The religion of Julian Assange--one view

"Like other anti-American cranks on the planet, Assange holds firm in his warped faith that the U.S. is the leading source of global evil. The roots of this religion run deep, beginning with 18th century European aristocrats who despised the American Revolution. The anti-Americanism of Nazis, communists, tribalists, anarchists and now militant Islamists all rehash the same tropes, with their semi-schizoid baseline being the U.S. is simultaneously a vast authoritarian conspiracy and a heterogeneous menagerie of infidel-cowboy-capitalist idiots who dogmatically resist enlightened social policies.

Assange argues his revelations will force this conglomerate American monster to become more secretive and authoritarian. Limiting access to information, in order to stop future leaks, will reduce the monster's secretive and authoritarian effectiveness. The monster's "security state" will dumb down, and --here's the moment of religious rapture in Assange's prophecy -- this will increase global justice.

Assange also links this shackling of America to creating peace. Don't snicker too long. There are a lot of tenured gray-haired profs with ponytails who teach this dreck at notable universities and get paid for it.

Assange understands media grandstanding, but he doesn't understand people and certainly doesn't understand how American diplomats contribute to maintaining peace."

Read the whole piece. WikiLeaks' Bottom-Line Revelation

"Wikileaks obtained hundreds of thousands of secret American military and diplomatic documents from a U.S. soldier (PFC Bradley Manning) who worked in intelligence. As such, Manning had a security clearance and access to SIPRNet (Secret Internet Protocol Router Network). This was a private Department of Defense network established in 1991, using Internet technology and able to handle classified (secret) documents. But Manning got access to a computer with a writable CD drive, and was able to copy all those classified documents to a CD (marked as containing Lady Gaga tracks) and walk out of his workplace with it."

Read the rest. Information Warfare: Why Wikileaks Backfired

Benefits for gay couples, but not straight?

There are lots of reasons heterosexual couples don't get married, but live in "committed" relationships whereby benefits and legal and medical power of attorney might be helpful, or a tuition break for the girlfriend's out of wedlock teenager, or a gym membership, etc.

One or both might still be married to someone else.

If one or the other married, they might lose their alimony or a deceased spouse's benefits.

They are related to each other and live in one of the states that have consanguinity laws. One half of the states prohibit the marriage of first cousins. Some states also prohibit the marriage of a step-parent and a child, or an in-law and a child. But marriage among cousins is extremely common among immigrant groups.

One or both accept polygamy and don't wish to separate from their legal spouse.

Both have adult children from previous marriages and don't want to do anything to change the line of inheritance for wealth for their children, and prefer to take care of their partner in other ways.

They are different religions and can't come to an agreement and don't want to upset their parents.

They look down on the other's ethnicity or cultural group and don't want the association (Korean/Japanese or different first nations group or Sharia/Sunni).

They've been through a nasty divorce several times and have completely soured on the idea of marriage, but not relationships.

They are very close to former in-laws and don't wish to bring in a "new" spouse to the relationship mix.

Their place of employment has nepotism rules and one would lose a job or be transferred if they were married.

Same-Sex Benefits Ban Roils El Paso - WSJ.com

The Tax Treatment of Domestic Partner Benefits - NYTimes.com

New Benefits for Same-Sex Partners - NYTimes.com

Health Benefits: Dependent Certification - Benefits - The Ohio State University

So how long before the federal government, corporations and universities decide to be fair to straight, shacking-up couples?

Mike Huckabee knows

Huckabee's message today was about what he knows.

I know life begins at conception;

I know our economy grows and adds jobs when we have less government and lower taxes;

I know social issues are inextricably linked to economic successes;

I know traditional marriage isn't just a conservative principle it's a fundamental building block for our nation;

I know real border security isn't just securing our borders, it's enforcing existing laws on employers;

and I know a free nation is one that can feed itself, fuel itself and fight for itself.

Although I'm not going to send Huck-Pac any more money (at Christmas our donations go to Christian causes, not political movements), but I do agree 100% with his summary of conservative values.

Government bloggers

Not only are we paying these government employees their salaries, but we are paying them to blog about all the good deals we get by sending our money to the government and letting them spend it.

Blog Policies

Power Spin 210 U

This is our Christmas present. We went shopping Saturday with our daughter and son-in-law who are true "shoppers." They do the research (Christmas trees, clothing, technology, etc.) and then we go along for the ride. My husband and son-in-law both wanted me to get the new-in-the-box model for $200, but I said I'd take the 25% off the floor model. When scanned it came up already on sale, so we got... 20% off that. $80 instead of $200 was my take-away price. It measures heart rate, calories, mph, and mileage.

