Can Bernie and the Socialists offer free college?

I haven’t visited Manchester University (in Indiana) since the 1990s, and was amazed then at the buildings (not necessarily growth) especially in sports facilities and library, but now when I look at the web site it’s even more so. I was thinking this morning that the “new women’s dorm” where I didn’t live (I was in the old dorm--Oakwood), would now be about 60 years old if it hasn’t be razed, and looking back, that in 1958 when I was a student, a comparable building would have been late 1890s! 

Every college seems to have a bad case of Keeping up with the Jones’s to attract students with first class amenities. It's breathtaking when I walk across the campus at Ohio State--especially the sports and recreation facilities. Plus, there’s been huge growth in non-academic staff and departments to keep up with federal regulations on diversity/gender, health, testing, psychological development, etc. and to spend the ever growing federal aid to education. 

I know students personally who have graduated with no debt, and that’s quite possible in Ohio which has an incredible system of 2 year and technical colleges within driving distance of everyone. Now with online, that may not be such an issue. Living at home, working part time and being selective about important courses, a student can have a debt free education (undergrad) in Ohio thanks to the foresight of Governor Rhodes back in the 1960s-1970s. In European countries we’ve visited their  “free” colleges, but their testing system very early eliminates many children (usual, poorer working class) from the pool, so even if “free” it’s definitely not “fair.”

My college expenses in 1957-58 and 1958-59 were right around $1,000, although I did have occasional part time jobs at the schools. I had saved enough for my freshman year by working while in high school. I doubt anyone could do that today. My father would have considered it an insult if a child of his needed a government loan. Very different today. But he also considered a married daughter the responsibility of someone else, and for my senior year (I was married), I borrowed money from him for tuition. 

A few years ago I checked and Manchester was about $30,000 a year (although with aid and scholarships it’s difficult to know true cost, just like health insurance). University of Illinois from which I got my B.A. and MLS was higher (was the same back in the 50s), but probably in $35,000 range. 

Whether talking education or poverty or environment, progressives/socialists/Democrats push government programs, then years later sound the alarm that they aren't working or are too expensive, blame the situation on the Republicans for not giving them more money to throw at failing programs, when in fact, they created the situation (although Republicans always go along and renew the funding).  So it is with soaring education costs.  They are reaping what they have sown, and found it bitter or poisonous. 

A note of history: "Mount Morris College in Mount Morris, Illinois [where I grew up and both my parents and grandparents met], merged with Manchester College in 1932. Founded as a Methodist seminary in 1839, Mount Morris had been purchased by representatives of the Church of the Brethren in 1879 and operated under the name of the Rock River Seminary and College Institute until 1884, when the name was changed to Mount Morris College. The merger of Mount Morris College and Manchester College came about when the Church of the Brethren decided its educational program would be strengthened by pooling its resources in a smaller number of colleges [and after MMC suffered a terrible fire on Easter Sunday 1931]" from Manchester's website.

A few political thoughts for my angry, atheist troll

I think I know how Bernie wins with young people. About 5 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, I was looking through a history encyclopedia in the public library. Slick, new, great publisher. History had already been revised, and of course, academe is very liberal. As I recall, there was no entry for "USSR." There was a x-ref to WWII, I suppose because USSR was our ally in the 1940s. Nothing about millions of starving Ukrainians, or 5 year economic plans that always failed, or city people sent to the countryside for political mistakes, or the 1930s trials and executions of loyal Communists, or empty shelves in government run stores.

Ilya Somin who writes for Washington Post, mentioned today that his father (born and raised in Russia during the Communist era) had this to say about Bernie: "In his victory speech Bernie complained (or boasted) of his poor childhood, when he grew ...up in a 3.5 (what is that 0.5?) room apartment with his parents and a brother..... He should thank his "Polish" immigrant parents for that (somehow he does not want to say they were Jewish). Under socialism I grew up in one room with my parents in a communal apartment with several other unrelated families each also having one room (and this was considered luxurious)."

Yesterday I heard that most college students feeling the Bern can't tell you who their U.S. Senators are, but naturalized citizens can--they need to know this for citizenship. OK Ohio. Listen up. Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown are our Senators. They faithfully send me e-mails. I've watched some of Watters' World, and they also are crickets on what socialism is, and can't name the Vice President, either.

Dennis Prager mentioned today the huge gap between single women and married women in voting. Married women are much more conservative and over 50% vote Republican, and about 1/3 of single women are conservative. And then when the married women become parents, it's even more pronounced. He was wondering why, and I assume listeners were going to call in but I was on my way to a funeral and didn't hear the comments. It does make you wonder if the downgrading and demeaning of marriage and children (even to the point of not letting them be born) by progressives is a ploy to get more votes from women. Just keep them single and dependent on the government for love.

There's an article in the Atlantic that points out something I said on this blog 9 years ago about graduating with college debt. If you borrow money for living for four-five years you'll have debt. In Sweden college is free but apartments, food, transportation and utilities aren't, so Swedish students also graduate with high debt. Someone should tell Bernie's fans who seem to be lining up for free stuff.  Since 1985 college costs have soared over 500%, a direct result of the federal government funneling money to the colleges who then raise tuition and fees.  This is much more than any other sector of the economy.  This was the government's doing, so who is screaming the loudest?  The socialists.

I haven't Snoped this

The Great Recession was made great by President Obama

The last recession was over (according to the way the federal government figures these things) in June 2009, before any of Obama's ARRA programs hit the pavement and wallets of unions and government workers. And today he's taking credit for turning around the longest "Great Recession" in our country's history, and proud that unemployment is at 4.9%. Could be, but homelessness in Columbus is at an all time high, as is SNAP participation, and labor force participation is lower than in the 1970s, and people are scrambling to pay for health insurance. He even takes credit for the slowing increase in health care costs, even though that had been going on for 4 years before he took office, and is now on the way back up. The turn around we do have is because Republican governors pulled it out for their states with rebuilding small business and finding new sources of energy. The absurd length of this last recession's fits and starts economic "come back" can be laid right at his socialism feet. The only president who took longer was FDR.

On this day in 356. . .

The Date: February 8, 356.
The Place: The church of Alexandria, Egypt
The Event: Armed troops barged in at the middle of a worship service to capture a single unarmed man -- the pastor, Athanasius.

