The Private Library

Today I found the sweetest, beautifully written, and most informative blog about books and collecting (which I don’t do, but like to read about it) called The Private Library.  Unfortunately, it ended three years ago.  I did find this:

For many years L.D. Mitchell's blog The Private Library showed collectors that it is possible to build a collection without the benefit of much money. He published numerous articles on every imaginable subject of book collecting, he wrote about the most beautiful, the most important, the most common, the most attractive, the most unusual, the most interesting, the most extraordinary, the most amazing ... books one could read, buy, collect and simply enjoy. The Private Library has become an irreplaceable resource for all booklovers. Since April 2012, it is a static archive. L. D. Mitchell will no longer post new original content.  https://www.ilab.org/eng/documentation/952-provenance_and_the_private_library.html

Standardized testing

Two bills have been introduced to reduce the number of mandated testing in schools--low quality, redundant, and way too many. NCLB expired 8 years ago. I never met a teacher who liked it. Why is it still around? Children get something like 20 standardized tests a year. No one is doing well with that system except the lobbyists for the testing companies.

I went back and checked the history of standardized tests. "In 1914, Frederick Kelly invented the multiple-choice test. By the 1950s the average public-school student took three standardized tests before graduation." Maybe those were nationwide, because it sure seemed like more--like once a year. But I was a good student and poor test taker. I never took an SAT or ACT or GRE and was an A student.

The first bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and introduced Tuesday, would empower states to reduce the amount of low-quality and redundant testing given to students. While it would not affect the number of federally mandated tests given in schools, it would allow states to use federal funds to audit their assessment systems.

The second bill, reintroduced by Rep. Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.) and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on Wednesday, takes a more extreme approach on the issue of standardized testing. The Student Testing Improvement and Accountability Act would allow states and schools to scale back federal testing so that a student would only be tested once every few years -- once during grades three through five, once during grades six through nine, and so on. The bill was first introduced in 2014.

Aren’t you glad the president has so much free time?

While thousands of young people were gathered in DC for the Walk for Life yesterday, President Obama chose that time to meet with--wait for it--young people who have YouTube channels. Oh my. Of course, he's a huge supporter of abortion. But even if it weren't the Walk for Life event when hundreds of thousands promote the sacredness of life, this just seems like pandering. The "youth" who supported him in 2008 have moved on, disillusioned ready for something other than slogans. The new faces, new ideas in Washington are the young, dynamic and diverse GOP in Congress. Send in the drones and tax and spend away their future is about all he has for them.

He met with YouTube creators Bethany Mota, GloZell Green (eats Fruit Loops in her bath water to draw her audience) and Hank Green, but won’t meet with Netanyahu, invited to speak to Congress.  I’m guessing some of the following of GloZell don’t even know he is the President.

http://hotair.com/archives/2015/01/23/obama-white-house-in-meltdown-over-netanyahus-proposed-speech-to-congress/

I’m so glad I’m not a Democrat; this is embarrassing following so closely to the Paris fiasco.

Al Sharpton and Eric Holder

Will Holder eat humble pie or chicken out?  Will Rev. Al ever back down from the shakedowns of corporations? An FBI investigation has not found enough evidence to charge Darren Wilson with the federal crime of depriving Michael Brown of his civil rights, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation. 40 investigators, 200 people interviewed. CNN really parses its words. This reporter wasn’t pleased. Not a single quote from those who believed Wilson.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/21/us/ferguson-darren-wilson-civil-rights-charges/index.html

My TBR list is growing

I've got to stop saying yes--to books to review. They are piling up. Chicks on the Right by Miriam Weaver and Amy Jo Clark; Countdown to the Apocalypse; why ISIS and Ebola are only the beginning by Robert Jeffress; American dreams; restoring economic opportunity for everyone, by Marco Rubio; America in retreat; the new isolationism and the coming global disorder, by Bret Stephens; Practical theology; spiritual direction from Saint Thomas Aquinas, by Peter Kreeft.  I think I even said Yes to one yesterday, but I’ve forgotten the title.  I reject more than I accept. However, I did take a sack of books and magazines to the library yesterday for the book sale.

