The TV swap

The average 32-inch LCD TV sold for $435 in the second quarter of 2012, down from $495 in Q1. Today I bought a Toshiba 32' LCD TV for $100.99 (clearance). Will be delivered free. We'll take our older 32” to the lake and keep the new one here. I thought 19” since I don’t watch much TV there, but was voted down.  Even if I’d wanted a 50” (wouldn’t fit), they were under $400. 

A different sort of Mother's Day

We had a wonderful time with the Halls and Mallettes from California (we met in Scotland in 2017) touring our great city, the OSU campus, enjoying 2 great museums, the new National Veterans Memorial and Museum and the Columbus Museum of Art, the OSU main library, historic German Village and eating at Schmidt's Sausage House and Cap City Fine Diner. We get to rest today, but they are touring for 2 more weeks! Robin thinks up the ideas and Gene plans the itinerary. Today they are off to Falling Water, Gettysburg, Niagara Falls, the 9-11 memorial and other sites. We ended the day with a peaceful evening and dessert at our home, looking through Bob's paintings and sharing stories and memories.

It’s not your mother’s Democratic Party

"Today, the survival of the liberal establishment depends upon hyper-moralized political correctness and the relentless search for racist transgressions and crimes of exclusion. Over the last generation, rich voters have shifted to the Democratic party. After the 2018 midterms, the Democratic party holds the ten richest congressional districts and 41 of the fifty richest. Whatever remains of the New Deal rationale for the Democratic party has evaporated. It used to be the party of the working man. Now it's the party of Silicon Valley. This necessitates shifting political energy toward anti-discrimination imperatives, all of which REQUIRE discrimination in order to maintain their salience."

". . . Aggressive, minute, and punitive political correctness . . .serves a political need. The Democratic party is the party of the rich. That fact must be disguised, and thus the public square echoes with dog whistles warning of discrimination. White nationalism! Toxic masculinity! This serves to keep immigrants, women, and minorities in a state of constant fear, calling them to come under the protection of the liberal establishment."

". . . Our ruling liberal elite NEEDS racism, sexism, homophobia, and the rest. As a result, the institutions they dominate--mainstream media, universities, the art world, large corporations, and the Democratic party--devise theories, imagery, and rhetoric to ensure that bigotry and "hate" endure forever." R.R. Reno, First Things, April 2019, p. 62

The churches and BDS

IF you attend a liberal, mainline church (can be either Catholic or Protestant) you'll hear about BDS (boycott-divestment-sanctions) as a response to Israel. It's plain and simple Arab anti-Semitism and you've been snookered. Its advocates swarm on college campuses, social media and late night TV. Liberals particularly seem to love BDS. The objective is the killing of Jews and returning those who are left to the statelessness of pre-1948. I don't know exactly how they got such a foothold in academe, the founder, Omar Barghouti attended university in the U.S., so we must have birthed him. Can someone shake the money tree?

Which churches?

Here’s the ELCA, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, a merger of 1988 of 3 major Lutheran synods. download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/PNW_elca_bds.pdf?  Our church, UALC is no long in that synod.

Here’s Church of the Brethren, UCC, Disciples of Christ,  UMC, Presbyterian Church (USA)   https://disciples.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2016DNSStatement-on-Anti-BDS-legislation-Aug-22.pdf

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/121645/chutzpah-omar-barghouti-daniel-greenfield

Record black unemployment

The black unemployment rate, 6.7%, is the lowest ever recorded, but that's not how liberals/progressives see it. USA Today asks, "Why is unemployment for blacks 86% above the national average, and 116% above whites." Don't you love statistics? Not a mention in the USA Today article about 2010 black unemployment under Obama was 16.8%. It also notes the number of blacks in prison (1,609 per 100,000) compared to whites (274 per 100,000) and the difficulty in obtaining jobs with a prison record, without noting that blacks have an 8x higher crime rate than whites. Anything they can find to diminish Trump's accomplishments. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/05/06/black-unemployment-86-higher-than-us-average/39447773/

Higher minimum wage laws hurt minorities, youth and small businesses. https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/minimum-wage-hikes-minority-youth-job-loss/

President Trump and the opioid crisis

• President Trump launched an Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, introducing new measures to confront the driving forces behind this crisis.
• The President signed the landmark SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, the largest and most comprehensive legislative package addressing a single drug crisis in history.
• The President helped secure a record $6 billion in funding to fight the opioid epidemic.
• The Administration provided more than $2 billion in grants in 2018 to help States, territories, tribes, and local communities prevent and treat opioid abuse.
• The Administration pursued scientific solutions to prevent and treat addiction through the Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative.
• The President launched a national public awareness campaign about the dangers of opioid addiction and youth opioid usage.
• Last year, President Trump created a Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, which recommends ways to tackle the opioid crisis.
• The Administration declared the opioid crisis a nationwide Public Health Emergency in 2017.
• President Trump is working to cut off the flow of deadly opioids into our country and to disrupt the networks that distribute them to our communities.
• The Administration secured first-ever indictments against Chinese nationals for fentanyl trafficking.
• The Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a surge to target fentanyl and heroin dealers in the districts with the most severe overdose death rates.
• The DOJ formed a Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement team and shut down the biggest Darknet distributor of drugs.
• Last year, the DOJ announced the largest healthcare fraud takedown in history, arresting more than 120 defendants with opioid-related crimes.
• The President launched a Safer Prescribing Plan that seeks to cut nationwide opioid prescription fills by one-third within three years.
• The Administration has led four National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days, collecting a record-breaking 1,837 tons of expired and unneeded prescription drugs.

https://710wor.iheart.com/featured/mark-simone/content/2019-03-09-the-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-so-far/

Merriam Webster new word Stratagem

1. a. an artifice or trick in war for deceiving and outwitting the enemy

b. a cleverly contrived trick or scheme for gaining an end

2 . skill in ruses or trickery

Stratagem is not a “new” word in my vocabulary exactly, but I doubt I use it much.  Strategy, yes, I do use that.  But with the deception going on in Congress, it might be more useful. Investigating Americans because they don’t like them and having no crime to punish seems like a poor stratagem on which to build a campaign.

