The Mustang, 1964 1/2

Down memory lane. As we drove to the near by Tri-Motor air museum today, on the way at a stop sign we admired an early Mustang lovingly restored and both agreed it was about the prettiest car ever (although not particularly comfortable) except for the 55-56 Chevy, to which I'm partial. Technically, there is no such car as a 1964 1/2, it was called that because it came out early, or late, I suppose depending on your viewpoint We began reminiscing about my brother's--I think it was red--a first year model. When babies started to arrive, it wasn't a good family car. Bet he wishes he had it now.

Tri-Motor Heritage Museum in Port Clinton

Today we visited the newly opened Ford Tri-Motor heritage museum near Port Clinton on Oak Lake Drive.  A very impressive building which speaks of history and risk, and not the fame of the architect. There are not many displays, yet, but I’m sure that will grow, and the Ford Tri-Motor being restored is in a number of large pieces.  While there we enjoyed an art show sponsored by the Greater Port Clinton Area Arts Council.  I bought a very nice small bowl in soft greens and blues, just perfect for the lake house from Colin Budd who summers on Catawba and winters in Oracle, AZ, and a note card from Julie Faetanini,  of Sandusky, which I’ll probably never use because it’s too nice.  Looking forward to the opening of the Tin Goose Diner which is in the building.

 http://www.colinbudd.com/page2.html

I can’t find any text to got with these photos, but they are interesting. http://www.putinbayphotos.com/TriMotor8407/TriMotor8407.htm

Job growth under Obama--the IRS

"When President Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, aka "Obamacare") goes fully into effect in 2014, the American people will only then begin to see the implications of its thorough government takeover of health care, in all its glory. But what they are not expecting is the massively expanded role of the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") in our lives, as the IRS is the chief agency responsible for enforcing the Act."

The new face of healthcare

SPLC maps to hate

Which is a hate organization, one which maps to another organization on a "hate map" or one that follows the teachings of Jesus? If you support Southern Poverty Law Center, shame on you. It had FRC on a “hate map” as a destination where a security guard was shot this week by a guy carrying a bag of Chick-fil-A.  "Family Research Council (FRC) champions marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society. FRC shapes public debate and formulates public policy that values human life and upholds the institutions of marriage and the family. Believing that God is the author of life, liberty, and the family, FRC promotes the Judeo-Christian worldview as the basis for a just, free, and stable society."

The founder and 2 CEOs of SPLC make over $300,000 a year; the CEO of FRC earns $174,000.  Poverty pays well.

 

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/shooting-southern-poverty-law-center-put-family-research-council-hate-map

At a press conference on Thursday outside the FRC headquarters in downtown Washington, FRC President Perkins said, “I want to express my appreciation to the groups and organizations that we do not agree with on many public policy issues who have also expressed their outrage at what took place here yesterday. For that, I appreciate it. I appreciate them making those statements.”

“But I would ask them to go a step further and to join us in calling for an end to the reckless rhetoric that I believe led to yesterday’s incident that took place right behind me,” he said.

“And that does bring me to my final point,” said Perkins. “Let me be clear, that Floyd Corkins was responsible for firing the shot yesterday that wounded one of our colleagues and our friend Leo Johnson. But Corkins was given a license to shoot an unarmed man by organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center that have been reckless in labeling organizations hate groups because they disagree with them on public policy.”

In case you believe in "fairness" ala Obama

Obama and his supporters don't think he's doing such a bad job. I checked Daniel the Librarian* from Alaska, and he's loving it, and never liked being a Catholic anyway. Didn't he want fair? Isn't that what Jesus is all about? Unemployment is up; income is down; food stamp recipients are up; poverty higher; college grads not doing any better than those who didn't go; debt is soaring pushing his legacy to future unborn generations, so, . . . more people with less, more people dependent. See how it's all leveling out? That's a statist's idea of fair.

*Librarians vote 223:1 Democrat to Republican (survey from 2004, but it probably hasn't changed), which could explain some unbalanced library collections.

David Barton and left wing hate non-profits

David Barton has educated thousands, maybe millions, about the contributions of the Founders, the role of the 3 branches of government, how LBJ took away rights of churches in the 60s and fought civil rights legislation in the 50s, and especially the stunning role of African Americans in our country's history--something few of us ever learned since much of it was done through the churches. But he's been labeled a right wing extremist hater for telling the truth. He's also educated people on who gave us Jim Crow and the KKK, something the Democrats try to hide. If you're contributing to SPLC, check out the salaries of their mostly white board and executives. Hate really pays well for leftist non-profits. http://freethoughtblogs.com/rodda/2012/05/28/southern-poverty-law-center-names-david-barton-as-a-radical-to-watch/

Remember when Fancy Nancy knew more than President Bush about peace in the middle east?

Remember when Nancy Pelosi tried to undermine (with other Democrats like Obama) President Bush with playing footsie with Syria's Assad? Yesterday Assad forces bombed a children's hospital. I think this makes them extremist Muslims instead of moderate Muslims--the moderates only bomb the infidels. The Sunni Muslims are the majority and the Alawite sect to which the family of President Bashar al-Assad belongs is the minority.

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi challenged the White House on Middle East policy yesterday, meeting with Syria's leader and insisting "the road to Damascus is a road to peace." That brought a sharp attack from the Bush administration, which has rejected direct talks with Damascus until it changes its ways.

http://articles.boston.com/2007-04-05/news/29225817_1_syrian-security-officials-syrian-president-bashar-assad-mideast-crises

Clean energy in Michigan

When Gov. Granholm signed the Clean Renewable and Efficient Energy Act in 2008 there were 4,256 jobs in the state in "power and communications systems construction," which includes the jobs for wind and solar power construction. In 2011, that number had dropped to 3,728 jobs; about a 14 percent drop.

http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/17400

Rahm

George Obama, Barack’s youngest brother

"George has a real life brother who just happens to be the president of the United States. (George Obama is the youngest of eight children sired by Barack Obama Sr.) George’s brother is a multimillionaire and the most powerful man in the world. Moreover, George’s brother has framed his re-election campaign around the “fair share” theme that we owe obligations to those who are less fortunate.

One of Obama’s favorite phrases comes right out of the Bible: “We are our brother’s keeper.” Yet he has not contributed a penny to help his own brother. And evidently George does not believe, even in times of emergency, that he can turn to his brother in the White House for help."

You see, George is a "conservative" living in Kenya and rejects the anti-colonialism espoused by his and Barack's father - so naturally, his wealthy brother, Barack Obama, has nothing to do with him.

"So much for spreading the wealth around."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/08/16/how-became-george-obama-brother/

Trust and Obey—Doug

BO and Hillary

This would be the left's dream team. I'm guessing old Joe is suddenly going to decide he has health problems or wants to spend more time with the grandchildren. I just don't think a sex scandal would do it--it doesn't bother the Democrats, and just wouldn't be believable.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/today-day_650058.html

The housing boom

“Not only did Federal Reserve actions stoke the housing boom, but transcripts released by the Fed make it clear that they entirely missed the magnitude of the problem of the housing bubble and failed to anticipate the ensuing crisis. This occurred even with diligent and constant economic forecasting by scores of intelligent and well-intentioned Ph.D. economists, armed with all the computers and databases they could desire, and earnest discussions of the outlook by senior officials. “

http://www.aei.org/article/economics/financial-services/why-do-smart-people-make-big-financial-mistakes/

Our strongest allies. . . all . . .punching above their weight class

http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/erYpXzE9Pxs%26

Why has Obama put the Navy SEALS in danger?

(CNN) -- A web video featuring former special forces officers accuses President Barack Obama of taking too much credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden and allowing classified information about the raid to become public.

The ad also includes former Navy SEALs.

Ingredients in cat food

Several times in her 14 years our cat, who isn’t very large—about 7 lbs—has quit eating.  With an appetite stimulant and refusing expensive testing plus smearing some baby food on her mouth, we’ve been able to get her started again.  Last August, I thought we’d lost her, but we got her going again.  But I did switch to a more expensive, specialty cat food, which she’s been very happy with until recently, and now sort of sniffs. At $1.50 more per can, I prefer she lick the bowl clean.  So I keep rotating it (she doesn’t like fish unless we’re eating it).  I don’t know if it makes any difference in her health, but I feel better reading the labels: (high price) duck, turkey broth, no grain, plus the usual additives cats need like taurine.  (9-lives) meat by-products, turkey, giblets, chicken, soy protein, wheat flour plus additives Most cat food labels start with corn—this one didn’t. I don’t see much duck in the meat counters, but there’s a lot in high priced cat food.

 

The community organizers evolve

Now it’s global and rural as well as suburban and urban.  Same old, same old. . .

http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/

“Sustainable communities are places that have a variety of housing and transportation choices, with destinations close to home. As a result, they tend to have lower transportation costs, reduce air pollution and stormwater runoff, decrease infrastructure costs, preserve historic properties and sensitive lands, save people time in traffic, be more economically resilient and meet market demand for different types of housing at different prices points. Rural, suburban, and urban communities can all use sustainable communities strategies and techniques to invest in healthy, safe and walkable neighborhoods, but these strategies will look different in each place depending on the community’s character, context, and needs.

Developing more sustainable communities is important to our national goals of strengthening our economy, creating good jobs now while providing a foundation for lasting prosperity, using energy more efficiently to secure energy independence, and protecting our natural environment and human health. Three federal agencies came together to create the Partnership for Sustainable Communities to help places around the country develop in more environmentally and economically sustainable ways. To guide its work, the Partnership developed six livability principles:”

 

http://www.sustainableworthington.org/links#COSusComm

Is Obama really incompetent?

Is he really a failure, as some Republicans say?  I don’t think so.  Look at what he has accomplished. No Republican can match his record.  He’s been the overseer of the worst economic recovery in 75 years--using every failed policy from the FDR era, a man who extended the Great Depression by a decade; the debt has increased 450% to set in place years of diminishing strength;  he backed two losers in 2011—the Arab Spring and the American Occupiers;  he’s grabbed one fifth of the economy, health care, for the federal government; he’s expanded the wars and managed the press so well that even during a campaign year no one is talking about it not even Mitt Romney; he’s brought more people onto welfare and food stamps making them dependents of Uncle Sam than any other president in our history; he’s found at least a million college age illegals right before the toughest election in his career to fold into the Democratic party; he’s dismantling the work requirement in welfare reform of the mid-90s, something that’s always been an anathema to his party; he thinks contraception is more important than jobs to women; he’s virtually castrated Congress with his regulatory czars.  Add to all those events of the last 4 years, he’s the most anti-life leader we’ve ever had, garnering praise and endorsement from Planned Parenthood, the great snuffer of black children.  For a man of his political beliefs, these are not failures, they are accomplishments.

Both parties claim this

“It’s the President who took $716 billion from the Medicare program to spend on Obamacare. That’s cuts to current seniors that will lead to less services for current seniors. We won't do that. We actually say end the raid and restore that, so that those seniors today get the benefits that they organized their lives around.” Paul Ryan

 http://mi.tt/OfwGMO

Obama says he will save Medicare and Seniors by removing waste and fraud, and taking money from providers, but he’s moving that savings to Obamacare.  Ryan is doing pretty much the same thing, but giving it to seniors.  (I do wonder since 3 of the 4 candidates are/were members of Congress, why they couldn’t have tackled the waste and fraud issues before now.)  You’ll be the judge in November.  Ryan’s voucher plan won’t affect me or anyone over age 55, but for the rest of you it sounds like a good deal.  You’ll be able to buy the same health care that federal workers get or you can choose regular Medicare. Woot!  Choices always mean lower prices.   Someone has to step up and save Medicare (I guess we’re too ingrained with this entitlement to completely dump it).  The designers always intended it to grow, always saw it as the camel’s nose inside the tent of government paid health care for everyone,  but if it keeps on going, we won’t have any money for anything else. In 1960 health care was 5.2% of GDP, and today it is 18.4%. (Keep in mind when you see U.S. health care costs compared to other developed nations that ours is for the census population, not citizens, which means over 11 million Illegals, plus many legal immigrants who come here having had very little health care in the past.)

http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/Downloads/quickref.pdf

http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/proj2008.pdf

Iowans are such nice people

They’ll host you, even if they won’t vote for you.

Jarret Heil, farmer Jeff Heil's son, calls the president's visit "truly an honor," and describes Obama as "gracious, personable and very respectful."

But then his statement takes a turn:

"As the milestone that it is for our community with the President's visit, it is important to not get caught up in the President's glamorous re-election words and remember President Obama's first term record and rhetoric does not represent Middle America, entrepreneurs, small business owners and farmers," Heil writes.

 http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/08/15/158884594/obamas-iowa-hosts-say-theyll-pray-for-him-but-they-wont-vote-for-him?ft=1&f=1001&sc=tw&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The caterer for Obama’s event today in Iowa was wearing a Mitt Romney shirt reminding the President that HE built his business, not the government.

“Tax the rich” he says

Read her entire article. Yes, Doug, even you can learn about the damage Obama has done. https://www.facebook.com/#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=420897187956246&id=142620392450595 But only if you take off your blinders and hatred toward Christians.

Tax the rich. We hear a lot about loopholes that the rich use to avoid paying their share of taxes. Surely they exist, and no, it isn’t an honest thing to do. But allow me to give you a thought to ponder. Barack Hussein Obama wants to tax the rich, yet he depends, in fact he begs, for his rich “friends” to donate thousands of dollars to his campaign. I can’t think of anything less equitable than the obscene amounts of money that entertainers and athletes make in just a few years. Many of them squander their good fortune in disreputable ways. Are they in agreement with the raising of their taxes, when many of them don’t even pay their share?

This election is NOT about how much money Mitt Romney is worth, or how Paul Ryan invested his Social Security benefits after his father died. This election is about the economy and the lack of employment Americans have to live with. Take they middle aged man who has not been able to find employment for a year because of Obamacare. His employment possibilities in the Health Care Management field have been curtailed by the uncertainty that Obamacare presents to someone with his high degree of education.

This election is about ousting a president who has not kept a promise that he made. Some might call him charismatic, some might be fueled by “white guilt” and feel a responsibility to have a minority president. Some truly believe the rhetoric that “we will take from the rich and give it to the poor.” This is where my objection is strongest. People like Barack Hussein Obama and his socialist ideology have stifled the young Americans’ desire to succeed. “Why?” they ask, “If it will be taken away from us.”

21,000+ retired federal workers receive lifetime government pensions of $100,000 or more per year

How long before the country goes under from bloated government pensions? The secular world maxes out at about $28,000 on social security, so hopefully they have some private investments to keep up with the government employees.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/retirement/story/2012-07-19/federal-pensions-in-excess-of-100-thousand/57059716/1

Nothing to run on, no record to talk about—Guest blogger Murray

Obama is on his 4th year in a row of campaigning and he has NOTHING to campaign on. At least nothing he wants to talk about! Normally that would stop a candidate in his tracks, but with Obama, it's different. Different you say? Well, just look at his entire political record. He has NEVER had anything to run on. But how has he won and made it to the Presidency, you ask? Well, he got to the Senate by attacking and smearing his opponents. (Look it up) He won the Presidency by promising hope and change plus, with the help of the Liberals and the MSM, smearing and blaming Bush for the financial crisis that the Democrats basically manipulated. (Look it up) The Obama team has learned that attacking and smearing an opponent does two important things. With the help of the MSM, it influences the people who aren't paying attention to what he is really doing and it forces his opponent to spend time defending himself rather that staying with the issues. It's ugly but it has worked for him. You see, as far as the Obama team is concerned, they have no positive positions that they can bring into the campaign so it leaves them with what they are best at.... attack and smear the opponent. Who is this Obama team you ask? For the basic team try Valerie Jarrett and slime ball, David Axelrod. Axelrod is an expert at destroying a person's reputation and character by conjuring up any kind of dirt on a person by lying, exaggerating or false innuendos. I don't care who you are, if you take an honest look a Obama's campaign, he and his team have attacked EVERYONE who opposes HIS ideas. He does not have to answer to anyone as he will not allow interviews nor any questions at his news conferences. Whereas his opponents get bombarded with "hard" questions at most interviews from the MSM. This makes for a huge difference and advantage.

When Obama speaks he customizes the message specifically to the particular audience at the time. He does this because, contrary to what he campaigned on, he has divided the people into various groups rather than unifying them. Lately there have been two subjects that dominate his speeches. First, he hammers the the wealthy claiming they are not paying their fair share even though he counts on them to attend his $40,000 plate fund raisers. He knows his audience envies the rich so it's easy to get them clamoring to take their money. They ignore the fact that the rich already pay most of our great country's taxes and many consist of the needed small business owners while 50% of the citizens pay no taxes. They ignore the fact that if they would raise the taxes of the rich based on Obama's plan, the result would amount to only 8 1/2 days of government spending.

Second, he goes after Romney's tax returns with help from the little weasel Harry Reid. Gee, how many in Obama's cabinet or Democrats got caught not paying? Reid said at a news conference that "somebody" told him Romney hadn't paid his taxes. A few days later ON THE SENATE FLOOR (like the idiot he is) he said "there's a rumor going around that Romney hasn't paid his taxes". Well Harry, if there's a rumor who started it? Only you have been quoted as saying it! Harry lies and Obama grins. A Fox News analysis asked Margie Omero ( President of a Democratic public opinion research firm ) what she thought of Harry's statements. Her response was "Well it "could" be true so why doesn't he show his tax returns?" Could be true??? Fox said there are a lot of things that COULD BE true about Obama or anyone. And then there's the ever so dense Nancy Pelosi who stated "Harry isn't lying because "somebody" told him". Oh, well that's different then.  (I wonder if she's read the Obamacare bill yet?) Anyway, Obama keeps hammering at these ever so important issues in every speech like a union boss attacking another business. This is the strength of Obama's campaign? They distract from the real issues like the economy, jobs, budget, and the National Debt because they're not doing well there. They will not deal with the facts. A huge factor in Obama's bid for re-election that has been ignored is the stock market. You see, many people consider the market a measurement of the economy and if their 401-k's and IRA's are up, they are happy and think everything is hunky-dory. It's a shame that so many people fail to pay attention to what is happening to our great country and are only concerned about themselves. They won't like what their grand children have to say to them if Obama continues.

Obama hasn't been using the Senate or House. Doesn't need them. He has written 924 executive orders in 40 months. He has his various departments doing his dirty work. Everything from welfare, loan guarantees, tight fossil fuel regulation, expanding the war, stopping pipelines, immigration etc.. etc. Why... gee, just think, you need not bother to vote anymore. Obama will take care of everything. Your legislators can go home. An example of this is the fact that weasel Reid has 35 bills on his desk that passed in the house that he refuses to put on the Senate floor for a vote. This weasel should move them rather than shoot his mouth off. Obama has threatened that if they were to somehow get through the Senate he would veto them anyway!!!! Yet, in one of Obama's recent speeches he was yelling that the House wasn't doing anything. Then he added that they should pass HIS jobs bill which was loaded with spending and about as popular as his budget that EVERYONE shot down in flames. Speaking of spending, did you know the Obama administration blew 3.4 BILLION dollars on green companies that went bust? 3.4 Billion!!!! He did this WITHOUT Congress. That's YOUR money and you not only didn't get a thank you note, you probably didn't even know it. It's Obamaism at it's worst.

We have seen how the Obama team works and yet there are people who stick with Obama because they think he's cool and a macho guy. Why? Well, at any speech he just might crack a joke, sing or disrespect the opposite party to the delight of his hand picked audience. He also worked the talk show circuit for the last 3 1/2 years all the while our great country is drowning in debt, with a suffering economy and millions out of work. But, if you have been paying attention you will easily conclude that Obama will lie to you about anything to get what he wants. Why...he even exploited his mother's illness and death when he was trying to sell Obamacare. He claimed he watched ( he wasn't there) his mother die while she was fighting her insurance company for claiming her condition was pre-existing. It was totally untrue as she was covered and most all of her expenses were paid. But this is the Obama way. Lie and slander on anything they can dig up to avoid the issues or to sell their brand. They milked Bush for 2 years and when they get backed into a corner today, they start reaching for tits again. They started on Romney saying he bullied someone back in elementary school. They milked Baine Capital for all it's worth ignoring the fact that Romney wasn't even on board when they made their claims. Their super PAC ad is now trying to claim Romney is responsible for a woman's death which proved to be the ugliest lie yet. This was a new low for the Obama campaign. Here are the facts:

** Mitt Romney left Bain in 1999 to work on Olympics.
** GST Steel in Kansas City was shut down in 2001.
** Top Obama bundler Jonathan Lavine was in charge of Bain Capital at the time. (Hmmmmm?? Who would be responsible if it were true?)
** Soptic was offered a buy-out.
** Soptic took another job but declined to purchase their insurance plan.
** Soptic’s wife had her own health insurance plan through 2003.
** In 2006, Soptic’s wife was diagnosed — diagnosed! — with very late-stage cancer.
** She died 22 days after diagnosis.
** The pro-Obama PAC Priorities USA cuts an ad blaming Romney for her death. ( In spite of these facts, the Obama team continues to allow the ad to run and some even profess Romney IS responsible) That's continuing a known LIE!

Now folks, it can't get any worse than that can it? It shows how ugly your President will get to win the next election and that he and his team are liars. Oh, it's OK to call him that because that's what he does best. People hesitate however for fear of being labeled a racist. You can bet the Obama team would label you quickly but I'll take my chances! This is the kind of stuff that you can't just wipe off the slate and say "that's politics". It's more than likely it will get worse since they now have two people to slander and destroy. If, after you see stuff like this and you still support Obama, you will deserve what you get and you know what that will be. More trashing of our great country, more sharing your wealth, less people carrying the load and total destruction of the greatest Democratic nation ever.

Murray

Morris on the Rocks

This morning on my walk along Lake Erie in Lakeside, I noticed a very majestic “Morris” looking down on me from the rip rap.  Huge boulders were brought in about 20 years ago to protect the shoreline.  Now the lake has receded and a small, white sand beach has opened up just below where Morris is sitting.  Remember the 9-Lives cat food ads with a Morris character?

The Paracels and the Spratlys

It was a bit of a struggle to stay awake, but I'm glad I went to today's lectures at Lakeside on the South China Sea and the history of the U.S.-Japanese Alliance. As I was learning about shipping lanes, fishing rights and oil and gas reserves (2nd only to the Persian Gulf), the Spratlys (150 islands) and the Paracels (30 islands) and the demographics of an aging Japan, I thought about how many Americans were being fed stories about Miley Cyrus' hair cut, and the latest line up of Dancing with the Stars. Didn't the Romans do something like this to keep the masses content?

Edible Columbus classes

 

Edible Columbus publisher and editor in chief Tricia Wheeler invites readers to share her passion for cooking through the Edible Cooking Series. She will be sharing the knowledge she gained while attending the French Culinary Institute in New York City. Tricia combines classic French techniques with seasonal ingredients to produce wonderful meals that you can easily make at home.

Classes are held at HOME: M/I Homes New Home Sales Center, 4047 Gramercy St., Columbus, OH 43219, 614-418-8888, for questions about classes call 614-296-5053.

Tricia and her husband now own our former home on Abington Road.

Are they moderate or extremist Muslims. Here’s how to tell.

The most common reason why a Muslim terrorist group is labeled as moderate is because is it less open to killing other Muslims than some of its more extreme variants. Violence no longer defines extremism, only the full scope of that violence does. All Muslim terrorist groups, including the moderate ones, favor suicide bombings directed at infidel civilians. Not all favor suicide bombings directed at other Muslims. Those who do are often labeled extremist.

Muslim terrorist groups who treat Shiite Muslims as infidels are increasingly viewed as moderate, contrasted with extremist Muslim terrorist groups who declare other Sunni Muslims to be infidels. And the truly extreme Muslim terrorist groups are the ones who define even other Sunni Islamists as infidels over minor differences.

http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-moderate-paradox.html

The Contraception President

Stopping economic growth before it becomes viable.

“From Occupy Wall Street to Wisconsin, from Trayvon Martin to Chick-fil-A, the goal of these manufactured conflicts has been to divide and conquer the electorate by emphasizing group rights over individual economic welfare.
Obama can't win on the economy. He can't win on foreign policy. He can't win on any aspect of his administration. All he can do is stir up violence and then promise to heal the country in his second term while winking to all the representatives of the grievance groups. It's not a new game, but the Democratic Party has never played it quite this baldly in a national election. And if it succeeds, then national politics will have finally been reduced to the level of a Chicago election.”

http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-most-divisive-campaign-in-american.html

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

I wrote this blog last summer, but I published it in my other, other blog, and don’t think I put it in this one—at least I can’t find it.  Hymns bring back many memories.  This one reminds me of my sister, Carol.
We sang that old hymn at the dockside service at Lakeside last Sunday, Sept. 4.  Published in 1887, it tells of the assurance of God's steadfast care and guidance in tough times, and offers the peace of a relationship with him.  I grew up in the Church of the Brethren where I don't recall we sang anything that had a beat--and then in 1974 became a Lutheran and they missed out on those twangy camp songs too, being mostly ethnic Scandinavians (in our synod).  The first time I heard it was in Flat Creek, Kentucky in 1956 where my sister Carol was a volunteer church worker through Brethren Volunteer Service.  Because she was only 19 at the time, and I was her "little" sister, I was stunned at the level of spiritual and social responsibility she had.  Like riding horseback into the mountains to provide Sunday school in areas that had no passable roads; working in the garden and taking care of chickens (and plucking them) for food for the staff (I think there were 5 people living in a little house); helping the local women with sewing and. . . leading hymns like this one.  In that area of the country it was sung like a dirge and a capella--not peppy and clappy the way we did it at dockside with an electronic organ. Carol went to be with the Lord in 1996, but every time I hear "Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms," I think of that amazing, fearless teen-ager.  Now I keep track of her 5 grandchildren (4 teens) on Facebook, Will, Jenny, Rachel, Catie and Chris.

Carol's BVS unit 1955. Wearing white blouse, looking between two women in the second row. She also helped flood victims in Pennsylvania, canvassed a neighborhood in Denver for a church plant, and was a "guinea pig" for the NIH. In 1957 she entered Goshen College in Indiana where she got her RN

A Note from my brother-in-law:

In 1940, my parents sent me to work on a farm of a distant relative-by-marriage. At that time we lived in uptown Mnhattan, New York but the dream was to leave the city at some point and start a chicken farm. I ended up near a little village on the Eastern Shore of Maryland called Trappe and worked hard and long for Graham Price and his wife Adeline and two daughters that whole summer. I didn't learn much about chickens but Graham had 7 acres of tomatoes and I learned the rigors of that crop many times over.
Graham belonged to a group I had never heard of called Pilgrim Holiness; we went to church every Sunday morning and every Wednesday evening at a little town called Oxford, which was almost on the Chesapeake Bay.

One Sunday morning they sang a hymn that I - a baptized and confirmed United Lutheran Church in America boy - had never heard called What a Fellowship. And when they would sing the refrain: Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms, the ladies would lift their arms and swing them back and forth in the air. I remember I couldn't wait to get back to the farm that day to write my mom and dad and tell them of the experience.

And yet, now in the Brethren Hymnal Supplement, hymn number 1081 is What a Fellowship and it is a hymn we sing frequently. In fact, I have arranged it as an anthem for soprano/alto chorus with optional congregational participation. And even more interesting is the fact that the text was by Anthony Johnson Showalter, a very distant relative of Vernon (and Jean) Showalter who go to the Mount Morris Church of the Brethren.

Everything comes around.
Nel

Remember Minnesota

"By making this choice, Mitt Romney is declaring war. There will be no evasion, no triangulation, no attempt to mask what is at stake in this election. Instead, Romney and Ryan will directly confront Barack Obama and call him to account for putting us on a ruinous course.

This will alter radically the dynamics of the race. The money spent by Obama trying to demonize Governor Romney will prove to be money entirely wasted. The election is not going to be about Mitt Romney. It is not going to be about the sexual revolution. It is not going to be about Bain Capital. It is going to be about the failed policies of Barack Obama, about their dangerous character, and about the sober, sound alternative the Republicans represent. ...

This will help the Republicans in Senate and House races immeasurably, for it will give Romney and Ryan coattails -- now, without a doubt, the candidates in these other races have something concrete on which to run: repeal Obamacare, pare back the entitlements state, reform our system of taxation, and put our fiscal house in order. No one will doubt the capacity of the Republicans to rule.

I have predicted that Romney will win by a landslide. The choice of Paul Ryan means that Romney has chosen the path that will maximize the significance of his victory and its impact on the races for seats in the House and Senate. As in 1980, this is going to be a national election -- in which local particularities count for much less than usual."
http://www.ricochet.com/main-feed/Romney-s-Declaration-of-War

The Ryan Plan, myths, lies and facts

Now, let’s compare the Ryan Plan with the Democrats’ plan.  Ooops. Someone is a no show.

Who will pay for Obamacare? People like me and you.

“How much will ObamaCare actually cost us? 90% of the burden will be funded by new taxes that will fall upon individuals making between $9,500 and $200,000!” Over one third of the burden will fall upon people with incomes between $9,500 and $37,300, whose ObamaCare tax will be a flat $695 beginning in 2016. That makes the ObamaCare mandate tax a very regressive tax.   Well over one half of the burden will fall upon people whose incomes put them squarely in the middle class. This breaks the President’s 2008 campaign pledge to not raise taxes on the middle class, which he defined as individuals making less than $200,000 a year, or households with incomes less than $250,000.   http://www.mygovcost.org/2012/07/25/the-mandate-tax-burden-of-obamacare/

Here’s an article on the penalty tax. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-is-the-obamacare-penalty-tax-2012-7

I’m not too worried about his broken promises.  He lies so often, the promises don’t matter.

Obama and the 1%

Christians should be happy that Obama has finally acknowledged the wording of the First Amendment is "freedom of religion," and not changed it to just "freedom of worship" (the Soviet constitution wording), and that he has had his arm twisted into saying that it is our Creator and not the government that gives us our rights. Culturally, he is still very naive, having been raised in a Muslim, not Christian country. Yes, he said it to American Muslims, the 1%, but it's a start. Maybe someday he'll say it to Christians, the 83%.

And he's not even in terrible error about Muslims and the founding of our country [it's odd that he holds up Jefferson owning a Koran--I own a railroad table, and that doesn't make me an engineer]. Arab Muslims attacked and enslaved African blacks by the millions and sold them to the European slave traders, so in a way, they helped create our mixed society.

President Obama: "Of all the freedoms we cherish as Americans, of all the rights that we hold sacred, foremost among them is freedom of religion, the right to worship as we choose. It’s enshrined in the First Amendment of our Constitution — the law of the land, always and forever. It beats in our heart — in the soul of the people who know that our liberty and our equality is endowed by our Creator. And it runs through the history of this house, a place where Americans of many faiths can come together and celebrate their holiest of days — and that includes Ramadan."

Christians need to speak to other Christians about their involvement in and support of crimes against the unborn

Mennonite Germans worshiping with English Quakers in Philadelphia were the first Americans to speak out against the practice of slavery in 1688, and particularly were against their fellow Christians engaging in the "traffic of humans."  They recalled the days when the Turks (Muslims) were capturing Europeans on ships and selling them as slaves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_1688_Germantown_Quaker_Petition_Against_Slavery

Who knew there’d be math on the test!

Paula Priesse writes: “Poor O, he didn’t know there’d be math on the test. And poor media. Might now have to discuss icky stuff like jobs, Obamacare, energy independence, cutting deficits & entitlement reform. But being O’s lapdogs, they probably won’t. As for O’s campaign of no ideas and no scruples, expect 3 more months of pure garbage. Like Romney “murdering” a man’s wife & Ryan throwing granny off a cliff.”

Your head will split with all the numbers Obama can't even imagine, but Ryan understands.

Help turn the country around with Romney and Ryan

Paul Ryan on the current president

Let me say a word about the man Mitt Romney will replace. No one disputes President Obama inherited a difficult situation. And, in his first 2 years, with his party in complete control of Washington, he passed nearly every item on his agenda. But that didn’t make things better.
In fact, we find ourselves in a nation facing debt, doubt and despair.
...

This is the worst economic recovery in 70 years.
Unemployment has been above 8 percent for more than three years, the longest run since the Great Depression. Families are hurting.
We have the largest deficits and the biggest federal government since WW II.
Nearly 1 out of 6 Americans are in poverty--the worst rate in a generation. Moms and dads are struggling to make ends meet.
Household incomes have dropped by more than $4,000 over the past four years.
Whatever the explanations, whatever the excuses, this is a record of failure.

Obama and the border—fences, school finances, and Fast and Furious

I'm confused here about the border fence between Mexico and the United States. I think I saw an ad or speech where Obama was taking credit for getting that completed. I can't imagine that plays well with his base, but maybe the undecided? Then when I looked it up, I found an article that said it was about 90% completed in Jan. 2009 when he took office, and another that said 4.3 miles have been finished since he was in office. See? This is how the man’s lies work. He’s a dream weaver (as in DREAM plan for illegals to go to school more cheaply than your kids.)  Yes, it's been almost completed since he took office (conservatives can smile), but virtually all of that was Bush's fault (so his leftist base can't blame him). Same with Osama bin Laden's death. He was found and killed (conservatives smile) using the policies and techniques employed by the Bush administration, all of which Obama voted against (leftists love him). Then he steps up and takes the credit, and doesn't blame Bush for this one. Unfortunately, too many Americans don't realize that the Big O is a Big Zero when it comes to the truth. Fast and Furious hasn’t made it’s way into his speeches or political ads, but I sure hope Romney grows some and mentions it.

The Daily Beast roars on

The Daily Beast (Newsweek's collaborative online smear machine) is reaching all the way back to Ryan's high school year book to find something negative to say. Wow. Now that's deep for folks who can't find Obama's college records or even anyone who was in class with him! "Since 2008, Newsweek has undergone a series of internal and external contractions designed to shift the magazine's focus and audience while shoring up the title's finances. Instead, losses at the newsweekly accelerated: revenue dropped 38 percent from 2007 to 2009. The revenue freefall prompted an August 2010 sale by owner The Washington Post Company to 92-year-old audio pioneer Sidney Harman—reportedly for a purchase price of $1.00 and an assumption of the magazine's liabilities." Wikipedia Tina Brown is in the mix/mess somewhere.

I'm ready for a change, are you?

Now the political ads, which we’re seeing about every 5 minutes, will really get going.

Ohio is a swing state, so we see a lot of ads the rest of you don't. Money won't be wasted in Chicago, where even the dead vote Democratic and ACORN will chase down anyone else. The Obama ad writers have 2 styles, slash and burn. When they aren't out and out lies, the truth part is buried so keep in BS you're afraid to dig. One of my favorites is the contraceptives for Obama ad.   Big Pharma must be ecstatic. Did you know contraception changes the lining of the uterus making women more susceptible to STDs? Or the more contraception, the higher the abortion rate? That the pill increases the rate of cervical cancer?  That it increases breast cancer.  STDs and pregnancy can send poor women to Planned Parenthood to build their coffers and pay their high salaries. Do you know that the drug companies test them on 3rd world women who are clueless about their dangers, side effects, or failures? But Obama has increased our debt by over 450% since Jan. 2009, so what else is there to talk about except free contraception?

2016 the movie starts today

John David Ware, formerly of Columbus, Ohio, now doing film (168 Project) in California

I just saw "2016-Obama's America." Narrator Dnesh D'Souza has a unique point of view, having come from a similar experience of colonialism at the hands of the British. D'Souza predicted much of Obama's behavior in his book, so there must be something to his analysis. Riveting and informative, the film explores our president's frequently bizarre actions: reckless spending as we teeter on the edges of a Greece-style meltdown, redistribution of wealth, provoking class warfare, passing bills that not even he knows what is in them, shutting down oil drilling and the Keystone oil pipeline in the US, but giving money for drilling to Brazil and other countries, supporting domestic anarchy via the Occupy Movement, turning his back on or being cold to our longtime allies--Egypt and Israel, NOT supporting the rebels in Iran, doing NOTHING to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, and making secretive pacts with Russia as he works to weaken US nuclear superiority). It's hard to believe that a US President could ever compile a record like this. It's harder still to understand what benefits proud, hard-working people can derive from 4 more years of Obama. The film reveals much about the way Obama grew up and what/who shaped him. It reveals the great conflict in Obama's ideas versus traditional American ideals and how unlikely was his rise to power. Though he seems like a even-tempered person, you can really get a sense of the bitterness that colonialism engenders. The film also points out Obama's mastery of the politics of perception and appealing to different groups at the same time. D'Souza says that America felt good about electing it's first Black president. A second Obama term, the film argues will make for an America that is unrecognizable compared to the one we have known. From his Facebook page.

See the film. It starts today.
http://2016themovie.com/​trailer/

Friday Family Photo--Today's Guitar recital

A very mixed group of guitar playing wannabees took a class together at the Rhein Center in Lakeside today. The class presented a recital this morning. I believe this oneis "You are my sunshine."

Lou Prichett went from scared to terrified in 3 years

His first letter to President Obama went viral.  The updated one from 2012 is excerpted here,   http://www.canyon-news.com/artman2/publish/Point_of_View_1136/They_Never_Expected_Govt_To_Offer_Anything.php  .

In April 2009, I sent President Obama and the New York Times a letter titled "You Scare Me" because, as a candidate, he promised to "fundamentally transform America." Now, after observing his performance for over three years, he no longer scares me---he terrifies me for the following reasons:

FIRST: He has done more to damage America's standing in the world, to lower the standard of living in America, to impoverish future generations and to shake our faith in the country's future than any other American president in history.

SECOND: With a compliant Democrat congress, a lapdog media and a weak, almost nonexistent Republican opposition, he has shattered the American dream of job security, home ownership and rugged individualism for millions of Americans and has poisoned and divided our civil society with his politics of envy, class warfare, race warfare, and religious warfare which he is using as fundamental building blocks for his 'socialist' agenda.

THIRD: Culturally, he remains totally out of touch with traditional American values. This has absolutely nothing to do with race or where he was born, rather it has everything to do with where, how and with whom he was raised, schooled, educated, trained and associates with still today.

FOURTH: He has surrounded himself with naive academicians, lawyers, politicians, bureaucrats and socialist-leaning czars who arrogantly think and behave exactly as he does. People who offer no balanced suggestions or devils advocate positions and think in lock-step with him that big government is the answer to all our problems.

FIFTH: He not only encourages but aids and abets in the unionization of all American industry, the albatross around the neck of the free market. In turn, they provide the money and muscle to intimidate his opponents.

SIXTH: He has increased the national debt by over 30% in just three years. If re-elected and this rate of increase continues, America will be burdened with an unsustainable $20 trillion dollar debt which will result in the country's financial death. Recovery will be impossible - America will be the Greece of 2016.

SEVENTH: Given his fanatical adherence to the 'environmental' and 'man-caused global warming' fringe, he has deliberately discouraged U.S. fossil fuel exploration and production while wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on solar, wind and algae experiments. He refuses to accept that oil, gas and coal are not America's enemies, they are America's assets which, if properly managed, could make us energy independent within a generation.

EIGHTH: He views the U.S. as a power in retreat which abused its World dominance. Therefore, he systematically apologizes round the world. Last March he whispered to Russian President Medvedev "... this is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility." Just what is the secret that Obama and Putin are concealing from the American people until after the election? With what other leaders has he made similar secret agreements?

NINTH: And finally, after all his missteps, bad decision making, poor management, and zero leadership, the fact that he has the audacity to seek re-election should terrify every American.
I predict that if re-elected, future historians and political interpreters will look back at the eight year period 2008-2016, and conclude "the 44th President of the U.S. allowed the takers to overpower the payers which resulted in the greatest economy in history vanishing from the face of the Earth." Farewell, America. The World will really miss you!"

It is my hope and prayer that this letter will also go viral and serve as a 'wake up' call to Americans of all political leaning, convincing them that never before in U.S. history has so much depended on Americans understanding that we are facing one of the greatest crises in U.S. history. Convincing them that this election will be won not by letters to the editor, political speeches or radio and TV soundbites.

No!!! it will be won by those with a conviction, with a belief and with a willingness to pay the price in helping put the most enlightened voters in the polling booth on November 6.

Let me end on my favorite quote which I think is very appropriate for each of us today:
"TO EVERY MAN THERE COMES IN HIS LIFETIME THAT SPECIAL MOMENT WHEN HE IS PHYSICALLY TAPPED ON THE SHOULDER AND OFFERED THE CHANCE TO DO A VERY SPECIAL THING, UNIQUE TO HIM AND FITTED TO HIS TALENT; WHAT A TRAGEDY IF THAT MOMENT FINDS HIM UNPREPARED OR UNQUALIFIED FOR THE WORK WHICH WOULD BE HIS FINEST HOUR."

Those words, spoken by Winston Churchill over 70 years ago, are very appropriate for the Tea Party Movement today.
For if each of us is prepared and is qualified then November 6, 2012, just might be our and our Country's finest hour as we reclaim this "shining city on the hill" from the ravages of Obama Socialism.

IT IS NOW OR NEVER FELLOW PATRIOTS --GOD HELP US IF WE FAIL!
###
Lou Pritchett is the author of the open letter "Obama, You Scare Me" which went viral in 2009.

The Cardinal turns the other cheek

We're supposed to “take a deep breath, relax a second, and think carefully about” Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s invitation to President Obama to speak at the upcoming Al Smith Dinner. It shows Christians can treat adversaries with respect and honor says Edward Mechmann.   And no national leader in my memory has treated Christians more poorly than this president. From his support for abortion for any reason, including gender and disabilities, to announcing embryonic stem cell support at a Catholic university, to his phony war on women, to his flip flopping on marriage, to his sitting in the pew for 20 years of a pastor who preached hate whitey--he doesn't like us much.

http://www.womenofgrace.com/blog/?p=15789

Spiritual but not religious

It’s not trendy or politically correct to say this, but I am religious, not spiritual.  I am a Christian; Jesus Christ is the head of the church, not me, not my inner thoughts, energy source, feelings, body contortions, and no other guru who is a flash in the pan with a webpage.  I’ve always been a bit puzzled by those who claim more personal wisdom than a 5th century Pope or a 16th century reformer, or even their own local church government, given how far removed they are from the founders’ work.   Even Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament to provide a structure for the church Jesus established 2,000 years ago, didn’t rely on his own personal experience.  He had many years of being taught and grounded in the Scriptures of the Jews, and after his experience of meeting the living Christ after his resurrection, he spent a lot of time in training with the disciples who worked with Jesus during his ministry on earth and who already had a “church structure”  of meeting together for prayer, sharing bread, evangelizing and service. When the Holy Spirit revealed something to him to pass along, he had some depth and learning to test it.  The New Testament is full of lists to define various appointments, gifts, personality characteristics of leaders and roles in the church—Romans 12:-6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11, Acts 6, 1 Timothy 5:17, Titus 1:7-9, Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:2, 1 Peter 5:1-5, etc.  In fact, other than the topic of hell, there are few topics as well covered as how to structure the church, so religion must be important to Jesus.

How much of this $900,000 for “Improving the Health of People with Disabilities” will get to the people with disabilities?

“The Ohio State University Nisonger Center and Ohio Department of Health were recently awarded a $900,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to promote health, prevent chronic disease, and increase the quality of life among people with disabilities.”  These are extremely vague goals; I assume there are specific diseases that disabled people have that are different than the general population (measles, mumps, polio, tetanus, shingles, chicken pox, etc.) and specific quality of life markers in the contract. Essentially, this is a monitoring and surveillance program—i.e., there’s nothing new—no new services, no research, no . . . nothing. The goal of the CDC is to “reduce disparities” and not to help the disabled.*

There are so many fingers in this pie, it is difficult to imagine that anyone except the direct researchers, bean counters, and university and government staff will benefit.  First of all, when a federal government grant comes to the university, close to 50-60% is taken off the top to cover university overhead—this is everything from parking lots, utilities. janitors, food service, debt, and social events for deans and faculty.  But keep In mind, that the amount started out bigger than $900,000 because each agency whose hands/offices it passed through also took their cut for overhead.

The employees of the following agencies and organizations must be paid before a disabled person receives a dime’s worth of service, and even then it is monitoring services that they already have had from earlier programs. I used to be an employee of Ohio State University and The State of Ohio Department of Aging.  It’s a very nice living for many well-educated people.

Federal

National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities

Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

State

Ohio Department of Health Division of Family and Community Health Services

Ohio Emergency Management Agency (EMA)

Ohio Department of Health’s Division of Prevention

Ohio Department of Aging

Ohio Disability and Health Program (ODHP)

Ohio Office of Health Preparedness

State Universities

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Nisonger Center Health Promotion / Healthcare Parity

The Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center

University of Cincinnati UCEDD at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Associations/non-profits

Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD)

Ohio Association of Community Health Centers

*Through public health efforts, such as surveillance, research, and health promotion, CDC aims to reduce health disparities and the incidence and severity of secondary conditions, including additional physical or mental health conditions that occur as a result of having a primary disabling condition. CDC http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/pdf/AboutDHProgram508.pdf

Stop his plan before he kills the country

Obama's plan is working. Unemployment is up; the deficit is ballooning; housing starts for middle America have stalled again; construction on government buildings in DC is way up; small business is not expanding, but the wars in the Middle East are; marriage and babies are being demonized; there's more free birth control for women and fewer work requirements for welfare. What is not to love in this man's accomplishments who has a Fluke introduce him?

Late Nite Catechism

Last night at the Hoover Auditorium we were treated to a very funny show called, Late Nite Catechism featuring Mary Zentmyer as Sister, a classroom teacher in traditional nun habit, and teaching pre-Vatican II style with old fashion discipline. I thought it was very funny, plus informative, and decided Catholics are a lot funnier than Lutherans or Methodists.  Yes, not everything is doctrinally correct, but I think she got the flavor.  And I was surprised when about half the audience raised their hands when she asked how many had gone to Catholic School.

 

Romney Hood--how funny is it? Not very.

The Robin Hood (Romney Hood) ploy that the Dems have been using since the mid-90s? Robin Hood took from the rich government thieves and gave the money back to the people from which it had been stolen. In the story, Robin Hood is the good guy, so why are the O forces so confused again? Well, Obama grew up outside the country--he is clueless about our culture. But what's his advisors excuse?

A new one today was the funding stream for Romney to start Bain Capital. Have the Democrats complained about the bootleg money that built the Kennedy fortunes or the Mafia ties o JFK and RFK? It's Chicago politics, all right.

You can't make these things up!

Sandra Fluke who chose her high price Catholic university law school for its lack of contraception coverage so she could lead a protest, is going to introduce Obama at the Democrat convention. Together they can destroy future generations of Democrats and African Americans! Apparently, this is supposed to help the women voters decide--free contraception, not jobs, not career advancements, not expansion of the wars, not the 5 trillion deficit, not bail outs and buy offs, but a $9/mo contraceptive she could just as easily buy at WalMart.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2012/08/06/sandra-fluke-introduce-obama-denver/77882/

The reading list wars

Whatever became of the "reading list wars?" Well, Obama pretty much lost that race/battle in 2009, back when the lapdog media were still presenting GW Bush as a dumb, ignorant, gaffe-prone ignoramous. Then when they stared checking things, Obama came out to be the light weight who didn't know history, political science, finance, business or religion, and wouldn't learn from history. He mostly read stuff written by other Democrats or himself. Also, over time, the media learned Obama couldn't even keep track of the words put in front of him by his writers on the teleprompter, and mispronouned or misspoke often. So the comparisons just weren't fun anymore, plus, it was all Bush's fault anyway, so why did it matter?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/books/19read.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Mr. Obama tends to take a magpie approach to reading — ruminating upon writers’ ideas and picking and choosing those that flesh out his vision of the world or open promising new avenues of inquiry.

His predecessor, George W. Bush, in contrast, tended to race through books in competitions with Karl Rove (who recently boasted that he beat the president by reading 110 books to Mr. Bush’s 95 in 2006), or passionately embrace an author’s thesis as an idée fixe. Mr. Bush and many of his aides favored prescriptive books — Natan Sharansky’s “Case for Democracy,” which pressed the case for promoting democracy around the world, say, or Eliot A. Cohen’s “Supreme Command,” which argued that political strategy should drive military strategy. Mr. Obama, on the other hand, has tended to look to non-ideological histories and philosophical works that address complex problems without any easy solutions, like Reinhold Niebuhr’s writings, which emphasize the ambivalent nature of human beings and the dangers of willful innocence and infallibility.

What exactly worked?

Increased deficit?
Loss of religious freedom?
Increased health care costs?
Expanded war zones?
More people on food stamps?
Loss of prestige globally?
More radical Muslim governments in power?
Highest unemployment since WWII?
Businesses sitting on their capital rather than investing it?

And somehow only 10% of the people who supported him in 2008 are defecting?

This needs to be in an Obama/Romney campaign ad, with sad faced, weeping retirees

When the Obama administration was "saving" the auto industry in 2009 the UAW got the spoils and investors and creditors got the shaft. It's no surprise that this trickled down to the auto suppliers as well. Who got shafted there? At Delphi, 20,000 non-union retirees. (Kitchen Cabinet)

Delphi, a General Motors company, is one of the world’s largest automotive parts manufacturers. Twenty thousand of its workers lost nearly their entire pensions when the government bailed out GM. At the same time, Delphi employees who were members of the United Auto Workers union saw their pensions topped off and made whole.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/07/emails-geithner-treasury-drove-cutoff-of-non-union-delphi-workers-pensions/#ixzz22sNCF2xX

Why lie about taxes? Because class envy works for the President.

I just can't figure out the lies about taxes that the left reports. I've looked at these tables (Brookings) from every angle, and there's just no way but what the top 1% is being unfairly taxed more than any other group. And if you like quintiles (fifths), then the top quintile pays 24.5% and the bottom .8. To the left, that's not fair because after taxes, the rich are still rich, not impoverished, and the poor are still poor even with all those government transfers for food, housing and health. Before the recession that Obama has relentlessly encouraged, the top quintile paid even more, but they've lost a lot of ground.

 http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/displayatab.cfm?Docid=3277

What we call “Cafeteria Catholics”

Protestants.

Priests should be free to marry.  Women should be able to be priests. Gays should  marry in the church.  Abortion and contracepting is OK.  Nah, I don’t go to Mass every Sunday.  Confession?  Well, gosh,  why not be a Methodist or Presbyterian?

“The Christian who believes he has a right to his private opinion, that he already knows what the Church will only come to grasp later, must ask himself in sober self-criticism before God  and his conscience, whether he has the necessary depth and breadth of theological expertise to  allow his private theory and practice to depart from the present doctrine of the ecclesiastical authorities.  The case is in principle admissible.  But conceit and presumption will have to answer for their willfulness before the judgement seat of God.” K. Rahner, “Magesterium” quoted in Francis A. Sullivan, Magisterium, 1983, p. 171.

Random sightings at Lakeside

I saw on Fox News this morning at the coffee shop that the man who killed worshipers at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin was white, a veteran and had tattoos and it has been called domestic terrorism rather than a hate crime.  Obviously, the left media will claim a victory—saying it’s the Tea Party’s fault.  They never blame testosterone, the mentally ill or the military in these shootings. Or they won’t while Obama is Commander and Chief. Not even the Ft. Hood massacre was called “domestic terrorism” even though the perp was an American (and, shhh, a Muslim).

There are two groups of very handsome, agile teens here this week.  The boys appear to be track, the girls, either cheerleaders or drill team.  The coaches of course are riding bikes while the kids run.

This is “Peace” week, or “multi-faith” week at Lakeside, so I won’t be going to the programs.  The speakers are usually on a journey, seeking, striving, dialoguing, and it is just so boring.  There is a walking tour of south Lakeside that looks good.

This will make it easier

To remember the Great Lakes, think HOMES

Huron

Ontario

Michigan

Erie

Superior

 

Thanks Gayle!  (from my cousin’s weekly newsletter)

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

You are the only president in my memory (the first president I remember was Harry Truman) who worsened race relations, promoted class warfare, supported death to the unborn, and denigrated the spirit and drive that built our great country.  May the archives ever reflect your accomplishments so future presidents will learn from your mistakes.

Christians are disappearing from Islamic countries

Megamosques are in the news, but ordinary mosques should raise some questions too. In the past few decades, thousands of mosques have been built in post Christian Europe--France, Germany, England--and in Christian America and Australia. But I wonder how often a Christian church is being built in a Moslem country? I think we'd hear about it. I did hear on the radio the last Christian church was closed in Afghanistan (our ally?). With the Arab Spring, with support from our own President who praised it, Christians have been sent into hiding, have lost jobs, or have had to immigrate. At one time when Jesus first commanded his disciples to "GO" there were Christian cultures in Turkey, Syria, Egypt--in fact, that part of the world was Christian a thousand years before Scandinavia.

We have a President who was raised a Muslim, who converted to Christianity in a church (UCC, Rev. Wright, Chicago) where hatred for whites, Western Civilization and the United States was preached. He says he didn't notice--but maybe he just didn't attend that often. In any case, President Obama says we are not a Christian nation. Being a nation that doesn't demand its citizens attend a Baptist or Presbyterian or Catholic church must be what he means--it's what allows Muslims, Bahai, Jews, and Wiccans to pursue their spiritual needs.

In the past, our Presidents have had a "bully pulpit" for human and religious rights. With his "multicultural" past and his attempts to reduce our own religious freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment, any words of warning to despots and monarchs can be laughed away. "Human rights" and "religious freedom" in Muslim countries are terms defined by Sharia Law, not ours. The July 30 report by Secretary of State Clinton must be viewed with the August 1 HHS Mandate currently being fought by Catholics and many other Christian groups in mind.

We’ve been down this road before—with FDR

Perhaps you believe Rush and Beck are just alarmists about the Muslims in the White House even if maybe backing the Arab Spring wasn’t such a good idea.  Ok, so maybe thousands are being slaughtered by the guys BO supported.   After all, the progressives (Democrats, Socialists, media) all say there is no problem or we shouldn’t expect their version of democracy to look like ours. But remember, that's what Communist sympathizers in the press and government said about Stalin and the USSR too in the 1930s, when FDR reigned and Ukrainians were dying at 25,000 a day from starvation.

As one of the best known correspondents in the world for one of the best known newspapers in the world, Mr. Duranty's denial that there was a famine was accepted as gospel. Thus Mr. Duranty gulled not only the readers of the New York Times but because of the newspaper's prestige, he influenced the thinking of countless thousands of other readers about the character of Josef Stalin and the Soviet regime. And he certainly influenced the newly-elected President Roosevelt to recognize the Soviet Union.

What is so awful about Duranty is that Times top brass suspected that Duranty was writing Stalinist propaganda, but did nothing. In her exposé "Stalin's Apologist: Walter Duranty, the New York Times's man in Moscow," S.J. Taylor makes it clear that Carr Van Anda, the managing editor, Frederick T. Birchall, an assistant managing editor, and Edwin L. James, the later managing editor, were troubled with Duranty's Moscow reporting but did nothing about it. Birchall recommended that Duranty be replaced but, says Taylor, "the recommendation fell by the wayside."

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/002/791vwuaz.asp

And still there are Democrats who trust him to lead

Contraception as a health issue for women

In 1955 the famed sex researcher Alfred Kinsey said, “. . . we have found the highest frequency of induced abortion in the group, which in general, most frequently used contraceptives.”  Alan Guttmacher, for whom the research wing of Planned Parenthood of America is named said, “. . . there is no scientific evidence that increased availability of contraceptive services will clearly result in a decreased abortion rate.”  Keep in mind, this was before the pill, before legal abortion.  And nothing has changed.  Statistics kept today at PP show that half of the women using abortion services have been using contraception. And we’re having one million abortions a year, and for blacks it’s over 40% of the pregnancies are ending in abortion.  It explains how Planned Parenthood guarantees repeat customers, since even teen girls after their 2nd or 3rd abortion are given contraception after their procedure to destroy the baby.

Citation:  Abortion in the United States (New York: Harper and Row, 1958),  pp 157, 182.

So by requiring that all employers, including religious institutions that are against both contraception and abortion, provide for contraceptives in their insurance plans in the HHS Mandate of Obamacare, our misguided president is not preventing unwanted pregnancies,but encouraging them, and then calling the result “health services for women.”  It’s a 2-fer—hurts women and hurts blacks.

Was he homophobic and hateful in 2008?

In 2008 Barack Obama ran on a “traditional values” and “one man one woman marriage” plank in his leftist platform.  For people who didn’t read his books or weren’t stampeding because of his Marxist friends and views, this was a good ploy.  But he dropped it last year, and came out.  Now, those of us who didn’t flip flop on marriage are being called intolerant by gay activists (Shep Smith on Fox News) and bigots and hateful (have you seen the YouTube of the sweet CFO  who harassed a poor clerk at Chick-fil-A when he drove through for free water?).  So what happened between 2008 and 2012?  Well, Obama’s leftist base was getting cranky and threatening not to support him.  So the marriage views, held by reasonable people for thousands of years, had to go.

Political ads--Ohio is a swamp

Team Obama has spent $131 million on TV ads in the last 3 months to tell us he hasn't done what he has done, didn't say what we all heard him say, and that he has done what he hasn't done. The blacks won't desert him--about 90% will vote for him despite their record high unemployment during his reign. Unions are replenishing his coffers, even though about 1/2 of their members are Republicans. He expands the wars he challenged during the Bush years to keep us in a state of panic. Women are still looking for a sugar daddy, and so his support is strong there. The river of white guilt runs shallow and wide, so a lot of Democrats stubbornly hang in with him. He's fighting cleaning up the voter rolls, so the dead are still in his corner. That leaves only the undecided to watch those expensive ads. People who don't know what they believe or why. That's who is choosing our next president

Friday family photo—exercise class

My husband left his partnership at Feinknopf, Maccioci and Schappa located in downtown Columbus in 1994 and became a sole practitioner with me as his only staff.  We borrowed a small computer from a friend for billing and specs, and purchased a copier and fax (still using them), and everything else was in his head and hands. Eventually, as his business grew, he moved it from his art studio off the master bedroom to our family room which had an outside entrance for clients.  It was an interesting and exciting time for us. He used to tell people, “The kids left home, Norma got tenure, and the cat died.”  So it seemed a safe time to do something he’d always wanted to do—be in charge from the beginning.  Even so, it seemed unrealistic to expect we’d ever have the income he had as an owner of a successful, larger firm.  Having health coverage on my plan was a huge benefit, of course,  and he arranged for a buy out of his stock in the company to run over several years to give us a small cash flow.  I worked out a cash only budget  and being able to cut our spending (and credit cards) wasn’t hard with just the 2 of us. I simply stopped going to retail stores and reading ads.  We already had everything we needed.  What he didn’t have was an exercise group which he enjoyed on his lunch hour down town at the YMCA. He was part of the PULSE (forgotten what it stands for) instructors and really enjoyed it.  I mentioned to him that there was a morning class at our church, UALC, and he could check into that.  A women’s exercise class?  Oh horrors.  But he did join it, and loved it, and the women loved him.  It was a huge group that also had evening classes.  Over the years as the organizers and original members went back to work or into retirement homes or moved away, the group dwindled and he gradually took on first substituting for instructors, then becoming one, then managing the group. Today we (I joined a few years ago) are a group of 10-15 if every comes, and sometimes “alumni” show up if they are on holiday, or are between jobs.  We currently have three instructors, all from the class, and he subs if one of them goes to India (Rita) or Poland (Christine), or has a busy season at work (Molly). By mid-June we close for the summer, and this year got together at Christine’s home for a brunch and to see photos of her recent trip.

                                          

Marriage--what's your excuse?

It used to be that if you said the word "marriage" people knew what the word meant. It was a state and church recognized contract between one man and one woman. For thousands of years and in all sorts of religions and cultures from primitive stone age and idol worshipers to Lutheran mergers in the USA it was understood that in order for there to be a solid family, the bedrock of all society, there had to be a recognized contract between a man and woman and the governing authority, whether the village elder, the king, or the state. Occasionally polygamy was recognized, (still is for some Muslims), but that too is for protection of the family unit and ultimately the state. Even those societies that encouraged or winked at relations among homosexuals, like ancient Greece or decadent Pompeii, never gave them the stamp of state or society approval of marriage.

These days you have to qualify the word marriage with the word, "traditional," if you mean that relational contract between a couple and the state. And if you own a business, it's not enough that you are a fair and just employer and you hire, train and promote people of all genders, faiths, and ethnicities--you must also contribute money only to those organization that support "non-traditional marriage." Like Chick-fil-a, a restaurant whose product I've never used, but will have to check out.

That said, we conservatives, Christians or otherwise, should be ashamed to target proponents of gay marriage as our marriage problem! We messed that up all by ourselves. Homosexuals didn't send the divorce rate soaring; they didn't invent the trophy wife or annulments; they aren't dropping babies to be raised by the state on welfare and Medicaid; if they are shacking up without our blessings, it's because the state and the church haven't an alternative for them.

No Ordinary Time--FDR and Eleanor on the home front

Our September book club selection is No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It's about FDR and Eleanor and the WWII White House. I'm slogging through it, but I didn't like FDR much before, and like him even less now. He extended the Depression by a decade, and then after rescinding the failed programs by 1943 since the war created full time employment, he relaunched his socialist dreams in 1944 (at least that's where I am now). And Eleanor's fertile mind an energy seemed behind much of what he did. But the author is a masterful and excellent writer and researcher. She definitely deserved the Pulitzer for the amount of detail she pulled together to recreate what seems like a minute by minute account of those years.