Money saving for Seniors

Have you seen those PennySaver USA sponsored ads? The last one I saw was "irresponsible spending seniors do." They are click bait--they are hawking spending, not saving. But money saving really depends on your quintile. Until Covid, we had a regular Friday night date to eat out. We got out of that habit, and now it's more like 2 or 3 times a month, and we don't really miss it. We never were big spenders, enjoying the time with friends or each other. But let's say with tip the bill was $60, so cut that out of your monthly expenses x2 and it adds up. Going back to the house for dessert with friends after dinner, really saves you some cash. Someone in the 5% group might give up a vacation to Europe to save money. Joe has been a disaster for our grocery and gas bills--what have you done to cut back, if anything?

Why can't they find the leaker? More serious than J-6

If they stopped investigating parents protecting their children from porn and CRT, maybe DoJ could find the leaker of the Dobbs decision   Alito: Dobbs Leak Made Supreme Court Justices ‘Targets of Assassination' (breitbart.com) ". . . the leak was designed to mobilize external pressure on the justices to intimidate one or more justices into changing their votes. The Supreme Court marshal’s investigation did not uncover enough evidence to accuse someone of being the leaker." Alito thinks he knows who it was.

18 USC 1507 Picketing Or Parading Statute

Whoever, with the intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice, or with the intent of influencing any judge, juror, witness, or court officer, in the discharge of his duty, pickets or parades in or near a building housing a court of the United States, or in or near a building or residence occupied or used by such judge, juror, witness, or court officer, or with such intent uses any sound-truck or similar device or resorts to any other demonstration in or near any such building or residence, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.  See full statute at…https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2010-title18/USCODE-2010-title18-partI-chap73-sec1507

Dinner, last day of April

Let's return to the real reason we have social media. Photos of our meals. This is Sunday dinner today: pork tenderloin, butternut squash, mashed potatoes, coleslaw on leaf lettuce and mixed fruit--pineapple and blueberries. I love my Mountain Ivy dishes from Blue Ridge Southern Pottery (Erwin, TN) which I bought at the Lakeside archives sale store in 2018. The pattern is a little older than me, and the pottery closed in 1957.

United Nations wants sex with children to be justified in law

“Principle 16” of the global body’s March report, released for International Women’s Day, lays out the basis for what the U.N. considers “consensual sexual conduct.” It says:

The enforcement of criminal law should reflect the rights and capacity of persons under 18 years of age to make decisions about engaging in consensual sexual conduct and their right to be heard in matters concerning them. Pursuant to their evolving capacities and progressive autonomy, persons under 18 years of age should participate in decisions affecting them, with due regard to their age, maturity, and best interests, and with specific attention to non-discrimination guarantees.

Failing to Create Brotherhood of Man, UN Promotes Sex With Children (dailysignal.com)

Alphabet agencies in the federal government--most armed

 ATF Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

 BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs 

BOP Federal Bureau of Prisons 

CBP U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

DEA Drug Enforcement Administration 

DHS Department of Homeland Security 

DOD Department of Defense 

DOJ Department of Justice 

EPA Environmental Protection Agency 

FAR Federal Acquisition Regulation 

FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation 

FDA Food and Drug Administration 

FLEO Federal law enforcement officer 

FPDS-NG Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation 

FPS Federal Protective Service 

FWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 GSA General Services Administration 

HHS U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

ICE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

IRS Internal Revenue Service

ESO Law Enforcement Support Office 

NIH National Institutes of Health 

NPPD National Protection and Programs Directorate 

OECA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

OIG Office of Inspector General 

PSC product or service code 

SSA Social Security Administration 

TIGTA Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration 

TSA Transportation Security Administration 

USMS U.S. Marshals Service 

USSS U.S. Secret Service 

VA U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

 VHA Veterans Health Administration

GAO-19-175, FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT: Purchases and Inventory Controls of Firearms, Ammunition, and Tactical Equipment

16,000 miles

I learn a lot at the gym. The exercycles are about 2 ft. apart. So, I could overhear the conversation of 2 retirees, maybe 10 years younger than me. So, I learned about the karaoke places and where to go ball room dancing in Columbus, OH. I also learned which local bands (really crazy names) have split or are having problems with venues. One guy had lost 30 lbs, but was having eye problems, so all the directions to the venues he told his friend involved side roads because he doesn't do freeways anymore. There were the usual complaints about safety, so they are both shopping in the daytime. Seems they don't like President Trump personally, but when they ran down the list of policies and programs like immigration and military, they were right smack in the middle of MAGA.

 
Meanwhile, my log sheet rolled over to 16,000 miles yesterday. I think I started tracking in January 2015 and I record both walking and cycling. 

Missing Fox because Tucker is gone?

 I enjoyed two day-time Fox shows--Outnumbered at noon, and The Five, at 5 p.m.  I'll drop them both now that Tucker has been fired.  I enjoy the Newsmax morning show, Wake up America.  Good hosts, and interesting panels. Rob Finnerty. Veteran News Anchor Rob Finnerty Joins Newsmax TV | Newsmax.com

A friend on Facebook has some recommendations:

Get a Rumble account - you can watch on Roku or your PC. Great shows that tell the truth like In The Litterbox with Jewels and Catturd. Flyover Conservatives, American Media Periscope, The Pete Santilli Show, Uncover DC, Redacted News, Thrivetime Show, The Prather Point, Benny Johnson, The Mel K Show, and the list goes on and on. I watched Tucker from time to time but haven't watched Fox since they called AZ early in the 2020 election. If you watch on your PC, you can participate in the chat. Norma - you'd love putting in your 2 cents worth. I participate in the chat but my Rumble account name is not my real name but is something clever. No one in the chat goes by their real name.

And I forgot Steve Bannon's WarRoom. Another place to watch shows is Frankspeech.com (Lindell TV). You'd love Brannon Howse. Can watch on Roku and PC.

