Are Canadians wimps or just socialists?

Today I read that Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura can't be broadcast in Canada because of Canada's strict "hate speech" laws. I just can't believe that Canadians would put up with their government telling them what they could listen to. I've never heard either one of them say anything even remotely hateful--harsh, yes; funny, yes; annoying, yes; narrow, yes; conservative, yes; bombastic, yes; parody, yes; snide, yes; repetitive, yes; smart, yes; incisive, yes; common sense, yes.

Dr. Laura, at least back in the days when I could get her program, was awfully hard on stupid people, racist people, whiney people, and people who had not treated their children well. Dr. Laura got bumped here in Columbus (in my opinion) in the fall of 2001 because she was outrageous enough to say that babies should only be adopted by a married man and woman. Money talks, and sometimes it says good-bye. As far as I know, single adoptive parents didn't interpret that sound research as hate speech, but gays did, and they have tremendous power--far beyond their numbers might suggest, because they are wealthy, educated, and political. They certainly had some power with Clear Channel. There's a solution--you change the channel if it makes you mad.

Read Dr. Laura's blog entry, "For years," to see what Canadians and Ohioans are missing.

I watched Limbaugh interviewed on Fox this afternoon. He said the 5 weeks he spent in drug rehab were the most valuable of his life. He became addicted to OxyContin after spinal surgery. Later he lost his hearing and had a cochlear implant,a device that converts a mechanical signal of hearing into a electrical signal that the brain can interpret. Usually the Left would wet themselves, fawn and shuffle to show sympathy to a druggie with a handicap, a two-fer. But not Rush whom they hate so bad it makes them feel good, like they're doing something patriotic or spiritual. I guess it got them in shape for hating Bush.

4337

The Writers' Strike

It's hurting California's economy even if the rest of us are breathing a sigh of relief for the hurting culture. This Californian supports the strikers.

4336

Monday Memories--head covering or prayer veil

Somewhere I have a small envelop containing a prayer covering. Mother always kept a few in her desk so that if we were visiting around Easter or the fall communion date for the Brethren Love Feast, her daughters or granddaughters could wear one to the service, and I think I may have brought one home after her funeral in 2000. There is a fairly long, but not unbiased, article about head coverings for Mennonite women here. We were not Mennonite and most Brethren women gave up the veil or covering in the 1920s. I've seen photos of my maternal grandmother in a bonnet similar to the ones on the left when she was a young married woman. As I see it, they have both a spiritual and cultural use. Among the Brethren, it was called dressing "in order," and it reminds us that there is a God given order between men and women, and humans and God. But they are also a witness to others about your faith and help maintain modesty. Women who cover their heads would look a bit silly with bellies hanging over waist bands, and bursting bosoms over the top of skinny t-shirts. Even sillier than those who do it with no head covering.

I was probably 11 or 12 when I was baptized. My parents drove from Forreston (15 miles) so I could attend the instruction classes at the Church of the Brethren in Mt. Morris, which I think were on Sunday afternoon. Most of the class was the children in this photograph. After baptism, I was given my own prayer veil which I wore to communion to sit with the women, twice a year. The last I wore a covering was about 10 years ago when I attended communion at my parents' church.

Interesting selection of head coverings for women over the centuries, including Lutherans, Episcopalians, Baptists, and Anabaptists.

Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Bush. . .

Let's break the chain. We seem to be in a rut. Elect a new name. We don't need to repeat history--recent or ancient.

William Bradford [Plymouth Colony of the Pilgrims], who was elected governor thirty times between 1622 and 1656, proved to be a steady hand in directing the colony, as well as an able historian of its courage and trials. Story of Thanksgiving

Trick my Truck

I've been enjoying watching truck makeovers on CMT this week-end. Nice personal interest stories with the Chrome Shop Mafia working their miracles. I don't know if the writers' strike will affect them or not--the banter seems pretty standard from show to show. Trick my Trucker, a weight loss and make-over show (series) for the drivers was even more fun. Seeing overweight smokers with hair and beard styles stuck in the 70s get into good nutrition, exercise get a shave and a haircut was awesome. Took 25 years off their appearance.

Eugene Jackson's Lifeline, a semi that rescues stranded big rigs got spiffed up.

