760 Women writers for the Wall Street Journal

As usual, I was skimming the stories in the Wall Street today for interesting idiomatic expressions, checking the articles written by men, who use lots of gambling, sports and agricultural idioms, against those written by women, who use almost no idioms. This results in the male written articles being much more lively and readable, less dense, and more padded.

But then I noticed an unusual number of articles by women. I'll have to go the to library to check (can't browse a newspaper on-line because you need to have an idea what you are looking for), but I'm wondering if Monday is "Ladies Day" at the Wall Street Journal. Maybe the guys take long week-ends and don't want to meet the deadlines for the Monday edition?

You rarely see a woman's name in section A, but today Section B and C had: Brooks Barnes, Ellen Byron, Lynn Cowan, Agnes Crane (2), Ann Davis, Alessandra Gallone, Leah McGrath Goodman, Laura Johannes, Miriam Jordan (2), Kathryn Kranhold, Melissa Marr, Katie Martin, Sarah McBride, Ann Marie Squeo, Shayne Stoyko, Suzanne Vronica, and Ann Zimmerman. [It is possible that Lynn and Shayne are men, and I skipped the non-euro names since I can't identify gender].

Section R, however, was the motherlode (pardon the pun). The entire supplement on how businesses benefit from benefits was written and edited by women. The lead article was by Ellen Schultz who summarizes 10 ways companies benefit from benefits plans. The rest of the articles in the supplement were written by Vanessa Fuhrman, Joann Lublin, Kris Maher, Sara Munoz, Karen Richarson, Sarah Rubenstein and Jennifer Saranov. The illustrator was male.

I checked Ellen Schultz in Google and she has won awards for her reporting on this topic: joined the Wall Street Journal in 1990; covered personal finance, mutual funds, medical insurance and benefits; named a special writer in April 1995 and a news editor in June 2001. Worked for Fortune magazine from 1987 to 1990.

Miriam Jordan who had 2 articles in today's edition frequently writes on gender and minority issues for WSJ, according to a Google search--female infanticide in India, agricultural workers in California, career women following globe trotting husbands, and Nestle marketing infant formula to American Hispanics are examples of her topics.

Agnes Crane, who also had 2 articles, writes often for the investment and marketing section and also writes for the Dow Jones Newswires, and thus her name pops up regularly in other investment newsletters.

I'll update this when I look at a few more Mondays.

759 Really, really poor taste

Some bloggers are crying "political correctness" run amuck, but I think this teddy bear is simply poor taste. What makes it worse, some Christian blogs are being even more insensitive for criticizing the critics. Mental illness for the family is no laughing matter. It causes grief, sleepless nights, and years of roller coaster emotions. Not funny, folks.

758 No blue blood required for these legacies

The Washington Post has an interesting round up of the congressional and administrative positions obtained either through the death of a relative or appointment upon the retirement of a relative, or appointment because of a family connection here. The recently widowed Mrs. Matsui of California will join 18 Senators and many Representatives who obtained their seats this way.

Names and family ties matter in administrative appointments. "President Bush, who rose to power with a famous political surname, has rewarded several children of his ideological allies. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's son became chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's daughter was made inspector general at the Health and Human Services Department, Justice Antonin Scalia's son was appointed to a top job in the Labor Department, and Vice President Cheney's daughter and son-in-law scored prestigious positions in the State and Justice departments."

"Bush also chose the wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) to be his labor secretary, and the sons of Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn as his press secretary and Medicare director. And in 2001, he chose former House member Asa Hutchinson, brother of then-Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.), to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration."

"According to the Center for American Women and Politics, 45 women have been elected to Congress to fill vacancies created by their husbands' death. There are least three widows of former congressmen now in the House: Reps. Mary Bono (R-Calif.), Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.). In the Senate, there are three wives of prominent politicians: Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), [Hillary] Clinton and Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), wife of former Maine governor John R. McKernan Jr."

This web site lists even more.

More than once I was asked if I was Earle Bruce's wife (football coach at Ohio State University in the 1980s). But that's as close as I can get to trading on a family name.

757 Patty Davis has returned

to being a snot nose, little whiner. Her attempt at political humor is here.

If her name doesn't ring a bell, she changed it. She used to be Patty Reagan. She disliked her Dad so much in her younger years that she took her mother's maiden name, which Nancy had taken from her step-father. When her Dad no longer knew her, Patty did a stint as dutiful daughter and got a lot of sympathy and some good writing contracts.

