Wednesday, June 19, 2019
A lively blind rescue
I've been on two lakefront walks this morning, so I'm 4 miles good for the day. Noticed a lot of toxic white masculinity--roofers, carpenters, heavy equipment operators. Thank God for men doing the jobs women don't want. That wage gap is a total myth--feminists like to whine and compare salaries of part time baby sitters with engineers. Suing is a cottage industry in the grievance groups. Men had to give up private associations, but women didn't.
Also, stopped to talk to a woman walking a cute little white fluff ball dog--not a poodle, but the dust mop style. We stopped to chat and she told me the dog is a rescue. Her husband had died, and then later her dog. Because this adorable little piece of fluff was blind she was considered unadoptable, but the woman's other dog had been blind, so an exception was made. She's very lively--and although blind, she certainly can smell another dog and keeps her new owner on her toes. I think she said the rescue was Safe Harbor https://islandshas.wixsite.com/ishas/large-grid
Our Lakeside stove
About 5 years ago our 20" electric stove at our lake house, probably 50 years old, went ka-boom and died. We went shopping in Sandusky and bought the cheapest possible model (about $370, and in 2019 it's $450) at ABC Appliances we could find. An odd size appliance like 20” always costs more than standard and this one was a little like our 1963 Plymouth that had no radio and no AC. We were cheap then too.
So I've been shopping for something like I should have bought then--glass window in the oven door, drawer for storage and oven light. In 2013, I could have had all that for an additional $25, and now I'll shell out close to $600 for a 24" with delivery, cord and installation. Or, if my math is right, about $1,000 to replace my little old stove that came with the cottage in 1988. We went to Lowe's, Home Depot, ABC Appliances, and Frank’s. I finally ordered on-line from Sears.
To forgive myself for my foolish mistakes in money, I always reflect on the time we bought a lot about 30 years ago next to my sister in law when they lived on a lake in Indiana for $10,000 and sold it the next year for $20,000.
I’ll check around here and see if anyone in Lakeside has a small apartment and need a 20” stove, or when our niece and nephew come to visit in July, I’ll see if they want to take it back to Indianapolis.
So I've been shopping for something like I should have bought then--glass window in the oven door, drawer for storage and oven light. In 2013, I could have had all that for an additional $25, and now I'll shell out close to $600 for a 24" with delivery, cord and installation. Or, if my math is right, about $1,000 to replace my little old stove that came with the cottage in 1988. We went to Lowe's, Home Depot, ABC Appliances, and Frank’s. I finally ordered on-line from Sears.
To forgive myself for my foolish mistakes in money, I always reflect on the time we bought a lot about 30 years ago next to my sister in law when they lived on a lake in Indiana for $10,000 and sold it the next year for $20,000.
I’ll check around here and see if anyone in Lakeside has a small apartment and need a 20” stove, or when our niece and nephew come to visit in July, I’ll see if they want to take it back to Indianapolis.
An Illinois Catholic on the new abortion bill—guest blogger
“Our priest spoke about it numerous times, as did others. . . The diocesan office encouraged everyone to pray, fast, and act. For those who were able, many trips were taken to Springfield to protest this hideous legislation. We were encouraged to spread the word about these bills. Many wrote letters, many called. . . . The judicial process allowed us to protest the bills via an online vote.
It's saddening to realize we have people who do not value life.
In the recent newspaper from our Diocese, a priest has made it known that all legislators who voted for these bills and reside in his deanery will be denied holy communion (I believe it was a priest, might have come from another Bishop) . . . until that person has made his/her confession. And interestingly, both Madigan (Speaker of the House) and Culverton (Head of the Senate) are both Catholic. The denial of holy communion is powerful.”
Monday, June 17, 2019
Robert Royal on freedom
Our notions of freedom come from self-indulgent entertainers, self-interested politicos, self-absorbed academic eccentrics, self-referential media. Yet despite celebrations of identity, individuality, diversity, uniqueness, the result is not a rich and harmonious social fabric and freedom, but obvious chaos and conflict in private and in public, for those with eyes to see." -- Robert Royal
Week 1 in Lakeside, 2019
It's chilly in Lakeside this week, and we brought mostly summer clothes with us. But, I didn't even have to go to a thrift store, and under the bed packed away I found a turtleneck cornflower blue long sleeve t-shirt about 20 years old, and am wearing it under one of my new purchases. I love it when a plan comes together.
The 10:30 lecture today is on F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald: A Literature of Romance and an Age of Jazz with Taylor Hagood, Professor of English and Director of the Study of the Americas Initiative at Florida Atlantic University. This afternoon at 1:30 he’ll lecture on What makes American literature American. https://taylorhagood.com/
Here’s a link to the entire summer series. https://www.lakesideohio.com/education/lecture-series
Bob is having breakfast today with the Guys’ Club at the Patio where his paintings for this season are displayed. This is a club whose motto is “We’ll get around to it,” and they have no agenda or plan, they just get together and enjoy each others company.
Tonight is a silent movies organist program by Clark Wilson at Hoover. http://www.clarkwilson.net/. We might stop in.
This morning on my walk along the lakefront I stopped to look at some of the new improvements finished since we left last Labor Day. The Steel Memorial Bandstand where so many have been married and where we have some evening concerts and vespers had a complete facelift, thanks to "Giving Tuesday of 2017" which raised about $450,000. The seating area is no longer gravel, it's been graded and paved with pavers, and has all new "attached" benches, with some open space where I assume people who bring their own lawn chairs, baby strollers or wheel chairs can sit. The bandstand is a memorial to Fritz and Karlyn Steele, Lakesiders who were killed in an auto accident in August 1978, so the memorial is now 40 years old, and needed some renovation.
Then I went over and looked at the new basketball courts--maybe six of them. Also sand volley ball courts. This is primarily to serve the teen-agers, although you often see little ones and older adults playing too. The money for this was raised on "Giving Tuesday 2018," so you can see things move very quickly once the money is available. I needed to take this detour because the main dock is closed again due to high water--even a little wave action and wind stirs up the lake and it has to be closed. The two side docks, called L dock and I dock (due to shape) are under water even without wind.
I heard from the Barris' https://www.idlewyldbb.com/ when we visited there last evening, that the pool was being used yesterday despite the cold and wind. It is heated and has good handicapped access. It opened the summer of 2017, and is getting heavy use. And we're so fortunate it's there--and I was one of the nay sayers who said, "Why do we need a pool when we have Lake Erie?" But donors smarter and richer than I knew--in 2017 the swimming area of the lake couldn't be used for a few weeks due to bacteria and algae bloom http://lakeeriealgae.com/, and this year the lake is too high to be safe.
The 10:30 lecture today is on F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald: A Literature of Romance and an Age of Jazz with Taylor Hagood, Professor of English and Director of the Study of the Americas Initiative at Florida Atlantic University. This afternoon at 1:30 he’ll lecture on What makes American literature American. https://taylorhagood.com/
Here’s a link to the entire summer series. https://www.lakesideohio.com/education/lecture-series
Bob is having breakfast today with the Guys’ Club at the Patio where his paintings for this season are displayed. This is a club whose motto is “We’ll get around to it,” and they have no agenda or plan, they just get together and enjoy each others company.
Tonight is a silent movies organist program by Clark Wilson at Hoover. http://www.clarkwilson.net/. We might stop in.
This morning on my walk along the lakefront I stopped to look at some of the new improvements finished since we left last Labor Day. The Steel Memorial Bandstand where so many have been married and where we have some evening concerts and vespers had a complete facelift, thanks to "Giving Tuesday of 2017" which raised about $450,000. The seating area is no longer gravel, it's been graded and paved with pavers, and has all new "attached" benches, with some open space where I assume people who bring their own lawn chairs, baby strollers or wheel chairs can sit. The bandstand is a memorial to Fritz and Karlyn Steele, Lakesiders who were killed in an auto accident in August 1978, so the memorial is now 40 years old, and needed some renovation.
Then I went over and looked at the new basketball courts--maybe six of them. Also sand volley ball courts. This is primarily to serve the teen-agers, although you often see little ones and older adults playing too. The money for this was raised on "Giving Tuesday 2018," so you can see things move very quickly once the money is available. I needed to take this detour because the main dock is closed again due to high water--even a little wave action and wind stirs up the lake and it has to be closed. The two side docks, called L dock and I dock (due to shape) are under water even without wind.
I heard from the Barris' https://www.idlewyldbb.com/ when we visited there last evening, that the pool was being used yesterday despite the cold and wind. It is heated and has good handicapped access. It opened the summer of 2017, and is getting heavy use. And we're so fortunate it's there--and I was one of the nay sayers who said, "Why do we need a pool when we have Lake Erie?" But donors smarter and richer than I knew--in 2017 the swimming area of the lake couldn't be used for a few weeks due to bacteria and algae bloom http://lakeeriealgae.com/, and this year the lake is too high to be safe.
