Black Lives Matter explained by a former supporter, by Savvy, guest blogger

Savvy has lived in South Africa where she was a minority, and has bi-racial children, one who appears Caucasian, and one who doesn’t. She was briefly enamored of the BLM movement.  In her journey to Conservatism, she lost family and friends. Sound familiar? Here’s a list of the beliefs she has come to reject.

Belief 1: “IF YOU DON’T VOTE THE SAME WAY AS ME, YOU’RE A RACIST. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ME ABOUT ANYTHING TO DO WITH RACISM, YOU’RE A RACIST.”

I had deep concerns about the racism of both candidates in the last election. If your side looks glossy white to you, while the other side looks like a pile of bird shit, well, get honest with yourself. Are you

1) using politics as a way to feel superior to other people and then

2) bragging that you are voting for the love of all humankind?

How can you say you’re better than Republicans and that you are loving towards all people? Those two attitudes are incompatible with each other. People don’t vote differently than you because they are bad people. It’s just an ad-hominem attack. Focus on ideas, debunk ideas if necessary, but character attacks benefit only you (and not for very long. They are bad for you, too.). Let’s say, for the sake of demonstration, I don’t think micro-aggressions are always valid concerns, 100% of the time. If you think they are, convince me using research, logic, examples of how they are. There is no way to prove I am not a racist to you if you are determined to think it. But if you are going to call me a racist, I challenge you to prove that I am a racist. If you’re going to attack my character, you should be ready to prove it with demonstrable evidence. If not, your argument is thrown out.

Belief 2: “VIOLENCE IS NOT PREFERRED, BUT PEOPLE CAN’T HELP IT WHEN THEY’VE BEEN IGNORED FOR SO LONG.”

This is the biggest problem I have with BLM. After every violent riot, BLM advocates share a quote by MLK about violence being the language of the unheard. The way they use this quote is dehumanizing. Minorities are just as capable of self control as all people. Having lower expectations for the black community does not raise them to the same level of equality and empowerment that white people experience. I have also been chronically misunderstood and unheard; I do not use my trauma as an excuse to burn random buildings, riot, or assault people I don't even know. Violence is not a tool to convince anyway; it just puts another person on mute. In contrast, respectful debate changes minds. And, no, setting random buildings on fire because you’re mad at another person is not self defense! It’s just being a part of a mob.

Belief 3: “IF YOU ARE NOT SURROUNDED BY DIVERSITY, YOU’RE A RACIST.”

A friend recently told me he was concerned his children would grow up with prejudice because our town is majority white. As the mother of biracial children, this concerned me (My 2 children are ¼ Asian, but one looks lily white and one looks even more Korean than my husband! As the BLM crowd says, one of them “passes for white,” and is “privileged.” Go ahead and throw the family history and heritage out the window to prove a point…). When I was a teenage American living in South Africa, I remember what it felt like when someone said they wanted to hang out with me because they wanted to see what Americans were like. All along, I thought she wanted to be my friend, and then I suddenly had that shock of feeling like an oddity. I never want my children to be used like that at playdates. Passing racism on to your children now looks like selecting your friends because they are black, or just not-white, in the name of diversity instead of liking who they are as a person. If you are a good parent, your kids have good chances of growing up to be decent people who can think through racism for themselves and settle into the belief that every person who has ever been born is equal in the eyes of God.

Belief 4: “IF YOU ARE WHITE AND YOU SAY NOTHING AFTER A MAJOR EVENT INVOLVING RACE IN THE NEWS, YOU ARE EITHER RACIST OR ALLOWING RACISM.”

After every shooting or riot, the constant pull is that you *have* to say something on social media denouncing racism. By now, if you are on my friends list and you don’t know if I’m racist or not, you don’t know me at all. Period. Allow people privacy, to be quiet, to grieve, to think, to process the way they do... Furthermore, it is especially difficult to stick your neck and say something when accusations of racism fly around at the slightest wrong step or unexamined attitude. The practice of denouncing racism nowadays appears to be more about signaling that you’re not a Republican.

Belief 5: “IF YOU ARE WHITE AND YOU ADVOCATE, YOU ARE STILL VALUING YOUR VOICE OVER THE VOICES OF BLACK PEOPLE. LET BLACK PEOPLE SPEAK.”

This belief is in direct opposition to belief number 5, but nobody cares that the Left is wildly inconsistent. White people are encouraged to take a day of silence or just in general not talk too much, because it’s black peoples’ turn to take the mic. Why can’t we all be vocal? The BLM answer is that whites have had the attention for centuries and their voices are more privileged than black voices, so it’s time to let black people take a turn. But any movement that allows a more free society will never silence your voice or anyone else’s. You were created unique by God, your voice is not the same as all white people, your thoughts matter as an individual, not a representative of your race. Free your voice. I owe credit to my friend for teaching me this bit--Any movement that does not empower your voice is not a movement for freedom. If we really want black people to be equal, we must all see them as being UP to the level of freedom, not move whites DOWN to the level of oppression.

Belief 6: “ONLY CERTAIN TYPES OF OPPRESSION COUNT AS OPPRESSION. WHITE PEOPLE DON’T SUFFER AS MUCH AS BLACK PEOPLE.”

Without getting too far into my own personal story, I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD. I’ve gone through EMDR therapy to help my body and soul move out of complex trauma. I do not want to use my story to get ahead in a political debate or prove my point in a way my opponent would look like an asshole for logically refuting me, but so many in the BLM movement (and maaaany other people today) do that with their own stories. They use their wounds as a way to verbally pound someone in a debate, or as excuses to take up actual weapons without the need for self defense. Many people, of every colour, have gone through tremendous suffering and trauma. To you that have, your story of suffering is too precious to use it politically or to one-up others. Guard it and keep it safe from that. If you are tempted to use it that way, focus on what aspect of your heart still needs healing.

Belief 7:  “SINCE WHITES HAVE A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE TOWARDS BLACK PEOPLE, I AM COMPLICIT AS A MEMBER OF THE WHITE RACE.”

Differentiation from my family history was a hard-won battle for me in therapy. I sat on that couch and I sorted out who had done what and what I was and was not guilty of. I am not guilty of the sins of my relatives. Why would I then be guilty of the sins of a few more generations up? Why would I even be responsible for apologizing for something my relative did? I am done carrying the shame of other people’s evil. I am not undoing that difficult healing work any time soon. I am also ¼ Native American. Am I also guilty for the sins of any of my Cherokee and Cree ancestors? Or just my white ones? How does that work?

Belief 8: “NO WHITE MALES NEED APPLY.”

So often, we hear that to “progress” we need to “move into the future.” Has the past taught us nothing? Do we think people made signs like, “No Irish need apply,” or “Whites only,” because they woke up one morning and decided to be a monster? Or maybe they felt there was a good, logical reason for discriminating? Maybe modern day Leftism is just as deceptive. What I do know is that when I look at little white boys and think that people will assume someday that they have an unredeemable character, I know that is discrimination.

 I know that is wrong. So I’ve walked away.

(Posted at the WalkAway website, where former Democrats, progressives, Marxists, socialists, and the totally confused or apathetic, share their stories. )

Border security didn’t begin with President Trump

Please read "Border Security: Immigration and Enforcement between Ports of Entry," Congressional Research Service, Jan. 6, 2012. Before the dry statistical report (yes, terrorists captured at both the northern and southern border) there is an interesting history about how the immigration laws were created and enforced. You'll see there is nothing in the Trump plan and enforcement that was not listed in this history of illegal immigration (and yes, the correct word is illegal alien) of several administrations. In fact, Obama speeded things up a little. Except. Now there's Trump hatred and progressive insanity, and that changes how the enforcement of law is viewed. This is needed as a club to impeach him.

Note about the term Illegal Alien: it is critical that the left destabilize their enemies (the American citizens) by trying to change the meaning of words. They decide "illegal alien" which is the term our government uses for people who don't follow our laws of work permits, immigration, and tourism, is RACIST, and if you use that term, you are a racist, and if your ethnicity is European, then you are a white supremacist whose words must be caught in Big Tech analytics so you can be silenced.

But to continue. . .

"The first large-scale deployment of the National Guard to the border occurred in 2006-2008, when over 30,000 troops provided engineering, aviation, identification, technical, logistical, and administrative support to CBP as part of “Operation Jump Start.”77 President Obama announced an additional deployment of up to 1,200 National Guard troops to the Southwest border on May 25, 2010, with the National Guard supporting the Border Patrol, by providing intelligence work and drug and human trafficking interdiction.78 The 2010 deployment was originally scheduled to end in June 2011, but the full deployment was extended twice (in June and September 2011) before the Administration announced in December 2011 that the deployment would be reduced to fewer than 300 troops beginning in January 2012."

"The second key element of DHS’s border enforcement strategy is tactical infrastructure, including roads, lighting, pedestrian fencing, and vehicle barriers. Tactical infrastructure is intended to impede illicit cross-border activity, disrupt and restrict smuggling operations, and establish a substantial probability of apprehending terrorists seeking entry into the United States.80 The former INS installed the first fencing along the U.S.-Mexican border beginning in 1990, eventually covering the 14 miles of the border east of the Pacific Ocean near San Diego.

Congress expressly authorized the construction and improvement of fencing and other barriers under Section 102(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA; P.L. 104-208, Div. C), which also required (pursuant to Section 102(b)) the completion of a triple-layered fence along the original 14 miles near San Diego. The Secure Fence Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-367) amended IIRIRA Section 102(b) with a requirement for double layered fencing along five segments of the Southwest border, totaling about 850 miles.81 IIRIRA was amended again by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, FY2008 (P.L. 110-161). Under that amendment, the law now requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to construct reinforced fencing “along not less than 700 miles of the southwest border where fencing would be most practical and effective and provide for the installation of additional physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sensors to gain operational control of the southwest border."

https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R42138.pdf

Who killed the Golden State?

Ten million Californians have fled in the last generation. When my family lived there in 1944-45, the Oakies and Arkies were flooding the place--it was the land of opportunity and new beginnings. Now their grandchildren are leaving.

If you believe charging higher taxes is the answer to poverty, educational system failure, violence, bankrupt pension funds, then California should be a lesson for you. Who killed the golden goose and golden state?

The hallmark of all liberal thought--self righteousness.

". . .one of the landmarks of the new California mentality is denial and self-righteousness that assume it is illiberal to notice that a quarter of the nation’s homeless population sleeps on California streets, or that violent crime is 20 percent higher in California than the national median, or that San Francisco ranks No. 1 in per capita property crime rates of all the nation’s largest cities."

Coastal California is a lot like feudal Europe--only richer.

"So there is a separate state of Coastal California, a manor of prosperity. And it is probably the richest urban area in the world, or rather in the history of civilization — drawing on its geostrategic location, long coastline, weather, climate, blue-chip universities, and high-tech industries. Residents have the disposable income and leisure to live the life of aristocrats — and do so if gauged by their lifestyle choices, travel, hired servants, and appurtenances."

Victor Davis Hanson assesses the sad state. https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/01/california-coastal-elites-poor-immigrants-fleeing-middle-class/

University departments’ possible name changes

Michael Rectenwald a professor at NYU suggests in a comment on Facebook some academic department titles to replace those old, tired, worn out ones that have served to make our nation great. I was going to use the word "new," but looking back at things I was writing in the 1990s, they aren't new, just retreads. I was asked to leave a women's studies brown bag luncheon at OSU Main Library in the 90s because I am white.

"Non-English Literature, UnAmerican Studies, Gender-Changing Studies, Women's-and-the-Men-Who-Think-They're-Women Studies, African American (Affirmative Action) Studies, Political Pseudo-Science, History (and the dead white men who belong there), Foreign Languages (English), Fat (Shaming-Skinny-People) Studies, Religious (Atheism) Studies, etc."

Then each of those non-white, non-American studies departments can add their own "Diversity and Inclusion" sub-unit and further bloat the administrative staff of universities.  This is usually a two-fer and good for hiring women and minorities to raise the percentage for the department.a

Waving their little flags . . .

Drifting along. . .

 

Why Trump and the Deplorables are hated.  They’ve unsettled the deep state and its business as usual.  Now Democrats are hoping to take us back to the good old days of the 19th century and the 1930s.

Hate crime—not if it’s a black shooter?

“A 20-year-old man in Texas was arrested Saturday and charged in the death of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes, who was shot and killed while riding in a car with her family in Houston. Another man is being held in connection with the shooting but has not yet been charged, a lawyer for the girl's family said.

Eric Black Jr., 20, was charged with capital murder and appeared in court early Sunday morning, wearing handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit. He was ordered held without bail. A prosecutor said Black admitted to driving the car when his passenger opened fire.” CBSNews. 

No comment by CBS on the media frenzy when one of the children had said it was a white man, but Eric Black Jr., is black.

Jazmine’s life was brutally snuffed out.  I have always been puzzled why when it is “labeled” a hate crime that somehow makes it more “hateful,” especially when a white killed by a black or a woman killed by a man, doesn’t get that sort of national media attention. It was even being linked to 2 other killings.

Now it is “just a tragic case of mistaken identity.”  That’s the first thing I thought of when I heard of this happening, because that’s what it is in the TV crime shows.

“Although witness descriptions of a white man in his forties at the scene prompted hate crime speculation and led civil rights activist Shaun King to offer a substantial reward for the killer or killers, at least one of the suspects currently in custody is African-American.

Prior to the arrests, Merritt said, “We do believe that it [the murder] was racially motivated in part because our nation at this moment is highly racially charged.”

Community activist Deric Muhammad linked Jazmine’s murder with another murder of two African-Americans in Houston on Aug. 30, 2017.

“It’s apparent black people are under attack in this particular part of the city,” Muhammad said.

The girl’s death sparked an outpouring of concern from around the nation. Retired professional basketball star Shaquille O’Neal and veteran Houston Police Officer Kenneth Miles recently said they would pay for the girl’s funeral. “

https://www.foxnews.com/us/at-least-one-suspect-in-custody-in-jazmine-barnes-shooting-death-reports-say

Different standards for Democrat women

Christmas decor, one last time

   This is NOT my dining room—it’s my neighbor Jan’s.  Each year she does something a little different.  I’m so happy she has shared her ideas with us—she even decorates the chairs. She is a fabulous decorator—even does store windows and others’ homes.

I’ll finish the season today with Sunday brunch for our church group.  There are 9 of us which is a bit of a squeeze in our small dining room, so I’m using 2 sets of Christmas plates and a blue checked table cloth with blue and white plates I’ve had over 20 years. Our menu: turkey tetrazzini, fresh fruit cups, hot rolls, and perhaps mimosas made with Italian sparkling wine Prosecco (which we received as a gift) if I can figure it out.  Then for dessert, some candies and cookies received as Christmas gifts I’d like to have finished early in the year so I don’t get the munchies while blogging.

Today is Epiphany, we celebrate the gospel being given to the gentiles.

And my Christmas dress. If you are an elderly snowflake, close your eyes.

It’s not socialism, Jim

My Facebook friend (whom I actually know face to face) Jim, an electrician from Cleveland, keeps trying to convince people that socialism is OK because Sweden is a socialist country and look how great they are (they are also among the highest performing and wealthiest in the U.S. ethnic groups).

“We did have a period in the 1970s and 1980s when we had something that resembled socialism: a big government that taxed and spent heavily. And that’s the period in Swedish history when our economy was going south.”

Per capita gross domestic product fell. Sweden’s growth fell behind other countries. Inflation increased.
Even socialistic Swedes complained about the high taxes."

https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/01/04/sweden-isnt-socialist/?

Will Atlas Shrug in 2020? Michael Smith guest blogger

Michael Smith, who admits he voted for Mitt Romney rather than the Democrat for Senate:

“There is nobody in this country who got rich on their own. Nobody. You built a factory out there - good for you. But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn't have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory... " Senator Elizabeth Warren, 2020 Democrat Presidential Candidate (2011)

"If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business – you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet." President Barack Obama, Democrat (2012)

"The President states a simple truth here. Business owners across America do not build their own roads and bridges, sewers and water systems; they do not single-handedly maintain the health of their employees; they do not finance their own court system; and they did not build their own Internet to market and sell their products. The public provides these things, together. The government manages our shared financial resources to make these things happen. That’s the government’s job." George P. Lakoff, cognitive linguist and progressive philosopher (2012)

The common fallacy in these quotes is that business owners across America did build that - they pay taxes specifically to support the creation and maintenance of roads and bridges, sewers and water systems, they pay for insurance to provide health care for their employees and they do pay for court systems from those very same taxes. The fact that other individual citizens in American are compelled to contribute through coercive taxation is immaterial. These arguments are like the crowing of the Obama administration about the number of "successful signups" for Obamacare and the subsequent fawning coverage by the media - shocker of all shockers - people who were commanded to sign up under penalty of law signed up! Excelsior! The program is so popular it had to be made mandatory.

Want to see evidence of what happens to coercive participation when it is no longer coercive?
Just have a look at that right to work laws and the removal of confiscatory union dues has done to union membership.

It is also notable that government seldom does such work itself, it hires businesses from the private sector to do it. For example, the Hoover Dam, cast as a great accomplishment of progressive government, was actually built by capitalist private contractors - the very independent businesses that progressives love to hate.

The idea that the individual owes his success to the collective and therefore should pay the collective with his productivity is nothing new. Here's he very same idea that preceded the above statements by over 50 years:

"The man in Bedroom A, Car No. 1, was a professor of sociology who taught that individual ability is of no consequence, that individual effort is futile, that an individual conscience is a useless luxury, that there is no individual mind or character or achievement, that everything is achieved collectively, and that it's masses that count, not men."  ~ Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged" (1957)

We now have a House controlled once again by Randian looters - but this time, there are a batch of newbies who eschew the custom of hiding their true motives and desires. The Democrats are going to have a train car load of radical leftists running for president. The next two years is going to be as interesting on the Democrat side as 2015 and 2016 were on the GOP side.

One wonders if 2020 will be the year Atlas actually shrugs.

Defending life

There will be those who believe it's right to reverse a drug overdose (a choice), or that a woman should be able to take male hormones under the delusion she is a gay male while pregnant, but question whether reversing a chemical abortion violates a woman's choice. A doctor actually had to defend this life saving method.

https://www.lifenews.com/2018/07/20/woman-takes-abortion-pill-to-kill-her-twin-babies-pro-life-doctor-saves-them-before-it-can-take-their-lives/?

Trump Derangement Syndrome among Democrats

I received this e-mail from a “friend” of 65 years.  She was writing my cousin and not content with just gossiping, she sent me a copy! I don’t understand what bitterness is behind trying to turn family members against each other. It’s evidence of the corrosive affect Trump Derangement Syndrome has had on an otherwise intelligent, nice person—and it’s definitely out there, destroying friendships, the work place and family relationships.   But it’s all coming from the Democrats--and they've fallen to new lows, as this hate filled e-mail demonstrates. I follow the WalkAway Facebook page which I occasionally re-post here, and it is shocking to read, especially from the gay community and minorities, the kind of hate being directed at them by Democrats because they support Trump.

This was my transgression (besides voting for Trump—my last choice out of an excellent group of candidates who has accomplished far more than I could have hoped for). I sent her a photo of a dress bought with the gift card from my daughter, and of my “new” $3 dress I bought at the Discovery Shop (cancer resale shop)—I guess I won’t send her the one of my blue and purple Coldwater Creek blouse I bought at Volunteers of America for $6. Don’t want to flaunt my wealth.

  “Cousin Norma has been sending her old classmates and most of her relatives photos of her in dresses! She send new phtos of herself all the time..She does not have enough to do and  too damn much money. She works on herself 24/7 whne she isn't blogging her right wing crap..I feel so sorry for her. I know we change as we get older-I for sure, am not the same girl I was at 18-thak God..But to chance to such self-centered me-me me-that type of change...some say she was always like that maybe she was but it now is unacceptable for friendship... It is all for show...I feel sorry for Joanne and Karen and Julie.. and Norma's Trump shut down the government in a brat fit...and take off on Romney when he gets it! Keep in touch...we need to support each other until this guy is gone...think of it-if he lasts two more year what can he still do! Scares the crap out of us!

She's scared of what Trump can do in 2 more years?  Like a better economy than I can remember (I made more in TIAA-CREF first quarter than I ever did working), lower unemployment for blacks and minorities in the history of keeping statistics, protecting our borders (although I think Obama was called the Deporter in Chief), speaking up for the unborn, uncovering the muck and evil in the deep state swamp, de-nuking North Korea, outstanding court appointments,  establishing fair trade agreements, lowering our taxes, exposing the hypocrisy and nastiness of the Democrat Party which has now become the Socialist Party, and standing up to the Mueller coup and crowd.

 Economic expansions don't die of old age, Ben Bernanke said, they get murdered, and this won't last.  And she will be dancing in the streets if there is another recession because it will hurt Trump. That's how much Democrats hate.

“ 

Jennifer, a veterinarian, warns us

“After the first week of the Dems controlling the house, if people can't see they are AGAINST Americans and totally for a globalist NWO agenda, you must be blind. That or they just want to be sure Trump doesn't do anymore good because they want control back. They don't care about YOU, they care about controlling the country!

They call border walls immoral yet they have walls around their own homes and security.

They don't want to spend $5B for border security despite Border Patrol telling America it works and we need it but then they propose increasing taxpayer money sent to other countries by $12B!

They want to raise our taxes despite the policy changes that have more Americans working, higher wages, and more jobs created all the time because of lower taxes and trade deals.

Americans are working again. More people off welfare and more blacks and Hispanics working than ever before. Wages are up. And the Libs want to remove all the policies that made this happen?

Who is the enemy of the American people? Who is wanting us to send our money to OTHER countries? Who is just fine with allowing people to break our laws on the border and sanctuary cities and treat them better than our own citizens?

WAKE UP AMERICA! Stop falling for the con and use some common sense. America is working again, and the Dems are against it either because they hate America, they don't want Trump to succeed helping America, or both.

How Christians contributed to sexual confusion

New York now has an x plan for birth certifications.  Baby can be male, female or nothing.

Birth control and abortion are basic tenets of feminism which is rooted in Marxism and anti-western values. Women must give their lives to the state, not to family. American Christian churches began accepting birth control around 1930 after the Anglicans decided it was OK. The result was surging divorce rates, living together without marriage, and same sex marriage, because once marriage no longer includes procreation, it too has lost its value. In a very short time we now have a culture that doesn't even recognize biological sex, let alone God's plan for marriage.

Are you contributing to early deaths of women?

Planned Parenthood does about 320,000 abortions a year, more than any other group in America, and its new CEO says she wants to expand abortions across the U.S. If they were really an ethical organization (unfortunately they get our tax money which is then laundered to support Democrats) with the best intentions for women, they would be working to reduce abortions, not increase them. The death rate from all causes, including homicide and suicide, is higher for women who have abortions, and increases with each abortion.

https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/23/4/569/427991

“Risk of death was more than six times greater among women who had never been pregnant compared with those who only had birth(s). Increased risks of death were 45%, 114% and 191% for 1, 2 and 3 abortions, respectively, compared with no abortions after controlling for other reproductive outcomes and last pregnancy age. Increased risks of death were equal to 44%, 86% and 150% for 1, 2 and 3 natural losses, respectively, compared with none after including statistical controls. Finally, decreased mortality risks were observed for women who had experienced two and three or more births compared with no births. “

Giving life to another has a protective affect on women.

Reading to children

 

Sounds wonderful, but as a mother who read to her children every day, and who took them to the library, and bought them books, I don't believe this. It's good cuddle time, it's enjoyable for parent and child, but not every child enjoys book reading.

“The commission spent two years poring through thousands of research projects conducted in the previous quarter century, and in 1985 issued its report, Becoming a Nation of Readers. Among its primary findings, two simple declarations rang loud and clear:

“The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.”1 “It is a practice that should continue throughout the grades.”2 The commission found conclusive evidence to support reading aloud not only in the home but also in the classroom.

In their wording—“ the single most important activity”—the experts were saying reading aloud was more important than work sheets, homework, book reports, and flash cards. One of the cheapest, simplest, and oldest tools of teaching was being promoted as a better tool than anything else in the home or classroom— and it’s so simple you don’t even need a high school diploma in order to do it.”

The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease
(Penguin, 2013, 7th edition).

Everyone’s a victim, if she feels it (except white males)

https://www.prageru.com/videos/facts-dont-care-about-your-feelings

Has someone used the wrong pronoun?  Opened a door for you?

Mitt’s 2012 campaign, assessment from a friend

Those of us who supported Mitt Romney in 2012 are terribly disappointed in his bizarre behavior before he’s even sworn in as a Senator.  We didn’t need one more RINO Never Trumper in DC.

“Mitt’s campaign was lackluster and lacked sending a message that enticed people.  We went to one of his rallies here and it was pretty much boring—verbatim of all talks he did over and over.  And I was disappointed that there was no explanation why conservatism is priceless.  Now I know.  He’s mostly Democrat.  Flakey.  The two of them need to have head adjustments.  Mitt busy being virtuous.  Sometimes the country needs bombastic.  Sorry Mitt.  You don’t get it.  Waiting to see what he intends to accomplish by his mere appearance in the Washington fray.  You got it.  I’m irritated.  I hope he learns something of value in his journey. “

At the fitness center

 

I haven’t noticed any increase in traffic—must be fewer resolutions to exercise and lose weight this year.

About a month ago I mentioned a man I was watching who was having a huge struggle using his walker, but who wouldn’t accept help from anyone. It would take him about 5 minutes to get from the door to the rowing machine.  I would watch him each time I’d decide I really didn’t want to walk a mile on the Treadmill, then I’d keep going when I saw how hard he was working to build up his legs

Then one day I saw him taking a few steps without the walker, and then he stopped using the walker all together.  Another member told me his injury was from a failed surgery to fix something else.  Then this week he was hit and knocked down by a car in the parking lot walking into the building!  He came in and exercised anyway, but we both think the police should have been called.  The woman who hit him used the excuse she wasn’t wearing her hearing aids!

I met a woman at the fitness center around Thanksgiving who is really pleasant and attractive and in excellent shape.  She’s usually finishing about the time I arrive (which is rather early) and works somewhere nearby. She has 11 dogs, 5 cats, a pot bellied pig, and 4 horses and lives around the Johnstown area.  She says the pig is about 9-10 years old and is rather elderly for a pig.  She showed me his photo on her smart phone.  I haven’t seen photos of her grandchildren, but I know she has at least two.

Week-end plans?

January resolutions

 

1)  While watching the evening news, I resolve to do one page of 6th grade math a day.  So far, I’ve done 2 pages and have an A+ average. I need to review what is a numerator and denominator—must have covered that in an earlier grade.*

2)  And on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Lifetime Fitness I’ll do 2 sets of 15 instead of 2 sets of 10. So far, since yesterday was Wednesday I up to date on this one.

3)  A third resolution was to clean out one drawer a day, but when I started, the first 2 things I removed was my mother’s address book which required great study and a blog, and the second was a letter from my brother in September 2016, and after I came out of my faint, I was too weak to continue.  I may have to change that one a month.

4) The fourth resolution for January has already been scratched—play my trombone daily.  What was I thinking?

*

Guest blogger Laura on why she left the Democrat party to vote for Trump

“I was raised in a Catholic family that always voted Democrat. I clearly remember my parents saying the Democrats are for the poor the Republicans are for the rich. I struggled with issues growing up, having a father that abused me physically ,and mentally which sent me in a world win of depression, and other addictions.  Fast forward to when I started voting--of course, I voted Democrat--my Father was an Electrician, and Mom worked full time in retail. I noticed my father leaning towards Republicans at this time, and again I was young, and didn't pay much attention to politics, unlike this day and age. I voted for Clinton twice, and Obama twice; the second time I was weary, but did it anyway. I started to see him divide this country, so that's when I really started to do some homework.

When Hillary ran, there was no way I was voting for her or Bernie as I do not believe in Socialism, and that's exactly what the Democrats became, and fully acknowledged it. The old Democrats were gone. The party my parents voted for were gone, taken over by horrible people with many skeletons in their closets that went for both sides in my opinion. [I was being] called names because I didn't trust or agree with Hillary when just 10 years before her stances were completely opposite. She basically lied about so much; no way in good conscience could I vote for her.

Here comes Trump down that elevator. I thought originally he was a joke, but the more I actually listened, I did my own research. I found him to be genuine for his love of our Country. So there it was, I was voting for Trump, had my Trump signs out in my yard! Some of my friends didn't understand and  said that he is racist because they listen to CNN or just follow like sheep. The hardest person was my best friend of 25 years, a gay male. We have been through thick, and thin together and unfortunately to this day his hate for our President is overwhelming, so we just don't talk about politics, and I block him from seeing my Trump posts. It's much easier then him going off on my Facebook about the President.

I have also researched things about our Border, let me tell you it is much worse then anyone thinks besides little kids being dragged across. There are Cartels bringing them over, and doing horrible things to the women. That's not including the drugs, sex trafficking is a huge issue that no one wants to talk about. We need more Border Security, we need a wall. This is not a joke, it is a mess out there, and some of the Border a 5 year old can jump over.

My husband is in the National Guard, and was also in the Air Force at 19. He is still in the National Guard at 49 he also opened my eyes to things I had no idea about, like the funding being cut to crap in Obama years, and so much more. I also have a daughter from a previous relationship who is gay, I love her dearly, and originally she hated President Trump with a passion. She's in college, and being gay so of course automatically being "labeled " a liberal. I try, and get her to listen to Brandon [leader of Walkaway], and she actually agreed with him on some things so there is hope for her as long as the college doesn't try to brain wash her, being a gay women you’re automatically suppose to be a liberal apparently. These are the people we need to reach out to, the young who are not educated, and just follow their friends, along with the gay community. I understand their feelings because that's all they hear unless they take the time to really research like I did.

I changed from a Democrat to Republican on paper for President Donald Trump, and will vote for him again. He is an outsider, kind of what I was all of my life. I love his take no crap attitude that some people find repulsive. I cannot ever see myself voting Democrat again, not with the left liberal agenda and not anyone who agrees with socialism. I am unfortunately in a State that will never vote for our President, but I will, and continue too support him.

I see these groups of people trying to keep this Country divided. We cannot let that happen--there is so much more to all of us. I will say this, 2020 will not be easy, they didn't see a Trump win coming last time, now they do. They are doing everything they can to divide us, take down conservative pages or just people who aren't conservatives per se, but free thinkers . . . [and a few personal thoughts for people on the Walkaway Facebook page]

That fish wrapper, Washington Post

If it were paper, it would be good to wrap the garbage. I glanced at the headlines in my e-mail Washington Post today, and noted 15 of the 20 articles were simply rants against Trump, or supporting those who have dissed him like Nancy Pelosi and Mitt Romney. The others, if I deep dived, would probably have swipes at the President, like the article on China's economy, or dysfunction in Congress which probably blame him. I did see an article about Spectrum (our cable carrier), so I'm not sure if that was about Trump, but I'm sure it can be twisted to fit the narrative.

The anti-Trump articles bring in vast amounts of money to the MSM, and they are first of all, capitalists trying to survive in an increasing competitive news field. And sometimes capitalism can be very dirty—like yelling hate speech at their competitors or trying to stop their stream of income through online payments.

A book review in Forreston, 1949

 

At least I think it was 1949. . . that’s the year the book was published. This book was made into a movie in 1952 starring Cary Grant and Betsy Drake.

I don’t think I read any of those books she recommended, but I do remember Jimmy Lewis who had a wonderful voice and white blond hair, and Davis Folkerts, a precocious piano player. Davis must have been about 10 years old when he performed for the ladies. He retired as professor of music from Central College in Pella, IA, in 2017 and was still playing the organ at 79. He learned to play the instrument in the sixth grade according to the local paper which covered his retirement 2 years ago.

I found this clipping inside her address book which seems to be from about 1990-2000. It’s full of names I remember, many who died that decade, according to her notes.  I’m not sure how I inherited either the address book or the clipping inside it.  I’m sure she didn’t put it in there.

But it’s fun to think of her at 37, giving a book review—I don’t remember her enjoying public speaking--getting out of the house and chatting with ladies of the community may have been an adventure. As I recall, the local library was a volunteer effort, open only a few hours a week, and run by my first grade teacher, Miss Flora.

Exercise ideas (not goals, not resolutions) for the New Year (just January)

I’m not a goal setter (I’ve written on this numerous times), but I am a problem solver. So a year ago I used my Silver Sneakers on my insurance plan to join an exercise facility. (I had originally joined one next to Panera’s in 2015 but bursitis ended that.)  Didn’t like the first one I tried on Bethel Rd.  (it has since closed) and have now been at Lifetime Fitness on Henderson about a year.  I ride a stationary bike for three miles, walk on the treadmill for one mile, and three times a week I do resistance exercises using the machines, mainly working my arms.

“Vigorous stationary bicycling is the best weight-loss exercise among gym activities, according to the “Harvard Heart Letter.” It burns 782 calories per hour in 155-pound people and 932 calories per hour in 185-pound people. Moderate stationary bicycling burns 520 and 622 calories per hour in the same people. Vigorous exercise raises your heart rate to 70 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate; moderate exercise raises your heart rate to 55 to 70 percent of its maximum. The maximum heart rate is 220 heartbeats per minute minus age. In contrast, walking 4.5 mph, the fastest speed most people can walk without changing their technique and becoming power walkers, burns 372 and 444 calories per hour in 155- and 185-pound people.”

https://healthyliving.azcentral.com/stationary-bicycle-vs-walking-exercise-9889.html

I do 3.5 mph three times during the one miler on the treadmill and get to 104 heartrate then drop back to 2.5 mph. When on the stationary bike I also increase the heart rate 3 times in the 3 miles to 104.  On either, it’s about 25 minutes. So I’d have to recalculate the above figures, but it looks like an hour on the bike burns more calories than an hour walking, even at a moderate pace.  Also the bike doesn’t bother my hips or knees.

My plan for January is to increase the resistance machines to 2 sets of 15.  I’m currently doing 2 sets of 10.  When the instructor showed me last January, she started me on 2 sets of 20—which I knew immediately wasn’t going to work for me.  If you pull or injure something you have 2 sets of nothing as you sit at home eating another slice of toast with cheddar cheese.

Why Fox is better for News

Fox News is far more reliable than CNN or MSNBC for this reason—it separates the news programs from the opinion shows, and you are never confused about which you’re watching. I may only watch 10 minutes of the morning chit chat, or 10 minutes of the 6 o’clock news, but I’m never puzzled about whether it’s news or opinion. The other networks not only ridicule and demean Trump, they also belittle his supporters, which doesn’t seem like a good plan to draw in viewers. But they don’t really need to add people who have different viewpoints because Trump has made so much money for them because the haters tune in to get their latest fix of Trump derangement.

I use a wide variety of sources from print, to digital to YouTube commentary to TV news shows. EWTN nightly news.  Jordan Peterson’s channel. Lionel Nation on YouTube.  I can’t help but see the broadcast media, and Fox always shows what’s going on in the Clinton News Network, etc. Occasionally I even watch or listen to PBS, but it’s a challenge because they don’t even realize the narrowness of their writers and reporters and therefore can’t offer anything right of center. Those other avenues of alternate opinions are being challenged however; the leftist cabal is pressuring them not to carry conservative voices, nor to accept payment methods which would dry up alternate viewpoints very quickly.

One of the nasty characteristics about a capitalist system (and the news networks depend on investors and advertising) is you need to destroy or block your competition. That use to be by offering a better product, but today it’s done with smears against personalities or owners. Find a few “non-profits” to call them racist or homophobic, and you’re on your way to a clear course to the big money.

Reading at the fitness center

I usually take something along to the fitness center to read while I'm on the cycle. A guy stopped and asked me what I was reading. "An article on Marxism," I said. His eyes widened. Then I explained that Michael Rectenwald is a former communist, NYU professor, who has seen the destructiveness and damage in that system. So I was reading his recent article in New English Review which explains why it's no use trying to convince the communist with arguments, evidence or pathos that the equitable price of a workers' paradise cannot be millions of lives. He thinks that like him, they'll just have to "hear the screams" themselves.

https://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=189524&sec_id=189524

https://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=189367&sec_id=189367

Mitt Romney’s jealous temper tantrum

It's a shame about Romney (Flake 2.0). He lost to the most narcissistic, race baiting president ever, who made us a weak laughing stock around the world.  Mitt was Mr. Nice Guy. He's now attacking the only Republican who could win against the entrenched leftist culture.  Romney is finally showing some spirit and fight which he didn't have in 2012, but it's 6 years too late

Remember when Trump was selecting his future cabinet in Trump Tower and Romney was called in.  Not sure what the interview was for, but apparently he didn’t make the cut.  Holds grudges like a woman.

Homeless in Columbus

There was an odd juxtaposition of articles in Monday's Columbus Dispatch (December 31, 2018).

1) Immigrant who is a janitress bought and fixed up a run down home in Linden area and is helping to revitalize the area (photo--really cute home, she's on the porch), "Affordable housing key to revitalized Linden." Like other home owners she is happy to see home values increasing as a result of her determination and hard work.

2) Terrible homeless problem in Columbus, higher than during the recession and higher than the other parts of Ohio, and there is a need for the new law (January 2, 2019) to prevent evictions or there will be more homelessness. And the writer looks to Homeport to continue providing more affordable housing (government money). "Resolved for 2019: It's time to decrease local homelessness." https://www.dispatch.com/opinion/20181231/editorial-resolved-for-2019-its-time-to-decrease-local-homelessness

I wrote about this "problem" over a decade ago at my blog, pointing out that Columbus Housing Partnership over 20 years (now 30) had millions and millions in government grants to "solve the housing problem" in Columbus. It created Homeport in 2004. Based on the just the money, there should be no low income person in Columbus without housing. Except. https://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2008/11/cityliving-network-and-homeport-of.html

Homelessness is just not about affordable housing. It's alcoholism, drug use, poor living skills, chronic illnesses, bad family relationships, mental illness, and the nanny state.

Dave Barry asks

“Is there anything good we can say about 2018? Only this: It got us out of 2017. But even that didn’t work out as we hoped.

As you recall, we, as a nation, spent all of 2017 obsessing over 2016: the election, the Russians, the emails, the Mueller probe, the Russians, the Russians, the Russians. … That was all we heard about, day after soul-crushing day, for the entire year.

So when 2018 finally dawned, we were desperately hoping for change. It was a new year, a chance for the nation to break out of the endless, pointless barrage of charges and countercharges, to move past the vicious, hate-filled hyperpartisan spew of name-calling and petty point-scoring, to end the 24/7 cycle of media hysteria, to look forward and begin to tackle the many critical issues facing the nation, the most important of which turned out to be …

… the 2016 election.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2018/12/30/feature/dave-barrys-year-in-review-2018/?

In November. . .

For their part, the Democrats appeal to voters with a three-pronged message:

Prong One: The Democrats are the party of fairness, diversity and inclusion.

Prong Two: Anybody who disagrees with the Democrats about anything is Hitler.

Prong Three: But more racist. [and a few Democrats I know certainly fit this category because believing in borders is obviously racist]

Meet The Nativity

A Christmas comedy in 4 parts.  One of the best I’ve seen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvmh99alpJk&feature=share

Jesus still changes things.

Best lines: When boyfriend is asked if he has a gift (for baby Jesus) he says, "I have nothing," and when the step-mother is asked if she wants to hold the baby, she says, "But my hands are dirty."

On snazzy start up watch companies

My ongoing discussion with customer service, Kimberly.

“I have the feeling you kids have never talked to your grandparents.  Wouldn’t we all be saving a lot of time if the company just included instructions that are on the website with the nice packaging?  Just a thought.  I paid $300. That’s $200 more than I ever paid for a watch.

The least I should get is instructions.  I bought a $10 toaster at WalMart and have instructions in 3 languages.  Happy New Year.”

Norma

Advice on plurals, Ohio Farmer 8(3):23, January 15, 1859

Remember, though box

in the plural makes boxes

The plural of ox

Should be oxen, not oxes.

And remember, though fleece

In the plural is fleeces,

The the plural of goose

Aren’t gooses nor geeces.

And remember, though house

In the plural is houses

The plural of mouse

Should be mice, not mouses.

All of which goes to prove

That grammar a farce is

For where is the plural

of rum and molasses?

There are many versions of this poem on the internet, and most start with ox and oxen, and some include papoose, man, vine, etc. But this just shows people were having fun with it 160 years ago. I copied it on the back of scrap card when I was writing an article about women writers for this journal for Serials Librarian. It's possible there are more cards, and they are in the dark recesses of my desk.  I had opened a drawer wondering if I needed to make a New Year’s Resolution about cleaning my desk!

There are also many explanations in Quora on how all these plurals happened, and they don’t seem to agree with each other.

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-word-oxen-used-for-the-plural-of-ox-and-not-oxes

Welcome to Flight #2019

Seen on the Internet--a flight plan for 2019.

