NASA has confirmed that its Kepler mission has discovered planets roughly the size of the Earth outside of the Solar System.

Whenever I read of new discoveries in the solar system I think of Psalm 19. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world."

The heavens are declaring, proclaiming, speaking, displaying--but there are a lot of people not listening.

Lewison family faith

Listening to the local Catholic radio I hear many things that are unfamiliar, or I think were settled in the 16th century reformation--at least for those who began following the teachings of Luther and Calvin. Purgatory; Worship of Mary and the saints (and please don't tell me it's not "worship" because they are praying to them--I hear them); Obligations; Miracles at shrines; Indulgences. And so forth.

That said, it would seem that proper theology doesn't mean much. I heard this morning an amazing story of faith on Women of Grace hosted by Johnnette Benkovic, and whether it is Jesus, Mary, the saints or all combined, it is undergirding this family.

A woman, Mary Lewison, called the show I was listening to earlier in the year--February possibly--to discuss the death of her 18 year old son who was killed when his truck was hit by a train. The moderater had also lost a son, so the two had had a long talk on the air. This week the woman sent the moderator an article about the family to catch up, which Johnnette then read on the show this morning.

After the death of her 18 year old, 4 of the 5 surviving children in the family were in two different automobile accidents, 2 serious enough to be hospitalized. Then the woman's husband had a heart attack when he was in a different state, and got to the ER within minutes of death--the doctor called it a "widow-maker," and she became his care-giver; when she thought nothing else could happen to her family, the woman was fired from her job for missing so much work during her husband's 4 month recovery!

She has not lost her faith in Jesus. Broadcast is here for December 21, 2011.

Religious gobble-de-gook

clap·trap (kl p tr p ). n. Pretentious, insincere, or empty language

San Francisco Theological Seminary (Presbyterian) and the Graduate Theological Union, a hodge podge of Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Baptist, UCC, Disciples, UMC, Unitarian and others are going to tell black Baptist women . . .

“Given the realities of sexism in a post modern world and the continued undermining of a womanist theology, this symposium acknowledges that leadership roles in ministry are often fraught with subtle and overt politics of exclusion and the realism of marginalization based on sexism,” Taylor said. “The old traditional ecclesiastical institution is becoming an endangered and extinct institution if the culture continues to imprison the gifts and creativity of seminary trained women while preserving sexism, homophobia and other primitive practices.”

No pizza tonight

I was sure hungry for a pizza. I mentioned it to my husband, and he had his taste buds set. But I had a colonoscopy today and they told me to be careful about what I ate. So I'm fixing mac and cheese, I'll skip the cole slaw, but probably have the applesauce.

Colonoscopies are very important--they are the only test that can prevent cancer, but the preparation is certainly unpleasant. So is listening to the doctor and nurse discuss the movies they've seen during the procedure. My mother, my paternal grandmother and my father's sister all had colon cancer, so despite the unpleasantness, it's an important preventative step.

I was a bit groggy when I got home--not much sleep last night--and I slept for 3 hours.

The nurse also warned me to stay off Facebook and the Blog. Apparently some people can't be trusted even after a mild anesthetic.

Still, pizza sure sounded good.

Why has Los Angeles lost its mojo?

We've seen the Democrat political machine kill or disable many of American's most vibrant cities. And now its Los Angeles's turn, although it took longer because of its dispersed center.

"A big reason is a decline in the power and mettle of the city's once-vibrant business community. Between the late 1980s and the end of the millennium, many of L.A.'s largest and most influential firms—ARCO, Security Pacific, First Interstate, Union Oil, Sun America—disappeared in a host of mergers that saw their management shift to cities like London, New York and San Francisco. . . controlled by a machine of labor and the political leadership of the Latino community, the mayor is a former labor organizer. . . strangling regulations backed by a powerful and wealthy environmental movement. . . even liberal Democrats are catching on." The environmentalists are killing the port business, the generator of blue collar labor, and thus the unions have to expand into the once vibrant Latino small business sector.

How Los Angeles lost its mojo

Who are the Occupiers? Market research reveals

Frontier Lab used serious market research techniques to study and report on the motives of the Occupist protestors. If you are a conservative and a Christian, nothing in this report will surprise you. If you are a liberal, you will criticize it, sit on the fence, claim "they had a point," and deny that the research was properly done. But both sides will recognize the Occupists' need to belong to something--anything--to enhance their sense of self-worth and its leadership arising from the professional left.

