Beautiful chickens

Artistically speaking, poultry are beautiful animals--vibrant colors, distinct breeds, and dumb as a rock for the most part. A number of times I have passed up some great chicken art--I'm mean, unless you have a themed kitchen, what do you do with them? I remember one time I saw a huge collection of magazine or calendar art from Watt Publishing's Poultry Tribune, inside a post binder at a used book store, and unfortunately, passed it up. Another time I saw a very reasonably priced watercolor in a local gallery, but again, passed. Today I was at a tag sale at Advent Lutheran Church. Art is always overpriced at these events, but there it was. . . an original 8 x 10 oil for $1.00. The price seemed right, although I'm sure the artist is a hobbyist. It's on good quality linen canvas, not stretched and poorly framed. It's sort of folk art, with a great deal of attention to the feathers. I just love it. The artist, P. Julian, either had a good grasp of the beauty of chickens or copied a 19th century print. Isn't it beautiful?

Friday Family Photo--June 17, 1961

By authority of the Board of Trustees of the
University of Illinois
and upon recommendation of the University senate
Norma . . .
has been admitted to the Degree of
Bachelor of Arts in the Teaching of Russian
and is entitled to all rights and honors thereto appertaining
Witness the Seal of the University . . .






And today I can't speak or read Russian, but it was useful in getting into grad school to become a librarian.

Lobbyists doing very well under Obama

Here's a job growth sector Obama has really helped. Lobbying. Lobbyists began pouring money into his campaign and Democratic coffers when it became apparent Obama was the front runner, and it hasn't stopped. People who still believe the Republicans are the party of big business haven't noticed how the huge companies and sectors support increased government regulation and interference in business. Why? Well, it knocks down (but not out) the competition, and totally demolishes the little guy who might have gotten big. Only the biggest can afford to wade through that snarl of paperwork, hire the lawyers, and grease the palms of the local, state and federal officials in the pork game.

Although Obama vowed to reduce the influence of lobbyists, so far, he has succeeded in slowing the economy to a crawl and raising lobbying by 80% (from 2008) from a $1.8 billion in 2002 to $3.3 billion. (WSJ, June 15, State of Capitalism article) The $787 billion "fiscal stimulus" that we just absolutely, positively had to have or go under has turned out to be just one more slush fund for Congress, and the nose of the camel in the marxism tent.

NYT article

Tom Daschle, health care lobbyist

Total spending

Are we hearing the same guy?

Over at the Velveteen Rabbit, Rachel Barenblat is concerned that so many Jewish bloggers seemed to be hearing completely different Obama speeches (the Cairo speech, for instance): the conservatives heard one thing, the progressives another. But I had to stop reading when I got to this:

The novelty of having a president who is well-spoken may never wear off for me. :-) Beyond that, I am still gobsmacked at hearing ideas and opinions which resonate for me coming out of the mouth of the White House -- it's just amazing how much more a part of this country I feel, these last few months. May it continue!

I hear something very different. I see a head swivel as he mindlessly reads in a very monotonous tone; even if I'm not watching, only hearing, I can see it. When he's off teleprompter he can't say anything succinctly or coherently and he has a bad stammer. The only explanation is that our political beliefs influence our hearing and seeing. Lots of liberals hate Sarah Palin because she has a twangy, "You betcha," and says, "Hey," instead of hello. They thought Bush's Texas drawl was a sign of ignorance, but didn't seem to hear Clinton's or Gore's. Doesn't bother me a bit--we twang a bit in Ah-Hi-YAH too. I listen to the words. Obama electrified the Democrats in 2004--although what I heard was a novice on the race stage doing a good imitation of a black preacher, someone who grew up white and learned how to speak like a black man in adulthood and wasn't quite comfortable so he mimicked. I heard a string of platitudes, and people who knew him, pointed out he'd given variations of that speech many times, some to very small, bored audiences. He's petty and whiny, and it comes through in his voice. He's repetitious, narcissistic, snooty, and full of himself, and it all shows in his voice and mannerisms. So, Miss Rachel, are we hearing the same guy? Are you listening as he explains why he needs to take over control of more and more and more of the economy? Just what about higher taxes and trillions in deficits resonates with you? And managed care with long waits, does that put a smiley face on you? Why in the world would you want that?

LA Times still reluctant to use the T-word

Seems as though the T-word is still a No-No for journalists.

"The Yemeni Interior Ministry reported over the weekend that nine foreigners were abducted Friday while picnicking near the northern town of Sadah. They were described as seven Germans, including a doctor, his wife and three children, a British engineer and a South Korean teacher. The six adults were based at a hospital in Sadah, where foreign doctors and nurses have worked for more than 30 years.

There were conflicting reports Monday about whether children were among the dead. Some accounts, citing unnamed government security officials and local tribesmen, said police had recovered seven to nine bodies. Three, with gunshot wounds and signs of mutilation, were found by shepherds and others, according to varying accounts. According to some accounts, two children were found alive.

The British and German embassies could not immediately confirm the deaths. South Korea identified its missing citizen as a 34-year-old woman.

"We are aware of these reports. We are looking into them," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel."

And it's not that they didn't have opportunities as they poured over their thesarus.

". . . there were suggestions that Al Qaeda militants might have been involved. Kidnappings are common in Yemen, but the killing of hostages has been rare."

"Sunni extremists backed by Al Qaeda; a secessionist movement in the south. . ."

"Islamic extremists have carried out a number of attacks on foreigners. . ."

"The discovery of the bodies came a day after authorities announced the arrest of Hassan Hussein bin Alwan, a Saudi national accused of financing Al Qaeda activities in Yemen and Saudi Arabi."

If he only had a brain T.

Suspected al-Qaeda financier arrested by Yemenis

Hassan Hussein bin Alwan provided money for attacks in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, according to recent reports. His arrest "will be instrumental in understanding the system for global terrorism financing" the Yemeni Embassy annouced, boldly using the T-word American journalists have black listed.

Let's hope Obama, Pelosi and Reid don't get to decide the interrogation techniques. This guy would probably love to be on Gitmo about now.

Geithner's profile

Was it photoshopped? That photo of Geithner in yesterday's WSJ (p. A8 in our edition) was odd, did you notice? Is his nose really as long as it appeared (a sign of lying in fairy tales, and so far the BOADMIN seems one long fairy tale, mystery or true crime story). Geithner's ears looked slightly pointy, too. In fact, the eye brows. . .

Therefore and However

A very important word in the New Testament is THEREFORE. It's a sign you need to go back and reread the paragraphs that come before. That is usually (if you're reading Paul who wrote most of the NT) the death and resurrection of Jesus. Lots of peace and justice Christians miss the whole point by not checking. An important word in medical studies is HOWEVER. What often follows that word in medical studies are phrases such as "such optimism has been tempered," "there are questions about safety and utility," "more refinements are needed," "some have questioned," "seem to be unrealistic expectations," and "further studies are required to clarify the underlying mechanism." That's the part they don't mention when they breathlessly report something in 30 seconds on the evening news.

However, that being noted, there's a very interesting article in the April 15 JAMA (Vol. 301, no. 15, p. 1565-1572), "Hypoglycemic episodes and risk of dementia in older patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus."

Now I didn't know that people with diabetes were at increased risk of dementia, or that insulin can cause hypoglycemia or that there was no research evaluating hypoglycemic episodes in older patients who have diabetes. I found the results and conclusions very interesting. They certainly had a wealth of evidence to work with--27 years of records of 16,667 patients with a mean age of 65 years who are members of Kaiser Permanente in California.

Who decided we have a health care crisis?

Follow the money. I'd place my bet on the pharmaceutical companies, with the Democratic party not far behind. No one in the United States is denied ACCESS to medical care, even if they don't have insurance. About 13-15% of the population (included in the census are all the people who aren't supposed to be here, and that's millions) don't have private, employer or government health insurance. There are two substantial groups within that figure--young adults who are eligible for insurance through their employer but choose to spend the money (payroll deduction and co-pay) on something else and people who are eligible for government programs that cover health, but just don't bother to do it, or are not mentally capable of figuring out a rather complex, bureaucratic system bound in red tape. Both my children when they were young adults and first living on their own were employed, but did not opt for health insurance; both were in auto accidents which were not their fault, and fortunately the other driver had the basic coverage (required in Ohio). But in the ER, no one told them they wouldn't be treated when they couldn't produce a card. For several years we bought temporary health insurance for them because we believed we would be financially wiped out if they had a life threatening accident or illness.

