Energy bandits and energy boosters

When I first glanced through Laura Stack's "The Exhaustion Cure" on the new book shelf at UAPL, I thought it was just another exercise book, then I read a few items, and thought it was just common sense writ large, but now that I've taken a closer look (it sat on a chair for a few days), I see she's a gal after my own heart--she's just fascinated with how we all use our time. She's made it her career; I never wanted to be that busy.

Now, I never allow myself to get as busy as some of the folks she writes to and about, but I've often observed here and in my real life, that all the verbs we use with time we use with money--we spend it, save it, invest it, squander it and cherish it. And because I'm retired and have virtually complete control over my time, I'm a millionaire--or because of inflation, a billionaire. That's not to say I haven't made some poor investments in the past 8 years. Next to religion, politics, or sports, almost nothing will start an argument quicker than a reference to how I use my time. If I mention that I'm not busy, either people look at me like I arrived from another planet, or that I've just said something against the American flag.

I really like the "energy bandits" concept--a pithy description of the time waster, routine or person who's sapping the life out of you. It's fairly easy for me to avoid those people who just drain all the joy from life, but I remember, I remember. However, she has some excellent things to say about computer use that can benefit how I use my time. She also has a blog that I think I'll add to my links.

If you've ever participated in a 12-step program for alcoholism, co-dependency, weight loss, etc. you'll recognize most of the points in Chapten Ten on Attitude--specifically "Stinking thinking." Stop negative thoughts in their tracks; stop worrying; the damage done by anger; dealing with emotions. Good stuff. Good reminders.

Obama's brand of Marxism

Kinder and gentler, or just as venal? Gerald Horne, in a maudlin, almost breathless self-congratulatory speech (you can almost hear the champagne corks a popping) about how wonderful it was that the Communist Party of the USA archives were now married to New York University, a speech in which he refers to the Soviet Union (which stole the property of and then killed or imprisoned millions and millions of Ukrainians, East Europeans, Russians and Asians) as "a supposed 'Evil Empire'," that the U.S. has had an infestation of anti-Sovietism, and William Safire was a hack journalist (must have been anti-CPUSA), concluding with all sorts of future predictions which will prove what wonderful folks the defeated communists were, includes a fond recollection of our future president and his communist mentor, known as "Frank" in his memoir.

When these sources are explored, I think scholars of the future will be struck by, for example, the response in Honolulu when tens of thousands of workers went on strike when labor and CP leaders were convicted of Smith Act violations in 1953 – a response totally unlike the response on the mainland. Of course 98% of these workers were of Asian-Pacific ancestry, which suggests that scholars have also been derelict in analyzing why these workers were less anti-communist than their Euro-American counterparts. In any case, deploring these convictions in Hawaii was an African-American poet and journalist by the name of Frank Marshall Davis, who was certainly in the orbit of the CP – if not a member – and who was born in Kansas and spent a good deal of his adult life in Chicago, before decamping to Honolulu in 1948 at the suggestion of his good friend Paul Robeson. Eventually, he befriended another family – a Euro-American family – that had migrated to Honolulu from Kansas and a young woman from this family eventually had a child with a young student from Kenya East Africa who goes by the name of Barack Obama, who retracing the steps of Davis eventually decamped to Chicago. In his best selling memoir ‘Dreams of my Father’, the author speaks warmly of an older black poet, he identifies simply as "Frank" as being a decisive influence in helping him to find his present identity as an African-American, a people who have been the least anticommunist and the most left-leaning of any constituency in this nation – though you would never know it from reading so-called left journals of opinion. At some point in the future, a teacher will add to her syllabus Barack’s memoir and instruct her students to read it alongside Frank Marshall Davis’ equally affecting memoir, "Living the Blues" and when that day comes, I’m sure a future student will not only examine critically the Frankenstein monsters that US imperialism created in order to subdue Communist parties but will also be moved to come to this historic and wonderful archive in order to gain insight on what has befallen this complex and intriguing planet on which we reside.

One mentor does not a Marxist make. But add all the others filling the empty Obama suit--a brief review on how they've all worked together to get him where he is, Cornel West, William Ayers, Charles Ogletree, Frank Davis, Saul Alinsky, Laurence Tribe, Tony Rezko, Cass Sunstein, Rashid Khalidi, and others. Didn't your mother tell you that you'd be known by the company you kept, to pick your friends carefully?

