So Long Betty Page

So long Betty Page, Queen of the Pin Ups during the 50's. She was a curvaceous 5'5" icon with a killer smile. She became deeply religious later in life but rarely, if ever, went to church. From 1951 to 1957 her killer curves graced many a publication. She was a sexual trailblazer with her photos of cheesecake and bondage. She modeled the taboo.

Modeling wasn't what she wanted---she wanted to be an actress. She was born, April 22, 1923,the second of six children. She grew up in poverty working on a family farm 30 miles west of Nashville. After her father got a 15 year old pregnant her mother fled with the children to Nashville and the poverty got worse. She and her sisters played make believe acting to escape their dreary life. Things were not good. Her father had molested her and she became very introverted because of it.

In her late 20's and early 30's she became a pin up hit. She was considered the most photographed model of the day.







She'd relished the attention but when her modeling days ended she lived a fairly reclusive life. She has a place in history.

So, so long Betty, have a wonderful journey. We'll always remember you.






Betty from 1950:

Cutting the Heating Bill

In these economic times it pays to do whatever you can to save money. Even though my husband and I are not really affected financially, we're frugal cows! We are fortunate to own our home free and clear; same with our vehicles.

When we came to look at this home to purchase it we were surprised. Why? Well, because it had something that I knew a great deal about. It had Der "Original-Kachelofen" von Sommerhuber. Now, you ask, "what the hell is that?" LOL It's a German ceramic stove. You see, I lived in Germany for 5 years and had these things in my home there. The ceramics for the stove are made by the Sommerhuber company in Germany. The people that owned this home before us were German and had the thing imported and built. It's awesome, huge---and heavy! It weighs a ton and they had to have steel beams put in under the flooring to hold it. It is wood burning. It contains a tall, narrow firebox. Because of that we only need to burn 6 pieces of hard wood twice a day. That heats the entire kitchen, breakfast room (formerly a wasted family room) and master bathroom. It radiates heat outward for 12 hours per burn without drying the daylights out of everything. It also helps that we have ceramic tile floors in these rooms. Needless to say, it cuts our heating bill dramatically.

Not everyone can have one of these but if you ever consider adding a fireplace---forget it. Get one of these instead. If I were to build a home today that's exactly what I'd do. They come in many shapes and sizes. Some you can even cook in, some have benches attached and others you can view the fire better than ours. We absolutely love it. We also have another one in the basement. We have a full basement and it has no heating but this stove. For safety purposes the basement stove is connected electrically to a thermostat. We only need use it when we're hanging out down there. The basement one is interesting in that the tiles are 3-D reliefs of German forest animals. The upstairs one is in traditional German green and gold tiles...not exactly a thrilling decorative choice but, hey, I'm not one to complain.

Here are some photos of my stove. As you can see it wraps around from the kitchen into the breakfast room. We put all kinds of crap on it! Like dog food cans because it makes them warm for the critters.














This site has some photos of other styles of the stoves. Click on stoves/fireplaces in the left hand column to get some other views.

Other things we do to cut the heating bill are keep the thermostat at 66 for the rest of the house, wear sweaters and socks and we have many lovely blanket throws. We also check the doors and windows for any cold leaks. Any and every thing you can do helps to keep you warm and save money at the same time.

Embarrassing Illinois Politics

Well, it just never fails to embarrass. That "it" would be Illinois politics and today the Governor, Rod Blagojevich. He was taken into Federal custody this morning at his North Side home. His Chief of Staff, John Harris, was also arrested. They are expected to be arraigned this afternoon. Needless to say , this has been a long time coming. Blago has had issues for as long time...like the one with his in laws and then we have Rezko.

The Illinois Governorship has always been a powerful office. It's also been filled with tons of patronage junk. That makes it very easy for corruption to flourish. As if Blago didn't have enough problems it seems he was apparently "selling" the office of replacement Senator to the highest bidder. He wanted to "make money" because he was financially distraught. Waaaa. Stupidly he had conversations about that and they were recorded. DUH! You'd think after our previous Governor, Ryan, was convicted and now sits in prison that Blago would have been smarter. Not so apparently. Power and greed seem to overwhelm common sense and decency. Frankly, Blago deserves this.

