Seventeen years ago, and things haven't changed much

17 years ago a fellow library blogger. Walt, referred to me as a "right wing librarian." I responded at my blog (somewhat in shock):

"Because I remember those days when I was a liberal humanist, I know why and how this designation happened. When you are a liberal or a Democrat, you see yourself as just “us.” When you are a liberal, the antonym of “liberal” isn’t “conservative,” but right-wing. Everyone to the right of you is wrong headed, a threat to your personal space and freedoms, and “them.”

When you are a liberal you can’t see the bias of the major news media outlets because they reflect your own views and opinions; you don’t notice there are no Republican voices on the faculty of your institution or among the speakers invited to the campus; you don’t even notice when 70% of the campus never says anything out of fear for their jobs; you don’t see that there are almost no conservative books on the new book shelves of your public library and just assume they must all be awful because surely librarians wouldn’t tolerate bias in book selection; you believe that money will solve all social problems; and arriving at a goal or target is never enough--you must gird the loins of your cause with more tax money.

I’m far more liberal, in the true sense of the word, than many of the Democrats I know. I believe the “least of these” have value, therefore I’m against killing babies in the womb because they have physical anomalies or it's not a good time in mommy's career. I believe poor and minority children need a good education to succeed in a complex society and shouldn’t be left behind just because their parents can’t provide it. I believe there should be art and music in the schools--libraries are less critical.

I believe that Jesus Christ suffered and died so that every single person can be welcomed into the kingdom of God, but also believe those for whom he died have the right to say "no thanks" if they so desire. I believe that men and women are equal but not the same--in some areas women are superior. I believe in ordaining women and letting their skills and abilities and your needs determine if they should be in your pulpit.

I believe in meritocracy in the work place and don’t support quotas and affirmative action--they are demeaning to all we fought for. I do not support the death penalty. I was a strong pacifist through the end of the Vietnam war when our “anti-war movement” condemned millions of Vietnamese to death by pressuring our government to run out on them. The most shameful page in our history. I think the United Nations is a waste of time and money since it wasn’t able to save Rwandans or the Sudanese and it stole and scammed food from the Iraqis. It would still be investigating the cause of the tsunami and forming study groups if the US hadn't taken the lead. These lives mattered too.

I believe Israel is the only democracy in the Middle-East, the government/country with which we have the most in common. Anti-Israel fervor is veiled anti-Semitism, in my opinion, and just a new version of "let's blame the Jews for all our problems." I believe we should stop propping up third world monarchies and feudal kingdoms. I think the war in Iraq will look like child’s play compared to the one coming--with China.

I support strong environmental laws that benefit everyone, not just a few disappearing rat and bird species. In fact, I believe our earth is God-created, organized and run. Therefore we should take care of it. I am a 6 day creationist and think it’s a waste of time to try to squeeze “intelligent design” into our theology or public school classrooms. ID doesn’t say much of anything. But evolution often looks Unintelligent too, and children need to be exposed to more than one view as the liberals used to believe.

Many of the librarian blogs I link to are “liberal”--but only if they are well-written, logical and informative. Walt has actually supplied the names of some I’ve never seen. But I’ve never seen mine linked on liberal blogs (some of that is ageism, not politics). A liberal today has severe torticollis and can turn only one direction--left."

I'd forgotten Walt in the last 17 years so I looked him up and found his twitter account. Yup, an apologist for Biden.

Wrong from the start--Roe v. Wade

"Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division. It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives."

10 key quotes from Justice Alito's opinion overturning Roe v. Wade | Fox News

Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision: Read the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health ruling | Fox News

The SCOTUS Abortion protests

I think we will see bad behavior on all sides, but only pro-lifers and conservatives will be punished. Biden made his views very clear. It will be like 2020--riots for months but the J-6 protest for a few hours. Only one side is punished.

"Antifa-linked pro-abortion group Jane's Revenge vowed to undertake a "night of rage" after the Supreme Court's ruling on allowing states to make the final call about abortion. Black bloc protesters wielding umbrellas marched through the streets of Washington, D.C.

The group chanted slogans such as, "If abortion ain’t safe, neither are you," "If we don’t get it, burn it down," "Every city, every town, burn the precinct to the ground," and "F*** the church, f*** the state, we won't let them decide our fate." The protesters burned American flags." Video of abortion protests across US cities over Roe v Wade - TheBlaze

A new podcast for me to explore

I've been enjoying podcasts by some of my favorite conservative speakers, thinkers, politicians and webcasters. Found this today, "10 blocks," by City Journal 10 Blocks Podcast | City Journal (city-journal.org)  and here's a snippet of the transcript:

"Now, [Friedrich] Hayek was best known during his lifetime as a lonely critic of socialism and central planning. In the 1940s, when his fellow economists were enthusiastically nationalizing industries and expecting the Soviet Union to soon overtake the West economically, he published an unlikely bestseller titled The Road to Serfdom. In that, he predicted that the central planners were doomed to fail because of overconfidence in their own knowledge, in their own expertise. He called this the fatal conceit. It was the title of a later book, too. Now, this idea was not very popular among Western intellectuals, but his ideas were an enduring inspiration to reformers trapped behind the iron curtain, until communism finally collapsed in 1989.

By then Hayek was 90 years old and he didn't issue any public statements. But his son reported that as the family sat at home watching television, watching the fall of the Berlin Wall on TV, Hayek could not resist smiling and saying, "I told you so." Now, during those heady years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, many of us, and myself included, expected freedom to keep spreading around the world. There was talk of the end of history now that liberal democracy and free markets and enlightenment values had prevailed. For a while, freedom did spread. But lately, as we've seen, it's in retreat. Both abroad, most obviously in China and Russia, but also here at home. Young Americans are suddenly embracing socialism. Academics and journalists are demanding censorship. Both political parties have turned protectionist. Public officials have claimed unprecedented powers to suspend fundamental liberties. And that traditional guarantee of equal justice for all is giving way to something called social justice."

Zoning Out Growth: 10 Blocks podcast | City Journal (city-journal.org)

A History of Homelessness: 10 Blocks podcast | City Journal (city-journal.org)

Not since the reconstruction years have Democrats behaved so badly

"Shootings, while still up dramatically, 47%, compared to two years ago, are down 11% versus the same time last year."

So what happened 2 years ago? George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis policeman. This set off riots by BLM, Antifa, and neighborhood thugs in many cities. Self righteous white liberals put signs in their yards with black power fists to show solidarity and their own virtue. Preachers drove people from their churches with their finger wagging. It was OK to riot, but not to go to school or the gym. Non-covid deaths soared. It also put in place the Democrats' rallying cry of "defund the police," including our own now v.p. Harris and the Democrat squad leaders and out of control prosecutors. It also messed up the 2020 election with Trump being blamed with the bad management of Democrat cities. Never since the post-Civil War years have Democrats acted so badly.

No one will march for this young man, who was hoping for a career in the NBA. No one will remember his name. Darius Lee.

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/06/nine-people-shot-1-fatally-at-harlem-barbecue/

College basketball star killed, eight wounded, in Harlem BBQ shooting (nydailynews.com)

PICTURED: College basketball player, 21, who killed in Harlem shooting at Juneteenth 'gathering' | Daily Mail Online

What an exciting day!

