Over 6,000 hits and chocolate too

I've been blogging since October 2003--not sure how many posts--the count says 8,829 Posts (just for this blog), but I have deleted quite a few. I've maxed out labels at 5,000 and occasionally go in and delete some old ones used only once so I can add something more current.

Blogger dot com has a new (to me) stats feature, and today I looked at it and discovered that just three posts account for over 6,000 hits to my blog (which right now has about 410,000). These are the guys and dolls paper dolls (have no idea why this is so popular, but guy paper dolls must be fairly rare); the Morganthau quote post on the failures of FDR's Great Despression programs; and finally, the HGTV show on Tony, the Chinese-Vietnamese immigrant millionaire moving to Los Angeles. A very distant fourth, I'm happy to say, is the page that lists my poetry. And then there's the sock puppet or troll that likes to visit under various names and argue with me about my religion and values, the latest being at the one and only post I did on Glee, and I was quoting someone else's blog. Hate to scare away a "valuable" stat, but she needs to get a life.

I gave up Facebook for Lent--call it a Facebook Fast. It's much easier than blogging and therefore a bigger time waster. My neighbor Jerry gave up chocolate for Lent. He had to go home to walk his dog today, so I had his lunch on our tour. Fabulous chocolate dessert--so rich I couldn't finish it. Thank you, Jerry. You can post on Facebook for me, since I ate your lunch.

Freedom of speech in the country that owns our debt

And don't you dare quote Shakespeare!

China Phone Censorship | China Dropped Call | Protest | Mediaite

Housing's Meltdown Continues - Seeking Alpha

It grieves me to see how much the building professions, especially architecture with which I'm most familiar, are as bound to the government largesse as much as any public employee union or academe. Some get it, some don't. Here's one who does, and it mirrors the gloomy discussions my husband heard recently at continuing education event.

"Dousing the markets with easy money, containing toxic “assets” through the suspension of “mark-to-market” accounting, propping up besieged mortgage security markets, rescuing “underwater” households, securing the foundations of teetering financial institutions through direct-inject recapitalization … try as they might, the Feds were unable to prevent the continued meltdown of the nation’s housing markets. It’s a sad day for those policy junkies who believe that government meddling is the solution to all the “evils” that nature stirs up."

Read the rest here. Housing's Meltdown Continues - Seeking Alpha

One World Government Obama

"Where did Mr. Obama get the authority to commit United States forces to war in Libya? There was no declaration of war. There was no authorizing resolution by Congress allowing money to be spent on a war against Col. Gaddafi. As far as I know, there was no meeting of Mr. Obama and top leaders of Congress to discuss the subject in even rough form, let alone detail. There was no lengthy buildup in which the Congress was "allowed" to express the people's opinion on whether we want to be in a third concurrent war."

The American Spectator : One World Government Obama

All this does is weaken the United States so that enemies from within can take us down even further. So, for Obama, this makes perfect sense. It's a two-fer. He gets to act like be the despot he is by ignoring Congress, while making it even harder to get us out of Afghanistan and Iraq, so he can point more fingers at Bush and say, "he did it."

Interesting perspective on the size of Japan

Today I'm finally reshelving the books on the newly painted bookshelves. I came across a title I'd forgotten--I don't think it is a family book. I may have picked it up at a yard sale. "New World Horizons; geography for the air age," edited by Chester H. Lawrence, Maps by Ray Ramsey. (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1942).

The foreward notes that since the United States entered a global war (in those days everyone knew which war you were discussing) they had struggled a bit with geography."Mandalay, Java, Egypt, Archangel, Hawaii, and countless other names have been stripped of their veils of romance and glamor, and stand revealed as geographical realities possessing vital and strategic importance. Screaming newspaper headlines and verbose radio commentators have made the man in the street aware of the existence of these major centers of world conflict. . . " P. 9

This then was a geography for the millions, not the school child. The map of Japan gives me a much better idea of why life is going on as usual in some parts of Japan, while others suffer terribly. From north to south, it is the distance from Labrador in Canada to the southernmost point of Mexico, and east to west, the distrance from New York to Omaha, a sea area of millions of square miles.

And mine has a very good, in tact dust cover, so I figure it's worth about $25.00. The paper is in very good condition--and just about as old as I am.

"If the belief that the Western Hemisphere is safe from military attack is illusionary, so is the theory that it is economically self-sufficient." p. 28

And then sadly: "The United States got a greater fortune from nature than any other country of the world. It has forty percent of the known supply of coal. It pipes two-thirds of the world's oil. Iron is abundant, and furthermore, much of it is close to the surface where it can be mined easily. It has more zinc and lead than any other country . . ." p. 34. Of course, we don't have much dysprosium, gadolinium, and praseodymium--the rare earth elements for computers, cell phones and green technology--and we've regulated our own industries to death. Now China has what we need, sold for a dear price. Thank you, environmentalists.

