Biofuels consume a lot of water and hurt the environment

Now what will the Green-goes do?

"Production of bioethanol as an alternative to fossil fuels could have a much greater detrimental impact on the environment than previously thought, according to a new study from Sangwon Suh and colleagues in the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, at the University of Minnesota. Writing in Environmental Science & Technology, the team explain how bioethanol production may consume up to three times more water than earlier estimates suggested. Previous studies estimated that a gallon of corn-based bioethanol used between 263 and 784 gallons of water from farm to fuel pump. Suh's team determined that these estimates do not take into account the significant variation in regional irrigation practices. . . The results also show that as the ethanol industry expands to areas that apply more irrigated water than others, consumptive water appropriation by bioethanol in the U.S. has increased 246% from 1.9 to 6.1 trillion liters between 2005 and 2008, whereas U.S. bioethanol production has increased only 133% from 15 to 34 billion liters during the same period." Environ. Sci. Technol., 2009, 43 (8), pp 2688–2692.

Let's use the decayed plant and animal resources we already have--petroleum, coal, and natural gas. If nothing else, putting corn in gas tanks when there are hungry people should give greenies pause. We can probably live without oil; but not without water.

What are they drinking in Michigan?

Water directly from the Great Lakes? Unfiltered or non-purified? First John Dingell likens his constituents who came to the townhalls to the KKK, concerned loyal Americans who see Obama's grab for a huge sector of the economy and the pending loss of their medical choices, and now Debbie Stabenow (or Stabemlater perhaps) thinks turbulence when she flies is due to global warming. How do these people get elected year after year? Only Democrats know.

Via Morning Bell: In an interview with the Detroit News, Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow said, "Climate change is very real. Global warming creates volatility and I feel it when I’m flying. The storms are more volatile."

Thousands of feet of the Wisconsin ice sheet that once covered more than half of the North American Continent including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and down into Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio weren't melted by the hot air of Democrats plugging global warming, but I'll bet it could have been.

Communist Party wants you Democrats to take to the streets

"Within our country, the Obamajority is needed to take to the streets in support of health care with a public option paid for by reversing the obscene tax giveaways to the super rich during the Bush years. If health care reform fails, it will be a giant step backwards for the Obama administration and for working people, the labor movement, African American, Latino, Asian-Pacific Island communities, women and youth on every issue including the economy, peace and democracy. . . .

This fight for health care is a fight for the ability to win on every other issue starting with Employee Free Choice and all the way to state budget priorities. It is a fight for unity against the ultra-right. What happens at the grassroots will in large part decide what happens in Congress. Now is the time for the Obamajority to act." Communist Party USA (CPUSA)

Notice the links to all the other take-over plans. Yes, indeed, he is a Marxist.

What does HR 3200 actually say in our language

John David Lewis of Duke University isn't a lawyer or doctor, but he has analyzed the bill and put parts of it into our English.

The Health Care Bill: What HR 3200, "America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009," by John David Lewis, August 6, 2009

He addresses rationing, punishment of people who don't join the plan, what is acceptable coverage, will it destroy private health insurance, does it redistribute wealth (i.e., does it punish the successful), does the government set the fees, will the government be able to investigate the citizens, will the health czar and his/her cronies be exempt from court review (my wording, not his).

It also appears at Objective Standard, a journal of culture and politics. My friendly troll might click/hop on over there and take a look, since she seems unable to understand the government legalese in the bill and thinks that Medicare isn't struggling and Medicaid broke, so therefore we should do more of the same but for everyone, not just elders and the poor.

Walking the lakefront, week 8

The summer population is thinning--the average age it going up, perhaps. But then maybe there are more people with pre-schoolers, now that so many school age children have gone home. I've been watching some cross-country teams running the streets at dawn. Yesterday I passed a 70-something man on my walk along the lakefront. Later on my return I saw him settled into a park bench on the hotel lawn. Just then, a girls' cross country coach decided to bring her team to the lawn for sprints and squats, or whatever it's called. Here were these willowy and gorgeous young women prancing within 2 ft. of the older gentleman. I thought he'd move. He didn't. But he was smiling big.

Although they say obesity in children is on the increase, I know there were no girl athletes this thin when I was in high school 50 years ago. They certainly didn't look anorexic, however, there was no fat anywhere on these young ladies. I think there is tremendous pressure on female athletes to remain thin. The swimmers, basketball and softball players seem to be stocky and muscled, but the track, cross country, and gymnists will probably pack a few pounds when they get to college. I wasn't even an athlete and I managed to add 20 lbs my freshman year.

Today I walked behind the men's team (don't know if they are the same school, but probably are). One has been lagging behind each time I've seen them. He's certainly not over weight, but is the only one with a jiggle of fat above his waistline. Perhaps he's just joined the team, or had a growth spurt that has spread his weight around his frame. When my husband lettered in cross country in high school (enrollment 4,000+) he weighed about 125 lbs. at 5'9". Even into the 1970s I could buy some of his clothes in the boys department with a waist about 28". He still only weighs about 155, but I doubt he could run more than 2 blocks today. Imagine picking up a sack that weighs 30 lbs and trying to run!

This week I met the new owner of a home that my husband designed on Cherry Ave. a few years back. They only live about an hour from Lakeside, so it is easy to get here even for a short visit. They just love their cottage. I told her a little about what it looked like before an experienced architect who loves Lakeside got a hold of it, and she was amazed. She's never even seen a photo, nor had she met the previous owners. She began searching for a home when they sold almost as fast as they came on the market, but one day a realtor called and said "I think I have something." Of course, it was 2008 and the market was starting to go soft. I think it was only listed 3 days before they made their offer. The former owners live in a Chicago suburb and the trip to Lakeside was getting burdensome.

Other events this week is today's herb class on the lakefront, the topic is Lemongrass. The seminars are for "Interfaith" week, and there's nothing of interest to me on that list--although Eugene Swanger on Friday should be good. (Strong Lutheran with expertise on eastern faiths.) Yesterday I wasn't feeling well after my walk, so I didn't do the Tuesday bird watch. Debbie Boone's concert Saturday night was just fabulous. I can't remember when I've heard such a voice or seen such a professional performance. It was a tribute to her mother-in-law, Rosemary Clooney. Also did some Red Foley pieces, her grandfather. Her father, of course, is Pat Boone, but she didn't perform any of his hits.

I'm in an "intensive drawing" class this week, and am supposed to complete at least 12 drawings a day. Doubt if I'll get that much done; the instructor left early on Monday, and wasn't there on Tuesday, nor were the four other students from Monday! Here's one of my efforts--this one's for you Lynne, since you asked.

Oregon’s Right to Die Law

Obama says this new plan won’t have a “death panel.” We have nothing to fear. If it can happen in Oregon, it can happen in Ohio or Illinois. The Chilling Truth

"One of the great concerns about Oregon is the suggestion that the very existence of the right-to-die law means the state's health system now has less of an incentive to provide terminally-ill people with proper care.

It is something that came to blight 64-year-old Barbara Wagner's last days.

Diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005, the former bus driver vowed to fight the disease so she could spend as long as possible with her family.

Even after her doctor warned last year that she had less than six months left, she refused to give up, pinning all her hopes on a new life-prolonging treatment.

But her request, at the beginning of last year, for the £2,500-a-month drug was refused by Oregon's state-run health plan as being too expensive. Instead, she was offered lethal medication to end her life.

'It was horrible,' Barbara told reporters. 'I got a letter in the mail that basically said if you want to take the pills we will help you get them from a doctor and we will stand there and watch you die - but we won't give you the medicine to live.

'I told them: "Who do you think you are to say that you will pay for my dying, but you won't pay for me to possibly live longer?"

'I am opposed to the assisted suicide law. I haven't considered it, even at my lowest ebb.'

Hearing of her plight, pharmaceutical company Genentech decided to give her the drug, Tarceva, free for one year. Barbara died in October last year and her family believes the added stress of her brush with the state hastened her end.

