E-mail scams--Oh the creativity!

Yesterday I got one with great graphics--was supposed to be from the FBI although I don't remember exactly what I was being offered. Here are excerpts from the 3 or 4 a day I get. I only get them through my OSU mail account. Road Runner, being a business seems a bit better at catching them and dumping.

I am delighted to inform you that the Guarantee Trust Bank Plc (GTB) Management through the office of Mr. President have decided to call back all approved fund payment through offshore payment center following directives from UNITED NATIONS & WORLD BANK and have concluded arrangements to pay your beneficiary/contractual fund by cash through Diplomatic Agent. The Agent will be delivering the cash in a Machine sealed consignment to your door step as my bank have temporarily stopped further payment via wire transfer this quarter.

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Since his death, I decided not to remarry or get a child outside my matrimonial home which the holly Quaran is against. When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of (£ 2.3 Million Pounds) with the a security company here in London, Presently, the fund is still with the security company. Recently, my Doctor told me that I have serious sickness which is cancer problem. The one that disturbs me most is my stroke sickness having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to an Organisation,Company or individual that will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct here-in.

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For some time now,i have not be able to make any long distance travel because of my health, so i wanted my investment liquidated and transferred to my account by Swift, but the Investors insist, they can not transfer the funds to any bank account outside United State due to their new company policy trigered by the prevailing economic meltdown.

Meanwhile, i wanted to travel to the US to get the funds myself but my doctor advice against it ,that due to my present state of health i can not make such a long distance trip. So i was told to provide someone in the United State to receive the funds on my behalf.

Please let me know if you can handle the funds on my behalf and forward to me. You shall be entitle to 10% of the money you receive and forward me the balance 90% WITHOUT YOU SPENDING A SINGLE CENT FROM YOUR END.

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I am Assistant Manager in banking institution, For your kind attention, I will be very glad if you do assist me to relocate the sum Million of Dollars to your personal bank account for the benefit of both of us as a foreign partner. The fund belong to a late Spanish contractor here, he died in an accident on his way going back to construction site four years ago.

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To be precise; I am Dr. Huck Laman Senior manager of ABSA BANK Limited
Johannesburg South Africa. In my department, we discovered an abandoned sum of US$ 43 Million(Forty Three Million United State Dollars) in an account that belongs to one of our customers who died along with his entire family in 1988 Lockerbie Pan American Airline plane crash. Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless somebody applied for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking procedures, but unfortunately to no avail and nobody has come forward to claim the money.

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My condition is serious and according to my doctor, he said it is obvious that I will not survive it. I have some funds that my late husband WILLED to me in cash, the sum of $3,700,000.00 million United States of American Dollars, which is deposited in my bank. After my prayers, I searched the internet were i found your email address and I decided to contact you for the usage of the funds for the less privilege or the poor.

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I know that it will sound so strange when receive this Email. Hope you will treat it kind I want use this medium to ask for your assistance. My father died in bomb explosion, which occurred on Jan. 2008 in Republic of Togo. When he was alive he was an oil marchant and also the chairman of Republic of Togo Oil producing Development Area he lodge a ver huge amount of money into my account whats of $ 16million US dollars. My problem now is that my stepmother who want me died because of this money. She is after my life now also doing her possible best to get this money from me. Please I want you to assist to secure a foreign account where I will lodge this fund into without any delay.

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Because of the elaborate global scam, we decided to contact you for confirmation. If after two working days, no responce is received from you, it will be assumed that you are dead and as such authorisation and approval will be granted on behalf of Messers Jacobs enterprises to claim/receive your fund.

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I was told by the doctor that I was poisoned and has got my liver damaged and can only live for some months. When my let husband was alive he deposited the sum of us$7.3 Million Dollars with one of the Bank here in Abidjan Cote D'Ivoire. and I cannot think of anybody trying to kill me apart from my late husband business associate in order to inherit the money, because my son is only eight years old. I will issue you the vital document that will prove to you the present beneficiary of the fund.

The poisoned liver one just came today. Nice touch. Occasionally I glance through them and wonder. . . Do people really fall for this? If they do, they deserve what they get--a scam and a hoax based on greed.

The government redefined "FAMILY" in June

I must have been out of town. The government redefined the word and meaning of family through a minor agency called Office of Personnel Management. I noticed it in

Federal Register 33491
Vol. 75, No. 113
Monday, June 14, 2010:

5 CFR Part 630
RIN 3206–AL93
Absence and Leave; Definitions of
Family Member, Immediate Relative,
and Related Terms
AGENCY: Office of Personnel
Management.
ACTION: Final rule.

As part of OPM’s
continuing efforts to support the needs
of the Federal workforce during times of
sickness, funerals, and medical or other
emergencies, we are making the
definitions of family member and
immediate relative more explicit to
include more examples of relationships
that are covered under the phrase ‘‘[a]ny
individual related by blood or affinity
whose close association with the
employee is the equivalent of a family
relationship.’’ These examples include
stepparents and stepchildren,
grandparents, grandchildren, and samesex
and opposite-sex domestic partners.
In addition, OPM’s final regulations
define the terms committed
relationship, domestic partner, parent,
and son or daughter. . .
Although it has always been appropriate
to consider same-sex domestic partners
as a family relationship under the
‘‘related by blood or affinity’’ clause for
the purposes covered under these
regulations, agencies have not been
consistent in their interpretation of the
clause. These changes do not reflect an
additional benefit provided to a ‘‘special
interest group’’ or a fundamental change
in the Government’s human resources
policies. On the contrary, these final
regulations are meant to ensure that an
employee has an entitlement to use his
or her leave for purposes authorized
under applicable law and regulation.
Therefore, OPM believes it is
appropriate to specifically include
same-sex partners in the definitions of
family member and immediate relative
to ensure consistent application across
the Federal Government. We are
keeping domestic partners as part of the
definitions of family member and
immediate relative under 5 CFR part
630, subparts B, H, I, J, and K, for the
use of sick leave, funeral leave,
voluntary leave transfer, voluntary leave
bank, and emergency leave transfer to
ensure agencies meet the needs of a
diverse workforce. . .
Based upon the
comments received, we agree to revise
the definitions of family member and
immediate relative to clarify that the
parent of a domestic partner is included
in these two definitions. Therefore, we
are revising the proposed definitions of
family member and immediate relative
to add language to paragraph (6) to state:
‘‘domestic partner and parents thereof,
including domestic partners of any
individual in paragraphs (2) through (5)
of the definition.’’

And much more too lengthy and complex to copy.

Black Christians condemned Obama's inclusion of gay fathers in his Father's Day Message in June

Obama Proclaims that Homosexuals "Two Fathers" Can be Considered Fathers, in the Normal Sense of the Word, in his Father's Day Proclamation;Question: Where are the Megachurch Pastors and Prophets of God to Publicly Rebuke this Unwise President - BCNN1

SIPRNet: The US army Secret IP Router Network

The primary reason you don't hear much about the real culprit of Wikileaks, PFC Bradley Manning, is that he is/was an unhappy homosexual in the Army and we're in the midst of a "don't ask don't tell" debate. We're also in a debate about the security of Muslims in the armed forces during our War on Terror, so you hear very little about Nidal Malik Hasan.

SIPRNet: The US army Secret IP Router Network | Privacy Lover

But both the Manning and Hasan stories, personal motivations of hate aside, show the Army is incredibly sloppy in its security.

Who will play Julian the Movie version?

I definitely have made my pick.

The religion of Julian Assange--one view

"Like other anti-American cranks on the planet, Assange holds firm in his warped faith that the U.S. is the leading source of global evil. The roots of this religion run deep, beginning with 18th century European aristocrats who despised the American Revolution. The anti-Americanism of Nazis, communists, tribalists, anarchists and now militant Islamists all rehash the same tropes, with their semi-schizoid baseline being the U.S. is simultaneously a vast authoritarian conspiracy and a heterogeneous menagerie of infidel-cowboy-capitalist idiots who dogmatically resist enlightened social policies.

Assange argues his revelations will force this conglomerate American monster to become more secretive and authoritarian. Limiting access to information, in order to stop future leaks, will reduce the monster's secretive and authoritarian effectiveness. The monster's "security state" will dumb down, and --here's the moment of religious rapture in Assange's prophecy -- this will increase global justice.

