3197 Ex Post Facto--on the demise of a giant

Mark Gauvreau Judge ponders whether the Washington Post has a future. As a former writer for the Post, he grieves, remembering his elation when he was first selected to submit some op ed pieces:

"I did wind up writing several pieces for the Post, most often the Outlook section, over the years. And as I grew more conservative, I became more and more aware of what the parameters were. Nothing pro-life, nothing too blatantly Christian, nothing arguing about natural law or homosexuality—unless, of course, it was a performance of conservative switchback, like when Laura Ingraham wrote about her love for her gay brother. Inevitably, I ran up against the liberal orthodoxy there. It most strikingly occurred in 1994, when Outlook ran, at a full page, an op-ed/essay of mine about saving the Howard Theater, one of the oldest historical black theaters in America. I went into detail about the history of the Howard, yet something strange happened to my copy when I got to the 1960s. I had referred to the "moral and cultural collapse" that had destroyed the Howard and surrounding neighborhood—the drugs, rioting, and black racism that had brought down that part of town. The night before the paper came out, I was called and told that the phrase "moral and cultural collapse" had been changed to "social upheaval." Note: this was an editorial in the editorial section." . . .

"The Post doesn't cover religion—it's buried on the last page of the B section on the Saturday paper—and it is simply out of the question that any should creep into your writing, no matter how subtly. One album I reviewed reminded me of Easter, I wrote in one piece. Rejected. When it bounced back, I simply removed the Easter reference and sent it to a different editor. It was published two days later.

And that was it. I had been canned. Once you are banished, there is no such thing as debate about your case at the Post."

Read the entire story at Books and Culture.

I wonder sometimes if journalists and librarians suckle at the same breast.

Washington Post
media bias

3196 See your Healthcare Provider if. . .

That phrase drives me crazy. Do you know who falls under that term, "healthcare provider?" Here's the definition I found at Medscape when discussing who should have the flu vaccine among health workers. The definition of healthcare provider included in the ACIP and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) statement, published in February 2006:

"A healthcare provider refers to all paid and unpaid persons working in healthcare settings who have the potential for exposure to infectious materials, including contaminated medical supplies. Healthcare providers might include but are not limited to: physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, therapists, technicians, emergency medical service personnel, dental personnel, pharmacists, laboratory personnel, autopsy personnel, students and trainees, contractual staff and persons, for example, clerical, dietary, housekeeping, maintenance and volunteers not directly involved in patient care but potentially exposed to infectious agents that can be transmitted to and from the healthcare provider."

According to the article, adults can shed influenza virus for up to 24 hours before they develop symptoms and for typically 4-5 days after the onset of symptoms. So staff you see at a doctor's office often are coming to work when they are shedding virus. They found that the majority of healthcare workers come to work while they still have symptoms from what might be influenza. The CDC reports that fewer than 40% of health care workers have been vaccinated.

Call me cranky, but why isn't this "recommendation" made a condition of getting their paycheck during the flu season?

influenza vaccination, healthcare providers, influenza

3195 ADA and employment screening

Sue Shellenberger's column in the WSJ a week or two ago had an interesting question. A mother wrote to ask if tests her son takes for employment which are boring and repetitive (to him) because he has attention deficit disorder and dyslexia are a legal way to discriminate against people with disabilities. He often didn't finish the tests.

Shellenberger replied that the ADA prohibits employers from using screening tests that eliminate candidates because of a disability--unless it measures qualities essential to performance.

Now think about it. If you quit the test before finishing it because it is boring, are you someone an employer would want on staff? How many jobs do you know that don't require some focus, some completion of boring tasks, or understanding what is read? How many careers start at the top with only the interesting stuff? How many jobs have you had that didn't require you to sit through boring meetings where people argued about the best place for a comma or semi-colon (I'm a retired librarian).

How would taking this exam orally (as he apparently did in school and his mother wanted for him in the real world) help him if he needed to shelve books by call number in a library, or stock shelves in an auto parts store, or read instructions on chemical cleaner bottles at a janitorial supply house?