Here's some info from the Blago indictment pdf.



UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS, EASTERN DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
UNDER SEAL
V. CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, and
JOHN HARRIS

Count One

From in or about 2002 to the present, in Cook County, in the Northern District of Illinois, defendants did,
conspire with each other and with others to devise and participate in a scheme to defraud the State of Illinois and
the people of the State of Illinois of the honest services of ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH and JOHN HARRIS, in
furtherance of which the mails and interstate wire communications would be used, in violation of Title 18, United
States Code, Sections 1341,1343, and 1346; all in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 1349.

Count Two

Beginning no later than November 2008 to the present, in Cook County, in the Northern District of Illinois,
defendants ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH and JOHN HARRIS, being agents of the State of Illinois, a State government
which during a one-year period, beginning January 1, 2008 and continuing to the present, received federal benefits
in excess of $10,000, corruptly solicited and demanded a thing of value, namely, the firing of certain Chicago
Tribune editorial members responsible for widely-circulated editorials critical of ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH,
intending to be influenced and rewarded in connection with business and transactions of the State of Illinois
involving a thing of value of $5,000 or more, namely, the provision of millions of dollars in financial assistance by
the State of Illinois, including through the Illinois Finance Authority, an agency of the State of Illinois, to the
Tribune Company involving the Wrigley Field baseball stadium; in violation of Title 18, United States Code,
Sections 666(a)(1)(B) and 2.

It's a 76 page indictment.

A Portion of the Press Release from the U.S. Dept. of Justice.


ILLINOIS GOV. ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH AND HIS CHIEF OF STAFF
JOHN HARRIS ARRESTED ON FEDERAL CORRUPTION CHARGES

Blagojevich and aide allegedly conspired to sell U.S. Senate appointment, engaged in“pay-to-play” schemes and threatened to withhold state assistance to Tribune Companyfor Wrigley Field to induce purge of newspaper editorial writers.

CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges alleging that they and others are engaging in ongoing criminal activity: conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits for Blagojevich by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a United States Senator; threatening to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical of Blagojevich; and to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for official actions – both historically and now in a push before a new state ethics law takes effect January 1, 2009.
Blagojevich, 51, and Harris, 46, both of Chicago, were each charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery. They were charged in a two-count criminal complaint that was sworn out on Sunday and unsealed today following their arrests, which occurred without incident, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District
of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Both men were expected to appear later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

I would say Blago is most likely toast. Maybe he'll get a cell next to Ryan. We've had 2 previous Governors serve prison time: Democrat Daniel Walker who was Governor from 1973 to 1977. He was convicted of "improprieties" during the Savings and Loan scandal in 1987 and served two years in federal prison. And our latest, George Ryan who was Governor from 1999 to 2003. Before that he was Secretary of State and that's where he screwed up. The "license of Bribes" scandal led to many other investigations and in 2003 he was indicted on 18 counts of Federal racketeering...he was convicted of all 18 counts in 2006. As Secretary of State, his office took bribes from large companies to get truck driving licenses for their employees, instead of having them pass a test. When a truck driver with an illegal license killed six children from one family in a horrific traffic accident, the feds took notice and began investigating the Secretary of State's office. Instead of halting the practice of issuing licenses for bribes, Ryan allegedly tried to halt the investigation. He's now sitting in prison. Oh, but before he left he eliminated all the death sentences...saying he personally read all the cases which is a big freaking L.I.E. Whatever, he's crying now.

When you have to raise millions of dollars to get elected you are ripe for corruption. Especially here in Illinois where corruption in King/Queen.

UPDATE: State Representative John Fritchey (D) (from Blagojevich's home district), head of the House Judiciary committee, said impeachment proceedings will begin immediately.
Excellent! Let's see if they really do this. I guess they're going to convene a special session of the legislature in order to get some things passed that will allow for a special election. Otherwise, in Illinois, it's the Gov and the Gov alone that has the power to appoint a replacement Senator.

