Sunday, April 30, 2017

Today I noticed this in the American Library Association State of America's libraries 2017 report. All the buzz words that can fit left of center. Did you pass a bond issue to combat Islamophobia, or have a Democrat tell you what is fake news? Have you ever suggested a Christian magazine or a pro-life title and been told there's no demand?  Try asking for a reading list on social justice for the unborn.
"Our 9,082 public libraries play a vital role in such community services as early childhood literacy, computer training, and workforce development. In addition, they provide a safe place for everyone, reflecting and serving the diversity of their communities in their collections, programs, and services. The thousands of public libraries in towns and neighborhoods across the United States invite community conversations and actions that further understanding and address local needs.
Public libraries nationwide are taking action, using signs and social media to proclaim “everyone is welcome”; creating reading lists on demographics, voting, social justice, and other hot topics; partnering with community organizations to combat Islamophobia and racism and to connect with disenfranchised populations; and developing programs to help community members spot “fake news” (such as false or misleading statements, video or images shown out of proper context, dubious statistics, manipulated content, partisan propaganda, or satire) and evaluate information online."

Morning mass around the world

One of the things I enjoy about Catholic mass, which I sometimes watch while riding my exercycle, is the Scripture readings.  There is so much more focus on the Bible in their services. In Protestant services the focus is primarily on the preacher and the sermon. I also enjoy watching/listening to Eric Waters, our former pastor of UALC who now is in Texas, although I would always be a week behind if I watched on Sunday.

 For a long time I watched the services from Australia--which is a few hours ahead of us.  The participants were rather elderly--and it was intended for the nursing home crowd who are unable to leave their homes.  Even the priests limped or struggled.  Then I tried Canada for a few weeks.  Sometimes I visited the Philippines, although the English was a bit difficult. The choirs were very interesting. Today I tried the April 30 service of the Passionists.  I'd never heard of them, so had to look them up: 
"The Passionists of St. Paul of the Cross Province belong to a world-wide community of Passionists, a Catholic religious community founded by St. Paul of the Cross, one of the great missionary saints of the Catholic Church. (St Pauls Benevolent Educational And Missionary Institute Inc.)

The Passionists of St. Paul of the Cross Province serve in the eastern parts of the United States and Canada in parishes, retreat and spiritual centers, monasteries and residences. You can find us in cities like New York, Pittsburgh, and Hartford; in addition we serve worldwide in poor and remote areas of Jamaica, West Indies, and Haiti."
They were joined in this service by a Catholic boys school in the Bronx. 

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Can you spot the lie?

Inspired by various lists going around Facebook, from condiments in the frig to rock events, I decided to try this. It's a list of ten jobs I’ve held, but one I didn’t (there are eleven on the list). Can you guess which one? Can you guess from which I was fired?
newspaper delivery
drug store clerk
specifications writer
journal author
Russian cataloger
Spanish teacher
agricultural worker
babysitter
Translator of medical articles
speech writer
drive in car hop
At an older blog I made a list of all the jobs I had before I graduated from college.

Friday, April 28, 2017

Friday Family Photo--Too many Corbetts

The Mount Morris Index editor, Worthington Thomas, kept track of the town's young men during WWII. From the going away party at his parents' home to his return at Christmas 1945, my father and other soldiers were reported in the town paper. I assume relatives submitted the information. My dad also wrote to Tommy who included his letters in the paper. I found the clippings in the 1990s. I don't know what happened to them.

July 1944
HOWARD CORBETTS TOO NUMEROUS IN CALIFORNIA CAMP

"Many odd situations have been reported by Mount Morris men participating in the present war, but a letter to the Mt. Morris Index from a young Marine located at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, Calif., brings to light one of the most unusual "Believe it or not" stories of them all.
"Dear Sirs: During the past few weeks I have received a few copies of the Mount Morris Index They are addressed to a Pvt. Howard Corbett, 5th Marine Div., Camp Pendleton, T.C. It just so happens that my name is the same, only I am a Pfc. in the 26th Regt., "D" Co., and am from Chicago.

Anyway, my curiosity has been aroused. I would like to know more about the other Howard. Maybe he is in some way related to me. I don't know. But if it isn't too much trouble I would like to know about him.

I joined the Marine Corps in January, 1942. Of these 30 months I have spent 23 overseas. I was a member of Carlson's Raiders and participated in four major battles at Midway, Bougainville and Guadalcanal.

I returned to the United States last February, and as you know, am now at Camp Pendleton. That in short is my life for the last 2 1/2 years and is about what I would like to know about the other Howard. I have sent the papers back to the post office and hope they are being sent on to the right addressee. I would advise your getting his correct address and have him put his middle initial on his record.

Sincerely yours, Howard N. Corbett
The Mount Morris Howard also was located at Camp Pendleton for a time which naturally accounts for the mix-up in mail. However, his present address is Naval Air Station, Marine Brks., Alameda, Calif., and both Howards will get this week's Index, with the suggestion that they write each other and establish their relationship if any."
Dad and Stan in front of our house in Alameda
And the rest of the story: I used the internet to see what had happened to Howard N. Corbett of Chicago, and if I've found the right one, he died in May 2004. After the war in which he was injured he went to college on the GI Bill and became a pharmacist. Howard Corbett Obituary (2004) - Homewood, IL - Daily Southtown (legacy.com)

It appeared from the obituary, that his son Howard, Jr., retired USMC, died a few months later. 

