.

" When President Obama makes wise decisions, as I believe he has done in some respects on Afghanistan, and in reversing his plan to release incendiary photos, he deserves our support. And when he faults or mischaracterizes the national security decisions we made in the Bush years, he deserves an answer. The point is not to look backward. Now and for years to come, a lot rides on our President’s understanding of the security policies that preceded him. And whatever choices he makes concerning the defense of this country, those choices should not be based on slogans and campaign rhetoric, but on a truthful telling of history." . . .

"To make certain our nation country never again faced such a day of horror, we developed a comprehensive strategy, beginning with far greater homeland security to make the United States a harder target. But since wars cannot be won on the defensive, we moved decisively against the terrorists in their hideouts and sanctuaries, and committed to using every asset to take down their networks. We decided, as well, to confront the regimes that sponsored terrorists, and to go after those who provide sanctuary, funding, and weapons to enemies of the United States. We turned special attention to regimes that had the capacity to build weapons of mass destruction, and might transfer such weapons to terrorists.

We did all of these things, and with bipartisan support put all these policies in place. It has resulted in serious blows against enemy operations … the take-down of the A.Q. Khan network … and the dismantling of Libya’s nuclear program. It’s required the commitment of many thousands of troops in two theaters of war, with high points and some low points in both Iraq and Afghanistan – and at every turn, the people of our military carried the heaviest burden. Well over seven years into the effort, one thing we know is that the enemy has spent most of this time on the defensive – and every attempt to strike inside the United States has failed." The Cheney Speech on national security

And they didn't even mention Ohio State

Even Library Journal doesn't call OSUL a "research library."

If this were Jeopardy, the answer might read: “This academic tool has been around for 500 years, but is slowly being replaced by its electronic counterpart.”

Can you guess the question?

There’s no Daily Double involved, but if you asked, “What is a book?” you’re right.

Is this an overstatement? Maybe yes, maybe no.

Take a look at these facts, and you be the judge:

Princeton, Case Western, Reed, Darden School at the University of Virginia, Pace and Arizona State are partnering with Amazon to try out the Kindle e-book reader on their students.

Missouri School of Journalism students will be required to buy an iPhone or iPod this fall, so they can electronically download course material.

Columbia University added four times the number of electronic books to its collection this past year compared to traditional books.

While 99% of individual buyers still purchase traditional books, it seems the move of higher ed institutions toward e-books is picking up speed.Read whole story at Higher Ed Morning.

The speech Notre Dame grads didn't get to hear

Here's a graduation address that could have inspired them to go forward and be their best, given to 2009 graduates of University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas, May 9, 2009 by the Most Rev. José H. Gomez, S.T.D., Archbishop of San Antonio.

Now the world you are entering into, dear graduates, sees things very differently. In fact, our society today is a lot like Pontius Pilate—it doesn’t recognize the truth. It doesn’t believe there can even be any one truth. Our culture believes instead that there are many truths—as many different truths as there are individuals, and that it’s wrong to try to decide or judge among these competing “truths.”

This sounds like a very fair and reasonable way to live in a free society where there are many different religions, lifestyles, and points of view. But in practice: when nothing is true, everything is permitted.

When the only truth is that there is no truth, then we end up with what Pope Benedict has called the “dictatorship of relativism.” What’s right or wrong, true or false, good or evil, is decided by majority vote or imposed by powerful special interests. As a result of this dictatorship of relativism, our society not only allows evils such as abortion, it also protects them under law.

ConservativeHQ.com Poll

91% of Conservatives believe Obama is a Socialist, Marxist, Communist or Fascist. On-line polls are certainly not fair, balanced or authoritative. Only the people who use a particular site get to vote. Sort of like the newspaper polls from NYT or LAT and their "sources" and anecdotal evidence.