“A stratagem is any clever scheme—sometimes one that's part of an overall strategy (i.e., a carefully worked out plan of action). The word stratagem entered English in the 15th century and was originally used in reference to some artifice, such as a military plan or maneuver, which was designed to deceive or outwit the enemy. This military sense can be traced back to the word's Greek ancestor stratēgēma, which is itself based on stratēgein, meaning "to act as a general." Stratēgein, in turn, comes from stratēgos (meaning "general"), which comes from stratos ("camp" or "army") and agein ("to lead"). Stratēgos is an ancestor of strategy as well.”

Trying out the aggregator/repository CORE

Periodically I try out new search engines, data collectors and repositories I haven’t used, so today I discovered CORE, https://core.ac.uk/search, which at the moment has open access 135,500,000 publications, documents, blogs, trivia, thoughts, and according to my search, “President Trump,” over 725,000 items on our president even though he’s only been in office two years.

CORE’s mission is to aggregate all open access research outputs from repositories and journals worldwide and make them available to the public. In this way CORE facilitates free unrestricted access to research for all.

The co-investigator on the Euro Crisis in the Press (Japan) concluded even before Trump took office that he was a phenomenon like the world had never seen.

“Brexit has prevailed, the EU is in tatters, and finally Mr. Donald J. Trump has been elected President of the United States of America. Without any possible overstatement, the consequences of his ascent to the US presidency cannot be underestimated. It is a veritable game changer for global politics, an unexpected and glorious triumph for some, an unfathomable disaster for others.”

Checking his Tweets against the SOTU by three (American or British names) authors at Instituto Complutense de Análisis Económico (ICAE)

“State of the Union Addresses (SOUA) by two recent US Presidents, President Obama (2016) and President Trump (2018), and a series of recent of tweets by President Trump, are analysed by means of the data mining technique, sentiment analysis. The intention is to explore the contents and sentiments of the messages contained, the degree to which they differ, and their potential implications for the national mood and state of the economy. President Trump's 2018 SOUA and his sample tweets are identified as being more positive in sentiment than President Obama's 2016 SOUA. “

And from a UK blog, an interesting quote from Hillary Clinton even before he was the Republican candidate.

“It’s clear he doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about. So we can’t be certain which of these things he would do. But we can be certain that he’s capable of doing any or all of them. Letting ISIS run wild. Launching a nuclear attack. Starting a ground war. These are all distinct possibilities with Donald Trump in charge.” –  Hillary Clinton, Speech in San Diego, CA, June 2, 2016

Yes, if I had time to browse 725,000 bad predictions, slanders, and hysteria, it would be interesting, but we’ve heard it all for 3 years.

Book suggestions for 2019-2020

Our book club, which doesn’t have a name, was organized by a group of young mothers mostly who lived in Clintonville and attended Bethel Road Presbyterian Church in 1979.  So this fall, it will be 40 years old.  The babies are grown, most members are grandmothers, new members have joined (I joined in October 2000), others have moved out of the area. We are missionaries, librarians, school teachers, lawyers, administrators, volunteers, and of course, daughters, mothers, wives, sisters, widows and grannies.  Except for a few special occasions, we now meet in the afternoon instead of the evening and at Bethel Road Presbyterian where we have good parking and is centrally located for all but one of us. Part of the group split off and still meet in the afternoon.  In May we select our new books for the next September through May, and these are the suggested titles.  All looked good, so I’ve listed all, but starred the ones who got the votes.

**1. Becoming Mrs. Lewis, by Patti McCallahan  September 9 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39189837-becoming-mrs-lewis  The marriage of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis.  Led by Bev

**2. The black ascot, by Charles Todd November 4  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40133569-the-black-ascot  Inspector Ian Rutledge  Led by Justine

**3. Dream of death, by Connie Berry (local author) March 2 Murder mystery https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42785284-a-dream-of-death Led by Carolyn C.

4.  Beneath a scarlet sky, by Mark Sullivan.  Historical fiction. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32487617-beneath-a-scarlet-sky

5.  What Alice Forgot, by Liane Moriarity. Fiction, woman forgets a decade of her life

**6. Before we were yours, by Lisa Wingate, October 7, at Peggy’s, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32148570-before-we-were-yours Historical fiction, stolen children placed for adoption. Led by Margie

**7. Road to dawn by Josiah Henson April 6 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32148570-before-we-were-yours  Real life story of slave who inspired Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Led by Gail

8.  Heavenly Man the story of Brother Yun, Chinese Christian.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/79421.The_Heavenly_Man

9. Another kind of madness by Stephen Hinshaw. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31450861-another-kind-of-madness  Memoir of mental illness

10. White Rose by Kip Wilson, with We will not be silent. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39884755-white-rose  WWII era historical fiction 

11. Road to Character by David Brooks  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22551809-the-road-to-character  Thinkers and inspiring leaders

12.  Mrs. Mike by Benedict Freedman https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/155712.Mrs_Mike Love story set in Canada

**13. Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd.  January 13. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18079776-the-invention-of-wings  Grimke sisters. Led by Peggy

**14. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. February 3. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3228917-outliers Unusual interesting people. Led by Carolyn A

**15. One of the Narnia stories—A Horse and his boy. At Carolyn A.’s home December 2.  Everyone shares in this one. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/84119.The_Horse_and_His_Boy

**16. Elephant whisperer by Lawrence Anthony. May 4.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6375561-the-elephant-whisperer  Led by Peggy.

