Bill Finke’s family has been inundated with caring people who inquire about his health.  It’s difficult and demanding for the family to answer each and every call with the care it deserves so they have created a way to keep everyone up to date on Bill’s condition.   I know how much e-mail greetings and cards mean to patients.  E-mail greetings are colorful, quick, easy and delivered in a timely fashion.  Sammy has included a link so you can send Bill greetings.

From Sammy Finke regarding her father:

To keep you up to date on my Dad we created a website for him.  This is the best and easiest way for us to keep everyone up to date on what is going on with our Dad so please share his website with anyone who would like an update.   Not only can you post messages there that he will receive but you can also see pictures and read journal entries that my mom and I will post.  Make sure to sign up to receive notifications so you know every time we post an update.    In the mean time, if you want to send him an email card you can go to the following link Send Bill an E-card.  The hospital will deliver it to his room 3307. Promise Regional Medical Center 1701 East 23rd Avenue Hutchinson, KS 67502

Visit Bill’s website in two easy ways:

1. Visit the CaringBridge website by clicking the link below.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/billfinke

2. Enter the website name, billfinke, at www.CaringBridge.org.

Show your support for Bill
• Visit and keep up to date.
• Leave a message in the guestbook.

Thank you from Bill Finke and his family.

I picked this up from Heather E: ” If you are against gay marriage, complain to the straight people; they keep making gay kids.”  Truer words were never spoken.  if you don’t have a gay person in your family, then you don’t know your family members very well.

We as a people save too little, invest too little and owe too much.   People who take risks should be expected to bear their own losses.

Which leads me to thinking that when great powers get into serious financial problems they cease to be great powers.  History tells us that. I don’t like the way we’ve been heading since the Clinton days. Everything seems so broken.

People want more and more benefits, but they don’t seem to understand that in the final analysis, they have to be tied to tax increases.

We’re gearing up for the Super Bowl game tonight by having a small gathering of  “way younger than I” friends and their kids for chili, potato soup, assorted sides and desserts.  It will be fun.  I enjoy having young, energetic folks around.   I haven’t seen either team play so proclaiming a fave team is out of my reach.  Since one is supposed to pick a side, I’ll go with the underdog, New Orleans, as the city and its people needs a boost.  A win would be a big thing for them.

K-Jacks, the restaurant/bar in Holyrood,  was hopping last night.  There were about 100 people there enjoying the evening.  The folks who own and operate it are trying really hard to make the place a success and are doing very well. They do draw a good crowd, especially on karaoke nights.

Three of us went to Wilson yesterday for a hamburger and fries for lunch.  It’s still the best place around for a bacon-cheeseburger and homemade fries/chips.  They start with a hand-patted thick burger and cook it just right.  It’s mountain high after it’s placed on the bun with other toppings.  The chips and fries are made from fresh, not frozen, potatoes and fried perfectly.   Give it a try and let me know what you think.  At least in my estimation they serve the best burgers around here.

I’ve heard all kinds of reviews about Sarah’s appearance in Salina like…

“Oh, she is so charismatic…”  (Yea, so was Hitler but I wouldn’t go hear him.)….”Miss Kansas was so wonderful…” (like playing a ‘trumpet’ off key?)….

Palin’s team wouldn’t allow any sound recordings of her speech…only video…so what fell out of the mic couldn’t be used against her later.  She had Piper with her.  Sweet Piper, according to my friends in AK who know the family, is the only hope for success in the family.

Time to “pick up the house” and put it down somewhere else in readiness for tonight…..

The following comes as a comment from a reader regarding my post “TIM TEBOW COMMERCIAL SLATED FOR AIRING ON SUNDAY IS NOT TRUTHFUL AND IS BRINGING THE IRE OF WOMEN ON CBS”.   His/her points are well made.   There are also two comments by “Maryfred” that are well-stated, but were slightly askew from the point I was attempting to make.  Here is the comment from “triptotheouthouse” :

Actually, CBS rejected another gay-oriented ad this year.  The puzzle is that they say they have changed their policy about what types of ads they will accept.  I mention this because a few years ago, CBS rejected an ad by the United Church of Christ that showed their denominations acceptance of diversity.  Now CBS is saying that had UCC asked to run that ad this year, they would been able to do so.  Even more curious is that apparently CBS was directly involved in the production of the FoF ads.  Yes, ads, because they now are going to air similar ones during the pre-game show.  It doesn’t appear that it’s the money that’s gotten them to now accept cause-type advertising, as even before saying that they were running these additional FoF ads, they said their slots were full.

