Children in restaurants

On Facebook, sometimes people toss out a question that thousands respond to. Today I noticed this one from a minor celebrity (I remember he made a movie about 15 years ago):

Honest question #603:

"Is there anyone out there in FB-Land who would like to try and defend the practice of going to a nice, quiet restaurant and allowing a child (or oneself) to watch a movie on a tablet (or phone) with the volume turned up LOUD for all nearby to hear (if they want to or not)? So loud that that those sitting near you can no longer hear the house music?

In my sphere, this seems to be happening with increasing frequency. Is this becoming an epidemic, or… is it just me? Is this just the new normal? Just curious, please feel free to rebuke me at will… I am all ears, truly…"

My response:  I haven't had that experience, but I do remember taking our toddlers to restaurants occasionally (early 1970s), and other customers stopping by our table complimenting us on their behavior. One man at Friendly's on a Sunday morning after church (who ran a different restaurant) actually picked up our tab because he'd seen so many poorly behaved children at his restaurant. So, it must have been the same back then, but not with our family.

Ben Carson Podcast--Aaron Kheriaty

Dr. Ben Carson has a podcast, and here he interviews Dr. Aaron Kheriaty who has a new book, "The new abnormal; the rise of the biomedical security state." We're now about 1100 days into 2 weeks to flatten the curve. In 2019, none of us would have believed what we've been through since early 2020, the liberties we've lost. (I had a "fact check" splashed across my post about Tucker's showing the security footage about J-6). Although Biden has announced the pandemic was over, none of the emergencies, federal, state or corporate have been sun downed. Our churches can be closed again, and our pastors and boards haven't organized to stop it. They should.

 
https://youtu.be/pnu5o4gOT1o

Home | Aaron Kheriaty, MD He lost his job at University of California for publishing an article in WSJ on the medical ethics of these lockdowns/lockouts. Much more is known now, than 3 months ago when this podcast was recorded. He's been vindicated, but still had to start his career over.

"Lockdowns were never part of conventional public health measures. In 1968, an estimated one to four million people died in the H2N3 influenza pandemic; businesses and schools stayed open and large events were never cancelled. Until 2020 we had not previously locked down entire populations. We did not do this before because it does not work; and it inflicts enormous collateral damage."

"Actual contagion risk depended on the total time spent in a room with an infected person and was mitigated by opening windows and other methods of improved ventilation, not by staying six feet apart. Plastic protective barriers erected everywhere actually increased the risk of viral spread by impeding good ventilation. We had already been psychologically primed for over a decade to accept pseudo-scientific practices of social distancing by using digital devices to limit human interactions."

"Since the 1980s, reported loneliness among adults in the US increased from 20 percent to 40 percent even before the pandemic. Loneliness is associated with increased risk of heart disease, stroke, premature death, and violence. It affects health in ways comparable to smoking or obesity, increasing a whole host of health risks and decreasing life expectancy. . . "
The Quarantine of Healthy Populations ⋆ Brownstone Institute

Covid Student Loan Relief

You know, of course, about Biden's plan to forgive students loans and make people who never went to college or who already paid for their college (like the Bruces) pay for those who did borrow. But did you know how much the "pause" or Covid Emergency Relief and Federal Student Aid is costing us? $255 Billion as of March. The good thing is, it makes the $75 billion given to Ukraine not look so bad, right? President Trump began the pause, to last through December 30, 2020. Biden continued it, even though he says the pandemic is over, and even though employers can't find workers to earn the money to pay their loans. It's all part of the inflation which caused the Fed to raise interest rates to cool the economy, which in turn is helping create the bank crisis (and bad management, but that's another story). Everything is connected to everything else. The lockdown's damages in increased death, debts, and divisions among families and friends will not be known for years.

Trump Suspends Student Loan Payments Through December 31 (forbes.com)

Student Loan Forgiveness Debacle Has Already Cost $255 Billion in Lost Federal Revenue - Minding The Campus

In May 2020 silencing alternate viewpoints was a threat

In May 2020 when our alliance between government and academe was leery of Trump and his populism/power, Harvard International Review could publish this: 

"In a time when accurate, scientific information is vital to the well-being of populations around the world, silencing independent media and dissidents is counterproductive. Since the pandemic has hit, the International Press Institute has reported hundreds of violations of media freedom. Radical transparency in communication should be the norm; part of the success of countries like Taiwan and Canada stems from their clear communication about government efforts."

Canada? What a joke.

Later with Biden in power, transparency and independent media were a threat to his freedom strangling administration, and all alternate viewpoints had to be fired, deplatformed or tracked for being against "democracy."

https://hir.harvard.edu/covid-authoritarianism/?

More opinions on bank failures

Patrick Bet-David and panel  Barry Habib, Adam Sosnick, and Tom Ellsworth dig into how Dodd-Frank contributed to the SVB collapse. Silicon Valley Bank Collapse | The Patriot Post

                          ******

"Our economic seas are so rough that the financial experts at SVB made a bad bet on U.S. Treasuries — one of the safest asset classes — and sank their bank. At the end of 2022, SVB was holding onto over $17 billion in U.S. Treasuries and another $91 billion in government-issued mortgage-backed securities (MBS) that function similarly to U.S. Bonds. These bonds were purchased when interest rates were 1.5%. As interest rates rose north of 5%, those bonds could only be sold for a substantial loss.

Inflation and rising interest rates killed Silicon Valley Bank, slowly moving their balance sheet out of balance. Depositors became suspicious and withdrew their money.:   Jessica Anderson JESSICA ANDERSON: Congress Killed Silicon Valley Bank | The Daily Caller

                        ******

“Remember that after 2008, the Obama administration, Eric Holder swooped in and imposed DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion standards on the entire financial sector, and that’s one of the main reasons our big banks are now increasingly incompetent and one of reasons Americans are so divided by race,” Tucker Carlson said. “Ideologues who used the 2008 bank bailout to kill American meritocracy, that’s a big step, mostly unacknowledged, but we are living with its consequences. So, you have to ask yourself, what are they going to do this time?” Tucker Carlson Wonders What The Federal Gov’t Will Get In Return For ‘Backstopping’ Deposits At Failed Banks | The Daily Caller

                    *******

“Interest rates spiked, right, because of inflation,” Bill Maher said to former Democratic presidential candidate and Forward Party founder Andrew Yang and Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin. “So, when Uncle Sugar was very generous during COVID, right? That was the result of that. That’s what caused the inflation, a lot of what caused the inflation. You cannot put $6 trillion that you don’t have into people’s pockets and not expect some inflation.” ‘Uncle Sugar’: ‘Generous’ Spending During COVID Pandemic Led To Bank Failures, Bill Maher Says | The Daily Caller

                     *******

"There are 186 banks across the country that could fail if half of their depositors quickly withdraw their funds, a new study published on the Social Science Research Network found. Even insured depositors — those with $250,000 or less in the bank — could have problems getting their cash if these institutions face the sort of run that Silicon Valley saw a week ago.

The concern is that these banks hold a significant amount of their assets in interest-rate sensitive financial instruments like government bonds and mortgage backed securities. The value of those older, low-interest investments dropped sharply as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates over the past year."

