Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Talking points on same sex marriage and other hot issues of the day

  • Why is it intolerant for me to point out the intolerance of those who say they can’t tolerate someone else’s “intolerance?” Why is it hateful for me to call attention to the hate of those who clearly hate those they find “hateful?” Why is it illogical for me to argue for logic? Why is it fallacious for me to challenge those who use fallacies? And why is it considered libel for me to point out the illiberality of those who claim to be “liberal?”
  • Why is it unscientific to argue for science; to contend for facts and, thus, point out that it is a physiological fact that gender is genetic and not a feeling; that it is a sociological fact that children fair much better in a household anchored by a married mom and dad; that it is a medical fact that some sexual behaviors result in disproportionate negative consequences; and that it is an economic fact that traditional marriage accrues to the financial advantage of women and their children?
  • Why is it considered loathsome for me to argue for the highest definition of the human being and to contend that it’s an insult to dumb down the identity of a person to nothing but the sum total of his or her appetites and inclinations?
  • Why is it angry for me to draw attention to the anger of those who are clearly angry?
  • Why is it wrong for me to point out that many who disagree with my above points will find it impossible to avoid name calling and other meaningless breaches of basic freshman level Socratic logic; that in their closed-mindedness they will find it impossible to be open-minded; that in their illiberality they will find it impossible to be “liberal; and that they will not be able to resist shooting the messenger rather than simply considering the veracity of his message?
  • Why is it wrong to challenge those who ignore the facts of an argument and instead digress into the fallacious, sensational and salacious?
  • Why is it wrong to suggest that those who have lectured conservatives for years about the dangers of legislating morality are now celebrating the legislation of morality?
  • Why is it wrong to point out that same judges who constructed the wall separating Church and State now seem intent on dismantling that wall brick by brick?
  • Why is it wrong to ask what ever happened to academic freedom and intellectual liberty and to remind everyone that the liberal arts academy was founded some 800 years ago upon these precepts and not upon an ideological fascism where power suppresses the people and where conformity is demanded by demagogues who seek to silence debate?
  • Why am I wrong to suggest that the thoughtful scholar and true liberal, as well as, the committed conservationist (i.e. one who truly believes in conserving not only the physical environment but also the time tested truths of justice and human dignity) must always seek to do what’s right regardless of what the Supreme Court of the United State says?
  • Why is anyone wrong to remind everyone that morality isn’t determined by the minority, virtue isn’t defined by a vote, and nine men and women in black robes surely don’t have the power to tell over 300 million Americans what a sacrament of the Church is or isn’t?
  • Why is it wrong to contend that, as human beings, self-evident truth is written on every heart and that we don’t have any right to make the rules up as we go?

Everett Piper

In 2005 we visited this college on an architectural tour.

Shocking. The New York Times has been caught doing investigative reporting

Buried on A14 today.  She wasn’t telling the truth in March about her e-mails.  Boy, am I shocked.

Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters last month that the memos about Libya she received while secretary of state from Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime adviser whom the Obama administration had barred her from hiring, had been “unsolicited.”
But email records that Mrs. Clinton, according to officials briefed on the matter, apparently failed to turn over to the State Department last fall show that she repeatedly encouraged Mr. Blumenthal to “keep ’em coming,” as she said in an August 2012 reply to a memo from him, which she called “another keeper.”
All or part of 15 Libya-related emails she sent to Mr. Blumenthal were missing from the trove of 30,000 that Mrs. Clinton provided to the State Department last year, as well as from the 847 that the department in turn provided in February to the House committee investigating the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. The emails were reviewed by a reporter.

Grace and Frankie

I don't understand how Netflix works, but obviously it was up on current events (and anticipating and pushing for them) with "Grace and Frankie," a series about two older 70s something women (Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin) whose husbands decide to leave them so they can marry each other. Reading the story lines, I see it's rather smarmy (now there's a shocker!), but has been picked up for another season.

Somewhere I read (and it’s not worth looking up) that although only 2% of Americans are LGBT, about 20% of the themes in movies, TV and theater are. This series pushes the envelope of decency with humor, good writing and well known stars. It’s a formula that works.  Let’s assume no judgment about right or wrong, or sin or religion.  Let’s just consider biology and anatomy.  Inserting the penis into another’s anus or mouth for sexual pleasure, for love, is not natural. It might be many things, including disease transfer or a power statement, but those body parts were never intended to work together for the glory of God, for procreation, or for comfort.  So why would certain groups, both gay and straight, in entertainment and politics, be pushing so hard for its acceptance? If you have an answer that doesn’t include calling me names, leave a comment.  Otherwise, don’t comment because it won’t be published.

Donald Trump—you’re fired

Trump was the last person in the crowded field of Republicans that I would choose as candidate, however, the firing of him by NBC and Univision is pretty absurd.  He clearly was referring to ILLEGAL immigrants, not all Mexicans. There are sufficient news stories to back up his claims, even if they appear on the back burner of the MSM.   And Univision is so racist (shadeist) that you can’t find a single brown, black or Asian person on any of their shows—except in its enthusiastic studio audiences.

A reminder for my trolls and critics—read the rules

2015 June Lakeside

This blog is written to suit Norma, not its readers. She hopes that what suits her will suit them; but, if not, it will make no difference. No reader, subscriber, or body of subscribers, will be allowed to govern her course, dictate her policy, prescribe her methods, or choose her topics. Collecting My Thoughts

Clement of Rome chastises the first century Christians at Corinth

“So the worthless rose up against the honoured, those of no reputation against such as were renowned, the foolish against the wise, the young against those advanced in years. For this reason righteousness and peace are now far departed from you, inasmuch as every one abandons the fear of God, and is become blind in His faith, neither walks in the ordinances of His appointment, nor acts a part becoming a Christian, but walks after his own wicked lusts, resuming the practice of an unrighteous and ungodly envy, by which death itself entered into the world.”Chapter III of The First Epistle to the Corinthians, Clement of Rome (ca. 96).  Christian Classics

Sounds so familiar, doesn’t it, like it could be this week, but this is the letter of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians.  Any Christian who suspects the first century church had it all together should read the church fathers. Early Christians seemed to be following every whim and whiff and lust of the culture, and squabbling among themselves.

Pope_Clement_I

Monday, June 29, 2015

Gay backlash

From the Wall Street Journal:

“It didn’t take long for the backlash to emerge after the Supreme Court handed down Obergefell v. Hodges. From opponents of same-sex marriage one heard the usual empty talk about constitutional amendments and civil disobedience. The fiercer—and uglier—backlash came from the victors.

A case in point is the Patriot-News. The Harrisburg, Pa., paper rushed out an editorial that began celebratorily enough: “June 26 just became a de facto national holiday for gay Americans. . . . [Justice Anthony] Kennedy nailed it: There are no rights more fundamental than due process and equal treatment under the law.”

Not even free speech? Definitely not, according to the Patriot-News, which in the same editorial announced this new policy: “As a result of Friday’s ruling, PennLive/The Patriot-News will no longer accept, nor will it print, op-Eds and letters to the editor in opposition to same-sex marriage.””

But remember, it’s all about love.

A MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN (humor)

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except North Dakota, which she does not fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').

2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.'

