When Hitler found out about Scott Brown

HT husband's high school buddy

I had to shink this a little to get the subtitles to read, so you can go here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4aQCiRjvZY

Thirty seven years ago

"Today is the day, 37 years ago, that changed our world.

37 years ago today, nine male justices on the United States Supreme Court decided that abortion should be legal in all fifty states, for any reason, at any time during pregnancy.

50,000,000 unborn children have lost their lives since then.

Today, one child is aborted every 23 seconds in the United States.

One child. 23 seconds.

By now, we all know someone who has been touched by this demon. Someone in your church, a friend of a son or daughter, someone in your neighborhood, a relative . . ."

Tim Welsh, Executive Director
Pregnancy Decision Health Centers
614.888.8774, Extension 6116

All of us were "fearfully and wonderfully made" according to the Bible--Psalm 139: 13-14 "For you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

Donate and save a child's life or help a mother raise her child or assist her with an adoption plan. Someone out there feels desperate, like there's no solution. Offer your hand and help her.

Fifty million. That's a holocaust and no one lifted a gun or built a gas oven.

Massachusetts Independent

Robert Allan Schwartz, an MA-I, had a passionate letter in today's WSJ:

I do not need, want or expect a town, city, state or federal government to take care of me."

Oh really? That sounds great at tea party rallies, but how does that actually work out?

My home in Upper Arlington, Ohio was built in 1977 with codes that probably wouldn't pass muster today but which were much improved over our home of 34 years built in 1939 in the same community. In our former home, we found a tangle of wiring and plumbing (previous owner's improvements) every time we remodeled. The furnace took up an entire room and all the windows leaked. Trees, that are no longer allowed for landscaping, sent roots through the waste pipes and had thorns 3-4" long that could go right through a shoe. Dogs had no leash laws back then--and a friend of my son was knocked down in the city, tax supported park by a friendly, non-biting mutt, and broke both legs.

The residents of UA had taxed themselves plenty to live here and enjoy snow removal, garbage pick up, strict zoning, and outstanding schools. But there were plenty to vote against these amenities that kept our home values high. Sidewalks and streetlights, something I always had where I grew up, were illusive, and some neighborhoods 40-50 years old are just now getting them after many local battles at the polls. And a community center for the youth which I enjoyed in tiny Mt. Morris? It's been voted down for over 40 years.

We had a luxury 1969 Oldsmobile 40 years ago with an 8-track sound system, that couldn't hold a candle to the 2010 Town and Country I bought 2 months ago in cost, safety, comfort, gas mileage and gadgets. If conservatives and libertarians or the auto companies had led that fight, where would we be today? Would competition with Japan or Germany really have accomplished that?

Our first vacation week in Lakeside in 1974 the lake was like a mud bath. You wouldn't dream of eating a fish you caught and I didn't want the kids to swim in it. By the time we bought in 1988, you could see the bottom. The streets in June are now crunchy with the may flies--they had all but disappeared in the 1970s. The lake was too dirty. Industry didn't do that clean up for good PR. No. It took some strict environmental laws.

Everything about schooling and education seems up for grabs. Those folks seem to think the educational system is one big petri dish. It's hard to say if what my children got in 13 years in UA in the 1970s and 1980s was better or worse than today, but I think it was better than what I got in the 1940s and 1950s, except for history and geography. I think they both know WWI came before WWII and that Florida is south of Ohio and north of Brazil, but all other bets are off. And I did an awful lot of threatening and cajoling to make sure homework was accomplished because in those days "learning responsibility" was way more important than wisdom or knowledge and if a child couldn't or wouldn't plan ahead, well, that was just too bad. And God forbid you suggested memorizing or phonics!

