Stop editing yourself is this blind painter’s advice

There’re so many people saying, ‘Well, I can’t draw a straight line,’ or, ‘I can’t do this or that,’ and it’s interesting how, if you stop editing yourself–if you stop judging every little thing you do when it comes to art–you end up invariably being able to do way more than you thought. It seems like it’s the same way in life. When I lost my eyesight, I really thought everything was over because I already had epilepsy and all; but then thankfully, with the painting, I stopped thinking about it that way. I stopped editing everything I did, stopped worrying about the past or the future and just focused on being in the moment. Things got a lot better after that. I wish more people would do that, because they don’t realize that what they’re capable of is incredible.” John Bramblitt

https://usodep.blogs.govdelivery.com/2014/08/06/artist-sees-painting-as-a-way-of-life/

 

http://bramblitt.net/

This film is 10 years old, but shows how he has developed his art and skill. https://vimeo.com/5497828

Questions about health

One in twenty questions for Google concern health issues. "So starting in the next few days, when you ask Google about common health conditions, you’ll start getting relevant medical facts right up front from the Knowledge Graph. We’ll show you typical symptoms and treatments, as well as details on how common the condition is—whether it’s critical, if it’s contagious, what ages it affects, and more."  http://googleblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/health-info-knowledge-graph.html

“We worked with a team of medical doctors (led by our own Dr. Kapil Parakh, M.D., MPH, Ph.D.) to carefully compile, curate, and review this information. All of the gathered facts represent real-life clinical knowledge from these doctors and high-quality medical sources across the web, and the information has been checked by medical doctors at Google and the Mayo Clinic for accuracy.”

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Evolution of trade deals

George Will insists Scott Walker will need to answer Yes to believing in evolution. (A question he got from a British twit when he was there on trade business.) Really? Why is that? Because Wisconsin teachers' unions acted like troglodytes in trying to hang on to their cushy benefits that were destroying small Wisconsin communities?

Racism and double standard at NBC

Brian Williams, white guy lies, hobnobs with celebrities and the president, and gets fired. Al Sharpton, black guy lies, causes riots and death of policemen, cheats on his taxes, hobnobs with celebrities and the president, and keeps his job.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/ken-shepherd/2015/02/11/shouldnt-al-sharptons-lies-get-him-canned-msnbc-smoking-gun-asks

http://www.fireandreamitchell.com/2015/02/11/will-nbc-suspend-al-sharpton-brian-williams-fiasco/

http://thesmokinggun.com/documents/investigation/al-sharpton-lies-657391

Legalizing pot

I don't understand la la land states and politicians. They legalize pot which destroys brains cells and the center of pleasure making people dopey and stupid, but they outlaw vaping (inhale and exhale the vapor produced by an electronic cigarette with some nicotine in it) which from what I can see helps people wean themselves off cigarettes, but is more difficult to tax. Neither practice sounds beneficial, but pot has plenty of studies showing its harm, and there's very little research on vaping. I'm sticking with the tax theory.

50 shades of porn

For young adults and teens: "Fifty Shades of Grey is being released for Valentine’s Day, so you’ll think it’s a romance. Don’t fall for it. The movie is actually about a sick, dangerous relationship filled with physical and emotional abuse. It seems glamorous, because the actors are gorgeous, they have expensive cars and private planes, and Beyonce is singing. You might conclude that Christian and Ana are cool, and that even though their relationship is different, it’s acceptable.

Don’t allow yourself to be manipulated by a Hollywood studio. The people there just want your money; they have no concern whatsoever about you and your dreams." http://www.miriamgrossmanmd.com/an-open-letter-to-young-pe…/

President Obama’s big gay lie

There are several lies being told about Obama's gay lies (as revealed this week in David Axelrod's book). The big one (by Axelrod) is that it was justified because look at the progress gays have made during Obama's administration. Really? Reminds me of whites claiming the progress blacks made in the 60s was the result of their good will and beneficence. We'd be in the same place with McCain as president because this pot had been reaching a small boil for over 30 years. The next big lie is Obama was afraid he'd lose the support of black Christians if they knew he supported gay marriage. How many black men support marriage, period? The third big lie is that he "evolved" on the issue just in time for the 2012 election. I suspect he was going to be "outed" big time as some tried in 2008 if he didn't submit to the gay mafia.

http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/axelrod-obama-lied-nation-2008-about-his-view-gay-marriage

100 days

Our Conestoga, mid-winter, beat the blahs trip

We had a great time on our bus tour of Columbus today. The Columbus Historical Society offers this tour and can make special arrangements for your group.

"Travel through Downtown with its historical centerpiece, the Ohio Statehouse, and the new Columbus Commons; the Short North Arts District; German Village, the Arena District; Olde Towne East; the Discovery District; Franklin Park and much more. Listen to stories of national significance, international intrigue and local history and lore." http://columbushistory.org/bus-tour-2015

We had a great guide and I learned a lot I didn't know. For instance, in the 19th century, the finest homes and mansions were usually built on the east side of town (there are wonderful old houses on Columbus’ east side).  That’s so the sun was behind them when traveling to or from work.  We had lunch at the Governor's mansion, a delicious box lunch from Panera’s,  with a talk about its 70 year history and residents and visitors. President Reagan had been there (when running for president), as well as John F. Kennedy, and many other candidates seeking support from Ohioans.  Many interesting pieces are not original to the home, but came from the Mansfield Penitentiary storage facility where they’d been stored for decades because about 100 years ago it had a training school in woodworking.   One of the first ladies loved tag sales and one item she got for $500 is estimated to be worth about $15,000. Then it was back on the bus and off to Capital University to see a photography show about the Kennedys by Stanley Tretick, "Capturing Camelot" which will be available until March 25.

In the show about the Kennedys we saw at Capital University there was one photograph that noted the Nixon-Kennedy televised debate in 1960 and how Kennedy looked so tan (it was b & w TV) and Nixon who was recovering from surgery was so pale. What looked like a tan was Addison's Disease and Kennedy actually was abnormally bronze colored, and not a very healthy man, with other health problems. And it possibly won him the election, because it was neck and neck until that debate and Nixon looked so bad.

