A Free Launch

Cinderella Rules

2010-02-17T21:04:00.004-05:00

First, the bad news: You are not Cinderella.

Further bad news: Neither am I.

The good news is that Cinderella lives in a perfect ever-after world, since the shoe did actually fit, and all that nonsense. This is the ever-after that no one included in the story. This is the ever-after that includes being totally qualified, but age-challenged. This is the ever-after that includes absolute political correctness, so that we're not "too old", we're just too darned focused on past experience.

Now, if we had documentation of that past experience, it might pull some weight with today's awesomely fair, iPhone-enabled, management generation. Our downfall is that we didn't document any of our experience with raw data. So now we have nothing but reputation, which counts for nothing in a world dominated by Excel spreadsheets. After all, reputation is now a matter of context.

Anyone can fake an Excel spreadsheet. Oh no...so documentation is also meaningless? Where do we go from there?

The Super Bowl

2010-02-07T18:39:00.005-05:00

First, a disclaimer: I know nothing about football, other than it involves someone's foot and a ball that is not shaped anything like a ball. It is a game played on a field (which isn't really a "field" at all, but part of a multi-acre tract of prime real estate, encompassing mostly on-ramps, off-ramps, parking, and other non-game related uses).

Football is entertainment, but boy they sure make it look like war. The "players" present themselves like mean, intimidating, "in-your-face", "take-no-prisoners", fighting machine, heroes. Chasing a ball, that is not shaped like a ball at all, on a field, which is not a field at all, on television. Grrr....(oooh!) Grrrr....

The players wear cute tight pants. We called them panty-girdles when I was in high school, but add a stripe down the side of the leg, and presto! Football pants. Topped with way big t-shirts stuffed with shoulder pads. (We wore our big brothers' shirts and stuffed our bras with kleenex...it's the same concept, just different body parts.)

Now for the helmets. It reminds me of us girls in the '60s when we curled our hair using jumbo rollers, and then covered the whole mess up with a brightly colored, glorified hair net. It was made of nylon, with elastic to hug your head. So the effect was this big bouffant headdress that made it look like nothing was going on inside your head. Very much like a football helmet.

Why do people love football? Just listen to the passion, the enthusiasm, the sheer joy of the attendees. You don't hear that kind of enthusiasm at church, even though eternity is at stake. You don't hear that kind of passion at a county commission meeting, even though personal freedom is at stake.

You do hear joy like that at rock concerts. You hear that enthusiasm at rock concerts too. Hmmm...rock concerts, football games.

Just for fun, ask 10 people at random tomorrow...who played in the Super Bowl? Ask them who won? Ask them to describe the best play. I bet you will have a 20 minute conversation with each person.

Then ask that same person to name one of their Senators or Congressmen. Ask them to name the Governor of your state. Ask them to name one signer of the Declaration of Independence (other than John Hancock). Ask them to name the authors of the four Gospels.

Interesting, isn't it? That we have been programmed to pay attention to the Super Bowl. To memorize the stats, and glamorize the players. To look forward to the ads, to celebrate the competition...and hate the opposition. We are encouraged to worship one team or another, to idolize the players. Like the Greeks, idolizing their gods; or the Romans, idolizing their gladiators.

I wonder what it would have been like if the Greeks or the Romans would have had instant replay technology. Slow-motion HD instant replay might have changed history.

That Pesky Context Issue

2010-01-10T20:24:00.004-05:00

I read a blog post recently from someone who happened to catch a radio broadcast where Rush Limbaugh was comparing President Obama to Hitler. This radio broadcast was not the actual Rush Limbaugh show...it was a discussion on NPR, which included a report ABOUT the Rush Limbaugh program. The blogger who heard this went on to speculate that Rush Limbaugh could just as likely "flip-flop", ranting on behalf of Liberals, if the price were right.