I think some of the resulting laws of the women's movement that developed steam around 1970 have been a disaster for women and families alike. In some areas, the trade offs and "settling" make us oldsters weep. Soaring divorce rates, huge credit card debt for 2 income families, so many kids born out of wedlock to face a life of poverty with lots of "uncles" while mom gets her college degree, even odd diseases and allergies unknown when I was a child. But I really don't want to go back to the 2 or 3 tier system, where I was flat out told in a job interview I couldn't have it because my child was 9 months old and it was a policy at that school that the teachers' children couldn't be younger than 2 years. And I had walked 2 miles to the interview because we couldn't afford a car. No, those were not the "good old days" for women and children.

So I don't get too caught up in Glenn Beck complaining about "progressivism" of the 20th century from Wilson to McCain to Obama, because I know I benefitted from many changes--and after all, he's talking about the only USA I know. I'm not so naive that I didn't learn about federal money for canals and railroads that then built the country and huge fortunes, that I can't see that some green investment has the same goals. On the other hand, I know that what the government gives it can take away, like killing Ohio's energy industry through cap and trade and lining the pockets of the green investors.

So think twice or three times before you decide that everything local, state and federal government did for you in your lifetime was a waste.

More rules for banks--how's that working out?

Obama loves a straw man, doesn't he? If it's not fat cat CEOs, it's banks, it's lobbyists, or Americans who haven't heard enough of his speeches on healthcare. Anyone but him. On Thursday he proposed more rules that would impede the growth of large banks. In Wednesday's WSJ there was an article about HAMP, Home Affordable Modification Program--the $75 billion mortgage modification program which is suffocating the banks with its accounting rules. I think it's part of ARRA and so far has a 1% success rate. Has there ever been a boondoggle like ARRA with so many billions and so little to show for it? It requires banks to declare a loss when they haven't had one. Now how would you like to step into that cess pool and have the IRS or some regulator 5 years from now send you to jail? And you can bet your old passbook that strategic defaulters will learn how to muck it up and make it work and the plumber or university professor who foolishly bought at the top of the real estate run up won't be able to make it through the red tape, or will just walk away from their mortgage. (Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I don't think any of these programs are designed to work.)

Read Arkadi Kuhlmann's article "Why mortgage modification isn't working."

A Buckeye In Beltland

The election of Scott Brown has energized many independents and Republicans. Not so fast, says Daniel Williamson, Buckeye Rino. Is Capitol Hill really listening? He made 5 visits to Ohio legislators and had a few disappointments when he attended the 9/12 event last fall--especially with Voinovich, a Republican. He waited til now for his tell-all tale:

"And let’s recount the ways in which I’ve supported George Voinovich: I’ve voted for him every single time his name appeared on my ballot. I volunteered as an intern in his office on the 29th floor of the Riffe Tower when he was Governor helping file the “Governor’s Clips” gleaned from print media for ready reference at his fingertips. I’ve listened, in person, to his campaign speeches at venue after venue, including the swanky digs at Landerhaven for a very formal fundraiser where I had to make a large campaign donation to even gain entry. I’ve distributed his campaign literature door-to-door, even as I was doing my own campaigning for state rep in 2004. I’ve manned phone banks to help drum up commitments for donations, yard signs, and GOTV efforts. I’ve defended him against his adversaries in letters to newspapers and postings on internet bulletin boards. On my own blog and on the blogs of others, both on the left and on the right, I have vouched for Voinovich as a principled man, and have highlighted his strengths while others were bemoaning his deficiencies. I even went so far as to reprint one of his press releases in its entirety on my blog which I prefaced with my compliments to the Senator.

I thought we were on the same team. I was mistaken. I was rebuffed and repudiated."

It's probably not on the level that John Edwards' campaign workers are feeling, but it is disappointing. Probably why I do little other than stuff the occasional envelope, write a few checks, attend a rally if it's close to home, and gripe. And he goes on to visit Brown, Murray, Cantwell, and Smith. For fun this guy must slam his fingers in swinging doors. He concludes:

"I certainly have hopes that Scott Brown will adhere to his pledge to be the people’s Senator. But I’ve seen how the Beltway mentality seduces members of Congress over time. They don’t emerge from DC the same way that they arrived. I know this, though: the fresher they are in office, the less they are removed from the voters that sent them, and, conversely, the more veteran they become, the less they resemble anybody back home. They become creatures of the Beltway."

