Sunday, April 22, 2012

The problems with Protestants

We Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Nazarenes, Baptists, Brethren, Assemblies of God, and other groups, including those who proudly claim no named affiliation, really suffer for lack of leadership in citizenship and the public square. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has stronger, centralized leadership than we do. Plus it has the voice of the press. I've been reading through some documents prepared by the Catholics, and envy the fact they have something to point to. Even if they loose in court. And please don't be patronizing and say, "But we follow the Bible." They do too. Each church picks and choose what it considers literal--whether baptism or the real presence or speaking in tongues. And they have their squabbles too. Huge numbers of Catholics (like Pelosi, Kerry, Sibelius and a bunch of nuns) supported ObamaCare and helped to get it passed. Now the Bishops have realized how the President lied to them about protecting their interests (I could have told them based on what has happened in the states, but they didn't ask me), and are issuing yet more mandates and advisements and special days for prayer. That said, at least they have a record of speaking out. Other Christians just have a lot of disjointed sermons, random TV preachers, and arguing with each other. To read any of these articles (they are not hot linked) block and click right on your mouse, then click on Google and it will search it. The asterisked articles are not on line.

Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
Protecting Human Life

Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology, 2009

Married Love and the Gift of Life, 2006

On Embryonic Stem Cell Research, 2008

Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities: A Campaign in Support of Life, 2001

Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics, 1998

Faithful for Life: A Moral Reflection, 1995

A Matter of the Heart: A Statement on the Thirtieth Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, 2002

Resolution on Abortion, 1989

Documentation on the Right to Life and Abortion, 1974, 1976, 1981*

A Call for Bipartisan Cooperation on Responsible Transition in Iraq, 2007

Statement on Iraq, 2002

A Pastoral Message: Living with Faith and Hope After September 11, 2001

Sowing the Weapons of War, 1995

The Harvest of Justice Is Sown in Peace, 1993

A Report on the Challenge of Peace and Policy Developments, 1983-1888, 1989*

The Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response, 1983

To Live Each Day with Dignity: A Statement on Physician-Assisted Suicide, 2011

Nutrition and Hydration: Moral and Pastoral Reflections, 1992

Statement on Euthanasia, 1991

Welcome and Justice for Persons with Disabilities, 1999

Pastoral Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on Persons with Disabilities, 1984

Confronting a Culture of Violence, 1995

A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death, 2005

Statement on Capital Punishment, 1980

Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (Fifth Edition), 2009

Promoting Family Life

National Directory for Catechesis, 2005

Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium, 2005

Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, 1998

Principles for Educational Reform in the United States, 1995

To Teach as Jesus Did: A Pastoral Message on Catholic Education, 1972*

When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women, 2002

A Family Perspective in Church and Society, 1998

Blessings of Age, 1999

Between Man and Woman: Questions and Answers About Marriage and Same-Sex Unions, 2003

Walk in the Light: A Pastoral Response to Child Sexual Abuse, 1995

Follow the Way of Love: A Pastoral Message to Families, 1993

Putting Children and Families First: A Challenge for Our Church, Nation and World, 1992*

Pursuing Social Justice

Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (Fifth Edition), 2009

"For I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food": Catholic Reflections on Food, Farmers and Farmworkers, 2003

Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope, 2003

A Place at the Table: A Catholic Recommitment to Overcome Poverty and to Respect the Dignity of All God's Children, 2002

Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common Good, 2001

Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice, 2000

A Commitment to All Generations: Social Security and the Common Good, 1999

In All Things Charity: A Pastoral Challenge for the New Millennium, 1999

One Family Under God, 1995*

Confronting a Culture of Violence: A Catholic Framework for Action, 1995

Moral Principles and Policy Priorities for Welfare Reform, 1995*

The Harvest of Justice Is Sown in Peace, 1993

A Framework for Comprehensive Health Care Reform, 1993*

Renewing the Earth: An Invitation to Reflection and Action on the Environment in Light of Catholic Social Teaching, 1992

Putting Children and Families First: A Challenge for Our Church, Nation and World, 1992*

New Slavery, New Freedom: A Pastoral Message on Substance Abuse, 1990*

Brothers and Sisters to Us: Pastoral Letter on Racism in Our Day, 1989

Called to Compassion and Responsibility: A Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis, 1989

Homelessness and Housing: A Human Tragedy, A Moral Challenge, 1988*

Practicing Global Solidarity

A Call for Bipartisan Cooperation on Responsible Transition in Iraq, 2007

A Call to Solidarity with Africa, 2001

A Jubilee Call for Debt Forgiveness, 1999

Called to Global Solidarity: International Challenges for U.S. Parishes, 1998

Sowing the Weapons of War, 1995

One Family Under God, 1995*

The Harvest of Justice Is Sown in Peace, 1993

The New Moment in Eastern and Central Europe, 1990*

Toward Peace in the Middle East, 1989

Statement on Central America, 1987


Saturday, April 21, 2012

The lede—Grassley vs. the Scandal

Best:  The lede paragraph with the least inflammatory language (uses the verb “ask”), but with the most detailed information is Fox News.

