Definitely me.

September, always a favorite month

When I was in school, September was always special—I loved getting back into the routine—seeing old friends, new books, fresh pencils and paper.  Now it’s a little different.  We come home from Lakeside Labor Day week-end and get everything unpacked, laundered, and put away, then begin with fall routine at church , committees, aerobics class and volunteering.  And because our anniversary and my birthday are within 8 days of each other there seems to a flurry of fun things to do. So that I don’t forget, and can bring the memories out like beads to admire, here is my September summary:

3rd: First aerobics class begins for the fall. Back to PDHC to volunteer after a summer off.

4th:  New class on Thursday nights at UALC Lytham taught by Pastor Eric Waters, The Divine Drama

5th:  Watching our old deck come down and our new deck go up.

7th:  New series in Sunday School class Lytham, UALC, with Steve Bruns

11th:  Trip to Blennerhassett Island in West Virginia with our Conestoga group.

12th:  Dinner at Rusty Bucket with our daughter.

17th: Dinner for PDHC at Villa Milano

19th:  Dinner with members of the UALC Visual Arts Ministry at Rusty Bucket with Ken and Connie, Steve and Tamra, Mary, and us. Free decadent dessert (for me) passed around the group.

20th: Trip to Mansfield, Ohio for Ohio Watercolor Society travelling show with Ned and Rosalie.

21st: Sunday brunch at our daughter’s home—with wonderful left overs for Monday—egg and potato/cheese casserole with ham, fresh fruit mix, biscuits, Irish coffee.

22nd: Lunch with Nancy at Old Bag of Nails.

25th: Emerson Burkhart show at Ohio History Connection with our Conestoga group with Joan and Jerry

26th: Dinner at Rusty Bucket (looks like we’re in a rut) with Joan and Jerry. Shopping for new kitchen appliances—double wall oven, microwave and dishwasher. Sticker shock, but needs to be done.

Update: The appliances at Best Buy came to right around $3600 with 5 year warranties. I wish we had 5 year warranties. New microwave, new double wall ovens, and new dishwasher. Now we have to shop for some wall tile for a back splash and new fixtures for the sink.

And of course, some spectacular weather, cool in the morning, high 70s by evening, perfect for walking our lovely grounds.

Would you, or your mother, have stayed in this job?

I was looking for the ratio of USDA employees to farmers, and found a wide variation.  Everything from 9 employees to 1 farmer to 1 employee to 25 farmers.  But I did come across this comment at one entry:

“My mum was a USDA employee. I remember visiting its offices and being intrigued by the displays of different corn species USDA claimed to have contributed to inventing. My mum did not like USDA much. She had a job as a chemist running gas chromatography of tobacco, though her true love/advanced degrees were in bacteriology. The problem was, the program was insanely designed to make her do the same test over again every year for no reason whatsoever. Because nothing about tobacco from any of the cigarette companies ever changed. It was just a badly drafted law. But, she escalated from low to super-high civil service level over the years, and had a ton of time to raise her children on that useless job. So, I’m not complaining…. Still, she utterly DESPISED her boss who maintained the idiocy that kept her job and thus his (and her) budget for his stupid useless fiefdom, going on and on for 20 or more years, for no earthly reason at all. She was deeply pained by the extremely unethical nature of it all and had she had access to a whistleblower statute, I have no doubt that she would have used it.”

I have quit jobs in my “vast” employment record for much less.  (And I’ve also been fired for not being teachable in crappy jobs.)  I might have stayed long enough to look for a better job, but 20+ years working with tobacco, with a despicable boss for his empire building when my degree said I could do better?  No way!

But back to the ratio.  Here’s what senator Coburn said about it: “The USDA currently employs over 120,000 individuals in 16,000 offices and field locations.  The agency notes that if it were a private company, it would be the sixth largest in the United States. Today there is one USDA employee for every eight farmers (those that list farming as their principle source of income), or overall, one USDA employee for every 18 farms.

Meanwhile, back at the U.N. party

The President’s speech at the U.N.