Hello, welcome to Flight #2019. We are prepared to take off into the New Year! Please make sure your Attitude and Blessings are secured and locked in an upright position. All self-destructive devices should be turned off at this time. All negativity, hurt and discouragement should be put away. Should we lose Altitude under pressure, during the flight, reach up and pull down a Prayer. Prayers will automatically be activated by Faith. Once your Faith is activated you can assist other passengers. There will be NO BAGGAGE allowed on this flight. The Captain (GOD) has cleared us for takeoff. Destination GREATNESS.

Some come to the New Year with great sadness and loss

A note on Facebook from our friend Sue in California.  We’ve known her in person about 15 years, but knew of her years before that because she’s such a close friend of Bob’s sister, Debbie.  Sue spent a week with us in Lakeside in 2017, and by the end of the week I think she knew half the people in town—she’s just has that kind of super personality.  She and her first husband had 3 sons, and they lost one, Michael, late in 2018. She had to leave her home in California and go to Oregon to live and care for him after he was released (briefly) from the hospital.  We were one of the many friends privileged to have a thank you note from Michael in his handwriting before he lost the use of his hands.

“Before 2018 ends, I want to make sure I thank all of my family and friends for all your love and support. It has been the most difficult year of my life and for Kevin and Chris as well. Without all of your support it would have been even worse.

We appreciate all the food baskets, flowers, plants, gift cards, money towards plane tickets, letters and cards that we have received and are still receiving over the last 8 months. Michael loved them too. If you sent them during the brief time he was out of the hospital in October, you received a handwritten thank you card from him. Those were the last notes he ever wrote. Sometime in early November he lost the ability to use his hands to write.

My beloved coworkers even donated some of their vacation time so I would receive full pay for the month of December.

Tonight is brutally hard for me to go into 2019 without his midnight phone call. He always called me to say “Happy New Year Mom” and to let me know he was safe. I know he will be saying it, I just won’t be able to hear his voice.

God bless you all in 2019 and know that in your time of need, I will be there for you as well.❤️❤️❤️”

Happy 48th Anniversary Jeanne and Bob

 

I’ve never seen them looking better.  This fall they began home sharing and are now in a household with 4 generations, their daughter and husband, their grandson, and his twin girls—plus Diva the dog.  There is lots of activity, which has been wonderful for Bob who has been ill.

10 tips for year-end estate and financial planning

We may not be in a position to do #6 (gift up to $30,000 to an individual if married), but we all need to do #10, organize our records for 2019, and shred documents no longer needed for retention.

Also, in 2018, you can contribute up to $18,500 in your employer-sponsored retirement plan (i.e., 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the Federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan). Employees aged 50 or older who participate in such plans can contribute an additional $6,000 in "catch-up" contributions. #3

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/year-end-estate-and-financial-planning-checklist-make-your-list-and-check-it-twice

Ten resolutions from the American Medical Association

AMA's 10 resolutions for the New Year. I'll need another list. Already have done all of these.

1. Know your risk for type 2 diabetes--
2. Be more physically active—
3. Know your blood pressure numbers—
4. Reduce your intake of processed foods, especially those with added sodium and sugar—
5. Take antibiotics only as prescribed--
6. Alcohol only in moderation, up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men--
7. Quit tobacco and nicotine, declare your home and car smoke-free --
8. Properly dispose of any leftover medication and never share--
9. Stay up-to-date on vaccines—
10. Manage stress—

https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-offers-10-health-recommendations-new-years-resolutions

Baby new year 2019—Monday Memories

My mother kept a "commonplace book," in which she pasted poems, cartoons, articles from magazines, and things she'd hand copied or typed from books. I see familiar names--McCall's, Chicago Daily News, Farm and Ranch, Christian Herald, and Rockford Morning Star. As a child I would sit and look through it often--a small, 3-ring black leather notebook. I particularly enjoyed the poem, "For a female cat named Horace," because it reminded me of my friend's cat "Butch" who populated Forreston, IL with kitties and the one about how to make a recipe taste like mother's--walk 5 miles before dinner. She may have been saving clippings in a box for years, but the first item was the baby New Year 1946 with a broom greeting old man 1945 giving him a terrible mess. So here it is again, Mom, for 2018-2019. The world is still a mess and we need you.

I wrote about her commonplacebook in January  2010, and noted:

“Her final hand written entry (in the scanned copy) is undated; but it was near the end of her life--perhaps the end of 1999. She died in January 2000. There is no attribution other than her name.

If
Each day we fill a page
The year a volume makes
These last ten books are very full
of joys
changes
sorrow
growth.
Gently place this year on the shelf--
if there is room.
Close the decade.

Tickle Me Elmo is for all ages

This is a photo of my nephew David apparently doing a little emergency repair or battery replacement on his grandson’s Tickle Me Elmo.

Someone had given a Tickle Me Elmo to my mother-in-law (maybe us, I don’t remember) when she was in a nursing home.  She loved that toy and would squeeze it, and would just beam when it laughed.  We inherited it after her death in 1998. Bob kept it on a shelf in his office, and one day I suppose the battery malfunctioned and it began vibrating and giggling on its own. Sort of creepy. Not sure what became of it—perhaps we donated it, because it’s not in his office now.  The photo is from 2006.

 

Our mothers in 1993.

Just a little word--at

A very common phrase among Christians is, "God will meet you where you're at," and it just hurts my ears. I heard it three times in worship this morning. What is the purpose of "at?" What does it link? Why not, "God will meet you where you are."

So I looked at a grammar page and found, "We meet you where you’re at and bring you where you want to go with a free placement test."  Even the English teachers say it.

Prepositions are difficult for English learners, and we make them more difficult by dropping them where they have no function.

Summer School of Faith-Sixth, 2018-Charles Craigmile, Culture Lost, Culture Reclaimed

June 12:  The Crisis of Culture - How We Lost our Story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smIAuenhqBw

June 19:  The Doctrine of Creation - A Subversive Theology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Foz7_HYn3fo

June 26:  Liturgy and the Eucharist - Bridging the Gap
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=FdcejG3GcVI

July 10: The Church – “Called to Communion” https://gloria.tv/video/AtnhXhUUp3eG2R7AAGTjiod9n

July 17: Death and the Afterlife – “The Passage Home ”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGEXlsNjPlk

First week:  Many anniversaries in 2018. End of WWI in 1918.  Czar in Russia and family assassinated.  200th anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth. We have a sense our culture is in crisis. Catholics are experiencing closings of schools, hospitals, shortage of priests.
Uses “Introduction to Christianity” by Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI)

Week 2 uses Genesis—a radical text.

Week 3, the liturgy and mass, true worship of God

Week 4, The church, the call to communion, uses Ratzinger’s 1991 book, “Called to Communion,” compilation of his speeches

Week 5, Death. Uses “Eschatology,” 1997, by Ratzinger, his last major work as a theologian. The Kingdom of God is the fundamental teaching of Jesus—it is Christ. Eternal life starts now.  The door to mercy is through repentance.

Charles Craigmile holds an undergraduate degree in philosophy, with minors in Latin and Greek from the University of St. Thomas, an MA in philosophy from DePaul University, and an MBA from JL Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Charles has also completed three-years’ course work toward a graduate degree in Theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein. Over the last 25 years, Charles has taught Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) programs across the Chicago area, most recently at St. Mary's in Lake Forest.

Russian bots now linked to Democrat sources—Big Tech implicated now—Linkedin, Yahoo, AOL, Gmail

Hamilton 68 Dashboard, the online tool that purports to monitor and expose narratives pushed by the Kremlin on Twitter, is funded by Democrats and neoconservatives bankrolled in part by NATO and USAID --

The only 'Russian bots' to meddle in US elections belonged to Democratic-linked 'experts' | 28 Dec 2018 | US cyber-security experts have blamed Russia for meddling in American elections since 2016. Now it has emerged that authors of a Senate report on 'Russian' meddling actually ran a "false flag" meddling operation themselves.

A week before Christmas, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report accusing Russia of depressing Democrat voter turnout by targeting African-Americans on social media. Its authors, New Knowledge, quickly became a household name. Described by the New York Times as a group of "tech specialists who lean Democratic," New Knowledge has ties to both the US military and intelligence agencies. Its CEO and co-founder Jonathon Morgan previously worked for DARPA. His partner, Ryan Fox, is a 15-year veteran of the National Security Agency who also worked as a computer analyst for the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Investors pumped $11 million into the company in 2018 alone.

Morgan and Fox have struck gold in the "Russiagate" racket, which sprung into being after Hillary Clinton blamed Moscow for Donald Trump's presidential victory in 2016. Morgan, for example, is one of the developers of the Hamilton 68 Dashboard, the online tool that purports to monitor and expose narratives being pushed by the Kremlin on Twitter. The dashboard is bankrolled by the German Marshall Fund's Alliance for Securing Democracy [sic] -- a collection of Democrats and neoconservatives funded in part by NATO and USAID.

https://www.legitgov.org/Hamilton-68-Dashboard-online-tool-purports-monitor-and-expose-narratives-pushed-Kremlin-Twitter

LinkedIn co-founder 'sorry' for funding 'Russian bot' disinformation campaign against Roy Moore | 27 Dec 2018 |

The co-founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman, has apologized to Republican Roy Moore for funding an organisation that faked a 'Russian bot' involvement to mar his election campaign in Alabama. American Engagement Technologies (AET), which Hoffman gave 750,000 to, put 100,000 of the entrepreneur's m-ney towards New Knowledge, a cybersecurity firm which fabricated some 1,000 Russian language Twitter accounts to follow Moore. The company used the tactic to link the controversial Republican to so-called Russian influence campaigns and then fed it to the mainstream media. They also created misleading Facebook pages urging Republicans to support a 'write-in' candidate instead of supporting Moore.

Yahoo, AOL, and Gmail are caught red-handed trying to influence the 2018 election --"One Test, in Florida, 100% of Republican Rick Scott's emails went to spam in Yahoo, while 100% of his Democratic opponent Bill Nelson's emails went to our Yahoo inbox." | 29 Dec 2018 |

Is the world of email biased against conservatives? ... Our team created email addresses with different email providers and signed up for the email lists of around fifty different candidates, committees, and political nonprofits. In the month leading up to the election, we tracked how many emails were sent from each entity, and what percentage of those emails made it into our inbox. Republicans Were Sent to Spam Far More Often Than Democrats --The results were striking, across every email provider... In Nevada, Democrat Jacky Rosen averaged over 90% placement in inboxes, compared to Dean Heller's over 90% placement in spam. In Florida, 100% of Republican Rick Scott's emails went to spam in Yahoo, while 100% of Bill Nelson's emails went to our Yahoo inbox. While these were the most dramatic examples, this pattern emerged in every toss-up Senate race we tracked.

https://imge.com/news/email-providers-suppress-republicans-2018-election/?

I bought my husband an MVMT watch for Christmas

But it came with no information, instructions or warranty.  When I wrote the company and asked, I got some of the answer in an e-mail from customer service, and some in an attachment which if printed would be white on black. Really?  So I did what I should have done before I ordered: I looked up the company. It was crowd funded.

“When Jake Kassan and Kramer LaPlante dropped out of college to start MVMT in 2013, they had no clue what venture capital was. Instead, the duo raised around $300,000 in preorders through Indiegogo, the crowdfunding site, to create their first line of watches.

MVMT’s minimalist aesthetic, accessible price points and messaging about cutting out traditional retail middlemen appealed to a segment of millennial shoppers more willing than past generations to try out new brands and not equate high prices with quality.

“Watches are marked by flashy brands and millennials reject that idea,” Kaden, of Union Square Ventures, said.”

                

The watches are handsome.  And so are the founders. The instructions aren’t.

“MVMT was also an early mover in podcast advertising and marketing on Instagram at a time when the media formats were growing in popularity but advertising demand hadn’t fully caught up.

It didn’t hurt that they had picked product categories in watches and sunglasses that boasted big profit margins. Tuft & Needle did, too.

By the end of 2017, MVMT had managed to cross $70 million in annual revenue, mainly through its own website but also dabbling with sales on Amazon.

Along the way, its founders did learn what venture capital was — watching the press attention grow for heavily backed consumer startups like Warby Parker and Harry’s — but still kept their distance. Cautionary tales like that of Jessica Alba’s Honest Company — which raised too much capital at too high of a valuation, while convincing itself it was a tech company — spooked the founders.

“Once you do it one year, you have to do it next year; it becomes this bad cycle,” Kassan, its CEO, said. “I think having the discipline and flexibility was just the secret for us all along.”

https://www.recode.net/2018/8/29/17774878/consumer-startups-business-model-native-mvmt-tuft-needle

https://www.chase.com/news/012617-mvmt

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/01/how-two-25-year-old-college-dropouts-built-a-watch-company-that-made-60-million-this-year.html

                                

https://www.mvmtwatches.com/products/bourbon-rose

“The Bourbon Rose takes on a rich brown and gold colorway, pulled from iconic wood tones of California modern design. Italian tanned leather straps, a matte face and domed crystal complete this 41mm stainless steel case. A special exhibition case back reveals the dynamic intricacies of the automatic movement. . .

Automatic watchmaking is a centuries-old and deeply admired practice. Constructed with up to three-times the working parts of our traditional analog quartz watches, automatic movements harness energy through the natural motions of the wearer’s wrist. This powers the intricate series of wound springs and gear trains within the watch to keep time, making the Arc Automatic our most sophisticated timepiece to date. . .

Sleek steel and rich leather embody the core duality of the Arc Automatic. Inspired by the experimental spirit of 1960s architecture, this model explores the tension of modern design and timeless style.
This self-winding machine is distinguished by its intricate mechanical heartbeat. The gears that drive the smooth sweeping motion of the hands are powered by the natural movements of the wearer, revealed by a sculptural exhibition case back.’”

Here’s the small print I didn’t read when we ordered it. . .

“The Arc Automatic is best worn every day to keep accurate time, and should be fully wound before every wear. It’s best to keep in the watch winder when you are not wearing it. Avoid magnets, shocks and water exposure. In the event that water penetrates the case, repair immediately. Avoid setting the date between 9:00 p.m. -- 1:00 a.m. Best to avoid extreme temperatures, as accuracy is compromised below -10°C and above 60°C. Best to service approximately every 3 years to ensure long-term quality performance. In the event of time-delay or other unusual occurrences, service immediately. “

USAFacts—a new way to gather government statistics

This non-profit has been launched by Steve Ballmer and wife Connie.  Although most non-profits established by wealthy capitalists claim to be non-partisan and unbiased, we’ll have to see about that.  When Ballmer gives interviews we’ll see the clues. But since I frequently use government statistics myself in making my points about medical costs, education, immigration, sex/gender, religion, animals, housing, etc., I welcome any source which can make sense of it all, particularly the blending of federal, state and local.  Federal dollars, for instance, are only 3% of total spending on education.

https://www.geekwire.com/2017/full-interview-steve-ballmer-discusses-usafacts-new-10-k-government/

“USAFacts is a new data-driven portrait of the American population, our government’s finances, and government’s impact on society. We are a non-partisan, not-for-profit civic initiative and have no political agenda or commercial motive. We provide this information as a free public service and are committed to maintaining and expanding it in the future.

We rely exclusively on publicly available government data sources. We don’t make judgments or prescribe specific policies. Whether government money is spent wisely or not, whether our quality of life is improving or getting worse – that’s for you to decide. We hope to spur serious, reasoned, and informed debate on the purpose and functions of government. Such debate is vital to our democracy. We hope that USAFacts will make a modest contribution toward building consensus and finding solutions.”

https://usafacts.org/

  

The plan is to divide all government statistics by the four items in the Preamble’s mission statement.

“Revenue And Spending

Government revenue and expenditures are based on data from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Census Bureau, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Each is published annually, although due to collection times, state and local government data are not as current as federal data. Thus, when combining federal, state, and local revenues and expenditures, the most recent year shown is 2014, the most recent year for which all three sets of data are available. We show government spending through two different lenses:

Spending by segment: We recategorized several programs and functions to align them with four constitutional missions based on the preamble to the constitution:

• Establish Justice and Ensure Domestic Tranquility
• Provide for the Common Defense
• Promote the General Welfare
• Secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and Our Posterity

This approach is modeled after what businesses do for their own management accountability and shareholder reporting. Public companies present their businesses in segments – a logical framework for discussing the areas in which the they operate. We do the same for government. In using this constitutional framework, we have made judgements in how we group programs. . .

Spending by function: We also show spending by functional categories such as compensation for current and past employees, capital expenditures, transfer payments to individuals, interest on the debt, and payments for goods and services. “

Flashback 1986 Norwester

 

I don’t recall ever seeing this photo of our son’s junior year in high school.  I guess they didn’t get any copies.

We can’t get away from it

Priceton.org

The new totalitarians aren’t new at all—they go by the names diversity, tolerance and inclusion

 

Harley Price, Canadian professor at University of Toronto  Priceton.org

What not to say to a convert

“When I walk into a room and say to people I meet ‘I’m Jewish’ often I will get the response ‘but you’re Black.'” Since when are the two mutually exclusive? People often make offensive racial assumptions about Jews (and converts) of color. Just like we’re not all named Rosenberg, one convert of color says it’s helpful to note that “Judaism is not a ‘race’ of white people. One of the things people should be mindful of is not to assume all people of color in the synagogue are converts (or the help, for that matter).” Yavilah McCoy (The Color of Jews)

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-dos-and-donts-of-talking-to-converts/?

Goy jokes are not funny.

“Words like shiksa (gentile woman) and shaygetz (gentile man) both derivations of the word for “dirty” in Yiddish, don’t make converts feel welcome either. Blondes with blue eyes, converts or not, tend to hear these words more often than converts like me with olive skin and big brown eyes. Still, my first Passover went south after someone repeatedly threw the word shiksa around along with some other ugly words about non-Jews. At the first bar mitzvah I attended, jokes about non-Jews were flying all over the place.”

Much of the advice in this article also applies to Christians. I stopped attending a Bible study by a pastor on a topic in which I was interested because of the sly little digs at Catholics, since I knew some of the invited guests were Catholics, or some grew up Catholic.

Much of if boils down to being an insider or an outsider whether a small town, a group, a church, a club, a resident new to the neighborhood, an alumnus, or a political campaign.  We just can’t assume we are all like minded.

The trans-movement is destroying real women

“In 2014, when I was a freshman, Mount Holyoke began admitting transgender and “non-gender-conforming” students. That means students who identify as men, or otherwise as nonwomen, can attend.

Doesn’t admitting transgender men to a women’s college undermine their claim that they are actually men? Or is Mount Holyoke simply a male-free zone, open to anyone except biological men who identify as such?”

Wall St. Journal, https://www.wsj.com/articles/my-alma-stops-identifying-as-a-mater-11545868845?

Yes, it’s true.

I got a Happy Light for Christmas

Overview (Mayo Clinic)

“Light therapy is a way to treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and certain other conditions by exposure to artificial light. SAD is a type of depression that occurs at a certain time each year, usually in the fall or winter.

During light therapy, you sit or work near a device called a light therapy box. The box gives off bright light that mimics natural outdoor light.

Light therapy is thought to affect brain chemicals linked to mood and sleep, easing SAD symptoms. Using a light therapy box may also help with other types of depression, sleep disorders and other conditions. Light therapy is also known as bright light therapy or phototherapy.”

https://verilux.com/products/new-happylight-touch

Homeless in Seattle

I do not understand how a city can spend so much on the poor and yet have so little effect. What's the answer--it obviously isn't more money. "According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, the Seattle metro area spends more than $1 billion fighting homelessness every year. That’s nearly $100,000 for every homeless man, woman, and child in King County, yet the crisis seems only to have deepened, with more addiction, more crime, and more tent encampments in residential neighborhoods. By any measure, the city’s efforts are not working."

https://www.city-journal.org/seattle-homelessness

Pathological altruism = altruism in which attempts to promote the welfare of others instead result in unanticipated harm, . . ”.

Socialists know more money won’t help so the only answer must be to make the rich poorer.

Four years ago they were asking the same questions.

“Seattle’s liberal voters and politicians don’t mind spending money on social problems. And there’s a lot of money here. King County has the largest United Way in the country. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — the world’s wealthiest — puts money toward the homeless in its home town.

All told, King County officials estimate that a billion dollars or more has gone to help the county’s homeless over the past decade. Nearly 6,000 units of affordable housing have been built, more than in any city except New York or Los Angeles.”

http://www.invw.org/2015/03/02/after-10-year-plan-why-does-seattle-have-more-homeless-than-ever/

"On one night in the greater Seattle region in 2018, 12,112 individuals were experiencing homelessness, with 52 percent living unsheltered. In the Columbus region’s 2018 count, there were 1,807 people experiencing homelessness with 16 percent living unsheltered." https://www.geekwire.com/2018/cities-making-dent-homelessness-seattle-can-learn/

https://seattle.curbed.com/2017/7/31/16072102/washington-state-homeless-student-population

The Orientation and Disorientation of Caregivers by Peter Rosenberger, guest blog

By Peter Rosenberger author of 7 Caregiver Landmines and How You Can Avoid Them

 

(Available in Kindle and Paperback from Amazon) Peter Rosenberger hosts a radio program for family caregivers broadcast weekly from Nashville, TN on more than 200 stations. He has served as a caregiver for his wife Gracie, who has lived with severe disabilities for more than 30 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zete6PeZozA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKxgyymMy4c

“Walking into Waffle House for breakfast, I held the door for two men. The younger man awkwardly helped his older companion with a walker and oxygen tank. No stranger to these things myself, I waited for several moments while nodding to the younger man. Mustering a sad smile, he expressed his gratitude for my patience.

As they slowly exited, I stepped in—only to be stopped by one of the longtime servers. “Peter, go out there and talk to that young man! His name is Randy, and I ain’t serving you breakfast ‘til you do,” she stated forcefully.

Decades of Waffle House visits with her taught me that disobedience usually involved a tongue-lashing. And, she really wouldn’t serve me until I talked with him.

Dutifully returning to the parking lot, I approached Randy, stuck my hand out and said, “I was told to come out here and talk with you—and Judy won’t serve me breakfast until I do. What’s going on?”

Randy’s eyes instantly filled with tears while sharing that this was their last breakfast out before hospice came that afternoon for his partner. Listening, I understood why Judy sent me back to the parking lot.

I speak fluent caregiver.

Randy added, “We’ve been together for 24 years, and I am just so upset. I don’t know what to do. I’m afraid I’ll go into my room and cry—and won’t be able to stop.”

Chatting for a while, as Randy’s companion quietly sat in the car with the engine running, I offered things learned from a lifetime of caregiving for my wife who lives with severe disabilities. Giving Randy my card and sharing he could call anytime, I prayed with him, hugged him, and watched him breathe a bit easier. Returning to the restaurant, Judy, with brimming eyes, nodded her thanks and served me breakfast.

Strengthening and encouraging my fellow caregivers serves as one of my deepest passions. I understand the brutality of the journey in ways few do. I also understand that the caregiving burden borne in the gay community is all too often compounded by judgment from people of faith. People who share my faith.

Caregiving respects no sexual preference, creed, politics, religion, or race. The harshness of caregiving saves all its assaults…to wage on the bonds of love. In the face of a chronic illness or disability, that love isn’t sexual or about sexual orientation. The love compelling one person to put themselves between a vulnerable loved one and even worse disaster—is something far different and worthy of respect.

Suffering and sorrow tend to put differences into perspective. The ministry of grace vividly displayed from the cross of Christ, can flow from us without this incessant need to fix, change, or dispute those who live differently.

In that parking lot, Randy and I were not gay versus straight. Nor were our doctrines and creeds discussed. While I remain devoutly evangelical with deep convictions, I never asked Randy’s beliefs. I just saw a fellow caregiver grieving as he ministered to a suffering loved one. Randy and I have that in common.

Caregivers struggle. They deserve care—not judgment for their fears, mistakes, or even their lifestyle. No one has ever argued me into a relationship. But there are those who loved me into one.

When the AIDS epidemic crashed upon society, all too many in the gay community were shunned. In the process, a vast number suffered with a horrific disease without the comfort of Christian ministry. That tragedy can’t be undone. Yet, that same community stands in need now, as they grieve while caring for aging and disabled loved ones.

Acceptance is not agreement. In order to care for someone, one is not bound to condone a lifestyle operating in contrast to Scripture. Yet, ministering hands reached into my grief and trauma to help me get to safer ground. I would be a poor steward of that help …that grace …if I didn’t offer it to others as they journey down the heartbreaking path of a caregiver.

While I’ve learned to speak fluent “caregiver,” it’s my Savior’s native tongue.”