Book Review: Wee Sing

(Blogjob tags: action songs with hand motions, children’s songs, nursery rhyme, songbook with CD, songbooks with cassettes, songs kindergarten children can play, Wee Sing series.)

A Fair Trade Book

Title: Wee Sing

Author: Pamela Beall and Susan Nipp

Date: 1977, 1986

Publisher: Price Stern Sloan

ISBN: 0-8431-0676-X

Length: 62 pages

Illustrations: drawings by Nancy Klein

Quote: “These are Mother’s knives and forks. This is Mother’s table. This is Mother’s Looking glass. And this is baby’s cradle.”

This is a book of simple, often silly, songs for small children. Many of these songs are traditionally accompanied with hand motions. Most are true folk songs that have evolved through oral tradition, so the words and tunes given here may not be the ones you learned as a child. For example, many people don’t know that there’s an alternate verse to “I’m a Little Teapot” that begins “I’m a little snowman.”

All the songs are easy to sing; most stay within a one-octave range. Tunes are printed as melodies only, with chord letters. Kids can accompany these songs on autoharp, xylophone, melody bells, etc.

All kindergartens and day care centers should own copies of this book. It’s useful to parents, too. As usual with picture books for children, the age group most likely to appreciate listening to the book will probably be younger than the ones shown in the pictures. 

But there's no need to stop here. Pamela Beall really started something with this cheap little booklet. The series began with a cheap one-color booklet and cassette tape, and grew into big, clunky, full-color books with digital recording technology. Amazon currently lists 290 items in the Wee Sing series, including "Bible Songs," "Songs for Halloween," "Dinosaur Songs," "American Songs," "Around the World," and more. Some of those items are of course duplicate listings and music recordings (you don't have to sing the songs to the child, or children!). Still, even collecting only the books in this series would take some time and money.

The 1977 edition with the one-color cover has actually gained collection value; if you have to have it, send $15 per copy. If a reprint (with the original cover, or a full-color cover) will do, send $5 per copy + $5 per package + $1 per online payment. Early Wee Sing books were small and thin, and you could probably get at least a dozen into a package for a total of $65. "A Fair Trade Book" means I'll send Beall $1 for each of the $5-per-copy books you buy here, more for the collectors' editions.

April 26 Link Log

I've been digging diligently, and could undoubtedly find even more and better links if I stayed at the computer center for another three hours. Y'know what? I'm not going to. Because, guess what day it is? Tuesday--"Tortie Tuesday" in the cat-blog world. And guess who's eating for nine (four of her own kittens and four of her sister's), and didn't have a decent breakfast this morning, or dinner last night, because her pathetic old human had trusted a certain pathetic old relative of mine to deliver kibble? Heather (and Irene, who are rearing their kittens communally again, even though Irene's are two weeks older) want their dinner now. Categories: Books, Cat Pictures, Cybersecurity, Gardening, Health, Money, Phenology Links, Politics, Portal Paper, Recipes, Road Rage.

Books 

For those who can sit through a two-hour video, this web site must salute this Swedish video tribute to Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations.

(temporary link)

If you can't sit through a two-hour video, which I can't, here's the modern-day, snarky-funny book tribute to Smith and his book. Click on the "copyrighted" image to buy it from the seller who posted it, or e-mail salolianigodagewi @ yahoo if you'd like to buy it from me as a Fair Trade Book--I've not got around to posting the review yet, but I own a copy and would be delighted to sell you a copy. (This one is especially recommended to +Andria Perry and other Laura Ingraham fans.)



And why not a little shameless self-promotion? Yes, I've posted some more book reviews, since I've been online anyway...

http://blogjob.com/priscillaking/2016/04/26/book-review-been-clever-forever/

http://blogjob.com/priscillaking/2016/04/22/book-review-jubilee/

I wrote a review of a French picture book by "Moka." I had no idea how obscure a book from 1993 could have become. Before posting a book review online I try to find out whether the author is alive and/or active in cyberspace. The author known as Moka has a charming web site, in French, where you can see lots of other books...but not the one I have! If you're interested in easy books in French, check her out:

http://www.moka-murail.com/

John Grisham announces another "Kid Lawyer" novel:

(another long clunky link that might mess up your screen here)

Cat Pictures 

Now Ivy, the calico aunt-brought-up-as-a-sister with the resident adult cats, loved to pose for photos. Ivy was the communicator. She had some idea of what I was doing, when I whipped out the cell phone to take the cats' pictures, and she would strike adorable poses on cue. Heather and Irene are less enthusiastic about being photographed. In this (old) picture, Heather was sulking because I'd photographed (and stroked) Ivy first, but she's not struck a cuter pose since. Anyway, she's the type of three-colored cat who can be called a "tortie," at least above--the clear white spots seldom show.



