Some politicians keep their promises

When Obama was running in 2008 he promised to fundamentally transform America. He's certainly kept that promise. There are times I don't recognize America. In Ohio we have legalization of marijuana on the ballot. Before you say, “Great, it didn't hurt me I still have half my brain after losing all those cells”, you must understand the money lobby is going for revising the state constitution and allowing only about 10 mega investors in the trade to grow, process and sell it. Sweet crony capitalism if I've ever seen it. Could beat Al Gore investing in cap and trade. Criminal elements in Ohio could match DC. We got casino gambling the same way—locally citizens voted it down several times until they weaseled in and made it state wide.

As he chases the wind and solar dream, Obama puts coal mining industry in 9 states at risk with new EPA regulations and is destroying the small businesses and non-profits set up in the 1970s to fight the oil interests of the middle east since coal is one of our biggest assets. Only fracking is keeping our energy costs low (while Obama takes credit for lower gasoline prices). Meanwhile we’ll be supporting the out of work miners and all the supporting businesses with our higher taxes for unemployed and 123 wealth transfer programs.

Obergefell (same sex marriage decision by SCOTUS): John Azumah, an ordained Presbyterian minister from Ghana taught a class at Columbia Theological Seminary (Decatur, GA), “Introduction to Islam” to seminary students, the future leaders of Christianity in America. An invited iman asserted to the class that Jesus is not the Son of God, denied the crucifixion and resurrection, and maintained the Bible had been falsified. The students all listened passively with respect and responded only with very timid and politically correct questions. Until. . . a question on homosexuality. When the guest instructor answered that it was un-Islamic, not of God and unnatural, the respectful, timid class which had heard him deny all the basic tenets of the Christian faith turned on him with shock and rage. Some wanted to cancel a planned visit to a mosque. In our culture it’s acceptable for Christians to deny Jesus, but not their own sexual desires. (from First Things, Oct. 2015, “Through African Eyes” pp. 41-46)

Washington Post has a compelling article by a special ed teacher with a PhD who is leaving the profession because of required standardized testing. Read it, it will make you weep for our educators and children. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/10/25/special-ed-teacher-quits-i-just-cannot-justify-making-students-cry-anymore/

Standardized testing is not a left/right issue, but is bi-partisan disaster. They had it when I was a kid, but not as awful as today. Common Core and Race to the Top are the Obama versions, but Bush had No Child Left Behind. I’ve never heard a single teacher or administrator praise those programs.

I disagree with Pope Francis

XIV ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY

THE VOCATION AND MISSION OF THE FAMILY
IN THE CHURCH AND THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

INSTRUMENTUM LABORIS

Chapter II

The Family and the Socio-Economic Context

The Family: An Irreplaceable Resource of Society

Economic Challenge. 14.

“The concrete aspects of family life are closely connected with economic matters. Many point out that, to this day, the family can easily suffer from a variety of things which make it vulnerable. Among the most important problems are those related to low wages, unemployment, economic insecurity, lack of decent work and a secure position at work, human trafficking and slavery.”

“The following effects of economic inequity are reflected in a particularly acute manner in the family: growth is impeded; a home is missing; couples do not wish to have children; children find it difficult to study and become independent; and a calm planning for the future is precluded. Pope Francis insists that a change in perception by everyone in society is necessary to overcome this situation: "Growth in justice requires more than economic growth, while presupposing such growth: it requires decisions, programmes, mechanisms and processes specifically geared to a better distribution of income, the creation of sources of employment and an integral promotion of the poor which goes beyond a simple welfare mentality" (EG, 204). Renewed solidarity between generations begins with attending to the poor of this generation, before those of future generations, giving particular attention to family needs.”

The girls of a Christian school in Chibok, Nigeria who were kidnapped by Boko Haram last year were not kidnapped because they were poor or their parents didn’t have jobs or they lacked an education.  Hitler didn’t imprison and gas Jews because either he or they were poor. Stalin didn’t send East Europeans to the Gulag because they were poor, uneducated, or lacked resources.  North Koreans aren’t starving to death because they are poor.  Christian Armenians didn’t die on a death march a hundred years ago because either they or the Turks were poor. No, it is a power based philosophy, not poverty. And the very entities the Pope assumes will make the decisions for the distribution of wealth are the entities which killed 100 million of their own citizens in the 20th century.

