McCain's houses

McCain has more houses than I realized, but I'm not surprised. Many wealthy people have multiple homes as investments, particularly in the 21st century. Mortgage gaming is one of the ways, perfectly legal, we got into our latest financial slide. I think he and Cindy only use three, and the others are rented or used by family. And who knows what their pre-nup said; perhaps she and not he is the owner, and that's why he waffled? She's the rich one. Seven. Hmmm. That's how many siblings Obama has. And one is living in dire poverty, according to news stories. Maybe to tap this down, McCain could offer Obama's youngest brother, George Hussein Onyango Obama, a place to live.

However, considering the shady deal Obama had to get his primary residence in Illinois, I was really surprised his supporters jumped on this (I suspect a planted question). Real estate is not an issue he wants people to talk about.

Perhaps it's not common, but since owning a second home (since 1988) I've met a number of very ordinary Americans who own three or four homes. In fact, until July we owned three, one used by our son but now he owns it. My parents owned two homes; both my maternal and paternal grandparents owned two homes; my husband's parents owned two homes. My friend Helen has one in Hilliard, Lakeside and Orlando; Angela has one in Hudson, Lakeside and Bradenton; Mrs. Lowe, our former neighbor, had four, Ashland, OH, a farm in Ohio, Lakeside and Florida; Vinita has homes in Akron, Lakeside and PA. Elizabeth has homes in Lancaster, Lakeside and another Chautauqua community. There are families here at Lakeside who may own 4 or 5 homes here, saving them I think for the grandchildren, renting them in the meantime. I know a number of people who own their adult children's homes in order to protect and provide for their grandchildren. Real estate is an investment. Just ask Tony Rezko.

Obama Biden

Obama Biden
by Norma Bruce

Obama Biden, it has a certain ring,
Not quite Hillary who wanted to do her thing,
Or Edwards who lost it after his fling.

Obama Biden, does it some gravitas bring
Or is it more mud to sling,
and praises to Messiah sing?

Obama Biden, is it just this year's fling
'cause I don't sense much bling bling
Or hope and change in Obama Biden team.

Lakeside 2008 Trip to Johnson’s Island

A large group gathered Friday morning at the theater to hear Dr. David Bush of Heidelberg College talk about the lives of POWs in the Confederate Prison on Johnson’s Island. It was only for officers, so there are hundreds of documents and letters to describe their stay there. According to program notes, over 10,000 Confederate officers were imprisoned there, and until near the end of the war, conditions were good and the internments short, because there were active exchanges for federal prisoners held by the Confederates. Late in the war, rations ran short worsening conditions and exchanges all but ended. Most deaths were from diarrhea and dysentery; a few graves in the cemetery were from executions for men found guilt of specific war crimes. Heidelberg is the repository for thousands of documents about these Confederate soldiers and the prison culture. If you Google "Johnson's Island" you'll get a lot of misinformation and myth. Go to the site that has collected the data.

In the afternoon we carpooled to the cemetery, which is owned by the federal government (sold to the government in the 1930s by the group of Southerners who rescued it from decay). I rode out with this handsome group from the Columbus area.

Dr. Bush had read some letters to us in the morning, and pointed out some of the graves of those men. In response to questions, he was able to go directly to the document--usually a letter. One of the most interesting was written by a well educated Choctaw Indian, who wrote about how his "modern" (1860s) culture was completely misunderstood by the white man.

We also got a close-up view of "Southern" a statue of a Confederate soldier placed by the Daughters of the Confederacy of Cincinnati and the Masons. Here's an 1899 article appealing for funds.) He isn't looking south however, but is looking out over Lake Erie to the north. Perhaps looking for the enemy. Not everything you see here is accurate, this recently placed monument and its twin, for instance. The best information is at Heidelberg. It's also possible that the monument was placed without thought to the graves, since it isn't known where all of them are, and many are misidentified.




















A new group formed a few years ago is called Friends and Descendants of Johnson’s Island Civil War Prison

“The archaeological resources of Johnson’s Island are certainly unique. Nowhere else does there exist time capsules (in the form of latrines) from the American Civil War, giving us a few months at a time of how prisoners were treated. Nowhere else does there exist such a wealth of primary documents, giving us a day to day account of how these prisoners saw their predicament. Combined, this provides the best field laboratory for demonstrating not only the science of archaeology, but also a chapter of American history as seen through prisoners of war.”

