I'll fight you for the library

I laughed so hard tears were streaming. . .



And on the impotence of proofreading

Slow Reading

Now I can feel good about it. Slow Reading by John Miedema. You'll feel better about all the time you wasted in speed reading classes.

Monday Memories--CBYF visits Chicago

CBYF is Church of the Brethren Youth Fellowship and I think this photo of the group from the Mt. Morris, IL church is Spring 1954, but I can't be sure. The young woman whose face is almost hidden left school to marry probably around 1955 and isn't in that year's annual, so that's how I'm dating this. There were more in the group--perhaps 20 if all showed up--but this was probably a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry and other sights. The first seven of us from the left, all went to Manchester College, a Brethren school in North Manchester, Indiana, but I'm thinking that because of transfers and marriage, maybe only one or two graduated there (we all did graduate, though). The young man in the photo didn't fare so well--he's in prison for killing a policeman when he was drunk, and he already had an artificial leg from a drunk driving incident. I'm not sure who took the photo--probably our Sunday School teacher, Forrest, a jolly farmer who put up with a lot from us. Pastor Dean Frantz is at the far right--he would be about 90 now.

When I see how nicely we dressed in the 1950s, I always feel a little sorry for today's teens trapped perpetually in jeans and t's. My dress (I'm 4th from the left) was a very delicate aqua in a "bubble" embossed, shiny cotton with cap sleeves and a circle skirt.

Lords of Entitlement

WSJ Review and Outlook, Nov. 9, 2009:

"Speaker Nancy Pelosi defied policy logic and public opinion late Saturday night, ramming through the House a nearly 2,000-page health-care leviathan that counts as the biggest expansion of the federal government since the New Deal. As President Obama likes to say, this was a "teachable moment" about our current government.

The vote was 220 to 215, with 39 House Democrats joining all but one Republican in opposition. Mrs. Pelosi had to cajole and bribe her way to the magic 218, and the list of her promises must be stacked to the ceiling. . .

Mrs. Pelosi's craftiest political turn was a last-minute compromise to strip federal funds from insurance plans that cover abortions. The deal—negotiated by Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak and supported by the National Right to Life Committee—gave cover to 40-some Democrats to support the larger bill.

However, as subsidized costs soar, government will have no choice but to ration medical care, starting with the aged and grievously ill. Is pre-natal life more valuable than the elderly? We're reminded of the way pro-lifers supported Anthony Kennedy over Laurence Silberman for the Supreme Court in 1987 merely because Mr. Kennedy was a Catholic who claimed to personally oppose abortion. Mr. Stupak played the right-to-lifers like a Stradavarius."

So while the rest of the world celebrates the fall of the Berlin Wall today (without our president who is just too busy to travel if the celebration isn't all about him), and debates who deserves the credit for bringing down that symbol of Communism and the dictator state, our own elected officials continue to build a wall, law by law, regulation by degree, czar by czar, to keep out freedom, economic prosperity, entreprenuership, and free speech, while opening the gates to every crack pot, old failed European theory of government control we've fought against for 100 years.

Seems like an awfully weak link

"Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army major suspected of killing 13 people and wounding 29 others at Fort Hood, worshipped at the same mosque as two of the 9/11 terrorists.

According to the London Sunday Telegraph, Hasan attended services at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Great Falls, Va., in 2001 at the same time as Sept. 11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hamzi and Hani Hanjour. Funeral services for Hasan's mother also was held at that mosque."

His faith may have influenced his killing rampage against his fellow soldiers, or he could have a brain tumor or a mental illness, but attendance at the same mosque with Islamic jihadists? I don't think so. Thirty two years ago a member of my church bought a gun, practiced at a shooting range, then one day murdered her husband, her children and the family dog before killing herself. Her family and our family had carried the advent banners down the aisle just the week before. Do you see any relationship between us there? And what about all the other law abiding, good citizens who attend that mosque in Great Falls?

Clarification update: From WaPo today, Hasan attended the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church in 2001, when its spiritual leader was Anwar al-Aulaqi, a figure who crossed paths with al-Qaeda associates, including two Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers, one senior U.S. official said.

Since Aulaqi left in 2002 and settled in Yemen, his lectures promoting the strategies of an al-Qaeda military leader have shown up in computer files of suspects in terrorism cases in the United States, Canada and Britain, officials said. It is not clear whether Hasan knew the preacher well then or only later through his lectures on the Internet."

Their first mistake was letting Democrats define "reform"

Roman Catholics have more than 620 hospitals in the United States. At this time, nurses and other staff still have the freedom to pray with patients and to talk about spiritual matters. According to First Things, the bishops have a few simple but important priorities.