"When I visited Obama's church, still under the directorship of Jeremiah Wright, I came away with far more questions than answers, and one thing leading to another, have spent the last several months trying to fathom how Marxist political philosophy wound up emblazoned with a cross and a pulpit, and pretending to rely on the Bible for its authority.

It is somewhat difficult to imagine a more contorted blasphemy, with the single possible exception of Hitler himself claiming to be acting by divine decree in the interests of Christianity. Which is precisely what Hitler did do, while hoodwinking the German people into electing him Chancellor."

. . . "Understanding that black liberation theology is Marxism dressed up to look like Christianity helps explain why there is no conflict between Cone's "Christianity" and Farrakhan's "Nation of Islam." They are two prophets in the same philosophical (Marxist) pod, merely using different religions as backdrops for their black-power aims."Obama, Black Liberation Theology, and Karl Marx

And just old fashion Chicago corruption: "Mr. Obama has yet to answer a lot of questions about his relationship with Mr. Rezko or his business partner, Iraqi-British billionaire Nadhmi Auchi. He claims the Rezko case simply highlights the need for more campaign finance reform laws. Yesterday, he issued a statement adding that the man convicted in a Chicago courtroom "isn't the Tony Rezko I knew." Hmmm... But Mr. Obama knew him as a close friend and ally for over 20 years as Mr. Rezko rose to become Illinois's top political fixer. Exactly which Tony Rezko did Mr. Obama know?" John Fund.

More campaign reform? You mean like McCain's? What about personal responsibility? 20 years, and he didn't know Rev. Wright. 20 years, and he didn't know Father Foolagain. 20 years and he didn't know Tony Rezko. His friends and supporters better be wearing ID badges so he can recognize them.

It was you and me who put America's first Marxist in the White House

As I caught Obama's reference to his second term, even before he's been elected, and heard the cheers from his fans, I wondered what the USA would be like after 8 years of Obama and his leftist backers. First, he'll run for a 3rd and then 4th term, either through his wife, or by undoing the Constitutional amendment by packing the court with revisionist judges; he'll kill talk radio for sure--Oh they hate it that people can get a view other than the government sponsored media; I think home schooling will be outlawed (regulated out of existence)--can't have anyone doing better than government's children--it's not fair to children who have parents who aren't committed to education (government officials' children will still be allowed to attend snooty private schools); although the blogosphere is already controlled by the leftists, I think he'll institute a special license and requirement for people to use the internet, and anyone without his administration's approval will find their applications not meeting the standard; I don't own a gun, but in 8 years, neither will anyone else except criminals and government officials; we'll not only have abortion legal, as we do now, but encouraged by edict and peer pressure; churches won't be allowed to speak about sexual morality or the sanctity of marriage--it will be a hate crime like in Canada and Europe; our military will be so weak as to be non-existent--not just underfunded, but who from America's solid, middle class families want a Marxist as their commander in chief; rich greenies like John Edwards and Al Gore will be allowed to keep their huge homes and SUVs and private planes, but the rest of us will all need to sacrifice, probably freezing in the longer winters we'll be experiencing; to keep the weakened Americans happy, Obama will work with Hollywood to be sure we get at least 8 hours a day of "reality celebrity TV," sort of American Idol on speed--the other 16 hours will be sports; the constitution will be so shredded and our lower courts so packed with raving loonies, it probably won't make much difference if something gets to the highest court in the land; and the founding fathers and mothers of this country--even our own parents and grandparents--will be rolling over in their graves, hoping the resurrection comes soon, because we sure made a mess of things.

Now, I'm saying WE, because you supported him and I did nothing to stop him. Same difference.

A hot job

Returning from the coffee shop this morning, I found this couple scraping paint at the Maxwell Bed and Breakfast on Walnut. I think this house is about 125 years old, and it's always fun to see the folks chatting on the porch enjoying their morning coffee and new friends. It's across the street from the auditorium, so they can sit on the porch and enjoy the music if they don't want to walk across the street.

The ladder didn't quite reach the overhang, so he was scraping with his arms above his head and his head down while she held the ladder. Hope they make it!

