The road to hell is paved with good intentions--Andrew Klavan

Full entry here.

Key Lime Pie

I just love Key Lime Pie. We haven't been to Florida for several years, but when we were, I'd have a piece every day and each restaurant's pie was different. In memory of our Florida trip I'm having a Dannon Light and Fit Key Lime Yogurt, which actually delivers the taste it promises with only 80 calories instead of a day's full quota.

Playing UNO with my sister-in-law Jean in her trailer.

Waivers for Favors: Big Labor's Obamacare Escape Hatch

It would appear that big businesses, foundations, think tanks, unions and even states that supported Obamacare, are now applying for waivers on the grounds that the costs would be prohibitive, and some employees might lose either jobs or coverage or both. Little companies or self employed probably can't get a waiver. But then, are we surprised?

VDARE.com: 01/27/11 - Waivers for Favors: Big Labor's Obamacare Escape Hatch

Why the Tea Party can't trust the Republican Party

President Johnson, a Democrat, declared a war on poverty, and poverty won (NYT declares War on Poverty lost, 1999). I remember reading the book by Michael Harrington in the 1960s that supposedly started that war. However, President Nixon, a Republican, was even more liberal than Johnson. He tripled anti-poverty spending, and promoted "The New Federalism" giving us the huge environmental regulatory agencies which strangle growth to this day. How does that help the poor? Under Nixon, Medicare spending rose by 246% and he took us off the gold standard. The two Bushes were Republicans but they were not conservatives. Clinton's increase in the Federal budget was 12%. George W. Bush's was 42%.

Also, don't trust racialist labels. Nixon wasn't a racist (although he didn't like gays), but Johnson was. Before he became President, Johnson had voted against virtually every bill that wouldn't have helped blacks. Both hurt the African American family by encouraging men to leave the home through various "poverty" programs like AFDC. Despite his spending habits, George W. Bush with his stance on abortion and stem cell research, at least was morally and ethically for the black community which with only about 14% of the population is having 42% of the abortions, including the late term horror that we've recently witnessed in Philadelphia.

Since 1961, with the exception of Ronald Reagan, we've only had Progressive Presidents--JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Bush I and II--men who grew the government and broke their promises. If the Tea Party-supported new members of Congress don't want to get Beltway Fever and eat pork, they need to distrust the Republicans, and ignore the Democrats, toss out the word "bipartisanship" and "civility" and get down to the business of America, which is business.

Is the city supposed to clear its sidewalks? Or just the residents?

I think I've seen a requirement for residents in our city (Upper Arlington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus) to clear their side walks after a snow storm. We haven't had the snow that the northeast or west of Chicago have had, but we get 2-3 inches from time to time. Today I noticed that when driving west on McCoy Road, all the sidewalks on the south (residential) were clear, and all the sidewalks on the north (Thompson Park) were icy and snow covered and dangerous, because that's where people go to walk.

DISCO? No thanks

"Debra Moddelmog is a professor in the Department of English [at Ohio State University"]. She specializes in 20th century American literature, sexuality studies and intersectionality studies and is director of Diversity and Identity Studies Collective at OSU (DISCO). . . .She has organized and successfully carried out a new interdisciplinary minor in Sexuality Studies at Ohio State. Her work on diversity has had a significant impact on the Ohio State humanities curriculum."

There's a place for everyone (as a department head) at OSU.

Review & Outlook: After You, Mr. Ryan - WSJ.com

Yes, let some adults try to clean up the spending, taxing, waffling mess. "Amid his Reaganite sunshine and new admiration for the wonders of private enterprise, President Obama's political message in Tuesday's State of the Union address boils down to this: Republicans, it's your budget problem now."

Review & Outlook: After You, Mr. Ryan - WSJ.com

Richard Dreyfus is unhappy with Obama

Will a Hollywood liberal be called a racist?

When conservatives realized he was just another bag of hot leftist air, they were called racists. So, now that the left realizes he's just another statist influenced by money and lobbyists and concern for his own reputation, are they racists too? Or is there actually something more important about this man than the fact his father was from Kenya?

Community engagement--what is it?

At OSUToday I noticed a grant announcement for "community engagement."

Community Engagement RFA Deadline April 15

"Ohio State's Center for Clinical and Translational Science and the West Virginia Clinical Translational Science Institute Community Engagement and Research Program are jointly sponsoring a pilot research award designed to stimulate collaboration between the respective campuses as well as increase community engaged research, including community-based participatory research, in the Appalachian region."

So I started looking around--and what I found was a mountain of fuzzy definitions building in 2007 and 2008 which included words like "community concerns," "working collaboratively," "engage communities," "partnered and participatory research," and one definition even said "community engagement is not scholarship." On another site I found OSU's definition:

“Engagement is defined as a meaningful and mutually beneficial collaboration with partners in education, business, and public and social service. It involves using:

That aspect of teaching that enables learning beyond the campus walls;
That aspect of research that makes what we discover useful beyond the academic community; and
That aspect of service that directly benefits the public.”