Thursday, April 27, 2017

100 Days of Accomplishments

100 Days Of Accomplishments

CUTTING REGULATIONS
Energy Independence Executive Order
Revocation Of Federal Contracting Executive Orders
Reexamination Of CAFE Standards
Review Of Waters Of The United States Rule
Creation Of Regulatory Task Forces
Eliminating Stream Protection Rule
Eliminating Regulations On Extraction Companies
One-In-Two-Out Regulation Reform
Minimizing Affordable Care Act 


JOB CREATION
Buy American, Hire American
Keystone Pipeline
Dakota Access Pipeline
U.S. Material In Pipeline Construction
Partnering With Private Sector

TRADE
Withdrawal From The Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Enforcement
Comprehensive Reports On The Causes Of U.S. Trade Deficits

ETHICS
Federal Hiring Freeze
New Ethics Commitments On Political Appointees
NATIONAL SECURITY
Strike On Syrian Airfield
Travel Restrictions On Select Countries
New Iran Sanctions
Defense Spending In Budget
F-35 Cost Savings

IMMIGRATION
Immigration Enforcement, Including Constructing A Wall
Sanctuary Cities Funding
New Hiring To Enforce Immigration
Prioritizing Criminal Immigration Enforcement And Hiring More Immigration Judges

PUBLIC SAFETY
Commission On Opioid Crisis
Protecting Law Enforcement Officers
Task Force On Violent Crime
Tackling International Cartels

HELPING WOMEN AND MINORITIES
HBCU Initiative
Canada-United States Council For The Advancement Of Women Entrepreneurs
Promoting Women In Entrepreneurship Act
Women And Space Exploration

SUPREME COURT
Nominating And Confirming Gorsuch To The Supreme Court

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Remembering oleo margarine

Image result for plastic bag margarine

Was the Wisconsin dairy lobby the reason we had to buy white margarine and mix it with a blob of color when I was a child? Then it came in a plastic bag and we mixed it by squeezing (still a child's job). Then finally it looked like butter and you could buy it that way. Now, they were right, it was pure garbage, and I'm happily back on butter, but that's the power of an industry. Artisan butter? Might try it. There are law suits.

http://blog.pacificlegal.org/minerva-dairy-challenges-wisconsins-anti-competitive-artisanal-butter-ban/

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/ohio/articles/2017-04-20/ohio-butter-maker-sues-wisconsin-over-enforcement-of-law

http://fortune.com/2017/04/13/kerrygold-butter-wisconsin-lawsuit/

https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/09/22/the-politics-of-yellow/

The vanishing liberal arts degree

For the last few years I've been seeing articles about the vanishing liberal arts degree. Really? The liberal arts vanished a long time ago--probably before I graduated from college. My B.A. from the University of Illinois with Honors in Liberal Arts and Sciences means I had no American literature, no English literature, no art, and no math. I had one science class (chemistry). At the time, I was just relieved--especially the no math. Maybe they don't print the degree now, but there's been no liberal arts for many years.  I checked the author's age--he's 64.

https://www.the-american-interest.com/2017/04/25/the-vanishing-liberal-arts-degree/

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41626661

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

New credit card scam beware

"So the m.o. of the criminals is this: They will order expensive electronics on a stolen credit card and have the purchases shipped to the home of the legitimate credit card holder. The criminals are hoping the card holder will become preoccupied with disputing the purchase with their bank.

That’s when the crooks strike a second time by sending a return label and package in which the item is supposedly to be shipped back to the retailer.

But if you ship it before noticing that the address on the return label is not that of legitimate warehouse or place of business, the retailer may hold you financially responsible for the cost of the stolen merchandise."

Fully explained here.

Slicing and dicing the quotes

When you see something that doesn’t sound right, check it out.

"Hoodwinking Americans is part of the environmentalist agenda. Environmental activist Stephen Schneider told Discover magazine in 1989: "We have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we might have. ... Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest." Walter E. Williams, April 25, CNS

I love Williams economic and social pieces, but this just didn’t sound right—too much like the pre-legal abortion stuff I’ve read. (numbers vastly inflated) So I decided to check out that quote by a scientist, because all sides slice, dice and edit, and at his webpage he explains it more fully--that it was not his intention to say that, it had been edited. So I read the full statement--and it still said to me, pretty much the same thing although it had been edited. . . when you are an "expert" you need to put things in sound bites so the general public will understand.
Hmmm. What makes it dishonest is Williams' use of the term "hoodwinking." I don't like it when the left does it; and right doesn't need to. Temperatures in earth climate models may well rise half a degree in the next century, but there's no evidence that taxing the rich more will do anything other than give governments--republics, fascists, communists, or dictatorships--more power.

Monday, April 24, 2017

Monday Memories--Medical Library Association Meeting 1993 in Chicago

From May 16 to May 19, 1993, I was in Chicago attending the Medical Library Association then headed to Mt. Morris to work on my publication project. As usual, the Veterinary Librarians had a great meeting. As I hopped off the shuttle from the airport on Sunday, I made a mad dash to the Shedd Aquarium with Melinda Saffer from Tufts who had also just arrived. We met up with our group which was having breakfast courtesy of the Aquarium Library staff. Then we attended a public demonstration in their new Oceanarium, and toured the facility with their veterinarian, seeing many of the back room medical facilities--even had to walk through a special tub of water to disinfect our shoes. There are huge lines to get in Shedd, so we were fortunate to be able to by-pass all that. (I still have the Shedd Aquarium T-shirt I bought.)

After that the librarians gave us a tour of the Shedd library, the largest aquarium library in the country. It was a lovely facility, and I jotted down some disease titles with which I was unfamiliar. The aquarium is on the lakefront only about a 15 minute walk from the Palmer House, site of the conference, so several of us walked back to the fabulous beauty of the flowering trees, Buckingham Fountain and all the yachts against the blue sky and water. And of course, there was the fabulous Chicago skyline, where every famous architect since the great fire has plunked down a building.

Then back to the hotel, registration, (my key was stolen and I narrowly missed an assault) lunch with friends, and that evening, Faxon (book vendor) took us to the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building. It was dusk, and as the lights of the city came on it was one of the prettiest sights I've seen. To show how chocolate improves the memory--it's been almost 25 years--I think it was a Chocolate themed buffet.

On Monday the distributor Majors (library subscription vendor) gave us a walking tour of Michigan Avenue with free T-shirts and breakfast. The Executive Committee of the Veterinary Medical Libraries Section (I was treasurer) met for several hours hearing reports, discussing next year's meeting in San Antonio, what to do about journals from former Communist countries, etc. I attended a session after lunch, then walked down to view the new Washington Public Library, which is quite controversial, but was only two blocks from the Palmer House.