The most precious new house in Lakeside

Not quite finished, but it is a winner. Across the street from a woods, this house is 23'4" wide. Our lots are narrow, and they have set-back and coverage requirements. The overhangs take 16" and that has to be included in the coverage as well as deck and patio and driveway. Each lot has to have space for 2 cars. Quite a challenge! But my husband was up for it--and this brought him out of retirement. He fell in love with Lakeside in 1974, and wants it to keep its beauty and nostalgic feel. Every house he's done here has been a different style, and the ones he's remodeled have been made more handsome than they ever had been in their ugly, pimply youth, having been through a variety of makeovers in the 1930s-1960s from jalousie windows to aluminum siding to picture windows overwhelming the size.




I've been through it, and the floor plan is fabulous with a first floor master + bath, laundry room and pantry storage, living and dining room oriented to the woodsy view, fireplace, front porch for chatting with the neighbors, full basement, 3 bedrooms, bath and loft up stairs. Lots of light in every room. I want it!

The list grows

of what you can't ask Obama. Not his friends. Not his father. Not his faith. Not his drug use. Not his inexperience. Not his non-votes. Not his non-bills. Not his ties with 60s terrorists. Not his knowledge of history or geography. Now you can't ask about rumors of a tape of his wife getting down and dirty about what she really thinks of whites. Actually, I read about this tape (or DVD) at a Hillary supporter page. It may be a rumor, or a hope, put out by the Hillary people, or it may be what she is using to nail him to get the VP spot. If the tape exists, someone else probably has a copy. It was quite complete, and not particularly outlandish, given what she has said on the campaign trail, and what she's been hearing at the church she's been attending (and she apparently listened). It was only up a few notches in tone, hostility and shrillness. If it's out there, the Clintons have it, and know how to use it.

"Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday batted down rumors circulating on the Internet and mentioned on some cable news shows of the existence of a video of his wife using a derogatory term for white people, and criticized a reporter for asking him about the rumor, which has not a shred of evidence to support it."

Can we ask him about plagiarism? Today Rush played one of his famous "montages" of Cuomo giving a 1984 speech with inserts from Obama's speech (I assume it's the most recent one). Cadence, words, rhythm, theme--it was amazing. But Cuomo said it better.

New Kids on the Block at Lakeside

We've got some new homes in our Lakeside neighborhood. Right outside the gates we've been watching this one go up on Erie Beach Road. The taxes are lower and the code less strict. It's a big one! I'm not sure what the percent of coverage rule is on that street, but this is a house that couldn't have been built inside the gates.




This one is on our street. It's sort of a similar style, but is much smaller. I think it was built on the back end of a lot of a house on the next street. I'm not sure but I think it was a spec house and has already been sold. Our lots have funny shapes, and are quite small. It's sort of a retro-camp style cottage from the early 20th century. But that's not a porch on the lower level--it's a great room. Generally, people around here want porches, but I guess they went for living space. Many of the cottages my husband has redesigned involved restoring the porch that had been filled in. This one appears to have been designed new to look like it has a filled in porch.

The Methodists are Coming to Lakeside!

As they have for over 100 years. Two different Ohio groups will be meeting at Lakeside during the next two weeks--thousands of Methodists. Just imagine! I hope they have a wonderful session. Praising the Lord, greeting old friends, and not getting too frisky with the Gospel.

Regrowth, redevelopment, renewal and rezoning

Yes, even wealthy suburbs like Upper Arlington have a problem with their tax base. We can't grow; our founding families made some bad decisions about tax base 80 years ago, and we're paying now. So, a developer comes along, the council sees an opportunity "for the common good" (more real estate taxes, more business, more residents, etc.) and poof, there goes our right to private property. It won't impact my property, but why should the abutting property owners of this newly rezoned commercial property have to take the fall for the rest of us? In 20 years, will there be another 5 homeowners as the Kingsdale Shopping area creeps northward? And what has the Council done that's so terrific with Kingsdale in "redevelopment"? It's already zoned commercial and it's half empty. Plus that horrid "mixed use" condo is (slowly, slowly) being built across the street which knocked down 1950s era 4-family apartments that were at least in scale for the neighborhood.

I've been seeing these little homemade signs in the yards of Tremont Road residents for months, but didn't really know what was going on. Unfortunately, all I did was stop by the city building and read a few documents. I didn't really inform myself; didn't blog about it; didn't contact any UA City Council members.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Well, the Council passed it. They would have passed it anyway, even with my objection (hundreds were at the meeting), but it's the local level where democracy really starts. By the time these guys get to the statehouse in Columbus or Washington, they've got dollar sign stars in their eyes and plugs in their ears.

