Spinach or Kale

Kale is trendy; it’s the darling of the nutrition bloggers, and today I had both spinach and kale.  Which is better for us?

“Should Popeye have been eating kale over spinach or was he making the right choice? Because he was consuming spinach for iron, he was correct. One cup of spinach meets 36 percent of the recommended daily iron value, whereas kale supplies 6 percent. As for other nutrition facts: one cup spinach has 41 calories, 4.3 grams of fiber, 5.3 grams of protein, 244.8 grams of calcium, and 838.8 milligrams of potassium. The same quantity of kale has 36 calories, 2.6 grams of fiber, 2.5 grams of protein, 93.6 grams of calcium, and 296.4 milligrams of potassium. Besides being an excellent source of potassium and calcium, spinach is a nutritional powerhouse delivering vitamins K, A, C, E, and B2. Kale is also a nutrition winner, packing vitamins K, A, C. As a child, I hated spinach (even though I adored Popeye), but now I love it. I want to love kale too, but my taste buds won't oblige.

Bottom line: Nutritionally, spinach slightly edges kale, but you can't go wrong choosing either. Both are great sautéed, steamed, or added to soups and salads.”

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2012/11/08/mango-or-papaya-spinach-or-kale-food-face-offs

Hillary owns the server—no chance to find the truth

“I want the public to see my email. I asked State to release them. They said they will review them for release as soon as possible.”–Hillary Clinton

Sharyl Attkisson reports

“In a statement, a [Benghazi] committee spokesman added, “The former Secretary’s tweet does not answer questions about why this was not done when she left office, the integrity of the emails while she controlled them, the scheme to conceal them, or the failure to provide them in logical course. The Chairman has said the former secretary is welcome to and should release all of her emails, but legitimate investigations do not consider partial records. And that is the point of the subpoena issued yesterday by the Benghazi Committee.”

Clinton ally David Brock, head of the liberal blog Media Matters and Chairman of the Board at the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), is among the political operatives rushing to Clinton’s defense. In a appearance on MSNBC this week, Brock deployed his common tactic of demanding a retraction from the news outlet publishing the revealing information about Clinton–in this case, the New York Times.”

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/03/07/emails-show-clinton-aides-running-interference-during-benghazi-attack/

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/hillary-clinton-media-105901_Page6.html

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/state-dept-changes-story-on-emails-115841.html?ml=m_po

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/mark-davis/2015/03/06/hillary-clintons-use-of-private-server-for-official-emails-put-her-at-risk

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/05/politics/hillary-clinton-email-home-server/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/state-department-reviewing-whether-clinton-e-mail-violated-security-rules/2015/03/05/16d1547e-c378-11e4-9271-610273846239_story.html

Seeing a travel agent today!

Those who support Obamacare are also on record as supporting killing the unborn for gender, disability, poverty or just parental whim

The usual villains--, MomsRising, The Center for Reproductive Rights, League of Women Voters, NARAL, National Employment Law Project, People for the American Way Foundation, Planned Parenthood Foundation, and UltraViolet.

They and dozens of other leftist groups have all filed an Amicus brief opposing the challenge to Obamacare, which is in violation of the law as written and passed.

Lakeside preliminary schedule for summer 2015 is shaping up

Spring Cleanup Day Saturday, April 25

Mother's Day Brunch Buffet  Sunday, May 10

Memorial Day Weekend Activities  Friday, May 22-Monday, May 25  Jack Hanna 'Into the  Wild – Live'  Sunday, May 24

2015 Bonus Weekend Activities Friday, May 29-Sunday, May 31 Guest Preacher: The Rev. Vernon Shepherd Sunday, May 31

West Ohio Annual Conference Sunday, June 6-Thursday, June 11

East Ohio Youth Annual Conference  Friday, June 12-Sunday June 14

East Ohio Annual Conference Sunday, June 14-Thursday, June 18

Chautauqua Season Opening Day & Classic Car Show Saturday, June 20 Miniature Golf Dedication Saturday, June 20  Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr. Saturday, June 20

OSU Alumni Band Saturday, June 27

Garden Tour Monday, June 29

Mike Farris "Sings the Soul of America" Friday, July 3

Fourth of July & Children's Bike Parade Saturday, July 4 Fourth of July Float Parade,  Fourth of July  Fireworks  Saturday, July 4

Preacher of the Week: The Rev. Dr. Jerry Root Sunday, July 5

Chautauqua Lecture Series: C.S. Lewis Monday, July 6-Thursday, July 9

Taylor Dayne Saturday, July 11

"State of Lakeside" Address Thursday, July 16

Three Dog Night Saturday, July 18

Lakeside Wooden Boat Show & Plein Air Art Festival Sunday, July 19

Lakeside Women's Club Tour of Homes Thursday, July 23

Steven Curtis Chapman Saturday, July 25

Light Up Lakeside Celebration Saturday, July 25-Friday, July 31

5k Raccoon Run Sunday, July 26

Lakeside Symphony Orchestra Opening Night Wednesday, July 29

Tim Hawkins Saturday, Aug. 8

Northwestern Ohio Gladiolus Show Saturday, Aug. 15

Little River Band Saturday, Aug. 15

Chautauqua Lecture Series: Civil War Week Monday, Aug. 17-Friday, Aug. 21

Antique Show Saturday, Aug. 22  "Summer Serenade" with Jim Brickman & Pavlo Saturday,   Aug. 22

Mike Albert & the Big "E" Band Saturday, Aug. 29  Labor Day Weekend Activities Friday, Sept. 4-Monday, Sept.7

Not sure why they left out the art show—my husband is always in that, but this isn’t the entire schedule.