Oh, it just keeps getting better. It appears that Rahm Emmanuel may have contacted Fitzgerald in expediting Blago's arrest. Why? Well, one of the suggested people for Obama's Senate seat was Valerie Jarrett. Then, abruptly, her name was withdrawn. We'll have to see how that bit of speculation on Rahm and Jarrett pans out. Apparently, Obama refused to give Blago anything in exchange for this seat but "appreciation" and Blago didn't like that. Blago's response was "f them". Heh, we shall see who getting F'd now for being a corrupt asshat.

According to some local Fox news video:

CONATY: We did receive a tip this morning that perhaps all of this came together so quickly because the Governor may have reached out to Rahm Emanuel, the president-elect’s chief of staff, in attempting to leverage filling the Senate seat. And it may have been Rahm Emanuel who tipped the scale and made this move as quickly as it did.

Ok, now Rahm's people are saying that story about him dropping a dime on Blago is baloney. Just the result of overzealous reporting. Probably true. At this point I couldn't care less if my cat had called Fitz. I'm just glad Blago is finished. He should just resign and let our Lt. Gov. Quinn take over. He's a good guy.

Supreme Court Commits Rational Act

Yes, today the SCOTUS denied Donofrio v Wells. This was for an emergency stay only. A stay designed to stop the Electoral College from certifying Obama as President. Now, Donofrio may still file a writ for certiorari but good luck with that. What a maroon.

Of course, he's not the only one enlisted in the tin foil hat brigade. There's also P. Berg and Alan Keyes and a host of other sycophants ready with their time-wasting BS petitions. All this birth certificate nonsense is just that---nonsense.

No matter how many fact checkers have shown there's nothing wrong with Obama's BC these freepers would still rather see this:






HA!

Oh yes, and some think it's highly weird that Justice Thomas (the absolute worst SCJ eva) referred this silly thing to the full court for consideration--- it's not. Let's be clear on the process here, Donofrio handed this garbage to Justice Souter and he denied it. Now, the next action was for Donofrio to take it to another Justice---which he did. Weird? No.

Per SUPREME COURT OF THE U.S. - RULES
..Part V. Motions and Applications, Rule 22.4 :

4. A Justice denying an application will note the denial thereon. Thereafter, unless action thereon is restricted by law to the Circuit Justice or is untimely under Rule 30.2, the party making an application, except in the case of an application for an extension of time, may renew it to any other Justice, subject to the provisions of this Rule. Except when the denial is without prejudice, a renewed application is not favored. Renewed application is made by a letter to the Clerk, designating the Justice to whom the application is to be directed, and accompanied by 10 copies of the original application and proof of service as required by Rule 29.

Of course, I don't expect the insanity to stop as long as Obama is President. Meanwhile, the freepers' heads explode as they think up another stupid trick to make them more irrelevant. Alas, they're sinking fast, hoping against hope for a marvelous outcome that will deny Obama the Presidency. So, while they're sinking I'll throw them this






to help them on their way down. Idiots!

Return and the End of the Case

Yes, I have returned. It's been crazy here and my time was better spent off line. Anyway, so much has happened; in the world and locally.

Locally: The trial is over for now. There were 3 defendants: 1 female Dr. and 2 males. The case was medical malpractice related to the death of a child. It was one hell of a case. The female Dr. had a judgment rendered in her favor the rest was a mistrial. This was also the second time this case has been to court. The Judge will retain the case. I think it's nuts to try it again. Let me give a synopsis of the case.

The death of a 10 year old girl from Crohn's disease, DIC...she bled out because of severe internal rupture of GI system. Now, the case was sad but unfortunate and I don't believe these Doctors could have done more than what they did with the information they were given and the time line involved.

Time line:

Mother goes to regular Pediatrician for check up in Nov. 2001 ( female and male Dr.'s), no complaints. Mother next takes daughter to Peds Docs in March of following year for school check-up and says during this time that child had blood in stool. CBC done and manual exam done. No frank blood seen. Hgb (hemoglobin) comes back normal for child's age (12.1, all other signs normal: pulse, resp., BP, weight, etc.) If any signs recur to contact Dr.