He fought the good fight against Arianism. . . the belief that Jesus was not fully God but a created being. In the Council of Nicea that earlier rejected this view, Athanasius had been the clearest speaker for the Orthodox position. Even today, there are fundamentalist Christian groups that claim the church lost its way and true believers went underground only to emerge after the Reformation. Athanasius' list of the authoritative books later became the Canon--our Bible. He survived the Feb. 8 attack and died in 373. http://www.christianity.com/…/athanasius-and-the-creed-of-c…

 Most Christians use the three major creeds in worship at some time during the year, some every Sunday; Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian (which I think our Lutheran church uses about once a year). Athanasius didn't write this creed, but it concerns the Trinity which he defended with his life. 

A few Christian churches announce that they are non-creedal, and don't use them. To me, this is like saying I renounce my genealogy because I never met my great-great-great-great grandfather, and besides I've heard stories about him . . . Maybe so, but he still made you what you are today.

 From the book by Carl Trueman, The Creedal Imperative. on the role of confessions and creeds.

1. All churches have creeds and confessions. They may not recite them. Failure to acknowledge this can be disingenuous.
 2. Confessions delimit the power of the church.They mean the church has to answer to something above it!  Too many Bible only churches think they are the first to find something because they don't know history.
3. They offer succinct and thorough summaries of the central elements of the faith. Good creeds do this, but here the Confessions are even more thorough.
4. Creeds and confessions allow for appropriate discrimination between members and office-bearers: that is, not everyone has to be the expert; but leaders ought to be theologically informed.
 5. Creeds and confessions reflect the ministerial authority of the church … and, yes, this cuts against the grain of our anti-authoritarian culture, but it’s hard to have leaders who don’t lead, or pastors who aren’t to some degree theologically sound and capable of leading, and elders who don’t know their stuff.
 6. Creeds and confessions represent the maximal doctrinal competence the local church aspires to for its members.
7. Creeds and confessions relativize our modern importance and remind us we are part of a long history and Story!
8. Creeds and confessions help define one church in relation to another — this is about information not schism.
9. Creeds and confessions are necessary for maintaining corporate unity.

Eat all the colors

            
87% of Americans don't meet recommendations for fruit consumption, and 91% don't meet recommendations for vegetable consumption, according to a new U.S. report published by MMWR. If you're brown bagging, tuck in some carrot sticks and slices of apple. You can even eat vegetables for breakfast. There's just nothing more yummy than a sweet potato, hot with a little butter and salt, in my opinion. Filling, too. When you're my age, you'll be glad you protected the body God gave you with good food and exercise.
 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6426a1.htm?s_cid=mm6426a1_w

So for breakfast today I'm having a "shake" made of banana, blueberries, cranberries, carrots, and orange juice. Remember that blue and orange makes grey, which can be unappetizing, so balance it with some red (the cranberries) to get a beautiful, rich purple.  I cooked the carrots and cranberries first, otherwise the shake would be too difficult to eat.  Four fruits and one vegetable in one delicious drink.

In his Whole Foods Newsletter today, George Mateljan writes: "If your New Year's resolution is to lose those extra pounds eating more vegetables is essential to get the nutrients you need combined with the reduction in calorie intake necessary for healthy weight loss. No other food group can do this for you. I recommend including from 5-9 servings of vegetables each day and making sure you include a variety of vegetables with a wide spectrum of colors. [Just like Mother said.] The colors reflect the special health-promoting phytonutrients found in vegetables. And this does not have to be difficult to achieve. One serving of raw leafy greens such as lettuce is 2 cups but a typical salad meal would typically contain about 3-4 cups usually accompanied by other vegetables as well. One salad meal could easily constitute half of your recommended vegetable intake for the day! And a serving of cooked leafy greens is only half of a cup."

87 percent of Americans don't meet recommendations for fruit consumption, and 91 percent don't meet recommendations for vegetable consumption, according to a new U.S. report.

 How to eat all the colors--a guide

This is one of the soldiers sent to look for Bergdahl

Bowe Bergdahl was honored by the President when he was exchanged for some dangerous prisoners.  Where is the honor for the men who originally tried to find and rescue him?

 http://time.com/2809352/bowe-bergdahl-deserter-army-taliban/

 http://conservativepost.com/wife-of-soldier-wounded-and-paralyzed-while-looking-for-bowe-bergdahl-asks-obama-this-question/

And poor Bowe, he's got nerve damage in one arm and can't lift heavy objects.  I wonder how heavy this soldier is?  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/09/18/bowe-bergdahl-will-require-lifetime-of-care-for-injuries-suffered-in-captivity/

Cursive writing--is it good for children to learn?

 
A new bill proposed in the Tennessee state legislature says that cursive handwriting should be taught in all Tennessee school districts in the third grade. Supporters say it helps motor skills, reinforces learning and it's an art form.

I'm not sure if cursive does all that, but I know since I use it less these days (keyboard mostly) my motor skills are weaker , I'm gaining more weight, the house is messier and I'm not as smart as I used to be. But then, I'm 76 and I didn't used to be that either. Also, the sentence should be "jumps," not "jumped" so you get all the letters to practice.

Super Bowl Trafficking in Persons

"When it came time for the Super Bowl, Clemmie Greenlee was expected to sleep with anywhere from 25 to 50 men a day. It’s a staggering figure, but it doesn’t shock advocates who say that the sporting event attracts more traffickers than any other in the U.S." (Huffington Post, 2013) Then today I saw an article at Huffington Post claiming that an increase in Super Bowl prostitution was a myth. But the articles are still coming.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/02/05/pre-super-bowl-arrests-made-in-south-bay-prostitution-human

The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Human Trafficking Task Force says the business of selling sex is up in the weeks and days leading up to the Super Bowl.“The ads have increased, both with the females in the prostitution and the males looking for prostitutes,” said Jensen. Last week, a prostitution sting at four massage parlors in Santa Cruz led to four arrests.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-trying-new-approach-to-crack-down-on-super-bowl-sex-trafficking/


http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/14720095/the-scope-human-trafficking-continues-grow-awareness

Marching orders from Paul's letter to the church at Rome

Romans 12 has an extensive list of how Christians behave who have received grace. We studied this chapter in class this morning. Some statements are clarifications of those that came before, some are in the negative.

