January 4 update on New Year’s Resolutions

           

My resolutions are several, but one is to learn the books of the Old Testament, and one to clean several shelves a day, another to ride the exercycle 5 minutes a day.  These follow the specific, targeted, achievable, and timed plan I mentioned earlier. My resolutions will run through Jan. 31. I’ll rethink it for February. 31 days is a whole lot easier than 356.

I’ve done 3.5 book shelves (I always stop to read things which really slows me down), and by limiting the exercise to 5 minutes, I always go over the goal target.

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon . . . This is how far I’ve gotten.

Not so set, are some thoughts to see more movies,  use our Museum of Art membership more, and possibly join the Columbus Conservatory—but see how vague those are.  That’s how resolutions get away from you.

Here’s a list of the top ten “spiritually literate movies” of 2013. That doesn’t necessarily mean Christian, but movies that address spiritual values—forgiveness, love, transformation, repentance.  That beats car chases, naked sex, and bad language any day.

So here’s a January resolution.  See one movie (I always feel so culturally illiterate when people talk about movies). I think Philomena will be my first choice, but the price of first run tickets is breath taking!

Update on the update: I have now finished all the shelves in my office. Dusted and rearranged. Books hate to be out of subject order, and when shelves are stationery, some have to lie down.

Something to try for the New Year munchies

Banana oatmeal cookies.

How Miranda came to love Maggie

For January book club (the group has been together for about 30 years, but I joined in 2000 when I retired), we are reading There is no alternative, why Margaret Thatcher matters (2008).  Thatcher was apparently quite a charmer and flirt with the men, but not that popular with women who decided she really didn’t like women.  The wife of John Hoskyns, one of her advisors, was a liberal when she first met Margaret Thatcher—very left wing, a Marxist chimes in her husband in an interview with Claire Berlinski, the author of the book.  Miranda says in an interview:

“She represented everything having to do with my own parents’ generation.  To do with middle-class values, behaving properly, wearing hats—all the kinds of things that I was longing to throw away.  Because the 60s—although I was already married and having children—in the 60s, I was thrilled with everything being overthrown. . . I wasn’t involved in it very much, but seen from the outside I thought it was a very good thing.  And she represented, as she did to everybody on the Left, the absolute antithesis of that.  She had nothing to do with that world of the 60s.  And I was in a very uncomfortable position, because I was beginning to see that John was right about what he was saying (he was conservative), or or at least my brain told me he was right.  My emotions told me he was all wrong, and he didn’t understand.  He kept saying, ‘How do you  think somebody like me, who’s an entrepreneur, can possibly make his way in the world with taxes and everything like that,’ and I kept arguing back, ‘Well, it’s your choice, you do it because you like doing it, you don’t mind about profits, they don’t matter,’ you know, all that sort of stuff.  I mean—I was pretty silly.”

Whether it was her husband’s sound logic, or Maggie’s charm, she comes around to seeing her as courageous, but with faults (not liking women) and correct in her political views.

Me too.

There are thousands of unclassified secret documents here.

Government gangs up on Little Sisters of the Poor

Little Sisters of the Poor vs. Obama/Sebilius: "The Little Sisters of the Poor arrived in America in 1868. Currently, there are thirty homes in the United States where the elderly and dying are treated as if they were Jesus himself and cared for with love and dignity until God calls them home. The Little Sisters serve more than 13,000 elderly poor people in thirty-one countries around the world." And the U.S. government plans to punish and fine them for not providing contraception and abortifacients--because they aren't religious enough to get an exemption.

 http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/367509/central-deception-obama-administrations-case-against-little-sisters-poor-david-french

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/01/03/259378425/nuns-objection-to-health-care-law-is-unwarranted-justice-says

Save this for your next cold and sore throat

Seventeen tips from Reader’s Digest.

http://www.rd.com/slideshows/sore-throat-remedies-home-gargles/?

My mother swore by the salt and warm water gargle. Five shakes of ground cayenne pepper (or a few shakes of hot sauce) to a cup of hot water for sore throat relief is not one I’m familiar with. Tumeric and water I’ve heard of—it is supposed to be a powerful antioxidant, and scientists think it has the power to fight many serious diseases. For a sore throat remedy, mix 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon of salt into 1 cup of hot water and gargle.

And 14 others.

The war on women is a war on babies

Harvard Medical School on health goals/resolutions

1. “Set a very specific goal. For example: I will add one fruit serving — that’s half a cup, chopped — to my current daily diet.
2. Find a way to measure progress. For example, I will log my efforts each day on my calendar.
3. Make sure it’s achievable. For example, don’t set a goal of a daily 5 mile run if you’re out of shape. If you can’t safely or reasonably accomplish your goal, set a smaller, achievable one.
4. Make sure it’s realistic. It may seem counterintuitive, but choosing the change you most need to make — let’s say, quitting smoking or losing weight — isn’t as successful as choosing the change you’re most confident you’ll be able to make. Focus on sure bets: if you picture a 10-point scale of confidence in achieving your goal, where 1 equals no confidence and 10 equals 100% certainty, you should land in the 7-to-10 zone. An additional fruit serving a day is a small, manageable step toward better health.
5. Set time commitments. Pick a date and time to start. For example, Wednesday at breakfast, I’ll add frozen blueberries to cereal. Pick regular check-in dates: I’ll check my log every week and decide if I should make any changes in my routines to succeed. Find an outside deadline that will help keep you motivated. For example, signing up for a charity run or sprint triathlon on a certain date prods you to get a training program under way.”

