Al Sharpton and Eric Holder

Will Holder eat humble pie or chicken out?  Will Rev. Al ever back down from the shakedowns of corporations? An FBI investigation has not found enough evidence to charge Darren Wilson with the federal crime of depriving Michael Brown of his civil rights, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation. 40 investigators, 200 people interviewed. CNN really parses its words. This reporter wasn’t pleased. Not a single quote from those who believed Wilson.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/21/us/ferguson-darren-wilson-civil-rights-charges/index.html

My TBR list is growing

I've got to stop saying yes--to books to review. They are piling up. Chicks on the Right by Miriam Weaver and Amy Jo Clark; Countdown to the Apocalypse; why ISIS and Ebola are only the beginning by Robert Jeffress; American dreams; restoring economic opportunity for everyone, by Marco Rubio; America in retreat; the new isolationism and the coming global disorder, by Bret Stephens; Practical theology; spiritual direction from Saint Thomas Aquinas, by Peter Kreeft.  I think I even said Yes to one yesterday, but I’ve forgotten the title.  I reject more than I accept. However, I did take a sack of books and magazines to the library yesterday for the book sale.

Father Mario Majano on the sanctity of life

This morning on EWTN (repeated from yesterday's March for Life) Fr. Mario Majano spoke to a stadium of thousands of young people and in his homily he talked about young heroes, telling the story of one young woman who rejected an abortion for 3 crisis pregnancies, one a rape, one when she was unmarried with a young child to care for, and one after being treated for a tumor when she didn't know she was pregnant. I thought he was going to reveal one of the children to now be famous, but then he said, "Thanks, Mama," because he was one of them. (All healthy and normal.) http://oloschurchtp.com/people/fr-mario-majano

I checked the website of his parish and see it has a ministry (and staff) for Haitians, Africans, and Ghanans, as well as speakers of Spanish.

Lower deficit and State of the Union

Obama took credit in the SOTU for the lower deficit, but it was the spending cuts demanded by the House Republicans and the 16 day shutdown that did that.  He also can't take any credit for increased fuel production which is making us an exporter and safer from dependency on the middle east, Africa and South American sources.  It was fracking that turned that around, lowered gas prices, and put money in the wallets of Americans. He has dragged his feet everywhere he could to satisfy his base on energy. And it's not air quality or climate change--they don't want the U.S. to be strong.

Winding down with the Constitution

Busy early Thursday--house guest, Bible study, fascinating presentation at lunch by Rod Crane talking about the role of volunteers with the Red Cross during Katrina, and a doctor's appointment. Winding down now by reading the U.S. Constitution. It's powerful and short.

I'm always shocked by the short list of responsibilities (6) of the President--which comes after a rather long list (about 25) for the Congress--which the Founders put ahead of the President. 1) Commander and chief of the various military branches, 2) granting reprieves and pardons against the U.S., 3) with the advice and consent of the Senate he can make treaties, 4) with advice and consent of Senate he can appoint Ambassadors and other public officials like judges, 5) fill vacancies that might happen during the Senate recess, and "from time to time" he can give a State of the Union address as he judges necessary and expedient, 6) receive ambassadors and other public ministers. Five of the six really deal directly or indirectly with national security, or relations with other nations.

I can find nothing about child care, free college tuition, health insurance, climate, advocating for any particular fuel system, or chastising citizens for discerning ethnic and religious shortcomings. So why have we and our parents and grandparents allowed this president and those before him to usurp the power of Congress? If the President strays into the Congress' job description, who will do his job?

About that pay inequity?

Mr. President,

the 60s called Tuesday night. They are upset that you don't know your history, employment law or what JFK did. The law about equal pay for equal work was passed in 1963. Employers are not allowed to discriminate based on gender. If they are not obeying the law, why didn't you do something? If they are not obeying that law, why will another one help? Also, women have earned 9 million more college degrees than men since 1982. They haven't been earning the same kind of degrees nor working the same number of hours, however. Last I checked, a mining engineer earned more than an art museum curator. Also for over 5 years, young, single college educated women have been earning more than young, single college educated men--in some cities like Atlanta and Memphis it's as much as 20%. Black women are so outpacing black men in college degrees, it is alarming. I think they get about 71% of the masters awarded to blacks students. What will you do about those gaps? Demand more laws?

Georgetown University did a study in 2011 of differences in gender and race in selecting a major. The study found that white men are concentrated in the highest-earning majors, including engineering and pharmaceutical sciences, while women gravitate toward the lowest-earning majors like education, art and social work.  The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education noted that educated white women were less likely to work full time than educated black women, accounting for the difference in their pay (educated black women earn more).

https://georgetown.app.box.com/s/omooxnult5yvuctf0ftl

http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2015274,00.html

http://www.jbhe.com/news_views/47_four-year_collegedegrees.html

http://www.jbhe.com/news_views/64_degrees.html

Employers can't discriminate by law, but I’m sure they can read resumes.  And HR reps can talk among themselves and note absences, difficulties with co-workers, willingness to travel, etc.

Flashback on taxes and Democrats

John Kerry and John Edwards in the 2004 presidential race ran on a platform of repealing tax breaks for the rich. Sound familiar? Wasn’t that mentioned in Tuesday’s SOTU?  They didn't like Bush's tax cuts of 2003 for capital gains despite the fact the cuts brought in a 68% increase in tax revenues. Why do tax cuts bring in higher revenues? Lowering the rate provides incentive to sell, and that means money to reinvest which means more growth, which means more jobs, which means more taxes for our Congress to spend. That makes Democrats very unhappy, because it also means the rich get richer. They'd rather everyone suffer than have the upper quintile (other than themselves) get more. Bush inherited a recession too, although he didn't mention it every time he was in front of a microphone. He just put a stop to it. Obama wants higher taxes not to help the middle class (we'll never see a penny of it), but to punish the successful.

George Stephanopoulos

Georgie Porgie puddin' and pie,
Kisses Obama which makes us sigh.
When GOP comes out to play,
Georgie Porgie runs away.

Broadcast media should have different standards than cable. The FCC regulates them. We all realize George was a Democrat operative in the 90s and staffer for years, but really, give him an opinion show. George isn't a news correspondent--he's practically on the White House staff.

We’re past 6 years on the job.  How is this a rescue?  A coach or CEO would have been fired years ago. But then FDR is still hailed as a hero, and he kept us in a depression for over a decade.

Without laughing, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday’s World News Tonight advanced the White House hope that Barack Obama will be seen as Ronald Reagan was in 1987, as a President who rescued the economy and was rewarded by voters. -  http://newsbusters.org/blogs/rich-noyes/2015/01/20/abcs-stephanopoulos-finds-it-credible-barack-obama-can-be-another-ronald

Paraprosdokian--a late 20th-century neologism

Who serves in the military?