So, based on OSU's definition, it's a way for faculty to complete teaching, research and service requirements without being in the classroom while receiving a federal or foundation grant, and also, if you Google "community engagement Alinsky" it's community organizing under another name (aka ACORN). Notice how Alinsky has been sanitized. It's a way to co-opt established groups that have had a long time mission to educate, feed, clothe and minister to people, and bring them into the government fold. Like churches, service organizations and non-profits.

Some definitions on the internet were so vague, even about the word "community," you really could use this grant money to research middle age Roman Catholic men who gather at Panera's for Bible study, or a condo association that wants the golf course to rip rap its side of the creek, or elementary students who want to play ball in the streets. The grants are quite toothsome.

Computer virus problems

I'm really out of commission here. I'm using an old computer xp I had in the basement. I picked up a virus disguised as a microsoft scan, so don't ever say yes to an offer to scan for viruses, even if it says it's microsoft. Don't know that I could have stopped it, but after being "cleaned" by a computer repairman, it reappeared and now the whole thing is fried.

CNN puts women in its crosshairs

According to Byron York, before CNN reporter John King had his horrified (and horrifying) mental breakdown on the air apologizing for another reporter's use of the word crosshairs (Chicago mayoral race being disucssed by Andy Shaw), CNN had been guilty a number of times of putting events and people in its crosshairs, particularly Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann. He lists them here:

A look at transcripts of CNN programs in the month leading up to the shootings shows that the network was filled with references to "crosshairs" -- and once even used the term to suggest the targeting of Palin herself. Some examples:

"Palin's moose-hunting episode on her reality show enraged People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and now, she's square in the crosshairs of big time Hollywood producer, Aaron Sorkin," reported A.J. Hammer of CNN's Headline News on December 8.

"Companies like MasterCard are in the crosshairs for cutting ties with WikiLeaks," said CNN Kiran Chetry in a December 9 report.

"Thousands of people living in areas that are in the crosshairs have been told to evacuate," Chetry said in a December 21 report on flooding in California.

"He's in their crosshairs," said a guest in a December 21 CNN discussion of suspects in a missing-person case.

"This will be the first time your food will be actually in the crosshairs of the FDA," business reporter Christine Romans said on December 22.

"The U.S. commander in the East has Haqqani in his crosshairs," CNN's Barbara Starr reported on December 28, referring to an Afghan warlord.

"We know that health care reform is in the crosshairs again," CNN's Joe Johns reported on January 3.

Seven uses of "crosshairs" in just the month before the Tucson attacks, and just one of them referring to an actual wartime situation. And one reference to Sarah Palin herself as being in "crosshairs."

And not just Palin. On September 14, Mark Preston, CNN's senior political editor, referred to another controversial politician, Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann, as being "in the crosshairs." "Michelle Bachmann is raising lots of money, raising her national profile," Preston said on September 14. "She is in the crosshairs of Democrats as well."

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/01/banning-crosshairs-cnn-used-it-refer-palin-bachmann#ixzz1Bcbm5FlM

A list of proposed budget cuts

Here's a few of my favorites:

"Stimulus" Repeal: Eliminate all remaining "stimulus" funding. $45 billion total savings

Community Development Fund. $4.5 billion annual savings. (ACORN type groups?)

Cut Federal Travel Budget in Half. $7.5 billion annual savings.

Energy Star Program. $52 million annual savings

Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act. More than $1 billion annually

Require collection of unpaid taxes by federal employees. $1 billion total savings. With the punishment or fines the rest of us would get.

And so forth. Quite a list.

The Pitty Pat Papers: ACTION!!! At last!!

Tennessee Democrat stands by Nazi remarks

So much for the Democrats lowering the volume and being more civil. Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN) has used the N-word, Nazi, to describe Republicans' repeal of the health care fiasco, and by implication, all of us who thought it was terrible that it got passed before it was read. All of us who went to the polls in November and exercised our right to vote to change it.

Mr. Cohen, shame on you! You guys railroad this disaster through, admit you haven't read it and have no idea what it will cost in the long run, and then call the victims of your plot, Nazis (national socialists). Now if some demented, apolitical man fires a gun into a crowd or drives his car into the window of a fast food restaurant, or flies his plane into a government building, we'll know who to blame.

Tennessee Democrat stands by Nazi remarks - Bloomberg

But he was taken out of context? Sounds like he's called us Nazis to me.
"They say it's a government takeover of health care, a big lie just like Goebbels. . . . You say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie and eventually, people believe it. Like blood libel. That's the same kind of thing. . . . The Germans said enough about the Jews and the people believed it and you had the Holocaust. You tell a lie over and over again. And we've heard on this floor, government takeover of health care."

