Meaningless words

Diversity
Multiculturalism
Transparency
Pro-choice
wage gap
Inclusive
Gender
Constitutional scholar
Red line/line in the sand
Inappropriate
Misspoke (as in lie)
Like (as a vocal burp)
transformation
sustainable/sustainability
food insecurity

Monday Memories -- finding the right desk chair

Just yesterday, after months of pain and limping, I noticed I had no pain after sitting for 45 minutes in a church pew and walking the aisle for communion, but 5 minutes in the swivel, adjustable, 5 wheel, padded desk chair in my office which my husband won in an AIA drawing about 17 years ago and I could hardly make it to the kitchen for another cup of coffee. I don't think it was the religious intentions.

So I'm trying out different chairs. I brought in my Paul McCobb mid-century chair from the kitchen (formerly our dining room set and now the most valuable "antique" in the house--a set of 4 worth about $2,500) and it seemed just fine. Now I'm using Grandmother Susan's dining room chair she brought from Pennsylvania to Illinois in 1855 after her marriage, and which my mother restored around 1965. Next I plan to try one of the dining room chairs which I think is a mid-80s design, but a little higher than the rest.

This is a Paul McCobb chair, we have 4 in the kitchen with a round table

 

This is my great-grandmother's dining room chair.

These are the dining room chairs which I bought in 1993 at a yard sale.

My letter to Target CEO

He may never see the letter, but the envelope should get someone's attention.  As near as I can figure, there's no way to run an envelope through my new HP Envy 5660 wireless printer so I taped the address to the envelope. This is the blog entry I sent him.

My letter to Target CEO Brian Cornell

Thank you, Teachers, but . . .

All good points, but remember before the "public school" and college degreed teachers or even church academies from the middle ages forward, people still learned and became artists, doctors, lawyers, musicians, etc. It was through apprenticeship, working with parents and grandparents, learning from village elders, monasteries, traveling artisans, etc. And we still have that opportunity today.

 

And it is a well kept secret that teachers are not underpaid--that they do indeed have "wage justice."  The Bureau of Labor Statistics figure a middle school teacher's hourly wage at about $57 an hour, higher than accountants or architects, and that was in 2011--probably higher now.

Hillary's missing documents--Benghazi isn't the first

"In 1996, after nearly two years of searches and subpoenas, the White House reported it found copies of missing documents from Hillary Rodham Clinton’s law firm that described her work for the Whitewater-related Madison S&L in the 1980s. The White House previously said it did not have the records [aka lied]. The originals have not turned up.

In 1993, the White House released an official statement incorrectly saying [aka lied] that no suicide note from Clinton White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster had been found after his death. It turns out a note had been found. And more than 24 hours after its discovery, White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum turned a note over to Attorney General Janet Reno.

Also in 1993, according to a Secret Service official, first lady Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff, Maggie Williams, removed records from the office of White House Deputy Counsel Foster the night of his suicide. Other Clinton officials, including White House counsel Nussbaum, later testified that they conducted an improper search [aka illegal] of Foster’s office. At least one file was marked “Whitewater” and another was marked “taxes.”

 Another White House counsel, Bob Barnett, later picked up a box of Foster’s documents. Associate counsel Clifford Sloan’s contemporaneous notes cite the Clintons’ initials: “get Maggie—go through office—get HRC, WJC stuff.” [aka steal] "

https://sharylattkisson.com/state-department-removed-benghazi-files-after-subpoena/

Another chance, you Democrats.  You really want her to be our President?

I suppose it depends on your definition of wealth

Across racial and educational groups, households with children have fewer resources than those without.

• Typical white, college-educated couples without children have nearly three times more wealth than their peers with children.
• Typical black, non-college-educated couples without children earn 57 percent higher incomes than similarly situated black couples with children.
• Typical Hispanic, non-college-educated couples without children have 3½ times more savings than their peers with children.

