Whether you believe in the weather

ISIS destroying churches and mosques

“ISIS has destroyed churches, religious shrines and mosques in the provinces of Kirkuk and Nineveh, including the tombs of the prophets Jonah, George, Daniel as well as a number of ancient churches in the provinces of Salahuddin and Nineveh. In Mosul ISIS has destroyed or occupied all 45 Christian religious institutions (AINA 2014-07-29).

The Green Church was considered the most famous church of Tikrit and the most beautiful. It was built by the Metropolitan of Tikrit, His Holinesss Dinkha II, and was called the church of Saint Ahoadamah in remembrance of the Patriarch who was killed by the Persian King Khosrow I.

Buried in the Church were the founder Mar Dinkha II, and his successors Daniel, Thomas, Basilious III, and John II.

In 1089 the church was ordered destroyed by the Muslim governor and it was looted and damaged, but was later restored and returned to Assyrians.”

http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/news/2014/09/extremist-destroy-7th-century-church-mosque-in-tikrit-iraq/

http://www.aina.org/news/20140925012701.htm

Here’s a nod to fall—Pumpkin Butter for your toast

Pumpkin Butter

Pumpkin lovers will love this simple low fat pumpkin butter recipe which is so versatile to use, and deliciously good for you.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups pumpkin puree, or 1 (29 ounce) can (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup apple cider or juice
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2-3 cinnamon sticks
• 1-2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Combine pureed pumpkin, vanilla, apple juice, spices, cinnamon sticks and sugar in a large saucepan; stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently. Adjust spices to your taste. Makes 3 3/4 cups

Definitely me.

September, always a favorite month

When I was in school, September was always special—I loved getting back into the routine—seeing old friends, new books, fresh pencils and paper.  Now it’s a little different.  We come home from Lakeside Labor Day week-end and get everything unpacked, laundered, and put away, then begin with fall routine at church , committees, aerobics class and volunteering.  And because our anniversary and my birthday are within 8 days of each other there seems to a flurry of fun things to do. So that I don’t forget, and can bring the memories out like beads to admire, here is my September summary:

3rd: First aerobics class begins for the fall. Back to PDHC to volunteer after a summer off.

4th:  New class on Thursday nights at UALC Lytham taught by Pastor Eric Waters, The Divine Drama

5th:  Watching our old deck come down and our new deck go up.

7th:  New series in Sunday School class Lytham, UALC, with Steve Bruns

11th:  Trip to Blennerhassett Island in West Virginia with our Conestoga group.

12th:  Dinner at Rusty Bucket with our daughter.

17th: Dinner for PDHC at Villa Milano

19th:  Dinner with members of the UALC Visual Arts Ministry at Rusty Bucket with Ken and Connie, Steve and Tamra, Mary, and us. Free decadent dessert (for me) passed around the group.

20th: Trip to Mansfield, Ohio for Ohio Watercolor Society travelling show with Ned and Rosalie.

21st: Sunday brunch at our daughter’s home—with wonderful left overs for Monday—egg and potato/cheese casserole with ham, fresh fruit mix, biscuits, Irish coffee.

22nd: Lunch with Nancy at Old Bag of Nails.

25th: Emerson Burkhart show at Ohio History Connection with our Conestoga group with Joan and Jerry

26th: Dinner at Rusty Bucket (looks like we’re in a rut) with Joan and Jerry. Shopping for new kitchen appliances—double wall oven, microwave and dishwasher. Sticker shock, but needs to be done.

Update: The appliances at Best Buy came to right around $3600 with 5 year warranties. I wish we had 5 year warranties. New microwave, new double wall ovens, and new dishwasher. Now we have to shop for some wall tile for a back splash and new fixtures for the sink.

And of course, some spectacular weather, cool in the morning, high 70s by evening, perfect for walking our lovely grounds.

Would you, or your mother, have stayed in this job?

I was looking for the ratio of USDA employees to farmers, and found a wide variation.  Everything from 9 employees to 1 farmer to 1 employee to 25 farmers.  But I did come across this comment at one entry:

“My mum was a USDA employee. I remember visiting its offices and being intrigued by the displays of different corn species USDA claimed to have contributed to inventing. My mum did not like USDA much. She had a job as a chemist running gas chromatography of tobacco, though her true love/advanced degrees were in bacteriology. The problem was, the program was insanely designed to make her do the same test over again every year for no reason whatsoever. Because nothing about tobacco from any of the cigarette companies ever changed. It was just a badly drafted law. But, she escalated from low to super-high civil service level over the years, and had a ton of time to raise her children on that useless job. So, I’m not complaining…. Still, she utterly DESPISED her boss who maintained the idiocy that kept her job and thus his (and her) budget for his stupid useless fiefdom, going on and on for 20 or more years, for no earthly reason at all. She was deeply pained by the extremely unethical nature of it all and had she had access to a whistleblower statute, I have no doubt that she would have used it.”

I have quit jobs in my “vast” employment record for much less.  (And I’ve also been fired for not being teachable in crappy jobs.)  I might have stayed long enough to look for a better job, but 20+ years working with tobacco, with a despicable boss for his empire building when my degree said I could do better?  No way!

But back to the ratio.  Here’s what senator Coburn said about it: “The USDA currently employs over 120,000 individuals in 16,000 offices and field locations.  The agency notes that if it were a private company, it would be the sixth largest in the United States. Today there is one USDA employee for every eight farmers (those that list farming as their principle source of income), or overall, one USDA employee for every 18 farms.

Meanwhile, back at the U.N. party

The President’s speech at the U.N.

I didn't hear the president's speech today--some say it wasn't too bad, just too long. Also he said the U.S. is getting better--better than we were in 2004. Well, he's been president 6 of those 10 years, and I don't think things are better at all.