Monday evening Compact Cambridge, a company developing CD-ROM data bases (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) which were all the rage then, hosted an event at the Field Museum, and we toured many exhibits from Egyptian tombs to Guatemalan pottery. Between the time they had committed to this reception and the actual event, they had been bought out by SilverPlatter, another CD-ROM company, but the event was held anyway.

Tuesday the Veterinary Section had its Business meeting, and then its own programming. Two new products, one a prototype, were demonstrated. Tuesday was free day at the Chicago Art Institute, so David Anderson from California and I went together after lunch. There was a nice display on the 1893 Columbian Exposition, photos of its construction, "Constructing the Fair: Platinum Photographs of the World's Columbian Exposition" which I was very interested in. Grandma Weybright graduated from high school in June, 1893, so I'm guessing her trip there was a graduation present because there are some souvenir items in the Weybright collection from this exposition. Tuesday evening we had our section dinner at a Greek restaurant, Dianna's Opa, which I didn't think was very impressive, but everyone enjoyed it.

Wednesday morning I caught the shuttle back to O'Hare Airport, then the bus to Rockford where Mom and Dad met me at the bus, we had lunch, then went on to Mt. Morris. Thursday, Friday and Saturday were spent ferreting out missing titles, checking imprints, recording recollections, etc. for my personal library of farmers publication project.  Mom went to Washington to Julie Clark's graduation on Friday, so Dad and I did the Pine Creek tour and I recorded some of his stories--may call it "The Pine Creek Chronicles." (I wrote it up and distributed it with the cookbook I was preparing for the reunion that summer.)

On Friday I also had a three hour breakfast with Lynne and Sylvia. On Sunday we went to church and then out to eat with Aunt Marian and Connie Brebner. Dad drove me back to the bus on Sunday afternoon and I got home about 7:30 p.m. I returned to work on May 24th, and used two more days of research time entering data, making corrections in the data base and checking catalogs.

(Information taken from a letter I wrote to my parents June, 1, 1993,--and this is only part of it.  If you think this is long, imagine their boredom in reading it!  Somewhere I have photos.)

The Didache--an ancient message for today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_w7OApgi1I

The Didache is a record of the early days of the Christian church in the first century A.D.  Some scholars put it as early as 50 A.D. It refers to false apostles and prophets, and how to determine who is authentic. Concerns basic morality, the sacraments, and a bit about end times. 
"Lost for centuries, the Didache was discovered in a Greek manuscript at Constantinople in 1873, and published by Bryennius ten years later.  Two small Greek fragents have since been published from two leaves of a parchment manuscript found at Oxyrhynchus, and a longer Coptic frangment in the British Museum was published in 1924.  Two extracts in Ethiopic also have come to light, and a Georgian version. "
The Apostolic Fathers, an American Translation, Edgar J. Goodspeed, Harper, 1950. p. 10.  I own this book--bought it about 30 years ago at a book sale.
The early church knew these prohibitions which the 21st century church has forgotten. . .

Chapter 2, 1-7:  The second command of the Teaching is:  You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not corrupt boys (pederasty), you shall not commit fornication, you shall not steal, you shall not practice magic, you shall not use enchantments, you shall not murder a child by abortion, or kill one when born.  You shall not desire your neighbor's goods, you shall not commit perjury, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not speak evil, you shall not hold a grudge.  You shall not be double-minded, nor double-tongued, for the double tongue is a deadly snare.  Your speech shall not be false or vain, but fulfilled in action.  You shall not be covetous or rapacious, or a hypocrite or malicious or proud.  You shall not entertain an evil design against your neighbor.  You shall not hate any man, but some you shall reprove, and for some you shall pray, and some you shall love more than your life."

In Chapter 15 "bishops and deacons" in this translation are "overseers and assistants"--obviously a Protestant translation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb7cNdUMpfA  Biblical Literacy Class recorded 01-18-2015, Mark Lanier, a Houston lawyer who "teaches regular classes at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas on Biblical Literacy that are also posted on the Internet in video, audio, and written formats. Lanier and his family built the Lanier Theological Library, one of the world's largest private religious studies library open for public usage." (Wikipedia)  I just came across this video today looking for material on the Didache and will look at this archive more carefully.  He recommends Aaron Milovec translation.

This is one of my favorite series, St. Mary's, 2014 lectures on the early church fathers, by Charles Craigmile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56_oKrRAtZw  and the Didache section starts about 32 minutes. 2015 series is on Catholic Social Teaching. 2016 is on Christian Apologetics: Overcoming Secular Barriers to Faith.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Scientists demonstrate against Trump

Yesterday was the bigly demonstration by "scientists" in a number of cities. I haven't interviewed them, but here's my take. This was about climate change, the belief that despite millions of years of evidence, humans can stop the climate from changing if they tax the rich more (I live in an area of the country that used to be glacial). These same people also believe humans cannot stop the march toward killing the unborn, the disabled, the mentally challenged and the elderly through abortion and euthanasia. They trade saving lives today of their next door neighbor on the tiniest possibility that someone could benefit 300 years from now if they live on a coast line and if the temperature goes up one half a degree (it could also go down, which has frequently happened). Of course, that person 300 years out won't be there because today's globalists and earth worshipers killed their ancestor

Look at the palm of your hand

From "Being Mortal" by Atul Gawande, p. 30-31.
"You can see all these processes [of aging] play out just in the hand; 40% of the muscle mass of the hand is in the thenar muscles, the muscles of the thumb, and if you look carefully at the palm of an older person, at the base of the thumb, you will notice that the musculature is not bulging but flat. In a plain X-ray, you will see speckles of calcification in the arteries and translucency of the bones, which, from age 50, lose their density at a rate of nearly 1% per year.... The hand has 29 joints, each of which is prone to destruction from osteoarthritis, and this will give the joint surfaces a ragged, worn appearance. The joint space collapses. You can see bone touching bone. What the person feels is swelling around the joints, reduced range of motion of the wrist, diminished grip, and pain. The hand also has 48 named nerve branches. Deterioration of the cutaneous mechanoreceptors of the pads of the fingers produces loss of sensitivity to touch. Loss of motor neurons produces loss of dexterity. Handwriting degrades. Hand speed and vibration sense decline. Using a standard mobile phone, with its tiny buttons and touch screen display, becomes increasingly unmanageable." 
Yup. So when an elder can't open a pill bottle or is slow pulling out her ID, remember, in a few years it will be you. Now go look at your palm.  I wonder if typing on phones with thumbs will lessen the viability of the thenar muscles for today's millennials?