They also talked the clerk out of taking my old exercycle, which I offered to her. But I found a new and happy owner within a minute of mentioning it on my Facebook page.

Ceiling Repair--unexpected holiday expense

We were afraid the plumbing in the master bathroom was leaking, because we were getting bubbles on the living room ceiling, but they didn't seem to be under the drain. On a closer look, my husband decided the caulking in the corner of the shower was damaged.

A contractor looked, cut out a section, and yes, could see daylight in the corner of the shower. He also found some "outside of code" plumbing from when this shower was installed, probably in 1990 when the guy decorators lived here and all sorts of trendy, but not correct things, were installed. He also found out the previous contractor didn't remove his trash--even found a putty knife!

Notice the cat on the couch is not about to give up her napping spot just because there's a stranger in the room cutting holes in the ceiling! It's that curiosity thingy.

How St. Nick Became Santa Claus

Happy St. Nicholas Day, December 6. There truly is a real person behind our Santa Claus myth. Last night at the Conestoga Christmas party at the hotel in the Ohio Historical Village a St. Nicholas reenactor told us the story of his life and the giving of gifts (we each got a gold coin, i.e., chocolate wrapped in gold foil).
How St. Nick Became Santa Claus: Spiritual Life in God

The Dream Act

Call or e-mail your Senators now and tell them to vote NO on the DREAM Act.

"Last week, the Department of Labor reported that unemployment in America rose to 9.8 percent. Joblessness has now topped 9.5 percent for 16 straight months, the longest stretch since the Great Depression. Yet in the 11th hour of the 111th Congress, Democrats are attempting to pass legislation that would grant amnesty to an estimated two million illegal immigrants

The DREAM Act subsidizes education for illegal immigrants, grants them mass amnesty, encourages more illegal immigration and inevitably takes jobs from American workers. Simply put, the DREAM Act is a nightmare for the American people. ." Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas)


No one knows how many are eligible for this--it includes up to age 35, so it's "not for the children." Could be over 2 million. Also, a criminal record won't disbar anyone from this dream. If they don't complete the program--which could be vocational or junior college--they only have to claim hardship to keep their legal status.

Those who receive conditional legal status under the DREAM Act also would be ineligible for Medicaid, food stamps and other government-funded benefits.

Center for American Progress, a far left wing think tank supports it, as do many progressives, socialists, etc. They need more voters on their side, and what better way than to slip them in under amnesty. But, do your homework. Should the children of illegals get special breaks like in-state tuition to your alma mater, when your child has to pay double, and should an illegal get a fast track to citizenship or legal status when your relatives have to wait in line?

DREAM ACT is just another name for blanket amnesty.

Monday Memories--Weybright farm sale

These aren't my memories, of course, but about 106 years ago the two oldest sons, Josiah and George, of my great-grandparents Jacob and Nancy Wenger Weybright were selling off their deceased parents' property, a farm near Dayton, Ohio, in Montgomery County, presumably to be divided among the living children.  My own grandfather was still a teen-ager when his mother died and was only 8 years old when his father died.  The date of this poster is 1894, so that means with the help of her older children Nancy lived on the farm until her death in 1892.

According to my genealogy notes, George continued to live on the home place and something messy happened in an agreement with his daughter and husband to look after him in his old age, because he outlived his daughter, was taken in by a niece, Ethel Shoup, and I believe he died in a nursing home in 1962, but I'm not sure. *

Josiah, the other name on the bill of sale, married Rose Johnson, moved to Bloomington, Indiana and when I was living in Indianapolis in 1960 I think I may have met some of his daughters at a funeral I attended to "represent" our side of the family--Iva Bates, Edith Boruff, Isabelle Terhune and Margie Lowdermilk.

If I were a better researcher (or had the energy) I could probably find out what happened to the farm one half mile south of Union and one half mile north of Harrisburg, Ohio on the Dayton and Covington Pike. Nothing is forever; certainly not real estate or farmland.  However, the family Bible in which Nancy wrote all her children's names is in Canada with my cousin Sharon.

*The Wenger Database lists his death much earlier, but I think that is incorrect based on family correspondence I've read.

Update: " Find a Grave" gives his death as 1964.