Assange also links this shackling of America to creating peace. Don't snicker too long. There are a lot of tenured gray-haired profs with ponytails who teach this dreck at notable universities and get paid for it.

Assange understands media grandstanding, but he doesn't understand people and certainly doesn't understand how American diplomats contribute to maintaining peace."

Read the whole piece. WikiLeaks' Bottom-Line Revelation

"Wikileaks obtained hundreds of thousands of secret American military and diplomatic documents from a U.S. soldier (PFC Bradley Manning) who worked in intelligence. As such, Manning had a security clearance and access to SIPRNet (Secret Internet Protocol Router Network). This was a private Department of Defense network established in 1991, using Internet technology and able to handle classified (secret) documents. But Manning got access to a computer with a writable CD drive, and was able to copy all those classified documents to a CD (marked as containing Lady Gaga tracks) and walk out of his workplace with it."

Read the rest. Information Warfare: Why Wikileaks Backfired

Benefits for gay couples, but not straight?

There are lots of reasons heterosexual couples don't get married, but live in "committed" relationships whereby benefits and legal and medical power of attorney might be helpful, or a tuition break for the girlfriend's out of wedlock teenager, or a gym membership, etc.

One or both might still be married to someone else.

If one or the other married, they might lose their alimony or a deceased spouse's benefits.

They are related to each other and live in one of the states that have consanguinity laws. One half of the states prohibit the marriage of first cousins. Some states also prohibit the marriage of a step-parent and a child, or an in-law and a child. But marriage among cousins is extremely common among immigrant groups.

One or both accept polygamy and don't wish to separate from their legal spouse.

Both have adult children from previous marriages and don't want to do anything to change the line of inheritance for wealth for their children, and prefer to take care of their partner in other ways.

They are different religions and can't come to an agreement and don't want to upset their parents.

They look down on the other's ethnicity or cultural group and don't want the association (Korean/Japanese or different first nations group or Sharia/Sunni).

They've been through a nasty divorce several times and have completely soured on the idea of marriage, but not relationships.

They are very close to former in-laws and don't wish to bring in a "new" spouse to the relationship mix.

Their place of employment has nepotism rules and one would lose a job or be transferred if they were married.

Same-Sex Benefits Ban Roils El Paso - WSJ.com

The Tax Treatment of Domestic Partner Benefits - NYTimes.com

New Benefits for Same-Sex Partners - NYTimes.com

Health Benefits: Dependent Certification - Benefits - The Ohio State University

So how long before the federal government, corporations and universities decide to be fair to straight, shacking-up couples?

Mike Huckabee knows

Huckabee's message today was about what he knows.

I know life begins at conception;

I know our economy grows and adds jobs when we have less government and lower taxes;

I know social issues are inextricably linked to economic successes;

I know traditional marriage isn't just a conservative principle it's a fundamental building block for our nation;

I know real border security isn't just securing our borders, it's enforcing existing laws on employers;

and I know a free nation is one that can feed itself, fuel itself and fight for itself.

Although I'm not going to send Huck-Pac any more money (at Christmas our donations go to Christian causes, not political movements), but I do agree 100% with his summary of conservative values.

Government bloggers

Not only are we paying these government employees their salaries, but we are paying them to blog about all the good deals we get by sending our money to the government and letting them spend it.

Blog Policies

Power Spin 210 U

This is our Christmas present. We went shopping Saturday with our daughter and son-in-law who are true "shoppers." They do the research (Christmas trees, clothing, technology, etc.) and then we go along for the ride. My husband and son-in-law both wanted me to get the new-in-the-box model for $200, but I said I'd take the 25% off the floor model. When scanned it came up already on sale, so we got... 20% off that. $80 instead of $200 was my take-away price. It measures heart rate, calories, mph, and mileage.

They also talked the clerk out of taking my old exercycle, which I offered to her. But I found a new and happy owner within a minute of mentioning it on my Facebook page.

Ceiling Repair--unexpected holiday expense

We were afraid the plumbing in the master bathroom was leaking, because we were getting bubbles on the living room ceiling, but they didn't seem to be under the drain. On a closer look, my husband decided the caulking in the corner of the shower was damaged.

A contractor looked, cut out a section, and yes, could see daylight in the corner of the shower. He also found some "outside of code" plumbing from when this shower was installed, probably in 1990 when the guy decorators lived here and all sorts of trendy, but not correct things, were installed. He also found out the previous contractor didn't remove his trash--even found a putty knife!

Notice the cat on the couch is not about to give up her napping spot just because there's a stranger in the room cutting holes in the ceiling! It's that curiosity thingy.

How St. Nick Became Santa Claus

Happy St. Nicholas Day, December 6. There truly is a real person behind our Santa Claus myth. Last night at the Conestoga Christmas party at the hotel in the Ohio Historical Village a St. Nicholas reenactor told us the story of his life and the giving of gifts (we each got a gold coin, i.e., chocolate wrapped in gold foil).
How St. Nick Became Santa Claus: Spiritual Life in God

The Dream Act

Call or e-mail your Senators now and tell them to vote NO on the DREAM Act.

"Last week, the Department of Labor reported that unemployment in America rose to 9.8 percent. Joblessness has now topped 9.5 percent for 16 straight months, the longest stretch since the Great Depression. Yet in the 11th hour of the 111th Congress, Democrats are attempting to pass legislation that would grant amnesty to an estimated two million illegal immigrants

The DREAM Act subsidizes education for illegal immigrants, grants them mass amnesty, encourages more illegal immigration and inevitably takes jobs from American workers. Simply put, the DREAM Act is a nightmare for the American people. ." Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas)


No one knows how many are eligible for this--it includes up to age 35, so it's "not for the children." Could be over 2 million. Also, a criminal record won't disbar anyone from this dream. If they don't complete the program--which could be vocational or junior college--they only have to claim hardship to keep their legal status.

Those who receive conditional legal status under the DREAM Act also would be ineligible for Medicaid, food stamps and other government-funded benefits.

Center for American Progress, a far left wing think tank supports it, as do many progressives, socialists, etc. They need more voters on their side, and what better way than to slip them in under amnesty. But, do your homework. Should the children of illegals get special breaks like in-state tuition to your alma mater, when your child has to pay double, and should an illegal get a fast track to citizenship or legal status when your relatives have to wait in line?

DREAM ACT is just another name for blanket amnesty.

Monday Memories--Weybright farm sale

These aren't my memories, of course, but about 106 years ago the two oldest sons, Josiah and George, of my great-grandparents Jacob and Nancy Wenger Weybright were selling off their deceased parents' property, a farm near Dayton, Ohio, in Montgomery County, presumably to be divided among the living children.  My own grandfather was still a teen-ager when his mother died and was only 8 years old when his father died.  The date of this poster is 1894, so that means with the help of her older children Nancy lived on the farm until her death in 1892.

According to my genealogy notes, George continued to live on the home place and something messy happened in an agreement with his daughter and husband to look after him in his old age, because he outlived his daughter, was taken in by a niece, Ethel Shoup, and I believe he died in a nursing home in 1962, but I'm not sure. *

Josiah, the other name on the bill of sale, married Rose Johnson, moved to Bloomington, Indiana and when I was living in Indianapolis in 1960 I think I may have met some of his daughters at a funeral I attended to "represent" our side of the family--Iva Bates, Edith Boruff, Isabelle Terhune and Margie Lowdermilk.

If I were a better researcher (or had the energy) I could probably find out what happened to the farm one half mile south of Union and one half mile north of Harrisburg, Ohio on the Dayton and Covington Pike. Nothing is forever; certainly not real estate or farmland.  However, the family Bible in which Nancy wrote all her children's names is in Canada with my cousin Sharon.

*The Wenger Database lists his death much earlier, but I think that is incorrect based on family correspondence I've read.

Update: " Find a Grave" gives his death as 1964.

