Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things about finances women need to think about

I jotted these ideas down from several different articles I've seen in the last month. With boomers starting to retire, there's a lot out there about women and finances, because the push to get women in the workplace and out of the home began around 1970.

1. Today, women are much more likely to have a successful career than their mothers or grandmothers.

2. They are also more likely to inherit wealth.

3. They will work fewer years than men because of time out to raise children.

4. They are more likely to be getting their health care through their husband’s job.

5. They have higher divorce rates than my generation, which affect their pensions and health insurance.

6. The average age of widowhood in America is 55.

7. Women are more likely to be focused on the present, and tend to postpone important decisions that will affect them 20 years from now. It's a lot more fun to plan a birthday party than read the business section of the paper.

8. Fewer than 1/2 of women have a retirement plan. That would be me until about 20 years ago.

9. Women actually prefer a female financial advisor, but there aren’t very many. No comment. I like our guy and he's younger than us.

10. Gen-Y women are often too busy paying off student loans, credit card debt and leisure expenses to worry about retirement. Gen-X hasn’t done much better. I did no retirement stuff until I was in my 40s, then I started putting the maximum allowed in my 403-b, so it is possible to catch up. But we are savers by nature and have never had a penny of credit card debt--you’re a different generation.

11. 45% of 65 year old women will live to be 90. Women should be saving $5,000 a year starting at age 25 to maintain a middle class lifestyle when they are retired. It’s called the miracle of compounding interest (and the impossible dream, in my opinion).

12. The poverty rate for elderly women is nearly twice that of elderly men (13. 1%) and they live an average of 6 years longer. Most of these women were comfortable when their husbands were still alive. Elderly widowers are more likely to remarry (someone younger) which keeps them out of nursing homes, and they have a chauffer, cook and companion. Because I have a teacher’s pension, I am not eligible for my husband’s social security--so you need to know the law when planning.

13. Uncle Sam is a poor step-father for your children, and an even worse live-in boyfriend when you're older. He’ll keep you poor and begging for life if you start depending on him. Marriage and the extended family is still the best financial and health safety net you can have--but take care of yourself.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! Leave a comment and I'll add your name and URL. View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Visitors and visited:
Amy, BabyBlue, Barb, Barbara, Beckadoodles, Blessed Assurances, Brony, Bubba, Buttercup and Bean, Carey, Carmen, Caylynn, Chaotic Mom, Chelle Y., Cheryl, Cindy, Dane, Danielle, Darla, Dawn, Denise, DK Raymer, Domestic Geek, Dorothy, Factor 10, Faerylandmom, Expressing myself, Friday's Child, Gattina, Ghost, Irish Church Lady, It’s all about me, Jaime, Jane, Janeen, JB , Joan,, Joy Renee, Just Tug, Kate, Kathy, Kaye, Kelly,Kendra, Lady Bug, Lazy Daisy, Mrs. Lifecruiser, Lyndsay, Lynn, Ma, Mama Duck, Mar, C.A.Marks, Mary, May, Michelle, Mistress of the dark MommyBa, N.Mallory, Nat, Nathalie, Raggedy Randy, Ribbiticus, Shannon, The Shrone, Southern Girl, Sunny Days, Sunshine Blues, Susan, Tammy, TC, Test, Tigerprr, TNChick,

3032 What it costs to smoke

How do I count the ways? My heart and hopes are with my 38 year old son who has been smoking half his life. When the morning cough and the expense ($8/day--almost $3,000/year) became alarming, he made another resolve to quit. He's made some really good progress this week, and is down to 5 from 45 cigarettes a day.

My husband grew up in a home with smoking parents. His mother who was very fair and blond lost about 5 inches of height in her later years and had a lung tumor (non-operable). Smoking is much harder on women than men. She quit smoking about 5 years before her death (I think she forgot she smoked), and actually recovered some brain function. When I met my husband nearly 50 years ago, he coughed every morning but he wasn't a smoker. We think he probably coughed at least an hour or two each morning when he worked in an office where smoking was allowed. I can remember in 1967 when I was in graduate school at the University of Illinois and he drove me to class, he would cough all the way from our house to the drop off on campus--probably a 20 minute drive. When he went to work for a downtown firm in Columbus in the mid 70s in an older, poorly ventilated office, he told them he would quit if they couldn't get him away from the smokers, so they stopped letting the employees smoke in the office. Over time, smoking has been eliminated in most public places, even stadiums, but I remember when the library employees smoked behind the circulation desk--patrons didn't, but staff areas were OK. And in retail stores--the clerks were all smoking at the registers. You couldn't get away from it. It was bizarre.