Oral-B CrossAction Power Whitening Toothbrush

Last week I had my 6 month dental check up and got the usual lecture. Floss. Use an electric toothbrush. I always have tons of plaque and 30+ years ago I had a gingivectomy, for an early case of gingivitis, and I still have ALL my permanent teeth--including four wisdom teeth that are extremely hard to floss, even with a huge mouth like mine. So, when we were out purchasing my new Gold's power spin on Saturday we sorted through the battery and electric toothbrushes. We've had an electric toothbrush for years with replacement heads, but it resides in my husband's bathroom, so I've maybe used it twice. Well, I discovered at Wal-Mart that I could buy 4 Oral-B CrossAction power battery operated toothbrushes for the same cost of 3 replacement heads of our electric model. Duh. That's a no brainer--it even came with the batteries. Now for the good news. I just love it! I've looked on line, and I don't see any price better than the $5.97 I paid at Wal-Mart. And boy, does it have power!

Oral-B CrossAction Power Whitening Toothbrush

Just say no

This was not the scene--it was the dad

This morning a young family with five children was enjoying breakfast where I have my coffee. Gorgeous kids and parents. But lively. Oh my. Lots of screaching. Some rolling on the floor. Some dismantling. I just can't imagine my mother saying something like, "We need to think about. . . [using our quiet voice; sitting in our chairs; not running around when people have hot coffee]" if I had been acting up in public. Although I sat through a lot of Mary Evans' classes at FCC when I was a young parent, and that's what we were taught to say 40 years ago.

Please moms, just say No. The kids know what you mean and are probably confused that you seem to be leaving the choice up to them.

The story of Kables and Mt. Morris, a timeline by guest blogger Murray

Murray and I graduated from Mt. Morris High School in Illinois in 1956 and 1957. It was then a small town with several thriving businesses related to printing and publishing, an excellent school system, four churches, and a solid retail business district. When my parents and grandparents were young there had been a Mt. Morris College (two different entities, 1839-1932), but it closed in 1932. At one time Mt. Morris had a high school, junior high, and an elementary school, but those are gone too except for the middle school. Two years ago Watt Publishing, one of the largest publishers of agricultural journals, moved out. Last week, the announcement came that Quad-Graphics would be leaving too. That's the current name of a company that began in 1894. Here's how Murray explains the timeline from Kable Brothers Printing to Quad-Graphics.

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Norma, here are the events leading up to the demise of our beloved Kable Brothers Printing Company.

1957 - Western Publishing of Racine, Wisconsin, elected to compliment their strong children's books, games and toys business. They purchased Kable Printing. They were a great company to work for as they paid well and had great benefits including profit sharing. They allowed Kable management to continue to manage the daily operation of the plant.

1974 - This continued until the photo engravers decided to strike in May of 1974. Western Publishing handled the negotiations with the union. Kable limped though the strike under Western Publishing till 1979 as the strike weakened them.

1979 - Mattel purchased Western Publishing in 1979 [for $120.8 million in cash and stock] primarily for Western's lucrative children's books, toys and games business. They then divested themselves of Kable in 1980 to the Providence Journal because they really had no interest or expertise in printing and publishing.

1980 - The Providence Journal had a printing division called Providence Gravure. They added Kable printing to this division and allowed Kable to keep its name. [Murray transferred to Providence in 1981, retiring in 1995.] They also had gravure plants in Dallas and Richmond. They were an excellent company to work for as they were generous with their benefits and paid well.

1986 - In 1986 they sold the Gravure division to Robert Maxwell of Maxwell Communications. Robert Maxwell was determined to become the largest communications media in the world. He was obsessed with attempting to overtake Rupert Murdoch as the world's largest communications empire. Maxwell was ruthless in his attempt. He kept acquiring and expanding sometimes using the pension funds of his acquisitions for capital. Fortunately he didn't touch the pension funds of the Providence Gravure Printing division. Maxwell drowned mysteriously in November 1991 while cruising off the Canary Islands, investigators discovered that he had misappropriated hundreds of millions of dollars from his companies and their pension plans to finance his corporate expansion. Maxwell's companies were forced to file for bankruptcy protection in Great Britain and the United States.

1990 - Quebecor Printing, located in Montreal, Quebec, purchased the Providence Gravure printing division from Maxwell Communications in 1990. Kable became Quebecor Mt. Morris. Quebecor Printing had similar goals as Maxwell. They wanted to become the largest commercial printer in the world by overtaking R.R. Donnelly. Their business plan was based strictly on total sales. They were successful based on total sales, however it was at the risk of their bottom line. To help towards their goal they merged with World Color in 1999. Kable/Quebecor Mt. Morris became QuebecorWorld. The QuebecorWorld business plan failed.

