'look like an altar boy'?

Rose rips steroid users, says Hall hopes helped

Excerpt:

“I never thought anybody would make me look like an altar boy,” Rose said.

“I’ve been suspended 18 years for betting on my own team to win,” he added. “I was wrong ... but these guys today, if the allegations are true, they’re making a mockery of the game.”

Rose was banished from baseball for life in 1989 for betting on games while he was manager of the Cincinnati Reds, his former team. He denied the gambling allegations until 2004, when he came clean in his autobiography. He is not eligible for the Hall of Fame.

“If you’re going to put these guys that supposedly did steroids into the Hall of Fame, I mean I’ve got to get a shot somewhere,” he said.

Rose finished with 4,256 hits, breaking Ty Cobb’s career record.

Comment: Pete should never be in the Hall! I grew up in Cincinnati and in Pete's general neighborhood. He went to Western Hills High ... I went to Oak Hills (adjacent schools). I was a huge Pete Rose fan. But his gambling disqualified him!

John Stumpf on Fast Money

Outlook 2008: Banks

Excerpt:

What is your outlook?

“For next year, it will be more of this year with respect to housing,” says Stumpf. “But from a Wells Fargo perspective, we’ve been operating (in the do more for consumers model) for 20 years or more. It’s served us well in the past and it will be our mantra going forward.”

What is your exposure to future mortgage weakness?

“About 92% of our mortgages are prime mortgages. Only 8% are subprime,” says Stumpf. “And our subprime loans perform twice as well as other banks. Really this is a very small issue for Wells Fargo although a larger one for the industry.”

What do you think about the teaser freezer?

“I think Paulson has done a terrific job,” says Stumpf. “He’s trying to do the right thing. But it’s not going to be a silver bullet. I suspect President Bush will sign FHA reform. .. But this idea of a bailout doesn’t work. In that case the medicine is almost worse than the disease,” he adds.

What are you thoughts on the Fed?

“I think the Fed has done a terrific job so far,” Stumpf replies. “This is somewhat uncharted territory and they’ve been very responsible in their actions as well as responsive.”

Obituary: David E. Layhew Sr.

DAVID E. LAYHEW SR. East Troy, WI/Lake County, IN Age 61 went to be with the Lord Saturday, December 15, 2007. He was born on February 23, 1946 in Pennsylvania to Clyde and Lois (Zembauer) Layhew. He graduated high school in Hobart, Indiana and went on to attend Moody Bible Institute, and Baptist Bible College and Seminary. He was an ordained Minister. He married Elizabeth Reynolds in Hobart, Indiana and they were married for 27 years. He then married Jennifer Nitsche in Apache Junction, Arizona, and they were married until the time of his death. He was a member of the Geneva Lakes Christian Church, and also a member of the NRA. He was a longtime resident of the area. His greatest joy was sharing the Lord with others and being a father, grandfather, and husband. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer; his children: David (Diane) Layhew, Denise (James) Vietti, Samuel Welander and Mary Welander; 10 grandchildren; and a brother, Louis (Donna) Layhew; nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. A funeral service was held at the East Troy Bible Church. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the family are greatly appreciated. Legacy Funeral Services. 2974 Main St., East Troy, WI. 262-642-5057

Published in the Post-Tribune on 12/18/2007.

Comment: I will miss him! He did not let his wheelchair stop him from serving the Lord. Dave had (spinal cord injured folk know about this) the dreaded spinal cord cyst in 1988. He had surgery at Swedish Hospital and recovered at Craig Hospital (Denver). His wife Liz stayed at our home for several weeks (I think perhaps 3 or 4). Swedish and Craig were the paths of my own surgery and rehabilitation!

2007 has been a year where four I have known well have passed: Obituaries

Update: screen image from here on 11/10/19. Images from Denise

Reasonable mortgage rules

When Mortgages Made Sense: Should we go back to using the old-fashioned rules for lending?

