tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62885229773059691772024-03-05T22:07:35.389-05:00Community CommentaryFeaturing the Morning Sun's community editorial board . . .Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger216125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-28959385342175415982012-05-27T14:42:00.004-04:002012-05-27T14:53:49.889-04:00Father Doesn’t Know BestBy <a class="meta-per" title="More Articles by Maureen Dowd" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/maureendowd/index.html?inline=nyt-per" rel="author">MAUREEN DOWD</a>Published: May 22, 2012 (The New York Times) <br /><br /> Your parents spill a few secrets as they get older. <br /> One night at dinner with my mom, I ventured that the rhythm method had worked well for her, given that there were six years between my sister Peggy and my brother Kevin, and six more between Kevin and me. She arched an eyebrow. “Well, sometimes your father used something,” she said. <br /> My parents were the most devout Catholics I’ve ever known. But my dad came from a family of 16 in County Clare in Ireland, and my mom’s mother came from a family of 13in County Mayo. So they balanced their faith with a dose of practicality. <br /> After their first three kids, they sagely decided family planning was not soul-staining. So I wasn’t surprised to see the Gallup poll Tuesday showing that 82 percent of U.S. Catholics say birth control is morally acceptable. (Eighty-nine percent of all Americans and 90 percent of non-Catholics agreed.) Gallup tested the morality of 18 issues, and birth control came out on top as the most acceptable, beating divorce, which garnered 67 percent approval, and “buying and wearing clothing made of animal fur,” which got a 60 percent thumbs-up (more from Republicans, naturally, than Democrats). <br /> Polygamy, cloning humans and having an affair took the most morally offensive spots on the list. “Gay or lesbian relations” tied “having a baby outside of marriage,” with 54 percent approving. That’s in the middle of the list, above a 38 percent score for abortion and below a 59 percent score for “sex between an unmarried man and woman.” <br /> The poll appeared on the same day as headlines about Catholic Church leaders fighting President Obama’s attempt to get insurance coverage for contraception for women who work or go to college at Catholic institutions. The church insists it’s an argument about religious freedom, not birth control. But, really, it’s about birth control, and women’s lower caste in the church. It’s about conservative bishops targeting Democratic candidates who support contraception and abortion rights as a matter of public policy. And it’s about a church that is obsessed with sex in ways it shouldn’t be, and not obsessed with sex in ways it should be. <br /> The bishops and the Vatican care passionately about putting women in chastity belts. Yet they let unchaste priests run wild for decades, unconcerned about the generations of children who were violated and raped and passed around like communion wine. <br /> They still have not done a proper reckoning, and the acrid scandal never ends. In the midst of a landmark trial in Philadelphia charging Msgr. William Lynn with covering up sexual abuse by priests and then recirculating the perverts, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Sunday that two priests in their 70s who worked in parishes and hospitals had abused minors at some point and were unfit for ministry. <br /> This follows five priests sidelined earlier this month because of substantiated claims of sexual abuse or other violations, plus 17 others suspended after last year’s sickening grand jury report on rampant sexual abuse in the Philadelphia Archdiocese. <br /> Some leading Catholic groups endorsed the compromise struck by the Obama administration that put the responsibility for providing the contraceptives on the insurance companies, not religious institutions. But others wanted to salute the Vatican flag and keep fighting. On “CBS This Morning” on Tuesday, the pugnacious Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York rejected the compromise and charged that the White House is “strangling” the church. Interpreting the rule in the most extreme way to scare Catholics, he said: “They tell us if you’re really going to be considered a church, if you’re going to be really exempt from these demands of the government, well, you have to propagate your Catholic faith and everything you do, you can serve only Catholics and employ only Catholics.” <br /> The Archdiocese of Washington put an equally alarmist message in the church bulletins at Sunday’s Masses, warning of apocalyptic risk: <br /> “1. Our more than 600 hospitals nationwide, which will need to stop non-Catholics at the emergency room door and say, ‘We are only allowed by the government to heal Catholics.’ <br /> “2. Our schools, which will be required to say to non-Catholic parents, ‘We are only allowed by the government to educate Catholics.’ <br /> “3. Our shelters, on cold nights, which will be required to say to the homeless who are non-Catholics, ‘We are only allowed by the government to shelter Catholics.’ <br /> “4. Our food pantries, which will be forced to say to non-Catholics, ‘the government allows us only to satisfy the hunger of Catholics.’ ” <br /> The church leaders headed to court hope to undermine the president, but they may help him. Voters who think sex is only for procreation were not going to vote for Obama anyway. And the lawsuit reminds the rest that what the bishops portray as an attack on religion by the president is really an attack on women by the bishops.Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-43175453453270857042012-03-19T10:01:00.001-04:002012-03-19T10:09:53.108-04:00When Spring has Sprung<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of the gray, dingy,
cold, depressing, miserable, disappointing Winter of our discontent. The last few days have been saying, "Well, the
wait is just about over."</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We orbit the Sun every 365.24+ days each year. Think of a
clock face, with the Winter Solstice at 12 o’clock, and the Summer Solstice at
6 o’clock. Our planet moves counterclockwise on the clock face. Earth is now
very near 9 o’clock, the Spring, or Vernal Equinox for the Northern Hemisphere.
At 3 o’clock there is the Autumnal Equinox. (The Southern Hemisphere reverses
these: they are entering their fall.)</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you join 12
o’clock to 6 o’clock with a line you have the major axis of our elliptical path
around the Sun. Join 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock with another line you have the
minor axis. If you could draw a circle with a very large compass (placing its
point at where the two lines cross each other and the pencil at 9 o’clock), the
area of the resulting circle would be 98% of the area of the ellipse: our orbit
is said to be a 98% ellipse.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now, the Sun and the Earth are moving rather quickly, so
the exact moment of the Vernal Equinox for us this year will be at <span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5:14 am Coordinated Universal
Time (UTC) on March 20</span>. (The Sun and the whole Solar System are moving
in an orbit around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy at a velocity of 828,000
km/hr, making one rotation in about 230 million years.)</span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #323232; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“UTC is the basis for time in many places around the world. It
uses a 24-hour time scale, which is determined using highly precise atomic
clocks. Time zones around the world are expressed as positive or negative
offsets from UTC. The hours, minutes, and seconds that UTC expresses is kept
close to the mean solar time at the earth's prime meridian (zero degrees
longitude) located near Greenwich, England” </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(</span><a href="http://www.timeanddate.com/"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">www.TimeandDate.com</span></a><span style="color: #323232; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">). </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We are 5 hours earlier than UTC, so the Vernal Equinox will occur
at 12:14 am local time. <span style="color: #333333;">(The folks in the Southern
Hemisphere will enter Autumn, and will have to wait until September 22 for
Spring.) </span><span style="color: white;">Yes, the Sun</span></span><span style="color: white;"> – in</span><span style="color: #323232; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cultures throughout history have celebrated the coming of
Spring, thanking the gods for delivering them from the miseries of Winter.
Sacrifices, feasts, wild parties and lots to drink were accessories to this
time. It was important to know when Spring arrived so farmers knew when to
plant their crops. The atmosphere was one of joy and rebirth.<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Among the oldest such festival is Passover, a Jewish
celebration of Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt. Christian Easter, the
most important celebration in their calendar follows from this. Jesus was
crucified after the Passover feast of Seder, in 30 CE. (See my column of
3/7/2011 for the problem with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anno Domini</i>.)
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Easter is a <em>moveable feast</em></span></span><a href="http://catholicism.about.com/od/Catholic-Dictionary/g/Moveable-Feast-Definition-Of-Moveable-Feast.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">,
which means that it does not occur on the same date every year.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Council of Nicaea (325 CE)
set the date as the Sunday following the paschal full moon, which is the full
moon that falls on or after the Vernal ( or Spring) Equinox. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Returning to our clock face, the Moon orbits Earth with
one half always in sunlight. We see it as “full” when the centers of the Sun,
Moon and Earth line up. The full moon after March 20 will be at 3:28:26 pm on
April 6 this year. (They’ve got that down to the second!)</span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Easter Sunday for Western Christians falls on April 8, 2012.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Christian churches use March 21 as the starting point in
determining the date of Easter, from which they wait for the Sunday following
the next full moon. The Eastern Orthodox</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox" title="Eastern Orthodox"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and Oriental Orthodox</span><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Churches continue to use the Julian calendar. Their starting point in determining the date of Orthodox
Easter is April 3 in the Gregorian calendar. In addition, the lunar tables of
the Julian calendar are 4 days (sometimes 5 days) behind those of the Gregorian
calendar. The 14th day of the lunar month according to the Gregorian system is
only the 9th or 10th day according to the Julian. The result of this
combination of solar and lunar discrepancies is divergence in the date of
Easter in most years. Orthodox Easter will be on April 15.</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Spring is certainly a worthy time.</span>Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-46519314400868391762012-03-15T13:25:00.003-04:002012-03-15T13:25:37.420-04:00TransCanada Keystone Pipeline<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1ttiVf4JyoEZrOUSYU5beoR5dh0gLcTjV1KpPtKAsxr7_WBppy2_se-Oy2VsriuGgXrfdNUq2ms0H7x5s-nXCL1y7UGoXbWzqaJdmZi5C6I05Lgvd7lrNSNvXYcN9zFPYhxInyVKhQE/s1600/scan0001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1ttiVf4JyoEZrOUSYU5beoR5dh0gLcTjV1KpPtKAsxr7_WBppy2_se-Oy2VsriuGgXrfdNUq2ms0H7x5s-nXCL1y7UGoXbWzqaJdmZi5C6I05Lgvd7lrNSNvXYcN9zFPYhxInyVKhQE/s400/scan0001.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Source: Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2012, page B1.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Extending the Keystone pipeline that the TransCanada
Corp. uses to transport crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to storage hubs in
Patoka, IL and Cushing, OK would increase the amount of oil exports. The company
and the White House recently announced that the 435 mile extension south of
Cushing to Port Arthur and Houston would be completed by 2013 and will
transport 700,000 barrels per day. At present the pipeline drops south from
Hardisty toward the Canadian border, east toward the eastern edge of North
Dakota then south to Cushing, with a branch from Steele City, Kansas east to
Patoka.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A “short cut” in this pipeline from Hardisty to Steele
City would increase capacity. The White House has delayed the start of this
stretch to complete an environmental study on the impact on Nebraska’s aquifer.
