"Boldness should be the eleventh commandment."
- Mother Angelica
“EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 38th year, is the largest religious media network in the world. EWTN’s 11 TV channels are broadcast in multiple languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week to over 300 million television households in more than 145 countries and territories. EWTN platforms also include radio services transmitted through SIRIUS/XM, iHeart Radio and more than 500 domestic and international AM & FM radio affiliates; a worldwide shortwave radio service; the largest Catholic website in the U.S.; electronic and print news services, including Catholic News Agency, the National Catholic Register, and several global news wire services; as well as EWTN Publishing, its book-publishing division.” (http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/ewtn-wins-lawsuit-over-hhs-contraception-mandate)
The reason I describe EWTN and its importance in religious media is because the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit issued an order Thursday vacating a 2014 district-court decision against the Eternal Word Television Network in its lawsuit against the so-called contraceptive mandate issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. The order follows a settlement between the network and the Department of Justice reached Oct. 5.
The specifics of the contraception mandate of the “Affordable Care Act” were not included in the original bill, but were announced in January 2012 by then-HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Obama promised EWTN and other religious groups there would be an exception made for them. He lied. Imagine the money they’ve had to spend just so they didn’t have to provide birth control and abortions for staff.
Seven years!
EWTN Wins Lawsuit Over HHS Contraception Mandate
IRONDALE, Ala., Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a legal battle that has lasted nearly seven years, EWTN Global Catholic Network has prevailed in its lawsuit against the U.S. government over what has become known as the "HHS Contraception Mandate." In an order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit published Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, the court vacated a June 2014 decision against the Network by U.S. District Court Judge Callie Granade. The ruling by the appellate court follows an Oct. 5, 2018 settlement agreement between EWTN and the Department of Justice. Under terms of that settlement, the Network will not be required to provide contraception, sterilization and abortifacients in its employee health plan, something EWTN found morally objectionable.
And finally some common sense from Washington.
The Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor released two updated rules concerning conscience protections for organizations and individuals in relation to the HHS contraception mandate. We once again are protected by the First Amendment from an over reaching federal government. Until the next law suit.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/breaking-trump-administration-announces-broad-exemptions-for-hhs-mandate-84021
Friday, November 30, 2018
Who is financing the Caravan from Central America?
There are many organizations contributing to the misery and illnesses of the people in the so-called Caravan, demanding entry, benefits and rights at our border. They were lured there with promises of jobs and assistance and they are sitting in the mud, and some have assaulted the border guards. Several hundred have returned home realizing they've been conned.
Here's the wall of shame. https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/centro-sin-fronteras/?
Centro Sin Fronteras Community Services Network, is a 501(c)(3) illegal immigration activist organization based in Chicago
La Familia Latina Unida (“The United Latin Family”) is a Chicago, Illinois-based 501(c)(4) illegal immigration advocacy organization formed in 2001 by Elvira Arellano.
The Pueblo Sin Fronteras (“People Without Borders”) appears to be a project of La Familia Latina Unida.
By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), a far-left agitation group.
The article at the above link includes details, finances, individuals and churches involved. It's not just fake news, but a media lie that this was not an organized assault funded by various groups in the U.S. This is like recruiting Democrat voters from other countries.
Obamagate and real collusion
The collusion in the 2016 election was between Britain and the U.S. government, which means the Obama administration. Yes, let's look at the documents. "British spies were in on the ground floor of Obamagate. Long before even the first Republican primary, they had been passing conjecture disguised as “intelligence” to John Brennan about the Trump campaign. In fact, Brennan was spying on Michael Flynn before he joined the campaign, as reported by the UK Guardian."
https://spectator.org/why-britain-doesnt-want-trump-to-declassify-obamagate-docs/?
Chris’ Walkaway—voted twice for Obama
I don’t know if I was ever really a liberal person. Just remembering how I was brought up in the black community, and in the church I was definitely raised with mostly conservative values. As I grew up, and began to come into my own as a young man I knew something wasn’t right about certain aspects of being a liberal. First and foremost I love GOD! I’m a capitalist, I’m pro life, love low taxes, hate socialism, hate government overreach, and I’m a 2nd Amendment supporter.
I voted for Obama twice, he was a complete and utter failure to this country. For the 2012 election I actual watched, and listened to a few Mitt Romney rallies. I enjoyed a lot of what he had to say, and agreed with most. On election day 2012, I seriously had to bite my lip in order to vote for Obama the second time. It was such a hard choice, because I knew I related to Romney’s policies, but I had always voted Democrat my entire life.
In 2015 when Trump announced he was running for President it was like one of those cartoon light bulbs that shined above your head when you connect with something brilliant. Trump's announcement speech was music to my ears, and I haven’t looked back since. This is a new era of conservatism, and thank all of you for welcoming me with open arms.
I was going to hold out from posting a story, but today [Nov. 15] was sort of the tipping point for me. I commented on Facebook after someone posted the story about Jim Acosta suing Trump for suspending his press pass. The conversation was very civil until someone (nameless) told me that I was “confused, and self hating” [Chris is a black man], and that it made her sad to realize that self hatred was real. WHAT! Now, does this sound like a person that is inclusive or tolerant? Absolutely not! To the Democrats I’m a disgrace to my race, a sellout, and a Uncle Tom, etc….
We need to fight, and get the conservative message across. We all know that conservative speech is suppressed to the highest levels. It really pisses me off to see conservative voices silenced by fear and intimidation. We can’t wear hats or tee-shirts in the street without risking a confrontation of some sort, then sucker punched if we don’t comply, conservative speakers are stopped at the steps of universities, and told to go away “come back another day”, can’t eat in restaurants, families aren’t safe in their homes due to mobs of imbeciles showing up outside the front door. Now, think hard! What day and age does this remind you of? I want no part of liberalism, it’s a thoughtless mindset to where the leaders mindf@ck the followers. I’m a Free Thinker!
I wonder if she still has a job after coming out for Trump? Valerie walked away in July
I live in a very liberal, far left section of the East Coast and it has become very disheartening. When I saw this group [WalkAway], I breathed the biggest sigh of relief that must have been heard from miles away. I am a registered Democrat, mom, volunteer/advocate for suicide prevention and am in my 22nd year of teaching blind and visually impaired children. Prior to the election and a few months afterwards, I would engage in debate but then realized it was fruitless. The hurled insults at my family, friends and I, because of our political views, support, choices, etc., were applauded/supported by people who I consider friends and neighbors. Friends who preach love, kindness and tolerance, friends who advocate for the poor, the opening of our borders and the acceptance of MS-13 from their beautiful homes or beach chairs on their vacations. I especially love the indirect /insults comments and then the replies when called out on it - “I didn’t say you in particular” or “I’m entitled to my opinion.” Well, what about mine? Why is it OK for you to wear a vagina on your head and cheer when our president is threatened during celebrity speeches during a protest but then scream that I promote violence and have the blood of children on my hands because I am a gun owner?
I decided to Walk Away because of the hypocrisy. I work in the public school system in two middle to lower income districts – very diverse, wonderful hardworking families but an area affected by addiction and a small population of MS-13 members. I see the effects of their surroundings on children first hand – but I was verbally called insensitive and a “horrible, sickening person” because I agreed when Trump called MS-13 members inhuman. From the same armchair warriors who don’t leave their perfect neighborhoods, with the exception of the yearly trip to work in a soup kitchen followed by 500 posted pictures of the excursion.
I’ve heard friends and neighbors claim that if you voted for or support Trump you are a “bigot, sexist, racist, xenophobe, etc.” At one point, I pointed out to these people who used to praise my son for his involvement in volunteering to work with underprivileged youth, actively takes part of the “Its on Us” campaign (fights sexual assault on college campuses), raised money for AFSP and Relay for life were now labeling him as such, because of his vote.
So, I am walking away from the Democratic Party. I will also walk away from any party in the future who behaves this badly. Oh yeah…..I also walked away from Hollywood Award shows.
DISCLOSURE: I do not and will not discuss politics with my students. I can encourage them to think for themselves across all areas but prefer to keep the school environment positive - too much adversity in politics - kids need to be kids. And thankfully I work in supportive school districts so don’t have to deal with politics at work. This post is about my life experiences outside of my work.
CNN lets Marc Lamont Hill go
. . . “grass-roots action, local action and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea.” Marc Lamont Hill denies he was calling for the destruction of Israel, which just happens to be the land between the river and the sea and a phrase used by terrorists. CNN let him go, but since all these things are written and vetted before the on air ridiculousness that passes for news at CNN, perhaps there are a few others who need to go too? He was calling for jihad and won't admit it. Says he just can't understand how people misunderstood his "critique" of Israel. Duh.
Let's see if Twitter pulls his account as it has for conservatives who've said far less damaging things. Don't hold your breath.