Present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God

Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world,

Be transformed by the renewing of your minds

Don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think

If your gift is . . .[list of gifts] prophesy, service, teaching, encouragement, giving, leadership, mercy. . .do it!

Love should be shown without pretending

Hate evil

Hold on to what is good

Love each other like the members of your family

Be the best at showing honor to each other

Don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic

Be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord

Be happy in your hope

Stand your ground when you’re in trouble

Devote yourselves to prayer

Contribute to the needs of God’s people

Welcome strangers into your home

Bless people who harass you--don't curse them

Be happy with those who are happy

Cry with those who are crying

Consider everyone as equal

Associate with people who have no status

Don’t think that you’re so smart

Don’t pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions

Show respect for what everyone else believes is good.

Live at peace with all people

Leave room for God's wrath

Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.

Romans 12:1-12 CEB

Fasting and feasting for Lent

Lent begins next week with Ash Wednesday, and for many Christians it is a time of fasting. Here's a lovely thought from Methodist pastor William Ward (1921-1994).

Fasting and Feasting
By William Arthur Ward

Lent can be more than a time of fasting. It can also be a joyous season of feasting. Lent is a time to fast from certain things and to feast on others. It is a season to:

Fast from judging others; feast on Christ living in them.
Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of all life.
Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light.
Fast from thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger; feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.
Fast from worry; feast on appreciation.
Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives
Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from hostility; feast on non-resistance.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal hope through Jesus.
Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.
Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from suspicions; feast on truth.
Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from thoughts of weakness; feast on promises that in spire.
Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer that undergirds.
Fast from everything that separates us from the Lord; feast on everything that draws us to the Lord.

What Gary learned from watching the Democrats debate

WHAT I LEARNED FROM WATCHING THE DEMOCRAT’S DEBATE from Gary's Facebook page (I didn't watch it, but this sounds very accurate based on what I know about the candidates)

* Black Lives Matter, All Lives Don't Matter.

* College should be free and all student loans cancelled.

* All medical treatment should be free.

* To become an American citizen you just need to show up here.

* The economy sucks and after 7 years in office, it's not Obama's fault.

* The Middle Class is shrinking rapidly and after 7 years in office, it's not Obama's fault.

* Average family income is continuing to drop and after 7 years in office, it's not Obama's fault.

* Black youths have over a 50% unemployment rate and after 7 years in office it's not Obama's fault.

* Hispanic youth unemployment is over 35% and after 7 years in office, it's not Obama's fault.

* 50% of the population is paying 100% of all the taxes and they are still not paying their “fair share.” The other 50% are not receiving nearly enough free stuff and deserve more.

* Everyone who votes Democrat will work less, make more money, get more time off, spend more time with family, pay less taxes, and get more government subsidies.

* Government wants even more money to squander on old promises already broken.

* Being a "Progressive" is less cringe-worthy than saying you're a Liberal.

* When America grows up, we want to be Norway, Sweden or the Netherlands .

* There's a quagmire in Iraq and Obama's complete retreat from there has nothing to do with the situation.

* Republicans want dirty air, oil spills, trash in the streets, polluted oceans, no medical treatment, young people without any education being paid the lowest possible wages, starving children, were responsible for Jim Crow Laws and don't believe in equal rights.

* Snowden and General Petraeus broke laws for releasing and not securing secret documents but Hillary Clinton shares no responsibility for doing WORSE.

* If Hilary is elected, everything will be rainbows and Unicorns - just like with Obama.

* Hillary Clinton does walk on water.

* Cheaters do prosper.

* People often cheer stupidity.

* There is only one candidate given a voice in the Democrat Race.

* Hillary and Bill Clinton were born poor Black Children.

* All the qualifications needed to be President is to be a woman.

* Evil looks like anything white, rich, successful and productive.

* You will receive a participation trophy in life.

* Agreements of any kind should be signed and committed to, even if the other agreeing party doesn't live up to its obligations.

* Everyone else does it, so should we, regardless of any results in those other countries.

* Everything is still Bush's fault

Why do Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians use different Bibles?

It's an important question, especially since there are non-denominational and fundamentalist Christian churches that claim to base their faith only on the Bible (and some only on King James Version) and not on historical church teachings or traditions (although they all have their own traditions which govern polity, sacraments, music, Sunday School, etc.)  Technically, there was no Bible for the first almost 400 years of Christianity, but there was written sacred scripture of the Jews, and that was primarily in three languages, Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. So Jesus read and preached and taught from a "Bible" we Protestants don't use--the Septuagint, or Greek Old Testament. That scripture includes the following:

• Tobit (or Tobias) emphasizes the importance of the sanctity of marriage, parental respect, angelic intercession, as well as prayer, fasting, and alms giving for the expiation of sins, as noted in the Archangel Raphael's speech in Tobias 12:9.

• Sirach offers both moral instruction and a history of the patriarchs and leaders of Israel.

• First and Second Maccabees are historical works which describe the end of persecution by the Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes through Mattathias and his sons the Maccabees. And so began the independent Hasmonean Dynasty of Israel from 165 to 63 BC. The Rededication of the Temple by Judas Maccabeus (1 Maccabees 4:36-59, 2 Maccabees 10:1-8) is commemorated yearly during the Feast of Hannukah. First Maccabees was first written in Hebrew, but only the Greek version has been preserved. In addition to its historical value, Second Maccabees affirms the theology of martyrdom and resurrection of the just (7:1-42), intercessory prayer of the living for the dead (12:44-45), as well as intercessory prayer of the saints for those still on earth (15:12-16).

• Judith describes the deliverance of the Jews from the hands of Holofernes, general to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

• The Book of Wisdom is witness to the trend in late post-exilic Jewish thought that looked forward to life after death: immortality is a reward of the just (3:1-4, 19). The book also notes that all living creatures reflect the perfection of the Creator (Wisdom 13:5).

• The Book of Baruch, the scribe to Jeremiah, describes the prayers of the Babylonian Exiles and includes the Letter of Jeremiah.