Irene doesn't go in for sulking. Irene is, basically, a very sweet, lovable, homebody cat--brighter than most, but not on the same level at which Heather is and Ivy was intelligent.



All cat lovers should understand, just from looking at these images of the two mother cats, that the Cat Sanctuary is a site of unbearable cuteness, purr-ness, and cat love now. As in previous seasons, right after the kittens are born Heather and Irene co-mother, often curling up around the kittens together in a full circle. As the kittens started eating solid food, last year and the year before, Heather stopped nursing early in order to hunt and teach the kittens to hunt; Irene continued lactating for the full six months, and at least one other Social Cat induced lactation. In this cat family all kittens are communally brought up by all adult and adolescent female cats. (Males? Well, Mackerel was an involved father and devoted uncle...Mackerel was also the first to tell me that some other young male cats in this family didn't need to be around kittens.)

Cybersecurity 

Looks like Twitter's getting it right! I wasn't thrilled by the smarmy, patronizing tone of the e-mail header (something like "Priscilla, learn more about how we keep you safe"--uuurrrgggghhh) but I do recommend checking out these three little buttons. I don't mind seeing the obnoxious flames ("Idiots who support this should be...") some people seem to like exchanging, and do mind having my Twitter feed clogged with retweets from The Spoiler Candidate Who Shouldn't Be Elected Street Sweeper, so the difference between muting, blocking, and reporting other Twits is worth reading about.

https://about.twitter.com/safety/three-tools-to-stay-safe

Gardening 

Whatever you've got, whatever you want, whatever may be in the way...don't poison your garden.

http://responsibletechnology.org/americas-favorite-poison/

Some of the "pesticides" affect different humans and animals in different ways. The position of this web site is, however, that even if it could be proved that a "pesticide" would have no effect whatsoever on you, poisoning your garden would still be a bad idea...because it starts a Vicious Poison Cycle in which you wipe out the nuisance species' natural predators and thus have even more pests whenever your pest species' next generation appears. Monsanto's glyphosate brew, trademarked as Roundup, happens to be an especially popular poison and also one that has especially obvious, disgusting effects on me. Monsanto happens to be an especially evil corporation with a long, long history of despicable policies and products. This in no way means that Raid is good because it comes from Johnson instead of Monsanto. I don't have drastic reactions to airborne traces of Raid, myself; that doesn't mean that other people don't have, nor does it mean that the toxins that slip past our "allergy" reactions aren't the ones that give us cancer...but, looking out strictly for yourself--the more Raid you spray, the more flies and roaches you have.

Fair disclosure: this site is affiliated with (some of my favorite individual) left-wingers who don't like any big corporation. More fair disclosure: sometimes the Left happen to be right, and this is one of the times. These links are recommended because each one offers dozens of scientific references. Check'em out.

http://responsibletechnology.org/references-part-1/
http://responsibletechnology.org/the-great-gmo-cover-up-part-2/

(More self-promotion: Local readers, if you need to get rid of pests in a Green way, call me. I grew up with all the no-poison tricks and can show you how to banish "German" cockroaches from a trailer in a trailer park. I also dig poison ivy, relocate wasps, and can do a lot about corn earworms and bean beetles during the years it takes a garden to recover from having been sprayed for them.)

Health 

What's a "McDougall Intensive"? Follow this temporary link to find out. It's just three days at a $200-a-day resort in California, with less time for swimming and tennis, and more time for lectures on how to go vegan, and first-rate vegan food. If anybody out there wants to go to California for a weekend, as spa weekends in California go this one is indeed a bargain. Stay another day and find out--on either coast in the U.S. lots of places that have only your basic air-temperature pool and tennis court charge $200 and don't even include food, or only a pathetic all-simple-carbs "continental breakfast." Three days isn't enough to complete the transition to a radically different diet plan, but the thing about "McDougalling" is that the diet includes enough complex carbs and snacks that most people don't feel the transition.

http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=5e58f59d97611f910916b6276&id=617c5ece21&e=4d57a9fdfb

Money 

This blogger is so right. I'm sure some local readers are wondering...I didn't spend money extravagantly when I was earning it. I even saved some, although inflation is a huge deterrent to the idea of saving a lot of money. Thanks to frugal Green parents having taught me how, I invested relatively little money in good bargains that would last (and have lasted) many years. I wasted a lot on renting (rather than either working-for-rent or living in my own home) and maintaining a car...because as far as I'm concerned all money spent to pay rent or maintain a car is wasted...but not for long. I gave quite a lot of money to people and causes, which, most of the time, I don't regret. And I lived on what I'd earned for a while after earning it.