• The economy was booming in 2004 and his recovery has been tepid.
• He dropped the ball on the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and now we've got a nastier enemy which just today he finally called out as Muslim;
• it appears the U.S. was gun-running to Syrian rebels, possibly ISIS, in the Benghazi fiasco.
• He's turned his office and the Attorney General into a race battle--even mentioned Ferguson to the U.N.--but not hundreds of veterans dying while waiting for treatment in our only truly socialist health system.
• Our internal revenue service is now tied to our medical records and has already proven that it can get really nasty when your politics are different than the president's;
• thousands of Americans will have their tax refunds garnished because they figured their insurance incorrectly;
• he's shredded our first amendment spying on journalists and making nuns pay for contraception;
• he's tried to gin up hatred for the 2nd amendment even though gun violence is down;
• he's lied about the dangers of rape on college campuses as a sop to radical feminists claiming we've got third world conditions there;
• he destroyed a health insurance tradition that served 85% of the people;
• more people are on food stamps than ever and they can now be used at fast food and for pot;
• he has whined and complained about the GOP and President Bush to the point of being embarrassing for a public figure making him look weak and helpless;
• he lied so many times about Obamacare, we've lost track--the most recent revelation was it does cover abortion something he promised the Democrats wouldn't happen;
• he called Islamic terrorism at Ft. Hood workplace violence, thus depriving the survivors of full benefits.
• And finally, a man whose campaign could use every technology gimmick known to get him elected, couldn't get a computer system to work for his legacy even after spending over a billion--Obamacare.

No, things are definitely NOT better than 2004, except for the super rich--they are definitely richer than they were in 2004.

Are women really victims as Democrats claim?

Women earn 57 percent of bachelor's degrees, 63 percent of master's degrees and 53 percent of doctorates. They constitute the majority of the U.S. workforce and the majority of managers. Single women without kids earn 8 percent more than single men without children in most cities. Women make up almost half of medical school applicants and nearly 80 percent of veterinary school enrollees.

Why do Democrats continue to depict women as morons and victims? Because it works. The women who are really hurt are those taking Uncle Sam as a step-daddy and boyfriend.

http://townhall.com/columnists/jonahgoldberg/#!

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/03/06/womens-college-enrollment-gains-leave-men-behind/

Testing welfare recepients

Drug testing for welfare so that government aid isn't misused and the gov't isn't enabling bad habits? Then let's drug test farmers for all the USDA perks and church staff for all the grants and hand outs they take from the government to run the programs the Bible tells them to do out of love for Jesus. Let's drug test school boards and teachers for all the federal aid without which they can't run their schools. Let's drug test academics before they get all their grants, 60% of which goes directly to administrative costs. Not a popular view, I know, but hypocrisy on the left or right is worrisome. The only reason to accept government money is if you want more government control.

Democrats want choice only to kill the unborn

Democrats claim to be pro-choice, but that's only when it comes to killing babies in the womb. They don't want you to have the right to choose your kids' school, work without joining a union, buy a gun, pay people whatever you contract to pay them if they choose to work for you, buy things you want to buy without regulations constantly interfering and so on. They also don't want you to express your religion in public, or even in private if it conflicts with one of their favorite projects. They want you to change your vocabulary, what you eat, and where you hang the American flag. They want to destroy businesses if the owners don't buy their party line. No, Democrats are statists. And only the state has freedom.

http://townhall.com/columnists/johnstossel/2014/09/24/two-antichoice-parties-n1895570

Yes, Republicans also recommend restricting choice—like not killing the unborn or people over 75. Or not sending young men and women into battle with their hands tied with silly REO regulations.  Like not decimating the poor with legalized gambling.  Some choices are better than others.

The EPA is a rogue agency

Jay Lehr helped birth the environmental movement of the late 1960s and the founding of the EPA in 1971, but now says, "The takeover of EPA and all of its activities by liberal activists was slow and methodical over the past 30 years. Today, EPA is all but a wholly owned subsidiary of liberal activist groups. Its rules account for about half of the nearly $2 trillion a year cost of complying with all national regulations in the U.S. President Barack Obama is using it to circumvent Congress to impose regulations on the energy sector that will cause prices to "skyrocket." It is a rogue agency . . .

http://heartland.org/policy-documents/replacing-environmental-protection-agency

“It's time for the national EPA to go. The path forward is now clear and simple: A five-year transition from a federal government bureaucracy to a Committee of the Whole composed of the 50 state environmental protection agencies.

To those who say this would fail to adequately protect the public's health or the environment, I urge you to reflect on the poor job currently being done by EPA, and then to meet some of the men and women staffing state EPA offices and see for yourself the sophistication, commitment, and resources they have to do the job. You will not remain doubters for long. And to those who like this plan but think it is utopian or impossible, I can tell you as someone who was there at the beginning of EPA, who helped write the laws and advised its founders, that this can be done quickly and efficiently.

All that is missing is the political will.”

http://www.desmogblog.com/jay-lehr

Ron Arnold, Freezing in the Dark: Money, Power, Politics and the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy, 2007.

Wilfred Beckerman, Through Green-Colored Glasses: Environmentalism Reconsidered, 1996.

Larry Bell, Climate of Corruption: Politics and Power Behind the Global Warming Hoax, 2011.

James T. Bennett and Thomas J. DiLorenzo, Cancer Scam: Diversion of Federal Cancer Funds to Politics, 1998.

Alex B. Berezow and Hank Campbell, Science Left Behind: Feel-Good Fallacies and the Rise of the Anti-Scientific Left, 2012.

Rupert Darwall, The Age of Global Warming: A History, 2013.

James V. DeLong, Out of Bounds, Out of Control: Regulatory Enforcement at the EPA. Washington, DC: Cato Institute, 2002

Jeff Gillman and Eric Heberlig, How the Government Got In Your Backyard, 2011.

Indur M. Goklany, The Precautionary Principle: A Critical Appraisal of Environmental Risk Assessment, 2001.

Geoffrey C. Kabat, Hyping Health Risks: Environmental Hazards in Daily Life and the Science of Epidemiology, 2008.

Wallace Kaufman, No Turning Back: Dismantling the Fantasies of Environmental Thinking, 1994.

Aynsley Kellow, Science and Public Policy: The Virtuous Corruption of Virtual Environmental Science, 2007.

S. Robert Lichter and Stanley Rothman, Environmental Cancer A Political Disease? 1999.

Christopher Manes, Green Rage: Radical Environmentalism and the Unmaking of Civilization, 1990.

A.W. Montford, The Hockey Stick Illusion: Climategate and the Corruption of Science, 2010.

Daniel T. Oliver, Animal Rights: The Inhumane Crusade, 1999.

James M. Sheehan, Global Greens: Inside the International Environmental Establishment, 1998.