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Trump haters even criticize the White House Christmas decor
Melania Trump was raked over the coals by social media nobodies and the somebodies in the anti-Trump know nothing media.
This Amelia, Ohio, florist was part of the team that put this stunning display together.
“This was one of my Masterpieces! 10 feet high this big one behind me. We pinned each and every one of these single little cluster of berries on one by one. It took hours! All of the styrofoam cones underneath had to be totally covered. We even had to go back and paint the silver pins each one with a red paint pen to cover the mechanics. I thought we would never get finished. We had 45 of these trees to cover and complete in 3 days. It's a miracle they turned out so perfect.” (Facebook)
https://www.aim.org/aim-column/media-sees-red-on-melanias-white-house-decorations/
https://amp.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/nov/28/melania-trump-defends-red-christmas-trees-i-think-/
https://people.com/politics/melania-trump-red-white-house-christmas-trees-online-criticism/amp/
And the Washington Post, always with the evil eye on the White House, said a red tree is a diseased tree.
Glenn Beck comments on the illegal alien caravan
No American news personality has been more tuned into and sympathetic with the plight of the illegal aliens than Glenn Beck. During the Obama years, he raised money to help people stranded at the border with children after the lure of DACA (we contributed), and I don’t recall anyone attacking law enforcement. Most of the photos you’ve seen of children in cages are from the Obama years. Beck lives in Texas, and he sees it first hand.
However, this Caravan which is supported by many American leftist non-profits so they can build up the voting population for Democrats has drawn more attention, even though Obama was known as the “deporter in chief.” Beck suggests that Trump wear an Obama mask to see if that helps.
This is Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s point-by-point list:
1. This caravan has shown violent elements throughout its journey here. In Nielsen's words:
3. Most of the people in the caravan are not eligible for asylum.
4. Most of the caravan members are men, and, as we've seen, some of the women and children are being used as human shields.
5. It turns out that, yes, there are quite a few criminals mixed in with the caravan:
However, this Caravan which is supported by many American leftist non-profits so they can build up the voting population for Democrats has drawn more attention, even though Obama was known as the “deporter in chief.” Beck suggests that Trump wear an Obama mask to see if that helps.
This is Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s point-by-point list:
1. This caravan has shown violent elements throughout its journey here. In Nielsen's words:
I refuse to believe that anyone honestly maintains that attacking law enforcement with rocks and projectiles is acceptable. It is shocking that I have to explain this, but officers can be seriously or fatally injured in such attacks. Self-defense isn't debatable for most law-abiding Americans.2. The caravan is far larger and more organized than previous ones. There are 8,500 caravan members in Tijuana and Mexicali. There are reports of additional caravans on their way.
3. Most of the people in the caravan are not eligible for asylum.
4. Most of the caravan members are men, and, as we've seen, some of the women and children are being used as human shields.
5. It turns out that, yes, there are quite a few criminals mixed in with the caravan:
[A]t this point we have confirmed that there are over 600 convicted criminals traveling with the caravan flow. This includes individuals known to law enforcement for assault, battery, drug crimes, burglary, rape, child abuse and more. This is serious. Additionally, Mexico has already arrested 100 caravan members for criminal violations in Mexico.6. Nonlethal force (also used by the Obama Administration in 2013) was necessary.
We will not shy away from protecting our people. I ask parents to avoid violent caravan groups and refrain from attempts to illegally enter our country – these acts will put your children in danger.Nielsen went on to unequivocally thank President Trump for his unwavering stance on the border despite dishonest media coverage meant to sway public opinion.
Twitter and sex confusion and dysphoria
Twitter will close your account if you correctly identify someone by his or her biological sex and call that hairy, muscle bound person with more red blood cells and testosterone on the girl's track team a "he." Whoever controls the language, controls the debate. Even in the day of scientific proof and enlightenment, the Left is in control of sex (just look how that worked out for the USSR and China). Before, "gender" was always a term of grammar; then they won that battle of the sexes, of which there are only two. Once they got us all using the word gender instead of sex (which indicates biology and not feelings or choice), they rushed in with all new behavioral rules for other people.
https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-rules
http://thefederalist.com/2018/06/19/said-transgenderism-mental-illness-twitter-blocked-account/
Anti-Semitism and the Liberals
Donald Trump was called an anti-Semite for calling out George Soros who supports all manner of leftist organizations and infiltrates Christian groups, but Marc Lamont Hill, a CNN employee, is allowed to advocate for the destruction of the country Israel and jihadism. He claims it wasn't MLK Jr. using peaceful protests to push the Democrats to give up Jim Crow in the South, but the slave revolts of the 19th century that set the stage. I wonder if he knows that today, November 29, 2018, black Africans are still being sold into slavery to the highest bidder by Muslims. https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-11-15/libyas-slave-auctions-and-african-genocide-what-hillary-knew
If Roseanne and Megan can be fired for far, far less, this man deserves to go. If Info Wars is a threat to the nation through social media, then this guy is a ticking time bomb. He used to (or maybe still does) preach his filth and hate on Fox News but I haven't seen him for awhile. He’s chummy with Farrakhan.
https://www.thewrap.com/cnn-contributor-says-he-supports-violent-palestinian-resistance-to-israel/
He is a Professor of Media Studies and Urban Education at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I can’t understand why American Jews support the Democrats and their hatred for Israel. And this is not about Trump. I remember this from 30 years ago, and mainstream Christians getting all weepy over poor little Palestine. Have they even looked at a map of the Middle East in recent years?
Right of passage—a driver’s license
This is our great-nephew, a star in academics and sports. And now he has a driver’s license, and here’s the list that makes it possible to drive, talk on his phone, and get his allowance. I can remember posting this sort of thing on the refrigerator, but had very little success. I guess it depends on the kid. (from his mother’s Facebook wall)
An update on Lily, Leukemia survivor, from her mother
Lily’s grandmother Carol posted today that she’s been accepted to 5 colleges, despite losing 4 years of formal schooling due to her illness and treatment. I’ve been following her story for 10 years, since Lily was 7 and I met her grandmother, aunts, and great grandmother as a blogger.
----------------------------------
“It’s been awhile since I have updated but Lily is doing great. Last week we went to her monthly clinic visit. Her blood counts looked good. She is also feeling much better. As Deb said being off therapy agrees with her!
Her back has improved dramatically since coming off chemo and starting acupuncture. Still not sure how it works but it does. She has weaned off all of her back pain meds and even most of her neuropathy medications. Thanks Libby! This has truly been a blessing and has allowed her to do more in her weekly PT sessions and be much more active and pain free.
They also checked this month her IGG levels. This is the body’s ability to fight getting infections with antibodies (in basic terms). She has had low levels for a while and was receiving infusions monthly however the last infusion she had she had a pretty severe allergic reaction. We had truly hoped the number would get better coming off chemo.
However her IGG level was just 125 last week. Normal I believe is around 800. There is also evidence to show that the Blincyto or immunotherapy drug she took can cause long term and most likely a permanent decrease in B cells thus IGG. This will most likely mean some type of infusion either weekly or monthly. There is supposedly a different infusion, she can get that is weekly that has less reactions. Probably for the rest of her life. It isn’t unexpected but kind of a tough one to think about long term. I know we / she will get use to it and adapt. I also know she generally feels better when she gets the infusions. However as a mom, I worry.
It also throws a small wrinkle into college plans for her. Wrinkle maybe wrong word, but it adds another element to consider since we need to figure out how she will do this if she moves away. I’m sure it is possible just another thing to consider.
She has been accepted to 5 colleges and all of their nursing programs! I’m so proud of her and while it is scary at times I want her to be able spread her wings. Some of the colleges are relatively close but some others are quite a ways away. I don’t want this to be a major consideration in her decision so I know we need to get a plan in place soon.
Anyway she has an appt on Monday with the immunologist to discuss in way more detail.
Lastly she is getting her port out on Friday morning! It’s exciting to get this out. She will also be having her prior scar revised since it hasn’t healed well. It is a pretty easy surgery but still surgery and I’m sure she will be down a few days.
She has a bunch of appts over the next few weeks. The port removal. Immunologist. Ortho follow up. Endocrinology follow up. And another monthly clinic visit to the oncologist. I will try to update on the important things.
Thanks for all the support. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Love
Larisa
----------------------------------
“It’s been awhile since I have updated but Lily is doing great. Last week we went to her monthly clinic visit. Her blood counts looked good. She is also feeling much better. As Deb said being off therapy agrees with her!
Her back has improved dramatically since coming off chemo and starting acupuncture. Still not sure how it works but it does. She has weaned off all of her back pain meds and even most of her neuropathy medications. Thanks Libby! This has truly been a blessing and has allowed her to do more in her weekly PT sessions and be much more active and pain free.
