What Constitutionalism Means

Why do Conservatives/Republicans make such a big deal about loving the Constitution, but try to change it, and liberals/progressives/Democrats not so much? Well, maybe it's because the Democrats don't bother to go the legal, constitutional route to change the constitution!

For two features of our constitutional politics could not be plainer: First, that from Woodrow Wilson’s day to our own, progressives have been far more likely than conservatives to express impatience with the whole constitutional scheme of limited government; and second, that progressives have long sought, often successfully, and still seek to change the Constitution without going to the trouble of formally amending it.

If you doubt the first point, recall how liberals reacted to the difficulties they encountered in enacting Obamacare. The political system was said to be broken; complaints were leveled against the undemocratic Senate. If you doubt the second point, recall that after the ERA failed, liberals achieved almost everything they had wanted from it through the courts. There is nothing that liberal legal academics and activists refuse in principle to read into the Constitution because the ERA is absent from it.

What Constitutionalism Means - Ramesh Ponnuru - National Review Online

President and Provost’s Council on Women

Why do women need so much help? Twenty years ago in Sisson Hall I browsed a list of fifty organizations and departments on the Ohio State University campus to assist women. Now we're 40 years into the modern woman's movement and I see this in today's OSU OnCampus e-newsletter: "President and Provost’s Council on Women, a service committee tasked with advocating to the president and provost for the advancement of all women at Ohio State."

‎"Since 1991, the proportion of young women enrolled in college has exceeded the enrollment rate for young men, and the gap has widened over time. In 2005, about 43% of women ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in college, compared with 35% of young men. This represents a major shift in the gender balance at U.S. colleges and universities. Between 1970 and 2005, the gender composition has shifted to the extent that women now make up the majority—54%—of the 10.8 million young adults enrolled in college." (2007)

For the 2011-12 academic year, the PPCW is undertaking two projects: The Technology & Work/Life Project, which will examine the effects on work/life balance of technology and the push to be connected all the time; and the Dual Career (Partner Hire) Project, which will address the status of campus-wide practices in the successful recruitment of faculty and professional staff who are partners. At its first meeting on Sept. 27, PPCW members will form subcommittees to begin addressing these two projects. . .

The second initiative under discussion is the practice of hiring or assisting the spouse or partner of a highly qualified faculty candidate as a way of recruiting world-class talent to Ohio State. Alternately known through the years as the “Trailing Spouse” or the “Two-Body Problem,” it is becoming increasingly important in today’s competitive climate in which exemplary faculty candidates, particularly minorities and/or women, are wooed by several universities.

If women need more time with their families or "alone time," they should turn off their phones or not carry them. If burnout is a problem, drop out of something or reduce your class load. Definitely do not grab for that next brass ring or one more credit card to float your education. If you don't want to be a "trailing spouse," don't have a career that matters to anyone but you and your family.

Any other questions?

Heartbeat Bill Ohio: Call Your Ohio Senator Today!

You have the opportunity to do something special--save a life. I was there Tuesday to support the Heart Beat Bill.



Heartbeat Bill Ohio: Call Your Ohio Senator Today!

Southern Poverty Law Center brings in the big bucks

We're on a lot of hit lists for money. Here's one that won't get a dime--but I haven't heard from them lately. Southern Poverty Law Center--the guys who publish lists of hate groups. They take in about $34 million a year (probably by sending mailings to rich white folks feeling guilty about their wealth), have assets of about $230 million, and pay their CEOs over $300,000/yr. I keep telling you, poverty is big business for the the middle class. If poverty were to disappear tomorrow, thousands would be out of work, and we could start the cycle all over!

Information from Charity Navigator. The good news is it takes zero government dollars.

It's Banned Books Week!!!

It's BANNED BOOKS WEEK--the American Library Association's big marketing hoax. And that's what it is. If you even read their own promos--"Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections." In other word, guys, you need librarians to protect you!

