Yesterday's speaker, Stephen Rock, noted in his talk about Christians and Human Rights that the documents of the main line Protestant churches are almost indistinquishable in language from secular socialist organizations.
* * * *
Anthony Weiner is busy reinventing himself according to the news. I don't know why--Democrats loved him just the way he was.
* * * *
There are now companies who can do a "social intelligence" background check for employers to see how badly applicants have behaved within their social networks.
* * * *
Media Matters, a tax exempt "charity" is a Soros funded Democratic party shill group that you can contribute to if you like left wing stuff. Now some tax payers are going after it because it is trying to destroy Fox News, a private, for-profit company.
* * * *
How dumb are academics? They spend time, effort and (our) money to determine that behavior and culture cause 80% of health outcomes, and then wring their hands that the USA is behind other industrialized nations. Doh! Have they ever looked at the borders of Iceland, Finland or Sweden? If people desperate to leave the amenities and squalor of their own homeland will risk life and limb to get here, what sort of healthcare do you think they had before?
* * * *
Last week there were no fruits or vegetables at our farmers' market. The planting season in northern Ohio was very wet--things go off to a slow start. But yesterday I was able to buy locally grown cabbage, green pepper, cukes, but I didn't see any corn.
* * * *
What are America's (Obama's) interests in bombing Libya? Has Obama ever been able to articulate this or does he just stammer? Where are the outraged war protesters when it's their guy?
* * * *
Laura Bush visited Africa 5 times during her husband's presidency. Did she get the drooling media coverage that Michelle Obama's trip did? If Mrs. Obama, while reading Cat in the Hat had been told there was a bomb threat, would she have had nasty criticism from Rosie O'Donnell and other "comedians" for hesitating and thinking what her next move should be the way they reviled President Bush on 9/11 who was reading to children?
* * * *
Barney Frank and his girl friend Fannie Mae were big contributors to the housing melt down. Why are they both still protected by the government? Why is there no such thing as failure in Washington unless you're a white Republican cheating on his wife or making passes at gay guys?
* * * *
Mitt Romney is Obama-light.
* * * *
Bristol Palin is as useful to her mother as Carter's brother Billy, or President Reagan's daughter Patti. You might get to choose voters, but not family.
* * * *
I'm surprised that today's teen fashionistas need a website like Tomboy Style to define what their grandmothers of the 50's and 70s knew instinctively.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Jon Stewart mocks Herman Cain's speech
Jon Stewart says he's not partisan nor a propagandist for the Democrats. If he were a Republican shill and mocked the speech of a black presidential candidate using a white man's Amos and Andy dialect, he'd be off the air. And in case you think Rush Limbaugh does this, then you aren't listening. He uses clips of their own speech, like his "Just-us" routine of Jackson and Rangel.
Cain says he is not offended, that he understands Stewart is a comedian. But I'm offended, because Stewart is calling his audience, probably 90% white, stupid, racist and ignorant.
Cain says it's not a race issue, but because he's a black conservative. I'm not so sure it's not racial. If he were light skinned, skinny and had never had a private sector job he might be more acceptable. If he'd never lived among blacks and had learned that "Amos and Andy" dialect from a speech coach, he'd be much more acceptable to the left.
Cain says he is not offended, that he understands Stewart is a comedian. But I'm offended, because Stewart is calling his audience, probably 90% white, stupid, racist and ignorant.
Cain says it's not a race issue, but because he's a black conservative. I'm not so sure it's not racial. If he were light skinned, skinny and had never had a private sector job he might be more acceptable. If he'd never lived among blacks and had learned that "Amos and Andy" dialect from a speech coach, he'd be much more acceptable to the left.
Monday, June 27, 2011
And of course, Obama wasn't involved in this scheme at all
"A federal jury on Monday found former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty of 17 counts of corruption, including trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama." WSJ
I wonder when he'll do a tell-all?
I wonder when he'll do a tell-all?
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Ilinois owes creditors from funeral homes to Xerox
Illinois is $4 billion behind in its bills.
DailyHerald.com : Ilinois owes creditors from funeral homes to Xerox
"International Business Machines Inc. is owed $1.1 million. Office Depot Inc. is waiting for a $660,955 check. And the 17th Street Bar & Grill in Sparta is due $340.52. They are among at least 8,000 vendors including businesses, charities and government agencies waiting months for the state to pay up. At least 114 companies are due more than $1 million, according to documents from Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka.
