Ethnicity, gender and religion in campaign 2016

There's an interesting video out there with Rubio responding to questions about his religion.  One appears to be off the cuff (unless the question was planted) and the other in a prepared speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy2Fjk00tTA

 

Many Republicans who complained of Obama’s lack of experience (in anything), will have to eat their words if Marco Rubio is elected. Has Rubio done anything other than be a politician? The question in the video came from an atheist.  Atheists and agnostics are also condescending, accusing the religious people of being illiterate bumpkins and troglodites. Films for example, and some politicians with sketchy theology and history, but who pretend to be Christians. They are becoming very aggressive, putting up billboards that are anti-God and ads on TV. And of course, the anti-God people pretty much control the culture so they control the conversation.

 

The a second event on the video is linked to the first, with the audience member wanting to hear a "formula" statement about faith.  Rubio talks about his current church attendance and affiliation, which is Southern Baptist and Roman Catholic. Now that presents a puzzle, but he’s an excellent word crafter and seems to pull it all together. He says that when he and his family became Southern Baptist (had actually been Mormon for awhile) and he really studied the Bible it revitalized all the lessons and liturgy he’d learned growing up as a Catholic, so they “reverted” to Catholicism but continue to follow the Southern Baptist sermons (Christ Fellowship)  and still occasionally attend because they like the pastor (mentioned his name, but I’m not familiar with that). The Catholic church is a big umbrella with a lot of leeway on beliefs (Pelosi and Kerry for instance have not been denied communion for their abortion and gay marriage beliefs), whereas the Southern Baptist umbrella, if there is one, is pretty small with little deviation from doctrine allowed. Next to Cruz, Rubio is the most talented speechifier of all the candidates, and even if you don’t like him, you have to be amazed as his quickness.

 

If Rubio pulls ahead, Trump will find a way to smear Catholics, and then point to Rubio as being duplicitous because he attends two churches (like he stirred up the Cruz birther issue). However, this makes Rubio conversant in three religious languages and styles, Mormonism, Baptist and Catholicism—and all three have a very strong social action/justice commitment. Trump in a narcissistic know-nothing in any language. Especially religion.

March for Life in DC

Today is the "Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children." Thousands are gathering in Washington DC (and other locations) on the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and a huge blizzard is headed that way. It is estimated that 58 million unborn in the U.S. have been killed in those 43 years. Events are still on-going, although some buses have been cancelled. I guess Michigan and Buffalo are there--this is no big deal for them!

 Pro-life is also pro-woman. Many are being pressured, or cut off financially if they don't submit to the wishes of boyfriend, parents, or peer group. It also means the right to live if you are old, sick and disabled. Don't you believe the progressive lies about "there are no death panels." Of course not. They are called "ethics committees," and there's one waiting for you if you get too expensive or inconvenient to care for. In our society we are valued for what we can contribute to the general good, not because we are children of God. 

Things are moving quickly. Two years ago would you have believed people could be fined and jailed for not baking a cake? Before Obama, would you have believed that the IRS would control your medical records and you could be jailed for not buying a product? Stay informed, people. Soon you may be jailed for not signing off on a hospital's demand to withdraw food and water.

 As First Lady, Hillary asked Mother Teresa why the US had not yet had a female president. The little woman sitting beside her at lunch replied, "Because she has probably been aborted."  I don't know if this is an urban legend, but it's something to think about especially since she is now full bore pro-choice--even for gender selection.

My name is Mahtob

You may remember the film "Not without my daughter" starring Sally Field. That little girl is grown up and telling her own story, and Glenn Beck interviewed mother and daughter tonight. After experiencing the physicial and mental oppression of women in Iran, and then their amazing escape, she needed to learn not to hate her father. Glenn asked her how she did that, and she said it was attending a Lutheran school and her teachers telling her Bible stories about God's love and protection. Title of her book is "My name is Mahtob."

 http://aeispeakers.com/speakerbio.php?SpeakerID=1030

 Mahtob Mahmoody, on her own, and in tandem with her mom, has spent much of her life sharing her message of hope and inspiration with audiences throughout the world. She is a harbinger of peace not hatred, of forgiveness not bitterness, of celebrating the good AND the bad experiences in life that mold our character. Drawing the best from her Iranian and her American heritage, Mahtob employs anecdotes from her life to illustrate the beauty of a multi-cultural existence.

A felony, but who cares?

Mrs. Clinton on abortion

"Hillary Clinton has recently moved to the absolutist position on abortion, writes our columnist William McGurn, and she’s been rewarded with Planned Parenthood’s “first presidential primary endorsement in its 100-year history.” The candidate has now abandoned the longtime Clinton formulation of “safe, legal and rare” in favor of “safe, legal, unlimited—and federally subsidized,” according to Mr. McGurn." (Wall Street Journal)

Unlimited, ruthless abortion of American babies, 36% of which will be black. Whew. She just gets worse and worse.

