2432 Book Club 2006-2007 Selections

Our May meeting, held at the lovely home and gardens of the even lovelier Barbara, was a delight with discussion of Anne Perry's The Christmas Journey, a short novel about guilt and redemption. Then we moved on to voting for next year's selections. Each member gets 1.5 minutes to plug her favorite (must have read it first). There were excellent suggestions, all well worth reading, but we can only choose nine. TA-DA. The winners are:

September: Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I'll bet you thought there wasn't anything left to say about Abraham Lincoln, didn't you?

October: (note to self--you're bringing the food) All shall be well by Deborah Crombie. Ah, my least favorite genre--a mystery. We get at least one a year, and I'm a good sport and read them, but the joy just eludes me.

November: Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian. This title, published over 35 years ago, is part of a series, and was made into a popular movie starring Russell Crowe.

December: Curious incident of the dog and the nighttime by Mark Haddon. A novel about a teenager with autism.

January: Between Two Worlds by Elizabeth Marquart. I blogged about this book which looks at the effects of divorce on children.

February: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. One of our long time members thought we needed to read a classic and made a good case. I've never read a Dickens book, so if you're yearning for the good old days of education, it apparently wasn't the 1950s. So I'll probably need a study guide.

March: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Another novel involving a journey and redemption.

April: Keys of the Kingdom by A.J. Cronin. The member who recommended this book, published in 1942, says that next to the Bible, this has been the most important Christian book she has read.

May: Eat cake by Jeanne Ray. This is a first novel by a 60 year old. The member who recommended this has never steered us wrong, and reads more than anyone in the group.

Book Clubs

2431 Yummy breakfast cereal

Last week at Trader Joe's I bought Organic Pumpkin FlaxPlus Granola by Nature's Path. A mouthful to say, but a delicious mouthful to eat, too.
The back of the box says that pumpkin seeds are not just for Halloween. They are legendary (according to Michelle Fabian, the dietitian) for their Omega-3 content and digestive benefits. Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce the risk of heart disease, discourage the growth of prostate and breast cancer, and support immune function. Just like eating fish, only it tastes better! Pumpkin seeds include zinc, a trace mineral that affects our immune function, and helps keep our hair, skin, nails nice, ladies, and the male reproductive organs in working order. Pumpkin seeds are also an excellent source of iron.

Unlike a lot of cereal box authors, Michelle even sites her sources which includes three major peer reviewed research journals, and warms the heart, soul and tummy of librarians around the world. Way to go, Michelle. All this good stuff, and I think it was only $2.49 for a box. I think that is cheaper per serving than a lot of the huffed, puffed and fluffed grains I've seen at the supermarkets.

2430 How a legal immigrant does it

Lynda's entry for Monday Memories was about her becoming an American citizen. Very appropriate for May 1. Stop by and read her story.

immigration

2429 Bite the Hand that Feeds you Day

Stop by at the Guard the Borders Blogburst to catch the best at one site. Those companies that shut down to show support, should be closed for good if they are hiring illegals.

Median Sib says it's not racism.

Illegal immigration

Monday Memories

Have I ever told you about apple sour cream pie?

You'll have to pry the recipe out of my cold, dead hands. I learned it from my mother, and I suppose some of my nieces have that recipe, which is so heavenly that I won't even enter a contest with it, because you have to submit the recipe which then becomes the property of the contest sponsors. So, No Way!

Here's the story that was passed down from my mother. When she was a little girl (b. 1912)--and remember that your parents and grandparents had to walk 5 miles in the mud or snow up to their chins, and in Mom's case, carrying a cello--her mother employed a German housekeeper. I no longer remember her name, although I think Mom did tell me. She was sort round, jolly, spoke with an accent and thought little children needed to be fed rich food to be happy (which my grandmother definitely didn't believe in), so she would have this pie, warm from the oven, waiting when they walked in the farm house from the one room country school.
*Pineview School, Lee County, Illinois
Mom watched how Mrs. --- made it and years later, when she was famous for her pie baking, I watched her and learned what to do. For my birthdays, I never asked for cake--just this pie. Even when Mom was in her 80s, no one could make a pie like she did. So I know the ingredients. You don't. And I'm not telling.

