On page 168, George W. Bush in Decision Points gets around to "enhanced interrogation," aka torture for information. You will call it what you want depending on whether you hate or like George Bush, on whether you thought he was the original Satan/Hitler for taking us into Iraq and Afghanistan or whether he was keeping us safe after 9/11.
He writes, "The FBI began questioning Zubaydah [associate of bin Laden who had run a camp which trained the 9/11 hijackers], who had clearly been trained on how to resist interrogation. . . [He] was our best lead to avoid another catastrophic attack. . . [Looking at a list of options Bush was presented] George [Tenet] assured me all interrogations would be performed by experienced intelligence professionals who had undergone extensive training. . . There were two that I felt went too far, even if they were legal. I directed the CIA not to use them."
This is something that puzzles me every time a government official, from Eric Holder who seems like a shriveled wimp to Arnold Schwarzenegger with his massive body and Austrian accent, discusses a tricky decision. No government official can know everything about everything and they depend on lawyers to tell them what is legal. Lawyers don't agree, and apparently neither does case law, massive regulations or 2000 page laws passed by Congressmen who don't even read them.
So if a President is told plan A is legal, it is used, and "Zubaydah revealed large amounts of information on al Qaeda's structure and operations," and that information is in turn available to the next President who as a candidate thought and spoke ill of his predecessor, but continues to use and act on that information, which guy is Satan/Hitler, the guy who had to make the decision and did keep the country safe, or the one who tries to float above it all and not get his hands soiled?
Friday, November 26, 2010
Doctors say Medicare cuts forcing them to shift away from elderly
For all you boomers who joyfully and expectantly voted for Obama. Here's your thanks. But, it's not all his fault, you know. Congress has been adding mandates and expanded coverage for years--at some point, the piper had to be paid. This is the way socialized medicine works. It sounds fabulous until you have to pay for it. Or make cuts.
Volga Germans--The Mennonites
One of the languages of the German Mennonites of Russia is Plattdeutsch, also called Low-German . I first came across this story reading the Wycliffe Bible translators page about translating scripture for Germans from Kazakhstan resettled in Germany, who didn't know German. Most of us scattered around the world who have German roots trace back to pre-Germany days--i.e. there was no country known as Germany when my ancestors arrived in the United States. In fact, there was no United States in the 1720s, and they'd all pledged loyalty to the King of England. My Mennonite roots go back to Hannah, the brave widow of Hans Wenger, a weaver of Bern, Switzerland, who with the help of friends and family, emigrated to American for religious freedom in 1749.
Here is an account of the wanderings of the Mennonites who ended up in Russia. "The Mennonites occupy a special place among the Germans [of Siberia]. When the Mennonites left the Netherlands in the sixteenth century and resettled in Prussia, they did not see themselves as sharing a common origin. Among them were people of Flemish, Dutch, Frisian, and Lower Saxon ancestry. Two basic types of speech had been maintained by the Mennonites— molochnenskii and khortintskii. However, they took as a common language a Low German dialect (Plattdeutsch). As a result of their religious isolation, the Mennonites did not mix with the local peoples and thus maintained their traditional customs. At times they joined their different confessional groups into one ethno confessional unit. During and since the resettlement the Mennonites have been officially registered as Germans; most scholars think of the Mennonites as Germans. The Siberian Mennonites themselves trace their ancestry to Germans, although they also emphasize their Dutch origins."
Siberian Mennonites extend welcome to visiting Americans
Freedom has done what the Soviet Communists couldn't: "In the Germanic language family, Plautdiitsch claims a special place. Its long isolation from other German dialects and its close contacts have given it a specific character, which to some extent can be compared to that of Yiddish. The Plautdiitsch language, the sole descendant from the many West Prussian Low German dialects once spoken in the Weichsel delta area, is now spoken by Mennonites in many countries and has partly taken over the religious factor as the main identity marker. It is a pity that a language, that managed to survive centuries of isolation and many years of prohibition, should now disappear where it has long had its most speakers - in Siberia. The increasing emigration to Germany has left many Mennonite villages russified more than decades of Soviet Russification policy could accomplish. The Plautdiitsch speakers who choose to stay find it more and more difficult to provide their children with a Plautdiitsch speaking environment, and in the long run it must be feared the language will lose much ground to Russian. In Germany, the children of Russian Mennonite immigrants will almost certainly only have passive knowledge of Plautdiitsch.
