Random Thoughts From Marybeth

Kids' Polls

Do kids' polls mean anything?

Weekly Reader - Bush
Nickelodeon - Kerry
Scholastic Magazines - Bush
USAA - Bush

It's true that kids can't vote in a real election but I think that their votes in these polls are a good reflection of their parents' opinions. Adults may be reluctant to give accurate information or claim to be undecided. Kids are much more open...just ask Bill Cosby or Art Linkletter.

The first three polls claim to have a history of predicting the election outcome. Since 1956 Weekly Reader has only been wrong once - early voting picked Robert Kennedy in 1968. Nickelodeon says their poll has picked the winner in every election since 1988. The Scholastic poll has picked the winner in every election but two since 1940.

Since two of the polls picked Bush and one picked Kerry, at least one will be wrong this year. I wonder if conservative families (who would be more likely to pick Bush) could be under represented in the Nickelodeon poll because they may be more likely to limit television viewing.

Pumpkin Bars

Emma and I made these for dessert. I mixed and baked, she frosted.

Pumpkin Bars

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 can (16-oz.) pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups baking mix (Bisquick)
2 tsps. ground cinnamon*
1 can cream cheese frosting

In an electric mixer, beat together sugar, oil, pumpkin, and eggs. Stir in baking mix and cinnamon. Pour into a greased 15" x 10 1/2" x 1" jelly roll pan (you can also line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool. Frost with cream cheese frosting and cut into bars.

* You could substitute 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp. ginger if you prefer.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty John Kerry

The stories John Kerry tells - Christmas in Cambodia, being 30 yards away from Bill Buckner when he missed the ball, meeting with the U.N. Security Council, and all the similar stories which place him somewhere he couldn't have been doing something there is no record of him doing - makes me think of Walter Mitty.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a short story by James Thurber. In real life Mitty is a meek, henpecked man. In his daydreams he's a hero.

Comment Spam

I used to have a nice little JavaScript code in my sidebar that showed the referrers to my blog. Today it showed this message:

You have violated user agreement for adult sites - 1 offence, second offence will result in TOTAL BAN! You are not allowed to use this code - want one go to HERE To get read of this warning simply delete our referrer feed from your page.

While I spent the weekend doing other things besides blogging, a comment spammer had used the time to add trashy links. I have plug ins to close and remove the comments and ban the URLs they include but I was a couple of days behind in running them.

Update: I added the JavaScript back to the sidebar.

Caveat Emptor

It had been a while so I did a Google search to see if my search results under "marybeth" had changed. It hasn't but I did notice this ad under the sponsored links:

Marybeth For Sale
Low Priced Marybeth
Huge Selection! (aff)
ebay.com

I'm relieved to find out that none of the listings are for me. I was concerned for a minute that my husband was trying to auction me off to buy more casino chips.

Recipes From Bloggers

The Carnival of the Recipes is up at Inside Allan's Mind. As usual, there is a good selection of tempting recipes. One thing I really like about the Carnival of the Recipes is the diversity. Whatever your culinary taste, you'll probably find something that you want to try.

Note to all pumpkin carvers - you can save yourself a search for roasted pumpkin seeds next week. This week's Carnival includes a pumpkin seed recipe that is different from any of the others I've seen before. Assuming our cats don't come and walk across the pumpkin guts as we're carving, it's the recipe I plan on trying. (Seeds and cat hair is not a good mix.)

Acorn Squash Pie
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Frozen Waldorf Salad
Banana Buttermilk Buckwheat Pancakes
Celery and Stilton Soup
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Bachelor's Chili
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Easy Risi e Bisi (Peas and Rice)
Asian Style Chicken
Scotch Eggs
Rice Pilaf
Spinach Campagnola
Grilled Tandoori Chicken
Canadian Sugar Pie
Almond Pound Cake

PC Police Cancel Halloween Parties

A school district has cancelled Halloween parties this year. If you're thinking that the district is probably in the southern U.S. and is concerned about Halloween being the "devil's day" guess again.

The district is in Washington state and listed three reasons for cancelling school parties:

1. They waste valuable classtime.
2. Some families can't afford costumes and this would be embarassing for the children.
3. Children dressed in witch costumes might be offensive to real witches.

They made the announcement on Wednesday and I have doubts about how valuable any classtime is going to be while the kids are resentful that their expected parties have been cancelled.

Parties usually take about half an hour. The kids have a chance to relax and socialize. Guidance counselors talk to classes about getting along with each other so what's wrong with actually allowing the students an opportunity to interact outside the normal classroom structure? It's only a waste of time if you lack the vision to see the possiblities.

Objections 2 & 3 could have been handled by having the children design their own costumes in art class. Some construction paper, tissue paper, crepe paper, yarn, and whatever other supplies are handy could be used to create unique costumes. It doesn't have to be perfect, just fun.

The schools could limit the types of costumes:
Harvest/fall related - scarecrows, pumpkins, or a tree with multi-colored leaves.
Animals - This could be done simply by making a mask, ears, and tail. It would also be easy to tie into different areas of study.

Of course, that would require imagination, something this district's administration seems to be lacking. Maybe imagination isn't politically correct.

Canadian Sugar Pie

The kids are on a week-long break from school so it's no surprise that by this time I'm thinking that what I really need is more energy. It's too late to get it through exercise and good nutrition so the next best thing (maybe even the first best thing) is having a slice of Canadian Sugar Pie.

Do not eat at bedtime unless your plans involve something other than sleep. "Sugar rush" would be an understatement for the pie's after effects.

Canadian Sugar Pie
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 Tbl. flour
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

In bowl, blend sugar, flour and salt. In separate bowl using electric mixer, beat eggs and yolk until frothy; beat in milk and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into sugar mixture until smooth.

Pour filling into pie shell. Bake on middle oven rack at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake about 35 minutes longer, or until crust is golden brown and filling is set. Cool on wire rack before cutting.

Bush Wins!

The voting ended yesterday:

Bush 52%
Kerry 47%
Other 1%

These results are from the Scholastic Election Poll 2004. Scholastic Classroom Magazines give students the opportunity to vote for the president. Since 1940 the students have picked the winner in all but two elections.