Now, I happen to know this blogger to be an intellectually honest person, a real truth-seeker. That's why I am surprised that he would not have considered the context of the soundbites he may have heard. I am puzzled that he would not have questioned the possible agenda of NPR in broadcasting this discussion. Specifically, it concerns me that "context" has become so meaningless.

For instance, today's controversy about Harry Reid's comments prior to the presidential campaign. As I understand it, he referred to President Obama as "light-skinned", with "no Negro accent." I am not an Obama fan, much less a fan of Harry Reid. But, I don't think Reid's statements were racist. In context, he was defining his early support of Barack Obama as a candidate for President. We may not want to acknowledge it, but the fact that Barack Obama is African-American was a consideration. I don't get it...we were all proud of the fact that the U.S. finally elected an African-American President (therefore proving that we are NOT a racist nation), but on the other hand, we can't talk about it, because that would be racist.

What is the bottom line? Would we be really-really-non-racist if we elected a really black-looking black guy, with a really heavy street accent...so long as we didn't use the word "Negro"? This is insane! He's our President. I don't like his agenda, and I have a right to disagree with that.

I refuse to take Harry Reid's comments out of context, just to make him look like a racist. I would appreciate it if others would not take Rush Limbaugh's comments out of context, just to make him look like a Hitler fanatic.

Business and Spirituality

2009-12-28T19:31:00.005-05:00

"Business underlies everything in our national life, including our spiritual life. Witness the fact that in the Lord's Prayer, the first petition is for daily bread. No one can worship God or love his neighbor on an empty stomach." - Woodrow Wilson.

I think the first petition in the Lord's Prayer is "Give us this day...", which connotes a gratitude and desire for life, followed by a desire for daily sustenance. No one can worship God or love his neighbor without the gift of life. Considering the many famines mankind has suffered, and the time-honored tradition of fasting, I would venture to guess that it is quite possible to worship God and love one's neighbor on an empty stomach.

What an odd statement for Wilson to make. He skips right over "Give us this day" and pounces on "our daily bread."

Born in the 50's

2009-12-25T18:45:00.003-05:00

I had the distinct pleasure/curse of being among the first generation of human beings to experience Christmas enhanced by television. The pleasure part included the Andy Williams Christmas specials, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolf the Red-Nosed-Reindeer, hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and the Pope spreading Christmas joy in every language on earth. Other generations only heard about such things. They didn't have television.

The curse part was the increasing intrusion of product advertising. Until that time, there were baby dolls (not grown-up Barbies, with their own condos, sports cars, boyfriends, wardrobes, and careers); there were building blocks or lincoln logs to construct homes, not Legos to build super-structures and other-worldly mega-complexes.

We adopted a "Jetson" mentality, where only the new, the modern, the progressive, the anything-but-traditional, was worthy of admiration.

Is it any wonder that merchants are setting up Valentines Day displays on Christmas Eve? It's easy to blame the demise of our culture on greedy capitalists. The generation of the '50s unwittingly caved to the message that "new" is unquestionably better.

We're older now (some of us are ancient), and we realize that we were wrong. New is not automatically better (unless it's the Edison-type of new). We treasure the past we've been part of, and would like to pass the best of it on to fresher souls.

Thank God we have a vigorous new generation to carry the torch!

Tell It to the Wind

2009-12-04T19:36:00.000-05:00

TELL IT TO THE WIND

When clouds turn gray and blend to black,
don't make a noise, nor turn your back;
just breathe it to the wind.

When bread dries out, leaving brittle hard crust,
don't cry out, nor dare mistrust;
just scream it to the wind.

When evil wins the devil's hand,
don't wince or moan, nor take a stand;
just proclaim it to the wind.

When black is white, and lies are true,
do not despair; it's nothing new.
Just bare it to the wind.

The wind sweeps strong and clears the air;
When the wind is through, there is nothing there.
Just tell it to the wind.

What of Masculinism?

