In case you’ve had one . . .

hip replacement

Head Start—a very expensive feel good poverty program

The omnibus 1,582 page appropriations bill includes increased funding for Head Start and Early Head Start by $612 million, to $8.6 billion. This administration and those before it have studied this program carefully with the same results--it doesn't work. The 2012 study found little to no impact on cognitive, social-emotional, health, or parenting practices of participants. So why continue to fund it? What politician of either party could risk the backlash?

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/03/universal-preschools-empty-promises

Even though 74% of American 4 year olds are already in pre-school, Obama thinks the government needs to expand even more into this area and crowd out private and church programs, which will probably be declared "substandard" the way he did with health insurance which over 80% were satisfied with. Maybe he can reduce the gap between rich and poor by making all preschools perform like Head Start?

"The Columbus school district says it will find a way to expand pre-kindergarten even without the money that a levy would’ve raised." Columbus Dispatch Nov. 28, 2013. Professional educators are a powerful lobby for early childhood education--follow the money. Pre-schools have a patch work of standards by city and state for buildings, curricula, teachers, aides, safety, play time, unions--I mean, can you see the economic opportunities here for colleges of education, the building trades, the regulatory agencies?

A bridge shut down is more important than leaking tax information on citizens

Shock and awe. The Obama supporter/employee leading the investigation of the IRS vendetta against conservative organizations who had applied for tax status couldn't find anything. Move along. Nothing.

ttp://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2014/01/14/no-criminal-charges-expected-in-fbi-investigation-into-irs-scandal/

According to today’s Wall St. Journal, Cleta Mitchell, an attorney who represents many of the targets, says that the FBI has never contacted any of her clients to discuss their treatment at the hands of the IRS. "Shouldn't law enforcement talk to the victims in an investigation?," she asks in an email. "That's like investigating a burglary without interviewing the burgled," notes a Journal editorial.

Wipe out 2 cities, 40% minority, with government money

Planned Parenthood receives about 45% of its support from us, the taxpayers in government grants and reimbursements. The 327,166 abortions that Planned Parenthood did from October 2011-September 2012 was also more than the 318,172 people the Census Bureau estimated lived in the City of St. Louis, Mo., in 2012 or the 306,211 that lived in the City of Pittsburgh, Pa.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-boland/planned-parenthood-did-1-adoption-referral-149-abortions#sthash.Or3epffe.dpuf

King Obama announces he will ignore the Constitution

Joan writes: President Obama’s comments today following his first cabinet meeting of the year should send shivers down everyone’s spines. CBS reports the President said: “We’re not just going to be waiting for legislation in order to make sure that we’re providing Americans the kind of help they need. I’ve got a pen, and I’ve got a phone.” Does this sound constitutional to you? It seems the American system providing for separation of powers, the traditional American system of checks and balances, and the limited government our forefathers set up are fast disappearing.

Primary texts of the early Christian church

• The Early Church Fathers (Ante-Nicene; Nicene; Post-Nicene Fathers)
• Early Church Fathers – Additional Texts
• The Fathers of the Church (New Advent)
• Early Christian Writings
• The Early Church Documents
• Gnostic Texts
• Apocryphal Acts
• Non-canonical Literature
• Latin Classical & Patristic Texts
• The Latin Library – Latin Texts
• Biblioteca Augustana: Latin Texts
• The Tertullian Project
• Online Medieval & Classical Library
• Medieval Sourcebook
• Corpus Thomisticum

From a list at the website of Jim Papandrea

Federal Register, 2013

It contains over 80,000 pages of new rules, regulations, and notices all written and passed by unelected bureaucrats. The small stack of papers on top of the display are the laws passed by elected members of Congress and signed into law by the president. Mike Lee, U.S. Senator, Utah, Republican

So I glanced through the online index.  Quite an eye opener, and it’s not difficult to see what is holding back the economy and why the United States has dropped in the “Freedom Index.”

