Thanks for the Christmas display

When we moved to Columbus in 1967, the area we live in now was farm woods and pasture—ravine, woods, and creek.  There was a 19th century farm house and old barn (now gone) on the property.  We had actually watched this area being built  and the firm Bob worked for, Urban Calabretta (now Brown Calabretta)  in the 1970s designed this very attractive 30 unit condominium community, a concept still rather new to Columbus 50 years ago. We had never driven back here until 2001 when we noticed several listings in the paper, and we fell in love with the setting.  So we have a lovely view north out our living room window of our neighbors on the next street “over the river and through the woods.”  They are close on this side, but about 1/2 mile to drive there.
 
We’ve been enjoying their Christmas lights in their back yard this season.  The colors change and rotate through the lights through a large tree. The other night Bob asked for a piece of stationery so he could write them a Thank You note for the enjoyment we’ve had every evening.  I thought it was a nice idea, but we don’t know their names, and the back of the house is 3 stories, yet the front appears to be a ranch—I’m not sure on that street if I could even identify it. Ten years ago when I was still walking in nice weather I’d noticed how difficult it was to identify the front of the homes I could only see from the rear.

No problem.  He wrote the note and then drove there, knocked on their door, and introduced himself.  They had a brief visit, and he told them how much we had enjoyed their lights.  Bob thought they were very nice, and they were quite surprised to get a personal and written thank you.

Samuel on a shower curtain

Today I was reading from 1 Samuel 1 and decided to look up various translations.  The internet allows some surprises, and I found Reynolds’ classic painting of the child Samuel available on shower curtains, I-phone covers, and tote bags.  Kitschy. I remember this on the little Sunday School bulletins we received each Sunday when it was popular to teach children art along with Bible. 

Barren, elderly or grieving mothers is a Biblical theme--it's the story of Jacob, Rachel (who was barren) and Leah, how Moses was adopted into a royal family, how the story of John's mother Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, is told, the massacred babies at the time of Jesus' birth, and Mary at the Cross. Samuel's mother, Hannah, did a lot of begging and pleading to bring him to life--so much so Eli thought she might be drunk. And when her prayers were answered, she gave him back to God.

"I prayed for this boy, and since the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him, I now dedicate the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the LORD.” 1 Samuel 1:27-28.

It seems I do a lot of begging and pleading these days, but God is used to it.

Soleimani is irreplaceable

"Soleimani is irreplaceable. You rarely replace a ruthless leader like him with the brains to pull off what he has done, which was to change the world over 20 years. He built the proxy armies, he engineered the takeover of Lebanon, almost the takeover of Iraq and Syria and Yemen. He created the situation that led to Obama-Biden handing over $150 billion to fund his terror network and military buildup. Pretty incredible feat, and not anyone else can do that.

He was the true evil genius, with a state and $150 billion US Obama-Biden dollars behind him. A few years ago, John Kerry even admitted publicly that some of the money would probably go to terror groups. Focus on that statement from the secretary of state. US money would be used to fund terror. A press spokesman for Obama said the same at a White House press conference at the time. And the Dems want to attack Trump!!! And Biden defends the JCPOA.

More importantly, Soleimani had conned Obama-Biden [into] providing not only the funding, but the naïve and stupid belief that Iran would act nice no matter how many dead bodies were strewn across the world." (Ross Rant, 1-10-20)

And then from American Thinker https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/01/trump_is_toto.html

"If you remember The Wizard of Oz you will recall that Toto, Dorothy’s dog, pulled back the curtain, revealing that the wizard was just a little guy working a panel of sound and light gimmicks to fool people into thinking he was more omnipotent than he really was. In the same way, the President’s killing of Qassem Soleimani and the aftermath reveals the four-decades-long treatment of Iranian terrorism and Israel by the foreign-policy establishment -- our presidents from Jimmy Carter up to now and Congress -- was based on myths. . .

Trump isn't Mussolini or Hitler. Neither is he Abe Lincoln or Daniel come to judgment. Donald Trump is Toto. "

I’ll never be an organist, but . . .

I'll probably only make it through lesson one of thirty since I'm neither a pianist nor an organist, but it certainly is interesting. AOG Lessons for the New Organist. https://www.agohq.org/lessons-for-the-new-organist/

How lifers make a living in Congress—Bernie Sanders

Some of my regular readers are old enough to remember the Jimmy Carter years; he was ousted by Ronald Reagan because people were so upset by the economy. It was a terrible recession, and I didn't have a job in my regular field, library science, but found one being alert to gossip in my aerobic class.

Through my aerobics instructor, Corey, I got a temporary government contract job through JTPA (formerly CETA)  This is where the federal government takes your tax money, filters it through all the DC bureaucrats, then sends it to the states which employ a lot of people to fill out the forms to get it, where it is filtered through the state (Ohio) bureaucracy, then smaller programs are developed, where it is further spread out among local agencies and non-profits.

I worked for STEPS, Senior Training and Employment Program. Senior workers (over 50) had been hit particularly hard by that recession, so our little group of 5 or 6 went around the state putting on workshops and developing publications. It was a dream job for me, and I was employed. I even was able to write speeches for the head of the Bureau of Employment.

That's what most of these employment programs do--they employ the people who work in them. I don't know if a single person over 50 ever found a job due to our efforts, but probably thousands of government workers, either civil service, or grant temporary like me, or Area Agency on Aging employees, or the many training centers set up for teaching and skill development (private), the landlords who rented the space, or the small caterers who provided the lunches we served at the workshops managed to get through that recession. Plus, I met great people (state employees are fantastic) and had a good time--learned so much about how government works and why so many people sat alone in offices with nothing to do while we temporary workers were very busy.

This is a tiny picture of what Bernie and others in Congress have been doing for a living for their entire lives. They live well, but not much changes for the people who really need help.

Comparing terrorism charges

June 14, 2016 at 1:57 p.m. EDT
Update: On Tuesday, President Obama sharply dismissed Donald Trump's critiques of the fight against terror in a brief statement. "If there is anyone out there who thinks we are confused about who our enemies are," Obama said, "that would come as a surprise to the thousands of terrorists who we have taken off the battlefield." Last December, we tried to quantify those "thousands." Washington Post

Obama killed thousands of terrorists by his own account, and perhaps every one was necessary and had the proper advice from the military and approval of the appropriate committees. All the T's were crossed and the I's were dotted according to proper regulations. But then why with only a few strategic terrorist leaders taken out, men who'd been declared war criminals by previous administrations, is Trump criticized? Because Democrats are out of their minds with Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Truly, can we believe anything we read in the media or any Democrat in Congress if they are this biased?

The Baptism of the Lord

Today I was prepared to celebrate the Baptism of the Lord with other traditional and liturgical churches, but it didn't happen. So I'll post a reminder here as a heads up:

The Baptism of the Lord 2020: Sunday, January 12, 2020

The Baptism of the Lord 2021: Sunday, January 10, 2021

The Baptism of the Lord 2022: Sunday, January 9, 2022

The Baptism of the Lord 2023: Sunday, January 8, 2023 (transferred to Monday, January 9, in the United States and other countries where the celebration of Epiphany was transferred to Sunday, January 8)

The Baptism of the Lord 2024: Sunday, January 7, 2024 (transferred to Monday, January 8, in the United States and other countries where the celebration of Epiphany was transferred to Sunday, January 7)

The Baptism of the Lord 2025: Sunday, January 12, 2025

The Baptism of the Lord 2026: Sunday, January 11, 2026

The Baptism of the Lord 2027: Sunday, January 10, 2027

The Baptism of the Lord 2028: Sunday, January 9, 2028

The Baptism of the Lord 2029: Sunday, January 7, 2029 (transferred to Monday, January 8, in the United States and other countries where the celebration of Epiphany was transferred to Sunday, January 7)

The Baptism of the Lord 2030: Sunday, January 13, 2030

Matt. 3:13-17

Acts 10:34-38

John 3:22-30

Mr. Smith goes to sixth grade

A certain man in my life (for his protection I’ve made up a name) decided he’d try substitute teaching in his school district. We’re about the same age, so right away, you know he’s too old to take on such a dangerous assignment. It reminds me of the years my father was taking temporary jobs in his retirement, such as night watchman at a prison or driving a school bus.  The bus driver job was the tougher one he said.

Things are different these days, Smithy told me.  He first logged on to his computer at home and entered a password, and found the list of available spots for the day.

