When "Anyone but Obama" no longer works for me

When someone says, "I promise you. . . " the I-you relationship is gone if the promise is broken, and the promise is worthless from the start if the person making it is not competent to keep it, or is of poor character. Frankly, I don't understand why conservatives want to believe Newt Gingrich's promises. Has he kept them in the past? Is he a man of character? I thought I was in the ABO crowd, but on the other hand, if we have a Republican Progressive in office who has supported big government in all the areas we've been fighting Obama, what have we gained? Newt has either been a poor academic or a rich politician/lobbyist all his working life--just like our current President. AND if elected AND he has a Republican House or Senate, who will stop the overreaching executive branch as we slide further into socialism? Neither party has a good record of saying NO to its own guys.

1. Newt is a BIG government guy, and not too supportive of capitalism. Conservatives say they want smaller, less intrusive federal government. Charles Krauthammer on Gingrich's attack on Romney: "What conception of capitalism do you have if you attacking your opponent for entering what is the risk taking of capitalism? It's the old line from Schumpeter which is that capitalism is creative destruction. And this kind of attack is what you'd expect from a socialist," Krauthammer continued."

2. Newt was an academic before elected to Congress. Conservatives have been quite critical of Obama for his lack of business sense and his poor understanding of the bottom line. Newt likes to say he has a "consulting business," but it's really a lobbying job and he's on the payroll.

3. Newt has been a supporter of some sort of massive federal health care for 20 years--probably since Obama was in grad school. Conservatives say they don't like Obamacare.

4. Newt is good in front of a microphone--people like his speaking style, even if he says nothing and lies. Conservatives have not appreciated this quality in Obama.

5. Newt could match Obama for self-centeredness and narcissism. Someone said (a former wife, maybe?) "he thinks he's the smartest guy in the room." I don't know about the rest of you, but we already know that emperor has no clothes. Is it OK for white guys, but not black guys?

6. Newt is a career politician. Conservatives claim they want a new broom--and not a socialist broom either.

7. Newt was a lobbyist for Fannie and Fred, who helped created the 2007 recession and implosion. Conservatives have Barney on YouTube and play it frequently--denying there was any problem within the GSE's. And when Barney Frank says Gingrich has no ethical core, we're in deep, deep trouble.

8. Obama has flip flopped on the Iraq War--he has nothing good to say about it, actually came close to treason when he was a Senator, in my opinion, but to listen to him yesterday you'd think it was the best thing since sliced bread. Gingrich is like that about global warming--he was cozy and loving to the concept when it suited his pocket book, now he says it was a mistake. Do Conservatives believe what he said then or now?

9. Newt led the charge to impeach our serial adulterer in chief, Bill Clinton, while cheating on his wife. Conservatives who approve of that hypocrisy, please raise your hand.

10. And finally, Newt's favorite President is Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the guy who extended the last Depression over 10 years. 'nough said?

Cass Sunstein downplays the regulations by lying

"Cass Sunstein, the director of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, has been shopping around lower numbers [about the increase in regulations that are strangling the economy] that selectively compare Mr. Obama's first two years favorably with Mr. Bush's last two. Administrations are typically most active on the way out, and in any case the Bush regulatory record is nothing to crow about. But Mr. Sunstein's numbers are even more misleading because they only include the rules that his office reviews while excluding the prolific "independent" agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission.

This means that if Congress tells, say, the Securities and Exchange Commission to write a new rule, it doesn't enter Mr. Sunstein's tally. So it omits, for example, some 259 rules mandated by the Dodd-Frank financial reregulation law along with its 188 other rule suggestions. It also presumes that Mr. Obama is a bystander with no influence over his own appointees who now dominate the likes of the National Labor Relations Board."

WSJ Regulation for Dummies

She turned down bariatric surgery

A recent issue of JAMA (Dec. 7, 2011) has an update on a woman who had counseling about the various options of bariatric surgery in 2009--Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and laparoscopic adustable gastric banding. She suffered from severe obesity, depression, anxiety and osteoarthritis. She also had hypothroidism with Graves disease, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis of both knees, a benign breast mass, and menometrorrhagia. Her doctor recommended the surgery because she'd been unable to lose weight dieting. Although I'm not sure why the "update" was published, we did learn she chose not to proceed and that she believed she was being rushed. She thought it might affect her mood and her social life and she wouldn't be happy. Now after 2 years, she's considering it again--wants to enjoy her retirement, she says.

I only mention this because weight counseling is included in Obamacare, because the nanny state is so worried about obesity. It seems that people don't always accept, understand, or believe their doctors, even if it's covered by insurance. Who knew?

I wonder what they did with all the poor people who used to live there?

I saw this in the OSU Today on-line News today.

Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment has housing opportunities for faculty and staff in the Weinland Park neighborhood, which is just steps from the university's main campus and other great amenities like the Short North. A great deal of investment is taking place in the neighborhood, making it a perfect place to call home, and many housing opportunities are coming for all income levels and housing needs. Also, the Faculty & Staff University District Homeownership Incentive Program is available in this area.

Demolished neighborhood waiting for new housing.

Weinland Park neighborhood is north of downtown Columbus, and a group of 20 organizations plus Ohio State (Ohio taxpayers) and Columbus (city taxpayers) have pledged $15 million to develop housing in the area plagued by crime, foreclosures and vacant houses, according to an article in the Dispatch about 15 months ago. Seven years ago when this was proposed the average household income was about $15,200. Why would they want faculty earning over $100,000 to invade their space?
Proposed in 2004 by Deborah Pryce
Crime statistics

Weinland Park neighborhood, the elementary school and housing, is like a petri dish for Ohio State projects. I looked through a proposal by the architecture/urban design students and it included a component on obesity and fresh food sources.

If these kids had fathers, mom would probably have a car and could drive to Krogers to shop, or, maybe they wouldn't have to live in a neighborhood where they are guinea pigs!

Nathan Glazer's Warning

I've expressed concern often at this blog about what government is doing to non-profits and church charities and outreach. Nathan Glazer warned that social policy often does more harm than good, and extends this to what happens when the government footprint squashes local charities.

Just as families and buildings risk harm from social policy, so too do nonprofit social-services organizations. In The Limits of Social, Policy

Glazer makes clear that the sort of marriage between government and nonprofits that the Obama White House is pursuing may fundamentally change what makes the helping organizations of civil society so great. As an example, he points to the Meals on Wheels programs that bring food to elderly shut-ins. These programs were effective and cheap back when local charities ran them on their own. “They are small, they rely on volunteers to cook and deliver the meals (often using their own cars and their own gasoline), they are sponsored by churches and other voluntary organizations, they depend on local contributions for the cost of food and whatever paid staff they use, they generally charge for the meals but provide them free for those who cannot afford to pay. All in all, a useful and economic service.”

But then Congress voted to provide federal assistance to the programs. The result was a “host of potential difficulties,” including requirements “that each service must provide more than one hundred meals daily, that they provide auxiliary social services to meals recipients, that they cooperate with area-wide comprehensive planning services for the elderly, that they train their staffs and send them to seminars provided by the Administration on Aging, . . . that they have full-time directors.” Glazer’s concluding reflection can be applied to other programs as well: “When one realizes that meals-on-wheels programs are small, use volunteers, are unacquainted with elaborate paperwork and regulations involved in qualifying for federal assistance, one sees the difficulties they will have in satisfying government regulations and in also remaining who they are.” Government’s seemingly benign endeavor to extend the reach of local social programs, then, is deeply hazardous.

Nathan Glazer's Warning by Howard Husock, City Journal Summer 2011

But in addition, churches that take government money are then stifled in their primary responsibility--providing the Gospel to the needy. Who is it that tries to stop the Gospel?

Obama's accomplishment?

I was just reading through a long list of Obama's accomplishments in an e-mail--someone must have taken them off a White House web site, so I just picked one to check--increase in military housing, which led me to the new GI bill. And here's what I found at the Military.com website:

"In July of 2008 the Post-9/11 GI Bill was signed into law, creating a new robust education benefits program rivaling the WWII Era GI Bill of Rights. The new Post 9/11 GI Bill, which goes into effect on August 1, 2009, will provide education benefits for servicemembers who have served on active duty for 90 or more days since Sept. 10, 2001. These benefits are tiered based on the number of days served on active duty, creating a benefit package that gives current and previously activated National Guard and Reserve members the same benefits as active duty servicemembers."

So yes, it went into effect under Obama, but it was signed into law under Bush, and knowing how long these things take, who knows how long it was in the hopper.