Hollywood and the Iraq War

Remembering the WWII movies, it's hard to imagine today's bevy of beauties like Cruise, Clooney and DiCaprio doing the same for the Iraq War. First of all, they wouldn't be able to disguise their hatred for Dubya. But here's a second thought--about wealth and guilt:

"I used to believe that one of the reasons that a lot of the male movie stars of the 30s and 40s drank so much was out of guilt that they were making more money in a week than most Americans earned in a year, and that even in the middle of the Great Depression they were living like royalty. But I also suspected that they turned to alcohol partly out of shame because they were engaged in what would generally have been regarded as a passive, feminine occupation — playing dress up, being told what to do and how to do it by male directors, standing by while rugged stunt men did all the heavy lifting and, worst of all, wearing makeup all the livelong day."

But then along came the war and they were able to do guy stuff and be patriotic--even giving up lucrative contracts to serve their country. Those who were too old or had disabilities like John Wayne, made propaganda films. Today's mega-rich male stars? She calls them bimbos.

Poverty in America--we can end it

That's a slogan of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, not George W. Bush, John Edwards or Charlie Rangel.

No one who's ever read a government, foundation or religion report believes poverty will end, especially not in the United States because the bar is always being raised. It's not "poverty" that energizes politicians to ask for more taxes or para church organizations to seek donations, it's the income gap. Those on the bottom are in poverty, even if my early 1970s SAHM life style in the educated middle class was a pretty close match with today's poverty. No air conditioning, one older car, one TV set, no cable, no computer, no dinners out, no vacations. It was mac and cheese at the end of the month; sewing the kids' clothes; postponing repair projects until we had the money. Everyone we knew lived the same way.



The good news is that the USA is the land of opportunity and the percent of change was 90% in the bottom quintile of income 1996-2004--people who will have moved up and out within the next decade--and they have been doing that at least since the 1950s according to a new Treasury Dept. report. Many of the poor of the 1990s are now in the top quintile, because the bottom always includes young people starting out willing to make sacrifices and take risks.

Today's face of poverty, however, does have a distinct, unchanging look--women and children, some recent immigrants, the unhealthy, disabled, and elderly with no family. The bad news is new poor will flood in across the border (our poverty looks pretty good to them). The bad news is we loose to death and injury more young people on our roads in one year than we lost in 4 in Iran and Iraq. Many will never again be a productive citizen and will need care and assistance. The bad news is we have many children born pre-maturely, with their first 3 months of life costing a million dollars. Even choosing a Caesarian a week or two early causes death and injury to be paid for down the road. Neither private insurance or SCHIP will solve a million dollar hospital bill. They may never be healthy--they may always need more medical care, extra help in school and modified work environment.

The bad news is many people will by choice addle their brains with alcohol and drugs, decreasing their intelligence and ability to earn a living for themselves or their families down the road, or their ability to help others. The bad news is that some people will inherit diseases or conditions for which there is no cure, only modified living arrangements, and they will need some type of help the rest of their lives.

The worst news about poverty is that young woman you see above, barely hanging on. There are too many children being raised by unmarried mothers, with Uncle Sam as a distant and uncaring step-father, while the real "daddy" hangs out with his buddies and shows up just to get a loan or make a sperm deposit. Even if she eventually finishes high school and gets a grant to complete some college, her chances of giving her children what her married friends have are slim to none. Marriage of the parents is the best safety net a child can have--her chances of growing up in poverty are extremely slim if only her mother had made better choices about sex.

Poverty shouldn't be a slogan or a bumper sticker to be trotted out by politicians or preachers to get your vote or money. You are obligated by God to help, assist and love the poor. The poor are not obligated to be your feel-good project or "teach" your teens about life for a school requirement.

You are never obligated to close the gap between quintiles by reducing or taking the incomes of others, nor do you need to stand in the way of those who are trying to escape it--which many poverty programs do. You are not obligated to help the wealthy, fair-skinned Mexican government officials continue to be irresponsible and neglectful of its own brown children, by inviting people to cross the border for money to send home, and stay here illegally, decimating their culture and villages.

4331

The strong Canadian dollar

is apparently hurting some Canadian industries that supply substantial markets in the USA, and are now less competitive.

