Slaughter the Senate Bill

House Rules Committee Chair Louise Slaughter (D-NY) wrote this about the Senate health plan--the only plan we have at the moment and which they are planning to "deem as" passed without voting on it (that's even worse than the Obama Senate record of voting present so he wouldn't have to commit):

Under the Senate plan, millions of Americans will be forced into private insurance company plans, which will be subsidized by taxpayers. That alternative will do almost nothing to reform health care but will be a windfall for insurance companies. ... Supporters of the weak Senate bill say "just pass it -- any bill is better than no bill."

I strongly disagree -- a conference report is unlikely to sufficiently bridge the gap between these two very different bills. It's time that we draw the line on this weak bill and ask the Senate to go back to the drawing board. The American people deserve at least that.

Also, when Obama was in Ohio this week I'm pretty sure he promised his teensy-weeny audience (before I could switch channels) that they could have the same plan that Congress has! Well, folks, Congress gets to choose from a variety of private health plans and get to keep it after they leave Congress. Where will their Cadillac plans be after Obama destroys the private carriers?

The only reason left to pass this bill (reconcile, slaughter, deem) is to save Obama's reputation so he can move on to grab even more of the economy. Many Americans are talking recalling their representatives or voting them out of office, forgetting that Congress has made itself irrelevant--Obama just goes around them.

Morning Bell: There Is No Bill But the Senate Bill

What may be the saddest war song ever

Today my husband played the 3 cd set of "The Dubliners; Ireland's No. 1 Folk Group" in exercise class. Irish songs are minor key and very sad. Our "cool down" song must be the world's saddest war song. It's about the Irish-Australian soldiers who returned from WWI, a war when losing 7-8,000 men in one battle over several days wasn't unusual. And even so, more American soldiers died of the flu than from the war. Here's just part of it:

They collected the wounded, the crippled, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind and the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
And thank Christ there was no one there waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity

And the Band played Waltzing Matilda
When they carried us down the gangway
Oh nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
Then they turned all their faces away

Now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Renewing their dreams of past glories
I see the old men all tired, stiff and worn
Those weary old heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Of course, today "everyone is Irish," but some of us really can trace our ancestors across the pond to Ireland. Mine beat the crowd of the famine ships of the 19th century and crossed in the 1730s, signing on to fight in the American Revolution against their hated British rulers, stopping a generation or two in Pennsylvania and Virginia, and then moving on to Tennessee, with later generations leaving Appalachia for Illinois, Texas and California as various misfortunes gave them a push to seek a better land and life. After 7 or 8 generations in the U.S., my German-English and Scots-Irish bloodlines got together in an outdoor farmhouse wedding in August 1934, and the rest is my history, as we say.

At the coffee shop I was refilling my cup and next to me was a young man with a blinking St. Pat's pin on his baseball cap (hate to see people wearing those inside). "Any Irish in your genealogy?" I asked. He said he didn't think so but wasn't sure (most 20-somethings don't know much about genealogy, so it really wasn't a fair question). "My mom's Hungarian-German, but my dad's adopted, so we don't know anything about his family." I didn't pursue that story line--after all, we are total strangers, and for all I know his parents could be divorced or deceased. But here's my opinion.

If his grandparents were willing to adopt his father, a life changing event for him over which he had no control, then it's perfectly OK for his dad to "adopt" his ancestors from his adoptive parents' genealogy. Over this he does have a choice. It's not fair that the state of Ohio still has laws hiding his father's past, but there are a few things his father does control, and that's to climb that family tree with all its roots and branches, his grandparents, great-grandparents, great-greats, cousins, nephews, nieces and so forth.

Capitalist and Populist Architecture--Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen's father, Eliel Saarinen, was a prominent architect in Finland. We visited several of his sites in 2006. In 1923, when Eero was 13, the family moved to the United States where Eero became one of the most prominent architects of the 1950s. We've also visited some of his sites, the closest to us being Columbus, Indiana. But you may have been in the TWA terminal, or seen the John Deere building in Moline, IL. The video continues with other topics, you may have to search for the Saarinen piece, which today is at the beginning, but who knows tomorrow? Or you can click on the link.



Exhibition Tour: Eero Saarinen

Repealing Obamacare Will Be Easier If Congress Skirts Normal Process

On the road for his “Courage and Consequence” book tour, Rove chatted with The Heritage Foundation about Obamacare, his defense of President George W. Bush’s conservatism, the growth of Tea Parties and anger toward government spending.

Karl Rove: Repealing Obamacare Will Be Easier If Congress Skirts Normal Process | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.

Everyone Shouldn’t Go To College

About four years ago I blogged about the cost of a college education, private vs. public, and whether some college bound young people might be financially better off not to attend college. I followed up that link today looking at a 2008 update of the information. It contained information not in that first report (if you invest the money you would have spent on a child's education, the life time (40 years) average of earnings is higher than attending college, and a public school education is a better deal in life time earnings that a private school).

REEF » Everyone Shouldn’t Go To College

What the recession has done to this mix, I have no idea. The REEF website doesn't appear to be current.

Update: I found Michael Robertson who authored REEF material at another website. Robertson knows a bit about education and making money--he invented the MP3 player.

Michael Steele is leader of the GOP

"Why do the Dems need to "Clarence Thomas" the Man of Steele? Because whenever a man of color, especially an African American man, a black conservative begins to advance in the GOP he has to be taken down. He becomes a demonstration that it’s "Cool to be in the GOP". He lets the black community witness it’s okay to be conservative. In fact, he’s saying, "You should be proud of it and don’t be bashful about letting your conservative political leanings be known". The Dems can’t let the other slaves see that a single one escaped! They have to bring him down so that another example is put into the eyesight and psyche of the black voter that they possess. Politically-free "coon"? Not permissible!

The Dems have to "Clarence Thomas" the Man of Steele because he is the real deal. He can go toe-to-toe with Obama intellectually and orally. Coupled with shredding the perception that the GOP is the "white party", the Dems know that the plantation is about to be burned down. Add to these direct factors the additional factor of organizations like RagingElephants.org rising up all around the political landscape like mushrooms in the night, and in an attempt to play effective defense, they go on the play-dirty offensive and call Limbaugh the leader of the GOP and not the duly elected leader of the party, Steele. Basic fascist political tactics of defining your political opponent when you’re backed up in the corner and about to get your brains smashed in!" CLAVER T. KAMAU-IMANI, Host: "The Christian Politician" Radio Show, Founder/Chairman of RagingElephants.org
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxU76t5wI84

Just don't call it "health" care

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, let’s not call this current Washington battle “health“ care. ObamaCare is technically about insurance, but more accurately it‘s about a government take over of the economy. We Americans already have health insurance for the poor, and health care for everyone, in case you’re reading this in Europe. In fact, one of the programs for the poor, SCHIP, will cover children up to the age of 28 whose parents have incomes up to $70,000 depending on the state (350% of poverty level). I should be so poor (our income is about $34,000)--but I digress.

If you want to know what government health insurance and government health care look or feel like, please read, “HIV Clinic” an essay by Eric P. Walker, in the March 3, 2010 issue of JAMA. The patient described therein has both health insurance (provided by the government for the poor) and health care (a clinic for the poor in her neighborhood).

According to Walker who is a physician’s assistant, the patient comes to the clinic for a prescription for pain but has to walk to the pharmacy to fill it, because her bus pass voucher has expired. There is no one to provide her private transportation (later in the essay you learn she is married to a creep who stole her pain medication). On the way to the clinic she bought a package of crackers at a gas station because she hadn’t eaten since yesterday. She can’t have surgery for her pain because she doesn’t have a stable address which the hospital, following government insurance regulations, requires for a patient to be discharged.