Excellent piece. Read the entire article.

Thursday Thirteen--the magazine clutter

Before I cleaned off the living room table I decided to count the magazines. Actually, there were more than 13, but two of the titles weren't really ours by subscription, residency or membership. In no particular order:

1. Timeline--this is the publication of the Ohio Historical Society, and we are members of Conestoga, and by virtue of that membership, we get the magazine and a newsletter, plus on-line notices. The on-line site of Timeline has a photo of a Lustron. I haven't seen that issue. My grandparents had one of those built in 1949.
   
   
2. American Artist--we could stock a small library with our back issues which we don't seem to be able to throw away.
   
   
3. Thrivent Magazine--this used to be called Lutheran Brotherhood and we have an IRA through this organization which made up a new word when it merged with something else.
   
   
4. Inland Seas--This was a Christmas present from our son and comes with a membership in the Great Lakes Hisotrical Society. Includes a newsletter. We have a home on Lake Erie.
   
   
5. Watercolor Artist--the newest issue is in my husband's office.
   
   
6. Columbus City Scene--local what to do.
   
   
7. Capital Style--a recent Columbus magazine. So far I haven't subscribed but it keeps finding its way to my door. Published by the Columbus Dispatch.
   
   
8. Lake Erie Living--really nice for anyone of the states or provinces bordering Lake Erie. I also have the premiere issue in my collection.
   
   
9. JAMA--although this journal of the American Medical Association is often over my head, I enjoy the poetry, essays, CDC reports, and editorial discussions. I have a donor for this one. When I accumulate a stack of 10 or so, I give them to a Columbus vo-tech teacher who passes them along.
   
   
10. Bird Watcher's Digest--another Christmas present. Published in Ohio--really interesting material even for a novice bird watcher like me.
    
    
11. UA Magazine--PR and advertising stuff about the community in which we live, published by Columbus City Scene.
    
    
12. Art Speaks--We're members of the Columbus Museum of Art, and this comes with the membership. We love to go down on Sunday after church and see the new show and eat lunch--my husband designed the cafe in the museum.
    
    
13. Garage Slab--my latest find, which I'm passing out at the coffee shop, published in Bexley (suburb). I'm not a "guest mechanic."

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My Watkins Wish

Remember me whining about not being able to find Watkins Shea Butter lemon cream in a jar? Even my daughter tried, and finally bought it for me in a tube (it's not the same, trust me). I even wrote to the company, J.R. Watkins in Minnesota, and inquired if there might be some stashed away someplace. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Then I googled "discontinued Watkins" and found a list of those items 'to be discontinued' in 2010 and there was my product! So I chopped the url a bit to find where it had come from, and found the very helpful Lynne, a Watkins salesperson. You can check her out here with links to a Watkins catalog. Anyway, Lynne has promised me THREE jars. Woot. I'm so excited I'm plugging her great service even before I get it.

Also I've had an offer on the Teco pottery, (photo is of a reproduction) but I'm holding off a bit checking with a source that Mike B., an old friend from home and an antique dealer, has suggested. The lady who wanted to buy my lighted make-up mirror must have gotten cold feet, because I haven't heard from her lately. Oh yes, and the Garage Slab (magazine) guys came by yesterday and gave me a stack to distribute at the coffee shop. Really nice guys--an architect and an interiors contractor dabbling in publishing. And they gave me a vol. 1, no. 1, which I collect. I chatted up a lot of folks at the coffee shop today about the magazine. Talked to 3 guys were were light fixture repairmen--they didn't look like readers, but they really did pour over that magazine I gave them. So did the Columbus school teacher who only has a car port.

Revisiting federal aid to religious organizations

I'll revisit the topic--no one else is. I just don't want to contribute to Christian organizations that are accepting government grants to do their Christian good works. Period. End of discussion.