Arizona trip, Day 2, April 3,Walking in Historic Prescott

You're in good hands when you shop with sister Kate.  On Wednesday we went to WalMart (I think it was in Prescott Valley) to buy a new suitcase for Bob.  I didn't realize what a disaster his was until I watched him trying to move it through the airport after Phoebe dropped us off on Tuesday morning.  It was a little larger, but it had 4 wheels and a working extension pull handle. For lunch on Wednesday we went to a Bruce favorite where "everyone knows your name" and they knew the servers and owners.  I think it was called Tony's Too Bar and Grill, at least this looks like the photo. Great food, and then we were off to see historic, downtown Prescott, the county seat.

.

Prescott is known for being a friendly city, and I'd certainly agree. On our walk we met a woman who 2 days before had moved there from Huntington Beach, California, and then later we saw her again talking to some folks sitting outside a restaurant and those people used to live in Columbus, Ohio.  It was so easy to strike up a conversation with anyone, including a "just married" couple walking around the courthouse plaza.  I assume they were married in the court house.

Just married in Prescott, Arizona

Yavapai is the name of the county, but also the name of the native peoples of the area, so there are many buildings, colleges, city organizations, and non-profits called Yavapai.

The county courthouse with a statue dedicated to all veterans from Yavapai County

I think this is how we met the woman from California--

she offered to take our photo and we began talking.

In December all the trees are wrapped with colored lights for a Christmas celebration.

We visited the lobby of an old hotel while walking in the historic district.

Arizona trip, Day 1, April 2, Prescott

Prescott where the Bruces live is about an hour and forty-five minutes from Scottsdale, and as we went higher and higher it got cooler and gradually the cactus began to disappear. People in Phoenix come to the mountains to get away from the heat.  Although it was spring, and we saw a few flowering trees, the landscape was brown.

Rick and Kate's new home in the suburbs of Prescott, 3 bedroom ranch, 3.5 baths, 10 ft. ceilings with 8 ft. doors, 3 garages, covered patio and porch, paver drive way, lighted walk-ways.  Really great for entertaining, and lovely neighbors. 

The neighborhood is about 4 years old, and there were few houses on their street when they selected their model, but now there are just a few lots left.  This is the area we would walk in every day.  I discovered quickly the lack of oxygen at that elevation and had difficulty breathing. All homes had desert style landscaping.  Very little green. 

Front porch--it was cool but we enjoyed sitting here.

Tuesday evening Rick drove into Prescott to get a pizza.  It was a long, but lovely day.

Arizona trip, Day 1, April 2, Taliesin West

With a three hour time difference, we arrived in Phoenix 20 minutes early and before lunch.  Rick and Kate's son, daughter-in-law and grandson live there, so they know the area well, and had a favorite restaurant, Mimi's in Scottsdale not far from Taliesin. https://www.mimiscafe.com/lunch-dinner/  We had purchased tickets on-line for Taliesin West, but arrived an hour early and had no problem getting them changed.  https://www.yelp.com/biz/taliesin-west-scottsdale

Taliesin West was architect Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and school in the desert from 1937 until his death in 1959 at the age of 91. Today it is the main campus of the School of Architecture at Taliesin and houses the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. The Foundation has attempted to keep it looking much as it did in the 1950s, and it is a very popular tourist destination. We'd visited a number of FLW buildings and homes 10-15 years ago, in Ohio, New York, Oklahoma, and Illinois so we loved being able to see this final phase of his career.

Promotion photo of the Taliesin campus

Waiting for our docent--it was extremely hot with little shade

Students at work, a three year Master of Architecture program

Our docent explaining the history of the buildings and how the school works

One of many sculptures by Heloise Crista who died in March, 2018 at 92. 

Seeking some shade in the gift shop

Auditorium where students gathered with Wright for socializing

Arizona Trip, Day 1, April 2

Last year for Bob's 80th birthday, we had a huge party and his three siblings from Indiana, California and Arizona came here. It was time and money intensive, but I think we managed to outdo it this year for his 81st.  We flew to Arizona to visit brother Rick and sister Kate in their new home in Prescott, Arizona, on April 2 and sister Debbie flew in later in the week so we could be together again.  She also had never seen their new home. I believe they had moved there from Huntington Beach, California in 2015. Due to a divorce, the brothers and sisters had not grown up in the same home--Bob and Jean grew up in Indianapolis with their mother and step-father, and Rick and Debbie grew up with their mother and father in Southern California.

Bob, Rick Debbie and Jean with Grandfather C.L. Bruce in 1952 in Indiana

Rick, Bob and Deb in April 1993 in California for Bob's birthday

Bob, Jean and Deb at Jean's 80th in Indianapolis in February 2016

Deb, Bob, Jean and Rick in April 2018 in Columbus for Bob's birthday

President Trump and religious freedom—know your rights

Trump has done more for religious freedom in the U.S. than many recent presidents, but the media neglect to do their homework and some recent reporting shows the ignorance of journalists raised and educated in the late 20th-21st centuries. They hate him so therefore never dig into the laws and regulations. President Trump's executive order on religious liberty in May 2017 noted, "Federal law protects the freedom of Americans and their organizations to exercise religion." No new laws, no convoluted regulations. Simply implement the laws we had. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/05/04/read-the-full-text-of-trumps-executive-order-on-religious-freedom/?

Section 4 provided guidance (by then AG Jeff Sessions) on 20 principles of religious freedom and guidance for their implementation, followed by an appendix with supporting case law. I wonder how many journalists, pastors, church boards or school principals have read it? https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1001886/download?

Every American Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, others and atheists needs to print and save Sessions' guidelines so they don't look foolish arguing and making charges about settle law.

Was it Obama, Trump or Clinton who declared federal employees may keep religious materials on the private desks and read them during breaks? Clinton. Was it Obama, Trump or Clinton who said federal employees can wear religious jewelry, invite coworkers to attend services, and discuss religious issues? Clinton.

Why do Lutheran schools have the right to employ only practicing Lutherans, or set codes of conduct for non-Lutheran employees? Title VII Civil Rights Act 1964.

Is anyone watching CNN?