Second is CBS also using the word ask, but doesn’t note the working relationship which apparently is a phrase in the letter.

The most biased is probably HuffPo which uses the odd and wordy, “has engineered an inquiry into” instead of “ask.”

Why he is “Chuck” to conservatives and “Charles” to liberals, probably means something, but what I don’t know.  Not mentioning his name in the lede at all probably also means something. “Ranking” and “top” can go either way.

I didn’t check the entire internet, but in the first 50 listings I didn’t see New York Times, Washington Post, or LA Times, all members of the tight non-vetting, Obamedia, even though New York Times in an earlier article noted that the agreed on price for the call girl was $800.

GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is asking the Secret Service whether members of the White House advance team are connected to the Colombian prostitution scandal, considering their “close working relationship” with federal agents. [Fox News, cable conservative]

As the Secret Service prostitution scandal deepens, top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee has engineered an inquiry  into whether more individuals were involved.[Huffington Post, online liberal]

Senator Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the head of the Secret Service Friday evening asking if White House staff are also subjects of the investigation into the Colombian prostitution scandal. [CBS News, mainstream broadcast]

Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is questioning the U.S. Secret Service about possible involvement of White House staff in the Colombian prostitution scandal. [Washington Times, conservative]

The prostitution scandal which has devastated the Secret Service could be set to spread to the White House. A senior Republican has urged the investigation into what happened in Colombia ahead of Barack Obama's trip there to extend to presidential staff who were preparing for his visit. [Mail online, UK celeb news]

The ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee has asked the U.S. Secret Service about the potential involvement of White House staff in the prostitution scandal in Colombia. [CNN cable, liberal]

Defunding Planned Parenthood in Ohio

On Tuesday the Ohio House of Representatives adopted an amendment to the mid-biennial budget review bill that would cut funding from abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood by redirecting federal funds for Title V, X, and XX. The allocation of these funds must go first to community health centers, physicians offices, and other clinics providing comprehensive health services before they can be awarded to any entity that provides women's health services/family planning services but does NOT provide comprehensive health services.

Planned Parenthood will still function with its donations from people who want to end babies lives, especially those of minority and low income women and girls. It has a strong income stream.

State of Denial and Obama's wars

I never read Woodward's State of Denial about Bush--one time I saw 15 copies on the shelf of my public library--don't know how many they owned. But UAPL helped him become very rich. Today I saw one for sale (from the library) for 90 cents at the Volunteers of America book section. So I checked Woodward's Obama's Wars at the PL catalog (a horrible system, btw). 5 copies. One checked out. Woodward was a little premature--Obama has expanded his wars since Wooward researched that book and is still going. I don't think that one has done as well--probably not enough libraries buying it. Public librarians are 223:1 Democrat to Republican (in 2004). It affects what they buy, and what you read, and what you come to believe about candidates and presidents.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Let the market work

By Chip Wood, The North Dakota Oil Boom, http://personalliberty.com/2012/03/16/the-north-dakota-oil-boom/

[North Dakota] has the lowest unemployment rate in the Nation, at just 3.3 percent. California’s, by contrast, is 11.1 percent. That doesn’t even count the unemployed people who have simply stopped looking for work. The true unemployment number is probably closer to 20 percent.

According to the Census Bureau, North Dakota led the Nation in job and income growth in 2011. While California is losing millionaires every day, North Dakota is creating them faster than anyplace else in the country. But even entry-level positions are benefiting. For example, a job flipping burgers at McDonald’s pays $18 an hour plus a “signing bonus” for new employees.

And while the State of California can’t begin to pay all of its bills — it even issued IOUs last year in place of tax refunds — the biggest argument in North Dakota’s State Capitol is how to spend all of the money that’s pouring in. Legislators in Bismarck have approved hundreds of “shovel ready” infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges, railroads and pipelines. But even while spending more on worthwhile projects, legislators also agreed to cut the State income tax.

What’s happening in North Dakota is a classic example of the one thing that would solve our energy problems everywhere — and most other problems in the economy, too. Unfortunately, it’s the one thing Obama and his team won’t even consider.

The solution is simple: Let the market work.