What an exciting day I had.. My purse was stolen at Wal-Mart near Port Clinton, so I had some interesting experiences, working with the staff, the sheriff's office, our bank, finding someone to help me to get ahold of Bob , lots of worry and anxiety. However. Good outcome. By 6 p.m. the policeman was on our porch with my purse. Don't ever try to steal anything at Wal-Mart. It was all on camera--the woman's face, her method, her credit card, the license plate on her car. They must have cameras everywhere. But. It was all with good intentions. The "thief" saw my purse and took it home intending to call me. She contacted the police and she tried to call me (we weren't home, but she's on the answering machine). As soon as her call came in to the Ottawa Co. sheriff, our man knew what it was and went to her home and got the purse and drove all the way to our place and handed it to me. Everything was there, including my cash, credit cards, endorsed checks, Covid vaxx record, and identity (the DL was going to be the worst to replace--I don't carry my birth certificate or passport with me). I think he gave her a lecture that probably scared her to death, and I doubt she'll do it again. Always turn lost items in to the service desk and let them do the good neighbor thing.

But I did find a special angel from Lakeside who saw me about an hour into the ordeal and offered to call the Lakeside administration, got Bob's phone number, then called him and then paid for my groceries still in the cart and stayed with me until the police came. Bless her dear, sweet soul. Another neighbor drove him to the Wal-Mart (with his key to our car) and together we went to the branch of our Columbus bank which was near-by and reported our problems. Whew. All resolved in 3 hours. I had a lot to write in my gratitude journal.

Luke Witte at Lakeside

We went to Orchestra Hall today to hear Luke Witte, from the OSU basketball fame. Then to the Patio for perch sandwiches. Here's a summary from a publication about what we heard; Witte is now a Methodist pastor and gives talks on reconciliation.

"Back in 1972, The University of Minnesota was hosting Ohio State, and on that day, the young Musselman had predictably worked his players into a frenzy prior to the game. Observers noted he was encouraging extra-physical play. At the end of the first half, OSU missed a shot, and Gopher Bobby Nix raised a fist in celebration. Luke Witte shoved Nix’s arm out of his way on his way off the court, and hit Nix’s face in the process. In the final minute of the game, with the Buckeyes wrapping up the win, Witte attempted a layup and was slugged in the face by Clyde Turner. Gopher Corky Taylor offered his hand to Witte, and when Witte took it, Taylor kneed him in the groin and punched him in the head. While back down on the floor, Minnesota player Ron Behagen approached, and kicked and stomped Witte. When Buckeye Dave Merchant came to Witte’s aid, Jim Brewer approached and was pushed out of the way. Buckeye Mark Wagar was approached from behind by Winfield, who punched Wagar in the face five times. The incident, easily obtainable on YouTube, carried racial overtones, since all of the Minnesota attackers were black and all of the Ohio State victims were white. A Sports Illustrated photo sequence recorded the disgusting violence.

Luke Witte was beat up the worst. After the referees forfeited the game to the Buckeyes, Witte was carried off the court while Minnesota fans booed and hurled debris. Witte and two other Buckeyes spent time in the hospital; Witte was in intensive care for a time, his eye injuries impaired him long-term. When one revisits the 1972 brawl, emotions of anger arise1.

For his part, Witte remembers nothing, from half-time of that game to the next morning. He has recalled his mental state in the years immediately following the Minnesota game. He often felt fine- as if nothing had happened. Other times, he would allow the lingering physical effects (such as the limitations in his eyesight) to cause hostility to fester inside of himself. His hatred focused on Behagen, Turner, Taylor, and Musselman.

He allows he’d lost the passion for the game after the fight. This included his three seasons with the Cavaliers. Over time, during a life journey that spanned decades and included seminary study and becoming an ordained pastor, Luke Witte came to a conclusion:

He needed to forgive those who were involved in the attack back in 1972.

It sounds easy enough: give up your anger and your desire for revenge, and move on. It can be extremely difficult, in practice. Truly forgiving is probably the most important skill of happiness. It takes strength to overcome our own vengeful heart. It is within our power to do so, however. The gesture liberates the victim and allows him to shed his bitterness.

In 1982, ten years after the brawl, Corky Miller reached out to Luke Witte by mail. Witte agonized over how, or whether, to respond- until his wife convinced him to call. They initially didn’t say much, but began to occasionally write each other. When the age of email dawned, they wrote more often. Strong emotional and spiritual bonds formed.

Eventually, Corky Miller invited Luke Witte to visit him and his family in Minnesota. Their relationship had become that of brothers, as they discussed basketball, race relations, and the nature of forgiveness.

While Witte was visiting Miller, he was surprised by a visit by Clyde Turner. The three of them later watched a tape of the attack on the court. They were silent, yet with a dozen questions that would later be discussed.

In the meantime, the three men reconciled. They became liberated."

https://waitingfornextyear.com/2015/01/luke-witte-jim-brewer-ohio-state-cavs/

Summer School of Faith, Part 1, 2022

Each year I try to watch Charles Craigmile's Summer School of Faith. This year the topic is, Vatican II, 60 Years Later. This is the 10th year, although they probably didn't meet in 2020. https://youtu.be/Zb19B8uHOTU . I enjoy his style, humor, and excellent sources. He is not a Catholic priest, he's a business man, but he did go to seminary. The first part is Dei Verbum (Persons and Propositions). Because we're Lutherans, whenever I hear history or culture or arts and entertainment discussed by Craigmile, I'm again reminded of the librarian's phrase, "to the victor belong the archives." Everything in our culture is taught and told and discussed from a Protestant viewpoint. The statistics he presents applies to all our lives and he points out that the changes of the 60s were already in place and not a result of Vatican II. The huge drop in religious orders, in attendance and in respect had already begun by the 60s. He says from a demonic view, if you're going to destroy and army, you start with the infantry. Baptisms and marriages have both dropped over 50% in the last 60 years. Interestingly the stats he gives for clergy abuse for the 1970s show those men (mostly homosexuals) had been ordained to the church much earlier than the 1970s--the 50s, so Vatican II standards weren't to blame. When Craigmile uses the word "church" he means of course, the Roman Catholic Church, however, if you've been attending any Christian church for the last 60 years, you'll recognize the cultural tsunami of changes he discusses many of which are societal, and affecting us all.

Class 1: Dei Verbum – Dogmatic Constitution On Revelation (Persons and Propositions)

 Class 2: Lumen Gentium – Dogmatic Constitution On the Church (True and False Reform) 

Class 3: Sacrosanctum Concilium – Constitution On the Liturgy (Active Participation) 

Class 4: Gaudium et Spes – Pastoral Constitution on The Church in the Modern World (Nature and Grace) 

Class 5: Other Topics from the Council Theological themes – interpretation and development of doctrine Ecumenism Religious Liberty

 

Recommended Bibliography: 

The Documents of Vatican II, Walter Abbott, SJ, 1966 

An Introduction to Vatican II, Matthew Levering, 2017 (Excellent!) 

