Name:BASEL (Reuters) - Financial products should be treated like medicines and sold to consumers only when they are certified safe to prevent a repeat of last year's financial meltdown, the world's central bankers said on Monday.
First regulate drugs, then food, then cigarettes, then transfats, and now mutual funds. Why should we be surprised??
Central banks seek rankings for financial products
Labels: Theater of the Absurd
Living life almost exclusively from a recliner for a few weeks is a good way to gain perspective on a lot of things. In the past few years I've not been particularly active anyway, so it's not like I came to a dead stop from a full run, but it has enforced a certain amount of inactivity even though I'm technically "ambulatory." I don't enjoy asking folks to wait on me for the simplest things...but I have learned to appreciate aspects of the stillness and the time to think, read, process, and plan. Three more weeks of non weight-bearing and I'll begin to integrate into a more normal life again. In the meantime, I am attempting to squeeze all I can out of this unexpected sequestration...
Annie, Caleb, Erin, and Judah are on their way! If everything goes according to plan, they will roll in here some time Tuesday night to begin our summer of fun :-)
I've finally gotten a clear enough head (depending on the hour) to start thinking about rearranging our room so it doesn't once again become, quite literally, my downfall. The traffic patterns and the bedding and other features of the room are not conducive to avoiding falls, so painful as it is, I'm giving up some of the things I love to make sure I can walk, which I love even more. I'm pretty helpless to do much about it myself, so everything right now depends on ordering other people around, also not my favorite thing to do (though several of my kids would dispute this). Moving right now is out of the question, so we have to find ways to make this place work... (And thanks to Lyric for prodding me into making some of these hard decisions!)
Can I just say right now that if I start trying to pay several of you a couple hundred thousand dollars a month to sit in my room and give me large doses of prescription painkillers, just say no? Hearing about the dangerous cocktails that have killed so many celebrities and recognizing the names of the drugs from the little pharmacy at my side WORRIES ME! I'll be so glad to get back to the place where my pain can be controlled with Motrin!
Congrats to friends Kelly and Tami on the start of their new business, South Texas Technology Solutions. We've had to rely on Kelly's Solutions many times and are so glad to see that he'll be making a living doing what he truly loves! Go Kelly!
Yeah, if you want to come and see me this week and you go past a Long John Silver's on your way, I love the crab cakes. My appetite has been the pits since my accident and I'm wracking my brain trying to think of things to eat that sound good. True, my activity level is low and I don't need a lot of food, but getting even a few bites down each day is a challenge.
Since we won't be taking an out-of-town vacation this year as planned, we just bought 24 season passes to Fiesta Texas (Six Flags). The Papa has bought a little splash pool for the kids, and together with the trampoline and the grill, we should make good use of the deck. Also planning some little crafts to do with the grandkids and a tea party with the littlest girls, as well as a night or two with all 27 of us camping out here at Granny's House. We might take a short trip to north Texas to see extended family and include a zoo or botanical gardens trip while there, but mostly we'll be enjoying each other very close to home.
Hug each other close and try not to take for granted the gift of...walking :-)
Labels: Family, Food, Friendship, Fun, Health, Homemaking, Vacations
Something seems off with our young president. He appears jarred. Difficult history has come over the transom. He seemed defensive and peevish with the press in his Tuesday news conference, and later with Charlie Gibson on health care, when he got nailed by a neurologist who suggested the elites who support a national program seem not to mind rationing for other people but very much mind if for themselves. All this followed the president's first bad numbers. From Politico, on Tuesday: "Eroding confidence in President Barack Obama's handling of the economy and ability to control spending have caused his approval ratings to wilt to their lowest level since taking office, according to a spate of recent polls." Independents and some Republicans who once viewed him sympathetically are "becoming skeptical."
You can say this is due to a lot of things, and it probably is, most especially the economy, which all the polls mentioned. But I think at bottom his problems come down to this: The Sentence. And the rough sense people have that he's not seeing to it.
For an understanding of the concept of The Sentence, read yesterday's column by the inimitable Peggy Noonan. Her insight can tell us a lot about why things are "off"...
To-Do List: A Sentence, Not 10 Paragraphs
hat tip: Lyric
Labels: ObamaNation, Political Observation
Perhaps the biggest surprise, though, was a care package I received yesterday from some new friends I've never even met in person. We are readers of each other's blogs and we've carried on a bit of email and f-mail correspondence and a phone call or two, but that's it. This little box contained a lovely CD set, some fun homemade body butters and soaps, but the most fun of all was the T-shirt in the box, proving that these friends really do pay attention:
If you need to ask, you haven't been reading my blog long enough ;-)Thank you SO much to Kendra and Lisa and their families, for the new friendships and the thoughtfulness.
(And if you think you've spotted Galt, do let me know.)
Labels: Books, Friendship
Nearly as tragic as the life and death of Michael Jackson is the fact that Liz Taylor now has an "empty" life without him. Proof that the most charmed life in the world can't protect you from feeling alone and meaningless with the baubles begin to crumble:
"My heart…my mind… are broken. I loved Michael with all my soul and I can’t imagine life without him. We had so much in common and we had such loving fun together. I was packing up my clothes to go to London for his opening when I heard the news. I still can’t believe it. I don’t want to believe it. It can’t be so. He will live in my heart forever but it’s not enough. My life feels so empty. I don’t think anyone knew how much we loved each other. The purest most giving love I’ve ever known. Oh God! I’m going to miss him. I can’t yet imagine life with out him. But I guess with God’s help... I’ll learn. I keep looking at the photo he gave me of himself, which says, 'To my true love Elizabeth, I love you forever.' And, I will love HIM forever."
~~Elizabeth Taylor
Labels: People
Among the many reasons President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority are so intent on quickly jamming a cap-and-trade system through Congress is because the global warming tide is again shifting. It turns out Al Gore and the United Nations (with an assist from the media), did a little too vociferous a job smearing anyone who disagreed with them as "deniers." The backlash has brought the scientific debate roaring back to life in Australia, Europe, Japan and even, if less reported, the U.S.
Read the rest here:
The Climate Change Climate Change
Labels: Science
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
"Oh Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go," George Matheson, 1882
For you, tonight.
Labels: Music
The White House, careening down the road to bankrupting an entire nation with more spending than can possibly be repaid in our great-grandchildren's lifetimes, is going to force YOU to save?
The central idea behind the Obama administration's effort to protect the personal finances of Americans boils down to this: put laziness to work.
Tell people to set aside part of their paychecks every month and they'll usually ignore the advice. But start the saving process for them -- automatically siphoning off a raise from a paycheck into a bank account -- and perhaps that will help them avoid the financial trauma that has affected millions of Americans in this recession.
As part of its financial-regulation overhaul, the Obama team is encouraging more responsible use of credit cards, savings and even mortgages. Using tactics ranging from a light nudge to a hard shove, officials are turning theories about behavioral economics into practice to reshape how Americans make personal-finance decisions.
Some of them may prove controversial as the government brings a heavier hand to personal finance. To help people who don't save, for instance, the government would create accounts -- unless they opt out -- to redirect part of their salary or tax refund into savings.
And I know you'll be shocked to hear this, but it will all come with a new agency! Yes, friends, to ensure that you make the decisions the government believes are in your best interest, we will now fund the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Don't worry..."behavioral economics" is very scientific, and it will save us all from the consequences being foisted on us by the very people who are teaching us what to do when it all collapses.
I'm feeling better already.
A Personal-Finance Workout
Labels: Money, ObamaNation, Social Observation, Theater of the Absurd
It's hard to believe that my fall was more than two weeks ago. Funny how time gets disturbed through an event like this...that the days and nights can seem like eternities away and yet the actual accident seems like it's ever right in front of me.
Pain has hovered between moderate and just this side of unbearable. Sleep has been difficult and sometimes nonexistent. And while I'm never one to be bored and have found a lot to do from my recliner, my attention span hasn't been good and so passing the days has been somewhat of a chore.
Yesterday was my birthday. It's not how I would have chosen to spend the birthday that plants me firmly in my mid-50's...as a matter of fact I kept having the sensation that perhaps this was really my 75th and no one wanted to tell me. But my magnificent family and friends colored the day with so many blessings that I couldn't end it with anything but gratitude, even if I have slipped in an extra twenty somewhere.
Since the happenings of the last two weeks put an end to our family's plans to vacation in the mountains of New Mexico next month, we've been huddling to come up with some alternate "stay-cation" plans. Anne, Caleb, Erin, and Judah arrive in a few days and will be spending several weeks with us, so we'll be sure to be a spectacle wherever we go, 27 strong!
The hospital, by the way, had the audacity to charge me for a week's worth of trays they call "meals." They should pay me.
I finally chose a Bible. One I'll be keeping this time. I've admitted that I can't find, and therefore can't have, all the features I'd like in one volume, so I made some compromises I can live with and am now looking forward to making this new one my own.
Father's Day never fails to fill me with wonder at the man God chose to be the father of my children. And one of the biggest blessings of my life is that all nine of our children KNOW what an extraordinary father they have and can express and give thanks for him. There's not much that can make a mother any happier than that...
At some point in the next few days I need to do some heavy-duty work on school planning. Like I've shared before, I have only five years left before this chapter of my life is closed and there is still so much I want to accomplish. May God slice through the distractions and the painkillers and fill me with the creativity and the motivation to make the coming year an unforgettable one!
For now I'm going to try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is my first post-op appointment, including the ordeal of the removal of the staples, so I'd sure like to be going into that rested. If you think of me at 9:45 CT, pray for me...
Labels: Good Stuff, Health, Holidays, Homeschooling, Sundays, Vacations
LONDON (AP) - It's a spelling mantra that generations of schoolchildren have learned - "i before e, except after c."
But new British government guidance tells teachers not to pass on the rule to students, because there are too many exceptions.
British government spells end of "i before e" rule
Labels: Language
I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?
Finish reading here:
Glenn Beck: The Letter
hat tip: Lyric
Labels: ObamaNation, Political Observation, Social Observation
On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care -- a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm!Ayn Rand couldn't have set it up better herself.
Highlights on the agenda:
ABCNEWS anchor Charlie Gibson will deliver WORLD NEWS from the Blue Room of the White House.
The network plans a primetime special -- 'Prescription for America' -- originating from the East Room, exclude opposing voices on the debate.
ABC TURNS PROGRAMMING OVER TO OBAMA; NEWS TO BE ANCHORED FROM INSIDE WHITE HOUSE
Labels: Health, ObamaNation, Political Observation, Social Observation
The repair of my fracture was extensive and will require lots of therapy to get me back to the point where I was before I had the muscles cut from knee to hip. Please pray for all the right ingredients to come together so that I can resume the life that had become normal for me!
I am still relying on hefty doses of pain medicine so I won't be back to much writing just yet, but I'm here and beginning the road back to healing. Soon I'll be back to my sassy self, pointing out all kinds of interesting, annoying, and astonishing features of our world and giving you peeks into the 25th year of homeschooling at Granny's. Don't give up on me!
Labels: Health
This is CJ, Cathi's 4th (and best) daughter. If you're on Facebook, you most likely already know what's been going on here, but if you haven't heard, read on...
On Friday evening of last week, Mom was in her bedroom with Tim (the youngest-he's 12) and fell by her bed. It was immediately apparent that something was wrong and that she couldn't be moved. She was in a considerable amount of pain and could not move her leg at all. My siblings called EMS right away (Dad was in Las Vegas on business!) and she was driven to our base hospital in the ambulance. The ER doctors told us that the femur in her right leg (her GOOD leg) was badly broken with a spiral fracture. They said surgery would be scheduled sometime for that night or the next morning. Dad was, thankfully, able to get an emergency flight out of Vegas and landed in San Antonio around 2am Saturday morning.
It ended up that she was not able to have surgery until Monday night. This was her 5th leg surgery, and her surgeon said that the it went very well. They were able to completely brace the bone with steel plates and bone grafts so that the break can heal properly.
Today (Wednesday), she is still in a lot of pain. The pain meds are helping somewhat, but she's still dealing with moderate to severe pain. Her blood counts today have been low, so they are going to give her 2 units of blood this evening to help those numbers climb back up. The physical therapist has been in her room a couple of times already and has helped her with some leg exercises that she can do from bed.
As of right now, her doctor is saying that he will release her on either Friday or Monday. From there, she will be admitted directly into an inpatient rehab center, where she will stay for at least 7 days. She will be not be allowed to walk for at least 6 weeks after that, so we are reworking our family's summer plans to make sure that she can take all the time she needs to recover.
Our church family has been taking excellent care of all of us during all of this. We've been getting enormous meals (enough to feed all 22 of us!), lots of snacks for the kids, and people have been taking turns with the kids to allow us adults to spend time at the hospital. Thank you so much!
Our family would greatly appreciate your prayers for Mom and for us. Here are some specific things for which you can pray:
- Pray for quick, complete healing for Mom's leg. Pray that she regains her strength and is able to put all of energy into rehab.
- Pray for Dad, who is the best you could ever have. He is spending very long hours at the hospital, right beside Mom, and he is beginning to look very tired. Pray for stamina and patience for him as he waits with Mom and takes care of her.
- Pray for the rest of us while we're here at home, trying to juggle normal life with visits to the hospital, childcare, etc.
Thank you for your prayers. We will update you on what happens next.
For the WarRusSlaWel Fam,
Sis
Labels: Health
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration plans to appoint a "Special Master for Compensation" to ensure that companies receiving federal bailout funds are abiding by executive-pay guidelines, according to people familiar with the matter.
Well now, why wouldn't they?
White House Set to Appoint a Pay Czar
Labels: Political Observation, Social Observation, Theater of the Absurd
Nadya Suleman says her reality TV show won't exploit her kids as, she says, the Gosselins' exploits theirs.
Nadya Suleman says the reality TV series she's just signed up for won't take after the TLC reality show, "Jon & Kate Plus 8."
The "Octomom," who gave birth to six boys and two girls in January and has six other young children, took swipes at Jon and Kate Gosselin on the Web site RadarOnline.com.
"I just want it to be very not like 'Jon & Kate Plus 8,' where I feel they've made a mistake by being... allowing it to be more exploitative and invasive in their kids' lives," Suleman said in a video on the site.
I can't even bring myself to comment.
"Octomom" Vs. Jon & Kate
Labels: Theater of the Absurd
"...if you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we'd be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world".
Read the astounding article.
Barack Hussein Obama: US "one of the largest Muslim countries in the world"
In Washington, the clearer a statement is, the more certain it is to be followed by a "clarification" when people realize what was said.
Read Thomas Sowell to find out why.
'Out of Context'
Labels: Political Observation
Orthopedic specialists are reporting cases of "cell phone elbow," in which patients damage an essential nerve in their arm by bending their elbows too tightly for too long.
When cell phone users hold the phone to their ears, they stretch a nerve that extends underneath the funny bone and controls the smallest fingers. When talkers chat for a long time in that position, it "chokes the blood supply to the nerves. It makes the nerves short-circuit. The next thing you know, there's tingling in the ring and small finger," said Dr. Peter J. Evans, the director of the Hand and Upper Extremity Center at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.
'Cell phone elbow' damages nerves
Labels: Health, Technology
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - It's been six months since voters handed Barack Obama the White House, and in the minds of a lot of Iowa activists that means only one thing: It's time to start the campaign again.2012 already?
Yes, 2 1/2 years before Iowans gather for their first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses, early presidential campaigning has begun.
I'm not.
Labels: Political Observation