2009-11-09T12:56:00.003-05:00

This is an excerpt from the sidebar of an article in "The Lutheran", November 2009, an article titled "Stamped by Patriarchy," by Sonia C. Solomonson:

"Feminism [a definition]: A way of thinking, seeing the world and looking for answers to patriarchy and its effects. It encompasses a wide range of diversity but two shared ideas exist: Gender inequality is real - and that's a problem."

Uh-huh. Gender inequality is certainly real - men are generally taller, stronger, heavier, more prone to beards, and they often like to spit. As a woman, I am undeniably more equal than that. I am more petite in stature, less likely to shoulder a pallet, weigh less than a sack of potatoes, pluck chin-hairs defiantly, and spit only as part of dental hygiene. We are definitely not equal. I don't see the problem.

I define "feminism" as the militant, arms-folded-across-the-chest mindset that demands respect, for the sake of respect. Raquel Welch, standing firm in her bear-skin bikini, spitting defiantly in the eye of Jeremiah Johnson (who killed the bear of which her bikini is made). She demands respect.

Uh-huh. So where is the masculinism movement? You know, that vast groundswell of humanity that stands up to the injustice of men being prevented from having babies? All they need is a womb, for God's sake.

One of Those Things

2009-10-04T10:14:00.004-04:00

A couple of years ago, my friend Scotty and I were out for a drive, just riding around the countryside of west central Florida. We were talking about how much life had changed since our "growing-up" years - him in Florida, me in Pennsylvania.

I mentioned that one thing I missed was drive-in movies - what a hit they were in the 1950's and '60s. Double features, "Buck Night" (where a whole carload of people got in for one dollar), the concession stand, the playground in front of the big screen. We both sighed with nostalgia. (Although I suspect he was remembering hiding in trunks and other hijinks!). We agreed, it was too bad that drive-ins had gone the way of 8-track tapes, Maypo, and Brilcream.

Then, as we drove around a bend in the road, voila! There in plain sight was an actual drive-in movie theater! Abandoned, of course, but nonetheless there it was! We looked at each other and laughed for miles! Scotty said, "Well, it's just another 'one of those things' I guess."

"One of those things" was a special code between me and Scotty - coincidences; things you happen to mention or notice, and suddenly there's some kind of affirmation. You talk about some obscure event in history, and out of nowhere, you hear it mentioned on the news, including context you didn't know before. You think of an old friend, and they mysteriously show up the next day at a mall you are visiting in Omaha. You casually recall a phrase from an old song, and 10 minutes later the whole song plays on the radio.

Scotty's been gone for a while now, but these events still happen to me. This gets me to wondering if these affirmations are actually part of a divine conversation? I discovered it in my relationship with Scotty, and it was awesome to share that with him. But as this phenomenon continues, maybe I should be paying more attention to it. Maybe I should even be cultivating the conversation.

Shopping in Downtown Butler

2009-09-13T16:16:00.002-04:00

A recent conversation about Aland's Toy Store got me to thinking about life and shopping in Butler, PA circa 1968:

Murphy's: A five-and-ten, where you could buy nail polish remover, seamless stockings, shaving cream, sci-fi magazines, shoe-bows, pop-beads, Blue Waltz perfume, wrapping paper, paper dolls, and shoe polish.

Woolworths: Just like Murphy's, but with a lunch counter. You could buy a real ice cream soda, or if you had serious money, a hamburger and fries. They also had pantyhose, 45 rpm records, curtains, fabric, sewing patterns (downstairs), pinwheels, and celophane.

Troutman's: Very "New York-ish" mannequins, with arms but not hands. Scarves encased in glass. Boots on pedestals. Felt hats on head sculptures. Santa Claus in the window, actually bowing, bending, waving, and nodding.

Honses: The knock-you-over scent of eucalyptus everywhere, when you walked in the store. Monster furniture in every pattern of brocade ever conceived. Tall vases, shiny veneers. Sparkling tigers, taller than me.