The complete election results should be announced Thursday.

Link Update

Slings and Arrows has moved so update your blogroll.

Flu Vaccines

I have never gotten a flu shot. I neither had nor have any plans of trying to get one this year. I'm curious how many people that don't normally get one and hadn't planned on getting one are going to try and get the vaccine just because there is a shortage.

You know how human nature is. There are people who don't want something until you tell them they can't have it. Getting something that is in short supply, even a vaccine, makes them (in their minds) part of a special group. How many people for whom the flu would mean nothing more than some discomfort and time off from work are going to get the vaccine, thus keeping those whose health would truly be endangered by the flu from getting it?

Meanwhile, some members of Congress, acting on the advice of the Capitol physician, got flu shots before they headed home to campaign this month, despite the vaccine shortage, the AP reported.

It's not that most people who don't normally get the flu vaccine will be thinking of it in that way. It's that John Kerry's and the media's focus on the shortage will increase the perceived threat of the flu.

There have been no early outbreaks of the flu and there is no reason to believe that this year will be any worse than any normal year. It's always possible that we could get a severe outbreak. It's just not likely. It's possible that the strain of flu that is most common won't be the same as the one for which the vaccine was developed. In that case, no amount of vaccine would help.

New Books

It was a Discworld weekend. I got the Wyrd Sisters DVD and the new Pratchett book, Going Postal. I enjoyed the book. Vetinari, although he isn't the main character in this one, is becoming one of my favorite characters...somewhere below Death and the witches (especially Granny Weatherwax.)

The Scrappleface book, Axis of Weasels, that I ordered came yesterday. So, you know what I'll be doing today. Yes, that's right, following my husband and oldest son around the house reading excerpts to them. (Jeff has the day off from work and the kids have the week off from school.) Fun, fun, fun for everyone!

Google Desktop

Google is offering a desktop application to search your "email, computer files, chats, and the web pages you've viewed." When you do a Google search online, your desktop results will also be listed. I don't know if it takes into account different user profiles on the same computer or gives access to all files to any user.

I can see how this could be useful but it only works with Windows XP and Windows 2000. That's fine for my laptop but my desktop still has Windows 98 and since it's the one filled with years of barely organized files, it's the one that is most in need of this type of search.

Power Napping

MetroNaps provides America with mid-day rest facilities: a clean, comfortable place to take a nap. MetroNaps was born from the realization that many employees spend significant amounts of their day dozing at their desk or catching powernaps in odd places. We seek to be the premier provider of professional nap centers in the United States.

MetroNaps in New York City rents out pods for napping. You can also order lunch from a limited menu and have it waiting for you when you wake up. A 20-minute nap is just under $14, lunch is extra.

Forget lunch for me, what they really need to offer to make it a good napping experience is cats. Cats make very nice napping buddies. Around here, they also make a good excuse for taking a nap - "I only laid down for a minute but the cat came and laid down on top of me...what else could I do but stay there and fall asleep?" Cats emit sleep waves, you know. Once they join you, you really have no option other than to nap.

I like naps but I'm not sure how much I would like taking a nap in a semi-private pod. I wonder about the possibility of pod rage when a patron can't nap because of a loud snorer in a neighboring pod. Still, I guess it's better than the other napping options you would have in the city.

Putin on Terrorist Goals

While Russian President Vladimir Putin still disagrees with the invasion of Iraq, he said, "International terrorism has as its goal to prevent the election of President Bush to a second term. If they achieve that goal, then that will give international terrorism a new impulse and extra power." (emphasis mine)

The Doctor Isn't In

I read this article with some interest because my last pregnancy was difficult. I have no doubt that without the care I received in the hospital when I went into labor (a month early) I would have died. I was in the hospital for a week and had home healthcare for some time after that. I wonder how easy it would be to find a doctor who would take care of a woman in the same circumstances now.

Rising insurance costs forcing out baby doctors

Kentucky has lost about one-third of its OB/GYNs between 1999 and 2003 and many others who still practice now will not take high-risk pregnancies. There are now 70 Kentucky counties without obstetricians and at least two hospitals have closed their maternity wards. The article doesn't say which counties but I wouldn't be surprised if they were in poorer rural areas where access to any health care is already limited.

The problem is high malpractice insurance costs. Even doctors who have never been sued are paying up to $85,000 a year.

"In Kentucky, 34 obstetrics cases went to court from 1998 to 2003, eight of which were decided in favor of plaintiffs, resulting in $38 million in awards."

Even when claims don't go to court there are still costs. Some are settled with payments instead of going to jury trial. All require some type of representation by the insurance company for the doctors.

"Joseph White, a medical malpractice attorney in Louisville, said that's not true (that many claims are frivolous). Preparing medical malpractice cases can cost between $50,000 and $100,000 — a hefty sum considering the odds of winning a jury verdict."

With that in mind, compare the ways Bush and Kerry plan to reduce medical malpractice premiums:

Under Bush's plan, plaintiffs in malpractice cases would be allowed unlimited compensation for economic losses but would be limited in the amount of noneconomic and punitive damages they could receive. Bush also wants defendants to pay judgments in proportion to their fault.

Kerry, meanwhile, would seek to prevent frivolous lawsuits by requiring a specialist to certify a case's merit before it moves forward. He would also work with states to make available mediation for all malpractice claims, sanction lawyers who file frivolous lawsuits and oppose punitive damages except in certain egregious cases.

Who's going to pay for mediation? The insurance companies and the doctors? The lawyers? Or, more probably, the taxpayers? What kind of specialist, law or medicine? Will he or she be vulnerable to suit if either party disagrees with their decision?

I won't argue that negligent doctors should be held accountable but I also think that there are cases when they are being sued for not being a god. Things happen and no one knows why, they just want someone to blame.

Unbiased News From NPR

As I drive to the grocery, I'm listening to The Splendid Table on my local public radio station. When I leave the news is on. I should have changed the station immediately but I wasn't really paying attention until they began talking about Bush and Kerry campaign stops.