Vatican II Collection, Word on Fire, Bishop Barron, 2021

 Reclaiming Vatican II, Father Blake Britton, 2021 

The Disputed Teachings of Vatican II, Thomas G. Guarino, 2018 

The Rhine Flows into the Tiber, Father Ralph Wiltgen, SVD, 1966 

Introduction to Christianity, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, 1968

Girl named Tom has to be postponed

 We were really looking forward to seeing "Girl named Tom" this Friday evening. The Ohio group won "The Voice" contest last year. They played at Lakeside last summer and were really appreciated. 

Here is the message from the band:

Dear friends,

COVID finally caught us. We feel terrible. The symptoms are kicking our little behinds, yes, but that’s not the only reason we’re feeling terrible — we cannot play this week’s run of shows. We knew Covid would catch us at some point, but WHY THIS WEEK? We have been looking forward to coming home for so long. Please know we are heartbroken and sorry for all the trouble this causes. We hope you understand, and we will do everything we can to reschedule the shows for a later date. We want you to know how much you mean to us. Once again, we thank you for all the support, love and kindness you’ve showered on these siblings.

Love & Peace,
GNT

From Wikipedia: "Girl Named Tom is an American folk trio from Pettisville, Ohio, consisting of siblings Caleb, Joshua, and Bekah Liechty. They are the winners of season 21 of the American talent competition The Voice, with the distinction of being the first trio to win The Voice. They competed on the team coached by Kelly Clarkson, giving Clarkson her fourth victory as a coach. Their audition was the first audition, as well as the first four-chair turn, of season 21."

OUR STORY | Girl Named Tom

There are worse things than AC quitting in 95 degree weather

From a blogging friend (now a Facebook friend)

"So……my dryer quit working and the repairman came today to fix it. Can’t be fixed. Wanna know why??? Well, a SNAKE crawled into the vent from outside and got caught in the fan!!! Chopped to pieces! The smell was horrible and so the dryer is now outside and a new dryer will be delivered tomorrow!!!!! This was a first!"

The Sandlot, fun movie for families

Last night at Lakeside the free movie was "The Sandlot," made in 1993 about the summer of 1962 and a young boy making new friends in a new neighborhood after his mother remarries. The clip I show (which won't load) has the main character standing in the background, unsure, inept and wanting new friends. The boys become good friends, make mistakes, take risks, and act goofy. A great movie for adults and kids to watch together and discuss. It's a feel good, no violence, with nothing we'd call bad language in this day and age.

I was reading a review, and saw a comment by a "victim." A woman complained that she watched it as a kid and was offended and threatened by the slur, "You throw like a girl." Oh lady, get over it. We've watched incredible female softball champs practice right here in our neighborhood, but this kid definitely threw a ball the way I did when I was 13 (even worse now). Such whiners! I hope the movie doesn't get pulled because some hyper feminist who never grew up got offended over a funny line.

Our dear pediatrician, Dr. Batterson, has died

There was a time when Dr. Batterson was the second most important man in my life.  With our children just one year and 3 days apart, we saw a lot of him for about 6 or 7 years, as they would alternate or pass along childhood diseases, and then occasionally until they went to high school. Then in recent years after he retired and his wife died, he attended Upper Arlington Lutheran Church and I'd see him at study groups or worship.  He always seemed to know me, and had a funny quip or jest to pass along.

Robert Batterson, MD Obituary - Columbus, OH (dignitymemorial.com)

Robert E. “Doctor Bob” Batterson, SEPTEMBER 26, 1927 – JUNE 12, 2022, received his long-awaited “new back and new brain” on Sunday, June 12, 2022. Calling hours will be 5-7 p.m. Thursday, June 30 and a celebration of his life will be held 1 p.m. July 1 at Schoedinger Funeral Home’s Northwest Chapel (1740 Zollinger Rd, Columbus, OH 43221).

He was born on Sept. 26, 1927, at Grant Hospital. During his 94 years, Dr. Batterson held many titles. His most cherished was Child of God, but he was also a beloved husband, a wonderful father, grandfather, and great grandfather, a physician, teacher, student, and World War II veteran.

Dr. Batterson was predeceased by his parents, Paul and Edith Batterson, wives Audrey (11 years) and Marjorie (45 years) and many friends and family. He is survived by his three children, Fran (Brad) Booth, Jane (Steve) Mockler, and Paul (Nancy) Batterson; grandchildren Samantha Hunt and Nick Mockler, and Alicia (Tom) Millerson and Grant Batterson; and great-grandchildren, Isbelle, Parkus, and Paisley as well as many friends and family.

Dr. Batterson grew up in Clintonville, Ohio. He was a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He graduated from Columbus North High School, attended the University of Kentucky, graduated from Capital University, and THE Ohio State University Medical School.

During his medical career, he interned at Mount Carmel Hospital, and completed his pediatric residency at Nationwide/Columbus Children's Hospital. Dr. Batterson was a trusted pediatrician for 37 years in Upper Arlington and Columbus. He was a past president of Nationwide/Children’s Hospital, and served on the medical staffs of Mt. Carmel, White Cross/Riverside Hospital, St. Ann’s, Grant, and Ohio State hospitals. He was the interim medical director at Ohio State Services for Crippled Children.

Dr. B enjoyed supporting his family, participating in many church activities, playing guitar, swimming, fishing, wood working, bird watching, doing ceramics with Marge, pursuing post graduate education, and watching Ohio State beat Michigan. He liked to joke that he was “born terrible,” but those who knew him will say he didn’t end up that way.

What's that fishy smell? Salmon

We had salmon for lunch. I came in from a walk to the store, and thought Yikes, it still smells fishy in here, so I got out an air freshener and now it smells really strange. But that brought back a memory of our son Phil who died in April 2020. We had let him and a group of buddies use the cottage for a few days here at Lakeside. While we were driving back we called about an hour out and told him when we'd arrive, hoping to catch a few minutes with him. When we got to the cottage, the young men were gone. And there was a very odd but familiar perfumy smell in the house. And there were strange spots on the walls. It took me a while, but I figured out that Phil had put the guys in high gear to get everything cleaned up before we arrived, and although they knew our rule was no smoking in the house, they did. Someone had grabbed a can of furniture polish thinking it was air freshener. . . and thus the odd smell and drips on the walls. In the file folder of memories of Phil, not sure where to put that one.

Public service announcement: lots of air fresheners and room deodorizers (and probably scented candles) contain chemicals not good for our lungs, so I rarely use them. Also not good for your pets.

                                    Phil's selfie of his feet and Lake Erie

Juneteenth, our latest holiday

 Juneteenth

As if the Russia hoax didn't stink bad enough . . .Michael Steinbach

 "A top FBI official repeatedly violated bureau policy by hobnobbing with journalists while overseeing the controversial investigation into Donald Trump’s suspected ties to Russia — and then retired before he could be interviewed by ethics probers, a newly released Justice Department report revealed.

Michael Steinbach “had numerous unauthorized contacts with the media” that began when he was the bureau’s assistant counterterrorism director and continued after he was named executive assistant director of its National Security Bureau in February 2016, according to the heavily redacted DOJ Inspector General report obtained by The Post through a freedom of information act request...

