Just for fun

Pelosi stumps for Joachin Castro in San Antonio

Or at least that’s what the San Antonio Express News is reporting. Who knows which of the brothers is really which, since they’ve got a history of playing “stand in” for one another?

Forgive me, but “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words:”

The photo shows Congressman Charlie Gonzales, one of the Castro politicians, Nancy Pelosi, State Senator (run away) Leticia Van de Putte, and another Castro twin.

While I’m very tempted to make “Saturday Night Live” jokes and puns about the opening statement by the SAEN that “Pelosi whipped up” anything, I think I’ll just quote the SAEN quoting Charlie Gonzales,

“Of course I’m endorsing him,” he said. “And when you support Joaquin Castro, you support Nancy Pelosi returning as speaker of the House.”

I do have to ask, where are State Reps Trey Martinez-Fischer  and Mike Villarreal? Were they not invited, or do they support Layoff Lloyd Doggett?

Celltex Announces Glenn McGee, Ph.D. as President of Ethics and Strategic Initiatives

The “rest of the story,” at LifeEthics.org.

We wanted Glenn at Celltex because from the start we have been determined to do things right,” said David Eller, chairman and chief executive officer of Celltex, which is based in Houston, Texas. “Celltex is a leader in adult stem banking and multiplication technology. We already have state-of-the-art technology, and with Glenn, we are assured that we will be using it in the most ethical way possible.”

Dr. McGee, who resigned his position as the John B. Francis Chair at the Center for Practical Bioethics and his role as editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Bioethics in November 2011, was the founder of the publication. Under his leadership, The American Journal of Bioethics became the leading journal in its field. He is now serving in an advisory capacity with the journal until March 1, 2011. [sic]

via Celltex Announces Glenn McGee, Ph.D. as President of Ethics and Strategic Initiatives | NEWS.GNOM.ES.

Don’t touch the NameServer! (another hard lesson learned)

I think I’m so tech-savvy. And then, I hit one little old button and shut down the website for hours.

WingRight is back up after a silly mistake. GoDaddy and WordPress are communicating again. And I won’t mess with critical settings without a lot of research – at least until the next time.

Pa. Vending Machine Dispenses ‘morning-after’ Pill | Fox News

I’ll admit that I don’t like Over The Counter hormone preparations. But isn’t this going too far in the name of convenience?

Students at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania can get the “morning-after” pill by sliding $25 into a vending machine, an idea that has drawn the attention of federal regulators and raised questions about how accessible emergency contraception should be.

via Pa. Vending Machine Dispenses ‘morning-after’ Pill | Fox News.

The pill only works during 5 or 6 days of a girl’s cycle. But what if she throws her cycle off several times a month?

And studies show that even when women have the pills in the medicine cabinet, they don’t use it correctly.

BTW, I’m convinced that Plan B is not an abortifacient – does not cause abortions by interfering with implantation or development if there is fertilization. It can block ovulation for 5 days before ovulation and it makes the mucus thick at the cervix and uterus so sperm and egg have a hard time getting together. It doesn’t change the way that implantation goes and it may even encourage the protection of the new embryo by moma’s body

See my “Review: Plan B, How It Works and Doesn’t Work” at this link:

If, as I believe, the pills only work in preventing fertilization, they are only medically justified/necessary 5 days before or one or 2 days just after ovulation, the window of fertility. The other 20 days or so of the menstrual cycle, the pills are useless and un-necessary.

The best evidence is that Plan B works to prevent ovulation or to prevent the oocyte (the “egg”) from being released from the ovary and passing to the fallopian tube. This is why the pill is best (and only?) functional before ovulation. In nature, the egg only lives about 24 hours and sperm can live from 2 to 5 days. If the egg is not released, is over 24 hours old, if the sperm cannot get to the egg or if they are dead or incapacitated, there can be no fertilization.

The only post-ovulation effect that has been proven that could prevent pregnancy also prevents fertilization. Levonorgestrel causes the mucus in the cervix to be thick (so sperm have a hard time getting to the uterus and then the fallopian tube where the egg is) and by making the sperm unable to penetrate the zona pellucida, the covering and nurturing cells around the oocyte or egg.

Remember Natural Family Planning? This is the method of following body temp and cervical mucus changes to help figure out when a woman is fertile and when she’s not. The post-ovulatory changes that indicate the non-fertile time immediately following ovulation are due to a progesterone similar to the one that is in Plan B.