I think this man has a mama problem, not a learning disability.

learning disabilities
Americans with Disabilities Act

3194 The Dutch sleep through the storm

A Dutch politician, Geert Wilders, has accused non-european Muslims in the Netherlands of being violent and intolerant according to Saturday's WSJ. They have responded predictably by calling for his death--by beheading. And just as predictably, the Dutch people, long suffering from lack of oxygen in their socialist bubble, are already brain dead and don't really care.

My ancestors were Anabaptists, Mennonites and Brethren, and were persecuted and chased around Europe when they weren't being killed for their stubborn belief in separation of church and state and believer's baptism. Some found refuge in Holland which was more tolerant than Germany and Switzerland before coming to America in the 18th century. It looks like the Dutch tolerance has turned to somnambulism.

Geert Wilders, Holland

3193 Euchre Ministry?

Our church newsletter has a notice for signing up for a group to play euchre. It is a small group for the over-30s, and they'll gather for prayer requests, short devotions and then an evening of fun and relaxation playing their favorite card games. Sounds tempting--I'm always looking for good clean fun with a few prayers thrown in, but I'm just really awful at cards. I consider euchre the national passtime of Indiana. When I first married into the family, we lived and socialized in Indianapolis. If you didn't know euchre, well, you were just an object of pity. Each time we play, my patient husband has to reexplain all the rules, and I still goof up. Also, I hate to compete. I don't like for anyone to lose, which is a bit of a problem with games. There are winners, but not without losers.

Cooking for one or two

Last week at the library book sale I picked up a few Taste of Home magazines, one being Cooking for One or Two, Vol. 3, 2001. I can't find on the Reiman website that this title still exists, although it does show a Cooking for Two title. It's fun to look through, just to get some new ideas for menus, although I do wonder a bit. If I'd been cooking for 6 and had become an empty nester, I think I'd figure out I should buy 2 pork chops instead of 6 or 8. And I know enough to cook a roast and put half in the freezer. I've been cooking for two for almost 20 years now and I have learned a few things I wish I'd done earlier:

Spray skillets and pans with a cooking spray (I use Meijer's soy bean oil) even for stove top cooking, and never have a problem with clean up.

Pour a can of undiluted cream of mushroom soup over the beef roast and you'll never mess with gravy again.

Buy a small roasting pan with lid.

Don't bother to thaw your meat; makes no difference, not even hamburgers, and may take only a few minutes longer to cook if you keep turning and don't let it burn.

I haven't used a broiler in years (doesn't work). For steak I semi-thaw a boneless or semi-boneless ribeye and then while still firm, slice diagonally in strips and cook on the stove top in my trusty black iron skillet, still marvelous after 46 years of use. It's really easy to remove the large chunks of fat before frying when cut cold, and the kitchen doesn't get hot or smokey.

Repackage into smaller, airtight, ziplock bags if you do buy in quantity. (Even my quantity purchases are small compared to most.) I make up my hamburger patties ahead, divide up the chicken, and sometimes cut up the roast before freezing. However, Mom used to say beef roasts smaller than 3 lbs didn't quite taste right, but she was known for killing the cow the second time by over cooking the meat into charcoal.

I use Splenda often, and have found just a touch of vanilla adds a bit of sparkle. My daughter, who is pre-diabetic, says you need a bit more Splenda than sugar to make a dessert taste right, such as a pumpkin pie.

More and more I am grilling chopped up fresh or frozen vegetables in a little olive oil. If the pieces are small, it only takes a few minutes.

If we didn't have guests occasionally, my oven wouldn't get much use. Baking for two, if one is disciplined and the other isn't, is just folly. Go to a nice quality bakery and buy 4 cookies.

Some things, however, stay the same, whether or not you're cooking for 2 or 12. Yesterday I forgot to prick a hole in the potato, and it exploded in the oven. Today is clean the oven day.