So let’s just stop right there Mr. Walker. First, you say you work in an HIV clinic, so I’m assuming she has been diagnosed and is receiving the drug cocktail that will extend her life. There are two primary ways for women to get HIV--1) having sex with a man who had sex with an infected man, or 2) through IV drug use. In my opinion, men who have sex with men and bring home STDs and AIDS and/or abuse their wives and girlfriends are a much bigger health problem for poor women than private insurance company CEOs who serve the middle class or Cadillac insurance for the wealthy and union members. When will those men be called before Congress and shamed?

Second, let’s think about all the unintended consequences of good intentions that have been building up dating back before you were born. Since that great leap forward known as the War on Poverty--programs that have contributed to her secondary conditions not related to HIV or her health. There is no pharmacy in her neighborhood to fill her prescription and probably no supermarkets or grocery stores where she can buy nutritious food. Democrats and Progressives control all major cities in the United States--Detroit, Chicago, LA, NOLA, Cleveland, etc. They first drove out all the small businesses through regulation, taxes, or pushing legislation for their inner-belts and highways taking land and homes through eminent domain. They railed against mom and pop stores and Asian shopkeepers that were charging “too much” for goods and service, compared to larger stores. Then they marched against any superstores moving in insisting they be unionized, after which they moved on to friendlier suburbs offering tax breaks. Currently in the name of saving the planet they are working through a variety of programs called cap and trade and sustainable agriculture to take away the stop and shop gas stations (remember Mr. Walker, gasoline is bad; processed food is bad) in poor neighborhoods, so soon that HIV patient probably won’t even be able to buy crackers in her neighborhood as she walks to the clinic to pick up her prescription which can‘t be filled locally.

Third, her central city community is fortunately served by public transportation which is tax subsidized by the suburbanite voters who moved away 30 years ago. Because she’s poor, she has a voucher for a bus pass. That’s got to be a Catch-22 nightmare only a bureaucrat with a social work degree could come up with. Does she have to go to a government agency in another neighborhood or city building and sit and wait to pay for the pass with her voucher issued by a different bureaucracy? It is dated, and it has expired. It’s not unreasonable to imagine that she would need to take the bus to the same office to apply for the voucher, but with no mail box, she might be turned down. It would be a good guess that the government didn’t give her a taxi voucher, or a handicapped van voucher, either because, 1) the bureaucrats decided she wasn’t that sick (years ago when she signed on for the alphabet soup of programs), or 2) because no thinking taxi or van driver would go into her crime ridden neighborhood which went down hill when all the businesses and home owners were driven out by do-gooders, or 3) they need to support the city transit system rather than a private company or small business like a one-man cab company.

Dear naive ObamaCare supporter: nothing in this so-called "health care bill" being pushed by Pelosi, Obama and Reid will help this woman. She already has government health insurance, and she’s still infected, still in pain, still denied necessary surgery, still homeless, still married to a creep, and still a victim of all the progressive politicians who destroyed her neighborhood 40 years ago.

And you want this for the rest of us?

Do it for the children and their children--guest blogger Murray

"OK folks, the Democrats are putting forward the BIG PUSH this week. More arm twisting, bribes, lies and special deals. The Tea Party and Patriot groups will be in D.C. the morning of March 16 to get IN their representatives' faces about the ugly healthcare bill by sitting in their offices. Let's get together and help. Please call or e-mail every legislator you can between now and 3/16 to help to push back.

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/

If you need some encouragement click here:
http://www.usdebtclock.org/

You can do this. I'm calling on you to STAND UP and defend yourself on behalf of your children and grandchildren."

Murray

Christians expelled from Village of Hope in Morocco

One of the missions that our church supports is Village of Hope in Morocco.
Now the Christians there have been accused of proselytizing and have had to leave. What appears here is the official statement, and this is the link that our church website points to. We know God is in control, but for many of these children, these are the only parents they've ever known.

"The parents of VOH want to clearly state their love for the Kingdom and people of Morocco and fear this act by the authorities will cause long term damage to the excellent reputation of Morocco. Morocco is viewed by the West as a moderate and safe Islamic state with an ever improving response to social issues. The King has been a driving force behind so much positive reform and he is to be honoured for all he has done for the betterment of his people. However, actions like this are only likely to tarnish Morocco's image and have a detrimental effect on inward investment, foreign aid and tourism. If a perception grows that non-Islamic guests in Morocco and foreign led organisations are being targeted then we fear for the damage that could be caused. Key relationships with the EU and other trading partners and supporters of Morocco could be affected unless a negotiated settlement can be seen to take place. VOH, through its international investors, have pumped Millions of Moroccan dirham into infrastructure, care of children, employment of Moroccans and the local economy only to have it taken away in a matter of hours. What signal does this send to others looking to support the development of Morocco either through trade, aid or simply as a tourist.

The parents only want to be reunited with their children. Every single set of parents would return to Morocco to continue with the care of the children and continue to live under the law and authority of the State. Equally, the parents would be willing to negotiate for the release of the children into their care to the parent’s country of origin. As parents, we plead with the Moroccan authorities to open a dialogue with us as to the future well being and care of our children." Village of Hope Ain Leuh Morocco

Proselytism is defined as distributing literature of any kind (this includes Bibles and videos as well as tracts) or discussing the gospel with an intention to persuade. Did you know that our U.S. government has the same rule for churches using government grants to feed and house the poor? Even when that program is provided from within a church building? We live in a "free" country, but churches have made some very uncomfortable (in my opinion) agreements to not evangelize, not to even distribute literature, in exchange for serving the poor (see Matthew 25) with government funds in a variety of ways (not in Matthew 25).

Edy's Slow Churned Snack Size Cups

Speak for yourself, Rick! He says he prefers a 4 oz serving rather than 6 oz. Not me. If these wonderful little snack cups were 4 oz, I'd eat two! Six oz. is just about right. We've tried the coffee, mint choc chip, vanilla bean and chocolate. They are 5/$5 at Meijers. Also, this is 1/2 the fat. Fat free ice cream might as well be frozen skim milk in terms of satisfying a craving, don't you think? Remember the little cups of ice cream we got as kids with photos of movie stars on the inside cover?

Edy's Slow Churned Snack Size Cups

Now, a Chicken in Black - New York Times

Oh yuk! Really looks unappetizing. Black chicken skin and legs. And the bird is so pretty.

Now, a Chicken in Black - New York Times

Career Management Inventory

Do you keep books in the bathroom? The other day my husband suggested I needed to change the books in my bathroom (which he occasionally uses). Books that sit on the toilet tank are seen more by men than by women, if you get my drift. I thought it was funny. But I did take a look at the titles again, and decided to keep them all. One title is "No more blue Mondays; four keys to finding fulfillment at work" by Robin A. Sheerer. I don't know how long I've had it or why I bought it (used book for $1.00) because I'm retired. As I leafed through it, though, I found an interesting survey to help someone unhappy at work. So I took it--based on what I remembered of my last position ca. 1999-2000. Interestingly, it didn't cover anything I didn't like about those last two years--planning a new library for the veterinary college. I guess I didn't see those interminable hours of looking at electrical and plumbing sheets, choosing furniture and shelving, and attending endless meetings seeing my space cut as part of "my job." Questions 47-59 were on personal appearance, which sort of surprised me (I didn't copy the last page but it was teeth, weight, exercise, etc.) I gave myself a green star for true, lime green for mostly true, and red for needed a lot of work (hate to set goals). I'm a bit obsessive about time, so I gave myself 2 stars for being on time. In fact, when I was the chair of a committee, we didn't wait for the slug-a-beds.

Click to enlarge so you can read the print (pages were gray).