Not all supplements are good for you

Pay attention to your supplement suppliers. They are not regulated, and could be harmful. DNA testing of the product showed ". . . five out of six products tested did not contain the herb on their label, and that many contained cheap filler, like powdered rice, beans and houseplants, not listed. Some products even showed powered legumes, a plants class that includes peanuts and soybeans, which could harm people with allergies. " Good to know those retailers are removing them.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-avoid-buying-fake-herbal-supplements.html

A.G. Eric Schneiderman has sent “cease & desist” letters to four major retailers – GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreens – ordering them to stop selling certain popular products, including Echinacea, Ginseng, St. John’s Wort, and others until they could “provide detailed information relating to the production, processing and testing of herbal supplements sold at their stores, as well as set forth a thorough explanation of quality control measures in place,” a statement said.

The role of nutrition in Alzheimer’s Disease

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3393525/

It’s coded so I can’t copy the highlights, but the manuscript is available online.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4147716/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23696698

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20381316

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3385589/

http://www.biostat.jhsph.edu/courses/bio621/misc/Chocolate%20consumption%20cognitive%20function%20and%20nobel%20laurates%20(NEJM).pdf

Correlation isn't causation, but consuming chocolate closely correlates with the number of Nobel laureates in each country in this study. "Chocolate Consumption, Cognitive Function, and Nobel Laureates" NEJM occasional notes, October 10, 2012. http://www.biostat.jhsph.edu/courses/bio621/misc/Chocolate%20consumption%20cognitive%20function%20and%20nobel%20laurates%20(NEJM).pdf

Five shades of Grey—a Pastor’s viewpoint

“Rick McDaniel, senior pastor of Richmond Community Church, 11801 Nuckols Road, Glen Allen, Virginia 23059, says that while human sexuality is certainly a normal phenomenon, we need to understand it through the lens of God’s morality. McDaniel says Fifty Shades of Grey, with its explicitly erotic scenes that feature bondage, dominance and sadism, is dangerous, destructive and against the teachings of God’s promise of marriage. So he is planning a sermon series titled 5 Shades of Grey, in which he will tackle the five topics of adultery, divorce, cohabitation, pornography and gay marriage.”

Banks forced to fund left wing groups that helped create the mortgage problem

Don't know why this is on the news today, because it was a story last fall--banks forced to give money to the very left wing activist (like ACORN) groups that helped create the crash in mortgage values. Shouldn't that money have gone to the homeowners who believed their lies? http://www.wsj.com/…/bank-of-america-reaches-17-billion-set…

http://news.yahoo.com/doj-money-bank-america-settlement-liberal-activist-groups-212007619.html

“La Raza, Operation Hope, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America have all intimidated banks to give loans to minorities, even if they can’t afford to pay them back.”

Rana mushroom ravioli

This is not a paid product placement, just wanted to mention a product I tried and liked. I've never made ravioli, and not sure I've even ordered it in a restaurant, but this was very good. All natural, stays fresh in the bag. Cooks in 3 minutes in boiling water. http://www.giovannirana.com/products/mushroom-ravioli/

Last night I served it plain, from the pot, and it was excellent.  Today I served it with some tomato based sauce.

There are a number of products—check product on the web site.

Washington Post Marcus Opinion piece—the right is being too hard on Obama’s remarks to Christians

I’ve never heard of the writer, Ruth Marcus—works for Washington Post. “The right’s crusade against Obama” she called her column.  Her theology and grasp of history is almost as bad as the man she is defending. Maybe she’s fooled by his “yes, but…” style of speeches, but I’m not. Two can play that game.  Democrats say they are no longer that racist group that joined the KKK or supported Jim Crow, which was in my lifetime, but Obama had to reach back a thousand years.

This commenter, bingham60, nailed it:

Did Obama actually mean: “People Committed Terrible Deeds In The Name Of Democrats”

Lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other party, remember that from its founding, people committed terrible deeds in the name of the Democratic Party. In our own party, slavery and Jim Crow all too often were justified in the Democratic platform and even today support the cradle-to-grave welfare state ensuring democrats of generations of dependent poverty stricken democrat voters doomed to a life of poverty, misery and slavery to a gluttonous democrat government.

Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, possibly the first grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, spoke at the 1868 Democratic National Convention. Most Klansmen were Democrats. The party refused to condemn the Klan as late as its 1924 convention, a gathering wags called “the Klanbake.”

Woodrow Wilson, a progressive Democrat, was a white supremacist who re-segregated the federal workforce. Segregationists were part of the New Deal coalition and were running mates even to liberal Democratic presidential candidates into the 1950s. In 1956, 99 of the 101 politicians who signed the racist “Southern Manifesto” were Democrats.

The major civil rights legislation of the 1950s and 1960s were all filibustered by democrats and supported by a much lower percentage of Democratic members of Congress than Republicans. This included J. William Fulbright, who was a mentor to Bill Clinton, Al Gore Sr., who was father of the future vice president, and Robert Byrd, an ex-Klansmen who was the Senate Democratic floor leader until 1989 and an elected Democrat until his death in 2010. And then both Obama and Clinton and provided eulogies at his funeral.

George Wallace, Bull Connor and Lester Maddox were all Democrats… By now you get the point.

This shouldn’t be tit for tat, but really, the President was insulting.  It’s like a school kid saying, “well, he did it first,” and even that wasn’t accurate.  The Crusades were in response to hundreds of years of Muslim warfare, oppression and slave taking. The Crusades are over; jihad isn’t.

Six ways to prepare to age well

Well, when I saw that heading, I said, “Too late.”  But these are good reminders published in Health Beat, Harvard Medical School.

1. Adapt your home. Stairs, baths, and kitchens can present hazards for older people. Even if you don't need to make changes now, do an annual safety review so you can make necessary updates if your needs change. [When we remodeled out bathrooms we put in taller base cabinets and “comfort height toilets. Some recent changes in the kitchen, although not sure those will make any difference.]