Oral-B CrossAction Power Whitening Toothbrush

Last week I had my 6 month dental check up and got the usual lecture. Floss. Use an electric toothbrush. I always have tons of plaque and 30+ years ago I had a gingivectomy, for an early case of gingivitis, and I still have ALL my permanent teeth--including four wisdom teeth that are extremely hard to floss, even with a huge mouth like mine. So, when we were out purchasing my new Gold's power spin on Saturday we sorted through the battery and electric toothbrushes. We've had an electric toothbrush for years with replacement heads, but it resides in my husband's bathroom, so I've maybe used it twice. Well, I discovered at Wal-Mart that I could buy 4 Oral-B CrossAction power battery operated toothbrushes for the same cost of 3 replacement heads of our electric model. Duh. That's a no brainer--it even came with the batteries. Now for the good news. I just love it! I've looked on line, and I don't see any price better than the $5.97 I paid at Wal-Mart. And boy, does it have power!

Oral-B CrossAction Power Whitening Toothbrush

Just say no

This was not the scene--it was the dad

This morning a young family with five children was enjoying breakfast where I have my coffee. Gorgeous kids and parents. But lively. Oh my. Lots of screaching. Some rolling on the floor. Some dismantling. I just can't imagine my mother saying something like, "We need to think about. . . [using our quiet voice; sitting in our chairs; not running around when people have hot coffee]" if I had been acting up in public. Although I sat through a lot of Mary Evans' classes at FCC when I was a young parent, and that's what we were taught to say 40 years ago.

Please moms, just say No. The kids know what you mean and are probably confused that you seem to be leaving the choice up to them.

The story of Kables and Mt. Morris, a timeline by guest blogger Murray

Murray and I graduated from Mt. Morris High School in Illinois in 1956 and 1957. It was then a small town with several thriving businesses related to printing and publishing, an excellent school system, four churches, and a solid retail business district. When my parents and grandparents were young there had been a Mt. Morris College (two different entities, 1839-1932), but it closed in 1932. At one time Mt. Morris had a high school, junior high, and an elementary school, but those are gone too except for the middle school. Two years ago Watt Publishing, one of the largest publishers of agricultural journals, moved out. Last week, the announcement came that Quad-Graphics would be leaving too. That's the current name of a company that began in 1894. Here's how Murray explains the timeline from Kable Brothers Printing to Quad-Graphics.

--------------

Norma, here are the events leading up to the demise of our beloved Kable Brothers Printing Company.

1957 - Western Publishing of Racine, Wisconsin, elected to compliment their strong children's books, games and toys business. They purchased Kable Printing. They were a great company to work for as they paid well and had great benefits including profit sharing. They allowed Kable management to continue to manage the daily operation of the plant.

1974 - This continued until the photo engravers decided to strike in May of 1974. Western Publishing handled the negotiations with the union. Kable limped though the strike under Western Publishing till 1979 as the strike weakened them.

1979 - Mattel purchased Western Publishing in 1979 [for $120.8 million in cash and stock] primarily for Western's lucrative children's books, toys and games business. They then divested themselves of Kable in 1980 to the Providence Journal because they really had no interest or expertise in printing and publishing.

1980 - The Providence Journal had a printing division called Providence Gravure. They added Kable printing to this division and allowed Kable to keep its name. [Murray transferred to Providence in 1981, retiring in 1995.] They also had gravure plants in Dallas and Richmond. They were an excellent company to work for as they were generous with their benefits and paid well.

1986 - In 1986 they sold the Gravure division to Robert Maxwell of Maxwell Communications. Robert Maxwell was determined to become the largest communications media in the world. He was obsessed with attempting to overtake Rupert Murdoch as the world's largest communications empire. Maxwell was ruthless in his attempt. He kept acquiring and expanding sometimes using the pension funds of his acquisitions for capital. Fortunately he didn't touch the pension funds of the Providence Gravure Printing division. Maxwell drowned mysteriously in November 1991 while cruising off the Canary Islands, investigators discovered that he had misappropriated hundreds of millions of dollars from his companies and their pension plans to finance his corporate expansion. Maxwell's companies were forced to file for bankruptcy protection in Great Britain and the United States.

1990 - Quebecor Printing, located in Montreal, Quebec, purchased the Providence Gravure printing division from Maxwell Communications in 1990. Kable became Quebecor Mt. Morris. Quebecor Printing had similar goals as Maxwell. They wanted to become the largest commercial printer in the world by overtaking R.R. Donnelly. Their business plan was based strictly on total sales. They were successful based on total sales, however it was at the risk of their bottom line. To help towards their goal they merged with World Color in 1999. Kable/Quebecor Mt. Morris became QuebecorWorld. The QuebecorWorld business plan failed.

2010 - QuadGraphics with 30,000 employees worldwide purchased the bulk of QuebecorWorld U.S. printing plants in June of 2010. QuadGraphics immediately began consolidating and closing down various printing plants. On Nov. 30 QuadGraphics announced that starting Jan. 1, 2011 the Mt. Morris plant will began reducing it's work force from 500 to 100 employees to be completed by April 1. 2011.

MURRAY

Bernanke's Depression experiment

How many people get to play with the lives of 300 million people, and maybe the world's population, to see if their PhD thesis works?

Yesterday the Labor Department released its monthly jobs report and the nation’s unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent, the 19th month in a row that the unemployment has been over 9 percent, a post–World War II record. Obama used to wave the figure of 8% unemployment on his fear flag of "hope and change." But B & O (Bernanke and Obama)have the Great Depression to look to for a guide, don't they? It seems the only problem these people see with the FDR years was that the government didn't interfer enough with more, and that's why FDR extended the problem for a decade.

Genealogy software

I can't even describe how much I dislike my Family Tree Maker 2008. I had no problem with a much earlier version--nothing like adding improvements with media gimmicks to screw up a perfectly good text based program. Anyway, I plan to read a review call Best Free Genealogy/Family Tree Software. HT to Dan Nieman at Antiquarian Librarian.

Ethnicity trumps everything

Ethnicity trumps nationality, religion, culture, politics, language, gender, wealth, politics, education, you name it. Scratch the surface of any national problem and you'll turn up ethnicity, whether it's Northern Ireland or Bosnia or Iraq/Iran. I won't start another blog on this topic, but I could. I'll just comment from time to time. I've maxed out my 5,000 subject headings Blogger allows, so I can't create something to keep them all together. But here's my first.

The Koran says nothing about female circumcision--the mutilation of female clitoris so there is no sexual sensation. The custom predates Islam. However, in Africa it is followed "religiously" by black African Muslims. Jeffrey Tayler observes in "An Angry Wind" that even very liberal, educated, upper caste African Muslims supported the circumcision of all women for fear they would “go wild.” I suppose they mean they might become westernized and demand some rights like driving a car, employment, or wearing revealing clothes. You might call that their culture, but I choose to say ethnicity trumps culture, because educated, health conscious, liberal African Muslims (it has contributed to the spread of AIDS and various other health problems) are a subculture too.

HT 7th decade thoughts

Christmas 2000--was it really 10 years ago?

My Dad was visiting us from Dec. 2-5 and then went on to visit my siblings. We called it the "grand tour." Although there was one hitch in the trip and Dad got sick one night at my sister's, I think his trip went pretty well. I bought some adjustments for the bathroom because his legs were weak from congestive heart failure. It was his first holiday without my mother who had died in January. They were married over 65 years. We really had a wonderful visit, and our daughter hosted the whole family for dinner at her house, all decorated for Christmas. We just had a smattering of the snow they got in Illinois which postponed his trip home by one day, in fact, we mostly had ice and wind.

When I retired in October 2000 I started going to exercise classes with my husband. Could barely do 1 lb. weights when I started, but was up to 5 lbs by December. That year I checked out an Ed Sullivan Christmas video from the library. Sort of fun--and seemed so innocent. Some was black and white and some color--"the really big shew." You may recall that we'd been through a rancorous election season and hanging chads, so was a pleasure to see something other than the election coverage.

On Sunday the 10th we attended a Victorian Christmas Open House in Mechanicsburg, Ohio at the Neelys who used to live in Upper Arlington and were members of our church. Their home had been written up in the Ohio Magazine. The house was gorgeous--they wanted a place to build memories with the grandchildren, and this was the perfect setting.

On December 16 we had a BIG choir Christmas dinner--$25/ticket. We took our daughter and son and their spouses, and it was a dressy event. They all looked so lovely--still have the photos, although not the daughter-in-law. Fabulous music at the Mill Run church which had just opened that year.