The land the Friends purchased is being saved from housing development on the Island, which has the most gauche, gaudy array of styles I've ever seen ordered from of a catalog of house designs. If an architect designed any of these monstrosities, he should lose his license. Some of Fort Johnson is under a tennis court.

The fort is the site of buildings, hospital, latrines, wells, etc. that the prisoners used, now long gone and located only through old maps and archaeological methods. Thousands of school children come here to perform "digs" and each child finds something. The digs are in the latrines, which were shallow (bedrock 3 ft down) and frequently moved. What's in a latrine? You'd be surprised. Contraband. Jewelry. Buttons. Garbage. And of course, the usual. What fell in usually wasn't retrieved!

We have oil, gas, coal and many alternatives

And we also have the Democrats and RINOS who want us to fail in all areas so we can "save" the planet for the Chinese.



Won't it be a treat to hear the Denver Dems chastising GWB for the latest increase at the pumps (it has gone down some since this graphic was made, seen at Wizbang)? They've knocked down every plan for 8 years to make us energy independent. Think any of the alternatives will pass the regulatory sniff test by the eco-terrorists? Not a chance. Don't miss Ohio's Governor explain how he's pulled Ohio's economy up since 2006.

I watched Bill Moyers (gag reflex) on PBS last night (got bored with the bikini Olympics) trashing the economy. You'd think they'd told the truth about how good employment and prices were in the recovery after the Clinton slip in 1999-2000. Because if it's down now, it must have been up earlier. (My portfolio did fabulous from late 2002 into early 2007, a nice run up after the tax cuts kick started the economy.) The liberals did this during the 2004 campaign too, constantly inserting the phrase "in this economy" so it's hard to know how much is true and how much is election manipulation.

One slip away from disaster for the "middle class" was Moyer's theme. Really? So being middle class is all about income? Not about values, savings, family or education? A heavily tattoo'd woman moaned about how she had a college education but couldn't get a job at the level of her former employment. I hope she put a shirt on for job interviews because I was really turned off. The interviewees were in lovely homes with nice cars, and I assume in debt to their eyeballs, young boomers or Gen-X-ers who never saw a toy they didn't buy or a mortgage payment that wasn't too high. The American dream? When did that come to mean "interest only" home loans, boats and 3 cars? You also see these sob stories on the local channels. Doesn't this constant negative barrage on PBS, broadcast and cable defy everything we've been taught since the 1970s in our school, churches and women's magazines about positive thinking, self-esteem and "possibility thinking?"

Since the American Depression in the 1930s (which lasted longer than needed due to FDR's socialist programs) the record shows the worst thing the government can do is raise taxes in an economic slump, particularly on those who contribute the most to the economy in investments and jobs. But that's Obama's plan. More Pelosi pandering. Don't buy it. I doubt that our Nobama candidate McCain's ideas are all that much of an improvement, but I think he'll keep the Bush tax cuts. He's a middle of the road Democrat, not a socialist. Raising taxes on the rich helps for about 2 weeks, then their accountants and lawyers go into high gear; companies move, loopholes are found, and you and I foot the bill. Obama isn't going to raise taxes to help anyone; by his own testimony with Charley Gibson, he's going to do it out of a sense of "fairness." Yeah, that works.

The secret to waist management, part. 2

This theme started here. I noticed an article by that title in my new first issue of Boho, about which I wrote at my hobby bloggy In the beginning on premiere issue journals.

The article is written by Shelagh Waters, who has an impressive list of credentials, such as a BS in Nursing from Villanova and one I’d never heard of , CHC of the AADP, Certified Health Counselor of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. But hey, I can’t know everything, I just pretend to on the Internet. Shelagh (I assume that’s an alternate spelling of Sheila) works out of something called Corwellness Lifestyle which involves four pillars of health--nutrition, fitness, stress reduction and self-care. I can go for all that, if she’d add in good genes, good works and faith in Jesus. After all, I’m in this for the long-haul, not just for a Friday night date! Look at that face! She didn't get that look without good genes!

But back to the waist. I looked through the entire article p. 82-85, and there is no mention of a waist-line! She writes about balanced blood-sugar (I agree--‘cause if I’m going to eat pancakes with syrup, I’m sure to add in an order of sausage or I get light-headed. The Patio Restauant at Lakeside has awesome pancakes). I loved the imagery of this line (directed to teens):

“So, next time you go to eat think about whether or not you want your hair to be made out of a bag of Doritos or out of organic local, farm grown fruits and vegetables!”