http://blogjob.com/monsterjar03/2016/04/26/financially-ignorant-people/

Phenology Link

Rose in full bloom in Alabama, 4/25/16.

http://blogjob.com/greatamericandream/2016/04/25/great-american-dream-memories-left-behind/

Politics 

The fundamental organizing idea of left-wing politics is that everybody is stupid. How many people do you believe are as stupid as they think you are? Personally, I think the number of people who really need a government agency to monitor all their monetary transactions, tell them what their friends should look like, remind them to wear seat belts, etc., is small enough that it would be cheaper to lock up those individuals than to maintain the government agency to supervise them.

https://www.zeroaggressionproject.org/mental-lever/youre-too-stupid/

Stupidity is...not reconsidering ideas that appealed to you when you were fifteen years old, after you're fifty years old. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have never made any secret of their "story." They wanted to be good hippie-socialists in the 1960s, but they needed some money and just happened to have some good recipes and cute brand names for ice cream, and since it happened to be the 1980s, they got rich. So far, we have a story everyone would like to be able to relate to even better than we already do. And the "Bernie's Yearning" novelty ice cream was such a clever party idea. And there's that home state appeal...any viable candidate for national office, e.g. Mike Huckabee, e.g. Jeb Bush, aaaalways gets lots of support from the home state, just for Being Their Own. Bernie Sanders is from Vermont, therefore Ben & Jerry owed him a scoop of homeboy loyalty. Still and all...beyond the clever cooking ideas, giving actual money to Bernie Sanders?

http://www.freedomworks.org/content/two-scoops-hypocrisy

http://reason.com/archives/2016/04/26/forget-denmark-venezuela-is-the-real-cul

Nobody gets nominated without being likeable, but here's widely liked Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH-4) on the need for our national economic thinking to get real. Well put, Sir. (As the photo makes clear, he's not closely related to former Headmaster James Jordan at the Gate City Christian School; he writes like a "Sir" anyway.) Take it from a penniless widow: given the choice, poor Americans would rather have opportunities than handouts. Not all poor Americans have the choice, or realize that they have it if they do. I happen to be one of those who do have the choice, and I say stick the welfare cards where they'll do the most good and give me honest payment for what I do.

http://limaohio.com/news/177119/jim-jordan-column-fiscal-discipline-cant-wait

Portal Paper 

Here, for historical interest, is the Portal Paper Q&A sheet reflecting the first week's questions. It's "Part 1" because additional questions will be answered later.

http://blogjob.com/priscillaking/2016/04/26/portal-paper-qa-part-1/

Recipes 

If you have a raised bed in which to raise asparagus...once it's been started the trick really is to wait long enough to cook it. People who've only ever eaten canned asparagus, or stale asparagus that's been wilting in its own juice in the supermarket, can't be expected to understand why it's such a delicacy. Asparagus is a delicacy when it's fresh and crisp out of the garden. You have to remind four-year-olds to wash it before eating it. For most of the year, asparagus is only available in frozen form, which is less thrilling--but highly compatible with rice, with (turkey) bacon or other MSG-seasoned meat, or with other stir-fried veg and/or more natural forms of meat. Frozen asparagus makes excellent stir-fries. That's why it's found in some manufacturers' prepackaged "Deluxe Stir-Fry Mix."

http://blogjob.com/mykitchenandi/2016/04/25/stir-fried-asparagus-with-kangkong-and-bacon/

I don't eat shrimp, crab, or ham; no problem, this jambalaya recipe would work with chicken only. But I had to mention...y'know what I like to substitute for shrimp in some mixed dishes? Cashews (roasted, of course, never raw). I tried this as a visual joke once and, what d'you know, quite a few people like cashews better than shrimp in stir-fries (either with chicken, or vegan), in rice dishes, or in tomato dishes.

http://blogjob.com/frugalfoodie/2016/04/26/easy-jambalaya/

Road Rage 

Bicyclists feel it too, toward motorized road hogs. We could all use more of this cyclist's attitude...actually, we could use a law to the effect that, if a motor vehicle collides with any non-motor vehicle or pedestrian, the driver is banned from driving for life.

http://blogjob.com/randomizer/2016/04/26/what-an-attitude-sirji/

(I'm curious. Does "Sir Ji" make sense to U.S. readers?)

Portal Paper Q&A

(Blogjob tags: Gate City Virginia, Kingsport Daily News, local advertising, local news,Portal Paper, Priscilla’s Internet Portal, role of local newspaper in community, Scott County Virginia.)

Basic questions and answers for the printed edition of my blogs...yes, it's different from what you see online. (For instance, reposting this page online allows me to answer more questions!)