  Martin Luther in his 1534 translation differed from St. Augustine and considered the Apocryphal books "good for reading" but not part of inspired Scripture. The King James Bible of 1611 included the Apocrypha but in a separate section. While there are no direct quotations in the New Testament from the Apocrypha, there are also no direct quotations from Judges, Ruth, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Ezra, Nehemiah, Obadiah, Nahum, or Zephaniah. http://biblescripture.net/Canon.html
  

PDHC gets ready for St. Valentine's Day

At Pregnancy Decision Health Center (PDHC) we help mothers in crisis pregnancies, and also help them with maternity and baby clothes. We're all ready for little sweethearts this February.

 The women take parenting classes and receive "Earn while you learn" points which are used to purchase these items. However, there are also many free items, like the books under the table, and the play clothes in the bins on the right. Maternity fashions are up to date. All services are free and non-judgmental. Disposable diapers are always in demand. Hundreds of churches in central Ohio support this program, either as part of their annual budget or special fund raising like filling baby bottles with coins and collecting them. Some women's groups knit booties; others make quilts and receiving blankets for newborns.

A pastor, a priest and a rabbi . . .

Some issues just go together

Some values and political ideas just seem to go together like mac and cheese or ham and eggs. For instance, those who believe in ending the life of babies in the womb for any reason and the lives of elderly in end stage disease or the disabled who can't protest also believe in things that don't seem related at all, but they are so predictable, there must be a connection.

1) protesting the death penalty for vicious criminals,
2) open borders and sanctuary cities,
3) increasing regulatory burdens on small businesses,
4) increasing taxes on the successful to spread the wealth to the less successful,
5) creating education systems that cater to the lowest common denominator and give more power to the federal government,
6) taking private property for either government use or promised good for society to be given to crony capitalists,
7) violating religious rights guaranteed in the first amendment,
8) recreating the military through social engineering,
9) letting gender confused boys share bathrooms and showers with girls while screaming "rape culture",
10) destroying centuries-old historical standards for marriage
11) legalizing marijuana
12) putting people in boxes and calling it diversity and multiculturalism with severe punishment for violation
13) destroying a private health insurance system and making it illegal and punishable by jail and fine to not have government insurance
14) requiring an ID for just about everything except voting
15) creating huge "non-profit" foundations by politicians and former government career officers which rake in millions while decrying wealth that is profit from an actual business which creates jobs
16) choosing winners and losers in business by government, especially new technology to support climate myths
17) requiring workers to belong to unions in order to work
18) pushing progressive income tax rather than a fair or flat tax
19) advocating free college for all, even though the education bubble has been created by the government, a bigger bubble than the 2007-08 housing bubble
20) Downsizing to a smaller, weaker military.

Conservative vs. liberal ideas

Pro-choice vs. pro-life

Abortion and climate change

Martin Luther King, Jr. isn't inclusive enough in Oregon

 Some students at the University of Oregon have a problem. They think the "I have a dream" speech isn't inclusive enough. Classic socialist/progressive mush brains. They skipped the history of the Soviet Union in the 1930s and China in the 1950s when they ate their own. They browse Wikipedia and think they know everything.

 http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/02/the-college-where-martin-luther-king-is-problematic.html
 

"Let’s review King’s quote, while we’re at it: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

It’s true, the quote makes no reference to other kinds of diversity, like gender or sexual orientation or disability status. But then again, King wasn’t so much celebrating diversity as he was championing tolerance and equal treatment for all people, regardless of categorization. King’s point was that everyone deserves the same rights as everyone else—implicitly, that includes people of varying genders, orientations, etc.

No wonder college students are uncomfortable with the quote: They worship categorization."

Today's young socialists have not studied history

Some of Bernie's followers (all very young adults) were interviewed with one question, "What is socialism." No one knew. Here is Benjamin Tucker's definition. He was a 19th c. anarchist (what he called the liberty form of socialism, and which sounds a lot like libertarian today) and wanted to distinguish between anarchism and state socialism. One of the best and clearest I've read.

"First, then, State Socialism, which may be described as the doctrine that all the affairs of men should be managed by the government, regardless of individual choice. Marx, its founder, concluded that the only way to abolish the class monopolies was to centralize and consolidate all industrial and commercial interests, all productive and distributive agencies, in one vast monopoly in the hands of the State. The government must become banker, manufacturer, farmer, carrier, and merchant, and in these capacities must suffer no competition. Land, tools, and all instruments of production must be wrested from individual hands, and made the property of the collectivity. 

To the individual can belong only the products to be consumed, not the means of producing them. A man may own his clothes and his food, but not the sewing-machine which makes his shirts or the spade which digs his potatoes. Product and capital are essentially different things; the former belongs to individuals, the latter to society. Society must seize the capital which belongs to it, by the ballot if it can, by revolution if it must. Once in possession of it, it must administer it on the majority principle, though its organ, the State, utilize it in production and distribution, fix all prices by the amount of labor involved, and employ the whole people in its workshops, farms, stores, etc. The nation must be transformed into a vast bureaucracy, and every individual into a State official.

Everything must be done on the cost principle, the people having no motive to make a profit out of themselves. Individuals not being allowed to own capital, no one can employ another, or even himself. Every man will be a wage-receiver, and the State the only wage-payer. He who will not work for the State must starve, or, more likely, go to prison. All freedom of trade must disappear. Competition must be utterly wiped out. All industrial and commercial activity must be centered in one vast, enormous, all-inclusive monopoly. The remedy for monopolies is monopoly."

For those who don't like Ted Cruz

I liked all the Republican candidates except Trump (don't consider him a Republican, but an opportunist), and although Ted Cruz wasn't my first choice, I agree with this Marty Evans' Facebook post. Ted seems to be disliked by all the right people, right in the sense of wrong most of the time.

"A lot is being made of the possibility that Cruz is unlikable so I have taken inventory of who it is that clearly dislike Ted and I think I'm okay with that.

1. Mitch McConnell...
2. John McCain
3. Special Interest groups
4. Corporate lobbyists
5. Go along to get along Senators and Congressman
6. Fox News
7. Country Club Republicans
8. Employees of the Federal Bureaucracy
9. Atheists
10. Takers not makers
11. Proponents of a "living" Constitution
12. Democrats
13. Progressives
14. Socialists
15. Communists
16. Poorly educated children just reaching voting age who get news and follow current events by watching Comedy Central
17. The New York Times
18. Hillary Clinton
19. The Bilderbergs
20. His obnoxious liberal college room mate."