Bill's Bargain Barn: If you had 50 cents, you could spend it there and fill a bag. Oh, I don't know...ribbon, strips of sticky stars, pick-up sticks, glue, toothpaste, felt remnants, bolts, shoestrings, cat toys, gold braid, buttons, Old Spice, umbrellas, neckties...

Jaffe's: I couldn't afford to even breathe the air in there. But it was fun to slink around in between the clothing racks. You had to get dressed up to shop there, and I did buy a christening dress there for my daughter. Grandest event of my life.

The Darling Shop: OMG...dresses, dresses, dresses! Sundresses, day dresses, dress-up dresses, evening dresses! Nothing was more girly than that.

Altmires: This was a sewing store...they had fabrics, floor-to-ceiling. Needles, cutting-boards, patterns, scissors that cut in zig-zags. They had bobbins, and sewing machine attachments that looked downright evil. They had artificial bodies that could be manipulated (contorted) to replicate the shape of any human being, living or dead.

King's Jewelers: Felt like a sanctuary, even if you were just picking up a fixed watch. You whispered in there, and you never looked up the stairs. In fact, you didn't look anywhere except straight ahead.

Kinney's Shoes: This was a fun store where they measured your feet with a slide rule. I could have had clown feet and still felt like a queen when that man measured my foot.

The one store I loved, that I can't remember the name of, is the stationery store. They had paper of all sorts, tablets, notepads, pens, cards, ink pads, stamps...I just can't remember the name. It was up by the Courthouse. Anyone remember?

On Musicals,,,

2009-09-05T23:07:00.002-04:00

My mother never liked musicals, and I could never figure out why. My mother was very practical in some ways, but mostly I remember her as being very creative...and not liking musicals doesn't fit with that profile. I think she had a mental block, which but for that mental block, she would have loved musicals.

Who does not adore life set to music? Dancing. Rhythm. Continuity. I have always thought that the only thing missing from ordinary life is a musical score. My life would have mostly piano music, since there is nothing musical that a piano can't express. What a powerful phrase that is..."nothing musical that a piano can't express."

I should learn to play the piano.

The Last Word on Cataract Surgery

2009-08-31T18:26:00.003-04:00

In Greek mythology, Argus Panoptes was "the all seeing." A man with many eyes. Early accounts say he had four eyes, later a hundred. Glad I'm not Panoptes.

Today they removed the cataract from my left eye. Apparently, it was a lot thicker than the one in the right eye. So it took a little longer and generated some swelling. But the results are every bit as miraculous! Not a lot of vision, but by far, much more light!

There will be a few weeks of eye exercises to retrain the muscles, and a lasik procedure in the right eye, but other than that, it's just drops, drops, drops! (My aim is getting better!)

Like I said, I'm glad to be human and only have to deal with this twice, unlike Argus Panoptes, who may have needed four procedures, or a hundred. :)

Cataract Surgery Update

2009-08-27T17:52:00.002-04:00

Pardon my spelling. It took me 5 tries to log on, and I can't read one word of what I am typing without a magnifying glass. So this will be a short report. Whoever said this surgery would be a piece of cake probably had two good eyes. I know I am impatient, but I expected magic. It doesn't work that way. My surgery was at 9 am...it is now almost 6 pm, and I am lucky not to be tripping over furniture. I am very afraid that I have made a huge mistake.

Up close, everything is a mottled blur. In the distance, everything is surrounded with dense fog.

The surgery was painless, as I was told it would be. Intense light throughout the procedure, and some pressure in the eye, but no pain. And it was quick, the procedure took less than 5 minutes. No blackout, and I didn't blink. (They fasten your eye open, so you can't blink.)

It's the aftermath I'm having trouble with. It's scary not being able to see what time it is on what I know is a perfectly good clock. Hopefully, I will see more clearly tomorrow. There are lots of good stories to tell about this day - being face to face with a seeing-eye dog, a guardian angel, the silence of the van...

Meanwhile, here's lookin' at you!

PS: Hats off to whoever invented the magnifying glass!