Saturday, April 22, 2017

Losing a father

Forty years ago in 1977 we flew to California with our children for an extended visit with my in-laws, Bob and Rosemary. My husband's father, a large athletic man, bigger than either son, had lost about 50 pounds that year, as had my own father, and my husband's step-dad, Jim. I had lost one entire father just from their dieting.

Kitchen grade coconut oil for skin?

I'm not the one to give advice on cosmetics--the industry would be a fraction of its size if everyone used as little make-up as I do. Especially now at my age.  "Less is more" is a saying for architects before they all started designing with computers, but it should also be scrawled on the mirrors of anyone over 45 or 50, and I'm well beyond that.  You don't COVER wrinkles with foundation and powder--wrinkles are a trap for make-up which will emphasize the lines.  But a neighbor invited me to a home party event for cosmetic sales, so I was looking at the CEO's blog and story of how she got into the business.  In the video she's wearing jeans and what looks like no make-up.  There was a list of no-no ingredients on her blog, so I did take a peek.  And that led me away from her page to looking at one of my favorites--coconut oil.  I found this quote about cosmetic grade coconut oil at another high priced beauty product site.  None of this introduction has anything to do with being invited to my neighbor's (but I do love her home--she uses a non-functioning grand piano as a buffet bar), but I needed to explain why I'm blogging about coconut oil, which I love using as a skin moisturizer. It's very inexpensive (for skin use) and when I run out, I just get a few tablespoons from the kitchen jar (rarely use for cooking).  I just looked at the label and it says "organic," but it doesn't say VCO, which usually in the past I've used. So I'll have to look for something more "virgin."
“Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is cosmetic grade—this oil is pressed from coconuts a day or two after harvest. There are a variety of ways to produce VCO, but in my opinion the best is no-heat fermentation, because the heat-sensitive elements of the oil are retained. However, very little difference in technical chemical analysis is found between certified VCOs, so whatever the pressing-process, any VCO can be applied generously to the skin without irritation. Coconut oils used for cooking are generally much cheaper. The copra, or coconut meat, is dried in the sun, then refined, bleached, and deodorized to produce oil for cooking, and chemicals are often used in this process. Invariably, irritant reactions may happen if applied to skin: do not use these kinds of coconut oils as cosmetics.”  Dr. Vermén M. Verallo-Rowell, MD, dermatologist, dermatopathologist  http://www.vmvrmd.com/dermatological-effects.php  

Friday, April 21, 2017

Western Kentucky University students propose reparations

These students at Western Kentucky University are misinformed. 
  1.  Slavery has been a condition of the human race since recorded history. Everyone now living probably has slavery in her background if you go back far enough. 
  2.  There is more slavery today than during the 18th c. cross Atlantic slave trade. 
  3.  Freed American blacks also owned slaves as recorded in the 1830 U.S. census; Louis Gates reports 3,776 free Negroes owned 12,907 slaves, out of a total of 2,009,043 slaves owned in the entire United States. In some states a higher percentage of free blacks owned slaves than the white population. 
  4.  More African immigrants have arrived voluntarily as free persons since 1990 than the number who once came as slaves. These immigrants have far higher employment and education levels than native-born blacks. 
  5.  For over a decade the rate of college enrollment for black high school graduates has been higher than whites. 
How will the WKU victim collectors for the Democrat party sort all that out? Special quotas? Political party? Skin color? Wealth? That blacks are succeeding despite certain elected officials and political shenanigans is very upsetting to the left.  Need to try something new.

 "They acknowledged the move was largely symbolic."

Remember the huge dust-up when Ben Carson referred to black slaves as immigrants?  Well, it sort of disappeared when someone found out President Obama had made the same reference over 10 times in his speeches.

Diet soda and dementia--the link

"Higher consumption of artificially sweetened soft drinks was associated with an increased risk of both stroke and dementia in an analysis of more than 4,000 participants in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort, researchers found." http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/early/2017/04/20/STROKEAHA.116.016027

White matter in baby brains and grey matter in mommy brains

A new study led by UNC School of Medicine researchers concluded that patterns of white matter microstructure present at birth and that develop after birth predict the cognitive function of children at ages 1 and 2.

"To our knowledge, this study is the first to measure and describe the development of white matter microstructure in children and its relationship to cognitive development from the time they are born until the age of 2 years," said John H. Gilmore, MD, senior author of the study and director of the Early Brain Development Program in the UNC Department of Psychiatry
.
The study was published online on December 19, 2016 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

White matter is the tissue in the brain that contains axon fibers, which connect neurons in one brain region to neurons in another region. White matter is critical for normal brain function, and little is known about how white matter develops in humans or how it is related to growth of cognitive skills in early childhood, including language development. In the study, a total of 685 children received diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans of their brains. DTI is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that provides a description of the diffusion of water through tissue, and can be used to identify white matter tracts in the brain and describe the organization and maturation of the tracts."  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161219200955.htm

--------------------------

"Pregnancy causes "long-lasting" physical changes to a woman's brain, with significant, but seemingly beneficial, grey matter loss in parts of the crucial organ, a study said today. Some alterations lasted at least two years, they reported but did not appear to erode memory or other mental processes." http://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/health-and-wellbeing/201216/pregnancy-causes-change-in-womans-brain-study.html

 Hmm.  I remember "baby brain" and I'm not so sure it doesn't affect mental processes.  Article appears in Nature Neuroscience 20,287–296


Separate and Special

Black Lives Matter, Affirmative action, feminists, transwomen, occupiers. . .