What American Library Association means is, if you the voter, reader and local tax payer criticize, question, or comment on your library's choices, your title might end up on the "banned" list. When my children were little I complained about "Little Black Sambo" being read to them at the library children's story hour and pulled them out of the group like any smart mom would when I was told it was harmless and the children loved it. What about the "Complete Infidel's Guide to the Koran" by Robert Spenser? I checked OhioLink--4 copies in Cuyahoga Public branches, one at a Cedarville, but about 100 copies of pro-Islam books. Is it on the banned list, or just the "not selected" list? Spenser was on a panel for ALA to discuss Islam, and CAIR objected and pulled all their speakers. Is that banning? The film "Islam vs. Islamists" was pulled by PBS after ONE affiliate objected before it was even shown. Did ALA object as banned?

Pulpit Freedom Sunday: October 2, 2011

Lyndon Johnson (D-TX) when he was a Senator got an amendment to the tax code passed in 1954 with no legislative analysis, no committee hearings, and no debate which silenced pastors from supporting specific candidates running against Lyndon B. Johnson. For the last 57 years, that amendment to the tax code has scared off pastors from saying anything that could be considered political--like abortion, marriage, education, or current candidates for office who are hostile to Christianity. Let’s take back the first amendment rights of pastors and churches. (Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.)

Pulpit Freedom Sunday's Purpose Is to Help Pastors Secure Their First Amendment Rights In the Pulpit and Beyond - BCNN1

Stephanopoulos: Obama Is on Road to Defeat in 2012

Give me a break, George. You know the media will never let this happen to the President you groomed, lied about and got elected.
Stephanopoulos: Obama Is on Road to Defeat in 2012

No room for Jews in new Palestinian State

Not only does the new proposed Palestinian state eliminate Jews, it will also not be open to Palestinians living in the camps for generations in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Of what use would they be then? They are just window dressing now to get sympathy from liberal Christians.

Blog: No room for Jews in new Palestinian state

I, I, I, I, I'm, I'm finally going to admit who I am

"Now the Republicans, you know when I, I talked about this earlier in the week. They said 'well, this is class warfare.' You know what? If asking a billionaire to pay their fair of taxes. To pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare, then you know what? I, I, I, I, I'm, I'm a warrior for the middle class. I'm happy to fight for the middle class,"

President Barack Obama stammered this at the Brent Spence Bridge in Cincinnati, OH, and he still doesn't come up with a figure for "fair," but his wife wears $42,000 bling to the DNC fund raiser.

The jewelry was "on loan," but the message was clear to all those who can afford this extravagance. "Vote for me and you'll have no worries."

Seventy-eight presidents in New York City

but Obama is in Cincinnati flogging new bridges. The federal government pays NYC $25 million to protect the various anti-American poo-bahs who land here to discuss and vote in the United Nations. And many from countries that have no vote for their citizens, or who do but not for women.

Michelle's new bling worn at the DNC fund raiser is probably worth some of the annual budgets of countries that get to thumb their noses at the U.S. "The First Lady wore Katie's Lotus cuff priced at $15,000 with 2.9 carats of diamonds, her Gothic cuff at $15,350 with 2.17 carats in diamonds and the Quatrefoil bracelet at $11,800 with 1.73 carats in diamonds."

Boatlifters: The unknown story of 9/11

Here's a 9/11 story I'd never heard--the great boatlift, where 500,000 New Yorkers were rescued in nine hours.

Be sure to watch the video. You'll get chills.


Boatlifters: The unknown story of 9/11 | Journalist Profile | Reuters.com

LiFE Sports at Ohio State--more than a camp

“Ohio State's College of Social Work and Department of Athletics have teamed up to utilize their expertise in positive youth development and prevention to address issues of school failure, substance use, and juvenile delinquency. The collaboration created the Learning in Fitness & Education through Sports (LiFE Sports) initiative to enhance the quality of youth development, sport and recreational programs through service and outreach, teaching and learning, and research.

