Caring for 2—a federal program for mothers and infants at risk

It gives me pleasure to report on a federal health/poverty/race program that actually is meeting its goals—Caring for 2.  I’d never heard of it, but came across the name on the list of referrals we use at the Pregnancy Decision Health Center where I volunteer.

http://publichealth.columbus.gov/uploadedFiles/Public_Health/Content_Editors/Maternal_Health/Caring_for_2/Caringfor2_update_1pager_2011.pdf

Caring for 2 began in 1991 as part of Healthy Start with 15 test sites, and now has 105, two in Ohio, Columbus and Cleveland. Although I don’t believe it began as a race based program, it is now limited to African Americans, and in Columbus to specific zip codes. The mission was to reduce the high infant mortality rate; in Columbus this has certainly been successful (for those enrolled) with the infant mortality rate below the national average.

There seems to be a recent push to include fathers in the program (NHSA’s Where Dads Matter fatherhood program begun in 2007).  Who knew?  Actually the number one advantage for a poor or low income child is to have married parents. That and a job for dad, any job, will provide those parents with the opportunity to leave poverty behind.  No government program makes that kind of promise.

I can’t find anything current under Healthy Start that specifically funds promoting fatherhood, but did find a page of links.  It is mentioned in the national annual report, but is definitely a step child added during the Bush years. http://fatherhood.gov/for-programs/federal-programs-and-resources

California’s program includes a piece specifically for “dads” but marriage doesn’t seem to be a part of that. In fact, it’s not even mentioned as the biggest guarantee that a child won’t grow up in poverty. http://www.healthycal.org/archives/10425

Here is a state by state update on what is happening. Despite the success rate, or perhaps because of it, I was disappointed to read how some programs are being watered down with other issues, like fighting racism, because there are so many other avenues for that, and success has been dramatic by focusing on health and coordinating community resources already available.

http://www.nationalhealthystart.org/site/assets/docs/NHSA_SavingBabiesPub_2ndED.pdf

Healthy Start is currently funded at just under $105 million and authorized through 2013. Healthy Start was first established as a pilot program by President George H.W. Bush in 1991. The last reauthorization of the program passed Congress in 2008 and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008. The fatherhood component was added under GW Bush.

Now I’m a capitalist

                       

I was looking at a red t-shirt that said, "Capitalist."  Most of my professional life I worked for the government: University of Illinois, Ohio State University, State of Ohio, and OhioNet ( state and federal grant money). I had a few jobs working in the free market economy when I was between "real" jobs, and of course, I was my husband's only staff for 20 years. So I have a state teacher's pension (not Social Security--can't have both). That sort of qualifies me as a capitalist, because pensions are invested in businesses/stock market/ real estate/ etc. While I was working, I socked away as much as was allowed in TIAA-CREF and IRAs (the stock market). For now those businesses and fat cats that are regularly maligned by this administration are doing well and paying me for investing my money—as a capitalist.

http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/pension_fund_capitalism.html

http://www.statecapitalist.org/category/pension/

http://www.giaging.org/documents/NIRS_Report_12-10-13.pdf

Dirty deals on the IRS scandals

Neither the Democrats who fear their growing power, nor the Republicans who fear the same thing are going to take any action about the IRS criminal behavior against the Tea Party.

“President Obama and Democrats have been at great pains to insist they knew nothing about IRS targeting of conservative 501(c)(4) nonprofits before the 2012 election. They've been at even greater pains this week to ensure that the same conservative groups are silenced in the 2014 midterms.

That's the big, dirty secret of the omnibus negotiations. As one of the only bills destined to pass this year, the omnibus was—behind the scenes—a flurry of horse trading. One of the biggest fights was over GOP efforts to include language to stop the IRS from instituting a new round of 501(c)(4) targeting. The White House is so counting on the tax agency to muzzle its political opponents that it willingly sacrificed any manner of its own priorities to keep the muzzle in place.”

Kimberley Strassel at the Wall Street Journal—much more to read

The widening gap between the rich and the poor—10 easy reasons

Nine years ago the  Wall Street Journal published a series—the widening gap between the rich and the poor—and this was before the recession and during very low unemployment and an economic boom.  I didn’t like any of their answers, so I wrote my own reasons for the gap. Keep in mind this was May 2005. Notice the word “easy.”

1. Easy credit cards: We got our first credit card in the late 60s--I think it was a "Shopper’s Charge." We now have one department store credit card and one bank card--we’ve never carried a balance. Since the late 80s and into the 90s, many new households have never known what it was to live on their earned income.
2. Easy divorce: Christians now have the same divorce rate as anyone else in the culture. When we married 45 years ago, regular religious observance offered families some protection. No fault divorce particularly hurt women and children, pushing them economically into competition with two income families.
3. Easy sex: Casual one-night stands were glorified in the movies of the 70s and 80s. Although adultery and fornication had long been a theme in literature, drama and movies, casual sex and living together before marriage became the gold standard of relationships by the 80s, even though it’s been proven that it increases the divorce rate. Then easy sex came into the living rooms via TV so that even young children think who’s spending the night is no more important than what toothpaste mom buys. Women having and raising babies alone is the biggest cause of growing poverty.
4. Easy birth control and abortion: The millions of Americans that might have sprung from the loins of some of our best and brightest have been denied life itself, and thus their slots in the pie chart has been taken by poor, less educated immigrants. Obviously this creates a huge gap between the middle class and the poor, who instead of having a solid footing as those aborted citizens might have had, flood across our borders or arrive as refugees with nothing.
5. Easy technology and gadgets: Time wasted on I-pods and text messaging and vegging out in front of bad movies on DVDs has certainly absorbed billions of hours that could have been invested in networking, education or advancing up the career ladder. Cable and cell phone monthly costs easily equal what we spent on a mortgage in the 1960s and 1970s.
6. Easy bankruptcy: Load up the credit cards with consumer spending, mortgage your future, then make the rest of us pay it off for you. It might have been Plan B 20 years ago, but is now Plan A. Interest only mortgages, leases for larger and more expensive vehicles, second mortgages--for a generation who thinks the future will be paid for by someone else, it’s a recipe for a growing gap.
7. Easy leisure: Thirty five years ago (1970) few middle class families took vacations--if Dad had a week off (and most companies didn’t offer it) he spent it fixing the house. Sure it’s a huge industry and employs a lot of people, but we’re looking at the gap aren’t we? We’d probably been married 10 years before we took a family vacation (my parents never had one), and then it was at my mother’s farm for a week. Our daughter and her husband had been to Key West, Aruba and took a Mexican cruise in the first 5 years of their marriage.
8. Easy entertainment: This is related to leisure and technology, but today’s young families have difficulty being alone or quiet, it would seem. Even 30 years olds seem unable to walk around without head phones. They are spending their children’s future at movies, sporting events and theme parks. A visit to the library is most likely to pick up a movie, not a book.
9. Easy college loans: Instead of attending a state school, working during the summer or attending closer to home, many young people begin their working lives with huge debt, a debt that takes years to pay off, assuming they don’t default. Loans were so easy in the 80s, that parents who could well afford to pay tuition had their children at the public trough.
10. Easy shopping: You can be a couch potato or a computer novice and never leave home to shop. Addiction is easy. Just call in with the credit card.