Also, the progesterone increases the likelihood of implantation and supports that early pregnancy by delaying the period and encouraging the lining of the uterus to develop.

Of course, the single, small dose in Plan B doesn’t have as great an effect as the hormones from the corpus luteum after ovulation.

IF PARISHIONERS ARE READY TO BE WARRIORS SHOULD THEN NOT THE PRIESTS? | Conservatives in Action

Sonja Harris, the Blogger “Red Sonja” of Conservatives in Action, noted that the Obama Administration told the Church that it has a whole year to make peace. She’s astounded that the speaker meant peace with Obama, not with God.

In my life time, the Catholic Church has not experienced such brutal attacks coming from the President of the United States of America. It even hurts typing that line. Never have Catholics and other Christians been so assaulted for trying to live their faith.

I have to remind myself as to why the Conservatives in Action came to be. It was because Obama began his assault on the Catholic Church early by using Joe Biden, a joke as a Catholic, to bring in the Catholic vote. And immediately after Obama’s inauguration, the day after the Right to Life March in 2009, and three days after taking his oath to protect us on January 20th, he signed the Executive Order on January 23rd to repeal the Mexico City policy thereby having the American taxpayer pay for abortions overseas.

It is imperative that as Christians we understand that politics do play a significant role in our lives. Politics dictate our every move. The amount of times we flush the toilet, the light bulb we should use, how fast we should drive, the age of retirement, how many septic tanks we can have on our property, these are a mere drop as to the hundreds of thousands of restrictions that are upon us today. Until Catholics understand that politics and religion are indeed intertwined, we can kiss our faith good bye.

via IF PARISHIONERS ARE READY TO BE WARRIORS SHOULD THEN NOT THE PRIESTS? | Conservatives in Action.

Sonja Harris for CPAC Blogger of the year!

Nominate a grassroots blogger for CPAC Blogger of the Year! @SonjaHHarris @CPAC2012

Do we want a big name blogger – one who is nearly a member of the traditional media – named to the CPAC Blogger of the Year? Or do we want a grassroots, self-taught blogger like you and me to represent us?

I know many of the bloggers who will most likely be nominated and would be proud to call them friends, but Sonja Harris better represents me and most of the Pajamas crowd.

So read the blog, nominate Red Sonja!

EMAIL THIS FORM, FILLED OUT WITH YOUR INFORMATION, TO BloggerAward@conservative.org

CPAC 2012 Blogger of the Year Award
Please submit nominations by COB on Wednesday, February 8

Your Name: ____________________
Your Organization/Blog:_____________
Your Email Address: ___________________
NOMINEE: ________Sonja Harris, Conservatives in Action_____
Nominee’s Blog Title: Conservatives In Action_____________________
Nominee’s Blog URL: http://redsonja-conservativesinaction.blogspot.com/
Nominee’s Twitter ID (if applicable): @SonjaHHarris
Nominee’s Email Address: __libertyphoto@att.net_________________________________

Description of Merit:

Self-taught conservative with an email list that is forwarded to over 10,000 readers a week, including Israeli and other international readers. While the e-mail is her biggest effort, Sonja has a facebook page https://www.facebook.com/#%21/pages/Conservatives-in-Action/219411951422716 and publishes a blog under the name “Red Sonja” at http://redsonja-conservativesinaction.blogspot.com/
She also publishes on TexasGOPVote.com http://texasgopvote.com/users/sonja-harris
Sonja was a volunteer blogger for the Rick Perry campaign in Iowa http://redsonja-conservativesinaction.blogspot.com/2012/01/rick-perry-and-iowa-caucus-2012.html , live-blogged the Newt Gingrich/Herman Cain debate in Houston http://redsonja-conservativesinaction.blogspot.com/2011/11/cain-gingrich-debate-on-november-5-2012.html ,

and has covered Texas http://redsonja-conservativesinaction.blogspot.com/2011/06/medina-valley-hs-class-of-2011-and.html , national and international news.
Please read her coverage of Pro-life rallies, take a look at her photographs of political and social events and her series on art. http://redsonja-conservativesinaction.blogspot.com/2011/02/photographys-place-in-art-art-for-our.html
http://redsonja-conservativesinaction.blogspot.com/2011/04/arts-in-your-community.html
http://redsonja-conservativesinaction.blogspot.com/2011/04/art-and-conservatives.html

So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.
James 4:17
CONSERVATIVES IN ACTION

@GovernorPerry Blogger Action Center

Bloggers can sign up for the Perry.org Blogger Action Center and get widgets for their blog here.