First they played a clip of Bush talking about his own record as president. That was followed by a clip of Kerry...also talking about Bush. I guess they got tired of running "I have a plan" clips, and really, what else does he talk about?

Coverage of Kerry went on until I got home. First he blamed the Bush for the flu vaccine shortage and then for job losses in Ohio. I missed hearing exactly how these were the president's fault.

I know that the job of president of the United States is a powerful one but it still falls short of omnipotence, regardless of what Kerry would have you believe.

Side note: In a Google search for "Kerry" one of the sponsored links is:
Kerry
Unbiased, In-Depth and Informed
Reports about Kerry.
www.NPR.org

There is no similar sponsored link from NPR for "Bush". Is this because their average listener isn't interested in Bush or because they couldn't claim to offer unbiased coverage?

Couch Treasure Hunt

Conor was complaining that he couldn't find his Harvest Moon: FOMT game for his GameBoy. I decided to check behind the couch cushions. I didn't find that game but I did find a lot of stuff.

Inventory:
$1.64 in small change plus one gaming token
12 assorted pens, pencils, and markers
4 beanie-size stuffed animals
4 socks (no matched pairs)
1 GameBoy SP (Emma's)
2 GameBoy games (1 Pokemon Ruby - Conor's, 1 Pokemon Pinball - Conor's)
nail clippers
laser pointer (cat toy)
1 mechanical mouse, also a cat toy
assorted candy, age unknown
3 plastic bead necklaces
1 shoe (belonging to Ken, Barbie's ex-boyfriend)
1 pair of scissors
1 microphone for Barbie CD/Radio
1 wallet (empty)
1 sailor's hat (U.S. Navy c. 1950s...no, it hasn't been there that long)
pair of dice
1 Zoo key (used to hear information about animals at the Louisville Zoo)
2 magnetic poetry words (at, treat)
1 plastic grocery bag half full of things that I prefer not to attempt to identify

The Goodness of Halloween (and I Don't Mean Just the Candy)

This year Halloween falls on a Sunday. Because of this, some people think it should not be celebrated or should be moved to Saturday.

"It's a day for the good Lord, not for the devil," said Barbara Braswell, who plans to send her 4-year-old granddaughter Maliyah out trick-or-treating in a princess costume on Saturday instead.

"You just don't do it on Sunday," said Sandra Hulsey of Greenville, Ga. "That's Christ's day. You go to church on Sunday, you don't go out and celebrate the devil. That'll confuse a child."

I don't believe that Halloween is a day to celebrate the devil but if you do, is any day a good day for that?

Halloween celebrates childhood. It celebrates imagination and the idea that, for one night, you can be whatever you want to be. When children come to the door and ask for treats, it celebrates the generosity of their neighbors. I have to believe that God would like those things.

If you object to Halloween because of its pagan origins then you better avoid having a Christmas tree and visits from the Easter Bunny too.

Clooney Convinces Me to Vote for Davis

I just got a one-question automated telephone poll for Kentucky. It made me realize that I hadn't been paying enough attention to local elections.

The call began by telling me that President Bush plans to begin a national sales tax. No longer would I be able to take any tax deductions. It would unfairly burden the middle class...cost us billions of dollars. The call made it sound as though the tax was ready to go into effect as soon as I pull the lever for George Bush on November 2.

Then they asked if I supported Nick Clooney or Geoff Davis (who supports the Bush administration's plan to take all my money and do other horrible things to me that would make Abu Graib look like Disney World. Well, maybe that wasn't exactly how it was worded.)

A national sales tax that replaces corporate and personal income taxes has been mentioned as one of several options that should be considered.

"Only the biggest spenders pay the maximum rate; those at or below the poverty level pay an honest and transparent nothing," continued Wright. "Effective rates drop across the board, though how much actual tax people pay is in their hands. Those who spend profligately will pay more tax; those who live frugally, save, and invest will pay less. Other benefits include complete paychecks, with no federal withholding of any kind. Pay no tax, hidden or obvious, on the necessities of life up to the poverty level. Keep no records; file no returns; suffer no audits. American financial institutions no longer perform domestic surveillance functions for the Internal Revenue Service. Under the FairTax, Americans become invisible to the federal tax collector, as do their families, their churches, and their non- retail businesses."

More about the tax from FairTax.org and about a national sales tax from the Cato Institute.

Sorry, Mr. Clooney. I think it is reasonable to consider this option. The only thing this poll accomplished by calling me is to make me think that you're trying to scare people into voting for you by giving them misleading information. Your attempt to manipulate me doesn't make me like you very much. I'm kind of sorry about that because I used to enjoy watching you on AMC and I really liked your sister. Your son's cute enough but, like you, needs to learn when to shut up.

The call did have one benefit though. I looked up the website for Geoff Davis. I found out he went to West Point and studied Arabic and the cultures of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The man not only studied national security and international affairs, he has real experience from when he ran the U.S. Army Aviation Operations for Peace Enforcement between Israel and Egypt.

I looked at the "issues" pages for Clooney and Davis. I have a clearer understanding of what both candidates represent and have decided whom I will be voting for. Sorry, again, Mr. Clooney, it won't be you. But thanks for the call.

Here We Are in the Kitchen...

Carnival of the Recipes #9 is up, hosted by Beth of She Who Will Be Obeyed. She's got the order of importance right too...first drinks, then desserts, and then everything else.

Cheatham Artillery Punch
XXX Eldreth Death Rum XXX
Mexican Martini
Easy Cheesecake
Pumpkin Bread
Hot Chocolate Soufflé
Insanely Easy Chocolate Cherry Cake
$25 Brownies
Chocolate Cheddar Cheese Cake
Syrian Nutmeg Cake
Whip Sandwiches
Sour Cream and Dill Chicken
Sunday Chicken and Dumplings Soup
Lemon Garlic Chicken
Alternate Ultimate (chicken, Bloody Mary, and salsa recipes)
Grilled Quail in Port Marinade
Italian Beef and Tomatoes
Pork Chops
Stuffed Peppers
Killer Kale Soup
Asparagus and Fried Eggs
Fast Football Stromboli
Chuck Bars
Shrimp with Lobster Sauce
Geek Dinner - An Open Source Recipe
Creamed Sweet Potatoes
French Toast Casserole
Pumpkin Pancakes
Super Easy Beer Bread

Because You're Too Dumb to Think for Yourself

Jonathan Freedland of The Guardian says, "US policy now affects every citizen on the planet. So we should all have a say in who gets to the White House"

In order to give a voice to UK citizens, they are emailing out the names and addresses of voters registered in Clark County, Ohio. Actually, they'll give them out to anyone. The program doesn't check the IP location of the person requesting the name and address nor does it only send them to email addresses with a .uk extension.

I got one for someone living on Allison Avenue in Springfield, Ohio.

The person who writes the best letter can win a trip to Clark County. To be eligible for the prize you must be a UK resident and must follow the terms and conditions set forth in the email. For example:

"2. Your letter must be courteous and polite. It must not contain any material which is obscene, libellous, offensive, illegal or which may bring the Guardian into disrepute."

Some of us might argue that The Guardian's attempt to influence voters in the U.S. already brings them into (further) disrepute.

Here is an excerpt from one letter:

I would also be alarmed by your president's breathtaking disregard for the environment, demonstrated by his pulling out of the Kyoto agreement to stem global warming, a phenomenon that may well be the cause of the freak hurricanes that lashed Florida in recent weeks.

Yep, that's right. George W.Bush is to blame for the hurricanes. Don't tell Jeb, it would totally ruin any plans the family might have to get together for Thanksgiving.

John Le Carré is sending a letter. I wonder how long before it shows up on eBay.

According to the Springfield News-Sun (reg. req. so the article is also in the extended entry):

Linda Rosicka, director of the Board of Elections, said The Guardian paid $25 for a “flat file,” a list of all registered voters in the county. Purchasers can extract whatever segment of voters they want, she said, and anyone can buy the list. “We’re still waiting for their check,” she said of The Guardian. Normally, the lists are pay-in-advance, she said."

Makes worrying about providing personal information on the Internet kind of pointless when your local election board is selling the same information to anyone who asks for it.

Not only is it presumptuous for them to attempt to influence American voters, they stole the idea.

Brits want to give you some advice
Thursday October 14, 2004
by Michelle Everhart

Readers of a British newspaper have been invited to write Clark County voters with the aim of persuading the undecided to vote for either George W. Bush or John Kerry.
The 400,000-circulation Guardian, a London-based newspaper, published an article explaining to its international readers that although they have no vote in the U.S. presidential election, they can make a difference.
“ ... We’ve zeroed in on one of the places where this year’s election truly will be decided: Clark County, Ohio, which is balanced on a razor’s edge between Republicans and Democrats,” the article reads. It can be found on the Internet at guardian.co.uk, under the heading “My fellow non-Americans...” by Oliver Burkeman, who is based in the newspaper’s New York City bureau.
The newspaper is encouraging its readers from “Basildon to Botswana” to write Clark County residents who do not have a declared party, “which somewhat increases the chances of their being persuadable.”
Features editor Ian Katz said the unique idea stemmed from many foreigners’ feelings of helplessness while they watched the unfolding of the U.S. election — an election they feel will have a strong impact on the entire world.
“The United States is the most powerful country by far,” Katz said from London. “Domestic decisions are in fact huge decisions that could affect everyone in the world. In many ways this election will have more impact in our countries than our own political elections do.”
See GUARDIAN on Page 4A
Editors looked at counties from Florida, Missouri and Ohio and picked Clark County because there are enough undeclared registered voters to accommodate the desired number of potential letter recipients, Katz said.
The Clark County Board of Elections shows 50,754 undeclared voters, but Katz said they received about 36,000 names and addresses.
Linda Rosicka, director of the Board of Elections, said The Guardian paid $25 for a “flat file,” a list of all registered voters in the county. Purchasers can extract whatever segment of voters they want, she said, and anyone can buy the list.
“We’re still waiting for their check,” she said of The Guardian. Normally, the lists are pay-in-advance, she said.
Rosicka also said she has received calls from Fox News, NBC and ABC, further verifying Clark County’s importance in the election.
Clark County voters also are in the electoral spotlight because of the close presidential election in 2000, when Democratic candidate Al Gore beat George W. Bush by just 324 votes.
The article and Katz acknowledge the plan could backfire, stating, “Anyone might be justifiably angered by the idea of a foreigner trying to interfere in their democratic process.”
Katz said that he does not want Clark County residents to think the newspaper is meddling in the election but simply conveying outsiders’ concerns over the potential outcome.
The Guardian, a traditionally liberal newspaper, makes no attempts to hide that it would like Bush out of office. British newspapers, unlike those in the United States, generally are openly partisan and tailor news coverage as well as editorials around their ideological preferences.
For the letter-writing campaign, however, the editors and reporters tried to craft the message as neutrally as possible, Katz said. The web site is careful to state that each letter-writer is free to support whichever candidate he backs, while noting a poll it conducted showed 47 percent of Britons back Kerry and 16 percent support Bush.
The system is designed so each voter’s information, all public record, is given to only one person participating in the process. This is to prevent one voter’s mailbox being crammed with letters from abroad.
“We don’t want anyone to feel violated,” Katz said. “We don’t give out any details but what is already public record, and we encourage people not to share the information.”
As of 5 p.m. London-time — 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time — 3,000 people requested information on a Clark County voter, although it appears not all of them plan to write letters.
The newspaper already received e-mail letters from people upset about the campaign, even some from Ohio telling the newspaper to get lost, Katz said.
“We’ve gotten a lot of angry Republicans,” he said. “We figured there would be attempts to sabotage it.”
Despite some complaints, Katz said they also have some people copying courteous and reasonably intelligent letters to the newspaper saying “good on you” for its efforts.
The Springfield News-Sun also received about a dozen e-mails, starting early in the day, about the Guardian campaign, from places as diverse as New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Alaska and Switzerland, almost all of which expressed some degree of outrage.
A woman in New York City e-mailed that she had requested Clark County addresses under her six separate accounts. “I intend to immediately delete the e-mails should I ever get them. Thus, I may have saved six Ohio voters from being annoyed by Britishers with an axe to grind,” she wrote.
Katz said they decided to go with postal mail, rather than e-mail, because the former is more personal.
The newspaper also encourages letter writers to include their name and address with the hopes of recipients replying and maybe even creating pen pals, Katz said.
The campaign is more than just a way for foreigners to state their views to locals. It also is a contest. The four most persuasive letter writers will win a trip to Ohio along with Guardian journalists to visit Clark County and campaign at the end of October.