'She felt totally betrayed,' her ex-husband Dennis, 65, said this week. 'It comes down to the buck. It's not about compassion and understanding. The bottom line is that it is all about money and Barbara fell into the middle of it.'"

Letter to Senator Burris

Murray got a very nice response from his Senator, Roland W. Burris, at least it sounded better than any I’ve received from Mary Jo Kilroy, my Representative, even though Burris supports Obamacare 100%. You'll remember he's the one who replaced Obama in the Senate. He got nothing from Durbin. Murray responded:

Thank you for your response on the Obama Healthcare Plan. There is no doubt that our healthcare in this country needs some reform but certainly not a complete overhaul. Besides, our Federal government has proven over and over that it cannot manage ANY program efficiently. How can you and your cohorts possible think that the faithful taxpayer in this country can accept a Healthcare Plan that forces them to join but exempts their legislators and the Unions? That in itself tells them that it stinks. Will you have to get the lipstick out again? That provision is only the tip of the iceberg. How about allowing illegals to participate and why are they even a consideration? What part of "illegal" don't you people understand ?

If you would simply put caps on mal-practice suits, stop give free medical attention to illegals plus allow Medicare to negotiate the price of drugs like the Canadians and the Veteran's Administration, it would go a long way towards reducing the cost of healthcare in this country. THIS WOULD COST THE TAXPAYER NOTHING TO IMPLEMENT! But you people WANT TO SPEND MORE TAXPAYER DOLLARS, GAIN COMPLETE CONTROL and PUT THIS COUNTRY FURTHER INTO DEBT! Your constituents don't want this....are you listening?

Mr. Burris, you could enhance you chances of remaining in office if you would vote against HR3200 or any other version of this Bill. You would gain the allegiance of the Illinois taxpayers who do not support healthcare reform. You know the bill is wrong for your constituents so it's time to do the right thing for a change!

Supporting a friend

Do you need any of these handsome artistic products? Creation Source Image. Gary has Parkinson's Disease. See Gary's story.

Using the "N" word

Nazi. Apparently, there is a rule about using the word "Nazi" to insult someone. I thought the Democrats invented it or reintroduced the rule during the Bush era (Pelosi, Reid, etc.), but Godwin's law which has a history, colloraries, and variations, was stated in 1990, according to Wikipedia, a source I don't usually cite, but hey, sounds about right.

"As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches." Mike Godwin, 1990

But even that has a history.

"You can tell when a USENET discussion is getting old when one of the participants drags out Hitler and the Nazis."[1989]

I used to be part of a USENET discussion group, and this does indeed sound like USENET. In fact, things got so nasty at the writers group, particularly some twit from Britain who hated me, I started my own blog in 2003, so I could toss the detractors into the trash on a whim or at will. And I never said a thing political.

However, using the Nazi analogy with medical costs control goes way back according to a 1949 article in NEJM:

"For instance, beginning in 1933, the Germans began killing "defectives" of various kinds, in part because they were unproductive ("useless eaters") and therefore were costly to the society. The pragmatic, cost-benefit dimension to the murders was illustrated in the widely used high school mathematics text cited by Dr. Leo Alexander. The text, Mathematics in the Service of National Political Education, included such problems, Alexander noted, as "how many new housing units could be built and how many marriage-allowance loans could be given to newly wedded couples for the amount of money it cost the state to care for the 'crippled, the criminal and insane,'" ("Medical Science Under Dictatorship," New England Journal of Medicine, July 14, 1949)."

"Daniel Callahan readily admits that he wrote Setting Limits because of the acute and inexorably increasing problem of medical care costs, particularly with regard to the elderly. He does not advocate euthanasia for people past a certain age; but by having the state--through Medicare--refuse to pay for certain expensive life-extending procedures such as coronary bypass operations once that age has been reached, the result of his design is..." see his Setting Limits: Medical Goals in an Aging Society (1987).

I wonder if now that he is turning 80 if he is changing his mind on the costs of eldercare. Is Callahan a Democrat? To judge from his contributions, yes, but he did spread it around to cover his bases. In thought, his heart belongs to Obamacare.

Regardless of who started with the Nazi words (I say the Bush haters did), it's clear that smearing the people who turn up at the town halls and calling them unAmerican when they try to protest legislation they don't like is counter productive for the Obama administration. It just makes him and his purple shirts look like a you-know-what.

The media bias

They sold out long ago to Obama, stepping over or on Hillary to do it, so this NYT account of the health care town halls is no surprise:

There is no dispute, however, that most of the shouting and mocking is coming from opponents of those plans. Many of those opponents have been encouraged to attend by conservative commentators and Web sites.

When we attended a Palin-McCain rally at Capital University last fall, we were mocked, ridiculed and shouted at from across the street. They never came inside to listen, of course. McCain was good, but Palin was outstanding.

When you go to sporting events, football, hockey or baseball, you expect the other team to NOT root for your team. When you go to a Code Pink Rally, you should expect to see anti-Bush signs about Hitler. When you go to a pro-life demonstration, don't be surprised to see posters of chopped up babies. These are life and death issues to many people.

But I visit liberal blogs and I know they were giving out addresses and times and encouraging liberals to attend these meetings. Do they really think that Democrat representatives need to hear from the party hacks and faithful? Or do they need to hear from the 84% of Americans who think we have pretty darn good health care with some glitches that need to be fixed?

In response, liberal groups and the White House have also started sending supporters instructions for countering what they say are the organized disruptions.

Well, at least they got that part right, then they continued with the Republican bashing. Obviously, they never sent a reporter to Ohio during the 2008 campaign to cover the ACORN bussers.

Eddie from Ohio

Our guest this past week-end was wearing an "Eddie from Ohio" t-shirt, and when I inquired he told me it was the name of a singing group they follow, not a person. Great sounds. I'd never heard of them.

Billoblog is back and posting

I don't know a single medical professional at any level, from doctor to nurse to office manager to medical flight owner, who thinks Obamacare is anything but a huge disaster for American health. Here's Bill's point of view. MD from Vanderbilt. Met him online about 1995. He was rather quiet for awhile, but seems to have caught a second wind.

"The Obamafascists are appalled, simply appalled, that people are asking questions and speaking up. The Great Community Organizer and his folk are now calling community organizing “political terrorism,” and beating up people who speak. Establishing tyranny is such hard work. And the little people just won’t shut up.

But some folk are saying that all of this is a good thing. Americans need to be reminded of the threat of soft despotism, and we’ve elected the man to do it.

Read the Steyn’s review."

"The all-pervasive micro-regulatory state “enervates,” but nicely, gradually, so after a while you don’t even notice. And in exchange for liberty it offers security: the “right” to health care; the “right” to housing; the “right” to a job—although who needs that once you’ve got all the others? The proposed European Constitution extends the laundry list: the constitutional right to clean water and environmental protection. Every right you could ever want, except the right to be free from undue intrusions by the state."

Sharia Law in the U.S. (Michigan)

A group of Americans at an Arab festival are assaulted, even though the booth invited them to ask questions after they were handed a pamphlet about Islam. They had already cleared their right to have a camera with the local police, but goons wearing "security" shirts assaulted them. Lessons from the Obamacare goons? Seems Islam is not quite so "peaceful" if you can't even ask a few questions when invited.



HT Bev

And now for an alternative view, the intention of the founders and promoters of the festival.

Along the lakefront, past and present

This morning it was about 6 a.m. when I started out--just a little daylight--for my morning walk. I scan our driveway and the streets pretty carefully. Skunks. In the dimness I can usually tell the two feral calico cats who stay fat and sassy on donations and small rodents from the skunk that lives under our neighbor’s porch. She comes out in the early morning hours to look for garbage that the renters have carelessly left in trash bags. I see the skunk scurrying across the road and wait. This has so many current political implications, that I think you know where I would go if I wanted to discuss health care scams in this post. In this light and distance, it is difficult to tell the smelly skunk from the wild domestic cats, except by the faint scent and past experience. The cats will come close, but run away if you try to get too friendly.

I had been hearing sirens for about 15 minutes, so I stop and ask the gateman if he knows what had happened. We have an excellent volunteer fire department here--usually you first hear the police siren, then the squad and fire trucks as the loyal, hard working locals are called to duty and many have sirens on their cars as they rush to the scene of the accident or fire. Noisy, but necessary. Again, I think of the political analogy of ordinary citizens called out of their sleep to sound the alarms that there’s been something really awful happening. This gate opens about 6 a.m., but he’s usually early. We all have plastic ID cards now. People who complain that “Lakeside isn’t what it used to be,” just might mean they can’t sneak in on someone else’s gate pass. Ah, another analogy.

Along the lakefront at the bottom of our street I see the 80-something kayaker I’ve seen every morning this summer. We’ve had delightfully cool weather all summer, and most days the lake is calm, but even on the mornings it isn’t, he stays in the protected area and pursues his course. He wears a tiny life preserver that I assume inflates if he needs it and a jacket. He is slightly stooped, but otherwise seems in excellent health--has benefited all his life from our excellent health care system, particularly public health measures (much of government health is good), from the pure drinking water, to quarantines for communicable diseases like TB and polio, to the invention of antibiotics, to vaccines, and possibly joint replacements, stints or organ transplants, so that he can enjoy a fruitful old age. There are some, usually gen-xers who don’t know him, or even their own grandparents, who think his good health and activity level are too expensive. But, this isn’t a political post, just thoughts along the lakefront.

This morning I don’t see the Canada geese that I saw last week. Then a flock of 28-30 were floating on the water, dipping their heads to pick up small items. One kept calling out to the laggards, who were floating along behind the main group maybe by a half mile. He was very bossy, but obviously they weren’t paying attention and needed someone or something to warn them of predators and people.

I pass a number of joggers who appear to only do this on vacation. My back has been bothering me since Friday, so I’m more in a strolling mode. One fellow quite trim is setting a good pace, and has a black brace on one knee. I see him later lying in the street stretching his legs to his chest--I suspect watching him limp which he wasn’t doing on the lakefront, that he has misjudged his fitness level. Another young man huffs and puffs his way past me. He is wearing a bandanna head band, cut off sleeve t-shirt and has many tattoos. Maybe this is what people mean when they say Lakeside isn’t what it used to be? I know I see young moms pushing babies in strollers with all the safety features looking like small Conestoga wagons that used to cross the prairies, moms with studs in their noses and tongues and tattoos on their arms. Truly, it is a bit of a culture shock, and I do wonder what it is about Lakeside they wish to expose their children to. Maybe they are here to visit grandparents, living on pensions, investments and Medicare, waiting for the cottage to be handed down to the next generation?

I pass a cottage we stayed in when our children were small--there’s a little boy about 6 or 7 doing trampoline jumps on the bunks on the porch that faces the lakefront. His shouts of glee can be heard by all the cottages close by. All the windows are open to catch the lake breezes, and apparently, he’s up and ready to go. Oh, I do remember those days! These days at least one or two rooms of even the oldest cottages have a window air conditioner, but this sleeping porch is open. Before the current administration’s love affair with cap and tax and environmentalist wackos, Ohio was a great producer of electricity. We do have our wind power advocates, usually with connections to the same owners of the coal fired product. People don’t become rich by being stupid or a-political! All with strong links in Washington, regardless of the party in “power.” Although they don’t want those ugly windmills in their line of view just as they didn’t have to look at the smoke stacks, either.

After 2 miles, I stop at the hotel to use the restroom, and decide to go back and do the lakefront over. It promises to be hot and muggy today, and this might be the coolest time to walk. I chat a minute with the night clerk, who will later be greeting me at the coffee shop. She graduated from college over the week-end and says she will return home and look for companies that might need some part-time help with a translator. Doesn’t sound eager to launch a career, and I suppose with the economy floundering with no change in sight for years, it’s not a bad plan. But if I had college loans, or were the parent who sacrificed, I’d be concerned by this. It’s a different generation than that which graduated in the early 80s after the big Carter recession after which the Reagan tax relief provided real hope and change.

The lakefront--past and present--and political.

Fred gets shouted down by leftists

But then it's Madison, Wisconsin, what can we expect but rude behavior? Check out this taxpayers' rally.

The failed experiment

ACORN and SEIU thugs allowed to disrupt the Town Hall meetings

Intimidation. Crowding out the opposition. Disruption. Shouting. Oh well. It’s just those nasty old Republican agitators and tea party nazis trying to exercise their freedom of speech guaranteed by our representative system of government. You remember--the one that we were trying to foist on all those poor, uninformed developing countries.

St. Louis town hall meeting via Breitbart

Gateway Pundit: "Rep. Russ Carnahan held a secret press conference this morning to discuss the town hall meeting last night where tea party taxpayers were locked out, union thugs were let in and conservative blacks had their heads kicked in. St. Louis radio giant Jamie Allman found out where Carnahan was holding his meeting even though he was not sent the information and showed up to ask the Missouri Congressman a few questions." See video here.

Town Halls are misreported

“As he entered the auditorium of the Mardela Middle and High School on Tuesday, a surprised Frank Kratovil waded through a sea of constituents. The first-term Democratic congressman had been told by aides that maybe two or three dozen residents would attend the “Congress in Your Corner” town-hall event in this Eastern Shore town of about 360 people. Instead, more than 250 people showed up.

The crowd repeatedly burst into wild cheering, but not for Mr. Kratovil. The cheers were for residents who gave the congressman a piece of their mind over what’s happening in Washington.” WSJ Max Schulz

And if you’re like me, you wonder why a “town hall” is held in a “town” of 360 residents. I doubt that my rep will take a chance--she squeaked through on several recounts to take a seat from the Republicans. Why stir the waters by bringing concerned voters together? But then, I’m at peaceful, relaxed Lakeside during August, and I have no idea where she is spending her vacation. She would probably prefer hiding to appearing before worried elders.

The Obamedia, of course, is misreporting as usual, just as they did the earlier "tea parties." They’ve sold their souls, and the ink is indelible and long dry on the agreement. Max continues:

“On July 31, MSNBC’s Richard Wolffe tried to buck up spooked Democrats by claiming, “Those angry protestors who will disrupt your attempts to talk to your voters—and trust us they will—are being coordinated and coached by industry-funded right wing operatives. Their stated goal will be to rattle you, not to have an intelligent debate. And there’s a good chance they don’t even live in your district.” . . . But the discontent is neither faked nor staged by the GOP. At the Mardela Springs event I attended, the parking lot was filled with Maryland license plates, the speakers made references to local areas and events, and everyone of the several people I spoke with lived in the congressman’s district. They were just upset and worried that the reforms Democrats were bent on enacting would hurt the economy and their ability to get the health care they needed.”

I wonder if anyone remembers this is the boomer generation who took to the streets about the VietNam War, and what happened to Johnson?

Twitter and Facebook

I don’t do either one, so I didn’t know they’d been hacked in a battle between Russia and Georgia. Story here at Technology News.

“It appears that the outage suffered by Twitter and technical problems affecting other social networks were the result of a denial of service attack targeting a single blogger, an activist who intended to commemorate the anniversary of last year's battle between Russia and Georgia. The sites have mostly recovered, but the attack underscores the ability of hackers to clog communication channels, given the proper resources.”

Makes you wonder what pro-Obama hackers can do to those sites that disagree with the health plan. And of course, a hacker isn’t needed to silence talk radio, only the “fairness doctrine.” After all, we shouldn’t have anyone out there sharing the broadcast opportunities with the government approved media that have shivers up the leg when experiencing the true believer spirit.

This will go nowhere

No matter what is discovered about Obama's true place of birth, the findings can go nowhere, because there's no way to remove him now that he's in office. You have to have an impeachable offense. I suggest that every person who ever runs for President in the future needs to supply a valid birth certificate acceptable to the other parties. College records and military records should be valid and accessible, too.

Thousands, maybe millions of Americans have phony, just-as-if birth certificates. They are called adoptees. Someone will need to clean that up. Someone will need to make that rule about an American mother's residency requirement for citizenship retroactive, because I think the law has been changed, but if it's a state law, maybe not. Thousands of Americans live abroad and give birth--some never come back and hate the United States. Why should their children be called Americans and not Israelis, or Poles, or Turks, or Germans?

The Michigan Townhalls

This morning I've been listening to a Detroit local talk show (WJR), Frank Beckman, and the discussion is the various townhall formats held by Michigan representatives, Thaddeus McCotter (R) and John Dingell (D). McCotter really sounded more concerned about disruptions than hearing out his constituency. If I were a Republican living in his district, I'd give him the boot just based on the interview I heard this morning. And of course, being from Michigan he loves the cash for clunkers program, even though the sales seem to be helping the foreign car dealers more. (It's really a hurt-the-poor, green-go plan in my opinion, not a stimulus bill.) McCotter decided on a telephone townhall--wimp out. Dingell actually appeared at one, but apparently was more interested in listening to himself rather than the people who showed up. One woman caller said the only organized group she saw at the townhall were the pro-ObamaCare, Dingell people, and everyone else was polite and patient, with the exception of one man whose child had CP, and he was very concerned about losing his private insurance. Dingell was evasive, and noted that an amendment had been added to cover his situation. It was obvious to the callers to the show, and the host, that the bill has many modifications since they first tried to ram it through--so what's the rush? Why, if a very small percentage of poor AMERICANS, do not currently have insurance (they all have access), what's the rush?

This has been answered many times, in many ways by Democrats, from Obama on down through his former Clinton staffers who remember what happened in the 90s when people had an opportunity for input.

"Ram it,
jam it,
scam it,
don't let'em slam it
while the President's numbers
are high.
Of course, Obama's numbers are falling fast as Americans smell another high priced clunker like cap and trade rattling down the Obama pot hole scarred, torn up, out of date road to socialism which will continue to eat away at the prosperity of the middle-class.

Dr. Donald Palmisano of Protect Patient Rights and formerly head of the AMA was also interviewed. Maybe "Anonymous" True Believer in Obama needs to go to that web site, instead of this one?

Celebrating our 20th anniversary

Twenty years ago Roger and Judi were new homeowners in Lakeside, and so were we, although we'd rented for many years. Roger and I met at another coffee site in Lakeside, and this year are claiming a 20 year drinking relationship. We each could blame the other in those early days for President Clinton. I voted for him, and Roger put him over the top by voting for Perot.

Roger and Judi now live in Georgia, but still try to come "home" for a week or two and are big boosters of Lakeside.

Lakeside Cottage Architecture pt. 8

These are NOT Ross Hips

The Ross Hips, pt. 3
The Ross Hips, pt. 2
The Ross Hips, pt. 1


This large gracious hip roof cottage has been in the Brucken family for many years. Back in the mid-1970s our children played together when we rented a 19th century style cottage on 2nd. Although it shares a parking access court with all the Ross Hips that face Perry Park, it was not built and owned by W.D. Ross. However, it does have two "sisters" facing Central Park which in the last decade were extensively updated and remodeled (3rd floor living area added). Bob tells me that he used to be able to walk in those two middle cottages in this photo and know exactly where every door, window and electric outlet was, because the three sister homes had identical plans.

Walking at sunrise

This photo is not this morning--I think it was 2 days ago. It was a cloudy morning with the sun just peaking over the horizon. I wanted to get a photo of the freighter over at Marblehead, Ohio which takes ore from the quarry. There's much less traffic this summer as the economy hurts even the traffic here that fed so many industries.

The rip rap you see is not "native" to Lakeside, but was brought in from the quarry about 20 years ago because the lake was rising and covering the natural flat rocks on which you could easily walk out into the lake. You can't fool Mother Nature and the lake then receded, and many of the man-made protections and ideas in Ohio, New York, Michigan and Canada just made the shoreline worse, and many beaches were destroyed. Listen up Algorites. It's interesting what is considered "native stone" around here. I inquired about some beautifully random stones, pink, white, black and gray, used for fireplaces and foundations and was told it was not "native," but had been brought here from Canada maybe 8,000 years ago by the glacier that once covered much of Ohio. Sounds quite native to me!

This morning's sunrise was incredible. I haven't missed a sunrise this summer during the time we're at the lake. One morning I carried an umbrella, but it only misted. This morning the cloud formation was incredible. I never actually saw the sun, only the orange, pink, fuchsia, cobalt and gray backing up a huge cloud that looked like the old fashioned ships that used to sail the Great Lakes. Then when I turned back west, there was the full moon brilliant above the trees. It was just incredible.

Yesterday I did 2 walks along the lakefront, one at dawn and one at noon (very brisk walking with a younger friend), plus the back and forth to various places. So I'm guessing 5 to 6 miles. If I could discipline myself to stay out of my husband's stash of crackers and cheese and cookies, I'd be in a lot better shape than the shape I'm in.

What government health care looks like in the USA

A pediatric ophthalmologist writes:

"I have taken care of Medicaid patients for 35 years while representing the only pediatric ophthalmology group left in Atlanta, Georgia that accepts Medicaid. For example, in the past 6 months I have cared for three young children on Medicaid who had corneal ulcers. This is a potentially blinding situation because if the cornea perforates from the infection, almost surely blindness will occur. In all three cases the antibiotic needed for the eradication of the infection was not on the approved Medicaid list.

Each time I was told to fax Medicaid for the approval forms, which I did. Within 48 hours the form came back to me which was sent in immediately via fax, and I was told that I would have my answer in 10 days. Of course by then each child would have been blind in the eye.

Each time the request came back denied. All three times I personally provided the antibiotic for each patient which was not on the Medicaid approved list. Get the point -- rationing of care."

That's what you have when you wait for the government to act on a physician's request--blind children.

Read more of his experience at, ObamaCare and me.

And for us older folks he writes

"Twenty years ago, ophthalmologists were paid $1800 for a cataract surgery and today $500. This is a 73% decrease in our fees. I do not know of many jobs in America that have seen this sort of lowering of fees.

But there is more to the story than just the lower fees. When I came to Atlanta, there was a well known ophthalmologist that charged $2500 for a cataract surgery as he felt he was the best. He had a terrific reputation and in fact I had my mother's bilateral cataracts operated on by him with a wonderful result. She is now 94 and has 20/20 vision in both eyes. People would pay his $2500 fee.

However, then the government came in and said that any doctor that does Medicare work cannot accept more than the going rate (now $500) or he or she would be severely fined. This put an end to his charging $2500. The government said it was illegal to accept more than the government-allowed rate."

He says we're being lied to about the poor and uninsured, and he should know. A top neurosurgeon in his hospital has left the field at age 52--49% of children under the age of 16 in the state of Georgia are on Medicaid, so he felt he just could not stand working with the bureaucracy anymore. It wasn't treating the poor--it was dealing with the government.

"We are being lied to about the uninsured. They are getting care. I operate at least 2 illegal immigrants each month who pay me nothing, and the children's hospital at which I operate charges them nothing also.This is true not only on Atlanta, but of every community in America.

The bottom line is that I urge all of you to contact your congresswomen and congressmen and senators to defeat this bill. I promise you that you will not like rationing of your own health."

Read the entire article (and "anonymous" can go there and argue with his life experience).

Save your money

Some say Lakeside isn't what it used to be--that would be true about movies, which are now first run and cost $6.00. We have the only movie theater in Ottawa County, and movies like the one we saw last night probably led to the decline of Hollywood. I wasn't expecting a great work of art or drama when we decided to see "My life in ruins," with Nia Vardalos (My big fat Greek wedding). Maybe a good laugh, chick flick. But I also didn't expect one of the worst movies I've seen in years, worse even than that one with Rene Zellwiggle where she's the hot shot CEO who moves from Miami to Minnesota and doesn't even own a coat and falls in love with the union boss. In this one, the college professor tour guide falls in love with the hairy bus driver named Poopy Cockus or something like that. All sorts of middle school bathroom jokes. Stupid tourists who would rather shop than look at ruins, Australians no one can understand, and Canadians who riot when mistaken for U.S. citizens. Very little good footage of ruins. However, the air conditioner in the theater is so loud it did occasionally drown out the bad dialog.

Is it so hard to make a movie about a woman college graduate who's too dumb to come in from the rain, who doesn't need to be rescued by a big, hairy guy, a black or Hispanic maid, or her sick kid?

Go flag yourself

This e-mail suggests that we all comply with the President's request that we spy on each other and turn in our on-line neighbors.

All Leftists and terrorists have one thing in common: You can scream at 'em, you can argue with 'em, you can chase 'em and you can even shoot 'em. But for God's sake, just don't laugh at 'em.

Well, considering the White House's brazen request for American citizens to "flag" other American citizens by turning their HealthCare content into the White House Dissent Management Bureau via flag@whitehouse.gov, this brownshirt tactic needs to be laughed at.

How: Turn yourselves in. All of us and everyone we know. Report yourselves to the White House Dissent Management Czar - and in such volume - as to make a mockery of the entire sleazy endeavor.

Think of it as reporting yourself to the local PD for speeding. We'd all be emailing about 5 times per day. Well, every time you have a thought on HealthCare, much less write or speak about it, send the contents of the thoughts/words/conversation to flag@WhiteHouse.gov .

Operation Go Flag Yourself!

What a great idea--seen at Brutally Honest.

Update: NYT reports: “Due to privacy concerns, federal agencies since June 2000 [i.e. primarily the Bush administration] have been prohibited from using many such Web-tracking technologies, particularly persistent cookies, unless an agency head decreed a compelling need.

But the Obama administration is keen to modernize federal agency sites and . . . it sees the old cookie policy as out of date, now that cookies are mainstream and more accepted, and a barrier to adding user-friendly features, analyzing what content is most valuable to citizens and figuring out how to make improvements.

Yet, the cookie issue remains a hot-button one for many citizens and Internet-privacy advocates who believe that in a free society the state should not track citizens accessing public information. “

White House revisits cookies, Aug. 5.

Get in line, America

Republican Study Comm, July 16, 2009 (114 Republicans). Chairman Tom Price of Georgia admonishes the Democrat government-takeover of health care. He says Republicans were shut out by Pelosi from any meaningful discussion or bipartisanship.

CBS interview with Price.

Site meter jumps

My site meter that records hits jumped about 40 a day here recently. The two bigggies? HR 3200 and cottage cheese. The house bill I can understand, but cottage cheese? Has there been a big story about it recently?

Our high (herb) tea

The members of our herb class led by Jan Hilty had a wonderful tea at the hotel today. We each brought a dessert, or tea sandwiches, or nuts/candy and enjoyed a wonderful herb tea, either hot or cold. The hotel dining room isn't being used as a restaurant any more and it was really fun to be there. These days it is used primarily for receptions and events, but those of us who remember Sunday dinner there or special occasions really miss it. Some of us wore hats for the occasion.

Watercolor class with Bob Moyer

Here's last week's art class results, minus one, which has already been folded and put away and I'll use the back! One is OK for framing, one for back of the closet, and one to think about.

Polls and disinformation

Polls from National Public Radio, Wall Street Journal/NBC News, The Washington Post, Gallup, and Pew all show that the American people do not support President Barack Obama’s health care plan . . . Linda Douglass complains about "disinformation." (That's journalism-speak for lies).

"Americans deserve an honest debate about health care. President Obama, Barney Frank, and Jan Schakowsky cannot all be right. Either the President is wrong when he says his plan will not lead to government run health care, or Frank and Schakowsky are spreading disinformation when they tell their single payer advocate base that it will." Heritage Foundation, Morning Bell, Wed. Aug 5, 2009

Six months in Bible Lands by A.D. Wenger

This is one of the titles in my bag of books ($1.00) from the Women Club's Sunday. Because we recently returned from "Bible lands" I picked it up. What fun to read, and I'm still in Europe. He actually traveled for 14 months in 1899 and 1900.

Wengers are in my family tree, so I first looked up Amos Daniel Wenger on the internet, and learned through a genealogy that he is a descendant of Christian Wenger, not Hans and Hannah Wenger, my guys. Although it's not mentioned in the book, I learned that his wife of one year had died in 1898 and in January 1899 he began this around-the-world trip returning in 1900, to recover from his grief. He edited his notes with research about the areas, and published the book in 1902 (by then he had remarried and eventually had 8 children).

Today I was reading about his visit to the Cologne Cathedral. The amazing sites in Europe didn't impress him, although he mentioned them. As a Mennonite, he held to their basic values of the simple life and care for the poor and less fortunate. In England he notes the vast gap between the rich and poor in London; in Paris he is appalled by the promiscuity and fast life; in Holland (homeland of Menno Simons from whom they take their name) he is very disappointed by the Mennonite leaders he found who had been influenced by higher criticism and were living a very different life culture than those in the U.S. I know I'm making him sound like a crank, but his observations actually sound very fresh, 110 years later!

He relates the legend of the architect of Cologne Cathedral, and why no one knows his name. This gave me a chuckle because I'm researching homes here in Lakeside and no one here knows the names of the architects, builders or stone masons of 100 or 50 years ago.

"Just put your signature to this little bond," said the devil, "and the plan is yours." "Sign!" insisted satan.

When the bond was signed satan said: "Now, Mr. Architect, I have made a fair contract with you. You have sold your soul for fame,--a bauble, a worthless fancy, an immaterial substance. You are not the first fool, albeit, who has made such a barter; hell is lathed and plastered with the souls of ambitious idiots like you. Go, present your plan to the bishop; he will accept it and you will be famous."

Wenger says his name was carved on a stone that was worked in the wall. The building took from 1248 to 1880 to complete.

When I looked the legend up in Google, I found every version is different, but always the architect was frustrated with coming up with a good design, so he sold his soul to the devil! In one version, he has a church relic to fight Satan, who then declared that his punishment for going back on the agreement is to remain an unknown. In a Frank Leslie Monthly version, the grieving architect fearing hell wanders into the mountains where he meets a hermit priest who absolves him, but he has to choose between his soul and fame, so he chooses his soul.

This is a lot of book for ten cents. According to a description on the internet that matches the one in my hand (it's in very good condition), it's worth about $14.00.

Now they've changed their tune

When Obama was mobbed by adoring fans in 2008, many bussed in by ACORN and out of stater party volunteers, the Democrats were just thrilled. The media swooned. Ah. Grass roots. The little guy was finally speaking up. Wonderful ground swell of support. Oooo. Ahhhh. It just felt so good to assauge the guilt.

A year later. The American people are finding out that who you hang with is who you are. Ayers. Wright. It's the Alinsky Baedeker 2.0.

Now when people turn out to protest his health care plan, and shout down their lily livered congressional representatives, they are "mobs", and the town hall is the town "hell." They are "right-wing extremists" sent by the Republican party. They are "birthers" and racists. But many voted for him! They are finding out that what he said about destroying our health care system when he was an Illinois senator is what he still believes. These are people who seem to have actually read HR 3200! They don't like it one bit. You start denying some boomer his hip replacement because of his life expectancy or tell him to run it past a committee in Washington and he just might hit you with his cane. Or run you down with her golf cart.

Isn't it just amazing how the worm turns?

Cash for clunkers scam

First, it's for the auto industry. We now own it--so we're just pouring more tax money into a product we, the company, are pushing.

Second, it's payback for the unions, so they can keep their workers and pensioners happy.

Third, there's no way that program is out of money. There haven't been that many deals made--crunch the numbers. This is marketing hype so more people will rush to the dealer.

Fourth, the people who got stopped by the paper work or a "standard" that said their 20 year old clunker was getting 20 mpg not 18, probably stopped and looked around the showroom at a new car.

Fifth, if their car didn't qualify, they'll be pushed into a new car with a loan, because this program is taking driveable older cars off the road.

Sixth, even if you want a used car, one with better mileage, you won't be able to find one, because they are being snapped up for the next deal.

Seventh, there's very little savings in either gasoline or the environment. People with older, second or beater cars, are not using them as much as their newer, more efficient cars. How many people do you know on a limited budget hop in the car for a road trip to Texas or Alaska?

Eighth, people with less efficient SUVs are buying newer, more efficient SUVs. They are still energy hogs.

Ninth, there's a cost to buying a new car, and a cost to destroying one that is already on the road, in the garage, driveable and useful.

Tenth, many dealers are out of inventory and making no sales at all until they get the next batch. So how's that working for the employees?

Do you have grandchildren?

I don't. This one's for you.

Seniors and the viability question

The e-mails of alarm about the Obamacare intention and HR 3200 just keep coming. Baby-boomer seniors need to take a deep breath and reexamine what they really believe about life and viability, because although rationed care is a concern in this bill, and should be, many are outraged by the thought of "counseling" for end of life care. Oh, they may point out its other failures and Bogey man features, like the huge increase in the bureaucracy that will be making decisions about their lives, but that periodic counseling feature is a real stick in the craw feature. It's not a huge stretch from rotator cuff surgery at 65 so you can continue playing golf to a new heart valve at age 90 so you can continue walking around the block and enjoying the great-grand babies. But think about it. Even those who didn't vote for the most anti-life President we've ever elected, who never wrote their congressman or carried a poster at a pro-choice rally, may have gone squishy along the continuum of aborting a fetus with Down Syndrome to removing the feeding tube from Grandpa because "he wouldn't want to live this way."

Well, now it's our turn isn't it? Now we're the ones about which someone unknown and nameless is debating--our viability and life-worthiness. Doesn't feel so good, right? In case you've never thought of it, none of us is "viable" without the help and care of others--our family, our friends, our employer, our drug companies, our truckers, our farmers, our merchants, etc. We're all just as much "parasites" as that developing fetus in the womb. If for some reason you were dropped on Mouse Island on Lake Erie without clothing, food, water, matches, or tools of any kind, you'd soon find out just how "viable" you are, whether 20 years old or 80. Oh, maybe you'd survive August or September on berries or an occasional dead fish that floats past--it is after all a fresh water lake--but January and February, if you lived that long, would be a bit chilly as the Civil War prisoners on Johnson's Island discovered looking at near-by Sandusky across the bay.

Also, it's past time for a lot of seniors to remember Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, WIC etc. are socialized medicine. They are out of control precisely because they are government programs, and what the government gives it can take away at the stroke of a pen, or smack of a gavel. Seniors need to be careful what they ask for or destroy. You didn't vote for tort reform, you didn't object when the government began limiting what it would pay doctors and hospitals, you didn't cry foul over regulation of certain professions or industries that drove good people out, you didn't look through those itemized invoices in the thousands for a day or two of care that dropped in your mail box 6 months later, you didn't ask questions when technology and drug research outran the bioethics arguments, so now it's time to pay the piper. I fear the price is more than you'll want to pay.

Lakeside Cottage Architecture pt. 7

The Ross Hips, pt. 3

The Ross Hips, pt. 2
The Ross Hips, pt. 1


These homes face the lake and Perry Park (renamed on the 100th anniversary of Perry's victory in 1812) along 2nd Street and one on Elm Avenue. Most have the angled window to provide a good view.




These Ross Hips are on Cherry. For porch renovations, there are many styles on a Ross. There are four on Cherry between 2nd and 3rd.

This Ross cottage on Elm just grew and grew.

The leftist protests--where are they?

Dennis writes: "Still waiting for the endless anti-Obama protests by Code Pink, Hollywood, and mainline media pundits. As least in Iraq the world honestly thought they had WMD. No one thinks Afghanistan has WMD.

The fact is that all the anti-war protests during the Bush administration were not really anti-war. They were Leftist charades designed to discredit a President they didn't like.

Unfortunately for America, it worked."

The "economy fixes" are also a charade. It has never been his intention to put people back to work. I'm not holding my breath waiting for the left MSM to ask him any tough questions.

Chamomile Lemonade

At the herb class last week we received a recipe for chamomile lemonade so yesterday I made a pitcherful in my "new" pitcher bought last year at the antique show. Tasted pretty good.

3/4 C cane sugar (I used much less)
2 Tbs. grated lemon zest
5 Tbs. fresh or dried chamomile flowers or 6 chamomile tea bags
3/4 C lemon juice (I just squeezed the lemon)
lemon slices for garnish

Combine sugar, lemon zest, and 2 cups water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, and add chamomile flowers. Cool.
Strain chamomile mixture into a 2-qt. pitcher, stir in lemon juice and 3 cups water.
Serve over ice with lemon slices, or store, covered, in refrigerator up to 5 days.

Plans for week 7 at Lakeside

This is "Peace and Justice" week at Lakeside--programing I usually avoid (sort of white man's burden modernized), so I have the whole week to look at other topics. This morning at 10 a.m. there is a "walking tour" of the east end. I walk there all the time, but usually don't know what I'm looking at. Then in late afternoon we're going to a social reception for a group of which my husband is a member. We wanted to see the movie this week, "My life in ruins" about a woman who is a tour guide in Greece, but that conflicts with "The closer," my husband's favorite show (watches at a neighbor's since we don't have cable here). So I'm not sure what night we'll go--maybe Wednesday. On Tuesday Gretchen is giving a talk on aprons at 1:30 at Green Gables--not sure if I have to join to hear that. Wednesday at 3:30 there's a book review of 3 cups of Tea which our book club is doing this year. There are pre-symphony talks on Tuesdays 7-8. On Wednesday afternoon also at 2:30 is our herb class tea at the hotel. There was an art class I was considering M-Th, but met at 6 p.m., so maybe I'll just stay home and practice what I learned in the last two! And then there are all those books--bagful for one dollar--I bought yesterday.

CBS covers Lakeside

Friday night someone told us Lakeside had been on the news. We missed it, but here it is.


Watch CBS Videos Online

High Calorie day at Lakeside

Sunday morning we go to the Patio Restaurant for a pancake and eggs. Most people know Brent and Heidi are famous for their donuts, but frankly, the pancakes are the best on the peninsula, or maybe the Northcoast. So what is that with dripping butter and hot syrup? 1,000 calories? Then this afternoon was the ice cream social and band concert on the hotel lawn. The day had started cool and cloudy, but by 2:30 the sun was brilliant and the sky cobalt blue (I took art class last week and relearned my colors). The servings were generous--so big in fact I ate both scoops of butter pecan ice cream but only a few bites of the chocolate cake with caramel icing. We sat in rocking chairs on the sidewalk in the sun.

All of a sudden it was 3:30 and I was getting sleepy listening to the marvelous band music, in the warm sun, with a cool lake breeze. But I remembered at the last minute the Women's Club Book Sale and headed over there with a $10 bill. Didn't need it because by then the books were going for a grocery bag for $1.00. Not much left, but I did pick up a first edition of Letters of Edna St. Vincent Millay. I checked it on the internet and found one that pretty much matched what was in my sack:

LETTERS OF EDNA ST VINCENT MILLAY
MacDougall, Allan, ed.

Harper & Bros, NY, 1952. Hard Cover. Book Condition: Fair. No Jacket. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. LC# 527291. 384pp, index. Grey paper boards, green cloth spine, gold lettering on fading spine, wear to edges and corners; foxed on lower fore-edges and small amount on front and back covers, fading at edges, initials on front end paper, slight tanning of pages.

$20.00 plus shipping

So for ten cents (average), not bad, plus it's fun to read.

"Arthur darling,

This will be one of the most unpleasant letters you ever received, and I'm sorry. But it's time I got this matter off my chest and onto yours, where it belongs. . .

Dear Lulu [Llewelyn Powys]

I am so sorry about your brother [died 1936]. I think about it, and I say to myself, "There is nothing to say". Yet perhaps there is something to say, only I don't know what it is. I am the last who could teach you how to fit into the pattern of your life the death of someone you love; I have no skill at this."

Isn't that too wonderful for words? Her prose is as good as her poetry! This book will be a charmer, even fading and foxing on the fore-edges.

Let’s not confuse summer jobs programs with “recovery”

"President Barack Obama promised green jobs to be funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and those federal stimulus dollars are the focus of a new program in Beloit that's putting young people to work and saving energy." Story from Beloit, Wisconsin.

There is nothing new in the world of politics and jobs programs. I’m sure we had them even before FDR raised them to their glory in the WPA. Perhaps it’s a family legend, but I remember stories of the “Tennessee migration" to Ogle County, Illinois, aided by my great-grandfather, Grandad Ballard, who got his friends and relatives jobs on the road crews for the county in the early 20th century.

In the 1980s I worked on a contract program funded by the JTPA (Job Training Partnership Act, which replaced a public works jobs program, CETA, 1974-1982) and the Ohio Bureau of Employment Services (or was that Unemployment? Labor?). I was a Democrat; my boss was a Republican and also my aerobics instructor; her boss was a Republican; his boss was a Democrat at the cabinet level; her boss was Governor Gilligan, a Democrat and the father of former Kansas Governor Sebilius, now head of HHS of the Obama administration. I believe the President at that time was a Republican named Reagan. The problem with all these federal jobs programs is that either they train for jobs that aren't there, or they are the actual jobs with nowhere to go. Either way, the poor usually stay poor with the government's help. This Wisconsin ARRA program is a jobs program, almost guaranteed to go nowhere. I think 5 young adults are "energy advocates." They are teaching people to do what our mothers taught us back in the 1950s.

"Members of a team of five from the Beloit area are called Energy Advocates. They are all between 18 and 24 years old, and their job is teaching others to save energy and money.

"(We remind people to) turn off their appliances when they're not using them. You're still pulling energy in just because they're plugged in," said Sharome Crawford.

Crawford uses devices like kilowatt readers, energy efficient light bulbs, low-flow shower heads and sink aerators to help residents cut costs.

"You're going to have the full capacity of water, and it's going to keep your bills low," he said, displaying the low-flow sink aerator.

The Department of Workforce Development program gives these young workers training for future careers."

In what? Nanny state community organizing? Well, some do get to the top that way.

I learned so much in that 6 mo. JTPA job--about how hard some lower level, career government employees work, and how others who do nothing were appointed because of connections and donations to the party (either). My job specifically was in a training program to get seniors (over 55) re-employed and re-trained because the recession during the Carter years was not unlike today's but with both high inflation and high unemployment. We worked through the Private Industry Councils (PIC) and the Area Agencies for Aging. Even though I was a novice at government largesse and wealth transfer, even I could see that dollars were taken from the taxpayer, filtered through a variety of huge departments in Washington like Labor, then partially returned to the states, and then to various levels within the state, and counties, each agency and official (and contract worker like me) getting a cut along the way.

Lakeside cottage architecture, pt. 6

The Ross Hips, pt. 2
The Ross Hips, pt. 1

My first experience with a Ross cottage was the one we rented our first vacation week in Lakeside in 1974, although I didn't know it until I checked the address at the archives on Saturday. Also, my friend Nancy who first told us about Lakeside lives in one on 2nd Street which her parents bought in 1946.

Our first place was 228 Plum--a four family and our rent was $45/week. This home has since been turned into a double--or maybe it was originally a double and had been changed to house more families. There was also a sleeping porch at the rear--no air conditioning or fans in the early 20th century, so sleeping porches with push out shutters to let air in were essential.

The ones on either side of 228 are not Ross Hips, but the two further down at 2nd and Plum are, one has been redesigned to have a second story gabled roof porch, not my favorite for a hip roof, however, it gives them a wonderful, open view of the park and lake.

I believe this was our rental the next summer, also a four family and was lakefront, so we had some great views when the storms rolled in. The two to the left of it are also Ross Hips, the one called Northeaster borders the tennis courts and sits where the old power site was.

Sunrise on July 18, 2009

Front page and center--NYT features soldier suicides

Isn't it nice the NYT wants to feature a suicide story front page with a 3 column wide photo about a 2007 death of Jacob Blaylock. Of course, no bias against the war or soliders on their part, right? The death of any soldier or former soldier, during combat or later from mental illness, is tragic. In WWI there were battles whose names we don't remember that wiped out 7,000 men in a few days--I'm sure the survivors had a difficult time the rest of their lives wondering "why did I live?." However, after you get past the "ain't it a shame that we're at war" theme and you get into the story, you find the featured soldier had many demons. ". . . the elements for disaster were in place long before he went to war." So it wasn't just the death of 2 in his unit or combat (he was in a transportation unit). Financial troubles, huge marital and custody battles, a sensitive nature, moody, the butt of jokes and teasing, apologetic, but musical and poetic. Into the second page, which many don't read, "Researchers of military suicide find not a single precipitating event, but many." "Soldiers who kill themselves are also likely to have a history of emotional troubles. . . "

So the reporter's mined that hole, and moves on to "screening." Why was he even in the Army? He'd been discharged once for mental health issues, but was "called back up when the Army was desperate for troops." NYT also got ahold of his VA private health records for treatment for depression--whether from someone inside or a family member, it doesn't say, but that's just a hint about privacy and health.

Then there's an itsy bitsy chart on the third page. Army suicides were well below the civilian rate up through 2004, and began to rise above the civilian rate in early 2007. Do you suppose the constant drum beat in the media and Congress-- Murtha, Pelosi, et al--against them had anything to do with their sense of mission, self-esteem and willingness to sacrifice, especially if they were fragile to begin with?

Another one who has read the HR 3200 bill

Letter from Edward Lynch, candidate for Congress from FL.

Dear Friend,

As you know, President Obama has been pushing his “Universal healthcare” plan. There have been a lot of people saying many different things about this new healthcare plan. Therefore, I felt the need to do what our congressmen and women have not done and read all of the healthcare plans out there. Let me tell you, as you can imagine, it was not easy reading. I wanted to be able to give you the ammunition (facts) to reply to those that want to know why we oppose the plan.

First, let me state that I do believe that we need to make sure that every LEGAL American citizen has access to the best healthcare system in the world and that it is affordable for everyone. Let me also state that, after reading the bills that are being considered, if the healthcare plan was a good plan, I would let you know that. That being said, the proposals set forth in the house (H.R. 3200)and in the senate are very bad for America for the following reasons:

1. We simply can not afford it. The Congressional Budget Office states that even with higher taxes on high income earners and penalties on employers who don’t provide coverage, the plan will fall $239 billion short of covering its cost of over $1 trillion. That is their best case scenario without the bill being completely scored.

2. It will not cover everyone. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that over 17 million people would remain uninsured AFTER this plan is implemented.

3. You will not be able to shop for or obtain private insurance if you do not have private insurance prior to the bill being passed. This is somewhat clearly stated on pgs. 16 and 17 in section 102(a)(1)(A).

4. After a 5 year grace period, all private insurers that are still in business will be required to offer a “qualified health benefits” plan based on government standards. The problem is whether or not the “government standards” will exclude private insurers. This on page 17, section 102(b)(1)(A).

5. No new policies will be allowed to be written by a private insurer after the public option becomes law. Also page 17.

6. Every five years, the elderly will have to attend a mandatory “advanced care planning consultation” for an “explanation by the practitioner of the continuum of end of life services.” The consultation will be conducted more frequently if a significant change in health condition; including diagnosis of a chronic, progressive, life limiting disease, terminal diagnosis, life threatening injury or upon admission to a skilled nursing or long term care facility. In other words, if you are old, you will be consulted about what your options will be if you get sick, if healthcare would not be an option (see #7). This starts on page 425.

7. Page 501 of the bill starts a section that indicates that $1 billion will be spent on “comparative effectiveness research” which is how the government evaluates relative merits of various treatments. In other words, rationing. This is tantamount to the government determining whether or not you are worth getting a particular treatment depending on your prognosis or age. Sec. 1401 Part D

8. This plan would allow for government funded abortions. Since this bill would cover all procedures, abortion is included. There is no exception for abortion.

9. Members of congress and unions would be exempt from this plan and not have to be a part of the healthcare plan. Recently, John Fleming, introduced H.R. 615 that stated that members that vote in favor of a government run healthcare must enroll under the public option. No democrat would sign on. If it is not good enough for congress, it is not good enough for us! This is section 3116.

10. $500 billion will be cut from senior healthcare to help pay for this bill. This will weaken Medicare, an organization already in trouble due to insufficient funds.

11. Hospitals and private healthcare facilities will not be able to collect money from the government plan unless they are “public” facilities.

12. Businesses will be fined over 8% of an employee’s salary if they do not provide healthcare insurance for their employees. Sec. 313.

13. Individuals that do not have health insurance will be fined an amount that will encourage them to purchase the government plan. Sec 401 Part VIII Subpart A Sec. 59B.

14. All “people,” legal or not, will be covered under this plan and identification cards will be issued. These identification cards will not be based on social security numbers.

These are some of the proven reasons why I could never support a bill like this. These are irrefutable facts, things that our present government does not want our citizens to be aware of, which is why they are trying to pass this bill as quickly as possible. The more we find out about the bill, the worse it gets. As I stated above, we need to reform our healthcare system, but this is not the way. In this case, doing nothing is better than passing this bill. It will hurt seniors, businesses and families.

When the left does something stupid

they can always blame talk radio. Like that end of life counseling.

Lakeside Cottage architecture, pt. 5

The Ross Hips, pt. 1

A hip roof, if the house were square, would look like this. A hip roof is practical and solid, ideal for stormy, windy, rainy areas and hurricane alleys. Also their overhangs can provide a lot of shade. Usually, the early 20th century hip roof, two story houses in Lakeside have a triangle shape to the street (the width), and a trapezoid shape for the length, the lots being much deeper than they were wide. On the east end of Lakeside which is some 30-40 years younger than the west end, there are 20 houses I'm calling them "Ross Hips" because W.D. Ross of Fremont, Ohio, built them beginning around 1907, maintaining them as rentals until his death in the 1940s. At that time they passed to his sons until sometime in the 1950s. One son, Harry Ross, wrote the book "Lake Erie and its Islands."

I think for the era in which they were built, and the general modesty, culture and goals of Lakeside, they were really quite magnificent. All have been remodeled, reshaped and most covered in vinyl siding during the last 90-100 years, but if you look at the roof and the lines you can still see what Lakesiders experienced for many years.

William DeWitt (W.D.) Ross was a teacher and superintendent of schools in Fremont, following in the footsteps of his father, William Ross, the longest serving superintendent (until 1906) and for whom Ross High school is named (Port Clinton News Herald, Aug. 30, 2006). He was a graduate of Oberlin and attended the University of Chicago. He gave up teaching after 10 years due to illness and began developing the east end of Lakeside around 1907. In the archive records (a big thank you to Jan Stephenson who found his obituary and the lot transfer records for me) are recorded the various lot sales and the advertisements for Ross Cottages, each of which had its own name. An obituary for W.D. reports that he died in October 1943, and within 5 hours of his death, his wife Evalyn also died. The properties passed to his sons, and then in the later 1940s and 1950s, were sold outside the family. However, some of the early transfers were also recorded in the name of his mother, his wife and his sister-in-law.

The houses on Plum and Ross Court facing Perry Park and the tennis courts down to the lakefront were apparently some of the earliest built. They had wonderful open porches with an angled window on the first floor to take advantage of the view. There had been a power plant on this site and there are no lot numbers recorded when he purchased the large tract. At some point there had been a bicycle racing track on this land.


From the clothing in this undated photo, I'd guess this is pre-WWI.


And here they are 100 years later.



The second house from the left has a gable roof and is not a Ross house. Notice the angled windows--many Ross houses even south of 2nd had these to provide a lake view. These houses all had a bathroom and kitchen, fireplace, electric lights, plastered walls, and were furnished to sleep 8-10, with living room and dining room and kitchen equipment. Quite different from "old" Lakeside where some homes had no interior walls, no indoor bathrooms, and resembled "wooden tents."


Except for having its porch enclosed, "The Noreaster" facing the lake still looks much the same today. The one next to it has had a gabled 2nd floor porch added which really changes its look. Shutters, of course, were never original to this style of architecture, but are a common "update." All the houses have had the porches enclosed, some more successfully than others. Many have managed to save the angled window, although sometimes if the porch was extended, it now resides inside the porch or was cut down to peek hole. Wood steps rotted, so most Lakeside homes now have concrete steps, which shift and move, or begin lifting the porch as tree roots get under them.

When we bought our 1943 cottage in 1988 thinking we'd remove the inappropriate 1980s factory built porch, we learned the previous owner had a variance, and we wouldn't be able to replace it if we removed it. So sometimes you have to stay with a remodel or do-over due to code changes.

Cottage cheese

No, I'm not going to write about women my age wearing shorts. I mean the edible kind. My daughter left a carton of cottage cheese here--no room in the cooler. So I opened it the other day; then my eye fell on the list of ingredients--looked like a high school chemistry lab experiment.

cultured non fat milk
nonfat milk
cream
salt
whey
food starch (corn)
guar gum
sorbic acid (to prevent mold)
citric acid
carrageehan
natural and artificial flavor
locust bean gum
tetrasodium pyrophosphate
monopotassium phosphate
enzymes

but it is
Gluten free!

When I was a child, a blob of cottage cheese with a piece of fruit was about the only salad that appeared on our table. And I'd watched my grandmother make it, although by that time I don't think they had a cow. When they did there was always a recipe around to use up the cream. It was when I met my mother-in-law that I learned what a tossed salad with lots of veggies, olives and tomatoes was all about. But I want to get more calcium in my diet, and dairy products are certainly a good source, so today I bought Daisy brand 2% (milk) cottage cheese.

cultured skim milk
cream
salt
Vitamin A palmate

Which brand would you want to put in your waiting tummy to strengthen your bones?

Now they’ve gone too far in bashing the Bushes

Laura was always fresh faced and lovely in my eyes. Remember all the Hillary hair internet sites? Seems her hair dresser doesn't enjoy being left out.

"It took Laura Bush four years to finally look good. It's taken Michelle Obama two months. She wears fake eyelashes that are beautiful. She can't do those herself." (Hillary’s former hair dresser.) Meow.

Paul L. Williams writes for the Canadian Free Press and he‘s one of those talking heads experts called in on the various cable and broakcast chatty news shows. He lists TWENTY TWO (22) personal assistants, secretaries, coordinators, and deputy-whatevers and their salaries here. Considering the economic times and her non-office, she certainly is a big spender--and I don’t think the gardener or make-up artist were even on that list.

The Obama handlers seem to be keeping Michelle under wraps so she doesn’t behave stupidly, like someone close to her, and mess up plans for legislation with falling poll numbers. Maybe all this staff is a pay-off for keeping quiet? She knows how rough those Chicago handlers can get. Look what they're doing to the Blue Dogs!

Michelle Obama is the first First Lady to hire a full-time makeup artist. Ingrid Grimes-Miles travels with her and is credited with making her eyebrows look less "angry,” but an Obama spokesman is quick to point out this salary is out of their personal funds. ?? Does that mean what supporters have donated instead of the ordinary taxpayer?