During the Bush years, the people who didn't like him screamed Nazi or Hitler because yelling "communist" would have been a compliment. But there is a very fine line between National Socialism (Nazi Germany and Italy) and Marxist Communism (USSR or China variety. The Bush haters claim it's the war--"Bush lied people died." He brought out the ladies in pink who joined forces with the greenies. Bush didn't go to war, Congress did, read the Constitution, and they were using all the evidence they had been hearing and voting on from the previous administration. There was actually great bipartisanship in 2002 and 2003--Kerry, Edwards, Kennedy, et al were all for the war and believed the intelligence about WMD. Bush was fairly elected, not with the popular vote, which he didn't win in 2000, but the electoral system which provides smaller states with a say. The county in question was heavily minority--so Democrats claimed they didn't know how to vote. They were confused. Well, whose fault was that with a Democrat machine in place? The Supreme Court didn't put him in office as the Bush-Deranged claim--it ruled on a state law of Florida. And the Bush-Deniers refused to see what was coming down the road, when the hanging chads in Florida were all swept up. Examination of all the close votes in other states--say, in Illinois where the dead Chicago democrats reappear like zombies to vote and who are probably happily receiving their stimulus checks even today. After all, they are the ones who chose Kennedy over Nixon back in 1960. If Nixon had done the right thing--demanded the same kind of endless recount Gore got--he could have saved JFK's life, but then, who would have made all those conspiracy movies?

Kris over Adam

Idol isn't a show I follow--but you can't open your on-line page or a newspaper without seeing that Kris won. I mean, this is terribly important to millions of Americans, and maybe Europeans too. It's certainly more important than the War on the Economy, which no one seems to care about except people losing their livelihood. This is the gladiator game put on for the public to keep them happy and thinking they are voting about something. Something that matters. Like no performer was ever able to make it before this type of prearranged showcasing.

Anyway, I've never heard either one of them sing, but seeing the photos, I think I would have gone for Kris. I don't mind make-up--eyeshadow, lip rouge, etc.--and earrings and tight leather on the girls--but on the boys, it's just a bit too carnal.

Q. Who is not eligible for this [$250 Social Security] payment?

We are going around and around on whether I should cash the $250 "stimulus" check. I say no, my husband says yes. The government doesn't care if they sent it, only that you spent it when it wasn't yours.

A. In most cases, the following individuals will not receive the one-time payment:
Anyone living outside of the United States or its territories;
Individuals who no longer are lawfully present in the United States;
Individuals whose benefits have been suspended under the law for giving false or misleading statements;
Social Security beneficiaries who are minor children;
SSI beneficiaries who receive benefits at a reduced rate of $30 because they live in a medical treatment facility (such as a nursing home or hospital) and Medicaid pays over 50% of the cost of their care;
Individuals only entitled to Medicare and not to Social Security or SSI benefits; and
Prisoners, fugitive felons, and probation and parole violators.

I am entitled to Medicare, not to Social Security. What would you do?

I'm going to miss newspapers

On a good day, I can read the Columbus Dispatch, USA Today and WSJ in just a few minutes. The advertising is disappearing at a fast clip, and that's what keeps the printing presses rolling (do they still roll, or has that changed too?).

It's ironic that the hostile-to-business, hate-the-capitalists-media are digging their own graves. Once they are all on-line, they'll be easier to shut down completely by the man they all supported to exercise the biggest hatchet job on freedom ever recorded. And then that record will be buried, too.

Sweetie, honey, dearie, babe

My father called me "Baby" even in my 60s. I didn't mind at all, even though I knew I wasn't a baby. He wasn't belittling me and that was also about as affectionate as he got. However, when I was a little girl I can remember watching the blood rise in my mother's face if we were in a dress shop and the saleswoman called her "Honey," or "Dearie." Usually, Mom's fingers clutching her purse would start to twitch (a bad sign) and that was the end of that store for that day, regardless of the need. The other day I overheard a young, accomplished, educated woman say, "The little girl who works for us had her baby and will soon be back at work." If a man had said that about a female employee it would have raised eyebrows, or even caused disciplinary action. Women often use the phrase, "little girl," or just "girl" as a term of endearment, but it can also describe a woman in a lower social status, the same way men use the term.