They also checked this month her IGG levels. This is the body’s ability to fight getting infections with antibodies (in basic terms). She has had low levels for a while and was receiving infusions monthly however the last infusion she had she had a pretty severe allergic reaction. We had truly hoped the number would get better coming off chemo.
However her IGG level was just 125 last week. Normal I believe is around 800. There is also evidence to show that the Blincyto or immunotherapy drug she took can cause long term and most likely a permanent decrease in B cells thus IGG. This will most likely mean some type of infusion either weekly or monthly. There is supposedly a different infusion, she can get that is weekly that has less reactions. Probably for the rest of her life. It isn’t unexpected but kind of a tough one to think about long term. I know we / she will get use to it and adapt. I also know she generally feels better when she gets the infusions. However as a mom, I worry.
It also throws a small wrinkle into college plans for her. Wrinkle maybe wrong word, but it adds another element to consider since we need to figure out how she will do this if she moves away. I’m sure it is possible just another thing to consider.
She has been accepted to 5 colleges and all of their nursing programs! I’m so proud of her and while it is scary at times I want her to be able spread her wings. Some of the colleges are relatively close but some others are quite a ways away. I don’t want this to be a major consideration in her decision so I know we need to get a plan in place soon.
Anyway she has an appt on Monday with the immunologist to discuss in way more detail.
Lastly she is getting her port out on Friday morning! It’s exciting to get this out. She will also be having her prior scar revised since it hasn’t healed well. It is a pretty easy surgery but still surgery and I’m sure she will be down a few days.
She has a bunch of appts over the next few weeks. The port removal. Immunologist. Ortho follow up. Endocrinology follow up. And another monthly clinic visit to the oncologist. I will try to update on the important things.
Thanks for all the support. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Love
Larisa
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Michael Smith on Murphy Brown
“Murphy Brown was cancelled. I'm not surprised. I watched about 5 minutes of the first show out of morbid curiosity and found it to be completely unwatchable. The plot was tedious and the dialog sounded like an episode of The View with Rachel Maddow of MSNBC and Don Lemon and Jim Acosta of CNN as guest panelists.
When it was popular back in the late 80's it had little competition in bashing Republicans - now there is so much from CNN, MSNBC and the Alphabet broadcast networks that their Trump bashing jokes fell flat.
Another fail was that a sitcom relies on likable characters even if we don't like their dialog. Even though many of us of a certain age remember the characters, the reincarnation of them seemed bitchy and bitter...unlikable.
A good political joke or satire includes a lot of fact - say true representations of an action or words of an actual official - combined with a ridiculous situation or conclusion. That's why the Onion and the Babylon Bee are funny...and successful. Good satire happens when everything sounds real until you get to the punchline.
The problem with the Murphy Brown revival was that the premises for the jokes weren't as ridiculous as the "news" reported by the cable outlets, broadcast news and the leftist print media.
Trump may have broken Kathy Griffin but CNN broke Murphy.”
Dan Quail was right.
Legal marijuana in Massachusetts
I was watching on TV that traffic jam in Massachusetts for legal marijuana. What a stupid group--from the state lusting for taxes, to entrepreneurs raking in the bucks, to the deluded buyers. We've got massive health and expense with drugs, alcohol and obesity, marching with those who rant against GMO, chemtrails, vaccines and gluten. We have the deluded who put hormones regularly in their bodies, who think building fake vaginas and adding penises are a civil right, and they've now talked themselves into adding another toxic chemical to their already damaged bodies. Good luck on hanging on to those brain cells--they seem to be in short supply already.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marijuana-store-leicester-massachusetts-causes-headaches-residents/
The High Cost of Good Intentions by John Cogan
“Entitlements grow over time because of a force called “the equally worthy claim,” where eligibility for benefits continually expands until programs no longer resemble their initial, honorable intentions.”
Entitlements don’t go just to the poor. The word doesn’t mean the same thing to all. Some think it’s a handout, unearned. Others see it as a benefit than can’t be taken away because it is their right. It is a benefit under the law to anyone who qualifies.
https://www.policyed.org/perspectives-policy/high-cost-good-intentions/video
I’m trying to get a copy of Cogan’s book from my public library, but I found a YouTube of Cogan explaining this thesis that any entitlement expands and usually during an election year. Shocked!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqthAe5-4Zg
Cogan reports that the very first entitlement was a pension for men who had fought in the Continental Army during the War for Independence, but by 1830 (when most would have been dead) it had already expanded to many others, such as state militia, because they were also worthy to a claim. Didn’t they bleed? I’d have to go through my genealogy files, but I found a copy (in an on-line data base) of the claim of a widow in my family tree who was claiming a Revolutionary War pension well into the 1800s. Then after the Civil War there were originally about 200,000 pensioners, and that grew to over a million by the 1890s. There is still a woman getting a pension from that war who was born in 1930, and her mother had married a Civil War veteran when she was young.
The federal government spends $7,500 for every man woman and child on entitlements. However, it was not until the New Deal that Americans began receiving assistance for not having provided any service. Now, about 55% of Americans receive some form of entitlement. Cogan’s point is that these forms of assistance create a disincentive to work. The intentions of these programs were good, but can provide negative outcomes. The break up of the family is far worse today due to welfare than it was in 1965 when the alarm was first sounded.
The most successful reform of entitlements was in 1996 and the welfare reform when the money was pushed to the states to dispense. They will continue to grow, but will need a healthy growth of the economy to balance out. If Trump can get the growth he wants, perhaps he will turn to entitlement reform.
Entitlements don’t go just to the poor. The word doesn’t mean the same thing to all. Some think it’s a handout, unearned. Others see it as a benefit than can’t be taken away because it is their right. It is a benefit under the law to anyone who qualifies.
https://www.policyed.org/perspectives-policy/high-cost-good-intentions/video
I’m trying to get a copy of Cogan’s book from my public library, but I found a YouTube of Cogan explaining this thesis that any entitlement expands and usually during an election year. Shocked!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqthAe5-4Zg
Cogan reports that the very first entitlement was a pension for men who had fought in the Continental Army during the War for Independence, but by 1830 (when most would have been dead) it had already expanded to many others, such as state militia, because they were also worthy to a claim. Didn’t they bleed? I’d have to go through my genealogy files, but I found a copy (in an on-line data base) of the claim of a widow in my family tree who was claiming a Revolutionary War pension well into the 1800s. Then after the Civil War there were originally about 200,000 pensioners, and that grew to over a million by the 1890s. There is still a woman getting a pension from that war who was born in 1930, and her mother had married a Civil War veteran when she was young.
The federal government spends $7,500 for every man woman and child on entitlements. However, it was not until the New Deal that Americans began receiving assistance for not having provided any service. Now, about 55% of Americans receive some form of entitlement. Cogan’s point is that these forms of assistance create a disincentive to work. The intentions of these programs were good, but can provide negative outcomes. The break up of the family is far worse today due to welfare than it was in 1965 when the alarm was first sounded.
The most successful reform of entitlements was in 1996 and the welfare reform when the money was pushed to the states to dispense. They will continue to grow, but will need a healthy growth of the economy to balance out. If Trump can get the growth he wants, perhaps he will turn to entitlement reform.
The importance of exercise
“The experts call physical activity the “best buy” in public health. And the guidelines are based on evidence from thousands of studies. Based on this evidence, an expert panel concluded that exercise increases our lifespans, prevents that sneaky annual weight gain and reduces the risk of almost every chronic disease: cardiovascular disease, diabetes and many cancers. No other single behavior can do as much good for your health. By investing some time into exercise now, you get to cash in later. Think of it as the 401K for a long, healthy and happy life. “
I go to Lifetime Fitness 6 times a week, so that’s about 300 minutes of planned exercise, plus I may do another 10-15 at home on my exercycle. I’m not seeing a big pay off, but then I’ve pretty much been a slug my whole life. I don’t really enjoy exercise, but I can do 3 miles on a cycle if I take a magazine with me. or turn on Fox News. However, being a researcher from way back, the number of articles on exercise as the new life extender pill is stunning.
This article suggests move more, sit less, but since I’ve battled weight gain from all this exercise (I’m more hungry), I still hold to my old motto, “Move More, East Less,” or MMEL. The author is exactly right, though, in saying it’s not difficult to add 5 minutes a day to your routine, and then when that’s settled, add another five.
As I’ve said before, I’ve seen some stunning role models at the gym—usually men who come in on walkers, or are using canes. One woman has an artificial below the knee prosthesis. When I think the treadmill is too boring, I look at them and decide I don’t have it so bad.
https://theconversation.com/move-more-sit-less-great-advice-but-how-can-we-make-time-for-exercise-106741
I looked up the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report linked in the first paragraph thinking I’d print it, but it turned out to be over 700 pages, so I just printed the Executive Summary, pp. 18-25.
https://health.gov/paguidelines/second-edition/report/pdf/PAG_Advisory_Committee_Report.pdf
I go to Lifetime Fitness 6 times a week, so that’s about 300 minutes of planned exercise, plus I may do another 10-15 at home on my exercycle. I’m not seeing a big pay off, but then I’ve pretty much been a slug my whole life. I don’t really enjoy exercise, but I can do 3 miles on a cycle if I take a magazine with me. or turn on Fox News. However, being a researcher from way back, the number of articles on exercise as the new life extender pill is stunning.