Steinbach, who did not respond to a request for comment, retired from the FBI in February 2017 and declined to be interviewed in the OIG probe. "FBI's Michael Steinbach had numerous contacts with media: watchdog (nypost.com)

The Personal Librarian of J. P. Morgan

I've been reading "The personal librarian" the story of J.P. Morgan's curator of his rare books and manuscript collection, Belle da Costa Greene. I'm not impressed with the novel. I just came across the bio of her father, the first black graduate of Harvard, Richard Theodore Greener. http://www.mixedracestudies.org/?tag=richard-theodore-greener If the fictionalized account of Belle's life is to be believed, then her father abandoned his family to suit his own ambitions and had a Japanese concubine and two children when he was the first black diplomat to Russia in the early 20th century. That said, she's not to blame for her father's abandonment of her mother and large family. However, the writing is clunky and awkward, and it's a very preachy book about the struggles of a light skinned woman passing as a white in order to have a good life using her remarkable talent and intelligence. But she also had an affair with a married man (who had other lovers) and an abortion when her Jewish lover chose his wife and station over her (she wanted her child). Maybe I'm just tired of reading about amazingly successful people who are seen as victims. Porch reading. I've talked to others who have read it, and many LOVE this book, so don't be afraid to pick it up.

Belle da Costa Greene (1883-1950) • (blackpast.org)

Belle da Costa Greene, the Morgan’s First Librarian and Director | History of the Morgan | The Morgan Library & Museum

A Look at Belle da Costa Greene | Rare Book Collections @ Princeton

The Women Who Made the Morgan: Belle da Costa Greene, Felice Stampfle, and Edith Porada - YouTube Lecture, March 3, 2021

https://youtu.be/uiHz5YKAnhg Her letters to Bernard Berenson (1865–1959), lecture, June 19, 2021

https://youtu.be/JWcaePIBLCU Unmasking a forgery. The Spanish Forger.

Summary and Review: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Murray - The Bibliofile (the-bibliofile.com)

The Personal Librarian Summary & Study Guide (bookrags.com)

a book review by Judith Reveal: The Personal Librarian (nyjournalofbooks.com)

Belle da Costa Greene - Wikipedia

Bernard Berenson - Wikipedia

Is Biden to blame for baby formula shortage?

The baby formula screw up actually shouldn't be a president's problem, anymore than masks and PPE were Trump's problem or GW Bush to blame for the NOLA mayor's short sightedness. We don't hire these guys to do shelf counts or "just-in-time" stocks. That's what we have massive agencies for headed by overpaid cronies. He is to blame for other things in the supply chain. Like fossil fuel and setting the tone for good business. He threatened the oil industry during the campaign to get the green vote. The concentration of industries is not just one president's fault--I think it had been going on a long time; but Trump should have noticed, because he's a business man and felt strongly about this type of thing. Biden didn't give a piddle and probably had no one watching. There is one thing not spoken about enough which in part makes it his problem. The government buys about half of the formula for its WIC and SNAP and Medicaid programs. So in that sense, whichever alphabet agencies cover that should have warned him so he had someone to blame.

Biden has weakened the country

 The irony, in my opinion, is that the owners/investors of the fossil fuel industry are or will be the same who control the so-called "green" sources of energy. Sunlight and wind still have to be converted (controlled) into useable fuel just as crude can't run a truck or furnace.

Sean Hannity: Biden is doing 'exactly' what he promised with the fossil fuel industry | Fox News

https://youtu.be/uqoNzFv_rDk  Bill O'Reilly weakened the U.S by trying to destroy the industry.

Friday book review--Roth's Rebellion and Hamilton's Pages

I will certainly need to add these two books to my TBR list. Hugo Hamilton wrote The Pages, where a 1924 novel is a main character, Joseph Roth's book Rebellion. Marianne and Ron, our neighbors here at Lakeside, presented a review of the two books at the Lakeside Women's Club today.

"Andreas Pum, having lost his leg in World War I, is rewarded with a medal and a permit to support himself by playing a barrel organ in the streets of Vienna. At first the simpleminded veteran is entirely satisfied with his lot, and he even finds a voluptuous widow to marry. But then a public quarrel with a respectable citizen on a tram propels Andreas’s life into a rapid downward trajectory. As he loses his beggar’s permit, his new wife, and even his freedom, he is provoked into finally rejecting his blind faith in the benevolence of the powers that govern his life. Joseph Roth’s remarkable novel deploys the haunting atmosphere and propulsive power of a dream to convey the bewilderment of an ordinary man as his world falls apart around him."

"JOSEPH ROTH (1894-1939) was an Austrian novelist, essayist, journalist, and publisher. An outspoken critic of Hitler and militarism, he moved to Paris in 1933. Roth’s novels include What I Saw, The Legend of the Holy Drinker, Right and Left, The Emperor’s Tomb, The String of Pearls, and The Radetzky March, an ironic portrait of the decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that is considered to be his masterpiece." (Penguinrandomhouse.com)

"In “The Pages,” Hugo Hamilton’s enticing new novel, “Rebellion” is described as: “A short novel about a barrel organ player who lost his leg in the First World War.” Discarded by the state, Andreas Pum, the disabled veteran, ends up friendless, homeless and hopeless. “Facing death,” Roth writes, “he clung to life in order to rebel: against the world, against the authorities, against the Government, against God.” The award-winning 1999 translation of “Rebellion” by the indefatigable Michael Hofmann, who has also translated half a dozen other Roth books as well as works by Elias Canetti, Alfred Döblin, Franz Kafka and others, is being reissued now to coincide with the release of “The Pages.” “Rebellion” is in fact both the protagonist and the narrator of Hamilton’s novel, a book about the fate of a book." (https://forward.com/culture/481275/the-pages-hugo-hamilton-joseph-roth-rebellion-nazis-kristallnacht/)

Source of inflation could be Covid money

"Did you ever stop to wonder- there was $2.5 Trillion of excess savings due to the pandemic free money? So that money was not needed by the recipients since it went into savings and more went to pay down of credit cards. In short- it was unneeded money transferred from the tax payers to the 50% who are non-taxpayers. So, it then follows that a major portion of the $6 trillion of pandemic give aways, and especially the last $1.9 trillion in March 2021, was a waste of funds, and all that extra spending created the excess demand which is now manifesting itself in 12% inflation to those people who got all that free money they now need just to buy gas and food. And now they are proposing spending another package of hundreds of billions and raising taxes further as we head to recession. Stupid does not begin to define the economic team at the White House." From Ross Rant, [investment newsletter] June 12, 2022

How have environmental rule and regs worsened our housing for low income and middle class?

Because our AC died on the hottest day of the summer (95) and current EPA laws on R-22 prevent it being fixed (will have to replace) I was trying to research to what extent our energy and environmental laws have contributed to homelessness or even pricing low income out of real estate wealth or the competition for a good rental. It's only common sense that the constant drum beat of climate change on the building trades and the corresponding greater concern for mother earth than a mother in America has to hit the more fragile in the wallet. Zip, nada, zilch in the research, especially EPA and Energy Star articles. So I'll just continue to know in my gut that saving the environment is throwing a lot of people out of work and out of their homes. Soon, you may be seeing a lot of cars up on blocks as the bidenflation roars ahead.

