News new and fake

CNN - Dateline Philadelphia - Breaking News
Jim Acosta reporting.

"CNN can now report that it has just discovered the long lost, yet to be ratified, Twitter-eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States which states "Ye shall not post GIF's to Twitter about CNN that CNN finds offensive."

Written by Ben Franklin himself, the draft for this amendment fell between the benches in Independence Hall as the Constitution was being drafted at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787.
This is not #fakenews at all. Swearzies."

Hash browns like mom made them

"But the best part is that they do hash browns right. No, not hash brown patties, nor shredded potatoes. These are the hash browns I grew up having from my mother. They are griddled while constantly chopping the potatoes into smaller and smaller bits. Smaller bits equals more surface area equals more crispy bits. But you get a variation in size that actually allows for some larger, soft chunks of potato. That tension between the crispy and the creamy makes for my ideal kind of hash browns. Of course, they are better when my mom makes them, but St. Francis Fountain is the next best thing."   http://www.insidehook.com/san-francisco/meal-plan-david-barzelay

Colin looks for his roots

According to a news source, Colin Kaepernick is on a search for his African heritage, beginning in Ghana,  the hell on earth of the cross Atlantic slave trade of the 18^th century.  Millions search for their roots, and I hope he finds something that meets this hunger. But if it’s slavery he’s interested in he’ll need to investigate where and how it started—in the mists of ancient history as slavery was a worldwide economic system and still remains today, larger than the 18^th century.  Some sources say 27 million in the 21^st century, but no one has an exact count. More Africans have died from environmentalists allowing malaria to resurge than ever died in the Atlantic slave trade.  Perhaps some of the products his wealth allows him were created, mined, guarded or produced by 21^st century slaves. Maybe his latest manicure and massage were performed by a female slave from Asia, and he ignored the signs, or some of the  fun after the NFL games he’s enjoyed was provided by a sex slave. He’ll need to go back in history and look at the Arab Muslims, Portuguese, Spaniards, English, and Dutch investors and the African tribal leaders who captured and sold them, and the substantial number of free black Americans in the 19^th century who also owned slaves.

Slavery today—“emigrants” looking for jobs and a better life. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/opinion/sunday/meet-a-21st-century-slave.html

Slave trade in 1860 after outlawed both in Britain and the U.S., but under the guise of “emigrant” transport. http://www.nytimes.com/1860/12/24/news/african-slave-trade-letter-board-niagara-french-emigrant-system-english.html?pagewanted=all

https://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2015/07/07/a-legacy-of-cliches-n2021930

Happy July 4

Ready to set our chairs up for the July 4 parade.  Thank you, neighbors, for the nice backdrop.

 

 

 

From eerie Obama worship to creepy Trump hatred

"Trump goes after individual washed-up celebrities; Obama indicted an entire people for being lazy, clinging to their guns and religion, intolerant, nativist, and unnecessarily chauvinistic. Take your poison: personal score-settling or mellifluent contempt. . . It was Obama, not Trump, who established the practice of going after journalists by name, . . . Obama was angry that a few reporters did not join the cult of Obama worship; Trump is peeved almost no one in the press is disinterested. Trump saw Obama’s precedent, and proverbially trumped it." Victor Davis Hanson

 "Sputtering journalists (Jim Rutenberg, Carl Bernstein, Jorge Ramos, Christiane Amanpour) are exasperated to the point of openly confessing that their craft should give up empirical reporting to deal with Trump, without shame any longer over the partisan propaganda their organizations and colleagues peddle. Those declarations are not a change of course, but a confession of what the media have been doing from the election of Barack Obama. The logical media progression from eerie Obama worship was to creepy Trump hatred." VDH

"People are tired of the social justice warrior Obama frolicking in Tahiti, the feminist Hillary Clinton excusing four decades of the sexual predations of her husband upon the weak, the supposedly in the know campus bullies picking on the vulnerable while shelling out a quarter-million dollars for a mediocre education; the progressive media decrying inequality and fairness amid face-surgeries, hair plugs, nannies, and prep schools; the Silicon Valley masters of the universe sermonizing on the evils of walls, inequality, and social justice from their gated hideaways, servants, and schemes to monopolize, offshore, outsource, and avoid taxes." VDH

https://amgreatness.com/2017/07/02/trumps-high-stakes-tweeting/

Monday Memories of a great Sunday

Is it too early to recall what a lovely day Sunday, July 2, was at Lakeside?

After enjoying a brunch at the Patio, we all went our separate ways for awhile--me to a nap after I made a pot of soup, Bob went down to the lake to help with Kids' Sail, and Dan and Joanie (our niece and nephew) went up to try out the new pool which had been dedicated the day before. Then at 6 p.m. the Central Ohio Brass Band played at the gazebo in Central Park and the lake looked fabulous.  After that we had a stroll along the lakefront to look at the sculptures people make from the rocks. Then an evening to good conversation on the porch.  A perfect summer day.

So many people waiting--someone had to leave to get in.

And Danny didn't have his sun screen!

Steele Memorial with Central Ohio Brass Band

Enjoying the concert and the beautiful view

Hollyhocks and rock sculptures along the lakefront

Diets work; maintenance doesn't

All diets work, it seems.  At least for awhile. http://www.dietsinreview.com/  This site rates the most successful.  For me, it's always ELMM.  Eat Less, Move More.  The problem is that darn metabolism. My body just doesn't seem to like 135 lbs. which is where I feel the best and is a comfortable size 8. The summer of 2015 I was 135 lbs, then we went to Spain had delicious meals compliments of our hosts the Tulamos, and it bounced up a bit (great food and wine with most meals).  Then the summer of 2016 I was back at about 136 lbs. and now at about 145 and have been since Christmas.

