Google and the ghetto

Yesterday we had two fascinating lectures at Lakeside.  First a neighbor who got her first work experience waiting tables at The Abigail (local restaurant, now closed) explained the Google culture where she now works in California.  It was unbelievable.  They can bring their dogs to work; they can get the oil changed in their car; they can bring their laundry and dry cleaning; no desk/cubicle is more than 150 ft from food or a restroom. And she added, the food is delicious and new employees usually gain the Google ten or fifteen.  Workers have social clubs—gays, veterans, hobbies, work out gyms, etc.  Everything is for the team, and the intention is to get more production from the employees. And if employees get burnout from spending too much time at work, a supervisor will add a night out with spouse or partner to their work schedule.

Then at 3:30 p.m. an American embassy employee (Pakistan) who is also a Lakesider and a Christian, talked about the Christians in Pakistan, a tiny persecuted minority.  These people also live and work in a closed environment and rarely go beyond the borders of their ghetto.  They are a persecuted minority and recently we’ve seen stories on TV about the church burning and killing.  The police do nothing. When Pakistan became a country 65 years ago, Christians and the few remaining Hindus were promised religious freedom.  But that began to disappear in the 70s and now there is Sharia Law.  The photos I saw (of their ghetto in Islamabad) are worse than the poverty of Haiti.  These people are descendants of the mid-18th century converts by the missionaries the Europeans sent.  Christians are only welcome if they bring alcohol—Muslims are not allowed to buy it.  Everyone has an ID card that identifies the religion.

It’s very difficult to evangelize for the Christian faith in Pakistan, as you can imagine.  But it must be even harder at Google in California, where every need is met and you must be on the team or be out the door.

The Democrats’ War on Women

The Democrats. They toss freebies like birth control at women and teen girls to get votes, and then import other women who will have larger families. They offer "progressive" programs that are really failed "regressive" socialist programs from the last century designed to create dependence on the daddy long legs of the federal government. They push abortion at a time when our birth rate is below replacement level and falling, and research shows a strong relationship with both breast cancer and suicide. They bad mouth traditional marriage when married couples are succeeding at every societal measure where single moms are not. Women are depicted as helpless victims in constant need of the very party that is attacking them. Yet they ignore as "freedom of speech" the most disgusting music and video game images of 50% of the nation while fainting over words like Redskins.

Losing those e-mails

Sharing from T-bone:
The odds of winning the Florida lottery are 1 in 22,957,480.

The odds of winning the Powerball is 1 in 175,223,510.

The odds of winning Mega Millions is 1 in 258,890,850.

The odds of a disk drive failing in any given month are roughly one in 36. The odds of two different drives failing in the same month are roughly one in 36 squared, or 1 in about 1,300. The odds of three drives failing in the same month is 36 cubed or 1 in 46,656.

The odds of seven different drives failing in the same month (like what happened at the IRS when they received a letter asking about emails targeting conservative and pro-Israeli groups) is 37 to the 7th power = 1 in 78,664,164,096. (that's over 78 Billion)

In other words, the odds are greater that you will win the Florida Lottery 342 times than having those seven IRS hard drives crashing in the same month.

How to close minorities and low income out of the higher education market

"For-profit schools educate a larger share of low-income, minorities, veterans and single mothers than do nonprofit and public colleges. Eighty percent of their students lack parental financial support." Obama has decided they are "predatory" and are making sure they shut down if in violation of federal regulations not required of public institutions. Liberals scream when for-profit abortion clinics close due to health violations, but they applaud this. http://online.wsj.com/articles/obamas-letters-to-corinthian-1404684555

Federal law leaves states and accrediting agencies to prescribe how for-profits calculate job-placement rates. Yet they all have different rules, and most are open to interpretation. Seizing on the confusion, prosecutors have charged Corinthian with misrepresenting its rates. California AG Kamala Harris's suit criticizes Corinthian for "company-wide placement verification issues, including a lack of any definitions or standard procedures." Yet internal Corinthian memos revealed a strategy "to close or sell campuses that are not meeting placement outcomes."

College costs have soared far beyond health care or housing.  If the government needs to clean house, why not start at the top instead of the bottom.

Who has the responsibility?

Virtually any criticism of the president is called racist, whether parody, cartoon, jokes or telling the truth. And I've seen some that truly are racist--and they are sickening. But which is worse--some flake on the internet saying nasty things about a black president, or a black president thumbing his nose at the Constitution, traditions, and Congress while the media and his supporters swoon in admiration? Which person has the greater responsibility and the bigger bully pulpit?

There is so much to do at Lakeside this week Three

My husband’s Perspective Drawing class is full—starts at 9 today at the Rhein Center.  I won’t be taking that class—I think I have 3 times. Lakeside has a new computer sign up for art classes now.

Which is a segue to Monday and Tuesdays programs are on Google, delivered by Amy Carle who is a Lakesider, but also a Google program manager. There’s also a 3:30 Tuesday class on popular Apps, but I don’t need that one.

At 3:30 on Monday is Christianity in Pakistan, persecution of an endangered minority in Chautaqua Hall.