The two are totally unrelated--vegetables are good for you whether or not they are organic and local--but it made me picture hiding my little bag of corn Fritos in my desk and then combing my colored, thinning-from-age, hair. Gosh, do you suppose. . .?

From balanced blood-sugar she moves on to the importance of burning fat. That’s not such a great theme for a magazine aiming at teen girls, especially since the magazine contains photos of very skinny models, and a short feature on Audrey Hepburn who battled anorexia. There are so many good reasons to keep moving, I hate to see “fat burning” promoted as the most important. Exercise really helps our bones as we age, is a natural stress reliever and sleep inducer, assuming you don’t do it in the evening. But I see way too many girls and women pounding their skinny skeletons along busy streets in Columbus--a very sad sight.

I do have to laugh at these dance and exercise websites and DVD promotions. Shelagh suggests MyDanceTime.com. About 5 years ago we took dance lessons, and discovered that the only place we had room to move was the garage! We have a very clean garage if we move the cars to the drive-way, but with the music blaring, I’m sure the neighbors thought we were crazy, plus concrete isn’t the best surface for your legs. In the living room, where our 15 year old TV with the DVD player is, I’d have about a 3 x 7 ft. space for dancing (on a carpet), and in the family room with the 21 year old TV and the VCR it’s about 3 x 4 ft. Best to go outside for burning fat, building bones, lifting spirits and inhaling fresh air.

So that’s the entire article! Blood sugar and burning fat! Not a word about the waist. Probably because you inherit your waist measurement, and there’s not a whole lot you can do about it. Even if I got back to my high school weight (120 lbs), I’d have to find that ½” in height I’ve lost, and stand on my head several hours a day to see if the thigh fat would return to my face--because at 120 lbs, I'd look like death warmed over.

Lakeside 2008 Week 9 Civil War Week

There's so much to do this week I clipped the article from the paper and attached it to the refrigerator. Monday I attended the very interesting "Military commanders and their wives" presented by U. of Akron Professor of History, Lesley Gordon, which focused on 12 famous couples and the ways in which the war affected their unions; Monday evening I attended a showing of the documentary film "Johnny" about a boy soldier from Ohio, Lincoln Clem; on Tuesday I attended "Through the eyes of soldiers; battle of Wyse Fork, NC" by Tom Edwards, a former director of Lakeside, 1981-1988 who still maintains a summer home here but lives now in SC; on Wednesday I enjoyed Cathy Kaemmerlen, a storyteller and historical interpreter from Marietta, GA performing the diaries and letters of Confederate women during Sherman's March to the Sea; today the theater was filled for the Abraham Lincoln Portrayal by Pete Raymond of Wooster who incorporated some of Lincoln's speeches in his presentation; I went back in the afternoon to hear a program "Musical history of the Civil War," by the Fifth Michigan Regiment Band about antique instruments, the role of the bands during the Civil War, and the most popular tunes; tonight at Hoover the band will perform again. Tomorrow I plan to hear an archeologist talk about Johnson's Island and in the afternoon will go there for explanation about using radar and electromagnetic tools to locate graves and other items. We'll also walk to Fort Johnson, the only remaining fortification (there were 3) constructed to protect the prison from Confederate invation.

For those of you not familiar with this area, Johnson's Island was a prisoner of war camp during the Civil War. The first POWs arrived in April 1862 and it was closed in September 1865. More than 9,000 prisoners, including 26 Confederate generals, were confined there over the years, and there are more than 200 men buried there. There were many escape attempts, but most weren't successful. The cemetery received a memorial statue of a confederate soldier in 1910 erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy. Approximately 4,000 people attended its dedication.

If you are a Civil War buff, next year's Civil War Week is August 24-28, 2009.

What Governor Strickland needs to tell the Democratic National Convention about the economy

I've provided an outline for him in a letter. Excerpts:

1. I hope you’ll tell them about our schools in Franklin County and the rest of Ohio. What’s this latest push on “self-esteem?” How will that help a kid read his diploma?
   
2. And what about “retention” or “remediation” (i.e. flunking)? Which is more harmful to Ohio? Graduating stupid 18 year olds or having them repeat third grade at age 8 when there was hope?
   
3. And if you’re going to give these kids 2 meals and a snack each day during the school year, at least require daily PE. For that, you'd also need to reinstate the 9 period day.
   
