Moroccan, illegal immigrant, arrested for attempted suicide bombing

"Amine el-Khalifi, 29, was picked up while carrying an inoperable gun and a fake suicide vest provided to him by undercover FBI agents posing as al-Qaeda associates, U.S. officials said. They said he entered the United States when he was 16 and was living as an illegal immigrant in Arlington, Va., having reportedly overstayed his visitor’s visa for years. . .

Before heading for the Capitol, Khalifi prayed Friday at the Dar al-Hijrah Mosque in Northern Virginia, but he was not a regular worshiper at the mosque, according to Johari Abdul-Malik, the prayer leader at Dar al-Hijrah. . .

The man thought he was being assisted by members of the al-Qaeda terrorist network, but they were really undercover FBI agents, officials said."

Good job, whoever the undercover agents were.

Read story here in WaPo.

el-Khalifi probably got free lunch at school when he was a teen. You don't need to be a citizen, and no one asks questions.

You'd have to be really desperate

to choose reduced price meals or free meals for your children at school. Take a look at these forms. Here. and Here. and Here. A reduced price meal is possible for an income of $55,482 for a family of 6 (185% of Federal poverty level). That would be well above median income ($49,445). For free meals it is 130% of the Federal poverty level, or about $39,000. See USA Today.

Other tid-bits from different school districts:

MAY I APPLY IF SOMEONE IN MY HOUSEHOLD IS NOT A U.S. CITIZEN? Yes. You or your child(ren) do not have to be U.S. citizens to qualify for free or reduced price meals.

Breakfast is available at Campbell High School and costs $1.50. Lunch costs $1.75 at Griffin Memorial School and $2.00 at both Litchfield Middle School and Campbell High School. Your children may qualify for free meals or for reduced price meals. Reduced price is $.30 for breakfast and $.40 for lunch.

CAN HOMELESS, RUNAWAY, AND MIGRANT CHILDREN GET FREE MEALS? Yes, children who meet the definition of homeless, runaway, or migrant qualify for free meals. If you haven’t been told your children will get free meals, please call or e-mail xxxxxxxxxx, Director of Food Services, to see if they qualify.

Foods and beverages on campus (including vending, concessions, a la carte, student stores, parties, and fundraising) during the school day are consistent with the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans and comply with legislative requirements. [Which would probably cover sack lunches which were recently in the news.]

Q: What happens if a family does not submit a Meal Benefits Application?
A: Children in the household must pay full price for breakfast and lunch.

Q: If I move to Milwaukee Public Schools from another school district where my children received free or reduced meal benefits, do I have to reapply here to continue to receive benefits?
A: Yes! If you move to MPS from another school district, you must complete a new application. Meal eligibility status does not transfer to MPS. If your children transfer from one school to another within MPS, their status would remain the same.

Obama's hostility toward religion

In case there was any doubt about the Obama administration's hostility toward religious groups and institutions, it has now redefined the loan forgiveness program to exclude religious (501c3) organizations. I didn't approve of that program because if you borrowed it, you should return it, but excluding these groups as non-qualifying, really shows his true colors. Anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-religion. Watch as they start using "freedom of worship" instead of "freedom of religion." This rules were changed (or at least announced) after the Catholics began to push back. SMACK DOWN!

Read the story here.

"In 2007, Congress created the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program to encourage individuals to enter and continue to work full time in public service jobs. Under this program, you may qualify for forgiveness of the remaining balance due on your eligible federal student loans aft er you have made 120 payments on those loans under certain repayment plans while employed full time by certain
public service employers. Since you must make 120 monthly payments on your eligible federal student loans after October 1, 2007 before you qualify for the loan forgiveness, the first cancellations of loan balances will not be granted until October 2017."

All the evidence shows that "public servants" earn more than employees in the private sector. Why should they be getting any special deal on paying back the tax payer?

