Do speechwriters stutter?

This is simply amazing. I'd never heard the expression "punch above their weight" before, but I'll never forget it now.

Food deserts are a myth

If you're overweight it's not because there's a fast food business near-by and no fresh fruits and vegetables. I didn't even need the research. I have no shortage of information or healthy food. And I don't eat fast food (except an occasional McD's sausage biscuit). But you should watch me go through a block of healthy, white cheddar cheese or homemade buckeye candy (chocolate and peanut butter).

"Living close to supermarkets or grocers did not make students thin and living close to fast food outlets did not make them fat."

http://www.nationalreview.com/home-front/296485/jig-food-deserts/julie-gunlock .

This sort of junk nutrition by social scientists results in a steady stream of government grants from USDA and HHS for public employees for a non-problem. I was looking at one of the "fast food" and stress sites today at OSU and the director (showed a photo) of the program was overweight!

Delicious coleslaw recipe

Years ago I submitted my mother’s coleslaw recipe to Old Farmer’s Almanac 2000  and it got in (p. 204).  Mom got to see it in print before she died since it was published in 1999. This isn’t it.

I've learned a really fast, delicious way to make coleslaw. 1) buy a very small container of it from the deli case, 2) buy a large package of shredded cabbage, 3) mix, add chopped apples or raisins if you wish, 4) serve, 5) enjoy the compliments. The deli version has way too much dressing, but mixed with a bunch more cabbage, it's just about right.  Also, you don’t have shredded cabbage all over the kitchen and no skinned knuckles.

Lifetime Movies, Five cancer stories

A series of short films about women and their families dealing with cancer is really excellent. I was surprised by some of the "big names" doing the directing , like Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and Alicia Keyes.
The story lines of Five
Directed by Jennifer Aniston, written by Wendy West and told in a series of humorous and dramatic flashbacks, Mia is a survivor’s tale that highlights all of the highs and lows of Mia’s (Patricia Clarkson) two-year journey from diagnosis with breast cancer. During this time, she gives away all of her worldly possessions, holds a hilarious mock funeral while still alive and enters into a second marriage to Mitch (Tony Shalhoub), the new love of her life. Mia also features Kathy Najimy as Mia’s friend Rocky.

Lili, directed by Alicia Keys and written by Jill Gordon, follows Lili, a fiercely independent, career-minded woman (Rosario Dawson), who recruits her sister (Tracee Ellis Ross) to help tell their hard-nosed mother (Jenifer Lewis) that she has breast cancer. As they work through their past issues, Lili’s mother and sister ultimately become her strongest allies when she needs her family the most. Lili also stars Jeffrey Tambor as a male patient diagnosed with breast cancer.

In Cheyanne, directed by Penelope Spheeris and written by Howard Morris, sexy young stripper Cheyanne (Lyndsy Fonseca) and her handsome newlywed husband Tommy (Taylor Kinney) struggle to redefine their passionate relationship, as well as who they are as individuals, when Cheyenne is shocked with a breast cancer diagnosis. Looking at a severe prognosis, Cheyanne’s aggressive treatment ultimately results in the removal of both of her breasts, which have defined her life physically, financially and emotionally.

Directed by Demi Moore and written by Stephen Godchaux, “Five’s” opening film, Charlotte, takes place the night in July 1969 when man first walks on the moon, and when a young Pearl (Ava Acres) is more concerned about why her family is not letting her see her mother, Charlotte (Ginnifer Goodwin), who lies in her bedroom dying from breast cancer.

In Pearl, directed by Patty Jenkins and written by Deirdre O’Connor, Pearl (Jeanne Tripplehorn), the successful oncologist we have followed from childhood, suddenly finds herself in the patient’s seat when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Through this process, she finally understands what her parents experienced that night in 1969 and finds the strength to tell her young daughter that everything is going to be OK … something she never heard as a child.

Press goes to the dogs

No one would have brought up Obama eating dog meat in Indonesia (according to his book) if the Democrats in the Obamedia hadn't kept hammering on that Romney story from the early 80s of their dog riding on top of the car (huge dog, 6 kids in the car). So, animal lovers, putting him in a kennel for 2 weeks would have been better? But they just won't let go.  Really, who cares?  Will someone please get down to business and discuss important issues?  The economy.  Expansion of the wars. Destruction of the first amendment.  Just a few examples.  Democrats, you go first.  You're in office.