I like my button, seen at the right, but these are pretty! There are several State-specific widgets and these more general buttons:

” “

“Will You Live Forever—or Until Your Next Software Release—By Uploading Your Brain into a Computer?”

Transhumanism is a field composed of many interesting mind games (pun intended) but the really great title of this Scientific American review of Connectome, a new book by Sebastian Seung on cutting edge neuroscience, the state of the science behind the Human Brain Project and the transhumanist religion that is adopting it, is what made me post tonight.

Can you remember the last update of the operating system software on your phone or the browser you’re using to read this note? Or did you buy a Windows 7 computer only to find that your year-old wireless printer was not supported? Or – horrors! – have you, like me, found that your entire computer system is no longer “compliant” and won’t be supported by your vendor after a change in Federal law?

If you have a smartphone and have installed “apps,” how many of them are due an update? That software will completely replace your old program which will be removed from your phone’s memory.
Now, just imagine that your consciousness, your whole brain full of connections and thoughts, a program that, according to a certain group of transhumanists, will think, feel and essentially be you.

The idea is to dispose of the fallible human body that inevitably degrades and dies for a program that will live forever.

My experience with technology is that it, too, decays, degrades or comes with bugs and glitches that require constant upgrades with code that may be worse than a human malignancy. And that security programs can themselves be as bad as the hacks and viruses they’re supposed to protect me from.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to beta this one.

Truth, Logic, Siri, and PCMag.com

The Lord does work in mysterious ways, but most of the time He just uses the laws of physics and the logic that He invented. Still, I was surprised to find an argument for pro-life versus abortion logic on a technology blog at PCMag.com. And the simple logic of pointing out that abortionists don’t use the word “abortion” when advertising their services is much more telling than I believe the author knew.

“”Siri is doing exactly what it was built to do—provide answers to questions like, “Where can I get an abortion?” using its own algorithms and the online resources it has available to craft answers.

***********

“”Consider the current kerfuffle. This is simplifying things a bit, but the gist of this story is that Siri is getting hung up on a word, “abortion,” because organizations that actually offer abortion services tend not to use the word as much as anti-abortion organizations do. So when Siri goes looking for where to get an “abortion” in the digital wordscape of the Internet, lo and behold, it returns addresses for Crisis Pregnancy Centers rather than Planned Parenthood.””

(via Siri is Dumb. There, We Said It. | News & Opinion | PCMag.com.)

Or, it could be Steve Jobs’ last word from beyond the grave reminding us of all we could have lost if his mother hadn’t chosen life rather than abortion.

For those who don’t use the iPhone: Siri is a voice-activated program that searches for answers to questions. Think of a “Google” that you can talk to.

Okay, I will admit to a lot of bias in favor of protecting the lives of our children of the future.  I’m a pro-life advocate and serve on a couple of Boards for Pro-life advocacy: Texas Alliance for Life which lobbies for pro-life laws and regulations in Austin, Texas and even a “Crisis Pregnancy Center,” Options for Women in New Braunfels, Texas.   But this irony is too rich.

There is no big conspiracy paid for by “anti-abortion” forces to influence us to “Choose Life.” Steve Jobs most likely didn’t set this up before his death in order to contrast his adoption by loving and nurturing parents with abortion and to remind us of what we lose by the death of every child whose life is intentionally ended before birth.

And this is not a “glitch.”

The Creator of the Universe didn’t have to break a single law of nature to point out the simple fact that abortionists don’t tend to admit what they do. Truth and Logic worked as they should in this case.

At a crossroads: New research predicts which cars are likeliest to run lights at intersections

I’m not sure how I feel about allowing my car to communicate with other cars, but some sort of warning from a monitor at the intersection would be good.

While they’re at it, could someone put out a signal telling the driver the local speed limit? I think the “smart cars” of the future should help us this way.

