Thursday Thirteen for My Monday Memories

If I don't look through my notebooks before tossing them into a box, I might miss some good ideas. Short term memory, you know, for my long term memory. So I'm rechecking for my Monday Memories. I haven't written these, but they are percolating with a few notes. Some would be brief and I can't remember the endings; others are too long, or have been partially mentioned in other blog entries. Here's the list. The nice thing about the draft feature is you can start a memory, save it in draft form for the date you want, and come back to it when another idea pops up, then it's practically ready when Monday rolls around.

1) Have I ever told you about jump rope and jacks? [partially finished]

2) Did I ever tell you about my plan to own a book store in the 1980s?

3) Did I ever tell you about my paper routes? [still working on some details]

4) Have I told you about my well-planned, orderly mid-life crisis? [this one I actually remember]

5) Did I ever mention our family vacations when I was a child? [this would be extremely brief]

6) Have I ever told you about our lost and missing beds?

7) I remember my baptism; let me tell you about it.

8) Did I ever tell you about my mother's retreat center and garden?

9) Did I ever tell you about Sauerkraut Day? [partially in another entry]

10) Did I ever tell you about my empty nest syndrome back in the 80s? [it's funny now, but so painful then]

11) Did I ever tell you about my first photograph album?

12) Did I ever tell you about the time my husband brought home a sick kitten and she stayed for 18 years?

13) Did I ever tell you about my mother's dishwasher? [you've probably guessed this one]


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2439 Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Just to placate those who thought I was teasing for not sharing the Apple Sour Cream Pie recipe (I've checked all the recipe sites on the internet, and didn't find my exact recipe), I want to mention how much I'm enjoying this one. I love chocolate and peanut butter. And this one is sugar-free. I've been experimenting since the Columbus Home Show when I saw something similar demo'd that included bananas. I couldn't get that part to work since I don't have a kitchen flame-thrower and it was extremely labor intensive. This one is super easy, or I wouldn't be making it.

If you really, truly need sugar-free, as in no sugar at all, first make a regular pastry crust and bake and cool it. If you can have a wee-bit of sugar, buy a chocolate graham cracker crust--8 or 9" and use that. It actually makes a more handsome dessert because of the rich color.

Mix low fat 8 oz. cream cheese with one cup Splenda and one teaspoon of vanilla. When smooth, add one cup creamy peanut butter (I use Krema brand which is natural, but other should work if it's natural). Mix until complete blended. Blend in about half an 8 oz. carton (or all if you want it lighter) of thawed sugar free Cool Whip. Fold all this into the prepared pie crust and chill. When it has firmed up, warm up a small amount of sugar free hot fudge sauce in the microwave, and decorate the top of the pie with circles or dabs. Put it back into the frig until serving time. Serve small pieces, because even though low fat and low sugar, it is quite rich.

I think this is just a fabulous, fancy dessert, and eating it practically takes the inches right off the thighs! (Big fat lie.) The only reason to tell anyone this is sugar free is that some people prefer not to eat Splenda or it bothers them. Otherwise, I don't think anyone would know.

2438 Feminism's granddaughters

Maybe that's an oxymoron. Perhaps the feminists of the 70s aborted their future. But that's another blog. In this morning's paper I read an employment article that indicates Gen-X supervisors (b. 1965-1980) are having a problem with the Gen-Y female workforce. That means 36 year-olds are puzzled that a 21 year old is dressing like a prostitute for the workplace, can't write or spell or work overtime without a hassle, and has been catered to and spoiled by her parents. Wow. Imagine the problem a 60 year-old must be having with Gen-Y employees.

Jeffrey Zaslow, the author of today's WSJ article, mentions the book, Tripping the Prom Queen by Susan Shapiro Barash. According to Publisher's Weekly, "The 500 women gender studies scholar Barash interviewed for this exhaustively researched book on female competition confirms that women can indeed be mean. Barash outlines why women compete with each other differently than men do with other men and why women often want to sabotage powerful female rivals. Male competition is goal-oriented and limited, Barash says, while women compete over appearance, children, the workplace and relationships. Why? According to Barash, for women, competition is about identity and relationships, and they have a harder time setting boundaries to competition. Barash devotes chapters to specific areas of competition, from looks to career, and then presents real-life examples of situations in which resentment and jealousy can be used to improve one's life without destroying anyone else's. Overall, this study provides a helpful starting place for any woman wondering if it's possible to get what she wants without hurting or being hurt." Library Journal and Kirkus reviews are a little less sure this book is accurate. See reviews here.

Often these expose books on women are as anecdotal and gossipy as the office itself. (See Spin Sisters) If this is true, it sounds like nothing has changed since the 70s. The workplace was filled in the 1960s and 70s with jealousy and backbiting, and women preferred to be supervised by men. The feminist movement was supposed to change all that as women moved into management and wrested control from the testosterone charged workplace.

The absolute best boss in the world I ever had was a woman, and I look back on that time very fondly. She was smart, fair, funny and enormously encouraging. But I've got to admit, she was a rare bird. She stopped working in her mid-30s to start a family and I lost track of her. My all time worst boss was also a woman, but I sure learned a lot working for her.

2437 On immigration

Here is a list of entries on immigration, legal and illegal, at Collecting my thoughts.

How to Write your Congressman

Narcos and illegal immigration

Social Security and Illegals

Deborah Pryce Record

Republicans have failed us

Friday Fourteen (via Tran Sient)

Ethnicity in the United States

How a legal immigrant does it

Bite the hand that feeds you day

10 things that make me angry about illegal immigration

Word games

Illegal immigrant demonstrations

Irish illegals

Brain drain immigration

Should illegals receive. . .

Immigrant themed music

Sergey Brin, Immigrant

Immigration and security

This is my blog on illegal immigration issues.

2436 Ethnicity in the United States

About a decade ago I heard that the largest ethnic group in the United States, if you can call them that, was German-Americans. I think it was 30% or something. That would be me. But when they count the Scots-Irish and the English, that would also be me. So somewhere along the graph of ethnicities, the statisticans will have more than 100% if I get counted three times. So when I heard on the radio that by 2050 the United States will be over 50% Hispanic, I figured, Yes, if we don't count anyone twice, which wouldn't be fair.

I have a number of friends and family who ethnically are Hispanic--i.e., their parents or grand parents were born in Mexico (where the borders are now). To my knowledge, they don't know a word of Spanish, except maybe cognates or names of restaurants. They are middle class and evangelical Christians. Republicans, would be my guess. My husband's niece, even with the extremely fair skin of her blonde Indiana Scots-American mother, is noticeably Hispanic. Her sons, only one-fourth Hispanic have her large, snappy dark eyes and stocky build that hints at their Indian ancestry.

We've got an architect friend in Texas; both his parents are from Mexico. I remember asking him about Spanish, and he said his parents never spoke it in front of the children and so he spoke nothing but English. A very successful architect, he graduated from college as did his siblings with blue collar parents. And what about all those Spanish descended Americans--from Cuba or Puerto Rico--who have no native peoples in their bloodlines? How are they going to be counted--as European Americans or Hispanics? They never picked tomatoes or cleaned toilet--they've always been privileged.

My German ancestors gave up their German-English dialect in Pennsylvania after about 100 years--around the 1840s. It was probably an economic necessity--they were farmers, carpenters and teamsters and worked with "the English." Then they moved westward, and probably forgot what little German they knew. And what value would it have been to hang on to a child-like, narrow dialect when the rest of the German speaking world moved on in literature and music and politics evolving a language as they went? I once asked a German student at the university if he could translate a note I found in a family Bible. He was completely baffled. He knew it was German, but not what it meant.

And so it will be in 2050.

illegal immigration
Spanish

2435 On loving our pets

You're going to be so mad at me when I say your pet is not "just like your child," or "like a member of your family." I've been a daughter, a mother, a wife, a sister, a niece, a cousin, a grand daughter and a girl friend; and I've also had dogs and cats (and a horse) in my life. I can name all the dogs and cats I've had and how they died, and how I felt. I can still see my puppy under the wheels of that bus when I was six years old. Trust me when I say--it's not the same. Not even close, and if you think that, sit down and reassess your life's relationships. Something's missing. Something's messing with your mind.

I've buried two of my children and I've had a miscarriage and a botched adoption. Trust me folks. This is the voice of experience. Your dog is a dog. It is not a child. You can love her, play with her, look forward to spending time with her, and even trust her with your life, but she is a dog and will always be a dog. Loving him will not make him something he isn't.

