The speech

Collectivist drivel. Four more years of listening to what the Russians got for 70.

"Everyone who watched the growth of [the Nazi and Fascist] movements in Italy and Germany has been struck by the number of leading men, from Mussolini downward, who began as socialists and ended as Fascists or Nazis. And what is true of the leaders is even more true of the rank and file of the movement. . . Many a university teacher during the 1930s has seen English and American students return from the Continent uncertain whether they were communists or Nazis and certain only that they hated Western liberal civilization."

The Road to Serfdom, F.A. Hayek.

Reminds me of a story. . .

Maybe I need to go back to coloring my hair. In the parking lot at Marc’s today I was walking carefully because we had about 1/2" of snow and I wasn't sure what was under it. A woman walked up to me, grabbed my arm and shoulder, and said, "Let me help you." She hung on all the way to the door. When she took off her knit cap, I decided she was every bit of 65. Must have been her good deed for the day.

And here’s the story. . .

An elderly woman spent a day shopping at the mall. Upon return to her vehicle, she found four strange males sitting in her car. Frightened, the woman dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun. She told the men that if they did not get out of the car, she would shoot. The four men ran off quickly, whereupon the lady got into the car. Her key however, would not fit. The woman realized that her car was the identical one parked a few spaces down. She went to the police department and reported the story. The officer on duty laughed hysterically and pointed to the other end of the counter where four pale men had reported a car jacking by a mean old lady; no charges were filed.

He forgot a few million—about 55 million

Designs by Birgit poster

The most anti-life president in the history of our country hides behind cute children. Even if born alive after an abortion, he won’t protect them.

Caffeine in energy drinks

If you get a little buzzed on coffee, watch out for those energy drinks.  Chart if from “patient page” of JAMA (free for download).

Te’o has given cartoonists some great opportunities

Unfortunately, the President just isn’t funny anymore.

The best of Abby

Dear Abby,

My husband has a long record of money problems. He runs up huge credit-card bills and at the end of the month, if I try to pay them off, he shouts at me, saying I am stealing his money. He says pay the minimum and let our kids worry about the rest, but already we can hardly keep up with the interest. Also he has been so arrogant and abusive toward our neighbors that most of them no longer speak to us. The few that do are an odd bunch, to whom he has been giving a lot of expensive gifts, running up our bills even more. Also, he has gotten religious. One week he hangs out with Catholics and the next with people who say the Pope is the Anti-Christ, and the next he's with Muslims.. Finally, the last straw. He's demanding that before anyone can be in the same room with him, they must sign a loyalty oath. It's just so horribly creepy! Can you help?

Signed, Lost

Dear Lost,

Suck it up and stop whining, Michelle. You're getting to live in the White House for free, travel the world, and have others pay for everything for you. You can divorce the jerk any time you want. The rest of us are stuck with the idiot for 4 more years.

Signed, Abby

If we can save even one child . . . Barack Obama

Corey Reynolds/David Gabriel

"I got season 7 of “The Closer” for my birthday in September. But we had to start watching from season one (husband rules), so we just finished it Thursday. Then we watched the additional material--fascinating panel discussion after the final episode of the cast (without Simmons who plays Chief Pope) plus main writer and director and producer. Hearing Brenda/Kyra without the accent and seeing David Gabriel/Corey Reynolds wearing earrings is a hoot. He's so drop dead gorgeous it is not a good look for him.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1556631/"

There is good news out there.

"In a 24/7 news cycle, sometimes we miss the good news. Another disease is close to being licked, maybe not on schedule (1995), but real progress. In 1986 there were about 3.5 million cases of Dracunculiasis in 20 countries of Africa and Asia. In 2011 there were 1,058, and the first 9 months of 2012, only 521 cases were reported. This nasty thing comes from drinking stagnant water with larvae which then grow in the body and come through the skin of the foot or leg and is terribly painful and debilitating.

JAMA, Jan. 9, 2013 and WHO, Oct. 2012 http://www.who.int/wer/2012/wer8743.pdf"

"Does anyone on the VP's task force read the reports we pay for? In December 2012 Bureau of Justice report: from 2001 to 2010, the rate of violence committed by strangers declined 47 percent and the rate committed by offenders the victims knew declined by 41 percent. Of the violence by stranger 10% used a gun; known assailant, 5% used a gun. Huge drop in 20 years.

http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/press/vvcs9310pr.cfm"

Taxes pay for abortions

How’s that Arab Spring love affair working for Obama supporters?