In order to reduce the number of accidents at intersections, researchers at MIT have devised an algorithm that predicts when an oncoming car is likely to run a red light. Based on parameters such as the vehicle’s deceleration and its distance from a light, the group was able to determine which cars were potential “violators” — those likely to cross into an intersection after a light has turned red — and which were “compliant.”

The researchers tested the algorithm on data collected from an intersection in Virginia, finding that it accurately identified potential violators within a couple of seconds of reaching a red light — enough time, according to the researchers, for other drivers at an intersection to be able to react to the threat if alerted. Compared to other efforts to model driving behavior, the MIT algorithm generated fewer false alarms, an important advantage for systems providing guidance to human drivers. The researchers report their findings in a paper that will appear in the journal IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems.

Jonathan How, the Richard Cockburn Maclaurin Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, says “smart” cars of the future may use such algorithms to help drivers anticipate and avoid potential accidents.

“If you had some type of heads-up display for the driver, it might be something where the algorithms are analyzing and saying, ‘We’re concerned,’” says How, who is one of the paper’s authors. “Even though your light might be green, it may recommend you not go, because there are people behaving badly that you may not be aware of.”

How says that in order to implement such warning systems, vehicles would need to be able to “talk” with each other, wirelessly sending and receiving information such as a car’s speed and position data. Such vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, he says, can potentially improve safety and avoid traffic congestion. Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is exploring V2V technology, along with several major car manufacturers — including Ford Motor Company, which this year has been road-testing prototypes with advanced Wi-Fi and collision-avoidance systems.

via At a crossroads: New research predicts which cars are likeliest to run lights at intersections.

Obama not sure if Hawaii is in America or Asia | The Right Scoop

Video proof that someone needs to buy this man a world atlas.

The MSM isn’t going to highlight this gaffe even though Obama is indeed running for president just like all the GOP candidates. So we will.

Take note, Obama is in Hawaii, not Asia:

 

via Obama not sure if Hawaii is in America or Asia | The Right Scoop.

Cain Train, Newtmobile

Spending the night at the Woodlands Resort after the Texas Patriots PAC “debate” between Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain. They proved that competition is good – wish we’d had some. Besides that, in the parking lot in front of my room – taking up 5 -6 of the parking spaces – is the Newt Mobile, the Cain Train pick up and the trailer they haul the NewtMobile around in. How close are these two and are we supposed to believe they’ve got it all figured out?

The Cain Train pickup, with the Newt2012 billboard.

And the NewtMobile, with Cain President on the front and back.

Benefit Concert Planned For Bastrop Fire Victims

The benefit show at UT’s Erwin Center will now kick off at 6:30 p.m. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets ranging in price from $25 to $250 are available at TexasBoxOffice.com.

Performers include:

Christopher Cross
Terri Hendrix
Eric Johnson
Joe Satriani
Asleep at the Wheel
Texas Tornados
Randy Rogers Band
Lyle Lovett
Willie Nelson
Dixie Chicks *barf*
George Strait

Proceeds will go to the Austin Community Foundation’s Central Texas Wildfire Fund.

You can also buy T-shirts to support the Bastrop Fire Department (BFD) from the UT Senate. Click Here or at the pic above.

AUSTIN, Texas — A huge benefit concert to help out the more than 1,500 people who lost their homes in the Bastrop County wildfire is planned for next month.

Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, the Dixie Chicks, Asleep at the Wheel, Steve Miller, with Eric Johnson & Joe Satriani, Shawn Colvin & the Court Yard Hounds, and the Texas Tornados have all signed up to perform.

Friday Night Lights and recent Emmy winner Kyle Chandler will be the host.

The concert, dubbed Fire Relief: The Concert for Central Texas, has been organized by Austin music moguls Ray Benson and Peter Schwarz, who say they pulled together all of their resources to put the show on.

Tickets go on sale Friday at Texas Box Office. Prices range from $25 to $250 for the Oct. 17 show.

via Benefit Concert Planned For Bastrop Fire Victims – San Antonio & Texas News Story – KSAT San Antonio.

Booth attended Lincoln inauguration

Glenn Beck opened his speech at the Values Voter Summit with a story about an attack on President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth at his second inauguration. It’s a true story!

The book begins with Lincoln’s triumphal inauguration March 4, 1865, as the Civil War is grinding to its conclusion, with the fall of Richmond, Va., a month away. A photograph of the ceremony shows part of the crowd, and in the crowd can be seen stage star John Wilkes Booth, who was already plotting to kidnap the president.

via Anatomy of an assassin – Books & Poetry – The Buffalo News.