This is exactly what I’ve been saying: making them specific and measurable.  I’ve set my New Year’s resolutions for Jan. 31. They are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic.

For instance, I’ve set a target (I don’t do goals) of 5 min. a day on my Power Spin 210, and 2 shelves a day (cleaning reorganizing) in my office.  I’ve achieved, or over achieved today. Also I’m learning the Old Testament books, and I’m up to Ezra/Nehemiah, Esther.

Think summer

From 89 Life Hacks http://www.viralnova.com/awesome-life-hacks/

7 inches possible for Columbus

However, we rarely get the snow that is predicted.  My husband did the mail run for me this morning (from one UALC campus to the other) and said the side streets are very slick.  I stayed in and drank my own coffee instead of going out.

“The impending storm promises to be the biggest blizzard since a storm called Nemo paralyzed the northeast last February, and may work to bring the northeast corridor to a standstill. Late Wednesday, Boston mayor Tom Menino announced a full closure of city schools on Friday, a full 36 hours in advance. That city appears likely to take the brunt of the storm.” Daily Beast

Happy New Calendar

 

Thursday Thirteen—a list of wonderful, thoughtful gifts

1.  A terrific dinner for the family at our daughter’s home and many seasonal parties and concerts (see last week’s blog).

2.  Several gift cards to my favorite coffee spot.

3.  A “deco red” outfit of a paisley shirt and vest from Coldwater Creek.

4.  Box of fresh, luscious pears from Harry and David.

5.  A little cat pin with rhinestones and green eyes.

6.  A new watch with real numbers, and a face that lights up. Expansion band, silver and gold color.

7.  A pale turquoise sweater with a giant floral print scarf, and a booklet explaining how to drape and tie it.

8.  Gift card to our Friday night date favorite restaurant.

9.  Subscription to Salvo. (magazine)

10. Subscription to First Things (magazine)

11. Cable knit zip front cardigan from LL Bean (wrong color and size, new choice to be decided since the catalog was tossed out)

12. Cat coffee mugs, pottery, Asian look, one black, one white.

13. Beautiful Finnish glass candle holders.

Would you like to join the Thursday Thirteen meme?

It began with ARRA, which we were told was a “stimulus.”

Although today Jan. 1, 2014, is the starting date for the insurance, Obamacare actually started in 2009 with $19 billion in the ARRA stimulus. It didn't stimulate anything except the bottom line of electronic medical records companies. There is no research showing EMR will save money or improve health. We have it as a result of a huge lobbying effort. You've seen how even private companies (like Target) struggle with stolen records, even my research information at OSU was compromised--just wait until your medical information is stolen from a national database. In my recent stay in a local hospital, the EMR couldn't even make it 2 miles down the road to my doctor's office. http://www.anh-usa.org/your-medical-records-are-part-of-a-19-billion-experiment/

And despite these billions of dollars and the perceived benefits of EHRs, physicians continue to hesitate in implementing fully functional electronic health record (EHR) systems. Even with incentives, systems are expensive and productivity hits are a major concern, but the major cause? Unlike other highly specialized, specifically tailored health information technology solutions, EHRs are awkwardly, poorly designed to be one-size-fits-all—and studies show they never do. The incentive program is slowly drawing eligible healthcare practitioners into the EHR fold, but the lack of specifically tailored EHR systems means that the U.S. will continue to lag the rest of the world when it comes to establishing a fully integrated, cost-effective health care system.

http://www.talkchart.com/blog/index.php/why-is-ehr-adoption-lagging-behind/

Information such as social security numbers, addresses, medical insurance numbers, past illnesses, and sometimes credit card numbers, can help criminals commit several types of fraud. These may include: making payments from stolen credit card numbers and ordering and reselling medical equipment by using stolen medical insurance numbers.

A key finding from the report is that fraud resulting from exposure of health data has risen from 3% in 2008 to 7% in 2009, a 112% increase.

http://www.informationweek.com/security/risk-management/emr-data-theft-booming/d/d-id/1087881?