That’s odd—it’s not racial? Not a hate crime?

In describing an attack on a tourist, beaten, robbed, stripped, and ridiculed while someone taped it, no one helped and bystanders laughed. But it wasn’t racial. 

“While the victim appears white and his attackers black, there has been no suggestion that the attack was a hate crime or racially motivated. There has also been relatively little outrage nationally about this attack.”

http://jonathanturley.org/2012/04/09/tourist-beaten-robbed-and-stripped-naked-baltimore-as-crowd-laughes/

Teaching as a subversive activity redux

Most academicians are liberals.  Also librarians, journalists, lawyers.  They want to “save the world.” Not in the sense of open minded, fair, thoughtful,  more humane, examining all sides, and in line with the ancient principles of western civilization or the renaissance.  But liberal in the modern sense—leftists.  Socialists.  Progressives. That’s why I say, “Liberals aren’t.”  After saying, “We need to have a ‘conversation,’ ” they will then tell you that your share of the information is not “fair,” or “reasonable,” and therefore you need to shut up or or they will leave.

From Teaching as a Subversive Activity: [a talk based on a book of that title from 1969]

Professor Brown's talk focuses specifically on this problem: His basic thesis is that it is no longer sufficient to simply tell students to think for themselves, because then we lose the ability to influence them, and there's no guarantee that the students will then develop progressive worldviews. The "Revisited" part of the lecture's title means that these days, we must be more blunt and to the point: Since the good guys are now in charge, let's just dispense with all the experimentation and instead directly indoctrinate the students in leftist thought and ideals.  . .

Includes the transcript and audio of 6 questions/answers.

. . .

Code Phrases Alluding to Indoctrination
If you hear or read academics using any of these tell-tale terms, they are actually discussing how to indoctrinate students:
&bull Critical pedagogy
&bull Agent for change
&bull Moral imperative
&bull "Critical" anything
&bull Subversive
&bull Mandate

Apparently, it’s not race

Based on his recent study published in PLoS, Stanford University School of Medicine researcher Mark Cullen explained, “Once certain factors — such as the fraction of adults in the county who finish high school, the fraction with managerial or professional jobs and the fraction of adults who live in two-parent households — are accounted for, even geography, such as being in the South, is moot.”

Another study pointing out the importance of marriage to health.

http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2012/april/cullen.html

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Do speechwriters stutter?



This is simply amazing. I'd never heard the expression "punch above their weight" before, but I'll never forget it now.

Food deserts are a myth

If you're overweight it's not because there's a fast food business near-by and no fresh fruits and vegetables. I didn't even need the research. I have no shortage of information or healthy food. And I don't eat fast food (except an occasional McD's sausage biscuit). But you should watch me go through a block of healthy, white cheddar cheese or homemade buckeye candy (chocolate and peanut butter).

"Living close to supermarkets or grocers did not make students thin and living close to fast food outlets did not make them fat."

http://www.nationalreview.com/home-front/296485/jig-food-deserts/julie-gunlock .

This sort of junk nutrition by social scientists results in a steady stream of government grants from USDA and HHS for public employees for a non-problem. I was looking at one of the "fast food" and stress sites today at OSU and the director (showed a photo) of the program was overweight!

Delicious coleslaw recipe

Years ago I submitted my mother’s coleslaw recipe to Old Farmer’s Almanac 2000  and it got in (p. 204).  Mom got to see it in print before she died since it was published in 1999. This isn’t it.

I've learned a really fast, delicious way to make coleslaw. 1) buy a very small container of it from the deli case, 2) buy a large package of shredded cabbage, 3) mix, add chopped apples or raisins if you wish, 4) serve, 5) enjoy the compliments. The deli version has way too much dressing, but mixed with a bunch more cabbage, it's just about right.  Also, you don’t have shredded cabbage all over the kitchen and no skinned knuckles.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Lifetime Movies, Five cancer stories

A series of short films about women and their families dealing with cancer is really excellent. I was surprised by some of the "big names" doing the directing , like Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and Alicia Keyes.
The story lines of Five
Directed by Jennifer Aniston, written by Wendy West and told in a series of humorous and dramatic flashbacks, Mia is a survivor’s tale that highlights all of the highs and lows of Mia’s (Patricia Clarkson) two-year journey from diagnosis with breast cancer. During this time, she gives away all of her worldly possessions, holds a hilarious mock funeral while still alive and enters into a second marriage to Mitch (Tony Shalhoub), the new love of her life. Mia also features Kathy Najimy as Mia’s friend Rocky.