I wonder how the rumor got started that an all volunteer military would disproportionately attract poor and minority? Isn't true. Blacks and white are about proportionate to the population, Hispanics underrepresented, Indians overrepresented. Higher level of education than the general population. "U.S. military enlistees disproportionately come from upper-middle-class families. Members of America's volunteer Army are not enlisting because they have no other economic opportunities. Most recruits come from relatively affluent families and would likely earn above-average wages if they did not join the military." http://www.heritage.org/…/who-serves-in-the-us-military-the…

Two local history titles on Jerome, Ohio

I’ve been living in Columbus since 1967, and I admit that until today I’d never hear of Jerome, Ohio, which is just up the road near Dublin, and was described 65 years ago by Johnny Jones, columnist 1940-1971 for the Columbus Dispatch, as “American as apple pie” and off the state highways where you cross the O’Shaughnessy Dam Bridge near the Columbus Zoo. With Dublin spreading out, Jerome had a 90% increase in population in the last decade, from about 4,000 in 2000 to 7500 in 2010. Author of the first book, Les Gates, grew up in Jerome and recorded his fond memories in a small book titled simply “Jerome” (3d ed. 2014). Gates returned to the home place after serving in the military and was in the insurance business for many years in Dublin, OH.  After a few words about his parents and life on the Gates farm at 7379 Brock Road, he continues with memories, photos and descriptions of neighboring farms, the local school and business establishments like the Twin Oaks Golf Course and Seely Grocery Store. Gates is about my age, and includes stories of his years at Dublin High School with photos of his team sports, baseball and football.

In a conversation with another Jerome resident, 99 year old Mary Alice Schacherbauer, Les Gates learned she had a diary of her writings with memories and musings from 1914 to 2014. With his interest in Jerome, Les and his wife Mary decided to edit and publish her memories also  as “Days I remember; my memories and musings from 1914 to 2014. “ Mrs. Schacherbauer is about the age of my parents, so I particularly enjoyed her stories of school in the 1920s, and found to my surprise that people had school buses back then.  My parents lived on farms near Dixon, Illinois, and walked to school. She and her husband Lee married in 1937 and were active in the Jerome United Methodist Church.  She includes family stories and has many fond memories of grandparents and aunts and uncles. Several of her poems are included, and she closes with prayer for “our country, our world, our way of life.” One hundred years old and she has seen a lot of changes, but still enjoys life and especially her memories.

You can purchase one or both titles from Amazon or at local gift shops. Or you can contact Les Gates at goldengator1938@yahoo.com.

Soul mates by Jacqueline J. Holness

http://nblo.gs/12NYiO  Check out her repost from 2011.

It’s not a race thing, it’s a heart thing

Daily Kos, a liberal internet opinion site, posted a rant by a young man (or woman, couldn’t tell) who had been successful in the past, moving from poverty to middle class (through luck, he says) and is now going to have to sell his car and apply for food stamps. Everyone else seems to be to blame for his situation, He’s angry and depressed. At a conservative discussion group on Facebook, this woman responded to his frustration with hope.

"I was on food stamps for about 6 mos. I did not have a car. I rode the bus. I did not have the internet or cable. I was living in a $300 a month apartment. (all bills paid). I ate a lot of mac and cheese (home made) and beans w/rice (dried). I ate baked chicken (cheapest meat at the time) in soups and sandwiches. I registered for classes and ended up getting a job at the school. It was hard. One night I had to stand in the rain to catch a bus to go to work. And I wept with the struggle. That day, I decided that it was up to me to change my situation. That was in 1997, I am now an instructor at the school. I have BA, an MA, and 48 hrs on my PhD. I am 65 and I am telling anyone who wants to that you can change your own life. I now teach students black, brown, and white who struggle the same way I did and I tell them all. They are they only one that can change their situation. I have witnessed students change their lives and their circumstances. It is not a race thing it is a heart thing. I have seen it happen."

Yes, more people die in January

If it feels like you’ve been attending too many funerals lately, you’re right.  It’s true, more people die in January than  other months, and more in winter than other seasons. My mother died in January, as did both her parents; her sister died in February and her brother in December. Checking my genealogy data, my father’s family for the most part died in spring and summer months.   It is not climate, and it’s not suicide (that’s a myth).  Legacy.com has some good information. http://blog.legacy.com/2011/06/23/yes-it%E2%80%99s-true-more-people-die-in-january/

Presidential word games

“The Obama administration refuses to call Islamofascist terror what it is. The President, when he talks about the terrorists, refuses to identify them specifically; they are “extremists” and the like. He and his supporters use the same terminology to describe the Islamofascists and members of Christian conservative groups or members of the Tea Party movement—“fundamentalists” (even though, by the traditional definition, only Christians can be fundamentalists), “Far Right” (even though, everywhere they are involved in politics, Islamofascists are allied with the Left), “extremists”  (even though both Christian conservatives and Tea Partiers are in the political mainstream, especially compared to Obama-style authoritarians/Progressives). Meanwhile, the Fort Hood shooting was classified by the Obama administration and its media allies as “workplace violence.””  Steven J. Allen  http://capitalresearch.org/2015/01/leader-of-the-free-world-not/

Turkey Meatballs

It's not that it's magic, but I like to involve one of my mother's mixing bowls when I cook/make something unfamiliar. Friday I made something she probably never did, and I used her little red bowl. . . turkey meatballs. Ground turkey is so tasteless. I decided to add some bread crumbs, seasoning and brush with some sauce.  They tasted so good, I made more on Saturday and froze them for use later. As best as I can recall:

Bread crumbs from whatever you’ve got—I used two slices of whole wheat bread.

1/2 envelop of Lipton’s dried onion soup mix

1 egg

Mix all that together and add 1 pound of ground turkey.

Shape into small balls and place in a muffin tin for small muffins (mine has 24 spaces)

Brush the tops with some kind of sauce.  I made one from mustard, catsup and a little Truvia on Friday, and used grape jelly, mustard and catsup on Saturday.  This keeps the meatballs from drying out while baking.

325 degrees about 30-35 minutes.

Makes 24. Freeze what you don’t eat.  My husband decided they were just the right size for a Ritz cracker.

                   

Here’s a recipe from Food Network that’s a lot more work. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/mini-turkey-meatballs-recipe.html

Here’s another one—more work—but I like the idea of serving them over greens. I’d need to make more sauce, however. I only had about a dollop and a dash. http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-quick-turkey-meatballs-over-greens-weeknight-dinner-recipes-from-the-kitchn-73204

Learning math

I’m only on page 13 of my new math book, “Math on Call,” and the reason it is going slowly is that it isn’t review, it’s new concepts, and although older people can learn new things, it takes longer.  Here’s a new one on me.  Using, or not using, the word and.

“When you read a number, do NOT say AND in any old place.  If you do, you’ll have trouble when you need to read the decimal point as “and.” Sometimes pretty funny misunderstandings can happen. 

Two hundred and twenty-five thousandths is 200.025

Two hundred twenty-five thousandths is 0.225

[Cartoon of an elephant and a hamster on a teeter-totter]

If I keep going I might be able to do Common Core Math!

You can listen to the actual songs of Selma

Knowing how bulky old tape recorders were (I could hardly carry mine at all), I’m amazed this man could record these songs.

http://www.smithsonian.com/smithsonian-institution/listen-freedom-songs-recorded-50-years-ago-during-march-selma-montgomery-180953904/

“Carl Benkert was a successful architectural interior designer from Detroit who had come down South in 1965 with a group of local clergy to take part and bear witness to the historic march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, for voting rights.

In addition to his camera, he brought a bulky, battery-operated reel-to-reel tape recorder to capture the history all around him, in speech but also in song.”

Now I can review my math

This week someone posted on Facebook about reviewing insanely simple 9th grade math problems and I mentioned I'd been looking for something for review, but couldn't go higher than 5th grade because the material was too difficult.

