John Kerry unhinged

Watched him on Fox last night. A scary dude. So glad he was defeated in Ohio in 2004 which kept him out of the White House.

It's very clear the Democrats have dropped the bailout ball--going all the way back to President Carter in the 1970s when this social engineering of the poor began with the "American dream" of home ownership and expanded under Clinton in 1993. Did the rich get richer? You bet. Oh, and the agencies, lobbyists, and foundations that mushroomed to help the poor. How many jobs did they produce for recent idealist college grads? The rich usually benefit in these social engineering programs, particularly the people putting them in place with the regulations and loop-holes, blocking reform. The Chris Dodd and Barney Frank dog and pony show--wonder how much richer these guys were in 2007 compared to 2004? Well, guys, it's probably gone now, at least on paper--but the people in Congress don't seem to suffer that much, do they? Fewer rich people for Obama to tax. And you know what that means, don't you? The tax man cometh for you.

I don't always recommend a Wiki, but I'm in a hurry to get to my volunteer job today--if you're a Democrat or Marxist, there will be plenty of sources pointing the other way, but you'll have to find them on your own:

"In early 1993 President Bill Clinton ordered new regulations for the CRA which would increase access to mortgage credit for inner city and distressed rural communities.[7] The new rules went into effect on January 31, 1995 and featured: requiring strictly numerical assessments to get a satisfactory CRA rating; using federal home-loan data broken down by neighborhood, income group, and race; encouraging community groups to complain when banks were not loaning enough to specified neighborhood, income group, and race; allowing community groups that marketed loans to targeted groups to collect a fee from the banks.[4][6]

The new rules, during a time when many banks were merging and needed to pass the CRA review process to do so, substantially increased the number and aggregate amount of loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers for home loans, some of which were "risky mortgages." " Community Reinvestment Act

Real food

in times of real stress and real need. Today I looked up the raw peach to check the nutritional value. It is low in calories and fat, but high in carbs, so nutritionists seem to think they are a mixed blessing. Not me. When I was a little girl, my nickname was Peachy. I love peaches. Apples, particularly Honey Crisp, are my first choice, but I'm out--only have Braeburn and Gala on hand. So I sliced up two peaches (leave on the skin) and grilled lightly in some margarine, sprinkled with cinnamon and a touch of vanilla, topped with a 1/2 cup of whole walnuts, and I'm enjoying a warm, delicious breakfast almost as much as if I had an apple. My favorite way to eat peaches is in warm peach pie with vanilla ice cream.

If you're under stress because of what is happening to your pension or your plans to buy a new home, you'd better stop with the salty, crunchy snacks that provide pleasure and no benefits and start with some good food. Real food. In the long run, it's a bargain. It will cost you less to eat real food, you'll feel like you're doing something useful (preparing), and you'll get more mileage for your dollar.

Today I chatted with a man at the coffee shop who has a very important job. He was having a large coffee, a large cinnamon roll, and a large chocolate chip cookie. He needs to be kinder to his tummy and brain.

Monday Memories--credit for the payroll

In 1960 I was a secretary at a small tool and die company in Indianapolis. I ran the office, answered the phone, prepared invoices, filed, wrote the checks for payroll, ordered supplies--the usual, plus made the coffee and cleaned the restrooms. After a few days of my coffee, the boss relieved me of that job. My boss was good looking for an old guy--he was about 33 and had a glass eye (I was 20 so he seemed ancient.)

After a month or so, and I learned to drive the truck, I was sent downtown to the bank to get a loan either for payroll or for the next job. I just did what I was told, but even I knew the boss was borrowing against a job that most likely we didn't have yet, or was a long way from the design table. But it all seemed to work.

I hadn't thought about that little building with the gravel drive-way and the trips to the bank to borrow money for the boss who hadn't finished elementary school until thinking about all the companies this week wondering about their line of credit for payroll, remodeling or new products. One or two missteps and I think that Indy bank would've owned the company and my boss's house. Now we have to wait and see what the brilliant minds with years of experience and advanced Ivy League degrees who got us into this mess will do to save our homes and businesses.

A note to visitors behaving badly

Think of visiting a blog as visiting another's home, or sitting in a restaurant overhearing a conversation, or waiting in line at the theater listening to the opinions of the others interested in the same film. Don't loose your manners just because you think no one will know. If you read something here you don't like, fine, leave a comment. Make your case. But if you insult me because I'm not a Democrat, or not a Marxist, or not your religion or not your sex, or you're young and I'm old, and you bring out the spray paint or throw your feces instead of being reasonable and joining the conversation, then you will be deleted, tossed in the trash. Think about your own home or property--you would not want such trespassers behaving badly, would you?