Lili, directed by Alicia Keys and written by Jill Gordon, follows Lili, a fiercely independent, career-minded woman (Rosario Dawson), who recruits her sister (Tracee Ellis Ross) to help tell their hard-nosed mother (Jenifer Lewis) that she has breast cancer. As they work through their past issues, Lili’s mother and sister ultimately become her strongest allies when she needs her family the most. Lili also stars Jeffrey Tambor as a male patient diagnosed with breast cancer.

In Cheyanne, directed by Penelope Spheeris and written by Howard Morris, sexy young stripper Cheyanne (Lyndsy Fonseca) and her handsome newlywed husband Tommy (Taylor Kinney) struggle to redefine their passionate relationship, as well as who they are as individuals, when Cheyenne is shocked with a breast cancer diagnosis. Looking at a severe prognosis, Cheyanne’s aggressive treatment ultimately results in the removal of both of her breasts, which have defined her life physically, financially and emotionally.

Directed by Demi Moore and written by Stephen Godchaux, “Five’s” opening film, Charlotte, takes place the night in July 1969 when man first walks on the moon, and when a young Pearl (Ava Acres) is more concerned about why her family is not letting her see her mother, Charlotte (Ginnifer Goodwin), who lies in her bedroom dying from breast cancer.

In Pearl, directed by Patty Jenkins and written by Deirdre O’Connor, Pearl (Jeanne Tripplehorn), the successful oncologist we have followed from childhood, suddenly finds herself in the patient’s seat when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Through this process, she finally understands what her parents experienced that night in 1969 and finds the strength to tell her young daughter that everything is going to be OK … something she never heard as a child.

Press goes to the dogs

No one would have brought up Obama eating dog meat in Indonesia (according to his book) if the Democrats in the Obamedia hadn't kept hammering on that Romney story from the early 80s of their dog riding on top of the car (huge dog, 6 kids in the car). So, animal lovers, putting him in a kennel for 2 weeks would have been better? But they just won't let go.  Really, who cares?  Will someone please get down to business and discuss important issues?  The economy.  Expansion of the wars. Destruction of the first amendment.  Just a few examples.  Democrats, you go first.  You're in office.

Will Obama get smacked around with this latest story of the military misbehavior the way Bush was about Abu-Grab? Or will the Koran story follow him?  Or how about soldiers urinating on dead bodies?  How the military might be involved in the growing scandal in Colombia?  No. He. Won't.  He's not Bush.  And that's a fact.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/us-marines-soul-searching-urinating-video/story?id=15353762

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-27/nine-killed-in-latest-afghan-violence/3855416

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/mar2012/pers-m07.shtml

Perhaps you support Planned Parenthood

April Praise Report

But I support Pregnancy Decision Health Centers.  Here's where my money goes.  Do you know where yours is?

"A young woman in high school came to our center looking for an abortion. She had a positive pregnancy test, but was unsure of how far along she was. She lived with her family and had a boyfriend, but she did not want a baby. We recommended an ultrasound. Her mother and boyfriend were both with her for the appointment. When the nurse began the ultrasound they could see the baby right away. The baby was big. The nurse was able to date the pregnancy and found that the girl was actually 25 weeks along in her pregnancy. The family all had tears in their eyes when they found out.

 After seeing the baby, the girl said she would continue the pregnancy. She was afraid to tell her father and brother, but the father of the baby said he would be supportive and would get another job. The nurse gave them information about how to get started with prenatal care, and spoke with them about the possibility of adoption. She also gave them referrals for additional community support. The nurse then offered the girl pictures from the ultrasound, but she refused. She did accept maternity clothes. We followed up with the family a week later and they confirmed that she had an appointment scheduled to see a prenatal care doctor. 

Recently, the grandma came into the center to donate maternity clothes and baby items. She said that her daughter has had the baby and they were both doing well. She said they were all excited about the baby and asked for the pictures that were taken at the time of the ultrasound."

Praise God for new life. Life isn't going to be easy for this family.  But did the baby really deserve to die because she might have a tough life?

Ted Nugent translates for Debbie Wasserman Schultz

(who didn’t ask about what Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam, meant when he said to a black audience their leaders would die in a few days)

“First of all, I’m the master of metaphors,” Nugent told radio host Joe Pags, and then went on to take a shot at his critics: “…and nobody needs an interpreter when i speak except [DNC Chair] Wasserman Schultz and the Marxist czars in the Obama administration and the ultra-leftist America-hating media out there. So I think everybody knows what I meant.”

“Obviously our American dream is dead if this president continues to spend our great great grandchildren’s money at an irresponsible and unaccountable pace. And certainly we‘re in jail because we’ve become subservient and addicted to Fedzilla — the wasteful, money-burning monster that is the federal government right now.”