If we have a crisis, which we don't, it is one brought on by behavior--smoking, drinking, drugs, over-eating, not exercising and not honoring the marriage bed. If Americans cleaned up those problems on their own volition, not only would poverty drop to unprecedented lows (very few children who have married parents are poor), but we could drastically reduce all kinds of diseases, especially diabetes, cancer and heart disease. The AIDS/HIV "epidemic" was brought on by the promiscuous behavior of our wealthiest and best educated demographic--so we know more information and more nanny state lectures aren't going to help until people take personal responsibility.

But it's much easier for the Obama Administration (Republicans do it only slightly less aggressively) to take over yet another segment of the economy by playing the crisis card.

Let me tell you about a crisis we will have--rationed care. Yesterday my husband had his regular dental check up--goes twice a year. His dentist noticed something in his throat and suggested he see his internist. No rush--next check up (in the fall) would be fine he said. Then he called today and said, No, maybe you should get that checked sooner. After checking his calendar my husband had free time the week of July 20th--about a month from now. So he called his doctor and made an appointment for the time he was free. Done deal. Not a year from now. Not two years, when whatever it is has a chance to grow into something serious or disappear on its own.

Now THAT is the coming health care crisis. Time is money. And it is also good health.

Too good to publish, too slow to sing

That's the title of my poetry collection that I've never uploaded to one of those nifty do-it-yourself publishing sites like lulu.com. It's been on my to-do list for years, but I never get that magic coin, "a round tuit," and just blog instead. When I was employed, publications were part of my job; as was being a peer-reviewer and a committee member who kept other librarian writers' noses to the publication wheel. Looking through the notebook (for me it doesn't really exist if it's not printed on paper) I found this one from 13 months ago, and am really stunned at how accurate I was in verse about the man who wasn't yet even selected by his party at its national convention. The one slip I made was assuming Michelle would continue to have a power base, but Emmanuel and Axelrod have learned from the unpopularity of Hillary during Bill's terms, and have pretty much put her in the vegetable garden, or placed her as an accessory for photo-ops. As a city girl, she's probably more comfortable jetting to fancy restaurants in expensive clothes than digging weeds like a sharecropper.

Listening to Obama, variation on a theme

Oil prices continue to rise
it should be no great surprise
next they'll raise our taxes
If we elect Presidents Obam-es.

Don't you dare question them
you're only being dense and dim
he's been made messianic
by his handlers in a panic.

Move On's the group who's in control
George Soros too is on a roll
with flubs, flips and gaps
gaffes, waffles and flaps.

No wisdom makes it past his lips
he's made more than his share of slips
how'd he ever get through college
with such a lack of basic knowledge.

Preachers who scream and shout
from his pulpit in a pout,
Roman Catholic or UCC
is this what passes as loyalty?

They took to task poor Dan Quayle
over potatoe they did wail
but mix-ups over world war two
we're not supposed to notice and rue.

Prevarication or just lies
no matter which the flag he flies
no matter what today's faux pas
We've got his Highness Obama.

Just git-er done

At my church blog I’ve written about my frustration with Philip Yancey’s book on prayer. I’m reading my less-than- favorite author because I really enjoy the group that has chosen it. However, I’m now in chapter 12 and have really appreciated this part of his message, because he seems much more sure of himself and less full of angst, remorse, and questions. (You may have noticed I easily become frustrated with people who are constantly taking their emotional temperature or licking a finger to see which way the wind is blowing.) Also, he really speaks to my own lack of both athleticism and persistence in prayer.

Although the Old Testament doesn’t say anything about athletic games, Paul in the New Testament, being a Roman citizen in a Hellenized world, is quite familiar with the discipline of mastering a sport. And so Yancey writes about how he became a runner 30 years ago, and likens it to prayer discipline. He had met Peter Jenkins, the writer of A Walk Across America and agreed to walk with him. He was not athletic at all and realized he had only a short time to prepare to walk across Texas in July.

“As our agreed-upon time approached, I realized that if I planned to walk through Texas in July with a sixty-pound pack on my back, I had better get into shape. I bought some cheap running shoes, stepped out the door, and sprinted down the driveway, expecting to run a few miles. At the end of the block I pulled up, gasping and wheezing, with an abrupt lesson in physical fitness. Lay off exercise for a decade or more, and the body no longer responds.

I ran as far as I could that day--one block--then walked a block, ran another block, and limped home humiliated. The next day I ran two blocks, kept walking, and ran some more. Within six weeks, just in time for my Texas assignment, I was running seven miles without stopping. That began a routine of aerobic exercise that continues to this day. My body has become so accustomed to the regimen that if I have to skip a few days because of injury or illness I feel edgy and restless.

I learned early on never to ask myself, “Do you feel like running today?” I just do it. Why? I can think of many reasons. Regular exercise allows me to eat what I want without worrying about weight gain. It does long-term good for my heart and lungs. It allows me to do other activities, such as skiing and mountain climbing. All these benefits represent the kind of “deferred gratification” [that regular prayer brings].

As with physical exercise, much of the benefit of prayer comes as a result of consistency, the simple act of showing up.”

Whether gay or straight

Republicans can't catch a break. Democrats can frolic and wallow in a pit of slime, and everyone says, Oh well, it's no one's business, but not Republicans. Whether it is Newt and his third wife, a gay Congressman texting young pages, or a cabinet member with a gambling problem, the press just salivates--but only for Republican meat and potatoes.

John Ensign, a rising GOP star and possible presidential candidate, says he won't resign. Sen. John Ensign, an emerging Republican leader who has been mentioned as a possible 2012 presidential ...Link

Here's a news flash: Republicans, conservatives, Christians, whatever your label, have exactly the same personal and social problems as everyone else. Faith, like a condom in the wallet, provides no protection if you don't use it. The only difference seems to be Republicans know it's wrong when they are doing it. Democrats discover it is wrong later when the wife, kids, office, peers, press, etc. find out, abort it literarly or figuratively, or pay child support for 18 years, apologize on national TV and play kissy face, or rent an apartment outside the beltway and get the guy on the staff, and no one cares and they all move on.

NFL player gets 30 days--killed a pedestrian while drunk

Maybe if you are Donte Stallworth, this seems like justice--1000 hours of community service, loss of driver's license (for awhile), 10 years of probation, paying the family an undisclosed amount of money (to bring closure), a lifetime to regret his actions, a promise to help with alcohol and drug education, and oh yes, 30 days in jail.

After a night drinking at a bar in Miami Beach's Fountainebleau hotel, police said Stallworth hit Reyes, a construction crane operator who was rushing to catch a bus after finishing his shift around 7:15 a.m. Stallworth told police he flashed his lights in an attempt to warn Reyes, who was not in a crosswalk when he was struck. Stallworth had a blood-alcohol level of .126 after the crash, well above Florida's .08 limit. Stallworth stopped after the crash and immediately told officers he had hit Reyes. Police estimated Stallworth was driving about 50 mph in a 40 mph zone.

But to those of us who aren't paid millions of dollars to run around a football field or who don't even watch those who do, who don't drive Bentleys, and don't drive drunk it smacks a bit of favoritism, wealthy owners and pulled strings. There must be a lot of people doing jail time for a whole lot less who are really wondering about the system.

Oh yes, and he gets to have his career back.

On Mustangs and other wild things

A friend of mine is thinking about buying a 60s-something Mustang, although he is 70-something. So for him I'm rerunning the Thursday Thirteen blog I did about our cars several years ago, skipping ahead from #1 to #10, the Mustang.

1. We started married life in 1960 with a 1951 Oldsmobile 88. This car used to stall at intersections in Indianapolis and I'd get out and open the hood and jiggle something to get it going, occasionally with a push from the next guy in line. Just Married 1960, 1951 Oldsmobile
8.-10. In 1986 I replaced the 9 year old Buick with a 1983 (or maybe 1981) maroon Buick 4 dr. Skylark which had all the luxury options, plush unholstery, sound system, etc. Possibly the most comfortable sedan we ever had, but being a used car it had some mechanical problems.