I heard Rush Limbaugh complaining today about the liberal conspiracy behind the smoking initiatives in various states. Rush may be right that the backers are liberals, but I hope we can stop issue 4, which will again allow smoking in bars and restaurants, and pass issue 5 which will stop it. Apparently, Rush hasn't noticed how many people earn their living working as waitresses, bar tenders, bussers and kitchen help in restaurants. A public non-smoking law was passed in Scotland this year, and within a month, when they tested the employees of restaurants, there was a huge improvement in their lung function (reported in JAMA).

Vote NO on #4, the amendment to the Ohio Constitution, called euphemistically, "Smoke Less Ohio," which will bring smoke back to our restaurants, hotels, nursing homes, etc.

smoking laws
anti-smoking laws
smoking ban
smokers
Ohio
Politics
Smoke Less Ohio

3031 Go Martha!

USA Today noted that "more than 18 months after Martha Stewart was released from prison, the company she founded continues to show signs of recovery. Advertising revenue for her magazines rose 75%.

Seems that college tuition is up almost 290% in the last 20 years, and hospital services are up 280%. The Consumer Price Index is up 84.3%. That means housing, fuel, food and beverages, electricity, new cars and apparel rose more slowly than 20 years ago. I suppose it depends on where you're spending your money. Tuition averages $5,836 at a public university today, or $12,796 when all expenses are considered.

Blacks seem to be leaving the plantation. USA Today highlighted 6 African American candidates for Senate and Governor today. Three were Republicans and three were Democrats, although the one who got the most inches was Democrat of course.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled last Wednesday in a 4-3 decision that publicly funded, privately operated charters schools are constitutional. I know the unions won't give up and it will come back at us again. Judge Alice Robie Resnick wrote a dissenting opinion. She's our Supreme Court Judge who's had 2 drunk driving convictions in less than a year. She says she'll resign next January, but I wonder why she thinks she can do her job on the bench if she doesn't have enough brain cells left to know she should stay off the roads while under the influence.

We're still squabbling here in Ohio about voter ID. I pity the poll workers. My absentee ballot hasn't arrived yet, although my husband's came yesterday. I 'm sure all this confusion will cause the Dems to cry foul, if they lose. Did you read that dead Democrats are outvoting dead Republicans 4 to 1? Saw that in the Poughkeepsie Journal.

3030 It's not an apology

if you say, "I'm sorry you were offended." Not to your wife, or best friend, or the Army and Marines. Someone let Kerry know so he can try it again. He could choose:

• "I regret what I said. It was rude and untrue."
  
• "I'm so sorry I denigrated our service men and women serving in Iraq. They are the smartest and best we've ever had. Above the national average."
  
• "I'm such a klutz--I tried to insult the President, but insulted you guys instead, and I am sorry. Then I kept making it worse. What a doofus."
  
• "If I'd been a better student myself, maybe I wouldn't keep making these dumb, haughty mistakes. Forgive me?"

John F. Kerry
How to apologize

3029 Adding some color to my life

Once I eliminated all the food triggers from my diet, life at lunch got a bit boring. Not that a sandwich and chips are so beautiful, but I liked the crunch. So I've been trying foods I rarely, or never ate, either because they don't agree with me, or I just didn't like the taste. One thing I'm eating a little of each day, to ease myself into liking, then loving (hopefully), is chopped bell peppers. In the past I've used them in my paintings, but I don't think I ate these.

Summer's Bounty
They are pretty on a salad--red, yellow green, and Meijer's sells small cartons already chopped, so I don't have to buy several and throw half a soft bell pepper away if I don't eat it. Also, they do have a distinct flavor that truly doesn't trigger my taste buds to ask for more!

According to the World's Healthiest Foods website, they are a wonderful addition to my diet, and will protect me from free radicals. I'm not positive what a free radical is, but I think they are like the political radicals, running around with placards shouting deceptive ideas hoping we'll lose the war against heart disease, diabetes and cataracts. In their little red, yellow and green antioxidant uniforms, peppers police the pro-disease rallies of the radicals and throw them out of the parade, tying them up with fiber and hauling the dirty rotten scoundrels off to jail for trial as traitors to our systems.