Julian Simon, Hoodwinking the Nation, 1999.

Rich Trzupek, Regulators Gone Wild: How the EPA Is Ruining American Industry. New York, NY: Encounter Books, 2011.

Where is Hannah Graham?

I'm trying to remember if I ever heard of a college co-ed being assaulted when I was in college--if they were, we didn't hear about it. But also, we were locked in at 11 p.m.

Also, no men/boys were allowed beyond the lobby area.  If you needed a man to help you move in, or move out, you yelled, “Man on first” or “Man in the hall,” so no one would come out of her room not fully dressed.

I suppose there were some women who “slept over” at a man’s apartment, but she would have falsified her absence report, which we filled out when going home.

http://clashdaily.com/2014/09/3-mistakes-hannah-graham-made/

Why is it considered blaming the victim to caution young women to look out for their own safety, to not dress provocatively, to not drink too much, and to never walk the streets after mid-night. Maybe feminists really don’t care?

Gun violence is down, but most don’t know it

“(CNN) -- Gun-related homicides and crime are "strikingly" down from 20 years ago, despite the American public's belief that firearm crime is on the upswing, a new study said Wednesday.

Looking back 50 years, a Pew Research Center study found U.S. gun homicides rose in the 1960s, gained in the 1970s, peaked in the 1980s and the early 1990s, and then plunged and leveled out the past 20 years.

"Despite national attention to the issue of firearm violence, most Americans are unaware that gun crime is lower today than it was two decades ago," the researchers say.

A Pew survey of Americans in March found 56% believed gun-related crime is higher than 20 years ago and only 12% said it's lower. The survey said 26% believed it stayed the same and 6% didn't know.”

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/08/us/study-gun-homicide/

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/380108/lying-about-school-shootings-charles-c-w-cooke

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/06/11/gun-violence-and-mass-shootings-myths-facts-and-solutions/

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-08-20/the-stark-statistics-on-young-black-men-and-gun-violence

The government is making us losers with gambling as a source of income

"Today, we would seek to speak for the ‘‘losers.’’ The ‘‘losers’’ are those citizens sacrificed by our government in its failed experiment of sponsoring and promoting gambling to extract as much money as possible from the public. . . . ‘‘When I asked one I.G.T. artist if he ever plays, he acted as if I had insulted him,’’ wrote New York Times reporter Gary Rivlin in his cover story on slot machines for The Times Sunday Magazine. ‘‘Slots are for losers,’’ he spat, and then, coming to his senses, begged me to consider that an off-the-record comment.’’ Hon. Frank R. Wolf, VA, House of Rep., September 19, 2014, speech on evils of gov't supported gambling, Congressional Record,

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2014-09-19/pdf/CREC-2014-09-19-pt1-PgE1502.pdf

Economically: No great nation has ever built prosperity on the  foundations of personal debt, addiction, and the steady expansion of ‘‘businesses’’ that produce no new wealth. . . .

Ethically: A decent government does not finance its activities by playing its most vulnerable citizens for suckers, thus rendering the lives of millions expendable, exploitable, and unworthy of protection.

 Spiritually: We mock the higher values that any good society depends on—honesty, mutual trust, self-discipline, sacrifice, concern for others, and a belief in a work ethic that connects effort and reward—when government tells its citizens every day that it is committed to providing ‘‘fun’’ instead of opportunity; that a rigged bet is the way to achieve the American dream . . .”

Once a week I drive by the “Hollywood Casino” on the west side of Columbus on my way to volunteer at the pregnancy center.  I’m always shocked when I hear Christians talk about going there for fun and entertainment. Misplaced values.

What Obama doesn’t know, didn’t know

This comment  appeared under the name of Frederick A. Green in a response to Bret Stephens Sept. 22, 2014 WSJ editorial What Obama knows.  I thought it was a good list; I’ve looked around and can’t find that it is viral. I checked his name, and he seems to comment at the Wall St. Journal.

“Obama and Holder know nothing about Fast and Furious.

Obama knows nothing about the VA scandal.

Obama and Holder know nothing about the New Black Panthers intimidating voters.

Obama, Mueller, Shulman, Miller and Lew know nothing about the IRS targeting conservative groups. Lerner knows, but she’s not saying.
Obama and Holder know nothing about securing telephone documents of almost two dozen AP reporters and a Fox News reporter.

Obama, Rice and Clinton know nothing about Benghazi.

Obama knows nothing about the sharp rise in health care costs under ObamaCare—increases he said would not happen.

Obama knows nothing about why insurance policies are canceled after he said numerous times that policy holders could keep the plans they like, and he knows nothing about why people can no longer go to the physicians of their choice.

Obama and Mayorkas knows nothing about inspector general's allegations of conflicts of interest, misuse of position, mismanagement of the federal foreign investor-visa program and appearance of impropriety.

No one in the Obama administration knows anything about the inspector general’s report that Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman verbally instructed Elliot Mainzer, the individual [Poneman] chose to serve as acting administrator of Bonneville Power Administration, that no BPA employees were to talk with anyone, including Congressional investigators, regarding allegations that hiring guidelines unfairly disadvantaged military veterans.

No one knows anything about the FEC seeking information from the IRS about American Issues Project… except Lerner, but she’s not saying.

Obama knows nothing about spying on our allies’ leaders.

Obama knows nothing about why insurance policies are canceled after he said numerous times that policy holders could keep the plans they like.

Obama knows nothing about the VA scandal.

Obama knows EVERYTHING about trading five high-ranking Taliban terrorists for a U.S. Army deserter.

Obama says these are “phony scandals.” Ron Ziegler called Watergate a “third-rate burglary."

Orange peel nutrition

It’s not a scientific study, but since I’ve been preparing orange peel for eating (about 2 years), I haven’t had any sore throats or colds.  The peel is more nutritious than the fruit, but I enjoy the orange, too.  I haven’t been able to find any information on how cooking the peel degrades the nutritional value.  On the other hand, I assume any testing was done on cooked peel.  Using the peel of one orange (in sections) I heat it in a cup in the microwave, change the water, and repeat about 3 times. I cut each section into small strips.  Then I soak it over night in sugar water, drain, and sprinkle with sugar and refrigerate.  It’s not like orange peel candy, much softer and still slightly bitter.  However, I don’t eat much at one time.  Maybe one small strip a day.

