The Cellophane House

And for their next trick. The environmentalists and green design folks will probably try to foist this one on us, which truly exceeds the awful boxes that the USSR threw up in the mid-20th century to demonstrate their political theory, pizzazz, and how much they cared.

“The Cellophane House is a dwelling designed for mass-customization and minimal environmental impact, modular on a room-to-room basis and as an entire unit. It’s composed of 85-90 percent recycled material and its component parts are largely assembled off-site. It may be the tightest synthesis yet of Modernism’s dreams of orderly and egalitarian dwellings with the sustainable ideals of the current era.” Photo and story from AIArchitect This Week.

And what happens when you convince the general population to not be wasteful and the price of "recycled materials" soars? Or when bio-fuel hybrid efficient cars cause the government to lose gas taxes? Or when there are fewer dump trucks going to the landfill (a story in our local papers)? Well, guess what? The price of whatever you have left--materials, fees and taxes--just goes up.

Luther or Calvin

I always score higher as a Calvinist than a Lutheran on these internet quizes, so I thought I'd better look into it. Grace Brethren has purchased the church building up the road about 1/2 mile--it is a grand daughter of my "home" denomination, Church of the Brethren (Anabaptist--left the progressive Brethren in the 1930s which developed from an earlier 19th century split) but I think it's basically Baptist in theology and style with some dispensationalism on the side. Is that Calvin? Maybe someone could clarify this for me.

Today I pick up:

The following items, which you requested, are now available and being held for you at the library.
Author: Luther, Martin, 1483-1546.
Title: Martin Luther's basic theological writings / edited by Timothy F. Lull ; foreword by Jaroslav Pelikan.
Call Number: 230.41 Lu c. 1
Item Class: 28 Day Circ

Author: McGrath, Alister E., 1953-
Title: A life of John Calvin : a study of the shaping of Western culture / Alister E. McGrath.
Call Number: B Calvin c. 1
Item Class: 28 Day Circ

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

At our home on Lake Erie this summer, it seemed all we heard about was Mayor Kilpatrick. Folks, this wasn't just about sex, as you might read in an AP story.

"Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice on Thursday morning. Kilpatrick will forfeit his office and serve 120 days in jail, ending a scandal that began when the Detroit Free Press published raunchy text messages between Kilpatrick and his ex-chief of staff. Messages proving that, in spite of Kilpatrick's testimony during a civil lawsuit, the pair had, in fact, been knocking boots.

As much as Detroiters are relieved to be rid of their lubricious, dissembling mayor, Barack Obama has to be even more relieved." Story

Was it only this past May Obama was in Detroit seeking support of this super delegate?

OBAMA: So I want to first of all acknowledge your great mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, who has been...(APPLAUSE)
... on the frontlines -- has been on the frontlines doing an outstanding job of gathering together the leadership at every level in Detroit to bring about the kind of renaissance that all of us anticipate for this great city.

And he is a leader not just here in Detroit, not just in Michigan, but all across the country. People look to him. We know that he is going to be doing astounding things for many years to come.

And so I'm grateful to call him a friend and a colleague. And I'm looking forward to a lengthy collaboration in terms of making sure that Detroit does well in the future." Obama speech in Detroit in May, Right Michigan

More smears, but who’s counting?

I take most of my blog entries and links from journalists writing for real newspapers (or their blogs), even the ones I don't like (NYT, WaPo, LA Times) but increasingly the MSM is going to the hyperbologs for their sources. Crazy, innit? I'm just an elderblogger and I find better sources than trained, whipper-snapper journalists. Soledad of CNN has 4 children, I've heard (possibly gossip). I wonder why she isn’t at home with the kids? She’s obviously a bit addled by the responsibilities of a 24 hour news channel.

“I just watched CNN's Soledad O'Brien sandbag former White House Communications Director Nicole Wallace by asking her how Sarah Palin can claim to be a defender of special needs children when she cut the budget for that Alaska office by 62 percent. Wallace wasn't familiar with the charge -- which isn't surprising, since it's only being made on DailyKos and another liberal site. (Tip for Ms. O'Brien: DailyKos is not a reliable news site.)

