PBS and NPR funding events

Although I don't contribute to the fund raisers, it is my understanding the locals have done very well this spring. People fear loss of funding under Trump.  I think that's great. Sort of like the huge increase in gun sales under Obama. The issue of NPR PBS funding has never been about the paltry amount, but about the amount of bias in the coverage of the culture from news, to arts, to literature to politics. If it’s funded in part by taxes, then there should either be better representation of the whole population, or no funding. On the other hand, if most of the support is from left of center (don’t know which comes first, the coverage or the consumers), then that should be their direction, but without our funding it. I have certain shows I watch like the British dramas and comedies (now mostly reruns) and Antiques Roadshow, but never the news coverage. I can get that on broadcast.

Origen

"Origen, born into a Christian family from Alexandria Egypt around 185AD, was only a teenager when he witnessed his father, Leonidas, dragged from his home by Roman soldiers and ultimately martyred. He was inspired by his father’s heroic example to dedicate himself to a strict life of prayer, fasting and study. The bishop of Alexandria, Demetrius, recognized the talent and holiness of this young man and named him head of the catechetical school of this great center of early Christianity. Origen ultimately became one of the greatest Scripture scholars and preachers of the early Church. Though he began his teaching ministry as a lay catechist, Origen was ultimately ordained a priest and wrote commentaries and homilies that influenced subsequent Early Church Fathers from both East and West. Though he did not receive the grace of martyrdom, Origen was imprisoned and brutally tortured for his faith during the persecution that took place under the emperor Decius. Weakened by his ordeal, he died a few years later in 254 AD.

Though several of Origen’s teachings were condemned after his death by Church authorities, it must be remembered that his erroneous opinions were expressed in matters that had not yet been defined by official Church teaching. In his lifetime, Origen was always a loyal son of the Church whose correct opinions far outnumbered his errors. Origen’s writings were profuse indeed, though only a limited number survive. He wrote commentaries on almost every book of the Bible, with his treatise on Song of Songs, Romans, and many homilies on the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) surviving either intact or in large portions. He was the author of one of the earliest attempts at textual criticism of the Old Testament, the Hexapla, and was responsible for the first attempt at systematic theology in his famous De Principiis (On First Principles). His two works of spiritual theology, Exhortation to Martyrdom and On Prayer were widely read in the Early Church and are still read today, with many excerpts used in the Roman Office of Readings."

 https://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/media/articles/christs-body-a-temple/

Crossroads Initiative has many excellent resources, a good on-line library and blog, but I'm not entirely sure how the owner and creator of the material, although a Roman Catholic, relates to the Church.  There are many of these available on the Internet, just as there are for Protestant ministries. I know there are other Catholics who don't seem to include Origen in the Fathers of the Church category, so I'll have to check a few more links. 

 Summary of the controversies

I have an excellent printed resource (Protestant) I used for perusing ancient and modern writings on scripture and the church, Magill's Masterpieces of Christian Literature in Summary Form, (c. 1963) which I gave to my mother one Christmas, and then when she was downsizing in the 1990s, she gave it back. It does contain "On First Principles" in summary form, noting it is a work of systematic theology, first transcribed c. 220-230.  At the end of the summary, the editor of the article in Magill notes:

"Although the later judgment of the Church on Origen was unfavorable, we cannot overlook the recognition he received in his own day nor the influence he exerted for over a century on the theologians of East and West.  He produced the first great synthesis of Christian teaching and provided his successors with a method of Biblical interpretations which, if sometimes artificial and arbitrary, was at least consistent and thorough. He was an intellectual who applied all his powers to the teaching office of the Church, in defense of the Gospel and in opposition to the heresies of his day.  It is especially to his credit that he dealth with the whole of theology and not merely with one doctrine.  Origen represents the coming of age of Christianity as an intellectual force in the ancient world."

My Magill also contains a summary of Against Celsus, an 8 volume refutation of Greek pagan philosophy attacking Christianity by Origen.   Being a Biblical scholar, Origen argued from scripture rather than reason and morals to defeat pagan beliefs.

I was a one issue voter

and it would be nice if everyone, not just babies, could have a better life. Let's hope that Neil Gorsuch can make decisions based on law and not feelings or party pressure.

• Gorsuch wrote a book called “The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia.” He argues in the book that “human life is fundamentally and inherently valuable” and that “the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong.”
• Gorsuch ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby in holding that Obamacare’s abortifacient mandate violates the religious beliefs of closely-held corporations.
• Gorsuch also ruled in favor of the Little Sisters of the Poor, defending the rights of nuns not to be forced to pay for abortion-inducing drugs in their health care plans.