Yesterday at Volunteers of America for 90 cents I found the neatest book, "Math on Call," Houghton Mifflin, 2004. It's attractive, nicely arranged, color coded with clear explanations that are somewhat below my reading level, even if the math isn't. So I went online to check out the grade level and found it is "sixth to eighth." It includes number theory, computation (which is about all I can do), algebra, graphs and statistics, geometry, ratio/proportion/percent, probability and odds, then study tips, test taking tips, tables, patterns (like Fibonacci) and systems (Roman numerals, Mayan, etc.) This is a terrific "review," and if elementary kids are doing this, God bless'em.   Also, the used ones I saw on-line were about $40--I may be bad at math, but that's more than 90 cents.

Wrong point about illegal immigration—it’s very lucrative for Mexico

This makes a point, but not the right one. They are helping their government and economy. Money sent back to families in Mexico and Central America is 2nd or 3rd highest source of income for those countries, despite being rich in natural resources. If these people are poor, it's because of their governments' policies. Also, the power structure is primarily descendants of Europeans, either Spain or Germany, although they are the minority, and they are gradually moving their dark skin citizens north to the U.S. Ever watch Spanish language TV--they promote amnesty. Whitest shows and newscasts you'll ever see.

Geert Wilders, My Life on Al Qaeda's Death List

After the events in France (and now other European states) and the embarrassing response of our government, it's a good time to review the views of Dutch Member of Parliament Geert Wilders. He's vilified on the left as a fascist which these days means using the words Islamic terrorist and having national self-respect. This is a pdf reprint of a chapter in his book published by Regnery, "Marked for death." Note particularly his inclusion of film maker Theo Van Gogh, who was beheaded by Muslims, and how he spoke of and insulted Christians and Jews. http://www.regnery.com/…/Marked-For-Death-Special-Report.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOpY6ZCshmM

 

The Biblical passages Protestants won’t read literally

I went to Bible Study Thursday  led by Pastor Jeff Morlock of UALC and we were focusing on John 4:1-30, the lesson for this coming Sunday. But I drifted a bit to John 6:25-59, where Jesus explains to his disciples, the people gathered in the synagogue in Capernaum, and to us centuries later the meaning of the phrase and promise that he is the bread of life. I've seen entire books written on one word, such as "rapture," "justify" or phrase "fruit of the spirit," and essays on whether the nativity stories mean young woman or virgin.

But here we have a huge chunk of scripture in Jesus' own words about "eat the flesh and drink his blood," with clear references to the promises to Moses and eternal life. Yet millions and millions of Protestants ignore it and say that "I am," "real," and "whoever," belong to pre-16th century superstitions of the Catholics. Frankly, I don't get it. Lutherans depending on the synod sort of fudge it with "in over around and through" and the Anglicans, I think, acknowledge it, but the rest skip right over it. Protestants seem to be taking for their part of the script, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" And Jesus is pretty clear in his explanation. "Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." To say he's speaking metaphorically or explaining bread in spiritual terms, you have to ignore the several paragraphs where he explains what he means.

Here’s what a Baptist web site says about this passage. The Catholics have 2,000 years of church teaching, tradition and Bible research to back their view.  This is one man/one ministry’s opinion with no scripture provided to support his view/belief that Jesus meant something other than what he said, but the writer is very concerned that Baptists not commune with people who don't believe as his ministry has stated.

"Roman Catholics believe that the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper are changed into the real body and blood of Jesus Christ. To believe this the Savior then took His body and made the disciples eat of it, and literally poured out His blood and told them to "drink ye all of it." If you can believe that you should be a Catholic. Bread cannot be His real body; neither can wine be His real blood, but bread can represent His body and wine can represent His blood. The Lutherans differ least from the Romans in regard to communion, for they maintain that "the body and the blood of Christ are materially present in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, though in an incomprehensible manner. They call it CON-SUBSTANTIATION. The Catholics call it TRANS-SUBSTANTIATION. Both are incredible."

Selma, nominated for best picture, but Rev. Al isn’t happy

I've been reading some reviews of Selma the movie, the latest Al Sharpton cause for a shakedown of Hollywood proposing a quota system for movie awards, which the very leftist industry awards itself. Four of the main actors are British as is the screen writer, throughout the movie racist Democrats are battled including LBJ a Democrat icon, and it ends with a song that includes a reference to Ferguson, a paean to a man who was shot by a policeman after robbing and assaulting a store owner. So it closes with a reminder that after 50 years under Democrat control, blacks are still protesting and asking for justice while equating a man like Brown with Martin Luther King, Jr. What could go wrong, Rev. Sharpton.

Al Sharpton go away. No more shakedowns. The best way to prove The Oscar committee wrong is to make the movie a great success and associating your face and whines with Selma is not the way to do it. Democrats and liberals are probably not thrilled with the portrayal of LBJ in this movie, but that might make others look at what an obstructionist he was when Republicans were trying to pass civil rights legislation before the 1960s. http://www.thetowntalk.com/.../clarence-page.../21124347/

Gilbert’s History of the Twentieth Century, v. 3: 1952-1999

What a find!  I was browsing the shelves at Volunteers of American on Henderson Rd. today and found this title by the prolific, incredible British writer, Martin Gilbert. Now I’ll have to watch for the other volumes.

“Sir Martin John Gilbert is a British historian and Fellow of Merton College, University of Oxford. He is the author of over eighty books, including works on the Holocaust and Jewish history. Gilbert is a leading historian of the modern world, and is known as the official biographer of Sir Winston Churchill.”

I first came across him reading “Letters to Auntie Fori: The 5,000-Year History of the Jewish People and Their Faith.”  He met Auntie in 1958 through his college friend who was Indian and over the years became her “adopted nephew.”  When she was 90 she revealed to him that she was actually a Hungarian Jew, but knew nothing about her heritage or that religion.  Thus began a series of letters to Auntie explaining her heritage. It is probably the most interesting way to learn Jewish history.

He presents Jewish history as the narrative expression–the timeline–of the Jewish faith, and the faith as it is informed by the history. Starting with Adam and Eve, he then brings us to Abraham and his descendants, who worshiped a God who repeatedly, and often dramatically, intervened in their lives. The stories of Genesis and Exodus lead seamlessly on to those of the eras when the land was ruled by the Israelite kings and then by Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome–the Biblical and post-Biblical periods. In Sir Martin’s hands, these stories are rich in incident and achievement. He then traces the long history of the Jews in the Diaspora, ending with an unexpected visit to an outpost of Jewry in Anchorage, Alaska. (Good reads)

However, the book I bought is the third volume (very big)  in a set about the 20th century, most of my life time, and it seems odd to see the events I remember, like the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the assassination attempt on President Reagan written in to history.

Martin Gilbert's three-volume history of the century continues with an enthralling narrative that documents the attempts to preserve human values, to maintain the rule of law, and to uphold the rights and dignity of the individual. Gilbert shows how the conflicts of nations and the aspirations of their rulers served both to threaten humankind through war and civil war, in many regions of the globe, and to create a fairer and more fulfilling life for hundreds, even thousands, of millions of people.For more than four decades, the United States and the Soviet Union--joint victors in the struggle against Germany and Japan--struggled to establish the primacy of their respective systems, while the specter of nuclear war threatened to become a terrible reality.

Here are gripping narrative accounts of the wars in Korea, Vietnam, and Bosnia; the postwar reconstruction of Europe; apartheid; the arms race; the moon landing ; and  the extraordinary advances in medical science.  Mao started a cultural revolution, Martin Luther King, Jr., and John F. Kennedy were assassinated, and the computer revolution was begun.  The result is nothing less than extraordinary. (Amazon)

I wish reading were easy for me; I certainly have some wonderful books on my office shelves I haven’t read.

Faith of the Founders and the current Congress

There are 204 unique individuals in the group called our "Founding Fathers." These are the people who did one or more of the following:

- signed the Declaration of Independence
- signed the Articles of Confederation
- attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787 ...
- signed the Constitution of the United States of America
- served as Senators in the First Federal Congress (1789-1791)
- served as U.S. Representatives in the First Federal Congress

88 or 54.7% were Anglican/Episcopalian, 30 or 18.6% were Presbyterians, and 27 or 16.8% were Congregationalist. 4.3% were Quakers (although not life long) and 3.7% were Dutch Reformed/German Reformed. Others like Lutherans 3.1% and Catholics 1.9% combined to make the founders approximately 100% Christian or Christian influenced. I'm sure there were atheists and agnostics clever enough to keep their views to themselves and were baptized members in name only. The third group's grandbaby is the current United Church of Christ (the Obamas' church) and it describes itself as "Christian, Reformed, Congregational and Evangelical" so the current version rolls some of those together. Protestantism is terribly fluid and confusing, a little like tracing your family tree. Where 2 or 3 are gathered, someone forms a new denomination. The 2nd great awakening came later so there are only 2 Methodists.(Religious affiliations of the founders)

92% of the current 114th Congress is made up of Christians, with Protestants at 57% and Catholics at 31%, so they've made huge strides with only 22% of the population reporting Catholic in faith. As was the case with the signers of our original documents, Congress is much more religious counting Jews (5%) than the general population--with more clergy than the Founders.

Some Christians doubt the high percentage in the current Congress. I don't judge when someone says he/she is a Christian--if we take the word of a Muslim, or an atheist, why not a Christian?. There are too many litmus tests among us Christians. God will judge. The journalists of Charlie Hebdo, hateful, nasty, despiser of all faiths, now know for sure.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/congress-christians-protestants-religion/2015/01/06/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/01/05/pew-research-christians-congress/21288979/

http://www.adherents.com/adh_congress.html#109

Greek salad—is it worth the calories?

I enjoy the occasional Greek salad—usually at a restaurant with a sandwich.  They are pretty simple—salad greens, some feta cheese, beans, onions, and dressing.  But my, that dressing really adds up. About 400 calories—25 grams of fat. Is it worth it? Order dressing on the side, for sure.

For more information on nutrients.

Hebdo was an equal opportunity scum bag

One of Charlie Hebdo's (French cartoonist who was killed by Muslim radicals) cartoons represented the Trinity as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit having gay anal sex as a ménage à trois--certainly blasphemy and not very flattering for gay men either. It was stupid, childish, disrespectful, hateful, typical atheist ridicule, and no Christians that I know of tried to kill him--but then, there aren't very many left in France and most people outside of France had never heard of this rag. It's sad that this was the only way we could get people concerned over freedom of speech, and questioning why our President refuses to acknowledge Islamic terrorism.

T’aint funny McGee*

“If you’re old enough to remember radio, that’s a line from Fibber McGee and Molly.

Since Christmas, I’ve lost 9 pounds and have ridden my execycle about 90 miles.  I only do 3-5 miles a day and break it up into .5 or 1 mile events.  My leg feels better.  Maybe it’s my imagination, but I’ll take that.

Heard it on the grape vine

Glenn Beck’s series on the geo-political threat of Russia

Glenn Beck did part 2 of his Russian series tonight discussing the history of Russia going back a thousand years up to the role of Alexandr Dugin, a Putin adviser, and the alliance with various anti-liberal and liberal groups. For example, disgustingly anti-gay (to suck up to the family values Christians), but also vigorously anti-fracking (because Russia is the source of energy for all of Europe). It's a very confusing hodge podge to reinstate the 5th column the Communists lost in the U.S. But the U.S. is the enemy--it must be destroyed. He sees Putin manipulating the Orthodox church to gain power. During Soviet times, Russians were relocated all over the empire (usually as political punishment) and now is using their residency in those countries as excuses to take back those countries.  For instance, ethnic Russians living in Ukraine, Crimea, Uzbekistan or Belarus.

Does this guy look like Rasputin (crazy faith healer and spiritual adviser to the czarina) on purpose? Putin has found a role for the Orthodox Church, but just keep in mind, monarchs, kings, czars, presidents and Imans know how to use religious people.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/380614/dugins-evil-theology-robert-zubrin

http://www.glennbeck.com/2015/01/13/the-root-of-the-problem-russia-part-1-2/

Putin had this to say regarding Ukraine/Crimea during his recent state of the union address:

“For Russia, Crimea, ancient Korsun, Chersonesos, Sevastopol have a great civilization and sacred significance – as well as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for those who profess Islam and Judaism. That is how we are going to treat this. Now and forever. ”

Peter the Great said it and Putin/Dugin are saying it now. They see Russia as the “Third Rome”. Ukraine and Crimea are their holy sites. The significance of such traced back to the Apostle Andrew. Vladimir I was baptised there making Kievan Rus’ a Christian state. They’re going to defend and struggle for it as if it were the Vatican or the Temple Mount.

NALC will be at the March for Life, January 22

The North American Lutheran Church (Canada, U.S. and Mexico synod) is planning to participate in the 2015 March for Life, Thursday, January 22, 2015, in Washington, DC, the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision which made abortion legal in all 50 states. For more information contact Pastor Dennis Di Mauro of Trinity Lutheran in Warrenton, VA, dennisdimauro@yahoo.com. This is always an inspiring event to watch—they look so cold-- but I think EWTN is the only channel that covers it.

It’s been 10 years since they killed Terri Schiavo

This story about a young man who comes out of a coma 12 years later  brings to mind the Terri Schiavo story of 10 ears ago. She was dehydrated to death. Her autopsy report showed no illness, a strong heart and lungs, and she even had loving parents who were willing to take her home and care for her. But her husband didn't want her, had started a 2nd family, and had already spent all the money he'd won for her care in a law suit. Dehydration is a terribly painful way to die, unlike starvation, and she could still feel pain.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/01/12/he-remained-trapped-in-vegetative-state-for-12-years-then-he-miraculously-awoke-and-had-a-jaw-dropping-story-to-tell/

“Yes, I was there, not from the very beginning, but about two years into my vegetative state, I began to wake up. I was aware of everything, just like any normal person,” Pistorious, now 39, recalled to NPR. “Everyone was so used to me not being there that they didn’t notice when I began to be present again. The stark reality hit me that I was going to spend the rest of my life like that — totally alone.”

University of Virginia fraternity cleared; Rolling Stone and President Sullivan still guilty until they try to make things right

The fraternity accused of gang rape in the irresponsible Rolling Stone article has been cleared by the Charlottesville Police Department of wrongdoing and has been reinstated by the University of Virginia.

If Teresa Sullivan UVA president doesn't apologize, she'll make women administrators look like knee jerk jerks. She is supposed to be president of all the students and faculty, not just special interests.

http://hotair.com/archives/2015/01/12/endgame-uva-frat-reinstated-after-local-police-find-no-substantive-basis-for-rolling-stone-rape-story/

I’m a kafir, a gentile, and a Christian

A person who is not a Muslim is a kafir. I'm thinking the equivalent word for not a Christian is an unbeliever (if Christians are speaking), or gentile for those who aren't Jews. All groups probably have such a term for those outside the faith. It's OK  for Muslims to lie to kafirs . To us the rules of a peaceful religion don't apply.

 http://www.clarionproject.org/node/3320

Here’s another word that doesn’t mean what we think.  “World peace” means total submission to Allah, after submitting to Sharia, so they don't consider it lying when they say they are a "religion of peace." (GWB got this very wrong.) The problem is Islam means "submission," and that's not exactly how we see it .