Cataract Surgery in the 21st Century

2009-08-24T19:24:00.003-04:00

I think this was supposed to be a whole lot more dramatic...cataract surgery, where they take the knife to your eyeballs. The doctor has a serious, mournful look on his face. A combination of sincere pity, and hand-rubbing excitement. Not so in the 21st century. These doctors look through you,analyzing measurements, surface curvatures, ratios, circumferences, throughput, and God knows what else. Probably muscle tension, mileage, and RBIs.

My question is, what will I see while I'm wide awake? That moment, after the incision is made, after the breakup and vacuuming of the "cloudy lens material" (which sounds so disgustingly "dirty-carpet"). I think I will be momentarily totally blind. No lens...? What can you see with no lens...?

So when they insert the magic artificial lens...all of a sudden I will see again? What if it's wrong? What if someone left it on the dash of their car for a couple of hours, baking in the sun? What if someone's ballpoint pen exploded and a tiny drop of ink splashed onto it? What if something went wrong in the lens-making process and they forgot to include blue (my favorite color)?

How do they know it will fit? Is everyone's eye the same size? What if it's too small, will there be a halo of black all around everything?

I'll give you the play-by-play. What I see (or don't see) during the procedure. Whether it hurts or not. How much of a nuisance the drops are (I think it's every two hours). Trust me, this an adventure of...well, blind faith.

One other thing...they say it only takes 5 minutes. But I've never gone five minutes without blinking. What if I blink?

The Wall

2009-08-22T11:39:00.002-04:00

In every life there is a crossroads where you realize that there are arguments bigger than you. These are not arguments that are necessarily right or true, they are just arguments you are not going to win, no matter how right or true your position is.

My first experience with this principle was with a Baptist minister. I was a Baptist by choice, fully convinced that I had made not just the right choice, but the only choice, given the facts as any 16-year-old would understand them. I fell in love with a Catholic, and by some miracle of consequence, at the ripe age of 17, I became pregnant.

I tried to explain to my Baptist minister that these things happen, that God had a plan for my life that quite possibly included the father of my child, in which case we should be married.

The pastor would have none of it. Something about unequal yoking, which conjured up visions of my being a cow, pairing myself off with some evil alien being. The pastor refused to perform a marriage ceremony. I had met "the wall".

I was quite indignant. So I became a Catholic - same redemption, different songs. Little did I know the hoops the Catholic Church had in store for me. Again I made not only the right choice, but the only choice, given the facts as a 23-year-old mother would understand them. I was so holy, attending daily mass. I confessed (internally) several times a day. I was pretty happy about it all.

Then my marriage got derailed. So I explained to my priest how these things happen, and God had a plan for my life, which included standing up for the truth. But the priest would not hear of it. Something about "til death do us part", no matter how degrading, humiliating, insulting, or barbaric. Again I met "the wall".

So now I am a Lutheran. I am now being asked to accept "unity", "diversity", and "inclusiveness."

At this stage of my life, I know walls. I have reconciled my thinking to realize that I am not going to change anything. I have realized that the wall is real, and the important part is to decide which side of the wall I will be on.

Front Porches and Facebook

2009-06-05T21:07:00.003-04:00

I've been reading a lot of cynical stuff lately about Facebook and other social media. The main thrust is that these virtual communities are exceedingly self-centered, promoting the concept that life is all about "me".

Well, yes, they are. But I don't think Facebook is in any way MORE narcissistic than the front-porch culture of yesteryear. Nobody has a front porch in the real world anymore, where you sit in the evening, chatting with neighbors about the trivial events of your day. Whining, carrying on, sharing jokes, arguing, embarrassing ourselves...we don't do that on the front porch anymore.

We used to, though. We used to engage in conversation. We used to get mad, we used to get emotional in conversation, to the point where some of us had to apologize. And then we started over. And all this happened on front porches.

How do we engage each other when there are no front porches? How do we do that, living in condos? How do we do that, living in mansions, with special entrances for service people?