3191 Not so fast, food choices

All those folks who want to legislate what we eat go on and on about fast food. I don't know if PF Chang's Bistro is fast food--I've never heard of the restaurant. But Janene in Ohio was eating there Saturday to stoke up for the big Ohio State vs. Michigan game (OSU Buckeyes won in case you've been out of the country or live in Australia). She said first she checked the menu on line and discovered things were a bit more high calorie and high fat than she thought:

"The Lo Mein Chicken has 1510 calories and 104 grams of fat. Again, would not have guessed that. The biggest disappointment was the Great Wall of Chocolate (I knew it was bad, but didn't know it was THIS bad) with 2240 calories and 89 grams of fat."

Imagine if you added a drink to that you'd have 4,000 calories in one meal. And no French fries or Big Mac!

I commend PF Chang's for making this nutritional information available. But I feel about that like I do the live lobsters in the tank looking at me--I don't want to know!

3190 Monday Memories

Did I ever tell you about my sister Carol?

I'm not sure anyone is doing this meme anymore--Debbie has dropped out as hostess, but I write these mainly for my family. This will be brief because I hadn't planned it.

This morning when I came down stairs and was preparing the cat's breakfast, I turned on the radio, something I rarely do at 5:15 because only the paranoids looking for UFOs and plots to poison our food supply seem to be on. I scooted through the dial, and got an oldies station which was playing Frankie Laine singing "That lucky old sun." And I immediately thought about Carol, because I think she had this record.

UP IN THE MORNING OUT ON THE JOB
WORK LIKE THE DEVIL FOR MY PAY
BUT THAT LUCKY OLD SUN HAS NOTHING TO DO
BUT ROLL AROUND HEAVEN ALL DAY

I never did that typical teen stuff like collecting records of favorites and putting photos of movie stars on the bedroom walls, but she did. I think Audie Murphy was her guy--had his photos everywhere. I always attributed that to her health, and spending a lot of time alone, but reflecting back, I guess I was the odd one out. Carol sure did "work like the devil." But also, she really couldn't sit still for long.

Carol died of a diabetic stroke in 1996 complicated by her post-polio problems. Despite poor health since childhood, she had a long career as a nurse and administrator, was adored by her children and grandchildren, and is remembered for her hearty laugh, devotion to her family, famous garage sales, clam chowder and long struggles with her health.

If you're still doing this meme, drop a comment and I'll visit.
1. Chelle Y. 2. Irish Church Lady, 3. Ma, 4. Mustang Mama,

3189 A little truth in humor for the Democrats

From Peace Moonbeam.

"As expected, the Republicans are crying a river over our plans to exit Iraq gracefully with dignity, ["Forces Leaving Early Expeditiously" plan (FLEE)] but no big surprise there - you'd cry too if someone took away your oil wells. The biggest whiner is the Iraqi government itself, "Oh boohoo, our government will collapse, hundreds of thousands of people will die in sectarian violence, Muslim extremist groups will take over, blah blah blah." Oh please, over here we're battling for stem cell research and tax hikes, fending off Evangelical homo-drug addicts, etc., and you're complaining about a few heavily-armed over-stimulated camel jockeys? Give me a break."

A public service announcement

Seen at Common Folk Using Common Sense.

I will seek and find you.
I shall take you to bed and have my way with you.
I will make you ache, shake and sweat until you moan and groan.
I will make you beg for mercy, beg for me to stop.
I will exhaust you to the point that you will be relieved when I’m finished with you.
And, when I am finished, you will be weak for days.

All My Love,
The Flu


Get your flu shot.

3187 How Milton Friedman would cut down on government waste

Milton Friedman, Nobel prize winner in Economics, and an advisor of President Reagan, died last week at 94. In a 1999 interview at the Hoover Institution, he was questioned about the 14 cabinet positions and departments and which ones he'd keep:

CABINET REMODELING

ROBINSON I have a list here of the 14 cabinet departments, now 14 is a lot for television so I want to just to go right down the list quickly and have you give me a thumbs up or thumbs down, keep them or abolish them? Department of Agriculture?

