First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt carried a gun due to death threats

Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt has lunch with students at the Ohio State University on November 13, 1959.

Notice the purse under her arm in the first photo? Did you know, in her later years, Eleanor Roosevelt was a "pistol packing" liberal? Pictured in the second photo (discovered at the FDR Library) is her pistol permit. Former First Ladies did not have Secret Service protection until 1964 and Eleanor had numerous death threats against her and a bounty for her head by the KKK for her outspoken support of civil rights throughout the 1950s. It is said that she always carried a gun in her purse when she traveled. Tom Betti spoke with tour guides at great length at her home in Hyde Park, New York and they insist she target practiced and was ready to defend herself! She was never afraid of anyone, but prepared to defend friends, herself, and what she believed in. One thing is clear from her ID photo, don't mess with Eleanor!

Courtesy of Columbus Landmarks Foundation

https://www.facebook.com/ColumbusLandmarksFoundation

When we finally have that “conversation” about race. . . let’s tell the whole story

I was probably in my 30s or 40s before I found out that before the Civil War freed blacks in the U.S. owned slaves. I don't recall that was covered in American history in high school or college. But it wasn't until Prof. Henry Gates (Obama's friend in Boston and PBS host) wrote about it, that I learned that free blacks owned slaves at a much higher rate than whites, something like 25% compared to about 1.5%. Some of course, bought their wives and children after they bought their own freedom, although those were still counted as slaves in the census.  But many owned large numbers and nice plantations that needed slave labor. Also, Gates reported that only a very small number of African slaves ever came to colonies that became the U.S.--most of the 10+ million went to South America or the Caribbean where they died in huge numbers and had to be replaced. Free American blacks were voting before the Revolution and most likely helped ratify the amendments and send the men to Congress. There were very wealthy free blacks who owned a lot of property as well as small businessmen and craftsmen of all manner of the arts in the South.

To sustain their economic activities, free people of color acquired increasing numbers of slaves. Urban artisans--carpenters, bricklayers, stonemasons, mechanics-purchased black apprentices, hod carriers, and helpers; merchants and business people bought haulers, carters, and stock boys; plantation owners purchased house servants, cooks, mechanics, and field hands. By 1830, approximately 1,556 free black masters in the Deep South owned a total of 7, 188 slaves. Representing about 42 percent of the black owners in the South, they owned 60 percent of the black-owned slaves. In the Charleston District, 407 owners held a total of 2, 195 slaves. In New Orleans, there were 753 free black owners, including 25 who owned at least 10 bondsmen and women and another 1 16 who owned between 5 and 9 slaves. Although some of these slaveholders owned members of their own families, or loved ones, unable to free them by law, in 8 rural Louisiana sugar and cotton parishes, 43 Creoles of color ( 1.2 percent of the black slaveholders in the South) owned a total of 1,327 blacks, or lout of 9 slaves owned by blacks. In St. John the Baptist Parish, 3 plantation owners held 139 blacks in bondage-an average of 46 slaves each; in Pointe Coupee Parish, 8 planters held 297 slaves, an average of 37 slaves each. In 1830, approximately lout of 4 free black families in the region was a slaveholder.  “Prosperous Blacks in the South, 1790-1880”

http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/L_Schweninger_Prosperous_1990.pdf

More recently, the Cherokee nation has expelled descendants of their black slaves which since the Civil War had been considered part of the nation according to a treaty they had with the U.S.  Before being forcibly removed to Oklahoma, over 7% of the Cherokees owned slaves--more than the whites in the same states and they took their slaves with them on the “trail of tears.” I suspect that the action had much more to do with money than racial animosity--there was a huge government settlement to be divided up a few years ago. Imagine thinking your family was Cherokee since 1866, and then you get exiled from the tribe over a few billion dollars.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/the-cherokees-one-nation-divisible-judge-will-decide-if-black-members-can-be-expelled/2014/05/06/8690e56c-d55e-11e3-aae8-c2d44bd79778_story.html

What this really shows is that slavery, which exists in larger numbers today than in the 18th century, is a human problem, not a white American problem.  Africans enslaved and sold people of other tribes, and the Arab Muslims were the middlemen to get them to the coast for the Europeans to sell.  Cherokees and other Indians had slaves long before the Europeans stepped ashore, and saw no problem in buying and selling black Africans.

http://ballandalus.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/trans-saharan-slave-trade-and-racism-in-the-arab-world/

http://randomthoughtsonhistory.blogspot.com/2014/04/just-finished-reading-black-property.html/

Lutheran Bible Translators—Ebola

“Lives and well-being of Sierra Leonean and Liberian coworkers are threatened because of the Ebola Epidemic in West Africa – spreading rapidly and claiming the lives of thousands. We have 28 coworkers in Sierra Leone and over 40 in Liberia. They have years of translation and teaching experience and encourage others to use and understand the Scriptures. The loss of even one worker would be a devastating blow to the mission of God’s Word being accessible in the heart language. Because of the Ebola Epidemic, coworkers are having to find new ways to accomplish their work while keeping themselves and their families safe.”