“Ah, that one looks good for a first try.  Only half day, and at a near by smaller school.  Sixth grade math.  I should be able to handle that.”

When he found the school he was buzzed in (all doors were locked) and Smithy says the look on the receptionist’s face when she saw a 78 year old should have clued him in there was trouble ahead. He walked about half a mile down the hall to the classroom. The regular teacher was probably late-20s and had a well prepared lesson plan for the afternoon.  She  met with him about 15 minutes and explained that at 11:57 he would open the door (to the outside) where the students would be lined up.  At the correct time he opened the door and led the students in, and they all started to run to different locations, but most took seats in his classroom.

Smithy hadn’t taken “Education” courses in college like I did (he had taught college level), but I remember the first instruction in Education 101 is “Don’t smile until Thanksgiving” or they’ll think you’re a push over.  Yup. He smiled.  Immediately 5 or 6 boys began to act out and take advantage of the old dude, fresh meat. There was a boy in the class who was “mainstream” and had an IEP and wanted a pass to leave. All was lost after that. He completely disrupted things and the other boys began with the smart aleck remarks teasing the challenged student. 

One boy was so disruptive Smithy decided to escort him back to his seat (they were running around the classroom).  Smithy didn’t know the rules, but the students did. “You can’t touch me—take your hand off my arm,” the little snot told the man old enough to be his great grandfather.

That class was 12 to 1.  Then the 2nd period was about 25 minutes, time to prepare.  At 2:02 there was a time period called “Social Emotional Learning, SEL.   During this time they were to concentrate on the book, “Who moved my cheese.” Not sure how that applies to math, but apparently  it is something about anticipating change and time management. The book was published over 20 years ago and has sold over 26 million copies in 37 languages.  The main characters are two mice and two quasi-humans called Hem and Haw.

The third period was 2:30-3:11 (school dismisses at 3:11, teachers stay until 3:30) and Smithy only had about half a classroom. This seemed to be a time out/study hall period for people who were in trouble.  Some one had quit band, and someone else had been kicked out of choir, and so forth.  The librarian saved the day.  The kids were so disruptive that she entered the classroom and told them they were being too loud and to quiet down.  Smithy was stunned.  The class came to attention immediately and were quiet when she showed up.  They were angels.

And through it all, one little Asian boy worked diligently on his studies. Nothing the rowdy gang did distracted him.  Smithy said, “He’ll be the class valedictorian.”  The boys were the disrupters, the girls mostly tried to help. They provided directions to the correct locations, but to the boys, he was just fresh meat.

Smithy was so thankful it was just 3 hours, but he still had a fairly long evaluation to complete.  He offered his advice on how the day could have gone better, like more time with the classroom teacher, and who had been helpful.  He asked if he could come back as an observer and watch how the regular teacher handled the discipline and instruction.

But he particularly wanted to shadow that librarian and see what her tricks were.

Update: January 19, 2022.

Mr. Smith remembers that day as yesterday. When he went in to talk to the Principal about the situations he faced that dreadful afternoon, and he was given a facial expression of "heard this all before". The reason was given that the school district, upon consolidation with another district, had to accept students (poor white trash) from the trailer court just outside the city. OH MY, WHAT LOGIC!!!

The other memory of that fateful day has been finally put to bed with my check for $6.47 from the TRS (teacher retirement system) and the State of Illinois. Yesterday, after 2 years on my part to save that system $$ by not sending out reports and other correspondence quarterly, I was allowed to close my TRS account. It took numerous phone calls (the first informed me I could not close this wonderful cushion for retirement) and other negative comments about why I would be foolish to "CASH" out and the last being an 8-page notice regarding what the IRS is going to do to me if I took a "LUMP SUM DISTRIBUTION". The final threat was that if I pulled out of the union, I would never be allowed to re-up again!!!! PRAISE THE LORD

Mr. Smith holds a Substitute Teaching License through 2025 through the Regional Office of Education #47 for the Counties of X, Y, and Z after submitting and passing the following:

• 1-9 Employment Eligibility Verification,
• Illinois teaching certificate, 
• College Transcript,
• Mandated Reporter Status for Child Abuse,
• Physical exam,
• TB Test,
• Fingerprint based criminal history,
• Successful check of the Illinois Statewide Sex Offender Data Base,
• Successful check of the Illinois Statewide Child Murderer and Violent Crimes Against Children Data Base.

MY-O- MY, them times are a changing!!!! Last night on a local TV channel they spoke about the dire need for SUBS, but the requirements are down to a high school education now. Maybe a few of those Trailer kids (poor white trash) can now try to escort the unruly boys back to their seats!! But thanks to WOKE, I'm sure the same rules hold fast.

SMITTY

Spend time with adults? Is he crazy?

I think adults who write about children have bad memories.  63 years ago I didn’t have any of these qualities when I entered college.  And based on what I read on Facebook and other blogs, many of my contemporaries have not learned along the way.  Basic math?  Still struggling with that.

“What do [entering college students] need?  Academically, they need to be able to read analytically and write clear literate prose. They need to be able to recognize an argument and formulate one of their own.  They need to be able to analyze and apply ideas from one source to a problem in another, think logically, and do basic mathematics.  These are all valuable, but two other things are actually more important.

The first is that a student must “have the lights on.”  They have to care.  If education is seen as something they “get through” to get a largely meaningless credential – their “entry slip” to enter the corporate rat race rather than as a place to develop needed skills and wisdom – then they cannot and will not get an education.

The second thing a prospective student needs is maturity.  Another way of putting this would be to say, they need to grow up: become dependable adults who take responsibility for themselves and for the common good of the community of which they are members.

How does that happen?  One answer is they need to develop the virtues: wisdom, justice, temperance, and courage.  How can they develop these virtues they so desperately need?

Answer:  Adolescents need to spend time with adults if they are ever going to learn to be adult.  They need the experience of working with and for other people. They need to work within a group in which their well-being depends upon others doing their jobs well and in which the well-being of others depends upon them doing their jobs well.  They need to mature by training in a craft in which excellence is demanded and expected.”

https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2020/01/11/college-when/

Randal Smith is the Scanlan Professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.

More money for obesity research?

"For decades, experts at CDC, National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Department of Education, the Administration for Children and Families, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been researching and developing strategies to prevent and address obesity among children and adults nationwide." (The State of Obesity, 2018)

And apparently their strategies aren't working except to ask for more money to fund more research to pay more government workers. 1999-2000 30.5% adults obese; 2015-2016 39.6% obese. I don't find that impressive. Don't cut our budgets--we need that money to address obesity! To fail bigger!

Looking through the research, I see. . . racism is embedded.

• The differences between blacks and whites are called INEQUITIES.
• The differences between black males and black females (more likely to be obese) are called differences.
• The differences between Asian American men (more likely to be obese) and Asian American women are differences.
• The differences between Asians and whites (more likely to be obese) are called differences.
• The differences between rural (more likely to be obese) and urban are called differences.
• The differences between first generation and second generation (twice as likely to be obese) are called differences.
• The differences between Filipino Americans (more likely to be obese) and Chinese Americans are called differences.

The UMC split began a long time ago

“ In 1968 the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church finalized the plan of union to form the UMC. But by the time they completed their 1972 Book of Discipline, the die for the UMC’s dissolution had already been cast. The doctrinal section of the Book of Discipline reframed Wesleyan doctrine around the newly-coined Wesleyan quadrilateral in a way that privileged theological pluralism at the expense of doctrinal fidelity. Whereas Wesley emphasized spirituality in Scripture through his Explanatory Notes and tradition through his Christian Library, the theological commission behind the Book of Discipline turned theological pluralism into a principle emphasizing human experience as the core of theological method.”

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/01/a-failed-experiment-in-methodist-unity

I wonder what will happen at Lakeside?

Finally, relief from vertigo

This week I was down for 4 days with vertigo. People call it being dizzy, but it's worse than that for me--I can hardly tell the ceiling from the floor, and tip over even sitting down. And although you don't die of vertigo, if you fall at 80, it's a serious problem. Falls result in more than 2.8 million injuries treated in emergency departments annually, including over 800,000 hospitalizations and more than 27,000 deaths.

It happens when a tiny crystal gets dislodged from your inner ear, and really messes up your balance. I had it when I was about 50, really bad, and then again this past week. But at least this time I knew what it was and didn't think I was having a stroke.