Will Obama get smacked around with this latest story of the military misbehavior the way Bush was about Abu-Grab? Or will the Koran story follow him?  Or how about soldiers urinating on dead bodies?  How the military might be involved in the growing scandal in Colombia?  No. He. Won't.  He's not Bush.  And that's a fact.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/us-marines-soul-searching-urinating-video/story?id=15353762

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-27/nine-killed-in-latest-afghan-violence/3855416

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/mar2012/pers-m07.shtml

Perhaps you support Planned Parenthood

April Praise Report

But I support Pregnancy Decision Health Centers.  Here's where my money goes.  Do you know where yours is?

"A young woman in high school came to our center looking for an abortion. She had a positive pregnancy test, but was unsure of how far along she was. She lived with her family and had a boyfriend, but she did not want a baby. We recommended an ultrasound. Her mother and boyfriend were both with her for the appointment. When the nurse began the ultrasound they could see the baby right away. The baby was big. The nurse was able to date the pregnancy and found that the girl was actually 25 weeks along in her pregnancy. The family all had tears in their eyes when they found out.

 After seeing the baby, the girl said she would continue the pregnancy. She was afraid to tell her father and brother, but the father of the baby said he would be supportive and would get another job. The nurse gave them information about how to get started with prenatal care, and spoke with them about the possibility of adoption. She also gave them referrals for additional community support. The nurse then offered the girl pictures from the ultrasound, but she refused. She did accept maternity clothes. We followed up with the family a week later and they confirmed that she had an appointment scheduled to see a prenatal care doctor. 

Recently, the grandma came into the center to donate maternity clothes and baby items. She said that her daughter has had the baby and they were both doing well. She said they were all excited about the baby and asked for the pictures that were taken at the time of the ultrasound."

Praise God for new life. Life isn't going to be easy for this family.  But did the baby really deserve to die because she might have a tough life?

Ted Nugent translates for Debbie Wasserman Schultz

(who didn’t ask about what Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam, meant when he said to a black audience their leaders would die in a few days)

“First of all, I’m the master of metaphors,” Nugent told radio host Joe Pags, and then went on to take a shot at his critics: “…and nobody needs an interpreter when i speak except [DNC Chair] Wasserman Schultz and the Marxist czars in the Obama administration and the ultra-leftist America-hating media out there. So I think everybody knows what I meant.”

“Obviously our American dream is dead if this president continues to spend our great great grandchildren’s money at an irresponsible and unaccountable pace. And certainly we‘re in jail because we’ve become subservient and addicted to Fedzilla — the wasteful, money-burning monster that is the federal government right now.”

He added: “When I say ‘rip their heads off,‘ I’m talking figuratively that we need to go to the voting booth and fire these people!”

Blaze

Technology flattens your wallet

When we bought our home on Abington Rd. in 1968, it was our third, and I was 28, my husband 29. Other than the mortgage (paid off in 1988), our housing expenses included a phone bill for one phone, and utilities--gas, electric, water. That’s it.  No cable TV.  No cell phone. No internet.   No news service via the internet.   What does the homeowner or renter pay today? According to the Journal of Accountancy:

Fifty-six percent of U.S. adults said they believe that technology has made it easier to spend money, and just 3% said it has made it easier to save. Thirty-seven percent said technology has made it easier to both spend and save, according to the national telephone poll, which consisted of 1,005 responses.

The survey found that Americans who subscribe to digital services spend an average of $166 monthly for cable TV, home internet access, mobile phone service, and digital subscriptions such as satellite radio or streaming video. That’s the equivalent of 17% of their average monthly rent or mortgage payment.

Respondents who download songs, mobile applications, and other products spend an additional $38 per month, on average, according to the survey.

JaVale, the basketball player

His mother was a professional basketball player who was scheduled for an abortion, then prayed to God for guidance, got a pretty clear answer the next day in a sermon at church and cancelled her appointment at the abortion clinic.

“JaVale McGee is 7 feet, with a 7'6½" wingspan and a 31½-inch vertical leap, unfathomable for a man his size. At 24, he can tap the front of the rim with his forehead. He can slap the top of the square with his palm. He can dunk a cookie in a bowl of milk 11 feet off the ground. When McGee was at the University of Nevada, an opposing player once explained to his coach why he couldn't guard him: "He jumped over me."

Read the whole story and how she told JaVale.

This man owes a billion in back taxes

Warren Buffett's actual tax rate is around 50%, and no his secretary isn't taxed at that rate. The president lies; his cronies lie; even Buffett, a self-made billionaire lies. The "Buffett rule" was smoke and mirrors, to get your eye off the real problem--Obama owns this recession.