He added: “When I say ‘rip their heads off,‘ I’m talking figuratively that we need to go to the voting booth and fire these people!”

Blaze

Technology flattens your wallet

When we bought our home on Abington Rd. in 1968, it was our third, and I was 28, my husband 29. Other than the mortgage (paid off in 1988), our housing expenses included a phone bill for one phone, and utilities--gas, electric, water. That’s it.  No cable TV.  No cell phone. No internet.   No news service via the internet.   What does the homeowner or renter pay today? According to the Journal of Accountancy:

Fifty-six percent of U.S. adults said they believe that technology has made it easier to spend money, and just 3% said it has made it easier to save. Thirty-seven percent said technology has made it easier to both spend and save, according to the national telephone poll, which consisted of 1,005 responses.

The survey found that Americans who subscribe to digital services spend an average of $166 monthly for cable TV, home internet access, mobile phone service, and digital subscriptions such as satellite radio or streaming video. That’s the equivalent of 17% of their average monthly rent or mortgage payment.

Respondents who download songs, mobile applications, and other products spend an additional $38 per month, on average, according to the survey.

JaVale, the basketball player

His mother was a professional basketball player who was scheduled for an abortion, then prayed to God for guidance, got a pretty clear answer the next day in a sermon at church and cancelled her appointment at the abortion clinic.

“JaVale McGee is 7 feet, with a 7'6½" wingspan and a 31½-inch vertical leap, unfathomable for a man his size. At 24, he can tap the front of the rim with his forehead. He can slap the top of the square with his palm. He can dunk a cookie in a bowl of milk 11 feet off the ground. When McGee was at the University of Nevada, an opposing player once explained to his coach why he couldn't guard him: "He jumped over me."

Read the whole story and how she told JaVale.

This man owes a billion in back taxes


Warren Buffett's actual tax rate is around 50%, and no his secretary isn't taxed at that rate. The president lies; his cronies lie; even Buffett, a self-made billionaire lies. The "Buffett rule" was smoke and mirrors, to get your eye off the real problem--Obama owns this recession.

Barack Obama on live birth abortion

No legislator or politician in the history of this country has been this adamant about “choice” to kill a baby—even if it is born alive.  Jill Stanek tells about “working for a year at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, as a registered nurse in the Labor and Delivery Department, when I heard in report that we were aborting a second-trimester baby with Down’s syndrome. I was completely shocked. In fact, I had specifically chosen to work at Christ Hospital because it was a Christian hospital and not involved, so I thought, in abortion. It hurt so much that the very place these abortions were being committed was at a hospital named after my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I was further grieved to learn that the hospital’s religious affiliates, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the United Church of Christ, were pro-abortion. I had no idea that any Christian denomination could be pro-abortion!” Link

Shame on the ELCA.  Shame on the President.

An apple a day—the Kanzi

I eat an apple every day for breakfast.  Every day.  My very most favorite is Honey Crisp, expensive and only available about 3-4 months in the fall, and the taste varies depending on which state provides the soil (I think Minnesota is best).  My second most favorite is Braeburn, then Gala or Fuji. For pies, use 3 or 4 varieties and include at least one Pink Lady for color. Jonathon are good for color in a salad, but generally are tasteless.

Today for the first time I am eating a Kanzi, so I looked it up.  The word is from Swahili and means “hidden treasure.”  It is the daughter of the Braeburn and Gala—isn’t that nice to know the family tree—and a sister of the Jazz apple.  The Orange Pippin web site describes and contrasts the Jazz and Kanzi:

The colouration is very similar, but we think Kanzi is arguably the prettier apple. Jazz can look a little bit too tall, whereas Kanzi is more rounded -quite similar to Ariane (although the parentage is completely different).

Looks are important commercially, but for us it is mainly about the flavour of the apple. The flavour of both Kanzi and Jazz is extremely good, but also quite different.

The Jazz apple has the stronger flavour, with its distinctive peardrop aftertaste and dense flesh. Kanzi is more delicate, with a less pronounced flavour and lighter flesh. In our tests so far most tasters prefer Kanzi (by a margin of at least 2/3rds to 1/3rd), partly because Jazz can be just a bit too solid to bite into sometimes. The milder flavour of Kanzi is also easier and less demanding, although perhaps a bit less memorable too. However your objective author should here state his own preference: Jazz wins because of its more distinctive flavour.

I’ve only had a few bites (I slice them and eat with either carrots or oranges and walnuts.  So my taste buds haven’t decided yet.  But nothing matches a Honey Crisp.