Father Mario Majano on the sanctity of life

This morning on EWTN (repeated from yesterday's March for Life) Fr. Mario Majano spoke to a stadium of thousands of young people and in his homily he talked about young heroes, telling the story of one young woman who rejected an abortion for 3 crisis pregnancies, one a rape, one when she was unmarried with a young child to care for, and one after being treated for a tumor when she didn't know she was pregnant. I thought he was going to reveal one of the children to now be famous, but then he said, "Thanks, Mama," because he was one of them. (All healthy and normal.) http://oloschurchtp.com/people/fr-mario-majano

I checked the website of his parish and see it has a ministry (and staff) for Haitians, Africans, and Ghanans, as well as speakers of Spanish.

Lower deficit and State of the Union

Obama took credit in the SOTU for the lower deficit, but it was the spending cuts demanded by the House Republicans and the 16 day shutdown that did that.  He also can't take any credit for increased fuel production which is making us an exporter and safer from dependency on the middle east, Africa and South American sources.  It was fracking that turned that around, lowered gas prices, and put money in the wallets of Americans. He has dragged his feet everywhere he could to satisfy his base on energy. And it's not air quality or climate change--they don't want the U.S. to be strong.

Winding down with the Constitution

Busy early Thursday--house guest, Bible study, fascinating presentation at lunch by Rod Crane talking about the role of volunteers with the Red Cross during Katrina, and a doctor's appointment. Winding down now by reading the U.S. Constitution. It's powerful and short.

I'm always shocked by the short list of responsibilities (6) of the President--which comes after a rather long list (about 25) for the Congress--which the Founders put ahead of the President. 1) Commander and chief of the various military branches, 2) granting reprieves and pardons against the U.S., 3) with the advice and consent of the Senate he can make treaties, 4) with advice and consent of Senate he can appoint Ambassadors and other public officials like judges, 5) fill vacancies that might happen during the Senate recess, and "from time to time" he can give a State of the Union address as he judges necessary and expedient, 6) receive ambassadors and other public ministers. Five of the six really deal directly or indirectly with national security, or relations with other nations.

I can find nothing about child care, free college tuition, health insurance, climate, advocating for any particular fuel system, or chastising citizens for discerning ethnic and religious shortcomings. So why have we and our parents and grandparents allowed this president and those before him to usurp the power of Congress? If the President strays into the Congress' job description, who will do his job?

About that pay inequity?

Mr. President,

the 60s called Tuesday night. They are upset that you don't know your history, employment law or what JFK did. The law about equal pay for equal work was passed in 1963. Employers are not allowed to discriminate based on gender. If they are not obeying the law, why didn't you do something? If they are not obeying that law, why will another one help? Also, women have earned 9 million more college degrees than men since 1982. They haven't been earning the same kind of degrees nor working the same number of hours, however. Last I checked, a mining engineer earned more than an art museum curator. Also for over 5 years, young, single college educated women have been earning more than young, single college educated men--in some cities like Atlanta and Memphis it's as much as 20%. Black women are so outpacing black men in college degrees, it is alarming. I think they get about 71% of the masters awarded to blacks students. What will you do about those gaps? Demand more laws?

Georgetown University did a study in 2011 of differences in gender and race in selecting a major. The study found that white men are concentrated in the highest-earning majors, including engineering and pharmaceutical sciences, while women gravitate toward the lowest-earning majors like education, art and social work.  The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education noted that educated white women were less likely to work full time than educated black women, accounting for the difference in their pay (educated black women earn more).

https://georgetown.app.box.com/s/omooxnult5yvuctf0ftl

http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2015274,00.html

http://www.jbhe.com/news_views/47_four-year_collegedegrees.html

http://www.jbhe.com/news_views/64_degrees.html

Employers can't discriminate by law, but I’m sure they can read resumes.  And HR reps can talk among themselves and note absences, difficulties with co-workers, willingness to travel, etc.

Flashback on taxes and Democrats

John Kerry and John Edwards in the 2004 presidential race ran on a platform of repealing tax breaks for the rich. Sound familiar? Wasn’t that mentioned in Tuesday’s SOTU?  They didn't like Bush's tax cuts of 2003 for capital gains despite the fact the cuts brought in a 68% increase in tax revenues. Why do tax cuts bring in higher revenues? Lowering the rate provides incentive to sell, and that means money to reinvest which means more growth, which means more jobs, which means more taxes for our Congress to spend. That makes Democrats very unhappy, because it also means the rich get richer. They'd rather everyone suffer than have the upper quintile (other than themselves) get more. Bush inherited a recession too, although he didn't mention it every time he was in front of a microphone. He just put a stop to it. Obama wants higher taxes not to help the middle class (we'll never see a penny of it), but to punish the successful.