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsr1110507

Oops. It’s much worse than insurance experts thought

It  has become much, much worse than I [Greg Scandlen] ever imagined. Obamacare is not even fully in effect yet and already we are seeing the President playing with the carriers like a toddler plays with toy trucks –

• Employers will be mandated to buy your policies for 2014

• (Oops, employers are angry)

• Employers won’t be mandated until 2015 – if then

• Small employers will give workers a choice of health plans through the SHOP program in 2014

• (Oops, we can’t get the web site ready in time)

• Small employers won’t have to offer a choice of plan until – sometime later

• You must cancel these individual policies

• (Oops, public backlash)

• You must reinstate these policies

• (Oops, many insurance commissioners won’t allow it)

• You must continue to cover providers and drugs even for cancelled policies

• The deadline for enrollment will be December 15, 2013

• (Oops, web site problems)

• The deadline for enrollment will be December 23, 2013

• (Oops, too much traffic)

• The deadline for enrollment will be December 24, 2013

• Never mind, there is no deadline

• First month’s premium must be received by December 31, 2013

• (Oops, back-end problems with the web site)

• First month’s premium must be received by January 8, 2014

• Make that January 10, 2014

How can anyone run a business this way? This is worse than being a federal agency. No federal agency would be expected to stop and start on a personal whim like this. These aren’t rules, they aren’t regulations, they are dictates based on nothing more than Kathleen Sebelius’ momentary feelings.

http://thefederalist.com/2013/12/27/insurers-enough-obamacare-aca/

ARRA and Homelessness

“Under Title XII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is allocating $1.5 billion for communities to provide financial assistance and services to either prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless or help those who are experiencing homelessness to be quickly re-housed and stabilized.” copied from the Franklin Co. Ohio web site.

I checked Hamilton Co. (Cincinnati) and Montgomery County (Dayton area) and found something similar.  In order to get these funds, substantial changes needed to be made to programs already in place.

I wonder what became of the $1.5 billion? I was able to locate the third year report for Springfield, Ohio, which received about $816,000, but there were so many lines of requested information with “no information,” I really couldn’t read it. In the reporting year ending 2012, 42 people were served, 21 households.  Near the end, the compiler said Springfield already had a good program that was working when it received the money.

Like many grants in ARRA it was late getting out of the gate (the recession was technically over) or didn’t do anything about the economy.  A huge chunk of ARRA  ($19 billion) went for Electronic Medical Records assistance to force doctors into a system that was untried and had never been proven to save money.

More New Year’s Resolutions possibilities

           

I was thinking maybe a good New Year’s resolution could be to clean one shelf a day, but I counted just my office and there were 32.  Some are behind cabinet doors, some on top of my desk, some are removable shelves on top of immovable shelves. Need to rethink this.  Perhaps my target was set too low. Three a day, perhaps. The last time there was a complete cleaning was when the office was repainted—maybe five years ago.  It had green and cream stripe wallpaper.  There was a partial cleaning in autumn 2012 when the carpeting was replaced and the desk and photo albums bookshelf had to be moved.

I think my 5 minutes a day on my Power Spin 210 will be about right. I’ve already completed and exceeded that resolution, at least for January 1.

                   

Joshua, Judges, Ruth

Honest. I didn't know this was the name of an album or a musical group. One of my New Year's Resolutions (which I've decided will only be good until Jan. 31) is to memorize the order of the books of the Old Testament. I probably didn't pay attention in Sunday School or Bible School when we were supposed to do this (I was too social). So all I knew were the first five. Today I added Joshua, Judges and Ruth, ". . . theological messages about the dynamic relationship between God's people and the powerful God who gives land and provides deliverers for the people."

Best wishes for the New Year

Arctic cyclones

“From 2000 to 2010, about 1,900 cyclones churned across the top of the world each year, leaving warm water and air in their wakes—and melting sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. That’s about 40 percent more than previously thought, according to a new analysis of these Arctic storms.”

Now this isn’t 40% more, although that’s how it will probably be reported, is my guess.  Researchers from Ohio State don’t know if that’s more or fewer cyclones than before, because they’ve only been measuring for 10 years.  Some they have discovered are very small, some in unpopulated areas and previously went undetected.

“We can’t yet tell if the number of cyclones is increasing or decreasing, because that would take a multidecade view. We do know that, since 2000, there have been a lot of rapid changes in the Arctic—Greenland ice melting, tundra thawing—so we can say that we’re capturing a good view of what’s happening in the Arctic during the current time of rapid changes,”

http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/arcticcyclones.htm

The sands of time

Short and sweet

Funnily.  Funny, it's been around since 1814, but I've only noticed it in 2013. http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2010/07/is-funnily-enough-cringeworthy.html

No one seems upset about Robertson when he addresses the sexual sins of 98% of the rest of the population, only gays. I wonder why?

Jesus said there are no goats in heaven, only sheep. (Matt. 25)

83% of abortions in Ohio are for unmarried women, so there are a lot of irresponsible men out there--it takes two.

Past data has found that when it comes to weight loss, race and genetics are real obstacles that doctors just cannot ignore.

The uninsured in the United States get more preventive care than the insured in Canada. John Goodman, MD

When making a resolution, cross out the word "try." It's a wimpy verb.

I was trying to look up some biographical information on W. E. Farbstein, and found this instead. "The dog is mentioned in the Bible eighteen times—the cat not even once." W.E. Farbstein. Quoted in "Hundkeit," Mondo Canine, ed. Jon Winokur, Dutton (1991).

                         

From my mother’s Commonplace book, 1942 Good Housekeeping

A prayer for 2014: "Two things I ask of you: deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying: give me neither poverty nor riches: feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God (Proverbs 30:7-9, ESV).