4. You also need to review some of the cities’ renewal and rehab programs, which drove poor families from their neighborhoods (Columbus: German Village in the 60s, Victorian Village in the 70s, Short North in the 80s) because of lead paint or asbestos, or various beautification and preservation projects or just to make work for the architects and contractors under the guise of progress;
   
5. regulatory agencies decided that the automobiles of the poor (usually 2nd hand, used) weren’t safe or emitted too many toxic substances, so those were taken away;
   
6. and how many neighborhoods of the low income workers were displaced in the 1960s and 1970s by free-ways and interchanges--that they'd probably never drive on because you declared their cars weren't safe;
   
7. then you (not you personally but the social rocket-scientists of the late 20th century) decided the children needed to be bussed to meet some sort of social goals, and that included taking black teachers away from black children, their positive role models;
   
8. over the years, liberals and conservatives alike have closed orphanages and homes for the mentally ill and challenged (or whatever the current PC term is), moving them first to “group homes,“ and then to the street to fend for themselves;
   
9. you (again, not you personally, but liberals) decided that children didn’t really need fathers, so you continued to be foster-dad in absentia for generations of children, which drove their own fathers away to hang out with their buddies while making it virtually impossible for a single man to receive any government benefits or assistance, in turn making them dependent on girlfriends or grandmothers;
   
10. you listened to or dabbled in every social, labor, medical and economic theory that dribbled out of Ohio State University, Cleveland State, Yellow Springs or Dayton about mass transportation, the poverty gap, mixed use neighborhoods, drug use and jobs programs for the elderly.

Governor, you're a former pastor. Tell the Democrats the truth about the economy and poverty.

Lakeside 2008--a happy Lakesider!

Another Lakeside artist gave my husband a gift certificate to Summer Stock, a tiny deli and "take and bake" spot in Lakeside sharing the laundry building/former fire station. For three days this week (hours are a bit irregular because there's a light crowd in week 9) he was disappointed that he couldn't get his Belgium waffle, his summer-long plan for that gift certificate. But today--success! He even got an extra waffle for his patience and persistence. The usual order ($5.95) is 2 homemade waffles, maple syrup, whipped cream and fruit. Yum!





"How was it," I asked.
"Fabulous, best ever," he replied.
"Will you get another one?"
"No, not this year. Maybe next."

The man has such discipline! Other sample items on Summer Stock's menu include sandwiches, $6.99: Picnic in the park: slow roasted pulled pork barbecue smothered in a secret sauce; The Hoover: Genoa Ham, provolone, mayo. Salad bowls, $8.00: Cobb; Insalata Neapolitana; Spinach and berries. Take 'n Bake for 4 (price varies from $33 to $52): rosemary roasted chicken & wild rice with summer veggies; beef tenderloin kabobs with vegetables; lemon pepper linguine with fresh basil, sundried tomato parmesan and garlic olive oil. Lite bites: fresh salsa and chips (Michelle says this is Obama's downfall); gazpacho soup and chips. Desserts: white chocolate toffee brownie (I put on 5 lbs just typing this); summer berry layered cake.

So where was I, besides taking the photos? Well, I had my usual breakfast--a crisp, sliced apple and walnuts. I don't do sweets for breakfast, or I'd be eating all day. Try it. You'd be surprised how a no sugar, no wheat, no dairy breakfast can hold until lunch.Summer Stock; food & flowers
Phone: 419-798-9290 (call ahead for take 'n bake)
318 W. 2nd St.
Lakeside,Ohio 43440
summerstockfoodandflowers@gmail.com
photos of flowers: http://picasaweb.google.com/Hours
8 am-11 pm Mon-Sat
Sun: 10 am-10 pm
Open late for after Hoover shows
Garden patio on site

Findlay Flood

This is the first anniversary of Findlay, Ohio's terrible flood of last summer. If you're not from this area, you probably didn't see much coverage on the news. The President didn't come. Entertainers didn't show up. I'm not sure Al Gore even blamed our misuse of the climate. The people involved just pulled on their boots and cleaned up the mess. But they remember!

Last Sunday we had the pleasure to see and hear some of Findlay's young people here in Lakeside performing as the Pantasia Steel Drum Band at our Steele Memorial Bandstand on the lakefront. Wow! What a group, and what an opportunity for young people. Kids like this who contribute so much, just don't get enough publicity. This group was founded about 11 years ago and has performed throughout the United States. They've performed on cruise ships, the Lincoln Center and Disney World. Way more exciting, IMO, than marching in the high school band!

