According to Noman Bin Osman: "Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, the Al Qaeda courier who unwittingly led US intelligence to Bin Laden's hideout, was a man of Pakistani descent born in Kuwait, . . . a trusted aide and confidant of a number of senior Al Qaeda leadership, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Farah al-Libi, and Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi. . . and he and his brother were killed in the US attack on the Bin Laden residential compound in the affluent town of Abbottabad in Pakistan. . . . He was "transferring messages between Osama Bin Laden and senior Al Qaeda leadership located throughout Pakistan and Afghanistan." More.
Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti: Bin Laden's trusted courier Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English)
Sunday, May 08, 2011
College Assistance Migrant Program (Camp) -College Grants In Ohio
I hope this is a machine translation from Spanish into English. If not, the writer needs to return to 5th grade immediately and see if he can pass English composition.
These scholarships are only for agricultural workers (migrants), so I think that eliminates landscapers, fry cooks, roofers, and day care workers. And probably legal residents and citizens.
"While looking around the Internet, I decided to see the Ohio factor of Education online to muse what kind of attainments and grant programs that the state education agency offered considering its high drill graduates, and I came up with approximately five scholarships offered at the Ohio element of Education’s website. The official website address is located at ode.state.oh.us, where you obligation also obtain information on grants that are offered through the Ohio measure of Education for continuing education, adult education, besides college grants in Ohio."College Assistance Migrant Program (Camp) -College Grants In Ohio | currencytradingtoday.com
These scholarships are only for agricultural workers (migrants), so I think that eliminates landscapers, fry cooks, roofers, and day care workers. And probably legal residents and citizens.
Time to Celebrate?
"No doubt, very few of those who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 anticipated that the high point of his administration would be the extra-judicial killing of a terrorist leader by a team of Navy SEALs. This, as our involvement in Iraq winds down on the Bush administration's timetable, the war in Afghanistan has been stepped up, and a third conflict in Libya has been commenced. But for the Democrats, any port in a storm: they are happy to celebrate victories wherever they can find them."
Power Line - Time to Celebrate?
Power Line - Time to Celebrate?
New photo for ALA's banned book week (BBW)
Eventually, when the noise dies down about the May 1 killing of Osama bin Laden, and leftists and anarchists in ALA get some composure, maybe they could use this photo in their next BBW poster?
Banned books are not banned at all, so it is a big hoax--maybe to draw people to the American Library Association site, or to make librarians look good, protecting your freedoms. Frankly, I complained about the children's librarian reading aloud "Little Black Sambo" at UAPL when my children were little back in the 1970s. Wouldn't you? According to library stats, a complaint equals a ban. Everything from Huckleberry Finn to Harry Potter are on the ALA's list--and when was the last time you couldn't get them from a public library? And just try to get the "young adult" title about a transgendered werewolf 12 year old who murders her/his step mother because she turned down oral sex. It won't happen--i.e., it won't be removed from the shelf. But it might make the list!
Banned Books Week doesn't roll around until the fall, but stay alert. I'm sure they will have resurrected OBL by then, and the U.S. will be the worst of the worst for taking out this murderer, not just of Americans, but of thousands of Muslims also.
Of course, not buying Christian or Conservative titles is definitely NOT BANNING. I've been told that, too. It just means not many people want to read them. Just remember this tip. Banning begins with the book budget, not with your complaints.
Healthcare Costlier All Around for Afib Patients - in Clinical Context, Strokes from MedPage Today
I had no idea that A-fib was so expensive! Atrial fibrillation patients are generally sicker than those who don't have atrial fibrillation which apparently accounts for the higher costs. According to this article
Treating patients with atrial fibrillation costs the U.S. an estimated $26 billion more per year than treating patients who don't have the condition, researchers reported after extrapolating 2008 data for 2010.Medical News: Healthcare Costlier All Around for Afib Patients - in Clinical Context, Strokes from MedPage Today
Total direct medical costs were estimated to be 73% higher in atrial fibrillation patients than in matched control subjects, representing a net incremental cost of $8,705 per patient per year, according to Michael H. Kim, MD, from Northwestern University in Chicago, and colleagues.
The estimated annual cost included $6 billion related directly to atrial fibrillation, $9.9 billion for cardiovascular risk factors or disease, and $10.1 billion for noncardiovascular medical problems, according to the study published online in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
Torturing the Truth at Duke Divinity
You really wonder why this guy doesn't find a country and university cushy position more to his liking. He thinks it's torture of a different kind to live and work here! Poor cry baby. I wonder what the women in his life think about women's freedom under Sharia law?
How have Christians fared in Turkey? Turkey is the birthplace and home of Christianity, the ecumentical councils where the faith was hammered out, home of the Revelations John received from Christ, location of the largest Christian church in the ancient world, now converted to a mosque. When we visited the ruins in Turkey our guide reported less than 1% of the population are Christians and they are tightly controlled.
Yes, this cleric does indeed know how to torture the truth, and shame on Duke for hiring him to preach his blather and nastiness to minds of mush. But Duke Divinity School was founded by the United Methodists who have seriously strayed since the glory days of Wesley and the Great Awakenings in the United States. Duke needs an "awakening."
"Being a Muslim in the United States is another form of torture, a psychological torture, an emotional torture, and it's just getting worse," [Abdulla Antepli first Muslim chaplin at Duke University] he declared at the "Toward a Moral Consensus against Torture" conference at Duke University on March 25-26. The conference attracted approximately 100 left-wing academics, theologians, and members of the local activist community for some old-fashioned America-bashing.American Thinker: Torturing the Truth at Duke Divinity
Antepli revealed that this so-called "torture" is not the result of overt acts directed at him, but comes from his perception that many Americans are antagonistic to Muslims and expect Muslims "to prove our loyalty to this land." Such demands to "prove that we belong" stem from a "great level of arrogance," he added.
Antepli's condemnation of America did not stop there. He claimed that our government's use of torture (if that is what we have indeed been doing) is merely a "symptom of a larger pathological issue." American society, he contended, has been suffering from a "psychological, spiritual, moral disease."
No mention was made about how Islamic societies compare in this regard. If America is a "sick" society -- and Islamic societies are healthy -- then why are Muslims flocking to our shores in large numbers?
How have Christians fared in Turkey? Turkey is the birthplace and home of Christianity, the ecumentical councils where the faith was hammered out, home of the Revelations John received from Christ, location of the largest Christian church in the ancient world, now converted to a mosque. When we visited the ruins in Turkey our guide reported less than 1% of the population are Christians and they are tightly controlled.
Yes, this cleric does indeed know how to torture the truth, and shame on Duke for hiring him to preach his blather and nastiness to minds of mush. But Duke Divinity School was founded by the United Methodists who have seriously strayed since the glory days of Wesley and the Great Awakenings in the United States. Duke needs an "awakening."
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Let's add wife and child abuse to bin Laden's list of crimes
One of the versions that has come out about the May 1 raid is that one of his favorite wives was with him, that he married her when she was 15 (had to divorce one of the others) and that she hadn't left the compound in 6 years. Sounds like a Muslim to me!
"A wise friend of mine once opined that Islam's entire quarrel with the West rests on its fear that Western values will undermine Islam's control over its women and, with that, its control over the men who benefit from a system that subjugates one half of the population to the control of the other half. There's a great deal of truth in that observation.And then on to Leftist values and sexuality in the same Bookworm essay:
Unlike most other conflicts, Islam's quarrel with the West does not revolve around borders, water supplies, or economic control over assets. Instead, it focuses on culture -- and the heart of the Islamic cultural difference with the West, at least in the Muslim mind, is Islam's statist determination to erase a woman's individuality through control over her sexuality.
In the Muslim world, women are viewed as temptresses, and men as feeble creatures incapable of resisting feminine wiles. The only way to control the anarchy that this perceived sexual imbalance creates is for the State -- and remember that Islam and the State are indistinguishable from each other -- to exert total dominion over the women within its reach.
The best way to regulate women is to remove them entirely from view. Islam has traditionally relied upon harems to isolate women from view (and, not coincidentally, from the body politic). This practice is still used in Saudi Arabia, where women may not leave the home unless they are accompanied by a male family member."
"The relentless Leftist obsession with homosexuality and variations on traditional sexual gender roles is deeply embedded in the Obama administration. Last year, a vigilant blogger exposed the fact that Kevin Jennings, Obama's "Safe Schools Czar," as part of his leadership role in the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network ("GLSEN"), aggressively promoted child pornography in the classroom. GLSEN's actions had nothing to do with creating a safe, non-discriminatory environment for young people with different sexual orientations and everything to do with using the government (i.e., public schools) to inculcate in children the notion that their bodies have no boundaries. A body with no boundaries, of course, is a body that can easily be decoupled from the individual's control and then ceded to the state."American Thinker: Sex and State Power
Obama killed Osama and we got the 72 versions
That I saw on a t-shirt (on-line), so I can't credit--didn't notice who was selling it. But the versions we've been getting from the White House came from a reader JJ at Bookworm, a conservative site.
----------
1) There was a firefight.
2) There was no firefight.
3) Bin Laden was “resisting.”
4) Bin Laden wasn’t armed. (Makes the concept of “resisting” interesting.)
[4.a) And the newest one: the SEALS thought bin Laden was reaching for a weapon.]
5) He used his wife as a shield.
6) His wife was killed too.
7) He didn’t use his wife as a shield. She ran at a SEAL who shot her in the leg, but she’s fine.
8 ) Some other woman — the maid? — was used as a shield. By somebody. Downstairs.
9) That other woman — downstairs — was killed.
10) Maybe not. She was killed unless she wasn’t — and who was she, anyway?
11) Bin Laden’s son was killed.
12) Unless it was some other guy.
13) Bin Laden’s daughter saw him get killed. She’s undoubtedly traumatized, poor dear.
14) They were going to capture Bin Laden until the problem with the helicopter, which was:
A) It had mechanical trouble
B) It did a hard landing
C) It crashed
D) It clipped a wall with a tail rotor, effectively a crash
15.) They were never going to try to capture him; it was always a kill mission.
16.) No, it wasn’t.
17) The chopper blew up.
18) The SEALs blew it up.
19.) Panetta said yesterday the world needed proof and the photo would be released.