Gorsuch forcefully dissented from a case in which the Tenth Circuit sided with Planned Parenthood and refused to allow the Governor of Utah to de-fund the abortion business in wake of videos showing its involvement in the selling of baby body parts

Syphilis on the rise among gay men

Data from 2015, analyzed with a new methodology, show that the incidence of primary and secondary syphilis among Men who have sex with men (MSM) was 309.0 cases per 100,000 people, compared with 2.9 per 100,000 among men who reported sex with women only. (Medpage Today, April 7)

April is STD awareness month.  Syphilis is passed from person to person through direct contact with a syphilis sore. In men, sores can occur on or around the penis, around the anus, or in the rectum, or in or around the mouth. These sores can be painless, so it is possible to have them and not notice them. (CDC fact sheet, rev. Feb. 10, 2017) Of course, CDC recommends condoms, but any sensible person would recommend chastity and monogamy.

 https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-msm-syphilis.htm

ROMEO

Retired Old Men Eating Out.

My husband ate breakfast, lunch and dinner out today, and will have lunch and dinner out tomorrow.

Senator Warren’s female staff earn less than male staff

Exactly.  She'd have to have only millennials with identical college degrees and identical experience for women to earn the same or more than men. Women in technology, sales or marketing with two years' or less experience actually got salary offers that were 7% higher than those received by equally inexperienced men, according to the jobs site "Hired."  But it's been that way for years.  Only feminists and government agencies would compile stats figuring in the pay of day care and service industry with the engineers and air line pilots. Ms. Warren--fire the experienced, older men and hire more millennial women and accept the consequences.  It's for the good of the party line.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/05/women-in-elizabeth-warrens-office-make-less-than-men-report.html

Why do comedy shows and social media delight in ridiculing Pence's commitment to his marriage?

I know this question “why” is rhetorical and we understand why the reporter and other anti-Trumpsters think it’s worthy of discussion. The news babe/guy who first released it thought it was important to say "look over there," rather than report on important news like the former president spying on the current president, or the red lines Obama drew in his disastrous foreign policy. It’s difficult to light up social media or the late night shows by discussing serious matters. News people could report on how the whole "intelligence community" is stonewalling President Trump, but ridiculing Pence is more fun (and safe). I watch old Carson reruns, so I see only the routines from the 80s written by the then 20 somethings and don't catch the current  late night shows written by their grandchildren for O'Brien, Colbert, Fallon, Kimmel, etc.  The left loves to ridicule love, marriage, fidelity, faith, commitment, honor, virtue and honesty, and this is fodder for their limp, lifeless comedy routines. When they try to ridicule Trump, he ends up being right as he was on the “wire tapping” tweet, so they have to go after Pence and a perfectly sensible comment made years ago (as I recall the meme).

 

 http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/03/31/liberals-reactions-to-mike-pences-loyalty-to-his-wife-are-getting-more-unhinged-by-the-hour/

 

http://thestaffordvoice.com/2017/mike-pence-gets-mocked-commitment-made-wife/

 

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/karen-pence-is-the-vice-presidents-prayer-warrior-gut-check-and-shield/2017/03/28/

 

 

Three years ago

With cake and extra 25 pounds

Life style or genetics: The super agers

 I know a few "super agers" over 90, and although I can't comment on their exercise habits, I do know they maintain an active intellectual life (including e-mail, internet, music) and have a better social life than many younger people. 

"While there’s currently no proven method to preserve cortex volume, research has shown specific lifestyle changes that seniors can perform to help keep themselves sharp as they age, Kornel and Wright said. These include:

• Regular physical exercise, including strength training.
• A healthy and balanced diet.
• Brain workouts that involve challenging puzzles or tasks.
• An active social life."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/brain-scans-reveal-mental-secret-of-super-agers/ 

Links to recent research on lifestyle and cognitive decline:

https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/paperchase-aging/pdf/NjJf3fWGKw4e99CyC.pdf This is the 2014 article with the chart on lifestyle changes like diet, exercise, supplements.

.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4931830/  This is the follow up article on the previous one. Reports on changes and brain scans.

 

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/circj/81/2/81_CJ-16-1011/_pdf Published this year about B12 and homocysteine. 

 

http://www.buckinstitute.org/buck-news/Memory-loss-associated-with-Alzheimers-reversed The above cognitive studies explained in everyday English

Bernie style socialism

This is somewhat simplified because the blog is written for parents and children to discuss together (questions at the end of the text). But it cuts through some of the sound bites we see on the internet or hear on TV. Most of the Democrats I know, and many Republicans, believe the government should make the decisions about how much money we’re allowed to keep because we personally are too successful, too selfish, or too ignorant to handle our own money. We already have 123 income transfer programs run (and overlapping) by the federal government (a lot goes to the state or local governments where it is further divided and paid out to government employees). How many more do you think are necessary to satisfy our politicians and federal bureaucracy?  Even before Obamacare we had five federal health plans, one of which is exclusively for native Americans who have the poorest access and results.