The glaze I made for the ham Christmas Eve was so delicious, I made a small amount to put on cooked carrots for a glaze for a buffet at the Zimmers. I can hardly keep from tasting. Maple syrup (real), red wine vinegar and mustard.

"Femininity has become a legal disability, and the irresponsible male has become a legal ideal." Patrick Lee, Institute of Bioethics at Franciscan University of Steubenville (Ohio)

Best slogan I've seen this week. "Hope and chains."

Who knew? Don't put fresh pears in a fruit salad. Bleh. I should have taken home ec instead of college prep. They turn brown and mushy.

                

My son’s living room on Christmas Eve.

Irony. The opposite of wrinkly.

                           

Crock pot salsa chicken

 Ingredients

• 2 lbs. (32 oz.) chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup petite diced canned tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. taco seasoning
• 1 cup onions, diced fine
• 1/2 cup celery diced fine
• 1/2 cup carrots, shredded
• 3 tbsp. sour cream

Directions

Place the chicken in a slow cooker. Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the meat then layer the vegetables and salsa on top. Pour a half cup water over the mixture, set on low and cook for 6-8 hours. The meat is cooked when it shreds or reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. When ready to serve, break up the chicken with two forks then stir in the sour cream. Makes eight 1 cup servings.

Nutrition Info: Calories: 164.9; Fat: 2.5g; Carbohydrates: 7.3g; Protein: 27.6g

Who is homophobic?

Not sure why the other 97% are called homophobic when so many celebrities, athletes and stars hide who they are--Elton John didn't and he came out of the closet about 40 years ago--didn't hurt his career or income. Ellen came out in 1997, both on her show and in real life.

http://chicagodefender.com/2013/12/30/robin-roberts-comes-out-thanks-long-time-girlfriend/#.UsGj4UbFEXx.facebook

 

Write a check, save a life

Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the United States and gets approximately $1.5 million a day from your tax dollars. You can donate to your local pregnancy help center that saves babies and women. In Columbus that is Pregnancy Decision Health Center, 665 E. Dublin-Granville Rd., Suite 120, Columbus, OH, 43229. One more day for a tax deduction, one more day to save lives in 2013.

Not enough shelves

12 important things about demons and angels by Kuyper and Kreeft

Abraham Kuyper was a Dutch Calvinist statesman and theologian; Peter Kreeft is a Roman Catholic, a convert from Reformed Church in America.

Demons--

1. There exists a spiritual world outside of and apart from our human race.

2. There are two hosts or groups of these spirits, namely angels and demons.

3. The host of demons is subject to the rule of Satan.

4. Both angels and demons have powers, gifts and talents that they received from their Creator.

5. These spiritual beings have been called to use their powers and gifts in the service of God, not only to praise Him, but also as instruments for the development of His Kingdom.

6. These spirits exert all kinds of influence on this earth, not only in the spiritual realm, but just as much in the physical, visible and material realm.

7. After their fall, the demons have misused their powers in order to destroy both this earth and our human race.

8. Until the coming of Jesus and with the exception of Israel, these demons had established the kingdom of Satan over the peoples and nations that made Satan in effect the ruler of the world.

9. Christ has come in order to destroy the works of the devil and to establish Himself as Head and King over this world.

10. The temptations of Christ in the wilderness and the gradual casting out of demons must be understood in the context of that struggle.

11. The power of Satan was broken down in principle during this struggle, so that Jesus could exclaim, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18).

12. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost introduced into this world a holy spiritual force that was designed to ceaselessly push back that demonic atmosphere that had for so long oppressed the life of the nations.

You can do greater things than Christ, by Abraham Kuyper

Angels--

1. They really exist. Not just in our minds, or our myths, or our symbols, or our culture. They are as real as your dog, or your sister, or electricity.
2. They’re present, right here, right now, right next to you, reading these words with you.
3. They’re not cute, cuddly, comfortable, chummy, or “cool”. They are fearsome and formidable. They are huge. They are warriors.
4. They are the real “extra-terrestrials”, the real “Super-men”, the ultimate aliens. Their powers are far beyond those of all fictional creatures.
5. They are more brilliant minds than Einstein.
6. They can literally move the heavens and the earth if God permits them.
7. There are also evil angels, fallen angels, demons, or devils. These too are not myths. Demon possessions, and exorcisms, are real.
8. Angels are aware of you, even though you can’t usually see or hear them. But you can communicate with them. You can talk to them without even speaking.
9. You really do have your very own “guardian angel”. Everybody does.
10. Angels often come disguised. “Do not neglect hospitality, for some have entertained angels unawares”—that’s a warning from life’s oldest and best instruction manual.
11. We are on a protected part of a great battlefield between angels and devils, extending to eternity.
12. Angels are sentinels standing at the crossroads where life meets death. They work especially at moments of crisis, at the brink of disaster—for bodies, for souls, and for nations.