Excerpts:

Before the 1930s, many home loans lasted only five years, with borrowers required to make a large "balloon" payment at the end of the term. Homeowners with these loans faced big trouble during the Great Depression, so lending practices changed. Longer-term mortgages (usually 20, 25 or 30 years) became standard, and balloon payments became the exception rather than the norm.

...

During the 1950s and 1960s, Greenstein put borrowers almost exclusively into these FHA and VA loans. They carried a fixed-rate of interest—usually 4 or 4.5 percent. Every borrower underwent a thorough credit check (a laborious process in the days before computers and lightning-fast online approvals). Like all lenders, Greenstein relied on strict ratios to determine how much money someone could afford to borrow. A person's mortgage payment (including taxes and property insurance) couldn't exceed 28 percent of his monthly income. When you added together the family's car loan and the mortgage payment, the total should be below 36 percent of income. "It wasn't set in stone at 28/36; you could make judgment calls," he says, but most borrowers were held to those limits. What about credit card payments? That was rarely an issue, since credit cards didn't start catching on until the late 1950s.

Wikipedia: Debt-to-income ratio

Comment: The crazy increases in home prices are a result of cheap credit and loose lending standards! The housing market is reaping what the mortgage industry sowed!

Fed endorses rules to curb shady lending

Summary:

The Fed, which has regulatory powers over the nation’s banking system, is proposing:

1. Restricting lenders from penalizing certain subprime borrowers — those with tarnished credit or low incomes — who pay off their loans early. The restriction would apply to loans that meet certain conditions, including that the penalty expire at least 60 days before any possible payment increase.
   
2. Forcing lenders to make sure that subprime borrowers set aside money to pay for taxes and insurance.
   
3. Barring lenders from making loans when they don’t have proof of a borrower’s income.
   
4. Prohibiting lenders from engaging in a pattern or practice of lending without considering a borrower’s ability to repay a home loan from sources other than the home’s value.
   

...
When the housing market went bust, subprime loans were most heavily affected.

Of the nearly 3 million subprime adjustable-rate loans surveyed by the Mortgage Bankers Association from July through September, a record 4.72 percent entered the foreclosure process during those months. At the same time, a record 18.81 percent of the subprime adjustable-rate loans were past due.

When home values weakened, borrowers were left with loan balances that eclipsed the value of their homes. They also were clobbered when their loans reset with much higher interest rates.

The Great White Fleet centennial

Why TR Claimed the Seas: The importance of a strong Navy.

Excerpt:

On Dec. 16, 1907, the 16 battleships of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet sailed from Hampton Roads, Va., on a 43,000-mile journey around the world. The occasion was immediately understood as Teddy Roosevelt's way of declaring that the United States, already an economic superpower, was also a military one. Unnoticed by most Americans, this past Sunday marked its centennial.

There is an enduring, bipartisan strain in American politics (think Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich) that wishes to forgo the military role. As wonderfully recounted by Jim Rasenberger in "America 1908," the voyage of the Great White Fleet, as it was popularly known, was energetically opposed by members of Congress, who sought to cut off its funding when it was halfway around the world. Sound familiar? Mark Twain considered the venture as further evidence that TR was "clearly insane . . . and insanest upon war and its supreme glories."

In fact, Roosevelt had sound strategic reasons for putting the fleet to sea. A year earlier, the British had commissioned their revolutionary Dreadnought battleship, setting off an arms race with Germany that helped set Europe on a course to World War I. Labor riots against Japanese immigrants in California had strained relations with Japan, whose dramatic naval victory over Russia at the battle of Tsushima had made the rest of the world keenly aware of this rising Asian power.

"Nearly every day fresh bulletins of sinister Japanese maneuvers appeared in the European and American press," writes Mr. Rasenberger, including rumors of thousands of Japanese troops disguised as Mexican peasants, "preparing to attack America." Roosevelt himself later explained that he had "become uncomfortably conscious of a very, very slight undertone of veiled truculence" from the Japanese. "It was time for a show down."



Comment: Wikipedia: The Great White Fleet . Official site: The Great White Fleet. DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY: The Cruise of the Great White Fleet

Is McCain on the rebound?

McCain's Surge - Why he's making a primary comeback

Excerpts:

Endorsing John McCain for President yesterday, Joseph Lieberman stressed that his Senate colleague would always elevate his country above his party. Coming from a man who was excommunicated by Democrats for his views on Iraq, this was a fitting sentiment--and it may also explain why Mr. McCain seems to be staging something of a primary resurgence.

...

Our guess is that this national security record is the main reason for his own political surge. With the success of General David Petraeus's counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq, even some conservatives have taken to arguing that foreign and military policy will become less important in 2008. We doubt it. This is still a post-9/11 country, and voters know they will be electing a Commander in Chief in a world that is as dangerous as it was during the height of the Cold War. In an election against any Democrat next year, Mr. McCain would have little trouble winning the security debate.

Comment: The Opinion Journal is more confident than I that McCain is surging. But I still like him for his straight talk!

What Illinois town is WEST of the Mississippi?

Kaskaskia, Illinois


View Larger Map


Comment: Don Steinhart from our church was by tonight. Don is our Deacon and he and Amy visited us. Don had this interesting geography / geology tidbit: In 1881, the Mississippi shifted to a new channel, running to the east of the town instead of to the west as before; the state boundary line, however, remained in its original location. Kaskaskia is therefore one of the few portions of Illinois west of the Mississippi.

Dave Layhew -- Home with the Lord

Saturday, 12/15/07, mid-morning, God chose to take Dave Layhew home to heaven. He was on his way from Wisconsin to Chicago to pick up his stepson from the Naval Base for a one day pass. He had stopped at a MacDonald's for a bite of breakfast, and apparently had a heart attack in the van. When he didn't show up at the Naval Base, Sam phoned his Mom and everyone began praying that Dave wasn't stuck in snow. A friend of young David's offered to drive the way Dave would have traveled, and discovered the van. Police were phoned; they broke into the van and found that Dave was already gone to Glory.

Comment: Dave and I were assistant Pastors at Haddon Heights Baptist Church (New Jersey) in the early '80s. He was the assistant Pastor at Bible Baptist Church of Plum Boro, PA when Kathee and I lived in Pittsburgh (late '70s). Dave broke his back while a student at Baptist Bible College and was in a wheel chair for approximately 40 years. I lost touch with Dave for about 10 years but last Summer was able to contact him (after Googling his name and finding his son's address). The above note is from his ex-wife, Liz.

Breaking through "reflexive partisanship"

Lieberman: McCain can reunite our country

Excerpt:

"Being a Republican is important. Being a Democrat is important. But you know what's more important than that? The interest and well-being of the United States of America," the Democrat-turned Independent said in announcing his decision Monday morning in New Hampshire.

"Let's put the United States first again, and John McCain is the man as president who will help us do that," he said.

Lieberman, the Democrats' vice presidential nominee in 2000, said the next president needs to "break through the reflexive partisanship that is poisoning our politics today and stopping us from getting anything done in Washington."

In accepting Lieberman's backing, McCain said, "It is one of the great honors of my political career to have known him, to have worked with him and to have received his endorsement."

The Connecticut senator decided to endorse McCain because he considers him "the most capable to be commander in chief on day one of his administration, and the most capable of uniting the country so that we can prevail against Islamic extremism," a Lieberman aide said earlier.

Comment: McCain needs to win New Hampshire & South Carolina!

The two mavericks

Lieberman to Endorse McCain

Excerpt:

Sen. John McCain, trying to build momentum toward a reprise of his 2000 New Hampshire primary victory, is piling up high-profile endorsements, including one from another political maverick, Sen. Joseph Lieberman.

The Connecticut senator, an independent who was the Democrats' 2000 vice presidential nominee, was scheduled to announce his support for McCain at a town hall meeting Monday morning in Hillsborough.

