Turmeric, pt. 2

“Turmeric is the spice commonly found in curry — and, according to new research published in Stem Cell Research and Therapy, it may boost your brain proliferation or its power to repair itself.”

I looked through my blogs to see what I’ve written about turmeric—not much, and usually I wrote that I don’t use it.  But since writing about it last week after watching a review of Brain Fog, I’ve been trying it in apple cider.  That sort of covers up the taste and color.  A few sprinkles on food or salad dressing probably isn’t enough, so I’m trying about 1/2 teaspoon in cider until I get used to it.  So far, no stomach upset, and it’s not awful.

“Outside of this study [on neurodegenerative diseases], turmeric is considered the “spice for life.” Another one of its active ingredients is curcumin, and curcumin is considered an anti-inflammatory. This ingredient has also been associated with the ability to prevent diabetes, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s. But as is the case with the rat research, the potential of turmeric acting as modern medicine is uncertain, though adding turmeric powder to food or tea is believed to supplement a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle. Doing so sets you ahead of the game if turmeric is found to be capable of repairing the human brain.”

http://www.medicaldaily.com/turmeric-helps-your-brain-heal-itself-spice-your-brain-power-curry-305242

Source: Hucklenbroich J, Klein R, Neumaier B, Graf R, Fink G, et al. Aromatic-turmerone induces neural stem cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Stem Cell Research & Therapy. 2014.

How true.

What computers used to cost, Dec. 2007

Today I was cleaning out a drawer (something I need to do more often) and came across the receipt from Staples for the computer I’m using as I write.  A Dell Inspiron 530S loaded with VISTA. The total bill came to $895.50 with various price over rides amounting to $39, a flash drive of 4 GB (I still have it in the package and not sure I ever used it), something that looks like a 2 year warranty, taxes $53.59, a holiday cd for $6.  Can’t be sure from the codes but it looks like I also bought a monitor and paid for data transfer from the old computer (which I think is still in the basement storeroom, and occasionally has been called into service when this one failed). Photo below.

The new Inspiron seems to be about the same price ($50 less), but with Windows 10, wireless, 1TB hard drive, 8GB system memory (compared to 250 GB and 2 GB)

My 530S is clunky and slow, it’s been repaired twice, and really resisted when I updated to Windows 10 (had to use Firefox).

Mammograms—do they help, hurt or save?

You may wish to download this booklet on screening for breast cancer.

"When we first published this leaflet in 2008, the Summary was:

"It may be reasonable to attend for breast cancer screening with mammography, but it may also be reasonable not to attend, as screening has both benefits and harms.

If 2000 women are screened regularly for 10 years, one will benefit from the screening, as she will avoid dying from breast cancer.

At the same time, 10 healthy women will, as a consequence, become cancer patients and will be treated unnecessarily. These women will have either a part of their breast or the whole breast removed, and they will often receive radiotherapy, and sometimes chemotherapy.

Furthermore, about 200 healthy women will experience a false alarm. The psychological strain until one knows whether or not it was cancer, and even afterwards, can be severe."

These numbers were derived from the randomised trials of mammography screening. However, since the trials were performed, treatment of breast cancer has improved considerably. More recent studies suggest that mammography screening may no longer be effective in reducing the risk of dying from breast cancer."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/insider/aggressive-treatment-for-early-breast-cancer-reporters-notebook.html?_r=0

If you read the NYT article, be sure to read the comments.

In God we Trust

Food and fellowship

Do you sometimes feel like this? Too much food?

• Saturday we ate out to celebrate our daughter/SIL's 22nd anniversary at the Rusty Bucket;
• Monday we ordered pizza in from Iacono’s on Kenny Rd.;
• Wednesday we were on a road trip to Canton and the meal was catered (baked chicken);
• Thursday a church group gathered for dinner at the Crane’s lovely home on a lake (wonderful smoked ribs)
• also attended a memorial service at Friendship Village for Mary Dunbar which included a reception with food;
• Friday we attended the wedding of Tracy and Andy at the  Amelita Mirolo Barn which included dinner (lots of choices);
• Sunday we're having friends Howard and Betty here for lunch (soup and salad) before we head out for an art show in Middletown, Ohio Watercolor Society.

But I seem to be going to the store all the time.

When we point a finger, three are pointing back at us

"The family is under attack from internal forces, such as divorce, cohabitation, decline in marriage, promiscuity, abuse and violence, addictions, pornography – and the list goes on and on. The family is also under attack from outside forces, such as cultural coarsening, anti-family entertainment and rhetoric, sex trafficking and sexual exploitation, and extremists who want to shut down religious freedom and redefine marriage and family." Janice Shaw Crouse

Last Sunday our class was looking at the first three chapters of Romans.  Her quote taken from an interview reminds me of Paul's letter to the Romans. He was writing to a Christian congregation in Rome made up of pagans and Jews--all saved by grace. Pagans accepted pedophilia, abortion and homosexuality, Jews didn't. Paul calls those practices degrading, unnatural, indecent, exchanging the truth of God for a lie, and perversion, and it needed to stop. But Jews had the advantage of the law and the prophets which addressed many other sins and which were also being violated. Paul had harsh words for them for being stubborn, self-righteous, self-seeking and blind to the light. Adultery, stealing, blaspheming, gossip, arrogance, etc. The family is under attack, but we Christians weakened it to the point of collapse and now point fingers at those who violate natural law.

God doesn’t grade on a curve.

Federal Debt Held by Public Has More Than Doubled Under Obama

$57,431.65 for each of 117,343,000 households.

"Debt held by the public represents federal debt issued by Treasury and held by investors outside of the federal government, including individuals, corporations, state or local governments, the Federal Reserve, and foreign governments,”  explains the Government Accountability Office. “The majority of debt held by the public consists of marketable Treasury securities, such as bills, notes, bonds, floating rate notes, and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities that are sold through auctions and can be resold by whoever owns them. Treasury also issues a smaller amount of nonmarketable securities, such as savings securities and State and Local Government Series securities."