"What did Frontier Lab discover? First, that many of the rank-and-file occupiers feel isolated in their lives, and appear to lack basic community ties such as are provided by participation in clubs, churches, and strong families. Indeed, much of the report could have come from the early chapters of Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone. They thus attach to their political causes with something like a religious fervor. For many, a commitment to “social justice” is “not the end, but rather a means to an inflated sense of self and purpose in their own lives.” Crucially, involvement with others who agree with them provides an “overwhelming feeling of being part of a family.” I noticed this on my first trip down to Zuccotti Park, when I saw a telling sign adorning the entrance to the tent city: “For the first time in my life, I feel at home.” On subsequent visits I was struck by the importance of the commune to the project. As much as anything else, vast swathes of occupiers were simply looking for a new club. This group, Frontier Lab dubs the “Communitarians.”

The second group, which to all intents and purposes forms the leadership, is less existentially lost, and derives its fulfillment from the “prestige,” “validation,” and “control” afforded by the movement’s coverage in the media. Frontier Lab calls this group the “Professionals.” Its members fill the ranks of the professional Left and boast long histories of attending and organizing protests. For them, indignation is quotidian, “community action” is a career, and they feel “validated by the fame and attention” and “rewarded for their life choices.” Unlike the Communitarians, the Professionals actually want tangible change, or a “win,” but politics is still playing second fiddle to self. There is nothing spontaneous or organic about the movements they lead. They are waiting for the revolution and hope to be in its vanguard. Their careers depend upon it."

The Occupiers and OWS analyzed

Trading Christmas with Faith Ford

Hallmark Channel has been running Christmas movies for weeks. They are light, happy, predictable heart string tuggers. I watched Faith Ford in Trading Christmas, a romantic comedy about a man and woman who trade homes for the holidays, and she meets his brother and he meets her best friend, and well, the rest is all about falling in love. I think they get repeated, so if you missed it, check the listings.

It’s also fun, once in a while, to watch a movie where we meet no bad people. The only two unpleasant characters here never show up on screen. We only hear about them, and from what we hear, we don’t dislike them as much as feel sorry for them, because we know what their selfishness will make them miss.

If you’re watching “Trading Christmas” and you get a vague feeling you’ve seen it before, it’s possible you have. Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet made a movie called “The Holiday” in 2006 that followed pretty much the same blueprint.

I love foodie blogs

I rarely cook these days--two and too. Two people. Too many calories.
But I love to read food blogs. Smitten Kitchen. Enjoy.

Women in technology

It's biology. I'd noticed that there hadn't been much of an increase in female faces and names in article I see about technology--especially the business end of it. I suspected it had something to do with babies--and this writer thinks so too.

Having children instead of startups

And this is why women don’t have startups: children. It’s not a complicated answer. It’s a sort of throw-back-to-the-50’s answer. You could argue the merits of this, but you could not argue the merits of this with any woman who has kids and has a startup.

There’s a reason that women start more businesses than men, but women only get 3% of the funding that men do. The reason is that women want a lifestyle business. Women want to control their time, control their work, to be flexible for their kids. This seems reasonable: Women start more lifestyle businesses and men start more venture-funded businesses. This does not, on face value, seem inherently problematic.

But wait, let’s ask why so many men with kids are doing startups? Why aren’t they with their kids? A startup is like six full-time jobs. Where does that leave the kids? We use social service funding to tell impoverished families that it’s important for dads to spend time with their kids. But what about startup founders? Is it okay for them to leave their kids in favor of 100-hour weeks? For many founders, their startup is their child.

Madison Rising denied a permit

The tents are gone, but dozens of Occupy Wall Streeters still swarm Zuccotti during the day. [Conservative band] Madison Rising’s manager and organizer, Richard Mgrdechian, says the band had hoped to give Downtown a “Take Back Wall Street” concert, something “pro-American and pro-capitalist.” A chance to say “thank you to the firemen for all you’ve put up with, thank you to the police for all you’ve put up with.”

Read more:

Luckily for the fledgling band, some places have been more welcoming than Zuccotti and the left-blogosphere. They were the headlining act at the Oct. 8 “We Stand with Gibson” concert in Nashville, honoring the Gibson Guitar company during its battle with environmental regulators over using rare woods in its guitar fingerboards.

By picking causes like that, they may not get invited to many Manhattan cocktail parties, but you’ll likely hear them at a few Tea Parties.

Questions in the Bible

The first recorded question in the Bible comes from Satan (in the form of a serpent) which was, "Indeed, has God said. . .?" (Did God really say. . .Yea, has God said. . . )

Since Adam and Eve fell for that clever ruse, the second question recorded was from God, "Where are you?"

And upon rereading this very carefully today, I see that God, when giving them (Adam) instructions on how to take care of everything he had created he said, "but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." It was Satan that told Eve she would be like God if she knew good from evil, and we've been dealing with that lie ever since.

Turkey

Did you know that a 4-ounce serving of turkey breast contains only 1 gram of fat and is the leanest type of meat you can include in your diet? Health newsletter

Yes, and that's why it is so tasteless and needs mustard, mayo or butter on the sandwich.

Humanism has more rules than God!

We are SO advanced, aren't we? We like to think in the 21st century our American life style is based on more freedom than the past--that we aren't bound by so many stuffy rules or finger wagging moralizing. We are just so evolved! HA! We might as well go back to wearing hats and gloves and leave the voting to the men folk.

When people felt undergirded by God's law, precepts, statutes and commands--one, two or three centuries ago--they had far more freedom than today when humanism and all its grandbaby systems rule the day--new age religions, socialism, environmentalism, Agenda 21 goals, thousands of rules and regulations for business, educators with hands tied so a 3rd grader doesn't smell a peanut or get bullied on the playground or doesn't know how to put on a condom, and employees can file a complaint if a supervisor says, "Merry Christmas," or compliments her appearance. But women have "choice."

In our focus on the victims, the whiners and the objectors, if a pastor preaches about marriage between a man and woman, he's homophobic or insulting single moms. If you live in the country enjoying a few acres, someone will try to regulate you to save Mother Earth by moving to multi-story housing and taking the bus to work. And God forbid if your BMI is a little high--you'll have the federal government asking for your tax money to correct everyone else's weight and install a farmer's market in your neighborhood! Movies and TV can make a fortune for their investors on wardrobe malfunctions, sloppy sex with any gender, and anything goes vocal screaching, but don't you put a nativity scene in the public square.

Humanism in all its forms puts us under pressure to redeem ourselves, and since the beginning of time, since God asked Adam and Eve, "Where are you?" we've just been making up more rules--and lies.

Monday Memories--Dad's Ranchero

I think Dad's was all red. My goodness, it was fun to drive! But then, I was 19--woot!

Allowing the arrest and detention indefinitely of American citizens

I was not in favor of foreign terrorists captured in middle east war zones being given the rights of Americans to our civilian trial process within the U.S., however, I believe U.S. citizens should have them. I'm very concerned about the new Defense Authorization bill just signed--especially since we've recently heard Tea Party groups called terrorists by the other team. That word is just being used too frequently. There's a lot to think about in this article (long).

Glen Greenwald on the new military authorization bill

In hindsight, the Bush administration went too far, and in watching the Obama flip flops and broken promises, I think we've started down a very dangerous road of eroded rights and pot-holed guarantees.

If you won't give it, we'll take it--the Occupists

This is what "social justice" theology gets you--rude, ungrateful pagans who don't want what Jesus has to offer, Forgiveness of sins.

The displaced occupiers had asked the church [Trinity Wall Street], one of the city’s largest landholders, to hand over a gravel lot, near Canal Street and Avenue of the Americas, for use as an alternate campsite and organizing hub. The church declined, calling the proposed encampment “wrong, unsafe, unhealthy and potentially injurious.”

And now the Occupy movement, after weeks of targeting big banks and large corporations, has chosen Trinity, one of the nation’s most prominent Episcopal parishes, as its latest antagonist.

“We need more; you have more,” one protester, Amin Husain, 36, told a Trinity official on Thursday, during an impromptu sidewalk exchange between clergy members and demonstrators. “We are coming to you for sanctuary.”

Occupists get nasty with Trinity Wall Street Episcopal Church

Newt on Gay Marriage

Newt definitely shouldn't be talking about marriage, or mistresses for that matter, or divorce. The Bible is silent on gay marriage and you just can't make an argument from silence, but it has plenty to say about marriage between a man and woman, the only marriage the Bible recognizes. It has enough to say on being a father and husband, that the Roman Catholic church should reexamine its annulment procedures (Newt was baptized a Lutheran, became a Baptist, and is now a Roman Catholic).