The problem with this study is it doesn't always compare apples with apples. Notice, minorities don't have a comparative category for college-educated although I'm sure it's somewhere in the data.  Even going into the visual comparison (17 family types), the side bar explanations varied by group. You'll need to download the entire data set to avoid author bias.

 http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/analysis/2016/04/07/what-your-household-type-reveals-about-your-financial-security

Calorie restriction in older people for health benefits

Phil's "new" car, a 1968 Chevy

 I was born with a heart problem--an extra electrical circuit that acted up more and more as I got older.  No one knew about it because unless you're having tachycardia or arrhythmia (which I had often) while you're at the hospital or clinic for something else, no one finds it. And if you've lived with it all your life, you just think light-headedness is normal. It was diagnosed in 1996, I took medication for awhile, then had an ablation in 2002, but the right medications weren't determined until 2 years ago, and I've had zero problems since.

 

So I'm here at 76 because of the miracle of modern medicine--pharmaceutical research and surgical skill. But probably the only thing I can do personally to slow down the actual aging of my heart is caloric restriction. The first animal studies were done on this before I was born.  It is not the same as lowering my body weight. Reducing body size through exercise doesn't have the same effect. Hate that. I just had a bacon and cheese sandwich for breakfast and probably blew my entire calorie quota for the day. My husband has been on a mission team in Haiti for a week, and one night I had a glass of red wine and a dish of chocolate ice cream for supper.

 

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140401/ncomms4557/full/ncomms4557.html

 

 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21841020

 

 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20703061

 

Okinawa study on 100 year old subjects

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22281163

 

 late life restriction

 

The CALERIE project

http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/302/4/E441.long

 

Books are not dying!

They all agreed. People really prefer holding a paper copy of a book, especially the kids who may be on their phones all day. E-books are nice for traveling, but not much else. And the sales of their books show it. This is a panel of Ohio authors, novelist Mindy McGinnis (a school library aide), David Meyers, a non-fiction and history writer (formerly worked in academia and corrections) and a poet/novelist Amit Majmudar (doctor) with the library director of Ohioana who spoke at Upper Arlington Public Library Thursday evening. Arlington's Tremont Road is so badly torn up, I almost gave up and went home due to the detours, and I'd lived in that neighborhood for 35 years! Two of the speakers were about 30 minutes late. I'm sure some potential members of the audience also gave up. What a mess!

Mindy has a blog "where she stores her extra words" and gives advice to aspiring writers. (Get an agent, she says.) She is an assistant YA librarian who lives in Ohio and cans her own food. She graduated from Otterbein University magna cum laude with a BA in English Literature and Religion. She told us she's a single mom of two.

I've known David and his wife Bev for about 16 years, and we sometimes go to the Rusty Bucket together to celebrate our September birthdays. He is a "lifelong resident of Columbus, Ohio. A graduate of Miami University and The Ohio State University, he has had an abiding interest in local history since childhood. In the past eight years, he has written two novels, a handful of works for the stage, and eight books of local history including Wicked Columbus, Ohio; Kahiki Supper Club: A Polynesian Paradise in Columbus; Inside the Ohio Penitentiary; Ohio Jazz: A History of Jazz in the Buckeye State; and Look to Lazarus: The Big Store. Two of his crime stories have been dramatized on Curious and Unusual Deaths on Discovery: Crime Investigation and Jerry Springer’s Tabloid on Investigation Discovery." David is also on Facebook and used to have really wonderful blog on his music collection, but I don't think it's been updated for awhile.

The son of immigrants, poet and novelist Amit Majmudar grew up in the Cleveland area. He earned a BS at the University of Akron and an MD at Northeast Ohio Medical University, completing his medical residency at the University Hospitals of Cleveland.  He also has a blog with links to his other writings.

National Crime Report for 2015

A new national crime report was released April 19. Violent crime is still at an all time low in the U.S. In most places, that’s a result of two decades of the Omnibus Crime Bill, which Bill Clinton recently had to defend as it was a beacon of hope in his administration. In NYC in 1990 there were 2,262 murders; in 2015 there were 352. Can you see President Clinton might be insulted by the accusations? As some cities feel the pressure to ignore smaller crimes like vagrancy, public urination and petty crimes, because some liberals think they are racist, we may see that change. Let's see what Bill DeBlasio will fare.

