Occupy Wall Street Crowd Blind to Benefits of Capitalism

"The Occupy Wall Street movement has shown a lack of understanding of how the market capitalist system works. They appear to think that the cell phones they use, food they eat, hotels they stay in, cars they drive, gasoline that powers the cars they drive and all the myriad goods and services they consume every day would be there under a different system, perhaps in more abundance.

But there is no evidence this could be or ever has been the case. The reason is that only market capitalism solves the two major problems that face any economy-how to provide an incentive to innovate and how to solve the problem of decentralized information. The reason there is so much innovation in a market system compared to socialism or other forms of central planning is that profit provides the incentive for innovators to take the risk needed to come up with new products."

Occupy Wall Street Crowd Blind to Benefits of Capitalism

Basic Economics for Christians--Please write this book

I read in the November Columbus CEO that business owners/executives scored only 38% on tests of financial literacy. So that got me to thinking. How would the rest of us score? So I decided to look into starting a book discussion group that would read a title (I made this up--doesn‘t seem exist) “Basic economics for Christians.”

We know the "Occupiers" know diddly squat about economics, but what about educated conservatives? I think most people who identify themselves as conservatives or Tea Party supporters and who want the government shrunk don’t realize how dependent they’ve pesonally become on the federal government through block grants to states for housing, mandated education standards like NCLB, and churches that accept government money for their “social justice” programs. Maybe they know the Federal Reserve System is not a government agency, but I’m guessing they don’t. Do they know the government has been involved in housing since the Royals were handing out land grants and charters (original colonies mostly named for royalty--North Carolina, Virginia--west of that for Indian names).

Socialism and Keynesian economics might be terms Conservatives have heard of, or even disparage, but do they know they are both anti-Christian and anti-saving for the future? John Maynard Keynes was a homosexual who had little use for families or Christian values--especially not providing for them in the future. He thought money should be spent today and not taken out of circulation for future needs. Do conservatives realize that both GW Bush and Barack Obama are Keynesians? They say they understand what it means that Obama’s advisors at the highest level are Socialists--but so were FDR and his advisors, an era that many revere?

Do they know that for the first two hundred years of the United States our history was taught with a moral and ethical base in public schools, and that since the 1920s God has disappeared from textbooks and in his place is an economic view of history? Do they know what has happened to manufacturing, transportation, and technology just within their own lifetimes? Do they even realize what their own consumerism and desire for more stuff have contributed? Do they know there didn’t used to be an income tax, or how many pages the current code is?

Do conservatives really understand the words million, billion and trillion? When conservatives complain about the cost of federal government do they know that from one dollar in taxes 21 cents go to Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP, 20 cents to Social Security and 20 cents to defense? Medicare, Social Security, and Defense are HUGE issues for conservatives, and a huge drain in a bloated government. Franklin County, Ohio, where I live gets $1.2 Billion in defense contracts. Want that cut? Even if we could reduce fraud, graft and waste, there would be a lot even with a squeaky clean payout.

What we understand and how we vote might be easier if we all understood consumer price index, gross domestic product, corporation, dividends, Laissez-Faire, Marx, Adam Smith, deficit, human capital, price controls, non-profits, for profits, etc. Time to get informed.

Has anyone written the books I'd like to read?

When architecture imitates life

Stata Center, MIT, designed by Frank Gehry

According to Robert Campbell (reported at Wikipedia), "the Stata is always going to look unfinished. It also looks as if it's about to collapse. Columns tilt at scary angles. Walls teeter, swerve, and collide in random curves and angles. Materials change wherever you look: brick, mirror-surface steel, brushed aluminum, brightly colored paint, corrugated metal. Everything looks improvised, as if thrown up at the last moment." And apparently that's the point. Freedom. No wonder college students riot and camp out in tents and go to jail without knowing why. Look what they had to pass walking to class!

AMA take on Obamacare

Grace Isenhart posted this on Facebook.

Apparently the American Medical Association has weighed in on the new economic stimulus package:

The Allergists voted to scratch it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.

The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.

The Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception.

Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted.

The Coroners yelled, "Over my dead body!" while the Pediatricians said, 'Oh, Grow up!'

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it.

Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing.

The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow, and the Plastic Surgeons said, "This puts a whole new face on the matter."

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea.

The Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and the Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no..

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the a$$holes in Washington .

ADHD drug may affect puberty

Juvenile male rhesus monkeys given methylphenidate hydrochloride (ritalin) a drug widely used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder exhibited delayed progression of puberty, according to a recent PNAS study.