A Lieberman adviser said the senator decided to back McCain despite being a Republican because he believes his colleague from Arizona "has the best chance of uniting the country in its fight against Islamic terrorism."

Comment: Maverick: an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party. Cold Fusion Guy is a Joe Lieberman fan: Previous CFG Lieberman posts! From August 2006: "I regard Joe Lieberman is one of the finest, genuine, effective Senators of our time."

Cutting off Microsoft's air supply

Microsoft and Google Duke It Out For the Future

Excerpt:

Google President Eric Schmidt thinks that 90 percent of computing will eventually reside in the Web-based 'cloud.' Microsoft faces a business quandary as it tries to link the Web to its existing desktop business — 'software plus Internet services,' in its formulation. 'Microsoft will embrace the Web while striving to maintain the revenue and profits from its desktop software businesses, the corporate gold mine, a smart strategy for now that may not be sustainable,' according to the article. Google faces competition from Microsoft and from other Web-based productivity software being offered by startups, and it is 'unclear at this point whether Google will be able to capitalize on the trends that it's accelerating.' David B. Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard Business School, says the Google model is to try to change all the rules. If Google succeeds, 'a lot of the value that Microsoft provides today is potentially obsolete.' Microsoft used to call this 'cutting off their air supply."

Comment: I've heard but cannot confirm that Intuit will soon offer an Internet based personal financial manager - think Quicken on the Internet. For light computing, Google apps provides a Word-type application and an Internet-only spreadsheet. All this is "the cloud" of computing's future.

The full NYTimes article:

Google Gets Ready to Rumble With Microsoft


Excerpt:

Still, Google Apps aren’t anything other than a natural step in Google’s march to deliver more computing capability to users over the Internet, Mr. Schmidt says.

“For most people,” he says, “computers are complex and unreliable,” given to crashing and afflicted with viruses. If Google can deliver computing services over the Web, then “it will be a real improvement in people’s lives,” he says.

To explain, Mr. Schmidt steps up to a white board. He draws a rectangle and rattles off a list of things that can be done in the Web-based cloud, and he notes that this list is expanding as Internet connection speeds become faster and Internet software improves. In a sliver of the rectangle, about 10 percent, he marks off what can’t be done in the cloud, like high-end graphics processing. So, in Google’s thinking, will 90 percent of computing eventually reside in the cloud?

“In our view, yes,” Mr. Schmidt says. “It’s a 90-10 thing.” Inside the cloud resides “almost everything you do in a company, almost everything a knowledge worker does.”

2nd Amendment: the long-simmering comma war

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Clause and Effect

Excerpt:

The circuit court’s opinion is only the latest volley in a long-simmering comma war. In a 2001 Fifth Circuit case, a group of anti-gun academics submitted an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief arguing that the “unusual” commas of the Second Amendment support the collective rights interpretation. According to these amici, the founders’ use of commas reveals that what they really meant to say was “a well-regulated militia ... shall not be infringed.”

Now that the issue is heading to the Supreme Court, the pro-gun American Civil Rights Union is firing back with its own punctuation-packing brief. Nelson Lund, a professor of law at George Mason University, argues that everything before the second comma is an “absolute phrase” and, therefore, does not modify anything in the main clause. Professor Lund states that the Second Amendment “has exactly the same meaning that it would have if the preamble had been omitted.”

Refreshing though it is to see punctuation at the center of a national debate, there could scarcely be a worse place to search for the framers’ original intent than their use of commas. In the 18th century, punctuation marks were as common as medicinal leeches and just about as scientific. Commas and other marks evolved from a variety of symbols meant to denote pauses in speaking. For centuries, punctuation was as chaotic as individual speech patterns.

The situation was even worse in the law, where a long English tradition held that punctuation marks were not actually part of statutes (and, therefore, courts could not consider punctuation when interpreting them). Not surprisingly, lawmakers took a devil-may-care approach to punctuation. Often, the whole business of punctuation was left to the discretion of scriveners, who liked to show their chops by inserting as many varied marks as possible.

Another problem with trying to find meaning in the Second Amendment’s commas is that nobody is certain how many commas it is supposed to have. The version that ended up in the National Archives has three, but that may be a fluke. Legal historians note that some states ratified a two-comma version. At least one recent law journal article refers to a four-comma version.

Comment: My hope is that the SCOTUS will uphold the Appeals Court and invalidate D.C.'s gun ban

Learning From Esau

Stuff Out Loud: Learning From Esau

Quote:

For every generation, the challenge is the same—to see that there is more to life than a meal, or a video game, or baseball, or a party, or a movie, or an indulgence of some kind—to see, as Paul put it, that "the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Bluto strikes again

The Delta House Congress - The politics of futile gestures

Excerpts:

In the movie "Animal House," the fraternity brother known as Otter reacts to the Delta House's closure with the classic line, "I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part." To which Bluto, played by John Belushi, replies, "We're just the guys to do it." The movie ends by noting that Bluto becomes a Senator, so perhaps this explains the meltdown among Democrats on Capitol Hill.

As they careen toward the end of their first year in charge, Congressional leaders seem capable of nothing but futile gestures.

....
Considering most of their policy goals, this failure is good for the country. But the dysfunction amply shows that Democrats are attempting to govern with an agenda that is too far left even for many in their own party, never mind the country.

Comment: To be fair, the Republican congress of the previous session didn't do much either!

Answers needed:

1. Fiscal reform
   
2. Fix the AMT
   
3. Social security reform
   
4. An immigration policy that works and is not amnesty
   

At the rate the Federal government spends money and with the growing entitlements, this country could be bankrupt in less than a generation.

Tiff taught me that

Slain Colo. missionary mourned in Minn

Excerpts:

"She always told me, 'Dad, you think you can control things, but you can't. The Lord controls things,'" her father, Tom Johnson, told mourners. "I'd like to ask all of you to—instead of saying 'I love you' on the telephone to your children—to look them in the eye and say 'I love you'—because Tiff taught me that."


Johnson was born in nearby Hibbing and graduated from Hibbing High School and Normandale Community College in Bloomington, near Minneapolis.


One of Johnson's goals had been to help needy children in developing countries. John Mark, a missionary leader at Cedar Valley Church in Bloomington, called her a "beautiful and extraordinary lady."


"She was the type of person who would do anything you asked her to do," Mark said. "If you don't have love for Tiffany, something is wrong with your heart."


The Rev. Dave Oler of First Assembly of God Church in Hibbing officiated at the funeral.


"Jesus took Tiffany's life and blessed it and transformed it, and spread it out to the entire world," said Oler. "This world needs more Tiffany Johnsons—more people that would let God love them."


Comment: My thoughts and prayers are with the families touched by the church shootings in Colorado. Not mentioned in this article: The Work family lost 2 young daughters in the Colorado Springs' killings.

More from the Star Tribune: Praise for Chisholm woman killed by gunman in Colorado

Grandmother, Betty Holmquist of Little Canada, said Johnson gave her life to Jesus at an evangelistic event at the Target Center. “It was powerful,” she said. “They weren’t cheering for the Timberwolves, they were cheering for Jesus. We were sitting in the balcony, and when they were done speaking, we asked her if she wanted to go down to the floor. She said, 'I’ll go with you if you go with me.’ ”

Dying, Courage, Love

I thought I would briefly share some thoughts about my Brother-in-Law, Tom Gilbert.

Tom was diagnosed with stage IV Melanoma 4th of July week. The prognosis then was not good, and his chance of survival was less than 10%. He lived 5 months.

Immediately after diagnosis, Tom and Nancy re-worked their wills - bringing them current. Tom turned all of the finances over to Nancy and brought her up to speed on all of the details. Tom also bought a new car for Nancy. (They had 2 14 year old Camrays ... each with over 120K miles). Gradually as Tom's health deteriorated, Nancy provided more and more of Tom's care. As the cancer went to Tom's brain, he became less and less rational and less able to care for himself. Nancy took a leave of absence from work to care for Tom in their home.