You can wait it out for a few weeks, get a prescription, or try some maneuvers to dislodge the crystal (get a diagram from the internet), or see your doctor who might try some head turning maneuvers to move the crystal. I did see a doctor yesterday and by that time, it had pretty much cleared after my daughter read instructions on turning my head--although that took about 12 hours to get better. Still, just in case it's something else, and if you're old enough for Medicare, it's still a good idea for the doctor to look in your eyes and poke around. There is a virus that causes similar symptoms and also Meniere's disease which can cause hearing loss.

After a few days in the house, not driving or going to the gym, the January sun never looked so good, even if it was to go to the doctor.

https://www.wikihow.com/Perform-the-Epley-Maneuver

The frustration of being a Republican

The hardest thing to get used to when I registered as a Republican in 2000 (didn't change my values, but the Democrats had long ago left me) was the way they don't hang together to achieve a long term goal. Democrats are like Gorilla glue, Republicans wander around in search of rubber cement to peel off. When I watch these piss ants back stab and whine and toss the ball to the Democrats when the President clearly had every right constitutionally to do what he did, whether Ukraine or Soleimani, the smoke just comes out of my ears. Mike Lee and Rand Paul, you spoiled middle schoolers, do you really want Pelosi to have a win, or maybe take the presidency?

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/477424-rand-paul-mike-lee-rip-administration-over-insulting-and-demeaning-iran

The booming Trump economy creates a labor shortage

So many Democrats believe Trump's economy talk and tweets are "spin." They whine, post stupid memes, and have no respect for people trying to get ahead after Obama's 8 years of slow growth (except for the rich--they did well after 2009). That's because Washington Post, NYT, CNN and MSNBC mislead the sheeple, or just lie.

From today's Wall Street Journal:

"The remarkable jobs rally at U.S. small businesses continued in December. That’s according to the latest National Federation of Independent Business monthly employment survey, due out later today.

NFIB’s Chief Economist William Dunkelberg reports:
Job creation did not change from November, with an average addition of 0.29 workers per firm, the highest level since May. Net job creation had faded from February’s 0.52 workers per firm to September’s 0.10, but is back in strong territory. Finding qualified workers remains the top issue for 23 percent reporting this as their number one problem, 4 points below August’s record high.

The desire to hire among the owners of small firms remained robust. According Mr. Dunkelberg, “The 2019 small business labor market ended in much the same way as it began with strong hiring, elevated levels of open positions, and higher employee compensation.” Speaking of rising wages, the NFIB economist notes: “Attempting to fill open positions, historically high percentages of owners plan to raise worker compensation.”
In some industries, the competition for labor is especially fierce.

NFIB reports:
Sixty-two percent of construction firms reported few or no qualified applicants and 46 percent cited the shortage of qualified labor as their top business problem. Comparable figures for manufacturing were 63 percent and 24 percent respectively. Growth is clearly constrained in these important sectors by a shortage of workers."

The Washington Post today got it half right--reported on the booming job growth, but then attributed it to rising minimum wage! How dumb does a business columnist need to be (or who is threatening him) to write that? Minimum wage is a huge deterrent to a healthy economy. Wages are going up because of labor shortage--workers are promoted and new ones hired at good salaries if they can walk and chew gum. It's not rocket science, except for MSM. A very small number of workers even in recession made minimum wage, most made more.

In 1980, when the federal minimum wage was $3.10 ($9.41 in 2018 dollars), 13% of hourly workers earned the federal minimum wage or less. Today, only 2% of workers do. The number of federal minimum wage workers has decreased from 7.7 million in 1980 to 1.7 million today. This is partly due to states establishing higher minimum wages than the federal level. I guess Democrats want more people to be earning minimum instead of less?  I don’t get it!

The accomplishments of President Trump that Galli ignores in his impeachment for Evangelicals Christianity Today article

1. The appointment of two Supreme Court justices, 50 judges to federal circuit courts of appeal, and 133 federal district court judges (plus two other judges to specialized courts). All of them are committed to interpreting the Constitution and the laws according to the original meaning of the words and not according to their personal policy preferences. This is a good result of immeasurable benefit to the future of the country, for it guarantees that laws must be made by elected legislators who are accountable to the people, not by judges who are appointed for life and have no effective accountability to the people as a whole. Many of these judges will serve for decades to come.

2. Significant tax cuts that have resulted in remarkable growth in jobs and wages. The good results are already seen in the paychecks of millions of workers, with the highest percentage growth occurring in low income jobs, the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years, and the lowest black and Hispanic unemployment rates ever recorded.

3. Massive elimination of wasteful government regulations, giving a strong boost to business and job growth.

4.  Strengthening our military with passage of the largest defense budget in our history.

5. Standing up to China and firmly opposing their long-time theft of our intellectual property, including much copyrighted and patented information.

6. Moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and in general being a strong friend of Israel.

7. Supporting laws and actions that protect the unborn child’s right to life, including permitting states to defund Planned Parenthood, reinstating and expanding the Reagan administration’s Mexico City Policy which halts funding to groups that promote abortion overseas, strengthening conscience protections for individuals and organizations that have sincerely held religious beliefs about the sanctity of human life, and requiring insurance companies to disclose to customers if their plans cover abortions.

8. Building as much of a truly effective border wall as could be built in the face of intransigent opposition by Democrats.

9. Withdrawing from the misguided Paris Climate Accord, which would have significantly increased energy prices in the U.S.

10. Issuing executive orders that protect religious freedom, such as rescinding the Obamacare HHS mandate that forced groups such as Little Sisters of the Poor to provide access to abortifacients through their health care plans or face massive fines, finalizing new rules that protect the rights of conscience for pro-life medical professionals, and the Department of Justice issuing 20 principles of religious liberty to guide the Administration’s litigation strategy and protect religious freedom.

11. Revoking the Waterways of the U.S. regulation, which wrongly took control of millions of acres of people’s private property

12. Gaining approval for the Keystone pipeline, the Dakota access pipeline, and oil exploration in a tiny section of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

13. Finally retaining energy independence for the United States (we now produce more energy than we consume)

14. Rescinding Obama-era regulations that required schools to allow biological boys to enter girls’ restrooms and locker rooms in high schools

15. Driving ISIS out of large areas that it had controlled in Iran and Syria

17. Supplying Ukraine with needed weapons to defend itself against Russia

18. Persuading several NATO allies to increase their defense spending

19. Protecting freedom of speech on public university campuses by denying federal funding to institutions that do not protect student speech.

20. Promoting more ability for parents to be able to choose their children’s schools by appointing Betsy DeVos, a veteran school-choice advocate, as Secretary of Education.

https://townhall.com/columnists/waynegrudem/2019/12/30/trump-should-not-be-removed-from-office-a-response-to-mark-galli-and-christianity-today-n2558657?

Fact checking Trump’s lies

"Do Trump’s tweets contain lies? Galli (Christianity Today article condemning Evangelicals who support Trump) himself gives no examples, but the Washington Post on December 16 carried an article, “President Trump Has Made 15,413 False or Misleading Claims over 1,055 Days.”

What exactly are these alleged lies?

Strongest economy? The Washington Post article contains a link to their “Track Checker” webpage, where the “lies” are listed by category. The most common one (repeated 242 times) is Trump’s claim that that the US economy is now “perhaps the strongest economy in our country’s history.” But the Post says this is a lie because “By just about any important measure, the economy today is not doing as well as it did under Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson or Bill Clinton – or Ulysses S. Grant.”

What the Post doesn’t tell you is that it depends on what you are measuring. The total economic output of the United States in Eisenhower’s last year (1960) as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) adjusted for inflation, reached a record high of $3.26 trillion. By 1968 (Lyndon Johnson’s last year) it had risen to $4.8 trillion. In Bill Clinton’s last year (2000), GDP was up to $13.1 trillion. The current projection for 2019 is that GDP under President Trump will reach $21.4 trillion. Therefore, judging by the total economic output of the United States, it is completely true to say that we are currently living in “the strongest economy in our country’s history.” Trump is not lying, but the Post is using some other measurement (such as percentage growth rate) in order to claim that Trump has told this lie 242 times."

One of my liberal Democrat relatives is supposed to be a whiz in math, yet he too makes this common mistake. Doesn’t adjust for inflation or doesn’t distinguish among rate, percentage, or number. It’s easy to lie for the fact checkers, too.

https://townhall.com/columnists/waynegrudem/2019/12/30/trump-should-not-be-removed-from-office-a-response-to-mark-galli-and-christianity-today-n2558657?