I've recently looked at some of the fasting methods, and realize that's actually what I've done in the past.  For instance, sometimes on Monday I don't eat a full meal until supper, or some days I have breakfast and lunch, but not supper. There's a lot of research on the benefits of even brief fasting, such as 24 hour (not eating after 6 p.m. and nothing but liquids until the evening of the next day), or 2 days a week, like Monday and Thursday, or eating your total calories during an 8 hour period or 10 hour period.

A website about 5 methods of fasting lists occasional fasting as #2. I find this needs almost no self control--however, most of my beverages do have some calories, like watered down juice or coffee with cream. I just have to do it.

2. Eat Stop Eat

Started by: Brad Pilon
Best for: Healthy eaters looking for an extra boost.

It’s all about moderation: You can still eat whatever you want, but maybe not as much of it. A slice of birthday cake is OK, but the whole cake isn’t.

How It Works: Fast for 24 hours once or twice per week. During the 24 hour fast, which creator Brad Pilon prefers to call a “24 break from eating,” no food is consumed, but you can drink calorie-free beverages. After the fast is over, you then go back to eating normally. “Act like you didn’t fast,” Pilon says. “Some people need to finish the fast at a normal mealtime with a big meal, while others are OK ending the fast with an afternoon snack. Time it however works best for you, and adjust your timing as your schedule changes,” he says. 

The main rationale? Eating this way will reduce overall calorie intake without really limiting what you’re able to eat — just how often, according to Eat Stop Eat. It’s important to note that incorporating regular workouts, particularly resistance training, is key to succeeding on this plan if weight loss or improved body composition are goals. 

Pros: While 24 hours may seem like a long time to go without food, the good news is that this program is flexible. You don’t have to go all-or-nothing at the beginning. Go as long as you can without food the first day and gradually increase fasting phase over time to help your body adjust. Pilon suggests starting the fast when you are busy, and on a day where you have no eating obligations (like a work lunch or happy hour). 

Another perk? There are no “forbidden foods,” and no counting calories, weighing food or restricting your diet, which makes it a bit easier to follow. That said, this isn’t a free-for-all. “You still have to eat like a grown-up,” Pilon says. It’s all about moderation: You can still eat whatever you want, but maybe not as much of it. (A slice of birthday cake is OK, he says, but the whole cake isn’t.) 

Cons: Going 24 hours without any calories may be too difficult for some — especially at first. Many people struggle with going extended periods of time with no food, citing annoying symptoms including headaches, fatigue, or feeling cranky or anxious (though these side effects can diminish over time). The long fasting period can also make it more tempting to binge after a fast. This can be easily fixed… but it takes a lot of self-control, which some people lack.   http://dailyburn.com/life/health/intermittent-fasting-methods/

 http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/06/short-term-fasting-may-improve-health

"When you don’t eat for a while, several things happen in your body. For example, your body initiates important cellular repair processes and changes hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible. . . Studies show that intermittent fasting can improve numerous risk factors for heart disease such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglycerides and inflammatory markers. . . Increased autophagy [waste removal]  may provide protection against several diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer’s disease  "
 https://authoritynutrition.com/10-health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting/

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-benefits-of-fasting-that-will-surprise-you.html

Dogs on my morning walk along the lake

Dogs. I don't have a dog, but I think I understand them, having had many in my childhood. Most dogs have well behaved owners, but some could use some training--the people, I mean. We're at our summer home, many owners and visitors have dogs, and that's a lot of sniffing, barking and eliminating activity. Every morning on my walk along a quiet, still lake with people still asleep, the owner of a water loving dog (like a spaniel or Lab) takes his dog into the water and throws rocks. The dog goes berserk in the water--especially when he realizes it's a rock and he can't retrieve it. Yip, yip, yap, yap. I can hear him for at least a mile.

Then there's the guy with the dog the size of a Holstein calf. Same coloring, too. No visible poop baggie, but maybe he's putting it in his sweatshirt pocket? Blankets will be going down tomorrow for the fireworks. Watch out, folks.

And the poor little overweight doggie who looks like a black and tan Dachshund with some white. His little short legs can barely keep up with his 14" companion and his abdomen is dragging. Seems it might be more beneficial to get him some diet food before the strain of keeping up with a healthier dog.

I've seen a few pit bulls. Do you really need to crop their cute, soft, floppy ears like that? Unless you plan to enter them in ring fights, is that necessary?

http://www.jennyspups.net/Pages/CCP.aspx

https://www.thedodo.com/ear-cropping-cruel-1212872917.html

How employed Americans spend their time

This is always a fascinating report (at least if you like odd data)--how the American worker spends her/his time.

"On the days they worked, employed men worked 56 minutes more than employed women. This difference partly reflects women's greater likelihood of working part time. However, even among full-time workers (those usually working 35 hours or more per week), men worked longer than women--8.4 hours, compared with 7.8 hours."

Hmm. Could account for some of that wage gap--almost 50 hours more a year for employed men. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.nr0.htm


 Digging deeper. Americans spend .16 hours a day on religious or spiritual activities and 2.73 hours a day watching TV. This could explain why the culture is taking over.

Oh, Canada

Lakeside is flying the Canadian flag today. You can see Canada (from Put in Bay top of the monument). It's 150 years old. It celebrates the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the Constitution Act, 1867 (then called the British North America Act, 1867), which united the three separate colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a single Dominion within the British Empire called Canada.  So not exactly independence day as we think of it in the U.S.A., but more like merger or unification day. Full independence from Britain came in 1982.

Brunch at the Patio

Our niece and nephew from Indianapolis are with us at Lakeside to celebrate the July 4 holiday.  After church on the lakefront, we went to the Patio Restaurant for brunch. The weather is gorgeous today (Sunday) and I hope it holds for the festivities.  We had a great program last night at Hoover Auditorium, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap.