Eating their young in academe
"Researchers, scholars and scientists in multiple countries have offended the arbiters of academic groupthink and suffered censure, social ostracism or expulsion from the ranks." Sir Tim Hunt, Jordan Peterson, Michael Rectenwald, Rachel Fulton Brown, Bret Weinstein, Paul Griffiths, Nicholas and Erika Christakis, Jeffrey Ketland, Rick Mehta, Jeff Muehlbaur, Allen Frantzen, Richard Ted Lebow, Mark Silinsky, Nigel Biggar, Noah Carl, Alessandro Strumia and Rebecca Tuvel." (Michael Rectenwald on Facebook)
So true, and even getting P & T in academe is a struggle because there are so few conservatives in any department, so they have come to prominence quietly, or by converting later and recognizing the evils of Marxism, socialism, and communism, or by simply asking logical questions about dogma. Tuvel is a radical feminist and untenured philosophy professor who simply suggested that transracialism and transgenderism are based on the same theory of biological change. For that heresy published in a peer review journal, the editorial board was threatened (they apologized) and Tuvel's dissertation committee caved. The power of group think. In her case, it was a social media mob -- and you just never know where the bots are.
Of course, it's a shame that Tuvel has worked so hard to even get a job in academe to then have her reputation smeared by nobodies and her career dismantled, but she only had to look around her as she was coming up, doing the research, attending conferences or going out for a drink with colleagues to see that when the confederate statues are knocked down, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson would be next, and then some poor anonymous figure representing a pioneer.
So true, and even getting P & T in academe is a struggle because there are so few conservatives in any department, so they have come to prominence quietly, or by converting later and recognizing the evils of Marxism, socialism, and communism, or by simply asking logical questions about dogma. Tuvel is a radical feminist and untenured philosophy professor who simply suggested that transracialism and transgenderism are based on the same theory of biological change. For that heresy published in a peer review journal, the editorial board was threatened (they apologized) and Tuvel's dissertation committee caved. The power of group think. In her case, it was a social media mob -- and you just never know where the bots are.
Of course, it's a shame that Tuvel has worked so hard to even get a job in academe to then have her reputation smeared by nobodies and her career dismantled, but she only had to look around her as she was coming up, doing the research, attending conferences or going out for a drink with colleagues to see that when the confederate statues are knocked down, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson would be next, and then some poor anonymous figure representing a pioneer.
Sunday, June 16, 2019
The Next Generation Leahy
Last night's program at Hoover in Lakeside was the Next Generation Leahy from Canada--what a talented family. Oldest child performing was 17, 2 boys 14 and 15 who are now taller than their parents, a 12 year old girl, 10 year old boy and 8 year old girl. Wonderful talent, and great stage presence. All play the fiddle, and then each has a special talent--drums, cello, accordion, piano, and all do a very athletic French-Canadian step dance. This family has the longest legs I've ever seen.
Adele – fiddle, piano, cello, step-dance, vocals
Gregory – fiddle, accordion, piano, step-dance, vocals, drums
Angus – fiddle, piano, guitar, step-dance, vocals
Cecilia – fiddle, piano, step-dance, vocals, mandolin
Joseph – fiddle, step-dance, accordion, piano, vocals
Evelyn – fiddle, step-dance, piano, vocals
Imagine trying to get this many kids to practice. And there were 3 more back state--two of whom came out and did a quick step-dance. They also have a YouTube channel which shows them performing together in their home.
Saturday, June 15, 2019
We're here at soggy, wet Lakeside
We left Columbus about 10:30 and were unpacked and settled about 2:30. We're nursing along one of the two potted flowers (impatiens) we brought along, because it apparently hadn't been watered at home! The one we had on the deck looks fine. Loretta (gardener) has put in some lovely plants along the east side of the cottage, but some of the plants didn't make it through the winter that were put in Spring 2018. We always put impatiens along the street, but this year also turned that over to Loretta. Bob's knees just can't handle it anymore, and besides, ours never looked good until about October. She brought in a lot of additional soil, but as I look out the window, I think it looks about the same they did for the last 30 years when Bob planted them.
We didn't stop down at the car show on the lakefront--it was just too wet. In the evening we attended a "Hawaiian" event at Wesley Lodge for donors and heard a nice pep talk by Kevin the president of Lakeside. Things are moving briskly--the pickle ball courts are finished, the new Lago café across from the pool and exercise gym which opened in 2017, is open, the "front door" of Lakeside has a new fence and all new landscaping, the gazebo in the park, a favorite spot for weddings, has been completely renovated and a concrete base for all the new park benches installed, the park itself was renamed for the donors who supplied the funds and it's getting a face lift with new basketball courts and sand volleyball courts plus more landscaping, and there are unseen things being done to the infrastructure. The terrible spring storms have held back some of the grass planting, so there's a lot of straw around. Kevin says the section on the back of the Hoover auditorium needs to be replaced. It's where all the back stage magic happens, and it was a "temporary" structure--now 91 years old. There is an old school house in south Lakeside, which has been boarded up for years
Even with all the rain, there's no way to be bored in Lakeside. Kevin says there are over 4,000 distinct programs and activities to do here in the summer, or 6,000 if you add all the classes at the Rhein Center where Bob teaches for 2 weeks. And you can still do nothing. . . but that's becoming harder all the time.
We didn't stop down at the car show on the lakefront--it was just too wet. In the evening we attended a "Hawaiian" event at Wesley Lodge for donors and heard a nice pep talk by Kevin the president of Lakeside. Things are moving briskly--the pickle ball courts are finished, the new Lago café across from the pool and exercise gym which opened in 2017, is open, the "front door" of Lakeside has a new fence and all new landscaping, the gazebo in the park, a favorite spot for weddings, has been completely renovated and a concrete base for all the new park benches installed, the park itself was renamed for the donors who supplied the funds and it's getting a face lift with new basketball courts and sand volleyball courts plus more landscaping, and there are unseen things being done to the infrastructure. The terrible spring storms have held back some of the grass planting, so there's a lot of straw around. Kevin says the section on the back of the Hoover auditorium needs to be replaced. It's where all the back stage magic happens, and it was a "temporary" structure--now 91 years old. There is an old school house in south Lakeside, which has been boarded up for years
Even with all the rain, there's no way to be bored in Lakeside. Kevin says there are over 4,000 distinct programs and activities to do here in the summer, or 6,000 if you add all the classes at the Rhein Center where Bob teaches for 2 weeks. And you can still do nothing. . . but that's becoming harder all the time.
Friday, June 14, 2019
Illinois is the shame of the nation
I’ve looked over the latest abortion initiative for Illinois and am shocked and horrified. Particularly at the cheering! What has happened to the people? It is now the most radical, the bloodiest, the most dangerous (to women), the most ghoulish, and deeply disturbing abortion legislation in the nation. God have mercy on the people who came up with this evil. https://www.liveaction.org/news/illinois-house-passes-abortion-worse-new-york/
There was a time when only a man called Obama of all the local, state and federal politicians supported (publicly) such radical, anti-human and anti-humane actions. Now it’s half the nation. What a legacy. And what has Illinois given the nation.
On the radio today I heard a broken hearted director of a pro-life pregnancy center in Illinois—they counsel women in bad situations, give them material aid, education and employment opportunities and save their babies—say that she and her husband have moved to another state rather than pay Illinois taxes,* and she is doing her job at a distance, trying to keep a brave face for her staff and volunteers.
* I think your state taxes follow you even if you move to Tennessee but earned it in Illinois, so she’ll probably be looking for work.
Thursday, June 13, 2019
FBI Lovebirds premieres today
The forces of censorship have been defeated. "FBI Lovebirds: UnderCovers" is a dramatized stage reading of text messages between Trump-nemesis and senior FBI Agent Peter Strzok and his mistress and fellow FBI operative, Lisa Page, and their subsequent interrogation by a congressional committee. Dean Cain (Gosnell, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman) and Kristy Swanson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Pretty in Pink) are set to play Strzok and Page. It is 100 per cent verbatim - using only the text messages and their congressional testimony to reveal the Truth about the FBI’s investigation into the Trump candidacy and Presidency."
The first venue backed out due to pressure, now it has a new location in Washington DC and will open at the Amphitheater at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 7:00 June 13.
It will be filmed and made available.
Cheering on the next recession
When Trump got the nomination in 2016 the experts (mostly Democrats working in non-profit "think tanks") predicted economic disaster. Since early 2017, the same "experts" have been predicting a recession. Our local news channel took the time out to announce one last night. Since they come around about every 10 years, someone will eventually get this one right. OTH, it seems some in media are pushing for economic failure so Democrats can have a crisis they will resolve by taking over more of the economy. They were doing the same in 2007. Remember the ARRA? The last recession was over (June 2009) before the first dollar to pay off Obama supporters was out the door. Then like the LA homeless, the Democrats relieved themselves on every effort of Americans to rebuild. They particularly enjoy terrorizing the little guy just building her business; after all, they've got the giant corporations on their side, like big tech and big pharma, who have the bucks to finance their campaigns and lobby for more regulation (keeps the up and coming stalled).
