Not affected yet—but just wait for all the tax increases to satisfy Obama’s desire for power

“Some TurboTax customers are mad at Intuit, maker of the popular tax-prep software, because they've finished their returns but are unable to file. Their anger is misplaced. They should blame the Internal Revenue Service, along with the 111th Congress and President Obama for enacting and signing the tax increase with which TurboTax can't yet comply. (They could also blame George W. Bush if they're in a jocose frame of mind.)

At issue is ObamaCare's new 3.8% "net investment income tax." It took effect Jan. 1, 2013, so that taxpayers are encountering it just now as they prepare their returns for last year. In effect, it applies the Medicare payroll tax to interest, dividends and capital gains.

But it doesn't apply to all such income. If your modified adjusted gross income is under $200,000 (or $250,000 for a married couple), you don't pay the tax at all. Further, if your modified AGI is above the threshold but your noninvestment income is below it, the tax is applied on the difference between your total income and the threshold.”  James Taranto, WSJ

Mott’s Medleys Peach Apple fruit & veggie snack

Notice anything? No peaches on the ingredient list. So I checked the cherry berry fruit and veggie snack. . . no cherries or berries on the ingredient list.

“Kids will love the delicious taste of these fruit blends but won't taste the hidden veggies. Mott's Medleys fruit snacks are fat free. In fact, they're only made with real fruits and veggies and even have plenty of Vitamin C to boot. Plus, they contain no artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners or preservatives. What a treat.” Mott’s web site.

They won’t taste the vegetables, and they won’t taste the berries or peaches, either.

Dogs and coyotes

I was reading the advice of our city government (UA Insight Upper Arlington, OH) on roaming coyotes, and danger to pets left outside (small dogs, cats). The conclusion was that while people are at risk from dog attacks, there is virtually no information that they are attacked by coyotes. So I checked that and found an interesting article in Wikipedia on fatalities involving dogs. I looked at the 2013 and 2014 stats, and it appears most fatalities are female and most aggressors are pit bulls or pit bull mix. A number of these fatalities involved the owner or family or relative of the owner. In a number of cases, the owners of the dogs had been cited or warned, or the dog had bitten or killed another dog.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_States#Summary_tables

Owners of Pit Bulls, Rotties, and German Shepherds are extremely loyal to the breeds and their own dogs.  But all dogs will bite, and some breeds are more aggressive than others, and some owners less responsible about training than others.

Photos of the 4 dogs who mauled and killed an 80 year old amputee in a wheel chair. 

 Toddler killed by her family’s 7 pit bulls. in Georgia last year. There was also a setter and a beagle in the home which didn’t join in on the attack. There were 4 generations in the house at the time and all the dogs were familiar with the baby.  The mother (18) has been charged.

2-year-old Je’vaeh Mayes died  after a pit bull attacked her in the backyard of her family’s home in Feb. 2014.

This happened to a woman in Dayton this month; owners have been arrested. Mastiff pit bull mix.

All dogs will bite; maul; or kill.  Especially in a pack.

It is not human interference. . .

Thus, over the past half-million years and within
the context of the most recent five full interglacials, it
is clear the average near-surface air temperature of
Earth during the 1990s was not unusually warm, but
unusually cool, despite the 1990s’ much greater
atmospheric CO2 content.
These observations suggest Earth’s current
temperature is not indicative of dangerous human
interference with the planet’s thermoregulatory
system. The IPCC’s claim of a human influence on
today’s climate is based solely on its contention that
Earth’s current temperature is uncommonly high
(Crowley, 2000), when it clearly is not. Earth was
significantly warmer than it is today in all of the
preceding interglacials for which we have good
temperature data,

Link

Fruits and Vegetables—five servings a day

“Dietary guidelines of 5 servings per day of fruits and vegetables (FV) offer a reasonable amount of vitamins to control organic processes, which may contribute to a favorable cardiometabolic profile.”

It seems I’ve heard that recommendation most of my life—that and “eat all the colors.”  So I tested myself this morning on yesterday’s meals—because that’s about as far back as I can remember.

Breakfast:  one orange, a handful of raw carrots and almonds (2)

Lunch: a sandwich on whole wheat bread with sliced ham and cheese, included a few slices of onion, and some dark leaf lettuce (it’s stretching the definition to call this two servings—more like 2 tastes)

I had a few pieces of dark chocolate left from Valentine’s Day, but chocolate is not a vegetable. Slice of raw cabbage. (1)

Supper: 2 helpings of butternut squash, “unstuffed cabbage” casserole containing tomatoes, cabbage and ground beef, cream pie with crushed pineapple  (5)

So, it’s not difficult, even with eliminating the poor showing at lunch, I had eight servings of fruits and vegetables combined, but for each 5  vegetable, and 3 for fruit. With just a little more effort at lunch, I could have had 5 FV each.

