Are you sick of winter yet?

BurkaChick writes for Politi-chicks

“BurkaChick grew up in the lovely town of Detroit, Michigan. She remembers a time when the city was booming because of the greedy capitalistic car companies. But now is thrilled the city has finally come into it’s democratic own. BurkaChick says, “Who needs a home or a job in this liberal paradise? All you need is one good bullet proof vest to live in this union-filled utopia! BurkaChick’s idol in her early teens was the President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. She admired his fortitude in all things liberal, but was highly disappointed when Reagan came in and rescued the hostages in Iran after only 444 days in captivity. “What a show-off” she was quoted as saying. She wanted to campaign for Jimmy’s reelection, but there was no gasoline to get to his headquarters. Which was a real bummer since she was living in her car since the mortgage interest rate was at 22%.

BurkaChick then went on to…well, she doesn’t really remember much since she was wasted through most of the eighties and nineties. Today she is an avid fan of Obama. She can’t wait till George Clooney remakes a film about the life of Michelle Obama in the Whitehouse called, “The King and I”. She is a huge fan of “The View”, Susan Sarandon, MSNBC, all things uber-liberal and of course,  Occupy Wallstreet.  BurkaChick loves what Occupy stands for and has volunteered to help decorate their rape tents and paint all porta-potties to resemble police vehicles.”

http://politichicks.tv/column/dr-jen-arnold-wife-mother-doctor-hero-burkachick/

I’m saving for the next time I wrestle with a scarf

 

http://www.freebeautytips.org/tiescarves.html

They laughed and ridiculed

It’s finally March, but more snow on the way.

The team for 2016

If Republicans continue down the road they’re on, they’ll give the election to the Democrats rather than run true conservatives.

Rand Paul.  Ted Cruz.

And now for another tax reform that will fail

I like the proposed income tax plan--removes deductions (aka loopholes). It won't fly though, because by simplifying taxes it takes away the government's power to intimidate. Democrats will vote nay on this one because there is no way to stroke favored classes and groups to get votes.

In 1893 the Congress passed an income tax and the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in 1895. But Congress then passed the 16th amendment which was ratified by the states in 1913. Except it wasn't. This came to light when someone actually searched all state records involving ratification of the 16th amendment. In 1913 Americans were told it would only affect 1% of most of the population. It would only soak the rich. Class warfare even then. The Constitution forbids an income tax (Art. 1, Sec. 9).

http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/26/pf/taxes/house-republican-tax-reform-dave-camp/

“House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp released his long-awaited and highly anticipated proposal for tax reform. The proposal [1,000 pages] promised to present the most thorough, sweeping changes to the law since the 1986 Act, and it didn’t disappoint.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonynitti/2014/02/26/analysis-of-chairman-camps-proposal-for-tax-reform-part-1-individual-tax-reform/2/

Winter isn’t over yet—Chris Bradley’s report

Significant winter storm will hit Ohio this weekend. Heavy snow is expected Sunday into Monday morning. Snowfall amounts will likely exceed six inches across most of Ohio. A band of heavier snow with totals approaching 10 inches is possible...but it is still too early to determine where that will fall.

Wind chill is minus one at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27.  Snow would be better than ice.

The media made a mess of Arizona

Instead of whipping up hatred and distrust over a non-existent anti-gay law in AZ, the media should be covering how all of us, including gays, minorities, religious nuts and transgendered females are losing rights every day to an invasive, snooping federal government. The newest Supreme Court decision, based on a Los Angeles case, says officers may search a residence without a warrant as long as one occupant consents.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-scotus-lapd-search-20140226,0,3720623.story

Here’s the text of the Arizona law, which if our first amendment rights weren’t being shredded every day, shouldn’t have been necessary.

Kasparov on Obama

Chess champion and outspoken human rights advocate Garry Kasparov was born in the USSR.

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.