Printed prayers

The older I get, the more I appreciate a well written prayer. Yes, written, as in published. I find prayer books very useful, and enjoy the little short prayers included in the daily meditation booklets I use from Concordia. Usually, they contain passages of scripture or basic theological concepts. Today I came across a published prayer for Christians on strike in the 1957 My Prayer Book by Concordia Publishing House (Lutheran). In quoting I've somewhat modernized the pronouns thee and thou. Somehow, I don't think workers in King James era were going on strike.

"Owing to disagreements between my labor union and my employer, I am now on strike and out of work. I know you love all, and it is your will that I love all men as brothers. Therefore help me, my fellow workers, and my employer to overcome all selfishness and pride and to seek a fair solution of our difficulties. . .

Protect the property of strikers and employers during the conferences between them. Give our employer a sympathetic understanding of the problems and needs of his workers. Likewise give me and the other workers a proper insight into the problems and resources of our employer, that we may not ask more than is reasonable. Prevent bitterness and strife, and where ungodly strife is present, grant your healing and peace. Guide the negotiations toward an early agreement whereby both employer and worker may profit. May fairness and justice prevail for all concerned. . .

Give your blessing to honest labor everywhere that the needs of mankind may be supplied and that your kingdom may flourish; through Jesus Christ. Amen."

In 1957 there were no unions representing government employees--it was practically unthinkable. Wisconsin, the "progressive" state, was the first to allow state employees to bargain with their employers. In 1957, both public and private workers knew the basics of negotiating and that if you negotiate with yourself, you, not your neighbor [employer], always are the winner because of self-interest. It's like going into a ballgame where the final score is already determined. Home team wins every time. Public sector unions are negotiating with "self," i.e., the workers' union representatives are negotiating with the workers' elected representatives, and often with their own political party representatives [Democrats]. Therefore, this 1957 prayer sounds archaic--from a long distant past--and it is.

There is no "justice to prevail" at the state houses of Ohio or Wisconsin or New Jersey where one group of workers doesn't pay for their benefits at the expense of another group of workers who pay the salaries of the other group. A public sector worker employed for 35 years will pull out thousands of dollars more a year in her retirement check than a private sector worker who worked 50 years to receive Social Security. The school teacher who retires at 55 may get $80,000 a year (or more), and the real estate broker or small businessman who can't retire until 66 will get $28,400. And the businessman has contributed more! Both have elected representatives, but one has double the representation.

The disgraceful behavior of the Wisconsin teachers (and their friends)

So you thought the Communist/Islam link was just a parnoid threat by Glenn Beck? How do you like the Cairo to Madison link?

How Poverty won the War on Poverty--duplication, waste, poor planning and lobbying Congress

Community Action Agencies are local groups who get their funding from The Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) which is federal tax money. They were first incorporated 47 years ago with the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964--the so-called War on Poverty.

This "war" has provided a steady stream of income for well paid middle class government workers and employees of non-profits, but hasn’t done much for the poor of Ohio even with half a billion a year. If you have the patience for the paperwork, you can set one up yourself and become a staff of one and recruit volunteers from your church. If you don't wish to work with the poor directly, organize an association of agencies and providers and lobby your city or state governments for a budget line. Or become a workshop provider for other agencies--show them how to use Twitter, Facebook and Blogging to recruit clients or make nice Power Point presentations. Do sensitivity training. The money's there.

There are tremendous duplication and few measures of success or accountability. Remember, the half a billion a year that Ohio agencies get doesn’t include all the other programs like SNAP (former food stamps) or TANF (former AFDC), Medicaid, or WIC or home weatherization or school feeding programs. That’s not home foreclosure workshops or programs for zero percent mortgages.

Vast amounts of money are funneled to local nonprofits whose purpose is to reduce poverty and to help low-income people become self-sufficient. Church groups can get this money as long as they just perform social acts and don't do anything religious, like tell their clients about Jesus. There are more than 1,100 Community Action Agencies in the United States and there are 50 Community Action Agencies in Ohio, “with every county receiving service. During the last program year, they administered $523,407,248 in resources aimed at alleviating the problems of poverty in Ohio's Communities.” (http://www.development.ohio.gov/community/ocs/cacs.htm )

Half a billion a year should be able to solve a lot of problems, wouldn’t you think? Apparently not, because the agencies were doing so poorly they needed a huge influx of temporary ARRA funding to stay afloat. (Example of application) The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed into law by President Obama on February 17th, 2009 and was supposed to be “a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century.” A down payment? Neglected? We’ve been addressing those challenges for 47 years, and it’s not like there were no state and local programs before 1964 which addressed poverty.

There are loud cries of alarm coming from the CAAs that receive CSBG funding right now because the Obama administration is looking at cutting some duplication in the block grants (not to worry--right now there’s no budget at all). All the CAA websites say pretty much the same thing--WE ARE DOING ESSENTIAL WORK FOR THE POOR!!!

It’s time to take the federal budget apart, agency by agency, bureaucrat by bureaucrat, nonprofit by nonprofit. And let’s begin with the bloated Block Grants’ overlapping programs and their 1100 Community Action Agencies. They don’t seem to be meeting their goals and mission statements if after almost half a century they they only morph and expand. Examples of mission statements:

http://www.impactca.org/ -- “provides a comprehensive array of services that enables struggling families to find jobs, maintain affordable housing and get on the road to becoming active, contributing, tax-paying citizens.” (Don't use these folks for computer training--still offering Windows XP).

http://www.leadscaa.org -- “is a private non-profit corporation that provides immediate assistance and lasting solutions for people in need”

http://www.tricountycls.com/index.htm “helps people find jobs, get educated and become financially secure”

http://www.lccaa.net/default.aspx “committed to improving the social well-being, economic capacity and opportunities for low- to moderate-income individuals and families.”

What is wrong with Republicans?

How can they possibly be taking Donald Trump seriously? Questioning Obama's birth will get him what--1% of the votes he needs? And Newt Gingrich? These men are moral midgets. How many marriages did the Pope have to annul for Gingrich? Let's find candidates with fewer personal problems. Those always become the focus, and Republicans just don't have the smarts or the knee cappers that the Democrats have when it comes to cover ups. We've got some great talent--stop with the preeners and pretty boys. We've got Bobby Jindal, Paul Ryan, Michele Bachman, Chris Christie--even Walker of Wisconsin seems to have some potential--at least he knows how to stand up to unions. But let's stay away from the thrice married and I don't care how much money they have. They're more useful to us as tax payers and cheerleaders for good candidates.

Trump Raises Birther Questions

The No-Fly Zone vote

No more wars to keep Muslims from killing each other. All we do is install new despots and they hate us. Stay out of Libya.

Update: Sounds like Obama is taking us to war. Or at least the stand-in President Hillary Clinton is.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says enforcing a no-fly zone in Libya would require bombing raids - one of several options being debated by the UN Security Council. Clinton made the comments while visiting neighboring Tunisia - where she met aid workers who have been helping refugees from Libya. NPR

The adrenaline rush and Lara Logan

Two things came to mind when I read this story (op-ed really) about Lara Logan's assault in Egypt and her "come-back kid" attitude. The fearless reporter had only hesitated a bit after becoming a mother (after a tabloid type scrutiny of her love life and behavior).

"Surrounded by a frenzied mob in Tahrir Square, she was separated from her crew, severely beaten and sexually assaulted. Logan was saved by a group of Egyptian women and nearly two dozen soldiers who pulled her to safety. She promptly flew home and was hospitalized for days.

"Lara is utterly fearless," says veteran newsman Bob Schieffer. "She just has guts and courage under fire." He called her ordeal "just awful." CBS and Logan decided to make the sexual assault public last week after learning an Australian journalist was on to the story."The Price Lara Logan Paid in Egypt - The Daily Beast

When I was working in the veterinary library at Ohio State I learned that of all dairy cattle breeds, Holsteins grieved the least when separated from their babies--an emotional trauma even for a momma bovine which causes the milk to dry up. (The veal industry is what happens to the male calves removed from the cow's side and natural mothering instinct.) In Lara's case, not even a sweet, beautiful, healthy baby dependent on her for love and security could cause her to turn her back. She apparently didn't have the same emotional wiring that other women have who have chosen to stay home and raise their families.

And second, years ago when I was attending Al-Anon, learning the 12 steps and listening to other survivors' stories, I learned that there are people addicted to the risk taking behavior of others, and many of them are women married to alcoholics. This just horrified me--I'll go to great lengths to avoid the "thrill of a risk" like riding a motorcycle without a helmet or bungee jumping off bridges or mountain climbing on icy cliffs or even riding a Ferris wheel. But for some, it is a drug they desperately need to stay feel alive.