Some cities, however, are experiencing an increase in their murder rate. Oklahoma City, for instance, is up almost 65%, which sounds terrible, but that’s 75 murders in 2015 instead of 45 in 2014. Washington DC is up 51.2%, from 105 to 162 in 2015. Murders in Denver went from 31 in 2014 to 54 in 2015, an increase of 74.2%, largest increase in the nation, up there with Baltimore and Oklahoma City. 

In the 30 largest cities of the U.S. there is a 13.2% increase in murder (Columbus and Indianapolis figures are “unavailable.”) The three worst cities in crime increase, Baltimore, Chicago and Washington, DC, have poverty rates double the national average, unemployment higher than the national average (but lower than national average during the 2008 recession), but in median income they don’t resemble each other.

As I see it, only Democrat control and huge transfers for social programs from the federal government link these three. Crime, like poverty and poor schools, guarantees these cities a steady income drip from DC.

https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/analysis/Crime_in_2015_A_Final_Analysis.pdf

Why are you voting Democrat?

I checked a security firm website today specifically on public restrooms, and it recounted all the bad stuff that happens, from physical abuse (a girl was killed in a Delaware bathroom yesterday by other girls) to graffiti, to homeless people undressing and washing up, to sexual assaults, and mentally ill smearing feces. It reminded me that one of our nephews dropped out of high school when he was harassed in the school rest room by gay students years ago, and he knew the administration would never take his side. Those stories don't get in the news because men are afraid to report assaults by other men out of fear of being called gay. And yet taking into consideration the prison population, more rapes happen to men than to women. The military is another place men are assaulted. 

 

Then I remembered you do see bath room assaults on women reported from time to time, so why would any respectable business, a celebrity whose fortune has been made by adoring female fans, or a state responsible for the security of its citizens, even dream of such a ridiculous encouragement as what is happening today? Because it's being pushed by the Democrat party.

 

Just out of curiosity, how deep in the muck are you Democrats that read this blog going to let the party take you? For decades your party (which was mine until 2000) platform has promoted the destruction of the unborn for any reason—female, color, disability, college plans, or whim. You can say, "Well, I personally wouldn’t have an abortion, but I support the right yada, yada."  Really? 

 

Was it 2008 or 2012 “God bless America” was booed at your convention? Your political platform also promotes embryonic stem cell research (by government—it’s never been illegal for private research) even though not one single advancement in health has come from that. Democrats have pushed same sex marriage on a society and the historical record that doesn’t want it. It has destroyed small businesses and families that won’t comply. It routinely makes a mockery of our Constitution.  It promotes climate change wealth transfer which even if it were true might possibly make a difference of 1 degree in a century, while billions that could be spent through technology to improve lives is spent on a fantasy. 

 

 

 

Democrats love Earth Day, today, and President Nixon took advantage of that silliness and created the EPA which is implicated in a number of scandals this year. Earth Day (1970) is also the anniversary of taking DDT off the market, allowing many millions of brown and black children to die of malaria and the crippling of millions of adults. Mosquito borne viruses are creeping back, and just watch the Democrats switch plans when they or someone in their family get dengue or Zika. 

 

 I’ll probably be leaving the Republican party if Trump is the candidate—the battle between the creepy clown and the crook—but I don’t think I could look in the mirror and respect myself if I were a registered Democrat, even for a primary.

 

Why are you?

 

 

More Spring cleaning

I cleaned out the hall coat closet yesterday (see photo). It’s a small closet, and all of that was on one shelf.  I decided I would just dump it all on the floor and sort into piles.  Now there’s actually room in there. I moved the winter coats to the down stairs shower, which is our “extra out of season" storage, since we don’t shower down there. I found one umbrella and four umbrella sheaths—I got rid of all four, I don’t think they actually work after you remove the umbrella. I also found a large cat design umbrella I thought was lost.  I took a large sack of hats, scarves, and gloves to the church donation box, although they really prefer seasonal stuff. I have no place to put it until fall. I tackled my clothes closet in the afternoon, refolding everything and taking all the sweats and sweaters down to the laundry. Then I took a nap. When I woke up I learned Prince had died--the kids' favorite from their teen years. He really was a talented musician.