For instance, in 2013 the Food and Nutrition Service published 65 articles—42 of which were Notices, like this on Dec. 31, 2013, asking for public comments on an extension, without change, about the Child Nutrition Database.

Database Qualification Report.
Affected Public: Business for-profit
(Manufacturers of food produced for
schools.)
Form: FNS–710.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
32.
Estimated Number of Responses per
Respondent: 35.
Estimated Total Annual Responses:
1,120.
Estimated Time per Response: 2.0
Hours.
Total Annual Burden: 2,240 Hours.
Dated: December 24, 2013.

“Annual regulatory costs increased by more than $23.5 billion during President Barack Obama’s fourth year in office—and by a total of nearly $70 billion during the first term. While historical records are incomplete, that magnitude of regulation is likely unmatched by any Administration in the nation’s history. And, despite a much-touted initiative to weed out unnecessary regulations, only two major rule changes reduced regulatory burdens in 2012.” Heritage Foundation, May 1, 2013

“The most costly regulations were automotive fuel-economy standards issued by the EPA and DOT that will increase sticker prices by an estimated $1,800, followed by the EPA’s power plant emission limits that will hike utility bills for consumers.”

10 worst regulations of 2013

Jamie Ogg—miracle baby

The doctor said the premature baby boy (27 weeks and a twin) was dead, and he was placed on his mother’s chest so she and her husband could say their good-byes.  After two hours with his mom and dad, and the doctor insisting that his movements and gasping for air were “reflexes,” he was finally pronounced alive. He’s now about three years old.

Dasani, New York Times poster child of “inequality”

“Chanel, Dasani’s mother and herself the daughter of a welfare-dependent drug addict in Brooklyn, has six children by three different men, a long history of debilitating drug use, an explosive temper, and numerous arrests. Her husband, Supreme, has brought his own drug addiction and two more children by a deceased wife into the mix; Elliott makes vague reference to previous children as well. At some point, Supreme worked as a barber, but as far as we can tell, Chanel has never held a job. In truth, she isn’t much of a mother, either. She is often “listless from methadone”; the family’s room is filled with “piles of unwashed clothes.” Dasani appears to be the primary caretaker of her seven siblings. She wakes up early to change and feed her baby half-sister and get the other children ready for school; understandably, though her school is only two blocks from the shelter, she is chronically late. What role, if any, her parents play in this morning chaos known to every mother and father, rich and poor, is left unsaid.”

Other than time travel and finding a different womb for this child, how will New York’s mayor make things equal for her?  The author of the piece didn’t want to get into the politics of blame.  Ok, so that leaves me.  Dasani is where she is, in a dysfunctional family, because of her parents, not because of social programs, money, social workers, teachers, or the mayor. Not because some children have two parents, a comfortable income and good schools.

Did inequality make Dasani homeless?

Invisible child

Short hair styles for “older women”

One or two of my medications is causing a problem with my hair, so I’m going to have it cut short again so I don’t have to mess with it.  It always looks nice the day I shampoo and style, and then a limp  straggly mess for 2 days.  I’ve had all of these at different times, or something similar. I’m trending toward #3 and #6. Ignore the color—I’m not doing that.

1.

Not sure how she got classified as an older woman.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

2002, class reunion, short and spiky

8.

2011, medium short

9.

2012, very short

Doris Janzen Longacre, author of the More with Less Cookbook.

This is a great cookbook.  The author really did know that life is too short.  She was my age and died at 39.