One can only hope the language will survive in North America and in the isolated colonies in South America, where a revival can be observed." From the article "Plautdietsch, a Germanic language related to Dutch and Frisian, spoken in Siberia"
Canada has a Plattdeutsch radio station. You can listen here--pod cast. I listened to a poem in Plattdeutsch from Russia, and the rhythm was definitely Russian/Slavic; this sounds English.
Here is an account of the wanderings of the Mennonites who ended up in Russia. "The Mennonites occupy a special place among the Germans [of Siberia]. When the Mennonites left the Netherlands in the sixteenth century and resettled in Prussia, they did not see themselves as sharing a common origin. Among them were people of Flemish, Dutch, Frisian, and Lower Saxon ancestry. Two basic types of speech had been maintained by the Mennonites— molochnenskii and khortintskii. However, they took as a common language a Low German dialect (Plattdeutsch). As a result of their religious isolation, the Mennonites did not mix with the local peoples and thus maintained their traditional customs. At times they joined their different confessional groups into one ethno confessional unit. During and since the resettlement the Mennonites have been officially registered as Germans; most scholars think of the Mennonites as Germans. The Siberian Mennonites themselves trace their ancestry to Germans, although they also emphasize their Dutch origins."
Siberian Mennonites extend welcome to visiting Americans
Freedom has done what the Soviet Communists couldn't: "In the Germanic language family, Plautdiitsch claims a special place. Its long isolation from other German dialects and its close contacts have given it a specific character, which to some extent can be compared to that of Yiddish. The Plautdiitsch language, the sole descendant from the many West Prussian Low German dialects once spoken in the Weichsel delta area, is now spoken by Mennonites in many countries and has partly taken over the religious factor as the main identity marker. It is a pity that a language, that managed to survive centuries of isolation and many years of prohibition, should now disappear where it has long had its most speakers - in Siberia. The increasing emigration to Germany has left many Mennonite villages russified more than decades of Soviet Russification policy could accomplish. The Plautdiitsch speakers who choose to stay find it more and more difficult to provide their children with a Plautdiitsch speaking environment, and in the long run it must be feared the language will lose much ground to Russian. In Germany, the children of Russian Mennonite immigrants will almost certainly only have passive knowledge of Plautdiitsch.
One can only hope the language will survive in North America and in the isolated colonies in South America, where a revival can be observed." From the article "Plautdietsch, a Germanic language related to Dutch and Frisian, spoken in Siberia"
Canada has a Plattdeutsch radio station. You can listen here--pod cast. I listened to a poem in Plattdeutsch from Russia, and the rhythm was definitely Russian/Slavic; this sounds English.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
The Volga Germans--still on the road after all these years
Immigration is always in the news. Borders open and then close--mostly for economic and political reasons, only occasionally for humanitarian. Ethnic minorities clash with nationals whose families arrived maybe 300-400 years ago. Somalis in Finland have to learn Swedish, the 2nd language of Finland due to the Swedish control of centuries, and returning Finns from Russia don't speak either Finnish or Swedish. It happens in all countries in all ages. In our typically self-centered way, Americans believe we are either the best or the worst at assimilating and resettling new peoples within our borders.
Several centuries ago, Catherine the Great of Russia (a German) invited Germans to resettle in Russia with their skills and thrift. Much like the European who immigrated to the United States around the same time, these Germans took their language, religion, customs and culture to Russia for a fresh start. They became known as the Volga Germans. They flourished economically and culturally, maintaining their German ways, until Stalin became worried about their loyalties to Germany (where they had never lived), and gave them 24 hours to relocate in Kazakhstan, USSR. In less than month one million were deported like animals and dumped in a strange country. They lost their possessions, and many lost their lives in forced labor camps. Most were Protestants, many were Lutherans, but a large number were Mennonites.
After the reunification of Germany in the 1990s, ethnic Germans were given the right to return to Germany, and so many Kazakhtan Volga Germans resettled in Germany. The older people who returned in the 70s still spoke high German, but recent arrivals speak "low German," or the younger Germans only know Russian. Some have now reversed this decision and returned to their "homeland" in Kazakhstan (where they are the second largest minority) rather than be outsiders in Germany who speak the language with difficulty, or don't want to learn it. The Wycliffe Bible Translators has a ministry to the ethnic Volga Germans in their own low German dialect, keeping with their mission of creating the Good News in the "heart language" of the people.