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/09/12/1102187108.full.pdf

Joe Paterno in line for annual pension over $500,000

"Paterno's pension records obtained Tuesday from the State Employees' Retirement System credit him with more than 60 years in the system. The formula used to determine benefits makes him eligible for a pension equal to 100 percent of the average of his three highest-salary years. . . There also is a long-service supplement that could boost Paterno to 110 percent of his final average salary ($568,000).

The New York Times also reported Tuesday night that Paterno transferred full ownership of his house to his wife, Sue, for $1 in July. The couple had previously held joint ownership of the house. Paterno's attorney Wick Sollers told the paper in an e-mail that the transfer had nothing to do with the scandal but was part of an ongoing "multiyear estate planning program.""

Paterno has not been charged with a crime. However, the investigation into Sandusky's behavior had been going on for 9 years, 2 years with the Grand Jury.

Penn State Nittany Lions scandal -- Joe Paterno in line for annual pension over $500,000, according to review - ESPN

Embryonic stem cell research fails

The first thing Obama did upon taking office was approve more embryos for medical experiments using our tax dollar. It was never illegal, but the lines had been limited under Bush. This gave adult stem cell research a jump ahead, and it has taken off. The ethically challenged and far less successful embryonic research still has not had a success. And this one has been ended.

First tests failed--millions of cells injected in 4 patients, and the best they can report is there were no adverse effects.

There is confusion when you see stories about "stem cell research." Using ADULT stem cells for therapy is NOT controversial, and has shown great promise--like the recently reported heart failure story. Embryonic stem cell research involves killing a potential person.

Siberia has the largest Lutheran church (geographic area)

According to Thrivent Magazine, Fall 2011, p. 8, the largest Lutheran church in the world (geographically) is the Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church, Сибирская Евангелическо-Лютеранская Церковь. Founded in the 1990s, this organization has 13 ordained pastors and deacons who serve roughly 1,000 members in congregations and missions across 6 time zones in a 3,000 mile area. (Thrivent magazine) I'm wondering if this is part of the Lutheran group they discovered after the break up of the USSR made up of descendants of German POWs of WWI who never got back to Germany and intermarried with the Siberian women. The liturgy was in German but none of the members any longer spoke German.

Are you beautiful?

You might be better paid than the Occupiers! Oh the horror! A new book whose author has been flogging this at least since the early 90s now has a book, Beauty Pays, and is making the rounds of talk shows and interviews.

Daniel Hamermesh says society generates premium pay for beauty and penalties for ugliness. Beautiful people earn $230,000 more in a lifetime than those with below average looks. They are happier, marry good-looking people, who are more likely to be highly educated.

He's been saying this for some time--in 1994, on "plainness": "The authors examine the impact of looks on earnings using interviewers' ratings of respondents' physical appearance. Plain people earn less than average-looking people, who earn less than the good-looking. The plainness penalty is 5 to 10 percent, slightly larger than the beauty premium. Effects for men are at least as great as for women. Unattractive women have lower labor-force participation rates and marry men with less human capital. Better-looking people sort into occupations where beauty may be more productive but the impact of individuals' looks is mostly independent of occupation, suggesting the existence of pure employer discrimination. Copyright 1994 by American Economic Association."

Beauty in the classroom is from 2003

Forbes review

Obama’s Keystone Evasion

Sometimes, Obama is the most transparent of any president we've ever had. Like his campaign tricks. He doesn't even try to hide what he's doing. Put in a plug for the veterans, who he hates, while postponing a real job creator.

President Obama’s announcement that he will delay a decision on approval of the Keystone Pipeline until after the 2012 election typifies his feckless presidency. Torn between the need to create jobs, reduce the cost of energy and get our economy going on one hand, and the emotional biases of his environmentalist base on the other, Obama punted. I assume that if and when the time comes–post-election–Obama will do what he has wanted to do all along, and kill the pipeline.

Obama’s Keystone Evasion | Power Line

The pipeline wouldn't have been a "stimulus jr." or an FDR WPA temp job project. According to this author, "the pipeline would moderate the price of oil and create between 250,000 and 553,000 permanent American jobs."

Americans' Ability to Afford Food Nears Three-Year Low

The percentage of Americans reporting that they had enough money to buy the food they or their families needed continued to decline in October, nearing the record low seen in November 2008. The percentage who did not lack money for food in 2011 fell to 79.8% from 80.1% in September, continuing a decline that began in April.