"How quickly Washington forgets — when it is convenient. Trump is not the first president to resist congressional investigation of the inner workings of his administration, and Barr is not the first Cabinet officer to negotiate the terms of his appearance before a committee. In fact, the responses are unremarkable." https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/05/01/trump-resists-congressional-subpoenas-thats-what-presidents-do/?

But those who watch CNN will never know that. . . is anyone watching CNN? Ratings are terrible. I see it occasionally at the gym or in snippets on Facebook posts—ridiculing it.

Who believes socialism will be different this time?

I keep reading on WaPo, NYT or BBC or even posts of liberal Facebook friends, that it isn't really socialism destroying Venezuela, but some other hybrid monster. This comment is being passed around on FB as "from a friend," and makes much more sense about what happens when you vote the Socialists in--and doesn't happen overnight.

"A friend writes: "For two decades the people of Venezuela voted for Socialists. They celebrated as their President stripped the successful of their property and their rights. They cheered as their government derided other nations for their commitment to capitalism and property rights and individual liberty.

I don't feel sorry for that majority who created the monster that now runs over them with armored vehicles, that stole their arms and left them defenseless against a nanny-state-turned-cannibal, that left them so penniless and hungry that they're eating their pets.

As Venezuela turns into a river of blood, as all socialist experiments necessarily do, I feel bad only for those who knew better all along. I feel bad for those in Venezuela who know history, who employ reason, who value evidence and logic and know basic economics. They are the victims of the mob, and they are the only victims in Venezuela.

The rest of them are getting exactly what they asked for, whether they knew it or not. Still, it will be less than a week before Democrats in our government demand we import these people here in the hopes they will vote for the same disastrous fiction that now eats their own country, a country that was one of the most-successful countries in the world."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2018/07/08/sorry-bernie-bros-but-nordic-countries-are-not-socialist/#2d99e46f74ad

How safe are our schools?

Highlights on school crime.  https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018036.pdf   It's decreased in this century, but would you know from the news? Reported hate-words have decreased. Would you know that from memes and posts on social media? Also, crimes among juveniles, girls and boys, have decreased 65% since 1996, and arrests significantly from 2006-2015.

• Based on the 2017 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), students ages 12 to 18 experienced 827,000 total victimizations (i.e., theft and nonfatal violent victimization) at school and 503,800 total victimizations away from school.
• From 2000 to 2017, there were 153 casualties (67 killed and 86 wounded) in active shooter incidents at elementary and secondary schools and 143 casualties (70 killed and 73 wounded) in active shooter incidents at postsecondary institutions.
• In 2017, about 6% of students ages 12 to 18 reported being called hate-related words at school during the school year, representing a decrease from 12% in 2001. This percentage also decreased between 2001 and 2017 for male and female students as well as for white, black, and Hispanic students.
• Between 2001 and 2017, the percentage of students ages 12 to 18 who reported that gangs were present at their school during the school year decreased overall (from 20% to 9%), as well as for students from urban areas (from 29% to 11%), suburban areas (from 18% to 8%), and rural areas (from 13% to 7%).
• During the 2015-16 school year, 47% of schools reported one or more crime incidents to police. The percentage of public schools reporting incidents to police was LOWER in 2015-16 than in every prior survey year.

Boys will be boys

It was judges and bureaucrats writing regulations who decided that the word "sex" which refers to a biological fact in our laws which primarily protect and promote females, was interchangeable with the concept of "gender" which originally was a term for grammar. Gender identity is just what it implies-- a fluid term with no basis in fact or biology. The wording in our equal opportunity laws was never intended to include biological men in women's athletic events, pronouns forced on others or bathrooms.

If an adult white man can identify as a woman, he can also identify as an American Indian, or a 15 year old disabled kid who needs special treatment. Our Congress needs to change the law based on evidence so we have clarity instead of law suits and confused teachers and employers.

I'm not even that comfortable with SCOTUS, another group of judges, making this decision on who gets to change the law.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/supreme-court-to-hear-case-about-whether-sex-is-the-same-as-gender-identity

Joe Biden is rethinking Anita Hill and revising history

Molly Hemingway is one of the best journalists out there. Here's her take on Biden and Hill. She actually does research, something unheard of for so many "talk at the camera" or "click and link" journalists.

"The issue [of Biden's revisionist history] is important, as the media and other partisans rewrite the historical record about Hill and her accusations. The widely watched hearings revealed inaccuracies in Hill’s various versions of events and ended with 58 percent of Americans believing Thomas and only 24 percent believing Hill."

https://thefederalist.com/2019/04/28/joe-biden-on-anita-hill-in-1998-she-was-lying/?

Although it took me a few more years to leave the Democrat party, it was while watching the hearings I first became aware of the deep racism of that party.  They just could not fathom giving a black man who hadn’t sworn his loyalty to the master that kind of power.  He believes in the Constitution, and that was very scary.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/5185/6-pieces-evidence-anita-hill-was-lying-amanda-prestigiacomo

“. . . when I watched the hearings, just like probably many Americans, I accepted the idea that we had a contest of equal credibility between two people, between Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill. I think the main message is that when you look at the evidence, when you go out, as I did, and interview third parties, pore over the documents and the records, the battle of credibility is settled hands down in favor of Clarence Thomas. Anita Hill's testimony is really shot through with false, incorrect and misleading statements, and I think so much so that at the end of that particular part of the book it's very difficult to believe that what she said about Clarence Thomas is also true.”  David Brock, NPR, 1993 https://www.c-span.org/video/?43009-1/the-real-anita-hill

The tragedy in Poway, California

"The combat veteran who stopped the Poway, California, synagogue shooter—the same guy who called every other white person a coward in his evil manifesto—used a command voice, profanity, and a mean mug to send the gunman running but he believes it requires something more than that to stop multiple-victim public shootings. The 51-year-old veteran tells The Daily Caller, “It takes a good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun.”--Dan Flynn"

"Stewart said he chased him all the way out to his car, and began pounding on it — the shooter had managed to lock himself in. When Stewart saw him reach for a rifle, he punched the side of the car as hard as he could, intending to figure out a way to drag him out of the car — that’s when a Border Patrol agent who attends the synagogue came running out to the parking lot, yelling for Stewart to get down because he had a gun.

Stewart says this man may have saved his life, and pointed to his use of a civilian gun — he was off-duty and was apparently handed the weapon by someone else on the scene — as evidence that gun control isn’t the answer to these kinds of tragedies. “It takes a good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun,” he told the [Daily] Caller."

Benefits and costs of refugees and immigrants

The CATO Institute has some good information and detail on immigrants vs. native born and their use of the safety net programs. https://www.cato.org/publications/immigration-research-policy-brief/immigration-welfare-state-immigrant-native-use-rates

Refugees and illegal immigrants are not treated the same. https://www.disabilityapprovalguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Refugee-Report-Draft.pdf  Refugees are generally eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP aka Food Stamps). But like the rest of us, they are means tested. Under existing federal statutes, unlike other immigrant groups, refugees can receive federal means tested benefit programs immediately upon arrival in the U.S. as long as they meet the eligibility criteria (often set at a state ­level).

I believe that investing in legal immigrants and refugees pays back, and it is a humanitarian act,  but the loopholes like what we're seeing now claiming refugee status to get across the border is very bad for our country. Ilhan Omar is an example of an ungrateful refugee who takes advantage of the system.

The weakest plank in the platform—Reparations

The family of Kamala Harris' father owned slaves. The family of President Obama's mother owned slaves. Less than 5% of Americans have any ties to people who owned slaves. Freed blacks in the U.S. owned slaves at a higher rate than whites, according to Dr. Gates of PBS, most of whom were too poor. American Indians owned black slaves and there are still some court cases over land. There is more slavery globally today than in the 18th century. Yet Democrats want to make reparations for slavery a plank in their 2020 platform to defeat Trump. Larry Elder sees Trump's election as divine intervention.

https://youtu.be/PxD_g-0JRXo

https://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/

https://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2018/282576.htm

Preventing child abuse and death

In 2017, an estimated 1,720 children died from abuse, and 72% of them were younger than three years old.  April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.  https://www.ojjdp.gov/enews/blogs/042419-ojjdp-child-abuse-prevention.html

There is a media campaign with free images and messages you can download called "We Can."https://cantasd.acf.hhs.gov/we-can/   However, as I looked through them I saw only 2 that showed a Mom and Dad together, both active military, which is odd. Why couldn't there be a message about marriage, or the assumption of married parents? What are they afraid of? Married parents are the strongest guarantee against poverty, and fathers active in their children's lives help with self esteem and positive social behavior.

Title and wording in the 2018 Farm Bill

Before firing people or putting them in jail for using the wrong pronoun for a guy who's feeling girlish today, or maybe “theyish” tomorrow, I suggest renaming the Farm Bill. 80% of the Farm Bill is food assistance, and it's just silly to call it anything else. The 2 issues aren't related at all--but sloppy language increases confusion during partisan debates. The 2018 Farm Bill (Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, HR2) is $867 Billion over 10 years. It dwarfs the budgets of the NIH, CDC and FDA, probably because good nutrition does contribute to good health. 42% of low income women are obese, with a higher figure if they use government assistance.

Depending on which expert you read, and how much you hate Trump/Republicans the various cuts are either a savings or a disaster for the poor. Farm Journal reported it was budget neutral, with a possible savings of $7 million over the 10 years.

And speaking of language, it did clean up some unpronounceable acronyms into simply, FOTO. The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) and Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program ( OASDVFRP or Section 2501) are now the Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach (FOTO) program. That should save some money in printing right there. At least no one should be fired if they mispronounce it.

Note: In reading through the Section 2501 (now called FOTO) previous year's budget and accomplishments I noticed all the money for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers went to minority farmers and ranchers, even though about 40% of those on government assistance are white. I wonder if this is another example of the government picking winners and losers on the basis of ethnicity and skin color.

Another lie you often hear about our assistance programs (with the intent to increase the Farm Bill) is that you can't feed a family on food stamps (SNAP). Maybe that's because it was never intended for that. But actually, a resourceful Canadian has shown otherwise with her cookbook, "Good and cheap," using a SNAP budget for a healthy diet. And it's free on line, or you can order a paper copy. https://cookbooks.leannebrown.com/good-and-cheap.pdf

Our language is always changing

640 new words were added in April to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. I've been saying one of them incorrectly:  I say, "to-go cup" when I’m at Panera’s with my friend Adrienne, and apparently the approved, in the dictionary term is "go-cup."

My senior class high school English teacher, Mrs. Price, insisted we buy Merriam-Webster Collegiate dictionaries, and I'm still using that model (I have the 11th, which you can buy for about $30 or download for free, and I got mine for $1 at a used book store), and I have the 2nd International unabridged Merriam Webster (about 25 lbs) for interesting browsing which my grandmother gave my parents for x-mas in the 1950s.  One of my cousins probably has their mother’s copy.  Grandma was big on giving presents like magazines, books, and art supplies.  My mother continued that tradition with her grandchildren.  You can never know too many words.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/shop-dictionaries/dictionaries/collegiate-dictionary-eleventh-edition

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/new-words-in-the-dictionary?

https://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2008/11/friday-family-photo-its-dictionary.html

Michael Smith chats with a friend

“Paraphrasing a conversation I had today with a friend:

Me: "Let's do a little logic exercise to help you understand what I'm trying to say."

Friend: "OK."

Me: "Do you think if I called you a thief, you would be more likely or less likely to want to associate with me?"

Friend: "Probably less."

Me: "What if I called you a rapist?"

Friend: "Probably even less likely."

Me: "OK, what if I called you a pedophile?"