The good news

Sandy always looks on the bright side and refuses to be scared by government stats asking for more money:

after infancy, old age is the single biggest risk for dying. In 2004, the death rate was:

0.08% for ages 18-24 (38% lower than in 1950)

0.19% for ages 35-44

0.42% for ages 45-54

0.91% for ages 55-64 (52% lower than in 1950)

2.16% for ages 65-74

5.27% for ages 75-84

13.82% for ages 85+ (32% lower than in 1950)

Dying of cancer is one of the biggest fears for young adults, but it can be reassuring to realize that, despite the media portrayals, cancers are primarily diseases of aging. Overall death rates from cancers are 0.09% for ages 25-34 years and don’t even cross above 1% until age 75+. Health of the Nation

Greeting McCain-Palin in Columbus

A friend and I met near her home and drove to Franklin Park Conservatory on Columbus' east side, then boarded a bus to Capital Center on the campus of Capital University. The huge line wound around the streets of Bexley, down an alley, past all the t-shirt, political button and bumper sticker hawkers, until finally we got inside the building. It was great fun with the opportunity for a lot of people-watching before the candidates arrived to loud cheers, roars and music. Of course, there were a lot of university students there, but also people with babies and children. I was surprised by how many disabled people had made the effort to be there--and it was not a comfortable environment if you were on crutches, a cane or in a wheelchair. Palin's promise to be a voice for those with special needs in the White House was met with loud cheers. Although, she could've given the weather report and been cheered. The crowd loved her. Eat your heart out Katie Couric (if you have one). You should be so popular.

Democrats in favor by 140-95

But they blame Republicans for the failure of the bailout bill? Huh? Not a single Republican vote was needed to pass this rescue, plus they insulted John McCain when he returned to work on it. Pelosi is an embarrassment to her party and position--all she did was nag and whine.

Do you remember what you weighed in 7th grade?

I do. I was 5'3" and 114 lbs. by the end of the school year. We had "public" weigh-ins. I don't know how common that was, if it was the teacher's idea, the county or the state; it may have been included on our grade reports. I wasn't teased. Some were, and I'm sure it was a miserable experience for them. No one would put a child through that today. Or would they?

Arkansas has been held up as a national model for its childhood obesity program. The 4th annual report is now out. Junkfood was removed from the schools, nutrition and wellness was included in the curriculum, and exercise and physical activity were included for a recommended healthy lifestyle. The Arkansas Act included compulsory BMI screening with reports sent to parents. Even by the third report, no reduction in childhood obesity was shown, and by the fourth participation was down. It seems the counties with the fewest number of overweight children were showing the most underweight children, and there's concern that the intense focus on weight and a healthy lifestyle might actually be causing children to adopt unhealthy behavior!

Sandy at Junk Food Science has a complete run down on this Arkansas program, and has covered it before, citing studies that show BMI in childhood means nothing for health in adulthood and low-fat diets for children aren't good for their development. In fact, no one even knows what a healthy BMI is for children, and it was never meant to be a diagnostic tool for "good health." Also, there's concern that in a poor state, this unproven program has taken important dollars that could be better used elsewhere (math, science, reading, for example).

Since Act 1220 was enacted in 2003, it has failed to have any measurable effect on children’s weight status; it has failed to demonstrate meaningful improvement in their overall diets or physical activity levels; it has failed to demonstrate improved health outcomes; and there are growing indications that it’s having unintended consequences. Parents, healthcare and educational professionals, as well as taxpayers, might rightfully question if the costs for these school-based initiatives might be better utilized in efforts to help improve the future of Arkansas’ children.

Another really interesting read at Sandy's blog is on the myth of the thin Old Order Amish (Lessons from the Amish), those guys who eat healthy and get lots of exercise--like 12-16 hours a day!

It’s one of the most popular contemporary myths — and the foundation of present-day obesity public policies — that if we all lived rural lifestyles and did hard physical labor all day; ate homegrown, homecooked foods; and had none of today’s modern conveniences and electronics, we would all be thin. It’s a nostalgic vision of past eras ... but it’s not true.

Even living these idealized lifestyles, eating virtuously and physically active far beyond what most of us could imagine, the Old Order Amish are just as fat as the rest of the United States white population. In fact, the average BMIs of mature Amish women (over age 40) are 1-2 kg/m2 higher than those of other U.S. women the same age.

I think the jury is still out on why we're all getting so fat. Maybe we can blame global warming and President Bush.

Inspiring sights and sounds

Thursday I was at the Lane Road Library and parked very close to the walking path that borders the park next to the library. There was a frail woman, a little unsteady--maybe 65-70--walking by herself. She was quite thin and wan, but the glow on her face could have lit up the town. I'm guessing she was recently released from the hospital after surgery or chemo or both and was so grateful to be out and moving on her own. She looked joyous and was taking in every bird, leaf and blade of grass that we miss in our routines. Then later in the day I was doing the mail run for the church and had to back out because a home health van was blocking my exit. The driver hopped out, opened the back doors of the van, and carefully maneuvered a large man in a wheelchair on to the lift, and was lowering it. I couldn't see the man's face--so I don't know who he was. But I thought of all the effort it took for him and his caregivers to get him to Lytham Road so he could attend a Bible Study for an hour. Probably several hours.

Because of the nice weather, we've been able to have the windows open at night, and during the night I can hear the trains--maybe 2 miles from here. Since our Amtrak cross country trip in 2003 I've loved hearing the trains. It's a fabulous way to see the country and meet the folks.

Which candidate understands foreign policy, war, energy and security?

Michelle Obama and the answer.

The bad news, the good news

Burning down the house.



The bad news is that Obama will probably be our next president; the good news is the Democrats have screwed him with the subprime crisis. He probably won't have any money to spend--but then, neither will we!

Norma DISAGREED with the Barack Obama position on 46 of the 51 test questions. This means she disagrees with the Obama position 90% of the time.

Actually, I agreed with him on one question simply because the person who wrote the test worded it so poorly. If you're going to write a test, you shouldn't load it, and some of these are. And this test was obviously written before the current bailout/meltdown. But in the end, you do get to see the poll questions they came from.

Six questions on the bailout

Over at City Journal, Nicole Gelinas thinks President Bush, Secretary Paulson and Congress should have taken a deep breath and answered some questions. Read the whole story--I've included just the questions. But I suspect the trillion dollar deal is done. I can see why Obama didn't want to return to DC to provide input. He doesn't want to be anywhere near this when the far left finds out there's no money for the goodies he's promised. As one commenter at Politico observed, ". . . if you were voting for Obama because of all the freebies he promised he will get you, that ship has sailed. That leaves voting for the candidate that is best at keeping our country secure." Here's the questions.

One. Will this bailout plan actively delay recovery?

Two. Isn’t Treasury worried about the dead-weight loss to the economy that the bailout could represent?

Three. How will this plan restart the now-moribund credit markets?

Four. When the Treasury prices mortgage-related assets under its program, what criteria will it use in assessing current values?

Five. Will the Treasury buy derivative securities like credit-default swaps under this program?

(Six) Bonus Question: The proposed bailout plan means that many creditors to financial institutions would be effectively off the hook for mistakes made by the firms to which those creditors lent money. (Injecting government capital into flailing banks, which some have proposed, could carry the same risk.) But in Thursday’s FDIC-engineered failure of Washington Mutual, the nation’s sixth-largest commercial bank, uninsured creditors will suffer losses made through similar management and investor miscalculations. Why is it acceptable for WaMu creditors to suffer, but not the creditors of the institutions that will be able to sell their bad assets to the taxpayer? Aren’t we setting ourselves up for worse problems in the future, by encouraging future lenders to big financial institutions not to worry too much about the toxic assets those companies may be amassing?

Do you really want to marry a guy who can't commit? His behavior during this economic meltdown was scandalous, in my opinion. He wanted to vote "present" even though he wasn't. He wanted phone consults, not face to face confrontations with people who know what a phony he is. His campaign was more important than developing a plan that won't bankrupt the country, even though he has a good chance of being the guy who will be stuck with the solution which could affect all his glorious socialist programs in our future.

You can call Sarah Palin inexperienced and laugh at her accent, baby son and her college degree, but of the four folks trying to lead, she's the only one who wasn't on hand to sound an alarm, kick some bums out, or just sit it out.