Eric Metaxas on Christianity Today

Here’s text of Eric Metaxas’ Wall Street Journal article . . . provided by Kelly Kullberg.

“The magazine Christianity Today—which bore the imprimatur of its founder, Billy Graham —once arguably represented the broad middle of “American evangelicalism.” But a recent editorial calling for President Trump’s removal through impeachment confirmed the magazine’s creep toward that Slough of Despond populated by liberal elites and Joe Biden.

The article cleared its throat—and conscience—by declaring “unambiguous” the “facts” of the president’s guilt. Having thus defenestrated objectivity, the editorial cited his behavior in general as “profoundly immoral,” his character as “grossly” so.

But these subjective pronouncements promote a perversion of Christian doctrine, which holds that all are depraved and equally in need of God’s grace. For Christianity Today to advance this misunderstanding is shocking. It isn’t what one does that makes one a Christian, but faith in what Jesus has done.

The reason for the editorial is that evangelicals pronounced Bill Clinton unfit for office because of his moral failings. Thus, claim Mr. Trump’s detractors, evangelicals are hypocrites who’ve sold their souls for political power unless they issue a withering philippic against Mr. Trump. Christianity Today’s long-faced essay is meant to be that dressing-down, triggered by the “facts” of the impeachment.

But does the Clinton “character” comparison make sense? Aren’t the political realities different two decades later? The triangulating practicality and moderation of the Democrats under Mr. Clinton have been trampled beyond recognition by something untethered and wild, like horses racing to Venezuela.

In the 1990s some Democrats were antiabortion. Neither party could exclusively claim the high ground on this deepest of moral issues. Mr. Clinton spoke of making abortion “safe, legal, and rare.” No longer.

Despite ultrasounds and 4-D imaging, Democrats endorse abortion with near unanimity, often beyond viability and until birth. If slavery was rightly considered wicked—and both a moral and political issue—how can this macabre practice be anything else? How can Christians pretend this isn’t the principal moral issue of our time, as slavery was in 1860? Can’t these issues of historic significance outweigh whatever the president’s moral failings might be?

The pejorative du jour is to call evangelicals “transactional,” as though buying a loaf of bread and not simply praying for one were somehow faithless. But what is sneeringly called “transactional” is representational government, in which patriotic citizens vote, deputizing others to act on their behalf for the good of the country. Isn’t it conceivable that faithful Christians think Mr. Trump is the best choice?

But some left-leaning evangelicals long ago grew tired of being portrayed as jug-headed rubes and prudes. After Mr. Clinton’s acquittal, these Christians opted out of the “culture wars,” pretending it possible merely to “preach the Gospel” and avoid politics. They gave the good family man Barack Obama a mulligan or two, winking at his repudiation of traditional marriage and his dehumanizing unborn children.I

n this genuinely transactional compromise, Christians supporting Mr. Obama missed the moral forest for the trees. Now, in calling for Mr. Trump’s removal, they are missing the haystack for the needle. Can those troubled by Mr. Trump not at least imagine that removing him could lead to something even worse? Can the Democratic metamorphosis into an openly antiborder, socialist movement responsibly be ignored?

The stakes are therefore even higher than in 2016, not least because many are rightly scandalized at the attempts to undo that election. Perhaps voters could be excused for hoping to pry Old Glory from the grasp of unelected J. Edgar Hoovers at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Christians especially blanch to see religious liberty—once thought settled under Mr. Clinton with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993—suddenly under serious attack. Christians are staggered to see good souls who stand by millennia-old religious convictions portrayed as deplorable bigots. Democrats—and many Republicans, too—simply look away, seemingly resigned to a culturally Marxist future in which they too may at any minute be rent asunder by woke mobs.

Given this new reality, is it any wonder Mr. Trump’s bellicosity often draws cheers? Or that the appointment of originalist judges has become so urgent that some people are willing to countenance a chief executive who tweets like a WWE figure?

For those of us alive to this strange moment in history, arguments that this president’s inchoate moral failings somehow require his removal from office seem not only disproportionate, but preposterous. Christians worship a man who flipped over the tables of corrupt money changers and drove them from the temple with a whip he fashioned for that purpose. Or must one now assume Jesus was an angry white male without access to mental-health care?

The editors of Christianity Today have made the mistake of “straining at a gnat but swallowing a camel.” Since most evangelicals concur with Abraham Lincoln in seeing America as “the last best hope of earth,” it should hardly be discomfiting or shocking that they would rally behind a president with the fortitude to defend that vision of America.”

Mr. Metaxas is the author of “If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty” and host of the nationally syndicated “Eric Metaxas Show.”

Exercise—making New Year’s Resolution?

Can you lengthen your life?

“Even frail older adults can benefit from regular physical activity. One NIH-funded study included over 600 adults, ages 70 to 89, who were at risk for disability. They were randomly placed in either a moderate exercise program or a comparison group without structured exercise. The exercise group gradually worked up to 150 minutes of weekly activity. This included brisk walking, strength and balance training, and flexibility exercises.

“After more than 2 years, the physical activity group had less disability, and if they became disabled, they were disabled for a shorter time than those in the comparison group,” Bernard explains. “The combination of different types of exercise—aerobic, strength and balance training, and flexibility—is important to healthy aging.” NIH’s Go4Life website has tips to help older adults get and stay active.”

https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2016/06/can-you-lengthen-your-life

Michael Smith guest blogging on Trump and Iran

"The three top candidates for the Democrat nomination - Biden, Sanders and Warren - all three came out yesterday [Jan. 7, 2020] with statements that Trump is lying America into another war while never acknowledging that Iran has been a provocateur for years (and the US has held back) or that Iranian leadership is nothing but liars and propagandists.

This from the leaders of a political party that unconditionally supported a president who was comically awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for purely political reasons even though:

• America was at war for every single day of the Obama/Biden administration's two terms.
• Twice as many soldiers died in Afghanistan in the first three and a half years of the Obama/Biden first term than in all eight of Bush's two terms.
• The Obama/Biden administration's use of drones eclipsed Bush's by a huge amount, earning him the nickname of "Drone King".
• The Obama/Biden administration bombed 7 countries (Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Syria), three more than Bush.
• Obama, Biden and Hillary destabilized Libya and in the process, sat by as 4 Americans were murdered in Benghazi - then lied about what they did, what they didn't do and where they were as it was happening.
• Obama set a "red line" in Syria over the use of chemical weapons and when it was crossed, did nothing.
• Obama ordered the targeted assassination of an American citizen in Yemen via drone strike.
• John Kerry, former Secretary of State for Obama, has admittedly been in Iran working with the Iranian regime against President Trump's policies.

Look, war is dirty business - and fighting an asymmetric terrorist threat is even more so - but these Democrats have no standing to criticize anything Trump does after standing by during the Obama years, or in Biden's case - having been neck deep in the decision making process of Obama's actions.

OrangeManBad delusions do not change history.

Democrats support terrorism

"Qassem Soleimani was an arch terrorist with American blood on his hands. His demise should be applauded by all who seek peace and justice. Proud of President Trump for doing the strong and right thing." Nikki Haley

“According the Obama Department of Defense, Qasem Soleimani was a terrorist directly responsible for the murder of over 500 US service men & women. Why are congressional Dems outraged that he’s finally dead?” Ted Cruz, TX

But the 2020 gang continue to grieve Soleimani’s death.

Soleimani’s death

"President Trump’s order to take out Qasem Soleimani was morally, constitutionally and strategically correct. It deserves more bipartisan support than the begrudging or negative reactions it has received thus far from my fellow Democrats." Joe Lieberman

JOAN R. BARRIS, Good-bye to a great friend

So sad to hear of the death of Joan Barris, co-owner with her husband Dan of the Idlewyld Bed and Breakfast in Lakeside, Ohio. We had such fun together. She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, a terrific hostess and art and writing teacher. We enjoyed many breakfasts at their great B&B. I last heard from her on Dec. 29, at Cleveland Clinic, awaiting a stent procedure.

Another friend from Lakeside posted at Joan’s Facebook wall:

“It is with a very heavy heart that I am sharing the news that our dear friend Joan Barris has made her heavenly transition after an illness and hospitalization.

