Life expectancy

Drug Enforcement Agency employees get hand slap for sex parties

Agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) attended wild sex parties in Colombia with prostitutes procured and paid for by local drug cartels, a shocking report from the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) states.

Politico reports that seven agents admitted attending the parties, were punished only with suspensions of between two and 10 days, and supervisors often failed to report the violations up the chain of command.

The explosive 139-page report is the result of an OIG investigation into allegations of sexual improprieties and harassment within the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Read http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/DEA-prostitutes-parties-Colombia/2015/03/26/

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/dea-sex-parties-colombia-report-116413.html#ixzz3VVOve3Qu

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/report-dea-agents-had-sex-parties-with-prostitutes-hired-by-drug-cartels/2015/03/26/

http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/2015/e1504.pdf#page=1

Based on the 8 recommendations, Hillary isn’t the only government official that has a technology problem.

Sarah Palin was right—you can see Russia from Alaska

Prayer in the Senate, March 25

Congressional Record, v. 161, no. 50

What’s your gender?

A survey published in 2008 had a question about gender—and choices were male/man (26%), female/woman (41%), part time one or the other (20%), or fill in the blank with responders own term.  The fill in choice got 860 possibilities including genderqueer, hybrid, third gender, twidget, birl and pangender. 

I guess I’m not shocked that the researchers were shocked to find employment discrimination.

And I suppose that makes most of us anti-trany if we can’t figure it out.

“A gender not listed here,” The Williams Institute, UCLA, 2012

No one notices on my exercycle

Big talkers

http://www.talkers.com/heavy-hundred/

I’ve listened to #1, 5, 10, and 23.  Can no longer get Laura Ingraham in our market.  Not many women in the top 25.  I do listen to Teresa Tomeo and Johnette Benkovic on Catholic Radio.  They always have interesting guests and topics.

A perfect cycling lecture—Sir Martin Gilbert on Churchill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hArErdaiOW0

I consider him the best writer of the 20th century.  One volume of his history of the 20th century is on my bedside table—still unread.

http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/01/gilberts-history-of-twentieth-century-v.html

This speech was given in 2001.   Sir Martin Gilbert died February 3 at age 79.

Alzheimer's Culprit—could be tau?

This information is appearing in difficult to understand science journals, but here’s a fairly easy to understand “translation.”

Abnormal tau protein collecting in the brain may be the main cause of Alzheimer's disease, a new study claims.

Another protein called amyloid accumulates as Alzheimer's progresses, but is not the primary culprit behind the devastating memory loss that is the hallmark of the disease, Mayo Clinic researchers report.

They said their findings suggest that targeting tau should be the new focus of efforts to find treatments for Alzheimer's.

http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20150324/researchers-pinpoint-possible-protein-culprit-behind-alzheimers

http://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-study-of-thousands-of-brains-reveals-tau-as-driver-of-alzheimers-disease/

Afghan civilian casualties

“The U.N. now reports that more than 17,700 innocent Afghans have died in the past five years of fighting, the majority of them killed by the Taliban or other groups fighting the Afghan government and coalition forces.”

Condolence payments from the military

“According to the data we received, in fiscal years 2011 through 2013, the military made 953 condolence payments totaling $2.7 million. $1.8 million of those were for deaths, and the average payment for a death was $3,426. Payments for injuries averaged $1,557.”

“The total for Iraq that year [2009] was over $18 million; overall, Afghanistan saw fewer and smaller claims than Iraq, because of remote geography and fewer U.S. troops deployed. Prices for replacement goods or lost wages were generally lower, Dribben said.”

Where was Jeb Bush in the fight against Obamacare?

Making money from it.

One part of Bush's business was a lucrative seat on the board of directors of the hospital giant Tenet Healthcare. Bush joined the company after leaving the governor's office and was paid more than $2 million for his services between 2007 and last year, when he resigned to run for president. Tenet strongly supported the passage of Obamacare and has profited enormously from it. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/what-did-jeb-bush-do-to-fight-obamacare/article/2561928?