This article suggests move more, sit less, but since I’ve battled weight gain from all this exercise (I’m more hungry), I still hold to my old motto, “Move More, East Less,” or MMEL. The author is exactly right, though, in saying it’s not difficult to add 5 minutes a day to your routine, and then when that’s settled, add another five.
As I’ve said before, I’ve seen some stunning role models at the gym—usually men who come in on walkers, or are using canes. One woman has an artificial below the knee prosthesis. When I think the treadmill is too boring, I look at them and decide I don’t have it so bad.
https://theconversation.com/move-more-sit-less-great-advice-but-how-can-we-make-time-for-exercise-106741
I looked up the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report linked in the first paragraph thinking I’d print it, but it turned out to be over 700 pages, so I just printed the Executive Summary, pp. 18-25.
https://health.gov/paguidelines/second-edition/report/pdf/PAG_Advisory_Committee_Report.pdf
Guess which party the splitting partner or friend or family member belonged to. Exactly.
“Many people with divergent perspectives from their partners have not been able to make it work in the Trump era. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed in early 2017 found that in the months following Trump’s election win, 13 percent of 6,426 participants had cut ties with a friend or family member over political differences. This past summer, another survey of 1,000 people found that a third declared the same.”
New York Magazine, November 27. http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/11/donald-trump-is-destroying-my-marriage.html?
I warn you, this article sounds like something out of “The Onion,” and you almost can’t believe women can be this stupid over political differences, or in the one case, because her husband had less enthusiasm for being so ridiculous (neither liked Trump, but he didn’t go crazy). But then you remember the 1970s when we discovered consciousness raising, and the late 80s when we discovered menopause, and it all starts to sound like just a bad movie that’s been re-made too many times. One woman admitted she was obsessing, posting on social media, not speaking civilly to her husband and after counseling remembered she’d been date-raped and this was a way to take back power. Oh puleeze!
The most interesting couple (using their real names, perhaps because of their professions) was a life coach and couples therapist. The woman was a Republican and the man a Democrat, but until the 2016 election it never came up. Then the sparks when she decided to vote for Trump. I’m just saying, she was the far more reasonable and respectful of the two about their differences.
My letter to a grant recipient at OSU
Today I noticed in OnCampusToday you’ve received a handsome grant of $2.27 million from NIH for “patient engagement.” Congratulations. I’ve read through your publications, and you have had an impressive career. Although I don’t know what “concept map to define capacity for engagement” means, I would like to comment on patient portals as a means to engage patients in their own care.
I hate them.
My husband has 2 doctors, 3 if you count the cancer specialist whom he rarely sees, and I have 3, family, ophthalmologist and cardiologist. We share the family doctor. Each practice uses a different portal system for finding our lab results, asking questions, tracking meds, etc. But the worst feature is their sending us advertisements! I don’t know until I’ve made the effort to get in—not easy—why I’m being contacted. What a mess! Fortunately, I don’t think my ophthalmologist uses one, because he’s the one I see most frequently. When I ask him to send a record to my family doctor, he uses a fax.
Recently we received a notice from our financial advisor suggesting we have our own “portal” for his financial services, and I fired back, Absolutely Not. Face to face is always better. I’ve not had eye-contact with a doctor since Obama imposed the horribly expensive EMR system, which had never been tested for improved care or cost reduction. One of the Emanuel brothers just thought the tech industry needed a pay off. My medical records could be transported faster by carrier pigeons from Riverside Hospital to Dr. Jennifer Bush, 2 miles away. And I hold no hope that patient portals will improve my care, at least not the ones in use by any of our doctors.
And by the way, how secure are these portals? Who designs them to be unworkable? Are they more secure than large medical practice records? Two years ago my husband’s urologist’s practice was hacked, and thousands of records exposed with all the personal data that goes along with that.
I have 9 blogs, I’m on at least 4 e-mail discussion lists, I’m on Facebook, I read a lot of medical, political, technology and religious information web sites, and I’m a retired librarian (veterinary medicine) who formerly taught classes in data base searching and information skills. I used to teach “older learners,” which is anyone over 25. You need a system that is easy for 80 year olds or admit this technology does not have the capacity to engage.
Norma J. Bruce
OSU Libraries faculty, retired
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
What If Men Are Smarter?
Lots of people, millions and millions, are smarter than I am. Is that so awful? And my math intelligence is probably below that of a 5th grader. The majority of brilliant mathematicians are men—some are women—but a small percentage. The women’s movement, the current one that developed in the early 1970s, has perhaps resulted in unfulfilled rising expectations, according to this Fiamengo File.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9FPe3U8mj8
Janice Fiamengo’s reports (files) are available on YouTube. She’s Canadian and an anti-feminist, not anti-woman. She’s anti-Marxism, anti-PC, and anti-woman-as-victim, all of which encompasses today’s feminism. She’s goes deep, and she’s not an animated speaker—sort of a Joe Friday style. However, her logic and research are compelling. Even so, I’m sure at some point the truth and facts will cause her to be bumped off YouTube.
Here she comments on Christine Blasey Ford, the accuser of Judge Brett Kavanaugh brought forward at the last minute by Senator Feinstein when it looked like nothing could derail the nomination. It has had over 2 million views and well over 14,000 comments (as of November 27, 2018). And the comments bring up things I never thought of. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFL6k5yOAFM
“YouTube is demonetizing videos that are critical of the Left. This makes it nearly impossible for critics of feminism to survive off of their work. A viral video like this one [about Dr. Blasey] would normally gather $2,000 per day in ad revenue, but because it criticizes a feminist position this revenue is denied. This is part of the bias that we are fighting . https://www.youtube.com/user/StudioBrule
Giving Tuesday is out of control—at least in my e-mail
It’s about 1:00 p.m. (updated at 4:30) on Tuesday and so far I’ve received e-mail requests to donate for “Giving Tuesday” from these entities/organizations. At some point during the year, I probably get a news notice or information from most of them, but to hear from all in one day is a bit overwhelming. There are maybe 3 or 4 I’ve never heard of so there must be a “sucker” list going around.
This one from Stop Predatory Gambling was interesting.
"Americans are expected to lose $118 billion of their personal wealth to commercialized gambling in 2018. Many of these citizens, some of whom are your family, neighbors and co-workers, suffered life-changing financial losses.
When you look at the bigger picture, the American people are on a collision course to lose more than $1 trillion of wealth to government-sanctioned gambling over the next eight years.
This is happening at the same time that around 50 percent of the US population has zero or negative net wealth, meaning their debts equal or exceed their assets."
I think Ohioans voted down casinos many times, but we have them anyway. Was supposed to help the schools. Ha!
So far, I’ve had about 50 appeals, counting the double and triple appeals:
McConnel Arts Center
National Police Foundation
CBN (twice)
Wycliffe Bible Translators
The Catholic Thing
Greater Columbus Right to Life
Word on Fire
Wounded Warrior
Hillsdale College
Center for Education Reform (3 times)
Stand with Us (twice)
Prager University
University of Illinois
PDHC—Pregnancy Decision Health Center
Presidential Prayer Team
Lakeside (4 notices)
Black Swamp Bird Observatory
Media Research Center
Human Coalition Center (twice)
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Ohio Right to Life
First Things
Ohio History Connection
Columbus Museum of Art
My Jewish Learning
Genetic Literacy Project (twice)
Hymn Society
Judicial Watch
Pope Paul VI Institute (twice)
Patriot Post
EWTN
Mercy Ships
Charity Navigator (4 requests)
Lifetime [Fitness] Foundation
Washington Post—ProLiteracy
Stop Predatory Gambling
American Spectator
Living Water International
Worldwatch Institute
Ohio History Connection
Sister Accord Foundation
Today is Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday was established in 2012 to "counter the cultural trend of overspending and commercialism by focusing instead on a cause that you believe in." I suppose because it follows Black Friday and Cyber Monday the two most commercialized gift orgies on the planet. But does it? Or does it just rearrange the gifts that generous people would give anyway, and expose us to less worthy organizations? Is it one more layer of bureaucracy between us and the non-profit, charity or parachurch organizations we've been supporting?
"Giving Tuesday" creates a flood in my e-mail, and I can delete most since I know which agencies and organizations deserve my support. But when one comes through with one Christian group dissing another, I do sigh and pay attention. This is not the usual baptism--dunk, pour or sprinkle--or whether one must speak in tongues, or which Bible translation is authoritative, but did World Vision knowingly fund a terrorist organization with our tax money. This one required some research (although I didn't do much) and it's very messy with charges and counter charges.