FRIEDMAN Abolish.

ROBINSON Gone. Department of Commerce?

FRIEDMAN Abolish.

ROBINSON Gone. Department of Defense?

FRIEDMAN Keep.

ROBINSON Keep it? Department of Education?

FRIEDMAN Abolish.

ROBINSON Gone. Energy?

FRIEDMAN Abolish. Except that energy ties in with military.

ROBINSON Well then we shove it under defense, the little bit that handles the nuclear, plutonium and so forth goes under Defense but we abolish the rest of it. Health and Human Services?

FRIEDMAN There is room for some public health activities to prevent contagion, such a thing as for example..

ROBINSON So you keep the National Institute of Health say and Center for Disease Control..

FRIEDMAN No, no, no those are mostly research agencies.. .No, no that's a question of whether the government should be involved in financing research.

ROBINSON And the answer is no?

FRIEDMAN Well that's a very complicated issue and it's not an easy answer with respect to that.

ROBINSON We'll eliminate half of the Department of Health and Human Services?

FRIEDMAN Yes, something like that..

ROBINSON OK one half. Housing and Urban Development?

FRIEDMAN No.

ROBINSON Didn't even pause over that one..Department of the Interior?

FRIEDMAN Oh, but Housing and Urban Development has done a enormous amount of harm. My God, if you think of the way in which they've destroyed parts of cities under the rubric of eliminating slums. You remember Martin Anderson wrote a book on the federal bulldozer describing the effect of the urban development. There've been many more dwelling units torn down in the name of public housing than have been built.

ROBINSON Jack Kemp has proposed selling to the current inhabitants of public housing their unit- their townhouse, their apartment for a dollar apiece and just shifting the ownership to the people who live..

FRIEDMAN If you got rid of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, it would be worth doing that.

ROBINSON Alright, done. That's gone. Department of the Interior, your beloved national park service?

FRIEDMAN Well, given the problem there is you first have to sell off all the land that the government owns but that's what you should do.. [ROBINSON But it could be done pretty quickly..] It could be done, you should do that, there's no reason for the government to own...the government now owns something like 1/3 of all the land in the country.

ROBINSON And that's too much, should go down to zero.

FRIEDMAN Should go down, well not entirely zero. They ought to own the land on which government buildings are on.

ROBINSON Ok, terrific. Department of Justice?

FRIEDMAN Oh yes, keep that one.

ROBINSON Labor?

FRIEDMAN No.

ROBINSON Gone. State?

FRIEDMAN Keep.

ROBINSON Keep it. Transportation?

FRIEDMAN Gone.

ROBINSON Gone. The Treasury?

FRIEDMAN You have to keep it to collect taxes.

ROBINSON Alright collect taxes through the Treasury. Veteran's Affairs?

FRIEDMAN You can regard the Veteran Affairs as a way of paying essentially salaries for services of those who've been in the armed forces but you ought to be able to get rid of it. [ROBINSON Pay it off?] Pay it off.

3186 The faith and values Democrats--what will it mean for the party?

"Not since Bill Clinton's first run for President has there been so much talk among Democrats about fielding candidates viewed as more socially and religiously moderate than the standard-bearers of their party. In several important races -- in Tennessee and Pennsylvania, for example -- conservative Republicans found themselves up against Democrats who spoke the language of faith. "I just can't help it," said U.S. Rep. Harold Ford, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Tennessee. "I love Jesus."

We dare not speculate about how many Democratic victors might share that affection. Nor can we know what difference this strategy made on the election outcome; discontent over the war in Iraq and disgust over political scandals evidently drove lots of voters into Democratic arms. But we can ask what it might mean for the future of the Democratic Party and American politics."

For a run down of the moderates, some who are pro-life and one a former minister, and who they beat, here's the rest of the story at The Ethics and Public Policy Center.

