Monday Memories, the class of 1958

Looking through this photo of the 50th class reunion of the class of 1958 published in the Mt. Morris Times, October 16, 2008, I’m reminded again how many friends I had in this class.  We moved back to Mt. Morris  from Forreston in March 1951, and Sandy Davies who lived a few houses away became one of my first friends.  I was in 6th grade and she was in 5th. In 7th and 8th grade I was very close to Doree Dumont and Carol Samsel.  We had great fun in the summer break—Doree’s mom had a summer house outside of town with a swimming pool. Carol was a lot of fun and we spent hours playing cards—her mom was terrific. Good snacks.   In High School, Carolyn Kielsmeier and I worked together as editors of the yearbook.  Connie Frey and I, although on opposite sides of the fence politically, have become friends through Facebook and are in an e-mail discussion group together. I dated a few boys from this class, but won’t mention their names.  Don’t wish to embarrass them. Several members of this class were also members of the Church of the Brethren and we were in CBYF together. Dick Butler and I are FB friends—although I don’t think he ever posts anything, as are Carol and Connie and Ken Duncan and Kay Egan and Rodney Miller. I probably couldn’t pick them out of a police line up today, but having the names in the article did jog the memories.

Religious freedom in Indiana

Hate mongers are making the Indiana law (based on the federal law) about homosexuality—or 2% of the population, only a tiny fraction of whom want to be married. In 2008 Barack Obama ran on the law of the land, both DOMA and Don’t ask don’t tell, then in 2012  announced he had evolved about his beliefs as the gay lobby became more powerful and he already had the conservative black vote (black Christians are more conservative than white).  Then his closest adviser and friend, David Axelrod, admitted in his recent book that Obama lied in order to get elected.   The 75% of the population who say they are Christian apparently don’t matter in the push to squash another viewpoint on God’s purpose for creating us male and female. And to these haters and bigots, the first amendment protections don’t matter.   Should the owner of a bakery be required to make tiny KKK cupcakes for a child’s party?  Should a Jewish deli be required to sell ham?  Do Muslim retailers need to sell products made with porcine parts or lard or allow dogs in their stores and taxis? Should Christian trinket stores be required to sell little statues of Hindu gods? Do Jewish fraternal organizations on college campuses need to pledge Muslim members? Are churches protected from the hate speechers—can pastors preach from the book of Romans?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/28/thousands-protest-religious-freedom-law-indy/70596032/

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2015/0324/Indiana-religious-freedom-act-Does-it-protect-faithful-or-legalize-prejudice-video

http://www.charismanews.com/us/48263-obama-lied-about-gay-marriage-to-deceive-blacks-during-election-says-adviser

http://www.charismanews.com/us/48944-34-000-black-churches-break-ties-with-presbyterian-church-usa

About the Masons

From What Hath God Wrought by Daniel Walker Howe. Many of our founding fathers were Freemasons, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. But an incident in 1826 brought about the demise of the movement. In 1826, a man named William Morgan attempted to publish a book about the secret rituals of Freemasonry, much to the horror and strong objections of the masonic community. After his home was ransacked for the manuscript, Morgan disappeared. His kidnappers, including the Sheriff of Niagra County, were Freemasons who were never fully prosecuted, due to the protection and collusion of other Masons. Thus began the rise of Antimasonry as the first "third party" in American politics.

"Freemasonry, introduced into America from Britain in colonial times, had been an important force in the young republic. Its members had constituted a kind of republican elite, with Benjamin Franklin and George Washington prominent among them. The international Masonic brotherhood satisfied longings for status, trust, and metropolitan sophistication in an amorphous new society; its hierarchies and secret rituals offered a dimension lacking in the stark simplicity of much of American Protestantism. Freemasonry promoted the values of the Enlightenment and new standards of politeness. Its symbols of the pyramid and the eye had been incorporated into the Great Seal of the United States. Its ceremonies graced many public occasions, including the dedication of the United States Capitol and the construction of the Erie Canal. But in the Morgan episode, Masonic commitments of secrecy and mutual assistance led to disastrous consequences. To be sure, the Masonic brotherhood succeeded in the short run, protecting members from legal punishment and preventing Morgan from publishing all but the first three degree rituals, which appeared in print a month after his disappearance. But, as American Masonry's most recent historian has shown, 'it lost the larger battle in the court of public opinion.' During the decade after the Morgan affair, thousands of brothers quit the order and hundreds of lodges closed. Although Freemasonry recovered its numbers after the Civil War, it never recovered the influence it had wielded in the first fifty years of independence.”

