Chris Kelly on Laura Bush's Memoir

I have not read Laura Bush's memoir (probably never will), nor can I resist reposting Chris Kelly's summary in the Huffington Post:

"Laura Bush publishes her memoirs; attributes killing schoolmate with car to undersized stop sign; blames Iraq war on Saddam Hussein, Gerhard Schroder; repeats theory that no one understands how much she and George have suffered."

Meghan McCain on Arizona's "Alien" Law

In the Daily Beast, Meghan McCain voiced her opinion of Arizona's new immigration law. (Notice the law refers to undocumented immigrants as "aliens.")

"Let me say upfront that I do not support the bill that was signed by Governor Jan Brewer. I believe it gives the state police a license to discriminate, and also, in many ways, violates the civil rights of Arizona residents. Simply put, I think it is a bad law that is missing the bigger picture of what is really going on with illegal immigration. The concept that a law-enforcement official can stop an individual when “reasonable suspicion exists that a person is an alien, who is unlawfully present in the United States” is essentially a license to pull someone over for being Hispanic."

Legalizing Racial Discrimination

My grandson, a U.S. citizen, was born in Guatemala and has darker skin than the rest of us, his European relatives. If Arizona's new law, SB 1070, takes effect, and he is traveling in Arizona, police would be required to stop and interrogate him simply because he is brown-skinned or speaks Spanish.

In a way, I am pleased that my father is no longer with us, because he would be devastated to observe what has become of this great country that he loved and sacrificed for.

Members of our family are planning a trip out West this July, but as of this legislation, we will definitely skip Arizona.

Kathryn Wall's new book, CANAAN'S GATE comes out today (4/27/2010).

The following is an email describing the latest Bay Tanner mystery:

"Divided loyalties can be agonizing—and sometimes fatal . . .

April on Hilton Head Island brings the azaleas, the Heritage Golf
Tournament, and the newest installment in the Bay Tanner mystery
series.

In CANAAN'S GATE, Bay has settled into her new life as both an orphan
and a newly-married woman. Her husband and former brother-in-law, Red
Tanner, has left his job with the sheriff's office to join his wife at
the inquiry agency, a move that has created more problems than it's
solved.

Enter Cecelia Dobbs, a mousy bank employee, who suspects that one of
her co-workers may be involved in a scam that has cost the wealthy
Castlemains of Wexford Plantation close to a million dollars. No
sooner do Bay and her partner, Erik Whiteside, embark on the
investigation than one of the elderly couple dies under questionable
circumstances. Then Cecelia disappears,and Bay finds herself embroiled
in a nightmare chase where no one is who they seem to be and where one
wrong move could prove disastrous. . .

As always, I appreciate the support and encouragement I've received
from readers all over the world. Please check out my appearances on
the Web site and stop by to say hey if you're in the vicinity of any
of them. I hope to see you somewhere down the road . . .

Warm regards,
Kathy"

Me and My Toro Personal Pace Lawn Mower

Six years ago, I became the proud owner of a Toro Personal Pace Lawn Mower. For you Toro neophytes, "Personal Pace" is Toro's nomenclature for what the rest of refer to as "self-propelled." Being in my late 60's, I thought this was my last lawn mower. My theory was I would treat this baby with bi-monthly oil changes, air filter changes, and annual blade sharpening so that it would last a long time--thus postponing the point at which I would have to admit that I needed a lawn service.

Well, in 2007, I noticed that the "personal pace" technology had disappeared and I now had a regular "push mower." Being an optimistic idiot, I decided that this was a "good thing," going so far as to conclude that this was a message from the "Big Guy Upstairs" telling me that I needed the exercise required to push this damn thing.

But this spring, my body rebelled. I finally determined that all of this energy I was expending on my Toro could be used to play tennis or golf. It was an EPIPHANY! This damn mower should be moving itself and here I am pushing it. After examining the mower. I determined that the drive belt and the engaging mechanism were in good shape and that the problem must be the transmission.

Having convinced myself that I should bite the bullet and have it repaired, I went to my local Toro repair shop, Janney's, on north Secor. When I finally was attended to, I told the lady: " I have this Toro Personal Pace Lawn Mower, but unfortunately it has lost its pace, and now it's just personal--that being me." I thought I was being funny ( and the young man next to her smiled), but she just glared at me. I concluded that either she had no sense of humor or that she had heard this same line a hundred times and was sick of it. She informed me that it would be a month or more before they they could look at it to determine the problem. I asked, "Will Toro send someone out to mow my lawn in the meantime?" Her response was: " We are very busy; is there anything else I can do for you?" I left sensing that we did not share the same sense of humor.

Since I was confident that the problem was the transmission that transferred power to the rear wheels, I went home and began taking it apart. I soon learned that one had to disassemble most of the mower to remove the transmission. Being a Toro novice, that required two hours. Having checked the internet, I learned that a transmission was $39, but since I wanted it immediately, I decided to buy it locally. The problem was that the nearest place that stocked it was my humorless friend at Janney's. Having decided to forget humor, I returned the next day to purchase said transmission. On that day Miss or Mrs. Humorless was quite accommodating. Although I was tempted to surmise why she was in a good mood today, I decided to behave myself, get the damn transmission and get out. Of course, instead of $39, it cost me closer to $70, but I chalked that difference up to convenience.

