The ubiquitous plastic water bottle

Today I was browsing through some events at CUNY and came across a very boring (only watched a few minutes) panel discussing. . . well, something. . . "Malcolm Gladwell, Jerilyn Perine and Robert Hammond join Graduate Center's John Mollenkopf to discuss NYC's High Line and its impact on urban innovation." What was really odd, besides the chairs and low table which appeared to be uncomfortable no matter the size and weight of the speakers, was that there were 7 bottles of water for 4 speakers. Environmentally insensitive, don't you think?

What I was really looking for was the tax funding for CUNY (couldn't find it). How much of the $4,000+ tuition and fees comes from the tax payers of NY and how much from the rest of us (through federal grants, loans, etc. both for students and buildings). How many tax dollars go to support that Left Forum (a gathering of Communists and Socialists formerly titled Socialist Scholars Conference) being sponsored by the Department of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue,New York, NY 10016.

The topics of Left Forum this year include federal green jobs programs and communist goals; lots of anti-capitalism panels; united left front against the right (that will include tea party groups); links with humanist groups; using art and theater for protest projects; U.S. leftists in Africa; using anarchy to move the cause along; state terrorism in Gaza (I assume they mean Israel); building a left movement in higher education (apparently they haven't checked recently--this has been achieved); lots of topics on race (and being anti-white), islamophobia, etc. Nothing on the oppression of women or homophobia under Sharia law that I noticed.

I also learned by reading this panel promotion that using the word "gimpy" or "gimp" is perfectly OK when referring to the physically disabled--although not if you are able-bodied. I suppose it falls into that "nappy headed" hole whereby black rap groups can use it, but not white talking heads.

Peter Mansoor to speak at OSU Thompson Library on Wednesday

This might be worth a stroll across campus to hear. (I like to park at the veterinary campus and avoid the crowd. I can walk faster than I can find a parking spot on main campus.)

The Iraq War: Opportunities Missed, Lessons Learned, and the Way Ahead" will be presented by Peter Mansoor, Colonel, U.S. Army (retired), and the General Raymond E. Mason, Jr. Chair of Military History at Ohio State, from 4-5:30 p.m. Wednesday (4/27) in 165 Thompson Library.

When Gen. Petraeus was appointed commander of U.S. forces in Iraq in January 2007, he tapped Col. Mansoor to be his executive officer. Over the course of the next 15 months in Iraq, Col. Mansoor helped orchestrate the surge of 30,000 additional U.S. troops into Baghdad and the implementation of a new U.S. counterinsurgency strategy that was controversial because it called for an increase in troop numbers, saw the U.S. military cut deals with one-time insurgents and prioritized protecting the local population even though it meant a short-term increase in U.S. casualty numbers. The moves are credited in many circles with reining in the violence.

In late 2008, Washington and Baghdad inked a deal to withdraw U.S. troops by the end of 2011. U.S. President Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to end the war, and shortly after coming into office, he set the Aug. 31, 2010, deadline to bring home all combat troops, leaving 50,000 trainers and support staff in their wake.
The speed of the recent combat wind-down didn't sit well with many who invested years in Iraq, including Col. Mansoor.

"I'm not enamored with President Obama's decision to pull our combat forces out before they had to go, which isn't until the end of next year," he says. "But I don't feel bad about the way things are there now. I think that Iraqi politicians will find a way to move the ball down the field. But in their usual Iraqi method, they will do so at the 11th hour and beyond, and probably at the moment when everyone thinks all is lost."

From August 2010 WSJ article

If he didn't support going into Iraq in 2003-04, imagine how our military leaders must feel about going into Libya led by a president who campaigned on getting us out of war!

In my opinion, the United States has not been on a "winning" team since WWII--we need to stop going in to break things and kill people if victory, which always means fewer deaths of civilians and military alike, isn't the goal. We are not going to "free" the middle east from bad government, military dictatorships, and fundamentalist Islamic kooks. Let the Libyans free themselves, Senator McCain.