Powdered caffeine is dangerous

Senator Sherrod Brown wants the FDA to regulate powered caffeine.

“Caffeine is an accepted part of our culture – you would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t enjoyed a cup of coffee or tea, or a can of soda or an energy drink to concentrate or gain energy. Powdered pure caffeine, however, is not well understood and its high concentration makes it dangerous.

Even a small amount of powdered caffeine can kill.

According to the FDA, one teaspoon of powered caffeine is like drinking 25 cups of coffee all at once. That is more than six times the recommended daily amount of caffeine for an adult. Teenagers – who may be tempted to use powdered caffeine to stay awake in class or to improve their sports performance – are recommended to have no more caffeine than what you would find in a single cup of coffee.
To complicate matters, the recommended serving size of powdered caffeine is one-sixteenth of a teaspoon. That amount is so small that it’s nearly impossible to estimate without a food scale and a special miniature measuring spoon. Most kitchens don’t have those tools, putting powdered caffeine users at risk for fatal measuring errors.

Too much caffeine can cause rapid or erratic heartbeat, seizures, and even death but, despite these risks, powdered caffeine can be purchased online or in stores with little warning or guidance. Kids and teenagers can even purchase this deadly stimulant in bulk online with the click of a button and no parental supervision. “

(Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio newsletter)

http://www.dispatch.com/content/blogs/the-daily-briefing/2014/10/102714-powdered-caffeine.html

Herman Cain looks at the “good works” for blacks since Obama took office

“If Michelle Nunn wins that means Democrats keep control of the Senate and we can keep on doing some good works.” Barack Obama

Let’s look at the numbers (in all cases giving you the most recent numbers I could get):

• The median income for blacks in 2013 was $34,598. It was $35,387 in 2009.
• In 2013 the number of blacks living under the poverty line -- roughly $12,000 for an individual – rose to more than 11 million. In all, 27.2 percent of blacks were living in poverty in 2013. In 2009, roughly 9.9 million blacks (25.8 of all blacks) lived below the poverty level.
• Non-Hispanic blacks accounted for 37.4 percent of the total federal and state prison population in 2013. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, blacks are 13.2 percent of the U.S. population.
• 43 percent of blacks owned their own home in 2013. The rate was 46.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009.
• Black students had a high school graduation rate of 69 percent in 2011-12. The rate was 66.1 percent in 2009-10.
• From 2009 to 2011, the number of black workers earning only the minimum wage swelled by 16.6 percent, while the same number for whites rose by only 5.2 percent.

http://www.caintv.com/black-stats-obama-doesnt-want

Walnuts or Almonds for brain food—I eat both

Walnuts

Adding walnuts to your diet may help reverse some forms of age-related brain deterioration, according to a study published in the August 2012 issue of the "Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry." In the laboratory animal study, diets containing 6 percent walnuts significantly reduced degenerative protein deposits in the brain and promoted the brain's natural waste removal processes. Existing protein deposits were removed by the walnut-supplemented diets, with greatest effects noted in an area of the brain responsible for cognitive function and memory retention. Researchers also noted that walnuts boosted the brain's normal antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.

Almonds

Almonds improved memory and lowered cholesterol levels in an animal study published in the June 2010 issue of the "Indian Journal of Pharmacology." Doses of 150 milligrams per kilogram body weight of almonds for 14 days improved learning and memory and reversed a form of drug-induced amnesia. Almonds also caused a decrease in levels of an enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that increases attention and awareness. Low levels of acetylcholine can lead to protein plaque formation and dementia. Researchers concluded that almonds may offer benefits for restoring memory and cognitive function in Alzheimer's patients.

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/kind-nuts-good-brain-7718.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/06/healthy-nuts-health-benefits-cashews-walnuts-peanuts-almonds_n_3187731.html

https://memory-brain-function.knoji.com/brain-foods-to-increase-brain-power-nuts-and-seeds-that-improve-your-memory-and-brain-function/

Marc’s on Henderson Road (Columbus) always has the best prices on walnuts, about $2 cheaper than other stores, but they have been going up.  Yesterday I paid $6.99/lb for whole walnuts which is about $2 higher than a year or two ago.