3185 Advice from Ben Stein

On the way to church this morning I heard Ben Stein being interviewed for National Retirement Planning Week. Actually, I think it started last week. Anyway, he said that people in their 20s should be saving 10% of their income for retirement, 30s (if they are starting) should be saving 15%, 40s (if they are just starting to plan) should be saving 20%. He also commented on the problem young families have today of wanting it all now. He said nothing you can buy now is worth living poor when you are elderly. Vacation. New car. Clothes. It won't mean much if you are in your 80s and have had to drastically change your life style. I'm always surprised to find people, some even my age, who think the government should be "doing something," just because they paid their taxes. I was well into my 40s before I invested for retirement, and believe me, that's a lot of time to play catch-up. Now we've got the whole alphabet of plans, everything except SS for me--Social Security--for which I'm not eligible because I have a teacher's pension. If you are a teacher, or you were one in the past and have changed careers, be sure you understand what you won't be getting.

Occasionally, our church uses DVDs projected during the service to make sure everyone gets the same message (we have 11 services). We've been having a series on stewardship. This morning it was an interview with a young married couple in our congregation who got themselves deeply in debt--it was like falling in a black hole and they couldn't get out. They attended a Crown Financial seminar sponsored by our church, did some praying, and decided it all belonged to God. They are almost out of debt--but it took 7 years. Seven is an important biblical number.

3184 Global warming and the death of girls

David Ridenour of National Center for Public Policy Research is in Africa attending a global warming conference. Everyone gasps at the "population reduction" solution that China proposes.

"And now the jaw-dropper of the day...

The Stern panel also included a presentation by an environmental specialist from the Peoples Republic of China by the name of Pan Jiahua who made one comment that drew gasps from the audience.

Mr. Jiahua asserted that reducing greenhouse gas emissions requires more than technological advancements. It requires, he said, reducing demand, which can be achieved, in part, by limiting population growth. He went on to say that China's one-child policy has reduced energy demand by 300 million people.

The comment drew gasps from some in the audience. Under China's one-child policy, millions of baby girls have been put to death by parents seeking male offspring.

At the conclusion of the panel, I gave Sir Nicholas Stern one of our "Kyoto Protocol Survival Kits." He graciously accepted."

Jews, Blacks and women should worry when liberals come up with solutions that involve population.

My Accent

Everyone has one. Here's mine. This quiz is different than the one I did before. It must be all the Philly-Cheese sandwiches I consume on Friday nights, because I grew up 100 miles west of Chicago, and have lived in Ohio 40 years.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: Philadelphia Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak! If you're not from Philadelphia, then you're from someplace near there like south Jersey, Baltimore, or Wilmington. if you've ever journeyed to some far off place where people don't know that Philly has an accent, someone may have thought you talked a little weird even though they didn't have a clue what accent it was they heard.
The Inland North
The Midland
The Northeast
The South
North Central
Boston
The West
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Your Vocabulary Score: A

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

3182 The lucrative Indian gambling casinos

Now that Jack Abramoff has gone to prison for cheating a client, do you suppose they'll get around to investigating Democrat Harry Reid? Probably not. When this story first broke, the media was complicit in down playing the number of Democrats involved in the Indian gambling casino lobbyist problem, so only the Republicans were smeared.

At the time, the WSJ reported that Indian gaming "is a $19 billion industry involving 228 tribes operating 405 gambling operations in 30 states." The stakes are high, with both the federal and state governments involved in the take. Illinois has some strict rules about who and how many can operate casinos, so it's a great opportunity for the Menominees of Wisconsin. But there's some complicated shinanigans that have to take place in Washington, and that will of course require some money to change hands before the first table or slot machine moves in. You see, Kenosha isn't on the reservation so some land will need to be transferred to the Bureau of Indian affairs. This is where the lobbyists earn their pay. What Abramoff was doing was just the tip of the iceberg, and if he'd been a Democrat, I think he'd have stayed underwater to work his magic.