Peggy Noonan's palpable hatred

toward President Bush is never more evident than her huge, fully illustrated article "Hope for America" (no bias here, folks--Obama owns "hope" like Palin owns "lipstick") in the week-end WSJ. After a boring and depressing trip through airport lines (Bush's fault) with the Statue of Liberty's sandals in a plastic bin, she mentions finally McCain's temper. But she never alludes to or outlines Obama's seething anger so obvious in his face in the debate Friday, anger building that McCain had shamed him into returning to Washington to do his job--be a Senator from that great state of Illinois where Chicago is king and goon. She gently fondles and caresses Obama like he was a pre-mature baby on life support, and maybe unconsciously that's what she sees. After all, she was a speech writer for Presidents Reagan and Bush the Father. Give her respect! She coined "kinder and gentler" and "thousand points of light," for Pete's Sake.

A few years ago, after she was no longer included among the favored, she began sounding like the girlfriend not selected to be the bridesmaid, then she graduated to the ex-wife who didn't get her settlement in the divorce, and now she sounds like the former mother-in-law of the guy who deserted his wife. But oh so careful, charming and oozy with her words.

What is anger, after all, if it isn't hanging out the Bernadine and Bill former 60s radicals who wanted to bring down the government; if it isn't listening to years of Rev. Wright smearing white folk while choosing to schmooze and live with them; playing footsie with Israel's enemies who want them bombed out of existence; if it isn't stepping on the necks of those black mentors who elevated him; if it isn't throwing old pals, including Tony Rezko, the mayor of Detroit and your own grandmother who raised you, under the bus. Peggy, wake up. That's hatred. Not flashes of temper or getting testy. Anger from the guy who gets impatient with idiocy and naivete is anger understood.

But you, Peggy? You're just the gal sitting back waiting to be asked to dance. Or maybe even invited to the dance. Good luck with the new book.

If you're skipping Sunday worship . . .

This week I've been reading "A history of Lutheranism" by Eric W. Gritsch (Fortress Press, 2002). Very readable. In chapter 3 (p. 71) there is this interesting explanation on "a catechetical way," and I say interesting because I didn't get much catechism, i.e. instruction, (became a member in the loosey-goosey 70s), and it's not clear to me what our Lutheran (UALC, Columbus) congretation does to instruct new members these days--looks like 2.5 hours on a Sunday afternoon.

"Because Luther had advocated a spiritual equality between clergy and laity based on baptism, he made the ordained and nonordained partners in Christian formation through worship and education. Accordingly, participants in worship need to understand and become part of the Sunday liturgy, and they need to experience their station in life as a divine calling to make faith active in love. Thus, there is an intimate link between the Sunday celebration of God's love in Christ and the Monday obligation of love of neighbor."

Isn't that nicely said? Loving God, and neighbor as yourself begins with Sunday worship. Then the author goes on

"Worship through word and sacrament is the inhaling of divine power, as it were, and making a living in the world is exhaling."

Some of the music in our worship service geared to the youth and gen-x families is so loud and thumpity-bump-bang-crash that I suspect some are mistaking an increase in heart rate for divine power, but then Bach and some Wesley hymns do that for me.

"(p.40) Worship and education were to Luther the twin pillars of Christian life. That is why he urged everyone, especially pastors, to use the liturgy of word and sacrament, together with the catechism, as the bridge from false security and vanity to proper conflict with the world's evil. . . his pedagogical theory is fundamentally collaborative and reinforcing, with the emphasis on voluntary education at home, enforced in church and school."

Sounds quite modern to me. Luther thought that the monastic schools were poor and advocated public schools so that parents could be involved, and he also recommended the establishment of public libraries! I didn't know that. I think we skipped that in the history of librarianship when I was in graduate school.

The boogey man is real; he lives on the internet

Protect the children.



And if your librarian thinks children don't need filters, sit her down in front of this video.

Parenting a teen parent

I wandered into Chipped Polish from UV's blog, and noticed she had a category on parenting a teen parent. Very honest and realistic. I think she's also trying to go to college (grandma, not mom). Kinda makes you grateful for your own problems, you know? But although I don't want to be her, I give her a lot of credit for supporting her daughter's choice. I'm puppy sitting a 3 lb Chihuahua today. . . and. . . she just threw up.

Road to Victory Rally: September 29th in Columbus, OH
doors open 9 a.m.

The Capital Center [Capital University]
On the corner of Main and Pleasant Ridge
Bexley, OH

Republican presidential nominee John McCain is headed to Central Ohio on Monday with vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin for a rally at Capital University in Bexley.

The McCain camp has scheduled a rally at the university’s Capital Center, on the corner of Main Street and Pleasant Ridge Avenue. Doors open at 9 a.m. for the event. [We drove over and looked at the facility. I didn't see any parking that didn't require a sticker. Maybe there will be exceptions. Not a large building.]

Free tickets can be reserved at several Central Ohio outlets. For details and to RSVP

Ticket Locations

(I removed McCain Headquarters because we couldn't find it.)

Ohio Republican Party
211 S Fifth St
Columbus, OH 43215
Hours: Friday 9am-9pm
Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 12pm-6pm
Please click here to reserve a ticket at this location

Franklin County GOP
14 E Gay St
Columbus, OH 43215
Hours: Friday 9am-9pm
Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 12pm-6pm
Please click here to reserve a ticket at this location

Delaware County Victory Center
6011 Columbus Pike
Lewis Center, OH 43035
Hours: Friday 9am-9pm
Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 12pm-6pm
Please click here to reserve a ticket at this location

Fairfield County Victory Center
118 E Main St
Lancaster, OH 43130
Hours: Friday 9am-9pm
Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 12pm-6pm
Please click here to reserve a ticket at this location

Licking County Victory Center
1006 Hebron Rd,
Suite B
Heath, OH 43056
Hours: Friday 9am-9pm
Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 12pm-6pm
Please click here to reserve a ticket at this location

I've tried unsuccessfully to map this place, and finally found an athletic event that gave directions. I hope this is correct, but if not, it can't be worse than some of automated maps which looked like they'd been hacked by a Democrat.

Directions to Capitalʼs Campus

From the east on I-70:
Exit at Livingston Avenue. Turn right at the light and go four blocks to Francis Avenue and turn left. Francis dead ends into Mound Street. Turn left onto Mound and go one block to Pleasant Ridge Avenue. Turn right onto Pleasant Ridge. The Capital Center is on the northeast corner of Mound and Pleasant Ridge.

From the west on I-70:
Exit at the Bexley/Main Street exit. Follow the ramp around onto Alum Creek Drive, which will dead end into Main Street. Turn right on Main Street and go four blocks to Pleasant Ridge Avenue. Turn right on Pleasant Ridge. The Capital Center will be on your left, at the corner of Pleasant Ridge and Mound Street.

We've always had an economy, only recently have we had televised debates

The back story on televised debates from the Chicago Tribune.

When Vice President Richard Nixon met Sen. John Kennedy in the 1960 debates, it was more than a television first. It was the first time ever that the nominees for the country's highest office had met in face-to-face debate. For more than a century and a half, candidates for president left that job to political surrogates.

There were no debates in 1964, 1968 and 1972 because federal law made televised presidential debates impossible. Until President Gerald Ford and Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter squared off in 1976, the "equal-time" law required anyone who sponsored a televised debate to invite every candidate for president to participate. Typically, more than 200 people register as candidates with the Federal Election Commission. The 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debates happened only because Congress authorized a one-time exemption to the equal-time law. In 1976, the Federal Communications Commission and the courts reinterpreted the law, deciding that a debate was a "news event" exempt from the equal-time requirement.

It takes more than a change in the law to change a nation, and we Americans owe our tradition of televised presidential debates to two Republicans and one Democrat. When President Ford agreed to debate Gov. Carter, he ignored the political wisdom that an incumbent should never agree to share the stage with a challenger. Ford later credited his performance in the debates with his comeback—after trailing badly, he lost the election by a single percentage point. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan was ahead in the polls, but chose to debate Walter Mondale anyway. And in 1960, it was two-time Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson who first proposed the idea of televised presidential debates. But for Stevenson, Nixon and Kennedy would never have debated and there would be no televised presidential debates today.

Chicago tribune via LibraryLaw.com

I think that last sentence is a bit of a stretch--I think someone would have eventually come up with the idea had Stevenson not thought of it in 1960. Sounds like a bit of Illinois hype on that part (he was governor of that state), but the rest is interesting.

Neo-Neocon says: "I’ve never understand why the debates are considered so important. This was true even back when I was a liberal Democrat. Yes, debates do demonstrate two things about a Presidential hopeful: how fast he/she is verbally, and how clear in communicating thoughts without a script. These things matter. But they matter far less than the ability to make the sort of decisions a President actually faces when serving.