Red peppers contain lycopene which might help with cancers of the cervix, bladder and pancreas. Peppers contain a lot of vitamin C, beta-carotene, and folic acid, and their consumption is associated with reduced risk of colon cancer. So we've got below the waist covered, right? What about above the waist and neck? If I were a smoker (thank God I'm not) the vitamin A in peppers might help protect me against lung inflammation and emphysema. Long lived smokers have probably been eating peppers! But there are people who get lung cancer who don't smoke, so eating foods in the red-to-yellow family, like bell peppers, pumpkin, papaya, tangerines, oranges, peaches and corn, offer some protection. Some day if I have to have cataract surgery, the red bell peppers will reduce that risk.They're tasting better already!

Bell peppers are in the nightshade family along with eggplant, tomatoes and white potatoes.

bell peppers
Healthy Living
weight loss
nutrients
cardiovascular disease
triggers

Technorati's search by authority

In checking what questions brought people to my site today, I noticed a technorati search on "politics," and was surprised to see that when those thousands and thousands of blogs were sorted by the "authority" limiter, I was number 2. It seems to select by the number of blogs that link here, which for that service was 815. The first on the list had 816. I don't know how this if figured because TTLB says I have about 560 links coming in. I'd never used the authority filter for those large searches. Looks like something I need to look into.

These searches recorded by my site meter are funny. Today someone's question was "my step son wants to be a nudist," so it found the blog I wrote about 2 years ago which mentioned my great grandmother cared for her daughter's retarded stepson and that my dad had recently arranged for his funeral. Blogs that pass in the night.

technorati tags
statistics counter

3027 Maybe I should have answered nap to that one question

You Are 29 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

3026 Know any good book

shelves? Isn't this a neat idea? Could work in a small space. Self Shelf.

3025 With God and country at the public library.

I can find anything I need about computers, digital cameras, poker, Elvis Presley, movie stars or the latest fiction at my public library. Crafts? I could knit, tat, crochet and scrapbook out the wazoo. But its collection on Christianity and cultural issues from a conservative viewpoint is skimpy--bordering on "banned books." UAPL now has two, yes TWO, evangelical magazines in its huge collection. When I brought the condition of the collection (one) to their attention, they were so puzzled that a reader thought it was inadequate. No one had ever complained they said, and besides, Christian journals aren't listed in their review sources! I even suggested Books and Culture, an excellent Christian review journal, but I guess they couldn't find it listed either.

The poor selection of Christian book titles (if you want to read something other than Billy Graham, Joni Tada, or Rick Warren) is matched only by the selection of politically conservative titles (if you want something other than Rush Limbaugh or Ann Coulter). It's possible all the newer conservative books have been checked out, but here's what I found today on the new book shelf. Not sure why we need four new titles on the founding fathers, all "reclaiming" them for liberal causes, but I couldn't figure out why we needed that fancy, expensive new drive up book drop either.

American Gospel, God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation by Jon Meacham, Managing editor of Newsweek.

Founders on religion by James Hutson, Chief of Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, and formerly of the History Department of Yale. Would you believe that before this book there was "no reliable and impartial compendium?" Apparently previous compilations were prepared by "pious conservatives." Can't have that!

The Faiths of the Founding Fathers by David L. Holmes, College of William and Mary. I must have attended an excellent high school because I’m pretty sure that back in the 50s we were taught that some of the founders were deists and some secularists, but this author thinks this fact has been neglected.

Saving General Washington by J.R. Norton. This author works for Al Franken as a researcher, which makes him an authority on the founding fathers and the right wing assault on our legacies.

Fleeing Fundamentalism by Carlene Cross. Author describes her failed marriage to a fundy pastor; leaves her husband and church. Sob story with a silver lining--she forgives him in the last chapter. Does anyone ever write a failed marriage story about a guy who owns a gas station or who sits at a computer 10 hours a day? But you couldn't bash religion if you did that.

The Christian right or wrong; exposing corrupt teachings. . . by John Card, who holds a B.S. degree in "premedicine" (that would be?) This appears to be privately published and is a reprint of "Big Ol' Christian lies" (2002). Must have been a big demand. Not.

Middle Church; reclaiming the moral values by Bob Edgar who is head of the National Council of Churches, the most left wing "let's play church" group in America. He is a former UMC pastor and 6 term congressman. I wonder which party?