Barack Obama on live birth abortion

No legislator or politician in the history of this country has been this adamant about “choice” to kill a baby—even if it is born alive.  Jill Stanek tells about “working for a year at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, as a registered nurse in the Labor and Delivery Department, when I heard in report that we were aborting a second-trimester baby with Down’s syndrome. I was completely shocked. In fact, I had specifically chosen to work at Christ Hospital because it was a Christian hospital and not involved, so I thought, in abortion. It hurt so much that the very place these abortions were being committed was at a hospital named after my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I was further grieved to learn that the hospital’s religious affiliates, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the United Church of Christ, were pro-abortion. I had no idea that any Christian denomination could be pro-abortion!” Link

Shame on the ELCA.  Shame on the President.

An apple a day—the Kanzi

I eat an apple every day for breakfast.  Every day.  My very most favorite is Honey Crisp, expensive and only available about 3-4 months in the fall, and the taste varies depending on which state provides the soil (I think Minnesota is best).  My second most favorite is Braeburn, then Gala or Fuji. For pies, use 3 or 4 varieties and include at least one Pink Lady for color. Jonathon are good for color in a salad, but generally are tasteless.

Today for the first time I am eating a Kanzi, so I looked it up.  The word is from Swahili and means “hidden treasure.”  It is the daughter of the Braeburn and Gala—isn’t that nice to know the family tree—and a sister of the Jazz apple.  The Orange Pippin web site describes and contrasts the Jazz and Kanzi:

The colouration is very similar, but we think Kanzi is arguably the prettier apple. Jazz can look a little bit too tall, whereas Kanzi is more rounded -quite similar to Ariane (although the parentage is completely different).

Looks are important commercially, but for us it is mainly about the flavour of the apple. The flavour of both Kanzi and Jazz is extremely good, but also quite different.

The Jazz apple has the stronger flavour, with its distinctive peardrop aftertaste and dense flesh. Kanzi is more delicate, with a less pronounced flavour and lighter flesh. In our tests so far most tasters prefer Kanzi (by a margin of at least 2/3rds to 1/3rd), partly because Jazz can be just a bit too solid to bite into sometimes. The milder flavour of Kanzi is also easier and less demanding, although perhaps a bit less memorable too. However your objective author should here state his own preference: Jazz wins because of its more distinctive flavour.

I’ve only had a few bites (I slice them and eat with either carrots or oranges and walnuts.  So my taste buds haven’t decided yet.  But nothing matches a Honey Crisp.

When should you floss--morning or evening?

When you should remove that plaque depends on why you're removing it in the first place. If you are removing it for prevention of tooth decay or periodontal disease—such as gingivitis, which destroys the root and makes the teeth fall out—then I believe it's best at night. This gives you an eight-hour, food-free rest so your mouth can fight against the ravages it faces all day.

If you floss in the morning, because you have to say hello to people and want nice teeth, that is useful—but less so from a biological point of view. Although it should be noted that this has never been researched—call it the Kinane Hypothesis.

WSJ link

It’s not about jobs—that’s why the economy hasn’t recovered

It’s about something called “fairness.”  But no one knows what that is.  Is it 35%?  But Warren Buffett actually pays 50%.  Would that be fair?  And if 50% is fair, why not 75%.  Why not really kill all job growth? Wouldn’t that be fair?

It’s about fairness,” Secretary [of Labor] Solis said while explaining President Obama’s re-election platform.“It’s about fairness in the workplace; it’s about fairness in education; and it’s about fairness in terms of what services are provided by government. And if we can’t have say-so in that, then this isn’t the dream that all of us have aspired to be a part of.”

Bullying

Not a day goes by that I don’t hear something on the news about bullying. Today it was on Catholic radio and concerned bullying with social media. Here’s an article by a pediatrician, and absolutely nothing in her explanation looks familiar to me, not from my childhood in the 40-50s, or my children in the 70-80s. Bullies are not born. If I was bullied as a child, I must have laughed it off or I gave it back as good as I got, but I do remember some other kids who were bullied, and my perception as a child was that they were objects of scorn because they were different (height, weight, grades, income, teeth, skin, etc.) and not because the person who teased (that’s what we called it then) had psychological or emotional shortcomings.

Now, popularity cliques (ingroup, inner circle, pack) at least among girls were a different matter. By high school, all the mixing and matching we did in 4-H, Girl Scouts and junior choir, camp, and church group was set aside when it came to parties and Friday night get togethers. Also, I dated a lot in high school, so I didn't even go to all the parties, or after game events with my "clique," but I did make it to the birthday events. Maybe I would have been bullied if I'd showed up?