As for Dobson and FoF and other similar so-called christians, they are not content to just “believe whatever makes (them) comfortable”.  They suck millions of dollars from their followers and use it to try to force changes in laws which directly affect the lives of so many others and takes away their rights to live and “believe in whatever way makes them comfortable”.

CBS has a right to air this ad, but they should offer the following time slot to Planned Parenthood.

I don’t see how anyone can argue with Tedbow’s mother’s decision not to have an abortion.  Any one who is pro-choice, as I certainly am, would not offer any suggestion on whether or not she should have an abortion.  It’s her decision and one we should all respect.

One has to remember that the Tebows were christian missionaries in a country that is 80% Catholic, the Philippines. They have the right to believe whatever they like, but the bottom line is their beliefs  are narrow-minded, reactionary and exclusionary. They believe in the inerrancy of the Scriptures and disavow the “modern ecumenical movement”, which is about all you need to know about how they stand on matters of faith.  They are blinded to the complexity of our world and society in general.

The FoF commercial today will reflect those beliefs and not respect those women whose pregnancy may be very “complicated” and anything but joyous. If they are going to run the ad then equal time should be given to Planned Parenthood.  Better yet, it would be best to avoid this complicated and controversial topic and save it for a time when both sides could receive fair and truthful coverage.

Lunch at the Coop was great, especially their Greek salad.  It is better by far than any other I’ve had in the area. It was large and beautiful with a mixture of fresh spring greens (no iceberg) with tons of interesting things in it….cheeses, imported Greek olives, mandarin oranges, strawberries, several kinds of Greek salami, etc.    Their special balsamic vinegar dressing is first class.  So…if you like Greek salads, try the Coop.  It is served with warm homemade bread sticks with dipping sauce.  That’s where I’m heading the next time I go to Salina.

I didn’t have veggie pizza as did my friends, but they said it was very good.   Ally had a gyro and really liked it.  The Coop has evening entertainment on some occasions…not bands, but various people who come and play instrument or sing.   I think if you wanted to take your harmonica and entertain everyone, you’d be welcome.  It’s a homey place and the guys who run it are friendly, nice and have Ellsworth friends and business ties.

Dillon’s are finally carrying Hildebrand milk produced by the Hildebrand Farm Dairy in Junction City.  I blogged about it many months ago and have waited patiently for it to become available in Salina.  It’s like milk is supposed to be…in a glass bottle, fresh from the cow to the consumer.  We bought several gallons of regular milk but I avoided buying their chocolate milk. Friends have said it is the best thing you ever put between your lips.  I know I’d love it, but I don’t need those extra calories.   I’ve used Braum’s milk for years because of its superior quality  but now am switching to Hildebrand’s whenever possible.  It cost more but it’s well worth the freshness, flavor  and the way the Hildebrands care for their dairy cows.  Since their renovation, Dillon’s now carries a wide variety of whole and organic foods.

We made a stop at the Mall so Ally could buy Tyler some good liners for his boots.  She knew all about what kind to get for him so it proved to be an easy errand.   He’s worn his boots for sometime, but they are getting a real workout now with all the additional walking and running he does in them.  About ten miles a day, he said.   He told me before he left that the thing the guys over there most look forward to when they return home is a pedicure as their feet get very damaged and calloused from their heavy boots,  sand, dryness, abuse, etc.  That hadn’t occurred to me, but I can understand now.

Tyler’s two brothers are in Breck snowboarding.  Ally heard from Drew this afternoon as we were sloshing through rain and puddles.  He said the sun was shining there and they had 5 inches of fresh powder.  He was thrilled.  He loves the high country of Colorado.  And it’s interesting:  my educated guess is if you asked Tyler where he’d prefer being…in the sand dunes working saving lives or in the mountains skiing, he’d pick where he is.

My niece’s son…I guess he would be my grandnephew…Mack, is teaching in South Korea.  He’s an adventuresome young lad, a recent KU grad, and is taking advantage of experiencing that part of the world by climbing every mountain he can find.  After learning Sarah Palin is speaking in  Salina he wrote and said, “I hope they don’t offer her the privilege of having a sack of Cozy Inn hamburgers.”   He treasures Cozy burgers.

None of the friends I was with today, or any that I know of from Salina are going to hear Palin.  Some of them are going to hear George Pyle.  One said it would be interesting to hear them both on the same stage in some kind of debate forum.  George would riddle her to shreds.