2. Prevent falls. Falls are a big deal for older people - they often result in fractures that can lead to disability, further health problems, or even death. Safety precautions are important, but so are exercises that can improve balance and strength. [I’m nagging my husband a lot about the ladder and yard work.  We have hired a service for our lake house. We’re both in exercise classes and balance and strength are part of the routine.]

3. Consider your housing options. You might consider investigating naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs). These neighborhoods and housing complexes aren't developed specifically to serve seniors - and, in fact, tend to host a mix of ages - but because they have plenty of coordinated care and support available, they are senior-friendly. [We’ve been living in a NORC since 2002 and love it. We wanted a one floor plan, but have 3, and so far it hasn’t been a problem.  The grounds are gorgeous, and the neighbors the best.]

4. Think ahead about how to get the help you may need. Meal preparation, transportation, home repair, housecleaning, and help with financial tasks such as paying bills might be hired out if you can afford it, or shared among friends and family. Elder services offered in your community might be another option. [I have some friends in their 90s, and am watching carefully. Elder services seem to be quite good in our area. The kitchen repainting was done by professionals this winter.]

5. Plan for emergencies. Who would you call in an emergency? Is there someone who can check in on you regularly? What would you do if you fell and couldn't reach the phone? Keep emergency numbers near each phone or on speed dial. Carry a cellphone (preferably with large buttons and a bright screen), or consider investing in some type of personal alarm system. [We recently got new phones; bigger numbers, but I still like phones with a little heft.  These feel like they’d break if dropped, and the sound quality isn’t that great. We aren’t in the habit of carry cell phones.]

6. Write advance care directives. Advance care directives, such as a living will, durable power of attorney for health care, or health care proxy, allow you to explain the type of medical care you want if you're too sick, confused, or injured to voice your wishes. Every adult should have these documents. [We’ve got the funeral/burial stuff purchased, and wills, and power of attorney, but best of all, our children live close buy.  A family is the best safety net.]

This cartoonist got it wrong

Seems a bit over the top even for a political cartoon. I don't know a single person who denies that the climate has changed over the last 10,000 years or so, especially here in Ohio where the state was covered by a glacier until a few thousand years ago. Not too terribly long ago the science proved we were in another ice age.

I've never heard a Creationist suggest that science be stopped--they love being proven right time after time. The anti-vaxxers don't deny science in general, they just have believed stuff they see on the internet--originally published in a prestigious medical journal by scientists.

This cartoon diminishes the pain and suffering that militant, radical Muslims have inflicted on Yazidis, Christians, Afghanis and Iraqis. They've chopped off heads of children, crucified people, kidnapped girls to be slaves, and massacred other Muslims. Show me something even close by people who think science is sometimes/often way off track.

Then allow me to show you the retractions in science journals that are in every issue.

Bryant Gumbel vs. the NRA

Who has killed more Americans--Planned Parenthood which both the President and Democrats support or the NRA? Democrats put abortion in the political presidential platform and call it women's health. Or wait, let's leave out the NRA and just say murder/suicide by guns, most illegally owned. And let's not say all aborted babies, let's reduce that to just aborted black babies. How about that Bryant? 38% of the abortions are for black women.

Annual deaths in the U.S. by: Guns - 31,000+ (19K suicide, 12K homicide or accident) Abortion - 1,200,000+ but that's only counting medical and surgical, not chemical.

The Crusades vs. Jihad

Both are “holy wars,” but the jihad continues.  Wake up.

If you’ve been napping or you are only watching MSNBC, the President compared killing by Christians during the Crusades a thousand years ago with killing by ISIS at the Prayer Breakfast (organized by Christians) on Thursday. Then for good measure he threw in the Inquisition (which was an effort by the Spanish crown aka big government), slavery in the U.S., and Jim Crow (all by implication caused and carried out by Christians). History alert: world wide slavery, both cross Atlantic in the 17-18th centuries and today were supported and financed by Arabs and Muslims; Jim Crow was primarily a Democrat effort to hold back newly won rights given by Republicans, and free blacks in the U.S. during pre-Civil War days owned slaves at a higher rate than did white citizens.  Our dear leader has given the jihadis more ammunition. They too talk about the Crusades today, and ignore that they were in response for Muslim warriors forcibly converting millions of Christians, destroying their countries, and taking them as slaves to Africa. Every dot on the above map represents a successful battle by Islamists spreading their hate, fear and religion.  It began in northern Africa, moved to the islands of the Mediterranean, took over Spain (where their civilization was called Moor), into France, Italy, southern Russia, etc. Our President not only leads from behind, but he is waaaaaay behind.

I remember this book from second grade, Miss Flora, Forreston Elementary School

“Horton Hatches the Egg is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and published in 1940 by Random House. The book tells the story of Horton the Elephant, who is tricked into sitting on a bird's egg while its mother, Mayzie, takes a permanent vacation to Palm Beach. Horton endures a number of hardships but persists, often stating, "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful, one hundred per cent!" Ultimately, the egg hatches, revealing an elephant-bird, a creature with a blend of Mayzie's and Horton's features.”

I’ve never forgotten it, and think it influenced me to be an adoptive mom.

Although I read Dr. Seuss books to my children (they seemed to love Green Eggs and Ham, the fourth best-selling English-language children's book of all time), I don’t recall reading any others when I was a child.

Speaking of measles

The President’s gaffs at the National Prayer Breakfast

Lots of buzz about what the President said at the National Prayer breakfast yesterday. This guy really needs to be quiet about religion. First he decides to compare ISIS terrorism with the Christians who killed during the Crusades, without mentioning it was a reaction to the Muslims taking over Christian countries for a few centuries and forcing conversions on the threat of death. Then he throws in the inquisition and U.S. slavery and Jim Crow.

None of those comparisons make the Muslims look very good if that's the standard, Mr. President. Arabs began the cross-Atlantic slave trade by selling Africans to the European slavers, and today's slave trade is still heavily Muslim based. Free blacks in the U.S. owned slaves at a higher rate than whites in the South in the early 1800s. And Jim Crow of the 20th century was a gift from Democrats--not Christians or Muslims. Really, he needs someone on his staff who knows a little history.