Mrs. Clinton's platitudes

The murder rate within the black male population of Baltimore is about 156 per 100,000. Young black men being killed by other young black men. The national rate is 5 per 100,000. So what is Mrs. Clinton's solution?

"There needs to be a concerted effort to address the systemic racism in our criminal justice system. And that requires a very clear agenda for retraining police officers, looking at ways to end racial profiling, finding more ways to really bring the disparities that stalk our country into high relief."

Why do thinking people vote for someone who babbles these platitudes that no one believes, not even her?

 http://data.baltimoresun.com/news/police/homicides/

 https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2015/08/07/baltimore-surges-past-detroit-in-number-of-homicides-in-2015/

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-homicide-updates-20151221-story.html

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/14/us/Baltimore-homicides-record.html

Who is to blame for the water in Flint, Michigan?

Candidates for the highest office in the land were finger pointing about the lead in the water supply of Flint, MI at the Democrat debate Sunday. It appears to be a collection of problems and decisions shared by the local, state and federal (EPA) governments over many years. Since they’ve been in government their entire adult lives and are progressives/socialists, they need to look at the fingers pointing back at them as they conclude more government solves everything.

Some would say, no use assigning blame, let's just clean it up.  Of course, that's a given. There are children suffering and some will be damaged for life.  After Cher and other celebs move on to a new cause with which to get publicity, the townspeople will still need water.  But unless we also realize that bigger, more bloated and richer government bureaucracies are not the answer to all our problems, the next time it will be a building blown up, or a virus released, or baby tissue sold to the highest bidder (oh, wait. . . .)

 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-water-epa-idUSKCN0UX2KZ

 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/us/obama-set-to-meet-with-mayor-of-flint-about-water-crisis.html?_r=0

 http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/19/flint-epa/79007918/

I just walked by the sink

Pray for the Pro-life marchers!

Here's what's in store for the thousands heading for Washington, DC for the annual pro-life march.

" The snowstorm targeting the I-95 corridor from Richmond to Boston late this week has the potential to rank among the most memorable on record, according to the National Weather Service’s Paul Kocin."

These brave people only get a few minutes on national cable or broadcast news, but EWTN usually covers several hours.  There are many speakers, some from the government, and special events for young people and mass.

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/01/19/weather-service-textbook-east-coast-snowstorm-could-resemble-all-time-greats/

http://marchforlife.org/mfl-2016/rally-march-info

 https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/babies-lives-matter-thousands-converge-in-chicago-for-pro-life-march

Happy Birthday, Heidelberg Catechism

"One of the best known catechisms of all time is the Heidelberg Catechism. It is named for a German city, where it was prepared by theologians of the University of Heidelberg at the request of Elector Frederick III, a friend of the Protestant Reformation. Frederick hoped the new catechism would secure harmony among Protestants in his territories and strengthen the hold of the Reformed faith on his provinces. He wrote the preface of the Catechism himself, which is dated this day, January 19, 1563. The Heidelberg Catechism is used by the Reformed Church. Hundreds of thousands of people have memorized it and lived by its teachings over the years since then."

Of course, his plan to unite Protestants didn't go well--today there are about 35,000 different denominations and non-denominations or "just the Bible" churches, which if it weren't for the pro-life movement probably would have little to agree on.

 http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/questions-and-answers-the-heidelberg-cat

Rate of increase in immigration

From 2010-2014 there has been 0% increase in immigration growth to the U.S. from Mexico and only 3% for all of South America, so the Donald is spouting for nothing. But it's 25% from South Asia; 36% from Iraq; 25% from Egypt; and 93% from Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, there has been a -1% increase in growth of immigration from Europe. North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Kentucky have had the largest percentage of increase in growth of immigrants. Bernie Sanders' state and Hillary Clinton's state were among the smallest increases--Vermont was actually -7.2%. [American Fact Finder, Census.gov]

 http://cis.org/us-immigrant-pop-hit-record-42-million-2014#frontpage

Chasing the millennial generation--a how to

 

Just Google "church attract millennials" and you'll find

• 5 ways, 
• 10 ways, 
• why they don't,
•  how to attract, 
• what they want, 
• why we need them, and 
• where are they. 

And you'll also read nonsense, and appeals to buy a how-to book. 

• First, you need a very loud band, 
• second, casual attire like torn jeans and t-shirts, then
• no (apparent) theology (although it's there), 
• dramatic presentations highly entertaining, 
• something called transparency (which usually isn't there), and 
• if your church is growing, you probably have post modern architecture, or a repurposed building that doesn't look like a church, and 
• very important to pull it all together is a minister/pastor with a terrific personality who has no discernible credentials or ties to any church of the past or recognizable to their boomer grandparents because "non-denominational" sounds better to them. 
• And even though there are thousands of service/ministry opportunities already asking for their help, start something new they can support.