Angels, the 12 most important things by Peter Kreeft

This will protect a woman more than a condom

CDC has an educational unit on "safer sex" condom use (safe sex actually isn't the term, because it's virtually impossible), aimed at female teens. After reviewing the results after 12 mo. no statistically significant intervention effects on sex risk behaviors or STD recurrence were observed, so the "intervention package is not available at this time."

Only ten broken promises? Oh, it’s just Obamacare—from Newsmax

1. The website is simple and user-friendly

Just days into its disastrous rollout, the Obamacare website was out of order until mid-morning Oct. 8, a public relations headache . . . on Dec. 20, a mere three days before the deadline to sign up for coverage starting Jan. 1, yet another outage lasted for several hours.

2. "If you like your plan, you can keep your plan."

Obama's June 6, 2009 assertion was wrong. . . . Charles Krauthammer railed Obamacare itself was a fraud from the beginning.

3. "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor."

Obama's 2009 promise was wrong again, we learned in 2013. . .  conservative blogger Cam Harris writes. 

4. Premiums will fall by as much as $2,500 per family
That won't happen. Forbes magazine, comparing Affordable Care Act premiums versus pre-Obamacare premiums, finds this presidential assertion a dud.

5. Obamacare won't add 'one dime to our deficits'

But it does. Even the Government Accountability Office's report of Feb. 26, 2013, projected Obamacare will increase the long-term federal deficit by $6.2 trillion.

6. The ACA will cost around $900 billion over 10 years

Not even close. A Congressional Budget Office’s report from May 2013 puts the real price tag more around the area of $1.8 trillion.

7. Families making less than $250,000 won't see 'any form' of tax increase

Far from it. Obamacare contains 18 separate tax hikes, fees, and penalties, many of which heavily impact the middle class, the Heritage Foundation maintains. . . .

8. The ACA will keep healthcare costs down.
So says the president's Council of Economic Advisers.
But it's just not so, according to senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and American Enterprise Institute visiting fellow James Captretta writes in the Weekly Standard.

9. You have a deadline and a mandate.

Maybe. Squishy deadlines, and "fixes" have been a hallmark of Obamacare almost from the start. . . Another "fix" came Nov. 14, a week after the president apologized for the cancellations . . . As for sign-up deadlines, it's been confusing at best. . .  HHS also pushed back the deadline when the first month's premium would be due, and insurers obliged, extending the payment deadline nine days, to Jan. 10.

10. Sure, the national exchange is glitchy, but the state sites are working great.

Obamacare’s state-run enrollment operations have had technological delays and low sign-up levels. Several states even replaced top executives.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/obamacare-broken-promises/2013/12/29/id/544262#ixzz2oyC0XUSr

The Holy Innocents Matthew 2:16-18

16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH,  WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING,  RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN;  AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED,  BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE.”

"Just a few days ago, billions of Christians around the world celebrated the birth of an infant who was born to a young, impoverished, and unmarried woman. This weekend, many Christian churches also recognized the feast day of the Holy Innocents - the day when King Herod, fearing he may lose his political power, ordered the death of all the male infants in Bethlehem and its surrounds. Historians and historical representations of the numbers of children lost vary - from 15-20... infants . . .to 64,000, and medieval writers liked to use the number 144,000. The exact number is immaterial. The reality is that our modern sensibilities cannot fathom a world in which political leaders order the death of countless innocent infants in order to secure their own political power." (Columbus Right to Life)

But they do, don't they? Or at least they are complicit in the killing through laws, insurance and cultural pressure. It is estimated that 85% of women who abort have been pressured by parents, boyfriend, husband, or "friends" who convince her carrying to term would ruin her life, his life, her education, their economics, etc., and allowing the baby to live and be adopted by another family--well, that would just be too difficult. In Texas, home of the popular blonde politician in pink tennies, 63% of abortions were for black or Hispanic babies.

There’s a clawback feature in Obamacare

“The government has long been permitted to seek reimbursement for healthcare services by attaching the assets of deceased Medicaid enrollees. But before ObamaCare, an asset test was mandatory for Medicaid applicants and only those with few or no assets could qualify for government provided care. As a result, there was little of value which the state could attach after death.

ObamaCare, however, has done away with the asset test. Eligibility for Medicaid is now dependent only upon income. And at 138% of the federal poverty mark, that eligibility level is much higher than in previous years. Therefore, countless Americans who have accumulated valuable assets yet show little income will now qualify as Medicaid recipients.

So if parents have been placed on a state Medicaid roll, the house, car or other assets they had intended leaving to their children will be attached by that state upon their death. A lien will be filed and full payment for those “free” healthcare services provided from the date of enrollment until the time of death will be confiscated from any available estate holdings.”

http://www.westernjournalism.com/obamacare-shock-strip-assets-dead-seniors/#!

http://www.cjr.org/the_second_opinion/covering_an_obamacare_clawback.php?page=all

http://hoofin.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/the-obamacare-clawback-provision-a-trap-door/

http://www.thelundreport.org/resource/poorest_oregonians_could_be_hurt_by_obamacare

Racists are upping the ante

This is what GLAAD and NAACP are trying to call racist. Phil Robertson, unlike some ivory tower academics, poverty pimps, and civil rights careerists, worked along side blacks in the fields. In the GQ interview he said,

"I never, with my eyes, saw the mistreatment of any black person. Not once. Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I’m with the blacks, because we’re white trash. We’re going across the field.  They’re singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’—not a word! Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues.”

He didn't say no black was ever mistreated; he was talking about his fellow workers. He said they were godly people. Now Democrats think it's just great to keep poor people on welfare instead of working (but it's OK for "undocumented workers" to be in the fields). Who is the phony looking for trouble? And "Jim Crow?" Those were regulations and laws put in place by Democrats.

 http://www.newsninja2012.com/racist-naacp-agenda-to-paint-phil-robertson-as-racist-starts-to-become-weak-argument-to-many/

Crockpot-Tamale-bake

http://crockpotladies.com/recipe-categories/entrees/crockpot-tamale-bake/

Ingredients

1 Lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey

1/2 cup finely diced onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

3/4 cups yellow cornmeal

1 egg

1 1/2 cups milk

1 (15.25 oz.) can corn, drained

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (1.25 oz.) envelope taco seasoning mix

1 (2.25 oz.) can sliced black olives, drained

1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

Minced green onion, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large skillet brown and crumble your ground beef with the onion and garlic until the meat is no longer pink.
2. Drain ground beef to remove excess fat.
3. In a large bowl combine cornmeal, egg and milk and mix until smooth
4. Add to the cornmeal mixture the corn, tomatoes, taco seasoning, olives and ground beef mixture and mix well.
5. Dump mixture into the bottom of a 4 quart crock-pot.
6. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 3 hours.
7. Sprinkle with cheese and cover again and cook for an additional 15 minutes until cheese is melted.
8. To serve, spoon into bowls or onto plate and garnish with chopped green onion.

Legalized gambling and recreational pot

The push to legalize pot and various state government’s agreeing to that and other dissipating activities like casino gambling (now legal in Ohio) bring to mind what Frederick Douglass said in his autobiography about why slave owners gave slaves a week holiday between Christmas and New Year’s and encouraged drinking and all manner of evil activity—for them it was a taste of “freedom,” enough to convince them they were better off as slaves. He wrote that by making this concession the owners were assured of obedience and the slaves were less likely to revolt.

“They do not give the slaves this time because they would not like to have their work during its continuance, but because they know it would be unsafe to deprive them of it. This will be seen by the fact, that the slaveholders like to have their slaves spend those days just in such a manner as to make them as glad of their ending as of their beginning. Their object seems to be, to disgust their slaves with freedom, by plunging them into the lowest depths of dissipation. For instance, the slaveholders not only like to see the slave drink of his own accord, but will adopt various plans to make him drunk.”  Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-marijuana-colorado-20131228,0,6459410.story

http://www.governing.com/gov-data/state-marijuana-laws-map-medical-recreational.html

Barack Obama’s Rules for Revolution; the Alinsky Model

Most revolutionaries never had a plan writes David Horowitz in "Barack Obama's Rules for Revolution." They have a vague idea of the kingdom of heaven they propose to create. . . Marx's "kingdom of freedom," Alinsky's "open society," or the current left's "social justice." Otherwise they never spend two seconds thinking about how to make an actual society work. How to keep people from committing crimes against each other; how to get them to put their shoulder to the wheel; how to provide incentives that will motivate individuals to produce wealth." p. 51.

                         

Both Obama and H. Clinton are fans of Alinsky. http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/articles/rules%20for%20revolution%20(2).pdf

Hillary Clinton’s 1969 Thesis

David Horowitz's parents were members of the Communist Party USA; and he was a Communist as a young man, until he began to see their ruthlessness. Now he is a Conservative.

“When Obama announced a paltry $100 million in budget cuts, and insisted this was part of a budget-trimming process that would add up to “real money,” he clearly understood that the public processes these numbers very differently from the way budget wonks do. Alinsky wrote: “The moment one gets into the area of $25 million and above, let alone a billion, the listener is completely out of touch, no longer really interested, because the figures have gone above his experience and almost are meaningless. Millions of Americans do not know how many million dollars make up a billion.”” National Review online

Obama has not kept his oath of office

We know how he has shredded his own legacy—Obamacare. Supposedly, it is the law of the land, but you’d never know that from the way he has worked around and violated it.  But it isn’t the first time, or the last.

One of Obama’s first acts as president—only a month since he took the oath of office—was to announce his elimination of the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada for storing highly radioactive nuclear waste. He flouted decades of scientific study and countermanded the explicit decisions of Congress set forth in duly-enacted laws over many years. In 1982 Congress directed the government to assume responsibility for commercial nuclear waste. In 1987 it singled out Yucca Mountain for evaluation as the repository because of its remote and dry location. After years of research, Congress in 2002 endorsed the Yucca Mountain site.