Then on the next Monday evening we went to a caroling/cookie party. I made my dozen cookies early in the week--a simple oatmeal bar with melted chocolate chips and pecans on top--and put them in the freezer. On Saturday the 23rd our daughter and son-in-law planned to take us to see the Nutcracker, but one of us--don't remember who--got sick, so we've still never seen it. On Sunday, Christmas Eve, we hosted dinner in the evening, opened presents and then all went to church together.

Now, the only way I know any of this happened is not because I have a terrific memory, but because I wrote someone a letter that year, and now I have the memories stored in my computer.

This is not a good idea--tax incentives for creationism

"Operators of Kentucky's Creation Museum are seeking tax incentives to build a creationism theme park called Ark Encounter, which, according to preliminary estimates, could draw as many as 1.6 million guests a year."
Tax Foundation

If it's a good idea, then people will come and it will be an honest return for their investors. Don't make unbelievers pay for it. Christians, particularly Conservative Christians, need to stop taking government hand outs for their "good works." It's just another form of redistribution of wealth, aka stealing.

The Friday real estate ads

The top 1 percent (AGI over $380,354) of Americans paid 38% of the income taxes in 2008. They were hit harder by the recession, so that's a little less than they paid in 2007 (40.4%), because if you don't earn, you don't pay as much in taxes, (as the bottom 50% know) and that hurts the rest of us, which is what the current battle in Congress is about (the so-called Bush tax-cuts for the wealthy). But even with high earnings, you don't buy the sort of houses you see for sale in the Friday Wall Street Journal--that takes wealth which comes from investments and taking risks or having the right grandparents, not income, two very different things.

Saddle River, NJ--6+ acres. Has a soccer field, bocce ball court and stable. $4.7 million.

Stowe, VT--18,00 sq ft, 15 acres. Marble exterior. Indoor pool with waterfall. $16 million.

Wainscott, NY--Georgica Pond home, 2.5 acres, water frontage. $28 million.

Arroyo Grande, CA--homesite near San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach, from $305,000.

Appropriate, non-fatal punishment

Would you deem this cruel and unusual? John Edwards, Bernie Madoff, Charlie Rangel and Barney Frank should be locked up together in a small, maximum security cell and be forced to listen 24/7 to each other's lies. If they fall asleep, Nancy Pelosi has to waterboard them, but then deny she knew what she was doing. Works for me.

Friday Family Photo--the Ballards move to Illinois

From the clothing and hair styles, I'm guessing this photo is late 1930s early 1940s. The youngest, Ada, far right, my grandmother's sister, died in 2009 at age 92. This is scanned from a photocopy, but is the best I can do.

Although I didn't write down the date I recorded my father's memories, I think from the note paper and my own handwriting, it was around 2000 after he had moved to the Lustron on First Street and I was pumping him for some family stories. Here's the story he was told about why his grandparents came to Ogle County, Illinois from Jefferson County, Tennessee a century before.

-------------

Notes about William Ballard family move to Illinois
From a conversion with Dad, ca. 2000
By Norma Bruce

Howard tells the story passed down to him about how the Ballards arrived in Illinois from Jefferson County, Tennessee, about 1906 (after Leta was born). William John Ballard had six children (Parlea and Molly had died) and couldn’t earn a living on the small acreage left to him by his mother, Rachel.

His plan was to start a new life in Texas, but when they got to the train station, there were no trains south until the next day. He knew the Rodeffers in Ogle County, Illinois, and there was a train going to Mt. Morris, so he changed his plans.

The family of eight arrived in Mt. Morris and went to the local hotel where they were told they needed a house. For a brief time he rented a small house on Main Street (His grand daughter Marian and family later lived there in the 1940s and 1950s).

The first winter in Illinois (according to son Orville who got a slightly different version) was very sad and blue because Granddad didn't have a job. He became a tenant on the Butterbaugh farm north of Mt. Morris on Mt. Morris Road where the other children (Alma, Orville, Ruby and Ada) were born. Alma died at about 6 weeks and I'm not positive about where she was born; she was the first family member buried in Plainview Cemetery. He farmed until 1923 on three different farms. Again, Orville's recollection was the the children attended Center School located near Trot Town, and the Silver Creek Church of the Brethren.

When he moved the family to Mt. Morris, Ballard worked for the township, worked at Kables as a fireman, and did other jobs to support his family. He also assisted other Tennesseans as they came north. He helped three young men come north, all of whom became sons-in-law. He helped son-in-law Joe, who had been his hired man when he was a farmer, set up as a farmer around 1915 with a team and wagon.

Here's the family with their maternal (Williford) cousins at a reunion, about 6 years after Granddad's death, maybe 1955 or 1956, again judging from the clothing, hair styles, and visible automobile tail light.

Someone in your family is a walking, talking archive. Interview while you can. I have so many double cousins in my family tree going back to pre-Civil War (Corbett, Eudaley, Edgar, Gresham), that when Family Tree Maker tells me to whom I'm related, I'm my own 6th cousin.

So much for Don't ask Don't Tell

The WikiLeaks criminal traitor is not a good representative of his cause--open homosexuality in the military. He's not only telling about himself, but he's telling everything.

"Obama said again this week that the introduction of an openly homosexual culture into the military poses no threat to its discipline, even as his administration reeled from a blatant instance of it. Manning, a homosexual resentful of the military's constraints, is the source for the WikiLeaks scandal. Naturally, the media is downplaying that aspect of the story, lest it complicate the left's relentless propaganda in favor of abolishing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell.""

Of course, the media will blame teasing and his closeted needs for his bad behavior even though many homosexuals have served honorably and wouldn't dream of betraying their country.

The American Spectator : Basic Cable

Dante's Inferno Test

HT Gekko. A very long test--have patience.

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very High
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Moderate
Level 2 (Lustful)	Very Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Very Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Very Low
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Low
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Divine Comedy Inferno Test

Happy Birthday--EPA Turns 40

Lisa Jackson can sure put a happy face on a government entity that costs us billions. Oh, she says, but it employs 1.5 million people. That's how a bloated government looks at this--how many bureaucrats have jobs! She vastly underestimates the job security these agencies provide. Each grant whether to academe or states requires a bevy of researchers and staff with clerical peons and supplies all the way down to the waste basket and ink cartridges for the preliminary reports no one reads, to the HR departments that oversee the diversity quotas on the job.

Lisa P. Jackson: The EPA Turns 40 - WSJ.com

It's not that EPA is any different than say, the USDA, which no longer is set up to help to farmers, but instead to assist consumers. Its direct feeding programs for breakfast, lunch and snacks at schools employ many thousands of people, some on site handing out food, other packaging it, others delivering it, and some just printing the posters that must be visible at every feeding site, "With justice for all."

One of the richest counties in the country--Fairfax in Virginia--with a median income of $122,000 per household and a very low unemployment rate also has 42% of its kids eligible for school food aid from USDA. How else to keep all those government workers employed and the unemployment rate down?

About Seven Revolutions

There's an interesting report available on-line called the Seven Revolutions, or 7 revs for short. Global Strategy Institute - About Seven Revolutions
It is a project led by the Global Strategy Institute at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to identify and analyze the key policy challenges that policymakers, business figures, and other leaders will face out to the year 2025. It is an effort to promote strategic thinking on the long-term trends that too few leaders take the time to consider. Contributors came from seven universities.

"In exploring the world of 2025, we have identified seven areas of change we expect to be most “revolutionary”:

1.Population
2.Resource management and environmental stewardship
3.Technological innovation and diffusion
4.The development and dissemination of information and knowledge
5.Economic integration
6.The nature and mode of conflict
7.The challenge of governance"

The publication of interest to educators (and the ordinary American who has to pay for this) is Educating Globally Competent Citizens; a Toolkit for Teaching Seven Revolutions

Within these "seven revolutionary areas of change" the toolkit suggests 8 subareas of knowledge, 7 subareas of skills, and 7 subareas of attitudes which university students need to be globally aware and change agents. Interesting that none of 22 levels include any expertise in one's own history, culture or language as a goal. The result is that college graduates ideally would be able "describe how one's own culture and history affect one's world view and expections," without any competancy in American history or culture, and "speak a 2nd language," but possibly be tongue tied and illiterate in English.

