Friday, March 16th, 2007
There is a considerable loophole in the campaign finance regulations. Usually, we hear about no big gifts, no secrets, and no foreign money. However, if you want to give to a presidential library, there are no limits.
On March 14, the House voted 390-34 in favor of approving the Presidential Library Donation Reform Act. This act would require that the source and amount of any donations over $200 be disclosed quarterly until the completed library is turned over to the National Archives.
Why does this need to be done (besides the obvious)? The Jimmy Carter Library took $26 million to build. The Ronald Reagan Library took $57 million. George H.W. Bush’s was price tag of $83 million. Bill Clinton’s library complex took $163 million. The rumor is that George W. Bush’s library will have a of $500 million.  Since these amounts are so high, fundraising starts before the president leaves office. If people and/or corporations are giving a million dollars, how do you not see political favoritism if laws are made in favor of these people/corporations.
We’ll see what happens now with this act.
Tags: bill_clinton, campaign_finance_regulations, foreign_money, fundraising, george_h_w_bush, george_w_bush, jimmy_carter_library, loophole, national_archives, presidential_library, pricetag, reform_act, ronald_reagan_library, s_library
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Friday, March 16th, 2007
Children’s programming is not what it use to be. I remember being a child and your only choice was Sesame Street. Nowadays, you have stations like Noggin and Nick Jr. who are dedicated to children’s program. My daughter does not even really like Sesame Street. Some of Madison’s favorite shows include Upside Down Show and Wonder Pets. I actually TIVO these two shows for her, so we can watch them any time we want.
The Upside Down show has Shane and David, and we get to watch their daily adventures. We have been to the art museum, the movies, and the airport among several other places with them. The part Madison loves the most about this show is the imaginary remote. She often plays with her imaginary remote even when we are not watching the show. Honestly, I find the show pretty corny, but my husband giggles right along with Madison (not sure what that says). There are several learning goals with this show:
Imaginative Play
- boosts creativity by modeling pretend play
- fosters a humorous approach to problem-solving
- models a think-outside-the-box attitude
Language and Early Literacy Skills
- introduces new vocabulary in surprising and funny ways
- reinforces phonological awareness with use of alliteration, rhyming, and other kinds of language play
Cognitive Skills
- reinforces logical thinking skills such as making predictions and noticing connections
- models using abstract thinking and imagination to find new ways of looking at a problem
- demonstrates and explores relational concepts (high/low, inside/outside, light/dark)
Social and Emotional Development
- models cooperation and negotiation
- models accommodating and supporting the needs of others
At least she is learning when she is watching this. I do have to admit that my favorite imaginary remote button has to be the Irish dancing button.
The other show she enjoys is Wonder Pets. This show is about three classroom pets named Linny (he’s the guinea pig), Ming-Ming (the duck), and Tuck (the turtle). The show is about how these three animals turn into superhereos to save other animals in trouble. This is one of my favorite shows. It is cute and even holds my attention. The learning goals that are supported by this show are:
Cognitive Skills
Language and Early Literacy
- introduces new vocabulary
- reinforces phonological awareness with its use of sung dialogue, rhythms, alliteration, and songs
Music
- exposes viewers to a wide range of musical styles and formats
- helps make connections between musical styles and world cultures
Social and Emotional Development
- promotes appreciation of and orientation towards teamwork
- models cooperation with others
- reinforces the value of listening to others’ ideas
- models an attitude of helping
There are a few other show I like too, but these are Madison two main shows that we do not miss. These shows are not too annoying, and I like that she is learning something by watching them.
Tags: adi, alli, animals, appreciation, attitude, bet, butt, dating, demo, demon, dial, dialogue, eed, eve, ewe, honestly, ing, ins, joys, liter, love, madison, mak, movie, movies, music, nick, nin, noggin, ot, otic, pets, pig, prob, rig, stat, sun, tea, teamwork, ted, tent, ter, time, tivo, turtle, ups, vent, venture, vocabulary, wh
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Wednesday, March 14th, 2007
I saw this over at Schlechtwetter.ch Tell me that this isn’t the coolest tree you haven’t ever seen.
Tags: bling, eve, ing, picture, ramblings, target, tent, ter
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Wednesday, March 14th, 2007
Actually this sounds better, so I think we will be having this instead:
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tomato, sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup buttermilk baking mix
- 1 cup milk
- 2 eggs
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 10 inch deep dish pie plate.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef, onion, and garlic; cook and stir until beef is brown. Drain off fat. Spread into prepared pie plate.
- Sprinkle meat with salt, black pepper, and oregano. Arrange tomato slices over meat, spread shredded cheese on top.
- In a small bowl, mix together baking mix, milk and eggs. Pour over cheese.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Serves 6
Tags: 1_teaspoon, black_pepper, cup_buttermilk, dish_pie, eggs, ground_beef, mix_milk, onion, oregano, pie_plate, plate_heat, shredded_cheddar_cheese, shredded_cheese, teaspoon_garlic_salt, tomato_slices
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