See? And I haven’t even said a word about how much health care costs, or how the women’s movement changed our culture, public transportation or taxes. And while the government is tangentially involved in these areas, mostly it boils down to perfectly legal choices, choices which when they become ingrained in our way of life lead to poverty or slippage down by a quintile for the next generation.

Yes, our cat does this

She will also start  knocking things to the floor from the night stand right next to my ear. But only mine, since she knows I’m the early riser. She thinks I’ll forget to feed her if she doesn’t do something.

Washington Post is ‘fessing up to its poor investigation of Obamacare—by mentioning some facts now

I noticed this in a long article in Washington Post about employer health insurance problems under the 2nd wave of Obamacare.

"An estimated 18 million to 24 million people in the United States have insurance through employers with fewer than 50 workers, and about 40 million have coverage through firms with fewer than 100 workers. The Department of Health and Human Services estimated in 2010 that up to 80 percent of small-group plans, defined as having fewer than 100 workers, could be discontinued by the end of 2013."

Sort of made me wonder why WaPo thought the small percentage who didn't have insurance before Obama took office, were so much more important than the millions more that would be losing either coverage or jobs as companies closed. WaPo has been the president's lap dog until very recently.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/10/editorial-lap-dogs-on-the-growl/

Apple cranberry oatmeal bars

I found a recipe card on the floor yesterday; must have fallen out of something.  I didn’t have a few ingredients—like raw sugar and farina, but I like the idea.  So I googled the ingredients I wanted—oatmeal, cranberries and apples, and found this one. I was going to cut up an apple, and I probably will, but cook it a few minutes to make chunky applesauce. Recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens according the the blog author.http://cookingthisandthat.blogspot.com/2009/01/apple-cranberry-oatmeal-bars.html

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking or old fashioned rolled oats
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
Filling:
1 cup (chunky or smooth) applesauce
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and baking soda. Cut in butter using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture.
Press the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 11 x 7 baking dish. Make sure you press firmly into the pan - you are making a crust.
Combine all filling ingredients in small bowl. Spread over crumb mixture in baking dish. Sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup crumb mixture.
Bake 30-35 minutes, until top is golden and filling is set. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Friday Family Photo—Dora Hsiung

Here is an old photo of my college roommate, Dora Hsiung, and me 30 years after we met in 1958 at the University of Illinois. I was in Boston for a Medical Library Association conference and we went to the Boston Museum of Art.

Here is a video of Dora demonstrating her fiber art.  I’ve saved all of her Christmas cards and have framed some in a grouping.

http://www.newtv.org/video/inside-the-artist-s-studio/inside-the-artists-studio-fiber-artist-dora-hsiung/

Creation and Life

I’ve always cared about and loved God’s physical world--and wondered about the events and choices that moved lives and nations. As a 5 year old I wondered why my grandmother was blind and my uncle was killed in the war. And I still don’t know, but I know God does. And until the past two decades or so, I thought caring was enough, because caring made me a “good” person. Caring made me better than people who didn’t care as much as I do. Caring elevated me above the hoi polloi, the commoners, the great unwashed who don’t believe as I do.

In brief moments of extreme self-love, I even imagined I was more merciful and caring than God because I knew better how life should be ordered and what made sense and what didn’t! At this age I know caring does nothing, so I will speak out when I am able to promote God‘s Creation and Life. You can argue about candidates or fossil fuel with me, both were put here by God, but you won’t budge me on Creation and Life. (May 11, 2012)

Chris Bradley’s prediction for February

Chris Bradley is our Channel 10 weatherman in Columbus.  On Facebook he said,  FOR WEATHER GEEKS ONLY: The weather pattern has been cold with fast moving Clippers for the last week or so. I see even colder weather for the end of January with subzero temperatures very possible.

But today we are seeing signs of a pattern change that could make for an interesting February. If you like heavy snow.. the change I see happening after the third of February will bring a smile to your face. It appears the Jet Stream will be shift with a trough in the West. I've attached the GFS 500 mb which shows us the wind patterns across the country. This trough allows storms to develop across Texas and Oklahoma and ride up into the Ohio Valley. You heard it here first these are the storms the dump lots of snow. Lets keep an eye on this friends!

Later: I'm calling for temperatures to start falling next Monday with a low in Columbus of 5 Tuesday morning, zero Wednesday morning and 2 Thursday morning. While the low temperatures next week aren't as severe as the first Polar Vortex last week, they could be worse when a second wave of cold air arrives a week later. I have posted the GFS and ECMWF maps which show temperatures by January 27th ranging from 15-20 below. If you experienced problems with your home or car last week... do what you can now to prepare for even colder air later this month!

Bustles have come to stay--1889

An ad in the Ladies Home Journal, March 1889, assured women they needed the bustle:

“If a woman has too large hips, the Bustle relieves them of their protuberance; if she have no hips at all apparently, the Bustle supplies the lack; if she have too large an abdomen, the Bustle gives her symmetry, if she be too tall and thin, the Bustle helps her; if she be too short and broad, the Bustle helps her none the less.” from Magazines in the United States, (Ronald Press, 1949)

Traveling suit worn by Louise Whitfield on April 22, 1887 during the evening of her quiet wedding to Mr. Andrew Carnegie of New York while aboard the steamship Fulda on her way to European honeymoon. Designed for her travels, this practical ensemble consists of skirt with two bodices, extra set of cuffs, collar and front gold embroidered pastron insert of red silk velvet for more formal occasions. Costume Institute at The Met. Found at Pinterest, Becky Morris.

