November 22, 1963

“Will we ever know the truth about Nov. 22, 1963,”  they ask? Why yes. Lee Harvey Oswald, a Communist American recently of the USSR, shot and killed John F. Kennedy in a motorcade in Dallas. The media jumped on the idea immediately that it was right wing nuts and that much hasn't changed in 50 years of public tragedies. That Sunday when I was watching TV, I saw Jack Ruby kill Oswald, the only person who could explain why. And the conspiracy theories have been hatching regularly since. This gives the perps their 10 minutes of fame and a book deal. It's a cottage industry.

Got insurance?

Friday Family photo—a rerun

http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2006/07/2673-friday-family-photo-thirty-years.html

The Bruces and the Bruces, 1976, Huntington Beach, California

Naked hypocrisy in the Senate

Today Harry Reid wants to squash Republican's right to filibuster, but he had a different tune in 2005.

"The filibuster is far from a “procedural gimmick.” It is part of the fabric of this institution. It was well known in colonial legislatures, and it is an integral part of our country’s 217 years of history.

The first filibuster in the U.S. Congress happened in 1790. It was used by lawmakers from Virginia and South Carolina who were trying to prevent Philadelphia from hosting the first Congress.

Since 1790, the filibuster has been employed hundreds and hundreds of times.

Senators have used it to stand up to popular presidents. To block legislation. And yes – even to stall executive nominees.

The roots of the filibuster can be found in the Constitution and in the Senate rules. . . “

Obama and Biden too supported the filibuster in 2005 when it benefitted them.  Biden,

“…I say to my friends on the Republican side, you may own the field right now, but you won’t own it forever. And I pray God when the Democrats take back control we don’t make the kind of naked power grab you are doing.”

Senator Obama in 2005:

"Everyone in this chamber knows that if the majority chooses to end the filibuster—if they choose to change the rules and put an end to democratic debate—then the fighting and the bitterness and the gridlock will only get worse."

Put Beth Moore’s new book on your Christmas list

Do you have some Beth Moore fans on your Christmas list? "Whispers of hope; 10 weeks of devotional prayer" (B&H Publishing Group, 2013, $14.99) might be a good choice. I just received my copy, and I really like the plan. You remember how Beth loves assignments and workbooks? With each of the 70 days, there are assigned scripture, Beth's personal and anecdotal musings, and then pages with 4 line...s each for your own thoughts on Praise, Repentance, Acknowledgment, Intercession, Supplication for Self, and Equipping. Whether you write something down isn't as important in my view as the nudge to include these areas in your prayer life.

"I'm certain of two things: prayerless lives are powerless lives, and prayerful lives are powerful lives." Beth Moore

                        

Presidents’ famous words

Breakfast casserole in a crock pot

I’m not sure why this would be any easier than baking it in the oven, but maybe some people want to sleep in.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag 26 oz. frozen hash browns
• 12 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard
• 1 16 oz. roll sausage maple, sage or regular sausage.
• Salt and pepper
• 16 oz. bag shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

• 1. Spray crock pot and evenly spread hash browns at the bottom.
• 2. Crack 12 eggs in a large bowl.
• 3. Mix well (and slowly) using a whisk.
• 4. Add the milk.
• 5. Go ahead and sprinkle in the ground mustard.
• 6. Add salt and lots of fresh pepper. Mix well and set aside.
• 7. Cook the sausage on high heat, drain and set aside.
• 8. Add sausage on top of hash browns.
• 9. Add cheese.
• 10. Mix it up well.
• 11. Pour the egg mixture over everything in the crock pot. Using a wood spoon, even everything out so it's spread evenly.
• 12. Turn the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours. Some fun variations of this recipe. Before cooking (during prep) you can add: chunks of sourdough bread, diced chiles, salsa, diced green onions

Is this a great country? Praise for our immigrants

In November 2005 I wrote a blog about trying to find a place to have my morning coffee on Thanksgiving Day, but everything except White Castle was closed, and their employees were all immigrants. Someone commented that it was ironic that immigrants were working so Americans could enjoy the holiday. To which I answered:

"Yes, that would indeed be the liberal view. The conservative view is that this is the land where immigrants are still welcome, where even when their English is barely passable, they can work if they want to, that they were given the choice, and were probably paid double time for a holiday, even though to them it was just another day. And the happiest guy in the store was probably the developmentally disabled employee, because he really wants to make a contribution to society and White Castle is giving him that opportunity.

And the Asian lady probably has a daughter in college, and the Hispanic who now rides a bicycle to work in the dark is saving for a car, something he'd never be able to afford in the old country.

Is this a great country or what?"

The OSU Marching Band

Some Incredible Numbers about the OSU Marching Band aka TBDBITL.