This charge is based on looking at the budget for Alaska's Special Education Service Agency for 2007-2009. In fact, the December 2006 budget document that they cite would have been prepared by the outgoing administration -- that of Republican Frank Murkowski, whom Palin defeated.

What's gone unmentioned is that Palin signed into law a dramatic reform of the state's education financing system that equalizes aid to rural and urban districts, while significantly increasing funding for special needs students." More details at Weekly Standard Blog

Just what is a community organizer?

It got some laughs last night at the Republican Convention--that much ballyhooed resume filler. But it’s not really that funny. ACORN is no joke. Obama's job is outlined at Windy Citizen who says “community organizer” has more in common with the “brutal contact sport of Chicago politics than it does with any kind of charitable act, such as serving food to homeless people.” Saul Alinsky was the Godfather of community organizers.

“One of the most important lessons that Alinsky taught community organizers is not to rely on high-minded ideals like "brotherly-love or "the common good" to get people to fight for particular goals. Instead, as a community organizer you are always looking for ways to appeal directly to a person's self-interest, whatever that may be. This is not to say ideals do not matter to community organizers. But at the end of the day, an ideal is only as good as what it can help you accomplish.

So, if you are a community organizer and want to organize an area, you first try to meet with as many indigenous leaders as possible, the kinds of men and women who populate neighborhood churches and civic groups that others will listen to and naturally follow. The purpose of these one-on-one meetings is not to become their friend. You want to find out what their self-interest is so you can use it. This includes milking their personal connections to expand your base of support. As a community organizer, the sole source of your power is your relationships. And the more people you have in your pocket, the more likely it is that you can use them to get what your base wants.”

"This is also what most coverage of Obama's days as a community organizer fails to appreciate. For whether you are an Alinksy-schooled community organizer or a Chicago politician, you are a student of power. If you have survived long enough to succeed in either position, like Obama has, you have learned not to worry so much about the power you have. What keeps you up at night is the power you do not have. In community organizing and politics, you know the only thing that can hurt you is what you cannot control.[like Gov. Palin?]" John Maki, Windy Citizen

Obama's blog is run by Sam Graham-Felsen, an avowed Marxist who writes for socialist and marxist publications, but apparently not often enough to earn a living which is why he's on Obama's payroll, blogging. Anyway, today's entry is supposed to be an answer to just what is a community organizer. David Plouffe his Campaign Manager says he helped people who were out of work. Well, gee whiz, I did that in 1983 through JTPA. I'll have to go back and look at my resume--I don't think I had any indoctrination in political theory or methods.

"The transition of the old Democratic Party to what exists today should not surprise or confound conservatives. Nor should Alinsky's tactics seem foreign. After all, for nearly 40 years, Republicans and the conservative agenda have been getting hammered by the left through the successful use of Alinsky tactics.

In that cause, radicals and the liberal-left gravitated toward the print and electronic media, toward the university professorate and the law. The left, consciously or unconsciously, adopted Alinsky's rules. The impact changed the nature of the Democratic Party and the direction of the United States. Increasingly, the left is succeeding in changing the nature of the Republican Party as well.

Suffice to say the greatest change has taken place in the relationship between the state and the individual. America is rapidly descending from a representative Constitutional Republic to a collectivist empire controlled by elites of one sort or another." Saul Alinsky and DNC Corruption

Update: USAToday rushes to defend the honor of Barack Obama, who is hurt and angry that his "community organizer" position was a joke at the convention. You know folks, the Obama people started this by denigrating her position as mayor when McCain first announced his choice. As James Taranto noted: "Obama spokesman Bill Burton quickly denounced McCain for proposing to put "the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency." This took a degree of chutzpah, since the Democrats have just spent four days touting Obama's experience as a "community organizer" as a central qualification to put him no heartbeats away. Even after listening to those speeches, we're still not sure what a "community organizer" is."