Nearly 200 banks could fail the same way SVB did: study (nypost.com)

                    *******

"Silicon Valley Bank, a lender that was a fixture in the venture capital space for decades, collapsed on Friday. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed SVB and named the FDIC as the receiver. The trouble started on Wednesday after SVB suddenly announced a plan to raise billions in capital to cover big losses, setting off widespread panic among investors and the tech founders they backed. Shares of the company fell by around 60% in Thursday trading, another 20% in aftermarket trading, and were halted at the open on Friday. Hours later, amid reports that SVB was struggling to attract buyers in a sale, the government took control. In the run-up to all this, SVB’s proxy statement, filed earlier this month, reveals that the firm’s chief risk officer stepped away from her role early last year, and the bank did not hire a replacement until this past January." SVB had no official chief risk officer for 8 months | Fortune

                  *******

"The broader problem, though, is that just as the government had created that brittle 2008 financial industry in the first place, with the too-big-to-fail regime that had begun in 1984, the government also created today’s self-satisfied tech industry. How did SVB’s deposits triple in less than half a decade? Why did Signature Bank start dabbling in crypto? Why on earth did anyone ever trust Sam Bankman-Fried to do anything?

The culprit is all the money the federal government has pumped into the financial system over the past 15 years. After the financial crash of 2008, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve wanted to revive the economy by spurring yet more cheap lending and borrowing, ignoring how it was cheap lending and borrowing that had crashed the economy in the first place; household debt levels already stood at record highs. . . " Silicon Valley Bank: Who's to Blame? | City Journal (city-journal.org)

               ******

"In big, bold type on its website, Silicon Valley Bank bragged that “44% of U.S. venture-backed technology and healthcare IPOs YTD [year-to-date] bank with SVB.”

To put it bluntly, this was a Wall Street IPO machine that enriched the investment banks on Wall Street by keeping the IPO pipeline moving; padded the bank accounts of the venture capital and private equity middlemen; and minted startup millionaires for ideas that often flamed out after the companies went public. These are the functions and risks taken by investment banks. Silicon Valley Bank – with this business model — should never have been allowed to hold a federally-insured banking charter and be backstopped by the U.S. taxpayer, who was on the hook for its incompetent bank management."

Silicon Valley Bank Was a Wall Street IPO Pipeline in Drag as a Federally-Insured Bank; FHLB of San Francisco Was Quietly Bailing It Out (wallstreetonparade.com)

Moody’s Downgrades Entire U.S. Banking System; Credit Suisse Plummets. Welcome to Banking Crisis 3.0 (wallstreetonparade.com)

Anniversary of our First date, 1959

St. Pat's Ball at The University of Illinois in 1959 was our first date. So, I made a special dinner --Donato's Pizza. We'd never had this Columbus specialty although we've lived here 56 years. It was very good. We got a large, "serious meat" pizza: according to a nutrition website, sausage, pepperoni, ham, bacon, 720 calories per serving, and enough sodium and fat for a week. However, it was a celebration.

https://www.mashed.com/484751/the-untold-truth-of-donatos-pizza/?

Columbus-Style Pizza - Donatos Pizza (experiencecolumbus.com)

  

Blessed Gabriele Allegra, 1907 - 1976, translator of the Bible into Chinese

At 18 I transferred from Manchester College to the University of Illinois. A private dorm, McKinley Hall, was recommended to me by a high school friend who was living in a sorority house. (Details are important in serendipity that changes your life.) The housemother knew I was taking Spanish, but didn't know that Brazilians spoke Portuguese, so she matched me with a young woman from Brazil as a roommate.  That's how I met my Chinese roommate, Dora Lee.  Her family had fled mainline China when the Communists took over and moved to Brazil.  Most of her many siblings had since relocated to the U.S. for college and jobs. And since 1958, I've always enjoyed learning about Chinese language, culture and history.

So, this morning I read about Blessed Gabriele Allegra in the March issue of Magnificat, and it piqued my curiosity. While he was in seminary he learned about a 14th century bishop who had begun a translation of the Bible into Chinese, and from that day he decided that was his calling. By 1937, he had a first draft, but it was lost due to the Chinese civil war, so he started over and a full Chinese Bible was published in 1968. In addition, he was a scholar in other areas, and helped and served the poor and diseased (particularly lepers).

Most of my life as a Lutheran I've heard about Martin Luther's achievement of translating the Latin Vulgate into the vernacular German, however he had at least 18 other translations, some predating his achievement by 100 years plus much scholarship to aid his efforts.  It looks like Giovanni Allegra first had to learn Chinese and then how to translate it (I don't know which dialect).

The cause for his canonization was started in 1984 by Bishop John Wu in Hong Kong, 8 years after his death. He was declared venerable by the Holy See in 1994 and his decree of beatification was promulgated in 2002. He was the only scripture scholar to be beatified by Pope John Paul II.

https://religion.fandom.com/wiki/Gabriele_Allegra

Saint Who? Magnificat, v. 24, no. 13, p, 207 https://youtu.be/8A5yeVHf5A8

For Dora's bio and a peek at her fabulous fiber art: DORA HSIUNG — gallery twist

The problem with ethanol

I only saw a few snippets of President Trump's speech in Iowa, and he was criticizing DeSantis' lack of support for ethanol, a big deal in corn-growing Iowa. He needs to do more research and change lanes. In my blog in 2007 I wrote about how ethanol degrades the environment based on information published in 2003. I had become interested in that topic when I worked in the Ag Library in the 1980s. I assume the technology and efficiency have changed in 20 years, but the basics are the same.

"But let's look at the ethics of ethanol.

 . . . about 29% more energy is used to produce a gallon of ethanol than the energy in a gallon of ethanol. Fossil energy powers corn production and the fermentation/distillation processes. Increasing subsidized ethanol production will take more feed from livestock production, and is estimated to currently cost consumers an additional $1 billion per year. Ethanol production increases environmental degradation. Corn production causes more total soil erosion than any other crop. Also, corn production uses more insecticides, herbicides, and nitrogen fertilizers than any other crop. All these factors degrade the agricultural and natural environment and contribute to water pollution and air pollution. Increasing the cost of food and diverting human food resources to the costly inefficient production of ethanol fuel raise major ethical questions. These occur at a time when more than half of the world’s population is malnourished. The ethical priority for corn and other food crops should be for food and feed. Subsidized ethanol produced from U.S. corn is not a renewable energy source." Abstract, "Ethanol Fuels: Energy Balance, Economics, and Environmental Impacts Are Negative," Natural Resources Research, Volume 12, issue 2 (June 2003), p. 127-134.

And he doesn't even mention the bioterrorism of a well-placed fungus that could wipe out the Americans' dependence on corn for fuel the way the potato blight sent the Irish running for a new country in the 19th century. Also, when so much of the world suffers from hunger is it even moral to use land to grow crops to run your cars? There's more:  Collecting My Thoughts

https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/corn-ethanol-bad-farmers-consumers-and-environment?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323826704578354260914712792?

Opinion: who was at fault for January 6 failures?