*In the above photo, my mother is 2nd from the left, front row. For those of you from Mt. Morris, Lucille Kinsley is 3rd from the right, front row. My mother's brother, who was killed in WWII, is 2nd from the right, back row.


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2427 DaVinci Code Hoax

Dan Brown has made a fortune out of fantasy and fiction (and his not-so-great writing), but there is a cottage industry also doing well debunking his book--lawyers making several years' income on lawsuits, reporters earning their keep juggling the perps, experts on this and that appearing on talk shows, and catering businesses, costume designers and make-up artists who also served in the movie, not just Tom Hanks. Think about it. All these people trying to deny Christ. Amazing. I thought I'd make a list of the debunkers, but of course, that's been done. Here's a website sponsored by Hollywood Jesus. You can sign up for a prayer ministry, so even if you can't make money off the book or film or supporting industries, you can improve your spiritual life, because that's what prayer does:

"Praying about The Da Vinci Code is less about the book’s brouhaha and the film’s frenzy, and more about those doing the praying. It’s about us. Through prayer, we gain wisdom, grace, strength and insight. We can understand the history of our religious tradition and the mystery of our faith. We can learn the right things to say to others, and the joy of hearing what others have to say to us. By signing up, you will receive a daily prayer via email. If you commit to pray, then you are inviting God to do miracles in your own heart and life." Prayer coordinator

DaVinci Code

2426 Gee, I wonder who's behind this?

Home grown terrorists.

2425 The ABC Meme

Seen at Peace of my Mind.

Accent – Midwest--east of the Mississippi
Booze of choice – Don't drink
Chore I hate – making phone calls
Dog or Cat – Cat, just one
Essential electronics – Computer, digital camera
Favorite underwater creature: don't know any
Gold or Silver? - Gold
Hometown: Mt. Morris, Illinois, but I've been here almost 40, so I think it has risen to the top
Insomnia? : Seldom
Job Title: Don't have one. Faculty Emeritus, retired librarian
Kids? Yes. Adults who can cook and invite me for dinner.
Living Arrangement: NORC. Husband and cat. Nice neighbors, pretty scenery.
Most Admired Traits: Wisdom, tenacity, kindness, generosity, honesty.
Number of bathrooms -- (I changed this)3.5
Orbiting Planets in the Solar System: Ours had 9 when I was in school, but I think a 10th has been found
Phobia: None that come to mind
Quote: "Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances."--Bible
Religion: Christian; Lutheran. Evangelical
Siblings: 3.
Time I wake up: 4:30ish.
Unusual talent/skill: I occasionally think before I act.
Vegetable I refuse to eat: Brussel sprouts. I like just about everything else in the cabbage family. And I wouldn't refuse to eat them, but I wouldn't buy them or order them in a restaurant.
X-ray Vision? no.
Yummy foods I make: Apple Sour cream pie
Zodiac Sign: I use to know that.

Consider yourself tagged.

2424 Eleven minutes a day

There are books and websites filled with stories and ideas for sermons. Jesus told parables to illustrate a point, and many preachers follow his example. I sort of liked this one found at Bible Study and Sermon Resource Articles, although my take is a bit different:

"The amazing potential of only eleven minutes

Years ago, there was a man who drove a street car in a big city. In the middle of the day each day, he would get to the end of his run, and stop and take a break, and then turn and begin his run back in the other direction. Before he started back on the evening run, he had an eleven minute break there at the end of the line. The streetcar stopped at an empty lot on the edge of town. It was an old deserted lot that nobody wanted. It was spoiled by trash and rubbish that had washed over it in rainy weather, and trash that people had dumped on it while nobody was looking. There were broken bottles and rusty cans and trash of all kinds laying everywhere.

One day, as the streetcar driver was standing around taking his eleven minute break, it occurred to him that he could make better use of his break by occupying his time cleaning up the lot. At first, he started picking up the paper that he saw. Then the cans, then the bottles and broken glass.