I didn't hear the president's speech today--some say it wasn't too bad, just too long. Also he said the U.S. is getting better--better than we were in 2004. Well, he's been president 6 of those 10 years, and I don't think things are better at all.

• The economy was booming in 2004 and his recovery has been tepid.
• He dropped the ball on the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and now we've got a nastier enemy which just today he finally called out as Muslim;
• it appears the U.S. was gun-running to Syrian rebels, possibly ISIS, in the Benghazi fiasco.
• He's turned his office and the Attorney General into a race battle--even mentioned Ferguson to the U.N.--but not hundreds of veterans dying while waiting for treatment in our only truly socialist health system.
• Our internal revenue service is now tied to our medical records and has already proven that it can get really nasty when your politics are different than the president's;
• thousands of Americans will have their tax refunds garnished because they figured their insurance incorrectly;
• he's shredded our first amendment spying on journalists and making nuns pay for contraception;
• he's tried to gin up hatred for the 2nd amendment even though gun violence is down;
• he's lied about the dangers of rape on college campuses as a sop to radical feminists claiming we've got third world conditions there;
• he destroyed a health insurance tradition that served 85% of the people;
• more people are on food stamps than ever and they can now be used at fast food and for pot;
• he has whined and complained about the GOP and President Bush to the point of being embarrassing for a public figure making him look weak and helpless;
• he lied so many times about Obamacare, we've lost track--the most recent revelation was it does cover abortion something he promised the Democrats wouldn't happen;
• he called Islamic terrorism at Ft. Hood workplace violence, thus depriving the survivors of full benefits.
• And finally, a man whose campaign could use every technology gimmick known to get him elected, couldn't get a computer system to work for his legacy even after spending over a billion--Obamacare.

No, things are definitely NOT better than 2004, except for the super rich--they are definitely richer than they were in 2004.

Are women really victims as Democrats claim?

Women earn 57 percent of bachelor's degrees, 63 percent of master's degrees and 53 percent of doctorates. They constitute the majority of the U.S. workforce and the majority of managers. Single women without kids earn 8 percent more than single men without children in most cities. Women make up almost half of medical school applicants and nearly 80 percent of veterinary school enrollees.

Why do Democrats continue to depict women as morons and victims? Because it works. The women who are really hurt are those taking Uncle Sam as a step-daddy and boyfriend.

http://townhall.com/columnists/jonahgoldberg/#!

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/03/06/womens-college-enrollment-gains-leave-men-behind/

Testing welfare recepients

Drug testing for welfare so that government aid isn't misused and the gov't isn't enabling bad habits? Then let's drug test farmers for all the USDA perks and church staff for all the grants and hand outs they take from the government to run the programs the Bible tells them to do out of love for Jesus. Let's drug test school boards and teachers for all the federal aid without which they can't run their schools. Let's drug test academics before they get all their grants, 60% of which goes directly to administrative costs. Not a popular view, I know, but hypocrisy on the left or right is worrisome. The only reason to accept government money is if you want more government control.

Democrats want choice only to kill the unborn

Democrats claim to be pro-choice, but that's only when it comes to killing babies in the womb. They don't want you to have the right to choose your kids' school, work without joining a union, buy a gun, pay people whatever you contract to pay them if they choose to work for you, buy things you want to buy without regulations constantly interfering and so on. They also don't want you to express your religion in public, or even in private if it conflicts with one of their favorite projects. They want you to change your vocabulary, what you eat, and where you hang the American flag. They want to destroy businesses if the owners don't buy their party line. No, Democrats are statists. And only the state has freedom.

http://townhall.com/columnists/johnstossel/2014/09/24/two-antichoice-parties-n1895570

Yes, Republicans also recommend restricting choice—like not killing the unborn or people over 75. Or not sending young men and women into battle with their hands tied with silly REO regulations.  Like not decimating the poor with legalized gambling.  Some choices are better than others.