“Pro-vitamin A carotenoids and vitamins C and E, present in FV, are essential for proper physiological functioning. The importance of vitamin E for maintaining oxidative-antioxidant balance is widely recognized [8,9], but this must be accompanied by vitamin C in order to enhance antioxidant protection [8-10]. Pro-vitamin A carotenoids are present in brightly colored FV; such micronutrients modulate immune system and exert a protective action by reducing LDL-cholesterol oxidation via induction of antioxidant enzymes [10,11]. “  “Association of fruits and vegetables consumption and related-vitamins with inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in prediabetic individuals,” Diabetol Metab Syndr. 2014; 6: 22.

Google's Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen on Glenn Beck

Maybe it was my imagination but Glenn Beck seemed a little off his game tonight in his interview with Google's Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen.  He trimmed the scruff and put on a dark suit for the occasion. Those guys were so slick. Even so, Glenn is the best interviewer on TV--he actually lets his guests finish a thought. Schmidt is worth $8.3 Billion. Cohen was an advisor to Condi Rice and later Hillary Clinton before moving to Google and one of the earliest in government to recognize the importance of social media. The discussion was a bit over my head, but the intent of the Google team seemed to be to calm any fears that technology was in control of the human mind. Not so sure about that.

Of their book, The New Digital Age, the New York Times reviewer writes,

The collaboration between Mr. Schmidt, the executive chairman (and former chief executive) of Google, and Mr. Cohen, a foreign-relations expert and director of Google Ideas, is meant to explore the ways in which technology and diplomacy will intersect. “There is a canyon dividing people who understand technology and people charged with addressing the world’s toughest geopolitical issues, and no one has built a bridge,” they write.

Adoption falling on hard times

“Adoption referrals, sent to outside agencies, are an infrequent occurrence at Planned Parenthood clinics.  Abortions still outnumbered adoption referrals [in the latest annual report] at Planned Parenthood by a nearly 149 to one ratio!”  Link.

I've seen the statistics about adoption vs. abortion from Planned Parenthood’s annual reports. Not good, but it’s probably not all their fault.  Adoption isn’t a popular option at the church supported agency where I volunteer which exists only to save the lives of babies and help the mom with social services.

Imagine a world in which the culture (TV, movies, magazines, literature, social media and peers) tells a young girl from an early age that a career is her life’s goal, that motherhood is second rate, that pregnancy will destroy her sex appeal, that commitment for a life time is optional for sexual relations, that hanging with friends and posting on Face Book is what life is about, that large families will bankrupt her, where their schools install vending machines with condoms and morning after pills and/or she will be abused or abandoned if she choses life for her child.  Actually, you don’t need to imagine it—that’s the recipe for abortion in 2014.

But it’s not a whole lot different for those women considering single parenting—marriage is denigrated in our culture except for gays, the young men are ass-holes, immature, or totally irresponsible and if she marries him she loses government benefits, and there are 79 programs waiting to make Uncle Sam her baby’s step-father if she can keep her income low enough. There are simply no pluses for adoption these days. Potential adoptive parents write profiles at special websites and for adoption magazines--I almost weep when I read though the websites of couples longing to adopt when I know young women careless about the future of their babies (either choosing death or being raised in an inadequately prepared home).

This is not the 1950s when the rich had abortions, the poor kept their babies or put them in grandma’s care and the middle class went away to visit an aunt or grandmother and someone adopted their babies and they signed away their parental rights. Many young women of today think adoption much more tragic or unthinkable than abortion.

The minimum wage

Vegetables high in Vitamin A

Vitamin A is a broad group of related nutrients. Each of these nutrients provides us with health benefits, but these benefits may be quite different and they may be provided in different ways.

I love all of these vegetables. Help with all this. . .

• Vision
• Immune system
• Inflammatory system
• Growth
• Reproduction

Read more here.

"Vitamin A in Reproduction and Development," Nutrients. 2011 April; 3(4): 385–428. This article although difficult, provides amazing information and references.

Ohio and coal

“In Ohio, coal provides heat and light for more than 4.5 million homes and jobs for nearly 28,000 Ohioans. It may come as little surprise that Ohio ranks 10th in the nation in coal production and 4th in the nation in coal use.

But that's not a concern for the regulators in Washington, D.C. For them, coal is just another opportunity to test unproven environmental policies. For example, see the Environmental Protection Agency's new CCS regulations, which were unveiled last month. CCS stands for "Carbon Capture and Storage" — a pleasant-sounding policy that hits Ohioans twice, first on their tax bills and then again on their utility bills.

