We Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Nazarenes, Baptists, Brethren, Assemblies of God, and other groups, including those who proudly claim no named affiliation, really suffer for lack of leadership in citizenship and the public square. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has stronger, centralized leadership than we do. Plus it has the voice of the press. I've been reading through some documents prepared by the Catholics, and envy the fact they have something to point to. Even if they loose in court. And please don't be patronizing and say, "But we follow the Bible." They do too. Each church picks and choose what it considers literal--whether baptism or the real presence or speaking in tongues. And they have their squabbles too. Huge numbers of Catholics (like Pelosi, Kerry, Sibelius and a bunch of nuns) supported ObamaCare and helped to get it passed. Now the Bishops have realized how the President lied to them about protecting their interests (I could have told them based on what has happened in the states, but they didn't ask me), and are issuing yet more mandates and advisements and special days for prayer. That said, at least they have a record of speaking out. Other Christians just have a lot of disjointed sermons, random TV preachers, and arguing with each other. To read any of these articles (they are not hot linked) block and click right on your mouse, then click on Google and it will search it. The asterisked articles are not on line.
Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
Protecting Human Life
Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology, 2009
Married Love and the Gift of Life, 2006
On Embryonic Stem Cell Research, 2008
Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities: A Campaign in Support of Life, 2001
Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics, 1998
Faithful for Life: A Moral Reflection, 1995
A Matter of the Heart: A Statement on the Thirtieth Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, 2002
Resolution on Abortion, 1989
Documentation on the Right to Life and Abortion, 1974, 1976, 1981*
A Call for Bipartisan Cooperation on Responsible Transition in Iraq, 2007
Statement on Iraq, 2002
A Pastoral Message: Living with Faith and Hope After September 11, 2001
Sowing the Weapons of War, 1995
The Harvest of Justice Is Sown in Peace, 1993
A Report on the Challenge of Peace and Policy Developments, 1983-1888, 1989*
The Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response, 1983
To Live Each Day with Dignity: A Statement on Physician-Assisted Suicide, 2011
Nutrition and Hydration: Moral and Pastoral Reflections, 1992
Statement on Euthanasia, 1991
Welcome and Justice for Persons with Disabilities, 1999
Pastoral Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on Persons with Disabilities, 1984
Confronting a Culture of Violence, 1995
A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death, 2005
Statement on Capital Punishment, 1980
Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (Fifth Edition), 2009
Promoting Family Life
National Directory for Catechesis, 2005
Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium, 2005
Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, 1998
Principles for Educational Reform in the United States, 1995
To Teach as Jesus Did: A Pastoral Message on Catholic Education, 1972*
When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women, 2002
A Family Perspective in Church and Society, 1998
Blessings of Age, 1999
Between Man and Woman: Questions and Answers About Marriage and Same-Sex Unions, 2003
Walk in the Light: A Pastoral Response to Child Sexual Abuse, 1995
Follow the Way of Love: A Pastoral Message to Families, 1993
Putting Children and Families First: A Challenge for Our Church, Nation and World, 1992*
Pursuing Social Justice
Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (Fifth Edition), 2009
"For I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food": Catholic Reflections on Food, Farmers and Farmworkers, 2003
Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope, 2003
A Place at the Table: A Catholic Recommitment to Overcome Poverty and to Respect the Dignity of All God's Children, 2002
Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common Good, 2001
Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice, 2000
A Commitment to All Generations: Social Security and the Common Good, 1999
In All Things Charity: A Pastoral Challenge for the New Millennium, 1999
One Family Under God, 1995*
Confronting a Culture of Violence: A Catholic Framework for Action, 1995
Moral Principles and Policy Priorities for Welfare Reform, 1995*
The Harvest of Justice Is Sown in Peace, 1993
A Framework for Comprehensive Health Care Reform, 1993*
Renewing the Earth: An Invitation to Reflection and Action on the Environment in Light of Catholic Social Teaching, 1992
Putting Children and Families First: A Challenge for Our Church, Nation and World, 1992*
New Slavery, New Freedom: A Pastoral Message on Substance Abuse, 1990*
Brothers and Sisters to Us: Pastoral Letter on Racism in Our Day, 1989
Called to Compassion and Responsibility: A Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis, 1989
Homelessness and Housing: A Human Tragedy, A Moral Challenge, 1988*
Practicing Global Solidarity
A Call for Bipartisan Cooperation on Responsible Transition in Iraq, 2007
A Call to Solidarity with Africa, 2001
A Jubilee Call for Debt Forgiveness, 1999
Called to Global Solidarity: International Challenges for U.S. Parishes, 1998
Sowing the Weapons of War, 1995
One Family Under God, 1995*
The Harvest of Justice Is Sown in Peace, 1993
The New Moment in Eastern and Central Europe, 1990*
Toward Peace in the Middle East, 1989
Statement on Central America, 1987
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
The lede—Grassley vs. the Scandal
Best: The lede paragraph with the least inflammatory language (uses the verb “ask”), but with the most detailed information is Fox News.
Second is CBS also using the word ask, but doesn’t note the working relationship which apparently is a phrase in the letter.
The most biased is probably HuffPo which uses the odd and wordy, “has engineered an inquiry into” instead of “ask.”
Why he is “Chuck” to conservatives and “Charles” to liberals, probably means something, but what I don’t know. Not mentioning his name in the lede at all probably also means something. “Ranking” and “top” can go either way.
I didn’t check the entire internet, but in the first 50 listings I didn’t see New York Times, Washington Post, or LA Times, all members of the tight non-vetting, Obamedia, even though New York Times in an earlier article noted that the agreed on price for the call girl was $800.
GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is asking the Secret Service whether members of the White House advance team are connected to the Colombian prostitution scandal, considering their “close working relationship” with federal agents. [Fox News, cable conservative]
As the Secret Service prostitution scandal deepens, top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee has engineered an inquiry into whether more individuals were involved.[Huffington Post, online liberal]
Senator Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the head of the Secret Service Friday evening asking if White House staff are also subjects of the investigation into the Colombian prostitution scandal. [CBS News, mainstream broadcast]
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is questioning the U.S. Secret Service about possible involvement of White House staff in the Colombian prostitution scandal. [Washington Times, conservative]
The prostitution scandal which has devastated the Secret Service could be set to spread to the White House. A senior Republican has urged the investigation into what happened in Colombia ahead of Barack Obama's trip there to extend to presidential staff who were preparing for his visit. [Mail online, UK celeb news]
The ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee has asked the U.S. Secret Service about the potential involvement of White House staff in the prostitution scandal in Colombia. [CNN cable, liberal]
Defunding Planned Parenthood in Ohio
On Tuesday the Ohio House of Representatives adopted an amendment to the mid-biennial budget review bill that would cut funding from abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood by redirecting federal funds for Title V, X, and XX. The allocation of these funds must go first to community health centers, physicians offices, and other clinics providing comprehensive health services before they can be awarded to any entity that provides women's health services/family planning services but does NOT provide comprehensive health services.
Planned Parenthood will still function with its donations from people who want to end babies lives, especially those of minority and low income women and girls. It has a strong income stream.
Planned Parenthood will still function with its donations from people who want to end babies lives, especially those of minority and low income women and girls. It has a strong income stream.
State of Denial and Obama's wars
I never read Woodward's State of Denial about Bush--one time I saw 15 copies on the shelf of my public library--don't know how many they owned. But UAPL helped him become very rich. Today I saw one for sale (from the library) for 90 cents at the Volunteers of America book section. So I checked Woodward's Obama's Wars at the PL catalog (a horrible system, btw). 5 copies. One checked out. Woodward was a little premature--Obama has expanded his wars since Wooward researched that book and is still going. I don't think that one has done as well--probably not enough libraries buying it. Public librarians are 223:1 Democrat to Republican (in 2004). It affects what they buy, and what you read, and what you come to believe about candidates and presidents.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Let the market work
By Chip Wood, The North Dakota Oil Boom, http://personalliberty.com/2012/03/16/the-north-dakota-oil-boom/
[North Dakota] has the lowest unemployment rate in the Nation, at just 3.3 percent. California’s, by contrast, is 11.1 percent. That doesn’t even count the unemployed people who have simply stopped looking for work. The true unemployment number is probably closer to 20 percent.
According to the Census Bureau, North Dakota led the Nation in job and income growth in 2011. While California is losing millionaires every day, North Dakota is creating them faster than anyplace else in the country. But even entry-level positions are benefiting. For example, a job flipping burgers at McDonald’s pays $18 an hour plus a “signing bonus” for new employees.
And while the State of California can’t begin to pay all of its bills — it even issued IOUs last year in place of tax refunds — the biggest argument in North Dakota’s State Capitol is how to spend all of the money that’s pouring in. Legislators in Bismarck have approved hundreds of “shovel ready” infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges, railroads and pipelines. But even while spending more on worthwhile projects, legislators also agreed to cut the State income tax.
What’s happening in North Dakota is a classic example of the one thing that would solve our energy problems everywhere — and most other problems in the economy, too. Unfortunately, it’s the one thing Obama and his team won’t even consider.
The solution is simple: Let the market work.
That’s odd—it’s not racial? Not a hate crime?
In describing an attack on a tourist, beaten, robbed, stripped, and ridiculed while someone taped it, no one helped and bystanders laughed. But it wasn’t racial.
“While the victim appears white and his attackers black, there has been no suggestion that the attack was a hate crime or racially motivated. There has also been relatively little outrage nationally about this attack.”
Teaching as a subversive activity redux
Most academicians are liberals. Also librarians, journalists, lawyers. They want to “save the world.” Not in the sense of open minded, fair, thoughtful, more humane, examining all sides, and in line with the ancient principles of western civilization or the renaissance. But liberal in the modern sense—leftists. Socialists. Progressives. That’s why I say, “Liberals aren’t.” After saying, “We need to have a ‘conversation,’ ” they will then tell you that your share of the information is not “fair,” or “reasonable,” and therefore you need to shut up or or they will leave.
From Teaching as a Subversive Activity: [a talk based on a book of that title from 1969]
Professor Brown's talk focuses specifically on this problem: His basic thesis is that it is no longer sufficient to simply tell students to think for themselves, because then we lose the ability to influence them, and there's no guarantee that the students will then develop progressive worldviews. The "Revisited" part of the lecture's title means that these days, we must be more blunt and to the point: Since the good guys are now in charge, let's just dispense with all the experimentation and instead directly indoctrinate the students in leftist thought and ideals. . .
Includes the transcript and audio of 6 questions/answers.
. . .
Code Phrases Alluding to Indoctrination
If you hear or read academics using any of these tell-tale terms, they are actually discussing how to indoctrinate students:
&bull Critical pedagogy
&bull Agent for change
&bull Moral imperative
&bull "Critical" anything
&bull Subversive
&bull Mandate
Apparently, it’s not race
Based on his recent study published in PLoS, Stanford University School of Medicine researcher Mark Cullen explained, “Once certain factors — such as the fraction of adults in the county who finish high school, the fraction with managerial or professional jobs and the fraction of adults who live in two-parent households — are accounted for, even geography, such as being in the South, is moot.”
Another study pointing out the importance of marriage to health.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Do speechwriters stutter?
This is simply amazing. I'd never heard the expression "punch above their weight" before, but I'll never forget it now.
Food deserts are a myth
If you're overweight it's not because there's a fast food business near-by and no fresh fruits and vegetables. I didn't even need the research. I have no shortage of information or healthy food. And I don't eat fast food (except an occasional McD's sausage biscuit). But you should watch me go through a block of healthy, white cheddar cheese or homemade buckeye candy (chocolate and peanut butter).
"Living close to supermarkets or grocers did not make students thin and living close to fast food outlets did not make them fat."
http://www.nationalreview.com/home-front/296485/jig-food-deserts/julie-gunlock .
This sort of junk nutrition by social scientists results in a steady stream of government grants from USDA and HHS for public employees for a non-problem. I was looking at one of the "fast food" and stress sites today at OSU and the director (showed a photo) of the program was overweight!
Delicious coleslaw recipe
Years ago I submitted my mother’s coleslaw recipe to Old Farmer’s Almanac 2000 and it got in (p. 204). Mom got to see it in print before she died since it was published in 1999. This isn’t it.
I've learned a really fast, delicious way to make coleslaw. 1) buy a very small container of it from the deli case, 2) buy a large package of shredded cabbage, 3) mix, add chopped apples or raisins if you wish, 4) serve, 5) enjoy the compliments. The deli version has way too much dressing, but mixed with a bunch more cabbage, it's just about right. Also, you don’t have shredded cabbage all over the kitchen and no skinned knuckles.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Lifetime Movies, Five cancer stories
A series of short films about women and their families dealing with cancer is really excellent. I was surprised by some of the "big names" doing the directing , like Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and Alicia Keyes.
The story lines of Five
Directed by Jennifer Aniston, written by Wendy West and told in a series of humorous and dramatic flashbacks, Mia is a survivor’s tale that highlights all of the highs and lows of Mia’s (Patricia Clarkson) two-year journey from diagnosis with breast cancer. During this time, she gives away all of her worldly possessions, holds a hilarious mock funeral while still alive and enters into a second marriage to Mitch (Tony Shalhoub), the new love of her life. Mia also features Kathy Najimy as Mia’s friend Rocky.
Lili, directed by Alicia Keys and written by Jill Gordon, follows Lili, a fiercely independent, career-minded woman (Rosario Dawson), who recruits her sister (Tracee Ellis Ross) to help tell their hard-nosed mother (Jenifer Lewis) that she has breast cancer. As they work through their past issues, Lili’s mother and sister ultimately become her strongest allies when she needs her family the most. Lili also stars Jeffrey Tambor as a male patient diagnosed with breast cancer.
In Cheyanne, directed by Penelope Spheeris and written by Howard Morris, sexy young stripper Cheyanne (Lyndsy Fonseca) and her handsome newlywed husband Tommy (Taylor Kinney) struggle to redefine their passionate relationship, as well as who they are as individuals, when Cheyenne is shocked with a breast cancer diagnosis. Looking at a severe prognosis, Cheyanne’s aggressive treatment ultimately results in the removal of both of her breasts, which have defined her life physically, financially and emotionally.
Directed by Demi Moore and written by Stephen Godchaux, “Five’s” opening film, Charlotte, takes place the night in July 1969 when man first walks on the moon, and when a young Pearl (Ava Acres) is more concerned about why her family is not letting her see her mother, Charlotte (Ginnifer Goodwin), who lies in her bedroom dying from breast cancer.
In Pearl, directed by Patty Jenkins and written by Deirdre O’Connor, Pearl (Jeanne Tripplehorn), the successful oncologist we have followed from childhood, suddenly finds herself in the patient’s seat when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Through this process, she finally understands what her parents experienced that night in 1969 and finds the strength to tell her young daughter that everything is going to be OK … something she never heard as a child.
The story lines of Five
Directed by Jennifer Aniston, written by Wendy West and told in a series of humorous and dramatic flashbacks, Mia is a survivor’s tale that highlights all of the highs and lows of Mia’s (Patricia Clarkson) two-year journey from diagnosis with breast cancer. During this time, she gives away all of her worldly possessions, holds a hilarious mock funeral while still alive and enters into a second marriage to Mitch (Tony Shalhoub), the new love of her life. Mia also features Kathy Najimy as Mia’s friend Rocky.
Lili, directed by Alicia Keys and written by Jill Gordon, follows Lili, a fiercely independent, career-minded woman (Rosario Dawson), who recruits her sister (Tracee Ellis Ross) to help tell their hard-nosed mother (Jenifer Lewis) that she has breast cancer. As they work through their past issues, Lili’s mother and sister ultimately become her strongest allies when she needs her family the most. Lili also stars Jeffrey Tambor as a male patient diagnosed with breast cancer.
In Cheyanne, directed by Penelope Spheeris and written by Howard Morris, sexy young stripper Cheyanne (Lyndsy Fonseca) and her handsome newlywed husband Tommy (Taylor Kinney) struggle to redefine their passionate relationship, as well as who they are as individuals, when Cheyenne is shocked with a breast cancer diagnosis. Looking at a severe prognosis, Cheyanne’s aggressive treatment ultimately results in the removal of both of her breasts, which have defined her life physically, financially and emotionally.
Directed by Demi Moore and written by Stephen Godchaux, “Five’s” opening film, Charlotte, takes place the night in July 1969 when man first walks on the moon, and when a young Pearl (Ava Acres) is more concerned about why her family is not letting her see her mother, Charlotte (Ginnifer Goodwin), who lies in her bedroom dying from breast cancer.
In Pearl, directed by Patty Jenkins and written by Deirdre O’Connor, Pearl (Jeanne Tripplehorn), the successful oncologist we have followed from childhood, suddenly finds herself in the patient’s seat when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Through this process, she finally understands what her parents experienced that night in 1969 and finds the strength to tell her young daughter that everything is going to be OK … something she never heard as a child.
Press goes to the dogs
No one would have brought up Obama eating dog meat in Indonesia (according to his book) if the Democrats in the Obamedia hadn't kept hammering on that Romney story from the early 80s of their dog riding on top of the car (huge dog, 6 kids in the car). So, animal lovers, putting him in a kennel for 2 weeks would have been better? But they just won't let go. Really, who cares? Will someone please get down to business and discuss important issues? The economy. Expansion of the wars. Destruction of the first amendment. Just a few examples. Democrats, you go first. You're in office.
Will Obama get smacked around with this latest story of the military misbehavior the way Bush was about Abu-Grab? Or will the Koran story follow him? Or how about soldiers urinating on dead bodies? How the military might be involved in the growing scandal in Colombia? No. He. Won't. He's not Bush. And that's a fact.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/us-marines-soul-searching-urinating-video/story?id=15353762
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-27/nine-killed-in-latest-afghan-violence/3855416
Perhaps you support Planned Parenthood
April Praise Report
But I support Pregnancy Decision Health Centers. Here's where my money goes. Do you know where yours is?