Now I'm down to the hard stuff.  Time to get rid of all the sewing scraps.  Some are large pieces with a straight skirt in mind maybe 30 years ago when I was working at the Vet Med library. Also large pieces of muslin (was I doing pillows, making dolls?) Not sure if I was expecting a burst of sewing desire to return. I had started to make quilt squares out of my daughter's clothing, but abandoned that idea maybe 40 years ago.  They sat there for years waiting for me to return.  Then mother's 1950s and 1960s table cloths. Sigh. Colors and designs no one would use today except to cut up for an apron or pillows. They don't fit any of our tables, not here or the lake.  I remember eating on them, and her wonderful meals. Home made pickles and fresh corn and wonderful pies.  But stored on the top shelf of the guest room closet certainly wasn't a good place.

The final pieces are the hardest.  My grandmother's sister Martha died in child birth with baby daughter Grace in 1888.  She was a quilter.  I did finally find a descendant of hers living in Dixon, Illinois to give the quilts to, but she also had a lot of "pieced squares" left over.  Everything is hand stitched.  I can tell by looking at them that these were not her best effort, so they weren't included in the quilts. But still, they are 150 years old and you can't just throw them out, especially since she probably pieced by kerosene light after the little boys were in bed. Show some respect!  So I'm cooking up a plan to have my sister help me out.

What if Target just did what was good for ALL customers

Let's play "what if."

I shopped at Giant Eagle this morning--love that store, and it's a treat to see the fabulous and over priced products, some twice what I pay at Marc's. But it's also interesting to see how a major grocery retailer with a small profit margin has responded to consumer demands for organic, gluten-free, no hormones in meat, grass fed Buffalo burgers and cheese from sheep and goats, and maybe yaks--3x higher in omega-3 fatty acids than the cheddar cheese I bought for sandwiches.

So what if, instead of submitting to the gay mafia, Target had begun advertising, "Safe, secure, lockable, child friendly rest rooms for all if desired." No hoopla, just good customer service to let everyone know they are welcome to shop there without fear. Many of us already use lockable single stall restrooms in stores, public spaces or historical buildings that don't have enough space for two plus a handicapped on the main floor. It's in the building code, and is OK.

Giant Eagle doesn't tell me I can't select what I'm used to, or I can't purchase off brands at a cheaper price, or I can't buy processed food, even if the CEO is a vegan who thinks I'll go to hell. A good business in a capitalist economy does a market study and provides for all, even the majority.

"What if" doesn't work with this fantasy, because it isn't about good business. It's about pushing a set of values and narrow morality, as though the customer can't check out without getting a religious pamphlet. It's about blurring the clear differences between men and women. Toilets are just a small part of this cultural package. There's already a move to erase gender from birth certificates, the terms mother and father from school records of children, and husband and wife from marriage licenses. There are groups demanding respect for polygamy and incest. Check your public library and you'll find a huge number of YA books on gender bending far out of proportion to religion, but with the same missionary zeal. And for whom? A fraction of a fraction who for the most part just want to quietly live their lives without government, religious or social interference. That's a right that is NOT available for the other 97% of us.

 http://www.silvaconsultants.com/blog/2012/03/26/security-of-public-restrooms/

Happy Earth Day. . . Sucker

Earth Day is the highest holy day of the Climate Change/Global Warming religion. A modern day faith for pagans whose chant is, "I'm spiritual, but not religious." It was established in 1970, the same year that DDT was officially declared off limits, sacrificing to the new gods millions of brown and black children from malaria in developing countries. One of the saints of this new 20th c. religion is Rachel Carson; Al Gore used to be high priest, but not sure if his stock is still high. 46 years later and there still isn't a good replacement for DDT, but you keep buying and donating those bed nets to make yourself feel better. When Zika lands in DC, or the Attorney General gets dengue, someone may just have a change of heart about DDT. And that smartest politician of all times, Republican Richard Nixon, saw the response of the gullible to the first Earth Day, and used it to develop another huge bureaucracy from 15 other agencies, calling it the Environmental Protection Agency. Now only the government is allowed to pollute water.