756 Remember how deep snow was when you were a kid?

Up to your knees, maybe your waist? Ha--gotcha! Last night on ABC News they told us the snow really was deeper in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, and then the weather pattern changed. We got some big storms in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but not often. My own children remember primarily the winters of 1977 and 1978 when schools were closed here in Columbus. I have photos of my dad in Illinois shoveling snow off their roof. John Stolzenbach, one of our pastors, was a Columbus school teacher back then, and I remember they did a special program on TV for the school children stuck at home, and he was one of the hosts.

So what’s up with the weather? Apparently, not global warming. Experts were interviewed for the weather story last night--and whooda thunk it--they disagreed on what was causing it!

"We believe the weather pattern we are currently in is very similar to what we saw in the 1940's, fifties and sixties; that is, a log of extremes," says [Bernie] Rayno [Accuweather.com].

He looks not just at today's snowstorm, but at the entire weather picture for the past year — hurricanes, tornadoes, mudslides in California, and bitter cold in the Midwest.

"The overall weather pattern we see over a given amount of time, a given amount of years also fluctuates," says Rayno. "And right now we do believe we are in a cycle that will lend itself to a lot of extremes over the next five to ten years." It is reminiscent, he says, of what happened in those earlier decades. In 1947, for example, New York City suffered one of its worst blizzards ever, 25 inches of snow that paralyzed the city for days.”

In the Chicago Tribune they reported what dumped on the city and then moved on east: “The storm raged on as it moved quickly through Ohio and Pennsylvania, continuing to dump up to a foot of snow far north of its path. The storm was expected to further intensify off the New Jersey coast, and blizzard warnings were issued for a good portion of New England, including New York and Boston, where snowfalls up to 20 inches were forecast.”

Our daughter called last night from Cleveland where they were visiting her in-laws. “Mom! They know how to handle snow in Cleveland,” she told me breathlessly. “We’ve had a foot of snow in the last 24 hours, the streets are clear and we’re going over to [cousins] for pizza. ‘Sposed to get more tonight. How much have you had?” “About 1.5 inches,” I sighed. “The town’s a mess and all sorts of things were cancelled.”

Some things about winter in central Ohio never change.

755 More on Barbara Boxer's racism

Colbert I. King ponders after comparing Barbara Boxer's comments to Oliphant's racist cartooning of Rice:

Bush listens to Condoleezza Rice because he believes that she knows what she is talking about. Which makes the attacks on Rice even more curious. What prompts Rice's critics to portray her -- a former Stanford University provost who managed a $1.5 billion budget, 1,400 faculty members and 14,000 students -- as a flunky who, when ordered, simply salutes and runs out to play huckster?

Washington Post article here.

754 Spinsanity is pulling the plug

Spinsanity is a website that analyzed political articles for spin. "Countering rhetoric with reason" was its slogan. January 19 was its swan song; it has folded its tent, got on the bus, Gus, rode off into the sunset, and said, "Good-bye, farewell and Amen."

The three writers wrote an anti-Bush book while blogging for four years. I questioned their own spin when they tried to deny the last recession started in 2000, six months before Bush took office. I have some account sheets for my 403b I'd like them to look at. Either that, or TIAA-CREF hired some really, really poor fund managers.

753 More about egg safety

The January cover of Emerging Infectious Diseases has a 17th century genre painting by Diego Velázquez of a woman cooking eggs. The description is lengthy, but I noticed this passage, because I mentioned Salmonella Enteriditis in blog 741.

“The 17th-century Spanish diet was known for its parsimony. A main concern in the common kitchen was the long-term availability of food. The safety of food, a more modern concern, was probably not on the mind of Velásquez' food preparers. Unlike our contemporary equivalents, they would have known little about the dangers surrounding food. Nor would they have understood Savarin, whose sensitive 18th-century palate might have recoiled at the sight of eggs poaching slowly in oil on a clay stove.

An ancient staple, eggs have run the gamut from plentiful protein to gourmet delicacy. Yet, basic food and epicurean aspirations converge at one point: safety. With high levels of Salmonella Enteriditis in shell eggs, adequate cooking and proper temperature of the eggs overrule tradition, challenging the consistency of the sauce and the moment of delivery to the table. In our times, safety issues concerning not only eggs but all foods beg a different interpretation of another well-known Savarin aphorism, "The destiny of a nation depends on the manner in which it feeds itself." "

The article in this issue suggests between 180,000 and 200,000 illness a year in the US from Salmonella Enteriditis. The figures are not firm because only about 2,000 hospitalizations and 70 deaths occur. But still, make sure those eggs are thoroughly cooked before you eat them.