"If there was a security failure on January 6, and demonstrably there was, it was probably Nancy Pelosi's fault, and after looking at thousands of hours of footage, we came to the conclusion that many others have reached, which is the Capitol Police were not prepared for what happened, and that's fascinating when you think about it, because there was ample warning. The federal intel and law enforcement agencies knew perfectly well there could be a massive disturbance at the Capitol, but the frontline officers on duty that day didn't know and yet the people who kept that information from the frontline officers were overwhelmed by thousands of people milling around the Capitol building? The people who fell down on the job, who didn't do their job, they were not punished. They were rewarded, and you have to ask yourself, why is that? " Tucker Carlson, March 7, 2023 Fox News

California dreaming a nightmare

It's been a tough week for higher (hi-jacked) education in California, that formerly great state where conservatives used to roamed freely and had constitutional rights. Stanford Law students urged on by a DIE dean attacked, insulted and shouted down US Circuit Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan who was invited to address students; then Antifa was allowed to go after Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA at UC Davis who had been promised the right to speak (which he already had). They destroyed property in the course of illegally attacking an invited speaker. Kirk should sue the media and the chancellor Gary May for the lies they tell, naming names of reporters and both DIE administrators should be fired--they are the ones who poured gasoline on the hot grill. No one said or has ever said anything racist or homophobic, but that's the old, broken down, gray mare trotted out if the speaker disagrees with Leftists. Apparently, there are rich parents out there who are willing to shell out for their adult children to act like assholes, but maybe they agree with them.

Prager U on how many lies the media tell us

 https://www.prageru.com/video/lying-liars

A long list of the lies the media tell.

Prodigal evangelicals

 This is an amazing, beautifully articulate testimony about the wokeness in the Christian church.

Prodigal Evangelicalism: A Video Essay | Megan Basham | First Things

Megan Basham describes her experience of conversion into the evangelical church and present ideological pathologies growing within it. She discusses the rise of progressive moralizing and the threat it poses to both the nation and the ecclesial health of the evangelical church.

Seasons of life

 

Why would Antifa be assaulting the media for covering a rights event?

"Having lived in our nation’s capital for the past six years, I’ve seen my fair share of unruly crowds. From the inauguration of President Donald Trump to the death of George Floyd to the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, the radical Left has become increasingly more emboldened, straddling the line between peaceful assembly and violent mob.

But not once did I ever think that these groups would feel so empowered and assault a member of the media, in broad day light, in front of police and face no repercussion in the moment."

https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/03/11/antifa-assaulted-me-at-a-detrans-rally-heres-what-happened/?

What are Democrats afraid of?

Before we all fall for the lies about Tucker, Taibbi and Musk (who have been exposing the illegal censorship and disinformation tricks of subcontracting to non-profits or just lying) so soon after millions absorbed the lies from the J-6 Congressional clown show, let's just review the riots when Trump was inaugurated back in 2017. They weren't "mainly peaceful," the rioters were armed with hammers and bricks, it was before the George Floyd riots (but perhaps practice for the big show).  There was more violence than January 6, 2021 and Trump hadn't yet done a thing. No tax cuts, no energy boost, no middle east peace, no NAFTA reform, no border wall, no prison reform. After this protest, there was an anti-Trump women's march.  Remember the pink "lady parts" hats?  This hate has continued to this day. 

https://youtu.be/Mr0i6piW_ak

Using dogs in cancer research

We watched a repeat of 60 minutes tonight that included a segment on how dogs and humans share many genes and cancer research in dogs is helping humans. Cancer is actually more common in dogs, so there are more subjects for research. I was happy to see that glioblastoma (brain tumor) is also one of the cancers being studied. Our son Phil died 3 years ago of glioblastoma, and he loved dogs. After his Lab Rosa died, he began a pet sitting side gig. This cancer's treatment has been stuck (in my opinion) in slash, burn and poison for probably 60 years with little progress, so life expectancy is still about 6 months to a year when the tumor is found at stage 4.

Trial cancer treatments for dogs could lead to breakthroughs for humans (msn.com)

Efforts by the states to defeat DEI, CRT, and ESG

"The efforts in Florida, Arizona, Texas, and Missouri join a bundle of bills that have passed in other states in the past two years or are still pending. These bills either reject the discrimination of critical race theory or establish parents’ bills of rights or guarantee academic transparency. The Heritage Foundation has a handy state tracker that shows where the state of play is in every one of the 50 states.

To understand the significance of these legislative efforts, it’s important to revisit the threat to our national unity and the preservation of American civic order that the leftist agenda poses."

Mike Gonzalez, Daily Signal,   These States Are Leading the Charge in Fight Against Left’s Agenda (dailysignal.com)

Taibbi and Shellenberger Twitter testimony

The House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government held a hearing featuring testimony from independent investigative journalists Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger who were involved in the “Twitter Files,” a series of articles on how government agencies and lawmakers interacted with the social media company over content moderation.

Both men are highly respected writers/journalists, yet the Democrats tried to demean and insult their integrity and credentials.

‘Twitter Files’ Taibbi and Shellenberger testify before Congress - Deseret News

Matt Taibbi Opening Statement to Congress - COMPLETE Text and Video (substack.com)

Bret and Heather 165th DarkHorse Podcast Livestream: Skepticism ≠ Terrorism - YouTube

Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government Hearing on the Twitter Files - YouTube

Dr. Meryl Nass discusses how her career was ruined and she was silenced

 Dr. Meryl Nass SUSPENDED By Medical Board For Defying Mandates w/ Dr. Kelly Victory – Ask Dr. Drew - YouTube

After defying mask mandates & the CDC on COVID-19 treatments and mRNA vaccines, Dr. Meryl Nass was suspended by Maine's Board of Licensure in Medicine and ordered to undergo a psych evaluation. Though the board claims they received complaints about her medical practice, Dr. Nass says the complaints were fabricated by activists using targeted harassment to censor her freedom of speech.

 “The BOLIM, a regulatory extension of policies enacted by Governor Mills, was intent on silencing her,” said Gene Libby, Dr. Nass' legal counsel. Dr. Meryl Nass is a board-certified physician with over 40 years of experience in all areas of internal medicine. She is a nationally recognized expert on epidemics who has consulted for government agencies around the world, especially focusing on anthrax, Zika, Ebola, and biological warfare investigations. Follow Dr. Nass at https://twitter.com/NassMeryl and at https://MerylNassMD.com

Dear Conservatives, I apologize

Dear Conservatives, I apologize (Dr. Naomi Wulf, Democrat) Dear Conservatives, I Apologize (substack.com)

"I believed a farrago of lies. . ."

"There is no way for anyone thoughtful, even if he or she is a lifelong Democrat, not to notice that Sen Chuck Schumer did not say to the world that the footage that Mr Carlson aired was not real. Rather, he warned that it was “shameful” for Fox to allow us to see it. The Guardian characterized Mr Carlson’s and Fox News’ sin, weirdly, as “Over-Use” of Jan 6 footage. Isn’t the press supposed to want full transparency for all public interest events?"

"Sen Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate minority leader, did not say the video on Fox News was fake or doctored. He said, rather, that it was “a mistake” to depart from the views of the events held by the chief of the Capitol Police. This is a statement from McConnell about orthodoxy — not a statement about a specific truth or untruth."