But where would we be without Think Tanks telling us to look ahead and ignore the past? My own children graduated in the mid-1980s, and because memorizing facts had long ago fallen from favor in public schools, they really didn't know which came first, The Korean War or The Vietnam War, because both were ancient history, and besides who was afraid of Communists? A little knowledge of our negotiated "peace" in 1952 sure would have been helpful in understanding what's going on today between north and south Korea, wouldn't it?

There are literally hundreds of video interviews within the boundaries of this research. I'm currently listening/watching one on "challenges that an aging population poses for developed countries" which could truly induce insomnia--at least in the elderly like me.

How WikiLeaks should have been handled

William Jacobson of Legal Insurrection says Obama is the hapless, helpless 1979 Jimmy Carter of our era, and the Harold Koh [State Department] letter was/sounded like (paraphrased) this:

Dear Wikileaks,

Please give us our stuff back because it was really mean of you to take it and give it to all your friends.

Sincerely,

Harold Koh

Here is the letter which should have been delivered months ago:

Dear Wikileaks,

If you publish any more material we will hunt you down no matter the cost, and you either will be killed while resisting arrest or you will spend the rest of your lives in solitary confinement in a Supermax prison, where the highlight of your day will be 1 hour spent in a cage instead of your cell. Don't look up, that sound of propellers in the air is not a Predator drone.

Sincerely,

Harold Koh

Lawrence Lessig Wants to Fix Congress and Get Money Out of Politics

Interesting that Glenn Beck and Lawrence Lessig say exactly the same thing about corruption in Washington. The difference is the liberals, socialists, and progressives all love Lessig and they hate Beck. But another thing Beck says, that I'm not sure Lessig does, is that Congress has made itself irrelevant. With appointed czars and various regulations, who needs Congress? We the people may have been suffering from the behavior of our corrupt representatives at the beck (excuse the pun) and call of the lobbyists, but they were our guys--the czars and appointed advisors are not. Now we don't even have them. This is just one more left wing circus and Lessig is definitely not Mr. Smith goes to Washington.
Lawrence Lessig Wants to Fix Congress and Get Money Out of Politics - Campus Progress

Fenway Park Food Vendor Hit with Immigration Fine

Workers pretend to be legal, and employers pretend to believe them. No problem getting work despite illegal status.

Video: Fenway Park Food Vendor Hit with Immigration Fine

Senate passes food safety bill

"The Senate on Tuesday approved a vast overhaul of the nation’s nearly century-old food safety system, ending more than a year of political stalemate and boosting the Food and Drug Administration’s power to deal with contaminated products that have sickened thousands of Americans."

Not sure what's behind this (other than big-Food/agribiz lobbyists), but according to a chart I saw in the paper, 12 people have died in 2008-2010 from e-coli or Salmonella. Meanwhile in the same time period I think about 15,000 teenagers have died in auto accidents because we don't raise the legal driving age to 18. So it seems this is just a power move on the part of another government bureaucracy and/or the mega-food companies to drive out the little guy with higher costs, but it's not a safety measure. (There are some who think it is a deliberate move to raise food prices and level of panic among voters.) Even the problems they had with food safety in the last few years could be traced back to unsanitary conditions, often using illegal agricultural workers.

Senate passes food safety bill - Meredith Shiner and Scott Wong - POLITICO.com

Carolina Farm Stewardship Association

HALE: Food-safety law raises prices, puts unreliable FDA in charge - Daily Nebraskan - Opinion


Lobbying Spending Database-Food Industry, 2010 | OpenSecrets

Isn't that just like a mom?

"The mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Wednesday she was distressed by an international police alert for her son's arrest and did not want him "hunted down and jailed.""

If you steal something (that means it doesn't belong to you), or you put the lives of others in danger, it's called a crime, mommy, and maybe it's time for little Julian to grow up and face the music. There's no evidence that he's had a break with reality--like the local guys in Michigan and Ohio who have killed their own children in the last few weeks. The fact that he's decided he personally knows better than all the people who've elected leaders, worked for change, and negotiated treaties, shows he's just as much a megalomaniac power obsessed weirdo as those he's decided to expose. Sorry mommy. You've raised a monster.

Wikileaks: Interpol puts Julian Assange on 'Wanted' list over 'sex crimes' - Telegraph

U.S. Faces Hard Bid to Prosecute Leakers - WSJ.com

Did WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange commit a crime? - CSMonitor.com

I love you, but . . .

Elizabeth Bernstein has a fashion article in today's WSJ that has a lot of wisdom about relationships. She writes: "Woe to the man who tries to makeover his woman." She's talking fashion here ("Do you like this outfit?" can be a relationship killer if a woman asks it; a man probably won't ask.) She says women are more insecure and harbor perceived insults like an elephant--they NEVER forget.

If you're the laundress/laundryman in your home, you can sometimes sneak out the old, frayed, worn and way too comfortable clothing. If your guy is outside raking leaves, he may see more people in a glance than several hours at church. If I never see that never faded, gold colored t-shirt with a button neck that formerly belonged to one of our daughter's boyfriends in the 80s, I won't miss it. I think it was worn for yard work about 20 years.

I love the program on TLC cable "What not to wear," but I sometimes wonder if the makeovers are like diets, and if you checked back in 2 years, would their closets be just the same.

The Christmas bomber and the Portland mayor's epiphany

James Taranto reports:

"Although the Joint Terrorism Task Force is a partnership between the FBI and local law enforcement, the Oregonian reports that Portland's Mayor Sam Adams, a Democrat, found out about the plot at the same time the public did: when the FBI announced Mohamud's arrest on Friday.

That's because in 2005, Portland became the only city in the country to withdraw from the JTTF. The reason, York explains, is that then-Mayor Tom Potter "said the FBI refused to give him a top-secret security clearance so he could make sure the officers weren't violating state anti-discrimination laws that bar law enforcement from targeting suspects on the basis of their religious or political beliefs."

Adams, then a city councilman, was part of the 4-1 majority that voted to withdraw from the JTTF. Now he's having second thoughts, reports the Oregonian: "Adams . . . emphasized that he has much more faith in the White House and the leadership of the U.S. attorney's office now than he did in 2005."

The paper reports that the American Civil Liberties Union still opposes participation in the JTTF. Agree or disagree, the ACLU deserves credit for consistency. But Adams's position is blatantly partisan. One can't even attribute it to an epiphany brought on by the Mohamud arrest. According to the Oregonian, Adams and his police chief, Mike Reese, "have discussed for months" whether to rejoin the JTTF. What made the difference, it seems quite clear, is having a Democrat in the White House."

Portland Mayor Sam Adams, Police Chief Mike Reese discuss return to Joint Terrorism Task Force | OregonLive.com

Instead of Clueless in Seattle, I guess it's Clueless in Portland.

Why I'll never shop on Black Friday

Greedy people are also obese and blood thirsty if this video is any indication.

Media Matters can't refute Beck on WikiLeaks ties George Soros

They (it) can be as sarcastic and scornful as they want, but nothing in this blog entry does anything other than spread Beck's theories that Soros' money through OSI is backing the treason of PFC Bradley Manning. I guess they get it once in awhile.

Beck struggles to tie WikiLeaks to George Soros | Media Matters for America

Obama to freeze federal pay for 2 years

It's not going to make a lot of difference. A drop in an ocean of debt, really. The number of federal workers earning more than $150,000 rose more than tenfold between 2005 and 2010, and has doubled in the two years since Mr. Obama took office. Federal workers make much more than the private sector, so freezing their wages is simply a PR move.

Obama to freeze federal pay for 2 years - Washington Times

But at least the NYT is no long saying the November election results stemmed from a failure of Obama and Pelosi to communicate! We heard them just fine. "At the top of the agenda are the economy and federal spending, both prime targets of voter anger during the just-concluded campaign."

Obama Proposes a Pay Freeze for Federal Workers - NYTimes.com

WikiLeak On An Already Sinking Ship | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.

"Any U.S. person who cooperated with WikiLeaks has committed a crime and should be prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law." Works for me. Why can they find a guy who wants to blow a hole in Oregon, but not one under their own nose? Maybe because they want the leaks out there?