Health Benefits of Reading

United States Deaths

Senator Tim Scott endorses Marco Rubio

To steal a comment from another Facebooker, "The nation's first black Senator from a "Deep South" state endorses the Hispanic son of immigrants for the Presidential nomination from the "party of old white men." That's pretty cool."

Some Trump voters are acting like an abused wife

It baffles me when I hear "evangelical vote" and Trump in the same sentence. He's not a Republican, not a conservative; he's a con-man, and we've had almost 8 years of that. He's not pro-life and he's a statist. His off the cuff remarks show he has little respect for our system of government. Obama doesn't like us at all; why chose more of the same? What are we voters? An abused wife?

"I will make America great again," is even more vague than "Hope and change," plus one man can't do that.  Only we, the American people in a capitalist system, can do it.  He's a statist of Hitler proportions. And Htiler was elected by the Germans with much the same message.

Holy Spirit Conferences are big business I've learned

Our Lutheran church had a Holy Spirit Conference, "Power for Mission," this past week-end.  It began Friday evening with worship and prayer with speakers Craig Heselton, Executive Pastor of Vineyard Columbus and Rev. Dr. Gemechis Buba, Mission Director of the North American Lutheran Church.  Then on Saturday we had worship, prayer or sermons 3 times during the day and 2 workshops, choosing from three topics, Tongues, Signs and Wonders, and Revelation. Rev. Dr. Morris Vaagenes active in many Lutheran organizations and former pastor and missionary spoke Saturday morning.

In the 1970s and 1980s there seemed to me to be a lot of excitement about the Holy Spirit. I remember going to one for the Church of the Brethren in the 1970s, although I was no longer a member, having joined Upper Arlington Lutheran Church in 1976.  We were encouraged to be open, pray, wave our hands during worship, talk more, engage more, expect healing, sing praise songs, etc. Our pastoral search committee (UALC was ALC which became ELCA in 1988) got so carried away in the Spirit after Luther Strommen retired that they wanted to issue a call to a charismatic Episcopal priest, and when word of that got out, a group filled with the Spirit figured out how to pack the search committee so instead we got a charismatic Missouri Synod Lutheran! We had been having healing events, and special evening worship times with praise music and time for prayer, and that eventually evolved into regular Sunday worship times, and the traditional, liturgical services began to falter. We were apparently even led by the Spirit to build a large facility across the river with room for a school and nursing home, but later the Spirit changed his mind, and we sold part of the land after the mortgage became a struggle.  But I hadn't heard much lately, although I know you can't say Jesus is Lord without the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is active in all our service ministries and present in all our services whether traditional or happy-clappy.

So I decided I'd just check Google before going much further, and using the terms, "Holy Spirit events conferences" I turned up about 13 million matches--Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Independent, non-denominational, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, private 501-c-3 non-profits, events for women, events for men, events by husband and wife teams, by priests, by anyone who feels called, events at conference centers, at churches, and at colleges. One day, two day, three day, four day, maybe more. No more should anyone claim the Holy Spirit is the forgotten member of the Trinity.  He's alive and well and attending conferences, sometimes leaving God the Son and God the Father at home.

I heard some of the same non-biblical messages I'd heard 30-40 years ago.  For instance, in one small workshop the speaker had us all hold hands and pray for the person on our right, then on our left.  I knew both the people I was praying for.  But the man next to my husband was someone neither of us knew.  After the meeting he said to my husband, "While I was praying for you God gave me a vision of a strong wind blowing a boat that was well anchored."  So I thought, "How nice, that really describes Bob--an anchor in a storm."  But he didn't stop there.  "And I think God is telling you that you should pull up your anchor and let God move you where he wills."  Keep in mind, this man was violating some basic principles--don't interpret your own vision, and for sure don't go off half cocked if you know nothing about the person.  For all he knew, Bob could have been contemplating divorce, or changing jobs, or suicide.  How much of a push would an unstable person need if after prayer with a stranger, the guy offers that?

At another workshop a woman in our row spoke up and said she'd been feeling the energy--that she often encounters people and can feel their energy by taking their hands. It was her gift.  Another speaker spoke highly of Agnes Sanford's books, which I considered the absolutely worst "christian" theology every printed and foisted off on non-thinking Christians.  For her, the blood of Jesus is something that soaked into the ground when he died and is surging through the planet (no resurrection in her fanciful visions) where we might encounter it. No, you're saved by the blood by visualizing it. When I was the church librarian 30 years ago, I quietly withdrew her books from the library.  Yes, librarians get to do that, especially when led by the Spirit. A book can be deacquisitioned for age, condition, space needs or snake oil.

How to Relieve Plantar Fasciitis, Shin Splints, Achilles Pain and Compartment Syndrome

I haven't tried this since I don't have the rolled foam, but thought I'd save it because it does address some of my leg issues. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTVP-WRMuLY

Zika and microcephaly

I was listening to a radio news report on Zika on the car radio Friday morning, the mosquito borne pandemic, and almost hit the curb. (It was still dark.) The announcer urged caution for "women carrying children." Truth. It wasn't a clump of cells, a fetus, or even a baby. Children. How did that ever slip past the censor?

 http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/

 "It is not known how common microcephaly has become in Brazil’s outbreak. About three million babies are born in Brazil each year. Normally, about 150 cases of microcephaly are reported, and Brazil says it is investigating nearly 4,000 cases."

 http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/health/what-is-zika-virus.html?

Poverty 70 years ago compared to today

I've never seen a really good definition of structural or institutional poverty--probably because those are terms the left uses to criticize and demonize the right, so they lie about causes and solutions and ask for more money to throw at the problem.  It's a great term for creating a straw man and then accuse someone else of knocking it down.  The idea is that something within society is working against people to keep them from decent jobs and housing.