There's one more chance to change this. According to City Insight (city publication) affected neighbors have begun the process for seeking a referendum on this issue. If successful, we'll be asked to vote on the rezoning in November, along with another group who are anxious to take a number of our basic rights.

Democrats for Life of America

has its heart, morals and mouth in the right place--on the side of the weakest and most vulnerable Americans--the unborn babies. I wouldn't call their web page packed with information, but there are a lot more stories there, and congresspeople at the federal and state level, than you might expect. Go check it out.

The Virginia Senate voted to end state funding of abortion largely due to a courageous pro-life democrat who stood by his commitment to protect the unborn. The House previously passed a similar Amendment. Senator Charles Colgan cast the key vote on the Cuccinelli Amendment that would end funding to Planned Parenthood of Virginia which performs abortions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In the Democratic controlled Senate, Colgan’s vote led to a 20 to 20 tie. The Lieutenant Governor ultimately cast the tie-breaking vote that led to the Amendment's passage.

If you're a Democrat casting your hard earned pearls before swine like ACORN, Planned Parenthood or Moveon, these guys can make your money go a lot further, plus they may actually save a few Democrats!

Buy real food

It's still a good deal. Today I had to stop at the grocery store, and you know how it goes--you buy a bit more than you thought. I just panic if I'm out of apples. I eat an apple every day. I spent $10.93. Large green bell pepper; 1 quart of milk; 6 Braeburn apples; 3 medium size bananas; 8 oz. cheese; large head of broccoli. Is it higher than last year? Oh, yes! But it's cheaper than a large bag of potato chips, a 6 pack of soft drinks, and a sack of cookies or do-nuts.

Baby Boomer Blinders

A favorite campaign phrase: "The stakes have never been higher!"

I am running because I still believe I can win on the merits. Because, with our economy in crisis, our nation at war, the stakes have never been higher - and the need for real leadership has never been greater - and I believe I can provide that leadership." Hillary Clinton [although she's not the only pundit with this line]

Did these people not finish high school? Don't they remember the Carter years? We had interest rates hovering at 20%--or was that the unemployment rate? Don't they remember the 1970s, how we ran out on our Vietnamese allies? Or what about the Great Depression--surely they learned something about that in school--that FDR* managed to stretch it out for a decade? What about 1944--when our country was completely demoralized and we thought we were losing the war? What about in the late 1930s and early 1940s when our major news media ignored what was happening to the European Jews, hardly our finest hour, or the 1990s when our government ignored averted its eyes to what was happening in Rwanda? What about when the American inner cities were burning in the 1960s? What about 2004 when all we heard from John Kerry was the economy is tanking, and then within a week of losing the election, all of a sudden there was only good economic news? Have they ever heard of the Civil War? Was nothing at stake during the Lincoln Douglas debates? How about 1776 when George Washington and his rag tag troops were virtually defeated by a superior army? Baby boomer blinders.

Here's the news I've been hearing this past week--stock market was up, we're winning the war, unemployment claims are down, and housing purchases are up. Yes, you do have to read the 11th paragraph instead of the first two in the newspaper articles, and switch off cute perky newsbabes. Yes, it's bad news that Ford is moving some plants to Mexico--but that's a result of a business decision--the CEOs are responsible to the shareholders, not the people of Ohio. When people assume the Democrats will be in power, they know the next move will be to raise taxes, and they have to act quickly. Unions are already killing us in Ohio and Michigan--the Democrats' new taxes will just be the final blow to our economy.

As far as I know, the U.S. border news is still yucky, but I doubt that either Obama or McCain will even mention that one or debate it, since both support amnesty for illegal workers and their extended families.