Carnegie became the richest man in the United States, and gave about 90% of his fortune away, much of it to build libraries. He was a poor immigrant—a very interesting person, as was she.

Our free and unbiased press

A NOTE TO WOMEN

“Would you please stop entertaining and sleeping with
these guys? If you are sleeping with a married guy, you are
being used. If you are sleeping with a guy who hasn’t married
you, you are being used. “Living together” is just a fancy term for, “I want to use you for sex until I’m tired of you.”

Please, kick him to the curb and go find a decent man who
accepts you, treats you like an equal, and will give up his life for
you. Anyone else is just a waste of time.

Besides, there is a good chance this loser is going to get you
pregnant. Who is going to be left with the decision about what
to do with the baby? You. Who is the only legally responsible
party? You. Who will bear the brunt of the abortion? You.

You are worth more than that. You deserve to be treated
better, respected more, and protected by someone who is
willing to commit the rest of his life to you. Don’t settle for
anything less.” Abortion: The Ultimate Exploitation of Women. By Brian Fisher, pp. 165-66

Photo from Why you’re better off married.

Black men not telling their ladies the truth

By race, age and risk group, young, black gay and bisexual men (ages 13-29) are the only population in the United States in which new HIV infections increased between 2006 and 2009.

Take a look at this chart of subpopulations.  Notice anything strange?

Although only 2%  of the population, black gay and bisexual men have 61% of the new infections; but black heterosexual women  have more infections (5400) than white heterosexual women (1700)—and although I’m sure there is plenty of cross-racial sex, the majority is within same race relationships. Black men are not telling black women the truth.  If they can’t be honest about their sexuality, why should they expect everyone else to change their views?

The HIV infection rate among African Americans was almost eight times as high as that of whites in 2009, and among African American women it was 15 times higher than among white women.

Also, transgender individuals are heavily affected by HIV. A 2008 review of studies of HIV among male-to-female women found that, on average, 28 percent (from 11% to 78%)  tested positive for HIV. So do these women push up the stats of heterosexual women with HIV?

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/policies/hip.html

The good old days

Thatcher believed in free enterprise—choice, dignity, responsibility, self worth, courage, efficiency and common sense.

Promise zones instead of jobs?

Obama's retread speeches are snooze-worthy, the income gap, class envy, "investments" (aka more taxes) in promise zones (with Democrats in trouble)--anything to avoid the elephant in the room--Obamacare. How does raising the minimum wage and allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the country help unemployed black youth, whose work prospects are already dismal? The unemployment rate in December fell because of the numbers leaving the labor force and disproportionately for blacks, "with the labor force participation rate for African Americans dropping by 0.3 percentage points to 60.2 percent, the lowest rate since December of 1977."

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/businessdesk/2014/01/unemployments-slow-drip-top-economists-on-the-2013-jobs-record.html

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/ali-meyer/unemployment-among-black-youth-393-higher-national-rate

Thursday Thirteen—13 brain helps and exercises

1.  First the best one—eat more dark chocolate.  “ The cacao bean, from which chocolate is made, is  complex, containing more than 400 chemicals. Many of them can affect human biology and health.” Sorry, your favorite candy bar may not help. The beneficial effects of chocolate are not in milk chocolate or white chocolate.

2.  Visit a museum.  Two years ago at Lakeside we had a program on the incredible museums in Ohio.  I just couldn’t  believe the variety. Most recently we toured the Ohio Historical Society and saw the 1950s exhibit—it’s tough when your halcyon days are now in a museum! When you get home from your (guided) tour,  jot down what you remember. “Research into brain plasticity (the ability of the brain to change at any age) indicates that memory activities that engage all levels of brain operation—receiving, remembering and thinking—help to improve the function (and hinder the rate of decline) of the brain.” Brain fitness tips. 

3.  Memorize a song.  “Developing better habits of careful listening will help you in your understanding, thinking and remembering. Reconstructing the song requires close attentional focus and an active memory. When you focus, you release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, a brain chemical that enables plasticity and vivifies memory.“  Although it’s not a song, I suppose it would help to sing it—my New Year’s resolution was to memorize the names of the books of the Old Testament by January 31. Today I’m on Amos, Obadiah and Jonah. Brain fitness tips.

4.  Exercise your peripheral vision. I think I remember doing this in elementary school.  Sit outside and stare straight ahead, don’t move your eyes.  Then write down everything you can remember seeing, including the periphery.  This exercise again should help you reinvigorate the controlled release of acetylcholine in your brain.  Brain fitness tips

5.  Learn to play a (new) musical instrument. My husband is trying to teach himself to play the guitar.  I want him to take lessons, so I got him a gift certificate for Christmas.  He had NO musical training as a child—virtually everyone I knew in our little town took piano lessons and later started band instruments.  “Playing an instrument helps you exercise many interrelated dimensions of brain function, including listening, control of refined movements, and translation of written notes (sight) to music (movement and sound).” The photo is our son showing his dad some fingering.

 

6.  Put together a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle.  This involves a lot of brain activity, looking at the piece, rotating it in your mind and hand, and figuring out the big picture.

7. Try using your non-dominate hand for simple tasks, like brushing your teeth or buttoning a shirt.  But be careful—might be tough to get the toothpaste out of your misbuttoned shirt. Keep your brain alive, (Workman, 1999)

8.  Add fish—especially fatty fish like salmon—to your diet. If your diet lacks omega-3 fatty acids, commonly found in fish,  your brain may age faster and lose some of its memory and thinking capabilities according to a recent UCLA study.  It also helps your cardiovascular system. 

9.  Physical exercise is also brain exercise. Exercise has positive benefits for the hippocampus, a brain structure that is important for learning and memory. It can even help your brain create new cells.  They already knew endurance exercises were good for the brain, and here’s the research to confirm it.  Think of those little mice running a treadmill just for your brain! I’m in an exercise class a few times a week, and when the weather is better I’ll also walk outdoors.