. . . Creditors include health and education agencies, schools, charities, funeral homes, plumbing-and-heating contractors and purveyors of food, coal, clothing, electronics and pizza.
"Banks have refused us a line of credit because of the state," said David Baker, who runs the nonprofit Open Door Rehabilitation Center in Sandwich, Illinois, and is owed $880,000. "We've had a long-time relationship with bankers, but now they wonder 'What if the state never pays you?'"
DailyHerald.com : Ilinois owes creditors from funeral homes to Xerox
There Are No Socialists
As always, Victor Davis Hanson nails it. Liberals are complete phonies when it comes to the joys of socialism; they only want others, less wealthy, to redistribute their money, but want to keep their own.
Works and Days » There Are No Socialists
We have heard that taxes, more taxes, and more taxes are the cure for the massive deficits, run up by out of control spending. OK, fine. But why then does multimillionaire John Kerry go to great lengths to avoid taxes on his yacht (why a luxury yacht when so many have so little?); why are redistributive overseers like Timothy Geithner, Eric Holder, Tom Daschle, Charles Rangel, and Hilda Solis either late or delinquent in paying the federal, state, or local governments what they owe? Were not high taxes on the upper incomes like themselves the point of it all? Should not they pay all they can to ensure that their brethren receive needed entitlements? I thought Bono would lead an international effort of multimillionaire rock stars to relocate to socialist states like Ireland or Greece, so that they might gladly pay 75% of their incomes (which at “some point” they had enough of) to help others closer to home. Why instead is he fleeing to low-tax nations? Did not such socialists have enough money by now without undermining the socialist state?
Works and Days » There Are No Socialists
Free speech or abortion rights?
"Alamogordo resident Greg Fultz’s billboard is getting national attention — and it could land him in jail. The 35-year old owner of internet sales and service company GEFNET bought the space on White Sands Boulevard to run an ad featuring an image of himself holding the black outline of an infant along with the headline, “This Would Have Been a Picture Of My 2-Month Old Baby If The Mother Had Decided To NOT KILL Our Child!” The original billboard said it was “created for N.A.N.I.,” an acronym that is the same as his former girlfriend’s first name.
Nani Lawrence has filed a petition in court against Fultz for domestic violence and charges of harassment and invasion of privacy. Last week, an Otero County Domestic Violence Court commissioner backed Lawrence’s claim, recommending an order of protection for her and that the billboard be removed by 8:14 a.m. on June 17. Judge James W. Counts is expected to approve the recommendations."
Read story at New Mexico Independent
Do fathers have rights?
Nani Lawrence has filed a petition in court against Fultz for domestic violence and charges of harassment and invasion of privacy. Last week, an Otero County Domestic Violence Court commissioner backed Lawrence’s claim, recommending an order of protection for her and that the billboard be removed by 8:14 a.m. on June 17. Judge James W. Counts is expected to approve the recommendations."
Read story at New Mexico Independent
Do fathers have rights?
Why would you pirate a book? Are you a thief?
'Go the (Blank) to Sleep': A Bedtime Reality (WSJ)
But the topic, getting kids to sleep, puzzles me too. Our children, now 43 and 42, where NEVER a problem at bedtime, which was about 7 p.m. After supper, we kept things very low key, read quiet stories, gave them a warm bath, said prayers, sometimes played records (remember those?) and listened to their concerns of the day. I used to listen to horror stories of bedtime, and scratch my head. It was one of the most pleasant hours of the day at our house.
But the topic, getting kids to sleep, puzzles me too. Our children, now 43 and 42, where NEVER a problem at bedtime, which was about 7 p.m. After supper, we kept things very low key, read quiet stories, gave them a warm bath, said prayers, sometimes played records (remember those?) and listened to their concerns of the day. I used to listen to horror stories of bedtime, and scratch my head. It was one of the most pleasant hours of the day at our house.
Gay rights in New York
If it's homophobic to disagree with recognizing gay marriage, unacceptable since the beginning of history in all cultures and religions, is it fear of numbers or fear of children to be limiting it to two men, or two women, or two people who are not minors? Polyandry. Polygamy. Man-boy lovers. How about child Muslim brides or boy-grooms? Is it anti-Muslim to say no to that in the USA? Step aside gay rights folks--there's a long line behind you, and it ain't pretty. They are on the internet and social networks and building up steam and "rights" hysteria based on your victories.
