A government terrorist “training guide” that mirrors the IRS plan for conservatives

The Obama administration has a nasty habit of equating basic conservative values with terrorism. And now, in a document full of claptrap, its Defense Department suggests that the Founding Fathers, and many conservative Americans, would not be welcome in today’s military,” said Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton. “And it is striking that some the language in this new document echoes the IRS targeting language of conservative and Tea Party investigations. After reviewing this document, one can’t help but worry for the future and morale of our nation’s armed forces.”  No mention of Nidal Hasan’s problem that was well known, but overlooked.

http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-defense-department-teaching-documents-suggest-mainstream-conservative-views-extremist/

Fetal ultrasound images from Mayo Clinic

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fetal-ultrasound/PR00139

A baby's cardiovascular system begins developing five weeks into pregnancy, or three weeks after conception. The heart starts to beat shortly afterward. Twenty-three weeks into pregnancy, or 21 weeks after conception, a baby begins to have rapid eye movements. A baby's eyelids begin to open 28 weeks into pregnancy, or 26 weeks after conception. The same technology that shows us these wonders also shows problems with development, for instance the hand is revealing for a type of mental retardation.  Or the gender--many people don’t want a girl. So many women are advised to destroy the baby. Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama and the platform of the Democratic Party declare this is moral and legal and not a war on the weakest or the disabled or women. Pelosi claims to be a devout Catholic, but if so, her beliefs are in violation of the church’s teaching on creation and life. In my opinion, she is just a devout Democrat.

Old paint brushes

I was trying to remember this today. From Old House Magazine website:  “Soak gunked-up nylon brushes in hot vinegar for up to 30 minutes to remove paint and soften the bristles. Afterward, wash them in hot, soapy water, brushing off paint as needed, then rinse and let dry—good as new.”  Now if we tried this with gunked up window hardware, would it work?

7 Ways to Reuse A Banana Peel

No, I haven’t checked these out, but we  use a lot of bananas. Might be worth a try on bug bites or warts.  I wonder if it works on callouses? So I googled it, and found someone who thought so, “Banana peels also are wonderful for removing callus from your feet....just put the inside of the skin next to your foot, put on a sock and go on with your day....repeat for 3 or 4 days and you will have feet SABA.”

1. Help Your Garden Grow: Bananas are naturally high in potassium and encourages plant growth. Use banana peel or puree entire banana and bury/turn with soil.
2. Shoe Polish: Use the peel to make your shoes nice and shiny.
3. Stop the Itch: Rub the inside of a banana peel on a bug bite helps itch relief.
4. Pain Reliever: The oil in a banana peel will help relieve the pain from burns and scratches.
5. Wart Removal: Tape a piece of banana peel on a wart, continue until it’s gone.
6. Make Houseplants Gleam: Just like peels can shine shoes, they can also be used to make the leaves of plants shine.
7. Removing Splinters: Similar to wart removal, tape a piece of the peel over the splinter. The enzymes will help dislodge the splinter and heal the wound.

Lakeside Antique Show today

I didn’t see anything at the dealers, but there was a yard sale about 2 blocks away and I found two books for $.50 each, The folklore of Maine, by Horace P. Beck, 1st ed., 1957, nice cover, perfect condition, but dull to read, and the 1998 hardcover of Taste of Home Annual Recipes. These recipes are very similar to what I already make, but they are useful for jogging the memory.  I think today I’ll make “Calico eggs,” which has peppers, onions and tomatoes.

Also saw a very easy looking sausage dish, “Sausage granola squares.”  1/2 lb of bulk sausage, 3/4 cup of granola cereal with fruit and nuts, and 1 egg slightly beaten. Combine, put in 2 qt. baking dish, at 375 for 20 min.  It doesn’t say to lightly cook the sausage and drain first, but I would. 1 serving (1/2 cup) equals 205 calories, 15 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 74 mg cholesterol, 270 mg sodium, 11 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 7 g protein.