Third Presidential Debate

Transcript for the October 13, 2004 debate is here.

The spin from the left says Kerry sounds presidential. I think he sounds like a lawyer - "The measurement is: Are we as safe as we ought to be?" I was surprised he didn't suggest requiring warning labels on terrorists.

What does limited availability of the flu vaccine have to do with health insurance? Kerry replies to the question about the vaccine with complaints about how many people in Arizona, Ohio, and Wisconsin don't have insurance. I guess he only memorized numbers from debate locations.

Later Kerry says that "the president switched away from jobs and started talking about education principally." I can see a clearer connection between education preparing people for changes in the job market than I can between what the lack of insurance has to do with a vaccine shortage.

I'm also tired of Kerry telling me how the economic situation of the middle class is so bad. Maybe it is for a lot of people, I don't know. I do know that I'm doing better this year than I did last year and last year was better than the year before.

Even if you ignore the fact that it was tacky for Kerry to mention Mary Cheney, wouldn't it have made more sense to mention someone who actually supports him?

Kerry respects the views of people who are pro-life (he respected them in the last debate too) unless the person in question is a potential Supreme Court Judge, then they better support Roe v. Wade.

Questions about Social Security, immigration, and the draft. More whining from Kerry.

Question about the ban on assault weapons. Kerry tells an anecdote about a sheriff in Iowa:

I was hunting in Iowa last year with a sheriff from one of the counties there, and he pointed to a house in back of us, and said, "See the house over? We just did a drug bust a week earlier, and the guy we arrested had an AK-47 lying on the bed right beside him. "

A year ago? Guess the ban wasn't very effective so why are you complaining about it not being extended?

More nonsense from Kerry, this time about affirmative action. See a timetable for affirmative action here. Read it then read Kerry's reply to the question.

Question about faith. Bush spoke from the heart. Kerry spoke from talking points.

Time wasting question about bringing the country together.

Question about wives and daughters. Bush talks about his wife. Oedipus Kerry talks about his mother then goes on to say his wife and daughters "kick me around" and "don't let me get away with anything".

The question that wasn't asked: Senator Kerry, didn't all those years at prep school, Yale, and Boston College teach you the difference between "me" and "myself"? (I'll give you a hint. One's objective and the other reflexive.)

Carnival Reminder

Friday's Carnival of the Recipes will be hosted by Beth of She Who Will Be Obeyed. Even if you don't have a blog you can still submit a recipe. Just send it in an email to recipe.carnival(at)gmail(dot)com. (Substitute @ for (at) and . for (dot)). She will post the recipe for you and give you credit.

Kookin' Kids, Good With Gravy

Found via the blog québécois, the Kookin' Kidz game.

I enjoyed it. I don't want to think about what that says about me.

Military Poll

James Joyner of Outside the Beltway writes about a report on the military vote which showed that active-duty military personnel who took the survey preferred Bush over Kerry by 72 to 17 percent.

That's even more than military kids do.

Hot Chocolate Soufflé

My last post gave a link to find healthful food. If you think chocolate and tofu is a good combination, go visit the site. I prefer something more like this recipe for hot chocolate soufflé.

The recipe is from the July 1986 issue of Chocolatier. If you haven't made a soufflé before, don't let the idea that they can be difficult keep you from trying it. It's not something I make all the time because of the amount of time it requires but it really isn't that hard to make as long as you have a mixer or beater that will make the meringue.

I've never had it fail...and if it did, what would be the worst thing? I couldn't serve it to guests and would have to eat it all myself? I should be so unlucky.

Hot Chocolate Soufflé

Soufflé:

6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 c. whipping cream
6 Tbls. sugar, divided
6 large egg whites, plus 4 large egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Chocolate sauce:

1/2 c. whipping cream
1 Tbl. sugar
2 1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tsp. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Separate eggs. Allow the yolks to come to room temperature.
Position rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a soufflé dish. Dust with flour and shake out the excess.

In the top of a double boiler over hot, not simmering water, combine the chocolate and cream. Stir to melt and scrape the mixture into a large bowl. Stir in 2 Tbls. of the sugar. Whisk in the egg yolks and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites and salt. Beat until soft peaks start to form. Gradually add the remaining 4 Tbls. sugar and continue beating just until stiff, shiny peaks form. Fold 1/4 of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten. Working quickly but carefully, fold in 1/2 of the remaining egg white mixture. Fold in the second half. Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish. Using a knife, cut a circle halfway down into the soufflé about 1 1/2 inches from the edge of the dish. this will help the center to rise. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the soufflé is puffed and lightly browned. Make the chocolate sauce while the soufflé is baking.

To make the sauce:

In a small heavy saucepan, over moderate heat, combine the cream and sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted. Stir in the butter and vanilla until smooth.

Serve the soufflé with the sauce as soon as the soufflé comes out of the oven.

Healthful Foods

The World's Healthiest Foods has articles and recipes for preparing nutritious foods. Recipes are sorted by course or you can search for recipes by selecting foods to include, foods to exclude, and nutrients to require.

I doubt any of my favorite recipes will ever be listed on this site. They only have a couple of ones that use chocolate; a chocolate mousse made with tofu and strawberries in vanilla yogurt drizzled with chocolate. Their recipe for perfect oatmeal sounds like a runny granola bar.

I'm sure it's very tasty.

Consider this my PSA for those of you who put nutrition first when making food choices.

New Ecosystem Features

N.Z. Bear has added some new features to the Ecosystem. There's a graph with blog rank and unique inbound link histories, top ten posts (posts which had the most inbound links), and a menu of links from other blogs according to their ecosystem ranking.