But I support Pregnancy Decision Health Centers. Here's where my money goes. Do you know where yours is?
"A young woman in high school came to our center looking for an abortion. She had a positive pregnancy test, but was unsure of how far along she was. She lived with her family and had a boyfriend, but she did not want a baby. We recommended an ultrasound. Her mother and boyfriend were both with her for the appointment. When the nurse began the ultrasound they could see the baby right away. The baby was big. The nurse was able to date the pregnancy and found that the girl was actually 25 weeks along in her pregnancy. The family all had tears in their eyes when they found out.
After seeing the baby, the girl said she would continue the pregnancy. She was afraid to tell her father and brother, but the father of the baby said he would be supportive and would get another job. The nurse gave them information about how to get started with prenatal care, and spoke with them about the possibility of adoption. She also gave them referrals for additional community support. The nurse then offered the girl pictures from the ultrasound, but she refused. She did accept maternity clothes. We followed up with the family a week later and they confirmed that she had an appointment scheduled to see a prenatal care doctor.
Recently, the grandma came into the center to donate maternity clothes and baby items. She said that her daughter has had the baby and they were both doing well. She said they were all excited about the baby and asked for the pictures that were taken at the time of the ultrasound."
Praise God for new life. Life isn't going to be easy for this family. But did the baby really deserve to die because she might have a tough life?
Ted Nugent translates for Debbie Wasserman Schultz
(who didn’t ask about what Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam, meant when he said to a black audience their leaders would die in a few days)
“First of all, I’m the master of metaphors,” Nugent told radio host Joe Pags, and then went on to take a shot at his critics: “…and nobody needs an interpreter when i speak except [DNC Chair] Wasserman Schultz and the Marxist czars in the Obama administration and the ultra-leftist America-hating media out there. So I think everybody knows what I meant.”
“Obviously our American dream is dead if this president continues to spend our great great grandchildren’s money at an irresponsible and unaccountable pace. And certainly we‘re in jail because we’ve become subservient and addicted to Fedzilla — the wasteful, money-burning monster that is the federal government right now.”
He added: “When I say ‘rip their heads off,‘ I’m talking figuratively that we need to go to the voting booth and fire these people!”
Technology flattens your wallet
When we bought our home on Abington Rd. in 1968, it was our third, and I was 28, my husband 29. Other than the mortgage (paid off in 1988), our housing expenses included a phone bill for one phone, and utilities--gas, electric, water. That’s it. No cable TV. No cell phone. No internet. No news service via the internet. What does the homeowner or renter pay today? According to the Journal of Accountancy:
Fifty-six percent of U.S. adults said they believe that technology has made it easier to spend money, and just 3% said it has made it easier to save. Thirty-seven percent said technology has made it easier to both spend and save, according to the national telephone poll, which consisted of 1,005 responses.
The survey found that Americans who subscribe to digital services spend an average of $166 monthly for cable TV, home internet access, mobile phone service, and digital subscriptions such as satellite radio or streaming video. That’s the equivalent of 17% of their average monthly rent or mortgage payment.
Respondents who download songs, mobile applications, and other products spend an additional $38 per month, on average, according to the survey.
JaVale, the basketball player
His mother was a professional basketball player who was scheduled for an abortion, then prayed to God for guidance, got a pretty clear answer the next day in a sermon at church and cancelled her appointment at the abortion clinic.
“JaVale McGee is 7 feet, with a 7'6½" wingspan and a 31½-inch vertical leap, unfathomable for a man his size. At 24, he can tap the front of the rim with his forehead. He can slap the top of the square with his palm. He can dunk a cookie in a bowl of milk 11 feet off the ground. When McGee was at the University of Nevada, an opposing player once explained to his coach why he couldn't guard him: "He jumped over me."
Read the whole story and how she told JaVale.
This man owes a billion in back taxes
Warren Buffett's actual tax rate is around 50%, and no his secretary isn't taxed at that rate. The president lies; his cronies lie; even Buffett, a self-made billionaire lies. The "Buffett rule" was smoke and mirrors, to get your eye off the real problem--Obama owns this recession.
Barack Obama on live birth abortion
No legislator or politician in the history of this country has been this adamant about “choice” to kill a baby—even if it is born alive. Jill Stanek tells about “working for a year at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, as a registered nurse in the Labor and Delivery Department, when I heard in report that we were aborting a second-trimester baby with Down’s syndrome. I was completely shocked. In fact, I had specifically chosen to work at Christ Hospital because it was a Christian hospital and not involved, so I thought, in abortion. It hurt so much that the very place these abortions were being committed was at a hospital named after my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I was further grieved to learn that the hospital’s religious affiliates, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the United Church of Christ, were pro-abortion. I had no idea that any Christian denomination could be pro-abortion!” Link
Shame on the ELCA. Shame on the President.
An apple a day—the Kanzi
I eat an apple every day for breakfast. Every day. My very most favorite is Honey Crisp, expensive and only available about 3-4 months in the fall, and the taste varies depending on which state provides the soil (I think Minnesota is best). My second most favorite is Braeburn, then Gala or Fuji. For pies, use 3 or 4 varieties and include at least one Pink Lady for color. Jonathon are good for color in a salad, but generally are tasteless.
Today for the first time I am eating a Kanzi, so I looked it up. The word is from Swahili and means “hidden treasure.” It is the daughter of the Braeburn and Gala—isn’t that nice to know the family tree—and a sister of the Jazz apple. The Orange Pippin web site describes and contrasts the Jazz and Kanzi:
The colouration is very similar, but we think Kanzi is arguably the prettier apple. Jazz can look a little bit too tall, whereas Kanzi is more rounded -quite similar to Ariane (although the parentage is completely different).
Looks are important commercially, but for us it is mainly about the flavour of the apple. The flavour of both Kanzi and Jazz is extremely good, but also quite different.
The Jazz apple has the stronger flavour, with its distinctive peardrop aftertaste and dense flesh. Kanzi is more delicate, with a less pronounced flavour and lighter flesh. In our tests so far most tasters prefer Kanzi (by a margin of at least 2/3rds to 1/3rd), partly because Jazz can be just a bit too solid to bite into sometimes. The milder flavour of Kanzi is also easier and less demanding, although perhaps a bit less memorable too. However your objective author should here state his own preference: Jazz wins because of its more distinctive flavour.
I’ve only had a few bites (I slice them and eat with either carrots or oranges and walnuts. So my taste buds haven’t decided yet. But nothing matches a Honey Crisp.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
When should you floss--morning or evening?
When you should remove that plaque depends on why you're removing it in the first place. If you are removing it for prevention of tooth decay or periodontal disease—such as gingivitis, which destroys the root and makes the teeth fall out—then I believe it's best at night. This gives you an eight-hour, food-free rest so your mouth can fight against the ravages it faces all day.
If you floss in the morning, because you have to say hello to people and want nice teeth, that is useful—but less so from a biological point of view. Although it should be noted that this has never been researched—call it the Kinane Hypothesis.
WSJ link
If you floss in the morning, because you have to say hello to people and want nice teeth, that is useful—but less so from a biological point of view. Although it should be noted that this has never been researched—call it the Kinane Hypothesis.
WSJ link
It’s not about jobs—that’s why the economy hasn’t recovered
It’s about something called “fairness.” But no one knows what that is. Is it 35%? But Warren Buffett actually pays 50%. Would that be fair? And if 50% is fair, why not 75%. Why not really kill all job growth? Wouldn’t that be fair?
It’s about fairness,” Secretary [of Labor] Solis said while explaining President Obama’s re-election platform.“It’s about fairness in the workplace; it’s about fairness in education; and it’s about fairness in terms of what services are provided by government. And if we can’t have say-so in that, then this isn’t the dream that all of us have aspired to be a part of.”
Bullying
Not a day goes by that I don’t hear something on the news about bullying. Today it was on Catholic radio and concerned bullying with social media. Here’s an article by a pediatrician, and absolutely nothing in her explanation looks familiar to me, not from my childhood in the 40-50s, or my children in the 70-80s. Bullies are not born. If I was bullied as a child, I must have laughed it off or I gave it back as good as I got, but I do remember some other kids who were bullied, and my perception as a child was that they were objects of scorn because they were different (height, weight, grades, income, teeth, skin, etc.) and not because the person who teased (that’s what we called it then) had psychological or emotional shortcomings.
Now, popularity cliques (ingroup, inner circle, pack) at least among girls were a different matter. By high school, all the mixing and matching we did in 4-H, Girl Scouts and junior choir, camp, and church group was set aside when it came to parties and Friday night get togethers. Also, I dated a lot in high school, so I didn't even go to all the parties, or after game events with my "clique," but I did make it to the birthday events. Maybe I would have been bullied if I'd showed up?
