Government calls it an overhaul

Business owners call it overwhelming. That's a great full page, b & w drawing in today's WSJ. Sometimes a drawing is worth its weight in text and photographs. It is sharp, snappy and succinct. Beginning on the left there's a pile of documents--Common law, case law, local laws and state laws. As you move over to the right (although it's really left--it's just that we read from left to right--for now), that pile gets added to incrementally, until the last column is huge with 38 acronyms representing laws and regulations piled on top of the first group. Things like ARRA, HIPPA, COBRA, FICA, MHPA, HIRE, HEART, and so forth, until you get to the biggest, baddest law of them all, PPACA, "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act."

Did FDR End the Depression?

No, but that's the myth that we were taught for generations in school. And he extended it far longer than it needed to be if he hadn't pushed his socialist agenda. I think finally his own party realized it, but the textbook editors never caught on.

"Let's start with the New Deal. Its various alphabet-soup agencies—the WPA, AAA, NRA and even the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)—failed to create sustainable jobs. In May 1939, U.S. unemployment still exceeded 20%. European countries, according to a League of Nations survey, averaged only about 12% in 1938. The New Deal, by forcing taxes up and discouraging entrepreneurs from investing, probably did more harm than good.

What about World War II? We need to understand that the near-full employment during the conflict was temporary. Ten million to 12 million soldiers overseas and another 10 million to 15 million people making tanks, bullets and war materiel do not a lasting recovery make. The country essentially traded temporary jobs for a skyrocketing national debt. Many of those jobs had little or no value after the war."

And now Obama is fulfilling FDR's incompleted dreams and dragging down the economy.

Burt Folsom: Did FDR End the Depression? - WSJ.com

Therapeutic Clinical Tools for Social Workers

This is a workshop taught at Ohio State University. Can you imagine the outrage if the observances, aims, and good works advocated in Christianity were taught as a clinical tool by a state university? Even something as universal as the 10 commandments, the basis for our entire legal system, would get thrown out. If you read through the announcement, you'll see what many Christians refuse to see--that Yoga isn't just about breathing, flexibility and positive thinking. It is offering yourself to another god.

"YOGA AS A THERAPEUTIC CLINICAL TOOL FOR SOCIAL WORKERS

Yoga philosophy is healing and therapeutic. It is an excellent tool kit for motivating clients to live in the moment and cultivate change in a positive way. This beginner, intermediate or advanced training, depending on your level of enthusiasm and flexibility, will explore the Yamas (ethical codes), the Niyamas (observances or restraints) and the four aims of life, the Purushartas. These three practices will channel human fulfillment, lead you to success and balance, and provide you with a guide for awareness in our actions, thoughts and deeds. This training will provide you the clinician, a different perspective to instill to your clients."

For a further explanation of the Purushartas, check out the Hinduism web page.

Yoga as a Therapeutic Clinical Tool for Social Workers :: College of Social Work

Our scary President

"The Democrats mock Sarah Palin's credentials for venturing into anything more serious than moose hunting, but their man's lengthening record in dealing with the rest of the world gets scarier and scarier. . .

"We've avoided World War III so far largely because the United States has been the ultimate guarantor of the security of most of the Free World. This guarantee worked for 70 years because the Free World believed that the United States meant what it said. Now Mr. Obama would eliminate that trust and dismantle the guarantee. It's more of his vision of a Little America, neutered and pacific, like the neutered and pacific little nations of Europe. Some thrill."

PRUDEN: No nukes not good news - Washington Times

Nuclear Posture Review

Ancient human remains found in South Africa

They can't fool me.