Many of you know Joan and her husband Dan as the wonderful innkeepers at Idlewyld B&B in Lakeside. I first met Joan in 2006 while attending an Artists Way retreat organized by Sandie King. I fell in love with Idlewyld and chose to host my next Indigo Connection retreat at Idlewyld. I returned to host retreats annually through 2017 and also began attending the wonderful watercolor painting workshops she hosted. Joan not only hosted our groups, but participated with us in most of our activities. She mothered and mentored us as our wise elder and will always be remembered for the very witty notes she took and later used to create poems for us each year as our retreats concluded. She was a creative soul in every way I can imagine and always curious to keep learning.

One of my fondest memories of Joan came three years ago while I was going through a very difficult time in my life. My husband George had just been hospitalized for many weeks and was transferred to a neurological rehabilitation facility. Joan had been following our journey and praying for us. I was able to visit Lakeside briefly for respite and stopped by Idlewyld to catch up with my dear friend. We sat quietly together on the sofa and I remember she held my hand and recited the poem below. Perhaps these words will help you find peace at this time of loss too. By sharing this, I see how spirit has allowed the circle to connect our first meeting with today's emotions.

These are the beautiful words from Artists Way author Julia Cameron that Joan used to comfort me in 2017

I wish I could take language
And fold it like cool, moist rags.
I would lay words on your forehead.
I would wrap words on your wrists. '

'There, there,' my words would say -
Or something better.
I would ask them to murmur, 'Hush' and 'Shh, shhh, it's all right.'
I would ask them to hold you all night.

I wish I could take language And daub and soothe and cool
Where fever blisters and burns,
Where fever turns yourself against you.

I wish I could take language
And heal the words that were the wounds
You have no names for.

I do not yet have details regarding a memorial service. Please pray for her beloved husband Dan and for the family at this time of sudden loss. May Joan be embraced by the glory and beauty of her creator.”

From the obituary:  Joan R. Barris, age 85 of Olmsted Twp., passed away January 5, 2020. Beloved wife of 65 years to Daniel; loving mother of Joanmarie (David) Vanaski, Martin Barris and Maribeth Barris; cherished grandmother of Summer Vanaski, Cori (Jacob) Snowberger and Katie Barris; great-grandmother of Amelia Barris, Landen Snowberger, Dayten Snowberger and Zinovia Barris; dear sister of the late Virginia Johnson; aunt of Gail Johnson.

Joan was the owner of Idlewyld Bed and Breakfast in Lakeside, OH for more than 30 years. She enjoyed watercolors and writing. She coached synchronised swimming at the Lake County West-End YMCA.

The Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, January 11, 2020 at 1 PM in the Chapel at Sunset Memorial Park, 6245 Columbia Rd. North Olmsted; where the family will receive friends from 11 PM until the time of service.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations may be made to Lakeside Chautauqua, www.lakesideohio.com/giving/ today. www.dostalbokas.com

Marcia the military wife comments, guest blogger

The group where this was posted is generally conservative, and apparently some are unhappy about the President taking action (far less than Obama did with drones where he once in 2014 killed civilians at a wedding and the target wasn’t killed) because like Obama, he’s promised no more wars. So Marcia is letting whoever got snarky, have a piece of her mind.

“As I sit here on the tail end of of my husband’s latest six month deployment to Kuwait, I’d like to as calmly as possible ask the many members of this group to tone down the anti military posts.

I’m not sure why the death of an Iranian terrorist and murderer is triggering you into general anti military sentiment, but if it is, perhaps you need to sit down and ponder why that is and what it is you truly believe.

I apologize for getting heated and using salty language in reply to some antagonists. Two decades of frequent separation from my spouse while working full time and raising my kids is weighing heavy on me. Maybe it’s the broken dryer or the faulty wiring in the garage door, or the fact I need to spend about $1000 on tires for ANOTHER 4000 mile move to Alaska. Maybe it’s how my kids have managed to break the flusher handle on two toilets in my house and I’m debating if I should hire a handyman or wait until my husband returns or try to YouTube it and do it myself with all my free time.

Maybe it’s because my 9 year old daughter is now in weekly counseling.

Maybe it’s because I’ve never lived even remotely close to my family or the fact I gave birth to my first child alone because my husband was in Korea for a year. Maybe people who have zero idea what military service entails should sit down and shut up for a minute, and realize that if they sound like coastal liberal elites, then maybe that’s exactly what they are.”

Sweet and sour chicken

I received a new cookbook for Christmas—it’s a family compilation by the Shaw family, 5 of whom I met blogging and now read and enjoy regularly on Facebook. Their mother Ruth Baird Shaw went back to college after her Methodist minister husband died and became a Methodist minister.  All the children are grown with grandchildren and are quite successful and interesting people—and they have collected in 2 editions, family recipes. With photos.  As I was browsing (always looking for the easiest and quickest) I noticed “Ricky and Lyn’s Sweet and Sour Chicken.” I think Lyn is Joan’s daughter. 

With only 4 ingredients and minimal prep, this looks like one I would take to a church pot luck.

8 boneless chicken breasts

1 8 oz. jar peach or apricot preserves

1 8 oz. bottle Catalina dressing

2 envelopes onion soup mix

Mix all ingredient except chicken breasts.  Place chicken in casserole dish.  Pour mixture over the chicken breasts.  Bake covered for 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Remove cover and bake an additional hour.

This was submitted by Joan Shaw Turrentine, and Carol Shaw Johnston who was the compiler of the cook book comments that she has made this recipe several times and usually splits the recipe among 3 pans and freezes 2 of them for meals later.  It freezes really well.

Epiphany, January 5, 2020

Today is Epiphany, the day Christians celebrate the Magi searching for, finding and worshiping the baby Jesus.

Sermon of Odilo of Cluny, who lived in the 10th century (962-1049).

Today is festive enough in its own right, but it stands out all the more clearly because of its proximity to Christmas.

When God is worshiped in the Child, the honor of the virgin birth is revered. When gifts are brought to the God-man, the dignity of the divine motherhood is exalted. When Mary is found with her child, Christ’s true manhood is proclaimed, together with the inviolate chastity of the Mother of God.

All this is contained in the evangelist’s statement: “And entering the house they found the child with Mary his mother, and bowing down they worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

The gifts brought by the wise men reveal hidden mysteries concerning Christ. To offer gold is to proclaim his kingship, to offer incense is to adore his godhead, and to offer myrrh is to acknowledge his mortality.

We too must have faith in Christ’s assumption of our mortal nature. Then we shall realize that our two-fold death has been abrogated by the death he died once for all.

You will find a description in Isaiah of how Christ appeared as a mortal man and freed us from our debt to death. It is written: “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.”

The necessity of faith in the kingship of Christ can be demonstrated on divine authority, since he says of himself in one of the psalms: “I have been appointed king by him,” that is, by God the Father.

And speaking as Wisdom personified he claims to be the King of kings, saying: “It is through me that kings reign and princes pronounce judgment.”

As to Christ’s divinity, the whole world created by him testifies that he is the Lord. He himself says in the gospel: “All power has been given me in heaven and on earth,” and the blessed evangelist declares: “All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made.”

Sermon 2 on the Epiphany: PL 142, 997-998

Happy New Year—you have no privacy

I confessed in my piece about Elizabeth Warren that I shopped on Panic Saturday (Dec. 21). Macy's was so happy to see me again that today I received a 14 page bill (some pages were blank) for spending $221.07 on Christmas gifts for my husband! I'm so old I remember when credit card bills were half a sheet of paper 2 sides.

But I was warned. On pg. 1 it referred me to pg. 7 for details on changes being made to my Credit Card Agreement. On pg. 3 it warned me about changes coming on 2/24/20 which it will do in detail on p. 7, and again repeats all the billing information on p. 1--Polo sleepwear, Hilfiger sleepwear, Hilfiger necktie, Tasso Elba neckwear, Alfani shirt, Perry Ellis neckwear, Clubroom shirt. BTW, the Alfani fabric felt cheap after I removed 105 straight pins and washed it. On p. 5 and 6 the only information was that the annual percentage rate is 26.74%, variable rate.

Finally the glorious p. 7 where I am told how much I am appreciated and how they look forward to serving me in the future. The changes revealed on p. 7 are
increased late fees,
returned payment fee and
returned convenience check fee.
The minimum payment due calculation is changing and
the Promotion calculation is recalculated beyond my ability to understand.

"For additional language regarding how and when these fees will be charged, please see the section called "Fees" in your Credit Card Agreement.
Then in a box the explanation of penalty fees--late payment and returned payment. I only have a master's degree, and couldn't decipher this even with the sentence diagramming I learned in 4th grade.