20.) Obama said today in an interview he taped with Steve Kroft for “60 Minutes” to be broadcast Sunday that it won’t be released. It’s too gruesome, would offend Muslim sensibilities (something he worries about a lot — I personally do not give a warm fart on a wet Wednesday about Muslim sensibilities), and how would Americans feel if Muslims released pictures of dead Americans?
21.) Kroft — who’s not a total idiot — pointed out that ever since “Black Hawk Down” days, Muslims have been doing precisely that, filming American bodies being dragged through the streets, filming Daniel Pearl’s head being cut off, filming any and everything.
22) Obama gets pissed at CBS, the tape gets cleaned up, that question disappears. (Inside info.)
23.) We got a “treasure trove” of stuff from hard drives, etc.
24.) There were no phone lines, and no internet access at the “mansion,” they didn’t even have TV — what “treasure trove?”
25.) There is obviously in the pictures of the place a large satellite dish. I guess they used it for making salads.
26.) And now, just today: apparently the idea was to capture him, but only if he was naked. There was a suspicion he might be wearing a suicide bomber type explosive vest, or belt. So if he’s not naked and you can’t see if he has a vest on or not – shoot him.
The idiot Carney — they actually managed to find someone who makes Gibbs look good — is currently twisting himself into knots trying to explain why the photograph that the whole world was expecting isn’t going to be released. (Obviously the thing to do is get Trump on the case, he’ll force Obama to release it.)
The military did great, the administration — or whatever that bunch is, kind of like “The Little Rascals” — have managed to turn it into spaghetti. The story has changed so many times in the course of a mere three days it’s a joke — the world would be better off if Panetta had left the little shitwit on the golf course.
---------
You've got to feel just a little bit sorry for Carney. I'll bet Gibbsy is soooo glad to have left that job! And don't you just love the photoshopped version of the Fergie daughter hat?
----------
1) There was a firefight.
2) There was no firefight.
3) Bin Laden was “resisting.”
4) Bin Laden wasn’t armed. (Makes the concept of “resisting” interesting.)
[4.a) And the newest one: the SEALS thought bin Laden was reaching for a weapon.]
5) He used his wife as a shield.
6) His wife was killed too.
7) He didn’t use his wife as a shield. She ran at a SEAL who shot her in the leg, but she’s fine.
8 ) Some other woman — the maid? — was used as a shield. By somebody. Downstairs.
9) That other woman — downstairs — was killed.
10) Maybe not. She was killed unless she wasn’t — and who was she, anyway?
11) Bin Laden’s son was killed.
12) Unless it was some other guy.
13) Bin Laden’s daughter saw him get killed. She’s undoubtedly traumatized, poor dear.
14) They were going to capture Bin Laden until the problem with the helicopter, which was:
A) It had mechanical trouble
B) It did a hard landing
C) It crashed
D) It clipped a wall with a tail rotor, effectively a crash
15.) They were never going to try to capture him; it was always a kill mission.
16.) No, it wasn’t.
17) The chopper blew up.
18) The SEALs blew it up.
19.) Panetta said yesterday the world needed proof and the photo would be released.
20.) Obama said today in an interview he taped with Steve Kroft for “60 Minutes” to be broadcast Sunday that it won’t be released. It’s too gruesome, would offend Muslim sensibilities (something he worries about a lot — I personally do not give a warm fart on a wet Wednesday about Muslim sensibilities), and how would Americans feel if Muslims released pictures of dead Americans?
21.) Kroft — who’s not a total idiot — pointed out that ever since “Black Hawk Down” days, Muslims have been doing precisely that, filming American bodies being dragged through the streets, filming Daniel Pearl’s head being cut off, filming any and everything.
22) Obama gets pissed at CBS, the tape gets cleaned up, that question disappears. (Inside info.)
23.) We got a “treasure trove” of stuff from hard drives, etc.
24.) There were no phone lines, and no internet access at the “mansion,” they didn’t even have TV — what “treasure trove?”
25.) There is obviously in the pictures of the place a large satellite dish. I guess they used it for making salads.
26.) And now, just today: apparently the idea was to capture him, but only if he was naked. There was a suspicion he might be wearing a suicide bomber type explosive vest, or belt. So if he’s not naked and you can’t see if he has a vest on or not – shoot him.
The idiot Carney — they actually managed to find someone who makes Gibbs look good — is currently twisting himself into knots trying to explain why the photograph that the whole world was expecting isn’t going to be released. (Obviously the thing to do is get Trump on the case, he’ll force Obama to release it.)
The military did great, the administration — or whatever that bunch is, kind of like “The Little Rascals” — have managed to turn it into spaghetti. The story has changed so many times in the course of a mere three days it’s a joke — the world would be better off if Panetta had left the little shitwit on the golf course.
---------
You've got to feel just a little bit sorry for Carney. I'll bet Gibbsy is soooo glad to have left that job! And don't you just love the photoshopped version of the Fergie daughter hat?
Friday, May 06, 2011
Dear 16 year old me
May is Melanoma Awareness Month and The David Cornfield Melanoma Fund (DCMF) has starting the month off with a powerful new awareness video.
The video, titled "Dear 16-year-old Me", was created to promote awareness and education of this potentially fatal disease, particularly among teenagers and young adults.
The video features real Canadians and Americans talking to their 16-year-old selves, warning them about sun-safety.
Send it to a teenager who loves the sun.
The video, titled "Dear 16-year-old Me", was created to promote awareness and education of this potentially fatal disease, particularly among teenagers and young adults.
The video features real Canadians and Americans talking to their 16-year-old selves, warning them about sun-safety.
Send it to a teenager who loves the sun.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Environmental Citizenship goal seems to be global citizenship
English 597.03 / Geography 597.03 at The Ohio State University:
Get past the jargon, and you’ll see the point of the course is to convincebrains of mush young students that they are citizens of the globe (i.e., not of a nation or territory) and to qualify OSU for more federal grant money.
It began innocently in 2009 as a campus "conversation," but will extend much further: “In response to President Gee’s signing of the University President’s Climate Commitment [Scarlet, Gray and Green] last April (2008), the [Humanities] Institute initiated a campus-wide conversation about environmental citizenship, drawing together faculty, staff and students interested in advancing the discussion of sustainability and environmental values at the university. The initiative seeks broad-based involvement [and probably federal grant money] aimed at raising environmental awareness and embedding concepts and practices more deeply in the fabric of university life.”
Since it’s tough to get natural resources, energy, architecture, biology, and agriculture into an English curriculum, just merge English (reading and writing) into geography.
Get past the jargon, and you’ll see the point of the course is to convince
It began innocently in 2009 as a campus "conversation," but will extend much further: “In response to President Gee’s signing of the University President’s Climate Commitment [Scarlet, Gray and Green] last April (2008), the [Humanities] Institute initiated a campus-wide conversation about environmental citizenship, drawing together faculty, staff and students interested in advancing the discussion of sustainability and environmental values at the university. The initiative seeks broad-based involvement [and probably federal grant money] aimed at raising environmental awareness and embedding concepts and practices more deeply in the fabric of university life.”
Since it’s tough to get natural resources, energy, architecture, biology, and agriculture into an English curriculum, just merge English (reading and writing) into geography.
English 597.03 / Geography 597.03 offers students an opportunity to reflect on the skills and knowledge needed to act responsibly as environmental citizens. We will focus on "reading" and "writing" the environment (i.e., learning, on the one hand, how to interpret the physical, social, and cultural forces that shape environments, and on the other hand, various ways of playing an active role in shaping environments).
English/Geography 597.03 will involve reading and student-led discussion, weekly "lab" sessions (e.g., film screenings, guest speakers, field trips), and a group-authored Green Paper.
We will highlight change over time, including past relations of culture and environment, present issues, and possible futures—in other words, we will strive to place the present moment in historical perspective. We'll also focus on variation and linkages across space, tying local issues into
progressively larger contexts. The course will be explicitly iinterdisciplinary, examining concepts from the natural science (e.g., natural history; cycles of matter and energy; land forms and climate dynamics), social sciences (e.g., patterns of human impacts on nature, social relations that shaped human impacts, and possible future directions), and the arts and humanities (e.g., cultural conceptions of nature, relationship between conceptions and actions, the role of representation in shaping environments and our relationships to them). The course will also explicitly acknowledge the expertise and experience of environmental actors beyond academia such as environmental organizations.
Students will write a “Credo” (define environmental citizenship in your own terms, reflect on experiences that have shaped your attitudes toward environmental citizenship and your knowledge of environmental issues, and evaluate how you enact your own conception of environmental citizenship) and a “green paper” (put forward propositions for discussion and debate, outline options available for addressing an environmental issue of their choosing, the background information needed to evaluate those options, and the values relevant to choosing among those options).
The Obama Doctrine: Kill don't capture?
Without the ground work of the Bush years, there would have been no Navy Seal operation taking out Osama on May 1, however, John Yoo's point in the WSJ is interesting, isn't it? Osama bin Laden could have easily been taken alive. But if you kill the opponent, then you don't have to mess with those pesky ethical issues of interogation and imprisonment--those things about which Obama so vehemently criticized President Bush.
"Over the past two years, congressional pressure and the demands of the real world have forced Mr. Obama to give up his law-enforcement approach to terrorism. Thanks to congressional funding riders, Gitmo remains open and terrorist detainees there cannot be brought to the United States. Attorney General Holder has finally dropped his ill-conceived plan to prosecute al Qaeda leaders in Manhattan, and he has now restarted the military commissions devised by the Bush administration.John Yoo: From Guantanamo to Abbottabad - WSJ.com
The repatriation of Gitmo detainees has also ceased, again due to congressional pressure. Mr. Obama's advisers have even publicly reaffirmed his authority to capture or kill terrorists as enemy combatants. Drone attacks have more than tripled.
Mr. Obama's policies now differ from their Bush counterparts mainly on the issue of interrogation. As Sunday's operation put so vividly on display, Mr. Obama would rather kill al Qaeda leaders—whether by drones or special ops teams—than wade through the difficult questions raised by their detention. This may have dissuaded Mr. Obama from sending a more robust force to attempt a capture."
The Obamacare slush fund for CBS and Washington Post
We were probably in California when this story came out and I was on my Spring blogging break. While checking to see if WaPo or NYT covered the Obama transparency hearings (couldn't find that they did), I came across one more hole in the credibility bucket of the mainstream media.