Does anyone know?
Why do Democrats want to turn the rest of the country's economy into Detroit, South Bend, Toledo and Cleveland--all under the jack boots of the unions and the Democrat incapacitating control?
Something to think about in 2012.
What is "environmental literacy?" Will it help us understand the complicated text and regulation on our ugly giant recycle bins to determine which plastic, metal and glass they want?
Something to think about in 2012.
Who are the idiots writing and proofing Obama's speeches that are loaded on to the teleprompters? This latest gaff of declaring a dead soldier alive, was not just bizarre it was hurtful to family and friends, later apology not withstanding. It's increasingly evident that his writers and staff not only have no grasp of American culture, they can't even proof their own research. Someone should at least be counting the first person pronouns (I, me, mine, my) so he doesn't sound like the narcissist he is.
Something to think about in 2012.
Why have the main stream media, Fox News, CNN and Democrats in general not investigated the ties to the Muslim Brotherhood of the wife of Anthony Weiner and assistant to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton through her family (mother and brother) while instead focusing on his bad on-line bedroom behavior and lies?
Something to think about in 2012.
How about that "draw down." It will leave more troops in Afghanistan than we had during the Bush years after Obama dawdled and stumbled over the surge recommended by his military staff which could have brought our troops home much earlier. Is it just to play well to centrists and moderates during the election campaign--hey--it worked in 2008.
Something to think about in 2012.
Why does Media Matters, an organization begun by Clinton people and funded by Soros, have tax exempt status, allowing it to attack private, for-profit news sources? Is it because it supports only leftist causes, and the reelection of Obama?
Something to think about in 2012.
Why does Obama offer job crushing tax hikes with his left hand while handing out the myth of his economy recovery with his right hand? The only jobs "saved" (did you hear Biden in Columbus?) were government and union jobs.
Something to think about in 2012.
What are America's (Obama's) interest in bombing Libyans and why does he not get Congressional approval for extending the war?
Something to think about in 2012.
Why do Democrats criticize the Republican's debt plan when they don't have one?
Something to think about in 2012.
If Obama's policies are Bush-lite, why are Republicans even considering Mitt Romney, who is Obama-light?
Something to think about in 2012.
Something to think about in 2012.
What is "environmental literacy?" Will it help us understand the complicated text and regulation on our ugly giant recycle bins to determine which plastic, metal and glass they want?
Something to think about in 2012.
Who are the idiots writing and proofing Obama's speeches that are loaded on to the teleprompters? This latest gaff of declaring a dead soldier alive, was not just bizarre it was hurtful to family and friends, later apology not withstanding. It's increasingly evident that his writers and staff not only have no grasp of American culture, they can't even proof their own research. Someone should at least be counting the first person pronouns (I, me, mine, my) so he doesn't sound like the narcissist he is.
Something to think about in 2012.
Why have the main stream media, Fox News, CNN and Democrats in general not investigated the ties to the Muslim Brotherhood of the wife of Anthony Weiner and assistant to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton through her family (mother and brother) while instead focusing on his bad on-line bedroom behavior and lies?
Something to think about in 2012.
How about that "draw down." It will leave more troops in Afghanistan than we had during the Bush years after Obama dawdled and stumbled over the surge recommended by his military staff which could have brought our troops home much earlier. Is it just to play well to centrists and moderates during the election campaign--hey--it worked in 2008.
Something to think about in 2012.
Why does Media Matters, an organization begun by Clinton people and funded by Soros, have tax exempt status, allowing it to attack private, for-profit news sources? Is it because it supports only leftist causes, and the reelection of Obama?
Something to think about in 2012.
Why does Obama offer job crushing tax hikes with his left hand while handing out the myth of his economy recovery with his right hand? The only jobs "saved" (did you hear Biden in Columbus?) were government and union jobs.
Something to think about in 2012.
What are America's (Obama's) interest in bombing Libyans and why does he not get Congressional approval for extending the war?
Something to think about in 2012.
Why do Democrats criticize the Republican's debt plan when they don't have one?
Something to think about in 2012.
If Obama's policies are Bush-lite, why are Republicans even considering Mitt Romney, who is Obama-light?