Edit: spelling BBN

The Plot Against Perry – Patriot Update

I don’t believe in conspiracy theories, but I do think Governor Perry is red meat for the controversy-hungry media and that he scares the dickens out of RINO’s.

And now, we’ve got the Washington Post literally turning over rocks to turn up scandalous words. (That rock never belonged to him or his family, although the reports say they repeatedly tried to hide the word.)

Here’s someone who does see conspiracy:

There are three reasons why these groups are plotting against Perry.

First, he hails from Texas and they claim he is “soft on illegal immigration.” I will set the record straight on Perry’s immigration policy. Second, he’s not a “silver tongued” public speaker — as if that should be a qualification anyway. We all know what the last “silver tongued” orator has done to our country. Actions, my fellow citizens, speak louder than words. Third, Governor Perry is a Christian Conservative.

via The Plot Against Perry – Patriot Update.

Conservatives in Action: New Look

Take a look at the new look at Conservatives in Action.

“Red Sonja” reaches over 10,000 readers with her email newsletters, and her blog is sure to reach as many. If you want to read what Conservatives are thinking, read this blog!

Coffee prevents depression?

The bloggers over at the Junk Science blog disagree with the statistical significance of researchers who published an article using data from the Nurse’s Health Study. The article is published in the American Medical Association’s Archives of Internal Medicine.

chocolate

Personally, I’d have bet on Chocolate, but that data is still being cooked.

I’ve posted on LifeEthics.org about the link that previous researchers found between coffee and death from all causes (but only for women, not for men) and between coffee and the prevention of Alzheimer’s dementia.

I have often thought that people who become addicted to nicotine and who regularly use other stimulants to calm down are probably self-treating hyperactivity, possibly chemical/neurochemical depression.

A more thorough review is at WebMD.

Liposuction May Lower Certain Blood Fats, Researcher Says

This makes sense: if there are less fat cells full of stored fat, and less of them to fill after weight loss, then it is intuitive that there will be fewer circulating triglycerides.

Some of us have wondered whether those fat cells, when emptied after weight loss by dieting, cry out to be filled. (or send out hormones or hormone-like signals) to increase calorie intake.

The research doesn’t definitively prove that liposuction caused levels to drop, however, and an outside researcher questioned the value of the study.

The study looked at 270 women and 52 men who underwent either liposuction, a tummy tuck (known as an abdominoplasty), or both. On average, the patients were slightly overweight, although they ranged from nearly underweight to morbidly obese.

The patients underwent fasting blood tests before surgery, one month afterward, and again three months afterward. At three months after surgery, triglyceride levels dropped from an average of 151.8 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) to 112.8 mg/dL in patients who underwent liposuction alone, representing a decrease of 25.7 percent; they fell by 43 percent in those with levels considered to be “at risk” — that is, 150 mg/dL or more.

Levels of white blood cells also dipped after liposuction and in patients who had both procedures. (High white blood cell counts are linked with an increased level of inflammation within the body and have been associated with coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.) Levels of cholesterol and blood sugar didn’t change significantly.

Commenting on the study, University of Colorado researcher Rachael Van Pelt, who has studied the after-effects of liposuction, said the findings are “virtually meaningless” because triglyceride levels vary from day to day, and the researchers didn’t include a control group.

via Liposuction May Lower Certain Blood Fats, Researcher Says – Health News – Health.com.

‘If You Love Me’ – WSJ.com

If you don’t subscribe to “The Best of the Web” by James Taranto, here’s an example of why you ought to:

Obama says that to all the girls.

Still, he did manage to find some affection yesterday in North Carolina. The Puffington Host reports that while Obama was delivering a campaign speech there, “a lone male voice rang out: ‘I love you Barack!’ Obama responded immediately: ‘I love you back!’ ” It must’ve been Giuseppe.

Obama quickly decided he’d better play hard to get. According to Agence France-Presse, he added: “If you love me, you got to help me pass this bill.” The reference was to Stimulus Jr., the $447 billion boondoggle he proposed in a historic speech to a joint session of Congress last week.