Here’s a really safe December 2016 prediction—maybe good, maybe bad. World economy could suffer if Trump makes America great again. https://www.moneytips.com/what-economists-are-predicting-for-2017-under-president-trump
Predictions from June 2018—things are good now, but look out. http://fortune.com/2018/06/04/recession-2020-trump-trade/
Many forget the recession of 2000. How did President Bush handle that with the 9/11 disaster? Lowered taxes. Quick recovery. Congress enacted tax cuts to families in 2001 and investors in 2003. EGTRRA saved taxpayers $1.35 trillion over a 10-year period. Democrats hated this one. Said it decreased the government's "income." Note the cons in this article. https://www.thebalance.com/economic-growth-and-tax-relief-reconciliation-act-3305764
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Abortion isn’t always a choice
This was seen in a Facebook comment (I'm not adding the name for obvious reasons):
"I have four children. First was in 88, my son. The second and third in 89 ... twins. When I let my Mother (a devout Democrat) know we were expecting again, her first words were "Really? Get an abortion." Loved my mother, but I didn't always like her. That statement made me hang up immediately on the phone. We had another in '91, and I didn't tell her for months ....
She loved all my kids. I have never told them about their Grandmother's first statement about them, and won't. But it was cruel, and so wrong. All my kids, 33 months between the first and the last of four, have turned out to be freaking AMAZING to me. Abortion was NEVER an option, despite how hard it was on a struggling young couple. We ... overcame. Because it was worth the effort."
I have a Facebook friend (whom I know from real life) who wanted his wife to abort their second child (now an adult), and got very angry when she refused. I hope he never told her, but he's still a pro-abort. I also know a woman who when her daughter was expecting her third child, wanted her to abort. Now she adores the delightful child. I know another woman who was told the baby was deformed and was offered abortion by her doctor. She refused; the child was perfect.
They call it "pro-choice," but in fact something like 65% report pressure to abort either by boyfriend, husband, parents, or peer group, and methods involve emotional or physical abuse, withdrawal of financial support, and shunning.
Do native born Americans use more welfare at a higher rate than illegal immigrants?
Have you ever wondered where some anti-Trumpers and Leftists come up with their "native born Americans use more welfare than illegals" memes and mottoes? Just read such an article today by a very sound research organization, Cato, which is libertarian. "Immigration and the welfare state: immigrant and native use rates and benefit levels for means-tested welfare and entitlement programs." Alex Nowrasteh and Robert Orr, May 10, 2018.
Here's the reasoning. First of all, toss in Social Security, SSI and Medicare into the pot and call that welfare. I know more than a few Americans who would object to calling the retirement plan and insurance they paid for "welfare."
Second, don't distinguish among green card holders, permanent residents, temporary workers, students (F-1, F-2, F-3 visas) refugees and naturalized citizens and illegal border crashers from 84 countries pouring through our southern border. It wouldn't shock me too much if green card computer employees of Google, Amazon and Microsoft from India and China earning 3x the wage of the average American don't use welfare. Just chatted with a 20-something recent OSU graduate (probably Indian, but could be Pakistani) on my walk yesterday, ready to take off for Seattle to work. From student visa to work visa (H1b).
Third, neglect to point out that virtually all the in-kind benefits that come from the 50 states, originate at the federal level--the National School Lunch Program, WIC, Head Start. Since those are available to all regardless of immigration status, that's also on the wrong side of the ledger.
Fourth, ignore that no one actually has a figure on how many illegals are living among us, working 2-3 jobs, being paid under the table, and sending remittances home to Ecuador or Honduras or Kenya. The churches and non-profits who receive government grants do not ask questions--they serve all.
Table 1 in the article disproves Cato's thesis by using what most Americans would define as federal "welfare." Percentage using Cash assistance, 0.7 by natives, 0.8 by noncitizens; SNAP 9.6 by natives, 14.6 by non-citizens; Medicaid 12.3 by natives, 18.9 by non-citizens.
The article is really loosey-goosey when it comes to the children. It has a category for "child immigrants" (which could be children of green card holders, work visa holders, naturalized citizens, temporary workers) and for "citizen children of noncitizen parents." Duh! I'm not too shocked if the immigrant child of a Filipino computer programmer working for Google is less likely to be using welfare than the child of a coal miner in West Virginia whose parents lost their jobs because of a clean air regulation.
It's not fake news, just government statistics with no agreement on terms.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Vast majority like their health-care
Great news, right?
80% of Americans rate their health-care quality as excellent or good. Except it was 76% under Obama in 2015, and 83% under Bush in 2007.
All studies showed before Obama decided to take over health, that nearly 85% of Americans were satisfied with their health insurance (which is not always the same as health care), in fact, some didn't want insurance, others just hadn't signed up for state or federal government plans. Didn't matter. He wanted the power. Jail or fine if you didn't have the level of insurance the government demanded. So what if you're happy with what you have? It wasn't what Yo'mama Obama wanted.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/245195/americans-rate-healthcare-quite-positively.aspx
You have to ask for this; expect resistance.
I noted this study about women doing their own breast compression during mammograms in WebMD with no citation except to JAMA Internal Medicine. So I looked that up, "Self-compression Technique vs Standard Compression in Mammography A Randomized Clinical Trial," Philippe Henrot, MD1; Martine Boisserie-Lacroix, MD2; Véronique Boute, MD3; et al., a French study using 549 women.
The results of this study echo earlier research that found allowing women to control compression during a mammogram doesn’t reduce the quality of the image but does reduce the level of discomfort women report during the procedure.
In September 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave clearance to a digital mammography system that allows women to increase or decrease the amount of compression applied to the breast before the mammogram starts.
But before I located it, I found a 1993 article published in Radiology, vol. 186, no. 1 with the same results, using 109 women. And it may have been referenced in the literature—I don’t have access to the full text. Think of the pain women could have avoided for 25 years if someone had paid attention and followed through. "Impact of patient-controlled compression on the mammography experience." P J Kornguth, B K Rimer, M R Conaway, D C Sullivan, K E Catoe, A L Stout, J S Brackett
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2723076
https://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/less-pain-when-women-control-mammo-compression
https://www.radiologybusiness.com/topics/quality/self-compression-mammography-image-quality-pain
Why are Democrats against school choice?
Every student in the Milwaukee Cristo Rey Jesuit High School graduating class will be the first in their family accepted to college. All 85 graduates received at least two acceptances to four-year colleges. Almost all the students are Hispanic, and almost all attend the school on taxpayer-funded vouchers through the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. Why are so many on the left against choice in education? Is it because it succeeds?
http://jesuitsmidwest.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20190607125636
http://jesuitsmidwest.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20190529042416
The Columbus Cristo Rey opened in the renovated old School for the Deaf building in September 2014. Preserving buildings and saving children.
https://www.traditionalbuilding.com/projects/historic-high-school?
Perhaps it’s because about 99% of teachers’ unions support the Democrat party?
Monday, June 10, 2019
Is there womb discrimination?
Democrats are OK with discrimination because of race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, or disability as long as it results in the death of an inconvenient baby in the womb. Democrats have been brutal to Justice Clarence Thomas as long as I can remember, but it has only made him stronger.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/06/05/clarence-thomas-shows-lefts-hypocrisy-on-discrimination/
Sunday, June 09, 2019
"Gibson's Bakery v. Oberlin College” comment by Michael Smith
If you haven't followed this case, you should take a look. Legal Insurrection has been on it from the beginning. https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/06/verdict-jury-awards-gibsons-bakery-11-million-against-oberlin-college/
Three black students were caught shoplifting, then claimed they were targeted due to their race (they later admitted to the crime), and SJW professors and administrators at Oberlin immediately assisted in organizing protests in an attempt to destroy the business, targeting the white family who owned and operated it.
It is a perfect example of how progressives can't deal with their own irreconcilable and conflicting feelings, the dead-end nature of their own reasoning and a need to signal just how awesome and virtuous they are while being neither. It's an example of how they project their own failures onto others, making enemies where there were none and the weaponizing of some group or organization against those imaginary foes - this time a college, Oberlin, was the weapon.
Perhaps the tide is turning - but not without pain. This family never should have faced the three years of hell they have had to endure."
Netflix suicide series “13 Reasons Why”
Should the entertainment industry be held accountable? The Netflix series examines the suicide of 17 year-old Hannah Baker, who made 13 cassette tapes prior to her death.
"According to a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, United States youth ages 10-17 had a 28.9% increase in suicide rates in young males in the month (April 2017) following the debut of the show."
https://www.phillyvoice.com/netflix-13-reasons-why-teen-suicides-increase-study/
The entertainment industry, specifically TV and film, is a powerful mind control group whose representatives love to lecture the rest of us on man caused climate change, racism, sexual issues, gun laws, etc., yet are the most consistently violent, abusive, and life threatening force in our lives. It also brought us the MeToo hypocrisy, black performers as servants, criminals and/or dancers, and all the shoot 'em up car chase themes which they now decry as toxic masculinity.