 http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/07/climate_change_hysteria_and_the_madness_of_crowds.html

"The World Health Organization (WHO) credits DDT with saving anywhere from 50 million to a 100 million lives by preventing the spread of malaria. There were sharp drops in malaria cases reported in parts of Europe, India, and the U.S. following World War II according to WHO. In fact, malaria was virtually banished in the U.S. thanks to DDT, government studies show. Unfortunately, DDT was later banned as a result of unfounded hysteria allowing malaria to spread in developing parts of the world where about 50 million children succumbed to the disease."
 http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/kevin-mooney/2008/10/07/human-cost-global-warming-hysteria-subject-new-documentary

 http://reason.com/archives/2012/09/26/silent-spring-turns-50-this-week

Targeting women

A 2-fer for the twenty

Trump wants Republicans to change stance on abortion

Donald Trump,

I love many people who were conceived from rape or incest. They do not deserve to die for the crimes of their father. They are fully human and fully alive. All human beings, no matter how conceived, have been given infinite dignity and worth. They have just as much purpose as you do. In fact, the people I know who were conceived in rape have more integrity in their pinky finger than you have in your entire body. I hope that one day you see the error of your ways. I hope that you one day understand that ALL children in the womb deserve equal protection. But until you do, you have absolutely NO business running for president...and please stop calling yourself prolife. You are far from being a person who values the lives of others. Thanks. 

Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood worker

Strange values and priorities

Abortion and your taxes

You probably thought you weren't paying for abortions with tax money. Wrong. "Taxpayers subsidize roughly 24% of all abortion costs in the U.S. with 6.6% borne by federal taxpayers and the remaining 17.4% picked up by state taxpayers. If we apply the 24% figure to the total number of abortions, this is equivalent to taxpayers paying the full cost of 250,000 abortions a year, with about 70,000 financed by federal taxpayers and 180,000 financed by state taxpayers."

Yes, you're paying for abortions.

 

These are the people of the Hillary party, and it's going to be really tough to pray for these sick, twisted freaks, making cookies in the shape of unborn babies, and then eating them. Really disturbing, but abortion has been in the platform for decades so where else can they go?

"They remind me of cannibals who obsess over table manners. On one hand, they get bent out of shape if you put your elbows on the table, but on the other, they're eating people. It's hard to make sense of the bizarre and psychotic mix of depravity and political correctness you find on college campuses, and everywhere else in the nation." Matt Walsh

Know your abortion rights

You have the right to insist that your abortion can only be performed by a licensed physician.

You have the right to know the medical malpractice history of this physician and to know whether his or her license to practice medicine has ever been suspended or revoked.

You have the right to know if this doctor has an insurance policy that will protect you in case you are injured or killed during this procedure.

You have the right to insist that if you are injured during your abortion, you are to be immediately transferred by ambulance to the nearest emergency hospital or trauma center.

You have the right not to have an abortion.  Regardless of your age, marital status or any other facor, no one has the legal right to make you have an abortion.  If anyone tries to force you into this decision against your will, contact a pregnancy center in your community.

Do not sign anything until you have read it completely and are certain that you understand everything it is saying.

Do not sign anything until you are given a copy to take with you.

Do not sign anything that contains blank spaces or information that you believe is incomplete or inaccurate.

Do not sign anything that says you will not sue the clinic or doctor if you are injured or killed during the abortion.

Abortion Facts

Abortion and suicide 

Abortion and breast cancer

Fetal parts costs

It is estimated that 64% of women who have abortions have been pressured by parents, boyfriend, or peers. That is the un-choice.