I traipsed all around Salina today and felt really, really good.  My joints aren’t aching and my muscles are finally feeling like something other than wet noodles being sucked down a drain.  It’s taken a long time, but it’s great to be among the living and feeling well.  Now to gain some strength back so I can open jars, bottles, packages and childproof lids. Yay!

Thanks for tuning in…

Today I’m meeting three of my friends in Salina for lunch.  It became a birthday tradition, as so often happens, that we have a good visit over lunch.  That guarantees we see each other at least four times a year.  Ally is going too as she has a four-wheel drive vehicle, and, she has errands to run.  She loves our little group and has joined it too.  That evens out the ages so there are three of us over 80 and two over 50.  That works.

We’re eating at the Coop which is in that walkway between Santa Fe and 5th in the Stiefel block.  Shannon loves their veggie pizza and salad so that’s what’s on the menu since it’s her birthday.

It’s tax time and I’ve been busy for the second time doing something I know nothing about.  Brit always “did” our taxes.  Well, he didn’t “do” them…he gathered the information together so someone else could do them.   He’d groan and grumble for a few days while amassing papers then we’d drive to Salina and lay it in the hands of our tax man. It was always a relief to get rid of those special receipts and records we saved all year, but the anticipation of the news to follow made us edgy.  Now, things have gotten a lot simpler since I have no income beyond social security.  I’m still putting it in the hands of someone else to do, but I’m doing it locally.

Tyler called yesterday and it was if he were in the room with me.  The connection was excellent and we had a wonderful five minute call.  He’s limited to that as there is always a line of soldiers waiting to use the phone.  He said he loves what he’s doing, the food is very good and plentiful, he likes the people he works as they share a common goal and he’s happy.  You can’t beat that for military life. There is no public transportation so he and his team walk/run 8 to 10 miles a day to and from work and to other places on the base.  He has about an hour at night to either read or study.  Among others, I suggested he take a couple Ayn Rand books with him.  He’s reading The Fountainhead and loves it.  Atlas Shrugged is next on his list and he asked me if I’d send him his grandpa’s  copy of John Adams.  I opted for one on Ebay for $1.48 and it’s on its way.  He can’t keep anything clean since he’s surrounded by sand so books eventually just get torn up, he said.  Used books fit the bill just fine.

It looks like Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell might finally be on the way out.  Equal rights usually always prevail in time.  It’s just been too long for that and DOMA.  Time for change.
Time to move along and spend a good part of my day with close friends.  A little snow won’t interfere with that.  Ringo is anxious for a day of uninterrupted sleep.

Thanks for tuning in…

This ties in to the Tim Tebow blog I just posted.
Please note that the following legislative actions have been taken.

House Bill 2564 (Ban insurance from covering abortions)

Introduced by Rep. Clark Shultz (R) on January 28, 2010, in his role as committee chair, to preclude any insurance policy from covering abortions except in cases of rape or when necessary to save the life of the mother. The ban would apply to any health policy, plan, contract, HMO, or group pool, including the state employee health plan, which issued, amended or renewed after July 1, 2010.

Rep. Schultz and other members of “The Religious Right” are going to chip away at our abortion laws, contraception and family planning rights  until eventually this county looks like Haiti, Central and South America, Africa the Philippines  and other heavily populated areas that for religious reasons keep women pregnant, in servitude and don’t allow them access to abortion and family planning services.  That’s what “abstinence only” education results in. Think about it.

We have gone through an industrial revolution in this country when families finally realized they didn’t need to have a dozen children to maintain the family farm and wisely opted for contraception and mechanization over more children. Women in the U.S. have access to family planning and abortion rights, despite continued attempts by power-driven Rep. Shultz etal to curtail them and reverse Roe vs Wade.

I, the female members of my family and other females across the nation should be entitled to lives that fully recognize and respect us to make decisions that involve our own bodies without governmental interference.  Women, whether we choose to use them or not, should have access to family planning clinics, contraceptives and abortion clinics that are clean,  legal, affordable, accessible and free of governmental entanglements.  Anything less places us  in the position of being  second-class citizens.

Rep. Clark Schultz should be removed from office by the women in his district.

It has finally surfaced.