Michael Smith had a good post on Facebook on the history of the legal decisions on separate by equal (and special).
The Supreme Court ended the doctrine of “Separate but Equal” when it handed down the landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, overturning the decision on Plessey v. Ferguson on May 18, 1896 that affirmed Louisiana state law mandating “equal but separate”. Homer Adolph Plessy bought a ticket on the East Louisiana Railroad, from New Orleans to Covington, La. Mr. Plessy , seven-eighths white and one-eighth Negro, took a seat in the coach designated for whites on the segregated train. When challenged, he refused to move, he was taken off and jailed.
Reflecting the social and legal environment of the times, the Plessy decision was not even close - the decision was handed down by a vote of 7 to 1 with the majority opinion written by Justice Henry Billings Brown and the dissent written by Justice John Marshall Harlan. This decision established legal segregation by race as the law of the land and it stood for 58 years until society changed and recognized that separate but equal is anything but equal.
Brown v. Board of Education has now been law for 5 years longer than was Plessy (63 years vs. 58). Proving that certain segments of mankind never learn anything from history, the SJW’s (social justice warriors) of contemporary times seek to return to the days of Plessy (with a twist) by working with government to be separate and equal (but special). Blacks are calling for “black only” instruction in college and black only police and government in majority black areas. Muslims are demanding Muslim only public accommodations – the same is true with the LGBT community. Feminists want to be free of the “heteronormative patriarchy” by removing men from their roles in society. The entire “safe space” idea is not just to provide protection for thin-skinned progressive adult children and academics (but I repeat myself) but to exclude people who hold opposing ideas and prevent them from being heard. These folks say they want to be treated as equal but demand to be separated from others and in doing so, they also expect special protection and treatment.
Affirmative action programs were created to “cure” the discrimination created by the “separate but equal” doctrine. These programs created the first classes of people who were separate and equal (but special). The idea was to carve out special privileges for blacks that would eventually help a class of citizens overcome historical inequality. Looking at black America today, it is obviously possible to make the case that black individuals have benefited – but as a socio-economic class, affirmative action can hardly be considered a success - and yet it continues apace.
In 2003’s Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003), SCOTUS upheld the affirmative action admissions policy of the University of Michigan Law School by defining the very quota system found unconstitutional in 1978’s Regents of the University of California v. Bakke as “not a quota system” (a lot like how John Roberts redefined Obamacare’s tax as not a tax and a tax at the same time in order to find Obamacare constitutional). Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, writing for the majority in a 5-4 decision and joined by Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer, ruled that the University of Michigan Law School had a “compelling interest in promoting class diversity.” Never mind that the Constitution says nothing about “diversity” and everything about equality, the important aspect is that Grutter v. Bollinger affirmed the same “separate but equal” doctrine as did Plessy v. Ferguson (with the special twist of approving reverse discrimination).
Progressivism is riddled with self-contradictory ideas and affirmative action is no exception – it seeks to create equality by creating inequality (i.e. lowering standards, mandating quotas, grading on the curve, etc.), proving that Brown v. Board of Education was demonstrably correct – separate is not equal, especially when discrimination is thought to be cured by more discrimination against an out of favor class. Progressivism is built on building protected classes and “curing” their ills by disadvantaging another class. Proving that progressives are the least self-aware class on the face of the American political landscape, this is the basis for the Plessy decision in 1896 making the modern SJW’s little better than the post-Civil War segregationists.
Separate but equal is not equal. Equal but special is not the same as being equal. Separate but equal was wrong in 1896 and progressivism’s doctrine of separate and equal (but special) is just as wrong today.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

How does vitamin B6 help your brain?

A notice from The World's Healthiest Foods Newsletter, April 19

"Vitamin B6 is one of several B vitamins required for proper production of messaging molecules in our nervous system and brain (called neurotransmitters). Three key neurotransmitters— namely GABA, dopamine, and serotonin—all require vitamin B6 for synthesis.

Just as an example of how important this nutrient can be to proper brain and nervous system, function, there is a condition called pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy where a genetic mutation interferes with normal vitamin B6 function. In people who have this mutation, the brain does not develop properly and epileptic seizures are experienced beginning in infancy. Luckily, this condition is rare.

However, we may be at risk of other more common problems that can be brain and nervous-system related if our B6 intake is poor. Depression is a good example in this area. Researchers in Japan have found that the risk of depressed mood is higher in people with lower levels of vitamin B6 in their diet (in comparison with the general population). Another research group concluded that this link between risk of depression and B6 intake becomes even stronger when dietary folic acid—a nutrient that works very closely with vitamin B6 in brain and nervous system chemistry—is deficient as well. Recent research has also begun to indicate a link between B6 deficiency and risk of development for attention deficit disorder (ADHD). So once again, we are looking at the possible widespread importance of B6 for brain and nervous system support."

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4772032/

 http://www.foodforthebrain.org/alzheimers-prevention/homocysteine-and-b-vitamins.aspx

http://www.naturalhealth365.com/vitamin-b-complex-cognitive-function-1726.html

 "supplementing high dose B6 (20mg), folic acid (800mcg) and B12 (500mcg) has been shown to greatly reduce the rate of brain shrinkage[15] and memory loss[16] in those at risk of Alzheimer’s" (http://www.foodforthebrain.org/alzheimers-prevention/6-prevention-steps.aspx)

 There are 1,000 micrograms (mcg) in 1 milligram (mg).

Bill O'Reilly to leave Fox

The broadcast media were silent about the DoJ charges against Dr. Jumana Nagarwala for performing female genital mutilation (FGM) on young girls in Michigan. The 18 U.S.C. 116 criminalizes FGM. But I'm guessing ABC, NBC and CBS will be all over Bill O'Reilly on the "news" for their own political gain because of sexual harassment charges against him. Leftist organizations who are silent about treatment of women and gays in Islamic nations have no trouble strong arming advertisers or inflating female victim hood in the U.S. Some things are so transparent.