That's a quick summary, and I just skimmed the highlights. The Gen-X generation has hit 55 and the boomers are in their 70s, so every church is looking for millennials.

Imagine Jesus' apostles starting off with this check list.

Increase in anti-police violence

City Journal's Heather Mac Donald writes in the Los Angeles Times: "Reaction to anti-cop vitriol is the biggest driver of the crime increase in Los Angeles and nationally. None of the factors usually blamed for crime — poverty, income inequality, the availability of illegal guns — have significantly worsened over the last year and a half. The one thing that has changed is the relentless, virulent discourse about the police."

LA Times

Tertullian's letter to his wife on marriage, 202 a.d.

How beautiful, then, the marriage of two Christians, two who are one in hope, one in desire, one in the way of life they follow, one in the religion they practice.

They are as brother and sister, both servants of the same Master. Nothing divides them, either in flesh or in Spirit. They are in very truth, two in one flesh; and where there is but one flesh there is also but one spirit.


They pray together, they worship together, they fast together; instructing one another, encouraging one another, strengthening one another.

Side by side they face difficulties and persecution, share their consolations. They have no secrets from one another, they never shun each other's company; they never bring sorrow to each other's hearts… Psalms and hymns they sing to one another.


Hearing and seeing this, Christ rejoices. To such as these He gives His peace. Where there are two together, there also He is present, and where He is, there evil is not.

(Crossroads Initiative)
Tertullian is considered an early church father, but later in life he broke away from the church and disagreed with the Pope on forgiveness of sins. He later embraced the Montanists known for their ascetical lifestyle.

Why can't we be like Europe?

Immigrants are flooding into Europe. A generation or two ago immigrants helped their falling birthrates as their empires broke up and they felt an obligation. They were hard workers, fertile, and wanted a future for their children. Not so much today. Those 2nd generation from immigrant families want to join ISIS; and the new ones want the social benefits pay off, don't want to work at all, and didn't bring women with them. And the birthrate is below replacement due to abortion and contraception and good times. Next? Well, looks like they'll have to pass some euthanasia laws for the old.

Yes, these are the countries Bernie wants us to imitate.

http://nypost.com/2015/05/03/bernie-sanders-us-should-be-more-like-socialist-scandinavia/


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/03/bernie-sanders-campaign_n_7199546.html

When people get what they ask for

 

Today's Old Testament lesson is from 1 Samuel 8 and should be a lesson for Americans.  The people are unhappy with Samuel and tell him they want a King.  He warns them, but they insist.  Really, it sounds like the American voters who think ever expanding statism in the form of Hillary or Bernie, or a bombastic loud mouth "boss" like Trump is OK.  So he prayed to the LORD, who replied:

"The Lord answered Samuel, “Comply with the people’s request—everything they ask of you—because they haven’t rejected you. No, they’ve rejected me as king over them.  They are doing to you only what they’ve been doing to me from the day I brought them out of Egypt to this very minute, abandoning me and worshipping other gods.  So comply with their request, but give them a clear warning, telling them how the king will rule over them.”

Then Samuel explained everything the Lord had said to the people who were asking for a king.  “This is how the king will rule over you,” Samuel said:

• “He will take your sons,

• and will use them for his chariots

• and his cavalry

• and as runners for his chariot.

• He will use them as his commanders of troops of one thousand and troops of fifty,

• or to do his plowing and his harvesting,

• or to make his weapons

• or parts for his chariots.

• He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, or bakers.

• He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves and give them to his servants.

• He will give one-tenth of your grain and your vineyards to his officials and servants.

•  He will take your male and female servants,

• along with the best of your cattle^[c] and donkeys, and make them do his work.

• He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and then

• you yourselves will become his slaves!

• When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you chose for yourselves, but on that day the Lord won’t answer you.” " (CEB)

Abbott and Costello- "Who's on unemployment?" (Stuart Sullivan)

COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.
ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible Times. It’s 5.6%.
COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?
ABBOTT: No, that’s 23%....
COSTELLO: You just said 5.6%.
ABBOTT: 5.6% Unemployed.
COSTELLO: Right 5.6% out of work.
ABBOTT: No, that’s 23%.
COSTELLO: Okay, so it’s 23% unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, that’s 5.6%.
COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 5.6% or 23%?
ABBOTT: 5.6% are unemployed. 23% are out of work.
COSTELLO: If you are out of work you are unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, Obama said you can’t count the “Out of Work” as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.
COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!
ABBOTT: No, you miss his point!
COSTELLO: What point?
ABBOTT: Someone who doesn’t look for work can’t be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn’t be fair.
COSTELLO: To whom?
ABBOTT: The unemployed.
COSTELLO: But ALL of them are out of work.
ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of work gave up looking and if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
COSTELLO: So if you’re off the unemployment roles that would count as less unemployment?
ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you don’t look for work?
ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That’s how it gets to 5.6%. Otherwise it would be 23%.
COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment number?
ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.
COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
ABBOTT: Correct.
COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
ABBOTT: Bingo.
COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to have people stop looking for work.
ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like a Democrat.
COSTELLO: I don’t even know what I just said!
ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like Hillary.