What is the "front porch" in the 21st century? I think that is the role of social networking media like Facebook.

What I love is that geography is meaningless. I can be as close to my nephews/nieces in Colorado/Pennsylvania as I am to my children in Pennsylvania/Maryland...just as though we lived on the same street. They can visit my "front porch" through Facebook, and I love it. I treasure the updates, just as much as if I had heard about them "through the grapevine" on my front porch.

Tools like Facebook take a lot of grief, as though their only purpose is self-promotion. To me, Facebook provides me with a front porch where I can speak or hold my peace as I see fit. Just as it has always been on front porches since the beginning of time.

Tweenbots

2009-04-14T18:49:00.006-04:00

This is so uplifting! Restores my faith in humanity.

Tweenbots are human-dependent robots that navigate the city with the help of pedestrians they encounter. Rolling at a constant speed, in a straight line, Tweenbots have a destination displayed on a flag, and rely on people they meet to read this flag and to aim them in the right direction to reach their goal.
Read more about this project.

Roaches: The Unarmed Enemy

2009-04-04T18:10:00.002-04:00

What is it about huge dead roaches? I have one in my kitchen, which I plan to dispose of...just not quite yet. I've gone into the kitchen to inspect him periodically since 11:33 am this morning. That's when I blasted him over and over and over again with HOT-SHOT, which kills on contact (if you spray long enough).

Sheesh, I hope it wasn't a "her". Now, why do I care whether it was a "him" or a "her?" It was a ROACH!

If you would like to argue the point about why girls should not be soldiers, please come to my kitchen. I will show you my dead roach, and you can help me give him/her a proper burial.

Pegging, Unpegging, and Linguistic Magic

2009-04-04T17:21:00.003-04:00

We're "unpegging" from the Constitution. Economies are "unpegging" from the dollar. My Uncle Bill "un-Pegged" from my Aunt Margaret. What does it all mean?

Why can't they speak plain English? I think "un-pegging" is today's euphemism for "violating" or to be even more gutteristic, "raping."

When I hear that our system of government is "unpegging" from the Constitution, the picture I see in my mind is the rope that holds up my pajama bottoms, which is looped over the peg of my bedpost. It's a good thing for me to "un-peg". That sounds like freedom, liberty, independence.

In reality, "unpegging" from the Constitution means removing the foundation that my house (and therefore my bedroom, and even my bed) is built on.

But it still sounds cool and liberating, "unpegging".

Words mean something. Non-words, key-words, and buzz-words serve a purpose. Listen carefully, and peg the language that is used accordingly.

Tragedy in the Media

2009-04-04T15:27:00.002-04:00

I grew up in a community close to Pittsburgh. So today's events there have a somewhat more personal impact on me than similar events that have occurred in New York and North Carolina.

One thing all of these events have in common is media coverage. Vulturish, vampirish, media coverage. The media clamors to know and report (and gleefully photograph, if possible) every ugly detail of the alleged crime, the alleged perpetrator, the alleged victims, the alleged by-standers, and the cousins of the alleged by-standers. Live from the scene.

The inevitable press conferences could be scripted, with a parade of politicians expressing their grief and dismay; law enforcement officials thanking each other for such heroic response; the assurance that federal grief counselors are on the way; the grim agreement that this is indeed a sad day for [name of community].

Then the grilling begins. Who knew what, and when did they know it? How outraged should the community be? What hospital are the survivors in? What are the addresses of their family members? How would you describe society's failure in this awful tragedy? Is this trend of violence stoppable? How dead are the dead, and if they are not dead, how close to dead are they?

They have one video clip of SWAT team members rounding the corner of a building (I think it's a stock clip) which is played over and over throughout the report. Men in helmets, with wicked-looking weapons and chest-gear. It's a cloudy, dusty day - they don't film the SWAT team on sunny, balmy days. That's how I know its a stock clip.