"Jan 6 has become, as the DNC intended it to become, after the fact, a “third rail”; a shorthand used to dismiss or criminalize an entire population and political point of view.

Peaceful Republicans and conservatives as a whole have been demonized by the story told by Democrats in leadership of what happened that day."

You can read her entire piece, although she doesn't seem to catch on that the "mostly peaceful" meme repeated by Tucker was a reference to MSM journalists standing in front of burning buildings in 2020 claiming the Floyd riots were mostly peaceful.

Jesus Revolution and Isaac Watts

I haven't seen the new movie "Jesus Revolution" yet but reading through the history of the movie and the era, I realize it coincided with the years we became involved in the church in the late 1960s, first at First Community Church in 1967, then at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church in 1974, both in suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. So, our participation was more with small service groups within established churches, than with the worship movement. Whether or not we were aware of it, we were participating through prison reform, a fair housing group, marriage encounter groups, Cursillo, and the move at UALC to add a contemporary worship program to the regular Sunday schedule (which we no longer attend) beginning on week-nights crowded into the fireside lounge with guitar music.

 
This morning I was reading about Isaac Watts, born in the 1600s, and who as a teen-ager decided church music was too stuffy and boring and began to write his own hymns, which became very controversial, outraging many older church goers, but which also became extremely popular and spoke to the needs of the people. He wrote over 600 hymns, many we still sing today (Joy to the World, When I survey the wondrous cross), and paved the way for the more prolific Charles Wesley, who wrote thousands of hymns.

The Wesleys, John and Charles, went on to awaken and evangelize our country in the 18th century, and so the tradition of periodic movements to refresh and revitalize Christianity continues. And we saw it again last month in Asbury, KY.

David Clyde Bartow, 1939-2023

Sorry to learn of the death of my old friend and high school classmate, Dave Bartow. We had many sparing matches on FaceBook and many others chimed in on our arguments, but he was such a sweet guy. I think I last saw him about 20+ years ago at a reunion. I remember in high school he was an outstanding athlete and always had a big smile.

Obituary of David Clyde Bartow

David Clyde Bartow, 83, passed away on March 8, 2023. He was born July 11, 1939 to Clyde Orval and Elizabeth Mary (Schueller) Bartow, the youngest of five children: Bettie, John, Harry, Robert and David. He was raised in Mt. Morris, IL where he graduated high school after lettering in track, football and basketball. Dave enjoyed spending time with furbaby Copper, golfing, fishing, long car rides and watching the Chicago Bears. He wasn't a cold weather fan so he shared his time between Pensacola, FL and Columbus, WI. He is survived by his children; Terry, Steve and Tammy (Joe), grandchildren; Lisa (Jeff), Elizabeth (Grant) and Ashley (Ti), great-grandchildren; Kaiden, Kaliana and Lukas; ex- wife and mother of his children Marilyn (Maxey) Breunig; many nieces and nephews; as well as many good friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings. A memorial gathering will be held at a later date in Poynette, WI.

 

Looking back over 22 years of arts ministry

Bob will be leaving the Visual Arts Ministry of our church as of June 15, 2023. He has been with VAM for over 22 years. On April 5 he will be 85 and can no longer do the labor required to put a show together. It's very heavy work which begins with getting the ladder into the car, and then out of the car and up to the second floor, pulling out the hanging supplies from the VAM closet, and then arranging all the artwork on the floor before the others arrive to help. Bob has many fond memories and will miss all of the current members. For about 10 years after 9/11 (a meeting night) our little group met at Rusty Bucket to start off the church year and celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.

The ministry was developed with the opening of the Mill Run Campus in 2000, and the second floor corridor became the Upper Room Gallery, with classrooms available for check-ins and pick up of art, and good spaces for a reception. A few shows were held at Lytham Road Campus, most recently the 7th Annual Seven-day Art Challenge, The Bob and Norma Bruce show, and the Ned Neely show.  VAM supported many unusual and exciting shows like Blue Shoes (mentally challenged); the school children from Highland Elementary (2004) with the UALC volunteers; Columbus Dispatch graphic artist (Greek Orthodox) Evangelia Philippidis display of religious themes; Sibylle Custis, local artist active in women's art groups; photography of UALC member Bill Keintz of the Amish of Holmes County, Ohio; local architect and artist Dave Schackne; local artist Judith Vierow; the wildlife and world travels photography of OSU Professor Charles Capen, DVM; the Creche society show organized by members Donna and Dave Hahm; also a group trip to Akron for a show of Charles Close, photo realist; creation of our special Sacred Art Corner at Mill Run with the eclectic art of John Kohn of Delaware, OH; four programs VAM facilitated for the Thursday morning Senior Bible Study group and lunch--John Kohn, Pastor Steve Marshall, the chalk artist from Arizona, the internationally known watercolor portrait artist Mary Whyte of South Carolina, and Cody Miller, a local artist who worked with Good Will Industries; a very large retrospective show of the work of Gordan Keith, well-known local artist (then deceased) who designed the cross, candle sticks, baptismal font, altar pieces and Mary window for UALC; many shows for local artists' groups including Central Ohio Watercolor Society, Worthington Art League, Upper Arlington Art League, Digital Artists of Central Ohio, Women's Art Guild of Central Ohio, Westbridge Camera Club, and the Pump House Guys; and of course, our first show was our own "archives" show from storage of banners for the inauguration of the hanging system and in 2003 we began the annual UALC quilt group show.

  

Cody Miller Three kings

 

Pump House Guys

 

Highland School first grade art

 

VBS shirts 

 

Chalk talk 

 

Mary Window,  Gordan Keith, Lytham Rd.

 

Creche show

Quilt Show, Cross with verses

 

 

VAM meeting at Rusty Bucket 2010

 

Hanging a show after mounting the art of kids

 

The church at Mill Run

Other blog stories about the Visual Arts Ministry

Collecting My Thoughts  Scripture and trees.  About a purchase made by VAM in 2003.

Collecting My Thoughts  Lutheran Churches in Columbus Ohio.  This was a plug for our church mentioning the activities including VAM.  I think I wrote it because I couldn't find a listing on the internet. Interesting because a lot has changed.

Collecting My Thoughts  Blue Shoes Art Show in 2008

Collecting My Thoughts: Blue Shoes returns to Mill Run  Blue Shoes show in 2010.  These artists are all mentally challenged, and the social worker from the agency came to one of our meetings to talk about the artists.

Collecting My Thoughts   This blog was about Mother's Day, but last 3 paragraphs are about UAAL show at Mill Run in 2008.

Collecting My Thoughts  Ohio Artists Show, 2009 at Lytham Road Campus.

Collecting My Thoughts  Colored Pencil Show, mention of 168, Hilltop artist, and UAAL. 

Collecting My Thoughts: Fall Art Show at the Church at Mill Run  2009 show by members of UALC.

Collecting My Thoughts  The 2006 quilt show, with some history of the guild.

Collecting My Thoughts  Quilt show photos.