Meanwhile, in the 19th century, many Volga Germans moved to middle west and western United States to work in farming, particularly the sugar beet industry. In the 1970s before the memories and traditions of these scattered Germans whose ancestors had wandered all over Europe and Russia were lost, oral histories were recorded and are available at the Colorado State University archives in Ft. Collins. I've been reading through a few of the accounts by older members of this group (born in the late 1800s), and after you establish the rhythm of the stories, you come away with fresh appreciation for immigrant groups in the United States, who gave up everything (often very little) to start a new life (also with very little).
MAR data as of 2006 on Kazakh Volga Germans
FEEFHS stories Family Histories of Survivors of Stalin's Labor Camps
Several centuries ago, Catherine the Great of Russia (a German) invited Germans to resettle in Russia with their skills and thrift. Much like the European who immigrated to the United States around the same time, these Germans took their language, religion, customs and culture to Russia for a fresh start. They became known as the Volga Germans. They flourished economically and culturally, maintaining their German ways, until Stalin became worried about their loyalties to Germany (where they had never lived), and gave them 24 hours to relocate in Kazakhstan, USSR. In less than month one million were deported like animals and dumped in a strange country. They lost their possessions, and many lost their lives in forced labor camps. Most were Protestants, many were Lutherans, but a large number were Mennonites.
After the reunification of Germany in the 1990s, ethnic Germans were given the right to return to Germany, and so many Kazakhtan Volga Germans resettled in Germany. The older people who returned in the 70s still spoke high German, but recent arrivals speak "low German," or the younger Germans only know Russian. Some have now reversed this decision and returned to their "homeland" in Kazakhstan (where they are the second largest minority) rather than be outsiders in Germany who speak the language with difficulty, or don't want to learn it. The Wycliffe Bible Translators has a ministry to the ethnic Volga Germans in their own low German dialect, keeping with their mission of creating the Good News in the "heart language" of the people.
Meanwhile, in the 19th century, many Volga Germans moved to middle west and western United States to work in farming, particularly the sugar beet industry. In the 1970s before the memories and traditions of these scattered Germans whose ancestors had wandered all over Europe and Russia were lost, oral histories were recorded and are available at the Colorado State University archives in Ft. Collins. I've been reading through a few of the accounts by older members of this group (born in the late 1800s), and after you establish the rhythm of the stories, you come away with fresh appreciation for immigrant groups in the United States, who gave up everything (often very little) to start a new life (also with very little).
MAR data as of 2006 on Kazakh Volga Germans
FEEFHS stories Family Histories of Survivors of Stalin's Labor Camps
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Subsidies to Fossil Fuel Consumption
Since 1981 the federal government has received $1.1 trillion in excise and sales taxes on petroleum products. It is currently subsidizing "green energy" 4 times more than fossil fuel energy. So when our tax policies and environmental regulations have managed to shut down all economic growth fueled by fossil fuels, and the return on green energy just isn't there because like ethanol, the inputs are just too high, what or who will take up that slack in tax revenue? Well, any business that has been coerced and cajoled into being green, that's who. And that really is you the consumer, because the price for being green will make you see red.
The Tax Foundation - IEA Study Ranks Nations’ Subsidies to Fossil Fuel Consumption
The Tax Foundation - IEA Study Ranks Nations’ Subsidies to Fossil Fuel Consumption
Podesta's advice to Obama on dealing with a divided Congress
Filtered through Eugene Robinson (WaPo) John Podesta the Cinton era lefty think tanker recommends, "Presidents can issue executive orders, the report notes. They can use their rulemaking powers, working through federal agencies that already have broad mandates under law. They can forge public-private partnerships. They can shape world events through diplomacy and command of the armed forces."
Robinson claims this is how Bush did it, but overlooks Bush's record for bi-partisan support for the War on Terror, the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Patriot Act. He ignores that the WMD was a drum beat constantly by Kerry, Edwards and Clinton before the 2000 election. Support by Democrats in congress for Bush's policies to keep us safe was huge--and they even took time to read the bills and acts! It was only later as their left sides began to belly ache that they back peddled, crying and weeping that they were misled. Give it up, Robinson. This article is totally phony and confirms that Obama and supporters don't have "decision points," only "finger points."