Homeless numbers, counting them

"Each year, approximately one percent of the U.S. population, some 2-3 million individuals, experiences a night of homelessness that puts them in contact with a homeless assistance provider, and at least 800,000 people are homeless in the United States on any given night." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Strategic Action Plan on Homelessness

Let that sink in. One percent. One night. Any given night. The Homeless Assistance Act was enacted in 1987 under Reagan, and it had its roots in a Task Force formed in 1983. The U.S. HHS put a plan in place in 2003 which began with a study in 2001 between HHS and HUD to end homelessness, and revised it in 2007. I've looked through some of the information including The Federal Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness, and the results look really good. But it appears the Obama Administration sort of dropped the ball. Although he did issue his own plan. The plan sets no specific goals. Uses words like "increase," "improve," and "retool," which are not measurable, and a sink hole for money. There has been a federal agency (now called United States Interagency Council on Homelessness) tasked with ending homelessness for 25 years. It meets and issues newsletters, annual reports and strategic plans. But homelessness has not ended.

Diversity and Poverty are just so Yesterday

Count 'em; count the black male presidents.

Now it's climate change, sustainability, climate neutrality, Al Gore's global warming (hasn't that been completely discredited), Earth summits, Earth Day, Kyoto, Silent Spring (which launched the deaths of millions of African children), climate science, droughts, wind storms, floods (apparently new stuff), global talks and conferences (with lots of jet travel).

"Colleges and universities must exercise leadership in their communities and throughout society by modeling ways to eliminate global warming emissions, and by providing the knowledge and the educated graduates to achieve climate neutrality. We hope you will join us in supporting the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment."

Which does a better job for the poor, free markets or socialism? Milton Friedman

There is no better system for eliminating poverty than the free enterprise system. Real poverty in this country is a result of bad government failures. Black teens? Lousy government schooling, minimum wage as an anti-Negro law (1978 before race terms were changed), government welfare machine which has produced poor people--encourages families to break up. Our standard of poverty is above the average income of all the people in the USSR--that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work on it, but we need to recognize the source and problem.

Architect fired by Columbus Board of Education

There's a story in the Columbus Dispatch today about the firing of an architect on a $26 million middle school renovation by the Columbus Board of Education. First the public was told there were design problems with the historic details, now that the architect has been fired. I always note articles about architects since my husband is one, and has been an associate, a partner, and a sole practitioner with his own firm since 1994. The minute I read the architect's name, I guessed the problem was affirmative action. If you are to get state or local government jobs, you have to have a female or minority firm partner with you. Apparently, the real reason he was fired had originally been covered up, so now the story is appearing. And you have to work your way almost to the end before you find out, not why he was fired, but why he was hired.

"Asked why Udeagbala's company was leading a project it wasn't qualified to complete it, Acock [architect on the oversight committee that selected him] said after the meeting that it was partly because of the district's desire to help a local black architect. . . The district's "local economically disadvantaged enterprise" program, known as LEDE, seeks to help socially and economically disadvantaged people participate in district contracts, "including African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, women and others," the policy says. Because of federal case law, the program sets only race- and gender-neutral goals for participation."

What a crock of BS! It wasn't "partly" the reason, it was the reason. You can't get a government job in the building industry if you don't partner with a minority firm, and the minority firms in turn in order to get work, partner with more experienced, non-minority firms. When I was the veterinary medicine librarian at OSU I went outside the university maintenance office (civil service) to hire a private firm painter for my library, but the bidder had to have a minority partner who did the work. He was awful, couldn't get the paint color right, and the partnering firm eventually sent in a replacement. In this case reported in the Dispatch, from the names Udeagbala partnered with, at least 2 other firms (both minority) backed out after finding out he wasn't qualified. This program of "affirmative action" on government jobs has actually hurt minorities and women. He might have become a good architect if he'd stayed in the trenches fighting the battles daily until he was ready and said no to the government.

Choosing an architect by the color of his skin or ethnicity for a building that has to withstand earth tremors, hurricanes, tornadoes, wild temperature fluctuations, snow loads, all environmental rules for health and safety, plus the complexity of renovation of a building on the historic register, is not a safe plan for the children or the staff of that school. Either he/she is qualified to do a job or he isn't. Don't put safety and design at risk to meet social goals.

Choosing a president by the color of his skin is even more dangerous--but for the whole nation, not just Columbus school children.

Uncommon knowledge--Jonah Goldberg

Ideology is not a bad thing, but conservatives realize human nature is flawed. We don’t believe we can create a heaven on earth, for instance. Cynicism allows us to focus on the good enough, not the perfect. The leftists are utopians--the mission is never accomplished, as they try to climb to perfection. Plus they think government can do this, which is why they are more dogmatic than conservatives. They don't realize that religions are an island of separateness from them; they are always the aggressor, always getting into all the nooks and crannies of society. Among Democrats, 52 percent say they “seldom” or “never” attend religious services; among Republicans, 61 percent go to church or synagogue once a month or more. Goldberg is thrilled that Barbra Streisand won't read his column in LA Times--she thinks diversity just means people who agree with her. Liberalism is the antithesis of diversity.

Black History--Thank you, Senator Dirksen

During his time in both the House and the Senate, Everett Dirksen had built a solid record in support of civil rights, having introduced a bill for a civil rights commission in the House in 1953 and worked for the 1960 civil rights bill in the Senate. Before that he had promoted antipoll tax bills (Democrats put those in place) and antilynching legislation. To Dirksen, civil rights represented an important moral issue, even though he seldom received the political support of Chicago's black voters.

Forty percent of the House Democrats VOTED AGAINST the Civil Rights Act of 1964, while eighty percent of Republicans SUPPORTED it. Republican support in the Senate was even higher. Similar trends occurred with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was supported by 82% of House Republicans and 94% of Senate Republicans. The same Democrat standard bearers took their normal racists stances, this time with Senator Fulbright leading the opposition effort.

It took the hard work of Republican Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen and Republican Whip Thomas Kuchel to pass the Civil Rights Act (Dirksen was presented a civil rights accomplishment award for the year by the head of the NAACP in recognition of his efforts). Upon breaking the Democrat filibuster of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Republican Dirksen took to the Senate floor and exclaimed "The time has come for equality of opportunity in sharing in government, in education, and in employment. It will not be stayed or denied. It is here!" (Full text of speech). Sadly, Democrats and revisionist historians have all but forgotten (and intentionally so) that it was Republican Dirksen, not the divided Democrats, who made the Civil Rights Act a reality. Dirksen also broke the Democrat filibuster of the 1957 Civil Rights Act that was signed by Republican President Eisenhower. (Link)

Sebilius--Who does she think she is?

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, daughter of an Ohio Democratic Governor, and a former Democratic Governor herself, testified today before the Finance Committee hearing on Capitol Hill (February 15, 2012). The Committee is hearing testimony from Secretary Sebelius on President Obama's FY2013 budget request for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Boy! Talk about top down control.

1) She didn’t consult with the Justice Department about the legality of the mandate.

2) She didn’t consult with Catholic bishops before the Obama administration announced a change in its contraceptive coverage largely meant to appease the bishops.

3) She “assumed” American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood were consulted, but she didn’t know.

4) She didn’t reply to the 28 members of Congress who contacted her last summer and fall about the contraceptive (aka reproductive health) mandate.

Who does this woman serve? President Obama. Not us. Not the American people.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/02/15/sebelius-didnt-consult-bishops-on-contraception-deal/

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/291194/what-we-learned-today-senate-about-hhs-mandate-kathryn-jean-lopez

Balancing the Economic Benefits with the Environmental Impacts of Shale Energy Development

"A vast black shale formation known as the Marcellus Shale runs from Ohio and Pennsylvania into southern and eastern New York. Trapped inside that shale is a tremendous amount of natural gas, anywhere from 168 trillion to 516 trillion cubic feet. To put this number in perspective, the top estimates would make the Marcellus Shale the second largest gas source in the entire world, behind only the South Pars field in Qatar and Iran." Henrietta Post

Today there is a “webinar” at OSU "Balancing the Economic Benefits with the Environmental Impacts of Shale Energy Development" presented by Tim Considine, School of Energy Resources, University of Wyoming. The webinar is free. http://changingclimate.osu.edu/webinars/ Figuring this might be one more presentation on how energy policies are ruining the environment (China and Russia are eating us for lunch by selling their energy), I was pleasantly surprised to find out Considine had done a presentation for Manhattan Institute and organization whose publications I trust.

Fracturing (fracking) is a big issue in Ohio—not sure about other states--but obviously it is in New York and Pennsylvania. Read what Considine has to say to New Yorkers based on his Pennsylvania experience and research. Probably similar for Ohio except the tax information and value added jobs information will be different and specific to Ohio. Very well documented with references at the end, plus hot links on the right hand side for more accessible, understandable material for the layperson. The charts on industry sectors are particularly interesting.

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/eper_09.htm

“The extraction, processing, and transportation of natural gas all affect the environment. However, expansion of the supply of natural gas permits the displacement of more polluting forms of energy. Estimating the net environmental impacts, therefore, requires comparing the upstream negative environmental externalities associated with gas development with the downstream positive externalities created by switching to natural gas.”

This study analyzes the economic and environmental impacts of shale gas drilling in New York and finds the net economic benefits to be significantly positive. Specifically:

1. An end to the moratorium would spur over $11.4 billion in economic output.
   
2. Some 15,000 to 18,000 jobs could be created in the Southern Tier and Western New York, regions which lost a combined 48,000 payroll jobs between 2000 and 2010.*
   
3. Another 75,000 to 90,000 jobs could be created if the area of exploration and drilling were expanded to include the Utica shale and southeastern New York, including the New York City watershed. (This assumes a regulatory regime that protects the water supply but permits drilling to continue.)
   
4. Localities and the state stand to reap $1.4 billion in tax revenues if the moratorium is allowed to expire.

Our findings suggest that the current shale gas drilling moratorium imposes a significant and needless burden on the New York State economy. In short, the economic benefits of developing shale gas resources in New York State are enormous and could be growing, while the environmental costs of doing so are small and could be diminishing if the moratorium is lifted and if proper policies are put into place.

National Pancake Day!

Looking for the yummiest way to support Pregnancy Decision Health Center? Join us at any of the local IHOP Restaurants on National Pancake Day, February 28th! From 7 am - 10 pm you can receive a free short stack of pancakes and make a donation to PDHC at the same time! Locations include:

5500 Renner Rd
HIlliard, Ohio 43228

2413 Taylor Square Dr
Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068

1585 River Valley Circle North
Lancaster, Ohio 43130

The local PDHC saved 37 lives in January! How many did the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) save? Its health insurance policy covers abortion for any reason, even gender selection, and its member churches are required to carry that anti-life insurance for employees.

According to a PDHC call for prayer, a 14 year old has had an ultrasound. She is 18 weeks pregnant and is being pressured by her mother to have an abortion even though she does not want to do this. She said her abortion is scheduled for this Monday or Tuesday. Wonder who scheduled it and where? Do you suppose Planned Parenthood helped? Is this the kind of "choice" the pro-abortion people talk about?

Acronyms, medical

The Center for Faculty Advancement, Mentoring and Engagement (FAME) invites you to participate in a focus group to help inform the Center on creating, developing and harnessing opportunities for faculty development.

Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University

High risk sexual behavior

What does the Bible consider high risk sexual behavior?
(10 commandments, OT; Hebrews, NT)
1) Any sexual relations outside the marriage bed (man and woman).

What does the government consider high risk sexual behavior?
(CDC)
1) Men who have sex with men
2) Women who have sex with men who also have sex with men
3) 5 or more sexual partners in the last 12 months
4) Oral or anal sex with multiple sex partners in the last 12 months
5) Any sex where money, drugs or something of value is exchanged
6) Sex with a person who injects drugs
7) Sex with a person who has HIV
8) Sex with a person who has been treated for other STDs in last 12 months

Solution seems pretty simple, doesn't it?

Daniel Hannon at CPAC

This speaker makes Obama look like a beginner.

If you want to know how great your Constitution is, compare it with the EU. Ours (EU) was rejected by the people, and then imposed anyway. "We still hold these truths. . ." If you feel really discouraged about the state of our government--listen to this guy!

Interviewed by Glenn Beck: Greece and EU are going over the cliff, and in the rear view mirror, comes the U.S. overtaking them. “The job of government is to redistribute money.”

Andrew Wilkow, talk show host

Tonight Glenn Beck interviewed Andrew Wilkow, who since 2002 has had a conservative radio talk show, first on WABC then WGY, then in 2006 moved to Sirius. He renamed his show “The Wilkow Majority” and it was added to XM America Right 166 after Sirius and XM became one company in January of 2009. On the Beck show he had interesting things to say about Albany, NY, Progressives, the group celebrating the convicted cop killer (Obama's friends the Ayers raised his child), leftists defending child sex offenders, and the Occupy groups. He says Albany, NY "is a cess pool controlled by unions." Check his web site.