With governments, state and federal, so involved in regulation, the opportunities to try to get around them just increases. The lobbyists get paid by the Indians to fight off the applications of other Indians who want gambling income. Where's the ethics in that scheme? Indian tribes in California have become the largest contributor to political campaigns. Whether or not there were some illegal deals depends on who's telling the story, but lets not play the race card and say the Indians are too naive to understand the stakes. They've been rolling these dice for a lot of years.

And let's not forget those Clinton folk who approved some new Indian tribes as they ran out the door in 2000. Being an Indian these days even if it's a tribe you made up, can be very lucrative. In Ohio we recently voted down a gambling scheme which would benefit a few Cleveland people. I'm sure now they'll become Indians--maybe they'll find a descendent of the Eries or Iroquis whose ancestors miraculously survived the 17th century, and put it on the ballot again.

There is a new title by Ron Johnson, listed as forthcoming 2006 which will be worth a look: "Self-Determination: The Other Path for Native Americans." I haven't found a library record. Here's a related title, on the gambling issue chapter in a book.

Oh, for the simple days of Abscam and crabby Jack Murtha. When the crooks didn't go to jail and just became Senators. (Check this article about how WaPo kept Abramoff front page and ignored Murtha's murky past.)

3181 The President's foster children

"Hispanics now dominate the federal Women, Infants, and Children free food program; Hispanic enrollment grew over 25 percent from 1996 to 2002, while black enrollment dropped 12 percent and white enrollment dropped 6.5 percent. Illegal immigrants can get WIC and other welfare programs for their American-born children. If Congress follows President Bush’s urging and grants amnesty to most of the 11 million illegal aliens in the country today, expect the welfare rolls to skyrocket as the parents themselves become eligible."
Hispanic Family Values

3180 Wow. That's a flush!

The plumber was here about 5.5 hours today--replaced four faucet fixtures, and two toilets, plus found a problem I noticed in the repair he did the other day. Might have to float a loan, ha ha. I know life's not perfect, but when we're paying this kind of money, I'd sort of like things to work, wouldn't you? I wrote about our new, water saving, swift flushing toilets here.

Anyway, I was sitting at my desk composing the blog about our library's collection of anti-Christian stuff, and he was about 6 feet from me installing the toilet. Each time he flushed it he'd say, "Wow. That's a flush." Isn't it nice when your job still has surprises? He also asked me if we bought the handicap model, but I assured him this is called "comfort height" because it is for grown-ups, not children.

Teensy problem. The tank isn't as wide as the old model and we'll have to find the paint and touch up the wall (painted in 2004), because we have about 6 inches of old wallpaper and paint showing.

Just in time for the new toilets, my husband isn't feeling good and cancelled his trip to the lake to rake leaves at our summer home. So we'll do the birthday stuff (our children are 12 months and 3 days apart) on Thanksgiving day. My kids have had more birthday celebrations than I ever had with my parents, so doubling up one year won't hurt. Another year or so, and they won't even want to be reminded!

3179 Why I won't be supporting the library levy

Our library board is planning to put a levy on the May ballot. Big plans. Coffee shop. Business center and other amenities. Some are questioning why the library needs to compete with services already available. But that's not my reason--even though I think that's as frivolous as the new drive-through book drop they recently installed. It's the collection. And call me crazy, but that's the bottom line in judging a library's value.

The Upper Arlington Public Library was fourth of 933 libraries in its categories in a recently released national ranking. The director says the strategic plan is "explore, gather and grow." Well, show me, Ann Moore, why your staff is so intent on denigrating a large group in the community rather than growing a balanced collection that serves everyone. We have a fabulous gay and lesbian collection--even for juveniles; all you could ever want about Elvis Presley and the Beatles; wiccans and witchcraft, check; everything high-tech, computer or digital is at our finger tips; and we can cook from now 'til Martha and Rachel come home.