*"So it's worth remembering that, 75 years ago today, President Franklin D. Roosevelt destroyed an inflation hedge that was literally as good as gold: the so-called "gold clause." This helped prolong the Depression and has been causing damage ever since." Amy Shlaes

Two views on Lieberman-Warner Act

Same magazine, two viewpoints, both from conservatives:

"There's nothing good to be said about the disingenuously named Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008. A better name would be the Let's Destroy the Economy by Turning it Over to Left-Geek Bureaucrats in 2008 Act." Larry Thornberry

First, a carbon tax brings out nuclear's strength -- no carbon content. . . Second, putting a cost on emissions offers the opportunity to call environmentalists' bluff on nuclear. William Tucker

Taking the Fifth

William Nordhaus, an economics professor at Yale has written "The Challenge of Global Warming: Economic Models and Environmental Policy." Before you get too excited about it, keep in mind he'll keep revising it until he gets it right. This is the 5th model.

"It represents the fifth major version of modeling efforts, with earlier versions developed in the periods 1974-1979, 1980-82, 1990-1994, and 1997-2000. Many of the equations and details have changed over the different generations, but the basic modeling philosophy remains unchanged: to incorporate the latest economic and scientific knowledge and to capture the major elements of the economics of climate change in as simple and transparent a fashion as is possible." p. 6

This current model needs at least half of the countries of the world to participate in the carbon tax program for an abatement cost penalty of 250 percent--so those of us who are going to tax carbon will be paying for those who aren't. Has a familiar ring to it doesn't it? To achieve a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 (the Al Gore goal), the tax bill for the U.S. economy would be $1,200 billion.

If I've ever seen a license to steal while polluting the carbon exchange tax is it. And I've never been able to figure out just who gets this tax--I mean after the wealthy Scandinavians who control it take their profit. Or do they get to keep all of it? I think it will be like Ohio's tobacco settlement, which recently went up in smoke. Wasn't it suppose to go for health care or something related to the damage cigarettes have caused. I remember when some of the librarians at OSU were given this stuff like play money! The legislators are just too sticky fingered to be safe around large puddles of uncommitted money.

"Trading emissions permits is one of the great innovations in environmental policy. The advantage of allowing trade is that some firms can reduce emissions more economically than others. If a firm has extremely high costs of reducing emissions, it is more efficient for that firm to purchase permits from firms whose emissions reductions can be made more inexpensively. This system has been widely used for environmental permits, and is currently in use for CO2 in the European Union (EU). As of summer 2007, permits in the EU were selling for about €20 per ton of CO2, the equivalent of about $100 per ton of carbon." p. 21

And for Ohioans? He's really, really negative about coal. Good-bye Ohio jobs. I think you can be quite sure none of this carbon tax money will go toward developing technology for clean-burning coal. Oh no. Send those jobs to China let them be done in their dirty coal fired plants so we can buy the stuff back (like "energy lite" bulbs). Although all Ohio's economic grief is good news for Democrats, because whenever they take away jobs through strikes or regulating the little guy out of business, or raising taxes, for some reason those poor dopes just beg for more and fall right in line and vote for more Democrats. Look at Cleveland--true Democrats all the way. It really is baffling.

So who pays the most? Well, the poor of course. That's who always pays with the schemes of the liberals to "improve" the world. They lose their homes in the name of urban renewal; they have to scramble for scarce housing so they can live in homes with no lead paint or asbestos; their children get to sit for hours on a bus so the children of legislators and government workers can go to private school (that's the rich's version of school choice) and spend their free time playing; they get to eat cheap processed food high in salt, fat and sugar so Obama Mamas can drive to the organic farm market in hybrid cars. Rich legislators don't put wind farms in their view; or nuclear plants in their back yard! And if the poor or retired live in rural areas--it's a dear price to pay to drive to Wal-Mart (if the liberals allowed one to be built) at over $4 a gallon, especially if they believed the Democrats pipe dream in 2006 that they would take care of them; and they are driving past fields of corn growing for the rich man's hybrid. Didn't you hear Obama's speech last night? NOW that you've finally selected a wealthy, biracial, inexperienced community organizer to be your president, we'll have health care for the poor! Well, golly miss molly, what in the world is this break-the-bank, Medicaid, SCHIP and Medicare we've been paying for?

I guess he's too young to remember the War on Poverty. Aren't we still paying the bill for that one?