Morning Bell: Just Another WikiLeak On An Already Sinking Ship | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.

"These leaks are as dangerous to the U.S. as a terrorist attack," said Arthur Hulnick, an international relations associate professor at Boston University and author of Keeping Us Safe: Secret Intelligence and Homeland Security and Fixing the Spy Machine: Preparing American Intelligence for the 21st Century.

"Other countries will be reluctant to share intelligence with us, and diplomats will wonder why the U.S. can't keep secrets," Hulnick -- who served for 28 years in the Central Intelligence Agency -- told TechNewsWorld.

Technology News: Collaboration: Wikileaks Spill: Catalyst for New, More Open Style of Governing?

Thanksgiving leftovers--returning the containers

As I contemplate a counter full of odd shaped and homeless containers with lids sitting on my kitchen counter, I think about two things. 1) How long before I get them back to their own homes, and 2) What did women do about leftovers in the 1940s and 1950s, before the ubiquitous plastic container with a matching lid and plastic-wrap were invented? (I'm old--the first time I saw Saran Wrap was about 1953. I thought it was amazing because it would stick to the dish.) And I'm sure my mother didn't use Reynoldswrap when I was a child.

I think the reason I don't know the answer to #2 is when I was young, we ate holiday dinners at home and because there were six of us, people came to our house. Then later we would sometimes go to grandparents or aunts' homes of the other side of the family and eat some more. No one brought food back to my parents' home that I can remember because we already had a turkey carcass. And no one would dare compete with my mother's pies.

Also, when I started my family, we always went to Indianapolis or Illinois when the children were young, and by the time they were grown and returned occasionally to eat at our house (not very often, I guess they don't like my cooking), the plastic container for purchased food and plastic wrap had been invented. I think the so-called disposable containers came a little later.

Don't send me scare stories about storing or reheating food in plastic. There are all sorts of advice columns on that on the internet, and if I've made it this far by ingesting a few chemicals, I probably can go a few more years. But if you remember taking home leftovers in the "good old days" tell me how our mothers and grandmothers did it.

Why do liberals love Islam?

We probably don't want to know what's at the root of the liberal's problem, but I suspect it's "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"Liberals deride Christianity and Catholicism in particular for its strict approach towards sexuality, claiming that prohibitions against abortion, contraception, homosexual sex, and premarital sex are simply oppressive forms of prudish patriarchy. But Islam is every bit as traditional on these matters; indeed, Muslim nations are the best allies the Vatican has at the U.N. in fighting against funding for third world family planning initiatives. You can’t reasonably deride one while accepting the other.

Furthermore, Islam goes way beyond Christianity by embracing doctrines that actually are oppressive, demeaning to women, and tyrannical. Throughout the Middle East, there is widespread acceptance of polygamy, of giving adolescent girls in marriage, of female genital mutilation, of harsh criminal sanctions against fornication and homosexuality (a capital offense in some countries), all of which is done in accordance with interpretations of Sharia law that are accepted by significant percentages of the Muslim world. While liberals rightly revile American polygamists, they fail to acknowledge that every major Muslim country (with the exception of Turkey and a few smaller countries) legally provides for this disgusting practice.

(I always find it odd that liberals get outraged at polygamists — it’s the only sexual sin they still acknowledge between of-age, consenting individuals. Homosexual unions can be “marriage,” but not polygamous ones? Since when do liberals care about a strict limitation on the definition of “marriage?” Ultimately, I think it’s because homosexuals vote Democrat and drive Priuses, and polygamists don’t.)

Further, let’s look at how Islam treats religious and other minorities. In Darfur, Sudan, black Africans are being killed in a race- and religion-fueled vendetta of violence by Muslim militias, who have slaughtered more than 200,000 people. In Armenia, tens of thousands of Armenian Christians were slaughtered by the Turkish government at the turn of the 20th century; the Turkish government still won’t even acknowledge that the genocide happened. Sharia makes all sorts of provisions that non-Muslims in Muslim lands have to pay higher taxes and be subject to oppressive policies.

Read more: Liberal love affair with Islam

Reading Burma Shave signs cross country

“THIRTY DAYS - HATH SEPTEMBER – APRIL JUNE – AND THE SPEED OFFENDER” – BURMA SHAVE.

My mother drove her family of four children and her sister west on the Lincoln Highway in 1944 in a 4-door 1939 Ford. For some reason I have no memory of my aunt being in the car, and was quite surprised years later when I was told she too was with us. Then in 1945 Mom drove us back home to Illinois a different route, I think on Rt. 66. So we saw a lot of the country. But I do remember the Burma Shave signs. Can't imagine that I knew how to read at age 4, but maybe I did by age 5 having attended Kindergarten in Alameda, because I remember chiming in as we all read them aloud.

The Power of Choice

Really? Would you feel good about your own freedom as a parent to make choices if you got this letter from the government, sent home with your kids from school? Would you even read it?

And dig that song! What if the kids decide to use their "power of choice" in an unapproved way? I can really see teens getting into this pyramid stuff.

Something's not right in Fairfax County Virginia--is it the government bubble

According to 2009 county data, the median family income in Fairfax County is $122,651. Unemployment is way below the national level--Gosh--Franklin County would kill for their rate (5.4%). Nearly 60% of Fairfax Country residents over 25 have better than a bachelor's degree. A single family home median value is about $550,000. So with all this affluence and education--42% of the students in Fairfax County schools are eligible for free and reduced price meals. What's going on? If this rich county with its abundance of college degrees and government workers can't spring for their kids' lunches, who can? Something is really screwed up in the D.C. suburbs.

Airport 'Security'?

Thomas Sowell growls: "Those who made excuses for all of candidate Barack Obama's long years of alliances with people who expressed their contempt for this country, and when as president he appointed people with a record of antipathy to American interests and values, may finally get it when they feel some stranger's hand in their crotch."

Airport 'Security'? :: The Atlasphere

If the President had a Special Assistant for Reality

Great "what if" story by Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal, wishful thinking about getting the President out of the Washington bubble with just one more staff member.

If Mr. Obama had a special assistant for reality this week, this is how their dialogue might have gone over the anti-TSA uprising.

President: This thing is all ginned up, isn't it? Right-wing websites fanned it. Then the mainstream media jumped in to display their phony populist street cred. Right?

Special Assistant for Reality: No, Mr. President, it was more spontaneous. Websites can't fan fires that aren't there. This is like the town hall uprisings of summer 2009. In the past month, citizens took videos at airports the same way town hall protesters made videos there, and put them on YouTube. The more pictures of pat-downs people saw, the more they opposed them.

President: What's the essence of the opposition?

SAR: Sir, Americans don't like it when strangers touch their private parts. Especially when the strangers are in government uniforms and say they're here to help.

President: Is it that we didn't roll it out right? We made a mistake in not telling people in advance we were changing the procedure.

SAR: Um, no, Mr. President. If you'd told them in advance, they would have rebelled sooner.

President: We should have pointed out not everyone goes through the new machines, and only a minority get patted down.

SAR: Mr. President, if you'd told people, "Hello, there's only 1 chance in 3 you'll be molested at the airport today" most people wouldn't think, "Oh good, I like those odds."

President: But the polls are with me. People support the screenings.

SAR: At the moment, according to some. But most Americans don't fly frequently, and the protocols are new. As time passes, support will go steadily down.

President: I've noted with sensitivity that I'm aware all this is a real inconvenience.

SAR: It's not an inconvenience, it's a humiliation. In the new machine, and in the pat-downs, citizens are told to spread their feet and put their hands in the air. It's an attitude of submission—the same one the cops make the perps assume on "America's Most Wanted." Then, while you stand there in public in the attitude of submission, strangers touch intimate areas of your body. It's a violation of privacy. It leaves people feeling reduced. It's like society has decided you're a meat sack and not a soul. Humans have a natural, untaught understanding of the apartness of their bodies, and they don't like it when their space is violated. They recoil, and protest.

President: But you can have the pat-downs done in private.