That inspired us to write a very short piece of fiction, which we published yesterday on Twitter: ” ‘If you love me,’ she said, ‘you’ve got to help me pass this bill.’ That’s when I dumped her. My friends were right: she was a gold digger.”

via ‘If You Love Me’ – WSJ.com.

Yellow dogs, splitting hairs and being human

Memories in the hearts and minds of others are what we leave behind. Even more than our DNA, that’s what makes us human. We are the only species having this conversation, after all!

More than I’ve noticed in the past, this nascent Presidential election is bringing out emotions, old rivalries, and pitting Conservative against Conservative as we perfect our skill of hair-splitting. We’re covering life, liberty and pursuit of happiness like the founders and many since, and reviewing changes in local politics as well as basic philosophies and world visions. (Not New World Order, how you see the world.)

And, Lord knows, we Conservatives can split hairs finer than Baptists.

Nevertheless, I think all this fussin’ is a good thing as long as we stop short of “eating our own. ” We’re proving, once again, that we are not merely reactionaries or like those old “yellow dog” Democrats or Republicans (meaning we’d vote for an old yellow dog before we’d vote for the other Party). We have arrived – and are arriving – at our opinions through thought and research. (Don’t you love the Internet?)  No one can watch us nit-pick (and cherry-pick quotes) and accuse us of blindly following some leader. Oh, no. Not us!

However new and raucous our debates have become, some of us have been reminiscing about the people who influenced our views on politics, even as we continue to engage in political arguments.   I’ve gotten to “know” some pretty impressive grandma’s and parents and been able to share my own memories of my family.*

We’re reminding one another of why Texas went from a Democrat State to a Republican State. And we still learn lessons from the people who lived that conversion before us.

What a great debate and a blessing to live in these times!

===============

*My mother passed away in August, 2006. I still miss her. Here’s an introduction in the form of the note I wrote on what would have been her 70th birthday:

Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007 would have been my mother’s 70th birthday. Helen Margaret Jernigan Burnett, “Mama,” died from complications of thymic carcinoma last August.

Mama is probably the source of my addiction to arguing and politics. Some people might think it comes from being the oldest daughter of a Baptist preacher, but I believe it comes from being the daughter of a certain Baptist preacher’s wife.

Mama was a teetotaler, prolife, conservative who believed in equal opportunity for anyone who would do the work, but also worked to help others. She and Daddy stopped to “early vote” on the way to see the chest surgeon – just in case her surgery was scheduled before the election a few weeks away. She was semi-famous in her hometown as the food demonstration lady at the local Wal-Mart, the one who handed out samples and root beer floats. She won awards at work for leading fund raising and selling at the store, and ran the early morning Senior Citizens Bingo. Most of all, she was the best “Grandmama” in the world.

As Daddy pushed her wheelchair into the hospital for what turned out to be her last admission, she suddenly looked up at the people around her and said, “I have the best insurance in the world: Jesus Christ!”

It turned out that she was suffering a series of strokes that would steal her ability to do even basic self-care and make her delirious most of the time. Daddy, my sister or I took turns to be with her most of the time; feeding her, helping with her baths and trying to help her control her pain. I wasn’t always patient and I’m afraid that I preached a few of the lessons I learned from her, back at her. But I was better at doing what I could for her than I would have ever thought.

In spite of what I knew of her condition and prognosis, Mama’s death was totally unexpected. Evidently, she had her final stroke while in the MRI, as I sat at the head of the machine, singing to her and trying to keep her (both of us) calm.

I’ve often heard people say that they wouldn’t want to be a burden to their children. Needing someone else to feed us and wipe our chin when we can’t hold the spoon, much less assist us in performing much more intimate acts of hygiene, seems to be the worst thing we can imagine.

I’ve never had a good answer for patients or family members when they express this fear to me. Now, I know that the worst thing that I can imagine is living the rest of my life without having fed Mama, washed her, and rubbed her back on that last day.

The faith that she and Daddy surrounded me with as a child makes me sure that Mama is in heaven. But it’s the memories of caring for her those last few days that let me live here on earth knowing that I loved her as best I could when I could. Mama’s last lesson was that we owe it to our loved ones to allow them to care for us, for their sakes.