Combine those two and you have a woman who will return to the battle front to stand in front of cameras (and wave to her babies being cuddled by nannies or grandma who may or may not care by that time).

One out of Four

One of every four workers was out of a job at the height of the Great Depression (1933) which ran from 1929 to 1941. But not my parents. They both graduated from high school in May 1930 and started at the same college that September (having met the summer of 1930 on a blind date). During their school days Mom worked in the college library and Dad worked in a local restaurant. When the college closed Dad worked at the printing plant and on the neighbors' farms and Mom worked as a domestic until she too could find work at the plant. Both U.S. presidents of this awful period threw money at the problem--first Hoover then Roosevelt to no avail. Both prices and tax rates soared. "We the people" have been left with the residue of broken social programs and burdensome regulations and bureaucracies which were expanded beyond anything Roosevelt could have imagined Americans would tolerate by President Johnson in the 1960s (all of which I thought were wonderful then because I believed they would end poverty). And what may be worse, we've elected men and women who actually think a decade plus of those policies worked! If first it fails, do more of the same. The poor of the United States are rich in material goods beyond anything a well-off family in the 1920s could have imagined, but not because of government programs--houses with bathrooms, electricity, automobiles, telephones, closets full of clothes, freezers, refrigerators, insulation in the walls and paved roads for our cars. But in values and common sense we seem to have become impoverished by layer after layer of government programs and safety nets. We are a naive, ungrateful people and have made mud pies from the tears and hard work of our parents and grandparents.

How do you home school a kid this smart?

Evan O'Dorney has won the National Spelling Bee, a gold medal at an international math Olympiad, and the Intel Science Talent Search's $100,000 top prize. And he's no slouch in his spare time either--a black belt in tae kwon do, and studies piano performance and composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

"Evan says the person who's had the most influence on his scientific career is his mother, Jennifer, who home-schools him. His dad, Michael, is a BART operator."

Danville's Evan O'Dorney wins Intel Science Talent Search - San Jose Mercury News

HT Joanne Jacobs

Washington Post Apologizes For 'Substantial' Plagiarism In Two Stories

Borrowed? Ten out of 15 paragraphs in two articles? I wonder if Pulitzer Prize winner Sari Horwitz, who is from Arizona, has read the new White House White paper on intellectual property on increasing the prison terms? I think that came out today and it looks pretty grim and over reaching.

Washington Post Apologizes For 'Substantial' Plagiarism In Two Stories

Why are they demonizing the Koch brothers

When you see the Socialist/Communist/Progressives waving their posters at the various rallies, like Madison, or Washington in October, you always see something about the Koch brothers being behind some vast right wing conspiracy. I have no idea who they are or what they do, but progressives just turn purple at the mention of their name, kind of like Halliburton (in which so many liberals are invested) and so I noticed this item at Volokh.

David Bernstein writes "Let’s review: It seems undisputed that the Kochs total spending on political and ideological causes is somewhere around 10–15 million dollars per year. How big a role does this money play in the American political system? Let’s start with ideological/intellectual causes. The liberal Ford Foundation spends over $400 million a year. The liberal MacArthur Foundation spends about $140 million a year. Liberal billionaire George Soros spends about $150 million a year. Liberals control the vast majority of academic positions in almost every humanities and social science department in every major university in the country, with total budgets in the tens of billions.

Even in the libertarians’ tiny corner of the ideological universe, 10 million dollars would only keep the Cato Institute running from January to April this year, and leave nothing left for any other libertarian cause or organization. So the idea that the Kochs are having some huge influence on American politics through their ideological philanthropy is grossly exaggerated, at best.

Even more absurd is the notion that the Kochs’ political contributions are distorting American politics. The Obama campaign spent hundreds of million of dollars on the 2008 election. The 2010 midterm elections cost about $4 billion. The Koch’s relative spending is like pissing in an ocean. Such spending, of course, can under the right conditions win an interest group some narrow favors, but that’s a far cry from suggesting that it can buy “a great deal of influence over the political system” in general.

No, the reason that some liberals have latched on to the Kochs as their bogeymen is that this is what demagogic political propagandists due to win support from their base. They find a mysterious, ominous-sounding (billionaires! who sell oil!–what could raise greater suspicions on the Left?) villain on whom to blame their troubles, and rouse the passions of the partisans of their sides. As these things go, the Kochs are a more innocuous villain than, say, the “Likudnik” bogeymen of the mid-2000s, or Pat Robertson’s “secular humanists who support a New World Order” of the 1990s, but it’s all the same phenomenon."

The Volokh Conspiracy » Jonathan Chait Completely Misses the Point
I figured as much. The libs are upset that George Soros who supports hundreds of leftist causes and church groups gets such bad publicity from the right, so they had to find somebody on the right who contributes to politics, but they are a drop in the bucket compared to the left's deep pockets.

Questions and Answers about Potassium Iodide (KI)

For some reason, there are talking heads and reporters accusing the Surgeon General Regina Benjamin of being irresponsible in her suggestions about Potassium Iodide. Sounds like she's up on things to me. KI should be used only under instruction from local health authorities and it's really not her responsibility to know that Californians were panicking--at least in my opinion. There's enough going wrong in the Obamadmin without making things up to criticize.
Thyroid.org: Questions and Answers about Potassium Iodide (KI)

Ohio's House Bill 63--to save children

"(COLUMBUS, OH) - Ohio Right to Life's H.B. 63, the Judicial Bypass legislation, was voted out of the House of Representatives yesterday with an overwhelming 64 to 33 bipartisan vote - nearly three quarters of the members of the house. This pro-life legislation now heads to the Ohio Senate for additional hearings.

"Ohioans know that parental consent laws save lives," said Mike Gonidakis, Executive Director for Ohio Right to Life. "We are trying very hard to preserve parents' ability to help their daughters when they are confronted with the challenges of teenage pregnancy. A recent study proved that responsible parental consent laws reduce the minor abortion rate by 18.7 percent."

Current Ohio law states that parental consent is required before a minor can obtain an abortion, but a loophole exists which allows judges to bypass parental involvement and allow a minor to obtain an abortion. H.B. 63, which is sponsored by Rep. Ron Young (R-Leroy) and Rep. Lynn Slaby (R-Copley), puts an end to this "rubber-stamp" judicial approval. On behalf of all pro-life Ohioans, we would like to thank Representatives Young and Slaby, along with Speaker of the House Bill Batchelder for his support and leadership by passing pro-life legislation.

Ohio Bill to Strengthen Parental Consent on Abortion Passes | LifeNews.com

No Bureaucrat Left Behind

Or is that the Behind of Left Bureaucrats?

"NCLB [No Child Left Behind] is actually the eighth reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Passed as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty, this first federal intervention into what was originally a state responsibility included just five titles in 32 pages. The effect of the ESEA was felt quickly across the country—but not by the nation’s school children: after passage of ESEA, state education bureaucracies doubled in just five years. Now NCLB spans more the 50 programs, 10 titles, and 600 pages. The bureaucrats are winning."
Morning Bell: No Bureaucrat Left Behind | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.

Billions and billions have been spent the last almost 50 years on "The War on Poverty," and yet to hear Democrats moan about food insecurity, wage gaps, education wastelands, food deserts, minorities in prison populations, Head Starts that need a kick-start, and dying cities (all controlled by Democratic administrations), the war was lost after the first decade of infusing money. It's America's 50 year war, and we're still losing because the generals and majors are designing, manufacturing, and distributing failed weapons for the boots on the ground.

In Egypt's Tahrir Square, women attacked at rally on International Women's Day - CSMonitor.com

After George W. Bush freed the women of Iraq and Afghanistan, I believe a number of women ran in democratic elections for office and won. So what's wrong in Egypt that women are being attacked on International Women's Day and told to go home and wash clothes? (Actually, the guys in the picture look like they could use a shower and change of clothes.) Maybe President Obama, who was so bold in speaking out on behalf of unions in Madison, should say something just as bold about the rights of women in Egypt? But, maybe they couldn't reach him on the golf course.

Women attacked in Egypt

The core and the crust of leadership

No one in our media bothered to check out Barack Obama's facts and story he supplied them in two books--but this German leader's thesis is bogus and he loses his job. All of Obama is bogus according to Cashill's book--Bill Ayers was the author, not just a ghost writer, of Obama's books. He even included a relationship with a young woman in the Obama book that was really Ayer's. Cashill is an editor; he says no one who is a poor writer at 21 turns into a good writer at 33 unless he's been writing regularly, and Obama didn't. All evidence (and it's very little) of his writing before his books shows someone who couldn't pass 8th grade English. So where did all this talent come from that just wowed the critics? From buddy Bill Ayers. These things are not that difficult to uncover. Never mind a birth certificate--how about a little paragraph checking and an SAT score. But the Germans?