10.   Get a good night’s sleep.  Memory tasks are easier if you are well rested because the brain can store those tasks in your long term memory.  There are several theories on why sleep is important for memory.

11. At dinner, rearrange the seating chart. This challenges the associations we have.  I wonder if this applies to the pew in church? Keep your brain alive, (Workman, 1999)

12.  Take an unfamiliar route on your commute or drive someone else’s car (ask first).   Pay attention—you’ll be forced to and won’t be on autopilot. Keep your brain alive, (Workman, 1999)

13.  Shower with your eyes closed—but only if you have good balance. Find the faucets, soap, shampoo, etc. and if you’re in my shower, don’t forget to squeegee the tile and glass doors. Keep your brain alive, (Workman, 1999)

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Thirteen, check here.

Allen West on who’s the racist

“This is my clear and succinct message to white Americans. How long will it be before ‘you people’ realize you have elevated someone to the office of president who abjectly despises you – not to mention his henchman Holder. Combined they are the most vile and disgusting racists – not you,” he wrote.
http://www.wnd.com/2014/01/allen-west-obama-abjectly-despises-whites/

West was commenting on the Holder/Obama demand under threat of losing federal funding that schools “rethink ‘zero tolerance’ disciplinary policies” because they “disproportionately punish minorities.” West has taught in a Florida high school and says most disruptions and fights were started by the black students and it had nothing to do with racial disparity.  It was lack of discipline.

“When a young man took a swing at me while I broke up a beat down that he and three others were giving a young man already on the ground, it had nothing to do with civil rights. It had everything to do with a criminal behavior which does not belong in a learning environment – and he was expelled. Now imagine under these new guidelines and rules, DoJ and DoEd would initiate an investigation.”

In case you’ve had one . . .

hip replacement

Head Start—a very expensive feel good poverty program

The omnibus 1,582 page appropriations bill includes increased funding for Head Start and Early Head Start by $612 million, to $8.6 billion. This administration and those before it have studied this program carefully with the same results--it doesn't work. The 2012 study found little to no impact on cognitive, social-emotional, health, or parenting practices of participants. So why continue to fund it? What politician of either party could risk the backlash?

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/03/universal-preschools-empty-promises

Even though 74% of American 4 year olds are already in pre-school, Obama thinks the government needs to expand even more into this area and crowd out private and church programs, which will probably be declared "substandard" the way he did with health insurance which over 80% were satisfied with. Maybe he can reduce the gap between rich and poor by making all preschools perform like Head Start?

"The Columbus school district says it will find a way to expand pre-kindergarten even without the money that a levy would’ve raised." Columbus Dispatch Nov. 28, 2013. Professional educators are a powerful lobby for early childhood education--follow the money. Pre-schools have a patch work of standards by city and state for buildings, curricula, teachers, aides, safety, play time, unions--I mean, can you see the economic opportunities here for colleges of education, the building trades, the regulatory agencies?

A bridge shut down is more important than leaking tax information on citizens

Shock and awe. The Obama supporter/employee leading the investigation of the IRS vendetta against conservative organizations who had applied for tax status couldn't find anything. Move along. Nothing.

ttp://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2014/01/14/no-criminal-charges-expected-in-fbi-investigation-into-irs-scandal/

According to today’s Wall St. Journal, Cleta Mitchell, an attorney who represents many of the targets, says that the FBI has never contacted any of her clients to discuss their treatment at the hands of the IRS. "Shouldn't law enforcement talk to the victims in an investigation?," she asks in an email. "That's like investigating a burglary without interviewing the burgled," notes a Journal editorial.

Wipe out 2 cities, 40% minority, with government money

Planned Parenthood receives about 45% of its support from us, the taxpayers in government grants and reimbursements. The 327,166 abortions that Planned Parenthood did from October 2011-September 2012 was also more than the 318,172 people the Census Bureau estimated lived in the City of St. Louis, Mo., in 2012 or the 306,211 that lived in the City of Pittsburgh, Pa.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-boland/planned-parenthood-did-1-adoption-referral-149-abortions#sthash.Or3epffe.dpuf

King Obama announces he will ignore the Constitution

Joan writes: President Obama’s comments today following his first cabinet meeting of the year should send shivers down everyone’s spines. CBS reports the President said: “We’re not just going to be waiting for legislation in order to make sure that we’re providing Americans the kind of help they need. I’ve got a pen, and I’ve got a phone.” Does this sound constitutional to you? It seems the American system providing for separation of powers, the traditional American system of checks and balances, and the limited government our forefathers set up are fast disappearing.

Primary texts of the early Christian church

• The Early Church Fathers (Ante-Nicene; Nicene; Post-Nicene Fathers)
• Early Church Fathers – Additional Texts
• The Fathers of the Church (New Advent)
• Early Christian Writings
• The Early Church Documents
• Gnostic Texts
• Apocryphal Acts
• Non-canonical Literature
• Latin Classical & Patristic Texts
• The Latin Library – Latin Texts
• Biblioteca Augustana: Latin Texts
• The Tertullian Project
• Online Medieval & Classical Library
• Medieval Sourcebook
• Corpus Thomisticum

From a list at the website of Jim Papandrea

Federal Register, 2013

It contains over 80,000 pages of new rules, regulations, and notices all written and passed by unelected bureaucrats. The small stack of papers on top of the display are the laws passed by elected members of Congress and signed into law by the president. Mike Lee, U.S. Senator, Utah, Republican

So I glanced through the online index.  Quite an eye opener, and it’s not difficult to see what is holding back the economy and why the United States has dropped in the “Freedom Index.”

For instance, in 2013 the Food and Nutrition Service published 65 articles—42 of which were Notices, like this on Dec. 31, 2013, asking for public comments on an extension, without change, about the Child Nutrition Database.

Database Qualification Report.
Affected Public: Business for-profit
(Manufacturers of food produced for
schools.)
Form: FNS–710.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
32.
Estimated Number of Responses per
Respondent: 35.
Estimated Total Annual Responses:
1,120.
Estimated Time per Response: 2.0
Hours.
Total Annual Burden: 2,240 Hours.
Dated: December 24, 2013.

“Annual regulatory costs increased by more than $23.5 billion during President Barack Obama’s fourth year in office—and by a total of nearly $70 billion during the first term. While historical records are incomplete, that magnitude of regulation is likely unmatched by any Administration in the nation’s history. And, despite a much-touted initiative to weed out unnecessary regulations, only two major rule changes reduced regulatory burdens in 2012.” Heritage Foundation, May 1, 2013

“The most costly regulations were automotive fuel-economy standards issued by the EPA and DOT that will increase sticker prices by an estimated $1,800, followed by the EPA’s power plant emission limits that will hike utility bills for consumers.”

10 worst regulations of 2013

Jamie Ogg—miracle baby

The doctor said the premature baby boy (27 weeks and a twin) was dead, and he was placed on his mother’s chest so she and her husband could say their good-byes.  After two hours with his mom and dad, and the doctor insisting that his movements and gasping for air were “reflexes,” he was finally pronounced alive. He’s now about three years old.

Dasani, New York Times poster child of “inequality”

“Chanel, Dasani’s mother and herself the daughter of a welfare-dependent drug addict in Brooklyn, has six children by three different men, a long history of debilitating drug use, an explosive temper, and numerous arrests. Her husband, Supreme, has brought his own drug addiction and two more children by a deceased wife into the mix; Elliott makes vague reference to previous children as well. At some point, Supreme worked as a barber, but as far as we can tell, Chanel has never held a job. In truth, she isn’t much of a mother, either. She is often “listless from methadone”; the family’s room is filled with “piles of unwashed clothes.” Dasani appears to be the primary caretaker of her seven siblings. She wakes up early to change and feed her baby half-sister and get the other children ready for school; understandably, though her school is only two blocks from the shelter, she is chronically late. What role, if any, her parents play in this morning chaos known to every mother and father, rich and poor, is left unsaid.”

Other than time travel and finding a different womb for this child, how will New York’s mayor make things equal for her?  The author of the piece didn’t want to get into the politics of blame.  Ok, so that leaves me.  Dasani is where she is, in a dysfunctional family, because of her parents, not because of social programs, money, social workers, teachers, or the mayor. Not because some children have two parents, a comfortable income and good schools.

Did inequality make Dasani homeless?

Invisible child

Short hair styles for “older women”

One or two of my medications is causing a problem with my hair, so I’m going to have it cut short again so I don’t have to mess with it.  It always looks nice the day I shampoo and style, and then a limp  straggly mess for 2 days.  I’ve had all of these at different times, or something similar. I’m trending toward #3 and #6. Ignore the color—I’m not doing that.

1.

Not sure how she got classified as an older woman.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

2002, class reunion, short and spiky

8.

2011, medium short

9.

2012, very short

Doris Janzen Longacre, author of the More with Less Cookbook.

This is a great cookbook.  The author really did know that life is too short.  She was my age and died at 39.

Life is too short to ice cakes; cakes are good without icing.
Life is too short to read all the church periodicals.
Life is too short not to write regularly to your parents.
Life is too short to eat factory baked bread.
Life is too short to keep all your floors shiny.
Life is too short to let a day pass without hugging your spouse and each of your children.
Life is too short to nurse grudges and hurt feelings.
Life is too short to worry about getting ready for Christmas; just let Christmas come.
Life is too short to spend much money on neckties and earrings.
Life is too short for nosy questions like "How do you like your new pastor?" Or—if there’s been a death—"How is he taking it?"
Life is too short to be gone from home more than a few nights a week.
Life is too short not to take a nap when you need one.
Life is too short to care whether purses match shoes or towels match bathrooms.
Life is too short to stay indoors when the trees turn color in fall, when it snows, or when the spring blossoms come out.
Life is too short to miss the call to worship on a Sunday morning.
Life is too short for bedspreads that are too fancy to sleep under.
Life is too short to work in a room without windows.
Life is too short to put off Bible study.
Life is too short to put off improving our relationships with the people we live with.

http://www.heraldpress.com/Bios/Longacre/

White sauce mix

This morning I was reading a recipe for a broccoli cauliflower casserole.  It needed TWO cans of cream of celery soup and TWO 8 ounce cream cheese packages, plus a cup of shredded cheddar.  Oh my.  The calories.  The salt.

Instead of dumping 2 cans of cream of something on your vegetables or noodles for your next casserole, keep this easy white sauce mix on hand.  If you need something a little  richer, I’m guessing a 3 oz. cream cheese would do the trick.

White Sauce Mix

2 cups instant nonfat dry milk
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup butter, margarine or shortening

In a large bowl mix well dry milk, flour and salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Store in an airtight container. If using butter, store in the refrigerator. If using margarine or shortening, will keep on the shelf in dry weather for up to 6 months.

White Sauce
In a small saucepan combine 1/2 cup White Sauce Mix, 1 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Stir over low heat until smooth and hot. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Cheese Sauce
Add 3/4 cup shredded cheese after White Sauce thickens.

Curry Sauce
Add 1 teaspoon curry powder to thickened White Sauce.

Alfredo Sauce
Make White Sauce from White Sauce Mix. To every 1/2 cup White Sauce add 2 to 4 cloves garlic, pressed, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and 1 cup light cream. To cooked and drained hot pasta, add Alfredo Sauce ingredients, one by one, mixing and tossing well after each addition. Serve immediately.

Mac and Cheese
Combine 1/2 cup White Sauce Mix, 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese and 1 cup milk. Pour over hot, drained, elbow macaroni. Toss well.

Hillbilly Housewife has low cost recipes from scratch.

How politicians close the income gap

Margaret Thatcher’s most meaningful accomplishment

Without a doubt, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was once the most powerful woman in the world, and with Pope John Paul and President Ronald Reagan helped bring about the downfall of the Soviet Union and changed the course of history.

However, when asked what she believed was her most meaningful accomplishment, she replied that it was rescuing her sister’s Jewish pen-pal, Edith, from the Nazis.  “After the 1938 Anschluss, she persuaded her father and his Rotary Club to help Edith escape from Austria and to shelter her in Grantham.  This, Thatcher said, more than anything else, was her proudest achievement.

p. 312 “There is no alternative; why Margaret Thatcher matters,” (2008, Basic Books)

Reagan and the Cold War

The author of There is no alternative; Why Margaret Thatcher matters (2008 Basic Books) our January book club selection writes on p. 272:

“From 1947, when the American diplomat George Kennan published his famous Foreign Policy article under the pseudonym X, to 1981, the year of Reagan’s inauguration, American policy toward the Soviet Union had been containment, not rollback.  Generally, American policymakers viewed communism as a kind of incurable cancer, one that with costly, painful, and permanent therapy might at best be prevented from metastasizing.

Obviously, the price of the Cold War had been extremely high.  Communism had claimed at least a hundred million lives.  But the doctrine of containment had been a success in the most critical sense:  There had not been a conventional war between the superpowers, nor had there been a nuclear exchange.  It is easy to see why Reagan’s insistence that it was time to move beyond containment and MAD—indeed, that it was time to win the Cold War—provoked, to put it mildly, dissent and alarm among American’s allies.”

Sirgiorgiro Clardy and Debo Adegbile

This sounds bizarre, a criminal who would blame the shoe manufacturer for the injuries he caused stomping on someone's face, but he apparently also beat the 18 year old prostitute till she bled from her ears. I have no doubt that some liberals will come to Sirgiorgiro Clardy’s defense, and maybe in a few years his lawyer will be up for an important government post appointed by a Democrat president, like Debo Adegbile .

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/01/nike_sued_by_portland_pimp_for.html

In 1982, former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of murdering Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. Abu-Jamal never denied the killing during his trial. He, and his supporters, are still unapologetic for Faulkner's death. Debo Adegbile, who Obama has nominated for Head of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.   He is former NAACP Legal Defense Official who has worked tirelessly to free guilty murderer Abu-Jamal from prison.

Income inequality, presidential style

I wonder what balances potato chips?

Roasted beet soup

While shopping this morning I bought a bunch of beets with very nice leaves.  I’ve already cooked and eaten the beet leaves (with butter and salt for breakfast), so now I am roasting the beets hoping to make beet soup.  I didn’t have a recipe so I googled my desire, and found this.

There’s so much good stuff in beets why wouldn’t you make this all the time? Beets, chard, spinach and quinoa are part of the chenopod family—I didn’t know beets and swiss chard were related, although a look at the leaves should have given me a hint.

So I’m cooking some chicken thighs to make the broth, that way I don’t have the expensive and salt of the purchase kind.  I like to cook them with the skin and bones on because it has a much richer flavor.

Ingredients:

• 3 large red or yellow beets, trimmed, leaving 1 inch of stem
• 1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1/4 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cups chicken, beef or vegetable broth
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 Tbs. coarsely chopped fresh dill

Directions:

Roast the beets
Preheat an oven to 350°F.
Put the beets in a baking dish and drizzle with the olive oil, turning them to coat well. Roast until the beets are easily pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel and coarsely chop them.

Note: I roasted mine wrapped in aluminum foil.  Less messy that way. Roasted beets are really delicious—very sweet.

Cook the soup
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the beets and broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes to blend the flavors.

Puree the soup
Using a food processor or blender, process the soup to a smooth puree. Serve warm or, for a chilled soup, let cool to room temperature, transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with the cheese and dill and serve. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Soup, by Georgeanne Brennan (Oxmoor House, 2006).

Not much has changed in 40 years at the American Library Association

Here’s a title from a 1972 article in Library Journal.  I can’t post a link, because although librarians are all about freedom to read, this journal doesn’t post its archives on the internet. Just add topics like gay marriage (which in 1972 couldn’t have been imagined), or Planned Parenthood or the Iraq War and Bush’s fault and you’d have the same concerns  today as libraries close because librarians try to fight the various liberal causes.

Berninghausen, D. 1972. “Social responsibility vs. The Library Bill of Rights.” Library Journal 97 (November 15): 3675-82.

Basic points of this article from comments by “Contrarian”  at Annoyed Librarian blog: http://annoyedlibrarian.blogspot.com/2007/06/ala-debate-on-non-library-issues.html

David Berninghausen, former Director of the Library School at the University of Minnesota, wrote an interesting essay in 1972 (or 1973) called “Social Responsibility vs. The Library Bill of Rights”. It provides some historical context and perspective. Not all his predictions have come true, but much of what he said resonates to this day. Here is an excerpt:

"The raison d’etre of the ALA is NOT any of the following:

1. To eradicate racial injustice & inequities & to promote human brotherhood.

2. To stop the pollution of air, earth, & sea.

3. To build a UN capable of preventing all wars.

4. To promote the homosexual life-style.

5. To advocate the lowering of the voting age to 18.

6. To preserve the separation of church & state.

7. To destroy-or to establish-universities.

8. To judge the guilt or innocence, based on news reports, of Charles Manson, Angela Davis, or the Berrigan brothers on the charges brought against them in the courts.

9. To resolve hundreds of other social, scientific, or political issues, regardless of how vital they may be for the future of humanity.

Attempts to make this library organization into a political organization for the promotion of specific causes unrelated to librarianship could destroy the viability of the ALA. They have already weakened it…unless the attention, time, energy, and resources of the ALA can be refocused upon library problems, the organization cannot and will not survive…"

This article became part of his book, "The Flight from Reason: Essays on Intellectual Freedom in the Academy, the Press, & the Library."

Churchill on socialism

Christie and Obama

in 24 hours there was 17x more coverage of Christie’ gate than Obama’s IRS.

Holder says the bridge might be investigated by Justice Department? That was fast.

“This is the same Administration that won't tell Congress what resources it is devoting to the IRS probe, and appears to be slow-rolling it. It has also doubled down by expanding the political vetting of 501(c)(4) groups seeking tax-exempt status. Lois Lerner, who ran the IRS tax-exempt shop and took the Fifth before Congress, was allowed to "retire," presumably with a pension. Acting IRS commissioner Steven Miller resigned under pressure but no other heads have rolled. Yet compared to using the IRS against political opponents during an election campaign, closing traffic lanes for four days is jaywalking. “ WSJ Review and Outlook, Jan. 10, 2014

No one has been fired due to Healthcare.gov failure; no one was fired for the IRS scandal; who was fired because of Benghazi or Fast and Furious?

The human costs of Obamacare by Jason Stverak

“This week, my employees opened their mailbox to find a letter informing them that the Blue Cross Blue Shield health care plan we had chosen to offer them had been discontinued – thanks entirely to the Affordable Care Act. Since President Obama signed this bill into law nearly four years ago, I’ve written about it several times, focusing on its astronomical costs, massive expansion of government powers, and disastrous rollout. “ . . .

“The story of Obamacare is a story of small businesses and cancelled plans and struggling families, but it’s also the story of its architect. From his promises on the campaign trail in 2008 to the ongoing health care crisis of 2014, we’ve seen Barack Obama reduced from an orator and champion of the middle class to an ineffective leader lacking the humility and courage to admit that he was wrong. The president has inextricably tied healthcare reform to his legacy, and both sink further into the abyss each time another working American loses his insurance.”

http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/were-more-than-just-another-obamacare-cancellation-statistic/

Teaching little children to cast spells

"The name "Scholastic" evokes warm memories from those who treasured their childhood experiences with us and trust among those who depend on us for quality materials today." (Mission statement of this children's press.

So why teach very young children how to cast spells, read tea leaves and call on foreign gods? Check your children's material carefully. Scholastic definitely isn't that cute children's newspaper with puzzles and teaching good manners some of us remember. The "ologies" series (designed to look like encyclopedias) has a number of subjects I wouldn't want in my book nook, although they have clever, interesting formats and design. Volumes were written on the pros and cons of the Rowland Harry Potter series, but this is one of the outcomes--hardcore witchcraft for children. There's another title for the younger than 9 group.

http://store.scholastic.com/Books/Interactive-and-Novelty-Books/The-Wizardology-Handbook

Butter and cheese

Learning Ohio’s history

We're members of Conestoga--a friends group to support the Ohio Historical Society. It seems to me that if you don't grow up in a state, you just don't absorb its history, so I'm learning what school children (in my era) would have learned in state history class. Today we're going over to the Fawcett Center for Tomorrow to hear about WOSU. If you would be interested in joining this interesting educational/philanthropic/social group check out the web site. http://www.ohiohistory.org/support-ohs/conestoga

Licensed to The Ohio State University, WOSU has been a vital community resource since 1922. It has evolved into multiple services consisting of Classical 101 (FM); 89.7 NPR News (FM); WOSU TV and its sister station, WPBO TV; and regional FM stations in four other Ohio communities. WOSU television covers a quarter of Ohio reaching over 900,000 households.

http://wosu.org/2012/about/wosu-history/

Thursday Thirteen—where our friends are traveling according to their Christmas letters

Our Christmas card for 2013 was a painting by my husband of Colorado in the snow.  His card paintings are always so lovely, some people collect them. However, I can’t find this year’s card, so here’s last year’s, the little museum at Lakeside, Ohio which used to be a Methodist church.

I always enjoy hearing from friends and family at Christmas—cards and letters on paper, some actually handwritten. E-cards are OK, but don’t excite me too much.  That’s the direction many are going—it saves time and money.  Many of our friends are retired, so they carefully plan their resources and time around travel. This isn’t all, but they were on the top of the pile.

1.  John and Sue in Washington went to the hospital, both of them, he in January and she in December—hoping for a healthier 2014 with possibly a trip to Ohio in May.

2.  Gayle and Bill’s grandchildren went off to college in Colorado and South Carolina.

3.  Howard and Betty went to Istanbul and other interesting places in Turkey to be awestruck by ancient ruins. Also New Hampshire and Maryland for family visits.

4.  Martti and Riitta of Helsinki probably hit the jackpot with Copenhagen, Thailand, Rome, Kuusamo (Finland), Sardinia, Spain (liked it so much they bought a home there), London, Nashville, and finally traveled here to Columbus to visit us in December. And we’re so glad they did—we had a wonderful visit.

4.  Jim and Jerry were in Michigan, Lake Wales, Tampa, Sarasota, North Carolina, and had some time in the hospital.

5.  Sandy and Alec went to Scotland and Charlotte NC.

6.  Rich and MaryAnn were commuting between Lakeside, OH and Bloomington, IL,  with visits to Piqua and Cincinnati, Ohio.

7. Bob and Janet went to Springfield, IL and visited the Lincoln Library and Museum, also Florida, a cruise to the Greek Islands with a stop in Turkey, then Rome, 8 Mediterranean Islands, then to Columbus, Ohio, and Pasadena, California for family visits.

8.  Sylvia and Dave clocked some time in Reno, NV, and Amarillo, TX.

9. Frank and Dianne also went to Springfield, IL to see the sites, and South Carolina as well as local trips to festivals in Illinois.

10. Linda visited Zion National Park in Utah, Catawba Is. in Lake Erie, Hilton Head,  and The Cove in Ashville, NC which she says was the highlight of the year.

11. Helen went to New York City and said the Christmas decorations were outstanding.

12. Eleanor’s plans to travel to South America were cancelled, but she’s thinking perhaps a vacation place in a warmer part of the country may be in her future.

13.  Jan is planning a trip to France, with 3 days in Paris and a river cruise.

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Thirteen, check here.

The president needs to take some action in DC

Obama's "fair share," "fair shot" campaign tour should begin with parents.  But it can't. There is just no fairness, sameness or equality there. And Uncle Sam is not a good step-dad.  If a kid has married parents, even if they are poor, his chances of growing up in poverty is reduced more than 50 years of the war on poverty can do. The percentage of black married families that are poor is 7%; unmarried families 35.6%.  For white families the figure is 3.2% and 22%.  The leftist think tanks are starting to roll out stats that covers this huge pimple on the president's nose, but most of those researchers are married and send their kids to private schools and pull down those huge Washington D.C. salaries (highest in nation in a city with a high poverty rate).