"So now that Americans are taking a second look at our goods because of our strong dollar and their weak Greenback, Quebecers like Jean Charest are beginning to panic.

My suggestion to Charest is this: Quebecers really don’t like the USA and the American people, so here is Quebec’s best opportunity ever, to wean itself from the American teat.

All Quebecers have to do is learn how to live with a little less. A little less tourism - A little less manufacturing - Maybe even a little less hydroelectric sales. And then they’ll never again need to be upset by the big bad ugly Americans.

On the brighter side though, Quebecers are crossing into the USA in record numbers to buy their Christmas gifts, and to spend their vacation money in a country where their inflated dollar buys them more.

Charest must be overjoyed at his Quebecois compatriots’ newfound buying bonanza south of the border while Quebec manufacturers, retailers and service-providers wonder if they’ll have a job in the New Year." Howard Galganov

4330

Political Correctness in 1994

Today I was skimming through a letter I'd written to a high school friend in October 1994. Sounds just like my blog. Except in those days, I was a Democrat. I see the seeds of change.

I've always enjoyed large compilations of information--encyclopedias, handbooks, etc., so when I saw the title The Oxford History of the American West (1994) on the new book shelf at the public library, I checked it out. The cover is a lovely realistic painting of mountains, cowboys, cattle--probably by a WPA artist. But inside. Oh my. Political Correctness reigns. There is not a kind, decent or pleasant word about "our" country, the one we know. It glorifies every ethnic group that ever made it to either shore, and vilifies anyone of European descent. Although the authors are somewhat puzzled about how to write about the Spaniards. After all, someone might realize that Spaniards (Hispanics) were also European. Some sections are so odd, it is almost comical--if this weren't being taught in schools. For instance, the Indians knew how to treat animals, because although they killed them, ate them and skinned them, they respected them. I seriously doubt that made a difference to the animals. This is followed by a section on how the wives and slave women of the Indian men spent their lives tanning and preparing hides (not presented as a negative against Indian culture). Apparently, political correctness doesn't apply if women are abused within the culture of a maligned minority.

That got me wondering about the term, "political correctness." Looking through various articles on the internet for at least 5 minutes, I discovered that it actually began as a Marxist term, but was used tongue in cheek by the left in the 70s and 80s to describe the over zealous. In the early 90s, the conservatives snatched it and turned it on the left to describe their nit picky language ways. Seems fair.

4329

Scrap the Flight 93 Memorial

WorldNet Daily reports: "Two years ago U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo asked the Park Service to revamp a proposed memorial to the heroics of Flight 93 passengers and crew, who died trying to retake their airliner from terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001, because of its use of a crescent, an Islamic symbol.

But the crescent remains, and now he's telling officials to scrap the plan and start all over." I can't find the letter on Tancredo's web site, but it is repeated at a number of sources.

The intention of the design doesn't matter. It's the result. It's the message. If it upsets the victims' families, someone needs to take another look.


Joanne Hanley, memorial superintendent, has said all along that people are seeing things that aren't really there. The "thing" I'm seeing is a crescent. I'll bet if it were a cross, someone on her staff would notice.

Don't you just love it

when "easy to use" technology sites for non-technical folks like me are so filled with jargon you haven't a clue what they do?

Caravel is a enterprise-level Content Management System with an intuitive user interface, designed to allow non-technical users to maintain website content. Caravel allows admins to centrally maintain thousands of sites off one code-base.

Gobbledegook.

How to tell a real peacemaker

Check out their beliefs. Statement on the War in Iraq by the Mennonites (Mennonite Church USA), at the Global Anabaptist Encyclopedia On-line. Also useful for doing some genealogy searches if you have Mennonites in your family tree.

Cha-Ching a ring ding at Christmas

This is the time of year that every household that has donated in the past, ends up on the mailing list of charitable organizations. They know, as retailers do, that we're feeling a bit more generous, and that some even plan ahead for deductions on the income taxes in 2007.

Here's 3 that we support--Lutheran Bible Translators who put scripture in the "heart language" of millions; Pregnancy Decision Health Centers which helps save babies' lives and gives women in distress support when their parents or boyfriends pressure them to abort; and Pinecrest Community, a retirement complex, nursing home, and Alzheimer' care facility in the town where I grew up, affiliated with the Church of the Brethren. My parents, the parents of my friends, my grandmother and her siblings, and my aunts and uncles have all resided or been treated here at some time in their lives.