"Two weeks ago, the charismatic German politician and heir-apparent to Chancellor Angela Merkel, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, resigned as minister of defense. It had come to light that his doctoral dissertation was adorned with more than 300 instances of plagiarism. A spectacular leadership failure to be sure, but why? A simple way to think about leadership is to divide it into two parts — a core and a crust. The distinction gives us a clearer eye. The core represents those things that are indispensable, while the crust those things that are important. What then goes in the core? And what goes in the crust?"

The core and the crust of leadership | Deseret News

Yes, what goes on at the core?

More Mortgage Mischief and ways to stall the recovery

Some days I think the Obamadmin is looking for ways to stall the recovery. Are his people against him, or are they helping him with his plan? It's too complicated to track his lies, which began even before his campaign. His treatment of the American people is like an abusive spouse. And the Democrats just keep coming back for more.

"The new federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's website proclaims that no financial company "should be able to build, or feel pressure to build, a business model around unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices." How ironic, then, that the bureau itself is trying to extend its reach by extorting billions of dollars from private mortgage servicers, regulating their business by fiat, and stalling a U.S. housing market recovery."

Review & Outlook: More Mortgage Mischief - WSJ.com

Sorry Mr. Krugman, you flunk unionizing 101

Paul Krugman, left wing journalist and Nobel prize in something, has really stepped into it now. He claimed that Texas children were doing more poorly than Wisconsin's who have the benefit of all those rich, well-pensioned, unionized teachers with collective bargaining rights.

However. . .

Texas students beat Wisconsin in every category when ethnicity is taken into account. See Iowahawk, who usually writes a humor column, but in this case is very serious.

"So how to compare educational achievement between two states with such dissimilar populations? In data analysis this is usually done by treating ethnicity as a "covariate." A very simple way to do this is by comparing educational achievement between states within the same ethnic group. In other words, do black students perform better in Wisconsin than Texas? Do Hispanic students perform better in Wisconsin or Texas? White students? If Wisconsin's kids consistently beat their Texas counterparts, after controlling for ethnicity, then there's a strong case that maybe Texas schools ought to become a union shop.

Luckily, there is data to answer this question via the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAEP is an annual standardized test given to 4th and 8th graders around the country to measure proficiency in math, science, and reading. Participation is fairly universal; if you've had a 4th or 8th grader in the last few years, you're probably familiar with it. Results are compiled on the NAEP website, broken down by grade, state, subject and ethnicity."

Could this be why attendance at German Mass is so low? They're Protestants?

"In anticipation of Pope Benedict XVI's forthcoming visit to his homeland, more than two hundred German theologians -- men and women who have earned doctoral degrees in theology and teach in German universities -- have issued a manifesto, "The Church in 2011: A Necessary Departure." The manifesto itself does not identify the destination for which the Church is to depart, but the terminus ad quem seems reasonably clear from a careful reading of the document: Catholicism is to transform itself into another liberal Protestant sect by conceding virtually every point at issue between classic Christianity and the ambient culture of the post-modern West.

It is, perhaps, no surprise to find German Catholic theologians publicly supporting the ordination of married men and women to the ministerial priesthood (overtly), same-sex "marriage" (slyly), and full communion within the Church for those in irregular marriages (subtly but unmistakably). These causes have been espoused for years. German theologians dissented en masse from the 1993 teaching of Veritatis Splendor on the nature of moral acts and from the 1994 teaching of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis on the Church's inability to admit women to Holy Orders. What was particularly striking about this new manifesto was its attempt to address serious problems with tried-and-failed solutions. That bespeaks a remarkable lack of intellectual creativity and historical sense." Continue reading here

Deconstructing Obama by Jack Cashill

I was in the public library the other day, which has a real struggle purchasing both politically conservative and Christian conservative titles, and was shocked to see Jack Cashill's book, "Deconstructing Obama." It was actually displayed, not just shelved with new books [I've since checked the catalog and it has one copy for 3 locations compared to about 15 of Woodward's Bush title when it was current]. I debated whether to check it out. I really didn't want to read a confirmation of why I don't like the man. I opened it, and found it extremely readable. Also, I'd just come from a lecture that "deconstructed" the history of women in art, so I thought, why not? Let's see if they can take it as well as dish it out.

Cashill's interview on C-SPAN, Feb. 17, 2011, in Kansas City.

"Jack Cashill questions whether President Obama wrote his memoir, Dreams from My Father. Mr. Cashill argues that Barack Obama was assisted in the writing of his 1995 memoir by Bill Ayers and contends that the president's life story is different than the one presented in his biography. Jack Cashill presented his argument at the Kansas City Public Library in Kansas City, Missouri."

If you don't have time for the book, here's the article.

State says damage to marble at Capitol in Madison could hit $7.5 million

When has anyone from the Tea Party damaged a public building? They are always cleaning up after themselves (see 9/12 and 8/28), whereas the lefties on the dole always want someone else to clean up their messes--like ruining companies or towns after a strike, or moving labor off shore, or setting bad examples for school children, or like talking green but leaving trash. I wonder what $7.5 million could have bought for Wisconsin's school children?

State says damage to marble at Capitol could hit $7.5 million - JSOnline

The comments are very telling. Conservatives know costs; liberals know only ridicule and hype.

HT Another Black Conservative

Standing with the people of Japan

On the golf course. And he understands their culture because he grew up in Hawaii where there were Japanese (3rd and 4th generation Japanese-Americans).

Ah, Mr. President. It's always all about you, innit?

Can't help but remember how the leftist rumor-mill went berserk when President Bush took a few minutes to gather his thoughts when he'd been told about planes being flown into the World Trade Center. I believe that resulted in "the truthers." Or the media when he flew over New Orleans rather than land. Now we have a President cool enough to golf when it looks like the middle east is being torn apart in civil war and earthquakes all over the place plus flooding in many parts of the U.S.A. And still the libs love it. Or this in April 2010

President Barack Obama has played golf 32 times since he took office, eight more than his predecessor George W. Bush - who was mocked by the Left for his fondness for the game - did in his entire presidency.

However, fortunately for the people of Japan, they do know how to handle disasters, and a caller to Rush today who just recently returned from Japan reports they are on the golf course too, and there are wonderful stories of survival ready, when the media stop with the disaster mode.

Another Black Conservative

is blogging and worth reading. Noticed Clifton on "next blog" this morning. He provides some insight in his bio:

"I am a black conservative from a black conservative family. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and finally settled in New Jersey. Throughout my life I knew I did not share many of the common beliefs of other American blacks. For starters, I never took to the term African-American. I have met too many real Africans who are now Americans, to ever with a straight face say we share something in common other than skin tones. Their history and culture is truly unique and is a completely different experience from my own. My culture is distinctly American, from the way I speak, think, dress and act and you know what else? I love it! So for me, I will always be an American who just happens to be black. I put myself and my beliefs out here in cyberspace, to show my fellow blacks that there is something more. That one need not accept the false promise of the next social program, the belief in government as savior or the next Democratic candidate will right all wrongs. That true Hope and Change comes from belief in yourself, in a nation that allows dynamic movement if you are bold enough, smart enough and brave enough to make it happen."

Love it!

Maybe you've got more friends

You must have a lot more friends than I do if you can afford to toss them aside because of their politics. My life has a lot of diversity and includes people I don't agree with on politics, religion, fashion, culture, sports teams, abortion, euthanasia, pets, etc. Politics has replaced religion as the big divide. I support your decision to campaign, to be a poll watcher/attendant, to write letters to the editor, to fund raise, to go on marches carrying signs I disagree with. But, if you're so narrowly focused in your relationships that no one is allowed near you who isn't a Democrat or a Socialist, what's the point? Are you afraid of a new idea? Do you think you'll change minds with tantrums? You've never watched Glenn Beck or Fox News, you wouldn't dream of reading the opinion columns of the Wall Street Journal, or trying to understand a market economy, but you certainly have opinions about them. Conservatives can't avoid an alternative viewpoint--it's everywhere. But you guys live in a bubble residing inside a cloud, and you seem to sense that it's a very fragile universe in there so no light, air or heat is allowed.

PJ Crowley Resigns from State After Manning Remark

Sleeping naked? That's torture? Or is the problem calling DoD stupid? I don't understand this flap.

PJ Crowley Resigns from State After Manning Remark

Fox News reporting on Japan has been outstanding

The Fox News coverage of the 8.9 earthquake and tsunami has been thorough, extensive, and respectful. The poorest segment was when someone from Reuters with an American accent was interviewed live. Either he'd just gotten out of bed, or he hadn't left Tokyo yet, or the script writers were busy elsewhere. More stammering and equivocating than Obama's teleprompter. Whatever his problem, that interview was a waste of air time. But other than that, all the reports have been superior.