CCS is the fulfillment of President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign pledge that, "If somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can — it's just it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum." “

Read more here.

Monday Memories—lunch with an old friend

We met in 1958 when we lived in McKinley Hall on Wright St. at the University of Illinois. Saturday we had lunch together at Panera’s and it was like no time had passed. Marie and her husband were passing through Columbus on their way to Florida.  But there's always something new to learn, like her parents were Swedish immigrants and she can speak Swedish. She also told me our old friend Anita, an art teacher in the Chicago suburban area, had died. Praise God for long time friends.

Deanna, Marie and Anita ready for the I.F. Ball, 1959 standing in McKinley Hall.

Balls at the University of Illinois were usually sponsored by a campus wide or large organization and held in more public places like the Armory or the Athletic building; dances were for the individual fraternity, sorority or independent residence. Balls always had a nice dance band or small orchestra; dances usually a combo. But it was always live music.  Balls during that era were St. Pat’s Ball, Sno-Ball, Beaux-Arts Ball, Military Ball, Interfraternity Ball and Panhellenic Ball.

I love the cello

Psalm 16:8

Election reform in Ohio

“Two election bills passed the Ohio House and are expected to be signed into law by Governor Kasich next week.

"Golden Week," the week where voters could register and vote on the same day, will be eliminated under the new law. Early voting is now mandated to begin the day after voter registration ends so that no overlap of the two activities can occur.

New law will also make the mailing of absentee ballots requests to voters more consistent from county to county by permitting the Secretary of State to only mail unsolicited absentee ballot requests on even number years and only if Ohio's General Assembly appropriates funds for the mailing.

Previously it was up to the County Boards of Elections (BOE) to decide if they would mail absentee ballot requests to all voters in their county, which historically benefited voters from larger counties because they could afford the mailings.”

From Ohio Voter Integrity Project

Kevin Kookogey target of the IRS

Linchpins of Liberty is an American leadership-development enterprise designed to challenge the imagination of the rising generation. With an emphasis on the study of books about the human condition and about civil social order, Linchpins of Liberty aims to engage tomorrow’s leaders to think critically today about the inter-relation between individual liberty and morality, free-markets, limited government, strong national defense, and the traditional principles of our moral and constitutional order which have been passed down through Western Civilization.

Happy Birthday, George Washington

who introduced the mule to the Americas.

http://blogs.equisearch.com/horsehealth/2011/02/21/george-washington-mule-horse-breed/

John Kerry—listen up

John Kerry thinks climate change is the most serious threat to the globe.  He needs to go where it is really hot. Let him be a tree hugger on his own time, not mine.

Home made peanut butter cups

Ingredients:
16 oz semi-sweet or milk chocolate, chopped (or use chips)
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Directions:
In a small glass bowl, heat half of the chocolate in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. Remove from the microwave once the chips begin to slightly melt. Use a fork to stir until smooth, using the heat of the chocolate to melt the remaining chips entirely. If needed, re-heat in 10 second intervals until smooth. DO NOT over heat the chocolate, as it will burn and seize.

Line a muffin tin with cupcake papers. Spoon a small amount (about 2 teaspoons) of chocolate into the bottom of each paper. Tap the pan on your counter top to help smooth and spread the chocolate. Place the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes to harden the chocolate. Meanwhile, prepare the peanut butter.

In a small bowl, beat together peanut butter, butter and confectioners sugar until smooth and fluffy. Remove the pan from the freezer, and spoon a small amount of peanut butter on to the chocolate layer. Again, tap on counter top to level and spread the peanut butter. Return the pan to the freezer and allow to harden for about 15 minutes.

Repeat the first step and melt the remaining chocolate in the same manner. Spoon the top chocolate layer over the peanut butter and return to freezer.

Serve very cold, and enjoy!

from Lemon-sugar.com

Poached Eggs over Spinach & Mushrooms

       

Prep and Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 large free-range chicken eggs
• 1 tsp light vinegar, (rice, white wine, or apple cider)
• 1 TBS chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms
• 1 medium tomato, seeds and excess pulp removed, chopped
• 3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
• 10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and excess water removed [I think I would use fresh]
• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Chop onions and garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to enhance their health-promoting properties.
2. Add 1 tsp vinegar to water in a 10-inch skillet.
3. While water is coming to a high simmer, in a separate skillet heat 1 TBS broth. Healthy Sauté onion and mushrooms in broth for 3 minutes over medium heat stirring frequently.
4. Add tomato, garlic, spinach, salt and pepper and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
5. When water comes to a high simmer poach eggs for about 5 minutes, or until whites are firm. Remove from water with a slotted spoon and place over spinach mixture.

Serves 4

How far can they count?