 

Perhaps God’s love is like this

Yesterday we were eating lunch in the dining room of the Hotel Lakeside.  We’d ordered our food and were waiting while conversing with our friends Rob and Lynn.  Then I heard a crash.  At the next table there was a mother and her two young daughters, perhaps 7 and 5.  Somehow, the older girl had knocked her plate to the floor, and it shattered with glass and food all scrambled.  I was very surprised because the floor was carpet over wood.  But there it was and everyone turned to look.  The little girl got down and started to clean it up.  I was horrified.  I expected to see blood any moment.  “Oh don’t do that,” I said out loud because her mother seemed immobile and couldn’t see what I saw.  Then the mom got up and started to clean it up, as slowly some staff appeared.  Finally, she sat down and a bus boy with a tray picked up the food and shards of glass.  After he left and everyone in the dining room returned to the soup and salads, the little girl’s frozen face crumbled, and she got down and ran to her mother’s lap where she sobbed and sobbed.  Mom didn’t say a word—just held and rocked her.

The dish was still broken; the food was still ruined; and yes, people had stared at her and she was still embarrassed to have been the “big girl” in the restaurant who had spilled her food.  But Mom held her.  It’s a reminder to me of how God’s love works. He can’t always undo what we did, but he can hold us close until the hurt and embarrassment goes away.

         

Slipping on idioms and phrasal verbs

Although I’ve never heard anyone say #21, it means you’d be back where you started if you made a 320 degree change. Here’s some detail on Home In and Hone In. I’ve always said this the “American way.”

Home in means to direct on a target. The phrasal verb derives from the 19th-century use of homing pigeons, but it resurged in the 20th century to refer to missiles that home in on their targets. It’s also commonly used metaphorically, where to home in on something is to focus on and make progress toward it.

Hone in began as an alteration of home in, and many people regard it as an error. It is a very common, though, especially in the U.S. and Canada—so common that many dictionaries now list it—and there are arguments in its favor. Hone means to sharpen or to perfect, and we can think of homing in as a sharpening of focus or a perfecting of one’s trajectory toward a target. So while it might not make strict logical sense, extending hone this way is not a huge leap.

Enarson Hall becomes Hale Hall at Ohio State University

A little back story on an OSU Today story about the renaming of Enarson Hall.  Dr. Harold Enarson (d. 2006) was the 9th president of Ohio State and really promoted programs for minorities and women, establishing the Frank Hale Center and pushing for a female president. I see in the news that Enarson Hall has been remodeled and renamed for Frank Hale. It will be the home of the Hale Black Cultural Center and the offices of Outreach and Engagement and Diversity and Inclusion. The man who was so inclusive has been excluded. Oh well, maybe they can find another building for naming rights. By today's standards (like for Gee, who got a $5.8 million retirement package after being fired for loose lips) Enarson was paid a pittance--$50,000, according to Bill Studer’s very excellent oral history now in the Knowledge Bank. http://fod.osu.edu/news/files/Hale_Hall.pdf

One of the first things I learned when returning to OSUL in 1978 (Agriculture library, USAID soft money for the ag credit collection) was not to donate memorial money to an institution whether it be a college, church or hospital. The next administration just takes the funds or room or scholarship and uses it for whatever. At that time, the Arnold Credit Library was an actual room with nice furniture and a collection in the Ag Admin building on Fyffe Rd.(We librarians would have called it a “closet library.”) The college wanted the endowment and the space, so they moved the painting of Mr. Arnold to an alcove in the Ag library, squished in some of the collection, named a paper file for him, and put me in charge of the ACTS file.   It was nice for me, and most of Mr. Arnold’s immediate family were deceased, and if anyone came looking for it, they could show the painting. I have no idea where it is now, since that was 35 years ago. A similar thing happened when I was in the veterinary library (which I think now is administratively linked to Ag). When Roberta Garrett was still the librarian there were very limited funds to buy textbooks so a fund was set up and it memorialized a number of deceased and retired faculty. By the time I got there in 1987, it was long forgotten and accumulating money in whatever office in the university oversees endowments. No one ever notified me that there was a little pot of gold waiting to be spent and growing each year. Finally, a staff member with a good memory happened to mention it to me, he did some searching, and the money was freed up to be spent as it was intended—textbooks for the library for students.

I usually disregard suggestions for memorializing. Recently, one of my close friends from childhood (we rode our tricycles together), a professor at the University of Nebraska, died. The memorial suggestion was ACLU, so if you know anything about my politics, that wouldn’t be a good match. So another friend and I went together, purchased two books of poetry by Ted Kooser, a friend of the deceased, and donated them to the public library in the town where we all graduated from high school. I hope when someone selects the book they’ll read the bookplate and wonder who was Nelson T. Potter, Jr.  If they don’t I know, they’ll enjoy the poetry. I often contribute to a nursing/retirement community in my home town (Pinecrest in Mt. Morris, Illinois) and it is either for immediate needs, like mattress replacement, or for a fund for people on Medicaid (Illinois is going broke) so the place doesn’t have to close due to irresponsible state public pension funds.