Forty years ago we supported World Vision regularly, but then it was a much smaller organization (now works in 100 countries) and I don't think it distributed money from US government for foreign aid. Now it's a mega NGO and the bad guys really know how to manipulate large NGOs. Like many Christian relief groups it depends heavily on various governments--not just the U.S.--for its funding. And it's my belief that you "dance with the one who brung ya," and it's awfully hard to preach the gospel with the government overseeing your funding and hiring. Foreign relief is a tiny fraction of our U.S. budget, but it's a major source of funding for some NGOs who do the on the ground, down and dirty work of cleaning up and health care after hurricanes, floods and famine.
This is an update for November 2018 for a misuse of funding that started I think in 2014 or 2016. https://www.christianpost.com/voice/lost-in-sudan-world-vision-worked-with-and-for-terrorist-funding-organizations.html?
This story is about terrorists in Sudan, but before that it was about Hamas and an employee within World Vision reported by an Australian Christian site. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-faqs-the-world-vision-gaza-scandal/?
Nothing ruins a relationship like politics
On Facebook, Christopher Buckley writes:
“It has long been my dour and sour view that you don't get to make good friends later in life because they don't have the same background or share the same experiences as the ones you've had with old friends... Well, my best friends died. (From living large. We should all be so lucky.)
Other friends, shockingly, have unfriended me because I believe in reason and they, passionately, in unthinking madness.
But I will tell you now that I was very wrong about what the length of a friendship means.
I am very glad to know everyone I have met here on this platform along the way and on my life's journey...
We expire... That's the deal.
So fill your barrels as you sail on... Life is a continuum... (funny if you know me IRL) and we will be cruising these waters until the end! XOXO
Monday, November 26, 2018
‘Tis the season of scams
Think before you donate. It's the season of scams.
"Some nonprofits with benevolent-sounding names actually have agendas that undermine American freedom. The Southern Poverty Law Center positions itself as a watchdog on racist and hate-filled organizations. The American Civil Liberties Union is billed as the nonprofit law firm that defends civil liberties. But both these groups follow a left-wing partisan agenda that vilifies political speech and undercuts due process." Capital Research Center
“Indeed, groups like the ACLU and the SPLC really do pose a direct threat to the very fabric of America, and, in many respects, are contributing to the decay of our constitutional republic. Earlier this year, the American Civil Liberties Union in Oregon filed a lawsuit against the federal government following a February 2 directive from the head of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to target criminal illegal aliens appears in courthouses. In this way, the ACLU stood not for, but against, the rule of law in order to protect individuals that have no right to be in the country in the first place. America’s justice system was sabotaged, just as it had been dozens – if not hundreds – of times before. (Related: The ACLU has sued a small town into submission over a cross on top of a Christmas tree.)
As for the Southern Poverty Law Center, this is an organization that disguises itself as a reputable, bipartisan group that seeks to preserve civil rights, when in reality it’s nothing more than a far-left, anti-conservative organization. They have developed something of a habit of labeling certain groups (mostly conservative and rarely liberal) as “hate groups” as a means of discrediting them and damaging their reputation. Ironically, when it comes to radical left-wing groups like Antifa that are staunchly opposed to republicans and President Trump, the Southern Poverty Law Center won’t even come close to using the term “hate group.” They are rabble-rousers, intentionally trying to stir up trouble and creating nothing but chaos in the process. (Related: The SPLC is a hate group pretending to be an anti-hate group.)” https://www.naturalnews.com/2018-06-08-aclu-slpc-must-be-prosecuted-for-sabotaging-a-constitutional-republic-warns-author.html
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/splc-adl-aclu-expand-focus-leftism/
What has happened to church weddings?
A Catholic priest called the Dennis Prager (who is Jewish) Show today to respond to a question about “marriage is a sacrament” in the Catholic church. He said he’d been at his parish of about 400 families for 20 years, and weddings in the church had gone down by two thirds! Some people are not getting married, and some are choosing other venues. Prager expressed his shock, but the priest continued, that the young people he counseled over 20 years had changed. Whereas, 20 years ago they were “cultural Catholics,” and now they were “choice Catholics.” And he mentioned 3 couples in his parish—one he married a few weeks ago, one right after Thanksgiving, and one whose wedding was coming up. He said all three couples were in mass this past Sunday. Prager agreed with the concept. He said formerly there were cultural Jews, and now they are Jews by choice if they attend services.
The class reunion blog has ended
It was time. It was supposed to be just our 50th reunion blog for the Mt. Morris High School class of 1957. Now we’re past 60 years since we graduated! I really appreciate those who contributed stories and photos—Mike Balluff the class president is a great story teller--but recently it was being referred to as “Norma’s blog.” I figured it was time to close the diary (which I actually did in 2010, but I kept updating it so often, I finally went back to occasional posting as there was news). Before I closed it, I pulled out the updates from 2010 and made them separate entries, mostly obituaries, making them easier to find.
Facebook really made blogs obsolete, and Twitter is eating Facebook’s lunch, that said, I think Mt. Morris has at least 4 FB pages plus a webpage. Not bad for a small town of less than 3,000 with no high school or elementary school. At this blog I write on approximately 15 topics, of which Mt. Morris, education, business, medicine, retirement, church, books, films, fashion, food, family, health, etc. are in there with what’s going on in the world. There’s really a lot of variety also in the 1957 class blog, some funny posts and some sad. And all the women were beautiful and the men all had hair!
September 22, 2018 class breakfast
Yesterday I cleaned out several boxes of negatives from our collective photo albums and found a bunch from the 1950s. If I find anything pertinent (and someone who still develops b & w), I’ll back date them and add to the class blog.
Comments on quotas and gender bias in hiring
This is a comment which appeared under the YouTube talk on attacks on a physicist who actually did research on gender hiring differences and found a bias against men. Less qualified women were hired. The Fiamengo File Episode 90 on the shaming of Alessandro Strumia. She’s a great commentator on current problems in society with feminists, genderists, racists, intellectual quality and quantity, etc. University of Ottawa. Like Jordan Peterson and Gad Saad she’s a Canadian with a great series on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOCIke7zLMo
“I am a retired electrical engineer, raised in a feminist dominated household. I worked for FAA. About 1995, there was a policy announced from DC. By 2000, 50% of all technicians were to be female. We had some female technicians already. From what I saw, they were well accepted and fully competent. There were some instances of sexual harassment and policies were instituted to protect them and raise awareness of the need to not offend females. These were rational and well administered, for the most part. I recall one female technician with a sign above her desk that read, "Sexual harassment will not be tolerated, but it will be graded." She loved the attention she got for being female, and it was a happy and highly functional workplace. The female technician and engineer numbers were steadily growing, but once this 1995 policy was introduced, the path to promotion for managers was to select women technicians over men, if at all possible. I could write a book about the results of this forcing a change onto a workforce responsible for maintaining the safety of the air traffic control system.
At first, I welcomed the policy, thinking that disparity in gender diversity was due to bigotry. Primarily, it wasn't. There were very few capable female candidates. Secretaries and other technically incompetent women were encouraged to apply for positions that formerly required deep technical backgrounds. After a few classes at the FAA Academy, they were led to believe they were technicians, though some really were incapable of using a screwdriver. In my limited experience, I saw several such cases where they were sidelined because they were too dangerous to be allowed near the equipment. They drew full pay, but managers did not know what to do with them. Their careers were ruined by believing what they were told, so a misguided policy could be made to appear successful. They were then led to believe that their failure was due to the patriarchy.
On the other hand, the competent female technicians suffered by association. When I was assigned to work on some project with a female before the policy was initiated, I was glad for it. I like women. Having them in the workforce improves the general conditions. I never had problems with incompetence or corruption before this 1995 policy. Afterwards, I was often nervous to be working with women, despite my long favorable history of association with many feminist minds. Male technicians would tell me of their dread to be working with incompetent women technicians, which was never the case prior to the policy. The chances of being called before the Accountability Board for non-malicious comments or jokes were strong, and could have severe consequences. What was a funny joke, which make women technicians laugh, suddenly was a matter of utmost offensiveness. Where was the middle ground of telling the guy to cool it? Times change. Those with more than 3 neurons to rub together want to avoid trouble. Electronics technicians were smart people, mostly ex-military and knew how to get along under authority. Elimination of overt sexism had been happening. Then, the PC police started busting heads, figuratively. Now, hostility proliferates, and it all gets blamed on men, particularly old white men, like me.”