Blog 741 began with spelling problems, particularly the phth combination, diphtheria being one of four common English words that have such a combination. In the same issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases there is an article about diphtheria causing the death of the painter Georges Pierre Seurat at age 31.

752 More ice and snow hit Ohio

Here in Ohio we're getting what those of you just west of us received earlier. I'm setting out for the coffee shop but may have to turn around and come back if it is too bad. Some people here were without power for over a week over Christmas, then it flooded when it thawed. In a few weeks we'll head for Florida to spend some days and grab some rays with the greatest hostess in the world, my sister-in-law. Life is one big party with lots of laughs, and I love key-lime pie. The down side is listening to them in the car. They truly are the world's worst back seat drivers--they deserve each other.

751 Americans begin earlier

As reported in WSJ this week, AXA Financial has produced a report that says Americans begin retirement planning at an earlier age and save larger sums on average than other people.

According to the press release, "Nearly 80 percent of Americans surveyed have a plan for where they want to live, what they want to do, and how much money they’ll need in retirement. Most people started planning for retirement early, in their 30’s.

Americans are taking responsibility and making themselves more knowledgeable about retirement issues, with 90 percent of respondents saying funding retirement is primarily their individual responsibility – not the government’s or their employer’s."

"Working Americans are saving, on average, $687 per month toward retirement. (Based on other responses, this figure reflects their investment in such savings vehicles as conventional savings plans, life insurance policies and pension plans.)Retirees save $535 per month, on average.

Retirees, on average, say they are retiring at 58 years old. American workers, however, say they would like to retire at 55, but, in reality, don’t expect to retire until they are 63."

Although we know many people who have retired in their 50s (including my father), they all started other companies, jobs or went into consulting. So I think many "retirees" are actually workers. I retired at 60, and my husband began turning down clients a year ago, and is just finishing up contracts now at 67, but still has a few dawdlers on the books.

This looks like an interesting report in light of the President's proposals to let Americans have Private Retirement Accounts to ease the SS squeeze. However, it is 97 pages--not sure it is THAT interesting, but take a look and see. Also, AXA is in the investment business, so I'm sure their surveys differ from a survey with a political agenda.

A total of 9,200 people were interviewed in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States. 813 Americans between 25 and 75 were surveyed, of whom 403 were working and 410 were retired.

750 Sometimes Blogs become Usenet

Usenet is sort of a big messy bulletin board with some nice people (see my links to Writers and Wannabes, most of whom I met at a Usenet forum) and a whole lot of crazies who have PHDs in four letter words, viciousness and sarcasm ad nauseum. Blogs usually don't become that discussion oriented because the writer/owner of the blog can delete comments. But discussions can get intense and sort of "real time-ish." Witness this one, mostly between Michael and Jo. Belmont Club and Captain's Quarters also have lively discussions among the readers.

749 Verbs on the Financial Page

The markets are quite verbal, aren’t they? Prices, markets and stocks don’t just “go up” or “go down,“ or simply “move,” which must make it difficult for learners of the English language. Today I read that they hold, tumble and plunge. Then they rally, rollick and pick up speed. Sometimes they rise, shift, climb and fly. Occasionally they stall and need a push. Some are assertive--they dictate, decide, post and report. Some suffer, then shrug it off. And how about those that ignore, droop, lag behind and drag? Oft times they strengthen, support, gauge and ratchet up. They fall hard when they drop.

If you think reading about financial verbs is too dull, stop over at Ariel's site and look at basketball in metaphysical terms. Now there is a vocabulary (in English) that's pretty dense for me.

748 Boxer continues to hit below the belt

Two cranky Democrats voted against Dr Rice‘s confirmation to be the first African American woman to attain such a high office in government--the failed contender John Kerry and California Democrat Barbara Boxer. She’ll be confirmed, but this kept her from being Secretary of State in time for the 2005 inaugural and the most important woman in the government. So we can have blacks providing the prayer and singing anthems at the inauguration for the last 50 years, but we dare not let them be seen in positions of power? Unless a Democrat appoints them, that is. Rice, who says her parents raised her to believe she could accomplish anything, even during the darkest days of segregation, is up against Democrats who think blacks should stay on the plantation if they work for Republicans.



What a team. They grandstanded their dislike for Bush and grilled her for 11 hours. Everyone knows she will be confirmed. What a bunch of sore losers. Correction. What a bunch of losers.