When I was a child, I actually knew poor children who were from poor families. In those days there were no wealth transfer programs, no school lunch, no welfare checks. We went to school together, and occasionally we played together. I don't remember any attending church (there were 3 churches, plus rural churches, so it's possible they did and I didn't know it).  From my limited childhood understanding of economics, poor children had poor parents. In most cases I had never met their fathers, but had seen a mother--in those days (1940s/1950s) poor children had married parents, which is not usually the case today. The poor children I knew often didn't have underwear or socks, and their clothes were soiled and sometimes they smelled like urine. They did poorly in school.  I knew children who were in foster care because their parents were too poor to take of them; I knew children who moved about every three to six months because their fathers were tenant farmers, and not very good ones because they drank.  I knew children whose parents couldn't take care of them so they lived with their grandparents. I knew a few children that only had a mother, and she was often a waitress or just  appeared occasionally.  I noticed even in those days (I was maybe 8 years old by then), they had a vocabulary that included bad grammar, dirty jokes and words we weren't allowed to say. I knew one boy who had lost an arm in a farm accident, and another who was accidentally killed when he found his father's shotgun under a bed.

Of course, poverty is relative.  Even my friends who weren't poor might have a dinner of soda crackers crumbled into a bowl of milk once or twice a week, had tongue sandwiches from butchering (gag), wore hand-me-down clothes from their cousins, and for Halloween a paper sack with a face drawn on it would be a suitable costume. Even families who weren't poor may have not had a home with an indoor toilet. For their once a week bath, the heated water came from the stove and was carried to the bathtub and three children might share the water.  But being clean meant you weren't poor! The holes in our clothes were neatly patched and when they were outgrown they were given away, and if worn out, they were cut into strips and Mom crocheted a rug.  Most of us who weren't poor had mothers who canned produce from gardens they had planted, weeded and harvested with the children's help, and we all wore dresses or trousers our mothers had sewn.  But my goodness, we certainly didn't think we were poor, even if we only had one pair of shoes which had to last until our toes were squashed.

Now when I see poverty in Columbus, I still don't see institutional poverty.  I see poor children with poor parents. The share of U.S. children living in poverty has actually increased by 2 percentage points since 2008. But unlike the 1940s these parents have lots of help from the state and federal governments--SNAP, Section 8 housing, WIC, school lunch and after school and summer time snacks, Medicaid, and all sorts of material aid from churches and non-profits, from food pantries to furniture to clothing to an automobile.  Many of these poor families are headed by women. The majority are white. If they are lucky, they have an older "wise" woman in their life to help them negotiate the system.  I met one the other day which was three generations and they were living in an unheated garage and were about to be evicted. But just like the children in the families I knew 70 years ago, the children are poor because  the adults had made really bad decisions--about relationships, alcohol/drugs, education, and jobs.  But especially relationships. The women become entangled with men who don't work or are petty criminals, then they are abused, and left with the children as he moves on to another woman or goes to prison. And the next guy she finds is more of the same.  They are much better dressed than those I grew up with, but I can't forget the desperate look in the adults' eyes--the children don't seem to know they are poor.

The wealthy non-profits with well paid CEOs, the government bureaucrats and the academics in ivory towers seem to think that some are poor because others are rich. They want billions, no trillions, to close some sort of gap.  It's like they've never looked at or talked to a poor family.

“Young people can virtually assure that they and their families will avoid poverty if they follow three elementary rules for success – complete at least a high school education, work full time, and wait until age 21 and get married before having a baby.  Based on an analysis of Census data, people who followed all three of these rules had only a 2 percent chance of being in poverty and a 72 percent chance of joining the middle class (defined as above $55,000 in 2010.”

Ron Haskins of the Brookings Institution, testifying before Congress on June 5, 2012

Trump vs. Trump

• On Ted Cruz: In January 2016, Trump said, "I don't think Ted Cruz has a great chance, to be honest with you. … He's a nasty guy. Nobody likes him. Nobody in Congress likes him. Nobody likes him anywhere once they get to know him." In December 2015, "I really do. I like Ted Cruz a lot."
• On Iowans: In January 2016, Trump said, "I love Iowa. We've done really well here." In November 2015, "How stupid are the people of Iowa?"
• On Hillary Clinton: In July 2015, Trump said, "Hillary Clinton was the worst secretary of state in the history of the United States." In March 2012, "Hillary Clinton, I think, is a terrific woman. I mean, I'm a little biased, because I've known her for years. … I think she really works hard, and I think she does a good job. And I like her."
• On Megyn Kelly: In December 2011, asked by Fox News host Megyn Kelly if he'd be a better moderator than her, Trump responded, "No, I could never beat you. That wouldn't even be close. There would be no contest. You have done a great job, by the way. I mean it." In January 2016, Trump said, "I have zero respect for Megyn Kelly. I don't think she's really good at what she does. I think she's highly overrated." 

Stephen Colbert

I've yet to meet a conservative who supports Trump.  Don't know who these uninformed people are, but they must be voting for the first time and are really excited about a know-nothing campaigner.

Southern Strawberry Punch Bowl Cake (trifle)

 
 Southern Strawberry Punch Bowl Cake

1 yellow cake mix
1 (6 oz.) pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1 lg. can crushed pineapple, drained
2 (10 oz.) pkgs. frozen strawberries
2 bananas
1 (16 oz.) carton Cool Whip

Bake cake in two round cake pans and set aside to cool. Make pudding and set in refrigerator to get cold. Cut one layer of cake in small chunks; put in punch bowl. Spread half of pudding on top; then add half of pineapple and one package strawberries. Slice one banana on top; half of Cool Whip, spreading to cover completely. Repeat with the other layer the same - ending with Cool Whip. Let set in refrigerator overnight.

I would probably purchase an Angel Food cake, and skip the baking part.  I seem to remember either my mom or sister making this refreshing dessert. Using sugar free pudding mix and Free Cool Whip, you could probably call this "low-calorie."  I've got a pretty punch bowl I never use. . . now all I need is the ambition and an event.

The 40,000 mile mountain range you've probably never heard of

 
This story appeared in the New York Times recently (it won't let me view it because of my browser, but there are other sources, since it's been known for some time.  I checked another source. Gilman, Larry; Lerner, K. Lee. "Mid-Ocean Ridges." Water:Science and Issues. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 30 Jan. 2016 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.  Truly fascinating.  You could get lost just imagining it.