Jordan Peterson always win these battles with feminists, as does Fiamengo and Saad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkMq-R6BfmA
New academic rock star, Gad Saad
Professor Gad Saad is another academic who's become some what a popular rock star of PC and crazy feminism like Jordan Peterson through YouTube and podcasts. He's a Lebanese-Canadian Jewish immigrant whose family first fled to Syria from Lebanon. That should get him points. His field is evolutionary behavior and he's even been bold enough to research how hormones affect consumer decisions. Interview is with one of my favorites, Greg Gutfeld .
https://radio.foxnews.com/2018/10/10/dr-gad-saad-on-idea-pathogens/
His YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLH7qUqM0PLieCVaHA7RegA/featured
A non-political chat about his problems with weight management after having been an athlete as a young man. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zxzBrqSDsQ You should read the comments and advice on this one! Probably a good one to watch after 4 days of feasting and left-overs!
https://radio.foxnews.com/2018/10/10/dr-gad-saad-on-idea-pathogens/
His YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLH7qUqM0PLieCVaHA7RegA/featured
A non-political chat about his problems with weight management after having been an athlete as a young man. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zxzBrqSDsQ You should read the comments and advice on this one! Probably a good one to watch after 4 days of feasting and left-overs!
How the Clintons became so wealthy and powerful
An article from 2015 reminds us of how the Clintons became fabulously wealthy--and powerful. "Clinton Foundation has basically been a foreign money-laundering operation. The scheme works like this: collect millions of dollars in foreign money, dump it into a foreign charity, pretend that the law prohibits you from ever disclosing the identities of those foreign donors to the foreign charity, then have the foreign charity bundle all the cash and send it to the Clinton Foundation. Then, when the time comes–whether it be a Clinton Foundation conference or a lavish Clinton Foundation trip overseas–make sure those individuals get some me-time with the Clintons."
Sunday, November 25, 2018
From a California friend of a friend via e-mail
“The Caravan’s route to Tijuana is instructive:
If you know anything about Mexico you should remember that Tijuana is in Baja California and not on “mainland” Mexico where the Caravan famously “walked” through 2000 miles of Mexico to get to the border and to jump it.
The gaggle of caravan members, 3000 strong as of today with more to come, are now in Tijuana. They had to have an extra struggle to get there. Look at the map: There is only one road through the desert and mountains of Baja between the mainland just south of Yuma to Tijuana. The road is about 200+ miles long and skirts the Northern shore of the Sea of Cortez and crosses the large dry lake, the Laguna Salida. Then it climbs the Cuyamaca mountains; it is quite a trip….hot and steep.
If they came to Tijuana from the South in Baja they had to cross the Sea of Cortez by ferry boat at three points you can do that all far South of the border and you need to bring money…..lots of it.
Then the route they took goes past the USA border entry points at San Luis/Yuma, Mexicali/Calexico (two crossing points), Tecate/Tecate Cal. and Otay Mesa/San Diego before it finally ends at Tijuana. The caravan also could have turned East at the border to reach other entry points there.
If the caravan’s objective was/is to gain entry to the USA they had at least five opportunities to do that before Tijuana……but that’s where the TV cameras are and the caravan went those extra miles to reach them. They didn’t walk either— that road isn’t made for that. So that trip was organized and financed by radical “open border” thugs like George Soros and people with deep pockets who are democrats.
I have not heard one reporter (so called) say anything about the facts above.”
Khashoggi is dead and so are many other Muslims
“Bomb kills Afghan soldiers inside mosque --Army spokesman says 27 are dead | 24 Nov 2018 | A bomb exploded during Friday prayers in a mosque packed with army troops in Afghanistan's southeastern Khost province, killing at least 27 soldiers, a government spokesman said. There were conflicting accounts as to how the blast was triggered. Some officials said a suicide bomber detonated explosives on his body, and other officials said they suspected that a bomb hidden in the main hall of the mosque detonated as soldiers were beginning to offer special Friday prayers.”
“ Bomb blast at religious scholar gathering in Afghanistan kills at least 50 | 20 Nov 2018 | A suicide bomber who targeted a gathering of religious scholars in Kabul has killed at least 50 people and wounded another 80, authorities say. The scholars had met inside a wedding hall to celebrate Prophet Mohammed's birthday, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said. The total of 50 dead and 80 wounded is reported by the Reuters news agency, quoting three government sources, while other reports put the death toll at 43.”
“The attack is the first of its kind against a Sunni religious gathering in Afghanistan, the Washington Post reported.
No one has claimed to have been behind the blast, but both Taliban and Islamic State (IS) groups have targeted religious scholars tied to the government in the past.”
So why are our media only concerned more about Khashoggi? Because then they can reach deep in their bag of hate tricks and link it to Trump! It’s really bizarre. Here’s a peaceful group of scholars celebrating a holy day, and they are blown to bits by other Muslims vs. a disaffected Saudi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, living in the U.S. who writes columns (he was not a journalist) for the NYT who is brutally murdered by his own government for being anti-Saudi. A religious killing or a political assassination? Who knows, but Trump knows we need the Saudi government in that region.
CLG News update.
“ Bomb blast at religious scholar gathering in Afghanistan kills at least 50 | 20 Nov 2018 | A suicide bomber who targeted a gathering of religious scholars in Kabul has killed at least 50 people and wounded another 80, authorities say. The scholars had met inside a wedding hall to celebrate Prophet Mohammed's birthday, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said. The total of 50 dead and 80 wounded is reported by the Reuters news agency, quoting three government sources, while other reports put the death toll at 43.”
“The attack is the first of its kind against a Sunni religious gathering in Afghanistan, the Washington Post reported.
No one has claimed to have been behind the blast, but both Taliban and Islamic State (IS) groups have targeted religious scholars tied to the government in the past.”
So why are our media only concerned more about Khashoggi? Because then they can reach deep in their bag of hate tricks and link it to Trump! It’s really bizarre. Here’s a peaceful group of scholars celebrating a holy day, and they are blown to bits by other Muslims vs. a disaffected Saudi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, living in the U.S. who writes columns (he was not a journalist) for the NYT who is brutally murdered by his own government for being anti-Saudi. A religious killing or a political assassination? Who knows, but Trump knows we need the Saudi government in that region.
CLG News update.
Saturday, November 24, 2018
China will judge all citizens on behavior by end of 2020
Michael Smith writes: “I don't know why people are so shocked at what China is doing. America already has a program to judge people - it's called progressivism and it is 100% owned and operated by the Democrat Party.
If you are not a progressive, you are judged by the central committee to be racist, sexist, bigoted, homophobic, xenophobic, transphobic and a selfish hoarder of resources. If you aren't with the progressive program, you will not allowed to speak at universities, you will be hounded out of restaurants and banned from social media. You will never teach at a major university where diversity of thought is forbidden. Your books will never show up on the New York Times' best seller list. Your belief in God and your practice of religion is ridiculed and often outlawed by the courts (bake the damn cake). You are assaulted daily by the media and the party organs headquartered in the major cities.
Due to your thoughtcrimes and wrongthink, you are literally and figuratively not fit to be a citizen.
We even have a card and an identifying number thanks to the Social Security Administration.
I think it is hilarious there are Democrats shocked, shocked, I tell you that China is doing this when they would start issuing formal citizen behavior report cards tomorrow if they thought they could get away with it.”
Her cards took a detour
When the mail arrived today I looked through it and pulled out a Christmas catalog to throw away. But it felt a little thick, so I opened it, and inside were two cards addressed in red to two families in Pennsylvania, from a family in Aspinwall, Pennsylvania, a borough in the Pittsburgh metro area with hockey player forever stamps not cancelled. So I figured that somehow those cards got pushed inside a catalog addressed to us along the way from Pittsburgh. There was a return address so I sat down and wrote a note to the sender telling her that her cards had made a detour to Columbus, Ohio and I was sending them on their way. While checking this out on the internet I learned that the woman’s father had died earlier this year of ALS, so I also included my condolences.
David Horowitz and Freedom Center
“Earlier this year, MasterCard shut off our online fundraising because the Southern Poverty Law Center labeled my Freedom Center an "Islamophobic hate group," and then Discover Card came after us too.
Why did MasterCard go to war against the Freedom Center? Part of the answer no doubt has to do with the invisible advance of political correctness in the corporate world which has helped create a "progressive" culture based on virtue signaling and moral preening.
But there's more to it than that...
The forces waging this war involve a tight network of the most powerful institutions in our economy, the censorship prone social media, the liberal press, and financial giants like MasterCard.
Their marching orders are issued by radical groups such as the George Soros-funded Media Matters and their ammunition dump is provided by the Southern Poverty Law Center's fabricated blacklist of alleged "hate groups."
I know that the story of this attack on the Freedom Center is complicated and I appreciate your patience in reading about it. I hope you see the threat it poses to all enemies of the left.
I also hope you see that the Freedom Center is in the fight of its life and desperately needs your support if it is to continue our historic role as the left's worst enemy.”
