Sirgiorgiro Clardy and Debo Adegbile

This sounds bizarre, a criminal who would blame the shoe manufacturer for the injuries he caused stomping on someone's face, but he apparently also beat the 18 year old prostitute till she bled from her ears. I have no doubt that some liberals will come to Sirgiorgiro Clardy’s defense, and maybe in a few years his lawyer will be up for an important government post appointed by a Democrat president, like Debo Adegbile .

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/01/nike_sued_by_portland_pimp_for.html

In 1982, former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of murdering Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. Abu-Jamal never denied the killing during his trial. He, and his supporters, are still unapologetic for Faulkner's death. Debo Adegbile, who Obama has nominated for Head of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.   He is former NAACP Legal Defense Official who has worked tirelessly to free guilty murderer Abu-Jamal from prison.

Income inequality, presidential style

I wonder what balances potato chips?

Roasted beet soup

While shopping this morning I bought a bunch of beets with very nice leaves.  I’ve already cooked and eaten the beet leaves (with butter and salt for breakfast), so now I am roasting the beets hoping to make beet soup.  I didn’t have a recipe so I googled my desire, and found this.

There’s so much good stuff in beets why wouldn’t you make this all the time? Beets, chard, spinach and quinoa are part of the chenopod family—I didn’t know beets and swiss chard were related, although a look at the leaves should have given me a hint.

So I’m cooking some chicken thighs to make the broth, that way I don’t have the expensive and salt of the purchase kind.  I like to cook them with the skin and bones on because it has a much richer flavor.

Ingredients:

• 3 large red or yellow beets, trimmed, leaving 1 inch of stem
• 1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1/4 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cups chicken, beef or vegetable broth
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 Tbs. coarsely chopped fresh dill

Directions:

Roast the beets
Preheat an oven to 350°F.
Put the beets in a baking dish and drizzle with the olive oil, turning them to coat well. Roast until the beets are easily pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel and coarsely chop them.

Note: I roasted mine wrapped in aluminum foil.  Less messy that way. Roasted beets are really delicious—very sweet.

Cook the soup
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the beets and broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes to blend the flavors.

Puree the soup
Using a food processor or blender, process the soup to a smooth puree. Serve warm or, for a chilled soup, let cool to room temperature, transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with the cheese and dill and serve. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Soup, by Georgeanne Brennan (Oxmoor House, 2006).

Not much has changed in 40 years at the American Library Association

Here’s a title from a 1972 article in Library Journal.  I can’t post a link, because although librarians are all about freedom to read, this journal doesn’t post its archives on the internet. Just add topics like gay marriage (which in 1972 couldn’t have been imagined), or Planned Parenthood or the Iraq War and Bush’s fault and you’d have the same concerns  today as libraries close because librarians try to fight the various liberal causes.

Berninghausen, D. 1972. “Social responsibility vs. The Library Bill of Rights.” Library Journal 97 (November 15): 3675-82.

Basic points of this article from comments by “Contrarian”  at Annoyed Librarian blog: http://annoyedlibrarian.blogspot.com/2007/06/ala-debate-on-non-library-issues.html

David Berninghausen, former Director of the Library School at the University of Minnesota, wrote an interesting essay in 1972 (or 1973) called “Social Responsibility vs. The Library Bill of Rights”. It provides some historical context and perspective. Not all his predictions have come true, but much of what he said resonates to this day. Here is an excerpt:

"The raison d’etre of the ALA is NOT any of the following:

1. To eradicate racial injustice & inequities & to promote human brotherhood.

2. To stop the pollution of air, earth, & sea.

3. To build a UN capable of preventing all wars.

4. To promote the homosexual life-style.

5. To advocate the lowering of the voting age to 18.

6. To preserve the separation of church & state.

7. To destroy-or to establish-universities.

8. To judge the guilt or innocence, based on news reports, of Charles Manson, Angela Davis, or the Berrigan brothers on the charges brought against them in the courts.

9. To resolve hundreds of other social, scientific, or political issues, regardless of how vital they may be for the future of humanity.

Attempts to make this library organization into a political organization for the promotion of specific causes unrelated to librarianship could destroy the viability of the ALA. They have already weakened it…unless the attention, time, energy, and resources of the ALA can be refocused upon library problems, the organization cannot and will not survive…"

This article became part of his book, "The Flight from Reason: Essays on Intellectual Freedom in the Academy, the Press, & the Library."

Churchill on socialism

Christie and Obama

in 24 hours there was 17x more coverage of Christie’ gate than Obama’s IRS.

Holder says the bridge might be investigated by Justice Department? That was fast.

“This is the same Administration that won't tell Congress what resources it is devoting to the IRS probe, and appears to be slow-rolling it. It has also doubled down by expanding the political vetting of 501(c)(4) groups seeking tax-exempt status. Lois Lerner, who ran the IRS tax-exempt shop and took the Fifth before Congress, was allowed to "retire," presumably with a pension. Acting IRS commissioner Steven Miller resigned under pressure but no other heads have rolled. Yet compared to using the IRS against political opponents during an election campaign, closing traffic lanes for four days is jaywalking. “ WSJ Review and Outlook, Jan. 10, 2014

No one has been fired due to Healthcare.gov failure; no one was fired for the IRS scandal; who was fired because of Benghazi or Fast and Furious?