This excerpt is from delancyplace.com which sends e-mails about a variety of books.  Sometimes I just skim, but this one was an interesting part of America history about which I knew nothing, except I’d always had a negative view of the Masons. As we say in libraries, to the victor belongs the archives.  http://www.delanceyplace.com/view_archives.php?2760&p=2760 

 

Why don’t pro-life Christians celebrate The Annunciation?

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/marchweb-only/22-41.0.html

“Most evangelical Protestants are today [March 25] sitting out as Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some liturgical Protestants celebrate one of the most significant events in the New Testament: the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus.

One might expect American evangelicals to be among the most enthusiastic celebrants of what is known as the Annunciation. For starters, it focuses on two issues that theologically conservative Protestants have long defended against theological liberals: the historicity of the Virgin Birth, and Christ's unique divinity. In a theological sense, the Annunciation could be of greater significance than Christmas.”

Be prepared for a rather disappointing Protestant response.

Cats (or my cat) and coconut oil

I keep a small amount of coconut oil in a pill bottle inside the top drawer of my bathroom cabinet.  It’s very nice as a skin moisturizer, or make up remover, or for dry skin.  One morning Lotza had a runny nose (always, actually) and I swiped it with a touch of the oil because it looked irritated.  Of course, she licked it off—and loved it!  Now in the morning she sits on the counter top waiting for me to open the drawer.  First, she goes after the tooth paste, which I use first; then my thyroid pill because I do that an hour before eating; finally, it’s the coconut oil and she gets a smear.  One day I made the mistake of giving her a small amount with lunch.  Oh, she thought she was in heaven, but about an hour later, threw up her lunch, and probably breakfast.  I tried it again the next day, and the same thing happened.  It might be good for her, she might love it, but it’s not good for cleaning up carpet.

http://www.thedrakecenter.com/blogs/risks-and-benefits-coconut-oil-for-pets

Dinner was delicious

We had baked salmon with shallots (a type of small onion) and herbs (parsley and dill in lemon butter) and baked potatoes with a salad plate of fresh fruit, toasted pecans and mixed greens of kale, Swiss chard and baby spinach with onions and olives. We are celebrating the end of our colds—and Palm Sunday, of course.

Racism and Sexism charges a cover up for political bias

Can’t criticize her or it is racism.

Can’t criticize her or it is sexism.

Why are women a protected class after all this time?

I wonder if this would work in Lakeside?

“Occupants of the Rotonda in Tysons Corner, Va., must have their dog's mouth swabbed in the presence of a building authority. If pet waste is found outside the building, the waste will be tested and matched to the guilty dog's DNA, reported MRCTV, a site operated by the Media Research Center.” Newsmax.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/using-dna-to-catch-canine-culprits--and-their-owners/2014/12/26/8d833fc8-8247-11e4-8882-03cf08410beb_story.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/fairfax-neighbors-head-to-court-over-unscooped-dog-poop/2011/10/19/gIQAPCRkDM_story.html

What Americans really think about the recovery

According to a Pew Report on what the American public believes has happened in the economy, “72% say that, in general, the government’s policies since the recession have done little or nothing to help middle class people, and nearly as many say they have provided little or no help for small businesses (68%) and the poor (65%). These opinions have changed little in recent years, and differ only modestly across demographic and income categories. There are significant partisan differences in these views, though majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents say that government policies following the start of the recession have done little or nothing for the poor and the middle class. Similarly, more think household incomes have recovered than did so two years ago. But while 51% say there has been a partial recovery in incomes (up from 42% in September 2013), just 4% say they have fully recovered. About four-in-ten 42% think household incomes have hardly come back from the recession.”

Many believe that banks, corporations, the wealthy have benefited from government policies since the “Great Recession.”  I personally think politicians have said very little about the poor in recent years, and increasingly emphasize the middle class not making progress.  And if they do move ahead, then they complain about a gap.

“The analysis in this report is based on telephone interviews conducted February 18-22, 2015 among a national sample of 1,504 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (526 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 978 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 559 who had no landline telephone).”

Sin and the sink stopper

This morning I pulled out the stopper in the bathroom sink drain.  Oh yuk.  It was awful.  I wiped it off—lots of black gunk.  But there was more because the stopper is plastic (bad design) with many edges and crevasses especially near the top.  It’s not that I never clean that sink—and it looked fine until I pulled out the stopper. I wiped it many times with a paper towel, each bringing up a new layer.  Then I soaked it and watched black chunks float loose, then I sprayed it with a Clorox bathroom cleaner—more stuff.