Life is too short to ice cakes; cakes are good without icing.
Life is too short to read all the church periodicals.
Life is too short not to write regularly to your parents.
Life is too short to eat factory baked bread.
Life is too short to keep all your floors shiny.
Life is too short to let a day pass without hugging your spouse and each of your children.
Life is too short to nurse grudges and hurt feelings.
Life is too short to worry about getting ready for Christmas; just let Christmas come.
Life is too short to spend much money on neckties and earrings.
Life is too short for nosy questions like "How do you like your new pastor?" Or—if there’s been a death—"How is he taking it?"
Life is too short to be gone from home more than a few nights a week.
Life is too short not to take a nap when you need one.
Life is too short to care whether purses match shoes or towels match bathrooms.
Life is too short to stay indoors when the trees turn color in fall, when it snows, or when the spring blossoms come out.
Life is too short to miss the call to worship on a Sunday morning.
Life is too short for bedspreads that are too fancy to sleep under.
Life is too short to work in a room without windows.
Life is too short to put off Bible study.
Life is too short to put off improving our relationships with the people we live with.

http://www.heraldpress.com/Bios/Longacre/

White sauce mix

This morning I was reading a recipe for a broccoli cauliflower casserole.  It needed TWO cans of cream of celery soup and TWO 8 ounce cream cheese packages, plus a cup of shredded cheddar.  Oh my.  The calories.  The salt.

Instead of dumping 2 cans of cream of something on your vegetables or noodles for your next casserole, keep this easy white sauce mix on hand.  If you need something a little  richer, I’m guessing a 3 oz. cream cheese would do the trick.

White Sauce Mix

2 cups instant nonfat dry milk
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup butter, margarine or shortening

In a large bowl mix well dry milk, flour and salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Store in an airtight container. If using butter, store in the refrigerator. If using margarine or shortening, will keep on the shelf in dry weather for up to 6 months.

White Sauce
In a small saucepan combine 1/2 cup White Sauce Mix, 1 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Stir over low heat until smooth and hot. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Cheese Sauce
Add 3/4 cup shredded cheese after White Sauce thickens.

Curry Sauce
Add 1 teaspoon curry powder to thickened White Sauce.

Alfredo Sauce
Make White Sauce from White Sauce Mix. To every 1/2 cup White Sauce add 2 to 4 cloves garlic, pressed, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and 1 cup light cream. To cooked and drained hot pasta, add Alfredo Sauce ingredients, one by one, mixing and tossing well after each addition. Serve immediately.

Mac and Cheese
Combine 1/2 cup White Sauce Mix, 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese and 1 cup milk. Pour over hot, drained, elbow macaroni. Toss well.

Hillbilly Housewife has low cost recipes from scratch.

How politicians close the income gap

Margaret Thatcher’s most meaningful accomplishment

Without a doubt, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was once the most powerful woman in the world, and with Pope John Paul and President Ronald Reagan helped bring about the downfall of the Soviet Union and changed the course of history.

However, when asked what she believed was her most meaningful accomplishment, she replied that it was rescuing her sister’s Jewish pen-pal, Edith, from the Nazis.  “After the 1938 Anschluss, she persuaded her father and his Rotary Club to help Edith escape from Austria and to shelter her in Grantham.  This, Thatcher said, more than anything else, was her proudest achievement.

p. 312 “There is no alternative; why Margaret Thatcher matters,” (2008, Basic Books)

Reagan and the Cold War

The author of There is no alternative; Why Margaret Thatcher matters (2008 Basic Books) our January book club selection writes on p. 272:

“From 1947, when the American diplomat George Kennan published his famous Foreign Policy article under the pseudonym X, to 1981, the year of Reagan’s inauguration, American policy toward the Soviet Union had been containment, not rollback.  Generally, American policymakers viewed communism as a kind of incurable cancer, one that with costly, painful, and permanent therapy might at best be prevented from metastasizing.

Obviously, the price of the Cold War had been extremely high.  Communism had claimed at least a hundred million lives.  But the doctrine of containment had been a success in the most critical sense:  There had not been a conventional war between the superpowers, nor had there been a nuclear exchange.  It is easy to see why Reagan’s insistence that it was time to move beyond containment and MAD—indeed, that it was time to win the Cold War—provoked, to put it mildly, dissent and alarm among American’s allies.”

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."