3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot grouse.

5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.

8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialect in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.

11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

13.. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

God Save the Queen!

Note: In the last update, OED added twerk, FLOTUS, yarn-bombing, and crowdfund. That sounds sort of American English to me. The first edition took 44 years to complete 1884-1928.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

The President was heckled at the LBGT Pride gathering, but . . .

“The press reported on this “scolding” approvingly. NPR noted that the president “shut down” the heckler. CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley called it a “smack down.” Missing from the fawning coverage was a revival of the insinuation that, because of his race, President Obama has been the “most disrespected president in history.” Why? Perhaps because the heckler wasn’t a Republican or a right-wing pundit but an illegal immigrant and transgender activist protesting the detention of LGBTQ migrants slated for deportation.”  Matthew Hennessey

Blackface actors insult blacks, drag queens insult women

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Blackface” is a style of theatrical makeup that originated in the United States, and is used to make an actor look like a Black person, but in a very exaggerated way. It is the countenance of an iconic, racist American archetype—that of the “darky,” as Blacks were often called in the past. Blackface also refers to a genre of musical and comedic theatrical presentation in which blackface makeup is worn. White blackface performers in the past used burnt cork, and later greasepaint or shoe polish, to blacken their skin and exaggerate their lips. They’d often wear woolly wigs, gloves, tailcoats, or ragged clothes to complete the transformation. Later, Black artists also performed in blackface. http://www.blackhistory.com/content/61585/blackface

The Left will call this hate speech

SCOTT WALKER: " I call on the President and all Governors to join me in reassuring millions of Americans that the government will not force them to participate in activities that violate their deeply held religious beliefs. No one wants to live in a country where the government coerces people to act in opposition to their conscience. We will continue to fight for the freedoms of all Americans."

About that rainbow flooded White House Obama set up

The White House doesn't belong to the current residents and their values; it's the people's house. Leftists are all about tearing down the flag--this one. They don't care about what happened 150 years ago. They re-enslaved those who were set free.

Christians for a Sustainable Economy's photo.

Which party cares about minorities?

While one U.S. party attacks a flag, monuments, statues and historical sites of a war that was won 150 years ago, another party saves lives. One party says they care about a past they can't change, the other party actually does something about saving the future.

“Right now [2013] abortion on demand in the black community, according to the archives of the Tuskegee Institute, from 1882 to 1968 – 86 years – the Ku Klux Klan lynched 3,446 Negroes,” [Walter] Hoye said. “While it took the Klan 86 years to accomplish this, abortion on demand in America accomplishes that in less than 4 days.” Hoye's numbers are based on the Guttmacher Institute's (research arm of Planned Parenthood) fact sheet on induced abortion in the United States. Tuskegee's records also show 1,297 whites were lynched. Abortion is seen as a compassionate way to keep children from the effects of poverty and poor parenting, even by some Christians.  Twisted.

Norma Bruce's photo.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

There is no judicial branch

Andrew C. McCarthy: “Yet, for all the non-stop commentary, one detail goes nearly unmentioned — the omission that best explains this week’s Fundamental Transformation trifecta. Did you notice that there was not an iota of speculation about how the four Progressive justices would vote? There was never a shadow of a doubt. In the plethora of opinions generated by these three cases, there is not a single one authored by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, or Sonia Sotomayor. There was no need. They are the Left's voting bloc. Once it has become a given that a critical mass of the Supreme Court is no longer expected, much less obliged, to do law, then the Court is no longer a legal institution. It is a political institution. That is where we are. We should thus drop the pretense that the Court is a tribunal worthy of the protections our system designed for a non-political entity — life-tenure, insulation from elections, and the veil of secrecy that shrouds judicial deliberations.”

Who is this man?

I wonder who paid for the disgraceful, gaudy light display at the people's house in Washington DC; I wonder why it was all ready to go when the SCOTUS decision was announced; I wonder why this president is so effortlessly divisive; I wonder why he lied to the American people about so many of his core values in order to get elected.

Justice Thomas dissent

CitizenLink's photo.

Millennials now outnumber the Boomers

It is the millennial demographic which now outnumbers the boomers that has made the cultural earthquake in drugs, marriage, pornography, genderism, and bigotry when its views are not accepted. They were more than willing to toss a bone of "love" and "dignity" and give up on marriage for themselves, which huge numbers didn't want anyway because it means commitment and growing up to face adult responsibilities. The White House lit up in rainbows yesterday, but until 2012, President Obama ran from and lied about this issue to maintain the support of blacks. This is what we've become, a nation of the duped led by a liar.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/06/25/millennials-now-outnumber-boomers-census-says/29294241/

Statement from NALC Bishop The Rev. John F. Bradosky

Contrary to Jesus’ authority and teaching about marriage that affirms the Father’s intention in creation, the decision by a majority of the justices of the United States Supreme Court today to legalize same-sex marriage in all 50 states is tragic, but not surprising. Many Americans live with the arrogance and delusion that contemporary wisdom makes our understanding superior to the revealed truth of God’s Word. In this context the high court’s ruling redefines relationships and marriage as a right preserved as a matter of human “dignity.” Such dignity is based on an individual determination of fulfillment and morality without regard to external truth or teachings that preserve the greater good of all society. The Supreme Court has foolishly endorsed this idolatry. . . .

NALC congregations and pastors can legally continue to teach, preach and practice our confession:

We believe and confess that the marriage of male and female is an institution created and blessed by God. From marriage, God forms families to serve as the building blocks of all human civilization and community. We teach and practice that sexual activity belongs exclusively within the biblical boundaries of a faithful marriage between one man and one woman. (Common Confession 6, Marriage and Family)

http://thenalc.org/wp-content/uploads/Documents/Teaching%20Statements/Marriage-Law-Cover-Letter-2015-JUN-26.pdf

Friday, June 26, 2015

Ten hymns on aging and our “golden” years

http://www.hymnary.org/hymnal/ALY1976

image

I'm generally not a joiner, but as a age, I appreciate hymns and liturgy more. "The mission of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada is to encourage, promote, and enliven congregational singing." If the sermon, announcements and Sunday School lesson are a bust, and the layman reading the Bible passages mispronounces all the place names, hymns and liturgy are there for us to worship Jesus, the whole point of attending. This organization looks promising:  http://www.thehymnsociety.org/

Sing for Joy is the St. Olaf choir web site with beautiful choral music that follows the lectionary. http://www.stolaf.edu/singforjoy/

Thursday, June 25, 2015

As Justice Scalia said

“You would think the answer would be obvious—so obvious there would hardly be a need for the Supreme Court to hear a case about it,” Scalia wrote. “In order to receive any money under §36B, an individual must enroll in an insurance plan through an ‘Exchange established by the State.’ The Secretary of Health and Human Services is not a State.”

“Having transformed two major parts of the law, the Court today has turned its attention to a third. The Act that Congress passed makes tax credits available only on an ‘Exchange established by the State.’ This Court, however, concludes that this limitation would prevent the rest of the Act from working as well as hoped. So it rewrites the law to make tax credits available everywhere.”