Did You Know--Light Rail economics

Instead of pouring money into low return light rail, the government could simply purchase cars for the light rail riders without them, still have enough money left over to provide all the other riders with substantial credits to use for bus service or other subsidized mass transportation options. Political Calculation

Resurrection Sunday Dance in Budapest Hungary, 2010

"look to the sky but not for Airforce One. . ." How true! Hungary, a former Communist country, is the center of revival in Europe. Faith Church started as a house church in 1979--now has 50,000+ members with 250 branches.

This is danced all over the world. Here's a look at a training session in Ashville, NC for 2011 (today's dance). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvfzaSYGkHs and one in Honduras http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBBb2XimeJM&NR=1

Ready for Easter Dinner

Everything's ready--but first we'll go to the 11 a.m. traditional service at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church on Lytham Road in Upper Arlington. Usually, there are 9 services in 3 locations, but I think today there are 12. We've had some wonderful services this Lenten season and Holy Week, two particularly stick in my mind: Pastor Reuben Mellem's (retired Lutheran pastor) sermon on April 14, and Pastor David Mann's (our missionary in Haiti) on Good Friday evening. I'll probably write about them at my Church of the Acronym blog--it's unusual for me to remember a sermon 5 minutes out the door, but these were definitely keepers.

Here's the menu: Honey Baked Ham (couldn't lift it out of the frig to put it in the photo; potato salad, green salad (romaine, tomatoes, peas, olives, yellow peppers, cukes), asparagus, bakery sandwich buns, and mixed fruit. DeCaf coffee. For dessert, we're having fresh strawberries on sugar free ice cream, and sugar free lemon cake (yes, we have diabetics watching such things). Mustard, mayo, butter, etc. are on the sidelines ready to do battle.

Years ago I bought a pastel colored table cloth, but this seems to be the only time I use it. I didn't receive china for wedding gifts (hadn't picked a pattern), but during the first decade of our marriage, my mother bought most of this, Syracuse Countess. The center piece are items from my son-in-law's mother, who either collected or created the eggs.

My husband ushered at the 8:15 service. He said there were about 100 at the 7 a.m. service, and maybe 150 at the 8:15. The only people dressed up, he observed, were the children, although he did see one woman with a hat. My outfit is about 12 years old--my mix and match navy, light blue and beige--but I'm a hold out for skirts on Sunday. It's about the only time I wear one.

Guantanamo Bay: How the White House lost the fight to close it

Verbs and nouns matter. So do biases. While the press wrote or implied, "Bush lied (about everything)," when it comes to Obama, it's a much more delicate wrap up of his campaign promise to close Guantanamo, the reason so many moderates voted for him (other than a pretty face and empty rhetoric). According to WaPo, on that promise he just made a pragmatic decision, a miscalculation, his plans were undermined, there was confusion, even timidity and passivity that reflects his "style." Oh crap. The man lied to get in office. About everything. He didn't even write his own autobiography which created the empty suit. The only things he has followed through on, some within days of taking office, are funding embryonic stem cell research, removing religious symbols in public events even if it's a church's building, redistributing wealth from the upper class to the middle class, and weakening our position in the Middle East. Although that last one he's apparently had second thoughts about with decisions to bomb Libya.

Shame, shame on the Washington Post writers Peter Finn and Anne E. Kornblut. Not that I expected anything different, but shame is the only word to describe WaPo's fall from being a watchdog to being a lapdog.

Guantanamo Bay: How the White House lost the fight to close it - The Washington Post

Did You Know--Hollywood films share the Gospel

One such film is Warner Brothers' 1979 film "Jesus." Based on the Gospel of St. Luke, the film, funded in part by money raised by Campus Crusade for Christ founder Bill Bright, did poorly at the box office. But in 1981, Campus Crusade began translating it for use in the mission field. Known as "The Jesus Film," the movie has now been translated into more than 1,100 languages. Seen by literally billions of people around the world, it is arguably the most watched film ever—with many millions of viewers professing faith in Jesus Christ as a result. It is still being shown world-wide today. John A. Murray, WSJ, April 22, 2011.

Why start a magazine?

My hobby bloggy is called In the beginning. It's about the premiere, first issue, and Volume One issues of magazines, journals and serials that I own. One of the things I do when I decide to write about one of them is look at the "From the publisher," or "From the Editor" letter, usually at the beginning. It's a lot of work and money to start a magazine; so why do it? Today I was packing them into a box and looked at AEI Foreign Policy and Defense Review. After looking it up (v.1, n.1 was 1979 when Jimmy Carter was president), I see it actually had an earlier existence as AEI Defense Review (1977-1978). This journal ended in 1986. Here's what William Baroody, Jr., the publisher said 42 years ago:

This inaugural issue of the AEI Foreign Policy and Defense Review appears at a time when the future of American foreign policy has become highly uncertain and when the role of the United States, as the preeminent power in the world, has become especially difficult to define. To operate effectively in an international environment in which political, economic, and security issues increasingly overlap demands a careful ordering of priorities and of long-term goals. In recent years, government actions on foreign policy and public debate about them have moved from issue to issue without the consensus or the continuity evident in the decades following World War II. Concern has been expressed abroad and at home over the inconsistencies that result from the lack of a clear, overall rationale rooted in the American diplomatic tradition. Questions about our long-term national interests remain not only unanswered, but often unasked.

So let's see, 42 years ago things were uncertain; it was difficult to define the role of the United States in the world. The government was moving from issue to issue without consensus, and there was concern abroad and at home over the inconsistencies resulting from lack of a plan. Well, welcome to the second decade of the new century.

President Ronald Reagan said of AEI in 1988: "The American Enterprise Institute stands at the center of a revolution in ideas of which I, too, have been a part.

AEI's remarkably distinguished body of work is testimony to the triumph of the think tank. For today the most important American scholarship comes out of our think tanks--and none has been more influential than the American Enterprise Institute."

What did you give up for Lent and were you successful?

I gave up Facebook, and can't say it was a huge sacrifice. I looked at a few messages, and left a comment on my son's page, but I didn't write on my "wall." But apparently I wasn't the only one. Someone did a survey of people on Twitter, and these were the top of the fast list:

"The top vote-getter, you ask? Twitter. Followed by Facebook, with chocolate third, soda seventh, and the teenage troika of transgression—swearing, alcohol and sex—landing fourth, fifth, and sixth."

So I guess I didn't do anything original.

Why the left wants to raise taxes on the rich

We don't have enough billionaires and millionaires to do what Obama wants--fund all our government programs, so why is he going down this road again for the 2012 campaign? If it doesn't help the poor and middle class, why do it? To punish the rich--it's a deeply held moral philosophy.

Republicans need to unmask the philosophy guiding modern liberalism when it comes to taxes. What liberals are interested in isn't growth so much as egalitarianism and redistribution for its own sake. For many on the left, increasing taxes isn't about economics as much as morality. They believe taxing the wealthy is a virtue, to the point that they would penalize "the rich" even if that has harmful economic consequences. Recall that during a campaign debate, when asked by Charles Gibson about his support for raising capital gains taxes even if that caused a net revenue loss to the Treasury, Obama sided with tax increases "for purposes of fairness."

The Incredible Shrinking Obama

The second most powerful Congress member

Speaker of the House of Representatives is the most powerful office in Congress--this person (Pelosi last time, Boehner this time) is third in line for the Presidency. But who is the second most powerful? Well, a friend of mine who was part of the political process for many years and should know, told me it is . . . the one who hands out the parking spaces for Congress!

Come, now is the time to worship

Occasionally I've heard old time, public domain hymns from the the last 3 centuries set to modern instruments and heart rates.  If the message is right, they are quite good and bring these golden oldies to a new audience. This morning I was listening to "Come, now is the time to worship," a 1998c Vineyard song that seems to be sung in multiple denominational and non-denominational churches that provide a contemporary service.

The words are beautiful and taken right from scripture.

"One day every tongue will confess You are God; One day every knee will bow/ Still the greatest treasure remains to those/Who gladly choose You now."

But I did wonder how it might sound without the throbbing guitars and banging drums which artificially create emotion.  Maybe a symphonic or chorale rendition?  YouTube--are you out there with such an arrangement?

We want a sacrifice of praise, but not while wrestling our minds to the ground with repetitious choruses and killing our hearing.

Feds Grant $2.1 Billion Loan Guarantee for California Solar Farm to German developer

While Obama blames evil corporations for "outsourcing" our jobs, he hands our green money over to Germany and our old fashion fossil fuel money to Brazil.

The United States Department of Energy on Monday offered a conditional $2.1 billion loan guarantee to German developer Solar Millennium to finance the first half of a 1,000 megawatt solar thermal power plant to be built in the Southern California desert.

Feds Grant $2.1 Billion Loan Guarantee for California Solar Farm - Todd Woody - Green Wombat - Forbes

Public land projects

I haven't been able to track down exactly what the "synthetic oil" is or how it is made. Here's a bit more information on using molten salt.

Did You Know--the oldest female Air Force veteran is 103

Mildred McDowell is 103 and enlisted in the Women's Army Corps in 1943, was discharged in December 1945 and reenlisted in March 1946 and later transferred into the Air Force. She lives in Vandalia, Illinois.

Obamacare secret meetings being investigated

It seems no one knows what's in Obamacare, but if Rep. Fred Upton, (R-MI) has his way, at least we might find out who put what in it.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton is expanding his investigation into the meetings between special interest groups and the Obama White House that set the stage for the passage of Obamacare, sending document requests to 12 industry groups and unions that played a key role in the negotiations. . .

The industry groups and unions subject to Upton’s request [for documents] are AARP, AFL-CIO, AdvaMed, AFSCME, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Business Roundtable, Federation of American Hospitals, PHRMA, and SEIU.

Surprise surprise. The White House isn't cooperating. Would take too much time.

Fred Upton | Obamacare | secret meetings | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Conestoga trip to the Air Force Museum, pt. 3

After lunch in the cafeteria we attended the IMAX showing of "Fighter pilot, operation red flag" about the final training of a young pilot, with memories of his grandfather who fought in WWII.

It's so realistic, I had my eyes closed during most of the film. Then we continued our walking tour (without a guide) starting with the Korean War, then the Cold War, then Vietnam and southeast Asia, visiting the space flights and finally a look at our current wars (except Libya). We then gathered in the lobby for the next part of our trip, dinner at the historic Red Brick Tavern on Rt. 40 near London, Ohio.

I think this is a Thunderjet, used in the Korean War, but the light was so poor, I can't see the number. According to Wikipedia, "the Thunderjet became the Air Force's primary strike aircraft during the Korean War, flying 86,408 missions and destroying 60% of all ground targets in the war as well as eight Soviet-built MiG fighters." The better photo is from the museum site.

Symbol of the Cold War--the checkpoint and the Berlin Blockade. There was quite a display of the provisions flown into Berlin.

USAF 517 Grumman HU-16 B Albatross arrived here in July 1973. According to the website, "Grumman designed the versatile Albatross to meet a U.S. Navy requirement for an amphibious utility aircraft which could also operate from snow and ice with skis. During the Korean War, Albatrosses rescued almost 1,000 United Nations personnel from coastal waters and rivers, often behind enemy lines. They also made numerous dramatic and hazardous rescues in Southeast Asia, on occasion taxiing many miles over rough, open water when unable to take off."

I think the Iraq war display was in the Cold War area.

Conestoga trip to the Air Force Museum, pt. 2

There's no way to describe how BIG the museum at Wright Patterson is; but here's an idea--there's an early years of air flight gallery, a WWII gallery (we toured 1934-1945 with a guide for 2 hours), a Korean War gallery; a Southeast Asian war gallery (being renovated); a Cold War gallery; a missile and space gallery; a presidential R&D gallery; middle east wars section (don't know if it's considered a gallery since much of that aircraft hasn't been retired); and various outdoor exhibits. The campus is 17 acres and includes nearly one million square feet of public exhibit space with more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of historical artifacts on display.

I came away with a new respect for the way wars advance technology in all areas and change entire cultures almost overnight--at least in hind sight. The exhibits have been updated and expanded to bring more focus on people and events as well as the hardware of airplanes, military transport, jets and equipment. Many displays had full size mannequins to illustrate a particular event, like a training accident or Jimmy Doolittle.

It was also stunning to see by walking through these huge hangers that my entire lifetime the U.S. has been at war. When I was younger, I'd say, "When the war is over. . . " and now I know better. I knew that intellectually (I was born as Hitler marched into Poland), and even the era I think of as relatively peaceful was called The Cold War. I know our wars stretch from King Philip's War in the 1600s to Obama's War in Libya in 2011--wars with Indians, Mexicans, Muslims, British, Germans, Russians, Vietnamese--but I wish it weren't so. And if Americans weren't suffering and dying, many Russians and East Europeans and Germans were. Plus, the U.S. has bases all over the world--I think at least 662 in 38 foreign countries either owned or leased--for a total of 4,999 counting our home bases--with advisers, trainers, soldiers, mechanics, spies, librarians, etc. whose lives are constantly at risk.

Where is Martin Luther when you need him?

When I listen to our local Catholic radio (St. Gabriel's, 1580 am, which includes many programs from EWTN), I’m still hearing the 16th century abuses of the church about which Martin Luther spoke and wrote: purgatory (a special place of judgement and penance we Protestants know nothing about since it's not in the Bible), indulgences to reduce time in purgatory (out of favor after the reforms of the 1960s, but returning since 2000 and becoming more popular), merit dispensed by the church (tradition), transubstantiation (consuming the real physical body and blood of Jesus), special privileges, rights and positions of honor for ordained priests (one in particular who resides in Rome, called the Pope) rather than the priesthood of believers with a single high priest, Jesus Christ, worship (veneration) of Mary the Mother of Jesus and other saints and praying to them for protection and guidance, proving various miracles after death of some believers to achieve sainthood for them, complex doctrines and stories completely unfamiliar to me like visions and relics. And it's not hard to hear at least a reference to all of these in just a day or two, with only a nod or a few minutes for grace and trusting in nothing but the merits of Christ. But that's where the freedom is, and that's what changed the whole western world 400 years ago, and is creating revolutions today in Africa and Asia.

On the other hand, if I choose to listen to so-called "Christian radio," which is a hodge-podge of Baptist, Pentecostal, dispensational, non-denominational, and personal opinion groups bound together with syrupy praise songs and Vineyard tunes, I can practically starve, spiritually speaking.

Did You Know--marijuana's carbon footprint

Medical marajuana needs powerful indoor light. "Each cannabis joint produced indoors has a carbon footprint of about one whole kilogram."

The carbon footprint of indoor cannabis production | Asian Correspondent

We paid our dues, where's our change? song

“Dear Mr. President we honor you today sir
Each of us brought you $5,000
It takes a lot of Benjamins to run a campaign
I paid my dues, where's our change?

We'll vote for you in 2012, yes that's true
Look at the Republicans - what else can we do
Even though we don't know if we'll retain our liberties
In what you seem content to call a free society

Yes it's true that Terry Jones is legally free
To burn a people's holy book in shameful effigy
But at another location in this country
Alone in a 6x12 cell sits Bradley

23 hours a day is night
The 5th and 8th Amendments say
this kind of thing ain't right
We paid our dues, where's our change?”

ABC blog