It's Ratification Day!

Happy Ratification Day, January 14. On this day in 1784, the United States of America was established as a sovereign entity.

• A proclamation was issued by the Confederation Congress on April 11, 1783, “Declaring the cessation of arms” against Great Britain.
•   Congress approved the preliminary articles of peace on April 15, 1783.
•   The Treaty of Paris was ratified on January 14, 1784.

The empty chair at the SOTU

At the State of the Union on Tuesday, Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) said that the empty chair President Barack Obama left in the first lady’s box for victims of gun violence should have been left for “those who’ve had their heads cut off or killed through ISIL, because that was the true cause of the problem in San Bernardino.”

Story here.

 
Why did this dress cost $2,000?  Even if it was donated by the designer.

The perpetual virginity of Mary

Two years ago I was in a Beth Moore Bible study with some former Catholics (now Lutherans) who were very puzzled to hear that Jesus had brothers, which they had never heard in Catholic school or attending Mass for decades.  And I was equally puzzled by the idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary, which I didn't know about. But as it turns out Luther, Calvin, Wesley and Zwingli also believed in the traditional church teaching on Mary. Who knew?

 http://aleteia.org/2013/10/10/a-protestant-defense-of-marys-perpetual-virginity/?

State of the Union Happy Talk

While telling us what a great job his administration was doing in the SOTU, the mayors of 22 cities had a different story. "MAYORS’ HUNGER AND HOMELESSNESS REPORT CITES INCREASED DEMAND IN EMERGENCY SERVICES AS ECONOMIC RECOVERY LAGS." 66% of the survey cities reported requests for emergency food assistance increased over the past year. Among people requesting, low wages were cited as the biggest reason for hunger. 58% of the cities reported an increase in homelessness. How can this be when the recession was "over" in June 2009 and unemployment is about 5%?

 http://usmayors.org/pressreleases/uploads/2015/1222-release-hhreport.pdf

I avoided Tuesday night's fantasy spin called the SOTU by the POTUS, and I avoided turning on the TV and radio in the morning so I wouldn't have to hear the analyses and audio clips. But while I was at the supermarket, I glanced down at the newspaper rack. There was his smiling face with headlines positive, but the other papers had front page stories about ISIS, Iran, and an 11.5% increase in health care for Ohio government workers, record high.

He lies, he lies. If his eyes are darting side to side and he is stammering, he's lying.

These 10 sailors, 9 men and 1 woman

got no mention during the State of the Union address.  But then neither did North Korea.  Huge PR win for Iran.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/13/politics/iran-us-sailors/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35300019

Let's turn all those billions over to Iran. They can be trusted, right?

What if you actually won the Powerball?

Lots of us have been playing this mind game. . . "what if. . . how would I use it?" This is a good article. As a Christian, I'm daughter of the King, so I'm already rich, I have my inheritance, but even materially, as an American I'm very rich. "Did you know that according to the website, The Global Rich List, if you earn $50,000 a year you are in the top 0.31% of the world? You are richer than 7.38 billion of the world’s 7.4 billion people. If you earn just $11,700 a year – the poverty line in the United States – you are still richer than 6.8 billion people in the world. In other words, the poorest people of the United States are richer than 84% of the world." Caution: there are people who want to redistribute your peace of mind and faith in Christ, and your material wealth and give you nothing in return.

http://364daysofthanksgiving.com/lottery/

The Virtue Continuum

The microscopic world within us

"Thousands of species of microbes—bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa—inhabit every internal and external surface of the human body. Collectively, these microbes, known as the microbiome, outnumber the body’s human cells by about 10 to 1 and include more than 1,000 species of microorganisms and several million genes residing in the skin, respiratory system, urogenital, and gastrointestinal tracts. The microbiome’s complicated relationship with its human host is increasingly considered so crucial to health that researchers sometimes call it “the forgotten organ.”

Disturbances to the microbiome can arise from nutritional deficiencies, antibiotic use, and antiseptic modern life. Imbalances in the microbiome’s diverse microbial communities, which interact constantly with cells in the human body, may contribute to chronic health conditions, including diabetes, asthma and allergies, obesity and the metabolic syndrome, digestive disorders including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, research shows." 

Read at AACC (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)

This article says that 10 to 1 figure is a myth.  If you have 30 trillion cells, you'll only have 39 trillion bacteria.
Nature.

   

Tools.