Robinson claims this is how Bush did it, but overlooks Bush's record for bi-partisan support for the War on Terror, the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Patriot Act. He ignores that the WMD was a drum beat constantly by Kerry, Edwards and Clinton before the 2000 election. Support by Democrats in congress for Bush's policies to keep us safe was huge--and they even took time to read the bills and acts! It was only later as their left sides began to belly ache that they back peddled, crying and weeping that they were misled. Give it up, Robinson. This article is totally phony and confirms that Obama and supporters don't have "decision points," only "finger points."
Light At Night Causes Changes In Brain Linked To Depression
This doesn't look good--assuming it's accurate. I like to fall asleep with the TV on. This study says even that amount of light in a dark room can interfer with your sleep.
Light At Night Causes Changes In Brain Linked To Depression
- “Even dim light at night is sufficient to provoke depressive-like behaviors in hamsters . . ." said Tracy Bedrosian, co-author of the study and doctoral student in neuroscience at Ohio State University.
The results are significant because the night-time light used in the study was not bright: 5 lux, or the equivalent of having a television on in a darkened room, said Randy Nelson, co-author of the study and professor of neuroscience and psychology at Ohio State.
Light At Night Causes Changes In Brain Linked To Depression
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Bobby Jindal for President
Interview on 700 Club recently. He has a new book, too.
Gov. Bobby Jindal: Leading through Crisis - CBN.com
Uploaded by cbnonline. - Up-to-the minute news videos.
Gov. Bobby Jindal: Leading through Crisis - CBN.com
Uploaded by cbnonline. - Up-to-the minute news videos.
Again with the message? Now Pelosi
James Taranto notes: "The New York Times editorial board is displeased: "If Ms. Pelosi had been a more persuasive communicator, she could have batted away the ludicrous caricature of her painted by Republicans across the country as some kind of fur-hatted commissar jamming her diktats down the public's throat." So is the Times's Nate Silver, who notes understatedly that "Ms. Pelosi is not very popular with the American public.""
What the left doesn't get is that Pelosi, Reid and Obama communicated just fine. We didn't like what they were telling us!
P.S. to NYT: Nobody likes her. Not even the Democrats.
What the left doesn't get is that Pelosi, Reid and Obama communicated just fine. We didn't like what they were telling us!
P.S. to NYT: Nobody likes her. Not even the Democrats.
What else did Gore lie about? Everything.
I worked in the Agriculture Library in the 70s and 80s. I knew you just couldn't make the ethanol bio-fuel figures come out right. It was very hot research then, too. Too many inputs; especially water. And even 2-3 years ago, we were creating food shortages that caused riots in other countries.
Now Big Al has come clean. Sort of.
Gore: On second thought, I was just pandering to the farm vote on ethanol « Hot Air
Of course, the worst thing is that all the investments and venture capital that has gone up in global warming smoke and mirrors is not available to do something really good and worthwhile to restore the economy.
Now Big Al has come clean. Sort of.
Gore: On second thought, I was just pandering to the farm vote on ethanol « Hot Air
- Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore said support for corn-based ethanol in the United States was "not a good policy", weeks before tax credits are up for renewal.
U.S. blending tax breaks for ethanol make it profitable for refiners to use the fuel even when it is more expensive than gasoline. The credits are up for renewal on Dec. 31.
Total U.S. ethanol subsidies reached $7.7 billion last year according to the International Energy Industry, which said biofuels worldwide received more subsidies than any other form of renewable energy.
"It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for (U.S.) first generation ethanol," said Gore, speaking at a green energy business conference in Athens sponsored by Marfin Popular Bank.
Of course, the worst thing is that all the investments and venture capital that has gone up in global warming smoke and mirrors is not available to do something really good and worthwhile to restore the economy.
The Korean War back in the headlines
So North Korea shelled an island controlled by South Korea and they woke the President up to tell him. The Korean War started in 1950--60 years ago--before Obama was born. There was an Armistice (July 27, 1953), which got us out of it, but there was never a victory or a Peace Treaty, so the War goes on for Koreans to this day. But it has really taken a toll on North Koreans. A decade ago it was estimated that 3.5 million North Koreans had been deliberately starved to death by their own government. It's hard to say what that number would be now--but it's all a result of the Amistice we signed in 1953--leaving before the job was done. And many want us to do that in Afghanistan and Iraq. Winning a war is nasty stuff. Negotiating the ending and walking away is even nastier.
Monday, November 22, 2010
How many decibels at a rock concert?
Or in the ear buds of your i-pod? Rock music 150dB.
