Desperate Democrats who can count

Just like they used to count Vice President Cheney's military deferments, Democrats are now counting Vice President elect-to-be Palin's colleges. They found six (no one knows about Obama's undergrad record or transcripts or whether he attended on a diversity plan, because that would be racist to reveal; but it's not sexist to question a woman's record). Knowing that my husband (h.s. class of 1957) had about as many deferments as Cheney or more, I decided to count my colleges, and came up with at least five, including one in Indiana that has changed it's name, so don't ask which one, and one in Maine (I think it was Colby) where I partied too much and never transferred the credit I did get (a C I think), so the U. of I. has no record that I attended. What U. of I. does have for me is a record number of course withdrawals, because I would hit the road if my grades weren't high enough, and withdraw before the deadline. Now, my standards were a bit high--I didn't like getting B's and I didn't take easy courses, but that method did keep my accum in the A- range. Then when I went to graduate school (library science) we were required to take tests in four areas, whether or not we'd taken the classes for credit, although the tests would have no impact on our grade average or continuing in school. I failed all four, but had straight A's in grad school--obviously those tests didn't test anything we had in the courses.

You just can't please a Democrat. They didn't like George W. Bush's Ivy League credentials, didn't matter he had better grades than Kerry. All their guys but one (was it Biden?) voted to go to war, but it's all GWB's fault. They built the hysteria about WMD to cover for their guys, and then denied it to the high heavens. GWB ignores them and their criticism, he won't govern by polls and focus groups and a desire for a legacy--and they hate that because then they can't manipulate him. I hope Palin does the same. Democrats are such snobs and whiners. And to think I used to be one for 40 years!

Speaking of college educations, if all you did was invest your kids' college costs in an IRA for four years, when s/he retired he'd have much more than your neighbor's son who went to Yale, Columbia or Harvard with their huge endowments and Marxist professors. Or maybe send her to a small state university, save the difference and see how far she can go.

Deja Vu--the Clinton middle class tax cuts

Obama says he will give tax cuts to 95% of the American people. We've heard it before. Bill Clinton said he was going to give the middle class tax cuts during the 1992 presidential campaign. (Obama doesn't seem to know that the poor don't pay income tax, but that's another blog.) It didn't take long for Clinton to change his mind--about a month, because The NYT called him on it on February 18, 1993, about a month after his inauguration.

"In selling his economic plan, President Clinton is gambling that voters never took seriously his campaign promise to lower the tax burden of the middle class and will respond favorably to an aggressive pitch based on equal measures of hope, fear and class revenge.

After months of polling and research, Mr. Clinton's top political advisers say they are convinced that middle-class voters will support higher taxes. The advisers say the voters will see the new taxes as the price of great improvements in Government service and as inflicting a just punishment on the rich who profited during the Reagan and Bush Administrations." Complete story

Apparently, the voters did forgive him, because they gave him another term (I'd learned my lesson by then and didn't vote for him in 1996). But the lesson of history is, don't believe any candidate when he/she promises to reduce your taxes. It's just campaign rhetoric. What's scary is, Obama has actually promised to raise taxes--but of course not for you and me, just on corporations and the rich. Yeah.

Foul, Fowler and Fowlest

What is it with Democrat party poo-bahs named Fowler? First there was that Fowler guy who joked about Gustave arriving just in time for the GOP convention, and now Carol Fowler, who has an incredibly low opinion of women who use a choice she doesn't approve of. Choices, you see, are only for Democrats.

The South Carolina Democratic Chairwoman, Carol Fowler, offered the kind of shot at Sarah Palin that the Republicans have been complaining about, but which Democrats have largely avoided, in an interview with Politico today. Fowler said McCain had chosen a running mate "whose primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion." Politico

The change line from 2000 campaign

This morning on WOSU I watched a rehash of past presidential debates--Dole and Clinton, Gore and Bush, and I think there were references to others, but by then I was in the shower. It's interesting to listen to the Bush campaign promises of 2000--he was promising change, and was running as an outsider. Also he and Gore agreed on what to do if the U.S. were attacked--retaliate. So I looked at the transcript of the Oct. 11, 2000 debate, and see that Bush stayed with his vision for the Middle East, even if you don't think declaring war to preserve peace makes sense (it's a common theme through out history). Both men were equally firm about defending Israel and "friends." It was interesting how often they agreed on the Persian Gulf, Rwanda and Saddam. They could have easily been running together instead of on separate tickets.

Bush: Peace in the Middle East is in our nation's interests. Having a hemisphere that is free for trade and peaceful is in our nation's interests. Strong relations in Europe is in our nation's interest. I've thought a lot about what it means to be the president. I also understand that an administration is not one person, but an administration is dedicated citizens who are called by the president to serve the country, to serve a cause greater than self, and so I've thought about an administration of people who represent all America, but people who understand my compassionate and conservative philosophy." Gore: "We need to insist that Arafat send out instructions to halt some of the provocative acts of violence that have been going on. I think that we also have to keep a weather eye toward Saddam Hussein because he is taking advantage of this situation to once again make threats, and he needs to understand that he's not only dealing with Israel, he is dealing -- he's dealing with us if he is making the kind of threats that he's talking about there." Bush: "I think it's important to reach out to moderate Arab nations, like Jordan and Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. It's important to be friends with people when you don't need each other so that when you do there's a strong bond of friendship. And that's going to be particularly important in dealing not only with situations such as now occurring in Israel, but with Saddam Hussein. The coalition against Saddam has fallen apart or it's unraveling, let's put it that way. The sanctions are being violated. We don't know whether he's developing weapons of mass destruction. He better not be or there's going to be a consequence should I be the president." MODERATOR: People watching here tonight are very interested in Middle East policy, and they are so interested they want to base their vote on differences between the two of you as president how you would handle Middle East policy. Is there any difference? GORE: I haven't heard a big difference in the last few exchanges. BUSH: That's hard to tell. I think that, you know, I would hope to be able to convince people I could handle the Iraqi situation better. MODERATOR: Saddam Hussein, you mean, get him out of there? GORE: " . . . I was one of the few members of my political party to support former President Bush in the Persian Gulf War resolution, and at the end of that war, for whatever reason, it was not finished in a way that removed Saddam Hussein from power. I know there are all kinds of circumstances and explanations. But the fact is that that's the situation that was left when I got there. And we have maintained the sanctions. Now I want to go further. I want to give robust support to the groups that are trying to overthrow Saddam Hussein, . . ."

The amazing technicolor campaign

Lipstick? We're listening to pundits argue about what an old saw about a pig in lipstick means? A man makes a slip in discussing faith and says Moslem instead of Christian and the talk shows have a melt down? Come on, folks. Let's get real! He got a laugh from the lipstick comment, then he segued to something about a fish wrapper, and flubbed it. Consider my theory. Obama attempts to talk in four vernaculars--the Kansas, mid-western twang of the grandparents who raised him, the snobbish Kerry-esque of the Ivy League schools he attended, the obscure, murky language lawyers use, and the patois of the ghetto. Are you surprised he sometimes mixes up his idioms, jargon, slang and metaphors? Admit it. You would too if you weren't sure who your audience was.

Update: an 8 page list of figures of speech (used in scripture) with the English translation.

Another convert

He was a 60s war protester, a community organizer, a Jew, a New Yorker in the midwest and he hired Obama for his first job in Chicago. He's also a convert to Christianity and is now a Roman Catholic. Read the story of Jerry Kellerman here at Busted Halo. Watching the angry leftists attack Palin for her religion (Pentecostal, Bible based, pro-life), makes me think Christians are getting some payback for denying Obama's faith. Let's stop throwing stones at those the Lord has forgiven and welcomed into the Kingdom. Even if you (left and right) don't understand the concept.

15 reasons to like Palin

and why Janet Folger says Governor Palin on the ticket will lead to McCain's victory in November:

1) She is solidly pro-life. When running for office, Palin called herself as "pro-life as any candidate can be." But what about the tough cases? She's not only right on paper; she's put her faith to action. In April of this year, Palin gave birth to a child with Down syndrome and feels blessed that God chose her to care for this special baby.

2) She is pro-marriage. Palin opposes redefining marriage. She supported the Alaska Constitutional Amendment to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman, which passed in 1998 by nearly 70 percent.

3) She is pro-God. While a lot of people talk about God and claim Christianity, we judge a tree by its fruit. And Sarah has it. We can see it all the way back to high school where she headed the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and led the team in prayer before games.

4) She's fiscally conservative. As mayor, Palin kept her campaign promise to reduce the salary of the office and reduced property taxes by 40 percent. Homeowners can stand up and cheer. Shortly after taking office as governor, Palin auctioned the state's jet on eBay. Taxpayers can now cheer – finally someone who'll pass up the perks to serve us.

5) She is pro-drilling. Palin has been an articulate spokesperson for drilling, including opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, in direct opposition to Obama, Pelosi and the Democrats who insist we buy our gas from the terrorists.

6) She is a woman. The 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling are about to shatter. Thank you, Hillary, for helping to pave the way. But Palin's not just a woman – she's the right woman.

7) She has executive experience. She is the only one running who has the executive experience needed to help lead this country.

8) She is outside the Beltway. You could hardly get farther outside the Beltway than Sarah Palin in miles and in philosophy.

9) She is pro-gun. A life-long member of the NRA, Palin is someone who really believes in the Second Amendment. She woke up at 3 a.m. to hunt moose with her father before going to school. When that 3 a.m. call comes, she's already up and ready.

10) She is pro-defense. She was visiting the troops in Kuwait and wounded soldiers in Germany long before she was running for vice president. That other guy didn't even visit them when he wanted to become commander in chief. Her son, Track, enlisted in the Army on Sept. 11 of last year and will be deployed to Iraq on Sept. 11 of this year.

11) She is against corruption. Palin fought corruption even within her own party and publicly questioned Republican Sen. Ted Stevens about the federal investigation that resulted in indictment.

12) She is young. The youngest governor ever to hold office in her state. Younger and more experienced than what's-his-name.

13) She has already won over McCain opponents. Dr. James Dobson, who has said in the past that he would not vote for McCain, with Palin on the ticket, is now enthusiastically behind him with "the same excitement he felt when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated."

14) She turns voters into workers. Callers on my radio program who were previously apathetic said the choice moved them to tears and would move them to action. It has not only turned non-voters into McCain voters, it has turned those who were only planning to vote into those who are willing to work – and work hard.

15) She represents "change." While the other ticket talks of "change," the first woman on a GOP ticket is a far cry from the same ol' same ol' Washington insider choice Obama made.

The Republican Party is breathing fresh air. And hope is now more than just a word in this election.

Story here.

Doesn't look like America

On C-SPAN this morning there was a droning, boring press conference with Sean McCormack of the State Department (yesterday). It followed the usual format: the reporter jams as much information into the question, including long quotes from government documents, as he can, then twists it to try to catch the administration official, knowing it won't be answered. Then the spokesman says something to the effect, "I can't speak to that," or "I'll have to check on that and get back to you," or "As you well know, the Congress blah, blah,. . ."

The final question was on diversity in the State Department--and why doesn't it look more like America, and could he supply specific numbers. He agreed; it doesn't look like America, despite goals and plans, and that he would look into the rules and regulations about which department has those figures.

The camera angle/view then moved back as the event ended and the press corp stood up to leave the room (before this I hadn't seen how many people were in the room, but the spokesman knew them all by name). Interestingly, that group didn't look like America either. I think I saw two women (although with clothing styles, it is hard to tell), and maybe two people of color, one of whom was foreign (from the accent). Pot to Kettle.

Change you can xerox

Here's an interesting story from a Canadian blogger. Says Obama's been borrowing phrases again.

Taranto looks into community organizing

"As a "community organizer," Obama toiled within a subculture of such abject dependency that even home repairs were "social services," provided by government (or, in Obama's Chicago, not provided). It was an utterly bizarre intersection between the cultural elite and the underclass. By Judis's account, Obama's Columbia degree was useless. He would have been more helpful if he'd gone to vocational school instead." Story here.

PUMA not happy with "surrogate" headline

"Obama to Dispatch Female Surrogates, the NYT validated Obama’s claim to having executive experience, I guess Obama didn’t like that, so he put in word, and then, presto, the New York Times turned it into something about the Obama CAMP , that faceless entity that makes decisions for the Lord Obama. . ." PUMA Who knew the NYT would take orders from Obama?

Who ya gonna call, Ohio?

"The latest numbers also show that overall, McCain is trusted more than Obama by a 54% to 41% margin. In addition, the plurality of voters (42%) say they would not be comfortable at all with Obama as president. Just 25% say that about McCain. If voters were faced with the toughest decision of their lives, 54% say they would rather ask McCain for advice, while 38% would choose Obama." Rassmussen poll, Sept 9

What Sarah's got that her savagers don't

"In short, Sarah Palin is the emblem of what feminism was supposed to be all about: an unafraid, independent, audacious woman, who soared on her own merits without the aid of a patriarchal jumpstart, high-brow matrimonial tutelage and capital, and old-boy liaisons and networking." Victor Davis Hanson

Fourth time--is it a charm?

I picked up my new glasses this morning. This is the fourth pair since early June. I had selected dark, rectangular frames (sort of early 1960-ish), all the rage right now, but got some strange reflection, like a prism, where the lens and frame met--tried 3 different styles, both metal and plastic. I finally said I would have to go back to something similar to my old pair, with a frame only at the top. This photo is either the first or second pair, when I wore them occasionally in Italy in June. The third pair I could see distance and computer range, but couldn't read comfortably. I wore those about 15 minutes. No one will even notice the fourth pair because even I can hardly tell them from the old ones.

Palliative is now pro-active

Don't miss this very disturbing article at Junk Food Science about end-of-life care, palliative care, government health insurance, and new legislation in California which requires caregivers to encourage patients to end their lives when a cure isn't possible.

"As similar distortion of the meaning of palliative care was also seen in a very troubling editorial that appeared in the August issue of the American Journal of Nursing, suggesting that nurses can and should help terminally ill patients hasten their dying. It was authored by Judith Schwarz, Ph.D., RN, who is the clinical coordinator for the northeast branch of the assisted suicide advocacy group, the Hemlock Society, now calling itself Compassion & Choices in the Northeast. She is also the contributing editor for ethical issues for the American Journal of Nursing. Her editorial was republished online by the Nursing Center."

Like abortion, the wording of the California bill is couched in "choice" terms. "Compassion & Choices" is the new, improved and laundered name of the Hemlock Society, the pro-suicide group, and it was the sponsor of the California bill. It's a long article, I can't summarize, so go there and read it. Judith Schwarz, whose opinion piece is in the AJN is having a workshop on 9/11 in NYC. How tacky is that? In her photo she looks like an older Nurse Ratched.

Time out for a commercial

I love Bounty paper towels. If you're buying the 60 cent kind that melts in your hand as soon as it hits water, how are you saving money? I just cleaned my entire kitchen with 3 half sections of Bounty! First I folded it to fit my hand and then dampened that. I wiped down the glass stove top which is very picky. Then I rinsed it. Then I wiped down the marble counter tops and wood cabinets, rinsed and cleaned around the faucets. Then I sprinkled Bon Ami in my 18 year old ceramic sink which gets stained easily because of scratches and scrubbed hard with the folded piece of Bounty. When it was sparkling (rinsing the towel as I went), I scrubbed the two sink drainers (metal), rinsed, and then the inside of the garbage disposal. I rinsed again, then wiped down the marble floors, which are almost as cranky about what you can use as the glass stove top. No dirty sponge gather bacteria or rag to wash.

I also use Bounty to quick cook fresh veggies in the microwave, by placing a soaked piece on top of the raw veggies in a small glass bowl. It also works marvelously for warming up left overs, because they don't dry out in the reheating--just place a damp piece of Bounty over the bowl or dish. They are soft enough to grab a piece for a table napkin if you are out, or even in place of a Kleenex. I've also used them in place of table mats. When we eat on the deck, a section of Bounty and some Windex (glass table) does the trick in seconds.

I've tried the others, but they just don't hold up! Around here Bounty is about $1 a roll, and if you buy humongous quantities, they may be less, but I rarely buy more than a package of 8, and keep a roll in the kitchen, the bathrooms, and the laundry room.

Faith and the American Presidency

How much do you know (or can you guess) about the American Presidents and their faith? This is a multiple choice quiz which gives you a better score than fill in the blank, which I would have flunked. As it is, I got 15 out of 20 correct. That's not a terrific score for someone who enjoys reading biographies of presidents.

Sarah Palin’s Christian testimony

You’ve heard Obama and McCain interviewed by Rick Warren, and maybe you heard a CNN reporter giving snippets and declaring them scary. Here’s a recording of her testimony in her words. If you don't want to hear the ads and a telephone interview with a woman who was at the Republican convention, start about 1/3 into the tape. It lasts about 14 minutes and she is speaking to a particular graduating group and there were special guests in the audience. According to the host, the site at the church got so many hits, it brought down their server, but someone had captured it. It is going around the internet, and I'm sure for non-Christians not accustomed to the language, certain phrases will sound very foreign. I've heard many similar send offs (although not from our governor). The pastor talks about Alaska being a refuge state "in the last days." Although I'm not a dispensationalist and have never heard this particular point, I don't think it hurts one bit to live your life as though Jesus were coming back this afternoon. I think Martin Luther said something similar, as did St. Paul.

Update: Today I was reading Martin Luther's letter that accompanied his translation (?)/commentary of the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. He was so convinced that they were in the last days and the Lord was coming back, he wasn't sure it was worth it to get the book into German so the ordinary person could read it. When I find it again, I'll post, but it was very interesting. A letter to John Frederic, I think. Anyway, CNN needs to upgrade its understanding of Christian eschatology.

The tale of two women

Kinky Friedman says the tale of two women is about the one McCain picked and the one Obama didn't. Agreed. If Obama had chosen Hillary, he would be unbeatable. I wasn't supporting Hillary (especially since Bill was part of the package), but the snub of her and her followers was huge. Now . . . we'll just have to see, but it looks like he might lose.

Their love is here to stay

Richard at 3 Score and 10 tells about his wife's illness, cancelled cruise plans, and a bad insurance package that ripped them off. But here was the silver lining, I thought.

"I mentioned a long time ago that when she was in the hospital in Finland, unconscious, I sat beside her every day and sang to her. (Lots of songs, but always including Our Love is Here to Stay by George and Ira Gershwin, it was "our song" when we were courting, and I sang it to her at our wedding reception) Now we sit together every night, after we have prayer, and sing "Its very clear, our love is here to stay, Not for a year but ever and a day". Now, we sing it together, usually adding some Finnish songs including Hosianna Davidin Poika (Hosanna to the Son of David). No matter how lousy the day has been, I feel better after that."

Sniff.

Black raspberries might fight colon cancer

Ohio State professor of public health Gary Stoner has co-authored a study that reports black raspberries are rich in several substances thought to have cancer-preventing properties. Of course, you’d need to eat about 4 bowls of berries a day to get the benefits. Story here. I wonder if . . .



Right now in the freezer we have Pierre's Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip, but I can't find a picture or mention of it on their home page.

Listening to lies about the economy

CNN had extensive coverage of Biden banging the drum for a depression, and the sooner the better. Yes, he actually was doing that even when the August 2008 report read thusly:

Real median household income in the United States climbed 1.3 percent between 2006 and 2007, reaching $50,233, according to a report released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. This is the third annual increase in real median household income.

Meanwhile, the nation’s official poverty rate in 2007 was 12.5 percent, not statistically different from 2006. There were 37.3 million people in poverty in 2007, up from 36.5 million in 2006. The number of people without health insurance coverage declined from 47 million (15.8 percent) in 2006 to 45.7 million (15.3 percent) in 2007.

However, I went in an looked at the 2007 Census report and was charmed to see what I realized my last few years of working. We were in a recession in 1999 and 2000; then the 9/11 attacks took place in 2001, we went to war, and although the economy struggled, Bush took on the burst bubble from Clinton, as the next president will take on this burst bubble. (U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1968 to 2008 Annual Social and Economic Supplements., p. 5)

Household income is going to continue to go down, Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama--hello! Have you heard? Baby Boomers are retiring! They certainly aren't poor, but they aren't living on salaries, but on investments, that item Obama wants to tax more (i.e., the rich). They aren't buying high end consumer goods; they aren't buying new houses; they don't need new clothes and new cars. I bought my van in 2002, I love it, and see no reason to trade. My income (a pension check) is about 1/3 of my (fabulous) salary. They're taking money out of the country and spending it in Europe and Asia.

And we continue to import poor people to flood our social services at the bottom. Neither McCain nor Obama have a plan to stop a huge economic and social problem created by bad legislation in the 1960s when socialist brain surgeons decided the country was too white and too European.

Change? Hope? You bet. And you'd better hope someone is paying attention to demographics, or you'll be as famous as FDR following Hoover, dragging us down, and down and down for a full decade.

Watching CNN

election coverage is just sputtering amazing! I've never seen so many sour faces and lame excuses as I have today watching CNN's stunned disbelief (still) about the McCain Palin ticket. This is not a gang I usually watch. If they weren't so pathetic, I'd laugh. As it is, I'm just smiling. Next: an expose of her church. Hmmm. Now why would they be looking there? I don't think they'll find another Jeremiah, but whoever they find, I'm sure they'll build a story. She worshipped at a (whisper) pentecostal church!!!! Spiritual quicksand, I believe were the words. How judgemental. They speak in (whisper) tongues!!! OMG! (So do Lutherans in my church.) And now she attends a Bible Church (independent, non-denominational). Now they are parsing her words about prayer.

I've now had this program (Blitzer?) on for over 30 minutes, and it's been one big bash-fest of McCain-Palin, from quoting Democrats to each other. Ooops. Now interviewing a former aide, Meg Stapleton--and Blitzer is trying to refute what she is saying, and he is trying to paint Palin as a flip flopper. Stapleton makes a statement; Blitzer restates it--wrong. The man looks like a hired hit man for Obama.

The baby and the former POW

Have a little baby and a candidate ever shared the spotlight at a presidential convention? If Sarah and Todd Palin never do another good thing in their lives, they have probably saved more than a few babies from distruction just by showing him off and calling him perfection. They've called attention, or the media have, to the awful news that over ninety percent of these little ones are being aborted after testing reveals their situation. But to have him on stage with a man who also survived when others wanted him dead and broken. That is just a perfect image of this passage in Isaiah 46 where God says false gods like Bel and Nebo are burdensome and unable to rescue:

Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all you who remain of the house of Israel,
You whom I have upheld since you were conceived,
and have carried since your birth.
Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.