It’s like sin, isn’t it?  You don’t see it at first—all covered up and looking nice because it’s below the slick marble of your good intentions.  Then you start poking around and the horror sets in.  Sin is covered over and really black.  It might take a lot to get rid of it. Like the cross and Jesus’ sacrifice.  But even then, we’re supposed to take care of what he did for us, daily and not let the build up put us and others at risk. Confess it and make amends before the gunk takes over.

Midlife Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Incident Cancer, and Survival After Cancer in Men

Good news.  Cardiovascular fitness in midlife may protect against cancer, not just heart disease.  Aren’t middle age?  Well, tell your sons, or grandsons.

Free article. http://oncology.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2203829

• High CRF was associated with reduced incident lung (HR, 0.45 [95% CI, 0.29-0.68]) and colorectal cancer (HR, 0.56 [95% CI, 0.36-0.87]) in white men.

• High CRF is associated with a one-third risk reduction in all cancer-related deaths among men who developed lung, colorectal, or prostate cancer at age 65 years or older compared with low CRF.

• High CRF is associated with a two-thirds reduction in cardiovascular death compared with low CRF among men who developed cancer at age 65 years or older.

http://generalfitness.tripod.com/id4.html

http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/medicine/sportsmed/cusm_patient_resources/Documents/Training%20for%20Cardiovascular%20Fitness.pdf

Owner of about a dozen IHOP restaurants sells them due to Obamacare costs

Yes, Scott Womack, who testified against Obamacare before Congress, is still in business—but Obamacare is taking its toll. He has sold off full service and switched to more restaurants with hourly employees to avoid the mandates.  Is this sound business practice, Mr. President? 

http://dailysignal.com/2015/03/22/this-longtime-ihop-owner-sold-his-restaurants-because-of-obamacare/?

The Affordable Care Act created an employer mandate, which was supposed to go into effect Jan. 1, 2014, but was delayed for one year by the Obama administration. The mandate requires companies with more than 50 employees to offer “adequate” coverage or face a tax penalty.

Even though he reduced his labor costs by moving into quick-service dining, Womack still took a sizable hit on health insurance. His insurance provider boosted rates by 40 percent in one year, forcing him to cut back on coverage.

He offered the plan to all 180 employees. Only two of the 140 hourly workers signed up. . .

Rather than helping existing and aspiring franchise owners expand by adding jobs, locations and more hours for their employees who need them most,” said spokesman Matthew Haller, “the law’s arbitrary definition of ‘large employer’ and ‘full-time work week’ have contributed to the steady increase in part-time employment in America and have been a drag on new franchise business formation.”

Americans spend 4.3% of their household income on “food away from home.”  Looks like as that cost goes up,  more Americans will be fixing dinner at home.  Fewer people will be working in the restaurant industry, which helped many students and housewives bring in some extra dollars.  That might pay off in obesity.

Speaking of delays, there have been more than 49 significant changes made to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: at least 30 that President Obama has made unilaterally, 17 that Congress has passed and the president has signed, and 2 by the Supreme Court. Why?  Because 1) it’s unworkable on a national level for businesses of all types, and 2) as special favors for those who support the president’s policies. http://www.galen.org/newsletters/changes-to-obamacare-so-far/

What is the Census Bureau’s definition of “family”?

The 2010 version states: “A family consists of a householder and one or more other people living in the same household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage or adoption.”

The 1930 version is strikingly similar: “Persons related in any way to the head of the family by blood, marriage or adoption are counted as members of the family.”

But before 1930? If you do genealogy research, you may have noticed a difference. Family is more closely what we would call  unrelated “occupants.”  The pre-1930 version is more what we would call “household.”

The 1920 version: “The term ‘family’ as here used signifies a group of persons, whether related by blood or not, who live together as one household, usually sharing the same table. One person living alone is counted as a family, and, on the other hand, the occupants or inmates of a hotel or institution, however numerous, are treated as a single family.”

The 1900 Census version: “The word family has a much wider application, as used for census purposes, than it has in ordinary speech. As a census term, it may stand for a group of individuals who occupy jointly a dwelling place or part of a dwelling place or for an individual living alone in any place of abode. All the occupants and employees of a hotel, if they regularly sleep there, make up a single family, because they occupy one dwelling place …”

http://blogs.census.gov/2015/01/28/statistical-definition-of-family-unchanged-since-1930/

You can be a bigot—but only in selected areas

The University Diversity Scam

http://prageruniversity.com/Political-Science/What-is-the-University-Diversity-Scam.html

I blogged about the bloated diversity positions at Ohio State.  More than once.  A few times.