As Scalia sums it up: “The Court holds that when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act says ‘Exchange established by the State’ it means ‘Exchange established by the State or the Federal Government.’ That is of course quite absurd.” The practical consequence is that despite the limiting language, tax subsidies will continue to flow to people who buy medical-insurance policies in the majority of states, which have not established exchanges.”

In my opinion, we no longer have 3 branches of government.  In fact, I’m not sure what the Supreme Court is.  It doesn’t seem to be about what the law says, even a poorly written law like Obamacare which no Republican voted for and no Democrat read. This is the end of the American experiment; words mean nothing.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Never waste a crisis, Mr. President

I personally hope the governor of SC will remove the Confederate flag, but then all progressives, Democrats, Occupiers, Socialists and junior faculty who teach college freshmen Communist mush will have to promise not to go after other forms of free speech and memorials. Ha. We know that will never happen. The flag demand is just the prelude to a symphony of rage, so bring it down if you wish, but don't for a minute think it will stop there.

Ft. Hood where the Muslim terrorist who wasn't considered either but killed 13 and injured over 30, is named for Confederate General John Bell Hood. I've never understood that because although he was considered very brave, he was reckless and lost a lot of battles. Maybe he helped the North win and that's why it's named for him. And plenty more are also named for Confederates with a vast majority of US Army installations below the Mason-Dixon line named after Confederate generals. So no, I don't think if these demands are met (remove a flag flying over SC) it will end, [motto of the President's aide, Emanuel, Never waste a crisis]. And of course, all the U.S. military, if you know anything about the left.

http://www.examiner.com/article/should-u-s-military-bases-named-after-confederate-generals-be-renamed

Wal-Mart, Amazon and others to stop selling Civil War confederate symbols

Our educational theme this week at Lakeside is WWII. We've reviewed the horrors of the European theater and the Pacific theater. Within just a few years after the end of the war on two fronts we were trading partners and chummy with Japan and Germany. Our academics were agonizing over whether the bomb was necessary and paying reparations to Japanese Americans. My father brought home souvenirs made in Japan after the war when just a few months before Americans were trashing everything that had a Japan stamp on it. The U.S. rushed to save the starving and battered Germans and helped rebuild their cities we had been destroying.

But it seems we have a segment in our own country, primarily leftists who are unhappy that in the last 50 years Democrats have lost the vote south of the Ohio River particularly the last decade, that just must continue to punish the South. The internet is alive with calls for retribution—150 years later—for the sins and evil of Dylann Roof.  The patriotism in the southern states could put the North Eastern blue states to shame as they push our country toward socialism and statism, the very political ideas our fathers and grandfathers fought. Major retailers are rushing to please their government bosses, removing the remnants of the Confederacy while still selling Nazi paraphernalia. But then Nazi is short for "National Socialist," a system of government where private businesses were allowed but the government regulated everything from the idea to the owner to the employees to the supply chain to the consumer. A system that taught, "You didn't build that."

On Tuesday, several well-known retailers, including Wal-Mart and eBay [as well as Amazon, Target, Etsy, Sears], announced they would no longer sell or offer merchandise featuring the Confederate battle flag. But, Twitchy said, a number of people noticed a bit of hypocrisy in the items remaining for sale.

Walmart, for example, continues to offer Che Guevara posters for a mere $46.55. Guevara, Biography.com said, "was a Marxist revolutionary allied with Fidel Castro who went on to become an iconic cultural hero." The retail giant also offers at least three Lynyrd Skynrd CDs that prominently feature the battle flag as of this writing. We contacted Walmart to determine if they intend to remove the items but have not received a reply. The retail store, however issued a statement on its decision. [we never intend to offend anyone].

http://www.examiner.com/article/hypocrisy-seen-efforts-to-scrub-confederate-battle-flag-from-public-view

Monday, June 22, 2015

Five no-no white edibles

I ran into a friend last night we see only in the summer.  She’s lost about 20 lbs since I last saw her and looks and feels great.  I asked her how she did it, and she said she gave up 5 white things.  1)  White sugar, 2) white flour, 3) white rice, 4) white shortening, Crisco, 5) and white potatoes.  To give up sugar she said she had to detox for 2 weeks, and got headaches and the shakes.  Wow.  Sugar was never my problem, I’m a potato chip and cheese crackers gal, and I didn’t eat a lot of rice (although now I am eating brown rice), and flour was only if I baked, of which I don’t do much.  Potatoes are a powerhouse of nutrition—so I still eat those on occasion.  She’s hoping to get off all her medications.  Her doctor said she was obese and laid down the law.  I couldn’t even get a doctor to tell me I was over weight when I complained about leg pain.  I’ve been using an exercyle, but she uses some sort of trampoline thingy because she has bad feet and it provides a nice cushion.  She loves it.  We both expressed some concern about our wrinkles.  Fat is such a great crease filler!  She has beautiful skin, and no wrinkles at all on her face (so far with 20 lb gone), so we’ll see.   I’ve lost 30 lbs., and only gave up my “triggers,” those things that make me eat more (I bear no responsibility—ha, ha) like peanut butter, cheese, and potato chips, plus any meal that needs a few pieces of bread to hold it together. So I’m eating a lot more fruits and vegetables, more beans, brown rice, onions, red cabbage, dark lettuce and greens, more fat free yogurt and less meat, fewer potatoes. I’ve added 35-40 minutes a day of exercise.  I hate exercise.  In 6 months I think I’ve had French Fries twice and maybe potato chips once. I added in my dark chocolate drink, which satisfies a lot of cravings. Every BODY is different.  Find your spot and stay there.

088

2013 at 165 lbs and counting (it went up)

078

2015 ca. 140 lbs (not sure of the date)

Lakeside chaplains are now preachers

It's Lutheran Chautauqua week at Lakeside, and the preacher is Dr. Rick Barger, the president of Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus. I heard him briefly at the dockside worship yesterday and then those who heard his sermon at the Hoover service said he was outstanding. So I plan to go to the 9 a.m. chaplain's hour, now renamed "Faith for Living Hour" since the chaplains have been renamed preachers. He will also lead Vespers at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday (I think it is still called vespers). He has an engineering background, and believes the church can sponsor construction, water, and sustainability projects, but must never forget the people need Jesus first.

http://www.tlsohio.edu/about-trinity/introduction/barger-rick-bio

barger rick

The haters have tried to make Charleston the Dallas of 1963

Norma 1961 graduation B.S.

In 1963 I was blamed for JFK's death at the hands of an American communist who was then killed by another American who followed crime stories and hung out at the police station. (I don't think I was blamed for what Jack Ruby did, however). I was a 23 year old white woman working in the Russian Language and Area Studies Center at the University of Illinois, and even then, as a liberal, I thought that was pretty far fetched.  And I was sensible enough to know the south and people of Dallas weren't to blame either--another favorite whipping boy of the media, even 50 years ago. I was able to narrow the responsibility down to the man who shot him.  Now once again we have hate mongers attempting to blame everyone whose ancestors came to the U.S. from Ireland, England, Germany, Switzerland, Bosnia, Russia, including Jews, Mennonites, Lutherans, Catholics, Orthodox, and atheists  (but not Spain whose people got here first but they are never blamed in these racist plots because of the made up word "Hispanic." ) I believe the people of Charleston have come together to show all the haters, those druggies who join hate organizations on the internet, and those mind addled who sit in their parents’ basement or are tethered to their i-phones making up lies about Drudge, the Tea Party and Fox, just how to share the love of Jesus.  The crazies are out there, just like 1963, but I’m older now, and wiser, and I won’t take it anymore.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Happy Father’s Day!