Céline Dion - The Power Of Love

Sometimes we old ladies think nothing beautiful came out of modern popular music, and although this is no longer new, especially not for the 18 to 21 year olds, I think it is powerful, lovely, and one of the best of the 1990s.  The power of love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8HOfcYWZoo

http://www.celinedion.com/ca/home

I think she, Lady Gaga and Adele (especially Rolling in the Deep) are better than anything made by women in earlier eras of popular music.

So much better than Doggie in the Window, or It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to.  Agreed?

Lyrics aren’t so great, but you can’t beat Gaga for performance and glamor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4Gwc6XBgQ4

Social networking—the impact

This could be a little dated considering the speed of change on the internet.  It was published in January 2014, but updated in September 2014. About 50% of people over 65 use a social networking site—and at the time of the survey, the preference was Facebook. Pew Internet Project

“Do social networking sites isolate people and truncate their relationships? Or are there benefits associated with being connected to others in this way? In November 2010, we examined SNS in a survey that explored people’s overall social networks and how use of these technologies is related to trust, tolerance, social support, community, and political engagement, and found:

• Social networking sites are increasingly used to keep up with close social ties
• The average user of a social networking site has more close ties and is half as likely to be socially isolated as the average American
• Facebook users are more trusting than others
• Facebook users have more close relationships
• Internet users get more support from their social ties and Facebook users get the most support
• Facebook users are much more politically engaged than most people
• Facebook revives “dormant” relationships
• MySpace users are more likely to be open to opposing points of view

How cell phones have changed surveys

“Historically, phone-based surveys dominated as the method of choice among those looking for a representative sample of U.S. residents. However, the prevalence of cell-only households has changed that approach dramatically. In 2013, the CDC estimated that 39.4% of American households were cell only, a lifestyle particularly prevalent among the young and those in lower socioeconomic status groups.

Given the prevalence of cell-only homes, online panels specifically built to represent the U.S. population are now the standard approach. The Pew Research Center estimated that 86% of adults used in the Internet in 2013. Online panels do have biases, but these can be mitigated with an appropriate sampling and weighting strategy.” FAQ People for bikes survey

“Because of these limitations [bias, lack of access and no standard list], researchers use two main strategies for surveying the general population using the internet. One strategy is to randomly sample and contact people using another mode (mail, telephone or face-to-face) and ask them to complete a survey on the web. Some of the surveys may allow respondents to complete the survey by a variety of modes and therefore potentially avoid the undercoverage problem created by the fact that not everyone has access to the web. This method is used for one-time surveys and for creating survey panels where all or a portion of the panelists take surveys via the web (such as the GfK KnowledgePanel and more recently the Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel). Contacting respondents using probability-based sampling via another mode allows surveyors to estimate a margin of error for the survey (see Why probability sampling for more information).” Internet surveys, Pew Research

What the Supreme Court will decide

“In March 2010, Congress passed, and President Obama signed, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA was never implemented as written. The ACA authorizes subsidies to health insurers operating in state-established exchanges, but not the federal exchange. Some 37 states opted not to establish their own exchanges. Nevertheless, the Administration has been paying subsidies to insurers in those 37 states.

On March 4, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in King vs. Burwell. At stake is the Administration's payment of subsidies to health insurers operating in states which use the federal exchange. The Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision by July. A decision to uphold the ACA, as written, will surely cause millions of people to stop paying premiums that will double, triple, or more after the Supreme Court strikes down the illegal subsidies.”

“. . . According to the Congressional Budget Office, there will be 2.5 million fewer full time jobs in 2017 than if Obamacare had not been enacted.

Congress has four options . . .

 http://healthblog.ncpa.org/obamacare-versus-the-affordable-care-act/

How America bikes

I thought riding my bike at Lakeside last summer would be a good option because my bursitis hurt too much to walk.  On the first day I rode my 1968, no-speed bike to a program, I fell.  Actually, I just tipped over and hit a stop sign.  That was the end of my biking for summer 2014.

U.S. Bicycling Participation Benchmarking Report

• Thirty-four percent of Americans ages 3+ rode a bicycle at least one day in the past year.
• Of those who rode a bicycle, 30% rode five days or fewer.
• Those who rode for transportation are much more likely to have done so to get to and from social, recreation, or leisure activities (70%) than to have commuted to and from work or school (46%).
• Forty-eight percent of adults in the U.S. don’t have access to an operational bicycle at home.
• Fifty-four percent of adults in the U.S. perceive bicycling as a convenient way to get from one place to another and 53% would like to ride more often. However, 52% worry about being hit by a car and 46% say they would be more likely to ride a bicycle if motor vehicles and bicycles were physically separated.

Download the Report
Methodology
FAQs

A joke submitted by friend Mary

Subject: FINISHED

The dictionary has ever been able to define the difference between "complete" and "finished." However, during a recent linguistic conference, held in London, England, Samsundar Balgobin, a Guyanese linguist, was asked to make that very distinction.

The question by a colleague in the erudite audience was this: "Some say there is no difference between 'complete' and 'finished.' Please explain the difference in a way that is easy to understand."

Mr. Balgobin's response: "When you marry the right woman, you are 'complete.' If you marry the wrong woman, you are 'finished.' And, if the right one catches you with the wrong one, you are 'completely finished.'"

His answer received a five minute standing ovation."

Before and after Obamacare

Massive tax scam

Don’t ever respond to the phone calls (or e-mails) supposedly from the IRS.  They are phony.  SCAMS!!  Reported on CBS this Morning.  This is not how the IRS works—although it’s a pretty heavy handed organization since release of information on investigating and harassing Christian and conservative organizations.

Just keep hanging up when you get such a call.

“Another major telemarketing scam starts with a threatening phone call supposedly from the IRS demanding money.

Tim Poulakis says he responded to a voice mail message from a man who said, “I am officer Andy from Internal Revenue Service.” The caller warned him “don’t discard this message” and told him to return the call before we take any legal action against you.

Poulakis said when he heard the message, “I panicked.”

He called back and was told he owed the IRS money for errors in four years of tax returns. Poulakis said he was told he had to pay the money that day. “Otherwise you will be detained. Sheriffs will come to your office,” and he would be arrested.

“They put the fear of God in me,” Poulakis said and he followed their instructions. He was told to pull money out his account, go to stores and load up prepaid cash cards to pay off the $3,489 debt. They had him scratch a number off the back of the card, read it to them, and kept him on the phone until the money was apparently downloaded to an account.

Then Poulakis was told they had some type of error and the amount was incorrect. He actually owed an additional amount ultimately bringing his total to $20,177. He followed the same instructions using prepaid cash cards explaining that he always tries to “do what’s right,” and “I just wanted this to go away.”

After learning from his tax preparer that this was a scam, “I was crying. And I couldn’t believe it. I was so angry.”

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/02/17/2-investigators-sophisticated-fast-growing-scams-costing-victims-millions/

This woman knew it was a scam and decided to scam the scammer. Watch what she does—leads them on (they barely speak English), then tells them what they are doing is illegal, so they hang up on her.

Mayo Clinic BMI calculator

Just barely squeak into the normal zone. I’ve lost 18 lbs since Christmas. http://www.mayoclinic.org/bmi-calculator/itt-20084938

Yes, it’s the old tried and true ELMM method—eat less, move more. Works every time, but it does take longer as we age. I’m “embracing” healthy eating with no crazy changes or diet books. Just more fruits and vegetables, more salads with a variety of greens, eating all the colors, steaming, no sandwiches, making a lot of soup from home made broth, avoiding all my triggers—potato chips, crackers, cheddar cheese, processed foods in general and no glass of red wine with dinner.

Yesterday I made baked meatballs out of canned salmon—got them nice and brown, really delicious.  It’s easy to warm them up for a meal.  Even my husband liked them. Also I make up a mess of black beans, brown rice and grilled onions with a smidgen of either bacon or hamburger, divide into 4 packages, and then use that warm on my salad greens with some pieces of fat free feta cheese. I could waste away to nothing before I’d develop a taste for feta, so I think it is pretty safe. If made in Greece, it’s a brined white cheese made from sheep or goat milk, or if U.S. made, may be from cow’s milk.  I can’t tell from this label.

Also more exercise—4-6 miles on the exercyle, spread over 4-5 times a day on the bike so I don’t reinjure my bursa. I’m also using my husband’s finger strengthener for his guitar while I cycle, trying to improve my grip which had become so weak I needed help to open jars.

My leg pain of the last 3+ years was gone after the first 10 lbs., but I’m still being careful.

And yet the IRS found the time and resources to harass conservatives

“The Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) fiscal year 2015 appropriation ($10.9 billion) and staffing levels (81,279 full-time equivalents, or FTE) continue a decline that has occurred over several years and are now below fiscal year 2009 levels. Since fiscal year 2010, IRS’s annual appropriation has declined by $1.2 billion, and staffing has fallen by about 11,000 FTEs since fiscal year 2009 while the agency’s workload has increased for reasons such as a surge in identity theft related refund fraud and the implementation of key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). In response to budget cuts, IRS has taken steps to reduce staffing costs including extending a hiring freeze and limiting seasonal employment. According to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, IRS may also furlough employees for 2 days later in fiscal year 2015. IRS is concerned about filing season performance, and anticipates it may face some challenges processing returns that claim the Premium Tax Credit—an advanceable, refundable tax credit designed to help eligible individuals and families with low or moderate income afford health insurance purchased through the Health Insurance Marketplace. As a result, IRS expects that some refunds may be delayed. IRS also projects significant declines in telephone level of service—only 38 percent of taxpayers who seek help from a live assistor will receive it and wait times will average almost one hour. IRS cites resource constraints and increased call volume as primary factors contributing to the decline in telephone performance.” GAO “Observations on IRS's Operations, Planning, and Resources “, GAO-15-420R: Published: Feb 27, 2015. Publicly Released: Mar 3, 2015.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/irs-admits-targeting-conservatives-for-tax-scrutiny-in-2012-election/2013/05/10/3b6a0ada-b987-11e2-92f3-f291801936b8_story.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/14/lawmakers-say-irs-targeted-dozens-more-conservative-groups-than-initially/

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324659404578501411510635312

10 reasons Muslims join ISIS

ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, was the first name that was given to the organization since its territory was in Iraq and Syria. The acronym in Arabic "Dae'sh," has four Arabic letters, D, A, E', Sh. D stands for al-Dawla (state), A stands for  al-Islamiya (Islamic), E' stands Iraq and  Sh stands for Sham (Levant). Sham nowadays stands for Damascus or Syria but in its historical Islamic context Sham or Levant included Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Palestine. So a more accurate name for the organization is ISIL, the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant. As ISIL's vision grew larger it changed its name to IS which stands for Islamic State. Their vision is far bigger than Iraq and Levant. They want to expand into Asia, Africa and Europe.   Nabeel Jabbour

http://www.nabeeljabbour.com/Blog/February-2015/ISIS-10-Reasons-Muslims-are-Eager-to-Join

Dr. Nabeel Jabbour, author, lecturer, and expert on Muslim culture, will be teaching at UALC on Monday, April 13, at 4:00 PM at Mill Run campus of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, Hilliard, Ohio. He is a frequent speaker at churches and seminaries, and is a lecturer for the Missions Perspectives course. He is originally from Lebanon. He lived with his family in Egypt for fifteen years. He and his family moved to Colorado Springs in January 1991. Since 1997, the Jabbours have been U.S. citizens. Although Dr. Jabbour comes from an Arab Christian background, for the first fifty years of his life, Muslims were his neighbors, teachers, friends, roommates, and students

Don’t believe the leftist chefs cooking the economic soup with jiggered figures about the suffering middle class

“Measured in 2013 dollars, after-tax median income rose briskly from $46,998 in 1983 to $70,393 in 2008 but remained below that 2008 peak in 2011. The sizable increase before 2008 is partly because the average of all federal taxes paid by the middle fifth has almost been cut in half since 1981—from 19.2% that year to 17.7% in 1989, 16.5% in 2000, 13.6% in 2003 and 11.2% in 2011.” Because people have lost income under Obama, he wants it to look like a 40 year tradition. Nonsense.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/alan-reynolds-the-mumbo-jumbo-of-middle-class-economics-1425340903/

My 100% remission from Rheumatoid arthritis, by guest blogger Gerhard Maroscher, Circleville, OH

In the summer of 2006 I suddenly came down with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).  The only warning I had that something was amiss prior to 2006 is that several years before, for a nine month period I had muscle pains and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I started anti-inflammatory drugs in 2006 and did my best to stay active from 2006 to 2012, but always had some pain.  At times the pain was debilitating. 

In July of 2012 I contacted a woman whose RA had gone into remission through a special diet.  She told me she had gone 100% dairy free and 100% gluten free, and within a short period of time she was pain free.  I believed her story, and I had nothing to lose and decided to follow her diet.

July 25 of 2012, which was one of my cycles with severe pain, I began a new diet.  I eliminated all dairy and gluten from my diet.  Regarding dairy, I even avoided anything where dairy was even a minor or even minuscule ingredient.  I stayed on my meds because I did not expect the diet change to have any impact.  Amazingly I was totally pain free in two weeks.  I then began to taper off my medicines over the next three months.  I continued to improve until about December.
 
I began to educate myself and read two books she had recommended.  From my reading I think the most likely reason I am in remission is the elimination of all dairy products, but I‘m not willing to risk adding back in the gluten. 

In December 2012 my joints were in better shape than one can expect at 69, but I felt there was room for improvement and I modified my diet again.  Of course I stayed dairy free and gluten free.  I then went on The China Study diet which is a whole plant food diet.  No processed foods and no animal protein.  The change was not dramatic, but my joints improved nevertheless.  I am now 71 and have zero joint issues and zero joint pain.  I have now been blessed for almost three years with 100% remission from RA.

My current diet is 95% in keeping with the China Study diet.  The whole plant food diet is modified a bit by me occasionally eating fish or meat, but never very much.  By the way the China Study diet does not see a problem with gluten in the diet. What it does recommend is whole plant foods and of course zero dairy.

The take way from all this?  Diet is more important than we realize.  One is never too old to make a good decision. 

For anyone considering a diet change test, based on my experience and my reading, if there is going to be a positive result, it will be seen within four weeks.  Such a diet change as mine will not help everyone, and certainly will not help many as dramatically as it helped me, but even it there is a little bit of improvement, that is a good thing. 
My qualifications for discussing the above?  I have absolutely no nutrition training and no medical training.  But I have the real life experience of a miracle healing.  
 
I recommend reading “The China Study” by T. Colin Campbell.    There are a number of opportunities at this website for more research. http://www.thechinastudy.com/the-china-study/about/

Dr. Pamela Popper wrote a book suggesting whole food plant based diet with very little fish and meat. http://wellnessforum.com/
 
Dr. McDougal also wrote several books.  McDougal recommends eating no animal products.  http://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/health-science/featured-articles/articles/diet-only-hope-for-arthritis/

After reading the above I also recommend reading “The Inflammation Free Diet Plan” by Monica Reinagel and she also has a blog and is on Facebook. http://inflammationfactor.com/monica-reinagel-ms-ln-cns/

La Raza’s has always lobbied for open borders and amnesty—long before Obama—their goals meet

President Obama’s stunning reversal of his own views on deportation policy is only the most prominent example of influence enjoyed by the National Council of La Raza, which calls itself “the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States.” In addition to its sway with the president, the group has seen its government revenues rise with help from a high-level White House staffer and also seen a former member be named to the Supreme Court.

http://capitalresearch.org/2015/02/la-razas-growing-influence-gaining-clout-and-tax-dollars-in-all-branches-of-government/

http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2011/06/nclr-funding-skyrockets-after-obama-hires-its-vp/

For Democrats it’s about votes; but for La Raza it’s about Reconquista.

Obama goes after the second amendment

General Eric Holder's Department of Justice has used its "Operation Choke Point" to manipulate banks and third-party payment processors to drop whole categories of businesses the Obama administration disfavors, such as online arms and ammunition sellers, tobacconists, and payday lenders. Left-wing nonprofit allies of the Administration like the Center for Responsible Lending and Americans for Financial Reform have provided media support.

“This is not law enforcement. It is intimidation backed up by the might of the government.” http://capitalresearch.org/2015/03/operation-choke-point/

Manipulating lending institutions to achieve social ends.  Who would have thought?  Isn’t that how we got the housing bubble and bust beginning with the Community Reinvestment Act in the 1970s and ending in the Great Recession of 2008? (Actually, it isn’t over; you can still get zero down home loans).

And isn’t that how we’re accumulating mounting college loan debt—to achieve social ends by paying universities through the back door while unprepared students enter through the front? Sallie Mae is like Freddie Mac.  Equal opportunity.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/01/29/fdic-retreats-on-operation-choke-point/

http://dailysignal.com/2015/03/02/newt-gingrich-choke-point-beginning-real-tyranny-united-states/

http://spectator.org/articles/42211/true-origins-financial-crisis#!

http://www.inc.com/mark-cuban/video-student-loans-bubble.html

The wall of shame has 60 names

Sixty Democrats didn’t show up (may have been one Republican—not sure) to hear Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who had been invited by the House Speaker to address the Congress of the U.S. Democrats made up this yahoo charge that it was political and Israel was having elections. What a crock. What isn’t political these days? Since when have we cared about anyone else’s elections? Do we even know when Canada or Mexico is having an election, and they are our next door neighbors!

Why would any leader of a modern, non-Islamic country under threat of extinction refuse such an invitation? Why would he insult Congress by saying, “Well, I’ve got to run this past your president to see if it’s OK.” Or,  “Maybe I’d better wait until after the elections when Iran will be an even bigger threat.”

According to our 3 part system of government, the House is the most powerful part of Congress, and Congress is a bigger deal than the presidency. Yes, it’s become screwed up in the last 100 years, but that’s the way our Constitution is written. Article I, Section 1 starts with Congress, not the Executive or Judicial branch. Section 2 of Article I begins with the House, not the Senate. The idea of those crazy founders climbing out from under a Monarchy system was that the people, through their elected representatives from their communities, should have the biggest say in governing other Americans. They would originate the laws and apportion the taxes. The Senate was supposed to represent the interests of the individual states, so it was further removed from the people.

Through the leader of our most important branch of the government the people of the U.S. wanted to hear what the tiniest country in the middle east had to say about the threat to its existence. And wow. What a speech. It could make me cry (and almost did) to hear what a real leader sounds like.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31716684

Meeting Jesus, Matthew 25

At UALC this past month we’ve been meeting Jesus as he promised us in the Gospel of Matthew by feeding the hungry .

• Souper Bowl Sunday 2015; thank God for a successful event at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church that resulted in $5,716 in cash and 2,796 donated cans of food being collected for Lutheran Social Services food pantries. That translates to 242,868 cans of food for hungry people!
• Community Meal Packing Project;  thank God for anointing those who gathered last week to pack 763,320 meals for hungry people both locally and in Haiti, and for the opportunity we had to share Jesus with those who came to Mill Run to help pack food.

We worked in groups of 10-12, in 30 shifts, packaging, weighing and sealing 3 different types of meals that will be distributed by Meals from the Heart.   Close to half the meals will go overseas to programs like the Andrew Grene School near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The remaining meals will stay in this country to be distributed through the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, Lutheran Social Services and the Salvation Army. Each bag contains enough dried food for 6 meals.

“Meals from the Heart is a division of Mano Amiga, a 20-year-old 501c3 non-profit company organizing and facilitating mission trips for youth organizations from churches and schools is based in Minnesota. Mano Amiga works to help people in need. Homes get roofs, schools get built, lives get changed. Workers return from the trips with a new outlook on life.”

Spineless, gutless Republicans—a challenge for the electorate

I noticed this editorial comment in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons (outspoken opponents of Obamacare).

“On Nov. 4 the electorate spoke and awarded the Albatross Award to President Barack Hussein Obama and his socialist colleagues in Congress who voted for “ObamaCare.” The midterm election was not just a referendum on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but a referendum on the President’s other harmful and failed policies, and the bureaucratic incompetence that is the hallmark of his administration.” Obviously, written before January and passing the baton.

Now that the Republicans have the House and Senate they are dithering as though they lost. I don’t know why they can’t take advantage of their win—it never stops the Democrats from playing dirty and smart. The Net has been neutered; the illegal gifts from Obama to the illegal immigrants are still in place; softening opposition to Obamacare; Hillary’s being given a pass on her illegal behavior and lack of a record; Keystone—on and on.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/17/us/congress-budget-debate.html?

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/technology/path-clears-for-net-neutrality-ahead-of-fcc-vote.html?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2015/03/02/obamas-claim-that-keystone-xl-oil-bypasses-the-u-s-earns-four-pinocchios/?

http://poorrichardsnews.com/post/112342727813/repealing-obamacare-not-included-in-jebs-list-of

There are so many scandals and bad, anti-American policies in this administration, it should be a piece of cake, but instead the Republicans just have egg on their faces.

Buck v. Bell Supreme Court decision, 1927

Some of the most egregious moral errors in U.S. history have come through the Supreme Court. Dred Scott. Separate but equal schooling. Interracial marriage outlawed. Japanese internment during WWII. Sodomy laws upheld. Dirty words ruling. Roe v. Wade.  Obamacare is legal because it is a tax.  And then there is sterilizing people thought to be substandard humans—like Carrie Buck.

“The plaintiff, Carrie Buck, a 17-year-old girl from Charlottesville, was the first person chosen for sterilization. Carrie had a child out of wedlock—likely as the result of a rape by a friend of her foster family. Since her mother was a prostitute, the Virginia Colony Asylum decided that Carrie should be institutionalized because she and her mother Emma shared the hereditary traits of “feeblemindedness” and sexual promiscuity. . .

“On appeal to United States Supreme Court, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., a student of eugenics, wrote the formal opinion for the Court:

Carrie Buck is the probable potential parent of socially inadequate offspring, likewise afflicted, that she may be sexually sterilized without detriment to her general health and that her welfare and that of society will be promoted by her sterilization…. It is better for the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes. Three generations of imbeciles are enough.”18, p 208

School records prove that Carrie’s daughter Vivian was not feebleminded. Her first grade report card showed that Vivian was a solid “B” student, received an “A” in deportment, and had been on the honor roll.8, p 190 Sadly, she died at age 8 from enteritis—probably a preventable childhood disease. Carrie was released [from the asylum] and became a housekeeper and an avid reader, and she married a carpenter in 1932.

The Buck v. Bell precedent allowing sterilization of the “feebleminded” has never been overruled.”

Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons Volume 19 Number 4 Winter 2014,  The ‘Science’ of Eugenics: America’s Moral Detour Marilyn M. Singleton, M.D., J.D.

Rasheed Sulaimon—where is the crime?

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, neither female student at Duke filed charges or talked to the police.  Sulaimon may be a scum bag, but aren’t there some rules to follow here?

Separate allegations of sexual assault by Sulaimon came from two female students in the 2013-14 academic year. Both students voiced allegations publicly, but neither filed a complaint through the Office of Student Conduct or took legal action through the Durham Police Department. The students declined to discuss their allegations with The Chronicle.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2015/03/02/duke-reportedly-knew-of-sexual-assault-allegations-against-rasheed-sulaimon-since-march-2014/

http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2015/03/02/rasheed-sulaimon-center-sexual-assault-allegations-prior-dismissal

Neither paper gives the names of the women who heard the allegations at a diversity retreat not the names of the women who said it happened.  In another life with fewer stakes we’d call that gossip or bullying. How does an employee of Duke report an assault that wasn’t reported?

Christianity by the numbers

Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians:  There were 981,000 of these souls in 1900; there are 643,661,000 of them today; and there are projected to be over one billion Charismatics and Pentecostals in 2050. In raw numbers, then, Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity is the fastest growing phenomenon in world religious history.  And there are many more numbers in this First Things article.

Our aging brain—you’ll need about 70 minutes to watch this

Free radicals, anti-oxidants, mitochondria, effects of exercise, energy, toxins, role of stress, different nutrients and so forth. Dr. Russell Blaylock writes The Blaylock Wellness Report newsletter and has authored four books, Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life, Natural Strategies for Cancer Patients, and his most recent work, Cellular and Molecular Biology of Autism Spectrum Disorders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49RRFs8qIVE#t=962

Writes a column for Newsmax.

Food additive excitotoxins and dementia

Kitchen sink spirituality

The new kitchen counter tops are in; the appliances are working after several false starts and installations; I’m planning on some different accessories and paintings.  We also had to do some kitchen repair at our lake house, which I haven’t seen yet.  We don’t have a dishwasher there, and we enjoy the time we spend doing dishes together (my husband likes to wash). And although I certainly didn’t appreciate doing dishes with my Mom when I was a child (a rotated task for 3 daughters), I look back on that time fondly now and the talks we had.   Now what? Perhaps some prayer and praise while cleaning up?

http://www.lisadeam.com/kitchen-sink-spirituality/

Asian students file law suits over affirmative action

Asians score higher than any other group, so colleges have to handicap them in order not to have a disproportionate minority group.

“In a tutoring center’s workshop on college admissions in the valley, Ann Lee tells Asian-American parents about a Princeton study on how race and ethnicity affect admissions. Being black is worth 230 SAT points, according to the study. Hispanics receive a “bonus” of 185 points. Asian applicants are penalized by 50 points, says Lee. “Do Asians need higher test scores? Is it harder for Asians to get into college? The answer is yes,” Lee says.” Joanne Jacobs

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/11/18/rejected-asian-students-sue-harvard-over-admissions-that-favor-other-minorities/

On time from Haiti

There goes our internet—along party lines, of course

The Democrats on the FCC did Obama’s bidding.

Flavonoids found in many foods

Flavonoids are a group of plant metabolites thought to provide health benefits through cell signaling pathways and antioxidant effects. These molecules are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables. The abundance of flavonoids coupled with their low toxicity relative to other plant compounds means they can be ingested in large quantities by animals, including humans. Examples of foods that are rich in flavonoids include onions, parsley, blueberries, bananas, dark chocolate and red wine.

http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-are-Flavonoids.aspx

Quercetin and epicatechin are examples of flavonoids, essential pigments found in many fruits and vegetables.

Quercetin is the aglycone form of flavonoid glycosides such as rutin and quercitrin which are found in buckwheat, citrus fruit and onions. Quercetin is thought to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and to protect against some forms of illness such as cancer. However, the clinical evidence to support this claim is not yet available, despite promising initial research findings. Quercetin is found in various types of fruits, vegetables, teas, wine and many other food items.

Catechins are important flavonoids abundant in the leaves of the tea plant.* Examples include epicatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epigallocatechin gallate. When oolong tea or black tea is prepared, the leaves are allowed to oxidize. This causes conversion of some or all of the catechins to larger molecules and reduces the flavonoid content. White tea is tea that has undergone even less processing than green tea and therefore provides the highest catechin content.

http://www.news-medical.net/health/Quercetin-and-Epicatechin.aspx

http://www.ihealthdirectory.com/flavonoids-rich-foods/

*All teas from the Camellia plant are rich in polyphenols, antioxidants that detoxify cell-damaging free radicals in the body. Tea has about eight to 10 times the polyphenols found in fruits and vegetables, and the longer you steep the tea, the more flavonoids you'll get in your brew. Some believe white tea can reduce cholesterol and blood pressure and acts as a blood thinner and contibutes to bone density, all because of the falconoids (there are thousands of falconoids, and it’s a great word for Scrabble).

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/health-benefits-tea
http://www.whiteteaguide.com/whiteteahealthbenefits.htm

DIY decaf white tea (because it can have a lot of caffeine): "Just brew a cup as normal, leaving the leaves in the hot water for about 30 seconds. Then drain the tea leaves and rebrew... The caffeine content is almost completely lost with the first brewing (in fact, just as much caffeine is equal to any commercial decaf!)." From a non-working website.

http://directorsblog.nih.gov/2014/11/04/could-flavanols-reverse-age-related-memory-decline/

Green tea extract and cognitive functions

Cocoa Sustainability—what is that?

This is Hershey’s statement about its farmers who grow the products:

Hershey’s 21st Century Cocoa Sustain ability Strategy seeks to modernize cocoa farming to increase farmer incomes, attract new farmers and improve cocoa growing communities. The 21st Century Cocoa Sustainability Strategy will also help accelerate Hershey’s commitment to purchase 100 percent certified cocoa by 2020 for all chocolate products around the world.

Hershey is currently focusing its initiatives in West Africa – Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana – because cocoa farmers there have the greatest need to improve their farms and raise living standards for themselves and their families. Hershey is working on similar farm improvement projects in Indonesia and Latin America, including an innovative project in Mexico to restore the disease-ravaged cocoa crop. . .

Hershey has already committed to source cocoa through three of the world’s most recognized cocoa certifying organizations: UTZ, Fairtrade USA and Rainforest Alliance. As Hershey’s buying volume increases, the company will be working with other well-established certification organizations to expand their capacity to certify more cocoa farmers globally.
Hershey-supported sustainability and certification programs will benefit more than 750,000 cocoa farmers by 2017.”  (statement originally reported in October 2012) http://www.thehersheycompany.com/pdfs/21st_Century-single_page_final.pdf

http://3blmedia.com/News/Campaign/Hersheys-21st-Century-Cocoa-Strategy

Some background: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/activists-protest-hershey-times-square-calling-chocolate-giant-stop-child-labor-article-1.127762

http://3blmedia.com/blog/Larry-Graham/CSR/History-Commitment-West-African-Cocoa-Communities

Watching Grease on a Saturday morning

I’m watching Grease (1978).  Hard to believe it’s been almost 40 years. Of course, the stars are all much older than the characters they portray—Stockard Channing was 34!  I’d forgotten how campy it was.  Goodness that dance scene was incredible.  Beautiful clothes too.  Not exactly 50s, but close. How about those pink socks on Travolta.

Last night I watched Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side, also a really good movie.

More brain volume shrinkage with aggressive blood pressure treatment

People with type 2 diabetes may lose more brain volume than is expected as they age, new research indicates, but treating for cholesterol and blood pressure didn’t benefit diabetics with cognitive problems, and the aggressive BP treatment actually is linked to more brain atrophy. This study suggests that chronic high levels of insulin and sugar may be directly toxic to brain cells.

“Both heart disease and diabetes are closely linked to cognitive problems (see Jan 2014 webinar; see AlzRisk analysis). To learn what is gained from treating these disorders, the ACCORD trial recruited more than 10,000 older people with Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors. Nearly 3,000 of them participated in the MIND substudy. Their average age was 62 and they had struggled with diabetes for about 10 years, with poor control of blood sugar and blood pressure. The researchers split the cohort in half to test two interventions, one targeting blood pressure and the other, cholesterol. In the hypertension study, half the participants received high-dose medication that dropped systolic pressure below 120 mm Hg, while the other half received standard treatment aiming for the 130-140 mm range. In the cholesterol study, the control group took statins while the rest took statins plus fenofibrate, a drug that further lowers cholesterol and other fats in the blood.

After 40 months of treatment, all participants performed worse on cognitive tests than they had at baseline. There were no significant differences between standard and treatment arms in either study.

More than 500 MIND participants volunteered for MRI as well. These scans showed that whole brain volume shrank over 40 months in all participants, but the intensive blood pressure-intervention group had significantly more atrophy. Although treatment has since ended, the researchers continue to follow the cohort to see if cognitive differences between arms will show up over time, and if such changes will reflect the alterations in brain volume. Participants recently completed 75-month follow-up cognitive tests and brain scans; those results may be available within the year, Williamson told Alzforum.”

http://www.alzforum.org/news/research-news/aggressive-hypertension-treatment-accelerates-brain-atrophy-diabetics

http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2085525

32,000 “lost” e-mails found

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20150227_Investigators__32_000_IRS_e-mails_found.html

Of course, the election she was trying to swing for Obama is over.

WASHINGTON - Investigators said Thursday that they have recovered 32,000 e-mails related to a former IRS official at the heart of the agency's tea party scandal.  But they don't know how many of them are new.

The e-mails were to and from Lois Lerner, who used to head the IRS division that processes applications for tax-exempt status. In June, the IRS told Congress it had lost an unknown number of Lerner's e-mails when her computer hard drive crashed in 2011.

At the time, IRS officials said the e-mails could not be recovered. But at a congressional hearing Thursday evening, Timothy Camus, IRS deputy inspector general, said investigators recovered thousands of e-mails from old computer tapes used to back up the agency's system.

I wonder is anyone will be prosecuted?  Probably not.  They are Democrats.  They get to lie with impunity.

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2015/02/27/investigation-into-irs-scandal-now-a-criminal-probe-n1963260

Not surprisingly, in order to stonewall the congressional investigation into the targeting of conservative groups, IRS officials never asked IT professionals to look into gathering back-up tapes or recovering emails requested by Congress.

Despite IRS Commissioner John Koskinen repeatedly saying under oath in previous hearings that Lerner's emails could not be recovered, Camus and investigators have been successful in recovering nearly 33,000 emails relevant to the IRS investigation.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/lois-lerner-irs-emails-113124.html

It was actually reported in November. But I’m guessing it was known before the election, and news was put on the back burner by media.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2014/11/21/irs-inspector-general-finds-up-to-30000-of-lois-lerners-e-mails/

The GOP-controlled House oversight and ways and means committees have sought the e-mails as part of their investigations into the IRS targeting scandal, which involved screening nonprofit advocacy groups for deeper review based on their names and policy positions. Most of the affected groups were conservative, although a small number of them were left-leaning.

Republicans have alleged that the Obama administration used the IRS and other enforcement agencies to silence conservative critics during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles, when the targeting occurred.

And to this we add pot

I've had conversations with people whose brains were damaged by alcohol and those who have Alzheimer's, and trust me, there's very little difference. Why are people (usually liberals and libertarians) so eager to see the population further downgrade their intelligence?

http://www.biosciencetechnology.com/news/2014/11/long-term-marijuana-use-affects-brain-function-structure

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201403/heavy-marijuana-use-alters-teenage-brain-structure

The number one song the day I was born

What about you? http://playback.fm/birthday-song

Bad news for smokers—it’s worse than you thought

The study of more than 200,000 people, published this week in BMC medicine, found about 67 percent of smokers perished from smoking-related illness. That rate is higher than doctors previously estimated.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/26/the-terrifying-rate-at-which-smokers-die-from-smoking/

Besides lung cancer, smoking also increases the risk of at least 13 other cancers including cancers of the larynx (voice box), oesophagus (gullet), mouth and pharynx (throat), bladder, pancreas,  kidney,  liver,  stomach,  bowel,  cervix, ovary, nose and sinus, and some types of leukaemia. There is also some evidence that smoking could increase the risk of breast cancer.

Rudy was right

“There is very little that a man with Barack Obama’s views and proclivities should love about the country, beyond the fact that its people are so vulnerable to insipid sentimentality that they twice elected him president.”

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/414112/rudy-right-kevin-d-williamson

Pastor Buba (North American Lutheran Church evangelist)

https://vimeo.com/117041982

Always happy to find his program in English—he travels all over the world.

Just because it’s funny

Health benefits of decaffeinated coffee

Decaf coffee reduces the risk of incurring diabetes.

The high anti-oxidant levels of decaf will protect the cells from damage that can lead to diabetes. The decaffeination process will not eliminate chlorogenic acid which is the substance that helps regulate blood glucose levels

Cancer prevention.

Decaf still contains high levels of anti-oxidants that can prevent conditions associated with the aging process and cancer. Studies show that regular decaf drinkers have reduced risks of incurring colon cancer. For female drinkers, the risks of breast cancer are also reduced.

Decreased risk of heart problems.

Caffeine has been linked to heart conditions like irregular palpitations, heart attacks, and strokes. Since it has been removed, drinkers are less likely to develop any heart conditions

Prevention of mental decline due to old age and Alzheimer's disease.

The polyphenols found in coffee beans are not lost during the decaffeination process. These substances are responsible in boosting the brain's cognitive abilities, thus further improving memory.
These health benefits of decaf coffee cannot be dismissed as mere theories because proofs have been established with the studies that have been conducted. It may not be able to perk anyone up as effectively as regular coffee, but it will ensure good health and long life.

This article also cites sources. http://www.naturalnews.com/041333_decaffeinated_coffee_health_benefits_healthy_beverages.html#ixzz3SyMNOW6T

I resisted giving up regular coffee for years and would order half caf half decaf, but after my hospital stay in the fall of 2013, I gave up all caffeine. Also learned to brew my own, which I've gotten used to. My favorite decaf story: I ordered a cup of 1/2 regular coffee, 1/2 decaf, and the clerk asked if I wanted the decaf on the top or the bottom. This is why we have minimum wage jobs.

Habitual chocolate users perform better

“Cocoa products are particularly rich sources of flavonoids, although this is influenced by the processing during manufacture (19). Due to a high antioxidant capacity, cocoa products have been promoted as having several beneficial properties (mainly cardiovascular). Even very modest consumption of chocolate may significantly contribute to total polyphenol intake (38). However, a recent clinical trial (39) did not find any beneficial effects of short-term (6 wk) dark chocolate and cocoa consumption on cardiovascular outcomes or on neuropsychological tests. In our study, we found that habitual chocolate users performed better in all cognitive tests and had significantly reduced risk for poor test performance in most tests, whereas the mean intake of chocolate among users was as little as <8 g/d. Moreover, a maximum beneficial effect on cognitive performance was gained at a mean intake of chocolate of ∼10 g/d. The real effect of polyphenols in chocolate may be even stronger, because not all chocolates are equally good sources of flavonoids and the type of chocolate consumed was not specified in our study. In the US and Europe, milk chocolate is the most popular form, but this contains less cocoa mass than dark chocolate and therefore contains fewer polyphenols (40).”

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/139/1/120.full

http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Cocoa-flavanols-may-improve-elderly-cognitive-function-Mars-study

http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2012/02/hot-chocolate.html

Must be dark chocolate, not milk chocolate. I use Hershey’s 100% cocoa with the brown label, not red.

American atheist blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh.

“Avijit Roy was a Bangladesh-born U.S. citizen who proved a prominent critic of ideological hatred in his native country. He and his wife, Rafida Ahmed, were attacked as they returned from a book fair at Dhaka University in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, as the Associated Press reported. Some outlets reported that the weapons used were machetes; others reported cleavers. Roy died at a hospital after the attack. His wife was seriously injured, losing a finger, but survived.” Washington Post.

No word if the killers were Islamic extremists, but the country is 90% Muslim and he urged a secular democracy.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/27/american-atheist-blogger-hacked-to-death-in-bangladesh

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/28/world/asia/bangladeshi-american-blogger-avijit-roy-killed.html?

http://heavy.com/news/2015/02/avijit-roy-dead-killed-murder-stabbed-islamic-critic-funeral-tribute-rip-wife-rafida-bonna/