Was it racist and sexist when the left attacked Condi Rice?

I asked on Facebook thinking of Susan Rice's complaints about why her behavior in office is being scrutinized.  But Kelly reminded me about Allan West, Alan Keyes, Ken Blackwell, Kay James ... anyone who believed in traditional Christian morality and didn't help their narratives. Oh yes, and Clarence Thomas, said David Keck.

Then Keck remarked, in the last few years, it has been the Republican Party that has been more diverse in its candidates at every level. For President last time, for example: young (Marco Rubio), Hispanic (Rubio, Ted Cruz), female (Nikki Haley, Carly Fiorina), business and senior in age (Trump), faith-based (Huckabee, Santorum), African-American (the good doctor Ben Carson and now HHS secretary), and Indian sub-continent heritage (Bobby Jindal) to name but a few. The Democrats? A self-avowed Socialist, two governors, and an entitled female. Some diversity.

The Reformers and the Catholics--why are the Bibles different?

The fastest growing church in Columbus is Rock City, formed in 2011.

I was baptized in Church of the Brethren, a "New Testament church." on Palm Sunday in 1950 and have been a "sola scriptura" Lutheran since Palm Sunday 1976 when I was confirmed.  I was probably 70 years old before I saw a Catholic Bible at a used book store, and wondered why the Church had "added" things mine didn't have (I probably had 6 translations all with the same list and books). This controversy was thoroughly investigated by St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) when he was quite young--being only about 27 when he began this work. Since "sola scriptura" is basic to most Protestant, "Bible only," non-denominational and Restoration churches, it's worth a look to see what was said post-reformation. Which scripture?  His work was intended to present the Catholic faith to French Protestants some years after Catholics in their region had been persecuted and driven out.  It is reported that he brought 70,000 Christians who had no knowledge of the faith, back into the fold.

For me, one of the most interesting parts (free on the internet, although in print there may be better translations) is "which Bible" should we claim as authoritative?  The one the church used for 15 centuries (and still does), or the one the Reformers decided to revise? The Old Testament canon that Jesus referred to as "scripture," has been changed, although I don't think there was an official body who determined canon--the Jews didn't agree either in the time of Jesus. This is the link to Chapter 7 of "The Catholic Controversy," and the ones preceding it are excellent also. He gives both sides--but pretty much demolishes the argument for removing these Old Testament books and revising the canon to suit 16th century ideas.
http://www.goodcatholicbooks.org/francis/catholic-controversy/protestant-scripture.html#CHAPTER_VII

"The Council of Trent gives these books as sacred, divine and canonical: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Josue, Judges, Ruth, the four Books of Kings, two of the Paralipomenon, two of Esdras ( a first, and a second, which is called of Nehemias), Tobias, Judith, Esther, Job, one hundred and fifty Psalms of David, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Canticle of Canticles, Wisdom ,Ecclesiasticus, Isaias, Jeremias with Baruch, Ezechiel, Daniel, Osee, Joel, Amos, Abdias, Jonas, Micheas, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus, Zacharius, Malachy, two of Machabees, first and second: of the New Testament, four Gospels, -S. Matthew, S. Mark, S. Luke, S. John,-the Acts of the Apostles by S. Luke, fourteen Epistles of S. Paul,-to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, to Titus, to Philemon, to the Hebrews,-two of S. Peter, three of S. John, one of S. James, one of S. Jude, and the Apocalypse. The same books were received at the Council of Florence, and long before that at the third Council of Carthage about twelve hundred years These books are divided into two ranks. For of some, both of the Old and of the New Testament, it was never doubted but that they were sacred and canonical: others there are about whose authority the ancient Fathers doubted for a time, but afterwards they were placed with those of the first rank." (chapter 3)

I was familiar with what the 19th and 20th century seminaries had done with higher criticism and how theologians had cast doubt on the authority of  scripture, but according to St. Francis,  the reformers used a similar method--bit by bit, chipping away at the passages that underscored the theology and Christology they didn't like. Why he asks is the Holy Spirit given to individuals and nobodies to interpret privately the Bible, but not the Church?

"Why shall one allow Calvin to cut off Wisdom or the Machabees, and not Luther to remove the Epistle of S. James or the Apocalypse, or Castalio the Canticle of Canticles, or the Anabaptists the Gospel of S. Mark, or another person Genesis and Exodus? If all protest that they have interior revelation why shall we believe one rather than another, so that this rule supposed to be sacred on account of the Holy Spirit, will be violated by the audacity of every deceiver.  

Recognise, I pray you, the stratagem. They have taken away all authority from Tradition, the Church, the Councils, what more remains? The Scripture. The enemy is crafty: if he would take all away at one stroke he would cause alarm. He starts a certain and infallible method of getting rid of it bit by bit, and very gradually: that is, this idea of interior inspiration, by which everybody can receive or reject what seems good to him. And in fact consider a little how the process works itself out. Calvin removes and erases from the canon Baruch, Tobias, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Machabees; Luther takes away the Epistle of S. James, of S. Jude, the Second of S. Peter, the Second and Third of S. John, the Epistle to the Hebrews; he ridicules Ecclesiastes, and holds Job a fable. In Daniel, Calvin has erased the Canticle of the Three Children, the history of Susanna and that of the dragon of Bel; also a great part of Esther. In Exodus, at Geneva and elsewhere among these reformers, they have cut out the twenty-second verse of the second chapter, which is of such weight that neither the Seventy nor the other translators would ever have written it if it had not been in the original. Beza casts a doubt over the history of the adulteress in the Gospel of S. John (S. Augustine warns us that already the enemies of Christianity had erased it from their books; but not from all, as S. Jerome. says)." . . . Chapter 5 