Proposed new taxes vs the Bush tax cuts

Although I agree that Obama can’t help the poor by making fewer opportunities for the rich, I’m not in complete agreement with this guy either.

"Confiscating wealth from those who have earned it, inherited it, or got lucky is never going to help 'the poor.' Poverty isn't caused by some people having more money than others, just as obesity isn't caused by McDonald's serving super-sized orders of French fries. Poverty, like obesity, is caused by the life choices that dictate results." - John Tucci, responding to "Main Street: For Obama, Taxes Are About Fairness" an op ed in the WSJ.

Obama is by training and association, a Marxist, so taking from the rich is part of his ethical thinking (and is not in conflict with his Christian faith). He believes it’s unfair that some have more. That in itself doesn't put him out of mainstream America. But where do you draw the line? Party officials will always have more. Have you seen his house? Or Al Gore’s? Or Hillary Clinton’s? They definitely have more than I do. I could’ve had more, but didn’t want to make the effort--library directors can make over $100,000 a year; department heads hover at half that. And personally, I’ve had a very nice life style as a librarian married to an architect floating through 4 of the 5 quintiles and back down. I don’t want the Obama daughters to have less so my daughter and son can have more (and obviously, he’d have enough lawyers and accountants to see that wouldn’t happen, but I’m giving a hypothetical example). They should be allowed to inherit or use their parents’ wealth without concern for how I’ve used mine.

That said, some poverty and some obesity are not a result of choice, but who your parents are, where they lived, and how they modeled behavior. You inherit your intelligence and personality, just as you inherit your facial features, eye color, and body shape (women’s magazines skip over this part). You inherit all types of genes that make you susceptible to cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity. All these health conditions can affect your income and future life choices. You also inherit curiosity, emotional make-up, a good musical ear and the drive to succeed. So some will not be slowed down one bit by those other nasty genes. You even inherit what might be obstacles for others (ADHD) but which allow some to excel (Michael Phelps, Olympian).

Some poverty is the result of well-intended government programs. Marriage, for instance, is the greatest poverty fighting program for children we have, and yet government programs over the past 60 years have virtually destroyed the black family,** a demographic group that had much higher rates of marriage in the 1930s than it does now. See the City Journal article: entrenched, multigenerational poverty is largely black; and it is intricately intertwined with the collapse of the nuclear family in the inner city. What the government hasn't ruined for children, Hollywood celebs and the media have. Anti-poverty programs are well-intentioned, but only benefit a few in the long run--often the very state and federal bureaucracies that administer them (which is why you can never dismantle them). Anti-rich taxes, like those proposed by Obama, are NOT well-intentioned, hurting the poor even more than the rich and middle-class by driving jobs out of the country or decreasing the staff of the businesses that remain.

**The likelihood of ever being a single mother is highest among Black women, followed by Hispanic women and White women (77, 52 and 32 percent respectively). Conversely, the opposite is true for the likelihood of ever being married (65, 86 and 94 percent respectively). Series here.

He forgot the Tafts

James Taranto was commenting in his column August 19 about dynasties in American politics, beginning with some folks I‘ve never heard of on the Illinois scene.

“Family dynasties like this [in Illinois] are remarkably common in American politics. President Bush is the son of a president and grandson of a senator. Benjamin Harrison was William Henry Harrison's grandson, and John Quincy Adams was John Adams's son. Sen. Evan Bayh, a leading vice presidential candidate, is the son of a man who held the same Senate seat. Al Gore is the son of a senator. FDR, Barry Goldwater and Ted Kennedy all had sons who served in Congress.”

He overlooked Ohio’s former Governor Bob Taft (Robert Alphonso Taft II) whose Taft fore bearers included a president, senators, supreme court judges, secretaries of war, ambassadors, as well as state legislators. Also, Taft is the 8th cousin once removed of President Bush, and 9th cousin once removed of Vice President Cheney. He came in 50th among the governors in a poll (probably by the press), and was literally hounded out of the country at the end of his second term (term limits in Ohio), not by rumors of a love child, wide stance, angry controlling wife, links to a real estate scandal and unsavory Marxists or multiple affairs, but by ethics convictions for accepting several paltry, miscellaneous gifts that would have embarrassed Bill and Hillary (like a portrait of Zanesville, OH) and an obscure supporter’s misuse of investments in old coins. Really a bland guy by either Democratic or Republican D.C. standards--and especially Illinois'. This allowed Ted Strickland’s supporters to smear Kenneth Blackwell in the 2006 gubernatorial race. But of course, THAT wasn’t racism or negative campaigning.