Friday, June 07, 2019
“Time to Get Tough” by Donald Trump (2011)
Yesterday I picked up a remaindered copy of President Trump's "Time to get tough" (2011). I've been browsing--and it's actually shocking to see that he was the same guy 8 years ago (or 9 if you count the time to write it). And it's exactly in his style.
Trump was running in 2011 (announced he was dropping it in May 2011)--and didn't have wonderful things to say about Obama. "Obama's popularity in America may be at rock bottom levels, but I know one place his ratings are likely sky high: the Kremlin. Russia's leaders can hardly believe their luck. Never in a million years did they think America would elect a guy as ineffective as this. Obama's pretty-please diplomacy and endless American apology tours have served Russian interests extremely well. . . No sooner did Obama move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue than he began making concessions and sacrificing American power on the Altar of "improving relations" with Russia." (pp. 93-94, PB)
Called that one.
There is effectively an oil spill every day at Coal Oil Point (COP), the natural seeps off Santa Barbara, California, where 20 to 25 tons of oil have leaked from the seafloor each day for the last several hundred thousand years. Keep that in mind when you hear about man made environmental problems like oil spills. Research is on-going. https://www.msi.ucsb.edu/current-projects/effect-hydrocarbon-production-offshore-natural-seep-rates-coal-oil-point-area-santa?
Donald Trump mentioned this in his 2011 book, "Time to get tough," as he commented on the amount of oil and gas the U.S. has, but because of the environmental lobby and Obama's weakness and messing around with the free market economy, there was no leadership.
"Here at home, he's kept in place the bans on drilling off our coasts. But he goes to Brazil, gives them $2 billion through the U.S. Export-Import Bank, and brags that he's proud and excited to make America one of Brazil's "best customers." . . . It's the most ludicrous, anemic leadership anyone could imagine."
How the Census over counts poverty
Are you surprised if our borders are flooded with illegals who ignore our laws? They know the Democrats will protect them, pay for college, let them vote, not require citizenship, and even supply pro-bono lawyers for crimes, and it must look like the streets are paved with gold for the poor.
In the United States, in 2015, there were 43.1 million people the Census said were living in poverty (a very misleading figure).
Poor households routinely report spending $2.40 for every $1 of income the Census says they have. (Some figures are from 2009 even though article is 2016) https://www.dailysignal.com/2016/09/13/15-facts-about-poverty-in-us-government-buries/
"The average poor American lives in a house or apartment that is in good repair and has more living space than the average nonpoor person in France, Germany, or England.
Eighty-five percent of poor households have air conditioning.
Nearly three-fourths of poor households have a car or truck, and 31 percent have two or more cars or trucks.
Nearly two-thirds of poor households have cable or satellite TV.
Half have a personal computer; 43 percent have internet access.
Two-thirds have at least one DVD player.
More than half of poor families with children have a video game system, such as an Xbox or PlayStation.
One-third have a wide-screen plasma or LCD TV." . . .
"In 2014, government spent over $1 trillion on means-tested welfare for poor and low income people. (This figure does not include Social Security or Medicare.) Welfare spending on cash, food, and housing was $342 billion.
The cash, food, and housing spending alone was 150 percent of the amount needed to eliminate all poverty in the U.S. But the Census ignored more than four-fifths of these benefits for purposes of measuring poverty. Effectively, the Census counts poverty in the U.S. by ignoring almost the entire welfare state."
Thursday, June 06, 2019
UA CARES
Our program at the UALC Thursday Bible study lunch [delicious, btw] was UA CARES, which stands for Community Assistance, Referrals and Education Services. A representative from the Fire Division of Upper Arlington explained many services they offer to make our homes safer ranging from home assessments, coordination with care providers and medical services, to grab bars to a handy little feature I'd never heard of called KNOX.
"Knox Box is a mini, lockable steel vault that provides firefighters and paramedics access to keys for entry to a residence or business in an emergency. Only the UA Fire Division can access boxes in Upper Arlington. The vault is installed by the resident or business owner on the structure’s exterior near the entry. In an emergency, the dispatcher tells first responders if a Knox-Box is onsite for easy building access, without forcing a door or damaging the building.’
Many communities have similar services. The speaker said 80% of what the Fire Division does is NOT fighting fires.
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Spring cleaning before it's summer
It's hard to grow flowers when you're gone so much, but we're attempting again. Most of our neighbors have such lovely blooms.
And then I finally finished cleaning the green crud off the deck. It's made of Trex, but the green mold on the north side of the house loves it just as much as it did our wood deck which we replaced a few years ago.
Gender wage gap
We had 6 mature trees removed today. Some were in the oval which was built up with soil dug for our basements in the mid-70s and probably other fill. Wrong nutrients for trees, and by middle age (they were about 45 years old) they were struggling.
I call this photo "Jobs American women don't do." Oh sure, you'll find a few female tree maintenance workers, but mostly it's a high risk, dirty, difficult job, with 3x the fatality rate of other jobs, and it's rough on the manicures. According to BLS this guy makes about $20/hour--a school teacher, $64/hour. That's a gender wage gap.
Tuesday, June 04, 2019
Transwomen are biologically men
When I scroll through various news sites I see on the side bar, "Another transgender woman found dead." 1) That is not a woman, but a biological man. 2) Women are found dead often in those same cities, and there's no headline story for them. I heard about Samuel Little, serial killer of 93 women, for the first time this week.
Illinois perfect storm (Gene Kollack)
The 'Perfect Storm' descended with full force on the citizens of Illinoi this week. Your Governor and legislators (both sides) thank you for allowing them to go 'full Venezuela' on you. . .
This week in Springfield the following legislation was passed.
1. Expanded abortion up to birth.
2. Expanded gambling with up to 6 new casinos.
3. Allowing inmates to vote including establishing a polling place at the Cook County Jail.
4. Removing $5 co-pay for inmates making medical and dental completely free.
5. New law passed regarding Driver Licenses. When completing your drivers application you can identify as Male, Female, or Other (non-binary).
6. Legislation to extend voting rights to non-citizen student trustees in Illinois.
7. Passed legislation preventing law enforcement from enforcing the law and making Illinois a Sanctuary State.
8. A bill that requires all Refineries in Illinois, all petrochemical plants, all ethanol plants, all basic organic chemical plants must become union.
9. Last night passed legislation for a $40 billion budget (a billion more than the governors proposed budget) and $45 billion capital bill, raising license plate fees to $199, legalizes sports betting, higher taxes on video gaming and an expansion of video gaming, a tax hike on cigarettes and vaping, a new tax on parking garages, and raises the gasoline tax to $.38 a gallon.
10. Passed a constitutional amendment to go from a flat tax to a progressive tax.
11. Increased minimum wage to $15.
12. Legalization of marijuana.
13. Last but not least legislators gave themselves a 2.5% salary raise, a 25% and 33% increase in mileage and per diem.
Pastor is criticized for praying for the President
https://www.mcleanbible.org/prayer-president? Some have tried to make political hay of the McClean Bible Church pastor's prayer and didn't like it that Trump asked for prayer. The pastor has been criticized, and I see no reason for him to explain his prayer. It's Biblical. It's a beautiful prayer--scroll down to see the video.
The pastor is now finding out what thousands of us have experienced--if you don't say something negative and hateful about President Trump, friends, family and parishioners might be upset.
Beyond Burger—the plant based burger
We tried this last night. Ours wasn't as expensive as what this YouTuber says—we paid $3.99 for 8 oz. John thinks they taste good--I'd say, tastes "OK," my husband said, “Don't do this again.” Left a lot of residue in the pan even with a spray. But if you're desperate for a burger experience--it's made with pea protein isolate, canola oil and coconut oil. We didn't add cheese or catsup or pickles. I think he was tasting memories.
We both felt uncomfortable later in the evening. But for people who don't want/tolerate beef, it's pretty close. . . especially if you add cheese, pickles, lettuce, sauce and can only taste that. I bought mine at Marc's.
Monday, June 03, 2019
2 million children visited an ED because of a TBI sustained over 7 years
An estimated 283,000 children seek care in U.S. emergency departments each year for a sports- or recreation-related traumatic brain injury (SRR-TBI), according to a new MMWR Report. TBIs sustained in contact sports accounted for approximately 45% of all SRR-TBI ED visits. Activities associated with the highest number of ED visits were football , bicycling, basketball, soccer and playground activities.
Injuries differed by sex and age of the child. "SRR-activities associated with the highest percentage of ED visits varied by age group and sex. Football was associated with 26.8% of all SRR-TBI ED visits for males aged 0–17 years. Among males aged <5 years and 5–9 years, playground activities accounted for the most ED visits (38.2% and 19.6%, respectively). Among all females aged 0–17 years, soccer, playground activities, and basketball were the most common causes of SRR-TBI ED visits, contributing to 13.1%, 12.6%, and 11.9% of all SRR-TBI-related ED visits, respectively. Playground activities led to 42.3% of SRR-TBIs visits among females aged <5 years.
In all sports and ages, twice as many boys are injured than girls. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6810a2.htm?
Jeanellen grieves the loss of a friend
This happens far more often than it should—bigotry and intolerance in politics. She writes:
“Feeling a heavy heart tonight as I may have lost a friend due to politics. Had dinner with a few friends that came into town who I haven’t seen in years. They all are very liberal, but one in particular looked at me & said, “Please tell me you would not vote for Trump again”. I was trying to keep it light but it just degenerated with her bringing up the abortion debate and acting like I was utterly ridiculous for believing that life begins at conception.
This is a person I like and respected who always agreed to disagree with me. Even though I was calm & respectful during the discussion she was barely speaking to me at the end.
This is not the first time this has happened and I really avoid bringing up politics but the media has poisoned the waters and makes people in the left feel like they have the right to take the stance of righteousness and unfettered disgust towards those who don’t agree.
How did we get here?”
Sunday, June 02, 2019
Constant anti-Trump drumbeat
I am so sick of the anti-Trump drivel in every media source--this in "Architect," which awards issue (336 pp) is the size of the old Penney's Christmas catalog. President Obama was known as the "deporter in chief," turning back hundreds of thousands of illegals, and the so-called child cage photos were from his administration. Only because he was dealing with fewer illegals crossing the border has Trump passed Obama on numbers and Soros funded non-profits are assisting with the onslaught. Why is it journalists in all media are all progressives? Why is it "anti-immigrant" to protect our sovereignty which is the #1 job of a President?
Author Jacobs brings up his grandmother, a Polish immigrant, who opened a Kosher restaurant in Hoboken to first drum up sympathy with readers, but of course, there weren't 22 million illegal Poles storming our borders after WWII, were there Mr. Jacobs? "Make the Road New York" is an immigrant rights group and it has a building designed and out sourced to a Mexican firm hired while Obama was president (I suppose there are jobs American architects won't do in a struggling economy?). I'm betting there are walls, doors and locks in this building.
https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/ten-arquitectos-designs-a-beacon-for-the-resistance_o
Over half of this issue is devoted to advertising, indicating a booming economy. I hope Mr. Jacobs takes notice.
Kirsten Gillibrand, Democratic candidate for President ponders, imagine if
50% of Congress were women and 50% of mayors and governors were too. (Twitter, July 2017) But I say. . .
Imagine if 60% the NBA and NFL were white like the population in that age group. Imagine if 51% were female. Imagine if half of all race car drivers were female. Imagine if half of all librarians were women instead of 90%. Imagine if half of all teachers were women instead of 80%.
Imagine what it would be like to have our government shoe horn us into a profession/life style that didn't fit because of our skin color, ethnicity or sex. I think that was tried by the Democrats about 100 years ago--it was called Jim Crow back then.
We now export energy
"As of 2017, renewables (solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, and biomass) provided 12.8% of the US power supply, an increase from 8.1% of all power generated in 1980. Biomass is the leading renewable energy source, accounting for 5.1% of 2017 power production. Solar power grew by 12 times since 2007, but only generated 0.9% of power in 2017. Nuclear power provided 8.6% of the nation's power, up from 3.5% in 1980. Meanwhile, fossil fuels supplied 77.7% of American power in 2017, down from 89.4% in 1980. Petroleum continues to be the largest source of energy consumption, with natural gas being a second and rising source." USA Facts, annual Report.
We used to be an importer of energy; now we're an exporter.
Saturday, June 01, 2019
President Trump as defender of religious freedom
I was puzzled that the Washington Post editorial board was attacking the Bible as literature in schools today; after all, you can't read a history of rock or pop music or understand Shakespeare if you are illiterate in the Bible. But the attack by its "editorial board" is tied to Trump. He tweeted it is a good idea, therefore, it must be awful, oppressive and fascist.
The president made promises as a candidate about restoring our religious freedom, and it was one of the earliest promises he kept and with little fan-fare. The MSM haven't said a lot, but the left continues to attack nuns, bakers, and Catholic school kids at a march for life even after the Supreme Court returned to them their constitutionally protected rights.
I urge you to go on line and print out "Federal Law Protections for Religious Liberty" from the Office of the Attorney General, Oct. 6, 2017. Give it to your pastors, priests and professors. No other country has this; and no other U.S. president has told his AG to compile an easy to understand guide of laws, regulations, court cases and litigation results concerning that most precious of all our freedoms.
During the eight years of Obama, our freedoms were eroded in small but alarming ways with, "I've got a pen, and I've got a phone" to "fundamentally change" our nation. From announcing embryonic stem cell research at a Catholic university to setting up bureaucratic regulations in various agencies which bullied people of the book to using a website announcing which religious schools were receiving exemptions from Title IX, President Obama, a professed Christian, ground his heel on religious liberty in the United State.
Slowly the agency actions which were chipping away at our freedoms are being undone. That website which was used by the left to harass and mock people of faith, has been taken down. Other changes are being made in hostile bureaucracies in the Department of Labor and State Department and there is an ambassador at large for international religious freedom. HHS now has a division devoted to conscience protections and religious freedom.
Use it or lose it applies to religious freedom, too.
For more on this important issue see May 2019 issue of First Things. https://www.firstthings.com/article/2019/05/trump-and-religious-liberty
Friday, May 31, 2019
Guilty of being white with no license to exist
How crazy is academe (choose that college carefully)? Dorothy Kim, an assistant professor of English at Vassar, demanded that all faculty who specialize in Middle Ages use their classrooms to address white supremacy and assure their students "you are not a white supremacist." Diversity! Inclusion! Intersectionality! Of course, this is impossible. Being an English speaking person of European heritage will always brand one--usually as a toxic male, but women get smeared, too. Kim demanded her colleagues in the rather esoteric specialty take a side because not taking a side is choosing a side. Crazy totalitarian battleground classrooms. Faculty drunk with power over their students. People of fair and light skin are being marginalized and bullied--for existing. So is it the behavior and the hate, or the ethnicity that makes bullying and prejudice wrong?
This is a link to a very biased article, written by someone named Xu for the Vassar paper.
http://miscellanynews.org/2017/09/27/news/vassar-medievalist-harassed-for-advocating-diversity/
A different point of view—I think this is a gay publication. https://www.dangerous.com/49082/why-is-inside-higher-ed-propping-up-this-abusive-lying-fraud/
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Is there a pay gap, are teachers underpaid, and why do Democrats run on issues that are settled law?
“2020 Democratic presidential contender Sen. Kamala Harris is on a mission to close the pay gap for America's teachers, something she says is "not a partisan issue." Harris, who unveiled her new plan to increase the pay for public school teachers nationwide with a $13,500 pay raise, told "CBS This Morning" on Tuesday that "for too long" teachers have been paid "substandard wages" and are "not being paid their value to us as a society."” (CBS News)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kamala-harris-on-closing-teacher-pay-gap-lets-pay-them-their-value/?
Why do Democrats campaign on issues settled in law--will more laws help? Teacher pay gap? Local schools set those salaries, not the Department of Education (a federal agency that doesn't need to exist). Public school teachers according to BLS earn $63/hour (with benefits)--if they lie about teachers, then they lie about engineers and plumbers.
The "equal pay for equal work" law was passed over 50 years ago. When women continued to choose jobs that were easier, less risky, closer to home, and child-friendly, the feminists decided it became "equal pay for equal value" and what is that? Of course, a day care worker's job is valuable, but is it as valuable as an RN with an advanced degree or an entry level teacher?
What happens when you compare women with women? I was a librarian, one of the lowest paid jobs that requires an advanced degree, and dominated by women. Who is the commissar of jobs in DC who will decide that entry level Alabama librarians should be paid the same as chefs with 20 years experience in Chicago or a petroleum engineer in Alaska?
Tribalism, South Sudan, and Us
Tribal. I'm again reminded of what the left is attempting in our culture. Two weeks ago at church we hosted the president of The Lutheran Church of South Sudan and he explained the terrible losses among the Christians, who after finally gaining independence from the predominantly Muslim Sudan after decades of oppression and civil war, have returned to their tribal state and are killing each other in tribal warfare and terrorism.
Yesterday I checked out from the library "A rope from the sky; the making and unmaking of the world's newest State," (2019) by Zach Vertin. The author worked in Sudan and DC (Obama administration) and has both a local and western viewpoint on the unfolding tragedy.
Vertin doesn't expose this (obviously a liberal), but going or returning to tribal instincts is essential in what is also happening in the U.S. Diversity, multiculturalism, intersectionality, inclusion, equity, social justice, liberation, revolution, reparations, tolerance are all agenda words that really mean divide and conquer. That's what every IED (Inclusion, Equity, Diversity) department in college or business is about. Divide; get people to fight each other. Women against men, black against white, gay against straight, trans against drag, college educated against less educated, blue collar against degreed, urban against rural, patriot against globalist, Protestant against Catholic, mainline against evangelical, vegetarian against meat eating, animal rights against pet owners, fit against fat--any excuse imaginable to keep the political divide going.