Which gave me an excuse to buy my dream car--a 1987 red Mustang, which I had wanted lusted after since my brother bought one in 19631964 1/2. I had a tenure track job at the university and was wallowing in empty-nest grief--so I deserved some happiness, right? However, the night I drove it off the lot it rained buckets, and I discovered that the Mustang model had no gutter around the door frame so if you opened the door after a rain (and it rains a lot in Ohio), you got soaked as the water sheeted off the roof. I hated my dream car, and because it was low to the ground, it also just killed my back. Couldn't wait to unload it.
1987 Mustang in same location as the 1951 Olds photo. See how much the trees grew in 28 years

I sold it to a woman from Worthington who wanted a car for her teens to drive to school. I think she owned it two weeks before they wrecked it.

The Mustang hurt my back whether I was the driver (getting in) or the passenger, however, driving was less painful because I had something to hang on to.

More Obamath

HT Bits Blog

For a change, try ISBNdb

I read about this at a librarian blog today--I'd never heard of it--I've been gone too long to keep up on all the techie things about library searching. But instead of just linking to Amazon, which many library catalogs do these days (don't know if they get a kick back but they should) this librarian says ISBNdb can offer a range of sites for checking prices and availability. Here's an example.

"ISBNdb.com project is a database of books providing on-line and remote research tools for individuals, book stores, librarians, scientists, etc. Taking data from hundreds of libraries across the world ISBNdb is a unique tool you won't find anywhere else."

President Obama speaks out on the Iranian election

Fox News (you google it--I can't take any more) carried a long, long, long clip--could have been said in 1/3 the time and words. I think I agree with him, but boy! is this man painful to watch when he's off teleprompter. And to think people were near fainting just a few months ago at the thought of a graceful, fluent speaker.

I've got my orders

He's an easy guy to live with, but he does have a favorite TV show--The Closer. Tonight he said, "The Closer is on tonight, so when I get home from my meeting I don't want any Book-TV or funny stuff like that on. If I'm late, you'll need to fill me in. Channel 30, TNT."

Yes, boss. The Closer.

Kuitman thru-you

My son has been encouraging me to watch (and listen) to Kuitman, who pieces together snippets of video and sound from across the internet to create something new. Check it out here. I think my favorites were Mother of all Funk Chords, and Babylon Band. Kuitman is an Israeli musician, and his site was so popular when he first put it up earlier this spring, it crashed. Somewhere while looking for it, I also saw a video of him talking about how he did it.

Monday Memories of 1959

My brother is working on the 50th reunion of his high school class. Not only is he a "local" but he was also the class president. I think he's having a good time strolling down memory lane with his classmates. In today's WSJ, which I know he reads because he is a stock broker, Edward Kosner reviews Fred Kaplan's "1959: The year everything changed."

You can throw a dart at a timeline and write a book about almost any year (except 1957, imo) opines Kosner, but when examined closely, you can see important events that got us to where we are today. The most important one, from my view--1959 is the year I met my husband at the University of Illinois. We'd both broken up with our high school sweethearts (to whom we'd been engaged) and found each other. He told me on our first date that he planned to marry me--he was a big city (Indianapolis) slicker with a good line, and I laughed at him, much too smart to be taken in by that one. Other important events of 1959 outlined in this book were:

1. Castro took power in Cuba.
2. Berry Gordy started Motown.
3. Allan Ginsberg recited "Howl" at Columbia.
4. Pioneer space craft.
5. Lady Chatterley's lover heated up book reading.
6. Toyota and Datsun (Nissan) made their U.S. debut.
7. The microchip was introduced--the germ plasm of our digital age.
"Evolved from the transistor, the silicon integrated circuit was the work of a tinkering engineer named Jack Kilby. He showed off his little gizmo at a radio engineers' trade show in New York in March 1959. The debut of Kilby's microchip -- the germ plasm of our laptop, hand-held, wall-mounted, broadband, blog-sodden digital age -- merited two paragraphs in the next day's New York Times."
8. The first U.S. soldier was killed in Vietnam.
9. Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum opened.
10. Martin Luther King studied nonviolence in India.
11. The Birth control pill Enovid was approved for sale.
12. Jack Kerouac's "On the road" was launched.
13. The rise of Malcolm X.
14. The U.S. Civil Rights Commission documents racial discrimination in a 668 page report.

Kosner notes, "And, for all the wonders integral to 21st-century life, it's hard to argue that we're happier today than in good old, prehistoric 1959."

Fair elections

There was an on-line poll about whether the Iranian elections were conducted fairly. 1282 had voted by the time I saw it. Most voted No. I voted "undecided." How would I know, or anyone who wasn't there? How would the Iranian people know? Was our 2008 presidential election "fair?" The media overwhelmingly backed one candidate, even when there were many in the primaries. The media believed in beating up the girls--they didn't like Hillary and they smeared Sarah. Was that fair? Voters were bussed into Ohio, a key state, and shock and awe, they weren't voting Republican. "Activists" didn't know they weren't allowed to register and vote here. They got a wrist slap. Was that fair? ACORN was planting little oaks all over the country. Was that fair? Money flowed into the winning candidate from outside the United States. Was that fair? Now why should I expect Iran to have fair elections if we can't even guarantee it here? Let's stop talking about fair--life isn't fair--but elections should be legal, and dead people should stop voting.

Lauer on Letterman

It comes after the gas. . . the good old boys sticking up for each other. I don’t think Lauer gets it. The left hates her because she is 1) smart, 2) capable, 3) pro-life, and 4) didn’t get to her position on the coattails of her husband or father, so they attack her family. What Letterman said was a whole lot worse than what got Don Imus fired. Remind me. Do "entertainers" ever ridicule or suggest assaulting the young sons of politicians?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

HT Blatherings Blog

Update: Sarah Palin has graciously accepted his apology, but with a zinger of her own: In a statement Tuesday, the Alaska governor said she accepted Letterman's apology "on behalf of all young women, like my daughters, who hope men who 'joke' about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve."

She's made it clear that entertainers using their bully pulpit to make ribald, sexist, sexual jokes about any women, of any age, is not acceptable. It's really been open season for disgusting sex jokes about conservative women since Obama swept into office. There's Obama's lipstick on a pig comment; Obama's chief Axelrod called Prejean a "dog;" Playboy publishing a hate f**k article using prominent Conservative women as objects; the gays attacking women who actually agree with the administration's published stand on marriage; Letterman calling Palin a slut, and 14 year old daughter getting knocked up and so on (he then later made it worse by claiming--oh no, I meant her other daughter, as if that were OK). Nice guys these Obamatons. And where are the feminists? Oh, still playing with their marxist marbles, and this game isn't worth getting into because it doesn't further their agenda.

A note of thanks from Ahmadinejad’s Teleprompter

The Totus of the Potus can speak and translate teleprompter talk, and he/she has a message from Ahmadinejad's teleprompter here. The references to "seedlings" refers to ACORN and the good ideas they used during their election.

Hello, Great Satans, unclean and eaters of the pig. It is I, the blessed screens of the newly re-elected Grand Leader of the free land of Iran.

I want to thank you for the generosities of your leader, the man Obama, whose friends of the seedlings of oak trees have made The Great Mahmoud's re-election by landslide so very possible. Now you eaters of the cloven hoof and other infidels and moneychangers, may, thank Merciful Allah, wonder why the Great Satan is so committed in secret to our Great One? . . . "

The media bias and terrorists

There certainly are more coverage and media outrage about the murder of abortionist George Tiller and a Holocaust museum guard than there was about the murder of Pvt. Long, the military recruiter by a Muslim terrorist or the women murdered and wounded at a Jewish charity in Seattle in 2006 by Naveed Afza Haq (mistrial in 2008--he's still not convicted). In fact, the buzz in the news is all about right wing extremists and conservative talkers. Well, just to provide a little balance, here's a counterterrorism list which includes the Lakawanna 6, Ali Al-Tamimi, Jose Padilla, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, Iyman Faris and others, as well as white supremists. One of the women Haq shot in the Jewish Federation building was pregnant, but she's the one who called 911 and got him to talk to dispatchers, bringing the crisis to an end. The lefty columnists like Krugman who are now blaming conservative talkers for the museum guard's death and Tiller's death weren't calling out anti-war congressmen like Reid and Pelosi and anti-Bush agitators like Code Pink when those women were shot. Why the double standard?

My stats are down, but not this bad

The Daily Kos
Oct: 82,893,374
May: 25,293,380
Change: A decrease of 57,599,994, or 69%

Without Bush to hate, the lefty bloggers are struggling.

Bloggasm

Déjà vu all over again--Iran

The Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control has an interesting page called “Iran Watch,” just as it had one called “Iraq Watch” updated until three years ago. Here is Iran’s Nuclear Timetable updated this week. “Iran tested an advanced missile on May 19 – just two days after U.S. President Barack Obama outlined a plan to engage Tehran in an effort to end its destabilizing nuclear and missile work.”

The Iraq Watch data is interesting because it documents some of the speeches and letters of Senate and House Democrats (also Republicans) in the Clinton years who were concerned about the WMD of Saddam Hussein, calling for military action. Also the traditionally liberal media were on top of the WMD story until it became a Bush problem.

"The U.N. inspectors have learned that Iraq's first bomb design, which weighed a ton and was just over a yard in diameter, has been replaced by a smaller, more efficient model. The inspectors have deduced that the new design weighs only about one thousand three hundred pounds and measures about twenty-five inches in diameter. That makes it small enough to fit on a Scud-type missile. The inspectors believe that Iraq may still have nine such missiles hidden somewhere.

The inspectors have also concluded that Iraq's bomb design will work. Iraq, they believe, has mastered the key technique of creating an implosive shock wave, which squeezes a bomb's nuclear material enough to trigger a chain reaction. The new design also uses a "flying tamper," a refinement that “hammers" the nuclear material to squeeze it even harder, so bombs can be made smaller without diminishing their explosive force.

How did Iraq progress so far so quickly? The inspectors found an Iraqi document describing an offer of design help—in exchange for money—from an agent of Pakistan. Iraq says it didn't accept the offer, but the inspectors think it did." The New Yorker, Dec. 13, 1999

If you are of the “Bush Lied, People Died” crowd, you need to find out if you’re still being lied to by doing your own research. But do it quickly. Digital information is easily removed--I’ve been unable to find links I used the last 2 or 3 years. Some government sources disappeared on January 20. Also, if you are an out-of-work academic, they are hiring.

The Aeron chair

There was a story about it in the WSJ this week, but I wrote about the Aeron four years ago.

More diversity in management language

English is a rich language because it has borrowed so heavily from other languages--has over a million words. The President is leaning too heavily on the Russian/Ukranian/Serbian word for Caesar-- monarch, supreme ruler or king--Czar, or Tsar (царь). The blog at Heritage suggests the President needs more diversity:

"To start, let us refer to Mr. Feinberg as a pay Shogun. A shogun was a military leader in Japan serving the Emperor, so that seems fitting. Similarly, Steve Ratner could be retitled the car Kaiser. Carol Browner could be called the environmental El Supremo, befitting the supreme importance President Obama places on destroying our economy in the fight against global warming. To emphasize the warmth of his feelings toward the Arabs, the President could title his middle east envoy, Senator George Mitchell, the peace pharaoh.

A basic rule of economics is that things obtain value through scarcity. In contrast, excess, like an excess of currency, devalues an object. The proliferation of czars has debased the label. The President needs diversity in his labels. History is replete with titles for dictators great and small."

Speaking of diversity in language, it isn't enough these days to have someone on your medical staff who can speak/translate/interpret Spanish. This could create some new jobs under Obamacare. Isn't he promising that with all the money he's going to save with universal health care that there will be more for jobs? OK, maybe not in your town, or your field. So what if you were a Chrysler dealer creating jobs for 150 people in Cleveland--go learn some Spanish medical terms and be a translator at a hospice in Peoria. Unfortunately, the doctor pointing this out in the June 10 issue of JAMA, wasn't much of a linguist.

"It is equally important to appreciate various forms of Spanish dialect. Even in Spain, where Castilian Spanish is spoken, there are Basque, Catalan, Galician, Valencian, and many more variants of the language. There are major differences among dialects from South America, the Caribbian, or Spain." (p. 2327)

Basque, Catalan, Galician, and Valencian are not even Spanish, but are different languages. Basque isn't even a Romance language. Some Caribbean islands use English, French, Creole, Dutch, Portuguese or patois. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right?

Strawberry rhubarb pie

The pie I fixed for our final meeting of the Visual Arts Ministry of UALC Wednesday just tasted so good I made another one today. Pastor Drummel said that when he lived in the south he didn't get rhubarb pie. He and his wife are Baptists, but have moved to this area to help a family member who attends our church, so he is now a very popular part-time pastor at our Lutheran church. He's also an excellent artist. Maybe I should take him a piece tomorrow?

Of course, I'll have to check it out first. "No crust, no pie," is my motto. I don't care how fabulous the filling is, if you've messed up the crust, forget it! I'll never be as good as my mother, but I'm better than most. But today I ran out of flour--was about 1/4 cup shy. I was going to go knock on the door of a neighbor, but decided may 1/4 of a cup of Bisquick might work. We'll see. It's too hot to taste.

Who's a Republican?

Apparently, if you voted for George W. Bush, you be one.

KERRY: Are you a Republican? You answer the question. Did you vote for George Bush? Did you vote for George Bush?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted for George Bush and I...
KERRY: Thank you.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE sits while booed by crowd) John Kerry quotes

So why is there all this angst about not accepting Colin Powell as a Republican? He usually voted for Democrat presidential candidates in the past, and voted for Barack Obama to be his president in 2008. Case closed, according to John Kerry. I think it is pretty simple. If a man's race is more important to you than his political values, he's a Democrat and so are you.

What I was taught

Everything I was taught in school about poverty and political disenfranchisement being the root causes of so many of societal ills and revolutions has been proven wrong in just a few months of this presidency/congress. In the 50s, I was taught that the Germans accepted Hitler because the agreements forced on them by the Allies after WWI were so punitive it reduced them to poverty and they were looking for a savior, someone who could tell them how wonderful they were, and who could find a scapegoat for them to hate. They wanted hope; they wanted change. So what's our excuse? Poverty in the USA had to be redefined as "income gap" by the academics, social scientists and politicians, both Republican and Democrat. Yes, some homeless wandered the streets, just as they do in socialist countries, primarily because liberals in the 1970s shuttered all the institutions that took care of them. Drugs could take care of mental illness they said; group homes with no caring staff could handle people with special needs. Ah, the beauty of freedom to sleep on a city grate at night and panhandle during the day. Children too suffered from being born to single mothers, ensnared by the feminists' myths that marriage is just leftover of patriarchy. That was U.S. poverty--a tiny percentage even if you included the illegals and their baby anchors. Our middle class citizens who never knew want unless someone pulled their credit or raised ticket prices on a rock concert are lining up to bow to a narcissist with a big head and small heart. We have a leader who tries to diminish the accomplishments of his people so he can look bigger than life, worthy of worship--really, worthy to take over the whole world once he removes the only country who could have stopped him.

No, I don't claim to understand my friends and relatives who don't yet have buyer's remorse. They aren't even chagrined as they see their retirement accounts shrink, the job losses in their communities and watch as Obama takes over private businesses. Oh, they say, the recession started under Bush's watch. Indeed it did, and Bush inherited one from Clinton (go back and check your accounts--mine were sinking in 1999). Bush's administration had the tech bust plus the tragedy of 9/11 (now forgotten by careless voters), and turned that around quickly by encouraging investment and building our self confidence and sense of security. We all can see that Bush spent money like a drunken Ted Kennedy for 8 years--our deficit certainly isn't Obama's doing. But Obama spent more in 100 days than Bush ever thought about, but for some reason the Potus with the Totus is still racking up those points with the true believers as we slip further and further into national socialism.

Why do they hate George Bush so much?

Lots of people voted for Barack Obama simply because they hated George Bush, and by association John McCain. I don't pretend to know how McCain became the Republican candidate--he certainly isn't a conservative (but neither was Bush), and seemed even less so a Republican. The only thing positive about his campaign was Sarah Palin, and because she is so visibly pro-life (didn't even kill her baby with Down Syndrome or get her daughter an abortion) she was virulently hated by the left and snubbed by the right who really are sort of embarrassed by all those people trying to save babies). The latest Palin attack dog with a public face is David Letterman, who proposed her daughter be raped by an athlete as a joke--he even got applause, but no outrage from leftist feminists.