“Socialists believe that society functions best when members are forced to share economic goods. This means, for example, that if someone earns $100,000 and another earns $10,000 a year, both should enjoy the $110,000. Socialists think it is unfair that one person should benefit more than another because of his ability, effort, or circumstances in life. Socialists think that the government should determine how much money a person is allowed to keep and how much he should give to others. Some socialists think all people should have the same income, where other socialists think some people can earn more than others. But all socialists agree that the government should determine a minimum amount that each person in society should earn, regardless of his situation.

A socialist thinks that it is the role of government to make decisions regarding private property. For example, if a family has 10 children the socialist thinks that the government should make sure the larger-sized family has a large enough house for the bigger family. This could mean that taxes from the family with 2 children will go to the family with 10 children to support them.

A socialist thinks that the individual rights of the citizen come second to the needs of the state, and it is the role of the government to determine what are the needs of the state. We have many examples in history over the last 200 years to help us understand what a socialist state may decide is the need of the state. In the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) in the 1900s, the government decided that religion was an enemy of the people. The U.S.S.R. forbade religious practice and tortured and murdered millions of people to enforce the ban on religious practice. Because of the tragic consequences of the U.S.S.R., many Americans fear socialism.

Senator Sanders describes his political philosophy as democratic socialism. Sanders does not want government to take away others’ property or severely limit individual’s rights, but he would like government to heavily tax those who are successful, and he wants government to distribute this money evenly. Unlike in the U.S.S.R., where people were forced to follow the government or die, Sanders wants people in the U.S.A. to vote and choose a government that will raise taxes. Sanders thinks that the amount of money in a society is fixed, and it is the government’s job to distribute it evenly among all.”

http://www.classicalhistorian.com/current-events--history/what-is-socialism-and-who-is-bernie-sanders

What is the church?

Full Question

I am Catholic. A Protestant told me that the people are the church, but I’m pretty sure that is not true. Can you help me? What is the Church?

Answer

Your friend was correct as far as he went. The Second Vatican Council, in Lumen Gentium, stated the Church is the people of God. Protestants see this as pretty much it. They understand church as a name for a structure-less body of people who follow Christ and believe in his divinity as the second Person of the Holy Trinity, revealed in the Bible alone.

Catholics, on the other hand, understand the Church also in terms of a hierarchical structure, with definite authority given to it by Jesus in the person of Peter and therefore to his successors. We see in Scripture much evidence that Jesus gave personal attention to the apostles, preparing them to minister after he was no longer with them. “Anyone who listens to you listens to me; anyone who rejects you rejects me, and those who reject me reject the one who sent me” (Lk 10:16). There was no reason for him to prepare them for only their lifetime. The early Church Fathers verify this. The early Church does not fall into the Protestant vision of a structure-less, sacrament-less body of believers. It was hierarchically structured and sacramental. The canon of the New Testament, on which Protestants base all their faith, is the product of this Church.

Everything changed after 1995--Monday Memories

The pre-Christmas holiday in 1995 was wonderful at my sister-in-law Jean's home in Indianapolis.  Even Bob's brother Jimmy DeMott was there with his girlfriend, Nancy, and his children.  My mother-in-law June was doing well considering that the year before she had almost died of a bleeding ulcer and her husband had died in October.  We were, of course, sad at the loss of my father-in-law Jim DeMott that holiday and we had been making weekly trips that fall to Indianapolis to be with Bob's mother. But it was good to have everyone, including lively little Caleb and Jake, together.

Yet, after that holiday season, with the warm "Christmas card" memories, everything seemed to change. It was one funeral and life change after the other, like someone wound up a toy too tight and it spun out of control.