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-51734984577297121742012-03-08T15:42:00.001-05:002012-03-08T15:43:41.413-05:00Rush Limbaugh’s Apology?<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">After
spending three days on his radio show calling Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown law
student who testified in front of Congress about the importance of health
insurance coverage, names like “slut” and “prostitute,” Rush Limbaugh did
something unusual: he apologized.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Just
kidding!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It’s
being reported as an apology, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/media/2012/03/03/437166/limbaugh-apologizes-fluke/" title="http://thinkprogress.org/media/2012/03/03/437166/limbaugh-apologizes-fluke/"><span style="color: blue;">but
if you actually read it, it’s not</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In
this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did
not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In
other words, Limbaugh is saying that there’s nothing wrong with his belief that
women who use contraception---that is, 99 percent of American women---are
immoral, filthy sluts. He just wishes that he had chosen better euphemisms,
perhaps “hussy” and “lady of the night” while arguing that the only proper
course for women who don’t want to get pregnant is to abstain from sex
completely. (Limbaugh very pointedly doesn’t suggest this to men. On the
contrary, he demands that women provide sex tapes if they dare use
contraception, so he can masturbate to them. While celibacy is required for
women in Limbaugh’s world, he has no problem with male sexuality. Or Viagra
coverage, for that matter.)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">By
the way, we’re already aware that he wasn’t just making a personal attack on
Fluke. Since 99 percent of American women use contraception---and since
contraception is already covered by insurance and subsidized by the
government---Limbaugh was using Fluke as a stand-in to argue that every woman
who has ever had sex for any other reason than procreation is a bad person. In
other words, pretty much all women. Which is a way of saying that Limbaugh
wasn’t attacking Fluke, but just using her for a punching bag to express his
hatred of all women.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
non-apology involved him doubling down on this argument:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I
think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times,
we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of
Congress. I personally do not agree that American citizens should pay for these
social activities.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Worth
repeating that Limbaugh continues to only detest the “sexual recreational
activities” of women; Viagra coverage continues to go without a whit of
criticism. But let’s break this argument apart. First of all, Limbaugh is
acting like insurance coverage of contraception is a new idea; in fact, it’s
been around for decades now, so his supposition that women who use it are
prostitutes really is universal to women. Second of all is his claim that
“American citizens” are the ones on the hook when we’re debating private
insurance coverage of contraception. Well, I suppose American citizens ARE on
the hook. After all, the women using the contraception are the ones paying for
it and they are American citizens.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Conservatives
keep arguing about this as if private health insurance were some monetary
redistribution program. In fact, the health insurance women use to pay for
these services is theirs, just as surely as their wages are theirs. Insurance
you get through your employer is paid for by you through a combination of labor
and money. Limbaugh’s claims that he’s paying for my contraception when I use
my insurance to pay for it make as much sense as Limbaugh taking over my
checking account and declaring it’s his money. It’s true that taxpayers
subsidize access to contraception for low-income women through programs like
Title X and Medicaid---rightly, since public health is a concern of the
taxpayer---but that’s not actually the money in dispute here.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We
can safely say therefore that money thing is just a distraction technique. This
is just Limbaugh using the occasion of contraception being in the news to wage
all-out war on women who have sex for pleasure, instead of grimly enduring it
to make babies. The fact that he believes that more sex is more wicked confirms
this, as did his assurance than any parent of a grown woman would be mortified
to discover that their daughter acts like the vast majority of people her age
and has sex.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Will
Limbaugh get away with having this taken as an apology, even though he’s still
arguing that all women are sluts (while just apologizing for the word, probably
vowing to use “hussy” in the future instead)? Sadly, I have to guess so.
Conservatives have become masters at playing the “who me?” game, insisting that
you can’t label even the most egregious racism and sexism for what it is unless
they manage to utter certain words. Unfortunately, the mainstream press has
gone along with this.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Take,
for instance, how conservative insistence that it can’t be racist unless you
utter the infamous N-word works out so well for them. Limbaugh is a good
example. But for his avoidance of the N-word, it would be easy to mistake
Limbaugh’s show in recent months for speeches made at KKK rallies. On a
near-daily basis, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/research/201201120016" title="http://mediamatters.org/research/201201120016"><span style="color: blue;">Limbaugh has been ginning
up outrage</span></a> that black people live in the White House, making it utterly
clear that he believes their race should prevent them from having the nice
things he himself enjoys. He argues that Obama’s race means that the President
is trying to destroy this country, spinning paranoid conspiracy theories about
how Obama is leading some kind of black takeover as an act of “revenge.” While
Limbaugh miraculously avoids the N-word on a daily basis, however, he has
played around with the racial epithet “Oreo,” and also describing Michelle
Obama with the loaded word “uppity.” There hasn’t been a national outrage
around this, because our discourse has lost all interest in nuance and context,
and everything has been reduced to policing for certain words. Absent those
words, apparently, any kind of racism or sexism is just fine.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
response of some politicians confronted with this speaks clearly to this
problem. Mitt Romney, <a href="http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/where-did-they-find-this-guy.html" title="http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/where-did-they-find-this-guy.html"><span style="color: blue;">when
asked about this</span></a>, said, “I'll just say this which is it’s not the language
I would have used,” which sounds like he’s agreeing with the contention that
all women who use birth control are sluts, but he just prefers to use
euphemisms to advance the basic argument. <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/02/santorum-limbaugh-entertainer-comment-absurd/" title="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/02/santorum-limbaugh-entertainer-comment-absurd/"><span style="color: blue;">Rick
Santorum dismissed the whole thing</span></a> as “absurd,” even though he’s made the
same idea---that 99 percent of American women, including his own wife, are
deviants who are bringing ruin to this country---a major talking point of his
campaign. Regardless of what word you use to paint the whole of womanhood as
disgusting creatures whose sexual desires make them monsters, it still should
be treated as unacceptable. I don’t have much faith that will happen, however. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">by
<a href="http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/user/amanda-marcotte" title="http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/user/amanda-marcotte"><span style="color: blue;">Amanda Marcotte</span></a>,
RH Reality Check<o:p></o:p></span>Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-69509497264161061142012-03-03T15:37:00.001-05:002012-03-03T15:37:57.287-05:00RUSH LIMBAUGH ATTACKS ALL WOMEN When Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown Law School student, testified before Congress to protest rightwing attacks to limit women's access to birth control, Rush Limbaugh called her a "slut" and a "prostitute." Here's what Limbaugh actually said: "What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute... She wants to be paid to have sex. She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception."<br />
<br />
1. Unfortunately, what Rush Limbaugh says matters. He has a bigger audience than any other commercial radio host in the country, and what he talks about on air has the power to drive the Republican agenda — an agenda that is already obsessed with radical backslides of womens' ability to protect their own health.<br />
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2. Tell Rush Limbaugh's advertisers: Stop Supporting Rush Limbaugh's attacks on women.<br />
Sandra Fluke's testimony before Congress included important points about why access to affordable birth control is so crucial, including the story of a friend who had lost an ovary because she couldn't afford the birth control needed to manage her ovarian cysts. Rush's unforgivable translation of that was "slut" and "prostitute." Sandra Fluke rightly has called Rush Limbaugh's comments "an attack on all women."<br />
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3. We agree. Every American enjoys the right to free speech, but that doesn't mean that advertisers who are accountable to their customers should pay people like Rush Limbaugh who make such appallingly hateful and sexist comments. Already the mattress retailer Sleep Train has pulled its advertisements, explaining in a Tweet: "We are pulling our ads with Rush Limbaugh and appreciate the community's feedback." <br />
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4. Rush's other advertisers need to hear from us loud and clear — if you advertise on Rush Limbaugh, you are supporting his reprehensible attacks on women. Tell Rush Limbaugh's advertisers: Stop Supporting Rush Limbaugh's attacks on women.<br />
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In the fight against the Susan G. Komen Foundation we proved that when women and the men who support them fight back against those who would restrict women's access to healthcare, we can win. And MSNBC's recent firing of commentator Pat Buchanan after a campaign protesting his white supremacist rhetoric shows that there will be consequences when certain lines are crossed. Rush Limbaugh has a long history of hateful rhetoric. But with his comments this week, Rush Limbaugh has crossed the line at a moment when women, and the men who believe in equal rights for women, are more organized than ever and are ready to fight back. We will not let the rightwing take away women's access to birth control. We will not let Republicans brand women who assert their right to health care as "sluts" and "prostitutes." <br />