A central component of the initiative is its annual four-week summer LiFE Sports camp that serves more than 600 youth ages 10-18 on the Ohio State campus. Unlike most summer programs, however, LiFE Sports is "More than sports. More than camp."

It’s interesting how similar in mission and vision this sounds to the outdoor camping experiences offered by churches and service organizations when I was growing up. Like Camp Emmaus of the Church of the Brethren, or School of Missions camp on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin that I attended, Boy Scout Camp my husband attended, Camp Willson run by the YMCA where my son attended, or Camp Wyandot for the Campfire Girls when my daughter was young.

All except that “research” component, and in parsing that sentence, I can’t quite figure out who is doing the research--the youth, the social workers or the athletes. Maybe our camp counselors were doing research, but I don't think so.

Our camps, too, were more than “sports,” more than camp. They were a place for spiritual growth, for wisdom and understanding, for growing strong in Christ.

From my scrapbook, 1950, with both my name and town incorrect

The fields are white for harvest

Almost there. My hair is silver in the front, sort of blondish on top, and a darker gray in the back. I'll save about $500/year with no color. I've selected 6 groups to receive a donation. ". . .fields are white for harvest. . ." John 4:35.

1) Into the field; 2) Lower Lights Christian Health Center; 3) Pinecrest Community (probably new beds); 4) Pregnancy Decision Health Centers, Columbus; and 5-6) World Mission Prayer League [Lutheran] and Lutheran Bible Translators.

Why do American Progressives side with dictators?

Glenn Beck asked a simple question on his show this evening. "Why are the progressives in academe always on the side of the dictators--Hitler, Mussolini, Mao, Che, Castro, and now the jihadists?" Then he gave chilling examples with text and photos of Harvard and Columbia in the 1930s with Hitler's staff who were invited to their campuses, speaking before the students, welcomed by the deans and presidents; Howard University and the anti-Jewish black Muslims in the 90s inviting the students to scream JEW in answer to questions posed by the speaker; and the radical, fundamentalist Muslims of today, like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, invited to many of our more prestigious campuses.

Just a few Iranian ex-pats turned up today, very brave, to protest at Columbia the visit of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Columbia students were disinvited to a dinner in his honor at the last minute). Glenn pointed out something I hadn't thought of: the American media aren't just weak, liberal, water carriers for Obama--they're afraid for their lives.

Since we can't keep him and his tour of terror out of the U.S. when he rattles cages at the United Nations, we need to get the U.N. out of the U.S.

OnStar Tracks Your Car Even When You Cancel Service

Don't say you weren't warned. By Glenn Beck--you know the paranoid guy?

Navigation-and-emergency-services company OnStar is notifying its six million account holders that it will keep a complete accounting of the speed and location of OnStar-equipped vehicles, even for drivers who discontinue monthly service.

OnStar Tracks Your Car Even When You Cancel Service | Threat Level | Wired.com

Missoni for Target

Too many eyes, not enough bandwidth. Missoni for Target crashed the Target website. Of course, when I looked at it, if I hadn't know it was a famous Italian designer, I would have thought it was "What not to wear" and the clothes they throw in the trash can. But then, I've never been known as one who was up on the latest fashion. Loud, zig zag stripes. Sweater coats. I think I just packed up a sack of 70s stuff for Goodwill!

Missoni : Clothes, Accessories, Electronics, Bed...: Target

The Ohio Project--Issue 3--Obamacare in Ohio

Usually, I don't like to see amendments to the state constitution for one time issues--that's why we have a representative government with voters. But increasingly, all states, including Ohio seem to be going this direction. If we don't defeat Obamacare, our costs will continue to rise and we'll all be pushed into a Medicaid type insurance plan as more and more employers pull out of their plans or the insurance companies go belly up. Yes, Mr. President--that will be our "choice" to stay with private health plans--they'll be non-existant. So I support Issue 3 which will be on November's ballot.