On p. 8 the good folks in Macy's advanced college English class explain making payments--
Minimum Payment Due,
calculated new balance
past due account,
excess of my credit limit,
amount due on each Club Plan,
adding in any amount required by
the Promotion Calculation
the calculated new balance, rounded up
applicable late fee
subtracted interest charges accrued during prior billing cycles
Special event balance
Calculated new balance = New Balance - any balances subject to a Club Plan or the Promotion Calculation

At this point I'm only half way through p. 8 and am worn out.

Page 9 explains who all can see my personal information. It's like Trump's tax returns. If Macy can do all this, why can't Congress? It clearly says, Macy's can share my personal information with anyone they damn well please. Honest. It does.

Social security number and income,
account balances and
employment information,
credit history and
transaction history,
anything they need to run their everyday business. . .
even court orders and
legal investigations or
credit bureau information.

Why do they need this private, personal information? According to Macy's p. 9 of 14,
for marketing purposes,
for joint marketing with other financial companies,
for their affiliates everyday business purposes, and
Macy's everyday business purposes so
they can market to me and
their nonaffiliates can market to me.

And when I am no longer Macy's customer, they claim the right to continue to share my information described in this notice.

DSNB does this, not Macy's. Department Stores National Bank. And on p. 10 there is a long list of what it collects.

Page 11-14 are math problems. 3%, 2% 1% rewards spent at restaurants which are stand-alone merchants in the U.S. that primarily serve food. If you accumulate 1,000 points, yada, yada. . .
But exclusive for you: free shipping from Al's family farms 18 lbs of Florida Honeybells for only $49.95 delivered with a bonus of Orange blossom honey.

Happy New Year. Capitalism is almost as much fun as taxes.

Food nannies strike again

https://www.city-journal.org/banning-dollar-stores

The food nannies strike again. Don't you dare touch my dollar store. They have great deals on the things I want, and the only food items I've purchased are peanuts. That food desert hoax was disproven years ago. If someone is fat, sick or malnourished and they occasionally pick up frozen chicken or a loaf of bread at a fast food mart or dollar store because there's no super market near by, it's more likely the cigarettes and beer they are buying somewhere else. If momma didn't teach them to eat right, it's unlikely the mayor or governor is going to.

“Recent research undermines the argument that a lack of fresh, healthy food is to blame for unhealthy diets. In a paper published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, three economists chart grocery purchases in 10,000 households located in former food deserts, where new supermarkets have since opened. They found that people didn’t buy healthier food when they started shopping at a new local supermarket. “We can statistically conclude that the effect on healthy eating from opening new supermarkets was negligible at best,” they wrote. In other words, the food-desert narrative—which suggests that better food choices motivate people to eat better—is fundamentally incorrect. “In the modern economy, stores have become amazingly good at selling us exactly the kinds of things we want to buy,” the researchers write. In other words, “lower demand for healthy food is what causes the lack of supply.”” (from the above linked City Journal)

What the party who opposed the Soleimani killing stand for—guest blogger Michael Smith

"No one should be surprised by the reaction of Democrats to an American drone going all "Fargo" wood-chipper on Qassem Soleimani.

This is a political party that:
- Reflexively sides with criminals against victims.
- Actively promotes illegal immigration.
- Believes non-citizens have more rights than citizens.
- Condemns victims (like the Texas church shooting) for protecting themselves
- Puts criminals back on the street and calls it "criminal justice reform).
-Seeks to decriminalize anti-social behaviors and then blames their opposition for the result in crime (increases in property crime) and uncivilized behavior (defecating in the streets).
- Has historically become useful idiots for, and fellow travelers with, every brutal communist regime from Stalin to Saddam Hussein and Bashar Assad.
- Sends delegations of elected officials to meet with America's enemies (Saddam Hussein, Bashar Assad, Fidel Castro)
- Have protested in support of America's enemies since the Vietnam War.
- Venerates America's enemies with fawning media coverage that will never be seen for a non-Democrat and will attack any Republican with language they would never use for our enemies.
- Since the 60's, have done a complete 180 degree turn from the anti-communist policies of JFK and pursued a policy of appeasement, preferring to feed other people to the alligators in the hopes those beasts will eat them last.
- Are always for something before they are against it, constantly and religiously lying about their positions, changing them on a dime if they think it will give them political advantage.

The Democrat Party has not just recently become anti-American, they have been this way for over a century, ever since Walter Duranty, Stalin's apologist, and the New York Times won a Pulitzer for lying about the Stalin regime in Russia.

The only difference is that now they don't care if you know who they are. They assume their voters can be bought off with pallets of cash, the same way Obama tried to buy off the Iranian Mullahs.

Whatever you’re doing come hold this baby

Lonnie Lacy

http://lonnielacy.com/what-we-hold/

One of the best Christmas poems you’ll read.

“Honey,” she said,  
“whatever that is you’re doin’, 
you gotta put it down 
and come hold this baby.”

“What?”

“Put it down, 
and come  
hold  
this  
baby.”

In the beginning God

"The Milky Way, our home galaxy, comprises something in the range of 200–300 billion stars. It is nestled among the other 2 trillion or so galaxies estimated to populate the observable universe, postulated to have a radius of 13.8 billion light-years.

However, the figure ascribed to the quantity of terrestrial viruses, an estimated 10 to the 31st power, eclipses even those immense numbers. That means there are potentially 5–10 million times more viruses on Earth than stars thought to exist in the observable universe." https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/1/ac-2601_article

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. . . Genesis 1.

The death of Soleimani

According to the Wall Street Journal:

"After an Iranian-backed militia staged a violent protest and attempted to overrun the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq this week, President Donald Trump described the event as the “anti-Benghazi.” He wasn’t kidding

Last night the Pentagon announced:

At the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.

General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more. He had orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months – including the attack on December 27th – culminating in the death and wounding of additional American and Iraqi personnel. General Soleimani also approved the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that took place this week.

This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world."

Not to worry those of you Democrats accusing Trump of being Hitler, etc., and especially that crazy movie star who apologized on behalf of 52% of Americans (Hillary's supporters?) Jake Tapper in Sept. 2011 proudly proclaimed Obama the killer of 10 terrorists, including Osama bin Ladin.

Elizabeth Warren

I shopped on panic Saturday! December 21. More money was spent by Americans that day, $34.4 billion, than any day in America's history. And Elizabeth Warren is trying to make Americans fearful, that there's a terrible gap, that life's unfair so she needs to steal money from some and give it to others! The big four leading the way were Walmart, Amazon, Costco and Target. Is that where the top 1% shop? Nope. It's where we all shop. (I shopped at Macy's and Kohl's.) Why do Democrats preach doomsday? Because they don't believe in America. Not the people, not the Constitution, not the economy, and certainly not the president.

Year end summary of Trump’s record

Jobs are plentiful. The White House says seven million jobs have been created since Donald Trump’s election. Record numbers of Americans are employed, and wages are rising as employers compete for workers. The headline unemployment rate is at its lowest in 50 years, with minorities in particular enjoying the fruits of this labor.

The stock market has continued to break records, yielding benefits for the investment and retirement accounts of more than half of all Americans. The Dow Jones average rose 22% in 2019, while the S&P was up 29% and the NASDAQ climbed 35%. When Trump was elected, the market was pretty volatile, and New York Times economist Paul Krugman predicted, “If the question is when markets will recover, a first-pass answer is never.” Boy was he ever wrong.

Consumer optimism is reflected in year-end retail sales. Gary Bauer notes, “Retail sales surged 3.4% over last year, led by record online spending. The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a critical time for the economy. According to Reuters, sales during these few weeks can account for up to 40% of all annual sales for many retailers.”

Regulations reduced. Economic growth comes when government gets out of the way, contrary to the “stimulus” philosophy of the last administration. The White House says, “Since taking office, President Trump has rolled back nearly 8 regulations for every new one, saving American taxpayers more than $50 billion in the process — with bigger savings still to come.” That includes rolling back a lot of his predecessor’s environmental controls. The Daily Caller reports that Trump “nixed nearly 100 environmental regulations during his first three years in office.”

Not only has Trump cut red tape, he’s been slow to add new regulations. According to The Washington Times, “The Trump administration issued the fewest new regulations during 2019 than in any year since the government began keeping track more than four decades ago.” All three of the lowest regulation totals belong to President Trump.