The one question no one asks is, what is God's purpose in this? Why does God permit such carnage? How should we pray in this situation? No, God is excluded from the scene entirely. And then we wonder why these tragedies continue to happen.

Body armor, automatic weapons, motives, logistics, presidential response, counseling, communities joining together, despair, hate - all of these terms and concepts may be invoked. But don't mention God.

Peace to Pittsburgh.

Hanging in the Balance

2009-03-31T18:33:00.004-04:00

Lawfare and Obama's Transnationalist
By Frank Gaffney

What is wrong with this picture? We learned this weekend that a Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzon, is preparing to prosecute six Americans who worked as senior legal and policy advisors to President George W. Bush - including Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Under Secretary of Defense Douglas Feith. The alleged crime? The opinions they provided Mr. Bush supported the use of torture against enemy combatants.

Most Americans would find this assertion of what has come to be called "transnational law" to be troubling on several grounds. Its application is an affront to due process and the rule of law in this country. It would criminalize internal U.S. policy-making deliberations, with profound implications for U.S. sovereignty. If allowed to run its course, this prosecution would have a profoundly chilling effect on the willingness of subordinates to provide a president with advice, or perhaps even to serve in government.

One would hope that President Obama would recognize that this use of legal mechanisms as a form of warfare against the United States - increasingly known as "lawfare" - holds serious dangers not just for the country and those who ran it for the past eight years, but for his administration, as well. That would appear not to be the case, however, in light of his choice of Harold Koh to be the State Department's top lawyer.
Read More...

Source: Townhall.com

Note: Scarier still is the notion that our laws would no longer be made or interpreted in the context of our Constitution, but in the context of the world stage. Such a transition would also threaten our ability to enter (or not enter) into treaties, to wage war, etc., as a sovereign nation.

Fishy Politics in Alexandria

2009-03-28T10:46:00.005-04:00

To many in Old Town Alexandria, the sex shop that opened recently on King Street is nothing short of scandalous, a historical desecration just blocks from the boyhood home of Robert E. Lee.

But to Michael Zarlenga, it's justice.

Zarlenga spent $350,000 on plans to expand his hunting and fishing store, the Trophy Room. He worked with city officials for almost two years and thought he had their support -- until the architectural review board told him he couldn't alter the historic property.

Furious and out of money, Zarlenga rented the space to its newest occupant, Le Tache.
Read more...

Source: The Washington Post

Note: I'm all in favor of historic preservation. But life does go on...if it was okay for this "historic" building to house a hunting and fishing store in the first place, why not let its owner renovate and continue contributing to the 21st century economy? But nooooo....

I don't particularly like sex shops, but the irony here tickles me.

This Dishwashing Dilemma

2009-03-28T10:07:00.003-04:00

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The quest for squeaky-clean dishes has turned some law-abiding people in Spokane into dishwater-detergent smugglers.

They are bringing Cascade or Electrasol in from out of state because the eco-friendly varieties required under Washington state law don't work as well.

Spokane County became the launch pad last July for the nation's strictest ban on dishwasher detergent made with phosphates, a measure aimed at reducing water pollution. The ban will be expanded statewide in July 2010, the same time similar laws take effect in several other states. But it's not easy to get sparkling dishes when you go green.
Read more...

Source: Sierra Vista Herald

Note: I'm conflicted on this. On the one hand, I am outraged at the governmental intrusion. Do we really need legislation to control how we clean our dishes? On the other hand, what ever happened to plain old elbow-grease and a steel wool pad? Are we such a weak society that we can't even scrape dried spaghetti sauce off our plates anymore, without the help of a machine and chemicals? Maybe we deserve government intervention.

The Senior Perspective

2009-03-21T16:13:00.005-04:00

My grandmother is very comfortable with the new administration and the current state of affairs in the United States.

She is not concerned about the increasing national debt, or the recession, or the bailouts. She lived through the depression, the New Deal, and lost a son in World War II. So she's no stranger to sacrifice or hard work.