Q. What's a "Portal Paper"?

A. It’s the printed newsletter for Priscilla’s Internet Portal…in big, bold letters, for those who don’t like looking at computer screens.

Q. What’s an “Internet Portal”?

A. It’s a business address people can use to buy and sell things on the Internet. It protects everyone’s privacy and helps people shop with cash or prepaid methods, so they don’t have to worry about bouncing checks or online theft.

Q. What can people buy, sell, or advertise via an Internet Portal?

A. People can advertise almost anything. The obvious limits on actual sales apply. Federally regulated merchandise, such as guns and drugs, have to be purchased in real life through licensed dealers (we can mention the stores here). Large transactions, such as cars and real estate, have to be conducted in real life. Things that need special handling, such as grand pianos and live animals, have to be shipped in reasonable real-life ways.

Q. What does the Internet Portal advertise?

A. It was set up primarily to advertise books. In real life I have relatively few, heavily used, books for sale; by setting up an Internet Portal as an Amazon Associate, I advertise and resell more books, in better condition, from other people to other people worldwide. However, I’ve been using it to advertise my hand crafts and writing services for years, too…and there’s no reason why you can’t use it to advertise anything you want to sell or promote, as well!

Q. What can Priscilla’s Internet Portal do for me?

A. The sky’s the limit. Frankly, you’re not going to be the only person in the world who’s advertising anything on the Internet; probably you’re not going to be the neediest person who’s willing to offer the lowest price. All U.S. business on the Internet will always be undersold by somebody in Asia or Africa. But you never know when you might be the most convenient advertiser, or the one a customer wants to support.

Q. Could I do the same thing myself?

A. If you want to make a full-time job of looking at computer screens and earning pennies for five years or more, the way I’ve done, go ahead and try it; you might do it better. If you want to keep the job and life you have, you’re better off working with what I’ve put together so far. My Internet Portal can and will get better as it grows and gains support. Meanwhile, I’m the one who’s already invested enough in my virtual business that it’s worth my time to keep track of other people’s online sales of $5 or $10.

Q. Can online readers subscribe to the Portal Paper?

A. Why not? Outside the U.S., a postage fee may apply.

Q. How much does it cost?

A. For those who don't remember the Daily News, the goal is to make a full-sized weekly paper free to readers--completely funded by local ads. We're not there yet, though. Currently, the price is $1 per week, cash. The first issue, which basically announced that this paper exists, consisted of four sheets of paper printed on one side. The next issue will be longer, won't repeat the policy statements from page one or this FAQ sheet from page two, and will therefore contain more news.

Q. Amazon ads don't appear in the Portal Paper, so how is this post going to work one in?

A. With links to books by two very good writers, dearly loved and sorely missed, whose printed newsletters I used to read before the Internet was invented:

(This book was famous for the monster typo in the title! It should have been The Last Word: On The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense. It was not the last word. Elgin read her mail, discussed relevant material with pen friends, and wrote another twelve volumes reflecting reader input.)

(John Holt didn't live long enough to update this book, but members of his network have done that; click this link to see what they've made of it.)

Book Review: Been Clever Forever

(Blogjob tags were adolescent literature, fiction about teenagers, high school novel, novels about male friendship, post-traumatic stress, Vietnam conflict, young adult novel.)

A Fair Trade Book

Title: Been Clever Forever

Author: Bruce Stone

Date: 1988

Publisher: Harper & Row

ISBN: 0-06-44013-X

Length: 376 pages

Quote: “I am afflicted with a congenital disease...I am smart.”

A possibility exists that readers might challenge the protagonist’s claim as this story begins. Stephen Douglas is a fast learner, but he uses his talent in what teachers call “immature” ways; he proposes bizarre courses of study, and after reading Animal Farm and A Separate Peace in the same term his response is a parody called A Separate Pig. He’s on civil-speaking terms with some of his classmates and teachers, but he doesn’t bond...until he meets Dr. Truelove.

Family names matter in this story. Stephen doesn’t comment on the contrast between his bid for student office and the adult political life of the historical Stephen Douglas, although the fictional one is proud of his aristocratic Scottish name. Anyway, although “Truelove” is a real family name, it’s not Dr. Truelove’s original family name. We’re not told what this character’s original name was or why he chose the name he did. What we learn is that he’s an emotionally wounded veteran, and Stephen is the one he asks for help.

The things Stephen does for what may be his first real friendship make a long story, not wordy but full of plot twists, and form what may be a prologue to the teenager’s real coming-of-age. At the end of Been Clever Forever Stephen is still a high school boy, albeit a more mature boy who’s learned to be a friend, to respect an opponent, and to resist temptations. (Heterosexual temptations, thanks.)