I'd love to be able to dig a little deeper into these questions. The food questions, for instance. This question asks about anytime in the last 12 months, and I assume the same people who were called in October, weren't called in September. Also, how do you have over 90% saying they have no problem obtaining fresh fruits and vegetables, when 79.8 say they didn't have enough money to buy the food their family needed? I think the word "need" is key here. There are American families (I know this will shock you) who think soft drinks and pizza are a "need." I stand next to them in the check out lines. Also, a lot of people think everything they buy at the supermarket is "food" when in fact about 20-30% of the bill are health and beauty, or as we say in Ohio, taxables (we don't tax food here).

There is no question included in the survey about whether the interviewee knows how to cook, or does she/he just open a package or turn on the microwave. You can feed a lot of people with $5.00 of potatoes, a gallon of milk, and a pound of cheese, but not if you buy potatoes in a box with chives and dried cream sauce. There is no question included about where they shop. Last week at Marc's (deep discount and remainder store) a manager told me they did $20,000 more in October 2011 than October 2010. That says something that when squeezed, shoppers will change from the fancy, beautifully appointed, and widely displayed varieties of Giant Eagle at the Market, to the crowded, sort of rumpled, down at the heels Marc's where the staff never smiles or rushes up to help you.

One thing the charts in this survey show--during Obama's reign, basic needs have gotten worse in shelter, food, insurance, even the perception of safety (walking at night).
Americans' Ability to Afford Food Nears Three-Year Low

Don't ask me to "go green"

Going "green?" Newsletters, reports, directories, etc. suggest "going green" and saving the organization money. Pinecrest in Mt. Morris, IL was the most recent to suggest it. No thanks. A church or organization directory on line is useless as far as I'm concerned. Where will I write their cell phone # or the date I sent a card? I like to take the Pinecrest newsletter or the Ohio Historical Society newsletter or the TIAA-CREF newsletter to the coffee shop or the coffee table and take a closer look. I still think UALC made a HUGE mistake by discontinuing mailing its newsletter, even if it is available on-line. It's amazing what I see that I don't if it comes up on a screen for 20 seconds as I go through e-mail. Besides, my husband doesn't do e-mail. I know, some day it will probably not even be an option, but until then, I want to support the Post Office.

And if you're planning to e-mail your Christmas letter this year, go ahead, but it probably won't be read.

I know just the guy for this position

"The Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology (EEOB) in the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University invites applications for a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor Rank in Evolutionary or Ecological Genomics. We seek outstanding individuals who address fundamental questions in evolution and/or ecology either through the generation of large-scale sequence or gene expression data or by using either computational/statistical approaches for the analysis of genomic data."

Paul's letter to the church at Colossae explains creation and beginnings.

Colossians 1:15-23
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

Paterno Firing Sparks Riots--Glenn Beck unhinged

I turned off the Glenn Beck radio show today--he went bonkers over the rioting at Penn State. Compared to the rioters of the Occupy variety, these made some sense, but Glenn threw them into the same bag. Paterno may have not done all he was morally required to do, but he did what is legally required--he went through the chain of command and assumed (mistakenly) that someone else was investigating and taking care of their responsibilities. I don't think college coaches get annual lectures from County Child Services on what to report the way public school teachers do.

Also, we live in a sex saturated society--our reality TV has unwed pregnant teens on reality shows; politicians actually defend the rights of people to watch whatever on the internet, knowing that many of these "stars" male and female are underage; whenever religious groups object to girls and women being sexualized by the entertainment media, they've considered ridiculously old fashioned (unless they are Muslims, and then it's OK); late night "comedians" made jokes about assaulting Palin's daughter without being fired; and what straight teen could ever go to his school administration after being assaulted by a gay teen in the rest room because the protected groups are the only victims recognized? This is the sexpocrisy the college kids have experienced all their lives.

So college kids riot when they see adults pointing fingers and passing the buck before there's even a trial of the guy who actually did the deed? I'm with 'em on this one. They have a lot more on their side than people trying to bring down the financial system.

Paterno Firing Sparks Riots | Road Runner Image Gallery - Road Runner#rr%2F55278605%2F55272965%2F

The hypocrisy over the Penn State sex scandal

Am I the only one who recognizes the hypocrisy going on with the cya at Penn State? There is a national organization, "North American Man Boy Love," Nambla or some such name, which grooms young boys to be lovers of gay men. They have their own news bulletin and wiki. They are all over the internet and no one shuts them down or arrests them that I've heard of. These gay men influence legislation to lower the age of consent and to have their lifestyle accepted with other gay rights issues which involve consenting adults. I have come across a corresponding radical lesbian organization that sponsors camps for underage teen-age girls to help them "discover" their sexuality, but I think that's less common. Nambla doesn't consider sex with a teen-ager as pedophilia. Some advocates don't think sex with non-teen boys is abuse. You can google it, but it's a good way to pick up a virus, a hacker, or nasty e-mails. By even suggesting that they are perverts, I'll have nasty comments I'll have to monitor and remove.