Of particular interest is fecal transplantation, a procedure in which stool is transferred from a healthy donor to an unhealthy recipient (perhaps the same person, in the case of autologous stool transplant). This procedure has been 90–95% effective for treating Clostridium difficile-associated disease versus only 20–30% efficacy for antibiotics. Understanding which other diseases associated with dysbiosis of the microbiome could be corrected remains a major goal of microbiome research. The current regulatory framework in the United States, regulating stool as a drug and requiring an investigational new drug (IND) application for any application other than C. difficile, however, is a substantial barrier to research. Understanding more generally how various therapies including antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics (essentially, fertilizer for the microbiome), phage therapy, etc. can reshape the microbiome remains a major technological and theoretical challenge.

Another bargain

I went out and bought 40 lbs of kitty litter this morning, and in pushing the cart to the cashier I saw a rack of clothing, $10, 50% off.  So of course, I had to stop and look.  I picked up something that looked like floppy yoga pants, but the tag was missing. They were the right size and a nice subtle dark color that I could at least wear around the house. I took them to the register where the clerk had to flag down someone to go check.  She came back with a skirt that was $6.50.  I told her that wasn't what I wanted, but they needed the tag.  They took 50% off the skirt and gave me the pants.

Now the problem is these $2.75 pants are covering my shoes.  Debating whether to just cut off 4" or take the time to hem them.  What would you do?

First acupuncture visit

The first test--I was able to get out of my van when I got home without my leg collapsing.  It's been two hours and still no pain.  A lovely young lady, nice facility, and good explanations.  Big test will be whether leg pain wakes me up at night.

Monday Memories--Judgment Day

One time at the Meier's check out, the Muslim clerk told me that he had an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, and they would sometimes argue with him on the right thing to do. The winner would determine his entry to paradise (like Christians, they believe in a judgment day of resurrection from the dead). If his bad deeds outweighed the good, he'll fall into hell. I had a similar problem today. Should I go back to Macy's and buy the dress I saw on Thursday, don't need, but didn't buy?

Melissa said, "If you find a dress that fits and looks good, you buy it whether you need it or not."  Paula opined, "I don't tell myself I can't have whatever thing I want... I just say to self, wait a bit. Many times the want was slight and disappears."  And then Sue, "If you go back and it's there, you should get it. Especially if it's on sale for a good price!"

So I went back. It's only about 7.5 miles to Tuttle Mall.  While I was at the cashier station I asked if there were coupons (yes) and if I used my Macy's card was there a discount (yes). So the on sale $79 dress cost $17. Deal.  I chatted with another customer and we were bemoaning the fact there really wasn't anywhere to wear a nice dress. She said she was shopping for a wedding, but it was on a Dude Ranch, so she wouldn't be dressing up.

 This obviously is not a photo of me, but is from the Macy's page.  Just wish it were about 6" longer.  If it doesn't look good, well, it's a week of coffee at Panera's.

Marco Rubio on Bill Clinton's sex life, Donald Trump's plans

“Those are issues [Bill Clinton] that in my mind are going to be discussed by others in this campaign. They want to raise them, they can raise them,” the Florida senator told The Daily Caller in a phone interview Saturday. “That’s not what my campaign is focused on.
“I’m not offended by it,” Rubio continued, referring to other campaigns raising the issue of Clinton’s sexual past. “It’s true, it’s on the record and I think it exposes a tremendous amount of hypocrisy in the mainstream media. I believe had that been a figure on the Right, the mainstream media would be giving extensive coverage to it.”

“But,” he said, “I, in my campaign, am going to focus on the issues that are confronting our country and the damage Barack Obama has done and how we are going to reverse them.”
Asked about the new emails released this week from Hillary Clinton’s time at the State Department, including one where the Democratic presidential frontrunner seems to explain to an underling how to send classified information on an unsecured server, Rubio said he didn’t yet have “a chance to review them, but I think it is par for the course.”

“We know for a fact that she was looking for the most convenient way possible to read this information even if it irresponsibly subjected not just classified, but sensitive information to foreign espionage,” he said.
“I think it was recklessness on her part and I think it disqualifies her to be commander in chief,” he added.
Speaking of Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, Rubio said that he didn’t think the real estate billionaire was running as a conservative, but said he intends to support the Republican nominee for president, even if it ends up being Trump.

“I think Donald Trump is running as someone who is angry at Washington, at what Washington is doing wrong, and offers to shake it up,” Rubio said. “But when it comes to the specific policies to shake it up, they are not conservative policies.”

Pressed on whether he could support Trump as the Republican nominee, Rubio said: “Well, I am going to support the Republican nominee, as I said before, whoever that is, but I don’t think it will be Donald Trump when it is all said and done. I think it is going to be me.”

Some have speculated the so-called establishment might get behind Rubio when the primary heads into New Hampshire as a way to potentially blunt or stop the momentum of Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz  coming out of Iowa. Asked whether he has sought the endorsements of John McCain and Mitt Romney, the last two winners of the New Hampshire primary who remain popular in the Granite State, Rubio said he hasn’t “talked to either one of them about ever endorsing me.”