If you can't stand the heat, Team Obama, stay out of this lady's kitchen.

Granny Gloria

Daniel Henninger observed today that "Gloria Steinem is 74. Sarah Palin is 44. Times change." Gloria seems to think this choice for VP was a ploy to get Hillary's supporters. Says Hillary and Sarah "only share a chromosome." Like they're the only women (or men) who matter. I guess she never thought about the millions of conservatives like me who haven't had anyone on the ballot since Reagan. The millions of families who are middle class and work for a living and can't identify with the elitists on the ballot and don't want their taxes raised. The millions of families who don't want us to abandon our allies. The millions of families who have members who need special care but don't want to dispose of them. Hey, I didn't even get to vote for Reagan because I was a Democrat in those days and didn't like him. So when I vote the McCain-Palin ticket, it will be the first time I ever voted for a conservative at the national level. Like many conservatives, there was a really good chance I was going to sit this one out. McCain made a good choice.

How the liberal media treated a Bush daughter

About a year ago, I blogged about first daughter's new book on AIDS. Here's what liberals thought of her effort.

Jenna Bush's book for young people

Jenna Bush has authored a book "Ana's Story; a Journey of Hope" (HarperCollins, 2007, 209 pp. $18.99). It is non-fiction, for teenagers and about AIDS, is based on 6 months of conversations with women and children with HIV or AIDS when the president's daughter was working with UNICEF. It was reviewed, probably reluctantly, by Bob Minzesheimer in USAToday. In general, he was positive, pointing out it was easy to read with 35 pages of sources addressing common myths about AIDS and HIV. The paper edition differed from the online version. In paper he wrote that it doesn't address how much U.S. support should go to organizations that distribute condoms as opposed to religious groups that promote only abstinence. How picky is that? Reviewers and talking heads always want the book they themselves didn't make the effort to write and publish. I wonder if Minzesheimer would board an airplane that had the same failure rate as condoms?

In another column this reviewer points out that when Oprah even mentions a title (Eat, pray, love; Middlesex) it leap frogs to the top of the best seller list. That won't happen to a book by a conservative, even if the topic is one of her favorites.

The commenters at the revised online article are the usual collection of Bush-haters and author-wannabees complaining about favoritism. They are well worth reading for their ignorance, pomposity and narrowmindedness, just in case you'd forgotten how green the left is. If even five young people read this book and decide that HIV is probably something in their future if they don't change their lifestyle, she will have achieved her goal.

Speaking of AIDS and abstinence, The invisible cure: Africa, the West and the fight against AIDS by Helen Epstein (Farrar Straus & Girous, 2007) reports on the Uganda campaign of "zero grazing," "love faithfully," and "sticking to one partner," later known as ABC (Abstain, Be faithful, use Condoms). Uganda's decrease in HIV began in the late 1980s, and its approach became standard policy for the USAID and President Bush's PEPFAR. Uganda experienced an unprecedented decrease in HIV during the 1990s. The US policy experienced howls of protest and outrage because of its religious implications. However, "an increasing number of scientists have concluded that an ABC approach is supported by scientific evidence . . . 1) condom use hasn't been effective in epidemic areas (they are used inconsistantly and create more risk taking) and 2) number of partners and overlapping relationships is the key to increase or decrease in spreading sexual diseases. Epstein says multiple concurrent relationships create the "super highways of hyperepidemics," and casual sex constitutes the "on-ramps." The reviewer (JAMA, August 6, 2008, pp. 587-589) reports that Epstein challenges many sterotypes and myths about Africans.

Liberals can't tell snarl from snark

The woman they love to hate. This piece by a female, liberal journalist [Hillary Chabot] shows what we can expect from the media.

"A feisty Sarah Palin charged straight at Barack Obama last night as the virtually unknown governor of Alaska transformed herself into John McCain’s snarling campaign pit bull last night before cheering delegates and the eyes of the nation at the Republican convention."

I watched the whole speech. She was charming and direct; she pulled no punches; she built on the jokes told by Giuliani and Huckabee, both entertaining speakers. And worst of all for liberals, socialists and marxists, she told the truth. She smacked back at Obama's staff and his allies in the media unkind, belittling remarks about her town, her experience and her state. She put the MSM on notice that they weren't going to tell her what to do because she wasn't going through that sorority pledging process, or show up at their parties, so they could just go find some other gal who cared. Oooo, that must have smarted. This was no snarl, but it was the truth told with a smile and a sparkle in her eye.

This [Barack Obama] is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word “victory” except when he’s talking about his own campaign,” the combative Palin said.

“But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet?

“The answer is to make government bigger, take more of your money, give you more orders from Washington and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy, our opponent is against producing it. Victory in Iraq is finally in sight, he wants to forfeit.”

Here's a good example of the press misstating and misinformation:

"She leaned heavily on her own biography, introducing her husband, Todd, as a commercial fisherman, a union member, a world-champion snowmobile racer and an Eskimo. She described herself as a mom-turned-politician with the "same challenges and the same joys" as other families." WaPo

She specifically said his heritage was Yup'ik, not Eskimo (Todd Palin's grandmother), at least to my ears, and called her husband a snow machine champion. Maybe those are little slip ups, maybe not. The news is all about slant.

Snarls are for Jeremiah Wright; attacks are for Bill Ayers and the Weathermen. Governor Palin is just a sweet little lady with a lace glove across the face when the big boys get too close compared to Obama's friends and mentors. But sometimes the truth hurts.

What do Alaskans think of Governor Palin?

Deb Frost writes at American Daughter her opinion

She has EXECTUTIVE experience *running a government* (something NONE of the other candidates can actually boast, even John McCain) as Governor of Alaska and got there by defeating the *incumbent* Republican Governor, who was definitely part of the ‘old school’ and who WAS very much in the pocket of the big oil companies. We in Alaska wanted change – and we got it in the person of Sarah Palin!

Sarah Palin is everything she looks to be and more. Her approval rating as Governor of Alaska has been as high as 95% and is currently leveled out consistently in the upper 80 percentile throughout the state (and in both parties) - the HIGHEST approval rating of ANY sitting Governor.

Sarah has been turning around corruption in the Legislature of Alaska - turning things on their ear for that matter; cutting spending in spite of the increased income the state is currently receiving due to the high oil prices - she has insisted on putting a huge amount of the ‘windfall’ into savings for the future rather than spending, spending, spending - and has insisted from the get-go on what she refers to as ‘honest, ethical and transparent governing’ - no more closed door meetings and dealings - the big oil companies thought she would be a pushover and have learned better to their chagrin.

She understands the ‘real people’ and the economic issues we all face (Alaskans along with the rest of the country) - she was one of ‘us’ not long ago. Rather than passing useless ‘laws’ or throwing money at pet projects, she (most recently) temporarily suspended the state gas tax (on gasoline at the pumps, fuel oil and natural gas for homes, etc.) and has ordered checks issued to ALL residents of Alaska this fall in an attempt to assist with the burden of high fuel costs for the upcoming winter. I could go on and on, but that’s enough for now. She isn’t doing these things to be popular – she is doing it because her constituents are HURTING financially and she can help.

She became Governor of Alaska by defeating the Incumbent Republican Governor and doing it *without* the money or the support of the Republican Party, which was amazing in itself - and she won by a landslide. The ‘powers that be’ at that time totally underestimated Sarah and learned better the hard way. She has done exactly what she claimed she was going to do and is just as popular today as the day she was elected - perhaps more so since even the Democrats up here seem to like her - she works well with both sides in the Legislature here.

No wonder our leftist media are quaking in their high heel sneakers.

Now about those tax increases promised by Obama

"Now our opponents tell you not to worry about their tax increases.

They tell you they are not going to tax your family.

No, they’re just going to tax “businesses!” So unless you buy something from a “business,” like groceries or clothes or gasoline … or unless you get a paycheck from a big or a small “business,” don’t worry … it’s not going to affect you.

They say they are not going to take any water out of your side of the bucket, just the “other” side of the bucket! That’s their idea of tax reform." Fred Thompson at the Republican Convention

And then that experience issue

MSNBC's Ron Allen asks Gingrich about the speeches and then makes the mistake of asking him about the experience of Sarah Palin. Newt Gingrich clobbers him with a comparison of the experience of Sarah Palin and Barack Obama. [Paraphrase] A terrific rallying symbol for women, for young people. Her resume is stronger than Obama's--she's been a real mayor, he wasn't; a real governor; he wasn't; she's fought corruption; he hasn't; she took on her own party. What has Obama done, tell me one thing? (reporter didn't answer). From USA Today blog: Gingrich said that if Gov. Sarah Palin's two years of experience as a governor and a decade of experience before that as a local politician are issues, "then Obama ought to resign from the (Democratic) ticket." The Democrat's experience, in his view, isn't as deep as Palin's because Obama has never been in an executive position.

How the media spin family problems--when it's not their own candidate

"The MSNBC panel is piling on Pat Buchanan for saying that Sarah Palin is a dynamite choice by McCain. The entire panel including Chris Matthews is clearly going to do anything they can to keep alive the vetting process, the baby situations, and the “inexperience” of Palin. They implicitly understand that the pick is good but they know that it is their job to see the McCain ticket fail. Meanwhile they continue to say nothing of Obama’s close friendship to terrorist William Ayers or Tony Rezko. We also hear nothing of Joe Biden’s son and brother being named as defendants in a hedge fund scam. Nothing."

How liberal and feminists journalists are squealing "no fair" because they didn't know See today's Wall Street Journal

Here is a sampler of media comment on Governor Palin this week:

- Eleanor Clift, the McLaughlin Group: "If the media reaction is anything, it's been literally laughter in many places across newsrooms."

- Sally Quinn, Newsweek: "It is a political gimmick . . . I find it insulting to women, to the Republican party, and to the country."

- E.J. Dionne, Washington Post: "Palin is, if anything, less qualified for the vice presidency (and the presidency) than [Harriet] Miers was for the court. But there is one big difference: Palin passes all the right-wing litmus tests."

- Maureen Dowd, New York Times: "They have a tradition of nominating fun, bantamweight cheerleaders from the West."

- Ruth Marcus, Washington Post: "But as a parent in the media, I also know that the Palins assumed this risk. Anyone who watched coverage of the Bush twins' barroom exploits knew that the avert-your-eyes stance toward candidates' children has its limits."

- Charlie Cook, Beltway pundit, on PBS's "Charlie Rose": "I had a friend that had a young person tell them that they had three interviews to get a job as a server at Ruby Tuesday! So this is like putting a whole -- for someone that hasn't played on a national -- Geraldine Ferraro had more -- Dan Quayle had undergone more scrutiny, had played on a bigger stage than this. This is putting an enormous risk on someone he didn't know. And he has to just pray that it works!"

How former Clintonites and Obama supporters see her

"US Weekly magazine, the tabloid published by Rolling Stone's Jann Wenner. That cover shows a smiling Sarah Palin, holding her youngest son Trig. The screaming headline: "Babies, Lies and Scandal: John McCain's Vice President."

Wenner has contributed $5300 to Obama's campaign since 2007." Weekly Standard

And the NYT and WSJ, who couldn't find a thing to say about John Edward's affair until he confessed, have managed multiple stories about Palin's children. I think NYT had 3 on the front page yesterday, and today WSJ has 3 negative and 1 neutral spread from A1 to A5.

These people are so pathetic, I just may donate to the McCain Palin campaign. I grew up in a small town, and I can assure you everyone in their home town knew about Bristol, but because they didn't know in New Yawk City, she wasn't vetted.

Makes me worry if there are losing teams

100 Percent Hand Hygiene Club

"Congratulations to physical therapy staff at Morehouse Medical Plaza for receiving 100 percent hand hygiene compliance in July and being recognized at recent supervisory council meetings. Staff were selected from 17 inpatient units in UH, Ross, Dodd and UH East and outpatient areas that had 100 percent compliance. To properly wash your hands, wet them with water, apply soap and rub your hands together for 15 seconds. Rinse and dry with a disposable towel (use the towel to turn off the faucet to avoid re-contaminating your hands). Or, use an alcohol-based hand rub for routinely decontaminating your hands." Seen at OSU Medical College newsletter.

Now about that woman thing

Lisa Schiffren writes: ". . . some commentators object that Palin was chosen primarily as a sop to female voters, especially disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters. Well, of course the McCain campaign wants to entice those women to vote for the Republican ticket. Putting together coalitions is how elections are won. Women happen to be 52 percent of the electorate. Ignoring them, let alone insulting them as Barack Obama is perceived to have done, is politically foolish. Some worried that McCain would pick a token woman, such as Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas—she of the long Washington tenure, liberal Republican views, and few accomplishments (though she does look the part). Instead, he surprised many by picking Palin.

Is it irresponsible to put a half-term governor in the vice presidential slot? It depends on her record. But surely for a Washington novice, the vice presidency is more appropriate than the presidency. A half-term governor has more claim to leadership and experience than does a one-third-term U.S. senator who has risen through a big-city political machine. Palin is a woman of action, moreover, who has used her political capital at every stage to fight corruption and bad policy. It’s hard to find anyone in politics who does that; pols “save” their capital instead, as Obama has done by voting “present” on numerous occasions, lest spending it cost them something somewhere down the road. Her personal profile—raising five children, hunting, fishing, and being a real NRA member—make an appealing contrast with the overly cerebral, political calculations of those who merely hold positions and whose lives have been led in the service of their résumés." More here

Back when Democrats were truly liberals

"He was a good man, who had a good heart. His name was Hubert Horatio Humphrey. And he said: Divine Providence will judge a country by three things. How it treats those in the dawn of life. How it treats those in the shadows of life. And how it treats those in the twilight of life." Pat Buchanan

Cheating the poor with inaccurate information

Another alarmist article about how the poor can’t afford decent food--need to buy cheaper junk--in USAToday. Really? Tara Parker Pope even said so in NYT last December--comparing only the cost of calories! Nonsense. I just had a wonderful lunch. I had steamed beet tops (we’ll eat the beets for dinner tonight) and a delicious tomato salad of two garden tomatoes (farmer’s market), coarsely shredded carrots (from WalMart), a few sliced green olives (been around for awhile in the frig), and the left over salsa from last night’s restaurant doggie bag. No, it wasn’t “calorie dense” like donuts or cookies, but after I sneak a piece of real cheddar cheese for dessert, I’ll have a pretty good balance, for under $2.00, and it will hold until dinner. After all, how many calories do I need for blogging and napping?

The following article is from 2005, but things haven’t changed that much, unless you’ve been buying corn based products like pop (corn is being grown to burn in cars instead of feeding people and animals which in turn is raising the cost of rice and causing riots in 3rd world countries--thank you, Al Gore).

“In January of this year [2005] alternative health practitioner and self-style “health nut” Colleen Huber made an attempt to do just such a worked-out analysis of processed vs. whole organic food costs.

Colleen made two complete weekly menus, one using processed food and one using fresh foods. She did all her shopping at a single, standard supermarket, and chose mid-priced brands of processed foods (not generics). She followed some reasonable ground rules, and we couldn’t detect any particular bias in the menus she constructed. In addition to the menus, Colleen’s article lists detailed “register tapes” with prices and weights for all the foods she purchased for each set of menus.

At the end of the day, the processed food menu cost USD $123.64, while the fresh, organic menu cost USD $122.42.” Real food cheaper

I make no attempt to buy organic, but do buy a lot of fresh. So my food bill would probably be even lower. Don't let the economic scare mongers tell you what to eat.

