Link Log for February 1

Today's Categories: Charity, Food, Politics, Football Trivia, Quilting, Insanity, New Books, Animals, Dolls, Scams, Homeschooling, a Music Video...

I'm still dog-sitting at the Dog Sanctuary, and this Link Log won't feature anything from The Blaze, Huffington Post, Townhall, or other sites that often feature good content in among nasty pop-ups and ads, because this computer just can't handle that sort of thing. This week I'm reading smaller, plainer web pages only.

Charity 

Can you spare $15 to buy a cheap blanket for an Iraqi refugee? Reportedly one of these ISIS victims' camps is high in the mountains (by Iraqi standards) and some of them are freezing. No, I did not check whether the charity is taking handmade blankets.They say they're currently trying to pay for a load of blankets they ordered during the last cold snap at US$15 apiece,

http://www.grassrootsaction.com/201211/offer.asp?Ref_ID=29642&CID=201211&RID=43056461

Food 

If you're not particular about making it "Greek," you can warm up the chicken in a little water (or use a little of the broth if you just poached it) and use a different herb or mix. Olive oil, basil, and oregano make it Greek-ier. Parsley, fresh or fried, adds Vitamin C and fibre. Thanks to Elizabeth Barrette for making my mouth water.

http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/3558583.html

You know a neighborhood is yuppified when it has a "barkery" specializing in dog treats...but you might want to use these ideas to make treats for your dog, too. Or for friends' dogs. And the little paper bags are sooo cute.

http://www.dogpawsitivetidbits.com/2015/01/paws-barkery-dog-treats-delivery.html

Politics 

Why, even if we like, trust, respect, and even vote for some Democrats, the U.S. should distrust the Democratic Party:

http://ntlconsulting.blogspot.com/2015/01/american-communist-party-plan_31.html

("American Communist Party"? Yes, apparently there still is such a thing. More of a religious cult than a political party, but...)

Statistics gun haters won't like to read...if you're interested, Glenn Beck's the author of a whole (short) book of'em.

http://ntlconsulting.blogspot.com/2015/01/high-gun-ownership-lower-crime.html

Trevor Loudon offers a nice historical sidelight that happens to tie into something I was thinking about this morning. This winter a local newspaper reported that an old chant from the 1960s had been revived as a ghoulish parody with "dead cops" substituted for "voting rights" or "equal pay" or "wheelchair access." Disgusting. There are certainly some police officers, and some entire police departments, that might be better employed in some completely different line of work; there are probably a few who should be in jail. If you find them, point them out, for everybody's sake. But don't be sucked into hate...if you're young and strong and feel righteously aggressive about bad cops, why don't you take the training and be a good one?

http://noisyroom.net/blog/2015/01/31/hatin-on-the-police-an-old-communist-strategy/

Some conservative members of Virginia's legislature have supported a resolution encouraging a "new constitutional convention." In most states, it's the Extreme Left who seem to be clamoring for one. Publius Huldah has set up a web page explaining what's likely to go wrong with this idea:

https://publiushuldah.wordpress.com/2015/02/01/delegates-to-an-article-v-convention-cant-be-controlled-by-state-laws/

Political Humor, shared by Coral Levang:

http://www.political-humor.org/you-can-lead-sheep-to-knowledge-but-you-cant-make-them-think.shtml

Football Trivia 

Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) challenged an e-friend with this trivia question: Which four universities can claim both a U.S. President and a Super Bowl winning quarterback as alumni?

http://hubpages.com/hub/4-Universities-that-Count-Super-Bowl-Winning-Quarterbacks-and-US-Presidents-as-Alumni

Twitter suggested this one: Which of the contenders in this Super Bowl game used to play for the University of Tennessee?

One vote for Seattle:

http://www.bubblews.com/news/9830156-superbowl-2015-which-team-is-your-favorite-to-win

It's hard to paste an original Twitter comment, but a Twitterer called CIASpyGirl says, "I'm giving my husband the silent treatment, which is exactly what he wants for Super Bowl Sunday." Re-tweeted. (Non-fans, these links should help you leave the football fanatics in your families alone.)

Quilting 

A quilting "marathon": twelve hours, nonstop...

http://nrvnews.com/area-news/marathon-quilters-show-they-are-cut-from-competitive-cloth/

Insanity 

What kind of people want to make the world safe for The Mentally Ill by turning the whole world into one big hospital where only a few designated adults have access to deadly weapons? (If they get a gun ban, will the next step be a car ban or a scissors ban?) Not to be too mean about this, because anything can go wrong with any part of any body including the brain, but...if the one interviewed for the Washington Post is typical, they twitch, tend to spill things, and want the right not to bathe as often as three times a week.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/she-fought-for-patients-rights-then-she-was-put-in-a-hospital-against-her-will/2015/01/31/c306f01c-a1b0-11e4-903f-9f2faf7cd9fe_story.html?tid=sm_tw

New Books 

In addition to Jerry B. Jenkins' new project, forthcoming this week,

http://jerry-jenkins.com/2015/01/30/the-matheny-manifesto-part-2/

Karen and Rick Santorum are on tour with a new book:

http://www.bellasgiftbook.com/events.html

Animals 

I just created my very first Twitter hashtag: #WarOnPets. I encourage everyone to use it when they find evidence of HSUS, the Humane Pet Genocide Society, grabbing for a monopoly on control of all domestic animals and their humans.

http://priscillaking.blogspot.com/2015/01/virginia-needs-laws-protecting-cats.html

The Cat Sanctuary is also the home of several wild animals. The ones that are absolutely no trouble, and welcome, include a cardinal family, a wren family, a dynasty of possums (usually only one at a time), a skunk, a snake, some blue-tailed lizards, various paper wasps and hornets, and lots of butterflies and moths. But what this blog post reminds me of is the block on which my husband and I lived in Maryland. It had been "developed" into nasty little suburban Tract Housing, but with large back yards, trees, and gardens; the robins always nested in our tree, the cardinals in a neighbor's tree, and the mockingbirds in other trees, so that everybody could enjoy them...

http://diaryofwildgarden.blogspot.com/2015/01/can-you-attract-wildlife-if-you-have.html

Dolls 

I don't know why Google + pulls up CNN in Spanish; everything else on the page comes up in English, but CNN stories appear in Spanish with the option to click on the English version when you open the page. Anyway, although all Disney characters officially come from imaginary countries, here's the latest Disney fashion doll, Elena, who is "sort of" Latina; the button to switch to the English page is in the top right corner:

http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2015/01/31/disney-presenta-a-elena-su-primera-princesa-latina/

Scams 

Hidden charges when you unsuspectingly use a well-advertised phone service, U.K. version:

http://www.personapaper.com/article/22623-118-118----who-is-laughing-now

Homeschooling Stuff 

Lots of free lesson ideas available at this site:

http://www.lifesuccessfully.com/education-articles/how-to-teach-kids-about-money-guest-post

Music Video 

Coral Levang shares a personal link to the Lawrence Welk show:

http://www.personapaper.com/article/22491-he-left-me-the-gift-of-music-i-share-him-with-you