Other conservatives have their accounts shut down or go to Facebook “jail” for speaking out about freedom for Jews, or abortion, or schools or support for Trump, like Diamond and Silk (2 black women who advocate for the president). Dare not aim at the Left’s sacred cows. George Soros has a lot of power (and now you can be called an anti-Semite for speaking out about Soros!) You can’t really say social media punishment for disagreeing with Soros is about free speech because that’s a government issue, however, these sites do have bills to pay—they are a business and depend on advertising which depends on web traffic. Big Tech is Big Monopoly. The left also shuts down bakers and florists or fashion designers who don’t want to participate in a same sex wedding, and THAT is a first amendment right, and their businesses are also being destroyed by government.
Friday, November 23, 2018
This is heartbreaking
I had been reading through the moving speech a mother of a murdered child had given at an Amber Alert conference this past summer, 2018 NATIONAL AMBER ALERT SYMPOSIUM, as reported in their journal. https://www.amberadvocate.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/AA34-web-final.pdf She tells her relief when the murderer of her sexually molested and murdered 12 year old son Justin Bloxom is finally brought to justice in 2014. And although it was a recent 2018 article, I thought I’d better double check for updates, and unfortunately, the murder conviction was overturned in September. Brian Horn’s rights were violated.
Justin Bloxom 12 years old was found smothered to death on March 30, 2010 after he took a cab driven by then 34-year-old Brian Horn, who had posed as a teen girl in texts.
Trump and the press
What is it about this President that drives the media mavens and moguls bonkers? They are constantly attacking him, but he hits back. Remember how GW Bush just grinned? They call President Trump mentally ill, physically unfit, a Nazi, an anti-Semite, a homophobe and racist with no evidence. And he calls them out on Fake News with a lot of evidence.
“. . .this President has been relatively passive when it comes action on the media. John Adams, Sedition Act. Locked up journalists. Abraham Lincoln's Executive Order. When the New York newspaper prinked printed a fake Presidential proclamation, he ordered his generals to arrest the editors and the journalists and they shut down almost 300 papers. Whatever you think about, that's; what he did. Woodrow Wilson set up a whole intelligence operation against the media and a new Sedition Act of 1918.
You've got FDR going after publishers. You've got Obama going after reporters. Trump has not done any of that.” https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/historian-victor-davis-hanson-on-why-he-supports-trump.print
Gender Pay Gap
This is nothing new. Twenty years ago a study involving librarians found out the same thing—choices. And that was within just one field where all studied had an advanced degree.
“Progressives claim that the pay difference between men and women is caused by sexism that government must redress. But a new study offers compelling evidence that the choices and priorities of women account for much of the disparity.” Wall St. Journal, Nov. 23, 2018
There’s a pay wall so I won’t provide a link, but I’ll snoop around to see who the editors are citing. But here are some recent 2016 - 2018 stories on the subject.
“Jordan B. Peterson has discussed this pressure women face at length: years 25-35 are exactly when one gets their career going, but also the best biological window to have children. Women who work through those years see a huge financial payoff, but may miss out on the child-bearing window. And women who choose babies will miss out on the profit-reaping window.
But the choice is still up to the woman. It’s not rampant sexism which explains the pay gap. A woman’s choice explains the pay gap. Can we stop blaming sexism in the workforce for at least this issue? Please?”
I loved my career, but there are few days at work that are worth bundling up the baby, struggling with a car seat, dropping him off at a sitter/daycare where the woman in charge won’t love him as much as you do.
This 2016 article was cited in November 18 at a business journal, and may have caught the eye of the WSJ.
It says, and I concur: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/opinion/why-do-women-earn-less-we-choose
“Here's what Goldin's research shows: First, there's almost no gender wage gap among younger workers: Women in their late 20s make 92 cents for every dollar a comparable male worker makes. But women in their early 50s make just 71 cents compared to comparable male workers, according to Goldin's research. Why does that matter? Because it indicates that the gap is better explained by differences in experience between men and women over their life cycles than by gender.
Second, the gaps differ by industry. When Goldin analyzed college-educated, white-collar workers, she found that for those in science and tech, the gender wage gap is remarkably small, but for lawyers, along with those in business and finance, the gap is much wider. Goldin's research notes that female MBA holders with children shift to positions with lower pay but more flexibility. Half of female MBA holders studied who work part time are self-employed, mainly because of a lack of existing part-time opportunities. Similar trends hold true for women with law degrees.”
I’m surprised Goldin can keep her job!
Coach Tyler’s recipe for whipped cream
Pumpkin Spice Whipped Cream
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Serves: 10-12
Ingredients:
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon maple extract
- ¼ cup granulated swerve
Instructions:
- Using an electric mixer, whip heavy cream, granulated swerve, vanilla extract and maple extract until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold in pumpkin puree and spices until well combined.
- Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
I always wonder what do you do with the rest of the puree. It’s healthy, so I suppose you could add to other recipes, or even gravy, but I don’t need those treats anymore than I need whipped cream!
“Spices are what really help make dishes unique and add amazing flavor. As with most kitchen spices, nutmeg is a carminative that aids in digestion, and can help with those uncomfortable tummy troubles that pop up from time to time. It is also has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial benefits.
Helpful trace minerals found in nutmeg include potassium, calcium, iron and manganese, and it also contains antioxidants, Vitamin C and some B vitamins. Who would have thought a dash of nutmeg could have all that! “
Thursday, November 22, 2018
How to be grateful, even when times are tough. . .
| Although I know to whom gratitude is directed, and that it shouldn’t be me or a fitness coach, I thought this e-mail from “Coach Tyler” had merit because it reminds us that setbacks are often a push forward. Many of his points are quite Biblical (and since for many fitness/nutrition is the new God, I understand that). Even the word Eucharist means Thanksgiving! He writes about three setbacks—a car accident, a job loss, and injuries that could have ended his successful private training business created after overcoming the first two:
|
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
It’s National Bible Week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PvxAOGYjY0
Byrds were #1 in 1965 with Ecclesiastes chapter 3
“National Bible Week in the United States is annually observed from Sunday to Sunday of Thanksgiving week. It has been so observed since 1941 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the first national proclamation. In the years since, every president has issued a national proclamation, as have many governors and mayors, with U.S. senators and representatives also reading celebratory speeches into the Congressional Record.” https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/national-bible-week-and-the-hymnal
“Pleased to be chosen to help initiate National Bible Week, President Roosevelt agreed to host special events at the White House dedicated to the observance. In addition, a well-organized media campaign was planned, while religious, civic, and fraternal organizations pledged their support as well. To launch the event, a reading of the Bible was scheduled for December 7 on a national radio broadcast of the NBC network––the day before its official weeklong observance. On the scheduled day, Bible reading began on NBC, but to the horror of the nation, the reading was interrupted with the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Throughout the nation, radios were turned to NBC for reporting on the attack, and in between reports, network executives requested National Bible Association leaders to continue to read the Bible throughout the day. Who could have known, that on such a fateful day, America would need most the comfort of God’s Word, and what better preparation for a nation facing the horrors of another world war?” https://christianheritagefellowship.com/bible-reading-interrupted/
What’s wrong with this paragraph?
“It is no longer controversial to say that the United States food system does not support a healthy diet. Junk food is extraordinarily palatable and virtually omnipresent; its advertising is pervasive; many Americans do not live within convenient distance of a grocery store stocking healthy alternatives; and healthier foods are typically perceived as costlier. In this environment, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides 42 million low-income people with financial assistance to purchase food. Most SNAP recipients, because they tend to live in lower-income communities, are exposed to the worst of the US food system: more unhealthy food marketing through traditional and social media, more unhealthy foods in the stores where they regularly shop, and fewer healthy foods that are financially within reach. Although SNAP benefits are intended to provide low-income families with sufficient food-purchasing power to obtain a nutritious diet, there is broad consensus that current benefits are insufficient [1]. The US food system is in urgent need of policies and programs that support and facilitate better dietary habits.”
1. There is no United States food system.
2. There is no agreement on what is a healthy diet.
3. There is no agreement on what is junk food.
4. What’s the number in a statement like “many Americans?”
5. What is a healthy alternative?
6. Are healthy foods really more costly per ounce or per pound?
7. How many are “most SNAP recipients?”
8. What broad consensus and who are they?
9. “Policies and programs” is code for more government.
10. When was it ever controversial to say we Americans didn’t have a healthy diet? I’ve heard it all my life and I’m 79!
https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002662
Fascinating guidelines for manners of well educated people
Because of Jim Acosta, there will need to be specific, written guidelines for behavior of journalists. He can only lose his press pass if he violates written rules, not common decency rules everyone understands. In the past, there was an unwritten, decency code which journalists recognized in order to be welcomed at the White House (or anyone’s house). Many groups on Facebook or online content services now have guidelines on how to post comments or content. This one is from PLOS, a science publication website. Imagine having to tell well educated people not to plagiarize or defame each other. Or not to yell opinions at the president or refuse to shut up.
https://blogs.plos.org/about/
Wouldn’t most of these seem like common sense, the basic rules of courtesy we should have learned in school or at home. It’s the adult equivalent of playing in the sandbox with classmates in kindergarten. This list came from the PLOS blog guidelines.
