Tom Faranda's Folly

Sarah Palin's tasteless and dopey waterboarding/Baptism comment

Yeah pretty dumb. Here's a short posting by a Catholic canon lawyer. Palin is not Catholic (but I am, and that's what counts). The posting is only three paragraphs long.

Whether one is a left-wing looney who becomes unhinged upon simply seeing this woman who loves her family and her country or is a right-wing yahoo who looks on her as some sort of high priestess of traditional values, Sarah Palin’s statement that, if she were in charge, “waterboarding is how we’d baptize terrorists” should shock the conscience.

 

NYT health column "An Apple a Day and Other Myths"

this feature in the NY Times is over a week old, and I'm just getting around to posting it. Well worth reading.

In the opening plenary session, Dr. Walter C. Willett, a Harvard epidemiologist who has spent many years studying cancer and nutrition, sounded almost rueful as he gave a status report. Whatever is true for other diseases, when it comes to cancer there was little evidence that fruits and vegetables are protective or that fatty foods are bad.

About all that can be said with any assurance is that controlling obesity is important, as it also is for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke and other threats to life. Avoiding an excess of alcohol has clear benefits. But unless a person is seriously malnourished, the influence of specific foods is so weak that the signal is easily swamped by noise.

Coming up - It's Star Wars VII, and here's the cast.

Roman numerals, like the Super Bowl!

Set 30 years after "Return of the Jedi"

John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker, in Star Wars: Episode VII, the much-anticipated relaunch of the George Lucas sci-fi franchise now owned by Disney.

Due to come out in December, 2015. I will give it a miss....

WSJ editorial: "The Russia Problem. Putin's Kremlin is not a status quo power with a few historical grievances."

I agree with 95% of this Wall Street Journal editorial. Hit the link for the all 12 paragraphs.

The sanctions-by-small-degrees strategy continues the hope that Mr. Putin's Russia can somehow, with the right balance of carrots and sticks, be brought back into the European fold. In this view Mr. Putin is reacting understandably to Russia's post-Soviet decline in power and the West's NATO expansion. Ukraine and the rest of the Russian near abroad are part of the Kremlin's historic sphere of influence, so let Mr. Putin have them and after a slap on the wrist we can all return to business as usual.

This is a false diagnosis wrapped in self-deception. It is how the West responded after the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008, which President Obama downplayed as he entered office promising a "reset" of relations and offering concessions on arms control and missile defense while ignoring Mr. Putin's increasingly authoritarian grip at home. Six years later, with nothing to show for the reset save a smaller U.S. missile force, Mr. Putin grabbed Crimea, and his special forces are now fueling unrest in eastern Ukraine.

***

The beginning of strategic wisdom is to understand that Mr. Putin's Russia is not a status quo power with a few territorial grievances. It is an authoritarian regime bent on rewriting the rules of post-Cold War Europe. Lacking democratic legitimacy and with an economy dependent mainly on fossil-fuel exports, the Kremlin must employ an increasingly virulent nationalism and foreign conquest to maintain power. Expansionism and foreign meddling aren't limited to historic claims. They are central to the regime's survival and if unchecked will continue beyond Ukraine.

Remember Kerry Walsh, beach vollyeball star? She's back!

Kerry Walsh and her teammate Misty May, won the gold medal in the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympics.

Having had a third child, Walsh is back with a new partner - April Ross - and winning.

Those are actually the women's real names, not stage names!

 

Another print magazine folds: Ladies Home Journal

My mother used to be a subscriber.

"LHJ has a circulation of 3.2 million, down from a 1968 peak of 6.8 million..."

Today's victim: The monthly Ladies' Home Journal. After 131 years, the July issue will be its last, reports Ad Age. The website will continue on, and the magazine itself will become a quarterly special-interest publication available starting this fall on newsstands, vs. via subscription. Nonetheless, the entire editorial staff was laid off as part of the change.

How many Americans do not have indoor plumbing? Here's the answer ...

From the Washington Post wonkblog -

According to the latest American Community Survey, nearly 630,000 occupied households lack complete plumbing facilities, which means that they are without one or more of the following: a toilet, a tub or shower, or running water. The Census Bureau says that the average household contains 2.6 individuals, which means that today, in 2014, in the wealthiest nation on Earth, upwards of 1.6 million people are living without full indoor plumbing.