The United States has 123 programs to transfer wealth from the employed and comfortable to the low income and unemployed, and a total of 2,293 Federal assistance programs.   If the Pope were correct, there would be no poverty in the United States where we “distribute” $22,000 a year to each low income person.

If the Pope were correct about secure income solving the world’s problem (or bringing the masses to Jesus, which is why we have a Pope) why are there unhappy, mentally ill, dysfunctional, suicidal, imprisoned and wealthy celebrities, CEOs, doctors and politicians? Back to the drawing board, sir. Economic growth solves more poverty than socialist programs with a Christian veneer.

In 1820, the vast majority of people lived in extreme poverty and only a tiny elite enjoyed higher standards of living. Economic growth over the last 200 years completely transformed our world, and poverty fell continuously over the last two centuries. This is even more remarkable when we consider that the population increased 7-fold over the same time (which in itself is a consequence of increasing living standards and decreasing mortality – especially of infants and children – around the world). In a world without economic growth, an increase in the population would result in less and less income for everyone, and a 7-fold increase would have surely resulted in a world in which everyone is extremely poor. . .

The first of the Millenium Development Goals set by the UN was to halve the population living in absolute poverty between 1990 and 2015. Rapid economic growth meant that this goal – arguably the most important – was achieved (5 years ahead of time) in 2010.

World Poverty

It was rapid economic growth not redistribution of wealth that achieved that.

I’ve always wondered if there was a reason to eat celery

World’s Healthiest Foods newsletter writes:  “If you have become accustomed to thinking about celery as a crunchy, low-cal vegetable but not a key part of your health support, it is time to think again.

Recent research has greatly bolstered our knowledge about celery's anti-inflammatory health benefits, including its protection against inflammation in the digestive tract itself. Some of the unique non-starch polysaccharides in celery—including apiuman—appear especially important in producing these anti-inflammatory benefits. (Unlike starchy polysaccharides that provide plants with a way to store simple sugars, these non-starch polysaccharides in celery help provide this vegetable with its unique structure and are not made from simple sugars but rather from pectins.)

While celery is also rich in well-known antioxidants like vitamin C and flavonoids, scientists have now identified at least a dozen other types of antioxidant nutrients in celery. These antioxidants include dihydrostilbenoids like lunularin as well as furanocoumarins like bergapten and psoralen. The antioxidant support we get from celery is largely due to its phenolic nutrients that have been shown to help protect us against unwanted oxygen damage to our cells, blood vessels, and organ systems. “

Additional information on celery.

A Few Quick Serving Ideas

• Add chopped celery to your favorite tuna fish or chicken salad recipe.
• Enjoy the delicious tradition of eating peanut butter on celery stalks.
• Use celery leaves in salads.
• Braise chopped celery, radicchio and onions and serve topped with walnuts and your favorite soft cheese.
• Next time you are making fresh squeezed carrot juice give it a unique taste dimension by adding some celery to it.
• Add celery leaves and sliced celery stalks to soups, stews, casseroles, and Healthy Stir-Fries.
• Consider the purchase of celery in its non-Pascal varieties. Root celery can be served as a major plate vegetable all its own, and leaf celery can be substituted for parsley in almost any recipe.

http://www.livescience.com/50640-celery-nutrition.html

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270678.php

Adult Sunday School, October 2015, UALC

Our Sunday school class is studying Romans, and for two weeks had an outstanding, articulate retired Lutheran pastor, Douglas McBride formerly of San Antonio, as our teacher. Class members are taking us through Romans after his excellent overview and first three chapters. I hope he can come back.

Paul wrote a letter to the Roman church, a mixed group of Jews and Gentiles, from  Corinth, while he was on his third missionary journey between 56 and 58 A.D. He was on his way to Spain.**  At the time he was gathering an offering from the Gentile Christians for the church in Jerusalem (15:25; Acts 24:17). Over half of the people he specifically mentions in the letter have Greek or Roman names, and he calls the Jews, “my brothers.” The church may have been started by his converts, but no one knows for certain. Since he first mentions Phoebe it appears that she brought the letter to Rome, so she must have been a trusted convert and helper. He greets a number of households indicating the church was made up of numerous groups, and he addresses in the letter a number of situations, many of which sound similar to our churches today. Struggles among themselves; how to deal with the government, etc.

He encourages unity and accepting one another, just as Christ accepted them. Yet it seems the church has never been more divided and scattered than today.