The tragedy in Marysville

The school shooting Wednesday near Seattle, Washington  is looking less like a school shooting and more like a teen love triangle with the school just a convenient place to get them all in one place. So sad. The shooter and male victims were friends, cousins and members of the same Native American group. The name of the female killed hasn’t been released.  Pray for the families.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/marysville-school-shooting/marysville-shooting-families-victims-grieve-bedsides-n233806

Two male victims, who were identified Saturday as Nate Hatch, 14, and Andrew Fryberg, 15, are being treated at Harborview Medical Center Seattle. Hatch's grandfather said the boys are cousins of the shooter, Jaylen Ray Fryberg, a freshman football player at Marysville Pilchuck High School — the chaotic scene of Friday morning's violence. “They’re just three complete buddies, and they couldn't be closer than three brothers,” Don Hatch told TODAY, referring to the gunman, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the two injured boys, who remain in intensive care.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/25/cafeteria-worker-washington-shooting_n_6046812.html

Fryberg's Twitter feed suggested he was struggling with an unidentified problem. On Wednesday, a posting read: "It won't last ... It'll never last." On Monday, another said: "I should have listened. ... You were right ... The whole time you were right."
Marysville-Pilchuck High School has a number of students from the Tulalip Indian tribes.

Update: Father of shooter Jaylen was sentenced to 2 years for illegally purchasing guns.  http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/01/23/tulalip-school-shooter-father-gets-two-years-prison-163164

How many non-citizens are voting? We might have Obamacare because of them!

Study estimates that "6.4% of non-citizens voted in 2008 and 2.2% of non-citizens voted in 2010." 14% of non-citizens are registered to vote, whether or not they actually do is another matter (It’s a crime, by the way). This could conceivably have changed the make up of the Senate in 2010.  Plus, many of those illegals voting actually have fake documents, which throws in question an ID to vote, doesn’t it?

The Monkey Cage blog at the Washington Post, a “data journalism” hub a la Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight that prioritizes insights gleaned from number-crunching above left/right argumentation. In fact, the conclusion to the post isn’t that the study’s results necessarily cast a pall over the integrity of some U.S. elections and even the legitimacy of ObamaCare’s passage.

Democrats claim there isn’t massive fraud in our elections, but how much is enough to poison the results, or people’s respect for our system.  Just the school board outcome?  How about the bond issue for the schools?  Or maybe the city council? State legislature? How do you want to steal YOUR vote? Most of this fraud favors Democrats?  If you are a Democrat are you good with that? Are you OK with a win of say, 312, for your guy if there’s a heavy immigrant turn out? And don’t bring up Florida in 2000!  It was insulting to blacks, registered voters, that they couldn’t figure out a ballot, and Democrats were SO SURE of their power in that polling district they needed hanging chads to determine “intention.”

Our data comes from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES). Its large number of observations (32,800 in 2008 and 55,400 in 2010) provide sufficient samples of the non-immigrant sub-population, with 339 non-citizen respondents in 2008 and 489 in 2010. For the 2008 CCES, we also attempted to match respondents to voter files so that we could verify whether they actually voted.

How many non-citizens participate in U.S. elections? More than 14 percent of non-citizens in both the 2008 and 2010 samples indicated that they were registered to vote. Furthermore, some of these non-citizens voted. Our best guess, based upon extrapolations from the portion of the sample with a verified vote, is that 6.4 percent of non-citizens voted in 2008 and 2.2 percent of non-citizens voted in 2010.

Because non-citizens tended to favor Democrats (Obama won more than 80 percent of the votes of non-citizens in the 2008 CCES sample), we find that this participation was large enough to plausibly account for Democratic victories in a few close elections. Non-citizen votes could have given Senate Democrats the pivotal 60th vote needed to overcome filibusters in order to pass health-care reform and other Obama administration priorities in the 111th Congress. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) won election in 2008 with a victory margin of 312 votes. Votes cast by just 0.65 percent of Minnesota non-citizens could account for this margin. It is also possible that non-citizen votes were responsible for Obama’s 2008 victory in North Carolina. Obama won the state by 14,177 votes, so a turnout by 5.1 percent of North Carolina’s adult non-citizens would have provided this victory margin.

Franken winning a Minnesota seat illegally is a different ballgame. He was the 60th vote for ObamaCare. Replace him in the Senate with Norm Coleman and the law probably never passes.

http://hotair.com/archives/2014/10/24/study-non-citizens-are-voting-in-federal-elections-and-probably-tipped-at-least-one-senate-race-to-democrats/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/10/24/could-non-citizens-decide-the-november-election/

http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/cces/home

Children who are poor

“Children living in single female-headed families are especially prone to poverty. In 2013 a child living in a single female-headed family was nearly five times more likely to be poor than a child living in a married-couple family. In 2013, among all children living in single female-headed families, 45.8% were poor. In contrast, among children living in married-couple families, 9.5% were poor.