The Taxman Rap

I first posted this on June 10, 2008. Since tax time is nearing at the same time that we're experiencing unprecedented consumption of our taxes for clunkers, bank bailouts, buying up GM, modifying mortgages, sinking money down green holes, and taking over the health care segment of the economy (because the government has managed Medicaid, Medicare, SCHIP, SNAP, WIC, VA etc. so wonderfully well) I'm reposting my Taxman Rap.
The Taxman Rap

More new taxes
to buy axes
for our backses
and our neckses

for our gases
and our classes
(just the riches'
and the niches.)

Yo! Obama
Go! Oh mama
You our Papa
You Messiah.

Obama can
He is the man
He do the plan
He be the taxman.

It's new notebook time

I've loved my Barnes and Noble lined 6 x 9 journal, with a sewn binding and a cover photo by Mark Barrett. He must be one of the most fabulous equine photographers in the world. I began this notebook on November 1, All Saints Day, and today turned over the last sheet.

Stock Horse Photography Library

The dangers of ISM--1948 cartoon

Everything is still true today.

Can be downloaded from Internet Archive. Comments are rather amusing and naive at that site.

Great workout today

Come join us! Kristine was awesome today. Really worked our arms. In the old days, I had no trouble touching the floor bending over. Now, something's in the way--I think it's my belly. The weather's so warm (60s) I'm leaving my workout clothes on and will head out for a walk after lunch.

U of I students protest tuition hikes

Sorry guys. The state legislature owes the pension funds. Unions have a lot more clout than students. This is not a pretty picture. Terry Savage of the Sun Times reports:

"Under Gov. Blagojevich the state borrowed $10 billion to make required pension contributions, with some of the borrowings to be invested in the stock market. The belief was that stock market investment returns would beat the 5 percent cost of interest on the bonds, helping to fill the gap between promises and reality. Unfortunately, the stock market didn't cooperate.

Then in January 2009, this column highlighted the growing budget deficits and late payments to state providers, such as nursing homes, pharmacies, day care centers and other providers. We called it the "Coming Pension Wars" -- as the state and municipalities are forced to raise taxes or cut services to pay the promised pensions, along with current bills. In just the last year, the situation has become even more dire.

In November 2009, the state's Pension Modernization Task Force sent its recommendations to Gov. Quinn. The Task Force concluded that Illinois' unfunded pension liability exceeds $61 BILLION! And that number is growing exponentially."

So it's students against the unions. What to do? What to do!

Emperor has no clothes: Pensions are short cash :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Terry Savage

Illinois is broke

Illinois Airs Plan on Deficit - WSJ.com

Thursday Thirteen--13 things to be happy about this week

Have you ever seen the book "14,000 things to be happy about" by Barbara Ann Kipfer? I picked up a copy years ago at a used book sale for $1. She says for 20 years she made notes in her journals, beginning in 6th grade, and then compiled the "little things" for this book. So, for awhile I'm going to recall 13 things that made me happy beginning on the previous Friday, March 5.

1) I found a new apple this week, Lady Alice, from Washington state. No one knows where she came from---she just "growed," and since I eat an apple every day I was thrilled to find one to fill in for my favorite, Honey Crisp.

2) We had dinner with our friends Rod and Judi at the Worthington Inn. We enjoy their company, and hadn't been to that restaurant in probably 25 years. It was featured also in this month's Capital Style.

3) It was sunny for days, 53 degrees on Monday, 58 Tuesday, 61 on Wednesday--warm enough to walk the neighborhood. We're so sunlight deprived in central Ohio, that people are almost giddy when the sun is out.

4) On my walks I picked up trash and replaced pieces of sod--both the result of deep snow being removed by the plows. Found a wheel cover and propped it against a wall so it could be seen--then 10 ft. further I found the emblem from the center of the cover and took it back to the cover and attached it.

5) We're in the season of Lent. We're communion servers at our church UALC, which is a wonderful opportunity, and because of mid-week services, we serve more often than usual.

6) Not exactly happy--but I did get a good laugh. My husband had scheduled a "paint out" for an art group which fell on our 50th wedding anniversary. He's president of the group. Yes, we've changed it (the paint out, not the anniversary)!

7) The mallards are in love, mating and chasing each other around our street. Sort of cute, but you do have to be careful--the chase is slow and they aren't afraid of automobiles. Ah love!

8) Had a e-mail from an author I wrote about--Amy Dickinson, of Ask Amy (replaced Ann Landers).

9) A friend is out of the hospital and on the mend. She hates my blog, and now she's in it!

10) I made a delicious dessert this week. Each piece made us happy! Sort of made it up as I went--now if I can only remember. . .

11) While my coffee was heating Monday, I walked around the house and admired our art, many pieces by good friends like Ken, Jeanie, Fritz, Ned, and Jim.

12) Got an early start on next month's book club selection--The Virginian (1902), from which numerous movies and a TV series were made. It's online, but mine is a 45 cent yard sale copy. A classic.

13) The daughter of a teacher at the Haitian school where my husband volunteers was kidnapped for ransom last week. We are beyond happy and thrilled that she has been returned to her family, safe.
------------
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun!

Kennedy goes ballistic--but wrong target

According to Glenn Beck's radio show, President Obama has mentioned the war 3 times in 2010--twice in a single sentence during back to back events in early February at the DNC and once in his state of the union address. (I hope this is reverse hyperbole.) Why isn’t Kennedy yelling at him? Oh sure, the press threw gallons of ink at the war when it was Bush’s problem and they wanted him out of office, but is it really their responsibility? We don’t really need to ask, do we? The press won’t do anything to offend Obama. (Except Fox, and they aren't "real" news.) They might get Massa-cured by Axelrod and Rahm, the Chicago thugs. With Obama, it’s health care 24/7, he’s obsessed with it. He's given hundreds of speeches, and still claims we don't understand! He doesn’t care about the economy; he doesn’t care about the wars (one of which is his, the good one)--only health care being controlled by the government. Strange fascination since it will only add to our costs, decrease our care and efficiency, and probably drive thousands of doctors into different careers, thus rationing care. [Posting time adjusted.]

Born in the USA lyrics read by Glenn Beck

Now that's a sobering experience. Heard Glenn in the car this morning; he was reading Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" aloud. You've got to love how celebrities get rich off of kids by denigrating the country that's made them wealthy and famous. Politicians too. Particularly the ones in power right now. I don't know whose story about Viet Nam Springsteen's telling in the song, but it wasn't his--he got classified 4F by acting crazy for his physical, according to Wikipedia, which of course, is not a real source, but I'm not interested enough to look further. [Disclaimer: the post time has been adjusted so the TT stays on top.]

The addon script

The addthis widget: Anyone else having a problem with the "Share" widget? This blog's been loading slowly and slowly wiggling and shaking the last two days. I reset the PC for March 8 and that didn't help. I took off two recent posts. Didn't help. It appeared to be the "share" widget I added at least 2 weeks ago. So I've removed it. We'll see. . . Now it looks like the Share button in the Google bar is hesitating, too. I think someone outside this office screwed up.

Students and Workers Unite?

California college students are protesting a tuition hike of 32% brought about by the compensation packages won from the state by the public employees unions. Apparently the 1999 California Democrat-controlled legislature thought the Dow would forever go up, sort of like the housing prices, and it made promises to unions it now can't keep without stealing from the young. In one decade pension costs went up 2000% and revenue 24%. What incentive is this for students to go to college if they can get huge pensions doing maintenance for the state? And what evidence is there that members of the California legislature ever went to college if their math skills and understanding of economics are so poor?

UC Tuition Hikes and Public Employee Pensions - WSJ.com

Methane seeping

Perhaps you've read the various reports this past week on methane being released into the atmosphere from an area of the East Siberian Sea equivalent to more than four times the area of Sweden. Permafrost in the seabed has been previously assumed to act as an effective cap for the enormous amount of methane in the area, which, if released, could lead to an abrupt global climate warming. Man made global warming is being credited with the permafrost problem, of course, with the disclaimer that they don't really know that for sure, however the authors of the accounts don't even question it. But after seeing the affects of the recent Chile earthquake which moved one of its cities 10 ft. and recalling that it wasn't as strong as the Alaskan earthquake of 1964, I'm wondering why the disturbing of the permafrost in the sea has to be attributed to human industry and not to the affects of the most powerful earthquake in recorded history? We visited Alaska in 2001 and you can still see the affects it had on the permafrost and forests.