“[W]e need to win this campaign on our own,” he said. “I don’t think voters in New Hampshire — or Iowa for that matter — are going to base their votes on endorsements.”

http://dailycaller.com/2016/01/09/rubio-on-bill-clintons-sexual-scandals-not-what-my-campaign-is-focused-on/

Ever wondered about those dash board signals?

Baptism of our Lord, January 10

 

If your church follows the lectionary (C), tomorrow we celebrate the baptism of Jesus. Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 At our church we're in a series on Joel, so I don't know what the Gospel lesson is--it's not listed on the church website.

About 80% of Christian groups baptize infants, but I remember my baptism, Palm Sunday 1950 in Mount Morris Church of the Brethren. (A friend, Sylvia, who still lives in Mt. Morris looked it up--she was probably in the same group). My mother made the trip for instruction every Sunday afternoon for about 6 weeks, and I remember Rev. Foster B. Statler (d. 1971), and how patient he was with a bunch of wiggly, ignorant children trying to be holy. It's a nice memory, but it wasn't faith. That came later and has to be renewed often. Ten year olds don't know a whole lot more than infants, and maybe less!

Trochanteric Bursitis

Yup.  This pretty much describes it.  It takes a few seconds to get used to his accent.  Now it's my left hip, but in December 2013, it was the right hip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xA53i4CuW0&list=PL952C8B9184F9CDC1&index=4

Exercises.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1-8_1iwO7Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvWoBqdZPr0

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG6AIKmpvp8

 http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/hip-groin-pain/hip-bursitis/rehabilitation-hip-bursitis

Obamanomics failed

Jeff Jacoby writes: Barack Obama claims that the economy, "by every metric," is better than when he came into office. In truth, a depressing array of "metrics" shows an economy that has yet to get back on its feet — notwithstanding the unprecedented sums spent by Washington in the form of stimulus projects, bailouts, and gargantuan budget deficits. This has been the weakest economic recovery in modern times. Seven years in, it's clear: Obamanomics was tried . . . and failed. . . The labor force participation rate — the share of working-age Americans who have a job or are looking for one — has sunk to 62.5 percent, a level not seen since the Carter administration. Since the recession ended, the economy has grown at an annual rate of just 2.2 percent. That is way below average for post-recession recoveries."

http://www.jeffjacoby.com/18338/the-weakest-economic-recovery-in-modern-times

What the Democrat candidates say about a recession that ended in June 2009:

"Our middle class is shrinking," one candidate warned during a debate. "Our poor families are becoming poorer, and 70 percent of us are earning the same or less than we were 12 years ago. We need new leadership."

Another candidate scorned the administration's happy talk about unemployment falling to just over 5 percent. "What they forgot to tell you," he told an audience, "is that statistic doesn't include those people who have given up looking for work, those people who are working part time. Add it all together and real unemployment is over 10 percent."

Do black lives matter to politicians?

The murder rate within the black male population of Baltimore is about 156 per 100,000. But it was the Freddy Grey case in Baltimore that energized the Black Lives Matter movement after smaller efforts in 2013 and 2014.  Compare the Baltimore figure that to the national figure of 5 per 100,000. And what about abortion among the black population? For comparison: In 1970, according to a 2012 article in the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore City abortion rates for single white and black women stood at 7.43 and 10 respectively (the abortion rate is the number of abortions per 1,000 women ages 15-44), with the married women's rates half that. By 2005, the Baltimore rate was 86.2. The National Abortion Rights Action League, which cites that figure, did not provide the African-American rate, but it would be substantially higher. In New York City, for instance, Black and Hispanic abortions combined, is 73% of the total abortions in 2012.  If black lives matter in Baltimore, where's the evidence?

We know what brings down crime rates:  1)  arrest criminals, 2) more police going after crime, 3) jail time for criminals.  What is being proposed?  The Democrat Party--put the criminals back on the streets and tell police to back off.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/260788/blacklivesmatter-success-baltimore-murders-hit-300-daniel-greenfield

 http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-01-23/news/bs-ed-abortion-population-20120123-8_1_abortion-rate-abortion-statistics-favor-of-legal-abortion

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

Visiting the Spine, Sport and Joint Center

 

 I had the opportunity to be treated at the lovely McConnell Spine, Sport & Joint Center this morning. Really nice DO, Jason Dapore. I saw this book in his exam room. 2nd ed., so the 1st would probably be cheaper. Becoming a Supple Leopard. Made me smile at the thought. I just want to be able to walk without limping.It was decided I would do the series of physical therapy exercises that I had for my right leg bursitis in 2014, plus so stretching and massaging for the calf pain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08uZGlEdk_s

I'm so loving the Electronic Medical Records mandate which we paid $30 billions for in HITECH Act. I've yet to have it ever be correct, whether in the network or outside the network. And good luck if you are outside your primary network--their systems don't talk to each other. Today I hand carried my printed records with me, and now looking over what they printed out to send home, they are using information quite dated. Have no idea where it came from . . . because the version I have was current last week. How would this office get records a year old? How many other medical bungle budget busters are out there because Washington knows how to run medical practices in Ohio? Zeke (Rahm's brother) Emanuel came up with this and there wasn't a shred of evidence it would save money or improve care. What a boon for the IT lobbies. And I haven't had a doctor look me in the eye since this nonsense started (unless they have an assistant who enters the information). 