McCain was indeed a war hero, but certainly was a thorn in Bush's side through out his administration despite the fact we all know the country would be safer with him as Commander in Chief. It's even possible McCain would have immediately expressed his condolences when one of his miliary recruiters was murdered. Obama ignored the death of Pvt. Long, who was killed by a Muslim, although he was quick to see the political advantages of decrying the Tiller murder and the guard murder at the Holocaust Museum. I think McCain would have been the perfect Democratic candidate--far better than either Clinton or Obama. At least McCain is what I considered a Democrat all those years I voted as a Democrat up to age 60.

The Bush hatred goes back to the election of 2000. The Democrats just never got over it--that he didn't get the popular vote but the electoral vote put him in office. Oh, I know the fanatics say it was the Supremes who put him in, but SCOTUS judged the state law of Florida which was hanging by chads, corruption and ignorance in one black polling district, not even the whole state. Democrats essentially said that not that many blacks could escape the plantation to vote for a Republican. Besides, we know the lawyers were lining up to question all the close districts where the dead Democrats had voted in Florida and other states, especially Illinois, Oregon, etc. With those recounts, which would have taken forever, GWB still would have won. Democrats are so accustomed to stealing elections it is almost a birth right, and winning the electoral vote is not even stealing. Just feels like it, and Democrats rely heavily on feelings.

They didn't learn to love GWB just because was very soft on immigration--it would have been good for big business and big labor both--just very bad for the rest of us. They didn't love his Kennedy Drug Plan nor No Child Left Behind, even though if it had been a Democrat plan to throw money toward the NEA instead of away from it, they would have loved it. GWB, because he spent more money on social programs than any president before him, should have been their hero.

The Democrats in Congress voted for the war in 2002, 296-133, and we went to war in part on the intelligence of the Clinton administration. Go back and look at the Kennedy and Kedward speeches about WMD in 1999 and 2000--they were building up for their own war, and then called it Bush's war--the war they voted for. Now with Obama pursuing the war in Afghanistan, they can't even squeal about that. Where are those Code Pink Ladies--out shopping for new ridiculous outfits?

So it's not Bush's war per se, we know, because Congress declares war. Maybe it's because GWB liked to talk about military victory and Obama wants terrorists to be street criminals? I was reading one liberal/progressive/marxist blog yesterday that was comparing Bush's 2005 Annapolis speech with Bobama's. Bush's was about strength, power, victory, challenges, bravery, patriotism, and Obama's was, well, it was just one more head swiveling, yada yada speech by the teleprompter--hiding, keeping out of harm's way, reconciliation, wimp-out, negotiation, etc., so that the USA can continue the traditions of the last 64 years of going to war with no intention of winning. The blogger was salivating over Obama's ideas and criticizing Bush. You know--where we negotiate North Koreans into millions starving to death under a brutal dictatorship, and 20 years later abandon millions of Vietnamese allies when we run out.

Naked legs

We live across the street from a golf course. 99% of the men seem to wear shorts (knee length) when they play golf. Why is that? And mostly the same color--khaki, beige, buff, cream or taupe. Are there no bugs on golf courses? Do your calves need to be exposed to hit a golf ball? They even wear shorts when it's cool. When it rains. In the fog. When it's 87 in the shade. All the golfers in the TV and newspaper Flomax commercials are wearing long pants. They seem to have a good time and play a decent game. Tiger manages to wear long pants and he's a pretty fair golfer, so what's with the naked legs?

Friday Family Photo--Graduation Announcements

Thanks to someone in Europe who e-mailed me a genealogy question about an Anna Schürch (web page is in French but the ancestor I think is Swiss Mennonite), I pulled out a file and found the high school graduation announcements of both my mother (Franklin Grove, 1930) and my grandmother (Ashton, 1893), from high schools in Lee County, Illinois, just about 6 miles apart. I didn't remember I had these paper memorabilia.


The Ashton graduating class of 1893 class members were: Fannie A. Smith, Mary L. George, Alice B. Taylor, Lulu I. Canfield, Dollie E. Roat, Ethel E. Reid, Mary E. Wisman, Eva M. Ling, Henry H. Vauple, W. Cabot Hodges, and Louis C. Pollock. The class motto was "One step towards the goal." The Principal was H.V. Baldwin, the grammar department was Wm. Feldkirchner, the Intermediate department was Ida Thompson, and Blanche Vanness was the primary department.

The graduation program for Ashton was quite ambitious with lots of music and speeches by the students. It began with an invocation and music by the orchestra. The Salutatorian address was given by Fannie Smith, and Alice Taylor gave the mission speech. That was followed by a duet by Miss Smith and Mrs. F. Richardson. Then Henry Vauple gave "Earth's Battlefields"* and Lulu Canfield presented "A good cause makes a stour heart." The the school orchestra performed. The class retrospection was given by Mary Wisman, and "Chicago our pride"** was presented by Dollie Roat. Then the Glee Club and Quartette sang. W. Cabot Hodges, one of the 3 graduating men of the class of 1893, spoke on "Education, what it was, is and is to be," followed by Eva Ling's "select reading," which may mean she hadn't selected it in time to let the printer know the title. That was followed by a trio. Mary George read the class prophecy and Ethel Reid gave another "select reading." Then the orchestra played again. Louis Pollock, the class Valedictorian, gave the final speech after which they all sang the "class song." Then the diplomas were presented.

My mother's commencement in 1930 was on May 27 at the Methodist Church. Class members were Frances Genet Hussey, Olive Inez Weybright, Hazel Elizabeth Bill, Merrill C. Morgan, Clair R. Hood, Jack Johnston, Gordon Clark Phillips, Lucile Irene Buck, Norma Arlene Beachley, Ethel Catherine Nass, James Elwin Patch, Dallas B. Stultz, Charles J. Hepfer, Leslie Kenneth Mielke, and Arland Stanley Butler.

The class motto of the 1930 class was "Rowing, not drifting," their colors were blue and gold, and their flower was a rose.

*I looked up "Earth's Battlefields" in Google, and couldn't determine if it were poem or essay, but did find it listed for other turn of the last century graduation programs.

**The Columbian Exposition of 1893 opened in Chicago that year, and I'm sure all of Illinois took great pride in the recognition this brought their state. My grandmother attended the fair with her parents. One could catch a passenger train in Ashton or Franklin several times a day and be in downtown Chicago faster than one could drive there today.

Of course you can choose to keep your insurance

But. . . here's how it will really work. "Of course, no sane 23-year-old will "choose" a $400-plus per month insurance premium over whatever subsidized plan the government offers. And as younger people leave the private risk pool, older, sicker people will remain—driving up premiums more and more for those riskier folks who're left. Eventually, a steady stream of people will "choose" to abandon private health insurance altogether. And where will they go? Obamacare. All according to plan."

See how easy it is? Socializing medicine in 3 easy steps.

Collect, circulate and preserve

That's what librarians used to do. I watched a video on the new OSU Thompson Library today--"1,000 more seats, 1.5 million books." I even recognized the architects. But there used to be over 4 million volumes, I think. This video called the Nonstop Alternative Library is made up of volumes rescued from the Antioch College Library here in Ohio by a small group of students and alumni in the Summer and Fall of 2008. The Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute has taken on the task of preserving organizing and cataloging the collections. See

Nonstop Alternative Libraries from News @Nonstop on Vimeo.

Caught Between empty and a flat tire

A new 2009 or 2010 Dodge mini-van might have been in our future (assuming we could even find one on a lot), but not now, now that we know for certain that neither the government nor Chrysler will honor their agreements. There's nothing wrong with my 2002 van--but it won't be long before the government declares it is a "clunker." The new plan to get less fuel efficient vehicles off the road by offering a cash incentive of $4500 to purchase something with better mileage is of little value to people who can't afford or can't get the credit to purchase a newer, more expensive, smaller and more dangerous vehicle. Remember, not only have we bailed out Chrysler and GM, but we've destroyed the pension and investment account values because once the government can renege on those investors, it can do it to any. In other words, those of us in the lower income group will be hurt the most. That's why all these government plans whatever their good intentions for green spaces, for cholesterol, for cigarettes, for safe toys, for clean air, always hit the pocket books of the poor and fixed income seniors first, and then work their way up the pay scale.

Also, that's our tax money, that $4500 the government will reimuburse the automaker, which is really reimbursing the labor unions, the guys whose pensions Obama is trying to save because they so generously helped him buy the Presidency. We've already given the unions and automaker CEOs billions, but Obama's whiz kids are saying they still can't build a good car unless they get this ridiculous offer. An offer which most people with old cars can't afford, so there will be plenty of scammers running around buying up old cars from people who won't be able to replace them at any price. Next, they'll cap the pay of whatever executive was dumb enough to stay and not flee to another field, leaving the company with more Obama appointees. Besides, if Chrysler won't honor its agreements with the local dealers, some in business for generations, then why should it honor its agreement with me, the buyer, who buys bundled with that car the warranty on the various parts, the service agreements, and the supposed resale value, all of which is built into the cost of a new vehicle. No, I see no reason I should trust either Obama or Chrysler to give me a good deal.

Detroit has been pressured to build more fuel efficient and safer cars for 30 years; and for the most part, I think many of these regulations and laws have succeeded. Even so Americans burned 39% more gasoline in 2007 than they did in 1975, according to Energy Department figures, because more people hit the roads and drove more miles. My 2002 van (my third Chrysler mini-van) is an outstanding product and much better than my first one, a 1989. On the highway it gets around 27-28 mpg if there are no dead deer, semis or head winds to fight. In the city, not so great--maybe 19. But I'm sure the Obama car czar, who probably is too young to even drive and has never held a real job, will look at some sort of average for a 2002 mini-van made in the USA, and within a year or two, I'll be clunker driving. When I don't trade it (new it was about $19,000) with a voucher in hand for $4500 on a $50,000 model, I'll probably be cited for driving illegally, and told to take public transportation.

The cap and trade hoax, of which this "cash for clunkers" and automaker/union bailout at taxpayers expense are a part, is just the newest version of the 1970s DDT ban which killed or disabled millions and millions of black Africans, mostly children, so that European and American liberals could feel smug and self-righteous and continue to worship their pagan goddess, Mother Earth.

Eaten any sushi lately?

Wood print depicting a man passing a strobila of a broad tapeworm. The caption (not shown) said, "The man ate masu salmon. After a time, a strange object emerged from the anus and was pulled out: it turned out to be 2–3 m long." From Shinsen Yamaino Soushi, by Daizennosuke Koan (1850). Illustration at the CDC Emerging Infectious Diseases, "Diphyllobothriasis Associated with Eating Raw Pacific Salmon." Link And they do mean emerging.

". . . in the past several decades, regions with endemic diphyllobothriasis nihonkaiense have disappeared from Japan, yet the infection has been perpetuated among urban people who eat sushi and sashimi."

Sort of makes those farm raised salmon look a little better, don't ya think?

No one calls this a scandal

“Between 2000 and 2008, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union” gave 23.7 million dollars to Democrats, including Barack Obama. “In return, the UAW received 55 percent of Chrysler and 17.5 percent of GM, plus billions of dollars.” Newt Gingrich pointed this out. Where are our investigative reporters who were glued to Bush's every misstep?

In a rigged proceeding in which the federal government disregarded bankruptcy law in favor of the political outcome it desired, the Chrysler bankruptcy laid the predicate for the much larger General Motors bankruptcy to come. Against law and precedent, the unions were moved to the front of the line when it came to who would benefit from the bankruptcy.

The Obama Treasury Department strong-armed Chrysler’s creditors into a deal in which the UAW was given 55 percent ownership of the company while Chrysler’s secured creditors – investors who would have received priority in a non-political bankruptcy proceeding – were left with just 29 cents on the dollar.

Indiana pension funds aren't the only ones getting hit. Even Democrats are invested in pensions. They should be very worried about what their president is doing to the rule of law in this country.

HT Recliner Commentaries

It's all about me

Recently I bought two new pillows for our bedroom at the lakehouse, and brought them back here while we have guests in the house. (We only rent during the Methodist conferences.) The kitty thinks this was all done for her. She also likes my computer case, transferring her fur, one hair at a time until the case is pretty much a fur ball.

Both remarks are way out of bounds

On national TV . . ."Last night the esteemed David Letterman (why does anyone watch him?) joked that Sarah Palin’s attendance at a Yankees game went well until “her daughter got knocked up by Alex Rodriguez” (Audience laughter)." That was from a commenter at another blog. Who only made it worse by suggesting . . . what if. . . "How about joking about nappy-headed ‘hos in the White House, Mr Letterman? Oh no, can’t do that, dissing the kids of da Prez."

Both remarks are sexist and disrespectful to women and sexualize children. Letterman also said Palin looked like a slutty flight attendant. But yes, on national TV you can make sexist and sexually abusive and threatening remarks about rape of a white teen-ager, daughter of a Republican governor, but you dare not make a remark about a black first lady and her daughters--not because of their position, but because of their race. Those are the really low, rock bottom, dragging on the ground, post-racial standards of the Democrats and their backers in the entertainment industry and the media. Congratulations, folks, you're even worse than we imagined.

Again, I have to disagree with another Conservative

"Sarah Palin Says U.S. Headed Toward Socialism." Honey, we've already passed go and are hoping for our get out of jail free card in the game called Obamonopoly!

It's a small world and a small car

My friend Jerry (also a retired librarian) and her husband are on a three month tour of Europe, in a little car stopping along the way for a few days to sight see. They posted a blog to keep friends and family informed. I believe they are doing France, Spain, Italy, and are now in Germany. I think they started about April 24. On May 29, five weeks into the trip, her husband posted the following:

#1-the french yell at you when you get in their way---the italians yell at you before you get in their way--and the germans just go 120 mph so you never get in their way
#2 the french never smile at americans
#3 the french have small dogs --germans have big dogs
#4 there are a lot of churches in europe
#5 the catholics spend more money on their churches than the lutherans
#6 all churches are cool and quiet and a good place to sit
#7 churches are usually in the center of the town and are still in the center of their lives---maybe we should do that---
#8 three months is a long time
#9 you never hit your thumb if you don't have a hammer
#10 and you never say never

By today they’ve got burnout and Jerry says: “We've realized that people mean more to us than museums, churches etc. We' enjoy the other things, but will remember the people the most.”


Jerry in Dinkelsbuhl, Germany. They ran into their Michigan mail carrier at Harburg Castle in Germany. It really is a small world, isn’t it? And a small car.

We met in Boston at a Medical Library Association meeting in 1988, and have kept in touch. Last saw each other in 1994. 　

More traffic expected around here

Beginning Monday (June 15), work on State Route 315 is expected to generate heavy traffic along Kenny Road, Olentangy River Road, High Street, Lane Avenue and possibly Woody Hayes Drive. Motorists should anticipate traffic delays, and are encouraged to plan accordingly to reduce frustration. More information on this project and a detailed map of entrance and exit ramp closures can be found at http://www.buckeyetraffic.org/315. The Ohio Department of Transportation also will be staffing a telephone line throughout the construction: (740) 833-8268. Read more: http://tp.osu.edu/alerts/summerconstruction.shtml.

Looks like I may have to leave for coffee at 6:15 instead of 6:30.

Why traffic stops matter

It isn't always speed or running red lights. Here in Columbus a police chase Monday resulted in the seizure of millions of dollars of heroin. It began when officers noticed a car moving erratically on Interstate 70 shortly before 7 p.m. yesterday.

"Police said when an officer tried to stop the car, the driver drove off, tossing a bag out the window. The bag contained eight packets of heroin with a total weight of 15 pounds and a street value estimated at $4 million." Reported by Channel 10, WBNS Columbus and this morning's 610 am news.

Police believe the drugs came from Mexico and have arrested Roberto Alvarado-Cebrero, 21, who says he’s in the country illegally. What a surprise. Story here in Columbus Dispatch.

350,000 wannabees, many now unemployed

So what happened to all those idealistic campaign workers who left it all to get out the vote? Some of it illegally, like here in Ohio. This is an interesting story of the unemployed and underemployed, the idealistic Obama orphans, adrift in a sea of memories.

“Toby Osherson joined the [Obama] campaign straight out of college and gave 21 months. He frames the experience in terms of national service. “I felt this was my duty to my country…this is how I sleep at night, so that I can tell my kids that when our country hit closest to rock bottom, this is what I did to help.” “

Fella, we are at rock bottom now (at least I hope we won‘t go lower, but we could), not then when unemployment was at 5%, not near 10% like now, and the President of the United States wasn’t illegally taking over major segments of the economy and destroying the country. Back when a President would speak and you could trust him and he wasn’t getting whiplash from reading teleprompters without understanding a word he was saying. Sigh. Sorry you wasted so much of your idealism and young life for such a global disaster.

You will be inspired

to clean out your refrigerator after viewing this. Get a load of that rattlesnake in the freezer!

Here's mine.



This looks a little screwy I know--about 2 lbs. of butter and some Slim-fast in the door. But occasionally I over indulge and have a Slimfast for supper. Cheese is my big downfall, and there is some cheese sitting behind the butter. That's leftover roast chicken and sliced strawberries in the front. I got those little Pyrex bowls as a wedding present 49 years ago--still using them. There's a spring mix and tomatoes in the veggy drawer and some potatoes under the sink, so that will be supper, and then I think it's time to go shopping.

Will she find a wise Latina doctor

Rush asked today in commenting on the unfortunate accident of Judge Sotomayor

The White House says Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has broken her ankle after an airport stumble in New York City.

Sotomayor fractured her right ankle Monday morning at New York's LaGuardia Airport before boarding a shuttle to Washington for an afternoon of meetings with senators.

He was being snarky, but health is all about disparities and minorities being included in the medical system. In fact, if you read American Journal of Public Health (recent issues only contain table of contents, but older ones have full articles) the only problems the minorities and poor in the U.S. have are caused by discrimination and evil capitalists. Diseases, except for race based HIV, seem to be a thing of the past, as is personal responsibility.

If the Fed doesn't know, who does?

The Inspector General of the Federal Reserve in this video (HT Taxmanblog) acknowledges that trillions of dollars of our money cannot be accounted for. The five-minute video is taken from a Congressional hearing on May 6 where Federal Reserve Inspector General Elizabeth Coleman is questioned by Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida about huge amounts of money for which the Federal Reserve is responsible. Really, this is quite alarming.



The original Bloomberg reportreferred to in the video.

I used to wonder why Congress called upon Hollywood stars to testify on weighty problems--like oceans and apples. Now I know. They are apparently better prepared as concerned actors than the OIG of the Fed whose task is described on their website but who doesn‘t seem to know or do anything:

Ms. Coleman joined the Board's OIG in 1989 as a senior auditor. She was promoted to program manager in 1999 and to senior program manager in 2001. She was appointed to the official staff in 2004, as the Assistant Inspector General for Communications and Quality Assurance. Over the last eight years, Ms. Coleman has worked closely with the Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency, a professional organization of about thirty statutory Inspectors General who are appointed by their agency heads in certain designated federal entities, including the Board.

Prior to joining the Board's staff, she was employed by the Government Accountability Office. Ms. Coleman has a BBA from James Madison University and is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking, Georgetown University. She also attended the Federal Reserve System's Trailblazers Leadership Conference. Ms. Coleman is a Certified Information Systems Auditor.

The OIG is tasked with the responsibility to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse, and to promote economy and efficiency in the programs and operations of the Board, keeping the Chairman and Congress fully and currently informed of problems.

An Inspector General may be removed from office by the President, and must communicate the reasons for any such removal to both Houses of Congress, as outlined in Section 3(b) of the Inspector General Act of 1978.

If you ever need to draft a mission statement, be sure to read theirs. But only after you watch her testimony. It's good for a laugh.

Obama finally issues statement about Pvt. Long's death

According to LaShawn Barber, the President, after days of silence, finally commented on the death of one of his soldiers.

"Two days after military recruiter Private William Long’s murder (as opposed to hours after abortionist George Tiller’s murder on a Sunday, no less) by a Muslim convert, President Barack Obama finally released a statement, though it’s not posted on the White House web site yet (as of 9:26 a.m. PT):

“I am deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence against two brave young soldiers who were doing their part to strengthen our armed forces and keep our country safe. I would like to wish Quinton Ezeagwula a speedy recovery, and to offer my condolences and prayers to William Long’s family as they mourn the loss of their son.” (Source)

Obama’s statement about Tiller:

“I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.”

Nothing about how he has contributed to the anti-military hysteria and this act by a Muslim convert with his ridiculous stance on investigating torture and waterboarding and tearing down all Bush accomplished. But it's OK to criticize the pro-life movement and blame them for the violence of one person.

Conservatives who don't get it

When I listen to Rush or Hannity or read Karl Rove or Victor Davis Hanson, sometimes I just shake my head. They are speaking/writing as though Obama really intends to save the country instead of destroy it. They ponder the stupid, idiotic, unpatriotic things he is doing and wonder why he thinks they will work. He's not stupid, gentlemen, and those things like the apology tours or taking over car companies only look dumb if you still believe he has any intention of being a real president. Haven't you ever known anyone whose job it was to fire all his co-workers after a merger, and then finally lock up the empty store and walk out with his paycheck?

Hanson (a classicist and a farmer) begins an excellent story of his relationship with a very difficult neighbor over water rights with a note about the trillions and trillions of national debt Obama is ringing up and how there aren't enough "rich" to tax, so that will leave it to the rest of us to bail him out. He closes with

"Obama will come to his senses with his ‘Bush did it’, reset button, moral equivalency, soaring hope and change, with these apologies to Europeans, his Arab world Sermons on the Mount to Al Arabiya, in Turkey, in Cairo, etc., his touchy-feely videos to Iran, his “we are all victims of racism” sops to Ortega, Chavez, and Morales. It is only a matter of when, under what conditions, how high the price we must pay, and whether we lose the farm before he gains wisdom about the tragic universe in which we live." VDH June 5

No, he won't "come to his senses," and it isn't just a matter of time, because he hasn't lost them and there is no more time. He is doing exactly what he planned to do, just a little faster than we all expected.

Is WaPo reporter complicit in blaming U.S.?

So it was the fault of President Carter and all those nasty capitalists of the 1970s that these coddled, wealthy, ungrateful people were spies for Communist Cuba?

"What Walter Kendall Myers kept hidden, according to documents unsealed in court Friday, was a deep and long-standing anger toward his country, an anger that allegedly made him willing to spy for Cuba for three decades.

"I have become so bitter these past few months. Watching the evening news is a radicalizing experience," he wrote in his diary in 1978, referring to what he described as greedy U.S. oil companies, inadequate health care and "the utter complacency of the oppressed" in America. On a trip to Cuba, federal law enforcement officials said in legal filings, Myers found a new inspiration: the communist revolution.

Myers, 72, and his wife, Gwendolyn, 71, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of conspiracy, being agents of a foreign government and wire fraud. Their arrest left friends and former colleagues slack-jawed, unable to square the man depicted in the indictment with the witty intellectual with a prep-school background they knew. Washington Post in a much too sympathetic story for my tastes by Mary Beth Sheridan

Don't you wonder about wealthy people, children of privilege and elitist educations (like our first couple) deciding that everyone should be poor like the Cubans? What kind of guilt does that?

The author of this piece apparently was really stunned 4 years ago when through her "embedded" experience with the military she discovered such shocking things about our soldiers--they were decent, patriotic, and non brainwashed. Imagine.

"First of all, she said she was "overwhelmed by the military," but she did learn by being embedded that members of our armed forces were not "blood-thirsty maniacs." Yes, she really did say that.

In fact, she said, they were "really decent people." And even "sweet." Of course, after being shot at they were eager to shoot back — a military attitude that seemed to surprise her.

She also reported that when she asked soldiers why were they in Iraq, every single one told her, "to help the Iraqi people." Again she was surprised that the military could create such a unity of purpose even though, she said, she didn't see any "brainwashing" going on. She also noted that many soldiers had no opinion about the war. They had gone where they were ordered to go, like all good soldiers. Such an attitude seemed to dazzle her as well.

She didn't have anything much to say about "reporters as citizens," but clearly she appeared to be one citizen who had very little familiarity with, or understanding of, or even quite possibly respect for the military before her tour of duty. In a way, it is kind of sad that only after some first-hand experience did she learn what most American citizens believe: that American soldiers are "decent people." And that it is those soldiers, not our journalists, after all, who protect our freedom of the press." Reporters as citizens

Filling in

Today I made broccoli soup for lunch. But I didn't quite have enough broccoli to satisfy my tastes, so I dug around in the veggy drawer and there was about a quarter of a head of limp cabbage, so I chopped it up and tossed it into the chicken broth with the onions and potatoes. Tasted fine--maybe even better than usual. We had home made blueberry pie with that. And that's another filling in story.

Yesterday I was taking one of my barefoot walks and noticed a group of people, adults and children, down by the creek on the east side of our property. And I use the term "our" loosely since we live in a gorgeous grove of trees surrounded by a sweet little creek owned by an association of 30 residental condominiums in five buildings. If this community were to be built today instead of 1977, the builder would have tried to cram 60 units or more in the same space. When I got to this group, I saw they were building a bridge across the creek. I asked what they were doing, and the man told me building a bridge for the children to cross the creek. "Maybe you should check with our association before you continue," I said. "This is our property and if your children get hurt playing here, we'd be held responsible." The little boy, maybe 10 years old, said, "Oh we cross here all the time; it would be safer to have the bridge." "Maybe you could play on your side of the creek," I observed (their home and property could buy and sell mine several times). "Why don't you talk to our condo president," I said to dad, and I gave him his name. I returned to our unit and called him; the family continued building the bridge (and I use that term loosely--it was two timbers stuck inside four cement blocks wedged into the ground with short planks between the timbers).

Later I looked out and two couples (one the president) were standing down there. Apparently, they'd come to an agreement with the family not to proceed until it could be brought to the association meeting this month. We had missed our Friday night date, so I invited the two couples to go to the Rusty Bucket with us and to stop by after the restaurant for blueberry pie which I'd just taken out of the oven after my walk.

When I made the pie I was using the first decently priced blueberries I'd seen this spring--2 pints for $4.00. But you do get what you pay for and they were a bit scrawny and I must have pulled off 20-30 stems and thrown out some squished berries. So when I sprinkled them with Splenda, flour and cinnamon, they looked a bit shy of a full pie. So I looked in the frig and found some strawberries about a week past prime, sliced them up and tossed them in with the blueberries, although not sure how that would turn out. Actually, if I hadn't announced to my four guests last night that there were strawberries in the blueberry pie, they would have never known, because they just turned purple and blended right in. So if you're ever a little short, think cabbage with the broccoli and strawberries with the blueberries.

About that little law suit attraction--the bridge. I really hope the bridge idea gets voted down. You hate to ruin a little guy's fun, but there's a good reason why by age 13, little girls outnumber little boys (boys start life with a numerical advantage of about 106 to our 100). Boys/men are risk takers. I raised a son, and had many trips to the ER. This moves them way out in front in law, politics, economics, science and inventions of all types and fills up our prisons, but it shortens their lives. When we get a big rain, that sleepy little creek becomes a raging torrent, up over the banks by about 6 feet. Not only would the water sweep children off that flimsy bridge who snuck out of the house to get a closer look, but it would act as a dam stopping everything that Turkey Run Creek would pick up as it moved through the golf course, and roared under Kenny Road onto our property, further flooding our lawn, and possibly the lower level of the units. Many serious floods in Ohio have been nothing more than sleepy creeks that got dammed up during storms by building debris floating down from construction sites, couches from someone's yard back in the hills, and a few tires from the farmers' fields.

Look who’s bringing change from the top down now

"In the 13 years between Obama's return to Chicago from law school and his Senate campaign, he was deeply involved with the city's constellation of community-organizing groups. He wrote about the subject. He attended organizing seminars. He served on the boards of foundations that support community organizing. He taught Alinsky's concepts and methods in workshops [a Chicago Marxist who advised his followers to go after the middle class because the poor have no power, Saul Alinksy died in 1972] . When he first ran for office in 1996, he pledged to bring the spirit of community organizing to his job in the state Senate. And, after he was elected to the U.S. Senate, his wife, Michelle, told a reporter, "Barack is not a politician first and foremost. He's a community activist exploring the viability of politics to make change." Recalling her remark in 2005, Obama wrote, "I take that observation as a compliment."

And he also said, "Change won't come from the top, . . . Change will come from a mobilized grass roots." From The Agitator

But look who’s at the top now, asking all of us to change for his vision of what’s right socially, economically and politically. He even tries to change history. Yes, this is definitely change from the top down.

The Obamas date night

I think it's wonderful that the President and First Lady take a night off for a date and go to fabulous places.

The couple did not take the large 747 to New York, but flew a much smaller C-20 (G3). The press pool flew in a separate plane, identified by the military as a G5, followed by a staff in a third plane (G3). White House staff said the smaller planes were more fuel efficient.

AF-1 landed at Kennedy Airport. Marine One flew them over the Brooklyn Bridge to Lower Manhattan.

The motorcade made its way over to West Street, banged a right on a cobblestone Clarkson, then on to Carmine. They ended up at 6th and Washington place.

The first couple dined at Bluehill Restaurant where reservations are reportedly hard to get. The restaurant features "locally grown fare" and has it's own farm in upstate new York.

The first couple arrived at the Belasco theater on West 44th Street, where they will see "Joe Turner's Come and Gone." ABC News Blog

However, now that he is a CEO and head of the union and major stockholder of two automobile companies telling us all what we can drive, how far, and how many miles per gallon, and whether executives can use their private jets to attend meetings, and what their pay scale should be, shouldn't he be setting a better example? Shouldn't the Obamas have to scale it back a bit; aren't they asking EVERYONE to sacrifice for the children and grandchildren? Are there no nice restaurants or good theater in D.C.? And how much does that truck garden produce cost by the time the "truck" brings the produce from upstate NY at current gasoline prices? Is the restaurant owner driving a hybrid with the radishes, onions and potatoes in the back seat in canvas bags? What would the Car Czar and the Pay Czar say about the Obamas' misuse of valuable resources?

We will have our Friday night date tonight (Saturday) at Rusty Bucket--and every week that we can, driving our wonderful Dodge van and Ford SUV while we are still allowed to own American full size cars.

ABC did hold seats for the View ladies on Amtrak

Scott Baker at Breitbart TV did some investigating to check on the "outrage" because Barbara Walters and Whoopee Goldberg called Glenn Beck a sack of Dog Poop on national television.

Glenn Beck, his wife and friends, took Amtrak to the Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C. When they boarded they found a conference table on the train and were told those seats are reserved. It turns out Walters and Goldberg of the View got on and took the table, and Glenn joked about it on his radio show--I heard him. And although I almost never watch the View, I must have had it on at the cottage the day he was their guest victim, and heard these women literally boil him in oil for lying. No Salem witch trial could have been more vicious. Well, (HT Maggie's Notebook) they were the ones lying, and you can follow the story of the lies and hilarity at Breitbart TV about the 7 minute View Ambush. Although, it's quite possible that the ladies of the View have been celebrities for so long that they don’t realize that not everyone gets the kind of treatment they received on Amtrak. And they took 7 minutes of their show to call Glenn a liar. But he didn’t lie--they did. Do you suppose they will ever apologize? Of course not. It really isn’t about Glenn Beck, but about the Media being able to lie about conservatives--who's to stop them?

Scott's original show which he refers to in the interview with Beck.

In 2003 we rode the Southwest Chief from Chicago to LA, stopping several days in Flagstaff to visit the Grand Canyon.

The firing of Jackie Norris

Obama's teleprompter suggested it was because Michelle was getting such low-level events (elementary school graduations), but in Iowa, well, this snark was suggested, "I guess it’s possible that Norris was the one who urged Michelle to wear those $800 ugly ass shoes to a homeless shelter, and encourage the First Couple to go out on date nights that cost the taxpayers $250k a pop, while everyone else is struggling to make ends meet." Iowa Republican Whatever the reason for the change, we sure know it wasn't the one given by Norris! I'm with Michelle on this one. Maybe they just didn't get along. I've heard some of the ridiculous things she's said about . . . well, just about everything. . . and quite possibly Jackie noticed too. Iowa helped put the Obamas in the White House, but like their religion, their memory and loyalty leaves much to be desired.

John Stewart calls Harry Truman a war criminal

Oh, these liberals. They are so screwed up. See this excellent film at Pajamas TV.