If I were going to talk about violence among Christians, I'd suggest the death of Tyndale. He smuggled English Bibles into England so people could read the Bible in their own language. His English was more influential even than Shakespeare's for our modern language. He was strangled and burned at the stake for his effort. I'm not sure if Henry VIII was Catholic or Anglican at the time, but someone thought Tyndale needed to die. He was a threat to the power structure.

Obama is just way too eager to deflect any pressure on the world Muslim community to stop the behavior of the ones he claims are not real Muslims. His behavior seems to be having the opposite effect--he seems to be enabling it.

http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/05/obama-uses-prayer-breakfast-to-call-for-curbs-on-islam-criticism/

http://www.worldmag.com/2015/02/christ_islam_contrasted_at_dc_prayer_breakfast

http://www.frontpagemag.com/2015/dgreenfield/obama-defends-islam-attacks-christianity-at-prayer-breakfast/

True followers

Franklin Graham: "Today at the National Prayer Breakfast, the President implied that what ISIS is doing is equivalent to what happened over 1000 years ago during the Crusades and the Inquisition. Mr. President--Many people in history have used the name of Jesus Christ to accomplish evil things for their own desires. But Jesus taught peace, love and forgiveness. He came to give His life for the sins of mankind, not to take life. Mohammad on the contrary was a warrior and killed many innocent people. True followers of Christ emulate Christ—true followers of Mohammed emulate Mohammed."

Billionaire Sandlers support left wing causes

“Herb and Marion Sandler made billions of dollars in the mortgage business they sold, and many observers across the political spectrum have noted the harmful role they played in the housing meltdown. Yet their philanthropic efforts, tilted heavily to the far left, have helped them maintain respectability even among those who criticize non-leftist financiers. Mrs. Sandler died in 2012, but her husband soldiers on with their billion-dollar family foundation, supporting the kind of Saul Alinsky-type community organizers who were so helpful when the Sandlers wanted pressure put on business rivals.” Foundation Watch, Feb. 5, 2015
http://capitalresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/FW0215.pdf

Is the immigration law broken or not followed?

Instead of claiming the immigration system is broken, let's tell the truth. No one, not the federal government, not employers, not non-profit do-gooders, and not illegals follow the law. I don't know how to check this, but Michael Medved says the biggest violators are not those who come over the southern border, but those who come on student and work visas and then over-stay. "Meanwhile, some conservatives still decry a tidal wave of illegal immigration from Mexico, even though all arrivals from that country, legal and illegal, made-up just 13 percent of all immigrants between 2010 and 2013. Immigrants from Asia outnumbered Mexicans by 3-and-a-half to one, and continue to represent the bulk of new arrivals." (Michael Medved)

BTW, Michael Medved who is a conservative talk show host on politics and popular culture  from Seattle is on locally at 3 p.m. on 98.9 FM, but has had surgery for throat cancer, and right now is healing and has substitute hosts.  Praying for your recovery.

“I was diagnosed in the middle of December with stage three throat cancer. I began medical treatment immediately at one of the finest cancer centers in the country and my prognosis for full recovery is very good; in the great majority of cases, this is a highly curable form of cancer. In fact, given my fierce desire to keep doing the show I managed to broadcast every day while completing more than half of my daily radiation and weekly chemotherapy treatments. I would go to the hospital first thing in the morning then make my way down to our Seattle studios to do the live show. The doctors warned me that this would become increasingly difficult.” Link

The marriage gap is hurting children

The gap isn't gender, it isn't income, it isn't education. It's marriage, and that determines education and income. Young people from less-privileged homes are more likely to graduate from college and earn more if raised by two married parents--44% more likely to graduate from college if their parents are married. The bump in income is the greatest for children of those families that are intact, but didn't attend college. The association between intact families and income is not significant for children of college-educated parents.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/10/marriage-makes-our-children-richer-heres-why/280930/

Ours is an indoor cat, but this is just too cute

Our kitty is indoor only. She remembers her homeless days and is happy to stay inside. Now she's too old to dig in the garbage disposal which she did for many years while learning to trust a twice a day feeding. But this is just cute.

King of Jordan has the balls, the rest of the leaders including our President have deflated

ISIS has about 40,000 blood thirsty killers in its "military," and has taken over large swaths of Iraq after we pulled out. Why is it that all the surrounding countries wishing death to Israel can't pull on their big boy pants and wipe them out? Even Kurdish women have armed themselves and are sharing guns to be snipers to kill ISIS thugs. Our president has no strategy.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/02/05/jordan-hangs-2-al-qaeda-prisoners-after-isis-video-shows-jordanian-pilot-burned/

King Abdullah, who was in Washington for a diplomatic mission when the video depicting the horrific death of Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh hit the Internet, returned to Amman early Wednesday, after the dawn hanging of Sajida al-Rishawi, who was convicted for taking part in a 2005 triple hotel bombing that killed 60 in Amman, and Ziad al-Karbouly, an Iraqi who served as an aide to Al Qaeda in Iraq founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The executions had been announced hours after the video of the death of Al-Kaseasbeh, who officiials now believe was killed as early as Jan. 3.

Do we need one more “legal” way to damage brains and collect taxes?

Pot users are absent from work (and life) more, injured more often on the job and bad decisions are more common. Regular pot use interferes with the pleasure center of the brain until nothing but pot gives pleasure. The science will be ignored by liberals and libertarian-conservatives alike. You can lose 8-9 IQ points by using it once a week over time. Trust me folks, when you're my age, you'll need all those points. It is sickening to see state legislators drooling over the prospect of taxing yet another practice that damages citizens.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/william-bennett-and-robert-white-legal-pot-is-a-public-health-menace-1407970966

The rubella epidemic of 1964-65

So you think it doesn't matter if you vaccinate your child, that it's your choice? And what about my choice, my child? In 1964 we didn't have the vaccine (available by 1969), and I was pregnant in my first trimester and exposed by a neighbor who had rubella. She didn't know I was pregnant and I didn't know she had the measles until she mentioned it. We named him Patrick Howard. Born with multiple defects incompatible with life November 17, 1964. http://www.vashonloop.com/article/rubella-epidemic-1964-65

Dr. Anna writes:  Rubella immunization has cut down the cases of congenital rubella syndrome significantly. Many people who get rubella don't know they have it, even at the height of the disease course. It can be very mild, and the rash can be very faint. I don't remember having rubella, and my mother didn't remember me having it either, but I have a positive rubella titer (immune to rubella).

ISIS is killing children, using them as sex slaves, bombs

As reported in the New York Times: “Islamic State (aka ISIL, ISIS) is a breakaway al Qaeda group that declared an Islamic caliphate across parts of Syria and Iraq last summer. It has killed thousands and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes, in what the United Nations has called a reign of terror.

On Tuesday, the group, which is also known as ISIL, released a video showing a captured Jordanian pilot being burnt alive.

The U.N. body, which reviewed Iraq's record for the first time since 1998, denounced "the systematic killing of children belonging to religious and ethnic minorities by the so-called ISIL, including several cases of mass executions of boys, as well as reports of beheadings, crucifixions of children and burying children alive".

A large number of children have been killed or badly wounded during air strikes or shelling by Iraqi security forces, while others had died of "dehydration, starvation and heat", it said.

ISIL has committed "systematic sexual violence", including "the abduction and sexual enslavement of children", it said.

"Children of minorities have been captured in many places... sold in the market place with tags, price tags on them, they have been sold as slaves," Winter said, giving no details.

The 18 independent experts who worked on the report called on Iraqi authorities to take all necessary measures to "rescue children" under the control of Islamic State and to prosecute perpetrators of crimes.”

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/02/04/world/middleeast/04reuters-mideast-crisis-children.html?_r=1

Support for the unborn and the new born

The generous people of Central Ohio fund free pregnancy centers to save the unborn, and help the mothers who choose life. It takes $1.5 million a year to keep our 6 centers and hotline running smoothly--and it's all free to the clients. That includes maternity clothes, baby layettes, material needs, classes in parenting, and personal counseling. Not all choose life, but they are still treated with loving concern for their well being. If you'd like to help you can give a gift on-line. Life matters. http://www.pdhc.org/

“It was such a revelation to see how the abortion rights side can’t come to grips with the fact that dismemberment abortions cause hideous pain,” he said [Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J] . “A child hurts as his or her arms and legs [are severed], and ultimately they are decapitated by the abortionist. They just paper over that. They say it’s not true, even though the evidence is overwhelming that the child feels pain at least at the 20-week point and probably even before.”
http://www.wnd.com/2015/01/congressman-obama-is-the-abortion-president/

http://superstore.wnd.com/Abortion-Free-Your-Manual-for-Building-a-Pro-Life-America-One-Community-at-a-Time-Autographed

Anti-Israel protests at UC Davis

Who says the President can't lead and isn't transparent?  Students at U. California-Davis can sure follow his lead with anti-Israel, pro-Palestine shout downs and anti-Semitic vandalism.  Remember those campus protests of the 60s?  Those students grew up to be tenured professors.

 http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/02/03/pro-palestinian-students-heckle-cal-davis-opponents-with-cries-allahu-akbar/

Minimum wage? What about middle wage?

Don't be fooled by sob stories about minimum wage.  It's a tiny percentage of American workers—4.3% of hourly wage earners and 2.9% of all workers.  The whines and finger wagging at the teleprompter keep us distracted from the fact that Obama demonizes business, capitalism and wealth, and that means the middle class wages are flat. The economy is stagnant. It is the middle class not getting a raise. By talking about minimums he doesn't have to address your business or investments squashed by oppressive taxes and regulations. 78% of minimum wage earners are white and 63% are female.  The average family income of a minimum wage earner is $53,113 and they are more likely to have some college than the average American worker. Why?  They are not the primary earner of the family!

“Perhaps surprisingly, not very many people earn minimum wage, and they make up a smaller share of the workforce than they used to. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, last year 1.532 million hourly workers earned the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour; nearly 1.8 million more earned less than that because they fell under one of several exemptions (tipped employees, full-time students, certain disabled workers and others), for a total of 3.3 million hourly workers at or below the federal minimum.”

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/08/who-makes-minimum-wage/

“The primary value of minimum-wage jobs is that they are learning jobs. They teach inexperienced employees basic employment skills that make them more productive and enable them to earn raises or move to better jobs.”

“The proposed minimum wage increase of $10.10 an hour would bring the minimum cost of hiring a full-time worker—including the Obamacare penalties—to $12.71 an hour.”

 http://www.heritage.org/research/factsheets/2014/01/facts-about-the-minimum-wage

Minimum wage “often holds back many of the workers its proponents want to help. Higher minimum wages both reduce overall employment and encourage relatively affluent workers to enter the labor force. Minimum wage increases often lead to employers replacing disadvantaged adults who need a job with suburban teenagers who do not.” 

http://www.heritage.org/research/testimony/2013/06/what-is-minimum-wage-its-history-and-effects-on-the-economy

Health benefits of cinnamon

This article suggests five, and then ways to add it to your diet.

10 easy ideas:

• Sprinkle cinnamon into your coffee, or add it to your coffee grounds before brewing.
• Add a dash or two of cinnamon to hot oatmeal, overnight oats, or cold whole grain cereal.
• Fold cinnamon into yogurt, along with cooked, chilled quinoa, fresh cut fruit, and nuts or seeds.
• Freeze cinnamon in ice cubes to add zest and aroma to water or cocktails.
• Season roasted or grilled fruit with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
• Stir cinnamon into almond butter, or any nut or seed butter, and use as a dip for fresh apple or pear wedges or a filling for celery.
• Add a pinch of cinnamon to lentil or black bean soup, or vegetarian chili.
• Season roasted cauliflower, sweet potatoes, spaghetti, and butternut squash with a pinch of cinnamon.
• Sprinkle a little cinnamon onto popped popcorn.
• Stir a little cinnamon into melted dark chocolate and drizzle over whole nuts to make spicy ‘bark’ or use as a dip or coating for fresh fruit.

February 2, 2015

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

Our book club meets this afternoon--"Flight Behavior" by Barbara Kingsolver. I can't say it's my favorite novel (you might have guessed I prefer non-fiction). However, this writer has a way with words. What dog owner (yes, I've had a few in my younger days) wouldn't love this paragraph when Dellarobia (main character) let's her dog out into the snow:

"Snow. Roy bounded wolfishly through the white deep, nosing into drifts, leaving a tangled line of tracks as he hurried to put his small yellow tags on all of the year's most notable points. The dog version of Post-its."

Spoiler: The author was ahead with the next to last chapter of love, sacrifice and redemption of the past, then spoiled it in the final chapter with self-centered, silly "I gotta be me" decision by the main character. It's like being reminded how dumb we were in our 20s.

Fortunately, I found this for $2 at the library sale.

Today is Ground Hog Day

Sally Sims Stokes doesn’t mention Phil in her professional presentations, but I think her first library job had to do with taking care of a ground hog in Pennsylvania.

http://www.arlisna.org/images/conferences/2014/ses10_stokes.pdf

The shrinking middle class

There's something very wrong with all the articles on the shrinking middle class (faster under Obama than Bush). Can't quite put my finger on it, but this is part of it.

"“I would consider middle class to be people who can live comfortably on what they earn, can pay their bills, can set aside something to save for retirement and for kids in college and can have vacations and entertainment,” said Christine L. Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, a left-leaning research and advocacy group.""  (NYT)

Forget for a moment that Owens describes only material wealth. Who is in that household? Are they a single mom with 3 children for a family of 4, or a married couple with 2 children for a family of 4? Decreasing middle class tracks with decreasing marriage rate. It's not that there aren't successes in single parent households--look at Dr. Ben Carson, or people in your own family who are doing fine. But a 2 doctor household or a middle manager and a nurse household will most likely have a better shot at "middle class life" described by Ms. Owens than a retail clerk.

25 years ago Charles Murray researched and described the British underclass, finding high crime rates, low (not un-) employment, illegitimacy, falling marriage rates, loss of social glue, etc. Of course, the British always had a more distinct class divide than the U.S. but after making headway in the 20th c. it was sliding backward. And the Brits weren't anymore thrilled with his conclusions than the Americans were in 2011 when he published "Coming Apart," describing what is happening to white Americans.  The British system of benefits, like ours, penalizes marriage. http://www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/cw33.pdf

When a left leaning source like the New York Times points out that not even its socialist savior Barack Obama can stop the gap between the top and the middle, can’t put the middle class to work, then you know something else is afoot.  Oh, of course, it must be the fault of capitalism, the very system that built the middle class.

Black History Month begins today

Sunday, February 1st. February is Black History Month, a time to honor the many contributions to our nation's history made by people of African descent. Started as a special week in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson, the observance is now a full month of activities across the country. African-Americans, in counting single race or in combination with others, number over 44 million in the U.S. By 2060, this figure is projected to reach nearly 77.5 million — about 18.4 percent of the country's entire population. Although New York has the largest number of blacks of any state at 3.7 million, Washington, D.C., has the highest percentage at over 52 percent. Cook County, Illinois, effectively Chicago, had the largest black population of any county in 2012, numbering 1.3 million. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

Source:
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2014/cb14-ff03.html

Ashamed

As Bergdahl’s father spoke his scripted Arabic greeting while Barack Obama nodded approvingly, I've never been more ashamed of a President's action than this arrogant, destructive exchange of another stone in our foundation of freedom – for evil men who hate our freedom. Our once solid rock upon which we were built turns to sand with astounding anti-American acts praised by Leftists. We will – we MUST – survive this President, but God help us survive the people who still support this.

- Sarah Palin

8 tips from Harvard Medical School for safe and effective strength training

Always warm up and cool down properly.

Use proper form to avoid injuries and maximize gains. You can learn good form through a class or one-on-one sessions with a certified exercise professional.

Breathe out when you are lifting or pushing; breathe in as you slowly release the load or weight. Never hold your breath while straining. This action, called the Valsalva maneuver, can temporarily raise your blood pressure considerably and can be risky for people with cardiovascular disease.

Don't lock your joints; always leave a slight bend in your knees and elbows when straightening out your legs and arms.

Don't be so eager to see results that you risk hurting yourself by exercising too long or choosing too much weight. And remember that it's important to rest muscles for at least 48 hours between strength training sessions.

If you've been sick, give yourself one or two days off after recovering. If you were ill for a while, you may need to use lighter weights or less resistance when you first resume exercising.

Strength training exercises should not cause pain while you are doing them. If an exercise or movement causes significant pain, stop doing it! When performing an exercise, stick with a range of motion that feels comfortable. Over time, try to gradually extend that range.

Listen to your body and cut back if you aren't able to finish a series of exercises or an exercise session, can't talk while exercising, feel faint after a session, feel tired during the day, or suffer joint aches and pains after a session.

Healthbeat, January 31, 2015

10 reasons she’s no longer a leftist

I was never a "leftist," but I voted Democrat for 40 years, which in 1960 or 1972 was a bit different than today, but I was also quite uninformed. War on Poverty, check; clean up the environment, check; more rights for women, check. Read the constitution. . . not checked.

Because I'd had a lot of Russian history in college and many friends whose families had escaped Communism, I knew what the left was, but never connected the dots to our system of ever expanding government control.

The author says she was "an active leftist for decades. I never witnessed significant leftist outrage over clitoredectomy, child marriage, honor killing, sharia-inspired rape laws, stoning, or acid attacks. Nothing. Zip. Crickets. I’m not saying that that outrage does not exist. I’m saying I never saw it."

And on religion—Christian or otherwise: “Read Marx and discover a mythology that is irreconcilable with any other narrative, including the Bible. Hang out in leftist internet environments, and you will discover a toxic bath of irrational hatred for the Judeo-Christian tradition. You will discover an alternate vocabulary in which Jesus is a "dead Jew on a stick" or a "zombie" and any belief is an arbitrary sham, the equivalent of a recently invented "flying spaghetti monster."

“Given that the left prides itself on being the liberator of women, homosexuals, and on being "sex positive," one of the weirder and most obvious aspects of left-wing hate is how often, and how virulently, it is expressed in terms that are misogynist, homophobic, and in the distinctive anti-sex voice of a sexually frustrated high-school misfit. Haters are aware enough of how uncool it would be to use a slur like "fag," so they sprinkle their discourse with terms indicating anal rape like "butt hurt." Leftists taunt right-wingers as "tea baggers." The implication is that the target of their slur is either a woman or a gay man being orally penetrated by a man, and is, therefore, inferior, and despicable.”

And let’s not forget being called an old hag, demented or worse at leftist sites.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/07/ten_reasons_i_am_no_longer_a_leftist.html

We may not get what we vote for

Sometimes we the people vote based on the person's record or our values (Candidate was a Democrat, but switches to socialist), or the slogans (hope and change) or the promises (we'll get rid of Obamacare), and then when they get to DC the old private club mentality kicks in. This is why our founders left many decisions like education, social welfare, religion, up to the states. It's easier to keep tabs on what they are doing if you know your community, city, county, and state. The president was not supposed to be more powerful than Congress and the Supremes were not supposed to make laws, but no one reads the instructions any more.

It’s outrageous that they (Republicans) will approve this woman. There is nothing I've read about Loretta Lynch that makes me confident she will be the best top cop Obama can find who is female, black and leftist. Is the bench that shallow? Her record isn't that great and she seems to be a racist who has never read the Constitution or immigration law. Why is she a shoo-in? I've looked at what some leftists have said, but that boils down to the tired, old "you're a racist” if you oppose her.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/396640/loretta-lynchs-secret-docket-ryan-lovelace

Roland Lane observes on Facebook

1. The President has informed all Americans that the Taliban is not a terrorist organization. Wow. Just like that. We feel better now.
2. Word has leaked out that Army Deserter Bowie Bergdahl was indeed a deserter but the army is sitting on the report as it has for six months.
3. One of the 5 Taliban leaders released in exchange for DESERTER Bowie Bergdahl is back in contact with Taliban leaders in Afghanistan. Not surprising since Qatar, the custodian of the terrorist Taliban leaders is knee deep in acting as a conduit for terrorist activities.
4. The Russians have begun eating the Ukraine again. The Ukraine is out of news but the Soviets, excuse me, the Russians have taken a couple more cities.

Marijuana on the brain

Marijuana also affects brain development, and when it is used heavily by young people, its effects on thinking and memory may last a long time or even be permanent. A recent study of marijuana users who began using in adolescence revealed substantially reduced connectivity among brain areas responsible for learning and memory. And a large long-term study in New Zealand showed that people who began smoking marijuana heavily in their teens lost an average of 8 points in IQ between age 13 and age 38. Importantly, the lost cognitive abilities were not fully restored in those who quit smoking marijuana as adults. Those who started smoking marijuana in adulthood did not show significant IQ declines. Drug facts, Marijuana http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/06/nih-marijuana-effects/1751011/

Dreaming of Spudnuts

When we were students at the University of Illinois there was a Spudnut shop in Urbana. It's gone, but this one is in Canoga, Park, CA. (There are a number of them in California).  This is a donut with maple syrup with crumbled bacon. Spudnuts got their name from a special recipe using potato flour--at least 70 years ago. There is nothing in the world better.

http://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/the-spudnuts-saga-a-bite-of-donut-history-2375403

Countdown to the Apocalypse by Robert Jeffress

If you like end times, apocalyptic literature, I've received a new one to review: "Countdown to the Apocalypse; why ISIS and Ebola are only the Beginning," by Robert Jeffress, New York: Faith Words, 2015, pb 128 pp, available as e-book. I've seen Pastor Jeffress on Fox to discuss spiritual issues in the news. He's the pastor of the 11,000 member First Baptist Church in Dallas, has a daily radio show and a weekly TV program, and has authored 20 books. I'm not into signs, tribulation and the rapture, in fact, considering where the world was 100 years ago (WWI, pandemic, monetary inflation, etc.).  I think we live in good times which few of us seem to appreciate. I'm the Christian who says, "I've read the Bible, I know the ending, we win." I leave the details for God to work out.

Jeffress does list all the obligatory signs that Christians since Paul have been citing, but by Chapter 3 he gets into radical Islam and how ISIS/ISIL came to be such a problem. He ties it into specific Bible stories and scripture. Then on to moral revolution and disorder in our society which is weakening our ability to stand up to persecution. He closes with hope, with Jesus Christ, "If He comes today, we win. If He comes in 50 years, we win. If He comes in one thousand years, we win." But be prepared. Faithwords.com

The Talented Mr. Ripley (movie)

We received a free three month trial for HBO recently, and last night was the first time I actually watched an entire movie, The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) was nominated for many awards, and world wide grossed nearly $129 million with a production budget of $40 million. 

There are some big name actors in it, although since it was made in 1999, based on a 1955 novel, they are even bigger now—Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, and Philip Seymour Huffman.  The 1950s costumes and styles were very good as was the Italian scenery.  Although the author of the book (was actually 5 books) denied that Ripley was homosexual—just confused--but he certainly is in the movie. He kills one desired lover who spurned him, one whom he loves, and a friend of the first who figured out his scam.  On the list of 329 gay themed movies at Box Office Mojo, it is #4 in gross.

It’s very dark, but the main character, played by Matt Damon, is quite interesting and the viewer is dragged protesting into liking him, at least I did.  Damaged but endearing. Tom Ripley is sent to Italy by Dicke’s father to bring him home, and instead falls in love with Dicke’s lifestyle and then Dicke, whom he later kills when he rejects him to marry his girlfriend Marge, and assumes his identity. He also has to kill Freddie, Dicke’s good friend who figures out his scam, and finally his lover Peter who is about to find out, but who knows him as Tom Ripley when others think he is Dicke.

The author of the novels on which the movie is based, Patricia Highsmith, was described by Otto Penzler, an acquaintance as “a  mean, hard, cruel, unlovable, unloving person.  I  could never penetrate how any human being could be that relentlessly ugly." So perhaps that’s how she could draw such dark, evil characters to people her novels. Her own mother didn’t help much by telling her she wanted to abort her—had even tried. (Wikipedia)

Obama drops plan to tax families of college bound

Although President Obama says he wants to help middle class families he proposed in the State of the Union speech taking away (i.e. taxing them more) their incentive to build their own account to save for college--make them even more dependent on the federal government. After loud protests, even from his own party (who seem to be catching on), he has stopped eyeing the hard earned/saved college money. The 529 plan has become very popular and about 12 million American families rely on the accounts to help with college costs. Not to worry, I'm sure he'll start lusting for our IRAs and 401-k's since it's just not fair that some of us regularly saved and invested for our retirement years when others only have Social Security or food stamps.

Q. What is a 529 plan? (IRS.gov)

Answer. A plan operated by a state or educational institution, with tax advantages and potentially other incentives to make it easier to save for college and other post-secondary training for a designated beneficiary, such as a child or grandchild.

Q. What is the main advantage of a typical 529 plan?

A. Earnings are not subject to federal tax and generally not subject to state tax when used for the qualified education expenses of the designated beneficiary, such as tuition, fees, books, as well as room and board. Contributions to a 529 plan, however, are not deductible.

http://www.savingforcollege.com/intro_to_529s/name-the-top-7-benefits-of-529-plans.php

http://www.collegeadvantage.com/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obama-drops-proposal-to-cut-tax-benefits-of-529-college-savings-plans/2015/01/27/5f3f429a-a675-11e4-a2b2-776095f393b2_story.html

Nancy Pelosi has had babies, the Pope hasn’t, therefore. . .

Nancy, Nancy, Nancy. Being a Catholic doesn't mean you are capable of having babies--if that were the case, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist women would be Catholics; it means you believe the church's teachings that they had a God given right to life from conception before you popped them out. "At her Jan. 22 briefing Pelosi said she had "great standing" to speak on the issue of abortion, noting that she was a "Catholic and a mom of five" and asserting that it was "true" she knew "more about having babies than the pope." (CNSNews.com, Jan. 26) If you don't believe what your church teaches, find another church.

She could become a Protestant--there are about 23,000 Protestant denominations in which she could be the Pope every time she looked in the mirror or read a verse from scripture. Or, just find 2 or 3 others and start her own.

The trip to India and Saudi Arabia

If Obama still chews nicotine gum for his cigarette habit publicly and internationally and in front of cameras, doesn't that mean he's now addicted to the gum? It's embarrassing--especially watching him remove it with his fingers (which I assume has been shaking a lot of hands) and then putting it back. Yuk. http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessat…/…/addicted-to-nicorette

I don't generally defend Michelle Obama, but the critics of her clothing/no head covering for Saudi Arabia are just being ridiculous. Remember the outrage when Pelosi covered her head in a Muslim country! Really, folks, let's stick to policy (and rude behavior like chewing gum) and leave the ladies alone. She looked appropriate and was well covered. Should Amish or Hutterite women take off their prayer coverings when visiting a Lutheran church?

In the Christian faith, where this is done (Anabaptist groups, Catholics in an earlier time and some Pentecostals) the cover/veil is to show headship--God, then man, then woman, so the woman was acknowledging the proper male authority within the church. Since Islam took many Christian and Jewish teachings and all were middle east in origin, it may be the same source.The Obamas are United Church of Christ, or were when they lived in Chicago, and although some may wear hats it's not to show headship.

Jibber jabber or Marie and Jen

I’ve lost 11 lbs and gone over 150 miles, but it’s boring to ride the exercycle, so today I pulled my pb Roget’s Pocket Thesaurus (c. 1946) off the shelf.  Turned to UNMEANINGNESS.  Thought of this morning’s news story on Al-Jazeera deciding to forbid “terrorist” and “terrorism” from its new stories.  Of course, the President and Secretary of State’s spokestaff (Marie Harf and Jen Psaki) have already done that.  Here’s what I saw:

Absence of meaning

drivel

senselessness, empty sound

nonsense

jargon

gibberish

bombast

balderdash

babble

inanity

twaddle

trash

rubbish

absurdity

imbecility

folly

ambiguity, vagueness

gibber jabber

American Dreams by Marco Rubio

"If we want to restore the American Dream, we need tax policies, regulatory policies and spending policies that make America the best place in the world to invest, and the easiest place in the world to create new businesses and new jobs through innovation." Marco Rubio, American Dreams (2015), p. 11. That would mean undoing just about everything the federal government has done in the last 20 years, wouldn't it? This hasn't just happened in the last 6 years. Even if you remove the word "fair" and "gap" from the bureaucratic vocabulary, we'd have a long way to go. If fathers won't marry the mothers of their children, won't get a full time job, and turn their noses up at minimum wage, I don't see any policy or tax plan that will fix an attitude.

I think last week the president said just the opposite—raise taxes, increase regulations and discourage investment by trying to make everything “fair.”

January 27, 1945

70 years ago. Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated by the Red Army of the Soviet Union. There aren't many survivors left--and most were children then. And there aren't a lot of us left who knew the survivors when we were growing up and listened to their stories. Some were victims of Soviet oppression in the Baltic states; others of the Nazis. Many churches were still resettling people in the 1950s. I went to college with young adults who were children rescued by American soldiers and later immigrated to the U.S. My husband's college roommate was an Italian war orphan. Mine was an escapee from Communist China.

In the early 1980s I became friends with a woman from Bexley (Columbus suburb) whose husband, although born in the U.S., was a child of his parents' second marriage. Both had been married and each had 3 or 4 children in the 1930s, but lost spouse and children in the Nazi concentration camps. After liberation they met each other in a camp and married, came as refugees to the U.S., started a second family for both, and had 4 more children. We are so fortunate to have this type of strength and faith as our foundation for American citizenship.