Fact Checking Michele Bachmann's 'bombshell'

Get out your urban dictionaries, your slang dictionaries, and your porn words suitable for print dictionaries; the left is insisting that Michele's $105 billion isn't a 1) slush fund, 2) secret, 3) scam, or 4) insane. Of course, the fact checkers were from Washington Post, Polifact and Factcheck, all left wing shills in bed with the obamadmin. Republicans and Libertarians and even a math challenged librarian from Columbus can see the problem.

Fact Checker - Michele Bachmann's 'bombshell' on a 'hidden' $105 billion

Hot Air opines: "Few, however, were prepared for the extent of the deception embodied in the bill, which Democrats brokered behind closed doors and to the exclusion of members of the opposing party. That became apparent on Sunday, when Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-MN, dropped a bombshell on NBC’s Meet the Press, revealing that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act contains over $105 billion in health care appropriations."

Don't defund it; dump it.
--------------

A whole blog about word and phrases twisting in the wind of the left.

The Myth of Green Energy Jobs: The European Experience

We have very clever capitalists in this country. They know where the money is and right now the green is in the green. The myth of green energy. Coupled with the same old government playas (using our tax money), we're off to the green races. Don't believe the climate scare stories or save dear Mother earth stuff--that's just window dressing. This is about who controls the next money scam. Every architectural/engineering publication that comes to our house is loaded with a tsunami of green advertising and government handouts against which the building trades are helpless--they can't get any other kind of work.

With $2.3 billion in Recovery Act tax credits allocated for green manufacturers, President Barack Obama and other Democratic politicians have high hopes for green technology. But their expectations clash with both economic theory and practical experience in Europe. Green programs in Spain destroyed 2.2 jobs for every green job created, while the capital needed for one green job in Italy could create almost five jobs in the general economy. Wind and solar power have raised household energy prices by 7.5 percent in Germany, and Denmark has the highest electricity prices in the European Union. Central planners in the United States trying to promote green industry will fare no better at creating jobs or stimulating the economy.

AEI - The Myth of Green Energy Jobs: The European Experience

Bill Moyers preaching to the choir--moreso than usual

With one left foot in his mouth and the other up his rear end, Bill Moyers explains to lefties at Huffington Post why the NPR is actually fair and balanced.

"Ron Schiller is a fundraiser, not a news director. NPR keeps a high, thick firewall between its successful development office and its superb news division. The "separation of church and state" -- the classic division of editorial and finance -- has been one of the glories of public radio as it has won a large and respectful audience as the place on the radio spectrum that is free of commercials and commercial values. If you would see how this integrity is upheld, go to the NPR website and pull up any of its reporting since 2009 on the Tea Party movement. Read the transcripts or listen to its coverage -- you will find it impartial and professional, a full representation of various points of view, pro and con, Further, examine how over the past few days NPR has covered the O'Keefe/Schiller contretemps and made no attempt to cover up or ignore its own failings and responsibilities."

The refreshing thing about conservative talkers, show hosts, and politicians is they know they have a bias--they'll even point it out, in case you miss it. Not so the lefties--they deny they are Communists or Socialists (although recent demonstrations show they are coming out of the Commie Closet)--they just assume no one of any value or intelligence ever has a different thought flutter past.

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: What fools we are to think we can tame the wrath of nature | Mail Online

"We're just ants with cars." That about sums it up. And we continue to believe we're in charge--not only in charge, but that mankind is the problem in nature. Now that's really self-centered.

"But if all our collective scientific and technological brilliance served one purpose yesterday, it was to show us what a tsunami really looks like. Here was the first all-conquering intercontinental aquatic bulldozer ever seen live and in daylight. And it has served as a brutal lesson that, in the scheme of things, homo sapiens is not so sapiens after all. We are just ants with cars."

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: What fools we are to think we can tame the wrath of nature | Mail Online

Where is Obama? Where is America?

That's what the Libyan rebels have been shouting into the TV cameras. Sorry fellas, that's what they said in Eastern Europe and the Baltics as Roosevelt gave them away to Stalin. Read your history. Have you ever visited the saddest museum in history? It's in Tallin, Estonia. I'll never forget it. They were so sure the Americans would come.

I'm a neocon--former Democrat turned conservative. Totally disallusioned with the lies and idiocy of the Democratic party. Yet, I don't believe we should shed anymore blod over 7th century civilizations who hate Christians and Jews. Knowing Democrats as I do, I can't imagine why they think Sharia law would treat them well! It's a hopeless morass, and I hope we soon get out of Afghanistan and Iraq (Obama lied about that, too). But freedom fighters everywhere look to the United States. Why, I wonder, when we've disappointed so many?

The EESC president’s statement on the natural disaster in Japan and the Pacific region

"Mother Nature has again given us a sign. . ." Well, it wasn't Mother Nature, and I'm not sure it was even God, but it sure wasn't global warming. These people are just dopes.

The EESC president’s statement on the natural disaster in Japan and the Pacific region | European Economic and Social Committee

Way beyond pot and kettle

This is a Communist tool accusing patriotic, elected Americans of being tools of the capitalists. Hello! The unions tried but failed to destroy capitalism, so they've gone after our government--at all levels, including the teachers who control our children.
Trumka

“After the events of last night, I should say this is an absolute corruption of democracy,” said Trumka, who was the keynote speaker at liberal summit in Washington, D.C. “Last night, Scott Walker and his Republican tools in Wisconsin showed just how far they’re willing to go to pay back their corporate sponsors.”

The day-long Summit on Jobs & America’s Future featured several panels with high-profile names, such as former White House adviser [and avowed Communist] Van Jones.

Reed Krakoff set to hit fashion big-time after Michelle Obama carries $1,000 tote (and despite the price it's already sold out)

If a story looks really ridiculous, I run it through Snopes. I know. I know. Conservatives don't like this fact checking website because they say it's just a mom and pop outfit, but hey, I was a librarian for 25 years, and when I was checking facts, most of the time it was just me, by myself. Anyway, when I saw the story about Michelle Obama and the $1,000 handbag with a photo, I thought it was fake or photoshopped. First of all, it's an ugly, ugly bag,and second,it's teal and her shoes are blue. And this woman is giving "sacrifice" a bad name when she tells us to eat our carrots and she goes out for ribs. Could she really follow up that story with something this tacky? Don't know. I've always said her husband wasn't one of us, but I had hopes for her (by not one of us, I don't mean I'm a birther, because if his mother is an American, that's good enough for me).

Reed Krakoff set to hit fashion big-time after Michelle Obama carries $1,000 tote (and despite the price it's already sold out) | Mail Online

But not too much

"You cannot get 600 IU of vitamin D daily from diet unless you eat salmon 3 times a day and drink 2 gallons of milk a day," said Michael Melamed, MD, MHS, Albert Eistein College of Medicine, quoted in JAMA, 2011;305 in an article about the importance of Vitamin D. But don't go crazy--too much can cause problems and put you at risk for cancer, cardiovascular problems, falls and fractures.

The Public Servants Center

There's a new $189 million juvenile justice center in Cuyahoga County. It has a $23,000 custom-designed conference table and private gym for the judges. Some people have the decency to say they are embarrassed; other say they aren't sorry. I hope disturbed and delinquent children are impressed enough to ask how they can get in on this scam of the public.

AlterNet--all you have to do is read the story line--no content necessary

What planet do these people live on? What could Noam Chomsky possibly know about democracy? And those climate change/global warming folks? What a religion they've got! The old, tired feminist line that went out with the 70s. Governor Walker's lies--could they ever match the union bosses? Come on folks. Is this a retro, let the old times roll website like that TV station? See? You don't even need to read the stories, and I do mean stories as in fables, myths and fairy tales.

Maybe it's the government health care?

Isn't this odd. Those who are the most dependent on government health care seem to have the poorest results--and we're talking access and quality here, not the end result of poverty or poor education.

Health Care Quality and Access Are Suboptimal, Especially for Minority and Low-Income Groups

"National Healthcare Quality Report and National Healthcare Disparities Report released by AHRQ. The reports, which are mandated by Congress, show trends by measuring health care quality for the nation using a group of credible core measures. The data are based on more than 200 health care measures categorized in several areas of quality: effectiveness, patient safety, timeliness, patient-centeredness, care coordination, efficiency, health system infrastructure, and access. Few disparities in quality of care are getting smaller, and almost no disparities in access to care are getting smaller, according to the report. Overall, blacks, American Indians and Alaska Natives received worse care than whites for about 40 percent of core measures."