After several days, spending only eleven minutes at a time, the property began to look dramatically different. With a sickle, he cut the grass a little at a time. In the spring, he planted flower seeds, small shrubs, and cuttings from shrubs. Just using a little time each day, the streetcar operator converted the ugly vacant lot into a beautiful place that looked like a park. Everyone that saw it was impressed and delighted."

The above being a sermon resource and not a call for Earth Day, it then moves on to the spiritual disciplines, and what could a small amount of time each day do for the human spirit. If I tried that routine, I'd fail for sure. However, for me going out and cleaning up trash on my walk would turn into a spiritual discipline. I would feel better about the community I was creating, people might follow my example (maybe some dog walkers would remember to bring their little baggies with them), I could contemplate God's creation while doing it, and I could remember my mother who used to say while digging thistles instead of using chemicals, "I can't save the world but I can clean up four acres."

Trash in the creek
Pop on the rocks
Ubiquitous bags

I took these photos this morning walking along the creek that surrounds our complex. They could have been tossed from a car miles away.

Addendum: You've seen the ads that Google places on websites? Certain words in the text key the ads. This particular article has ads for waste management, haz-mat handling and used garbage trucks.

2423 The Marketing of Evil

When I read that an OSU (Mansfield branch) librarian had been charged with sexual harassment for recommending a book for a reading list, I just had to check it out. And although I didn't really expect any action from The American Library Association, an organization so far to the left, its eyes have rolled back in its head and its toe nails have dug into the concrete, it would have been nice if they spoke up for something (freedom to read, or debate issues, for instance) instead of just blathering against the Bush administration and the Patriot Act while they entice children to sit at unfiltered computers.

If I were gay (i.e., a homosexual, and he explains the terminology change in the chapter on gay rights), I would really find this book terribly offensive. At least chapter one. As offensive as I, a Christian, find The DaVinci Code which insults and belittles not just the millions of Christians living now, but those of the last 2000 years. And Kupelian doesn't insult or belittle homosexuals, but he does by inclusion call their movement to normalize their life style, evil. And after many years of never hearing that word, it has hit the big time since 2001, and is at risk of overuse.

He begins the chapter somewhat sympathetically with the story of Robert Bauman, a gay Republican who published his story in 1980. In this section Kupelian uses the phrases "his sexual problem," and "unnatural sexual compulsion." However, that's also what Bauman, who is gay, calls it. But that probably isn't what outrages gays about this book. It's Kupelian's conclusion, after he meticulously describes the 25 year "war plan" to get gay rights into the main stream (a very successful war, by the way, and it includes the media and a powerful gay journalist organization), that the success of the movement has denied them their conflict, or the seeds of redemption.

"Glorifying dysfunctionality and corruption, we have relieved homosexuals of the inner conflict they once felt over their condition--something they desperately need, indeed all of us need, if we're ever going to overcome our problems and find wholeness." p. 37 And then he heaps perhaps the biggest insult of all--he calls their victory a terrible failure, loss and sadness. "Sadly, we've failed Bauman and millions suffering with similar sexual problems by glorifying and pandering to their dysfuction and pretending it's normal."

Other chapters in the book concern The Myth of Church-State Separation; Selling sex and rebellion to your children; How Western Culture was turned upside down in one generation; the campaign to destroy marriage (feminism); fraudulent science (this one's about sex); hijacking America's education system; the media matrix (bias, mind control); how abortion was marketed; the fall and rise of American Christianity--the dumbed down, shallow, plastic banana Christianity isn't up to fighting the clever marketing of evil.

Whatever Michael Moore is to the left, Kupelian is to the right. ALA and college curriclua have warmly welcomed Moore to their inner circles; have invited him to their meetings and conferences. I don't expect them to be fair and balanced. Those days are gone on the college campuses of America--and Kupelian will tell you why.

2422 Keeping stress levels low

When I read the Thursday Thirteens, I'm aware that people, women particularly, use this list to let out their frustrations about parenting, work, in-laws, traffic, phobias or spouses. They say it's relieving the stress, but is it? I noticed a little blurb in the magazine Natural Health, April 2006. "A study published in Psychological Science suggests that contemplating personal values in the moments preceding a tense situation can keep stress levels low, physiologically as well as psychologically. Study subjects who affirmed their values before delivering a speech and then being harassed measured significantly lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol compared with a control group. Continuously elevated levels of cortisol have been linked to increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, autoimmune diseases, and depression."

Could you be making your stress level rise by giving legs to it in your blog? If you're going for a tough job review, or a family reunion with folks you don't like, try writing down the 10 simple pleasures meme first and carrying it with you.

Pew Research Center has studied happiness (and actually I know most of you really are happy, and are just listing 13 gripes because you want to fill a list and you did movies last week). Did you know 84% of Americans list themselves as "Very Happy" or "Pretty Happy?" So here's what the folks at Pew found: "Married people are happier than unmarrieds. People who worship frequently are happier than those who don't. Republicans are happier than Democrats. Rich people are happier than poor people. Whites and Hispanics are happier than blacks. Sunbelt residents are happier than those who live in the rest of the country. We also found some interesting non-correlations. People who have children are no happier than those who don't, after controlling for marital status. Retirees are no happier than workers. Pet owners are no happier than those without pets."

But before you get carried away on the "rich vs. poor" question, consider this. Pew has been doing this happiness survey since 1972--more than 30 years--and it doesn't change. But adjusted for inflation, Americans have more than doubled their per capita income. Americans have more money now than they did 30 years ago, but we're no happier. (Although if it went much higher than 84% you'd have to wonder what's in the brownies, wouldn't you?)

The Illegal Alien problem

Obviously, all the Congress is beholden to special interests, so they're stuck and can't solve this problem, so those of us with common sense and human compassion will need to step up to the plate.

There's already a small solution in place in McAllen, Texas. It's called legal shopping. The Wall Street Journal did a story on it earlier this year by Amy Chozick.

"Mexican shoppers, both rich and poor, are pouring into the area, making it the equivalent of Madison Avenue for northern Mexico's consumer class. Border agencies tally nearly 40 million legal visits a year by Mexicans coming to Texas for leisure activities. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas figures they spent $3 billion on merchandise in Texas border counties in 2004, the latest data available, up from around $1.6 billion a decade earlier. In the past 10 years, retail sales in McAllen have risen more than 75%, nearly double the nationwide pace of 40%. Per-capita sales here are twice the national average, according to the census." Full story

40 million legal visits for shopping. Why couldn't we have say, 10 million legal workers, approved ahead of time, with IDs, with priority going to those who have some skills and some English, matched with employers in the US who need them? If they come north and keep their noses clean then employers won't hire illegals because someone better is available, then illegals will dry up as a labor source. If they want to become citizens, great. Let them pay taxes and pay for the social services. Give them some priority points for working hard and not getting into trouble and put them on a waiting list. Send the other guys home and shut down the employers who are keeping this illegal thing going. And it's time for Congress and the President to start encouraging Mexico to come up with some solutions for their poverty on the other side of the border and stop depending on their poorest to send home money.

Stop whining about how much we need them. It's a myth. We're spending more on social services than what their low wages are contributing to cheap labor. Clean your own bathroom. There are plenty of Americans who will work construction and landscaping and restaurant kitchens, which are the jobs they presently fill in Columbus. But Americans are kept out of the jobs by unscrupulous businesses undercutting salaries.

In the 1960s, the federal government patterned the Peace Corps on the small programs developed after WWII by the Mennonites and the Brethren. Often it takes a non-government entity to figure things out. McAllen, TX has the key. Now it's up to Congress to find the door it fits.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things about Norma's cat
April morning in the kitchen window

1. We got her at Cat Welfare (a no kill shelter).

2. She had already been spayed and front declawed before being turned in so we knew she'd been a pet. And she knew it too.

3. So she knew she was supposed to sleep in our bed, on my legs. For sleeping in front of the TV, she sleeps on my husband's legs.