Something to think about in 2012.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Programming for week 2 at Lakeside, Ohio
Two interesting seminars are scheduled: "Faith and foreign policy in the U.S." and "Cultural bridges as U.S. military strategy." And of course, a highlight at the Rhein Center, my husband will teach his class on perspective drawing and watercolor techniques.
Parts of Stephen Rock's latest book, "Faith and foreign policy," are on the Internet, and after looking at it, I probably won't walk out, which I often do rather than argue with the speaker.
Good preparation for this week is this document titled, "The American religious landscape and political attitudes" (2004) which defines traditionalists, centrists and modernists within 3 groups, the evangelicals, mainline protestants, and Roman Catholics. Traditionalists are the largest group within each category of Christian.
After Democrats were defeated in 2004 I remember watching a panel of them on PBS discussing the election and they agreed that they needed to (pretend) move to the centrist/traditional Christian viewpoint--and it worked in 2006 and 2008, mainly by redefining what values words mean. Obama used the "hope and change" vision that is New Testament language with a familiar ring to push his socialist agenda. He fooled many, but we're smater now. Unfortunately, too many "centrists" were just fence sitters and fell for a pretty face and charming rhetoric.
Dynamite program tonight at Hoover: Riders in the Sky. A very funny and musically talented cowboy quartet. Monday we'll hear the Jazz Ambassadors of the U.S. Army. Next Friday, Second City, which will have the whole audience laughing. This week's herb study is on horseradish--the herb of the year. What a strange name, and I'm sure Carolyn will explain.
I used our sparkling clean and fresh laundromat on 2nd street this morning. It's official: my washing machine has died. It won't spin out the water. We drove to Sandusky last night to look at Sears and Lowes. Doesn't seem to be much of a recession there. The parking lots of the motels were full (Cedar Point is near by) and so were the restaurants. Traffic everywhere.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Three things I like about President Obama
1. He's Black. Or bi-racial, or African-American or Kenyan-American. Whatever you want to call his ethnic background, his mother was Euro-American secularist and his father was a Kenyan Muslim, many of us thought this would never happen in our life time--not even Jesse Jackson or Michelle Obama. It hasn't improved race relations one iota, but in that sense it's good, because it shows character and politics trump race. Something conservatives had figured out before the election of 2008. Even black Republicans voted for him for that reason--and are now sorry.
2. He's married to the mother of his children and from all public appearances, is a better father than he is a President. This will be a lasting legacy, and I hope young men of all races and politics imitate him.
3. Barack Obama has given conservatives and libertarians a kick in the pants that they needed to put down the remote and the golf club and figure out what they believe and why! Whether you call them Tea Party, or 9/11 groups or grass roots conservatives, many are paying attention for the first time. Some voted for the first time realizing they've sold out their core beliefs for the good life. This is positive, even though Democrats denigrate citizen involvement unless they've organized them and taken their money. We conservatives now know or will soon learn:
Our American history, including the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Federalist Papers
FDR and LBJ were among our worst presidents growing this wet snow ball known as incapacitating entitlements
RINOs are not our friends and should be voted out of office for the sin of bipartisanship and "crossing the aisle."
Medicare and Social Security are bloated, corrupt and a huge part of our deficit problem (so Tea Partiers need to stop gripping about cutting them)
The role of the Supreme Court in our problems
How special entitlements from federal block grants to summer lunch programs have hurt minorities and low income
How the government helped create the last housing bubble and is doing all the wrong things to correct it
The relationship of church and state--stop looking at the buttons on the uniform and pay attention to the real battles
What are our property rights
How important to the economy are small businesses
Cooperation is growing among Christian groups that formerly quarrelled about everything from baptism to the Pope
People are really looking at local issues like city council, library boards, schools, zoning and seeing all politics are local and knowledge begins at home
Conservative women cadidates are more popular, knowledgeable and well known than liberal--and they've earned their spots instead of riding in on coat tails
Life issues like abortion, sex slavery, stem cell research, and euthanasia have made the Republicans the party of the "least of these" and the Democrats the party of the rich and powerful.
2. He's married to the mother of his children and from all public appearances, is a better father than he is a President. This will be a lasting legacy, and I hope young men of all races and politics imitate him.
3. Barack Obama has given conservatives and libertarians a kick in the pants that they needed to put down the remote and the golf club and figure out what they believe and why! Whether you call them Tea Party, or 9/11 groups or grass roots conservatives, many are paying attention for the first time. Some voted for the first time realizing they've sold out their core beliefs for the good life. This is positive, even though Democrats denigrate citizen involvement unless they've organized them and taken their money. We conservatives now know or will soon learn:
FDR and LBJ were among our worst presidents growing this wet snow ball known as incapacitating entitlements
RINOs are not our friends and should be voted out of office for the sin of bipartisanship and "crossing the aisle."
Medicare and Social Security are bloated, corrupt and a huge part of our deficit problem (so Tea Partiers need to stop gripping about cutting them)
The role of the Supreme Court in our problems
How special entitlements from federal block grants to summer lunch programs have hurt minorities and low income
How the government helped create the last housing bubble and is doing all the wrong things to correct it
The relationship of church and state--stop looking at the buttons on the uniform and pay attention to the real battles
What are our property rights
How important to the economy are small businesses
Cooperation is growing among Christian groups that formerly quarrelled about everything from baptism to the Pope
People are really looking at local issues like city council, library boards, schools, zoning and seeing all politics are local and knowledge begins at home
Conservative women cadidates are more popular, knowledgeable and well known than liberal--and they've earned their spots instead of riding in on coat tails
Life issues like abortion, sex slavery, stem cell research, and euthanasia have made the Republicans the party of the "least of these" and the Democrats the party of the rich and powerful.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Great programs this week
Tonight we plan to see Water for Elephants after a reception for donors. It's a crummy week for weather, but the programming is terrific.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
What unemployment problem?
A Wall Street Journal review of financial-disclosure forms reveals that about 250 congressional staff members earned a total of $13 million in 2009 from former employers, companies they run or other side jobs.
My new garden journal
In herb class today at Lakeside we made garden journals from plain brown 3 ring notebooks. We covered them with scrapbooking paper, magazine clip art, poetry, quotes, or our own art work. The instructor gave us 3 hole punch sheets with calendars, notes, layout sheet, wish list, etc. and 3 hole dividers to which we could add envelopes for saving notes.
I pasted this quote on the cover: "I appreciate the misunderstanding I have had with Nature over my perennial border. I think it is a flower garden; she thinks it is a meadow lacking grass, and tries to correct the error." Sara Stein, 1988.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Farmers' Market today in Lakeside
Tuesday and Friday--haven't seen this year's merchants yet. Love the veggies, but despite rising prices caused by fuel costs, U.S. food is still a great buy. Just make sure it is "grown in the U.S.A." 
Last year's produce
Back to the old, tired and biased news sources
Now that we're at the lake house, I have to watch ABC or CBS if I want some news. You might hate Fox News, but Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly aren't newscasters, they are opinion/talking head shows. Fox News just gives the news, and some of it you'll not find on broadcast, and some of it is dumb car chases and pretty women. Not so the news on broadcast TV. I was shocked by the opinion inserted into the two stories I remember from yesterday, the Wal-Mart law suit and the Supreme Court and John McCain's comments on the fires in Arizona. This morning at the coffee shop on Fox News I got the real McCain story--that he was quoting from a US Forest Service testimony and report about fires. I, of course, realized the snippet ABC was quoting used the words "some" and "may" but they had to interview someone from La Raza to make it "fair," the radical, anti-U.S. organization that wants the southwestern states to be returned to Mexico.
Monday, June 20, 2011
The End of Green Ideology
"President Barack Obama’s administration has thrown billions of dollars at wind, solar, ethanol, and other alternative-energy resources. Now the Fukushima tragedy is being used to justify continuing these economically dubious programs. We can bet that none of these alternative energies will easily replace oil, gas, and nuclear power in the foreseeable future.
At market prices, without public subsidies, a unit of energy produced by solar or wind in the US costs five times more than a unit produced by oil, gas, or nuclear plants. Moreover, supporters of alternative energies systematically downplay their negative environmental impact. A wind turbine requires 50 tons of steel and half a square mile of ground space. If California were to rely on solar power for its electricity consumption, the entire state would have to be covered with photovoltaic cells."
The End of Green Ideology by Guy Sorman - Project Syndicate
At market prices, without public subsidies, a unit of energy produced by solar or wind in the US costs five times more than a unit produced by oil, gas, or nuclear plants. Moreover, supporters of alternative energies systematically downplay their negative environmental impact. A wind turbine requires 50 tons of steel and half a square mile of ground space. If California were to rely on solar power for its electricity consumption, the entire state would have to be covered with photovoltaic cells."
The End of Green Ideology by Guy Sorman - Project Syndicate
Michele Bachmann--she's now THE candidate to watch
She's a conservative and a Tea Partyer. Now that's refreshing. Let's see if the Democrats, who can't stand a talented beautiful woman with a special needs child, will be able to tolerate one who had 23 foster children.
"Bachmann has faced up to the Democrats' gaudy lie that people, aged 56 and over, are facing Medicare cuts with the Ryan Plan. They are not, not with the Ryan budget. Though with the Obamacare Plan we are all facing the eclipse of Medicare. Medicare will be slashed for everyone very soon, and that is written into the president's policy. Better it is to note that Ryan's reform gives us plenty of time to fix the system before the under 55-year-olds enter the depleted policy and are faced with the cuts that even the older seniors now face."
The American Spectator : The Pulchritudinous Michele Bachmann
"Bachmann has faced up to the Democrats' gaudy lie that people, aged 56 and over, are facing Medicare cuts with the Ryan Plan. They are not, not with the Ryan budget. Though with the Obamacare Plan we are all facing the eclipse of Medicare. Medicare will be slashed for everyone very soon, and that is written into the president's policy. Better it is to note that Ryan's reform gives us plenty of time to fix the system before the under 55-year-olds enter the depleted policy and are faced with the cuts that even the older seniors now face."
The American Spectator : The Pulchritudinous Michele Bachmann
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Blogging break -- see you at Lakeside
I have a few things to take care of--mostly of a technical nature, but I shall return.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Weasel words and phrases to watch for--because they are meaningless
WAGE INEQUALITY doesn’t mean poor, doesn’t mean rich. It means a high school student working at Panera’s in a part time job makes less than a computer programmer with a college degree working for Bill Gates. It means Bill Gates makes more than the President of the United States. Wage inequality is an inflammatory phrase, however, so think about it the next time you hear it. It also means that a 2 income household generally has more money than a one income or no income household receiving government assistance, which shouldn't be rocket science.
FOOD INSECURITY doesn’t mean hunger or starvation, and especially doesn’t mean too few calories. It means that some time during the last week, month or year, a person or head of household wasn’t sure where tomorrow’s meals were coming from. Could be one day until the social security check arrived, or the support payment from the ex-, or perhaps a tornado blew through town and you have no kitchen, pantry or paycheck and the bank is gone, too. Think about that term when you hear about 14% of the nation being “food insecure.”
FOOD STAMPS don’t exist anymore; The program is now called SNAP and they don‘t use stamps, but a plastic debit-like card. Regardless of the name, they were never intended to feed families, only to supplement the resources a family already had. So if some wise guy asks you if you could live on food stamps, say NO, because that’s not the intention. The USDA began this program in the 1940s to assist farmers--there were surpluses after WWII. Now the USDA is about food subsidies, not farm subsidies, and it is also about changing behavior which costs more and is more complicated, requiring many more staff which is where a lot of the money goes. The government has about 26 food programs spread across six different federal agencies.
A LIVING WAGE begs the question whose life, what wage and living where? In 1983 when I worked for JTPA (Job Training Partnership Act which replaced CETA) I was told a living wage was $10.50 an hour in order to live minimally in Washington DC (it would have been middle class for Columbus). Not even college grads were making that 28 years ago in most cases. But that’s what the workshop presenters wanted in government entitlements--housing, child care, food, education--for welfare mothers. If a stay-at-home mom goes back to work waiting tables at lunch when the kids go to college, should she be paid “a living wage?” Listen carefully when you hear a speaker demand a “living wage” for the poor. Does he mean your babysitter, which would put you out of work? Door to door Bible salesman, which means you couldn‘t afford it? The school teacher today earns more per hour than an accountant or architect. 10 years out of college making $70,000 for 10 months with a guaranteed pension at age 55 with a union to protect her. Or how about your congressman?
ACCESS used to mean a wheel chair ramp into a restaurant or public building. Not anymore. Now it is folded into anything someone of a minority or different culture might have in their original homeland. And that includes food at public institutions or schools and no pork in government feeding programs. It might mean no gluten or peanut butter for you kid even if he's not allergic. It also means having farmer’s markets in poor neighborhoods, a long, long way from the truck farmer. It means making the low income people experimental subjects for every cockamamie sociology and nutrition program your local college or university can dream up. “Eat it, it’s good for you. Because I said so.”
SUSTAINABILITY is the all-purpose, go-to word when “green” or “tree-hugger” or “renewable” sounds too crass or over done. It’s meaningless when you think about it. Agriculture, whether industrial type farms or organic plots or your backyard, requires huge inputs--seeds, fertilizers, water, labor, and technology. Boondoggles like growing corn for ethanol were found wanting 30 years ago, but agriculture lobbyists keep at it. Fields were planted right up to roads creating run off and destroying wild animal habitat leaving birds with no home which then required more pesticides. Thousands of acres of corn changed the moisture content in the air which created storms in neighboring counties and states. Trucking the corn to storage kept huge vehicles running day and night polluting the air. Trees and animals are actually renewable resources, and petroleum is decayed vegetable matter with stored energy waiting to be used, but don’t confuse an environmentalist with science. They’re looking for religion. Oh yes, is there anything uglier than a wind farm?
FOOD INSECURITY doesn’t mean hunger or starvation, and especially doesn’t mean too few calories. It means that some time during the last week, month or year, a person or head of household wasn’t sure where tomorrow’s meals were coming from. Could be one day until the social security check arrived, or the support payment from the ex-, or perhaps a tornado blew through town and you have no kitchen, pantry or paycheck and the bank is gone, too. Think about that term when you hear about 14% of the nation being “food insecure.”
FOOD STAMPS don’t exist anymore; The program is now called SNAP and they don‘t use stamps, but a plastic debit-like card. Regardless of the name, they were never intended to feed families, only to supplement the resources a family already had. So if some wise guy asks you if you could live on food stamps, say NO, because that’s not the intention. The USDA began this program in the 1940s to assist farmers--there were surpluses after WWII. Now the USDA is about food subsidies, not farm subsidies, and it is also about changing behavior which costs more and is more complicated, requiring many more staff which is where a lot of the money goes. The government has about 26 food programs spread across six different federal agencies.
A LIVING WAGE begs the question whose life, what wage and living where? In 1983 when I worked for JTPA (Job Training Partnership Act which replaced CETA) I was told a living wage was $10.50 an hour in order to live minimally in Washington DC (it would have been middle class for Columbus). Not even college grads were making that 28 years ago in most cases. But that’s what the workshop presenters wanted in government entitlements--housing, child care, food, education--for welfare mothers. If a stay-at-home mom goes back to work waiting tables at lunch when the kids go to college, should she be paid “a living wage?” Listen carefully when you hear a speaker demand a “living wage” for the poor. Does he mean your babysitter, which would put you out of work? Door to door Bible salesman, which means you couldn‘t afford it? The school teacher today earns more per hour than an accountant or architect. 10 years out of college making $70,000 for 10 months with a guaranteed pension at age 55 with a union to protect her. Or how about your congressman?
ACCESS used to mean a wheel chair ramp into a restaurant or public building. Not anymore. Now it is folded into anything someone of a minority or different culture might have in their original homeland. And that includes food at public institutions or schools and no pork in government feeding programs. It might mean no gluten or peanut butter for you kid even if he's not allergic. It also means having farmer’s markets in poor neighborhoods, a long, long way from the truck farmer. It means making the low income people experimental subjects for every cockamamie sociology and nutrition program your local college or university can dream up. “Eat it, it’s good for you. Because I said so.”
SUSTAINABILITY is the all-purpose, go-to word when “green” or “tree-hugger” or “renewable” sounds too crass or over done. It’s meaningless when you think about it. Agriculture, whether industrial type farms or organic plots or your backyard, requires huge inputs--seeds, fertilizers, water, labor, and technology. Boondoggles like growing corn for ethanol were found wanting 30 years ago, but agriculture lobbyists keep at it. Fields were planted right up to roads creating run off and destroying wild animal habitat leaving birds with no home which then required more pesticides. Thousands of acres of corn changed the moisture content in the air which created storms in neighboring counties and states. Trucking the corn to storage kept huge vehicles running day and night polluting the air. Trees and animals are actually renewable resources, and petroleum is decayed vegetable matter with stored energy waiting to be used, but don’t confuse an environmentalist with science. They’re looking for religion. Oh yes, is there anything uglier than a wind farm?
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