Two mainstream news organizations are receiving hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars from Obamacare’s Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP) — a $5 billion grant program that’s doling out cash to companies, states and labor unions in what the Obama administration considers an effort to pay for health insurance for early retirees. The Washington Post Company raked in $573,217 in taxpayer subsidies and CBS Corporation secured $722,388 worth of Americans’ money.The source is Common American Journal, a news aggregate which seems to carry stories from all political points of view, but I haven't investigated it in depth, so I'm not necessarily recommending it as a regular read. Looks like ERRP is worth keeping an eye on; I don't recall that early retirements have been covered in the past by federal tax dollars. But then, we're in a new ballgame with this administration. His dirty tricks make Nixon look like the PTA president and his spending makes George W. Bush look like Calvin Coolidge.
“It is fine with me if they continue covering the ObamaCare debate,” said Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, in an e-mail to The Daily Caller. “When NBC used to cover energy issues, they identified themselves as a subsidiary of General Electric. CBS and Washington Post just have to disclose that they are subsidiaries of the Obama Administration.”
The ERRP, which Republicans call a slush fund, provides taxpayer money to Obama administration-selected states, companies and labor unions with already-in-place early retiree health insurance programs, and aims to make certain that their employees who retire early still have health insurance coverage before they reach Medicare eligibility age. Almost $2 billion of the $5 billion fund, which was supposed to last until 2014, has already been distributed to corporations. New projections expect the funding to run out before the end of 2012, if not sooner.
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Free Medical Books for doctors
Here's sort of an interesting site. I looked at the 2010 The Word Brain which is free and downloadable information on how to learn a foreign language. I didn't print it, and he's not too hopeful about older people learning, but he does say that the reason it is easy for children is because that's all they're doing--acquiring language. He also says that alcohol and drugs are death for learning languages (this book is intended for young doctors, remember), and that some day future studies might show that participation in social networks is inversely correlated with success at school and university!
Free Medical Books | by Amedeo.com
Free Medical Books | by Amedeo.com
Obama is Hard on Drug Execs, Soft on Dictators
How unamerican but soft on real crime and terror is Obama? Very.
The American Spectator : Hard on Drug Execs, Soft on Dictators
". . . Team O is tougher on drug company CEOs than it is on brutal dictators and a movement [Muslim Brotherhood] whose goal is wiping out Israel. The administration is applying a little used government approach to knee-capping executives it doesn't like by threatening that HHS won't allow Forest Laboratories to sell medications to Medicare, Medicaid, and other government health programs (which means every health plan under Obamacare) unless it tosses the company's CEO, Howard Solomon. According to news accounts, the action is being taken because government lawyers claim that just fining the company billions isn't stopping illegal behavior. But neither Mr. Solomon nor Forest has been found guilty of any wrongdoing.
The American Spectator : Hard on Drug Execs, Soft on Dictators
Ask Amy: This is a no-brainer in my opinion
Trust your gut, lady. You love your sister and you don't trust her boyfriend. And why would you expose your young child to an illicit, shack-up, temporary relationship anyway?
Ask Amy: Sketchy boyfriend worries family members - The Washington Post
She [sister] has now met a “new” guy, and much to our dismay he quit his job and she has been supporting him for about a year. He has since gotten a part-time job and is taking courses to better himself..
However, he is temperamental and often loses it in our presence. My sister says his temper is short-lived and that he is working on it. A few times he has verbalized little digs at my kids when he does not approve of their behavior and I’ve let it pass because we don’t see them very often
Ask Amy: Sketchy boyfriend worries family members - The Washington Post
American Indians object to ‘Geronimo’ as code name for bin Laden raid
When I first heard the name of the raid to kill bin Laden, I was shocked. So much for required sensitivity training since kindergarten. WaPo says the name came from the military. "Indian as enemy" is a motif from the Hollywood moguls--time to retire it from the cutsy moniker list.
American Indians object to ‘Geronimo’ as code name for bin Laden raid - The Washington Post
American Indians object to ‘Geronimo’ as code name for bin Laden raid - The Washington Post
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Why the Left Needs Racism
The dislike of Obama with paranoid theories about his birth and religion is no worse than that for Clinton or Bush, who had no birth, race or religion issues, so why are his detractors racist?
From the day he announced his candidacy, those of us who criticized him were accused of racism. Really, the man has qualities, values and beliefs beyond his parentage, all completely unlikeable and unamerican, and to say otherwise is, in my opinion, racist.
Baselessly accusing their political foes of racism is a way in which today's liberals attempt to incite fear and loathing of "the other." As we argued last year, this serves a political purpose in that it helps persuade blacks not to consider voting Republican. But it serves a psychological purpose as well. It reinforces white liberals' sense of their own superiority.Why the Left Needs Racism--II - WSJ.com
From the day he announced his candidacy, those of us who criticized him were accused of racism. Really, the man has qualities, values and beliefs beyond his parentage, all completely unlikeable and unamerican, and to say otherwise is, in my opinion, racist.
Abby Johnson: I Regret Selling Abortions at Planned Parenthood
Her sins have gone to the cross with Jesus.
I am sorry to the women I coerced into abortion. I am sorry to every woman who has ever had an abortion; you may never hear those words from the person who performed your abortion, but I want you to hear it from me on behalf of that doctor or clinic worker.Abby Johnson: I Regret Selling Abortions at Planned Parenthood | LifeNews.com
I am sorry they betrayed you. I am sorry they broke your spirit and your trust. I am sorry they hurt you. I am sorry they didn’t have the courage to stand up for you and what you really deserved…a chance to be a mother to your child. We abused and disrespected you in the worst possible way. I am sorry. So many people probably disappointed you…your friends, your family, your church community, your coworkers, maybe others. I apologize on behalf of them, as well. I am guilty of selling abortion to my family, friends, coworkers, and even people I worship with. We should have stood up for you and your child. I am so sorry we let you down in the worst possible way. You deserved better than what we gave you.
The extent of my remorse, sorrow and grief runs very deep. I could never even begin to share it all with you on a blog. I’m not even sure I am aware of how deep it runs. But it is there…reminding me of the life I once had and how hard I must now work.
I am only able to handle the pain of my past with the help of Christ. I couldn’t do any of this without His grace and His steady hand guiding me every day. He has never given me more than I can bear. I have never felt overwhelmed. I see His love and compassion for me every day. It is the most amazing feeling of peace and wholeness. I don’t have to wonder if He’s with me…I know He is…guiding my every step.
Will you believe Jesus or Bell on Hell?
Who will you believe. Bell or Jesus on the topic of Hell?
No one in all the Scriptures had more to say about hell than Jesus. No stern messenger of doom from the era of the Judges, no fiery Old Testament prophet, no writer of imprecatory psalms, and no impassioned apostle (including the Boanerges brothers)—not even all of them combined—mentioned hell more frequently or described it in more terrifying terms than Jesus.Bell’s Inferno
And the hell Jesus spoke of was not merely some earthly ordeal, some sour state of mind, or some temporary purgatorial prison. Jesus described hell as a “place of torment” in the afterlife (Luke 16:28)—a place of “unquenchable fire” (Mark 9:43), “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (v. 48). It is a “place [where] there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30)—a place of “eternal punishment” (v. 46).
Rob Bell is clearly unhappy with Jesus’ teaching about hell. . .
Al-Qaeda background report from Global Terrorism Database
"Al-Qa’ida’s operations were especially deadly even in comparison to other notorious, long term terrorist organizations:
ETA, the Basque nationalist terrorist group in Spain, has been responsible for approximately 820 deaths from 1972 to 2008.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) was responsible for 1829 fatalities dating back to 1970—less than half of the number of people killed by al-Qa’ida.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has been responsible for 4,835 terrorism fatalities in its history. While FARC has imposed this bloodshed over the course of more than 30 years, Al-Qa’ida’s 4,299 deaths were concentrated in just a 10-year period.
Since 1998, there have been 408 incidents of mass-casualty terrorism—single events in which more than 25 people were killed. Al-Qa’ida was responsible for 16 mass-casualty terrorism attacks—more than any other group during this same period.
Al-Qa’ida has also become a crucial “node” of a network of deadly terrorist organizations—some created in the hopes of replicating al-Qa’ida, others aligning with al-Qa’ida for ideological or practical reasons. Research by Victor Asal and R. Karl Rethemeyer at the University of Albany (SUNY) has identified 33 different terrorist organizations with direct links and alliances to al-Qa’ida."
START background report, May 2011
ETA, the Basque nationalist terrorist group in Spain, has been responsible for approximately 820 deaths from 1972 to 2008.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) was responsible for 1829 fatalities dating back to 1970—less than half of the number of people killed by al-Qa’ida.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has been responsible for 4,835 terrorism fatalities in its history. While FARC has imposed this bloodshed over the course of more than 30 years, Al-Qa’ida’s 4,299 deaths were concentrated in just a 10-year period.
Since 1998, there have been 408 incidents of mass-casualty terrorism—single events in which more than 25 people were killed. Al-Qa’ida was responsible for 16 mass-casualty terrorism attacks—more than any other group during this same period.
Al-Qa’ida has also become a crucial “node” of a network of deadly terrorist organizations—some created in the hopes of replicating al-Qa’ida, others aligning with al-Qa’ida for ideological or practical reasons. Research by Victor Asal and R. Karl Rethemeyer at the University of Albany (SUNY) has identified 33 different terrorist organizations with direct links and alliances to al-Qa’ida."
START background report, May 2011
Sister Toldjah--always worth a read
Like many conservatives, she started out as a starry-eyed, poorly informed Democrat. Now a somewhat sassy, always well-researched blogger on the right. . . Sister Toldjah
I was a liberal much longer than she was (and am much older since she's about the age of my children). Mainly, I just wasn't paying attention. Well, that's just an excuse. I never looked beyond my liberal sources, plus I'd spent my working life in a cocoon--the university campus. But it was Clinton's second term where the worm turned and grew a brain and spine, but it wasn't until the primary of 2000 that I actually changed registration.
Being a Republican holds many frustrations, particularly their lack of cohesiveness and in-fighting. Foot-shooting and back-stabbing seem to be common sports. Strange, unelectable candidates (Newt, Trump, etc.) would be next on my list. Sex scandals galore while preaching nonsense about personal responsibility would be a third aggrevation. But they haven't created any internment camps for minorities, or created Jim Crow laws, or kept the lower classes down and out through perpetual poverty pimping, or played a recession into a decade long depression, to name just a few.
Being a native North Carolinian, you’d think that by nature I’d have always been a conservative. Well, I haven’t been. I was a liberal from age 17 to right around the time I was 22. I got most of my info from the news outlets, rather than reading anymore in depth into the issues than that, which I think is one of the reasons I would have found myself voting for Mike Dukakis in 1988 – but I was 2 months shy of being able to vote that election year. Hadn’t quite hit my 18th birthday. Not to turn this into a liberal bias piece, but at that time when every single ‘mainstream’ source out there was liberally biased, how could I not have been a liberal? I complain a lot about liberal bias in the media for that very reason: because I know how influential it can be to those who don’t research the issues much outside of what they hear in the media. Mind you, I’m not saying that liberals aren’t grounded in their beliefs, just saying that some do form their political beliefs based on what they see in the mainstream media and I was one of those people.Sister Toldjah
The first vote I cast for president was for Bill Clinton in 1992. I even worked with the Democratic party in ’92 to help get him elected. Just a few days before his defeat of President G.H.W. Bush, Clinton swung into town and I worked that event, helping to get it set up. It was a cold November evening, and because I’d been there to help set up all day, I had a front row spot as he entered and exited the event, which was held outdoors at an uptown park. I couldn’t have been more excited – Clinton did that to people. He had a lot of charm, being a southerner, and he was “every man” to everyone, which is a big reason why he got elected. My parents were furious with me for voting for him! In any event, I made the switch to being a Republican back around 1994-1995. The change had been happening for several months – no one pushed me into it, it was a choice I gladly made. No one thing or person can be credited with helping me change – it was just a lot of things. There was a guy in college who really helped me see the light, though, who deserves some credit. Simply put, I just realized over time that I had more in common with Republicans than Democrats.
I was a liberal much longer than she was (and am much older since she's about the age of my children). Mainly, I just wasn't paying attention. Well, that's just an excuse. I never looked beyond my liberal sources, plus I'd spent my working life in a cocoon--the university campus. But it was Clinton's second term where the worm turned and grew a brain and spine, but it wasn't until the primary of 2000 that I actually changed registration.
Being a Republican holds many frustrations, particularly their lack of cohesiveness and in-fighting. Foot-shooting and back-stabbing seem to be common sports. Strange, unelectable candidates (Newt, Trump, etc.) would be next on my list. Sex scandals galore while preaching nonsense about personal responsibility would be a third aggrevation. But they haven't created any internment camps for minorities, or created Jim Crow laws, or kept the lower classes down and out through perpetual poverty pimping, or played a recession into a decade long depression, to name just a few.
Monday, May 02, 2011
Liberals, or maybe just pea brains, mocking Trig Palin
These liberal pea brains are mocking other liberal low lifes mocking Trig Palin. Truly disgusting slugs. Maybe we need a license to post on the internet? These people are dangerous to their cause.
Fat, fat goes away
but comes back elsewhere to play. The body grows back new fat cells.
When liposuctioned from the thighs, fat doesn't return. . . to that location, but does come back to the abdomen and arms.
Fat Redistribution Following Suction Lipectomy: Defense of Body Fat and Patterns of Restoration
Here's the story in NYT-speak.
When liposuctioned from the thighs, fat doesn't return. . . to that location, but does come back to the abdomen and arms.
Fat Redistribution Following Suction Lipectomy: Defense of Body Fat and Patterns of Restoration
Here's the story in NYT-speak.
A Race-And-Economics --Sowell on Williams
"In recent times, we have gotten so used to young blacks having sky-high unemployment rates that it will be a shock to many readers of Williams' "Race and Economics" to discover that the unemployment rate of young blacks was once only a fraction of what it has been in recent decades. And, in earlier times, it was not very different from the unemployment rate of young whites."
A Race-And-Economics Eye-Opener - Investors.com
A Race-And-Economics Eye-Opener - Investors.com
The trials of Lutheranism
We joined Upper Arlington Lutheran Church on Palm Sunday 1976--35 years ago, and 26 years after my baptism on Palm Sunday 1950. At that time its synod was the American Lutheran Church, but polity meant little to us. (For us it was confirmation. Those who are already Lutheran join by letter of transfer.) At the journal First Things there is a good summary (and book review) of what has been happening the last 40 years in both Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA, created by a merger of the Lutheran Church in America and American Lutheran Church in 1988).
Article | First Things
And here's a comment by a reader which summarizes what was going on at the congregational level. We've lost members at UALC, but our vote was about 99% to leave. The devastation would have been disastrous if it had been 80-20 or 70-30. Many congregations were never given an opportunity to vote--it's very risky for a pastor to not be "rostered" especially if he's still paying off his college loans, because where will his next job come from? New synods take awhile to grow and start calling pastors.
Article | First Things
And here's a comment by a reader which summarizes what was going on at the congregational level. We've lost members at UALC, but our vote was about 99% to leave. The devastation would have been disastrous if it had been 80-20 or 70-30. Many congregations were never given an opportunity to vote--it's very risky for a pastor to not be "rostered" especially if he's still paying off his college loans, because where will his next job come from? New synods take awhile to grow and start calling pastors.
It took 20 years but the activists in the ELCA finally got their wish. By a slight margin two summers ago in Minneapolis they allowed for the installation of actively homosexual clergy, even though in many states they are not allowed to be married.One commenter on this entry mentioned he'd given up on the Lutherans and had become a Roman Catholic. Yes, there is a strong desire for leadership, especially for those who love tradition, liturgy and theology. However, now that he's there, he'll probably find out that all that Martin Luther objected to is still in place--the priesthood of ordained clergy over the priesthood of all believers, the insertion of church tradition between the believer and God as mediator instead of Christ as the mediator, veneration (worship) of saints, indulgences, a works not grace operation, and on and on.
Many of us thought that with a change of that importance they should have called for a two-thirds majority, of course that is the requirement that they required of our congregation to leave the ELCA. If that would have been the only problem.
We were very concerned about their latest positions on abortion as well as statements that are clearly anti-Israel. Furthermore, we have no logical basis from which to exclude either members or clergy who wish to practice polygamy or take under-age brides. The structure of the ELCA from the first moment was too weak, there was not enough restraining power in the Bishops to slow down precipitous actions. The large group of lay persons and clergy were going about their business trying to bring Christ to the world. But a detemined minority were determined to gain power whatever the cost.
We were in trouble no matter what the decision. Our congregation voted 80%/20% to leave the ELCA, and many of that 20% have left. We would have had many more losses had the vote been reversed, as many would have left for a more traditional church, if any be left. We have joined the LCMC, for the moment along with hundreds of other former ELCA churches. I feel adrift, like someone has just pulled some really sneaky, nasty trick on me and my fellow church members. All this time we thought we were trying to make our church a joyful and welcoming place where folks could hear about Jesus and find some comfort from the troubles of the world. I could use some comforting right now.
Did You Know--women and pornography addiction
“The more pornography women use, the more likely they are to be victims of non-consensual sex,” said Mary Anne Layden, professor of sociology and women’s studies at Wheelock College in Boston. “The earlier the male starts using pornography, the more likely they are to be the perpetrators of non-consensual sex.”
More women lured to pornography addiction - Washington Times
More women lured to pornography addiction - Washington Times
Sunday, May 01, 2011
May 1--Remember those who died
From Ilya Somin at The Volokh Conspiracy
The labor unions in the U.S. are really ratching up their violence and lies; we have a socialist/crony capitalist in the White House; we have a president who is cozy with Islamist extremists and then when he encourages their subjects to rebel, abandons them. It's playbook communism.
May Day began as a holiday for socialists and labor union activists, not just communists. But over time, the date was taken over by the Soviet Union and other communist regimes and used as a propaganda tool to prop up their regimes. I suggest that we instead use it as a day to commemorate those regimes’ millions of victims. The authoritative Black Book of Communism estimates the total at 80 to 100 million dead, greater than that caused by all other twentieth century tyrannies combined. We appropriately have a Holocaust Memorial Day. It is equally appropriate to commemorate the victims of the twentieth century’s other great totalitarian tyranny. And May Day is the most fitting day to do so. I suggest that May Day be turned into Victims of Communism Day....Somin wrote that on May 1, 2007, and here's today's entry.
The labor unions in the U.S. are really ratching up their violence and lies; we have a socialist/crony capitalist in the White House; we have a president who is cozy with Islamist extremists and then when he encourages their subjects to rebel, abandons them. It's playbook communism.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Did You Know--General Motors
"There are some 13,000 porn films made in the United States generating near $100 billion per year. General Motors owns DirectTV, which distributes over 40 million streams of porn into American homes every month. AT&T and GM rake in approximately 80 percent of all porn dollars."
Read more: http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/charlie-sheen-or-the-empire-of1/page-2/#ixzz1L2nL23Gl
And now through the bail out, we the people own General Motors. The payback then, will be through porn profits?
Read more: http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/charlie-sheen-or-the-empire-of1/page-2/#ixzz1L2nL23Gl
And now through the bail out, we the people own General Motors. The payback then, will be through porn profits?
Working up a tax storm in Illinois -- George F. Will
Illinois, Obama's home, continues to punish its residents.
Working up a tax storm in Illinois - The Washington Post
A study by the Illinois Policy Institute, a market-oriented think tank, concludes that between 1991 and 2009, Illinois lost more than 1.2 million residents — more than one every 10 minutes — to other states. Between 1995 and 2007, the total net income leaving Illinois was $23.5 billion. The five states receiving most refugees from Illinois were Florida, Indiana, Wisconsin, Arizona and Texas. Two are Illinois’ neighbors, three have warm weather, two — Florida and Texas — have no income tax. In January, a lame-duck session of Illinois’ legislature — including 18 Democrats who were defeated in November — raised the personal income tax 67 percent and the corporate tax almost 50 percent. This and the increase — from 3 percent to 5 percent — in the tax on small businesses make Illinois, as the Wall Street Journal says, “one of the most expensive places in the world to conduct business.”
Working up a tax storm in Illinois - The Washington Post
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Did You Know--OAA
27 states had old age programs before the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935. They were known as OAA, Old Age Assistance. However, they were restricted to the poor and were temporary which SS isn't. Working Paper, Cohen
Fake Statue of Liberty stamp is sort of a symbol of our problems
We always end up with one and two cent stamps to add to the old stamps after the price increase, so this time at the post office I bought "forever" stamps commemorating the Civil War, 1861.
I'm glad I didn't buy the fake Lady Liberty stamps. The Post Office used an image of the face of a half size replica of the Statue of Libery of resin and styrofoam in Las Vegas instead of the real Statue of Liberty. Apparently its a stock Getty photo, and no one noticed it until 3 billion were printed.
Somehow, it sort of makes me think of other things going on in this country.
I'm glad I didn't buy the fake Lady Liberty stamps. The Post Office used an image of the face of a half size replica of the Statue of Libery of resin and styrofoam in Las Vegas instead of the real Statue of Liberty. Apparently its a stock Getty photo, and no one noticed it until 3 billion were printed.
Somehow, it sort of makes me think of other things going on in this country.
Project Home Again
Here's a man who used his wealth for good before Obama could destroy it. Project Home Again is a nonprofit, housing development organization created by The Leonard and Louise Riggio Foundation shortly after Hurricane Katrina to build high-quality, energy-efficient homes for low and moderate-income NOLAns. The city and federal government bogged down in various plans to make it smaller, greener, more chocolate, more market friendly--and more bound up in red tape. Meanwhile, Riggio, founder of Barnes & Noble, just rolled up his sleeves. Project Home should have 100 houses by the end of summer.
Project Home Again
Project Home Again
The Fed, Fannie and Fred
"[Tim Geithner, Ben Bernanke and Barney Frank] are calling to raise the debt ceiling. This will assist them with perpetuating the biggest legal government scam in history [financial institution bailouts of over $12 trillion]. Meanwhile, responsible middle class Americans are barely making it, as their investments are devalued and government expands, finding more ways to collect money from them to support its Ponzi scheme.
This is not capitalism gone amuck, as Barney Frank claims. The government bailing out private banks is not capitalism but quasi-socialism. There is a simple solution to fix this: the banks must be held accountable. There should be a way to sue the banks that originate the irresponsible investments and loans, even if they transfer their risky ventures to other banks. Nor should they be bailed out when they fail. For every bank that fails, another one that is more financially responsible is ready to step up and take its place. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are quasi-governmental lending agencies, so suing them would only hurt the taxpayers. They were responsible for the highest rates of foreclosures. They have grossly failed, and represent government at its worst, so the only solution is to eliminate them." Rachel Alexander
The Biggest Legalized Theft of Middle Class American Wealth - Page 1 - Rachel Alexander - Townhall Conservative
This is not capitalism gone amuck, as Barney Frank claims. The government bailing out private banks is not capitalism but quasi-socialism. There is a simple solution to fix this: the banks must be held accountable. There should be a way to sue the banks that originate the irresponsible investments and loans, even if they transfer their risky ventures to other banks. Nor should they be bailed out when they fail. For every bank that fails, another one that is more financially responsible is ready to step up and take its place. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are quasi-governmental lending agencies, so suing them would only hurt the taxpayers. They were responsible for the highest rates of foreclosures. They have grossly failed, and represent government at its worst, so the only solution is to eliminate them." Rachel Alexander
The Biggest Legalized Theft of Middle Class American Wealth - Page 1 - Rachel Alexander - Townhall Conservative
Obama's Millionaire Obsession
President Obama's always been wealthier than we are, even in childhood, and unlike us probably didn't begin in the bottom quintile as a young man, having attended pricy private schools and colleges and then marrying a woman of some means and social connections from Chicago. However, he loves to play the wealth envy card, doesn't he?
Henninger: Obama's Millionaire Obsession - WSJ.com
Conservative Christians have always given more generously than liberal Christians who prefer to take hand outs from local, state and federal governments, then pass it on to the poor in various "good works." However, even the wealthy give more than their "fair share."
With less than 19 months left before the next presidential election, Barack Obama has kicked off his campaign, doing coast-to-coast "town hall" meetings last week. At the top of President Obama's re-election strategy is what appears to be a personal jihad against America's "millionaires and billionaires," many of whom, he seems to think, are—there's no other word for it—un-American. So naturally the place he picked to pitch an assault on the wealthy was the Silicon Valley headquarters of Facebook, a place filled with millionaires and billionaires.Since he never could acquire wealth on his own efforts, or was never allowed to given his parents' and grandparents' socialist beliefs, he now has to try to strip and demean others who have achieved.
Henninger: Obama's Millionaire Obsession - WSJ.com
Conservative Christians have always given more generously than liberal Christians who prefer to take hand outs from local, state and federal governments, then pass it on to the poor in various "good works." However, even the wealthy give more than their "fair share."
It is an eternal question whether the deductibility of such spending means the charitable activity by these people is bogus and driven only by self-regard. One man's answer: Eliminate the charitable deduction, drop—or flatten—the top tax rate and total giving will rise, not fall. Giving is what Americans do, at all income levels.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Did You Know--driver's license and registration
63 percent of cited/stopped drivers in Arizona have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that 63 percent, 97 percent are illegal aliens. From Secondhand Soapbox, via Homeland Security and FBI reports.
I don't know how that compares to Ohio, where we have so many acceptable documents for the BMV, including an Offenders Release Card or a credit card, that really, you just have no excuse not to have a driver's license!
I don't know how that compares to Ohio, where we have so many acceptable documents for the BMV, including an Offenders Release Card or a credit card, that really, you just have no excuse not to have a driver's license!
Slavery in Brazil
This morning on Catholic radio I was listening to a report about slavery in Brazil. Workers are lured by promises of jobs, but after they arrive in remote agricultural areas thousands of miles from home and family, they are told they have to pay off their transportation debt.
It occurred to me that before our President offered their President Dilma Rousseff (a Marxist in her youth, and daughter of a Bulgarian Communist) money for off shore, deep ocean drilling for oil and gas (which we then will purchase from them) he should have inquired about this problem. When I checked it on the internet, our own State Department which has an anti-trafficking section reported both sex slavery of women, boys and girls as well as labor slavery:
It occurred to me that before our President offered their President Dilma Rousseff (a Marxist in her youth, and daughter of a Bulgarian Communist) money for off shore, deep ocean drilling for oil and gas (which we then will purchase from them) he should have inquired about this problem. When I checked it on the internet, our own State Department which has an anti-trafficking section reported both sex slavery of women, boys and girls as well as labor slavery:
Brazil is a source country for men, women, girls, and boys trafficked within the country and transnationally for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation, as well as a source country for men and boys trafficked internally for forced labor. The Brazilian Federal Police estimate that 250,000 to 400,000 children are exploited in domestic prostitution, in resort and tourist areas, along highways, and in Amazonian mining brothels. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009In his speech to the Brazilian people on March 20, 2011, he praised their diversity, the beauty of their country and our similar backgrounds, but failed to note that slavery hasn't ended in Brazil since it is documented both by the U.S. State Department and the Roman Catholic Church, two of the most powerful organizations in the world.
When you think about it, the journeys of the United States of America and Brazil began in similar ways. Our lands are rich with God’s creation, home to ancient and indigenous peoples. From overseas, the Americas were discovered by men who sought a New World, and settled by pioneers who pushed westward, across vast frontiers. We became colonies claimed by distant crowns, but soon declared our independence. We then welcomed waves of immigrants to our shores, and eventually after a long struggle, we cleansed the stain of slavery from our land. TranscriptSo even if we ignore the idiocy and hypocrisy of sending our industry south to Brazil and the fact that if there is an accident similar to the one he dithered about in May, we still are doing business with a slave holding country with a Marxist president!
Record rainfall this April
Or not. According to the Dispatch, Columbus will need about an inch more rain in the coming week to break the record, 7.08 inches, which was set when Grover Cleveland was beginning his second term in the White House in 1893. But it's the wettest since we've lived in our condo (bought in 2001), because we've discovered a spring under the street in front of our house which never bothered us before. Even on dry days, we drive on wet pavement.
Our condo complex is surrounded on 3 sides (if an oval has a side) by a creek. We've just had hardwood floors installed on our lower level -- so I hope this isn't the first year since 1977 that the creek rises to meet the houses. Flooding urban creeks often happen because thing clog up the drains further down stream--like furniture, lawn clippings, logs, etc. I've seen it happen even in areas that aren't near open water.
It was a lot of work, and very expensive. Rain, rain, go away.
Our condo complex is surrounded on 3 sides (if an oval has a side) by a creek. We've just had hardwood floors installed on our lower level -- so I hope this isn't the first year since 1977 that the creek rises to meet the houses. Flooding urban creeks often happen because thing clog up the drains further down stream--like furniture, lawn clippings, logs, etc. I've seen it happen even in areas that aren't near open water.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Did You Know--School Uniforms
18% of public schools require uniforms and 55% have an enforced strict dress code.
Sustainability and Google
Sustainability, the word -- About 46,000,000 results in Google until you click to page 11 then it changes to 59,500,000 results, 100 more than 10 minutes ago! Websites include EPA, non-profits, corporations, associations of professionals like architects, engineers and builders, schools, universities, blogs, state and city governments (Cleveland has an office of sustainability), entertainers, auditors (Deloitte), conference organizers and just anyone with his hand out for government money or a fast buck. Never as a word meant so much to so many, but basically means wealth transfer. It's the "greenwashing" of America. And that is "green" as in money and class envy, and green as in environmentalism. If the purpose is political, it is to kill capitalism; if it's corporate, it's to grow capitalism; and if it's personal, it's spiritual.
And did you know, sustainability is displacing diversity as the campus craze du jour?
And did you know, sustainability is displacing diversity as the campus craze du jour?
Diversity authorizes double standards in admissions and hiring, breeds a campus culture of hypocrisy, mismatches students to educational opportunities, fosters ethnic resentments, elevates group identity over individual achievement, and trivializes the curriculum. Of course, those punishments were something that had to be accepted in the spirit of atoning for the original sin of racism.
But for its part, sustainability has the logic of a stampede. We all must run in the same direction for fear of some rumored and largely invisible threat. The real threat is the stampede itself. Sustainability numbers among its advocates some scrupulous scientists and quite a few sober facilities managers who simply want to trim utility bills. But in the main, sustainability is the triumph of hypothesis over evidence. Peter Wood, Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct. 3, 2010
Bolivia : Law of the Rights of Mother Earth
Or you could call it, "Let's pass more laws against capitalism and all first world countries." Ley de Derechos de La Madre Tierra, Law of the Rights of Mother Earth.
Bolivia enshrines natural world's rights with equal status for Mother Earth | Environment | The Guardian
Bolivia is set to pass the world's first laws granting all nature equal rights to humans. The Law of Mother Earth, now agreed by politicians and grassroots social groups, redefines the country's rich mineral deposits as "blessings" and is expected to lead to radical new conservation and social measures to reduce pollution and control industry.
The country, which has been pilloried by the US and Britain in the UN climate talks for demanding steep carbon emission cuts, will establish 11 new rights for nature. They include: the right to life and to exist; the right to continue vital cycles and processes free from human alteration; the right to pure water and clean air; the right to balance; the right not to be polluted; and the right to not have cellular structure modified or genetically altered
Bolivia enshrines natural world's rights with equal status for Mother Earth | Environment | The Guardian
Lawyer Quits Firm in Rift Over DOMA
It's what lawyers do--unless the gay and lesbian lobby doesn't like it. Terrorists, serial killers, rapists, scammers, child molesters, wife beaters--they all get their day in court with lawyers defending them who may intensely dislike them. But apparently not the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which is federal law and which Obama (another campaign promise broken) has decided shouldn't be.
Lawyer Quits Firm in Rift Over Marriage Act - WSJ.com
Paul Clement, who worked for more than three years as U.S. solicitor general under President George W. Bush, said he was leaving the Washington, D.C., office of King & Spalding LLP because he disagreed with the firm's decision to no longer represent a group of House lawmakers hoping to fend off a constitutional challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act. . .
Big law firms often handle politically sensitive matters but rarely face public criticism for it. House Democrats, gay and lesbian organizations and other advocacy groups attacked the firm for agreeing to defend the law.
Lawyer Quits Firm in Rift Over Marriage Act - WSJ.com
Monday, April 25, 2011
Greatest play in baseball--April 25, 1976
Rick Monday, Chicago Cubs outfielder, saves the flag from protestors attempting to burn it 35 years ago.
Did You Know--how 13 million people became unhealthy
When the blood pressure threshold that established the diagnosis of hypertension was lowered from 160 to 140 mm Hg systolic and from 100 to 90 mm Hg diastolic, 13 million previously healthy persons were transformed into patients requiring medication. JAMA, April 6, 2011, review of "Overdiagnosed."
The Tool for Agenda 21 (global government)
"But how can they possibly bring about the global political, economic, social and religious transformation they desire? The tool employed must be so potent and pervasive that it reaches into every area of society, from local community groups to sovereign governments and multinational corporations. It must have the power to enforce binding international agreements, exert stringent controls over human activities and yet still be acceptable to the general population. It must become so entrenched in legislation and business practice that its necessity is barely questioned.
Such a tool exists. They have been carefully shaping and nurturing its progress for decades. It is known as the doctrine of Sustainable Development. We are all aware of need to address environmental problems such as water and air pollution, and dwindling natural resources, but Sustainable Development is exerting draconian controls and influence far beyond those required for effective environmental management."
The Green Agenda - Sustainable Development
Lest you think this is a right wing conspiracy theory, it isn't. All of their material with mission statement, goals, guidelines, etc. have been published--some go back as far as the 70s, but it really got rolling in 1992. They are on-line, and they aren't shy about their plans. Local mayors, boards of education and pastors of churches (believing for some reason this is what God intended when he put Adam in charge) are signing on to diminish the sovereignty of the United States, so it isn't just Washington DC. You aren't being consulted at any level.
"The task of mobilizing and technically supporting Local Agenda 21 planning in these communities has been led by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and national associations of local government. Now, with the further support of the International Development Research Centre and the United Nations Environment Programme, ICLEI is able to present the first worldwide documentation of Local Agenda 21 planning approaches, methods, and tools in this Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide."
Such a tool exists. They have been carefully shaping and nurturing its progress for decades. It is known as the doctrine of Sustainable Development. We are all aware of need to address environmental problems such as water and air pollution, and dwindling natural resources, but Sustainable Development is exerting draconian controls and influence far beyond those required for effective environmental management."
The Green Agenda - Sustainable Development
Lest you think this is a right wing conspiracy theory, it isn't. All of their material with mission statement, goals, guidelines, etc. have been published--some go back as far as the 70s, but it really got rolling in 1992. They are on-line, and they aren't shy about their plans. Local mayors, boards of education and pastors of churches (believing for some reason this is what God intended when he put Adam in charge) are signing on to diminish the sovereignty of the United States, so it isn't just Washington DC. You aren't being consulted at any level.
"The task of mobilizing and technically supporting Local Agenda 21 planning in these communities has been led by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and national associations of local government. Now, with the further support of the International Development Research Centre and the United Nations Environment Programme, ICLEI is able to present the first worldwide documentation of Local Agenda 21 planning approaches, methods, and tools in this Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide."
The ubiquitous plastic water bottle
Today I was browsing through some events at CUNY and came across a very boring (only watched a few minutes) panel discussing. . . well, something. . . "Malcolm Gladwell, Jerilyn Perine and Robert Hammond join Graduate Center's John Mollenkopf to discuss NYC's High Line and its impact on urban innovation." What was really odd, besides the chairs and low table which appeared to be uncomfortable no matter the size and weight of the speakers, was that there were 7 bottles of water for 4 speakers. Environmentally insensitive, don't you think?
What I was really looking for was the tax funding for CUNY (couldn't find it). How much of the $4,000+ tuition and fees comes from the tax payers of NY and how much from the rest of us (through federal grants, loans, etc. both for students and buildings). How many tax dollars go to support that Left Forum (a gathering of Communists and Socialists formerly titled Socialist Scholars Conference) being sponsored by the Department of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue,New York, NY 10016.
The topics of Left Forum this year include federal green jobs programs and communist goals; lots of anti-capitalism panels; united left front against the right (that will include tea party groups); links with humanist groups; using art and theater for protest projects; U.S. leftists in Africa; using anarchy to move the cause along; state terrorism in Gaza (I assume they mean Israel); building a left movement in higher education (apparently they haven't checked recently--this has been achieved); lots of topics on race (and being anti-white), islamophobia, etc. Nothing on the oppression of women or homophobia under Sharia law that I noticed.
I also learned by reading this panel promotion that using the word "gimpy" or "gimp" is perfectly OK when referring to the physically disabled--although not if you are able-bodied. I suppose it falls into that "nappy headed" hole whereby black rap groups can use it, but not white talking heads.
What I was really looking for was the tax funding for CUNY (couldn't find it). How much of the $4,000+ tuition and fees comes from the tax payers of NY and how much from the rest of us (through federal grants, loans, etc. both for students and buildings). How many tax dollars go to support that Left Forum (a gathering of Communists and Socialists formerly titled Socialist Scholars Conference) being sponsored by the Department of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue,New York, NY 10016.
The topics of Left Forum this year include federal green jobs programs and communist goals; lots of anti-capitalism panels; united left front against the right (that will include tea party groups); links with humanist groups; using art and theater for protest projects; U.S. leftists in Africa; using anarchy to move the cause along; state terrorism in Gaza (I assume they mean Israel); building a left movement in higher education (apparently they haven't checked recently--this has been achieved); lots of topics on race (and being anti-white), islamophobia, etc. Nothing on the oppression of women or homophobia under Sharia law that I noticed.
I also learned by reading this panel promotion that using the word "gimpy" or "gimp" is perfectly OK when referring to the physically disabled--although not if you are able-bodied. I suppose it falls into that "nappy headed" hole whereby black rap groups can use it, but not white talking heads.
Peter Mansoor to speak at OSU Thompson Library on Wednesday
This might be worth a stroll across campus to hear. (I like to park at the veterinary campus and avoid the crowd. I can walk faster than I can find a parking spot on main campus.)
The Iraq War: Opportunities Missed, Lessons Learned, and the Way Ahead" will be presented by Peter Mansoor, Colonel, U.S. Army (retired), and the General Raymond E. Mason, Jr. Chair of Military History at Ohio State, from 4-5:30 p.m. Wednesday (4/27) in 165 Thompson Library.
If he didn't support going into Iraq in 2003-04, imagine how our military leaders must feel about going into Libya led by a president who campaigned on getting us out of war!
In my opinion, the United States has not been on a "winning" team since WWII--we need to stop going in to break things and kill people if victory, which always means fewer deaths of civilians and military alike, isn't the goal. We are not going to "free" the middle east from bad government, military dictatorships, and fundamentalist Islamic kooks. Let the Libyans free themselves, Senator McCain.
The Iraq War: Opportunities Missed, Lessons Learned, and the Way Ahead" will be presented by Peter Mansoor, Colonel, U.S. Army (retired), and the General Raymond E. Mason, Jr. Chair of Military History at Ohio State, from 4-5:30 p.m. Wednesday (4/27) in 165 Thompson Library.
When Gen. Petraeus was appointed commander of U.S. forces in Iraq in January 2007, he tapped Col. Mansoor to be his executive officer. Over the course of the next 15 months in Iraq, Col. Mansoor helped orchestrate the surge of 30,000 additional U.S. troops into Baghdad and the implementation of a new U.S. counterinsurgency strategy that was controversial because it called for an increase in troop numbers, saw the U.S. military cut deals with one-time insurgents and prioritized protecting the local population even though it meant a short-term increase in U.S. casualty numbers. The moves are credited in many circles with reining in the violence.From August 2010 WSJ article
In late 2008, Washington and Baghdad inked a deal to withdraw U.S. troops by the end of 2011. U.S. President Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to end the war, and shortly after coming into office, he set the Aug. 31, 2010, deadline to bring home all combat troops, leaving 50,000 trainers and support staff in their wake.
The speed of the recent combat wind-down didn't sit well with many who invested years in Iraq, including Col. Mansoor.
"I'm not enamored with President Obama's decision to pull our combat forces out before they had to go, which isn't until the end of next year," he says. "But I don't feel bad about the way things are there now. I think that Iraqi politicians will find a way to move the ball down the field. But in their usual Iraqi method, they will do so at the 11th hour and beyond, and probably at the moment when everyone thinks all is lost."
If he didn't support going into Iraq in 2003-04, imagine how our military leaders must feel about going into Libya led by a president who campaigned on getting us out of war!
In my opinion, the United States has not been on a "winning" team since WWII--we need to stop going in to break things and kill people if victory, which always means fewer deaths of civilians and military alike, isn't the goal. We are not going to "free" the middle east from bad government, military dictatorships, and fundamentalist Islamic kooks. Let the Libyans free themselves, Senator McCain.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Did You Know--Light Rail economics
Instead of pouring money into low return light rail, the government could simply purchase cars for the light rail riders without them, still have enough money left over to provide all the other riders with substantial credits to use for bus service or other subsidized mass transportation options. Political Calculation
Resurrection Sunday Dance in Budapest Hungary, 2010
"look to the sky but not for Airforce One. . ." How true! Hungary, a former Communist country, is the center of revival in Europe. Faith Church started as a house church in 1979--now has 50,000+ members with 250 branches.
This is danced all over the world. Here's a look at a training session in Ashville, NC for 2011 (today's dance). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvfzaSYGkHs and one in Honduras http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBBb2XimeJM&NR=1
Ready for Easter Dinner
Everything's ready--but first we'll go to the 11 a.m. traditional service at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church on Lytham Road in Upper Arlington. Usually, there are 9 services in 3 locations, but I think today there are 12. We've had some wonderful services this Lenten season and Holy Week, two particularly stick in my mind: Pastor Reuben Mellem's (retired Lutheran pastor) sermon on April 14, and Pastor David Mann's (our missionary in Haiti) on Good Friday evening. I'll probably write about them at my Church of the Acronym blog--it's unusual for me to remember a sermon 5 minutes out the door, but these were definitely keepers.
Here's the menu: Honey Baked Ham (couldn't lift it out of the frig to put it in the photo; potato salad, green salad (romaine, tomatoes, peas, olives, yellow peppers, cukes), asparagus, bakery sandwich buns, and mixed fruit. DeCaf coffee. For dessert, we're having fresh strawberries on sugar free ice cream, and sugar free lemon cake (yes, we have diabetics watching such things). Mustard, mayo, butter, etc. are on the sidelines ready to do battle.
Years ago I bought a pastel colored table cloth, but this seems to be the only time I use it. I didn't receive china for wedding gifts (hadn't picked a pattern), but during the first decade of our marriage, my mother bought most of this, Syracuse Countess. The center piece are items from my son-in-law's mother, who either collected or created the eggs.
My husband ushered at the 8:15 service. He said there were about 100 at the 7 a.m. service, and maybe 150 at the 8:15. The only people dressed up, he observed, were the children, although he did see one woman with a hat. My outfit is about 12 years old--my mix and match navy, light blue and beige--but I'm a hold out for skirts on Sunday. It's about the only time I wear one.
Years ago I bought a pastel colored table cloth, but this seems to be the only time I use it. I didn't receive china for wedding gifts (hadn't picked a pattern), but during the first decade of our marriage, my mother bought most of this, Syracuse Countess. The center piece are items from my son-in-law's mother, who either collected or created the eggs.
My husband ushered at the 8:15 service. He said there were about 100 at the 7 a.m. service, and maybe 150 at the 8:15. The only people dressed up, he observed, were the children, although he did see one woman with a hat. My outfit is about 12 years old--my mix and match navy, light blue and beige--but I'm a hold out for skirts on Sunday. It's about the only time I wear one.
Guantanamo Bay: How the White House lost the fight to close it
Verbs and nouns matter. So do biases. While the press wrote or implied, "Bush lied (about everything)," when it comes to Obama, it's a much more delicate wrap up of his campaign promise to close Guantanamo, the reason so many moderates voted for him (other than a pretty face and empty rhetoric). According to WaPo, on that promise he just made a pragmatic decision, a miscalculation, his plans were undermined, there was confusion, even timidity and passivity that reflects his "style." Oh crap. The man lied to get in office. About everything. He didn't even write his own autobiography which created the empty suit. The only things he has followed through on, some within days of taking office, are funding embryonic stem cell research, removing religious symbols in public events even if it's a church's building, redistributing wealth from the upper class to the middle class, and weakening our position in the Middle East. Although that last one he's apparently had second thoughts about with decisions to bomb Libya.
Shame, shame on the Washington Post writers Peter Finn and Anne E. Kornblut. Not that I expected anything different, but shame is the only word to describe WaPo's fall from being a watchdog to being a lapdog.
Guantanamo Bay: How the White House lost the fight to close it - The Washington Post
Shame, shame on the Washington Post writers Peter Finn and Anne E. Kornblut. Not that I expected anything different, but shame is the only word to describe WaPo's fall from being a watchdog to being a lapdog.
Guantanamo Bay: How the White House lost the fight to close it - The Washington Post
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Did You Know--Hollywood films share the Gospel
One such film is Warner Brothers' 1979 film "Jesus." Based on the Gospel of St. Luke, the film, funded in part by money raised by Campus Crusade for Christ founder Bill Bright, did poorly at the box office. But in 1981, Campus Crusade began translating it for use in the mission field. Known as "The Jesus Film," the movie has now been translated into more than 1,100 languages. Seen by literally billions of people around the world, it is arguably the most watched film ever—with many millions of viewers professing faith in Jesus Christ as a result. It is still being shown world-wide today. John A. Murray, WSJ, April 22, 2011.
Why start a magazine?
My hobby bloggy is called In the beginning. It's about the premiere, first issue, and Volume One issues of magazines, journals and serials that I own. One of the things I do when I decide to write about one of them is look at the "From the publisher," or "From the Editor" letter, usually at the beginning. It's a lot of work and money to start a magazine; so why do it? Today I was packing them into a box and looked at AEI Foreign Policy and Defense Review. After looking it up (v.1, n.1 was 1979 when Jimmy Carter was president), I see it actually had an earlier existence as AEI Defense Review (1977-1978). This journal ended in 1986. Here's what William Baroody, Jr., the publisher said 42 years ago:
President Ronald Reagan said of AEI in 1988: "The American Enterprise Institute stands at the center of a revolution in ideas of which I, too, have been a part.
AEI's remarkably distinguished body of work is testimony to the triumph of the think tank. For today the most important American scholarship comes out of our think tanks--and none has been more influential than the American Enterprise Institute."
This inaugural issue of the AEI Foreign Policy and Defense Review appears at a time when the future of American foreign policy has become highly uncertain and when the role of the United States, as the preeminent power in the world, has become especially difficult to define. To operate effectively in an international environment in which political, economic, and security issues increasingly overlap demands a careful ordering of priorities and of long-term goals. In recent years, government actions on foreign policy and public debate about them have moved from issue to issue without the consensus or the continuity evident in the decades following World War II. Concern has been expressed abroad and at home over the inconsistencies that result from the lack of a clear, overall rationale rooted in the American diplomatic tradition. Questions about our long-term national interests remain not only unanswered, but often unasked.So let's see, 42 years ago things were uncertain; it was difficult to define the role of the United States in the world. The government was moving from issue to issue without consensus, and there was concern abroad and at home over the inconsistencies resulting from lack of a plan. Well, welcome to the second decade of the new century.
President Ronald Reagan said of AEI in 1988: "The American Enterprise Institute stands at the center of a revolution in ideas of which I, too, have been a part.
AEI's remarkably distinguished body of work is testimony to the triumph of the think tank. For today the most important American scholarship comes out of our think tanks--and none has been more influential than the American Enterprise Institute."
What did you give up for Lent and were you successful?
I gave up Facebook, and can't say it was a huge sacrifice. I looked at a few messages, and left a comment on my son's page, but I didn't write on my "wall." But apparently I wasn't the only one. Someone did a survey of people on Twitter, and these were the top of the fast list:
"The top vote-getter, you ask? Twitter. Followed by Facebook, with chocolate third, soda seventh, and the teenage troika of transgression—swearing, alcohol and sex—landing fourth, fifth, and sixth."So I guess I didn't do anything original.
Why the left wants to raise taxes on the rich
We don't have enough billionaires and millionaires to do what Obama wants--fund all our government programs, so why is he going down this road again for the 2012 campaign? If it doesn't help the poor and middle class, why do it? To punish the rich--it's a deeply held moral philosophy.
Republicans need to unmask the philosophy guiding modern liberalism when it comes to taxes. What liberals are interested in isn't growth so much as egalitarianism and redistribution for its own sake. For many on the left, increasing taxes isn't about economics as much as morality. They believe taxing the wealthy is a virtue, to the point that they would penalize "the rich" even if that has harmful economic consequences. Recall that during a campaign debate, when asked by Charles Gibson about his support for raising capital gains taxes even if that caused a net revenue loss to the Treasury, Obama sided with tax increases "for purposes of fairness."The Incredible Shrinking Obama
The second most powerful Congress member
Speaker of the House of Representatives is the most powerful office in Congress--this person (Pelosi last time, Boehner this time) is third in line for the Presidency. But who is the second most powerful? Well, a friend of mine who was part of the political process for many years and should know, told me it is . . . the one who hands out the parking spaces for Congress!
Come, now is the time to worship
Occasionally I've heard old time, public domain hymns from the the last 3 centuries set to modern instruments and heart rates. If the message is right, they are quite good and bring these golden oldies to a new audience. This morning I was listening to "Come, now is the time to worship," a 1998c Vineyard song that seems to be sung in multiple denominational and non-denominational churches that provide a contemporary service.
The words are beautiful and taken right from scripture.
We want a sacrifice of praise, but not while wrestling our minds to the ground with repetitious choruses and killing our hearing.
The words are beautiful and taken right from scripture.
"One day every tongue will confess You are God; One day every knee will bow/ Still the greatest treasure remains to those/Who gladly choose You now."But I did wonder how it might sound without the throbbing guitars and banging drums which artificially create emotion. Maybe a symphonic or chorale rendition? YouTube--are you out there with such an arrangement?
We want a sacrifice of praise, but not while wrestling our minds to the ground with repetitious choruses and killing our hearing.
Feds Grant $2.1 Billion Loan Guarantee for California Solar Farm to German developer
While Obama blames evil corporations for "outsourcing" our jobs, he hands our green money over to Germany and our old fashion fossil fuel money to Brazil.
Public land projects
I haven't been able to track down exactly what the "synthetic oil" is or how it is made. Here's a bit more information on using molten salt.
The United States Department of Energy on Monday offered a conditional $2.1 billion loan guarantee to German developer Solar Millennium to finance the first half of a 1,000 megawatt solar thermal power plant to be built in the Southern California desert.Feds Grant $2.1 Billion Loan Guarantee for California Solar Farm - Todd Woody - Green Wombat - Forbes
Public land projects
I haven't been able to track down exactly what the "synthetic oil" is or how it is made. Here's a bit more information on using molten salt.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Did You Know--the oldest female Air Force veteran is 103
Mildred McDowell is 103 and enlisted in the Women's Army Corps in 1943, was discharged in December 1945 and reenlisted in March 1946 and later transferred into the Air Force. She lives in Vandalia, Illinois.
Obamacare secret meetings being investigated
It seems no one knows what's in Obamacare, but if Rep. Fred Upton, (R-MI) has his way, at least we might find out who put what in it.
Fred Upton | Obamacare | secret meetings | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment
Surprise surprise. The White House isn't cooperating. Would take too much time.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton is expanding his investigation into the meetings between special interest groups and the Obama White House that set the stage for the passage of Obamacare, sending document requests to 12 industry groups and unions that played a key role in the negotiations. . .
The industry groups and unions subject to Upton’s request [for documents] are AARP, AFL-CIO, AdvaMed, AFSCME, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Business Roundtable, Federation of American Hospitals, PHRMA, and SEIU.
Fred Upton | Obamacare | secret meetings | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment
Conestoga trip to the Air Force Museum, pt. 3
After lunch in the cafeteria we attended the IMAX showing of "Fighter pilot, operation red flag" about the final training of a young pilot, with memories of his grandfather who fought in WWII.
It's so realistic, I had my eyes closed during most of the film. Then we continued our walking tour (without a guide) starting with the Korean War, then the Cold War, then Vietnam and southeast Asia, visiting the space flights and finally a look at our current wars (except Libya). We then gathered in the lobby for the next part of our trip, dinner at the historic Red Brick Tavern on Rt. 40 near London, Ohio.
I think this is a Thunderjet, used in the Korean War, but the light was so poor, I can't see the number. According to Wikipedia, "the Thunderjet became the Air Force's primary strike aircraft during the Korean War, flying 86,408 missions and destroying 60% of all ground targets in the war as well as eight Soviet-built MiG fighters." The better photo is from the museum site.
Symbol of the Cold War--the checkpoint and the Berlin Blockade. There was quite a display of the provisions flown into Berlin.
USAF 517 Grumman HU-16 B Albatross arrived here in July 1973. According to the website, "Grumman designed the versatile Albatross to meet a U.S. Navy requirement for an amphibious utility aircraft which could also operate from snow and ice with skis. During the Korean War, Albatrosses rescued almost 1,000 United Nations personnel from coastal waters and rivers, often behind enemy lines. They also made numerous dramatic and hazardous rescues in Southeast Asia, on occasion taxiing many miles over rough, open water when unable to take off."
I think the Iraq war display was in the Cold War area.
I think this is a Thunderjet, used in the Korean War, but the light was so poor, I can't see the number. According to Wikipedia, "the Thunderjet became the Air Force's primary strike aircraft during the Korean War, flying 86,408 missions and destroying 60% of all ground targets in the war as well as eight Soviet-built MiG fighters." The better photo is from the museum site.
Symbol of the Cold War--the checkpoint and the Berlin Blockade. There was quite a display of the provisions flown into Berlin.
USAF 517 Grumman HU-16 B Albatross arrived here in July 1973. According to the website, "Grumman designed the versatile Albatross to meet a U.S. Navy requirement for an amphibious utility aircraft which could also operate from snow and ice with skis. During the Korean War, Albatrosses rescued almost 1,000 United Nations personnel from coastal waters and rivers, often behind enemy lines. They also made numerous dramatic and hazardous rescues in Southeast Asia, on occasion taxiing many miles over rough, open water when unable to take off."
I think the Iraq war display was in the Cold War area.
Conestoga trip to the Air Force Museum, pt. 2
There's no way to describe how BIG the museum at Wright Patterson is; but here's an idea--there's an early years of air flight gallery, a WWII gallery (we toured 1934-1945 with a guide for 2 hours), a Korean War gallery; a Southeast Asian war gallery (being renovated); a Cold War gallery; a missile and space gallery; a presidential R&D gallery; middle east wars section (don't know if it's considered a gallery since much of that aircraft hasn't been retired); and various outdoor exhibits. The campus is 17 acres and includes nearly one million square feet of public exhibit space with more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of historical artifacts on display.
I came away with a new respect for the way wars advance technology in all areas and change entire cultures almost overnight--at least in hind sight. The exhibits have been updated and expanded to bring more focus on people and events as well as the hardware of airplanes, military transport, jets and equipment. Many displays had full size mannequins to illustrate a particular event, like a training accident or Jimmy Doolittle.
It was also stunning to see by walking through these huge hangers that my entire lifetime the U.S. has been at war. When I was younger, I'd say, "When the war is over. . . " and now I know better. I knew that intellectually (I was born as Hitler marched into Poland), and even the era I think of as relatively peaceful was called The Cold War. I know our wars stretch from King Philip's War in the 1600s to Obama's War in Libya in 2011--wars with Indians, Mexicans, Muslims, British, Germans, Russians, Vietnamese--but I wish it weren't so. And if Americans weren't suffering and dying, many Russians and East Europeans and Germans were. Plus, the U.S. has bases all over the world--I think at least 662 in 38 foreign countries either owned or leased--for a total of 4,999 counting our home bases--with advisers, trainers, soldiers, mechanics, spies, librarians, etc. whose lives are constantly at risk.
I came away with a new respect for the way wars advance technology in all areas and change entire cultures almost overnight--at least in hind sight. The exhibits have been updated and expanded to bring more focus on people and events as well as the hardware of airplanes, military transport, jets and equipment. Many displays had full size mannequins to illustrate a particular event, like a training accident or Jimmy Doolittle.
It was also stunning to see by walking through these huge hangers that my entire lifetime the U.S. has been at war. When I was younger, I'd say, "When the war is over. . . " and now I know better. I knew that intellectually (I was born as Hitler marched into Poland), and even the era I think of as relatively peaceful was called The Cold War. I know our wars stretch from King Philip's War in the 1600s to Obama's War in Libya in 2011--wars with Indians, Mexicans, Muslims, British, Germans, Russians, Vietnamese--but I wish it weren't so. And if Americans weren't suffering and dying, many Russians and East Europeans and Germans were. Plus, the U.S. has bases all over the world--I think at least 662 in 38 foreign countries either owned or leased--for a total of 4,999 counting our home bases--with advisers, trainers, soldiers, mechanics, spies, librarians, etc. whose lives are constantly at risk.
Where is Martin Luther when you need him?
When I listen to our local Catholic radio (St. Gabriel's, 1580 am, which includes many programs from EWTN), I’m still hearing the 16th century abuses of the church about which Martin Luther spoke and wrote: purgatory (a special place of judgement and penance we Protestants know nothing about since it's not in the Bible), indulgences to reduce time in purgatory (out of favor after the reforms of the 1960s, but returning since 2000 and becoming more popular), merit dispensed by the church (tradition), transubstantiation (consuming the real physical body and blood of Jesus), special privileges, rights and positions of honor for ordained priests (one in particular who resides in Rome, called the Pope) rather than the priesthood of believers with a single high priest, Jesus Christ, worship (veneration) of Mary the Mother of Jesus and other saints and praying to them for protection and guidance, proving various miracles after death of some believers to achieve sainthood for them, complex doctrines and stories completely unfamiliar to me like visions and relics. And it's not hard to hear at least a reference to all of these in just a day or two, with only a nod or a few minutes for grace and trusting in nothing but the merits of Christ. But that's where the freedom is, and that's what changed the whole western world 400 years ago, and is creating revolutions today in Africa and Asia.
On the other hand, if I choose to listen to so-called "Christian radio," which is a hodge-podge of Baptist, Pentecostal, dispensational, non-denominational, and personal opinion groups bound together with syrupy praise songs and Vineyard tunes, I can practically starve, spiritually speaking.
On the other hand, if I choose to listen to so-called "Christian radio," which is a hodge-podge of Baptist, Pentecostal, dispensational, non-denominational, and personal opinion groups bound together with syrupy praise songs and Vineyard tunes, I can practically starve, spiritually speaking.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Did You Know--marijuana's carbon footprint
Medical marajuana needs powerful indoor light. "Each cannabis joint produced indoors has a carbon footprint of about one whole kilogram."
The carbon footprint of indoor cannabis production | Asian Correspondent
The carbon footprint of indoor cannabis production | Asian Correspondent
We paid our dues, where's our change? song
“Dear Mr. President we honor you today sir
Each of us brought you $5,000
It takes a lot of Benjamins to run a campaign
I paid my dues, where's our change?
We'll vote for you in 2012, yes that's true
Look at the Republicans - what else can we do
Even though we don't know if we'll retain our liberties
In what you seem content to call a free society
Yes it's true that Terry Jones is legally free
To burn a people's holy book in shameful effigy
But at another location in this country
Alone in a 6x12 cell sits Bradley
23 hours a day is night
The 5th and 8th Amendments say
this kind of thing ain't right
We paid our dues, where's our change?”
ABC blog
Each of us brought you $5,000
It takes a lot of Benjamins to run a campaign
I paid my dues, where's our change?
We'll vote for you in 2012, yes that's true
Look at the Republicans - what else can we do
Even though we don't know if we'll retain our liberties
In what you seem content to call a free society
Yes it's true that Terry Jones is legally free
To burn a people's holy book in shameful effigy
But at another location in this country
Alone in a 6x12 cell sits Bradley
23 hours a day is night
The 5th and 8th Amendments say
this kind of thing ain't right
We paid our dues, where's our change?”
ABC blog
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