Unfortunately, the UAPL also excels in Christian bashing. The VTLS turn-key online-catalog is extremely difficult to browse. But just go to the new bookshelf and see a collection so biased and so one-sided, that church members should be embarrassed to say we are in partnership by supporting them with our tax money.

UAPL collects almost nothing in the religion area that I as a conservative, evangelical Christian would ever read--virtually nothing on denominations, history, theology, apologetics, service, inner life, hymnody, biography or business--unless written liberals or mainliners. But it has a stunning collection of anti-Christian, political harangues and diatribes.

Here's a brief sample for just 2005 and 2006, but I have a much longer list--over 2 pages of author, title, publisher, date:

Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, by Michelle Goldberg, W.W. Norton, 2006. 2 copies

The hijacking of Jesus : how the religious right distorts Christianity and promotes violence and hate, by Dan Wakefield, Nation Books, 2006

The Christian right or wrong; exposing corrupt teachings. . . by John Card, Blue Dolphin, 2004. 1 copy (a reprint on the new book shelf in 2006)

American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century, by Kevin Phillips, Viking, 2006, 6 copies + audio.

During the 2004 presidential campaign, UAPL appeared to purchase every anti-Bush administration book published--and the market was flooded. A survey of librarians done in 2004 reported that they were 224:1 Democrat to Republican! They are frustrated social engineers on a sacred mission. Librarians make Hollywood and the ACLU look like the John Birch Society! UAPL may have the best Michael Moore collection in the country.

When the Democrats lost the election in 2004, publishers began issuing anti-Christian books because pundits decided conservative Christians had put a not-particularly-conservative president over the top. UAPL staff have searched the booklists high and low, and found even privately published or obscure publishers to include with multiple copies, regular, large print and audio! Meanwhile, Bill O'Reilly's latest title has 11 people in line waiting to read it.

Although it's extremely difficult to evaluate a collection on the basis of subject headings (UAPL doesn’t assign them and whoever does has no quality filter or indexing smarts), let's just take a look. I'm pointing out here the religious conservative headings--there are no corresponding subject terms for mainline Protestants, or liberal Christianity. It's possible that conservative Christians don't write that much about liberal Christians or maybe UAPL doesn't buy them if they do. Other subject headings are all anti-conservative Christian except where noted. Some authors bashed both liberals and conservatives, but they were few. All of these have overlaps and some books have more than 1 or 2 subject headings.

23 Christianity and politics--United States. (2 of the titles were written by conservatives--other 21 were all anti-conservative and/or anti-Christian)
1 Christianity and politics--United States--Controversial literature.
4 Christianity and politics--United States--History.

7   Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity.
5   Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity--Controversial literature.
3   Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity--History--20th century.
1   Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity--History--20th century--Congresses
1   Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity--History--21st century.
1   Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity--History of doctrines--20th century.
1   Conservatism--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Fundamentalism--this subject heading is large at UAPL with many subdivisions, and I won’t break it down. It speaks for itself.

6 Religious right.
1 Religious right--History.
5 Religious right--United States.
5 Religious fundamentalism--United States

If UAPL has missed something that marginalizes the right, I'm sure they'll correct their oversight if you ask.

3178 A blogger's rap

I'm working on a new poem based on my topics. Here's what I've got so far. 5 syllables, rhyming. Sort of a rap song without the crotch grabbing.

Kelo Kyoto
Kedwards Alito

Kerry Kennedy
Worst economy

Blind disabled poor
good news will outscore

Freepers and Pinkos
Congress's creepos

Bird flu and West Nile
Hillary's hairstyle

Economy soars
Oil drills offshore

Wal-Mart and Target
Libs are in orbit

Marching illegals
GOP stumbles

Patriot Act Fear
A L A severe*

Bipartisanship
They can't get a grip

Class warfare and hate
Media dictate.

Cloning and stem cell
Doublethink Orwell.

*The ALA is the American Library Association which keeps a closer eye on Bush than the democratic underground. Or is that redundant?

I won't quit my day job (don't have one).