They can blame human activity all they want, but if this is as serious as as sounds, things will heat up very fast, and we can't do diddly squat about it.

Global warming? Scientists find methane source in Arctic seas. / The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com

Methane releases from Arctic shelf may be much larger and faster than anticipated (3/9/2010)

Update: "The massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck the west coast of Chile last month moved the entire city of Concepcion at least 10 feet to the west, and shifted other parts of South America as far apart as the Falkland Islands and Fortaleza, Brazil. These preliminary measurements, produced from data gathered by researchers from four universities and several agencies, including geophysicists on the ground in Chile, paint a much clearer picture of the power behind this temblor, believed to be the fifth-most-powerful since instruments have been available to measure seismic shifts." OSUToday, Mar. 9, 2010.

If an earthquake can do that to a city, imagine what it can do to permafrost!

Your census form

The census form for our summer home came before the letter at our permanent residence (tied to the door, not delivered by mail). Most of the owners at Lakeside won't see their form until late May, and it is due April 1. Even the people I know who do claim a permanent residence there are either in Florida or Arizona for 3 months. My husband was there last week-end, so he brought ours home and made an attempt at filling it out; it's impossible since there's no question to reveal that you don't live there. Just answering zero to how many people live there won't do it, folks. I think the same people who write the tax code, the health care bills, and the instructions for the can opener made in China also write the Census forms. My husband then tried the phone number but that was a frustration round robin of multiple choices, that brought him back to the original question. I realize no one has ever really been prosecuted for incorrectly filling out the Census, but now that we have the Chicago Mafia in charge of our census, I suppose that could change, especially if there's a way to gather some fees or pay a clutch of lawyers.

This reminds me of my 2009 $250 Social Security refund check. I don't get Social Security.

Shooting at Ohio State

"University Police have confirmed the identities of the victims and suspect in a shooting that occurred on campus earlier this morning. They also have confirmed two deaths.

• Larry Wallington, 48, building services manager, a victim in the shooting, was pronounced dead at the scene earlier this morning.

• Henry Butler, 60, operations shift leader, also a victim, is in stable condition at the OSU Medical Center

• Suspect, Nathaniel Brown, 51, custodial worker, sustained a self-inflicted gunshot at the scene and was transported to OSU Medical Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival

More than 1/2 dozen employees were working at the OSU Maintenance Building, 2000 Tuttle Park Place, when the suspect entered an office suite with a gun and began shooting. Those employees and other coworkers have been offered grief counseling.

The incident appears to be work related. Brown was hired in October 2009." OSU Emergency Management via e-mail

Sounds like a careful background check wasn't made if the guy goes bonkers 6 months after he is hired. Bad review? Was he going on probation? I wonder if the media will decide he was a tea bag patriot? They made that judgement in the Stark case and the Pentagon shooting.

Update: Yes, he had a bad review, hadn't made probation, and he also had a prison record that hadn't turned up in a background check. Interesting that they were able to find it within hours of the shooting. Columbus Dispatch

Lady Alice apples

I bought three Lady Alice apples Saturday for $1.49/lb. A fruit website describes them: "Lady Alice was discovered as a chance seedling in a Washington orchard so we don't know its parentage. Flavor profile: Sweet - with a hint of tartness. Heirloom crunchy, dense flesh." I had one for breakfast, and it has a very nice flavor and texture. Although I'm a Honey Crisp junky, Lady Alice is wonderful.

Remember Johnny Appleseed,
All ye who love the apple;
He served his kind by word and deed,
In God's grand greenwood chapel.
William Henry Venable (1836-1920), Johnny Appleseed

I also made an apple dessert from some apples I've had around for awhile--a Granny Smith, a Fuji, and a Pink Lady. I sliced them, added flour, sugar and cinnamon while they cooked, like a pie filling. Then I made a Jello sugar-free pudding cheesecake flavor filling and put it a graham cracker crust. When the apple filling cooled, I put that on top. I have no idea what this will taste like. It just came to me when I realized I didn't have the right vegetables to make vegetable stock, but there I was in the kitchen, in the mood.

Defaulted Loans May Haunt Seniors

According to an article in the WSJ this morning by Ellen E. Schultz, Congress (that would be Democrats, btw, who won Congress in 2006 in case you've forgotten) tacked on a nasty little thing to the 2008 Farm Bill. I've read quickly through the highlights of the bill, and can't find the specific provision, so I'll take her word for it.

"A provision in the 2008 Farm Bill lifted the ten-year statute of limitations on the government's ability to withhold Social Security benefits in collecting debts other than student loans—for which the statute of limitations was lifted in 1997—and income taxes, where the limit remains 10 years.

This means that a person who defaulted on a small-business loan in 1995, for example, and who is receiving Social Security could be notified that his benefits may be reduced each month until the debt, with interest, fees, and penalties, is paid. The Treasury can withhold 15% of the benefit, though it can't be reduced to below $750. Tax debts have no floor.

The change will add more than $6 billion to the $75 billion in delinquent debt individuals owe the government, according to the Financial Management Service, the Treasury's debt collection unit. Defaulted Loans May Haunt Seniors - WSJ.com

Imagine the interest, fees and penalties the Treasury will tack onto that loan you defaulted on 15-20 years ago, and then see your Social Security check go "poof" right before your eyes! Wow. Even if you challenge the validity of the government's claim, you can spend thousands and thousands fighting the claim and still be impoverished by using up your savings. And you folks trust the government with health care? This is a change in the law--and how many people were paying attention to a farm bill? This will impoverish God knows how many seniors. But not to worry. Obama will tax the rest of us for some new program so he can claim to rescue them from the impoverishment the Democrats bestowed on them!

Also, lookout if you are defaulting on a government backed loan right now. Especially, if retirement is coming up. If they can take your social security to pay it off, they can take your government pension too.

How to be mislead on budget and policy

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is one of three left wing think tanks funded by the Democracy Alliance which is funded by George Soros. The other two are the Center for American Progress and the Economic Policy Institute. They are all non-profits, but not non-partisan. I just read a March 5 report by the CBPP which advises that we’d be in much worse trouble if it weren’t for ARRA! Woot! President and Chief Executive Officer of Center for American Progress is John Podesta, who served as chief of staff to Bill Clinton. One of the directors of the Economic Policy Institute is Andy Stern, who runs the SEIU, who drafted and designed the health care bill to benefit unions and is a regular White House visitor and confidant. His is a global labor movement. These folks have more agendas, plans, white papers, and tax payer hustles than you can read in a month of Sundays. There's hardly a word in English they can't turn upside down, inside out and squishy. And they have handsome, beautifully designed web pages that sound very patriotic and reasonable. Don’t be fooled. They are all Marxists. Capital M. Their grandiose plans have all been tried and found wanting before.

30 days or your ignorance back

Democrats are taking a huge risk asking their followers to listen to conservative hosts on talk radio and call in their scripted opinions. Right now, the snippets they hear are filtered through the liberal "truther" filter. Sliced, diced, and canned. What will happen when they catch the entire piece and realize they've been lied to?

"Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee, has launched an online site to help President Obama’s supporters infiltrate largely conservative talk radio.

Visitors to the On the Air site are provided with the call-in number of a talk show that discusses political topics, and the option to listen to the show live. They are urged to phone in when the topic of healthcare comes up. They can also click on a button to move to another show.

“The fate of health reform has been a focus of debate in living rooms and offices, on TV, and online — and on talk radio,” the introduction to the online tool states.