Man blamed global climate change

She can probably make more selling marijuana than reporting the news

“Viewers of KTVA's Sunday night newscast learned all about the Alaska Cannabis Club, a medical marijuana group. And then, they learned something else: The reporter who presented the story to the station's viewers is also the owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club.

Charlo Greene then quit her TV job on live television after promising to dedicate "all of my energy toward fighting for freedom and fairness, which begins with legalizing marijuana here in Alaska."

She added: "And as for this job, well, not that I have a choice, but, [expletive] it, I quit." “

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/09/22/alaska-reporter-quits-on-live-tv-after-a-segment-about-the-medical-marijuana-club-she-runs/

The all white, all Spanish language cable channel

I was watching Despierta America on Univision this morning while peddling my Power Spin. That channel has a terrible "shadism" problem--didn't see a single dark skinned, Indian, black, brown or Asian person either as host, contestant, guest or in a commercial. Even the exercise segment was led by a blonde. The President of Mexico sends his brown and poor to the U.S. so that fair and light skinned Mexicans of primarily European descent can retain power and money. Univision is headquartered in NYC owned by a conglomerate of investors and in viewership is on a par with the top 5 English language networks. I wonder why there is a different standard for diversity and multiculturalism?

http://entretenimiento.univision.com/shows/despierta-america/

Having lunch today with a good friend of 40 years.

 

July 2014 at Lakeside

 

1986 in aerobics class

The real Snerdley

“James Golden considers his 26 years working with Rush Limbaugh to be the greatest professional blessing he could ever imagine. Originally from Queens, New York, James met Rush while working for a major media network and hasn’t looked back since.

Most Rush listeners know James as either “Snerdley,” the call screener, or the “Official Obama Criticizer.” Golden was in Washington recently for a CURE meeting and that’s where we got the chance to sit down with him for this exclusive 30 minute video interview.

For the first half of the interview, Golden waxed passionately about race in America, and how America’s first black president has only harmed race relations in this country.

Recalling when strong, two parent families were the norm for blacks, when hard work and merit allowed blacks to rise in society, and when homicide wasn’t the major cause of the death for young black males, Golden said with genuine regret, “Isn’t it a shame that for most of black people, the good old days were the days when things were segregated legally in this country?”

He concludes, “What liberalism has done to black communities is horrific.” “

http://dailycaller.com/2014/09/21/rush-limbaughs-call-screener-what-liberalism-has-done-to-black-communities-is-horrific/

Our new deck

It should be nice enough this evening to eat on our new deck. Our old one was nearing 40 years old, wasn't up to code, and had some rot and insects. We used Pro Deck and are very pleased with the company and product. It is a composite material and will not need to be stained.

Very nice crew who worked hard and cleaned up the mess.

Finished product, missing some trim pieces that they’ll come back for.

Our anniversary flowers that were at the church service last Sunday.

The back yard with trees and creek; the unit in photo is just a bit west of ours.

The night Ted Cruz was booed off the stage—by Christians

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz speaking at an event intended to bring light to the vicious persecution of Christians began his speech at the In Defense of Christians’ gala on September 10 as keynote speaker ":

“Good evening. Today we are gathered at a time of extraordinary challenge. Tonight we are all united in defense of Christians. Tonight we are all united in defense of Jews. Tonight we are all united in defense of people of good faith who are standing together against those who would persecute and murder those who dare to disagree with their religious teachings.”

Murmurs around the room, which had begun with the senator’s greeting, grew louder when Cruz continued:

“Religious bigotry is a cancer with many manifestations. ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, and their state sponsors like Syria and Iran, are all engaged in a vicious genocidal campaign to destroy religious minorities in the Middle East.

Sometimes we are told not to lump these groups together, that we have to understand their so-called nuances and differences. But we shouldn’t try to parse different manifestations of evil that are on murderous rampage through the region. Hate is hate and murder is murder.”

Instead of hearing Cruz’s remarks as a rallying cry to unity for those who are facing the same enemy, a small but very vocal group booed and heckled. Shouts of “Stop it!” and “No!” arose. Although Cruz persisted for some minutes, he cut short his speech and walked off the stage after saying that

“my heart weeps that the men and women here will not stand in solidarity with Jews and Christians alike who are persecuted by radicals who seek to murder them.”

Making sense of IDC

http://www.indefenseofchristians.org/idc/statement-idc-president-following-disruption-idc-gala-dinner/

Adrian Peterson

The Adrian Peterson situation has brought on a lot of discussion--all except how to be a good father. Is it depositing sperm and making support payments? How many children does he have with how many baby mommas? His home is a mansion, he's a millionaire, but the kids (no one seems to know how many) all live with their mothers. I believe he'd never met his 2 year old child (paternity test) who died last year (that man, the boyfriend of the child's mother, has been charged with murder).

A father looks back—my nephew Robert--Friday family photo

As I look back on the 28 years since I had my first child, Christopher, and then the 17 years since I was blessed with twins, Alex and Sydney, I think about all the times I held them, giving them a really big hug to calm their fears, or to make them feel safe. Little did I know then that the one who really needed the hug, the one who needed to know love, was in fact me. Nothing in the world feels as good as a big, tight hug from your kids, and I really miss that. The military, out of state schools, and a busy school and work schedule keep me and my kids from having that special moment every time I desire or need it, but I want them to know, just how incredibly important they are to me and how much their simple act of a hug has on their dad. You guys are my world. Love you more than life itself!  (from a Facebook post, used with permission)

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day

"Just as some Christians doubt so much of the Gospel, so too, even more Christians doubt the presence and power of evil in our world. Yet Paul is very clear about the cause of what is happening throughout our world and even here in our own land." Bishop John Bradosky preaching on Ephesians 6:10-20 NALC Convocation at The Citadel in Charleston, SC

If they are having trouble with believing in the power of evil, they should turn on the news.

NALC Convocation

Saving the unborn, one mother at a time

We attended a lovely dinner last night at Villa Milano (lasagna to die for)  with about 800 other people who care about the unborn to hear Father Frank Pavone. I sat next to a lovely young woman who had grown up in foster care who told me her story of thinking she had no other option than abortion for her now 7 year old precious daughter. By mistake she went to one of our PDHC locations instead of Planned Parenthood and was counseled by a wonderful volunteer and they have remained friends for 8 years. She also needed material aid, food, transportation, parenting help and a job, which God provided through loving Christians--so she was one lucky gal, and of course, the baby was too. And she was a blessing to me, too, I told her because sometimes we volunteers get discouraged and wonder if we make a difference.

My husband wasn’t all that thrilled about going, but I reminded him I’d have to drive alone both in rush hour traffic to get there, and in the dark to get home.  But he really enjoyed himself, thought the food was good and the speaker terrific, and when we were all asked for support, he leaned over and suggested quietly that I double our  agreed on amount.

On the left, feeling good is the goal, not change

“For leftists, the answer to domestic violence isn’t to deal with any of the issues that could lead boys to become abusing men. The answer, instead, is to lecture Americans about the use of the word “sissy” – not because that solves the problem, but because it makes those on the left feel warm and fuzzy inside. Similarly, the left will tell Americans that the name of the Washington Redskins matters far more to Native-Americans than the nearly half of Native-American youths who drop out of high school; they will explain that “microaggressions” are the true problem faced by blacks in America, not lack of education, poverty or unwed motherhood.”

The conversation we won’t have about raising men, Ben Shapiro

The stock market isn’t the whole story

On one of my feeds I saw a poster proclaiming all the economic successes of Obama since January 2009 (can't find it now).  And there's no doubt, those with investments have done well (mainly because of quantitative easing), and unemployment figures are nearing what he promised would happen in 2010.  However, the young, female and minority voters who voted heavily for him, still haven't benefited from his policies.

"Five years into an “economic recovery,” real median household income “is now 3.1 percent below that of June 2009 when the ‘great recession’ officially ended .. .  Single women with and without children present saw their incomes fall by roughly 5 percent.  Those age 25-34 experienced an income decline of 4.4 percent. Black heads of households saw their income tumble by 7.7 percent, while the income of Hispanic heads of households fell 5.6 percent. . The poor and unskilled saw their incomes fall by 7.4 percent for those with less than a high-school diploma and 8.2 percent for those with only a high-school diploma." [Stephen Moore, Patriot Post, Sept. 17, 2014]

For my trolls

A unique book club—all women and one football player

A mouse in the house

Our cat is 16 years old, somewhat arthritic, and sleeps most of the day--but she was back to her roots protecting us last night, stalking and running--apparently a mouse is in the house. We live in a wooded area, and this time of year they sneak in when they can. The cheese was removed from the trap, but it didn't spring. We're not sure who ate it--the cat or the mouse. Sort of like watching politics, isn't it?

Americans do come together, but . . .

If it is something that binds Americans together, the liberals/progressives are protesting it, suing it, fighting it and smearing it on social media. The Star Spangled Banner, the Pledge of Allegiance, a common language, an American flag on a locker in a police station or on a t-shirt, a motto on our money, prayer before community meetings, a local celebration based on our religious traditions. They say they want inclusiveness, but really, they want more people to think they are victims and to exclude God.

 

 

 

 

His word is worthless—even when made to Democrats

Another promise and more laws broken--"absolutely no abortion coverage under [my plan] Obamacare. Our president, Sept. 9, 2009.

If he hadn't lied through his teeth, there would be no Obamacare. A law, an executive order, and a very explicit promise. Worthless. Leftists never change--do it now, ask later. Remember, he controlled both houses then--the promises were made to pro-life Democrats. http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/boehner-gao-report-confirms-taxpayers-fund-abortions-through-obamacare

The Taliban 5 swap was illegal

President Obama’s decision to exchange captive Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Guantanamo Bay detainees violated federal law, according to a legal opinion the Government Accountability Office sent to Congress Thursday. That’s because the administration failed to notify Congress at least 30 days before the transfer, as required under a law passed in February. The Pentagon notified Congress of the deal on May 31, the same day the transfer was made. And because Congress did not authorize spending for the exchange, it also violated the Antideficiency Act, a law intended to protect Congress’s power of the purse. The Department of Defense spent $988,400 on the transfer, the Pentagon told the GAO. An intentional violation of the Antideficiency Act is a crime punishable by up to two years in prison, but those criminal penalties are rarely enforced. -

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/08/21/bowe-bergdahl-release-illegal-legal-opinion/14408807/

This is not “news,” but a refresher.  I wonder if the beheadings had happened first, if the Bergdahl swap would have happened. I don’t know if the 5 will go to ISIS, but if they don’t, there are 999 other groups to recruit them.

Allen West on fighting Ebola (from Facebook)

“Listening to Obama’s speech on attacking the virus Ebola. Just kinda wish he had been this proactive and energetic about confronting another virus, ISIS, back in January. Islamic jihadism is a virus that is already in America, guess that is cool with Barack Hussein Obama. I would rather send 3000 tough hard combat troops to fight ISIS and ensure the epidemic of Christian and religious minority genocide ceased. The world needs to step up against Islamo-fascism but I suppose fighting Ebola is easier for a faux Commander-in-Chief than to fight a real enemy of America. Nice optics there Barack, good try to change the subject, and make yourself seem like a leader fighting a really bad flu bug -- all the while you dismiss the cockroaches who behead Americans.”

I don’t know how many people die of Ebola, but it’s probably not as high as the flu in the USA.

A new analysis of the past 31 flu seasons, put out by the CDC this afternoon, shows that 36K might have been a third too high. It's more like 23,607 per year, on average. But it all depends on how you slice the data. NPR

The War on Poverty—a failure, now 50 years old

Abstract

In his January 1964 State of the Union address, President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed, “This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America.” In the 50 years since that time, U.S. taxpayers have spent over $22 trillion on anti-poverty programs. Adjusted for inflation, this spending (which does not include Social Security or Medicare) is three times the cost of all U.S. military wars since the American Revolution. Yet progress against poverty, as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau, has been minimal, and in terms of President Johnson’s main goal of reducing the “causes” rather than the mere “consequences” of poverty, the War on Poverty has failed completely. In fact, a significant portion of the population is now less capable of self-sufficiency than it was when the War on Poverty began.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/09/the-war-on-poverty-after-50-years

Hydraulic fracturing is not contaminating wells

There are many studies to confirm that hydraulic fracturing is safe and our road to independence from the middle east, but this won't calm the voices of unreason because it is a political, not a scientific issue, much like global climate change.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/09/15/4153640_duke-scientists-fracking-didnt.html?rh=1

The findings of the Duke researchers, based on 133 drinking water wells in Texas and Pennsylvania, corroborate claims by the energy industry that the fracturing process alone is not likely to imperil drinking water.