SAR: Mr. President, you don't know this, but when you ask for that, a lot of TSA people get pretty passive-aggressive. They get Bureaucratic Dead Face and start barking, "I need a supervisor! Private pat-down!" And everyone looks, and the line slows down, and you start to feel like you're putting everyone out. You wait and wait, and finally they get another TSA person, and they take you into the little room and it's embarrassing, and you start to realize you're going to miss your plane. It's then that you realize: all this is how they discourage private pat-downs.

President: I've wondered if this general feeling of discomfort might be related to a certain Puritan strain within American thinking—a kind of horror at the body that, melded with, say, old Catholic teaching, not to be pejorative, might make for a pretty combustible cultural cocktail. This heightened consciousness of the body might suggest an element of physical shame we hadn't taken into account.

SAR: Mr. President, the rebellion isn't shame-based, it's John Wayne-based.

President: I don't follow.

Follow the rest of the story, obviously a fantasy, but telling, none the less, with a great ending.

Ms. Noonan you may remember was one of George H.W. Bush's speech writers, but fell from grace during the G.W. Bush era, and lost her credibility with me when she when all gushy over candidate Obama's phony speech pattern and good looks. The lefties didn't like her for what they saw as her lame excuses for Bush (really weak, no matter which side you took), so I guess she just can't win. She's slowly, slowly been crawling her way back from her Obama-gusher mistakes of the campaign.

Decision Points--Enhanced interrogation

On page 168, George W. Bush in Decision Points gets around to "enhanced interrogation," aka torture for information. You will call it what you want depending on whether you hate or like George Bush, on whether you thought he was the original Satan/Hitler for taking us into Iraq and Afghanistan or whether he was keeping us safe after 9/11.

He writes, "The FBI began questioning Zubaydah [associate of bin Laden who had run a camp which trained the 9/11 hijackers], who had clearly been trained on how to resist interrogation. . . [He] was our best lead to avoid another catastrophic attack. . . [Looking at a list of options Bush was presented] George [Tenet] assured me all interrogations would be performed by experienced intelligence professionals who had undergone extensive training. . . There were two that I felt went too far, even if they were legal. I directed the CIA not to use them."

This is something that puzzles me every time a government official, from Eric Holder who seems like a shriveled wimp to Arnold Schwarzenegger with his massive body and Austrian accent, discusses a tricky decision. No government official can know everything about everything and they depend on lawyers to tell them what is legal. Lawyers don't agree, and apparently neither does case law, massive regulations or 2000 page laws passed by Congressmen who don't even read them.

So if a President is told plan A is legal, it is used, and "Zubaydah revealed large amounts of information on al Qaeda's structure and operations," and that information is in turn available to the next President who as a candidate thought and spoke ill of his predecessor, but continues to use and act on that information, which guy is Satan/Hitler, the guy who had to make the decision and did keep the country safe, or the one who tries to float above it all and not get his hands soiled?

Doctors say Medicare cuts forcing them to shift away from elderly

For all you boomers who joyfully and expectantly voted for Obama. Here's your thanks.

Doctors say Medicare cuts forcing them to shift away from elderly

But, it's not all his fault, you know. Congress has been adding mandates and expanded coverage for years--at some point, the piper had to be paid. This is the way socialized medicine works. It sounds fabulous until you have to pay for it. Or make cuts.

Volga Germans--The Mennonites

One of the languages of the German Mennonites of Russia is Plattdeutsch, also called Low-German . I first came across this story reading the Wycliffe Bible translators page about translating scripture for Germans from Kazakhstan resettled in Germany, who didn't know German. Most of us scattered around the world who have German roots trace back to pre-Germany days--i.e. there was no country known as Germany when my ancestors arrived in the United States. In fact, there was no United States in the 1720s, and they'd all pledged loyalty to the King of England. My Mennonite roots go back to Hannah, the brave widow of Hans Wenger, a weaver of Bern, Switzerland, who with the help of friends and family, emigrated to American for religious freedom in 1749.

Here is an account of the wanderings of the Mennonites who ended up in Russia. "The Mennonites occupy a special place among the Germans [of Siberia]. When the Mennonites left the Netherlands in the sixteenth century and resettled in Prussia, they did not see themselves as sharing a common origin. Among them were people of Flemish, Dutch, Frisian, and Lower Saxon ancestry. Two basic types of speech had been maintained by the Mennonites— molochnenskii and khortintskii. However, they took as a common language a Low German dialect (Plattdeutsch). As a result of their religious isolation, the Mennonites did not mix with the local peoples and thus maintained their traditional customs. At times they joined their different confessional groups into one ethno confessional unit. During and since the resettlement the Mennonites have been officially registered as Germans; most scholars think of the Mennonites as Germans. The Siberian Mennonites themselves trace their ancestry to Germans, although they also emphasize their Dutch origins."

Siberian Mennonites extend welcome to visiting Americans


Freedom has done what the Soviet Communists couldn't: "In the Germanic language family, Plautdiitsch claims a special place. Its long isolation from other German dialects and its close contacts have given it a specific character, which to some extent can be compared to that of Yiddish. The Plautdiitsch language, the sole descendant from the many West Prussian Low German dialects once spoken in the Weichsel delta area, is now spoken by Mennonites in many countries and has partly taken over the religious factor as the main identity marker. It is a pity that a language, that managed to survive centuries of isolation and many years of prohibiti­on, should now disappear where it has long had its most speakers - in Siberia. The increasing emigration to Germa­ny has left many Mennonite villages russified more than decades of Soviet Russification policy could accomplish. The Plautdiitsch speakers who choose to stay find it more and more difficult to provide their children with a Plautdi­itsch speaking environment, and in the long run it must be feared the language will lose much ground to Russian. In Germany, the children of Russian Mennonite immigrants will almost certainly only have passive knowledge of Plautdi­itsch.

One can only hope the language will survive in North America and in the isolated colonies in South America, where a revival can be observed." From the article "Plautdietsch, a Germanic language related to Dutch and Frisian, spoken in Siberia"

Canada has a Plattdeutsch radio station. You can listen here--pod cast. I listened to a poem in Plattdeutsch from Russia, and the rhythm was definitely Russian/Slavic; this sounds English.

The Volga Germans--still on the road after all these years

Immigration is always in the news. Borders open and then close--mostly for economic and political reasons, only occasionally for humanitarian. Ethnic minorities clash with nationals whose families arrived maybe 300-400 years ago. Somalis in Finland have to learn Swedish, the 2nd language of Finland due to the Swedish control of centuries, and returning Finns from Russia don't speak either Finnish or Swedish. It happens in all countries in all ages. In our typically self-centered way, Americans believe we are either the best or the worst at assimilating and resettling new peoples within our borders.

Several centuries ago, Catherine the Great of Russia (a German) invited Germans to resettle in Russia with their skills and thrift. Much like the European who immigrated to the United States around the same time, these Germans took their language, religion, customs and culture to Russia for a fresh start. They became known as the Volga Germans. They flourished economically and culturally, maintaining their German ways, until Stalin became worried about their loyalties to Germany (where they had never lived), and gave them 24 hours to relocate in Kazakhstan, USSR. In less than month one million were deported like animals and dumped in a strange country. They lost their possessions, and many lost their lives in forced labor camps. Most were Protestants, many were Lutherans, but a large number were Mennonites.

After the reunification of Germany in the 1990s, ethnic Germans were given the right to return to Germany, and so many Kazakhtan Volga Germans resettled in Germany. The older people who returned in the 70s still spoke high German, but recent arrivals speak "low German," or the younger Germans only know Russian. Some have now reversed this decision and returned to their "homeland" in Kazakhstan (where they are the second largest minority) rather than be outsiders in Germany who speak the language with difficulty, or don't want to learn it. The Wycliffe Bible Translators has a ministry to the ethnic Volga Germans in their own low German dialect, keeping with their mission of creating the Good News in the "heart language" of the people.

Meanwhile, in the 19th century, many Volga Germans moved to middle west and western United States to work in farming, particularly the sugar beet industry. In the 1970s before the memories and traditions of these scattered Germans whose ancestors had wandered all over Europe and Russia were lost, oral histories were recorded and are available at the Colorado State University archives in Ft. Collins. I've been reading through a few of the accounts by older members of this group (born in the late 1800s), and after you establish the rhythm of the stories, you come away with fresh appreciation for immigrant groups in the United States, who gave up everything (often very little) to start a new life (also with very little).