Obama’s foreign policy a miserable failure

“An abiding goal of President Obama’s foreign policy has been to reduce America’s role in the Middle East, in the belief that it would lead to greater stability and serve U.S. interests. Has a policy ever been so thoroughly repudiated in so short a time? Mr. Obama has succeeded in his retreat, but the vacuum he’s left has produced a region on fire that is becoming a broad Sunni-Shiite war.”

Review and Outlook, March 27

Do on-line computer game sites help your brain?

Might be fun or relaxing, but so far, the proof isn’t there.  Exercise is probably better.

“In addition to remaining intellectually active, older adults concerned about maintaining their cognition must protect their cardiovascular health. The brain contains multitudes of blood vessels, and lack of physical activity seems to affect the brain negatively, just as it does the heart. Stroke carries its own risks of cognitive impairment and dementia, independent of diseases like AD. The American Heart Association recommends that older adults get at least 150 of moderate-intensity physical activity minutes per week. Time spent playing computer-based brain games might be better spent, when possible, taking a walk.

In summary, brain games have not yet fulfilled their promises of improved brain fitness. This does not mean that computer-based cognitive training will never be able to improve cognitive function, but it does not appear that training with the right amount of intensity and duration is yet available. If such games are enjoyable for their consumers, there is no compelling reason to stop playing, but for those hoping to avoid dementia, a focus on improving cardiovascular health and seeking broader opportunities for mental stimulation may prove more beneficial.
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/42522/title/Opinion--Can-the-Brain-Be-Trained-/

Gray Matters, vol. 2

It’s difficult for me to put the word ethics and President Obama in the same sentence—he lied about his support for gay marriage in 2008 in order to get elected and then lied again  in 2012 and said his view “evolved;” he lied about Obamacare in order to get support from Catholic politicians;  he lied about insured Americans being able to keep their plan or doctor when he knew it wasn’t true; he believes  abortion is a woman’s health issue and gives our tax money to Planned Parenthood, allowing killing the unborn for any reason, even gender and disability, at any point in the pregnancy; he’s inserted himself into “race conversations” when he didn’t have the facts, like the Boston police incident with Professor Gates and the Trayvon Martin case in Florida; he pulled out the troops prematurely from Iraq ignoring his military advisors allowing ISIS to swarm so he could meet a campaign promise, and then claimed victory; he touts Bowe Bergdahl’s release in the Rose Garden while calling Ft. Hood workplace violence denying the injured special medical benefits; and on and on.  No, ethical is not a word that comes to mind.

But here is it: “Commission Releases Gray Matters, Vol. 2 – final response to President Obama’s BRAIN Initiative related request Commission focuses on three controversial issues that must be addressed if neuroscience is to progress and be applied ethically”

 See more at: http://bioethics.gov/node/4715#sthash.Q6kR6TQ2.dpuf

The origins of modern medicine

“Dr. Stanley Burns is an ophthalmologist, surgeon and historian who lives right near Grand Central Station in Manhattan. His three story home - is nondescript from the outside. There's a tiny sign on the door that says Burns Archive but inside is one of the largest and most important photographic archives of early medical history in the world.

Currently Dr. Burns serves as the medical and historical adviser to The Knick, a hit HBO series.”

You can listen to an interview.

http://burnsarchive.com/Explore/Medical/

http://www.burnsarchive.com/SHOPPE/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_Archive

The interview also includes discussion with the author of The Good Doctor, the story of Dr. Philip Lerner.

http://drbarronlerner.com/the-good-doctor/

Long lost purple heart will be reunited with family of recipient

Ten years ago Smuckers the dog dug a hole in the lawn and when his owner Steve Jankousky went to fill it up, he found something shiny—a Purple Heart.  For 10 years Jankousky has been looking for the man whose name was engraved on it--Cpl. Richmond Litman.  Finally, he found a step-daughter, and will soon be in touch with Litman’s family.  The Korean War soldier died in the 1990s.

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-edition-1.3010341/dog-finds-long-lost-purple-heart-returns-it-to-veteran-s-family-1.3010605

And Smuckers is still alive to help with the reunion.  Neat story.