Maybe we need to see the results of the $50 million?

I don't think there's much to uncover here--we all know Obama has had a long time association with Bill Ayres, anarchist of the 1960s. As a U of I alumnae, I'd rather ask why Ayres is on the pay roll at all. Especially, what are the results of the $50 million grant to improve Chicago's schools. Seems 18 years should be enough time for something.

"The University of Illinois has refused to release records related to Sen. Barack Obama's service for a nonprofit educational project that put him in contact with activist William Ayers, a 1960s-era radical and now education professor. The university's Chicago campus maintains that the donor of the records that document the work of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge has not handed over ownership rights. The university says it is "aggressively pursuing" an agreement with the donor, and as soon as an agreement is reached, the collection will be made accessible to the public. The university has not identified the donor."

Ayers is an Education Professor at U of I and was instrumental in starting the Chicago Annenberg Challenge to improve the schools. Obama was chair of the Annenberg Challenge for 3 years. Actually, I think the records should be protected until the privacy of all donors and participants can be protected. You'd never get people to donate to anything if they thought a few years down the road someone involved might be president and reporters would be riffling through the file. Still, a donor who would give Bill Ayers $50 million?
http://www.amren.com/news/2008/08/barack_obama_re/

Housing for NOLA with good intentions, bad design

Tulane architectural students are having a design competition for new housing in New Orleans, and the reality show is on the Sundance Channel (I haven’t seen it). There are a lot of bugs in the project, according to this Chicago writer.

One of the sweetest, little houses in Lakeside was designed by my husband--has 3 bedrooms (lst floor master), 2 full baths, kitchen, dining and living areas (great room) and a nice front porch. It has a HVAC system, and parking for 2 cars (a requirement here, even with small lots). I think its footprint is about 22 x 30, probably about 1,000 sq. ft. It looks to me to be perfect for a small scale, traditional NOLA neighborhood. The problem with student design is they want something different, something to make their mark in the world; the residents probably just want to go home!

From the story:

“Architecture School” is compelling on a number of levels. It depicts high-flown architectural concepts coming into contact with the practical realities of building a low-cost house. Instructor Byron Mouton tries to get the students to watch out for clichés and lazy thinking, with limited success. And the students and the instructors seem more enamored of their forward-thinking designs than the local residents.

“Ugly” is the verdict of one resident who lives near an existing Tulane-built home. Many residents want traditional re-creations of the narrow “shotgun” houses that they’ve always known, but the idealistic students naturally want to do something more adventurous.

Then there’s the matter of finding someone to live in these houses. One woman who applies for a home loan at Neighborhood Housing Services, the New Orleans non-profit that is paying for the construction of the Tulane houses, has $18.23 in her savings account.

The Iraqi refugee problem

Did you see the recent PBS show on the crisis in Syria, Jordan (and even U.S.) for Iraqi refugees? We did a lousy job covering the borders in Iraq after the 2003 initial victory. We don't do borders, not even our own. Now the place is overrun. Iraqis interviewed for the show had been run out by various groups. Some had been Saddam supporters. Some had worked for American companies and became targets for terrorists. Some companies will relocate a former worker, but not his family. That makes no sense--makes more terrorists! Seems it has a long history, as this 1998 story reports.

Just as I think we have an obligation NOT to run out on the people we went in to save, so we have an obligation to the refugees the war has created. It will be up to McCain or Obama to lead the way, and it won't be cheap--which is why McCain's "as long as it takes," makes more sense than Obama's moving target pull-out date. Democrats and Republicans alikeshould have a stake in seeing that the elected Iraq government succeeds, but that will be extremely difficult for Democrats who don't want anything started by Bush to turn out well. The MoveOnOrgies who have gained so much power in the party, are not going to go away. The moderates in the party may just have to swallow their anger and pride and try to be the "liberals" they claim to be instead of marxists and anarchists, the direction they are being pushed.

The PBS show wasn't balanced, but that would be difficult. It's a painful issue. Bush, of course, will get more blame for the pitiful woman refugee whose husband desserted her and the children after she was raped by terrorists than will the misogynist, Muslim male-centered culture. Like assigning blame to Bush instead of Nagin for the Katrina blacks who can't get their public housing back. It's old news that Nagin was and is unprepared to be the mayor of a major city. People need to be resettled. Period.