"First, everyone should have access to basic health care, including immigrants. The Church would hope to see that access broadened as widely as possible. But at a minimum, it should include those immigrants who live and work in the United States legally.*

"Second, reform should respect the dignity of every person, from conception to natural death. This means that the elderly and persons with disabilities must be treated with special care and sensitivity. It also means that abortion and abortion funding should be excluded from any reform plan, no matter how adroitly the abortion funding is masked. Whatever one thinks about its legality, abortion has nothing to do with advancing human “health,” and a large number of Americans regard it as a gravely wrong act of violence, not only against unborn children but also against women.

"Third, real healthcare reform needs to include explicit, ironclad conscience protections for medical professionals and institutions so that they cannot be forced to violate their moral convictions.

"Fourth—and this is so obvious it sometimes goes unstated—any reform must be economically realistic and financially sustainable. We can’t help anyone, including ourselves, if we’re insolvent. If we commit ourselves to health services, then we need to have the will and the ability to really pay for them. That’s a moral issue, not simply a practical one."

So, by definition of the bishops, this isn't reform at all. All you boomers who think abortion is simply a woman's right, better watch your back, because this "reform" is going to shred Medicare--instead of taking out the fraud and waste, it will just cut benefits. And you're now done having babies and abortions and thinking about knee replacements and kidney dialysis.

Generally, there's little difference between the parties except on two issues: 1)Democrats talk a good game about protecting the weak and helpless, but will cut them out with legislation and regulation at both ends of life, and Republicans don't. 2) The Democrats pander to minorities and special victim groups and put in place programs to keep them weak for their political gain, and Republicans don't. Other than that--deficits, lobbyists, corruption, lying to constituents, manipulating the immigration issue, growing government, breaking campaign promises--they are Siamese Twins.

*I haven't heard that foreign born people in the USA with green cards or student visas or spousal visa have had a problem with insurance, so maybe the bishops are being less than truthful here. Also, no one is denied access to health care because of lack of insurance. Illegals get much better care in the U.S. than they would in their homeland.

Pelosi Broke her Pledge

to put the final health care bill online for 72 hours before the vote, so why should we believe anything else about protections, cost savings, keeping private insurance, rationing, and abortion that she used to twist arms and can she even be trusted by the blue dogs to pass out the pork she promised at our expense? She can't keep a simple promise, nor can the President. Obama broke his campaign promise for transparency and being honest with the American people. That was to be part of the "hope and change." What a team of liars those two are. She calls it a victory; Obama says it's the most glorious event of their careers. I don't have enough bad words in my vocabulary to even describe them.

American Cubans cry foul

Capitol Hill Cubans find this very odd--the duplicity of a prominent environment organization which claims to work with business and governments to promote a healthier globe. Coziness with Castro doesn't sound very business-friendly to me, and I remember his promises from the 1950s! Interesting web site.

"The Environmental Defense Fund ("EDF") is an advocacy organization that vehemently opposes oil drilling, whether in mainland areas such as Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or off-shore in the Gulf of Mexico and other U.S. coastal zones.

Therefore, it was shocking to read the following press release:

Environmental Defense Fund will send a team of experts to Havana, Cuba, on Sunday to discuss ways to eliminate overfishing, protect coral reefs, conserve coastal areas, and tap potential ocean energy - a signal that greater environmental cooperation may be on the horizon.
"...and tap potential ocean energy"?

Their website further elaborates:

Environmental Defense Fund has been in Cuba since 2000, working with our Cuban partners on scientific research and strategies for protecting coastal and marine resources. Our experts are working with Cuban scientists on research to ensure that if Cuba taps offshore oil and gas reserves, it is done right — in an environmentally sustainable way.

"...if Cuba taps oil and gas reserves"?

In other words, the same organization that absolutely opposes offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, or off any U.S. coast, is now looking to work with the Castro regime in order to ensure that they drill "in an environmentally sustainable way."

It's fascinating how the EDF is willing to provide such leeway to the Castro regime, whose environmental record includes grazing half of the island's eco-system for overambitious sugar cane harvests and polluting Havana's skyline with sulfuric acids, while being absolutist in their opposition to drilling in the U.S."

Also read at their site what happens when bloggers displease a totalitarian, statist government.

Sunlight is the greatest disinfectant--Obama

HT Murray

If the IRS and Medicare had a baby

it would look like this

A shocked nation watches Obama's reaction to Ft. Hood

"President Obama didn't wait long after Tuesday's devastating elections to give critics another reason to question his leadership, but this time the subject matter was more grim than a pair of governorships.