My experience, and that of my children, was that "exclusion" was a bigger hurt than bullying. You could be tall, athletic, good looking and get away with a lot in my children's schools and circles, but if you weren't an outstanding student, then you could easily be excluded by the "in-crowd." Over the years I've talked to other parents who had children in the Upper Arlington school system and I know that their kids were "excluded" from some social circles, but excelled in other areas. They might be homely and awkward, but in the band or orchestra they could excel; or they could have low grades but be outstanding in baseball or track; theater and drama clubs, or singing, saved the self esteem of many. That doesn't mean the top soprano might not make fun of the kid who couldn't carry a tune, or high hurdles guy wouldn't tease the boy with a limp.
But psychological or emotional problems from the taunter? Not sure about that one, Dr. Arca. What do you think?
8th grade, 1953 class trip, Chicago
Now, popularity cliques (ingroup, inner circle, pack) at least among girls were a different matter. By high school, all the mixing and matching we did in 4-H, Girl Scouts and junior choir, camp, and church group was set aside when it came to parties and Friday night get togethers. Also, I dated a lot in high school, so I didn't even go to all the parties, or after game events with my "clique," but I did make it to the birthday events. Maybe I would have been bullied if I'd showed up?
My experience, and that of my children, was that "exclusion" was a bigger hurt than bullying. You could be tall, athletic, good looking and get away with a lot in my children's schools and circles, but if you weren't an outstanding student, then you could easily be excluded by the "in-crowd." Over the years I've talked to other parents who had children in the Upper Arlington school system and I know that their kids were "excluded" from some social circles, but excelled in other areas. They might be homely and awkward, but in the band or orchestra they could excel; or they could have low grades but be outstanding in baseball or track; theater and drama clubs, or singing, saved the self esteem of many. That doesn't mean the top soprano might not make fun of the kid who couldn't carry a tune, or high hurdles guy wouldn't tease the boy with a limp.
But psychological or emotional problems from the taunter? Not sure about that one, Dr. Arca. What do you think?
Senator Obama debates with President Obama on the debt limit
This is the first and last paragraph of a longer message, which he disavowed just a year ago on Good Morning America.
“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America 's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America 's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, ‘the buck stops here.' . . . Instead,
Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.” ~ Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006
And yes, I ran it through Snopes for accuracy.
One percenter Axelrod buys new Chicago mansion
David Axelrod, 57, guided the 2008 campaign for President Obama, and is now in charge of the 2012 campaign. His thing is media. He also worked as “a senior advisor in the Obama White House from 2009 until 2011, when he departed to begin work on the president's re-election campaign. Despite his time in Washington, Axelrod always has kept a home base in Chicago.
Now, Axelrod appears to have decided to trade up. The new seven-room unit he purchased first had been listed as part of an estate sale last May for $2.25 million, and was reduced to $1.9 million in November. Features in the 42nd-floor unit include views to the south and east, including of the lake. The unit also has 4-1/2 baths, a marble foyer, his and hers baths in the master suite and one garage space.”
Serving the President pays very well. Probably puts a person in the 1% or higher since so many owe you favors. All he has to do to pay more taxes is not use the loopholes available only to the rich. . . like the ones that reduced the President's taxes.
Farrakhan's threats
Since conservatives didn't elect our current leader, just who do you think Farrakhan is threatening? Obama. Who is he attempting to agitate? Black Americans. And if he is arrested for making threats, who do you think will come to his aid? Blacks. Who will be blamed? Conservative grass roots groups like the Tea Party and 9/11 groups. This whole thing looks like a set up, and he's not stupid. So is he doing Obama's bidding or is he really serious?
Monday, April 16, 2012
Architecture of Thomas Jefferson
Here’s an index of the architectural designs of Thomas Jefferson.
Today I noticed an article about two Utah architects running for Congress. “Søren Simonsen, 44, is an architect and city planner from Salt Lake City, where he serves on the city council. He’s running as a Democrat in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District. Republican Stephen Sandstrom, 48, is an architect from Orem who was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 2006. He recently resigned to run in Utah’s newly created 4th Congressional District. Both face June primary challenges from other candidates.”
And that’s wonderful. But what I found amusing was that the lede called Jefferson an amateur. Have you seen some of the designs of the 21st century? Who’s calling who an amateur?
Thomas Jefferson may be the most celebrated American architect, albeit an amateur one, to lead a political life, and he certainly wasn’t the last. But oddly, there are no architects currently serving in the U.S. Congress, and according to the AIA, there was only one during the entire 20th century. This year, however, two architects are running for Congress, and they both happen to be from Utah.
"Jefferson believed that architecture was the heart of the American cause. In his mind, a building was not merely a walled structure, but a metaphor for American ideology, and the process of construction was equal to the task of building a nation. The architecture of any American building should express the American desire to break cultural--as well as political--ties to Europe. American architecture, Jefferson believed, would embody the fulfillment of the civic life of Americans, and he sought to establish the standards of a national architecture, both aesthetically and politically." From Thomas Jefferson, the Architect of the Nation
Why both parties would rather debate about women who stay home to raise children
WASHINGTON (AP) –
Figures on government spending and debt. The government’s fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
•Total public debt subject to limit April 4: $15,574,371,000,000
•Statutory debt limit: $16,394,000,000,000
•Total public debt outstanding, April 4: $15,617,723,000,000
•Interest fiscal year 2012 through February: $99,386,000,000
•Interest same period 2011: $94,459,000,000
http://www.mygovcost.org/2012/04/06/u-s-government-spending-and-debt-by-the-numbers/
Figures on government spending and debt. The government’s fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
•Total public debt subject to limit April 4: $15,574,371,000,000
•Statutory debt limit: $16,394,000,000,000
•Total public debt outstanding, April 4: $15,617,723,000,000
•Interest fiscal year 2012 through February: $99,386,000,000
•Interest same period 2011: $94,459,000,000
http://www.mygovcost.org/2012/04/06/u-s-government-spending-and-debt-by-the-numbers/
Bernanke’s Fairy Tale Recession Story for Kids
"In the nearly 100 years since the Fed’s creation, the deeper the economic downturn, the greater the number of policy missteps by the Federal Reserve and its cohorts in Washington. This was the case in the Great Depression, which was a downturn rife with Fed policy mistakes. Similarly, the most recent downturn, although not as bad as the Great Depression, was quite deep and also involved numerous policy errors by the Fed. Unfortunately, that’s not one of the obvious lessons of financial crises that professor Bernanke shared with the GWU students.
Rather than admitting to the arbitrary and capricious nature of the bailouts, Mr. Bernanke would have us believe that he and his band of bureaucrats executed a cogent strategy to pull from the brink of disaster companies—and, indeed, a nation—that were too big to fail. The fact is that they guessed their way through the bailouts and cannot point to any cogent analysis of the costs of “inaction.” "
Bernanke’s Fairy Tale Recession Story for Kids: Newsroom: The Independent Institute
Rather than admitting to the arbitrary and capricious nature of the bailouts, Mr. Bernanke would have us believe that he and his band of bureaucrats executed a cogent strategy to pull from the brink of disaster companies—and, indeed, a nation—that were too big to fail. The fact is that they guessed their way through the bailouts and cannot point to any cogent analysis of the costs of “inaction.” "
Bernanke’s Fairy Tale Recession Story for Kids: Newsroom: The Independent Institute
Hilary Rosen vs. Ann Romney
The GOP and radio/TV talkers (I’m listening to Rush at the moment) should get off the choice of women to work at home or at the office, and get on with the important stuff--defeating Obama. They keep letting him define the topic. Democrats are too clever to talk about real issues, they want slogans like "hope and change" and "war on women." And the GOP always fall for it.
The issue is that today most “stay at home moms” are at opposite ends of the social spectrum. Women in the top 20% are more likely to be married, have a good income, have good educations, and will be staying at home with their smart, well cared for children at least during their critical formative years, kids who have the advantages that only good genes can buy. At the other end, you have welfare moms who didn’t have their first baby after they got married, or didn’t marry at all, and maybe didn’t finish high school. These are the “stay at home moms” that Uncle Sam parents.
If Republicans continue down this road, defending moms at home, the Democrats will turn on them and start defending welfare moms at home.
What is the difference between garden peas, snow peas and sugar snap peas?
This is from today WHFoods newsletter. When we eat peas, it’s usually shelled garden peas. I remember shelling fresh peas from my mother’s garden. For lunch I often diced some onion and pepper, then add frozen garden peas and frozen corn.
Garden Peas
Garden Peas need to be shelled before eating. Fresh garden peas have rounded pods that are usually slightly curved in shape with a smooth texture and vibrant green color. Inside garden peas are green rounded pea seeds that are sweet and starchy in taste and can be eaten raw or cooked. Garden peas have more nutrients and more calories than snow peas or sugar snap peas. However, they require more work to prepare because they must be shelled before eating. As most people do not want to spend the extra time to shell their peas, the demand for fresh garden peas is very low, and they can be more difficult to find than other varieties of peas. Garden peas are sweet and succulent for three to four days after they are picked but tend to become mealy and starchy very quickly if they are not cooked soon after harvesting.
