2451 The little blog that could

When an internet business blog, Maine Web Report, criticized Warren Kremer Paino Advertising, which advertised with the state's office of tourism, the owner Lance Dutson was sued. He tried to get help from his chamber of commerce and Nancy Marshall of the PR agency for the office of tourism, but

"My local chamber of commerce, where I am a member and vendor, and where I volunteer several hours a week of my time producing their e-newsletter, was one of Marshall’s first targets. The chamber’s website features a ‘member news’ section, and in October I had placed a fairly innocuous story about the pay-per-click campaign there.

Under pressure from Marshall, the chairman of the board of directors decided to not only censor this story, but remove the ENTIRE member news section from the site, and replace it with a blank page."

Portland Press pretty much ignored the story of the harassment of a little blogger business, possibly Lance speculates, because it uses the same attorney that filed the law suit against him. (Remember a few entries back I mentioned "Dance with the one who brought you" in media advertising?)

mock ad by Spittle mocking the Office of Tourism

You can click over to Lance's web report for several entries on this, but to cut to the chase, Media Bloggers Assocation came to his rescue with hundreds of blogs highlighting Maine's heavy handed tactics and offers of legal assistance.

So if you can't get help from your professional organization (are you listening American Library Association) and your elected officials are beholden to the folks you're criticising and your local media can't be brave because they'll lose advertising or are afraid of law suits too, who you gonna call on?

Other bloggers.

Warren Kremer Paino Advertising

Monday Memories

Did I ever tell you about my plan to open a bookstore?

After three really terrific contract librarian positions at Ohio State University from 1978-1983, I finally landed a full-time, tenure-track, faculty rank job. Problem was, it was incredibly clerical and I hated it, so I resigned. What to do? By this time the children had entered high school. "Oh, I know, I'll open a business--a book store." The kids could help--keep them off the streets, etc. We would bond. How hard could it be?

I visited the local Mom and Pop Christian bookstores and chatted up the owners. To my discerning ear these folks had no experience either in business or with books; they prayed, and poof! a store fell in their laps. Well, I could do that! So I prayed, and prayed and prayed, but I sure didn't see any doors opening up that said, "Bookstore Here." I also visited a franchise Christian bookstore and wrote to the company, and discovered that would take about $70,000 (which was a lot of money then--still is, actually). And yes, I read one book about the publishing industry (although I was a librarian I didn't have the foggiest idea how books were made and distributed).

So I thought maybe God was waiting for me to do something. Experience maybe? So I dropped in at the Pickwick Discount Books which had recently opened near us (a division of the Dayton-Hudson chain I think) and applied for a job. The assistant manager was thrilled to have me, said she could only pay me $.25 above minimum wage, but I could buy books at the employee discount. I figured it was for my education in the school of hard knocks, so I didn't care. Besides, I was on my way to my dream of owning a bookstore! Pause here for reflection: I've checked my resume, but you don't usually stick minimum wage jobs in the middle of your professional work record, so can't place the date, but I think it was fall 1983.

Reality is what wakes you up from a dream, not a nightmare. Let me count the ways that clued me in this wasn't for me. Ten things come to mind that returned me to the bosom and comfort of state employment.

1) The building had formerly been a pharmacy (Nicklaus, as in Jack's parents), and had no elevator, but all books and magazines were stored in the basement, which meant hand carrying them up a steep stairway for stocking the shelves. Worse though, was carrying them down. Freight operators are unionized, and their contract called for dumping the boxes of books at an address, not inside the door. If cars were in the way, they might be placed anywhere on the parking lot. We clerks had to bring these terribly heavy boxes inside on a dolly, and carry them to the basement storage. Rain or storm--we had to bring them in, and just look awful for the customers.

2) Destroying books was part of the job. For a librarian that was like drowning kittens. We had to sit in the cold basement for hours and tear covers off books that couldn't be returned (all those print runs you read about are phony statistics--printed doesn't mean sold). The covers were tracked and bundled for return and credit. Then the guts had to be carried back up the stairs and lifted over your head into the outside dumpster some distance from our building so people wouldn't steal them. Between ripping up boxes with heavy staples, and stripping covers off books, my hands felt like bad sandpaper.