No Time For A Doctor’s Visit? These Apps Can Help | Fox Business

I’m not sure about this “app”

It’s not always feasible to make it to the doctor’s office for every cough and sniffle. Plus heading straight to your doctor can become costly. Here’s a look at apps that will help you maintain your health.

via No Time For A Doctor’s Visit? These Apps Can Help | Fox Business.

Hat tip to Politico’s @benpolitico

Robert P. George: Serious GOP Debate

Set your video recorder to CNN at 3 PM EST on Monday, September 5 in order to watch Senator Jim DeMint, Congressman Steve King, and philosopher and bioethicist Robert P. George question the  Republican candidates for President.  The forum will not be a debate, but a series of individual interviews at the Palmetto Freedom Forum in South Carolina.

Professor George has been called the smartest man in the US and I’ve blogged about him and quoted him many times (best, here) at LifeEthics.org.  As an admitted groupie of men like Professor George and Dr. Leon Kass (sorry guys), the Palmetto forum would be my dream forum!

“I think people are aware that things are not right,” George says. “They are not technical problems to be solved by choosing the best technocrat. . . . People have a sense that the problems run deeper than that, that they have to do, in a very significant measure, with a loss of fidelity over the years, a falling away from our own principles. . . . They are looking for a conversation that goes deeper.”

via A Serious GOP Debate – Robert Costa – National Review Online.

A little philosophy, a lot of optimism

I sometimes forget that libertarianism is one step away from  anarchy, and that anarchy is  one step away from nihilism. But a nice little online chat with objectivist (Ron Paul supporter) will remind me almost every time. On the same page blaming “Zionists” and a couple of posts past reminding me that Ayn Rand should be my conscience, I am told that we are due for an “upheaval” resulting in war or a dictator, and that America is a failed state.

America is not a failed state. We are a Nation of individuals with infinite possibilities. I do believe that necessity is the mother of invention and that a free United States will continually prove that.

The nihilist asks what good is there in defeating an enemy? It’s a whole lot better than losing and history shows that if you don’t win, you risk losing both the war and your soul.  We saw Chamberlain give up Czechoslovakia for “peace in our time” and Vichy France betray not only the French, but the Jews.  And then, we saw Churchill resolve never, never, never to give in and even Truman and his decision to end the war with Japan by dropping nuclear bombs.  I’ll stand with the latter two men.

I’ve posted a couple of blog pieces wondering whether we are at the “de Tocqueville moment,” that point in a democratic state when the majority takes from the minority that de Tocqueville warned us about.  I don’t believe we are. What it comes down to is that this time, the individuals who understand history and inalienable rights are outside the gates, fighting to get in, rather than the barbarians.

Here’s a fitting quote from Sir Winston: ““Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.””

Edited for spelling, added categories, 3/28/12 BBN

Kick-off: Boehner wins the coin toss

The headlines concerning the negotiations between the White House and the People’s House are news in themselves. Maybe if the WH staffers didn’t know about the GOP debate, they didn’t know about the NFL opener?

First, from the Entertainment news, The TV Guide:“President Obama Agrees to Reschedule Jobs Speech to NFL Opening Day”

Washington Post blog: “Obama relents on jobs speech to Congress, moves address to Sept. 8”

Reuters’ completely avoids the fact that there was a date change in its headline, “Obama to address Congress on September 8,” but gives the best explanation about Speaker Boehner’s “parliamentary procedure and logistics” problems:

The House and the Democratic-controlled Senate must pass a joint resolution to provide for Congress to assemble for Obama’s remarks. Lawmakers get back to work in Washington on September 7 after their summer recess and start votes at 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT). Boehner cited such parliamentary “impediments” when asking for the date change.

But the winner is the AP/Forbes headline, “Obama bows to Boehner; jobs speech will be Sept. 8.”

This head line is being picked up all over the world.

Edit: Here’s the letter from Speaker Boehner to the President about the problems with Wednesday night. (Hat tip to RedState)

Iowa tea party: wants to keep details private on deals with Palin staff

RedState’s Erick Erickson tweeted that something’s going on between Sarah Palin and the Iowa Tea Party., just as the Wall Street Journal reported.

I looked up the reference Mr. Erickson gave, and there’s definitely something going on, but it’s “private, for now.”

Christine O’Donnell is off the guest list – again – and Sarah Palin is a “maybe.”

In the latest episode in the drama over the speaking lineup for Saturday’s Tea Party of America rally in Iowa, organizer Ken Crow said Palin’s staff called this morning to say Palin’s appearance at the rally was “on hold” until three changes were made.