There are two mandates in the book of Matthew. One is to evangelize--Go and tell people about Jesus--in a nutshell. The other is to offer a cup of cold water, or food, or comfort to a prisoner, or clothing to the naked--NOT to change a system, NOT to use up tax money, NOT even to change an individual life. No promises are made here, except one. No, the reason given is that this provides the giver, the donor, the one doing the good deed, the opportunity to meet Jesus in the needy one. It's that simple. Don't believe me? Read the story of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25. I find it a bit of a stretch that we'll receive the inheritance prepared for us from the beginning of the world because we got a government grant and distributed it to the needy. That might be a worthy career if you are a federal employee, but it's not for the Christian layperson or staff.

Jesus never suggested that any follower take money from one person and give it to another; he never asked the disciples to go to the Romans for donations to spread the good news; he never said rich people were evil or that poor people were good--he always considered the individual.

Therefore, I was really unhappy to read this in an article about World Vision, whose President Richard Stearns is now on Obama's advisory board of faith based and neighborhood partnerships (I think that is a name change from the Bush years)

"Last year, World Vision received just over $280 million in federal grants — both cash and food — amounting to about 25 percent of what we received from U.S. sources. Little, if any, of this resulted from former President Bush's faith-based initiative. Those grants have met a wide range of needs including helping address AIDS in several nations, providing food for victims of famines, conducting gang-prevention activities in several U.S. cities including Seattle, and delivering aid and emergency services in responding to natural disasters." Link.

Once you accept money from the federal government, you must play by their rules, and they may let you give that cup of water, but smack you down on the telling about Jesus part. This is really unfortunate. As Americans, through no choice of our own, we already give generously to many projects through government agencies to help the poor, the disaster victim, the diseased, and the misguided. On our own by choice and sacrifice, we give vast amounts through charities and churches. I do not expect those agencies and groups to then use my gift to turn around and become the government's handmaiden to do the cleanup through federal grants.

TSA choice out--blames his critics, not self

"President Obama's nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration withdrew from consideration Wednesday, saying his appointment had "become a lightning rod for those who have chosen to push a political agenda at the risk of the safety and security of the American people." "

Like there isn't anyone out there better qualified who hasn't misused his office?

"Errol Southers's nomination had been stalled due to a hold placed by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), who said he had concerns about whether Southers would implement collective bargaining for TSA employees. Southers was also dogged by concerns about an episode in which he, as an FBI agent, used law enforcement resources to run a background check on his estranged wife's boyfriend."

Link at Politico 44.

Did we learn nothing from Katrina?

Bush was vilified for waiting for the chain of command to kick in from the governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans in 2005 to let them call the shots on rescue and relief (although the coast guard responded immediately). That was actually the law. Our law. It's called the federal government not stepping on the state. But what about Haiti? Why would Obama first send USAID to do an assessment, when the people were desperate for what the military could bring them? Another dawdle incident indicating he really doesn't like the military much. I know some conservatives don't think the military should be "meals on wheels" for every disaster, but when Russia, Cuba and Brazil can get there in a timely fashion, why couldn't the U.S.? Read the sorry story here. How many lives and limbs were lost due to his incompetency?

The one year anniversary assessment

A year in review. A total success, I'd say. Obama's plan to take over every aspect of our personal lives and to destroy our economy has been wildly successful, beyond what anyone in 2008 could have imagined with just the platitudes of "hope and change." Sure, he's had a few minor set backs, but those were from within his own party--Republicans have offered no road blocks at all. The falling poll numbers can all be blamed on Bush. All backward steps in the forward, goose stepping march to utopia can be blamed on someone else.

1. The only job growth has been in the government sector
   
2. his signature program, health care, is about to be realized even though 83% of Americans had health insurance and only 94% will under his plan to raise taxes, destroy small business, and ration care.
   