3) We had to accept whatever magazines the distributor dropped off. I heard (but couldn't confirm) that the distributor in Columbus had ties to organized crime. That might explain all the obscenely trashy porn we got. We women staffers would conveniently leave most of them in the basement, bringing up only the better known titles like Hustler and Playboy, and trust me when I say they were definitely gross, but were the least objectionable. But even having to handle these disgustingly anti-female, violent porn rag sheets was traumatic.

4) The sweet assistant manager who hired me was only making $.50 more an hour than I was, but had horrid hours, and was always on call. I never did her job, which seemed to be constantly checking computerized sheets on a clipboard and sending reports. She dressed and wore her hair like a 1960s flower-child. Her live-in boyfriend also worked there and she was his supervisor. I guess it isn't nepotism if you're not married. I rode a bike to work on nice days because I lived near-by--I don't think they had a car or a choice. The stress of the job made her colitis act up and she was sick a lot.

5) The cash register was probably the latest version of computerization, and I never caught on. I couldn't clear an error, or get the drawer to open, or accept a gift certificate. I was the clerk you either feel very sorry for or hate if you're waiting in line. My self-esteem plummeted the few months I worked there. I was 43, but you become an "older learner" around age 25 (your brain cells freeze), and I never had enough time to learn anything well. The public can get a bit testy. Hateful, actually. I would almost start to tremble if I got a complicated transaction and the customer decided to be chatty.

6) Our best clerk who was a whiz with the register and bailing me out, resigned to go work as a paraprofessional in a - - library! Not once did I ever see her smile. Almost no place pays as low as libraries, so she wasn't making much either.

7) Books were disappearing and we discovered the thief was an OSU grad student who worked at the - - library!

8) Most of my tiny salary went for books because the discount was so good, and books were already discounted (many remainders and overruns).

9) The district manager was "transferred" by corporate to Minnesota when she was 8 1/2 months pregnant. Her husband was employed in Columbus, so I don't know what she did. Leaving her OB at that point, or packing for a move, would have been tough. She could barely walk, but would've needed her medical benefits.

10) But the most memorable event was the day my daughter called and said, "Mom, I've cleaned up most of the blood but you need to come home and take [her brother] to the ER." He had forgotten his key and decided to go in through a window.

No, I never opened that bookstore, but smile and nod with recognition when someone mentions that as an ideal business venture.

1. Melli, 2. Lazy Daisy, a genius in the family 3. Lady Bug, funny story about hubby 4. Carmen (a meme but no memory when I checked) 5. Chelle, a teacher we wish we all had, 6. Libragirl's memory is really fresh, 7. Renee faces life's storms, 8. Purple Kangaroo, mommy of 3 adorables, 9. Beckie, recalling blessings, 10. Shelli's dear friend

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2449 The House Always Wins

St. Casserole is a pastor who lives in the Katrina devastated area. But 11 years ago, the area witnessed a different kind of devastation.

"Eleven years ago, our poor area welcomed dockside gambling. Dockside means that the casinos perched on barges on our Coastline with their hotels on land nearby.

Overnight, people got jobs, health care and benefits. Auxiliary businesses flourished. Things got better.

What didn't get better at the beginning and what isn't better now is the White Elephant We Don't Discuss.

MawMaw and PawPaw flooded into the casinos to spend the day playing slots, black jack and etc. Young people got good-paying jobs without needing an education. People who can't control gambling lost homes, families and themselves. People bragged about winnings, didn't mention losses. No one remembers as they gamble that the House always wins." St. Casserole

Ohio has had a state lottery for 30 years. I think the "profit" was designated for education about 20 years ago. We don't talk about our "white elephant" either. Has anyone seen an improvement in Ohio's education system? What about our taxes? Has anyone seen a reduction in our property taxes? Our state government? Wasn't Gov. Taft voted #50 out of 50? So we're both stealing from and addicting people AND taking more taxes from them. It is an unbelievably slick scam. Apparently, our representatives are just horn swaggled and helpless. I doubt that anyone opposing the lottery could even get elected. People are desperate to believe in something for nothing.

I remember 30 years ago there were some Ohio church coalitions that pointed out the damage to poor people, but they lost. It was a bit short sighted on their part to see this only as a problem for the poor. And that was before internet gambling and the more recent gambling glamorization on cable TV. Then there was a church coalition that tried to stop Ohio from joining that multi-state lottery, and that flopped. I don't think the issue ever even came up at our church.

When Mississippi and Louisiana turned to off-shore gambling to fill up their state coffers instead of building a strong infrastructure, they became no different than Mexico relying on money being sent home by poor people to fill the shops and restaurants of that country on the labor of the poor immigrants.

I assume all those wrecked casinos are eligible for my tax dollars to rebuild.

2448 The Whistle Stop Pot Luck

This story is fiction; absolutely fabricated. It's wishful thinking; a fantasy. But it might just work in real life. An original story by Norma Bruce.

As I moved the dust around and spiffed up the bathrooms and mirrors in preparation for our dinner guests, my husband looked at the list of errands I'd left on the counter.

"What's this item for the party supply store?"

"Whistles."

"Why do we need whistles for a dinner party?" he asked.

"Because of our age."

"Our age? What's that got to do with anything?" he said.

"Everyone will receive a small whistle on a loop of ribbon to wear around their neck. When anyone starts to talk about the three forbidden topics, the listener blasts on the whistle to put a stop to it."

"What three topics?"

"Age. Health. Weight. Any sentence or phrase or story that mentions your age or health problems or weight."

"I don't tell people my age," he said.

"Maybe not in so many words, but these are the tips to blowing the whistle on age topics.

"At my age. . ., "

"It must be my age, but. . ., "

"I must be getting old, because. . ."

Then there are subcategories. You also can't tell any story that your spouse has heard 3 times in the past year, because that just screams you're losing it."

His face turned grey. "You mean I can't tell anyone about my wonderful grandfather or your terrific mother?"

"Exactly. We've lived here for almost 40 years. There isn't a person in central Ohio who hasn't heard about Biggie or Olive. So if I hear you starting on those dear people, I'll put the whistle to my lips."

"And no operations? Not even my rotator cuff? No emergency room visits?" he whined.

"Nope. You'll get a tweet, or will have to blast the others if they start in on an organ concert," I said.

"Well," he said, "I do OK on weight, don't I? I'm not overweight and I teach an exercise class."

"Yes, but your weight encourages others to talk about theirs, so if you hear, 'How do you stay in such good shape,' you'll just have to blast 'em. Don't even think of it as a compliment--it's a lead in for them to tell you about their sluggish metabolism, their beer belly, bad knees or when they gave up smoking."

"But honey," he said quietly, "what's left to talk about if we blow the whistle on weight, age and health."

"There's always religion and politics. These days, I think I'd prefer that to calories, class reunions and colonoscopies. Then there is literature, music, theater, movies, concerts, decorating, global warming, the war, business, China, garage sales, fashion, gardening, IPOs, energy prices, sailing, technology, travel, art, and volunteer activities to name just a few. If you're absolutely desperate, I suppose you could talk about sports or grandchildren--but I'd keep those low on the list since they tend to be gender specific."

"It might work," he sighed. "Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks."

"TWEET!"

2447 Dream Mom has a dream

Dream Mom has a severly disabled son. When I first read her blog and saw a photo of him sitting up in a wagon, I thought it was current. But it was a reflection on a past event, when he had learned to pull himself upright in his wagon while they were out for a walk--a huge accomplishment for which she lavished praise. Now he is bedridden and frequently hospitalized. She has lost her home, her job, her savings, her retirement--and cares for Dear Son, as she calls him in her blog. However, she writes an even more touching story here, "There's no place like home," about a little boy, much healthier than hers, whose mother gave him up. But life could be easier for all parents of disabled children, she writes, if just these things were available:

• "We need to have daycare facilities that take all children, regardless of their disabilities. While legally, they can not discriminate, they often won’t take them. They don’t make money on kids like that, even if they had employees trained to care for them. Daycare for disabled children, is practically non-existant. We need to do this so these parents can work and take good care of their children and themselves.
  
  
• We need more Respite care so when their parents are tired, they get a break.
  
  
• We need to require hospitals or medical centers that have specialty physicians who care for these children,
  
  
• and have suitable rest rooms so we can change them on a bed instead of on the bathroom floors.
  
  
• We need to have assistants located in the parking lots of our medical centers, so they can help us lift the children in/out of the car, making it easier, instead of paying people to say hello to us when we come for an outpatient visit.
  
  
• We need to allow parents to save tax free in a 401(k) for their disabled children’s retirement, in addition to their own retirement, so the children/adults will be less dependent on Medicaid, Medicare and other government programs.
  
  
• We also need to provide for medical withdrawals, based on need, for these 401(k) plans, in case of catastrophic medical bills. We could do this very easily, by using our current Social Security definitions of a disability, as a requirement for the new 401(k)."

I've come across many blogs written by parents of disabled children, who describe the challenges, heartaches, and victories of their staggering tasks. If blogging has done nothing else, it has certainly brought these exhausted and caring parents out of the closet so the rest of us can see what they deal with daily.

2446 God and Gore

In a magazine side bar today I notice a list of conversation starters and stoppers. For instance, complimenting a woman on her jewelry can be a conversation starter. Asking her how much it cost--a stopper. On the list of conversation stoppers was disagreeing with the other person on God or Al Gore.

2445 Preview of coming attractions

On Monday May 8, Monday Memories will be about my dream to open a book store, and on Monday May 15, I'll fill you in on the lost and missing beds. These seemed to be the two most popular from the May 4 Thursday Thirteen list.

Monday Memories

Thursday Thirteen

2444 Word wizards wanted

Canadian gay couples are unhappy that they aren't listed as "husband and wife" in the latest census according to an item noted by Elizabeth Marquardt at her blog at Family Scholars.

A husband is a man and a wife is a woman and these words are embedded in our English collective memory, literature, holy books, music, indeed, the very fabric of our culture. I'm puzzled that a gay man would want to be called "wife." Or a lesbian, "husband." If gays want a permanent relationship recognized by society, let them invent a word that works for them and then try it out on the general public--sing about it, write about it, and use it among their friends. Someone invented all these ridiculous terms we use with computers, and we use them without thinking in less than a generation. Considering the bad press and scorn the feminists have dumped on the institution of marriage, homosexuals may even wish to stay away from words that describe specific roles. There are probably languages or dialects that have appropriate, meaningless words, which could be borrowed for the purpose of a census until something catches on.

2443 Am I bad luck?

Recently I wrote about a film program called 168 Hour Film Project and signed up for their newsletter. The first newsletter I got announced the death by drowning in a bathtub during a seizure of one of their 14 year old actors. Then I recently linked here to a doctor, BigMamaDoc, who calls her site Fat Doctor and she was attending a conference in California the last time I looked. I checked today to find out she has had a stroke and was hospitalized for neurosurgery. She's only 37, and from reading backward in her blog, this was not her first stroke. A friend is updating her blog.

2443 What profits and price gouging?

You can read the whole piece over at Amy Ridenour's National Center Blog, as reported by Peyton Knight, and this actually records a higher amount for profits than I've seen at other sites--9.7 cents per dollar of sales:

According to Ken Cohen, vice president of ExxonMobil, ". . . in the first quarter of 2006, ExxonMobil made $8.4 billion in total profits. Profits in the U.S. accounted for $2.3 billion of that total. And what did ExxonMobil pay in total government taxes in the U.S. in this first quarter? $3.7 billion. The company paid $1.4 billion more in taxes than it took in profits.

In fact, Mr. Cohen says, from 2001 to 2005, ExxonMobil's total U.S. tax bill was $57.1 billion, and its total earnings in the country were $34.9 billion. This means that over the most recent five-year period, the company paid $22.2 billion more in taxes than it earned in profits.

In 2005, he says, ExxonMobil earned 9.7 cents per dollar of sales in the U.S. To put this in perspective, he notes that pharmaceutical companies earned 17.6 cents per dollar, banks earned 19.1 cents, and household and personal products firms earned 10.9 cents.

"We are the most heavily regulated industry in the country," said Cohen. "The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has a special branch that does nothing but regulate energy companies."

"With regard to the current climate," he noted, "We are in an election year and it appears that the candidates are more interested in running against us than running against an opponent."

When asked about his thoughts on a possible "windfall profits tax" on the oil industry, Cohen points out that "there is a history we can refer people to... it's been tried before... it really impacted citizens in the country negatively, and did not have the desired impact."

Full account here.

2442 Gasoline Meme

What are you doing about high gasoline prices? Copy this meme and highlight the items that apply to you.

1. Very little. Prices here aren't high enough yet to cause me to sweat. $1.50-$3.00 a tank increase.

2. Consolidating some trips so I'm driving less.

3. Not driving. I stay home and pout.

4. Carpooling.

5. Bought a more fuel efficient car.

6. Bought a hybrid.

7. Installed one of those food oil converters that improves my mileage.

8. Walk more.

9. Bicycle to work or local errands.

10. Moved from the suburbs back to the city.

11. Taking public transportation.

12. Checking for lowest prices at gas web site and buying out of my neighborhood.

13. Buy gas at a discount or off-brand station.

14. Driving the speed limit with tires inflated correctly.

*15. Wrote my congressperson and asked that government gas taxes be suspended.

*16. Wrote my congressperson and asked that new refineries be approved.

17. Gave up bottled water, a 6 pack of beer, a pack or two of cigarettes, or my latte and applied the savings to the gas tank.

18. Not buying gas between Thursday and Sunday when it is the highest.

19. Bought energy funds for my portfolio.

20. I'm blogging about the problem.

*My e-mail to Congresswoman Pryce

Dear Deborah Pryce: I would like you to 1) support the suspension of federal gasoline taxes, 2) support new refineries, and 3) drilling for oil in Alaska in order to decrease our dependency on foreign oil and to reduce the prices at the pump. The immediate crisis can be solved simply by #1. It would be counter productive to tax the energy companies more because they just pass the price on to the consumer.

gasoline prices
gasoline conservation
fuel conservation
refineries
Deborah Pryce
consumer tips

2441 Party Time!

The social calendar is really filling up. Tonight my daughter and I are going out for dinner while our fellas are out of town. I expect the talk will be about little Abby and her liver problems (Chihuahua). My guy will be at Lakeside and hers will be visiting his mother who is in hospice. Then tomorrow night we're invited to a Kentucky Derby party. No, we don't fly down, but the hosts are fabulous cooks and plan themed parties and have a very interesting, historical home. I have to read the sports page today so I know which horse to bet my dollar on. I'm supposed to wear a hat, but don't have one.

Then Sunday evening we meet with our new SALT group (couples group from church). Lovely people, delightful conversation. Ah, and then on Friday we are hosting some friends here for a farewell dinner (pot luck) for one of our pastors and his wife who are going back to the mission field, this time in Haiti (about 14 years ago they were in Camaroon). It will be a terrible loss for us, but they love mission work and are now empty nesters.

Speaking of parties. My son took a week in mid-April for vacation and put in his garden. I'm a woman with a brown thumb and no interest, but even I know it's awfully early for gardens in Ohio. However, the weather has been fabulous and we've had no late Spring frosts (last year it snowed the end of April). But some birds did stop by and have a huge party in his freshly installed young plants and ate them to the nubbins. He's now replanted--about the right time, too. I suggested chicken wire because I'd seen my mother do that, and now it's pretty secure so I should have a source of garden fresh tomatoes this summer. He's got a painting of Mom in her garden (by my husband) in his living room and says he knows Grandma's tending garden for God, but that He probably doesn't let her mow in electrical storms as she was inclined to do. (Interesting what kids remember, isn't it?)



Also next week, although not in the party category: a hair apppointment (roots, you know), writing class, and helping with the church picture directory. I've got a new audio book (Planets by Dava Sobel) for my walks in the park. Retirement's sure tough, innit?

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.