Their quality is so high that, according to OSU information, in the weeks following the "Tribute to Michael Jackson" show, stories about OSUMB have been carried by over 1,000 media outlets around the world, and the University's Facebook page saw an 11,000% increase in traffic. Perhaps the most staggering statistic is that the University estimates that the total number of people who heard about OSUMB in the past few weeks exceeds 6 Billion (yes, that's a "B"). That's over 80% of the world's population.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20748064,00.html

http://deadspin.com/the-ohio-state-marching-bands-michael-jackson-tribute-1449315662

http://thelantern.com/2013/10/ohio-state-marching-band-attracts-attention-today-michael-jacksons-mom/

“If this show convinces an extra fan to stay and watch their show at halftime, or even an extra child to pick up an instrument in elementary school, it’s worth it,” Kosta Nicolozakes said (plays baritone in the band).

Message from a gay Catholic

“When I first came out in the 1980s, it was common for gay rights apologists to blame the promiscuity among gay men on "internalized homophobia." Gay men, like African Americans, internalized and acted out the lies about themselves learned from mainstream American culture. Furthermore, homosexuals were forced to look for love in dimly lit bars, bathhouses, and public parks for fear of harassment at the hands of a homophobic mainstream. The solution to this problem, we were told, was permitting homosexuals to come out into the open, without fear of retribution. A variant of this argument is still put forward by activists such as Andrew Sullivan, in order to legitimate same-sex marriage. And it seemed reasonable enough twenty years ago. But thirty-five years have passed since the infamous Stonewall riots of 1969 in New York, the Lexington and Concord of the gay liberation movement. During that time, homosexuals have carved out for themselves public spaces in every major American city, and many of the minor ones as well. They have had the chance to create whatever they wanted in those spaces, and what have they created? New spaces for locating sexual partners. . .

“But at this point, how is it possible to blame the promiscuity among homosexual men on homophobia, internalized or otherwise? On the basis of evidence no stronger than wishful thinking, Andrew Sullivan wants us to believe that legalizing same-sex "marriage" will domesticate gay men, that all that energy now devoted to building bars and bathhouses will be dedicated to erecting picket fences and two-car garages. What Sullivan refuses to face is that male homosexuals are not promiscuous because of "internalized homophobia," or laws banning same-sex "marriage." Homosexuals are promiscuous because when given the choice, homosexuals overwhelmingly choose to be promiscuous. And wrecking the fundamental social building block of our civilization, the family, is not going to change that. . .

Over the years, I have attended various gay and gay-friendly church services. All of them shared one characteristic in common: a tacit agreement never to say a word from the pulpit -- or from any other location for that matter -- suggesting that there ought to be any restrictions on human sexual behavior. If anyone reading this is familiar with Dignity or Integrity or the Metropolitan Community churches or, for that matter, mainline Protestantism and most of post-Vatican II Catholicism, let me ask you one question: When was the last time you heard a sermon on sexual ethics? Have you ever heard a sermon on sexual ethics? I take it for granted that the answer is negative. Do our priests and pastors honestly believe that Christians in America are not in need of sermons on sexual ethics?”

Ronald G. Lee (the original article was written in 2006)

Billary and BO

“For now, Clinton is popular, a Democratic icon, and Obama is relying on him for a life raft in the current storm. Clinton knows something about comebacks, and if Obama can recover, Hillary is the beneficiary. Clinton can’t say it, not yet, but he thinks Hillary will be a better president than Obama, heck, maybe better than he was.”  Eleanor Clift, Nov. 20

It was a short week because of the holiday

• Last week, 66 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 78 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 33 minutes.
• All in all, 3,186 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2013 will be 3,604 new final rules.
• Last week, 1,689 new pages were added to the 2013 Federal Register, for a total of 68,313 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2013 Federal Register will run 77,278 pages, which would be good for fifth all time. The current record is 81,405 pages, set in 2010.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. No such rules were published last week, keeping the total at 35 so far in 2013.
• The total estimated compliance costs of this year’s economically significant regulations ranges from $6.42 billion to $11.82 billion.
• So far, 289 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2013.
• So far this year, 629 final rules affect small business; 86 of them are significant rules.

http://www.openmarket.org/2013/11/18/ceis-battered-business-bureau-the-week-in-regulation-90/

http://cei.org/10kc

Total costs for Americans to comply with federal regulations reached $1.806 trillion in 2012. For the first time, this amounts to more than half of total federal spending. It is more than the GDPs of Canada or Mexico.

2013 is on track to be the 5th largest in regulations, with 2010 being the winner.

How abortions after 18 weeks are performed

Written by Abby Johnson, who formerly worked for Planned Parenthood, and also had an abortion. From her FaceBook page, November 20, 2013

The mother goes in for her initial ultrasound to date the pregnancy. Also at this visit, Laminaria (seaweed sticks) are inserted into the cervix. These sticks will begin the dilation process.

The next step begins with the doctor inserting a large (amniocentesis like) needle through the mother's belly into the amniotic sac. The doctor will inject a lethal dose of Digoxin into the fluid. The baby will gulp the fluid which is laced with the Digoxin. (Abortionists will say that the Digoxin is inserted directly into the baby's heart, but this is very rarely the case.) The overdose will begin. It could take up to 48 hours for the baby to die. During this time, the mother may feel her baby thrashing around in her womb.