Thanks to Janeen who's eating good for the wonderful tomatoes photo.

Ghosts at the Olympics

As fabulous as the Olympics were--the opening and closing spectaculars especially--I couldn't help but feel the death. The death of millions and millions of Chinese citizens by government slaughter, starvation, relocation and reeducation and untold millions more through abortion and infanticide (family planning). In the 20th century, no government was responsible for more deaths than Communist China and its Mao led hysteria. But in this country we fell for a lot of the same nonsense and misinformation. Remember Paul Ehrlich?

In 1967, Stanford entomologist Paul Ehrlich began a magazine article by writing that “the battle to feed all of humanity is over.” He predicted that “in the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now” to feed them. His article eventually became a book called The Population Explosion, one of the most influential books of the last 40 years.

None of Ehrlich’s dire predictions came true. People did die, but they died as a result of population-control efforts that were spurred by Ehrlich’s imaginary “population explosion.”

In the face of such a so-called “threat,” human dignity gave way. If people did not “voluntarily” limit family size, then coercion and deception stepped in. In India, for example, millions of men and women were sterilized against their will.

This story is told in a new book, Population Control: Real Costs, Illusory Benefits, by Steven Mosher. Read review at Chuck Colson’s column.

And so millions more will die as we rush head long into our anthropogenic global warming hysteria to add to the millions killed with the DDT ban brought on by Rachel Carson's book.

The smears against Palin

This morning I've been browsing the Lexis-Nexis database on presidential campaigns. Found a Democrat smear site that inserted snarky, insulting headings above news snippets, assigning all sorts of innuendos and obscure meanings to things. This one I've also seen on Ohio bumpers.

“Palin's father has a bumper sticker on his truck that says, "Vegetarian: Old Indian word for bad hunter" (Bragg, Anchorage Daily News, 9/1)”.

That one ought to rally the PETA branch of Dem kooks. Right up there with Mitt's dog riding in a carrier on top of the car 20+ years ago. Any decent animal lover would have put a kid in the carrier and made room for the dog in the car. Or released the dog to the wild, since people shouldn't own pets anyway.

Children in bars

We'd planned to go to Rusty Bucket last night--our Friday night place, but because of the holiday it wasn't open. Instead we went to Bag of Nails, our former favorite date place, located in Tremont shopping center in our old neighborhood of 35 years. Both are sort of "sports bars"--Bucket more so with multiple TV screens and a larger bar section, but Nails has two bars in two rooms. Both are family friendly, but I do hate to see people plop their children down on bar stools.

Last night I saw something at Nails I hadn't seen before. Five children ages about 8-12 years old in a booth with no adult or parent, 2 girls and 3 boys. It's possible that the oldest boy was the "babysitter." They were a little loud, but remarkably well behaved for no adult around. All had cell phones, and the activity seemed to be texting each other across the table. But something just doesn't seem right turning five children loose with lots of cash in a sports bar, even one in a neighborhood shopping center. Any thoughts?

Girls they just wanna have fun--in libraries

Can hardly believe that after almost 40 years of the current women's movement, we still need special programs to "fix" girls who chose interests other than boys. How sexist is that? It's the old "gender divide" we heard about in the early 90s.. . before these girls were born! And they still can't get teen girls to think computers are fun? Aren't they text messaging, talking on cell phones, sharing it all on FaceBook or what ever social site is popular now, downloading the latest teen music? I think they are techie enough to suit their needs. Give up and let the girls be girls.