Next medical contact is August of that year in the ER. ER Dr. (1 of the defendants) sees child...he's never seen her previously. Mother says child has had blood in stool for a year and has abdominal pain. BP normal, pulse:110, Resp. 20...Now pulse and resp and high but could be attributed to child being scared and in pain (these 2 factors can raise these values...in a perfect world a second set of vitals would have been done...we don't live in a perfect world). Stool culture done and was normal...no occult or frank blood. Blood work shows child's Hgb now at 10.3 which is very low for a normal 10 year old...could indicate internal bleeding. Child shows no pain upon exam. Mother told to contact regular Dr. or the Hospital's Pediatrician if problems recur. Child released to parent.

Next contact is Nov. when Mother takes child to regular Peds Doc and says blood in stool and abdominal pain. Makes no mention of ER visit in August. Dr. exam negative for blood in anal canal/stool /pain but indicated weight loss of 13 lbs. since previously seen in March.. Writes order for blood work but lab is closed so Mother comes back in 2 days, gets blood drawn and results sent to Dr. Child's blood work again shows Hgb of 10.3. Dr. spends 2 days leaving messages and playing phone tag with Mother. He's not sure what's going on but asks her to bring child in again for further exam. He doesn't hear from Mother that weekend and by Monday child is dead.

Autopsy shows Crohn's disease and DIC are cause of death. Mother sues on behalf of child's estate.

Ok, this case is a heart breaker. However, part of good medicine is parents giving appropriate info and taking action immediately, not months later. At the final Dr. visit this Pediatrician had no idea there had been an Hgb level of 10.3 since August. The Mother didn't mention it and no test results were forwarded to the regular Dr. This was his first time seeing this. Had he seen it previously, he would've taken different action. For me there was too much time between child being seen and bouts of blood in stool. Keep in mind that Crohn's disease has flare ups and remissions and is not easy to diagnose in a child. The child should have been seen by her Dr. the day the Mother saw the blood in stool or if unavailable, taken to ER and regular Dr. contacted immediately. None of that was ever done.

Now, the female Peds Doc was not seeing this child regularly and so a judgment was rendered, in her favor, that removed her from the case. As far as the ER Dr., he had no other info than what the Mother gave him. He did tell her to see her regular Dr. or the Hospital's Peds Doc if problems recur. Now he (or the nurses) could have taken another set of vitals. He could have referred her to a Pediatric GI Doc or even called in a Peds GI Doc but ER's being what they are that didn't happen. He did what many Er docs do...refer to regular Pediatrician.

The regular Peds Doc was at a loss for information. He had never seen the child's Hgb at 10.3 previously, had no info from the ER visit, didn't even know she went to the ER in August(there was no process in place at the time to forward the ER info to the regular physician) and did call the Mother when he got results for further exam. He was really being sued because he didn't have a crystal ball that could tell him the past and possible future outcome.

It was a tough case but this happens in many medical malpractice cases...they sue everyone possible hoping someone pays up prior to going to court. I seriously doubt this case will be heard again in court. According to the Mothers' statements there were many occurrences of bloody stool for which she did not have the child seen. My question was that if she told the ER Dr. that this had been going on for a year then why was there basically no documentation to support that anywhere.(One instance back in March but nothing previously and since she saw the Er Dr. in August that would presume the child had these occurrences since the previous August but that was not the case according to the records.) I hate to say this but if it isn't documented it wasn't done is a pretty cardinal rule in medicine. While the loss of a child is horrific it is incumbent upon parents to take action immediately and give all relevant info to the physician.

The problems with Crohn's disease are that the remissions may be long and while seen in younger children it usually occurs in the early teens. There are so many symptoms that may be confused with other diseases. Doctors are not God.

Pediatric Crohn's disease, definition, symptoms, treatment

DIC (Disseminated intravascular coagulation)definition