Wednesday and Thursday’s programs are on the Dead Sea Scrolls by John Kampen which should be interesting. I don’t know if it is the same content, but he has about an hour lecture on vimeo on this topic. I’m hoping it’s a bit more animated in person.

On Tuesday afternoon, a Lakesider Diane Hartenburg, will talk about her Christian pilgrimage in 2013, 500 miles across France and Spain at the Lakeside Women’s Club.

At 8 a.m. on Wednesday the Sudomirs are leading a bird walk.  Darn, my binoculars are in Columbus. There will be two other bird programs, on Friday, on Birds of Prey at the bandstand at 10:30 in the morning, and same topic, different presenter at 1:30 in the Aigler Room.

The Foreign Affairs Forum will be 2:30 on Friday as usual, and I assume should be lively given how ISIS has taken over all that was liberated in the Iraq War and is moving on to Syria and Libya.

There are two author/book events, Tuesday at 7 p.m. with Christine Haymond, See my spark, ear my voice, tips for teachers, counselors, social workers, clergy. .. and Thrity Umrigar discussing her upcoming novel, The Story Hour. She is a native of India who now teaches Creative Writing at Case Western Reserve.  That will be a Fine Print Book store at 1:30 on Friday.

And all of that is just the day time programming!

The art show starts Tuesday.  My husband has two great watercolors in the show.

 

 

.

If you have a cat, you’ll understand

10 Reasons Why Iraq's Bloodbath Is Not W's Fault

Forget that you didn't like the Bush administration, and blamed him for the War in Iraq (that essentially ended before he left office)--let's look at how Obama is handling what's going on in Iraq now. This is by Larry Elder.

Let’s review:  “The U.S. intelligence community's belief that Saddam was aggressively pursuing weapons of mass destruction predated Bush's inauguration, and therefore cannot be attributed to political pressure. ... Germany ... Israel, Russia, Britain, China and even France held positions similar to that of the United States. ... In sum, no one doubted that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction."

“George Bush did not "rush" America into the war. He obtained a consensus -- a resolution from the House, a resolution from the Senate and a resolution from the United Nations. There was a 15-month run-up before the war, during which time Saddam could have declared what he did or did not do with the WMD.

“We were greeted as liberators in Iraq. The New York Times Iraq reporter John Burns said: "The American troops were greeted as liberators. We saw it." In April, 2003, the New York Daily News reported, "Jubilant crowds chanted, 'Thank you, Bush' and showered troops with yellow and pink flowers, exactly as administration hawks had promised."

http://townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/2014/06/26/10-reasons-why-iraqs-bloodbath-is-not-ws-fault-n1855756

Census will now include same sex marriage—but how?

It's going to be tricky counting married same sex couples; just because they live together, they might not consider themselves "partners" or "married." Many same sex couples have no intention of getting married, even if they support the concept. Many have never insured their partner, put them in the will, their insurance, their mortgage or added the name to the bank account. This isn't societal prejudice; it's a lack of commitment, or a casual relationship of convenience for sex or rent, or concerns about costs if there were a breakup--just like other couples who have decided marriage is just a piece of paper.

 http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/05/29/census-says-it-will-count-same-sex-marriages-but-with-caveats/

http://money.msn.com/personal-finance/gay-marriage-can-muddle-finances

Happy July 6

“In 2014, Cost of Government Day falls on July 6.This day marks the point during the year when the average American has earned enough income to pay for his or her share of the spending and regulatory burdens imposed by government at the federal, state and local levels. While Americans may be celebrating Independence Day on July 4, they are still working to pay for the full cost of government until the end of the weekend.  This will be the sixth consecutive year that COGD will fall in July; prior to President Obama taking office, COGD had never fallen after June 27.

All told, the full costs of government amount to 51 percent of GDP. Workers toil 121 days to pay for government spending alone, and 65 days to pay for regulatory costs. All told, Americans labor 186 days to pay off the full burden of government.”

Read more: http://www.atr.org/#ixzz36d37he9V

Kathy Ireland speaks on her faith and pro-life views

When enablers are addicted to feeling superior

I was listening to an advice program on the radio today—a mom called about her addicted, bi-polar son who wanted to move out of the group home to an apartment so he could be independent.  He was receiving SSD but always came to mom or a brother when he needed money (usually spent his check quickly). I don’t think she really wanted help.  She wanted to whine.  And she wanted to be the rescuer, even though she realized it was wrong.  The very kind, patient Christian host told her several times to let him fail, or he would never learn to be on his own.  It was like spitting into the wind. And so it is for so many government programs.

Disabling, enabling programs intended to help have grown as often under Republicans as Democrats. But as far as I know, only the GOP is demonized and lied about for being stingy meanies--like the Obama phone story (it was a Reagan program), or the EITC (Reagan) or when GW Bush gave a tax refund to everyone, and to be fair, even to those who hadn't paid income tax for years, or ever. Until President Obama, no president had grown the social programs like George W. Bush. He was an extravagant spender for domestic issues. There was a huge expansion under Nixon, also.  A smaller government with lower taxes is good for everyone. The best poverty program is a job. Raising minimum wage does not help the unemployed, and may actually hurt them.  A husband/wife household both working at current  minimum wage jobs puts that family above poverty level and outside most welfare type programs, including Medicaid and food stamps.  Obama wants tax increases not to help the poor, but to punish the rich, because based on GWB and JFK eras, tax cuts bring in more money to the government coffers (which again is a problem because they invent more programs).