Collecting My Thoughts  This is about a photography show in 2003 by Joe Wagenhals, who had huge shows, and was either a member or regular visitor at UALC MR.   Also mention of an advent show, the quilt show coming up and the new hanging system. To Enter Press The Area Buttons (aworldofpictures.com) this is a link to Joe's photographs

Collecting My Thoughts  VAM show by watercolorist Jeri Platt of her paintings of Haiti  in 2008. 

Where we are today

The Covid studies showed in the early months of 2020 that those over 70, obese, or with other conditions were at risk, and younger people weren't. Not enough money in that, so after a vaccine originally limited to the vulnerable in early 2021, the rest of the country was railroaded into lockdowns and vaccines. Except the low-income workers. (Even though most poor people in USA are white, we're already getting the "systemic racism" of Covid lockdown studies). They got the privilege of being the cashiers and delivery people and the restaurant employees who got to feed and clothe the wealthier classes who stayed home and worked at their computers. Even the churches bowed to the pressure of being less essential than Kroger cashiers. Masks and lockdowns have since been proven ineffective in stopping the spread. Voting rules were set aside without the people's approval further creating divisions among citizens, friends and families. Vaccines have been only partially protective--a few months. Yet many of the mandates still are in effect; the vaccines still have emergency use approval supposedly because nothing else is available (which is forbidden to even mention). Biden slapped mandates on schools, corporations and government agencies with the help of Big Pharma and Big Tech after initially creating doubt in the vaccine because Warp Speed was a Trump policy, destroying careers and the economy as he moved on to the biggest drug of all--naked, raw power. FDR even with the Great Depression and WWII didn't have the power Biden does. To keep the power, the federal government then subcontracted censorship to "non-profit" misinformation agencies, so now we are swimming in lies and censorship caused by the very people who should be protecting us.

The J-6 set up to destroy Trump

The J-6 clown show lied to the nation about Jacob Chansley, Ray Epps, and Brian Sicknick and we've all seen the evidence now. The whole point was to destroy Donald Trump, not to find out what happened the day that Pelosi failed to protect the Capitol. Looks like there needs to be another investigation.

Now that Republicans (barely) control the House we're finally getting the truth about masks, lockdowns, and infections, what went on inside the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the disastrous pull out of August 2021 when Biden ran away from Afghanistan, killing Americans, Afghanis and letting Putin know he could attack Ukraine. Worst president in my lifetime.

The tapes of what else happened on January 6

 Tucker Carlson is drawing a lot of fire from both the GOP entrenched leaders, the Democrats who wanted to lynch Trump, and the Leftist Media, not to mention the hateful women on the View.  Why?  He showed more detail of the January 6 riots.  People armed with American flags walking around with police who didn't seem alarmed.  

The link between periodontal disease and arthritis

 They are now connecting the dots.  It was known there was a connection, but which came first?

"For many years, there had been suggestions that the oral bacteria causing periodontal disease might contribute to rheumatoid arthritis. For instance, past studies have found that periodontal disease occurs even more often in people with rheumatoid arthritis. People with both conditions also tend to have more severe arthritic symptoms that can be more stubbornly resistant to treatment.

What’s been missing is the precise underlying mechanisms to confirm the connection. To help connect the dots, a research team, which included Dana Orange, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, and William Robinson, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, decided to look closer."

Connecting the Dots: Oral Infection to Rheumatoid Arthritis – NIH Director's Blog

I had gum surgery for periodontal disease about 45 years ago.  I think I also had surgery for a frenectomy at the same time (removal of labial frenulum between front teeth).  Very painful.  Don't let them tell you it's no big deal. Anyway, until recently I've had no pain in my fingers.  Some in left hand now--don't know if it's arthritis or just old age.

Makes me want to leave the computer an floss.  

I've got a cold

So, on Sunday morning I realized I had a scratchy throat, my usual sign of a cold coming on, and I stayed home from church and took a nap. (I've since watched Joe's sermon on the Parable of the Sower at our on-line site).  My son-in-law brought me some Zicam rapidmelts, an OTC homeopathic cold remedy. Instead of a 3 day lead up to stuffy head and coughing and sneezing, I had only one day. My colds are usually 2.5 to 3 weeks--let's see how this turns out. What's been your experience?

My last cold was probably July 2022 at Lakeside, a first since the Covid lockdown, which did protect many from colds and flu according to the articles I read, but then they returned with a vengeance. That one was at least 2-3 weeks before I felt comfortable being in public and not wearing a mask. Both times, to be on the safe side, I did the Covid test and it was negative.

Adults get approximately two to three colds per year, and young children who go to elementary school or kindergarten have an average of around five to eight colds per year. When my children were in elementary school our family would have about 10 colds per year (one year we were in a study which is how I remember). Bob had fewer colds than the rest of us--being out of the house more probably protected him, because we were a little cesspool of germs on Abington Road.

We had been to a wonderful concert Saturday evening, so I did call my friend Lynn I'd been chatting with closely and suggested a heads up for whatever she takes to stay healthy.  She's had so many health problems with cancer and heart the last 4 years, I didn't want her to be unsafe, since I assume I was infectious before I had any symptoms.

Dr. Zhivago redux

Flipping through the channels today I came across the Dr. Zhivago movie, 1965. It's 3 hours, but 30 minutes of scenes of Russia's Civil War, WWI, Bolsheviks and Communist regime I was reminded of the current battles in Ukraine killing thousands more Russians just as in the early decades of 20th century. It was too much. Some of the script reminded me of the lies of today's Leftists. Hollow and deadly. Anyway, it was so depressing while they were losing their home and being destroyed by the Communists, I switched to HGTV for "reality."

Once upon a time there were two presidents

President Donald Trump froze travel from China as too risky when a city with a SARS lab showed an unusual uptick in deaths. Nancy Pelosi and other leftists called him a racist.

President Barack Obama froze funding (both federal and private) of gain of function research in the U.S. as too risky. But someone at NIH found a way to fund it in China.

So which President is the racist with the most damage to the Chinese people as a result of his executive action?

Doing Diligence to Assess the Risks and Benefits of Life Sciences Gain-of-Function Research | whitehouse.gov (archives.gov)

Biden ‘Believes’ Gain-Of-Function Research Is Necessary To Stop Future Pandemics, Kirby Says | The Daily Caller

CPAC now meets all over the world.

https://youtu.be/8Oim0ZzKhnI Nigel Farage speaks at CPAC about how because of Covid we English speaking countries gave unlimited power to governments, giving up freedoms it took centuries to develop. Don't let it happen again, he says.

Ukrainians and Russians side by side in UAE

A new restaurant in Dubai offers Ukrainian expats a taste of home : NPR

Fashion isn't as important as a taste of home.

"She's dining at Yoy with Iryna Klevetenko, from Kyiv. Both women have been living in the United Arab Emirates for several years. They're enjoying borsch on Yoy's outdoor terrace overlooking a dancing fountain and the landmark Atlantis resort hotel.

Klevetenko says the bling and luxury of Dubai feel surreal as she grapples with horrors of news from the war in her country. The war changed her priorities.

"Before, you were, like, I want Dolce and Gabbana bag," she said. "Now it's like, who cares about Dolce and Gabbana bag. We just want war to finish, that's it.""