I'm not saying it's in the same category as a hip hop artist using "nigga" or "Ho," but I think we're in the ballpark.

More Than 700 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global

Scientists Continue to Debunk “Consensus” in 2008 and 2009. You are going to be heavily taxed and perhaps your job destroyed on faulty, bogus "scientific" claims about the dangers of C02. Read this Senate report before you accept a word of Obama's threats to destroy more of the American automobile industry and tax Americans with an additional $1300 per car.

“Creating an ideology pegged to carbon dioxide is a dangerous nonsense…The present alarm on climate change is an instrument of social control, a pretext for major businesses and political battle. It became an ideology, which is concerning.” Environmental Scientist Professor Delgado Domingos of Portugal, the founder of the Numerical Weather Forecast group, has more than 150 published articles.

“It is a blatant lie put forth in the media that makes it seem there is only a fringe of scientists who don’t buy into anthropogenic global warming.” U.S Government Atmospheric Scientist Stanley B. Goldenberg of the Hurricane Research Division of NOAA.

“For how many years must the planet cool before we begin to understand that the planet is not warming? For how many years must cooling go on?" - Geologist Dr. David Gee the chairman of the science committee of the 2008 International Geological Congress who has authored 130 plus peer reviewed papers, and is currently at Uppsala University in Sweden.

“There are simple facts in such abundance that the media never reports. When the media lambastes a great (skeptical) scientist and brave patriot, Jack Schmitt, a geologist, astronaut and former senator for apostasy, you know that it isn't science they're talking about, but agendas. Schmitt knows more about the Earth and its environment than all the staff at The New Mexican put together. Listen to a proven scientist,” Geologist Dr. Seymour Merrin, a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and a research scientist.

. . . and many others. We are being deceived for a social agenda.

Following the FDR rise to fame

Edging us closer and closer to a Depression through government interference in the markets

Notice what happened in July 2008 when the nation's and global investors woke up and realized Obama would be the next President.

The coming threat to religious liberties

". . . in a society that redefines marriage to include same–sex unions, those who continue to believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman can expect to face three types of burdens.

First, institutions that support the traditional understanding of marriage may be denied access to several types of government benefits, and individ­uals who work in the public sector may face cen­sorship, disciplinary action, and even loss of employment.

Second, those who support the traditional understanding of marriage will be subject to even greater civil liability under nondiscrimination laws that prohibit private discrimination based on sexual orientation, marital status, and gender.

Third, the existence of nondiscrimination laws, combined with state administrative policies, can invite private forms of discrimination against religious individuals who believe that marriage involves a man and a woman and foster a climate of contempt for the public expression of their views."

Same–Sex Marriage and the Threat to Religious Liberty by Thomas M. Messner

Rip and Read

Now when I hear news stories like this, it means so much more--we were in the Holy Land in March.

"Pope Benedict XVI prayed at Christianity's holiest site on Friday as he wrapped up a Holy Land tour in which he pleaded for Palestinians and stirred criticism he lacked remorse over the Holocaust. In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, . . "

The problem was the young woman reading the news on the radio pronouced Sepulcher as ska-PAL-ter. Yes, Church of the Holy skaPALter. Reminds me of when he first became Pope and there were people who didn't know how to read Roman Numerals. Poor guy was all over the place--13th, 14th, 17th.

Cat Yodeling

After she finishes her breakfast (1/3 can 9 Lives), my cat walks into the living room with a loud yowl or two. Sometimes she races up and down the stairs, too. But only after breakfast. Also, she can hear cheese. If you open the frig for an apple, she doesn't stir from her nap, but if you pull out a package of cheese, she's right there. Usually, she says nothing when kissed or pestered.

No torture necessary for Ol' Joe to blab secrets

Some in the media are saying no big deal. Probably the same who screamed bloody murder on the Valerie Plame blame game, when everyone already knew who she was. But for Biden to reveal the secret hiding place for the second in command. Well, that's almost as scary as contemplating the third in command, the liar, liar pants-on-fire, Pelosi. Even the most die hard conservative needs to pray for Obama's continued good health.