You can listen on MP3 "free five" for a taste of the show. He has an impressive guest list, although most seem more of interest to New Yorkers.

Do you read the New York Times?

I used to. But the news stories are so biased and full of opinion, I just gave up. I prefer some facts, so I can make my own opinion. This opinion of NYT opinion page I agree with, but its also in the news coverage, not just opinion page:

“New York Times editorialists write for people who think alike and seek reinforcement of their prejudices. Unconstrained by any need for compromise or political sensitivity, they provide an honest distillation of left-liberalism, something you can't always get from politicians who need to appeal broadly enough to win electoral majorities or even from the leaders of other institutions that serve a more diverse audience or clientele. What you learn from reading Times editorialists is that the fundamental attitude of left-liberalism today is one of contemptuous ignorance.”

The Lunch box fiasco--my apologies

When my husband told me about the story he'd heard on Rush Limbaugh about the 4 year old's lunch box and the school inspector not approving her home made lunch of turkey sandwich, banana, potato chips and apple juice, so she instead ate 3 chicken nuggets the school provided I told him someone was pulling Rush's chain. That no school was THAT stupid. Sorry Rush, sorry hubby--it's apparently true.

Carolina Journal

RAEFORD — A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because a state employee told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious.

The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the agent who was inspecting all lunch boxes in her More at Four classroom that day.

The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs — including in-home day care centers — to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home.

When home-packed lunches do not include all of the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing ones.

So I poked around a bit, and it's almost impossible wading through state documents and USDA regulations for pre-schools how far back this goes--but I'm quite sure it pre-dates the Obama administration (see below for 2010 HHFKA). I was horrified to see the length of documents regulating pre-schools, however.

Also, if "inspectors" can declare a lunch of a turkey sandwich, banana, potato chips and apple juice is not suitable, then charge the family for a replacement lunch (which the child didn't eat), it really does sound a lot like health care rules, doesn't it?

From the Federal Register: The Healthy and Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010, a reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, provides funding for federal school meal and child
nutrition programs, increases access to healthy food, and promotes overall student wellness. By supporting school and community efforts that provide nutritious meals for children and promote overall wellness, the HHFKA is a major step forward in the fight to end childhood hunger, improve nutrition, and fight our country’s epidemic of obesity.

The origins of this bill date to the National School Lunch Act (NSLA), signed into law by Harry S. Truman in 1946. In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the first Child Nutrition Act (CNA). The CNA of 1966 expanded the School Lunch Program, established the School Breakfast Program, extended the Special Milk Program, and provided Federal funding towards non-food school equipment purchases.

The HHFKA of 2010 includes $4.5 billion in new funding for its programs and provisions over a 10 year period. The bill gives the USDA the authority to set new nutrition standards for food sold and served in schools, and requires training and certification for all food service personnel.

Are food subsidies making our kids fat?

For many of us, it's no mystery

"How life began is one of nature’s enduring mysteries. Fossil and biological clues have led scientists to estimate that cells originated on this planet about four billion years ago, but exactly what catalysed their emergence has remained elusive." Nature magazine, Debate bubbles. . .

Genesis 1: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, . . ."

John 1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made . . "

Job 38: "2 Who is this who obscures My counsel
with ignorant words?
3 Get ready to answer Me like a man;
when I question you, you will inform Me.
4 Where were you when I established the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5 Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 What supports its foundations?
Or who laid its cornerstone
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"


Colossians 1: "15 He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.
16 For everything was created by Him,
in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17 He is before all things,
and by Him all things hold together.
18 He is also the head of the body, the church;
He is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead,
so that He might come to have
first place in everything."

There are 350 billion galaxies, of which our earth is an infinitesimal speck of sand on a huge beach, and still these guys don't get it. Now that kind of ignorance is a mystery to me.

Cynthia Kenyon on aging

What controls aging? Biochemist Cynthia Kenyon has found a simple genetic mutation that can double the lifespan of a simple worm, C. Elegans. The lessons from that discovery, and others, are pointing to how we might one day significantly extend youthful human life.

Roundworms are elderly and wrinkled at 10 days and by the time they reach two weeks, they're dead. Kenyon found that by masking the DNA's daf-2 gene, her team could extend the roundworms' lives sixfold.