30 Lessons for Loving, book review by guest blogger Adrienne Zahniser

Dr. Karl Pillemer, a gerontologist and Professor of Human Development at Cornell University, has provided an intriguing look at love and marriage from the viewpoint of over 700 married adults, 65 and older, representing a total of 25,000 years of married life.  His five-chapter book, neatly divided into six lessons per chapter, is the result of a carefully designed in-depth interview study named the Marriage Advice Project, which he outlines in the Appendix.  Here he details the need of such a study, his research methods, ways he found a diverse and appropriate sample of interviewees, how he determined the questions and conducted the interviews, and how he analyzed the enormous amount of data collected.  His goal was to ask these older experts, married 30 years or more, “directly and in detail about the kinds of advice they would offer younger people about getting and staying married in a complex and difficult world.”

Though the study was quite academic in nature, the book itself is written for a popular audience—more personal, few end notes, no index or bibliography—with many quotes.  Excerpts from the many interviews are used freely and engagingly; a reader senses that both men and women responded thoughtfully, even eagerly to the questions for which they had much experience and definite ideas.  Some of these persons were widowed, some divorced, some had multiple marriages, some were same-sex, but the overwhelming cohort was 70-90 year-old couples in traditional one-time marriages.

The elders agreed on a number of important issues:  love is necessary in marrying, but so is common sense.  Sharing similar core values and interests, especially in such areas as money, religion, child rearing, careers, sex, friends is essential.  Additional values, often repeatedly mentioned, were sense of humor, honesty, trust, ability to listen and communicate, courtesy and respect, being good friends—a team, accepting partners as they are without trying to change them, and making time for each other.  The final lesson from all these experts:  “treat marriage, at every stage, as a lifelong commitment.”  Marriage then is a discipline, “a path where you get better at something by mindfully attending to it and by continual practice.” 

Most of these ideas are found in the multitude of advice books available to readers today.  This one, however, is unique because of the large sample group of older adults with views from the end of life; their experiences, both positive and negative, represent the full gamut of joys and problems inherent in love, relationships, and marriage.  They have earned a right to be heard, and the author has provided an amazing amount of useful information by listening to these many “grandparents,” then arranging their responses in a pleasing format.  This is a book you will enjoy reading and recommending to your friends and relatives! 

30 Lessons for Loving: Advice from the Wisest Americans on Love, Relationships, and Marriage by Karl Pillemer, Hudson Street Press, 2015. ISBN 978-1-59463-154-2, $25.95.     For more information, visit http://marriagelegacy.org. Dr. Pillemer blogs at Huffington Post and has been interviewed by a number of news sources and media outlets. He has also written 30 lessons for Living, and is thinking about his next book which may be about finding one’s purpose in life, also based on the advice of older people. (I think he likes us!)

Would I go to Canoga Park for a Spudnut?

Yes.  You’ve read about them at this blog.  Although I don’t recognize any of the crazy toppings, I have fond memories of the little shop in Urbana, Illinois when I was at the University of Illinois in the 1950s and 1960s.

In January I wrote

In 2008 I wrote

In 2007 I wrote

In 2006 I wrote

In 2005 I wrote

Spudnuts Donuts
8225 Topanga Canyon Blvd
Canoga Park, CA 91304
818.348.5054
www.spudnutsdonuts.com

“Made with real potato flour, Spudnuts are lighter and fluffier than normally raised donuts. You won’t be disappointed with the flour change and will most likely make this your new donut shop. Order up their crazy Cronut, their famous pastry that keeps people coming back for more.” http://localemagazine.com/best-donuts-los-angeles/

It’s Spring, but . . .

As I recall one of the worst storms we had in Columbus was April 4, 1987—we got over 12 inches and we were at a wedding.  The pastor couldn’t get there; someone else had to stand in. But they are still married. We’ve also had March blizzards—one of the worst in 2008.

List of California low priced wines in lawsuit

We’ve purchased some of these brands, but not necessarily the specific wine.  I don’t see any red merlots.

http://www.kgw.com/story/news/health/2015/03/23/list-of-wines-cited-in-lawsuit-as-having-high-arsenic-levels/70342138/?c=n

Abortion in the early church

It’s not like we weren’t told from the beginning.