Between 1987 and 2009, when Obama put himself above the law by effectively revoking it, $13.5 billion was spent on the program; a five-mile tunnel was bored into the mountain, and hundreds of studies determined the safety of the site for thousands of years. The nuclear industry was also forced to pay $22 billion to the Energy Department for establishment of the repository. Obama is not a scientist, and his decision was not made from a review of the scientific research. But that is not the point, nor is the billions of dollars of taxpayer money that went down the drain.

http://blog.heartland.org/2013/12/obama-vs-the-constitution/

Cat hair

Today I bought a "Fur Be Gone," a tools which is supposed to work on the carpet and the cat. Usually I just use a roll of masking tape. Anyone ever tried this?http://www.petbuddies.com/prod_details.php?cat=35&p=204

Green is for cats; blue is for dogs. I now expect pet tools to start appearing on my Facebook page and along the side of any page I visit on the internet; I’ve been getting ads for coconut oil since I blogged about that.

There is no alternative; why Margaret Thatcher matters

Our January book club selection is the above title about Margaret Thatcher, written by Claire Berlinski, published in 2008, before her death in April of this year, but after the amazing economic turnaround of Britain and before the whole globe was experiencing a recession.

“When Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979, Britain was in economic crisis, and had been for some time. From 1974, the top rate of income tax had been 83%, in some cases rising to an incredible 98%, killing growth, job creation and economic prosperity,[i] while inflation was dangerously high at 27%. In addition, powerful trade unions had taken control of the country’s many nationalized industries.” American Thinker 

The left both here at home and in Britain still demonize her. 

I’m enjoying the author’s writing style—a bit like following her around as she searches the archives and interviews people who knew her. She’s no lap dog, and it’s not hard to spot the areas she dislikes about Thatcher.

Your politics will decide whether you think Obama snubbed the British with the delegation he sent to her funeral (similar to those he sent to Chavez’ funeral which happened in the same time frame).  Of course, compared to the hoop-la of Mandela, there’s just no comparison.

My New Year’s Resolution 2013

I did this.  Only put 4 slips of paper in it.  But I looked at it today.  I had forgotten all 4, so it’s still a nice plan, if you can keep up with it. I guess this is what blogs are for: web logs, a log you keep on the world wide web.

Apple seeds

From the World’s Healthiest Foods Tips, Dec. 28, 2013

Is it OK to eat apple seeds?

“I don't recommend eating apple seeds, and it is not because a tree will grow in your stomach! Apple seeds, like many fruit seeds, contain compounds called cyanogenic glycosides, such as amygdalin, which act as part of the plant's natural defense mechanism. Cyanogenic glycosides are naturally occurring cyanide/sugar compounds that can release small amounts of toxic cyanide when their sugar groups are removed.

Prune and peach pits, which are well studied in the research world, have far greater concentrations of cyanogenic glycosides than apple seeds; however, the lower levels in apple seeds could still pose problems in terms of stomachache or food poisoning, and a few seeds chewed by a small child could result in poisoning. Although the severity of the problem caused by ingesting apple seeds would depend upon many factors, including a person's health, I don't think that the potential risk here is worth taking.”

Holzbecher MD, Moss MA, Ellenberger HA. The Cyanide Content of Laetrile Preparations, Apricot, Peach and Apple Seeds. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1984;22(4):341-7.

I eat an apple almost everyday, and for the last two years, also an orange.  My favorite apple is the Honey Crisp, which are almost unavailable now. But I’ve never eaten the seeds.  Good to know.  Health benefits of apples.

Military sexual assaults

Most sexual assaults in the military are male on male. NYT made a big step by reporting this, but completely gives gay perps a pass either by referring to them as "self identified" heterosexuals, or not mentioning them at all, and blaming homophobia as the reason it's not reported. Needs a bit more serious research or we'll never see anyone charged, only victims treated.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/24/us/in-debate-over-military-sexual-assault-men-are-overlooked-victims.html?hp&_r=1

http://www.bandbacktogether.com/male-sexual-assault-resources/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2449454/More-men-raped-US-women-including-prison-sexual-abuse.html

Mix equal parts of narcissism and hubris

"I am absolutely certain that generations from now," Barack Obama said the night he won the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 2008, "we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal." 

And then came five years of the lies, exaggeration, the narcissism, the snooping, the power grabs, the distain for Americans, and now he looks ridiculous.

Planned Parenthood’s disgusting parody of the 12 Days of Christmas

Tim Welsh, President and CEO of Pregnancy Decision Health Center writes:

“The twelve days of Christmas have a lot of meaning to me.

You see, I was raised in a rather conservative Catholic household and all eleven of us children knew what the twelve days meant. We knew it went from Christmas to (what Catholics refer to as) the Feast of the Epiphany and represented a celebration of the infancy of our Lord.

Indeed, my father (now almost 90 years old) is proud to say that he was born on the Feast of the Epiphany, traditionally observed on January 6th.

So it's painful to write about what the Arizona affiliate of Planned Parenthood did this Christmas season.

They changed the words of the traditional Christmas carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas", to promote the abortion industry.

It's disgusting.

They call it "The Twelve Days of Christmas (the contraceptive version)".

In their version, instead of your true love giving you turtle doves and gold rings and drummers drumming, you're given condoms, birth control pills, and a box of Plan B. Instead of piping pipers, swimming swans, and French hens, you'll get Depro-Provera shots, diaphragms, and NuvaRings.

