Aunt Gladys' Apple Cake (or pudding)

Tomorrow our "community" at UALC is having a brunch. We have 9 services, and after a number of experiements, our leadership has decided we're not a megachurch, we're 9 communities. Everyone we knew or did things with since 1976 when we became members are scattered around, but we like to go early, so we are part of the 8:15 traditional service. Personally, I would prefer a mix of music with liturgy, the way we did about 15-17 years ago before music defined everything, but no one asked me.

Anyway, back to the title of this blog--Aunt Gladys' Apple Cake or Pudding. I decided to use the family cookbook (1993) for this event, and was quite charmed by my cousin Judy's remark about this recipe of her mother who died in 1976.

"When I take a bite of this it brings tears to my eyes--it brings back so many memories of Mom."

That's the beautiful thing about using a family recipe--you can spend some time thinking about that family member.

Aunt Gladys and Uncle Ken lived in Byron, Illinois during my young years. They would bring my 3 cousins, Melvin (Mike), Kirby, and Judy to my grandparents on Sunday afternoon, and we'd all be together, because my parents brought the four of us from Forreston before we moved back to Mt. Morris in 1951. Then later they added a fourth--Rodney. As a youngster I thought my aunt was terribly old to be having another baby, but I just took a look at my genealogy, and she would have been 32! That shows you how children perceive their elders--they are always, always old and usually very wise!

It's still in the oven, and the mix was terribly stiff. It has no liquid and no salt. I substituted Splenda for the sugar, and often it doesn't cream the same way.

Beat together
1 cup of sugar (Splenda)
1/2 cup butter
1 egg

Add
3 medium apples, cored, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
1 1/4 cups of flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. soda

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Judy suggested a 3 qt round casserole dish, which I don't have, so I reserved a bit, so I could taste it, and she suggested 325 degrees. Several other relatives of Gladys submitted this recipe, so I sort of blended it.

I'm guessing this works best if it is served warm, which it won't be tomorrow when it appears (if it passes my taste test) in Founders Hall at Lytham Rd. UALC traditional service brunch.

Update: Tasted sort of dry--I'm looking for the original--I must have it somewhere.

Update 2: Found all three versions of this. No liquid. It is what it is. Dry. I think I'll take some Cool-Whip along.

Leftist attacks on Glenn Beck, go after his advertisers

Isn’t it strange--every conservative and libertarian who disagrees with Obama's economic policies is being called a racist, but when Glenn Beck calls Obama out on much more evidence--his personal behavior--it’s a crime against humanity worthy of destroying the man. When SNL mildly poked fun at Obama, his supporters scaffolding in the media went crazy! Look. Bush withstood 8 years of pounding by the DNC, European heads of state, South American dictators, late night talk show hosts, the hyper-hysterical left wing press in the United States, Puffington Post, the Dixie Chicks and the View. He was called Hitler, Stalin, a Rove-puppet, a Cheney-puppet, and the Devil incarnate. But Obama has to be constantly propped up and coddled by these same people who are delighted that he was selected for the Nobel peace prize after 11 days in office for nothing except promoting the Euro-socialist view of the USA.

Here's an interesting take Is this news or a comedy tour :

"When news organizations consistently slant their coverage and ignore major stories because they don’t fit their template or further their agenda it’s time to re-evaluate what they are. They portray themselves as objective yet everyone can see they’re partisan publicists for a particular party and a particular radical left-wing of that party. Study after study shows the Corporations Once Known as the Mainstream Media are perceived by the public as advocates whose left-wing agenda is self-serving and deceptive. Instead of the fourth branch of government, honest brokers working to keep the public informed they’ve degenerated into craven corporate cheerleaders for Progressivism.

Then there’s Glenn Beck. If you’re missing Glenn Beck’s daily television program you’re missing some of the most honest, hard-hitting television journalism ever produced. Despite a leftwing inspired boycott his daily ratings for the time-slot are through the roof. He’s so honest and forthright he’s become the bell-weather for journalistic freedom. Glenn is doing the heavy-lifting when it comes to exposing the corruption that’s destroying the tap-root of American democracy…..As long Glenn is still on the air we know freedom of speech still exists in America."

Note: that should be bell-wether, one who leads.

It could be 7-8 years before we get back to the Bush economy

84 months. Economists are hopeful that unemployment won't go beyond 10.2%. Is that enough change for you. He did promise that he would fundamentally change the United States.

Global warming scare is science used as a political tool to steal liberties

They are predicting snow for Chicago this week-end and they are already skiing out west. Temps haven’t changed in a decade. But politics is politics. And the lobbyists and CEOs are getting on the bandwagon. But don’t you just hate it when speakers say, “very unique.” Folks, something is either unique or it isn’t.

A mean spirited law suit

Read the whole story at American Daughter. If the Sunrise Rock cross comes down (right now they've just covered it with plywood), don't you think for a minute that will be the last of it.

Currently, the Supreme Court’s nine justices are divided on the issue along progressive and conservative lines. Progressive justices view the Constitution as a living, breathing document emanating meanings from ethereal penumbras of the actual text, which often contradict the plain understanding of the words themselves; and conservative justices focus on a strict interpretation of the text of the Constitution based on the originally intended meaning of the text.

When it comes to the Establishment Clause, progressive justices have interpreted the emanations from the clause to mean government hostility toward religion in general and Christianity in particular; whereas conservative justices have interpreted the clause to mean government neutrality toward religion and accommodation for Christianity in particular.

However, the final battle won’t be won until the Supreme Court decides on the constitutionality of Ninth Circuit’s ruling, and that could take weeks. It’s also quite possible the high court will ignore the broader question of whether the presence of the cross on a federal preserve establishes a religion, and will address the narrower question of whether Congress was right to transfer the land on which the cross sits to private ownership.

It's not called the 9th circus for nothing.

$54 billion in 10 years

That's all. The CBO says tort reform would reduce health care spending by .05 percent. Lawyers must be wetting their pants. Now, to the rest of us, that sounds like A LOT of money, but in government, which now doesn't bat an eyelash at trillions and thinks the stimulus actually stimulated something, that's nothing. That's play money. That's Monopoly money in pretty colors. We could save more than that by just cleaning up graft in the food insecurity programs in USDA.

Tort reform could affect costs for health care both directly and indirectly: directly, by lowering premiums for medical liability insurance; and indirectly, by reducing the use of diagnostic tests and other health care services when providers recommend those services principally to reduce their potential exposure to lawsuits. Because of mixed evidence about whether tort reform affects the utilization of health care services, past analyses by CBO have focused on the impact of tort reform on premiums for malpractice insurance. However, more recent research has provided additional evidence to suggest that lowering the cost of medical malpractice tends to reduce the use of health care services.

CBO now estimates that implementing a typical package of tort reform proposals nationwide would reduce total U.S. health care spending by about 0.5 percent (about $11 billion in 2009). That figure is the sum of a direct reduction in spending of 0.2 percent from lower medical liability premiums and an additional indirect reduction of 0.3 percent from slightly less utilization of health care services. (Those estimates take into account the fact that because many states have already implemented some of the changes in the package, a significant fraction of the potential cost savings has already been realized.)

Saving these lives gets no peace prize or international praise

"I think after September 11th the American people are valuing life more and realizing that we need policies to value the dignity and worth of every life. And President Bush has worked to say, let's be reasonable, let's work to value life, let's try to reduce the number of abortions, let's increase adoptions. And I think those are the kind of policies that the American people can support, particularly at a time when we're facing an enemy, and really the fundamental difference between us and the terror network we fight is that we value every life. It's the founding conviction of our country, that we're endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, the right to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Karen Hughes, former Bush adviser, speaking on CNN April 24, 2004.

But the No-bel judges were correct in stating that Obama had caught the world's attention--during the long campaign and his 10 months in office he talks mostly about himself (which may have cost Chicago the Olympics), which necessarily deceases the emphasis on the United States, which enormously pleases both our enemies and envious friends. Link.

Wealth For Life Principles

These were found at Black Enterprise. I was reading an on-line article on how to survive on one income for a formerly 2-income household, although I'm not sure these 10 were part of that article.

1. I Will Live Within My Means
2. I Will Maximize My Income Potential Through Education and Training
3. I Will Effectively Manage My Budget, Credit, Debt, and Tax Obligations
4. I Will Save At Least 10% of My Income
5. I Will Use Homeownership as a Foundation For Building Wealth
6. I Will Devise An Investment Plan For My Retirement Needs And Childrens’ Education
7. I Will Ensure That My Entire Family Adheres To Sensible Money Management Principles
8. I Will Support the Creation and Growth of Minority-Owned Businesses
9. I Will Guarantee My Wealth Is Passed On To Future Generations Through Proper Insurance And Estate Planning
10. I Will Strengthen My Community Through Philanthropy.

I think it is an excellent list, although most of them we didn't follow (especially #8--even most hair products and hiphop music are white controlled). We were in our upper 40s by the time we even thought about saving for retirement (there weren't as many tax shelters back in the old days for the ordinary citizen). That's when I went back to work and joined a tax deferred savings plan. Before we became DINKS, everything that didn't go for the kids went to the house. We learned in our 30s about tithing our income (loosely #10), and I think that's a tremendous advantage to start at a young age. Just take it off the top, from the gross, not the net. I have my personal doubts that home ownership (#5) builds wealth. . . although its better than owning a boat. Owning income property and renting does create an investment, however. It's a huge hassle and one I wouldn't recommend for the faint of heart, but that crummy duplex we bought in 1962 put us on the road, not to wealth, but to better housing and income growth for us. For the first 25 years of our marriage our savings (#4) was "put and take" certainly nothing for the long run.

Catching up with California

That's what Lisa Jackson, EPA, wants the rest of the country to do. From her speech analysis at The Foundry, Heritage Society.

"According to Jackson, climate change regulations have their “roots” in California, and much of what the President is trying to accomplish is guided by what California has already achieved. She touts that the United States is finally “catching up with what’s happening [in California]”

But what do we want to catch up to? A report by the American Lung Association from May 17, 2009 shows that Los Angeles, Fresno, Bakersfield, Sacramento, Visalia, and Hanford all rank in the top ten of one or all three categories of pollution: short-term particle pollution, ozone pollution and year-round particle pollution. Maybe the results will come in the future but it’s highly unlikely the economic pain will be worth the negligible environmental benefits.

California’s unemployment rate for August 2009 was 12.2 percent, nearly 5 percentage points higher than a year ago and tied for fourth highest in the country. While supporters argue that thousands of green jobs will be created, David Kreutzer of the Heritage Foundation warns that green job growth is “grossly overstated because they don’t take into account the jobs lost elsewhere.”

The irony of mainstream environmentalists praising one of the most polluted states as a model to follow in one of the most polluted cities in America has not been lost on critics. It has become very clear that the concern is not so much for the pollution itself: mainstream environmentalists offer effulgent praise to California, calling it a “green state” not because it is clean but because it has installed stringent greenhouse gas regulations. The California energy plan should be used as a lessons learned model rather than hailed as a success.

In April she spoke to Black Enterprise, praising Van Jones, who is the unvetted, avowed Communist with a prison record, who resigned in the middle of the night when the president's closed circle of marxist appointees decided he was expendable (moved over to Podesta's think tank).

"We’re already seeing political and local leaders be very thoughtful about ways to really be transformative [with her share of $7 billion in ARRA]. Obviously the job part of it we touch, but we’re not leading. The White House has hired Van Jones from Green for All to be the special advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the Council on Environmental Quality." Lisa Jackson, EPA

How long to read the bill?

I actually know Bonnie James, quoted in this article, who teaches speed reading.

"We read the entire House version when it came out in July. Certainly, at just over 1,000 pages, it was long. At times, it was exceedingly boring. We took frequent Diet Coke breaks. Day passed into night, then day, then night, then ... memory fails. We're sorry to report that we didn't think to time how long we took.

So to explore Bachmann's comment, we wanted a back-of-the-envelope estimate of how much time it might take the average person to literally read the text of the bill. A computer program told us the House bill weighed in at 163,000 words. The average adult, meanwhile, can read passages aloud at an average rate of 154 words per minute, according to a 2003 measurement of basic adult literacy by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. At that rate, the average person would need about 18 hours to read the bill aloud. So if you had the three days Pelosi would guarantee, you'd only have to spend six hours per day reading the bill.

Most people, though, can read faster when they're reading silently. The estimates we found for adult readers ranged from 200 to 400 words per minute. At those rates, a person could conquer the bill in seven to 13 hours.

Let's say that you're a better-than-average reader, though -- even a speed reader. We spoke with Bonnie James, the president of Advanced Reading Concepts, an organization that teaches speed reading to students at weekend courses and in corporate settings. James said that graduates of her classes can read, on average, anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 words per minute. At that rate, you could read the bill in about two or three hours.

But those times would be for someone who had a general understanding of the material and what it contained, James said.

"A trained speed reader, looking for specific things, could probably go through it at 1,200 words a minute," James said. "But you don't just open the bill and then read it really, really fast. You need to be looking for information, looking for certain words. You don't just go into a trance." Polifact.com

The real cost of the Baucus bill--$2 trillion

"The CBO score of the Baucus bill is like a mystery novel with the last 50 pages missing. It fails to reveal both the full cost of the bill and the budget gimmicks that Mr. Baucus uses to hide that cost.

The Baucus bill will not reduce the deficit, and it would ultimately cost taxpayers more than $2 trillion—just like every other bill Congress has produced so far."
Cato Institute

Social media

I guess I'm still back in the dark ages.

Ideas on downsizing the government

Now this should shake a few people up, the Cato Institute's Downsizing the Federal Government. Downsize agriculture? Although if the problem is shifted to the states, the taxpayer won't save anything.

All agricultural and rural subsidies in the Department of Agriculture’s budget should be abolished to save taxpayers $25 billion annually. In addition, agricultural trade barriers should be repealed. Current agricultural and rural policies are economically and environmentally damaging, and they create unfair transfers of wealth.

The department's food subsidy activities—food stamps, school lunches, and WIC—are properly local and private functions. They should be devolved to the states, with each state determining appropriate policies for its own residents. Such reforms would save federal taxpayers $79 billion annually. Some states may decide to fund food subsidies on their own, but competition between the states would likely result in smaller, more innovative programs.

Forest Service subsidies to state governments and private businesses should be ended. Congress should also explore options to transfer the national forests to the states or to new independent trusts that would be self-funded from forest-related receipts.

The table shows that these reforms would eliminate more than 90 percent of the USDA’s budget, saving federal taxpayers $108 billion annually, or about $923 per U.S. household. Under the proposal, the USDA would retain responsibility for animal and plant health inspections, food safety, grain and packing inspections, and conservation activities. Department of Agriculture

Notice Medicare and Medicaid together total more than defense. And bailouts and interest total more than Medicare. I wonder what's in "other."

But they can't do anything about illegal immigrants?

Local law enforcement agencies aren't allowed to do much about illegals--they aren't Homeland Security or ICE trained, they aren't federal agents. So why were police in Missouri last year asked to participate in Obama "truth squads?"

"One year ago on September 23rd, KMOV Channel 4 in St. Louis reported that St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCullough and St. Louis Circuit attorney Jennifer Joyce joined a high-profile group of law enforcement officials (including Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer) threatening to invoke “Missouri ethics laws” against anyone the prosecutors determined had spread misleading information about Obama." Big Government

Which is a more serious infraction of the law and more expensive to the state: illegals taking jobs from Americans, joining criminal gangs and sucking up benefits or a nasty campaign ad?

"Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has just ordered Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to stop arresting suspects based solely on the fact that they are illegal aliens. The Arizona sheriff who has been called the “toughest” in America, defiantly said he will continue his sweeps which have netted thousands of illegal aliens.

Sheriff Arpaio has vowed to maintain his “crime suppression operations,” conducting street patrols looking for suspected illegal aliens. He says that he can still operate within the law, under Arizona human smuggling laws.

“It’s all politics,” Arpaio told reporters.

Earlier this year, the Maricopa County Sheriff said: “If I'm told not to enforce immigration law except if the alien is a violent criminal, my answer to that is we are still going to do the same thing, 287g or not. We have been very successful."

Under Sheriff Arpaio, his department has either identified in jail, or arrested on the street more than 30,000 illegal aliens in and around Phoenix, AZ." Examiner.com

"The issue under consideration today is the use of the E-Verify system in Ohio. Although the E-Verify system is not a panacea, it is a relatively inexpensive ($100 or less per employer), efficient (an inquiry takes 15 seconds or less), and reliable (96 percent) online method of ensuring that Ohio jobs are filled only by Ohioans and those who are lawfully present. With Ohio's unemployment rate at 10.8 percent and increasing, such a law would provide much-needed job opportunities for those out-of-work Ohioans at both the unskilled and skilled lev­els. Specifically, many entry-level jobs currently filled by illegal border crossers (who make up 60 percent of all illegals) and some technical-level jobs currently filled by individuals who have overstayed their work or education visas (40 percent of all ille­gals) would become open as those holding the jobs illegally were let go." Controlling Illegal Immigration, Ohio House Bill 184.

"Eight officers returned Tuesday from four weeks of special training that allows them to perform some limited immigration-related duties.

As a result, the Butler County Sheriff's Office became the first police agency in the Midwest to receive immigration enforcement powers that are typically reserved for federal agencies, authorities said Thursday - about a year-and-a-half after Sheriff Rick Jones first tried to get those powers." Feb. 8 2008, Cincinnati Enquirer.

This ACORN mess is in Ohio

"The activist group ACORN, which has long worked with criminals as it preys on the weak and the troubled, is on the verge of yet another public relations catastrophe.

That's because a cross-dressing Ohio male escort whom ACORN registered multiple times to vote was convicted of full-fledged vote fraud in addition to the lesser crime of voter registration fraud. A spokesman for Cleveland prosecutor Bill Mason confirmed yesterday that a local investigation of ACORN remains wide open."

Story at American Spectator

After seeing what went on here in Franklin County where they bussed in the voters and brought in the phony registration workers, I don't expect much action on this Cleveland case.

ACORN worker claims they threw out Republican votes

Interesting comments from a Black Republican, who registered voters, and voted for Barack Obama.

" “This is my first experience” with ACORN, [Fathiyyah] Muhammad said. “This was before Obama got the nomination, long before then….I heard about this group that was paying $3.00 per person, to go out and to get people to sign up to vote. So I went over, I thought that well this is a good way to make some money because I know everybody, you know. I went over there and this guy signed me up and everything, and gave me my little pad, all this stuff.”

Muhammad went to the ACORN office in Jacksonville. There she encountered a young man speaking to a room of about twenty people. “He was telling us, you know, about his experience, he was from Brooklyn, he wasn’t from this area. He was just here recruiting people to register people to vote. They had a big office here, and I would say maybe about ten or twelve people at there.”

She went to work: “Well, I went out and got a lot of people, homeless people, but of course I signed everybody up as a Republican, and I would have put people had they been Democrats.” She was not forcing people to sign up as Republicans: “You could put down anything you wanted.” But when she got back to ACORN, a group leader was not pleased: “So I showed what I had, and he said, “No, no, you a fraud, there can’t be any black Republicans,’ and oh, he just kind of hung me out to dry…. But of course their main aim was to register only Democrats. They’re not interested in registering Republicans.”

She saw ACORN officials in Jacksonville throw out the Republican registrations she made. “They just discarded those, they weren’t valid. All of the registrations… they just threw those out.” Yet she says that she is sure that the people she registered were actually going to vote: “Yes, they all were going to vote, I just didn’t want to get anybody just to get the three dollars, I wasn’t desperate for three dollars.”

ACORN did not honor its agreement to pay three dollars for each registered voter. “He took my papers,” says Muhammad, “didn’t pay me anything and I just left, I just figured that this is just another scam…. Everyone else got paid, all the other people got paid, but I didn’t. And I didn’t make a big deal about it, I just figured that it was another one of life’s experiences.”

Now maybe she's no more reliable than other ACORN employees, but this wouldn't be the first time Democrats have tried to claim there are no black Republicans (which is really odd because I link to a lot of them). ACORN in Minnesota which helped that comic get elected also needs to be investigated for not being able to find Republicans. These would be much easier to track down than hanging chads.

Link to original article at Big Government.

Medical education

The Sept 23/30 (v302, n.12) of JAMA is on medical education. Just a few items gleaned to throw into the health care mix and to ponder whether universal health care will help or hurt medical care.

• Up to 60% of practicing physicians report symptoms of burnout, defined as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and low sense of accomplishment.
  
  
• Physicians can now get CMEs for "mindful meditation," i.e. learning to pay attention and listen.
  
  
• 60% of the schools that responded to a survey on web 2.0 reported medical students were posting unprofessionally online.
  
  
• Although medical educators have been working on better feedback for 25 years, learners still complain. There seems to be evidence that physicians overestimate their abilities.
  
  
• There is little evidence that continuing medical education improves practicing physicians' clinical reasoning and the quality of care. Electronic sources aren't too great either.
  
  
• Getting information faster doesn't mean you remember it. There are two types of memory--verbatim and gist. As we age, our verbatim box is less accessible so we rely more on the gist box.
  
  
• It seems medical schools aren't doing a great job of teaching doctors about health care for people with disabilities. The report was issued in 2005 so I assume the research pre-dates that. And since those goals weren't met, bigger better larger and more expensive goals are suggested.

As I found out from my years in academe, educators are terrific at setting goals; not so great at solving problems. I think you get money for setting goals. Not so much for solving problems.

Carol Diedrichs named Director of Ohio State University Libraries

"Carol Pitts Diedrichs has been recommended to serve as Director of University Libraries at Ohio State. Subject to approval by the Board of Trustees, her appointment will be effective Jan. 5, 2010. Diedrichs is currently serving as Dean of Libraries and the William T. Young Endowed Chair at the University of Kentucky, the flagship institution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. She has vast experience in library administration and at UK provides intellectual leadership for the educational and service programs of 12 libraries; administers a budget of more than $21 million; and is a member of the Provost's Dean's Council.

Diedrichs served at Ohio State from 1987-2003, most recently as assistant director for technical services and collections and professor." OSU Today, Oct. 9

I worked with Carol during my years as Veterinary Medicine Librarian, and I am quite happy with this choice.

George Gilder on Silicon Israel

In the Summer 2009 City Journal there is a must read article about Israeli Jews and investment in technological innovation.

“The most precious resource in the world economy is human genius, which we may define as the ability to devise significant inventions that enhance survival and prosperity. At any one time, genius is embodied in just a few score thousand people, a creative minority that accounts for most human accomplishment and wealth. Cities and nations rise and thrive when they welcome entrepreneurial and technical genius; when they overtax, criminalize, or ostracize it, they wither.

During the twentieth century, an astounding proportion of geniuses have been Jewish, and the fate of nations from Russia westward has largely reflected how they have treated their Jews. When Jews lived in Vienna and Budapest early in the century, these cities of the Hapsburg Empire were world centers of intellectual activity and economic growth; then the Nazis came to power, the Jews fled or were killed, and growth and culture disappeared with them. When Jews came to New York and Los Angeles, those cities towered over the global economy and culture. When Jews escaped Europe for Los Alamos and, more recently, for Silicon Valley, the world’s economy and military balance shifted decisively. Thus many nations have faced a crucial moral test: Will they admire, reward, and emulate a minority that has achieved towering accomplishments? Or will they writhe in resentment and plot its destruction?”

It would seem like a no-brainer that Israel should have gone to the top with all those talented, creative Jews, but no, in the early years of that tiny nation they repeated all the mistakes of 20th century European socialism--high taxation to redistribute wealth, a welfare state mentality, communal experiments in which both the family and private property were put at risk, public ownership of major companies, and huge bureaucratic barriers. Yes, it was, in my opinion on a smaller scale, our own Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod experiment with Barack Obama fronting the show. But all that has changed now, says Gilder. In the last 25 years there was an flood of Soviet Jews, disdainful of socialism, who had honed their minds in math and science, and an influx of Americans bringing Silicon Valley know-how with them.

“Mix the leadership of these dynamic capitalists with a million restive and insurgent Soviets, and the reaction was economically incandescent. . . Today, immigrants from the former Soviet Union constitute fully half of Israel’s high-tech workers.” [And having been there in March I think the rest are in the diamond retail industry.]

This is a critically important article on capitalism and the economy for you to read. Don’t miss it.

Sleep Apnea Research at OSU

Occasionally I stop by the web page of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science at Ohio State University--mainly to ponder "what does translational mean." Believe it or not, it's getting ARRA (stimulus) money--over $1.6 million for some new computer grid--and I also ponder how that will do one thing to improve the economy. Although I still haven't answered those questions, I did note some interesting research on sleep apnea, which if successful, looks a whole lot easier than wearing one of those awful masks in order to have a good night and safe night's sleep.