TBN Trinity Broadcasting Network's photo.

Single use vs. multiple use plastic bags—Austin, TX

“Two years after the bag ban was implemented, the city asked the Austin Resource Recovery group to investigate its effectiveness. Their June 10 report, written by Aaron Waters, states that while the ban was successful in lowering the amount of single-use plastic bags made from high-density polyethylene in city landfills, it was actually worse for the environment overall.

“The amount of single use plastic bags has been reduced, both in count and by weight,” Waters states. “However, in their place, the larger 4 mil [4/1,000ths of an inch] bags have replaced them as the go to standard when the reusable bag is left at home. This reusable plastic bag, along with the paper bag, has a very high carbon footprint compared to the single use bag.”

The 4 mil reusable bags are often made from non-recycled low-density polyethylene and require more resources to manufacture than the single-use bags, Waters explained. Many of the heavier gauge 4 mil bags are also shipped from overseas, which increases their carbon footprint compared to the single-use bags.”

http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/us/environmentalists-solution-makes-trash-problem-worse

Friday, June 19, 2015

Daily Beast writer blames “white culture” for the Charleston tragedy

One white man equals a national need to have a conversation on white culture, but when a black man kills, it's poverty or poor self esteem or lack of fathers or a failing school system? Why do the deaths of blacks only matter when the killer is white? Write about Chicago and Baltimore's crime rates going up under this administration's blaming everyone but the perpetrator. This is simply ridiculous. In 1963 I was blamed for JFK's death and I'm not speaking for the nation or all white women, but I am very, very tired of these smears. Charleston has shown the whole country how to come together in the face of tragedy, and I just hope they can keep the Holders and Sharptons out of town. And the writers for the Beast. The author of this piece primarily wanted to talk about his own experience--he's very close to Obama's making his speech about himself instead of the victims. I suppose I could generalize about 2 black guys who think everything is about them, but I won’t.

Twaddle followed up with drivel here: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/19/we-need-to-talk-about-white-culture.html?

Is the Pope green?

Much of what is in Pope Francis’ encyclical on environmental stewardship, Laudato Si’, poses a major challenge for free-market advocates, those of us who believe that capitalism is a powerful force for caring for the earth and lifting people out of poverty. But one of the most welcome lines is a call for honest, respectful discussion.

Francis warns against both extremes: on one end, “those who doggedly uphold the myth of progress and tell us that ecological problems will solve themselves simply with the application of new technology and without any need for ethical considerations or deep change.” And on the other end those who view men and women “as no more than a threat, jeopardizing the global ecosystem, and consequently the presence of human beings on the planet should be reduced.”

He continues:

He gave a strong pro-life message, one the left doesn’t want to hear.

Do black lives only matter when the killer is white?

Our President barely missed a beat on using this latest tragedy to push an agenda, while he ignores the weekly death toll of other blacks in crime ridden Democrat controlled cities. Their families grieve, too. He was also wrong about how other countries have suffered. Between his agenda and the MSM, I'm surprised we have an illegal immigration problem; who would want to flee dictatorships and communism to come here?

http://www.frontpagemag.com/2015/dgreenfield/a-national-tragedy-and-a-partisan-response/?

Chicago’s bloody weekends show us that the politicians and reporters haven’t turned their attention to Charleston because they care about dead black people.

They are there for the psychotic killer, Dylann Storm Roof, not for his victims. They are there for a Southern state with a Republican governor who can be safely blamed the way that their Mayor of Chicago can’t. They are there to use the voiceless dead as convenient props in their campaign for gun control – in a state that already has some of the toughest gun control laws in the South. They don’t care about black people. They care about their political agendas.

Obama made that clear when he blamed Republicans for the shootings in his statement. The formatting of the statement on the White House website with its paragraphs about healing and the church in small print and the call for gun control and accusations of racism set out in giant bold type show with stark clarity what the president’s priorities are.

His priority is not, “Now is the time for mourning and for healing.” It is, “Someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun” and “this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries” to impose his burden of collective guilt on all Americans.

And of course, he was  wrong about “other advanced countries” too, or has he forgotten France and Norway and Scotland and others?

Rutherford on race in South Carolina

Todd Rutherford, a South Carolina state legislator, spoke out on CNN about what a racist state he represents (I assume he couldn't be elected without white support) and that Fox News spews hate for blacks (despite its many minority correspondents and show hosts and panel members). So Bill O'Reilly, who has an opinion show on Fox (not a news show which many liberals confuse) invited him on his show to present his side.

Rutherford made a fool of himself, in my opinion, and insulted millions by accusing them of being racist for watching Fox.  He rehashed some stories about Obama I've never heard on Fox, but have certainly seen passed around the internet. He couldn’t identify a single show or comment as being told on Fox, but simply repeated himself.

Like other Democrats, Rutherford equates any criticism of Obama (the Iraq pull out, or executive over reach, or the Beau Bergdahl trade, or our weak border security)  with racism, because how could there be any other explanation than racism when he's been elected twice?

Friday Family Photo—Early Father’s Day cook out

We won’t be around on Father’s Day, so we all met at our son’s home for the festivities the week before.

2015 father's day

2015 father's day 2

I am Hashimoto's Disease.

Until our daughter was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, I’d never heard of it. Her hair dresser was one of the first to suggest something was wrong; her employer (a doctor) noticed something was changing and suggested an endocrinologist.  Thyroid function tests didn’t show an abnormality.  It’s invisible (for awhile), always on the attack, and often misdiagnosed.  Even with no thyroid (also had thyroid cancer which is not always the case), she still has Hashimoto’s Disease. This is an excellent explanation.

Hi. My name is Hashimoto's. I'm an invisible autoimmune disease that attacks your thyroid gland causing you to become hypothyroid.

I am now velcroed to you for life. If you have hypothyroidism, you probably have me. I am the number one cause of it in the U.S. and many other places around the world.

I'm so sneaky--I don't always show up in your blood work.

Others around you can't see me or hear me, but YOUR body feels me.

I can attack you anywhere and any way I please.

I can cause severe pain or, if I'm in a good mood, I can just cause you to ache all over.

Remember when you and energy ran around together and had fun?

I took energy from you, and gave you exhaustion. Try to have fun now.

I can take good sleep from you and in its place, give you brain fog and lack of concentration.

I can make you want to sleep 24/7, and I can also cause insomnia.

I can make you tremble internally or make you feel cold or hot when everyone else feels normal.

I can also give you swollen hands and feet, swollen face and eyelids, swollen everything.

I can make you feel very anxious with panic attacks or very depressed. I can also cause other mental health problems. You know crazy mood swings? That's me. Crying for no reason? Angry for no reason? That's probably me too.

I can make your hair fall out, become dry and brittle, cause acne, cause dry skin, the sky is the limit with me.

I can make you gain weight and no matter what you eat or how much you exercise, I can keep that weight on you. I can also make you lose weight. I don't discriminate.