Ninety-five percent of garden peas are sold either frozen or canned. Frozen garden peas are a good substitute for fresh Garden Peas. They are already shelled, and because they are blanched before freezing, they take no time to prepare - just heat and serve. They also retain their flavor and nutritional value because they are frozen soon after they are picked. Frozen peas are more flavorful, contain less sodium and have more nutritional value than canned peas.
Snow Peas or Chinese Pea Pods
Sometimes called Chinese pea pods, this variety is usually used in stir-fries. Snow peas are flat with edible pods through which you can usually see the shadows of the flat Pea seeds inside; they are never shelled. Fresh and frozen Snow Peas are available.
Sugar Snap Peas
A cross between the garden and snow pea, they have plump edible pods with a crisp, snappy texture; they are not shelled. Both snow peas and snap peas feature a slightly sweeter and cooler taste than the garden pea. Like snow peas, snap peas have fewer nutrients and calories than garden peas. Fresh and frozen sugar snap peas are available.
Security? No problem?
Just last Friday we were told there was no compromise of the President's security with the news about the Secret Service security detail being sent home and replaced. I thought then that the writer of that story must not watch TV or movies with an international crime plot. There’s often a woman (or man these days) selling sex for secrets. This is not about dignity, it's about the president's safety. And it's probably not the first time this has happened. Oldest trick (excuse the pun) in the book.
Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), whose panel maintains jurisdiction over all federal agencies, said he had reason to believe that more than 11 Secret Service personnel were involved but never specifically explained why.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
God must be weeping over the American culture of death
Planned Parenthood Federation of American shows 528,000 active donors on it's most recent tax filing ($1.04 Billion budget). What are the donors thinking? Is there not enough death, destruction and disease in the world without claiming it on their income tax as a charitable deduction? The primary "beneficiaries" of these gifts are the poor and black.
According to its 2009-2010 report it provided 329,445 abortion procedures and just 841 adoption referrals.
Always civil, the Democrats
State Rep. Chuck Kruger, the Democratic chairman of the Maine Legislature’s Moderate Caucus, tweeted in August, “Cheney deserves same final end as he gave Saddam. Hope there are cellcams #cheney.” The Maine Wire first reported this, and preserved a screen shot of the now-deleted tweet.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer at Union Seminary
Accustomed to the rigors of German scholarship and theology, the visiting young student Bonhoeffer not yet 25 writes in 1930 about his colleagues—faculty and students—at Union:
“The theological atmosphere of the Union Theological Seminary is accelerating the process of the secularization of Christianity in America. Its criticism is directed essentially against the fundamentalists and to a certain extent also against the radical humanists in Chicago; it is healthy and necessary. But there is no sound basis on which one can rebuild after demolition. It is carried away with the general collapse. A seminary in which it can come about that a large number of students laugh out loud in a public lecture at the quoting of a passage from Luther’s De servo arbitrio on sin and forgiveness because it seems to them to be comic has evidently completely forgotten what Christian theology by its very nature stands for.”
“Things [outside the seminary] are not much different in the church. The sermon has been reduced to parenthetical church remarks about newspaper events. As long as I’ve been here, I have heard only one sermon in which you could hear something like a genuine proclamation, and that was delivered by a negro. . . One big question continually attracting my attention in view of these facts is whether one here really can still speak about Christianity. . . There’s no sense to expect the fruits where the Word really is no longer being preached. But then what becomes of Christianity per se?”
The American seminaries had, of course, taken their lead from the 19th century German theologians, even though as Bonhoeffer noted they were not even up to the level of the fundamentalists they ridiculed. America had long since lost the fervor of the “awakenings” that had shaped it, at least in the seminaries. At that time, Hitler’s small party was gaining ground in Germany. Germany has since recovered from that disastrous time—at least politically and economically. I’m not sure the American mainline churches have been able to expunge the demons of the liberal seminaries.
From p. 105-6 of Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas
On reading Bonhoeffer
I’ve decided to recommend Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas for next year’s book club selection. In order to have it finished by the next meeting in May, I have to read at least 22 pages a day. The following description is from Truth and Triumph, for which he’d done an interview:
“Eric Metaxas is the New York Times bestselling author of Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery. His work has been published in The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, Regeneration Quarterly, Christianity Today, National Review Online, Beliefnet, and First Things. He's also been featured on CNN, The Fox News Channel, and National Public Radio. He lives with his family in Manhattan.
Last fall, Metaxas' newest book, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Prophet, Martyr, Spy, became a New York Times No. 1
bestseller. In the book, Metaxas explores what happened when the German theologian's profound faith convictions ran up against a Nazi regime determined to co-opt, corrupt, and then neutralize the voice of the church in Germany.”
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking
My goodness she has written a lot of books. It took me awhile to find the right cover photo! I got it for 90 cents today at the resale shop. I don’t do a lot of “scratch” cooking these days, and hers are guaranteed “nothing is made from scratch.”
Overview
- Recipes for every palate and mood—the Semi-Homemade way creates an inspiring pairing of fresh ingredients and packaged foods.
- Quick-to-the-table, delicious recipes to satisfy any culinary whim any time of the day. Delectable breakfast fare, light lunch bites, family-pleasing dinners, simple appetizers and snacks, sassy cocktails, and more.
- Most recipes prepared in 30 minutes or less.
- All-new bonus chapters on red-hot topics: slow cooker favorites, restaurant remakes, and kid’s cooking.
- Time-saving tips for shopping, prepping, leftover storage, and Sandra’s brand recommendations for success.
- Wine suggestions to create delicious dining occasions every day.
- Beautiful photo of every recipe.
My Valentine by Paul McCartney
Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp
You won't find anything prettier. . .
“The videos were shot on 35mm and Paul worked with Academy Award winning cinematographer Wally Pfister (Inception, The Dark Knight), editor Paul Martinez and producer Susanne Preissler to create these elegant and powerful films based on an original idea by Stella McCartney.
'My Valentine' is the second Paul McCartney music video Natalie Portman has starred in, the first being the Michel Gondry directed 'Dance Tonight' in 2007. For this new performance, she was exclusively dressed by Stella McCartney. Johnny Depp also plays guitar in his version and recorded the track's guitar solo live. His guitar take was then mixed and mastered into the final track. The original guitar solo on the studio version of the song was performed by Eric Clapton. “
Adjusting to the poor house
The Obamas’ adjusted gross income was their lowest income since 2004 when he wrote his best-selling memoir, “Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.” This was the first year since 2006 that the Obama family income dipped below $1 million. In 2010, his adjusted gross income was $1.7 million; in 2009, it was $5.5 million.
I wonder how much the fabulous vacations they’ve had since January 2009 would rack up in any other family’s budget, the incredible state dinners, the gifts of clothing from designers, the servants to attend to every need, the limo service and celebrity entertainment? I’m sure it’s a stressful job, but for the wife and kids, it’s pretty nice—especially considering how that life style is condemned almost weekly in his speeches. If we elect Mitt Romney, I’m guessing he’ll pay his own way for many of the perks Michelle has come to demand.
Friday, April 13, 2012
My friends and readers could say this about me. . .and do
“When I read your constant barrages aimed at the first black president, I think to myself, "Doesn't [Norma], the devout Christian, understand what it took to get to this place? And where would [Norma] have been in the years of the freedom struggle that finally eventuated in some measure of equality for African-Americans and even a black president?" Isn't there some way you can temper your attacks on Obama with this history in mind?. . . "The presidency of an African-American is a dramatic symbol of the advances in the struggle for human rights in this country so long denied to black citizens. Unless you have a record deep in the civil rights struggle, relentless attacks on this symbol will be seen as giving aid and comfort to, if not an expression of, the latent racism that is still much with us in this country. That is why criticisms of this president-as-symbol are not to be made in the same way as the conventional political fisticuffs."
But it was said about another writer critical of this president. . . someone named Pete who insists on judging the president on his actions and knowledge, his political and economic leadership, not the low expectations and double standards of liberal supporters and the American media.
If John McCain, a great patriot and war hero, had won in 2008 and took the same downward path, reversed his promises and then told lies, I would still be writing a blog about the deficit, the czars, expanding the war into more middle east countries, the over regulation of the health and energy industries, the strange reasoning of the Buffett fair tax, even his narcissism if it jumped out in every public appearance. And if McCain’s wife (the second one) who is quite pretty for her age appeared in Las Vegas in a crotch exposing skirt disgracing the office of FLOTUS, I’d mention it here.
ABC dives into the sewer
Creator/Producer Nahnatchka Khan thinks this is real life America. And maybe it is in his neighborhood. Turn it off.
“Last night Don’t Trust the B---- in Apt. 23 premiered on ABC at 9:30 pm Eastern/Pacific -- that's just 8:30 in the Central and Mountain time zones -- and it may well represent a new all-time low for broadcast television.
The program is a sexist mixed-bag of hedonism, drug-use, alcohol abuse (including the main character plying a 13-year-old boy with alcohol to get him drunk) and explicit levels of promiscuity that are shocking even by today’s broadcast TV standards. “
http://www.parentstv.org/ptc/publications/emailalerts/2012/0412.htm
It Is Hard to Be Catholic in Public Life
Of all the great and necessary freedoms listed in the First Amendment, freedom
to exercise religion (not just to believe, but to live out that belief) is the
most important; before freedom of speech, before freedom of the press, before
freedom of assembly, before freedom to petition the government for redress of
grievances, before all others.
This freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, is the trunk from which all other branches of freedom on our great tree of liberty get their life. Cut down the trunk and the tree of liberty will die and in its place will be only the barren earth of tyranny. Our founders understood this, and that is why James Madison described the First Amendment's protection of religious freedom as "the true remedy."
It Is Hard to Be Catholic in Public Life by Rick Santorum.
This freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, is the trunk from which all other branches of freedom on our great tree of liberty get their life. Cut down the trunk and the tree of liberty will die and in its place will be only the barren earth of tyranny. Our founders understood this, and that is why James Madison described the First Amendment's protection of religious freedom as "the true remedy."
It Is Hard to Be Catholic in Public Life by Rick Santorum.
Many schools looking at start times
To me, it looks like bus transportation is the problem. But what about that metropolitan area traffic for the bus drivers if schools start later [110,000 students along 6,500 routes , 1,500 buses]?
“Most high schools in Fairfax County, VA [suburban Washington DC, median family income $122,200] start at 7:20 a.m., with bleary-eyed students getting picked up by their school buses as early as 5:45 a.m. In Arlington, the high school start time is nearly an hour later, and in Loudoun [richest county in the country] most high schools begin at 9 a.m.
“It’s important for the physical and mental health of our adolescent students,” said School Board member Sandy Evans (Mason), who sponsored the resolution and was a co-founder of the advocacy group Sleep, which led previous efforts to shift start times.
Evans cited research indicating sleep deprivation contributes to such problems as depression, obesity and poor academic performance. In a county survey, two-thirds of students reported getting seven hours or less of sleep on school nights.”
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Religious Liberty Under Attack—Concrete Examples--
A Statement on Religious Liberty
pdf version
to order copies
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty
Excerpt
Is our most cherished freedom truly under threat? Sadly, it is. This is not a theological or legal dispute without real world consequences. Consider the following:
- HHS mandate for contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs. The mandate of the Department of Health and Human Services has received wide attention and has been met with our vigorous and united opposition. In an unprecedented way, the federal government will both force religious institutions to facilitate and fund a product contrary to their own moral teaching and purport to define which religious institutions are "religious enough" to merit protection of their religious liberty. These features of the "preventive services" mandate amount to an unjust law. As Archbishop-designate William Lori of Baltimore, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, testified to Congress: "This is not a matter of whether contraception may be prohibited by the government. This is not even a matter of whether contraception may be supported by the government. Instead, it is a matter of whether religious people and institutions may be forced by the government to provide coverage for contraception or sterilization, even if that violates their religious beliefs."3
- State immigration laws.Several states have recently passed laws that forbid what the government deems "harboring" of undocumented immigrants—and what the Church deems Christian charity and pastoral care to those immigrants. Perhaps the most egregious of these is in Alabama, where the Catholic bishops, in cooperation with the Episcopal and Methodist bishops of Alabama, filed suit against the law:
It is with sadness that we brought this legal action but with a deep sense that we, as people of faith, have no choice but to defend the right to the free exercise of religion granted to us as citizens of Alabama. . . . The law makes illegal the exercise of our Christian religion which we, as citizens of Alabama, have a right to follow. The law prohibits almost everything which would assist an undocumented immigrant or encourage an undocumented immigrant to live in Alabama. This new Alabama law makes it illegal for a Catholic priest to baptize, hear the confession of, celebrate the anointing of the sick with, or preach the word of God to, an undocumented immigrant. Nor can we encourage them to attend Mass or give them a ride to Mass. It is illegal to allow them to attend adult scripture study groups, or attend CCD or Sunday school classes. It is illegal for the clergy to counsel them in times of difficulty or in preparation for marriage. It is illegal for them to come to Alcoholic Anonymous meetings or other recovery groups at our churches.4
- Altering Church structure and governance. In 2009, the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut Legislature proposed a bill that would have forced Catholic parishes to be restructured according to a congregational model, recalling the trusteeism controversy of the early nineteenth century, and prefiguring the federal government's attempts to redefine for the Church "religious minister" and "religious employer" in the years since.
- Christian students on campus.In its over-100-year history, the University of California Hastings College of Law has denied student organization status to only one group, the Christian Legal Society, because it required its leaders to be Christian and to abstain from sexual activity outside of marriage.
- Catholic foster care and adoption services. Boston, San Francisco, the District of Columbia, and the state of Illinois have driven local Catholic Charities out of the business of providing adoption or foster care services—by revoking their licenses, by ending their government contracts, or both—because those Charities refused to place children with same-sex couples or unmarried opposite-sex couples who cohabit.
- Discrimination against small church congregations. New York City enacted a rule that barred the Bronx Household of Faith and sixty other churches from renting public schools on weekends for worship services even though non-religious groups could rent the same schools for scores of other uses. While this would not frequently affect Catholic parishes, which generally own their own buildings, it would be devastating to many smaller congregations. It is a simple case of discrimination against religious believers.
- Discrimination against Catholic humanitarian services. Notwithstanding years of excellent performance by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Migration and Refugee Services in administering contract services for victims of human trafficking, the federal government changed its contract specifications to require us to provide or refer for contraceptive and abortion services in violation of Catholic teaching. Religious institutions should not be disqualified from a government contract based on religious belief, and they do not somehow lose their religious identity or liberty upon entering such contracts. And yet a federal court in Massachusetts, turning religious liberty on its head, has since declared that such a disqualification is required by the First Amendment—that the government somehow violates religious liberty by allowing Catholic organizations to participate in contracts in a manner consistent with their beliefs on contraception and abortion
Do couples still get married in churches?
Recently at our Faith of our Fathers group (FOOF) at the UALC Mill Run church we were discussing the removal of most religious/Christian content from public education textbooks and courses despite its inclusion in the founding documents. But maybe we should be looking closer to home.
Today I picked up (free) a copy of Columbus Bride at Giant Eagle. You'd be hard pressed to find any religious content in the wedding photos--hardly even a church or cathedral. Lots of country clubs, old barns, the Atheneum (which has sort of a faux chapel), Franklin Park Conservatory, old wineries, city streets, parks, and party barns. Maybe it's the interior of the modern churches which look like theaters and party houses--so why not just rent one or take the photos outside?
When we were in Russia in 2006 we saw so many weddings in the public square--in front of government buildings, fountains, parks etc. They had 70 years of Communism. What's our excuse?
Top, bottom and middle
--everyone is doing better in this country. The income of households between the 60th and 80th percentiles grew by 40 percent, and those in the 40th to 60th percentile grew by nearly 40%, and of course, these groups are very fluid. I've been in 4 of the 5 percentiles myself and am at the bottom again (retired), same as when I was 21 and graduating from college 5 months pregnant and no job. But I know that cutting taxes works better for me than raising them, and reducing my spending is the only way for me to have money to invest or to donate to charity. However, I also know a household made up of a married couple of college educated parents with 2 or 3 children will always do better economically than a single mom with a high school education and 2 or 3 children. That's just math. That's not even political affiliation or loyalty, or race or age. If it didn’t work that way why would we have all these grants and loans to send low income people to college, if not to elevate them?
But there is a party who come November will say Uncle Sam is a good step-father, but it lies.
Can you handle one more conspiracy theory about JFK?
I know nothing about the author of the book review, the author of the book, the murder of this particular lover of JFK, or the website that posted the review, but after I started reading the very lengthy book review, I did sort of get interested. http://www.fff.org/comment/com1204g.asp
“In early 1976 the National Enquirer published a story that shocked the elite political class in Washington, D.C. The story disclosed that a woman named Mary Pinchot Meyer, who was a divorced spouse of a high CIA official named Cord Meyer, had been engaged in a two-year sexual affair with President John F. Kennedy. By the time the article was published, JFK had been assassinated, and Mary Pinchot Meyer herself was dead, a victim of a murder that took place in Washington on October 12, 1964.
The murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer is the subject of a fascinating and gripping new book by Peter Janney, Mary’s Mosaic, who was childhood friends with Mary Meyer’s three sons and whose father himself was a high CIA official. Janney’s father and mother socialized in the 1950s with the Meyers and other high-level CIA officials.”
One of the clerks at the coffee shop loves “true crime” type books, so I may print this out for her. For me, just reading the review was enough. The further away we get from 1963, the less we know it seems.
Another Catholic under attack by Obama administration—Paul Ryan
Henninger in today’s WSJ mixes some metaphors, with fortress, ICBMs, carpet-bombing, drinking the Kool-aid, and encyclicals, but he’s on target—one dare not attack the Democrats at the heart and soul of their beliefs—big government even if it collapses under its own weight is good for you personally and for the nation. Paul Ryan outrages them into launching the big religious guns:
Ah, he gutted them and they know it. “. . . one of the primary tenants of Catholic social teaching, means don't keep people poor, don't make people dependent .”“What Mr. Ryan actually said is worth quoting, because it should revive the debate over the proper relationship between individual citizens, including the poor, and the national government:
"A person's faith is central to how they conduct themselves in public and in private. So to me, using my Catholic faith, we call it the social magisterium, which is how do you apply the doctrine of your teaching into your everyday life as a lay person?
"To me, the principle of subsidiarity . . . meaning government closest to the people governs best . . . where we, through our civic organizations, through our churches, through our charities, through all of our different groups where we interact with people as a community, that's how we advance the common good. By not having big government crowd out civic society, but by having enough space in our communities so that we can interact with each other, and take care of people who are down and out in our communities.
"Those principles are very, very important, and the preferential option for the poor, which is one of the primary tenants of Catholic social teaching, means don't keep people poor, don't make people dependent on government so that they stay stuck at their station in life. Help people get out of poverty out onto a life of independence." “
The Obama administration will have to fight to the death over this one truth. So they have to bring down what formerly was the largest social agency in the country (before the War on Poverty), and is still the largest globally, the Roman Catholic Church.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tax money sink hole
This is probably not a lot of money considering the national deficit, but there are thousands of programs like this one. I’d just been reading through a $25 million ArtPlace article when I noticed this one:
I have no idea what a place-based community oriented crime and neighborhood revitalization initiative is, but I’m pretty sure justice won't include the arrest or impeachment of Eric Holder for Fast and Furious or looking into arresting the New Black Panthers who are threatening Floridians. This really sounds like an ad for ACORN with fancy gummit talk.“U.S. Department of Justice: Launching a New Place-Based, Community Oriented Crime and Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative
The Department of Justice is looking for a fellow to help support the development and launch of a new place-based, community oriented program that is part of the White House’s Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI) and is being implemented in collaboration with the Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development. The fellowship will be located in the Bureau of Justice Assistance, whose mission is to provide leadership and services in grant administration and criminal justice policy development to support local, state, and tribal justice strategies to achieve safer communities. The fellow will work on several aspects of this project, including the site selection process for the first round of the Building Neighborhood Capacity program. The fellow will support coordination with the other partners in NRI and assist in other assessment of data and resources to support the program coordination and selection processes.” Link
Alternatives to MSM, Cable, Beck, Rush, Fox
Here is Catholic News Roundup for April 11, 2012
You’ll hear news here that won’t be elsewhere, and see sponsors you’ve never heard of.
I just discovered it, so I don't know how long the daily news stays available, or if it continues to roll backwards for the archives. You only have to google Michael Voris STB to see that many Catholics don't agree with him.Back in my day. . .
Oh, young people love to hear that one, don't they? My chosen career, librarianship, was and probably still is, at the bottom of the pay scale for an advanced degree (entry level degree is a master’s but many have PhDs). But I loved it. What could be more fun than buying, organizing, preserving and distributing information, knowledge and wisdom? ("For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage o...f knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it." Eccl. 7:12) I don't envy Bill Gates' wealth or the 3 winners of the Megamillions. In fact, my religion says coveting is very, very bad not only for a society but for me personally. However, my president says it's good. He wants "fairness," which actually means coveting what others have. If you don't believe me, try teaching fairness to 6 year olds--you'll create jealousy as they each eye what the other has and start to whine.
The Buffett rule is something for President Obama to talk about during the campaign so he doesn't have to face the huge economic problems he has created and to rail against “rich Republicans” if it fails. The biggest, wealthiest donors are all contributing to Democrats, but don’t let the facts confuse him—he’s already way off track and it plays well with the unemployed he hasn’t helped. He wants the government to take more of what you or someone else has, not to use for any particular purpose, but to satisfy a vague belief in "fairness."
The Buffett rule takes money out of the economy and gives it to the government, where it will be spread around the various bureaucracies, revolving door non-profits and unions and you'll never see a dime of it.
Leaving the church because of sex
A blogger I’ve known only through our shared cyber-space as librarians on discussion lists and as bloggers mentioned at his blog that he has moved over to an Anglican church from the Catholic church due to the Roman Catholic’s position on women clergy, on marriage of gays, and the sexual abuse scandals.
That’s putting a lot of stock into current cultural beliefs in the face of 2,000 years of church history and teaching, plus all the Hebrew/Jewish traditions that came before that. In fact, it flies in the face of the history of the human race and all religions, not just Catholicism. There’s virtually no mention of homosexuality in the Old Testament except in veiled references to temple practices of other religions which the Jews were supposed to avoid at all costs. But dalliances with young men and male temple prostitutes were certainly well known and even accepted in Greek and Roman cultures. Gracious! Have you seen some of those murals in collapsing ancient buildings? The Greeks and Romans lived in sex saturated times, male, female, animal, child, multiples—made no difference (if we can believe their art and literature, and why shouldn’t we?). They probably inherited profligate and perverted sex from the civilizations who came before them. God chose the Jews for a reason—they were the only ones, even in sin who seemed to really get the story of creation.
That said, even with trips to the temple for sex with young, beautiful temple prostitutes, male and female, when it came to building blocks for the society, it was marriage between a male and female. Yes, some engaged in polygamy, or polyandry, some had mistresses and concubines and some men may have preferred a male concubine, but the state/monarchy/emperor or tribal elder recognized the marriage. There was a distant memory and command in the mind of all cultures.
As for women priests, show me a church that is growing under female leadership. Sure, maybe you support it, but have you joined one? Have you encouraged your call committee in that direction? Even men who claim to be “feminists” don’t like sitting under the authority of a woman, often not at work, but certainly not at the church. They’ll never admit it, but quietly, the numbers begin to drop.
Child abuse? The Roman Catholic church is a huge target; and it’s rich. Why sue a school system where the abusers, at least until recently, are just passed from school to school, protected by their unions? We’re just beginning to hear how many female teachers are predators as the stories are leaked to the papers. How many Protestant clergy have been caught with their hand in the . . . well, and just quietly moved on to the next small church thinking the problem will go away if we just warn him. Although many young girls have certainly been molested at the hands of clergy, teachers, babysitters, etc., the number of boys and gay men involved is way out of their proportion (1.5%) in the general population.
But this particular librarian who has left the church, who became a convert to Catholicism and took all the instruction in 1992, now thinks that the profound spiritual wisdom of the 20th and 21st centuries exceeds that of the church he committed himself to just 20 years ago and in which he agreed to raise his children and be faithful to his wife (who has remained Catholic).
Imagine all the stuff a Protestant is exposed to in RCIA which must completely have baffled him—like 7 sacraments, or the teaching about the perpetual virginity of Mary, or all the stages to go through to become a saint, or all the special holidays, seasons and observances he’d never heard of. Think about undoing all the teaching Christians hear in Baptist or Lutheran or Nazarene churches about evil, unscriptural Catholicism. That’s a huge leap for gay marriage and the ordination of women priests!
And he threw it all over for a fad, fable and fantasy. I’m not a Catholic, but it appears he wasn’t either.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
What does the Buffett rule achieve?
Nothing. Obama calls it “fairness.” I call it a ploy for more votes for people who don’t understand economics—and a few who do, like nancy g and Lynne W, but will vote for him anyway. What will “fair share” do for you? Nothing. You’ll never see it, hear it, touch it, taste it. I’m not rich, and I don’t envy anyone, not if they inherited, won it gambling, or worked hard for it. It doesn’t belong to me. Three Maryland people have won the Megamillions. Is that fair to all the others who paid in to it? Well, the others obviously must have known the risk and the chances. But they got nothing. Some might call it unfair that they were lured into spending money at impossible odds. The richest 400 pay 19% every year, their secretaries pay about 16%. Warren Buffett’s secretary, according to an article in Forbes probably makes about $200,000+ a year. Is that fair to other secretaries who don’t work for Buffett, but work just as hard? Why does she/he get so much? Why does she earn more than librarians?
This is not about the deficit or about taxes, it is about a politician’s idea of “fair” and we know all that money goes into the bureaucracy and not back to the people. It’s never been any different in any society. The word “fair” is guaranteed to create jealousy—how many times did you hear your kids whining about “fairness.” Just try it in any classroom of first or second graders, which is about the level the Democrats are right now. The rich pay most of our taxes. Is that fair?
I was a librarian. One of the lowest paid jobs you can have that requires an advanced degree. Is it fair that lawyers or hospital board members like the Obama couple back in the 90s could have 6 or 7 times my income just because of who they were?
Americans can’t afford her lifestyle either
Am I surprised Michelle couldn’t make things work on Bo’s salary? Not.