“Freedom and justice” also mean something different (even as with leftists and Marxists). Justice is according to Sharia, and has nothing to do with God's justice, or the laws of justice of our country. And human rights can only be defined by Sharia.

Boko Haram means “Western Education is Forbidden,” but it’s real name is  Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, which means “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad.” Members are known to reference the Islamic verse that states, “Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors.”  Are we being culturally sensitive when we refuse to believe them?

http://www.clarionproject.org/sites/default/files/ClarionProject_FactSheet%20-%20BOKO%20HARAM.pdf

Our precious freedom of speech and religion

"An idea isn’t a human being. Neither is a sacred cow. And those who confront, dismiss, debunk, sneer at and fear them aren’t necessarily bigots." [David Harsanyi.] Debating marriage isn't homophobia. Examining crime statistics isn't racist. Looking at choices women make about employment isn't sexist. Saving unborn babies by closing unsanitary abortion mills isn't dismantling women's "health care." But the media and the federal and state governments are closing in on free speech, regulating everything we can say and think.

A tenured professor at a Catholic University is not allowed on campus pending firing because he questioned the silencing of a student who wanted to present the case for traditional marriage, i.e., the Catholic teaching. In Ohio a librarian was fired for suggesting in an e-mail discussion group of faculty, a conservative title as a possibility for a reading list. Discussing black crime is not about socio-economic conditions. That doesn’t cause the high murder rate in black communities--that's an insult to all the honest low income, law abiding people. Every abortion mill that is closed is greeted by the death squad as awful and eliminating choice and pro-lifers are villified.

Even 20 years ago, a well known, tenured professor in another state at a top flight school who was helping me with some of my research was forced out of his position because he wouldn't teach 3rd rate feminist drivel in his English classes, which the women's cabal wanted substituted for classic English and American authors. His department denied him grants, teaching assistants and an office since there was no reason to fire him because he defended his right to teach and his students' right to have the best. He eventually found a job in a branch of a university in another state, and has rebuilt his career, but you have no idea the amount of hate and power on the other side. This man prided himself in being a liberal and progressive, a loyal Democrat, but it just wasn't enough for radical feminists. We see the same coming at us in the form of closing small bakeries and florists, and the churches will be next, as they already are in Canada.

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum—Conestoga trip

Today our Conestoga group had a tour of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum in Sullivant Hall on the OSU Campus.  I like libraries and I like art, so I was in “hog heaven.” The building is beautiful, and the “back room” peek at the moving stacks, specially designed boxes and equipment, was amazing.  It is open 1-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and is open to the public if you’d like to visit.  None of the books circulate.

The current show is "King of the comics: William Randolph Hearst and 100 years of King Features." It will be on display until March 15. Hearst bought the New York Journal in 1895 and soon dropped the price of a paper to a penny, increasing circulation 7x. When the competition collapsed, he hired their people including the best cartoonist. Soon he was shipping the Sunday comic section to other cities with his comic characters becoming national celebrities. The display is divided by decade, and anyone my age will remember a lot of these. Although some I know only from a book of cartoons my mother had from the 1940s.  It is my opinion that after the 50s, the quality of the drawings became less complex--but this is an art form about which I know nothing. But at 5 pm I sure know more than I knew at 2 pm. The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum is the largest cartoon library in the world. I think the building opened in late 2013 and is really magnificent--before that it was in the Wexner Center.

Lucy Caswell, Professor Emeritus and founding curator of the library.

Staff of the library in the stacks.

Converted by Catherine Adair, former Planned Parenthood staff

After an abortion at a young age, Catherine Adair worked for Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider. But what she saw behind the abortion clinic's doors made her quit the industry and later become a pro-life advocate.  But it didn’t happen immediately—first she came back to church. First she needed forgiveness.

“People who say they re pro-choice never have to face their victims.

There is so much love in the pro-life movement.  There’s not much on the other side—it’s all about me, me, me.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wncJ7uZz3tE

On September 22, 2012, the Pro-Life Action League gathered eight former abortion workers in Chicago, Illinois, to share the stories of how they left the abortion industry and became advocates for life.
 http://prolifeaction.org/converted

What does Islam mean? “Voluntary submission to God”

I suppose if you snoped every sentence, you might find something wrong, however, I remember most of these stories from the news, and I've been really inconvenienced at airports around the world because of many of these. I've seen the photos of the dead children. Also, I've been to Israel where Muslims have more freedom and wealth than just about anywhere in the middle east.

The Shoe Bomber was a Muslim
The Beltway Snipers were Muslims
The Fort Hood Shooter was a Muslim
The underwear Bomber was a Muslim
The U-S.S. Cole Bombers were Muslims
The Madrid Train Bombers were Muslims
The Bafi Nightclub Bombers were Muslims
The London Subway Bombers were Muslims
The Moscow Theatre Attackers were Muslims
The Boston Marathon Bombers were Muslims
The Pan-Am flight #93 Bombers were Muslims
The Air France Entebbe Hijackers were Muslims
The Iranian Embassy Takeover, was by Muslims
The Beirut U.S. Embassy bombers were Muslims
The Libyan U.S. Embassy Attack was by Musiims
The Buenos Aires Suicide Bombers were Muslims
The Israeli Olympic Team Attackers were Muslims
The Kenyan U.S, Embassy Bombers were Muslims
The Saudi, Khobar Towers Bombers were Muslims
The Beirut Marine Barracks bombers were Muslims
The Besian Russian School Attackers were Muslims
The first World Trade Center Bombers were Muslims
The Bombay & Mumbai India Attackers were Muslims
The Achille Lauro Cruise Ship Hijackers were Muslims
The September 11th 2001 Airline Hijackers were Muslims'

Think of it:

Buddhists living with Hindus = No Problem
Hindus living with Christians = No Problem
Hindus living with Jews = No Problem
Christians living with Shintos = No Problem
Shintos living with Confucians = No Problem
Confusians living with Baha'is = No Problem
Baha'is living with Jews = No Problem
Jews living with Atheists = No Problem
Atheists living with Buddhists = No Problem
Buddhists living with Sikhs = No Problem
Sikhs living with Hindus = No Problem
Hindus living with Baha'is = No Problem
Baha'is living with Christians = No Problem
Christians living with Jews = No Problem
Jews living with Buddhists = No Problem
Buddhists living with Shintos = No Problem
Shintos living with Atheists = No Problem
Atheists living with Confucians = No Problem
Confusians living with Hindus = No Problem

Muslims living with Hindus = Problem
Muslims living with Buddhists = Problem
Muslims living with Christians = Problem
Muslims living with Jews = Problem
Muslims living with Sikhs = Problem
Muslims living with Baha'is = Problem
Muslims living with Shintos = Problem
Muslims living with Atheists = Problem
MUSLIMS LIVING WITH MUSLIMS = BIG PROBLEM

**********SO THIS LEAD TO *****************

They’re not happy in Gaza
They're not happy in Egypt
They're not happy in Libya
They're not happy in Morocco
They're not happy in Iran
They're not happy in Iraq
They're not happy in Yemen
They're not happy in Afghanistan
They're not happy in Pakistan
They're not happy in Syria
They're not happy in Lebanon
They're not happy in Nigeria
They're not happy in Kenya
They're not happy in Sudan

******** So, where are they happy? **********
They're happy in Australia
They're happy in England
They're happy in Belgium
They're happy in France
They're happy in Italy
They're happy in Germany
They're happy in Sweden
They're happy in the USA & Canada
They're happy in Norway & India

They're happy in almost every country that is not Islamic! And who do they blame? Not Islam... Not their leadership... Not themselves... THEY BLAME THE COUNTRIES THEY ARE HAPPY IN!! And they want to change the countries they're happy in, to be like the countries they came from where they were unhappy.

