Covid hospitalizations and deaths in Ohio since January 1

On the local news tonight I saw that 2,652 fully vaccinated people in Ohio had been hospitalized, and 646 had died, since Jan. 1, 2021. On the other hand, among the non-vaccinated 44,406 had been hospitalized and 13,326 had died since Jan. 1, 2021. Biden was handed the vaccine, and his people had the benefit of incredible research all before taking office. His administration has struggled with bureaucracy, mixed messages, and scary bullying of the unvaccinated. They obviously were caught off guard by Omicron variant. His CDC ignores natural immunity, and other already approved drugs that could help and which other countries are using. Now test kits are running out in Ohio. This is trusting science? Somehow, there are still Democrats giving Biden a thumbs up for his handling of the pandemic. It's a mystery that so many Americans will accept a tyrant and king.

Year end report from the Lakeside Women's Club

President Barbara Browning sends Christmas greetings:

As I think about last summer at Lakeside, I cherish all the friendships that I have made through the Lakeside Women’s Club. When someone asks me, “Why should I join the Lakeside Women’s Club?” I can honestly say, “For the wonderful friendships that you will make.” Many of you were strangers to me when I became President, but now I consider you a valuable part of my life and my Lakeside experience. Last summer 238 people attended the book discussions, 255 women attended the Bible Studies, and 737 “Lakesiders” attended our Tuesday programs. Many thanks to Joanne Dempe for finding such great programs; to Beth Sibbring and Peggy Malone for leading our Book Discussion groups; and to Jeri Hoopes, Jane Linville, and Susan Eisenman for leading the Bible Studies. The 4 Porch Stories on Monday evenings, coordinated by M.A. Stephens, were at “room capacity” as Lakesiders shared their personal stories. Gretchen Curtis chaired the Book Reviews on Friday afternoons that were enjoyed by all!!

 
Patti Foley is going to be scheduling our Friday Book Reviews for next summer. If you have read a great book and would be willing to share it with the group, please contact Patti.

The Corner Cupboard brought in over $1500 last summer. Thanks to Judy Haines for a record year!! And, thanks to Barb Hoffman, our librarian, who sold $490 of used books!

Wendy Stuhldreher delivered 25 bags of American Girl Doll Clothes to the Columbus Ronald McDonald House and 24 bags to the Morgantown, West Virginia Ronald McDonald House, 54 bags in all. Ironically, Detra Bennett delivered 54 blankets to the Salvation Army, 30 of which were made by Gretchen Curtis.

The Lakeside Women’s Club Board met last week to make plans for the 2022 Season. At this point in time, we have sold over 870 cookbooks! That’s amazing for 3-6 months! Thank you everyone for your support! The LWC Broad also voted to donate $250 in memory of Joan Price for the Storybook Trail. What a wonderful way to pay tribute to a woman who brought books to so many children at Green Gables. We can’t wait to see the Lakeside Storybook “Trail” next summer!

Franny Cranfield, our Green Gables hostess, has started taking reservations from those women who stayed with us last summer. We give them”priority” until January 2nd, when we open the reservations to everyone. If you need to house your “overflow” women guests at Green Gables, or you need a reservation for yourself, be sure to call Franny at: 419-798-4734.

Many of our guests want to know when the Quilt Exposition and the Cottage Tour will be so that they can plan their Lakeside stay. The Quilt Exposition will be July 21st, and the Cottage Tour will be July 28th.

Byrdie Stocker, our new Membership Chairman, will be contacting you next Spring about renewing your membership. Last year we had over 235 members which made over $6,000 in dues and donations - let’s go for even more members this summer! Invite your Lakeside neighbors to join us! The more, the merrier!! I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday with family and friends!! Being in Lakeside for the Christmas weekend was like living a Hallmark movie! We are so fortunate to have such a loving, caring community.


 

Preparing to be called to account--Maria Von Trapp

 Last night we watched the movie, "Sound of Music" the fictional account of the Trapp Family singers starring Julie Andrews. Christopher Plummer who played the father, died this past year, and I looked up the actors who played the children.  Two of them have died within the last 6 years. The music is charming and has aged well.

Movie vs. Reality: The Real Story of the Von Trapp Family | National Archives

'The Sound of Music's von Trapp kids: Where is the cast now? (nypost.com)

The November 2021 Magnificat magazine featured an essay written by the real Maria who died in 1987.

"I was alone in the hospital in Vienna, my family hundreds of miles away.  As I lay there with eyes closed, waiting for death, I heard the doctor say to the nurse that it wouldn't make any sense to try to contact the family.  It was definitely too late for them to reach me.  Although the doctor talked in a whisper, I could hear him very clearly.  All my senses seemed to merge and concentrate into the one sense of hearing.  I noticed that while I was opening my eyes wide, I could see nothing, although it was 10 in the morning.  Sight was gone.  I heard the rustle of the sheets as the nurse removed them from the foot of my bed, and I heard her hand gliding over my feet and her voice when she said, "Her feet are already cold," but I couldn't feel it.  touch was gone.

"Am I dying?" I wanted to ask, but I couldn't move, couldn't speak.  And then hearing also stopped, and there was a silence more intense than any silence I can remember.  The body might have been helpless, but the soul was wide awake and in full possession of its faculties.  Undisturbed by the outside, memory was keener than ever before.  And in this anguish of a last agony the soul passed once more through its past life, seeing everything so much more clearly.  Although nothing is to be seen, the soul senses very sharply the presence of an evil power which wants to influence it to give up: the sins are too many and too horrible to allow any hope.  But it also senses another spiritual power present.  It may be the guardian angel soothing the soul, reminding it, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow: reminding the soul of the bottomless mercy and love of the heavenly Father whom it is to meet very soon now.

And then?  Well, I did not die.  But for the rest of my life I shall be grateful for those most precious moments.  Afterwards I found out that this seems to be a general occurrence and not just my private experience.  They say the sense die slowly, one by one.  Therefore, we should take great care what is said and done in the presence of the dying.  While they are fighting their last decisive battle, it would mean such a help if they could hear us talk to them about the mercy of God, about having trust and confidence.  One day we shall have to take that same step too.  This might be the best preparation.  And when everything is over and one of our beloved has died, we should remember the words of the Revelation of John:  I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord henceforth." "Blessed indeed," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them." (Rv14:13)."

Maria von Trapp (from Let Me Tell You about My Savior, New Leaf Press, 2000)

Update:  When I posted a link to this on Facebook, the "fact checkers" placed a warning label on it!  

Christmas season thoughts

 Our son used to call me in the middle of the week and paraphrase what the sermon was about at his church, Gender Road Christian Church. the previous Sunday.  Had a great memory.  Not me.  The sermon is gone by the time I leave coffee time (which this week included donut holes). Aaron Thompson is a fine preacher, probably the best on our staff, and I know it was good--from Isaiah 55--but by the time I chat with a few friends it's gone.

I always enjoy seeing the young couple with 7 kids.  They are all beautiful and well-behaved, and even with that new baby that was baptized 2 weeks ago, mom is as slim and trim as a teen-ager.  I particularly watch the fourth one--we prayed for him for weeks and weeks after he was born because he was a preemie.

Yesterday I attended at our Mill Run location the second funeral in a week--Tim Robison.  I didn't know him, only his wife, but by the end of the service I really wondered why God called him home (b. 1960). He had such a fine record of service for God--even as a young man. We definitely need more men like that, and his wife and two young adult sons also needed him.  We will always miss our brother-in-law Bob, whose service we attended on Monday in Indianapolis.  He was 88 and it was wonderful to see his family who had been with him his last weeks.

The final candle in the wreath arrangement at UALC was lit today as we sang Oh come Oh come Emanuel.  I couldn't help but recall that terrible Christmas of 1976.  I think that was the year.  At that time each Sunday during advent had a different family come forward and light the candle, and it was our turn at the early service.  At the later service, another family had the honor.  The next day, the mother of that family shot and killed her husband, 2 of her children and the dog, with a third child escaping the tragedy and running to a neighbor. Then she turned the gun on herself. It was so awful the congregation was reeling for weeks.  And now I can't remember their names. 45 years ago.

How we got here--explained in clear language

 Bishop Robert Barron explains the complex chaos of today, the ideologies behind the riots and violence, based on philosophies of two 19th century and two 20th century philosophers.

1.  Marx

2. Nietzsche

3. Sarte

4. Foucault

Atheism. This is critical to all of them.   Oppressed and oppressor. Class struggle.  Control of language. Culture of self-invention.  Being and non-being. Existentialism. Death of God. Power.

Ideas have consequences. https://youtu.be/8KQcm0Mi5To

Pope Francis--deliberately cruel? Insecure? Misled?

Why is he restricting the traditional Catholic Latin mass? The World Over program Thursday Dec. 16, 2021.  Treating the old rite like a virus.  It has been flourishing, why is he squelching it when Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI approved it?  Why are some Catholics treated like second class citizens?

https://youtu.be/erDcQxjo-4c

PETER KWASNIEWSKI, senior fellow at The St. Paul Center in Steubenville, OH, and FR. GERALD MURRAY, canon lawyer and priest of the Archdiocese of NY discuss new instructions expected from the Vatican on the implementation Pope Francis' moto proprio on the Traditional Latin Mass. The World Over with Raymond Arroyo airs on EWTN Thursdays at 8pm ET. It re-airs on Fridays at 1am & 9:30am ET, and Mondays at 10pm ET.

This reminds me of another situation.  An old man with unpopular views in charge of a huge organization, but everyone wonders who is pulling the string?

Number is not rate

Tricky statement. Number is not rate. Of course, most women having abortions are white, just as most of anything in the U.S. is white. Most poor people are white. Most criminals shot by police are white. Where are the riots?

 
"Since 2013, most abortion patients have been white, non-Hispanic people. The only exception was in 2016 when Black, non-Hispanic people had the largest percentage of abortions by race." And notice "people" not women are having abortions? Crazy. (USAFacts)

While African-Americans constitute 32.2 % of Georgia’s population, 62.4 % of abortions in Georgia are performed on African-American women. By contrast, whites constitute 60.8 % of the Georgia population, but only 24.7 % of abortions were performed on white women. (Public Discourse) Even Planned Parenthood admits black women are 5x more likely to have an abortion than white women. Planned Parenthood preys on blacks, young, vulnerable and poor--of any race, but particularly blacks.

Advice from Kurt Vonnegut

In 2006, a group of students at Xavier High School in New York City was given an assignment by their English teacher, Ms. LOCKWOOD, that was to test their persuasive writing skills: they were asked to write to their favorite author and ask him or her to visit the school. It’s a measure of his ongoing influence that five of those pupils chose KURT VONNEGUT, the novelist responsible for, amongst other highly-respected books, Slaughterhouse-Five; sadly, however, he never made that trip. Instead, he wrote a wonderful letter. He was the only author to reply.
__________________________________-
November 5, 2006

Dear Xavier High School, and Ms. Lockwood, and Messrs Perin, McFeely, Batten, Maurer and Congiusta:

I thank you for your friendly letters. You sure know how to cheer up a really old geezer (84) in his sunset years. I don’t make public appearances any more because I now resemble nothing so much as an iguana.

What I had to say to you, moreover, would not take long, to wit: Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.

Seriously! I mean starting right now, do art and do it for the rest of your lives. Draw a funny or nice picture of Ms. Lockwood, and give it to her. Dance home after school, and sing in the shower and on and on. Make a face in your mashed potatoes. Pretend you’re Count Dracula.

Here’s an assignment for tonight, and I hope Ms. Lockwood will flunk you if you don’t do it: Write a six line poem, about anything, but rhymed. No fair tennis without a net. Make it as good as you possibly can. But don’t tell anybody what you’re doing. Don’t show it or recite it to anybody, not even your girlfriend or parents or whatever, or Ms. Lockwood. OK?

Tear it up into teeny-weeny pieces, and discard them into widely separated trash recepticals. You will find that you have already been gloriously rewarded for your poem. You have experienced becoming, learned a lot more about what’s inside you, and you have made your soul grow.

God bless you all!

Kurt Vonnegut

------------------------------------

I checked this on the web, and it appears to be authentic.  I met Vonnegut when I was working at Ohio State--probably 1968.  I remember standing in line to ask him a question.

Sir Ian McKellen Reads Kurt Vonnegut's Letter to High School Students: Make Art and “Make Your Soul Grow” | Open Culture

Kash Patel

Keep an eye on Kash. He's a good writer/investigator and a Trump supporter. I love his diversity. "Kashyap "Kash" Patel was born in Garden City, New York, to ethnically Gujarati parents who had immigrated to the United States from East Africa, via Canada, in 1970. He graduated from the University of Richmond in 2002 and earned a Juris Doctor from Pace University School of Law in 2005. He also received a certificate in international law from University College London.

Of course, any official from the Trump administration is being scrutinized for the January 6 protests. This was the so-called insurrection for which many are being held in gulag type conditions with not proper representation, It's a shame to our nation, particularly the hoax and hate filled Nancy Pelosi. No one has been charged with anything, and look how long it has been. Truly, these are USSR conditions.

Former Trump admin official Kash Patel meets with January 6 committee - CNNPolitics

Trump ally receives racist death threats following Jan. 6 panel subpoena (nypost.com)

https://youtu.be/0D--4g9YUzc Tucker interview with Patel. How does Christopher Steele still have influence in the main stream media when he's been proven to be an idiot? He should be in jail.

Jeanne Robertson, 1943-2021, her final show

 I loved her comedy--squeaky clean and clever.  This was her last performance in July 2021.  She died August 21, 2021.  https://youtu.be/XbnUHYxtYgI  Jeanne tells the story about her friend Norma Rose.

Jeanne Robertson, Humorist, Dies Unexpectedly After 'Severe Illness' (popculture.com)

(2) Facebook  During the pandemic she did a back porch show.

Her friend Patrick Henry whom she mentions in the above routine. https://youtu.be/poDyt882iRA

Her son Beaver at funeral  https://youtu.be/zzzTFdb_FaI

June's recipe for Butterscotch Pie

 My husband is well known locally and in his family for his dislike of corn.  What good midwestern boy could hate corn (includes corn on the cob, escalloped corn, fresh cut corn), but he does.  Little known except by me, is he also gags at the thought of eating anything "butterscotch," which would include caramel or toffee or pecan pie. So I was surprised when looking through one of my recipe book treasures, "Favorite Recipes from the One Dozen Mums" (1974, index cards attached with plastic binder) that his own mother had submitted "Butterscotch Pie" as one of her contributions to what was probably a fund raiser for her club:

1 C. brown sugar

1 C. milk

2 T. flour

yolks of 2 eggs

2 T. butter

Cook in double boiler until thick.  Put into crust previously baked & spread slightly sweetened beaten whites over the top.  Place in oven to brown very little.

That's it.  Pretty simple with no details.  I enjoyed some of her specialties like Goulash or spaghetti with garlic rolls, but don't recall ever eating home made pie at her home.

Humanized mice, Covid and bioethics

When I begin to read a medical article, and a phrase introduces a topic with, "Although Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott have promoted monoclonal antibodies while opposing vaccine and mask mandates, they're not a substitute for Covid-19 vaccines." 

You have to read it carefully, though. They are not against vaccines or masks, only the mandates. Opposing mandates is a political stance. It's about opposing growing totalitarianism, the huge failures of Biden and the lies of Fauci. This journal obviously is political too--JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association)

But here's my question for medical/scientific folks, because I'm way over my pay grade here: the monoclonal antibodies for Covid preexposure prophylaxis use 'humanized mice" in their development. Is that for testing or is some of that matter passed into our system? Using animals as chimeras is not new, but the bioethics of this seem to only be discussed in some committee locked in a closet in a research institution. Maybe in Wuhan?

'Humanized mice': Chimeras fuel quest to treat chronic diseases, cancer and even COVID-19 - Genetic Literacy Project

Part mouse, Part human - Science in the News (harvard.edu)

Blame for woke goes way back, embedded in academe

Michael Hurd posted a jolly photo of Michelle and Barack Obama linking arms with Jussie Smollett on Facebook, but I didn't care at all for the comments and blame posted with it. Conservatives weren't kind. Yes, what we were seeing may be three narcissistic black celebrities, but if you made your career in academe as I did, the roots and unraveling were there long before their time, 1970-2000. It was the privileged white professorial class, not a rising, wealthy privileged black class that embedded this oppressor/oppressed Marxist ideology into everything from elementary education to high tech/high touch culture. We're reaping what was sown. We allowed them to teach our children (who are now gen-x woke grandparents) and it took a tragedy like a totalitarian lockdown for us to "wake up" to "woke."

Power, abortion and the beltway crowd

If Roe v. Wade collapses because it is bad, made up law by SCOTUS in 1973 usurping Congress, it won't stop abortions. It simply moves the responsibility to the states. So why do Democrats become so hysterical about it? They can still kill babies. Power. Power shifts from DC to the state capitals. This has always been about power.

End Roe v. Wade: It's Time to Defederalize Abortion Policy | Mises Wire

What overturning Roe v. Wade could mean for Ohio - Axios Columbus

California Planning To Skirt Federal Law, Declare Itself A Sanctuary State If Roe v. Wade Overturned - FYI.com

States That Will Be Most Affected If Roe v. Wade Is Repealed | Stacker  (This is very pro-abort, and uses the term "pregnant person" which immediately flags the piece for what it is, but may contain useful information about states)

Abortion: U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments challenging Roe v. Wade - Deseret News

What exactly is "woke"

"When we “wake up” to the belief that everything is about the conflict of the oppressed versus the oppressor, and after we deconstruct our own inherited oppressive thinking and set out on a mission to dismantle everything in our inherently oppressive world view, then we are considered members of an elite class known as the “woke.” Everyone else, of course, is asleep."

https://edify.us/video/responding-to-a-world-gone-woke/

A lot of people using the word "woke," admit they have no idea what it means. Watch this and be informed.

Oppressed and the oppressor.  Sound familiar?  Sound like Marx? 

Deconstructing Critical Theory: Oppressed and Oppressor (holisticapologetics.com)

Woke capitalism is a sign of things to come | American Enterprise Institute - AEI

I think the TV advertising from Gillette a few years ago to Coca Cola insulting white consumers without addressing obesity and diabetes has really become ridiculous.  Now in 2021, 95% of the actors in TV commercials are black, and they appear to be wealthy, entitled, and just as addle brained as the white consumers of the 1990s. They tell a story the opposite of an oppressed minority marching for justice and reparations.  The corporations are reaching for the young, and they like to see themselves as "woke." 

"The U.S. industries most obsequious to Chinese audiences present themselves as socially, culturally, and economically progressive at home. The National Basketball Association, Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and major financial institutions are exemplars of the “woke capitalism” that has transformed the business landscape in recent years. GM cannot meet the demands of 48,000 striking workers, but it wants you to know that it supports wind power and gender equity. GE suspended pension benefits, but remains a signatory to the U.N. Global Compact, is a highly rated workplace according to the Human Rights Campaign, and received a State Department award for “inclusive hiring in Saudi Arabia.” (from the AEI article above)

It's not science, it's totalitarianism

 December 7th, 2021

A Constitutional Cure for Covid-19

by Marilyn M. Singleton, M.D., J.D.

Covid, Covid, Covid. Variant, variant, variant. Trust me, I’m the government’s highest paid employee, and “I represent science.” Show your papers, wear a mask, take a shot or lose your job. And the beat goes on for an infection where 99.95 percent of infected persons under age 70 years recover. It’s becoming clear that Covid-19 is not merely a disease but an excuse to concentrate power in the government.

It’s time for the political histrionics to stop. Multiple studies have shown that the consequences far outweigh any potential (and illusory) benefits of masks, lockdowns, and school closures. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director admitted that the current Covid-19 mRNA vaccines, while helpful in reducing deaths and hospitalizations, do not stop transmission of the virus. “Breakthrough” cases in vaccinated persons are on the rise. Moreover, the current vaccines likely are not effective for the new, likely less lethal Omicron variant. Public health experts opine that the SARS-CoV-2 virus (that causes Covid-19) and its multiple variants are becoming endemic. That means SARS-CoV-2 and its infinite number of variants will not be eliminated, but become a manageable part of the human-viral ecosystem.

Sadly, our government is not responding in accordance with the scientific facts. Instead, federal and some local governments are mandating more vaccines, culminating in proof of vaccination to engage in society and continue living as a normal human being. This is not science. This is nascent totalitarianism.

Two lines from the 1990 Cold War era spy film, The Hunt for Red October foreshadowed our government’s warp speed trajectory to authoritarianism. “Privacy is not of major concern in the Soviet Union, comrade. It’s often contrary to the collective good.” And a White House official casually boasted, “I’m a politician that means I’m a cheat and a liar.”

It didn’t take long for President Biden to tell the big lie. As president-elect, Mr. Biden said there would be no vaccine mandates. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (the third in line for the presidency) brilliantly illustrated the intersection of lying and privacy. As late as August 2021, Speaker Pelosi said, “We cannot require someone to be vaccinated. That’s just not what we can do. It is a matter of privacy to know who is or who isn’t.”

Without skipping a beat, the executive branch issued three separate vaccine mandates: all federal contractors (including remote workers), an Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) requirement for businesses with more than 100 employees, and a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requirement for employees, volunteers and third-party contractors of health care providers certified by CMS.

The judicial branch is fighting back against the President’s attempt to jettison the Constitution’s separation of powers clauses, a large chunk of the Bill of Rights, and Supreme Court precedents on bodily autonomy with these mandates. On November 9th, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals put the OSHA mandate on hold. The Court reasoned that the mandate “threatens to substantially burden the liberty interests of reluctant individual recipients put to a choice between their job(s) and their jab(s).” And “the loss of constitutional freedoms ‘for even minimal periods of time … unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.”

Citing the lack of congressional authorization and harm to access to medical care, on November 29th a Missouri federal district court placed a temporary halt on the CMS health care workers “boundary-pushing” mandate. The government planned to enforce the mandate by imposing monetary penalties, denial of payment and termination from the Medicare and Medicaid program. The ruling covers providers in Kansas, Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

On November 30th, a Louisiana federal district court blocked the CMS mandate issuing a nationwide injunction in a lawsuit brought by 14 states (Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia). “If the executive branch is allowed to usurp the power of the legislative branch to make laws, two of the three powers conferred by our Constitution would be in the same hands. … [C]ivil liberties face grave risks when governments proclaim indefinite states of emergency.”

That same day, a Kentucky federal district court issued a hold on the federal government contractors mandate, citing lack of authority of the executive branch—“even for a good cause”. The court reasoned that if a procurement statute could be used to mandate vaccination, it “could be used to enact virtually any measure at the president’s whim under the guise of economy and efficiency.” The ruling covers Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

The mainstream media finally reported on the toxicity and poor results of Dr. Fauci’s “standard of care” treatment, remdesivir. This prompted families to use the courts rather than watch their relatives needlessly die. Victories for patients are growing. A Chicago area judge recently ordered a hospital to “step aside” and allow a physician to administer ivermectin in an effort to save a dying patient. It worked.

People are tired of lies. When Google employees are signing a “manifesto” to fight the mandates, you know the seeds of revolt have sprouted.

Stand up for women

Claim it. If you are a biological bigot, claim it. I believe men and women are different. There is no such thing as transitioning, or transgender, no matter what the media and academe and Democrat administrations tell us. No matter how many doctors are paid huge sums to remove or remodel body parts; no matter how many counselors are aiding and abetting those who don't want to take a knife to their privates. Trans people don't exist. There may be a fraction of people born with sexual anomalies, but there are people without hands and feet, too, and we're not asked to change our language and culture because of it and pretend none of us have two feet. It's not just sports. Women are being hurt. Stand up for women.

https://youtu.be/r1QmLFtUemg

Time to review for this next crisis

Let's review. It was a mistake to close churches, libraries and outdoor parks and recreational areas, three institutions that strengthen mind, body and soul. Thousands of non-covid deaths could have been prevented if governors (and the managers of these institutions--like pastors and librarians) would have paid attention to the decades of research that show their positive social, economic and health benefits. I remind you, because at the rate Biden is going, it will happen again. In 2020, he said he had a plan. Now we know the plan, so be prepared.

Robert Poisal, 88, Indianapolis

Our brother-in-law, Bob Poisal, went home to Jesus at 3 p.m. on December 5. So many good memories these many years. I'm looking for a photo I call 3 Bobs and a Rick of my father-in-law (Bob), my brother-in-law (Bob), my husband (Bob) and my brother-in-law (Rick) playing cards together in California, but can't locate it. It was a happy time in 2003 when we gathered for the 90th birthday of the senior Bob. Bob and sister Jean visited us a number of times at Lakeside, we've shared so many Christmas and birthday celebrations, and most recently in October 2020 for the wedding of his great grandson Caleb.  We attended their 30th surprise wedding anniversary celebration at their church in a terrible snowstorm, and this past January we "attended" their 50th via Facetime due to our own health problems and the pandemic. In 2001 he came to Columbus to help get our home on Abington Rd. ready to sell, and then again to our current home to fix lots of small problems after we took possession. He was a master craftsman, he would help anyone, and never met a stranger. They used to spend their winter season in Florida--and all the neighbors loved to see them come and had their "to do" lists ready. He was a veteran of the Navy, and in 2014 his sons and grandson treated him to a visit to his Korean War aircraft carrier. Robert (his son) writes: "My best memory was a trip we took in 2014 to visit the aircraft carrier Hornet, the ship he served on during the Korean conflict in the early 1950's. The best three days a boy could ever spend with his dad. Seeing him sit in the Captain's chair, looking out over the flight deck is the best gift I could give him, and receive myself at the same time."

 

2020 Caleb and Shelby's wedding

 

2017 with Diva

  

Hornet visit 2014 with sons, grandson, son in law, and brother

2010 at Lakeside

Bob, Bob and Bob in 1970s

Update:  Found the 2003 photograph of the guys playing cards.

The Laptop from Hell--summary by Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee: Laptop from Hell--Election interference

"You know the basic story of how an apparently dazed and confused Hunter left his laptop at a computer repair shop in Delaware in the spring of 2019, only a few days before his father announced he was running for President, and how the FBI ended up with it in what I like to call “protective custody” (they were protecting Joe). Not only is it filled with video evidence of grotesque debauchery, but it also shows how Hunter and the family sold access to his powerful dad. In her book, Devine clarifies exactly what is on the laptop, what it tells about President Biden and the whole Biden family, and what China knows.

The publisher, Simon & Schuster, describes her book as “a treasure trove of corporate documents, emails, text messages, photographs, and voice recordings, spanning a decade, [providing] the first evidence that President Joe Biden was involved in his son’s ventures in China, Ukraine, and beyond, despite his repeated denials.”

Just as importantly, “it exposes the coordinated censorship operation by Big Tech, the media establishment, and former intelligence operatives to stifle the New York Post’s coverage, in a chilling exercise of raw political power three weeks before the 2020 election.” Recall that as the election loomed, Facebook and Twitter censored the breaking NYP laptop story, ensuring that most voters wouldn’t know about the Biden “family business” when they cast their ballots. The online reach of the NYP is 80 million! Social media essentially used their control of the news to interfere with the election. They wanted to shape the outcome, and they did.

(Note: incidentally, another new book that ties Big Tech to the election outcome is Mollie Hemingway’s RIGGED. There’s some good holiday reading material available right now!)

Recall also that when House Democrats were impeaching President Trump for allegedly even mentioning an investigation of the Bidens in a phone call to the president of Ukraine –- a fake whistleblower report turned this into something it wasn’t; fortunately, there was a transcript –- the laptop would have contained evidence showing this corruption was real. But the FBI kept quiet.
Senior intelligence officials covered it up, too. Just five days after the NYP published its first Hunter story, then-CIA Director John Brennan and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper led 50 former intel officials in signing an open letter, published in Politico, saying the material on the laptop had “all the earmarks of a Russian information operation.” This was made up --- they apparently hadn't even seen it.

Now, more than a year after Devine published her first stories about the laptop, she has a new commentary in the NYP that times nicely with the release of her book. She notes that many of those who voted for Biden are disenchanted now, as he has turned out to be a very different person from the man they thought they were voting for."

Media helped hide the real Joe Biden by censoring Hunter stories: Devine (nypost.com)

Morning devotions, Psalm 107

 When my devotions include a Psalm, I frequently turn to "Meditations in the book of Psalms," by Erling C. Olsen (1939). It was compiled from his weekly radio addresses which had a huge audience, and 107 was broadcast during 1936, the depths of the Great Depression.  That's what I enjoy about his thoughtful analysis--he is using writings 2500 years old with appropriate comments, then applying personal spiritual meaning good for any era, but often comments on the news of the day he was living. His comments about the political and economic situation of 1936 sounds as fresh as last night's news.

"We here in the east, and along the Atlantic seaboard, have no idea of the devastation that has been raging in the wheat belt, except from newspaper accounts and a few pictures that have found their way into the press.  I do not wish to appear as a calamity howler, for I know only too well that God is good and His mercy endureth forever [Ps. 107:1], and that He waits patiently for men to repent before He expresses Himself in judgment.  However, I must confess that I would not be surprised if God withholds His blessing from the earth in order to bring us back to an acknowledgment of His goodness and mercy.  When I think of the wickedness of men in high places, I say WICKEDNESS, in what has been called the "philosophy of scarcity,"** when by government edict men have plowed under their fields of cotton and wheat and other foodstuffs, and men have literally slain livestock, it is not surprising that God withholds His refreshing rains.  I do not desire to be intruding a politically partisan comment here; I am not interested in politics from that viewpoint and I do not believe it is the business of a preacher to meddle in politics; but I cannot avoid speaking the evident truth that this nation, from its President down, cannot smile away the responsibility of such godless, wicked doings."  He goes on to call for repentance as a nation and beg God to restore the land.

My mind slipped off the page to our own sick, godless administration--demanding lockdowns and mandates that send grocery store clerks, waitresses, nurses and truck drivers to work while millionaires and politicians frolick and party unmasked, that calls tattoo parlors and bars essential, but closes churches, that demands more and more of what isn't working now for political gain, not health of the nation. I closed the volume; Biden could be the feckless FDR who in the drought of 1934-1936 ordered farmers to destroy their crops and kill their livestock.

** It would be difficult to find a fair and unbiased history of that era--FDR is still considered the savior by the Democrats who led us out of the Depression and a devil many by Republicans who launched government programs that have enslaved millions and never ended after the crisis was over.  But in a philosophy of scarcity one sees the pie as fixed and others must give up some of their share.  This is the opposite of expanding wealth so everyone benefits.  It's now probably called redistribution, reparations, sharing the wealth, or even the Green New Steal (my term).

How far can we fall?

In the 19th century women led the way for the big three--abolition and then civil rights and education for former slaves, temperance with its strong social impact on families, and woman's suffrage which included custody of their own children. And now? In the 21st century women are demanding the right to kill their own children, more rights for criminals who are killing black citizens, and the right to gender transition so they don't have to be such silly, ignorant women.

Abolition, Women's Rights, and Temperance Movements - Women's Rights National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

Women and Abolitionism | The Abolition Seminar

Abolitionist Movement — History of U.S. Woman's Suffrage (crusadeforthevote.org)

History of the Movement | Westerville Public Library (westervillelibrary.org)

A note from Christmas 2000--on abortion

 Came across a note I'd written to a friend in December 2000. We had been in a small group together through our church and had attended her wedding.  She and her husband had moved on later and we'd lost touch for awhile. (Now it's been 20 years and I have no idea where she is.) Sounds like today's case before the Supreme Court. This is the only part I'll share:

"This week I wrote the year-end checks to cover our tithe--we figured we were about $2500 short because we never know until the end of the year what our income is. So I made contributions to a Library in honor of Mom and Dad, Billy Graham, Lakeside, Cat Welfare (enclosed a photo of Lotza Spotza), Lutheran Bible Translators in support of the Toenjes family, Bible Literature International, and Pregnancy Decision Health Centers (anti-abortion). Keeping children alive and translating the Bible into new languages are the two most important of the group, as far as I'm concerned. Technically, Cat Welfare isn't a church tithe, but I think taking care of stray animals and not killing them is something Jesus would do, just as he wouldn't kill babies who arrive at inconvenient times.

I believe abortion is the defining issue of our time as was slavery 150 years ago. Each era has its problems it needs to solve. The difference is 150 years ago Christians (particularly women) were in the forefront trying to reverse a terrible crime against humanity, now women are the great perpetrators. The church just falls in line and tries to pretend it will go away if no one speaks out. The ethical standards of Christians seem to be no different than the rest of society."

A heart warming story--if it's not real, just don't tell me

I have no idea who wrote this and usually I can track these viral "feel goods," but this one is illusive. It appears on many blogs, bulletin boards, company news sources, and Facebook posts.

“In 1979, I was managing a Wendy's in Port Richey, Florida. Unlike today, staffing was never a real problem, but I was searching for a someone to work three hours a day only at lunch. I went thru all my applications and most were all looking for full time or at least 20 hours per week. I found one however, buried at the bottom of a four-inch stack that was only looking for lunch part-time. His name was Nicky. Hadn't met him but thought I would give him a call and see if he could stop by for an interview. When I called, he wasn't in but his mom said she would make sure he would be there.

At the accorded time, Nicky walked in. One of those moments when my heart went in my throat. Nicky had Downs Syndrome. His physical appearance was a giveaway and his speech only reinforced the obvious. I was young and sheltered. Had never interacted on a professional level with a developmentally disabled person. I had no clue what to do, so I went ahead and interviewed him.
He was a wonderful young man. Great outlook.

Task focused. Excited to be alive. For only reasons God knew at that time, I hired him. 3 hours a day, 3 days a week to run a grill. I let the staff know what to expect. Predictably, the crew made sure I got the message, "no one wants to work with a retard."

To this day I find that word offensive. We had a crew meeting, cleared the air, and prepared for his arrival. Nicky showed up for work right on time.

He was so excited to be working. He stood at the time clock literally shaking with anticipation. He clocked in and started his training. Couldn't multi task, but was a machine on the grill. Now for the fascinating part.....

Back in that day, there were no computer screens to work from. Every order was called by the cashier.
It required a great deal of concentration on the part of all production staff to get the order right.
While Nicky was training during his first shift, the sandwich maker next to him asked the grillman/ trainer what was on the next sandwich. Nicky replied,"single, no pickle no onion." A few minutes later it happened again. It was then that we discovered Nicky had a hidden and valuable skill.

He memorized everything he heard!  Photographic hearing! WHAT A SKILL SET. It took 3 days and every sandwich maker requested to work with Nicky. He immediately was accepted by the entire crew. After his shift he would join the rest of his crew family, drinking Coke like it was water! It was then that they discovered another Rainman-esque trait. Nicky was a walking/talking perpetual calendar! With a perpetual calendar as a reference, they would sit for hours asking him what day of the week was December 22, 1847. He never missed.

This uncanny trait mesmerized the crew.

His mom would come in at 2 to pick him up.

More times than not, the crew would be back there with him hamming it up. As I went to get him from the back, his mom said something I will never forget. "Let him stay there as long as he wants.
He has never been accepted anywhere like he has been here." I excused myself and dried my eyes, humbled and broken-hearted at the lesson I just learned.

Nicky had a profound impact on that store. His presence changed a lot of people. Today I believe with every fiber of my body that Nicky's hiring was no accident. God's Timing and Will is Perfect.

This Christmas, I hope we all understand what we are celebrating. We are all like Nicky. We each have our shortcomings. We each have our strong points. But we are all of value. God made us that way and God doesn't make mistakes. Nicky certainly wasn't a mistake. He was a valuable gift that I am forever grateful for. We are celebrating the birth of the ONE that leveled the playing field for all of us. God doesn't care if you are rich or poor, republican or democrat or black or white. He doesn't care if your chromosome structure is perfect. He doesn't care what level of education you have attained.

He cares about your heart. He wants us all to love and appreciate the gift HE gave us on Christmas, His son, the Savior, our salvation. His Son that was born to die for our sins. To pay our debt. To provide us a path for eternity. So this Christmas, let’s check our hearts. There is a little bit of Nicky in all of us and I suspect there is a Nicky somewhere in your life that is looking for the chance to be embraced.

Thank God for that. Thank God for His perfect gift, Christ Jesus.”

New sources of information on the Internet

When I find a new website for information, I browse a few articles for bias (verbs and adjectives), then if that's acceptable and they haven't insulted my intelligence, race, or religion, I look at the "about us" section. Usually, the highest ranking editorial staff are youngish females, usually white. But if I work my way through ownership to the boards and corporate details, it's about 80% white male. Then trapped in the department of DIE, diversity inclusion and equity, there is a minority staffer, usually black, and usually female.

 
Today I was using Balance.com to read about debt and deficit in government budgets; I'd used it before--good articles. Then scanned a bit and found out it is owned by Dotdash.com. Did my usual personnel search. Yup.

Then I did a Wikipedia search on Dotdash and see it used to be About.com and at one time acquired the Chinese company Abang, with a similar make-up and somewhere in the mix was the New York Times (2005). Then I really got into the weeds with Barry Diller who whose IAC (bought Dotdash 2017) recently acquired Meredith (120 year old media company from Des Moines--aka Better Homes and Gardens) 2 months ago. https://www.iac.com/press-releases/iacs-dotdash-announces-close-of-meredith-transaction? Whew. Diller created Fox Broadcasting and owns 150 media brands. He started his career in the mailroom.

My note to IAC investor comment: "I don’t know if I have any IAC investments, but now that I’ve examined your information, I do see you own something I hate—Daily Beast. It’s evil, Leftist, and angry. Now you’ve acquired Meredith. What a stretch. An icon in the history of American journal publishing dating the devil. Sigh."

Resisting the jab, the mandate, the government

Why half of Americans may be rejecting the Biden mandates--and it's not necessarily just the virus jab.

1. Distrust of government agencies. The FBI and other agencies spied on Trump in 2016. They knew Clinton campaign had created the false documents.
2. Congress colluded. Especially Adam Schiff who kept insisting he had the evidence.
3. The Democrats paid for all that mess.
4. James Comey, a so-called Republican, knew about the scam.
5. Media colluded to flood every news report with Trump's guilt and the lies the Democrats and FBI created. Gaslighting around the clock.
6. Key Republicans fell in line or kept quiet about the collusion and crimes of government agencies working with Democrats.
7. Fake impeachment about Ukraine.
8. Media cover-up of Hunter Biden's influence in Ukraine and China.
9. Big Tech involvement in silencing Trump and his supporters; Big Pharma profits.
10. The imprisonment and gulag treatment of the J6 protestors while ignoring the Antifa and BLM led riots by both Congressional leadership and media.
OK. So now we have mostly the same players. Just substitute CDC for FBI. Then media and Big Tech supporting and covering for Biden instead of back stabbing Trump. Then substitute "passports" and more encroachment on freedoms for the J6 unfortunates. Finally, continue to pay a government bureaucrat who thinks he's the science god, and you've got

                                        MANDATE RESISTANCE. 

No trust in anything this government/ administration recommends, demands or reports as "science" or "safe."

Melissa uses Paris Hilton's recipe for brinning a turkey

This year, I did a dry brine for the first time. Usually, I soak the bird in salt water and some other things. Instead, I pulled a recipe from Paris Hilton's cooking show. Yes, she has one. No, she cannot cook. That's the premise. A rich girl who has always been fed learns to cook. Anyway, I'm sharing the recipe with you here because it turned out so great that it's going to be my new go-to:

Salt 1/2 Cup

Sugar 1/2 Cup

Ground black pepper 1/4 Cup

Garlic Powder 1/4 Cup

Dried Thyme 1/4 Cup

Dried Oregano 1/4 Cup

Dried Sage 2 TBSP

Dried Rosemary 2 TBSP

Paprika 2 TBSP

Rub this all over, in and out, place in fridge uncovered, overnight.

Next day, take a soft stick of butter and grease down the skin, under the skin.

Cut 1 apple, 1 lemon, 1/2 onion and put in the bird.

Pour 1 1/2 cup of white wine (I used red) into the bottom of the pan.

NOTE: The thing that scared me is that it seemed like all the fluid came out of the turkey came out after the brine and that I'd end up with Chevy Chase's turkey from Christmas Vacation. I went with it, though. Turkey turned out fine and flavorful. Loved it and it produced a spicy gravy that was also excellent. Highly recommend!

Critical Race Theory where you don't expect it--the county extension agent

CRT by any other name is still CRT. And it's in places I didn't expect. This blog essay is about County Extension (your tax dollars flowing from Washington DC to Ohio State to Extension). This is Marion County, Ohio, population ca. 65,000. 90% white, 6% black.

"Since 2017, Marion County has redefined what it means to be a Family and Consumer Sciences Educator. Traditionally focused on building healthy people, residents have called on FCS in Marion County to respond to the conditions that underpin health inequity: racism, ableism, sexism and other forms of injustice that presently and historically exist in the community. The most significant part of my job is to redistribute material and financial resources from the university to support community-led initiatives and programs. For example, most recently I mobilized activists, community residents, artists and community-accountable scholars to participate in collaborative and emergent dreaming, writing and drafting of a new program, Marion Dreamkeepers. The program and research study elevated youth of color as leaders for racial justice and exemplified community responsive, collaborative, creative work in Extension. I (Whitney Gherman) offered a critical and reflexive understanding of theory and young people led the way of implementation, providing insight to their lived realities and perceptions as well as new ways of facilitating Extension programs."

 There's more of this DIE--diversity, inclusion and equity at the OSU extension website, but let's look a bit further.

This grant and proposal is based on a program and theory of Gloria Ladson Billings. I looked her up and . . . "Gloria Ladson-Billings is a Jewish-American teacher and pedagogical theorist who is known for her teachings of diversity and critical race theory."

 
There are 15x more poor whites in that county than poor blacks. I wonder just how inclusive Ms. Whitney Gherman is or if she only sees skin color. Before Whitney worked as an anti-racist and intersectionality specialist (she uses the pronouns she/her/hers), she worked for University of Michigan. In her OSU bio she is identified as a critical race theorist.

What concerns me is, "health equity" is the new buzz word. Public health and behavioral health are related. Smoking, drug use, obesity, lack of exercise and sexual behavior are the big issues in health care costs. They are also related to poverty, and most poor US citizens are white. Who is ever reminded of that when told of "racial and ethnic health disparities?" These problems show up as early as age 2 according to CDC. But with government bureaucrats and racialists chasing racism, where is the concern for the economically disadvantaged white rural or city child? Also, due to the epidemic of drugs (aggravated by our border policies), I believe that is now a bigger problem for whites than blacks. If Extension is looking for problems to solve, perhaps they could do better than telling blacks they are victims, and whites they are oppressors. "Mobilizing activists," unless they are snatching alcohol and cigs out of the hands of obese children, really won't do much for Marion, Ohio, or your city.

All universities engage in research and teaching, and our more than 100 land-grant colleges and universities have a third mission — extension. It was created by the USDA in 1914.

There are thousands, maybe millions, of Whitneys in our education system from kindergarten up. What's in your county system?

Saying good-bye to my old address book

I've updated my Christmas address book. The paper one, bought in 2008. I had so many cross outs and referrals and scribbles, it was unreadable. I know I bought a few extra at the time because they were only .99 cents, but I can't find the others. Some of the younger folk are just e-mails--not even a phone number. My first and second degree living relatives are much harder to track than my 6th cousin twice removed in my genealogy--those folks from the 1800s stay put!

First, I ran a copy of my 2021 x-mas labels for our Christmas cards. Then I ran a 2nd copy for 2022 because I'm changing computers in a few days and doubt this very old database program will work on Windows 11. Then I ran a 3rd copy for a new address book. I put those in a new notebook, neon pink so I can see it. However, many of the old scribbles were important, like phone numbers and e-mails, so then I hand wrote those in. At one point, spread out on the dining room table, I had my old address book, our condo address list, our Lakeside directory, and the old UALC directory (which is now on line and very inconvenient).  Then I went through the old one and counted those I've crossed off due to death. 65. Then I was sad.

No one in the Q's or X's on my list, but the S's are bursting their seams. Should have allowed more pages for S--is your address book like that?

Columbus' 180th murder, 2021

 One of the news gathering services when I opened my computer this morning told of a 30 year old black man shot during a fight, taken to Grant hospital where he died.  A woman, Judith Tatum, has been arrested and bond is set at $1 million. From his photo, he's been in trouble before and has a rap sheet (I'm guessing).  According to an earlier TV report on crime in the city (big increase in the last year), 2/3 of the murders are black on black crimes, and many go unsolved because the community doesn't "snitch" and distrusts the police.  According to data demographic sources, 54% of Columbus is white, and 29% black. Yet the media would be exploding at this moment if the young man had been killed by police.  Black on black crime is ignored by media. It just doesn't sell.  And a female killing a male in a fight should get it buried even deeper.   Consequently, in many cases, the perps are still on the street and the crime continues. I don't know if Columbus is plagued by the loosey-goosey white DA's like they have in Wisconsin when a racist career criminal who had posted his hate on social media was left to roam the streets and killed 6 and injured 60 during the Christmas parade.  That seems to be the liberal obsession these days--to turn as many blacks to crime and failure as possible.  What worse form of racism is there?

Uncovering 2020 voter fraud

Meet the Technology That's Uncovering 2020's Voter Fraud | American Thinker

Phantom voters, the definition, is morphing from fake voters hiding in UPS boxes to people who advanced computer models predict will not vote.

Don't get me wrong — there are thousands of phantom voters living in churches, R.V. parks, cemeteries, homeless shelters, hotels, and virtual mailboxes. It's just that there are as many, perhaps more, who live active, healthy, honest lives on voter rolls. They just don't know they voted.

You've heard the stories, denied by the mainstream press and almost every secretary of state: there is no significant voter fraud. Why not say that? There is no way you can check.

Now there is.

After the 2020 election results stopped in the middle of night and vote trajectories magically changed when they fired up again, thousands of people, just like you, didn't buy it. They formed armies of canvassers in 35 or more states. They did something that has not been done at scale in the history of the country: they started checking voter rolls.

They did more. They filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests at unprecedented levels. Secretary of state offices, once a murky sinecure, had to answer real questions about what was going on.

 
Here's what popped out.

Leftists are different from you and me. Unlike us, they care that every vote is cast, and if you do not cast your vote, they will do it for you. And they did. At scale.

In one midwestern state, voter rolls costing tens of thousands of dollars were bought by a billionaire leftist every month for over a year. Why would someone buy a list that doesn't change much?
Voter lists show people who move. They show people who never or seldom vote.

 
The white hat canvassing team built a query for one state: "voters who voted in 2020 who never voted before." Guess what! 265,000.

Witness statements are being gathered, lots of them, that in the largest city, election officials were trading cell calls about how many votes were needed, and someone was then providing the phantoms to meet the quota.

They knew the names of the phantoms — they had direct access to who voted, who didn't, and who was likely to never show up.

These canvassing organizations are the Minutemen of this generation. They come from every background, organize with no central leadership. They blindly figured out how phantom voting was happening, and they are forcing states to audit their voter rolls.

They aren't blind anymore. They are organized. They have resources and technology, and things are about to change in a big way for phantoms.

Read more  American Thinker  Meet the Technology That's Uncovering 2020's Voter Fraud - American Thinker

The failures of fighting this virus

The lockdowns failed, the masks failed, the social distancing failed--the mandates have caused ruined careers, open rebellion among unions and trades, a lost 2 years of schooling for the most vulnerable, terrible supply chain problems, and we have more Covid deaths than in 2020 when we had no vaccine. Treatments with inexpensive and safe products have been ridiculed and kept off the market, Big Pharma and Big Tech are acting like departments of government, censoring us. Dr. Fauci is still acting like the mini-god of SCIENCE and Biden walks around mumbling conflicting advice and demands. What a way to ruin a country. Almost like it has central planning like Russia or Venezuela or Cuba.

Home safe after my accident on Black Friday

We had a lovely Thanksgiving.  Beautiful church service and then dinner at the home of our daughter and son-in-law.  We spent some time trying to load our Christmas card, but gave up on that.  On Friday, "Black Friday," I had my hair cut and styled, and Bob and Mark headed for Lakeside for a final leaf raking.  Bob needed more lights for our deck, so on my way home I decided I'd go to Lowe's which is across the river.  As I turned on to the bridge I hit some black ice (it was snowing) and Bob's little SUV began to spin, and I swung around into the oncoming traffic (wasn't hit) and slammed into the concrete wall on the north side. I knew the river was far below and was afraid the car might be thrown over the rail into the cold water. The air bags went off, as did the front bumper.  I could feel pain in both knees, which I first thought might be broken (I was wrong).  A woman pulled her car over, called the squad which had a station about a mile west, and then came to my door to see if I was OK.  I don't carry a cell-phone, so she retrieved my purse and I gave her my daughter's number.  She told her she had called the squad and would stay with me.  The squad at first told me they'd take me to an urgent care, but when they saw my arm (large hematoma) then changed it to Riverside Hospital, very close to our home.  The ER checked me over pretty carefully, I had a nice nurse named Brian who had interesting stories to tell and loved his job as a nurse.  I had a full body scan and nothing was broken.  Visiting in ER is more generous than the regular hospital, so we soon had the whole family there.  My daughter had called Bob and Mark who were about to Bucyrus, and they turned around and drove to the hospital. By 10:30 p.m. there was finally an available room and I was transferred and made as comfortable as my bruises would allow.  I was finally home about 3:30 on Saturday. On Monday Bob and Mark went to the impound lot to retrieve items from the car.  It was sad--Bob loved that car--it was 21 years old and only had 115,000 miles, and never had any mechanical troubles--got good mileage, too.  I'm safe, sore and bruised, but nothing broken. The scans did show some structural problems I didn't know about, which I'll check out with my doctor.

Update with photos:

  

Friday

  

 

Wednesday

Biden says Delta is "broken"

What a joke this man is. More people have died of Covid under Biden than under Trump. And he had the head start with the vaccines and months of research. More people have had Covid in the highest mitigation areas than in the mask free areas. HCQ and IVM have saved many lives despite Fauci's trashing them. Now they are hyping Omicron. The Left wing media are in full swing again, pumping up the sales from Big Pharma.

Catholics off the rails--the Pew Study and USCCB

John 6:66 "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him."  

 Bishop Robert Barron addresses the problem that 70% of Roman Catholics believe the real presence is symbolic.  This problem was also addressed at the recent gathering (November 15-18) of U.S. Bishops. Many had hoped there would be condemnation or at least mention of Catholic politicians who push abortion, support same sex marriage and gender confusion. That didn't happen. This speech is from 2020, and lays the ground work.

https://youtu.be/UzCPu_lEhe8

One-third of U.S. Catholics believe in transubstantiation | Pew Research Center

"BALTIMORE — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted overwhelmingly to approve a teaching document on the Eucharist Wednesday that caused a great deal of controversy in its June meeting due to concerns that its section on worthiness to receive Communion would be perceived as aimed at prominent pro-abortion Catholic politicians like U.S. President Joe Biden.

The document did include a section on worthiness to receive Communion, reminding the faithful that “if a Catholic in his or her personal or professional life were knowingly and obstinately to reject the defined doctrines of the Church, or knowingly and obstinately to repudiate her definitive teaching on moral issues” they “should refrain” from Communion, but contained no references to specific politicians. Compared to the three hours of heated debate its drafting spurred, there was only about a half-hour of comments from bishops before its passage by a vote of 222-8, with three abstentions."

It seems the document leaves it up to the local bishop, so Biden and Pelosi will continue to thumb their noses at the church and Jesus.

US Bishops Try to Keep Focus on Eucharist, Not Politicians, in New Document| National Catholic Register (ncregister.com)

The document "The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church" was developed by the Committee on Doctrine of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). It was approved by the full body of the USCCB at its November 2021 General Meeting and has been authorized for publication by the undersigned.

The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church | USCCB

The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church.pdf (usccb.org)

Should Biden get Communion given his abortion views? Catholics split by party | Pew Research Center

THOMAS AQUINAS - SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST - Quotes (crossroadsinitiative.com)

Spinal Health for Thanksgiving

Dr. Ken Hansraj, spinal surgeon 

1. Maintain good posture the entire time. Proper digestion only occurs when we are sitting up straight. Good posture is defined as ears aligned with the shoulders and the “angel wings,” or the shoulder blades, retracted. In proper alignment, spinal stress is diminished. Recent studies show that gastric emptying is significantly delayed in the supine position when compared to a sitting position.

Furthermore, “If you’re slouched over your plate, food cannot travel to the stomach in time for your body to tell your brain it’s getting full; it can take twice as long; thus, causing you to eat twice as much leaving you full and tired.

2. A brief family meditation for peace and happiness. Coming back together as a family means leaving many personal worlds of happiness, sadness and development behind. Take time out to honor and recognize this transition. Sit quietly together, hold hands and briefly recognize the personal worlds. Then state an intention to have a great family get together.

3. Deep Belly Breathing: Deep belly breathing helps with digestion of food by enhancing motion of the belly and its food contents. Deeper yet though it serves to improve the motion of the spinal segments, spinal cord and nerve roots, and it increases the cerebrospinal fluid motion and distribution. Deep breathing might also decrease the swelling of the deranged spine joints and the nerve roots causing less pain. Deep belly breathing in itself will help you to feel better.

Dr. Ken Says” A deep breath of clean fresh air is as soothing to the body as a large glass of cool water on a hot summer day” so place your hands on your belly and breathe deeply to feel your belly move. Repeat this all day.

4. Small bites and small breaks will allow you to enjoy a steady-paced meal without needing to slow down or stop eating entirely. Take small bites of the highly caloric sides like mashed potatoes, stuffing and cheesy casseroles, but load up your fork with Turkey and string beans. Take a 5-minute break between each helping to allow your stomach to catch up with your eyes.

5. Chat, “Take time out to engage in and enjoy the conversations around the table. When you are actively engaged and fully involved in a fulfilling conversation then you spend less time eating and more time feeling externally better. The craving for food and internal satisfaction diminishes” Ask each person how they are doing. Find out about their little inner workings in life. Your family will manifest happiness, and then you become happier leaving you with less of a desire to binge.

6. Savor your desserts. Use a demitasse spoon to eat. This spoon is diminutive, smaller than a teaspoon. Allow the dessert to sit on your tongue for a minute. Allow the two to 8 thousand taste buds on your tongue to delight in the vanilla or chocolate, cinnamon, and other contents. Feel the texture and temperature of each bite. Train your taste buds to enjoy and delight in the taste and textures. Otherwise you become involved in volume consumption. This is where you eat so much to feel that your belly is full.

Dr. Ken says, “Evening out the trajectory of a meal that can last 3-4 hours takes some purposeful technique. On average, it takes between 12-14 minutes for our bodies to recognize we’re full. Keeping this in mind, begin your dinner with small thoughtful fork-full and pay attention to your body’s signals. It will tell you when to take a break, so you can save room for dessert!

7. Mini Chair Exercises (bends and twists) help you keep your blood pumping and metabolism working. Bending to the right or left (as if you were picking up a fork you dropped) and sideways twists (like you’re greeting a guest behind you) are two small, but effective ways to help your body digest.

Dr. Ken says, “Small range-of-motion exercises help ensure your body’s digestive functions keep up with your food in-take and your blood pressure remains stable. This will help ward off headaches, cramps and gas at the dinner table.

8. After Dinner Walk. Schedule a family walk after dinner. Walking helps digestion of food and builds a togetherness of the tribe. It is a great family routine to build. People start to feel better because the spine joints and the spinal nerves start moving with walking. One of the fastest ways to develop back or neck pain is to remain stagnant. When the spine joints and the spinal nerves do not move, then they can cause pain.

Dr. Ken Hansraj is a New York based spinal surgeon who has dedicated more than 20 years of his life to helping people in every country improve their spinal health. Dr. Ken’s LIFT: Meditations to Boost Back Health releases January 1, 2022 wherever songs are sold.

How far is it to Bethlehem?

Start the day with a poem. "G.K. Chesterton’s beloved wife, Frances, had a special devotion to the Nativity. It was Frances, not Gilbert, who wrote the original poems for the Christmas cards they would send to their friends each year. Her lovely poem, “How Far Is It to Bethlehem?” has been set to music by several different composers."

How far is it to Bethlehem? Not very far.
Shall we find the stable room lit by a star?
Can we see the little child, is he within?
If we lift the wooden latch may we go in?
May we stroke the creatures there, ox, ass, or sheep?
May we peep like them and see Jesus asleep?
Great kings have precious gifts, and we have naught,
Little smiles and tears are all we brought.
For all weary children Mary must weep,
Then here, on his bed of straw, sleep, children, sleep.
God in his mother’s arms, babes in the byre,
They sleep as they sleep who find their heart’s desire.

The cost of Thanksgiving dinner

There's a lot of discussion about inflation and the cost of Thanksgiving dinner. Farm Bureau tracks this and my figures are from that website. The 2020 dinner for 10 was $46.90, a decrease from 2019 which was $48.91.

The 2021 dinner for 10 is $53.31, up 14% over 2020, which was the Covid year, and a decrease from 2019. However, the 2017 cost was $49.12, or 23.1% cheaper that 1986 ($63.87 in 2017 dollars).

I'm math challenged, so will some genius tell me if the 2021 dinner is cheaper than 1986? No matter how you slice it, it's still a good deal.

Greetings from the Lakeside Women's Club President

 Happy Thanksgiving!

We have so much for which to be be thankful, not the least of which is Lakeside! Thank God that 4 Methodist ministers bought a square mile that we now know as Lakeside. We are so blessed to be able to come to "this little piece of heaven on earth" each summer and enjoy all it has to offer. Another blessing is all the wonderful women who make up the Lakeside Women's Club. Sometimes I am asked, "Why join the Lakeside Women's Club?" My answer would be that you can make the most amazing friendships, enjoy the wonderful educational programs, participate in the Bible Studies and Book Discussions, and access the library. You belong to a very special organization that gives to others by knitting blankets for the Salvation Army and sewing doll clothes for the Ronald McDonald Houses. The Lakeside Women's Club created a wonderful "Cottage Cooking" cookbook and held a Quilt Exposition for all to enjoy last summer. Next summer we hope to be able to have our annual Cottage Tour! Your LWC Board is meeting in December to approve our budget for 2022. Having sold almost 900 cookbooks, we are doing well financially now! We will be discussing how the Lakeside Women's Club can celebrate Lakeside's Sesquicentennial. If you have any ideas, please let us know. We want to make 2023 a special year!

In the meantime, we are planning for the 2022 Season. 

 The Afternoon Book Club has chosen:

Hamnet by Maggie O'Ferrell

A Single Thread by Tracey Clevalier

This Tender Land by William Kent Kriueger

The Paris Library by Janet Skelsien Charles

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

The Breakfast Book Club will be discussing:

The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve

The Road to Bittersweet by Donna Everhart

Travel Light, Move Fast by Alexandra Fuller

The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris

The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain

I am reading my way through these lists of books so that I will be able to go to the discussions next summer. Frankly, my summers are so busy at Lakeside, I don't have a lot of time to read, so I try to read the book discussion books during the winter. Then I skim them right before the discussions.

The "Reading the Bible in a Year" group will be discussing: 2 Samuel, 2 Corinthians, 1 and 2 Kinds, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Psalms 42-66. Again, I read these "books" during the winter and take notes, so I will be able to join the discussion next summer. Jeri and Jane do a fabulous job leading those discussions!

Thank you all so much for contributing your various talents to make the Lakeside Women's Club such a wonderful organization. You all are a blessing to me and the Lakeside community!

Kyle Rittenhouse trial

Jurors deliberated for a total of 26 hours and found Rittenhouse not guilty on five counts including first-degree reckless homicide, two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment. Judge Bruce Schroeder had previously dismissed two additional counts related to his weapon.

Kyle Rittenhouse found not guilty on all counts in Kenosha trial | Fox News

My friend Bonnie, a retired police officer, posted this on Facebook:

For those saying justice was served, I strongly disagree.

We have a standard in this country that no one is charged without probable cause: facts or circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to believe a CRIME has been, or is going to be committed, and that the person being charged committed, or was going to commit, that crime.

These prosecutors went forward with charges knowing all evidence supported self defense. Self defense is not a crime. Justifiable homicide is not a crime. You do not take away the liberty of a citizen and make them prove their innocence and ruin them financially when you know from the evidence there was no crime committed. This one wasn’t even close. This was self defense on trial. And this was malicious prosecution.

I have many examples of self defense cases with far less threat to the person using that self defense, and no charges were brought. The law didn’t change in the past couple of years, no matter how many riots!
Justice will be served when prosecutors like these are disbarred!