The ire of women and their outrage nationwide is finally being recognized by CBS over a controversial “Tim Teebow” commercial scheduled to be shown during the Super Bowl game.  The commercial is designed to dictate moral decisions to women and  disregards medical advice that puts their lives in danger.  Pro-choice organizations are so enraged they’ve launched a campaign to see that CBS pulls the ad.
CBS standards adhere to a process that ensures all ads — on all sides of an issue — are appropriate for airing.  They recently rejected a gay-dating website commercial, that was completely commercial in nature, from ManCrunch.com.  It showed two men kissing after their hands touched in a bowl of potato chips.  It appeared to be rejected based on homosexual content.

The controversial Tebow spot sponsored by the Christian organization “Focus on the Family” is scheduled to air on Sunday.  It features Florida Gators football star, Tim Tebow,  and his mother  in what many are arguing is an overt pro-life message.  This $2.5 million anti-choice  ad conveniently overlooks the fact that abortion in the heavily Catholic Philippines was then and continues to be illegal.
Enter Gloria Allred.

Allred says she believes it an impossible scenario to believe that Philippino doctors would of ever suggested abortion as a viable option for Tebow in the first place. And when you learn that physicians and midwives who perform abortions in the Philippines face six years in prison, and may have their licenses suspended or revoked, and that women who receive abortions - no matter the reason - may be punished with imprisonment for two to six years, it’s easy to see why…

… Allred asks Moonves to get a clear grasp of the correct and true facts in this case, and asks if he will still air the anti-choice commercial “if it turns out to be misleading advertising”.

…”This is not just another ad. Women’s lives are at stake. No woman should have to live in a country where abortion is illegal as it once was in the U.S. and was and is in the Philippines.”

Allred states definitively that, “No sugar coated religiously inspired ad which fails to give all of the relevant facts should be permitted to air on CBS or anywhere else.”

And there you have it.

A friend and I drove to Wilson tonight to get a cheeseburger from Made From Scratch.  Their homemade  potato chips and curly fries…both made on site with real potatoes with the skins left on…are also worth the drive.  When I see the cook in the kitchen shaping the thick burger and flopping it on the grill, I know I’m in for a treat.  It’s also worth the drive for a piece of homemade pie.  I forgot my camera, as usual, but they had just taken a half dozen or so pies out of the oven. They have a huge run on their pies so they are constantly baking them…all from scratch, of course.  They have every kind imaginable and they are all fresh and delicious.  Last night they had probably a dozen varieties to choose from and they are all very, very good.

My friend bought a “table” for Sarah Palin’s dinner and speech that is coming up in Salina, if Sarah shows.  Once again, she offered me a ticket to join her, but I have not the slightest interest in going to hear Sarah.  Like my friend “Margaret” says: Sarah’s problems come because every time you stick a microphone in front of her mouth a whole lot of stupid falls out.  I’ve never heard her speak when that wasn’t the case. Margaret is very wise.  She also said Palin “mixes religion and politics like I mix gin and tonic but then calls for less government involvement.  Freedom from government is her battle cry until a vagina gets involved and then watch how much involvement she wants.  Show me a woman who is making a private medical decision to end a pregnancy and I’ll show you a Palin screaming for more government involvement.”

There was a National Geographic program tonight about Camp Leatherneck in Helmand Province Afghanistan.  It’s an excellent program about our involvement there and the thousands of additional troops that are being filtered through that camp.  Interestingly enough, I’d already seen most of the documentary in smaller segments that I’d Googled on YouTube. If you have a chance to see it, I think you’ll find it eye-opening.

I visited on Skype tonight with one of my new friends, Stanley, who is from California, but grew up in K.C. and had relatives in Salina.  He’s a retired nuclear physicist  and  heavy into chemical makeups of foods and various dietary components. He is the one who recommended virgin coconut oil to me. I’m now using it exclusively. I’ve since learned there are several people around here who have been using it a year or more.  Stanley is patient and explains things very well, which in my case, is a necessity.  He recommended a book…The Diet Evolution by Dr. Steven Gundry, which I’ll find used on Amazon and wade through one of these days.

Except for a major pain in the ankle (which is why I’m up at this hour), I’m feeling better.  Joint aches and pains have filtered away. Who knows what to credit for that, but I believe it must be either the coconut oil (Stanley thinks so) or Knox Nutra Joint stuff my friend in FL recommended.  Neither can harm me, so I’m continuing with both and keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll soon be moving around without my joints creaking and hurting.

That reminds me that two separate friends from afar both recommended the same book to me:  Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. My thoughts ran there after talking about potatoes and another book.

I love Skype, btw.  You might want to contact a friend and  give it a try.  I have had very successful video visits with friends in Halifax NS, England, Alaska, FL and CA, for openers.  Some have not been very successful.  I have a lot yet to learn about the program. It’s free.