3. he redefined terrorism, which allowed him to be very concerned about the death of an abortion doctor, but keep a lengthy silence on the deaths at Ft. Hood
   
4. under his plan, he will try Gitmo terrorists in NYC, giving them all rights as well as the best in pro-bono, anti-American lawyers
   
5. and he will move the rest to Illinois where he has no plan at all, except to create another Gitmo in the midwest
   
6. he has further divided the country along racial lines after decades of improving race relations
   
7. he has staffed his administration with Communists, AKA progressives, socialists, New Party, marxists, Alinskyites, etc.
   
8. his closest advisers and wannabee appointments have violated numerous federal laws
   
9. Jennifer Granholm, Michigan's governor, the state with the highest unemployment and "let's tax the rich" to get them to leave the state, is one of his economic advisers
   
10. he brought the worst of Chicago mob politics to Washington
    
11. he dawdled for 90 days on a plan for the war he said was the good one during his campaign
    
12. he has selectively targeted news sources and industries to personally attack
    
13. he continues to lie to the nation about transparency and ethics in his government
    
14. he accepts a prize that made the country the butt of jokes
    
15. despite the clear warning signs from both the weather and numerous scientists he will pursue the Cap and Trade scheme to further increase taxes and destroy businesses
    
16. he began his plan to remove religion from the public square and influence at Georgetown
    
17. he has two mouths when it comes to money talk--one speaks only in trillions for the government, the other cautions us about fat cat CEOs

and other accomplishments almost too many and too small to record

When the state makes adults children

So much in this excellent article, "The audacity of the state," about the nanny state, or the paternal state, or the savior state, both in Canada and the U.S., that I can't find just one or two excerpts, but here's a good one:

"Replaced by a kaleidoscope of transient sexual and psychological configurations, which serve chiefly to make children of adults and adults of children, the declining family is ceding enormous tracts of social and legal territory to the state. At law, parent-child relationships are losing their a priori status and privilege. Crafty fools ask foolish fools, “What harm does same-sex marriage do to your marriage, or to your family?” The truthful answer is: Same-sex marriage makes us all chattels of the state, because the state, in presuming to define the substance rather than the accidents of marriage, has made marriage itself a state artifact."

Crafty fools asking foolish fools. . . that's good. The author compares his province's (Québec) interference in the family to that in the U.S.

" . . in the land of Obama and [Rev.] Wright, though its history and habits are different. To be sure, there is a much stronger tradition there of resistance to the overweening state, but the forces of the state are also far greater. In America, Christians will require the courage of Dorothy Cotton’s hero, Martin Luther King, Jr., if they are to repair the pillars of freedom that have sustained such damage, and to roll back the impressive gains that have lately been made by the savior state. In America, too, the churches will need to renew their pedagogical mission and to fight for freedom of education. The natural family will need somehow to reclaim, if it can, the rights it is losing."

Yesterday at Panera's I noticed a banner that should hang in every church: Refresh
Restart
Renew

The high cost of aid

No country has received more U.S. foreign aid and U.S. charity from NGOs and churches than Haiti. There's a very high cost. Not to us, but to the recipients.

"The real problem of aid to Haiti . . . has less to do with Haiti than it does with the effects of aid itself. "The countries that have collected the most development aid are also the ones that are in the worst shape," James Shikwati, a Kenyan economist, told Der Spiegel in 2005. "For God's sake, please just stop."

Take something as seemingly straightforward as food aid. "At some point," Mr. Shikwati explains, "this corn ends up in the harbor of Mombasa. A portion of the corn often goes directly into the hands of unscrupulous politicians who then pass it on to their own tribe to boost their next election campaign. Another portion of the shipment ends up on the black market where the corn is dumped at extremely low prices. Local farmers may as well put down their hoes right away; no one can compete with the U.N.'s World Food Program." See the full story at Wall Street Journal, by Bret Stephens To Help Haiti, end foreign aid.

Do you suppose it's the butter?