The human costs of Obamacare by Jason Stverak

“This week, my employees opened their mailbox to find a letter informing them that the Blue Cross Blue Shield health care plan we had chosen to offer them had been discontinued – thanks entirely to the Affordable Care Act. Since President Obama signed this bill into law nearly four years ago, I’ve written about it several times, focusing on its astronomical costs, massive expansion of government powers, and disastrous rollout. “ . . .

“The story of Obamacare is a story of small businesses and cancelled plans and struggling families, but it’s also the story of its architect. From his promises on the campaign trail in 2008 to the ongoing health care crisis of 2014, we’ve seen Barack Obama reduced from an orator and champion of the middle class to an ineffective leader lacking the humility and courage to admit that he was wrong. The president has inextricably tied healthcare reform to his legacy, and both sink further into the abyss each time another working American loses his insurance.”

http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/were-more-than-just-another-obamacare-cancellation-statistic/

Teaching little children to cast spells

"The name "Scholastic" evokes warm memories from those who treasured their childhood experiences with us and trust among those who depend on us for quality materials today." (Mission statement of this children's press.

So why teach very young children how to cast spells, read tea leaves and call on foreign gods? Check your children's material carefully. Scholastic definitely isn't that cute children's newspaper with puzzles and teaching good manners some of us remember. The "ologies" series (designed to look like encyclopedias) has a number of subjects I wouldn't want in my book nook, although they have clever, interesting formats and design. Volumes were written on the pros and cons of the Rowland Harry Potter series, but this is one of the outcomes--hardcore witchcraft for children. There's another title for the younger than 9 group.

http://store.scholastic.com/Books/Interactive-and-Novelty-Books/The-Wizardology-Handbook

Butter and cheese

Learning Ohio’s history

We're members of Conestoga--a friends group to support the Ohio Historical Society. It seems to me that if you don't grow up in a state, you just don't absorb its history, so I'm learning what school children (in my era) would have learned in state history class. Today we're going over to the Fawcett Center for Tomorrow to hear about WOSU. If you would be interested in joining this interesting educational/philanthropic/social group check out the web site. http://www.ohiohistory.org/support-ohs/conestoga

Licensed to The Ohio State University, WOSU has been a vital community resource since 1922. It has evolved into multiple services consisting of Classical 101 (FM); 89.7 NPR News (FM); WOSU TV and its sister station, WPBO TV; and regional FM stations in four other Ohio communities. WOSU television covers a quarter of Ohio reaching over 900,000 households.

http://wosu.org/2012/about/wosu-history/

Thursday Thirteen—where our friends are traveling according to their Christmas letters

Our Christmas card for 2013 was a painting by my husband of Colorado in the snow.  His card paintings are always so lovely, some people collect them. However, I can’t find this year’s card, so here’s last year’s, the little museum at Lakeside, Ohio which used to be a Methodist church.

I always enjoy hearing from friends and family at Christmas—cards and letters on paper, some actually handwritten. E-cards are OK, but don’t excite me too much.  That’s the direction many are going—it saves time and money.  Many of our friends are retired, so they carefully plan their resources and time around travel. This isn’t all, but they were on the top of the pile.

1.  John and Sue in Washington went to the hospital, both of them, he in January and she in December—hoping for a healthier 2014 with possibly a trip to Ohio in May.

2.  Gayle and Bill’s grandchildren went off to college in Colorado and South Carolina.

3.  Howard and Betty went to Istanbul and other interesting places in Turkey to be awestruck by ancient ruins. Also New Hampshire and Maryland for family visits.

4.  Martti and Riitta of Helsinki probably hit the jackpot with Copenhagen, Thailand, Rome, Kuusamo (Finland), Sardinia, Spain (liked it so much they bought a home there), London, Nashville, and finally traveled here to Columbus to visit us in December. And we’re so glad they did—we had a wonderful visit.

4.  Jim and Jerry were in Michigan, Lake Wales, Tampa, Sarasota, North Carolina, and had some time in the hospital.

5.  Sandy and Alec went to Scotland and Charlotte NC.

6.  Rich and MaryAnn were commuting between Lakeside, OH and Bloomington, IL,  with visits to Piqua and Cincinnati, Ohio.

7. Bob and Janet went to Springfield, IL and visited the Lincoln Library and Museum, also Florida, a cruise to the Greek Islands with a stop in Turkey, then Rome, 8 Mediterranean Islands, then to Columbus, Ohio, and Pasadena, California for family visits.

8.  Sylvia and Dave clocked some time in Reno, NV, and Amarillo, TX.

9. Frank and Dianne also went to Springfield, IL to see the sites, and South Carolina as well as local trips to festivals in Illinois.