4. The shelter staff thought she was about 2 years old.

5. We think she was under a year.

6. She is black, white, gold, and gray calico. Only females are calico patterned.

7. She has a kink in her tail, like she was caught in a door at a young age.

8. She's the only flat footed cat I've ever seen--waddles like a duck.

9. Her former state of homelessness has left her with issues--even after 6 years.

10. She fears starvation and abandonment and believes we will never return from our Friday night date to feed her. But she would never wear her food.

11. She has kept her girlish figure--weighs less than 7 lbs and her tummy doesn’t sag. She gets 1/3 of a can of cat food, twice a day. Most adult cats (my son's for instance) look like fat sausages on toothpicks because their owners overfeed them.

12. Although she always uses the litter box, she's never figured out the proper feline technique, so it needs to have 12" sides to prevent drop outs.

13. Each week she chooses a new spot for naps so that her hair gets evenly distributed throughout the house. Cat meme.


1. Titanium 2. Joan 3. ames 4. Friday's Child 5. feedscott 6. Chaotic Mom 7. Elle 8. Wystful1 9. Lazy Daisy 10. TreasureofJewels 11. Susan 12. carmen 13. Amanda 14. EmilyRoseJewel 15. Courtney
16. Melli 17. Gabrielle 18. mar 19. Renee 20. Trinity13 21. Stacey 22. Francesca23. susan 24. tnchick 25. Lisa 26. Becky 27. reverberate58 28. Cindi 29. chana 30. Moogie
31. Kontan 32. Jane 33. Joe 34. Rosei 35. nat 36. Chi 37. Tanya 38. Louise 39. Lifecruiser 40. Tricia 41. eph2810 42. Leesa

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2418 Thought I'd share this

After writing about time in no. 2416, I came across this poem I wrote in 2004 after the death of a friend from church. I don't think I've posted it before--not sure I was finished with it. But obviously I was thinking about the differences in my work life and my life now--not that all these are my specific interests or even hers, but I see them in people I admire who quietly live out Matthew 25:31-46.

At the funeral
by Norma Bruce
June 24, 2004

You rest now, dearest friend,
It is my turn--and I‘m rich with time.

I’ll take the casserole to the family
instead of preparing a report.

I’ll teach Sunday School
instead of pondering software instructions.

I’ll stand in the booth to sell tickets
instead of taking a business trip.

I’ll visit the stroke patient
instead of interviewing candidates.

I’ll mentor inner city kids
instead of marketing my skills.

I’ll weed the flowers in the park
instead of reviewing the budget.

You rest, sweet soul,
and may God welcome your servant’s heart.

2417 Today's writing prompt

Our writing group rotates the responsibility for snacks and prompts. Two weeks ago we received the prompt that we read today, and it is on reunions. The prompt writer suggested 14 possible topics, each broken into even more narrow options.

I've written a lot about reunions, so I've really been scratching for something new to say. I've written an oral history that I gave to relatives at a 1993 reunion and I've expanded on the story about how that oral history came about; I've written about a cookbook for a family reunion and about a recipe in that reunion cookbook. I've written about our 40th class reunions; I've written about my husband's club (the Slobs) reunion; I've written about other people's reunions. If I dig around in my files, I'll find a poem I wrote about reunions. I've written about reunions of books and reunion of furniture, long separated. One of the first pieces I had published was about books long separated that had a reunion of sorts in a computer database, Bruce, Norma J. "A Bibliographic Field of Dreams," AB Bookman's Weekly for the Specialist Book World, 94, no.14 (1994): 1290-1302.

Yesterday I was waiting for the washing machine to finish a cycle and pulled a small album of extra photos off the shelves. There were photographs in it apparently that had not been included in our regular album. But like an answer to prompt-prayer, there were photos of the SLOBS (my husband's high school social fraternity) at a mini-reunion at our house. As I recall, we first met downtown at a hotel for lunch. One couple had come from Kentucky, one from Indianapolis, one from Akron, and we of course, live in Columbus. How this was decided, I don't remember, but probably Columbus was central and the nearest for everyone. Then after lunch, we came to our house. This photo of Danny, Duke, Bob and Dick, may not represent everyone who was at the hotel. We all had grown children, some had grandchildren.