“And since millions of folks turn to talk radio as a trusted source of news and opinions, we need to make sure [Organizing for America] supporters are calling in with a pro-reform message.”" Newsmax

What does public education really cost?

A lot more than you're told. CATO figures the per pupil cost in Washington DC is $28,170, and in Los Angeles $25,208. Those aren't the figures reported, if they are reported at all. Are you getting your money's worth?

Dementia is a leading cause of death in the U.S.

That sounds really scary unless you realize that our research and technology have extended the lives of people who would have died of different diseases, and safer roads and automobiles have prevented thousands of deaths. Dick Cheney and Bill Clinton for instance have both been saved several times of dying of a heart attack. All that means is you live long enough to die of something else. Deaths from heart disease, stroke, prostate and breast cancer all decreased between 2000 and 2006, but Alzheimer's (about 70% of dementia cases) was up 47% in the same time period. And I doubt that too many actually die from dementia, but from something related like pressure sores, kidney infections, or pneumonia from aspirating food.

The February 10 issue of JAMA has an article on using feeding tubes with nursing home residents with "advanced cognitive impairment" i.e., dementia [Hospital characteristics associated with feeding tube placement in nursing home residents with advanced cognitive impairment," vol 303, no.6, p.544-550]. Using feeding tubes in patients with advanced dementia does not improve survival. So why is it done and why do the rates vary from hospital to hospital? That's what this study was supposed to explain. I'm not sure I understood all the details, but I did see that only 5.8% of hospitalized nursing home residents had an order to forego artificial hydration and nutrition despite the fact most nursing home residents say they would rather die than live in dementia with a feeding tube. (I'm not referring to people like Terri Schiavo who didn't actually need a feeding tube and wasn't dying--she was inconvenient for a husband who had received a very large monetary settlement and had started another family.) Also, I didn't see a distinction between hydration and feeding in this article. (Dehydration is an extremely painful death.) Also, it appears that feeding tubes don't solve any of the problems like pneumonia or pressure sores, which actually are the cause of death. The research also demonstrated that practices vary widely among hospitals and that black and Hispanic nursing home residents were more likely to undergo a feeding tube insertion. So is that more aggressive care or a reflection of how indigent people are treated?

As the authors of this study comment, the results raise more questions than they answered. For instance, the rates decreased during the 8 year study. But one thing I know, conservatives unhappy with Obamacare shouldn't use reluctance to use feeding tubes or counseling about preferences as a sign of an attempt to dispatch the elderly. There doesn't seem to be any evidence that feeding tubes help those suffering the end stages of dementia.

Shame on the Christian Science Monitor

For this headline: "John Patrick Bedell: Did right-wing extremism lead to shooting?
Authorities have identified John Patrick Bedell as the gunman in the Pentagon shooting. He appears to have been a right-wing extremist with virulent antigovernment feelings. "

He was a registered Democrat; hated Bush; was a 9-11 truther; had numerous drug charges; and probably was insane. And I don't blame all the craziness and conspiracy stuff from the left for his behavior--he made his own decisions, unincumbered by political views. I think he was on the level with a woman I met about 40 years ago at a community meeting. We were all sitting around discussing an event we were planning, and she stopped, looked at me and said, "I know you're all watching me, that you know what's going on with my husband." We didn't even know her, where she lived, or who she was married to. We were shocked. So I put him at that level of "politics." His parents were concerned and had notified the authorities when he disappeared. But just like the Stack case (flew the plane into an IRS building) the media jumped on a chance to smear the peaceful, grass roots movement known as the Tea Party, a group they first ridiculed, then marginalized, and now that they see the movement's strength in less than a year, they are fear mongering. Even after the truth about Bedell came out, I heard the chattering heads on the left cable shows speculating in code words. Really, how do you people even turn those shows on? Your view of history and current events are totally screwed up.

As Ben Shapiro says: "This mirrors Noam Chomsky far more than Rush Limbaugh; meanwhile, the media is attempting to play it off as some sort of legitimate “right-wing” perspective. Real conservatives look at the 9/11 truthers as complete dolts, and complete left-wing dolts at that. This guy was more Van Jones (a fellow 9/11 truther) than John Boehner or Sarah Palin."

That aside: Do you really think Amazon.com should be releasing people's reading lists? Yes, it was all anti-Bush crazy stuff like what my public library stocks, but I still don't think it should be released to journalists.

Mind Your Own Damn Business Politics, a blog

Here's a blog with some well thought-out principles. I've only read a few of his entries, but he seems to stick with his plan. I particularly like points 7 and 8 of his 10 principles.

7. Everything has a cost. Government can only give to one group by taking resources from someone else. Therefore, be careful about taxing the other guy.
Example: Don’t decide that the rich person doesn’t need to buy that yacht unless you are willing to tell the people that build and maintain that yacht that they are not entitled to their jobs because the government has a better use for the rich person’s money.
8. Self sufficiency and personal accomplishments are good. Helping others is good when you give that help of your own free will. Using government to compel others to help with your cause is not good, no matter how good you believe your cause to be. The people you compel may have causes of their own. They certainly have needs.

I particularly believe that churches that take government money to run their array of "good works" from pre-schools, to lunch programs, to work training programs need to reconsider Christ's challenge to meet the needs of those less fortunate.

Principles of MYODB | Mind Your Own Damn Business Politics

Is Hawaii or Florida or New York or Georgia or Pennsylvania Home to the Next Scott Brown?

A New York Democrat, Eric Massa, is quitting--apparently there will be, or would have been, an investigation into harassing a male staffer. So that makes possibly special elections in New York's 29th, Florida's 19th, Hawaii's 1st, Pennsylvania's 12th and Georgia's 9th. Now if the Republicans just don't do something stupid like appointing or electing RINOs, we just might be able to stop Obama. And isn't this a handsome family behind their man in Hawaii? CHARLES KONG DJOU--according to his bio Djou is a French misspelling of his Chinese surname.

Is Hawaii Home to the Next Scott Brown? - Hip Hop Republican

Could Charlie Rangel be next? Anyone who replaced him would be an improvement, even another Democrat.

Vintage Aprons, Kitchen Aprons: Jessie Steele Hostess Aprons

The various times I've blogged about aprons here and my sewing blog, I've received a lot of hits. Women are looking for aprons bigger than a postage stamp that don't sag, bag, or make promises they can't keep. At Facebook today I see that the Tremont Goodie Shop in Upper Arlington Tremont Shopping Center is selling Jessie Steele aprons, so I just had to look it up and see if they have COVERAGE and aren't just a lick and a promise. Really cute. Could use a bit more across the bust, or are other women just neater cooks? My Mom really knew how to make an apron, and I still have this one after 50 years. Jessie Steele also has aprons for professional wear, like hair dressers.

Vintage Aprons, Kitchen Aprons: Jessie Steele Hostess Aprons

Pentagon shooter killed by police

36-year-old John Patrick Bedell of California is dead, killed by Pentagon police after he wounded them. Story from WaPo.



As an aside, I think Bob Orr used to be in Columbus.

Update: The Pentagon shooter had a history of drug problems and arrests, especially marijuana.

Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: Anti-Tea Party Crowd Disappointed, Again

4 chords, 36 songs

Do the songs all sound alike to you? Maybe they are. Here's a fun way to review a little recent music history.



HT Opining Online

A bribe is a bribe is a bribe

Naming the brother of "undecided" Jim Matheson of Utah to a judgeship is just a bribe, no matter his brother's qualifications and credentials. This one really stinks.

Obama Now Selling Judgeships for Health Care Votes? | The Weekly Standard

The Two Kinds of Freedom

Both parties want you to be free. Democrats want you to be children. Republicans want you to be adults. The Cumberland Post: The Two Kinds of Freedom

Thursday Thirteen--13 things not on my bucket list

A bucket list supposedly contains things to do before you die (kick the bucket). I don't have one. But if I did, these would NOT be on it.

1. A primitive camping trip with no privy, hot showers, decent coffee or restaurant within miles.

2. Join the Peace Corps, Americorp or Vista or any other government based volunteer effort.

3. Attend a workshop on self-esteem, or any "do-over" workshops for that matter.

4. Update my resume and go back to work.

5. Publish a novel (writing it maybe, but not publishing).

6. Plant, hoe and harvest a garden.

7. Read the complete works of any author.

8. Public speaking.

9. Win the lottery.

10. Bathe the cat.

11. Ride a ferris wheel or roller coaster.

12. Appear on "What not to Wear" for $5,000 worth of new clothes.

13. Get a sun tan, or do anything sweaty.

Obamacare: Still a Threat to Your Life

The decimation of our health care system under Obamacare begins with government mandates, regulations, bureaucracies, and controls. There are close to 100 new health care bureaucracies, boards, commissions and programs in the proposed plan pushed by Obama, according to The American Spectator.

For just a little bipartisanship, ask yourself would either Bill Clinton or Dick Cheney, both political has-beens with limited usefulness to the current administration and a long history of heart problems treated with the lastest technology by the best doctors, be alive today if Obamacare were in full bloom?

Paygo?

A $10 billion emergency spending bill is now law despite the one-man campaign (Bunning R-Ky) to delay the measure. Senate Democrats could have brought the issue to a vote at any time, but chose not to--preferring to paint the Republicans as bad guys. Guess they don't remember all the mischief they caused with funding the troops.
The president was lauding Paygo
Wasn't it just days ago
Until a someone
A brave Republican-one
Stood and said no go.

Trying To ‘Alinsky’ The Tea Party Movement

I'm not aware of a single violent act resulting from the Tea Party Movement--but it certainly has brought out the wrath and violent tendencies of the left and the media.

"Using tactics straight out Saul Alinsky’s Rules For Radicals, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has released a scathing report attempting to isolate and ridicule the Tea Party movement. Filled with leftist talking points and blanket statements, the SPLC report, “Rage On The Right: The Year in Hate and Extremism,” asserts Tea Party alignment to “Timothy McVeigh and Olympics bomber Eric Rudolph,” “hate groups,” “furious anti-immigrant vigilante groups,”and ”so-called ‘Patriot’ groups.” In the eyes of the SPLC, the average American citizen is
“shot through with rich veins of radical ideas, conspiracy theories and racism.”
Southern Poverty Law Center Tries To ‘Alinsky’ The Tea Party Movement

In fact, the Tea Party movement may be the best thing to happen to both parties in this country, who have long ignored the ordinary citizen, who thought all he/she needed to do for representation was vote and send money to PACs and party machines. It's a new day, and as usual, those in power don't relinquish it easily.

I got an e-mail from Murray today who writes that he and his wife "went to the weekly Tri-county Tea Party meeting last night here in The Villages. The featured speaker was Jason Sager who is running for the House of Representatives in Florida's 5th district. There were about 160 pumped up people in attendance to hear Jason provide insight to the destruction that's taking place in our Federal government. The mood of the audience was unified towards returning our government back into the hands of WE THE PEOPLE. The usually silent seniors have had enough of the spending, the healthcare bill and sharing the wealth philosophy of the Obama administration. Meetings like this are happening all over our great country. We ought to thank Obama for waking us up so we can begin the "change" that we thought we were going to get!"

A bunch of pumped up Florida senior citizens, and the left is so afraid they're demonizing them. It's pathetic, but I guess something had to wake us up.

What smoking does for you, Mr. President

Makes you cough.

Makes you stink.

Makes you short of breath.

Makes you feel more stressed, especially if you can't get to a cigarette.

Burns up your discretionary money--$4.00 a pack, so if you are smoking 2 packs a day, that's a huge chunk. A trip to Europe after you're out of office.

Puts you more at risk for preventable diseases

heart disease
stroke
cancer of the larynx
cancer of the mouth
cancer of the bladder
cancer of the cervix
cancer of the pancreas
cancer of the kidneys

Opens you up to respiratory problems

bronchitis
emphysema
asthma attacks

to say nothing of yellow, stained teeth, periodontal disease and wrinkles.

And smokers tend to die 7 years earlier than non-smokers.

That said, and obviously I think it's a horrible, life diminishing habit, I think you guys in the government are going too far. "Promoting Health Through Tobacco Taxation" JAMA, Jan. 27, 2010. The very first tax you imposed in office was primarily on lower income people, by raising cigarette taxes.

Obama's colon

Isn't it terrible when the whole world knows the state of your colon? It seems that President Obama's recent clean bill of health has turned up high cholesterol, a stubborn addiction to cigarettes, and the fact that his doctors used a virtual colonoscopy. Colon cancer is the only cancer we can prevent with screening. The other types of screens find it after the fact; this one finds polyps which can be removed before they become a problem. There is a lot of colon cancer in my family, so I'm extremely grateful for colonoscopies, although the prep isn't pleasant (and it's the same for virtual and traditional methods).

While traditional colonoscopy can remove polyps at the same time that they are detected, a virtual exam cannot. However, only about 10% of patients will have polyps that require removal. On the other hand, a virtual exam has its own advantages. It is very safe and does not require sedation. The virtual exam is usually completed in about 15 minutes and patients can drive themselves home afterward or immediately return to work.

In 2008, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of experts appointed by the Department of Health and Human Services, issued a report that found that there was not enough evidence to determine whether Medicare should cover virtual colonoscopies. Medicare based its decision not to cover the virtual exam on the task force's findings." . . . [and on the cost if additional problems were found]

Mark E. Klein, the author of this editorial, concludes that this "do as I say, not as I do" is why Americans don't trust their government with health care--read the whole article here.

Frankly, I think that 10% figure is enough of a reason to go with conventional procedure--if this runs in your family; it means the polyps are then removed immediately. With the virtual, a second procedure is necessary. Also, I don't believe the WSJ article mentioned that most insurance companies don't cover it--so why pick on Medicare? Gulp! Did I just defend the government?

Visually challenged churches

Usually I reserve my complaints, sighs and weeping over visually cluttered church spaces for my own church (4,000 members). It has 3 campuses in a variety of architectural styles spaning 70 years, with landscaping, parking lots, narthexes, restrooms and halls loaded with clutter, to say nothing of sanctuaries and fellowship halls with peculiar concessions to ministries, pop culture, worship styles, lighting and HVAC. Walls, restroom mirrors, doors and yards are used like bulletin boards by careless people although there is a bulletin board "ministry." In 1993 when my daughter was married at Lytham Rd., I had to throw a "mother of the bride" hissy fit to get the dangling movie screen and huge Peavey speakers removed from the sanctuary for the wedding ceremony. Mission posters have been hanging for years at Mill Run and have become wall paper instead of a vibrant call to action for members. There's a trash container in the front yard. Oh well, apparently very few people see this. But they will travel to Europe to see beautiful cathedrals.

Today I passed Advent Lutheran on Kenny Road. It really is a lovely small church (300 members). It began with a modest multipurpose space as many congregations do, and then added a few years back a beautiful sanctuary. There are few churches in Columbus with a more pleasant and restful appearing worship space. Unfortunately, someone has decided to advertise the enrollment period for their preschool by hanging a banner on the outside wall of the sanctuary facing Kenny Road. Back in the not too distant past the congregation of Advent Lutheran (ELCA) voted to commit funds, time and effort to expanding and beautifying--to putting on a lovely face for the thousands of cars that pass their way each week. And they succeeded. I thank them everyday for their sacrifice. And when Hurricane Ike went through in the fall of 2008 and ripped off their roof, it was repaired immediately. They didn't leave it a blue tarp eyesore. They don't put their "save the environment" trash container in plain view the way UALC does--they keep it as far from sight as possible. They landscape their drive way and parking lot. They are good neighbors in Upper Arlington.

And then someone spoiled it by hanging a banner on the outside of a very attractive wall. And by the way, if I didn't know what it was advertising, the sign is probably not readable at 35 mph.

Adam McInnis, Christian Singer

Clicking through the Facebook “friends” list (does anyone really have 5,000 friends?) of Noel McInnis (we played trombone together in high school), I noticed Adam McInnis, so I clicked to his bio to see if they were related. They aren’t (unless there’s a whole other part of Noel I didn’t know), but I was really blown away by some of Adam's delightful, passionate music. Enjoy!

Adam McInnis "Since I Spoke Your Name" from Adam McInnis on Vimeo.

More housing loans and guarantees

This certainly isn't new to this administration Release No. 0090.10 Probably some form goes back to the Depression, but I've never understood why the USDA is in the housing business. Rural Development has an existing portfolio of more than $130 billion in loans and loan guarantees. So when you're looking at government housing problems you need to poke around, because it isn't all where you think it might be. In Fiscal Year 2009 USDA guaranteed loans to buy, build, or renovate more than 4,200 affordable rural rental housing units. 2010 will be $129 billion more. (That's not ARRA money, which is many billions more.) And this isn't for farmers, or even small towns. It's any area outside a major city. Could be the 'burbs. According to this site, you can get 100% financing with no need for mortgage insurance, no money down, and no loan limits. Sweet! Isn't that how we got into our current mess? USDA employs over 6,000 gov't workers in its housing programs. And that's not counting all the bank employees it keeps afloat.

Award for doing not much

Yesterday we received a Certificate of Merit. For doing not much of anything! Who do they think we are? The President of the United States?

Here's what it says on good quality card stock with fancy script and type font:

"Be it known to all who bear witness that this highest honor which
may be bestowed by RNC Victory 2012 has been awarded to
(US)
A recognized leader in
Ohio
on this 19th day of February
in the year 2010 for
DEDICATION, SACRIFICE and COMMITMENT
To the Republican Party and our efforts to elect the next
Republican President of the United States in 2012

Then there are two signatures and a little gold embossed elephant at the bottom. Really!? The voters elected an attractive, glib candidate no one knew or vetted in 2008, and now we're supposed to do it with the other party? Contributing $25 during the last campaign, to elect a man we really didn't like and was the better of the bad salvagable only because of his running mate, means we're dedicated and committed? Well, it was a bit of a sacrifice. Didn't like McCain as a candidate or Senator (he's a RINO plus), although I admire his personal service to the country.

I think this is the millennial generation hover award. Isn't that the group that has to get an award for showing up? Someone slipped up on our age.

New t-shirts from Haiti

Everything's back to normal here. My husband's working on a video of this trip--adorable classroom scenes of the younger children. One was Pam Mann's English class and the children recited numbers up to 20 and the days of the week. He has about a thousand mosquito bites, or perhaps "no-seeums." He got those when he went down to film the Massacre River. Smaller than ours. His arms look like he's got the measles. Always interesting experiences to tell about Haiti when he gets home. He loves his students--it's an excellent school with highly motivated kids. Here we are wearing matching t-shirts to exercise class. I think this says, "We're advancing," (front) "together, together, for another Haiti" (back) in Creole.

Upcoming shows from talented friends

Jeanie's show is at Ursus, 2814 Fishinger Rd. Upper Arlington, OH 43221, March 1-April 30, 2010; and Sharon's benefit concert is Sunday, March 14 at 5 p.m. with Synchronicity Trio is at Gethsemane Lutheran Church, 35 E. Stanton Ave, Columbus, OH 43214, just a bit north of Morse Rd. A freewill donation will go to Faith Mission Homeless Shelters.

Reading Hemingway

There was a dad sitting in a lounge chair at Panera's this morning reading Hemingway to his son. The son was about 9 months old and teething. Seemed to work. He took his daddy's finger out of his mouth long enough to give me a big smile.

Killer whales and wailing kitties

It surprised me to learn that the whale trainer Dawn Brancheau at Sea World who was killed had a loose pony tail which might have looked like a toy/food to the Orca Tillikum which just did what whales do. People who live and work and care for animals should understand animal behavior and never let down their guard, or forget that animals have instincts. Whether they are 11,000 lb whales, or 11 lb dogs. For instance, my 11 year old cat will still attack my shoe strings. I don't know what she thinks they are, but they send a signal. Another cat we had never figured out the tail thing (this one's never noticed her tail). And what cat or dog owner doesn't know not to stare their pet in the eye--even to tease--and if they do, should know not to put their face up to the pet's nose. Yes, maybe 99 times she just licks your nose, but the 100th time she bites, draws blood, sees your reaction, and from then on, you're in trouble.

The dog bite statistics for males is telling. Young male children are bitten by young male dogs, owned by young adult males. See a pattern? Dawn was not a male; Tillikum wasn't a dog. But I'm sure there are patterns that whales follow. I don't blame the whale, and I don't blame captivity. The whale has probably lived longer and had a better life than in the wild. Better than many human beings. Whale trainers are probably safer in a tank with a whale than on a California freeway. But long, loose hair? No, not ever.

Condescension

John Podhoretz: "My sense of this summit is that President Obama is exactly as he always is — extremely intelligent, knowledgeable about policy details, so certain of the rightness of his views that he has no compunction about declaring the views of his antagonists to be merely politically convenient rather than substantive, startlingly condescending at moments, and even more startlingly long-winded when he gets going. As a result, he both looks good and bad in these settings — good because he's serious and doesn't appear to be a fanatic, and bad because of the condescension." From Taranto's Best of the Web, Feb. 26.

Liberals, of course, don't see Obama this way. They see a guy who is so much smarter, more virtuous and better than everyone else so of course he should appear this way and hog the TV time rather than listening. So why would that be condescending? I mean, are you paranoid if everyone really is out to get you? And if he stammers badly while groping for words, well, he's just waiting for the rest of us peons to catch up with his brilliance.

Although I'd have to disagree that he looks good, in any circumstance.

Just ask Google--applesauce to oil

We're having a few couples from church in tomorrow evening, and for dessert I'm serving warmed fresh blueberries over lemon cake with a dollop of real whipped cream. I'd thought some of mixing the blueberries in little blobs into the unbaked cake and swirling, but fortunately remembered the disaster of a few years back when I decided to mix cooked blueberries into a vanilla pudding mix for a pie. Because these mixes all have a little yellow food coloring (called yellow 5 or yellow 6) to make them look yummy and inviting, if you mix in blueberries, you get something that looks like pea soup--gray green. The taste doesn't change at all, but a lot of what we taste is really done with our eyes (which is why I always clean and take down the cobwebs before I invite people over for dinner). So, that disaster was avoided.

The Betty Crocker Super Moist Lemon cake mix (I never make a cake from scratch) called for 1/3 cup of oil. Now, that's not awful, but everyone I know is watching the calories, so I decided to substitute applesauce for oil. I know you can do it in baking, I just didn't know the proportions. That's where Google comes in.

Google answers millions of questions a day--I know because some of them end up on my blog since I write on 50 bazillion topics. Here's what I learned. In baking it's about a 1:1 swap, but don't do it with cookies or snacky things that need a bit of crispness or you get "frankensnack." Even with this cake, I used a little less than 1/3 cup of applesauce, and added about a tablespoon of oil. If the cake tastes a little less than perfect, the blueberries will cover for me; I've tasted them and they are fabulous. 2 Tbsp. flour, 3/4 c. Splenda, a few shakes of cinnamon, and a Tbsp. of butter; heat just to the point they start to burst. Then I'll reheat them before serving, but they won't be mushy.

My little Sunbeam mixer was a wedding gift, so it's 50 years old. I think I've blogged about it before. The cord is stiff, it falls out of its connection, it trips the outlet switch, and the beaters fall out about every 45 seconds. But how many more years will I be making cakes, so I don't replace it. Besides, at this stage, it would be like kicking out a member of the family.

Well, it's about time to take the lemon cake out of the oven. Smells heavenly. I'll let you know . . .

Richmond Oval Skating Complex in Vancouver

A lovely building. With some interesting features.

"Each ribbed panel is clad in standard 2x4 plywood, milled from trees reclaimed from the forest floor—victims of the insidious pine beetle that decimated much of the local tree stock. There are nearly 1 million board feet of this wood—tinged slightly blue as a result of the infestation—in the roof structure. The 2x4s are staggered, and the resulting openings (which look like linear perforations) expose acoustical material to help dampen sound in the arena."

The site I'm checking says the USA has 32 medals, gold 8, silver 12, bronze 12. After the Olympics this building will be used as a community center with room for basketball, badminton, and iceskating. The architectural firm, Cannon Design, will begin the retrofit process after the Olympic crowds leave.

Blue Shoes returns to Mill Run

Today the Visual Arts Ministry of UALC is hanging a new show by the men and women of Blue Shoe Arts, which helps artists with disabilities create original art - outsider and folk art, found object sculpture, painting and drawing, fabric art and cartoons. They are supported by the sales of their own art and the MMRD sheltered workshop in an old shoe factory in Lancaster, OH. We purchased one of Joseph Greene's paintings of Noah and the Ark two years ago when they had their first show at Mill Run. Everyone who sees it, loves it. I'm no longer a member of the ministry, but so many people are out of town, I agreed to help.

The Mill Run campus of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church is open Sunday through Thursday, so be sure to make a special effort to see it if you are in the building, or looking for something interesting to enjoy or purchase. The above photos are from the previous show.

Glenn Beck reads poetry and recommends books

If you watch Glenn Beck, your TBR list will get a bit long. Not only does he write books, he recommends them. And interviews the authors. Today he had three authors on his show (this might have been a repeat because of the health care summit taking most of his show time), The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us And What We Can Do About It, by Joshua Cooper Ramo (Little Brown & Company 2009); The survivors Club by Ben Sherwood (Grand Central Pub., 2009); and America's Prophet by Bruce Feiler (William Morrow, 2009). Recently he's also been really pushing A Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus's Great Discovery to the War on Terror by Larry Schweikart. You can take the Survivor's Club test answering questions about winning the lottery and finding a grizzly in your path. I came out as a "thinker," like Hillary Clinton, Steve Jobs, and Chesley Sullenberger (after providing a score they list celebrities with those characteristics. From Feiler's book, Glenn really became enamored with the Statue of Liberty and Emma Lazarus' poem. His complete reading list.

Petulent, rude, whiny, dismissive and sneering

And that was just their leader. Who cares about the color of his skin, it sure is thin. He shouldn't have skipped so many sessions when he was a Senator. Would've learned the rules. As Democrats droned on and on and on with stories of teeth, cousins and phone messages, McCain was rudely told to stop campaigning. Really, I was shocked. I'll take a cowboy's manners and presidential decorum any day over this stumbling grand stander. Clown in chief Reid claimed no one considered reconciliation! And Dick Durbin. Did he really say we should all just have the health care plan that federal employees have. Has he noticed how they get to pick and choose their "Cadillac" coverage from private insurers? The ones other Dems are calling rapacious crooks and want to destroy? Has he noticed their club is already a select group in wealth, education, race, and gender? There was really no reason for Republicans to show up. . . except they showed up the President and his party. And that they did.

Scrap the bill. Start over.

The story of the housing meltdown from an economist

Nobody caught on--not Greenspan, Bush, or Frank. And Barney Frank is still pushing more home ownership--without standards. But Bush will continue to be blamed because it happened on his watch. Video interview June 29, 2009



Sowell asserts in his book, "The Housing Boom and Bust," that politicians in Washington were trying to solve a problem that didn't exist.

"The problem that didn't exist was a national problem of unaffordable housing," Sowell explained. [And he's quite correct--housing was quite affordable in central Ohio.]

"The housing in particular areas, particularly coastal California and some other areas around the country, were just astronomically high. It was not uncommon for people to have to pay half of their family income just to put a roof over their head. So that was a very serious problem where it existed.

"But it existed in various coastal communities primarily and a couple of other places. Unfortunately, the elites whose strongholds are on the East and West Coasts don't seem to understand that there's a whole country in between, and in most of that country housing was quite affordable by all historical standards.

"So they set out to solve the problem by setting up a federal program to bring down the mortgage requirements, the 20 percent down payment and that sort of thing, and by forcing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy up those mortgages from the people who no longer had to meet the same requirements.

"The banks had no choice but to go along because the regulators controlled their fate. So the banks would simply sign up people, sell the mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It now became Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's problem. And that meant it became the taxpayers' problem." [quotes from Newsmax interview]

Repairs and improvements

If you own rental property: "A repair keeps your property in good operating condition. It does not materially add to the value of your property or substantially prolong its life."

I wonder if the the genius who wrote this ever tried to sell or rent a house with mold, discolored wall board, or sagging ceilings because the plumbing, gutters, or leaks weren't fixed. It might not add value, but if you neglect repairs, you can certain subtract value.

"You can deduct the cost of repairs to your rental property. You cannot deduct the cost of improvements." Improvements you depreciate. And if you understand depreciation, you should be a CPA, not a landlord.

Skills you need to find a job

One of my temp jobs I had in 1976 (see below) was with JTPA (successor to CETA)--Ohio Senior Training and Employment Program (STEPS). I worked with a wonderful group of women in an efficiently run state agency. I wrote publications, planned workshops, travelled throughout the state, and wrote speeches for the head of another government agency. I learned so much on that job, not the least of which was job hunting skills (because I had to write about them and teach them in workshops not because I used them). However, I got the job in aerobics class overhearing my instructor talking about it--and that's how most jobs are found, "networking." Still, there are other important points I learned, and have updated to account for new technology.

1) If you're unemployed, your job is to find a job. Spend 40 hours a week researching, interviewing, networking, updating skills, writing thank you notes, and knocking on doors. If you do internet social networking about job hunting, be careful what you say. Never, never bad mouth your previous employer or boss.

2) Dress appropriately for the interview (this might take some research if you are 18-25). If you love that big hair look from the 80s, you might want to reconsider what it says about you. Cut the gray pony tail if you're a guy.

3) Develop a fabulous resume, brief is best. Use a professional or have someone proof it for you. Anything you have on the internet may speak louder than your resume, so better check that out. Read requirements carefully! Some companies don't want paper; some don't want attachments.

4) All jobs need good oral and written communication skills. If you've been text messaging for 4 years, you might need a brush up on how to spell "you" and "are."

5) Eye contact, body language, posture, good grammar--they say more about you than you know. Video tape yourself--watch for all those unneccesary uhs, now, hmmm, etc. It's a form of stuttering and doesn't make a good impression. Just don't put anything on YouTube.

6) If they take you to lunch (this is customary at the university), it's not because you look hungry. Your table manners will be observed. How you behave in a social setting will be important to your colleagues.

7) Do I need to remind you to be on time? No excuse will be accepted--they've heard them all--babysitter didn't show, mother in law is ill, snow plow covered the drive, etc. etc.

8) Also, do your homework on the company! At least know what they produce, service, loan or build.

9) Be prepared for really dumb or tricky questions. Maybe they can't ask your age, but they can chit chat about other things that will trip you up if you're lying.

10) One last thing--although they can't ask about your kids, they can spot baby spit up on your clothes.

I won't even go into drug testing, but there are now companies that won't hire smokers, and they test for it. If you need to worry, you're probably not right for the job anyway.