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Becky Bond, Political Director CREDO Action from Working AssetsEd Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-28819865868750018992012-02-05T13:52:00.000-05:002012-02-05T13:52:09.970-05:00CMU Students Build Benches for Art Reach Chair Affair<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Dr. Alan Papendick and students from the CMU Engineering & Technology Club designed and built benches for the 2011 Art Reach Chair Affair. They were so well received that Dr. Papendick and some ofhis students were hard at work on Saturday, February 4 building 15 more for the 2012 Chair Affair.</div>
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The students include Dr. Papendick’s son, Brian, Ryan Lewis, Garrett Mancillas, David Nadeau, Angela Grisdale, and Jillian and Jayson Raymond.<br />
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Later this Spring local artists, art educators and their students will decorate them for the event.<br />
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Below are photos of the prototype bench and students at work. The dim circles in the pictures are sawdust particles in the air.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfnvLY_yNCk_jnmWCRgWLIxbkGBdI4aMsraJ0B0VedYDCSJwWeNTQRZlsuCaT1d25Z28etOrxulAuqfTDu2bR1_gQv4FPweHTf_MFMLUj3Fms85fvsISydxCwTnm4H1pjlyFP8DAfhGI/s1600/IMG_2024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfnvLY_yNCk_jnmWCRgWLIxbkGBdI4aMsraJ0B0VedYDCSJwWeNTQRZlsuCaT1d25Z28etOrxulAuqfTDu2bR1_gQv4FPweHTf_MFMLUj3Fms85fvsISydxCwTnm4H1pjlyFP8DAfhGI/s320/IMG_2024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-82788791571516722892012-01-26T13:26:00.000-05:002012-01-26T13:26:02.606-05:00Bats in Our BelfryBats are extremely valuable animals, too often feared by those who don’t know them. All in Michigan eat more than their weight in harmful insects each evening. Web sites are included for more detail.<br />
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Bats are the only true flying mammals. Like humans, they give birth to live young and produce milk with which to feed them. Unlike humans, father bats sometimes do the nursing. Bats belong to the mammalian order Chiroptera, which means "hand-wing." The bones in their wings are similar to those found in human hands and arms, only they are elongated and connected by a double membrane of skin. The tragus, which resembles a pointy satellite dish in front of the ear, helps them interpret returning sound waves during echolocation. <br />
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http://www.scientificamerican.com/slideshow.cfm?id=secret-lives-of-bats <br />
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There are 9 species of bats in Michigan. All Michigan bats use echolocation to search for food, and feed exclusively on insects. <br />
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http://www.crittercatchersinc.com/critters/bats/MI_bat_species.html <br />
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Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fucus) <br />
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A colonial bat that prefers hot attics, shutters, bat houses and trees for roosting. The big brown bat is the most common bat to be found in Oakland County and surrounding areas. Colonies of females tend to form in the spring and summer and number 20-500 members. Males typically roost alone or together in groups numbering less than 4 or 5. During the night, they may roost on porches as they take a break from feeding. During the winter, months, this species is commonly found hibernating in walls and attics. They periodically awaken (every couple weeks), and can accidentally get into the living quarters. <br />
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During the summer, the Big Brown Bat usually emerges from its roost about 20 minutes after sunset to forage for insects. The big brown bat can be identified by a 13 inch wingspan and a reddish brown to dark brown coat. Additionally, they appear to be puffy around the nose when compared to the little brown bat. <br />
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Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) <br />
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A colonial bat that is found throughout Michigan, however is frequently observed in the more northern parts of the state. They are commonly observed to be using echolocation to capture insects that are flying over lakes and ponds. They can be identified by a 10 inch wingspan with a reddish brown to dark brown coat. Large colonies consisting of hundreds or even thousands of members commonly take up residence in hot attics or cabins. <br />
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Eastern Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis) <br />
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A solitary bat with a 12 inch wingspan. The coat is bright orange to yellowish brown. There is unusual white marking on the shoulders. The females raise between 1-4 young and spend most of their time in trees. Although this species is common in Michigan, it is not normally found in homes, due to its preference to roost in trees. On occasion, this bat may enter homes through open windows. However, since this bat species is solitary, it would not indicate that a colony is present. <br />
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The Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus) <br />
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A solitary bat that can be quickly identified by dark hairs tipped with white. The wingspan is approximately 15 inches. The bat also has a yellow to orange throat. This bat spends most of its time in trees and is not commonly observed in Michigan homes. <br />
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Tri-Colored Bat (Perimyotis subflavus)<br />
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Formally known as the Eastern Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus) , but reclassified in 2008. A colonial bat that is found in the upper peninsula. The wingspan is approximately 9 inches. The bat is one of the smallest species found in the United States. On occasion this bat is mistaken for a large moth. It is rare for this species to colonize in buildings. <br />
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Silvered Haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) <br />
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A solitary bat sporting a black coat tipped with silver. The wingspan stretches 11 inches. They typically roost behind loose tree bark, but may roost on tall buildings or churches. This bat is uncommon in Michigan. <br />
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Indiana Bat (Myotis solidalis) <br />
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This species of bats numbers less than 300,000 in the world and is an endangered species. The Indiana bat can be identified by its dull brown to grey fur with a pinkish tale membrane. They look similar to the big brown bat, however their fur extends beyond their toe nails. They tend to roost in dead or hollow trees in the summer, and form large winter colonies in limestone caves. <br />
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Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis) <br />
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A colonial bat with a 10 inch wingspan. It can be confused with the big brown or the little brown bat, however the evening bat can be identified by its blunt tragus at the base of the ear. This bat's upper range includes the very southern parts of Michigan. This is a threatened species. <br />
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Northern Long-eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis) <br />
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Female Northern Long-eared Bats form small colonies, while the males roost alone during the summer. This bat sports a pale to dark brown coat and has a 10 inch wingspan. The Long-eared bat typically flies in forested areas and will capture insects in flight or on the ground. They prefer to roost in hollow trees or under bark, and are rarely found under shutters. <br />
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<br />Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-23338577282054587742012-01-22T14:58:00.002-05:002012-01-22T14:58:40.486-05:00Students Report on ArtStudents at Mary McGuire Elementary School sixth graders in Mrs. Carroll’s and Mrs. Walter’s class reported on the works of various artists. Each had been given a postcard with a painting by a well known artist. They researched facts about the artist and how they felt about the image they had been given. They told about what they liked and/or disliked about their picture.<br />
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Below are some of the comments, in no particular order. Artist and painting are in parentheses. <br />
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Bobby: (Auguste Renoir, Le Pont Neuf) “I like this painting because it was painted at the right time, on the right day, and is a very classic work of art that shows what a fine day it was that time in Paris.”<br />
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Dakota: (Winslow Homer, Early Morning after a Storm at Sea) “This painting makes me think of a storm rolling in over the sea with gloom, despair, and the feeling that life has NO meaning.”<br />
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Audrey: (Marguerite Gerard, Jeune Femme) “What I like about this picture is she put two girls. One of the girls she drew was sitting down. The girl was little like a toddler standing on the older lady’s lap.”<br />
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Addison: (Stuart Davis, Report from Rockport) “The picture isn’t realistic. It looks cartoonish and real abstract. It seems like the right of the picture is more scribbles but the way they are arranged makes the art look really cool.”<br />
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Danny: (Claude Monet, Torrent, Creuse) “The design is like a wavy snake. It also has pretty much all the colors. This picture looks virtual. It also has the elements of design. It has wave length to it.”<br />
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Haley: (Thomas Cole, The Course of Empire: The Savage State) “The light on the one side looks like it’s rising and the cloudy night is going away. It’s the perfect amount of light showing. It’s a great piece of artwork and it has a great feel to it.”<br />