“The Arab Spring has triggered unrest among competing ethnic groups in Northern Africa, the latest manifestation of which is the taking of 40 gas-plant employees taken hostages in eastern Algeria. The captors blamed French military intervention in nearby Mali. But Shiraz Maher, writing for the Wall Street Journal, explains animosity in the region lingers after NATO forces assisted Libyan rebels in deposing and killing Muammar Gaddafi. Weaponry left over the Libyan conflict is plentiful in the black market.” Yale Global Online

As Obama continues to take credit for the draw down of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan (voted against anything that would have speeded the end of the war when Bush was in office), he expands hostilities in the middle east.  But his ga-ga, so in love supporters don’t see any problems. We still have no answers about Benghazi and the shipping of arms from Libya to Syria—40 tons, as I recall.

Who’s the biggest liar?

By Paula Priesse—Is Lance Armstrong the biggest liar? Not even close!

And this Washington Post headline today: “Is Lance Armstrong the world’s biggest liar?”

I dunno, did Lance say this: 1) “Transparency & the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency.”

2) “If I don’t have this done (economic recovery) in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.”

3) “Today I’m pledging to cut the deficit we inherited by half by the end of my first term in office.”

4) “No family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase.”

5) “These negotiations (Obamacare) will be televised on CSPAN.”

6) “We are going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2,500.”

7) “If you have insurance that you like, then you will be able to keep that insurance.”

Then there’s Gitmo, the stimulus, “private sector doing fine,” Benghazi and so on and so on. Sorry, much more but out of space. So Washington Post, “Is Lance Armstrong the world’s biggest liar?” NOT EVEN CLOSE! P

Is no one reading the December 2012 report?

According to the Justice Department, actual violence is down dramatically since 1994.  The virtual and entertainment industry violence is way up, if being unable to find a movie to watch is any indication.

Violent crime against youth, 1994-2010

Public blames parents and Hollywood

“This isn’t just about guns,” Biden said on Thursday at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C. “It’s about the coarsening of our culture.

“Yes, that’s what I said, the coarsening of our culture, whether it’s with video games or movies or behavior,” Biden said.

Other types of violence is also declining.

“In 2010, strangers committed about 38% of nonfatal violent crimes, including rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. “ Of those incidents,  about 10% of violent victimizations committed by strangers involved a firearm, compared to 5% committed by offenders known to the victim.

Violence by strangers declining

Cowboy Quesadillas

              

Don’t blame the fast food industry.  I’ll bet this could do it!

How not to protect teachers or students

Yesterday teachers in Columbus received training in survival in the event of a school shooter. But someone needs to look at the current procedures. A teacher told me they don't know when they have lock down drills at her school if it is a drill or the real thing. That's just stupid. So if a teacher throws a hammer or stabs the assailant or throws a chemical from the lab to save his own life or to protect the kids, and it's not for real but just a drill, who will be blamed for the injury or assault?

Comparing Ohio and Illinois

Obama’s Second Inauguration

Language changes with the times and money flow

I remember "wife abuse."  But after gender equality, they found  out that women also abused men, it became "spousal abuse."  But then it was revealed that living together (aka shacking up) also produced nasty outcomes so it became "domestic violence." But research showed that gays and lesbians abused their lovers, so it was called "domestic partner abuse."  Now it is "intimate partner violence" (IPV) which is different than “elder abuse.”  We have an amazingly flexible language, always ready and willing to keep up with the flow of grant money.

http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1556964#qundefined

Oh well.  Like other rates of violence, the rate has gone down dramatically in the last 20 years.

Why are Americans working less?

From the Wall Street Journal article, The Wages of Unemployment

1.  Food stamps—even before the down turn in the economy the program was expanding under Bush. There are over 30 million more Americans receiving food stamps today than in 2000.

2.  Social Security disability payments. Supposedly, we’re healthier than ever, but five million receiving disability by 2000, 6.5 million by 2005, and rising to nearly 8.6 million today.

3.  Pell grants. More people in college, fewer in the work force. In 2000, fewer than 3.9 million young men and women received Pell Grant awards to attend college. The number rose one-third, to 5.2 million by 2005, and increased a million more by 2008. In the next three years, however, the number grew over 50%, to an estimated 9.7 million.

For many, it just doesn’t pay to work!  And obviously, this problem did not start with Obama!