A subtle way to support the unions

My local library, Upper Arlington Public Library, does have a number of copies of the movie/video "Waiting for Superman," however, there are 63 on the waiting list for the DVD and 21 for the Blue Ray.

Waiting for ‘Superman’, director Davis Guggenheim’s blockbuster 2010 documentary film about American schooling, concludes in dramatic fashion with the camera panning the anxious faces of students and their parents. The families, wrought with emotion, are awaiting the results of a lottery that will decide whether they receive a coveted place at a public charter school. When the results are announced the lottery winners—charter schools have more applicants than places available—are overjoyed. Those who lose are devastated." Charter Schools and Government Pensions

Money matters in foreplay

"John J. Sweeney, longtime labor leader and president emeritus of the AFL-CIO, on February 15 became a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom alongside such luminaries as poet Maya Angelou and former president George H.W. Bush. That Sweeney would receive any medal with the word “freedom” in the title, let alone the nation’s highest civilian honor, is laughable, considering that he is a leader of a labor movement that has championed legislation restricting freedoms, like Obamacare and card check. But then, back in the 2008 presidential campaign the AFL-CIO endorsed Obama and pledged to deploy $53.4 million to secure his election. That’ll buy you a “Medal of Freedom.” " Capital Research Center, Labor Notes, March 2011

The Katzenjammer Kids go to War

Obama's globalist ideas clash strongly with our Constitutional requirements that he needs to check with Congress first. He hooked up with the UN, but not the Congress of the United States.

"Even as the coalition advances in imposing the no-fly zone over the country, coalition members and their allies remain divided over who would take command of the cooperation.

The previous NATO secretary-general Tuesday said that the structure of an allied-led no fly zone over Libya was still unclear, and he expected Turkey would object to NATO's involvement in military operations in Libya."

U.S. Jet Crashes in Libya, Pace of Strikes to Slow - WSJ.com

As Senator Barack Obama said in December, 2007,

"The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation. As Commander-in-Chief, the President does have a duty to protect and defend the United States. In instances of self-defense, the President would be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent. History has shown us time and again, however, that military action is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the Legislative branch. It is always preferable to have the informed consent of Congress prior to any military action."

According the to news, Libyans were waiting in line for gasoline and were shopping, but Obama thinks there is a "humanitarian" crisis. The only crisis I can see is that he promised more than he could deliver lauding those rioting in Middle East countries and is bombing to save face when it turned ugly.

"The core principle that has to be upheld here is that when the entire international community, almost unanimously, says there's a potential humanitarian crisis about to take place … that we can't simply stand by with empty words, that we have to take some sort of action," Mr. Obama said at a joint news conference in Santiago with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera."

Obama justifies decision to attack - Washington Times

New shoes--Walk n Tone

They feel and look like they have little golf balls on the soles. Can't find the ones I liked so much and have used the past 2 years, so I had to try something different. These are only for WALKING--an entire pamphlet was in the box explaing why I must not run or twist in these shoes. L.A. Gear Walk n Tone. On sale at Meijer's

MedCity--Get an entertainment rundown of medical culture

If these guys can make it in the media with such a narrow focus, then NPR and PBS should be able to find investors and listeners to cough up enough to put their stuff out there.

"MedCity Life is a city guide for the healthcare industry, providing insights into the social side of the country's most important medical cities. It's a directory of where the people in healthcare are seen and the history of the life sciences was written. MedCity Life also fits the overall goal of MedCity Media Web sites: to cover local medical industries like communities or, better yet, scenes, where industry leaders can be known and in the know. Our motivation comes from what we've heard from our readers. They know deals are made over dining rooms as often as they are across board rooms. While stakeholders know the business reputation of our medical cities, they are less informed on the work-play-life aspects of these markets. They don't know which bars and events naturally attract their peers."

Isn't this clever? They know their market and go after it. (Cleveland, Twin Cities (MN) and Research Triangle (NC) NPR could do that--they already go after liberals and Democrats--why not ask them to pay for the programming and leave the rest of us alone?

Get an entertainment rundown of medical culture in the healthcare industry.

But they also cover the medical news. Who are benefitting the least from Obamacare? Those ages 55 to 65, low-income adults and the unemployed. More men are having facelifts, botox and breast reduction. I didn't know Cleveland Clinic was building a 360-bed Abu Dhabi hospital that's projected to open late next year. What? We're now outsourcing medicine for the mega-rich? And here's a really messy story about a 15000% price increase in a pregnancy drug.

