Which hoax?

I've heard the Covid19 hoax so often, I think I could repeat it from memory. The virus is real; the Democrat party lies about how Trump enabled it and did nothing are the hoax. He said it very early, and they’ve twisted his words into their lie. And those lies are working, just as the Charlottesville lie and the MS-13 lie worked for the racism charges. The media and the Democrats constantly abuse us with Covid19 fear, lies, and twisted statistics. Intelligent, college educated, Christian Trump haters are passing the hoax around and it's moving faster than the virus. I'm not sure they believe the hoax, but they hate the President more than they love Jesus, that's for sure, and for that, God will not be mocked.

Here’s an example, but believe it or not, it’s more reasonable than most. “I am, however, feeling quite relieved that the person most deserving of contracting the covid virus has finally had to admit that this disease is a health issue, not a political one!!  Perhaps drs. and scientists are the reliable experts after all.”

So not only does she condemn a person who caught a deadly (but treatable on 99.75% of the cases) virus (most likely in the open air, outside ceremony for Judge Barrett) she passes along the lie that he did nothing.  I recall watching him every evening in March, meeting with his  task force and “science” advisors. Democrats complained it was a political stunt.  The science itself, or even the concept and definition of “science,” has become political, not just the virus.  Now that the President hopes to clear the red tape for emergency use of a drug that speeded his recovery but  not yet approved by FDA (he allowed himself to be a guinea pig), the media and Trump haters are already claiming foul, because no success, no peace agreement, no prisoner release, no technology triumph can be accorded to him. It’s a rule in 2020: He must never, ever be given credit for anything.  If anything is passed, reviewed, accomplished, it must be pointed back to Obama, or maybe Clinton. Never, never, never allow this President to have even the barest recognition that he’s a good leader telling us not to be afraid as strong leaders have advised since the beginning of history.

RGB on population control

Ruth Bader Ginsberg, channeling Margaret Sanger: “Yes, the ruling about that surprised me. [Harris v. McRae – in 1980 the court upheld the Hyde Amendment, which forbids the use of Medicaid for abortions.] Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then set up for Medicaid funding for abortion. Which some people felt would risk coercing women into having abortions when they didn’t really want them. But when the court decided McRae, the case came out the other way. And then I realized that my perception of it had been altogether wrong”

Roe v. Wade and the budding environmental movement/ population bomb fears of the 1970s met and wedded. It's not really about "women's health."

https://lifelegaldefensefoundation.org/ginsburg-populations-we-dont-want-too-many-of/?

Do not be afraid

This past week I've come to the conclusion that perhaps the President has understood the seriousness of this virus better than the scientists, his task force, Congress, the governors, the Mayors, the naysayers, his enemies in the press and even his most ardent supporters. He knows this is a battle that can't be won by science or talking heads on TV. It's a battle of the heart and mind.

The Bible refers to "fear" hundreds of times. First and most important, Fear of the Lord. Worship, respect, prayer.

Second, there are the "Fear not" passages. Command. Advice. Comfort.

Millions and millions of people across our nation and the world were praying for President Trump this week. Even Nancy Pelosi! From their homes, in their cars, in parades, on the sidewalks outside the hospital, on social media. Catholics, Orthodox, Evangelicals, Fundamentalists and non-denominational Christians were united. People of other faiths, Jews, Hindus, Muslims and the "Nones." If they are serious about their faith, even Christians who don't like him, his personality and policies were praying for his recovery. That was the first use of Fear as used in the Bible.

And when President Trump left the hospital benefitting from high tech, new drugs and some low tech tender care, he told the nation and the world not to fear, don't be afraid of the virus. I think he knows who the real enemy is, and it isn't the virus. It's been the same advice every great leader through the centuries has known instinctively, or by studying history, or through divine guidance.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:34

The hateful media ridiculed and criticized him for telling us not to be afraid of the virus. Facebook and Twitter were flooded with hate and despair. Would they have said that to FDR as he faced Hitler in the 1940s, or Eisenhower after his severe health problems in both terms in the 1950s? Did they tell JFK it's just too scary to make space flight trials to the moon? They know only the fear, anxiety and worry of the American people can accomplish what their party has intended all along. Retreat, defeat, and surrender.

What we’ve learned since Friday

If nothing else, the President’s  illness has shown us as never before that

1) none of the mitigating efforts including frequent testing, daily temperature taking, social distancing and wearing masks can protect all of us, poorest to richest, weakest to most powerful, all the time, from an infinitesimal virus that has spread around the world; somewhere someone we encounter has not washed her hands, has hugged someone, or brushed up against a particle too small to be blocked by any mask and too quick for soapsuds.

2) A positive attitude and prayer is better for our health than gloom, doom and hatred, even with the finest doctors and anti-virus wonder drugs.

3) The Democrats are determined no matter what to destroy him--and that's the real "hoax" he's been talking about all during this time, not the reality of the virus. The hoax is that they "care" about us or our nation more than they care about regaining power over the White House and especially the courts.

The reality is their hate and deception. These last few days has exposed their nakedness.

Hope from the President upon release from hospital

I agree with Trump 100%. Don't let the virus control you!

The hoax the Democrats love to shout about, isn’t Trump’s opinion, definition or treatment of the virus, but their obsession with it trying to use it to get him out of office. Don’t let fear dominate your life. That was the message of FDR and Churchill. That’s his message. That's what great leaders say. Not "Lockdown the nation" as Joe Biden says. That's not a strategy--it's waving a white flag.

Most people who test positive are never treated in a hospital, but he was because he’s the president. 99.75% who get Covid recover, and yet, all you hear all day from the media is Covid will kill you. That’s unlikely, but it is definitely a risk at his age and weight. (Losing weight should have been one of the mitigating recommendations).

And Oh, the misinformation and fear mongering I've heard about the steroid! It’s very common and used for lung inflammation. My son was on it (didn’t save his life) after his infection while being treated for glioblastoma. Common and cheap. Oxygen levels can fluctuate wildly—I watched the monitor for hours. When this latest media fake outrage cools down they’ll go on to “Why does he get first class care” when millions don’t, or "Why is he getting experimental treatment and others don’t" (actually he was a guinea pig). Big Pharma used to practice on Africans before trying their products on Westerners, now they have the wealthy and powerful before lowering the prices.

Did doctors disagree? Probably. When Phil was hospitalized in February there must have been 20 specialists focusing on every body part and function imaginable (lung, heart, skin, oncology, dental, etc.) in and out of his room for a week and they didn’t agree on much of anything (but they certainly do agree on sending bills).

Their dirty little secret has been made public--the media blame every person who gets sick, or hospitalized or dies, just as they did the president. The only difference is this time, they were hoping the patient would die.

What Saint Paul said

Most Americans are familiar with the idiom, “Damascus road experience” even if they haven’t read about Saint Paul’s conversion in the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament. But I had completely missed his retelling of that in the first chapter of Galatians. Perhaps it is the translation.

“But when he [God] who FROM MY MOTHER’S WOMB* HAD SET ME APART and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me . . . “ Do you really think “from” excludes “inside?”

In evaluating the policies and philosophies of the candidates, I put life issues first, as does one of our founding documents, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Just a few years ago there was only one U.S. politician who would go on record as against the born-alive infant protection act—Barack Obama (as Illinois state senator) and he was left of NARAL, which is hard to do. Now his entire party of sheeples has followed his lead.

Joe Biden, who may have once been pro-life, has gone against his church, his savior, the founding documents, and his own conscience.  And Donald Trump, like Saint Paul, who may once have been pro-choice (with no vote in Congress) but is now pro-life, is the one chosen by God from the womb to save babies.

Late term abortions are indeed rare, as my pro-choice friends remind me—maybe 1.3% of all abortions.  “Only” 5,000-10,000 a year. In Ohio that’s 106 and in New York that’s 1590.**  How many are the proper number for you?

*NIV translated the passage as “from birth,” with “from my mother’s womb” another translation.

**https://lozierinstitute.org/late-term-abortion-stats/ June 2020

Candace Owens ridicules a BLM advocate

https://youtu.be/085u0NnAgjA  10 requests

This BLM advocate which Candace quotes primarily discusses personal property (your home, inheritance, retirement, etc.), which by its standards shouldn't exist at all, even for blacks.  Although she speaks of a voluntary system (because you are a white racist and should "give" things to blacks), the BLM manifesto says private property shouldn't exist at all. Only the party/government would control property on behalf of the "community." This is the rationale for destroying private property during the riots and looting after the Floyd death. It isn't yours anyway, so they have a right to destroy it.

BLM is a Marxist, not a Civil Rights, organization. (Churches are particularly behind the times on this point.) Under Marxism, personal property is virtually the original sin. Marxism also claims the nuclear family only exists to hold on to property through inheritance, so it has to go too. BLM is busy airbrushing it's website to obfuscate its anti-American values, and collecting $10 billion from corporate, "woke" sponsors in a massive shakedown.

The hoax isn’t the virus

This is the hoax--how Democrats and their lackeys in the media, entertainment, academe and unions are presenting the constant lie about how the pandemic was handled. Everyone in the country/world has been proven wrong about this virus at some point in its progression or treatment. From the modeling, to the anti-vaxxers, to the members of the task force, but especially the media. And still NOT ONE published clinical trial on masks and the corona virus exists.

The American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten (salary is $500,000) says that going back to school has never looked like it does now. Weingarten explains that because of President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus, which she says has been chaotic, contradictory and inept, and the lack of federal guidance and funding, we’re seeing a patchwork of school reopening plans across the country.

As you should know, education is in control of state and local government, not the federal government. This has been the standard since the passage of the NW Ordinance in 1787. "Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." It is the state governor, the local mayor and the school board which decide the opening and online options, not the President or the federal Department of Education. Weingarten has overlooked that and continues blathering  the Democrat hoax and passes it along to teachers who pay dearly to read this nonsense.

Do you really believe she or any Democrat/ Socialist/ Communist/ Libertarian or even the President's own supporters would have obeyed if Trump had mandated lockdowns and nationwide compulsory masks as Biden says he'll put in place (it's illegal). They would have had a nationwide strike.

Why Democrats hate Judge Barrett

"Judge Barrett isn’t the kind of woman the left tolerates. She’s independent, strong and has rejected the notion that women are still victims in American society. She is too religious, too respectful of her husband, has too many children and loves the United States of America. Not to mention her love for the U.S. Constitution. It’s no wonder the left is trying to destroy her. After all, she stands for everything they stand against: the nuclear family, true tolerance, freedom of religion, the principle that each person, no matter how small, has value, and much more." Katie Pavlich, The Hill, 9/30/20

Media, disinformation and science

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/

For a number of years, I followed this blog, "Junkfood Science". She did amazing research. Unfortunately, she retired the blog in 2009, but I see she posted her concern in a letter to her readers in May 2020. I think it's worse now than in 2009. Click on over and read her May letter. It's so appropriate in this politicized pandemic.

"Media has become an expanse of junk science, disinformation and doublespeak, politics and marketing. All of us are now on our own to question everything, seek out original sources and do our own fact-checking, research and critical thinking. You'll be surprised at how much of what "everyone knows" is not true."

No published trial on the effects of masks in Covid-19 transmission

"And what of EBM [Evidence Based Medicine] in all this? The deluge of studies on the previously little studied coronaviruses would point to a prodigious increase in knowledge, but only a few add to our understanding. Many are clearly 'me too' efforts where researchers need to have their name associated with the pandemic. A good example of this is the number of reviews of the evidence on masks published in the last three months – fifteen to our knowledge. Yet, the number of published trials on the effects of masks in Covid-19 transmission is – so far – zero."

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/covid-19-and-the-end-of-clinical-medicine-as-we-know-it?

Who is benefitting from corona hype? Democrats and big business

Is the constant hyping of the corona virus part of the plan to defeat Trump? Sure looks like it. It's served Democrats well. Even though it's the governors who have shut us down, not the President, their ratings are better in Covid approval than the President--Americans actually approve of having their freedom restricted by government. And they call Trump a fascist? They play with words, not facts, not data.

It's too dangerous to go to church, but not to Target or the liquor stores (or the marijuana stores in Ohio). It has bankrupted small businesses, but benefitted big business like Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart. Who are more likely to be regular church goers, Democrats or Republicans? Urban knowledge workers can sit at home using Zoom and not suffer any set backs. This all benefits the Democrats; Republican strengths are small business and rural people.

Woodstock was held during the Hong Kong flu epidemic, which killed 100,000. No one in the 1960s expected the government to make them safe. No one closed businesses, schools, or churches. The media pretty much ignored it. And the young people enjoying the music certainly weren't social distancing.

Alex Berenson, Sept 23: “For six months, many big media outlets have done everything possible to attempt to spread panic about the coronavirus. In March, the crisis was ventilator shortages, which proved to be nonexistent. In May, they hyped the almost nonexistent risk Covid presents to children. Over the summer, they pretended that hospitals in the Sunbelt were near collapse. Now they focus relentlessly on a single figure, the death count.”

https://youtu.be/xCn5LuZOFZI There are a few brave souls out there who think the governors' and mayors' handling of Covid19 (lockdowns, school closing, shutting down churches, businesses destroyed) were unconstitutional. I certainly think so, but I'm no expert. But I know enough to know the first speaker on this YouTube misquoted the first amendment, but he was basically on the right track.

Our First Amendment Rights

Why is it, the only ones who seem to be enjoying the rights assured to American citizens in the First Amendment--freedom of religion and assembly, freedom of speech and press--are those who are trying to destroy those same freedoms?

• Is your church open?
• Are your YouTube videos being fact checked by Big Tech?
• Is the press so biased it might as well belong to only one party?
• Are your peaceful protests or patriotic parades supporting the president being infiltrated by radicals who then shut you down?

Welcome to cancel culture.

You may be required to attend a reeducation class at work created by neo-Marxists and critical race theorists.

You may avoid your main line or evangelical church, tired of sermons on "systemic racism."

You may find yourself rejected by family members and friends for exercising those very freedoms they claim to also support.

What is critical race theory and do you really need a seminar to soften you up?

If your church, university department, community organization or civic group--or all of them--are thinking about a "peace, justice and reconciliation" workshop or seminar for the board or members, make sure they read this one first. Since the 90s, these reeducation camps/mafia have been a cottage industry, lining the pockets of so called specialists. Many otherwise smart people have swallowed this "systemic justice" myth--time to get a spine and at least tell them to do their homework. It's just dressed up Marxism in its Sunday best. And be prepared to be called a racist or white supremacist for objecting--even if you're black!

https://thefederalist.com/2020/10/02/forced-denunciations-and-sensitivity-training-mimic-communist-brainwashing-tactics/

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-ends-critical-race-theory-training-federal-employees

Critical Race Theory is central to

• believes racism is present in every aspect of life, every relationship, and every interaction and therefore has its advocates look for it everywhere
• relies upon “interest convergence” (white people only give black people opportunities and freedoms when it is also in their own interests) and therefore doesn’t trust any attempt to make racism better
• is against free societies and wants to dismantle them and replace them with something its advocates control
• only treats race issues as “socially constructed groups,” so there are no individuals in Critical Race Theory
• believes science, reason, and evidence are a “white” way of knowing and that storytelling and lived experience is a “black” alternative, which hurts everyone, especially black people
• rejects all potential alternatives, like colorblindness, as forms of racism, making itself the only allowable game in town (which is totalitarian)
• acts like anyone who disagrees with it must do so for racist and white supremacist reasons, even if those people are black (which is also totalitarian)
• cannot be satisfied, so it becomes a kind of activist black hole that threatens to destroy everything it is introduced into

https://newdiscourses.com/2020/06/reasons-critical-race-theory-terrible-dealing-racism/

Why are our churches talking justice and racial reconciliation now—it’s trendy and they are woke?

2020 wasn't about George Floyd. BLM was launched in 2014 by three lesbian feminists steeped in Marxism.

"Homicide is the leading cause of death for young black men in the U.S., and around 90 percent of the perpetrators are also black. Yet for months [2014] we’ve had protesters nationwide pretending that our morgues are full of young black men because cops are shooting them. Around 98 percent of black shooting deaths do not involve police. In fact, a cop is six times more likely to be shot by someone black than the opposite. The protestors are pushing a false anti-cop narrative, and everyone from the president [Obama] on down has played along.” . . . Jason Riley https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/race-relations-and-law.../

• When did we pray for the millions of babies aborted?
• When did we hear sermons on bitter divorces and the need for understanding and acceptance? In fact, when did we ever even hear a sermon about marriage?
• When did we pray for all the families who’d lost loved ones from cancer or heart disease as we do for Covid19?
• When did we as a congregation ask for justice for the trafficked child or abused woman?
• When the Columbus police were told to stand down during the summer riots, did our church collect money for the damaged or destroyed businesses?

Yes, we need reconciliation, but it’s between members, not races.

Never a better description of what's on the left.

“Imagine to find yourself again in a wide open field, alone with your Guardian Angel;

to your left you see the devil on a lofty throne, he is surrounded with many devils nearby; and around them you see an immense number of people acknowledging him as their master and lord and they render him homage, who by sinning in one way and who in another. Examine the behavior of the disgraced courtesans of that king of abomination: some are furious because of hatred, envy and rage; others are given to murdering, there is a group worn out with their vain pursuit of riches and fame but finding it hollow. Many are hardly human so sunken are they in fleshly vice, corrupt in the animalistic passions. See how they are all without peace, disordered and without restraint; see how they despise each other as they try to hide behind a hypocritical appearance of love.”

St. Francis de Sales, 1567-1622

Biden’s biggest lies—the pandemic, taxes, immigration, etc.

https://www.factcheck.org/2020/08/bidens-greatest-hits/?

Biden falsely accused Trump of being late in imposing travel restrictions on China. In fact, the United States was not late getting off the mark compared with other countries around the world.

In his campaign kickoff speech on April 29, 2019, Biden falsely claimed that “all of” the tax cuts signed into law by Trump “went to folks at the top and corporations that pay no taxes.” Those with higher incomes reaped greater benefits from the tax law, but most households received a tax cut.

During a Democratic debate in January, Biden defended his 2002 vote to authorize the use of military force in Iraq, claiming the Bush administration “said they were not going to go to war” and only sought weapons inspections. But days before the vote, then-President George W. Bush said, “I hope this will not require military action, but it may.”

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 that Biden sponsored received bipartisan support at the time, but it has since been criticized for some of its provisions, such as mandatory minimum sentencing, and its impact on mass incarceration. Asked at a CNN town hall to defend the crime bill, Biden contended that the law “did not put more people in jail, like it’s argued.”  Others say it exacerbated the situation.

Biden falsely claimed that Trump “asserted that immigrants would, quote, ‘carve you up with a knife.’” Trump said that about MS-13 gang members, not immigrants in general.

At least three times in February, Biden falsely said he was “arrested” 30 years ago while trying to visit Nelson Mandela on Robben Island, where the future leader of South Africa had been imprisoned at the time. But Biden later admitted that he was “stopped” at the Johannesburg airport — not arrested.

We don’t need fact checks on the nuzzling and hair smelling. We’ve all seen the videos.

Yes, it’s time--again

As an adult, I've lost a lot of weight--20 lbs. in 1960, 20 lbs. in 1982, 10 lbs. in 1987, 20 lbs. in 1993, 10 lbs. in 1998,  20 lbs. in 2006-07 and 30 lbs. in 2015.  Plus some tune ups along the way. In Spring 2019 I was doing a little tune up because I’d gained back about 15 lbs.  Then our son became ill and I put another 15 pounds on with stress eating. So here we go again.

Who are the Proud Boys and why did Chris Wallace denounce them?

I'd never heard of Proud Boys until this week when Chris Wallace made himself 3rd person in the debate and demanded Trump denounce them. I'm not sure what they stand for on the fringes, but the Core seems pretty solid if this poster is accurate (I haven't researched it since Google controls all that).

Minimal government? Secure borders? Anti-racism? 2nd amendment? 1st amendment? Less identity politics? Not sure what venerating housewives means (sounds a bit tongue in cheek), but I suppose it means not tearing down the nuclear family as BLM does in its core value statement at its website. Western Chauvinism is an unfortunate turn of phrase, but because Western Civilization has been turned into a dog whistle by the left to mean slavery and colonialism, I suppose it's game on. 99.9% of American businesses are technically "small" and entrepreneurial, so that's now "white supremacist" to own a small business and work hard? I know BLM is against personal property (unless you donate it), so I suppose this is an answer to that. Have they asked for a visit with Pope Francis?

How many millions of dollars has Proud Boys raised since May 30? How many schools k-12 are putting Proud Boys in charge of their curricula? Are 95% of university professors followers? How many churches are praying for them and singing kumbaya for reconciliation? How many businesses have Proud Boys destroyed? Do they carry banners, flags and posters to litter the streets and the internet? Do they march through cities demanding a share in the government while destroying police protection?

My, my, what we (or Wallace) are calling White Supremacists these days!! Democrats have moved from calling Trump supporters "deplorables" to "white supremacists." They figure we won't put that on a t-shirt. And like the word racist, if you disagree you are one. Chris Wallace, Joe Biden and the leftists in social media owe us an explanation.

How your tax dollars are used as a sop to race theory--anti-racism initiatives

“For years, Ohio State University has championed this idea (race and bad health) through evidence-based implicit bias workshops for faculty, staff and college admissions committees, not just at The Ohio State University, but also at medical schools throughout the United States. " (Medical Wexner Center, Ohio State University, recent announcement)

Apparently, the current push for more critical race theory embedded in every department and every course, plus special required "workshops" shows that OSU has failed in this mission, and is using this time of pandemic as another excuse for more tax payer grant money.

Has even one black child or parent benefited from this focus in the past? How many black doctors has OSU graduated since the Civil Rights Act of the 1960s? OSU is not listed as "graduated 350 or more black or African American physicians between 1980 and 2012." Over 30 years. That's a dismal record--and it includes African and Caribbean foreign doctors.

The Kirwan Center on Race and Ethnicity at OSU is 17 years old--it needs a steady infusion of money to support its huge staff and publications and overhead, thus more hype on race. Earlier on its website it announced "solidarity with BLM." It's a relic of the failed liberal/left model of academe and they are racing to catch up, to pretend to be "woke." OSU administration also has a huge diversity and inclusion staff, as does every department in the university.

By declaring racism is not aberrant, but endemic and permanent, these race hustlers in academe assure themselves of positions, power and promotion.

My tale of two rich men, us and taxes on real estate

My uncle Gramps was the husband of my dad’s sister, Marion, who owned the Tot and Teen shop in Mt. Morris.  Nice guy, but I didn’t spend a lot of time with him. My fondest memory of him was winter 1963 or 1964, when he helped me with my taxes. I think I’d brought all the records home (to my parents) for Dad to help. Gramps came over and showed me how, with our duplex rental property, we would owe no taxes on the income. I found it stunning then, and even now, that by listing all our expenses and claiming something new to my vocabulary, depreciation, we owed nothing. The tax laws are made for the rich by the rich, but occasionally the little guy gets a boost.

President Trump, whom the New York Times is trying to smear without the word illegal appearing anywhere in the story,  created jobs, he provided services, and he took advantage of all the “loopholes.” So did Jeff Bezos, the richest man on the planet, who owes no income taxes at all, and who coincidentally owns the Washington Post, also a Trump hater.

I once asked my mother why my uncle was called Gramps, since at that time he may have been 40 something and had no grandchildren, and she said she didn’t know but that was his nickname at Mt. Morris College where my parents and he met (my aunt would have been in high school so I assume they met later).

I hated being a landlord. We met some really nice tenants and with some we have stayed friends. But it only takes one or two bad ones to make you resolve to never do it again. But that duplex, purchased in 1962, for $14,000, put us on a financial footing that blesses us to this day. We took a mortgage for $10,000 and Dad held the second mortgage. The rent, as I recall was $70/month and that covered the mortgage and  the utilities—so we essentially were living rent free. We sold it on land contract in 1967 when we moved to Columbus, and that payment covered our car loan and the mortgage. When the new owner paid off the loan a few years later, someone at the bank discovered an error in our favor, and as I recall we had a nice settlement.

Owning and living in your own home does nothing for your own wealth, but owning real estate and renting it or using it for some other investment does. My father always said the cost of your home always had to include what the down payment and improvements could have earned doing something else.

Marion and Gramps

It's lovely in Lakeside in September

Beautiful walk along the lakefront this morning about 7:30 a.m. I stopped to talk to a woman who's been coming to Lakeside for 71 years, which makes me who's been coming for only 46 years, a newcomer. I had just noticed the real estate sign in front of the lovely traditional 2-story cottage, cross gable with wrap around porch at 2nd and Poplar. It's a classic, well over 100 years old. I hope Lakeside doesn't allow it to be torn down. When my husband was on the design/review committee it would have been safe. But there's so much money now in Lakeside, it has a 2 or 3 tier system of rules, like most places. Money talks and it says, "I want my own way."

Also during my morning lakefront walk I met and woman and child at Perry Park and tennis courts with a Labradoodle black and white puppy. It had the curls of the poodle and the "I love everyone let me jump on you" friendliness of the Lab. I thought of the Greens, friends of our son Phil, who've just had the joy of a litter. Both sire and dam were Labradoodles.

Lots of building going on. Two new houses in the Elm and 2nd area, and the playground is gone, I suppose a donor has come up with something spectacular. Another home on the lakefront is getting an extreme make-over, the porch is gone, but it looks like it will be replaced.

2nd and Elm

2nd and Cherry

Lakefront

2nd and Lynn

Prepping for the election debate

USAFacts.org is an excellent source of what local, state, federal entities spend using all the statistical sources that are published such as crime, health, and education.  But because most of these organizations lean left even with interpreting dry statistics, one can still see a bias in how the “facts” are presented.  Today it is outlining which topics might come up in the debate between Biden and Trump, such as “defund” the police.” US Census Bureau’s 2017 State & Local Government Finance Historical Datasets is the source of the data.

It begins with a graph you should be familiar with—the drastic drop in crime since its peak in the early 90s. Then it goes on to break out how much counties and states spend locally on their responsibilities like education, law enforcement, public health, etc.  Education, of course is the biggie—almost 50% of local budgets go for that (very little comes from the federal government). The second highest expense at the local level is law enforcement, but it’s only 9.2%.

So the way this is framed is that it law enforcement is the second highest expense, even though it pales in comparison with education. However, adding together what is traditionally called “social safety net” –public health, aid to disadvantaged, and children’s services—which total 10.4%, law enforcement is actually third.  In per capita spending that is $2,106 for education, $451 for social safety net, and $397 for police protection. 

And I’m sure its no shock to any of us to find out that large counties and metropolitan areas spend more on law enforcement than smaller counties. Yet, NYC actually spends a lower percentage of its budget on policing than the average—7.3%.

“In the 25 most populous counties—counting New York City’s five boroughs as a single county—local governments spent $573 per resident on law enforcement – which includes both police services and corrections. In the next 303 most populous counties, all with at least 200,000 residents, law enforcement spending stood at $388 per person. . .

Among the largest 25 counties, Broward County, Fla. spends the highest share of its local government budgets (18.2% or $723 per person) on law enforcement. The county spent less than average on education (37.4% of the total budget) but higher than average spending on child and social services (4.4%).

New York City, where the city government oversees all five of its boroughs, spends 7.3% of its budget on law enforcement. The city government spends 30.6% of its money on education and 12.4% on social services and aid to the disadvantaged combined. “

Some large metropolitan areas don’t follow the trends in police funding.

“Bexar County, Texas, home to San Antonio and nearly 2 million residents, spent $298 per person on law enforcement and $3,906 per person in total. The city of St. Louis, which as an independent city functions as its own county, spent $795 per person on law enforcement and $6,764 per person in total. St. Louis has a population of just 308,000.”

Is it different policing or different people committing the crimes? Would the people of St. Louis be safer if the law enforcement budget was cut or “defunded?”

Read the article here: https://usafacts.org/articles/police-funding-local-governments/?

Religious bigotry of Senate Democrats

We can't be anti-Catholic or anti-religion [about Barrett] claimed a Democrat apologist on Fox who used to work for Kerry, a Catholic. We just don't like her decisions [based on law rather than feelings]. Besides, Biden and Pelosi are Catholics. Right. Tell that to the millions of babies, 38% black, who will never be old enough to vote.

According to U.S. census data, there were 18,871,831 black American citizens in 1960. Since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in 1973, abortion has killed an estimated 20 million black babies — more than the entire black population of 1960.

Spokes model for millennials

Alyssa Ahlgren is a millennial who's made a name for herself by being blunt and unapologetically conservative, calling out her generation, including AOC, for being spoiled and naive.

She wrote a nice piece in late May about standing up to fear. Now it's nearly October and I think maybe she was wrong about Americans and what they would put up with.

"Americans were willing to take temporary hits to their liberties to flatten the curve. We followed the rules. We were compliant with the “15 days to slow the spread.” What we are not compliant with is the continued abuse of power backed by zero evidence and practiced in the name of the “common good” and “safety.” As the country’s leaders remain divided on locking down and reopening, Americans are starting to stand together. We will not be vulnerable. We will not be complacent. And we will not shrink in fear. After all, the American spirit was derived from rebellion and the desire to be free. Good luck keeping that locked down."

My church has timidly offered some parking lot and mid-week services, and my library still has closed branches and appointment only computers. I guess our walk doesn't match our talk, especially on the First Amendment.

https://alphanewsmn.com/alyssa-ahlgren-what-the-shutdown-has-taught-us/

Sustainable design

“The Office of Administration and Planning welcomes your feedback on revisions to the Sustainable Design and Construction policy (currently the Green Build and Energy policy). “ Ohio State University

I read my husband’s architecture journals and e-mails and see a lot about “sustainable” and “green” and “small.” Thousands of pages, gallons of ink, and angst filled pie-in-the sky millennial writers worshiping Mother Earth with religious green fever. And then poof.  All it took was a pandemic and lockdowns from our governors.  No committees or feedback from architects, pastors or librarians.  No need even for new or remodeled buildings.  Lock ‘em down.  Send everyone home except truckers and grocery clerks, get a good internet connection, sign up for Zoom and we’re good to go.  No pollution. No sustainable design.  No energy plan.

The Story of Green Gables at Lakeside, by Janet Jennings

“What was the one of the biggest challenges you faced during 18 years of serving as House Chair of Green Gables?” I posed this question to Becky Johnson who is stepping down from this responsibility at the end of the 2020 Lakeside Chautauqua season. This was Becky’s answer: “…resolving the feral cat problem while trying to be sensitive to the cat lovers.”

This response is so typical of this gentle, tactful lady, who, along with Bret, is quick to show concern for other people. Friends know them as a loving, selfless couple who work tirelessly to make life happier or easier for others. The Johnsons have been far more than mere custodians of the 137-year-old house at 161 Walnut Avenue. They are first and foremost caretakers of people.

“Green Gables has been a place filled with women for over 90 years,” Becky wrote recently, “and I love thinking about the stories of friendships forged and relationships strengthened. I love Green Gables when it is full of women learning and sharing, and I love it when it is a quiet fall evening and we are putting it to bed for the winter.”

Becky took on the job of Green Gables House Chair in 2002, a couple of years after they had completed work on their own cottage on Jasmine. Since the Lakeside Women’s Club was organized in 1928, a member or committee has been appointed or elected to this task. Husbands sometimes pitch in to help as Bret has. It’s all volunteer. The House Chair is in charge of the interior of Green Gables. A few of her duties are opening and closing in spring and fall, hiring cleaners, purchasing supplies, readying bedrooms and bathrooms for renters, calling exterminators, plumbers, and handymen, making decor decisions, keeping the furnishings in good repair, working closely with the Resident Hostess, Librarian, and officers of the Club, the Lakeside administration and security. And those are just the basics.

What makes the job daunting is not only the age of the house, but, as Becky explains, “Making decisions on a public place is very different from working in your own home. I was conscious of trying to make Green Gables appealing to everyone who visited. Budgeting repairs at Green Gables is different as I tried to be a good steward of the Club’s funds.” Then, being Becky, she adds this positive note: “ I learned that regardless of the décor, women love being together in a
place where they can feel at home.”

Becky explained, “The general rule is that the Association is responsible for the exterior and the Club takes care of the inside. However, on big projects (HVAC, new foundation, updated kitchen, replacement of rotted joists, etc.) we partner with the Association to get the job done. In more recent years, we have been able to rely on Lakeside maintenance for smaller inside issues. Our relationship has evolved into a real partnership. Without them, the Club would be
at a real disadvantage.”

The Lakeside Association owns Green Gables and maintains the exterior as they do their other 46+ buildings. But the Lakeside Women’s Club, a separate non-profit, is not a tenant in the usual sense. The Association generously lets the Club use the house
because of an agreement worked out when Arthur Hoover was general manager of Lakeside. In 1928, Hoover persuaded the woman who owned the house situated at 161 Walnut, a prime piece of real estate, to sell to the Lakeside Association. It had been a boarding
house, but at that time was standing vacant, 45 years old, and in need of paint. Mr. Hoover then negotiated with Lakeside Trustees that the cottage would be used as the club house for a newly-formed Woman’s Club with his wife, Bessie Hoover, serving as founding president.

Next, the Lakeside Association painted the outside, and Mrs. Hoover
donated some of her own furniture from the Hoover home across the street at 205 Park Row. Her wicker set still occupies the spot in front of the fireplace today. Perhaps this was the beginning of the tradition that the Association would maintain the exterior and the Women’s Club (it was called Woman’s Club then) would take care of the interior. Sounds shaky, but somehow this unique arrangement has worked for 92 years.

Green Gables is heavily used during the season. Somebody once told Becky that they thought Green Gables was a place where old ladies went to knit. Becky laughs, “It’s that and so much more!” She has a favorite memory from June, 2016. The Johnsons were glued to the upstairs TV along with Lois Weller, the former Resident Hostess. The Cleveland Cavaliers were playing Game 7 in the NBA finals. The Johnsons are from Bedford and Lois lives in Parma, and no major
Cleveland sports team had won a title since 1964, so of course they were excited. “When the Cavs won, how we cheered,” Becky remembers, “and you could hear people all around yelling!”

Lois Weller appreciates Becky and Bret very much. She is very aware of how much leadership, time, and effort this generous couple has contributed to Green Gables and the Lakeside Women’s Club. She knows firsthand of their dedication to family, church, schools in which they have taught, children and youth in Lakeside, and persons for whom they have caretaker responsibilities.

Another person who worked with Becky and Bret the entire 18 years was Betsy Kennedy, former librarian of Green Gables. “With the Johnsons, it’s always been a family affair,” she said in a recent phone conversation. Betsy can’t say enough about the kindness of Becky and Bret—carrying heavy boxes of books to and from storage, lugging in tables for the annual book sale—and they always responded quickly and cheerfully to any request.

From the beginning Bret did his part, and when daughter Grace, or “Miss Gracie” as Betsy and Lois fondly call her, came on the scene fourteen years ago, it became a trio. As Grace was growing up, Betsy said that if a house cleaner didn’t show up, it was sometimes Bret and Gracie who raced upstairs to clean, change the bed, and clean the
bathroom. Grace has always felt that Green Gables is her second home. Becky recalls one fall when she and Bret painted walls while baby Gracie slept in her bouncy seat on the floor.

During the season for many years, the evening before the Tuesday meeting, Bret could be found mopping the kitchen and downstairs bathroom floor on his hands and knees. His simple explanation
was, “I know how to wash floors, and I thought it would help Lois.”

Reflecting back, Becky wrote, “Green Gables is a unique place that has a sweet cadence to it. It’s a place where everyone is welcome. It is filled with tradition that makes it familiar to people, year after year.”

Thank you, Becky, for devoting eighteen years of your life to our grand old lady, Green Gables, and being a big part of what makes it such a welcoming place.

When St. Matthew wrote about Donald Trump

For those virtue signaling, self-righteous, perfect Christians who believe President Trump is a fake Christian based on your judgements of his past life,  Jesus talked about you 2000+ years ago in a parable.

Matthew 21:28-32.

He's talking to the chief priests and elders of that time. The pastors, synod bishops, church board members, professors at elite colleges with "studies" programs, Christian counselors, workshop leaders, non-profit CEOs, the writers and editors of slick Christian journals, hymn writers, Sunday school teachers of note and faithful, tithing pew sitters in today's world.

Jesus said, "A man had 2 sons. He came to the first and said, "Son, go out and work in the vineyard today." That son said, "I will not," but later changed his mind and went.

The man went to his other son and gave the same order, and that one said, "Yes, sir," but he didn't go.

Which son did his father's will? Trapped, the wise ones said, "Of course, the first son."

And here Jesus really lays down the hammer. "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes, real estate developers and entertainers, are entering the Kingdom of God before you self-righteous hypocrites . (I've paraphrased a bit)

There was no one better than Matthew to tell this story because he too was a bad person, a hated, corrupt tax collector, yet Jesus told him to follow him, and to this day we read his words. He was a master at detail and organization. Matthew included 4 women in his genealogy of Jesus--2 were were prostitutes, Tamar and Rahab, one an adulteress, Bathsheba, and one an outsider, a non-Israelite, Ruth.

Just in case you didn't get the message. . .

BLM advocates are ignorant about real ethnic problems

https://www.africanews.com/2020/09/23/cameroon-protesters-call-for-end-to-bloodshed-from-anglophone-crisis/?

BLM advocates among white, guilt ridden, U.S. Christians should take a look at what is going on in Cameroon if they think every sin is about skin color or "racial justice." There are 250+ tribal/ethnic groups, all the same race (as Westerners define humanity) with many languages, plus a French speaking and an English speaking national division, and the usual divided Christian groups. And this is a simplification. Now riots to end the civil war. Loved hearing from the Cameroon-American woman who stood up to the rioters  https://www.prageru.com/video/i-love-america-too-much-to-stay-silent/

How some Democrats see Barrett’s adoption

When John McCain appeared with his adult POC adopted daughter during the 2008 campaign, Democrats accused him of having a "love child." Now they've progressed and are calling Judge Barrett a "colonialist" for having adopted children who are black Haitians. Democrats never see love, loyalty, compassion, humility, strength, wisdom, devotion, or even simple humanity. Only skin color.

A beautiful family reflecting American values

What a lovely family. Democrats are fund raising on hate for this woman and her values--life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, rights given to us by our Creator. Democrats have booed and belittled our Creator, and can't offer any of those values, especially not life. They offer no liberty, only subservience to the government, and they want guarantees and equity, not pursuit.

Black Lives Matter is covering up its Marxist roots

Americans need to understand that BLM founders are Marxists, and even if they take it off their website (where millions have already seen it), the demand to destroy private property, remove religious liberty and dismantle the nuclear family isn't going to go away. They've got a catchy slogan, but it covers up their goals.

https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/commentary/fact-checking-new-york-times-fact-checker-blms-china-links?

Mike Gonzalez is no light weight, know nothing like New York Times "reporters." NYT has met a real researcher/fact checker.

A Methodist Pastor speaks his mind on “privilege”

If you believe the MSM, the political hacks, critical race theorists, socialists, progressive church leadership and the community organizers/agitators life in the US is horrible, unjust, violent, bigoted, and extremely difficult. Further, from my position of White Privilege I can neither understand nor sympathize with the plight of the non-white populace. That may very well be true. However, those of us of any color in the US cannot even begin to understand how difficult daily life is in Venezuela and Peru and Honduras and Ecuador and Guatemala, etc. The inequity is truly incomprehensible. For my own tribe (Methodists) this is an appropriate time for a correction of perspective. “The least of these” may not be those of us living in the most prosperous nation in history. And yes, I know there are poor and oppressed people here. But we need to bring some comparable perspective to the current narrative.

Warren Lathem

Which cities have the highest rate of unmarried families?

Smartest Dollar this week features cities with the most single parent families--also the poorest in society (as a group--not all single parent families are poor). Ohio doesn't score well--Cleveland (73.3%) and Columbus (49.4%), #1 and #8. For smaller cities, Dayton (70.1%) was #1. https://smartestdollar.com/research/cities-with-the-most-single-parents-2020?

The solution for government workers (deep state and elected) is to throw more money at it. But when you look at the stats, either in print or in a graph, it primarily took off after the War on Poverty and affected more blacks than whites. In the worst days of Jim Crow, Blacks had a higher marriage rate and lower unemployment than whites. Driving dad out of the home with promises of government assistance in his place has been very harmful for the black family. But whites have followed the trend with marriage being considered a non-essential until other needs are fulfilled.

Also, not mentioned in this article is the effect of the pill and abortion in convincing women that they could go it alone.

Then when you see which ethnic group has done the best in solving this, it isn't whites, it's Asians, who have the highest marriage rate, the lowest unemployment and the highest education rate of any group in our society. It doesn't even mention that in the article, but you can check it in other sources.

Marriage, not government programs, is the solution to child poverty. What does BLM want to destroy? The nuclear family--i.e. marriage--because of its link to personal property and religion. Which group as the highest rate of child poverty because of unmarried parents--blacks. This is a statistic BLM will tell you is racist, because marriage is racist.

Who is the Nazi?

The party that is suggesting that Trump is a Nazi, is proposing a total lockdown of our society, taking that option away from the governors and mayors. They want to destroy the Electoral College which gives small states a say in our government. They want to pack the Supreme Court because they fear the Constitution that protects We the People. We are called the "United States" for a reason, and Democrats want to destroy that.

BLM believes private property, the family and religion must be destroyed

Divini Redemptoris , On Atheistic Communism

Pope Pius XI – 1937 https://www.papalencyclicals.net/pius11/p11divin.htm

The Catholic Church has recognized the danger of Communism for over a century and three quarters.  It was speaking out about the atheistic concepts in 1845.  These paragraphs are from a 1937 encyclical—before I was born, and perfectly outlines the methods and goals and beliefs of Black Lives Matter, BLM—the messianic fervor, the ideals of “justice, equality and fraternity” (inclusion, equity and diversity), the deception, the violent hate and destruction and the eradication of private property. You don't need to reinvent an argument against the destruction of the family and private property--it's been done for you.

The Pope in this encyclical, 20 years after the Bolshevik Revolution, mentions the “world wide economic crisis” and of course, then it was a world depression, now a world pandemic. But Communists take advantage of our pain and real problems to achieve their goals. The whole racism, reparations, police chants are just a means to an end. Destruction of our society. There is no intention by BLM to return to an orderly society with injustices solved.

8. The Communism of today [1937], more emphatically than similar movements in the past, conceals in itself a false messianic idea. A pseudo-ideal of justice, of equality and fraternity in labor impregnates all its doctrine and activity with a deceptive mysticism, which communicates a zealous and contagious enthusiasm to the multitudes entrapped by delusive promises. This is especially true in an age like ours, when unusual misery has resulted from the unequal distribution of the goods of this world. This pseudo-ideal is even boastfully advanced as if it were responsible for a certain economic progress. As a matter of fact, when such progress is at all real, its true causes are quite different, as for instance the intensification of industrialism in countries which were formerly almost without it, the exploitation of immense natural resources, and the use of the most brutal methods to insure the achievement of gigantic projects with a minimum of expense.

9. The doctrine of modern Communism, which is often concealed under the most seductive trappings, is in substance based on the principles of dialectical and historical materialism previously advocated by Marx, of which the theoricians of bolshevism claim to possess the only genuine interpretation. According to this doctrine there is in the world only one reality, matter, the blind forces of which evolve into plant, animal and man. Even human society is nothing but a phenomenon and form of matter, evolving in the same way. By a law of inexorable necessity and through a perpetual conflict of forces, matter moves towards the final synthesis of a classless society. In such a doctrine, as is evident, there is no room for the idea of God; there is no difference between matter and spirit, between soul and body; there is neither survival of the soul after death nor any hope in a future life. Insisting on the dialectical aspect of their materialism, the Communists claim that the conflict which carries the world towards its final synthesis can be accelerated by man. Hence they endeavor to sharpen the antagonisms which arise between the various classes of society. Thus the class struggle with its consequent violent hate and destruction takes on the aspects of a crusade for the progress of humanity. On the other hand, all other forces whatever, as long as they resist such systematic violence, must be annihilated as hostile to the human race.

10. Communism, moreover, strips man of his liberty, robs human personality of all its dignity, and removes all the moral restraints that check the eruptions of blind impulse. There is no recognition of any right of the individual in his relations to the collectivity; no natural right is accorded to human personality, which is a mere cog-wheel in the Communist system. In man’s relations with other individuals, besides, Communists hold the principle of absolute equality, rejecting all hierarchy and divinely-constituted authority, including the authority of parents. What men call authority and subordination is derived from the community as its first and only font. Nor is the individual granted any property rights over material goods or the means of production, for inasmuch as these are the source of further wealth, their possession would give one man power over another. Precisely on this score, all forms of private property must be eradicated, for they are at the origin of all economic enslavement .

Hysterectomies and illegal immigrants

The hospital representative has spoken up and said they have evidence of two hysterectomies. The news has been full of the whistleblower version. You really have to search to get anything else on the story. However, I have another point.

I’m sure there are abortionists who don’t collect fetuses or baby feet, but the ghoul Gosnell in Philadelphia did. He even fed body parts to his turtles and the facilities were filthy. Then there was the abortionist Klopfer who died and they found thousands of preserved babies’ bodies and parts in garages in Illinois and Indiana. In Columbus, there’s a doctor on trial for “offing” his dying patients (25) with overdoses of fentanyl—Mt. Carmel (Trinity) system. Our local media paid some attention to local issues, but the Gosnell trial was completely ignored by MSM (he’s in prison). The Indian Health Service had a terrible expose published by WSJ last year (just found it) about the health of native Americans, and I doubt it even made a ripple, but the study covered 2005-2019. Three presidents. Charges were serious enough I’m sure it goes back much further, since the government’s cradle to grave health care has never had good results.

But somehow, Trump is responsible for the privately contracted medical system with a foreign doctor in one county in one state who the whistleblower says “collected uteruses.” And because Trump is president, the media make it a hot button issue implying it’s his problem, according to the national news and social media. I don’t recall our Ohio governor (forgotten which one) being responsible for what went on at Mt. Carmel, or the governors of Pennsylvania, Illinois or Indiana being responsible for what 2 abortionists did in their states. In fact, in order to protect the right of women to “health care,” those cases received only a fraction of the coverage of the hysterectomies. It seems all news is becoming political and “gotcha.”

Amin, the foreign Georgia doctor, has been working since 1988, and had already been charged and fined with Medicare and Medicaid fraud over 5 years ago. If the whistleblower’s charges (very serious, not just hysterectomies) are true, then there must be other workers who were negligent in not reporting this years ago. In Gosnell’s case, he was also having sex with some of his staff. Gross.

https://www.thestar.com/news/world/us/2020/09/23/congressmen-ask-for-investigation-of-gynecologist-linked-to-georgia-immigration-detention-centre.html

https://heavy.com/news/2020/09/mahendra-amin/

https://thefederalist.com/2019/11/26/native-american-health-scandal-shows-why-government-run-care-can-be-deadly/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/nurses-defend-ohio-doctor-accused-murdering-25-patients-lawsuit-against-n1102796

What science or expert do you trust?

"According to the epidemiologist Sunetra Gupta, you should do just about the opposite of what’s being preached by college presidents, teachers’ unions, political leaders, and the scientific and media establishment. Unless you’re elderly or particularly vulnerable, you shouldn’t be wearing a mask all day, or shaming others for going unmasked. You should be careful not to endanger the vulnerable, but otherwise you should be exposing yourself to the virus in order to promote herd immunity."

https://www.city-journal.org/achieving-herd-immunity?

I was a medical librarian for 14 years, agriculture for 3 and I used to translate medical journals when I was a grad student.  If I'd ever tried to present my clients or employers with the mish mash of so-called politicized science we've heard the last 6 months, I would have been fired. I have no idea if Dr. Gupta is right, or whether 6' is the optimal number, or whether masks do any good.  This I believe: the elderly, like me, are at risk; those with other health conditions like smoking, diabetes, obesity and lung diseases are at risk even if not elderly; and rioting and looting and taking your exposure back to your family puts everyone at risk.

The Blessing in many languages

Yesterday I came across a new contemporary hymn called The Blessing, and it has caught the world by storm.  I think it was released live in March, and by May, because of Covid, it had become a world favorite using people of many lands and languages all singing together, although they weren’t. Each group is passionate about Jesus and their own country.  When Americans are patriotic, when they express love for country or Jesus, they are called xenophobic or racist by leftists, but when you see these people all working together despite their differences, you see that bond.  And since so many are singing in their own homes, in their own settings, you see how technology, fashion and music are really global.  I did this for over an hour yesterday, and it was mesmerizing.

https://youtu.be/m-UDnY1B0fI The India blessing, sung in English, Hindi, Urdu, Kannada, Gujarati, Odia, Malayalam, Punjabi, Nagamese, Bangla, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil.

And in Spanish https://youtu.be/13TuS5egUVI

And in French https://youtu.be/j1eCnolXi8s

And Arabic, 16 nations https://youtu.be/Qy0v69p5Jik

From Australia, asking blessings on their nation https://youtu.be/OOt7baaVSbE

And from Kenya, many blessings on their land https://youtu.be/G0BppDtl3_Q

Zimbabweans asking for blessing in time of Covid https://youtu.be/OA1tVs7VNcY

The Blessing Nigeria--tremendous creativity in this one--in English, Esan, Urhobo, Benin, Igbo, Tiv, Hausa, Brom, Yoruba, Kalabari, Ibibio, Okrika, Ijaw, and voice overs and prophecy. https://youtu.be/lewZ8ZhZB3Q

And the Swedes https://youtu.be/Z21Jyq7RPXo

Over 20 churches and groups in Lebanon sing for their country https://youtu.be/tQ818qHiHL0

“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭7:9-12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

You now have the facts about this nomination

All we need are the facts.  We don’t have to call Fancy Nancy names like lunatic even though she’s gone on national television threatening to impeach the President for fulfilling his duty.

It’s a fact.  This has happened 29 times according to Ted Cruz.  Yes, and each time a president at the end of his term has done his duty, and the Senate did theirs.  Period. Barack Obama did it too—and he lost.  That also happens if the President and the Senate are not the same party.   Democrats and some Republican RINOs like Murkowski and Romney are just uninformed (and suffering from severe TDS) when they say this is unprecedented.  The RINOs are also stabbing their constituents in the back.  The courts, for some, are a bigger deal than abortion or the 2nd amendment. Honor your voters wishes.

It’s also a fact that Democrats are threatening to pack the court.

It’s also a fact that Democrats want to add 2 more states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. to their “quiver” to take over the country.

It’s also a fact that Democrats want to destroy the electoral college so only the major metropolitan areas, which they control (most burning from riots and looting) will have a say in governance.

It’s also a fact that the far left of the Democrat party is pushing the “green new deal.”  If you want to see how that works, take a look at California and Oregon burning from 40 years of bad environmental laws and regulations.

It’s also a fact that Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed in 44 days from nomination, less time than we have now before the election.

So now my friends, you silent lurkers who read my posts every day, you can face your wild eyed friends and family with information.  Let them do the screaming and yelling and the ad hominem attacks.

Facial language fails with masks

Today I learned it is very difficult to scowl wearing a mask and have people get your message. The church I attend is still closed, so when we're in Columbus I attend St. Andrew Catholic, which is only a mile away. This has never happened before, but there were 4 men chatting 2 by 2 in the entry and in the back of the sanctuary. Usually, in my experience, Catholic churches are very quiet and people go there to worship not to catch up on the local news. I love the architecture, but the acoustics are poor with a lot of echo, so having someone talking (that sound seems to travel) makes it especially difficult for others to hear. I tried turning my head and scowling at them, but they either didn't get the message or they figured out I was a visitor and they had rights. I would like to tell them that  many churches in the U.S. are not open and they should appreciate what they have.

Critical race theory in education

I was reading a summary of an article on critical race theory in education about black teachers. I think 5 people were interviewed and from that the author, Michelle Jay who is black, concluded, "The study confirms several tenets of critical race theory including the assertion that racism is not aberrant, but endemic and permanent in American society, and routinely exists in public schools."

This is always the theme in critical race theory which is taught from the highest levels of government and military (reeducation camps) to first graders (get 'em while they are young and parents are clueless). Racism according to critical theory is endemic and permanent, so therefore society must be destroyed and rebuilt. That in a nutshell is BLM.  The talking heads on TV, including Fox, look pretty silly searching for logical, historical, rational reasons for the riots. It has nothing to do with police, or with George Floyd--they are just tools. This author was writing about this stuff 20 years ago.

If there’s a bright side the the house arrest virtual learning, it’s that parents are getting a look at what’s going on in education.

Do eye glasses protect you from Coronavirus?

I always thought it made sense that wearing eye glasses all day could protect one from virus particles, but never heard much about it. Now it's come to light again due to a study done in China (which I actually don't trust much). Two theories—glasses block the entry and keep your hands away from touching your eyes when your hands are contaminated. This is observational, as are the mask studies.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/2770873

Cheat sheet on Marxists among us

Marxists came up with critical race theory because there weren't enough poor people in the working class to overthrow the government. Too much opportunity.

Let's put it on an index card.

• Victimhood.
• Identity politics--race, sex, ethnicity.
• Indoctrination campaigns.
• Attacks on Western civilization.
• Rejection of truth and morality.
• Communal property.
• Intersectionality.
• Culture change.
• Community organizers.
• Grievance groups.
• Consciousness raising.
• Pathologize tradition and religion.
• Replace our history with the counternarrative of Marxism.
• Contempt for the middle class, common folk and flyover country.
• Anti-Semitism--especially anti-Israel.
• Capitalism is bad because it's so good, it interferes with change.
• Quash aspiration, individuality and ambition.
• Swell immigration to enlarge the victim groups.
• Loosen sexual mores to destroy the nuclear family.
• Suppress speech.
• Stifle criticism.
• Undermine authority of church and family.
• No assimilation of minorities.
• Take over the institutions--academe, corporations, churches.
• Control the language and the giving of names.
• Reject the Enlightenment--the source of today's racism.

You can learn Gregorian Chants on YouTube

OPChant is an educational YouTube channel created and maintained by two Dominican seminarians. For nearly a year they’ve been producing short videos that teach singers of all levels to perform and appreciate the traditional music of the Catholic Church: Gregorian chant. Singing in the original Latin text, these two scholars wish to share the beauty of the music that led them to discern their vocations.  They have 20,000 followers.

https://aleteia.org/2020/09/15/dominican-seminarians-reach-a-large-audience-teaching-chant-on-youtube/

Tucker interviews virologist from China

"As it happens, February 6th, that day the paper went online, was also the date of the first coronavirus death in this country. The American media had every reason to pay attention to what the Chinese scientists found. But they didn’t. For nearly two months, the paper was all but ignored by news outlets. On March 31st, this show broadcast its contents. By then, more than 3,700 Americans had died from the coronavirus. Tens of thousands were hospitalized. We imagined there would be a serious national effort to find out where the virus came from, and how the pandemic started. But we were wrong. There wasn’t. There was silence. Once again, the people in charge of our public health infrastructure simply ignored credible evidence that contradicted the Chinese government’s version of events."

Tucker talked to the virologist who fears for her life and fled China. It's not from nature, and the release was deliberate.

Which candidate for president is chummy with China? Biden. Facebook suppressed the video of the interview. Which candidate does Big Tech support? Biden. They've "fact checked" her and pulled her account, but they covered something completely unrelated from months ago.

Facebook and Big Tech believe in censorship.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/09/17/tucker_carlson_on_youtube_silencing_coronavirus_opinions_this_is_what_state_media_looks_like.html

I trust vaccines, but not Trump says Biden

Joe Biden says he trusts vaccines, he trusts science, but he doesn't trust Trump! Is Trump in the lab? Is he lining up the diverse group for the clinical trials? Of course not. He's promoting and pushing money to the firms doing the science. This vaccine has moved faster than any in history and multiple firms are working on it. All because of Trump's leadership. Biden is instilling hate, anger and distrust. How’s that for keeping people calm.  How’s that for hope? Who in the world would ever trust a vaccine with Biden's leadership? He has politicized science (although that had already been done in academia). If he wins, will he start all over because President Trump had provided the money? Probably. He wants to lockdown the entire country and raise taxes--why not start over and keep us really helpless. He hasn't read the distribution plan, but says he doesn't trust it--in fact, I think he said (with help from the media) that there was no plan in place. Biden is an anti-vaxxer. Last night I talked to a friend in the pharmaceutical business and am much encouraged. Time to toss Biden into the dust bin of history along with other socialists.

2019 crime statistics were decreasing

Before the current staged riots which have increased crime rates for 2020 in major cities, crime was decreasing. (Nine police have been shot in St. Louis since the death of George Floyd)  That must have made some CEOs of victim groups like BLM and ANTIFA very uncomfortable. It made Trump look good. Here's what happened in 2019--fewer women were assaulted and the cities were safer than 2018:

The rate of violent crime excluding simple assault declined 15% from 2018 to 2019, from 8.6 to 7.3 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.

Among females, the rate of violent victimization excluding simple assault fell 27% from 2018 to 2019.

There were 880,000 fewer victims of serious crimes (generally felonies) in 2019 than in 2018, a 19% drop.

From 2018 to 2019, 29% fewer black persons and 22% fewer white persons were victims of serious crimes.

The rate of violent victimization in urban areas—based on the NCVS's new classifications of urban, suburban, and rural areas—declined 20% from 2018 to 2019.

https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv19_sum.pdf?

The Census and critical race theory

Why did the Left oppose a citizenship question on the 2020 census? Why wouldn't the government want to know during enumeration how many are citizens? For over 40 years various interest groups have been artificially dividing us into racial and ethnic groups--they've created victim groups based on the Civil Rights movement and Act of 1964. There's a lot of money involved just for the pickin', and ready made jealousy and finger pointing that can be used for agitation and demanding more.

By emphasizing citizenship (but not ethnic ties), the government tells all people, but especially immigrants and their children, that it is concerned with their relationship not with the land of their ancestors but with the land to which they now belong. But how can you build grievances with such an outlandish idea.

https://www.heritage.org/government-regulation/report/eliminating-identity-politics-the-us-census?

The Census Bureau’s National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations (NAC) was created by Barack Obama in 2012. But not out of whole cloth, it was birthed in the "1960s and 70s, when the census office first began to create National Advisory Committees on race and ethnicity. It was in those heady days of postmodernism’s birth—when Marxism in its academic form was embarking on “the long march through the institutions”. The definitions of ethnic groups were etched into law. Each of the pan-ethnic groups that racial activists and government functionaries were adding to the census and other government surveys at the time (“Hispanics,” “Asians,” “Pacific Islanders,” etc.) were the subjects of a special census committee, starting in 1974. Four decades later, the Obama administration pulled all the difference committees into one giant NAC." We almost got (or maybe it's still in the works) MENA, Middle East and North Africa so yet another group could get a piece of the budget pie and a slice of power.

I suppose you could call it part of Obama's legacy. Suspicion, jealously, bean counting, inventing new words for differences, redistributing wealth based on grievances through special grants and poking "whites" (anything from Swede to Welsh to Spanish to Serbian) in the eye. When you understand how critical race theory academics have helped create identity groupings, you'll be better prepared to understand the distrust and unrest among artificially created groups are being churned today.

https://quillette.com/2018/10/23/inside-the-us-government-agency-where-identity-politics-was-born/?

Why do rich capitalists support Democrats?

People ask why Democrat billionaires, who are devoted capitalists, support Biden who says he'll be the most progressive president in our history. That's code for socialist/Marxist. Usually that's not good for capitalism. After all, the Soviets used to kill a peasant for owning one cow. Communism hasn't become kinder.

So here's the dirty little secret about capitalists. They want to make money. They can make more by getting the government to tie up other businesses in red tape or to shut them down completely with local, state and federal regulations. If they can make more buying off Union bosses, that will be done. It's part of overhead. If they can make more greasing the palms of senator XYZ in North Carolina than senator LMNOP of Illinois, they'll move the business south. It's the cost of doing business. Right now, many large corporations and entertainment venues (like sports) are really into "woke." One guy has the name of a rapist on his helmet. Kaepernick was encouraging the death of cops years ago. It's still about the money, and if it's blackmail, then it's just the cost of doing business.

Filibuster memes going around

The longest filibuster was the Democrats fighting the Civil Rights Act in 1964, 60 days. "Fact checkers," always on the side of the Democrats, are quick to point out these were "Southern Democrats," and it wasn't really as long as the memes say, but they never point out that Republicans are the ones who got it passed, and Republicans had passed the 1957 Civil Rights Bill. Democrats filibustered that one, too, and tried to water it down.

https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1951-2000/The-Civil-Rights-Act-of-1957/?

Building a movement on victimhood

Did you ever wonder where and how we got the word, the made up word, "Hispanic?" Mexican Americans were just "white" in the census count "back in the day." They were proud to be "Americans," were working for assimilation. Same with Indian Americans like Nikki Haley and Bobby Jindal. In the government reports for socioeconomic issues, they were "white." But leftists needed voting blocks, so they modeled a movement based on the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s among American blacks. People with no cultural, social or demographic affinities were lumped together--Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Colombians, Hondurans--or Chinese, Cambodians, Pakistanis--and organizations like "La Raza" were created to convince them they were victims and underserved. And it worked. Today we call it identity politics. They are all called, People of Color (POC) even if one grandparent was German the other Korean, to convince them of their victimhood. I call it a crime.

"They had the law on their side: a federal district court ruled in In Re Ricardo Rodríguez (1896) that Mexican Americans were to be considered white for the purposes of citizenship concerns. And so as late as 1947, the judge in another federal case (Mendez v. Westminster) ruled that segregating Mexican-American students in remedial schools in Orange County was unconstitutional because it represented social disadvantage, not racial discrimination. At that time Mexican Americans were as white before the law as they were in their own estimation."

Mike Gonzalez. https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/the-invention-of-hispanics/?

Killing a child because the MOTHER is disabled

Is this coming to the United States pushed by pro-abortion Democrat politicians like Harris and Biden and Pelosi? They insist they are “progressive,” and in modern language, that means abortion on demand for any reason at any point in the pregnancy. If China and England can rule against the mother, then why not a progressive U.S.?

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/06/murder-disguised-as-care

The author, Obianuju Ekeocha is founder and president of Culture of Life Africa and lives in the UK. Ethnically, she is Nigerian.  We’ve met her before—she achieved some name recognition when she called out Nancy Pelosi for cultural appropriation for wearing the Kente cloth stole to create a rather odd tribute to George Floyd. Here’s the scene: White powerhouse politicians pretending to be black knelt the length of time that presumably killed Floyd (the autopsy showed it was drugs). Odd beyond measure.  But on to the article . . . 

In this article she discusses the role of Justice Nathalie Lieven of the UK Court of Protection. She rules against the life of an unborn Nigerian Igbo child whose Catholic mother and grandmother do not wish to have her aborted.  It’s chilling how this woman has worked her entire career to take the lives of the unborn and to insert in law that parents do not have rights.

I followed up on this and found that a higher court ruled against this activist judge and for the mother and grandmother. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-uk-appeal-court-stops-forced-abortion-for-disabled-woman

Ironically, the Judge said she didn’t think the 22 year old mother understood what it meant to have a baby—that to her it was like a doll.  Well, then, what’s the excuse for the women and doctors/abortionists, college educated and financially stable who DO understand it is a viable baby at 22 weeks, and still choose an abortion?

A great week-end at Lakeside

A lovely concert in the park this afternoon at Lakeside. Bright sun, gorgeous lake views of Kelley's Island. A group from the other end of Lake Erie, Buffalo, NY, singing canal and folk songs. We've also spent the week-end with many friends, including 2 couples from our home church in Columbus, UALC, who have supported us through this difficult year. Judi and I enjoyed time on the hotel porch this morning. Yesterday we watched a wedding with Rob and Lynn on the hotel lawn--wedding vows in Lakeside are VERY public. 

 Photo from our neighborhood wine and chocolate gathering for our 60th on Friday evening in a neighbor's yard.

 

Critical theory and race

This is how Marxism's critical race theory works to dismantle the family with our tax dollars. I'm guessing this is part of the CARES Covid19 grant, although I haven't checked. Ohio State University got $300 million and requirements for its use is pretty loosey goosey.

"[The] next Lean In speaker on Monday, Sept. 28 from noon–1 p.m. Collins Airhihenbuwa, PhD, MPH, will explore how structural racism is at the core of health disparity and must be dismantled to achieve health equity and social justice. In this lecture, he will discuss ways in which critical race theory can be used to unpack structural racism for sustainable anti-racism actions needed to achieve health equity and social justice locally and globally."  Health Beat, Sept. 11, 2020

It is no paranoid, right wing conspiracy theory that academe is riddled with this. They do not hide it, and we pay for it, in more ways than we can imagine as young adults are infected with hate for the West and America and gather to burn down our central cities. Public health publications and conferences are smothered in this critical theory "research."

The speaker was born in Benin, Africa (formerly Dahomey, which was a center of the African slave trade before the European  colonial era--it was very lucrative) and lives in Georgia where he founded U-Rise. I checked the organization and it's all about 1619 and the pandemic of racism. The business address seems to be a condo or apartment. I suspect he's the one employee. It's that way with a lot of reeducation camp workshops that have been hired by universities, churches and corporations for at least 2 decades, maybe more.

Why OSU needs to outsource these workshops on racism, I have no idea. Not only are there bloated departments of diversity in every college, but the administration has its own Diversity and Inclusion department established 40 years ago.

September 11, 2001

Remembering that terrible day, September 11, 2001. I was sitting in my office upstairs, and Bob hollered up the stairs to turn on the TV. But for about 24 hours we were united in our fear, pain and patriotism. My siblings and I all called our father. Why I'm not sure. But it was just a comfort to hear his voice. Then the attacks on President Bush began from the media. Why did he not anticipate this; how could he not know; there were 100s of warnings, tips and false alarms; why did he stop and hesitate while reading to children, and on and on. Drip, drip, drip. The media were building doubt and distrust.

There was another similarity. It was a very small terrorist group that brought America to its knees. Same as today. But 19 years later, the group is internal. As you see the memorials for 9/11 (probably only on Fox) today, recall the "defund the police" chant from Leftist anarchists and Black Lives Matter. They do not honor our country, our culture, or our lives. No lives matter, especially not black, to Marxists and anarchists.

Many millennials do not remember this date. When I was young, we were reminded in school, literature and movies what December 7 was. Hollywood was in our corner (or pretended to be) then, and the evening news was 15 minutes--if we had TV (and my parents didn't). There was a small cadre of fellow travelers in every profession, every school and many corporations, but they were mostly ignored. They were patient, and we were weak, enjoying our freedoms and material goods.