In the free box at church I found the New International Version of the Bible (Zondervan) on cassette.  I may be one of the few people who still have a hand held cassette player, so I’ve been listening to Romans while using my exercycle. Usually, I don’t enjoy audio of the Bible--speakers/voice actors go too fast or it’s too monotonous, but this one is really excellent.  There are music and sound effects, and when the writers reflect on OT passages of Jesus’ messages, there is a slight echo or reverberation.

* * “We know little about the early years of Christianity in the Iberian Peninsula. According to legend the apostle James --at Christ’s urging--carried the gospel to the country in 40 AD, but the early church writers have nothing to say about it. We know that St Paul intended to visit in Spain (Epistle to the Romans, XV, 24 and 28), which would suggest that there were organised groups for him to preach to. But there is no evidence that he made the trip, nor does any church in Spain popularly claim to have been founded by Paul.

By the second century, however, some Christian communities were probably established in the peninsula. We know that St Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons (France), writing around 180 AD, alludes to Christian churches amongst the Celts and Iberians.  We also know from a letter by St Cyprian of Carthage (?-258?) that by 254 AD there were Christian communities in Astorga, Mérida, León and Zaragoza.”  Source.

Obama and the military

Obama vetoed the NDAA. He stabbed our military in the back and sunk us at a very dangerous time—right on the heels of his giving the store to Iran to build nuclear weapons. Such bills had been vetoed by only four past presidents according to WSJ—in 1978, 1988, 1995 and 2007. In each case, the president objected to an actual provision in the bill, and each time Congress’s Armed Services committees were able to find a compromise that earned the presidential signature. Obama isn't about bi-partisanship or compromise.

In vetoing this legislation, President Obama has made history, but for all the wrong reasons. He has become the first commander in chief willing to sacrifice national security by vetoing a bill that authorizes pay, benefits and training for U.S. troops, simply because he seeks leverage to pursue his domestic political agenda.

The president didn’t veto the bill because of any of its policies, which make some of the most significant reforms to the Pentagon in more than 30 years, while giving troops the vital capabilities necessary to combat today’s mounting threats. (Wall St. Journal)

Defense is part of discretionary spending. It’s 16% of the $3.8 trillion compared to the 60% (mandated) spending on Medicare, Medicaid, S0cial Security, unemployment.

Bacon is good for you?

I’m having a big salad for lunch—red leaf lettuce, some shredded cabbage, sliced mushrooms, cooked beet stalks, cherry tomatoes and

bacon!

Bacon is an excellent source of high protein, low carbohydrate energy that helps to reset the metabolism, making weight loss much easier and is helpful in building muscle tissues that are lean and strong. Not only is bacon a good source of amino acids, but it does not contain any mercury – which is typically found in most seafood today. Moreover, the balance of protein to fat in bacon is a very healthy ratio of four to one; it is among the highest protein to fat balance ratios found in any source of meat, poultry or fish.

A major reason to enjoy bacon is that it contains choline, an important water-soluble vitamin in the B family; that helps boost memory and healthy brain function. Choline in our diet helps in preventing mental diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Rather than taking vitamins and minerals in a pill every day, eating bacon is a much more delicious way of providing the body with a range of essential vitamins and minerals to help the body organs function at peak efficiency. These include vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B12 (cobalamin), vitamin B6 (pyridoxal phosphate), zinc, iron and magnesium.

Bacon is a potent source of oleic acid and saturated fats. Both substances help reduce the levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), lower’s triglycerides, and raises HDL – commonly referred to as the good form of cholesterol. Strangely enough, most foodies don’t realize that bacon is also composed of monounsaturated fats – the kind that contains lots of healthy fat soluble vitamins and minerals.

http://thesilverclouddiet.com/2013/01/consider-the-many-health-benefits-of-bacon/

http://draxe.com/what-is-choline/

http://www.simplehealthacupuncture.com/index.php/acupuncture-blog/54-7-guiltless-reasons-to-eat-your-bacon

Letting liberals do the devil’s work

As in Protestantism, the liberals are trying to destroy the Catholic church. And as in Protestantism, it is the smaller, less powerful, Africans and East Europeans who we hope will save the day. "All the old errors of the 60s seem to have come back to haunt us. By gently chiding them rather than stamping them out and disciplining or ousting their proponents, we now have seven new evil spirits along with the first infesting the Church. There are surely harder times coming with even greater confusion in the Church." When the secular media promote anything in the Christian faith, you know to look for the devil.

 https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/popes-encouragement-of-airing-formal-heresy-is-severing-the-church

http://blogs.new.spectator.co.uk/2015/10/crisis-for-pope-francis-as-top-level-cardinals-tell-him-your-synod-could-lead-to-the-collapse-of-the-church/

http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/the-city-gates.cfm?id=1176

Investing in Whirlpool

In going through my e-mail this morning I noticed we had purchased 35 shares of Whirlpool (investment advisor) for $5,124.89 at $146.4254 a share (I may own more, but don’t have that information at hand). Whirlpool is the number one major appliance manufacturer in the world, with approximately $20 billion in annual sales, 100,000 employees and 70 manufacturing and technology research centers throughout the world in 2014.  So I took a look at what had been going on and see that Whirlpool had slumped to its 52-week low Friday after it reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue, but beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, thanks to cost cuts and acquisitions that drove European and Asian sales. So I guess to professionals, that’s the time to buy—don’t buy high?

I like the idea of investing in something I know, use, can see, and touch, even though I’m not the one who placed the order. The headquarters are in the mid-west—Benton Harbor, Michigan.  In the past year we remodeled our kitchen and replaced the appliances.  I now have a Whirlpool microwave and refrigerator/freezer, a GE double oven and a Kitchen Aid dishwasher.  I suppose it would be better to have all the same company to get a color match, but in all cases since these were replacements, we had to go with what would fit. The double oven replacement was a nightmare—don’t ever spec one unless you absolutely need it. I wasn’t happy that the new microwave sticks out so much further than the old one which was flush with the cabinets, but after looking at other models, magazine ads, and other homes (my daughter’s), I see they are all that way.

Also, Kitchen Aid is owned by Whirlpool which owns 13 brands, including: Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, Bauknecht, and Gladiator. With the housing market rebounding,  sales to new housing installers should rebound in the coming years after a slow down in 2008. If the construction trucks in our condo complex are any indication, remodeling is booming also.

http://investors.whirlpoolcorp.com/

http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Whirlpool_%28WHR%29

Wicked Columbus, Ohio

We went out with David and Beverly Meyers tonight to do a little belated celebrating for our birthdays/anniversary and came home with a copy of his new book, "Wicked Columbus, Ohio" co-authored with daughter Elise Meyers Walker. This would certainly make a fine Christmas present if you have a local history buff on your list. Royalties go to support a young woman paralyzed in a gun battle between 2 gangs.

A rich vocabulary protects against dementia

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141021085524.htm

'Cognitive reserve' is the name given to the brain's capacity to compensate for the loss of its functions. This reserve cannot be measured directly; rather, it is calculated through indicators believed to increase this capacity.

A research project at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) has studied how having a wide vocabulary influences cognitive reserve in the elderly.

As Cristina Lojo Seoane, from the USC, co-author of the study published in the journal Anales de Psicología (Annals of Psychology), explains: "We focused on level of vocabulary as it is considered an indicator of crystallised intelligence (the use of previously acquired intellectual skills). We aimed to deepen our understanding of its relation to cognitive reserve."

The research team chose a sample of 326 subjects over the age of 50 -- 222 healthy individuals and 104 with mild cognitive impairment. They then measured their levels of vocabulary, along with other measures such as their years of schooling, the complexity of their jobs and their reading habits.

They also analysed the scores they obtained in various tests, such as the vocabulary subtest of the 'Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale' (WAIS) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test.

"With a regression analysis we calculated the probability of impairment to the vocabulary levels of the participants," Lojo Seoane continues.

The results revealed a greater prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in participants who achieved a lower vocabulary level score.

"This led us to the conclusion that a higher level of vocabulary, as a measure of cognitive reserve, can protect against cognitive impairment," the researcher concludes.”

So instead of tweets and texting, perhaps you should blog?

"There is strong indication that a particular set of life activities are associated with a reduced risk of developing dementia and with a slower rate of memory decline in normal ageing. These include having a higher education, mentally stimulating occupations, strong social networks and having a variety of leisure interests. The amount of cognitive reserve appears to be plastic and influenced by aspects of experience in every stage of life."
Cognitive reserve--can we increase it?

3 word Wednesday on Friday—Lotza and her treats

The owner of this site provides 3 words each Wednesday as a prompt/inspiration for writers.  Entries can be an essay, poem, a blog or thought. Helps when you have a brain freeze and it encourages spontaneity. The words this Wednesday are:

Jab, verb: poke (someone or something) roughly or quickly, especially with something sharp or pointed; poke someone or something roughly or quickly with (a sharp or pointed object or a part of the body); noun: a quick, sharp blow, especially with the fist, a sharp painful sensation or feeling.

Labored, adjective: done with great effort and difficulty, (especially of humor or a performance) not spontaneous or fluent.

Makeshift, adjective: serving as a temporary substitute; sufficient for the time being; noun: a temporary substitute or device.

She’s deaf now, my little calico.
And sometimes I worry about her eyesight
If she misses it.
Sweet kitty, she’ll jab at the treat
I toss across the tile floor
Slipping and sliding,
A makeshift exercise therapy
After she labored so long at napping.

Homeschool art project

My husband works with children who are homeschooled by their mother for their art requirement.  Today they worked in watercolor; he demonstrates and then they follow what he does. Because they spend their summers at Lakeside also, today’s project was a sail boat. They have also been his models for some of his winning paintings, a current one in the Ohio Watercolor Society Traveling Show.

The younger girl won best of show this summer in the Lakeside Children’s Art show. The older girl takes ballet lessons and last winter was in the Nutcracker production here in Columbus which we went to see.  The boy likes to dress like a cowboy and at lunch today he said the Roy Rogers prayer.

“Lord, I reckon I'm not much just by myself,
I fail to do a lot of things I ought to do.
But Lord, when trails are steep and passes high,
Help me ride it straight the whole way through.

And when in the falling dusk I get that final call,
I do not care how many flowers they send,
Above all else, the happiest trail would be,
For You to say to me, "Let's ride, My Friend." “
Amen

Turmeric, pt. 3, Will it help Parkinson’s?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22211691

Curr Pharm Des. 2012;18(1):91-9.

Curcumin: a potential neuroprotective agent in Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an age-associated neurodegenerative disease clinically characterized as a movement disorder. The motor symptoms in PD arise due to selective degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the ventral midbrain thereby depleting the dopamine levels in the striatum. Most of the current pharmacotherapeutic approaches in PD are aimed at replenishing the striatal dopamine. Although these drugs provide symptomatic relief during early PD, many patients develop motor complications with long-term treatment. Further, PD medications do not effectively tackle tremor, postural instability and cognitive deficits. Most importantly, most of these drugs do not exhibit neuroprotective effects in patients. Consequently, novel therapies involving natural antioxidants and plant products/molecules with neuroprotective properties are being exploited for adjunctive therapy. Curcumin is a polyphenol and an active component of turmeric (Curcuma longa), a dietary spice used in Indian cuisine and medicine. Curcumin exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, crosses the blood-brain barrier and is neuroprotective in neurological disorders. Several studies in different experimental models of PD strongly support the clinical application of curcumin in PD. The current review explores the therapeutic potential of curcumin in PD.

Interesting blog with a compilation of research. http://parkinsonsand5htp.blogspot.com/2012/04/turmericcurcumin-great-promise-for.html

Black lives matter group has legitimate issues?

The President gives comfort to rioters and criminals by saying Black Lives Matter protests bring out legitimate issues.  Where do they point out that blacks are victimized by crime 6x more than whites, by other blacks?  Do those lives matter? The violent crime rate for offenders is 8x higher  for blacks than whites (don’t confuse rate with population). He will have trouble convincing me that the claims are legitimate when he’s never defended Chicago’s blacks this way. He also can’t convince me that he has done anything in 7 years to address these concerns.

http://www.progressivestoday.com/obama-defends-blacklivesmatter-and-says-they-must-be-taken-seriously-video/#!

Important information about aging

The Hillary Benghazi hearings

I've watched some of the hearings.  It seems to me the only questions should be why lies were told after the event about a video (Ambassador Rice and President Obama need to answer for that) and what's in the e-mails. If it was a tragic mistake as Clinton claims I can understand that.  But why did the government need to lie on the eve of the election? Was his position that fragile?  Plus some poor YouTube film maker went to jail. However, since the e-mail crimes were uncovered late and were outside the committee, don't know if that can be a part of it.

The blindness of Clinton/Obama supporters and even RINOs to their crimes tells me that the U.S. is at the same level as 3rd world dictators covering up their misdeeds, but maybe not as clever. And the solution for some Republicans the other side--elect a TV reality star/real estate mogul--also sounds like we've all gone 'round the bend.