Juan Williams Takes Gloves Off: Defund NPR Now

This is no surprise. NPR's former token black gets to smack them back. Juan Williams comments on Rep. Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, fundraising letter

"In the letter, Israel wrote that Republicans “know NPR plays a vital role in providing quality news programming – from rural radio stations to in-depth coverage of foreign affairs. If the Republicans had their way, we’d only be left with the likes of Glenn Beck, Limbaugh and Sarah Palin to dominate the airwaves.”

That convinced Williams, whom NPR fired last fall because of comments he made that were judged offensive to Muslims.

“With that statement Congressman Israel made the case better than any Republican critic that NPR is radio by and for liberal Democrats,” Williams wrote. “He is openly asking liberal Democrats to give money to liberal Democrats in Congress so they can funnel federal dollars into news radio programs designed to counter and defeat conservative Republican voices.”

If a conservative idea had a chance of surviving on NPR, there would be no calls for defunding, because Republicans like pork and free things and advertising just as much as the next guy, but why would you want to fund your opposition?

Juan Williams Takes Gloves Off: Defund NPR Now

Sounds fair to me . . .if

They really need to put out the numbers--what the little guy pays into Social Security, what he gets after 50 years, compared to what the academic and unionized employees get after 30 years.

From an OSU HR memo:

"Last week, Ohio Governor John Kasich presented his proposed biennial budget. In his plan, the Governor is proposing a 2 percent shift between employer and employee pension contributions for all state and local public workers. As proposed, employee contributions would increase by 2 percent, and employer contributions would decrease by 2 percent."

When the wolf is at the door about to eat the Democrats for lunch

They change the menu choices.

"The late economist Herbert Stein famously declared that "If something cannot go on forever, it will stop," and sure enough, this logic is now working even in the reality-free zone of liberal New York. Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos seem to be winning their fight to close a $10 billion state budget deficit by cutting spending while favoring tax relief.

The Empire State currently imposes a top tax rate of 8.97% on income over $500,000, a "temporary" surcharge imposed in 2009 that is due to expire at the end of the year. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver wants to extend the tax, as liberals always do, and what passes for a concession in Albany is to raise the threshold to $1 million. Mr. Silver is used to getting his way, and the Manhattan Democrat is backed by the perennial tax increase caucus of organized labor and the progressive Working Families Party.

No surprise there. More notable is that in the negotiations for the budget due in two weeks, Messrs. Cuomo and Skelos have refused to consider this tax hike, or any other new taxes. Mr. Silver seems to be in retreat, while the Governor's other ruptures with Democratic orthodoxy include a 2% cap on property tax increases and budget cuts, like a 10% drop in state operations and especially in the Medicaid program that covers one of four New Yorkers." Wall Street Journal, Market Watch

Justice Loses Its Stars and Stripes

My cousin mentioned that the Department of Justice had lost it's stars and stripes (a number of months ago), so I took a look. It's somber and boring, but I don't think the lack of splash is the problem. The announcements are just scary--like asking us to read about Obama's new transparency or why Obamacare is so great. Are they kidding? He's the least transparent of any president in my voting years. Recent revelations on the fraud in Medicare and Medicaid show that this government is not ready for health care prime time.

But the quote on the website has an interesting trail--one very appropriate and transparent about this administration

. . . it's thought to be from C. Wilfred Jenks, a socialist/globalist, "British lawyer, C. Wilfred Jenks, who back in the late 1930s and after World War II was a leading figure in the "international law" movement, which sought to impose a global, common law, and advocated for global workers rights. Jenks was a long-time member of the United Nation's International Labor Organization, and author of a number of globalist tracts, including a set of essays published back in 1958, entitled The Common Law of Mankind.

Most telling: Jenks, as director of the ILO is credited with putting in place the first Soviet senior member of the UN organization, and also with creating an environment that allowed the ILO to give "observer status" to the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and to issue anti-Israeli statements, which precipitated efforts by the U.S. Congress to withdraw U.S. membership from the ILO. The U.S. actually did withdraw in the mid-1970s due to the organization's leftist leanings.

"It was Jenks's efforts that helped make the ILO a tool of the socialist and communist movement," says one of the DOJ lawyers. "We used to joke about how fitting it was that this was Janet Reno's favorite quote to use in speeches, and now the Obama folks think it encapsulates out department's mission."

Too bad they couldn't have found an American worth quoting for the "transparent" web page.

The American Spectator : Justice Loses Its Stars and Stripes

The left's love-hate relationship with Gaddafi

Apparently the romance is over? We're "the leading edge" of a Coalition [ 3rd front]. (Pentagon) Bush had more support than this, used months of debate and discussion, and years of research and espionage from the previous administration before going after Saddam, and he was blasted by the left. Where are the critics now? Hoping to put their own, easier to control, Muslims in power all across the Middle East.