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Shailyn: (Jasper Francis Cropsey, Shad Fishing on the Hudson) “What I like about this painting is that beaming sun at the river and how the river is a nice blue green to it and how the colors seem to really interesting.”<br />
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Gabby: (Stuart Davis, Report-Rockport) “At the age of 16, Davis dropped out of high school to study with Robert Henri at the artist’s school in New York. His parents weren’t the least bit worried over his decision.”<br />
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Bailey: (Stuart Davis, Artists against War and Fascism) “I like this picture. I like it because it brings out an inner child as though watching an old cartoon. Stuart Davis paints abstract that is one of my favorite kinds of painting. I have learned that can be all different types.”<br />
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Hailey: (Adelaide Labille-Guiard, Portrait de Femme) “I also like how the light is shining on her face. It makes if look more realistic. The background is black and it makes it focus more on the (face).”<br />
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Erica: (Paul Cezanne, House of Pere Lacroix) “I would like to look at other paintings by Paul Cezanne. I like the way he paints. This place is peaceful. I would like to go to this place but not for long because it would get lonely being in the woods all alone.”<br />
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CJ: (Edward Hopper, New York Office) “I like this painting. It is painted with oil paints. I like how a lot of his paintings are done in oil. I think it kind of gives like a glow more than regular paint. I also like the setting in New York.”<br />
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Austin: (Edward Hopper, Talbot’s House) “The thing that catches my eye when I first look at it si the red/orange chimney. The picture is mostly bright colors. I like this painting. It reminds me of my friend’s big house.”<br />
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Zeek: (John Sloan ,The City, from Greenwich Village) “What I don’t like is that there is like a sunset sky in one area, with a little empire. I think the whole sky should be black, so the lights in the city would stand out more.”<br />
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Ty: (Camille Pissarro, The Climbing Path) “If I were in this picture I would think it’s calm and relaxing and warm to play outside or take a hike or a walk because if looks really nice out….I had fun doing the research and finding cool things about people that I didn’t know about until now.”<br />
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Devin: ( Stuart Davis, Terrace) “ I like this piece because it’s colorful and wild and it’s abstract which is my favorite kind of art.”<br />
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Caleb: (Georges Braque, Peonies) “My eye is attracted to the sphere fruit on the table first. I think I’m attracted it that part first because they’re a bright color and they are right in the foreground of the picture.”<br />
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Austin: (John George Brown, View of the Palisades) “The colors of this painting really grab your eye. I think that it applies the rule of ninths. This is beautiful oil on canvas. The middle of this painting is towards the boats. There is one that’s really close to the middle of the painting.”<br />
Eryana: (Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Young Girl at the Piano) “The painting is oil on canvas. It’s very bright in some parts, and he is reusing some of the colors in different places.”<br />
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Rebecca: (Worthington Whittredge, The Old Hunting Grounds) “I feel I can relate because my gma and I went hunting before.”<br />
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Cody: (Winslow Homer, The Signal of Distress) “I really like the painting. It was of the sea. I feel like fishing and swimming.”<br />
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Alex: (Samuel Colman, Storm King on the Hudson) “Where was the artist born and where? Portland, Maine in 1832. When did the artist make the painting? 1866.”<br />
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Eric: (Winslow Homer, Weatherbeaten) “When I look at this painting I feel like there is a storm going on. I don’t like it because it’s just weird because it’s just water and logs.”<br />
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Jade: (Frederic Edwin Church, Twilight in the Wilderness) “The painting is pretty and makes me feel the comfort of wide open spaces of the woods.”<br />
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Megan: (Berthe Morisot, Mme. Boursier and her Daughter) “I don’t like this picture because I like pictures that have a lot going on and this is too simple. When I look at the picture I feel bored because there isn’t a lot to look at.”<br />
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Morgan: (Thomas Chambers, View from West Point) “The painting makes me feel happy and relaxed because everything in the painting is so peaceful looking. The water looks so still and the sail boats are passing through.”<br />
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Amber: (Frederic Edwin Church, Winter Landscape from Olana) “I feel sad because he used a lot of white and dark colors. I like the painting because it looks real and the snow looks like real snow.”<br />
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Bryan: (Mary Cassatt, Mother and Child) “The painting “Mother and Child” was made in 1900. The painting made me feel at home when I looked at it.”<br />
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Bryan: (Thomas Doughty, View of Highlands from Newburgh, New York) “Did you like the painting? Explain. Yes, because it makes me calm and relaxed and it makes me feel as if I was there.”<br />
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Lillie: (Albert Bierstadt, Seal Rock) “When I look at this picture I feel calm but at the same time excited. I feel calm because the seals are just lounging around and I feel excited because there is a huge wave about to crash down on the rock where the seals are. I like this picture because it combines my two favorite things: water and animals.”<br />
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Lacy: (Thomas Cole, Sunny Morning on the Hudson River) “When I look at this painting I feel like I’m there looking over the landscape. I think this is because the artist used enough details to make it seem as though you are actually there.”<br />
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Cheyenne: (John Sloan, The White Way) “When I look at this painting I feel cold and calm because the snow on the ground is very cold and the city looks empty.”<br />
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Corey: (Worthington Whittredge, Crossing the Ford, Platte River, Colorado) “Whittredge was born in a log cabin near Springfield, Ohio in 1820. He painted landscapes and portraits as a young man in Cincinnati before traveling to Europe in 1849 to further his artistic training.”<br />
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Joe: (Stuart Davis, Terrace) “Davis’ shift to abstraction was not an immediate one. He tool time…to become a ‘modern’ artist. He explored both Post-Impressionism and Fauvist canvases.”<br />
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Jullian: (John Frederick Kensett, Lakes and Mountains) “I really like this painting because it’s a beautiful nature landscape. When I look at it, I feel calm because the water looks calm and it’s pretty.”<br />
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Jasmine: (Frederick Edwin Church, West Rock, New Haven) “When I look at the painting I see the country and I live in the country so I can relate to the picture. I feel at peace and relaxed, it is like I am on a cloud.<br />
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Emily: (Edward Hopper, The Mansard Roof) “I feel sad when I look at the picture because if just looks dreary and gloomy to me. I like the painting because you can see his brush strokes and there is lots of detail.”<br />
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Kayla: (Marguerite Gerard, Jeune Femme et l’Enfant) “I feel sad with this painting because it makes you cry if you lost family…The mother looks worried that something bad might have happened.”<br />
<br />Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-29968565128568349772012-01-19T15:51:00.001-05:002012-01-19T15:53:00.555-05:00Lenae Baldwin Reports on BierstadtLate in 2011, 6th graders at Mary McGuire Elementary School, Mt. Pleasant, were given postcards of famous works of art. On January 9, 2012, they turned in reports on what they learned about the artist and the work. Below is a Power-Point presentation done by Lenae Baldwin.It is a remarkable project. Lenae loves to dance and participates in several dance classes. She hunts, fishes, and goes ice fishing. She is a busy lady. She plays softball and the position she loves is pitching. She does an excellent job in the classroom and loves to share and interact with her peers. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfm7Hfuj4PIFWfDem7kR-3B6oFUgycNV39O-4aScBOYChHWy0eJzp-lPiswq376hvQ-shVFhUIT024PSBMdmDDunO53sGbDjk9VkOzs0Bom_uJ-scqOHIC44Dfe8cOKVgiGAROPn3Bb_g/s1600/Lenae+Baldwin+3a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfm7Hfuj4PIFWfDem7kR-3B6oFUgycNV39O-4aScBOYChHWy0eJzp-lPiswq376hvQ-shVFhUIT024PSBMdmDDunO53sGbDjk9VkOzs0Bom_uJ-scqOHIC44Dfe8cOKVgiGAROPn3Bb_g/s640/Lenae+Baldwin+3a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-58770500046600306602012-01-11T10:44:00.001-05:002012-01-11T10:44:45.447-05:00Sexism in LansingWhile a new year is upon us, an age-old problem is rearing its ugly head in the Capitol: sexism.<br />
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As a female legislator, I often speak to groups of women -- from Girl Scouts and graduates to fellow female attorneys and aspiring politicians. I share my personal experiences and discuss the myriad of challenges females face in elected office. But I rarely convey how much chauvinism and sexism still go on in politics today because, quite frankly, I am embarrassed by it. I do not have the heart to tell a classroom full of girls that the same attitudes and animosity they encounter on the playground persist to our highest levels of government.<br />
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Sexism in the Legislature is usually more latent, but as of late it has become particularly blatant. Recently state Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, publicly and premeditatedly compared a prominent female professional in Lansing to a "hooker."<br />
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Everyone knows how supercharged such terms are, and this is a new low in a political realm that is already known for its cheap shots and name-calling. This is completely out of line, and I am appalled that anyone, let alone a legislative colleague, would exercise such inappropriate conduct.<br />
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Sadly, this is just the most recent and most prominent incident in a pattern of Jones' boorish and chauvinistic behavior and his leadership's apparent willingness to tolerate it.<br />
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This issue goes beyond a single remark from an individual legislator. Political discourse is decaying at an alarming rate. Debate has dwindled to degradation. From when I was first elected to now, the Legislature seems to be going backward in terms of the respect and decency in the way people are treated -- for both women and men.<br />
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When Jennifer Granholm was elected as Michigan's first female governor in 2002, it should have been a time when women of both parties felt empowered. Instead, it resulted in an apparent backlash toward female candidates and contributed to a dramatic decrease in the number of women elected and serving.<br />
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It is going to be difficult to change that and attract more female leaders if the Neanderthal quotient continues to grow. Much of the opposition to Granholm's policies came in personal and often chauvinistic attacks (i.e., calling her "Jenny" in formal statements).<br />
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As the first female leader in the state Senate, my rivals often seek to undermine me with dismissive condescension and thinly veiled sexism. In the past few months, Jones has insulted and intimidated a female conservative activist and a moderate pundit alike, notching two formal complaints by two women in two months.<br />
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With its "boys will be boys" mentality, the good ol' boys network in Lansing has gotten out of hand and must stop. A strong woman is NOT a bitch. A successful woman is NOT a hooker or a gold-digger. A compassionate woman is NOT overly sensitive and thin-skinned. And a passionate woman is NOT shrill.<br />
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A public apology from Jones and a strong rebuke from Senate leadership will be a start. Condemning this institutionalized sexism in the Legislature altogether would be preferred.<br />
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My colleagues often talk about promoting our state so our economy is not incorrectly viewed as a dinosaur. But how credible can we be when our standard-bearers act like cavemen?<br />
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<em>Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat from East Lansing, represents Michigan's 23rd District in the Michigan Senate and is the Senate's Democratic Leader</em>. <br />
<br />Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-70806940851659769982012-01-07T17:00:00.001-05:002012-01-07T17:00:31.980-05:00Bunny's Argyle Egg<br />
The tall tangly woods hug the roots of Mount Ample. The trunks and roots of the trees are gnarly and laced together, leaving little room for paths. In these tangly woods live the Gunkles, a quiet tribe not prone to loud noise such as snoring. Their village occupies a clearing deep — deep in the center of the tangly woods. Their homes are low and squat like cow pies in the clearing. Each has three round windows, a crocked stove pipe puffing smoke and seltzer steam, and a hatch near the top, reached by a short ladder that can be pulled up at the end of day.<br />
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Gunkles tend their gardens of rutabagas, rusty-red radishes, and parsnips that they store in root cellars for the long cold winter. They tend their flocks of cheep. Cheep are known for their luxurious steel wool coats that the Gunkles shear near the end of spring and sell to the Brillo Company™.<br />
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A Gunkle is about eighteen inches tall and has a roundish, blocky, cobby body not unlike a baking potato. Its legs end in three-toed hooves and its arms end in three-fingered hands. The head is like an inverted turnip with a complexion to match. Its close-set eyes are wide and can be made to twinkle. The ample mouth can’t decide whether to smile or frown and the ears are close-set like leaves against the sides of the face.<br />
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Strangers cannot tell male Gunkles from female. Fortunately the way they dress makes it easier: the males wear baggy pants, baggy checkered shirts, bandanas of various colors and patterns, and a hat that looks like a sugar cone you get at an ice cream shop when you order a single scoop of French vanilla. The females wear housecoats, aprons with pockets full of things that might come in handy, and a doily on their head.<br />
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Gunkle children come in assorted sizes and colors so they may be arranged decoratively. Usually well behaved, they sometimes cross their eyes and dot their teas.<br />
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There is only one curvy, twisted, ziggy, zaggy road to the village in the tangly woods. If you look closely, on this road there is a red two-wheeled cart drawn by a dog, with a little girl and a picnic basket. The dog is a mix of Pekinese and Poodle, so we could call it a Pekapoodle or a Pookinese. Since the front end peeks and the rear end poos, we shall call it a Pekapoodle. Its name is Spot.<br />
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The little girl is four or five and has curly blond hair, a bright smile, and a sunny disposition. It’s enough to make your eyes twinkle. The picnic basket has six crinkle-wheat muffins, a jar of muddleberry marmalade, a butter knife, and a thermos of tepid tea. We shall call the little girl Bunny, since she already responds to that name. As they travel they exchange shaggy dog stories; these are long and involved, are very funny, but really have no point. Spot’s stories are better because most of them are autobiographical.<br />
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She stops the cart in front of the first little house where a Gunkle is nailing a sign to the side of the house. It says, “Not at home.” Bunny asks politely, “Sir, could you tell me where to find an argyle egg?”<br />
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The Gunkle, whose name was Misfit, says, “Can’t you read? There’s nobody home. “But you’re here,” responded Bunny, to which Misfit answered, “Well I won’t be, once I’ve hung this here sign, now will I?” “Please, I really need your help,” insisted Bunny. Here she made her eyes large and sad.<br />
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Misfit’s eyes begin to twinkle despite his efforts just to get on with nailing the sign and leaving. “Well, what exactly are you looking for?” he asks cautiously while looking at Bunny’s picnic basket.<br />
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Bunny notices his interest in the basket. She pulls the napkin to one side, reaches in and brings out a crinkle-wheat muffin. “Would you like one of these?” she asks brightly. The twinkle in Misfit’s eyes increases. “I could put some muddleberry marmalade on it. That’s how I like it.” That twinkle doubled!<br />
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“You mentioned an argyle egg. They are very rare and you have to be very brave,” Misfit says, reaching for the muffin. “You must climb to the tippy-top twigs of the tallest tangly tree in the woods. There is one A-miracle belled argyle who lives there guarding her eggs. (The bell is to warn Gunkles to stay out of the argyle’s way.) What would a young girl like you do with an argyle egg, anyway?”<br />
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Bunny relates her sad story. “You see, a ruby-breasted republican has kidnapped my parents and two brothers, Jack and Gus. He intends to make a giant omelet at a primary and win enough votes to become a resident of the Benighted Skates!” she says while pouring two mugs of tepid tea.<br />
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Misfit munches on his crinkle-wheat muffin and sips his tepid tea. “It’s not at all easy,” he says, sprinkling crumbs on his baggy checkered shirt. “The argyle is very protective of her eggs. One must entice her with something she wants.” “Does she get hungry?” Bunny asks, breaking into a wide smile.<br />
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“Why, yes, she does. She might just be tempted by a couple of those crinkle-wheat muffins. And I can give you a couple of rusty-red radishes, too,” says Misfit thoughtfully while wiping his hands on his blue bandana with yellow spots.<br />
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Thus it is settled. Misfit gives Bunny three rusty-red radishes which she places in her basket. They walk far into the tangly woods, out of sight of the Gunkle village. It is mid-afternoon when they reach the great massive gnarly trunk of a gigantic tree. “I would take you to the top,” says Misfit, “but I’m afraid of heights. I will boost you and your basket to the lowest limb and the rest is up to you. I will wait here for your return.” Spot looks concerned. “Be careful,” he says. “I shall be,” the girl replies.<br />
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“This is some tree,” murmurs Bunny as Misfit lifts her. Soon she is climbing up, up, up, and away. From limb to gnarly limb she climbs. They seem to go on forever. After what seems hours, Bunny notices that there are patches of blue sky to one side. Yes, she is now above the other tangly trees in the woods. I could tell you of the many difficulties she experiences and of her falling nearly six times, and how she almost drops the picnic basket, but that would take up a lot of time and I know you are terribly busy.<br />
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I will, however, announce that she arrives at the tippy-top twigs of the tallest tangly tree in the woods. Next to her, at eye level is the biggest A-miracle belled argyle Bunny had ever seen. This is no surprise because this is the only one she has ever seen.<br />
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“Mrs. Argyle,” she begins politely, “May I have one of your very lovely eggs?” The argyle looks back frostily, “My eggs are my future. I will not give them to strangers.” The clever girl replied, “My name is Bunny, and I want to be your friend.” Here she reaches into her picnic basket and pulls out three crinkle-wheat muffins and the rusty-red radishes.<br />
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Her eye on the prize, the argyle says, “Well, the egg nearest you was laid in my nest by a cow bird. You may have it.” The deal is completed and Bunny, the egg safely in her basket, climbs down the tree after thanking the argyle. The climb down is slow, dangerous, and exhausting but not without its laughs.<br />
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Misfit and Spot are waiting at the bottom of the tree. Bunny, almost out of breath takes a sip of tepid tea and mounts the cart, basket at her side. “Thanks, Misfit, for all your help. We have a long trip home, Spot,” she says and off they trot, down the curvy, twisted, ziggy, zaggy road out of the tangly woods.<br />