The National Organization for Marriage, which previously criticized Gingrich for his two divorces and extra-marital affairs, said the former Speaker of the House signed its anti-gay-marriage pledge Thursday.

In the pledge, candidates promise to pursue a constitutional amendment forbidding same-sex marriage and to create a presidential commission to investigate "reports of Americans who have been harassed or threatened" for opposing same-sex marriage.

Gingrich Signs Anti-Gay Marriage Pledge He may sincerely believe that marriage is between one man and one woman, but so far, there's not much evidence.

This is insane--cut throat pre-K applications

Are New Yorkers crazy? $30,000 for a private pre-school, and 28,817 applicants for 19,834 slots in the city’s public pre-K programs? So some have formed co-ops. Sounds like they aren't the play groups that I had with 3-4 other Moms in Upper Arlington in the early 1970s.

The dearth of high-quality preschool education for poor children has been widely reported, but there is a growing middle-class gap when it comes to prekindergarten. “Access is actually lower for middle-income people than it is for people that are poor,” said Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research, a research and advocacy group that supports universal prekindergarten. Those who say middle-class families should just pay for preschool themselves, Mr. Barnett said, “don’t understand how expensive it is.”
Underground Pre-K Groups.

I don't really agree with the author on the benefits of pre-school (33% higher income in one study). The children who attend high quality schools also come from highly educated, 2 parent, high income homes with a lot of enrichment opportunities. If not, they probably lose any gains they supposedly got in pre-school. It appears that New York's strict standards, regulations and red tape for child care have caused a higher demand, fewer facilities, and a way for those on top to stay there.

The author and her husband and some other families they knew in their neighborhood created a co-op pre-school. Ending 3 weeks early after some families moved and replacements had to be found, it was exhausting. "Emotionally burned and mentally depleted, my husband and I vowed never to do it again." But they did.

One commenter, "Redstate," really became unglued with older mothers puzzling over how it could be such a big deal to help a child get ready for kindergarten. Another practically has your kid enrolled in prison if you don't get him into pre-school!

In my opinion, which means nothing to young parents or New Yorkers, the push to get more children in school before age 5 is a quest for more schools, more public teachers and more union members.

How to lie with headlines about the Republicans

Today I was looking for information on a training program for women that I saw in the recent budget consolidation bill (1200 p.) that was being rammed through. In the process of googling, I found this article at the Washington Post Answer Sheet but don't know if these programs were actually cut:

43 education programs Republicans want to eliminate
Forty-three education programs — including those that promote literacy, teacher development and droppout prevention — have been targeted for elimination in a Republican-sponsored bill in the House as a first step toward rewriting the law known as No Child Left Behind.

And then when I read the article, I found out the reason they wanted to eliminate them was because
1) they'd already lost their funding in the last budget bill;
2) Obama had proposed a consolidation and the program was part of that;
3) they hadn't been funded in recent years;
4) they were approved but never funded; and
5) they were duplicates of other programs.

Note: The House is controlled by the Republicans; all revenue originates in the House (Art.1, Sec. 7, Constitution of the United States)

Here are two an examples:
Even Start Family Literacy Program had received $66.5 million in FY 2008, 2009, and 2010, (which means it was a Bush program), but it had been deemed ineffective by the OMB and the children and parents in the program showed no better gains than those not in the program.

The High School Graduation Initiative (Drop Out Prevention) provided grants ($50 million in FY 2010 and 2011) to help schools increase high school graduation rates. The program did not receive funding in FY 2008 or 2009. It duplicates the ESEA Title I (Aid for the Disadvantaged) program. The fact that the FY 2008 and FY 2009 years were mentioned, indicates to me this was originally a Bush program, but was probably not funded by the Democratic House.

As soon as Obama took office in 2009, all Bush programs were scrubbed from the web, even applications forms and reports of success or failure, so unless you can find mention of them in a state document, it's awfully difficult to research. Obama added money to education programs with the stimulus, so the 2009 education budget although proposed during Bush's final year actually reflects the Obama infusion. Then when the stimulus ended, a drop in funding is shown for 2010.

Gingrich and Fannie and Fred

"Mr. Gingrich made between $1.6 million and $1.8 million in two separate contracts with Freddie between 1999 and 2008. The former Speaker stuck to his line that "I was approached to offer strategic advice" and had warned the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) to stop lending to bad credit risks." WSJ Review & Outlook, Dec. 17, 2011.

I would have given them the same advice for free.