The EPA is a rogue agency

Jay Lehr helped birth the environmental movement of the late 1960s and the founding of the EPA in 1971, but now says, "The takeover of EPA and all of its activities by liberal activists was slow and methodical over the past 30 years. Today, EPA is all but a wholly owned subsidiary of liberal activist groups. Its rules account for about half of the nearly $2 trillion a year cost of complying with all national regulations in the U.S. President Barack Obama is using it to circumvent Congress to impose regulations on the energy sector that will cause prices to "skyrocket." It is a rogue agency . . .

http://heartland.org/policy-documents/replacing-environmental-protection-agency

“It's time for the national EPA to go. The path forward is now clear and simple: A five-year transition from a federal government bureaucracy to a Committee of the Whole composed of the 50 state environmental protection agencies.

To those who say this would fail to adequately protect the public's health or the environment, I urge you to reflect on the poor job currently being done by EPA, and then to meet some of the men and women staffing state EPA offices and see for yourself the sophistication, commitment, and resources they have to do the job. You will not remain doubters for long. And to those who like this plan but think it is utopian or impossible, I can tell you as someone who was there at the beginning of EPA, who helped write the laws and advised its founders, that this can be done quickly and efficiently.

All that is missing is the political will.”

http://www.desmogblog.com/jay-lehr

Ron Arnold, Freezing in the Dark: Money, Power, Politics and the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy, 2007.

Wilfred Beckerman, Through Green-Colored Glasses: Environmentalism Reconsidered, 1996.

Larry Bell, Climate of Corruption: Politics and Power Behind the Global Warming Hoax, 2011.

James T. Bennett and Thomas J. DiLorenzo, Cancer Scam: Diversion of Federal Cancer Funds to Politics, 1998.

Alex B. Berezow and Hank Campbell, Science Left Behind: Feel-Good Fallacies and the Rise of the Anti-Scientific Left, 2012.

Rupert Darwall, The Age of Global Warming: A History, 2013.

James V. DeLong, Out of Bounds, Out of Control: Regulatory Enforcement at the EPA. Washington, DC: Cato Institute, 2002

Jeff Gillman and Eric Heberlig, How the Government Got In Your Backyard, 2011.

Indur M. Goklany, The Precautionary Principle: A Critical Appraisal of Environmental Risk Assessment, 2001.

Geoffrey C. Kabat, Hyping Health Risks: Environmental Hazards in Daily Life and the Science of Epidemiology, 2008.

Wallace Kaufman, No Turning Back: Dismantling the Fantasies of Environmental Thinking, 1994.

Aynsley Kellow, Science and Public Policy: The Virtuous Corruption of Virtual Environmental Science, 2007.

S. Robert Lichter and Stanley Rothman, Environmental Cancer A Political Disease? 1999.

Christopher Manes, Green Rage: Radical Environmentalism and the Unmaking of Civilization, 1990.

A.W. Montford, The Hockey Stick Illusion: Climategate and the Corruption of Science, 2010.

Daniel T. Oliver, Animal Rights: The Inhumane Crusade, 1999.

James M. Sheehan, Global Greens: Inside the International Environmental Establishment, 1998.

Julian Simon, Hoodwinking the Nation, 1999.

Rich Trzupek, Regulators Gone Wild: How the EPA Is Ruining American Industry. New York, NY: Encounter Books, 2011.

Where is Hannah Graham?

I'm trying to remember if I ever heard of a college co-ed being assaulted when I was in college--if they were, we didn't hear about it. But also, we were locked in at 11 p.m.

Also, no men/boys were allowed beyond the lobby area.  If you needed a man to help you move in, or move out, you yelled, “Man on first” or “Man in the hall,” so no one would come out of her room not fully dressed.

I suppose there were some women who “slept over” at a man’s apartment, but she would have falsified her absence report, which we filled out when going home.

http://clashdaily.com/2014/09/3-mistakes-hannah-graham-made/

Why is it considered blaming the victim to caution young women to look out for their own safety, to not dress provocatively, to not drink too much, and to never walk the streets after mid-night. Maybe feminists really don’t care?

Gun violence is down, but most don’t know it

“(CNN) -- Gun-related homicides and crime are "strikingly" down from 20 years ago, despite the American public's belief that firearm crime is on the upswing, a new study said Wednesday.

Looking back 50 years, a Pew Research Center study found U.S. gun homicides rose in the 1960s, gained in the 1970s, peaked in the 1980s and the early 1990s, and then plunged and leveled out the past 20 years.

"Despite national attention to the issue of firearm violence, most Americans are unaware that gun crime is lower today than it was two decades ago," the researchers say.

A Pew survey of Americans in March found 56% believed gun-related crime is higher than 20 years ago and only 12% said it's lower. The survey said 26% believed it stayed the same and 6% didn't know.”

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/08/us/study-gun-homicide/

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/380108/lying-about-school-shootings-charles-c-w-cooke

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/06/11/gun-violence-and-mass-shootings-myths-facts-and-solutions/

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-08-20/the-stark-statistics-on-young-black-men-and-gun-violence

The government is making us losers with gambling as a source of income

"Today, we would seek to speak for the ‘‘losers.’’ The ‘‘losers’’ are those citizens sacrificed by our government in its failed experiment of sponsoring and promoting gambling to extract as much money as possible from the public. . . . ‘‘When I asked one I.G.T. artist if he ever plays, he acted as if I had insulted him,’’ wrote New York Times reporter Gary Rivlin in his cover story on slot machines for The Times Sunday Magazine. ‘‘Slots are for losers,’’ he spat, and then, coming to his senses, begged me to consider that an off-the-record comment.’’ Hon. Frank R. Wolf, VA, House of Rep., September 19, 2014, speech on evils of gov't supported gambling, Congressional Record,

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2014-09-19/pdf/CREC-2014-09-19-pt1-PgE1502.pdf

Economically: No great nation has ever built prosperity on the  foundations of personal debt, addiction, and the steady expansion of ‘‘businesses’’ that produce no new wealth. . . .

Ethically: A decent government does not finance its activities by playing its most vulnerable citizens for suckers, thus rendering the lives of millions expendable, exploitable, and unworthy of protection.

 Spiritually: We mock the higher values that any good society depends on—honesty, mutual trust, self-discipline, sacrifice, concern for others, and a belief in a work ethic that connects effort and reward—when government tells its citizens every day that it is committed to providing ‘‘fun’’ instead of opportunity; that a rigged bet is the way to achieve the American dream . . .”

Once a week I drive by the “Hollywood Casino” on the west side of Columbus on my way to volunteer at the pregnancy center.  I’m always shocked when I hear Christians talk about going there for fun and entertainment. Misplaced values.

What Obama doesn’t know, didn’t know

This comment  appeared under the name of Frederick A. Green in a response to Bret Stephens Sept. 22, 2014 WSJ editorial What Obama knows.  I thought it was a good list; I’ve looked around and can’t find that it is viral. I checked his name, and he seems to comment at the Wall St. Journal.

“Obama and Holder know nothing about Fast and Furious.

Obama knows nothing about the VA scandal.

Obama and Holder know nothing about the New Black Panthers intimidating voters.

Obama, Mueller, Shulman, Miller and Lew know nothing about the IRS targeting conservative groups. Lerner knows, but she’s not saying.
Obama and Holder know nothing about securing telephone documents of almost two dozen AP reporters and a Fox News reporter.

Obama, Rice and Clinton know nothing about Benghazi.

Obama knows nothing about the sharp rise in health care costs under ObamaCare—increases he said would not happen.

Obama knows nothing about why insurance policies are canceled after he said numerous times that policy holders could keep the plans they like, and he knows nothing about why people can no longer go to the physicians of their choice.

Obama and Mayorkas knows nothing about inspector general's allegations of conflicts of interest, misuse of position, mismanagement of the federal foreign investor-visa program and appearance of impropriety.

No one in the Obama administration knows anything about the inspector general’s report that Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman verbally instructed Elliot Mainzer, the individual [Poneman] chose to serve as acting administrator of Bonneville Power Administration, that no BPA employees were to talk with anyone, including Congressional investigators, regarding allegations that hiring guidelines unfairly disadvantaged military veterans.

No one knows anything about the FEC seeking information from the IRS about American Issues Project… except Lerner, but she’s not saying.

Obama knows nothing about spying on our allies’ leaders.

Obama knows nothing about why insurance policies are canceled after he said numerous times that policy holders could keep the plans they like.

Obama knows nothing about the VA scandal.

Obama knows EVERYTHING about trading five high-ranking Taliban terrorists for a U.S. Army deserter.

Obama says these are “phony scandals.” Ron Ziegler called Watergate a “third-rate burglary."

Orange peel nutrition

It’s not a scientific study, but since I’ve been preparing orange peel for eating (about 2 years), I haven’t had any sore throats or colds.  The peel is more nutritious than the fruit, but I enjoy the orange, too.  I haven’t been able to find any information on how cooking the peel degrades the nutritional value.  On the other hand, I assume any testing was done on cooked peel.  Using the peel of one orange (in sections) I heat it in a cup in the microwave, change the water, and repeat about 3 times. I cut each section into small strips.  Then I soak it over night in sugar water, drain, and sprinkle with sugar and refrigerate.  It’s not like orange peel candy, much softer and still slightly bitter.  However, I don’t eat much at one time.  Maybe one small strip a day.

Man blamed global climate change

She can probably make more selling marijuana than reporting the news

“Viewers of KTVA's Sunday night newscast learned all about the Alaska Cannabis Club, a medical marijuana group. And then, they learned something else: The reporter who presented the story to the station's viewers is also the owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club.

Charlo Greene then quit her TV job on live television after promising to dedicate "all of my energy toward fighting for freedom and fairness, which begins with legalizing marijuana here in Alaska."

She added: "And as for this job, well, not that I have a choice, but, [expletive] it, I quit." “

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/09/22/alaska-reporter-quits-on-live-tv-after-a-segment-about-the-medical-marijuana-club-she-runs/

The all white, all Spanish language cable channel

I was watching Despierta America on Univision this morning while peddling my Power Spin. That channel has a terrible "shadism" problem--didn't see a single dark skinned, Indian, black, brown or Asian person either as host, contestant, guest or in a commercial. Even the exercise segment was led by a blonde. The President of Mexico sends his brown and poor to the U.S. so that fair and light skinned Mexicans of primarily European descent can retain power and money. Univision is headquartered in NYC owned by a conglomerate of investors and in viewership is on a par with the top 5 English language networks. I wonder why there is a different standard for diversity and multiculturalism?

http://entretenimiento.univision.com/shows/despierta-america/

Having lunch today with a good friend of 40 years.

 

July 2014 at Lakeside

 

1986 in aerobics class

The real Snerdley

“James Golden considers his 26 years working with Rush Limbaugh to be the greatest professional blessing he could ever imagine. Originally from Queens, New York, James met Rush while working for a major media network and hasn’t looked back since.

Most Rush listeners know James as either “Snerdley,” the call screener, or the “Official Obama Criticizer.” Golden was in Washington recently for a CURE meeting and that’s where we got the chance to sit down with him for this exclusive 30 minute video interview.

For the first half of the interview, Golden waxed passionately about race in America, and how America’s first black president has only harmed race relations in this country.

Recalling when strong, two parent families were the norm for blacks, when hard work and merit allowed blacks to rise in society, and when homicide wasn’t the major cause of the death for young black males, Golden said with genuine regret, “Isn’t it a shame that for most of black people, the good old days were the days when things were segregated legally in this country?”

He concludes, “What liberalism has done to black communities is horrific.” “

http://dailycaller.com/2014/09/21/rush-limbaughs-call-screener-what-liberalism-has-done-to-black-communities-is-horrific/

Our new deck

It should be nice enough this evening to eat on our new deck. Our old one was nearing 40 years old, wasn't up to code, and had some rot and insects. We used Pro Deck and are very pleased with the company and product. It is a composite material and will not need to be stained.

Very nice crew who worked hard and cleaned up the mess.

Finished product, missing some trim pieces that they’ll come back for.

Our anniversary flowers that were at the church service last Sunday.

The back yard with trees and creek; the unit in photo is just a bit west of ours.