At home, with the help of my wife, it took another four and a half hours to install and reassemble the mower. Nevertheless, I was feeling quite proud of myself, but unfortunately, I soon learned that the pace of the "Personal Pace" mower, when it was operating correctly, was considerably faster than MY personal pace.

DeToquiville Foresaw the Future

In his study of American politics, historian Alexis de Tocqueville praised the openness of our democratic system, but warned that "There will come a time when the rich and powerful try to kick the door closed." (DFA)

Women's "Equal Pay Day"

April 20 th.

"This is the day designated each year to mark how far into the year the average woman must work to earn what the average man made the previous year. Women working full-time and year-round currently earn about 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, so today marks the day using 2009 figures that an average woman would finally earn what an average man made in 2009. In Ohio, this pay deficiency ($33,628 per year compared to $45,214) for women and their families in real terms means they could buy food for another two years or pay mortgage and utility payments for nine more months." from Jennifer Brunner's email 4/20/2010

The Crazy World of ePublishing

Why would anyone pay more for an eBook than a hardcover? Why would anyone sell an eBook for more than a hardcover?

"Earlier today, Barnes & Noble's eBook Twitter feed proudly proclaimed that Stephanie Meyer's forthcoming novella, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, is now available for pre-order.

The odd thing, as you can see in the screen shot above, is that the eBook from B&N ($9.99) costs more than the hardcover edition ($8.55). The same holds true in the Kindle store, except that Amazon is discounting the hardcover even further, selling it for $7.69

This is especially silly given the fact that Stephanie Meyer is giving a digital version of the book away for FREE, as we reported." (eBookNewser)

Since an eBook eliminates the cost of printing and physical distribution, one would think publishers would be pleased to sell the eBook for considerably less. Also, since most eBook versions are read only once or twice, publishers are likely to sell more versions compared to hardbacks which are passed from person to person over a period of years.

Why are they doing this? The answer seems to be the same old answer: "because they can" and "because they can increase the profit margin."

Quote from Seneca

Seneca

"Expecting is the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow, it loses today." ~ Seneca

My Taxes vs. Exxon Mobil's Taxes

Yesterday, April 15, 2010, I paid more federal taxes than Exxon Mobil (the corporation paid zero); but, on the other hand, I did not spend $27 million lobbying Congress for loop holes.

Deaths From Hospital Infections

Hospital Acquired Infections

In an email from Consumers Union, I was amazed to learn:

"More than 30,000 Americans die every year from bloodstream infections they get from catheters while in the hospital. And just this week, federal researchers reported that rate is rising. But a leading Johns Hopkins doctor has developed a simple checklist that when used, could cut these types of infections by two-thirds. Some hospitals have even eliminated these kinds of infections for periods of time using the checklist."

"If all hospitals followed this checklist, we could save tens of thousands of lives each year and billions of dollars. It works. It's voluntary. Yet most hospitals don’t do it, because they haven’t been pressured to implement it."

Why would not all hospitals insist on this protocol? Why do patients have to petition their hospitals to follow the protocol?

Quote of Note

"If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." Frank A. Clark

Bishop Blair Goes after Sisters of St. Francis--Again!

As a member of a misogynistic, autocratic men's club, Toledo Catholic Bishop Leonard Blair just doesn't get it. In a March 30 article in the Catholic Chronicle, his main concern about the recently passed Federal Health Care Bill was that it "may" lead to federal funding for abortions. That, in spite of the fact the senate bill will not provide taxpayer funding for abortions and that the bill will provide an historic $250 million in support of pregnant women. Instead of recognizing the new Health Care Bill is finally coinciding with the social justice concerns and teachings of the Catholic Church, the Bishop, ala Sarah Palin, concentrates on repeating the false claims of the bill's opponents

But that is not all. The bishop singled out the Sister of St. Francis of Tiffin as being suspect for signing a statement supporting health care reform. Representatives of 61 Catholic nuns' groups signed the letter, including the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. The signers represented more than 59,000 of the 67,000 nuns. As a result of the bishop's criticism, the Tiffin Franciscans issued a statement reaffirming their dedication to life issues and their opposition to abortion. The whole world knows this, but they had to restate the obvious in light of the bishop's misgivings.

Sister Jacquelyn told the Toledo Blade they endorsed their support for the "offending" statement because " we have supported health care reform, especially to cover the poor, uninsured and also to assist pregnant women, and our understanding was that this bill would do this."

Perhaps Bishop Blair's negative and paranoid attitude is not surprising when one considers that the Vatican's response to priestly pedophilia is 1) defensive ("we are the victims of unjust criticism) and 2) false ("the cause of priestly pedophilia is homosexuality").

Many Catholics wonder when their church's leaders are going to stop obsessing about our religious women's devotion to the Gospels and return to preaching the positive message of "The Good News." As it appears now, this men's club fears the potential of their "sisters."