George Stephanopoulos

Georgie Porgie puddin' and pie,
Kisses Obama which makes us sigh.
When GOP comes out to play,
Georgie Porgie runs away.

Broadcast media should have different standards than cable. The FCC regulates them. We all realize George was a Democrat operative in the 90s and staffer for years, but really, give him an opinion show. George isn't a news correspondent--he's practically on the White House staff.

We’re past 6 years on the job.  How is this a rescue?  A coach or CEO would have been fired years ago. But then FDR is still hailed as a hero, and he kept us in a depression for over a decade.

Without laughing, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday’s World News Tonight advanced the White House hope that Barack Obama will be seen as Ronald Reagan was in 1987, as a President who rescued the economy and was rewarded by voters. -  http://newsbusters.org/blogs/rich-noyes/2015/01/20/abcs-stephanopoulos-finds-it-credible-barack-obama-can-be-another-ronald

Paraprosdokian--a late 20th-century neologism

Who serves in the military?

I wonder how the rumor got started that an all volunteer military would disproportionately attract poor and minority? Isn't true. Blacks and white are about proportionate to the population, Hispanics underrepresented, Indians overrepresented. Higher level of education than the general population. "U.S. military enlistees disproportionately come from upper-middle-class families. Members of America's volunteer Army are not enlisting because they have no other economic opportunities. Most recruits come from relatively affluent families and would likely earn above-average wages if they did not join the military." http://www.heritage.org/…/who-serves-in-the-us-military-the…

Two local history titles on Jerome, Ohio

I’ve been living in Columbus since 1967, and I admit that until today I’d never hear of Jerome, Ohio, which is just up the road near Dublin, and was described 65 years ago by Johnny Jones, columnist 1940-1971 for the Columbus Dispatch, as “American as apple pie” and off the state highways where you cross the O’Shaughnessy Dam Bridge near the Columbus Zoo. With Dublin spreading out, Jerome had a 90% increase in population in the last decade, from about 4,000 in 2000 to 7500 in 2010. Author of the first book, Les Gates, grew up in Jerome and recorded his fond memories in a small book titled simply “Jerome” (3d ed. 2014). Gates returned to the home place after serving in the military and was in the insurance business for many years in Dublin, OH.  After a few words about his parents and life on the Gates farm at 7379 Brock Road, he continues with memories, photos and descriptions of neighboring farms, the local school and business establishments like the Twin Oaks Golf Course and Seely Grocery Store. Gates is about my age, and includes stories of his years at Dublin High School with photos of his team sports, baseball and football.

In a conversation with another Jerome resident, 99 year old Mary Alice Schacherbauer, Les Gates learned she had a diary of her writings with memories and musings from 1914 to 2014. With his interest in Jerome, Les and his wife Mary decided to edit and publish her memories also  as “Days I remember; my memories and musings from 1914 to 2014. “ Mrs. Schacherbauer is about the age of my parents, so I particularly enjoyed her stories of school in the 1920s, and found to my surprise that people had school buses back then.  My parents lived on farms near Dixon, Illinois, and walked to school. She and her husband Lee married in 1937 and were active in the Jerome United Methodist Church.  She includes family stories and has many fond memories of grandparents and aunts and uncles. Several of her poems are included, and she closes with prayer for “our country, our world, our way of life.” One hundred years old and she has seen a lot of changes, but still enjoys life and especially her memories.

You can purchase one or both titles from Amazon or at local gift shops. Or you can contact Les Gates at goldengator1938@yahoo.com.

Soul mates by Jacqueline J. Holness

http://nblo.gs/12NYiO  Check out her repost from 2011.

It’s not a race thing, it’s a heart thing

Daily Kos, a liberal internet opinion site, posted a rant by a young man (or woman, couldn’t tell) who had been successful in the past, moving from poverty to middle class (through luck, he says) and is now going to have to sell his car and apply for food stamps. Everyone else seems to be to blame for his situation, He’s angry and depressed. At a conservative discussion group on Facebook, this woman responded to his frustration with hope.

"I was on food stamps for about 6 mos. I did not have a car. I rode the bus. I did not have the internet or cable. I was living in a $300 a month apartment. (all bills paid). I ate a lot of mac and cheese (home made) and beans w/rice (dried). I ate baked chicken (cheapest meat at the time) in soups and sandwiches. I registered for classes and ended up getting a job at the school. It was hard. One night I had to stand in the rain to catch a bus to go to work. And I wept with the struggle. That day, I decided that it was up to me to change my situation. That was in 1997, I am now an instructor at the school. I have BA, an MA, and 48 hrs on my PhD. I am 65 and I am telling anyone who wants to that you can change your own life. I now teach students black, brown, and white who struggle the same way I did and I tell them all. They are they only one that can change their situation. I have witnessed students change their lives and their circumstances. It is not a race thing it is a heart thing. I have seen it happen."

Yes, more people die in January

If it feels like you’ve been attending too many funerals lately, you’re right.  It’s true, more people die in January than  other months, and more in winter than other seasons. My mother died in January, as did both her parents; her sister died in February and her brother in December. Checking my genealogy data, my father’s family for the most part died in spring and summer months.   It is not climate, and it’s not suicide (that’s a myth).  Legacy.com has some good information. http://blog.legacy.com/2011/06/23/yes-it%E2%80%99s-true-more-people-die-in-january/

Presidential word games

“The Obama administration refuses to call Islamofascist terror what it is. The President, when he talks about the terrorists, refuses to identify them specifically; they are “extremists” and the like. He and his supporters use the same terminology to describe the Islamofascists and members of Christian conservative groups or members of the Tea Party movement—“fundamentalists” (even though, by the traditional definition, only Christians can be fundamentalists), “Far Right” (even though, everywhere they are involved in politics, Islamofascists are allied with the Left), “extremists”  (even though both Christian conservatives and Tea Partiers are in the political mainstream, especially compared to Obama-style authoritarians/Progressives). Meanwhile, the Fort Hood shooting was classified by the Obama administration and its media allies as “workplace violence.””  Steven J. Allen  http://capitalresearch.org/2015/01/leader-of-the-free-world-not/

Turkey Meatballs

It's not that it's magic, but I like to involve one of my mother's mixing bowls when I cook/make something unfamiliar. Friday I made something she probably never did, and I used her little red bowl. . . turkey meatballs. Ground turkey is so tasteless. I decided to add some bread crumbs, seasoning and brush with some sauce.  They tasted so good, I made more on Saturday and froze them for use later. As best as I can recall:

Bread crumbs from whatever you’ve got—I used two slices of whole wheat bread.

1/2 envelop of Lipton’s dried onion soup mix

1 egg

Mix all that together and add 1 pound of ground turkey.

Shape into small balls and place in a muffin tin for small muffins (mine has 24 spaces)

Brush the tops with some kind of sauce.  I made one from mustard, catsup and a little Truvia on Friday, and used grape jelly, mustard and catsup on Saturday.  This keeps the meatballs from drying out while baking.

325 degrees about 30-35 minutes.

Makes 24. Freeze what you don’t eat.  My husband decided they were just the right size for a Ritz cracker.

                   

Here’s a recipe from Food Network that’s a lot more work. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/mini-turkey-meatballs-recipe.html

Here’s another one—more work—but I like the idea of serving them over greens. I’d need to make more sauce, however. I only had about a dollop and a dash. http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-quick-turkey-meatballs-over-greens-weeknight-dinner-recipes-from-the-kitchn-73204

Learning math

I’m only on page 13 of my new math book, “Math on Call,” and the reason it is going slowly is that it isn’t review, it’s new concepts, and although older people can learn new things, it takes longer.  Here’s a new one on me.  Using, or not using, the word and.

“When you read a number, do NOT say AND in any old place.  If you do, you’ll have trouble when you need to read the decimal point as “and.” Sometimes pretty funny misunderstandings can happen. 

Two hundred and twenty-five thousandths is 200.025

Two hundred twenty-five thousandths is 0.225

[Cartoon of an elephant and a hamster on a teeter-totter]

If I keep going I might be able to do Common Core Math!