The Role of Carbon Dioxide During the Onset of Antarctic Glaciation

Summary:

Earth’s modern climate, characterized by polar ice sheets and large equator-to-pole temperature gradients, is rooted in environmental changes that promoted Antarctic glaciation ~33.7 million years ago. Onset of Antarctic glaciation reflects a critical tipping point for Earth’s climate and provides a framework for investigating the role of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) during major climatic change. Previously published records of alkenone-based CO2 from high- and low-latitude ocean localities suggested that CO2 increased during glaciation, in contradiction to theory. Here, we further investigate alkenone records and demonstrate that Antarctic and subantarctic data overestimate atmospheric CO2 levels, biasing long-term trends. Our results show that CO2 declined before and during Antarctic glaciation and support a substantial CO2 decrease as the primary agent forcing Antarctic glaciation, consistent with model-derived CO2 thresholds.


The Role of Carbon Dioxide During the Onset of Antarctic Glaciation

Monday Memories--I was a stranger and you invited me in

After Dad returned from the service after WWII he was assigned a new territory by Standard Oil, and he moved our family to Forreston, Illinois in 1946. Poor Mom! Housing was scarce and the old farm house Dad bought didn’t have a bathroom and the indoor water was a pump in the kitchen. I was only 6 and thought it was a great adventure--horses in the pasture next door, a new puppy, a different school and new friends.

Our next door neighbor, Helen Vietmeier, was beautiful, kind, gentle and soft spoken. Her family lived in a lovely home where I often visited and played. Although I didn’t usually call adults by their first name, she was always Helen to me which is what her lovely teen-age daughters Doris and Betty Jo called her. Helen reached out to the strangers in that shabby house and invited our family to the Lutheran church, one of three Protestant churches in the town of 1,000 settled by Germans in the 1850s.

Although we were members of the Church of the Brethren 15 miles away in Mt. Morris and remained “visitors” the five years we attended, we children participated in everything--choir, Bible school, Sunday School, plays for special events like Mother’s Day and Christmas pageants, and those wonderful Lutheran pot lucks. Because we were so young, we effortlessly learned the liturgy, difficult hymns, the creed and the Lord’s Prayer through regular Sunday attendance. When I didn’t understand Pastor Hersch’s sermons I would look at the amazing stained glass windows for which 19th century members had sacrificed. My sisters and I were all baptised in our former church, and they also attended confirmation classes at the Lutheran church. My oldest sister began her career as a church musician on the organ at little Faith Lutheran. We returned to our home community and church in 1951 after Dad owned his own business, and I didn’t see Helen again until my mother’s funeral almost 50 years later.

In 1975 we’d been living in Upper Arlington for 8 years. I heard about a speaker who was going to be at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, so I decided to attend. I was a stranger and didn‘t know anyone, but I sat next to Dottie Wharton who invited me to attend services with her and a neighborhood Bible study at Denise Kern’s home. About a year later on Palm Sunday 1976, we were confirmed by Luther Strommen and joined UALC. I felt right at home.

Praise God for believers who reach out to strangers to extend a welcome and the Gospel. And praise God that the stranger is being Christ to the believer.

AmeriCorps to help classroom teachers teach service

This seems odd to me. I saw an article in the local paper that an AmeriCorps staffer trained by "Partnerships make a difference" is working with our local teachers to incorporate service activities into lesson plans. Hmmm. We have tax supported colleges to train taxpayer paid teachers to work in tax supported schools. Our public school teachers with years of training and experience need additional tax supported college kids still finding their own career path to teach the teachers about "service?"

Service to our community and neighbor is a component of most religions, and if we can't let the Bible, which teaches the importance of service as a result of faith, into the classroom, isn't this just backdoor religious instruction?

So I looked up "Partnerships make a difference" and it turned out to be an OSU 501(c)3, a "non-profit" that gets government and private grants to exist. Locally, service projects are required in order to graduate, and they are important on college applications.

Here's an idea--one I've had for a decade. The teen-agers in Upper Arlington park on Northwest Blvd and walk 2-3 blocks to the highschool. This makes it impossible for the older people who live in those four-family units to shovel the snow in the winter, especially if the plows have been by and buried their sidewalks and driveways. Have each teen keep a shovel in his/her car, and before rushing off at the last minute, they could shovel 5 or 10 ft of sidewalk and driveway for the families they are blocking.

Going after Newt with the G-Word

Notice how liberals always bring up the scary G-word? And I don't mean God.

"On Wednesday night, Candance Gingrich-Jones, the openly gay half-sister of GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, appeared on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show and endorsed President Barack Obama."

They do that hoping to defeat Republicans who might be supporters of Newt, who didn't reject a family member who was gay. That's how narrow they are and how little they know about Republicans, who love their gay relatives, some of whom are also Republicans. They've got one finger pointing out and three pointing toward themselves for hypocrisy, devisiveness, and fear mongering.

Latest issue of Edible Columbus is free

Edible Columbus issue 8 (Winter 2011) is complimentary and available at a number of local stores. I got mine at Giant Eagle. I met the publisher and editor-in-chief, Tricia Wheeler, about 2 years ago when we sat next to each other at Panera's and I notice she had a mock-up of Issue 1 (I collect first issues). We talked about the concept (buying and eating locally), and when we said good-bye, she asked me my name. I told her, and she said, "We live in your house!" They had purchased our home of 34 years from the people we sold it to.

The First Amendment puts limits on Congress, not us!

One of the reasons for the First Amendent's guarantee of religious freedom (Congress couldn't establish a religion and couldn't prohibit the free exercise of religion) being listed first was the power in some of the colonies of some established churches, particularly the Congregationalists and the Anglicans. They had become fat, lazy and rich through taxing everyone for a state church. Doing something frivolous on Sunday could get you mobbed, or thrown in jail. The American colonies which became the 13 states had many, many denominations and sects--Dunkards and Mennonites (my background), Presbyterians and all sorts of Dutch and English Calvinist groups, German Lutherans (my current church but with the Scandivanians mixed in), Quakers, Moravians, French Huguenots, Baptists, Roman Catholics, and Jews. New York alone had 12 different denominations.

These "dissenters" wanted to be free of the taxes and wanted to preach their own faith from the pulpits (many states had state-paid ministers). The first amendment was added to the Constitution in "The Bill Rights" and was intended to stop government supported sects, not to create a wall of separation and have religion (more specifically Christianity) removed from the public square, as our Supreme Court has done for the last 50 years.

Now we have a federal government hostile to religion (primarily any group respecting The Bible) with many state and local governments following along. Instead of Christianity, a religion, it promotes "spirituality" in environmentalism, multiculturalism, greenish-Gore climate protection programs, humanism, progressivism (the core of socialism), feminism, and globalism. "Spirituality" is very subjective and has no outside standard of truth, with the result that adherents soon become coersive and demand compliance to their version of truth, the very principles the First Amendment was supposed to prevent.

Sustainability and Stewardship are not synonyms!

Stewardship is a Biblical and spiritual principle--God created the world, he is the owner and appointed man to be a manager of his creation, a job for which he must give an accounting (Luke 12:42; 16:2; I Cor. 4:2). There are numerous Biblical stories about responsible servants and house/estate managers. The concept of stewardship affirms that God retains his sovereignty and that his creation is good and applies in all areas of life.

Sustain as a verb (to prop up, to maintain, to cause to continue, to endure) has a very different connotation than steward (to manage, to supervise, to control). In English, a very flexible, innovative language, you can make a verb into a noun by adding suffixes such as -ship or -ability or -ment. However, sustainability is not in my Webster's 2nd International (1948) nor my Webster's Collegiate 9th (1983)--so it developed sometime after the first Earth Day (1970), our most recent return to pagan goddess worship.

In contrast to God's revealed "creation is good" in Genesis, other religions treat the material world as bad and dark, always in conflict with the light, and it's up to humans to either rise above it through altered states (meditation), or redeem it.

In my opinion, as an ethical concept sustainability is an unruly teenage noun dressed in the latest fad fashion with tattoos and nose rings, chasing and teasing the much older and wiser noun, stewardship. It's an orphan who reports to no higher power, certainly not to our Father God, a newcomer who loves to hang out in pagan temples with secular and mystical spiritual leaders.

Think of it this way if the above is too esoteric. If you have a pension, do you want it to endure and run on the lowest level of maintenance, flat lining on life support with infusions from all cultures and governments around the globe, or do you want it to thrive with sound management and control in a market economy guided by the God of the Bible?

"Selfless Audacity" Means Creating a Sustainable Not-a-Business Model

Since librarians as a group are already 223:1 liberal to conservative, what do you suppose "selfless audacity" means in the publishing field? Libraries will not only be selecting (purchasing) the book, but publishing them. Will any conservative title see the light of day or ever make it to the library shelves?

"Selfless Audacity" Means Creating a Sustainable Not-a-Business Model | Peer to Peer Review

Conestoga Christmas program

Last night our Conestoga group (Friends of the Ohio Historical Society) met at Saint Joseph Cathedral, 212 East Broad St., Columbus, for a wonderful dinner, tour of the building and an organ concert. I couldn't begin to describe the beauty of the organ, which took two years to build, and the fabulous concert performed by Cathedral Director of Music, Paul Thornock. There is a series called "Cathedral Concerts," and the next one will be Sunday, December 11, at 3:00 p.m., for Lessons and Carols for Advent and Christmas.

Some Christian books have no Gospel (good news)

This drives me crazy. My husband says I'm fighting a losing battle, he's heard me say it so often. Gospel-free Christian books. Christian "how to" books that are longer than the New Testament. Like Willow Creek's book on "Leading life changing small groups." Lots of mnemonic devices like: Mission statement--mandate, method, model, mechanism, means. Discipleship--Grace, growth, group, gifts, good stewardship. Leadership--Love, learn, lead. Chapters on structure, on leadership, on personal growth, group life, crisis care, and resources. What's missing? The Gospel.

No one was better at making lists, giving tips, and admonishing the slackers than Paul, who basically structured the Christian church after the resurrection of Jesus. But he also began with the basic gospel before he launched his topic so they were all on the same page and had the correct foundation.

I've checked the website, and there is a 2007 revised edition--the one in hand is 1996. However, it's virtually impossible to tell the good news, without the bad--sin and God's wrath. And modern day evangelicals think it's unkind or harmful to point out sin. Therefore, they have nothing to offer except a mechanical list of rules to follow to change or modify behavior.

Monday Memories--Christmas in the 1940s

When I remember Christmas 1944, I'm aware that at that time, I remembered Christmas back in Illinois and I knew it was different, but 1944 is really the earliest clear memory. In 1944 Mother had moved her family of four little children in a 1939 Ford to a foreign land filled with people of many ethnicities and strange customs--California. It even smelled funny to me--Alameda and Oakland--you could smell the Bay and the ocean. My father was in the U.S. Marines and the country was at war.

On the one hand, it was a scary time for a little child, but on the other, it was fascinating. Ribbons of highway, miles and miles of flat land, eating in restaurants, sleeping in camps, strange bugs and animals, mountains, desert, the great Salt Lake, picking up hitch hiking soldiers to help with the driving, and always our strong Mother who seemed to have everything under control (but who was only 32 and had probably never driven outside of a few counties in Illinois.

We lived in a stucco ranch house in Alameda. We went to school with children of many types--Filipinos, Chinese, black, Oakies and Arkies, visited local sites like the San Diego Zoo (although that's certainly not close to Alameda--maybe it was San Francisco), and played with neighborhood friends. I can't remember a Christmas tree in that house, but I suppose we had one. I do remember Christmas caroling in the fog--that's how I know I had memories then of earlier Christmases--because I remember thinking how odd we didn't have snow. I recall going to a community gym where I think we had church, and hearing a group sing "White Christmas," which in those days, was a "new" anthem of nostalgia. Somewhere in the mix my mother's brother Clare was killed in China and my father shipped out so our reason for being there was over.

Dad came home when the war was over (to our house in Illinois) shortly before Christmas 1945--I seem to remember an announcement that he would be home for Christmas. What I remember are the glorious presents Mom had wrapped--and I do remember that tree and the excitement. A doll house and a sled--to be shared by all--but it seemed to me that she must have "broken the bank," and indeed, 30 years later my daughter and all her cousins had played with that same 2 story doll house in mother's basement--having been "redecorated" many times.

For Christmas 1946 we must have been in Forreston in the little farm house that didn't have a bathroom until Mother installed it, because I remember receiving my first Bible, a KJV which I still have. I think I remember going back to Mt. Morris and possibly Franklin Grove to have dinner and presents with my grandparents, but we did that many years, so I've sort of put those memories through a blender and filter. We were attending Faith Lutheran Church so it's possible we were in a Christmas pageant. We weren't Lutherans, but that church took us in and made us feel welcome.

Norma in 1946
By Christmas 1947 we had moved to a lovely 4 bedroom brick house with a big porch and yard. We girls all had paper routes, and it seems to me the snow was very deep. Christmas 1947 meant spending hours near the tree with my brother, shaking and handling presents, trying to guess what might be in them. The tree was real, and I recall some of the ornaments were Disney characters. I remember clothes hand made for my dolls from scraps left from the dresses Mom made for me. I still have some of them. The four of us sang in a quartet for community groups with my oldest sister the accompanist--Frosty the Snowman, Winter Wonderland and White Christmas. I don't think we had a lot of talent, but the Cuteness meter was off the charts, especially with my charming little brother.

At Christmas time at the Forreston school which contained all 12 grades, all the classes would gather in the hall and the principal, John I. Masterson, would read the Christmas story from the Bible--the Luke passage. As one of the younger students, I thought being together with the high school students was more awesome than the actual celebration.

Good times, good memories, thanks for reading.

World's Shortest Books--a list going around

MY BLACK GIRLFRIENDS
By Tiger Woods
________________________________________

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY COUNTRY
By Jane Fonda & Cindy Sheehan
Illustrated by Michael Moore
Foreword by George Soros
________________________________________

MY CHRISTIAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS
& HOW I HELPED AFTER KATRINA
By Rev Jesse Jackson & Rev Al Sharpton
______________________________________


THINGS I LOVE ABOUT BILL
By Hillary Clinton
_________________

Sequel: THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HILLARY
By Bill Clinton
_________________

THINGS I CANNOT AFFORD
By Bill Gates
____________________________________

THINGS I WOULD NOT DO FOR MONEY
By Dennis Rodman
_________________________________
THINGS WE KNOW TO BE TRUE
By Al Gore & John Kerry
_____________________________________
GUIDE TO THE PACIFIC
By Amelia Earhart
____________________________________

HOW TO LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST
By Dr. Jack Kevorkian
__________________________________
TO ALL THE MEN WE HAVE LOVED BEFORE
By Ellen de Generes & Rosie O'Donnell
__________________
GUIDE TO DATING ETIQUETTE
By Mike Tyson
__________________________________
THE AMISH PHONE DIRECTORY

_______________________________________
MY PLAN TO FIND THE REAL KILLERS
By O. J. Simpson
_______________________________________

HOW TO DRINK & DRIVE SAFELY
By Ted Kennedy
_________

MY BOOK OF MORALS
By Bill Clinton
With introduction by
The Rev. Jesse Jackson
and forward by
Tiger Woods with John Edwards
_______________________________________________

HOW TO WIN A SUPERBOWL
BY THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS
_______________________________________________
AND, JUST ADDED:

My Complete Knowledge of Military Strategy
By Nancy Pelosi
_______________________________________________
And the shortest book of them all.........

THINGS I DID TO DESERVE THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
by Barack Obama
------------------
HT Kay Ferris

Have a blessed Christmas and a joyful New Year

If you're a Christian and grumpy that the signs at the stores all say, Happy Holiday, keep in mind you still have the freedom to greet people any way you wish!

"Jesus loves you--happy Christmas."

"Have a blessed holiday with your family."

"May the New Year bring you blessings from God."

"God bless you for your help."

"I'm really enjoying the Christmas music in your store."

And so forth. No one can steal your joy unless you hand it over.

Former SEIU Boss Andy Stern Becomes Albatross then gets a Columbia appointment

I noticed that Andy Stern, former boss of SEIU, and frequent visitor at the White House and Obama confidant had been appointed to a faculty position at Columbia, Senior Fellow for the Richard Paul Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy, an interdisciplinary academic center jointly administered by Columbia Business School and Columbia Law School.

I thought that was odd since I had a vague recollection he'd had some legal problems--does that make him qualified for a position with a pricey Law School? Then I found out that just a month before his Columbia appointment he'd been declared an albatross by Publius Forum. They were certainly wrong about that!

Former SEIU Boss Andy Stern Becomes Albatross « Publius Forum

I stopped donating to the University of Illinois because of Bill Ayers being on the Chicago campus--each time I'd get a request I scribble a note across and mail it back. I think Columbis graduates should do likewise.

This should be fun!

A friend has given me her book manuscript to read--world history. Will be a challenge. I'd learned a lot just reading the forward. I can tell we have different ideas for adverbs, but I think that's just writing style.

Before the Closer, we enjoyed Moonlighting with Bruce Willis

Moonlighting was Bruce Willis' first really big break with Cybil Shepherd. Then he married Demi Moore and they have 3 daughters, all with very odd names. He remarried about 2 years ago. I don't follow his movies, maybe he needs the money. Lots of people have been hurt by the reession.

As was reported earlier in the week by various celebrity real estate gossips, Golden Globe and Emmy winning actor/action star Bruce Willis listed one of his many properties in the rural and rugged mountains of Hailey, ID with an asking price of $15,000,000.

The Real Estalker: Is Bruce Willis Bailing on Hailey?

Compensation Report for Architects

"Payroll employment at U.S. architecture firms was in excess of 240,000 at the end of 2007. By the end of 2010, firm employment levels fell to under 156,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, producing more than a 25 percent decline in payroll positions over this period." But strangely enough, compensation is up for the industry. "Architecture compensation increased 32 percent between early 2002 and early 2011, compared to 27 percent for all professional and related staff in the economy, and 25 percent for all private workers. Architect compensation increased faster than economy-wide compensation during the period of strong economic growth between 2005 and 2008, but slower during the economic downturn. . ."

The American Institute of Architects - AIA Compensation Report, Economics

Olive and Obama on Iran violence

My Mom (d. 2000) would have voted for Barack Obama--she and Dad (married 65 years) always crossed out each others votes. Mom also didn't spank us when we misbehaved. She would have said, "I'm deeply disturbed by your behavior," and given us "the look" or lectured us about our responsibility. Sometimes, we wished she would just spank us and forget the lectures. Thought about that today hearing Obama's "harsh" criticism of Iran. What a wuss--even though I think he's invaded without Congressional approval three countries.

Obama faults Iran for British Embassy violence

Can you define "Health Care Provider?"

You see that term, health care provider, everywhere. "Call your health care provider if you have signs xyz" or "Check with your health care provider to see if. . . " People zone out and fill in the blank--usually thinking DOCTOR. But that's not what it means. Go to Google and check an on-line dictionary. Yes, according to the CFR, it does include an MD or DO, but also, "Any other person determined by the Secretary to be capable of providing health care services." Also, podiatrists, dentists, clinical psychologists, optometrists, and chiropractors; nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, clinical social workers and physician assistants; any health care provider from whom an employer or the employer's group health plan's benefits manager will accept certification of the existence of a serious health condition to substantiate a claim for benefits;

but also

Church of Christ practitioners, if listed with the Church of Christ Scientist in Boston; and Native Americans including an Eskimo, Aleut, and Native Hawaiian recognized as "traditional healing practitioners."

ACORN Housing is at it again--with more government money

ACORN got busy changing its name after some bad publicity, but there are 170 ACORN affiliates and it is difficult to track them and their mischief. They are still hard shell socialists and a little nutty on the inside regardless of the name. Plus, they are just old fashioned crooks. "Organizing" was also removed from Obama's election campaign name, our Organizer in Chief, but it's still the same Alinsky principles.

HUD’s office of general counsel and the GAO have both claimed that Affordable Housing Centers of America, or AHCOA, is not affiliated with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN. AHCOA formerly called itself ACORN Housing, but changed its name after the 2009 ACORN meltdown.

The Obama administration has awarded more than $700,000 in taxpayer funds to AHCOA despite a 2010 law stipulating that no taxpayer funds could be awarded to ACORN “or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or allied organizations.”

ACORN Housing | Housing And Urban Development | GAO | The Daily Caller

What is this called? Stammering in print?

I was looking through a very dull book which I found could hold my attention if I just wrote down useless, parenthetical type phrases. Eventually, I could find one or two sentences that contained the core of the author's intention. The following is from ONE paragraph on page 185 of The freedom of a Christian, Chapter heading, "Why Remember."

Perhaps, therefore,
--though there is something to be said for that--
but, rather,
to be sure
perhaps, . . . or perhaps
but, in any case,
--in which, presumably--
at any rate

The few paragraphs leading up to this indecisive stew contain the phrases:

Clearly, the question is actually. . .
Whatever we may think of . . .
though, as we shall see
but it is clear
Or, to take a very different sort of. . .
nevertheless, we can think of instances
granting that these people should
perhaps we could argue
and, as it were,
and, more important still,
we have to ask
perhaps, therefore,
even granting that, however,
Quite often, to be sure,
--though there is something to that--
at least in part
Or, perhaps better,
it is not fitting, therefore,
if, on the contrary,
perhaps, in so doing,

Whew! Don't you just start looking for a buzz saw or hay mower?

This particular chapter first appeared in First Things, no. 135 August/Sept. 2003, pp. 20-24.

Reaganomics and American Character by Phil Gramm

I never voted for Ronald Reagan--I was a Democrat in those years, more by habit than by thought or investigation. I've since come to see my error. Interesting piece in Imprimis (Hillsdale College) by Phil Gramm.

"Ronald Reagan did not believe America was in decline, but he did believe it had been suffering under wrongheaded economic policies. In response, he offered his own plan, a program for creating economic freedom that came to be known as Reaganomics. Of course, most of Reaganomics was nothing new. Mostly it was the revival of an older understanding that unlimited government will eventually destroy freedom and that decisions regarding the allocation of scarce resources are best left to the private sector. Reagan explained these old ideas well, and in terms people could understand.

But there was also a new element to Reaganomics, and looking back, it was a powerful element and new to the economic debate. It was the idea that tax rates affect a person’s incentive to work, save and invest. To put it simply: lower tax rates create more economic energy, which generates more economic activity, which produces a greater flow of revenue to the government. This idea—which came to be known as the Laffer Curve—was met with media and public skepticism. But in the end, it passed the critical test for any public policy. It worked."

Read the rest here. Hillsdale College - Imprimis Issue

Radio talk on the internet

Listening to Jason Mattera on 77 WABC AM New York on the internet. He writes Human Events, conservative web site. First time listener. Discussions have been food vendor laws in New York City, concealed carry, and Al Sharpton and Obama's reelection campaign.

It's the end of a wonderful day. Beautiful church service, great sermon by Pastor Eric on Jesus asking Peter, "Do you love me," and greeting many old friends. Wonderful turkey tetrazinni for lunch with pumpkin pie (all from leftovers). The tree is up and decorated while a new Christmas CD from Nancy Sponseller played in the background. Then back to church at 2:30 for a very well attended art show reception--Pusecker 3 generation show. Then home for a nap.

Art show at Mill Run church

Preventive or Preventative?

Apparently, wordsmiths and experts don't agree. Some say "preventive" is an adjective; "preventative" is a noun. As in, "The doctor of preventive medicine suggested aspirin as a preventative."

Others, like WordMall, say it doesn't make any difference. Both have been around about 300 years.

The first instance of preventive given by the Oxford English Dictionary is by Francis Bacon in 1626. The first citation for preventative is from Roger Boyle Orrery in 1655.

The conclusion? Neither one is a corruption, but many contemporary grammarians favor the shorter version.

Wordmall: Preventive, Preventative

Latex-food allergy

I don't have food allergies, nor an allergy to latex (that I'm aware of), but allergies are problems for others. I saw this in my newsletter from George Mateljan, World's Healthiest Foods website. His articles are long and detailed, and he carefully cites his sources in major, peer-reviewed journals (at the website). I personally have not studied this, but found the information interest--and didn't know trees had stress mechanisms.

"The only commercial source of latex in the marketplace is Hevea brasiliensis, the genus and species of rubber tree native to South America. When the gene stock for this tree was transported by the British to Asia, this tree began to express more of its "defense proteins" in response to the abrupt stress of a non-native environment. Included in these defense proteins were chitinase enzymes.

When rubber trees are tapped for their sap, which in turn gets processed into latex, some of these chitinase proteins get carried over into the latex. One particular 3-dimensional section of these proteins is a fairly common trigger of antibody reactions in humans. This immune system reaction to a section of the chitinase protein constitutes a latex allergy.

Certain foods have what is called a "Hevea-like" domain in their proteins. In other words, they have a 3-dimensional section of their proteins that is identical to the 3-dimensional section found in the chitinase proteins of latex. The existence of this identical spot allows for cross-reactivity between latex and certain foods. This cross-reactivity is called latex-food allergy, or latex-food syndrome. The primary foods associated with latex-food allergy are: avocado, kiwi, banana, and chestnuts and to a lesser degree, hazelnuts, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, passion fruit, strawberry, apple, fig, grapefruit, watermelon, pineapple, cherry. Pear, peach, mango, tomato, carrot, celery, sweet pepper, tomato, spinach, coconut, and paprika have at times also been associated with latex-food allergy.

We are not aware of any genetic modifications for the above food list that increase their Hevea-like protein domains. Although genetic modifications of food do introduce new proteins into those foods, we have not seen any research suggesting that these new proteins have any connection with latex cross-reactivity."

'Occupy Wall Street' Steadily Becoming Just Another Big Labor Protest

"News that two major labor unions will co-opt an “Occupy” protest in Washington next month solidifies two facts about the waning protest movement: it is an entirely ordinary function of left-wing activism, and it is wholly unserious about addressing special interests’ influence over the political process. The Washington Post reports that the Service Employees International Union and the Communications Workers of America will stage a protest at the Capitol next month in conjunction with occupiers."

'Occupy Wall Street' Steadily Becoming Just Another Big Labor Protest

Unions are the political shock troops for the Democratic Party. United Auto Workers, Teamsters, United Steelworkers, Transportation Workers, Industrial Workers, National United Nurses, and Laborers’ International. With AFSCME, the SEIU, and the CWA, those account for some of the largest and most politically active labor unions in the nation. And they are all backing (and financing) the Occupy movement.

The Non-Green Jobs Boom

On the way to the coffee shop this morning I was listening to the local NPR news and it was an interview about alternative energy sources in Ohio. It was an excellent presentation and very balanced. The guest (don't know his name) said 2 things worth remembering: 1) alternative energy production in Ohio now exceeds that of nuclear; and 2) by 2025 we are required by law to have a quarter of our energy from non-fossil fuel sources.

So this article in today's WSJ is timely.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported recently that the U.S. jobless rate remains a dreadful 9%. But look more closely at the data and you can see which industries are bucking the jobless trend. One is oil and gas production, which now employs some 440,000 workers, an 80% increase, or 200,000 more jobs, since 2003. Oil and gas jobs account for more than one in five of all net new private jobs in that period. . .

Good news? You'd think so, but liberals can't seem to handle this truth so they are now trying to discredit the jobs that accompany it. The American Petroleum Institute recently commissioned a study by the Wood Mackenzie consulting firm, which estimated that better federal energy policy would create an additional 1.4 million jobs by 2030. . .

The Office of Natural Resources Revenue recently noted that federal revenue from offshore bonus bids (from lease sales) in fiscal 2011 was merely $36 million—down from $9.5 billion in fiscal 2008. The Obama Administration has managed the nearly impossible feat of turning energy policy into a money loser, pouring taxpayer dollars into green-energy busts like Solyndra. The Washington Post reported in September that Mr. Obama's $38.6 billion green loan program had created a mere 3,500 jobs over two years. He had predicted it would "save or create" 65,000.

Review & Outlook: The Non-Green Jobs Boom - WSJ.com#printMode

Sarah Palin's Thanksgiving Tribute to Trig

"This need for selflessness [in Alaska, American's last frontier] – and the blessings that come with it – sharpened for me almost four years ago when I was given the gift of broader horizons, clarified priorities, and more commitment to justice and compassion for my fellow man who faces challenges and fears. I was granted this through a gift that arrived in a tiny, six-pound, awe-inspiring bundle. We named him Trig."

Sarah Palin Gives Moving Thanksgiving Tribute to Her Son Trig | LifeNews.com

More than 90% of Down Syndrome babies are aborted. This little survivor was ridiculed on late night TV shows, and if he'd had parents who didn't want him, our president would have favored killing him as he was in the birth canal.

Chicago Teachers' Union President on tape

Pro-unionists will see nothing wrong here with the exception it was on Fox News: she was caught on tape "mocking Arne Duncan, the education secretary; discussing her own Dartmouth College drug use; and deriding a Chicago Tribune editorial cartoon of her." Upset and pushed into an apology, she challenged people to watch the whole video, which James Warren did and then wrote about it.

Karen Lewis, Chicago Teachers Union President, Apologizes for Remarks in Seattle - NYTimes.com

More on the wealth gap

The NBA. Millionaires arguing with billionaires.

A great day of thanksgiving

Not all churches have services on Thanksgiving, but Upper Arlington Lutheran does--7:30 last night at Mill Run, and 10 a.m. today at Lytham Road. We sang some wonderful hymns of thanksgiving and praise. Now thank we all our God; Come, you thankful people, come; We praise you, O God; O God beyond all praising; O beautiful for spacious skies; For the fruit of all creation. An inspiring sermon by Pastor Buff Delcamp on the 10 lepers who were healed and only one came back to say thank you. Our Senior Pastor Paul Ulring announced that it was Buff's 34th year with the church. Our son in law's father, Paul, attended with us, and because our congregation is so scattered over 9 services on Sunday, it is really great to see and greet people we haven't seen in maybe a year.

Then over the river and through the burbs to our daughter's lovely home and a fabulous meal. There was a huge turkey and honey baked ham, butternut squash, mixed vegetable salad (cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, onions with sweet dressing) stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry salad, hot rolls, deviled eggs, cherry pie and pumpkin pie. Everything was yummy and we brought home many leftovers.

Occupy Wall Street Just Getting Started

"What is the real point of "Occupy Wall Street"? The violence in Oakland offers the first clue. Now with politically connected union bosses and Acorn involved, it might just be worth looking at its links to Democrats."

Occupy Wall Street Militancy Just Getting Started - Latest Headlines - Investors.com

Supporters: President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, United Steelworkers, Apollo Alliance, Teamsters (454 incidents of violence since 1991), New York Communities for Change (NYCC), various anti-Israel groups, SEIU, Acorn, Mayor Bloomberg, Communist Party of the USA, Socialist Party, even American Nazi party (which is also socialist). The point is not to get college loans forgiven, or foreclosures stopped. If that were the case they'd be picketing the White House. The reason for the "occupation" is to bring down the American government and replace it with some form of Communism/Socialism.

Reading Alexis de Tocqueville

Some of us in Columbus are attending a study group called "Faith of our Fathers" produced by David Barton, Wall Builders. We watch one disc and then rearrange the chairs and discuss what we saw and heard. The first night he mentioned that most of us had read very condensed versions or sections of Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" in American History. I remembered it and even today you do hear it mentioned, so I bought the 2 vol. in paperback, c. 2003. What an amazing book! I'm not reading straight through--just nibbling certain chapters. Tonight I read the end of vol. 1 which is about the 3 races--European, Indian and Black. You can hardly believe this guy was only 26 when he wrote this. His grasp of what was happening to the Indians as Americans pushed them further and further west is incredible. Also, I had a peculiar sense that the American spirit and culture I was reading about of his 19th century travels was still true even 30 years ago, but not today.

WallBuilders.com: The American Heritage Series: DVDs

UC Davis chancellor Linda Katehi apologizes for pepper spray incident

We're used to Obama blaming Republicans for everything. Like the most recent failure of the super committee. The fact that Democrats could find no cuts (only slower growth) means nothing to him--only that Republicans wouldn't raise taxes. (He's running against Congress right now.) It's always someone else's fault--he's such a school yard bully. He comes to the support of his buddy Gates against the Boston police who were doing something lawful, but he praises the outlaw and lawless Occupiers.

But that's old news. The myopia of liberals is amazing and seems to know no end. On my blog and an e-mail list of my "homies" I've been blamed (because I'm a conservative) for what unionized state employees of California, the most liberal and most financially distressed state in the nation, did to their protesting occupiers, whom they've up to now coddled and praised.

UC Davis chancellor Linda Katehi apologizes for pepper spray incident - Crimesider - CBS News

Dan Quayle is still Right!

Remember when Dan Quayle was unmercifully pilloried in the press for criticizing the fictional Murphy Brown for having a baby out of wedlock? Then a few years later the research came dribbling in, and there was a famous essay in Atlantic, "Dan Quayle was right" by Barbara Whitehead which was in turn followed up by people in the Clinton administration studying poverty in children. The figures are stunning. Only 8% of children of married parents grow up in poverty--compared with 56% of single moms.

Why the writers of Bones bring in a "baby makes 3" with no marriage in season 7 I don't know. Even if the star is pregnant, there are many ways to work around that. Not only do babies complicate plots, but most certainly kill the series. All research for the last 2 decades points to unmarried parents as the #1 reason for poverty among children. Actors, screenwriters, directors, investors and producers commanding thousands of dollars per episode don't care about poor children, only big bank accounts. And what do you want to bet they are all liberal Democrats supporting Obama?

Your souls are empty

Joyce is unhappy her daughter doesn’t have a job, and is mad at people who don’t show enough sympathy (at a discussion about jobs) which had posted a job search story tongue in cheek:

Okay I know this write up is absurd and makes fun of something that is NOT funny. I have posted many times. My daughter graduated from a real library school. She has had library internships, and worked for a college archivist while an undergraduate. She has put out a tremendous amount of applications. Had a librarian help her with her resume. Had an expert help her with her resume. Taken 15 extra credits toward archives. Is now working on a certificate for web design. Is willing, and has applied to anywhere, anyplace. I do not find this amusing. This is bullying and elitism. There are bright motivated people who cannot find work. I think you all need to be ashamed and annoyed and think you are annoying. She is currently working as a paraprofessional. It is not funny. And you should all look in the mirror and ask yourselves what kind of people you are and what are you…your attitudes mirror your souls and your souls are empty.

And an unidentified, unemployed library student lets her have it:

Joyce, the truth is that no one owes your daughter a job. From your description she sounds motivated and qualified, but the market is so glutted with librarians right now that she is indeed lucky to be working in a library at all. Furthermore, the post is indicative of the moronic and anti-social behaviour that a lot of library school students (and librarians!) exhibit. This kind of behaviour and attitude has no place in a professional work environment. It ain’t elitism if it’s true. Also, your comment loses all credibility with the “your souls are empty” bit. Calm down, helicopter parent.

And Jean levels another plan for Joyce's daughter:

Hi Joyce – your frustration about pursing librarianship after the arc of the profession began to descend is clear. My concern for you and your daughter is that in pursuing a certificate in web design there’s a high chance you’ll be disappointed again. I’ve worked in the tech field for 30 years and have seen many trends and technologies come and go. Anything termed “web design” and offered at a certificate level is already passe. Web development today involves sophisticated platforms and rich systems/business process integration — and while there are jobs within this ecosystem, introductory training in markup languages, scripting and graphics probably won’t be enough to position someone for a job with stability and growth potential. Another thing to be aware of is that the job market is so horrible that loads of experienced, unemployed tech folks are taking lower level jobs and they’ll also be competing with your daughter.

The fact is, all college professors from law to library school to social work, have to suck in more students to keep their jobs. Only when they graduate do they discover the difficult truth. . . there are no jobs where the students want to be. Maybe there's something in Bucyrus, Ohio or Jefferson County Tennessee . . . but don't count on it. Library Science has the fourth highest unemployment rate at 15% and the fifth worst median salary at $36,000.

This is from Annoyed Librarian, who was a lot more fun before she went over to the dark side (Library Journal).

Classic Country

My husband's been at an art show most of the afternoon, and it's raining, so I'm listening to the music channels on cable. I worked my way through Christmas for about 30 minutes and decided it's just a little early with Thanksgiving being next week. Then I did some blues and jazz and Christian gospel. Now I've settled on Classic Country, which seems to be the 70s through about 1985 before country went to town with bling and pop. I didn't know there was a song about a 1957 Chevy. Sung by Billie Jo Spears--hadn't heard about her either. She's probably doing the retirement home circuit now--born in 1937. Also enjoying the Statlers, George Strait, Johnnie Cash and George Jones.

Do they write love songs about Toyotas?

A few health tips

We've had a bedbug scare in Columbus. I think 2 were found in a school and they sent notes home, closed it and sprayed. Bedbugs don't kill or even spread disease. But sometimes treatment is lethal. Like that NC woman who had renal failure, diabetes, hypertension and depression and was taking 10 medications when she and the hubby decided to treat the home for bedbugs with 9 cans of an insecticide NOT for bedbugs, and 9 cans improperly used. Then she put it in her hair and applied a bedbug and flea insecticide to her arms and sores on her chest. She died 9 days later in the hospital. I just don't think bedbugs were her biggest problem. JAMA, Nov. 9, 2011

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

I don’t put anything in my mouth or on my skin that isn’t a product of the USA or a territory, or Canada. For olives I make an exception--Spain or Italy. We pay a lot for USDA and HHS, so I want that protection. Imagine my surprise today when I picked up a 4 oz. Johnson’s baby powder and it was product of Indonesia! I looked at the large bottle, and it only had “distributed by” and nothing about country of origin. Hey! Baby powder is basically corn starch. Are you telling me there is not enough corn in the USA (even with turning it into fuel to be “green”) for baby powder? My empty container says “Made in USA.” READ ALL LABELS.

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

‎97.6% of the pregnant women who go to Planned Parenthood for help are sold an abortion. In 2009 332,278 surgical abortions or RU 486 were delivered, or 27.6% of all abortions in the U.S. (1.2 million). Defund Planned Parenthood--they lie about their services for pregnant women. PP is a killing machine using our tax dollars. Planned Parenthood 2009 Annual Report

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

Occupy Wall Street Crowd Blind to Benefits of Capitalism

"The Occupy Wall Street movement has shown a lack of understanding of how the market capitalist system works. They appear to think that the cell phones they use, food they eat, hotels they stay in, cars they drive, gasoline that powers the cars they drive and all the myriad goods and services they consume every day would be there under a different system, perhaps in more abundance.

But there is no evidence this could be or ever has been the case. The reason is that only market capitalism solves the two major problems that face any economy-how to provide an incentive to innovate and how to solve the problem of decentralized information. The reason there is so much innovation in a market system compared to socialism or other forms of central planning is that profit provides the incentive for innovators to take the risk needed to come up with new products."

Occupy Wall Street Crowd Blind to Benefits of Capitalism

Basic Economics for Christians--Please write this book

I read in the November Columbus CEO that business owners/executives scored only 38% on tests of financial literacy. So that got me to thinking. How would the rest of us score? So I decided to look into starting a book discussion group that would read a title (I made this up--doesn‘t seem exist) “Basic economics for Christians.”

We know the "Occupiers" know diddly squat about economics, but what about educated conservatives? I think most people who identify themselves as conservatives or Tea Party supporters and who want the government shrunk don’t realize how dependent they’ve pesonally become on the federal government through block grants to states for housing, mandated education standards like NCLB, and churches that accept government money for their “social justice” programs. Maybe they know the Federal Reserve System is not a government agency, but I’m guessing they don’t. Do they know the government has been involved in housing since the Royals were handing out land grants and charters (original colonies mostly named for royalty--North Carolina, Virginia--west of that for Indian names).

Socialism and Keynesian economics might be terms Conservatives have heard of, or even disparage, but do they know they are both anti-Christian and anti-saving for the future? John Maynard Keynes was a homosexual who had little use for families or Christian values--especially not providing for them in the future. He thought money should be spent today and not taken out of circulation for future needs. Do conservatives realize that both GW Bush and Barack Obama are Keynesians? They say they understand what it means that Obama’s advisors at the highest level are Socialists--but so were FDR and his advisors, an era that many revere?

Do they know that for the first two hundred years of the United States our history was taught with a moral and ethical base in public schools, and that since the 1920s God has disappeared from textbooks and in his place is an economic view of history? Do they know what has happened to manufacturing, transportation, and technology just within their own lifetimes? Do they even realize what their own consumerism and desire for more stuff have contributed? Do they know there didn’t used to be an income tax, or how many pages the current code is?

Do conservatives really understand the words million, billion and trillion? When conservatives complain about the cost of federal government do they know that from one dollar in taxes 21 cents go to Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP, 20 cents to Social Security and 20 cents to defense? Medicare, Social Security, and Defense are HUGE issues for conservatives, and a huge drain in a bloated government. Franklin County, Ohio, where I live gets $1.2 Billion in defense contracts. Want that cut? Even if we could reduce fraud, graft and waste, there would be a lot even with a squeaky clean payout.

What we understand and how we vote might be easier if we all understood consumer price index, gross domestic product, corporation, dividends, Laissez-Faire, Marx, Adam Smith, deficit, human capital, price controls, non-profits, for profits, etc. Time to get informed.

Has anyone written the books I'd like to read?

When architecture imitates life

Stata Center, MIT, designed by Frank Gehry

According to Robert Campbell (reported at Wikipedia), "the Stata is always going to look unfinished. It also looks as if it's about to collapse. Columns tilt at scary angles. Walls teeter, swerve, and collide in random curves and angles. Materials change wherever you look: brick, mirror-surface steel, brushed aluminum, brightly colored paint, corrugated metal. Everything looks improvised, as if thrown up at the last moment." And apparently that's the point. Freedom. No wonder college students riot and camp out in tents and go to jail without knowing why. Look what they had to pass walking to class!

AMA take on Obamacare

Grace Isenhart posted this on Facebook.

Apparently the American Medical Association has weighed in on the new economic stimulus package:

The Allergists voted to scratch it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.

The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.

The Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception.

Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted.

The Coroners yelled, "Over my dead body!" while the Pediatricians said, 'Oh, Grow up!'

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it.

Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing.

The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow, and the Plastic Surgeons said, "This puts a whole new face on the matter."

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea.

The Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and the Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no..

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the a$$holes in Washington .

ADHD drug may affect puberty

Juvenile male rhesus monkeys given methylphenidate hydrochloride (ritalin) a drug widely used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder exhibited delayed progression of puberty, according to a recent PNAS study.

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/09/12/1102187108.full.pdf

Joe Paterno in line for annual pension over $500,000

"Paterno's pension records obtained Tuesday from the State Employees' Retirement System credit him with more than 60 years in the system. The formula used to determine benefits makes him eligible for a pension equal to 100 percent of the average of his three highest-salary years. . . There also is a long-service supplement that could boost Paterno to 110 percent of his final average salary ($568,000).

The New York Times also reported Tuesday night that Paterno transferred full ownership of his house to his wife, Sue, for $1 in July. The couple had previously held joint ownership of the house. Paterno's attorney Wick Sollers told the paper in an e-mail that the transfer had nothing to do with the scandal but was part of an ongoing "multiyear estate planning program.""

Paterno has not been charged with a crime. However, the investigation into Sandusky's behavior had been going on for 9 years, 2 years with the Grand Jury.

Penn State Nittany Lions scandal -- Joe Paterno in line for annual pension over $500,000, according to review - ESPN

Embryonic stem cell research fails

The first thing Obama did upon taking office was approve more embryos for medical experiments using our tax dollar. It was never illegal, but the lines had been limited under Bush. This gave adult stem cell research a jump ahead, and it has taken off. The ethically challenged and far less successful embryonic research still has not had a success. And this one has been ended.

First tests failed--millions of cells injected in 4 patients, and the best they can report is there were no adverse effects.

There is confusion when you see stories about "stem cell research." Using ADULT stem cells for therapy is NOT controversial, and has shown great promise--like the recently reported heart failure story. Embryonic stem cell research involves killing a potential person.

Siberia has the largest Lutheran church (geographic area)

According to Thrivent Magazine, Fall 2011, p. 8, the largest Lutheran church in the world (geographically) is the Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church, Сибирская Евангелическо-Лютеранская Церковь. Founded in the 1990s, this organization has 13 ordained pastors and deacons who serve roughly 1,000 members in congregations and missions across 6 time zones in a 3,000 mile area. (Thrivent magazine) I'm wondering if this is part of the Lutheran group they discovered after the break up of the USSR made up of descendants of German POWs of WWI who never got back to Germany and intermarried with the Siberian women. The liturgy was in German but none of the members any longer spoke German.

Are you beautiful?

You might be better paid than the Occupiers! Oh the horror! A new book whose author has been flogging this at least since the early 90s now has a book, Beauty Pays, and is making the rounds of talk shows and interviews.

Daniel Hamermesh says society generates premium pay for beauty and penalties for ugliness. Beautiful people earn $230,000 more in a lifetime than those with below average looks. They are happier, marry good-looking people, who are more likely to be highly educated.

He's been saying this for some time--in 1994, on "plainness": "The authors examine the impact of looks on earnings using interviewers' ratings of respondents' physical appearance. Plain people earn less than average-looking people, who earn less than the good-looking. The plainness penalty is 5 to 10 percent, slightly larger than the beauty premium. Effects for men are at least as great as for women. Unattractive women have lower labor-force participation rates and marry men with less human capital. Better-looking people sort into occupations where beauty may be more productive but the impact of individuals' looks is mostly independent of occupation, suggesting the existence of pure employer discrimination. Copyright 1994 by American Economic Association."

Beauty in the classroom is from 2003

Forbes review

Obama’s Keystone Evasion

Sometimes, Obama is the most transparent of any president we've ever had. Like his campaign tricks. He doesn't even try to hide what he's doing. Put in a plug for the veterans, who he hates, while postponing a real job creator.

President Obama’s announcement that he will delay a decision on approval of the Keystone Pipeline until after the 2012 election typifies his feckless presidency. Torn between the need to create jobs, reduce the cost of energy and get our economy going on one hand, and the emotional biases of his environmentalist base on the other, Obama punted. I assume that if and when the time comes–post-election–Obama will do what he has wanted to do all along, and kill the pipeline.

Obama’s Keystone Evasion | Power Line

The pipeline wouldn't have been a "stimulus jr." or an FDR WPA temp job project. According to this author, "the pipeline would moderate the price of oil and create between 250,000 and 553,000 permanent American jobs."

Americans' Ability to Afford Food Nears Three-Year Low

The percentage of Americans reporting that they had enough money to buy the food they or their families needed continued to decline in October, nearing the record low seen in November 2008. The percentage who did not lack money for food in 2011 fell to 79.8% from 80.1% in September, continuing a decline that began in April.

I'd love to be able to dig a little deeper into these questions. The food questions, for instance. This question asks about anytime in the last 12 months, and I assume the same people who were called in October, weren't called in September. Also, how do you have over 90% saying they have no problem obtaining fresh fruits and vegetables, when 79.8 say they didn't have enough money to buy the food their family needed? I think the word "need" is key here. There are American families (I know this will shock you) who think soft drinks and pizza are a "need." I stand next to them in the check out lines. Also, a lot of people think everything they buy at the supermarket is "food" when in fact about 20-30% of the bill are health and beauty, or as we say in Ohio, taxables (we don't tax food here).

There is no question included in the survey about whether the interviewee knows how to cook, or does she/he just open a package or turn on the microwave. You can feed a lot of people with $5.00 of potatoes, a gallon of milk, and a pound of cheese, but not if you buy potatoes in a box with chives and dried cream sauce. There is no question included about where they shop. Last week at Marc's (deep discount and remainder store) a manager told me they did $20,000 more in October 2011 than October 2010. That says something that when squeezed, shoppers will change from the fancy, beautifully appointed, and widely displayed varieties of Giant Eagle at the Market, to the crowded, sort of rumpled, down at the heels Marc's where the staff never smiles or rushes up to help you.

One thing the charts in this survey show--during Obama's reign, basic needs have gotten worse in shelter, food, insurance, even the perception of safety (walking at night).
Americans' Ability to Afford Food Nears Three-Year Low

Don't ask me to "go green"

Going "green?" Newsletters, reports, directories, etc. suggest "going green" and saving the organization money. Pinecrest in Mt. Morris, IL was the most recent to suggest it. No thanks. A church or organization directory on line is useless as far as I'm concerned. Where will I write their cell phone # or the date I sent a card? I like to take the Pinecrest newsletter or the Ohio Historical Society newsletter or the TIAA-CREF newsletter to the coffee shop or the coffee table and take a closer look. I still think UALC made a HUGE mistake by discontinuing mailing its newsletter, even if it is available on-line. It's amazing what I see that I don't if it comes up on a screen for 20 seconds as I go through e-mail. Besides, my husband doesn't do e-mail. I know, some day it will probably not even be an option, but until then, I want to support the Post Office.

And if you're planning to e-mail your Christmas letter this year, go ahead, but it probably won't be read.

I know just the guy for this position

"The Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology (EEOB) in the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University invites applications for a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor Rank in Evolutionary or Ecological Genomics. We seek outstanding individuals who address fundamental questions in evolution and/or ecology either through the generation of large-scale sequence or gene expression data or by using either computational/statistical approaches for the analysis of genomic data."

Paul's letter to the church at Colossae explains creation and beginnings.

Colossians 1:15-23
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

Paterno Firing Sparks Riots--Glenn Beck unhinged

I turned off the Glenn Beck radio show today--he went bonkers over the rioting at Penn State. Compared to the rioters of the Occupy variety, these made some sense, but Glenn threw them into the same bag. Paterno may have not done all he was morally required to do, but he did what is legally required--he went through the chain of command and assumed (mistakenly) that someone else was investigating and taking care of their responsibilities. I don't think college coaches get annual lectures from County Child Services on what to report the way public school teachers do.

Also, we live in a sex saturated society--our reality TV has unwed pregnant teens on reality shows; politicians actually defend the rights of people to watch whatever on the internet, knowing that many of these "stars" male and female are underage; whenever religious groups object to girls and women being sexualized by the entertainment media, they've considered ridiculously old fashioned (unless they are Muslims, and then it's OK); late night "comedians" made jokes about assaulting Palin's daughter without being fired; and what straight teen could ever go to his school administration after being assaulted by a gay teen in the rest room because the protected groups are the only victims recognized? This is the sexpocrisy the college kids have experienced all their lives.

So college kids riot when they see adults pointing fingers and passing the buck before there's even a trial of the guy who actually did the deed? I'm with 'em on this one. They have a lot more on their side than people trying to bring down the financial system.

Paterno Firing Sparks Riots | Road Runner Image Gallery - Road Runner#rr%2F55278605%2F55272965%2F

The hypocrisy over the Penn State sex scandal

Am I the only one who recognizes the hypocrisy going on with the cya at Penn State? There is a national organization, "North American Man Boy Love," Nambla or some such name, which grooms young boys to be lovers of gay men. They have their own news bulletin and wiki. They are all over the internet and no one shuts them down or arrests them that I've heard of. These gay men influence legislation to lower the age of consent and to have their lifestyle accepted with other gay rights issues which involve consenting adults. I have come across a corresponding radical lesbian organization that sponsors camps for underage teen-age girls to help them "discover" their sexuality, but I think that's less common. Nambla doesn't consider sex with a teen-ager as pedophilia. Some advocates don't think sex with non-teen boys is abuse. You can google it, but it's a good way to pick up a virus, a hacker, or nasty e-mails. By even suggesting that they are perverts, I'll have nasty comments I'll have to monitor and remove.

Also, today I was reading a summary of a research article in JAMA that used 600 boys/young men ages 12-24 in 8 cities and their STDs and drug use with older gay men. Not a word about reporting the perps, and this was governmentt sponsored research. Are abused boys OK if it's for research?

African American Voices at Ohio State University

This sounds like a wonderful program, but I am wondering if Choirs of Scandinavian Heritage or Hungarian Lutherans would be allowed to perform their Christian songs while excluding black and brown ethnicities.

"Ohio State Gospel and Spiritual Choir will feature traditional Sunday Morning gospel songs typical of the worship service experience and music style of the traditional black church. The African American Voices student choir will also be featured on Thursday (11/10) at 8 p.m. in Weigel Hall Auditorium."

The only website I could find for "African American Voices" at OSU, was dead, so I can't tell if it is an OSU group or a visiting group. The Spiritual Choir seems to have a variety of faces since "gospel choir" isn't limited to ethnicity or style.

Photo from Lantern, 2007, 16th anniversary performance

Illinois in deep doo-doo--Ohio will follow

Sad news from "home" (haven't lived there since 1957, but old habits. . . ) The state is in even worse shape financially than what is generally known. And now Ohio can get in line since Issue 2 failed. "Nursing homes like Pinecrest [which I support with donations] will not be vouchered for July Medicaid billings until December--payment will follow some time after that." As the federal government heaps mandates on the states which are required to balance their budgets, we'll see more of this. The town lost its schools forcing a merger some time in the 90s--teachers unions were useless to stop it. A union strike in the 70s killed the town's main industry. Government and the unions, arm and arm, into the sunset.

You could tax every wealthy person out of existence, take every penny they had, and you wouldn't be able to solve America's addiction to debt. You know in your own life you have to cut spending and not put more on the charge card. Why is it so difficult for men and women who have achieved the pinnacle of success, fame and wealth, to figure this out?

The American Dream

is not a house, or a nicer car, a dream job, the perfect family or a college degree. The phrase comes from this--and it isn't all that old:

James Truslow Adams, a one time investmen banker who lived on his wealth to become a writer, wrote in his 1931 book Epic of America “but there has been also the American dream, that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.”

We've definitely moved away from the idea "according to his ability or achievement, And that was true in 1931 also, as we moved deeper into FDR's socialism and on to "according to his demands and visions of entitlement." Wikipedia says Adams was heavily influenced by Marxism, so maybe it's come full circle.

Five women

I like Hermann Cain, but I think his candidacy is toast. There's just no way Conservatives can jump all over Bill Clinton and his bimbo eruptions, defending the women who accused him of assault and rape, and then claim it doesn't matter with Cain and that the women are plants or unreliable. Both Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh today sounded absolutely stupid on this issue and I think they were offensive to all women. Both have been all over the rape and assault stories emerging from the various Occupy sites. Sauce. Goose. Gander.

Yes, Ted Kennedy had more accusations, and one woman ended up dead; and Bill Clinton couldn't keep his pants zipped, and John Edwards would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for a yellow rag--it certainly wasn't the regular media pursuing the story. But they were Democrats. 'Nough said?

It's Brussels Sprouts week--bleh!

That's what my World's Healthy foods newsletter said. I don't like Brussels sprouts--but I do like their cousins, other cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, cauliflower and cabbage. Eating more vegetables--all types and colors--can help with weight control.

A recent issue of Lancet says:

"In this report, we used a simulation model to project the probable health and economic consequences in the next two decades from a continued rise in obesity in two ageing populations—the USA and the UK. These trends project 65 million more obese adults in the USA and 11 million more obese adults in the UK by 2030, consequently accruing an additional 6—8·5 million cases of diabetes, 5·7—7·3 million cases of heart disease and stroke, 492 000—669 000 additional cases of cancer, and 26—55 million quality-adjusted life years forgone for USA and UK combined. The combined medical costs associated with treatment of these preventable diseases are estimated to increase by $48—66 billion/year in the USA and by £1·9—2 billion/year in the UK by 2030."

Health and economic burden of the projected obesity trends in the USA and the UK : The Lancet

Two books, two adoption stories

Today our book club will be discussing "In a heartbeat," the story of the Tuohy family and their adoption of Michael Oher, a black teen-ager. The very successful movie, "The blind side," told the story of how they came to meet Michael and fold him into their loving family, assisting him to become a high school and college graduate and a successful NFL player.

It is an inspiring story--although I disagree with some of the basic points--like "how little it takes to help fill the desperate wants" of the poor and unfortunate, or the subtext that Michael would not have succeeded in life without them and the boost they provided.

At the same time I was reading "Prairie Tale" by Melissa Gilbert, of Little House TV fame. She was adopted when less than a day old and grew up in a family of glitz, glitter and glam, passionately loved, treasured by parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, managers, co-stars, and given every opportunity our culture could bestow on a child. She was no Laura Ingalls Wilder! At a very young age she had multiple "families" from the various TV and movie crews in which she lived an alternate fantasy. Unlike Michael Oher, she became extremely promiscuous, an alcoholic, obsessing about her origins, resentful of her parents and fame, and a woman without any moral compass or spiritual/religious guidelines. Even after multiple affairs, body and facial surgery to look more glamorous, and a life of fame and enormous wealth, she needed a therapist to help her feel "whole," and considering that this year she is getting a divorce from her second husband whom she acknowledges as the love of her life in the book, she's still on a journey.

'Glee' has a harmful and inaccurate adoption story line

Unfortunately, some teens believe what they see on TV--actually, many adults do too. You don't get a "do-over" with an adoption. There might be problems with laws, lawyers, and birth parents or adoptive parents changing their minds later, but you don't get to yank the baby back from the "real parents," the ones who have legally adopted her.

State laws vary, but most don't allow a birth mother to change her mind after she has signed adoption papers, according to a 2006 study by the non-profit Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. States with a revocation period often limit it to 30 days or fewer.

"For adopted children, the show raises the fear that they may be taken away from their adopted families," says Austin's petition, posted on Change.org, a website promoting petitions and social action. "And for young women facing unplanned pregnancies, many of whom are in Glee's target demographic, the show gives the inaccurate impression that adoption is a temporary solution, not a permanent one."

Fox's 'Glee' has 'harmful' adoption story, petition says - USATODAY.com
There's already enough misinformation out there about babies and single moms. Young mothers of the Glee demographic need to know that the baby will be an adult many years longer than the cutsy first two years.

The comments in this article are telling. The range from "grow up--it's a TV show" to disbelieving that anyone could take the show seriously. Boy, are they clueless!

Obama bundler pays no taxes

George Kaiser is one of the richest men in the world--maybe $9 billion. If Obama took all his wealth, he still couldn't pull off the jobs bill. But Kaiser hasn't paid taxes in years--as in zip, nada, zilch-- and he was one of Obama's "bundlers" during the last campaign. Probably donating heavily for the next one too. He's a huge donor to philanthropic causes, keep in mind. I suspect his efforts go much further than the same amount sent to Washington. He was also an investor in Solyndra, which may have been payback for his campaign efforts. His tax offsets to income are completely legal--set up for the wealthiest by our bi-partisan Congresses over the years. But keep in mind, his wealth is in oil and gas, and he's still backing the gov't investments in "green" energy. The government (aka our tax money) doesn't need to be involved in any way--there are plenty of deep pockets like Kaiser to fund the research and development.

Solyndra | George Kaiser | Obama's Solyndra case follows Blago's pattern | The Daily Caller

George Kaiser's $10 Billion Bet - Forbes

Obama's failed jobs plan is being blamed on Republicans

President Barack Obama likes to claim Republicans are holding up his "jobs plan" (aka campaign for a 2nd term, or Stimulus, Jr.), but the Democrat controlled Senate is holding up the House jobs plan, a common-sense, bipartisan jobs bill known as "Plan for America’s Job Creators."

Government doesn't create jobs--businesses do. Americans do. This plan was unveiled over 6 months ago, and the President has ignored it, and the Senate won't pass it. Instead, they've launched more class warfare (fits well with how they are doing in other countries) by claiming if we just taxed the richest 1% more, we could put people back to work. This Job Creators plan involves fixing the tax code and reducing regulatory burdens. It suggests new trade agreements and new markets for American products. It promotes domestic production of energy and paying down our debt. What does the president offer? More campaigning, more blaming and more spending. The President continues to campaign, knowing his plan won't pass (not even his own party likes it) and can't work, just so he can blame Republicans. For bi-partisan efforts to restore the economy, look to the plans put out by the Republicans, not a failed President and Senate.