Did Benedict XVI Commit Perjury?

Benedict XVI

One has to wonder whether Liam Fox in the "News Junkie Post"(April 10, 2010) has a good point when he suggests that the Pope has committed perjury. This is just one quotation from his lengthy article:

Bearing False Witness: The Pope Commits Perjury | NEWS JUNKIE POST: "The Pope’s signature is on documents discussing information to which he has denied being privy, and his involvement has been discovered in situations of which he has claimed ignorance. The evidence is damning, and the Pope’s reaction only compounds the problem. The only way this can be resolved is through full disclosure. Tens of thousands of children have been abused and the Catholic Church has aided and abetted these felonies. The time for putting a ’spin’ on things is over. It is time for the Catholic Church to change its age-old policy of self protection and do what is right. It is time for Pope Benedict XVI to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; because regardless, the truth is coming out."

George Will Fears "Anchor Babies"

Xenophobic George Will, the conservative columnist who is 2006 wanted the the U.S. to build a wall between Mexico and the U.S. similar to the one Communist East Germany had constructed, is at it again. He is now attacking "anchor babies"--children born in the U.S. of undocumented Mexican workers. The fact that these children are automatically U.S. citizens because they are born here is a great irritant to Mr. Will, conservatives, racists and skinheads.

"In the past few weeks alone influential columnist George Will... and New York State governor candidate Steve Levy have made it clear that the American children of undocumented Americans should not be given citizenship." (Irish Central blog, 4/10/2010)

While they work to deny these children citizenship, they are vilifying them with this label, "anchor babies"-- somehow suggesting that the reason these babies are born is so that 21 years later their existence will grant their parents U.S. citizenship as well.

This is just another code word (like "alien") the right wing uses to demean U.S. citizens of Mexican origin.

eBook Sales Rise 176% in 2009

According to the Association of American Publishers, as reported by GalleyCat, the health of book publishing in 2009 was quite good, thanks to a dramatic rise in the sale of eBooks.

Book Sales Dipped 1.8% in 2009; eBook Sales Rose 176% - mediabistro.com: GalleyCat: "In its annual report on total book sales, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) estimated that U.S. publishers produced net sales of $23.9 billion last year--a 1.8 percent decrease from the $24.3 billion in 2008 sales.

In addition, eBooks accounted $313 million in sales in 2009, up 176.6 percent and surpassing audiobooks in total sales. The report also noted that the publishing industry has managed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.1 percent over the last seven years. The statistics were tabulated from Bureau of the Census data and sales figures 86 publishers."

Timeshare Scam

Perhaps as a sign of the times, what appears to be a popular telephone scam is directed at owners of timeshares, particularly those who own timeshares in desirable locations and operated by reputable companies like Marriott and Sheraton. My wife and I have received several of these calls within the last three months, and while in Florida recently learned from a Marriott representative that some of his clients have fallen prey to this gimmick.

The caller will know that you own one or more timeshares and will ask whether you would be interested in selling or renting it. (Apparently, there are many owners interested in doing just that.) After you tell the caller the details of your timeshare, he will indicate that he has a buyer who is willing to pay a very attractive amount. Of course, the catch is that in order to facilitate the transaction, you will have to pay the closing costs/fees up front. You send them a check and never hear from them again. If you are interested in renting, they will offer to rent it for you at quite attractive rate after you send them a check for "the transaction fees."

After you have sent the check and you try to contact them, you will find that the phone number has been disconnected and there is no such mailing address.

Kathryn R Wall's Latest Bay Tanner Thriller: Canaan's Gate

Good news for readers of Kathryn Wall's mystery series featuring Bay Tanner. Her newest, Canaan's Gate, will be published April 27. Those readers fortunate enough to be in the Hilton Head area may wish to join Kathy at a launch party at Jump and Phil's on May 6th.

This time Hilton Head's unique private investigator, Bay Tanner, and her assistant, Erik Whiteside, agree to help a young bank employee, Cecilia Dobbs, investigate another bank employee who she fears is ripping off an elderly and extremely wealthy couple. Unfortunately, within days, Cecilia dies of an apparent heart attack.

Of course, Bay's private life is always an interesting factor. She is dealing with death of her father, her recent marriage to Red Tanner (brother of her previously deceased husband), and her newly discovered sister, Julia.

Based on the previous novels in the series, it is quite likely that the local color of South Carolina's Low-country will add an unique flavor.

Canaan's Gate is available for pre-order from Amazon and will be in bookstores and available for Kindle readers on the 27th.

Harlan Coben: Long Lost

Having only recently had the pleasure of discovering Harlan Coben, I thoroughly enjoyed Long Lost which features sports agent and private investigator, Myron Bolitar. He and his associate, Win, have come a long way from the original Deal Breaker. Myron is summoned to Paris by a former lover, Terese Collins, who wants his help in learning the fate of her divorced husband. Their investigation leads through a maze of international terrorists, bizarre cults and Homeland Security agents.

Although the plot is based on a questionable premise, it is quite easy to ignore as one follows the characters in a fast-moving series of adventures. Coben's fans will enjoy the twists and turns they have come to expect.