Those who flunk

Flunk isn't a word used in education circles these days. Now it is "persistence," or "retention" or "challenges to academic success." Whatever. A high school teacher told me that she had failed two seniors and six juniors in her science course this year, a record. She might fail 2 or 3 a year, but never 8. I asked her to what she attributed the difference. She first explained that in addition to the usual classroom work, the students have 1) her home phone number and they are asked to use it if they need help, 2) a work packet of additional assignments everyone is expected to complete, and 3) special small group study sessions anyone can attend, but it's not required. The two seniors did nothing of the work packet, and if they'd even made an effort they would have had a passing grade, and they attended none of the small group study sessions which would have helped if they were struggling, and they never called her. They skipped a few classes, but mainly they were skipping English--just coasting their senior year, having a good time.

"So, they won't graduate?" I asked.
"Oh no, they had enough credits--didn't even need another science. It was encouraged so that the school curriculum would look more rigorous. But it does lower their GPA."

Ah, youth, maybe it really is wasted on the young.

A true Democrat to the bitter end

Amy Chozick is a WSJ reporter who was assigned to the Clinton campaign--from the time when the press traveled in luxury accomodations and ate from beautifully prepared party trays, down to the end when they took over the men's restroom as the media room and ate plastic wrapped sandwiches. But I thought her final paragraph on the fate of Hillary's staffers was quite telling.

"Shortly before the Oregon and Kentucky primaries on May 20, one (Clinton staffer) told me he hoped he would get fired so he could collect unemployment."

This is a no brainer

"Chris Korleski, director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will kick off the summer Stone Laboratory Guest Lecture Series on Thursday (6/12) with “Global Warming: Science or Religion." All lectures are from 7:45-9 p.m. at Stone Lab, located at Gibraltar Island in Lake Erie. Members of the public are welcome and can take the Put-in-Bay water taxi from the Boardwalk Restaurant dock at 7:15 p.m. before each lecture. A short tour of Gibraltar Island will be provided."

It's a religion. Pantheism. The modern feminist movement oozed out of the mists of the past along with Earth Day almost 40 years ago. It was a happy marriage of every crazy and off beat pagan religion from Europe's past, including the ones that contributed their rituals to the church observances. Western Europe was already bored with Christianity, and Americans followed suite. Feminists have so infected Christian seminaries, the few males left are so weak and brainwashed, you can hardly find a male pronoun in the liturgy, and God forbid anyone should say God the Father and God the Son.

However, there is so much money invested in this new-but-old religion, with Al Gore at the top of the inconvenient truth heap, and the folks in Europe who control the carbon exchanges, for even those who know it's a scam to ever back down. Every weather blip up or down, dry or wet, windy or calm, is being blamed on global warming. Christians who've entertained themselves with The DaVinci Code and Harry Potter, who think nothing of relaxing hour after hour with mindless or violent TV (it isn't called American idol for nothing), who were taught in school that the Bible is full of contradictions, that all religions are pretty much alike and "it's just your interpretation," well, they're in no condition to even recognize a religion when one marches into the living room, changes the light bulbs and demands obedience and obeisance.

New Notebook Time

When we were having coffee yesterday, AZ asked me about my new pink notebook. I wasn't finished with the brown Cafe Latte one--it had maybe 4-5 blank pages and usually I go right to the end and around the corner and onto the back cover, but the more I thought about it, the better it sounded to start a new month with a new notebook. I got this cheerful, happy notebook at Barnes and Noble for $4.95--the paper is pink and narrow lined, very unusual for a notebook this size. Here's what I didn't blog about in May.

1. Girls' disadvantage in career choices because they skip physics in high school.
2. How to improve the Columbus schools (based on a Columbus school teacher's opinion).
3. Virginia's response to 6 tornadoes.
4. Five hot business books authored by big idea people. None by women.
5. Boston Legal on Save our Shows list. Only conservative character on the show has dementia. Maybe they should write to a larger audience?
6. Where the 2001 rebates went: 64.1% went to the movies!
7. It costs $9 a pack to smoke legally in NYC.
8. Experienced crew manager at McDonald's list of benefits includes a car and paid education. Can add $100,000 to annual sales if good.
9. Only 10% of America's multi-millionaires inherited their wealth.
10. The model in the Aetna full page ad looks like she could die next week of an eating disorder.
11. Turkey chickpea chili--on the menu at Panera's. Yuk.
12. The problems of biking to work.
13. Gov't subsidized housing in Columbus.
14. Everything I learned I got in Vacation Bible School.
15. L. Gordon Cravitz on web 2.0
16. Those who identifiy themselves as conservative are more likely to be happy, to attend worship, to marry and have children.
17. "Kids are using their technological advantage to immerse themselves in a trivial, solipsistic distracting on line world at the expense of more enriching activities--like opening a book or writing a complete sentence." David Robinson.
18. Prescription drug use (not misuse) grows and the media sees this as a cause to worry.
19. Car pooling and bus ridership up in Columbus.
20. Bad advice from Dear Abby on who should learn to cook.
21. "Keep the immigrants; deport the multiculturalists."
22. Al-John McGore. It's really tough to support McCain.
23. Testosterone in the news (list of all the brief newsstories, usually in the Metro section) about men stabbing, shooting, looting, drinking, snorting and driving into or over each other. Includes occasional pedophile teacher.
24. Why conservatives don't like McCain. He's not conservative.
25. Picture a little boy in a row boat going out to sea to charge a naval fleet with a Soro's logo on his briefs.
26. Brian McLaren and the emergent church.
27. Signs of human life on Mars; they can't find it in the womb so they go into space.
28. Seen at the coffee shop. Men in expensive suits; women in anything they pull on in the morning. Could there be a glass ceiling in the closet? It's pathetic that a retired librarian is dressed better than 50% of the women going off to work.
29. WSJ, which has always had mostly liberal news stories, is now cluttering the opinion page with liberal columnists.
30. 45% of women 25-34 have college degrees compared to 36% of the men.

The oil shortage

I filled up this morning for $3.89 a gallon, and locally, that's about the best you can do (Speedway Mill Run). Then I opened my e-mail, and Murray, a friend from high school, explained it to me. There are actually three people from my high school (the town no longer has a high school) who have huge e-mail routes--they probably have more readers than I do!

A lot of folks can't understand how we came to have an oil shortage here in our country. Well, there's a very simple answer.

Nobody bothered to check the oil. We just didn't know we were getting low. The reason for that is purely geographical.
~~~
Our OIL is located in

ALASKA
~~~
California
~~~
Coastal Florida
~~~
Coastal Louisiana
~~~
Kansas
~~~
Oklahoma
~~~
Pennsylvania
~~~
and Texas
~~~
Our DIPSTICKS are located in Washington, DC!

It's not brain surgery

why Ted Kennedy didn't go to Canada or Cuba to have his tumor removed--or even to a Boston hospital or a European hospital. No, he went to Dr. Allan Friedman at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina. In 2000 and 2004 NC was solidly behind Bush; the Democrats are working hard to get her into the caretaker mindset right now. I don't know why Dr. Friedman is at Duke and not at some famous northeastern hospital in a Democratic state, or even Chicago where he was born and went to medical school, but let me guess; lower real estate taxes, lower state income taxes, lower luxury housing costs, lower crime rates, stronger ethical and moral values among the populace and the ability to lure the best talent there to assist him, despite the liberal administration and faculty at Duke. And who knows, there might even be some evil capitalist money (tobacco?) funding that tumor center. The 3.5 hour surgery has been declared a success and it will be followed up by chemo and radiation, which will probably be done closer to home.

The irony is that under socialized medicine only a wealthy government official, son and grandson of inherited, ill-gotten wealth would be able to afford such care. Even at the height of the power of Stalin and Mao, the party officials always had the best.* But more importantly, with socialized medicine, a doctor of Friedman's skill and talent, wouldn't even have been trained in the United States.

Democrats want their families to benefit from our health system (and "system" is not a good word for it), but they don't want you and me to have those benefits. They want us to wait in line for our turn, to have our health needs decided by a committee, and then be assigned to whatever hospital needs the work whether they've done 10 surgeries or 1000. It would make no difference if you elect Binky Obama or Hillary Rottie Clinton, all competition and excellence must be eradicated; everything must be dumbed down to be fair to the newest, non-citizen who doesn't speak English and the homeless guy who couldn't give up the bottle, and the exotic dancer who cried rape. Rev. Wright and Father Pfleger have already explained to you that if you're white you're a piece of trash. And let's hope that the equipment that will save your life doesn't have a petroleum base because then. . . well, sorry, that's been capped along with your life span by Lieberman-Warner.

*One of the ways I put food on the table as a grad student was translating a Russian medical newspaper, Medisinskii Rabotnik. The ordinary folks got a fel'dsher, usually female and poorly trained, not a doctor.