In less than two months, my sister Carol Yoder died of a diabetic stroke and most of my family made the trip to Sarasota to say good bye and then to Mt. Morris for burial.  We helped my parents move from their home of 38 years a few blocks away into a retirement apartment at Pinecrest in Mt. Morris.  Bob's Aunt Babe died in May 1996 and my Aunt Marian died in September of 1996.  Then I was hospitalized and diagnosed with a heart problem.  Sam Calabretta, the architect who brought us to Columbus in 1967 and changed our lives, died in January 1997.  My mother had surgery for colon cancer in June and I hurried back to Illinois.  My boss at the OSU Libraries, Jay Ladd, died that summer.  Our daughter had surgery for thyroid cancer in February 1997.  My mother-in-law June moved into assisted care, then a nursing home, and died in September 1998.  My Uncle John Dickson died in January 1999, and Bob's dear Aunt Roberta DeAngelis, his father's older sister, died in July 1999.  Our son Phil got married in February 1999 and my sister came back to Illinois to marry in August 1999 as my parents also celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.  My Uncle Leslie, Mom's brother, died that November.  Orville Ballard, Dad's dear friend and also his uncle and best man in his wedding, died in January 2000.  It just a few weeks and then my mother died on January 24, 2000.  Aunt Esther Corbett, whose nick-name was PeeWee, died a few weeks later in California.  In February 2000 divorce stole a beloved nephew of 16 years from the family. Then we returned to Mt. Morris to help Dad move again after he bought my grandparents' former home, a Lustron, in April 2000.  It was there we celebrated our 40th anniversary in September 2000 as I retired from my library career at Ohio State University.  In January 2002 we moved from our home of 34 years on Abington Road into a condo, same community, but a few miles north.  Then I had a heart ablation to correct the problem diagnosed in 1996 while we were unpacking.  In April we moved Dad to a care facility in Franklin Grove, IL because his congestive heart failure diagnosed in June 2000 worsened, and he died May 18, 2002. In 2003 we traveled to California to celebrate with the Bruce relatives and siblings Dad Bruce's 90th birthday, and he died in April 2005.

In ten short years we had become the older generation of our extended families.

The day we moved Dad into the Lustron

Cinderella, a cautionary tale

Cinderella is now 95 years old. After a fulfilling life with the now dead prince, she happily sits upon her rocking chair, watching the world go by from her front porch, with a cat named Bob for companionship.

One sunny afternoon out of nowhere, appeared the fairy godmother.

Cinderella said, "Fairy Godmother, what are you doing here after all these years"?

The fairy godmother replied, "Cinderella, you have lived an exemplary life since I last saw you. Is there anything for which your heart still yearns?"

Cinderella was taken aback, overjoyed, and after some thoughtful consideration, she uttered her first wish: "The prince was wonderful, but not much of an investor. I'm living hand to mouth on my disability checks, and I wish I were wealthy beyond comprehension.  Instantly her rocking chair turned into solid gold.

Cinderella said, "Ooh, thank you, Fairy Godmother"

The fairy godmother replied, "It is the least that I can do.  What do you want for your second wish?"

Cinderella looked down at her frail body, and said, "I wish I were young and full of the beauty and youth I once had."  At once, her wish became reality, and her beautiful young visage returned. Cinderella felt stirrings inside of her that had been dormant for years.

And then the fairy godmother spoke once more: "You have one more wish; what shall it be?"

Cinderella looks over to the frightened cat in the corner and says,  "I wish for you to transform Bob, my old cat, into a kind and handsome young man."

Magically, Bob suddenly underwent so fundamental a change in his biological make-up that, when he stood before her, he was a man so beautiful the likes of him neither she nor the world had ever seen.

The fairy godmother said, "Congratulations, Cinderella, enjoy your new life."

With a blazing shock of bright blue electricity, the fairy godmother was gone as suddenly as she appeared. For a few eerie moments, Bob and Cinderella gazed into each others eyes, breathless, gazing at the most beautiful, stunningly perfect man she had ever seen.

Then Bob walked over to Cinderella, who sat transfixed in her rocking chair, & held her close in his young muscular arms. He leaned in close, blowing her golden hair with his warm breath as he whispered...

"Bet you're sorry you neutered me.”

Ageism and 8 strategies

Almost 50 years ago Dr. Robert Butler, a gerontologist, coined the word "ageism." I was in my 20s then and probably laughed at the jokes and ridicule about the old that was so common in those days in the movies and on TV. Befuddled, confused, hair askew, thick glasses, sloppy, drooping socks that didn't match--it was standard fare, and probably the last group comedians could ridicule publicly with impunity. Except on social media (although now those sites have added hatred for white men to their list to demean and put down). I've logged out of those groups that called me an ugly old hag because of my faith or politics. Well, they'll learn. It was the boomers who were the writers and actors in those silly shows 30-50 years ago. And now look where they are--joking about the grandchildren showing them how to use their smart phones and forgetting the names of their neighbors of 20 years.

Butler died in 2010 and his final book, "The Longevity Prescription" listed 8 strategies, each a chapter in the book, for a healthy old age: maintain mental vitality; nurture your relationships; seek essential sleep; set stress aside; connect with your community; live the active life; eat your way to heath; and practice prevention. Good advice, even for millennials and gen-x. Genetics are only responsible for 25 percent of our length of life. The rest is lifestyle and environment.

And I'd add a 9th key--nurture your relationship with God.