Karl Rove's Advice for Barack Obama

Democrats hate Karl Rove, but he's declared Obama the victor. And Dems do think he's the genius behind George Bush--that Bush is much too stupid to be president, or win reelection without Karl. So maybe they should pay attention to this genius pulling the strings for the last 8 years, putting words in his mouth and steel in his spine. He advises Obama to do nothing and say nothing that could appear he's pushing Hillary out of the race, because she's as good as gone. That shouldn't be hard. This man Obama does less and says less than any politician in my life time. Rove also says Obama is unbeatable in November, but also said in six months, everything could change.

If he's elected, I can only pray he continues on his path of doing and saying nothing.

Pantheism, The Earth Charter and the Election

If the Earth Charter looks as familiar as an old family photo album, or sounds like a warm, fuzzy spiritual guide to Earth Day that demands nothing, then you're probably under 40, received 12 years of public school education and are a Democrat / Progressive / Socialist and/or Marxist. If you are horrified reading the 14 points, you just might be a Republican, a Conservative, a libertarian, or just an old fogie 60-something Democrat or old fashioned liberal, and possibly an evangelical Christian or an observant Jew. The key words and phrases are

global interdependence
sustainability
cultural diversity
ecological integrity
dialogue
biosphere
affirm
uphold
spirituality
community and
blah, blah and blah, zzzzzzzzz.

1. Earth worship (global warmism/pantheism).
2. Evolution, broadly defined.
3. Socialized medicine.
4. World federalism.
5. Animal rights (animals are seen as our brothers and sisters).
6. Income redistribution among nations and within nations.
7. Eradication of genetically modified crops.
8. Contraception and “reproductive health” (legal abortion); every small and weak creature except the human fetus is protected in the scheme.
9. World-wide “education for sustainability” which includes spiritual education.
10. Debt forgiveness for third-world nations.
11. Adoption of the gay rights agenda, including gay marriage in the churches.
12. Elimination of nuclear weapons and the right to bear arms.
13. Redefining the media so it will support the environmental agenda, not report on it.
14. Setting aside biosphere reserves where no human presence is allowed.
(America’s School: Battleground for Freedom, by Allen Quist, Chaska: EdWatch, 2005.)

I know it sounds a lot like the Hillobama political platform, but its base is religion, its core is Pantheism. These are the principles that will or now guide your children's teachers, your legislators, your journalists, your social workers, your medical researchers, and unfortunately, some of your pastors. But don't take my word for it, read their web page. And if you can stand it, don't miss their call to action.

"In order to build a sustainable global community, the nations of the world must renew their commitment to the United Nations, fulfill their obligations under existing international agreements, and support the implementation of Earth Charter principles with an international legally binding instrument on environment and development."

In other words, the Earth Charter must take precedence over the U.S. Constitution which guarantees all our freedoms, including religious.

BTW, I read in today's paper that France's foreign minister called on the United Nations to consider FORCING Myanmar's military rulers to accept relief shipments. Yeah, two moral midgets making demands of a military, Castro-marxist-style government. The UN will have to meet in committee for 3 or 4 months objecting to everything sensible, and by then they'll mostly be dead (the victims, not the UN). Meanwhile, Bush will send in the troops and get the job done.

Barbara Walters and Miley Cyrus

Show and tell. More than we needed to know. They didn't need the money, or the fame. I guess it's a mystery why some women do this.

What if?

Big 10 schools had to racially balance their football and basketball teams--the group actually on the floor, field or bench during the game instead of factoring in everyone in the department?

"The Ohio State athletics department has been selected to receive a Diversity in Athletics Award in the category of Overall Excellence in Diversity, to be presented Wednesday (6/11) at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, site of the 2008 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Convention. Using independent research conducted by the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport at Texas A&M and supported by the NCAA, the award winners are those that have achieved the highest total combined scores in the areas of diversity strategy, gender diversity of departmental employees, racial diversity of departmental employees, value and attitudinal diversity of departmental employees, graduation of African-American female and male student-athletes, and gender equity compliance." OSUToday, May 6

A very lucky daughter

Your heart (if you're a book lover) has to leap a bit at this post by Semicolon about her summer reading challenge for her children--completing a list of 10 books plus memorizing two poems. Reading through the list for the 13 year old almost gave me a heart attack! I've read about half of them, but certainly not as a 13 year old. I think she's a homeschooler.

The Bible. Romans.

The Bible. I Samuel.

Costain, Thomas. The Conquering Family. .

Hale, Shannon. Book of a Thousand Days.

Little, Paul. Know What You Believe.

McKay, Hilary. Forever Rose.

McCaughrean, Geraldine. The White Darkness.

Malley, Gemma. The Declaration.

Marshall, Catherine. Christy.

Richardson, Don. Peace Child.

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein.

Sire, James. How to Read Slowly.

Stevenson, Robert Louis. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Two poems to memorize:

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.

Macavity by T. S. Eliot.

But as much as I admire her encouragement and support her challenge, I know that you can lead children to a book, but you can't make them like it (or even read it). Semicolon and her daughter are cut from the same cloth--a perfect fit. And aren't they both fortunate!

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Visual pollution

Most people recognize this kind of pollution

as seen from the north side of our Mill Run UALC campus
but they'll walk right by this disaster sitting in our front yard on the south side of the church.
Let's not put in place environmental solutions that cause more problems at the local, national or global level.

From Petrarch: "It occurred to me to look into my copy of St. Augustine's Confessions. . . where I first fixed my eyes it was written: “And men go abroad to admire the heights of mountains, the mighty waves of the sea, the broad tides of rivers, the compass of the ocean, and the circuits of the stars, yet pass over the mystery of themselves without a thought.” "

From the Brazil [Portuguese] journal Cad Saude Publica Nov-Dec 2002: "Interviewees defined garbage as anything useless and considered it a problem whenever it accumulated in the surroundings producing a bad smell or visual pollution, attracted animals, caused disease in children or adults, or was shifted from the individual to the collective/institutional sphere of action to solve the problem."

Update: One commenter asked if I had picked up the trash I photographed (in the park that adjoins our church property), and the answer is YES! I took a plastic bag with me, and one of those long grab hooks and cleaned up quite a bit that I could reach--I also do that along Kenny Road because people throw things out of cars, and along Turkey Run. I hope someone else will remove the UALC VBS signs at the street intersections on public land. They are a safety hazard.

Oops of the day

When I left the house this morning, I picked up the bag of scooped, smelly kitty litter to deposit in the trash can. But when I opened the car, I still had it with me. Oops.

I was looking at a blog today that had a big clickable photo on the side column entitled: Astrology photo of the Day. That's odd, I thought. I clicked on it and Yes, it was Astronomy photo of the Day. Oops.

Orlando repackages its bakery overages under the word "Oops," and I saw them at Marc's today. Got 6 huge freshly baked sandwich buns for $1.00.

The polls have closed in Indiana, but a judge has ordered them to stay open in the Chicago suburban area of northern Indiana--Obama territory. Oops.

Marc Dann hasn't resigned, that I know of, but the Ohio Dem webpage has removed his name. Oops.

Dinner on the deck

What a gorgeous day! The photo is April 2006, but it looks much the same today. 79 degrees this evening. We had dinner on the deck--roast pork, brown rice with mushrooms and onions, peas, and sugar free chocolate cookies and ice cream. We saw yellow warblers, robins, cardinals, mallards and a hawk. Usually a few bees try to join in, but this evening they were out chasing their own dreams. Our neighbor was planting flowers down by the creek.

I think our nearest tree, a locust that shades the patio and the deck, is about to give up. It's probably about 35 years old, and we can see that about 1/3 is not leafing out this spring. Most of our neighbors have taken theirs out and replanted. But you sure hate to lose a mature tree even one that is messy in the fall. Storms moving in tomorrow--the forecast is for 2-3 inches of rain on Thursday. Well, it was nice while it lasted.

Fixing up the United Nations building

One thing we can do in the United States to improve skylines (visual pollution), meet energy regulations (green goals) and politics (Marxist doublespeak) is knock down the UN building instead of restoring and repairing it. The building (in New York) is aging--it's now about 60 years old--and although in Europe that wouldn't mean much, in the United States, it doesn't meet code. I visited it in 1954 or 55, I think, with a Church of the Brethren youth seminar group. That's back when the youth were going to save the world. Dag Hammarskjold was told he had won election to Secretary-General on April 1st, 1953, and his first reaction was it was an April Fool's joke because he didn't know he was a candidate. It was and still is a joke. But the joke is on us. The organization is worthless and is a hole into which pour money.

Fixing a 60 year old building to bring it up to current standards? Keep in mind by the time you have to pay off all the crooks, the cost overruns should double or triple this figure.

"The contract for construction management was awarded to Skanska USA Building Inc. in October 2007. Under the accelerated strategy, the entire project would be completed within five years, so that construction costs ($195.4 million), as well as the swing space cost estimates, would be reduced. This led ACABQ to recommend on 18 October the approval of the accelerated strategy and the appropriation of $992.8 million for the biennium 2008–2009 budget." UN Chronicle

The US contribution to the UN budget is 22%. "The US budget is determined by Congress after the president makes initial requests. The Bush administration, for example, requested $1.26 billion for mandatory contributions to the UN, UN agencies and other international organizations for the Fiscal Year 2007 (October 1, 2006 to September 30, 2007). Included in this request was $422.7 million for the UN regular budget and $1.13 billion in peacekeeping dues." Fact sheet

Green Continuing Ed

I don't know what you have in your profession, but I must see dozens of this type of continuing ed, workshop, conference, and license points stuff every month addressed to my husband (who doesn't do e-mail). This one is from the US Green Building Council. For a lot of bucks, they'll keep architects, engineers and builders up to the minute, month after month, class upon class, on how to market their company as a greenie.

Go Dann Go!

Ohio's Attorney General is refusing to resign. He says he's rolling up his sleeves, zipping up his pants, and now he's ready to do the work of the people (Democrats ought to ban that phrase from their guide book for political hacks). Ohioans haven't had an impeachment since 1808--200 years. Our guys don't even know how to do it! Wonder what this will cost the taxpayers in lawyer fees? So the Democrats, the guys who wet themselves over former Governor Taft's unreported golf outings, are pulling out all the stops, pressuring him to resign. Things are so murky in the OAG's office that they definitely don't want a public trial bringing up all the dirt. Short of calling in the Clintons to knee-cap him, I don't know what else they can do.

Go Dann Go
by Norma Bruce

You're so defiant
You're not compliant
with standards and oaths
You're such an oaf
Go Dann Go!

You're ready to joust
Strickland wants to oust
from his party with pleas
and he's won't say please
Go Dann Go!

From 1808
to 2008
and now we've got Dann
who's everygirl's man.
Go Dann Go!

My Bob Taft poem

Book Club selections for 2008-2009

Last night our book club (now in its 26th year) met to discuss "Inside the Kingdom; my life in Saudi Arabia" by Carmen bin Ladin (Warner Books, 2004). Several of our members have been missionaries or have traveled extensively, so we had an interesting fashion show and delicious treats to reflect the theme.

We voted to start our meetings at 7 p.m. to get us home a little earlier (a quarter of a century ago most members were still putting children to bed), and at least for January and February, 2009, the meeting will be in a church lounge just to see if we like that, and if it will help in finding locations in the dark and snow! Changing the day of the month and from evening to afternoon didn't fly. All meetings are the first Monday, except September and January, when they are second Monday.

We also selected our titles for 2008-2009. A very strong field of 15 titles was voted on and the winners are:

September: Faith Club--3 women talk about their faith, what they learn about themselves and each other, non-fiction

October: The shack by William P. Young. This is an allegory, and we were warned that this book is so good, "You will read this, even if you don't read it now."

November: The Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi. A Sudanese woman, formerly an emigre to the Netherlands, now living in the U.S. "A good follow-up on lives of Muslim women to the bin Ladin book," said a member.

December: Once upon a town by Bob Green. A story about the little town of North Platte, Nebraska, that fed 6 million GIs during WWII. Easy to read for a busy month.

January: Educating Alice by Alice Steinbach. Reporter for Baltimore Sun talks about what she learns on assignments. Travel and diary.

February: Blood of the Prodigal by P. Gaus. Our mystery genre reader recommends a mystery about the old order Amish by an Ohio author. She said it isn't the strongest in the series, but it's the first and that's a good place to start.

March: Shaping of a life by Phyllis Tickle. Devotional material especially for women--growth and transformation. Some heard her at the Faith writers conference.

April: Two old women by Velma Wallis. Story of two Alaskan Athabascan women left behind so the rest of the tribe could survive. But they don't die. . .

May: Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. This will be our "classic" for the year--or a 2-fer, because some times we read a children's book. Two members actually recommended this. May is the meeting where we will select the next year's titles, and we'll meet at my place with Marcy being co-hostess. I'll add the other locations when I update.

We also had some terrific titles recommended that didn't make the cut, but I'll add them so you know your colleagues have found them enjoyable.

Three cups of tea, non-fiction; King Leopold's ghost, history; Gilead, contemplative; 90 minutes to heaven, autobiography; To kill a mockingbird, classic; Autobiography of Henry VIII, really fat novel.

How your body works

This is fun, animated and informative. "Getting Older"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23958246/

Subtle deficits in memory begin in the 40s; nerve clls for hearing don't regenerate; body fat doubles between 25 and 75. . . fun stuff.

Derek Jeter is boring

he says in an interview for Players Club magazine, my newest premiere issue featured at my hobby bloggy In the Beginning. He stays home and watches movies, and he'd like to get married and start a family. You may never read this article--it's a niche publication--intended only for athletes. Also, the magazine will have a shorter than usual life span. Lenny Dykstra, the founder of the magazine intended to help athletes with their wealth, is suing and being sued by his publisher, Doubledown Media.

Mandates driving up health insurance costs

As a state senator in Illinois, Barack Obama "voted to require that dental anesthesia be covered by every health plan for difficult medical cases. Today, the requirement is one of 43 mandates imposed by Illinois on health insurance, according to the Illinois Division of Insurance. Other mandates require coverage of infertility treatments, drug rehab, "personal injuries" incurred while intoxicated, and other forms of care.

By my count, during Mr. Obama's tenure in the state Senate, 18 different laws came up for a vote and passed that imposed new mandates on private health insurance. Mr. Obama voted for all of them." “Obama's Health Care Record” By Scott Gottlieb

Some bloggers

really have the touch. I was glancing through "Stuff White People Like," or something like that, and found some really interesting. . . stuff. Like 200-500 commenters on posts that don't say much, but are well written. I have no idea who writes it--white, black or brown, team or individual, male, female or transitioned, employed, on-the-dole or retired, rural, ex-pat or urban. The posts I read where intelligent, witty, observant, well constructed and illustrated. Whoever does it has a good eye, sharp wit, and writing skills that should demand a good salary. The website, however, can't handle traffic. I went upstairs, sorted the laundry, then went to the basement and loaded the washing machine; I fiddled with the dial on the radio to get Rush; reheated my coffee; made some notes on paper; all while waiting for the "about" page to load. No thanks. That's why I'm not linking.

Spring 2008 at Lakeside

Lakeside was a hopping place this past week-end--must have been a lot of boards and committees meeting, despite the heavy rains. We bought gas in Bucyrus at $3.46, compared to $3.65 in Columbus, and I picked up my Saturday coffee on the way in saving a 15 mile round trip and $.50 on the coffee. But our best way to make up for the higher cost of this trip over Spring 2007 was enjoying our first dinner at Evelyn's, spending about $14 less than our usual Friday night date in Columbus. That's the new name of the Abigail Tea Room, a Lakeside gathering place for over 50 years. Apparently everyone else had the same idea, because by 6 p.m. on Friday there was a line standing on the porch waiting to get in. What fabulous food! We started the season with perch sandwiches, not unusual for a restaurant on Lake Erie, but there were many wonderful items. We particularly enjoyed the warm, fresh baked potato chips, and the salads with crisp fresh ingredients, and the freshly baked, warm bread and rolls. Yes, the prices are a bit higher, but everything was so fresh and delicious. The new owners are Mary Martin and Peg Walsh, and if I heard the story correctly, they fell in love with Lakeside on their first visit, and Abigail's had just gone up for sale. According to their flyer, their mom, mother of 10, was a terrific cook, so some of the items I'm guessing reflect that love and interest. The adjoined cottages that make up the restaurant will remain this season, but I believe there are plans to separate them, using the one on the north as a residence, and rebuilding the other for the restaurant.

Other changes I noticed: the house across the street from Evelyn's, which I think used to be called Knight's Rest or something like that, is now a shrimp/coral color instead of white. I see there is an efficiency for rent for $395 a week. Couldn't read the price on the larger apartment. I think it is owner occupied, with two rental spaces. There was no shortage of cottages being fixed up. Jan's on Oak Avenue and Second is finally almost finished (huge problems with her first contractor), but painted a surprise robin egg blue--at least a surprise to my husband (her architect) who had selected a very different color scheme.

I stopped on Second to say Hello to Marilyn at her new location for Marilyn's Too. Last year she lost her lease, and had combined her two stores. This one has sweaters and carpets, some angels, Christian gifts, stationery. I stepped over the carpenter tools and new front door and took a peek inside. This shop is next door to Coffee and Cream.

And Third Street will certainly be more pleasant now that the couple who own Toys on Third and Home on Third have purchased the huge lodging at the corner of Third and Maple that had all the porches closed in to create more rooms, and it looked like an ugly box filled with old couches. It is being beautifully restored working from old photographs.

The Greening of the Rich

Andie MacDowell (movie star, 50) is taking a page from the home and gardening handbook of Al Gore and John Edwards, trading her 2.5 acre lot in the Blue Ridge Mountains (354 homesites) for one 3.5 acres. This way she can have a pasture and barn and more sq. ft. than she can possibly use. Of course, it wouldn't be Hollywood if it weren't eco-friendly. . . with riding trails and a golf course designed by Arnold Palmer. Seen at "Private Properties" in WSJ, but is also at Ecorazzi which seems to track this behavior by celebrities.

My great grandfather used to own land in the Smokies area (Dandridge), but sold it for a chance to make a living for his large family in Illinois. Back then (very early 20th century) it was just a hard scrabble living trying to farm on the sides of mountains. The story I was told, which might be apocryphal, was that he knew someone in Texas and someone in Illinois, but the train to Illinois came first.

The browning of green

"Kyoto has emerged as the single biggest threat to the global environment. Thanks to Kyoto, we are seeing a revival of megadams that threaten to destroy many of the world’s remaining river valleys, we are seeing a renaissance of nuclear power, which remains a costly and dangerous technology, we are seeing our foodlands turned into fuel lands, and people in the Third World rioting because they can’t afford the doubling of grain prices that has resulted."

Many scientists "who didn’t toe the government line lost their funding, were drummed out of their jobs, found it impossible to publish in crucial journals, discovered that they were pariahs in their academic departments, or were exposed to furious criticism in the press of a sort most research scientists will never encounter, including being compared to Holocaust Deniers by quite mainstream-media figures like Scott Pelley of 60 Minutes. That is certainly quite enough persecution to have a chilling effect on debate." Read the rest of the interview with the author of The Deniers.

Ohio's Attorney General is

Disgusting! His behavior, his apology, and his refusal to resign! This guy is unbelievable--or worse--maybe he's too believable. He's a man of the day--the rules are for everyone else, but not him, especially politicians. Marc Dann, it's time to get out of Dodge and let our former-pastor-Governor who ran on Christian values 2006, appoint someone who knows what an oath and vow mean, to say nothing of the laws about sex with your staff.

Is it only the Republican gay public servants who are held accountable? This is a heck of a lot more serious than text messaging house pages or a wide stance in the men's rest room! His office is described as a regular "animal house" by state employees.

Dispatch editorial: Scram Dann