Tucker--best in the business

"Carlson, 53, was the best in the business — the most interesting, the most provocative, the most compelling, the most scathing personality out there — and no one else was even close. The numbers bore that out, week after week after week. But in a numbers-driven business, the Fox News potentates decided that their mild and moderate sensibilities were more important than calling out the wrongness of the world around us: the nihilism of the Left, the cognitive decline of the American president, the wickedness and cultishness of the transgender movement, the incessant race-baiting of the Democrat Party, the craven DEI obsessiveness of corporate America, the socially engineered destruction of our military, the corruption of the FBI, the two-tiered justice system that pervades us — we could go on. And Carlson did go on. And on. And on."

https://patriotpost.us/articles/96777? Douglas Andrews

Conservative websites and media sources

 Most of the links on the right sides of my page are out of date or defunct.  I'll use this list to revise, but it's  a lot of work.  Perhaps it would just be easier to keep the new list here. Stand by for some craziness as I try to figure out the coding (html) about which I'm a little rusty.

Our Favorites

• American Greatness
• American Mind
• American Story
• American Thinker
• Aspen beat
• Babylon Bee
• Belmont Club
• Churchill Project
• Claremont Institute
• Daily Torch
• Federalist
• Gatestone Institute
• Hollywood in Toto
• Hoover Institution
• Hot Air
• Hugh Hewitt
• InstaPundit
• Jewish World Review
• Law & Liberty
• Legal Insurrection
• Liberty Daily
• Lileks
• Lucianne
• Michael Ramirez Cartoons
• Michelle Malkin
• Pipeline
• RealClearPolitics
• Ricochet
• Steyn Online
• Tim Blair

Media

• American Spectator
• Breitbart
• City Journal
• Claremont Review of Books
• Commentary
• Daily Caller
• Fox News
• FrontPage Mag
• Memeorandum
• MEMRI
• National Review
• New Criterion
• New York Post
• Spectator World
• TownHall
• Wall Street Journal
• Washington Free Beacon
• Weekly Standard

News about Tucker lit up the Internet

 One of my favorite podcasts. PBD.

EMERGENCY Podcast | Reaction To Tucker Carlson Leaving Fox News & Don Lemon Being Fired By CNN - YouTube

Some suggestions floating around the internet

 A Lakeside friend, Susan Hanselman, posted this on Facebook.  Generally, I like my advice to have a source, but some of these are worth checking out.  If I can verify, I'll link.

DID YOU KNOW?

1. Your shoes are the first thing people subconsciously notice about you. Wear nice shoes.
2. If you sit for more than 11 hours a day, there's a 50% chance you'll die years earlier.
3. There are at least 6 people in the world who look exactly like you. There's a 9% chance that you'll meet one of them in your lifetime.
4. Sleeping without a pillow reduces back pain and keeps your spine stronger.
5. A person’s height is determined by their father, and their weight is determined by their mother.
6. If a part of your body "falls asleep", You can almost always "wake it up" by shaking your head.
7. There are three things the human brain cannot resist noticing - food, attractive people and danger.
8. Right-handed people tend to chew food on their right side.
9. Putting dry tea bags in gym bags or smelly shoes will absorb the unpleasant odor.
10. According to Albert Einstein, if honey bees were to disappear from earth, humans would be dead within 4 years.
11. There are so many kinds of apples, that if you ate a new one every day, it would take over 20 years to try them all.
12. You can survive without eating for weeks, but you will only live 11 days without sleeping.
13. People who laugh a lot are healthier than those who don’t.
14. Laziness and inactivity kills just as many people as smoking.
15. A human brain has a capacity to store 5 times as much information as Wikipedia.
16. Our brain uses the same amount of power as a 10-watt light bulb!!
17. Our body gives enough heat in 30 minutes to boil 1.5 liters of water!!
18. The Ovum egg is the largest cell and the sperm is the smallest cell!!
19. Stomach acid (conc. HCl) is strong enough to dissolve razor blades!!
20. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day & while you walk, SMILE. It is the ultimate antidepressant.
21. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
22. When you wake up in the morning, pray to ask God's guidance for your purpose today.
23. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
24. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, broccoli, and almonds.
25. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
26. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts and things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
27. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
28. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
29. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Forgive them for everything.
30. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
31. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
32. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
33. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
34. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
35. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
36. Help the needy, Be generous! Be a 'Giver' not a 'Taker'
37. What other people think of you is none of your business.
38. Time heals everything, except grief. Grief is a sign of Love.
39. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
40. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. Each night before you go to bed, pray to God and be thankful for what you accomplished, today. What if you woke up this morning and only had what you thanked God for yesterday? DON’T FORGET TO THANK GOD FOR EVERYTHING.
43. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed!
COPY & PASTE to your timeline.

Thousands of Chinese are desperate to get into USA

Greta Van Susteren was in Necocli, Colombia interviewing for Newsmax Chinese illegal immigrants about to go through the Darien Gap jungle in their struggle to get into the USA. They are looking for political asylum. The cartels make millions off desperate people. She asked them why they were taking such risks. They really believe there is freedom here. 

Has anyone told them about Joe Biden?