This is true love?

I don't think so.

True love is kind. It's patient and not jealous. It does not brag, nor is it arrogant. It does not represent a quick fix and it lasts forever.”

I’ll be making a year end contribution to PDHC, and I hope you will too, or help a similar organization in your city or county.

Pregnancy Decision Health Centers | 665 E. Dublin-Granville Rd. | Suite 120 | Columbus | OH | 43229

Which is the future of America?

"I've noticed that there are lot of commercials on television this Christmas season by groups asking for help to stop the euthanizing of animals in animal shelters. They have actors holding pets and photos of abused animals all designed to get you involved in saving the life of an animal. However, I haven't seen one commercial asking for help to save the lives of unborn children. I haven't seen one commercial that shows what unborn babies look like when they've been ripped apart as they were sucked out of their mother's womb. I'm all for helping animals. I love animals, especially Siamese cats and Weimaraner dogs. But, I'm more concerned about saving the lives of unborn children who are even more defenseless than pets. What have we become as a people, a nation, when we see a higher premium placed on the lives of animals than on the lives of human children? Are animals the future of America or are children? Maybe you can answer that question for me." - Mychal Massie (http://mychal-massie.com/premium/category/massiedaily/)

Friday family photo—the George family

           

My mother and aunt used to go to the cemetery in Ashton, Illinois, to place flowers on Memorial Day.  Before them, my grandparents did this.  Now my brother and his wife do this.

     

In a series of Job-like disasters, David George's wife, three of his four adult children, and two of his grandchildren preceded him in death. Willy died of diphtheria in 1877; Martha George Sanders and her baby daughter Grace died of childbirth complications in 1888; Susan Reed George died in 1898; Ira George died in 1907 of blood poisoning from a farm accident; and Mary's son Oliver died at birth in 1908. Only Mary lived to an old age, just like her father.

Did sequestration matter?

“While the sequester is an imperfect mechanism to reduce spending, as the brunt of the cuts falls disproportionally on defense, it only amounts to a 2.5 percent reduction in spending over 10 years. This hardly lives up to the President’s warnings that the cuts would be “harmful” to the economy and would decimate government services. As you can see, the U.S. has a long way to go to rein in its growing spending.”

http://blog.heritage.org/2013/12/27/money-pictures-top-5-charts-2013/

Did you notice that the sequester and the government shut down actually helped the third quarter?

Salvation Army is pro-life except when it isn’t

Makes exceptions for disability (over 90% of Down Syndrome babies are aborted); health of the mother; rape or incest. We pulled our check out of the pile today and tore it up.

The position from their website:

The Salvation Army believes all people are created in the image of God and therefore have unique and intrinsic value. Human life is sacred and all people should be treated with dignity and respect. The Salvation Army accepts the moment of fertilisation as the start of human life. We believe that society has a responsibility to care for others, and especially to protect and promote the welfare of vulnerable people, including unborn children.

The Salvation Army believes that life is a gift from God and we are answerable to God for the taking of life. As such, The Salvation Army is concerned about the growing ready acceptance of abortion, which reflects insufficient concern for vulnerable persons including the unborn. We do not believe that genetic abnormalities that are identified in an unborn child who is likely to live longer than a brief period after birth are sufficient to warrant a termination of pregnancy.

The Salvation Army recognizes tragic and perplexing circumstances that require difficult decisions regarding a pregnancy. Decisions should be made only after prayerful and thoughtful consideration, acknowledging the tremendous pressures that occur during an unexpected pregnancy. There is a responsibility on all involved to give the parents of the unborn child, particularly the woman, appropriate pastoral, medical and other counsel. The Salvation Army believes that termination can occur only when

• Carrying the pregnancy further seriously threatens the life of the mother; or

• Reliable diagnostic procedures have identified a foetal abnormality considered incompatible with survival for more than a very brief post natal period.

In addition, rape and incest are brutal acts of dominance violating women physically and emotionally. This situation represents a special case for the consideration of termination as the violation may be compounded by the continuation of the pregnancy.

The Salvation Army affirms and supports professional people engaged in the care of pregnant women who feel on religious, moral or ethical grounds, that they cannot be involved in any way with the procuring or undertaking of an abortion.

We can’t blame Obama for this one

“Beginning January 1, 2014, the federal government will ban the use of 60-watt and 40-watt incandescent light bulbs. The light bulb has become a symbol in the fight for consumer freedom and against unnecessary governmental interference into the lives of the American people.”

Although we know from other power grabs and 20+ changes he’s personally made in the PPACA law, he could have stopped this.  The “energy efficient” bulbs are made in China in coal fired factories, belching black smoke.

"A subsidised and enforced worldwide replacement of unprofitable patent-expired simple, cheap, well known, safe, and easily locally made bright broad spectrum light bulbs in an odd coalition between global capitalist manufacturing executives, left-leaning governments, and environmental organizations." http://freedomlightbulb.blogspot.com/2011/11/deception-behind-ban.html