Issue2/Senate Bill 5 is also critical, because if the public unions continue to bankrupt our state, we may not even have that single payer insurance, since Obama intends to pass along so many costs to the states. Even if you have to hold your nose on a few of these issues, it's important to stop the extortion and bankruptcy.

The Ohio Project

David Brooks is waking up, but he's still a sap

No one pays me big bucks to be in the "rich" class like Mr. David Brooks, NYT columnist, but somehow, with only a few courses in Soviet history in college plus 40 years as a Democrat, and I had Obama all figured out in 2008. When he said he intended to redistribute the wealth, I believed him. One of the few truthful things he has said in the last 5 years.

He [Obama] claimed we can afford future Medicare costs if we raise taxes on the rich. He repeated the old half-truth about millionaires not paying as much in taxes as their secretaries. (In reality, the top 10 percent of earners pay nearly 70 percent of all income taxes, according to the I.R.S. People in the richest 1 percent pay 31 percent of their income to the federal government while the average worker pays less than 14 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office.)

Obama Rejects Obamaism - NYTimes.com

Oil and gas industry sees jobs in Utica shale

The Green ghouls will probably kill any hope for more jobs in Ohio. Sure we've got a Republican in the State House, but Obama's in the White House and he's got all his EPA buddies, czars and regulations to continue to grind down anyone who won't go along.

The Ohio Oil & Gas Energy Education Program is trying to make the case that the state is on the verge of an economic oil and gas boom, which could provide jobs and local energy sources for Ohio. . .

Environmentalists and green energy companies want to preserve the renewable energy standards, which will require utility companies to produce or acquire 25 percent of the energy they sell in Ohio from advanced energy sources in the coming years.

Oil and gas industry sees jobs in Utica shale | Ohio politics

Seeing the inside of a bill and the inside of the city

Today I attended a "celebration" (aka rally) for the HeartBeat Bill in the Atrium of the Statehouse in Columbus. There was a prayer service from about 7-11, so I got there about 10:30 and got a fairly decent seat, although it was filling up. When the lineup of speakers started all the introductions (for speeches of about 2 minutes) were done by Janet Porter--and I must say, she was outstanding. Just the right personality and voice to do this. The organization of the pro-lifers was stunning--I thought--as I browsed the booklet and list of county organizations. A number of the people introduced have been working on this for 38 years! When they started, they never expected the abortion movement to end up as powerful and deadly as it has--some thought Roe v. Wade would be overturned quickly. They were certainly wrong, as 50,000,000 dead children show. But they have made a number of inroads and have been saving children, although many fewer than they want.

The Bill passed the House in June, so now it goes to the Senate, and it is Senators they are working on, and a number of them spoke to us. They are confident this will go to the Supreme Court and that Ohio will win. There's nothing in the bill about when life begins--it's all about the heartbeat since everyone recognizes that as a sign of life.

One of the black speakers expressed regret there weren't more "American faces like his" in the audience (I saw perhaps 10-15) because for the black community abortion is nothing short of a Holocaust, being a much greater cause of death for them than all the major diseases. One of the oldest speakers was Dr. Jack Willke, Founder of the National and Ohio Right to Life. Another speaker was a young woman named Katelyn who is a paramedic and a former Marine whom I'd met at another gathering. She knows the importance of a heartbeat in determining life.

One of the speakers was from Texas, another from Illinois, another from Indiana. It's a long way to come on your own dime to speak for 2 minutes! That's how committed to saving lives these people are.

I left about 2 p.m. and caught a bus to return home that went down Neil Avenue to the campus area, and I saw many lovely restored houses--must have been a very grand neighborhood about 100 years ago. The bus went through the medical and law campus, past the new Union, on to Woody Hayes Drive and the new (very odd) architecture building, past the agriculture campus, then turned east to Olentangy. Soon everyone but three of us on the bus were either Asian or Indian. They seemed to be headed for apartments north of where I live and don't live on the campus.

All in all, an interesting day.