Thursday Thirteen—what I uncovered in my office

Today we’re having new carpet installed in my home office and the stairs to the upper level and the lower level and the upstairs hall (same pattern).  But everything had to be moved out of the office (not things on the wall shelves).  To move the desk, everything had to be taken out of the drawers and I found a rolling 25 gallon tub for that. To move a 3 shelf unit for photo albums, all had to be moved.  The computer, modem, wifi, phone, etc. had to relocated temporarily. It’s just amazing what turns up in a move—even a move from the office to the dining room.

1.  A birthday letter to me from my mother from 1996.  She died in 2000, and I didn’t pack away that letter, but wasn’t real sure where it was.   Like having her here to tell me about the day of my birth and why my nickname was “Peachy.” 

2.  Lots of homemade cards from my friend Lynne.  We’ve been friends since high school.  I have a scrap book for her cards and poetry, but somehow a little sack of them stayed behind in my desk.

3.  A box of note cards with a Frank Lloyd Wright design, plus lots of miscellaneous cards, many as mementoes from museums and travels, from the days when I did less e-mail and more personal notes.

4.  A little stamp with my name on it from when I was a Slavic language cataloger at the University of Illinois library. I think the main entry card was stamped with the cataloger’s name in case there was a problem.

5.  A set of weights my daughter gave me for Christmas 2 years ago, 3 lb.., 5 lb., 8 lb.  Almost like new.  They were hard to move.

6.  The first issue of George magazine.  I collect first issues of serials, and this one didn’t get into the storage box when I rearranged my collection 2 years ago.

7.  Scissors for crafts.  Zig zag, shaped patterns, etc.  I’m not crafty, so not sure why I bought them. It was probably either a good deal or I had a flash of ambition that dissipated before I got home.

8.  Pennies, twisty ties,paper clips, mystery keys to suitcases I no longer have and rubber bands too brittle to use.

9.  A letter with the last 41 cent postage stamp on it (I’d made a note on the envelope).

10. A photo of my sister and me from 2002 printed from my computer, but I don’t seem to have either a digital copy or print of it.

11. Lots of carefully saved instructions, guarantees, warranties, for digital stuff I almost never use or have replaced.

12. A very nice, never used color coded notebook with 3 x 5 cards. 

13. A faded poem on yellow lined paper from my husband written in 1960 on the anniversary of our first date.  It was probably in the desk because I repacked that box of memorabilia when we moved here, and so it surfaced 11 years later.

If you’d like to play Thursday Thirteen, or read along, you can join in.

Warming has stopped—but not the debates

“The world stopped getting warmer almost 16 years ago, according to new data released last week.

The figures, which have triggered debate among climate scientists, reveal that from the beginning of 1997 until August 2012, there was no discernible rise in aggregate global temperatures.

This means that the ‘plateau’ or ‘pause’ in global warming has now lasted for about the same time as the previous period when temperatures rose, 1980 to 1996. Before that, temperatures had been stable or declining for about 40 years. “

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2217286/Global-warming-stopped-16-years-ago-reveals-Met-Office-report-quietly-released--chart-prove-it.html#ixzz2CIeSq5l4

Climate change was not an issue during the campaign, for either candidate, but we can expect Obama to dust off the issue, even with the reports that warming has stopped. He needs to grovel for his base left.

Questions I’d like to have answered by the Congressional investigation

‎1) Who denied the help, 2) who started the spin about the video, 3) who benefits from the cover up, and 4) why is the CIA in Libya funneling weapons to Syria? These are questions I'd like to have answered by the investigation, but I know they won't be, and even if they were, Obama would find a way to blame someone else.  The only time this man wants to be out of the spotlight is when the buck is trying to stop.  The sex story of Petraeus, Broadwell, Kelly, Allen, Kelly’s sister, and the FBI guy is complicated and morphing—it perhaps needs a different investigation.  And this isn’t for the investigation, but are they showing “fat” photos of Hillary, or has she really gained that much weight? Maybe she needs fewer parties and more attention to what her people are doing?

How to lose the race

If you're competing in a horse race, and one of the horses has a better record, better sire and dam, better trainer, and is stronger, it's only fair to the other horses and owners to put him in hobbles to run the race. If Obama owns the track.

The cover up may involve sex, and it looks like national security too

Too bad there is no journalist or TV reporter who could look into the implications. Jill’s twin sister, Natalie and her child custody case,is really one of the more interesting sub-texts of this mess, which no one on reality TV or the Soaps would even attempt. http://www.humanevents.com/2012/11/14/jill-ted-petraeus-scandal-infographic/

And you thought the battle would end with recognizing gay marriage?

Our church is no longer a member of ELCA, but when we pulled out, it wasn’t exactly about “gay marriage” because that hasn’t yet been voted on.  The issue which had been voted down since 1988, but approved in 2008, was that three ordained and licensed homosexual pastors wanted to be open about their partners, but when they signed on they had agreed to be celibate.  There are very naïve Christians out there who think if we just make a concession that only love and personal commitment matter, then we can get on with the business of the Gospel.  However, it’s not quite that simple, because other groups like polygamists, man/boy love and incest groups are waiting in the wings also asking for the church to give them its blessing, because really, doesn’t God just care about love, not the gender, the age, or the number?

Today at Dear Prudence (Slate) I read one I’d simply never thought of:  twin gay brothers in a committed homosexual relationship with each other.  The advice columnist saw no problem, nor did their counselor, because even the men thought it was a little odd, and hadn’t told their parents, who knew they were gay but wondered why they hadn’t found a permanent partner.

This, dear Christian brothers and sisters, is where you are heading. 

Stocks slumping, layoffs jumping

All because businesses preferred Romney.

Layoffs can be found at dailyjobcuts.com, which is updated daily, and unless you were watching before Nov.6 it might be hard to gauge. However, we know many employers were waiting to see if Romney could kill Obamacare, and thus save jobs. But one I saw I think predates the election, or at least there were rumors. and that's layoffs at Southern Illinois University. Many colleges are over staffed, and have whopping pensions to pay off. Illinois is in deep doo-doo with all gov't associated programs and unions, and we've elected one of them to mess up the rest of the states.

http://thesouthern.com/news/local/siu-layoffs-possible-in-january/article_46eccbae-2ee5-11e2-997c-001a4bcf887a.html

SIU is facing the prospect of covering more employee pension costs under a deal Gov. Pat Quinn wants finished by early January. In addition, sequestration measures that might happen if the federal government pitches over the “fiscal cliff” could severely cripple research and student aid funding.

Did she hid them In her socks?

“The FBI found a substantial amount of classified information improperly secured on the personal computer of disgraced CIA director Gen. David Petraeus’ mistress, sources said yesterday.

The files were discovered on a machine removed from Paula Broadwell’s Charlotte, NC, home as the feds investigated her sordid affair with the military commander whose biography she co-wrote.

Investigators also found documents Broadwell admitted taking from secure government buildings, a source told ABC News, adding the government demanded that they all be returned.”

How did this man ever manage something as complicated as the “surge” if he can’t stay out of messes like this?

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/paula_had_top_secrets_WukhCN61iSxyauU5ErBAtK

Remember David Gergen of the Clinton WH said Sandy Berger hiding classified documents in his socks was innocent, too.

Imagine if we had a press corps like Bush had !

The Libya mess expands and morphs

The White House (Jarrett, Obama, Clinton, Rice, etc.) decided to go into Libya without Congressional approval or knowledge. It blew up in their faces. Now they lie, cover up and play musical chairs with positions close to the president. I’m looking for a story link about how effective representative government is during an Obama term.  Have you got any? One?

The minority Republican says . . .

“I can understand the peoples support for the Democrat Party. Much of what they say they stand for sounds moral and compassionate, especially concerning the poor and minority populations. Yet, my convictions and research eventually led me to reject the Democrat ideology, preferring to side with people and political parties more aligned with the morals and values consistent with my Christian faith.

I used to be a Democrat, but I am no longer. I am a registered Republican. Not because I thought the Republican Party was so righteous, but because there came a time in my life as a Democrat, that I could no longer reconcile my politics and my faith.”

“. . . The primary reasons why I reject the Democrat platform is because it has within it the most immoral and ungodly principles to guide this nation. Our preference for this course for our nation is a sure sign that we as a nation have not rejected the Republican Party, per se, but we have rejected God. Just like in the days of Samuel, when the Israelites demanded that Samuel “appoint them a king,” God told Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me.”

. . . “But the reason I choose not to vote Democrat has little to do with the fact that they are the party of Jim Crow and the KKK, but that today they are on the wrong side of the EVERY ISSUE that matters to me most. “Choice,” “Reproductive Rights,” “Marriage Equality,” “Fair Share,” are all repackaged code names for the same age old sins: “child-killing,” “sodomy,” and “covetousness.” Nothing new under the sun.

http://minorityrepublican.com/2012/11/11/post-election-rant/    You might enjoy reading her entire essay. . . or maybe not.  If you want to write to her about being a hater, racist, homophobe, etc., you’ll have  to register.

This chart scares 50% of the electorate

The other 50% are Obama voters.  Good luck, Boomers.

Still covering for a man

Compromise

Listening to the Great Divider give first news conference in 8 months

It's tragic that so many Americans fall for the line--"tax the rich," not to help the country, but because it's "fair."  The richest already pay much more—and they are the job creators.  Obama wants that money.  Today he was just defensive and nasty especially about Susan Rice and her deception about the video. I turned it off after about 15 minutes.  Obama whips up class envy. He's a divider, not a unifier. We do not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. The only years that match 2012 are those of 2011 and 2010—all Obama.    If you've ever had a problem with a budget, didn't you cut up the credit cards and cut back on extras?  But that's not how the federal government does it.  It recruits more people for food stamps and adds expensive programs like Obamacare and adds regulations that destroy jobs so more people can become dependent on the government.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/11/14/live-blog-the-obama-press-conference/

More war on women revealed—after the election

“The federal government has cut the size of its police force in Indian country, reduced financing for law enforcement and begun fewer investigations of violent felony crime, even as rates of murder and rape there have increased to more than 20 times the national average, according to data.”

New York Times

Why would tribal crime rates go up under Democrats? 

I think I’ll pass on this one

A “hoodie” sweatshirt from my alma mater—Graduate School of Library and Information Science.

I read those show trial books from the 1930s USSR

We know what we know. We know Obama knew about Benghazi and he knew about Petraeus (whether he knew about all those other crazies, is anyone's guess). What we don't know is what he has promised/threatened Gen. Petraeus. What Petraeus gets to keep of his reputation, rank, wealth, etc. if he goes along with the administration's version of Benghazi in the testimony, which has been set up to satisfy all those right wing nuts in Congress and on the internet.  If you believe it, that’s your business, you now own this mess. 

The problem is. . .

"[T]he key point about Barack Obama is not that he's a secret Muslim Kenyan Commie or whatever. Whether he was born in Honolulu or Mombasa or Stockholm or up on Planet Zongo, what matters ... is that in his general worldview he is entirely typical and perfectly representative of tens upon tens of millions of Americans. Tuesday's majority confirmed that. They don't need a 'conspiracy': They agree with him. That's the problem." --columnist Mark Steyn

And you know who you are.  Shame on you.  Abortion—54 million since Roe v. Wade and he takes $15 million from the largest provider to get elected; deficit—a trillion a year since taking office; black unemployment 14.3%;  cover-ups since September 11, 2012—too many to count.

If a black man posts on Facebook. . .

“Beware people, you have all just seen happen was the the dirtiest and most corrupt election of our time. Voter fraud, diversion from his failed policies, plans to eliminate our military strength, and creating the biggest national debt of all prior presidents combined.”

Is he a racist?

Newsninja2012