The changes look good but I've found one blog that I link to which doesn't show my link to them. It's not a new link and it's not on a blogroll that only shows the most recently updated. I haven't checked to see if there are more missing links but it does make me wonder about accuracy. For now, I'm going to assume that it's just a little glitch due to all the reworking of the Ecosystem and hope that it corrects itself soon.

Debbye's Back

Debbye of Being American in T.O. is back after a too long (but understandable) absence. Go welcome her back.

Halloween at the Zoo

Conor, Emma, and I went to the Louisville Zoo's Halloween Party.

We rode the "Haunted Carousel (it goes backwards) and the Halloween Express Train (the Headless Horseman chases the train).

They like to go because it's a chance to dress up before Halloween and they get candy and other treats. I take them because they share.

The Horrible Homecoming

LeeAnn of The Cheese Stands Alone is back blogging again!

I'm an only child. For most of my life I've realized there are benefits to not having siblings but that's never stopped me from wishing I had a brother or sister...until I read this post. It's enough to make me drop-down-on-my-knees-and-praise-the-Lord grateful that I don't.

NOW With Nader

Last night on NOW David Brancaccio talked to the third party candidates in the presidential election. He spent the last few minutes of the first segment suggesting that Nader withdraw and ask his supporters to vote for Kerry...or at least do so in Florida.

Maybe he was kidding...I couldn't be sure but it didn't appear that Nader found any humor in the suggestion.

Nader's reply was that half of his supporters are people who would not be voting otherwise. The other half are evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. He pointed out that everyone running is competing for votes and that none of them should be labeled a "spoiler" for doing so.

Second Presidential Debate

Transcript available from the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Streaming video available from C-SPAN if you want to watch (or re-watch) the debate.

Mission Accomplished

Why is it that my children understand the term "mission accomplished" better than John Kerry seems to?

Two words: video games. Any gamer can tell you that to reach the final objective you have to complete a series of many missions. Real life is no different. You can't go to school and complete one assignment and expect that to mean you are ready to graduate. You can't go to work and complete one project and expect to retire. You can't go to war and complete one mission and expect the war to be over.

At least his obtuseness over the announcement of a mission being accomplished has provided me with a new way to annoy my kids. When they're playing a game and finish a mission, I insist that means (according to Kerry) the game is over and it's my turn to play or watch TV. Let's just say they think he's a blithering idiot disagree with him and leave it at that.

Loyalty Quiz

George W. Bush Loyalty Quiz - My score:
Your score is 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. You are a True Believer in President Bush. Your loyalty and devotion to him is matched only by your desire to see his liberal detractors locked away and declared enemy combatants. If all Americans thought as you did, and were it constitutionally viable, George W. Bush would be president for life.

John Kerry Loyalty Quiz - My score:
Your score is 0 on a scale of 1 to 10. You hate John Kerry with every fiber of your being. He is the embodiment of everything you despise in a politician: a weak, liberal, flip-flopping, elitist, condescending appeaser who threatens all that is good and decent in America. Worst of all, you think he looks French.

I wouldn't say that I hate John Kerry. I feel about him the same way I feel about jellyfish. I don't like them, I try to avoid them, and I'm not really sure what value they have to offer.

Calling All Cooks

Carnival of the Recipes is up at Fresh as a Daisy.

Applesauce
Barbecued Beef Cups
Brie Pastry
Bloody Mary Recipe
Sweet Potato Casserole
Cheese Stuffing
Chili Soup
Vegetarian Chili
Popcorn Snack
Octopus Risotto
Chicken and Dumplings
Fajitas
Polenta with Shrimp and Tomato Sauce
Porcupine Meatballs
Pork and Apple Supper
Pork Loin Dinner (with 5 types of mushrooms)
Marinated Chicken with Mushrooms
Ultimate Pie Crust
Almond Cookies
Sour Cream Dried Cherry Pie
Cake Mix Cookies
Blue Ribbon White Cake
Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Creme Cookies

Carnival of the Recipes: Pork and Apple Supper

The host for this week's Carnival of the Recipes will be Angela at Fresh as a Daisy. If you plan on submitting a recipe email recipe.carnival(at)gmail(dot)com by midnight tonight (Thursday).

Pork and Apple Supper

1 1/2 pounds boneless pork, cubed
1 Tbl. vegetable oil
4 cups water
1 Tbl. chicken bouillon granules
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 Tbl. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 bay leaf
1 dozen small red potatoes, quartered
4 medium tart apples, peeled and cut into quarters
2 Tbl. cold water

In a Dutch oven, brown pork in oil. Add water, bouillon, thyme, pepper and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until pork is almost tender.

Add potatoes; cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Add apples; cover and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir into pork mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

6 - 8 servings

Wikiquote

Wikiquote has quotations sorted by topics: People, Occupations, Literary Works, Proverbs, Films, TV Shows, Themes, and Categories. The Categories section includes mnemonics in English, French, German, and Swedish.

Quotations include links to the Wikipedia for more information.

Cuddle Up With the Common Cold

The link to a site selling plush microbes in an old post goes to a page that says the product is no longer available through them. The good news (?) is that they are still available elsewhere.

The Common Cold (Rhinovirus)

Linguistic Discrimination

In my last post I said that, "After hearing Edwards say "preventative" instead of "preventive", I don't want to hear anymore complaints about how Bush pronounces nuclear."

Smoke Eater left this comment, "Check this out and click on the third "bell" (what ever the symbol is) for a pronunciation of the word "nuclear"".

I was going to reply in my comments until I realized it was going to be so long that I should make it a new post instead.

I consider "nucular" to be a pronunciation due to dialect rather than to ignorance. (On the other hand, bias against this pronunciation is due to ignorance.) I realize it's not the standard pronunciation of the word but just because it isn't standard or RP English doesn't mean it is wrong.

Preventative instead of preventive is common enough that you will find it in dictionaries. That doesn't make it the preferred pronuciation, just shows that there are enough users of the word to merit its inclusion. The difference is that the mispronunciation of preventive is more widespread while "nucular" is more usual in the southern U.S. (although not limited to there.)

For a long time the northeastern U.S. had been the center of economic and political power and this created a bias against the more agrarian south, including linguistic discrimination. This discrimination is one of the few that is widely tolerated in our country (although that can depend upon who the speaker is). Imagine if a black politician used the dialect pronunciation "aks" instead of "ask" and his pronunciation was mocked the way Bush's pronunciation of nuclear is.

Bartleby.com has A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English that lists words with multiple pronunciations. Most people who read through the list will find at least one word where the standard/traditional/preferred pronunciation differs from the way they usually pronounce it. That doesn't make you wrong or stupid for pronouncing the word that way.

Except for those of you who say "snuck" instead of "sneaked" (which isn't on that list). You're just plain wrong.

VP Debate

Transcript here.

(First presidential debate transcript and second presidential debate transcript)

I think Cheney won the debate.

I'm glad that Cheney made it clear that small businesses pay taxes as personal rather than corporate income and the Kerry/Edwards plan to take tax cuts away from anyone making over $200,000 a year will harm them.

I got tired of Edwards wanting to comment on previous questions/answers before answering the question he was just asked.

After hearing Edwards say "preventative" instead of "preventive", I don't want to hear anymore complaints about how Bush pronounces nuclear.

Some people seem to approach political elections the same way they did elections for high school class president. I like to think of it more as reviewing job applications. Who do I want to hire?

That's all I have to say for now. If you want something in depth, look elsewhere:

Outside the Beltway
Captain's Quarters
INDC Journal
Powerline
Blogs of War
Blogs for Bush
PoliBlog
MartiniPundit

Update: I realized later. What it is. About the way Edwards speaks. That I find annoying. Many of his sentences. Come out in mini-bursts.

Is there a class in law school where they teach trial lawyers to talk like that? It sounds as though he's addressing a not-very-bright jury and wants to make sure everyone understands the key points in each sentence.

Zelda and Sunshiny Goodness

Zelda has decided that the best patch of sunshiny goodness coming into the house right now is on my desk. I don't know what makes this spot superior to other places where sunlight comes in...except that it makes it difficult for me to use my mouse.

Comfort for herself, inconvenience for me...what more could a cat ask for?

We Don't Need No Education...Thought Control is Another Matter

A case for homeschooling. (Link via Bryon of Slings and Arrows)

A teacher in New Jersey had a small bulletin board near the American flag in her classroom. The bulletin board had a poster of the Declaration of Independence and pictures of U.S. presidents, including our current president George Bush. During a back to school night three parents confronted the teacher and insisted she either add John Kerry's picture or remove the photo of President Bush. The teacher refused so the school's principal threatened her job.

Other parents are unhappy about the way she was treated. (At least there are some sane people there.)

Having a picture of the president as part of a display with other pictures is not partisan. John Kerry is not the president, his picture does not belong there. The display was not about the current election. (I was going to say that it's not as if middle-schoolers can vote anyway, but with parents like that, the kids may have been held back enough so that they are 18 by now.)

It shouldn't be up to bullies to decide what or how educational materials may be presented in the classroom. What do they want next? If Kerry were to be elected would these parents want the children to spend each morning memorizing poems praising our "beloved leader"? (There's something to make your brain lock up, a personality cult built around a man with little personality.)

Just to Make Things Clear

The last two comments left on my blog have confused me.

The first asks, "Why did you take Hollywood Squares off your programming and put another Hollywood magazine on?"

It had nothing to do with the post, but that's okay. I just wanted to make it clear that I have no control over a local stations choice in syndicated programs. My sphere of influence is a bit smaller...sometimes I can get my kids to do what I want. Monetary bribes ususally works best.

Your local TV station is interested in money too. Maybe they got the entertainment magazine show cheaper. They'll consider that a good financial move as long as they don't get complaints. Do a Google search for the station's call letters or look them up in the phone book. Let the person in charge of programming know you don't like the change. If you do business with local advertisers for the show, let them know you aren't happy about the programming change. If the station hears from enough people, they may decide to pick up the Hollywood Squares syndication again.

The second comment was under my last post. It was about the Just Go Vote Foundation (my last post about them is here.)

Just to make things clear, I do not make the calls. I don't have anything to do with the organization who does make the calls. All I have done is complain about the calls.

I don't like that the calls don't provide a way of responding. I think the calls are deceptive in saying they just want us to vote but follow Democratic talking points (complaints about outsourcing and cost of drugs for the elderly were topics of the last two I got). I don't think the calls are an invasion of my privacy but they do intrude upon it.

Many of the visitors to my blog come via a search for "Just Go Vote". If anyone has any information about this organization, please let me know. I would love to be able to share it with these visitors.

If I Knew Then...

I was just listening to a Kerry spokeswoman talk about his position on the war in Iraq. She began by saying, "Knowing what we know now..." and continued with how going to war was a bad idea.

How unreasonable is that statement?

I won't concede that it was the wrong thing to do, knowing what we did then or now but that's not really my point.

Sure, there are things we could have done differently. Hindsight is wonderful. Knowing what I know now I would have begged and borrowed all the money I could and bet it on Charismatic to win in the 1999 Kentucky Derby (31-1). Not that winning a lot of money would guarantee that my life would be sunshine and lollipops now.

It's always easier to imagine that the path not taken or the choice not made would have been better. It's easier to imagine the positive results that could have come about but much more difficult to imagine the negative ones because the positive results are fairly finite while there is virtually an infinite number of other things that could have gone wrong.

Casualwear in Court

On Instapundit:

BLOGGER SCHEDULED TO argue before the Supreme Court. I'll bet he won't wear pajamas.

Seems like it would only be fair to wear pajamas, the judges will be in robes.

Siegfried and Roy, PETA, and NBC

PETA is mad at Siegfried and Roy. Or at NBC. Or something.

On September 15, NBC featured a fluff interview with Siegfried & Roy. PETA provided NBC with information on cruelty to animals used for entertainment and the facts about the tiger attack on Roy Horn at Las Vegas’ Mirage Hotel in October 2003, but NBC failed to include any such information in the interview. By omitting facts on the stressful and lonely lives led by animals used in “entertainment” acts, NBC did the public, as well as the captive big cats who are currently suffering in hot, loud, unnatural, and confusing conditions, a grave disservice.

NBC was busy promoting Father of the Pride and PETA thought they should talk about tiger abuse?

The tigers in the videos do a good job of hiding their misery. Of course, they are in show business.

The natural habitat of white tigers is southeast Asia and parts of India. They are a species at risk (IUCN—Endangered) due to poaching, loss of habitat, and decline in available prey.

As tempting as starvation, illness, and being shot at is, I'm just thankful PETA isn't trying to protect me...not that I have noticed any of them rushing off to live in their natural habitats.

Haven't They Heard of Video Conferencing?

Remember the ads that said "Join the army, See the world"? How about this instead: Become a senator or representative and see the world...the accommdations are much better.

How much does your senator or representative travel? Where do they go? Who pays? Power Trips has the answer.

You can look them up by name or state. There's also a list of the top 100 trip takers. Here are the top 10:

John Breaux - Democratic Party - $158,311.92
Robert Wexler - Democratic Party - $155,137.21
Gene Green - Democratic Party - $153,873.02
Maurice Hinchey - Democratic Party - $152,169.25
Cal Dooley - Democratic Party - $148,562.50
Evan Bayh - Democratic Party - $142,884.94
Maxine Waters - Democratic Party - $132,219.23
James Clyburn - Democratic Party - $129,540.79
Philip English - Republican Party - $129,231.54
Jim McDermott - Democratic Party - $128,725.91

There's a list of the top 10 sponsors. Aspen Institute is number one. ($2,577,639.21 spent on 490 trips, 69.2% spent on Democratic Party, 0.8% spent on Independent Party, 30.0% spent on Republican Party) According to their site, "The mission of the Aspen Institute is to foster enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." I guess they think Democrats need more enlightenment than Republicans or Independents.)

Number two is the Ripon Educational Fund. ($603,585.43 spent on 59 trips, 4.3% spent on Democratic Party, 0.0% spent on Independent Party, 95.7% spent on Republican Party) It's a Republican 501 so the disparity isn't a surprise.

Down the list a bit (#7) is the Confederation of Indian Industry. ($186,966.79 spent on 16 trips, 87.3% spent on Democratic Party, 0.0% spent on Independent Party, 12.7% spent on Republican Party) I guess they all went to talk about ending outsourcing.

More in the extended section....

John Edwards only took 6 trips, all in 2001 and 2002. Three were for trial lawyer associations. Two trips paid for him to go to his home state of North Carolina. One was to California, paid for by Disney, to attend a corporate alliances summit.

John Kerry only took 5 trips averaging $2,535.82 each. It was going to a couple of World Economics Forums that pushed up the cost, the trips to Boston and Washington D.C. were relatively cheap. (Do you think that the World Economics Forum had study guides for the "global test"?)

Majority House Leader Tom DeLay is a traveling man with 11 trips. One was to the Center for the Study of Popular Culture. They like Republicans...and Zell Miller.

Minority leader Nancy Pelosi has only made 6 trips but she knows how to pick destinations (England, Spain, Germany, Puerto Rico)

Bill Frist is a big traveler with 20 trips. Not enough to make the top 100, but he still gets around. Only one was outside the U.S., a trip to Namibia and Kenya for a medical mission trip sponsored by Samaritans Purse who also sponsored a couple trips to North Carolina for him.

Tom Daschle made 9 trips. Four of them were trips to New York, sponsored by Crown Publishing, to publicize his book.

Shark Tale

I took Conor and Emma to see Shark Tale tonight. It was okay and amusing at times...cute jokes, sight gags...but the story itself could have been better.

I know a movie is a good kids' movie when we leave the theater and Emma asks if we can buy the DVD when it comes out. That didn't happen this time.

Pumpkin Carving

I posted links for sites with templates for Jack-o-lanterns on my cooking blog.

I try to keep my comments on topic there (food, crafts, family stuff) and so I'll ask this question here. If I do this design, will people confuse it with this one?

Carnival a la Carte

Carnival of the Recipes is up at Food Basics.

Update: Barbeque Beef Cups was omitted from the original Carnival post so I'm including a link to it here also. It's similar to a recipe I have here, only easier...and you have to like that!

The recipe for good basic fudge is very similar to a fudge recipe I got from my home ec. teacher in high school. (Do they still have home ec. now?) It's my favorite fudge recipe...I'm going to take this as a sign that I need to make fudge this weekend.

(I'm willing accept that almost anything can be a sign that I need to make a recipe using chocolate or eat chocolate.)

There's also a recipe for Chocolate Ecstacy Cake. Chocolate. Ecstacy. Isn't that redundant?

The extended entry has a list of all the Carnival recipes from this week but you'll need to visit Trudy for the rest of the links.

Another Update: Cheese Stuffing and Vegetarian Chili were also left off the original list.

Fabulous Fruit Salad
Marshmallows
Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple
Bruschetta and stuffed mushrooms
Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips
Pumpkin Muffins
Bacon and Egg Casserole
Pre-Debate Frozen Peach Daiquiri
Mexican Layer Dip
good basic fudge
Mom's Barbeque Sauce
roasted pumpkin soup
Yummy Shrimp Linguine
vinaigrette with a Salad
Scrambled Eggs With Stuff In
quick foil baked fish
Philly Cheese Roast
Shrimp Creole and Red Beans and Rice
refreshing fruit salsa
Beef Noodle Bake
Chocolate Ecstasy Cake
Cooking tips
Barbeque Beef Cups
Cheese Stuffing
Vegetarian Chili

Have a Cookie

Today is Homemade Cookie Day.

I don't need a special day as an excuse to make cookie...all I need is someone else to volunteer to clean up afterwards.

I posted four cookie recipes on my Mom's Kitchen blog: Triple Layer Chocolate Bars, Butterfinger Cookies, Molasses Sugar Cookies, and Lemon Bars.