In 2003, a key finding was "Inequality in quality persists;" in 2008 it was "Disparities persist in health care quality."

2010 National Healthcare Disparities and Quality Reports

Even with all the nannying and nagging about healthy lifestyles (imagine the billions spent on this), there's been almost no change: "Healthy lifestyles: The NHQR and NHDR track five measures related to obesity, diet, and exercise; four measures related to nicotine and other substance addictions; and four measures related to transportation safety for children. Across these measures, most showed no improvement. Median rate of improvement was 0.9% per year. Most disparities did not change, but the Hispanic-non-Hispanic White and poor-high income gaps in counseling about smoking cessation narrowed." Sooo, you can close the gap on counseling, but it doesn't do any good? Is that what the research says? Cha-ching.

Will the run and hide liberals head for home now?

The Republicans of Wisconsin stripped the bill of funding language so that they didn't need a quorum and it passed. The Democrat fraidy cats disgraced their office and districts, so we'll see if the fourteen senators will return to Wisconsin from their hideouts and litter boxes. Oh yes, and Michael Moore wants the kids to stay home from school. Well, why not. The teachers are probably too tired to teach after weeks of hooting and yelling. Give the kiddoes some vacation, too.

Wisconsin Assembly Passes Walker's Anti-Union Bill | TPMDC

Mychal Massie debates absent liberals--Sharpton, Fauntroy and Morial

". . . before throwing more stones at the tea party for reported incivility — tea party critics should take a look at organized labor’s rallies in places such as Madison, Wisconsin and Columbus, Ohio and how protesters there are behaving in ways oftentimes worse than alleged about tea partiers."



Addressing Mr. Morial: “Why is it when you speak of bamboozled, at the end of the Civil Rights era — which I and others argue was 1964 — when over 80 percent of black homes were two parent households, 40 percent were business owners. Today we have uncontrolled abortion, uncontrolled crime, uncontrolled drop outs, no marketable education skills, no marketable employment skills, no marketable linguistic skills, no marketable social skills. Who’s been bamboozled? Who’s been conned?”

Read more

I predict

School bond issues, and probably library too (there were librarians carrying signs), are going to be dropping like flies based on the crass, rude, unpatriotic, and self-obsessed behavior of teachers, the general public, who are paid much less, are watching every night on TV.

Also, I'd be really surprised if NPR and public TV are going to be able to make their fund raising quotas after showing the world what a bunch of racist snobs their executives are and how they look down on anyone not like them. They don't need the government money, but they probably do need a few people to send in money to support Car Talk and Suze Orman.

Will Betsy Liley be the next to go?

New video released Thursday afternoon indicates National Public Radio intended to accept a $5 million donation from fictitious Muslim Brotherhood front group Muslim Education Action Center (MEAC) Trust – and that the publicly funded radio network might have helped MEAC make the donation anonymously to protect it from a federal government audit. . .
Liley said she and NPR have taken millions of dollars in donations anonymously before.

“We also got an $8 million gift,” Liley said. “I don’t know if you remember this; about two years ago a number of institutions, higher ed institutions, all with women as presidents, got donations that ranged from $5 million to $12 million. They were never identified who the gifts were from, but they totaled about $80 million dollars.”

Hmmm. That should make interesting research for a women's studies paper.

Read more at Daily Caller with video

In another video as she attempts to explain coverage of climate change to a donor who doesn't want the other side of the story, she gets off on the birthers and says NPR doesn't cover their point of view after stating 51% of Americans believe he wasn't born in the United States. So, does NPR cover the news, or decide what is news? For money. Not many people like Gaddafi, but NPR covers him, don't they?

Do little girls need a spa/salon?

Usually I applaud ingenuity in finding a niche business. But a beauty spa for little girls age 1-17 years old? Nah.

I picked up a free-circ magazine/newspaper at the library this week called Columbus Parent. I think I may have the first issue in my premiere issue collection, but since I'm waiting for the paint on the shelves to cure, the magazines are a bit difficult to look at. I was going to compare the ads.

So I checked the web link--didn't work, but found it on Facebook--located in Grove City, Ohio. The note said they were cuting back due to health reasons.

"We are a full service salon and spa serving girls 1-17 yrs old! Hair Cuts, Manicures & Pedicures, Make-overs, Birthday Parties! We will schedule appointments up till 9 pm on Friday and Saturdays. Sunday is for parties and large groups." I guess inviting a few friends over for cake and ice cream and party games is too retro these days.

Just what and how is a make-over for a 3 year old, I wonder? She's practically brand new!

ALA Joins CAIR to Oppose Radicalization Hearings Sponsored by Congressman Pete King

The American Library Association [ALA] has joined with the Council On American-Islamic Relations [CAIR] to oppose Congressman Pete King's congressional hearings to "show [the] extent of radicalization in [the] Muslim American community."

Do the hearings have anything to do with libraries? Exactly why is the ALA joining CAIR in this effort?

SafeLibraries: ALA Joins CAIR to Oppose Radicalization Hearings Sponsored by Congressman Pete King

Let's aim for the border--Canada

Canada is 6th in the world in economic freedom, and the United States is 9th. Baby steps. There's a lot that could be done to restore our economic freedom.

Country rankings for trade, business, fiscal, monetary, financial, labor and investment freedoms

"The United States’ economic freedom score is 77.8, making its economy the 9th freest in the 2011 Index. Its score is 0.2 point lower than last year, reflecting deteriorating business freedom, trade freedom, government spending, and monetary freedom. The U.S. is ranked 2nd out of three countries in the North America region, and its overall score is well above the world and regional averages.

The U.S. economy faces enormous challenges. The government’s recent spending spree has led to fragile business confidence and crushing public debt. Interventionist responses to the economic slowdown have eroded economic freedom and long-term competitiveness. Drastic legislative changes in health care and financial regulations have retarded job creation and injected substantial uncertainty into business investment planning."

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

"Canada’s economic freedom score is 80.8, making its economy the 6th freest in the 2011 Index. Its overall score is 0.4 point higher than last year, reflecting gains in fiscal and monetary freedom. Canada is ranked 1st out of three countries in the North America region.

The Canadian economy continues to sharpen its long-term competitiveness. Scoring high in many of the 10 economic freedoms, Canada performs particularly well in business freedom, financial freedom, property rights, and freedom from corruption. Straightforward regulations and the competitive tax regime facilitate entrepreneurial activity and lure dynamic investment. The corporate tax rate is scheduled to decline further to 15 percent in 2012."

Lower Costs and Better Care for Neediest Patients

The author, Atul Gawande, gets an A in writing/journalism and an F in economics/politics (Obamacare) and an F in racial profiling for referring to a Sri Lankan as having "cute rabbit teeth, but it's an excellent article about innovation and research. Jeffrey Brenner is an innovator--he knows how to lower medical costs by looking at the big picture. By analyzing block by block the hospital visits of Camden's residents "He found that between January of 2002 and June of 2008 some nine hundred people in the two buildings accounted for more than four thousand hospital visits and about two hundred million dollars in health-care bills. One patient had three hundred and twenty-four admissions in five years. The most expensive patient cost insurers $3.5 million. . . His calculations revealed that just one per cent of the hundred thousand people who made use of Camden’s medical facilities accounted for thirty per cent of its costs."Lower Costs and Better Care for Neediest Patients : The New Yorker
(If I'm not mistaken, there are similar studies on crime families and city maps.) I'm not sure I'd call Brenner's program "revolutionary," except in the sense it's how most healthy people live as a matter of routine--don't smoke, don't drink to excess, don't use drugs, aren't 300 pounds overweight; we know how to cook, take medication; we have stable relationships, we attend church, we socialize; in short, we're smart enough to take care of ourselves.

When offered a free clinic in their building which included a social worker assisting them with things most of us (reading this blog) know how to do, resulted in some worry and objections. . ."This doctor’s office, people were slowly realizing, would be involved in their lives—a medical professional would be after them about their smoking, drinking, diet, medications. That was O.K. if the person were Dr. Brenner. They knew him. They believed that he cared about them. Acceptance, however, would clearly depend upon execution; it wasn’t guaranteed. There was similar ambivalence in the neighborhoods that Compstat strategists targeted for additional—and potentially intrusive—policing."

Yes, how do you get people to give up personal freedom and bad habits in exchange for good health?

States in budget crisis--WaPo catches on

Better late than never--Washington Post finally realizes that union pensions are unsustainable. Whether it realizes these protests are about union survivals and not teachers' wages and benefits isn't clear, but at least they seem to realize they need to report SOMETHING!

Alaska, Arkansas and North Dakota are the only states without a budget shortfall. Illinois seems to be in the worst shape, at least in percentage. Now what was that again about the crazy Sarah Palin?

States in budget crisis | The Washington Post

Food sold in recycled cardboard--one more thing to watch for?

"Researchers found toxic chemicals from recycled newspapers had contaminated food sold in many cardboard cartons. The chemicals, known as mineral oils, come from printing inks."

BBC News - Food sold in recycled cardboard packaging 'poses risk'

NPR's Schiller caught in a sting--slams the Tea Party

Poor NPR. They just can't catch a break these days. I think they'd be much better off defunded by the government, then they could say what they please about the Tea Party, about race quotas, about Republicans, well, about anything. So, has NPR seen the "heavily edited tape," or are the executives taking Schiller's word for it? Has Ron Schiller ever been in the same room with a conservative, let alone heard them say all the awful things he spouts?

The NPR Vice President for Fund Raising (not sure of actual title) Ron Schiller told two men he thought were from a group like the Muslim Brotherhood some pretty nasty things about the Tea Party, which as we know, isn't really a party at all, but a grass roots movement of millions, unlike the Obama-Pelosi astroturf of unions and chains. Why he was getting so chummy with a group that wants to bring the world Sharia Law (he would definitely not be working under them), and even chuckled at their jokes, is beyond me. And as for "fundamental Christian," what would he call the group he thought he was talking to or the run of the mill environmentalist who worships the earth and wants us to return to the 7th century with the Muslims? Where are the videos of the "race baiting" Tea Partier carrying signs anywhere near as horrifying as what we've seen recently at the pro-union, pro-one world government demonstrations in Madison and Columbus?

— "The Tea Party is fanatically involved in people's personal lives and very fundamental Christian — I wouldn't even call it Christian. It's this weird evangelical kind of move."

— "Tea Party people" aren't "just Islamaphobic, but really xenophobic, I mean basically they are, they believe in sort of white, middle-America gun-toting. I mean, it's scary. They're seriously racist, racist people."

— "I think what we all believe is if we don't have Muslim voices in our schools, on the air ... it's the same thing we faced as a nation when we didn't have female voices." In the heavily edited tape, that comment followed Schiller being told by one of the men that their organization "was originally founded by a few members of the Muslim Brotherhood in America." There's no sign in the edited tape that Schiller reacted in any way after being told of the group's alleged connection to an Islamic group that appeared to be connected with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.

— That NPR "would be better off in the long run without federal funding," a position in direct conflict with the organization's official position.

Schiller is also heard laughing when one of the men jokes that NPR should be known as "National Palestinian Radio

In Video: NPR Exec Slams Tea Party, Questions Need For Federal Funds : The Two-Way : NPR

Mr. Schiller, who has a partner Alan Fletcher, is not married to or related to Vivian Schiller, who made a mess of the Juan Williams firing. His track record for fund raising brought him to NPR from University of Chicago.

Unedited version

The oil crisis--it's been going around

When the gas prices go up, the "Garfield" cartoon linked to the oil crisis comes around--oldest I found was early 2008. Remember, President Bush gave us an unsuccessful stimulus to try to goose the economy and it didn't work any better than Obama's. But anyway. . . without using a copyright cartoon of Garfield, here it is:

A lot of folks can't understand how we came to have an oil shortage here in our country.
~~~
Well, there's a very simple answer.
~~~
Nobody bothered to check the oil.
~~~
We just didn't know we were getting low.
~~~
The reason for that is purely geographical.
Our OIL is located in:
~~~
ALASKA
~~~
California
~~~
Coastal Florida
~~~
Coastal Louisiana
~~~
Kansas
~~~
Oklahoma
~~~
Pennsylvania and Texas
~~~
Our DIPSTICKS are located in Washington, DC !!!!


HT Murray

To the victor belongs the archives

As a Protestant (first an Anabaptist, then United Church of Christ, and currently Lutheran) I've had a pretty narrow view of history. In 2009 when our Lutheran church group travelled to the Holy Land we went with a group from the Greek Orthodox Church in Columbus, and that truly was my first association with this very important Christian heritage. All Christians share the early documents of the church and the ecumenical councils and the creeds. But the Protestant Reformation is strongly rooted in Rome, not Constantinople.

Today I watched the first 2 installments of The History of Orthodox Christianity. It's written, produced and distributed by GOTelecom (Greek Orthodox Telecommunications, Inc). Recently I've been listening regularly to St. Gabriel's Radio (WVKO in Columbus, OH) which carries a lot of EWTN syndicated shows like Mornings with Mother and The Father Corapi show, and I've learned a lot, been reinforced in many faith issues, and disagree a lot--just changing channels when they get to worship of Mary or purgatory. But to follow that up with the Greek Orthodox point of view on "tradition and history" of the church is quite amazing.

Also, the spread of Islam in the early church years and the lack of cohension and even human kindness between the eastern and western Christian church were appalling. It's sort of the difference between what the hen and the pig contribute to "ham and eggs." Also, the difference in the art to help tell the story is a real culture shock.

OrthodoxWiki
Orthdox Church in America

The Buckeye Union Lesson

Oh the screaming, yelling and angst at our state house. But tell me, do you know one union official who isn't a Democrat, Socialist or Communist? Public unions exist to keep one party in power, and work for one world government, and not for the good of the professions they claim to represent, the taxpayers, and certainly not the children of Ohio.

"The bill gives Ohio and its cities and counties new tools to manage the costs of some 360,000 state and local workers. They will earn pay increases on the basis of performance, rather than the automatic seniority and length-of-service increases that now apply beyond the annual increases negotiated by unions. It also allows collective bargaining for wages up to inflation, but not for benefits or pensions. Far from a "right" divinely etched into stone, Ohio only allowed government collective bargaining in 1983.

Workers will need to pay 20% of their health benefits, below the Ohio average of 23% in the private economy but above the 9% that now prevails in government. Mr. Kasich's budgeteers estimate that the bill would have saved Ohio at least $216 million in 2010 and some $1.1 billion for local governments, where most of the state's collective bargaining contracts are negotiated. Beyond the numbers, other details include prohibiting public employees from striking and giving local government more flexibility in contract disputes by revising a rigid binding arbitration process."

The Wall Street Journal: The Buckeye Union Lesson - WSJ.com

Today in History--Patsy Cline died--one of my favorites

March 5, 1963, Patsy Cline died in a plane crash.

The Disposable Woman - NYTimes

Charlie Sheen's TV show and behavior for the public in "real time" aren't the only things going on in our culture that say women are disposable. How about gay marriage, surrogate pregnancies, gay adoption of children, the disappearance of women from substantial roles in film after about age 40 when they are no longer sex kittens and too young to play grandma roles, and can we please get some women in the lighting design field? I'm so sick of buried can lights, lights that shimmer and quiver because they are "environmentally sustainable" and ugly lamps. Also, to look at the lack of women in the leadership of many businesses that need to grow from inspired entrepreneurship, I suspect the government is pushing them all into "public service." Unfortunately, there are female, morally bankrupt, addle-brained, implanted and botoxed counterparts of Charlie Sheen, but because they are more disposable, they don't last as long.

The Disposable Woman - NYTimes.com

To say nothing of the women so stupid they actually spend time with this abuser--or watch his show.

"Our inertia is not for lack of evidence. In 1990, he accidentally shot his fiancée at the time, the actress Kelly Preston, in the arm. (The engagement ended soon after.) In 1994 he was sued by a college student who alleged that he struck her in the head after she declined to have sex with him. (The case was settled out of court.) Two years later, a sex film actress, Brittany Ashland, said she had been thrown to the floor of Mr. Sheen’s Los Angeles house during a fight. (He pleaded no contest and paid a fine.)"

R&B and Rap entertainers running for cover of charities

Of course, we'll never know if the money really goes to charity--because who tracks that? Entertainers and politicians have a very low charitable donation rate, preferring that the government take care of those things on their behalf with other people's money. Even CNN caught on to the hypocrisy. Why would their agents even book them for these venues--never mind, I know, because they get a percentage of the huge fee. Do you suppose they'll cough up their percentage?



#more-6225

Poet from the past on my aunt's refrigerator, Arthur Frederic Otis

My cousin Dianne copied some of the clippings from her mother's refrigerator for us to enjoy. Her funeral was two weeks ago yesterday. Pastor Ginny of the Church of the Brethren had used some of her clippings in her eulogy. My husband said, probably thinking of our own top drawer, that he really enjoyed "The top kitchen drawer" by Arthur Frederic Otis. Just because (I'm a librarian), I checked this author in Google. I didn't find a lot, but more than what most people have. He was born in 1895 and died in 1984--a very long life for someone of his generation--almost 90. As near as I can tell his publishing life began rather late--the first thing I could find was from the mid-1940s, and he had a number of poems, verses, and short fiction published in the Saturday Evening Post, and The Rotarian, and I even found a few songs.

But sadly, the first thing I found was a death notice for his son, Arthur Frederic Otis, Jr. in an Illinois veterans' database: "Otis, Arthur Frederic Jr., Pfc., USMCR - Son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur F. Otis Sr., 600 Riford Rd., Glen Ellyn." In 1945, Arthur Sr. published (apparently privately) a book titled, "Forever nineteen." Searching a little deeper, I found this title listed with other books about WWII battle of Okinawa, where young, very young, Arthur was killed in action, June 20, 1945. How the family (I found 2 sisters in a historical society obituary notice) must have grieved, and I wonder if this publication, written when he was 50, started his writing career. Arthur Otis was also in the University of Illinois alumni database, but I don't know what his professional life was. In November 1948 he filed for copyright for a book of poetry, Dancing Shadows, 128 pages. However, I think his best creative act was the smiles of his readers, like Aunt Muriel, with his light verse about ordinary things like cluttered drawers, flat tires, and the things of everyday, mundane life.

Aunt Muriel (94) with her newest great grandson (7 weeks) a few days before she died. And if Aunt Muriel were alive, she would have loved this story!

Adult Stem Cell Research Avoids Ethical Concerns | Science and Technology | English

The latest issue of "Healthy Pet" (Winter 2010) has an article about adult stem cell therapy helping pets with arthritis, hip problems, ligament injuries, etc., however, I can't find much recent research that there's much progress for people. I think adult stem therapy is being done on humans in other countries. Praise God for George Bush, who held the line on embryonic stem cell research, which pushed researchers to look for alternatives with adult stem cell lines.

Adult Stem Cell Research Avoids Ethical Concerns | Science and Technology | English

CARL

"Paul Kengor says that conservatives were reluctant to face up to the truth about Obama because they didn’t want to be accused of “McCarthyism” for raising the issue of his communist connections. The 600-page Kengor book [Dupes] includes the excerpts of the [Frank] Davis FBI files that others have shied away from. Kengor, a professor at Grove City College, is not afraid to tackle the terrible truth. We need more like him in academia.

The difference between calling Obama an anti-colonialist, a socialist, or a Marxist mentored by a top operative of the CPUSA is that one category should immediately earn you an FBI investigation. Former FBI agent Max Noel says the Bureau used to investigate candidates for federal employment by analyzing Character, Associates, Reputation, and Loyalty to the United States. The first letters in those words make up the acronym CARL.

Obama could not have been elected president if he had been subjected to the CARL test. Leaving Davis aside – and he was on the FBI’s “security index” — Obama’s relationship with communist terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn was enough to disqualify him for the presidency. Photos of the Weather Underground bomb factory they abandoned in San Francisco in 1971 reveal these Cuban-trained terrorists were working on anti-personnel weapons, including stabbing devices, and had C-4 plastic explosive."

Exposing Un-American Activities

Builders Exchange needs director of membership development

"The successful candidate should have a bachelor’s degree in marketing or a business-related field. A minimum of two years sales experience is preferred. Knowledge of commercial construction, association operations and general database skills are also preferred. The Builders Exchange offers a competitive base salary, commission and benefits."

Builders Exchange - BX weekly online newsletter

Does that look like racial discrimination to you--asking for a bachelor's degree in marketing? I heard that Seattle officials think so. It's called social justice to defeat institutional racism to not require a minority (black) to have the degree others (white) must have to qualify.

It's practically an admission that 50 years of special recruiting, workshops, summer programs, loans, grants, and non-discrimination laws haven't worked--at least not for black males, who since the late 1970s have been losing ground in the college area--to both black women and white men.

Interview with Pete Holmes on Fox (near the end).

Summer Internship for Native Americans in Genomics (SING)

When I saw this I wondered where they were going to find the Native Americans in Illinois, but I recall that Ohio State you only needed to be 1/32 of (any race) to be considered eligible for a minority placement. Also, do they expect these Native Americans to return to "the community" to practice genomics?

Summer Internship for Native Americans in Genomics (SING) | The Institute for Genomic Biology

Number of Words in the English Language: 1,008,879

In English conversation class today (at our church) someone asked how many words are there in English. I guessed 2 million--someone else said 4,000. I was a little off, but not as far as she was. 1,008,879. I think that's the most of any language, however, some like Finnish, can invent new words just by adding pieces parts (which we sort of do too). We borrow from many languages, and English is now global. Did you know there are over 50 words for sheep in English? You probably won't ever need to know them, but in New Zealand, you might.

The Global Language Monitor » Blog Archive » Number of Words in the English Language: 1,008,879

According to another source, about 200,000 words are in common use today. An educated person has a vocabulary of about 20,000 words and uses about 2,000 during a week's conversation.

A Union Education - WSJ.com

". . . unlike in the private economy, a public union has a natural monopoly over government services. An industrial union will fight for a greater share of corporate profits, but it also knows that a business must make profits or it will move or shut down. The union chief for teachers, transit workers or firemen knows that the city is not going to close the schools, buses or firehouses.

This monopoly power, in turn, gives public unions inordinate sway over elected officials. The money they collect from member dues helps to elect politicians who are then supposed to represent the taxpayers during the next round of collective bargaining. In effect union representatives sit on both sides of the bargaining table, with no one sitting in for taxpayers. In 2006 in New Jersey, this led to the preposterous episode in which Governor Jon Corzine addressed a Trenton rally of thousands of public workers and shouted, "We will fight for a fair contract." He was promising to fight himself."

A Union Education - WSJ.com

In Ohio, you can't get a teaching job if you don't join the union. You might be a libertarian or a Republican, but you'll be paying to elect Democrats.

I've read through many articles about what is expected of teachers today and some of the rigid rules that interfer with educating children. I also talk to teachers. It makes me wonder, what really does a union do for these people except offer them expensive insurance and legal help if they are fired?

Also, politicians don't set up some of these ridiculous standards in a vacuum. It's coming from professional organizations and academicians--all probably formerly teachers. I have no idea why a teacher's performance or that of her school should be judged on how well a child with an IQ of 85 and one who is a recent immigrant learn English. They are teachers, not miracle workers! Where is the union in defending them against the state or federal standards? Anyone know how many classroom teacher jobs were saved by ARRA one time money as compared to administrators' jobs? Where is the union? Anyone know who came up with the current ridiculous math teaching fads? Where is the union?

Michelle Obama gets a Republican boost on obesity

It's the hypocrisy of her campaign that conservatives resent. Who's tending the WH garden? Her staff. She's a nag. And Governor Huckabee is putting weight on again, which I think shows how difficult this is even with education, knowledge and a TV camera in your face.

AFP: Michelle Obama gets a Republican boost on obesity

Mengumpulkan Pikiran Saya

Someone translated my Morgenthau article into Indonesian (I think): Mengumpulkan Pikiran Saya. I'm about to roll over to 405,000 visitors.

Brenda Leigh--you should be ashamed of yourself for misleading young women

We've borrowed and returned 2 seasons of "The Closer" from the library, and checked out seasons 3 and 4. We've thoroughly enjoyed the excellent writing and acting of this TNT show, which ends after the seventh season this year. Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) would be such a beautiful role model for young women who want to be both authoritative, tough and a good manager, but yet feminine and tender too. She wears modest feminine attire, loves her kitty, and is usually emotionally exhausted when coming home from work.) Unfortunately, the writers gave her a live-in boyfriend as a subplot (they marry in later episodes) to help her solve crimes and a former married lover as her boss for tension and humor at work. I guess it would just be too much work to figure out how she could possibly be a fine, capable woman and be sexually chaste too. Since the crime and the team's dynamics are the center piece each episode, how hard could it be to make Brenda really smart?

Since young women (and even some old) have decided living with the guy is an OK opening for marriage and long term plans like having a family, the divorce rate has soared and the child poverty rate has gone out of sight, with only 8% of children from married households living in poverty and 56% with single moms living in poverty. How smart is that, Hollywood, to promote this? Don't you want people to continue buying your product?

Women could virtually wipe out poverty in a generation just by having higher standards for themselves and the men they love.

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Newmont Mining Corporation

I see I've bought 50 shares of Newmont Mining Corporation (NEM), a gold producer, with significant assets or operations in the United States, Australia, Peru, Indonesia, Ghana, Canada, New Zealand and Mexico. Well, I hadn't planned to buy gold for my retirement portfolio, but apparently if you do, you'll be helping me.