SLOBS Reunion at our house
Because these photos are extras, I don't have the dates recorded so I had to narrow it down by hair styles and clothing. Dating photographs is something genealogist do all the time. So using my incredible powers of discernment, I notice that the shelving behind us went into my husband's office in the family room about 1995. I have on a snazzy sweats outfit--the bright colors indicate it had probably not yet been washed. We bought our cottage in the fall of 1988, so this outfit was probably purchased during the summer of 1989. Duke (the tall guy) still has dark hair; he now has white hair. My husband, shorter red head, actually has hair in this photo, which also places the photo in the late 1980s or early 90s. I have a curly perm, which puts it after the summer of 1989. We all seem to have on warm clothing, so I'm placing this as maybe January or February 1990. Later, I'll go look through our albums and see if I can find a date.

My husband was the only one thin enough to get into his letter sweater

2416 Ten simple pleasures

Amy at Sparrow's Flight has tagged me for 10 Simple Pleasures Meme. I don't think I can find 10 who haven't done this, so considered yourself tagged.

"Name ten of life's simple pleasures that you like most, then pick ten people to do the same. Try to be original and creative and not to use things that someone else has already used."

When it comes to life's simple pleasures, there will obviously be repeats--after all, the key is "simple." Mine are the 5 tangibles and the 5 intangibles.

1. Family. As you start losing them, or live far away, they become more important. Did anyone else discover how smart your parents became when you went away to college or you left home for that first apartment? That feeling snowballs as you age. You go through your kids' teen years and wonder if your Mom felt what you do--or were you ever like that? Then humbly you realize, yup, Mom was a saint to put up with me, and you Thank God for the simple pleasure of a family--past, present and future. The social, emotional and spiritual safety net that no government program can replace. Roots and wings. It's so simple.

2. Church. Simple perhaps isn't the word that usually comes to mind--at least not if you are a Protestant. I even grew up among Christians who believed in the simple life that would please God. They've had so many squabbles on how to be simple--head coverings, hair, buttons, zippers, media, polity, government--that except for genealogy meetings, they don't often pray under the same roof and keep reforming and renaming themselves. And Lutherans, my adopted denomination, aren't any different. Synod this and consortium that. But the concept is simple. Love one another. Both the local church and the church triumphant. And we'll simply laugh when we see who's in heaven, won't we?

3. Education. Again, it wasn't so simple to get one, but the concept is. Educate a child to the best of her ability and she'll have something you can never take away. And I'm public education all the way through, from kindergarten in Alameda, CA to Master's at the University of Illinois. I simply thank all those tax payers who gave up and put out for me. I hope I'll always live up to this simple concept.

4. Friendships. It's so simple, really. Love isn't love until you give it away. You get back more than you give. There's always room for one more, but three or four really good close friends in a lifetime is probably a good total.

5. Time. I've said it many, many times on this blog. All the verbs we use with money we use with time. I'm a millionaire in the sense of time and yet I have exactly the same amount of time as you do. Being busy is a fetish. It's a hobby. Occasionally it's a necessity, but we've all been given the same storehouse of time.

6. Beauty. I looked out over the grounds today at the creek and trees and greening springtime growth and just could hardly take in the beauty. A robin came within 5 ft. and perched on the deck railing. His eyes were looking out for danger and something to consume. I wonder if he saw the beauty?

7. Imagination. What would we do without this simple pleasure? This is a pleasure that really grows as I look through all the wonderful hobby and craft projects in blogland.

8. Individuality. How did God think all this up? Each snowflake. Each bird feather. Each baby in the womb waiting to be welcomed, and not a fingerprint the same as anyone else born since the beginning of creation.

9. Faith. Simple--for me, but not everyone. It's a gift. Just open your hand and receive. If you demand or earn it, chances are it's not the simple gift you've desired.

10. Hope. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13.

2415 Dear President Bush

I'm headed to Mexico. . . this is going around via e-mail without any attribution, so I checked Google, and came up with David M. Bresnahan on April 1 as the author. It's a list of 13 things a traveler from the U.S. into Mexico without a visa or passport wants--like classes for his kids in English, all government forms printed in English, police officers who speak English. Pretty cute. He closes with, " know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all the people who come to the U.S. from Mexico. I am sure that Pres. Fox won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely. However, if he gives you any trouble, just invite him to go quail hunting with your V.P."

So many leaks, so little time

CIA Leak Primer here, and
Patterico
Jeff Goldstein,
Ace,
Michelle Malkin,
Flopping Aces,
Tom Maguire,
Andrew McCarthy,
and Rick Moran
Byron York,
and her friend says this and
Captain Ed says" "Juan Williams attempted to defend her on Fox News yesterday evening as a principled dissenter, but that's hogwash. A principled dissenter would have gone through available channels, such as to the FBI, to Congress, or to the White House, to express her discontent on an issue. Failing that, she would have resigned and spoken openly about what she knew. McCarthy took none of those actions. Instead, she violated her confidentiality agreements, broke the law, and attempted to leak what she knew -- and only what suited her -- to the media. She wanted to keep her job rather than her honor."


In from the cold writes: "You'll note that many media accounts describe the leaker as an "analyst," suggesting that she was, at best, a mid-level staffer. That was hardly the case; few analysts make the jump from a regional desk at Langley to the White House. A "National Intelligence Officer" is the equivalent of a four-star general in the military, or a cardinal in the Catholic Church. There are only a handful of NIOs in the intelligence community; they are in charge of intelligence community efforts in a particular area. As a senior officer for Warning, Ms. McCarthy was tasked, essentially, with preventing future Pearl Harbors. Observers will note that McCarthy's tenure in that role coincided with early strikes by Islamofacists against the United States, including the first World Trade Center bombing, and the Khobar Towers attack. It could be argued that Ms. McCarthy's performance in the warning directorate was mediocre, at best--but it clearly didn't affect her rise in a Democratic Administration.

Equally interesting is her meteoric rise within the intelligence community. According to her bio, she joined the CIA as an analyst in 1984. Within seven years, she had rise to a Deputy NIO position, and reached full NIO status by 1994. To reach that level, she literally catapulted over dozens of more senior officers--and I'm guessing that her political connections didn't hurt. By comparison, I know a current NIO, with a resume and academic credentials more impressive than Ms. McCarthy's, who reached the position after more than 20 years of extraordinarily distinguished service. McCarthy's rapid advancement speaks volumes about how the Clinton Administration did business, and sheds new light on the intelligence failures that set the stage for 9-11. We can only wonder how many other political hacks climbed the intel food chain under Clinton--and remain in place to this day." And then follows this up with other interesting posts.

Whatever. Americans will only be worrying about the price of gasoline.

Update: Here's the problem: "McCarthy has a B.A. and M.A. in history from Michigan State University, an M.A. in library science from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Minnesota. . ." her bio at CSIS (no longer listed)

2413 Sad news

You may recall our excitement in December when little Abby joined the family--a Chihuahua puppy. A month ago her lab tests in preparation for being spayed showed a liver problem, so surgery was postponed. The tests were rerun and today the vet called and said he is quite sure it is canine portal liver shunt disease. Our daughter and husband are devastated. She manages a medical practice and lab work that would mean nothing to me is quite clear to her. It had taken well over a year for them to even consider another dog after the death of their other dog. Like many their age who have no children, the pet is the child. And their other dog had almost a decade of expensive medical problems (heart). The prognosis for this kind of surgery is good, and the death is horrible if nothing is done. So if you have room on your prayer list tonight, whisper one for a broken hearted family and healing for a teeny tiny liver.

2412 Are you spoiled?

This meme is a little different. If you score more than 40, you are. I think this was planned for someone much younger. If you don't have a walk-in closet or good credit or a stock portfolio by the time you're my age, you may not be spoiled--but you just might be a poor planner. Tollef fog Heen

Even so, I scored 24.