Hit the link above for an interesting map of where non-indoor plumbing people live. Not too many in my state (NY).They seem to be clustered in the southwest and northwest, along the Canadian border. And Maine! What's up with that?

The canonizations, a two minute video

Off the telegraph (UK) website.

 

Peggy Noonan "Santo Subito! They Chanted"

Very nice column which among other things has a storng rejoinder to the position taken by people who simply don't like the Pope - whether "progressive" or "traditionalist" that JP was soft on child abusers, or looked the other way.

The public saw what the genius Alexander Solzhenitsyn saw. "This pope is a gift of God," he told the BBC soon after John Paul's reign began, in 1978.

He was a crucial actor in defeating the Soviet Union, an expansionist, atheistic, totalitarian state that for 70 years bedeviled mankind. After he was shot and almost killed in 1981, he made a point to go to the would-be assassin's prison cell to assure him that he was personally forgiven, and that God loved him. He wrote and spoke in a new way of the true nature and meaning of the Catholic faith from its beginnings to its missions to its meaning in the world. As Francis would, he stood for the powerless, from the unborn to the unwell to the aged.

Like Francis, he was uninterested in fanciness and formality: The last time I saw him, in a public audience in July 2003, his cassock, which was six inches too short, revealed white athletic tube socks and beat-up brown loafers. He stood—and fought—for human rights, for the existence of truth and the right of every human being to be exposed to it. He hated war and called it "always a defeat for humanity." Like John XXIII he was committed to closer relations with Judaism; he called the Jewish people "our elder brothers," and when he died he named only two people in his will, his personal secretary and his friend the former chief rabbi of Rome.

As Bernard Lecomte wrote in an eloquent essay in L'Osservatore Romano, John Paul "passionately defended his convictions in matters of family and sexuality" and was the first pope "to celebrate the beauty of the sexual act as an absolute gift of a man to a woman (and vice versa)." At the same time he condemned "all that would change the absolute character of this gift." He condemned the death penalty, stood for workers, frowned on rapacious capitalism, and decried a "culture of death" that did not grant "the right to be born and to die a natural death."

******

Those now engulfing Rome are more than aware of what else happened during his reign—the Great Shame, the sexual abuse of children that continued and deepened. The church has paid grievously for it, and rightly so. I have written on the shame over the years and seen cardinals try to shame me for it, so believe my sincerity in these assertions:

First, it would have been almost impossible for John Paul to understand the depth and breadth of the scandal because of his history. He had come of age under Nazism and Communism. They hated the church. Priests who fought them—John Paul was one—were heroic. Nazis and communists constantly attempted to undermine the church by falsely accusing its priests of mis- and malfeasance, including sexual impropriety. That was his context when John Paul was told of recent charges of child abuse. The idea they were true would have seemed impossible to him.

Second, if John Paul had been fully and explicitly told by sincere and forthcoming bishops what was happening, the size and scope of it, you would have to be a fool or quite wicked to think his answer would have been, "Oh that's all right, kids don't matter." Children—undefended human beings at risk in the world—were everything to him.

 

Important quote: "A closed mouth gathers no foot."

"Nuff said.

Tim before the Croton Jr. prom

Tim doesn't go to Croton HS, but went to last year's Jr prom, and this is the first of two proms for him this year. Tim of course is a junior at Stepinac, but has a RATHER active social life in Croton ...

Because he has two proms this year, and is likely to have either two or three next year, I bought him the tux - cheaper than renting. They had trouble fitting him - his thighs and arms are too big!

Pope John XXIII - The Sheppton Mine miracle!?

UPDATE: Article from a year ago on the Historical Society of Pennsylvania website: Mines: Mysterious Discoveries and Miracles?

I'd never heard of this - but I do recall the rescue of these men - I'd have been about 12 years old.

 

WSJ: "Pope Francis To Declare Sainthood for Two Beloved Predecessors"

A fine article, making several points not being mentioned in other media.

A Double Canonization for Popes John XXIII and John Paul II

The rite in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, canonizing two of the Catholic Church's most popular popes, is likely to be a history-making event, given the strong possibility that Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned last year, will also be in attendance. That would mark the first time in the church's 2,000-year history that two popes would honor the memory of two previous ones. (See their lives in pictures and video in an interactive timeline.)

Pope Francis chose to hold a single ceremony to canonize the pair, bringing together two popes who are closely associated with the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65, which led to significant reforms in the church. Pope John XXIII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963, launched Vatican II, as it is commonly known, while John Paul II's nearly 27-year papacy, which lasted from 1978 until his death in 2005, oversaw the implementation of large parts of the reforms.