But my eyes landed on an interesting fact sheet about homelessness in Washington DC. It decreased significantly under the Trump booming economy, but was still higher than most big cities. The January 2018 count (a point in time) showed 3,761 single adults, and 924 families (3,134 people), and 9 minors alone. So I took a closer look at the singles: 51% were chronically homeless, but only 19% of the adults in the families were chronically homeless. I think that was my big takeaway. 50% of the singles had formerly been institutionalized--from jail or hospital to the streets; 19% of the singles had a history of domestic violence, much lower than the family rate; 30% of the singles had chronic substance abuse and 32.7% had a history of mental illness; 24.6% of single homeless adults were chronically ill and 18% were disabled. Median age for the singles was 51 and for family adults 29.

 
I was a librarian not a social worker, so I won't suggest a solution, but I do know that saving families is a big part of the solution of homelessness, and housing is probably the smallest part. Families are a social safety net, and many of our government policies can't answer that need.
https://www.legalclinic.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Fact-Sheet-on-Homelessness-and-Housing-Instability-in-DC.pdf

It's 94 at the lake

 And the air conditioning died.

  

 We've contacted the new owners and they've decide to replace rather than repair.  That's what the new environmental laws do--force people to buy new rather than repair. It's supposed to be cooler tomorrow, and we haven't had the really hot days that Columbus has experienced.  The AC was new when we bought our cottage in 1988, and we replaced it in 2002. So I hear 20 years is a good record for AC units. Tonight we go to the picnic in the park--last week was too rainy and cold! Tonight we'll be slapping our ankles as the bugs in the grass bite!

Peaceful biolabs in Ukraine--46 of them

"The United States has also worked collaboratively to improve Ukraine’s biological safety, security, and disease surveillance for both human and animal health, providing support to 46 peaceful Ukrainian laboratories, health facilities, and disease diagnostic sites over the last two decades. The collaborative programs have focused on improving public health and agricultural safety measures at the nexus of nonproliferation. " Defense Dept. Fact sheet on WMD reduction efforts. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3057517/fact-sheet-on-wmd-threat-reduction-efforts-with-ukraine-russia-and-other-former/

Hmm. 46 biolabs. Wait. Weren't people called conspiracy theory dups for even suggesting U.S. was funding Ukrainian biolabs?

Remember when Tucker interviewed Tulsi Gabbard and they were accused of spreading Russian misinformation. I wonder what happens when "peaceful biolabs" get bombed? How will public health be improved?

Tucker Carlson: Everything Tulsi Gabbard Said About Ukraine's Biolabs Is True | Video | RealClearPolitics

If it took them this long to admit to 46, I wonder how many there actually are?

A. J. Lee all grown up and still singing

 https://youtu.be/VcRZdmJtVwY  2012, 8 years old

https://youtu.be/Ra7h7lvHbuc  2019, 

https://youtu.be/lALQAUn2QTo   2022, 18 years old

A young lady worth watching. A. J. Lee. This would be a great group to see at Lakeside.

Don't mix your metaphors

 

Will the U.S. become Venezuela?

From a Christian Aid Ministries newsletter: ". . . a street artisan weaves a beautiful handbag out of 800 pieces of large denomination banknotes. The money is worthless. Welcome to Venezuela."

 
And I wonder. Will we be next as Biden's totalitarianism makes our money worthless? Hugo Chavez introduced socialism gradually to Venezuela until he'd destroyed a once prosperous country rich in petroleum assets. It didn't take but a few years. Watch out.

Buying Venezuelan oil while Biden kills our own industry won't save Venezuela from its own leaders' bad socialist choices and it certainly won't help Americans. A Potential U.S. Oil Deal with Venezuela Faces Hurdles (investopedia.com)  Biden enriches and enables bad governments elsewhere, while poking American citizens in the eye and lying to them.

Raisi: Iranian Tanker Delivery to Venezuela A Victory over US Sanctions - Politics news - Tasnim News Agency

Oil producers Iran and Venezuela sign 20-year cooperation plan | Euronews

There is a tomorrow, and someone has to pay for it

"In 2021, Social Security spent $57 billion more than it collected in dedicated tax revenue and interest on its trust funds. The trustees expect this gap will widen over the next decade, quickly depleting the program’s trust funds until its runs out of money in 2035. At that point, the program’s income will cover only 80 percent of benefits promised to recipients."

 
This is an informative article. If you're looking at retirement with SS benefits to supplement your pension in 10-15 years, you definitely should be paying attention. I have a state teacher's pension so I don't get SS (that would be double-dipping). Did you know that? Nor am I be eligible for spousal benefit if my husband died first. G.W. Bush had planned to work on fixing this but with 9-11 and the war he got sidetracked and I don't think any president since then has even mentioned it. Now with raging inflation, you may need to adjust your spending and saving.

The Social Security Trust Funds | PolicyEd

Shadowlands, the movie

Monday evening at Lakeside we enjoyed the movie Shadowlands about C.S. Lewis and his wife Joy at Orchestra Hall (movie theatre) where I sat with Barbara Martin. It had been raining very hard, so my tarp was actually occupying the seat between us. Our book club had read a fictionalized account of Joy Davidson Gresham several years ago, but I wasn't terribly familiar with their story. I noticed that one son had been left out of the story of their friendship, marriage and her death. So last night at an art show I asked Barbara about it, and she told me of the unfortunate life of the older son David and why he was left out of the story. Today she sent me this link which explains a lot, in case you saw Shadowlands. Douglas Gresham, the stepson of Lewis, has had a very interesting life, and survived some very difficult times.

An Untold Tragedy: Douglas Gresham and C.S. Lewis’s Final Years – The European Conservative

C.S. Lewis tried to help his schizophrenic step-son | The Bridgehead
I wrote about Douglas and his life with Lewis in a 2017 blog. Collecting My Thoughts: C. S. Lewis’ son Douglas Gresham

Plot of Shadowlands (from Wikipedia)

"In the 1950s, the reserved, middle-aged bachelor C. S. Lewis is an Oxford University academic at Magdalen College and author of The Chronicles of Narnia series of children's books. He meets the married American poet Joy Davidman Gresham and her young son Douglas on their visit to England, not yet knowing the circumstances of Gresham's troubled marriage.

What begins as a formal meeting of two very different minds slowly develops into a feeling of connection and love. Lewis finds his quiet life with his brother Warnie disrupted by the outspoken Gresham, whose uninhibited behaviour sharply contrasts with the rigid sensibilities of the male-dominated university. Each provides the other with new ways of viewing the world.

Initially, their marriage is one of convenience, a platonic union designed to allow Gresham to remain in England. But when she is diagnosed with cancer, deeper feelings surface, and Lewis' beliefs are tested as his wife tries to prepare him for her death."

Methodists: Don't miss your exit!

Dr. Warren Lathem, a retired UMC pastor and husband of a blogger friend, writes on Facebook, (1) Warren Lathem | Facebook :

"Atlanta drivers know if you wait until the last minute to try to cross 6 lanes of traffic to get to your exit, you are likely to either miss the opportunity and wait for the next one, or get run over by a delivery truck. Therefore, we have learned to get prepared to exit long before the exit appears.

 
The UMC made a provision for churches to disaffiliate (exit) from the UMC taking their property and all assets without any liability for future unfunded UMC pension benefits. It is described in paragraph 2553 of the current (2019) Book of Discipline.

 
However, this provision has an expiration date: December 31, 2023. There are costs involved, specifically paying the church’s share of the unfunded pension liability (the conference has to provide that number) and any unpaid current year apportionments plus one more year apportionments. Various other bishops and Conference Boards of Trustees have added other requirements, some quite onerous.

 
The paragraph 2553 of the 2019 General Conference made provision for disaffiliation by a local church and was ruled constitutional in 2021 by the Judicial Council. This meant disaffiliation could be processed beginning in 2022. Seventy churches in North Georgia completed the process and were approved/ratified for disaffiliation at the June, 2022 Annual Conference.
The remaining churches wishing to disaffiliate have a very narrow window. They must complete the church decision making process and ask for a church conference to be scheduled January 1- February 28, 2023. The North Georgia Conference must vote on whether to ratify the local church disaffiliation agreement which is scheduled for May 31, 2023. No further opportunity for ratification is presently planned.

 
In order to meet this deadline it is imperative churches act now. The Annual Conference has published very specific procedures which must be followed exactly to be able to successfully execute this process. A sixteen page disaffiliation package has been prepared to help churches navigate this laborious process. The packet is available via email on request.

 
Please do not believe the speculation that there is no need to do anything before the 2024 General Conference. Also do not believe the speculation that the 2024 GC will make the process easier and less costly. Indications across the church reveal an agenda to thwart the process of disaffiliation. For example, one bishop has declared no churches will be allowed to disaffiliate until after the 2024 GC. Another has required churches to surrender 1/2 of their assets in addition the Disciplinary requirements. Further, the centrists and progressives who were involved in the negotiations which resulted in the Protocol for Separation have withdrawn their support for the legislation in the 2024 GC. The NGA bishop has declared, “The Protocol is dead.”

 
There is not sufficient evidence to believe the 2024 GC will adopt a new version of Paragraph 2553 nor make leaving less onerous, if even possible. Many have speculated they will, but this a very unlikely outcome.

 
Therefore, I believe you will have one opportunity: Annual Conference 2023. If you miss the exit, you will have probably made a very costly mistake.

 
In order to avoid missing the exit, you must begin moving toward it now, not later. Now. No one knows how many NGA churches will seek to disaffiliate in 2023. It could be hundreds. The exit ramp is fast approaching and the exit lane will fill quickly. You need to move toward it quickly.

 
Please do not let conference leaders, centrist/progressive clergy, or other church members convince you there is no hurry. The time is now.

 
There are folks available to speak with you, your church leadership, your church or a group of churches to help with understanding the current situation and the necessary process to successfully get through this exit.

 
In many churches there has been little or no discussion of the whole matter forcing the decision. Often that may be the natural state of inertia in many of the congregations of the UMC. Or it may be a theological misalignment of the pastor and the congregation. Further, it may be the fear of conflict in the congregation. Now is the time to face the fears and the consequences. Time is of the essence.

 
Disclosure: after 50 years of ministry in the UMC I transferred to the Global Methodist Church. It was in some ways a very sad and difficult decision. However, it was for missional reasons, first, then doctrinal and theological reasons. I believe we have a great missional future together. Our Wesleyan heritage is one of outwardly focused mission. It’s time to pursue it again.

warrenlathem@gmail.com

He also wrote:  Warren Lathem: North Georgia Ripple Effects - Juicy Ecumenism

"Interestingly, the reasons churches are discussing leaving almost always have nothing to do with human sexuality, the high-profile issue at the General Church level. They are talking about a misalignment of mission, decades of ineffective pastoral leadership, the misuse (in their opinion) of their apportionment dollars, the forced closing of local churches, the seizing of local church assets, and a desire for a viable future which appears to no longer be possible in the UMC. They have watched their children leave to go to effective orthodox churches, often independent or loosely aligned with an association of churches. They have observed the sometimes slow and sometimes rapid exit of their contemporaries to other vital churches in their community. They have observed the politically driven actions of the leadership of the conference in hiding or withholding information that for years was readily available to local churches. They have had to receive and pay the salaries of District Superintendents who have little experience and often no serious effective experience. Some of them have had a new DS assigned and have never met them in over two years! Many discuss the all-consuming institutionalism of the denominational leadership while experiencing either benign neglect or open hostility from that same leadership to the needs of the ministry of the local church. Now many of these most faithful United Methodists gather in sanctuaries for worship, look around and see fewer than 50% of the folks who were there just a few years ago. Some will say this is simply the result of Covid. Certainly some of it is. However, in most churches this downward trend in attendance stretches over multiple years and pastors. They never see a believer’s baptism. Confirmation classes have fewer than five or none at all. They are threatened if they do not pay their annual apportionment in full. They are not included in any district or conference decisions, not even consulted. So they want out with their assets to continue ministry in a more effective way. They may not be sure what that looks like, but they know what is current reality is not working."

Biden threatens Republicans again

"In his first network interview in 118 days, President Joe Biden pledged on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Wednesday night to jail political opponents connected in any way to the events on Jan. 6, 2021. The next morning, Biden’s FBI arrested lead Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley, who was at the Capitol on the day Democrats have christened as a somber national holiday."

FBI Arrests GOP Candidate One Day After Biden Says To Jail Opponents (thefederalist.com)

Hearken harken

 I was going to comment on an article I read about the first black graduate of OSU published at the website of WOSU News, Shermin Hamlin Guss, however, I had to check a box for "Terms of Service" before it would submit.  I decided to look at it, and was shocked that I was virtually giving all my rights away to some unknown service called "Hearken." Plus it was word salad and the worst gobbledegookish lawyer blather I've ever seen.  One could not possibly know what was being signed, so I withdrew my comment.  If it's important, I'll find another way to contact the author, Michael De Bonis.

Democrats incite violence from local to federal level

"The record violence we're seeing now is irrevocably linked to the fact that, in 2020, Democrats at the national, state, and local levels willfully provoked and promoted mass lawlessness while they simultaneously demoted law enforcement capability. They empowered their Marxist Black Lives Matter thugs and their anarchist antifa legions to riotous violence in the name of "social justice" in response to what they errantly claimed was "systemic racism."

This violence is thus the direct result of empowering these mobs, and it is their effluent that accounts for the vast majority of active and mass assailants nationwide.

What data supports that assertion? Read on.

As a backdrop, after the high-profile attacks in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, by sociopathic assailants — attacks that are very rare despite the ubiquitous media coverage — Joe Biden and his leftist politicos paused their advocacy for the killing of the most innocent among us — about 2,200 children before birth every day — and did what they always do. They used the blood of innocents as political fodder in their relentless assault on the Second Amendment, the citizens' assurance of the First Civil Right required to defend all others."

Mark Alexander: Biden and His Demos Unleashed a Record Surge in Mass Violence | The Patriot Post

And now the threats against a Supreme Court Judge, with outraged pro-aborts and Senator Chuck Shumer leading the way even though we have laws against protesting at their homes.

Why would more laws against guns help if even senators won't obey the law and not instigate violence?

Telling horse stories

 Our 12 year old neighbor was sitting on the porch talking to Bob when I got home from a nutrition lecture (no one can eat that many fruits and vegetables).  He loves horses, and rides a pony that belongs to someone else, but now is getting so tall he needs to find a horse.  Bob told him I had a horse at his age, so I told him the stories--mostly disaster type, since my horse wasn't well trained, I tied him in our back yard to graze or paid to board him at a farm and then had to catch him in order to ride.  I told him about the trail rides and tying a red ribbon to his tail to let others know not to get too close.  I told him about his unusual, teeth jarring gait, and how he'd expand his belly so the saddle would slide under when we rode him.  Mostly bad memories--I hope I didn't discourage him too much. He fell on me the first week I had him, and I've had back troubles ever since.  He now knows more of my horse stories than my kids. My mother and her sister had horses too one summer when their family visited their farms in Montana (?) or Kansas.   We didn't take a lot of photos in those days (1952); this may be one of the few I have.  I saved my babysitting money to purchase him but the upkeep was pretty stiff for a 12 year old--something like $10 a month for me to board him at a farm near Camp Emmaus. It certainly didn't turn out like the horse stories I'd read as a kid.

Decolonizing gender--what does that mean

 A consortium of publicly subsidized nonprofits wants to “decolonize gender” and normalize male genitalia as a form of authentic womanhood.

Pay attention.  They are telling you they plan to destroy your country, and the Biden administration and the deep state of out of control non-profits are setting the stage.

Transgender Activists in Their Own Words | City Journal (city-journal.org)

Slavery today

 "According to modern anti-slavery group 50 for Freedom, there are more people in slavery today than at any other time in history. Our elites seem disinterested in freeing those 40 million suffering souls but eager to condemn America for not getting rid of the “peculiar institution” sooner. Instead of focusing on 1619, they could do far more good by looking at 2022 and abolishing the scourge of slavery everywhere."  John Gabriel, Ricocet.com

Quote of the Day: Thomas Sowell on Ending Slavery | Ricochet

“What was peculiar about the West was not that it participated in the worldwide evil of slavery, but that it later abolished that evil, not only in Western societies but also in other societies subject to Western control or influence. This was possible only because the anti-slavery movement coincided with an era in which Western power and hegemony were at their zenith, so that it was essentially European imperialism which ended slavery. This idea might seem shocking, not because it does not fit the facts, but because it does not fit the prevailing vision of our time.”
― Thomas Sowell, Black Rednecks and White Liberals

Janet Jennings, you will be missed

 https://www.canva.com/design/DAFC2-1Ie6c/rJ0hOCYllHmnPZI0YSfR1w/view?

We were so saddened to learn of the short illness and death of our Lakeside friend, Janet Jennings. It's hard to imagine this place without her leadership, friendship and friendly smile.

  

Irwin and Janet in 2017

To the misinformed, naive Democrats

Friends of and voters for Biden, your responses to the Biden disasters--Afghanistan, inflation, going to our enemies for energy, rising crime, flip flopping on Ukraine aid, grooming of children with LGBTQ nonsense, border flooding with illegals, and now allowing China and foreign sources to control our oil and solar panels so he can appease the Greenie/Marxists in his administration--are laughable. Piddle, diddle, smile and fiddle. Trying to blame Trump or Tucker Carlson or Fox. You're pathetic.  You're digging and searching, and can't find anything.  Those of you who are Democrats supporting Biden (and many are not) are so misguided and confused, there should be a special service for you for mind healing. Now the plans are to do everything possible to inflate the J6 event, even though all the pink hat ladies (to simulate women's genitals which now they claim don't even belong to women) did more damage to property and patriotism on Trump's inauguration.  It's all you've got.  Claim a protest by a few hundred unarmed citizens was an insurrection planned by Trump. When thousands looted and burned all during his administration on behalf of BLM protests that a man with a long criminal record was wrongly killed by police resisting arrest,  and the Dems just sat back and smiled approvingly.

The last day, September 30, 2019

With the change to my new computer and Windows 11, some of my e-mail folders didn't transfer, but I don't know why.  Fortunately, some old letters I wanted to keep did, and I found one from our very last day of life as we knew it.  September 30, 2019.  The next day our son Phil had 2 seizures, was hospitalized and diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma. But when I wrote this his life and ours was continuing as usual, not knowing what was to come. 

"We’ve been eating dinner on our lovely deck almost every evening since we returned to Columbus on Labor Day, but it just may be too warm this evening.  We’ve also been enjoying sleeping with the windows open, but that will probably not work tonight. I love hearing the train in the distance. 

I’m learning all the buttons and features for my new car, a white 2019 Pacifica, which is the most recent version of the Chrysler van.  It has keyless entry which is very nice, but I have to be careful.  I’d love to have that feature on my house door for when I’m carrying in the groceries. We’re still waiting to get the owner’s manual, and don’t know what some of the bells and whistles are for.  I can look on-line but there are 718 pages, so I don’t want to print the manual.  We also have a free subscription to Sirius radio, but it seems now days you need a smart phone in order to live in our society, so I’ll have to wait until Phoebe has time. And for the umpteenth time the street is torn up and we have no water.  I’m not sure why Kenney Rd. has so many problems, but it does. 

Last night we had our UALC Bible study group here for a meeting and dessert—pumpkin pie and ice cream.  It’s such a nice gathering, and I always enjoy them.  Howard and Betty are leaving Thursday for Ireland, and both have significant health challenges. Two years ago they went to Scotland and arrived in the U.S. (Houston) during the hurricane, and were stranded there for 5 days.  Dave and Donna used Phil as their dog sitter last month, and were so thrilled, she just gets weepy when she talks about him.  She said she didn’t know a bachelor could keep his home so clean, and their dog just loved him. David had tripped on a curb when getting his driver’s license renewed, and had a black and blue face. We celebrated his 81^st birthday.  One member will be having surgery for liver cancer and her first grandchild around the same time.  And Sunday School class is similar. We have about 40 and a goodly number are 70+.  Lots of changes going on at church, which is always hard on the older folk who like things to stay the same. 

And we’ve had several deaths.  Our best man in our wedding, Tom Moir, of Indianapolis died in late August so we drove there on the 4^th for the funeral.  He’d been a part of Bob’s life since elementary school. We also went out for lunch with some other guys from their "Slobs" high school group. We had a really good visit with Bob’s family and spent the night in their new “shared” home (4 generations). A busy place with 3 dogs.  

We went out for our anniversaries and my birthday with Phoebe and Mark.  Had a lovely time at a restaurant in Grandview. On Saturday Phil and I went back to our old neighborhood and had lunch at the Chef-o-Nette.  When she was in kindergarten and Phil in pre-school, he and I used to go there, grab a snack and then pick her up at the school across the street. 

Bob’s brother is recovering from his emergency intestinal surgery in August while they were travelling to California from Arizona, and when Bob called recently he was vacuuming which we thought was a good sign. It’s been a very slow turning around. 

We’ve got a nice trip coming up on October 9, but mainly here in central Ohio. It’s with our Conestoga group, which sometimes means a little walking or stairs, so I’ll just have to see how that goes.  Sometimes old, historical buildings don’t have elevators. 

Stay safe—and cool."

Michelle Malkin post of March 11, 2020

 Down memory lane with early pandemic essays, but has anything changed?

Here are some plain, nonhysterical facts: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is a bloated federal government agency with a long history of incompetence, fraud, secrecy, mission creep and shady alliances with both social justice causes on the left and private corporations on the big business right. The "deep state" of entrenched bureaucrats embedded in the Beltway bowels is alive and thriving at the CDC. The unelected elites who've occupied top offices at the public health-industrial complex are hostile to public scrutiny while clamoring for ever-ballooning budgets. Their recommendations have often been detrimental to citizens' well-being and freedom.

And, yes, many of the scientists who work there are rabidly anti-conservative and anti-Trump.

It's a brazen lie that President Donald Trump "slashed" CDC funding, which is being used as an excuse for the agency's coronavirus unpreparedness. Cognitively impaired and truth-challenged Joe Biden made the claim during last week's Democratic debate that these purported "Draconian cuts" put Americans at risk. But Trump's budget proposal to cut some sliver of CDC fat has never been enacted, and Congress increased funding, instead.

At nearly $7 billion, CDC's annual budget is more than 200 percent larger than it was two decades ago. On top of that, a shady big business lobbying group called Corporate Friends of CDC has raised hundreds of millions of supplemental dollars — which raises serious conflict-of-interest issues. In 2007, Sen. Tom Coburn's fiscal audit of the agency discovered vulgar expenditures including CDC syphilis prevention funds spent to host a "safe-sex" event with a porn star, CDC HIV/AIDS prevention funds spent on a transgender beauty pageant, and $45 million in CDC funding spent on conferences featuring prostitutes, protests and beach parties.

Despite the flood of money, the agency been caught flat-footed on outbreak after outbreak. They squander untold millions on other health threats in favor of pushing gun control and nanny state hobby horses (TV violence, helmet laws, video games, anti-bullying campaigns and explicit sex education, for example). CDC has one primary job — Disease Control — but has managed to botch it without ever learning from past failures. Let me remind you of some of the CDC's long history of royal screw-ups:

—The notorious 1976 swine flu vaccine scandal was catalyzed by mass hysteria whipped up by CDC junk scientists clamoring for more money; Congress obliged and nearly 45 million Americans were unnecessarily jabbed with a vaccine for a disease that had fizzled by the time the shots were ready. The vaccine resulted in an increased risk of developing Guillain-Barre syndrome — leading to muscle weakness and paralysis.

—In 1999, the CDC misspent $22.7 million appropriated for chronic fatigue syndrome and was investigated in 2001 for squandering $13 million on hepatitis C research.

—In 2000, the agency essentially lied to Congress about how it spent up to $7.5 million earmarked each year since 1993 for research on the deadly hantavirus. "Instead, apparently without asking Congress, the CDC spent much of the money on other programs that the agency thought needed the funds more," The Washington Post disclosed at the time. The diversions were impossible to trace because of shoddy CDC bookkeeping practices.

—In 2009, the CDC recalled 800,000 doses of swine flu vaccine for children ages 6 months to 3 years after the products manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur failed potency tests.

—In 2012, the CDC's main building housing infectious anthrax, SARS and monkeypox gases was discovered to have been leaking deadly pathogens due to a flawed engineered airflow system.

—In 2014, the CDC's lackadaisical response to Ebola virus gave the greenlight to Patient Zero Thomas Eric Duncan and infected medical personnel to board commercial airlines while ill — exposing untold numbers of travelers to the deadly disease. Expensive isolation chambers that had been subsidized by taxpayers to the tune of $15 million sat buried in a Georgia warehouse.

—For the past few years, the agency has employed a fear campaign to induce Americans to get regular flu shots (formulated based on guesswork) using flawed statistics and despite international scientific conclusions that there is "no evidence" to support the CDC's assumptions that the vaccine reduces transmission of the virus or the risk of potentially deadly complications.

—Just this week, the Informed Consent Action Network reported astonishing results from its lawsuit against the CDC to obtain scientific documentation for the agency's claim that "vaccines do not cause autism" — specifically for the first seven vaccines given to your child in their first six months of life. CDC had stonewalled, and then finally produced 20 studies — 18 of which were irrelevant to ICAN's public records request and two of which suggest that vaccines may indeed cause autism. In other words: The CDC is lying while continuing to smear vaccine critics as "conspiracy theorists" and public health threats.

As if to underscore my point about this agency's misdirected priorities and rank political pandering, the CDC director this week found it more urgent to condemn Republicans as racist for accurately describing the origins of the virus from Wuhan, China, than to do his job.

Informed diagnosis: The "best people" — who have now been rewarded with more than $8.3 billion in new "emergency funding" — are not in charge.

Michelle Malkin is a conservative blogger at michellemalkin.com, syndicated columnist, author, and founder of hotair.com. Michelle Malkin's email address is MichelleMalkinInvestigates@protonmail.com.

Gene Corbett, 1930-2022

Floyd Eugene Corbett, 91, of Mount Morris, passed away at KSB Hospital in Dixon on Monday, May 30, 2022. Gene was born on December 19, 1930, in Grand Detour to Joe and Bessie (Ballard) Corbett.

Gene graduated from Mt. Morris High School – Go Mounders!! He married Betty Hanes in 1949. Gene was an electrician where he worked for ComEd and for Quebecor Printing, retiring in 1993.

Corby enjoyed watching the Oregon boy’s high school football games, puttering around the house and cruising, whether it was in his car or later on his mower. Now he can climb any tree he wants without our fear of his falling!!

He is survived by his children, Ronald Corbett and Jenny Gann (Mike Bevill). Grandchildren, Peggy (Jeff) Cox, Paula (Gary Sharp) Brevig, Jennifer Corbett, Erin (Pat) Harbaugh and Brittany (Darren) Brown. Nine great-grandchildren, Zachary Cox, Taylor Brevig, Tatum Brevig, Marissa Corbett-Villa, Isabella Diaz, Mia Watson, Kylee Brown, Kamryn Brown, and Logan Harbaugh. And brother, Derril (Joyce) Corbett.

He is preceded in death by his parents, wife Betty, son Fred and brothers, Howard, Russell, John and sisters, Gladys, Marian, Dorothy and Lois.

A funeral service will be held at 5:00 P.M. on Wednesday, June 8th at Finch Funeral Home. Visitation will be held prior to the service from 4:00 P.M. until service time. Burial was in Plainview Cemetery. A luncheon will be held at the Mt. Morris Moose after the funeral service.

Finch Funeral Home, 405 East Hitt, Mount Morris, IL assisted the family with services.