 Do you suppose all this might possibly affect the climate with earthquakes and upheavals, gases and mineral deposits with the ocean bottom moving as much as 6" a year? Is it Bush's fault, or the GOP? Obscure information, yes, as NYT reports, but known for some time.

 http://legacy.mos.org/oceans/planet/change.html

 http://octopus.gma.org/surfing/weather/hotstuff.html

The well dressed man at the coffee shop

After almost a life time of going to a coffee shop for my first coffee of the day, I gave it up to save money for our trip to Spain last September, that and the fact I needed to switch to de-caf and it just didn't seem worth the price.  I did successfully add $600 to my trip piggy bank.  But these last two Fridays I've gone to Panera's after 6:30 Mass at St. Andrew's with my notebook and current reading in hand.  I'm a people watcher--I like to see a man (or woman) take pride in his appearance--it just feels like they are going to accomplish something that  day.  I'm good at spotting the "interview costume," because the person just doesn't look comfortable. Twenty years ago I could tell the workers from the retirees, professionals from housewives, but not any more.  It's equal opportunity sloppy, casual Friday even on Wednesday.

So when I saw him--my eyes followed--not in a lustful way, although he was very nice looking and well proportioned in a 20-something sort of way, but in wonder and awe like visiting a new city.  He was wearing clean, pressed khakis, a tucked in shirt with a collar, and well fitting loafers.  He had a touch of facial hair, neatly trimmed, and a good hair cut.  No visible tattoos, no studs, no earrings.  In short, he looked like he cared about himself and his job.  Praise God.  He was washing the windows.

When I gathered up my things to leave, he was working outside in a coat--also neat and clean.  I stopped and inquired if he were a Panera's employee or a private contractor, and I think he responded,  Ohio Window Cleaning Co.  I complimented him on his work, and he gave me a smile that could light a cloudy day and said, "Thank you."

 This company, which has obviously invested time and energy in training its employees, could give workshops on the side.

Terri Schiavo: what is disgusting

Just saw the teaser headline that the husband of Terri Schiavo is disgusted by a Jeb Bush ad that featured her. There is nothing more disgusting than the "husband's" behavior in forcing her to die of hunger and thirst when her own family was willing to take care of her. He went to court, won millions which were supposed to be for her lifetime care, then took a new "wife," and abandoned Terri to a painful death. There's probably a better word than disgusting for him, but I don't own that sort of vocabulary.

 
She wasn't connected to life support--was breathing on her own.  Could recognize voices and respond.  She needed food and water, as we all do to live, but because she couldn't swallow, she was disconnected from life.  Her parents begged to let her be their responsibility.

Saint Thomas Aquinas

At Mass this morning I heard that today is the Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (d. 1274). Then the homily by the young priest was a 2 minute reflection on that. I was so excited. Finally, I knew a saint mentioned in Mass. I had received for review, the book "Practical theology spiritual direction from St. Thomas Aquinas; 358 ways your mind can help you to become a saint from the Summa Theologiae" by Peter Kreeft (2014, isbn 978-1-58617-968-7). Kreeft admits in the introduction that reading 4,000 pages of Summa is a challenge, but in it he's found more personal spiritual nourishment and more motivation to be holy than in most other spiritual writers.


 Ignatius Press link

Cage free eggs won't be cheap

Right now, the US market has about 300 million laying hens, and only about eight percent of them are cage-free, according to this story in Wired.

 
In 2014, the US as a whole produced nearly 100 billion eggs, totaling $10.2 billion in revenue. This kind of mass production depends on cages. With those tiny wire boxes, farmers can micromanage everything about a bird’s life. They can even help automate egg collection by forcing the bird to lay its eggs directly into a funnel that drops down into a collection area.

Today, eggs are widely available and cheap mostly because of caging systems.

Let's hear it for collard greens (which taste really good with a little bacon and onions)

• The cholesterol-lowering ability of collard greens may be the greatest of all commonly eaten cruciferous vegetables. In a recent study, steamed collard greens outshined steamed kale, mustard greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage in terms of its ability to bind bile acids in the digestive tract. When this bile acid binding takes place, it is easier for the bile acids to be excreted from the body. Since bile acids are made from cholesterol, the net impact of this bile acid binding is a lowering of the body's cholesterol level. It's worth noting that steamed collards show much greater bile acid binding ability than raw collards.
• We get unique health benefits from collard greens in the form of cancer protection. The cancer-preventive properties of collard greens may be largely related to 4 specific glucosinolates found in this cruciferous vegetable: glucoraphanin, sinigrin, gluconasturtiian, and glucotropaeolin. Each of these glucosinolates can be converted into an isothiocyanate (ITC) that helps lower our cancer risk by supporting our detox and anti-inflammatory systems. 

From The George Mateljan Foundation Healthy Food Tips, Jan. 26, 2016

Cruciferous Vegetables

• Arugula
• Bok choy
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Chinese cabbage
• Collard greens
• Daikon radish
• Horseradish
• Kale
• Kohlrabi
• Land cress
• Mustard greens
• Radish
• Rutabaga
• Shepherd's purse
• Turnip
• Watercress 

" The vitamin K content of cruciferous vegetables — especially kale and collards — is fascinating to think about in light of intensive research over the past five years on cancer, inflammation, and cruciferous vegetables. Vitamin K is a conventional nutrient that clearly helps regulate our inflammatory response, including chronic, excessive inflammatory responses that can increase our risk of certain cancers. Studies on cruciferous vegetables and cancer prevention have not typically focused on vitamin K per se, but we suspect that the amazing K content of cruciferous vegetables is definitely related to their cancer-preventive properties through mechanisms involving better control of inflammation."

Hillary blames the GOP for Flint water problems

The documentary, Trapped.

"Four abortion providers received a standing ovation from an audience at the Sundance Film Festival this week after the group secretly attended the premiere of the pro-abortion documentary Trapped." Secretly? I'm surprised the blood on their hands didn't give them away.

Pregnant women are trapped; about 60% are forced into an abortion by peers, boyfriends, husbands and parents.  What are you going to do when threatened with rejection, loss of love, support and financial help, or loss of tuition money for college? It's tough raising a child even if you have an education and a good job.  Without a safety net, it's almost impossible. There is very little "choice" in the pro-choice movement.