Speaking of inflation

Tonight, I was sorting through old bills--really old--like over 60 year old invoices and cancelled checks. Fuel oil, lumber, paint, furniture, taxes, insurance. Then I came across a cancelled check for a restaurant dated Sept. 11, 1961, our first anniversary. I remember it well. I was 8.5 months pregnant and could barely sit close enough to the table to eat. I was wearing my one nice outfit, a light brown 2 piece with a white fluffy blouse. But the check was for $7.00. I thought that couldn't be right, so I ran it through an inflation calculator (Federal Reserve). $7.00 in 1961 came to $70.04 in 2023, for 900.4% inflation. To double check I used a U.S. CPI inflation calculator, but it wouldn't do March 2023, so I had to use December 2022, which was $69.25.  Close enough.

My new log book for exercise

 My Strength and My Shield: A Realtree™ Journal by Ellie Claire | Goodreads

This is a cute little journal in a camo style with inspirational messages inside. My old exercise journal has no design or flair and I think I bought it in Spain at a "dollar store" run by foreigners.  The Spanish just call them "the China store," instead of Dollar Tree.  That one is dated September 5, 2018, with about 6,500 miles ending with about 15,500.  I think my first one was around January 1, 2015. My new one is made by Ellie Claire Gift and paper Expressions c2016. I bought it at Marc's for maybe a dollar or $1.49, but you can find it at Thrift store sites on the internet for about $5.00.

At first when checking this journal I found a page for Ella Claire, who had a blog, recipes, poems, etc.  Not the same person.  There is also a St. Ella Claire and she's not it either.  

Why the lab leak theory is being reported now

Why now? Why is the lab leak story issued by Dept. of Energy making headlines? Why the leftist lapdog media who rushed to support Biden at any cost especially the truth doing the duck and cover? The same liberal media which constantly spread lies about conspiracy theories, blaming Trump, and cancelled his supporters.

The 3 Ds. Desperate, Desperation, and Desperados.

1. The Biden administration is desperate to continue the war on Trump and his supporters. They accused him of xenophobia when he closed air traffic from China in January 2020. They called him a racist when he called it the China virus and said he believed it was a lab leak in April 2020. Nancy Pelosi continued to welcome Chinese tourists through the Spring of 2020 and vilified Trump supporters accusing them of "hate crimes." Democrats impeached him for a phone conversation with Zelenskyy which was monitored but which also implicated the Biden family in criminal behavior (Read the transcript--you'll be shocked how the media misled you)! Now they need to deflect as Biden has been proven wrong, wrong, wrong.

2. There is desperation to make Americans forget that it was Trump who launched warp speed, getting a vaccine into the arms of the American public before he left office. They want you to forget that Biden, Harris and others said they wouldn't trust the vaccine because Trump supported it. They want you to forget the vaccine should have been used for the elderly and compromised, and not children and young adults. They began the gaslighting and fear campaign which later was flipped to become a hallmark of their increasingly fascist regime. Trump also began the 2 week pause in our normal routines that went to 2 years under Biden, and Trump began flooding the economy with Covid money which was supposed to compensate the people for loss of income. It was overkill and Biden used that bad plan to swamp us with inflation and more spending. All the while he continued to vilify Trump and his supporters as he continued Trump's plan.

3. The desperados in the Biden administration are looking for two avenues of escape from this mess. a) Build distrust (more) of China as it now looks like it might assist Russia in the war against Ukraine, which has become Biden's war by proxy, and b) find a way to dump Joe Biden and Kamala Harris before the 2024 election by making his choices and leadership look uninformed and misguided. (No need to make Harris look bad--she may be the worst government official ever--not even Democrats wanted her in 2020.)

Desperate is from the Latin word desperatus meaning without hope (spero), or despairing. And that describes the whole crew in Democratistan who have been condemning all patriots who disagree to the "misinformation jail."

Lenten goals--cleaning instead of fasting

My Lenten goals are getting a slow start. This week it was tackle the cupboards and bookshelves of the kitchen. I'm on the first shelf of cookbooks in the kitchen--next will be the "junk drawer."  I'm already stuck at the computer. I'm looking at a recipe take away from the Home & Garden Show, Feb. 25-Mar 5, 2006. As I recall I picked it up because we went to a demo for a chocolate peanut butter torte with bananas in honor of Elvis' birthday at Gourmet Galaxy Cafe which was sponsored by Whole Foods, Columbus Dispatch, Home Source Interiors, etc. Before I put this in the stay or go pile, I'll just mention 2 recipes easy enough for 80-somethings to learn (each 2 pages features a Columbus chef or personality with their favorites. 

1)  Manny Malhotra of the Columbus Blue Jackets (hockey) offered, "Asparagus a la Manny" which requires 1 bunch of asparagus, salt and pepper and olive oil and aluminum foil.  2) The COO of Donatos (pizza chain based in Columbus) and daughter of the founder reported that she had worked in all areas from take-out window, making night deposits, spreading sauces and cheese to dotting pepperoni slices to the edge, but there was no recipe.

When I went back and checked my blog, I see I had written about this cookbook in 2006. https://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2006/03/2228-chocolate-peanut-butter-cream.html.

By the time I got to shelf 3 I was browsing Vols. 3-5 of "A Taste of Columbus" by Beth Chilcoat. Vol. 5 was 2000, and she began the series when her children were small, and by this one she had grandchildren. I had inherited these from my daughter who had given them originally to her mother-in-law, Marilyn.  All are done in calligraphy with lovely drawings of Columbus' historical scenes. Chilcoat's husband (also co-author) died in 2006 of ALS, and she later wrote about widowhood and grief. Cap City Diner Meatloaf by Jimmy Mohammed has 28 ingredients (mostly herbs and spices) in vol. 5.

DEI ODI SDPTA OSU

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion's Strategic Diversity Planning, Training, and Assessment Unit at Ohio State University is offering a fine selection for minds of mush at a stomach turning and very expensive buffet. After 9 months student/staff/faculty gets a certificate in a new mind set, the entry key to the various corporations trying to meet DIE standards.

DEI Foundations

Social Identity 101

Microaggressions 101

Microinterventions (follows Microaggressions)

Microaggressions and Me

Navigating Difficult DEI Conversations

Practice Makes Progress: Microinterventions

Reflect and Reset

Covid 19 and anti-Asian Racism

"In addition to the above workshops aimed at DEI educational experiences, the Office of Strategic Diversity Planning, Training, and Assessment also offers Inclusive Excellence Workshops providing guidance on planning and assessment. We also maintain a list of additional DEI education resources and trainings available from other units at Ohio State."

Dr. Robert Califf, FDA and misinformation

"I strongly believe that misinformation is a leading cause of preventable death in America now." Robert Califf, FDA

I believe that too, but I believe it is the result of government misinformation and not the victims' fault.

I strongly believe that misinformation, fear, and confusing messaging begins and ends with the government. Masks don't help; masks do help; masks are mandatory; or maybe not, just kidding. Not enough ventilators; President Trump's fault; ventilators found; ventilators turned out by millions; not enough people need ventilators; President Trump's fault. The virus can live 3 days on surface; wrong, lives 15 days; wrong again, I'll get back to you on that. Pets can't get covid 19; pets can get covid 19. We need temporary hospitals and hospital ships; tent hospitals standing empty; President Trump's fault--he should have known better. Remember Biden and Harris told Americans in 2020 not to trust the vaccine because Trump had advocated for it and it was his "win". 

The lockdown of people who weren't in danger (power hungry bureaucrats at the local level), and totalitarian ideology are the primary reason for the deaths; and the vaccination itself has caused great harm to younger people. Airline pilots have been fired, athletes are refusing it, doctors aren't allowed to prescribe safe and trusted medications, and just about everyone I know who's had Covid has also had the shot and boosters. Remember what we were told in Jan-Feb 2021? Protection and efficacy--off the charts! Then we discovered protection dissipated after a few months, but even that truth was squelched and ridiculed as a conspiracy theory, then later revised to "it will be less severe but can't protect us from infection.

I said in summer 2020 (see links below) there was no peer reviewed literature on masks offering either protection for the user or the exposed, and I kept checking for months. Zip, nada, zero. Yet children have probably lost 2 years of education, especially low income who didn't have parents to fill in the gaps. Churches were closed as being "non-essential." Now Cochrane Reviews has just come out with the same information as a retired medical librarian found 2.5 years ago. No evidence that masks or distancing stopped the spread. Handwashing possibly, but even that's inconclusive.

CDC, FDA and especially Fauci became the new Lysenkoism (caused millions of deaths in the USSR in early 20th century), where only they knew the science and not the many researchers/scientists who disagreed. One had to believe the science of the day, and if not obeyed tenured, published professors were under threat of having their careers destroyed by Big Tech fact-checkers.

By far the majority of deaths from Covid were the elderly, pre-existing conditions and obesity, yet I never saw jazzy ads about weight loss from athletes and movie stars, only the necessity of getting the shot. Instead, sick people (non-covid) couldn't get in to see their doctors. I don't know Califf or his record for research or teaching, but I do know of the work and talent of many of those he's calling snake oil salesmen. Like Bret Weinstein, certainly no Trump supporter and not a Republican or Conservative by any stretch, yet the leftist media refer to him as "right wing." This is government CYA as the non-Covid deaths continue to increase. It makes no difference if one is a tenured faculty in biology, a billionaire who was on board at the beginning, or a researcher who helped develop the mRNA technology, they will be silenced by smears, threats to their income and reputation, or firing.

The strategy that the government is using is to fund their own "misinformation" campaigns with our tax dollars to silence any news agency, blog, website or platform that disagrees with the party line, and that is not only Covid, but the GreenNew Deal, CRT, the border, or billions for Ukraine. If they are successful in silencing all who disagree with them on Covid, they will silence/censor on everything else, too.
1) Hamilton 68 Saga Illustrates Scope Of America’s Institutional Rot (thefederalist.com)

2) State Department Funded Foreign Think Tank Working To Censor Americans | The Daily Caller

3) Disinformation Inc: Meet the groups hauling in cash to secretly blacklist conservative news (washingtonexaminer.com)

4) Matt Taibbi: "Twitter Files" Reveal The Structure Of The Relationship Between Social Media Companies And FBI Requests For Censorship | Video | RealClearPolitics


Collecting My Thoughts: Finding research on medical masks for the public

Collecting My Thoughts: To mask or not to mask

Collecting My Thoughts: The battle of the masks.

Collecting My Thoughts: Evidence for cloth masks? Not much

Collecting My Thoughts: No published trial on the effects of masks in Covid-19 transmission

Ukraine, Russia and Namibia

While Joe continues spending $113 Billion and hot air on Ukraine's battle with Russia, his wife is touring Africa. Africa is also in a terrible mess with ethnic and regional battles in Sudan and Ethiopia and Eritrea, although she's not in that area. The U.S. has been dropping money bombs all over Africa for years, but can't seem to back a winner. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/jill-biden-arrives-namibia-africa-tour-2023-02-22/ She supposed to talk about rights of women--but she represents a party that can't even define woman. She'll address Democratic values--that must mean her party, because her husband thinks little about our values that established the country. She'll also visit Kenya which is battling a drought--wow, don't let the Democrats advise on that--or on fertilizer.

Cochrane Reviews--still no evidence for masks stopping the spread

In the first year of the pandemic Cochrane Library which identifies, appraises and synthesizes all the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria, looked at all the then known evidence for stopping the spread of Covid.

"Cochrane has responded to the crisis by gathering its community, working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other stakeholders, in developing and publishing several systematic reviews on the effectiveness of behavioural public health measures for reducing COVID‐19 infection.[1] These measures include masks, handwashing, physical distancing, quarantine, contact tracing, screening, and travel restrictions. Because COVID‐19 is still so new, however, these reviews have largely summarized effects on transmission of other viruses in non‐pandemic conditions. Policy makers must act on incomplete evidence in responding to COVID‐19 | Cochrane Library (November 20, 2020)

The results were inconclusive for masks, handwashing, physical distancing, quarantine, contact tracing, screening, and travel restrictions. That didn't stop policy makers from what they do best--making policy. OK, that's what Cochrane found 2.5 years ago, but the policy makers went right ahead, especially the teachers unions which appeared to be advising the CDC.

Now, Cochrance has again published its results of more current studies (although in my opinion there are too few since some researchers were "cancelled" or were prevented from studying or publishing their results if it went against policies already put in place using no evidence). Do physical measures such as hand-washing or wearing masks stop or slow down the spread of respiratory viruses? | Cochrane (January 30, 2023)

"We are uncertain whether wearing masks or N95/P2 respirators helps to slow the spread of respiratory viruses based on the studies we assessed. Hand hygiene programmes may help to slow the spread of respiratory viruses."

I recall writing about the mask literature in summer of 2020 at my blog and Facebook. I checked every few weeks in the medical databases for evidence that masking could stop the spread of Covid-19. I never found it, and the virus continued to spread despite masks, distancing, isolation, and vaccine/boosters. I got a lot of push back from people who knew nothing except what they'd heard from the media.

I continue to believe that masks and hand washing can reduce the spread of colds and flu by blocking the air borne molecules which transport the virus, but Covid, no. Too small to block.

Wisdom from the Bible

"Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who will no longer take advice." Ecclesiastes 4:13

That Democrats continue to support Joe Biden despite his demeaning, stereotypical racist beliefs and comments tells me that all their whining about systemic racism, defund the police and microaggressions, is just that, whining. It's simply a way to impose their own brand of power and oppression. Imagine the outrage if a Republican president called a black governor, "boy."

“You got a hell of a new governor in Wes Moore, I tell ya,” Biden said during remarks on the economy Wednesday to an audience of IBEW union workers in Lanham, Maryland.

“He’s the real deal, and the boy looked like he could still play. He got some guns on him,” Biden added, eliciting cheers from the crowd.

California dreaming

Why are eggs so expensive in California? Over regulation for animal rights drives out egg farms.

Why are there so many homeless people in California? Over regulation of housing to meet green goals so only the rich live in neighborhoods that meet those requirements.

Why are there so many fires in California? Over regulation of forests to protect the environment. 

Why is gasoline so costly in California? Higher gas taxes to feed a hungry bureaucracy.

California's economy is larger than Germany's. Why are there so many poor people? Democrats.

No wonder men are happier by Unknown

Men are just happier people.! What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another service station to find a loo that isn’t too icky. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress: five thousand dollars. Tux rental: a hundred dollars. People never stare at your chest when you’re talking to them. New shoes don’t cut, blister or mangle your feet. One mood, all the time! Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You expect and get extra credit for the slightest act of domestic work. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend. Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck.
One wallet and one pair of shoes – one color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can ”do” your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a moustache. You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 24 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

Things my grandfather used to say

Things my grandfather used to say: By Sean Dietrich (Sean of the South)

Be nice; because if you’re not being nice, what are you being?

Don’t cut in line. Don’t interrupt. Don’t pout. Never, ever take the last biscuit.

Smile, it increases your face value.

The wise man knoweth how to dumb it down.

You can’t think your way into the right action, but you can act your way into the right thinking.

Try your hardest, do your absolute best, and when all else fails, cuss.

Always obey your mother when she is around.

Everyone should pee in his own backyard at least once.

Listen to the elderly, they’re smarter than you. Unless they are men.

Treat other people the way you want to be treated. If the Golden Rule were actually practiced today, there would be no karaoke bars.

You never know what a consummate ass you can be until you give someone else advice.

Never judge a Denny’s menu by the photographs.

Let him who is without sin throw the first boomerang.

Whenever something stinks, check your own diaper first.

Don’t point fingers unless you're standing in front of a mirror.

Always, always, always trust your gut.

Tomorrow is a day with no mistakes in it, but you’ll change all that.

Be nice to kids, one day they’ll be running your nursing home.

Feed strays.

When in doubt, do it the way your wife told you.

Never pass up an opportunity to hold a baby.

A good wife always forgives her husband when she is wrong.

‘Fess up when you mess up. Admit when you’re wrong. Don’t gloat when you’re right. And above all, don’t act like you know everything. Know-it-alls make life so incredibly difficult for those of us who actually do.

Change your oil before you think it needs to be changed.

Quit watching the news for 72 hours and just see how you feel.

Doctors don’t know everything. Neither do preachers. Neither do granddaddies.

Your heart knows a lot more than you give it credit.

Life is too short to work for bosses who treat you like crap.

Make a resolution to rid yourself of all bad habits, you can start with perfectionism.

Never, ever be lazy unless you absolutely feel like it.

Always bury politicians at least six feet below the soil, because deep down they’re good people.

Everyone is screwed up. The only ones who aren’t screwed up live in graveyards.

If you love someone, love them hard. If you hate someone, love them even harder.

There is nothing half as exciting as canceled plans.

If you’re hogging all the credit, you’re going to hog all the blame, too.

This is not the end.

Neither was that.

Ninety-nine percent of the things you worry about will never happen.

If you really want to believe in God, you already do.

Always listen to your grandparents. And if you don’t have any, then you can always listen to mine.

HLN's long journey from founding in 1982

HLN is having a Closer marathon this weekend my husband said. He loves Closer, and since he found it recently on a channel that has been airing it about 6 p.m. I think he's gone through it twice. HLN? Isn't that a cable news channel? I said. So I looked it up. Here's Wikipedia shortened to its most recent merger.

"With the 2022 merger of CNN parent WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery, HLN became a sister to Discovery's true-crime channel Investigation Discovery (ID). In December 2022, new CNN president Chris Licht announced that HLN would abandon original live news programming entirely as part of a reorganization, with HLN now being overseen by ID's staff, and news programming limited to a simulcast of CNN This Morning for contractual reasons."

I thought CNN was in there somewhere.

Oral care for tips for caregivers

I get many inquiries to review books and to post items on my blog. Most I don't accept, but this one on dementia and dental care is one I hadn't thought about. Now that we're not looking at mask mouth (I hope), time to look at mouths.

https://www.newmouth.com/resources/dementia/There are several things caregivers can do to help maintain good dental health for people with dementia.

For example:

• Help the patient brush his or her teeth after every meal. If this isn’t reasonable, have them rinse their mouths out with water after eating or a few times each day. Or, consider wiping out their mouth with gauze or a wet cloth, especially after consuming sugary foods and beverages.
• If you’re reminding someone how to brush, offer short, simple instructions. Go step-by-step and be as patient as possible.
• Demonstrate by brushing your teeth. Brushing together is a great way to help people with dementia remember what they should be doing. It also avoids embarrassment in the early and middle stages of the disease.
• Find a dentist who has experience working with dementia or other special needs patients. This makes those twice-yearly visits less stressful. Also, make sure the patient’s dentist has the contact information of other healthcare providers caring for the patient.

What public figure is the most dangerous?

I get asked, said Mike Pompeo, former Secretary of State, ‘Who’s the most dangerous person in the world? Is it Chairman Kim, is it Xi Jinping?’ The most dangerous person in the world is Randi Weingarten,” Pompeo said.

 
“It’s not a close call. If you ask, ‘Who’s the most likely to take this republic down?’ It would be the teacher’s unions, and the filth that they’re teaching our kids, and the fact that they don’t know math and reading or writing,” the former top U.S. diplomat added. "

From The Hill.com 11/21/22. I think Weingarten responded with something blaming Trump and the right wing for children not being able to read, write and do math. She's also not very creative.

The revival at Asbury

There's a revival going on at Asbury University in Kentucky. No one knows why or how, no planners came to town and set up the venue with rock bands, room reservations for seminars, housing and food. God arrived and did his work and the young people prayed. It has happened before--at least 4 times in the 20th century at Asbury. People are coming from all over the nation, some from other countries. These are young people who have had incredible challenges from our culture all their lives--all manner of evil available at the touch of a finger on a small screen; from k-12 and beyond their education system has filled their minds with fears and anxiety about the planet; the entertainers have wooed them with all manner of gross and disgusting images, thoughts, and words; their parents' material luxury has stunted their appreciation for work and merit; not even their science classes in college are safe as they have been lied to about their sexuality and ethnicity. If I were in college, I'd be on my knees, too. Oh praise God, I can join them right here at my desk. Pray especially for their protection, as Satan and his helpers will certainly not be pleased with this.

Isaiah 40: 28-31

28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary,
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.

https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/paul-prather/article272483797.html

https://thebaptistpaper.org/god-is-moving-10-observations-from-asbury-revival/

Trump speaks about the Witch Hunt

"I have been newly reinstated on Twitter and various other social media platforms, and my Tweets, which were taken down by Big Tech censorship, and thus seen by very few, have just been made public. My clear and unequivocal statements on January 6, 2021, which I conveyed to my over 100 million followers, are no longer under “wraps.” The highly partisan January 6th Committee did not want these messages to be part of the Historical and Legal Record, but they have now been fully restored—a sad shock to what I call the Unselect Committee of Political Hacks and Thugs." From President Trump, continue reading: https://sharylattkisson.com/2023/02/read-a-statement-by-president-donald-j-trump-on-the-witch-hunt-of-january-6th/?