My experience, and that of my children, was that "exclusion" was a bigger hurt than bullying. You could be tall, athletic, good looking and get away with a lot in my children's schools and circles, but if you weren't an outstanding student, then you could easily be excluded by the "in-crowd." Over the years I've talked to other parents who had children in the Upper Arlington school system and I know that their kids were "excluded" from some social circles, but excelled in other areas. They might be homely and awkward, but in the band or orchestra they could excel; or they could have low grades but be outstanding in baseball or track; theater and drama clubs, or singing, saved the self esteem of many. That doesn't mean the top soprano might not make fun of the kid who couldn't carry a tune, or high hurdles guy wouldn't tease the boy with a limp.

But psychological or emotional problems from the taunter? Not sure about that one, Dr. Arca. What do you think?

8th grade, 1953 class trip, Chicago

Senator Obama debates with President Obama on the debt limit

This is the first and last paragraph of a longer message, which he disavowed just a year ago on Good Morning America.

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America 's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial  assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America 's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, ‘the buck stops here.' . . . Instead,
Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.” ~ Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006

And yes, I ran it through Snopes for accuracy.

One percenter Axelrod buys new Chicago mansion

David Axelrod, 57,  guided the 2008 campaign for President Obama,  and is now in charge of the 2012 campaign.  His thing is media.   He also worked as “a senior advisor in the Obama White House from 2009 until 2011, when he departed to begin work on the president's re-election campaign. Despite his time in Washington, Axelrod always has kept a home base in Chicago.

Now, Axelrod appears to have decided to trade up. The new seven-room unit he purchased first had been listed as part of an estate sale last May for $2.25 million, and was reduced to $1.9 million in November. Features in the 42nd-floor unit include views to the south and east, including of the lake. The unit also has 4-1/2 baths, a marble foyer, his and hers baths in the master suite and one garage space.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-axelrod-buys-17-million-michigan-ave-condo-20120416,0,7002704.story

Serving the President pays very well. Probably puts a person in the 1% or higher since so many owe you favors. All he has to do to pay more taxes is not use the loopholes available only to the rich. . . like the ones that reduced the President's taxes.

Farrakhan's threats

Since conservatives didn't elect our current leader, just who do you think Farrakhan is threatening? Obama. Who is he attempting to agitate? Black Americans. And if he is arrested for making threats, who do you think will come to his aid? Blacks. Who will be blamed? Conservative grass roots groups like the Tea Party and 9/11 groups. This whole thing looks like a set up, and he's not stupid. So is he doing Obama's bidding or is he really serious?

Architecture of Thomas Jefferson

Here’s an index of the architectural designs of Thomas Jefferson.

Today I noticed an article about two Utah architects running for Congress.  “Søren Simonsen, 44, is an architect and city planner from Salt Lake City, where he serves on the city council. He’s running as a Democrat in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District. Republican Stephen Sandstrom, 48, is an architect from Orem who was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 2006. He recently resigned to run in Utah’s newly created 4th Congressional District. Both face June primary challenges from other candidates.” 

And that’s wonderful.  But what I found amusing was that the lede called Jefferson an amateur.  Have you seen some of the designs of the 21st century?  Who’s calling who an amateur?

Thomas Jefferson may be the most celebrated American architect, albeit an amateur one, to lead a political life, and he certainly wasn’t the last. But oddly, there are no architects currently serving in the U.S. Congress, and according to the AIA, there was only one during the entire 20th century. This year, however, two architects are running for Congress, and they both happen to be from Utah.

"Jefferson believed that architecture was the heart of the American cause. In his mind, a building was not merely a walled structure, but a metaphor for American ideology, and the process of construction was equal to the task of building a nation. The architecture of any American building should express the American desire to break cultural--as well as political--ties to Europe. American architecture, Jefferson believed, would embody the fulfillment of the civic life of Americans, and he sought to establish the standards of a national architecture, both aesthetically and politically." From Thomas Jefferson, the Architect of the Nation

Why both parties would rather debate about women who stay home to raise children

WASHINGTON (AP) –
Figures on government spending and debt. The government’s fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
•Total public debt subject to limit April 4: $15,574,371,000,000
•Statutory debt limit: $16,394,000,000,000
•Total public debt outstanding, April 4: $15,617,723,000,000
•Interest fiscal year 2012 through February: $99,386,000,000
•Interest same period 2011: $94,459,000,000

http://www.mygovcost.org/2012/04/06/u-s-government-spending-and-debt-by-the-numbers/