On day two, the mother will go back to the facility for a follow up ultrasound and for insertion of more Laminaria. The doctor will need the woman's cervix dilated to at least 8cm. During the ultrasound, if the baby is still alive, they will inject additional Digoxin into the amniotic sac.

Day three. Delivery of the stillborn baby begins. They will hook the mother up to medication (Pitocin) to begin labor. After labor begins, the mother will be sedated. Nurses and other staff with physically push on the mother's abdomen in order to deliver the child. After delivery, the child will be weighed, measured, and incinerated.

After no more than 2 hours in recovery, the mother is sent home with two different antibiotics (Cephalexin and Doxycycline), pain killers (Ibuprofen and Hydrocodone), anti nausea medication (Phenergan), and a blood coagulant (Methergen) to help stop the bleeding.

Font Fail

D.E.A.R.

Watched a really excellent program on Alzheimer's on EWTN. The segment I saw was using DEAR as an acronym and the R was for rest and relaxation and the importance of forgiveness in controlling stress, which increases the body's level of cortisol. The other letters were D for diet, E for exercise, A for something like brain aerobics. Dr. Fortanasce and Dr. Landry hosted. I did find some YouTube presentations by Fortanasce, but the entire 13 week program is on EWTN.

The D.E.A.R program goal is to prevent Alzheimer's disease is those with no genetic pre-disposition and to delay it 10 to 15 years in those with a genetic pre-disposition. The four month clinic program is based on a 4-step medically-proven plan from The Anti-Alzheimer's Prescription, by Dr. Vincent Fortanasce.

While the primary focus of the D.E.A.R program is Alzheimer's prevention; following these simple lifestyle and dietary modifications can also prevent or lesson the symptoms of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, joint and spine disease and many other health issues. Our program is not just about living longer, it is about living better.

http://www.healthybrainmd.com/the-dear-program.html

Bashir and MSNBC and Palin

I'm not going to sign the petition to fire Bashir, the creep on MSNBC who thought Sarah Palin should be tortured because she used the word slavery in talking about our debt. No, let MSNBC go down with him. Just don't watch them. Vote with your remote!  He's entitled to be stupid and MSNBC should pay the price for not setting better journalism guidelines.

And more

PEPFAR and sex workers with U.S. money

In 2003, when signing the legislation passed to create the program "President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief" President Bush called PEPFAR "a medical version of the Marshall Plan." And it was. From 100,000 victims receiving anti-retroviral drugs, about 2 million were receiving them 5 years later, half of whom were babies. 21 billion was spent in over 80 countries from 2004-2011. It was so successful in saving lives, that it had bi-partisan support in 2008 for expansion.

As of September 2012, PEPFAR reports that it has supported antiretroviral treatment for more than 5.1 million, care for 15 million, including 4.5 million orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), and in FY 2012, by providing antiretroviral prophylaxis to 750,000 HIV positive pregnant women, enabled 230,000 babies to be born HIV-free. Numbers sound great, so does success rate, right? Other than the small pox and polio campaigns to vaccinate millions of children back in the 40s and 50s, I can't think of too many health efforts this successful.

Hold on to your hats. The Supreme Court has ruled that the anti-prostitution pledge (required of partners in PEPFAR to get the grant money) violates the First Amendment by requiring recipients to adopt and espouse, as their own, our government's view of moral disapproval of commercial sex work. So grant recipients can promote and condone prostitution. The idea is that sex workers need services, too. Yes, I'm sure they do. But I think this is outrageous, especially considering what is happening to OUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS, and our tax money is used to assure that African sex workers have free speech. JAMA, Sept. 18, 2013 pp. 1127-28

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleID=1733774

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/jul/24/prostitution-us-aids-funding-sex

http://www.amfar.org/pepfar-receives-glowing-report-but-funding-at-risk/

"Nearly 60% of HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa occur among women."  How to fog up the issue.  These women are getting HIV from men who have sex with men and men who have sex with prostitutes who get it from men who have sex with men. FGM contributes to the transmission of HIV, but I don’t see any discussion of that. http://www.pepfar.gov/press/strategy_briefs/138405.htm

http://womensenews.org/story/genital-mutilation/070810/health-activists-link-spread-hiv-aids-fgm

http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/africa1203/6.htm

http://www.ednahospital.org/hospital-mission/female-genital-mutilation/

Typo, but you get the idea

Rhymes with hemorrhoid.

November 19, 1863, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

President Obama is just not doing well with this Gettysburg Address thing. First he bails on attending the 150th event in Pennsylvania, offending even some of his strongest supporters (he had a meeting with some Wall St. CEOs scheduled for today, although he'd been invited over a year ago), then it comes out when he recorded the speech for Ken Burns to "mash" with other Presidents and celebs (a really odd collection including some of my least favorite TV reporters), he does so without the "under God" phrase, so Jimmy Carter got that part. Really, what is wrong with this man, who literally spoke from Lincoln's grave to get elected in 2008? It's like he carries a stick to poke us in the eye regularly.