But you don’t have to be a teenager, or an adult who particularly likes reading about teenagers, to appreciate the story. It’s Truelove’s story too. It can be read as a novel about an adult in which a teenager’s role is to give the story a hopeful ending. If Truelove’s story is going to have a happy ending, that ending is still off in the remote future. This is a story of the post-Vietnam era, about the emotional wounds that can be caused either by serving or by not serving in a war.

Will reading Been Clever Forever help young men understand some of the older men they know? Will it make them more reluctant to serve their country? Both? Neither? This is an “adult” story, not in the sense of “sexually explicit” (it’s not) but in the sense of “emotionally intense.” Much depends on the readers and the people they know.

Most libraries still have a copy of this book somewhere. It would be worth a parent’s or teacher’s time to preview a library copy of Been Clever Forever before buying it for a student. I think a majority of the serious-novel-reading community like it if they read it, but you’ll want to make sure.

Bruce Stone seems to be alive and well, teaching, and avoiding cyberspace, so this is a Fair Trade Book. If you buy it here, $5 per copy + $5 per package + $1 per online payment, I'll send (or try to send!) $1 to Stone or his favorite charity. The per-package shipping charge applies to as many books as I can fit into one package, and if the paperback edition will do, you could fit in probably half a dozen other paperback books. The online payment charge applies to Paypal payments or Amazon giftcards, but not to postal money orders because the U.S. Post Office collects its own surcharge when you send us one.

Robert Hurt on Peace Through Strength

From U.S. Representative Robert Hurt (R-VA-5):

"
Developments on the world stage in recent weeks have yet again demonstrated that President Obama's foreign policy fails to address the threats facing the United States and our allies. We live in a dangerous world, yet our failure to lead on the world’s stage emboldens aggressors who seek power at the expense of innocents. This unchecked aggression generates instability and exacerbates turmoil in places already embroiled in conflict.
Time and time again, the Obama Administration has been far too trusting in those who seek power through aggression. In recent months, much of our attention has focused on the Islamic State and radical Islamic terrorists, yet other threats persist and grow around the world and thanks to the accommodative approach of this administration. It is unrealistic to expect that power-hungry leaders with dubious track records will be honest brokers in high-stakes negotiations that implicate the safety of both our country and our allies.
Take Iran for example; emboldened and reinvigorated by the short-sighted nuclear deal with the U.S. and key allies, Iran has been testing ballistic missiles in direct defiance of that agreement. The Obama Administration does little to hold the rogue nation accountable to the terms of the deal, jeopardizing the safety of our allies in the region and souring our relations. This week, President Obama met with King Salman of Saudi Arabia in an effort to reassure a key ally that this deal with Iran is not detrimental to their country and the region. Saudi Arabia has vehemently opposed the Iran nuclear deal and has a bird's eye view of the regime's ambitions in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is a vitally important partner in the fight against ISIS, yet the Iran nuclear deal has proven to be a source of great contention for us in the region, weakening ties with very important allies in the effort to combat Islamic extremism.
Tensions between the U.S. and Russia have also continued to ramp up as Russia has begun to boost its submarine fleet near levels reached during the Cold War. And Russian jets flew incredibly close to a U.S. Naval vessel and an American reconnaissance aircraft - acts of extreme provocation. While we are unsure what exactly is motivating these actions, given Russia's aggressive posturing in Syria and their broadsides against the Ukraine, it is likely that these actions signal increased efforts to fill the void in the world left by our decreased presence on the world stage in hopes of expanding their influence. Wagging a finger and lecturing a strongman like Vladimir Putin will not deter these hostile activities; more must be done to deter such aggression.
With tensions mounting around the globe, the Obama Administration continues to insist on a foreign policy based on peace through accommodation in the face of unacceptable behavior and very real threats. It is high time we stand up and acknowledge these threats which are degrading the safety and stability of our country, work with our allies, and rebuild our standing in the world.
Issues of national security are too important to leave to idealism and wishful thinking. We must remain vigilant and resolute in keeping nation and allies safe. I will continue to advocate for a foreign policy that promotes peace through strength. Under Article One of the Constitution, Congress has no greater responsibility than to provide for the defense of our great country. In the House, national security remains a top priority, and I urge our colleagues in the Senate and the President to join us in this vital effort.
If you need any additional information or if we may be of assistance to you, please visit my website at hurt.house.gov or call my Washington office: (202) 225-4711, Charlottesville office: (434) 973-9631, Danville office: (434) 791-2596, or Farmville office: (434) 395-0120.

I met with Bill Hughes, the Commander of Scottsville’s Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Local Marine Corp League, at Charlottesville’s Dogwood Vietnam Memorial’s 50th Rededication Ceremony.