The middle class and poor give much more from the heart and wallet than the rich, and the working poor more than the middle class. I checked our zip code. We have almost double the median income of the rest of Ohio, but are just slightly below Ohio's average in charitable giving. And it's not just Ohio. In a very similar spread, families in San Francisco give about the same amount to charity as families in South Dakota: $1,300. Yet the SF families have average incomes of about $80,000, compared to only about $45,000 in South Dakota. Evangelical and fundamentalist Christians give much more liberally than mainline, liberal Christians.

Conservative Christians will be blamed

As the election heats up, we'll hear all sorts of nonsense and sneaky asides about the power of the Christian right. I'm sure Huckabee will get a few slurs just because he was a Baptist minister in his past life. I guess it brings out voters, because it sure worked in Ohio in 2006. We elected a liberal governor, a former Methodist minister. Oh, that it were true that Christians stood on biblical principles--or that they even flooded the polls on election day. Christians haven't been able to roll back anything. Here's what I wrote in March, and so far, no one has challenged it.

. . . liberals try to put up conservatives, particularly Christian conservatives, as some sort of powerhouse bringing down the government. No one has been a bigger spender on social programs than the Bush administration (especially education). Medicare. Biggest gains under Republicans. Illegal immigration. Huge muck job by Republicans--who was president in 1986 for IRCA? Social Security. Reagan was President when I lost mine. Legal abortion. Last time I checked, we're still killing babies--what--25-35 million since Roe v. Wade? If Christian conservatives manage to roll back a week or two in a sparsely populated rural state, the Dems go crazy ("oh no, a baby's made it out alive"), but the law's still there. DDT. Last time I ran the numbers, we'd killed more Africans with malaria in the last 30 years than died being shipped across the Atlantic as slaves in the 18th century, but not a single bird, let alone human, ever died from spraying DDT on mosquito eggs in standing pools of swamp water. . . Clean air laws. We've got bunches of empty factories in Ohio that have no smoke belching from the chimneys--the jobs went first to the southern U.S.A., then to Asia. Women's Rights. Leading cause of poverty in the U.S.A. is unmarried women having sex and babies before finishing school. The poverty gap is no longer racial, it is marital. And Democrats have a fainting spell if someone introduces an abstinence program or a chastity pledge

I'm waiting for someone to outline all the programs demanded, introduced or defeated by conservative Christians which have changed our culture as much as the above items.

How to get a driver's license in Mexico

No biggie. No test or hassle. Of course, driving is a bit more "intuitive," and you might want to think twice before taking your life in your hands. Just have the right papers. I wonder why Gov. Spitzer and Mrs. Clinton didn't think of that.

"When it comes to acquiring a Mexican drivers license, you can do so without any exams or tests, even if you have never had a previous license. Just take along your passport and your FM-2 or FM-3 and you will be issued a license within an hour at the Secretaria de Transportes y Vialidad. Tourists may drive with an international license or the drivers license of their own country. If you would like to bring your car into Mexico from the U.S. you will need to acquire a permit at the border by leaving a deposit the amount of which corresponds to the model and type of vehicle you're driving. You will also have to buy insurance. Make sure you have an international credit card otherwise you'll find this process a big nuisance. You may then gain entry into the country for a period of up to six months after which your permit (along with your FM-T tourist visa) will have to be renewed." Transportation in Mexico

But don't even think about trying to vote in Mexico using your DL. To vote, you need to be a citizen, and the requirements vary depending on which country you were born in. In some states of the U.S., a driver's license is a passport to voting, which is why so many politicians are lusting after DLs for illegals. It has nothing to do with safety on our highways.

4323

Fire your accountants, Warren

Buffet, the second wealthiest men in America, thinks that rich people like him don't pay enough taxes. Testimony. There's an easy solution. I'm just a pensioner, but even I know that raising taxes on the rich is full employment for accountants and lawyers, and that while we'll all pay more and the value of our IRAs and 401-ks will shrink, they'll pay less.