"In 2005, when Obama began serving in the U.S. Senate (and his daughters turned 4 and 7), he and his wife were earning a combined annual income of $479,062. Barack Obama was paid a salary of $162,100 by the U.S. taxpayers, and Michelle Obama was paid $316,962 to handle community affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center."What a shocker—Obamacare will cost much more than estimated!
Charles Blahous of Mercatus Center at George Washington University has some news about Obamacare that Republicans already knew and Democrats will deny, and the White House will find a way to blame on Republicans. Realistically, have you ever known a government program that didn't cost way more than estimated or confirmed, whether it be a war or a welfare program? Right now, the WH is hiring thousands of IRS agents which are part of Obamacare. How will that help your health? It's the Full Employment for Government Workers Act.
Let's cut to p. 45 of the report--the conclusion: ". . . despite the fondest hopes of its supporters, the passage of the ACA unambiguously darkens a dim fiscal picture. . . expected to increase federal spending obligations by more than $1.15 trillion. . ."
People—listen up. This was never, ever ever about saving money on health, or providing better health care, or covering people who currently don’t have health insurance. It was always about the government taking over a huge segment of the economy. Period.
Cost of the IRS agents: Half a billion dollars, paid for off-the-books by taxpayers through a massive $1 billion Health and Human Services slush fund that got tucked into the bill. Investors.com
Monday, April 09, 2012
Obamedia
CNN and msnbc in a ratings battle seem to have their shorts in a knot over someone's racist FB page, and when and where to use the N word and the F word, but are they ignoring a lengthy audio of the new black panthers in Florida threatening a new "red sea" of blood and calling for the deaths of whites and especially Zimmerman, using all sorts of racist terms. You can get the audio on just about any website with Google, but haven't found it on the news. And Van Jones, the former White House green jobs guy who left to start trouble elsewhere is also calling for race trouble.
Praise the Lord for new believers in Christ
According to a member of the Columbus Chinese Christian Church who is in my exercise class at our church, Upper Arlington Lutheran, they had 26 baptisms on Easter! They serve 1st and 2nd generation Columbus area Chinese Americans and Chinese students at OSU and have services in 3 languages, English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
Communist Mao killed about 70 million of his own people—no one really knows for sure how many—but the result of Communists forcing the people of China to standardize their language (everyone now speaks his dialect, Mandarin), the Gospel has been able to be shared much easier. He meant it for evil, but God has used that evil man to bring the Gospel to the Chinese.
All Obama all the time
Even for the children’s egg roll at the White House—it’s not about the kids, or Easter—it’s about Obama. This man’s narcissism knows no bounds. Basketball players joined in with a clinic for the kids, and the balls all had Obama campaign images on them.
Look here if you dare. It’s sickening.
Yearbooks and Annuals
I don't know what generates the ads on the right side of my screen on Facebook, but this morning noticed one for yearbooks. I have my four high school yearbooks, The Mounder, from Mt. Morris High School in Illinois, two Illios from the University of Illinois (I was married by the time I graduated and couldn't afford one for that year), one from Manchester College, The Aurora, in Indiana, and three from Mt. Morris College, Life, 1929, 1931 and 1932, my uncle Clare's, my mother's and my father's. The college closed in 1932 and merged with Manchester. We also have my husband's yearbooks, The Arsenal Cannon from Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis, a school that was larger than the town of Mt. Morris, and Tech's memorial yearbook for the first 50 years. One of the best things about yearbooks is reading the crazy stuff people wrote in them!
Saturday, April 07, 2012
Summer’s coming—do you know where your college student’s brain is?
“While there is not shortage of good, foundational texts to educate the student interested in America’s economic history, there is a shortage of interested students. This is where parents must play an active role in their children’s education. Sending them off to a four-year institution and assuming that upon graduation they will be economically literate flies in the face of reality. If parents abdicate all responsibility to liberal professors, there’s a good chance the graduate will come home spouting liberal claptrap and looking forward to his or her next Occupy Wall Street rally.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/6/dangers-of-academias-indoctrination-mills/
Class warfare in a graph—the Buffett rule
The tiny, almost invisible smudge at the top is the Buffett reduction of the deficit. This nonsense us purely to create anger and hostility toward successful people and lie about how much they actually do pay in taxes.
Why does Obama pursue class warfare?
This past week from his words and walk-back it seemed that President Obama knew nothing about constitutional law or the history of the country; he also doesn’t know much about taxing and the rich. His drum beat and direction seem to be class warfare.
“To vilify success and the rewards it garners is an assault not just on capitalism but on liberty itself. As Will and Ariel Durant observed in "The Lessons of History" (1968), "freedom and equality are sworn and everlasting enemies, and when one prevails the other dies . . . to check the growth of inequality, liberty must be sacrificed."
Nowhere is the political debate over income inequality more detached from reality than the call for the top 1% of American income earners to pay their "fair share." The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data on the ratio of the share of income taxes paid by the richest taxpayers relative to their share of income show that the U.S. has the world's most progressive tax burden.
The top 10% of earners in the U.S. pay 35% more of the income tax burden than in Sweden and 22% more than in France. These figures—from the 2008 OECD publication "Growing Unequal?"—include all household taxes imposed on income at the federal, state and local level, including social insurance taxes.” Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2012, The real causes of income inequality.
Friday, April 06, 2012
On reading Luke during Lent
Last year during Lent I read the Gospel of John. John is an amazing document—no meek and mild Jesus to be found. He’s so confident in his mission and dogmatic in his words with all the “I am” statements. And Pilate! What a piece of work—kept trying to pass the buck—and did he really want to know, “What is truth.” Was he just like people today who question the kingship of Jesus? But what grabbed me last year I’d never noticed before—only John mentions that the notice fastened to the cross which read JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS, was written in three languages Aramaic (for the Jews, God’s chosen people), Latin (for all the earthly powers for it was the language of the great and mighty Roman empire, the language of commerce and the military), and Greek (for all the educated people, for it was the language of literature and the arts, a linguistic passport to any city and profession that mattered). What perfect symbolism!
This year I read the Gospel of Luke. This is really a two volume work, with Acts being the second volume. Several thing pop out to me from Luke. First, a section many probably passed right over to get to the story is 1:1-4 which explains how the information was passed down from eyewitnesses, investigated by Luke, then written down in an orderly fashion, so it could be passed on to me and you in Lent 2012.
Second, I noticed how many times the words CROWD or CROWDS or a paraphrase like PEOPLE CROWDING AROUND, A LARGE CROWD WAS GATHERING, or ALL THE PEOPLE are used by Luke to describe the huge number of people who were taught by or healed by or followed Jesus. Luke mentions that Jesus’ own family couldn’t get near him because of the crowds. The word/phrase appears so often that I was left to wonder if there were any Jews, Romans or Greeks in that area, the cross roads of the civilized world, who hadn’t either met him, or talked to someone who had. By the time you count women and children who witness the miracle of the bread and fish, there must have been at least 12,000 in that crowd alone. Sometimes the crowds were warm and friendly, sometimes they were evil and nasty, like when they drove him out of town and tried to push him over a cliff. Sometimes Jesus was very blunt: “This is a wicked generation,” he said the the crowd increasing in 11:29.
Educated, religious people don’t look good as Luke records the memories of the followers and crowds. Pharisees, teachers of the law, experts in the law, synagogue rulers, elders, chief priests, authorities, rulers and even the 12 disciples and the 72 who were sent out who were with him everyday often appear clueless and hapless, some even evil and plotting to kill him. To the experts he also didn’t have warm words: “You foolish people,” ”Woe to you (6 times in Ch. 11), “You hypocrites,” but he ate with them in their homes just like the other sinners.
Demons, demonic spirits and evil spirits are really big in Luke. Jesus created the world—I think he knew the difference between disease, mental illness and demon possession or demonic influences. The Greek word diamonia is used 60 times in the New Testament, and other forms of the word many more times, and demons or Satan are mentioned by every writer, but the concept, singular or plural just seemed really to jump out as I read Luke, particularly in Chapter 8. If you care to investigate the language, there is a 42 p. document on demonology on the internet, plus many books.
But oh the women! They followed, they listened, they were healed, they served Jesus food, they brought their children for him to bless, and there’s no record of them doubting. Since women are big talkers, I think they held on to the stories until Luke interviewed them and recorded their memories. The big reward for the most loyal women who had followed him first in life, stayed with him at the cross and and then went to the tomb, was they were the first to know about the resurrection, the first post-crucifixion group told to go and tell the called disciples, the cowering fumblers and deniers who thought all was lost.
Stevie Nicks is 63
Sigh. Looks good (just watched a video I won’t post from 1987), but says they have to do the lighting just right. Doesn't want to look 20 something, just 40 something. Still has hot flashes, but no children to worry about. . . her. I know she's had a 4 decade career and is a multi-millionaire, but she always sounds off key to me. Don't think she's made it to Lakeside yet. We get them on their way up and on their way down.
Interview
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