History of Prostitution

Before I pass along this interesting reprint (1937, Eugenics Society) of a 19th c. book, I'll copy a few sentences.

"It has been well observed that a people's virtue or vice does not consist in the arithmetical increase or decrease of immoral actions, but in the prevailing sentiment of an age or people, which condemns or approves them." Russia, p. 262

The author had just summarized how late Russia had entered the modern era, and how in the Elizabethan age of England the Czar of Muscovy was considered a barbarian. Maybe he's not saying we get the government and culture and values we deserve, but I think that sentence could apply to our current age.

"The Watul, or Gipsy tribe of Kashmir is remarkable for many lovely women, who are taught to please the taste of the voluptuary. They sing licentious songs in an amorous tone, dance in a lascivious measure, dress in a peculaiarly fascinating manner, and seduce by the very expression of their countenances. . . and have been known to amass large sums of money." Semi-civilized nations, p. 420

My, doesn't that sound like the movie star gossip rags I browsed while waiting in the grocery store line yesterday. When the author gets to New York in his survey, he divides its prostitution into five grades, the first being the wealthy kept women of wealthy men; then those in comfortable brothels run by former prostitutes; then on to the immigrant women with poor English, the Irish below the German; and the fourth group he calls repulsive refuse, diseased and drunk with vagrants for clients. The last group are even more wretched, and have no shelter, are starving, drunk, and begging for a glass of gin. The author describes them as the outcasts of society, and the direction those in the higher classes are moving.

Good Samaritan saves a tire

At church Sunday, someone took the time to write out a note and slip it under the windshield wiper of my husband's car, "low tire." This nice person wasn't counting on the way my husband processes information. All he saw was a restaurant check (other side) and he put it in the car thinking it was from me (this baffles me, since this isn't how we communicate). Last evening he brings the "restaurant check" to me and asks what I want done with it. I looked at it and didn't recognize the name of the restaurant, so I asked him where it came from, and he said it was on his windshield. So, being a clever investigative librarian, I turned it over and saw the note. "Someone has left you a note. Do you have a low tire?" "Don't think so, but I'll go look." He came back in the house and confirmed that yes, one tire was very low. He'd already made a number of errands that day. So today he took his SUV to our son at Jack Maxton, who found all four were low, but one was really low.

Thanks, who ever you are, for saving a tire or preventing an accident.

Closet cleaning tip

I saw a way to trim your closets: turn all of your clothes hangers around, then turn them back when you wear an item. If the item is never warn in a season, (year), consider discarding.

I don't need that trick. I can tell by looking in the closet what hasn't been worn, and there are several reasons: 1) Doesn't fit; 2) isn't comfortable; 3) it's not attractive on me; 3) it needs to be ironed, and if I wear it, I'll have to iron it.

So this morning, 6 nice cotton blend blouses are leaving the house. All have enough cotton in them that I spray starch and iron and look rumpled 10 minutes after I wear them, so I tend to choose something else. Four light weight cotton jackets--one is ugly, one wrinkles, one is uncomfortable and one doesn't fit. Also a fancy 2 piece blouse that I've worn for winter dress-up events, but it's actually too sheer to be comfortable in any weather. A kitty vest that I really like, but is about 12 years old.

This jacket is leaving home.

Confused, bothered and befuddled — Everyday Math

Since I don't have grandchildren, I'm not really up on what children are learning in school these days. The closest I came to any gossip was several years ago when my husband complained about an elementary science/math class in which he volunteered on the Hilltop (low income). Even the teacher couldn't figure out the problems and asked him for help. It was his last year to volunteer--it was like watch child cruelty. Then a few weeks ago I was in the middle of a discussion (I was just listening) of a mom, a teen-ager, and a software writer who were discussing something called "spiraling" and "Chicago Math" aka "Everyday math." The 10th grader was obviously a bright young lady, but she had decided to avoid all routes to what might have been a promising career in science, which she loved, because of the way math was taught. She never could get that "a-ha" feeling of accomplishment and feel comfortable moving to the next concept. She was planning on a career in literature, she told me. So I looked it up--Chicago Math (University of Chicago) or EM, Everyday Math. As one who was never really strong in math, but have found it useful to know the multiplication tables, how to divide, know what a percentage means and calculate my grocery bill as things pass through the clerks hands, I think this sounds absolutely awful. Sort of like those awful story problems in third grade--if a train is going 15 mph, and a donkey runs along side, how long before it gets to Chicago. Sounds like some egg heads have hijacked our math classes so the Japanese, Chinese and Indians can get hired on emergency visas 10 years from now.

Confused, bothered and befuddled — Joanne Jacobs

If you've never heard of EM or Chicago Math, view this YouTube, and you be. . . stunned.

Dietary Guidelines Call for More Exercise, Less Food

Just to look at me, you probably wouldn't notice I've lost 80 lbs. Yes, 20 lbs. in 1960, 20 lbs in 1983, 20 lbs in 1993 and 20 lbs in 2006. Same 20 lbs each time. And by the miracle of the fashion industry I weigh 10 lbs more in 2011 but am 2 dress sizes smaller. Who knew?

The new guidelines don't look all that different than the 2005 guidelines. Maybe they are pushing more exercise? Anyone can lose weight. All diets work. It's keeping it off that's the problem. But I will admit that the weight I lost in 1983 stayed off the longest, because it was through aerobics, and not by dieting. Whatever crosses the lips and tongue eventually has to be atoned for in energy use. The 20 lbs I lost in 2006, which was by eating healthier--more fruits and vegetables, and saying no to desserts, French fries, pizza, and salty snacks--began creeping back in the fall of 2007 when we went to Ireland, and were eating lots of wonderful food 3 times a day on a Illini Alumni Tour. Then the Italy Tour in 2008 pretty much restored everything I'd lost in 2006. My goodness that Italian food is good.

Some people say they just don't know why they gain weight. I know exactly why. Today, instead of 5 vegetables which I would have eaten 4 years ago for lunch when I was losing weight while eating healthier, I had a sandwich with meat and cheese, some chips, and a few pieces of dark chocolate.

Dietary Guidelines Call for More Exercise, Less Food - WSJ.com

The Oct. 27, 2010 JAMA featured several articles on obesity and testing interventions on class II and class III obesity. This study included commercial weight loss programs. It seems to be a rather successful weight loss with follow up after 2 years. Unfortunately, there was no significant effect on cardiopulmonary fitness, cholesterol levels, physical or mental quality of life, or depression. There was a reduction in C-reactive protein levels and improvement in leptin levels.

The greatest obesity problem in the U.S. is among African American women, of whom about 28% are obese, much higher than black men or white women of Hispanics. And would you believe they are pondering whether there is a biological factor?

"The degree of adiposity associated with a given level of BMI varies by age, sex, and racial and ethnic group.​ Relative to white men and women at the same BMI level, black men and women tend to have higher lean mass and lower fat mass.​ The relative, although not absolute, health risks associated with a given BMI level may be lower for blacks than for whites. Asian populations tend to have higher body fat percentages at a given BMI level and possible higher risks; however, this theory has been disputed.​ Considerable discussion has addressed the public health and policy issues of using different BMI cutoff points for different ethnic groups that have different relationships with BMI, body fat, and health risks." Katherine M. Flegal, Prevalence and Trends in Obesity Among US Adults, 1999-2008. JAMA. 2010;303(3):235-241.

Why the privileged left the "Workers' Paradise"

"In January 2010, my father went to hear a talk by Boris Gulko, a Russian Jewish chess grandmaster who had won the USSR championship in 1977 and later emigrated to the United States, eventually winning the US championship as well. Knowing my interest in chess history, my father asked whether I had any questions I wanted him to pose to Gulko. One of my proposed questions was why Gulko had decided to leave the Soviet Union. My father said that this was a stupid question. The answer was too obvious.

Nonetheless, I persisted in urging him to ask it. After all, Gulko had been a privileged member of the Soviet elite who had every reason not to risk those privileges.

Gulko’s answer to my question was a telling one. He said that he did not want to be a “slave” anymore. Despite his relatively privileged status, he could no longer tolerate life under the control of a totalitarian state that, among other things, could take away all his privileges at any time.

Like most Soviet Jews, Gulko had experienced plenty of anti-Semitism. But it was not so much the special oppression of the Jews that led him to emigrate, but the generalized oppression he endured along with all the other citizens of Lenin’s Workers’ Paradise. My parents’ motives for leaving were in many ways similar to Gulko’s. They too were fleeing communism as much or more so than anti-Semitism. Only their decision was easier than his, since they didn’t have as much to lose."
Ilya Somin Memoirs

Somin's story of his family's coming to the USA when he was 5 knowing no English is very interesting. You can hear him debate the constitutionality of Obamacare here.

The 1099 Repudiation

During the debate on healthcare PPACA (pee pee and caca) virtually everyone alarmed by the taking over of our choices pointed out the problems with the 1099. Why didn't Democrats see it then? Because they are sheep, milling around, bleating, running away from the herd dog trying desperately to keep them from going over the cliff. The 1099 form would have been one more way to destroy American small business--they can't fool me--the big corporations wouldn't have batted an eyelash and would have passed the costs along to the consumer as they gobbled up smaller companies.

"Democrats now claim that the infamous 1099 business reporting mandate that the Senate repealed this week was an accident, as if they were as surprised as everyone else to learn that this destructive provision had crept by itself into law. The truth is that the 1099 rule emerged from the same core ideology as ObamaCare, and its overwhelming repudiation by Democrats may be an important inflection point in the health-care debate."

Review Outlook: The 1099 Repudiation - WSJ.com

Light Rail and Sustainability--what does sustainable mean?

Does it mean, it works if the government throws enough money at it?

"Let me present one fact, from Federal Transit Administration’s 2009 survey of public transit authorities, whose data is linked in various ways here. Or you can download the summary spreadsheet here. For all US light rail systems in total:

User fares paid per passenger-mile: $0.18

Total cost per passenger-mile: $2.22

Taxpayer subsidy per passenger-mile: $2.04

Since I live in Phoenix and the Phoenix light rail system seems to get particular praise as a “success” from light rail supporters, here are the Phoenix light rail numbers;

User fares paid per passenger-mile: $0.07

Total cost per passenger-mile: $3.89

Taxpayer subsidy per passenger-mile: $3.82

So there, folks, is your sustainable technology. As I have written before about sustainability, “I do not think that word means what you think it means.” "

Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » Light Rail and Sustainability

Not sure I'm reading the spread sheet correctly, but it looks like one line of light rail in Seattle has a fare of $.15 and a subsidy of $20.52. Seattle also has a trolly system called SLUT (South Lake Urban Transit) that is the most expensive in country--or was that the world?

'String Him Up' (Justice Thomas) and his wife too

Isn't it some sort of hate crime to threaten a black man with death by lynching? Isn't it a crime to threaten a Supreme Court Judge? This Common Cause group, rallying to bring down capitalism, sure sound like a scary group. I wonder if Janet Napolitano knows about them?

'String Him Up' - WSJ.com

"Common Cause is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1970 by John Gardner as a vehicle for citizens to [destroy capitalism and] make their voices heard in the political process [by threats, intimidation and lies] and to hold their elected leaders [but not Democrats or Socialists] accountable to the public interest." Web Site with my editorial remarks

Should Islam Be Classified as a Religion?

"Concerning the definition of religion for First Amendment purposes, many factors need to be taken into account and compared with the Judeo-Christian religious tradition for which the First Amendment was intended. Religion as we have known it has been good for society. It has nurtured morality, strengthened the family, fostered public service and encouraged social harmony. Islam, on the other hand, is self-segregating, fosters ideas of Muslim supremacy and thereby sows seeds of social discord. Even its tradition of charitable giving is solely for the benefit of fellow Muslims and it utterly destroys the family through its adoption of polygamy.

In addition, Islam is the only religion that requires territorial sovereignty – its laws are laws of the land rather than laws of the heart as we are accustomed to finding in religion. In the Western tradition, legality and morality are two different things. In Islam, they are one and the same. And as Muslims press for their laws to become laws of the land, especially by suppressing criticism of Islam, the clash between these two systems of thought will intensify.

There is, however, a current of modern thought seeking to elevate a laudable personal virtue, that of tolerance, over the greater principle of justice. Is it just to tolerate polygamy in the name of religious freedom? The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in 1878, Reynolds v. United States, it is not. Is it just to tolerate the unequal right to inheritance for women? Is it just to tolerate forced marriage? Is it just to tolerate antisemitism? Is it just to tolerate the preaching of hatred toward non-Muslims? Is it just to tolerate the teaching that Muslims are superior to non-Muslims and that men are superior to women? Is it just to tolerate a parallel legal system based on inequality? There are things that our society cannot tolerate and expect to survive. Justice must take its rightful place above tolerance.

If Islam could be reclassified as primarily a social and political ideology, then the Western world would have a powerful tool with which to deal with its spread and could begin the process of containment in the same way the West contained communism, which in the end, seems to be the only realistic option before us with regard to Islam."

Read more: Should Islam Be Classified as a Religion? > Rebecca Bynum

Who says we're spending too much on health care?

Both Democrats and Republicans say the ever rising cost of health care is unsustainable. Republicans want sensible cuts, less regulation, tort reform, more competition across state lines, and less graft and corruption to lower our costs; Democrats are aiming at single payer--i.e., government pays all, which will raise the cost for everyone through higher taxes, just not at the doctor's office.

But who decided we pay too much? Have you looked at what the "average" household unit pays for health care compared to other items in our budget? 5.7% or $2,853, is what the household unit of 2.5 people with a gross income of $63,091 pays for health care. That household, imaginery as it is, pays 6.9% of its spendable income on household funishings, supplies and operations. Who in the government is demanding that Obama pay for your next couch or dining room suite? That household is paying 6.5% for vehicle purchases, and 17.6% total for transportation. Except for the recent cash for clunkers, when the government paid people to take out new car loans and destroy the only cars poor people could afford, we don't hear the government demanding that Honda and Toyota lower their prices or give away their products.

We pay 12.4% of our spendable income on food--7% at home and 5.4% away from home. I doubt that Obama is going to suggest that all the employed women quit and start cooking more at home so they won't be taking the kids to restaurants--or maybe he will if it's McDonald's. And entertainment, if you toss in cigarettes and alcohol is higher than healthcare at 7%.

So the next time you hear a reporter whether CNN or Fox, or a politician, left or right, moan about the rising costs of health care, ask him about the mortgage on his house, or the loan on his car, or what restaurant she's stopping at after work.

Taxes cost us 14.8% of the average paycheck, not household unit, much more than healthcare, and it will be going up as healthcare costs get buried in every additional piece of paper and rule change the government will throw at us with PPACA.

It just could be, health care is the biggest bargain in our budget.

Consumer unit

Paycheck percentage for taxes

Suspend Obamacare Rules Until SCOTUS Decision

"in the spirit of recent discussion about bipartisan initiatives to root out counterproductive regulations harming the economy, here’s a suggestion. Until the Supreme Court issues a ruling, the Obama administration should suspend enforcement of the regulations from the Affordable Care Act that have proved to be the most burdensome to doctors, entrepreneurs, consumers, and savers and investors." John Berlau, Money News, Feb. 2, 2011

Read more: Suspend Obamacare Rules Until SCOTUS Decision

Bed Bugs | University of Kentucky Entomology

Just received an invitation to attend a meeting on bed bugs at OSU, with dinner afterwards. Think I'll pass. But reading through this very long and detailed explanation from the UK entomology dept., I see that only DDT takes care of the problem--no amount of cleaning or low level pesticide seems to do the trick. However, the fact sheet doesn't recommend DDT--of course not.

Bed Bugs | University of Kentucky Entomology

And for a very biased, but unhelpful Newsweek account, read this.

Immelt’s appointment has labor leaders concerned

I need to stock up on incandescent light bulbs. Soon you won't be able to buy them. The last U.S. plant has closed (Winchester, VA). I hate those squirrely thingies. It takes about 4 to make the same amount of light as one regular. Obama talks out of both sides of his mouth--says Republicans ship jobs to China. What? So what is Immelt doing? Shipping jobs to China with Obama's blessings.

Immelt’s appointment has labor leaders concerned - Jobs & Hire

Current Drug Shortages--Some hospitals are in tough shape

What's behind this? Seems to be a much bigger problem than 2007 and 2008. Is it the impending doom of Obamacare? Years of over regulation? Loss of profit by the manufacturers, who afterall, aren't in this as volunteers or church ladies.

"The supply of these drugs has tightened in recent years as the generic-drug industry has consolidated, with many of the drugs now made by just one or two companies. In many cases patents have long expired and the original brand-name drug is no longer being produced.

Federal regulators have also stepped up enforcement of quality standards, limiting the ability of large manufacturers to ramp up production.

The drugs—typically used in hospitals and outpatient clinics—often require complex manufacturing processes with long lead times. Because factories produce many kinds of medicines, companies say they can't easily make more of one without creating a shortage in another.

The Food and Drug Administration reported a record 178 drug shortages in 2010, up from 157 the year earlier and 55 five years ago"

Drug Shortages Distress Hospitals - WSJ.com

The Reality of Drug Shortages — The Case of the Injectable Agent Propofol | Health Policy and Reform

Read list of Drug Shortages > Current Drug Shortages

Old Bag Of Nails in Tremont Center

When we lived on Abington, we were one of Old Bag's most loyal customers when it opened. We have a tradition of a Friday night date. But some time during 2003, I think, it changed the menu and took off two of our favorites. We met Bill and Joyce there (although we'd been attending the same church for years) and started going out together. After the menu change we four moved on over to Rusty Bucket on Lane. Don't mess with the favorites.

Tremont Center - Old Bag Of Nails

Politico leaves out Schumer's big gaffe

The problem is, Charles Schumer said we have 3 branches of government--the House, the Senate and the Presidency. If you watch the entire video you hear it; if you read Politico, that part is left out.

"I would urge my Republican colleagues that no matter how strongly they feel [insert gaffe here, you know, we have three branches of government. We have a House. We have a Senate. We have a president. And all three of us are going to have to come together and give some] … it is playing with fire to risk the shutting down of the government just as it is playing with fire to not raise the debt ceiling," Schumer said. "That could lead to terrible, terrible problems."

Here's how it works, Chuck:

Five blogs

were updated today--Illegals Today, Growth Industry, Church of the Acronym, Collecting my thoughts, and Coffee Spills, plus several Facebook entries. Snowed in.

Chicago Blizzard: City Officials And Residents Brace For Snow Storm

Weather news from Chicago. Stay home.

Chicago Blizzard: City Officials And Residents Brace For Snow Storm - WGN

1994--it wasn't all that long ago people were asking

What is the internet, anyway?

Firefighters forced to participate in gay pride parade win legal battle

Four firefighters lodged a complaint against San Diego for being forced to participate in the city’s gay pride parade in 2007. Although the firefighters objected numerous times to taking part in the event, the fire department disregarded their complaints and the firefighters report they were sexually harassed.

Let's not pretty up the terms. Gay Pride means pride in homosexual acts, men having sex with men (MSM) is the medical term because the costs to the health of the men are considerable, and sodomy is the Biblical term. Why should anyone, straight or gay, be forced to parade a sexual preference that may not be his own?

Firefighters forced to participate in gay pride parade win legal battle :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Wonder where the women went?

For 40 years, women have been getting special help in the sciences, math, engineering and computing fields. Summer camps, workshops, girly places on the internet to talk techy, special scholarships--collectively the government and foundations must have spent billions. There's been some headway--women now outnumber men in some of these fields (called STEM, science technology engineering math) as college grads, but they don't continue on to excel in graduate school. I suspect it's the "fun factor." How many nights can you spend on a problem eating cold pizza before it gets old? For guys, they think that's a blast. Not so much, gals. A high school science teacher told me that when she teaches physics to boys, it confirms what they already know. Not so with the girls, who have no intuitive or learned sense of the field.

So today I was browsing Crunch Gear and saw in its "About Us" there are no women. I clicked over to the job search and wondered how many women are even applying for these positions, let alone landing them and then advancing.

Douglas W. Elmendorf--a very important guy

"Elmendorf may be the most important financial analyst in America: his client list is all 535 members of the U.S. Congress. His job is to "score" or provide a cost estimate of important legislation wending its way through the House and Senate. His cost analysis can often make or break a bill's future."
Douglas W. Elmendorf - WhoRunsGov.com/The Washington Post

Others on the CBO Staff

In his own words (blog): "The United States faces daunting economic and budgetary challenges. The economy has struggled to recover from the recent recession: The pace of growth in output has been anemic compared with that during most other recoveries and the unemployment rate has remained quite high. Federal budget deficits and debt have surged in the past two years, owing to a combination of the severe drop in economic activity, the costs of policies implemented in response to the financial and economic problems, and an imbalance between revenues and spending that predated the recession. Unfortunately, it is likely that a return to normal economic conditions will take years, and even after the economy has fully recovered, a return to sustainable budget conditions will require significant changes in tax and spending policies."

Origen--was he such a bad guy to have a dream?

Yesterday I was listening to a Catholic call-in talk show on 1580 am (Columbus), and a father (dad) called in upset about the litany that was going to be used at his child's first communion. I knew nothing about this--I've never been to one. He said that instead of saints, they were using Solomon, Sarah and Origen. Again, I was left out of the loop, but apparently, whoever wrote this is a sister of whoever does some of our confessions at UALC when they don't use the LBW--they just don't sound right in real time--too chatty and modern for my taste (and sins).

So the dad mentioned that Origen didn't believe people would go to hell for their unbelief, and so despite his influence on hundreds of years of Christian thought and his hundreds of written works, he is not a saint. So today I looked him up in Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L. Shelley, Word Books, 1982, pp. 98-99.

"Origen's vision, it seems knew no limits. It extended so far as to teach that all creatures including the devil himself would one day be restored to communion with God. Hell would be emptied. That doctrine above all others caused him no end of trouble. . . Origen's error lay in turning a dream into a doctrine. Orothodox Christians felt that they could not turn the dream into a doctrine because such an idea almost always tends to deny man's free will and its eternal consequences."

Sigh. Yes, it's a lovely dream, isn't it? Hell would be emptied; I'd like to see that one myself, even though I'm a firm believer in consequences.

"The end of all desires for Origen came in 254. In the persecution instigated by Emperor Decius, Origen was singled out for special attack. He was flung into prison, chained and tortured. The authorities made him as miserable as possible while preserving his life in connstant torment. Decius' reign of terror for the church ended in 251 and Origen was released. The torture, however, had taken its toll on the white-haired professor. He died 3 years later, at the age of 69 at Tyre."

Origen and Origenism - Original Catholic Encyclopedia

TOBRAMYCIN/DEXAMETHASONE SUSPENSION - OPHTHALMIC (Tobradex)

My husband has had an eye infection for 12 days. If you do nothing for conjunctivitis it's suppose to go away in 2-5 days. The "doc in a box" (after hours clinic linked to our internist) prescribed Gentamicin--after 8 days--nothing improved and he was getting a bit stir crazy from staying inside and in the family room, sleeping in the guest room. The optometrist yesterday prescribed tobramycin dexamethasone, and after 12 hours, he's 100% better. Dr. Bieber said he's seeing at least 2 patients a day with this same eye infection. So, be forewarned, "it's going around."

TOBRAMYCIN/DEXAMETHASONE SUSPENSION - OPHTHALMIC (Tobradex) side effects, medical uses, and drug interactions.

The Middle East

Biden and Clinton are all over the map on Egypt, and Obama was attending a party for his out going staff while Egypt burned. Is anyone minding the store in Washington?

"Which brings us to the question of what the United States should do. The Administration seems to have struggled to find its footing so far. Secretary of State Clinton asserted on January 25 that “the Egyptian government is stable,” and Vice President Biden assessed three days later that it was not time for Mubarak to step aside, adding that “I would not refer to him as a dictator.” The Administration has veered from calling for an “orderly transition” in Egypt to a “national dialogue” between government and protesters to resolve “legitimate grievances.” On Sunday, Clinton stated on CNN that “we do not want to send any message about backing forward or backing back. . . . We’re not advocating any specific outcome.” Well, that clears things up."

Do we support a dictator? Do we let Egypt become another Muslin fundamentalist country? Where has your personal magnetism and charisma gone, Mr. BO?

But, in my opinion, this is also not a good time to put much stock in what Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh say. They were hysterical yesterday. Beck is just out of his element--totally unprepared for this emergency, and Rush who has a better grasp of history and the world just hates Obama too much to find any rational thing to say. So in the words of Beck, "Do your own research." And pray for the Egyptian people.

The Right Side of History | The Middle East

Update: I have no idea who Mark Levine is, but he's getting play in AlJezerra and Huffington Post. Mark Levine: Obama: Say the D-Word
"It's incredible, really. Cairo is burning and the President of the United States can't bring himself to talk about democracy in Egypt, or the Middle East more broadly. He can dance around it, use euphemisms, throw out words like "freedom" and "tolerance" and "non-violent" and especially "reform," but he can't say the one word that really matters: Democracy."

Now listening to Mubarak who says he wasn't interested in being a dictator, but doesn't want to abandon his responsibilities. Hmmm. A little late to the gate.

Observation on State of the Union

By Ann Coulter.

"Obama said, "We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook."

And then the government outlawed Edison's great invention, made the Wright brothers' air travel insufferable, filed anti-trust charges against Microsoft and made cars too expensive to drive by prohibiting oil exploration, and right now -- at this very minute -- is desperately trying to regulate the Internet."

The Key to Health, Wealth and Success: Self-Control

Now someone needs a study to see if a little parental control can help that very young child develop some self-control. Couldn't hurt.

"Problems surfacing in adolescence, such as becoming a smoker or getting pregnant, accounted for about half of the bad outcomes associated with low self-control in childhood. Kids who scored low on such measures — for instance, becoming easily frustrated, lacking persistence in reaching goals or performing tasks, or having difficulty waiting their turn in line — were roughly three times more likely to wind up as poor, addicted, single parents or to have multiple health problems as adults, compared with children who behaved more conscientiously as early as age 3."

The Key to Health, Wealth and Success: Self-Control – TIME Healthland

Sen. Inhofe Shapes Major GOP Bills to rein in EPA

Looks like at least some Republicans understand what happened in November. According to the NYT (via ClimateWire), Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), will unveil a bill with House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) that would strip EPA of its authority to limit carbon emissions from power plants, refineries and other stationary sources.

At the same time, he will be a "first co-sponsor" of a much broader bill that would bar the federal government from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under any existing environmental law. That measure will be introduced Monday (today) by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who serves on the Environment and Public Works Committee, on which Inhofe is the ranking Republican.

Sen. Inhofe Shapes Major GOP Bills to Fight EPA's Greenhouse Gas Regs - NYTimes.com

Professor Cornpone, Newt Gingrich

When I worked in the Agriculture Library in the late 70s, ethanol, biogas, and saving the environment were huge topics. I did a lot of reading on it, and why it failed. It's bad for the wallet, and bad for the environment. I was shocked to see it resurrected as part of the current green movement, and to see miles and miles of fertile midwestern farm land converted to products to make energy for our cars and industry, when it took so much energy and water to make the conversion.

And now Mr. Randy himself, Newt Gingrich, wants to hitch his star to the Renewable Fuels movement, aka, burning food instead of feed people. The man is a moral mess. He married one of his high school teachers, left her for wife #2 when she had cancer, and left #2 for #3, one of his staff with whom he was having an affair all while he was investigating President Clinton for his moral lapses with an intern. In late 2009 he converted to Catholicism. He is a historian and in an interview I heard he liked the 2000 year tradition he was joining, so he doesn't think of it as a conversion. Those pesky marriage vows and bonds had already been taken care of so he could marry wife #3 who is a devout Catholic.

Why should anyone including Calista Gingrich, believe anything this man says? Really. Do we want this couple in the White House? Also, as much as I admire Roman Catholics for their stand on life, on marriage they are simply duplicitous. Liberal on annulments; conservative on divorce. So the rich and famous and political like the Kennedys and Gingriches can get their pass for playing around, but the ordinary teacher, clerk or nurse can't without a lot of soul searching, agony and money clout by someone in the church helping them out.

Review & Outlook: Professor Cornpone - WSJ.com