Some of my other autoimmune disease friends often join me, giving you even more to deal with.

If you have something planned, or are looking forward to a great day, I can take that away from you. You didn't ask for me. I chose you for various reasons:

That virus or viruses you had that you never really recovered from, or that car accident, or maybe it was the years of abuse and trauma (I thrive on stress.) You may have a family history of me. Whatever the cause, I'm here to stay.

I hear you're going to see a doctor to try and get rid of me. That makes me laugh. Just try. You will have to go to many, many doctors until you find one who can help you effectively.

You will be put on the wrong medication for you, pain pills, sleeping pills, energy pills, told you are suffering from anxiety or depression, given anti-anxiety pills and antidepressants.

There are so many other ways I can make you sick and miserable, the list is endless - that high cholesterol, gall bladder issue, blood pressure issue, blood sugar issue, heart issue among others? That's probably me.

Can't get pregnant, or have had a miscarriage?

That's probably me too.

Shortness of breath or "air hunger?" Yep, probably me.

Liver enzymes elevated? Yep, probably me.

Teeth and gum problems? TMJ?

Hives? Yep, probably me.

I told you the list was endless.

You may be given a TENs unit, get massaged, told if you just sleep and exercise properly I will go away.

You'll be told to think positively, you'll be poked, prodded, and MOST OF ALL, not taken seriously when you try to explain to the endless number of doctors you've seen, just how debilitating I am and how ill and exhausted you really feel. In all probability you will get a referral from these 'understanding' (clueless) doctors, to see a psychiatrist.

Your family, friends and co-workers will all listen to you until they just get tired of hearing about how I make you feel, and just how debilitating I can be.

Some of them will say things like "Oh, you are just having a bad day" or "Well, remember, you can't do the things you use to do 20 YEARS ago", not hearing that you said 20 DAYS ago.

They'll also say things like, "if you just get up and move, get outside and do things, you'll feel better." They won't understand that I take away the 'gas' that powers your body and mind to ENABLE you to do those things.

Some will start talking behind your back, they'll call you a hypochondriac, while you slowly feel that you are losing your dignity trying to make them understand, especially if you are in the middle of a conversation with a "normal" person, and can't remember what you were going to say next. You'll be told things like, "Oh, my grandmother had that, and she's fine on her medication" when you desperately want to explain that I don't impose myself upon everyone in the exact same way, and just because that grandmother is fine on the medication SHE'S taking, doesn't mean it will work for you.

They will not understand that having this disease impacts your body from the top of your head to the tip of your toes, and that every cell and every body system and organ requires the proper amount and the right kind of of thyroid hormone medication for YOU.

Not what works for someone else.

The only place you will get the kind of support and understanding in dealing with me is with other people that have me. They are really the only ones who can truly understand.

I am Hashimoto's Disease.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/thyroid-sexy/i-am-hashimotos-disease-a-letter-for-patients-family-and-friends/353693224649639

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Tim Hunt and fainting feminists

The claws are out at the Daily Beast over the Nobel Prize winning cancer scientist, Tim Hunt, who told a joke about women. Oh my. The Twitterverse came alive--probably at least 15 multiplying in their nastiness and getting a valuable scientist fired. So to provide some clarity for hysterical posters I responded, "The real issue is that his institution is so afraid of a few twits on social media that it will fire two cancer scientists for telling a joke. I heard a recording of this, and that a few women fell on their fainting couch is ridiculous and doesn't speak well for women in the sciences (although it was social media that ran with it, not the women)."

Then these sweet ladies who can be sexist, racist, and self-haters, turned ageist and attacked me for my age, because obviously, anyone over 40 isn't allowed an opinion. They've apparently never heard how men talk to each other.

Norma Bruce's photo.

"Three things happen when [girls] are in the lab: you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them they cry," he said. According to one of the attendees, the joke was greeted by a "deathly, deathly silence."

Since he met his wife in a lab, I strongly suspect this joke was very personal. She was also fired.

http://reason.com/archives/2015/06/13/the-illiberal-persecution-of-tim-hunt

The response to Hunt is way more archaic than what Hunt said. Sure, his views might be a bit pre-women's lib, pre-1960s. But the tormenting and sacking of people for what they think and say is pre-modern. It's positively Inquisitorial.

The irony is too much to handle: Hunt is railed against for expressing an old-fashioned view, yet the railers against him do something infinitely more old-fashioned: they expel from public life someone they judge to have committed heresy. Kick him out. Strip him of his titles. Mock his misfortune. "Savour the moment." How awfully ironic that the Royal Society, which played a key role in propelling Britain from medievalism to modernity, is now being asked to behave in a medieval fashion and send into the academic wilderness a heretic among its number.

Getting tired of the word IDENTIFY

safe_imageCALHMDI3

It used to mean establish or indicate who or what (someone or something) is.  Now it means to fantasize.

Lakeside is more than just a pretty face (. . . lake)

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I know it sounds crazy when the lake, tennis courts, shops and parks are so close, but this is often where you'll find me at Lakeside, attending one of the wonderful lectures. Next week is WWII history to honor the 70th anniversary of the end of the war. This is actually the movie theater, the only one in the county. Also have morning Bible studies here with preacher of the week.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Pickles like mom made

Make your own Delicious Crisp Refrigerator pickles!
You'll Need:
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1-2 teaspoons celery seed (I use 2)
1 teaspoon salt

3 cups sliced cucumber
3 small onions, thinly sliced

View the Complete Recipe and Directions here:

http://savoringtimeinthekitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/refrigerator-pickles.html

Cleopatra was a very rich woman

"The Ptolemaic system [the Ptolemys were Cleopatra's dynastic family and the Greek rulers of Egypt, after its conquest by one of Alexander the Great's generals] has been compared to that of Soviet Russia; it stands among the most closely controlled economies in history. No matter who farmed it -- Egyptian peasant, Greek settler, temple priest -- most land was royal land. As such, Cleopatra's functionaries determined and monitored its use. Only with government permission could you fell a tree, breed pigs, turn your barley field into an olive garden." 

Hmmm. Sounds vaguely familiar, doesn't it? Cleopatra was worth about $96 billion – or about 21st wealthiest in world history. (Cleopatra, a life, 2010)

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

My family tree

Purple Clover's photo.

Back to Bruce Jenner—who got bumped by Rachel Dolezal

"Bruce Jenner is a 65-year-old father of six children; 6’2″; thick-boned Olympian; over 200 pounds and still in possession of his penis. Yet we’re willing — no gleeful — to glimpse his burly frame in a maxi halter dress and kitten slippers on his veranda, while vilifying anyone calling him anything but his new moniker. “Caitlyn.” He poses on the front of Vanity Fair with a bathing beauty pinup model suit worthy of a 1940’s movie siren, discretely hiding his “package.”" Angela West

Dolezal timeline

Fallout from Obamacare—we’re losing doctors

My husband saw a medical specialist today who had an interesting story, which she said she can't tell her children because they are all Democrats and think Obama walks on water. She said that for the first three months after signing up for Obamacare (we live in Ohio, of course), the person isn't charged premiums (or at least they aren't due). So they get a lot of medical care during that time, then by the time the insurance claims make it through the system for payment to the doctor, they haven't paid their premiums and the doctors don't get paid. Neat scam, right? So how many doctors do you think will take Obamacare enrollees as new patients? Dr. Meenam says, “Absolutely true, and the doctors are not given any notice that the patient is delinquent, just told to send back the payments they have received if the patient who had services doesn't pay.”  She got out of medical care before Obama’s plan kicked in.