According to Glenn Beck (and biographers), Goebbels got his methods from Edward Bernays, The father of Spin, who later changed the word "propaganda" to "public relations."

"During Bernays' lifetime and since, propaganda has usually had dirty connotations, loaded and identified with the evils of Nazi PR genius Joseph Goebbels, or the oafish efforts of the Soviet Communists. In his memoirs, Bernays wrote that he was "shocked" to discover that Goebbels kept copies of Bernays' writings in his own personal library, and that his theories were therefore helping to "engineer" the rise of the Third Reich."

President George W. Bush, $50 million to fight human trafficking (slavery), Sept. 23, 2003, before the U.N.

There's another humanitarian crisis spreading, yet hidden from view. Each year, an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 human beings are bought, sold or forced across the world's borders. Among them are hundreds of thousands of teenage girls, and others as young as five, who fall victim to the sex trade. This commerce in human life generates billions of dollars each year -- much of which is used to finance organized crime.

There's a special evil in the abuse and exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable. The victims of sex trade see little of life before they see the very worst of life -- an underground of brutality and lonely fear. Those who create these victims and profit from their suffering must be severely punished. Those who patronize this industry debase themselves and deepen the misery of others. And governments that tolerate this trade are tolerating a form of slavery.

This problem has appeared in my own country, and we are working to stop it. The PROTECT Act, which I signed into law this year, makes it a crime for any person to enter the United States, or for any citizen to travel abroad, for the purpose of sex tourism involving children. The Department of Justice is actively investigating sex tour operators and patrons, who can face up to 30 years in prison. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the United States is using sanctions against governments to discourage human trafficking.

The victims of this industry also need help from members of the United Nations. And this begins with clear standards and the certainty of punishment under laws of every country. Today, some nations make it a crime to sexually abuse children abroad. Such conduct should be a crime in all nations. Governments should inform travelers of the harm this industry does, and the severe punishments that will fall on its patrons. The American government is committing $50 million [I think this was domestic; another site reported $295 million internationally] to support the good work of organizations that are rescuing women and children from exploitation, and giving them shelter and medical treatment and the hope of a new life. I urge other governments to do their part.

We must show new energy in fighting back an old evil. Nearly two centuries after the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, and more than a century after slavery was officially ended in its last strongholds, the trade in human beings for any purpose must not be allowed to thrive in our time.

--------------

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) (Public Law 106-386) was first enacted in October 2000, reauthorized in 2003, and President Barack Obama proclaimed January National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. But you'll see a shift, gradually, to emphasizing labor and other types of human rights abusesinstead of saving sex workers and children from a life of slavery. Notice the word order in Obama's speech: "Human trafficking is a global travesty that takes many forms. Whether forced labor or sexual trafficking, child soldiering or involuntary domestic servitude, these abuses are an affront to our national conscience, and to our values as Americans and human beings."

At Homeland Security, it's called The Blue Campaign, don't know why. Sounds a bit political, sort of like distributing blue t-shirts at the Tucson memorial for murdered citizens. Lots of PR, pamphlets and cards.

Because feminists write on this issue, they generally hated President Bush despite what he did for women, their examination of the 2000 Human trafficking act, the 2003 Operation Predator and PROTECT act, and their enforcement are generally seen as a failure. Link. However, if you read through these link, both the problem and the progress is amazing.

Barack Obama--News source

Based on the art work of the site, this collection of news articles with little or no editorial comment puzzles me. It's definitely Soviet style realism familiar to anyone exposed to 20th century art propaganda; you could paste in Lenin with St. Petersburg in the background with no effort and get the subliminal message. But we have many admirers of Marxist state communism and state socialism among us under the banner of Progressive. So are the creators of this website for Obama or against him? Do news stories, which always have an editorial slant, really tell a story without explanation or have they been selected to reveal a bigger story with headline creation? I think after reviewing the headlines, it's a pro-Obama site. Use of "anti-abortion" instead of "pro-life," for instance. "Repeal health care" instead of "repeal health care bill." It's the little things in love and politics that matter.

The tags appear to be created by robots, not people. That's untidy. Really can put a librarian's teeth on edge. I think a conservative website would be more careful.

Barack Obama

Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: We Just Witnessed The Media's Test Run To Re-Elect Barack Obama

The smearing of Palin over the Giffords shooting. There's a bigger issue.

"It does not matter whether you support Palin for President, whether you think she is electable, or even whether you like her. This is not about Palin, it is about the mainstream media's desire to have Barack Obama re-elected at any cost and to take down any Republican candidate who stands in the way."

Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: We Just Witnessed The Media's Test Run To Re-Elect Barack Obama

"Barack Obama is already gearing up for the 2012 election, with a report last week that his campaign will be headquartered in Chicago. Don't be surprised if he sticks with the theme of "change," which at first glance makes no sense coming from an incumbent. But it makes perfect sense when one realizes that the change he champions was never simply from Bush to himself or from a Republican to a Democrat. No, President Obama seeks fundamental change -- transformation -- from core American principles, like free enterprise, self-reliance, sovereignty and liberty, toward socialism "in the name of economic fairness.""
American Thinker: The Stealthy Spread of Socialism in the U.S.

For starters, Jared Loughner was male

“Boys, compared to girls, are 6 times more likely to have learning disabilities, 3 times more likely to be registered drug addicts, and 4 times more likely to be diagnosed as emotionally disturbed. Boys are at greater risk for schizophrenia, sexual addiction, alcoholism, and all forms of antisocial and criminal behavior. They are 12 times more likely to murder someone, and their rate of death in car accidents is greater by 50%.”

New Man, May/June 2003, p. 16

Federal grand jury indicts Loughner in Giffords shooting

Snapshot of a Culture of Death

Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who made millions as an abortionist, “induced labor, forced the live birth of viable babies in the sixth, seventh, eighth month of pregnancy and then killed those babies by cutting into the back of the neck with scissors and severing their spinal cord.” Nine employees were also charged. He kept body parts in jars for no apparent reason.

Snapshot of a Culture of Death - By Kathryn Jean Lopez - The Corner - National Review Online

Yes, that sounds gross, but it's not far removed from a case here in Columbus where a father killed his 3 month old by dragging him on the street after he'd abused him. There's only 4 months difference between an 8th month fetus and a 3 month old baby. One is called abortion, the other murder. Both babies were helpless without adult protection. Neither can survive on his own.

How far will the Democrats go in looking foolish?

In an early concession to Democrats looking for a battle, the Republicans have decided to change the name of the Jobs Killing Bill to something less violent, like Jobs Crushing Bill. Why not just call it what it is, The bill to save American health care. Is that too long? Or how about this. Repeal Obamacare Bill. This looking for violence under every rock by Rep. James Clyburn is going to backfire, ah, misfire, uh, come back to haunt him. We're in for more turgid, bombastic, mendacious, unctuous, jejune, inchoate language than usual as our senators and congresspeople struggle for just the exact word while avoiding long used (but violent) verbs and idioms:
Shoot yourself in the foot
shoot down
Blow your top
blow up
In the cross hairs
crossfire
target
aim
Straight arrow
butcher
mangle the language
hang dog look
blood red
Gore
blood brothers
strangle
discharge
choke
strangle
die
death
murder
mow down
assassinate
wound
double barrel
trigger
sacrifice

More as I think of them.

The next list of smack downs, again criticizing the right, will be all the words that have been used to describe Loughner. Everything from crazy to nut job to nut case. I think many of those cruel terms (and I probably used a few of my own) were over the top, in part because he is a victim of his own disturbed thoughts over which he had not control. And he's a victim of a type of social protection. But the sheriff's office did know about his obsession with Giffords (according to Dupnik) and she should have had protection.

Tucson shooter obsessed with bizarre Internet movie Zeitgeist.

Byron York examines Loughner's obsession with a movie. "Zeitgeist" has three parts. The first tells us that Christianity is a myth, and that religion in general conditions us to believe other myths. The second tells us that the most powerful of those other myths is 9/11 -- we call it an act of terrorism when it fact it was an inside job perpetrated by the U.S. government. And the third part tells us the real powers behind 9/11 and the other myths are central bankers. They're making the myths for money, while we're just being duped."

Tucson shooter obsessed with bizarre Internet movie | Byron York | Politics | Washington Examiner

But if it hadn't been this movie, it would have been shadows on the wall, or the way his English teacher looked at him, or a girl who dumped him. Whatever, it sure wasn't Sarah Palin.

And Lee Siegel on movies in general (on government): "According to news reports, Loughner went to one of Congresswoman Giffords' public meetings and asked her this question: "What is government if words have no meaning?" It also appears in his YouTube video. In the light of what later happened, the question chills us. Its nihilism and its unbalanced lack of basic trust are haunting. Yet they are also the stuff, not just of right-wing suspicion of government, or of radical left-wing suspicion of same, but of scores of Hollywood movies, from Taxi Driver and Three Days of the Condor, to Guilty by Suspicion and Mercury Rising, to The Sentinel and Syriana, and, well, I can't keep up. For at least half a century, our movies, from simple to complex, have been driven by the idea that official words have no meaning and that government is either criminal or a sham."

American Nihilism | The New York Observer