For those who have family with mental health issues

This young lady is the daughter of a friend.  Not sure of her age, but she’s about 19-20. I spent some time with her about 7 years ago when she was in middle school—such a sweet, beautiful child.  We have been praying for her and her mother. Recently she had some serious problems, and today posted this:

“Hi all, I just thought I would share with you what 2019 has held for me so far. I’ve been through some stuff I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy. I’ll start with my most recent “adventure”. I’ve struggled with mental health issues for just about as long as I can remember, whether it be anxiety, depression or Bipolar 1. These past 9 days I was hospitalized due to these issues and I would like to share my experience in hopes to help anyone going through something similar.

I was at the lowest of the low. I was unstable, depressed, hopeless, dissociated, anxious you name it. I wasn’t sleeping. I wasn’t eating. I lost 20 pounds in the past month or so. Even though I have a strong support system, I had never felt so alone. I couldn’t describe in words how awful that feeling was.

The first night I was there, I wished that I wasn’t alive. I wished that I had never been born. I wished I could fall asleep and never wake up. Looking back now, I want to tell myself that everything was going to get better with each passing day.

I met some incredible people during my stay in which I hope to keep in touch with for the rest of my days. Hearing people talk about their experiences and being able to relate with you and talk through your problems, is the most amazing way to start your healing process. I cried with them, I laughed with them, but most importantly they taught me that having mental health issues is okay. They taught me so many valuable skills and lessons that I will cherish for the rest of my life. During any future struggles I may have, everything I’ve learned from them will help me come out stronger than before.

Through this experience, I’ve learned not to be ashamed or embarrassed. I’ve talked about my problems, which is totally not my style, but it’s helped immensely. I’m happier, I’m healthier and I have a whole new, positive, outlook on life. I will continue to better myself day by day.

I thought I had no way out. It felt like there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Some of you may be able to relate in your own ways, some of you may not and that’s perfectly okay.  . .

Thank you to my Family, Friends and everyone else who has supported me through my struggles. I appreciate it so very much and I don’t know what I would do without you!”

Who knew what when? Theodore McCarrick

“More than sixty years after his priestly ordination, nearly five decades after he began sexually abusing young men and boys, more than four decades after his episcopal consecration, and at least nineteen years after his preying on seminarians was first reported to the Vatican, Theodore McCarrick is – we are told – on the verge of being removed from the clerical state”

In this era of either hyper-vigilance over a joke or a yearbook 35 years old,  contrasted with a casual accepting attitude toward homosexuality, the church will be conflicted over what to do.  So far, the oversight and caring for the teens and boys who have been abused is just disgusting.

https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2019/02/14/mr-mccarricks-mess/

DC resident sees the culture wars up close

“I am a chiropractor, who has lived in the DC area for 35 years. During that time, I have had the opportunity to treat Generals, Colonels, employees of the CIA, the FBI, hundreds of government workers, as well as members of all of the branches of the military. I have never, in that time, encountered the intolerance, racism and hatred that exists in the Democratic party today. Some of my dearest friends are Liberals, and have been for years, and it is only recently that their sanctimony and animosity has gotten to the point that we can't have a civil conversation regarding our President. I kept quiet during President Obama's two terms, because I knew that if I had dared to disagree with him, I would have been labeled a racist. I am saddened by the 'soundbite nation' that we have become. Fact and truth seem to have no place in the Democratic Party, nor in the Liberal media, for that matter.”

(from the Walk Away site on Facebook)

She’s in the belly of the beast. . .

Why Trump is attacked on immigration

The reason President Trump is attacked on immigration has nothing to do with reality--just check out Obama, Bush and Clinton's records. Trump is attacked about ICE and "beds" for violent criminals because he is. . . Trump. Otherwise, we'd have to assume Democrats love traffickers, rapists and murderers and want to return the southwest to Mexico.

"The most recent enforcement figures released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on December 30 [2016] offer the latest evidence of these trends. Eighty-five percent of all removals and returns during fiscal year (FY) 2016 were of noncitizens who had recently crossed the U.S. border unlawfully. Of the remainder, who were removed from the U.S. interior, more than 90 percent had been convicted of what DHS defines as serious crimes.

Border apprehensions and removals increased in FY 2016 compared to the prior year, DHS reported. In FY 2016, DHS carried out 530,250 apprehensions and 344,354 removals, compared to 462,388 apprehensions and 333,341 removals a year earlier. Despite the increase, these numbers were far lower than the peak of enforcement operations at the beginning of the Obama years, after he inherited a robust enforcement regime from his predecessors. These numbers dipped as new enforcement priorities were put in place, before rebounding slightly at the end of the Obama presidency. " 

https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/obama-record-deportations-deporter-chief-or-not

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are both children of immigrants

Have you ever looked up Kamala Harris' ethnicity? Some second generation Americans (parents were immigrants) turn on the very people who welcomed their parents. And she's also lived in Canada after her parents divorced. These figures were for Sept. 2018.

 "Approximately 12 percent of members of Congress are immigrants or children of immigrants. There are 12 foreign-born members, of which only one is Republican. Democrats account for 39 of the 53 members of Congress with at least one immigrant parent. First- or second-generation immigrants represent 23 states, with California having the most, and they come from various regions throughout the world. Over the course of American history, there have been 413 foreign-born Americans that have served in Congress, out of 12,000 total. For this reason, the debate over America’s immigration laws is deeply personal for some members." 

If immigration is deeply personal why do some want no borders for the country of their birth? https://news.yahoo.com/daily-digit-first-second-generation-…

Our president is also the son of an immigrant--and he seems grateful to be an American. Why do our media continue to conflate those who come illegally and those who have to follow the very difficult challenges to be a legal immigrant?

Thurberville--March book club selection

Although I haven't ordered it yet (library computer system seems to be locked up) the selection for our book club on March 4 is Thurberville, by Bob Hunter. (Ohio State University Press, 2017)

"James Thurber’s Columbus was not today’s Columbus—or even yesterday’s. It was a Columbus he both knew and created, a place perched on the fringe of reality and the fringe of his imagination. It is the place Bob Hunter revisits in Thurberville, a book where the author separates truth from fiction and identifies what parts of the famous humorist’s hometown of 180,000 exist in the burgeoning metro area of more than two million today.

Thurber’s Columbus was a wild and crazy place, a city full of fascinating and sometimes peculiar characters, many in his own family. Because of the widespread popularity of his stories, that was also the Columbus that many of his readers around the world came to know.