After news broke out of the shooting at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas, the nation watched in horror as the toll of dead and injured climbed. The White House was notified immediately and by late afternoon, word went out that the president would speak about the incident prior to a previously scheduled appearance. At about 5 p.m., cable stations went to the president. The situation called for not only his trademark eloquence, but also grace and perspective.

But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a "shout-out" to "Dr. Joe Medicine Crow -- that Congressional Medal of Honor winner." Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?

Anyone at home aware of the major news story of the previous hours had to have been stunned. An incident like this requires a scrapping of the early light banter. The president should apologize for the tone of his remarks, explain what has happened, express sympathy for those slain and appeal for calm and patience until all the facts are in. That's the least that should occur . . . "Robert George NBC Chicago

More and more this man is daily showing what he truly is. Aloof, uncaring, unamerican.

President and Mrs. Bush quietly went into Ft. Hood today to visit and console the wounded. The Bushes entered and departed the sprawling military facility in secret, having told the base commander they did not want press coverage of their visit. Class act, as usual. If and when the Obamas visit, it will be all about him.

In the vitals today

In the vitals today
a poem about love lost and names
November 7, 2009

Love has turned sour
and gone its own way
leaving these marriages
in the vitals today

Abdirashid from Safiya
and
Wendkieta from Katyia

David from Dianna
and
William from Milana

Hassanatu from Abdulai
and
Katrina from Kyei

Jimmy from Equane
and
VaShon from JaQuine

Elgio from Yazmin
and
Jessica from Adem

Chaunte from Diante
and
Christopher from Ute

Hassan from Sadia
and
Alc from Theresa

Shana from Aric
and
Jennifer from Patrick

Laurence from Aisha
and
Anwar from Ayesha

Frank from Melissa
and
Benjamin from Schlelia.

Michael from Shelley
and
Mindy from Stanley

Tesfamichael from Senait
and
Merhawi from Ghenet

Janelle and Derrick
and
Irina and Eric

Deborah from Delron
and
Jodi from Shawn

OSMA oppose the house health bill

From Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland.com:

"WASHINGTON, D.C. The Ohio State Medical Association, which represents a majority of doctors in Ohio, this afternoon [Nov. 4] announced its opposition to the current health care reform bill working its way rapidly through the U.S. House of Representatives.

The association, an affiliate of the American Medical Association, has applauded the general concept of extending health care to more Americans. But it worries about the lack of a long-term fix for the budget rules that are supposed to require Medicare cuts to physicians' fees every year.

Congress every year sidesteps this with a single-year exemption, but doctors find it waring and unpredictable. The latest House bill, which could get a vote as soon as Saturday, does not include a fix, handing the matter off to a separate piece of legislation that may or may not pass sometime. Some doctors as well as tax groups say this is duplicitous."

The OSMA says it has glaring deficiencies, it adds hundreds to the Medicaid rolls of Ohio, it will cripple hospital expansion, and it fails to curb law suits.

Ellen Goodman supports the women Bush freed

She needs to talk to Obama instead of blaming Karzai. Their fate is in his hands. And he doesn't give a whoop. A dead woman won't do well in school, Ellen. What's next for the women of Afghanistan?

Saving 400 jobs

This is how it's done (and I'm guessing Obama will get the credit for this one).

Little Tikes Co. has been offered $4.3 million in incentives from Ohio and local (Hudson) officials to stay in the state.

We, the tax payers of Ohio, have saved 400 jobs and possibly added 66 by bribing the company with tax breaks. . . we pay more, they pay less.

We have a Democratic administration in Ohio, but both parties do this. Businesses have been taught to shop around for the biggest tax breaks, playing one city or one state against the other, and the cheapest labor. Powerful unions are a big reason to look elsewhere. That's why some go overseas.

I wasn't surprised, were you?

"Mr. Obama made a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room, seizing on the endorsements in an attempt to provide a final burst of momentum." WSJ

He has hung his brief career and reputation on the passage of an unnecessary, over priced, economy-killing health care bill. Why would anyone be surprised he shows up to give the old Chicago land knee capper if this ends up in the crapper?

We all know the Democarats needed no help from Republicans to pass this monstrosity, but I really would have liked to see them put up more of a fight to the death.

• The first thing is they needed to line up behind Joe Wilson and denounce ALL the lies, beginning with the one that they hadn't presented any alternatives, and
  
  
• secondly, they should have never, never used the word "reform" when speaking of this evil take over. Once illegals were eliminated from the count, and people who qualified for other government plans but hadn't bothered, and those who were between employer plans, we were left with about 5% of the American citizen population. Anywhere from 80-85% of Americans were perfectly happy with their insurance. Fraud and waste are and will continue to be a huge problem in the government health care we do have. This is not "reform." It's the equivalent of flesh eating bacteria for our economy's recovery.
  