May Day festivities on the left

Facebook's Zuckerberg is allowing workers the day off to protest Trump on the Communist worker's day, May 1, to demonstrate how inclusive the company is. He doesn't want to lose all those foreign IT workers who earn less than Americans who are trying to pay off the college loans we paid for from the institutions we paid for. Hey, it's just capitalism at its worst. We pay; they make a fortune; then they collude with Democrats to keep others from making it.
 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-18/facebook-gives-staff-green-light-to-protest-trump-on-may-1

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Pastor Eric Waters

Easter sermon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBcdKIHFFfg

We miss him.

St. Andrew Kim

I'm not sure what the business model is for Facebook, but there are many ads that are paid, or sponsored.  Sometimes they appear on a "wall" but there's also a column on the right side of my screen that scrolls advertising. (There is more than one way to sign on, so it may vary on other screens, on phone screens for instance.) Someone actually looks at those paid ads scrolling on the right side--me. Today I clicked on Detroit St. Andrew Kim Korean Catholic Church. Of course, when it came up there wasn't much information, so I had to find a link which was completely in Korean, even the ads. So I looked up St. Andrew Kim on the internet, and found a very interesting story about the importance of the laity.https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2013-09-20

Monday, April 17, 2017

Renters have more food insecurity

In the United States, “food insecurity” is a term designating households, and hunger designates an individual. The new term appeared about 2006 and is somewhat subjective meaning if at anytime during the last month one adult in a household reported in a USDA survey being unable to afford balanced meals or reducing the size of meals or being hungry because too little money for food, the household has “food insecurity.” From the USDA definition, it seems to be primarily based on money, and not behavior like not able to get to a store, or being incapable of preparing food for the household, or not knowing how to boil a potato when McDonald's is closed.

The 2015 information was included in the 2016 Census Bureau’s American Housing Survey for the first time noting differences between households that rent and those who own.  Renters have more food insecurity than owners.  Don’t start a Renters Lives Matter protest.  College students are generally renters, as are young professionals who don’t want to mow lawns.
 https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/cb16-193.html

Monday Memories--we remodeled the bathrooms in Spring 2013

'Next the grout.  This is the new shower in the master bath. We are not particularly big people, but the old shower was 32" x 32" and a bit cramped.  Now it is 48" x 38". Had to steal some space from a linen closet, so I'll have to do some rearranging.'  
It seems like yesterday we were going downstairs to the basement to shower while the upstairs bathrooms were being remodeled. The previous owner took part of a closet to add a shower to the half bath off the family room so her son could move in.  We use it primarily to store out-of-season coats, but it did come in handy four years ago when we were without a working shower.

When a progressive says "FREE"

In commenting on "free NY college" Michael Smith does some translating for us (on Facebook):

"Anytime a progressive announces a "free" anything, you can bet:
1. It will come with many, many strings attached...
2. It will only be "free" for a very small and select group
3. That very small and select group will be Democrat voters
4. The true cost of the "free" stuff will never be disclosed
5. The cost of the "free" program will be borne by taxpayers
6. Most of the taxpayers who pay for the "free" program will not be eligible for it
7. The media will never investigate it and will always tout its "freeness" in every report
8. The "free" program will be a failure but it will live on as money continues to be pumped into it
9. The "free" program will not accomplish any metric or milestone projected for it
10. The politicians and their media enablers will call it a success and it will be touted as a resume enhancer to support the politician's future political aspirations
And I would add #11. The progressive will also find a way to say that Jesus said it first, especially if it's around Easter.

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Trending news on Easter

A. United Airlines' treatment of a passenger
B. Libya's open African slave market
C. United Nations peacekeepers' 10-year child sex ring in Haiti
D. April the giraffe gives birth

Only two of these stories is trending in the news and social media.

H/T - Dumisani Washington

Until that giraffe was born, I didn't know millions were tuning in for this event.  This in a world that aborts millions of humans.  The whole world knows about the airlines story.  Only a few know or care that there is a larger slave trade today than at the height of the cross Atlantic slave trade of the 18th century.

Dumisani Washington is a pastor, composer, author and music teacher in Northern California. He is the Diversity Outreach Coordinator for Christians United for Israel (the largest pro-Israel organization in America), and Director of Institute for Black Institute with Israel.

Saturday, April 15, 2017

Greeting the new neighbors



There are only 30 units in our condo complex, and some units have residents/owners who have been there a long time and others (at least one unit) have had 4 owners since we moved here in 2002. We know the complex was designed by Urban Calabretta, the firm my husband worked for, although he had no input on this project.  The builder had the unit next door to us, and according to his former wife (now deceased), it was the nicest of all the units.  It is now owned by their son who probably lived here himself as a teen-ager. When we moved here, there were still a few original owners. 

Today on our morning walk we stopped at the unit with the 4th owner in 16 years to greet the newest owners.  I didn't ask their ages, but I'm guessing maybe 10 years younger than us.  The husband mentioned that he'd been in that unit when it was new--1976--for a July 4 event with one of his OSU professors. It is my understanding that all units were completed by 1977.  At any one time, about five of the units are owned by members of our church--it's about 5 minutes away.  We could have a committee meeting or Bible study. This is a gorgeous time of the year with many flowering trees. I also think about five are owned by people who knew each other in their former neighborhoods when they had children in the school system.

Some former owners have moved out of town, some have gone to retirement homes, some to nursing homes, and at least two have moved up the road to high-rise condos across from the shopping center. A few have died while living here.  About 5 or 6 units are owned by single women, either divorced or widowed. It's just a guess, but I think 7-8 unit owners have dogs, and they congregate on our street to chat and pet each others dogs.  One gal is a dog sitter, but some also care  for the dogs of their children (we do, but she can't go outside), so it can get lively. The newest owners have two white fluffy poodle types.

It's so pretty today, I've already walked outside twice--the wind is blowing the beautiful blooms and it looks like snow.

Dao vs. United

I've never seen an incident like the Dr Dao vs. Chicago police and United Airlines, but I have been on a flight with a belligerent, unruly, drunk female, and when we landed, all were told to stay in our seats, and police came in to remove her first. I've also been on a train that made an unplanned stop in the middle of nowhere, and police came in and took someone off. Do you want to fly or share the interstate if police are not allowed to remove someone who has been reported to them--maybe for ...assaulting another passenger or being rude to staff, or being drunk or who is having some sort of mental break. That was not the case in Dao's situation, but what were the police told except to remove him? Do you want to continue to travel with a man who challenges the police and wins? And what rights do you give up when you buy the ticket to ride. I've now heard at least 20 conflicting opinions, all from the "experts," who cite laws, regulations and police training on how to handle dangerous situations.
 
We used to get belligerent people in the veterinary medicine library--I know that doesn't sound possible. Usually they were male, non-citizens who wouldn't take No from a woman. There are still cultures where dealing with a woman is an insult. My out was always to give them the name of MY boss, who was male (and in another building) and was paid 4x my salary to handle problem. That seemed to make them happy. A few times we did have to call the police, even though I was probably tougher. A uniform goes a long way. 
 
There are 37,000 words in the contract the customer has with the airlines; and no one has ever read it. 
 

Enjoy! What we can learn from the Easter Bunny

All I need to know
I learned from the Easter Bunny!


Don't put all your eggs in one basket.


Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.


There's no such thing as too much candy.


All work and no play can make you a basket case.


Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.


Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.


Some body parts should be floppy.


Keep your paws off of other people's jelly beans.


Good things come in small, sugar coated packages.

 
The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.


To show your true colors, you have to come out of the shell.


The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.


Passed along from Arlene, a Lakeside neighbor

Friday, April 14, 2017

Women in the news—victims as usual

#1  This item appeared on my screen as I turned on the computer.  Women and STEM. Why doesn't it ever say more women than men graduated from college in all birth cohorts since 1950 and the gap has really accelerated since the 80s? If it's 6.7% of more graduates, is that less or is it called a woman's choice?https://mspoweruser.com/only-6-7-of-women-graduate-with-stem-degrees-microsoft-aims-to-change-that-with-makewhatsnext/

#2  For the 12th time Trump has signed a resolution under the 1996 Congressional Review Act (CRA) to abolish a rule issued under President Barack Obama--denying federal family planning (aka abortion) dollars to abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood. Oh the media will moan with sad faces about ripping up Obama's legacy!  But there are 13,540  Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) service sites and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) who can benefit from that tax payer money. The states could still continue in the killing business, but why when there are thousands of health clinics available that will offer real health care that women are seeking--and they will even serve transwomen who don't need abortions, or post menopausal women, or girls, and even men. WaPo said he did it "behind closed doors" I suppose because he didn't grandstand it the way Obama did.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/us/politics/planned-parenthood-trump.html?_r=0

#3  I was reading a web page devoted to saving child brides, which had long lists of countries that allow it, even if the "legal" age is 18.  I don't consider a 16 year old a "child" probably because it was not that uncommon in my life time, but I do know all the countries listed were Muslim.  What was the reason given for this?  Gender inequality, poverty, patriarchal culture and lack of education.  Not a peep about religion, not even for Nigeria where about half the population is Christian and half Islam, and it's only a problem in the Muslim areas.

So I switched to another site, which clearly nailed the cause for child marriages--Sharia law. "some Islamic marriage practices have permitted the marriage of girls as young as 10 years old. This is because Sharia law is based in part on the life and practices of the Prophet Mohammed, who married Aisha, his third wife, and consummated the marriage before she reached the age of 10.”  I'm sure poverty has some role to play--one less mouth to feed, and the child wife belongs to the mother-in-law, but even non-poor Muslims support the practice.

In Australia, feminists are protesting a black Somali woman who is speaking out about female genital mutilation in Islamic societies (she is a victim).  They are calling her a white supremacist. https://www.city-journal.org/html/upside-down-down-under-15115.html

#4  Is the U.S. becoming more anti-science asked one of the medical newsletters in my e-mail.  If believing a man becomes a woman by taking hormones, having his face resurfaced, hairline changed, and being castrated, so that entire legislatures fall in line with the lie and college presidents stop using personal pronouns, I'd say yes indeed. Our most primitive, uneducated ancestors knew better. And I'm beginning to think they also understood the climate better.

USDA and SNAP

Although USDA is the acronym for United States Department of Agriculture, its largest expenditure ( two thirds of its budget) is SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.  It should really be called the Department of Food and Nutrition.  Liberals don’t want SNAP reduced even though they admit it fails in so many ways, particularly in allowing recipients to buy soda/pop (5 cents out of every dollar value).  I would add to that the use of SNAP EBT cards at fast food restaurants--a boon to the industry, but not to the health of low income people. You can also use the EBT card at Starbucks--I don’t even buy their overpriced product!  You can fix an entire meal for what a Starbucks latte will cost you.  Twenty million more Americans are using SNAP today than at the start of the 2007 recession, which has been over since June 2009 and now unemployment is at record lows.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/expanding-snap-to-promote-healthy-diets-for-low-income-americans/

 http://dailycaller.com/2014/06/30/11-things-you-didnt-know-you-could-buy-with-food-stamps/

Good and Cheap is a cookbook for people with very tight budgets, particularly those on SNAP/Food Stamp benefits. The PDF is free and has been downloaded more than 1,000,000 times.  It's a myth that cheap processed food is more economical than "real" food.  Just figure the cost per ounce of a 5 lb bag of potatoes against a 12 oz. bag of potato chips.  Or a $2.28 gallon of milk against a liter of Pepsi.