"Dr. Magalang, an Associate Professor in the Divison of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, along with his research team will examine the effects of mandibular advancement devices [MAD] treatment on insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, psychologic well-being, and quality of life in patients with OSA who are unable to tolerate Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy.

Sleep apnea affects more than 20 million Americans and occurs when the area behind the tongue and soft palate becomes obstructed repeatedly, causing a person to stop breathing numerous times during sleep. It can range from mild to severe and the condition has been associated with an increased risk for stroke, hypertension, heart disease, depression, and diabetes.

The most common treatment for OSA patients is CPAP, delivered by a machine through a specially designed mask that prevents the throat from collapsing during sleep. While CPAP is a highly effective treatment for sleep apnea, it is estimated that at best, only 50% of patients tolerate and continue to use the machine long term.

Thus, Dr. Magalang and his team have proposed a study to better understand the effects of MAD for the treatment of sleep apnea. MAD is a dental device that is worn by the patient only during sleep and protrudes the lower jaw forward, preventing the airway from collapsing.

“There is a need for alternative therapy for sleep apnea,” says Magalang. “MAD has been used in the past to treat OSA, but the health outcomes as a result of this treatment have not really been evaluated. Some patients just cannot tolerate CPAP and we need to know the health outcomes of these alternative therapies.”

Dr. Magalang hopes that by providing evidence for the effects of MAD therapy on selected health outcomes, practitioners will consider this form of treatment when the patient is unable to tolerate CPAP.

“There is good evidence that the hypoxic stress, caused by the repetitive dipping of the oxygen levels in sleep apnea, is associated with insulin resistance, a marker for the development of diabetes and also an important risk factor for heart disease,” he said. “We need to know whether MAD treatment improves insulin resistance.”

Over the course of 3 months, the study will examine 40 randomized subjects who have reported that they cannot tolerate CPAP. The research team also includes: Dr. Allen Firestone, Department of Orthodontics; Dr. Dara Schuster, Divison of Endocrinology; and Dr. Sharla Wells-DiGregorio, Department of Psychiatry."

My husband says that when I lost 20 lbs I stopped snoring. Do thin people snore?

After they get the death panels in place . . .

there should be more room in nursing homes. "Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced Tuesday that she is pursuing plans to remove some captured illegal aliens from “prison-like or jail-like circumstances” and put them in converted hotels and nursing homes . . . Our detention system has some who have committed crimes, others whose crimes under federal law is a misdemeanor, others who have as I said before not committed a crime at all,” Napolitano said, apparently not including being arrested from breaking federal immigration law as a crime." CNS News

The H1N1 vaccine

"A recent poll by Consumer Reports found that two-thirds of parents plan to delay or skip getting their children the H1N1 shot altogether.

Some believe the vaccine was rushed and not adequately tested. Others just don’t trust flu shots in general and avoid them each winter like the plague.

But government officials say those concerns are irrational. H1N1 flu has hit children particularly hard — 36 youths in the U.S. had died from it through August — so they are advising parents very strongly to do what's best for their kids and get them vaccinated." Fox News

There's an easy way to reassure the public. The HHS and CDC families get it first. If all goes well, it's probably OK.

WSJ reported that state and local budget cuts coupled with limits on who can administer the vaccine would hamstring the delivery of the vaccines, even if you convince people to get it. Manufacturers are still in production, and it has been rushed to market.

But never mind. Rahm Emanuel assures us they'll never waste a crisis, so it's all for the good.

Update: Carol's granddaughter has cancer. She wants everyone to get the vaccine. Read why.

Don't they have insurance?

I was reading a blogger today who was enjoying Britain's health system and couldn't imagine why Americans didn't want it. Maybe it's these stats:

"According to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data, there were 26.6 MRI machines in the U.S. per million people in 2004. In Canada, there were 4.9 such devices, while Britain enjoyed 5. For every 100,000 Americans, 2006 saw 436.8 receive angioplasties. Among Canadians, that figure was 135.9, while only 93.2 Britons per 100,000 got that cardiac procedure.

Maybe that’s why, among American men, heart-attack deaths in 2004 stood at 53.8 per 100,000. In Canada, 58.3 men per 100,000 died of cardiac arrest, while coronaries buried 69.5 of every 100,000 British males.

The fatality rate for breast cancer, according to the National Center for Policy Analysis and Lancet Oncology, is 25 percent in the U.S., 28 percent in Canada, and 46 percent in Great Britain.

Among those diagnosed with prostate cancer, 19 percent die of the disease in America. In Canada, 25 percent of such patients succumb to this disease. And in Great Britain — an Anglophone NATO member and America’s closest ally — prostate cancer kills 57 percent of those who contract it. That is triple the American fatality rate." Deroy Murdock

In comparing life expectancy you need to start at about age 40--that's when we start falling apart, and that's when you need decent medical care.

A Bill Ayers theory

Ann Althouse has a plausible theory on why Bill Ayers would admit to authoring Obama's book, Dreams from my father. Wanting to get back in the news would get my vote. Getting back at Obama who has been a big disappointment to the far left would come in second. But Marxists lie, so who would believe him? I'll let this one pass.

How we came to own Government Motors

"Autos are an industry that, for decades, has not been able to rationally restructure itself to provide a competitive return to investors. Politicians won't allow it. They wouldn't permit the necessary short-term job loss. The result, finally, is what we see today: a global auto sector increasingly dependent on taxpayer subsides." Holman W. Jenkins on the UAW and Nummi

The crooks are getting lazy--going after Medicare

And these crooks are not in Congress. This is just old fashion street crime. Kelly Kennedy of Associated Press has gone all Glenn Beck on us and is actually reporting with a front page story (in the Columbus Dispatch) on Medicare fraud. Now if Medicare is so expensive, poorly managed and there is crime and fraud, and it is government health care for a very small percentage of the American public, why not clean it up first to demonstrate the government can take on a bigger job--that of insuring all of us?

"Lured by easier money and shorter prison sentences, Mafia figures and other violent criminals are increasingly moving into Medicare fraud and spilling blood over what was once a white-collar crime.

Around the nation, federal investigators have been threatened, an informant's body was found riddled with bullets, and a woman was discovered dead in a pharmacy under investigation, her throat slit with a piece of broken toilet seat.

For criminals, Medicare schemes offer a greater payoff and carry much shorter prison sentences than offenses such as drug trafficking or robbery." Google News

To answer my own question. Obama's take over of the health care system has nothing to do with cost, improving coverage, or reducing waste. It's all about power. More for him, less for us.

Congress catching on about czars

OK. So they are finally noticing the power grab of the executive branch from the legislative. It's been a small drip; now it's a flood. Joe Markman of McClatchy Newspapers reports (story varies somewhat depending on which paper you read) that members of both parties realize the appointments circumvent their authority. A panel of experts brought in to testify can find no legal issues--it apparently began with FDR. But the issue isn't dead. Time to again alert your representatives and senators that we still want to be represented.

In a letter sent to the president this week, Sen. Susan Collins (R- Maine) and five other Republican lawmakers criticized the administration for encroaching on Congress's authority in establishing too many far-reaching czars.

Collins identified 18 positions created by President Obama which "may be undermining the constitutional oversight responsibilities of Congress." The letter asks Obama to respond with information about each position, including the administration's vetting process and whether the officials will be available to appear before Congress. . .

Democrats have also questioned the use of czars. On Tuesday, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) raised concerns in a letter to Obama. And Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) had sent a similar letter earlier this year, noting that czars in past administrations had "rarely" testified before congressional committees "and often shield the information and decision-making process behind the assertion of executive privilege."

Saturn's "new" ring

"Scientists at NASA have discovered a nearly invisible ring around Saturn -- one so large that it would take 1 billion Earths to fill it." CNN technology.

Who knows why it took so long to find it. These stories always strengthen my belief that the Genesis record is true and completely trustworthy, and decreases my confidence that pea-brained experts and politicans have any clue what to do about controlling climate. Look what tiny little "Phoebe" was able to do--with no visible industry or cities or capitalists in sight.

"Phoebe, a Saturnian satellite measuring only 214 kilometres (133 miles) across, probably provides the record-breaking tenuous circle of dusty and icy debris, they report on Thursday in Nature, the weekly British science journal." Canada.com

Way to go, Anne!