“We’re saying to the industry, the good news is we don’t think it’s actually from the hydraulic fracturing itself,” said Avner Vengosh, Duke professor of geochemistry and water quality.

“So far we can say pretty categorically that we have not seen escape of the gas from the shale formation into the overlying aquifers,” Vengosh said.

The Duke scientists say their findings apply only to the 113 wells in Pennsylvania and the 20 in Texas they have sampled, but they are likely to also be true for the thousands of other wells that have been horizontally drilled and hydraulically fracked all over the country.

The great divide

If it is something that binds Americans together, the liberals/progressives are protesting it, suing it, fighting it and smearing it on social media. The Star Spangled Banner, the Pledge of Allegiance, a common language, an American flag on a locker in a police station or on a t-shirt, a motto on our money, prayer before community meetings, a local celebration based on our religious traditions. They say they want inclusiveness, but really, they want more people to think they are victims and to exclude God.

Worship the King

Over the shoulder

Cool mornings ahead

Lows in the 40s and lower 50s and highs in the upper 60s and lower 70s.

Darn that global warming.

Crickets and crow

Bush/Cheney haters should be eating some crow right now. Bush took a few moments to gather his thoughts during a visit to a school classroom after the 9/11 disaster and they ridiculed him.  Obama dawdled and hesitated for months not only in Iraq in 2009, but more recently for 9 months about ISIS, and it's crickets from the Bush haters. Kerry calls bombing ISIS counter terrorism and WH Chief of Staff calls it war, and Obama calls it time out and goes to the golf course.

Bush went to Congress to get support and enlisted many international allies; Obama will apparently move forward on the force of his charisma and personality. In the late 1990s most Democrats in Congress including Kerry, Edwards, Kennedy, Lieberman,  Feinstein, Milulski, and Daschle all warned the country and President Clinton about WMD citing good sources of intelligence. But it was Bush's fault when they weren't found.  Yet Obama was using the excuse of chemical weapons (aka WMD) by Assad for supporting Syrian rebels and drawing lines and tough talk, even though it hasn't been proven and we've been fooled before.

http://www.cfr.org/iraq/iraq-justifying-war/p7689

http://www.rightwingnews.com/quotes/if-the-bush-administration-lied-about-wmd-so-did-these-people-version-3-0/

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/343870/why-did-we-invade-iraq-victor-davis-hanson/page/0/1?splash=

Blood on Hillary’s hands

Our ambassador was in Libya to facilitate arms shipments to Syrian rebels. No wonder it had to be covered up. Blood on Mrs. Clinton's hands.

“The U.S. special mission in Benghazi and the nearby CIA annex were utilized in part to coordinate arms shipments to the jihadist rebels fighting the Syrian regime, with Ambassador Christopher Stevens playing a central role, documents an explosive new book released today [Sept. 9]. The activities, which included a separate, unprecedented multi-million-dollar weapons collection effort from Libyan militias who did not want to give up their weapons, may have prompted the Sept. 11, 2012, attack, charges the new book. The findings and more are revealed in the new work by radio host and WND reporter Aaron Klein, “The REAL Benghazi Story: What the White House and Hillary Don’t Want You to Know.” -

 http://kleinonline.wnd.com/2014/09/09/finally-revealed-what-ambassador-in-benghazi-was-really-doing-operating-under-orders-of-obama-hillary-clinton-on-secret-mission/#sthash.i6HAEkZ5.lCjK8q4N.dpuf

Glenn Beck reported this in September 2012.

Immediately after Stevens’ death there were photos of his torture and sexual abuse on the internet, which quickly disappeared.  Sending an openly gay man to a country very hostile to gays was not the best plan.

Getting married? Or divorced? Understand the economics.

Much of the cost and animosity involved in divorce is due to government heavy handed regulation of marriage and the divorce industry, says this author. http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/the-economics-of-marriage-and-divorce

“Married couples’ "wealth increases on average 16 percent for each year of marriage. Divorced respondents’ wealth starts falling four years before divorce and they experience an average wealth drop of 77 percent.” In terms of percentage, women were more likely than men to be harmed by divorce, but the absolute difference between the two was “relatively small.” More recent research supports Zagorsky's basic insights. 

Two factors contribute heavily to the financial decline surrounding divorce: losing the inherent wealth-creation aspects of marriage, and State-imposed costs such as alimony and “the divorce industry.” The divorce industry consists of the laws and state agencies that regulate the terms of a divorce, as well as the professionals, such as lawyers and social workers, who make it function.”

Filtering hate

I don't understand it. With so much material at our fingertips, why lie, filter or exaggerate what the left or right says, writes and believes? We don't need ugly cartoons, absurd names, f-words, and not funny comedy routines. It just detracts and keeps the sheeple uninformed. Yesterday I read a ridiculous piece about what Michelle Obama said in a speech to new immigrants. First, she doesn't write her speeches--she has trained staff; second, she didn't say what the headlines reported (screamed) she said. That's called "click bait" so the website can bring the gullible right wingers to the website to please the advertisers who don't care about right, left or wrong--just money. And the same thing happens on the other side—The Daily Beast and Huffington Post seem middle of the road compared to some really ugly leftist sites. I even see it in my blog comments, some of which are so outrageous they can’t be posted.  Even the hostile ones that I let through I do to show that if people, left or right, want to twist or distort, they will.

The BBC guide to rebel groups in Syria

The BBC said that there are believed to be as many as 1,000 armed opposition groups in Syria, commanding an estimated 100,000 fighters. I wonder how any western leader could have decided who to back in the fight against Assad?  They certainly did have good intelligence or good guessing about this group.

Ten months ago among the numerous descriptions in the guide was ISIS or ISIL.

The creation of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in April 2013 was rejected by the al-Nusra Front. ISI's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, known as Abu Dua, nevertheless pressed ahead with expanding its operations into Syria. In August 2013, US intelligence assessed that he was based in Syria and commanded as many 5,000 fighters, many of them foreign jihadists. The group is active mostly in northern and eastern provinces of Syria. It has assumed joint control of municipalities in Aleppo, Idlib and Raqqa provinces. Isis has taken part in a number of major rebel operations, including by carrying out suicide bombings that helped capture two military bases. But it has also had tense relationships with other rebel groups, including those considered Islamist. Its fighters reportedly recently killed a prominent member Ahrar al-Sham, and have clashed with those from Ahfad al-Rasoul in Raqqa and the Northern Storm Brigade in Azaz. They have also targeted Shia and Alawite civilians.

Happy Birthday 9/12 movement

I enjoyed watching the 5th anniversary of the birth of the 9/12 movement on Glenn Beck. While liberals roar about the influence of the Koch Brothers, no amount of money could have gotten these folks off their couches and out of their homes. These people are unfunded, grass roots patriots who have never been political and have formed book groups, run for school boards and party committees, joined community organizations and resolved to stop letting the liberals and progressives take over all our traditions and values, renaming them for their purposes. Each group is independent--there's no central organization, but there are 9 principles and 12 values that supports each group.

The 9 Principles

1. America Is Good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
   God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
   Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
   Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
   Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
   Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
   Charity “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
   On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.
   Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson

The 12 Values

• Honesty
• Reverence
• Hope
• Thrift
• Humility
• Charity
• Sincerity
• Moderation
• Hard Work
• Courage
• Personal Responsibility
• Gratitude

 http://www.the912-project.com/about/the-9-principles-12-values/

Glenn Beck after presenting the founding principals and values, has no role in the organization.  He planned the original gathering in Washington, D.C. on September 12, 2009. There were other anti-taxation events going on at the same time.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB125276685577405975?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/14/hot-button-18902351/?feat=home_columns

Charcoal portrait by Chris Rees

Robin Williams portrait by my great nephew, Chris Rees.

New fall line up for Glenn Beck

More detailed news, author interviews, in depth studies of current events, and an interesting panel. Subscription costs about $1 a week. Glenn is a former Catholic, current Mormon, a libertarian, father of four, recovering alcoholic, whose mother committed suicide and really a pretty humble guy with a great staff of all faiths and ethnicities who also interject their opinions.

Apostrofail

Where are the allies Bush was able to rally?

Charles Krauthammer pointed out that George W. Bush had the support of 38 nations and 25,000 allies on the ground with us in the war on terror.

“Obama as of today has zero,” he said. “It’s a lack of confidence in the president who draws a red line then walks away and pretends he never drew the red line at all.”

Why does Congress get involved in the NFL, NBA, athlete doping, etc. ?

The NFL is a nonprofit trade association. Does Congress get involved in the personal lives of other trade association's employees or just the ones on TV with oodles of money? Is this a good use of their time and our money? We have a criminal justice system and the associations have their own watch dogs. I blogged about Ray Rice when it first came out, but the band wagon circus around it now is getting ridiculous.  One sports caster was suspended for questioning why Janay Rice and other abused women stay with the man.  Also, there are many men who are physically abused by women (or their male partners) but are afraid to speak out because of shame.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/steroids.htm

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/09/10/rockefeller-wants-to-investigate-nfl/

http://www.salon.com/2012/12/12/congress_to_investigate_nfl_doping/

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl-increases-penalties-domestic-violence-193620529--nfl.html

Two men marry as part of a radio contest

But they aren’t gay—they just wanted the prize.  Not fair, say those stodgy old gays who want marriage to be about love, social acceptance and government benefits, not publicity prizes and sports (rugby).

Since the whole world is making a mockery of marriage as it has existed for thousands of years, I can't see why anyone would object to 2 straight guys marrying each other. They look like they could be brothers, and there will be no reason to condemn that either since two men, two women or transgendered are not capable of impregnating their spouses.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/gay-groups-angered-as-heterosexual-men-marry-to-win-rugby-trip-20140912-10fu3t.html

But it’s not war. . .

Play ball--after 9/11

Friday Family Photo—our trip to Blennerhasset Island

We had a wonderful trip to Parkersburg, WV yesterday with our Conestoga group to visit the Blennerhasset Island and Museum. Conestoga is a "friends" type group that supports Ohio History Connection (aka Ohio Historical Society). It was founded in 1986 and has raised over $530,000 to support the mission of preserving Ohio's history.

We had a tour of a museum, the Blennerhasset mansion, a carriage ride and a paddle boat ride on the river to get to the island.

Our transportation to the island was via a paddle boat, Island Belle, which made the crossing about once an hour.  By the time we returned in the afternoon, we had bright sun light.

The home burned down in 1811, and was restored by a foundation that used archeology and old family letters to restore it. Harman Blennerhassett was from a wealthy Irish family and appointed the home with silver hardware, gold leaf trim, and expensive oriental rugs. The family had left before the fire when they experienced financial and political challenges so most of the furniture had been sold locally. Some has been repurchased by the foundation.  Most of the furniture is authentic to the period, but not the family. It was considered the most beautiful home in Virginia (was part of Virginia before the Civil War.)

In 1806 Harmon Blennerhasset became involved with Aaron Burr financially; Burr was accused of treason and Blennerhassett went to prison for awhile. They didn’t live on the island even a decade and the rest of their family history is just loss and financial ruin.

The tour group was divided, and here we're waiting to see the kitchen which was separated from the main house. The family came from Ireland and brought servants with them. Even with a lot of servants, food preparation in 1800 was extremely challenging on an open hearth.  The other small building connected to the house was the owner’s study.

Haflinger horses are very hardy, a breed from Austria and northern Italy. They stay on the island all during the season, then the owners take them to West Virginia to winter at the family farm where they do various winter season events. The driver also acted as a tour guide with some history of the other buildings on the island and told about the crops that were raised there.

“After leaving the island, “Harman Blennerhassett purchased a small cotton plantation and moved his family to the Mississippi Territory. Their stay at the plantation was short-lived, however, when declining cotton prices and crop failures forced this once proud family to return to Ireland and survive only by the grace and pity of an older sister of Blennerhassett. Harman Blennerhassett died a devastated man on February 2, 1831 from a series of apoplectic strokes. Margaret Blennerhassett survived her husband by eleven painful years, only to give way to poverty and disease in the summer of 1842.

The Blennerhassetts, once the inhabitants of an impeccable island paradise and the toast of the Ohio Valley, had witnessed the destruction of their nearly Utopian existence, and had resorted to living off of the incomes of various family members, including their two eldest sons. In all, the Blennerhassetts conceived five children, although they adopted another. Two sons and a daughter were born on Blennerhassett Island, but only the sons survived infancy. Once settled onto their Mississippi plantation, Margaret Blennerhassett bore two more children, a son and a daughter. Once again, however, the daughter died in infancy. Of the Blennerhassett sons only the youngest bore children, none of which reached adulthood, and when he himself passed in 1862, the Blennerhassett name died with him.”  Source.

http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2006_winter_spring/blennerhassett.html

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Harman_Blennerhassett

The genocide of Mideastern Christians

Peggy Noonan on what is being ignored by the media in Obama’s falling numbers: the genocide of Christians

“Evangelical Christians and conservative Catholics who would normally back strong military action [in Syria] were relatively silent in 2013. Why? I think because they were becoming broadly aware, for the first time, of what was happening to Christians in the Middle East. They were being murdered, tortured, abused for their faith and run out of the region. And for all his crimes and failings, Syria's justly maligned Assad was not attempting to crush his country's Christians. His enemies were—the jihadists, including those who became the Islamic State.

In the year since, the brutality against Middle Eastern Christians, and Islamic State's ferocious anti-Christian agenda, has left many Christians deeply alarmed. Jihadists are de-Christianizing the Mideast, where Christianity began.

An estimated two-thirds of the Christians of Iraq have fled that country since the 2003 U.S. invasion. They are being driven from their villages in northern Iraq. They are terrorized, brutalized, executed. This week an eyewitness in Mosul, which fell to Islamic State in June, told NBC News the jihadists were committing atrocities. In Syria, too, they have executed Christians for refusing to convert.”

http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-genocide-of-mideastern-christians-1410474449?

Liberal media silent on the Memphis hate crimes

A number of media sites and blogs are reporting the arrest of up to 10 black teens in the mob attacks at the Kroger in Memphis, but not the New York Times, Washington Post, or the major broadcast media that were all over the Ferguson story. The local news sources I looked at didn't mention race at all--just teens, youths, and victims.  Apparently, 125 people attacking 3 is not a hate crime, a designation I think should be dropped in all personal attacks. Also, Al Sharpton, Eric Holder and Jesse Jackson have been silent.

http://www.wfsb.com/story/26468259/group-of-teenagers-caught-on-camera-beating-man-in-kroger-parking-lot

The marriage agenda

Two men or two women together is, in truth, nothing like a man and a woman creating a life and a family together. Same-sex relationships are certainly very legitimate, rewarding pursuits, leading to happiness for many, but they are wholly different in experience and nature.

Gay and lesbian activists, and more importantly, the progressives urging them on, seek to redefine marriage in order to achieve an ideological agenda that ultimately seeks to undefine families as nothing more than one of an array of equally desirable “social units,” and thus open the door to the increase of government’s role in our lives.

http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2013/03/9432/  I am gay and I oppose same sex marriage

The Apple Watch

I’m not a candidate, and a decade ago did these kinds of roll outs get this sort of coverage?  Every channel, every 15 minutes.

“There are actually three products: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition. The differences between them are only apparent in the different materials (including aluminum, 18K gold, and pink gold) and wrist strap choices, which vary between feminine, masculine and youthful.

The Apple Watch starts at $350, and it will be available “early next year,” according to the company. Pricing for Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition were not announced at today’s event. The watch will require an iPhone to operate, but it works with the iPhone 5 or later and isn’t limited to just the new iPhone 6 devices.”

Wired.

What do CFOs think will happen with a minimum wage increase?

Recent survey by Duke on minimum wage. Findings include:

• Few affected firms would lay off current employees if the minimum wage is increased to $8.75 but 46 percent would lay off employees at $15.
• Future employment growth would be curtailed at 35 percent of affected firms if the wage were set at $8.75, while two-thirds would curtail future hiring at $15....
• Nearly 20 percent of affected firms would reduce employee benefits or increase product prices if the minimum wage were increased to $8.75; approximately half would do both at $15.
• About 30 percent of affected companies think their ability to attract higher quality workers and reduce turnover would improve if the minimum wage were increased to $10, while about 40 percent feel the same at $15.
• In general, firms indicate they could reasonably accommodate a modest hike in the minimum wage to $8.75 but substantial negative consequences would kick in as the wage approaches $10.
• An ongoing shift away from labor and towards machinery will accelerate if the minimum wage is increased.

http://www.cfosurvey.org/2014q3/press-release.pdf

“It is important to put these findings in perspective,” said John Graham, a finance professor at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and director of the survey. “For one thing, these results primarily apply to employees who currently earn less than $10 per hour, which is about
one-fourth of the U.S. workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among firms employing these low-wage workers, the expected effects of proposed minimum wage hikes are dramatic. According to CFOs at these firms, the low-wage employees that increases are designed to help will also bear significant employment risk, potentially losing their jobs as firms implement labor-saving technologies.”

Start with Hello

Samantha died on September 9, 2010 at the age of 4. That was four years ago today. Tammy her mother wrote the following after Samantha’s death, “I think a lot of people are afraid to call or come by. They don't know what to say. Hello is always a great start. I still love to talk about Samantha. We always say something about her everyday. She was hilarious. I know the biggest thing I will miss about her is how much she loved me and others. I miss her saying, ‘You’re a good mommy,’ and how freely she gave me kisses and hugs.”

Carol Shaw Johnson is writing each day on Facebook for Childhood Cancer Month.  She knew the children about whom she writes—her granddaughter Lily had cancer. Samantha had Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor (PNET), a malignant neural crest tumor. Even the children who survive rarely live beyond 25.

https://www.facebook.com/carolsj/posts/10203496209900466

Peter Hitchens, former atheist journalist, now a Christian journalist

". . . all reliable indicators suggest that I am on the losing side in all major moral, cultural and political battles, and am likely to remain there until I die. My books and articles may sometimes call faintly for action, but in general they are just the last rites pronounced over the corpse of my country, muttered mainly as an act of commemoration."

I know how you feel, Peter.