2010 - QuadGraphics with 30,000 employees worldwide purchased the bulk of QuebecorWorld U.S. printing plants in June of 2010. QuadGraphics immediately began consolidating and closing down various printing plants. On Nov. 30 QuadGraphics announced that starting Jan. 1, 2011 the Mt. Morris plant will began reducing it's work force from 500 to 100 employees to be completed by April 1. 2011.

MURRAY

Bernanke's Depression experiment

How many people get to play with the lives of 300 million people, and maybe the world's population, to see if their PhD thesis works?

Yesterday the Labor Department released its monthly jobs report and the nation’s unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent, the 19th month in a row that the unemployment has been over 9 percent, a post–World War II record. Obama used to wave the figure of 8% unemployment on his fear flag of "hope and change." But B & O (Bernanke and Obama)have the Great Depression to look to for a guide, don't they? It seems the only problem these people see with the FDR years was that the government didn't interfer enough with more, and that's why FDR extended the problem for a decade.

Genealogy software

I can't even describe how much I dislike my Family Tree Maker 2008. I had no problem with a much earlier version--nothing like adding improvements with media gimmicks to screw up a perfectly good text based program. Anyway, I plan to read a review call Best Free Genealogy/Family Tree Software. HT to Dan Nieman at Antiquarian Librarian.

Ethnicity trumps everything

Ethnicity trumps nationality, religion, culture, politics, language, gender, wealth, politics, education, you name it. Scratch the surface of any national problem and you'll turn up ethnicity, whether it's Northern Ireland or Bosnia or Iraq/Iran. I won't start another blog on this topic, but I could. I'll just comment from time to time. I've maxed out my 5,000 subject headings Blogger allows, so I can't create something to keep them all together. But here's my first.

The Koran says nothing about female circumcision--the mutilation of female clitoris so there is no sexual sensation. The custom predates Islam. However, in Africa it is followed "religiously" by black African Muslims. Jeffrey Tayler observes in "An Angry Wind" that even very liberal, educated, upper caste African Muslims supported the circumcision of all women for fear they would “go wild.” I suppose they mean they might become westernized and demand some rights like driving a car, employment, or wearing revealing clothes. You might call that their culture, but I choose to say ethnicity trumps culture, because educated, health conscious, liberal African Muslims (it has contributed to the spread of AIDS and various other health problems) are a subculture too.

HT 7th decade thoughts

Christmas 2000--was it really 10 years ago?

My Dad was visiting us from Dec. 2-5 and then went on to visit my siblings. We called it the "grand tour." Although there was one hitch in the trip and Dad got sick one night at my sister's, I think his trip went pretty well. I bought some adjustments for the bathroom because his legs were weak from congestive heart failure. It was his first holiday without my mother who had died in January. They were married over 65 years. We really had a wonderful visit, and our daughter hosted the whole family for dinner at her house, all decorated for Christmas. We just had a smattering of the snow they got in Illinois which postponed his trip home by one day, in fact, we mostly had ice and wind.

When I retired in October 2000 I started going to exercise classes with my husband. Could barely do 1 lb. weights when I started, but was up to 5 lbs by December. That year I checked out an Ed Sullivan Christmas video from the library. Sort of fun--and seemed so innocent. Some was black and white and some color--"the really big shew." You may recall that we'd been through a rancorous election season and hanging chads, so was a pleasure to see something other than the election coverage.

On Sunday the 10th we attended a Victorian Christmas Open House in Mechanicsburg, Ohio at the Neelys who used to live in Upper Arlington and were members of our church. Their home had been written up in the Ohio Magazine. The house was gorgeous--they wanted a place to build memories with the grandchildren, and this was the perfect setting.

On December 16 we had a BIG choir Christmas dinner--$25/ticket. We took our daughter and son and their spouses, and it was a dressy event. They all looked so lovely--still have the photos, although not the daughter-in-law. Fabulous music at the Mill Run church which had just opened that year.

Then on the next Monday evening we went to a caroling/cookie party. I made my dozen cookies early in the week--a simple oatmeal bar with melted chocolate chips and pecans on top--and put them in the freezer. On Saturday the 23rd our daughter and son-in-law planned to take us to see the Nutcracker, but one of us--don't remember who--got sick, so we've still never seen it. On Sunday, Christmas Eve, we hosted dinner in the evening, opened presents and then all went to church together.

Now, the only way I know any of this happened is not because I have a terrific memory, but because I wrote someone a letter that year, and now I have the memories stored in my computer.