Only eleven weeks until Lakeside (summer)

Yesterday I bought a Family Circle--the cover said it had a walking plan/program that would get me in shape by summer. Promises, promises. But it does sell magazines. I remember when Family Circle's cover price went from 7 cents to 10 cents--I think the cover story was about the first lady, Jackie Kennedy. This issue was $1.99 and quite fat with advertising. Magazines in the past 2 years have become very skinny--so a return of advertising means someone at the top of the food chain believes it is safe to invest again. Everyone benefits from advertising, so even though I rip out a lot of pages, I know it keeps the printers, paper producers, ink makers, ad writers, free lance writers, editors, secretaries, magazine fulfillment agencies, library check-in clerks, etc. in a job. Even the news stand seller and the guy who drives that little beat up van, tossing them on the sidewalk benefit. Then they take what's left of their paycheck after the government takes its "share," and spread it around your community, they may even go out and buy some of the products advertised (although a lot of it seemed to be either medical products or pet products I'd never use).

Back to the summer deadline. I saw a recipe for a rich, dense chocolate cake that would be just perfect for next Sunday's church brunch, and it's sugar free. Served with raspberries, I think it will be wonderful. That combined with all the walking (the walking program was only 4 weeks, so I guess once you get up to speed you just repeat), and we're good to go.

When Less is More

Government regulations and higher taxes often result in less income for the government, not more. The current administration's "redistribution scheme" is not really about "fairness" but power and control. The wealthiest people in the U.S. already pay the bulk of our taxes, but lower rates than many middle class workers (increasingly many low income people pay no federal taxes at all). This happens to state governments too. This is from a very handy website for truckers, Weigh Station and Truck Safety, but if you're going to be travelling, check out your state by clicking on the map.

"Ohio used to have a split speed limit for most of the state's freeways- 65 for cars and 55 for trucks. Many truckers thought this would never change but now most of Ohio's roadways have just one speed limit for both cars and trucks.

The split speed limit ended first up the Ohio turnpike when the turnpike authority changed it to 65 for cars and for trucks. Toll rates increased dramatically between 1982 and 1999. Many truckers refused to pay the high rates. Governor Taft and the Ohio Turnpike commission decided to lower the tolls and increase the speed limits to draw the trucks back onto the turnpike from the side roads. Part of the plan to get truckers to use the Ohio turnpike more was increasing the enforcement of weight laws on the side roads."

Not every state's rates have been updated within the last 2 years, but if you want to see which states are in the biggest tax trouble, just take a look at their fuel taxes--the more they charge, the deeper in debt! California and Illinois are broke--in fact, they're busted flat and stole from their state pensions! The new health care mandates will put even more pressure on state governments, so I don't know who's left to steal from--the neighbors--Indiana? Nevada?

The California fuel tax rate is $0.476 per gallon of diesel. This rate includes a 6% state sales tax and a 1.25% county tax.

The Illinois fuel tax rate is $0.413 per gallon of diesel fuel. This includes a 6.25% sales tax. Local governments can levy additional taxes. The city of Chicago levies an additional $0.1275 tax. [Note: and the roads are crappy!]

The Ohio fuel tax rate is $0.28 per gallon of diesel fuel. The fuel tax is supposed to increase $0.03 per gallon every 2 years according to legislation passed in 2003.

The Kansas fuel tax rate is $0.27 per gallon of diesel fuel. This rate includes a 1 penny per gallon environmental fee.

The Texas fuel tax rate is $0.20 per gallon of diesel.

The Maine fuel tax rate is $0.295 per gallon of diesel. This fuel tax rate includes $0.07 per gallon of diesel for the Coastal and Inland Water Fund and $0.06 per gallon of diesel for the Groundwater Fund.

What costs $8,000 a gallon that we all buy?

The ink for our printers. That's why printers are so cheap--the profit is in the ink. However, you can save a lot just by changing your font, according to Diane Blohowiak, director of computing at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The fonts most ink-stingy, are Century Gothic, Garamond, Courier, Brush Script, and Times New Roman. I use Times New Roman almost exclusively, with some Courier thrown in at my Premiere Issue blog. I was surprised that Arial was so slurpy with ink. It looks so innocent with all those straight, sleek lines. Hmmm. Looks can be deceiving. Also, Times New Roman is the easier font to read because of its dainty little feet.

Of course, once everyone switches fonts, the price of ink will go up again. It's like gasoline costs and more miles per gallon.

Story here.

My first printer, a Laser-Jet 4-L, was very efficient. The toner only had to be replaced about every 3 years, but cost about $70 a cartridge. Still much cheaper than what I pay to replace my micro cartridges in my HP PhotoSmart C3180. I only stopped using the better one because I couldn't find the cartridge locally.

Stupak's decision didn't surprise me

Many Democrats fell on their swords rather than their principles in this frightening health "care" (take-over) debate. I would guess Bart Stupak (D-MI) knew before his vote what course his future would be. Here's Jim Taranto's take:

"Stupak allowed himself to be thoroughly humiliated during the ObamaCare debate. A proponent of socialized medicine but foe of abortion, he held out for months, insisting that he wouldn't vote for a bill that permitted federal funding of abortion. At the last minute he and a small group of "pro-life" Democrats ran up the white flag, casting the deciding votes in exchange for an executive order that everyone understood was meaningless.

Thus Stupak cast aside his putative principles and failed even to save face. You can see why he might want to "spend more time with the family"--and never have to show his face in public again."

I also believe the Conservative cause was weakened by hanging the defeat of this disaster on a few pro-life Democrats. Even if Obama had carved in the marble of his heart that he would no longer support late term abortions or taking the lives of Down Syndrome babies (93% aborted) and would not joke about special needs children and adults on late night talk shows, in the balance, it wouldn't undo all the other death blows he's dealing to the country.

$25 Million to create a model

Childhood Obesity Demonstration Project of Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA).

CHIPRA provides $25 million for FY 2009-2013 for a childhood obesity demonstration project. The law directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Administrator of CMS, to conduct a demonstration project to “develop a comprehensive and systematic model for reducing childhood obesity by awarding grants to eligible entities. . ."

I'm probably not eligible to apply for a grant, so I'll just submit mine for free.

Take their computers away
Send them outside to play.
Fly a kite or toss a ball
They can run, they won't fall.

CHIPRA reauthorization got an additional $32.8 billion on top of the $25 billion, and it will all come from the increase in cigarette taxes, Obama's first tax increase upon taking office. So unfortunately the parents of these fatties will have to continue smoking in order to pay for all of this new health care.

Urinary Concentrations of Triclosan in the U.S. Population

Triclosan is a synthetic chemical with broad antimicrobial activity that has been used extensively in consumer products, including personal care products, textiles, and plastic kitchenware. 75% of the population shows some Triclosan in their urine. For once, there is no gap between races and gender, so I'm sure that will give research some pause. But higher income people have more in their urine than lower income.

I looked at the April 2010 updated FDA page, and didn't see anything alarming. That won't stop the alarms, of course. I'm sure it's killed far more than its share of dangerous germs.

Environmental Health Perspectives: Urinary Concentrations of Triclosan in the U.S. Population: 2003–2004

Call me if you find this woman

I never thought our plan for creating a family (adoption) had much to do with anyone's health or taxes except our own. Fast forward 40+ years. Adoptive parents for some years have been able to take a federal tax credit for adopting. Ohio State University also offers many perks for adoptive parents, including time off, stopping the tenure clock, etc. (We missed all that government largess.) It's a pretty screwed up system, in my opinion. 1) Make abortion legal and socially acceptable, 2) reduce the number of babies, especially white infants, available for adoption, 3) increase foreign adoptions due to scarcity at home, 4) then offer tax credits on the exorbitant costs to obtain an ever increasing scarce adoptable child/infant. Does this sound like Congress has a collective IQ above 100?

But it gets better. Low-income families (about 17%) are more likely to adopt through public agencies, which are cheaper (ca. $2500) because they are tax supported, and who may hesitate to adopt their own foster children, for whom they have been receiving a subsidy, plus special medical benefits. Better educated, higher income adoptive parents (about 80%) adopt privately (ca. $40,000 depending on where and whom). So the federal tax credit for adoption is going primarily to people who actually pay taxes, and not to people who don't. Doh! The credit of up to $12,170 for both international and domestic adoption expenses didn't matter much to those who might not earn enough to owe much tax or any tax at all.

In the 2000 page Obamacare bill is a provision to give the low income, non-tax paying adoptive parents the cash difference (don't know the formula and don't know when this goes into effect). If they don't pay enough in taxes to allow for the credit for adoption-related expenses, the federal government will send them the difference in a refund. The credit tops out at $13,170. Although how you "refund" something that wasn't paid, I don't know. The idea is to encourage them to adopt special needs and their own foster children. Cha-Ching. A one time payout/bonus from the feds replaces a monthly subsidy by the state. How clever of the federal Congress to help the state governments with this pittance while slapping them with all the new mandates in Medicaid.

I have a lot of respect for the caring birth-mothers who seek a better life for their child/children while also looking out for their own welfare, and that of their own families who may not be able to absorb another child. I can't think of a single woman who tells the social worker/ government agency/ or lawyer, "Please find a low-income, marginally educated, non-tax paying family for my precious little one."

If she's out there, no one has interviewed her or told her story.

Who do they come for next?

The Obama administration has gone to a great deal of effort to destroy the livelihood of many well-off, well-educated, talented people--for no reason other than they are rich people who supply jobs and investment opportunities for others. Even the most radical appointments and groupies around the president have come from very comfortable, middle class or upper class life styles. Since most people in the U.S. didn't inherit their wealth or life style, what's all the anger about when people move up the quintiles to the next level? I've been in four of the five myself. So if they kill off the potentially poor before they are born because they believe they will have a miserable life, and the unacceptably rich after they become successful, who will they come for next. You?

Beheading planned in Saudi sorcery case - CNN

A Lebanese man charged with sorcery and sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia is scheduled to be beheaded on Friday, the man's lawyer said Wednesday. He had a TV show in which he predicted the future.

Lawyer: Beheading planned in Saudi sorcery case

A clever American pro-bono lawyer from a top flight law firm could get him off as a simple terrorist.

Shawnee State Park along the Ohio River

Joe Wagenhals has been out clicking the Nikon. He went a little south of here and found some fabulous red bud trees in bloom. http://jwagenhals.zenfolio.com/p899244680/slideshow . Just relax and enjoy. Also, you can visit his website. Watch for an upcoming photography show at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, Mill Run campus, Oct. 31, 2010 through Jan. 4, 2011.

The Liberal’s Biggest Blind Spot: Who Really Rakes In Their Government Largesse?

"It was in late 2008, under President Bush, that a threatened financial meltdown triggered some hasty and dangerous Washington policy decisions to bail out large firms. Unfortunately, President Obama has doubled down and more on those policies, with unprecedented levels of government spending, most favoring big finance, big auto companies, big labor unions, and now big pharma and medical insurance companies."

The Liberal’s Biggest Blind Spot

From the Foundry 2010 Chart Book

Letter to Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)

Arli Klassen
MCC Executive Director

Dear Ms. Klassen,

Today I received the Spring 2010 "A Common Place," featuring stories about microfinance in Cambodia and the earthquake in Haiti.

MCC's primary concern seems to be the material and political well-being of the people you're assisting with small loans, food aid, and "peace and justice" for immigrants. In the several years I've been receiving this publication (I sent a donation after the Tsunami which put me on your mailing list) I've seen very little about reaching anyone for Christ. Yes, you donate food and material goods, but if you tell them the Good News of the cross and resurrection it isn't reported. They are clearly Jesus for you (Matt. 25), but who is going to tell them so they have what you have? Is Jesus a secret? After the homes are built, the wells dug, the forests replanted and the schools staffed, then will you tell them? Or are they just supposed to figure it out?

In fact, the only spiritual part of the Spring issue is the story about the amazing faith of the Haitians.

"Earthquake survivors living in a camp in my neighborhood gather every evening to pray and worship--singing praises such as "God blessed us. He saved us," and asking, "God, don't leave us outside, give us homes." People shared testimonies of how they or their loved ones were trapped and rescued from under their homes. "When the earth shakes, Jesus is near us and we don't need to be afraid," my friend Emmanuel Michel preaches." [from article and photos by Ben Depp]

Over 30 years ago at Ohio State University I worked in a program sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development that did exactly what you describe in your small loan program. USAID didn't tell them about Jesus, although it did work with missionaries, nor would I have expected it. You folks, however, have a "great commission" to do so.

The cost of government workers

It is now known that government workers earn higher wages and have better benefits than private sector workers in the same or similar position. Therefore, I think it's time to start looking at some of the perks the private sector workers don't get, but have to pay for, or else Ohio will end up on the California/Illinois trophy head-on-the-wall award for bad fiscal management. Like this one for Ohio State University faculty and staff employees, for instance.

"If your dependent will be taking classes during summer term and you have an eligible regular appointment of at least 50 percent full-time equivalency, your family members can enjoy the benefits of higher education at a lower cost."

It's been awhile since I looked, but I think "family" has a rather broad definition in this case. Like the foster child of your same sex partner (not sure about opposite sex partner's foster child). And there is a "cap" on the benefits, but it's over $8,000 $6,000 per semester/quarter (in the process of changing from quarter to semester system).

Behavior, income and health

Because I knew the March 24/31 issue of JAMA contained that dreaded article that we need 60 minutes a day of exercise to maintain a normal weight (I'm barely managing 40 min. 3-4x a week), I didn't look at it until today. I discovered in that issue another, far more interesting article on socioeconomic status, personal behavior and health outcomes done in Britain, which has a single payer, government health care system and far more government interference in personal lives than we experience here.

Let me back up. One of the most frustrating features in reading JAMA is the constant emphasis on "the gap" and not on improved health outcomes for all groups over time. There's usually a PhD, MSoc or MSPH among the authors, which means the article will dredge up the obligatory difference between Blacks and Whites, or Blacks and Latinos or 10 years of education vs. 14 years, or inner city hospitals vs. suburban rather than lives saved by advances in technology, surgery or new miracle drugs. In many articles, there is at least the suggestion that the top two quintiles are somehow to blame for the bottom two in health differences, and more government funding (taking from the top 2) would somehow equalize this.

I'm guessing publication of this one was held up, and certainly not promoted in 2 minute summaries on the evening news. "Association of Socioeconomic Position with Health Behaviors and Mortality," JAMA, Vol. 303, no. 12, pp 1159-1166 with editorial content on pp. 1199-1200. CONCLUSION: "In a civil service population in London, England [i.e., white collar but from different social classes], there was an association between socioeconomic position and mortality that was substantially accounted for by adjustment for health behaviors, particularly when the behaviors were assessed repeatedly."

Let me translate. Smoking, drinking, over eating and little physical activity are not good for you, whether one or all four, and you are more likely to do these things if you have lower/working class origins. Health insurance doesn't change you or the outcome of your bad behavior. You don't become poor and less educated because of the degree of access to health care, and it's terribly hard to change behavior whether rooted in the genes or the early life culture.

Where do I get that free Obamacare?

Apparently, the President hasn't explained clearly enough the bill no one wanted, read, or understood.

Two weeks after President Barack Obama signed the big health care overhaul into law, Americans are struggling to understand how — and when — the sweeping measure will affect them.

Questions reflecting confusion have flooded insurance companies, doctors' offices, human resources departments and business groups.

"They're saying, 'Where do we get the free Obama care, and how do I sign up for that?' " said Carrie McLean, a licensed agent for eHealthInsurance.com. The California-based company sells coverage from 185 health insurance carriers in 50 states."

Read more