Look who’s giving advice about what churches should do?

The President.

“President Obama suggested that people of faith should focus more on helping the poor, instead of focusing on divisive issues such as gay marriage and abortion. During a panel discussion on poverty at Georgetown University, Obama specifically referred to his own Christian faith, pointing out that he recognized the importance speaking out about the issue as president.” http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/05/12/obama-churches-should-focus-more-on-poverty-instead-of-abortion-and-gay-marriage/

Why bother to prevent the 38% of abortions that are for black women when you can be assisting the fraction of the 2% who are even remotely interested in same sex marriage. Most of the 126 transfer of wealth programs of the federal and state governments were originally patterned after programs begun and maintained by churches. It was the government that then set up regulations that snarled and strangled the work. Christians started the schools, colleges, hospitals, orphanages, homes for the poor and indigent, even the penitentiaries (for the penitent)--even the Peace Corps was patterned after what the Quakers, Brethren and Mennonites set up after WWII. He not only doesn't know the past, he doesn't know the present. The Catholic church is the largest social service agency in the U.S.—the only organization large enough and powerful enough to actually challenge the federal government and its heavy handed ways. Increasingly, churches are accepting government money for everything from food pantries to chastity programming in the schools.  That’s a pact with the devil.

"The number of Christians dropped by almost 8 percentage points in seven years to 71 percent, and the trend holds across race, gender, education, and geographic dimensions, though Christianity still dominates American religious identity at 70 percent." (Newsmax)   Hmmm. I wonder what else has been going on the last 7 years--1) a leader who promises the government is your hope for change, and 2) followers who would rather play cyber-community with their phones than have real community within a church.

And look what the Methodists are doing instead of taking care of the poor or preaching the gospel. I'm not picking on Methodists, really, because this is pretty much the platform of all the main line Board of Directors/General Synod/ Big pooh bahs, who use the culture created by TV and Hollywood as their Gospel.

"The world’s lone Jewish state must be singled out for punitive divestment campaigns, while we should at the same time promote economic investment in North Korea, whose government has done absolutely nothing in the area of human rights worthy of specific criticism. And we should take our broad support for sex outside of marriage one step further by advocating to legalize prostitution.

This was the moral vision offered by our United Methodist Church’s apportionment-funded D.C. lobby office, the General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) at its Spring 2015 board of directors meeting."http://juicyecumenism.com/2015/05/11/methodist-lobby-divest-from-israel-invest-in-north-korea-legalize-prostitution/

At the intersection of Grievance Culture and the Welfare State

“If the Ferguson outrage and riots were about “lack of representation” or “lack of voice,” this cannot be said about Baltimore. The city council is majority black, the police department is approximately 40 percent black, the top two officials running the department are black men, the city has a black mayor, the state’s attorney for Baltimore City — who charged the six officers — is black, the new U.S. attorney general is a black female, and of course the President of the United States is black.

The left has created a culture of anger and entitlement based upon government dependency and the false assertion that racism remains a major problem.”  Larry Elder

Read more at http://blackcommunitynews.com/baltimore-the-intersection-of-the-grievance-culture-and-the-welfare-state/

What’s in the Yogurt?

Let’s avoid for this post (and maybe all posts) GMO, pesticides and happy, contented non-Holstein cows free roaming in green pastures.  I have before me Dannon All natural plan nonfat yogurt (grade A)  and Yoplait plain nonfat yogurt (no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners also Grade A).  I’m not a huge fan of yogurt, but sometimes will use it to cut dressings or add to fruit instead of milk.

Yoplait is made from grade A pasteurized nonfat milk and contains corn starch, gelatin, pectin, Vit. A acetate, Vit. D3 and has 130 calories per cup, zero from fat.

Dannon is made from cultured grade A nonfat milk and pectin. It is 100 calories per cup, zero from fat.

Percentages listed: Yoplait has more sodium, less potassium; both have 12 grams of protein. Then it gets a little complicated as amounts are listed only in percentage.  Yoplait has added vitamin A and D.  Dannon has a higher percentage of Calcium and Phosphorus (probably because it has less filler) and lists some B vitamins which Yoplait doesn’t.

Pectin is a fiber found in fruits and is used in many medicines. “Cornstarch and pectin act as thickening agents, making the yogurt creamier. Kosher gelatin also adds texture to the yogurt. It is often assumed that kosher gelatin is derived from a vegetarian source; however, contrary to common belief, it may also be derived from animal or dairy. Unless a product specifies that its kosher gelatin is derived from a vegetarian source, such as carob beans or agar agar, it may contain animal or dairy products.” (Livestrong.com)

I’ll go with Dannon in the future.

You may be a liberal if . . .

Elijah Cummings, 1996- Democrat

Government sponsored segregation

Baltimore schools budget is about $1.3 billion annually, and federal contribution to Baltimore schools was $184.8 million in 2012 and $169.3 million in 2013.

40 years of block grants

red tape of public housing in Baltimore

Chocolate is better than kissing?

"Some say that eating chocolate is better than kissing, and scientists have dutifully tested this hypothesis . . . In 2007, a team led by Dr. David Lewis recruited pairs of passionate lovers, whose brain activity and heart rate were monitored first while they kissed and then while they ate chocolate (separately). . . although kissing set the heart pounding, the effect did not last as long as [eating] chocolate. The study also showed that when the chocolate started melting, all regions of the brain received a boost far more intense and longer lasting than the brain activity measured while kissing."

"Stuff matters; exploring the marvelous materials that shape our man-made world." by Mark Miodownik, 2013. p.86.

No White House representative at Brian Moore’s funeral

Cabinet Secretary Broderick Johnson, chair of the Obama administration’s My Brother’s Keeper Task Force, Heather Foster, an adviser in the White House Office of Public Engagement, and Elias Alcantara from the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs were sent by Obama to Freddie Gray’s funeral.  There is controversy about Gray’s death and particularly the charges brought against the police, but there’s no lack of evidence of Gray’s long history of crime and arrests.  Johnson and Foster also attended Michael Brown’s funeral along with Marlon Marshall, also of Public Engagement.  Brown had just committed a robbery and assault when he was shot resisting an officer.  As of the latest reports from New York, no one representing the president was sent to officer Brian Moore’s funeral.  Moore was murdered by a thug and has probably saved many black lives by being a NYPD officer, because black lives matter.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/05/08/obama-ignores-slain-white-police-officer-while-honoring-gray-and-brown/

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/05/obama-sent-3-officials-to-criminal-freddie-grays-funeral-no-one-to-nypd-officer-brian-moores-funeral/#!

ISIS doesn’t just have a target on Pam Geller’s back

This will come as a shock to liberals and progressives, and even some conservatives who have criticized Geller, but ISIS doesn't just dislike conservatives who draw Mohammed, but they hate the liberals too for their belief in the first amendment (which includes religion). You know the one--allows them to ridicule and criticize Christians, stomp on the American flag and attend Michael Moore movies that insult our intelligence. Most of the people they've killed have been Muslim, but they're coming for you, too.

Pam Geller’s abuse of free speech

“I take a back seat to no one when it comes to defending free speech — even that of the worst sorts. We let neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan march and protest because the true test of free speech is that unpopular speech is tolerated. “  But for Pam Geller, she’ll hide in the trunk.

Our kitchen counter top

The news is good--and if it actually happens and I find out the name of the supplier, I'll certainly give them a plug. At the end of February the final touch on our kitchen after months of hassle about 3 new appliances, and a mishap on paint color choice, was new quartz counter top. I'd had marble (don't ever chose that), and granite requires too much care, so quartz seemed the perfect, if expensive, answer, for worry free cooking. After it was installed we found tiny imperfections in... about 6 places. The contractor was mystified; said he'd never seen it before. The supplier sent out an inspector. Now the supplier to that supplier has said they will reinstall, at no cost, not even for the first one, and will reimburse the contractor. So essentially, we'll have a quartz counter top free. . . assuming this all happens. . . and we have been waiting 2 months for it to be resolved.

This kind of bully has approval all the way from the White House down

For years, gays (except librarians, stage actors, ballet dancers, male models, some female athletes, women's clothing designers, and hair dressers) thought they needed to hide their sexual preferences. Despite their fear and self-loathing, gays are the most educated and wealthiest demographic in the country. Again, except librarians.  They weren’t loud, or rich, but they were very out, proving it can be done—even in the 60s and 70s.  But that's all changed now--the president finally came out in 2012 against traditional marriage and the entertainment industry particularly has been relentless for four decades in providing gay themed and gay story line and gay actors for TV and movies--far beyond their 2% representation in the population. So now they are popping out of closets like they've run out of moth balls--professional athletes, news anchors, authors, etc. The response? To demonize Christians who have a biblical view of marriage. So I guess it isn't about sexual preference or love or marriage at all, but about power and bullying, very human traits and behaviors that transcend gender, race, ethnicity and religion.

Maybe a tasty discovery

A concentrated extract of maple syrup makes disease-causing bacteria more susceptible to antibiotics, according to laboratory experiments by researchers at McGill University.

https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/could-maple-syrup-help-cut-use-antibiotics-246929

"Polyphenolic Extract from Maple Syrup Potentiates Antibiotic Susceptibility and Reduces Biofilm Formation of Pathogenic Bacteria," by Vimal B. Maisuria, Zeinab Hosseinidoust, and Nathalie Tufenkji, is scheduled for publication in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Volume: 81 Issue: 11. To view the accepted manuscript: http://aem.asm.org/content/early/2015/03/23/AEM.00239-15.abstract

Anti-inflammatory diets

They are all similar, and they all sell books.  This article from 2008 in WebMD lists the components. These articles all have enriched links (for making money to support the website).

Specifics vary from diet to diet, but in general anti-inflammatory diets suggest:

• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
• Minimize saturated and trans fats.
• Eat a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish or fish oil supplements and walnuts.
• Watch your intake of refined carbohydrates such as pasta and white rice.
• Eat plenty of whole grains such as brown rice and bulgur wheat.
• Eat lean protein sources such as chicken; cut back on red meat and full-fat dairy foods.
• Avoid refined foods and processed foods.
• Spice it up. Ginger, curry, and other spices can have an anti-inflammatory effect.

From Molly’s Fund in 2013: Here are the basics of the anti-inflammatory diet (all versions vary, but this is the general proposal for all:

• Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
• Minimize saturated and trans fats.
• Eat a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish or fish oil supplements and walnuts.
• Limit your intake of refined carbohydrates such as pasta and white rice.
• Eat lots of whole grains such as brown rice and bulgur wheat.
• Choose lean protein sources such as chicken; cutting back on red meat and full-fat dairy foods.
• Avoid refined foods and processed foods.
• Use spices like ginger, curry, and other spices that have been shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Reading through the paleo diet, I think one could starve in place. You’d at least have a problem at restaurants and parties.

Carrot Cake Smoothie
Serves 1

1 cup chopped carrots
1 frozen banana
6oz cup Chobani Pineapple Greek Yogurt
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of your choice )
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground ginger

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add almond milk as needed to acquire your desired thickness.
Note: For a vegan option, omit the Greek yogurt (and almond milk) and sub with 1 cup of coconut milk instead.

I haven’t tried this—just using it as an example of something on a Lupus page.  I like making smoothies in my blender—have never tried adding oats.

The China Study has been around a long time—about arthritis and plant food.

A new meaning for “social media”

The internet is allowing more hookups for sex. The appearance of Craigslist in a given region was associated with a 15.9% increase in HIV incidence. More than 6,000 new cases of HIV infection could likely be attributed to the site each year. Most are for young gay and bisexual men, especially minorities. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2035585

Sounds like my diet—but never fewer words

Pause and learn a lesson

She waits at a stop light and is refreshed with the Lord’s presence.

http://mqcorner.blogspot.com/2015/05/observing-and-learning-from-toddler.html

“Focus on the things around you. There are exciting things happening right here in this place. You need to learn from these things to grow, to learn, to develop as I need you to.”

Ben Carson’s mother

"Baltimore moms can wait on the government to act and fail, or they can do what Ben Carson's mother did. She refused to accept excuses for failure, and instead taught Christian values of right and wrong and personal responsibility. The government cannot solve your problems-- they most likely created the problem in the first place." Star Parker

Book Club schedule 2015-2016

Our group met Monday and selected titles for next 2015-2016. Here's next year's schedule. I’m really excited about this list. We meet  at 2 PM at Bethel Presbyterian Church, 1735 Bethel Road, Columbus, Ohio 43220—first Monday except September and except for October 5 at Peggy’s in Bexley and December 7 at Carolyn A’s in Clintonville.

September 14--The Men Who United the States, by Simon Winchester--led by Carolyn A and Courtney.

October 5--Barefoot Lawyer: a blind man's fight for justice and freedom in China,  by Guangcheng Chen--led by Letha.

November 2--Dead Wake: the last crossing of the Lusitania,  by Erik Larson--led by Peggy.

December 7--Kaaterskill Falls: a novel, by Allegra Goodman--led by Carolyn A.

January 4--Clara and Mr. Tiffany, by Susan Vreeland--led by Bev.

February 1--Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking, by Susan Cain--led by Justine.

March 7--Shakespeare Saved My Life: ten years in solitary with the bard, by Laura Bates--led by Mary Lou.

April 4--Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker: the unlikely friendship of Elizabeth Keckley and Mary Todd Lincoln--led by Jean.

May 2--Look to Lazarus by David, Elise and Bev Meyers--presentation by our own Bev.

Do black lives matter?

Loretta Lynch, the new attorney general, or chief cop, is going to meet with Freddie Gray's family. What message does this send to all the families whose children, father, mother, grandparents, etc. have been killed by thugs, burglars, psychos or just bad dudes but never get a word of condolence from the WH or DOJ? It's almost as if black lives don't matter, unless. . . a white person is  involved.   http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=922

And do black children matter . . . if they are killed by their parents? The ones that are not aborted.

Throughout the 28-year period from 1980 to 2008, infants under
1 year of age had the highest homicide victimization rate of all
children under age 5.

Of all children under age 5 murdered from 1980 through 2008—
 63% were killed by a parent—33% were killed by their fathers
         and 30% were killed by their mothers (table 3)
 23% were killed by male acquaintances
 5% were killed by female acquaintances
 7% were killed by other relatives
 3% were killed by strangers.

Of children under age 5 killed by someone other than their parent, 80% were killed by males.

Why are black males disproportionately represented in the prison population? Because they are disproportionately represented as both homicide victims and offenders. The victimization rate for blacks (27.8 per 100,000) was 6 times higher than the rate for whites (4.5 per 100,000). The offending rate for blacks (34.4 per 100,000) was almost 8 times higher than the rate for whites (4.5 per 100,000). Males represented 77% of homicide victims and nearly 90% of offenders (which btw means men are killing a lot of women).

The homicide rate peaked in 1980--10.2 per 100,000, dipped throughout the 80s, rose again in early 90s, then dropped to 4.8 homicides per 100,000 in 2010. This is what stiffer penalties and better policing have done and which will be undone by new calls for "justice." A large number of the lives being saved are black men, women and children. We have trouble makers, professional rabble rousers and race baiters, who want blacks to remain victims. Some within our own government. http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf

The gender gap in reading

Yes, there's a gender gap--in reading. And it is world wide, highest in Finland despite the praise for its school system. Not to worry though. It goes away in adulthood. Let’s hope we don’t spend too much tax money trying to fix it.

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2015/03/26-chalkboard-gender-gap-loveless

The gender gap is large, worldwide, and persistent through the K-12 years. What should be done about it? Maybe nothing. As just noted, the gap seems to dissipate by adulthood. Moreover, crafting an effective remedy for the gender gap is made more difficult because we don’t definitely know its cause. Enjoyment of reading is a good example. Many commentators argue that schools should make a concerted effort to get boys to enjoy reading more. Enjoyment of reading is statistically correlated with reading performance, and the hope is that making reading more enjoyable would get boys to read more, thereby raising reading skills.

Education has changed in the last 100 years

Those of you with connections at Ohio State may have visited the web site for Knowledge Bank (OK, maybe not). It's kind of like a treasure trove of grandma's attic, a waste dump, and incredible hidden archives. Most universities have something similar. You can find everything from ancient university published journal articles to Uncle Joe's freshman economics paper. Yesterday I looked through the 1904-1905 course bulletin (scanned) for Ohio State, beginning with Stone lab on Lake Erie. I think there were 6 department/colleges then. What is fascinating is the required high school courses to enter. French, German and Latin for the College of Agriculture. For College of the Arts, add Greek. At the other end of bizarre were lots of British literature requirements for all colleges, including the "classics," but not even a nod to American literature.

https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/

These are lovely—free hymn arrangements

http://greghowlett.com/freearrangements.aspx

Also a blog with interesting stuff—and I’m certainly no musician.

http://greghowlett.com/blog/music-philosophy/danny-crawford-interview-part-1.aspx

Danny Crawford has had a 30+ year career as a performer (he was one of the founders of Karen Peck and New River) and as a studio musician. Within the world of southern gospel, he has worked with basically everyone you can think of and he has extensive experience in country and bluegrass as well (including Ricky Skaggs). Today he is off the road as a performer but plays on about 125 projects a year. (pt. 1 of an interview)

He has certainly transformed his party

How has Obama transformed America? When he was a state senator from Illinois his voting record on abortion was the most extreme of any elected politician. But he's certainly emboldened his party. The liberal fact checkers turn themselves inside out on Obama's record on abortion to twist the facts, but they can’t deny his results.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/07/barbaric-100-of-dem-senators-vote-for-late-term-abortion-up-to-nine-months-of-pregnancy/#!

http://www.nationaljournal.com/health-care/cruz-senate-democrats-abortion-bill-is-the-war-on-women-20140715

"The bill is really about just one thing: It seeks to strip away from elected lawmakers the ability to provide even the most minimal protections for unborn children, at any stage of their prenatal development," said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee. "While the proposal is so sweeping and extreme that it would be difficult to capture its full scope in any short title, calling the bill the 'Abortion Without Limits Until Birth Act' would be more in line with truth-in-advertising standards."

Who reads which newspapers?

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.
3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country.
4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't really understand the Washington Post. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie chart format.
5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country, if they could spare the time, and if they didn't have to leave LA to do it.
6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and they did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.
7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who's running the country, and don't really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.
8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running the country, as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.
9. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there is a country or that anyone is running it; but whoever it is, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to be illegal aliens from ANY country or galaxy, as long as they are democrats.
10. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.
11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery store.

http://www.gcfl.net/archive.php?funny=7237

Makes me nostalgic for when Panera’s and a few other coffee shops had a house paper for both the Columbus Dispatch and the Wall St. Journal. WSJ actually has the most liberal news coverage, but the best conservative opinion page. Using WSJ I did a comparison of the difference between male and female writers' use of idioms.

http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2007/01/3328-e.html

Another Bush-Paulson

Former Bush Secretary of Treasury Hank Paulson is supporting Jeb Bush. Right there is a good reason to look elsewhere. Henry Paulson, the architect of the bank bailouts of 2008, is a former employee of Goldman Sachs and was a partner with Al Gore in a cap and trade scheme, a multi-billion dollar business called, Generation Investment Management (GIM). Very good at playing both sides of the aisle. Really big on getting rich with China.
http://www.paulsoninstitute.org/about/about-our-people/

Government policies

The government's role in holding back the Blacks of Baltimore. They should be very suspicious of more of the same, from segregationist city administrations to FHA to HUD to community organizers and academics on federal grants. http://www.epi.org/blog/from-ferguson-to-baltimore-the-fruits-of-government-sponsored-segregation/

Nationwide, black family incomes are now about 60 percent of white family incomes, but black household wealth is only about 5 percent of white household wealth. In Baltimore and elsewhere, the distressed condition of African American working- and lower-middle-class families is almost entirely attributable to federal policy that prohibited black families from accumulating housing equity during the suburban boom that moved white families into single-family homes from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s—and thus from bequeathing that wealth to their children and grandchildren, as white suburbanites have done.

Of course, their careers are in the toilet no matter the result of the trials

“Criminal charges filed Friday against six Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray were based on "politics and crowd control," not justice, renowned civil rights lawyer Alan Dershowitz tells Newsmax TV.

"This is a very sad day for justice . . . Today had nothing to do with justice. Today was crowd control. Everything was motivated by a threat of riots and a desire to prevent riots," Dershowitz said on "The Steve Malzberg Show."

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsmax-Tv/Freddie-Gray-Alan-Dershowitz-police-charges/2015/05/01/id/642143/#ixzz3Z4cjiED7

I have no idea what happened to Freddie Gray, and neither do the thousands of demonstrators or the Mayor of Baltimore or Al Sharpton. I'm willing to wait for evidence and a trial. It's one of the basics of our justice system--a presumption of innocence, the prosecution must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, each essential element of the crime charged. Shocking how many "leaders" are willing to ignore this.

Time for Democrats to panic

Democrats are clearly panicking. There has never been a better time to be black in America, and if word gets out, they might lose their victim voter base. So we need new riots and protests.

In the last 2.5 decades crime has dropped drastically, so it's time to gin that up by complaining about the number of black men in prison (which is why the neighborhood is safer). Blacks are now over represented in many city governments and community protection agencies, so it's time to blame the white controlled system, micro aggression, etc. The college enrollment rate is higher for black high school graduates than whites, so it's time to berate the education system. More whites are killed in officer involved shootings at a higher rate than blacks, so it's time to get on social media and tell lies. With at least 5 government health insurance systems, no black need be without health care--so it's time to blame the GOP for not making even more money available. 126 wealth transfer programs for the poor, most of which recipients are white--but don't advertise that--Democrats don't want the world to know that millions of whites don't have that mystical "privilege" they tout.

Now the bad news is out there, too--AIDS among young black gay men is the highest for any group--gay and bisexual men represent approximately 2% of the US population, but account for three-fourths of all estimated new HIV infections and blacks account for most of those. Abortion of black babies is at an all time high--genocide rates--78 percent of the abortions in New York City were for black or Hispanic babies. Where are the marches and outrage? Black men are not marrying the mothers of their children leaving many kids to grow up without a male parent. Until the 1960s, blacks were more likely to be married than whites, and then came the "war on poverty" and Uncle Sam as a step-father. But, the Democrats can ignore every academic and religious study that says family is important to economic, social and political well being and just ask for more money.

Succeeding While Black - 5 Ways to Avoid Altercations with the Police by Matthew R. Drayton, guest blogger

I have been in situations where I could have easily gotten into confrontations with police officers. Years ago, I regularly worked with local and state police officers in major cities throughout the U.S. I can tell you first hand that there are some police officers that are prejudiced or egotistical, and some that have their own agendas. I remember arriving in Texas to meet and work with local police there. When I reached out to shake one of the officer’s hands, he refused! Later during that same trip, I was almost arrested because the same police officer who wouldn’t shake my hand, failed to tell a group of his fellow officers who I was as I approached them.

On another trip to California, a police officer stood two feet in front of me and stared me down while I waited to meet with the Deputy Police Chief. I had never met this officer before, nor did I do anything to him to warrant the stare he was giving me. In both Texas and California, I was the only African American in the group; my co-workers were not subjected to the same treatment. In both cases, I had no choice but to work through whatever issues those police officers had with me. I did not respond to their behavior towards me, and worked more closely with the officers who reached out to me than the ones who didn’t. In the end, we successfully finished our work in both cities, and I made some new friends in law enforcement.
My experiences with the police were not all bad; in fact there were more positive experiences with them than negative ones. I realize some of my circumstances and encounters with the police were of a different nature than being pulled over for a routine traffic stop, but the two situations I mentioned above were intense and could have easily become confrontational. I have been stopped and pulled over by the police numerous times over the years, and I can honestly say, I have never been mistreated by a police officer. The following tips have worked for me when I have had encounters with police officers in the past. Hopefully they can help you too.

1. Obey the law: If you are breaking the law in any way; it’s only a matter of time before you have to deal with the police. Turn on your flashers, drive slowly and pull over to a well lit busy area if you are pulled over. Cooperate if you are being questioned or arrested to avoid any physical confrontation. 
2. Be polite and show respect: Greeting and treating a police officer with respect immediately de-escalates the situation. Regardless of how you feel about being pulled over or questioned, the police are authorized to do so. Mouthing off and becoming aggressive towards the police will make the situation worse.
3. Obey police officer orders: When a policeman asks you to do something reasonable, do it. Remember, these men and women are trying to do a job, and sometimes need to gather facts to do their job. Disobeying the police officer’s orders will again only make the situation worse. 
4. Make lifestyle changes: Most of the things that happen to us are a result of our decisions. Alcohol, outdated license plates, and erratic driving are a few contributors to police stops. If you are hanging out late at night with known offenders, or in places where there is a high probability of a crime, there will likely be a heavy police presence there. 
5. Educate your children: Teach your children at an early age about police brutality, and to be respectful when dealing with the police, and all adults for that matter.  Explain current events to them in an unbiased way, and make them aware of the dangers they face if they break the law, and what can happen to them at the hands of some police officers. 

It is not my intent to downplay police brutality incidents or to be insensitive to anyone who has suffered or died at the hands of the police. My purpose is to help African Americans understand that engaging an officer properly can de-escalate the situation, and possibly avoid a deadly altercation. I am a middle-aged, African American male who regrettably has had too many encounters with the police during my lifetime. I have never been arrested or beaten by a police officer, nor have I ever been disrespectful or mouthed off to one.

Retired Army Sergeant Major Matthew R. Drayton is a corporate speaker, life coach, consultant, leadership expert and author of Succeeding While Black. He has also been mentoring youth for over a decade and is currently the Executive Director of Great Oak Youth Development Center, a NC-based non-profit organization that mentors at risk youth. For more information, visit www.MattDrayton.com.

Where I am--678.2 miles since Christmas

At least I got out of Virginia (on my exercycle)

"0.84 mi to Buckhorn, KY", Breathitt County

Dessert will be pudding

A gallon of milk at Marc's today was cheaper than 1/2 gal, so we're having pudding tonight. Great price on boneless pork roast ($1.88/lb), so the last one is going into the crock pot for pulled pork (still had some in the freezer from the last special).  A quart of the Half n half ultra pasteurized was cheaper than regular.  You just never know when you shop there.

Losing our religious freedom

When we warned about loss of religious freedom they just shouted us down. In the U.S. telling people to shoot white police is protected speech; telling people that marriage is for a man and woman is not going to be protected speech or freedom of religion.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/04/29/obama-admin-catholic-schoolss-non-profit-status-will-be-an-issue-if-gay-marriage-made-a-right/

As marriage and religious liberty expert at the Heritage Foundation Ryan Anderson observed, when Justice Samuel Alito asked the Obama administration’s Solicitor General Donald Verrilli whether a religious school could lose its tax-exempt status if it affirms marriage as the union between a man and woman, Verrilli responded, “It’s certainly going to be an issue. I don’t deny that. I don’t deny that, Justice Alito. It is it is going to be an issue.”

Anderson related this discussion to Justice Antonin Scalia’s concern about the effects of a Supreme Court-created constitutional right to same-sex marriage on religious liberty. Verrilli responded that there have been no violations against religious liberty in states that have redefined marriage in democratic fashion. Scalia observed, “They are laws. They are not constitutional requirements. That was the whole point of my question. If you let the states do it, you can make an exception. … You can’t do that once it is a constitutional proscription.”

“Not only is there nothing in the Constitution that requires the redefinition of marriage, but a ruling saying that there was could create unimaginable religious liberty violations,” writes Anderson. “These situations are best handled democratically.”

Man attacks bear to save his Chihuahua

“I hit him with an overhand right—and hard,” Moore said. “His head snapped around, and he stumbled. I’m a 192-pound, 6-foot-2½ man, and the bear outweighed me, but I was taller.”

The septuagenarian slugger said his fist landed “right in the jaw, right below his eye and part of his snout.”

Link

Six pounds is a big Chihuahua.

Get out while you can.

Leave the party of ignorance of history, dumb on biology and naive about culture. Forget the party that thinks a 7 month old unborn baby isn't a human, but a man with an amputated penis is a woman. Forget the party that destroyed Detroit and Baltimore. Forget the party that believes marriage and birth rate isn't important for the survival of a nation. Leave the party of fear--fear of global warming, fear of the Constitution, fear of words, fear of food, fear of differences, fear of having no victims they can pity and manipulate. Leave the party that whips up hate and racism, bigotry and ignorance. Get out while you still can. Republicans have a very deep, diverse bench. Democrats have Hillary.

http://www.wildwestcycle.com/f_pensees.htm

For the modern liberal, who is essentially a man of the Left, the immediate has apocalyptic urgency. He is an active member of the Cause-of-the-Month Club, forever prescribing drastic action to prevent the world from being blown up, overpopulated, poisoned, oppressed, or exploited. He thinks a government that maintains law and order--a big job at any time--is "doing nothing"; because to his mind a steady and quiet activity is nothing more than inactivity. Though he speaks the language of environmental preservation well enough, he never pauses to imagine the "environmental impact" of his own policies on a social ecology that is, after all, no less real because he disregards it.

An insider’s view—sometimes there’s no solution, guest blogger Chris Botkin from Ohio

I work as a laborer in a sandwich packaging plant. I've been there 17 years. The sandwiches go to convenience stores, and vending machines, and institutions like schools and prisons. My little group tapes the boxes of sandwiches shut, separates the boxes by item, stacks the boxes on pallets and records the daily production. It's physical; today we handled about 10 tons of product. There are four of us, three (including yours truly) do the hand-stacking.

It's a different world than many of you inhabit. My coworkers start at $8.50 an hour. Many have felony records, mostly for possession, but some much worse. Turnover is insanely high: the work ethic is not, let's say, universal.

Today, one of my crew had to leave at noon for an emergency doctor appointment he received by phone at about 10:30 am. He has a nightmare of medical conditions I won't go into, the call today was from an oncologist. He tries hard, he has his own business on the side (a bait shop on a nearby lake). He is 25.

Today, another of my crew left an hour and a half early. He is the archtypical good-ole-boy: big, rowdy, randy and without much common sense. Multiple layoffs, multiple arrests, he needs off early once a month (not today) to meet his parole officer. He is trying to turn his life around. We'll see. He's a loose cannon. But he left early today because his mother is in the ICU on life support for advanced pneumonia. He had just received a call from his dad. He looked very upset.

For me, these situations shed a somewhat different light on the health care debate. Without a time machine or assistance, there is no way these folks can pay their medical bills. Hospitals and physicians deserve to be paid. I am highly skeptical that Obamacare is helping, but something has to help.

I'm as old as both these guys' ages combined, and yet I totter along relatively unscathed: all original parts and enough sap to get through the day. I feel it at night, and I need my weekends to recoup, but no complaints. Today made me think about retiring, though. Life's too short. If only I could afford to retire.

I'm posting this  because none of my coworkers will see it, and it reflects at least peripherally on political debate, and it's on my mind tonight. Sometimes, life's just a bitch.

Get out the pop corn because

We saw this in the theater.  You’ll love this old fashioned love story. Home DVD of Old Fashioned will be coming to stores and online retailers on JUNE 16.

You just wanted to make history by voting for the black candidate. . . and look what you did

Susan Elizabeth lives in Columbus.  She writes:

Just when I thought I was safe this year, the letter comes from my health insurance company. Another 11% raise in premiums. So I decided to look to see what has happened to my premiums since Obamacare passed. My deductible went from $2500 per year to $5000 per year. Before Obamacare, I had a policy where ER visits and 30 days of follow up care were covered 100% with no deductible. Once Obamacare passed, my insurance company went under and I was grandfathered over to my current policy which I've had since August, 2010. At that time, my monthly premium was $261.86 (up from $237 that I was paying with the company that went under). Then the monthly premiums have gone up in June of each year to the following premiums.

• 2011: 268.02
  2012: $364.49
  2013: $442.86
  2014: $566.07
  2015: $630.70

I was promised I would save $2500 per year. Instead, I am now paying $4724 more per year. I now have to spend $12568.40 out of pocket before my insurance covers the cost of our prescriptions, doctor's visits etc.

Sad thing is, I consider myself lucky...many people are paying a hell of a lot more than I am. The exact same policy through the exchanges would have cost me $900+ per month in premiums.

With everything else going on in the world (earthquake, riots, all of the Hillary scandals, Iran getting nuclear capabilities), let's not forget we have 633 days of destruction ahead from the current POTUS. Hopefully, more of you will realize the damage you have done by "making history" with your vote.

Thoughts on Baltimore and what to do and not do

Race riots seem to be much worse under Obama than any leadership the last 3 decades, but actually I don't think he can accept the credit for social media inflaming people who don't have enough to do. Same Ferguson trouble makers and thugs are leading the charge in Baltimore via social media. A data mining firm has found that Ferguson social media accounts are linked to Baltimore calls for action. Professional trouble makers. Poor high school kids suckered again.   But even they can't take credit for that mayor's loose lips.

I heard Michael Steele [highest elected black politician--Republican--Lieutenant Governor of Maryland (2003–2007) until Obama] discussing what young black men in Baltimore need. Actually, he sounded like a Democrat--not a word about married parents and good role models. I can't imagine a bank or business willing to invest in those neighborhoods and bring in jobs after the looting and arson with a mayor who ordered police to stand down. So that only leaves government grants for sticky fingered local politicians.

"What went up in flames in Baltimore Monday night was not merely a senior center, small businesses and police cars. Burning down was also the blue-city model of urban governance." [WSJ] With the exception of 2 terms (same guy), all Baltimore mayors since 1931 have been Democrats. There's a huge funnel filled with federal money into all Democrat (and many Republican) regimes at the local and state level. 50 years of LBJ's War on Poverty and 20% of families have no income earner; 50 years of failed Head Start and many graduate from high school with no skills for a job; 126 federal transfer programs taking your tax money, laundering it through DC bureaucracies and then returning a fraction of it to the people who need it. $22,000 for every poor person in America. No wonder looting looks good--the government does it!

When your toddler/puppy runs into traffic, drastic action is necessary and you might lose your cool and the book learning on how to use firm words of discipline. The Baltimore mom who grabbed and slapped her teen son and then it went viral on the internet and news channels was trying to save his life. I would have done the same thing. She's now a media icon--I've watched her on Fox and NBC. Interesting to see the editing by the MSM compared to Fox. She said her son isn't a perfect kid, but he's her kid. You go, mama.

I was watching the Baltimore looting, I must say I didn't know toilet paper was in such short supply that the 5 finger discount would be so popular. I counted 32 charter schools in Baltimore city; I wonder if any of those students participated in the justice riots.

It’s not true what you’ve heard about Baltimore

These man on the street interviews by the media of people milling around in Baltimore make no sense, nor do the memes floating around the social media about how bad things are. Black mayor, black police, black president, black attorney general, etc., all seem to be afraid of black gangs and thugs. According to the BLS, Baltimore is doing better than the rest of the U.S.A. economically in many areas.  I’ve listen to some people call the talk shows and they sound like they’re reading from a script, but can’t identify a particular crime which affected them.

I also counted the charter schools in Baltimore—32 I think.  I’m guess those kids did not join in the rioting when school let out yesterday.

The White House sending representatives to the funeral but not to the funerals for the blacks killed in Chicago, day after day, mostly killed by other blacks, probably hasn’t helped the image of this presidency which seems to delight in exacerbating race relations beginning with the “Boston police acted stupidly” in 2009.

http://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/summary/blssummary_baltimore.pdf

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/04/27/obama-to-send-aide-to-freddie-gray-funeral-in-baltimore/

http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/

http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/programs/charter_schools/docs/BaltCity.htm

Penn Jillette’s 105 lb. weight loss

Penn Jillette (atheist, libertarian entertainer) was on Glenn Beck again last night, and I'd noticed his weight loss the last time, so I looked it up. 105 lbs. Even on 6'7" that shows.

“I was on six very powerful meds to bring the blood pressure down,” Jillette, 60, tells PEOPLE. “My doctor said I needed to get my weight down, and if I brought it down 30 or 40 lbs. it would be a little easier to control. And then he said something in passing that completely blew my mind – he said, ‘If you got down to 230, you probably wouldn’t need any of the meds.’ ”

I don't think I could follow his diet. http://greatideas.people.com/2015/04/08/penn-jillette-weight-loss-las-vegas-home/

His typical daily diet consists of an “enormous salad” with vinegar as dressing for lunch (he doesn’t usually eat breakfast) and a dinner consisting of 3 lbs. of greens and three servings of black or brown rice with a vegetable stew, along with lots of fruits for dessert (his favorite is “an enormous amount of blueberries with plain cocoa powder”) and vegetables with vinegar or Tabasco sauce as a snack.

Notice the cocoa powder? Good for cognitive function and weight loss.

Relief for the Nepal Earthquake

I see FaceBook is urging me to support Nepal, and I will through an organization I know and trust. Check with your church first. Too many scams out there. Lutheran World Relief puts aside theological and synod squabbles and works for the poor and injured. Mennonite Central Committee is another--they were already working Nepal. Since the first century, Catholics have had the largest and most successful social service and disaster relief programs in the world, so Catholic Relief Services would be good.

Sue Noll is recommending Nazarene Compassionate Ministries; Judi Gertz suggests Samaritan Purse; Orah Zipper recommends the Jewish JDC (Joint Distribution Committee).

The Clinton Foundation

Does the Clinton Super PAC, aka The Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation have special guidelines for transparency and taxes? Charity Navigator has them right up there with Al Sharpton's charity. How desperate is the Democrat party which in the last two decades has moved so far to the left it is unrecognizable to me, a former Democrat?

“From 2005 through 2011 investors in Uranium One reportedly donated to the Clinton Foundation. In 2010 Bill Clinton took $500,000 from an investment bank to give a speech in Russia. The bank had a “buy” rating on Uranium One stock and connections to the Russian government. Eventually the Kremlin gained 100 percent control over Uranium One through a subsidiary of Rosatom, a corporation owned by the Russian government.

Secretary Clinton was supposed to disclose the millions of dollars that the chairman of Uranium One gave to her foundation through his family foundation while various agencies within the Obama administration were reviewing the deal.

So now the expansionist successor nation to the Soviet Union, which seeks to revive its old empire, controls a large swath of American uranium that is needed to produce nuclear weapons. Multiple federal agencies apart from the State Department signed off on the deal, so it is inconceivable that President Obama did not know about the circumstances that led to the Russian takeover of Uranium One. And remember that Obama, who is now working hard to help the Islamic Republic of Iran get nuclear weapons, was caught on a hot mike at a nuclear summit in March 2012 assuring then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, “After my election I have more flexibility.” “ http://www.frontpagemag.com/2015/matthew-vadum/the-clinton-cash-for-favors-program

It’s not going to stop with same sex marriage

I've been saying this for years. And get called homophobic for just stating common sense.

WSJ: "If a relationship characterized by love and commitment becomes a Constitutional right to marry, then no state restriction can withstand judicial review. This applies to the number of people eligible to marry, the duration of the contract, and the nature of the individuals eligible to marry (age, degree of genetic relation and so forth). This is not meant as a parade of horribles, but it is a warning that the Court will find itself hearing many cases challenging any state regulation of marriage."

How can you stop 3 sisters and their 10 year old niece from getting married to each other and applying for government benefits if gender doesn't matter, only love and commitment? Why should number matter? Or consanguinity? Or age?

You’ll be called a racist. . .

“The topic probably doesn’t even have anything to do with racism. Don’t matter. You disagree with liberals, you’re a racist. The clever poo flingers will snidely insinuate it, while the dumb ones will screech it at the top of their lungs. This one has been epidemic since we elected Barack Obama, and obviously the only reason you could hate a weak foreign policy, stupid gun control proposals, a shitty economy, a ridiculous bloated monster of a healthcare law, and the general corruption of our federal apparatus, is because you don’t like a black president.

You may not have had a racist thought in your life, but it won’t matter. A good author friend of mine was smeared as racist because he was against some stupid liberal nonsense even though he’s been married to a black woman for 20 years and has biracial children, and worked with every ethnicity there is during a career in the military.”

http://monsterhunternation.com/2013/09/20/the-internet-arguing-checklist/

And now you’re called homophobic if you believe in traditional marriage, even though no civilization, culture, religion, or tribe have ever sanctioned  same sex marriage in the history of the world.  And it was the stated policy of President Obama until well into the 2012 election year. Were there same sex unions, yes. Did men dress as women, yes. Gay prostitution, yes.  Pedophilia and young boys, yes.  But not marriage.

So then, black lives matter. . . except when they don’t

Many young black men died in Chicago this month, and last month, etc., Obama's home town, his political base. Up 23% from 2014. But there's no political value to their deaths. Jaquille, D'Montre, Marshawn, Courtney, Christopher, David, Devante, Mikal, Milon, Martell, Azun, Jerome, Charles, DuJuane, etc., plus a number of black females, Mechelle, Sandra, Joyce, and some names unknown at time of reporting. The White House has not sent anyone to their funerals; no protesters shipped in. http://homicides.redeyechicago.com/

Social justice—all you need to know in one video

"Social justice" is just another squishy term for redistribution of your wealth by the state. Check the mission statements of your church (will probably be called "social statement") and charitable organizations. Look for Biblical, not Marxist concepts before you contribute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtBvQj2k6xo

Microbeads in your toothpaste may be hurting our water supply

While looking through a list of recent legislation for the Great Lakes states and provinces, I see most are trying to institute a microbead ban--didn't see anything for Ohio but we're still working on BS blooming in Lake Erie. Apparently, they are common in toothpastes, including some of the Crest brands I like. Yuk. Check the label for polyethylene. They can't be filtered out of the waste water.

http://dentalpatientnews.com/which-toothpastes-contain-microbeads/#sthash.fUwEqA9H.jMFu2ajU.dpbs

“Typically, microplastics are defined as plastic pieces measuring less than 5 millimeters (mm). The microbeads found in personal care products are almost always smaller than 1 mm. These micro particles are made of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and nylon. Microbeads of polyethylene or polypropylene are the most common.”

http://www.watershedcouncil.org/learn/microbeads-in-the-great-lakes/

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/tiny-plastic-microbeads-pile-problems-great-lakes/

Thinking about Hillary

I know a lot of people who should be angry.

Hypocrisy and intolerance from the left

The owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa were fined $135,000 for not catering a gay wedding. So the Kleins' friend started a GoFundMe page to raise money for their legal fees. GoFundMe then pulled the contract--and they can do that for any reason they wish, especially if they don't agree with the client's opinions or viewpoints. Unfortunately, the bakery owners didn't have that same right--at least no longer. Oregon--you got to love those liberals. Destroy a small business, then twist the knife. I suspect that GoFundMe's "careful review" had a some pressure from the oh-so-tolerant--like the threat of a twitter campaign to close them down. Or maybe they really are that hypocritical.

http://www.worldmag.com/2015/04/christian_bakers_ordered_to_pay_135_000_for_discrimination

“An Oregon judge made clear in no uncertain terms to the Kleins and all Oregonians that the state has the right to demand that citizens engage in activities that violate their beliefs and if they refuse, they will lose their ability to make a living,” he [Perkins] said in a prepared statement. “In a free country, this is a ruling that cannot and must not stand.  A government able to bankrupt people for standing by their deepest beliefs is a government of unbridled power and a threat to everyone’s freedom.”  Tony Perkins, Family Research Council

We all know that there are plenty of gay bakers in Portland.  Usually, the gay community sticks together and supports each other in business, sports, education events, etc.  I’ve even seen it in their business ads. Just makes you wonder how this couple picked this bakery.

Snacking on kale chips

I made kale chips today. I can't compare with store bought because I've never tried them, but with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on them, they are pretty good.  A package of Kale comes in 16 oz where I shop—and that’s a whole lot of green stuff.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/crispy-kale-chips-recipe.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/11/kale-chips_n_4080017.html

http://ohsheglows.com/2014/03/12/6-tips-for-flawless-kale-chips-all-dressed-kale-chips-recipe/

Some will be happy and satisfied, but many won’t

The media is in love with Bruce Jenner and his sex change--or they were until they found out he was a Republican. The research is somewhat limited, but what there is shows a higher mortality rate, higher suicide rate, more mental issues, more criminality, and higher STD/HIV in the post surgical transgendered. I think the news cycle tired of the gay stories (2% of the population) so they moved on to transgender (.01%). If it weren't for the police stories, African Americans wouldn't even get in the media at all. Hispanics can only be in a story if it's about illegal immigration. We have a shallow media.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21364939

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/transgender/

http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/28/local/la-me-ln-suicide-attempts-alarming-transgender-20140127

http://thefederalist.com/2014/11/11/trouble-in-transtopia-murmurs-of-sex-change-regret/

Will the uranium story be hot enough to sink Hillary?

“There is every appearance that Hillary Clinton was bribed to grease the sale of, what, 20 percent of America’s uranium production to Russia, and then it was covered up by lying about a meeting at her home with the principals, and by erasing emails." -- Mitt Romney

http://hotair.com/archives/2015/04/24/romney-every-appearance-that-hillary-clinton-was-bribed-on-uranium-deal/

http://therightscoop.com/mark-levin-hillary-uranium-scandal-bigger-than-any-of-her-other-crimes-and-unethical-behaviors/

Media bias and the Washington Post

I don't know how much of the Washington Post I see in the on-line version, but this morning it was one police-black victim article, two pro-climate change articles, two same-sex marriage articles, three transgender articles, one anti-Scott Walker article, one Hillary scandal opinion piece (so gentle it was funny), and two Apple stories. Now there were other topics too, like Comcast/FCC, a female comedian, an introduction to left of Hillary candidate, O'Malley, but the bias is stifling. Americans who use only the New York Times or Washington Post and their siblings in the TV news, are really suffering from lack of information they need to make responsible, informed decisions.

Tolerance is not a Biblical value

Tolerance is not a virtue in the Bible; don't think it is even mentioned. “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through me,” is probably the most loving, but intolerant quote in the Bible.  Justice, mercy, love, charity, kindness--yes, but not tolerance. It's not a value in the gay community either, or politics in general. Two gay businessmen hosted a small dinner party with Ted Cruz, a Republican who hasn't ducked the media's "gotcha question" and has been clear that it is up to the states. His position was an Obama and Clintons position until 3 years ago. So the gay mafia are boycotting the hotels (cater only to gays, which I guess is legal) owned by the gay businessmen. Tolerance is a feeling you feel when you feel the other guy's feelings are wrong, but which doesn't ever apply to your own feelings.

Gay marriage and Bruce Jenner

This morning I heard that phrase “on the wrong side of history” in reference to Ohio and gay marriage. That phrase means just the opposite. It actually means “let’s throw out history and chart a new course.” And I’ve heard it was a Karl Marx phrase, but haven’t researched that. He thought communism was progress, thus “progressive” and changing history.  And it did indeed change history—more people have died at the hand of their own government under communism, or some form of it, than all the wars of history.

History, recorded and oral tradition, doesn’t support same sex marriage, even though all cultures seemed to be aware of men being used for prostitution and boys for sweethearts until the “real marriage” which produced children and bound family groups.  When we visited Pompeii ruins the mosaic depictions of gay sex were common. I recall something like posters, and men could choose from the representation of . . . well, let’s just say they were definitely first century porn.  I didn’t take any photos.

Also, I suppose the transgender crowd can look back to the eunuchs who were often trusted guards of harems, or loyal advisors of the king, or the wonderful choral performers of the middle ages. Bruce Jenner is right now the darling of the media and ABC is really pushing you watch the interview.  He will have himself eunuchized through voluntary castration and surgical removal of his penis.

I find it strange that people who long to be the other gender believe the only part of their body that makes a man male or a woman female is the genitals. We are gendered right down to the cellular level. Muscle formation, bones, brains, response to diseases and pharmacology—it’s all about gender. Hormone shots won’t change it.

I had a good friend who went through this.  He was so much happier after facial and hair line surgery (formerly looked very male) and hormone shots.  He hadn’t yet had the surgery the last time I saw him 16 years ago, but was looking forward to it.  Meanwhile, he and his wife would both go out in dresses to shop for his new clothes.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23027445

What’s going on with our media?

It would be my guess, and maybe yours, that the MSM are jumping the Hillary ship for Elizabeth Warren.  Well over half the country and most politicians here at home and abroad have known for decades that the Clintons are crooks, and together they are practically a gang. So NOW in spring 2015 the media all of a sudden notice the funny money, the expansive gibberish, the lack of decency and morality?  I don't see any other explanation for the reporting from the left on their criminality and hypocrisy. Warren hasn't been in power long enough or had enough experience to have muddy footprints which may be part of the appeal. Even though she's a very wealthy woman and a doublespeak academic she still makes appeals to "ordinary Americans" (Obama's favorite term for the hoi polloi/proletariat).

Petraeus and the Clintons

What Petraeus did was wrong--legally and morally. But 2 years probation and $100,000 fine when the administration is winking at what Hillary has done--which is 100 times worse? She's accepted money from foreign governments with which she had dealings. She scrubbed her e-mail even after being asked for it by Congress. And her party plans to award her with the Presidency. Petraeus had an  affair, tried to hide it with a fake e-mail and had some pillow talk he shouldn't have had with his lover. And her party wants him in jail! He was a scoundrel and an unfaithful husband. Hillary was unfaithful to her country, violated just about every law on the books for her office and colluded with her husband (who was never faithful to her ) to accept outrageous fees, and not report them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/david-petraeus-to-be-sentenced-in-leak-investigation.html?_r=1

Quick and Easy 15-Minute Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Mustard and Tarragon

Prep and Cook Time: 15 minutes—[that said I always have trouble getting this right—haven’t tried it yet—and I usually skip the garlic]. From the newsletter of The World’s Healthiest Foods, which I enjoy because of the good research and documentation, and a minimum of trendy opinion.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion cut in half and sliced medium thick
• 5 medium cloves garlic, pressed
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 TBS Dijon mustard
• 1 TBS + 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 TBS chopped fresh tarragon (or 1 tsp dried tarragon)
• 2 TBS chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tsp dried parsley)
• salt and white pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Slice onion and press garlic and let sit for 5-10 minutes to bring out their hidden health benefits.
2. Heat 1 TBS broth in a 10-12 inch stainless steel skillet. Healthy Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for 2 minutes.
3. While onions are sautéing, cut chicken into pieces. Add chicken pieces and continue to sauté for another 3 minutes, stirring frequently to seal chicken on all sides. Add garlic and continue to sauté for another minute.
4. Add mustard, 1/2 cup broth, and honey. Mix thoroughly and simmer uncovered for about 7-8 minutes on medium-high heat stirring occasionally to cook chicken evenly. This will also reduce sauce.
5. While chicken is cooking, chop herbs and add at end with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4

Serving Suggestion: Serve with

• Mediterranean Swiss Chard

New exercise suit

Oleg Cassini from Volunteers of America.  $5. A zipper pocket in the back of the jacket for jogging, I suppose. Very comfortable and beautifully made. Perfect for the slightly chilly spring days, or walking the lakefront at Lakeside on early summer mornings. Now 141 down from 168 in December. Leg pain is gone; some clothes moved to storage.

I love cabbage

I like it raw, or grilled in a little butter, or shredded on lettuce for some crunch in a salad.  I really enjoy coleslaw, either plain or with apples or raisins in a sweet dressing. 

Look at this list of pesticides for cabbage found in lab research. But before you say “eeyu” and swear off cabbage, these are pesticides which the cabbage plant produces.  99.99% of all the pesticides we eat are produced by the plant itself. Plants produce toxins to protect themselves against fungi, insects, and animal predators.  Tens of thousands of these chemicals have been found and tested, and each plant is different.

Glucosinolates: 2-propenyl glucosinolate (sinigrin),* 3-methylthiopropyl glucosinolate, 3-methylsulfinylpropyl glucosinolate, 3-butenyl
glucosinolate, 2-hydroxy-3-butenyl glucosinolate, 4-methylthiobutyl glucosinolate, 4-methylsulfinylbutyl glucosinolate,
4-methylsulfonylbutyl glucosinolate, benzyl glucosinolate, 2-phenylethyl glucosinolate, propyl glucosinolate, butyl glucosinolate
Indole glucosinolates and related indoles: 3-indolylmethyl glucosinolate (glucobrassicin), 1-methoxy-3-indolylmethyl glucosinolate
(neoglucobrassicin), indole-3-carbinol,* indole-3-acetonitrile, bis(3-indolyl)methane
Isothiocyanates and goitrin: allyl isothiocyanate,* 3-methylthiopropyl isothiocyanate, 3-methylsulfinylpropyl isothiocyanate, 3-butenyl
isothiocyanate, 5-vinyloxazolidine-2-thione (goitrin), 4-methylthiobutyl isothiocyanate, 4-methylsulfinylbutyl isothiocyanate,
4-methylsulfonylbutyl isothiocyanate, 4-pentenyl isothiocyanate, benzyl isothiocyanate, phenylethyl isothiocyanate
Cyanides: 1-cyano-2,3-epithiopropane, 1-cyano-3,4-epithiobutane, 1-cyano-3,4-epithiopentane, threo-1-cyano-2-hydroxy-3,4-epithiobutane,
erythro-1-cyano-2-hydroxy-3,4-epithiobutane, 2-phenylpropionitrile, allyl cyanide,* 1-cyano-2-hydroxy-3-butene, 1-cyano-3-
methylsulfinylpropane, 1-cyano-4-methylsulfinylbutane
Terpenes: menthol, neomenthol, isomenthol, carvone*
Phenols: 2-methoxyphenol, 3-caffoylquinic acid (chlorogenic acid),* 4-caffoylquinic acid,* 5-caffoylquinic acid (neochlorogenic acid),*
4-(p-coumaroyl)quinic acid, 5-(p-coumaroyl)quinic acid, 5-feruloylquinic acid

“ 27 natural pesticides that are rodent carcinogens are present
in the following foods: anise, apple, apricot, banana, basil,
broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, caraway,
carrot, cauliflower, celery, cherries, cinnamon, cloves, cocoa,
coffee, collard greens, comfrey herb tea, currants, dill,
eggplant, endive, fennel, grapefruit juice, grapes, guava,
honey, honeydew melon, horseradish, kale, lentils, lettuce,
mango, mushrooms, mustard, nutmeg, orange juice, parsley,
parsnip, peach, pear, peas, black pepper, pineapple, plum,
potato, radish, raspberries, rosemary, sesame seeds, tarragon,
tea, tomato, and turnip. Thus, it is probable that almost
every fruit and vegetable in the supermarket contains natural
plant pesticides that are rodent carcinogens. The levels of
these 27 rodent carcinogens in the above plants are commonly
thousands of times higher than the levels of synthetic
pesticides.”

Pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables are minuscule compared with the cancer-causing potential of some natural chemicals in plants.

Psoriatic Arthritis—light after darkness by guest blogger Sarah Terry

Sarah has PsA (Psoriatic Arthritis) and a year or so ago I visited her in a nursing home after a terrible flare up. Today on Facebook Sarah wrote about her long and successful climb back to encourage those new to the disease, but I believe her message is also an encouragement for those facing other health challenges.

“Today I had an appointment with my rheumy, who I have come to like very much. When we first met last January 2014, I was in a wheelchair, it was 23 degrees below zero outside and I was in so much pain, I could barely move. I was so weak that I couldn't even kick off sheets from my legs. Everything hurt and I do mean everything, because I'd been off my Remicade since August due to a tooth infection that went nuts in my body and gave me what I call my super flare and led to 2 weeks in the hospital and 3 months in a nursing home, because I literally could not stand, toilet, walk, wash- -nothing.

Fast forward to today. My rheumy said he thought that I was glowing (I thought ... glowing?? I'm certainly not pregnant, lol). He said that with as many things as I had going on and all the meds, I looked absolutely joyful - to which I replied, I try and when I'm down, I very much remember the distance I've come. That I can now walk, go to the store, drive a car, take a shower, take out my trash, pick up my cat, change her litter box - most all of what I did before, except working. But even that is all right because I had 32 years at Ohio State University.  Although I had planned to work another 10 years, this is what happened and I am now in a better place than I had been for the past 15 yrs.

So what is my message?  Well, it is that there is light after darkness. That often you will have to dig deeper in yourself than you ever thought possible. That things happen for a reason, although you might not know that reason. That there are always options, even though you thought you might not ever have considered those unknown to you. That you are here for a reason and you will learn the lessons and you will be of help to others. That your pain is real and so is your joy and in time, you can learn to experience more joy than pain or even both at the same time - but you won't be held down by the pain, unless you choose to be.

The good news is that medicine has made advances and those of us with this disease have so much more available to us than previous generations. With the internet we can become educated and better advocates for ourselves. Now we have choices.”

Why April 22?

It’s no coincidence that Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D) founded “Earth Day” on April 22, 1970, the centenary of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s birthday. http://patriotpost.us/alexander/34776

Happy Earth Day

Here in Columbus we're in winter recovery mode--green grass and beautiful flowers everywhere. And the winter debris. Today I'll drive to the west side for my volunteer job and I'll pass through some light industrial and "emerging" neighborhoods. I'll see people walking to the bus stops along roads with no sidewalks and a few who appear to be homeless. The grass and easements around the fast food businesses, gas stations, lumber outlets, and car lots will be pristine. The city of Columbus with responsibility for the exits, overpasses and other easements has a lot of work to do. Plastic bags, trash, newspapers, bottles. Do your part. It's Earth Day, a good time to clean up your own messes.

On Earth Day when we remember Rachel Carson whose poorly researched book contributed to the deaths of millions of Africans. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/science/earth/05tier.html…

One of the founders of Earth Day, Ira Einhorn,  in 1970 murdered his girl friend.  He was on the run for 23 years, but is in jail now. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42711922/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/earth-day-co-founder-killed-composted-girlfriend/

Consumer Reports says coupons save money—they don’t

"All told, consumers saved $3.6 billion by using coupons [out of $310 billion], which makes it difficult to understand why only 59 percent of subscribers we surveyed used manufacturers coupons." (Consumer Reports).

Oh, let me count the ways American consumers are fooled into using coupons that

• 1) cover up price increases,
• 2) introduce yet another new product we don't need,
• 3) convince us to buy processed rather than steaming or grilling it ourselves,
• 4) deliver us into obesity with a bazillion snack offerings, etc. etc.

Yes, I know, I can't convince you that food companies don't stay in business by giving away their products, or that coupons add to the cost of your food, so just continue to fool yourselves--with the help of the media that prints or distributes the coupons. The first coupon was a wooden nickel.

Unemployment for some is not ending

"Long-term unemployment has fallen in recent years, although it remains high by historical standards. Five years after the Great Recession ended, the number of long-term unemployed still made up a larger share of unemployment than during any previous recession." (BLS, Spotlight on Statistics, March 2015). Actually, the recession ended in June 2009, almost six years ago—so these figures are from 2014 apparently. This has been the slowest recovery from a recession in history. I believe the ARRA made it worse.

Men more than women, blacks and Asians more than whites, older more than younger are the faces of the long term unemployed. Education level doesn't change things. Washington, DC, home of our federal government,  has the highest rate of long term unemployed. http://www.bls.gov/.../2015/long-term-unemployment/home.htm

Are these men really missing?

The New York Times Upshot column claims: “In New York, almost 120,000 black men between the ages of 25 and 54 are missing from everyday life. In Chicago, 45,000 are, and more than 30,000 are missing in Philadelphia. Across the South — from North Charleston, S.C., through Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi and up into Ferguson, Mo. — hundreds of thousands more are missing.”

I'm not sure why they are called missing. Black women abort at a much higher rate than white, so let's assume over half of those babies are male (birth ratio statistics); the crime rate for black men is about 8 times that of white, and their victims are black, so unless you want the police and courts to ignore the victims so the perps won't be in jail, what is the solution? More males than females are born, except among blacks; all boys are less healthy than girls, and by age 13 there is quite a discrepancy; visit the prisons and talk to the men of any race who grew up without fathers married to their mothers and in the home. CDC estimates that blacks account for almost half of all new infections of HIV in the U.S.each year, and although that's not the death sentence it used to be, it's also not the road to health, employment and marriage--and in a number of cities about 1/3 of the gay/bisexual black men are infected. When black men marry, about 24% marry outside their race, decreasing the opportunity for marriage for black women (Pew Study) so they might as well be missing. There is no plot.They aren't missing. But there is some negative behavior that can be changed.

Also, the author doesn’t seem to grasp the connection that the higher prison rate has resulted in lower crime rates for black communities.

Since the 1990s, death rates for young black men have dropped more than rates for other groups, notes Robert N. Anderson, the chief of mortality statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Both homicides and H.I.V.-related deaths, which disproportionately afflict black men, have dropped. Yet the prison population has soared since 1980. In many communities, rising numbers of black men spared an early death have been offset by rising numbers behind bars.

ISIS kills more Christians for show terror

Last night millions of Americans watched “Game of Thrones” with elaborate sets, made up languages, sexy female monarchs, fantasy creatures--very violent and blood thirsty. Meanwhile ISIS slaughtered some more Christians, this time Ethiopians, and made a video of it. Most Americans yawned. They'd rather shut down pizza shops owned by Christians than lift a finger to stop the massacre of Christians. One group was beheaded on a beach along the Mediterranean Sea, while the other group was shot in Southern Libya, hundreds of miles away. "The sea you have hidden Sheikh Osama bin Laden's body in, we swear to Allah, we will mix it with your blood," the narrator said in English. He's talking to us.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/19/africa/libya-isis-executions-ethiopian-christians/

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article4416389.ece

http://rt.com/news/251037-isis-christians-killing-video/