The increased share of children who live in single female-headed families has contributed to the high overall child poverty rate. In 2013, one quarter (25.0%) of children were living in single female-headed families, more than double the share who lived in such families
when the overall child poverty rate was at a historical low (1969). Among all poor children, nearly six in ten (58.7%) were living in single female-headed families in 2013.

In 2013, 38.0% of black children were poor (4.2 million), compared to 30.0% of Hispanic children (5.3 million) and 10.1% of non-Hispanic white children (3.8 million).  Among children living in single female-headed families, more than half of black children (54.0%) and Hispanic children (52.3%) were poor; in contrast, one-third of non-Hispanic white children (33.6%) were poor.

The poverty rate among Hispanic children who live in married-couple families (19.9%) was above that of black children (16.8%), and four times that of non-Hispanic white children (4.9%) who live in  such  families.  Contributing to the high rate of overall black child poverty is the large share of black children who live in single female-headed families (54.0%) compared to Hispanic children (30.1%) or non-Hispanic white children (15.7%).”

Poverty in the United States

Obamacare has raised non-group premiums in most states

“We’ll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year. . . . We’ll do it by the end of my first term as president of the United States” Barack Obama, a campaign promise made many times.

A new study from the well-respected and non-partisan National Bureau of Economic Research (and published by Brookings Institution), overcomes the limitations of these prior studies [projections] by examining what happened to premiums in the entire non-group market. The bottom line? In 2014, premiums in the non-group market grew by 24.4% compared to what they would have been without Obamacare.  Of equal importance, this careful state-by-state assessment showed that premiums rose in all but 6 states (including Washington DC).

http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2014/10/23/now-there-can-be-no-doubt-obamacare-will-increase-non-group-premiums-in-nearly-all-states/

Do women earn less than men? No. Sometimes they earn more

Income gap? Democrats need to update, but won't--they need the women's vote. Census data from 2008--6 years ago--show that single, childless women in their 20s now [then] earn 8 percent more on average than their male counterparts in metropolitan areas. In some metropolitan areas such as Atlanta and LA they might earn as much as 12-20% more. When all variables are taken into consideration--age, marital status, career choice, location, education--many women do better than men. This also means well educated, successful women are probably marrying the same type of man, and living in households that will contribute to an even larger gap, because the key for women is marriage and education, whatever your color or job.

Between 2006 and 2008, 32.7% of women between 25 and 34 had a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 25.8% of men, according to the Census.

Bob Trube on staying intellectually fit

1. Work out with somebody else. What I have in mind here is that people decline mentally as well as physically when they are isolated. Pursuing some mentally engaging activity with others — whether a book group, a painting group, a choral group (all pursuits of mine!), or some other interest group that involves people and conversation — all that can help keep us mentally fit.

2. Healthy diet is important for our minds as well. A little “mind candy” is probably something all of us indulge in. A steady diet of “mind candy” might not be so helpful. A balanced intellectual diet might mean not getting all our mental stimulation from one source, like the television, or graphic novels. Mixing that up with books, discussions with friends, and different perspectives are all important. I would also suggest not being a “junkie” in any one area–particularly a news junkie! That seems to me to be a prescription for depression.

3. Are you developing your “core strength”? What I take this to mean is cultivating the core convictions and practices around life’s most basic issues, whatever those might be for you. For me as a Christian, this involves things like prayer, reading of scripture, self-examination, and the regular practice of gratitude. “Core strength” seems to me critical to navigating the challenges of getting older and those who haven’t addressed this sometimes spend their later years very badly and unhappily.

4. Attending to our mental “cardio” health seems vital as well. We can experience a “hardening” of our thought life when we nurse bitterness, anger, unforgiveness, or resentment. Similarly, I’ve watched people develop skewed views of reality where they worry themselves about conspiracies, rivalries, or killer bugs on every surface. All this impinges on how we think and hear the ideas of others. Mental “cardio” involves letting go of anger and bitterness, and, at least for me, trusting that I will live as long as God wants me to and realizing that worry will probably only shorten my life, not lengthen it.

5. Mental flexibility is another quality that sometimes seems to deteriorate with age. It is easy to begin to think in ruts. After all, it took us six decades to get to where we are, why change now? One thing I try to do is replay those mental tapes from when I was in my 20s that said, “I never want to become an old ‘stick in the mud'”! All of us knew people like that. The question is, are we becoming like that? Some of this is trying new things–for me this has been in the area of art. I still don’t think I have much artistic talent, but drawing makes me see things differently, and that is good. Do you just read the writers who agree with you or get all your news from one news outlet with a particular perspective? While disagreement can be uncomfortable, it also enlarges my view of the world and at very least helps me see why someone could see things so differently than I.

Bob blogs at Bob on Books

Walking and Weight Watchers eliminates 200 lbs and her diabetes

Airport employee sits for 10 years and reaches 370 lb. Starts walking the halls of the airport--loses 200 lb. and her diabetes. Plus she was an overweight child.

 http://www.kcci.com/news/she-walked-off-more-than-200-pounds-at-the-airport/29295568

God’s plan for the human race

Canadian work-place violence

To quote George W. Bush, “a thumpin’”

"Democrats this year—what a rhetorical, emotional and policy disaster. In ’08 they were on fire with hope, in ’12 they were keep the faith, stay the course. This year they are surly. They are unloving and unlovable. It’s race and gender politics, it’s wheelchairs, it’s endless defensiveness about voting for or with the president. Republicans may have failed to unite, but the Democrats divide."  Peggy Noonan http://online.wsj.com/articles/can-obama-find-thumpin-to-say-1414106272

The history of beer

I have never tasted beer. Not once. The smell puts me off. But yesterday our Conestoga (Ohio history) group attended a fascinating lecture on the history of beer in the world, in the U.S., in Ohio and Columbus, and the growth of craft beers. I learned why you should never drink beer out of a bottle and why you want to have as much foam as possible when you pour it into a glass. Our instructor at the Winking Lizard was Richard Seemueller, lifelong beer enthusiast. Retired brewer of 38 years turned beer educator, he's an excellent host, presenter and author. He is a "beer ambassador" for the Master Brewers Association of the Americas. We also learned a little about the interesting architecture of brewery sites--many in Columbus which have been converted to other uses.

Now about drinking from a glass, and how to pour it into the glass. He explained that the mouth can sense 4 tastes (sweet, sour, bitter, salty), but the nose can pick up hundreds (it actually can detect many thousands, but there aren't that many in a beer) and so you loose much of the beer experience if you don't have it in a glass. We did that experiment with gum drops and pinching our noses closed while eating them. No flavor. And the reason you want to pour it to encourage the foam is to release the gas (carbon dioxide and/or nitrogen). He poured it two different ways, then inserted a folded paper towel in each glass to simulate eating something after the beer was in the stomach. When more gas has been expelled before swallowing, there is less bloat in the stomach with food.

http://www.mbaa.com/districts/midwest/About/Pages/District-Cincinnati-Profile---Rick-Seemueller.aspx

WMD threat rewritten by MSM

“The presence of a large former Iraqi chemical weapons production plant in territory seized by the Islamic State has compounded those fears, although officials and chemical weapons experts say the 2,500 degraded rockets filled with nerve agents that remain there are unlikely to be fit for use. Weapons inspectors sealed them off with concrete in a bunker more than 20 years ago.” Washington Post, Oct. 23, 2014

Since sealing them off didn’t work, I would guess they could still be in pretty good condition.  Remember?  There weren’t any?

Cute t-shirt

Or, the double whammy.

 

Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood

Abby Johnson writes: “I worked at Planned Parenthood for 8 years. I personally saw the connections between the Girl Scouts of America and Planned Parenthood.

You may be in a place where the troop says, "But our local troop doesn't partner with Planned Parenthood." Fantastic. But here's what you need to know. If a Girl Scout troop sells cookies (they all do), if they buy uniforms (they all do), if they buy badges (they all do), and if that local troop pays national due...s (they all do), then they are supporting Planned Parenthood.

Now, you may be in a church that says that it's fine to partner with Girl Scouts. You may be in a diocese that says it's perfectly fine (like mine). But IT IS NOT. It is never okay to cooperate with evil...especially within the confines of our CHURCHES!!

These are our kids! They are more valuable than any Girl Scout troop they could participate in! It's time to take a stand and teach our kids the value of standing for moral absolutes. And abortion is ABSOLUTELY wrong. Planned Parenthood is ABSOLUTELY wrong.

I just found out that my daughter's Catholic school is about to start a Girl Scout troop. (My daughter is in American Heritage Girls). You better believe that I'm not going to be silent about this. Take a stand against abortion. Take a stand against Girl Scouts.

For more information about these connections, please visit:
www.mygirlscoutcouncil.com
www.girlscoutswhynot.com
www.speaknowgirlscouts.com