Thurberville chronicles those characters and explores that world. But it also examines the real city where Thurber struggled and then blossomed as a college student, worked as a newspaper reporter and a press agent, and achieved international fame as a humorist and cartoonist after he left town, in part by writing about the subjects he left behind." 

https://ohiostatepress.org/books/titles/9780814213377.html

Translating the Bible into Kikerewe

Americans are rich in God's Word. From where I'm sitting in my office I can see 11 Bibles, including my grandmother's, one in Spanish, one in Russian, and a Tyndale which pre-dates the King James. But many people still don't have the Bible in their language. "Ukerewe Island in Lake Victoria is home to 100,000 people, mostly fisherfolk. It is remote. It is difficult to get there. There are churches planted, but growth is minimal. Many Kerewe people do not understand Swahili, the national language most often used for preaching and worship. In fact, many are not in church because the Bible is not in their language." But things are about to change. Lutheran Bible Translators are there and they now have one book in Kikerewe, the language of their heart. https://lbt.org/eagerly-waiting/? We support this ministry (as does our church) and love hearing how God's word is changing lives.

Teachers’ salaries—not what you think

Some questioned my figures for hourly wages for teachers (in a post about the union strike in Colorado on Facebook) being on average $60/hour.  However, the latest I've found is $61.91--$41.41 is the wage, and $20.50 the benefits. Sept. 2018 figures. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecec.pdf.

Benefits for public employees are far more generous than private sector. "Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $34.53 per hour worked in September 2018. Total employer compensation costs for state and local government workers averaged $50.03 per hour worked in September 2018. "

For the most part we don't pay federal income tax on our benefits, and the government is lusting after that--believing it belongs to the federal government. The employers get a write off too. Imagine the "windfall" to the federal government to waste with just the medical deductions from workers and the business write off costs for the employers.

Kamala Harris must be swooning at the thought!

Democrats working hard to destroy us

Realizing that the Mueller investigation will go nowhere, Congressional Democrats are gearing up for an all out assault on Trump--investigating everything about him. (Wouldn't surprise me if Jeff Bezos isn't funding it.) Along with the Republican Never Trumpers they can't believe someone has blown their cover exposing the graft and corruption in Washington. They are furious at what he's been able to achieve in 2 years. Every time they do this, his ratings go up, and his base becomes more solidified. So they've had to change tactics.

The latest trick is the Green Grab Deal of AOC and her aging groupies. Hoping to make the stock market shake in fear and collapse the roaring economy, they proposed to take our property, transportation and health care and then denied it. If they can get people to lose faith in America, in our economic system and our president, they hope to be able to destroy her as Marxists have been attempting to do for 90 years.

“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent vice of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” Winston Churchill

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/12/694060405/mcconnell-plans-to-bring-green-new-deal-to-senate-vote  This NPR article is good to read if you want to see how biased this source is.  McConnell is exposing how silly all this is, and NPR leans backwards (or leftward) to say it just isn't fair to Democrats to catch them with their pants down.

Some people just don’t get it.

Because of lower taxes, refunds will be smaller. This seems to upset people who prefer to allow the government to use their money before filing taxes.

From the NYT article: "The result is that taxpayers may be paying less over all but still getting a bill after filing their return. That has caught many people off guard."

Proving that it is hard to underestimate the financial understanding of the average American. They paid less taxes, but are still upset

What about NAD+

Highlights:  “NAD+ and sirtuins in aging and disease,” Shin-ichiro Imai and Leonard Guarente, Trends in Cell Biology, 2014, Aug. 24(8): 464-471. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4112140/  71 references

• NAD ⁺ plays a key role in regulating metabolism and circadian rhythm through sirtuins.
  
• NAD ⁺ becomes limiting during aging, affecting sirtuins’ activities.
  
• NAD ⁺ decline is likely to be due to a NAD ⁺ biosynthesis defect and increased depletion.
  
• Supplementing key NAD ⁺ intermediates can restore NAD ⁺ levels and ameliorate age-associated pathophysiologies.
  

Another article (print full text, free) to read at the fitness center.
“NAD AND THE AGING PROCESS: ROLE IN LIFE, DEATH AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN” Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2017 Nov 5; 455: 62–74.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5419884/

“NAD was discovered over a hundred years ago (Harden and Young, 1906), and now that it has achieved its status as a super-centenarian molecule, its role in the biological process of aging is being recognized (Braidy et al., 2011; Gomes et al., 2013; Lin et al., 2000; Massudi et al., 2012; Scheibye-Knudsen et al., 2014; Zhu et al., 2015). It has been shown that NAD levels decline during chronological aging, and that this decline is both a consequence of the aging process and also a contributor to the development of age-related cellular dysfunction (Braidy et al., 2011; Gomes et al., 2013; Massudi et al., 2012; Scheibye-Knudsen et al., 2014; Verdin, 2015; Zhu et al., 2015). It is possible that a vicious cycle exists in which molecular mechanisms involved in the aging process, such as oxidative stress, DNA damage, senescence, and inflammation, lead to tissue NAD decline which subsequently exacerbates the processes that caused its decline in the first place (Figure 1). To potentially intervene in this vicious cycle it is crucial that we understand the mechanisms that lead to cellular NAD decrease during aging and, in particular, whether the decrease is mediated primarily by changes in its degradation, synthesis, or both. Furthermore, it is critical to understand how oxidative stress, DNA damage, inflammation, and senescence impact cellular NAD metabolism during the aging process. In the current review we will present a critical analysis of this subject, and will provide new mechanistic hypotheses to explain the age-related NAD decline.”

The grey, golden years—Vantage Point Devotional for February 13

I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.
Psalm 71:18

In Psalm 71, we see David reminiscing on his life, and now acknowledging the grey in his hair. While he is filled with praise for God’s lifetime of provision, he is eager to pass what he has learned to the next generations. David asks the Lord to sustain him so that he might.

Aging has its challenges…failing health, falling income, possibly even thoughts of uselessness or obsolescence. But God wants you to glory in your grey. You have lessons to teach. Times when God healed health issues, or provided just the right job when you thought financial ruin was looming. You are not useless so long as you can have the sound of praise in your heart and in your voice. Grandparents can often get their messages through to children and youth when the words of parents fall on deaf ears.

What legacy are you preparing for the generations who will follow you? The most important is their memories of your love and praise for the Lord. Ask Him to be your sustainer through your grey (or golden) years. Intercede for God to grant His loving wisdom to the grandparents who serve in Congress, the courts and the Trump Administration.