"Intragovernmental debt holdings represent federal debt owed by Treasury to federal government accounts—primarily federal trust funds such as Social Security and Medicare—that typically have an obligation to invest in federal securities their excess annual receipts (including interest earnings) over disbursements,” says GAO.

“Unlike debt held by the public,” says GAO, “intragovernmental debt holdings are not shown as balances on the federal government’s consolidated financial statements because they represent loans from one part of the federal government to another."

As of the close of business on Tuesday, the total debt of the federal government was $18,150,481,620,363.39. Of this, $13,046,512,400,965.87 was debt held by the public, and $5,103,969,219,397.52 was intragovernmental debt.

The $13,046,512,400,965.87 in debt held by the public was an increase of $6,739,201,661,284.21—or 106.8 percent--from the $6,307,310,739,681.66 in debt held by the public on the day Obama was inaugurated. (CNS News)

http://useconomy.about.com/od/usdebtanddeficit/p/US-Debt-by-President.htm

Fall color in Ohio

You don't need to go to Vermont to be a leaf peeper. The fall color this year is marvelous. This is Rose Lake in the Hocking Hills State Park. It's a 17 acre fishing lake, but isn't it glorious?

http://trekohio.com/2012/04/08/rose-lake/

http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/hockinghills

Think about the civility and good manners of despots

I watched a report of viewer satisfaction with Tuesday's debate, and one thing that impressed them most about the Democrats was civility. Well, I hope so. Look at their ages--they should have good manners. However, not negotiating with Iran or Cuba for imprisoned Americans, grabbing the rights that belong to the states (10th amendment), funding an abortion organization that killed close to 400,000 unborn Americans in one year according to its own report, attacking free speech, freedom of religion and the 2nd amendment, and by default letting Russia back into the middle east power structure isn't my idea of civilized. Nor is pandering to the lowest common denominator to avoid these issues with socialist programs.

Conestoga trip to Canton, Ohio, October 14, 2015

We had a wonderful time visiting Canton, OH to see the National Memorial for President William McKinley, the Stark County Historical museum, and the National First Ladies education and resource center.

Before he became President, William McKinley had served 14 years in the House, where he became the leading Republican tariff expert, giving his name to the measure enacted in 1890. The next year he was elected Governor of Ohio, serving two terms. McKinley was assassinated in 1901 at the beginning of his 2nd Presidential term by Leon Czolgosz who said his actions were inspired by violent anarchist Emma Goldman’s claim that “all rulers should be exterminated.” Yes, she's called an anarchist, not a communist or socialist, but if you read her writings, she was left of the Bolsheviks with whom she shared a mission and had squabbles. To this day, the leftists in the U.S. apologize for her. But put that aside for the moment since everyone's forgotten them. Capitalism has brought wealth and comfort to the very people they tried to inflame.

I'll say I was very impressed by Stark county's hard work on history and maintaining these sites without federal or state money. 25,000 school children each year visit this memorial, and the education director did a wonderful monologue for us about McKinley's life.

On the bus with Jerry passing out snacks.  We watched two terrific DVDs on architecture—Louis Sullivan and Gothic Cathedrals—on the 2.5 hour trips.

McKinley National Memorial, final resting place of the 25th president of the U.S. and his wife Ida, and their two young daughters .  There are 108 steps, and we saw people running up the steps for exercise (Rocky only had to do 72).  He died in September 1901 and by June 1903, $500,000 had been contributed for his memorial and designs were submitted.  The one chosen is laid out like a cross, in the shape of a sword. Construction began in June 1905 and it was finished by September 1907; the dedication ceremony was September 30, 1907. Ida his widow was there but died later in the year.

The Director of Education at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, Christopher Kenney, provided a wonderful reenactment of the President in the museum and accompanied our group to the memorial providing interesting insights about the construction and dedication. 

Entrance to the museum built in 1963; it has a Planetarium, a McKinley Gallery, a research library, and a street of shops reflecting the history of Stark County.

A room in the museum is set up with period pieces to reflect the McKinley home.

Then it was back on the bus to travel to Ida Saxton McKinley House and the First Ladies Education and Research Center on Market Avenue, South.

This was originally the home of Ida McKinley’s parents, but she and her husband also lived there for awhile.  It had fallen into disrepair in the 20th century having been used as retail space and was slated to be demolished when a relative of Ida’s stepped in to save it.  It has been completely restored and has an active group of volunteers.

The research center dedicated to the first ladies is in a former bank down the street from the house within easy walking distance. We saw a number of personal items and gowns of the First Ladies.

It’s hard to be a Kardashian male

“Lamar Odom took cocaine and as many as 10 sexual-performance supplement pills leading up to his hospitalization in Las Vegas, according to a dramatic 911 call released Wednesday by the Nye County Sheriff’s Department.

Odom, the former NBA player and husband of reality television star Khloe Kardashian, was rushed to a medical facility after being found unresponsive by staff at a brothel known as the Love Ranch in Crystal, Nev., around 70 miles northwest of Las Vegas.” http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2015/10/14/lamar-odom-cocaine-sexual-performance-supplements-brothel-hospitalization-khloe-kardashian/73960622/

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-84708783/

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-84707571/

Walking vs. stationary bike

"Exercise expert Dr. Kenneth Cooper ranks walking and stationary bicycling as two of the six best exercises. He writes that walking is particularly good for previously sedentary people and older people. He recommends stationary bicycling because it simultaneously strengthens bicyclists’ arms and legs and causes far fewer injuries than jogging and outdoors bicycling. The Merck Manual Home Health Handbook’s “Choosing the Right Exercise” report lists 10 exercises, including stat...ionary bicycling and walking. Walking is praised for being “relatively easy” on joints throughout the body and being better than stationary bicycling for people with knee problems. Stationary bicycling improves strength more than walking and lets people change the intensity of their workouts by changing the bicycle’s resistance." Walking is almost out of the question for me except for brief errands. That's why I just love my stationary bike, a power spin 210. http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/stationary-bicycle-vs-walking-exercise-9889.html

". . .the latest research reveals that the magic number for maintaining cognitive fitness with age and preventing Alzheimer’s is to work up to a level of 150 minutes per week of a combination of cardio exercise and strength training. Great ways to get in your aerobic exercise include brisk walking, jogging, dancing, swimming, and playing tennis, or going to the gym and utilizing an elliptical, treadmill or stationary bike." http://www.alzheimersprevention.org/.../exercise-and...

Walking in Spain with a cane and strong friend.

Turmeric and Alzheimer’s research

http://alzheimer.neurology.ucla.edu/Curcumin.html

I was watching someone plug his book “Brain Fog” today and in addition to the usual walk a mile a day, drink coffee and wine and eat blueberries, he mentioned turmeric and black pepper.  So I looked that up.  Seems to be a lot of pre-prepared items you can buy.

Curcumin (Turmeric), an ancient Indian herb used in curry powder, has been extensively studied in modern medicine and Indian systems of medicine for the treatment of various medical conditions, including cystic fibrosis, haemorrhoids, gastric ulcer, colon cancer, breast cancer, atherosclerosis, liver diseases and arthritis. It has been used in various types of treatments for dementia and traumatic brain injury. Curcumin also has a potential role in the prevention and treatment of AD. Curcumin as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and lipophilic action improves the cognitive functions in patients with AD. A growing body of evidence indicates that oxidative stress, free radicals, beta amyloid, cerebral deregulation caused by bio-metal toxicity and abnormal inflammatory reactions contribute to the key event in Alzheimer's disease pathology. Due to various effects of curcumin, such as decreased Beta-amyloid plaques, delayed degradation of neurons, metal-chelation, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and decreased microglia formation, the overall memory in patients with AD has improved. . .

Worldwide, there are over 1000 published animal and human studies, both in vivo and in vitro in which the effects of curcumin on various diseases have been examined. Studies include epidemiological, basic and clinical research on AD. . . .

Epidemiological studies have shown that prevalence of AD is 4.4 lower amongst Indian Asians as compared to people of western origin. Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2008 Jan-Mar; 11(1): 13–19.

Look what’s in the bag of tricks. More scary treats.

As of 2010, 68.8% of Federal individual tax receipts including payroll taxes, were paid by the top 20% of taxpayers. And these candidates will do their best to keep anyone else from getting rich.

49% of all 2014 spending paid for Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid; 20% went for income security (SNAP, TANF, housing, etc.).  Obamacare’s new spending will cost more than $1.8 trillion over the next decade. Now add in all these freebies.

The state vs. the people

Hillary Clinton has proven herself—to be just as low and crooked as a male politician

Take this science quiz

Whites and Hispanics score better than blacks on general science information, 8.4, 7.1 and 5.9. But why? This is information most of us had by 10th grade in general science class. It's not college level science.  I scored 11 out of 12 and have been away from science classes for over 50 years, but I recognized a lot of the questions from freshman high school general science. The debate will continue, but it would certainly affect STEM graduation and future jobs.  Asians are not included because there wasn’t a big enough pool for the researchers, but since they outscore whites in every area, I think we know what that would be. There is no breakdown by gender or age in the summary, although there is in the questions.  I’m assuming males score higher than females and older higher than younger.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/09/15/the-race-gap-in-science-knowledge/

Will he ever run out of left wing causes?

About 8 years ago I met the sweetest 11 year old boy.  He was just adorable.  We were taking a class together at Lakeside. He was really too young, but was so talented and precocious the teacher just overlooked the age requirement. Over the years I’d see him at his cottage and we’d wave and speak.  His parents got a divorce, but the cottage stayed with one of him, so my friend continued to enjoy the lake.  He didn’t seem to change much physically—always seemed to look like he was a fresh face kid, even though I figured he must at least be a junior or senior in high school.  I came across him on Facebook and friended him a few years ago. He had a few interests he posted occasionally—nothing unusual for a teen age boy.

He’s now in college.  Long stringy hair, no longer blond. He comments on every far left cause imaginable.  Pro-Palestine.  Anti-Columbus Day. Protesting against rape culture on his college campus. Demanding changes for climate change.  White privilege. Empty the racist prisons.

Gee, I hope he grows up soon.  This is almost like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

I don’t drink

nor do I intend to watch the “debate.”  It’s quite predictable. Old, tired, socialist . . . issues.

Humans of New York

“I hate pot. I hate it even more than hard drugs. I’ve taught high school for 25 years and I hate what marijuana does to my students. It goes beyond missing homework assignments. My students become less curious when they start smoking pot. I’ve seen it time and time again. People say pot makes you more creative, but from what I’ve seen, it narrows my students' minds until they only reference the world in relation to the drug. They’ll say things like: “I went to the beach and got so high,” or “I went to a concert and got so high.” They start choosing their friends based on the drug. I hate when people say that it’s just experimenting. Because from what I’ve seen, it’s when my students stop experimenting.”

From Humans of New York on Facebook

And you should see the commenters defending their “friends” who use it all the time.

Americans are being told a pack of lies about marijuana; and worse, their addled, weakened brains can't even figure that out. I knew this is where the pleas for medical marijuana would lead. You should see the ads we’re getting in Ohio.

Chocolate, wine, coffee and butter?

The more the government studies our nutritional needs, the heavier Americans get. I've gone back to butter and whole milk. If the experts can't figure out fats, carbs, and supplements, and now find good stuff in chocolate, coffee and wine, why follow the guidelines? Eat less, move more. The rest is footnotes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/13/upshot/are-fats-unhealthy-the-battle-over-dietary-guidelines.html?_r=0

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/02/12/275376259/the-full-fat-paradox-whole-milk-may-keep-us-lean

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/03/19/174739752/whole-milk-or-skim-study-links-fattier-milk-to-slimmer-kids

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/03/19/174739752/whole-milk-or-skim-study-links-fattier-milk-to-slimmer-kids

My own theory is, the more fat and real sugar you remove from food, the hungrier people get, so they just eat more.

How to report violent crime

Academics still blame the higher rate for violent crime on poverty and discrimination.  Not so.

“The formula for escaping poverty as an adult also has nothing to do with race: Graduate from high school, wait until you are married to have children, and work full-time. Whites who eschew those bourgeois behaviors are as likely to be poor as blacks who eschew them. Only 2 percent of individuals who follow those rules are in poverty, according to Isabel Sawhill of the Brookings Institution; 72 percent of those who follow them earn at least $55,000 a year. The American poverty rate would be cut by 70 percent if the same percentage of Americans engaged in those responsible behaviors as did in 1970, regardless of race.”
Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/420565/charleston-shooting-obama-race-crime

Monday Memories—saying “I used to. . .”

"Lately I'm saying 'I used to’ a lot," my friend said while we were having coffee to catch up after our trip to Spain.  I'd heard her say it before, but I think it is profound. It made me think.  Yes, I say that frequently. At my age, there are many.

Here are some of my “used to” thoughts in no particular order.

I used to run. I think about that often now—didn’t occur to me before age 40 that someday I wouldn’t.  Oh yes, I knew I wouldn’t run when I was 80, but the need or desire just went away.  As a child I ran all the time, even when I didn’t need to.

I used to skip or take two at a time on the stairs. Sometimes I would run up stairs on all fours.  I know I was an adult because I was doing it on Abington Road where we lived for 34 years. And until December 2013, I would even walk up and down stairs for exercise at our Mill Run church.  Perhaps that’s why I have bursitis now. Even one stair is painful.

I used to go out every morning to a coffee shop. That habit started when I was a teen and ended in early 2014.  I knew I couldn’t have caffeine anymore, and drinking Panera’s decaf was like hot water, so I gave it up and learned to make decaf at home.  I began putting $2/day into the piggy bank for our trip to Spain.  I didn’t always remember to do it, but had about $600 when September 2015 rolled around. Favorite haunts in addition to Panera’s the last decade were Chef-O-Nette, Paul’s Pantry, McDonald’s on Rt. 33, Bob Evans on Sunday, and at Lakeside Coffee ‘n Cream. The regulars at the Chef used to have parties together, attend weddings and funerals. I could hardly start the day without them.

I used to go to work five days a week. From fall 1986 to fall 2000 I was the Veterinary Medicine Librarian at The Ohio State University.  Loved that job. The students were terrific, and the library was located on the far west side of campus, so I never had to fight the bad traffic. The field was fascinating, and I’ve remained interested in medical topics to this day as you can tell from my blog topics. It included research and publication, which I enjoyed. Blogging allows publishing without the middle man. But I’d had many jobs before that because I accepted temporary contracts before a tenured permanent job came along so I could be home with the children in the summers.  I’d worked in agriculture, Latin American studies, user education, and I’d also worked for a library non-profit (Ohio-net) and the State of Ohio (Ohio Steps) before returning to Ohio State, and in both jobs I did research and publishing.

I used to bake pies.  I used to call myself the 2nd best pie baker East of the Mississippi. Mom got first place, of course. When there would be a family event in Indiana or a church pot luck, someone would always suggest I bring dessert, because they knew it would be a pie.  But something happened, maybe 10 or 15 years ago.  The pie crusts just weren’t turning out.  And as far as I’m concerned, no crust no pie. So I’ve passed the family mantle along to my daughter, who not only makes wonderful pies, they are works of art.

My Sugar free apple pie from 2009

Chocolate Peanut Butter,  chocolate peanut butter cream cheese tart, Strawberry rhubarb, flaky pie crust,  apple sour cream, applesauce pie, raisin (sugarless), cheesecake pumpkin, onion pie, apple dumplings, peach fluff pie,    cheeseburger in paradise pie,

My daughter’s artistic pies.

I used to be a dog person.  Since 1976 we’ve always had a cat (Mystery, We Be Three, Lotza Spotza, who is now about 18). When I was a child we always had a dog around. Lassie. Lassie 2. Pretty. Brownie (or was his name Fluffy?). Zero. Jerry. Lady. Polka dot.  Lady and Polka dot were Dalmatians. Lassie, Pretty and Brownie were part collie.  Zero was a mixed hound who “followed” me home one day (with a lot of encouragement). We left Lassie at my grandmother’s when we went to California in 1944—he died in a tractor accident.

I used to be a horse fan. Now I just enjoy looking at them. I would spend my afternoons at the Ranz’ horse/cattle barn near our home, I would ride the horses of friends, and I was fearless.  The Wiggins children  had a blind pony which I would ride bareback along the hi-way. I would draw pictures of horses and write stories.  My brother and I would build snow horses in the yard.  I saved all my babysitting and paper route money and finally when I was 11 years old I bought a horse.  Got over it.

I used to draw and paint, both as a child and an adult. I probably haven’t painted anything in 4 years. Mainly I did watercolor most recently, but back in the 70s I did a lot of paintings using acrylics. When I was a child my mother would get rolls of discontinued wall paper for me to use, and provided stacks of used white newsprint from the printing plant in Mt. Morris. My grandmother gave me a box of oil paints when I was about 10 and gave me her old supplies.  I still have my wood box. Our schools didn’t have art classes, but one year my mother took a typing class in night school in Freeport, and I went along and took an art class.  I didn’t like it because I was the only child in the class and couldn’t draw horses.

Watercolor paintings from several years ago; I think these are studies done in classes I took.

Paintings from the 1970s when I used my children as subjects.

I used to not appear in public in jeans and athletic shoes. After I retired, I was always well dressed when I went to the coffee shop, then would change when I got home. Until about 2010, I always wore high heels with my slacks.  After exercise class I would go home and change clothes rather than appear in the grocery store in my athletic clothes.  Somewhere after 70 I decided that was probably wasted energy.  Now I can look as much a slob as other retired people.

I used to be a Democrat—for 40 years. I voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and haven’t looked back.  I may have been a Conservative for many years before since I am an evangelical Christian, was pro-business, and I was pro-life even as a Democrat. When my husband started his own business in 1994 I really had my eyes open, but it took awhile for that to translate to politics. That said, it still bothers me that Republicans are like bulls in a china closet, and can’t hang together to accomplish something or use a crisis the way the Democrats do.

I used to hate exercise.  Actually, I still do. But I’ve participated in an exercise class at church most years since I retired. For 2015 I’ve been riding my nice Power Spin Gold’s Gym stationery bike, and by doing just a mile at a time about 6 or 7 times a day, I’ve found something that doesn’t hurt my legs and yet is good cardio and burns calories. I’ve ridden 1500 miles since Christmas and lost 35 pounds in 6 months. I could say “I used to weigh 170 lbs.”

I used to sing.  About 9 years ago I decided to join the church choir. I grew up in a home with music and I missed that. I even sang in a little quartet with my siblings. Only one of us had the talent and determination to become a musician and it wasn't me, but I did take piano lessons and play trombone as well as participate in choirs until I graduated from high school.  At UALC in 2006  I just loved it thinking my soprano range would come back.  The director Mike Martin was wonderful. But the voice didn’t come back.  If you don’t use something for 50 years, there are penalties.  So after a year I gave it up.

A poetry prompt from Tweetspeak this week was on games.  So I chose Hide and Seek and worked in the “I used to” theme. I used to write poetry, but hadn’t done it for several years.

-----------------------------------------

Poetry prompt--games

Hide and seek, 1950 and 2015

I used to run through damp grass at dusk
Hiding behind fat trees--or in the garage,
Excited that the all the kids showed up at our house.

Now I scan the shelves for my car keys
Looking for my purse--it’s not where I put it,
Concerned that the dinner date is in fifteen minutes

Move over Christian prayer, here comes Mindfulness

The October 6 issue of JAMA explores the promise of mindfulness as medicine.

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2449182

Mindfulness is. . . Buddhism.  It’s being welcomed with open arms (and money) in public institutions that would never permit instruction in prayer or Christian meditation.

Mindfulness is a Buddhist concept and practice, the seventh step of the Eightfold Path. Mindfulness is more than a meditative practice; it is an outlook on life and reality that ideally results from a type of meditation designed to cultivate detachment. Detachment in Buddhism is necessary, because Buddhism teaches that attachment to this world, to your thinking, to your identity as an individual self, and other attachments, such as desires, keep you in the cycle of rebirth.

Buddhism holds that the self does not exist, and identification with the self keeps you in that cycle of rebirth. Therefore, to achieve liberation from this cycle, one must break the attachment, so detachment is necessary. Mindfulness is the method, and detachment with ultimate liberation is its goal. Mindfulness is often defined as a moment-by-moment nonjudgmental awareness of the present. For many years, this writer attempted to incorporate mindfulness into her life prior to becoming a Christian.

Though thoroughly Buddhist, mindfulness has been heavily promoted to the secular world by Jon Kabat-Zinn (b. 1944), a Zen Buddhist, whose book, Wherever You Go, There You Are, brought him into the public eye; and by Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926), a Zen Buddhist from Vietnam whose books have enjoyed great success in the West. Both lecture around the United States. Read more: http://christiananswersforthenewage.org/Articles_Mindfulness.html

How much data mining would you accept to be safe?

Mercer was booted from the military and had a suicide attempt. Data mining can stop some crimes--but police still have to do the leg work.

"A software program alerts police to a social-media posting by an individual of interest in their jurisdiction. An algorithm reminds them why the individual had become a person of interest—a history of mental illness, an episode involving a neighbor. Months earlier, discreet inquires by police had revealed an unhealthy obsession with weapons—key word, unhealthy. There’s no reason why gun owners, range operators and firearms dealers shouldn’t be a source of information for local police seeking information about who might merit special attention."

Wall St. Journal

For my trolls; here’s my plan

If you think Obama is wonderful and Carson is a clown, well, there’s just not much help for you.

Why is Obama in Oregon?

Chicago, Obama's home town, probably wonders why he didn't go there instead of Oregon to talk about the problem of gun violence.  Mike at Homicide Watch Chicago (Suntimes) notes: "More children have been victims of gun violence in the city of Chicago in the past 2 years, than all of U.S " mass school shootings " in the last decade. " 

I didn't check his stats--he was commenting on the death of a 15 year old this week, but nationally the rate of firearm homicide in 2010 for blacks was 14.6 per 100,000, compared to 1.9 for whites. Washington Post said it was twice as high in one article, another 4x and another 6x. Dept. of Justice figures says 6.3x.  (NCJ 243035)

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-84653981/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_Illinois

Chicago has no gun stores.  Chicago's police department seizes more illegal weapons than any other in the nation — nearly 20 a day for a total of 5,500 so far this year. Black Illinois law makers have blocked stiffer penalties for illegal gun possession saying it would lock up more black men.  Duh!

http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-84647473/

People Magazine wants you to use its form to contact your Congress member about gun control

What is OpenCongress--the website that is collecting your personal information as you e-mail your Congress member (supposedly it reroutes it)? Well, as you might guess, it's a far left non-profit, tax exempt organization funded by Soros among others. This hoax will help build a database of both pro and con gun control/confiscation voters. People Magazine is promoting contacting Congress through this source about gun control. Shame on People Magazine for not making it clear that someone is taking names.

In this week's issue of PEOPLE, Editorial Director Jess Cagle used his Editor's Letter to address the frequency of mass shootings in America. Below, we have published Cagle's letter, and also provided contact information for all 535 voting members of the House and Senate. We urge readers to contact their elected representatives to make their voices heard.

http://www.people.com/article/preventing-gun-violence-people-call-to-action-jess-cagle

The Omnibus Crime bill made us safer

but it did fill up the prisons.

The Omnibus Crime Bill was passed in 1993 providing stiffer sentences and more money for crime control. Firearm-related homicides declined 39%, from 18,253 in 1993 to 11,101 in 2011. Nonfatal firearm crimes declined 69%, from 1.5 million victimizations in 1993 to 467,300 victimizations in 2011. In 2010, the rate of firearm homicide for blacks was 14.6 per 100,000, compared to 1.9 for whites, a decline of 51% for blacks and 48% for whites.

If I can find these BJS stats, then why can't the media? What will decrease mass shootings are armed security guards in schools and malls.

The history of mandatory sentencing is tied to slavery.

"Congress also used mandatory minimum penalties in its efforts to end the importation of slaves. The Constitution prohibited Congress from curtailing or abolishing the importation of slaves before 1808. In advance of the 1808 date, and with President Thomas Jefferson’s urging, Congress passed an Act prohibiting the importation of slaves in February 1807. Among other provisions, the 1807 Act prohibited citizens from bringing slaves into the United States or serving on a vessel that transported slaves. These offenses carried mandatory minimum penalties of at least five years and two years of imprisonment, respectively. However, the mandatory minimum penalties were much less severe than the mandatory death penalty many in the House of Representatives wanted to attach to these offenses, on grounds that importing human beings was a crime of morality and akin to murder. Other offenses created by the 1807 Act, such as outfitting slave vessels and purchasing or selling illegally imported slaves, carried only fines.”

 http://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/news/congressional-testimony-and-reports/mandatory-minimum-penalties/20111031-rtc-pdf/Chapter_02.pdf

The heat is on—Dr. Carson

It's very difficult for the world--academic or political--to accept a genuine black and brilliant American. Remember how Biden described Obama? "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," Biden said. "I mean, that's a storybook, man." But he was right, and it made Obama acceptable to white liberals who were accustomed to giving blacks hand outs.

The media are really ratcheting up their criticism and slicing and dicing his words to make him look like a minstrel clown. Carson has never been my first choice, but he’s looking better all the time.

Government can take away what it first gives

Catholic schools have a 99% graduation rate and 97% go on to advanced schooling; much higher than public schools. (In Ohio, Cleveland about 66%; Columbus about 78% graduate.) And it goes beyond excellent academics--religious based schools include agreed upon values. That said, I really don't like government subsidies for private and religious schools. Technically, it’s not aid--it’s reimbursement for auxiliary services to comply with government (at all levels) mandates. Private schools also receive bus transportation and I think on Lake Erie they get transportation to the mainland for high school just like public school students. And yes, I know these schools actually save the taxpayer money, first by graduating good students, and second by relieving pressure in local schools. Still, if you accept the money, you have to accept the consequences of dancing with the one who brought (or bought) you.

The government has forced Catholics out of the adoption business by denying funding on which it had become dependent because they won’t place children in gay families, and it is pushing the hospitals to perform abortions.  Promoting a social agenda is more important than a child’s well being or a patient’s health. It wants to close down nursing homes run by nuns if they won’t comply with contraception mandates for staff, and it’s only a matter of time before that includes abortion.

Thoughts?

Happy Blogiversary to me

I have been blogging since Oct. 1, 2003. I don't know when blogger.com (owned by Google) began recording statistics (not the original owner), but it says I've had 1,063,099 visitors. That doesn't mean they stopped to read or leave a comment, just that some algorithm sprinkled fairy dust as it went by.

I actually began on Oct. 3, but that didn’t look tidy, so I ‘back filled,” and Oct. 1, 2003 is a collection of links to my blogs.

Those calling for more gun control probably haven’t read the law

Before suggesting more gun control laws, how are current laws about possession, sale and shipment being enforced? Obama is releasing thousands already convicted of drug offenses. How long before they have a gun in hand--illegally under federal law? The Oregon shooter was clean on all these flags. He was anti-social, hated religion, had a crazy mother, divorced parents, was bi-racial, probably used marijuana as a teen, and narcissistically sought attention. But that fits millions who don't kill people. At least one in a very high position in government who is hostile toward many with different values.

• These categories in the The Gun Control Act include any person:
• Under indictment or information in any court for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
• convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
• who is a fugitive from justice;
• who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance;
• who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to any mental institution;
• who is an illegal alien;
• who has been discharged from the military under dishonorable conditions;
• who has renounced his or her United States citizenship;
• who is subject to a court order restraining the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of the intimate partner; or
• who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (enacted by the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997, Pub. L. No. 104-208, effective September 30, 1996). 18 USC 922(g) and (n).

Federal Register Notice—Publication
- NICS Notice of Final Rule RIN 1110-AA27

Regulations
- Federal Firearms Regulation Reference Guide Index (pdf)
- National Instant Criminal Background Check System Regulations (pdf)
- NICS Amendments, Federal Register, July 23, 2004
- Brady Implementation (pdf)
- Privacy Act of 1974; Notice of New System of Records (Proposed Rule)
- Exemption of System of Records Under the Privacy Act
- Temporary Rule: Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence (ATF) (Proposed Rule)
- Proposed rulemaking cross-referenced to Temporary Rule

Related Sites
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) | ATF Forms

Statutes
- Brady Law (P.L. 103-159, Title I; 107 Stat. 1536)
- 1968 Gun Control Act, as amended by Brady Law (18 U.S.C. Chapter 44)
- Prohibited categories (18 U.S.C. § 922(g) (1)-(9) and (n))
- Lautenberg Amendment (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9))

Stuff happens

Jeb Bush's choice of words "stuff happens" after the Oregon shooting was really bad. But not nearly as bad or disgusting as liberals calling abortions on demand "women's health."

And what’s up with Ted Strickland a former Methodist minister, former Ohio governor and his support for abortion?

Imagine basing your life's work and your party membership on something so ugly and horrifying as abortion. Shame on you, Ted.

A college classmate of his writes:

“Oh how the mighty have fallen! There goes the last of my respect for my old college classmate. I had hoped he would reconsider his party affiliation when, at the Dem's national convention, his entire party loudly booed his motion to add the words "God-given" to the party platform. His committee had submitted the motion without the word and sought to add it at the convention. He stood there with a "deer in the headlights" expression as the representatives repeatedly booed. Then the master of ceremony did what Dems traditionally do - he ruled the way he thought was politically expedient instead of the way the representatives voted. He declared that the "Ayes" had prevailed. I thought, "Oh, now Ted will get it. He’'ll finally see that his party doesn't want God in it."  Nope. Apparently he still doesn't get it.

Signed Sealed Delivered—a terrific series on Hallmark

Last night I watched "Signed sealed delivered" on Hallmark Movie Channel and loved it. Great story, terrific ensemble cast, quirky humor, just enough suspense to qualify as a mystery, strong values. The breaking of a secret code included Bible verses, childhood memories, and a line from the national anthem. And all of the characters are conversant in the Bible! How cool is that? I'm definitely a fan. The producer and writer is a Christian (Touched by an Angel) and without being pushy or obvious, includes many statements of faith and complex relationships. One main character grew up in foster care, one in a dysfunctional family abandoned by his mother. The issue of bullying is also a sub-theme.  I assume there will be more back stories on the four characters who are postal detectives as I watch more (I think there have been 10 so far, and I watched 3 last night). The actors all seem to be Canadian. And very talented.

I thought the main male lead looked familiar but couldn’t place him.  He used to be on Ugly Betty.

I read that it was originally a weekly series on regular Hallmark, then became movie length and moved to the movie channel. Expanding to a movie length leaves a lot of long looks and pauses to fill the time, imo, plus room for hundreds of commercials, but still good stories.

Martha Williamson, producer and writer: “I was interviewed on "60 Minutes" once and the interviewer asked, "Are you trying to use the show to evangelize?" And I said that they didn't hire me to write a Christian TV show and I'm not a Christian writer, I'm a television writer and a producer who is a Christian. As a result, I cannot compromise what my faith is and my belief. I can't do that. I will say that if a believer's faith is strengthened or if an unbeliever finds their way to the thrown of God, that is one heck of a dividend. For me, that is such a wonderful confirmation that I'm doing what I have been called to do.”
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/next-step-of-faith-for-touched-by-an-angel-producer-hallmark-movie-signed-sealed-delivered-for-christmas-interview-130080/#T0Z2BrY9XpbD8Gk4.99

From the Annual Report

And you donated?

Feast of St. Francis.

Many churches in the United States celebrate the Feast of St Francis of Assisi on October 4 each year. The feast commemorates the life of St Francis, who was born in the 12th century and is the Catholic Church’s patron saint of animals and the environment. It is a popular day for pets to be “blessed”. Many liturgical churches also commemorate this day. The concern for the earth didn’t begin on Earth Day—it began in Genesis.

  http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/st-francis-assisi-feast

There’s a movie (1961) about St. Francis on You Tube. I think I saw it a few years ago. I started watching it this morning, but will need to mark it for view later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG5jVcYA1aM

From IMBd review:

Francis Bernardone (Bradford Dillman) is the son of a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi, who gives up all his worldly goods to dedicate himself to God. Clare (Dolores Hart) is a young aristocratic woman who, according to the film, is so taken with St. Francis that she leaves her family and becomes a nun. By this time (1212 A.D.), St. Francis has a well-established reputation for his vows of poverty. The movie goes on to note miracles (such as the appearance of the stigmata on Francis's hands and feet) and other aspects of his life, up to and including his death on October 3, 1226.

In real life, as opposed to reel life, Dolores Hart does become a nun.

Feed the children

“In 2014, the federal government spent about $20 billion to reimburse schools, child care centers, and after-school programs for children’s meals. Those programs benefit mainly school-age children from low-income households. . . Under current law, the Congressional Budget Office projects, spending would rise to about $31 billion in nominal dollars by 2025. Adjusted for expected inflation, that value represents an increase of 26 percent over 2014 spending.”

But . . .

“The effects of participating in NSLP, SBP, or other child nutrition programs on children’s nutritional intake, health outcomes, and educational achievement are unclear. Researchers studying that question have often reached conflicting or inconclusive results, in large part because it is often difficult to isolate the effects of the
program from those of other factors.”

Imagine.  Spending $20 billion and having no idea if it helps or hurts or does nothing at all.

https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/50737-ChildNutrition.pdf

Gun Control and Confiscation

News junkie

Yes, that would be me. We don’t get a newspaper (Columbus Dispatch is mostly advertising), but I see several on line, but only see the articles that are are pre –selected for me by some sort of algorithm.

Online versions of print/paper sources (most are left of center in editorial content, except WSJ, which is liberal in news coverage)

Wall Street Journal

Washington Post

New York Times

Columbus Dispatch

LA Times

USA Today (rarely)

Investor’s Business Daily

Online only news sources

Newsmax (conservative)

Huffington Post (liberal)

Daily Beast (liberal)

Vox (liberal

National Review Online (conservative)

Slate (liberal)

TV news

Fox News

World Over (EWTN)

local news channels in Columbus (or Lakeside)

ABC, NBC, CBS occasionally, usually in the morning, or on the kitchen TV which has no cable.

Opinion shows, either radio or TV or internet

Teresa Tomeo (EWTN)

Michael Medved

Dennis Prager

Rush Limbaugh

Glenn Beck

Think Tanks

Manhattan Institute (conservative)

Brookings (liberal)

Ethics and public policy (conservative)

Blogs and Facebook

Ben Carson is right—51% of Islamic-Americans want Sharia Law

Hopefully none of them ever runs for president, because here's what he'd have to say about the U.S. system of government:

• Muzammil Siddiqi, chairman of both the Fiqh Council of North America, which dispenses Islamic rulings, and the North American Islamic Trust, which owns most of the mosques in the U.S.: "As Muslims, we should participate in the system to safeguard our interests and try to bring gradual change, (but) we must not forget that Allah's rules have to be established in all lands, and all our efforts should lead to that direction."

• Omar Ahmad, co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the top Muslim lobby group in Washington: "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Quran should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth."

• CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper: "I wouldn't want to create the impression that I wouldn't like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future."

• Imam Siraj Wahhaj, director of the Muslim Alliance in North America: "In time, this so-called democracy will crumble, and there will be nothing. And the only thing that will remain will be Islam."

• Imam Zaid Shakir, co-founder of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, Calif.: "If we put a nationwide infrastructure in place and marshaled our resources, we'd take over this country in a very short time. . . . What a great victory it will be for Islam to have this country in the fold and ranks of the Muslims."

Read More At Investor's Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-perspective/100115-773707-tapper-scolding-of-carson-ignores-islamic-fifth-column-building-inside-america.htm#ixzz3nVI9A5iW

#bencarson

Journey Home

When the world is going to hell in a hand basket, I like to tune into “Journey Home” with Marcus Grodi, host.  A former Presbyterian pastor, he interviews in a very calm and soothing voice people of various faiths who have converted to Catholicism, or have returned to Catholicism after a life time away from the church.  Certain stories have similar elements:  the guest almost always has had a good Christian upbringing and family, lost their faith or drifted in college, married, had a family, some life changing events, worked through a variety of church experiences, joined a variety of churches, and eventually “comes home.”  Often, it is through reading the church fathers and finding out how true to the Bible the early church was. Occasionally, it’s a direct encounter with the Holy Spirit. Today was a former Episcopalian and paramedic (recorded Sept. 28)  who did ice rescues in an earlier life, now a Roman Catholic Deacon and a nurse practitioner.

http://www.ewtn.com/tv/live/journeyhome.asp

Obama’s Tally

Obama asked us to tally some numbers yesterday in his speech after the college shooting in Oregon, during which 90% was devoted to gun control and he mentioned himself 28 times. In this speech he praised 2 countries that have confiscated guns something his defenders claimed was just right wing hysteria before. Compare deaths by terrorists on our soil to gun violence deaths, he said. Daily Digest reports via National Review that in five states alone (Arizona, California, Florida, New York and Texas), more than 5,400 people have been murdered by illegal aliens. That is more than all Americans killed defending our nation against terrorism in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/424921/one-more-note-illegal-aliens-and-crime-peter-kirsanow

Elizabeth Warren is a bully—beats up on Democrats

“This week Elizabeth Warren succeeded in forcing the resignation of respected scholar Robert Litan from the Brookings Institution after he revealed that a new Labor Department regulation could cost investors billions. Now five Democratic economists have authored a letter to protest Warren’s bullying. Robert Lawrence of Harvard’s Kennedy School and Bowman Cutter of the Roosevelt Institute are among those writing “to express our concern over our colleague Bob Litan’s treatment at the hands of the Brookings Institution and Senator Elizabeth Warren.””

http://www.wsj.com/articles/democratic-economists-vs-elizabeth-warren-1443785001

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/30/elizabeth-warren-brookings-institution-fellow-quit-lobbying

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/255298-top-brookings-economist-forced-out-over-biz-backes-study

Obama has been snookered by Putin—yet again

Are you prepared for the hurricane?

If it hits land, it’s climate change; if it goes out into the Atlantic it’s nothing but Mother Nature.

Church of the Brethren won’t forget their girls

These may not be the girls about which we heard so much in April 2014, and which were quickly forgotten except by the Church of the Brethren (EYN), the largest Christian group in Nigeria. That denomination has been devastated by Boko Haram. Unfortunately most of these girls appear to be pregnant.

http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/boko-haram-girls-freed/

•More than 500 women and children kidnapped, many of whom are EYN members
•3,038 EYN members killed
•Around three million people affected
•96,000 EYN members are displaced—needing shelter, food and water
•37 of 50 EYN districts are impacted
•18 districts are closed in areas now controlled by Boko Haram
•280 EYN pastors and evangelists are displaced

From the COB website: As the escaped Chibok girls return to school and society, one of them reported, “Education gives me the wings I need to fly.”

Legal doesn’t always mean moral or right

Yesudas, the famous singer you’ve probably not heard of

Isn’t the internet amazing?  Finding things you didn’t know you wanted to read. . .

I was browsing the archives of the Gospel Messenger for another story (1947) when I came across a film announcement, “Yesudas, the Outcaste,”  about a boy from India who becomes a Christian. It was making the rounds of the various Church of the Brethren congregations and meetings, I suppose to encourage interest in missions.  So I decided to look it up, and didn’t find it, but found out about Yesudas, a Christian Indian singer, probably more famous in his own country than Taylor Swift or Frank Sinatra in ours. He’s also a Bollywood film star.   His name means servant (das) of Jesus (Yesu), but I doubt if the boy in the film and the man who became a famous film star and singer are one in the same.  He’s about my age and still performing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtZHDQCy3EM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E08UYGssJEg

With his wife of 40+ years.

From his website: “He performs classical concerts in the courtyards of mosques, temples and churches, and strives to bring people of all religions together through music. Many of his songs have carried sublime messages of love, goodwill and brotherhood.”

He believes women should dress modestly, and that has brought him criticism, but his wife believes in traditional Biblical values, that men should be the head of the home.

The Kerala-born singer, who has been conferred with the honours like Padma Sri and Padma Vibhushan, said when women wear jeans, others are forced to look beyond that (jeans). Yesudas was inaugurating cleanliness drive under Swachh Bharat Campaign at Swathi Tirunal Music College in Thiruvananthapuram.

“What should be covered must be covered. Our culture involves the beauty which should be covered. Women should not trouble others by wearing jeans. When they put on jeans, men are tempted to look beyond that (jeans),” he said. “Women’s beauty lies in their modesty. They should not try to become like men. They should not force others to do unnecessary things by wearing jeans, which would give them magnetism,” Yesudas added. The Indian Express

Now I’ve “liked” his Facebook page with about 196,000 other “friends.”