Hidden power by Charles Derber. Glancing through this volume, I’d say it is anti-Wal-Mart, anti-Bush, there's a huge rich-poor gap, and we’re on the tip of fascism. Nice to know what you think of your democratically elected officials, Mr. Derber.

With God on their side; George W. Bush and the Christian right by Esther Kaplan who writes for The Nation and Village Voice. The title tells it all. "A truly shocking dossier of recent religious fundamentalist incursions into the soul of American democracy." Didn't we get a shelf load of these titles in the 2004 election?

The Theocons; secular America under seige by Damon Linker. This guy says he worked as an editor of "its" flagship journal, First Things. Was he the coffee gofer? One of my favorite reads. "A devastating critique" the cover says "of the theocratic ambitions of those who control the Republican Party."

The latest expose of Republican Christians David Kuo's memoir about how poorly he did in the halls of power I didn't see on the shelf, but if it bashes Bush, I'm sure it's been purchased. They haven't missed one yet--best collection of Michael Moore you'll ever find in one building.

Libraries, librarians, conservative books
Reading

3024 Librarian costume out of stock

The skirt is made to look like book covers. And the sizes went all the way up to 275 lbs. Maybe next year. . .
picture from Target

3023 Some blogging updates

The Thursday Thirteen on my food triggers on September 28 has been followed religiously, and the target (I don't like the word "goal") which I wrote down elsewhere on September 25 was to lose my birth weight, 9.5 lbs by the end of October. Although my 46 years old scales (wedding gift) doesn't have fractions, I'm calling it for----ME. The other day I cut through K-Mart looking for an item and went through the snack aisle. Oh my, thought I'd pass out as I passed the Fritos. My exercise routine hasn't been as good as I hoped, what with the weather turning chilly, and all these blogs (9) to supervise.

Also, last week I blogged about the used books I was going to take to the library book sale. You'll be delighted to learn that they have moved from my office to the garage, and have finally made it to the car. While I was at Meier's yesterday, I bought a smallish suitcase for $10 with wheels and pull out handle in a bright lime green which is small enough to keep in my van when empty. I've loaded the books into the suitcase, and today when I return my library books, I plan to drag my little red wagon (which is lime green). I also have stacks of magazines waiting for a new home, so each time I go to the library, I take a load and not strain my back. I thought about one of those folding carts, but this works for my purpose.

Stephanie who writes Skinny Jeans has added some great suggestions to my How not to marry a jerk post which I did back in February.

Today is Halloween, or All Hallows' Eve on the Christian calendar with tomorrow being All Saints Day. But like most Christian holy days, this one has pagan origins and we really do go back to the original plan when we dress up like goblins and ghouls (although the trashy streetwalker look is a newer variation with no tradition). I blogged about this last year. Last night I reread my link to a folklore site.

Michael J. Fox was in Ohio stumping for the Democratic candidate for governor (who will probably win because our current Republican governor is so bad). I'd written about embryonic stem cell research here in May. Fox is just plain wrong headed about this--offering hope where there is none. Yesterday's paper reported the huge private venture capital going into anti-aging research which may have other disease benefits too. The media flogs this looking for new victims. But where is the venture capital for stem cell research. It's not illegal. There is no government boondoggle unless the Democrats control the purse strings. I don't want my tax money being used to clone human cells by destroying embryos--talk about a ghoulish Halloween event year around!

3022 Christmas is coming

Whirled Events gives us Eight gift ideas for bloggers.

HT Back in skinny jeans.

3021 Size matters, apparently

In the coffee shop Friday I heard the man behind me complain, "If this keeps up, by the time I'm 60 I'll be 6'4"." I took a peek at him as he left--he was probably 6'5" and 55 years old. He must be concerned about shrinking. I've lost 1/2" myself.

But did you see the article in the Oct. 30 Newsweek about "Skinny is the new fat?" [p.55] Now I know why I weigh more than at any time in my life and can still get into size 12 jeans, about the same as high school. Apparently, the average American woman weighs 155 lbs and is 5'4" and her waist is 34.5" and her hips 43". (Well, one out of four isn't bad.)

But the "subzero" waist size is 23.5", according to the chart with the article. Now that surprised me. When I was 16 or 17, I had a 22" waist, and wore a size 9. I thought most of the other girls had small waists too. Maybe it was just the crinolines and an optical illusion. But a size 9 would be 6 sizes above a subzero! Sewing pattern sizes varied wildly back then, and in this photo I'm adjusting a size 12 pattern.

Who would want to be a shrinking subzero? Doesn't sound too appealing, does it? Nicole Richie looks like she escaped from North Korea during the government sponsored famine that killed millions.

Ten reasons to let go of your skinny jeans
women's sizes
dress size
sizology

3020 October is American Archives Month: Celebrate the American Record

So I'm a bit late in announcing this, since tomorrow is the last day of October, but I've had such a good time looking at the SAA (Society of American Archivists) site. Here's the message for their members:

"American Archives Month is intended to boost everyone’s current efforts and encourage even more participation. It is a tool that may be used to raise awareness among a variety of audiences, including policy makers, "influentials" within your community, resource allocators, prospective donors, researchers, future archivists, the media (including newsletter editors and community relations departments within your own institution!), and the general public. We encourage you to target your audience carefully, and focus on providing a consistent message that will be most likely to influence the thinking or behavior of that key audience."

I'm much more interested in archives now than I ever was when I was employed as a librarian. But even then, I often had things donated that were not for the library record. Fortunately there was a group in Columbus preserving artifacts, school work and memorabilia of veterinarians. I think every church, business, museum, government department, ethnic group, town, city, club, and family probably has an archive whether or not they realize it. When the oldest member of your family dies, often the history goes with them.

There's a very interesting "Introduction to the principals and practices" of archives next Monday and Tuesday in St. Meinard, IN (practically next door!) which "provides an overview of the core archival functions of appraisal, accessioning, arrangement and description, preservation, reference and access." Looks like it would be a wonderful way to become acquainted with the field, and although the registration is pricey, you sure can't beat the housing and food costs.

Monday Memories of Heritage Lake, Indiana

The date on this photo is 1992 and it was taken at my sister-in-law's home on Heritage Lake, a 320 acre lake near Coatsville and Danville, IN west of Indianapolis. She's a lot of fun and a great hostess, always has a crowd around her. One night while visiting there we went for a moonlight boat ride--it was warm and balmy, the music was playing, we were all having a great time, sigh.

Well, the lot next to her was for sale--$25,000. We decided in the heat of the moon to make an offer--but weren't terribly serious because we already had a second home on Lake Erie. Truly, I've put more thought into buying a pair of shoes. We made an offer through a sales agent (a niece) of $10,000. We knew they'd already turned down $20,000, although since then the husband had died. We left and continued on to my parents' home in Illinois not giving it another thought. One evening we got a phone call from the realtor that our offer had been accepted! We were practically in shock--we hardly remembered the moonlight and the crazy offer for a lot 4 hours driving time from Columbus.

We kept the lot about a year, visiting it occasionally and looking at the beautiful view of the water, then listed it for $25,000, and it sold almost immediately. I just googled a lake front lot on Heritage (don't seem to be many now), and it was around $114,000.

View More Monday Memories Participants
Trackbacks, pings, and comment links are accepted and encouraged!
I don't use Mr. Linky, so your links will stay put!
My visitors and those I'll visit this week are:Ma, Viamarie, Mrs. Lifecruiser, Debbie, Lazy Daisy, Lady Bug, Janene, Michelle, Anna, ChelleY. Jen, Melli Becki, Paul, Friday's Child, Irish Church Lady,Cozy Reader

Heritage Lake, Indiana
vacation property
impulse buying

Missouri, Don't do it. Vote no.

Not all entertainers want to throw money at stem cell research. YouTube Response Ad to Michael J. Fox.

3017 A librarian speaks out about copying

Way to go, Phoebe! Phoebe Simpson is the Technical Librarian & Conservation Specialist at the Rhode Island Historical Society Library in Providence. I was looking her up for verification that she had indeed discovered with some other writings a rare 1644 edition of Bloudy Tenent by Roger Williams, who wrote about separation of church and state, and had his books burned in England. He had immigrated to the future U.S. (Massachusetts) in 1631. I saw the item in Christian History & Biography, Winter 2006, the second evangelical title for my public library, purchased at my suggestion(s). UAPL has at least 40 magazine titles on computers and digital gee-gaws, but couldn't seem to find any appropriate Christian titles.

In my sleuthing, I uncovered some off the cuff remarks she said on a library listserv (discussion group), and thought she sounded like a woman after my own heart.

"Sorry to say, but money still talks. Here is says, "Do your own work." Or expect to pay market rate for the archivist's time."

At her library, you can expect to pay $45 an hour for the first hour, and $40 an hour after that, with deliveries, 4-6 weeks if you don't want to carry your own water--or research. Libraries and archives aren't Kinko's, she says.

She also writes about the damage that photocopying does to documents, "with 1 photocopy equal to 24 hours of daylight exposure and scanning is worse."

"Taking notes," she writes, "was sufficent for 98% of researchers until the blessed advent of ubiquitous photoduplication in the 1980's. Modern culture encourages people to "get a copy" of whatever they can. When the collections are damaged a little bit by every round on the copy machine I don't think it is excessive to encourage people to be selective in what they really need to photocopy (with a $.50 per page preservation charge)." May 11, 2005, Phoebe Simpson, Archives & Archivists List

libraries and archives
Rhode Island Historical Society Library
library preservation
photocopying

End of the month blogbits

With 9 blogs, you'd think I'd get everything said, but when I flip through my notebook at the end of the month, I find little snippets that I thought I would research, comment on, and find links. Here are some:

Defense information school (Dinfos), Ft. Meade, MD trains artists in 66 days to learn what their civilian counterparts at art academies take in four years. They attend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and 95% of the recuits complete the program. What are our colleges and universities doing wrong that makes education so time consuming and expensive? WSJ story here.

Temp employment agencies in Ohio are weeding out illegals. ICRA (1986) arrests have increased by 638% in the 3 years since the INS was folded into Homeland Security. Garcia Labor Co. in Ohio was watched for 2+ years before the arrest. Columbus Dispatch story

Opinion page in Dispatch blasts Christians. 2 letters to the editor and a column by E.J. Dionne (WaPo)

Zaha Hadid, Pritzker Prize, architect. WSJ article on 10-19. Don't care if she is a woman, I hated the Cincinnati Centre for Contemporary Art. Why do architects try to make you dizzy?

Pet odors, pet smells. I'll still do this one. Very important not to abuse your pets. On the back burner.

Costs of a second income. How 1 income families get along.

Do children really need expensive vacations? I listed all the favorites our family did. Might be a Monday Memory or Thursday Thirteen.

Firsts. Maybe a TT list.

Who has time for breakfast? Are you abusing your oatmeal? 20 minutes? Yikes, I do 60 seconds in the microwave.

Children of alcoholics. The biological connection.

New activity badge for Boy Scouts about down loading pirated movies and music. They learn about copyright and how to identify stolen materials.

Homophily--birds of a feather flock together. Comments on a WaPo story.

B & D infrawave speed oven. I want it.

Do you want Charlie Rangel to be the House Ways and Means Chairman?

If the Dow were plummeting instead of soaring, do you suppose the media would pay more attention? Maybe if someone leaked it?

Draw a 6 x 6 chalk line and ask 24 lawyers to step within the line. Elevator death at OSU.

Licking Co. (Ohio) Child Support Enforcement Agency is still collecting child support from Joe Randolph even though he's had custody of his children for months after the death of his wife. You need a bureaucracy to really screw up a family.

Service Employees International Union Local 1199 and the Homeless Coalition are trying to thwart Ohio's voter ID laws. They are suing Ken Blackwell, our current secretary of state, and Republican candidate for governor. Update at Volokh When they used voter ID in Cleveland in the primaries, the observers said people brought in everything but the kitchen sink. It's not that hard to prove who you are. Dems want to get illegals to the polls.

Over the past 25 years governments at all levels have collected twice as much in gas taxes as the domestic oil companies have earned collectively in profits. Add on corporate taxes and the govt's total take rises to $2.2 trillion in today's dollars. (WSJ column)

Pets are property, not family. But you should make plans for their care in the event of your death or illness.

Gasoline costs and obesity. Engineering Economist, Oct-Dec 2006

Daddies in coffee shops letting their toddlers run when people are walking with hot coffee.

Mussels don't like Prozac. Getting into Ohio's rivers and streams, female mussels release larvae early. Drug screens for sewage?

What I saw in the ink blot ibm.com/special/cio1

American can do spirit. Illinois river fisherman makes money selling carp to China.

Kahuku High School north of Honolulu has 5 graduates in the NFL--2 in CA and 3 in FL. Beaches and palm trees.

Are you pre-diabetic? There's a plan to list it as "communicable disease" and track you with lab tests. Letting the gov't supervise your fatty acids is like letting it plan levees for a city below sea level.

There are over one million head injuries each year from car crashes, falls and assaults. There are about 250 a year from the War in Iraq. (story about how Progesterone can reduce brain swelling)

"My little Golden Book about God" 2 billion sold since 1942. WSJ article 10-6-06

No load, no Republican mutual funds: "Act blue" and "give blue" investments for liberals: Adobe Systems, Apple, CBS Corp., CVS, Costco, Starbucks

blogging leftovers
ideas for blogs
Current Affairs
opinion
health and fitness

3015 How to confuse a voter

Ohioans have two smoking issues on the ballot this November. Issue 4 is a proposed AMENDMENT to the Ohio Constitution which says it prohibits smoking in enclosed areas except tobacco stores, private residences or nonpublic facilities, separate smoking areas in restaurants, most bars, bingo and bowling facilities, separated areas of hotels and nursing homes, and race tracks.

If it passes, it would invalidate all the local and state laws that currently prohibit smoking (like our favorite restaurant). It is called "Smoke Less Ohio."

The second issue #5 is a proposed LAW which would prohibit smoking in public places and places of employment. It exempts certain locations, including private residences (unless it is used as a business), designated smoking rooms in hotels, motels and other facilities, designated smoking areas for nursing home residents, retail tobacco stores, outdoor patios, private clubs, and family owned businesses. It is called the "SmokeFree Workplace Act."

An Amendment trumps a Law, as I understand it. We have many local and municipal smoking ordinances to protect customers and employees of certain businesses.

No one hates smoking than I do. It is a killer and adds tremendously to our health care costs. However, I don't believe the SmokeFree people will stop with this Law. Eventually, they will try to make it illegal to smoke in your home or car. After protecting the workers, they will go after protecting the children (I can't imagine why idiots smoke with a child or pet trapped inside the car with them, but they do.) I'll vote for #5, but I think we can see what's coming. On the other hand, it is so pleasant to go out and not be choked by smoke and come home with stinky clothes.

Then another amendment to the constitution is to permit 31,500 slot machines at seven horse racing tracks and at two Cleveland non-track locations. This is called "Earn and Learn Initiative" because some of the money is earmarked for scholarships.

Doesn't that sound odd--even if you're a gambler? A constitutional amendment for 31,500 slot machines. Why not 32,000? Why not Cincinnati? This is being pushed on TV with ads that promise the money will go for college scholarships and grants to eligible students. But when you read the amendment, 55% goes to the casino owners and operators, only 30% for scholarships, and the rest is divided among local governments, race tracks and the gaming commission. What a rip off! The TV ads don't say a word about race tracks, only college scholarships.

"Charles J. Ruma, whose Beulah Park racetrack in Grove City made $778,000 last year, would reap most of an average $30 million annual windfall from slot machines if state Issue 3 passes.

And MTR Gaming Group, the owner of Scioto Downs on the South Side, would parlay a $1.3 million annual loss into an average $30 million-a-year income of its own.

If voters approve Issue 3, the so called Learn and Earn initiative, a handful of individuals and corporate interests behind Beulah Park, Scioto Downs, five other Ohio racetracks and two new betting parlors in Cleveland will divide an estimated $1.6 billion in revenue by 2012, according to proponents of the issue." [Columbus Dispatch]

gambling
smoking
smoking bans
greed
dishonesty

3014 Buckeye Homecoming

44-0 doesn't quite seem fair, does it? Yesterday was so cold and rainy (parade, pep rally and tailgate) I couldn't imagine that we would end up with a gorgeous sunny, bright October day, a perfect day for football. You've got to feel bad for those Minnesota players. This seemed to go beyond the home team advantage, to just plain good playing.

Our daughter, son-in-law and his widowed father from Cleveland came over for lunch. Somehow we got to talking about games and I brought out the Boggle game. While the guys retired to the family room to watch (the game before OSU), my daughter and I must have played 10 or 15 sets. She's good! She enjoys words, as I do, but thinks Scrabble just takes too long. Her father-in-law got interested because you can also play it alone. In this game you try to find as many words of three or more letters as you can in 3 minutes. Form words by joining letters up, down, side-to-side and even diagonally. The longer and more unusual the words the higher your score. If you both find the same words, you cross those out and don't score with them.

HOME TEAM WINS FOOT BALL GAME

Ohio State University Football
Buckeyes
Boggle