Tom was a lovely person who was a tremendous Grandfather. The above pictures were taken on Thanksgiving. Dear little Jessica loved to snuggle with Tom even on his sick bed.

I've known personally three men who faced cancer and died quickly: Rogers Greenman, Warren Gilder, and Tom. All were courageous in the last months of their lives.

Nancy provided excellent care of her husband. The last three weeks of his life, he had hospice care in the home. This involved LPN's, visiting nursers, visiting physicians and my Sister. Nancy faithfully bathed, cleaned, and attended Tom to the minute of his death.

Nancy made the funeral arrangements for Tom. She selected an alternative funeral that was cremation and a memorial service. The hour Tom died (last Saturday) she and the children gathered by Tom's body after his death and mourned for a time. Her Pastor came and spent time with the family.

The memorial service was Wednesday. Nancy had a lot of help. She had between 60 and 80 people at her home. Her manager, church friends, and neighbors all provided food. We had food Tuesday night (when the family gathered), Wednesday after the memorial services, Wednesday night, Thursday night and Friday night. For example, Mother's neighbor Donna brought in a pecan pie. Another church brought in a ham dinner. A neighbor brought in lasagna from the Olive Garden. All of this was very helpful.

Cremation is not my preference, but I think it is just that - a preference! The memorial service and all of the funeral was handled with great dignity.

Because Rogers Greenman, Warren Gilder, and Tom Gilbert were my contemporaries, their deaths strike close to home. At 58, I am cognizant that my days are literally numbered. The Psalmist instructs us: "So teach us to number our days,That we may gain a heart of wisdom" (90:2). James teaches us: "whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." (4:14).

In light of the temporariness of life and the absolute certainty of one's death, it is imperative that one embrace the Savior. John 3:36: "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

The events of the last 5 months and the last 5 days specifically have been instructive to me.

Ecclesiastes 7:4: "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth"

Home from Dallas

Kathee and I arrived home at 3 today. Uneventful travel. We left Mom's at 7:15 a.m. and were at the airport and checked in by 8:15. We had breakfast at the airport. I read several chapters of Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. The author (Jack Weatherford) is a professor at Macalester College.

We had good customer service from Hertz. The check in guy, drove us to the terminal (skipping the bus!). Less walking and very helpful.

As we spent time with family yesterday, Friday was less mournful: My Sister took Kathee out to Coldwater Creek to do some clothes shopping for Kathee for Christmas. My Brother and went out to Frys, the giant electronics store in Arlington. In the afternoon, Mother, Kathee, Roger and I went out to see the movie Enchanted.

Tonight, Roger is making dinner for us. We are glad to be home!

Logan's theology lesson

Logan is a 13 year-old boy who lives on a ranch in a very small town in Nebraska. Logan listens to Christian Radio station 89.3FM KSBJ which broadcasts from Houston, TX. Logan called the radio station distraught because he had to take down a calf . His words have wisdom beyond his years.



Doug Wise, Pastor of Airport Road Baptist, Aurora Colorado, sent this to me.

Thought you would like it!

Dan Stahl's new blog: Jade Ramblings

Jade Ramblings

Comment: Jade Ramblings is Dan Stahl's new blog. Dan and his wife Jennifer are members of Parkers Lake Baptist. Dan works for General Mills and works with me on the Metro Womens Center website.

Dan in his first post said: "Probably the only person who will read this is Jim.". I'm sure, Dan, that a lot of folk will read your blog.

Dan, we are praying for you that you get hired on full time at General Mills!

Dallas aquarium

Dallas aquarium

Today Mom, Nancy, Roger, Kathee and I visited the Dallas aquarium which was very interesting. Hertz upgraded me to a GMC Acadia (the first SUV I've ever driven). This has turned out to be handy as we have made multiple runs to the airport and then today we all rode in the Acadia to Dallas.

Rachel and Roger's wife both arrived safely home to Minneapolis.