Take notes; keep every piece of paper.

Politico has an article on how it has failed.  Yes, said it was Bush's fault.

What's happening in Oregon?

One of the issues of the Bundy stand off and occupation of a federal wildlife preserve is the excessive sentences for violating BLM policies. "Dwight and Steven Hammond originally received three month and one year sentences, respectively, for setting fires that spread to federal land in 2001 and 2006. However, the 9th United States Circuit Court of Appeals resentenced the father and son in October and said they have to serve out a five-year sentence mandated under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, the law under which they were sentenced." Is this normal for another court to resentence someone, especially since the fires were on their land and spread? The federal government has problems with that all the time--their fires spread, and they don't go to jail. Sixty eight percent of the judges on the 9th circuit were appointed by Democrats, and it is notoriously liberal.

 http://dailysignal.com/2016/01/07/conservatives-agree-standoff-in-oregon-elevates-debate-on-federal-land-ownership/

Who owns the land?

Yes, George W. Bush was a better president

But he wasn't a Conservative.  Many of the things the left complains about as failures of Republicans were already taken care of when Bush became president, or had Republican support. Millions who didn't have Medicaid or sCHIP were eligible for those government health programs, and didn't sign up. Millions of healthy young adults passed on employer based insurance, preferring more pizza and beer rather than a co-pay. Obama saw that loophole to total government control and solved it by threatening fines and jail if a citizen didn't have health insurance.

 

Obama has given us ISIS and a Middle East in total collapse and a renewed Russian Bear. All presidents inherit the problems of the previous one.  Bush was handed a complicated mountain of intelligence from the Clinton administration guaranteeing there absolutely were WMD; that's why when we went to war, he had such strong backing from Democrats. Even Pelosi and Reid. They'd all seen the intelligence, too. Edwards and Kerry and Gore ran on that belief in the 2000 campaign. Bush had no access to that stuff and said little during the campaign, preferring domestic issues and education (until Obama, he was the biggest spender).

 

Obama wins in 2008 and inherits a war that is essentially over (and would have been over years before if Democrats hadn’t turned tail and run), but since he ran on that, he had to  muck up the withdrawal. His sympathies are often with the Muslims, although the Shiia and Sunni sure don't seem to care much for each other. Under Obama's watch, religious minorities in the middle east have all but been wiped out—100 years ago Christians were about 20% of Iran, Iraq, Syria and others, but there were many others, too, including Samaritans, Zoroastrians, Yazidi--yes, and Jews who’d been there for thousands of years--but he doesn't want them to come to the USA, preferring instead Muslims fleeing Muslims who believe in Sharia, and letting the fundamentalist Muslims forcibly “convert” them. 

 

Obama wants to punish and change America, and and you never saw that with Bush for all his faults.  What better way to accomplish this than importing people who hate western values and standards? Killing gays and oppressing women is OK with those who scream sexism and homophobia, except in the face of Islam. Bake a cake and go to jail; but kill gay lovers, and it will just be a cultural practice if you are an immigrant.

Have you looked at your pension today?

Even though the left, particularly Obama, love to blame Bush for the housing bubble bursting in 2007-2008 which was actually a result of years of government interference in the housing market, I'm NOT going to blame Obama for what is happening in China this week which is making mincemeat of my pension funds.

 China's economy has become so powerful, the only protection is for us is to have a president and Congress who are capitalists instead of socialists in heart and policy. Socialists only know how to tax the workers to spread the wealth. That doesn't grow the economy.  The irony is that China got this strong by kicking out its communist economists and liberalizing its capitalists. Right now, China's economy is in free fall.

I just got my TIAA-CREF December account report.  I withdrew (by law it's required after 70.5 years) about $4,000, but my gains in investment were about $8,000, so I ended the month at a higher balance than I started with.  That's how every retiree hopes it will work out.  However, the top .01% of the population lost billions on paper this week, and it is now trickling down to  those of us who saved and scrimped during our working years to have enough to retire.  I socked away 15% every month from my paycheck (maximum allowed) in addition to the required amount for the state pension. My health care comes out of my pension, and that's about 13%.  If all I had was a pension, I'd be in poverty.

I went to the Mall this morning . . . it's haunted too.

Caring about children, well, some of them

Hillary enabled and protected her husband--for political gain

“Bill Clinton was not just a workplace harasser, or even a serial adulterer; he was, and remains, someone credibly accused of sexual assault. And what goes unmentioned — for this obviously could be catastrophic for Hillary’s campaign — is that she has been his willing cohort, the energetic enabler who sought to destroy his accusers to protect their joint political and financial interests ... the Clintons have [turned] their fellow liberals and Democrats, in ...the media and beyond ... into serial equivocators and liars. Never mind that progressives continue to see (and often define) themselves as morally and ethically superior: in the fight to save Bill Clinton’s presidency there could be no adherence to larger truths, or moral consistency, or commitment to time-tested standards; all were sacrificed in defense of Clinton’s political survival.”

 http://www.city-journal.org/2016/eon0104hs.html

Poverty? Let's talk about guns . . .

After 6 years of Obama (2014) , the official poverty rate was 14.8 percent. There were 46.7 million people in poverty. Neither the poverty rate nor the number of people in poverty were statistically different from the 2013 estimates. By 1965, the launch of the “War on Poverty,” only 13.9 percent of American families were officially classified as poor, down from 32 percent in 1947 and 18.5 percent in 1959. What brought it down so quickly the previous 15 years? A booming economy. Always works. But let's talk about guns . . . because 126 wealth transfer programs just haven't lived up to expectations.

 https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/index.html
  

This is your brain on . . . bad food

"Poor diets lead to a host of medical issues: obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. But diet also influences the brain and can increase the risk for mental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers are uncovering the details of how the foods we consume affect our cravings, our moods, and even our memories."

And it starts in the womb!

Read more in "Let's eat: how diet influences the brain."

"They found that, in people in their sixties, those who were overweight or obese (those with the highest BMIs) had smaller hippocampi than people of healthy weights. In addition, over the course of eight years, everyone’s hippocampus shrank, but the overweight subjects experienced the biggest losses. The hippocampus normally shrinks with age, but it shrinks to a greater degree in dementia, which leads to memory problems. Other research in humans suggests that obese people score lower on memory tests, but losing weight through bariatric surgery can improve scores."

More good news about exercise--grows your brain

"A pair of thumb-sized struc­tures deep in the cen­ter of the human brain are crit­i­cal for our abil­ity to learn and remem­ber. Thanks to their shape, each of them is called hip­pocam­pus — which means sea­horse in Greek. These brain areas have the unique capac­ity to gen­er­ate new neu­rons every day. In fact, recent human stud­ies have shown that there are 700 new brain cells in the hip­pocam­pus every day. Most of these neu­rons, how­ever, do not sur­vive. In their new-born (pre-mature) phase, they need a great deal of sup­port to sur­vive, grow, and become an active mem­ber of the hip­pocam­pal com­mu­nity of neurons.

Research shows that we have the capac­ity to grow new neu­rons above and beyond what is gen­er­ally pro­duced in our hip­pocam­pus and to make them become mature and strong within weeks and months. The best way to gen­er­ate new hip­pocam­pal neu­rons is to exer­cise. . . "

Rest of article here. 

But it can also shrink . . . so look out.

January resolutions--that's about as far as I can go!

OK.  Here's how the month is shaking out.

• First orthopedist appointment, January 8, 8:30 a.m., Jason Dapore
• First acupuncture treatment, January 11, 10 a.m., Christina Wallace.
• Eye exam,  January 14, 11:15 a.m., Dr. Fillmore
• Dental check up, February 4, 7:30 a.m., Dr. Walton
• Mammogram, February 19, 9:00 a.m., James Cancer Center

Let's hope all the body parts stick together after this.

•  Art show in Springfield with Zimmers, January 8, 1 p.m.
•  SALT, January 23, 7:30 Zimmers
• Hair, January 26, 10 a.m., Melissa

LBD

A friend called this an LBD.  So I looked it up and found "Lewy Body Disease," but she meant Little Black Dress.

It's hard to find a dress that 1) covers your arms, 2) is below the knee, 3) has a flared skirt, and 4) doesn't dip to the navel in the front.  When I saw this last Spring at Macy's going out of business sale, I bought it without trying it on.  So I wore it to church.

Dress up, dress up for Jesus, ye women of the cross
Pack up designer blue jeans, it will not be a loss.
From picnic unto ball game His army you can lead,
But please for Sunday meeting, let Christ be Lord indeed.

Dress up, dress up for Jesus, don't let me be alone;
Your flesh I'm tired of seeing, you cannot trust your own.
Put on a suit or dress, each piece put on with prayer;
When playground duty calls you, then let your jeans go there.

Dress up, dress up for Jesus, each fam'ly to its post
Go forth into the conflict, and shout with all the host
You will not look so casual, from head unto your toes
Let grace and taste and beauty, give strength to trend oppose.