This is not a good idea--tax incentives for creationism

"Operators of Kentucky's Creation Museum are seeking tax incentives to build a creationism theme park called Ark Encounter, which, according to preliminary estimates, could draw as many as 1.6 million guests a year."
Tax Foundation

If it's a good idea, then people will come and it will be an honest return for their investors. Don't make unbelievers pay for it. Christians, particularly Conservative Christians, need to stop taking government hand outs for their "good works." It's just another form of redistribution of wealth, aka stealing.

The Friday real estate ads

The top 1 percent (AGI over $380,354) of Americans paid 38% of the income taxes in 2008. They were hit harder by the recession, so that's a little less than they paid in 2007 (40.4%), because if you don't earn, you don't pay as much in taxes, (as the bottom 50% know) and that hurts the rest of us, which is what the current battle in Congress is about (the so-called Bush tax-cuts for the wealthy). But even with high earnings, you don't buy the sort of houses you see for sale in the Friday Wall Street Journal--that takes wealth which comes from investments and taking risks or having the right grandparents, not income, two very different things.

Saddle River, NJ--6+ acres. Has a soccer field, bocce ball court and stable. $4.7 million.

Stowe, VT--18,00 sq ft, 15 acres. Marble exterior. Indoor pool with waterfall. $16 million.

Wainscott, NY--Georgica Pond home, 2.5 acres, water frontage. $28 million.

Arroyo Grande, CA--homesite near San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach, from $305,000.

Appropriate, non-fatal punishment

Would you deem this cruel and unusual? John Edwards, Bernie Madoff, Charlie Rangel and Barney Frank should be locked up together in a small, maximum security cell and be forced to listen 24/7 to each other's lies. If they fall asleep, Nancy Pelosi has to waterboard them, but then deny she knew what she was doing. Works for me.

Friday Family Photo--the Ballards move to Illinois

From the clothing and hair styles, I'm guessing this photo is late 1930s early 1940s. The youngest, Ada, far right, my grandmother's sister, died in 2009 at age 92. This is scanned from a photocopy, but is the best I can do.

Although I didn't write down the date I recorded my father's memories, I think from the note paper and my own handwriting, it was around 2000 after he had moved to the Lustron on First Street and I was pumping him for some family stories. Here's the story he was told about why his grandparents came to Ogle County, Illinois from Jefferson County, Tennessee a century before.

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Notes about William Ballard family move to Illinois
From a conversion with Dad, ca. 2000
By Norma Bruce

Howard tells the story passed down to him about how the Ballards arrived in Illinois from Jefferson County, Tennessee, about 1906 (after Leta was born). William John Ballard had six children (Parlea and Molly had died) and couldn’t earn a living on the small acreage left to him by his mother, Rachel.

His plan was to start a new life in Texas, but when they got to the train station, there were no trains south until the next day. He knew the Rodeffers in Ogle County, Illinois, and there was a train going to Mt. Morris, so he changed his plans.

The family of eight arrived in Mt. Morris and went to the local hotel where they were told they needed a house. For a brief time he rented a small house on Main Street (His grand daughter Marian and family later lived there in the 1940s and 1950s).

The first winter in Illinois (according to son Orville who got a slightly different version) was very sad and blue because Granddad didn't have a job. He became a tenant on the Butterbaugh farm north of Mt. Morris on Mt. Morris Road where the other children (Alma, Orville, Ruby and Ada) were born. Alma died at about 6 weeks and I'm not positive about where she was born; she was the first family member buried in Plainview Cemetery. He farmed until 1923 on three different farms. Again, Orville's recollection was the the children attended Center School located near Trot Town, and the Silver Creek Church of the Brethren.

When he moved the family to Mt. Morris, Ballard worked for the township, worked at Kables as a fireman, and did other jobs to support his family. He also assisted other Tennesseans as they came north. He helped three young men come north, all of whom became sons-in-law. He helped son-in-law Joe, who had been his hired man when he was a farmer, set up as a farmer around 1915 with a team and wagon.

Here's the family with their maternal (Williford) cousins at a reunion, about 6 years after Granddad's death, maybe 1955 or 1956, again judging from the clothing, hair styles, and visible automobile tail light.

Someone in your family is a walking, talking archive. Interview while you can. I have so many double cousins in my family tree going back to pre-Civil War (Corbett, Eudaley, Edgar, Gresham), that when Family Tree Maker tells me to whom I'm related, I'm my own 6th cousin.