"But before I quit this subject, I pray you, reformers tell me whence you have taken the canon of the Scriptures which you follow? You have not taken it from the Jews, for the books of the Gospels would not be there, nor from the Council of Laodicea, for the Apocalypse would not be in it; or from the Councils of Carthage or of Florence, for Ecclesiasticus and the Machabees would be there. Whence, then, have you taken it? In good sooth, like canon was never spoken of before your time. The Church never saw canon of the Scriptures in which there was not either more or less than in yours. What likelihood is there that the Holy Spirit has hidden himself from all antiquity, and that after 1500 years he has disclosed to certain private persons the list of the true Scriptures?" Chapter 6

Missing potato masher

After complaining for 4 years that my potato masher and blender had disappeared, I dashed to Wal-Mart on a Friday afternoon and Lake Erie traffic looked like the beltway in DC. I also got caught in a massive thunderstorm. But I succeeded. Mashed potatoes, steak and salad for dinner tonight. And Dutch Apple pie ala Marie Callendar.

Obesity is a chronic disease, interesting Ted Talks.

I’d start here. Drop the guilt. Dr. Arya Sharma explores the complex biology behind weight loss and regaining it, and why obesity should be managed as a chronic disease rather than as a personal failure. He doesn’t really explain how, just what the mind set need to be.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9hRhsaopz4

Dr. Deborah Cohen debunks the myth of personal responsibility for weight gain and provides the real causes of the obesity epidemic and how we can stop them. Lots of “shoulds.” She equates the solution with how the U.S. controlled alcohol and achieved pure water. You can tell from the comments, this is not a popular idea—to treat obesity as a public health problem with more government intervention. I'm not a junk food eater (except for the occasional Little Debbie or bag of Fritoes). I'm not influenced by advertising.  I think there's more to it.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBXxJrMxGZc

What about a new attitude toward exercise and nutrition for older people? How many new leaves have you turned since age 40? I would love to weigh what I did 25 years ago when I thought I was “fat. Professor and Chair of the Department of Nutrition Sciences at Drexel University, Dr. Stella Volpe confronts our popular denial of growing older and older every day. Dr. Volpe points out that it is never too late to start becoming an active and healthy individual . I think she’s never had bursitis! Can’t take the stairs—that’s what created the problem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0BJU0iGTH0

This guy, Charles Eugster, died  two months ago at 97, but it's an interesting video. He started body-building at 87. He wrote a book, "Age is just a number."  He was in his 90s when he did this Ted Talk and was probably healthier than most of the teens you see. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGgoCm1hofM

Truth is hard

I used to watch Dana occasionally when we had a subscription to Glenn Beck, and now see her primarily advertising various health products. She has a radio show and has written some books.

Dana Loesch responded to attacks from the Left about her ad about the violence of the Left. “I am proud of this ad. I endorse personally the message of this ad. It’s a fantastic ad and it holds up a mirror to the violent aspects of the left.” Appearing on NRATV, she used a visual of the “Resist” closed fist symbol to state that the same people claiming she is inciting violence, are the ones who have been organizing riots, destroying property, burning down campuses and hurting people. “I don’t have to remind you or anyone else of what happened sadly just two weeks ago, when a leftist went to a ball field with a list of Republican Congressmen,” said Loesch. The visual representation was also a response to critics of the ad who took offense to one of Loesch’s closing lines: “the only way we save our country and our freedom is to fight this violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth.” During her appearance Thursday, Loesch stated, “When I say the clenched fist of truth, I mean the clenched fist of truth.” Note:  I can't get the link to actually work--maybe you can.
https://www.nratv.com/series/stinchfield/video/stinchfield-dana-loesch-petition-calling-for-removal-of-nra-video-on-facebook/episode/stinchfield-season-1-episode-126/

Clinton visits ALA

When I saw that Hillary Clinton was leading the charge at the American Library Association conference in Chicago, I wondered what had happened to Mark Rosenzweig the Marxist librarian who had a melt down when Laura Bush was speaking at ALA about 11 years ago, and she was not only FLOTUS, she had actually been a librarian. He was head of a group something something Progressives that had a never ending "round table" on leftist social issues having nothing to do with libraries. Not to worry. I looked him up.  He's apparently teaching in China, where I'm sure he's discovering all the joys of Communism with a side order of state run capitalism.

Trump Russia coverage by MSM

Wednesday at Lakeside

Busy Wednesday. I'm going to the herb group at 8:30 on the lakefront. I only use salt and pepper when I cook, but it's a lovely group and a nice way to meet people. Then I'm taking my friend Nancy out for a birthday lunch at that new pay it forward diner in Port Clinton that helps the low income http://www.bistro163.org/ .  I hear the food is great.  Staffed by volunteers.  Then the community picnic is at 5:30. I'm debating about attending the afternoon lecture on nutrition and fitness. Tough life at Lakeside Chautauqua, but someone has to do it.

Update:  The herb group meeting was great.  Looks like an interesting season of programs with a field trip to Mulberry Creek Herb Farm, 3312 Bogart Rd. Huron, OH 44829

Lunch at Bistro 163 was delicious.  What a wonderful program.  Suggested prices, and the staff are volunteers, sort of like docents, who explain what the non-profit is about.  During the school year they bring kids there for tutoring, and then send them home with a healthy snack.  I had salmon and a salad, and Nancy had flat bread with figs, bacon and focaccia which I tasted, and we both had coconut bread pudding for dessert.