Manipulative words

How the candidates did at Saddleback. It should be a news story, not a disguised editorial on page one of the Washington Post. (Although I believe the biggest gain was for Rick Warren who has firmly placed himself on the political stage, and because he is Jesus-lite, no other Christian pastor could do this.) Take a look at the word choices for the WaPo account by Jonathan Weisman, August 20, 2008; Page A01. Positive phrases in green, negative in red. Then count them.

Sen. Barack Obama was the abortion-rights candidate who was reaching out to foes, seeking common ground and making inroads. Sen. John McCain was the abortion opponent whose reticence about faith and whose battles on campaign finance laws drew suspect glances from would-be supporters.

We all know that "abortion-rights" does not leave the same emotional image as "abortion opponent." In my opinion, you are pro-life or pro-choice. Start with that and then add in your exceptions if you have them. You are assigning value to two lives, and you've chosen for one to die. Not one or the other, but one. Then you'll add your qualifying points--he'll be retarded; he'll ruin her life; our family won't accept a biracial baby; she already has too many children and this one will be a burden to society (i.e., I'll be paying); we really wanted a boy; her boyfriend's walked out on her; etc. The same person willing to see her grandchildren aborted in one breath, will want to save the planet for them in the next by not drilling for oil. It baffles me, but on to the other words.

Weisman knows his audience--and it isn't conservative Nobamas like me who know what he's doing. The far left Democrats are getting angry and nervous (see Michael Moore's latest tirade), the middle is still solidly behind their candidate. So he goes for the Obamacons, fence sitters and RINOS who may need to be reminded of McCain's past failures (let me count the ways!). Weisman didn't become a staff writer at WaPo by not understanding the impact of word choices. Let's look at them--out of context.

reaching out to foes
seeking common ground
making in roads.

reticence
battles
suspect glances
would-be supporters.

The reporter then goes on to say the born alive issue is an “obscure law” when virtually every other legislator, in Illinois and Washington, didn’t find it difficult or thorny. They seemed to grasp the concept of life after birth, even those who don’t catch the meaning of “before birth.” Yes, to his credit, as he winds his way to the bottom of the article he finally gets to the difficult truth--the truth of why he so desperately makes his case in the first paragraph (most people don't read much further and writers know this). In a race this close, abortion matters a lot. Eighteen percent of Democrats consider this issue critical. What if they just don't vote? Can he win without them?

Abortion remains an important issue to a large portion of the electorate, but it is not the biggest. An early August poll for Time magazine found that one in five likely voters would not consider voting for a candidate who did not share their views on abortion. Twenty-six percent of Republicans saw the issue as decisive, compared with 18 percent of Democrats.

Genealogy Class

We had a wonderful, 5-day genealogy seminar at Lakeside last week. One really interesting thing I learned was about a common myth--at least one I believed to be true. Surnames were NOT changed at Ellis Island due to clerical error or the clerk not knowing how to transcribe a foreign sounding name. Detra told us that the clerks worked from a list that was made up at the embarkation point in Europe from information received from the immigrant. The US officials knew the country of origin and every passenger's name before the ship arrived. She also said that they used native speakers at Ellis Island who could communicate with the immigrants. Often it was the immigrant who made the name change--perhaps to avoid a personal history or link to a culture/religious group. Or they wanted to sound "English," but they made the decision, not the clerk. This information really didn't affect me at all--none of my ancestors came through Ellis Island. They all arrived before the American Revolution, and until my parents generation didn't marry outside their groups. The Germans/Swiss went to Pennsylvania, and the Scots-Irish to Tennessee.

Today I noticed that the USCIS is offering genealogy help to immigrants.

WASHINGTON — Customers can now turn to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for help in researching their family’s immigration history through the agency’s new Genealogy Program. USCIS maintains historical records documenting the arrival and naturalization of millions of immigrants who arrived in the United States since the late 1800s or and naturalized between 1906 and 1956. Until today (Aug 13), the process to request these records was handled through a Freedom of Information Act / Privacy Act (FOIA) request.

“In many cases USCIS is the only government agency that has certain historical records that provide the missing link which genealogists or family historians need,” said Jonathan “Jock” Scharfen, USCIS’ Acting Director.

The agency anticipates interest in genealogy to continue to grow. In the past four years alone, USCIS received more than 40,000 FOIA requests for historical records. The new genealogy program will create a dedicated queue for genealogists, historians and others seeking genealogical and historical records and reference services that generally require no FOIA expertise. As a result, USCIS will provide more timely responses to requests for records of deceased individuals.