Anyway, if you want to read Bill Studer’s record of Enarson’s oral history, it’s at https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/handle/1811/482 , also because Enarson was a member of the Truman administration there is another oral history in the Truman library at http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/enarsonh.htm

Enarson Hall on the OSU campus   was originally the Student Union, and named for Enarson in 1986. It was slated to be torn down, then was saved by student action and was put on the National Register and named for Enarson.   http://herrick.knowlton.ohio-state.edu/taxonomy/term/226

Would a white nationalist be fired?

Daily Beast [Newsweek] reports, “An employee at the Department of Homeland Security runs a racist website in his spare time and advocates the mass killing of white Americans, gays, and black leaders he believes are traitors, according to a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Ayo Kimathi, a small-business specialist at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a branch of the DHS, is a "gay-bashing, revenge-seeking black nationalist" who runs the website War on the Horizon. The site calls for mass murder of white people, rails against "fag rights," and attacks a slew of black celebrities as "race traitors." In a statement, the ICE said it "does not condone any type of hateful rhetoric."

I'm guessing the government would find some way to fire this guy if he were a white nationalist. We should learn from Dr. Hasan and the Ft. Hood murders to take these people seriously.

Paula Priesse on the Christopher Lane murder

August 21st on her Facebook wall –

Unlike “white Hispanic” George Zimmerman, not much is being made in the media today about the racial makeup of those responsible for the murder of Christopher Lane. No mention of their racist tweets or their love for violent rap lyrics. The dirty little secret is that 13% of the population commits 50% of the murders in this country. For reasons the media never wishes to discuss. Like how big government libs are responsible for our failing inner-city schools. Or how 50 years of Dem policies have created a culture of black government dependency. And worst of all, how these same failed policies have destroyed the black American family. In 1965, 25% of black babies were born out-of-wedlock. That number today is 73%. Finally, we have Jesse Jackson’s Twitter reaction today to Lane’s murder: “Praying for the family of Chris Lane. This senseless violence is frowned upon and the justice system must prevail.” Is that it Jesse, frowned upon? What should be “frowned upon” is never taking seriously race-baiting profiteers such as yourself. P

I won’t hold my breath for Oprah to find something unhistorical to say, or Obama to identify with one of the perps who might remind him of himself.

As you’ve probably heard, the Obamas have a new dog

The faith and courage of the school staffer who talked to the potential school shooter was amazing--and 3 days later, the TV news is still reporting it. But nothing on the Oklahoma thrill killing of an Australian athlete attending college there by 3 teens. You'll need to find an Australian newspaper online. Selecting which stories to report is just as important as the slant. Meanwhile, updates on the new POTUS dog and the Kardashian baby. Hard news you can use.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/parents-of-accused-shooters-of-australian-baseballer-chris-lane-proclaim-their-sons-innocence-girlfriend-slams-evil-people-20130820-2s7rg.html

It’s no wonder

Breakfast with Ron and Nancy at the Patio on Sunday; lunch on Monday with Kate at Houlihan’s; breakfast at the Idlewyld with Joan and Dan on Tuesday; picnic in the park with other Lakesiders on Wednesday; breakfast at the Tin Goose on Thursday with Wes and Sue; and lunch at the hotel with Rod and Lynn on Friday. It’s just hard to control weight in the summer even with all the extra walking.

Patio Restaurant, Lakeside, Ohio, 2013 paintings

More women becoming ring leaders in slave trade

“There are more than 27 million slaves worldwide, according to the United Nations, generating an estimated $32 billion in profits, most of which are earned on the backs of young women, yet more and more case findings are uncovering women as ringleaders and operators of trafficking syndicates,” says Sharon Buchbinder.

 
http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/08/07/when-women-are-found-trafficking-other-women.html

• A Saudi Arabian princess charged in Los Angeles: Meshael Alayban faces one felony count of human trafficking after being accused of holding a domestic servant against her will at her condominium in Irvine, Calif. Alayban is one of the wives of Saudi Prince Abdulrahman bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz al Saud. A female servant, originally from Kenya, escaped and flagged down a bus, after which she told her story to local police. The woman says she was promised weekends off and a good wage but was forced to work 16-hour days, seven days a week and was paid only $220 a month. Alayban faces a maximum sentence of 12 years if convicted. She is being held in the Orange County jail in lieu of $5 million bail.