58 1/2 years

Homocysteine, vitamin B and me

About eight years ago I examined the evidence (in recent articles at a level I could understand) that high levels of homocysteine (>15 micromole/L and the threshold is about 10-11) were  linked with cognitive decline in the elderly and that supplements of B6, B12 and folate (folic acid) could slow the decline.  So at that time, I searched out B supplements that were close to those used in the studies, but that wasn't easy since the studies were sort of all over the map. But I did find a brand by Country Life (Basic B Caps) that I liked and which didn't seem to upset my stomach. I had no testing to show my homocysteine levels were high, but the articles I read reported that it was elevated in the elderly.  The studies in the U.S. are different than those in other countries because since the 1960s by law our food is fortified with folic acid, so this affects how useful additional supplements would be late in life.

Recently I have reexamined the issue of high levels of homocysteine and health problems in the elderly, including cognitive decline, cardiovascular events, atherosclerosis and strokes.

I'm a librarian, so my article of choice is always begin with a review article, and I've found several that update what I'd read eight years ago. Review articles have extensive bibliographies which saves time in wandering around the internet. I also always look for full text, and sometimes only the abstract is at the journal site, but may be somewhere else, like Research Gate.

The issues of heart disease and stroke still seem to be unclear, but homocysteine's affect on the brain seems more clear--it damages it--cognitive decline, white matter damage, brain atrophy, neurofibrillary tangles and dementia. Some studies suggest the jury is still out on whether high homocysteine is a marker or a cause, but whichever, supplements of vitamin B are slowing down the damage.

In Sweden, all patients with memory problems are routinely screened for high levels of homocysteine and if they show elevated concentrations, B vitamin supplements are recommended. The Smith/Refsum article concludes that 17 million people (30%)  in the U.S older than 60 could benefit from lowering their homocysteine levels.

"Homocysteine, B vitamins, and cognitive impairment," David Smith and Helga Refsum, Annual Review of Nutrition, 2016, 36:211-239. This includes and additional 15 pages of supplemental material https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305418844_Homocysteine_B_Vitamins_and_Cognitive_Impairment

"The controversial role of homocysteine in neurology: from labs to clinical practice," Rita Moretti and Paola Caruso, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2019, 20, 231. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/20/1/231

Both articles suggest further research.  Meanwhile, I'll stay with the B vitamins, but will try to get more naturally through leafy green vegetables (Romaine lettuce, asparagus, broccoli, kale, spinach) for folate B9  https://www.myfooddata.com/articles/foods-high-in-folate-vitamin-B9.php  which may act differently than folic acid (disagreement on this) which is what most supplements have, and B12 (meat, fish, dairy--beef, chicken, pork, lots of cheeses, tuna, salmon ) https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/g1967/vitamin-b12-super-foods-47012607/   https://www.myfooddata.com/articles/foods-high-in-vitamin-B12.php#vitamin-b12-requirements and B6 (turkey, beef, Tuna, sweet potatoes, potatoes) http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=108

Gene mutations that affect homocysteine are very rare.  https://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/mthfr-gene-vaccines-facts-myths/

"5,10‐Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase 677C→T and 1298A→C mutations are genetic determinants of elevated homocysteine,"  R. Castro, QJM: An International Journal of Medicine, Volume 96, Issue 4, 1 April 2003.

210th anniversary of Lincoln’s birthday

“While the Civil War raged in late 1862, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant wanted to stop the trade of Southern cotton. A number of Jews were involved in the cotton trade, including some in black market activity, and on Dec. 17, Grant issued a shocking order calling for the expulsion of all Jews from a wide swath of the South.

Fortunately the order had little impact because of faulty army communications – and to President Lincoln. When Lincoln heard that Grant was attempting to banish Jews, he quickly reversed the order.

“To condemn a class is, to say the least, to wrong the good with the bad,” Lincoln said. “I do not like to hear a class or nationality condemned on account of a few sinners.””

https://www.jta.org/2019/02/12/opinion/when-president-lincoln-fought-for-the-jews?

He complains that he's homeless--he's lost his party home

There's an article in the Atlantic by a former Republican who says he can now see the "other side." He describes what the Republican Party used to be when he was part of it during Reagan and Bush: "Republicans argued for limited government, economic growth, and free trade. The party respected the role of religion in public life and envisioned America as a welcoming society to immigrants and the unborn." In other words, everything the Democrats didn't then and not now, not ever. And Trump is all of that. He has NEVER rejected legal immigration. The author is a never Trumper; he's warped his mind so he has gone to "the other side" of socialism, infanticide, religious restrictions, and slow growth. In short, he hates Trump.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/02/i-left-gop-because-trump/581965/?

How many bartenders are there in Congress?

That's not how we do it, AOC.  She says she's the only 29 year old bartender in Congress, so that shows how Congress doesn't represent the American people. There are a lot more 29 year old female librarians than there are 29 year old female bartenders, and I don't ever recall one of them being in Congress. For good reason.  That's not how our Representatives are elected, m'am--by employment category. In fact, in the universe of employed women in the country, just how many 29 year olds are middle class, college educated barkeeps?

It’s not easy being green—Ben Shapiro

Episode 713 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBZ8sT8Omjc
Jeff Bezos exposes the National Enquirer as a blackmail racket, the Democratic Green New Deal gets off to a rough start, and we check the mailbag!

Episode 712  https://youtu.be/oEQlZcRb0hc
It's not easy being Green, and it's not easy these days for the MSM to continue to cover for the racism, lies and anti-Semitism of Democrats.

The racism on today’s college campuses

I saw this in a closed Facebook group, so I'll only share parts. A parent posted (with the texts) that his college student son (enrolled at Berkeley I believe) was studying Chinese with a classmate. His son is white, the classmate a member of a "protected" minority, but they are friends. The friend told his son that they probably couldn't study at his dorm because whites were not allowed to be in the building although blacks, Latinos and Asians were, and he'd check, but he thought if he did come there he would have to sign some sort of form. So the 2 of them were looking for a different study space.

I attended college in the bad old days of residential segregation, employment discrimination and open racism of the 1950s-1960s, but my U. of I. dorm McKinley (owned by the YWCA) had blacks, whites, Asians, and many immigrants (most from Chicago, the daughters of refugees from both Nazis and Communists), and my roommate was Chinese. We had all varieties except boys--they were welcome only on the first floor public area and in the basement serving our meals. What amazing freedom college kids had in those days.

Update: I checked the race and gender page of Berkeley's enrollment information.  21.3% white and 32% Asian.  But to make that look better, each Asian is broken out by country--China, Korea, Japan, etc.--9 categories for Asians, but only one for whites.  Not even immigrant Irish or Swiss or English.  Just White. Like that white blob at the SOTU last Tuesday.

Men in drag—shameful

Apparently, not all American blacks found blackface offensive--some even used clownish make-up that way, but most do. What was once considered fun and vaudevillian by the majority, even TV and film stars, must go.

OK. Now let's get rid of adult men dressing in drag. Since I first became aware of it maybe 50 years ago I have found it extremely offensive for men to make fun of us that way. Oh sure. The drag queens don't call it that, but how else would you describe the emphasis on prosthetic breasts, caked on make-up to hide stubble, ballooning wigs, ridiculing the way women move, walk and talk? Isn't that vaudevillian? Isn't that "womanface?" Whether it's called cross dressing, transvestite, impersonation, or clown face, it's insulting to women.

Just as there is nothing wrong or shameful about a real black face and physique, there is nothing wrong with a woman's face or body. We're built this way for a reason--to fulfill God's command to be fruitful and multiply. We were made in God's image, not from dirt, but from bone and flesh. Women wear make-up to look attractive and sexy--some more successfully than others. Blue lips and green fingernails no matter which sex applies them, do not suggest health, vitality and fertility. Having men ridicule us for profit or fun or just plain meanness, is not a compliment, and it certainly isn't amusing. Let's make dressing in drag as acceptable as Confederate war hero statues.

Hide your yearbooks and annuals in case Democrats ever take up this cause (they won't since they are confused about sex and gender anyway). I know you'll find it even in my high school year book from the 1950s with the athletes dressed as the cheerleaders wearing skirts and wigs for a school skit.

What else do they want to take from us?

In the name of equality, which Dennis Prager says is the ideology that killed 100 million people in the 20th century, what else besides fossil fuels, borders,  religious rights, history and memorials, wealth, the unborn and language do the Democrats want removed or controlled by the government?  Creativity, curiosity and critical thinking.  Those minds are very dangerous to Socialists.

Why the women in white who cheered and chanted are so frightening

“I've spent the majority of the day today, as I do every day these days, feeling my unborn baby move. But today, I've been more in tune to the precious life that's growing inside of me. I feel her rearranging herself, kicking, and trying to get more comfortable. I feel her hiccups. I feel her react to different things I eat. Especially if it's cold or if it's chocolate. I feel her respond to her daddy's hand on my stomach or his voice talking to her. I feel her respond to music I play. I feel her excitement when she hears her sisters playing and laughing. I feel her stillness when things are chaotic, listening to hear what's going on. I feel her. Living. She's a living, breathing life. Right now. In my womb.

Last night, I sat and listened to the POTUS ask congress to put an end to late term abortion. LATE TERM ABORTION. As he spoke, half of the room erupted in standing applause. The other half is what completely perplexed me. I watched in horror as Nancy bit whatever it is she bit in her mouth the entire night. I watched as Chuck smirked and smiled about the murdering of babies at full term, in the birth canal. And I watched as the women in white sat stone cold silent, arms crossed, grimaces on their face, seemingly in opposition of this request.

When did this happen? How did this happen? When did LATE TERM abortion become ok or acceptable NATIONWIDE? Are you telling me that not a single one.... NOT ONE, of the women in white oppose the murder of innocent blood? Is that really a democratic thing? I know a ton of people on the left who oppose late term abortion. Some of them even oppose abortion in general. You're telling me not one of our elected democratic representatives oppose it up to the day of birth? I don't get it. Do they really lack in the most basic of morals? Or, are they scared? So scared to stand and applause the life they fight so hard for in other settings, in front of their fearless leader chomping at the bit behind the podium? Are they scared of their constituents? What are they afraid of? They sure aren't afraid of the God who breathed His own breath into these unborn children, the SAME God who created them. The God who says He Himself knit us in the womb, and that He knew us before He formed us. They aren't scared of Him.

I got the message loud and clear. You wore white. You stand in unity for "women's rights"- women who agree with you at least. You cheered, chanted, and applauded your own huge accomplishments of beating out your male opponents. You are proud. You should be. You have the chance to make a difference and to speak truth, to make changes. But last night, you failed. You were an embarrassment. You were a bunch of cowards. Your silence was selfish. You were selfish. You were everything a strong woman is not. And you do not represent me.”

Sarah Dolan Cox

SOTU analysis

President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday night, February 5, 2019 and Heritage Foundation experts weighed in with analysis of the president’s policy proposals. Here’s what they had to say.

• Immigration
• Economy
• Law
• Defense & Foreign Policy
• Life
• Energy & Infrastructure
• Health Care
• Education

Now many states want to offer clear skating—no longer a slippery slope

“According to the grand jury, Gosnell's method of "abortion" in these late-term cases was infanticide, plain and simple. He or an untrained staffer would induce labor, deliver the baby alive, and then perform the procedure they called by the chilling euphemism "snipping"--slashing the infant to death with scissors to the neck and spine. "Over the years, there were hundreds of 'snippings,' " the grand jury found. But bodies had been disposed of and files destroyed, so the evidence was sufficient to prosecute in only seven cases. One of those victims, a neonatologist testified, was a boy of "32 weeks, if not more, in gestational age." That is, his mother had been at least 7½ months pregnant.

Why were these horrors allowed to persist for decades? Even if the infanticides had been concealed, there were ample other irregularities in the clinic's operations, including filth, unsanitized instruments, unqualified staff and dangerously inappropriate use of drugs. When the clinic was finally raided in 2010, it was the result of a federal narcotics investigation.

Part of the reason for the regulatory failure was simple bureaucratic indifference or incompetence. Inspectors from the Pennsylvania Department of Health visited several times between 1979 and 1993, noted problems, and didn't bother following up. But after 1993, the inspectors never reappeared until the 2010 raid. The reason was political.

In 1994 Tom Ridge, a pro-abortion Republican, was elected governor, succeeding the antiabortion Democrat Bob Casey. According to the grand jury, Ridge administration officials "concluded that inspections would be 'putting a barrier up to women' seeking abortions. Better to leave clinics to do as they pleased." The new policy did away with all regular inspections of abortion clinics. Mr. Ridge's lassitudinous approach was bipartisan, continued by his successor, Democrat Ed Rendell, who resumed the inspections only after the 2010 raid.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Gosnell and have already obtained guilty pleas from eight of his former staffers. The grand jury's report should also be seen as an indictment of America's post-Roe abortion industry. Its indifference--at best--to legal limits made possible the deaths of untold numbers of babies, lending credence to the argument that legal abortion is a slippery slope to infanticide.”  From WSJ writer, April 19, 2013, James Taranto http://jamestaranto.com/gosnell.htm?

10 SOTU with no applause from Democrats

#1 Jobs: President Trump reported that more Americans now have jobs than ever before — 157 million.  “Nearly 5 million Americans have been lifted off food stamps” thanks to all that job creation.

#2 Record-low minority unemployment:  “African-American, Hispanic-American and Asian-American unemployment have all reached their lowest levels ever recorded.”

#3 Healthcare: Only one Democrat stood to applaud when the President highlighted the “Right to Try” bill, which gives critically ill patients access to lifesaving cures and his commitment about bringing down exorbitant prescription drug prices.

#4 Cutting stifling regulations: "We’ve cut more regulations than any other administration in its entire tenure,“ President Trump said, receiving applause only from the Republican side of the House chamber.

#5 Energy independence: "We have unleashed a revolution in American energy. The United States is now the number one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world. And now, for the first time in 65 years, we are a net exporter of energy,” Only Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia applauded among Democrats.

#6 Veterans: President Trump praised bipartisan efforts to deliver “historic VA reforms” in the last Congress, noting that “after four decades of rejection, we passed VA Accountability so we can finally terminate those who mistreat our wonderful veterans.”

#7 Combating anti-Semitism: While President Trump decried anti-Semitism, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi thumbed through her copy of the speech.

#8 Fair trade deals: "Tonight I am also asking you to pass the United States Reciprocal Trade Act, so that if another country places an unfair tariff on an American product, we can charge them the exact same tariff on the exact same product that they sell to us,“ President Trump said.  Democrats now oppose it.

#9 Stopping Infanticide: When President Trump asked Congress "to pass legislation to prohibit the late term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s wound,” Democrats were silent.

#10 Anti-socialism: Bernie Sanders’ dismayed expression spoke volumes when President Trump boldly declared that “Tonight we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.” That sentiment used to be taken for granted by both parties.

https://patriotpost.us/opinion/61067-the-10-best-trump-quotes-that-received-no-applause-from-the-democrats

Today’s message from Vantage Point Devotional

“A January 2005 article in TIME magazine reported: “Studies show that the more a believer incorporates religion into daily living—attending services, reading Scripture, praying—the better off he or she appears to be on two measures of happiness: frequency of positive emotions and overall sense of satisfaction with life.”

Are you a happy believer?  The psalm that contains today’s key verse begins with the confession of a very sad person.  Several times, he asks, “Why are you cast down, o my soul?” But he answers his distressing call with hope, praise and prayer.

Among answers to depression given in a 2016 article in Psychology Today, are to resist the urge to dwell on the past, and focus on what is going right.  The article suggests that one incorporate structure into every day. So the TIME magazine article had it right: attending services, reading Scripture, praying! And so did the psalmist: He sings into the night. The question, are you a happy believer, is worth repeating. More, it is worth doing something about. There are many unhappy people in government if the nightly news is any indicator. Pray that they would find the Lord first of all, and then, that they would find the night song in their souls.

Recommended for Further Reading: Philippians 4:4-9 “

Elizabeth Warren’s family lore

Even the MSM are commenting (gently) on Warren's claim to native ancestry, and her suggestion that she was given no advantage. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt--that she was just sharing family lore and in the mid-80s was completely unaware that minorities were in demand by colleges, HR, companies and honoraries. But the departments in those companies and colleges certainly knew it because they made those rules. And seeing those magic words on a registration or application certainly would have at least moved her up on the list assuming all else was equal.

I worked at Ohio State in the 80s and 90s and chatted with departmental faculty who were beating the bushes to find minorities (that's 1/32 to qualify and it's self-described) so they could be in good standing with university administration. And of course, the bigger and wealthier schools could offer the better financial package, and high school graduates were lured to an environment that guaranteed struggle and failure, whereas they might have succeeded in a different school. Minority women were a 2-fer and at interview time nearing graduation their dance cards would be full, while men languished hoping for even one interview. Of course, now 25-years later we pile category on category--first woman, first openly gay woman, first transwoman, first black transwoman, etc. A blonde, blue eyed, wealthy, privileged white woman is going to be disposable.

Neologisms

How Democrats justify abortion for any reason

Some Democrats have in the past justified abortion by attributing the drop in black violence and homicide after the mid-90s to the legalization of abortion in the 1970s. You don't hear much about that anymore, but it's lurking in their literature, both academic and popular. 

"Fertility declines for black women are three times greater than for whites (12 percent compared to 4 percent). Given that homicide rates of black youths are roughly nine times higher than those of white youths, racial differences in the fertility effects of abortion are likely to translate into greater homicide reductions." Quarterly Journal of Economics "The impact of legalized abortion on crime" by John Donohue III and Steven D. Levitt. (2001) This was popularized by the book Freakonomics, the authors both Democrats (Levitt is one of them). Democrats have long seen abortion as a social policy to reduce crime and poverty, unfortunately the target turns out to be blacks a group whose abortion rates are at genocide level. 

That said, the goal of the women in white at last night's SOTU is just Marxism, aka Feminism. For that, the family needs to be destroyed as the foundation of any nation.

The women in White

  What a vision of middle school solidarity or the KKK without hoods to mess up their make-up. They sat on their hands and wouldn’t applaud the President when he denounced socialism and infanticide and 3rd trimester abortion. They are certainly not virginal or pure.  Their party is only about sex and race, and their track record on race is Jim Crow and the Klan.  They have yet to denounce Hillary Clinton and other Democrats for eulogizing Robert Byrd in 2010, and he was actually a member, not a 35 year old photograph.

Exercise and aging (are you over 30?)

“Although the causes of muscle loss are numerous and complex, there is now copious evidence to suggest that exercise may prevent or reverse many of these age-related changes, whereas inactivity will accelerate muscle aging.”

https://www.the-scientist.com/features/how-muscles-age--and-how-exercise-can-slow-it-64708

Charles Payne on Don Lemon

“This is amazingly sad and pathetic. Asking Gladys Knight if she's worried about losing her career for singing the national anthem at a venue where 75% of participants are Black millionaires.”

Racism and Democrats

The Democrats have dumbed down racism. Instead of job or housing discrimination, instead of Jim Crow and KKK hoods (which were their methods 70 years ago), Democrats claim the problem is MAGA hats. Instead of "separate but equal" schools, the Democrats now tell kids they can't succeed unless government gives them extra boosts. Democrats now claim it's our President saying there are good and bad people on both sides of an issue, something MLK or Gandhi would have said. They say it's restricting visas for groups of people the former president had warned us about because of chaos in their countries. That racism is declaring that the United States has borders worth protecting. Democrats who voted for The Wall are now saying the wall is racist. Democrats who voted for $20 billion for the wall, now say not a dime. Some are so ridiculous they even say not hiring a failed football player is racist. But strangest and most delusional of all are those Democrats claiming a 35 year old photo of someone in black face is more racist than taking the lives of black babies.

Governor Northam and the raging Democrats

I think the Democrats are throwing Northam under the bus (aka eating their own) because the Lt. Gov. is black, young and even more progressive. Easy win. No cost to the party. Of course, it's not a win for the black Americans of Virginia. Whether it's a black president, mayor, governor or caucus, their politicians have failed them. Success for black Americans is still marriage, education and a good job. Same for all of us.

I have no love for Northam, for sure.  People who are more concerned about a yearbook that’s 35 years old than what he said last week about infanticide deserve the governor they’ve got.  The unborn of Virginia deserve better.

Susan couldn’t stand Trump. . . Obama disappointed, and she didn’t like Bush’s policies

“. . . In 2016 I was hoping Rand Paul would get the nomination. I was horrified that Trump was doing so well because I didn’t like his behavior. He didn’t have an intellectual approach to explain policy to the American people, and he was insulting to people around him. Although, I did like when he confronted Hillary Clinton with brutal honesty. Between Trump and Hillary I definitely preferred Trump. Hillary was a guaranteed disaster, but I felt with Trump it was 50/50. Since I live in California, I didn’t think a vote for Trump would matter so I voted for Johnson.

Now that I’ve watched Trump for two years, I am very happy with him. I like his position on border security, ideas on healthcare, criminal justice reform, getting out of TPP and other international treaties. He’s helped bring tentative peace to North Korea, lowered taxes- so many good things!

And, wow, does the media and crazy left have it out for him. It is downright scary what liars and manipulators the media talking heads are. It really does feel like a war for the soul of our country. I detest socialism and want free-markets for our country. Leftists who think Republicans are about racism and hate are deeply ignorant. They have let the TV lead them down the wrong path, away from common sense and decency. This walk away movement is a wonderful idea, there are a lot of people who need a new political home. I'm a conservative now and will be voting for Trump in 2020.”

Upcoming Conestoga event on February 7

Conestoga is the "Friends" group of the Ohio History Center, and we do interesting tours within the state, and  also do a Spring fund raiser each year to support the Center.  Sometimes to beat the winter blahs, we have an inside Columbus tour.

On Thursday, Feb. 7, our program will be tours of the Judicial Center and the LeVeque building that we just heard about at the Columbus AIA program 2 weeks ago. It begins at 1 p.m. at the Thomas J. Moyer* Judicial Center/Ohio Supreme Court Building at 65 S. Front St. in downtown Columbus. Our newsletter reports:

"The renowned art and architecture of the Judicial Center creates a building that, while functional, also proudly depicts Ohio history. Its inscriptions and symbols, along with its many murals, celebrate all who shaped the state: the native peoples, explorers, soldiers, presidents, jurists and artists.

The first stop on the tour will be the Kingsley A. Taft Map Room, featuring a well-preserved collection of 16 original, historically significant maps donated by Conestoga member Sheldon A. Taft, son of the late Chief Justice. This collection, which is not usually available for viewing without an appointment, is the product of nearly 25 years of research by Sheldon Taft. Sheldon will be there to share the history of the collection, which dates back to the mid-17th century. In addition, Conestoga Steering Committee member Marilyn Goodman will serve as a tour guide for the Center visit that will also include the court chambers, hearing rooms and Law Library.

After leaving the Judicial Center, program participants will walk to the Hotel LeVeque for a guided tour of its newly renovated spaces. We’ll hear a presentation on the history of the iconic tower, view the original architectural model and visit one of the luxury suites. The tour will end at The Keep Kitchen and Bar."

A personal note: *Moyer, for whom the Center was named, was the longest serving state Supreme Court Justice in the U.S.  and he died suddenly in April, 2010. We moved to Ohio in June, 1967 and were invited to attend First Community Church. Since we weren't members we joined the fall 1967 membership class at FCC.  In our class and sitting at our table was Tom Moyer, who would later become the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. He was my age (28), so I don't recall what his position was then, but he had only received his law degree in 1964, so he probably wasn't famous. The only reason I remember him as one of the two people in that class I remember from 50 years ago is because our best man's name was Tom Moir, pronounced the same. Also in the new members class was a woman named Joanne.  She and her husband were in Couples Circle 50, but she wasn't a member of the church, so she was also taking the class.  Through them, we were invited to join their small group of about 8 couples, through which we then met our lawyer and our dentist, found a babysitter in the neighborhood where we later bought a house, and  many lovely couples we socialized with once a month for 8 years until we joined Upper Arlington Lutheran Church in the mid-1970s.

January was more social than usual

December is always a fun month with lots of special activities like concerts, dinners and get togethers. So in noting our January schedule, I see it was more social than usual, mostly church activities, but a nice members' opening at the Museum of Art, too. I'll jot down what I remember while listening to a Dvorak Cello Concerto on a Spectrum channel--no commercials.

January 6--We hosted our SALT group here on Epiphany after church--I served turkey Tetrazzini  fruit cups and assorted Christmas desserts, so I was able to use up both our Thanksgiving and Christmas left-overs.  We're studying Hebrews, and Bob was the leader.

January 7--Book club at Bethel Presbyterian Church,  "The Other Alcott," by Elise Hooper, and although I didn't care much for the selection, it's always a great discussion and this included a lot of art. I joined 18 years ago when I first retired in 2000.  Originally, the club was a group of young mothers from the Clintonville area of Columbus who attended the same church.  Now they are no longer working or taking care of kids (most are grandmothers) and we meet during the day instead of the evening.

January 9--Coffee with Adrienne, who is now living at Wesley Glen.  Weather problems have been interfering with our coffee time!

January 10--Bible study class at 10:30 for mostly retirees and seniors led by Pastor Jeff Morlock. We're doing Revelation which works well with the Saturday group study of Genesis--lots of references to Genesis. That was followed by lunch and a wonderful talk by John Kohan of Delaware, Ohio, discussing his sacred art collection   http://sacredartpilgrim.com/

January 12--In January I "returned" to three different Bible studies (Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) at our church that I've attended at various times over the years. It's easy to spend time inside and not see many people, so I'm making a greater effort to get out.  Women of the Word on Saturday is led by Mary Jo and is using Jen Wilken, "God of Creation, a study of Genesis."  She's an excellent speaker (video plus workbook).

January 13--Also returned to Adult Sunday School taught by Charlie, who is very good--well prepared, great prayers, kind, and keeps us on track.  We're studying Acts.

January 17--Dinner at Windward Passage on Henderson Rd.  with Joan and Jerry and Joyce and Bill.  Joan, Joyce and I are making plans for the 2009 reunion of our Steps of Paul voyage, and we don't have a list, but are contacting everyone we remember.  It will be at our MR campus on March 3.  After dinner we came back here for chocolate pie.

January 22--We attended the Columbus AIA meeting downtown to learn about the building and recent renovation of the LeVeque Tower here in Columbus.  I used to work there in the 1980s for the Ohio Department of Aging. It's now a boutique hotel, apartments and condos with businesses on the first level.  Our Conestoga group will tour it in March. I'm looking forward to that now that we've heard how it was done.  Figuring out where to park and getting back to the parking garage in the dark was an adventure in itself.

January 23--Coffee with Adrienne at Panera's. We had to cancel the next one due to the cold (polar vortex)

January 25--Met with Steve DeWeese, our lawyer, to settle wills, power of health attorney and health directives. He's a member of our church, a few years older than our children, and he knows them.

January 25--Bobby Burns party at the Hahm's--always a great event. This birthday is celebrated all over the world.  There are instructions on the internet on how to do it, and what to serve. We wore our kilts--Bob got his as Christmas 2017 gifts from the family for his 2018 80th birthday. His was horribly expensive because it included a formal jacket, special socks, a knife, and a sporran. Mine was really cheap--$3.00 at Volunteers of America.  I had to set the buttons over, but it's probably the nicest wool I've ever owned. Having dinner parties is like a ministry for the Hahms and they have many each year, always with an interesting mix of people.

January 26--Funeral at UALC for Jon Brewer, a friend of Phil's from childhood, and he came with many of his high school friends, most of whom I wouldn't have recognized, but did remember some of the names.

January 26--SALT group at the Crosses.  We got there a little late because of the 2 p.m.  funeral, but it lasted a long time--we didn't get home until about 6:30. Carol led the study on Hebrews and it was excellent.

January 27--Chili-cook off at St. James Lutheran off of Trabue Rd on the west side--preceded by a combined choir concert of St. James and UALC Lytham Rd. choirs.  Beautiful old sanctuary, 19th century, with a recent (about 10 years ago) educational and social wing.  I can remember when it was the only building out there. Now it's surrounded by housing and shopping centers. We went with Howard and Betty from our SALT group.

January 28--Coffee with Nancy at 5 points Panera. They left Friday for their Florida break.

January 29--Got a new perm from Melissa at Shear Impressions.  I think I've been with her since the mid-1990s.  She and her mom used to go to UALC but are now at a downtown church.

January 31--Member preview party at the Columbus Museum of Art, Derby Court, light hors d'oeuvres, lecture by Peter Schoon, Director of the Dordrecht Museum, Netherlands. "Life in the Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Masterpieces from the Dordrecht Museum." It's a wonderful show and I'd recommend it.  That was our second night in the dark in downtown Columbus in January.  And it was very cold both nights.  I did see a few women other than me in a dress/skirt, however, the others all had knee high boots or leggings.

Praying for HHS staffers, Marie and Rebekah

HHS Watch publishes opposition research on the Trump administration’s appointees, focusing on work they have done for social conservative groups, especially those smeared by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The campaign further attacks the administration appointees’ efforts to overturn provisions in Obamacare which compel religious dissenters to pay for birth control and abortifacient drugs.

The power of God is greater than the power of Satan, so I went to their page https://equityfwd.org/hhs-watch   looked at the faces/names, picked two, and pray that God’s power will be stronger than their enemies.  There are a few minorities, but most seem to be white, young females. Women need to be in government unless they are Republican and pro-life, it seems.  I am praying for Marie who is a  lawyer, and anti-abortion activist. Description of her is quite hostile using inflammatory words (won’t let me copy)—calls Family Research Council and Focus on the Family extremist groups (that’s the influence of SPLC).  I’m also praying for Rebekah, HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislation,  who is maligned by HHS Watch as an “advisor while in college of (very vague) far right-wing representatives (of what it doesn’t say). She was a staffer for the House Republican Study Committee before becoming a domestic policy advisor to VP Mike Pence.”  Obviously a dangerous woman to be watched!  

So I’m going to pray for Marie and Rebekah (good Biblical names)—for God’s leading and direction.  Won’t you join me and select a few for pray for?  I’m going to pray that the dark money and evil forces behind Equity Forward (fighting for “women’s reproductive health”) and funded by Arabella Advisors (Leftist money organization) and Hopewell  Fund, a 501c3 for leftist advocacy, will shrivel and the people who work there will come to know Jesus. 

The horror stories of the past few weeks about New York and Virginia have at least revealed how many states are going down this road of extremism.   

St. Patrick’s Breastplate

Something very evil is circling the globe through witchcraft.  According to Huffington Post, witches are asked to chant on a specific day for Trump’s downfall or impeachment. Wonder to whom or what they are appealing?  Christians are being asked to pray the Breastplate of St. Patrick prayer to protect him. This request was also suggested for the Kavanaugh hearings.

I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.
I arise today through the strength of Christ with His Baptism,
through the strength of His Crucifixion with His Burial,
through the strength of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
through the strength of His descent for the Judgment of Doom.
I arise today through the strength of the love of Cherubim
in obedience of Angels, in the service of the Archangels,
in hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
in prayers of Patriarchs, in predictions of Prophets,
in preachings of Apostles, in faiths of Confessors,
in innocence of Holy Virgins, in deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through the strength of Heaven:
light of Sun, brilliance of Moon, splendour of Fire,
speed of Lightning, swiftness of Wind, depth of Sea,
stability of Earth, firmness of Rock.
I arise today, through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me,
God's host to secure me:
against snares of devils, against temptations of vices,
against inclinations of nature, against everyone who
shall wish me ill, afar and anear, alone and in a crowd.
I summon today all these powers between me (and these evils):
against every cruel and merciless power that may oppose my body and my soul, against incantations of false prophets,
against black laws of heathenry,
against false laws of heretics, against craft of idolatry,
against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
against every knowledge that endangers man's body and soul.
Christ to protect me today
against poison, against burning,
against drowning, against wounding,
so that there may come abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.
Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of Christ. May Thy Salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.

Here it is in song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=21&v=zJx_Lu4PymE

It takes a village to take care of mom

“If you have an aging loved one — grandparent, parent, aunt, uncle, or family friend – living in a senior nursing community or being cared for at home by a home health organization, the people performing the most menial-sounding jobs may be the most important people in their lives. They are the van driver who takes them for a day out to the mall or to the clinic for dialysis; the laundry worker who picks up their dirty clothes every morning and brings them back clean and carefully hung or folded; the activities director who brings music, art and crafts to engage their minds, bodies and hearts; the housekeeper who cleans the floor no matter what mess s/he encounters. They also are the groundskeeper who mows the lawn and manicures the flower beds; the custodian who hangs a new memento on the wall; the hairdresser who keeps them neatly groomed.

My mother spent the final eight years of her life in a nursing facility. That became her permanent home, and almost everyone treated her as if she owned the place. She knew most of the staff by name and would share with me her interactions with them. It became clear after a few months that she only spoke in detail about the employees that I mentioned in the first paragraph. The nurses and aides, of course, were giving her the physical caring she needed to stay healthy, yet the non-clinical staff were the people she told me about. She knew about their marital status and family life, what they did on their non-working time, and their favorite hobbies. Mom didn’t get to know the clinical staff on the same personal level; they had many residents who demanded their expertise, and her interactions with clinical staff were focused on medical needs.

The next time you visit your aging loved one living in a senior community, pay attention to the staff:  not only those who are giving the meds or changing bedpans, but also those working behind the scenes to make life more comfortable for the residents.” by Myra Wilson, u.osu.edu/alber/2018/10/15/elder-care-it-takes-a-village/?

Gov. Northam, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Byrd, Keith Ellison and Louis Farrakhan—a melting pot of bigotry and racism

After the fiasco the MSM made about Catholic teens wearing MAGA hats (they think that's like a KKK hood) I can see why they kept quiet about the VA governor's yearbook photo showing him in either blackface or a KKK outfit. I mean, after Kavanaugh, isn’t everyone’s college yearbook fair game?  I don’t like to be defending Dr. Gov. Northam, who advocates letting a born alive abortion victim die, but  I don't care what he did in 1984--he was a college kid. Today he knows better--but abortion is far, far worse and disproportionately affects blacks.

In 2010 our Secretary of State, former FLOTUS and future candidate for president, Hillary Clinton, whom over 1/2 of voters chose, eulogized Robert Byrd, former Klan member, at his funeral. That's a long way from 1984. Yet some far left Dems are demanding Gov. Northam resign. How about a little consistency. Is wearing a hood as a costume for a college event worse than being a KKK member supporter? Keith Ellison, DNC vice chair, is a close associate and admirer of Louis Farrakhan, one of the biggest, loudest, baddest racists in the country. Yet, Dems on the left aren't tossing him aside. How about a little consistency. Why is his racism less than Northam's? Less than Clinton's?

Much about MAGA

Two former presidents said "Make America great again." Clinton and Reagan.

"I believe that together we can make America great again,” said Clinton is his 1991 presidential announcement speech. In a campaign stop almost a year later, he called on voters “to make America great again economically, educationally, and socially."

Trump says "Make America Great Again" and people begin to scream, faint in their safe places, see KKK hoods and attack children.

Watching Newsmax

Came across Newsmax TV tonight.  Didn’t know it was on Spectrum.  I like John Bachman.  Very fair and balanced in reporting and interviews.

Undocumented infants

Pleas for blacks to abandon the Democrats because of abortion

"Rochester [New York], we are better than this. We can provide a message of Life, acceptance, marriage, hope, healing, adoption, and more. There was a time, before Margaret Sanger and the Negro project, that the black community decried abortion. After coming through slavery and the attempt to kill us off, there was no way we would think of killing ourselves off by killing our babies. Two parent homes and education excellence was the norm. If we can just stop, repent, accept being duped, set aside political differences and focus on what truly matters – cultivating a culture of life and acceptance – we can kick off the shackles of victimhood and emerge as victorious as the slaves who walked off the plantations as freed men.

Everyone one of us, men and women alike, need to rise up, heal from our mistakes, and be silent no more. Those of us with chocolate skin have a Great opportunity – we have been handed a voice because the baby killers were unsuccessful at silencing us in the womb. No other people has had this opportunity." Ayesha Kreutz, founder of The Frederick Douglass Foundation of NY

http://minorityreporter.net/abortion-genocide-black-brown-people/?

Nutrition and mathemagic

Here's an excellent example of using nutrition fake research to influence politics--in this case, Brexit. http://healthproblemsnews.com/health-news/higher-fruit-and-veg-prices-after-brexit-could-kill-5600-people/ Grocery bills could go up $3/week, thus killing possibly 12,000 people in the UK (highest estimate). Really? You mean someone might not be able to go to Starbucks in order to buy 3 apples and a bag of carrots? Do you know how many Brits spend their winters in Spain? It's a short flight. Gorgeous grocery stores there. I try to rely on good, peer reviewed sources, but BMJ (British Medical Journal, https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/1/e026966)  failed us here with mathemagic.

Speaking of Spain, I saved $500 in less than a year by giving up my morning coffee at Panera’s in 2015; I saved another $500 by discontinuing coloring my hair. I saved $200 by changing credit cards (got one that gives cash back). Helped pay for our 2015 trip to Spain.  And yes, their grocery store produce is better than any I’ve seen in the U.S. and the airports are packed with retired Brits coming and going.

History in a few words

 
 

Kamala Harris and the new racism

Don't know why Kamala Harris is virtue signaling about lynching (new bill) since it was the Democrats who fought the Republican bills all those years. “The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill was first introduced in 1918 by Representative Leonidas C. Dyer, a Republican from St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States House of Representatives as H.R. 11279. It was directed at punishing lynchings and mob violence. The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill was re-introduced in subsequent sessions of Congress and passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on January 26, 1922, but its passage was halted by a filibuster by Senate Democrats who were a minority in the US Senate in 1922. (Wikipedia).”  And that went on for years (200 anti-lynching bills always defeated by Democrats) until anti-lynching legislation passed a few years ago. More blacks are killed in 4 days through abortion than in 80 years of lynching and Harris is "pro-choice," and radically so.