Obama’s Easter message

I see he used his speech to dis Christians.  Way to go. Yet he sat in Rev. Wright’s church for 20 years and never heard his hate sermons.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/7/obama-blasts-less-than-loving-christians/#!

The whitewashing of Irish slavery

“During the 1650s, over 100,000 Irish children between the ages of 10 and 14 were taken from their parents and sold as slaves in the West Indies, Virginia and New England. In this decade, 52,000 Irish (mostly women and children) were sold to Barbados and Virginia. Another 30,000 Irish men and women were also transported and sold to the highest bidder. In 1656, [Oliver] Cromwell ordered that 2000 Irish children be taken to Jamaica and sold as slaves to English settlers.” http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/irish-the-forgotten-white-slaves-says-expert-john-martin-188645531-237793261.html

Some was hatred of the Irish who were considered less than human by the British, some was hatred of Catholicism, and some was profit motive. Muslims were not involved in this slave trade as they were in most.

You can find various sites on the Internet (and in libraries where we used to find things) that deny Irish slavery was like African slavery.  Really, as a percentage of the population I think the islands and South America had a higher percentage of Irish than African.  They didn’t fare well, but are the founding families of many light skinned African Americans. Between the slavery of the 16th and 17th century and the famine immigration of the 19th century, Ireland’s population was decimated.

Small town churches

We've been living in Columbus since 1967, but I still slip and call Mt. Morris "home." We had Good Friday service at Trinity Lutheran with a community choir and chimes and Easter Sunday at the Church of the Brethren in Mt. Morris with my cousin Dianne as the reader. With small congregations and limited professional musicians (to which I'm accustomed at a church with 9 services) I'm always amazed by the love and hard work these little churches put forth to praise the Lord. Pastor Ginny's Easter sermon was one of the best I've heard.

Trinity Lutheran, Easter 2014

The color scheme now is more beige, but it looks much the same as when we were married in 1960.

Christine Baranski and The Good Wife’s wedding planner

How lucky we were!  We'd never seen an episode of the TV series The Good Wife, and after hearing the hysteria for a day (radio news during our auto travel from Ohio to Illinois) from the MSM about an Indiana pizzeria instead of the details of Obama's selling us and Israel down the river in Iran negotiations, we get to see Christine Baranski defend the left's idea of religious freedom guaranteed in the First Amendment while the screen writers fumbled the Christian viewpoint.

The one redeeming line was at the end of the episode where it was pointed out that Obama defended traditional marriage when he wanted to win the presidency (he was lying, of course, but Democrats lie for their causes). That said, Baranski is an outstanding actress and millions will never check the weak argument presented by the actress portraying a Christian wedding planner.

Here’s the point.  Baranski’s character is correct, Jesus never commented on homosexuality.  It was a practice and lifestyle not known to Jews.  It was for pagans, Greeks and Romans where even they didn’t have marriages for homosexuals—it was a form of acceptable pedophilia or prostitution to engage in outside of marriage.

Jesus also never addressed pornography or pedophilia, or space travel or nuclear war or environment or guitars in worship services or many other things that pull us apart these days.  That said, no Christian church exists strictly on the words of Jesus in the four gospels. The Church of the Brethren in which I was baptized at age 12 loves the book of James which doesn’t present the gospel.  The Lutheran church where I am now a member baptizes babies and Martin Luther wanted to throw out the book of James (he is the reason Catholic and Protestant Bibles have a different number of sacred books).

The Christian church managed to thrive for years with no formal canon/scripture; and today every church whether Protestant, Catholic or Independent has a form of church hierarchy, with accepted rules and traditions passed down by word of mouth or printed documents. Churches have statements of faith, synods, boards, brotherhoods, deacons, pastoral organizations.  How to “do” church appears first in the book of Acts not the gospels and most churches follow that in some form.  But the oldest “here’s how to do it” record, The Didache, is a list of rules on baptism, the Eucharist, worship, how to treat each other, no abortion and no sex with young boys, no fighting or gossip, etc.

Marriage is a part of Scripture from Genesis forward, and in Christian teaching, Jesus Christ created the world and all that is in it, including sex for procreating and marriage.  Tradition and all church groups from the Creation right up to 2012 when a tiny political minority combined with a large number of those who think marriage is worthless anyway worked to get the law changed.  It’s not hard to change a law for an event people don’t even care about—but that doesn’t mean Christians have to give up 2000 years of history and tradition and the First Amendment just because screen writers don’t know how to do research.

In the United States the First Amendment protects millions from government interference in religion—Amish who don’t have to go to public school, truck drivers who won’t deliver alcohol, Quakers who don’t get drafted in war time, Sikhs who wear head coverings, prisoners who don’t need to shave and it should protect wedding planners and bakers who don’t wish to be part of the bonding event for gays. And truly, who has killed and imprisoned more gays than governments?

Fix your eyes upon Jesus

We really enjoy this couple on HGTV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7iPEDnqwm0

The new religion with which to violate the first commandment—Climate Change

“The highest ranking woman in the Anglican communion has said climate denial is a “blind” and immoral position which rejects God’s gift of knowledge.

Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal church and one of the most powerful women in Christianity, said that climate change was a moral imperative akin to that of the civil rights movement. She said it was already a threat to the livelihoods and survival of people in the developing world.”

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/24/climate-change-denial-immoral-says-head-episcopal-church

Al Gore is high priest; prayers for Mother Earth; a Yoga pose instead of folded hands and bowed head; global treaties are the new scripture; and the collection plate—your confiscated taxes to a global government.

Democrat memes and lies

In their age and education group, there are no gaps—in fact in many cities they out earn men.  Except for the Democrat White House.  Women really do make quite a bit less if they work for the president.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/male-female-pay-gap-remains-entrenched-at-white-house/2014/07/01/dbc6c088-0155-11e4-8fd0-3a663dfa68ac_story.html

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/more-evidence-the-gender-wage-gap-is-due-to-choice-not-discrimination/article/2557200#!

http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2014/apr/09/genevieve-wood/what-pay-gap-young-women-out-earn-men-cities-gop-p/

1 Corinthians, 15:14

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

Illustration from White Horse Inn Blog.

The income gap

On average, young married men, aged 28-30, make $15,900 more than their single peers, and married men aged 44-46 make $18,800 more than their single peers.

Marriage transforms boys into men.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2015/04/02/dont-be-a-bachelor-why-married-men-work-harder-and-smarter-and-make-more-money/

For all races and ethnic groups. Black men enjoy a marriage premium of at least $12,500 in their individual income compared to their single peers. The advantages also apply, for the most part, to  men and women who are less educated. For instance, men with a high-school degree or less enjoy a marriage premium of at least $17,000 compared to their single peers.

http://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IFS-ForRicherForPoorer-Final_Web.pdf

A hedge of protection

Prayer Tip: Pray a “hedge of protection” around family, loved ones, and church leaders in order to keep them safe from the attacks of the Evil One (see Job 1:10, Psalm 80:12, Isaiah 5:5). In Bible times people would often build a hedge of thorns around their homes to keep out predators.

Learn more about the benefits of building a spiritual hedge around yourself and others at http://www.fairborndailyherald.com/news/lifestyle-religion/152407805/Devotional:-Gods-hedge.

Obama’s desired legacy

First destroy Israel, then the great Satan (U.S.)

http://www.economist.com/node/21647692

“Chants of “Death to America” remain a feature of Friday prayers at Tehran University, even though they seem more of a perfunctory ritual than a real display of rage.” NYT, Dec. 2014

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/30/us-iran-usa-ties-insight-idUSKBN0MQ1RE20150330

Good News about Onions from “World’s Healthiest Foods Newsletter”

• The flavonoids in onion tend to be more concentrated in the outer layers of the flesh. To maximize your health benefits, peel off as little of the fleshy, edible portion as possible when removing the onion's outermost paper layer. Even a small amount of "overpeeling" can result in unwanted loss of flavonoids. For example, a red onion can lose about 20% of its quercetin and almost 75% of its anthocyanins if it is "overpeeled." [I confess—I over peel]
• The total polyphenol content of onions is much higher than many people expect. (Polyphenols are one of the largest categories of phytonutrients in food. This category includes all flavonoids as well as tannins.) The total polyphenol content of onion is not only higher than its fellow allium vegetables, garlic and leeks, but also higher than tomatoes, carrots, and red bell pepper. In the French diet, only six vegetables (artichoke heart, parsley, Brussels sprouts, shallot, broccoli, and celery) have a higher polyphenol content than onion. Since the French diet has been of special interest to researchers in terms of disease prevention, onion's strong polyphenol contribution will very likely lead to follow-up studies that pay closer attention to this unique allium vegetable.
• Within the polyphenol category, onions are also surprisingly high in flavonoids. For example, on an ounce-for-ounce basis, onions rank in the top 10 of commonly eaten vegetables in their quercetin content. The flavonoid content of onions can vary widely, depending on the exact variety and growing conditions. Although the average onion is likely to contain less than 100 milligrams of quercetin per 3-1/2 ounces, some onions do provide this amount. And while 100 milligrams may not sound like a lot, in the United States, moderate vegetable eaters average only twice this amount for all flavonoids (not just quercetin) from all vegetables per day.
• When onions are simmered to make soup, their quercetin does not get degraded. It simply gets transferred into the water part of the soup. By using a low-heat method for preparing onion soup, you can preserve the health benefits of onion that are associated with this key flavonoid.
• When we get quercetin by eating an onion-rather than consuming the quercetin in purified, supplement form-we may end up getting better protection from oxidative stress. That's exactly what happened in an animal study where some animals had yellow onion added to their diet in a way that would provide the same amount of quercetin provided to other animals in the form of purified quercetin extracts. The best protection came from the onion version of this flavonoid, rather than the supplement form.
• Several servings of onion each week are sufficient to statistically lower your risk of some types of cancer. For colorectal, laryngeal, and ovarian cancer, between 1-7 servings of onion has been shown to provide risk reduction. But for decreased risk of oral and esophageal cancer, you'll need to consume one onion serving per day (approximately 1/2 cup).

Now, head for the kitchen and chop some onions!

http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v64/n3s/fig_tab/ejcn2010221t1.html

http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v64/n3s/fig_tab/ejcn2010221t2.html#figure-title

Monday Memories—Easter 2015

With stops in Indianapolis to see family and friends, a stay with my sister and brother-in-law in Mt. Morris, dinner out with my brother and cousin Dianne and their spouses, Good Friday and Easter services, a trip to Sterling to see my Aunt Lois, dad’s youngest sister, and her daughter Rhonda (my first cousin), lunch with “the girls” of the class of 1957, we had a lot of memories to share over the past week. Bob took his guitar with him and practiced faithfully.

Tim Cook, the face of gay corporate bigotry

It’s all about the money. Apple owns businesses in four Muslim countries where to be gay is a death penalty offense, but wants to attack and destroy the income of Christian bakers and photographers for their beliefs.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/416176/want-evidence-hysterical-anti-christian-bigotry-look-no-further-boycottindiana-david

And look how long he hid in the closet all for Apple.  Now that’s evidence of the strength of his convictions.  But everyone else has to change and accept his lifestyle, which he hid for years on behalf of his career.

http://www.ibtimes.com/apple-ceo-tim-cook-says-hes-gay-it-may-not-matter-chinas-conservative-market-1716365

Michael Hurd’s observation on hypocrisy of Apple and other businesses

“On Sunday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that his company would “never tolerate discrimination.” He then compared Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act to Jim Crow; he equated a law guaranteeing the rights of individuals to take part in only the transactions they want to a law forcing individuals to take part in only those transactions the government deems worthy. But Cook is happy to do business with and in Saudi Arabia, as Erick Erickson points out, as well as Uganda, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. All of those countries are quite unfriendly to homosexuals.

Other companies looking to boycott Indiana include Smallbox, Salesforce, and Angie’s List; particularly, they want to disassociate from businesses headquartered in Indiana. Yet all of these companies work with businesses with outlets in places like Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is punishable by death.”

Hypocrisy on the left should hardly be news; but it seems each new generation forgets the concentration camps, the reeducation ordeals, the starvation of kulaks, the show trials, the banishments to Siberia—all in the name of socialist/leftist ideologies.

http://www.redstate.com/2015/03/31/time-tim-cook-apple-stand-homosexual-rights-china/

http://www.examiner.com/article/apple-boycotts-indiana-opens-stores-saudi-arabia

http://www.religiousfreedomcoalition.org/2013/08/15/obamas-gay-muslim-hypocrisy/

http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/politics/indiana-religious-freedom-and-the-utter-hypocrisy-of-the-left

How the media see the parties’ candidates

Indiana isn’t targeting gays. Liberals are targeting religion.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-intolerance-1427760183

The Indiana law is a version of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) that passed 97-3 in the Senate and that Bill Clinton signed in 1993. Both the federal and Indiana laws require courts to administer a balancing test when reviewing cases that implicate the free exercise of religion. . .

The federal RFRA followed the Supreme Court’s Employment Division v. Smith ruling in 1990 that abandoned its 30-year precedent of reviewing religious liberty cases under strict scrutiny. Congress responded with RFRA, which merely reasserted longstanding First Amendment protections.

In 1997 the Supreme Court limited RFRA’s scope to federal actions. So 19 states including such cultural backwaters as Connecticut, Rhode Island and Illinois followed with copy-cat legislation, and Indiana is the 20th. Courts in 11 states have extended equally vigorous protections.

As I noted earlier. . . this is political, it’s about the 2016 election and having a “gotcha” question for Republicans, because the Democrats have NOTHING except sex.

“This was not a deliberate attempt to breach the security of NSA.”

No, of course not.  It was just two drug dealing prostitute transgenders stealing a car from the man they were having sex with and then they drove the wrong way.  No problem.  Nothing to see.  Move on. Definitely not terrorism.

Washington Post story to beat all stories.

It does make one wonder how intruders can make it all the way into the White House after jumping a fence, when they get shot making a wrong turn into the NSA.  What is going on there that is more important than the security of the President?

Baltimore Sun

John Vogel

Kevin Corke on Fox

A really great addition to the Fox News line up is Kevin Corke. He does the morning correspondent news, usually on Washington. He keeps opinion to the minimum in his reporting, but occasionally slips it in. I think he used to be with an NBC affiliate. One of the best I’ve seen with a beautiful voice, and not tough to look at either. Love his ties and fashion sense. Fox has much better diversity, better looking women with great dresses and shoes, and more qualified news reporters and more political variety than the other cable and network news sources. The outnumbered show at noon is outstanding. 200% better than the View.

But make it dark chocolate

Dark chocolate helps with weight loss, and has also been shown to improve memory and cognition. Don’t waste the calories.  But buy the best and not white or milk chocolate.  There are some companies that produce a chocolate supplement, but I prefer to make my own.

http://samadimd.com/healthy-food/could-eating-cocoa-improve-brain-health-in-elderly

I think the secret to the positive attitude and energy is theobromine (food of the  gods). I no longer drink regular coffee, only decaf. Generally, caffeine and theobromine have very different effects on different people. Theobromine is relatively mild and helps elevate serotonin levels producing a really nice side effect of feeling good over a longer period of time. Caffeine is a stronger stimulant and acts relatively quickly as a wake-up drug. Compared to the caffeine, the theobromine has about one-quarter the stimulating power.

Other memory helps, including dark chocolate were listed in my Thursday Thirteen in January 2014.