Also, today I was reading a summary of a research article in JAMA that used 600 boys/young men ages 12-24 in 8 cities and their STDs and drug use with older gay men. Not a word about reporting the perps, and this was governmentt sponsored research. Are abused boys OK if it's for research?

African American Voices at Ohio State University

This sounds like a wonderful program, but I am wondering if Choirs of Scandinavian Heritage or Hungarian Lutherans would be allowed to perform their Christian songs while excluding black and brown ethnicities.

"Ohio State Gospel and Spiritual Choir will feature traditional Sunday Morning gospel songs typical of the worship service experience and music style of the traditional black church. The African American Voices student choir will also be featured on Thursday (11/10) at 8 p.m. in Weigel Hall Auditorium."

The only website I could find for "African American Voices" at OSU, was dead, so I can't tell if it is an OSU group or a visiting group. The Spiritual Choir seems to have a variety of faces since "gospel choir" isn't limited to ethnicity or style.

Photo from Lantern, 2007, 16th anniversary performance

Illinois in deep doo-doo--Ohio will follow

Sad news from "home" (haven't lived there since 1957, but old habits. . . ) The state is in even worse shape financially than what is generally known. And now Ohio can get in line since Issue 2 failed. "Nursing homes like Pinecrest [which I support with donations] will not be vouchered for July Medicaid billings until December--payment will follow some time after that." As the federal government heaps mandates on the states which are required to balance their budgets, we'll see more of this. The town lost its schools forcing a merger some time in the 90s--teachers unions were useless to stop it. A union strike in the 70s killed the town's main industry. Government and the unions, arm and arm, into the sunset.

You could tax every wealthy person out of existence, take every penny they had, and you wouldn't be able to solve America's addiction to debt. You know in your own life you have to cut spending and not put more on the charge card. Why is it so difficult for men and women who have achieved the pinnacle of success, fame and wealth, to figure this out?

The American Dream

is not a house, or a nicer car, a dream job, the perfect family or a college degree. The phrase comes from this--and it isn't all that old:

James Truslow Adams, a one time investmen banker who lived on his wealth to become a writer, wrote in his 1931 book Epic of America “but there has been also the American dream, that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.”

We've definitely moved away from the idea "according to his ability or achievement, And that was true in 1931 also, as we moved deeper into FDR's socialism and on to "according to his demands and visions of entitlement." Wikipedia says Adams was heavily influenced by Marxism, so maybe it's come full circle.

Five women

I like Hermann Cain, but I think his candidacy is toast. There's just no way Conservatives can jump all over Bill Clinton and his bimbo eruptions, defending the women who accused him of assault and rape, and then claim it doesn't matter with Cain and that the women are plants or unreliable. Both Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh today sounded absolutely stupid on this issue and I think they were offensive to all women. Both have been all over the rape and assault stories emerging from the various Occupy sites. Sauce. Goose. Gander.

Yes, Ted Kennedy had more accusations, and one woman ended up dead; and Bill Clinton couldn't keep his pants zipped, and John Edwards would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for a yellow rag--it certainly wasn't the regular media pursuing the story. But they were Democrats. 'Nough said?

It's Brussels Sprouts week--bleh!

That's what my World's Healthy foods newsletter said. I don't like Brussels sprouts--but I do like their cousins, other cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, cauliflower and cabbage. Eating more vegetables--all types and colors--can help with weight control.

A recent issue of Lancet says:

"In this report, we used a simulation model to project the probable health and economic consequences in the next two decades from a continued rise in obesity in two ageing populations—the USA and the UK. These trends project 65 million more obese adults in the USA and 11 million more obese adults in the UK by 2030, consequently accruing an additional 6—8·5 million cases of diabetes, 5·7—7·3 million cases of heart disease and stroke, 492 000—669 000 additional cases of cancer, and 26—55 million quality-adjusted life years forgone for USA and UK combined. The combined medical costs associated with treatment of these preventable diseases are estimated to increase by $48—66 billion/year in the USA and by £1·9—2 billion/year in the UK by 2030."

Health and economic burden of the projected obesity trends in the USA and the UK : The Lancet