I did make it to the afternoon nutrition lecture, which included some very basic information about calories, metabolism, micronutrients, and controllable and uncontrollable factors. She reported on the Biggest Loser study (2016) and long term change. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27136388 and some interesting books by Brian Wansick, Mindless eating and Slim by design.  I learned that people who have food on their kitchen counter, particularly cereal, are more likely to be over weight, and people who have fruit on the counter, weigh less.

Trump, the Tranies, and the Deep State

Some time during the 2012 election cycle people in the deep state of the Obama administration made it clear to him that he would need to follow the LGBTQ agenda or else (some think that they had planned to out him, which would have little impact today, but might have in 2012) and all of a sudden Obama discovered gay marriage and transgender agenda were "human rights," whereas to get elected in 2008 both he and Ms. Clinton were staunchly pro-marriage as it had been understood by pagans, Buddhists, Muslims and atheists and our Founders since the beginning of recorded history. Unfortunately, these same agendists and gender-fascists also have Trump's ear and are still manipulating American citizens in the bathroom and pronoun wars.

"The Trump administration should pull away from the politically correct beliefs of the previous administration and examine carefully, with a new presidential task force if necessary, the psychological and medical science associated with attempts to help youth with transsexual attractions." Rick Fitzgibbon, MD, "The Transgender Agenda vs. the Science" https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2017/06/28/the-transgender-agenda-vs-the-science/

The lean and green diet

I haven’t seen much about a meat and vegetables only for weight loss, but we are expecting a guest soon who told me she will be bringing her own food.  It’s a meat/veggies diet—ONLY.  No dairy, carbs, fruit, or caloric dense foods. That wipes out a lot of desserts and casseroles, strawberries and/or blueberry shortcake, and the Wednesday night picnic doesn’t it?  Also can’t find much about it on the internet except to warn you which important nutritional needs you don’t get, like calcium and folic acid. But she says she’s lost 52 lbs and 29 inches, so after her battle for a lifetime, I’ll certainly accept her word.

My mantra on weight loss is “Eat less; move more.” ELMM.  Works whether you just eat Twinkies, Paleo, gluten free, periodic fasting or Mediterreanean. But it has to work for you.  Snacks make me hungry—or am I hungry and then snack?  Perhaps when she meets her goal, she could add fruit or nuts (which I love).

We often go out to eat with a thin couple in their early 80s.  I have never seen them order anything but a large salad.

Here are some examples of Lean and Green meals I found:

• Big salad with vegetables (basically any vegetable of your choice, you can get creative), grilled chicken (or any lean meat of your choice), and dressing (just be mindful 1 tablespoon of olive oil has 110 calories, and a couple tablespoons of the average dressing has around 100 calories).
• Salmon with string beans and asparagus
• Top Sirloin steak (preferably grass fed, has 1/3 the saturated fat) with spinach
https://www.builtlean.com/2010/03/18/go-lean-and-green-for-fast-fat-loss/

Body building sites I checked said vegetables are “free,” and you can eat all you want. I’d go for fresh, just from common sense.  Sometimes those bagged carrots taste like wood, and bags of salad mixings, although quick and easy, have also been recalled for bacteria.

How to lose your audience

What if each time you tuned into watch Downton Abbey you got a blow by blow detailed history of how the English Reformation under King Henry VIII destroyed the Roman Catholic monasteries and nunneries and turned them over to private owners who were the King’s buddies? With all the death and cruelty involved and the poor who were devastated by the loss of support from the church?  Or what if when looking for appropriate comments to use at a musical ecumenical memorial for the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation all you could find is a blow by blow account of the brutal Peasants’ War in which 100,000 German peasants who thought Luther would support them instead met a bloody end?   Whose mind would be changed? Would you want the Catholic, Lutheran or Marxist view with your music?

Trapped. That’s how I felt when I attended what would be a wonderful  program of choral music, and instead got lectures (called “reflections”) so inappropriate for a lovely summer Sunday evening I thought I’d walked into a micro-aggression workshop for hate whitey or black lives matter rally. Most people love the black gospel and spiritual contributions to the American religious and choral tradition, and yes, they do know the history of the pain and suffering from which they came, but please don’t use them to club us into staying away from the concerts. I'm not sure how, but even "I'll fly away" by Alfred Brumley, a white Oklahoma sharecropper, seemed to have been roped into this meme of slavery. Perhaps I misunderstood, or dozed off.

We are living in an era of unprecedented human slavery. There is more slavery today than during the 18th century Atlantic slave trade. Children are used as soldiers, women and girls are taken as sex slaves, men are forced to work in mines.  In some countries like Haiti and the Philippines household slavery is just part of the culture and many don’t even recognize it.  Most of this happens in Africa, with heavy Muslim involvement, but what church program today would discuss that hot topic?  Very little of it, unlike Boko Haram stealing Church of the Brethren school girls for sex slaves from a school in Nigeria, makes it into the evening news. 

To compulsively return to a period of history when Europeans bought slaves from African Muslims and tribal chiefs and sold them to the colonies which later became the United States which  fought an ugly war to end it, is just not good commentary for a program of music celebrating freedom in Christ.

Fox on the way out? Down? Sideways?

Fox News has been slipping badly lately under new management, but it still has more balanced coverage than the other cable newsy-notes and opinions.  It’s coverage of Trump is only 52% negative as opposed to 98% like the others. I’ve been using EWTN and YouTube to gather a variety of opinions on politics, entertainment and culture.

“Fox News has undergone significant changes in the past year; founder Roger Ailes resigned under a cloud of sexual harassment allegations and died in May at the age of 77, while co-president and longtime producer Bill Shine left the network shortly after O’Reilly.

The network moved former Crossfire host Tucker Carlson into O’Reilly’s old 8 p.m. time slot, and moved its panel show The Five to 9 p.m. Sean Hannity remained on in the 10 p.m. hour.

Fox News is still the most-watched cable news network, but it has faced stronger competition in recent weeks as MSNBC and its star anchor, Rachel Maddow, have made ratings gains due to their focus on critical coverage of President Donald Trump’s administration.”

http://conservativefighters.com/news/

Road trip in Scotland

Brief video of some scenes we saw in the Highlands of Scotland in early June.

https://thescene.com/watch/cntraveler/a-scotland-road-trip?save_video=true

Porch or beach reading

A neighbor brought over Fannie Flagg’s “I still Dream about You” for me to read because there is a Scotland connection in the novel and we had just traveled there. An easy porch or beach chair read for summer. I laughed and laughed although there is a serious topic, or several, wrapped up in the crazy characters that only Flagg can create. There’s a former beauty queen Maggie filled with regrets about how her life turned out, her black best friend Brenda who is always cheating on her diet, their mentor and employer Hazel who was 3’4” tall, Ethel who is 88 with purple hair, and Babs who hates everyone and is also hated by all because she’s so evil. All are real estate agents living in Birmingham, AL, growing up in the 50s and 60s working things out in 2008-2010. There are many twists and surprises, but an easy read.

http://www.southernliving.com/travel/south-central/fannie-flagg

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/09/AR2010110905604.html

Friday family photo--the other woman

Yes, there's another woman in my husband's life.  Her name is Maisie Dobbs.  He fell in love with her in 2015 when I had my book club copy here at the lake, and on a rainy day he picked it up.  He's been a non-reader for most of our married life except for work related items, but Maisie made him a believer.  Our daughter and I found a few more at used book stores and he was off and running, plus she supplied him for birthdays and Christmas.  He has saved this since Christmas so he could enjoy it on the porch. So he won't be left alone on the porch for the rest of the summer our daughter also gave him some Agatha Christie for Father's Day, in hopes of interesting him in a different author.

http://www.jacquelinewinspear.com/in-this-grave-hour.php

Health care costs soared under ACA

The Affordable Care Act was supposed to lower healthcare costs, but it has done just the opposite. Why? Because it ignored the realities of how markets work.

https://www.prageru.com/courses/economics/why-healthcare-so-expensive

But then, the intention was never to reduced costs.  It's always been about forcing us into single payer.

DeVine wants you to HuntRepubicans

I've been blogging since October 2003 and about 1.5 million have visited my page, according to blogger.com statistics. Who knows? I don't know when Blogger started keeping the stats, because I didn't have that capability when I started. But it's certainly more people than read my articles in library journals when I was the veterinary medicine librarian at Ohio State.

This week the most popular article (164) was about that crazy Democrat, James DeVine, who urged his party to hunt down more Republicans after the Scalise shooting. But that was probably just hits on the topic, not actual stop and read. The left is demanding that NRA comment on that terrible tragedy where someone with a concealed carry permit was shot by a policeman, but where is the DNC disavowing a call to kill Republicans? I guess that shows the power of negative news--ropes people in.

Blogging is not the social media darling it was a decade ago, but I find it useful to look things up I was thinking 10-15 years ago. I particularly enjoy my Monday Memories, Thursday Thirteen and Friday Family photos. Yesterday I tried to view my blogs about our 2015 trip to Spain, but see I haven't written them.  I have over 500 photos in the file!

http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/06/19/tucker-carlson-battles-hunt-republicans-democrat-over-steve-scalise-shooting-james-devine

http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/hunt-republicans-tweet-james-devine/2017/06/16/id/796443/

Democrat party values

I do wonder about the values of the Democrats. They say Republicans are awful, vicious, and uncaring for wanting to undo Obamacare, the only federal social plan that didn't get a single Republican vote. The social safety net is ca. 70% of the federal budget and it's bi-partisan--about $60,000 for a family of 4. The 123 wealth transfer programs support huge bureaucracies (part of the deep state) and if Trump suggests streamlining (as did Obama and Bush) the media call it taking a hatchet to the safety net, starving people and putting them on the street.

But what is worse than forcing the poor to buy a product which makes millions for the wealthy investors and face a fine and jail if they don't buy it? What is worse than destroying the health and safety network of millions just so everyone can have a form of Medicaid? Strange values indeed. All yammered by the media to mislead and get Democrats another term in office.

The Democrats' idea of helping the poor is to take as much from you in the form of taxes--income, excise, death, phone, gasoline, sales, pass through (in over under around and through), VAT, etc. then pass it back to you in grants to your states, your educational institutions, your non-profits, your interstates, your transportation bailouts and subsidies, even your churches, all with handsome salaries along the way.

The #1 way to reduce childhood poverty in the U.S.A. is marriage, and not the reinvented kind. With married parents, a child has only about 8% chance of being raised in poverty. A better house, or a better education doesn't do it. Lunch programs from USDA distributed by church volunteers doesn't make a dent. Social justice workshops and summits at your church don't either, except maybe to tamp down a little liberal guilt if the Bible falls open to Matthew 25. You can address guns, cuts in food stamps for illegals, hunger, obesity or education. Where is your concern about marriage, the number one solution?

Paglia on transgenderism and Democrats

"I am highly skeptical about the current transgender wave, which I think has been produced by far more complicated psychological and sociological factors than current gender discourse allows. Furthermore, I condemn the escalating prescription of puberty blockers (whose long-term effects are unknown) for children. I regard this practice as a criminal violation of human rights. It is certainly ironic how liberals who posture as defenders of science when it comes to global warming (a sentimental myth unsupported by evidence) flee all reference to biology when it comes to gender." Camille Paglia

I believe the whole transgender lie is one more way to keep women down and to deprive them of their moral superiority and rights. First tell them to abort their children, tell them marriage doesn't matter, then tell them they are actually men, but that doesn't matter either because men can be women, which makes them better.

Camille Paglia: "Some background is necessary. First of all, I must make my political affiliations crystal clear. I am a registered Democrat who voted for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 primary and for Jill Stein in the general election. Since last Fall, I've had my eye on Kamala Harris, the new senator from California, and I hope to vote for her in the next presidential primary. . .

After Trump's victory (for which there were abundant signs in the preceding months), both the Democratic party and the big-city media urgently needed to do a scathingly honest self-analysis, because the election results plainly demonstrated that Trump was speaking to vital concerns (jobs, immigration, and terrorism among them) for which the Democrats had few concrete solutions. Indeed, throughout the campaign, too many leading Democratic politicians were preoccupied with domestic issues and acted strangely uninterested in international affairs. Among the electorate, the most fervid Hillary acolytes (especially young and middle-aged women and assorted show biz celebs) seemed obtusely indifferent to her tepid performance as Secretary of State, during which she doggedly piled up air miles while accomplishing virtually nothing except the destabilization of North Africa. . . .

In summary: to have any hope of retaking the White House, Democrats must get off their high horse, lose the rabid rhetoric, and reorient themselves toward practical reality and the free country they are damned lucky to live in.

" http://www.weeklystandard.com/camille-paglia-on-trump-democrats-transgenderism-and-islamist-terror/article/2008464

 

Now whiteness has to be the base of policy

Since the bad old days of FDR Democrats/liberals pushed programs most of us could support--and did; better access to education, full time employment (better jobs) for the poor, affirmative action for minorities and women, a safety net for the elderly, special wealth transfers like EITC, Medicaid, low mortgages, TANF, better nutrition in the schools, etc., and some Democrats even acknowledged the importance of marriage. Not any more. Percentage of poverty hasn't budged--even went up during the Obama eight years. So the latest idea from the left is it's all about descendants of disparate nations as different as Germany and India who have a light skin color getting special advantages. That's why there is a wealth gap (although the gap between the Gates familly and the Bruce family is not our race). Is called the asset of whiteness. Guaranteed to cause more victimhood and riots, more votes for Democrats.
http://www.demos.org/publication/asset-value-whiteness-understanding-racial-wealth-gap

Most poor people are white, and Asians are a wealthier, better educated and more motivated group than any of them. But never mind the facts, just vote for the Democrat.

Painting the deck

Choosing a paint color for the deck and porch. I wonder who has the job of assigning those wonderful names in the color fan deck--a frustrated artist, out of work poet, unemployed chef, a computer?

Little lamb
Vanilla milkshake
equilibrium
Fall chill
Dusky dawn
Stargazer
Crushed silk
Namaste
Pristine petal
Symmetry
Cappucino bombe
Hitching post
Coffee kiss
Welcome home
Applesauce cake
Cumberland fog
Grape haze
Positively purple
Crushed tomatoes
https://www.ppgvoiceofcolor.com/collections

All the color "trends" are planed by decorators to see paints, furniture, accessories.

Oh say, can you see, by the dawn's early light

I can see the flag at the end of the dock through the pavilion at Lakeside.  Sunrise was about 6 am and this was on the morning walk on the way back to our cottage. Should get to 91 today, so I may have to get out again and avoid the heat.

Wednesday night picnic at Lakeside

Dinner was all planned. Baked chicken, fresh green beans, potato salad and fresh strawberries. Then on my afternoon walk I went past the park where they were setting up for the community picnic. . . so everything went back into the frig for tomorrow night. Hot dogs, macaroni salad, baked beans, potato chips, watermelon, lemonade and cookies.  Not the healthiest diet, but once in awhile that's OK.

Our Lakeside neighbors, Arlene and Roger

Marcia from Toledo ate with us

The kids love the hoola hoop games after eating
 

Black-ish is just Jim Crow-ish in white face

We don't have cable TV at our Lakehouse, so last night for the first time I watched "Black-ish." Wow. Most racist program I've ever seen on TV. Main character is wealthy advertising executive. whose wife is a doctor. No matter, all whites on show are bigoted, racist, Jim Crow era stereotypes. And an older black woman (relative?) was old timey superstitious media stereotype from the 1930s. I half expected her to roll her eyes and shuffle out of the room. So I looked it up. "Obama loved it." Some may find this "refreshing," but who watches this? Apparently, a lot of Democrats.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/feb/25/series-creator-kenya-barris-on-abc-sitcom-black-ish

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frances-cudjoe-waters/blackish-horrible-parody-_b_5882622.html

Jon Ossoff and Karen Handel

 Mike Huckabee:  "The ballots had barely begun to be counted [6th district Georgia] before angry liberals on Twitter were blasting Ossoff as a terrible candidate who didn’t articulate why working class voters should support him. And yet, when Hillary lost, it could only have been due to a Russian conspiracy. How do they know some Russians didn’t get misled by their iPhone Maps app, end up in Roswell, Georgia, instead of the Republic of Georgia, and stuff the ballot boxes? Hey, there’s as much evidence of that as there is that they colluded with the Trump campaign."

Just what do liberal candidates have to offer the working class voter? More government transfers? Take away their health insurance, doctor and network? Destroy the base of whatever industry they work in because it's not sustainable enough? Keep them away from school choice so their kids have to stay in failing public schools? Bring in more immigrants to compete with them for jobs? Ridicule their Catholic beliefs?

Just wondering. Other than calling deplorables names, just what are the liberal policies?

And just look at the sad angry faces of the media last night.

 " Just two weeks ago, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll had Ossoff up by 7 points, and he lost by about 5. Either the vote swung against him by 12 points in two weeks, or else polls are now the only section of the newspaper less reliable than the Horoscope column." Huckabee

Why do we tax payers need to support Planned Parenthood laundering money through campaigns for Democrats who can then vote to give the baby killer more money?

Update: Wall St. Journal

"Liberals may need some time and space to get over the Georgia result. In the New York Times, Frank Bruni captures the anguish of Democrats—and not just the ones who work in the media industry:

They ached for this seat. They fought for it fiercely. They reasoned that Ossoff had a real chance: Donald Trump, after all, won this district by just 1.5 percentage points. Donations for Ossoff flooded in, helping to make this the most expensive House race in history by far.

Democrats came up empty-handed nonetheless. So a party sorely demoralized in November is demoralized yet again — and left to wonder if the intense anti-Trump passion visible in protests, marches, money and new volunteers isn’t just some theatrical, symbolic, abstract thing."

I guess they don't see how this hateful anti-Trump idiocy is turning people off.

Our trip to Scotland--making new friends, June 2017

Glengoyne Distillery tour

At the pub Clachan in Dornie near Eilean Donan Castle

Norma and Bob at Eilean Donan Castle

Dinner at Dundee Doubletree Hilton

Pat in Edinburgh

Stacey, Deanne, Veronique

Eric and Rowena at Edinburgh Castle

Roger getting ice cream

Emily, Kelly and Stacey at the Pub

Getting golf instructions at St. Andrews

St. Andrews walk with Stacey, me waving, Rowena, Pat, Kelly, Emily, and Deanne

Bonnie and Brian St. Andrews Cathedral ruins

The grief of the Warmbier family

TODD STARNES: "Mr. Warmbier said he was told by the Obama administration to do nothing that would offend or upset the North Koreans. They were not even allowed to put ribbons on a tree. . . President Obama was famous for kicking the can down the road. But sometimes, when you kick the can down the road, people like Otto Warmbier die. This nation has a storied history of standing up to dictators and despots from Hitler to Saddam Hussein. And the time has come for President Trum...p to do what the previous administration was afraid to do – stand up to the North Koreans. The president must send an unequivocal message to Kim Jung Un – harm another American citizen and the Armed Forces of these United States will rain down hell fire on his godforsaken wasteland of a nation."

Although I do not agree with Starnes that this should take us into war with yet another backward Communist, evil nation, there should be something between kicking the can/drawing a red line and all out war.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/06/20/trump-should-rain-down-hell-fire-on-north-korea.html

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/19/family-otto-warmbier-has-died/410115001/

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/19/donald-trump-otto-warmbier-at-least-he-got-home-his-parents/410190001/

We're here on the longest day of the year

This is June 22 sunrise

We got back from Scotland a week-ago, and since we had some obligations in Columbus yesterday,  rather than drive 2.5 hours up on Saturday then 2.5 hours back on Monday, we decided to wait.  Now it is the longest day of the year, so I started my walk about 5:35 a.m.  I walked east on Third (our street) all the way to Poplar Ave. the last north south street inside the gates, then walked north to the lakefront. The sky was a brilliant pink at 6:50 with the sun still hidden, so I paused and watched, maybe 7 minutes.  Then I noticed a piece of sculpture on a rock, so I walked through the grass to get a better look.  It was lovely--realistic, but with movement and grace. I looked at the memorial plaque . . . it was for Katherine Alice Bichsel. Many appropriate flowers and season long plantings surrounded the rock and sculpture.  It was a lovely, peaceful and spiritual moment. I prayed.

The sun popped up very quickly and then went behind a few clouds and I continued on my way, greeting the dog walkers who are always out that time of day.  I decided to look up Ms. Bichsel, assuming I would find a long and useful life with many great grandchildren remembering her fondly.  Years ago I blogged about some of the memorials, taking a notebook with me to jot down the names. It's not easy for me to remember names, numbers or events, so I continued saying her name for the next mile I walked until I got to our cottage, poured myself a cup of coffee, and opened the computer. Not what I had imagined. I did find two Katherine Bichsels who matched my idea, but that was not to be.  This young Lakesider was only 20.

"BICHSEL Katherine Alice "Katie" Bichsel, age 20, of Bexley, died suddenly and unexpectedly Friday, November 7, 2008 in Burlington, Vermont. Katie was born in Cincinnati, OH on July 8, 1988 the oldest daughter of Vivian (Duff) and David Garver Bichsel. Katie graduated summa cum laude from Bexley High School in 2006. She attended the University of Vermont, majoring in Environmental Sciences. Her passions were many and included snowboarding, hiking, WWII history, music, protecting the planet and above all "hanging out" with her many friends. Katie is survived by her parents, Dr. David and Vivian Bichsel; her sisters, Sarah Bichsel and Emily Bichsel; her grandparents, Flora Duff, and The Rev. Dr. Dale and Josephine Bichsel; and a large loving extended family." - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dispatch/obituary.aspx?pid=120045747#sthash.YSvWURAq.dpuf

Her parents are cottage owners here at Lakeside according to our directory, and I know from my own experience they will always miss their child and grieve for what might have been, but I appreciate their sharing her with us in such a beautiful way.

What did Obama do?

The Trump-Putin charges have gone nowhere. Russia hacking the election has zip, nada zilch evidence. What we do know is that Hillary Clinton accepted a lot of money from Russian sources for her foundation while she was Secretary of State, and that the U.S. relationship with Putin and Russia was just fine until well into Obama's second term. Is no one going to ask what did the Obama administration do to create a mess with a former ally? This nothing burger investigation appears to be a lot of smoke to cover up the real fire Obama started with Putin in spring 2014.

 

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/04/obama-putin-debated-ukraine-facts-during-phone-call/

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html

 

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/how-the-obama-vladimir-putin-relationship-died/article/2551463