Friend: "Probably even less likely than the other two."

Me: "OK, so how likely do you think it would be for me to pay attention to people who don't know me and call me a racist, bigot and homophobe? Why would I have any reason to engage or listen to anything they say?"

Friend: "That's different."

Me: "How so?"

Friend: "Because even though you aren't any of those things, people you support are."

Me: "Who are they?"

Friend: "The Republicans in this state and Trump."

Me: "What evidence is their that they are any of those things?"

Friend: "Well, immigration, the Muslim ban and the Charlottesville white supremacist thing right off the top of my head."

Me: "OK, I know you won't agree but immigration is a matter of law, court decisions and Obama policy and I can show you the total transcript of what Trump said about the situation in Charlottesville, so let me address the Muslim "ban" that wasn't because it is the softest to address."

Friend: "OK."

Me: "OK, let's assume you work for the TSA in Salt Lake and there are 10 people in line in full burkas, covered head to toe. You get a call from the FBI stating that they know one of the 10 is a man wearing a suicide vest. You have no time, what would you do?"

Friend: "I'd get security to quarantine all of them until they could be searched."

Me: "Exactly - given the danger and the uncertainty, that is the most reasonable course of action. Good job. Guess what?"

Friend: "What?"

Me: You just outlined and validated the reasoning behind the travel ban that Trump enacted. The fact the countries were Muslim was coincidental, the purpose was to stop travel from countries that lacked proper vetting for travelers. It had nothing to do with Islam at all."

Friend: "But Trump said bad things about Muslims during the campaign..."

Me: "And those things were not the basis for the policy, that was a creation of your friends in the Democrat Party and their friends in the media because they thing ORANGEMANBAD is a valid reason for everything. It's the policy that matters, not what is said. Obama said you could keep your doctor but you couldn't, so that proves you can't judge a policy by what is said about it, only what the policy actually does."

Friend: "Well, I still don't like Trump."

Me: "But that doesn't make him a racist, bigot or homophobe. Your feelings about him are irrelevant unless you can back those feelings up with facts."

Friend: "Still don't like him."

Me: "You have that right - not asking you to like him, just to be fair. Talk tomorrow, got to run. I'll flip you the full transcript of Trump's Charlottesville remarks from the NYT and some of their reporting on Obama's 2004 immigration policies."

Cubans at the southern border

Imagine that. Mexico is overwhelmed by the illegal immigration headed for our southern border and over a thousand broke out of the holding facility. The majority of migrants moving through Mexico are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, according to Reuters, but Cubans are also joining in large numbers. More than 1,000 people from Cuba are now in Chiapas, according to Mexican officials.

The word has been put out by leftist non-profits that help them and Democrats (but I repeat) that if they can get to the U.S. they will be let go to "return" later for a hearing. And of course, very few do because most are not refugees. But I am curious why Cubans would take these risks to leave their socialist paradise.

Liberal friend Jim (an electrician) believes Cuba’s government failed because of U.S. sanctions. Pfffft. The sanctions are gone, and they never had sanctions from other countries. They had no restricted trade from South America or Mexico or USSR. THE SYSTEM FAILED. I get travel brochures each week showing 1950s automobiles and happy, clappy Cuban dancers. Why do people like Jim still believe in socialism when he’s seen it fail his entire lifetime, and he’s educated and knows the end result is always Cuba or Venezuela or the USSR? Y

Yes, we have a system for asylum seekers, but bussing well dressed, well fed, freely traveling Hondurans and Salvadorans and Pakistanis illegally to swamp our borders, courts and safety net system isn't it.

Joe Biden announces—his hate, but no program

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," Biden said. "I mean, that's a storybook, man." That was 2007 Biden praising Barack Obama for being bright and clean, apparently something he'd never seen before in a black man.

And now he's running for president and in his 2019 announcement he tells another lie about another politician, our President. ""He said there were quote some very fine people on both sides," Biden said. "With those words, the President of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it. And in that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I had ever seen in my lifetime."

Anyone with half a brain who heard Trump speak about the crowds gathered in a park to either defend or destroy statues, knows what he said--and the bad people were the white supremacists and the leftists who'd shown up without a permit to rattle a few cages and the good people were about the statues. Anyone not a Trump hater knows the president said there were good people on both sides of the statue issue. He condemned the skin heads and the Black Lives Matter groups. Town groups on both sides of preserving the statue condemned both the right and left groups.

So once again Biden traffics in the ignorance and gullibility of the American people, saying Charlottesville was a bigger threat to America than 9/11, hundreds of caravans storming our southern border, the government over reach in the implosion of the housing market, the Viet Nam War, climate change, the opioid crisis, the college cost bubble, and our below replacement birth rate.

https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/04/25/if-there-was-a-joe-biden-statue-leftists-would-tear-it-down/

Uber ridiculous!

A homeless man who finds a bag of puppies and rescues them is called a hero, but an Uber driver who won't assist in an abortion is fired and the client wants to sue him.

Poor snowflake. Planned Parenthood just didn't fit her schedule, and when Uber-moral guy said no to the trip when he found out where she was going, and she actually had to call her boyfriend to complete the dirty deed. I think the Uber driver was a hero, the boy friend was a jerk, and Uber is a crappy company if this is how they treat their drivers who have a shred of decency. Are Uber drivers obligated to take a drunk client to a bar? Should an Uber driver be required to take a prostitute to a destination to meet her client?

https://www.dailywire.com/news/46319/woman-plans-sue-uber-after-driver-refused-take-her-amanda-prestigiacomo?

David Shuttleworth’s 20th anniversary party

We attended Dave’s business anniversary event http://www.sco-advisors.com/ last night in a sweet little 19th century restored cottage,  and the food was outstanding both in taste and presentation, so of course, I asked. . . http://party-panache.com/ Mini butter-puffs stuffed with turkey salad, toasted pecans and dried cranberries. . . Nutted Olives, Large queen olives surrounded with cream cheese, rolled in toasted pecans, served halved. . . Asparagus spears wrapped with prosciutto and boursin. . . Balsamic Rosemary Roast Beef Served with red onion confit and horseradish cream on baguette slices. . . Large chilled shrimp, served with seafood cocktail sauce . . . Assorted fresh fruit on skewers with dips . . . delicious finger desserts, especially dark chocolate brownies. . . .and many more delights. Needless to say, I didn’t fix dinner.

I’m working on lowering my cholesterol, but this event, plus a wonderful Easter box sent by our California sister Debbie, (with wonderful pretzels covered with icing) has certainly made it difficult.

How the media turned candidate Trump into a racist

I’ve never heard the President say anything racist. He’s done more for minorities by making America great again than Obama ever could with hope and change (to a more socialist country).   How is it so many Democrats believe this?  It’s our media.  They get paid for every click.

"It began when he announced his intention to run for president in June of 2015. Typical of the media reception he received was the NBC story titled, “Donald Trump Announces Presidential Bid by Trashing Mexico, Mexicans.” What he actually did, of course, was say what every major politician regardless of party [especially Clinton] had already said about illegal immigration at our southern border. Soon, however, virtually every “news” outlet began claiming that he had called all Mexicans rapists and killers." https://spectator.org/trump-opponents-never-tire-of-losing/?

The media got everything wrong during the campaign and in the last 2 years, but they don't learn. Now with Nadler and Schiff they have moved on to obstruction and still cry "impeach him." They have no platform for 2020 except destroy Trump.

Why neither Obama nor Clinton mentioned Christians in the Sri Lanka bombing

"The reason neither of them [Obama and Clinton] mentioned Christians or churches is that the left has essentially forbidden mention of all the anti-Christian murders perpetrated by Muslims in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and of all the Muslim desecration of churches in Europe, Africa, and anywhere else.

This is part of the same phenomenon—that I and others have documented—of British police and politicians covering up six years of rape of 1,400 English girls by Muslim “grooming gangs” in Rotherham and elsewhere in England.

Essentially, the left’s rule is that nothing bad—no matter how true—may be said about Muslims or Islam and nothing good—no matter how true—may be said of Christians or Christianity."

Commentary by Dennis Prager https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/04/23/why-obama-and-clinton-tweeted-about-easter-worshippers-not-christians/?

More reasons not to trust the media.

Rank, rate, percent and number

When reading statistics, watch the terms. Rank, rate, number, percent. For instance, Alaska RANKS 4th in the nation for black homicides. Wow. The RATE of homicide for blacks in Alaska is 29.22 per 100,000 (the national homicide rate is 4.62; 2.67 for white Americans). Must be a very violent place, that Alaska! In most states many fewer women are lost to this violence (about 12%), but in Alaska it's over 37 PERCENT. However, in NUMBERS only eight blacks were killed, 5 men and 3 women. 100% were killed by someone they knew, and 50% of those deaths were because of an argument. (2015 statistics from Violence Policy Center, April 2018, p. 3, state rankings)

I checked 4 sources--each had different figures for black male homicides. But I did see one in VPC that reported of the 7,014 black homicides, 121 were killed by law enforcement--of those where a relationship between victim and assailant could be determined, 75% were killed by someone they knew. Which is more likely to be breathlessly reported for days on the news, followed by a trial and protests?

Third gender option--Kamala Harris

Candidates chasing the gender realignments looking for new causes. 

1. Destroy God's word and creation stories of all cultures/religions, 

2. Destroy any statistical record in health/accomplishments and athletic prowess awards for women, 

3. Destroy "toxic masculinity" with mind control and hormones. 

4. Slash the birth rate (already below replacement level). 

5. Be God.

In order to identify as "woke", I think Kamala Harris should change her first name to Harris, wear no make-up, shave her head, and put on plumber's pants, complete with the crack.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kamala-harris-third-gender-option-federal-ids?

Jeffrey Varasano says the 2020 platform for the Democrats is "It's a formula for Marxist revolution. Take every pillar that supports your opponent and criticize it from all angles on any grounds. It doesn't matter the reason. What matters is the repetition and that critique come from all directions from within the intelligentsia. So they attack institutions while they simultaneously infiltrate then morph them from within."

Across the pond in Great Britain, "Suzie Green allowed her teenage son to have sex-realignment surgery in Thailand which included penis removal (something that is not permitted in the UK). Caroline Farrow (a Catholic journalist) commented that in her view this was child abuse. Green denies this and says it was done with the best interest of her child, who is now identified as female." Guess which woman is being investigated as a threat in Great Britain--the woman who exercised her authority to remove her son's penis and pump him full of hormones, or the woman who exercised free speech and "mis-gendered" this poor child? And it's coming here.

https://theweeflea.com/2019/03/23/jordan-peterson-caroline-farrow-jayne-ozanne-and-the-death-of-free-speech/?

Only in America

I agree with Jared Kushner

The recently concluded Mueller investigation of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia did far more harm than any dirty tricks Russia tried to do, and failed, during the last presidential campaign.

The Mueller investigation broke families apart, ruined friendships, tore the country apart, made patriotism a nasty word, turned ordinarily normal people into thieves and attackers--knocking down elderly and stealing hats, sent our "free press" on a fool's mission, and drove one of our national parties over the edge of the socialism cliff.

From crisis to crisis

Democrats and media were wrong for over 2 years about Russia, but they just move on to something else. The investigation served them well--more money for the media investors and more donations for the politicians. If we disagree with them, they pull out the laundry list of names--racist, homophobe, xenophobe, white supremacist (even blacks are called that if conservative), or fan of Fox, etc.  This isn't healthy. And now the investigators will be investigated.  Kate Smith has been shut down and silenced because of a song she sang in the 1930s?   When will it stop?

https://spectator.org/refusing-to-admit-when-we-are-wrong-has-become-an-american-crisis/

I remember when Bush was hated—we called it Bush Derangement Syndrome, and that has morphed into an actual condition called the  Trump Derangement Syndrome—TDS.   “In 2003, Charles Krauthammer defined the term Bush Derangement Syndrome: "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency -- nay -- the very existence of George W. Bush.^[1]”  )Conservapedia.com)   https://www.wnd.com/2018/09/psychiatrist-trump-derangement-syndrome-is-real-and-serious/ 

And I recall how race relations deteriorated under Obama—and often he stirred the pot implicating the police and Republicans, even though the actual rioting or protests like BLM and Occupy were not by Republicans or Conservatives.  Those protests were just staging ground for what was to come.  https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/257811-obama-defends-black-lives-matter

Carrying old grudges and burdens is not healthy for any person or any party or any country or any sports franchise (I’m referring to Kate Smith who never kept a black athlete from playing professional ball).

Hands up—lay down your burden.

For Earth Day—no savings with electric cars

"According to the study directed by Christoph Buchal of the University of Cologne, published by the Ifo Institute in Munich last week, electric vehicles have "significantly higher CO2 emissions than diesel cars." That is due to the significant amount of energy used in the mining and processing of lithium, cobalt, and manganese, which are critical raw materials for the production of electric car batteries."

And then what do you do with all those batteries?

I found a report of this in several publications with no link to the research, but had to dig some to get the name of the study. Buchal, Christoph, Hans-Dieter Karl and Hans-Werner Sinn, "Kohlemotoren, Windmotoren und Dieselmotoren: Was zeigt die CO2-Bilanz?", ifo Schnelldienst 72 (08), 2019.

Shifting to obstruction

When you checkmate a dishonest person in an argument, they shift the discussion, insisting this second concern always animated their position. This describes the response to the Mueller Report from the conspiracy-theory wing of the Democratic Party. They now talk in muted terms, if at all, about Donald Trump conspiring with an unfriendly nation to rig the 2016 presidential election. Instead, they obsess over obstruction of justice, a crime Mueller’s investigators seem agnostic about in noting it could neither prove obstruction nor exonerate the president. Such mental gymnastics seems rich, particularly when one ponders the spectacle of the subject of an investigation obstructing justice over nonexistent crimes. They essentially accused the president of treason. Now they claim that obstruction of justice, a crime somewhat lower on the totem pole, justified this prolonged national nightmare.—Dan Flynn, American Spectator, April 19

Identity politics—guest blogger Patti

I didn't see this one by Patti York when it first appeared in November. . .and thought her analysis of identity politics and being treated like a victim was worth sharing. Her points may give you strength to resist the "poor little me" feeling for the hate and anger you experience. I wouldn't go so far to say I love any president, whether Ike, Reagan or Trump, but I do admire the way Trump energizes and sticks up for the people the two parties have ignored and marginalized—especially the low income, blue collar and minorities. From the WalkAway website (for people who have left the Democrat Party).

"Hello, the turning point for me began in 2007. I was a hard left democrat. I almost voted for Obama, but my gut told me not to vote at all, so I used all of 2009 to vet him as a president and was not at all impressed. During his presidency I witnessed that my party was really not my party at all anymore. They were completely immersed in identity politics. There was no place for me as a visible lesbian who cut her teeth on "questioning authority". Not once in the last twelve years has any democrat ever spoken to me as an American first. They always tried to appeal to my gender or sexual orientation and ignored the fact that I am an American with just as many constitutional rights as any other American. I live in the NYC metropolitan area and people like me are hated for not being good little obedient hard left victims. It's a good thing that I have a thick skin, it has served me well. I love President Trump. He is the quintessential political under dog who soundly defeated 16 talented, seasoned politicians in the primary, then went on to destroy the Clinton cartel in spectacular fashion. He's a street fighter with brass knuckles, that never apologizes for his honesty. We are living in legendary times, just to have witnessed this."

A blessed Easter

Our pastoral, church staff and volunteers went all out for Holy Week at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church. There were two high lights in a week of wonderful worship experiences.  At the Friday night solemn service, there were several teens participating, and one young girl was tasked with lighting seven candles between  the scripture passages read by the pastor and two other teens.  She was taller than me, but the candles were high enough and in a clear glass globe, that her arms were just not quiet long enough even stretched well above her head.  After she struggled with the first 2, our 6’5” senior pastor, Steve Turnbull. quietly stepped up from his pew and stood behind her in the dark.  When she struggled, he stepped forward took the candle lighter from her hands and effortlessly with one arm raised high and the other low to control the tool, lit the candle.  But he didn’t do it until she had tried.  What a beautiful example of God’s love and grace.

And then on Easter Sunday, Pastor Dave Mann gave the sermon at our Lytham Road traditional service.  I suppose it was full of the usual Easter message, but what I remember and what we told our family at dinner was the story he told about John and Ali.  John was having a very busy day, and he passed a black man on Route 23 going north who’d had a flat tire and was attempting to flag someone down.  John felt the Lord tap his shoulder but proceeded on as he had a busy schedule.  Then he felt a firmer tap, so he turned around to help the stranded motorist.  Not only was the tire flat, it was ruined.  Not only was it ruined, but the man, Ali, had no money.  So John paid for the tire himself, and then installed it for Ali.  When they were finished, Ali told him he’d been waiting for two hours and no one had stopped, so why did John stop?  “Because I serve the King,” John told him.  Then Ali said, he’d like to know about this King that John served.  Last Easter Ali was baptized a Christian and joined our Lutheran church.  Dave told him that he would experience rejection and even hate from his Muslim community, but God’s love, through John had touched him and he came to know the living Lord.

Pastor Dave also comments occasionally on Facebook and shares his faith.  Last summer Dave’s little grandson and his adult son both died within a week of each other, and Dave’s witness on Facebook probably reach many weak Christians or non-believers.

Imagine if you can