10. Linda visited Zion National Park in Utah, Catawba Is. in Lake Erie, Hilton Head,  and The Cove in Ashville, NC which she says was the highlight of the year.

11. Helen went to New York City and said the Christmas decorations were outstanding.

12. Eleanor’s plans to travel to South America were cancelled, but she’s thinking perhaps a vacation place in a warmer part of the country may be in her future.

13.  Jan is planning a trip to France, with 3 days in Paris and a river cruise.

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Thirteen, check here.

The president needs to take some action in DC

Obama's "fair share," "fair shot" campaign tour should begin with parents.  But it can't. There is just no fairness, sameness or equality there. And Uncle Sam is not a good step-dad.  If a kid has married parents, even if they are poor, his chances of growing up in poverty is reduced more than 50 years of the war on poverty can do. The percentage of black married families that are poor is 7%; unmarried families 35.6%.  For white families the figure is 3.2% and 22%.  The leftist think tanks are starting to roll out stats that covers this huge pimple on the president's nose, but most of those researchers are married and send their kids to private schools and pull down those huge Washington D.C. salaries (highest in nation in a city with a high poverty rate).

If the president wants to give a single mom with 3 kids a "fair shot," let him go into public housing in DC and tap a gal to walk his dog, or babysit the daughters, or wait tables at an international luncheon, or chauffer his car, or join Michelle’s staff to do her hair and nails. How hard would that be? Well, she’d have to give up SNAP, housing assistance, Medicaid, TANF,  and any of the other 80 means tested programs.  So she could decide even that offer couldn’t match what she has.

http://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/2012/pdf/Marriage-Poverty-United-States.pdf

Hip Bursitis

                      

“Bursitis of the hip is commonly mistaken as a hip-joint problem. In reality, however, it is a problem well outside of the hip joint. A bursa is a tiny fluid-filled sac that provides a gliding surface for adjacent tissues, such as the muscle, fascia, and tendon tissue over the bony prominence of the femur bone at the outer hip area. The bony prominence is referred to as the trochanteric area of the femur. This is precisely the area that most commonly develops bursitis of the hip.”

http://www.onhealth.com/hip_bursitis_treatment/views.htm

“Hip Bursitis causes pain on the side of the hip, which makes it uncomfortable to lay on the affected side. Bursitis is inflammation of a 'Bursa', which is a small sac of fluid. The function of a Bursa is to protect other tissues from compression and friction, but too much stress, or a direct blow to a Bursa can cause it to become inflamed. The medical term for the Hip Bursa is the 'Trochanteric Bursa', so called because it is located over the 'Greater Trochanter' of the thigh bone (the bony lump on the top of the outside of the thigh bone). Its job is to prevent friction between the Greater Trochanter and tissue called the Ilio Tibial Band (ITB).” 

“A person suffering from Hip Bursitis will have pain over the area of the bursa, but in severe cases it may radiate down the leg. The pain will usually be brought on by hip movements such as walking, running, and climbing stairs. The physiotherapist should be able to diagnose the condition through manual tests, but it can be confirmed by an ultrasound scan.”

http://www.physioroom.com/injuries/hip_and_thigh/trochanteric_bursitis_full.php

Strengthen the core

Illiotibial Band Syndrome

              

Massage.

Stretches

http://www.summitmedicalgroup.com/library/adult_health/sma_iliotibial_band_syndrome_exercises/

Head Start isn’t

One of the biggest failures in the War on Poverty has been Head Start--again, no member of Congress would dare vote against it. The gains are lost, aka "fade away," and no amount of money will change that. Not every child with a caring, nurturing home will succeed, and not every child whose home is a disaster will fail. But statistically, we are throwing good money after bad, and 50 years of testing has shown that. Head Start has provided a lot of jobs for parents and government workers, some nutrition and health care for children, but it was never a works/nutrition/health program. If Obama wants more money for pre-schools to close his gap, just say no. It's a feel good drug.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/how-lasting-are-the-benefits-of-preschool/2014/01/07/

The War on Poverty—we’ve negotiated a failure or stalemate instead of winning the war

“The federal government currently runs more than 80 means-tested welfare programs that provide cash, food, housing, medical care and targeted social services to poor and low-income Americans. Government spent $916 billion on these programs in 2012 alone, and roughly 100 million Americans received aid from at least one of them, at an average cost of $9,000 per recipient. (That figure doesn't include Social Security or Medicare benefits.) Federal and state welfare spending, adjusted for inflation, is 16 times greater than it was in 1964. If converted to cash, current means-tested spending is five times the amount needed to eliminate all official poverty in the U.S.”

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303345104579282760272285556

Capitalism vs. young basement dwellers

Amish sugar cookies—Taste of Home recipe

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

1. In large bowl, beat the butter, oil and sugars. Beat in eggs until well blended. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to creamed mixture.
2. Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: about 5 dozen.

Nutritional Facts

1 serving (2 each) equals 233 calories, 14 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 31 mg cholesterol, 108 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein.

One reader suggested adding a little salt.  Another chilled the dough, rolled into small balls, and flattened with a glass.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/amish-sugar-cookies