747 This world is not heaven

So wrote Peggy Noonan in her very critical review of the President's inaugural address. Yesterday she was the "color commentator" on the FoxNews coverage of the event, and when her co-host Shepard Smith asked her opinion of the speech she just stammered and sputtered and said she'd have to have some time to think about it.

In a Wall Street Journal editorial today she called it: a foreign policy speech; romantic longing to carry democracy to foreign lands; God-drenched; on a mission; over the top; suffering from "mission inebriation." She also said it made her yearn for nuance, that it "put the world on notice," and told it to "shape up." She then closed with a suggestion that "they" [the administration?] ease up, calm down, breathe deep, and get more securely grounded.

Noonan is a strong Bush supporter--gave up her job to work on the campaign. If his supporters say this, imagine what his detractors must be saying.

James Taranto writes at Best of the Web today (Jan. 21) directing comments to Noonan's concern: "The lesson Bush drew from Sept. 11 is that "realism" is unrealistic--that the "stability" that results from an accommodation with tyranny is illusory. To Bush, there is no fundamental conflict between American ideals and American interests; by promoting the former, we secure the latter. Maybe he'll turn out to be wrong, but for now the burden ought to be on those who, in the wake of Sept. 11, hold to a pre-9/11 view of what is "realistic."

Noonan is right that "ending tyranny in the world" is a fantastically ambitious aspiration, one that isn't going to be realized anytime soon. But Bush didn't promise to do it in the next four years or even in our lifetimes. He said it was "the ultimate goal" and "the concentrated work of generations." "

746 Happy Anniversary

Three years ago today we moved into the condo. The complex was built in the late 70s, one of the earlier ones in a city not accustomed to this type of housing. We were definite in our ideas; one floor, new, 3 bedrooms, and not a destination location. Oh well. We love it anyway. Three floors, not new, 2 bedrooms, a destination location, and a fabulous view. Haven't missed our house even one day. He's a better artist than this, but it's the thought that counts.


Condo 3rd anniversary card

745 The Inauguration Costs

While watching someone sing about eagles soaring (written by John Ashcroft), I'm calculating the inauguration costs. Such complaints from both liberals and conservatives! So since WaPo says Clinton spent $33,000,000 in 1993, I ran that figure through one of those "What is it worth now" calculators. Using the CPI it would be $42,030,000 in 2005; using the share of GDP figure it would be $54,450,000--there were several other indicators, but all were more than $40,000,000. No matter how it is sliced, it is a lot of money for a party. And even if he gave it all away, liberals would say he was grandstanding. (Pause) [Wow. In that white outfit Laura Bush is one dynamite librarian and First Lady!] Hail Columbia, here comes the Veep.

We've been invited to a fund raiser/dinner/silent auction for a good cause, and they want $25.00 a ticket per person. I don't know what the total party will cost--but in Ohio retiree dollars, probably about the same as the inauguration with a lot less glamor and not so good food.

Gotta run. Here comes the President.

Later: The speech in a nutshell. “We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.”

Still later: I've been listening to and watching the past inaugurals on c-span for a couple of hours. I think those accusing G.W. Bush of being too religious or too Christian need to sit down and listen to Kennedy and Johnson, or some of the prayers said in the past at these events. Makes Bush sound like he could give lessons in political correctness. Also, much invoking of God in our destiny and blessings and claims for liberty for all men everywhere.

Kansas City Star

744 Dear Adelle

Every time I try to call you, Adelle, to talk about my bill [press one, listen; press two, listen; press one, listen--I get this message, "The mailbox is full; please call later." So I can't even leave you a message to say, I really doubt that Medicare is going to respond to your claim in less than 30 days. I mean, lady, get real! It is the government. So here's what I've done. I pressed the number for "appointments" (press three) and I got a real live person immediately. She was very helpful and told me not to worry until I get something labelled, "Final Notice." She has also put it in my file that I talked to her, not you. I told her to add that I tried several times last week too. You have a good day, Adelle, where ever you are, and you might expand that mailbox just a bit.

743 Stirring The Social Security Pot

There is a group who already has its collective mind made up and set in concrete--the Bush-haters are not going to like or support any plan for revamping the failing Social Security system that comes during a Bush administration. Another group won't pay attention or care. Then there's the lump in the middle--the rest of us who are looking at and sifting the information and weighing the options. I see a lot of discussion among Conservatives, who are known for not blindly following their President or party. The Wall Street Journal columnists, for instance, have been very cautious and have suggested the down side of personal accounts.