Proximity to healthy food doesn’t mean people will eat healthy

Research published in 2012 debunked the idea that "food deserts" were hurting poor people. You can take people to the best supermarket or freshest farmer's market, but you can't make them eat fewer calories, give up junk food, or buy/eat healthy. The mayor of Baltimore can't control crime increases in Baltimore, so she thinks she perhaps she can force them to eat differently

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-food-desert-20150610-story.html?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/do-food-deserts-matter-do-they-even-exist/2012/04/18/gIQA1B56QT_blog.html

“Results showed that only 15% of respondents shopped for food within their home census tract. Although the closest supermarket was only 2.0 km from home, the mean distance to the primary supermarket was 4.8 km. Nonwhite respondents lived the same distance to the closest supermarket than Whites, but traveled further to their primary store. College graduates lived closer to supermarkets and shopped closer to home than non-graduates. No significant effects were found by income.”

http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/meeting_abstract/24/1_MeetingAbstracts/lb331

True, but Communism, not ammonia, killed more

"The synthesis of ammonia made possible the growth of the world's population. ... [B]y 1900, most of the good arable land in the world was already being farmed, so that increased food production could come most readily from the application of additional fertilizer. ... The Haber-Bosch process for synthesizing ammonia made it possible to increase the food supply and support the world's current population of about 6.2 billion people. In other words, in the twentieth century, the population of the world increased from about 1.6 to 6.2 billion largely because of the Haber-Bosch process. That increase in the human population alone makes the twentieth century unique in all of human history. ... More than that, it also made possible the industrial production of explosives, and, because Germany was the first to use this new technology, increased the confidence of its military leaders. And that was to be a crucially important factor contributing to the outbreak of world war in 1914."  Origins of the Modern World (2007)

http://www.delanceyplace.com/view_archives.php?2818&p=2818

The USSR and China killed millions with death camps and starvation.  Now we have a new global form of Marxism, intent on reversing the gains of the 20th century. Globalism.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Liberals are bullies, bigots and babies

“Tim Hunt is a serious scientist. He shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research. In 2006 he was awarded the Royal Medal, whose past recipients include Michael Faraday, Charles Darwin, Francis Crick, and Paul Dirac. His topic at the conference where he made his offending remark was the public good of science, and why scientific research should be publicly supported. He was making, as the Royal Medal award says, “important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge” — in this case, on the subject of cancer.”

But he made a joke about women in science labs (I think it was about his own wife and I didn’t even think it was offensive like the author of this article) and he and his wife were fired. Liberals are bullies, bigots and babies.

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/419712/pc-mob-tim-hunts-scientific-contributions-couldnt-matter-less-ian-tuttle

There are perhaps 10-20 people who run the Twitter campaigns to destroy lives, to make it look like thousands, like it’s burning up the internet with outrage.  So phony. Obviously, no support from his institution or colleagues or even his country to which he has given so much.

“His treatment also demonstrates the innate cruelty of social media, and in particular the savage power of Twitter, which first revealed the scientist’s transgression. The tale also demonstrates how PR departments, in trying to protect the reputation of institutions, often do so at the expense of the individuals who work for or make up those bodies.”

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/13/tim-hunt-hung-out-to-dry-interview-mary-collins

Thoughts on Jenner and Dolezal

Years ago, I cooked up some turnips, mashed them, served them with butter and salt, and told my kids they were mashed potatoes--because like typical kids they were reluctant to try certain things. They looked like potatoes; even tasted like potatoes. That didn't make it so. And I'm not sure they trusted me on vegetable night after that. Today I didn't straighten my hair, and I think I'm going to pass as Megyn Kelly. If you don't like my fantasy, you're a bigot.

                     Megyn Kelly

Rachel’s adopted siblings are black; she isn’t.  Sib-envy?

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Support family farms, says the poster

The Outdoor Option's photo.

I hope that little guy is in the driver's seat just for the photo. Looks about 8 years old.

Small family farms, averaging 231 acres, make up 88 percent of farms and 48 percent of total acres. Large family farms, averaging 1,421 acres, make up 3.9 percent of farms and 13 percent of acres. Very large family farms, averaging 2,086 acres, make up 4.6 percent of farms and 23 percent of total acres.

Farm and ranch families are 2% of the population and produce 262 percent more food with 2 percent fewer inputs (labor, seeds, feed, fertilizer, etc.), compared with 1950. 15% (21 million) of American workers produce, process and sell the nation’s food and fiber, but if you add in restaurant industry workers that's another 14 million. So it still takes a lot of people to feed America--and that doesn't include those Americans who have gardens for feeding their families.

Not sure what "support" means in this poster. The so called "food bill" of USDA is about 1 trillion and 80% goes to social programs not to farming--nutrition programs, energy assistance, rural housing assistance, changing our eating habits to make us less fat, more sustainable programs, etc.

About that kid on the tractor: On average, 113 youth, less than 20 years of age, died annually from farm-related injuries between 1995 and 2002. In 2011, 108 youth died. 33,000 children have farm-related injuries each year (OSHA). However, compared to sports related injuries for children, that's low. In 2009, an estimated 248,418 children (age 19 or younger) were treated in U.S. EDs for sports and recreation-related injuries that included a diagnosis of concussion or TBI. (CDC)

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Rural love

I just noticed on TV the online dating service called farmersonly.com. I remember maybe 25 years ago reading the lonely hearts ads in the back of the agriculture and breed (no pun) magazines in the veterinary library.

"Out buildings in good shape. About 40 acres forest. Must like Jerseys. Good cook preferred, appearance not important, Box 423."

or something like that

Exercises for healthy feet

Exercising your feet on a regular basis not only improves overall foot health, but may also reduce your risk for injury. Walking is the best overall foot exercise. When you walk, you put your foot through its full range of motion, from the time your heel hits the ground until you lift off with your toes. Moreover, walking is one of the best forms of exercise for your entire body. It improves your cardiovascular health and can help your circulation, muscle tone, and mood.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/exercises-for-healthy-feet

See the website for simple workouts to stretch and strengthen your feet.

Foods that combat inflammation

Sometimes I feel like I will turn into a salad.  I’ve lost 30 pounds since Christmas—more fruits and vegetables, more exercise, and none of my favorites.  No potato chips, no Fritos, no peanut butter on crackers, no Cheddar cheese, no cookies. Last night we ate at the Rusty Bucket and I get their “3 side orders”—steamed broccoli, salad of tomatoes and cucumbers with mozzarella cheese in olive oil, and then a little cheat, onion rings. I just don’t think the carrots would have made me feel like I’d had date night.
Include plenty of these anti-inflammatory foods in your diet:
  • tomatoes

  • olive oil

  • green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, and collards

  • nuts like almonds and walnuts

  • fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines

  • fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and oranges

Harvard Health Newsletter: “One of the most powerful tools to combat inflammation comes not from the pharmacy, but from the grocery store. “Many experimental studies have shown that components of foods or beverages may have anti-inflammatory effects,” says Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. Choose the right foods, and you may be able to reduce your risk of illness.

                anti-inflammatory

St. James’ advice for the internet users

You probably didn't realize the Bible addresses using the Internet. I need to re-read this advice whenever I read The Daily Beast or The Huffington Post.

James 1:19-27 (NIV) My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Misconceptions about worship

Here’s something American Catholics and American Protestants share—we are overly concerned about how we feel during worship.  It’s all about me.  No, it’s about the risen Jesus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkoaLfR_iCg#t=94

We Americans in any case rather have come naturally to think that in the liturgy we want to express ourselves, and if it doesn’t feel like us, then we don’t want to say it!

But the whole tradition of liturgy is not primarily expressive of where people are and what they want to say to God. Instead it is impressive. It forms us, and it is always bigger than any given community that celebrates it.

Father Jeremy Driscoll

Friday, June 12, 2015

Putin and the assault on Ukraine

I don't know if any of my readers/friends are more sympathetic with Putin (who's pulling the righteous Christian act) than the Ukrainians, but countries have memories that reach back. 7 million Ukrainians were starved by Stalin in the 1930s. These are the horror stories I heard from my classmates in college, most born in the late 1930s or early 1940s whose parents told them.

http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/stalin.htm

By the spring of 1933, the height of the famine, an estimated 25,000 persons died every day in the Ukraine. Entire villages were perishing. In Europe, America and Canada, persons of Ukrainian descent and others responded to news reports of the famine by sending in food supplies. But Soviet authorities halted all food shipments at the border. It was the official policy of the Soviet Union to deny the existence of a famine and thus to refuse any outside assistance. Anyone claiming that there was in fact a famine was accused of spreading anti-Soviet propaganda. Inside the Soviet Union, a person could be arrested for even using the word 'famine' or 'hunger' or 'starvation' in a sentence.

The Soviets bolstered their famine denial by duping members of the foreign press and international celebrities through carefully staged photo opportunities in the Soviet Union and the Ukraine. The writer George Bernard Shaw, along with a group of British socialites, visited the Soviet Union and came away with a favorable impression which he disseminated to the world. Former French Premier Edouard Herriot was given a five-day stage-managed tour of the Ukraine, viewing spruced-up streets in Kiev and inspecting a 'model' collective farm. He also came away with a favorable impression and even declared there was indeed no famine.

Born and raised white in Montana, now she’s black in Spokane

If Bruce Jenner can claim he's a woman after 3 wives and half a dozen kids to jump start a new reality show, and Elizabeth Warren says on her college applications she's Native American, and Miley Cyrus says she's bisexual to get back in the limelight,I see no reason that white people can't claim to be black to get a job that requires minority status. Thanks to progressives, there are no rules about gender, race, species, consanguinity, marriage, parenting, or sanctity of human life (that's only for animals). White cops, bad; white Christians, bad; white male scientists, bad; unless they can transition to another gender, race, religion, or profession.

image

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3121061/Local-NAACP-leader-professor-African-studies-outed-WHITE-parents-convincing-community-black-years.html

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Ravi Zacharias on homosexuality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIw6ngIqaD0

Ravi Zacharias -35 year respected top religious scholar and speaker on Christ and Christianity and the Bible answers one of the tougher questions asked about Christianity and its "intolerance". (from 2009)

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House

One of the books that didn’t go to the give away pile or the dumpster in our most recent clean out was “Little House in the Ozarks; a Laura Ingalls Wilder sampler, The rediscovered writings.” (1991)  Before her novelist daughter Rose Wilder Lane began editing her fiction, Laura Wilder had written for many farm publications, and even other women’s magazines. If you are withdrawing books from your collection, you must never open them and browse.  They won’t make it out the door.  There are snippets in this book of stories that will later become part of her children’s fiction series. Nothing else will get done once you start to read.

The book is divided loosely into themes, it is not chronological and doesn’t have an index.  If you see something you like (I did) and don’t stick in a bookmark, you lose it (I did).

From Good Reads website:

In more than 140 articles and essays collected here for all to enjoy, this beloved author's writings on American life during a simpler time abound with humor and spunk that transcend the years. Laura Ingalls Wilder -- beloved author of one of the world's most treasured children's series, the Little House books -- wrote articles on a dizzying array of topics; articles that sparkle with her timeless wit and wisdom. Her interesting and insightful views on the changes motor cars and highways brought to her small town; the need to conserve natural resources; the role of women in the work force and in politics -- nothing seemed to escape her keen observation. With a foresight that is astounding, Wilder's many articles examine in depth the ways of life in this country during the late 1800s and early 1900s with a wisdom that holds relevance for our lives even today.

“Whom will you marry?” appeared in the June 1919, McCall’s magazine, and after much reflection when a younger woman asks her about becoming a farmer’s wife (he’s coming home from the war and she needs to give him an answer), Mrs. Wilder concludes at the end of the long article, not unexpectedly:

“If you want ease, unearned luxuries, selfish indulgence, a silken-cushioned, strawberries-and-cream life, do not marry a man who will be a farmer.

If you want to give, as well as to take; if you want to be your husband’s full partner in business and in homemaking; if you can stand on your own feet and face life as a whole, the troubles and difficulties and the real joys and growth that come from them; if you want an opportunity to be a fine, strong, free woman, then you are fitted for the life of a farmer’s wife, to be his partner, the providence of your own little world of the farm and bread-giver to humanity, the true lady of the world.”

Thank you for that, New York Times

Thanks to the New York Times investigative journalism, we now know more about Marco Rubio than Barack Obama. We know he took out student loans to go to law school and paid them back (shocker), that he lost money on one home sale during the housing bubble (wow), that he had 4 traffic tickets in 18 years (ouch), and he has an $80,000 boat bought after he got a $800,000 advance on his book. Gee, Bill Clinton can get more than that for two 15 minute speeches for foreign governments, and his speaking fees went up after Hillary became Secretary of State. NYT called Rubio's debt staggering, but Saturday one of their reporters, Lee Segal, wrote a piece on how to stiff tax payers and universities by defaulting on student loans.

http://freebeacon.com/politics/financial-expert-quoted-in-nyt-rubio-hit-job-is-obama-donor/

Can't wait to see what Soros money can dig up about Scott Walker. . . although actually just because David Brock is grateful for Soros' generosity doesn't positively identify his fingerprints all over the Rubio story. It was just the smell in the room.

Office clean out at the Bruces—it’s trash day

Yesterday we carried three sacksful to the church library and Tuesday an unbelievable amount of books and magazines to the public library Friends sale drop off.  This is what is left.  Stuff no one wants.  But it’s interesting to look through.  Codes.  Books and books of codes. Now all irrelevant, and there are new codes to keep architects, engineers, electricians, plumbers, and city planners and engineers in business. Plus a lot of Bible study workbooks, 10-15 years old, never looked at after the class, and of no use to anyone else.

001

002

003

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

What’s wrong with mothers these days?

Seems to be my week to rant about mothers. Yesterday is was mom walking across Tremont Road and using her phone on a gorgeous day outside ignoring her little daughter; but today, it was gorgeous mom, impeccable clothes, in 92 degrees, blazing sun pushing the baby stroller along Kenny Road (no shade) with her under one year age child practically naked with no canopy for cover. The sun exposure that causes melanoma is brief, intense exposure - a blistering sunburn. People in my neighborhood are in a great demographic--well educated, wealthy, married, beautiful homes, good schools--but that apparently isn't enough to develop common sense.

Update Thursday, June 11:
At the booth next to us at the Rusty Bucket were grandma and grandpa with their two adorable little grandchildren . . .grandma was talking on her cell phone and grandpa was scrolling through his messages. Kids sat there with nothing to do. Sigh.

Tuesday, June 09, 2015

Memories of Dad

When I was a teen-ager, my mother would often remind me to put on an apron when working in the kitchen. Sort of irritated me, but after all, she was the one doing the laundry. When I was 60 and visiting my parents, I'd just chuckle when my father would say, "Baby, put on an apron." (Didn't mind being called Baby because that's about as affectionate as he got, but having him tell me to wear an apron. . well. . .). This morning I put on my new light teal shirt (meeting friends for coffee at Worthington Panera’s) and looked down and there was a food splatter. I'd worn it on Sunday and made cabbage soup with a chicken broth base. I dabbed at it with cold water without much success, but I'll forever hear Dad when I put it on.

Time to vote with Republicans for change?

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Sunday, June 07, 2015

Quote Guttmacher and get called a Bible thumper

I have no idea who Marsha Holderfield, a commenter at the Daily Beast is, but she called me a right wing bible [sic] thumper who watches Fox (she didn't use that term) and said I was an embarrassment to women for citing statistics on abortion and the role Planned Parenthood plays in eliminating minority babies (38% of the pregnancies of black women). So I responded:

Marsha Holderfield, have you read the Planned Parenthood web site and literature? This is directly from them, as are the stats (Guttmacher Institute) on abortion. Planned Parenthood receives over $360 million annually in our tax dollars, and gives $2,142,076 to their “research” arm, Guttmacher. So unless you think Guttmacher is "right wing" or Fox moles, you're just wrong and have added nothing but insults to this discussion (you're hoping I'll give you that link to their masturbation guide for children, but I won't). And what is your problem with Fox News? Not enough left wing opinion like ABC, CBS and NBC mixed in with the hard news? People who watch cable news (about 40%) are much more engaged than those who watch broadcast (about 70%), and people who watch Fox also watch CNN and MSNBC and their local outlets. (Pew Research, "How Americans get their News"). There; I've written a paragraph without insulting you or calling you names. Let's see if you can do that. It will be good practice for your next job interview.
I mention job interviews because employers can search the internet too, it's not just the NSA or the IRS. They look for racism, sexism, ageism, hateful comments, unpaid bills, bad grammar and English, and who your friends are. I heard a Repo man on the radio say he's been trying to impound a car for six months, but the owner kept evading him and the bank who had hired him. On her Facebook page he saw that her mother died, so he went to the funeral home to remove her car. If I were still working I wouldn't be posting on FaceBook. At least not about politics.

The Anima Christi

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me.
Within your wounds, hide me.
Never let me be separated from you.
From the malignant enemy, defend me.
At the hour of death, call me;
and bid me come to you.
That with your saints I may praise you
forever and ever.

Amen.
(Attributed to St. Ignatius Loyola, but authorship uncertain)

Communion today.  With merging services this will be a first time for us to serve with this group. We call it a grace operation.

I've read the poem in Latin, and the modern English translation, but like this old one best (although some older ones use thee and thy). Looks more accurate and is also more poetic.

Saturday, June 06, 2015

Hillary Clinton’s gender gap

The CNN poll via Byron York as reported in James Taranto’s WSJ column:

When asked whether [Mrs.] Clinton “cares about people like you,” 57 percent of women said yes, while just 36 percent of men said the same—a 21-point gender gap.
* When asked whether Clinton “inspires confidence,” 57 percent of women said yes, while just 41 percent of men said so—a 16-point gender gap.
* When asked whether Clinton “is honest and trustworthy,” 49 percent of women said yes, while just 34 percent of men agreed—a 15-point gender gap.
* When asked if they have an overall favorable or unfavorable opinion of Clinton, 54 percent of women said favorable, while just 38 percent of men said the same—a 16-point gender gap.

A bit of trivia on OSU minority enrollment 100 years ago

The worst thing you can do when de-cluttering, particularly removing books, is to peek inside. I was doing pretty good yesterday until I opened a small volume and found a list of African American veterinary students who attended Ohio State 100 years ago. It was a research project I never finished (in part because I was denied access to administration records on course work due to privacy concerns) from 16 years ago. I glanced through the list and Google called, so I searched the name of Charles Huston Minor, who graduated in 1916. I found out he later got an MD from OSU in addition to his DVM and practiced in NY where there is a database on the web of licenses. Also found photos in a 1920 Makio (OSU yearbook--every issue published from 1880 to the present is available) of him and fraternity brothers. Google never ceases to amaze me--a lot of this wasn't available 16 years ago, when I had to browse old class photos hanging in the vet hospital and figure who were minorities.

One hundred years ago blacks were accepted in the college, but not women. Also male foreign students from Asia and South America. Lest we think "progress" it's important to remember that horses had been the primary focus of veterinary medicine, and automobiles, trucks and tractors were replacing them, drastically diminishing the importance of veterinarians. Therefore, in order to survive, I suspect the school began accepting minorities--for whom there really wasn't much future in this field except working for the government in health inspection. The percentage of blacks in vet school was higher in the waning years of the horse than 100 years later during the small animal, exotic and avian era.

http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.kvma.org/resource/resmgr/imported/8-04-The%20Early%20History%20of%20the%20Horse%20Doctor.pdf

Friday, June 05, 2015

Campaigning events

Hillary Clinton gave a speech at a very poorly attended gathering at a historically black college in Texas where she told them scare stories of Republicans trying to take the vote away from them with a voter ID, something they need at the bank, the airport, and any government building. Maybe she thinks they never leave town or use a bank? Maybe she doesn't know that in the last 2 elections blacks voted at a higher rate than whites. Maybe she doesn't know even a majority of Democrats approve of voter ID to eliminate vote stealing. In which cities do the dead vote? Those run by Democrats!

New York Times is reporting on the combined traffic tickets of the Rubios.  Desperate!  Snoop some more. In 18 years--there must be more.  Mr. Rubio with four and his wife with 13.  Are they bad drivers or do Florida police target Cubans?  And Hillary Clinton is a billionaire crime queen, but where's the outrage?  Besides, she has had a driver the last 20+ years.

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/06/05/marco-rubio-and-his-wife-cited-17-times-for-traffic-infractions-2/?_r=0

Liturgical dance?

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I first saw liturgical dance when I was 18 at Manchester College.  It didn't impress me then, and still doesn't.  But at least it was school girls then and they didn't dress in their underwear.  I've seen a number of suggestions for what this might be trying to say, but I wish I could see the expressions on these older men's faces (Metro New York ELCA [Lutheran]  Synod) in the audience.  Perhaps I've misinterpreted this and someone can clarify.