Gaddafi hates Israel--writes op-ed in NYT

All the nasty things Gaddafi says about the U.S., but he hopes Obama who he believes is a Muslim and an African can redeem us

For some reason, no one caught on what a bad dude he is

Mr. Dithers turns on a dime

The view from Israel

Senator Obama advises President Obama about including Congress in his decisions (2007):

"The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation. As Commander-in-Chief, the President does have a duty to protect and defend the United States. In instances of self-defense, the President would be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent. History has shown us time and again, however, that military action is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the Legislative branch. It is always preferable to have the informed consent of Congress prior to any military action."

Don't send me money

Today I received an e-mail from a Facebook friend asking for money--she was stranded in England. Of course, it was a scam, and I had heard of this one, so I notified the group of which we are members. She wasn't even aware of it, but is taking steps to correct it.

So, if you get an e-mail from me asking you to send money, don't do it. I would never ask, plus after getting deathly ill on my last two transatlantic flights, I don't plan any trips across the pond.

Michigan Boosts Power to Intervene in Cities - WSJ.com

"DETROIT—Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law a measure that broadens state powers to intervene in the finances and governance of struggling municipalities and school districts, giving these local bodies a stronger hand in renegotiating labor contracts.

The law also requires local government to send financial projections to Lansing, the capital, which could lead to the state stepping in earlier in hopes of averting a crisis."

Michigan Boosts Power to Intervene in Cities - WSJ.com

Democrats are of course objecting. Public employees have 3 forms of representation--their unions, their Democrats, and their elected representatives. The people who pay their salaries and benefits have only elected representatives, who need to be very, very strong.

Radical Carol Browner Energy Czar--where did she go?

Yes, I know she's under the bus with Van Jones, but he got a really cool gig and gets to do a lot of speaking engagements--I think he's sort of a rock star of the left (and very good looking and a better speaker than Obama). Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. Does she get a tour and a cushy job at a socialist think tank?

Radical Carol Browner created oil spill lies,False drilling memos « SHAWSBLOG

And now from the middle.

And now equal coverage from the left.

The most recent item I can find on Browner is that she was supposed to be the speaker at Berea College on March 3. The press release of Feb. 28 said she was [still] White House coordinator [czar] of energy and climate policy for the Obama administration, but in the description of her duties, only her past "accomplishments" were mentioned--Clinton, Albright, Gore and hiking in the Everglades as a child. It was a free event and she must have been one of the headliners when she got the gig. Next week the Berea College Country Dancers perform at 8 p.m. in Old Seabury Gym.

Rand Paul accuses Democrats of being anti-choice--particularly about toilets

His toilets don't work and he can't find a decent light bulb and Democrats are shipping jobs overseas with their energy regulations. They are anti-choice--putting people out of business or fining them with their efficiency standards. Appalling and hypocritical, he says, you are busy-bodies. Besides these toilets have to be flushed multiple times to even work. Amen, brother!

NPR and the Democrats

Republicans aren't stupid. If they thought for a minute that funding NPR would represent their viewpoint even once in awhile, there's no way they would defund it. But of course, if you've ever listened for any period of time to NPR or watched PBS television you'll see the reason--that is, if you are conservative. Liberals don't see it, which is why President Obama is opposing H.R. 1076. It has nothing to do with rural areas, which in case Obama hasn't noticed, seem to be well served by many forms of media. When I visit Mt. Morris, Illinois, 100 miles west of Chicago with a population about 2,500 and decreasing after the closing of several important industries, I can get AM and FM radio and broadcast and cable stations from Chicago, Rockford, Freeport, DeKalb, Sterling, etc. and probably some Wisconsin stations if I tried--ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, Fox and the internet with its vast array of programing.

"The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 1076, which would unacceptably prohibit Federal funding of National Public Radio (NPR) and the use of Federal funds by public radio stations to acquire radio content. As part of the President’s commitment to cut spending, the President’s Budget proposed targeted reductions in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which provides a small amount of funding for NPR, and the Administration has expressed openness to other spending reductions that are reasonable. However, CPB serves an important public purpose in supporting public radio, television, and related online and mobile services. The vast majority of CPB’s funding for public radio goes to more than 700 stations across the country, many of them local stations serving communities that rely on them for access to news and public safety information. Undercutting funding for these radio stations, notably ones in rural areas where such outlets are already scarce, would result in communities losing valuable programming, and some stations could be forced to shut down altogether." Link

No it has nothing to do with rural areas, and everything to do with another mouthpiece for Obama's hope and chains. He's got millions for his next campaign chest, so I really don't think this is a problem. Just advertise on the "new" public radio which won't be taxpayer supported and let the choir listen.

Pine Ridge Reservation Wind Power FM Radio KILI