Farmer, Lesley S.J.. "Girls and Technology: What Public Libraries Can Do" Library Hi Tech News 25(5)(June 2008) - Public libraries that have computers labs, offer free internet access, IT training programs and console games that all enjoy high usage may make the mistake of not analysing the use and effectiveness of those programs. After all, if it ain't broke (people are using the library and facilities are booked out) then why fix it (why waste time analysing success)? Farmer's article is a call to public libraries to ensure that their programs are meeting the needs of an underserved cohort of library members -- teenage girls. Farmer's assertions that "even in the twenty-first century, a gendered digital divide exists" and "libraries offer a safe learning environment for girls to explore technology" should remind public library managers, childrens' and youth services librarians and IT librarians to ensure that their IT programs and facilities include this important group of library members. An easy-to-read article backed up by statistics, an outline of principles to consider when planning IT programs, and some examples of successful public library programs.
Summary from Current Cites, August 2008

Maybe someone should suggest books to the teen girls. I hear they still like Jane Austen. It might just be innovative enough to work!

Women voters

“ . . . what factor is mostly likely to determine the winner of Colorado's nine electoral votes. His [Dick Wadhams, chairman of the Colorado GOP] answer: Women.” Political Diary, WSJ, Aug 31, 2008 “John McCain is uniquely situated to capture the suburban female swing vote. Mr. McCain's emphasis on fiscal responsibility plays especially well with this crowd and, as "security moms," they value his leadership on foreign policy. Moreover, helping to shift the needle recently, "these voters are really moved by the energy issue" and highly supportive of Mr. McCain's call for more drilling.”

And adding Governor Palin certainly didn't hurt.

This economy

Although we hear a lot of mumbling about “this economy” (most of the people we hang out with are Democrats), it’s been a pretty good summer for my husband. He’s sold 5 paintings and 22 prints; we have no way to judge or compare with others since he’s not a full time artist--just a hobbiest. Our neighbor here at Lakeside is an auctioneer. He says he’s had a fabulous summer. “There’s money out there,” is a paraphrase that came through our porch screen. One item (consignment auction) where the base price was $800, went for $37,000. Tibetan 17th century must be in big demand. A number of neighbors are retired teachers or university faculty with far more in STRS than I have, plus they all seem to "consult" or "substitute," or "mentor," and I know it isn't about the money.

One thing I haven’t seen addressed in the “this economy” poor-mouth, media stories is how we retirees are spending our money. Remember, the boomers are now 60. They have all their “wants and needs” for big ticket consumer goods, and so they aren’t buying homes, cars and refrigerators. With a demographic that big, even without a mortgage problem brought on by shaky loan methods of zero money down and flipping houses for investments, I would think there would be a softening of the economy.

Also, many retirees know how to tighten their belts--we had years of experience when we were younger. But like us, many retirees decided to see a bit of the world before checking into the retirement home. The first 10 years of our marriage, we had no vacations at all. For the next 30 years, we primarily vacationed at Lakeside, my mother’s farm, or visited relatives while younger families went into debt for Disney World, ski vacations, or a sandy beach on either coast. However, since I retired we’ve been on an Alaskan cruise, tours to Germany and Austria, Ireland, Italy, trips to Finland and Russia, a 16 day Amtrak trip, and several architectural bus tours through the U.S. In the spring we’re going to the Holy Land and my husband is signed up for his third mission trip to Haiti (participants pay their own way). Yes, some of that money has stayed in the United States to be spread around the travel, leisure and service industries, but an awful lot has traveled out of the country starting with foreign airlines, and going to foreign hotels and restaurants and tourist sites. The U.S. exports a lot of its travel dollars.

Also, as usual, there’s a disconnect between how people see their own lives, and the general condition of others--most Americans are optimistic about their own situation, but not others’:

“But here's the bad news for the dour Democrats in Denver -- most Americans don't share their economic pessimism. That's the finding of public opinion expert Karlyn Bowman of the American Enterprise Institute. "Most Americans are feeling pretty good about their jobs and their personal lives," she says after investigating the fine details of recent polls. Her report goes right to Mr. Gramm's concern about the gap between actual economic performance and the dreary negativity of politicians and the media.

She finds that 76% of Americans say they are actually optimistic about the direction of their own lives and their personal economic situations -- even though only 18% are optimistic about the country. That's the big disconnect. "These numbers haven't changed much over time," Ms. Bowman tells me. Political Diary