Being a librarian, I always check table of contents, index and bibliography first to see if a title will be worth my time. Christianity was not listed in the index so I could cherry pick what I wanted to read, but I did find a few paragraphs on p. 119, not bad for a political writer. He does say,
"Amid a history of war and division, church leaders have often been voices of reason and reconciliation. But the legacy of divvying up the map between denominations has also complicated the work and perceptions of church leaders, as no institution has remained immune to politics and polarization.'
So far I haven't found any interviews of priests, pastors or missionaries--and as evidenced by his basketball player talk (Vertin is 6'5" and dwarfed by Sudan's players) and lost boys dreaming about their cattle--he's very good at that.
Lori—from Obama to Trump
She had never paid much attention to politics, but did vote for Obama his first term. From the WalkAway Facebook page.
“One of the things that appealed to us about Obama was healthcare. We had a child with pre existing conditions and were paying a $600 per month additional premium on him. We wanted Obamacare and not to have to pay that extra premium anymore. Well, what a lie that turned out to be. Not only did the extra premium not go away for our child with a pre existing condition, but we had to pay more every month and it has steadily increased ever since!
We became small business owners during Obama’s first term and this is what really started opening our eyes to Democrats not being good for small business. We were providing jobs but being taxed to death and providing affordable healthcare for our employees is almost impossible. We did not vote for Obama his second term mainly for business and health care reasons, but still did not wise up that the media had a liberal agenda. What woke me up to the lefts true agenda was the Media when Trump announced his candidacy. I could not understand why the media was so hateful towards him. I just couldn’t believe the hate and why wasn’t the media being neutral?! I could not stand to watch the news because if it. I became a supporter of Trump early on because I agreed with everything he was saying.”
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
The back row in America
Chris Arnade, a Wall Street bond trader, had a pretty lofty view of himself. He was an atheist, and a progressive. This is from his new book, "Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America," Sentinel, 2019.
"Like most successful and well-educated people, especially in New York City, I considered myself open-minded, considerate, and reflective about my privilege. I read three papers daily, I watched documentaries on our social problems, and I voted for and supported policies that I felt recognized and addressed my privilege. I gave money and time to charities that focused on poverty and injustice. I understood that I was selfish, but I rationalized. Aren’t we all selfish? Besides, I am far less selfish than others. Look at how I vote (progressive), what I believe in (equality), and who my colleagues are (people of all races from all places)."
And so he begins traveling, photographing and talking to "back row America" and discovers that those in the front row don't have all the answers.
You can read this excerpt on-line, https://www.firstthings.com/article/2019/06/back-row-america?
Chris Arnade writes for many publications. In this article in the Guardian he is skin color focused, and he blames Trump for exploiting the pain and humiliation of the poor [but not Hillary?]. However, he gets a lot right in this article published shortly before the Nov. 2016 election--why Trump is supported by the working (and not working) poor.
"She was blunt when I asked her about her life. “Clarington is a shithole. Jobs all left. There is nothing here anymore. When Ormet Aluminum factory closed, jobs all disappeared.” She is also blunt about the pain in her life. “I have five kids and two have addictions. There is nothing else for kids to do here but drugs. No jobs. No place to play.”
She stopped and added: “I voted for Obama the first time, not the second. Now I am voting for Trump. We just got to change things.”"
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/03/trump-supporters-us-elections
And Trump is changing things, and that is terrifying for the progressives who are willing to give away the country economically, socially and culturally. What he says about education rings true to me. Who would want to give up their position at the top?
The battling deferments, Biden and Trump
Hugh Hewitt has an interesting take on Mayor Pete bringing up Trump's deferments 50 years ago as a way to denigrate him. It's a way, he said, to take out Biden by letting the press and social media do it. You see, Joe Biden had 5 deferments and the same classification as Trump, 1Y (called up only in a national emergency). That clown car is very crowded and someone needs to be thrown under the bus (pardon the mixed metaphors) and right now, Biden is riding high in the polls, and staying very quiet.
Democrats tried to go after Cheney on deferments, but never said anything about Presidents Clinton and Obama. Obama didn’t need a deferment, but then he also didn’t serve in the military as we had an all volunteer military by then.
Most deferments were for education. My husband had 3 for being in college and 2 for paternity. But deferments weren’t fair, either. He lived in a very large city; rural communities had a more difficult time giving deferments. Then finally all married men were deferred, so maybe that’s 6. Women were always deferred from the draft.
Monday, May 27, 2019
The No-Fear Act
I had never heard of the No FEAR act until I came across it in a government document. "On May 15, 2002, Congress enacted the ‘‘Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002,’’ which is now known as the No FEAR Act. One purpose of the No FEAR Act is to ‘‘require that Federal agencies be accountable for violations of antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws.’’ Pub. L. 107–174, Summary. In support of this purpose, Congress found that ‘‘agencies cannot be run effectively if those agencies practice or tolerate discrimination.’’ Pub. L. 107– 74, Title I, General Provisions, section 101(1)." So I looked at the 2019 report to see what was going on in violations of the various protection laws, and see that since 2016 the complaints have dropped about 1/3. Didn't see that any resulted in a finding of discrimination after a lengthy investigation and hearing. https://www.cdc.gov/eeo/docs/2019-No-Fear-Tables-2nd-Qtr-04-9-2019.pdf
The Dear John letter
This isn't exactly a Memorial Day tale, but. . . I was talking to a Vietnam vet today about church. He’d never heard of Lakeside, Ohio, which is a Chautauqua community originating as a Methodist Campground. He said he grew up Catholic--attended church 6 days a week. I asked him when was the last time he'd been to confession, and he said 1967. He was in Vietnam and went to confession. The next day he got a "Dear John" letter from his fiancé who had become pregnant by another man while he was gone. He never went back to church, and he has no idea what became of his fiancé or the baby, except the new boyfriend dropped her. He must not have grown up in a small town—people never forget those things, or what happened to whom, when and why.
I had the feeling she didn’t follow these instructions. https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Dear-John-Letter
96 cherries in every bottle!
Not everyone reads full page magazine ads for products new to her. I do, especially if my friend Sonja just told me how many tart cherries must be in a cherry pie by law. This product, a juice drink called Cherrish, has 96 cherries (pulp, skin, and juice) in one 12 oz. bottle! The nearest store to me is in Las Vegas, so if I want to try it, I suppose it will be via Amazon. http://www.cherrish.net/why-cherries/ I don't have symptoms of exercise induced muscle damage, but who knows, some day I may work hard enough at the gym to get that. . .
Speaking of cherries, I just bought a pound of sweet cherries--just gorgeous and delicious--for $2.99/lb at Marc's. Not sure they will last until lunch time.
Happy Birthday, Mom
My mother would be 107 today. It's hard to imagine, and also to believe she's been gone since 2000. Our family never made much of a fuss about birthdays when I was growing up, and I can recall only a few times I was with her to celebrate during adulthood. I saw her for 2 days in late May of 1993 when I came out from Chicago after an MLA conference, but then she left for the DC area to see a granddaughter graduate, so I can't remember if we did anything to celebrate. Perhaps she celebrated it jointly with Julie. Then in the late 90s my sister and I both came in May and spent time with her.
And today is also the 3-day week-end date for Memorial Day, the last Monday in May instead of May 30 which was the date from 1868 to 1971--certainly enough years for me to adjust. It was originally a day to honor the Civil War dead--and there is still some controversy about that--however, now the tradition is to decorate the graves of family and friends, but also attend parades to honor war dead. In a letter to her cousin in Iowa, Marianne [posted at my blog], "Mom fretted a little on Memorial Day 1975 that she and her sister were the only ones left to place flowers at the grave sites of parents and brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, something their mother had always done." I hope my brother is able to get to Ashton to continue the family tradition of our parents and grandparents, and that my sister will place some flowers on the graves in Plainview in Mt. Morris.
Mom actually had a great uncle Jacob, the brother of her grandfather David, who died in the service during the Civil War, but if my grandmother, her mother knew that, she never told my mom. His birth and death dates are not in the family Bible. He was born in 1848 and died in May 1865, just weeks before the end of the war. He's buried in the National Cemetery in Nashville [Section J, grave 14379]. Mom and her sister found out about this 120 years later through a cousin in Iowa who still owned a letter he'd written from a prison camp. He was only 16 years old when he enlisted.
We are usually at our lake home over Memorial Day Week-end and here's a collection of the blogs I've written about it. https://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/Memorial%20Day
And today is also the 3-day week-end date for Memorial Day, the last Monday in May instead of May 30 which was the date from 1868 to 1971--certainly enough years for me to adjust. It was originally a day to honor the Civil War dead--and there is still some controversy about that--however, now the tradition is to decorate the graves of family and friends, but also attend parades to honor war dead. In a letter to her cousin in Iowa, Marianne [posted at my blog], "Mom fretted a little on Memorial Day 1975 that she and her sister were the only ones left to place flowers at the grave sites of parents and brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, something their mother had always done." I hope my brother is able to get to Ashton to continue the family tradition of our parents and grandparents, and that my sister will place some flowers on the graves in Plainview in Mt. Morris.
Mom actually had a great uncle Jacob, the brother of her grandfather David, who died in the service during the Civil War, but if my grandmother, her mother knew that, she never told my mom. His birth and death dates are not in the family Bible. He was born in 1848 and died in May 1865, just weeks before the end of the war. He's buried in the National Cemetery in Nashville [Section J, grave 14379]. Mom and her sister found out about this 120 years later through a cousin in Iowa who still owned a letter he'd written from a prison camp. He was only 16 years old when he enlisted.
We are usually at our lake home over Memorial Day Week-end and here's a collection of the blogs I've written about it. https://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/Memorial%20Day
Sunday, May 26, 2019
Abortion’s link to breast cancer
Women should be told about the relationship between induced abortion and breast cancer. And so should researchers who look only at race, income and social safety net. In the 1950s black women and white women were married at about the same percentage, but that changed with the War on Poverty and drastically by the late 1990s. Until the late 1950s black women had lower breast cancer mortality rates than white--even with aggressive segregation, more poverty, poor housing, and limits to education. And guess what else changed? Higher abortion rates for black women than white when Uncle Sam became the sugar daddy.
https://rtl.org/educational-materials/abortion-breast-cancer-link/
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6540a1.htm
http://media.hoover.org/sites/default/files/documents/0817998721_95.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2568204/
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2730628
Saturday, May 25, 2019
We’re all safe.
If we're on your prayer list, thanks. It never hurts to be preemptive. We're OK. The fire has been put out, and we had some clean up. The cottage odor is a combination of Febreze, scented candles and burned butter. We had a wonderful meal at Sortino's (Sandusky, OH) on Thursday evening and came home with 5 carry out bags + bread. However, the 20" stove in our summer home wouldn't quite hold everything when we tried to warm up dinner the next evening and (we're blaming Bob) some fettuccini alfredo over flowed, dripping butter, which then caught on fire. The four of us in the tiny kitchen (think Keystone Cops) were a hoot, with Phoebe rescuing our dinner from the flames and Mark squelching the fire. It is cleaning week-end so we then had fine soot over our freshly washed cabinets, counters, and floors. BUT. No one was hurt and there's no permanent damage. Supper was delicious once we all settled down, and I think there's enough for tonight's dinner. I do plan to buy a new stove, though.
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
The end of women’s sports
"If you know sport, you know this beyond a reasonable doubt: there is an average 10-12 percent performance gap between elite males and elite females," Coleman and Shreve wrote in an analysis published online.
"The gap is smaller between elite females and non-elite males, but it's still insurmountable and that's ultimately what matters," they wrote.
"Translating these statistics into real world results," they wrote, "we see, for example, that: Just in the single year 2017, Olympic, World and U.S. Champion Tori Bowie's 100 meters lifetime best of 10.78 was beaten 15,000 times by men and boys.”
https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/terence-p-jeffrey/house-votes-effectively-ban-womens-sports?
Venting on stupidity in Washington
Why do billionaires like Soros, Steyer, Bezos, Zuckerburg, Brin, et. al. support the Democrats? It's good for business, and they are first and foremost capitalists and globalists. The more heavy handed government control, the less competition they'll have because smaller companies won't be able survive.
Since November 2016 the Democrats have done nothing but try to impeach the President and have accomplished nothing for the country. The Mueller report is out and they are still at it. The Democrats are rushing to impeach because the investigation of the Obama regime's spying is coming down the pike. (Caller to Mike Gallagher show--paraphrased). Good point. And that may have been the motive behind the entire phony investigation.
"We no longer live in a constitutional republic. We live in an idiocracy. Only in modern-day America, under the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, is the basic proposition that federally subsidized public housing should benefit American citizens and legal residents slammed as “despicable” and “damaging.” " Michelle Malkin
Women are marching in support of killing other women's children. Whatever moral authority women may have had in the past, it's gone forever. The pro-lifers marching outside the clinics are the abolitionists of the 21st century. The pro-choicers bragging about their abortions at rallies are the slave traders of the 18th century.
https://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Bezos-contributions-Democrat-Washington-Post/2013/08/07/id/519168/
https://dailycaller.com/2018/07/30/soros-uygur-ocasio-cortez/
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
If you think Trump divided your family, abortion is worse
From a Facebook acquaintance:
“Up until this week, we have navigated the differences in political positions within the family without major upsets. We have weathered liberal children, weathered acceptance of a gay son and his partner (love the partner as he’s a great guy). However, this week, the position young women are taking “triggered” deeply held beliefs about the unborn child. We both support abortion up until a point of viability, but not after. Our daughter reposted something after the Alabama law was signed which essentially said: get over yourself, forget what you learned in church, they are only cells.
My response first said that I disagreed with the Alabama law as eight weeks is far too son for some women to even realize they are pregnant and miscarriages are quite common in first trimester. Should have stopped there but I didn’t.
I said do not be dismissive of other people’s beliefs. I went own to say that I don’t consider the fetus just cells when it rolls, kicks, punches, sucks it’s thumb, and moves away from the ultrasound wand. Next, is where I went a step too far in saying, but believing, if you can dismiss this, I question your humanity. I would love to post the exact wording but I have been blocked, unfriendly, and she has enlisted her brother and her sister’s husband to do the same. This is my step daughter who is 30. We have had a very close relationship for 20 years. She has considered me her mom over her natural mother because mom is unstable.
I am a bit angry and disappointed. She’s most likely hurt (mom would have never said these things to her). Yet, other than the unfortunate choice of words, women celebrating their abortions have really set me off as it is not something to celebrate. I think of all the couples who want a child and cannot get pregnant and/or carry an infant to term, and I feel for them at the callousness of someone dismissing the fetus as “just cells”. “
Trump supporters are compared to KKK and Nazis by—who else—failed entertainers
The latest was Jeff Daniels who hasn’t been seen since Full House emptied.
What is it about smaller government, lower taxes, a vibrant economy, a secure border, honest judges, employment for minorities and ex-felons, a growing conservative black middle class, babies who survive womb warfare, and more freedom that terrifies Democrats and they lapse into "Nazi" and "racist" when faced with the successes of the last two years?
One would think they knew nothing about their own history!! Jim Crow, pushing fathers out of the home, ignoring crime, bringing in drugs over the border to destroy the young, destroying small businesses with regulation to protect the big corporations from competition. Wake up!
Monday, May 20, 2019
In the spirit of vote buying
I think we all knew they wouldn't stop with statues of Confederate war heroes, which previous presidents have declared U.S. veterans and whose descendants were eligible for pensions and benefits. When it suits them and they need the votes, Democrats can be quite forgiving and tender-hearted. They will pardon draft dodgers and war time deserters (Carter, Truman, FDR, Obama). The last Democrat in the White House even bequeathed billions to our enemy Iran—bundles of cash in the dark of night.
Democrat party supporters and fund raisers in the entertainment world will perpetrate the worst form of violence, sexism and destruction of innocent human life--all for the bread and circus of votes. And for the same reason, they'll attack long deceased founders and heroes of our nation.
Is it too early, or too late, to condemn the writers, directors, producers and actors of "Game of Thrones" and their addicted followers for their fascination with violence, rape, incest and racism (a pretense to care about climate change and women's moral authority), when surely in such enlightened times as these and contemporary political climate of MeToo-ism they should have known better? Isn’t it the product of 2 white guys?
The lame never Trumpers support the Democrats
Michael Smith has figured out the plan: "You just scrape up two dozen losers who are so radical or unknown there is no way they can be elected to soak up all the support from the socialist/mentally ill morons and then toss in 76 year-old two time loser and Democrat establishment life-member Joe Biden, who was once rated as one of the most progressive members of the Senate during his 36 years there, but now looks reasonable in comparison.
Brilliant!"
But then, there was a crowded field in 2015-2016--strongest bench ever for Republicans, and one by one they went down until the totally unexpected happened. And he is accomplishing everything Republicans claimed they wanted-- a flourishing economy, conservative judges all over the nation, removal of the hated mandate, saving babies who are our future, and standing up to our enemies--and boy, are they mad about that.
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Lutheran Church of South Sudan
Our Sunday School class today had the opportunity to hear Rev. Jordan Long, President of the Lutheran Church of South Sudan, and to hear about some REAL persecution which in turn is spreading the gospel to the refugee camps of millions of Sudanese who have fled the violence to neighboring countries. During their civil war 2.5 million were killed, and now that they have their own country (primarily Christian) and aren't fighting the Arab Muslims who oppressed them, they are fighting each other! All politics is based on family and tribes, he said, and it is that way in all of Africa.
Three members of our church had traveled to South Sudan to observe and learn about opportunities there for service. They are endless! But as I listened I recognized the problems in our own country--how even in times of peace there will be people who sow doubt and anger in order to obtain or keep power. Their tribal system reminded me how our powerful Democrat and Republican "families" and tribes in D.C. or the state capitals don't want to give up their power.
The Lutheran Church of South Sudan has started a seminary, and because there are 64 languages spoken in that small country, all instruction is in English, which is also taught in the high schools. Sometimes we Americans don't appreciate the beauty or unity of having a single language--and there are even trouble makers among us, especially academe, who claim it's xenophobic and racist to be unified that way.
Five years ago they had a handful of students meeting under a tree, and now have buildings and 2700 students. They are moving ahead with western partners for pure water, "welcoming" bath rooms, and computers for their computer room in the seminary.
Graduation speaker pushing liberal agenda. What’s new?
Janice Shaw Crouse notes: "Commencement speaker at Bucknell graduation (invited by the all-female student officers). Former Secretary of State and distinguished political leader, Madeleine Albright. No conservative students showed disrespect and none protested. I sat and listened. Her remarks were typically biased and disappointingly progressive ideology — never missed an opportunity to disparage conservatives and American values. Very limited sporadic, unenthusiastic applause. How awful to use this occasion to push a radical agenda!"
And liberals don’t get it!
“Bucknell University's 169th Commencement celebration will be held on the Malesardi Quadrangle on Sunday, May 19, beginning at 10 a.m.”
The photo must be 25 years old at least.
Friday, May 17, 2019
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Five lifestyles which will prolong your life. . . maybe
Have you ever seen this statement--"Americans have a shorter life expectancy compared with residents of almost all other high-income countries." I wish they'd qualify that by race, ethnicity, immigration status and age. Are Swedish Americans less healthy than ethnic Swedes in Sweden? Finnish Americans worse off than those born in Helsinki? German Americans? Drugs, auto accidents, and gun deaths wipe out a big swath of young Americans which unfortunately drastically alters our life expectancy national statistics. Losing weight, eating a healthy diet, and exercising more are good for you as an individual, but probably won't change national statistics as long as those 3 killers are present.
Here's what the journal "Circulation" determined: "Adherence to 5 low-risk lifestyle-related factors (never smoking, a healthy weight, regular physical activity, a healthy diet, and moderate alcohol consumption) could prolong life expectancy at age 50 years by 14.0 and 12.2 years for female and male US adults compared with individuals who adopted zero low-risk lifestyle factors."
Simple, right? Popular health journals and websites (usually sponsored by pharmaceutical companies) have jumped on that one. Buckets of articles and bags of advice have come from that. But. As young adults, people (like me in the 1960s or my parents in the 1930s) observing those five lifestyles were probably not involved in violent gangs, car chases while drunk, stealing to support an opioid habit, or eating wings at the local bar and washing them down with 12 beers several times a week. Those five lifestyles often include a monogamous marriage, higher education levels, stable jobs, church attendance, strong family and friend relationships. It's not that grandma who smoked like a chimney and drank six beers a day didn't live to be 105, or that cousin Ralph dropped dead jogging at age 40, but they are the exception.
I haven't read the whole article, but I know how it will be cited: support take over by the government of our health insurance because look how unhealthy Americans are. Studies in countries with socialized medicine that compare their healthiest and their least healthy show the same spread as the U.S. and that there are income gaps, education disparity and socio-economic differences which government health insurance doesn't change.
This article is free access. “Circulation” is one of the best peer reviewed journals you can read on cardiovascular issues. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.032047
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
New book recommendation about higher education for your Public Library
Richard Vedder, "Restoring the Promise; Higher Education in America" his final points.
- "College administrative staff often exceeds the teaching staff. Vedder says, “I doubt there is a major campus in America where you couldn’t eliminate very conservatively 10% of the administrative payroll (in dollar terms) without materially impacting academic performance.”
- Reevaluate academic tenure. Tenure is an employment benefit that has costs, and faculty members should be forced to make trade-offs between it and other forms of university compensation.
- Colleges of education, with their overall poor academic quality, are an embarrassment on most campuses and should be eliminated.
- End speech codes on college campuses by using the University of Chicago principles on free speech.
- Require a core curriculum that incorporates civic and cultural literacy.
- The most important measure of academic reforms is to make university governing boards independent and meaningful. In my opinion, most academic governing boards are little more than yes men for the president and provost."
As reported by Walter E. Williams "Smart Ways to Make College Cheaper and Better," Daily Signal, May 15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=A6ryUtm4W9g A YouTube of Vedder’s lecture on this topic. Very little has changed since I went to college in the 1960s, except for the soaring costs, and I didn't have to take any diversity or retraining classes.
He reports that “Harvard and Bridgewater State are 15 miles apart--Bridgewater is a better school" (audience laughs). I looked it up--Harvard is 5X more expensive than Bridgewater.
Vedder says had been teaching for 53 years (he’s emeritus at Ohio University) and was told he needed to report for "diversity training" and he refused. He says University of Michigan has 93 diversity coordinators and wonders if black and Hispanic students are better off. I think OSU beats that, and has more. But IED departments are not intended to help minorities and women, they are intended to punish and terrorize the white majority and provide jobs for administrative staff who graduated with "studies" degrees (my comment, not his).
There's a war against white males on American campuses. Alumni--check out your donor status and demand a change. One question from the audience was from a parent who said her son was required to take a course on "Climate Change" at his college which was not taught by any professor and contained no science, only opinion and popular magazines. She wants her money back! I don't blame her.
The Left eats its own
www.theconservativeinsider.com/harvards-insatiable-identity-politics-cannibals/?
One of the Leftists' own is an infamous lecher (Harvey Weinstein), so they don't want another of their own (Dean Ronald Sullivan of impeccable leftist credentials and also black) to defend him so Harvard fired him. Both conservatives and liberals are crying foul--some liberals have even discovered academic freedom and diversity of thought, something they won't allow for conservatives, in defending Sullivan.
List of new judges appointed in 2017-2019
Usually, I don't site Wikipedia as a source, because of the bias of the contributor (often liberal), but in this case, for a list of PresidentTrump era appointees to the courts, it's the best source. The Supreme Court gets the most attention (Gorsuch and Kavanaugh), but he's also flipping the lower courts, and they are young, and on the side of the Constitution. Yea! Look it over.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_judges_appointed_by_Donald_Trump?
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Congress woman Tlaib is just wrong
Rashida Tlaib, the Michigan Congress woman of "Palestinian" ancestry, was definitely NOT taken out of context in her hurtful, hateful comments on Yahoo News about the holocaust, Israel and Jews. Democrats who are defending her are on their way to apologizing for the Nazis, the National Socialist party of Germany, just as over the years they accepted and apologized for former KKK members into their ranks.
The Jews are the modern indigenous people of Israel, not the Arabs who call themselves Palestinians. The Jews are the original Palestinians--they have 3,000 years of history on that tiny speck of land in a sea of Islamic countries. Israel gained independence from Britain in 1948 and the people who now call themselves Palestinians didn't exist. They were a group of Arabs who needed an identity and the rest of the Arab world didn't want them except as a tool in their war chest. It was the UN that gave the Jews that tiny piece of land which they turned into a magnificent, fruitful country.
So if the Palestinians of recent origin have a complaint it is with the entire Arab world and the UN. They could have participated in the new country that offered them health, education, freedom of religion, the right to be elected to the national parliament, freedom of speech, employment, equal rights for women and gays--all the things they can't have in Arab countries where they live in camps, but they chose to be controlled by Hamas and to be mistreated and weaponized by Arab states that hate Jews.
If the Arab world powers had accepted the 1947 UN partition plan, there would not be a single Palestinian refugee today living in camps--a terrible mistake. But it has suited the Jew-haters, including many American Jews and Christians. The Arab world could take in these Arab refugees who call themselves Palestinians, they could give them the rights they have in Israel, but they won't (although most Arab countries don't have those rights even for their own citizens).
Israel is a country which has over 6 million Jews, and nearly half are Israeli by country of origin and the rest are Jews with origins from Africa, Russia, Asia, Europe and North America. 20% of Israel is Arab by ancestry, mostly Sunni Moslem. 10% are Druze (11th c. Islamic sect, not Arab). About 10% of Israel's population is Christian of different sects--Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox. The principle of equal rights for all Israeli citizens–including minorities–is expressed explicitly in the Israeli Declaration of Independence.
Jewish Arabs have had to flee their homelands of hundreds of years and take refuge in Israel, but the Arab countries won't take the Palestinian Arabs. For 70 years the Arab countries have kept the original 700,000 refugees and all their descendants in stateless camps. The Arabs do not want this problem solved, so Ms. Tlaib's argument and hostility should be directed at them.
https://news.yahoo.com/rashida-tlaib-defends-holocaust-comments-143517031.html
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