If the president wants to give a single mom with 3 kids a "fair shot," let him go into public housing in DC and tap a gal to walk his dog, or babysit the daughters, or wait tables at an international luncheon, or chauffer his car, or join Michelle’s staff to do her hair and nails. How hard would that be? Well, she’d have to give up SNAP, housing assistance, Medicaid, TANF,  and any of the other 80 means tested programs.  So she could decide even that offer couldn’t match what she has.

http://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/2012/pdf/Marriage-Poverty-United-States.pdf

Hip Bursitis

                      

“Bursitis of the hip is commonly mistaken as a hip-joint problem. In reality, however, it is a problem well outside of the hip joint. A bursa is a tiny fluid-filled sac that provides a gliding surface for adjacent tissues, such as the muscle, fascia, and tendon tissue over the bony prominence of the femur bone at the outer hip area. The bony prominence is referred to as the trochanteric area of the femur. This is precisely the area that most commonly develops bursitis of the hip.”

http://www.onhealth.com/hip_bursitis_treatment/views.htm

“Hip Bursitis causes pain on the side of the hip, which makes it uncomfortable to lay on the affected side. Bursitis is inflammation of a 'Bursa', which is a small sac of fluid. The function of a Bursa is to protect other tissues from compression and friction, but too much stress, or a direct blow to a Bursa can cause it to become inflamed. The medical term for the Hip Bursa is the 'Trochanteric Bursa', so called because it is located over the 'Greater Trochanter' of the thigh bone (the bony lump on the top of the outside of the thigh bone). Its job is to prevent friction between the Greater Trochanter and tissue called the Ilio Tibial Band (ITB).” 

“A person suffering from Hip Bursitis will have pain over the area of the bursa, but in severe cases it may radiate down the leg. The pain will usually be brought on by hip movements such as walking, running, and climbing stairs. The physiotherapist should be able to diagnose the condition through manual tests, but it can be confirmed by an ultrasound scan.”

http://www.physioroom.com/injuries/hip_and_thigh/trochanteric_bursitis_full.php

Strengthen the core

Illiotibial Band Syndrome

              

Massage.

Stretches

http://www.summitmedicalgroup.com/library/adult_health/sma_iliotibial_band_syndrome_exercises/

Head Start isn’t

One of the biggest failures in the War on Poverty has been Head Start--again, no member of Congress would dare vote against it. The gains are lost, aka "fade away," and no amount of money will change that. Not every child with a caring, nurturing home will succeed, and not every child whose home is a disaster will fail. But statistically, we are throwing good money after bad, and 50 years of testing has shown that. Head Start has provided a lot of jobs for parents and government workers, some nutrition and health care for children, but it was never a works/nutrition/health program. If Obama wants more money for pre-schools to close his gap, just say no. It's a feel good drug.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/how-lasting-are-the-benefits-of-preschool/2014/01/07/

The War on Poverty—we’ve negotiated a failure or stalemate instead of winning the war

“The federal government currently runs more than 80 means-tested welfare programs that provide cash, food, housing, medical care and targeted social services to poor and low-income Americans. Government spent $916 billion on these programs in 2012 alone, and roughly 100 million Americans received aid from at least one of them, at an average cost of $9,000 per recipient. (That figure doesn't include Social Security or Medicare benefits.) Federal and state welfare spending, adjusted for inflation, is 16 times greater than it was in 1964. If converted to cash, current means-tested spending is five times the amount needed to eliminate all official poverty in the U.S.”

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303345104579282760272285556

Capitalism vs. young basement dwellers

Amish sugar cookies—Taste of Home recipe

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

1. In large bowl, beat the butter, oil and sugars. Beat in eggs until well blended. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to creamed mixture.
2. Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: about 5 dozen.

Nutritional Facts

1 serving (2 each) equals 233 calories, 14 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 31 mg cholesterol, 108 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein.

One reader suggested adding a little salt.  Another chilled the dough, rolled into small balls, and flattened with a glass.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/amish-sugar-cookies

Hu is on first.

The Climate Change scam

‘On a domestic scale, one would think that slow economic growth, persistently high unemployment and historic low levels of labor participation, the failure of our public school systems (outside of the richest suburbs), and the imminent implosion of our health insurance and health care systems would be higher policy priorities than the Quixotic and fundamentally egomaniacal quest for humans to change (or stop changing) the climate of our planet.”

Unless, of course, you needed something to hide your policy failures.

http://spectator.org/articles/57355/our-political-climate

Conservative sources

Rush Limbaugh,
Mark Steyn, Daniel Pipes,
Glenn Reynolds,
Dick Morris,
Ed Driscoll,
Richard Fernandez,
Andrew Bostom,
Caroline Glick,
Andrew Bolt,
Pamela Geller,
Tim Blair,
Phyllis Chesler,
Robert Spencer,
Melanie Phillips,
Michelle Malkin,
Victor Davis Hanson, The Blaze,
National Review and
FOX News.

Snow plow in Lucas County, Ohio

Stay home, Tuesday, January 7.

Adoptees born in Ohio are finally adults

If you were adopted in Ohio between January 1964 and September 1996 you were part of a special class of citizens denied your birth records, even if living in another state--unless you could prove you were an American Indian or you had connections to someone in vital statistics who could do the search for you. Governor Kasich signed Senate Bill 23 in December. Imagine being 50 years old (1964) and your state deciding you were still an adopted baby, unable to know the truth about your fake birth certificate. I believe Ohio Right to Life was very, very wrong to fight this for 40 years even as they fight for the right to live of the unborn.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/12/20/with-law-all-adoptees-get-access-to-records.html

Academic race and gender studies

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304858104579264321265378790

http://www.city-journal.org/2011/cjc0714hm.html

http://www.city-journal.org/2013/23_2_multiculti-university.html

Obama beats a dead horse named “The Gap.”

Obama, having embarrassed his administration with the tax increases and loss of insurance for millions, will once again bang the drum of income inequality to drown out the complaints, aka "the gap." But the gap for the majority who are not celebrities or wealthy millionaire politicians is caused by marriage, or the lack of it. To even it up will he tax married people more--oh wait, that is already the case, including higher prices for Obamacare than if they were single.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/us/two-classes-in-america-divided-by-i-do.html

Class envy, lies, distorted statistics, fuel for anger, wagging finger--all after a very expensive holiday.  Really, it's discouraging how many Americans are blind to his methods. He can help close the gap by getting government out of the way, reducing regulations, lowering taxes, but he's done just the opposite. The stock market had an unbelievably good year—he parties with celebrity millionaires and billionaires and still gripes about the rich who finance his campaigns. Also, the country did very well under sequestration and the shut down. Economy actually improved.

Upping the minimum wage so it is more expensive for the middle class to eat at a fast food restaurant and extending unemployment benefits haven’t done anything for the low income in the past—in fact those programs worsen the situation.  And it certainly won’t close the gap between my income and the President’s.