Individuals may submit genealogy records requests by using the new forms, G-1041 -Genealogy Index Search Request, and G-1041A - Genealogy Records Request. Both forms are available on the new USCIS Genealogy Program page at: http://www.uscis.gov/genealogy.

How the carbon tax will work

It’s a very old, medieval system. Al Gore and buddies will be at the top; with the rest of us taxed. It won't make any difference whether or not your business or profession uses energy. The tax man cometh.

"Fines were levied everywhere, at all times, and for all sorts of reasons. Under the name of épices, the magistrates, judges, reporters, and counsel, who had at first only received sweetmeats and preserves as voluntary offerings, eventually exacted substantial tribute in current coin. Scholars who wished to take rank in the University sent some small pies, costing ten sols, to each examiner. Students in philosophy or theology gave two suppers to the president, eight to the other masters, besides presenting them with sweetmeats, &c. It would be an endless task to relate all the fines due by apprentices and companions before they could reach mastership in their various crafts, nor have we yet mentioned certain fines, which, from their strange or ridiculous nature, prove to what a pitch of folly men may be led under the influence of tyranny, vanity, or caprice.

Thus, we read of vassals descending to the humiliating occupation of beating the water of the moat of the castle, in order to stop the noise of the frogs, during the illness of the mistress; we elsewhere find that at times the lord required of them to hop on one leg, to kiss the latch of the castle-gate, or to go through some drunken play in his presence, or sing a somewhat broad song before the lady." Manners, customs and Dress during the Middle Ages by Paul Lacroix

Pinto Beans

I enjoy black beans and black-eyed peas, but am not fond of pinto beans, that good ol boy dish from Appalachia. They even make cakes with them! But here's some interesting news I read about at the WHFoods web site, the place I always check when I want to know what I'm eating. I always figured all the beanies were about the same. Guess not.

Pinto Beans May Help Lower Cholesterol

Over a period of approximately 7 months, relatively small daily servings of pinto beans have recently been shown to help lower cholesterol. Only ½ cup of the beans per day reduced total cholesterol, on average, by about 19 milligrams. LDL cholesterol also showed an average decrease of about 14 milligrams. Interestingly, two other very healthy and fiber-rich foods - carrots and black-eyed peas - did not have this same impact. While we don't yet know the reasons for this special link between pinto beans and their cholesterol-lowering effect, persons who have special concern about their cholesterol levels may want to give special priority to this tasty legume. It should be noted that the subjects in this study had already developed mild insulin resistance prior to participating in the study, and so we cannot yet be sure how well pinto beans will lower cholesterol in persons who do not have mild insulin resistance.

Donna M. Winham, DrPH, Andrea M. Hutchins, PhD and Carol S. Johnston, PhD. "Pinto Bean Consumption Reduces Biomarkers for Heart Disease Risk." Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 26, No. 3, 243-249 (2007).

For lunch today I'm having my farm market meal--an ear of corn (2 minutes in the microwave and no clean up), beet greens, and some cucumber/onion/green pepper mix that I whipped up putting the groceries away. Tomorrow I'll have the beets and maybe grilled cabbage and some sliced peaches. Yum. Love summer's bounty.

Lakeside 2008 Farmer's Market

It's gray and overcast today, but the wagons are here! I spent $11.00 and got a quart of peaches, quart of green beans, big green pepper, zucchini, cucumber, dozen brown eggs, a bunch of beets and ONE ear of corn (my husband hates corn). What a deal. However, you can get reasonably fresh food at your supermarket, and by the time I use these up, they probably won't be as nutritious as frozen. I'm still using the onions from a few weeks ago, and last week's blueberries and tomatoes. Use your head. Don't drive 10 miles for a farmer's market. It's great if it's in your backyard, but it is very easy to eat healthy, fresh and cheap in America.


Notice the canvas bag; recycled UALC VBS 2001

The secret to waist management, part 1

It's easy. Dive into the right gene pool! Here I am about age 18 at the senior prom wearing my grandmother's waist (22"), followed by a photo of me at 68 on my 40 year old bike wearing my grandmother's arms when she was about this age. See how easy it is to have a small waist? All you need is a body shape that doesn't have your bottom rib resting on your pelvis so that there is some space for all that flab to fill! Then as you age, the spine shrinks a little, and the waist expands. Any other questions?