• United Nations study shows females traffic more sex workers than men in developing countries: Using data from 155 countries, the UN’s first international report attempting to calculate the scope, nature and patterns of human trafficking found a disproportionately high number of female perpetrators selling other women into slavery. The report uncovered an alarming trend: women who were once victims of the sex trade often develop into ringleaders of the illegal, underground sex industry. Researchers cite money, poverty and a skewed psychological perspective for possible reasons for this phenomenon.

• Woman recently sentenced to more than seven years in a federal prison for trafficking a 16-year-old in three different states: Jessica Loren Posey was sentenced earlier this year to serve time for transporting a juvenile girl to Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio for the purpose of prostitution. According to a U.S. attorney, Posey met the girl at a party and coerced her to engage in sex for money. Posey, 25, marketed the girl using uploaded pictures on various pornographic websites, and she arranged meetings at hotel rooms, driving the girl there.

The slow moving train wreck—government bureaucrats who write regulations don’t understand a lot of things

Obamacare is now going to require people to buy insurance who do not have a good track record for paying their bills--even with a generous government subsidy.

 http://healthblog.ncpa.org/obamacares-biggest-wrong-collecting-the-premiums/

Many people eligible for exchange coverage do not have bank accounts or credit cards. That is why inner city neighborhoods have storefronts that cash checks and issue money orders. Many people have surges of income, working one month but not the next, or collecting commissions one month and not the next. Many people have financial emergencies ― their transmission breaks down or they are out sick for two weeks, or their boyfriend moves out of the house ― they don’t have the money to pay their premium this month. We know these things will happen ― a lot.

This could hurt a guy’s career

If conservatives like Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh don't stop praising Ashton Kutcher, they could ruin his career. But really, he just speaks the life experience of most Americans.

”I believe that opportunity looks a lot like work. When I was 13 I had my first job with Dad carrying shingles to the roof, and then I got a job washing dishes at a restaurant, and then I got a job in a grocery store... deli, and then I got a job in a factory sweeping Cheerio dust off the ground. And I never had a job in my life that I was better than. I was always just lucky to have a job. And every job I had was a stepping stone to my next job, and I never quit my job until I had my next job. And so opportunities look a lot like work.”

The Butler movie is fiction

The Butler: Fact check--it is fiction although there really is a real man who was a butler in the White House who did not have a horrendous childhood or a mother who was raped, did not start during Ike's administration, did not have an alcoholic wife and did not have 2 sons, but who did vote for Obama (that part is true). Who is done a service in this film? Certainly not the real butler, and not U.S. history. Probably just Oprah, who recently has been lying about a lot of things. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/16/the-butler-fact-check-how-true-is-this-true-story.html

He’s with Washington and Jefferson

Manning, Snowden and Lynndie England

I haven't seen the Manning and Snowden scandals blamed on the Obama administration, as they would have been blamed on Bush. Remember the rogue reservists, three of them women, at Abu Ghraib? Yup. Bush's problem, thousands of miles away, but now Teflon Tricky Dick flies under the radar. Unless the media is free and alert, all sorts of crimes get buried. Never mind that the prisoners at Abu Ghraib were really bad dudes, who had been killing other Muslims.

http://www.rferl.org/content/iraq-war-lynndie-ghraib/24930947.html

The kind of math we all understand

A pastor sent along this joke—enjoy

A boy had just passed his driving test and inquired of his father as to when they could discuss his use of the car.

His father said he'd make a deal with his son, "You bring your grades up from a C to a B average, study your Bible a little, and get your hair cut. Then we'll talk about the car."

The boy thought about that for a moment, decided he'd settle for the offer, and they agreed on it.

After about six weeks his father said, "Son, you've brought your grades up and I've observed that you have been studying your Bible, but I'm disappointed you haven't had your hair cut."

The boy said, "You know, Dad, I've been thinking about that, and I've noticed in my studies of the Bible that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, Moses had long hair, and there's even strong evidence that Jesus had long hair."

(You're going to love the Dad's reply!)

"Did you also notice they all walked everywhere they went?"