Two problems appear that worry everyone: what happens to those programs that now dip into the pot of money we regularly give the government which have nothing to do with retirement; what happens if you retire with a combination account and that part of your life span is in a stock market down swing?

We already have President Bush's retirement plan at our house (at least as I understand it): we have a mix of Social Security, private 401k, SEP IRA, a teacher's annuity (403b)*, a teacher's pension and miscellaneous IRA accounts and savings our executor will have to figure out someday. Because a teacher's pension is considered a government plan, I am not eligible for Social Security--not mine and not the wife's portion of my husband's. This is called a government offset, and as I have poked around in the articles about Social Security, anything you might receive from SS in the new plan will be "offset" by your private defined contribution. There is little advantage here for the retiree, unless you are allowed to pass it along to your heirs, or the offset stops at a point and you can enjoy the nest egg you kept warm. As it is, many retiree households are already dependent on defined contribution plans for pension coverage--maybe half, according to a December WSJ article.

There are way too many details not worked out (that would be done by Congress and the people who cut down trees) to make firm opinions about this plan. But I do worry about the half a sentence that slips through unnoticed in the law which will be used to launch ships or save owls or infringe on freedoms by bevies of lawyers and future legislators. Sometimes the devil you know is better than the demons you don't know.

Die young and get nothing under current plan

What would a “small” increase (to save the system) in current payroll taxes cost the average worker?

How would PRAs really work?

*401(k) plans are retirement plans that some private corporations offer their employees. A 403(b) plan is similar to a 401(k) but it is offered to employees of some non profit organizations. In both of these plans the individual chooses to deduct part of their paycheck and place it into an investment portfolio they formulate. These plans allow individuals to select among different types of investments, depending on how much risk they are willing to assume. The contribution into the account reduces the individual's taxable income. Employers may choose to match a portion of the employee's contribution up to 50 percent. These investments grow tax free until the money is withdrawn during retirement.

If you are employed or self-employed you may open an individual retirement account (IRA) and contribute up to $3,000 a year (or your earned income, if less). Married couples can contribute up to a total of $4,000, even if one spouse is not employed outside the home. Depending on your individual circumstances, you may be able to deduct part or all of your IRA contributions on your federal income-tax return. All investment earnings in your IRA compound on a tax-deferred basis. You pay tax on your earnings and contributions that were deductible when you actually withdraw the money from your account. If you withdrawal money from your traditional IRA before age 59 1/2 it may be subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty and income tax. FinanceListings definitions

742 Happy New Year!

I found a Russian blog today. I’m so excited. I could actually read it.

Дорогие друзья, с новым годом!
Желаю вам здоровья, успехов, любви и счастья!

It’s such a beautiful language.



I'm not endorsing the site--my Russian is too rusty. He appears to be in London and is a doctoral student working as an editor. Great photographs.

741 Spelling lesson

Putting on my coat 45 minutes before my doctor's appointment, I said to another regular at the coffee shop, "Do you know how to spell "ophthalmology?" He hesitated a moment, then said, "Well, I'm not a very good speller, but I do know that one. O-p-t-h-a-l-m," and then he hesitated, "then it's either an "a" or an "o". "You were in trouble on the first syllable," I said. And I spelled it. "Think of 'my eyes are off, so I'm going to the ophthalmologist.'" This phth is actually more often pronounced as p-th, and is called a medial cluster. It doesn't appear in many English words, which is probably why it is so often misspelled. Diphtheria isn't very common anymore, thank goodness; Ben Franklin tried to rid our language of diphthongs, and who uses naphtha soap anymore? So other than having an appointment with an ophthalmologist, you have little use for the medial cluster.

Next to ophthalmology, the most frequently misspelled word I came across when helping people find information in the veterinary medicine library, was Salmonella enteritidis . It is the reason you don't want to eat raw cookie dough. Years ago, you only got it from cracked eggs; now the chicken has it and transmits it directly to the egg. Don't order your eggs, "over easy."

(See how much fun it is to read a librarian's blog?)

When I got outside, rain and sleet had fallen on the two inches of snow, so I had to scrape the car windows. As I was doing that, I heard a siren in the distance, coming from the direction of the main artery I was planning for the 1.5 mile drive to the ophthalmologist's office in a large medical complex. (I was planning on 15 minutes just to get into the parking garage.) When I got to that road, I could see a huge back up, so I turned around and took another route, which happened to go past my house. By that time, I was white knuckled, so I pulled into my own drive-way and called the office to cancel. My eyes may be off, but my brain knows when not to be on the streets.