New research from Swiss scientists suggests that people living near airports exposed to high levels of noise from air crafts are at increased risk of dying of myocardial infarction. That's an average daily noise level of 60 decibels--and I suspect that's less than what the i-pod user is pumping into his/her ears 24/7. Constant noise. It's not just for deafness.
JAMA November 17, 2010, p. 2116
New research from Swiss scientists suggests that people living near airports exposed to high levels of noise from air crafts are at increased risk of dying of myocardial infarction. That's an average daily noise level of 60 decibels--and I suspect that's less than what the i-pod user is pumping into his/her ears 24/7. Constant noise. It's not just for deafness.
JAMA November 17, 2010, p. 2116
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Recipe for Cranberry Stuffing for Thanksgiving
Recipe for Cranberry Stuffing for Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving Day Recipe Ideas | eHow.com
I've got all the ingredients for this one! Looks really simple
Update: Made it according to her directions. You'd better find a way to sweeten the cranberries, or it is unedible. I served ours with syrup, then threw the rest out!
I've got all the ingredients for this one! Looks really simple
Update: Made it according to her directions. You'd better find a way to sweeten the cranberries, or it is unedible. I served ours with syrup, then threw the rest out!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Will Jon Stewart show up in Wilmington to ridicule?
HuffPo last spring reported that Stewart was getting 50% of his material from Beck--not plagerism, but mocking him. Then in Beck's newsletter today it was noted that Stewart's program was 66% ridiculing Beck! Beck is keeping this man alive--he has no material without him.
Now Glenn Beck has announced he will travel to Wilmington, Ohio to do a show and to support a Christian ministry/food pantry there because in 2008 Wilmington lost its major employer (9,000 jobs) DHL. On his show tonight he interviewed Sugartree Ministries Director Allen Willoughby. Originally for the homeless and street people, Sugartree has a food pantry and accepts no government money, which must be a real challenge. Everyday the staff prays for the shelves to be filled. Every food pantry I know gets government grants to keep their doors open, same with after school snack programs and summer lunch programs that are run by churches. This prevents the ministry from being able to tell the story of Jesus and his saving work.
Beck isn't the only celebrity to show up to help Rachel Ray remodeled their kitchen. They are now serving 150-200 people 6 days a week.
Everyone knows that unemployment checks and food pantries aren't the answers to our economic problem--the government needs to get out of the way and allow businesses to thrive. In past recessions, new businesses sprung up; not so much this time. Regulations, energy requirements, insurance rates, and inability to get bank credit are stifling the small business man.
Maybe Jon could do something funny about that?
There's a college in Wilmington. My uncle J. Edwin Jay was the president from 1915-1927.
Now Glenn Beck has announced he will travel to Wilmington, Ohio to do a show and to support a Christian ministry/food pantry there because in 2008 Wilmington lost its major employer (9,000 jobs) DHL. On his show tonight he interviewed Sugartree Ministries Director Allen Willoughby. Originally for the homeless and street people, Sugartree has a food pantry and accepts no government money, which must be a real challenge. Everyday the staff prays for the shelves to be filled. Every food pantry I know gets government grants to keep their doors open, same with after school snack programs and summer lunch programs that are run by churches. This prevents the ministry from being able to tell the story of Jesus and his saving work.
Beck isn't the only celebrity to show up to help Rachel Ray remodeled their kitchen. They are now serving 150-200 people 6 days a week.
Everyone knows that unemployment checks and food pantries aren't the answers to our economic problem--the government needs to get out of the way and allow businesses to thrive. In past recessions, new businesses sprung up; not so much this time. Regulations, energy requirements, insurance rates, and inability to get bank credit are stifling the small business man.
Maybe Jon could do something funny about that?
There's a college in Wilmington. My uncle J. Edwin Jay was the president from 1915-1927.
The cries for civility from Democrats
Where were these guys two years ago when Obama began blaming President Bush for all the ills of the world, when he was demeaning over half of the American people a few weeks ago during the campaign, when he traveled abroad bowing and scraping to foreign despots? How civil was he and his supporters in the press and Congress? Isn't he the one who said "I won" when asked about cooperation with Republicans?
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Jay Rockefeller wants to shut down your news sources
"I hunger for quality news. I’m tired of the right and the left. There’s a little bug inside of me which wants to get the FCC to say to Fox and to MSNBC, “Out. Off. End. Goodbye.” It’d be a big favor to political discourse, our ability to do our work here in Congress, and to the American people, to be able to talk with each other and have some faith in their government and, more importantly, in their future."
Yes, I just bet that would really help political discourse a lot and getting work done in Congress. So what does he consider "quality?" Katie Couric's opinions and water carrying passing as news? WETA, D.C.’s public television and radio stations where his wife is CEO?
Yes, I just bet that would really help political discourse a lot and getting work done in Congress. So what does he consider "quality?" Katie Couric's opinions and water carrying passing as news? WETA, D.C.’s public television and radio stations where his wife is CEO?
Obama signs order to reform faith-based office
"President Obama signed an executive order Wednesday (Nov. 17) that reforms the White House's faith-based office in a bid to improve transparency and clarify rules for religious groups that receive federal grants.
The nine-page order reflects numerous recommendations made more than six months ago by a blue-ribbon advisory council charged with streamlining and reforming the office created under former President George W. Bush."
This certainly bears watching. During the 2008 campaign, Obama alluded to "fair hiring" in faith based programs, taking some religious freedoms by strangling churches ability to preach the gospel through what was once a popular Bush I and Bush II program--the 1000 points of light and the office of faith based initiatives. In 2008 I wrote a number of blogs about the dangers churches were facing with the Faustian agreement to take government support and grant money for everything from food pantries to housing rehab in distressed neighborhoods to after prison work programs to immigrant resettlement. I thought he had launched it when in 2009 he had Georgetown University remove all religious symbols when he gave a speech, but he became so embroiled in the healthcare debacle and the financial industry problems, that he wasn't able to turn his attention to it until . . . after the Democrats lost the House in 2010.
Once churches take government money, the administrators of that program by law, law suit, regulation or political pressure can tell them
Ten years ago City Journal (Winter 2000) reported that Catholic Charities had lost its soul by promoting government programs rather than traditional church teaching, and the author tosses in Jews and Lutherans for good measure because their charitable acts had also been compromised. "Catholic Charities—and the same could be said about the Association of Jewish Family and Children's Agencies or the Lutheran Services in America—has become over the last three decades an arm of the welfare state, with 65 percent of its $2.3 billion annual budget now flowing from government sources and little that is explicitly religious, or even values-laden, about most of the services its 1,400 member agencies and 46,000 paid employees provide."
I believe if we are to fulfill the Great Commission, we'll have to disentangle ourselves from the federal and state government.
The nine-page order reflects numerous recommendations made more than six months ago by a blue-ribbon advisory council charged with streamlining and reforming the office created under former President George W. Bush."
This certainly bears watching. During the 2008 campaign, Obama alluded to "fair hiring" in faith based programs, taking some religious freedoms by strangling churches ability to preach the gospel through what was once a popular Bush I and Bush II program--the 1000 points of light and the office of faith based initiatives. In 2008 I wrote a number of blogs about the dangers churches were facing with the Faustian agreement to take government support and grant money for everything from food pantries to housing rehab in distressed neighborhoods to after prison work programs to immigrant resettlement. I thought he had launched it when in 2009 he had Georgetown University remove all religious symbols when he gave a speech, but he became so embroiled in the healthcare debacle and the financial industry problems, that he wasn't able to turn his attention to it until . . . after the Democrats lost the House in 2010.
Once churches take government money, the administrators of that program by law, law suit, regulation or political pressure can tell them
- who to hire
- pull their tax exempt status
- which in turn can destroy other funding
- can hold up building plans that need to pass code
- can deny the retirement plan set in place for employees
- can affect the Medicare and Medicaid funding for the nursing home the church might run
- can restrict the adoption agency supported by the church plan to only place children with married couples
- and most importantly, can dictate what is said from the pulpit on any topic deemed politically sensitive, like marriage, abortion, environment, health, stem-cell research, euthanasia, war, etc.
Ten years ago City Journal (Winter 2000) reported that Catholic Charities had lost its soul by promoting government programs rather than traditional church teaching, and the author tosses in Jews and Lutherans for good measure because their charitable acts had also been compromised. "Catholic Charities—and the same could be said about the Association of Jewish Family and Children's Agencies or the Lutheran Services in America—has become over the last three decades an arm of the welfare state, with 65 percent of its $2.3 billion annual budget now flowing from government sources and little that is explicitly religious, or even values-laden, about most of the services its 1,400 member agencies and 46,000 paid employees provide."
I believe if we are to fulfill the Great Commission, we'll have to disentangle ourselves from the federal and state government.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Saving the world, one cat at a time
I often quote my mother who said, "I can't save the whole world, but I can save four acres." And she did, and she shared those acres with others by turning her family home into a peaceful, attractive retreat center. There are people in Powell, Ohio (northwest Columbus) who are saving the world one cat at a time at the Cozy Cat Cottage. What can you do to help. Of course, there's always money, but if you'd like a more fuzzy, hands on position, there are also volunteer jobs. I spend a lot of time on the internet so I might look into that good search click thing which provides CCC with benefits.
Mission Statement: Cozy Cat Cottage Adoption Center is a non-profit organization that provides refuge; aid and care for abandoned, injured, abused or lost cats and kittens. We refuse to euthanize cats or kittens simply because they are unwanted.
We are committed to the keep and care for these unwanted animals of all ages while attempting to find permanent, responsible, loving homes for each and every one of them.
We are dedicated to promoting respect and compassion for all animals through humane education and vigorously promoting spay and neutering to reduce, and eventually to eliminate the animal over population.
Right now this no kill facility can't accept any new residents, but if you are looking for a nice pet, perhaps one that's had a rough start in life, why not stop in at 62 Village Pointe Drive, Powell, Ohio 43065.
California's Destructive Green Jobs Lobby
"All the so-called "renewables" programs waste and desecrate the precious resource of arable land that feeds the world. Every dollar of new wages for green workers will result in several dollars of reduced pay and employment for the state's and the nation's other workers—and reduced revenues for the government."
George Gilder is just about the smartest guy I know. Read it. The Greenie's intent is to kill the economy. Their agenda long term has nothing to do with saving Planet Earth. Everyone should be environmentally responsible, including the lefists.
George Gilder: California's Destructive Green Jobs Lobby - WSJ.com
George Gilder is just about the smartest guy I know. Read it. The Greenie's intent is to kill the economy. Their agenda long term has nothing to do with saving Planet Earth. Everyone should be environmentally responsible, including the lefists.
George Gilder: California's Destructive Green Jobs Lobby - WSJ.com
Human rights and the UN
"Saudi Arabia now has a seat on the women's board at the United Nations. That's right, a regime where it's illegal for women to drive or leave the house without being accompanied by a male guardian, where girls were pushed into a burning building because they were trying to flee without covering their 'obscene' female faces... will be a key player in the international effort to empower women.
. . . Chilean leftist Michelle Bachelet, who heads up UN Women, praised Sudan for its commitment to gender equality in her opening statement. Yes, Sudan, a genocidal state which uses mass rapes as part of its ethnic cleansing campaign. And it's already clear that the focus of UN Women isn't to promote gender equality, but to intervene in conflict areas. Which means the odds are excellent that UN Woman will be used to crank out an endless stream of condemnations of countries that fight Muslim terrorists, while cloaking those condemnations in the name of the rights of women in the affected areas. And the Saudis are perfectly positioned to guide UN Women down that road."
George W. Bush freed more women (from the Taliban) than Lincoln did slaves, but that's not enough for the left. Will American Communists point out the inconsistency of Saudis on the women's board? American leftists don't actually approve of Islamic law and codes anymore than they do Christian, however, they are useful comrades in bringing down the common capitalist enemy--The United States.
Sultan Knish a blog by Daniel Greenfield
. . . Chilean leftist Michelle Bachelet, who heads up UN Women, praised Sudan for its commitment to gender equality in her opening statement. Yes, Sudan, a genocidal state which uses mass rapes as part of its ethnic cleansing campaign. And it's already clear that the focus of UN Women isn't to promote gender equality, but to intervene in conflict areas. Which means the odds are excellent that UN Woman will be used to crank out an endless stream of condemnations of countries that fight Muslim terrorists, while cloaking those condemnations in the name of the rights of women in the affected areas. And the Saudis are perfectly positioned to guide UN Women down that road."
George W. Bush freed more women (from the Taliban) than Lincoln did slaves, but that's not enough for the left. Will American Communists point out the inconsistency of Saudis on the women's board? American leftists don't actually approve of Islamic law and codes anymore than they do Christian, however, they are useful comrades in bringing down the common capitalist enemy--The United States.
Sultan Knish a blog by Daniel Greenfield
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