"Joe Biden, the gaffe prone Vice President, has revealed the secret location of the Vice Presidential bunker. The Vice Presidential bunker has been revealed to be located under the Naval Observatory where Vice Presidents reside.

The gaffe was reported by Newsweek's liberal correspondent Eleanor Cliff. Vice President Joe Biden apparently gave a detailed account of being taken on a tour of the Vice Presidential bunker by a Naval officer

Joe Biden's Bunker Blunder to his dinner companions at the Gridiron Dinner, a Washington soiree attended by print journalists.

Thus far Vice President Joe Biden's various gaffes have been amusing at best, embarrassing at worse. But the location of the Vice Presidential bunker, designed to help the Vice President and his staff ride out an attack, is classified information. The idea that Vice President Joe Biden is so unable to govern his tongue that he would blurt out classified information to a table full of reporters should be a cause for concern." AC Content

Does he drink a lot? Off his meds? And are reporters supposed to always report what they know?

Applying the Golden Rule to Abortion

Obama's speech writers just amaze me--the twisting and distorting of the English language is just stunning. I was driving home from the coffee shop this morning and wasn't fast enough to push the button when the news clip of Obama's speech at Notre Dame came on and I caught his recitation of the number of religions that cling to the Golden Rule, "Do unto others. . . " In the context of abortion it was such a distortion of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc. I was afraid I might cause an accident. I'm not sure there is a major religion that gives this one a pass.

... the law that binds people of all faiths and no faith together. It is no coincidence that it exists in Christianity and Judaism; in Islam and Hinduism; in Buddhism and humanism. It is, of course, the Golden Rule - the call to treat one another as we wish to be treated. The call to love. To serve. To do what we can to make a difference in the lives of those with whom we share the same brief moment on this Earth.

Some people's moments are a bit briefer than others, it seems.


Just what is the "Golden Rule?" Usually it's a reference to Jesus' statement in Matthew 7:12/Luke 6:31. "So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets." Who in the world wishes death and dismemberment on himself?

Confucius' negative slant was "What you do not like if done to yourself, do not to others," and Isocrates said, "Do not do to others that at which you would be angry if you suffered it from others." Rabbi Hillel said, "Whatsoever you would that men should not do to you, do not that to them" and it appears in Leviticus 19:18.

For Christians, however, Jesus takes it to an understanding of the highest good, for the self and for others. He is calling us to anticipate the well-being of another--and in the context of the speech a very helpless "other." I'm often shocked when liberals, progressives, marxists and feministas will claim that the aborted child would have lived a life of poverty, pain, or disease and therefore the abortion is an act of mercy and good. Really? You mean the 40 or 50 million abortions since Roe v. Wade was all about malformed or poor children, and not malformed values and self-centered fears? I only know a few mothers who have aborted their babies, and it was with deep regret, and it certainly wasn't because of poverty or disease or mental retardation. Carrying the child to term and placing it with an adoptive family certainly would have been an option.

If death were such a great solution for poverty, why in the world are we putting all this time, money and effort into poverty programs (especially those that don't work--like the government handouts). Just kill the poor people when we know for sure they aren't viable tax payers, if that's your motivation! And you guys try to make Republicans look bad just because they suggest a welfare to work program. Talk about screwed up values!

The Obama administration has gone to a great deal of effort to destroy the livelihood of many well-off, well-educated, talented people--for no reason other than they were rich people who supplied jobs and investment opportunities for others. So if they kill off the potentially poor before they are born, and the unacceptably rich after they are successful, who will they come for next. You?