Discovery & Development | Newmont Mining Corporation

SunChips' compostable bags get quieter

In a world of chaos and intractible problems, it's nice to know that sometimes there is a solution to . . . noisy snack bags.

SunChips' compostable bags get quieter | Drug Store News

Are they paid for recruiting for the government programs

I noticed this disclaimer on a private, non-governmental website encouraging people to sign up for government benefits. There are two ways (alluded to in the message) to make money doing this: 1) either the government reimburses them for the referrals, or 2) they resell the information collected from those who inquire.

"FamilyFinancialHelpUsa.net is not a government agency and is in no way affiliated with any government agency. This is not an application for Food Stamps, LIHEAP or HUD Public Housing. We are a private organization. We use the information you provide to connect you to the correct site to apply for food stamps, LIHEAP and HUD Public Housing in your state. Additionally we will give you the opportunity to participate in private offers that we believe may benefit you through email. We will also provide you with ways to get other free things that may interest and help your family after entering the site. You are not required to participate in these offers or buy anything to get access to your free financial aid and other free help for the family. Please support our sponsors who keep this site free."

Inspiring story by Jewish Ethiopian Immigrant to Israel

Hope and Change--it's not just a political slogan

Hope and Change is the message of the New Testament, and it was stolen by the Obama campaign because the clever marketing firm that ran the campaign knew the familiarity and the challenge of it have a comfortable, familiar ring, even if the candidate was preaching political concepts unacceptable to most Americans--concepts that have failed in every country they've been tried. "Hope and change" (the slogan) is also an underlying desire of youth--in my generation it was the 18-23 year old's mantra, but since adolescence has been lengthened since the mid-60s, so has young adulthood, and now it's the 20-30 year olds who yearn to make changes in the world and believe they are the generation to do it. Constant, unremitting change (they are fuzzy on this but it includes risk taking, hedonism/slackerism, entertainment and sports) is in fact their hope as they postpone marriage, family and career.

Paul lists seven questions in Romans 8.31-39

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We have our only HOPE in Jesus Christ, and yes, because our lives will CHANGE, we CHANGE the world.

Do be fooled or misled by political slogans. Jesus didn't come to change political systems, or to be a humanist mystery called "peace and justice." He's not a member of any nation or political party. He's Lord and Savior of the universe, The Word of God, the Alpha and Omega, and he's Hope and Change.

In yesterday's sermon John Stolzenbach said he uses this passage from Romans at every funeral. Yes, it's truly amazing in listing changes and hope. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Life here is full of changes--don't leave home without hope.

A New Newt - Gingrich Tries to Reconnect With America

I don't care what he converts to or how many films he makes about a pope, I certainly hope Republicans aren't fooled again by nominating an unelectable candidate. Maybe the current Mrs. Newt believes him, but I don't.

A New Newt - Gingrich Tries to Reconnect With America - NYTimes.com

FBI File: However bad you thought Ted Kennedy was, he was worse!

Mayrantandrave has an interesting story about this sad, old man when he was young, frisky, interviewing Communists, and renting a brothel.

FBI File: Ted Kennedy and the Santiago Brothel « Mayrant&rave

There's a reason my parents left the farm

Barbara Kingsolver, author of Animal, vegetable, miracle (HarperCollins, 2007) our March book selection for book club is an excellent writer. But I could do without the preachy lectures. I've known for years, and so have our churches and government, that there is more than enough food grown in the world for everyone to be not just nourished, but fat! Growing it isn't the problem--it's the political systems that control and distribute it that fail. That was well publicized 40-50 years ago. And our own USA government through the U.S. Department of Agriculture has some pretty misguided regulations and policies itself.

So, despite her interesting experiment as Tiger Mom of the homestead, our personal food choices really don't make much difference, except for our own health. If I were to choose to eat 24/7 at McDonald's it doesn't change a Haitian dictator's behavior. Today I was reading an article from a Lutheran magazine from 1991, 20 years ago, about Haiti, and I might as well have been reading today's newspaper. The American food industry and our personal food choices (the only part of this we do control) will not give the Somalians a viable representative government, nor stop the Chinese government's policy of one child. We could ban petroleum products and industries tomorrow, and it would not feed one starving African child or free one Thai child prostitute. This is the 21st version of "clean your plate there are starving children in China" which some of us heard as children.

Kingsolver says it was a family decision to take a food sabbatical, to eat deliberately, to shop the local food landscape of Southern Appalachians. My first thought was, "they grow wheat and oats in southern Appalachia? And why should she be able to freeze her rhubarb to eat in the winter, if I can't buy pay some one to grow and freeze it commercially to eat in the winter?

If you"put the kitchen back in the center of the American diet," you put women back in the kitchen too. They won't be medical researchers, or astronauts, or academicians, or retail clerks, or factory assembly line workers, or restaurant chefs, or plumbers, or accountants if they are spending 2 hours a day finding and delivering fresh, locally grown food, and another 2 hours preparing it--milling, grinding, setting aside to rise, peeling, stewing, sanitizing, preserving--and then maybe mulching or plowing or sowing or harvesting in the hours left. But that's what women did for thousands of years while the men went out and slaughtered animals for meat or each other to protect the fields and families at home. I'm only at about page 60, but not sure I have the time (a week) to devote to this.

I'd already decided to skip the parts by Steven L. Hopp, but at p. 54 I found "profit driven, mechanized food industry," and wondered if Mrs. Kingsolver had hand copied her manuscripts, bound them in calf leather from her farm and distributed them in pony driven carts for only a dozen or so people to read.

Why it's called the Massacre River

My husband is still hoping for a mission trip to Haiti this year--now probably postponed to April. The Massacre River separates Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Why the unusual name? In today's letter, Pam Mann, a missionary/teacher in Ouanaminthe from Upper Arlington Lutheran Church writes:

". . . Why the river's name was changed to Massacre. Before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the indigenous Taino and Arawak people called the river Guatapana. However, in 1936, the centuries-old name was changed. Dominican Dictator Trujillo ordered the genocide of all blacks living in the DR who could not pronounce the Spanish verb, pereir, “to perish”. Spanish r's are tricky for Haitians as are English r's. In a few days time, an estimated 25,000 were slaughtered by machete, knives or bullets. Haitians fleeing to their homeland were tracked down and butchered by machetes when the bullets ran out. The waters of the Guatapana River ran red with Haitian blood and a horrified nation renamed it.

False claim of hurting the middle class

Stimulus money was used to pay off the public unions’ benefit packages in many states to balance the budget and kicked the problem down the road to Walker of Wisconsin and Kasich of Ohio and other Republicans who ran on this issue. There is no stimulus money left (can I say we told you so?) and states can't print money like Washington. So what do the unions do? They trot out that dog and pony show about hurting the middle class. Today's Columbus Dispatch says:

"Not only are the public-sector workers affected by Senate Bill 5 not representative of the majority of Ohio's middle class, but the comfortable wages, automatic raises, benefits, pensions, job protections, sick-day payouts and negotiating power enjoyed by many of these public-sector workers comes at the expense of the vast majority of Ohio's middle-class taxpayers. Most of these taxpayers have nothing remotely like these benefits nor the economic security that the public sector takes for granted and regards as a right."

Editorial: False claim | The Columbus Dispatch

Not only that, but we (not-in-the-unions) are your bosses, Mr. Fat Cat Union Boss! Let's get rid of public unions. All of them.

I recommend this blogger--May Rant and Rave

This one about Fancy Nancy revising her own commendation by the DNC is really good. You perhaps thought I was single focused and tough--hey--I'm a napping pussycat compared to Mayrant.

Why we call them union thugs

In your face, know your place in Wisconsin harassing Walker supporters.

HT May Rant and Rave

Is there Fast Food in Iraq?

MMWR report in JAMA

Of the resettled Iraqi refugees (San Diego) over 18, 24.6% were classified as obese, and 64.3% of those over 65 were hypertensive.

You'll need aerobic exercise to benefit your brain

In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study, "scientists started with 120 elderly volunteers who were relatively inactive but did not have dementia. Half were randomly assigned to begin walking 40 minutes a day, three days a week for a year while the remainder only stretched and performed toning exercises for the same time period. After 12 months, the group that walked showed an average 2% growth in the hippocampus compared with when they began, while the control groups suffered a more than 1% shrinkage in the same region compared with when the study started.

“If you estimate the change at an individual level,” says study co-author Arthur Kramer of the University of Illinois, “a yearlong exercise program can turn back the clock about two years with respect to the volume of the hippocampus.” "

"Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory, "
PNAS 2011 108 (7) 3017-3022; published ahead of print January 31, 2011

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2011/01/31/want-to-improve-your-memory-take-a-walk/#ixzz1Euftky36