At Charlottesville’s Dogwood Vietnam Memorials 50th Rededication Ceremony, I spoke with Former Albemarle Supervisor Rodney Thomas and Colonel Jim O’Kelly.

Sincerely,
" [signature graphic: Robert Hurt]

Morgan Griffith on Puerto Rico

From U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9):

"
Puerto Rico
Among the issues being debated in Washington is the situation in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico – which is a territory of the United States – has more than $118 billion in debt in the form of bonds and unfunded pension liabilities. Puerto Rico has already defaulted on portions of its debt, and also has not produced audited financial statements for two years.
Puerto Rico can’t seek bankruptcy protection. If it were a separate country, it could go to the International Monetary Fund for help. But it’s not a separate country. If it were a county or city in one of the 50 states, it could seek a special type of bankruptcy. But it is not a part of any of the states.
It would take another column to discuss whether Puerto Rico ought to be a state of the United States, an independent country, or remain a territory. But for now, it is a territory of the U.S. and therefore it is a responsibility of the U.S. government.
In the 1950s, Puerto Rico was granted the authority to have its own legislature and make decisions for themselves. Apparently they didn’t do well.
Discussions in D.C. indicate Puerto Rico created too many programs like the social democratic governments of Europe, and ran the ship of state onto the rocky shores of debt and despair.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board said, “In a better world, Puerto Rico’s 18 public debt issuers, 20 some creditor committees and government unions would agree to a restructuring without federal intervention. But creditors possess competing claims, bond covenants conflict, and public agencies have intermingled funds. And Puerto Rico appears unwilling to act in good faith when left to its own devices.”
Decades of fiscal mismanagement and inappropriate policies got Puerto Rico into this mess. And while there appears to be no simple solution to get Puerto Rico out of risk of default and its economy out of a tailspin, action must be taken.
I strongly believe that action must not be a bailout by the taxpayers of the 50 states.
Members of the House Committee on Natural Resources (which has jurisdiction over U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico) have held several hearings to address this crisis. After listening to stakeholder input, they have proposed legislation (H.R. 4900) that protects American taxpayers and contains a supervisory board and a restructuring process.
Borrowing from a Washington Post summary of the bill, H.R. 4900 would propose a way for Puerto Rico to “…restructure its obligations in cooperation with creditors and, crucially, with diminished opportunities for a minority of ‘holdouts’ to block agreements satisfactory to most.” Additionally, the bill would establish a supervisory board that “…includes a number of provisions that respect and protect the legitimate prerogatives of the island’s legislature and governor, while ensuring that they would not be able to prevent necessary fiscal reforms imposed by the board. Importantly, the bill would present Puerto Rico with a tough but realistic goal — four straight years of balanced budgets…” and it would no longer have a supervisory board.
Though negotiations are ongoing, as it stands, there are two main arguments against the bill.
The first is that this situation is Puerto Rico’s problem. Again, I don’t believe that’s right. I am not certain the proposal from Natural Resources is the right thing to do. But I am certain that Congress doing nothing would be the wrong thing.
The second argument involves the impact this may have on state-issued debt. Some argue that anything close to bankruptcy may cause destabilization of the bond market for states and municipalities. This is a debatable but legitimate concern we are working on.
As I said before and as Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) recently said, “There will be no taxpayer bailout.” He continued, “That is our primary responsibility—to protect the American taxpayer and to help bring order to the chaos that will befall Puerto Rico if the status quo continues in the direction that it’s going.”
Grover Norquist, the president of the conservative Americans for Tax Reform, recently said about H.R. 4900, “My sense is that the House is on track, in the right direction.” He also said, “My understanding is that there’s no federal dollars flowing as part of this.”
The discussion and work on improving the bill is ongoing. I encourage you to continue following this issue.
If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov. Also on my website is the latest material from my office, including information on votes recently taken on the floor of the House of Representatives.
"

April 25 Link Log

(And the Blogjob tags were...Ecuador earthquake, iris flower, medical effects of pesticides, Mexico factory disaster, news quiz, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz.)

Categories: Book Link, Cybersecurity, Disasters, Funny, Health, Introvert, News, Phenology, Women.

Obligatory Book Link 

This is a book I've been reading, at home, with the Spanish vocabulary on the computer; I've had to suspend reading it while the electricity's disconnected. At least I stopped in between some short lyrics (she wrote lots of a sort of carols that were sung in church services, called villancicos) and not in the middle of a play!

Cybersecurity 

Are e-mails "abandoned" after they've sat on your computer without being deleted for six months? Should a special warrant be necessary to open them for law enforcement purposes? Team Popvox shared this link to what may be the most popular bill in the U.S. House of Representatives this year. (If your Representative didn't co-sponsor it, s/he was probably thinking it didn't need help.)

https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/114/hr699

Disasters 

Breaking news shared via Twitter:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-pemex-idUSKCN0XH2N2

Fox News still has a correspondent here:

https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/van-susteren-uses-facebook-live-to-report-from-ecuador/291568

Funny

So the man's in Texas, the write-up's in a British paper, and the link is (re)shared by Dave Barry in Florida?

https://metro.co.uk/2016/04/23/man-set-to-make-100000-a-year-from-personalised-banana-company-5837222/

Health

I read this and thought, "Ferrer and Cummins are really preaching to the choir. I was reading some of these fun facts in Mother's Prevention magazine when I was six." But some Portal Paper readers haven't read them, so here's a nice, vague explanation of...some basics, really. (No, I'm not about to go "fragrance-free." But I am about to suggest that, if you don't want to dig up your own weeds, you hire a deserving U.S. citizen--yes, I would--to dig them up for you, instead of poisoning the whole neighborhood.) Who knows how many marriages Ferrer and Cummins can save.

https://www.organicconsumers.org/essays/hormone-disruptors-everyday-poisons-non-organic-food-body-care-products-water-bottles-and

...And here's one of the stories about the details. (Trust me, there've been thousands.) People who want chlorpyrifos to have one blatantly deadly effect on humans so they can ban it; people who want to be unable to identify its effects so they can dump it on their lawns. What's wrong with this picture? The detail that's being covered up is that all pesticides actually encourage overpopulation of pest species! Don't worry about which poisons are deadlier to humans than others. Human reactions vary. Glyphosate may be quietly giving you cancer instead of making your nose run when you're within half a mile of a recently sprayed field, or making your bowels bleed when you eat sprayed food, the way it does me. Something else may be quietly giving me cancer instead of making my head ache, the way it does you. Why wait until all the facts are in? The bottom line is, everybody's better off if you just don't poison! One year, after you stop trying to poison insects, you have to swat a lot of flies. Next year, natural predators move in, and you see fewer flies than you saw when you were spraying poison.

https://www.bna.com/missing-pesticide-data-n57982070249/

Introvert 

How plastic is the brain? To what extent does bombarding infants with constant outside stimulation inhibit the development of a complete, healthy introvert brain?

https://www.dailygood.org/story/1273/the-capacity-for-successful-solitude-jessica-gross-sherry-turkle/

News

Faithful FOX viewers should ace this quiz.

https://www.billoreilly.com/quiz?action=viewQuiz&categoryID=1&quizID=1087

Phenology 

Cool nights...definitely seem to be more noticeable with altitude this year. At the Cat Sanctuary iris leaves are visible, but flower stalks are not. In town I'm seeing iris flowers blooming already.

Here's a link to an iris photo that appeals to me. The flowers come in almost every color of the rainbow; I like the violet-blue ones and yellow ones best, probably because they're the ones I grew up with.

https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/114749/

Women 

Still unfortunately true for some of my generation. (And also: we don't need jobs, we just need to remarry, not that participants in this delusion have any idea where to find a heterosexual man over age 40 or 50 who can afford to support a wife...) Here I stand to testify that for a significant number of baby-boomers, there may be no consensus as to whether an individual in her 40's, 50's, 60's is still a "girl" or already a geriatric case. (I've watched this in the older generation for years; some of them still think it's cute to pretend they think Grandma Bonnie Peters, age 80, is a fluffy little chick who just wants to flirt.) But there does seem to be a mental block about admitting that she's a competent, experienced woman in the prime of life.

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/how-to-negotiate-a-raise-if-youre-a-woman

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/reasons-you-were-not-promoted-that-are-totally-unrelated-to-gender

Book Review: Introduction to Coin Collecting

(Blogjob tags: coins designed as collection pieces, coins worth more than face value, luster of coins, Uncirculated coin, value of coin collection, value of U.S. coins.)

Title: Introduction to Coin Collecting

Author: Mark Knight

Date: 1996

Publisher: Globe

ISBN: none

Length: 93 pages

Illustrations: black-and-white pictures, often blurry

Quote: “A recent advertisement...offered...an otherwise common Indian Head cent...It was nearly perfect and seemed to be untouched by anyone or anything since being made. His asking price of $2,500 was 100 times what an only slightly inferior, Uncirculated piece of the same date normally costs.”

Yes, coins have some value no matter how much they’ve been handled, but if you really want to cash them in, you must not touch the surfaces of newly minted coins. That's what makes them capital-U Uncirculated. That’s one of the tips Knight has to offer coin collectors. Even clean fingertips contain enough oil to affect coins' "luster" and, thus, their collection value.

Of course, what raw beginners to coin collecting want to know is which coins have unsuspected value higher than their face value, and much of Introduction to Coin Collecting consists of pictures of uncommon coins. All real gold coins are worth more than their face value. Solid silver coins are worth more than their face value. Coins that were used for only a few years, like half-cent, two-cent, and three-cent pieces, are worth more than their face value. Ordinary American coins from some years are worth a little more than their face value, depending on their condition. Prices fluctuate. This book does not give collectors’ prices for recent coins, some of which were always meant to be collection pieces, like the Kennedy half-dollars, Bicentennial quarters, and state quarters that are still in circulation.

Coin collecting is an international hobby. Foreign coins can gain value with age, too, if they are rare, but Introduction to Coin Collecting discusses only U.S. coins. If you decide you want to bother with coins, you’ll probably want to invest in a more comprehensive book. After all, this one’s only an introduction.

It’s easy to read, using some specialized vocabulary but explaining these words as they appear. Introduction to Coin Collecting would be an excellent companion gift for a school-aged child who’s just received a collector’s set of foreign coins, state quarters, etc., and wants to know what other coins may be valuable.

"Mark Knight" is the name of a semi-famous musician. There seems to be no connection to the author. If someone wants to buy Introduction to Coin Collecting here, for $5 per book + $5 per package + $1 per online payment, I'll write to the publisher for further information about the author. This is a small book in any case; you could fit a dozen or more copies into a package (for a total of $65) or add it to the package with one or more Fair Trade Books.

I Feel Venerable

(Blogjob tags: communication in romantic relationships, confusing pairs of words, English words derived from Latin roots, history of religion,history of the English language, word study.)

Not to embarrass anybody...this topic was suggested by some other blogger's post about romantic relationships, in which the blogger (who writes with a charming exotic accent) said that one half of a couple might "feel venerable" in the relationship.

This made me feel sooo venerable...so much older! So...teacher-like! According to Merriam-Webster, the primary meaning of "venerable" in modern U.S. English is "old and respected," especially "respected because of age."

(If you click on the picture, you should be able to buy the book from Amazon; if you use Bing, you can look up the short definitions online.)

The old Latin roots of the word "venerable" form quite an interesting tangle. The short history of this word is that it comes from "venerate," which means to show special honor, reverence, even worship, as to the Roman Emperor. Ancient Romans burned incense in their temples in the emperor's honor, thus affirming their support for his claim to be descended from the sky god Jove or Jupiter ("Jupiter" was a short form of "Jove the father"). Refusing to venerate the Emperor in this way was considered subversive, and early Christians were executed for the "crime" of saving their veneration for Christ.

As Christianity gained popularity in Rome, and the Empire collapsed, Romans eventually began to "venerate" the saints of the early Christian Church, but their understanding of what they were saying about these people, and why, had changed a good deal. By Renaissance times, "Venerable" had become an ordinary title for a senior official in a Christian church (like the Venerable Bede). Today it's often used tongue-in-cheek to describe recent, as distinct from current, pop culture--"the venerable TV cartoons" of the 1960's, e.g.

If you want to dig down into the subsoil, there are obvious connections between "venerate" and Venus, the ancient Roman goddess of sensual love...and "venereal" diseases, the kind people got specifically from doing things that other religions forbade but the cult of Venus allowed. There are also connections to old words for hunting, another practice that was dedicated to Venus in that cult, and hence to "venison," the kind of meat that was most valuable to hunters.

Anyway, although modern Americans are most likely to use "venerate" in a negative sentence ("Psychologists no longer venerate Freud the way the older generation did"), we still occasionally use "venerable" to describe old traditional ideas, customs, and books.

The word the blogger meant was, of course, "vulnerable." (Americans my age usually pronounce the L; younger people often make these two words sound very similar.) "Vulnerable" means "capable of being hurt," as when we're worried that the other person expects more from a relationship than we expect, or want.

The history of "vulnerable" is relatively straightforward; it comes straight from the old Latin word for "wound." (So does "wound"--in some Latin dialects vulnus probably sounded like "wound.") In English "vulnerable" was first used in military contexts ("Low ground is vulnerable to attack from a higher point"), but quickly acquired a more generalized, personal meaning ("This blog is vulnerable to criticism on several points," or "After declaring his passionate love and seeing the indifferent expression on her face, he felt so vulnerable that he began to hate her").

Or, in summary: As a blogger, constantly writing and self-publishing without an editor to blame for any mistakes that you might find, I am vulnerable. But being able to explain this pair of confusing words makes me feel just a little bit venerable...and, thus, less vulnerable. What fun! Thank you, confused foreign blogger!