The Spring of the Unexpected Soft Patch

These are actual quotes written by degreed economists and journalists (and a few bloggers), who never seem to expect the outcome when a president who campaigned to fundamentally change our country and redistribute income from the wealthy to the poor through regulation and taxes actually succeeds in his plans. Why only the conservative talking heads like Fox's Beck and EIB‘s Limbaugh, some of whom don’t have a degree in anything, had full knowledge about the end results, I don’t know, but apparently they do read history and their parents talked about the Depression.

GM chief financial officer resigns unexpectedly. March 10, 2011

Obama's support among blacks slips unexpectedly, Hispanics too. April 7, 2011

Though economists are anxious about the unexpected slackening, they largely remain confident that the lull will prove just a soft patch and they still expect a strengthening jobs market to revive growth in the next quarters. April 15, 2011

Sales For Sarah Palin’s Second Book Spike Unexpectedly. April 17, 2011

Housing Starts in U.S. Unexpectedly Decrease to 523,000 Pace. May 17, 2011

Orders for long-lasting goods unexpectedly fell in February, raising concern over the sustainability of the rebound in U.S. business investment. March 24, 2011

Sales of existing U.S. homes unexpectedly declined, manufacturing in the Philadelphia region slowed and consumer confidence dropped, pointing to an economy that is struggling to regain momentum following the surge in energy costs. May 20, 2011

Consumer confidence unexpectedly decreased in May to the lowest level in six months as Americans grew concerned over the outlook for jobs and the economy. May 30, 2011

The economy will be in full-fledged recession by year end (although I can argue that the economy has remained in recession since 2008). The mainstream financial media are all calling the “unexpected” bad news as a “soft patch” in the economy. Tomorrow’s Non-Farm jobs report is going to be very weak. June 1, 2011

Denmark's economy unexpectedly went into recession, new figures showed yesterday. Denmark's economy contracted for a second quarter after consumers cut spending. Denmark now joins Portugal as the only European nations in a recession -- defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. June 2, 2011

Obama Eligibility Lawyer Unexpectedly Resigns: Mole Within Hawaii's Department of Health Alerted Corsi That No Long-Form Birth Certificate Existed Prior to February 24th. June 2, 2011

The jobless rate, unexpectedly, edged up to 9.1%, the second straight monthly gain and the highest this year. June 3, 2011

Oil Rebounds as API Shows Unexpectedly High Stock Draw. June 7, 2011

Read this carefully and explain

"This parking space is for expectant mothers and fathers with new born children."

Think about this "gender neutral" message for a moment. . . Does the huge luxury store that caters to my every whim for cheese or wine or meat want to earn points and create a customer-friendly image with politically correct, nonsexist nonsense which sounds like it was translated from a foreign language?

Why does an expectant father need a special parking place? Is he bloating or having charley horse pains in his hip as his waist expands so far he can't see his feet? Or this. If a woman has a new born in the car and drives to the Giant Eagle, is she even aware that she might be expecting another wee one? Or is the sign missing a comma, and really means the space is only for expectant mothers, or for fathers driving around with a new born in the car?  But that would mean mothers with a new born can't park there.

Also, think of the insensitivities this communicates to radical feminists (aka feminazis) who believe pregnant women are not even mothers, but simply carriers of a clump of parasitic cells that can be removed because it isn't a human yet.
 
Think about this and the last time you went to the store with young children.  Is it really more difficult to schlep a new born into the store than two toddlers and a sullen teen-ager who would rather not be seen with you? Which one really needs to be nearer the door?

Believe me, forty plus years ago I never took young children or babies to the grocery store, or to church, or to day care.  Saturday morning at Kroger's or Tarpy's was MY time, and I wasn't about to share it.

Huma Abedin is not a typical congressional wife

As more dribbles out about this drip and his swooning fan feminist supporters, it sounds like the wife settled. I guess he needed a cover to keep up what he was doing. Poor Hillary--she's been through it, and should be able to offer a shoulder to cry on.

"Former President Bill Clinton officiated at their July 2010 wedding. Their marriage drew extra attention since Abedin is Muslim and Weiner is Jewish."

Huma Abedin is not a typical congressional wife - CNN.com

Obama’s Jobless America

The Bush Obama recession is starting to look a whole lot like the Hoover FDR Depression. FDR extended Hoover's attempts to right the economy for a decade by diddling the federal government with a variety of socialist schemes, some of which we're still struggling with (like a poorly planned Social Security trust fund), or were resurrected during the Johnson years for the "war on poverty." When a foxhole is won against poverty, liberals just dig a a new hole in which to throw money.

Morning Bell: Obama’s Jobless America | The Foundry

May Jobs Report Is Troubling as Unemployment Rate Increases | The Heritage Foundation

The day the elephants came to town

Plus some other wonderful photographs from Joe's portfolio.

Now for today's project--painting the garage

Instead of buying off the shelf storage units for the garage, we had some new shelves and a tall closet built to hang out with the former kitchen cabinets. The bottom two shelves are stationery, the others can be moved. The cabinets won't be painted on the inside, so they are already jammed. I think we could have purchased gold plated cheaper, but oh well, the price you pay for living with an architect. We also have beautiful new hardware that doesn't match the hinges. Hate that. Here's Paul Miller and a few scenes from today's project--which will probably last 3 days. The last photo is stuff that needs to go either to a shredder, a technology dump, or back on the shelves. I wonder what people do who have a clutter problem? We're actually rather tidy people.

Paul is doing a lot of careful prep work--that's the key to a good paint job whether interior or exterior. Clean, sand, fill holes, etc.

Our new sidewalk

A home is not an investment. It is a money pit only slightly more practical than a boat. And you do have to live somewhere. Here's one of our recent adventures with our money pit which we bought in 2001--completed last week. We have a different one going on today. . .

This was our sidewalk--some sort of stone or slate with a variety of crumbling mortar. We repaired it in 2005, but it continued to crumble, shed, and disintegrate.

So here it is all chopped up, but oh, look at that, underneath part of it was the original concrete sidewalk, still in perfect condition, except for a few nicks and bumps from the ear splitting jackhammer. Oh well, too late, we'd already started. After he'd already started, he knocked on the door and said, do you really need this first step--I could just slope it a little (because obviously the new walk was going to be higher than the old, and the step up wouldn't be standard height. So we OK'd that, and now we're all set for wheelchairs.

This is the new concrete walk, installed over the old concrete walk, which we didn't know was still there. It has color, a pressed stone pattern, and joint cracks added. We also discovered upon removing the old slate, that there was a good size planting area next to the garage. We went around and looked at our neighbors, and they did indeed have that. But it just makes it harder to get in and out of the car, so we didn't reinstall that. Now, because it is the new sidewalk is so high, we'll have to have some new landscaping. But, you can't take it with you . . . so we're helping the local economy.

Ohio State to graduate nearly 10,000 on June 12

John Boehner, the 53rd Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, will deliver the commencement address during Ohio State's spring commencement on Sunday (6/12) in Ohio Stadium. A record 9,655 students will earn degrees. The graduates, who are among the brightest in the university's history, enter the stadium at noon.

From his website: Boehner, 61, is the 2nd oldest of 12 brothers and sisters and grew up in Cincinnati. He represents the Ohio 8th district. "Before he ever made his first run for elected office – a spot on his neighborhood homeowners’ association – John ran a small business in the plastics and packaging industry. His experience in the private sector – meeting a payroll, paying taxes, dealing with government red tape – prepared him well to be a reformer in the public sector."

The One state solution--in only 4 minutes--

There now, that was easy, wasn't it?

Now here's a shocker

Liberals, Democrats, Grad Students, Easterners More Likely to be Atheists.

Gallup: Liberals, Democrats, Grad Students, Easterners More Likely to be Atheists | CNSnews.com

Remember when the Republican gay Congressman was forced to resign?

There's a different standard for NY Congressmen who digitally diddle young women.

Obama inspired ship, Funded By Obama’s Pals, Sets Off to Join Jew-Hating Leftist-Islamist Gaza Flotilla II

Remember the Audacity of Hope--Obama's book--the title inspired by Rev. Wright's sermon? Rashid Khalidi, director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, is at it again.

OBAMA INSPIRED SHIP, Funded By Obama’s Pals, Sets Off to Join Jew-Hating Leftist-Islamist Gaza Flotilla II | The Gateway Pundit
Voice Of The Copts - Obama Inspired Ship to Join IHH Gaza Flotilla

Herbert Goldhor, 1917-2011

Professor Goldhor interviewed me when I applied for the Graduate School of Library Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana. I don't remember much of the conversation, except his asking me, "Have you ever worked in a library," and when I told him about the 3 libraries--Mt. Morris Public, Manchester College, and University of Illinois, he smiled with relief.
Many people think libraries sound good until they actually experience them.

This is one of the more personal and charming obituaries I've read--perhaps written by him (many people do) or a family member. Nice story about a second chance at love.

CHAMPAIGN – Herbert Goldhor, 94, died on Tuesday (March 29, 2011) at home in Seattle, Wash., where he had lived since 2004 after having spent most of his adult life in Champaign.

A memorial service will be held in Seattle for family and close friends later this spring.

Dr. Goldhor was born on Feb. 8, 1917, in Newark, N.J., the fourth child of Adolph and Dora Balshan Goldhor. In May 1948, he married Dr. Eleanor Cheydleur and they had four children (Jonathan, Richard, Beth and Barbara) and later 11 grandchildren, all of whom are still living.

After Eleanor died in 1988, Herbert rediscovered his childhood sweetheart, Ruth H. Schwartz from New Jersey, and married her. They enjoyed 15 wonderful years together living abroad in various different countries including England, France, Denmark, Canada and New Zealand until Ruth died in 2004.

Dr. Goldhor's career as a librarian began in 1943 when he received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago's Graduate Library School. After serving in Europe during World War II, he joined the Library School faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he remained for six years (1946-1951).

In 1952, he moved to Indiana to become the chief librarian of the Evansville and Vanderburgh County Public Library, a job that he thoroughly enjoyed for 10 years.

Dr. Goldhor then returned to the twin cities to direct the Library School at the UI from 1962-1978, during which time he also taught graduate courses and published numerous articles and two books. In 1975 he became director of the school's Library Research Center, a position he held until his retirement in 1987.

Throughout his career, he believed strongly that public libraries, access to information and ideas, and continued learning were essential to a democratic society.

Dr. Goldhor enjoyed health and strength for most of his 94 years. When he was 84 years old, he and his wife Ruth hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, spent the night at Phantom Ranch, and hiked out the next day. To train for this endeavor, they walked up and down the stairs of the Century 21 building in Champaign. Dr. Goldhor was still working out at the local gym up to a few weeks before his death.

He had a positive, open attitude towards life and was interested in learning and experiencing new things. He had a great sense of humor including the saying in later years, "I am always quite relieved when I read the obituaries in the paper to NOT find my name there!" Well, now his name is here ... Yes, Herbert Goldhor's life on earth has ended and he will be greatly missed. However, his love for books and his positive influence at both the personal and professional level will live on, and in this way his name will be remembered fondly by many.

Memorials may be made to the Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences at the University of Illinois (www.lis.illinois.edu/giving) or to the American Friends Services Committee (afsc.org).

Gay teens have riskier behavior

A CDC report released today and carried through AP to many major newspapers is sure to create a flurry of new grant money and programs to 1) create guilt in the non-gay population because the stigma must be their fault, 2) excuse sexual behavior teens know they shouldn't be doing, and 3) pay the salaries of researchers and social workers for many future studies.

Students who report being gay, lesbian or bisexual and students who report having sexual contact only with persons of the same sex or both sexes are more likely than heterosexual students and students who report having sexual contact only with the opposite sex to engage in unhealthy risk behaviors such as tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual risk behaviors, suicidal behaviors, and violence, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This report should be a wake-up call for families, schools and communities that we need to do a much better job of supporting these young people. Any effort to promote adolescent health and safety must take into account the additional stressors these youth experience because of their sexual orientation, such as stigma, discrimination, and victimization," said Howell Wechsler, Ed.D, M.P.H, director of CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH). "We are very concerned that these students face such dramatic disparities for so many different health risks."

CDC Media Relations - Press Release: June 6, 2011

The problem with this whole victim excuse is that many straight teens also engage in risky sexual behavior--maybe a lower percentage, but in numbers far higher. How successful have government health programs been in reducing or eliminating that, and is their reason also stigma, victimization and discrimination?

I would have said it differently, but here it is. . .

"It's hard to avoid the conclusion that the threat of tax increases and increased regulatory burdens have produced something in the nature of a hiring strike."

Yes, Michael Baron, you sound like you are blaming the American business community for Obama's failures.

Eventually, though, he does get around to cheap political rhetoric, ignoring his own budget commission, his incessant campaign mode, launching war against Paul Ryan, and cronyism with banks and lobbyists.

Barone did miss Libya and his anti-semitism, however. Well, maybe next time.

Dan Quayle right again--Single Moms at Midlife have more health problems

Remember Dan Quayle--how he was ridiculed for taking on the Murphy Brown single mom story line about 20 years ago? Oh, the press had a ball with that--said he was too dumb to know she was fiction. Then a few years later, the research shows that despite the income and social class of the mother, children of single mothers didn't thrive as well as children in two parent homes with a mom and a dad. It turns out that Uncle Sam can't be a step-father--even for those kids who don't need any financial assistance and have educated moms.

According to a growing body of social-scientific evidence, children in families disrupted by divorce and out-of-wedlock birth do worse than children in intact families on several measures of well-being. Children in single-parent families are six times as likely to be poor. They are also likely to stay poor longer. Twenty-two percent of children in one-parent families will experience poverty during childhood for seven years or more, as compared with only two percent of children in two parent families. A 1988 survey by the National Center for Health Statistics found that children in single-parent families are two to three times as likely as children in two-parent families to have emotional and behavioral problems. They are also more likely to drop out of high school, to get pregnant as teenagers, to abuse drugs, and to be in trouble with the law. Compared with children in intact families, children from disrupted families are at a much higher risk for physical or sexual abuse. Link to Barbara Dafoe Whitehead's article.

This study done at OSU shows that later marriage doesn't reverse some of the negative health affects of single motherhood. It "was beyond the scope of this study to determine why unwed mothers in general had poorer health than others. But other research suggests it may be related to the high levels of stress and the poor economic conditions faced by single moms." Or maybe women who don't take care of their bodies when it comes to sex, don't take care of it in other ways?

Single Moms Entering Midlife May Lead To Public Health Crisis

Seems God was on to something when he created marriage for man and woman.

Monday Memories--John Stolzenbach

John is retiring and Sunday June 26 will be his last Sunday to preach at Lytham Road campus of UALC where he pastors the two traditional services. When we began attending UALC we met John and Sue in the new member's class. They had started attending at the invitation of his brother Jim (now deceased), and we came because I had attended a women's event at UALC and met a number of women who formerly had been members of the church we were attending. Four couples in that class formed a small group Bible study, and four years later John who was a school teacher when we met him, became a Lutheran pastor. There are several fare-well events for John, and there will be another one on June 26. We attended one on May 26.

John's special gift from the Lord is a Servant's heart for the hurting Servants--like those grieving, divorced, addiction/recovery. He sees the many funerals he does as an opportunity to reach the lost as well as the family. He's also known for his sense of humor. After our daughter's wedding a Jewish friend said, "I don't think I ever had such a good time at a Christian wedding."

Our Savior, the Democrats | The Weekly Standard

"How does Wallis—the old Students for a Democratic Society agitator who touted the Vietcong in the 1970s and the Sandinistas in the 1980s, who denounced welfare reform in the 1990s as a betrayal of the poor, and whose funding by George Soros was exposed last year—enlist Catholic bishops and mainstream evangelicals in his endless political campaigns?"

Jesus can forgive the SDS stupidity, and he died for Wallis' sins against the poor and lying about Soros funding, but enlisting Christian leaders for a "circle of protection" around federal programs that primarily line the pockets of the well heeled government staff? Um, no. Even Jesus has his limits.

Our Savior, the Democrats | The Weekly Standard

Palin’s End Run

Canada Free Press: "The mainstream media have indignantly reported on Governor Sarah Palin’s barnstorming “One Nation” bus tour across the Eastern United States with sputtering speculation, crafty criticism, risible ridicule, and, as usual, insufficient insight. The reason for the media apoplexy is simple. Palin is the first potential national candidate to successfully demonstrate that today’s news organizations are yesterday’s news."

But that's not all. She's a woman who didn't ride into town on her husband or father's coattails, and the media just can't or won't accept that. They are very 20th century.
Palin’s End Run

School Application Criticized For Birth Questions

What is going on in California? Limits to the number of straight guys (2) on a soft-ball team and the judge says it's OK. Anti-semitism reeks in the anti-circumcision literature. Now a school asking for birthing delivery information?

School Application Criticized For Birth Questions « CBS Sacramento

81% of US Mosques Promote Jihad

"The minarets are our bayonets, the domes our helmets, the mosques our barracks and the faithful our army." Turkish nationalist poet Ziya Gokalp, 1912

Interesting survey which includes extensive links to sources on how American Moslems perceive themselves in a non-Islamic culture.

81% of US Mosques Promote Jihad

I didn't have a recipe, but. . .

I decided make mushroom soup. I knew I didn't have all the exotic ingredients chefs call for, but I did have chicken broth, olive oil, onions, celery, some butter and flour and ordinary not-so-wild mushrooms. Then as I was tasting it I thought, Hmm, a little wine might pep this up. But all I had was Merlot. After a few tablespoons I could see we would have pink soup, so I stopped there. However, a few hours later, it's just a nice taupe. I don't think it makes much difference in the flavor. I checked my blog and the last time I used beef broth and did use Merlot, but since it was darker, you couldn't see the color.

Unintended consequences again--hookworm

It seems a little might be good for you.

The Smart Set: Take Two Hookworms and Call Me in the Morning - May 6, 2011

Why we need legal immigrants

This morning I was shopping at a small center near Kenney Road and Old Henderson Road, the northern boundary for Upper Arlington, an up-scale suburb of Columbus, Ohio, where I live. As I looked around the stores, I decided over 50% are probably owned by immigrants. There were 4 or 5 hair and nail salons with English names, but Asian writing on the windows; a Turkish bakery; a Thai restaurant; an Indian restaurant; a belly dancing studio; a martial arts studio, a photography studio and some others I couldn't identify.

Owning your own home is not "the American dream," that's shelter and a hole in the financial boat, but owning your own business with the chance to become wealthy or have something to pass on to your children has been a dream of just about every immigrant group that has come by ship or plane, or on foot. I think Americans are sitting on their hands and wallets waiting for the government to do something about the economy, but immigrants are not waiting. They've escaped dictators, Communists, Socialists and anarchists. They've struggled and sacrificed and are willing to work 18 hour days, 7 days a week just for the opportunity to be in business.

I welcome these immigrants to my neighborhood.

Misquoting Republicans is a cottage industry for the media

Sarah Palin never said she could see Russia from her house. So who did say it?

It was actually comedian Tina Fey, who was impersonating Ms. Palin on Saturday Night Live who uttered this line that is now widely attributed to the former Alaska governor.

The basis for this line comes from a September 2008 interview with ABC News's Charles Gibson, who asked Palin what insights she had from her state being so close to Russia. She responded: "They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska." Christian Science Monitor

But never mind the truth--ridiculing Republicans, especially if they are women, gets more sales.

The same article, however, really splits hairs about Al Gore's famous, "I invented the Internet." He used the word "created." Well, that's a short stretch isn't it?

Thousands of drug offenders will return to the old neighborhood early

What is Obama smoking? asks WSJ commentator. Would you want your neighborhood terrorized this way? Leftists think they do blacks (50% of the victims) a favor by releases black prisoners. Fewer policemen, more ex-cons--now that's not a good equation for black neighborhoods.

John Edwards charged with using campaign money to hide affair

. . . I was a creep, "but I did not break the law." Oh, come on John. How can anyone believe you about anything? You lied to your wife, your staff, your mistress, your children, your volunteers, to the American people. And to think you thought you could be the President of the United States. Your narcissism and delusion exceeds that of our current President.

John Edwards charged with using campaign money to hide affair | World news | The Guardian

A bad apple

This morning when I sliced the gorgeous, shiny red Braeburn apple for my breakfast, it turned out to be brown on the inside. No indication when I looked it over at the store and put it in the bag. Kind of like Rob Bell, a popular Christian preacher in the "emerging" tradition.

When you open up his teaching/
preaching/ books, the latest being "Love Wins" you'll find the shiny red part, i.e. God is love, in great shape and quite attractive. However, everything else--theology, church history, exegesis, eschatology, Christology, and Jesus is . . . well, brown and tasteless, with a slight whiff of mold--going back to at least 19th century universalism, and maybe to various heresies over 2,000 years.

If you are in an emergent church, head for the nearest exit, regardless of how friendly the congregation or engaging the pastor. They are playground Christians, and it's the historic meaning of words they are playing with.

See Kevin DeYoung's review of this book--it's excellent and thorough written with tough love. Also, be sure to read the nearly thousand comments: an engaging, popular preacher [Bell] also wins--people don't want the truth of Scripture. But as DeYoung notes, "The emerging church is not an evangelistic strategy. It is the last rung for evangelicals falling off the ladder into liberalism or unbelief."

Dumb and dumber jogger

A lady jogger appeared from nowhere crossing McCoy Road in Upper Arlington (35 mph, 4 lanes) in front of me. I braked. Thinking she must be heading for the sidewalk, I watched in the mirror, but she continued to run against traffic in the street--pushing a one-seat jogging stroller with 2 children, a toddler and an infant. With the canopy down, she can't even see the kids. If you jog, concentrate on the jogging; if you're watching children, do that. Don't multitask at the risk of your children's lives, or causing an accident crossing busy streets.

I wonder if it was the same gal, but with more clothes on? Same neighborhood, same coloring, similar build.

What becomes of electronic waste?

Today I control more electronic gadgets in a day in my own house than what I would do in a year in 1977 when I returned to work in a high tech computerized library at a university of 50,000. Three digital cameras (there's a 4th in a drawer), a video camera, 3 scanners, 2 printers, 2 computers (a 3rd not connected), 2 email accounts, a phone/fax, a cable network, a wireless network, a copier (2 if you count the one in the scanner), 12 blogs with the information stored off-site, Facebook account, 3 cd players, DVD player and VCR, 6 or more remotes, microwave, various digital clocks that blink and flip if the power goes off, an i-pod, 2 cell phones one with a camera, and 3 cordless phones one with an answering machine. We have 6 TVs (4 cable connected, 2 with antennas). We also have 6 radios in the house, but the one with batteries which would be useful in a storm I can't find. In 1977 we had one TV and one telephone and maybe 2 radios. If we had batteries, they were in the car or flashlight.

In 1957, the year I graduated from high school, my parents had electric clocks with moving hands, maybe 3 radios, but no TV, or AC or even an electric fan in the house. Only children rode bicycles. The U.S. mail was delivered twice a day by mailmen who walked, we received 2 newspapers at the door, and one local weekly, plus numerous magazine subscriptions. Thirty five or 55 years ago, the American family had a much smaller footprint, even with a car that only got 11 miles/gallon, but I don't know very many greenies who would give up their computers, cell phones, or cameras. Do you?

Our kitchen clock when I was growing up.



.

Your home is shelter, not a retirement nest egg or a bank or a tax shelter

"Since the housing market began to turn in 2007, Washington has tried to keep prices from falling with every policy gimmick known to politics: Foreclosure mitigation, more guarantees from the FHA, higher guarantee thresholds from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Fed purchase of mortgage assets, and the $8,000 home buyer's tax credit promoted by the White House and Georgia Republican Senator Johnny Isakson.

Their main result, other than subsidizing some Americans at the expense of others, has been to sustain the housing recession over a longer period of time. The price decline would have been sharper without them, but the recovery would have happened sooner." Review & Outlook, WSJ, June 2, 2011

Investigators Track Osama bin Laden's Couriers

Interesting verbs in this article: channels of inquiry; probe; detained for questioning; pursue connections; under scrutiny. If you had to be interrogated about terrorist connections with the couriers for bin Laden, Abrar and Ibrahim Said Ahmad (killed in the raid), which would be more harsh, the Pakistanis or the Americans?

Investigators Track Osama bin Laden's Couriers - WSJ.com

Chicken Littleism: More Weather Deaths?

The warmist mongerers are at it again. They claim deaths from weather caused by fossil fuels are on the increase. Really?

The annual number of deaths caused by tornadoes, floods and hurricanes, of course, varies. For example, the number of persons killed by these weather events in 1972 was 703 while the number killed in 1988 was 72. But amid this variance is a clear trend: The number of weather-related fatalities, especially since 1980, has dropped dramatically.

For the 30-year span of 1980-2009, the average annual number of Americans killed by tornadoes, floods and hurricanes was 194—fully one-third fewer deaths each year than during the 1940-1979 period. The average annual number of deaths for the years 1980-2009 falls even further, to 160 from 194, if we exclude the deaths attributed to Hurricane Katrina, most of which were caused by a levee that breached on the day after the storm struck land.

This decline in the absolute number of deaths caused by tornadoes, floods and hurricanes is even more impressive considering that the population of the United States more than doubled over these years—to 308 million in 2010 from 132 million in 1940.

And I guess death from heat exhaustion in the summer from lack of electricity for fans and AC or pneumonia and colds in the winter from lack of heat don't count.

Donald Boudreaux: More Weather Deaths? Wanna Bet? - WSJ.com

Duke University Lacrosse players rape case redux

Usually, I don't cite Wikipedia, but this case has so many links and details, it's the only reasonable thing to do. The Duke University Lacrosse players rape charges by a stripper, Crystal Magnum.

If ever there has been a gender/race/class case where educated, informed liberals, both academics and journalists, behaved this badly, I've missed it. Anyway, Crystal Magnum continued to get in trouble with men, and now is behind bars for murder, having stabbed her boyfriend in April, and he died a few weeks later. Before that she had been in jail for arson. And I don't think the Gang of 88, the Duke Faculty who sign and published a letter against the team, ever recanted or apologized. That's racism run amok.

There are probably people who continue to pay the high tuition costs of Duke, but if I were a parent, I wouldn't even consider letting my child step foot on the campus. The behavior of Duke's faculty, those tenured hoodlums, is the flip side of lynching in the days of Jim Crow, and white men just aren't safe in that atmosphere.

45 Seconds: Memoirs of an ER Doctor from May 22, 2011

A doctor on duty when the tornado hit the hospital in Joplin describes his experience of treating patients with no pain meds, no electricity, no equipment and leaking methane.

"“Like a bomb went off” — That’s the only way that I can describe what we saw next. Patients were coming into the ED in droves. It was absolute, utter chaos. They were limping, bleeding, crying, terrified, with debris and glass sticking out of them, just thankful to be alive. The floor was covered with about 3 inches of water. There was no power, not even backup generators, rendering it completely dark and eerie in the ED. The frightening aroma of methane gas leaking from the broken gas lines permeated the air — we knew, but did not dare mention aloud, what that meant. I redoubled my pace."

45 Seconds: Memoirs of an ER Doctor from May 22, 2011 « The Central Line

Preparing for summer

Most of my on-line subscriptions come to my OSU mail box, which doesn't have a very large cache. Since I can't always get to it in the summer through webmail, last night I went in an began "unsubscribing." I must have cleaned out 15-20 things that appear with some regularity. Some I don't remember subscribing to--I think they must have sent out cookies if I visited their sites. Hopefully, this will help with the crush.

What Lake Erie looks like on my morning walk in the summer.

Weiner Fights to Control Lewd Photo Scandal

I don't care for Weiner at all--his attacks on Glenn Beck were just silly. However, I don't think he's stupid enough to send a photo of his arousal (or a stock photo of one) to a college co-ed through his Twitter account, and if making that mistake, would make the keystroke mistake also and send it to all his followers. These hackings are not impossible to track down, and in the meanwhile, I'll just say it couldn't happen to a more deserving creep.

Dem Weiner Fights to Control Lewd Photo Scandal

Will they survive?

When these flowers were planted I think it was about 50 degrees (on Saturday) and we were running the furnace. Then on Sunday we had 2 hours of thunderstorm warnings and strong wind. On Monday the temperatures soared into the 90s. I hope they can survive our no-Spring Spring.

"Scooping up the useful idiots"-- or "free Palestine"

Too bad if you missed Glenn Beck this evening. He had some great video of a Socialist/Communist speaking at a conference explaining why they were joining forces with Muslim radicals. Why slogans about pushing Israel into the sea were useful, but they believe they will in the end come out the winners in the struggle for the globe--not the Muslims (good luck on that one). They will use the Muslims to defeat capitalism, and then when that is achieved, dump on them. But even Glenn admits he missed the Palestinian flag appearing in all the various riots that have been occurring from Greece to Scotland to Egypt this Spring (he then showed the photos, and there they were, hiding in plain sight). That is the one rallying cry, the socialist explained with a smile. This is how we will defeat capitalism.

Yes, this is what sucks in the western liberals. Such tender, foolish hearts. Especially church types. Oh my, how they weep for Palestine. What fools. Useful idiots, opined Glenn, being scooped up by the Marxists.

Sports Illustrated investigation on Jim Tressel, Ohio State

Not a flattering story. This is apparently what prompted OSU to dump Jim Tressel, and why it appeared on a holiday. The magazine was coming out late on the 30th.

Sports Illustrated investigation on Jim Tressel, Ohio State - SI.com - Magazine

How Lutherans define God--from the Augsburg Confession (1530)

"Our Churches, with common consent, do teach that the decree of the Council of Nicaea concerning the Unity of the Divine Essence and concerning the Three Persons, is true and to be believed without any doubting; that is to say, there is one Divine Essence which is called and which is God: eternal, without body, without parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, the Maker and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible; and yet there are three Persons, of the same essence and power, who also are coeternal, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And the term "person" they use as the Fathers have used it, to signify, not a part or quality in another, but that which subsists of itself.

They condemn all heresies which have sprung up against this article, as the Manichaeans, who assumed two principles, one Good and the other Evil: also the Valentinians, Arians, Eunomians (extreme Arians), Mohammedans (Muslims), and all such. They condemn also the Samosatenes, old and new, who, contending that there is but one Person, sophistically and impiously argue that the Word and the Holy Ghost are not distinct Persons, but that "Word" signifies a spoken word, and "Spirit" signifies motion created in things." Book of Concord, (1959, translated from German)

The Roman Catholic Church and all orthodox groups of Christians accept this without qualification, although if you really investigate today's seminaries, the teaching of Jesus as a separate created being lingers in academe and there are priests and pastors alike who are playing word games, speaking with forked tongues and crossed fingers.

The Augsburg Confession's teaching of the Trinity has been held throughout all the generations of the Church. But after this point, Christians start to diverge. And if there is a sect today that gains popularity and is considered heretical by other Christians, this statement is usually the problem.

There's a reason the church needs creeds and confessions; error and heresies just keep repeating themselves in each generation. Arianism, whether lite or extreme, is an attack on the diety of Christ, and that along with Gnosticism (attack on his humanity) seem to be at the root of most of today's false teachings. Either way--whether you're marketing the church's message of good works and personal growth ala Rick Warren type stuff never mentioning the saving work of Christ or you're caught up in DiVinci Code type speculation and titillation, you're just repeating the old problems foretold in the New Testament, particularly Jude. The early church fathers had today's emergent/emerging church trends in their sites.

Although Lutherans and Catholics link arms in many areas of politics, social justice, abortion, euthanasia, prison ministry, health issues, disaster relief and care of the poor and homeless, they are as divided today as they were in the 16th century on doctine--grace, faith, justification, the role of (Peter) tradition in the church, the sacraments, indulgences, purgatory, and the role of the priesthood.

Memorial Day--Poppy Day--Monday Memories

The Junior Auxiliary was selling poppies in Forreston, Illinois--probably 1950. My dad was the 13th District Commander of the American Legion, which had a total membership of 6,500 when he was membership chairman, and he was post Commander of Forreston in 1950.

Occasionally the viral messages get it right

This one came through this morning. I don't pass them on usually, but this one was good, whoever wrote it.

As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. . .

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM or sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 - 70's, and if I, at the same time, to weep over a lost love. . . I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.

They, too, will get old. I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

First person, that's our President, all the time

It's all about me
It's all about me (Oh yeah)
Me, myself and I
It's all about me
It's all about me [you know it's all about me]
It's all about me, me, me me me [you know it's all about me]
Everybody knows i'm fly [you know it's all about me]
It's all about me 
Murray sent the follow comparisons of a Bush achievement and an Obama achievement. Something was very wrong with our president's upbringing. Or maybe he was born with a narcissistic personality, and all the training in the world can't undo it?

George W. Bush speech after capture of Saddam:
The success of yesterday's mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq. The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator's footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force. Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. Their work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forces and I congratulate 'em.

Barack Obama speech after killing of bin Laden:
And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network. Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and I authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan."

Did You Know--New York (the state)

For every American who comes to New York, roughly two depart for other states. Why? Terrible business climate, cost of living, high property taxes. Link.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's love child--and more to come?

His biographer says he's a womanizing scum bag, and many people seem to know, but the Kennedy name offered him protection.

The number of women who claim he has groped their breasts are legion, including his Terminator co-star Linda Hamilton, British TV presenter Anna Richardson, waitresses across LA and production assistants on his films. Yet despite the evidence of his womanising, sadism and sleazy past, Schwarzenegger still managed to become Governor of California and stay married to Maria Shriver for a quarter of a century.

Part of the reason for his success, and his survival, has been the protection that his marriage into the Kennedy clan has, until now, afforded him (John F. Kennedy was Maria Shriver’s uncle). In short, having the imprimatur of America’s royal family has enabled Arnold to behave as he wishes, without suffering any of the consequences.

And though I researched and documented the real story of Arnold’s infidelity in my 1990 book Arnold: An Unauthorised Biography, the majority of the American media chose to turn a blind eye.

Arnold Schwarzenegger love child: Biographer says the dark truth is still to emerge | Mail Online

Comparing Social Security with private investment for retirement

One of the better and easy to understand explanations I've seen. Especially that 100% death tax.

Christian and Jewish Leaders Respond to Obama's Attack on Israel

Probably a good thing he flew off to Moneygall--things are pretty hot here at home. Pamela Geller summarizes some of the outrage in this piece (although she didn't include me). How many of these concessions have worked in the past? Is his intention to destroy Israel, or maybe, to destroy his chances of a second term--'cause maybe he's just tired?

Christian and Jewish Leaders Respond to Obama's Attack on Israel - Atlas Shrugs

Lutherans weren't worried about May 21

The secret rapture, where some people are snatched away and others left behind for a second chance, isn't familiar to most Lutherans (or really most Protestant groups), unless maybe they've joined a neighborhood Bible study outside their tradition. The "rapture" is when Jesus returns, the dead in Christ are raised and then immediately comes the judgement of the living and the dead and the reward. See Matthew 24-25. It is also described in 2 Peter:10, but what follows is what is important: "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness . . . so make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. . . "

So, although there were a lot of jokes about May 21 (like what did you pack for the trip), at least a few people probably stopped to think about whether they were ready. In God's economy, nothing is wasted.

Netanyahu, the anti-Obama

Nine months ago, George F. Will nailed it. He compared Netanyahu and Obama. . .

"Netanyahu, the former commando and fierce nationalist, and Barack Obama, the former professor and post-nationalist."

"Netanyahu, his focus firmly on Iran, honors Churchill because he did not flinch from facts about gathering storms. Obama returned to the British Embassy in Washington the bust of Churchill that was in the Oval Office when he got there."

George F. Will - Netanyahu, the anti-Obama

10 Tips For Downsizers With Too Much Stuff from Forbes Magazine

I did a little downsizing this week. Very little. It's tough to part with stuff! In putting away the laundry, I counted my husband's pj's--12--and eliminated 3. Found some lacy lingerie I'd never worn that went into the giveaway box, and some of my own pajamas that had moved from Champaign to Columbus in 1967--still looked good, but a bit smallish, so that went into the trash. Then I found a box with my mother's tablecloths. Wrong size, wrong colors, wrong era--I'll never use them--but they went back in the box. Too many memories. The entire New Testament on cassette tape went to the library sale along with dups from my magazine collection. I seem to have lost my little Walkman cassette player.

This Forbes article is mainly about selling; that's a hassle too, isn't it? In fact, it's against our condo rules to have a garage or yard sale, and I think for a tag sale you have to go off the grounds. Even carting off donations isn't easy--each place has its own rules and own drop off sites. I usually just take it to the church bins (if clothing) and let the sorters deal with it.

10 Tips For Downsizers With Too Much Stuff - Ashlea Ebeling - The Best Revenge - Forbes

But I did make headway on my magazine (first issue) collection, which if stacked would go floor to ceiling. We painted the upstairs hall and shelves earlier in the spring, and they all had to be moved. About 2/3 went into a wooden box, formerly the children's toy box from the late 1960s, then a box for old architectural drawings, then a box for old VHS tapes, and now the home of magazines tied up with ribbons by subject matter--life style, travel, minorities, animals, technology, wealth acquisition, women, families, children, cooking, and so forth.

This is what the hall shelving used to look like with my magazines leaning and lurching.

I had to wait about 2-3 weeks for the paint to really set before I could move anything back, but the new trim color really brightened the hall.

These colorful boxes only hold some of the magazines, most of which are now in the family room in the former toy/drawing/vhs box/coffee table. The color doesn't look very good because I took it with my cell phone which doesn't have a flash.

Mark Levin: Why does Obama hate Israel?

Listen to yesterday's audio.

Does Obama understand anything? The Turks controlled Palestine from 1291 to the end of WWI. Then the area was a British Mandate until 1948. They aren't Palestinians either. There were always Arabs there; there were always Jews there; there were always Christians (at least since the time of Christ). The Palestinian Arabs who live in Israel have it better than Palestinian Arabs who live any where else. No one wants them except for political clout and pawns to beat up on Israel.

You know, I don't doubt Obama's Hawaiian birth certificate, but I do doubt what planet he's from--he is an alien to everything that is American.

Obama's May 19 speech

The advisers, czars and minions of the Obama administration have skillfully placed dynamite in the cracks of our culture--a deteriorating, decaying hodge-podge of special interests, academicians lusting for government grants, rabble rousers of multiculturalism, diversity and feminism, greedy union thugs, weak churches of all denominations and sects, government controlled and regulated capitalist-cronyism, environmentalist green-pantheists, and voters who have become couch potatoes, slugs and voyeurs watching celebrities copulate and the obese, brides and dancers frolic on reality TV.

If there is a Jonah or Noah or Moses out there struggling with God about who he should send to warn, rescue or lead us, I hope God wins the argument, but it’s just possible He’s looked at this mess and said, "You’ve got just what you deserve," and this is the man I've chosen to blow up an interesting experiment.

President Obama’s Message To Israel: Go To Hell

Jewish donors warn Obama on Israel

Israel Expects Obama to Take Back ‘1967 Lines’ Demand - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News

Column One: Obama’s war on Israel - JPost - Opinion - Columnists

Arkansas man first convicted under hate crime law

The wildly ridiculous act which will cause much mischief down the road, "The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act" which was tacked onto a military appropriations bill in 2009 and signed by President Obama has claimed its first headline--a 19 year old arrested for doing something that is always a crime, but somehow based on the color of the skin of the perp and the 5 targets, becomes a worse crime. I mean, a 19 year old Mexican American chasing and threatening 5 Mexicans wouldn't have been a hate crime and the U.S. Dept. of Justice would have ignored it. Same with blacks--even though most heinous crimes against minorities, particularly women, are committed by members of that ethnic or racial group.

Crimes against Euro-Americans because of their skin color will not be called "hate crimes," even though that too happens. The President can refer to business men as "fat cat bankers" or Boston police as "stupid" even though he should know from history the first conjures an image of rich Jews and the second the working class Irish. Be assured, he will not be charged with a hate crime, no matter how often he alludes to wealthy white people as being evil and encourages groups like ACORN or SEIU to threaten them with physical harm.

This act was H.B. 1913 when it passed the house in 2009, and included about 30 protected sexual proclivities as "life style choices," such as asphyxophilia - sexual gratification derived from activities that involve oxygen deprivation through hanging, strangulation, or other means; coprophilia - sexual arousal associated with feces; gerontosexuality - distinct preference for sexual relationships primarily or exclusively with an elderly partner; pedophilia - Sexual activity with a prepubescent child; urophilia - sexual arousal associated with urine, and maybe 25 others. I'm not sure all those got included in the appropriations bill.

Really, someone drunk in a bar could tell a really smarmy joke expecting to get a laugh about the ex-Governor of California and his Guatemalan mistress and someone might call the police because it was a hate crime--intended to hurt or lead to violence of a protected class--Hispanic mistresses. When bizarre expansions of federal control and power can't pass the smell test (or the House), they can slip in as an appropriation--like this one.

Arkansas man first convicted under hate crime law | Arkansas Blog

They could wait no longer

Yesterday a very wet, soggy landscape designer came to the door and introduced himself (I didn't recognize him) as the one we'd hired to cut, trim and replant our patio "garden." Rain or not, they had to do it. So here it is, with my new cheapy cell phone photo option I just learned to use today.

Looks like some azeala plants, a boxwood or two, the old dying evergreens were taken out, the stone wall rebuilt, some weeds pulled and mulch applied.

New Pro-Life Web Site Links Girl Scouts With Planned Parenthood

Oh no. Not the Girl Scouts! I guess as abortions started to drop off, PP needed to start recruiting.

New Pro-Life Web Site Links Girl Scouts With Planned Parenthood | LifeNews.com

Why some guys 40+ aren't married

Good essay, but this was in the comments:

. . . people who put a highest priority on family life tend to seek out opportunities to make a family for themselves as soon as possible, and this is especially true of women. A man who waits until he is 40 to start seriously looking for a wife has to contend with the fact that most of the women who make the best wives and mothers were looking for a mate sometime in their 20′s, and they’ve had ample time to find one.

Why I’m Glad I Haven’t Gotten Married….Yet | Right Wing News

More on the campaign trail--domestic energy

Perhaps totally uninformed voters might fall for this.

I am directing the Department of Interior to conduct annual lease sales in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, while respecting sensitive areas, and to speed up the evaluation of oil and gas resources in the mid and south Atlantic. We plan to lease new areas in the Gulf of Mexico as well, and work to create new incentives for industry to develop their unused leases both on and offshore.

More holes than my 10 year old athletic socks.

» Meet Obama’s New Energy Plan, Same as The Old Plan - Big Government

Kind of makes me think of charging us $50 for the new "energy efficient" lightbulbs while taking the old ones off the market. How many presidents does it take to screw Americans for energy. Just one.

Pelosi's district getting health care waivers

And much more than their share. Isn't that strange? Such a large percentage of waivers go to one Congresswoman's district? I wonder how that happens?

Of the 204 new Obamacare waivers President Barack Obama’s administration approved in April, 38 are for fancy eateries, hip nightclubs and decadent hotels in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s Northern California district.

That’s in addition to the 27 new waivers for health care or drug companies and the 31 new union waivers Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services approved.

Pelosi’s district secured almost 20 percent of the latest issuance of waivers nationwide, and the companies that won them didn’t have much in common with companies throughout the rest of the country that have received Obamacare waivers.

Health Care Law | San Francisco | Nancy Pelosi | The Daily Caller

Not much of a celebrity watcher

Today was the first I'd heard of Arnold the RINO's love child by a 20 year staff member of the household. When I browsed through Google, I see Maria and he had had a rather public split--he's ego-driven, obsessed with power, yada, yada, and she's left behind, and so forth. Maybe so. But I hadn't heard anything--sitting here in rainy central Ohio, and rarely turning on the TV. But the nasty, nasty remarks people leave on celebrity websites are just amazing. Sicko comes to mind, actually.

Update: Friday: As more disgusting details roll out, even the media appears shocked. What is it now, Governors 4 and Golfers 1?

Two's enough

I've now sampled two of the cookies I'm supposed to take to our Spring farewell English conversation group this afternoon. It started out to be Snickerdoodles, then I noticed an option that used 4 oz. of cream cheese and a cup of dried cranberries, which I just happened to have on hand, so they morphed into that. Then for the last nine, I added about 1/3 cup of walnuts. Now I've tried one of each and have declared them suitable for people learning English.

Photo from Real Mom Kitchen, which also has the recipe.

Did You Know--Lancelot Andrewes

The overseer and key translator of the King James Version of the Bible which celebrates its 400th anniversary this year was Lancelot Andrewes, one of the most brilliant linguists that ever lived. He spoke 15 modern languages and 6 ancient and had a photographic memory. He was a man of intense piety and spent 5 hours every morning in prayer. From Christian History, Issue 100.

Glenn Beck plans Jersualem courage rally | The Jewish Chronicle

Glenn Beck is interviewing the Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat on his program tonight. (Between crime and terror, Jerusalem is safer than most American cities, Barkat says.) He's planning a rally similar to the 8-28 event, which was hugely successful, and comedians, unionists and politicians tried to imitate, but failed. They must be wetting themselves over this one.

Glenn Beck plans Jersualem courage rally | The Jewish Chronicle

Yesterday was Sunday: Where was your Commander-in-Chief?

"At any given moment Obama is either organizing, Alinsky'izing, or golfing." This President out does all his predecessors in finding ways to unwind and ignore what's going on in the world. Maybe he's tense? Not up to the job? Lazy? Scared? I read somewhere that the only bump he got for bumping off Osama, was with Democrat women! I thought they were behind him (on the golf course and basketball court) no matter what, cheering him on.

American Thinker Blog: Yesterday was Sunday: Where was your Commander-in-Chief?

A beautiful day in the neighborhood

Today I began the morning with a 7 a.m. prayer time in the sanctuary, then church at 8:15 at Lytham Road, then over to Mill Run where I attended the 9:30 service, the coffee chat time with friends, then took dinner to my friend Eleanor who lives near by MR. Home then for a nap, and at 4 p.m. attended the spring concert by the choir and hand bell choir at Lytham Road.

Putting a stop to my student loan calls

Lately, we've been getting robo calls about student loans. We don't have any, of course. Neither one of us ever borrowed money from the federal government to attend college. In fact, the Department of Education didn't exist when we were in college--it's a boondoggle of a more recent era--Carter, I believe.

So I looked them up, but didn't find a way to send an e-mail without providing all sorts of personal information. These days you don't even know if a website is for real and might be stealing your information. So I phoned instead, and the first thing when I got through press one for English, and thank you for waiting all lines are busy now, was a request for my social security number and zip code, which I provided. Then the nice young lady told me I wasn't in her database. So I told her that was why I was calling. When I gave her my husband's name, she said it was him and not me they were trying to reach. I told her he was 73 and also had never had a college loan (have you noticed how college costs have increased with the availability of loans?)

So she assured me the calls would stop. I think there's an angry, stood up first wife trying to find this same guy who's delinquent on his student loan.

The price of pop corn

I finally saw The King's Speech at the $1 theater yesterday afternoon. What a terrific movie. But why is a small popcorn $5.25 if the ticket to get in is $1.50? So I passed on that treat. Didn't I read that theaters make more on food than on tickets?

Even at home I've gone to popping up a few tablespoons in a pan rather than doing the prepackaged in the microwave. Cheaper and fewer unknown, unpronounceable elements. It's the difference between a minute and 3 minutes.

So I asked Google--why does movie popcorn cost so much? And Stanford University has researched this:

Research from Stanford Graduate School of Business and the University of California, Santa Cruz suggests that there is a method to theaters’ madness—and one that in fact benefits the viewing public. By charging high prices on concessions, exhibition houses are able to keep ticket prices lower, which allows more people to enjoy the silver-screen experience.

So I guess it's OK--I can enjoy a cheap movie because some people don't care if they pay $5-$7 for pop corn. It seems that the big buyers of popcorn will come to see anything--it's those of us who only go to the movies occasionally and are more discriminating about the movies, that refuse to pay those outrageous prices. Also, if I'd gone to the movie with a group, rather than alone, statistically, there was a better chance I'd buy food.

Who knew?

Also, some people don't care about the calories. Popcorn is really a low calorie snack, unless you eat a large movie container with butter, which racks up to about 1200 calories. The Nannies are urging labeling of buttered popcorn at movies, as though the general public can't tell it has more calories than carrot and celery sticks (which would make too much noise in a theater, betcha).

Anyway, a great move, and I'm glad I went, with or without popcorn. Go see it if you haven't. It's more fun in a theate than at home on the couch.

I love a bargain

This morning I visited the new Volunteers of America Thrift Store on Henderson Road. I found a nice t-shirt from Talbot's and in walking to the back of the store to look at books, I found a pair of slacks that matched the t-shirt (things are arranged by color in this store). The book I bought is Gutenberg's Gift by Nancy Willard, illustrated by Bryan Leister. But the "paper engineer" is Bruce Foster. Here's a video of him explaining the book process.

History lessons for liberals

Who is teaching history to those under 50? Like President Obama? George Will points out some glaring deficiencies in the understanding of our country--even by our President who seems to believe that historically, Texas was a Republican state and that "fundamentally" means anything Obmama wants it to mean.

Liberals think Medicare and Social Security as they exist are “fundamental” to the nation’s identity. But liberals think the Constitution — which the Framers meant to be fundamental, meaning constituting, law — should be construed as a “living” document, continually evolving to take different meanings under whatever liberals consider new social imperatives.

History lessons for Obama and other liberals - The Washington Post

Hispandering--Obama on the campaign trail with amnesty

Amnesty: IRCA was its name during the Reagan years. Republicans rose up against President Bush when he tried it--and his was a bid for Hispanic votes too.

On November 6, 1986, after thirty-four years with no new major immigration legislation and a six-year effort to send an acceptable bill through both houses of Congress, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA; PL 99-603) was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. IRCA tried to resolve the following problems:

•Jobs lost by citizens and taken by illegal aliens, with resulting lower wages paid to illegal aliens
•Costs of services and welfare for illegal aliens and their low tax payments
•Exploitation of illegal aliens
•Social fragmentation of local communities
•The need to reestablish the power of law and the principle of U.S. sovereignty

To control illegal immigration IRCA adopted three major strategies:

•Legalization of a portion of the undocumented population (aliens in the country without legal papers), thereby reducing the number of aliens illegally resident in the United States
•Sanctions against employers who knowingly hired illegal aliens
•Additional border enforcement to impede further unlawful entries

Read more:

So did IRCA work? No, especially not the improved border patrol that was promised. But through familial chains (each amnestied family member bringing in other family members--parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, etc.), it exacerbated the problem. So instead of 3 million, we have 11 million, although no one knows for sure. The media will only report the sob stories of children brought into the country and now graduating from high school with the U.S. the only country they have known. Hispanics (a made up word) now outnumber African Americans as our largest minority, and their leaders are becoming more militant and anarchist each day, wiping out the gains made by other minorities.

LA RAZA DEMANDS oBAMA'S HEALTH REFORM PLAN COVER ILLEGAL ALIENS

Rep. Gutierrez Demands Amnesty Through Executive Order Will Obama comply with his demands? - Yahoo! Answers

Radical California Latino Lawmaker Pushes Amnesty, and Freebies for Illegal Aliens | UNCOVERAGE.net

Complete text of President Obama’s immigration speech in El Paso | Texas on the Potomac | a Chron.com blog

The speech of the President in El Paso in tone and text, was one of the worst I've ever heard--sarcastic, whiny, insulting, and degrading to all.

Just as we have hard ship cases on other laws, for instance for refugees, I'm sure something can be done here--take some of the legal resources currently used by Holder and Obama to take apart our system, and focus them on anchor baby high school graduates who are at risk of having their parents deported.

I'm all for immigration--my ancestors were immigrants in the 1730s. There were rules and procedures then, too. Had to swear allegiance to the King of England. But no more amnesty for those who came here illegally, or were brought in illegally by coyotes, their own parents, some trafficking in persons plan or the Mexican mafia drug cartel. Let Mexico clean up its own country, close its own poverty gap, and arrest its own criminals. The stipends that U.S. illegals send home is floating Mexico's economy, delaying its economic growth.

Mexico's immigration and citizenship rules are much stricter than the U.S. Let's take a look at how they do it.

Income sources for wealthy retirees

The problem with Obama's desire to raise taxes is it is a job killer and a way to punish the successful--the dream of all socialists/marxists who want the power of the purse over everyone, not just the poor. I've never been in the top quintile of income, but I have roamed around the other four. And I've had a good life. The bottom quintile was when I was a married college student in 1961 living in an apartment with no car, and a job translating Russian medical journals, warming up baby bottles and changing diapers, and using a wringer washer 3 flights down that took quarters. The fourth quintile was when we were "DINKS" double-income-no-kids after the children left home in the late 80s, early 90s when I was an Associate Professor and my husband was a partner in a small architectural firm. Now we're both retired, and probably hovering between second and third.

But there are definitely wealthy retirees. Among people in the highest quintile who are technically "retired," 43.7% of their income comes from wages, salaries and self employment. Only 18.7% of their income in that group comes from private pensions, IRAs, annuities, etc. So when Obama is successful in raising taxes by scolding Americans about being stingy and greedy, this is the group who can afford to just stop earning income. That means zip, nada zilch to your state government coffers too. Now that's a huge problem, because unlike the feds, the state governments can't just print more money. They are obligated by law to stay on budget. Raising taxes collects less money for the government--especially from rich people who either can take their business off shore, hire a smart tax lawyer or just stop earning until somebody wises up after the next election.

But it's also a big problem for the government to be taking in a lot as it did during the Bush tax cut years, because politicians, whether Democrat or Republican, just salivate when they see those numbers, so instead of paying down the debt, they just increase the government programs.

Source for figures (not opinion) "Income of the Aged Chartbook, 2008," issued by the Social Security Administration, although I can't find a picture that exactly matches those--this one is close.

Detroit is Functionally Illiterate

Over 50 years of Democrats' stranglehold on the city, and 47% of adults in Detroit are illiterate. That means they can't read, or don't care about the report that says "Detroit spent $15,945 per pupil for the 2010-2011 school year. By comparison, the average per pupil expenditure during the 2007-2008 school year nationally was $10,259."

And look folks, it's certainly not the Teachers' fault--and their union will tell you so.

"The Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT), however, is adamant that the problem actually lies with the city’s failure to effectively enforce school attendance.

“I don’t think that that the teachers’ union has a responsibility for making sure that adults can read,” DFT president Keith Johnson told TheDC."

Detroit | Functionally Illiterate | National Institute for Literacy | The Daily Caller

The Report

Conspiracy Theories by Cass Sunstein, Adrian Vermeule

Media Matters thinks it's a Glenn Beck conspiracy theory to believe Cass Sunstein is dangerous. He is an Obama czar married to one of Obama's top advisors, Samantha Power (he dumped his live-in Chicago lawyer girl friend of many years who helped his career and who believed his drivel that marriage wasn't for him to marry and procreate with the half-his-age, sexy babe). She's the one who advised Obama about Libya. Now, how is that working out? So what are we to make of Sunstein's theories on conspiracy theories--that the federal government needs to infiltrate groups and put a stop to them with misinformation and co-option? Does Donald Trump come to mind? Read his paper and see if you aren't worried that he has both Obama's large ears. His and Samantha's.

SSRN-Conspiracy Theories by Cass Sunstein, Adrian Vermeule

Threats against trains in the U.S.

I'm a little surprised that the threats against trains by al-qaeda haven't been taken more seriously. I haven't been on Amtrack since 2003, but because they come into the central city of every major metropolitan area, and there was nothing in the way of security checks that I could see in Chicago or LA, at least not like the airports, it would seem to be prudent to heed their warnings. Maybe things have changed in 7 years.

Evidence collected from Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan indicates that Al Qaeda considered launching a terrorist strike against America's rail system, U.S. officials said Thursday, though there was no sign of concrete plans to carry out an attack.

The plot was "aspirational," said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.

Al Qaeda plot: Osama bin Laden raid reveals evidence of terrorist plot against U.S. rail system - Los Angeles Times

Ohio Alerted Of al-Qaeda Railroad Threat | WBNS-10TV, Central Ohio News

A rather odd, quiet Mother's Day

On April 30 I began having back spasms after a little weed pulling at our lake home. I didn't feel much until I sat down on our soft couch and tried to get up. It was the worst I've ever had--like labor pains only in my back. I've never been this old or this heavy, so I suspect that might have something to do with it. But by Tuesday after ice packs, Advil and switching to a heating pad, I was able to get around. By Friday I was able to drive, and we had plans for church with our daughter, and then lunch at our son's home in Canal Winchester. On Saturday I began having some vertigo and thought I might have the flu, but took some Dramamine (for my ears and motion sickness) and cancelled the holiday plans. Because I wasn't going to do anything that required sitting or moving around, my husband headed for the lake to mow the lawn and do general yard clean up because he's heading for Haiti soon and won't be able to get to it. So. . . I spent Mother's Day alone, in a back brace, but with my new and wonderful . . ThermiPaq which my daughter gave me as a Mother's Day gift, beautifully wrapped with a card. You can either put them (she gave me 2, one large, one small) in the freezer for icing an injury, or the microwave for stiffness, cramps or muscle pain. Love it! I think this is a practical gift, and one I'll continue to use.

I did go to exercise class today, but mainly walked for 45 minutes rather than do the weight lifting and crunches. Baby steps, baby steps. Easy does it.