A joyful place in which to kill babies

I get most of my green schemes and screams from my husband's architectural, urban planning and construction e-newsletters. But not usually items on abortion. This morning, my two interests came together in this handsome video of the Planned Parenthood Golden Gate and interview with Anne Fougeron, architect, and Dian Harrison, of PPGG. I was going to ridicule the "joyful" nature comment, attractive, artistic jars filled with condoms, and the architect's sense of bonding with the "mission" of the client. But then when I researched it, I found Jill Stanek had already done the research on this organization, and that Dian Harrison had been the model for a PPGG cartoon featuring violence against pro-lifers.

Host shouts down guest on MSNBC

So much for thugery.

Listen up, you overweight couch potatoes who voted for Obama

"Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee approved a healthcare reform amendment that would penalize employees who are not following “healthy lifestyles” and participating in wellness programs. Employers will be allowed to raise healthcare premiums by as much as 50 percent for workers who are fat, smoke, don’t exercise, are noncompliant with preventive care, and not meeting certain health measures, such as lower cholesterol levels." Read the full story at Sandy's Junkfood Science.

Guess which insurer denies the most claims?

The government.

"The Medicare denial rate found in the study was, on a weighted average basis, roughly 1.7 times that of all of the private carriers combined (99,025 divided by 2,447,216 is 4.05%; 6.85% divided by 4.05% =1.69)." Read the whole article here. The research used the AMA's 2008 report.

There's a solution for everything

HT Ann Althouse

The door swings both ways Bertha!

"[Bertha] Lewis said many conservatives have used the videos to act on a longstanding grudge against Acorn. “I think you make some powerful enemies…when you organize poor people to have power,” she said. Washington Wire, WSJ The left gets very nervous when their schemes to keep the poor in their grasp is loosened, and they'll come out with all guns firing, even in no firearms cities. The most recent example of McCarthyism we have has been during the Obama Congress when they hauled people in to ridicule and threaten them for doing their jobs and making too much money. Bertha says ACORN can survive without government grants, and I say good for you. Go for it! I think all non-profits, right, left, center, and religious, ought to stop taking government money to run day care centers, foreclosure workshops, AIDS clinics, women empowerment programs, children's sporting events, "think tanks," tutoring for immigrants, races for disease of the week, and any number of do-gooder programs that are politically or religiously slanted and ultimately dance to the government's wishes. Let's get the government out of our cupboards, churches, sporting events, and arts organizations and make those boards, trustees and CEOs earn their own money and stop using ours.

COWS Fall Festival of Paintings

Sunday afternoon we went down to German Village to enjoy the opening of the Central Ohio Watercolor Society Fall Festival of Paintings. It is a lovely show, in a delightful environment--Caterina Ltd., which sells French, German, Italian and other European ceramics and linens.



The COWS show is on the third floor. On the second floor is a show by a photographer, Debbie Rosenfeld, who worked in the World Trade Center until 9/11. She and her husband started their lives over here in Columbus and I thought her use of black and white with some color was quite stunning.

Caterina is a wonderful place to beginning your early Christmas shopping, either selecting from their quality pieces of hand painted items (I have some Polish hand painted coffee cups I purchased there last year, and when I have my morning coffee I apologize to Poland), their nativity scenes, or the art from individual local artists and groups.

On writing memories

I don't do as much as I used to--hard to do it without involving other people whose memories differ, and also there just wasn't that much going on in my life--married to the same guy for 49 years, lived here for 42 years, not many hobbies, most really big questions are settled, career moves and events are becoming a bit dim and more removed from the high tech environment of today. I have 40 years of letters to my parents, but really, they were just early unformed blogs. But. . . today. . . a comment.

About 3 years ago I did a Monday Memories about Heritage Lake, Indiana, and today got a nostalgic response. That’s one of the nice things about blogging. You never know who is going to find the entry or when. Other oldies that seem to get a lot of interest are boy paper dolls, Roger Vernam, children’s book illustrator, Halls of Ivy (the song and radio show), the Cimarron toilets, and of course, the old stand-by fixing a broken zipper. Last night at book club someone told me she'd flagged one of my blogs about my mother (a letter she wrote to a friend as a teen-ager when the family had gone west), and when the flag box filled up she finally read it and enjoyed it. From that she got to my sewing patterns blog, which is basically all memories since I no longer sew.

I don’t know what affect having no labeling will have on people finding me by accident through Google or Yahoo. For a long time, Blogger didn’t have a label function, and now it does, and suddenly without warning they’ve imposed a limit of 2000 labels. So unless I want to go back and delete labels, I can’t use that feature.

Label: blogging, memories

Gaspard, ACORN and the Big Reveal

Move that BUS!

"With the revelation that White House Director of Political Affairs, Patrick Gaspard, has close ties to Bertha Lewis and to ACORN, Matthew Vadum and Erick Erickson appear to be onto something significant. While the Gaspard matter needs further investigation before we form any hard conclusions, it certainly seems to confirm that President Obama’s ties to a whole series of ACORN-controlled organizations are neither minor nor by any means long-past. In fact, making use of what Erickson and Vadum have discovered about Gaspard, we can trace these links still further." Please leave rude and disbeliving comments at NRO The Corner

Politico, the blog for gob-smacked Obamatites, doesn't like the research of Matthew Vadum, but I think he's one of the best on the internet. He's a senior editor at Capital Research Center, a Washington, D.C. think tank that studies the politics of philanthropy. When you follow the money, you just never know what will turn up. Here's a good one on ACORN's lawyer. Here's the memo he mentions.


Note: Label in blogger is currently not working.
Labels: Patrick Gaspard, ACORN, Capital Research Center,

Funny moment during a sad event

My husband and I were drafted into ushering at a funeral the other night at our church. The congregation was going to be asked to sing (some rather unsingable tunes as it turned out), so the pastor asked us to suggest that people sit near the front, close to the family members. My husband speaks softly, and to be kind, sometimes I can't understand him. He said to one couple, 70-ish, "We're requesting that you sit near the front." "What'd he say?" the husband whispered to the wife, and she responded, "He said crazy people should sit near the front." I overheard this and saw her rolling her eyes, so I darted up the aisle and repeated the correct instructions.

Ohio Pro-Life event

"Many local churches and anti-abortion groups will take part in Life Chain events on Sunday, Oct. 4.

Supporters will line up along East Stroop Road in Kettering from 2 to 3:30 p.m. and form a line nearly 2 ½ miles in length.

This national, annual event draws 1,800 people from more than 70 area churches and organizations in the Miami Valley each year." Dayton Daily News

A sadness too big to measure

I was delighted to run into my old art class buddy at the book shop today. The class dissolved about 3 years ago, and so the three of us who used to go to lunch together, or enjoy an occasional afternoon movie or art show, had lost touch. After the hug--No, she wasn't painting anymore, Yes, her husband was doing better, and did I know her 52 year old daughter died this summer. I almost couldn't catch my breath. They were preparing to go spend a few days with her, to provide transportation to and from surgery, and keep her company, and then got the call. Irregular heart rate--I think she'd been scheduled for an ablation. My friend had returned to the central Ohio area over 30 years ago to care for her own mother, and I think she had some comfort as she entered her 80s that her daughter was just in the next state. Now it's the numbing grief plus the insecurity. All the whys and what ifs. They will be moving to Pennsylvania to be nearer their son.

Fast and fluttery are more serious than slow. If like me, you've always had an irregular heart rate (shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness and lightheadedness), and you've learned to live with it, or just wait till it goes away, it's not a heart attack you need to fear, but a stroke. I'm always surprised when I read that A-fib is not life threatening; it certainly was for my friend's daughter. When the rhythym is restored and the electrical charge reconnects, there may be a clot waiting to be pushed through.

This chance encounter today was a kick in the pants for me to have mine checked again. Technically, my ablation didn't work--all the pulmonary veins around my heart had been doing it wrong so long, they just ignored the fact that the extra circuit was dead and gone. It's time to stick that 30-day monitor back on. Yuk.

Do what you can; let God do what you can't

That's what Blake Haxton said, a Freshman at OSU this fall who had both legs amputated in the spring.

Blake Haxton's story is amazing. In the spring his legs were amputated to save him from necrotizing fasciitis (flesh eating bacteria); he was not expected to live. His doctor said he'd never seen anyone that sick who had survived. Although the Haxtons were not members of our church, many days our whole community was praying for him and his family because teens in our community knew him through school and sports. His father has a journal at The Caring Bridge, and on Sept. 23 reported that Blake had entered OSU as a Freshman. The faith of the family has been an inspiration to all.

I haven't been able to embed it, but here's an Interview with Blake's Dad.

Who are the Ohio uninsured?

Today I saw a statistic at a progressive site that reported 1.3 million adults and children in Ohio don't have health insurance. Notice--that's people, not citizens. And if Ohio does have about 11.5 million people that's about 10%. A very small number for which to upend what we have by ramming health care bills down our throats which our Congress and Senate seem unable to read or explain. Just this morning I was listening to a report about a committee where it was just roughed in--no details, no CBO report, but would be added to the mix. So I looked a few minutes and found this report from Buckeye Institute written in mid-2007 which begins with the media depiction of poor people without insurance. The writer doesn't even address the illegals we have in Ohio. It's a bit wordy, but addresses the key points: 1) within the uninsured stats, are those uninsured for only a few months; 2) some who have incomes that could afford it chose not to carry insurance; 3) young adults, the healthiest segment, have high uninsured rates (and in my opinion are naive, but that's another blog); many poor are eligible for gov't programs, but don't sign up.

“While there are certainly a good number of poor people among the uninsured, what is left largely unexplored is the fact that a large portion of the uninsured choose to go without insurance. And, in fact, it is likely that a majority of the uninsured are only uninsured for a few months. The people who choose to go without insurance or who are between insurance plans do not fit the media stereotype, but they fill the ranks of the uninsured in far greater numbers than do the families living in poverty who want insurance but cannot afford it.

Who would choose to go without insurance? The simple answer is that those who do not see a value in health insurance choose to forgo purchasing a policy. People who are in good health and do not see any reason to pay a monthly premium for a policy they are unlikely to use may make a choice to use their money elsewhere. Young adults in Ohio, the healthiest segment of the population, are uninsured at rates over twice as high as other segments of the population.

People with money also choose to forgo insurance. Almost one-third of Ohioans who are uninsured make incomes at twice the federal poverty level. Sixteen percent of the uninsured have incomes at three hundred percent of the federal poverty level. It is likely that the vast majority of these people, if they really wanted insurance, could afford it.

Surprisingly, the poor also choose to go without insurance. In Ohio, the state offers Medicaid to any child living in a family below 200% of the federal poverty level. Many families choose not to sign up for this program, however. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, roughly 71% of Ohio's uninsured children are eligible for Medicaid but are not signed up for the program. The Governor is using the large number of uninsured children in the state to push for an expansion of Medicaid. As these numbers clearly show, though, most of the children are already eligible for Medicaid, they are just not using it.

The problem of current plan (Obamacare) is addressed at this article on the folly of expansion.

Blogs coming and going

Today I've taken down links to Doyle and Gekko, both of whom I met on Usenet about 14 years ago. Don't know if they have stopped blogging, or changed URLs and didn't let me know, but they're gone. I added Dana from Chicago who has an interesting cooking site with nutrition fun facts, and Mary Baker, one of the moms who appeared on Glenn Beck this week (there were 3 with blogs, but I didn't catch the others' URLs), and Thifty Rebecca, who seems to have about as many blogs as I do, but this is the one to which I'll link. I occasionally shop at Thrifts, but she's really good at the accessorizing. I just never got into wearing jewelry, belts, cute shoes, etc. but I can see that makes a difference. A few rings and the occasional pin is about it for me. No ear lobes to speak of (although they do grow with age) and the necklaces make my skin itch. I added Namaste a few weeks ago.

Please visit my new links and say hello.

Obama's War on the Economy

He may not be following through on his campaign promises about Afghanistan, but if you look back on his 2-3 years of campaigning for the presidency, his war on the economy is going well. Just look at the September job figures. Some of you aren't old enough to remember the transition from the Carter economy to the Reagan economy. The press really lambasted Reagan for not pulling us out sooner with his tax cuts from the disastrous Carter years (Carter can't be blamed, however, for the millions of women who rushed into the workforce in the 70s). Even when the economy recovered, they were critical of Reagan. For Obama, it's just warm fuzzies, and happy reporting on the jobs that haven't been lost. That's also why they are so careful to say the economy is the "worst in 26 years" because that makes it 1983 rather than 1980 or 81. And Obama just continues to blame Bush--for everything--Burris (D-IL) even blamed Bush for Chicago losing out to Rio, rather than acknowledging that Obama's constant denigration of the U.S. plays well in Europe even if his narcissism doesn't.

And most of us don't remember the Great Depression, but if you're my age, you certainly heard your parents talk about it. Obama's using FDR's playbook (with Saul Alinsky updates and Rahm Emanuel's advice for using a crisis to your advantage).

". . . during the Great Depression, the Statists successfully launched a counterrevolution that radically and fundamentally altered the nature of American society. President Franklin Roosevelt and an overwhelmingly Democratic congress, through an array of federal projects, entitlements, taxes, and regulations known as the New Deal, breached the Constitution's firewalls." In those days, Roosevelt used the Supreme Court (first packed it, then replaced retirees with those who believed as he did) to limit the freedom of Americans, as administrative agencies were created "at a dizzying pace, increasing [the government's] control over economic activity and, hence, individual liberty.

[the federal government] used taxation not merely to fund constitutionally legitimate governmental activities, but also to redistribute wealth, finance welfare programs, set prices and production limits, create huge public works programs, and establish pension and unemployment programs. Roosevelt used his new power to expand political alliances and create electoral constituencies--unions, farmers, senior citizens, and ethnic groups. From this era forward, the Democratic Party and the federal government would become inextricably intertwined, and the Democratic Party would become as dependent on federal power for its sustenance as the governmental dependents it would create. . . Ironically, industrial expansion resulting from WWII eventually ended the Great Depression, not the New Deal." (Mark R. Levin, Liberty and tyranny, Threshold Editions, 2009, pp. 6-7)

So if FDR is any model, don't expect recovery to the levels of the Bush years anytime soon. We're already in a war, so that won't help the economy; we now have a government "packed" with regulatory czars which has further diminished the power of the courts and Congress; we already know the stimulus package (ARRA) hasn't done a thing; plus people of my generation and younger, have been raised to wait for the government to do something, an attitude our parents and grandparents didn't have. Even the seniors objecting to the healthcare take-over and showing up at tea parties don't seem to grasp what Medicare is--only that even with all the fraud, graft and waste, it seems to be working for them.

During the last 30 years the government has "out-sourced" billions to non-profits and private "partnerships" rather than appear as it really is . . . bloated. . . and increasingly, non-profit is just another word for Democrat. The ACORN mortgage agencies (variety of names) "help" is a perfect example--they put the people into the mortgages with government help, and now are running the foreclosure workshops with government grants to help them refinance. Sweet deal.

This will be his most successful war.

It’s not America anymore

Black Cop: "If I told you once to take [poster with Obama-as-Joker] down and you put it back up then I can charge you with whatever I want to charge you with, okay?" [snip]

White Male Protester: "This used to be America."

Black Cop: "Well it ain't no mo', okay?"



Maybe the President could invite them over for a beer--this sounds a lot more serious that what happened to Gates.

HT Baldilocks

On treating the uninsured

Linda Halderman MD sees a lot of women in her rural practice--some without insurance are subsidized by the cash payments of the esthetics clients.

"Upon questioning Sherry S., a pretty 46-year-old seeking wrinkle relief, I learned that four of her immediate family members had been diagnosed with breast or colon cancer before the age of 50. Alarmed, I asked why she had not had the recommended screening mammogram for more than four years.


She said that she knew already that her risk for developing breast cancer was likely higher than that of most women.

"But I don't have insurance," she replied.

A screening mammogram could be obtained for about $90 and was discounted or free at local facilities every October for "Breast Cancer Awareness Month."

She smiled when I proposed a deal: if she were to get a screening mammogram within sixty days of her treatment, I would offer a discount on what she paid me for cosmetic services.

"I'll think about it," she said, then shelled out over $400 for BotoxTM injections that took me ten minutes to administer.

Five months later, when she returned for her next wrinkle treatment, she reported that she still had not obtained a mammogram."

Read her observations on those who don't have insurance.

Karen starts a business

At her blog, Some have hats, she explains it:

So by the end of the month, Chris and I will own a small (very small) business. A friend asked me if we'll be hiring and I laughed the Big Laugh. We will not be doing any firing either. We will be working. Those jobs that usually go to college kids? We'll be doing them. The jobs that go to people who have families to feed? We'll be doing them, too. Because we've got kids to feed and the business is only breaking even.