Judicial appointments. Not all of Trump’s success has been economic. An astounding 20% of the federal judiciary is now composed of Trump appointments after the Republican-controlled Senate has confirmed 187 of his nominees. For the pace of that success, Republicans at least owe a wink and nod to former Democrat Senate Leader Harry Reid, who nuked the filibuster for judges in 2013. Judges were a big reason for millions of conservative votes in 2016, and Trump has delivered.

Defeating terrorists. After Barack Obama fomented the rise of the Islamic State, Trump has spent three years fighting back. It hasn’t been free of controversy, but it’s hard to argue with success like the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

Other gains include military funding and rebuilding, immigration policy, and — we hope — trade.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/67646  Nate Jackson

Another useless United Nations challenge

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/harming-environment-war-crime/?

Very interesting piece which ends up blaming the U.S. for damage to environment during wars because the 3 writers don't know how to do research. Just search and click on the various civil wars in Africa, like Sudan. I care more about the people who are killed and maimed. I know that forests, cities and farms were destroyed in Sudan, and rivers polluted, but the 2nd civil war killed over 2 million people. And then when the Christians and Muslims separated into north and south, the Christians began another civil war (tribal) among themselves. And there are still German bombs buried in France from WWI and WWII waiting to explode. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/seventy-years-world-war-two-thousands-tons-unexploded-bombs-germany-180957680/  Not good for the environment or people who had nothing to do with the conflicts.

The intent of the article is not to make war damage a crime (already a crime depending on the victor), but to point fingers at your country, the United States. A lot of this article is word salad--"scientists," "armed conflict" "biodiversity" a 5th Geneva Convention called 2 decades ago, yada yada. And it's not even a real article, it's built on a letter.

Is there anything sillier than UN pronouncements? "International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict" so why do the writers advocate making it a war crime to damage the environment? Oh--to make war illegal. That should do it.

"Ultimately, if harming the environment was a war crime, then most acts of modern warfare would essentially be forbidden. After all, there’s no way to drop a bomb without harming the ground it falls on."

Bug Nazis! They are on the Left

I saw this comment on a Facebook group written by “Tom.”  I giggled at the term, Bug Nazi. Also I didn’t know there were insect identification groups on Facebook, although I should.  I’ve seen them for everything else. . .quilters, photographers, dog lovers, writers, exercise nuts, foodies, . . . really just about every hobby and interest.

“I just decided to leave an insect identification group because the leftist loons running it decided it was important to post an announcement how they were no longer going to tolerate climate change deniers, as if that has anything to do with identifying insects.

My response in a separate post? (They had shut off commenting for this one)

“Goodbye Bug Nazis! Nothing screams intolerance like the bantering of attention-seeking liberals. Insects and climate change are two separate things, but congrats on combining them on this page for some inexplicable reason. Your page, your rules.

In the meantime, since you value scientific evidence so much, please feel free to provide scientific evidence that anything we’ve done to combat climate change over the decades has been effective in reducing global greenhouse gases. You can’t because there is none. Just theories. Climate change is happening but there’s no proof...none...that we can stop it. I won’t be around to see your response, but maybe you can enlighten your members as to the evidence of how combatting climate change has been so successful so far and not just an utter waste of time and money. “

The pros and cons of the National Voter Registration Act, 1993

What happened to the Democrat party that used to believe in fair elections with only eligible voters? In 1993, with a Democratic Congress and President (Clinton) the National Voter Registration Act was passed. It requires "a reasonable effort to remove the names of ineligible voters" from voter rolls. In less than 20 years they've thrown that out the window and if local or state authorities attempt to clean up they are accused of racism or some other -ism.

What Democrats do love about the NVRA is it allows registering when getting a driver's license or registering to vote automatically when you register your car and then mailing in your ballot. So the result? Big push for illegals to get drivers licenses. In 2016 about 25% of votes cast were by mail--no voter ID with mailed ballots. And that is the end goal for the Left--no voter ID requirements at all, no voter residency requirements. Those who designed the NVRA probably had this in mind for the long run.

Actually, the big prize the Left lusts after is the abolition of the Electoral College, one of the smartest elements of the Constitution to keep us "united states" instead of New York and California states of America. If they succeed either with a constitutional amendment in which 40 plus states would agree to have no say in a federal election, or by casting their votes with other Democrat control states, most American voters would be disenfranchised and we wouldn't even need any rules for registration or voting.

Adoption of illegal immigrant children? No!

A Democrat cousin (on my Dad’s side) has claimed that the Trump Administration is cruelly stealing the children of illegal immigrants and putting them up for adoption. Eventually, after I asked for details, he provided one link which originated with Associated Press, and then was massaged by another publication. I won't show you the link--there are so many inaccuracies I wouldn't want you to post it--some people only read the headlines and continue to pass the anti-Trump rumors.

The story was built around two children of illegal immigrants who were put in foster care--2014 and 2015. Guess who was president? Further details were from the 1980s. In both cases, the parents got their children back--the agencies that provide this service for the government make it clear to the foster parents they cannot adopt. In the one case in Michigan where a judge didn't wait for the parents to be found, the federal government was the agency that stepped in to return the child.

I'm not sure why a journalist would be so deceptive in developing the story, using stories from the Obama years, and mixing it with hysteria about Trump and then adding in the 1980s. It's manipulative. We can guess which political party she/he belongs to. American children are taken from their parents when they violate the law, but Democrats see this as different. This is a way to attack Trump.

But you have to read to the end to find out that the reunited family, back in their home country, still communicate with the foster family because they know they love their little girl too. Must have been some hell hole.

Hate speech and hate crimes

I for one have never liked the terms "hate speech" and "hate crime" (protected characteristics of race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability). Due to our First Amendment, hate speech laws don't fair well, but colleges are big on "speech codes" and requiring SJW special retraining camps for incoming students and faculty. The more race relations improve, the narrower academe defines the crime so it can add to its administration.

Unless a white man is a Jew or gay or transitioning to female, who is ever charged with a hate crime for attacking him? For race, it only seems to be certain races. If there are two different African immigrant groups in a Columbus high school, who charges them with hate crimes when they attack each other? Would a Columbus juvenile court judge know that one group was slaves of the other 300 years ago? I received a notice of a crime from OSU a few days ago and it made a point of not mentioning the offender's race. Something the whole culture seems obsessed with, yet can't be used to identify a criminal!

What do these laws/codes add to bad language and violent crime except a racial component to discuss on the evening news?  If black rappers can say the words, why can't a white radio host? If a black man robs or terrorizes a black family, why is that not a hate crime, if it is called a hate crime when a white or Hispanic criminal does it? Almost all crime victims (except Asians) are within same groups. Based on the 2018 Bureau of Justice survey, the offender was of the same race or ethnicity as the victim in 70% of violent incidents involving black victims, 62% of those involving white victims, 45% of those involving Hispanic victims, and 24% of those involving Asian victims. Lesbians against Lesbians. Gays against gays. No one commits a crime out of love (although some celebrity abortion advocates claim to).

Hate crime legislation took hold with the Civil Rights movement in the 60s, then a special law for violence against women but not men, then sex and peculiar identities were added. NY is considering adding more on top of what we already have just for anti-Semitism. Now all sorts of quasi legal threats are made if a religion disallows marriage of same sex because it violates the Bible and all of history, or if an employer doesn't recognize the feelings of men who believe they are women.

And yet Democrats, the Left and their print, internet and social media are allowed to call Conservatives and their president all manner of nasty names on the air ways, on TV and public debate--from racist to terrorist to Nazi. They can reinvent as "hate speech" the OK sign or even the words, Make America great. I do see hate, and it's from the Left manipulating our laws intended to protect people. But they shouldn't be the only ones protected by the First Amendment.

A good week-end with the family

Our niece and nephew, Joan and Dan, from Indianapolis drove over to spend time with Phil this week-end, and we also were the beneficiaries.  First we knew Phil was in good hands.  He and Joan are just 2 years apart, and spent many holidays together as children.  Dan and Joan are strong Christians and also people who work and play hard--I can think of no one I'd rather spend time with if I didn't feel social!

Second, we got to have dinner with them and our daughter and son-in-law, sort of a second Christmas as we still had all our decorations up and used the Christmas dinnerware. On Sunday we had someone to attend church with, and then out for brunch at Bob Evans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khkJkR-ipfw

We move forward; we don't move on 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trxw9wqKSHI

I am a survivor

Clarence Thomas and the racism of the Democrats

"At the time of his confirmation, the public was twice as likely to believe Justice Thomas over Anita Hill (55% to 27%), and 58% favored his confirmation. Today, only 30% of Americans believe that he should have been confirmed, and 38% say he should not have been."
https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/12/23/clarence-thomas-tells-his-story-in-a-new-documentary

I don't have a problem understanding what happened. The media and academe. They try to damage any black who leaves the plantation. They try to convince Americans that blacks who aren't Democrats are unfaithful to the "values" of America. What it really is, is the Democrat style of racism. And in all cultural venues, academe, entertainment, news media, tech giants that control social media--Democrats rule. You can hardly get hired if you don't toe their line.