Too little, too late

“In the fiscal year before Obama unilaterally enacted the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2012, there were 6,500 illegal immigrant kids who entered the country, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. According to the Christian Science Monitor, "during the decade preceding fiscal year 2012, the federal government agency tasked with caring for unaccompanied minors who cross the border illegally dealt with an average of 7,000 to 8,000 cases a year."

The Monitor noted in the the fiscal year after Obama enacted DACA, "the number jumped to 13,625," and at least 50,000, most of whom have been from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, have entered illegally since October of last year. As Breitbart News has reported, federal and local officials are estimating at least 150,000-160,000 more will try next year.”

I guess Obama thinks they have no cell phones to call home and tell their friends all they get is a bus ride and a piece of paper.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/07/04/Obama-Doppelganger-Dies-in-US-Border-Patrol-Commercial-Aimed-at-Migrants

One Nation by Ben Carson

My husband has finished reading Ben Carson's "One Nation" (Sentinel, 2014), so I asked him to write a book review for my blog, but he said, "Oh, I couldn't do that." But he hasn't stopped raving about the book and opens it to quote from it. I tell him, "See? You could write that," but he shakes his head and continues to tell me how great it is. A neighbor stopped by last evening for a chat on our porch at Lakeside, so my husband immediately began telling him about the book, and opened it to one of his favorite sections.   ISBN 978-1-59523-112-3, $25.95. Buy it, or request for your public library. A keeper.

New media/sports celeb is also a Christian

Leave the dogs at home—hire a sitter if you must

Why do people bring dogs to parades and art shows? They bark at each other, and really don't listen when their owners yell at them. Small children are just moving, threatening objects. A dog’s sense of smell is about 1,000 to 10,000,000 times more sensitive than a human’s (depending on the breed) so imagine how they are interpreting the crowds and food tents! It also is very painful to their sensitive ears when 8 fire trucks, ambulances and police cars start those sirens. Dogs detect sounds in the frequency range of approximately 67 - 45,000 Hz (varies with different breeds), compared to humans with the approximate range of 64 - 23,000 Hz. Plus humans have better vision, so it sort of defeats the purpose of bringing them to parades--unless you're just showing them off.

Have a great holiday and remember what it celebrates

1962 cost of Living

Comparatively speaking, food was more expensive in 1962 than today, according to this chart. In 1962 we bought our first home, $14,000, but our income was more like $4,000, and a wife's income did not count in mortgage applications unless s...he was a nurse or school teacher (considered safe jobs). Banks were strict; no more than 1/3 of income could be home related. My father financed our 2nd mortgage. We rented the upstairs apartment for $65/mo which was the mortgage amount. Rental real estate is the only home that isn't a hole in the ground where you bury money. Tuition, fees and housing at the University of Illinois was probably about $1200/year ($30,300 today). I don't recall specific prices for food, but a good size candy bar was 10 cents. Yes, gas really was that cheap, but automobiles were very inefficient and less safe 40-50 years ago--I had a huge 4  door '69 Olds that got about 10 mpg. My husband had zero benefits in 1962--no insurance, no vacation, no pension. We purchased a hospitalization policy and a small life insurance policy--I think they were about $30/quarter. We paid cash for doctors and dentist. All that said, I think higher education has gone up faster than health care (1,120% since 1978; medical 601%), food or housing--probably because of all the government assistance and loans, and it will only get worse now that the government has taken that over completely.

We were not church members then, and if our "giving" was $10/year, I'd be surprised. We were definitely in Joe Biden territory. We always had month left over after the money ran out until we started to tithe.

Watching the morning scare stories

I'm glad we have TV warnings and coverage of bad weather, I really am, but the breathlessness and excitement, the stirring of fear. Do I see just a tad of wishful thinking for climate change/disturbance/wind change people? There are fewer hurricanes and tornadoes and the temps overall are dropping, and the icebergs were still floating on Lake Superior in mid-June, but why mess with a good story?  My next door neighbor has a huge ash tree.  Now that’s a concern. (Ash borer)

Hurricane Arthur

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyUDGfCNC-k

Hobby Lobby decision

Really. I can't believe the hysteria on the left about the Hobby Lobby decision. You would think women have been condemned to the burka or a life of 15 babies before age 30. They should really take a breath and look at the decision about unions. That hits at the heart of unions forcing themselves on home care workers--mostly women. But four abortifacients? How many women who work at Hobby Lobby will this affect? Yes, there will be more cases, and each one will be different. Obamacare, on the other hand, has hurt millions of women with higher prices and fewer choices. That's where the war on women is--this other is just a cover. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/381637/hobby-lobby-actually-lavishes-contraception-coverage-its-employees-deroy-murdock