What a good idea, I thought. Mini bags of microwave popcorn. Only 2 servings in a bag, 4 bags to a box. For some reason, I can't discipline myself to NOT eat the entire bag (4 servings) when I pop microwave popcorn. That I even buy the stuff is a bit of embarrassment, but I weakened when my neighbor came to the door last spring with her grandson "selling" it for his Boy Scout fund raiser. At the lake house I keep a small jar of unbrand popcorn and just pop about 1/4 C in a little oil when I get a snack attack. So I have a pack of 15 from the boy scout--or did have--only 3 are left. But the labels don't lie. The only "flavor" of the minis on the shelf at Meijer's this morning was "Movie theater butter," which we all remember from our movie watching youth (as a teen I saw at least one movie a week because my boyfriend ran the concession stand), isn't really butter but some sort of tinted oil. Corn, palm oil and salt. Yum. The Boy Scout fund raiser pop corn, Trail's End, has canola oil, corn oil and cottonseed oil, but has half the calories of the mini bag popcorn. What to do, what to do. Fortunately, today I'm not hungry after a sensible lunch of rice, asparagus, carrots and peas. And 2 cookies.

Besides, cottonseed oil isn't good for you. Next time I'll buy plain and add butter.

What crisis at home? ACORN?

I realize journalists don't write the headlines for their stories that appear in the paper or our WaPo e-mail alerts, but exactly what "crisis at home" is Patrick Gaspard dealing with that would come anywhere close to what's happening in Haiti? One news talking head referred to the Massachusetts race as a "crisis at home." Really? And as I recall the Hurricane of 2008 response was quite large. If he could do little then, as reported, was it because he wasn't on staff, didn't have enough money, didn't volunteer, or because Bush was in office and WaPo can never think of a thing good or decent to say about him?

Here's the lead-in headline this morning to a personal story about Patrick Gaspard of the Obama administration, who is not a native Haitian, but grew up there. "A White House portrait of grace under pressure; Adviser balances crises in Haiti and at home (By Jason Horowitz and Anne Kornblut, The Washington Post)

Just how big is Gaspard in the Obama administration? Huge, says the same journalist at another publication.

"Earlier this year, Mr. Gaspard, a Brooklyn-based, 41-year-old Democratic operative, succeeded Karl Rove as the White House director of the office of political affairs. Unlike Mr. Rove, Mr. Gaspard is at his most comfortable making his presence felt without actually being seen.

“He’s become a real player in the White House, the president himself told me,” said Representative Gregory Meeks. “He’s a low key, behind-the-scenes, no-fingerprints kind of guy. I need something, I call Patrick. And if he calls, it’s a big deal. He’s close to the president.”

Mr. Gaspard’s official responsibility is to provide the president with an accurate assessment of the political dynamics affecting the work of his administration, and to remain in close contact with powerbrokers around the country to help push the president’s agenda."

So perhaps Obama's falling numbers and crashing support for health care is a "crisis," for this very far left adviser. And if Karl Rove was "seen" in the Bush WH, it was because the media decided he was the other half of Cheney's brain and Bush was just a puppet.

New Zeal probably has the best run down on Gaspard's communist ties, via New Party, Working Families Party, ACORN, SEIU, etc.

A trifecta blog incident

People say how can you have so many blogs? How do you have the time? Bob C. asked me that yesterday (we went to high school together) and he has the same 24 hour days I do, just different hobbies. Anyway, today I have an item for 3 of my 12 blogs--Coffee Spills, about people I meet in coffee shops, In the beginning, about my first issue hobby, and this one, Collecting my thoughts--and maybe 4 if I can rework it for my retirement blog, Growth Industry, or food and health blog, Hugging and Chalking.

I'm in a book group that meets at Panera's and a very sweet school teacher was in our spot by the fireplace (no school because of MLK day). I watched and as he got up to leave I saw a handsome young woman come through the door, and I thought I saw her glance at the coveted seat. I grabbed my books and slammed them down on that table faster than you can say "crazy old lady."