Can Paul Ryan be Speaker of the House?

Glenn Beck is beside himself and full of “righteous anger” (his words) at the freedom caucus for supporting Ryan.  I’m not sure why he thinks Ryan is so bad, but he feels that he (Beck) was lied to when he was asked to get his listeners to support Webster.  Also, why can Ryan be so feisty about family time when he had agreed in 2007 to be the Vice Presidential nominee?  Didn’t he know that was a heart beat from President?

These 13 points are from the Daily Signal. (Heritage Foundation) All are expanded at this link.

1) Abortion: Ryan has supported pro-life legislation and efforts to defund Planned Parenthood. (And that’s basic for my vote.)

2) Budget: Ryan has spearheaded several budget proposals during his time at the House Budget Committee.

3) Education: Ryan voted for No Child Left Behind in 2001 before supporting the A-PLUS Act to give more control over funding to local communities.

4) Energy: Ryan opposed President Barack Obama’s cap-and-trade initiative.

5) Financial Bailout: In 2008, Ryan voted for the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program.

6) Gun Rights: Ryan has been a strong proponent of gun rights, voting numerous times against background checks and in favor of pro-gun legislation. A bow-hunter, Ryan is also member of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus.

7) Health Care: Ryan has opposed Obamacare since its passage and recently helped spearhead partial repeal by means of the budgetary tool known as reconciliation.

8) International: Ryan wanted to lift the Cuban embargo before supporting it.

9) Immigration: Ryan has supported immigration reform bills that included amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants in the past.

10) Labor Unions: Ryan remains unwavering in his support of federally mandated, prevailing wages.

11) Marriage: Ryan voted in 2006 in favor of the Marriage Protection Act, a constitutional amendment that defined marriage as being between a man and a woman.

12) National Security: Ryan voted to go to war in both Afghanistan and Iraq, later opposing an early military withdrawal.

13) School Choice: Ryan has supported increasing school choice options for families.

Old, Tired Ideas and Candidates on the Left

Old, tired, socialist ideas from the all white, old tired,up in years Democrat candidates, pushing for more of the old, tired, expensive 1960s programs which they whine have failed us. Complaining about the very rich who are funding their campaigns.

Lots of fighting, squabbling and fresh ideas outside the political box from the Republican candidates. Seems to be a battle from the pages of history--the generations not seeing eye to eye. And yet there are "progressives" and even some “libertarians” who are leaning toward Hillary (she's not their first choice, but they know it's inevitable). "The devil you know is better than the one you don't" or something like that.

Where is the bridge for this gap? I don’t see it.

“No wonder political parties spend so much time talking about social issues. Shared religious and cultural values represent one way to bridge the country’s economic and demographic divides.

Single moms may crave security, but if they’re revolted at the killing of unborn children, or if they don’t want to see their public-school children barred from praying on campus, they’ll vote Republican.

Married moms in Massachusetts may pour countless thousands into a broken and wasteful combination of local, state, and federal welfare programs, but if they want to keep abortion legal and celebrate the upcoming nuptials of their lesbian neighbors, they’ll crawl over broken glass to vote Democrat.”

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/425897/american-family-failure-economic-cultural-divides

Biden’s Rose Garden announcement

Joe Biden was all over the rose garden with his announcement of not running for President in 2016 which sounded a lot like a campaign speech. Like all Democrats, 

• he decried big money in political campaigns even when Hillary is the big money draw--$118 million in the first 3 quarters, plus the scam she calls the Clinton foundation;
• he said it was a shame to stop at 14 years of education, and we should go for 16, which is odd when 1 out of 5 don't finish the compulsory 12--why not finish that goal first--why not let poor black kids go to charter schools instead of blocking them;
• he moaned about divisiveness in Congress when he is the President of the Senate as Vice President of the country;
• he says our income gap is not sustainable--which in Democrat lingo means don't move up middle class, move down upper income.
• Pumping up the Obama legacy—that may be the real purpose of his non-campaign.

There seemed to be subtle digs at Hillary Clinton.  Maybe he’s leaving the door open to run, just in case Obama hasn’t killed the FBI investigation and she isn’t exposed as a crook, criminal and traitor.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/10/21/full-text-bidens-announcement-that-he-wont-run-for-president/