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At long last Bunny and Spot are back where they started. She gives the ruby-breasted republican the egg (not revealing its true nature), and her mother, father and two brothers are freed.<br />
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As they leave for home the ruby-breasted republican breaks the egg to make his omelet. Sad to say it is not good enough to win enough votes for him to become a resident of the Benighted Skates.<br />
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Mother turns to Father and says, “Did you notice? He had egg on his face.” And so he did.<br />
<br />Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-22532674401404906762012-01-05T21:16:00.000-05:002012-01-05T21:40:28.708-05:00Paula Clark Nettleton at Art ReachPaula Clark Nettleton's reception at Art Reach on Broadway, 111 E. Broadway, was a complete success this evening, from 5 to 7 pm. Paula graduated from Kendall School of Design and has worked in a wide variety of media including painting, graphite, pen and ink, and fabric art. <br />
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Most recently she has turned the digital camera into a brush for her work. She met Joe Parise, an expert at gardening and became entranced with his thousands of lilies. Rather than bring the light to the subject as in other subjects, Paula waited for the subject to bring the light to glorify the flower, resulting in stunning images of grace and beauty.<br />
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The show continues through January 31.<br />
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The top picture shows Kathy Hill, Director of Art Reach (right) and Jan Kline, Chairperson of the Gallery Committee examine copies of the book of photos for the show. <br />
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The center picture shows Joe Parise, right. Being self-affacing he asked Nedra Fisher to join him in admiring one of the splendid photos.<br />
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At the bottim is the artist, Paula Clark Nettleton, at the guest register.<br />
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For more information go to <a href="http://www.artreachcenter.org/" target="_blank">http://www.artreachcenter.org/</a>.Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-83740201494290258942011-12-26T15:10:00.000-05:002011-12-26T15:10:13.179-05:00Christmases to Remember(Editor’s note: As many of us observe the traditions and messages of Christmas today, we asked members of our Editorial Board to share thoughts and memories of the holiday.) <br />
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Bringing Timmy home <br />
By Bert Coe <br />
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Even after celebrating 75 Christmases, to pick the most memorable is easy. It was 1959 in Alma. I had just begun a job in retail management. It was December and my wife Brenda was about to give birth to our first child. On Dec. 19th our store manager hosted a party at his home to celebrate Christmas. Brenda had not been feeling well, so we proceeded to the party prepared to head to the hospital if necessary. About 10 p.m. it became necessary. We drove to what was then the Wilcox Hospital on State Street in Alma. We were in for a long night. I hadn’t realized what I had been telling Brenda but I found out later that she was a bit nervous. It wasn’t the delivery, but she had decided that I would only accept a red-haired little boy. Now while that was my preference, I really would have been happy with whoever arrived, boy or girl, whatever color hair. But she told me later that I had repeatedly said that a red-headed little boy was my preference and nearly mandatory. So, after 17 hours of labor, sure enough, the nurse informed me that we had a red-haired little boy and mother and son were doing fine. On Christmas Eve it was time to take Timmy home. I recall I had to pay $98 (he was paid in full) to allow mother and son to come home just in time for Christmas. We have spent many happy and festive Christmas’s while raising our four children. But at our home we have always attempted to remind ourselves that what we are celebrating is the birth of Jesus. Merry Christmas to you all. <br />
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A 1960s Christmas <br />
By Dan Marvin <br />
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Christmas, as a child back in the ‘60s, was very memorable for me. It’s based on an imagination that only a child can experience, which I most certainly have magnified over time. My mom and dad struggled financially and we had very few worldly possessions. It’s now easy to see how possessions have little to do with happiness, because we had everything we could have wanted. Christmas memories as a child are equally divided between packages found under the tree, the wonderful smell of my mom’s meat pies that were slid into the oven just before the gift opening, and visits from relatives donning gifts and jovial conversation. Meat pies are a French Canadian tradition passed down through generations and are the result of many hours of work. Later in life, when my kids were younger, relatives from New York would send packages every year with explicit instructions to be opened on Christmas Day. They were the kind of toys and books that can’t be found in normal stores and heightened the anticipation for my three girls. My wife and I had a lot of fun watching them stare at the packages and occasionally give them a shake. An ongoing Christmas memory began in 1982 while on a trip out west with my in-laws. My father-in-law picked up a fresh and perfectly formed buffalo chip. He carefully packed it in a large zip-lock bag and when we returned home, he dried it and mounted it on a plaque. On Christmas Day, he wrapped it up and gave it to his father (grandpa) as a joke. A few short years later, grandpa passed away, and the chip has become an annual Christmas gift, given randomly to family members accompanied with a newly created poem written specifically for the recipient. It has been fun and the tradition continues to this day. <br />
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Christmas past <br />
By Marilyn Fosburg <br />
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The Christmas season is a time to look back on what we did to celebrate the holiday in the past. I have two boys and one thing we did when they were young was to take a “field trip” to Grand Rapids to see the decorations and store windows. In the 1970s downtown Grand Rapids had three large department stores, Herpolsheimer’s, Wurzburg’s, and Steketee’s. The windows were decorated with moving drummer boys, sugar plum fairies, skaters, and toys. All of the windows were animated and colorful. Christmas music was piped into the street. There were strolling musicians singing carols on the streets. The inside of the stores were decorated with snowflakes, trees, and tinsel on every counter and in the aisles and nooks and crannies of the store. One of the stores had a person playing a grand piano. The basement of Herpolsheimer’s had a train with a track on the ceiling that took children for rides around the store and a large playland. We shopped, enjoyed the day and I am sure we ate lunch in one of the stores. If we bought something, it was gift wrapped for us if we wanted. At one store a clerk suggested to the boys that if they went into the jewelry store next door we could see an old fashioned pay system that when you paid for your item the money and bill was put into a small container that went on a wire, into the air, and up to the cashier, where a person made change and sent it back to the clerk who sold you the item. We watched a couple of sales go back and forth and enjoyed the ambience of the old store. The entire experience was one of beautiful music, artistic creations, and a celebration of the beauty of the Christmas season. <br />
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Glimpse of Christmas past <br />
By Ed Fisher <br />
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My Christmases in Connecticut were always surprising. I must have been 10 or 11. At that time Springhill was not densely populated. Our street had a few houses. To the north and east were hilly woods. To the south was a mellow swamp and to the west was the Peck farm. What a great place to live for a kid that age! A few days before Christmas we had finished dinner at 5:30, as usual, so I had two whole hours to be outdoors. I decided to visit my friend, Dominic. I climbed Farmer Peck’s stone wall (properties then were outlined by piles of rocks dug from the fields so crops could be planted). I crossed the south field, passed the farm house and walked down the drive. Two blocks west, one north and two more west brought me to Dominic’s house. He had a BB-gun and we shot at cans set on piles of snow. Where the time went is a mystery, but all too soon is was dark and I had to go home. It was then I saw what to the mind of an unvarnished boy was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. There in the darkness glowed a house outlined entirely with pale blue lights. Outdoor lights were for city folks so this was startling. And the lights I had seen there had many colors, like those on a Christmas tree. Blue was so serene. The quiet night made the magic real. The rest of the Universe appeared above as diamond dust on velvet but couldn’t compete with the simple majesty of what was before me. Whenever I want, I can return to that street, that night, that house and relive the wonder of simple blue lights at Christmas.Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-67065089214119625902011-12-22T13:42:00.001-05:002011-12-23T13:56:17.998-05:00The Blue House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypg93yddw11w0VBEIxAc_RYOdVopYyn6Qj82HefleX0VZKJoNBjClXqfbOnkow42Eb3fcSnKw2h30rRrBqomBMrHtqUAktl2e_bUvy7pKmSqOX3WHhciSK0GQu7yKgbVZu0fJy4u3kIY/s1600/Blue+House+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="202" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypg93yddw11w0VBEIxAc_RYOdVopYyn6Qj82HefleX0VZKJoNBjClXqfbOnkow42Eb3fcSnKw2h30rRrBqomBMrHtqUAktl2e_bUvy7pKmSqOX3WHhciSK0GQu7yKgbVZu0fJy4u3kIY/s320/Blue+House+5.jpg" /></a></div>Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-87514825582378284412011-12-14T13:40:00.000-05:002011-12-14T13:40:04.569-05:00JACK'S SPRATJack's sprat could be a brat <br />
His alewife could be mean <br />
Each morn, with them he'd sat <br />
And kept their fish tank clean <br />
They spurned him in their fishy ways <br />
They both gave Jack the moon <br />
Of them Jack made a bouillabaisse <br />
And ate them with a spoon <br />
<br />
*** To the non- ichthyologists among you: Sprat: a small herring-like marine fish, Clupea spratus, of European waters; also, any of various other small fishes, mostly resembling this. Alewife: a North American fish, Pomolobus pseudoharengus, resembling a small shad but inferior as food.Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-52752825178241416552011-12-07T17:07:00.000-05:002011-12-07T17:09:22.756-05:00Morey Poster Entries on Display<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQYIxhMJF7SNStRUmInhuYO4e8c6qNEY5qHE9OqZihRhigspUh5Qf7Lb1pKRCWmnd9Phai75vNk8CI2ruIztZt4uJBlNV5gqutQ-lWnk4LHJDPJ39GClkbGr2uET7E0NdT_nWiRO_K3U/s1600/Morey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQYIxhMJF7SNStRUmInhuYO4e8c6qNEY5qHE9OqZihRhigspUh5Qf7Lb1pKRCWmnd9Phai75vNk8CI2ruIztZt4uJBlNV5gqutQ-lWnk4LHJDPJ39GClkbGr2uET7E0NdT_nWiRO_K3U/s400/Morey.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Twelve entries in the Morey Foundation High School poster contest can be seen at the Art Reach Gallery, at 111 East Broadway in Mt. Pleasant.
Below is one of the walls of the Christmas Collection at the gallery. There are gifts for the entire family and friends. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkCZKHuxpTvMSR7uyuesTHb28TC6YKRZxQL3XnSILS_e5PxCKorymlRziygUGnyI00a2yWLUZzzYl8SZ8xV4jqvGPM2Ux1i3EbCU7Ots5E0XOPbl6xtJG6hKwwk9woGSDIa09NTC9HPk/s1600/Xmas+Collection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkCZKHuxpTvMSR7uyuesTHb28TC6YKRZxQL3XnSILS_e5PxCKorymlRziygUGnyI00a2yWLUZzzYl8SZ8xV4jqvGPM2Ux1i3EbCU7Ots5E0XOPbl6xtJG6hKwwk9woGSDIa09NTC9HPk/s400/Xmas+Collection.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
For store hours got to <a href="http://www.artreachcenter.org/" target="_blank">http://www.artreachcenter.org/</a>.Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-2591987964787878042011-12-02T12:56:00.001-05:002011-12-02T13:18:57.227-05:00Chip KrinkleNovember had started wet, and ended unusually mild. The trees, as best they could, had shed their leaves, strewing crinkled tawny debris on the lawn and gardens of the Chipmunk Estate. At the tempting change in the temperatures, the chipmunks appeared from their lairs to gather still more supplies for the inevitable onset of the frigid season. <br />
<br />
Skipper bounded effortlessly across the golden yard, filling his growing cheeks with sweet morsels. At one point, a young red squirrel slithered up behind him to rob him of his treasures. But here! Skip turned on his now fuller haunches, and sprang, chasing the marauder up a tree. Ah, how nature takes care of those evolved to fill a niche. <br />
<br />
The wicked temperature turned colder, and hoary frost began to dominate. The last of the flowers shrank, and shriveled, their remains falling to earth to join their ancestors. Nothing wasted here, their stems, and leaves, and limp blossoms became, through time the soil for their successors. The last sweet days of temperate autumn disappeared. Proud cardinals still returned daily to the feeder in the last moments of light. Natural selection gave them sharper eyes then their stalkers and they flourished. <br />
<br />
Below ground, the chipmunks knew their day would soon arrive: that day when their earth, though nearest the sun in its perigee, by its tilted axis enfeebled the light striking their part of the world. Winter was the most fearsome time for them (and all their neighbors and enemies). Stark oblivion faced those without the means to persist. They, the chipmunks, had set themselves tasks, to collect enough nourishment to last until the coming of spring. <br />
<br />
Now there would be the test. Had they done enough? Unlike some creatures, chipmunks do not hibernate. Yes, they sleep a lot in winter’s grip, to conserve energy, but they must awaken from time to time to eat and drink. The snow would provide moisture (though Those Above did provide a warmed pan of water near the entrance to the Palace, but who could trust them to remember to fill it regularly?). Only the trove of seeds, carefully collected from many sources would insure their safety. It was thus that Mom Chip, after surviving her ordeal with the Red Monster, called her clan to the Palace.<br />
<br />
December 21 was the day of the Winter Solstice and all were invited to share the round year’s last feast of Mom’s special seeds. There were games, such as pin the tail on the Red Demon, and Bob for Peanuts. The high point was when Mom gave out gifts, packets of extra seeds for each child. Willow helped distribute the parcels, insuring each got one and only one of the precious stashes. Mom looked weary, and Willow worried whether or not Mom would see the Spring Equinox. But this was for the children and nothing would spoil it. <br />
<br />
Granted the “children” had grown during the autumn, and would be fully fledged when the ice disappeared, and would be sent on their various ways to find suitable locations, to build nests of their own. Skipper was everyone’s prime example. He had started early in the year, finding a logical wonderful spot beneath the Hawthorne tree. He dug one, two, at least three entrances (one had been dug up by a great, marauding black cat), and filled its galleries with enough food for a small army of chipmunks. <br />
<br />
“Now, my dears,” started Mom Chip slowly, “It is time that you knew about Chip Krinkle.” The games ceased and all the tiny heads swung toward Mom. “A long time ago,” she continued, “When the world was even fiercer than it is today, a terrible Winter struck this land. Many, who had not prepared vanished. Those Above did not live in the warren beyond the Palace, indeed, there was no Palace then. There was no easy way to gather provisions. No idle times then, all were in a frenzy to gather food for the time of darkness. October and November were dreadfully barren. Chill winds and temperatures cold enough to freeze the Red Demon’s tail stalked the province, holding all in a dreadful grasp. <br />
<br />
“I was a child then, as untutored as you, and I clung to my mother. She gave me the name Tinsel, and that is what I was called until I moved into the Palace. We lived between some drafty logs in an abandoned woodpile. Mother had found leaves and bits of tattered cloth to block the unceasing winds a bit. Each day we two went out to find seeds and insect eggs (they taste vile, but contain some nourishment when you are truly hungry). December came, but the pile of food was very small for what we knew would be a long, dreary, sunless season. <br />
<br />
"In the evening of Solstice Day, when I was asleep deep in a pile of gingham scrapes a strange thing occurred. I felt mother move from her place beside me. Someone was in the lair! Mother bristled and placed herself between the entrance and where I lay. Laughter, deep and oily as shelled walnuts came from beyond. Shivering I moved deeper beneath the nest. <br />
<br />
“Mother called to me, ‘Tinsel, quick, come here!’ At first I dared not move. She called again gently, ‘Come on, it’s perfectly safe.’ I rubbed my sleepy eyes and crept quietly to her side. There in the entry was a large sack that smelled of nuts and sunlight. In the doorway, for just a moment, I caught sight of a large, jolly chipmunk. ‘Happy Solstice to you both,’ he cried. He was dragging a great sled made of stout sticks, upon which was a mound of similar sacks. Before I knew it, he was gone. <br />
<br />
“‘Who was that, mother’, I asked, my eyes wide with wonder. ‘That,’ she responded was Chip Krinkle. When times are sad for needy chipmunks he delivers parcels of food to help them through the winter.’ “And that is why Mom Chips give children gifts of fragrant seeds on Solstice Evening. Remember Chip Krinkle will be there to help.” <br />
<br />
The children chirped with joy, and so the party ended. All went home and dreamt of Chip Krinkle. Peace to all who believe. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtJ-s4JzCtzMYxEoCwxVRzeJua_65jtD2FYdxAlLLZxIWloDgsiPjuakF-uT5s_8ULYk-yr337h8nG4NXR8mqm_N3Oih9i7n_SvHS3fmAeUCydxsHZmr7EyO1Yb5-Z1n2fon0KfXEN_-E/s1600/scan0007.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtJ-s4JzCtzMYxEoCwxVRzeJua_65jtD2FYdxAlLLZxIWloDgsiPjuakF-uT5s_8ULYk-yr337h8nG4NXR8mqm_N3Oih9i7n_SvHS3fmAeUCydxsHZmr7EyO1Yb5-Z1n2fon0KfXEN_-E/s400/scan0007.tif" width="400" /></a></div>Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-8765215840089702612011-11-22T15:45:00.003-05:002011-11-22T15:49:00.660-05:00The Advent CalendarIn our family, we love Advent Calendars. We exchange them in late November and starting on December 1, we open of the little cardboard doors revealing a surprise leading to December 25 and Christmas.<br /><br />The first Advent Calendar was handmade in 1851 by Protestants in Germany. Before this, families had marked the front door with chalk, or lit a candle on a table one for each day in December leading to the big festival. Some put up small pictures on the wall depicting scenes of the Cresh.<br /><br />A bookstore in Hamburg published a Christmas Clock in 1902. In 1904 the newspaper <em>Neues Tagblatt Stuttgart</em> inserted an Advent Calendar as a gift to its readers. By 1922 a large printing firm in St. Johannis turned out thousands to be sold throughout Germany. They were popular until World War II, when paper shortages curtailed their distribution.<br /><br />After the war, Richard Selmer began producing them in 1946. He credits President Eisenhower with introducing the tradition in the United States. A newspaper at the time showed the President’s grandchildren with The Little Town Advent Calendar.<br /><br />From that time to today, more and more of these pleasant ways of counting down the days are found in American homes. Some are quite elaborate, with compartments that hold candy or small toys, or play songs when the doors are opened.<br /><br />The Advent Calendar shows that the season has begun. Be of good cheer.Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-11963867725899900212011-11-16T16:57:00.003-05:002011-11-16T17:09:36.846-05:00The Polar Express pulls into Mt. Pleasant<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLklt1dO81OyRiI4RML2C_AT2rX1_iOmFsjjWriji5dUz9MOOBBvzw_TZv7dftzaN42x1abQx_HTfOz0dwuwvqMUSvPoENbXCcbWuIFLQFJksPB0lFP5xib2rXMHplRN4qbR7u5tuE4C8/s1600/scan0002.tif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLklt1dO81OyRiI4RML2C_AT2rX1_iOmFsjjWriji5dUz9MOOBBvzw_TZv7dftzaN42x1abQx_HTfOz0dwuwvqMUSvPoENbXCcbWuIFLQFJksPB0lFP5xib2rXMHplRN4qbR7u5tuE4C8/s400/scan0002.tif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675719144572887378" /></a><br /><br />On Saturday, December 3, 2011, there will be an early holiday special at the Veterans Memorial Library in Mt. Pleasant for the whole family. The Polar Express is an afternoon of fun and great entertainment.<br /><br />It starts at noon, with Dickens Christmas stories being told until 12:30. Then Everett Wiltse, as the train conductor, will explain and operate the Mountain Town Hobby’s Polar Express model train and introduce the movie, Polar Express, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks as the voice of half a dozen characters. The model train is currently on display at the library and you will see it in operation. Free popcorn and hot chocolate will be available.<br /><br />If you have not seen this excellent movie and have Christmas in your heart you will truly enjoy it. It is Christmas Eve and a young boy has his doubts about how the toys appear beneath the tree on Christmas Morning. By magic, a passenger train pulled by a steam locomotive stops by his front door, and he is taken on an exciting adventure to the North Pole. Children of all ages will enjoy this witty and quite beautiful experience.Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-9643736383908723302011-11-14T16:47:00.002-05:002011-11-14T22:07:21.377-05:00What Children see in the CloudsTwo sixth grade classes at Mary McGuire Elementary School, taught by Mrs. Carroll and Mrs. Walter, were given an assignment by an Art Reach docent in the Picture Program. The students were told to look at clouds in the sky at recess and jot down what images they saw.<br /><br />Eryana saw “a fish eating a smaller fish. The big fish had teeth and two big eyes, and the little fish looked like it was swimming away.” Ty was shooting hoops at home and “I saw a cloud that actually like a basketball. It had all the details that a basketball would have like the lines on it and the logo by who made the ball.” Lenge saw “a huge blue cloud with really poufy white on top. I thought it looked like a bubble bath.”<br /><br />Shailyn said, “One day it was sunny out so I went outside and described the first cloud I saw. It was a blob but then I saw something else — a bunny with long ears. Another cloud looked like a worm.” Baily saw a rabbit and a face. Another student (who didn’t include a name) saw “a dragon with wings, fire coming out of his mouth. It was a fat dragon fighting a knight on a horse.”<br /><br />Caleb saw a cloud ‘that looked like a UFO and it had a disk in the middle and two half spheres on the top and bottom.” Erica saw “a cloud that looked like a cat sitting in a tree.” AJ insisted a cloud was “a big cylinder with a bubble on top. You can ride on one and it has a circle of light. A beam can pick you up. The person who rides in it has a head that is like a cylinder.” Two other nameless students discovered a shark with teeth and a lumpy warship.<br /><br />Austin said a cloud “looked like a house with a weird looking top and a sidewalk.” Dakota insisted on “a Chinese dragon with a long body and a feathery tail.” Danny saw one that ‘looked like a pirate ship and pirates on it. Then I saw a cloud that looked like a dog.” Hailey saw “a gummy bear! I’m guessing it was coconut flavored. It was huge in the sky. It stood out so much that’s why it caught my eye.” Zeek saw one “that looked like a straight line that seemed to go on forever. It was wide and fluffy.”<br /><br />Children are able to use their imaginations. Encourage them to tell you what they see in clouds, in random autumn leaves on the lawn, in snow drifts, in the smears at the bottom of the unwashed gravy pan at Thanksgiving. Every place can be a source of amazing images to the nonjudgmental eyes of youth.<br /><br />Art can be enjoyed by anyone willing to participate in a game with the artist: what is that squiggle in the corner? Why is that sky green? What are those little people in the background really doing? Learn to be amazed; very amazed.Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-48085030558217807272011-11-06T15:47:00.002-05:002011-11-06T15:52:23.322-05:00Doherty Hotel Bridge TournamentOn Saturday, November 5 and Sunday, November 6 the Doherty Hotel in Clare hosted a Bridge Tournament with 42 tables of bridge. There were 168 players from all over Michigan. The Central Michigan Area was well represented.Marilyn fosburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223544310527700554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-81921952680017309022011-11-01T16:33:00.006-04:002011-11-01T16:52:43.008-04:00Pleasant Homes 7Many homes don't have much personality. Often they exist in repetitious clusters, all variations of a common floor plan. Here are the last three images of homes in and around Mt. Pleasant, that I find charming.I hope you have enjoyed the series.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJo6lyS6RHfu0-x2fM_PhW05pNE6BOZl49VvBEI6luj8Nct_AKE2uR-HAhzul86wYfBbk2OTzcEvZFxH-vQwvOen2ExG6e485HUqu_ks2VIJWVAxVOzjA_-FLfLIo25DlyGdXRKo-POT8/s1600/IMG_1989.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 289px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670130960645889778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJo6lyS6RHfu0-x2fM_PhW05pNE6BOZl49VvBEI6luj8Nct_AKE2uR-HAhzul86wYfBbk2OTzcEvZFxH-vQwvOen2ExG6e485HUqu_ks2VIJWVAxVOzjA_-FLfLIo25DlyGdXRKo-POT8/s400/IMG_1989.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7JXkxlRcBa7IOUu3AdiS-7XvpZ4h-Nd78S5jFI6X5m-TacenVZOJQ-6Zi7DMdESiNzCvqoNsvGRKohedI74z3LHr0BVmY1kthya7tpNQQnkx536tRa_dMQo3PBYJqLrP_UecdUfMwm2I/s1600/IMG_1966.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 293px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670130619282554210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7JXkxlRcBa7IOUu3AdiS-7XvpZ4h-Nd78S5jFI6X5m-TacenVZOJQ-6Zi7DMdESiNzCvqoNsvGRKohedI74z3LHr0BVmY1kthya7tpNQQnkx536tRa_dMQo3PBYJqLrP_UecdUfMwm2I/s400/IMG_1966.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWEfK4EFWL4TlMtaOaDAaXGJm0jLsGD_rEk9vjkHUWrVKEMesmFn8mVdoAJgdL8GjhniW28ld-RAga5heKW0B5hDFLXhKc4fEnwnui8mnXEsRh_TaKb-wDiP4kw2HpoCjRLnKaRMdZWI/s1600/IMG_1965.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 328px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670130246099684418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWEfK4EFWL4TlMtaOaDAaXGJm0jLsGD_rEk9vjkHUWrVKEMesmFn8mVdoAJgdL8GjhniW28ld-RAga5heKW0B5hDFLXhKc4fEnwnui8mnXEsRh_TaKb-wDiP4kw2HpoCjRLnKaRMdZWI/s400/IMG_1965.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br />For earlier photos click <a href="http://themorningsuncommentary.blogspot.com/2011/10/pleasant-homes-6.html">HERE</a>.Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-43291588525138872842011-10-27T17:01:00.009-04:002011-10-27T17:09:54.360-04:00Pleasant Homes 6A pleasant autumn day of three more pleasant houses in the area.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeu5gtya1DpiDmJXKHrnwr1d6IB72kdd5cLQW59USW40qzlzTc1PTB7AE931Z6XEw7zSPdBCbu3W3F-w7x8ptMMS9IEMdKv8cwX6D9ZxL5Lt9lotEH2PPOXPqApK5pAX68-pxae85-pPg/s1600/IMG_1964.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 336px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668281038630733250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeu5gtya1DpiDmJXKHrnwr1d6IB72kdd5cLQW59USW40qzlzTc1PTB7AE931Z6XEw7zSPdBCbu3W3F-w7x8ptMMS9IEMdKv8cwX6D9ZxL5Lt9lotEH2PPOXPqApK5pAX68-pxae85-pPg/s400/IMG_1964.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkoj7I4e2nwodUgCxoCyIuCH7VH1U1kkcThaFSBOWO6ixc6YdKOQWxHDlBDJIMfAH88Nt7OdAEpLDupzvUfb24SiRa2YLKDiHvgjYiH52LFBFABn-26u1nGCukXQc7dC6apHMGKHLnzXU/s1600/IMG_1963.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 398px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668280658402274018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkoj7I4e2nwodUgCxoCyIuCH7VH1U1kkcThaFSBOWO6ixc6YdKOQWxHDlBDJIMfAH88Nt7OdAEpLDupzvUfb24SiRa2YLKDiHvgjYiH52LFBFABn-26u1nGCukXQc7dC6apHMGKHLnzXU/s400/IMG_1963.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAoj-44a0NZYc4pe9tH44hZONfWJVkKYK6748K5zezuihLFAFf1nlLJcZjp7tLnGIoBtLsjkinpFTo9oo4lijRtHNYH0uKiMmTZiVJd_5UZuWTn8hnb-Q4ETmGV8h1Jtw2Ghi4AhkRBxs/s1600/IMG_1962.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 323px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668280404492316818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAoj-44a0NZYc4pe9tH44hZONfWJVkKYK6748K5zezuihLFAFf1nlLJcZjp7tLnGIoBtLsjkinpFTo9oo4lijRtHNYH0uKiMmTZiVJd_5UZuWTn8hnb-Q4ETmGV8h1Jtw2Ghi4AhkRBxs/s400/IMG_1962.JPG" /></a><br />To see previous homes click <a href="http://themorningsuncommentary.blogspot.com/2011/10/pleasant-homes-5.html">HERE</a>.Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-24298005579163184182011-10-22T16:18:00.004-04:002011-10-22T16:24:01.391-04:00Art Reach 2012 Calendar ReceptionArt Reach of Mid Michigan hosted a reception this afternoon for the young artists from area schools whose works appear in the 2012 Art Reach Calendar. Each of 22 K-6 schools sellected one work to be included.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-bbeX2yurwEZEE1ZAHFCL_fVoXfSJO5pBMbJHomu5PfVM4DulbKS1I3UrJF6s5fGX7kFICZMPf85xe5mdR2yjrXiO-Pbrr_FWRhRFYKi6MJKNRBrn2kOrfKhmhZCys2C6iVgjw5zXzg/s1600/2012+Calendar+Reception+2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666413934740372850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-bbeX2yurwEZEE1ZAHFCL_fVoXfSJO5pBMbJHomu5PfVM4DulbKS1I3UrJF6s5fGX7kFICZMPf85xe5mdR2yjrXiO-Pbrr_FWRhRFYKi6MJKNRBrn2kOrfKhmhZCys2C6iVgjw5zXzg/s400/2012+Calendar+Reception+2.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3tmB5MEhiIw2_reoWGZlSwH2EAykliLidnVlEWLMbo9BZMTds01P8UFBx-0GnwnkDw3MPiVLD-JFn9Zn20b-SzQPMJ705X3xqieC3_PcllueVE3F6qMcjfUhA80USdGL-RodR7J9pdg/s1600/2012+Calendar+Reception+1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666413755005194146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3tmB5MEhiIw2_reoWGZlSwH2EAykliLidnVlEWLMbo9BZMTds01P8UFBx-0GnwnkDw3MPiVLD-JFn9Zn20b-SzQPMJ705X3xqieC3_PcllueVE3F6qMcjfUhA80USdGL-RodR7J9pdg/s400/2012+Calendar+Reception+1.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div>Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288522977305969177.post-72153802778276883072011-10-18T16:35:00.007-04:002011-10-18T16:54:10.371-04:00Pleasant Homes 5There are so many lovely homes in the Mt. Pleasant area. Here are three more. The photos were taken on a beautiful Fall day. I hope you enjoy them.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjV2myYv_OypspPcWjtEpEO8Tn0VU_uHNK7KreUhzxvPtXGQfKuR_Cys72rcmjxn8RBWhV_-pXM3COpyGZ_R0yI8jyrzZ2DA6DyQKkFytJFhNSkGme6BSMpwza3RzkWnrGVPp0wxZiG8/s1600/IMG_1960.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 312px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664935201345478210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjV2myYv_OypspPcWjtEpEO8Tn0VU_uHNK7KreUhzxvPtXGQfKuR_Cys72rcmjxn8RBWhV_-pXM3COpyGZ_R0yI8jyrzZ2DA6DyQKkFytJFhNSkGme6BSMpwza3RzkWnrGVPp0wxZiG8/s400/IMG_1960.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGaIAEWGjxHRTcib_589Fa_QqZ28djhsU7vcZcUFq_c-XDFHHL3eK-ZYssQEdqltuIEeGbnLWU48umBxi4355Dzk31HePCZc6a82DLzImTjF0cF60pvR2cx01lwUkDmoEKBBXiFVZWwo/s1600/IMG_1959.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 318px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664934856232622882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGaIAEWGjxHRTcib_589Fa_QqZ28djhsU7vcZcUFq_c-XDFHHL3eK-ZYssQEdqltuIEeGbnLWU48umBxi4355Dzk31HePCZc6a82DLzImTjF0cF60pvR2cx01lwUkDmoEKBBXiFVZWwo/s400/IMG_1959.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcurxZdiEEd8yam5dDpL_62ONicbY2cDmTHml2wN4skupqjOL9VVhz3HcAsy4u7r7lQ4ihUVymvuEenAVGKWN6R3rKjmCeDkDcIHGXtkIUpomMnqwCbTE-NW-WojYghf7mEtsfwSYyYDU/s1600/IMG_1958.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 318px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664934390848678018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcurxZdiEEd8yam5dDpL_62ONicbY2cDmTHml2wN4skupqjOL9VVhz3HcAsy4u7r7lQ4ihUVymvuEenAVGKWN6R3rKjmCeDkDcIHGXtkIUpomMnqwCbTE-NW-WojYghf7mEtsfwSYyYDU/s400/IMG_1958.JPG" /></a><br /><br />To see earlier homes click <a href="http://themorningsuncommentary.blogspot.com/2011/10/pleasant-homes-4.html">HERE</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Ed Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13356113214546822579noreply@blogger.com0