What Joe Branin said two years ago about Thompson Library

Last week I parked at the Vet Med campus and walked to Bricker Hall to participate in a tiny, and probably useless protest, about saving books. It was a beautiful day and I stopped to stare at and photograph the RPAC, a gimungous building with flashy, reflective pink glass and covered walkways devoted to recreation and physical fitness. Joe Branin, the director of OSUL was at the protest with his professional marketing hand-out and his dusted off fund raising bon mots used hundreds of times to sway the press and TV reporters. If ever a man could out-nuance President Obama on the golden rule and abortion, it would be Joe on the value and usefulness of the physical book, on a actual shelf, inside a bricks and mortar building. So I was interested to read what he said two years ago in an interview with Library Journal.

[After a bit of wandering, the reporter finally gets to it] What’s it like running one of the nation’s top public university libraries while simultaneously tearing it down, setting up interim space and services, and managing one of the state’s largest construction projects? “I still spend most of my time directing the library system,” OSU director Joe Branin insists, giving his staff praise for their hard work. But let’s not mince words: this massive project will define Branin’s tenure at OSU, and he is clearly proud of and invested in it. “We expect the library to be a major gathering place for faculty and students, because of its architectural beauty but also its functionality as a learning and research center,” he says.

“I’ll also continue looking for new ways we can reach out to the larger Ohio community, and make the Thompson a resource not just for the university but for learners and scholars around the state and the whole country.” Part of achieving that mission is not to be limited by space or formats. “Flexibility has been a key design principle for us,” Branin explains. “So we can modify the building as we see formats of information and use patterns change.” The new Thompson library, he stresses, will use space and technology together to offer new opportunities as well as preserving the best of traditional library service, including, of course, books. “Print resources will continue to be a significant presence, and special collections will be highlighted in ways that have never been possible.”

I've moved, withdrawn and disposed of thousands of books in my library career and I think I know how to measure and count; there's no way that a million + volumes are going back, nor is there room for growth without pulling out thousands more.

Notice, LJ never refers to OSUL as a "research library."

Joe's next and probably last job is to develop a completely digital library for the Saudis. Maybe by the time he's finished, Saudi women will be allowed to drive. After all, by the 1980s, most were allowed to attend school.

The double whammy of aging

I've blogged about the verbs for death and dying used in obituaries, but I hadn't really thought about the photos. Most announcements don't carry photos, and usually I can tell from the eye glasses and hair styles (of women) the age of the photograph. And I'm not surprised when the subject or his children select a military photo--which sends several visual messages--youth, vigor, patriotism, camaraderie, history. This research at OSU on "ageism" and bias, did surprise me, however, I suppose in the conclusion. The last "formal" portrait I have of my parents is from a 1991 church directory when they were in their late 70s. They died in 2000 and 2002. It's a nice portrait, and informal photographs I have of them later are nice, but it's that one I keep displayed. Glancing around my office, I think that one may even be better of my father than the one taken in 1984 for their 50th--the year he was recovering from heart surgery and he was very gaunt and thin. And we have a family portrait of my father-in-law with his four children taken on his 90th birthday which is quite nice. My mother-in-law was in such poor health the last 25 years of her life I would probably select a nice Valentine photo of 1963 with her husband if it didn't have other negative memories (death of our oldest son same week).

"Results of the study showed that age-inaccurate photos increased steadily each decade: from 17 percent (1967) to 27 percent (1977) to 30 percent (1987) and finally to 36 percent (1997). The researchers found that each additional year in age at time of death increased the odds of having an age-inaccurate obituary photo."

The author of the research, Keith Anderson, Assistant Professor of Social Work at Ohio State University, says it's a double whammy for women--ageism and sexism. It may also be cultural--how often do you have a formal portrait taken after, say, the grandchild's wedding, or the 50th anniversary? And who's to say that person in the mirror at age 85 is more you than the one who used to be there 25 years ago?

What do you think? Do you have a photo in mind?

Another reason to wash your hands

Today I was watching the Learning Channel about a pork parasitic tapeworm disease that had infected a number of people in an Orthodox Jewish community. It takes quite awhile to develop once the eggs are in the body, but eventually the worm makes it to the brain and the formerly asymptomatic victim may develop headaches, seizures, blindness and other neurological disturbances. After some careful investigation by the CDC, it was discovered that all the Jewish families were employing housekeepers from Mexico and Central America.

Cysticercosis (i.e., tapeworm infection) is the most common parasitic disease worldwide, with an estimated prevalence greater than 50 million persons infected. It is endemic in Mexico, Central and South America, and parts of Africa, Asia, and India. Neurocysticercosis, the neurologic manifestation of cysticercosis, is the most prevalent infection of the brain worldwide, and more than 1,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States each year. Neurocysticercosis is one of the leading causes of adult-onset seizures worldwide and was found to be the etiologic agent in 10 percent of new-onset seizure patients in one Los Angeles, Calif., emergency department. American Family Physician

It's called oral-fecal contamination--people not properly washing their hands after using the toilet, and then preparing food. Third world and developing country immigrants may be skilled in food prep, but novices in the bathroom.

Because neurocysticercosis takes a long time to develop, the waitress, cook, housekeeper or domestic may have long ago moved on to a different job leaving the customer or employer to deal with the problem.

Which looks worse to you

Eight years of Bush or eight weeks of Obama?



Notice the mid-point of 2008--right around the time of the Democratic convention when investors woke up and realized who would be the next president.

We're bleeding red, white and blue

For lunch today I served red, white and blue dessert--raspberry jello topped with blueberries, slathered with Cool Whip. This is to honor the USA’s survival of almost four months of the War against the Economy, War against the little guy, War against the hard working taxpayer and the War against the pensioner. Some of you are seeing this in terms of your grandchildren, but unfortunately, I don't have grandchildren. I don’t know where it stands today, but here’s what it was the first 6 weeks (Feb. 9), as reported in Bloomberg

"The stimulus package the US Congress is completing would raise the government’s commitment to solving the financial crisis to $9,700,000,000 (9.7 trillion) enough to give $1430 to every man, woman and child in the world. It is 13 times what the US has spent on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Congressional Budget Office data, and is almost enough to pay off every home mortgage in the US, calculated at $10.5 trillion by the Federal Reserve."

Last night I noticed flipping through the channels Glenn Beck interviewing a Chrysler dealer. He's been in business almost 70 years (his father before him), and poof, thanks to President Obama, it's gone. About 20 people sent home to go on the unemployment rolls. I couldn't stand it. I kept flipping. You can only take so much stupidity, hurt and watching your country's economy be dismantled brick by brick, street by street, business by business, family by family.

You're a Democrat? A RINO? An FDR fan? So you're not worried. Hey--it only took 13-14 years the last time we did this, how bad can it get? Too many unsuccessful dealers--too many models? This guy's business was successful. You don't stick around 70 years if you don't have customer loyalty and you aren't providing a service. The Chrysler contract was given to another dealership two miles down the road. Ever wonder how much that guy donated to the 2008 campaign?

Go ahead. Claim paranoia. But next it will be your flower shop; dry cleaners; furniture store, craft outlet; printing company, book store; office supplier; sporting goods store; coffee shop; pharmacy. Obama, Micromanager in Chief, may decide you advertise too much, or there are too many of your kind in a 50 mile radius. And when your local tax bucket goes dry? Who's going to fill it? Higher property taxes? What if you don't own a business, you just supply a business sector. What if Obama decides you can only sell a certain amount of janitorial supplies (to save the environment and not hurt your competition); or that you've met your quota of jewelry designs to market to that new mall store; or No, you can't have a start up on the internet--there are too many now.

We've always (in my life time) had these rules at the local level. You don't build your bar next to a school or a church; you can't leave junk autos from your repair shop on the street; you must mow your lawn. But from Washington DC? Did you, Democrats and fraidy cat Republicans, you elected a man with no business experience and almost no time in the US Senate just so he could drive us over the cliff while reading a teleprompter scrolling words about not exporting American jobs? He's right in a way--there won't be any jobs to export because only those global companies with a base overseas will be profitable.

Disclaimer: I drive a Dodge van; my third Chrysler van; my brother does too--his second; my father had several; my sister as a PT Cruiser; my niece and nephew had Chrysler vans. I'm very sad that my 2002 van that gets 28-29 mpg on the highway may be my last.

Calvin blew it!

He knew and had ridden both horses. Only one had the chance at the triple crown--Mine that Bird, the 50-1 winner of the Derby. The little gelding that sold for $9,000. Now, he and Rachel Alexandra did win the Preakness, and Mine that Bird came from last to place second. With Calvin Borel, who is fearless and can find those holes where none exist, I think he would have been first by a number of lengths. But that's just me. A sucker for a good horse story.

Obama at Notre Dame

Actually, if I were a student or faculty member there, I just wouldn't attend. Marching around seems a bit disrespectful to the Office of the President. And that would be last time they'd see a dollar from me during the annual alumni funds drive. Each time the U. of I. hits me up for money, I write a note on the card, "Not until you get rid of terrorist Bill Ayres," and mail it back in the envelope.

Support an honorary degree? For what? After all, he believes it is OK to stab an unborn baby in the skull and suck out her brain so that she can be technically born dead before the rest of the body emerges. No other President that I know of has ever held such a radical, inhumane view, and very, very few American law makers are feministas to that extreme. Notre Dame is a Roman Catholic institution, a church that has always protected the unborn, the sick and diseased, the aging, the mentally challenged and ill. They've lost their marbles or dropped their rosary on this one.

However, when liberals, Democrats, progressives and anarchists demonstrate on campuses, traditionally nothing happens to them. Instead, the speaker usually goes home, or is shouted down or is removed for his own safety. Perhaps I just haven't found the right source but I'm trying to find links to the pre-emptive arrests for the various Bush protests. Was it Cindy when she was camping out on his private property? Or maybe the Code Pink Chorus line dancing outside the hospital when he was visiting wounded war veterans? There are records of people getting arrested at the actual event because I'm sure that's a real crowd control and safety problem. But the people at Notre Dame are getting arrested and harassed two weeks in advance when the President wasn't even there.

"Former Illinois U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes and 21 other protesters were arrested this morning [May 8] when they refused to leave the Notre Dame campus during a protest of President Obama's upcoming commencement address there, authorities said.

"Former Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes and 17 others have been arrested [May 14] after marching on to the University of Notre Dame campus to protest President Obama's commencement speech Sunday."

“On May 1, anti-abortion activist Randall Terry and another man were arrested on campus while pushing strollers containing dolls covered in fake blood.

On May 8, Keyes and 21 others, many of them pushing strollers containing dolls covered in fake blood, were arrested.”

“[On May 15] About 35 people, many of them carrying anti-abortion signs, were standing on the four corners outside the school's front gate shortly before noon when a group of about 40 people led by Keyes and Terry marched up. . . After speaking, Keyes then led a smaller group onto campus. They made it about 100 yards on campus before they were stopped by campus security. Keyes was taken into custody immediately, and the others were told to leave or they would be arrested.”

Librarians, who are very brave, bold, and politically left, protested Laura Bush, a former librarian, who gave a speech at the American Library Association. I don't remember if anyone called in the cops on them. Laura and George Bush are class acts. So different from that noisy, hyper-belligerent gang of thugs in charge of the country now.

Al Gore, “I waited 2 years.”

That’s rich. He, Carter and Clinton should have kept their mouths shut. We were in a War. It was not in the presidential tradition to try to drive from the back seat (or the trunk). So do the rule breakers now get to set the rules for speaking out for the next time, when Obama didn’t wait 2 days before he started slamming the Bush administration? Get a life, Al. Go back to watching polar bears swim.

Belly fat, shin splints and bumble bees

The clouds in the west are very dark this morning. I know Illinois* had some tough weather, and it is probably our turn. So I changed into my newish athletic shoes and walked briskly for a mile. Boy! I just hate to sweat, and I'm not athletic, but I read that it's easier to get rid of belly fat through brisk walking even if the same amount of calories are burned with a stroll. Belly fat was not in my range of vision until about 7 or 8 years ago, and then suddenly it appeared. If your bottom rib doesn't reside on your pelvis, you have a huge advantage, but when you get broad band and write 11 blogs, that advantage leaves you. (That's my excuse, not aging.) Yesterday our exercise class couldn't get in the room to get out the weights, so we all took a walk (started briskly, slowed to a crawl) over to Thompson Park, then to Rita's house for a bathroom break, then back to UALC Lytham.

But when I walk, I get shin splints, so I stop and do some stretches--and that seems to help. For me, stretching during the walk helps even more than stretching before, although that seems backwards. Still, when walking around the condo grounds I think I must look a little odd in the half crouch--but at 9 a.m., maybe everyone was still in bed.

On my walk I saw a dead bumble bee--a big one in someone's driveway (there are more than 250 species and subspecies in 15 subgenera, so I can't say which one). Not sure what happened. Maybe he had a collision, wasn't looking both ways when a car backed out. Death. Have you read Genesis lately? There was no death before Adam and Eve disobeyed God. They had tried to use vegetation to hide, but God gave them animal skins. Death of animals even before Cain murdered Abel. But the theory of evolution, the original hate speech, teaches us that millions, maybe billions of years of death transpired so that poor dead bumble bee could throw his magnificent body away on May 16 here at the condo.

*The 3 story apartment building reported in this story is the former Kable Inn, built in 1894, but it had several names before the Kable Brothers Co. bought it in 1921. The earliest family story I heard about this place was that my great-grandfather checked in there with his large and growing family when they arrived from TN, and he was told to get a house.

Photo from Bird Perch She has great stuff!

Electronic Health records and GPS Census Records

[Disturbing side-bar: my spell check in Microsoft Works still tries to change Obama to Osama]

Not too many years ago my liberal/progressive colleagues in the library profession (223:1 liberal to conservative--several of whom post here as "anonymous") were screaming about the dangers of RFID on Wal-Mart pallets, which the marketing giant uses to reduce inventory costs and speed delivery from warehouse to outlets. Of course then, it was a right wing, Nazi conspiracy caused by Karl Rove because President Bush was in office. And they were definitely right to worry. Look what Oba-Mart is settling for now. Electronic surveillance of everything in our lives.

When President Obama won approval for his $787 billion stimulus package in February, large sections of the 407-page bill focused on a push for new technology that would not stimulate the economy for years.

The inclusion of as much as $36.5 billion in spending to create a nationwide network of electronic health records fulfilled one of Obama's key campaign promises -- to launch the reform of America's costly health-care system. WaPo

One can only hope that these billions for a “network” of health records doesn’t work any better than what we’re all experiencing locally at our own doctor’s office. If this is any evidence, not one dollar will ever be saved. It's just a coup for the industry.

I stopped by to pick up a prescription at my doctor’s office because the “electronic transfer” of information between that office and the pharmacy I used hadn’t been able to manage the job in 3.5 days, and I was out (old methods of fax and phone aren't used anymore). Normally, I would have just told the receptionist what I needed, and my file (paper) would have been retrieved (human). No. I waited about 10 minutes as she struggled getting the right screens up, then worked from screen to screen, asking me questions I didn’t know, like date of my last appointment and address of the pharmacy. A line was forming behind me. When she finally found it, she said there was no record from the pharmacy requesting permission for a refill, but the doctor would decide.

That night we got a call from the doctor’s office that “it was ready,” i.e. the prescription script. My husband went to pick it up and waited about 15 minutes in line as the receptionist struggled with the screens of 2 or 3 people ahead of him. Fortunately, it was in a paper envelope with my name hand written on the outside. We can only hope and pray that the national “network” that Obama is forcing thousands of small offices to buy into (causing many to close their doors), doesn’t work any better than what you’ve all experienced at the local level as your doctor or clinic transitions.