 An article in The Daily Beast is headlined, “Coerced Abortions: A New Study Shows They’re Common.” The article is based largely on information from the Guttmacher Institute (a pro-abortion research center) but raises the topic of “reproductive coercion.” This is an interesting twist on the concept. Rather than looking at women who are coerced into having an abortion, it looks at women who are coerced or tricked first into getting pregnant, then also coerced into aborting the baby, identified as “reproductive control.”

 http://thefederalist.com/2015/09/18/how-many-women-are-pressured-into-abortions/

In his own words

 With a little editing, it sounds like our president cares about the slaughter of 58 million babies since Roe v. Wade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opl0jnKbn5Y

Calories and salt overload

I noticed a "groupon" ad showing a photo of a Thurman to go cheeseburger.

So out of curiosity since it looked so gross, I checked the calorie count--about 1300 calories, 96 g fat, and 2000 mg sodium! Yikes. Do people eat this stuff? So I checked out my favorite Friday night date meal at the Rusty Bucket (although I only eat half and my husband eats the other half on Saturday). My Philly Cheesesteak is 717, but I also get fries which are 390. Good thing I only eat half. Before you go out to eat, read the menu on line, then look it up. 

 

Donor beware

" A morbidly obese man hailed by Michelle Obama for setting a good example for Americans by slimming down turns out to be a sex offender. A race-obsessed Black Lives Matter activist turned newspaper columnist insists he’s African-American even though he’s not. A holier-than-thou Latino actress aims to politically empower fellow Latinos – but only if they’re Democrats. These three people have all created or had connections to sketchy non-profit organizations."  Foundation Watch

Tuesday Musings

I had a hair appointment this morning. It's the only time I see People magazine. If you think the Oscars were white, you should see the Golden Globe awards. Even the double page of ladies dressed to the nines didn't have a black or brown woman.

Also, I picked up my new glasses, although they aren't that new--the frames are from my 2008 prescription.  When I looked through the selection of frames, they didn't look that out of date.

Today there are over 31 percent more women on college campuses then men, so why do we need lopsided assistance like special grants, scholarships and workshops exclusively for women? This isn't your grandmother's university.  http://www.criticaldifference.osu.edu/

About estimates. Apparently the measuring stick (device) was lost in the snow of the blizzard in Washington, and now they don't know if there was a record! These are the experts predicting the demise of the planet within a fraction of an inch of the ocean. Also, Washington Post and New York Times reported "hundreds" attended the March for Life on Saturday when in fact there were thousands, you can even count noses in the photos, and there were probably hundreds just stranded on the PA Turnpike. These are the brilliant news sources that create the polls to tell us who we should be voting for.

EWTN's Doug Keck was reporting on radio this morning that in returning to Alabama his group got stranded, and stayed at a Walgreen's.  I assume the staff couldn't leave either. I checked Google, and found photos of a storm in 2014 where people were sleeping in the aisles of a Walgreen's using packages of Maxi-pads for pillows.

Life expectancy--Monday Memories

When you are born, there is a life expectancy assigned and I'm sure many factors are included, especially gender and race and how others that age fare. Mine was 65.2. Then the longer you live, the more that is adjusted. I received my withdrawal account for my TDAs and each year my balance/withdrawal is refigured based on my life expectancy. Now it is about 98. In other words, the money needs to last that long! That's sort of scary, isn't it?

My grandfathers lived into their 90s as did one of my grandmother's sisters (Ada) and my mother's sister (Muriel) and brother (Leslie). But not my parents. Looking back, none of those who lived into their 90s had any medical care as children--they weren't even born in a hospital.

                                                          With Aunt Muriel in 1991.

Enjoying great music

I enjoy the Lawrence Welk reruns of the syndicated archives by OETV on PBS. I didn't watch it when I was young. Tonight I watched the 1967 salute to the Indy 500, recreated in 2004. "Norma Zimmer, features a special salute to the “Indianapolis 500”, the exciting and popular auto race. The show opens with some of the cast driving around in little cars, singing “Indiana” and then bounces along the road with “Tico,Tico” by Myron Floren. The Lennon Sisters sing “There’s A Kind Of Hush” and Norma joins Jim Roberts to sing “Make Believe”, the classic duet from “Showboat”." Great music.  Norma Zimmer died in 2011.

United States is 49th in press freedom

We're #49 in World Press Freedom. Canada is #8.  "In the United States, 2014 was marked by judicial harassment of New York Times investigative reporter James Risen in connection with the trial of Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA officer charged under the Espionage Act with giving him classified information. US journalists are still not protected by a federal shield law that would guarantee their right not to name their sources or reveal other confidential information about their work. Meanwhile, at least 15 journalists were arbitrarily arrested during clashes between police and demonstrators protesting against black teenager Michael Brown’s fatal shooting by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri."

 http://index.rsf.org/

Gender Identity and homeless shelters

Emergency shelters are the next target for regulations from the federal government elevating gender identity over health, safety, privacy, and religious liberty concerns. Why is this tiny fraction of a fraction of the population considered more important than the health, safety, privacy and religious liberty of women who have been women since conception and who have struggled for centuries for the crumbs of laws and protections given to men?

 http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=%2Fpress%2Fpress_releases_media_advisories%2F2015%2FHUDNo_15-150

Flint and Detroit

Flint, MI sort of stole the news last week, because I don't remember seeing much about this union protest in front of Obama's venue in Detroit. I haven't been watching much news lately, so maybe I missed other stories of Democrat contolled unions and black groups protesting when Obama’s in town, which if he were Bush, would be a call for total rebellion. There must be a lot of corruption in the city government if they can't make schools tick with $16,000 per student plus all the other wealth transfer programs.

"According to the U.S. Department of Education, just 8 percent of Detroit eighth-graders can read proficiently. And just seven in 10 students graduate. Detroit public schools spend roughly $16,000 per pupil per year but the schools have many code and building violations. (All Democrat mayors since 1962.) The unionized teachers went on strike last week with complaints about conditions and charter schools. The protest was outside Cobo Center before President Barack Obama's visit to the auto show." (from my FaceBook wall)

http://dailysignal.com/2016/01/20/detroit-public-school-teacher-sick-out-underway-while-just-8-of-students-can-read-proficiently/

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/01/21/obama-takes-credit-for-auto-industry-comeback-during-visit-to-detroit/

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/latest-union-teacher-sick-tied-obamas-detroit-trip-36398081