  
• Third, the lie that somehow, this weakened, lily livered group of Republicans could hold anything up, including their spines, should have been broadcast from the halls of Congress, but I guess that would have been hard to admit.
  
  
• And finally, trying to tweak a really, really bad bill by reaching an agreement on abortion just proves how weak the Republicans are and all they care about is getting reelected because that plays well at home, just like their Democratic twins.

Donating blood--bring your itinerary

Today I was signed up to donate blood and I was at the church about 5 minutes early. I read through the instructions; I told the sign-in lady that I had had a long 20 minute conversation with someone at the 800 number about my trip in March--Greece, Turkey, Israel and Egypt. I was told then (2 weeks ago), that all the cities were cleared for malaria, and I should just report the conversation. She took me in to consult with some one in maroon medical garb and a stethoscope. "Were you there 5 years?" he said. "No, 10 days." "OK."

So after having my blood tested, my temperature taken, my blood pressure measured and my pulse checked, and answering all sorts of questions about AIDS, vaccinations and people I have sex with, the young woman who was recovering from the flu and still on antibiotics got to the travel part. Again I told her, Greece, Turkey, Israel and Egypt. "Which provinces or cities?" she asked. Well, I hadn't brought along my itinerary, and Turkish names don't exactly tumble off my tongue. But I did remember Antalya and Mersin, which were flagged, so I couldn't donate blood. "But I was told. . . " just didn't cut it.

Veteran's Day is coming

We've already had our parade here in Columbus, but November 11 is the actual day we honor our veterans. I hope to find a few new photos.

But today I came across this story again, "World War II Rescue of Prison Ship Survivors" and it was as interesting as when I first linked to it in 2005--maybe more so as people psychologize a mass murderer at Ft. Hood, and weep for and provide free legal services for the detainees at Gitmo who are too vicious to be released either to their home countries or our prisons set up for run-of-the-mill criminals.

Aside from having been in the water for four days without any food and practically nothing to drink, these men had been slaves in the Malay Peninsula for three years, since Singapore fell, and they themselves were in no darn physical shape to withstand any hardships, so our immediate problem was to get them below and get them in a bunk and give them some food. We did that - prepared some soup and broth for them - I remember that night we gave them some bread, it was the first white bread they had had in three years. We gave them some broth, warm water, tea, and they were still very active all that night - we finished recovering them just about dark, and all that night they were very active, talked, told us stories of how their ships had been sunk in a convoy, and how thankful they were, and about their life in the Army beforehand. But next morning, when we went down to look at them, boy, they were really tired out, there wasn’t a one of them rolling around a bit, it had been quite a mental strain and they keeled over completely.

The story they told us was that they, some of them, hadn’t even been in the Army two weeks and they were shot right up to Singapore to reinforce the garrison up there. After they got there, about three days, Singapore fell and they were taken prisoners, put up into various parts of the Malay Peninsula, and their most recent job had been to build a railroad down the Peninsula. They, all during this time, had suffered quite a few hardships. They had no food that they were used to at all, they had rice only. They had practically no medical care, they had no clothes, they all went barefooted. Everyone of them on board had malaria, most of them had pellagra, beriberi, bad cases of scurvy, and then they had salt-water sores on them that they got when they were in the water before being recovered. Our pharmacist’s mate was really faced with a problem, he had to make immediate inspection of all of them to find anybody who had serious injuries that he could fix up and then he had to slowly work through the rest of the crowd and fix up the little scratches and bruises and cuts and things like that, which he did. We were running sort of short of medical supplies too, I know, we didn’t have enough gauze or bandage to take care of these 73 men. About 10 or 12 cases were critical. We had to put them in bunks in the after battery with a special nursemaid - they were actual bad patients, where to others, boy, you should have seen them stacked up back there. We put two in each bunk and four in each torpedo rack in the after torpedo room and we were very profusely apologizing for the lack of space we had to offer them and they were very profusely saying, “That’s all right, you should have seen the space we’ve been living in,” because they said that they use to just stack them in the these troop-transports, everywhere they would go; when they would ride in trucks anywhere, they would just stack them in like bundles, and then didn’t mind this little space at all.

What CNN calls investigative reporting

Supposedly, this is "drilling down" for the real Ft. Hood story. An account of a visit to the facility in June. What's he looking for? Stress, people waiting in lines, medical exams. No wonder Fox scoops them on everything. What a snooze.

And Bob Greene rambles on and on about fog.

And could the shooter have been suffering from "vicarious traumatisation?" HLN's Christi Paul talks with a psychologist about why the Ft. Hood gunman, a psychiatrist, couldn't see he needed help. "I know cardiologists who smoke!" says the doc in trying to explain why someone would do irrational things. Yes, Anything but the obvious, folks.

Neal Boortz and Carrington Automotive Enterprises

I've never heard talker Neal Boortz, but an interesting, not-credited story about the Carrington Automotive Enterprises employees' meeting turned up in my mailbox today. I always research these things if they have a smidgen of truth, and find that if they are travelling at the speed of light in blogdom, there's a good chance the attribution is incorrect or fictional. This one was fictional, but it came from Boortz' column where he confirms it is a story or parable told to point out a truth. Here it is, Just a little company get together

"Carrington Automotive Enterprises is what we call a Sub-S - a Subchapter S corporation. The name comes from a particular part of our tax code. Sub-S status means that the income from all 12 of our stores is reported on my personal tax return. Businesses that report their income on the owner's personal tax return are referred to as "small businesses." So, you see now that this $534,000 is really the total taxable income - the total combined profit from all 12 of our stores. That works out to an average of a bit over $44,000 per store.

Why did I feel it important for you to see my actual 2008 tax return? Well, there's a lot of rhetoric being thrown around today about taxes, small businesses and rich people. To the people in charge in Washington right now I'm a wealthy American making over a half-million dollars a year. Most Americans would agree: I'm just another rich guy; after all ... I had over a half-million in income last year, right? In this room we know that the reality is that I'm a small business owner who runs 12 retail establishments and employs 187 people. Now here's something that shouldn't surprise you, but it will: Just under 100 percent ... make that 99.7 percent of all employers in this country are small businesses, just like ours. Every one of these businesses reports their income on a personal income tax return. You need to understand that small businesses like ours are responsible for about 80 percent of all private sector jobs in this country, and about 70 percent of all jobs that have been created over the past year. You also need to know that when you hear some politician talking about rich people who earn over $200,000 or $500,000 a year, they're talking about the people who create the jobs." . . .

"Right now the Democrats are pushing a nationalized health care plan that, depending on who's doing the talking, will add anywhere from another two percent to an additional 4.6 percent to my taxes. If I add a few more stores, which I would like to do, and if the economy improves, my taxable income ... our business income ... could go over one million dollars! If that happens the Democrats have yet another tax waiting, another five percent plus! I've really lost track of all of the new government programs the Democrats and President Obama are proposing that they claim they will be able to finance with new taxes on what they call "wealthy Americans."

And while we're talking about health care, let me explain something else to you. I understand that possibly your biggest complaint with our company is that we don't provide you with health insurance. That is because as your employer I believe that it is my responsibility to provide you with a safe workplace and a fair wage and to do all that I can to preserve and grow this company that provides us all with income. I no more have a responsibility to provide you with health insurance than I do with life, auto or homeowner's insurance. As you know, I have periodically invited agents for health insurance companies here to provide you with information on private health insurance plans. The Democrats are proposing to levy yet another tax against Carrington in the amount of 8 percent of my payroll as a penalty for not providing you with health insurance. You should know that if they do this I will be reducing every person's salary or hourly wage by that same 8 percent. . . "

"Let's be clear about this ... crystal clear. Any federal tax increase on me is going to cost you money, not me. Any new taxes on Carrington Automotive will be new taxes that you, or the people I don't hire to staff the new stores I won't be building, will be paying. Do you understand what I'm telling you? You've heard about things rolling downhill, right? Fine .. then you need to know that taxes, like that other stuff, roll downhill. . . "

"Most Americans don't realize that when the Democrats talk about raising taxes on people making more than $250 thousand a year, they're talking about raising taxes on small businesses. The U.S. Treasury Department says that six out of every ten individuals in this country with incomes of more than $280,000 are actually small business owners. About one-half of the income in this country that would be subject to these increased taxes is from small businesses like ours. Depending on how many of these wonderful new taxes the Democrats manage to pass, this company could see its tax burden increase by as much as $60,000. Perhaps more."

Read the whole thing--truth is stranger than fiction, and in this case, fiction is truth.

HT Bill L.

I looked at Boortz's bio, and in addition to being a libertarian and a lawyer, he says this as his creds for knowing something about small business: "During his 40 years in talk radio Neal managed to find other things to do to supplement his meager talk radio income. Prior to practicing law Neal could be found working as a jewelry or carpet buyer, selling life and casualty insurance, loading trucks, slinging mail at the post office, working in an employment office, writing speeches for the Governor of Georgia and auditing the books overnight at a sleazy motel. Neal was 47 years old before he ever had less than two jobs. At his peak he had six."