- Don’t plagiarize.
- Don’t defame others.
- Don’t name-call, attack, threaten, or use profanity.
- Don’t use posts to promote products or services.
- Limit the number of links in your comment to three or fewer.
- Don’t use third-party content without permission.
- If you have permission to use third-party content, give proper attribution.
- Arguments based on belief are to be avoided. For example the assertion, “I don’t believe the results of Study X” must be supported.
- The content of comments should be confined to the demonstrable content of the specific blog post and should avoid speculation about the motivations or prejudices of its author.
- In its moderation of comments, PLOS BLOGS reserves the right to reject, at our discretion, any comment that is insufficiently supported by scientific evidence, is not constructive, or is not relevant to the original blog post.
- PLOS BLOGS reserves the right to remove any content that violates any of these guidelines, to block repeat and/or egregious violators from posting, and to suspend accounts as we deem necessary.
- PLOS Blogs is the final arbiter of the suitability of content for inclusion on its PLOS BLOGS Network.
https://blogs.plos.org/about/
Academe encourages spying which bleeds over into general society
| “Hundreds of universities nationwide now maintain Orwellian systems that ask students to report—often anonymously—their neighbors, friends, and professors for any instances of supposed biased speech and expression.” Many college students believe “hate speech” isn’t covered under the First Amendment. And it is, but hate speech in my opinion has come to mean anything a Democrat/Socialist doesn’t agree with, like one’s views on traditional marriage, pro-life, secure borders, baking a cake, climate change, or voter ID. “Fifty-one percent of college students think they have a right to shout down a speaker with whom they disagree. Nineteen percent of students think that it’s acceptable to use violence to prevent a speaker from speaking. Over 50 percent agree that colleges should prohibit speech and viewpoints that might offend certain people.” https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/11/21/the-fruits-of-college-indoctrination/ |
Native Americans and belief in lost tribes of Israel by American Jews
I’m not sure when I first heard of the Lost Tribes of Israel, it was years ago and never part of my faith tradition, but I think it was in connection with the Mormons. https://claudemariottini.com/2006/02/17/the-mormon-church-and-the-lost-tribes-of-israel/
This article at Jewish Learning traces the belief that Native Americans were descended from the Jews dispersed in the 8th century BC by the Assyrians to a 17th century Dutch Rabbi, Manasseh ben Israel who wrote The Hope of Israel (1650). https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/native-americans-jews-the-lost-tribes-episode/ The article doesn’t mention Mormons, but speculates what this belief did for both Christians and Jews.
“The Lost Tribe theory had significant symbolic stakes — for Jews, Christians and Native Americans. Linking America and its earliest inhabitants with the Bible and its theology, meant staking a claim on America–and championing God’s plan for the New World.”
Here’s a copy of the 1650 text in English. http://olivercowdery.com/texts/1650hope.htm
This article at Jewish Learning traces the belief that Native Americans were descended from the Jews dispersed in the 8th century BC by the Assyrians to a 17th century Dutch Rabbi, Manasseh ben Israel who wrote The Hope of Israel (1650). https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/native-americans-jews-the-lost-tribes-episode/ The article doesn’t mention Mormons, but speculates what this belief did for both Christians and Jews.
“The Lost Tribe theory had significant symbolic stakes — for Jews, Christians and Native Americans. Linking America and its earliest inhabitants with the Bible and its theology, meant staking a claim on America–and championing God’s plan for the New World.”
Here’s a copy of the 1650 text in English. http://olivercowdery.com/texts/1650hope.htm
Cold case solved through DNA
Dan Flynn of American Spectator reports in today’s email:
“Middlesex County, Massachusetts, authorities solved a half-century old murder-rape case through DNA. The news chills in that on Saturday I drove on the street where the murder took place and walked with my kids where the victim skated with a boyfriend just prior to it. Everything looked pretty peaceful in 2018. In 1969—not so much.
In the years since Michael Sumpter raped and murdered 23-year-old Harvard University grad student Jane Britton, Sumpter raped and murdered 24-year-old Mary McClain and raped and murdered 23-year-old Ellen Rutchick. We discovered all this after his death. The authorities did convict him of a 1975 rape on a woman (Do you think he regretted not murdering her?). But then the administration of Michael Dukakis allowed him out of prison on work release in 1985. Guess what he did. Yes, he escaped the program and raped a woman—two years before Willie Horton did something very similar. In 2000, the state let Sumpter out of prison because he suffered from cancer. He died 13 months after his release, presumably without raping anyone else.
How marvelous that the authorities can use technology to solve cold cases. Too bad they cannot use common sense from preventing them from happening in the first place.”
According to the DA press release: https://www.middlesexda.com/press-releases/news/dna-used-identify-man-responsible-1969-murder-jane-britton
“Sumpter had been convicted of committing the stranger rape of a woman in her Boston apartment in 1975. Mr. Sumpter died of cancer at the age of 54 in 2001, 13 months after he was paroled from his 15 to 20 year sentence for this 1975 Boston rape. In 2002, after his death, Sumpter was identified by another CODIS hit in connection with a 1985 stranger rape of a woman in Boston committed after Sumpter escaped from work release.
Since his death, DNA testing and the CODIS database identified Michael Sumpter in connection with five sexual assaults, three of which involved the murder of the victim.”
No mention in the press release of the work release program that put him on the streets to rape and kill more women.
Photo of Mr. Sumpter in 1968 file: https://www.middlesexda.com/sites/middlesexda/files/news/michael_sumpter.jpg
Statement from Britton’s only surviving family member on forgiveness:
Statement from Boyd Britton, released by request on his behalf by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office:
A half century of mystery and speculation has clouded the brutal crime that shattered Jane's promising young life and our family. As the surviving Britton, I wish to thank all those -- friends, public officials and press -- who persevered in keeping this investigation active, most especially State police Sergeant Peter Sennott. The DNA evidence match may be all we ever have as a conclusion. Learning to understand and forgive remains a challenge.
The Rev. Boyd R. Britton+ Vicar Anglican Church of Our Saviour Santa Barbara, CA
“Middlesex County, Massachusetts, authorities solved a half-century old murder-rape case through DNA. The news chills in that on Saturday I drove on the street where the murder took place and walked with my kids where the victim skated with a boyfriend just prior to it. Everything looked pretty peaceful in 2018. In 1969—not so much.
In the years since Michael Sumpter raped and murdered 23-year-old Harvard University grad student Jane Britton, Sumpter raped and murdered 24-year-old Mary McClain and raped and murdered 23-year-old Ellen Rutchick. We discovered all this after his death. The authorities did convict him of a 1975 rape on a woman (Do you think he regretted not murdering her?). But then the administration of Michael Dukakis allowed him out of prison on work release in 1985. Guess what he did. Yes, he escaped the program and raped a woman—two years before Willie Horton did something very similar. In 2000, the state let Sumpter out of prison because he suffered from cancer. He died 13 months after his release, presumably without raping anyone else.
How marvelous that the authorities can use technology to solve cold cases. Too bad they cannot use common sense from preventing them from happening in the first place.”
According to the DA press release: https://www.middlesexda.com/press-releases/news/dna-used-identify-man-responsible-1969-murder-jane-britton
“Sumpter had been convicted of committing the stranger rape of a woman in her Boston apartment in 1975. Mr. Sumpter died of cancer at the age of 54 in 2001, 13 months after he was paroled from his 15 to 20 year sentence for this 1975 Boston rape. In 2002, after his death, Sumpter was identified by another CODIS hit in connection with a 1985 stranger rape of a woman in Boston committed after Sumpter escaped from work release.
Since his death, DNA testing and the CODIS database identified Michael Sumpter in connection with five sexual assaults, three of which involved the murder of the victim.”
No mention in the press release of the work release program that put him on the streets to rape and kill more women.
Photo of Mr. Sumpter in 1968 file: https://www.middlesexda.com/sites/middlesexda/files/news/michael_sumpter.jpg
Statement from Britton’s only surviving family member on forgiveness:
Statement from Boyd Britton, released by request on his behalf by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office:
A half century of mystery and speculation has clouded the brutal crime that shattered Jane's promising young life and our family. As the surviving Britton, I wish to thank all those -- friends, public officials and press -- who persevered in keeping this investigation active, most especially State police Sergeant Peter Sennott. The DNA evidence match may be all we ever have as a conclusion. Learning to understand and forgive remains a challenge.
The Rev. Boyd R. Britton+ Vicar Anglican Church of Our Saviour Santa Barbara, CA
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