What's in your kitchen? Fresh, frozen or processed, April 21

 Refrigerator

• Yellow pepper
• Red pepper
• Red leaf lettuce
• Baby spinach
• Green beans
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Peas, frozen
• Olives
• Broccoli
• Cantaloupe
• Pineapple
• Blue berries
• Strawberries
• Red grapes
• Grape Tomatoes
• Oranges
• Cheese, cheddar, American, Parmesan, Cream
• Whole Milk
• Half and Half creamer
• Eggs, fresh and hard cooked
• Butter
• Orange juice
• Apple cider
• Pork loin
• Ham
• Hamburger
• Bacon
• Sausage
• Salmon
• Condiments
• Frozen tater tots
• Ice cream cups, vanilla
• Frozen biscuits
• Homemade sandwiches, meat and cheese on buns
• Chocolate cookies, bakery

Cupboards

• Bananas
• Sweet Potatoes
• Russet Potatoes
• Pretzels
• Soda crackers
• Walnuts
• Rice brown, pasta
• Canned soups, various
• Canned beans, corn, peas
• Canned fruit pieces, various
• Fruit juices, single serving
• Cake mixes, various
• Cheerios
• Oatmeal
• Oat Bran
• Raisins
• Tea bags
• Tea, herbal
• Coffee, decaf
• baking supplies, spices, condiments
• Olive oil
• Coconut oil
• Vinegar
• Cocoa, dark 100% Cacao
• Honey, local

Dear brothers and sisters,

Moms and Dads, nieces and nephews, grandmothers and grandfathers, daughters and sons, masters and mistresses, he and she, him and her, guys and dolls, chicks and dudes,

Ours may be the last generation who will be allowed to notice, say, write or shout that men and women are different and those differences matter. Whether we believe we were created by God or by biological evolution, we know it wasn’t by Marxism, a failed 19^th century political ideology that promotes victimhood and resulted in the deaths of 100 million.  If you have a daughter or granddaughter who is a talented athlete, she will no longer be able to compete for honors and scholarships as she is forced to shower with and compete against the least talented men with testosterone, skeletal and muscular advantages instead of the best prepared and hard-working women.  Chest feeders and birthing people are the most recent terms to demean women with words.  Forget Ho and Slut and Babe.  The records with my primary physician say my sex is “unknown.” Birth records of new babies now say “assigned.”

A bill to protect women athletes has been passed in the House which will be defeated in the Senate because there is a powerful movement to destroy women. This movement is promoted by the White House.  When 6 people, 3 adults and 3 children, were murdered in a Nashville Christian school by a woman ill enough to kill 9 year olds to announce she was a man thus destroying her real protective nature, did our White House respond with sympathy, grief and horror?  No. That very week in March the White House announced solidarity with a Trans Day of protest. To this day, the killer’s manifesto hasn’t been released,  protecting the transagenda and the party that promotes it.

More bad ideas on the economy from Biden--housing

When I first heard this on the radio, I thought it must be a joke.

"As part of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency’s push for more affordable housing, home buyers with good credit scores will be forced to pay additional fees on their mortgages. Starting on May 1, the federally backed mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will establish new loan-level price adjustments with private banks nationwide. Those additional fees will be used to subsidize home buyers with risky credit scores."

I switched to another station and heard the same story.

"Under a new Biden administration rule, home buyers with good credit will soon be forced to pay higher mortgage rates to subsidize loans issued to higher-risk borrowers."

So I went to the internet, to the "old media," and looked up FHA

"Mortgage industry specialists say homebuyers with credit scores of 680 or higher will pay, for example, about $40 per month more on a home loan of $400,000. Homebuyers who make down payments of 15% to 20% will get socked with the largest fees."

Am I the only one who remembers the 2007-2008 and the Fannie and Fred complicity in the housing bubble after millions who couldn't handle a mortgage plus all the costs and responsibilities of home ownership helped the economy go belly up and hurt the poor and middle class even more? The government wants to punish people who pay their bills and save to buy a home? Yike! All government bad ideas come from academe. I wonder which failed Socialist professor came up with this one.

I am so non-Bidenary. He's absolutely the worst of the worst presidents we've ever had. He's beginning to make Barack Obama look good. Yes, he's that bad.

Charles Arthur "Chuck" Ballard, 1931-2023

Charles Ballard, November 11, 1931 - April 14, 2023

DIXON — Charles Arthur “Chuck” Ballard, 91, passed away on Friday, April 14, 2023, from complications following hip surgery. He was born on Nov. 11, 1931, to Arthur and Myrtle (Phillips) Ballard near Leaf River, Ill. His parents were farmers and lived on various farms that his dad managed in western Ogle County. He was raised on an old-school farm where everyone pitched in and did their part.

While there, he attended a one-room schoolhouse in Pine Creek Township, then went on to graduate from Leaf River High School. He entered the U.S. Navy and served as a medic on the aircraft carrier USS Gilbert Islands, a Commencement Bay-Class escort carrier. He then attended the University of Illinois, College of ACES, graduating with degrees in horticulture and business management. He studied in the famous Morrow Plots and was voted Most Eligible Bachelor of the entire university. His career began with Del Monte, which took him to Rochelle, IL. While there he met his wife, Jacqueline (nee Kilfoil), who fixed him up with a friend of hers, but it was his post-date conversations over coffee with Jackie that led them to start courting. They were married on Labor Day Weekend, 1960, in Franklin Grove, IL. Jackie was seven years his senior and Chuck became an instant dad to her children, Billie Duncan and Tom Duncan.

His career with Del Monte took them to Indiana, living in Frankton, Frankfort and Fort Wayne, before taking a position as the store manager at the Sears Catalog Store back in Rochelle. In 1967, he became the first director of the Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District, which initially ran out of their dining room. While establishing the park district he met his lifelong friend, Phil Nye, Jr., and those two created thousands of memories together hunting, fishing, dinners with their wives and a trip out west in 2021 that was one for the books. His next career move was to White Pines State Park in Oregon, IL to serve as its head ranger. There are so many wonderful family memories at The Pines while they lived in the park. He then was promoted to Assistant Regional Manager with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, he was involved in everything to do with the state parks, from managing the staff to securing equipment and working on projects.

He and Jackie lived life to the fullest, always a spark and laughter when they were around. He taught all his granddaughters to fish and lessons such as what a poison ivy plant looks like, that came in handy. They always lived at a house with a fantastic sledding hill for the granddaughters, and he would walk outside barefoot in the winter to greet guests. He and Jackie split their time between Dixon, Florida and Wisconsin, no one ever truly knew where they were at any given time, but we knew they were having a ball. Their cabin in Mauston, WI was a woodsy gathering place for family and friends, fishing was always on the agenda. Chuck spent much of his spare time outdoors, hunting and fishing, he was an excellent shot and holidays always included something he’d bagged during hunting season. Jackie wasn’t the best gamecook, but we all ate it anyway.