Islamic Jihad: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
ISIS: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Al-Qaeda: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Taliban: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Hamas: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Hezbollah: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Boko Haram: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Al-Nusra: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Abu Sayyaf: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Al-Badr: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Muslim Brotherhood: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Lashkar-e-Taiba: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Palestine Liberation Front: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Ansaru: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Jemaah Islamiyah: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Abdullah Azzam Brigades: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION

AND A LOT MORE !!!!!!!

This is the world we live in.... just think about it and project out twenty, thirty or fifty years.... More mosques being built in the USA
every day.... Like they said in the movie... "If You Build It They Will Come"

Remember: Islam MEANS submission. And if you do not submit?

John Quincy Adams on Islam

"In the seventh century of the Christian era, a wandering Arab of the lineage of Hagar, the Egyptian, combining the powers of transcendent genius, with the preternatural energy of a fanatic, and the fraudulent spirit of an impostor, proclaimed himself as a messenger from Heaven, and spread desolation and delusion over an extensive portion of the earth. Adopting from the sublime conception of the Mosaic law, the doctrine of one omnipotent God; he connected indissolubly with it, the audacious falsehood, that he was himself his prophet and apostle. Adopting from the new Revelation of Jesus, the faith and hope of immortal life, and of future retribution, he humbled it to the dust, by adapting all the rewards and sanctions of his religion to the gratification of the sexual passion. He poisoned the sources of human felicity at the fountain, by degrading the condition of the female sex, and the allowance of polygamy; and he declared undistinguishing and exterminating war, as a part of his religion, against all the rest of mankind. THE ESSENCE OF HIS DOCTRINE WAS VIOLENCE AND LUST: TO EXALT THE BRUTAL OVER THE SPIRITUAL PART OF HUMAN NATURE." John Quincy Adams The American Annual Register for the Years 1827-8-9 (New York: E. & G.W. Blunt), 29:267-402 posted at Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=7&article=1142

Thomas Jefferson and the Musselmen [Muslims]

Our first encounter as a nation with Muslims was when we were very weak. Appeasement and paying ransom for our sailors.  What's the excuse now?

"In March 1785, when Jefferson was Ambassador to France and John Adams was Ambassador to Great Britain, the two met in London with Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja, the Ambassador to Britain from Tripoli.  The Barbary Pirates had captured American merchant ships and had imprisoned their passengers and crew.  Not yet having a strong navy, the Congress wanted to negotiate a fair tribute as a way to appease the pirates.

Jefferson and Adams were eager to know how the Barbary States could claim the right of piracy against peaceful American merchant vessels.   Jefferson wrote that, in the ambassador’s view, according to the Koran, “all Nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon whoever they could find and to make Slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Mussulman [Muslim] who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise.” . . .By 1800, the annual payments to piratic Muslim states were almost one million dollars a year, one fifth of the federal budget."

 http://sharlaslabyrinth.blogspot.com/2014/08/thomas-jefferson-mussulmen-muslim.html

It won’t be long now

If you’re looking for a reason, don’t waste your time

“Cartoons did not start militant Islam’s fire. Neither did the Bushes, Israel, the Satanic Verses, the Pope, beauty pageants, KFC restaurants in the Middle East, Mohammed teddy bears, or a YouTube video.

The Religion of Perpetual Outrage hates all infidels for all reasons for all time. The targeting of Mohammed cartoonists is a convenient excuse to feed the eternal flame of Islamists’ hatred of the West. If it isn’t ca...rtoons, it’s always something else. The grudge is everlasting.

Instead of acknowledging their gutlessness in the face of Koran-inspired Muslim vigilantes, press pontificators cloak their fear in the mumbo-jumbo of “tolerance.” They demand that the rest of us to pledge fealty to their selective multi-culti sensitivities lest we be branded “Islamophobes.”"  Michelle Malkin

http://michellemalkin.com/…/media-cowards-and-the-cartoon-…/

Freedom of speech in the United States?

The French are planning to have a free speech rally now that the Jihadis are dead (along with hostages and journalists). Wouldn't that be nice to have a free speech rally in the U.S., but probably only the Tea Party would do that, and then the left would call them terrorists.

A quarter of the 26,500 immigrants to Israel in 2014 were from France, where there is a growing violent anti-semitism. Until a crisis like we've seen in the last 2 days, the French government seems helpless. Along with other Europeans who have immigrated they say Europe seems dead, Israel seems alive. No sense trying for the U.S.--we're only welcoming illegals. https://www.commentarymagazine.com/…/zionist-dream-come-tr…/

In France you can't publish cartoons of the prophet Mohammed for public dissemination. In the U.S. you can't privately publish your beliefs about sex for personal use.

http://dailysignal.com/2015/01/08/atlanta-fire-chief-fired-expressing-christian-beliefs/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/01/06/atlantas-fire-chief-fired-following-controversy-over-his-religious-book/

“This is not about religious freedom, this is not about free speech.” said the Mayor of Atlanta.  No, it never is when you object to homosexuality based on religious beliefs.  It’s just old fashioned leftist bigotry.

Yesterday it looked like the Paris police were all over this. Today, not so much. Now 2 hostage situations, and possibly 2 more dead. The NYPD once had the best counter terrorism force in our country--maybe the world. DeBlasio has dismantled it. Why? It could happen here. http://www.limitstogrowth.org/…/new-york-mayor-de-blasio-i…/

Club for Growth pro-economic growth policy goals

For the 114th Congress

• Reduce income tax rates
• Death tax repeal
• Limited government through limited spending and budget reform
• Social Security reform with personal retirement accounts for younger workers
• Freer trade
• Tort reform
• Replacing the current tax code (flat tax, fair tax)
• School choice
• Regulatory reform and deregulation

Teixobactin—this is good news

I love this stuff. God doesn't make junk. "Many of the most widely used antibiotics have come out of the dirt. Penicillin came from Penicillium, a fungus found in soil, and vancomycin came from a bacterium found in dirt. Now, researchers from Northeastern University and NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals and their colleagues have identified a new Gram-positive bacteria-targeting antibiotic from a soil sample collected in Maine that can kill species including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Moreover, the researchers have not yet found any bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotic, called teixobactin. Their results are published today (January 7) in Nature." The Scientist, Jan. 7, 2015.

Obama is campaigning again

The President is on the campaign trail for his legacy talking about the economic recovery. This recession recovery has been the slowest on record, and we're still 2 trillion behind where we should be if it had been a normal recovery (recession was over in June 2009). The middle class has gone without a raise for 7 years. The big boost to the economy in 2014 was increased health care spending, now that's something to cheer, and the wallet fattening lower gasoline prices caused by fracking which all his supporters hate. The fat cats are loving the stock market. The rosy economic picture he is painting could continue if Republicans show some backbone, or other body parts, and the Keystone Pipeline gets passed (he's already announced he's going to veto it after 6 years of study) and they stop all the crazy regulations that are holding business and growth back.

http://www.wsj.com/video/obama-speaks-at-ford-motor-co-assembly-plant/E0B6F7C5-FFF2-4819-A466-B689AD5040B4.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/08/us/politics/obama.html?_r=0

Some factors about longevity are about race, not poverty or education

Hispanics on average live 80.6 years, non-Hispanic whites 78.1 years and African Americans 72.9. More education can add as much as 10 years to the life expectancy of blacks and white; but for Hispanics, it doesn't seem to matter. A high school drop out will still live longer than an educated white or black American.

http://newamericamedia.org/2012/12/latino-life-expectancy-exploring-the-hispanic-paradox.php

A 25-year old Latino high school dropout in 2008 is likely to outlast both his African-American and white gender counterparts by ten years. Actually, he will probably fall about three years short of the estimated mortality demise of very highly educated white males.