After I'd settled in with my coat, purse, books, etc., I peeked around and saw she was sitting within 4 inches of me where I had been sitting. And then I saw it. "Edible Columbus." "Is that a new magazine?" I asked. "Yes, but it isn't out yet; I'm the publisher." I thought I'd swoon. I'm a first issue collector and here I was about to see a birthing! [No website yet, try this for Edible Brooklyn.]

So we chatted a bit--she's a former New York chef who discovered a "series" of Edible. . [insert name of city or region] magazines and she bought the rights for Columbus. She explained the concept--it will focus on locally grown, sustainable sources with seasonable eatables, great traditions, recipes, related items like gadgets and ingredients, day trips, and events. Some of these events will be held in her mother's newly opened tea room which has room for classes! Right here in Upper Arlington. Swoon twice--a new place to go for coffee or lunch. This will start as a "free-circ" and I suggested she get it in the local public libraries as part of the serial collection to be sure it gets cataloged.

As my group started to arrive and her friend sat down, she asked me my name. When I told her, she said, "We live in your former house!" Small, small world. I don't like what the previous owner (from whom she bought it) did to the kitchen, but it will be great for a chef.

Massachusetts and Scott Brown

President Nixon’s meeting with Elvis

C-span 3 had a very interesting interview with Presley’s friend Jerry Schilling and Nixon’s aide, Bud Krogh who were there when Elvis decided he wanted a badge and got in to see the President. See the whole show here, hosted by Timothy Naftali of the Nixon Library. Quite charming, showing the very human side of both the President and the King. I think it aired about 2 weeks ago.

Also watched Book-TV with Michael Medved, the Five Big Lies about American Business. He appeared at a forum of Heritage Foundation on Dec. 9.

Lutheran seminarian killed in earthquake

Ben Larson, a cousin of our senior pastor, was killed in the earthquake in Haiti, where he was on a short term mission with his wife and other relatives. Story here. The other members of the team survived and have returned to the states.

We also learned that the emergency bus and truck load of food, water and medical supplies from Ouanaminthe to Port au Prince made it and returned safely with about 100 people from Ouanaminthe, including the four nursing students from the school in Leogane west of Port au Prince with 80% of the buildings destroyed. Of their four other students, 2 haven't been located, one had a foot amputated to get her out of the rubble, and another is safe. Those four had gone into PP. Our UALC pastor, Dave Mann, who lives and works in Ouanaminthe says of the return trip,

"The pick-up was stuffed inside and out. The bus was full both inside and on the roof. Many other vehicles were headed north with similar overloading.

Mèt Arne, our high school assistant principal, discovered that his wife is okay, but his 15-year old daughter along with many other students in her school died.

Dr. Riccardo, former employee of UMC [this might refer to their clinic, not sure], and his mother died in the quake.

The government’s Northeast Department director of education died. Several senators, other top governmental officials, heads of police stations, and many U.N. personnel died – and untold tens of thousands more. I don’t know if we ever will have an accurate count of the dead. Estimates range from 50,000 to 500,000. Some bodies have already been covered in mass graves and many are uncounted under the rubble. But still many, many corpses are lying exposed, bloated, and stinking."

Garage Slab--Winter issue is now out

You may recall my enthusiasm for garages--I did a little photo essay on Lakeside's garages this past summer because garage architectural history is a few years younger than the automobile, which at first shared space with the horses in the stable. Lakeside cottage owners constantly remodel, but some have let the ivy grow over the garage listing in the back yard, so it's fun to investigate their styles. I didn't finish that theme and still have some photos on my laptop waiting for my brilliant critique. But in the meantime, I found Garage Slab, a new publication for garage lovers published right here in Columbus, or rather, Bexley. The winter issue is out, and I'm going to have a few copies to distribute. As I said in November (and I think it is still true),

"Attractive design; clever theme; humor; great photography; good quality paper; nice graphics and layout; an abundance of advertisers; published and printed in Columbus by Greasy Shirt Publishing, but available in 11 other states."