Now, we're going to work very hard to try to make the business profitable, but in the present economy ... with unemployment numbers continuing to rise ... it's going to be hard to find people with money to spend. So, no we will not be hiring.

You know why else? Because the Tyrant-in-Chief is going to sock us with a penalty if we don't provide health care for our employees. Here's some simple math: business is breaking even. We (a) provide health care for new employees or (b) get socked with a penalty ... then business is losing money. Soon, we'd have to fire the skeletal staff we have. Which means -- are you with me so far -- the unemployment figures go up even higher.

I have all sorts of ideas for how to expand the business, which would mean we could hire some of the many unemployed people, but if we expand enough to make a significant profit, we'll find ourself in the "spread the wealth" tax bracket, wherein we'd probably make about the same amount of money that we would if we did much less work. (Who is John Galt?) You can read the rest of the story at Some have hats.

Do babies matter in academia?

Here’s the rationale behind the class for National Work and Family Month at Ohio State.

The career aspirations and trajectories of men and women PhDs diverge strongly in academic institutions, with men over-represented in the professoriate and women over-represented in non-tenure-track teaching, administrative, and support positions. Mason's research links those differing trajectories to family constraints, and suggests ways that institutions of higher learning can evolve to retain faculty and staff talent, and provide satisfying work opportunities for everyone.

What is this really saying? That if a woman (or man) choses to limit her career or job “aspiration” to aspire to be a hands on Mom or Dad instead of dropping the kid at day-care or grandma’s, then that’s a trajectory, or a constraint, that suggests Ohio State needs to do something.

I returned to work in the late 1970s and found OSU quite friendly for part-timers like me, and I enjoyed sampling a number of different positions until I found a fabulous, full time, tenure-track position in the Veternary Medicine Library. Nothing I did between 1977 and 1983 was wasted--I used it all.

This isn't the 1950s. When women don't move up in academe, it's probably for the same reasons that men of similar training and qualifications don't.

• Department politics.
• Failure to relocate.
• Poor selection of a specialty.
• Personality.
• Lack of desire to make the personal sacrifices.
• Poor networking.
• Lack of social skills.
• Little desire for either administration positions or required research.
• Family responsibilities are more interesting or more demanding.
• Poor publication record.
• Substance abuse or other health problems.

Letterman's liaisons with staff revealed

Nothing will happen to Letterman, but the extortionist (also CBS employee) will probably go to jail. Letterman will continue in his job as late night molder of the culture and character of Americans with off color jokes and hypocrisy.

Update: This story in WaPo contains zero editorializing--something I've never seen in their reporting.

When the definition doesn’t fit the reality

Define SMART GROWTH: Well-planned development that protects open space and farmland, revitalizes communities, keeps housing affordable and provides more transportation ...

You know the buzz words: sustainability, community, affordability, green spaces, multiple use, stewards of the earth, carbon neutral, yada yada. It all translates into less housing for the poor and low income, and more wealth for government officials and developers.

Yes, there is a gap between blacks and whites and blacks and Hispanics when it comes to home ownership and the greening of the housing industry will set that in stone, with those on the lower end never able to catch up--unless they are part of the Chicago elite housing bureaucracy like Valerie Jarrett.

Read How Smart Growth Disadvantages African-Americans & Hispanics

Friday family photo

This has to be my all time worst school photograph and it gave my mother so much grief. I don't have a date on it, but I think it is second grade in Forreston, IL. She and dad were driving my grandparents to California to visit relatives, so my aunt came to stay with us (her children were not yet school age). She did her best, but her adorable, blonde, curly haired cherubs had short hair, and so she braided my hair the best she could. (Also I have a vague memory that I didn't have bangs when my parents left.) My mother was a meticulous creator of "French braids," a 3 part terror instrument that started at the scalp, and when she finished with me in the morning, my eye brows wouldn't drop until noon and everything was symmetrical. She explained to me one time when I was learning how to do it, that she sat behind a woman in church that had wonderful braids and analyzed how it was done (and then probably practiced on me).

Also, from the pattern on the dress, I'm guessing Mom made this one out of feed sack material--and she always told us there was nothing wrong with that, but if she'd known it was school picture day, she probably would have found something a bit nicer.

Why do Congressional Democrats want to change laws that help find terrorists?

Because they work?
Because some of them are criminals too and fear being stumbled over in an investigation?
Because they are on the side of the bad guys?

What’s your take?

"Roving wiretaps have been used for decades by law enforcement in routine narcotics cases. They reportedly were used to help thwart a plot earlier this year to blow up synagogues in Riverdale, N.Y. Business records, including bank and telephone records, can provide important leads early in a national security investigation, and they have been used to obtain evidence in numerous cases.

The value of lone wolf authority is best demonstrated by its absence in the summer of 2001. That's when FBI agents might have obtained a warrant to search the computer of Zacharias Moussaoui, often referred to as the "20th hijacker," before the 9/11 attacks—although there was no proof at the time of his arrest on an immigration violation that he was acting for a terrorist organization. But a later search of his computer revealed just that.

Rather than simply renew these vital provisions, which expire at the end of this year, some congressional Democrats want to impose requirements that would diminish their effectiveness, or add burdens to existing authorizations that would retard rather than advance our ability to gather intelligence. WSJ, Michael Mukasey, Intelligence Averts Another Attack

Certainly you can't feel safe with President Apology always chasing rainbows and a future Olympics for Chicago with the Democrats and White House czars in charge of our security!

If this is true

We’re all in trouble and I don't know about you, but I should be dead.

“. . . for every 2.2 pounds gained in weight since the age of 18, the odds of healthy survival into old age decreased by 5 percent.” British Medical Journal study, via Newsmax Health.

The research team used the Nurses' Health Study, which has gathered data from more than 120,000 female registered nurses living in 11 states since 1976. Follow-up questionnaires have been sent out every two years to update information on disease incidence and lifestyle factors.

Study participants who had reached the age of 70 and were free of major chronic disease had no major impairment of cognitive function and no major limitation of physical function were considered as examples of "successful aging," Franco said.

"In summary, this study provides new evidence that adiposity at midlife is a strong risk factor predicting a worse probability of successful survival among older women," he said. "In addition, our data suggest that maintenance of healthy weight throughout adulthood may be vital to optimal overall health at older ages."

Obama poll numbers continue to fall

And Americans think members of Congress don't understand the bills, therefore, they want to see them 2 weeks before the vote!

"Eighty-three percent (83%) say that all legislation should be posted online and available for everyone to read before Congress votes on it. Of those who want the information available, 64% say legislation should be posted in final form at least two weeks before a vote.

When it comes to health care, just 22% believe most Members of Congress will understand what’s in the legislation before they vote on it."

"On economic matters, 60% of Americans think international organizations should have less influence on U.S. economic policy, not more. Fifteen percent (15%) hold the opposite view."

So why is the Obama administration pushing for a world government to control our economy through energy policy, when we don't want it? If you voted for him, did you know this in 2008?

All figures and graphics from Rasmussen, October 1, 2009.

Non-Residential Construction Industry Worsens

The Economy Shows Minimal Signs of Stabilizing; Non-Residential Construction Industry Worsens says this report.

"Our country is in the middle of a deep recession and everyone is looking for any type of sign, data, graph, or chart to signify the end of this downward spiral. Miles•McClellan is no different in the search for answers. We have decided to share a few important economic indicators with you each month; in this, we may better understand the challenges facing us in the near future."

I don't know what a TED spread or a Baltic Dry index are, but they are the only pieces of this chart that look OK.

The map of recovery

Although I don't know if you can trust recovery.gov to tell the truth about ARRA money and what's happened to it, here's a map, even if they were lying, it's not a good picture. It's not being distributed for "shovel ready" projects, and not producing any jobs because the bureaucrats are just using it within their own agencies to clean up little pockets of problems they created under previous administrations. Just look at the "jobs" all of FDR's programs created. The fox is really in the hen house, folks.

This UNC site stopped reporting weekly updates on July 10. All done?

The White House Trifecta

Minority female slumlord. And rich. Valerie Jarrett. Just like the good old white boys from Chicago. Women! We've finally made it! Think of the real estate development if the Olympics come to Chicago!! More poor to be moved out and scattered--again--just like 20 years ago. More tax dollars down the drain.

White House Olympics crony watch.

From Change.gov: "Valerie B. Jarrett became the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Habitat Company on January 31, 2007. From November 1995 through January 31, 2007, she was the Executive Vice President of The Habitat Company. The Habitat Company is one of the nation’s premier developers and managers of residential apartments and condominiums. Habitat has developed more than 17,000 housing units and currently manages more than 20,000 units. Before joining The Habitat Company in 1995, Ms. Jarrett served for eight years in the City of Chicago government; first as Deputy Corporation Counsel for Finance and Development, then as Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor Richard M. Daley and finally, as Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development. Prior to her City government service, Ms. Jarrett practiced law with two private law firms."

From Chicago Tribute: "Habitat has earned $6.8 million in fees and $10.8 million in administrative expenses since the plan started in 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The company also earns millions as a property manager for the CHA."


From Boston Globe's story of Jarrett's (and Obama's) slum dealings in 2008.

Campaign finance records show that six prominent developers - including Jarrett, Davis, and Rezko - collectively contributed more than $175,000 to Obama's campaigns over the last decade and raised hundreds of thousands more from other donors. Rezko alone raised at least $200,000, by Obama's own accounting.

One of those contributors, Cecil Butler, controlled Lawndale Restoration, the largest subsidized complex in Chicago, which was seized by the government in 2006 after city inspectors found more than 1,800 code violations.

Butler and Davis did not respond to messages. Rezko is in prison; his lawyer did not respond to inquiries.

Jarrett, a powerful figure in the Chicago development community, agreed to be interviewed but declined to answer questions about Grove Parc, citing what she called a continuing duty to Habitat's former business partners. She did, however, defend Obama's position that public-private partnerships are superior to public housing. . .

[Obama] once told the Chicago Tribune that he had briefly considered becoming a developer of affordable housing. But after graduating from Harvard Law School in 1991, he turned down a job with Tony Rezko's development company, Rezmar, choosing instead to work at the civil rights law firm Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, then led by Allison Davis.

The firm represented a number of nonprofit companies that were partnering with private developers to build affordable housing with government subsidies."

Women's fashion

From my seat at Panera's in the morning I see the employed women and school girls of suburban Columbus setting out for work and education. Some younger women are showing up grandma and are again wearing skirts after a complete break down of good taste in the 80s and 90s, but still very casual with the low cut t-shirts. You gotta hope they don't bend over at work or some guy will be hit with a false charge of harassment for looking. Retirees of both sexes appear in public wearing shorts with all the veins, lumps, bumps and saddle bags. So of course I noticed this photo in the WSJ this morning, wondering why my suburban sisters can't look as good as an impoverish Indian farmer dealing with a drought. Attractive colors, artistic patterns, beautiful draping, sufficient coverage.

Glenn Beck's new book, Arguing with Idiots

It's going to be a tough read. I don't buy a lot of books new--usually pick them up used or check out a library copy. Unfortunately, my local public library's selection policy leans way to the left, and it's hard to find political books there with an alternate viewpoint. That teaches conservatives to stop asking, and stop using the library, so then they have a good excuse. But it helps bond issues to fail, too.

Back to Glenn. It's the format I don't like. Fingernails on a blackboard. This book is to readability the way The View is to good manners. The size is awkward. I've looked through my bookshelves and haven't found another one this size. The publisher is a division of Simon & Schuster, Threshold Editions/Mercury Radio Arts. Threshold Editions is a conservative publishing imprint at Simon & Schuster, owned by CBS Corporation (Leslie Moonves)--obviously, liberals don't want to miss the money train. Mary Matalin, a GOP strategist, is the chief editor. "Mercury Radio Arts is Glenn Beck’s fully integrated multi-media production company. Mercury produces or co-produces all Glenn Beck related properties including The Glenn Beck Program, America’s third highest-rated radio show, Glenn Beck, one of the most successful new shows on the Fox News Channel, Beck’s New York Times bestselling books, his live stage-show business, destination website GlennBeck.com and consumer magazine Fusion. Founded in 2002, Mercury has a full time staff of 20 employees and is based in New York, NY." So, I suppose Mercury isn't really into readable print products.

I don't like books or magazines that are designed to look like webpages--scrap booky cute boxes with torn edges, colored pages that look like something was dropped on them, cartoonish statistics. The promised bibliography is extensive, just like Glenn said, but it's in print so tiny I'll need a magnifying glass and is in run-on paragraph form, just like the medical and nutritional research on Activia if you ever find that web page. For this librarian, citing a scanned book page, google news or Yahoo news is disappointing "fact finding." My advice, hire a good researcher and do it the right way. It's not that hard to find the flaws in progressive/marxist theory or to examine the failures of every country that tried it; but use some decent source material. Citing google news which doesn't cite its sources just doesn't cut it.

The basic text font appears to be Times Roman, or something similar and readable, but the larger type for emphasis is red and yellow with a gray shadow, in a horrible font where the capital K looks like an H from a little distance, so that slows down reading. Then there's the fakey backward facing N and R (which are an I and a Ya in Cyrillic, but how many people know that?). Yes, it goes with the photo on the cover of Glenn in a quasi Russian/Soviet military uniform (and those guys really do look that weird and scary because we saw them board our train at the Finnish border to collect our passports in 2006), but it's so "The Russians are Coming" movie poster.

Because some of the outlandish things the leftists in education, cultural arts, and government say and do, it is difficult to tell the cartoonish representations from the real thing, like the "Nannies winner" and posters of Surgeon General's warnings. Glenn, if 400,000 don't die of obesity, but were fat people who died of other diseases, like old age, and the actual toll is 25,000--couldn't you have found a better footnote than a website I've never heard of questioning the CDC which most of us have? Chapter 10 on presidential progressives is virtually impossible to read due to clutter, cartoons, type font changes and blobs of color like splashed garbage--checking the bibliography on that one will be tough.

Glenn, I like your shows, but you get an F for readibility.

Hmmm. Maybe I should have waited for the library to buy its one copy.

Pelosi won't weep over Grayson's behavior

“Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) recently gave an angry speech about members of the GOP on the House floor. CNN.com quoted Grayson as saying on the House floor that "[I]f you get sick America, the Republican health care plan is this: die quickly." (If you click the link, you can watch the video of Mr. Grayson in action espousing his bitterly partisan view.) Some, including members of the GOP, have compared this speech to Congressman Joe Wilson's outburst during President Obama's address to Congress. That comparison of the two pieces of rhetoric ignores some of the major differences between the two.

Firstly, Congressman Wilson's shouting of the phrase "You Lie" was unacceptable and I do not support that behavior. However, Congressman Wilson has said that he did not plan that outburst and he apologized for it afterwards to the White House. On the other hand, Grayson's speech was planned. You can tell it was planned well in advance because he had visual aids for those who might have been watching the speech but not listening to it. One of his signs said the following: "The Republican Health Care Plan: DIE QUICKLY." “

Read the rest at American Issues Project blog

My sixth Blogiversary

According to the first entries on "Collecting my thoughts," this blog begins October 1, 2003. However, I had to back fill a little, using October 1 as sort of an indexing page for topics [see right side links on my blog] poetry, family stories, fiction, etc. My first entry was actually October 2. It didn't quite work out the way I'd planned--the people to whom I'd been sending my writing beginning when I retired in 2000 are either disinterested or enjoying other adventures of their own, although a few do keep up, so I just write for me and the few regulars I've picked up along the way who drop by occasionally. According to the "dashboard" of blogger dot com, I've written 7,015 entries at this blog, but that doesn't count the ones I removed. Altogether at all my blogs I've written about 8,500 entries and over 400,000 have visited, although some of those entries have been written by guest bloggers, particularly at my "Reunion" blog where high school classmates have been contributors of stories and photos.

The imaginary menu, if you stop by for the celebration and conversation free of politics, religion and health tips, is: Morning--tea, coffee and mixed fruit with a few nibbles from Panera's bakery; noonish--chicken salad on croissants with veggie snacks; afternoon--high tea with assorted goodies, a few sugar-free; dinner hour--baked salmon with my secret sauce and asparagus, with something gooey, decadent and chocolate for dessert. If it's warm enough, we'll sit on the deck and enjoy the fall color and the birds that stop by the creek. Please, no gifts--I have a full house. I'll put the cat in the laundry room, and the imaginary dog (a dalmatian) will be at the neighbors, so no animals will jump on you or make your allergies flare.