“They said, ‘Ken, can you take care of bing, bing, bing’ and I said, ‘Yessir, I will’ and I did,” Crow, an Indianola Republican told The Des Moines Register.

“Now I’m waiting to hear back.”

Crow said two of the requests were logistical details: Email a copy of the program today, and address concerns about back-stage security and who will be allowed in that area.

Asked about the third request, Crow said: “Can I let that remain private for now?”

via Iowa tea party made three changes at Palin’s staff’s request | Iowa Caucuses.

(follow me, @bnuckols, on Twitter for WingRight updates.

Obama: clueless or arrogant?

President Obama has announced his intention to address a joint session of Congress on night of the first Republican debate, September 7, 2011. Maybe the White House just didn’t know that NBC was set to broadcast the debate?

Believe it or not, the President’s press secretary indicates that the answer to my question is “arrogant:”

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said “of course not” when asked whether White House officials chose the time of Mr. Obama’s speech to interfere with the Republican debate. “One debate of many was not reason not to have a speech when we wanted to have it,” he said.

According to Politico, one of the sponsors,

“Carney added that POLITICO and NBC News are “welcome” to reschedule the debate.”

According to the New York Times blog, The Caucus, 

NBC News, Politico and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation; it is to be televised by MSNBC, CNBC and the Spanish-language network Telemundo and streamed on the Internet by Politico. It is to be moderated by NBC’s Brian Williams and Politico’s John Harris.

Obama’s buses: they fly first class, too!

RedState reports that the President did not ride those million dollar buses from venue to venue for his tour last week. No, he flew the buses to area, got off Air Force One, and then rode the stage to his next show. This has got to be a joke, right?

Obama will throw America under the bus. If their plane isn’t late.

And it will be from 40,000 feet.

More here and here.

Widget for Perry for President

If you want to put a link and graphic on your blog for Perry for President that looks like this:

Donate here.

send me an email – I can’t make the code print as text!

UK Telegraph on Pilot Rick Perry’s first campaign

You’ve got to admit it’s a great story, from the UK Telegraph:

After the Air Force, Mr Perry returned home to become a rancher, going into business with his father, a Democrat who served as an elected County Commissioner. In 1984, after considering becoming a commercial pilot, he decided to enter politics and run for state representative.

His friend Don Comedy, married to a girl from Mr Perry’s high school class, was his campaign manager. The district was so big that the pair used Mr Perry’s 1952 Piper Super Cub plane, decorating its cloth-covered fuselage with campaign stickers.

The population was so sparse that when they spotted a farmer on a tractor in his fields they would swoop down to land so they could canvas him.

“Once we had to land in a pasture due to fog,” he recalls. “A rancher came by in his pickup. We were both wearing coats and ties. Rick says ‘Howdy’ and reaches into his jacket for a leaflet. I hear this lever action of a rifle – a very distinctive sound.

“This guy thinks we were drug dealers. Rick is looking down a rifle but he keeps talking.” By the time the conversation had finished, the rancher had written a cheque for the Perry campaign.

“I decided right then,” says Mr Comedy, “that anyone who can go in a matter of minutes from the first impression of being a drug dealer to getting a campaign contribution would go far.” It was the first of nine Texas elections that Mr Perry would win.

I’m a Fellow!

Larry says he married me for better or worse, but . . .

Seriously, it’s another degree.

The American Academy of Family Physicians awards the “Degree of Fellow” to members who engage in “Life-Long Learning, Practice Quality and Improvement, Volunteer Teaching, Public Service, Publishing and Research, and Service to the Specialty.” In other words, you volunteer, get involved in your community and hospital, maybe do some research, take your Boards a couple of times, keep your credentials and Continuing Medical Education up to date and other stuff, and you get to add more initials to your name.  I’m not sure, where to use them, but I got ’em!

Most people don’t realize that Family Physicians are required to take our Board exams every 7 to 10 years, complete 50 hours of formal Continuing Medical Education each year, and participate in a series of studies called “Maintenance of Certification.” FP’s are always the first to invoke new standards and seem to be led by a group of masochists who aren’t happy unless we work harder than any other specialty.

Beverly B. Nuckols, MD, FAAFP, MA (Bioethics)