The *Chick- fil-A protestors

I'm so sorry. I think it was my generation that did it. We were the ones who read all those books by the experts and attended parenting classes that focused on FEELINGS instead of values and ethics like duty, honesty, responsibility, commitment, structure, respect, saving for a rainy day, caring for neighbors even if you didn't like them, full day's work for full day's pay, and all those maxims passed down from grandparents to parents. In fact, we probably invented the "I'm spiritual and not religious," trend because it's the most self centered of all religions. Some of my generation bought into it for themselves--I recall even back in the 1970s knowing women who threw off husband and children for "feelings." I don't remember snowflakes back then, but that generation certainly expanded the concepts we taught.

*Chick-fil-A is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in the Atlanta suburb of College Park, Georgia, specializing in chicken sandwiches. Founded in May 1946, it has more than 2,000 restaurants, mainly in the United States. The owners are Christians who believe in marriage.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/446660/college-students-protest-mike-pence-chick-fil-a-heather-mac-donald

Thursday, April 13, 2017

The Sean Spicer flap and Democrat over reach

Alan Dershowitz writes they are pandering to leftist Jews with these "anti-semitic" charges. Plus the DNC has a known anti-semite in charge of their party.  They are so panicked that they might have to acknowledge Trump is president.

https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/04/13/alan-dershowitz-democrats-overreaction-to-spicers-holocaust-blunder-dishonors-the-six-million/

Odd, that people who aren't Trump haters knew what Spicer was saying. All the president's men and all the cable news talking heads should take an oath to find someone other than Hitler to use in their metaphors and similes. I thought the media had used them all on GW Bush, but apparently not. The idiocy floating around social media and the MSM and Democrat politicians is just bizarre.  Now video has appeared from 2013 of Chris Matthews reporting, "Not even Hitler used gas. . ."  Where is the outrage, Nancy Pelosi? Why so quiet Huffington Post? 
Remember when Obama referred to his religion as Islam and the reporter corrected him? Don't remember an apology or the Democrats going crazy. I thought Spicer was perfectly clear and only the Trump haters made it an issue. Obama stammered through so many press conferences he was unintelligible, but they always swooned.



Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Was Obama the real Russian stooge?

Article in the New York Post by Rich Lowry ponders this question.
April 10, 2017 New York Post

"The circumstantial evidence is mounting that the Kremlin succeeded in infiltrating the US government at the highest levels.

How else to explain a newly elected president looking the other way after an act of Russian aggression? Agreeing to a farcically one-sided nuclear deal? Mercilessly mocking the idea that Russia represents our foremost geo-political foe?

Accommodating the illicit nuclear ambitions of a Russian ally? Welcoming a Russian foothold in the Middle East? Refusing to provide arms to a sovereign country invaded by Russia? Diminishing our defenses and pursuing a Moscow-friendly policy of hostility to fossil fuels?

All of these items, of course, refer to things said or done by President Barack Obama."
Well, it all fits, doesn't it?

Strength training for seniors

The results of my bone scan (DEXA) of last week show some more loss and the doctor is recommending strength training/weight bearing exercises.  Of course, the best I know is walking, but with occasional bursitis and the questionable weather in Ohio's spring, I haven't been doing much, but instead getting about 5 miles a day on my exercycle. Stairs and treadmill are not good for my bursitis. Sometimes I add a 2 lb weight while on the cycle. So I looked it up. Here's what NIH recommends.

Strength Exercises to Try

These 10 muscle strengthening exercises shown below target the upper and lower body.
Upper Body Exercises
  1. wrist curls
  2. arm curls
  3. side arm raises
  4. elbow extensions
  5. chair dips
  6. seated rows with resistance band
Lower Body Exercises
  1. back leg raises
  2. knee curls
  3. leg straightening exercises
  4. toe stands
See the discussion at the website on exactly how to proceed.

Hip fractures are the #1 reason for nursing home admissions.

Taking calcium supplements always upset my stomach, so although I've used them from time to time, I did discontinue them in the last few years.  Time to get some again.

Weight bearing exercise for seniors

Exercise and osteoporosis

Spicer's Hitler remark and "look over there" of the Trump haters

Sean Spicer, the president’s communications director, is slimed because he made a reference to 20th century Hitler’s crimes in connection to 21st century Syrian Assad.  Social media and the broadcast and cable outlets then went crazy.  Some even demanded he resign--as though Hitler were the only Socialist who killed his own citizens.  We all know Spicer was not referring to gas chambers to kill Jews, disabled, gypsies and enemies of the regime, but to the gas used as a WMD.

Why is every misstep or bad guy referred to as “Hitler” by the left--often their favorite appellation for GW Bush--when it was their team, the Communists, who killed 100,000,000 of their own citizens in the 20th century? Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc.  Don’t know?  Because throughout the 20th century the United States had and still has, embedded Communists in our own government.  As we entered WWII, FDR’s administration was riddled with them ignoring the slaughter going on, especially of Christians and anyone with property.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union a commission chaired by Alexander Yakovlev reviewed archives revealing the Communist slaughter of Christians by drowning, freezing, castration, shooting, mutilation, burning, crucifixion, boiling in tar, scalping, strangling--savage atrocities killing priests, nuns, monks and faithful congregants.  The death toll was in excess of twenty million and it continued well into the 1960s.  Our leftist media, academics and politicians ignored it then and ignore or make excuses today.

 https://www.amazon.com/Century-Violence-Soviet-Russia/dp/0300103220

In chapter 17 of a biography of Yakolev: "Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, the three creators on neo-Cainism. The main criminals of the century.  It is a lesson that many, indeed most, historians of twentieth-century Russia, have yet to learn. Yakovlev especially stressed Lenin’s role in the persecution and murder of children, a fact generally not known. The Bolshevik authorities took hostage the children of the 1921 Kronstadt rebels and later the offspring of peasants who opposed collectivization ."

 http://blog.victimsofcommunism.org/what-has-communism-cost-the-world/

Obama’s press secretary, Jay Carney, and his ABC wife Claire Shipman actually had Soviet era posters hanging in his home as art--where was the outrage?