It’s going to be cold and party cloudy today.  I’ll get my mail later on, but other than that, Ringo and I will hang out at home where it’s warm. That may be all Ringo and I do for a few days except that I am going to Salina on Thursday to have lunch with my friends Shannon, Ivy and Shirley at the Coop.  They apparently have very good veggie pizza and salads.  I’d like to go to Art Rush that night, if possible. It’s always fun.

Tomorrow is Ground Hog Day. Celebrate!

Thanks for tuning in…

Tyler’s snail mail address has already changed.  If you want it, please give me a call.

His email address is the same…t(underline)britton23(at)hotmail.com/ You know how to make the necessary conversions; if not, ask a young person.

Kent Gaston alerted me that the Phelps gang is heading to California for the Prop 8 trial. Here’s an article from the San Jose Mercury News that he forwarded.  I thank him for the heads up on this.
San Jose Mercury News, Calif., Patty Fisher column: Fisher: Not welcome in my town

MCT REGIONAL NEWS By Patty Fisher San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

Jan. 29—Winters are bleak in Topeka. Harsh, gray cloudy days. Wind chill hovering around zero. No wonder the hate mongers from the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church gathered their picket signs, hollered “Road trip!” and headed for the Bay Area. They knew the weather would be mild even if the reception would be ice cold.

Westboro and its founder, Fred Phelps, are the “God Hates America” people. They travel around the country eagerly spreading their gospel of hate. They picket schools, synagogues, football games, funerals and even birthday parties, taunting unsuspecting Americans with the ugliest language to scream out their stridently anti-gay, anti-Semitic,  anti-Catholic, anti-Irish, anti-everything slogans. The church (I use the term with embarrassment) is made up mostly of Phelps’ extended family. Its spew holds that Americans are going to hell because our society is rife with adultery and homosexuality, especially homosexuality. The tragedy and deaths from Sept. 11, 2001, Katrina, the H1N1 virus were sent by God to punish us for our acceptance of gays and lesbians — whom they openly term “fags.”

With the Proposition 8 trial under way, San Francisco was a fitting destination for Westboro’s winter tour. On the way to the federal courthouse, why not make a stop at Gunn High School in Palo Alto? The Phelpses love to harass those who are grieving, including the families  of murder victims and fallen soldiers. A visit to Gunn, where students are grappling with yet another railroad suicide last week, fits Westboro’s utterly tasteless agenda.

When word spread that today they plan to set up their “America is Doomed” and “God hates Jews” signs at the Gunn campus and Stanford University’s Taube Hillel House, the official reaction was to deny them the confrontation they sought. Gunn’s principal delayed classes so students wouldn’t even have to see the pickets. Stanford urged the campus to ignore them.

Those were good moves. The Phelpses are masters at baiting people. Several of them are lawyers and are known to provoke people into assaulting them — and then file lawsuits. Some say they support themselves on legal settlements. It’s best to stay out of their wake.

So why am I devoting my column space to these unholy religious wackos? Not because I want to feed their craving for publicity. But I just can’t sit quietly and pretend these folks aren’t in my town, or that their hate-filled message doesn’t offend me. If I don’t engage the Phelpses, what do I say to the people who make offensive remarks about gays or Jews at parties? Do I call them out — or just ignore them and wait for them to leave? Hatred, homophobia and racism are  everywhere.

They’re not as blatant in our Bay Area bubble as they are in other parts of the country, but they are here and are no less corrosive because they are quiet. If we don’t confront them — publicly and privately — how will our young people know how we feel? How can we teach them, by example, what is right?
In its news release, Westboro states that Gunn students committed suicide because “their parents taught them lies belched forth from the bowels of hell, such as ’God loves everybody’ and ’it’s okay to be gay.’ Those children have no instruction concerning how to serve their God “… what else can be expected?” The message is clear. We must teach our children not to hate. If we don’t? What else CAN be expected?

Contact Patty Fisher at pfisher@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5852.

In the polling of each of the twelve members of the Scott Roeder jury, Roeder was found guilty of first degree murder and two counts of first degree assault. It was a straight forward case with an abundance of substantial evidence.  The jury deliberations were of short duration and lasted 37 minutes before rendering their verdict.

Roeder, who had a criminal history with time served,  admitted at the onset that he planned and killed Dr. Tiller.  He will face life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Prosecutor Nola Foulston said she would pursue a so-called “Hard 50” sentence, which would require Roeder to serve at least 50 years before he can be considered for parole.
It was not a capital murder case so he was not eligible for the death penalty.

Dr. George Tiller worked within the confines of Kansas law on abortion. Roeder carefully planned and murdered Dr. George Tiller because he didn’t agree with Kansas law.  Yesterday the judge in the trial dealt the defense a major setback when he ruled that the jury could not consider the lesser charge of manslaughter.  Scott Roeder took the stand in his own defense and admitted killing Dr. George Tiller, saying he acted to save the lives of unborn children. Roeder’s cool and emotionless demeanor on the stand was chillingly frightening.

The judge announced he would not allow his courtroom to turn into a forum on abortion. The defense had hoped to show that Roeder was frustrated by former Attorney General Phill Kline’s obsession and failure to prosecute Dr. George Tiller and that Roeder was influenced by Kline’s belief that Tiller was breaking the law.  Kline was replaced by Attorney General Paul Morrison who then charged Tiller with 19 misdemeanor counts that had been on Kline’s agenda.  It seemed an apparent attempt to  show publicly…and finally…that Kline had been wrong and obsessed in his relentless attacks on Tiller.  Tiller was acquitted of all 19 charges. Morrison probably contributed to the death of Tiller, as well as Kline, as Roeder sat through the trials where Tiller was found innocent of all counts, a move that inflamed Roeder even more.

Kansas law provides that “as long as fetus is not viable (and mother’s informed consent obtained); abortion of viable fetus permitted if 2nd M.D. certifies that abortion is necessary to preserve life of mother or fetus has severe, life-threatening deformity or abnormality.” George Tiller worked within the confines of Kansas Law, 65-6701 et seq.  Kansas law supported strongly the decision of the court today.

Remember the horrid sign I posted that the president of the Tea Party movement, Dale Robertson, was holding that misspelled his own hate?   It inflamed me as it did almost everyone else. It is finally catching up with him.

TeaParty.org, one of the self-proclaimed leaders of the vocal and active conservative Tea Party movement, was founded by a man named Dale Robertson. Robertson lays claim to the original idea for staging Tea Parties, one that was later taken up by much more widely known advocates like Glenn Beck. This week Robertson is getting flak for a photograph of him from back in February in Houston that has just turned up, where he’s carrying a sign that reads: “Congress = Slaveowner, Taxpayer = Niggar.” We don’t even know how to react to that, other than to say sic, and, well, sick. [Washington Independent]The photo was taken at the Feb. 27, 2009 Tea Party in Houston…

Politicians right and left are bailing out of the first National Tea Party Convention.  Joining Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who announced that she could no longer attend the National Tea Party Convention being held in her own state, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has pulled the plug.  Bachmann was to be the luncheon speaker.  Sarah Palin is presently the only politician scheduled to speak  and remains the headliner for the event.

Sarah Palin has garnered the wrath of the Tea Partiers as they now believe she is their enemy. 500  tickets have not been sold for her speech and this might sink the Tea Party boat. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few days before the convention scheduled for Feb. 4-6. The money ($150,000) may keep Palin in the fold to show for her speech, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if she bailed out on both the Tea Party Convention and her speaking engagement in Salina.  She’s not a quitter, you know.

Everyone seems ready for warm, sunny days when we can enjoy outdoor activities.  My long time internet friends, Joan and Gil, look forward to fishing at their hideaway on a beautiful, secluded lake in Canada.  Here are some pictures they took last summer.

Gil relaxes after a really hard day reeling in fish.  Their fishing cabin is about an hour away from where they live.

See the barbecue grill?  Fish are heading that way.

Here is Gill and his collection of Canadian small mouth bass.

Joan and Gil have a huge garden and preserve their harvest for winter use.  Along with their summer catch, they are prepared for long, cold winters.

Look how clean and clear the water is.  Dream on…

Thanks for tuning in…

In a couple of hours, my fave and only granddaughter will be 27 on the 27th.  That hardly seems possible. Our grandchildren have become adults so fast.

So, Mackenzie…have a very special day.  I wish you were here so we could have “ladies day luncheon” as we did so often many years ago. Those are good memories.

Abstinence-only sex education programs don’t work.  They just don’t work.  Look at the facts around us.  It certainly hasn’t worked in Haiti.  It doesn’t work with some in Alaska…or anywhere else.

New data out today show that the teen pregnancy rate in America climbed by 3 percent in 2006, the first increase in more than a decade. The numbers, which come from the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit group dedicated to the study of reproductive and sexual health, show that about 7 percent of all teenage girls got pregnant in 2006 (71.5 pregnancies per 1,000 teenagers). This percentage, while high, is still far below the 12 percent peak from 1990. Studies completed by the Institute also show a 1 percent increase in abortion in the same year.

The Guttmacher Institute and others suggest that the increase in teenage pregnancy is related to the focus on abstinence-only sex education programs promoted by the Bush administration, USA Today reported. “We’re not quite sure yet whether this is just a blip or whether it’s the beginning of a longer upward trend,” Larry Finer, Guttmacher’s director for domestic research, told Reuters in an interview.

It’s the pro-choice policies that result in dramatic declines in the need for abortion. That’s the goal of almost everyone.  Only the pro-choice movement is working on the prevention of unintended pregnancy.

The pro-life paradox appears everywhere its policies are in place. School districts in the conservative South are almost five times more likely than in the liberal Northeast to teach abstinence-only. Southern states also have the highest rate of new HIV/AIDS infections, the highest rate of STDs, as well as the highest rate of teen births. Whereas new cases of AIDS decreased or remained constant in the Northeast, Midwest, and West, the South alone experienced an increase. Seven of the 10 states with the highest Chlamydia rates, all of the states with the highest rates of gonorrhea, and nine of the top 10 states for syphilis rates are all in the South where the pro-life abstinence-only agenda is the order of the day.

My good friend out west pointed out that this session of the legislature is gearing up for its latest side show. She figures there will be the usual “wailing and gnashing of teeth over Roe vs Wade and Kansas’ attempts at every turn to keep women safe from making choices about their own bodies. That will consume a hell of a lot of valuable time that could better be spent  reducing the need for abortion instead of just lecturing women and their supporters about the evils of being able to choose.  And, we’ll have the sideshow of a trail of the man who has confessed to murdering Dr. George Tiller.  Gee, that ought to improve Kansas’ image as a hillbilly haven.  And the nonsense from the statehouse won’t help our image either.”

Has it occurred to anyone that Dr. George Tiller might still be alive if Attorney General Paul Morrison had not charged him with 19 misdemeanor counts?  It inflamed Scott Roeder who sat through the complete trial and went absolutely berserk when Tiller was acquitted of criminal charges that he did not follow state law when getting a second opinion on late-term abortions.  That wasn’t enough for Roeder who took the law into his own hands and  shot Tiller at point blank range as Tiller ushered congregation members in his place of worship during Sunday services.  Roeder  has publicly admitted he shot and killed Tiller but pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated assault charges. He believed he would save unborn children by killing Tiller. The trail is in progress at this time.

There is a reason the framers of our constitution founded our country pro-choice.  When are women going to wake up and rebel at being lectured to by men and their anti-abortion supporters about the evils of women making decisions about their own bodies. Please, do not usurp my right, or the right of other woman in my family,  to make our own choices.   We are perfectly capable of doing that.  We will not attempt to usurp your right to do as you choose.

The pro-choice approach is effective, safer and in keeping with our values of personal freedom and protection from government intrusion in our most personal matters.  The elimination of abortion rights WILL NOT reduce the number of abortions.

Tyler finally arrived at his forward operating base, a Marine post attached in part to a British base.  He’s living and working with Brits and Marines  and two of his Air Force buddies who form a medical team…a doctor, nurse and Tyler the respiratory therapist.

He’s stationed at one of the safest bases in Afghanistan.  It has been months since it was last attacked and we hope it stays that way.  I like the idea he’s safely surrounded by Marines.  He much prefers this camp over Kandahar which was horrible, he says.  He was glad to get out of there.

He said he couldn’t say enough good things about where he is now.  They are building new Air Force centers so he’s getting to be a part of the beginning of something very new and cool with the Brits and Marines.

He sleeps in a tent crowded with 10 double bunks. There is very limited room as all the bunks are filled except one.  He says he took too much of some stuff and not enough of the basics he really needs….like carabiners, travel toothbrush, laundry soap, deodorant, shampoo and bar soap. He said the hardest commodity to come by is cash which is in very short supply.

He shaved his head as I suppose anyone surrounded by Marines would do.

They are expecting an increase of casualties next month that will result from the presence of thousands of new troops they are sending to his area to fight the Taliban.  He expects to be very, very busy working in the busiest trauma center in the world and perhaps transporting patients to Germany for more treatment.  More of his responsibilities will unfold and become known to him during the next few weeks.

If you want to write Tyler, his email address works best.  Snail mail takes about two weeks. He hasn’t had time yet to call but hopes to be able to soon.  Occasionally, he posts a message on FaceBook.

Tyler’s email address:  t_britton23 (at) hotmail.com  You know what to do with the (at).

Scott, a nurse who is one-third of team serving with Tyler and a doctor, wrote the following.  I  thought it might give you an idea of the strength of character these young men possess.

Simple Strands of String…

Ancestors of quilters have imbued generations of hands to artfully weave more than patches into a handmade quilt. Love and caring are sewn into each stitch and fiber elevating the status of a quilt far beyond any linen. It is truly a sum greater than its parts; symbolic of something more. In Iraq quilts have an exalted place and are created lovingly by people who want to care for the soldiers and people serving our country.

At the end of her six month tour in Balad a nurse was given such a quilt. The packages came regularly to Balad full of quilts, most earmarked for American wounded, but a select few reserved for the people caring for those wounded. Capt O Hara received her quilt while on deployment in the summer of 2008 and since then has lovingly cared for it in her home. There it sat as a silent symbol of her sacrifice for her country until the day it was conscripted for an equally important service.

An Air Force cadet who was a strong healthy young man had succumbed to a devastating illness while here on official duty at Lackland AFB. The picture of him as a stalwart warrior in uniform contrasted the ill cachexic young person lying there. Nurses always enjoy these photos; it reminds us why we are fighting this battle against disease. His weakness was so severe he could barely raise his head, yet when asked by the doctors and nurses he summoned up his remaining strength and strained to move his arm slightly. In the face of this heroic battle against a devastating disease, Capt O’Hara remembered her own symbol of sacrifice and heroism and on the 5th of August, before he was to leave our ICU and be transferred, Capt O’Hara brought her quilt into work and wrapped him in that symbol of love and caring.

The field of nursing has changed immensely as we seek to certify ourselves as a profession. This simple and profound sacrifice is an example of what drives the heart of nursing. That one act spoke more about how to care for your patient than volumes of text. Capt O’Hara understood the power that a few simple strands of string, artfully woven, could have on the heart of a warrior in the midst of a battle.

Scott asked me this on FaceBook…it’s pretty funny:  “Tyler seems to be really in love with this Afghani girl here.  nah just kidding.  Does Tyler only talk about food?  He really loves food.”

< Thanks for tuning in…

Josh Svaty, Kansas Secretary of Agriculture, topped the list in Cosmopolitans “Seven Other Politicians We’d like to see Shirtless” .  It is on their website under the Celebs and Style tab.

Josh is one of the “7 More Politicians We’d Like to See Shirtless (And Some Who Should Definitely Keep Their Clothes On)”, according to the Cosmo article written by Ashley Womble.

“It may be a cliché, but the sexy Secretary of Agriculture proves that they sure grow ‘em cute in Kansas. We wouldn’t mind seeing him in nothing but a row of corn. ”

“By now everyone (and we do mean everyone) has seen U.S. Senator Scott Brown’s nude centerfold. We’d like to see these other politicians exercise their right to bare arms… and pecs and abs.”

If Brown’s photo didn’t take you by surprise, his victory speech will.  Scott Brown ran a strong campaign that shows us minority parties can win in almost any state. It isn’t often that someone we know makes the pages of Cosmo.  Congratulations, Josh…not that you had much to do with it….but thanks to Nicki and Don for the genes.  I bet the Svaty  household has been buzzing with jokes and innuendo today.  What fun.

The Kansas Cattlemen’s Association plans its 11th annual convention and trade show for Jan. 29-30 in Salina, Kan. Anyone is welcome to participate.

Convention speakers include: Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Josh Svaty; Candidate for Secretary of State Kris Kobach; Mid States Consulting represented by Joe Knopp; Farm and Family Insurance represented by Sherry Myers; Kansas State professor and animal welfare specialist Dan Thompson, and Senator Jim Barnett, who is also a U.S. Congressional candidate.

The event kicks off at noon on Jan. 29 with the opening of the trade show and silent auction. Following a series of afternoon workshops, a social hour begins at 5 p.m. with a banquet and live heifer sale set for 6 p.m. The keynote speaker at the banquet will be Bill Bullard, R-CALF USA CEO. The trade show opens at 8 a.m. on Jan. 30 and concludes with the KCA annual business meeting at 1:30 p.m.

For more information or details, contact the KCA in Junction City at (785) 238-1483.