******

"The bigger significance of this event is the Second Vatican Council and its status marking a sort of springtime for the church," said Chad Pecknold, assistant professor of theology at the Catholic University of America in Washington, noting that Pope Francis is making saints those most closely associated with it.

******

The importance of Vatican II is also evident in the expected beatification later this year of Pope Paul VI, who presided over the Council's closure in 1965 and reigned until 1978.

******

The Vatican has confirmed that retired Pope Benedict XVI is invited to the ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica. The prospect of two popes potentially attending a canonization of two popes whom they knew personally has drawn world attention, as well as millions of pilgrims to Rome in recent days.

If Benedict attends, "Rome will witness an event that has never happened in the Church's history: two living popes witnessing the canonization of two former popes," ...

Fr. Barron: "Why Pope John XXIII is a Saint"

Fr. Robert Barron - great commentator -

 

Soon-to-be-Saint Pope John XXIII: "Pacem in Terris" encyclical

Pope John's most famous writing titled "Peace on Earth".

Here's the link to read the whole thing. Peace on Earth

And here's the first seven paragraphs -

    Pacem in Terris

 

Peace on Earth—which man throughout the ages has so longed for and sought after—can never be established, never guaranteed, except by the diligent observance of the divinely established order.

 

Order in the Universe

 

2. That a marvelous order predominates in the world of living beings and in the forces of nature, is the plain lesson which the progress of modern research and the discoveries of technology teach us. And it is part of the greatness of man that he can appreciate that order, and devise the means for harnessing those forces for his own benefit.

 

3. But what emerges first and foremost from the progress of scientific knowledge and the inventions of technology is the infinite greatness of God Himself, who created both man and the universe. Yes; out of nothing He made all things, and filled them with the fullness of His own wisdom and goodness. Hence, these are the words the holy psalmist used in praise of God: "O Lord, our Lord: how admirable is thy name in the whole earth!" (1) And elsewhere he says: "How great are thy works, O Lord! Thou hast made all things in wisdom." (2)

 

Moreover, (2a) God created man "in His own image and likeness," (3) endowed him with intelligence and freedom, and made him lord of creation. All this the psalmist proclaims when he says: "Thou hast made him a little less than the angels: thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, and hast set him over the works of thy hands. Thou hast subjected all things under his feet." (4)

 

Order in Human Beings

 

4. And yet there is a disunity among individuals and among nations which is in striking contrast to this perfect order in the universe. One would think that the relationships that bind men together could only be governed by force.

 

5. But the world's Creator has stamped man's inmost being with an order revealed to man by his conscience; and his conscience insists on his preserving it. Men "show the work of the law written in their hearts. Their conscience bears witness to them." (5) And how could it be otherwise? All created being reflects the infinite wisdom of God. It reflects it all the more clearly, the higher it stands in the scale of perfection. (6)

 

6. But the mischief is often caused by erroneous opinions. Many people think that the laws which govern man's relations with the State are the same as those which regulate the blind, elemental forces of the universe. But it is not so; the laws which govern men are quite different. The Father of the universe has inscribed them in man's nature, and that is where we must look for them; there and nowhere else.

 

7. These laws clearly indicate how a man must behave toward his fellows in society, and how the mutual relationships between the members of a State and its officials are to be conducted. They show too what principles must govern the relations between States; and finally, what should be the relations between individuals or States on the one hand, and the world-wide community of nations on the other. Men's common interests make it imperative that at long last a world-wide community of nations be established.

 

 

ABC: Pope Francis to Canonize Two New Saints

Network coverage:

 

Tim hits ANOTHER shot put PR; 42'11.5" - an added foot and a half!

Great! He raised his PR by one foot on Monday, and then another 18 inches yesterday at the Beacon relay meet. So he went from 40'5.5" to 42'11.5" in four days.

 As my friend Noreen says "All these throws look the same." She's right of course.

WSJ column: "Two New Saints. Now What? Seeking an answer to messianic secularism and homicidal Islamic fundamentalism."

Dan henninger's Thrusday op ed column is always worth reading.

The most lasting line of poetry written in the 20th century is this: "Things fall apart; the center cannot hold."

That is a sentence familiar to people who have never heard of William Butler Yeats or his poem, "The Second Coming." In 22 lines, Yeats described the social and spiritual erosions he saw at the end of World War I.

"Things fall apart; the center cannot hold" is now taken to be about the decline of institutions that used to organize and civilize daily life. The "center," however, is not, as many now claim, some idealized political median of nonideological pragmatists. The center is society's pillars, an established structure that holds the parts together.

One is the institution of the world-wide Catholic Church. This weekend the church will canonize into sainthood two of the 20th century's central figures, Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II.

Pope John opened the Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, summarized in his famous remark: "I want to throw open the windows of the Church."

John Paul and the fall of communism we know about.

The canonization conducted Sunday in Rome by Pope Francis celebrates two lives of exemplary holiness. But John and John Paul were men who lived in and made history. So one may ask: What about the here and now?

Look out any open window and what one sees is a world defined by an increasingly messianic secularism and a homicidal Islamic fundamentalism. Russia and China are expanding by force, as the U.S. contracts.

What happened?

Hit the link for the rest - well worth reading.

Tim PR's in the shot put - 41' 5.5" - 22 second video

At the Iona Invitational on Monday. In a competitive field he came 7th out of 25. Tim has another opportunity to better that throw today, in a meet in Beacon NY. His best event is still the javelin.

This video is actually his first throw which came in one inch shorter than his third, which was his best. But it shows where the 12 lb. shot lands. Pretty cool (to me anyway).

 

Not everyone happy with the canonizations this Sunday.

The Two Popes, John XXIII and John Paul II. Here they are:  John XXIII and John Paul II official canonization images

The great NY Times arbiter of All That Is Important To The Beautiful People - Maureen Dowd - is not happy that John Paul is being named a Saint and said so in her column yesterday.

She complains among other things that Pope Benedict waived the usual requirement for a second miracle to go from being "Blessed" (beatified) to Sainthood. And John Paul was too rigid. But most of all, she says, he allowed all that pedophilia to go on during his watch.

She gives him credit for the good stuff - fall of communism, critique of capitalism, but "A Saint He Ain't"

Read it here, it's not too long:  A Saint, He Ain’t 

Later yesterday, the Catholic League put out a press release about her column, which makes an excellent point (I report, you decide). Here's the link, and below it the full text as well as the photos from the League's PR -

MAUREEN DOWD LACKS GUTS

Bill Donohue explains why Maureen Dowd is a phony:

If Maureen Dowd had guts, she would demand the resignation of her boss, Mark Thompson, president and CEO of the New York Times.

In her column today, Dowd rails against the canonization of Pope John Paul II, saying, “he presided over the Catholic Church during nearly three decades of a gruesome pedophilia scandal and grotesque cover-up.”

Dowd ought to get her facts straight: there was no pedophilia scandal—less than five percent of molesting priests were pedophiles—it was homosexuals who accounted for 81 percent of the sexual abuse cases. The facts are incontrovertible. So it’s time she stopped her cover-up.

More important, Thompson worked at the BBC for decades, and claimed to know nothing about the BBC’s biggest child molestation case in its history: Jimmy Savile was a true pedophile, raping hundreds of children. Both Savile and Thompson worked at the BBC for decades; Thompson was Director General from 2004-2012. And unlike John Paul II, we have proof that Thompson lied: after Savile died in October 2011, a “Newsnight” story exposing his conduct was spiked, and Thompson said he knew nothing about it. In fact, he was told about the cover-up at a Christmas party that year. On top of that, he told his BBC lawyers in September 2012 to write a letter to The Sunday Times threatening to sue if they ran a letter implicating him in the Savile matter. His only concern was to land a plum job at the New York Times (he was set to join the Times on November 12, but events forced him to wait).

According to Dowd, the pope is supposed to know exactly what is going on in an organization of 1.2 billion, but somehow we are supposed to believe that Thompson knew nothing about Savile when he presided over an organization of 23,000. Everyone else seemed to know about Savile’s rapes, so why didn’t Thompson?

It’s time Dowd showed some guts and demanded that Thompson resign.

 

Lost at Sea, and then a save

Could have easily been five deaths.

John XXIII and John Paul II official canonization images

The dual canonization is this Sunday, the Feast of Divine Mercy.

 

U.K. newsreelers upload entire 100 year archive to youtube.

 History at our fingertips.

British Pathé Uploads Entire 85,000-Film Archive to YouTube in HD

The collection, which spans 1896 to 1976, comprises some 3,500 hours of historical footage of major events, notable figures, fashion, travel, sports and culture. It includes extensive film from both World War I and World War II.

“Our hope is that everyone, everywhere who has a computer will see these films and enjoy them,” British Pathé GM Alastair White said in a statement. “This archive is a treasure trove unrivaled in historical and cultural significance that should never be forgotten. Uploading the films to YouTube seemed like the best way to make sure of that.”

George Schultz on working full time at age 89

The former Secretary of State... & Treasury... & Labor. A pretty distinguished career. 

 

Easy sobriety test

From my brother Phil. Who need a breathalyzer?

Vatican on fair distribution of energy and resources

NY subway train misses man lying on the tracks

Here'sthe article in the Daily News, with the video below it. The article has a picture of the man after the train passed over him.

The emotionally disturbed man refused medical attention at the scene, but was later taken to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital for observation.

"I can add that we encourage customers who come across a situation like this to contact a police officer or MTA personnel immediately," Ortiz said, adding that employees can stop trains from entering the station.

"What not to do? Video tape the incident without contacting a police officer or MTA employee first."

The guy taking the video was frightened to go onto the tracks to help.

 

Poll: "Nine of 10 doctors discourage others from joining the profession..."

Things are VERY difficult for doctors, especially those in primary care. This is from "The Daily Beast" - and they are certainly painting a grim picture.

How Being a Doctor Became the Most Miserable Profession

Nine of 10 doctors discourage others from joining the profession, and 300 physicians commit suicide every year. When did it get this bad?

******

It’s hard for anyone outside the profession to understand just how rotten the job has become—and what bad news that is for America’s health care system. Perhaps that’s why author Malcolm Gladwell recently implied that to fix the healthcare crisis, the public needs to understand what it’s like to be a physician. Imagine, for things to get better for patients, they need to empathize with physicians—that’s a tall order in our noxious and decidedly un-empathetic times.

******

Unfortunately, things are only getting worse for most doctors, especially those who still accept health insurance. Just processing the insurance forms costs $58 for every patient encounter, according to Dr. Stephen Schimpff, an internist and former CEO of University of Maryland Medical Center who is writing a book about the crisis in primary care. To make ends meet, physicians have had to increase the number of patients they see. The end result is that the average face-to-face clinic visit lasts about 12 minutes.

Neither patients nor doctors are happy about that. What worries many doctors, however, is that the Affordable Care Act has codified this broken system into law. While forcing everyone to buy health insurance, ACA might have mandated a uniform or streamlined claims procedure that would have gone a long way to improving access to care. As Malcolm Gladwell noted, “You don’t train someone for all of those years in [medicine]… and then have them run a claims processing operation for insurance companies.”

Get the whole story by hitting the link.

 

The (Chelsea) Clinton version of income equality

On her way to making Bill and Hillary grandparents, which is very nice.

Their new marital home lays claim to being one of New York's longest apartment - stretching an entire block from 26th Street to 27th Street off Madison Avenue

Work aside, she told Glamour that her main ambitions in life are to be 'a good wife, daughter, and friend' and she doesn't 'fundamentally care about making money.'

However, a hefty bank balance came in useful as she and Marc splashed out on a $10.5million, four-bedroom apartment earlier this year.

Moose on the loose attack!

I understand that more people are killed by moose attacks then by any other large animial in the United States.

 

Irish priest "Hallelujah" wedding song - Great!

Over 31 million youtube views in two weeks. Fr. Ray Kelly has been doing customized lyrics for Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at weddings for the last four years. Here's a good article in the UK Telegraph. If you like the rendition below here is a link to him a few days later on the Irish Late Late Show - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEHb5-lYYLs&list=FLnovyeQz6GbgPMl9liRkeyQ&feature=share&index=6

The Resurrection: Four artists

I like this posting so much, I've put it up every Easter since 2009, with only a hiatus in 2012.

so again:

The original posting is one of the most visited on my blog.

What happens when an untalented barbarian like myself, is married to an artistic, creative,and talented person?

I post stuff like this for Easter:

Starting with Fra Angelica, around 1443. Oh, and it's now Blessed Fra Angelica

 

El Greco, 1577. One of my favorite painters, but what's with the Greek columns? Not one of his best -

 

Now, skipping a few centuries (past Rubens, YUK, etc) to some contemporary renderings

Arcabas (Jean Marie Pirot), 1998. Life not death, and a large painting. Compare the size with the altar and furniture.  Go here to learn about him:ARCABAS - Contemporary religious art museum

 

And the Chinese Christian painter He Qi  - Go here  - Art Works of He Qi .::About Artist::.

I love this. No banner; instead a lily. And check out the women.

 

More on chocolate helping you lose weight

As I've said, before this is further proof there is a God.

And just in time for the Easter Bunny!

Fr. Barron on "The Meaning of Easter"

A fine commentary, 13 minutes long.

 

Good Friday

In the last 20 plus years I've rarely missed the Pax Christi Stations of the Cross through Manhattan - but I am missing them this year. Have something on with Tim.

So I will attend a service at my Parish of Holy Name of Mary in Croton.

Here's one of my all-time favorite artists -

Good Friday - the somberest day on the Christian calendar.

El Greco, Jesus Carrying the Cross. 1580.

 

 

Astonishing: CUNY to pay NYT's Paul Krugman $225,000 to do nothing

Or virtually nothing. See the PR below; note this:

The school's offer to Krugman says that he would "play a modest role in our public events" and "contribute to the build-up" of a new inequality initiative.

New inequality initiative? $225,000? A hypocrite being paid by hypocrites.

 

Assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor 

For Immediate Release
April 17, 2014

Contact: Chris Covucci - (845) 309-2654

Lalor Questions CUNY Payday for Krugman to Serve as Part-time Mascot

Fishkill, NY - (4/17/14) - Assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor (R,C,I - Fishkill) released a statement today criticizing the City University of New York (CUNY) for paying Paul Krugman $225,000 to work part-time for the school without teaching any classes. Last year, Lalor led the charge against CUNY's exorbitant $150,000 payday for David Petraeus to teach one class. Ultimately, Petraeus agreed to teach the class for $1.

"CUNY's mission is to provide a quality, affordable education," said Lalor. "That's the important role our country's public universities play. That's what taxpayers expect. That's why taxpayers support CUNY. Paying Krugman $225,000 to essentially serve as a part-time mascot for the school doesn't contribute to a public university's mission."

The school's offer to Krugman says that he would "play a modest role in our public events" and "contribute to the build-up" of a new inequality initiative. The school told Krugman, "You will not be expected to teach or supervise students." Krugman will host one seminar.

Lalor continued, "Last year, CUNY's deal with Petraeus was met with opposition from across the political spectrum. It's one of the few issues where I've agreed with Mayor de Blasio. Taxpayers don't want to see public universities waste tax dollars and tuition like this. CUNY's job is to contribute to America's opportunity society, not deliver paydays to media celebrities. CUNY and Krugman need to reconsider what they are doing here."

###

Assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor, a former teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes in Poughkeepsie, is a Marine Corps veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel. Lalor is of counsel to the law firm Gaines, Novick, Ponzini, Cossu & Venditti. He is a graduate of John Jay High School, Providence College and Pace Law School and lives in Fishkill with his wife Mary Jo and their four young children Katie, Riley, Mikey and Kieran Jr..

Putin not "overenthusiastic" about invading Alaska - it's too cold there

I guess this is the Russian version of a Town Hall meeting.

 

Liam Neesen defends NYC carriage drivers; sees it "as a class issue"

Great I love it, as Neesen calls out the "progressive" De Blasio for what he is; total phony (without actually saying that). Nothing more infuriating than the dishonesty of the De Blasio types.

A majority of carriage drivers and stable hands are recent immigrants, often raised on farms in their home countries. They love their jobs and their horses, and they take pride in being ambassadors for this great city. I can’t help but see the proposed ban as a class issue: Their livelihoods are now at risk because the animal-rights opponents of the industry are well funded by real-estate interests, which has led to speculation that this powerful lobby wishes to develop the West Side properties occupied by the stables.

just a great op ed. Here's a bit more, but hit the link;

As a result, an entire way of life and a historic industry are under threat. We should ask whether this is the New York we want to live in: a sanitized metropolis, where local color and grit are thrown out in favor of sleek futuristic buildings and careening self-driving cars?

******

Before we lose this signature element of New York’s culture and history — instantly recognizable to the millions of tourists who visit our city and contribute to its economy — the least the mayor can do is come down to the stables and see how the horses are cared for. I urge Mr. de Blasio to meet the working men and women whose jobs are at stake and to start a dialogue that will safeguard a future for the horses that the majority of New Yorkers want.

Yeah, Mayor, how about VISITING the stables and talking to the people?

News Flash: Marijuana damages your brain ...

Serious stuff.

Here's the article in USA today - A new study links casual marijuana use with significant changes to parts of the brain.

And a video on the Wall Street Journal website -

 

YIKES! Snow and ice this morning; 6;40AM

Had to scrape all the cars - there was thick ice on all the windshields. Will it ever end?

Brigid, off to England today

For three weeks. She joins her family from all over the UK, Ireland and Australia, to honor her sister Kate, Brigid's sister, Kate Dent  who we lost suddenly, two weeks ago. And to help organize things on her home front. She will be over for three weeks.

Brigid has said she's not really going to comprehend the loss until she arrives in York, 87 Stockton Lane.

Kate, July, 2008, in York, trying to swindle me in monopoly. That's Joe with his head cut off.

 

And Brigid's picture of Kate, a couple of weeks earlier on the French north coast.

Tax day yesterday; so who pays the income tax?

The "super-rich" - top 1% - pay 30% of all income tax (they have 17% of all income). The top 20% of income earners pay 90% of the income tax collected. The bottom 50% pay virtually no income tax.

It isn't just the super-rich who find their share of the burden growing. The increase in the individual income tax burden borne by the top 20%—including, say, couples with two children making more than $150,000—has gone from 65% in 1980 to more than 90% as of 2010, the most recent year available, according to the CBO.

 

 

Good question: Why no cellphone calls from Malaysian flight passengers?

I have not posted anything about the tragic disappeared airline - but this morning I was discussing this very point with a couple of people. And CNN must have been listening in on us ../

 

U.S. Naval Academy kicks butt ... in croquet?

Actually not sure who won.

 

Juan Williams on how Obama is tough on Putin

Drinking kool-aid.

 

NY Times: Circumcision risks debunked

Benefits outweigh the risks. Yes I was, as an infant. 

The authors conclude that the benefits — among them reduced risks of urinary tract infection, prostate cancer, sexually transmitted diseases and, in female partners, cervical cancer — outweigh the risks of local infection or bleeding. Several studies, including two randomized clinical trials, found no long-term adverse effects of circumcision on sexual performance or pleasure.

“Male circumcision is in principle equivalent to childhood vaccination,” said the lead author, Brian J. Morris, emeritus professor of medical sciences at the University of Sydney. “Just as there are opponents of vaccination, there are opponents of circumcision. But their arguments are emotional and unscientific, and should be disregarded.”

Woodward on IRS Scandal: "Obviously something there"

Co-author of "All the President's Men" - a prime mover in bringing down Nixon. So Woodward knows scandal.

 

Gov. Cuomo's interference with the "anti-public-corruption" Moreland Commission.

This from a press release his possible Republican opponent Rob Astorino sent around. Of course it wouldn't be politics if it didn't end with a "send me money" request...

We want to be sure you saw these very strong editorials published today about Governor Cuomo's possible interference with the so-called "anti-public-corruption" Moreland Commission.  The US Attorney may now be investigating the Governor and his staff over that interference.

 

Moreland was clearly political from the start (please see video here.) But these recent revelations are potentially quite serious. We thought you'd want to see them right away.

 

New York Daily News: Since Cuomo won't fight corruption, U.S. attorney must

"But last week, before the panel could finish the job or issue a final report, Cuomo abruptly pulled the plug..."

 

New York Times: Mr. Cuomo's Gift to the Cynics

"Nine months ago, Gov. Andrew Cuomo looked New Yorkers in the eye and said, 'Trust is everything to me.' Don't believe it."

 

New York Post: Sitting Preet-y

"A funny thing happened on the way to disbanding the Moreland Commission Gov. Cuomo set up to investigate the state Legislature: It may end up as a federal investigation of the governor."

 

We hugely appreciate your continued support, and hope that you'll be able to chip in to Rob's campaign today. A contribution of $50 $100 or $250 will help us get our message to New York voters sick of New York's status as the most corrupt state in America, the highest taxed state in America, and the state with the worst business climate in America.

 

A million thanks in advance for your help!

 

Sincerely,

 

The Astorino Campaign

 

 

 

Nice Margaret Thatcher quote

Obama hugs Sebelius - but check the picture!

In the Washington Post, by an AP photographer.

President Obama and Kathleen Sebelius hug it out. Sort of.