It's a shell game, folks. All rich Democrats should fire their accountants and lawyers who see to it that they take advantage of every loophole in the tax code the ordinary worker can't use. Don't claim any deductions for contributions (the wealthy never pay the percentage of their income that the middle class do). Get rid of those investments that hide your wealth. Mr. Buffet, you will see how quickly you are able to pay your "fair share."

4322

Support your candidate

Before the Christmas [aka holiday] rush, why not send a small check (or however you do it these days electronically) to the candidate of your choice? Campaigns are about money, no use moaning about it and sitting on your wallet. Some like Clinton and Edwards are personally extremely wealthy. Others need to raise a war chest. If Obama or McCain is your man, send a contribution. It might buy a fraction of a TV minute or buy a few posters. Today I'm sending my contribution to Mike Huckabee. He most closely lines up with the experience, personal integrity and moral clarity I think are important. I would not be unhappy with some of the other Republican candidates, but I'd sure have to hold my nose if Rudy is the choice of the party (seems like a sweet guy with loads of experience and charisma, but way too much personal baggage for my tastes).

I don't do electronic transfers and I think all these campaign websites are designed by people who are 18-19 years old, so you may have to poke around a bit to find the U.S. Mail address.

To contribute by mail, please send to:

Huckabee for President, Inc.
P.O. Box 2008
Little Rock, Arkansas 72203
"When discussing faith and politics, we should honor the "candid" in candidate - I have much more respect for an honest atheist than a disingenuous believer." Mike Huckabee

4321

How will liberals respond if there is victory in Iraq?

If headlines in the Nov 15 USAToday are any indication, here's how it will go: big headlines for anything not going well, tiny print for anything that is.

"Taliban fighters escalate attacks in Afghanistan"
"The increased activity comes as security in Iraq improves."

I've never heard a liberal or Democrat or Progressive even suggest that victory would be a good thing. So it will be "improved security," or "surge draw down" or "withdrawal of troops," but you'll never hear them claim victory.

If your company ignores Christmas--Plow & Hearth

Dear Jim McCann, CEO and
Chris McCann, President
1-800-Flowers
Carle Place, NY

You didn't ignore Christmas! Good for you! I see that you now own Plow & Hearth. I just may send an order, because it's a neat holiday catalog, and they managed to insert the word "Christmas" into several descriptions of gifts. The word Christmas is actually on the cover of the print edition (even if it is an adjective modifying delivery) and on the verso where it appears on musical miniature music boxes. There's a tiny mention of what it's all about in "Star of Bethlehem" bulb garden on the back cover. On page 11 they also advertise that if I order a live fir sapling ($24.95), they'll send me a tree-shaped ornament engraved "Merry Christmas 2007" along with planting instructions. There are 11 pewter ornaments on this page, and for each one sold, a tree will be planted by the Canadian company that creates them. I'm guessing there are at least a few million Canadians who know the real meaning of Christmas, and perhaps next year Plow & Hearth could request a religious symbol of the infant Jesus and his mother be included along with the secular, like the baby penguin and its mother.

I wish you could have done more for the millions of Christians who might be potential customers, but so far, you are definitely winning in my Christmas Catalog competition!

In 2005, Plow & Hearth celebrated its 25th anniversary. It was sold to 1-800-Flowers in 1998. It has grown from a small country store into a multi-channel retailer, a leader in the catalog industry and the premiere source of products for the home, hearth, yard and garden. It participates in and has won awards for many state (Virginia) and local projects that help people and the environment.

Barnes & Noble
Lowe's

Ohio State hires aide to General Petraeus

From OSU Today

"The Mershon Center for International Security Studies and the Department of History have selected Col. Peter R. Mansoor as the next Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair of Military History. Mansoor, currently executive officer to Gen. David Petraeus in Iraq, will begin his duties at Ohio State in September 2008. He was one of the major authors of the report on the situation in Iraq, delivered by Petraeus to Congress on Sept. 10-11. He also served on the Council of Colonels that assisted the Joint Chiefs of Staff in reassessing Iraq War strategy and devising the surge strategy currently being employed. Mansoor is also the founding director of the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Story here.

In addition to the endowed Mason chair, the center also has an endowed Woody Hayes chair(former football coach who loved military history, and a peace studies chair.