I was still a Democrat in the 1990s, and I was shocked to hear a colleague at the university say that the only reason Bush nominated Thomas was because he was black! I thought I'd never heard such a racist comment. It took me a few years, but I eventually figured out the subtle racism of the Democrats--my party! I was a slow learner. I eventually left the party because of abortion, but then learned what was under my nose all the time.

Final day of radiation

Phil's final day of radiation was yesterday. It was a shock for me to see this photo. I'd never been to the Zangmeister Center where he had the procedure.  Seizures on October 1, 2019, were the first warning something was wrong. We had just that Saturday gone to our old neighborhood for lunch. So how could he be sick three days later? Glioblastoma stage 4. Surgery a week later, followed by radiation and chemo with 13 bottles of pills lined up and all his notes to ask his doctors and write down their instructions. His family, his many friends (I'm not sure I even know that many people), his church family and his co-workers all rallied ready to help, but mostly he just plowed ahead alone, fiercely independent and brave.

Philip Vincent Bruce--

friend, lover, name of one of the first apostles;

conqueror, popular name among first Christians and saints;

Scottish surname from Normans in France, made famous by the King, Robert the Bruce, brave and independent.

So the name is a perfect fit--we just didn't know that as we sat up late at night 51 years ago trying to pick a name.

Where’s the special laws to protect white men?

Women today get the majority of college degrees in America. It doesn’t matter what kind — associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral — women beat men in all the categories. And that article was 5 years ago. It's even more unbalanced today. For over a decade in many cities and age groups, they far out-earn their male counterparts. Yet the media and academe continue to ignore the fact that the gender gap favors women, not men, and it's growing. I retired almost 20 years ago, and during searches for higher level jobs, if male and female candidates were pretty much equal, you could bet the job would go to the woman, because of her biology, not her expertise. Men are being sent to the back of the bus, or thrown under it. But in pathology--mental illness, drug use, alcoholism, accidents, etc. men vastly outnumber women. Women outlive men. Meanwhile men are ridiculed on TV and in movies where young boys are getting their cultural cues. Males are demanding to be called females--maybe they think the jobs and awards will open up?

Where are the special studies and think tanks to help men? Where are the special laws to protect men?

And where are the special programs and laws to help white people? And that includes Europeans, Egyptians, Indians (Asia) and other fair skinned populations who have immigrated to the "new world"--the United States (70% white) Canada (90% white), Mexico (60% white) Puerto Rico (76% white) and central and Latin America? In the U.S. if a person has a Spanish (European) surname for some reason he/she gets a special ethnic category that a German or English surname doesn't.

Whites are a minority in the world population, yet the Leftist/Marxist/Communists in the U.S. ignore all our laws about hate speech and hate crime where whites are targeted. The Leftists can call whites any nasty word they want and they don't lose their jobs! Chick fil A or Salvation Army or Hallmark movies or Catholic nuns and high school students, no matter, white people are maligned, blamed for sins of long dead ancestors or others' ancestors, or ridiculed, called racist and stupid, yet no one stops them. No one sends out the social justice warrior army to go after their attackers. In fact, they enlist glamorous white celebrities to snarl at and ridicule white people who have less income than they do. What's going on? Are pale people that much stronger, moral and braver than other groups that they should put up with this?

Grandma and Santa Claus, a story (anonymous)

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid.

I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she snorted...."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping.

For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.

I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church.

I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all us kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!

I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.

"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."

The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it.

Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, dropped the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.

Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were -- ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.That store clerk was one of Santa's helpers,too!

May you always have LOVE to share,

HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care...

And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus!

(sent to my by Robin Hall)

Punctilio, today’s new word

Usually, the M-W Word of the day is familiar to me, so I don’t spend a lot of time on it, but this one I don’t recall using or even seeing. Punctilious, yes, and according to the explanation, they come from the same Latin root, pungere.

Definition:
1. a minute detail of conduct in a ceremony or in observance of a code;
2. careful observance of forms (as in social conduct)

“We'll get straight to the point: there are a number of English words that come from Latin pungere, meaning "to prick" or "to sting." Punctilio is one of these words. It traces back to pungere by way of Italian puntiglio (meaning "small point," "point of honor," or "scruple"), Spanish puntillo (the diminutive of punto, meaning "point"), and Latin punctum (also meaning "point"). The adjective punctilious, meaning "marked by or concerned about precise accordance with the details of codes or conventions," is a close relative of punctilio. Do you have any guesses for other pungere derivatives? Punctuate, puncture, compunction, punctual, and pungent are some of the more common ones.”

Racism is on TV

There’s a black radio talker named James Harris from Arizona https://jamestharris.com/the-conservative-circus-with-james-t-harris/.  He’s subbing this week for Glen Beck.  This morning to lead into his topic on bigotry and racism he told a story about his father, who had come north from Mississippi during the second black migration to Milwaukee for a good job.  There he met other men from his state and they became friends and spent time together gardening and fishing, sharing all the bounty. A little kid saw 3 of the men arrive at their favorite fishing hole and said, Oh look three N-word.  Two of the guys wanted to thrash him, but Harris’ father stopped them, and reminded them he only knowns what he’s been taught—it’s not his fault. That was the 1960s and Harris says he’s never experienced the kind of racism his dad did—except on TV.  CNN, NBC, MSNBC.  By that I don’t think he meant they were using racist language or cheating blacks out of journalist jobs.  He meant he’s personally unaware of racism until the media promotes “systemic racism,” or “white supremacy” in their stories.  He also reminded the audience that when Trump was a Democrat he was never called a racist—in fact, black celebrities sought him out. When Trump beat the Democrat candidate, the media personalities began complaining about a “white lash” in that melt down we all remember on TV that election night when impeachment went in full gear. 

Something to remember—we don’t have a racist society but we do have racist TV news.

Teen Vogue

What sort of propaganda digital fish wrapper is Teen Vogue? Just google any topic on race or income, throw in the term "Teen Vogue" and you'll find the most ridiculous anti-American, anti-White, condescending toward blacks drivel you can imagine in woke rich white kid reading material. "Confront other white people," "Lecture your parents about. . . " "SAT is mired in racism," "Racism and patriotism go together," "Patriotic anthems are racist," and "How beauty brands profit off racism." Oh please. I'm surprised the editors aren't calling blacks darkies and colored. Who owns this racialist propaganda mill that's preparing teeny-boppers for college?

So I looked it up. The print edition died with December 2017 and Hillary Clinton was on the cover! Now there's a shocker. It's published by Conde Nast, but is now only on-line. Advance Publications owned by the Newhouse family owns Conde Nast, which used to be known for its classy publications but is now just one more media SJW.

Oh yes, it will also tell your teen how to get an abortion.

You are being manipulated about gender dysphoria and transitions

Don't believe the misinterpretation of the data. Compared with the general population, the researchers explain that gender dysphoric individuals after "treatment" have extremely high levels of mental health problems: six times the rate of visits for mood or anxiety disorders; more than three times the rate of prescriptions for depression or anxiety; and more than six times the rate of hospitalization after a suicide attempt. This is not how normal medical research is done--so what is the agenda? Yet when normal, rational people object to men on women's athletic teams or being forced to change pronouns, we're called haters and phobic.

https://dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.com/study-shows-gender-affirming-treatments-dont-help-transgender-mental-health/

https://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-crazies-in-our-culture.html

https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2019/11/58371/

Christmas greetings

"In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge lit the first National Christmas Tree. Later that night, African American community centers held an outdoor worship service on these grounds.  And during that service, the Washington Monument was illuminated with a beautiful cross, a powerful reminder of the meaning of Christmas... And at Christmas, we remember this eternal truth: Every person is a beloved child of God.  As one grateful nation, we praise the joy of family, the blessings of freedom, and the miracle of Christmas. On behalf of Melania and our entire family, Merry Christmas and God bless you all. Thank you very much. Merry Christmas, everybody.  Thank you." - President Donald Trump, 2019 National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony