Time to open, guest blogger Jane Baird Lathem

CAUTION: Personal Opinion!!!!! I have completely understood the need for social distancing, washing hands, wearing masks, etc. for our safety. I do not doubt the severity of Covid 19. I know many have died or have been very sick with this virus. However, I find some inconsistency in the continued response. Every year thousands of Americans die with the flu. It is a terrible thing. But we are not informed every day on the news of the death toll from the flu and told to be very careful, wear masks, wash hands, etc. Yes, we are all encouraged to get a flu shot and, if of a certain age, be very careful about being around anyone with symptoms. But there is not the daily reporting about the flu and yet thousands die every year!

With this virus EVERYTHING came to a stand still. No church, no sports, no concerts, no state or national parks are opens, beaches closed and we must mask ourselves, wash hands for 20 seconds, sanitize everything that enters our home. I understand why this was done in the beginning. . . . this virus was an unknown. But I think it’s time to gradually open up, allow businesses to open while exercising common sense and allow churches to open their doors while also using common sense. It is beginning to feel like the government wants to tell me what I can do and when I can do it. I have seen what that does to people’s lives in Venezuela. I don’t want to see that here.

Will there still be cases of the virus. . . .yes. Will there still be cases of the flu. . . .yes. Will everyone exercise common sense.  . .  NO! But we must allow people to go back to work so they can provide for their families and provide for the needs of others. The government can give guidelines for the safest ways to do that but, ultimately, people will have to make the decisions for their own safety.

Who are the essential workers? Congress or Walmart, guest blogger David Meyers

"This strikes me as funny-sad.

In this time of national crisis, who are the essential workers? The House of Representatives or Walmart employees? Since the reps are staying home, it must be the Walmart workers. But are they staying home because they feel it's not worth risking their health or they just don't have anything of value to contribute?

On the flipside, do they consider Walmart workers expendable whereas they are not?

Every time I have gone into a grocery store, I have thanked each worker I have encountered for being there for us. I do the same when I cross paths with anyone who is still out there working--the mail carrier, the UPS driver, the police officer. (That's about all I have encountered, but they are many others out there that deserve thanks, particularly health care workers.)

After this is all behind us, the reps will probably want to vote themselves a raise for their extraordinary efforts on behalf of the country--i.e. sheltering in place and printing money.

In the meantime, most of the workers I have spoken with have been extraordinarily helpful and courteous. And they are all just hoping they don't come down with Covid."

David is a retired state employee and local author specializing in history and music.

What or who are you going to believe?

These days, I never believe anything until it's been rerun in a safe media source a few times. Masks don't help; masks do help; masks are mandatory; or maybe not, just kidding. Not enough ventilators; President's fault; ventilators found; ventilators turned out by millions; not enough people need ventilators; president's fault. The virus can live 3 days on surface; wrong, lives 15 days; wrong again, I'll get back to you on that. Pets can't get covid19; pets can get covid19. We need temporary hospitals and hospital ships; tent hospitals standing empty; President's fault--he should have known better.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/scientists-conclude-people-cannot-get-coronavirus-twice/

Liberals have more trust and faith in government edicts than conservatives do—Ohio study

It appears Covid19 has always been political in Ohio according to a recent study.

"For example, results showed that a higher percentage of conservatives than liberals thought they were at low or very low risk of catching the virus during both surveys. But the gap closed quite a bit between the first and second survey as more liberals no longer saw themselves at high risk.

There were also differences in how liberals and conservatives perceived the reactions of their fellow Americans to the pandemic.

Of the people in the April survey who said that most Americans were “not taking risks seriously enough,” 44 percent described themselves as liberal and 21 percent described themselves as conservative. In contrast, of those who said that most Americans were “overreacting to the actual risks of contracting the virus,” 16 percent described themselves as liberal and 38 percent as conservative."

https://news.osu.edu/survey-shows-how-ohioans-views-on-covid-19-have-evolved/

Cutting back after the shut down

After the lock up/ shut down/ shut up is over, half the adults will be going on a diet (my estimate). Here's some tips:

My observation is that diet drinks and special diet foods make people fat. They don't taste right and create a craving for more food. Use less, or just add your own water or milk, which is often the first ingredient.

EPA reports if you remove 100 lbs of junk from the trunk or back seat, your car's fuel efficiency will improve by 2%. Same with your body. Remove 10% of your body weight from your trunk or back seat and it will improve your own energy efficiency. I think I'll try that 10% and I still might weigh more than Bob .

Women who weigh themselves every day are on average 7-8 lbs lighter than those who don't.

Move! Obese people tend to sit for 150 more minutes a day than their lean counterparts.

Losing the sloppy jeans and t-shirt and getting a good haircut will make you look 10lbs thinner, even if you don't lose a pound.

Eat less, move more. ELMM. Shop the outside aisles at the grocery store.

And remember: A BMI of below 25 can't be normal if so few people are there.

I’d planned to start today, but had 2 slices of peanut butter toast for breakfast.  Maybe tomorrow. . .

How to prepare for a pandemic

I found an interesting document on how to prepare for a pandemic among my son's hospice material: "Household Preparedness A to Z." Each letter of the alphabet covers one or two critical details. B was household chlorine bleach; J was sports juice or fluids containing electrolytes; X was extra batteries for flashlight and radio, etc.

"Experts believe a worldwide outbreak, or pandemic, of influenza will happen someday. The exact timing is not known, but it is certain our everyday lives will drastically change during a pandemic. These changes may include temporary closing of schools or cancellation of events, disruption of normal services such as utilities and some shortages. There are things you can do now to prepare. Take time to understand the needs of your household; and take action to help lessen the impact of an influenza pandemic on you and your family."

Since he received it in mid-February, it was out there and available before the current pandemic. It was posted at the Ohio Department of Health, www.ohiopandemicflu.gov. I checked it and it no longer exists and there's no date on the document. It appeared to have a lot of additional information for schools, businesses, communities, local governments, with planning newsletters, fact sheets and brochure.  I later found that document at http://www.pike-health.org/Elements/PdfDocuments/Items/HouseholdAZ.pdf

I'm guessing all states had this document on how to prepare for a pandemic. So why was it the president's responsibility and not ours? Or the hospitals? Or the schools? And why were people so excited that Bill Gates had given a Ted Talk and "warned" us if it was right in our Department of Health web page?

Kidneys and Covid19

The divide on whether to open is coming down to politics not medicine--specifically, who hates Donald Trump. But maybe it should come to whether you care about your kidneys. Take a look at the comorbidities of those who died of or with (which seems to be a lot of it) this novel SARS virus--diabetes, hypertension and obesity. Specifically, diabetes. About a third of those with diabetes (which is often related to both hypertension and obesity) will develop chronic kidney disease. The kidneys can't filter your blood and you may also have nerve damage. It's a disease that affects the same people vulnerable to this virus--over 60, high blood pressure and member of a minority group. A chronic condition means usually it's controllable by changes in life style and medication, and nagging from the doctor.

The very people who aren't seeing their doctors or are afraid to call, are the ones you're putting in danger by hanging on to your hatred of Donald Trump so you can blame him for the virus and the shut down. End the shut down; save your kidneys.

And please, Trump haters, stop acting so morally superior by accusing conservatives of wanting people to die by going back to life and work. You are the problem. . .

Why retirees have problems cleaning out the files

Have you ever tried to clean out your storage or files and found out it takes days to go through one drawer or file cabinet or closet? For me, the big mistake is sitting down to read something I wrote 25-30 years ago. I don't know what happens in the offices of retired pastors who preach every Sunday and lead Bible studies or school teachers who saved reams of projects and lesson plans, but it's a nightmare for librarians like me who have attend hundreds of meetings and who had publishing requirements for promotion and tenure and saved all their notes.

For instance, my notes (never published because they were for me) for "The Ohio White House Conferences on Library and Information Services--Literacy," September 27 (1990?) held at the Worthington Holiday Inn. I'm not sure why I attended--it seemed to be for public librarians, and not academic. We live in different worlds and focus on totally different problems and clientele. Ohio doesn't have a "White House" so the title means each state or region was having meetings to funnel information back to the President--George H.W. Bush--information on which any administration rarely acts, but the money would have come from the federal government. My writing style always includes off topic ideas that occur to me, so before I wrote out my notes, I commented on the poor representation of the media at this conference and I blamed my profession, not the media.

"Librarians have been notorious for not being able to market their product. Distilleries put their information on billboards in the inner city and at interstate exchanges. Librarians put notices on bookmarks which can only be picked up in libraries. Cigarette companies give away cigarettes to induce a life time addiction. Librarians give away time and effort registering voters and showing movies in hopes that the user might check out a book. Librarians sponsor National Library Week when for the cost they could probably create one of those phony commercial talk shows for cable television that are on every channel from midnight on. Targeting neighborhoods with direct mail campaigns has sold millions of dollars worth of goods, but when was the last time you received a doorhanger from the library except at levy time? Have you ever received a phone call from a telemarketer interrupting your dinner to ask if your library card in current?

There are millions of literate people who never set foot in a library. They either don't need them, don't like them, or have had bad experiences in them. They join book clubs, subscribe to magazines and newspapers; they visit book stores and book sales, but not libraries. There are also millions of literate people who are non-readers. . .

The largest, single common denominator identifying all librarians is that we are members of that particular cultural group--the readers. We are so chauvinistic we cannot imagine anyone could be happy who doesn't share this common trait. Librarians have created every imaginable network, coalition, association, and service organization to lure people into their libraries, but they haven't been able to keep libraries in the schools, not even with all the dues we pay. We can't even get a librarian appointed as the "Librarian of Congress." [note: that did finally happen under Obama--a 3-fer, Carla Hayden, black, female, librarian]."

And I went on to mention the dropping numbers (30 years ago) for literacy among children, even in families where moms read to them. Then I wrote about the activities at my public library that week for children: 4 programs involving movies, and 3 for Halloween crafts.

I went on and on for pages--have no idea what happened at the conference. This was 8 typed pages, and no information on what resulted from the meeting. There is a printed report listed on Amazon as out of stock, Jan. 1, 1990, and a copy in the OSU library.

Maybe some attitudes have changed in libraries the last 30 years. I'm no longer an insider. If there were two institutions that should have been considered essential during this shut down it was churches and libraries. Both are filled with evangelists for their passion, and both were silenced, submissive and shuttered.

Spiritual resources for the pandemic

In the Ohio State Health Beat newsletter (on-line) today there is a section for well-being resources during the lock down/culture shock for the pandemic.  https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/features/covid-resources/staff/well-being  There are a number of links featuring ideas or publications for mental health, well being, coping and spiritual helps for employees. So I clicked on "Spiritual Resources" (listed after Mindfulness which actually IS a practice well within the eastern religions) and after Chaplin services, telephone support, audio spiritual pause, a prayer request link and poems, I came to "Faith specific prayers." Here's how they are listed. 1) Islam, 2) Buddhism, 3) Judaism, 4) Christianity, 5) Hinduism. Isn't that odd? Christians are the largest faith group in the world, and approximately 75% of Americans claim some connection to Christianity even if they are just Chreasters and only attend baptisms.

So I continue down the list to a link for "Sacred Texts" which is four links below poetry-- 1) Buddhist Scriptures (13 are listed), 2) Holy Bible, one verse from the NIV is listed, with a link to Bible Gateway keyword feature, 3) Holy Quran, individual links to 114 chapters that link to Meccan references 4) The Tenach (Jewish), with detailed links to the Torah, the Prophets, etc. Whoever put this together threw a dart at the internet religious resources and came up with a politically correct list, all turn key, assuring that no OSU employee would find anything Christian as a resource in this difficult time.

Let's hope they all are attending Bible studies on Zoom or something. Maybe they won't notice our government is shredding the First Amendment in a dangerous precedent while the Christian churches are silent because they can still shop at Walmart.

What is even more anti-Christian is a whole link https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/features/covid-resources/staff/well-being/daily-breathing-practice  devoted to "5 minutes of Mindfulness" on CarmenZoom, with links for each day by video. EACH DAY. Imagine (it's impossible, but try) if there were all those digital resources and planning from a state agency devoted to video links of a pastor or rabbi reading from the Psalms, or offering instruction for the devotional practice, The Rosary.

"Mindfulness" is a religious practice of Hinduism/Buddhism (you can find instructions at both Buddhist and Hindu sites), using an English term that sounds like it isn't religious since the brain doesn't need to be engaged. Well, my brain is engaged, and I'm calling foul on the state for advocating for one religious group over another and pretending it's something else. And shame on Christians for having your babes so poorly catechized that they go off to college and get "evangelized" for eastern religions at almost every turn.

Gabbe Health and Wellness which provides these breathing techniques daily is part of the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State. Today's topic is “Hope as a state of being,” and if you click on it the pleasant woman will provide instructions for the religious techniques.

It’s not about your health when . . .

Kevin Sorbo: "It’s not about your health when the State says it’s too dangerous for you to walk in the park with your child, then puts dangerous criminals back on the street – or, when it tells you it’s safe to go in-person to a grocery store, but not to a voting station. . . when the State shuts down millions of private businesses but doesn’t lay off a single government employee, it's not about your health."

The worm has turned: Covid19 misinformation

Candace Owens: "I broke this story 2 months ago, and was called a "conspiracy theorist". It feels so good to be vindicated. Last night, Tucker Carlson honorably admitted that he fell for the initial hype, and now realizes that the virus is not as deadly as the experts predicted. When I (Candace Owens) started reporting on #coronavirus it was difficult because every single person was convinced it was really as deadly as the journalists were saying, and that I was spreading misinformation. Now things have shifted and virtually everyone is admitting they were wrong. If nothing else, this pandemic should teach us the following:

1) Just because a lie is said a million times, doesn't make it true.

2) Our subconscious works at a faster pace than our conscious. Remember to trust your gut.

3) The speed at which Americans were willing to sacrifice their liberties for a false sense of security should disgust and alarm everyone.

4) The mainstream media is poisonous.

5) Stand up for what you believe in. It's better than being popular."

https://www.dailywire.com/news/yes-hospitals-get-paid-more-for-coronavirus-coded-patients-even-if-they-havent-been-tested?

Comparing the polio epidemics and Covid19

I’ve been anti-shutdown for weeks, but I only saw this video today.  https://youtu.be/lGC5sGdz4kg  So it has had no influence on me.  I’ve watched how the people of Ohio have been led into complete submission while our small businesses have been destroyed. Big box and chains are open.  I watched our sensible, conservative Republican, Trump-supporting, Governor DeWine and his sidekick Dr. Amy, appear every day on TV always quietly oozing more fear and regulations.

If you’re old enough to remember the polio epidemic, the video makes a lot of sense.  I recall my cousin Jimmy Corbett who died in 1949 of polio, and the Kable children I think 4 of the 5 had it, but all survived. We had a big gathering of Corbetts at the John Corbett home (parents of Jimmy) because of visiting relatives from California.  We had a wonderful time and within days Jimmy was dead from polio and about a week later my sister Carol had it. We all were quarantined (in those days they quarantined the people most at risk to contract the disease not the entire country), but not the adults.  My father moved out of our home in Forreston and moved in with his parents in Mt. Morris so he could earn a living (novel idea for 2020)—all had been at that family dinner.  So why weren’t they afraid for the adults?  Immunity.  Most adults born in the late 19^th or early 20^th century had some immunity to polio, a disease that had been around for centuries. Whether it was improved sanitation (indoor plumbing) or something else, I don’t know, but children of the 1930s and 1940s were being struck down.  Some young adults did have it—like FDR, and I wonder if it was his somewhat pampered life (flush toilets) that created the vulnerability whereas my Dad used an outhouse and met his first flush toilet at 14 when he started high school in Polo, IL.

Our son Phil died a week ago and we’d been caring for him (no wife or children for a safety net) first in his home, then in ours as we began to wear out. Under normal circumstances, my 82 year old husband would have seen his own doctor as soon as he began to have breathing problems, but it was postponed due to our situation and because of the shut down/telemedicine.  He needed testing and that isn’t done on the phone. Eventually the squad took him to the ER when he realized he was exhausted walking to the neighbor’s to get ice cream we’d stored in her freezer. He was admitted, tested, and found to have some serious cardiac issues.  The hospital, the largest in Columbus, was virtually empty. Everything—heart, lung, knee, hip, brain—was postponed because of the pandemic scare.  And how many thousands and thousands either didn’t go to their doctor or weren’t diagnosed because of the focus and policies about Covid19? Even today, the death toll nationwide is higher than normal, and the bump isn’t due to Covid.  It’s probably due to people not going to the doctor when they should have—technically, we’d created a nation of uninsured.

I think our president has been misled and so have many of the governors. Whenever I hear the word “data” I mentally flag it.  Dr. Birx of the president’s task force often said, “the data show. . .” Data is not information, information is not knowledge, and knowledge is not wisdom.”
With more sifting and examination the data are actually showing that over 90% of those who died had one of three, or all three—obesity, hypertension, or diabetes.  So meanwhile, reporters who think will probably not be sent to investigate and all the sheeple get are stupid memes about injecting Lysol.

If you’re too young to remember polio, think about how HIV/AIDS was misreported and politicized (still is) as a disease that all of us would get in the 1980s.  And that’s nonsense in service of an agenda.  It’s still isolated for the most part to gay and bisexual men and drug users, and it’s behavior, not homophobia that spreads it.

Stop the insanity

Old people like me are at risk for Covid19. But no more so than the flu, falls and pneumonia. The shut down/lock up is hurting us more. There are shelves of research showing that being social is key to being healthy in old age; that moving even 45 minutes a day can extend your life, maybe more than 3 hours at the gym. Mall walking with a friend or shopping or a stroll in the park help us more than it helps young whipper snapper reporters opining about the evils of people who want the lock down to end. We may not remember the sermon, but we need our Sunday School class or choir participation or working with the ladies in the kitchen to connect. And yes, Alzheimer's doubles every 5 years after 65, but it's those tiny little strokes, the ones you can't detect on the phone, that really slow down our brains over time.

Governor, stop the insanity. You're killing us.

Down on the farm, 1969

  

Our children loved our vacations at my mother's farm located between Franklin Grove and Ashton, IL. My niece Cindy sent this treasure. I'm thinking this is June, 1969 and Cindy's family was living there. We'd come down ( we always said "down" when traveling from Mt. Morris to Franklin) to check out the remodeling progress. Eventually my mother created a wonderful retreat type facility for church groups. So Phil was about 7 months old in this photo. My nieces and our son Stan (deceased) were all within weeks of each other in age. That's Cindy on the far left. Squished and wiggling in her cousin's arms is our Phoebe. The guy with red hair is Bob.

Restrictions

When things finally open . . .

Opening season will be open season on Trump (who has been in the cross hairs of the media since 2015), and we know WaPo, NYT, LAT, CNN and MSNBC will be spewing misinformation, fake news and ridicule for what he didn't do, might have done, did 20 years ago, is doing and won't do.
"A targeted, data-driven approach that recognizes the differing conditions of the states, rather than placing them all on the Procrustean bed of a single policy, is the right prescription for this crisis."  City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/white-house-plan-to-open-economy?

A procrustean bed: A situation or place that someone is forced into, often violently. In Greek mythology, the giant Procrustes would capture people and then stretch or cut off their limbs to make them fit into his bed.

These government policies have indeed cut off our economic and cultural arms and legs to make us fit into their one size fits all shut down.

Seeing things unseen

When Phil was hospitalized twice in 6 months, we met and talked to many foreign doctors, nurses, paraprofessionals, social workers, techs and staff. We also noticed that medical practitioners from other cultures, particularly African and Indian, have a whole other way of looking at, touching and treating people. It's not about being kind, although they were; it was intuition. It's like they have a second sense endowed by their cultures about the body that book learning and college degrees don't offer. And they were not like each other, either. Filipinas were not the same as Nigerians. I wonder how this translates to current demand using telephone, Zoom and Skype.

Covid19 stats for Ohio

April 26 COVID-19 snapshot:
Data provided by ODH as of 2 p.m. April 26
Confirmed cases in Ohio: 15,360 
Number hospitalized in Ohio: 3,178 
Number of confirmed deaths in Ohio: 687 
Number of cases in Franklin County: 1,942
And about 28,000 deaths a year from cardiovascular problems.

David Meyers comments:

There is a lot of half-baked science being touted right now. I say half-baked because it’s being put out for public consumption before it is ready. Even in the absence of a major health crisis, it is not uncommon to make claims that turn out to be wrong. The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded to Johannes Fibiger in 1926 for the discovering that a roundworm caused cancer in rats. Only it didn’t. It was an honest mistake.

Good science usually takes time. It should be devoid of politics and independent of outside influences, i.e. money and fame. But good science takes money. That’s the dilemma researchers find themselves. Right now, there are real scientists—someone said about ninety teams—working hard to diagnose and solve a problem in a few months that would normally take years. They are no doubt feeling pressure to skip steps. The test groups are often small and the controls are possibly lacking. Some scientists are bypassing peer review because that takes time. Others seems to be motivated by a need to draw attention to themselves.

In the meantime, our economy is taking a shellacking. Only time will tell if it was worth it, although many people have already made up their mines.

I decided to take a look at the CDC website to see if I could learn anything more from it that we were being told. The first thing that struck me is that the CDC is lumping Covid-19 together with influenza and pneumonia.** Apparently, anybody who dies of influenza or pneumonia is per se a Covid casualty, now. The death rate for this group is (according to the most recent data) 18.6 people per 100,000 and declining. It had been over 21 just a couple of weeks earlier. I don’t know what it is, now. But on a yearly basis I would expect it to decline.

I wanted to put this in perspective. Unfortunately, the most recent data for the leading causes of death in the United States is as of 2018. They are:

655,381 heart disease [163.6 per 100,000]
599,274 cancer [149.1 per 100,000]
167,127 accidents/unintentional injuries [48.0 per 100,000]
159,486 chronic lower respiratory diseases [39.7 per 100,000]
147,810 cerebrovascular [37.1 per 100,000]
122,019 Alzheimer disease [30.5 per 100,000]
84,946 diabetes [21.4 per 100,000]
** 59,120 influenza and pneumonia [14.9 per 100,000]
51,386 kidney disease [12.9 per 100,000]
48,344 suicide [14.2 per 100,000]

As you can see, the typical rate for influenza and pneumonia is 12.9 per 100,000. It will be interesting to see what it will be at the end of 2020, but we probably won’t know that until 2022.

We’ve had to buy an extra recycle bin for our trash

What's with covering plastic bottles with plastic envelop labels with instructions to remove the label before recycling? I've only noticed it recently because before I don't buy a lot of small, specialty items like sports drinks and nutritional supplements like Ensure or high calorie treats from Tim Horton’s. But I guess that marketing waste has moved to some things I do buy. I've most recently experienced it with Half n Half and pints if milk (Kroger brand). With all the carry out food and back-to-plastic bags for shopping, we will have undone a decade's worth of nagging and hypervigilant recycling habits in just a month of stay home/stay shuttered/stay stupid that will not change the death statistics.

Sunday musings on the Trump critics

I've noticed some strange behavior among the Trump haters.

In addition to calling me names like stupid Fox News watcher or Trump cult member, they ridicule Trump's appearance, his 3 marriages, his children, his speech and his Christian faith.

Odd. With a 50% divorce rate among Americans, how many divorces are OK with these folks? Did his critics just shack up or sleep around and not bother with legalities? Is that wagging finger pointing back at the speaker with a tinge of guilt?

And his appearance? 69% of women are either overweight or obese and 75% of men. How slim are his critics? Could the critics keep up his schedule?

His children? Have you checked out the Kennedy genealogy and Roosevelt kids lately? Didn't Cuomo and Schwarzenegger both marry into the Kennedy clan and then dump their wives, one for a cook the other for a maid?

The way Trump talks? It was OK with Trump critics that both H. Clinton and B. Obama would change their speech patterns with their clothing to try to ingratiate themselves with certain ethnic groups or income levels. But Trump never changes. He tweets, he talks, and he jokes, but it always drives the left crazy that he doesn't change to suit them. They don't want him to talk like a deal making businessman--they want him to sound like a washed up, has-been politician who has been failing for 40 years in government.

Christian faith? With 35,000 different denominations, independents, and Bible churches among Christians who can't even agree on how to baptize or when Jesus is coming back, just which group is OK with his critics? The one they belong to? The one they don't honor with their presence or tithe?

It's puzzling.

Covid19 April 24 in Ohio

So far, 649 have died of Covid19 in Ohio, and based on previous years, about 28,000 will die of heart disease in Ohio. Probably more than previous years because hospitals and clinics are not seeing cardiac problems in a timely fashion and are using the "wait and get sicker" method of socialist countries. We're experiencing that in our household.

Philip Vincent Bruce, 1968-2020

Philip Vincent Bruce was born November 25, 1968 in Columbus, Ohio, and died April 21, 2020 in the home of his parents, Robert and Norma Bruce, in Upper Arlington, Ohio. He so longed to be in his own home in Canal Winchester where he'd lived for many years, however, a diagnosis of glioblastoma on October 1, 2019 meant he needed around the clock care in his last months. Phil attended Tremont, Jones and Upper Arlington High School, graduating with the class of 1987, enjoying all the amenities of the pools, parks and athletic leagues growing up, and the spiritual guidance and programs of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church where he was confirmed. He later took a few business classes at Columbus State. Although Phil learned to read before kindergarten, what he really cared about was not books or degrees, but people.  From the time he could walk, his interest was gathering a crowd for play or friends to visit, or standing on a stool to reach the kitchen wall phone. In pre-school at First Community Church, story hour and sitting still were not interesting; the playground or playing in the corner with other "busy" boys was his idea of a good morning. And that never changed. To the end of his life, he maintained friendships from his old neighborhood, elementary and high schools, the work place and church.

For both socializing and alone time, he loved music, especially guitar. Although he did have a few guitar and piano lessons, for the most part he didn't have patience for that and preferred working out the details on his own, and for that he would be absorbed for hours. He loved to put words together and wrote his own music.  It was his solace in alone time to unwind after a hectic day at work and his main vehicle for building friendships and socializing. Phil from the beginning was spiritual--and often would express his tenderness in comforting or visiting the suffering. His parents heard many stories about his reaching out to families of his friends or to co-workers in difficult times.  But he was also religious and enjoyed the sacraments, structure and organization that holds Christians together when we gather to worship Jesus as the visible church. As a little guy he would comment that he could feel the water on his head while the pastor gathered the children to watch a baptism. The last decade of his life he participated in the fellowship of Gender Road Christian Church and enjoyed playing in the praise band. He dearly loved his church, and even at the end of life would talk about going back to church in a week or two. His last communion was on April 14. A final prayer service with his family was held at his bedside after he died with Pastor John Romig of GRCC and Pastor Paul Ulring of UALC.  At this time, the funeral at Gender Road Christian Church has not been scheduled until we can gather freely and remember Philly B with stories and songs.

Phil is survived by his parents, Bob and Norma Bruce, his sister and brother-in law, Phoebe and  Mark Doncevic, many aunts and uncles, Jean and Bob Poisal, Debbie Sterling, Rick and Kate Bruce, Joanne and Nelson Miller, Stan and Casey Corbett, and many cousins, especially Joan and Dan Poynter, and some who sat on his lap as babies and then grew up to be bigger than he was becoming good friends as adults, and devoted friend to the end, Sara Reichly.

Phil was blessed with many grandparents and knew and loved them all--great grandparents Joe and Bessie Corbett, great grandmother Irma Byrum, Jim and June DeMott, Howard and Olive Corbett, and Bob and Rosie Bruce. Two brothers, Stanley and Patrick Bruce, died before Phil was born, but he always included them. Phil had been married and divorced, and for many years enjoyed being a step-father.  Phil loved animals, and after his last dog Rosa, a chocolate lab, died in 2018, he didn't get another dog, but started a pet sitting business and loved each client as his own.

For most of his adult life Phil had worked in the automotive repair business, in Grandview Heights with his Bruce Automotive Services, with Jack Maxton as the Quick Serve manager in Worthington, and most recently with Jeff Wyler in Canal Winchester.  He also had been an insurance agent at Collins Financial Services.

Baptism, 1969

With Grandma Corbett at the farm, Franklin Grove, IL 1971

With Grandma and Grandpa DeMott, Phoebe and Mom, Indianapolis

Phoebe and Phil at cousin Joan's for Christmas holiday

2018 Praise Band, Gender Road Christian Church 

2019 high school friends

Myths about the prison system

How many myths about the prison system are you believing—they are mostly drug offenders? Wrong. Long sentences? Wrong. Media and activists aren't telling you the truth. The truth doesn't sell. Or bring in donations for liberal think tanks. Most criminals have victimized their own communities. Think on that. Reduce the population? But they hurt their own communities, not yours.

https://www.prageru.com/video/why-are-so-many-americans-in-prison/

Reading and cycling

My office was cleaned out to the bare walls and moved to the laundry room to make way for our son’s hospital bed and supplies. At first the exercycle was in my husband’s office, but I pushed it into the laundry room so I could multi-task.  My washing machine, which I’ve written about before, is a little touchy and likes to dance around if not loaded evenly, so sometimes I just jump on the cycle during spin.

But it’s sort of boring, so I’m reading a new book I was sent for review: American Harvest, God, Country and Farming in the Heartland, by Marie Mutsuki Mockett, a Californian with a Japanese mother, and American father.  There’s been a 7,000 acre wheat farm in her family for over 100 years, although her grandfather had left the area as a child.

What caught my interest was not just the farmer angle, but the Christians who annually harvest the wheat using teams from the Pennsylvania Anabaptist country. I’m only in chapter 2, but so far, unless her liberal side takes over, I’m enjoying her vivid descriptions of the farms and her compassionate look at the harvesters she travels with to get material for this book.  I can go 3-4 miles a day with Marie.

http://www.mariemockett.com/books/american-harvest/

Here’s a review, but it sounds like the reviewer only finished the first 2 chapters, which is how far I am on my exercise plan. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2020-04-03/evangelicals-marie-mockett-american-harvest

Bookworm says:

“It turns out that not all of us are news junkies. She [clerk in the grocery story who still has a job] didn’t know what was going on in California or Michigan or any other state that has placed people under lockdown in their own homes.

“How can they do that? That makes no sense. People have bills to pay. We have to work.”

Her words struck me strongly because I’ve been struggling to articulate the different emotional responses I’m seeing from the left and the right when it comes to responding to the Wuhan virus. The leftists are saying that the lockdown should continue for another year or two, and are accusing those who want normal life to return of being living embodiments of the Grim Reaper, determined to kill everyone through their greed, carelessness, and a refusal to recognize facts that can derive only from watching Fox News."

Bookworm (and although anonymous, I think the writer is a she) goes on to opine about liberals and how they feel about death.

"Consistently, lefties are driven by a raw emotional fear of death that the more sophisticated later dress up as sophisticated reasoning about controlling a pandemic. The sophistication is a veneer, though, because the fact that the models have all proven wrong is irrelevant. Their lizard brains are activated and won’t be calmed until the disease risk is reduced to zero."

". . . the leftist fear of death drives everything. It’s what allows their leaders to manipulate them about climate change (never mind that people ultimately do better in a warmer world), about guns (never mind that guns in America save more lives than they take), about organic v. non-organic food (never mind that if all farming were organic people would starve), socialized medicine (never mind that socialized medicine gives people access not care), about serving in the military (never mind that if we are undefended, many more can die in a sustained attack against America), and so on."

http://www.bookwormroom.com/2020/04/19/the-different-mindsets-political-parties-have-towards-the-wuhan-virus/

You can thank Pelosi for soup lines if it comes to that

Democrats want Americans in soup lines again, or jumping out of windows, just like the 1930s, when they were in control. Other countries pulled out of the Depression, but under FDR, we were stuck with the promises of more government programs until WWII came along and created a labor shortage. Now we have massive infusions from our taxes returning to "save" us, and Democrats don't want to give them up. Stay home; don't work; we'll take care of you. Attend a mindfulness Covid19 class or a concert at the Kennedy Center--whee--it's all to help with the pandemic.

Pelosi goes on TV and claims she supports the paycheck plan for workers, but she's lying. She's sitting on billions of loan money for the little guy while she flashes her $25,000 frig in front of her adoring fans. Ice Cream Nancy is killing the small businesses in your town and neighborhood--It's the Democrat Way.

Pelosi supports your business not expanding; she will stop you from keeping your employees, even churches' food pantries and non-profits; she supports ending your brother's business before it gets off the drawing board and makes a business plan. Eventually she can stop the supply lines to the grocery stores by destroying the small businesses that do that, and you won't just be missing toilet paper.

Facebook fact checkers are actually censors

"I dig into the prevailing media narratives about coronavirus, including “fact checks,” that have themselves been proven false. You’ll be amazed at who Facebook is letting help censor information about China’s controversial Wuhan lab. (Hint: she’s a scientist who works at the lab…)"

There are a few investigative reporters left in the country. Sharyl Attkisson is one of them.

https://sharylattkisson.com/2020/04/facebooks-fake-coronavirus-fact-check-podcast/

Other good sources to confirm the liberal lies from Kelly Kullberg:

Just the News, https://www.facebook.com/JustTheNewsReports/

Luke Rosiak at Daily Caller, Kevin Mooney at The Daily Signal

www.InfluenceWatch.org by Capital Research Center

Israeli researcher says . . .

". . . irrespective of whether the country quarantined like Israel, or went about business as usual like Sweden, coronavirus peaked and subsided in the exact same way. In the exact, same, way. His graphs show that all countries experienced seemingly identical coronavirus infection patterns, with the number of infected peaking in the sixth week and rapidly subsiding by the eighth week."

https://townhall.com/columnists/marinamedvin/2020/04/15/israeli-professor-shows-virus-follows-fixed-pattern-n2566915

What governors have done

COPIED--and please note--these were done by governors, not the president

WAKE UP & LISTEN, VIRGINIA and other US States!!

Gov. Northam could've said, "If you’ve been quarantined for 3 weeks and are symptom free, go to your camp or cabin. Buy groceries from the local small business grocery and liquor stores. Fish from the rivers...they have been waiting all season for your return. Just exercise social distancing."

He could've...but he didn’t say that.

Gov. Northam could have said, "Plant a garden! Virginian's need to get outside and work in their yards. Order supplies to be delivered from your local nursery, and spend some money there. They are stocked and ready for you!"

He could've...but he didn’t say that.

Gov. Northam could've said, "Take this time to work on a home project. Call your local hardware store and have them mix a gallon of paint. Pay over the phone, use social distance to pick it up."

Gov. Northam could've said that...but he didn’t.

He could've said, "Restaurant owners... reopen, but at just half capacity. You can only seat every other table, and wait staff must wear masks. We want you to survive, so let’s use common sense and appropriate social measures."

He could've said that...but he didn’t.

He could've said, "Landscapers who staved all winter for lack of snow...get to work! Book your jobs over the phone. Accept payment via cash apps. Work single crew jobs or small crews where you can keep your distance. Let’s work with local stores to have supplies delivered or waiting for you to pick up. We know you’re cash based, and aid hasn’t come yet. Be safe...but work!"

But he didn’t say that, either.

He could have said, "Go back to your place of worship! Sit one family per pew, and use every other pew. Practice social distancing, but go and celebrate Passover and Easter."

Oh, he could've...but he didn’t.

Sure...Walmart's still gonna Walmart, Costco's still gonna Costco and Target's still gonna Target...but Virginia's small business owners? They're drowning!! What did he do? He tossed them a cement block instead of a lifeline.

When will people in Virginia realize that he doesn’t want to help us?!?! He wants us so broke and so hungry and so desperate and so afraid that we turn in our own neighbors, we hide in fear, we stay glued to the fear-mongering news and we deplete anything we have saved! And when it’s all gone, and we are desperate and broken and depressed...who will we turn to? Why the government, of course! They're sure to save us!

Gov. Northam could have said and done a lot...but he didn’t. Do NOT ignore the message that man is sending us...because where he stands and what he’s about is loud and clear. You just need to wake up & listen.

Things our Governor has done:

Deemed abortion clinics "essential" health care,
Released convicted criminals from jail,
Restricted personal liberties,
Trampled our Constitutional Rights,
Implemented red flag laws that are proven to be ineffective, Raised gasoline tax,
Singed a law to limit firearm purchases to 1 every month,
Closed small businesses...

Does any of the above sound familiar? If it does, it's because it's been posted by other US citizens in other Democratic-run US states. I just changed the name of the governor. Apparently, this is going on across the country. WE ALL NEED TO WAKE UP AND LISTEN.

Copied on Facebook.

Minority set asides and Nancy Pelosi

Thousands of small businesses can't get loans to pay their millions of employees because Nancy Pelosi with the overstocked, latest model refrigerator (she showed it on TV) is sitting on the additional funding. She is blackmailing Republicans to have 1/2 to go to women and minority owned firms. So if you're a woman or Hispanic who works for a white owned business (the majority of the workers) you're screwed. Or if your boss is a minority and female (like my daughter's) you're also screwed because she won't release the money. Thanks Fancy Nancy with the Fulsome Fridge.

That's the old Democrat trick for getting votes--pay them to vote for you so you can keep them on the plantation to work on the cheap. Minority set asides don't advance or help the people intended. They've been around a long time. I remember having the veterinary library painted around 1990, I think. We were state of Ohio, so of course, had to have a minority owned firm get the bid. Here's how that worked. A minority owned firm would partner with a non-minority firm, which would get the job and do the work because the minority firm didn't have the staff or experience. Meanwhile, the black owned firm did not have to compete or try to grow. Or in the architectural business (my husband's field), there was one major black owned firm in Columbus, and he'd get everything that had minority set asides. That pretty much stopped the competition from smaller minority firms because he held the keys (was also a good firm).

Meanwhile, Pelosi is hurting the very people whose votes she is recruiting with her pay to play scheme.

Blessed are the poor in spirit

I haven't found the exact article on line I read today in the March 2020 Magnificat written by Kimberly Shankman about the meaning of her son's suffering, “The Richness of Poverty of Spirit.”  But this one about the last normal day she had with her son in 2014 https://www.thegregorian.org/2014/johns-last-normal-day  reminded me of the last "normal" day I had with mine before his diagnosis October 1, 2019. We had lunch together the last Saturday in September at the Chef o Nette Restaurant in Tremont shopping center in the neighborhood where we began our lives together, across the street from his elementary school, the swimming pool, the ball fields he played in and the library we visited every week. That day he was impatient and edgy, but nothing unusual. We both ordered "Hangover and fries," a specialty. No outward sign of the large tumor growing in his brain.

I'm not where Mrs. Shankman is yet on the meaning of suffering. She was reflecting on the Beatitudes in the article I read. She wrote that now she understands "poor in spirit" whereas before she didn't. "All the money in the world couldn't buy what I needed. What could save us--what did save us--was the recognition of my utter, total, abject poverty (of spirit). All I could do was beg God every day to show us his path on this rocky road. And he has responded with breathtaking generosity, showering blessings on us directly and through those he surrounds us with. The love of friends, support of neighbors and caring of strangers answer our prayers and bring us profound peace."

Flu, pneumonia and falls

From October 2018 through early May 2019, up to 61,200 people died due to flu complications, while up to 647,000 people were hospitalized, according to preliminary estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During the 2017-2018 flu season, approximately 900,000 people were hospitalized and 80,000 people died due to flu complications. (Prevention website)

Every 19 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall. Falls are the leading cause of fatal injury and the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admissions among older adults. 50,000/year.  Those who are hospitalized often die of pneumonia.

So let's guestimate that about 150,000 older adults die each fall/winter season from just these 3 problems, and maybe a million are hospitalized plus thousands of younger people who are also susceptible at a lower rate because they may have preexisting conditions like heart, lung, kidney problems, or do silly things like climb ladders to clean gutters. Only the family and friends care when they die--they mourn their losses and pay the bills. We cry and share stories about grandma or the neighbor who used to help us out with maintenance or walking the dog. We spend hours settling estates and packing up or distributing the earthly wealth of those we loved. We give away watches from the retirement gala, the jewelry box, and old Bibles. We personally have the gold pocket watches of both Bob's father and grandfather, we have my grandmother's hymn book from her college days in the 1890s, and my grandfather's 11th, 12th and 13th editions of Encyclopedia Britannica. We know how they died and it wasn't a pandemic, but was from common problems of aging. But we didn't close up shop, we didn't deny medical care to others for different, less fatal causes, we didn't stop having Easter services, and we didn't destroy our pensions and equity in our homes because maybe 200,000 people died of illnesses that had been with us since the people made a golden calf to worship just in case Moses got it wrong.

https://www.prevention.com/health/health-conditions/a22813625/flu-symptoms-prevention/

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/pneumonia.htm

The spinmeisters, CNN—Jake Tapper

Dr. Fauci exposed CNN's spin on Trump and mitigation. “The first and only time that Dr. [Deborah] Birx and I went in and formally made a recommendation to the president to actually have a, quote, ‘shutdown’ in the sense of not really [a] shutdown, but to really have strong mitigation … the president listened and went to the mitigation. The second time that I went with Dr. Birx into the president and said 15 days are not enough, we need to go 30 days … at that time the president went with the health recommendations and we extended it another 30 days.”

If you listen to CNN's spin, you are a sucker. Freedom of the press doesn't mean you have to believe them.

https://www.cnsnews.com/article/washington/melanie-arter/dr-anthony-fauci-hypothetical-questions-can-get-you-some

Official guidelines for the Covid19 pandemic

Here are the official Coronavirus guidelines:

1. Basically, you can't leave the house for any reason, but if you have to, then you can.
2. Masks are useless, but maybe you have to wear one, it can save you, it is useless, but maybe it is mandatory as well.
3. Stores are closed, except those that are open.
4. You should not go to hospitals unless you have to go there. The same applies to doctors, you should only go there in case of emergency, provided you are not too sick.
5. This virus is deadly but still not too scary, except that sometimes it actually leads to a global disaster.
6. Gloves won't help, but they can still help.
7. Everyone needs to stay HOME, but it's important to GO OUT.
8. There is no shortage of groceries in the supermarket, but there are many things missing when you go there in the evening, but not in the morning. Sometimes.
9. The virus has no effect on children except those it affects.
10. Animals are not affected, but there is still a cat that tested positive in Belgium in February when no one had been tested, plus a few tigers here and there…
11. You will have many symptoms when you are sick, but you can also get sick without symptoms, have symptoms without being sick, or be contagious without having symptoms. Oh, my..
12. In order not to get sick, you have to eat well and exercise, but eat whatever you have on hand and it's better not to go out, well, but no…
13. It's better to get some fresh air, but you get looked at very wrong when you get some fresh air, and most importantly, you don't go to parks or walk. But don’t sit down, except that you can do that now if you are old, but not for too long or if you are pregnant (but not too old).
14. You can't go to retirement homes, but you have to take care of the elderly and bring food and medication.
15. If you are sick, you can't go out, but you can go to the pharmacy.
16. You can get restaurant food delivered to the house, which may have been prepared by people who didn't wear masks or gloves. But you have to have your groceries decontaminated outside for 3 hours. Pizza too?
17. Every disturbing article or disturbing interview starts with " I don't want to trigger panic, but…"
18. You can't see your older mother or grandmother, but you can take a taxi and meet an older taxi driver.
19. You can walk around with a friend but not with your family if they don't live under the same roof.
20. You are safe if you maintain the appropriate social distance, but you can’t go out with friends or strangers at a safe social distance.
21. The virus remains active on different surfaces for two hours, no, four, no, six, no, we didn't say hours, maybe days? But it takes a damp environment. Oh no, not necessarily.
22. The virus stays in the air - well no, or yes, maybe, especially in a closed room, in one hour a sick person can infect ten, so if it falls, all our children were already infected at school before it was closed. But remember, if you stay at the recommended social distance, however in certain circumstances you should maintain a greater distance, which, studies show, the virus can travel further, maybe.
23. We count the number of deaths but we don't know how many people are infected as we have only tested so far those who were "almost dead" to find out if that's what they will die of…
24. We have no treatment, except that there may be one that apparently is not dangerous unless you take too much (which is the case with all medications).
25. We should stay locked up until the virus disappears, but it will only disappear if we achieve collective immunity, so when it circulates… but we must no longer be locked up for that?

**Copied & Pasted**

Aerosol-generating procedures—the guidelines

I haven't seen the pre-Covid guidelines for aerosol-generating procedures, but maybe Trump haters could tell me why these guidelines weren't being written and followed BEFORE anyone had been hospitalized or died of Covid? Were they in the Bush and Obama pandemic/bioterrorism guidelines?

Why shouldn't a businessman/president know more than the doctors?

https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/-/media/files/wexnermedical/features/covid-resources/clinical-guidance/inpatient-clinical-care/guidance-regarding-aerosol-generating-procedures-for-suspect-or-confirmed-covid-19-patients.pdf?

I saw these guidelines in an OSU e-mail and wondered why they were just now being issued, and why did I need to know?

So if it took 69 not 68 or 67 minutes (does someone have a stop watch?  Is there an alarm?) , I thought I should look up AGP, in case someone hasn't been following guidelines:

Endotracheal intubation and extubation
Tracheostomy suctioning and changing a trach
Bag mask ventilation (manual ventilation)
Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (BiPAP, CPAP)
Bronchoscopy/bedside NP scope
CPR unless the patient is invasively ventilated and connected to a ventilator

We need to re-open soon to save the country, guest blogger Glenn K. Beaton

"My generation had it easy compared to our parents and grandparents. After a lifetime of comfort, it’s not too much to ask me and my old friends to avoid crowds. To wash our hands frequently. To use hand sanitizer.

If against all odds, I still get the virus, I’ll deal with it. If against even greater odds, I die from it, I’ll deal with that too.

The one thing I cannot deal with is destroying the country I love, the world I cherish and the opportunity for the next generation to similarly love and cherish.

So re-open our country soon. Re-open your lives. Re-open the world. A hunkered down life is no life at all."  The Aspen Beat

There are many ways to die from Covid19—listen to the other experts

By listening only to the "experts" in certain fields of health, the President and Governors--like DeWine of Ohio--are not listening to experts in other fields that do count the health costs for those with early or obvious signs of other health problems that need attention and can't get care, the health costs to the mentally fragile and poor, the health costs of shortages, the health costs of careers interrupted that might have solved future problems, the health costs of shifting billions of tax dollars to every department in government itself rather than basic needs of workers. The big winner--big government. The big loser--the people.

A call for plasma

Today I read "that Ohio State researchers and clinicians have found a way to take plasma from someone who has recovered from COVID-19 and deliver it to patients who are currently battling the virus to aid in their treatment and recovery." Hey, that's great news. But in that e-mail people who'd had Covid19 and been symptom free for 28 days were urged to donate plasma. Huh? Don't we have a billion dollars worth of EMR in Ohio and the other 49 plus DC and territories so some researcher can data mine our health records even if our MD has to call for it? Doesn't Dr. Brix always say, "the data show?" If the first known death was Feb. 29 in the U.S. and it wasn't in Ohio and many had it and didn't know it, maybe even me or you, should everyone who's had a mysterious cold or cough since the fall be tested?

Ohio has had less than 8,000 confirmed cases and barely over 2,000 were hospitalized. Doctors' offices are swamped with calls from clients who can't even be tested without all the signs. Surely somewhere in all those computers there's a record of the people to contact.

And President Trump will probably be blamed for OSU not knowing where to look for donated plasma. After all, isn't it his fault he didn't close down the economy before anyone had died?

Government the big winner of CARES

Government, not businesses and workers, is the big winner in the stimulus package. Out of $2 Trillion I’m thinking about ¼ goes right back to government agencies—federal, state, local. I saw two very minor examples in the last 5 minutes just looking through my mail.

1) The Dean of the Library School at U of I (my school, and it has a different name now) Eunice Santos did a study published as a chapter in a technology proceedings in 2013 on the 2009 pandemic which originated in Mexico (and from her photo and name she is Hispanic), and it has been resurrected as some sort of modeling technique for this covid pandemic. https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/8711/1/Modeling-emergent-border-crossing-behaviors-during-pandemics/10.1117/12.2018201.short?SSO=1 What this has to do with libraries, I have no idea, but I do know there will now be more funding.

2) And here’s another: “April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.  Child abuse takes place in every part of the population and takes many forms.  Children suffer from neglect, endure physical and sexual abuse, are exploited by pornographers and sex traffickers, and become collateral victims of drug abuse and other types of maltreatment every single day in America.  Fortunately, Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) across the nation are providing critical services to these young victims and helping to safeguard their legal rights, especially during this national COVID-19 pandemic.”

Obviously, this tragedy of child abuse and sex trafficking takes place every day and night, but there will be more money to study the other studies because of Covid19. And Mexicans fleeing Mexico during the 2009 pandemic will somehow be considered relevant to a model of the Covid19 pandemic—although no one will ever read it—it will be funded as part of this package.

Please, Mr. President, stop the insanity and put people back to work and get them off the government dole before the government sops up all the aid.

https://www.ncsl.org/ncsl-in-dc/publications-and-resources/coronavirus-stimulus-bill-states.aspx

Covid19—when I realized we’d turned the corner

A week or so ago there was a sign covid19 was coming under control. What did I see? The task force noted it was time to start throwing more time and energy at racial disparities. So much of our medical research dollars have been spent the last 30-40 years looking at poverty, obesity, sexual promiscuity of gays, family dynamics, educational achievement, smoking, drugs, and now transgenderism, it's no wonder CDC and NIH don't get the viruses and bacteria under control.

Today I saw: "Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and Columbus Public Health Director Dr. Mysheika Roberts have opened the Center for Public Health Innovation to address racism as a public health issue. The new center seeks to reduce health inequities to increase life expectancy and improve quality of life. The center will also address racial disparities related to COVID-19 in Columbus and around the country." This is regurgitating epidemiology, social sciences and public health research that has been going on since the 1960s, and some earlier pieces are classics, still true. Behavior affects health, whether white, Asian, Hispanic or black. More money to advance careers and enhance resumes.

We don't prevent or cure AIDS by studying how gay men think about the size of their penises, yet that research has been on going for years. You don't solve diabetes by measuring the girth of Filipino Americans compared to Swedish Americans. You can't end nicotine addiction by more funding of support groups on-line paid for by Medicare. And concluding that LaTisha and LaToya had too many "daddies" in their home growing up, isn't going to make them want to exercise when they are 50 and overweight. Bridget and Bonnie are also overweight and their parents were married and faithful.

There are thousands, maybe millions of these articles stuck deep in data bases now--we don't need more to tell us behavior matters in keeping us healthy and happy. If anyone, of any race or culture, eats too much, smokes and drinks too much, sleeps around, and only exercises long enough to change the channel, he or she is not going to be healthy based on statistical studies and grandma's advice.

There. I could have saved the tax payers billions, although no one will take my advice because it's too lucrative for academics and politicians.

On Pascha, sermon by St. Melito of Sardis (d. 180)

"One of the greatest sermons ever written is titled On Pascha (Easter), written by Melito of Sardis in just the second century. In the sermon Melito asks us to recognize that from the beginning God has been working through the failures of humanity to complete His plan for us in Christ. Here is a brief excerpt of this beautiful sermon. . ." from Pastor Thomas Cowell, St. John's Lutheran, Burt, Iowa, Newsletter March-April 2019. https://www.stjohnsburt.org/uploads/8/5/6/4/85643360/messenger_mar_apr_2019.pdf

69. This is the Pascha of our salvation:
this is the one who in many people endured many things.
This is the one who was murdered in Abel,
tied up in Isaac,
exiled in Jacob,
sold in Joseph,
exposed in Moses,
slaughtered in the lamb,
hunted down in David,
dishonored in the prophets.
70. This is the one made flesh in a virgin,
who was hanged on a tree,
who was buried in the earth,
who was raised from the dead,
who was exalted to the heights of heaven.
71. This is the lamb slain,
this is the speechless lamb,
this is the one born of Mary the fair ewe,
this is the one taken from the flock,
and led to slaughter.
Who was sacrificed in the evening,
and buried at night;
who was not broken on the tree,
who was not undone in the earth,
who rose from the dead and resurrected humankind from the grave below. […]

To read more of this glorious sermon, which continues, see the link above:

103. “So come all families of people,
adulterated with sin, and receive forgiveness of sins.
For I am your freedom.
I am the Passover of salvation,
I am the lamb slaughtered for you
I am your ransom,
I am your life,
I am your light,
I am your salvation,
I am your resurrection,
I am your King.
I shall raise you up by my right hand,
I will lead you to the heights of heaven,
there shall I show you the everlasting father.”

(Melito of Sardis, On Pascha, trans. Alistair Stewart-Sykes (Crestwood, New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2001).

When did I realize something was very wrong? When Ohio began posting stats

April 12 COVID-19 snapshot for Ohio:
Data provided by ODH as of 2 p.m. April 12

Confirmed cases in Ohio: 6,518
Number hospitalized in Ohio: 1,948
Number of deaths in Ohio: 248
Number of cases in Franklin County: 943

My husband was in Riverside Hospital in Columbus (the largest) from Thursday evening  through Saturday noon—taken by squad after minor testing at our house (squad wouldn’t come in—he had to go outside). He got excellent care, and every test known for cardiac problems. He also said the hospital was virtually empty and staff had little to do. I’m sure they pounced on him as a paying customer. In some states hospitals are closing, medical staff are being fired or furloughed. So a problem created by the fear that some hospitals in major cities might be swamped has created another problem. A small medical practice close to our family will receive $183 in “government stimulus” thanks to the wrangling of the Democrats who are grabbing every imaginable piece of pork in sight, and also a rather strange regulation that if a doctor doesn’t take Medicaid patients, they don’t get the goodies. Small offices can’t afford Medicaid patients because the reimbursement is so paltry.

Look at those numbers. Ohio has many major cities all over the state (not confined to one like Illinois and Indiana). Cleveland, Youngstown, Akron, Toledo, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, but only 248 deaths. We probably get that many shootings on a week-end, or falls by the elderly. Or opioid deaths (we were the epicenter of that a few years ago due to the pipeline from Mexico which covers several states using Ohio). Most of these 248 are elderly, with heart problems, diabetes, pulmonary, etc. conditions. By the time my husband got to Riverside to be tested his LV function was at 35, and over 55 is “normal.” Another day and it might have been over—and some media investigative reporter probably would have claimed Upper Arlington architect dies of Covid19.

We are cowering in our homes afraid to even talk to neighbors. “Essential” businesses like Home Depot and Wal-Mart are up and running in Ohio, but the churches were closed for Easter. It’s ridiculous.

$1200 and a subscription to Netflix

Note: Diane McDermott (originally from Mt. Morris and I bought my horse from her family in 1952)  posted this on Facebook and she  says she is among those unable to get medical treatment needed for a cardiac problem at the moment.

Read this chilling commentary from
MARK LEVIN:

"To be clear. President Trump hasn't shut down a single business. The Governors did."

We’re seeing the most draconian measures enforced at all levels of government that we've ever seen in our lifetimes, and yet rather than being alarmed by the things going on, so many of you applaud.

People are being arrested for spending too much time outside, and you applaud. Pastors are being arrested for daring to hold church services, and you applaud. A child's birthday party is raided by police, and you applaud. A young woman is ticketed for going on a leisurely drive alone because it's deemed "non-essential travel", and you applaud. A parade of school teachers and administrators who wanted to drive through neighborhoods and wave at children is busted up by cops because they were "nonessential," and you applaud. A lone paddleboarder in the ocean on a beach without any other people around is arrested because he's violating quarantine orders, and you applaud.

People are being denied life saving medical treatments because they're not a priority right now (not "essential" as deemed by the government) as the entirety of our medical system is focused on one thing, and you applaud.

Businesses are beings forcibly closed and padlocked and owners arrested for refusing to shut down, and you applaud. Dairy farmers (and soon, other farmers) are being incentivized to stop dairy farming and to sell their herds, and you don't seem to understand the implications.

You're being told to use hotlines and online forms provided by your local governments to report your neighbors who don't obey, and you comply. You scold people day after day for not obeying government edicts, and if any of us dare to question what's happening, you lecture about how we're a danger to society and and we just don't care about people dying.

You've somehow managed to convince yourselves that the people whose lives are affected by a virus are MUCH more important than the people whose lives are being destroyed (and in many cases, leading to death) by the effects of a worldwide economic shutdown and impending worldwide depression the likes of which no one has ever seen before.
At what point will you start QUESTIONING what's going on? How far does the government have to push before you're jolted awake from your slumber? How far are you willing to go with this?

If they told you to load your families onto train cars so that you could be taken to Virus Protection Facilities for your own safety, would you do it?

YES. Yes, you would.That much has become painfully obvious to me. And the whole time, you'd be shaking your finger and yelling at those of us who refused, accusing us of being "a danger to society" and "not caring if people die."

But they don't have to load you onto train cars and take you to Virus Protection Facilities, or force you to comply, because you do that voluntarily. They control your mind. They control you through fear. They control you by convincing you that the world is a scary dangerous place, but they're here to protect you, care for you, and keep you safe, just as long as you OBEY.

They know that as long as you're locked inside your comfortable home with Netflix, Hulu, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and a cell phone, while dangling a $1200 check in front of you like a carrot on a stick, you'll comply. No force is necessary for the majority of the herd.

YOU ARE IMPRISONED, willingly, and you're too blind to see it.

Sowing fear and distrust about hydroxychloroquine

While the media, including NPR, try to frighten people about "unproven" emergency use of Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine here's what CDC says about therapeutic options:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/therapeutic-options.html? which links to the authorization of its use while clinical trials are performed. It won't harm anyone, and could help many based on trials in other countries. The media hate Trump so much they will try anything:

"On February 4, 2020, pursuant to Section 564(b)(1)(C) of the Act, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) determined that there is a public health emergency that has a significant potential to affect national security or the health and security of United States citizens living abroad, and that involves the virus that causes COVID-19.3 ,4 Pursuant to Section 564 of the Act, and on the basis of such determination, the Secretary of HHS . . . Based upon limited in-vitro and anecdotal clinical data in case series, chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine sulfate are currently recommended for treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in several countries, and a number of national guidelines report incorporating recommendations regarding use of chloroquine phosphate or hydroxychloroquine sulfate in the setting of COVID-19. FDA encourages the conduct and participation in randomized controlled clinical trials that may produce evidence concerning the effectiveness of these products in treating COVID-19. FDA is issuing this EUA to facilitate the availability of chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine sulfate during the COVID-19 pandemic to treat patients for whom a clinical trial is not available, or participation is not feasible. "

Also notice the date. Feb. 4. While Democrats and their media arms were calling Trump a racist for attempting to limit entry to our country by infected people.

Jesus has gone ahead of us—Reflections from Lakeside’s pastor

Read Mark 16:1-7 The Easter story is recorded in all four Gospels, but each tells the story differently. It’s like learning about the contemporary crisis via Fox News, CNN, NBC and ABC. Each tells the story with a slightly different bias. In Mark’s version, the women rise early on the first day of the week and take spices to anoint the (supposed) dead body of Jesus. On their way, they worry: who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb? Certainly, they’re not going to be able to do it. When they arrive, they find the stone, which is very large, has already been rolled away! The problem that they were worrying about has already been taken care of. God has been one step ahead of them! God has already provided a solution to their problem. How many times do we worry about things that God has already handled? How will we get through the current pandemic? Rest assured, my friends, God has a solution. God knows our need. God is able to deal with this, and every other crisis we face in life. When the women see the place where Jesus is supposed to be, and an angel sitting there instead, they become alarmed. Again, God is one step ahead of them! Instead of a dead body, they’re told that Jesus has been raised. He is not here. (Mark 16:6) The angel tells the women that the risen Christ will meet them in Galilee. Galilee is their home. In other words, when they go back home, to the place where they live and work, Jesus will be there with them. Not only will Jesus be with them, the angel says that the risen Christ will “go ahead” of them. (Mark 16:7) This verse underscores a central truth of the Christian faith: Jesus is always ahead of his faithful followers. His mind is quicker; his vision larger; his spirit more adventuresome; his convictions more sure; his courage more firm. Easter challenges us to move forward. We have the assurance of the Scriptures and the record of the faithful down through the centuries that Christ will be with us in the future, just as he has accompanied thousands upon thousands in the past. Wherever he calls us, we do not go alone. Not only is Christ with us, he goes ahead of us. The Risen Christ is on the scene before any of us arrives! We need not fear the future, even death, for the risen Christ has already gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us. What’s our future as individuals and at Lakeside Chautauqua? What’s next for us amid this crisis as a nation, a world community? Whatever it is, Jesus is with us, and he will go ahead of us. Thanks be to God! --- Rev. Dr. Charles Yoost, Lakeside Chautauqua Director of Religious Life

An Easter poem

How the Virus Stole Easter

By Kristi Bothur With a nod to Dr. Seuss

Twas late in '19 when the virus began Bringing chaos and fear to all people, each land.

People were sick, hospitals full, Doctors overwhelmed, no one in school.

As winter gave way to the promise of spring, The virus raged on, touching peasant and king.

People hid in their homes from the enemy unseen. They YouTubed and Zoomed, social-distanced, and cleaned.

April approached and churches were closed. "There won't be an Easter," the world supposed.

"There won't be church services, and egg hunts are out. No reason for new dresses when we can't go about."

Holy Week started, as bleak as the rest. The world was focused on masks and on tests.

"Easter can't happen this year," it proclaimed. "Online and at home, it just won't be the same."

Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the days came and went. The virus pressed on; it just would not relent.

The world woke Sunday and nothing had changed. The virus still menaced, the people, estranged.

"Pooh pooh to the saints," the world was grumbling. "They're finding out now that no Easter is coming.

"They're just waking up! We know just what they'll do! Their mouths will hang open a minute or two, And then all the saints will all cry boo-hoo.

"That noise," said the world, "will be something to hear." So it paused and the world put a hand to its ear.

And it did hear a sound coming through all the skies. It started down low, then it started to rise.

But the sound wasn't depressed. Why, this sound was triumphant! It couldn't be so! But it grew with abundance!

The world stared around, popping its eyes. Then it shook! What it saw was a shocking surprise!

Every saint in every nation, the tall and the small, Was celebrating Jesus in spite of it all!

It hadn't stopped Easter from coming! It came! Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the world with its life quite stuck in quarantine Stood puzzling and puzzling. "Just how can it be?"

"It came without bonnets, it came without bunnies, It came without egg hunts, cantatas, or money."

Then the world thought of something it hadn't before. "Maybe Easter," it thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Easter, perhaps, means a little bit more."

And what happened then? Well....the story's not done. What will YOU do? Will you share with that one Or two or more people needing hope in this night? Will you share the source of your life in this fight?

The churches are empty - but so is the tomb, And Jesus is victor over death, doom, and gloom.

So this year at Easter, let this be our prayer, As the virus still rages all around, everywhere.

May the world see hope when it looks at God's people. May the world see the church is not a building or steeple. May the world find Faith in Jesus' death and resurrection, May the world find Joy in a time of dejection. May 2020 be known as the year of survival, But not only that - Let it start a revival.

Don’t wait for a vaccine

I've heard several politicians say we'll have to go very slow to reopen the economy until we have a vaccine. Hogwash.

There is no vaccine for AIDS; the vaccine for shingles only works for some; there are promising vaccines in the works for malaria which kills and cripples over a million a year, but nothing completely acceptable (and environmentalists removed the only safe protection, DDT, with no vaccine in sight); thousands of parents follow the advice they see on the internet and won't even accept measles, mumps and polio vaccines. Between the excruciatingly slow and thick government red tape and the outrage from various special interest groups about disparities and availability, it could be decades to get approval. The first black child who contracts covid19 after receiving a vaccine would have the 9th circuit throwing the whole thing out.

We don't have time, Governor DeWine and Dr. Amy Acton, to wait for approval of a vaccine. Democrats would call it racist, sexist, and homophobic if Trump even got it close to the finish line--and you know it!

You can go to Wal-Mart, but not church. Guest blogger, Michael Smith

“In Kentucky, you can go to Walmart or Target anytime you want without sanction but if you go to church, you'll be sentenced to 14 days of home confinement.

This is nuts.

Our elected leaders are flexing their tyrant muscles.

The WHO widely praised (and continue to praise) the Chinese for their clampdown in Wuhan - but what they did was to ban domestic travel to prevent the spread of the virus to Beijing and Shanghai - but curiously, the continued to allow international flights to Vancouver, San Francisco, LA and New York City.

With tyrants, you need to watch what they do rather than just listen to what they say.

Same with the government and elected officials here in our country. One should really question why unlimited travel and congregating at a Walmart is allowed and yet church congregations are not.

If government requires me to wear a mask and gloves when I am in public, I can accept that - but when they start telling me where I can and can't go, especially if it is to church, or I have to have papers signifying I have the right antibodies, we are going to have a problem.”

https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-governor-recording-license-plates-of-easter-sunday-churchgoers-ordering-them-to-14-day-quarantine?