The Didache

“The second commandment of the teaching: You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not seduce boys. You shall not commit fornication. You shall not steal. You shall not practice magic. You shall not use potions. You shall not procure [an] abortion, nor destroy a newborn child” (Didache 2:1–2 [A.D. 70]).

The Letter of Barnabas

“The way of light, then, is as follows. If anyone desires to travel to the appointed place, he must be zealous in his works. The knowledge, therefore, which is given to us for the purpose of walking in this way, is the following. . . . Thou shalt not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor, again, shalt thou destroy it after it is born” (Letter of Barnabas 19 [A.D. 74]).

The Apocalypse of Peter

“And near that place I saw another strait place . . . and there sat women. . . . And over against them many children who were born to them out of due time sat crying. And there came forth from them rays of fire and smote the women in the eyes. And these were the accursed who conceived and caused abortion” (The Apocalypse of Peter 25 [A.D. 137]).

Athenagoras

“What man of sound mind, therefore, will affirm, while such is our character, that we are murderers? . . . [W]hen we say that those women who use drugs to bring on abortion commit murder, and will have to give an account to God for the abortion, on what principle should we commit murder? For it does not belong to the same person to regard the very fetus in the womb as a created being, and therefore an object of God’s care, and when it has passed into life, to kill it; and not to expose an infant, because those who expose them are chargeable with child-murder, and on the other hand, when it has been reared to destroy it” (A Plea for the Christians 35 [A.D. 177]).

And others, Tertullian, Minucius Felix, Hippolytus, Council of Ancyra, Basil the Great, etc.

http://lifeissues.net/writers/bra/bra_02christiansandabor.html

http://www.godandscience.org/abortion/earlychristian.html

Update on the local house explosion

On Saturday a house about a mile from us exploded, damaging 7 others and dropping debris for miles even in adjoining suburbs.  It continues to be on the news—it’s pretty unusual, not only from the damage but because no one was hurt. It was a lovely day, and there didn’t appear to be anyone outside in the area.  The owners are visiting relatives in Japan, and even their dog had been boarded out.  But everything in the house and garage, including their car, is all over the neighborhood.  People are finding scraps of personal effects for miles, like pages from a Japanese cookbook. One interview last night reported that neighbors had been complaining for over  year to the gas company about the “rotten egg” smell, but were always told nothing was found.  And I think it is still there—makes it a bit scary.

http://www.nbc4i.com/story/28593258/6-homes-deemed-not-safe-after-upper-arlington-house-explosion

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/03/21/House_explosion.html

Yes, I’m still in Virginia!

I’ve now cycled over 440 miles since Christmas and am still in Virginia according to “Tools to Keep You Active” chart. This photo is near Cedar Springs, VA, in  Wythe County. The health sites say your waist needs  to be at least one half your height measurement, and exercise should be 30 minutes a day. At least for certain health problems.   I’ve lost 22 pounds. No more leg pain. Well, that was easy. Medicare has spent thousands on tests in 2014 for me for blood clots and poor circulation all of which were negative, and all I needed to do was stop snacking, eat more healthy meals and exercise more. Nothing like lugging 40 extra pounds around to make your legs hurt. While I exercise on the bike I also use a finger strengthener.  I always had to ask for help to open detergent bottles or olives or even juice.  I think plastic bottles are sometimes the worst because it’s hard to get a grip. Hand strength is coming a bit more slowly; not sure I’ve seen improvement.

If ethics laws apply to wives, they should also cover girlfriends and mistresses, or whatever a boy toy is called

“Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, is demanding that lawmakers report income they make from outside jobs as part of an ethics overhaul. In response, Republican lawmakers say it's only fair to require officials to file disclosures including the finances of domestic partners such as Lee, a successful TV chef and author.”

http://news.yahoo.com/tv-celeb-sandra-lee-pulled-ny-legislative-ethics-225547313.html

From my bookshelves.

Let’s have a conversation . . .