You have accepted tremendous responsibilities in pet ownership, an unwritten contract to love and care for an animal who will become completely dependent on you. And I truly hope you're holding up your end, because this animal can't reason and make choices. I hope you've had him neutered and that you don't let her run loose to ruin other people's lawns, gardens and enjoyment of their privacy. I hope you've trained him so he doesn't attack other animals, that you're picking up his fecal piles from public land and easements and I hope you're not breeding Susie or Max indiscriminately and setting up shop as a puppy mill.

Now what in these examples would indicate we are talking about family members? Keep your child in a cage all day, or let her urinate in the neighbor's daffodils, or let him chase cars on the highway, and see how far you get with your excuses when you're arrested for child abuse. But dogs do it, even the dogs you love and think "they are like family," and no one will arrest you unless your dog maims and kills someone.

I know there are "animal rights" people out there who think animals should have legal rights accorded people, but that's the fringe group (for now--but they're coming down the road in packs closing in on us). I'm not addressing that. I'm talking to those of you who know that this four footed animal has a life expectancy of 8-10 years, will grovel at your feet when you are displeased, or will perform tricks (if you've trained her), or will play with a chew toy. It won't argue, discuss, listen to music, make love, worship God, bring you gifts on a holiday, contribute to the family income, clean the house, fix a bowl of soup when you're sick, fold the laundry, or fix a flat tire for you.

What's so wrong with loving your dog as a dog, or your cat as a cat? Is that so terrible? Is it a love that dares not say what it is? Why do you want to make this wonderful God-created animal into something it can never be?

Polka-dot, my last dog

pets
children
pet ownership

2434 Listen while you walk

If you dislike exercise, it helps to take along a little entertainment. I've got Mozart in my CD player, and Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck on the radio. I think Rush is #1 and Glenn is #3 in talk radio. Rush is good; really good. If you don't like him, you won't believe any of this. Here's why I like Rush Limbaugh.

• He's positive
  
• he believes in America
  
• he's upbeat
  
• and believes you can do anything if you put your mind to it
  
• he can make even sports interesting--former sports announcer (for me that's a huge accomplishment)
  
• I think he's honest--without dwelling on it, he's talked about his addiction to prescription drugs and rehab and how much he's learned from the experience; if you don't believe him, you'd better stay away from Al-Anon and AA because you won't believe them either
  
• he varies his program--it's not all politics
  
• he's not a victim
  
• and doesn't whine
  
• he is a conservative, but not a party-line man
  
• he has a wonderful voice--one of the best in radio
  
• he's articulate
  
• has good bumper music (former disc jockey)
  
• on open line Friday--he gives even liberals a chance to go to the mat with him
  
• usually he avoids talking about religion
  
• it's often like radio theater if you can remember that far back
  

I only listen occasionally, but am rarely disappointed. Today because of a morning rain I walked in the afternoon, so I caught his show. There are things I don't like--but I control the dial and I switch to FM country music if he's off on a tangent that makes little sense. For instance, he really needs to give up his obsession with Bill Clinton. Gracious. It's been 6 years. Being critical of the Clintons' marriage is bizarre for someone married and divorced 3 times. Also, occasionally, his listeners know more than he does--and that's hard for him. He was doing a parody of Chairman Hu of China a few days ago, and a Chinese-American listener, a loyal fan, called to correct his ignorance of Chinese laws and customs. He just didn't get it and he missed a great opportunity to say he'd at least look into her better grasp of her own culture.

I know he has staff who put his recordings together (they probably get bonuses to find the most outlandish material), but today's montage of "President on the aircraft carrier for mission accomplished 3rd anniversary" where he ran back-to-back Democrats in Congress and then back-to-back MSM reporters (his newest favorite term for them is "drive-by media") was really hilarious. There was no comment except from the participants--and you know them from their voices. Who sounds more absurd than pompous Chris Matthews? Rush pondered whether the talking points came down from the Democratics in Congress or DNC to the MSM, or if there is a third group out there giving them both instructions on what to say. When you watch only one newscast, you don't see how the same story, with the same political slant, moves like lined up dominoes until it gets the famous Rush touch and they all collapse.

Rush Limbaugh
talk radio

If John Kerry gave Churchill's speech

Mark Steyn mentions Kerry's position of the week on Iraq:

"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, at least until May 15, when I have a windsurfing engagement off Nantucket."

More at the Sun Times And he's looking up that Thomas Jefferson quote, too.

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.