He was a patient teacher and guide, a fair leader and devoted to his family and friends, and he loved ice cream more than anyone we knew. Charlie could spin a tale like no other, he was an incredible storyteller. Many times he’d say, “did I tell you about the time …” and we all knew we were in for a treat. He was always positive, pleasant and content, even while enduring sorrowful losses and facing the challenges of aging.

Chuck is survived by his son, Tom Ballard of Byron; son-in-law, Neil O’Malley of Belvidere; niece, Barbara Ballard of Dixon; five granddaughters: Cathy (Mike) Dummer of Middleton, WI, Colleen (Gregg) Petrosky of Sterling, IL, Mary (Greg) Pippert of Buffalo, MN, Ellen O’Malley of Rochelle and Jenny (Dan) Pakenham of Rochelle; grandson-in-law, Scott (Kate) Loos of Kronenwetter, WI; great-grandchildren: Abby (Kevin) Martin of Decatur, IL, Patrick (Kailee) Petrosky of St. Paul, MN, David Dummer of Scottsdale, AZ, Taylor Renner of Rochelle, Molly Petry of Rochelle, Katelyn Dummer of Middleton, WI, Mitchell Petrosky of Dubuque, IA, Margaret Pippert of Minneapolis, MN, Nora Petry of Normal, IL, Eliza Petry of Urbana, IL, Isaac Pippert of St. Cloud, MN and Logan Loos of Kronenwetter, WI as well as great-great-granddaughter, Aria Brake of Rochelle.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Jackie, in September of 2010; his daughter, Billie O’Malley of Belvidere, IL in May of 2020; his parents, Arthur and Myrtle Ballard of Oregon, IL; his brother and sister-in-law, Phil and Shirley Ballard of Oregon, IL; and his granddaughter, Jane O’Malley Loos of Kronenwetter, WI.

A visitation will be held on Sunday, April 23, 2023 from 1-4 p.m. at Unger-Horner Funeral Home, 400 N. Sixth St., Rochelle. A burial with military honors will be on Monday, April 24 at 10 a.m. at Plainview Cemetery in Mount Morris. A luncheon and celebration of life will be hosted by the family at noon at the VFW in Rochelle. Bring your funny stories because we’re going to celebrate a wonderful man. Memorials may be made to the American Parkinson’s Disease Association or Rochelle VFW Post 3878. Visit www.ungerhorner.com to sign the online guest book. Obituary | Charles Ballard | Unger-Horner Funeral Home & Cremation Service (ungerhorner.com)

 

Chuck was my father's cousin. September 2018.

We met in 1959 when students at U. of I. 

Questions of the day--leaked documents, medical forms that lie and half naked women

1) Is the whole leaked document scandal going away? No one gets fired, no one impeached? What they seem [DoD and Sec of State and Justice Dept] to report now is that they don't know how many are out there, or how they were "stolen." And will they never address that the government lied to the American people and our allies about everything? So, they've put a poor shmuck in prison, but won't address their own crimes?

2) I had a medical appointment today. Am I the only one disgusted with the forms we sign to get medical care these days? Here's my letter to the company, and I'm not giving names for obvious reasons (I need my doctor).

"Today I was handed a clip board with a form to check for accuracy and learned that WXYZ doesn’t know my biological sex even though I've been a client since 1996 (the year it organized). That box was filled in by your staff as “unknown.” There was no option for male/female. Maybe in California that transagenda/ gender fluid nonsense goes over, but not here in central Ohio where we know the science and know the damage done to children who submit to surgery, hormones and bad advice. We also know that in the U.S. about .01% of the citizens identify as transgender, so why are you forcing their delusion on the other 99.99%?"

3) Women's arms. At the TV news desk, the men are in suits and ties, the women have naked arms; on HGTV when men are in sensible work clothes tearing down walls and installing plumbing, the women have naked arms; in the beer ads when men are climbing mountains with arms covered by shirts, women's arms are naked. Why do these two, giggling-like teenagers, FBI agents kneeling at a BLM riot have naked arms? Is this sexy? To me, all these half naked women look like they aren't ready for prime time.

When and where are those golden years we've heard about?

Yesterday I received a cartoon-poem from a high school friend, Rusty Rush, about the Golden Years. Actually, I didn't know him in high school, we met on the internet in a group managed by a mutual high school friend from when both played basketball for different high schools. When I ask myself when do those golden years start, I remind myself they came and went. My golden years were my 60s to mid-70s. Or 2000-2015. I had a thoroughly good time and was healthy enough to move around easily and travel in uncomfortable buses and bumpy plane rides. Much better than being a teen-ager. And although I loved my job, retirement in those years was just fun.  Every day I decided how to use my time. If time is money, I was a billionaire. This is a public service announcement in case you've been asking.

  

Art classes at the Senior Center 2001

 

New home (now 23 years) in condo association with great neighbors

 and someone else to take care of the lawn and snow.

  

Joined a book club in fall 2000. I've now read

some mystery books.

  

Joined Conestoga and visited historical sites in Ohio;

Cleveland, Cincinnati, Marion, Dayton, Canton, Blannerhasset, 

Mansfield  and many in Columbus. Airplanes, automobiles, 

graveyards, churches, museums, gardens, buildings, presidents' homes.

  

Travel to Alaska, Germany, Austria, Finland, Russia, Estonia, 

Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Israel,

Egypt, Spain

 

Architectural tours with local Frank Lloyd Wright group to

  New York, Oklahoma, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas

  

Train trip to California 2003 for Bob Sr. 90th birthday,

Glen Canyon, Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Glacier Park,  

and in 2006

for Debbie's wedding and FLW tours and 

in 2011 for

  

Visits with Debbie and John and Rick and Kate,

 Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Malibu, Orange Co., Palm Springs,

Reagan Museum

 

Enjoying full season from 2001-2022 at our summer

home of 34 years in Lakeside, Ohio

  

Painting of our cottage on Third Street by Barby Bright

 

Family get-togethers at the Lake

 

Phil's home--Mother's Day

 

Holidays with family--Phoebe's home

 

Visits with Illinois family

 

Visits with Indiana family (Jean's 80th party)

 

Participated in many art shows

 

And 20 years of writing this blog, 20,017 posts,

with 3,567,726 views

(must be an old pie chart since most

are now political)

Jesus Christ is the Light of the world, by Blessed John Baptist Scalabrini (d. 1905) slightly reformated

Jesus Christ is the light of the world (Jn 8:12).

He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn 14:6).

He is the bond of union,
the kiss of peace between heaven and earth,
between God and man (Eph 2:14).

Jesus is our Redeemer,
our Teacher,
our Advocate,
our Exemplar,
our Doctor,
our Head,
our Companion,
our Brother,
our Friend,
our Comfort,
our Refuge,
our Glory,
our Joy, and
our Greatness.

He is the High Priest of the new covenant,
the eternal Priest,
the Mediator between God and man,
the victim for our sins,
our true and only happiness.

He is the door we must enter to reach his kingdom,
the Cornerstone and
Foundation on which the spiritual edifice must be built.

He is the Bread of our souls,
the Author and Perfecter of our faith,
our Reward,
our Crown,
our Life, and our All.

To Jesus we owe the grace and friendship of the Father,
the confidence and freedom of the sons and daughters of God.
To Jesus we owe all the gifts of nature, grace, and glory that we receive from God.

To Jesus we owe it if God preserves us,
sustains us, and
defends us;
if he does not punish us as we deserve;
if he continues to bear with us and wait for us.

From Jesus we get all wisdom and prudence,
all inspirations and good thoughts,
all pious desires.

From Jesus comes courage in time of danger,
strength in time of temptation, 
long-suffering in time of pain,
patience in time of adversity, and
perseverance in doing good:

"In Christ you have become rich in all things" (I Cor I).

Yes, we have everything in Jesus,
we can do everything in Jesus,
we can hope everything and
obtain everything from Jesus,
since it was Jesus who wanted to humiliate himself for us,
sacrifice himself for us, and
become all things for us (I Cor 1).

This appeared in 2 paragraphs on p. 58-59 of the February 2023 issue of Magnificat. I found it online at Scalabrini a living voice, excerpt from his writings, 1987. http://www.intratext.com/ixt/ENG2000/_P4.HTM

Big Pharma, Big Tech, and Synthetic Sex Identities by Jennifer Bilek

She started tracking the money that was supporting transgenderism about a decade ago. Very wealthy people are driving this ideology. Big Pharma, Big Tech, and Synthetic Realities. Whether you support Genesis or Evolution, it doesn't matter. You'll be silenced. Women are being eliminated. Look at the changes in our language. Women are being dehumanized, called chest feeders or birthing people so that transmen can be included.

Big Pharma, Big Tech, and Synthetic Sex Identities | Hillsdale College Freedom Library

The same billionaires who are funding sterilizing children are also funding the artificial synthetic sex industry to create humans. They are "creating god."

Act out in Chicago

I was reading an account of the teen "wilding" in Chicago where mobs of teens were being "rowdy" last night. I noticed this sentence:

"Around 8 p.m., the mob of teens attempted to storm into Millennium Park. However, people under 21 are not allowed access to the park without being accompanied by an adult."

So, children can decide about sex surgery to be sterilized, but people under 21 can't get in a park without an adult? What sort of dystopian world is this?

Who is funding the transgender movement? Follow the money

Who Is Funding the Transgender Movement?

"I found exceedingly rich, white men with enormous cultural influence are funding the transgender lobby and various transgender organizations. These include but are not limited to Jennifer Pritzker (a male who identifies as transgender); George Soros; Martine Rothblatt (a male who identifies as transgender and transhumanist); Tim Gill (a gay man); Drummond Pike; Warren and Peter Buffett; Jon Stryker (a gay man); Mark Bonham (a gay man); and Ric Weiland (a deceased gay man whose philanthropy is still LGBT-oriented). Most of these billionaires fund the transgender lobby and organizations through their own organizations, including corporations."  (Jennifer Bilek) Who Are the Rich, White Men Institutionalizing Transgender Ideology? (thefederalist.com)  Billionaires funding Transgender movement for profit | The Standard SC

I recognize the Stryker name.  It was on all the beds and gurneys that supported our son during his struggle with glioblastoma. It's medical devices. Billions.   At the fitness center while Phil was still alive I met a man who worked for Stryker--he was in the operating room when he had the surgery.  Stryker family (forbes.com)  Many of the rich founders of the trans movement are gay men.  Don't know why. They are heavily invested in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. So, yes, money, but there must be more.  Is it self-hatred?  They were also big Obama supporters. So the movement, which came to light with the bathroom battles, goes back to that. Pritzker is on his third wife--all women, even after he came out as a very fat, large woman.

But Jon isn't the only Stryker supporting LGBTQ+ causes. The Billionaires Behind the LGBT Movement | Jennifer Bilek | First Things  His sisters are involved, too. Their foundation Arcus poisons the well for many organizations

Lina Khan and the FTC

"The Federal Trade Commission is an irregularity. Though the agency is nominally part of the executive branch, its five commissioners do not answer directly to the president. They are independent. The Constitution, with its three-branch structure, does not contemplate the existence of such an entity. You might think that such an agency, this “fourth branch” anomaly, would strive to show respect for Congress, the federal courts, and the president—as a matter of self-preservation, if nothing else. But under the leadership of Lina Khan, the FTC is defying, sidestepping, and subverting all three."

And it's nothing new, The Unaccountable Federal Trade Commission | City Journal (city-journal.org)

Victor Davis Hanson on 10 ways Biden is causing chaos

VDH lists 10 ways by which America lost all deterrence.

"1) Joe Biden abruptly pulled all U.S. troops from Afghanistan. He left behind to the Taliban hundreds of Americans and thousands of pro-American Afghans. Biden abandoned billions of dollars in U.S. equipment, the largest air base in central Asia—recently retrofitted at a cost of $300 million—and a $1 billion embassy. Our government called such a debacle a success. The world disagreed and saw only humiliation.

2) The Biden Administration allowed a Chinese high-altitude spy balloon to traverse the continental United States, spying on key American military installations. The Chinese were defiant when caught and offered no apologies. In response, the Pentagon and the administration simply lied about the extent that China had surveilled top-secret sites.

3) In March 2021, at an Anchorage, Alaska mini-summit, Chinese diplomats unleashed a relentless barrage at their stunned and mostly silent American counterparts. They lectured the timid Biden Administration diplomats about American toxicity and hypocrisy. And they have defiantly refused to explain why and how their virology lab birthed the COVID virus that has killed tens of millions worldwide.

4) In June 2021, in response to Russian cyber-attacks against the United States, Biden meekly asked Putin to at least make off-limits certain critical American infrastructure.

5) When asked what he would do if Russia invaded Ukraine, Biden replied that the reaction would depend on whether the Russians conducted a “minor incursion.”

6) Between 2021 and 2022, Joe Biden serially insulted and bragged that he would not meet Muhammad bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, and one of our oldest and most valuable allies in the Middle East.

7) For much of 2021, the Biden Administration made it known that it was eager and ready to offer concessions to re-enter the dangerous Iran nuclear deal—at a time when Iran has joined China and Russia in a new geostrategic partnership.

8) Almost immediately upon inauguration, the administration moved the United States away from Israel, restored financial aid to radical Palestinians, and both publicly and privately alienated the current Netanyahu government.

9) In serial fashion, Biden stopped all construction on the border wall and opened the border. He made it known that illegal aliens were welcome to enter the United States unlawfully. Some 6-7 million did. He reinstated “catch and release.” And he did nothing about the Mexican cartel importation of fentanyl that has recently killed over 100,000 Americans per year.

10) In the last two years, the Pentagon has embarked on a woke agenda. The army is short by 15,000 in its annual recruitment quota. The defense budget has not kept up with inflation. One of the greatest intelligence leaks in U.S. history just occurred from the Pentagon.

The Pentagon refused to admit culpability and misled the country about Afghanistan and the Chinese spy balloon flight. The current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff called his Chinese communist counterpart and head of the People’s Liberation Army to advise him that the U.S. military would warn the Chinese if it determined an order from its commander-in-chief Trump was inappropriate.

This list of these self-inflicted disasters could be easily expanded.

But the examples explain well enough why our emboldened enemies do not fear us, our triangulating allies judge us unreliable, and calculating neutrals assume America is in descent and too dangerous to join.

Yet without America, the result is a new Chinese order in which, to quote the historian Thucydides, “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”"

A new kind of wheelchair--hands free, PURE

My first semester at the University of Illinois in 1958 I noticed the outstanding services for the disabled--buses, ramps, wheelchairs, everything accessible decades before the rest of the country moved in that direction. I can still remember the man with no arms who ate with his feet pushing the wheelchair with the strength of his lower body of the friend with no legs. That's why it's good to see the technology at U. of I.  for hands-free wheelchairs Hands-free wheelchair prototype achieves major milestone | Mechanical Science & Engineering | UIUC (illinois.edu) "Personalized Unique Rolling Experience."

"PURE, Personalized Unique Rolling Experience, [is] a hands-free wheelchair that operates similarly to a Segway where the rider leans in a desired direction. The unique aspect of PURE is that it rolls on a ball or “spherical” wheel. It is based on the concept of a dynamically stable ball-based robot (ballbot) and uses an omniwheel system to drive and control the spherical wheel. PURE automatically transitions between three driving behaviors. Steer and Spin are similar to a typical wheelchair, in which the user can steer forward, backward or spin in place. Slide is unique and allows the user to move laterally, like an office chair. To accommodate for limited torso range of motion of some users, PURE uses sensors to estimate leaning and twisting motions and amplifies these signals to control the ballbot’s direction and speed.

“The development of PURE has been guided by our immutables – that it be lightweight and maintain a small footprint. We want to ensure that the current independence of manual wheelchair users would in no way be limited by PURE. If we were to develop a hands-free device that was so heavy that it prevented users from easily transferring it into and out of their vehicle, or if it was so large that it wouldn’t maneuver around typical living spaces, we would have missed the mark. Any device that compromises current levels of independence just won’t be used during daily life,” Bleakney said."

Men named Amy and Rachel are the new patriarchy.

 

Another good-bye--sweet dear Max

A note from sister Debbie: Max, your little face with those sad looking eyes drew me to you when I first saw your face in the newspaper, the OC Register. You pulled those heartstrings to the point of filling out the application and scheduling a meet and greet. The next 12 years of your almost 14 of being together were the absolute best. You became my greeter at the door, my shadow, companion, my love dog. A companion is gone but the memory lives on. The most difficult thing about having a dog is the good bye. My grief is not a sign of weakness but the price of love. I'm fortunate to have a very talented brother who painted a water color of Max after one of his visits from Ohio. Max, I love you and will miss you.

I stand with Riley

 

The creeping fascism of the federal government

 1. Joe Biden is overstepping on EV. He's declared that to meet climate goals (which no one believes in) we'll all have to have EVs by 2032 (2/3 of new cars, which means no one else will be able to buy gas). He has sold us out to China. EPA proposes new tailpipe rules that could push EVs to make up two-thirds of new car sales in US by 2032 | CNN Politics

(A) We don't have the grid, 

(B) we don't have the necessary products to create the batteries, and 

(C) we don't have a way to dispose of this toxic material.   

Batteries Are The Next Environmental Challenge (forbes.com)

This is regressive, not progressive. It is more polluting than anything we have now. This is a gift to China, who's already eating our lunch in the economic field and a gift to the auto companies. They made out like gang busters during Obama's war on the poor, called "cash for clunkers." Unilaterally deciding on what products can be produced and by which companies by the government IS fascism.

2. Joe Biden has quietly stated that the pandemic is over. Of course, that's ridiculous. It was over a long time ago.

 (A) Many of the laws and mandates about what we are allowed to say on social media or who can keep their jobs or who is allowed to defend the country haven't been rescinded. 

(B) We have never had an apology or even an investigation of what the violation of voting laws at the local and state level during the pandemic did to the 2020 election. Do you really think they'll just forget the power they grabbed from the people, from the states? By not being allowed to discuss it--that IS fascism. 

(C) Our churches have been silenced and still won't discuss or sue about the legality of what was done to Christians, Jews and Muslims in the U.S. which has a constitution that makes what the federal government did to us ILLEGAL. Outlawing religion IS fascism. 

Churches Still Recovering From Pandemic Losses - Lifeway Research

3. Declaring that boys will be girls and forcing girls to accept it and saying otherwise is a crime even though trans are .11% of the population (government figures), and then sending #2 honcho off to Tennessee to whine with the 2 black Justins who rioted and committed an insurrection because they wanted to protest about guns instead of the murder of children, that IS fascism--out and out mind control by the government. VP Harris meets with 'Tennessee Three' in surprise visit to Nashville after expulsions over gun protests (msn.com)

What happened in the Tennessee House when Democrats attacked Democracy?

Byron York compares what happened in TN House with what happened in Nancy's House in DC. 

"But the House, controlled by Republicans with a huge 75-24 majority, was on March 30 continuing a scheduled debate on school vouchers. To Democratic Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson — three of the state House’s 99 members — that was unacceptable. The majority was not addressing “the crisis at hand,” as Jones saw it. In Jones’ view, along with Pearson’s and Johnson’s, the House should have dropped what it was doing and addressed the situation [gun control] that Jones, Pearson and Johnson wanted it to address.

So Jones, who had sneaked a megaphone onto the House floor, took over the podium and began haranguing his fellow lawmakers. Playing to the crowd, he and Pearson handed the bullhorn back and forth and led the crowds in chants of “No action, no peace!” and “Enough is enough!” and “Power to the people!” Republicans retreated to a corner of the chamber to discuss how to regain control of the House. After nearly an hour, Jones, Pearson and Johnson left the floor, and the House returned to business.

It was as egregious a violation of rules as one could imagine — a move by a tiny group to temporarily shut down the state’s most important democratic institution. It clearly called out for punishment. After reviewing the incident, House Republicans expelled Jones and Pearson, and failed by one vote to expel Johnson, who had played a less active role in the takeover."

Byron York: When Democrats Attack Democracy | The Patriot Post

But that's Democrats. Rules are for the other folks, the dummies, and Veep Harris rushed in to applaud their lawlessness.

Reproductive rights

The HHS has a Department of Reproductive Rights and so does the Department of Justice. The whole phrase "reproductive rights" may be one of the most misleading euphemisms in government hoodwink speak. And that says a lot. If you reproduce a designer gown you don't grab scissors and cut off the arms; if you reproduce a document, you don't jam a metal instrument in the innards of the photocopy machine and hope you get a good copy.

 
"Reproductive rights" means the right to kill a baby, a helpless human being, whether shortly after conception with a few pills or up to the end of the pregnancy at 9.5 lbs, 22 inches by sucking out the brain as the baby emerges. It's the bed rock foundation of everything the Democrats stand for. If some Democrats had their way, they'd include the 2 years after a live birth to be sure the baby meets the government specs. The blood lust of Joe Biden created these departments after the SCOTUS decision in 2022, Executive Order 14076.

  

Adding to the Tennessee tragedies

Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson of Tennessee were much closer to being insurrectionists than anyone who protested on January 6th. And they barely got a slap on the wrist, and Veep Harris lauded and visited them. They desecrated the memory and suffering the those killed at the Christian school in Nashville with their disgusting protests. Why did they skate? Because they are Democrats and that's what they do. Rules are for everyone else. Democrats don't respect life, the Constitution, the nation or the pain and suffering of anyone but themselves, and even that's in doubt since they don't seem to ever suffer.

Kamala Harris meets with Tennessee lawmakers expelled over mass shooting protest - CBS News

Just try finding that truth in the media. When I researched this there must have been over 100 articles supporting these 3 silly, disrespectful and hateful people. Far more coverage than the media gave the murder of three children and 3 staff at a Christian school.

Louisville shooter former basketball player and bank employee

"More recently, he hosted a basketball-focused podcast with two buddies and tweeted about the NBA in between posts in support of the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, as well as some criticism of police violence and of then-President Donald Trump."

Friend said he'd had numerous concussions and wore a helmet while playing in high school.

He was fired last week from the bank.

Louisville Bank Massacre Suspect ID’d as Varsity Hoop Star-Turned-Banker (msn.com)

Nostalgia and preservation

I saw this invitation to attend a presentation by the preservation librarian of the University of Illnois, my alma mater.

"While there is a growing nostalgia for our old mix tapes on compact cassettes, our legacy LP collections, and old family films, we are faced with growing challenges to actually be able to play many of these legacy audiovisual formats. But the preservation challenges of our personal legacy AV collections pale in comparison to the challenges we will soon face with the preservation of our growing digital photos and files, even though there is not yet a fond nostalgia for 3.5 inch floppy disks or thumb drives. Jennifer will present an overview of the typical AV and digital formats that many consider valuable to us and will present basic steps that people can take towards better preservation strategies to ensure that you will be able to continue access to these materials for years to come."

Yes, how to you play these formats if you've trashed the equipment?  I still have a reel to reel tape of our wedding, but the tape player is long gone. We've got old vhs tapes, and no player.  Soon the DVDs will probably be unusable. 

And yet, to ruin a career, someone with evil intent will do a deep dive into twitter or Facebook, and dredge up something sent out when he or she was 17, or hit the like button.

Twenty arguments for the existence of God by Peter Kreeft

 Twenty Arguments God's Existence by Peter Kreeft (& Ronald K. Tacelli)

Peter Kreeft is a philosopher, and maybe the most famous Christian philosopher of our era.  He published this theme of 20 arguments for God's existence about 30 years ago.  I can't remember not believing in God, so I didn't have to be convinced and never debated it. I've also never taken a philosophy class. So 20 arguments is impressive.  My earliest memory of this was when I was about 4 or 5, and I thought God looked like our mailman, Mr. Bechtold, and wore a blue gray uniform. He was older than my parents, and I certainly knew other people who had uniforms (it was WWII and just about all the men I knew were in uniform, including my father and uncles). But I do remember sitting on the front steps of our house on Hitt Street watching him walk by and deliver the mail from a brown bag.  I must have been a very deep thinker at that age. Later around age 7 I recall lying in the grass at night looking at the sky with all the stars and realizing there was something much larger than my family, town, church, friends, school and pets, in short, bigger than my little universe.

If I had to choose one of the twenty, it would be number 5, Design. This awes me every day, every minute.  I notice it all the time.  The other 19 might be fun for philosophers to think about, and some or most of Kreeft's list I don't even understand.  Design is easy.  Works for me.

Sensible people who believe in truth need to take back our language

"The University of Florida has created a radical diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy that promotes racial and political preferences in faculty hiring, encourages white employees to engage with a twelve-step program called Racists Anonymous, and maintains racially segregated scholarship programs that violate federal civil rights law."

DEI Captures the University of Florida | City Journal (city-journal.org)

DEI should be DIE.  These academic and corporate prison guards wish that on society.

People who run Soviet style reeducation camps should be labelled Identitarian Regressives.

Climate change could be Climate As Usual because it has always changed, and Ohio used to be covered by a glacier. Our Changing Continent (usgs.gov)  Arizona where we visited last week used to be under water. In the beginning God. . .

I'm so tired of allowing Leftist radicals and mentally unstables to abscond with the language including defining biological sex. Gender needs to go back to the school rhetoric book where it belongs, and the all inclusive term hate speech should be completely reevaluated--words don't kill. 

If I ruled the world . . . 

Hydration and the elderly

"The amount of body water decreases by approximately 15% (about 6 L) between the ages of 20 and 80⁵. With this decrease, the body becomes more susceptible to dehydration from the loss of a small amount of body water⁶.

Moreover, the elderly often experience diminished thirst sensation which leads to a reduced fluid consumption⁷ ⁸.

Also as a consequence of aging, the kidneys have a reduced ability to concentrate urine and retain water during water deprivation⁹. In addition, aging kidneys are less able to conserve or excrete sodium¹⁰.

Insufficient fluid intakes can also be the result of limitations such as reduced swallowing capacity, decreased mobility, or comprehension and communication disorders. Disease-related factors, such as incontinence can increase water losses. Dehydration may also be caused by warm temperature, inadequate staffing in institutions, or use of laxatives or diuretics¹.

SOME STRATEGIES FOR ENCOURAGING FLUIDS CONSUMPTION ⁹ ¹¹

• Offer fluids regularly during the day
• Make liquids readily available all day (at bedside or chairside in geriatric institutions) by placing containers such as small bottle of water or sippy cups
• Encourage consumption of fluids with medication
• Provide preferred beverages
• Prescribe and safeguard a minimum intake of 1.5 L in periods of increased risk for dehydration"

I took a hydration test associated with this article and it said I was under hydrated.

Hydration in the elderly - Hydration for Health

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167494321000431?

Nutrition Strategies Promoting Healthy Aging: From Improvement of Cardiovascular and Brain Health to Prevention of Age-Associated Diseases - PMC (nih.gov)  Section on importance of hydration.

Covid Mortality Rate

 I just read an article about the soaring housing costs in Dubai. Seem 90% of the people who live there are foreign nationals. Lots of reasons, but interestingly, about 700,000 Russians have relocated since the war with Ukraine and many are finding refuge in Dubai.  But also Dubai had fewer Covid restrictions than other countries, and even encouraged tourism.  So I looked up Covid mortality.  Worldwide the mortality rate is .009.  For Dubai, it is .002.  So, 761,401,518 have been infected and 6,886,987 have died, and that makes .009. 

Sexual abuse by doctors and government policy--the Trans Hoax

I see Maryland has a report that Catholic priests may have abused 600 children over 6 decades. That would be less than public school teachers, and much, much less than doctors working in transgender clinics just in 2023 who have removed body parts in children and given them hormones which will sterilize them and cause significant health problems as they age. And let's add in the Planned Parenthood "clinics" which pass out cross sex hormones like candy without regard to the child's health.

Any sexual abuse of a child is awful--but we're legalizing and promoting the worst abuse of all. Sexual predators always tell their victims it's good for them and not to tell their parents. And in some cases, the parents are cooperating or are suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

A friend who is a retired doctor reports: "Yup, the abuse in public schools today dwarfs the problems in the Catholic Church, and the vast majority of what happened in the Church goes back to the 60's and 70's when we were all told to "do our own thing" and "Free Love" reigned supreme."

https://katv.com/news/nation-world/planned-parenthood-giving-transgender-hormone-therapy-to-minors-across-the-country?

https://nypost.com/2022/10/14/nearly-270-k-12-educators-arrested-on-child-sex-crimes-in-first-9-months-of-this-year/?

Attorney General’s Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore (marylandattorneygeneral.gov)