Je Suis Charlie (I am Charlie)

I'm finding this a bit hypocritical coming from Americans. In this country, you can't speak in favor of a discussion on traditional marriage without losing your tenured faculty position at a Catholic university or your bakery business or floral shop, and God forbid if you're a chef who used the n-word two decades ago. And in Canada, you can be put in jail if you are against “full inclusion.” Yes, it's not the same as being murdered, but it's also not freedom of speech and religion.

Also, the murder of those French cartoonists who insulted religious people of all faiths was terrible, and coverage has been from sunrise to sundown, but Africans are dying too at the hands of Muslim terrorists. Much of Nigeria is, or was, Christian, but Muslims and Christians lived peacefully together until a few years ago. Boko Haram is killing and kidnapping, and after a brief flurry of media interest in the summer, we heard nothing.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30728158

Six things about Vitamin D, Harvard Medical School Health Beat

A number of factors influence a person’s vitamin D levels. Here are six important ones.

1. Where you live. The further away from the Equator you live, the less vitamin D–producing UVB light reaches the earth’s surface during the winter. Residents of Boston, for example, make little if any of the vitamin from November through February. Short days and clothing that covers legs and arms also limit UVB exposure.

2. Air quality. Carbon particles in the air from the burning of fossil fuels, wood, and other materials scatter and absorb UVB rays, diminishing vitamin D production. In contrast, ozone absorbs UVB radiation, so pollution-caused holes in the ozone layer could end up enhancing vitamin D levels.

3. Use of sunscreen. Sunscreen prevents sunburn by blocking UVB light. Theoretically, that means sunscreen use lowers vitamin D levels. But as a practical matter, very few people put on enough sunscreen to block all UVB light, or they use sunscreen irregularly, so sunscreen’s effects on vitamin D might not be that important. An Australian study that’s often cited showed no difference in vitamin D between adults randomly assigned to use sunscreen one summer and those assigned a placebo cream.

4. Skin color. Melanin is the substance in skin that makes it dark. It “competes” for UVB with the substance in the skin that kick-starts the body’s vitamin D production. As a result, dark-skinned people tend to require more UVB exposure than light-skinned people to generate the same amount of vitamin D.

5. Weight. Body fat sops up vitamin D, so it’s been proposed that it might provide a vitamin D rainy-day fund: a source of the vitamin when intake is low or production is reduced. But studies have also shown that being obese is correlated with low vitamin D levels and that being overweight may affect the bioavailability of vitamin D.

6. Age. Compared with younger people, older people have lower levels of the substance in the skin that UVB light converts into the vitamin D precursor. There’s also experimental evidence that older people are less efficient vitamin D producers than younger people.

Don’t see a link, but this is on their e-mail newsletter. http://www.health.harvard.edu/

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/

Some people think you are a racist if you mention this

Pelosi—what part of Catholicism does she follow?

The Pelosi/Boehner smooch yesterday as he was reelected House Speaker reminded me of just how promiscuous she is. This story is 7 months old, but the history behind it is important. A "religious" 501c3 non-profit funded by Soros and promoting leftist causes. "The real story here is the betrayal of the bishops by those like John Gehring, formerly the Assistant Director of Media Relations at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who now works at the George Soros-funded Faith in Public Life/Faithful America. It is activists like Gehring who are providing the real power behind Pelosi’s threats. Faithful America is a 501c (3) organization that has been very involved in political activity during the past few years."

http://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/whats-behind-pelosis-attack-archbishop-cordileone

Faithful America was originally founded in 2004 by then Catholic Democratic congressman Tom Perriello. It was always a political organization—described in their literature as a “communications and organizing resource center dedicated to helping faith leaders reclaim the values debate in America for justice, compassion and the common good.” The reality was that Faithful America was created to help Perriello convince voters—especially pro-life voters—to move beyond what he called “divisive abortion rhetoric. . .

Faith in Public Life/Faithful American have implemented a strategy of attacking the teachings of the Catholic Church by directly attacking the authority of the bishops. Faith in Public Life has been flush with Soros money—although in 2010 Wallis refused to acknowledge the receipt of the funds.  Wallis finally admitted what he called “his error” when the funding was made public in an article called “Wallis vs The Truth” by World Magazine editor Marvin Olasky.”

Plane crash, war hero and God

No, this isn’t about Louis Zamperini, featured in the movie “Unbroken”.

In her 1944 book “The great answer” popular American author Margaret Lee Runbeck (1905-1956) writes about Eddie Rickenbacker’s 24 day ordeal in 1942 when the WWI hero was touring bases during WWII and the plane went down leaving the crew to drift for 24 days in the Pacific.  Runbeck writes about millions of people praying for him as a personal experience (very moving), “We waited and we did see.  Some of us almost gave up. But not the taxi-driver, nor the boy with the shoe-shine box, nor Joe who sells papers, nor Mrs. McGinty.  Nor Mrs. Rickebacker.  Nor I.”  She tells about the thrill and excitement when the newspapers reported the rescue and then reading down the column, “Four paragraphs down it was, in my newspaper, that word occurred.  “God.”  You don’t often meet it in a newspaper.  It gave you a funny feeling.  And more than that.  A strange excited feeling, as if something good had happened to all of us.”  She goes on to tell his story (with 6 witnesses) that Rickenbacker told of a gull lighting on his head, and his catching and killing it for the starving men to eat. 

"And this part I would hesitate to tell, except that there were six witnesses who saw it with me. A gull came out of nowhere, and lighted on my head -- I reached up my hand very gently--I killed him and then we divided him equally among us. We ate every bit, even the little bones. Nothing ever tasted so good."

She says everyone was talking about it, that gull and Eddie. Then after a few weeks he went on a speaking tour and something happened to the story. When it came to God’s part, or the millions praying, that had all been toned down and Rickenbacker had new, more sophisticated explanation for what had happened. Runbeck says she was very disappointed with the story that later ran in Life magazine. However, years later, after her death,  Billy Graham includes Rickenbacker’s story in his book Angels and says Rickenbacker became a Christian through the experience and told Graham God had sent an angel (p. 4).

Billy Graham also is featured in the Zamperini story, although not in the movie Unbroken.  The conversion story is left out of the movie.

From comments at a website selling old books, about The Great Answer by Runbeck.

“The Great Answer was a book that had come to me in a pile of books belonging to someone who had "moved on". I was riveted with the humility, the sincerity of each character in the book. This was a time when I was a pre-teen, and in the face of devastating bombing attacks on ships, on London, and on English country towns, people were saved from death and destruction by their simple trust in God. Their prayers and steadfast dedication in praying in the middle of the worst of the German attacks on England over a period of years, was very humbling. Sometimes the house the person lived in was reduced to rubble, to dust! But they walked away without harm. One woman walked out of concentration camp in Germany under the very eyes of the two guards on duty! People, clinging to pieces of planks,floated in the sea for three weeks before being picked up, but all were saved by the prayers of an older woman who had worked as a missionary. This book should be on the shelves of every home in every country.”