MAR data as of 2006 on Kazakh Volga Germans

FEEFHS stories Family Histories of Survivors of Stalin's Labor Camps

Subsidies to Fossil Fuel Consumption

Since 1981 the federal government has received $1.1 trillion in excise and sales taxes on petroleum products. It is currently subsidizing "green energy" 4 times more than fossil fuel energy. So when our tax policies and environmental regulations have managed to shut down all economic growth fueled by fossil fuels, and the return on green energy just isn't there because like ethanol, the inputs are just too high, what or who will take up that slack in tax revenue? Well, any business that has been coerced and cajoled into being green, that's who. And that really is you the consumer, because the price for being green will make you see red.

The Tax Foundation - IEA Study Ranks Nations’ Subsidies to Fossil Fuel Consumption

Podesta's advice to Obama on dealing with a divided Congress

Filtered through Eugene Robinson (WaPo) John Podesta the Cinton era lefty think tanker recommends, "Presidents can issue executive orders, the report notes. They can use their rulemaking powers, working through federal agencies that already have broad mandates under law. They can forge public-private partnerships. They can shape world events through diplomacy and command of the armed forces."

Robinson claims this is how Bush did it, but overlooks Bush's record for bi-partisan support for the War on Terror, the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Patriot Act. He ignores that the WMD was a drum beat constantly by Kerry, Edwards and Clinton before the 2000 election. Support by Democrats in congress for Bush's policies to keep us safe was huge--and they even took time to read the bills and acts! It was only later as their left sides began to belly ache that they back peddled, crying and weeping that they were misled. Give it up, Robinson. This article is totally phony and confirms that Obama and supporters don't have "decision points," only "finger points."

Light At Night Causes Changes In Brain Linked To Depression

This doesn't look good--assuming it's accurate. I like to fall asleep with the TV on. This study says even that amount of light in a dark room can interfer with your sleep.

“Even dim light at night is sufficient to provoke depressive-like behaviors in hamsters . . ." said Tracy Bedrosian, co-author of the study and doctoral student in neuroscience at Ohio State University.


The results are significant because the night-time light used in the study was not bright: 5 lux, or the equivalent of having a television on in a darkened room, said Randy Nelson, co-author of the study and professor of neuroscience and psychology at Ohio State.

Who wants to be like a depressed hamster? Besides, didn't our mothers tell us this when we were kids?

Light At Night Causes Changes In Brain Linked To Depression

Bobby Jindal for President

Interview on 700 Club recently. He has a new book, too.


Gov. Bobby Jindal: Leading through Crisis - CBN.com
Uploaded by cbnonline. - Up-to-the minute news videos.

Again with the message? Now Pelosi

James Taranto notes: "The New York Times editorial board is displeased: "If Ms. Pelosi had been a more persuasive communicator, she could have batted away the ludicrous caricature of her painted by Republicans across the country as some kind of fur-hatted commissar jamming her diktats down the public's throat." So is the Times's Nate Silver, who notes understatedly that "Ms. Pelosi is not very popular with the American public.""

What the left doesn't get is that Pelosi, Reid and Obama communicated just fine. We didn't like what they were telling us!

P.S. to NYT: Nobody likes her. Not even the Democrats.

What else did Gore lie about? Everything.

I worked in the Agriculture Library in the 70s and 80s. I knew you just couldn't make the ethanol bio-fuel figures come out right. It was very hot research then, too. Too many inputs; especially water. And even 2-3 years ago, we were creating food shortages that caused riots in other countries.

Now Big Al has come clean. Sort of.

Gore: On second thought, I was just pandering to the farm vote on ethanol « Hot Air

Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore said support for corn-based ethanol in the United States was "not a good policy", weeks before tax credits are up for renewal.

U.S. blending tax breaks for ethanol make it profitable for refiners to use the fuel even when it is more expensive than gasoline. The credits are up for renewal on Dec. 31.

Total U.S. ethanol subsidies reached $7.7 billion last year according to the International Energy Industry, which said biofuels worldwide received more subsidies than any other form of renewable energy.

"It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for (U.S.) first generation ethanol," said Gore, speaking at a green energy business conference in Athens sponsored by Marfin Popular Bank.

U.S. corn ethanol was not a good policy-Gore | Energy & Oil | Reuters
Of course, the worst thing is that all the investments and venture capital that has gone up in global warming smoke and mirrors is not available to do something really good and worthwhile to restore the economy.

The Korean War back in the headlines

So North Korea shelled an island controlled by South Korea and they woke the President up to tell him. The Korean War started in 1950--60 years ago--before Obama was born. There was an Armistice (July 27, 1953), which got us out of it, but there was never a victory or a Peace Treaty, so the War goes on for Koreans to this day. But it has really taken a toll on North Koreans. A decade ago it was estimated that 3.5 million North Koreans had been deliberately starved to death by their own government. It's hard to say what that number would be now--but it's all a result of the Amistice we signed in 1953--leaving before the job was done. And many want us to do that in Afghanistan and Iraq. Winning a war is nasty stuff. Negotiating the ending and walking away is even nastier.

How many decibels at a rock concert?

Or in the ear buds of your i-pod? Rock music 150dB.

New research from Swiss scientists suggests that people living near airports exposed to high levels of noise from air crafts are at increased risk of dying of myocardial infarction. That's an average daily noise level of 60 decibels--and I suspect that's less than what the i-pod user is pumping into his/her ears 24/7. Constant noise. It's not just for deafness.

JAMA November 17, 2010, p. 2116

Recipe for Cranberry Stuffing for Thanksgiving

Recipe for Cranberry Stuffing for Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving Day Recipe Ideas | eHow.com

I've got all the ingredients for this one! Looks really simple

Update: Made it according to her directions. You'd better find a way to sweeten the cranberries, or it is unedible. I served ours with syrup, then threw the rest out!

Will Jon Stewart show up in Wilmington to ridicule?

HuffPo last spring reported that Stewart was getting 50% of his material from Beck--not plagerism, but mocking him. Then in Beck's newsletter today it was noted that Stewart's program was 66% ridiculing Beck! Beck is keeping this man alive--he has no material without him.

Now Glenn Beck has announced he will travel to Wilmington, Ohio to do a show and to support a Christian ministry/food pantry there because in 2008 Wilmington lost its major employer (9,000 jobs) DHL. On his show tonight he interviewed Sugartree Ministries Director Allen Willoughby. Originally for the homeless and street people, Sugartree has a food pantry and accepts no government money, which must be a real challenge. Everyday the staff prays for the shelves to be filled. Every food pantry I know gets government grants to keep their doors open, same with after school snack programs and summer lunch programs that are run by churches. This prevents the ministry from being able to tell the story of Jesus and his saving work.

Beck isn't the only celebrity to show up to help Rachel Ray remodeled their kitchen. They are now serving 150-200 people 6 days a week.

Everyone knows that unemployment checks and food pantries aren't the answers to our economic problem--the government needs to get out of the way and allow businesses to thrive. In past recessions, new businesses sprung up; not so much this time. Regulations, energy requirements, insurance rates, and inability to get bank credit are stifling the small business man.

Maybe Jon could do something funny about that?

There's a college in Wilmington. My uncle J. Edwin Jay was the president from 1915-1927.

The cries for civility from Democrats

Where were these guys two years ago when Obama began blaming President Bush for all the ills of the world, when he was demeaning over half of the American people a few weeks ago during the campaign, when he traveled abroad bowing and scraping to foreign despots? How civil was he and his supporters in the press and Congress? Isn't he the one who said "I won" when asked about cooperation with Republicans?

Jay Rockefeller wants to shut down your news sources

"I hunger for quality news. I’m tired of the right and the left. There’s a little bug inside of me which wants to get the FCC to say to Fox and to MSNBC, “Out. Off. End. Goodbye.” It’d be a big favor to political discourse, our ability to do our work here in Congress, and to the American people, to be able to talk with each other and have some faith in their government and, more importantly, in their future."

Yes, I just bet that would really help political discourse a lot and getting work done in Congress. So what does he consider "quality?" Katie Couric's opinions and water carrying passing as news? WETA, D.C.’s public television and radio stations where his wife is CEO?