That is what is on the horizon for America today...sacrifice and hard work. I can't say I am impressed with our president being the "Salesman-in-Chief." I think what he is doing is stuffing two of every species of fruit and vegetable on God's green earth into the congressional blender - strawberries, onions, peaches, spinach, broccoli, apples, asparagus, onions, kiwi, oranges, potatoes, grapes, beets, apricots, cranberries, peas, beans, onions, and celery. This economic concoction is reputed to be just the tonic America needs. The cost of all these fruits and vegetables is very high, but one has to keep one's priorities straight.

Of course the tonic will taste bad, and it won't really look very appetizing. But it's the prescription, the medicine, we must take. And if you saw President Obama recently on the Tonight Show, you know that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Our Salesman-in-Chief is an excellent entertainer. He's a hit at townhall meetings, cleverly populated with outspoken victims. Now that he's done Leno, can The View be far behind?

Well the "recovery cocktail" is oozing its way into every paycheck and wallet across America. But that doesn't bother my grandmother.

She passed away in 1983.

My grandchildren, on the other hand....

UPDATE: Embryonic Stem Cell Research

2009-03-15T10:39:00.003-04:00

Obama Signs Law Banning Federal Embryo Research

On Wednesday, only two days after he lifted President Bush’s executive order banning federal funding of stem cell research that requires the destruction of human embryos, President Barack Obama signed a law that explicilty bans federal funding of any "research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death."

The provision was buried in the 465-page omnibus appropriations bill that Obama signed Wednesday. Known as the Dickey-Wicker amendment, it has been included in the annual appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services every fiscal year since 1996.
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Source: CNSNews.com

Note: This is an interesting turn of events. Did President Obama actually read the bill? Did he know about the Dickey-Wicker amendment? If he did, then was all the fanfare surrounding the signing of his Executive Order just a ruse to placate the far left? Watch for news of legislative efforts to repeal the Dickey-Wicker amendment. In the meantime, however, cooler heads have prevailed.

Glenn Beck's 'We Surround Them' Party

2009-03-14T18:58:00.005-04:00

Sarasota Meet-Up

More than 70 people gathered last night at the Comfort Inn & Suites on Gantt Rd. to watch Glenn Beck's 5:00 pm daily television show on Fox Business network. It wasn't a rally, it was a 'viewing party'. Does that sound odd? More than 70 people gathering at a hotel, paying an entrance fee ($2.75 to cover the cost of the room), just to watch a TV show they could have watched at home for free?

It is odd, but it happened all over the country - in hotels, in bars, in homes - people of like values meeting up in grassroots support of their country. The gathering in Sarasota was amazing in its diversity and enthusiasm. All ages were represented, from the very young, to the very old; there were bikers and professionals; there were former and retired military; men and women; some well-off, some struggling financially; some outspoken (and well-spoken to boot!) - others more quiet, but listening attentively.

The television program was engaging. The theme of 'We Surround Them' is an initiative Glenn Beck created to showcase 9 principles and 12 values that comprise the fabric of our country's founding. It is important to remember that when it comes to government, elected officials, and politicians in general - we are not outnumbered. We surround them! The same is true across the broader society, where so often one individual feels smothered by the lack of integrity, the blurring of lines between right and wrong, and overall acceptance of moral relativity.

After the television broadcast, the discussion continued for another hour in the format of a town meeting. Topics included contacting legislators, the need to address local issues, local media response, in addition to national issues such as the fair tax.

The group will meet again soon, probably at the community center of a local fire station. The purpose of that meeting will be to set priorities and decide on an agenda of action items.

I've attended other "community action" events, but have never seen anything like this. Too soon, I believe voices like Glenn Beck's will be silenced. We have got to build the relationships within our own communities to learn and live the principles and values incorporated into our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. If this event had happened only in little Sarasota, it wouldn't be much to comment on. But the same event was happening simultaneously all over the country. That gives me hope for change I can believe in.