Music to study by

I know that my smart nieces like Lindsey,  Aliyah,  and Joanie take advantage of on line courses for college, but I think it's an age thing. I can't even get past registration for free sites, let alone stay awake to read that much on a screen. Hurts my eyes. But ladies, and anyone else studying hard, here's some piano music to study by. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVP3fUzQHcg

Al Sharpton’s Huckster diet

Low expectations

The liberals' racism of low expectations--absolving a  shakedown artist and presidential buddy, Al Sharpton. "Despite such racism [by Sharpton], President Barack Obama has made Sharpton his go-to guy on matters of race. But not to worry. Obama himself spent 20 years listening to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s anti-Semitic and racist sermons. The news media and intellectual elite don’t condemn Sharpton or Obama, because they have two standards of behavior: one for whites and a lower one for blacks." Walter E. Williams

http://blackcommunitynews.com/liberals-use-black-people-part-ii

http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2015/01/06/report-al-sharpton-shakes-down-corporations-to-make-racism-claims-disappear/

http://nypost.com/2015/01/04/how-sharpton-gets-paid-to-not-cry-racism-at-corporations/

http://nationalactionnetwork.net/

http://joeforamerica.com/2015/01/al-sharptons-money-train/

I wonder what he’s got on Obama?

Sorting through old recipes

The painters have finished; bookshelves are put back. I'm going through some loose recipes, pitching most, especially if they need cans of concentrated soups to make them taste good or I haven't tried them in 15 years of saving.

Here's a keeper. I made it for Christmas Eve 1996, "Light Baked Potato Soup." It's called light because the original had about 1100 calories a bowl, and this is 385. Best potato soup I ever ate and very hearty. The chef's index is still up on the web, so here it is. http://www.cafecreosote.com/recipe1.php3?rid=269

This is supposed to be similar to Houlihan's potato soup--which I've never tried and don't know if it is still on the menu. But if it is, it's over 1000 calories and you can't have dessert!

Some are just too cute to pitch. Like my daughter's hand printed (maybe 7th grade?) recipe for Chocolate Delight with a French Christmas carol. A recipe typed (manual) on Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy's note stationery given to me by Lynne Wilburn for Chocolate Cake (I'm seeing a theme). A hand written recipe on yellow lined paper for “Pumpkin Pie Squares” with a "to Olive from Meredith" note. "Refrigerator Pickles" recipe dated 9-4-96, probably my mother's on my dad's note paper. A pre-1989 Thanksgiving card from my sister with a Cranberry relish recipe in it. "Bus tour casserole" hand written by me from my mother's collection which I think was from a tour she and my sister took to New England. And a few from my "crunchy" days in the 1970s when my family was forced to eat a FLOTUS type menu.

This wasn’t in the pile, just like seeing Mom’s handwriting.

How the non-employed spend their time—men and women

I did a survey like this of my own life about 40 years ago when I was a SAHM and the children were in elementary school. I counted their time at school as "work," my husband's time including travel as "work," his home maintenance chores and outdoor yard care as work, and tracked what I did that could conceivably be called work--house cleaning, cooking, laundry, organizing, transportation of the children, supervising play groups, doctor's appointments, helping with school projects. I lost big time. Everyone in the family, including the children, was working harder and longer hours than I was (I had a nap every afternoon). The meme is how hard women at home work--nonsense. Many women I know make up work, both those who are employed and those who work at home. Being busy is a compulsion with many women, and a lot is just wasted time. My great great grandmothers Williford (TN) and Wenger (OH) worked hard--had no electricity or running water, helped with the farm, slaughtered animals for food, baked their own bread, made clothes and quilts, raised their own food, fed the hired men, nursed the sick, took in less fortunate relatives, and birthed 10+ babies. Now that was work!

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/01/06/upshot/how-nonemployed-americans-spend-their-weekdays-men-vs-women.html

Snow Day for schools in Columbus and suburbs

I don’t think it will amount to much—4 inches will do it here—or extremely cold.  AZ and I decided yesterday after hearing the forecast not to meet for coffee today, but I do have a dental appointment.  Maybe the roads will be clear by then.

Talk about privilege!

There was thin privilege.  And now White privilege.  But Asian Americans make the most money of any group.  Is that Asian privilege?  A married couple with children has a median income in the mid 80s compared to a single mom with children in the mid 20s. They are also healthier and better educated.  Is that marriage privilege?  And what about those educated people who are earning more than those with a GED or high school degrees?  Is that higher education privilege? Government employees make more money and get better perks than civilian.  Employment privilege?  And lobbyists make more and have more influence than the industries they represent.  Is that lobby privilege? The cost of living in Columbus, OH is 32.0% lower than in Long Beach, CA . Is that Buckeye privilege?

Bootleggers and Baptists

Regulations make strange bedfellows. Baptists may be pleased that liquor stores are closed on Sundays, but so are bootleggers because their competition is closed down. And this happens in all areas of the economy. Restrictions on some mean more profits for others. You really need to look for this in environmental regulations which sets up a new, lucrative cartel. http://www.learnliberty.org/videos/bootleggers-and-baptists/

Morning chuckle

Would a new law make a difference?

Most articles about immigration, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian and Communist, including this one, begin with this as a given, "The United States immigration system is broken." But when you look through the 10 points, you see the current law isn't being followed or enforced, so why would the next one?

An Immigration Checklist: 10 Areas of Reform that Congress Should Demand of the President

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/11/an-immigration-checklist-10-areas-of-reform-that-congress-should-demand-of-the-president

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/11/ten-step-checklist-for-revitalizing-americas-immigration-system-how-the-administration-can-fulfill-its-responsibilities

1. Overriding and removing existing executive orders, agency memorandums, or other executive policy directives that ignore or contradict existing law;
2. Allowing immigration agencies to enforce and apply the law without workplace interference, political pressure, or procedural obstacles;
3. Providing the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency with a fully operational system of sensor and camera technologies and infrastructure on the southwest border to multiply the efficacy of their efforts;
4. Using the appropriate judicial and administrative tools efficiently to remove and return unlawful immigrants to their home countries;
5. Increasing enforcement against businesses that knowingly employ unlawful labor;
6. Engaging with international partners and remaining committed to citizen security and democratic governance in the Western Hemisphere;
7. Making U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), more efficient and effective;
8. Reporting accurate immigration data to Congress and the American people in a truthful, consistent, and complete manner;
9. Soliciting the assistance and support of the states in enforcing immigration laws and limiting the effectiveness of those governments that attempt to frustrate enforcement with sanctuary policies; and
10. Verifying the success of these actions through honest and accurate Census survey data of the unlawful immigrant population.

“Under President Obama, immigration laws are unilaterally ignored, waived, or changed. The rule of law suffers and more illegal immigration is encouraged, imposing large financial and security costs on the U.S. Indeed, the U.S. immigration system is broken because of the executive branch’s decision not to execute existing immigration law. The U.S. is a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. There is no need to sacrifice either of these principles in pursuit of the other. “ David Inserra

Marriage and poverty

Marriage drops the probability of child poverty by 82%. U.S. Census Community Facts reports the median family income in married couple households with their own children is $82,163; for a male headed household with children it is $37,127; female headed household with children is $24,349. These figures do not reflect wealth transfer gov't programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, public housing, day care, and TANF. Marriage is a much greater fighter of poverty than adding years of education to a single parent.

"CHILDREN CHARACTERISTICS more information 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates" http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF