Ben Carson has no political experience

“You are absolutely right — I have no political experience. The current Members of Congress have a combined 8,700 years of political experience. Are we sure political experience is what we need. Every signer of the Declaration of Independence had no elected office experience. What they had was a deep belief that freedom is a gift from God. They had a determination to rise up against a tyrannical King. They were willing to risk all they had, even their lives, to be free. Today we find ourselves with an entire class of politicians. No one in Philadelphia, during that summer our nation was born, dreamed that service was a career with a pension. America was the land of the Citizen Statesmen. They were merchants, lawyers, farmers — and yes, even doctors. They were willing to stand for freedom. . .

“My experience is very different than what we have come to expect. I grew up poor. I know what it is like to be homeless and hungry. I know the pain of poverty. I also know that education and a mother’s love can be the path out of dire poverty. I know what it is like to see water fountains you are not allowed to drink out of because of your skin color. I also know that once you peel back the skin, the brain is the same no matter what your skin color or continent you live on. I know that victimhood is a trap. I know that it is our Christian responsibility to offer those less fortunate a hand up. I know my faith is strong and my ego is small. . .

”I didn’t go to embassy cocktail parties or beg lobbyists for money. I spent night after night in a quiet, sterile room trying to save the life of a small child. That was my life’s service. This is my life’s experience. What I have is a lifetime of caring, integrity and honesty. I have experienced the American Dream. No where in the world, other than America, could a man whose ancestors were slaves, rise to become a leading brain surgeon and one day seek the Office of President.” Ben Carson Facebook page, Nov. 5, 2015

Democrats, party of socialists

Data mining our medical records

There wasn't a shred of research or evidence that electronic medical records included in the Obamacare pre-package would improve health or reduce costs, but the benefits to IT companies and researchers had them salivating. I just noticed this on a recent story. Did we give anyone the right to use your records for research? Probably signed away our rights to privacy without reading the small print.

"Researchers from Houston Methodist and Stanford University used computer algorithms to scour some 16 million records from nearly 3 million patients to find which of them had taken medications for gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, and how many of them had heart attacks."

South Side Roots Café and Market, Columbus, Ohio

Is your lunch bunch looking for a terrific place to meet? Try the South Side Roots Cafe & Market on Reeb, south of Parsons in Columbus, in an old restored elementary school. It's intended for low income who have limited resources, they pay what they can, and get delicious, chef inspired meals. It is part of the Mid-Ohio Food Bank and has a grocery store with locally grown foods. Eat well, do good.

From Columbus Business First, "The cafe will operate on a pay-what-you-can model serving lunch Monday through Friday, and brunch on Saturday. Customers with the resources can pay-it-foward and donate meals to a hungry neighbor. Additionally, the cafe will host a free community meal every Tuesday evening and provide snacks to Reeb’s on-site child-care center and the Boys & Girls Club." Hours are M-F 11-3, and Saturday brunch 9-2.

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/08/04/mid-ohio-foodbank-opening-southside-market-and.html

https://www.facebook.com/#!/South-Side-Roots-Cafe-Market-108575456144715/?pnref=story

Lie upon lie—Obamacare

If you know any Obama supporters who don't yet see the intention was not better or cheaper or more fair health insurance, but single payer so the government could control our lives, smack them. There might still be a brain cell or two working you could activate. http://townhall.com/columnists/halscherz/2015/11/04/the-human-toll-of-the-bureaucratic-state-in-healthcare-n2075710

One of the untold stories regarding the negative effects of Obamacare on our healthcare system, is the irreparable harm being done to our rural healthcare network. iVantage Health Analytics reported that since 2010, there have been 56 rural hospitals that have closed their doors- the latest, Mercy Hospital in Independence, Kansas. There are an additional 283 rural hospitals across America on the brink of closure. 35% of rural hospitals are operating at a financial loss, but this was not always the case. Obamacare is a big part of the problem.

The plan is that it will get so bad and so expensive, the voters will beg for single payer.  Marx was definitely wrong.  You don’t need impoverished workers to revolt; only dumb, non-thinking well-off voters.

Obama is turning the country into Republicans

With the election of Matt Bevin in Kentucky, 64% of governors are now Republican and Kentucky has its first female, Black statewide official, a Tea Party Republican. This will be Obama's legacy--he has lost the Democrat party hundreds of state legislatures, plus many seats in the house and senate of the U.S. Congress. He has overseen the slowest economic recovery in our history by trying to micromanage it from Washington. He has let Russia and Iran lead him by the nose. Democrat candidates’ issues are sex, drugs and guns. Republicans agenda items are jobs, security, borders, Obamacare, debt/deficit, and military. Democrats are running an elderly socialist and a woman who should be in jail. Republicans are offering an amazingly diverse group, including two Hispanics, a black, a woman, a few governors and no socialists.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/04/meet-jenean-hampton-the-first-black-person-to-be-elected-to-statewide-office-in-kentucky/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/04/us/republican-wins-governors-race-in-kentucky.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/04/us/republican-wins-governors-race-in-kentucky.html

A little child will lead them

Occasionally I read something very profound on FaceBook--and the one posting doesn't even realize it. An atheist FB "friend" (we've never met) was born and raised in the former USSR, and is now an American author and professor. He was walking his dog when he encountered a small child, about 5, sweet and innocent, who asked about the dog, and then about God. "Does God ever get sick?" he asked the professor. A very wise and gentle man was he, and could honestly say, "No," reasoning that if God doesn't exist (he said to himself to justify his answer) he couldn't get sick. I read that exchange and thought to myself that here was a 5 year old who had never seen an ultrasound of a baby, or the aurora borealis, or a fossil, or a spider's delicate web, or the billions of galaxies, and yet he knew more about God and cared for his well-being in his child-like way than my friend, the all wise and jaded professor did. Yes, it was an inspiring post.

Being with the dying

There was a catch in her voice.  “Do you know any Scripture I could read to the dying, you know, for comfort?” I told her I would check with the pastor, and get back to her, although I knew I could Google it.  Google tells all.  All except how to sit by the side of your dying daughter and think about life without her.  All except how to live one’s few remaining years without her who used to be your future, the one who would have told sweet stories at your funeral,  settled your estate and gone to the cemetery to leave flowers.

http://www.holyredeemerhealth.com/hospice-support/being-with-the-dying/

The Youth vote has much better choices with the Republican slate this coming year, but . . .

It is said that liberals become conservatives as they age (has something to do with raising a family and paying debts), but there's pretty good research to show that how you vote when you start is how you'll end up. In 2008, the youth vote went for Obama. They were sucker punched in my opinion, but with the help of older Christians who sat out 2012, they also reelected him. Now those 18-25 year olds will be 26-33 when Hillary asks for their obedience, and they won't even give it a thought and will pull the lever/press the screen for the big D. They've finished college (although not their government induced debt), married or living with, might even have a child or two. Their happy clappy rock star religion is probably boring now and not much has replaced it. They are probably too busy to look around and think or notice how things have changed since Obama gave them hope and Kool-aid.

Millennials, born between 1981 and 1999, consist of 80 million Americans who are the largest generation in 100 years. Accounting for roughly one-fourth of the total voters today—a larger voting block than seniors citizens—they are predicted to make up as much as 40 percent of the electorate by 2020. Most are too young to remember 9/11, and the recession was just a hiccup because they could move back home with mom and dad. and still pay for their car and i-phone and pot. Many really do want someone to take care of them, and even though the gov't takes from their own wallet and future, they'd rather believe the lies than do the tough stuff of analysis and thinking. Marx was really wrong--he thought you'd need a revolt of the workers when all that was necessary was materialistic college grads.

According to Pew Research, young voters continue to identify with the Democrat Party at relatively high levels and express significantly more liberal attitudes on a range of issues, from gay marriage, abortion, the environment, and the role of the federal government. The kids who were left at day care to be raised by others, are perfectly comfortable with having the federal government take over their decisions and life’s direction.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/aug/5/jp-moran-2016-gop-youth-vote-problem-and-how-deal-/?page=all

http://www.conservativebookclub.com/10576/featured-article/can-conservatives-win-back-the-youth-vote

October was Respect Life Month

At least for Catholics.  We didn’t hear that at our Lutheran church.

Jesus said, “I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)  Today there are Christians who don’t see that statement of Jesus extended to the unborn.

• Defenders of life are vilified in our culture; we’re troublemakers who don’t want the best for women (even though over half of the aborted are female).
• Defenders of life are called anti-science for not wanting embryos used in medical labs, or body parts of fetuses sold for medical research.
• Defenders of life are called haters and homophobes for defending marriage.
• Defenders of life are out of step with the culture because casual fluid relationships are not acceptable to us.
• Defenders of life are hassled by the pro-euthanasia crowd because assisting the sick and dying is just too hard for people.
• Defenders of life are called stingy if we don’t want our tax dollars supporting Planned Parenthood’s slaughter houses.
• Defenders of life are told, even by our President, that “black lives matter,” but not that “all lives matter,” even the weakest who cannot speak for themselves.

Defenders of life are called by Christ to be the counter-culture.

(HT David Garick, editor, Catholic Times, Diocese of Columbus)

“Our worth is based not on our skills or levels of productivity. Rather, we discover our worth when we discover our true identity found in the unchangeable, permanent fact that we are created in God’s image and likeness and called to an eternal destiny with him.” http://catholicherald.com/

Sugary Fatty Foods

are as addictive as heroin and cocaine.  Leptin.  Ghrelin.  Whole bunch of things controlling your appetite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_M6N2YvhK8

Or was it exposure to DDT?  Obesogens?

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/44278/title/Obesogens/

“The biological basis of obesity is further highlighted by the vigorous defense of weight following weight loss. There are at least 10 circulating hormones that modulate hunger. Of these, only one has been confirmed as a hunger-inducing hormone (ghrelin), and it is made and released by the stomach. In contrast, nine hormones suppress hunger, including CCK, PYY, GLP-1, oxyntomodulin, and uroguanylin from the small bowel; leptin from fat cells; and insulin, amylin, and pancreatic polypeptide from the pancreas.

After weight loss, regardless of the diet employed, there are changes in circulating hormones involved in the regulation of body weight. Ghrelin levels tend to increase and levels of multiple appetite-suppressing hormones decrease. There is also a subjective increase in appetite. Researchers have shown that even after three years, these hormonal changes persist (NEJM, 365:1597-604, 2011; Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, 2:954-62, 2014). This explains why there is a high rate of weight regain after diet-induced weight loss.

Given that the physiological responses to weight loss predispose people to regain that weight, obesity must be considered a chronic disease. Data show that those who successfully maintain their weight after weight loss do so by remaining vigilant and constantly applying techniques to oppose weight regain. These techniques may involve strict diet and exercise practices and/or pharmacotherapy.”

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/44288/title/The-Changing-Face-of-Obesity/

Bernie Sanders, Socialist

Fallen Angel with Gary Sinise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdo0lrn3tJ0

I watched this today.  Lots of twists and turns, but very good.

Summary:

Produced by Hallmark and broadcast on Nov. 23, 2003, FALLEN ANGEL is a wonderful production about a man and a woman who try to put the pieces of their lives back together after a Christmas family tragedy years earlier. FALLEN ANGEL deals with overcoming pain and suffering, learning forgiveness, and seeing prayers answered in unexpected ways.

Obama’s legacy

“To the many gullible souls out there who truly think that Barack Obama is "legacy building" in his all-out assault on America, I implore you to bow out of the conversation because you are not seeing clearly.

The term legacy carries positive connotations of something bequeath that is to the receiver's benefit. Everything that Barack Obama does is calculated to destroy America, which he despises. This man no more cares about legacy than he fears being properly prosecuted by the white political leaders whose responsibility it is to remove him from office.”  Read what this conservative black woman has to say.

• Nuclear Iran
• Weakening the military
• Relations with Cuba
• Open borders and amnesty

All Saints Sunday, November 1, 2015

                

Narthex window, Church on Lytham

Today we Christians celebrate and remember all the Saints who have gone before us. In our church members submit names on cards to be read during the service they attend. We'll be serving communion during that time, so it is always wonderful to hear the names of my parents and sister while I'm offering the body of Christ to fellow believers.

Pastor Brody preached an unusual sermon.  He went over the funeral service as printed in the Lutheran Book of Worship (Augsburg, 1978), “Burial of the Dead” pp. 206-214.  It was very moving.

"Most Lutheran churches use the first Sunday in November to remember all the saints in the Church of Christ Jesus, especially those members and friends of the local congregation who have been called to Heaven in the previous year.

The custom of commemorating all the martyrs of the Church on a single day goes back at least to the third century. All Saints' Day celebrates not only the martyrs and saints, but all the people of God, living and dead, who together form the mystical body of Christ.

In Europe, All Saints' Day is also called All Hallow's Day ('hallowed' means 'sanctified' or 'holy'). October 31st, the evening before All Saint's Day is named All Hallow's Eve, which was contracted to Halloween." (Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Ypsilanti, MI)

Sanctuary window, Church at Mill Run

Why do Democrats talk about the gap instead of life style?

Facebook sent me a memo about what I wrote on November 1, 2014.

"This is why the Democrats have to talk about a gap rather than quality of life and consumption.

The typical poor household, AS DEFINED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, has ...

• a car and air conditioning, two color televisions, cable or satellite TV, a DVD player, and a VCR.
• If there are children, especially boys, the family has a game system, such as an Xbox or PlayStation.
• In the kitchen, the household has a refrigerator, an oven and stove, and a microwave.
• Other household conveniences include a clothes washer, clothes dryer, ceiling fans, a cordless phone, and a coffee maker.
• The home of the typical poor family is in good repair and is not overcrowded.
• The typical average poor American has more living space in his home than the average (non-poor) European has.
• By its own report, the typical poor family was not hungry, was able to obtain medical care when needed, and had sufficient funds during the past year to meet all essential needs."

The immigrants who come here probably know this; the media and politicians don't seem to.

Notice what is soaring?  College tuition and fees, not health care. Government is heavily involved in college loans.

C.A.T.C.H. Court and Judge Paul M. Herbert

October 31 I attended a presentation at UALC Mill Run campus on the C.A.T.C.H court of Franklin County, Ohio, which is a diversion program offering women victimized by human trafficking the chance to leave lives of trauma, homelessness, substance abuse and incarceration. It was started in 2009 by Judge Paul M. Herbert, a Christian, who had a personal experience with a woman in his court room that was like that of the disgraced woman in Luke’s account of the woman who bathed Jesus’ feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  He told us the most important word in the Bible is “SEE.”

He told us that prostitution isn’t the glamorous, self selected life of “Pretty woman” the Julia Roberts film where women are exchanging sex for money.  He showed footage of severe physical abuse. We heard about branding with tattoos, pimps being “married” to all his girls, new identities, traumatic brain injuries, broken bones and rape.  That’s NOT sex for hire. . . it’s slavery.  One third of the prostitutes were in the field before age 15, and now average age is 12-13; 62% are before their 18th birthday.  Ohio passed a Statute of Human Trafficking, June, 27, 2012—every human trafficking victim is also a prostitute—victim and criminal. 92% of those arrested for prostitution also fit the definition of human trafficking.

The C.A.T.C.H. program graduates have a very high rate of success. We also heard from a graduate of the program, Vanessa Perkins who today is employed by the very court system that previously tried and convicted her and has completed 5 years of sobriety with no new offenses.  She serves on the Board of Freedom a la Cart.  Story here.

This video is very similar to the presentation I heard this morning.

https://vimeo.com/106539001

Thank you Suzanne Tyack who brought this program to UALC.

Justice Scalia and Justice Kennedy on the Constitution and our rights—polar opposites

If there was one phrase Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia could eliminate from our vocabulary, it would be "living constitution." "God, I hate that phrase," Scalia said. "I prefer 'enduring Constitution.' " (speaking at Santa Clara University this past week)

Our founders set up 3 branches of government with checks and balances and specific duties, the strongest and most powerful, given the most responsibilities was the House of Representatives because it was "power to the people," something they didn't have in Europe. Now a group of unelected judges, 5 of them liberals, have absconded with our rights, and defiled the constitution.

http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_29039405/antonin-scalia-tackles-constitution-at-santa-clara-university

A nod to the Nazis comes from Justice Kennedy. Obey the law or else, even though I made it up.

Responding to a question about marriage and abortion:

The justice responded by pointing out that only three judges resigned during Germany’s Third Reich — the government of Adolf Hitler — and said, “Great respect, it seems to me, has to be given to people who resign rather than do something they view as morally wrong, in order to make a point. However, the rule of law is that, as a public official, in performing your legal duties, you are bound to enforce the law.” “This requires considerable introspection,” he continued, “and it’s a fair question that officials can and should ask themselves. But certainly, in an offhand comment, it would be difficult for me to say that people are free to ignore a decision by the Supreme Court.”

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/426372/justice-kennedy-rule-law-requires-you-enforce-laws-i-made-david-french

Reviewing Doubting Thomas

Doubting Thomas? The religious life and legacy of Thomas Jefferson, Mark A. Beliles , Jerry Newcombe, Morgan James Publishing, Release date: Oct 31, 2015,  ISBN 978-1-68045-150-7, $29.99.

I’ve been getting really selective about accepting books for review—it’s like getting your name on a list of donors and hearing from groups you knew nothing about.

But, if you’re an American history buff, or you’ve been wondering about all the leftist and progressive propaganda about our founders’ faith, then you’ll like this book.  Every page has something I could quote, with good citations. (Bibliography has hundreds of sources.) For instance:

One time, John Adams was ruminating on the overall thrust of American independence.  Here’s what he wrote to Jefferson in 1813 (p. 195):

“The general Principles, on which the Fathers Achieved Independence, were the only Principles in which that beautiful Assembly of young Gentlemen would Unite, and these Principles only could be intended by them in their Address, or by me in my Answer.  And what were these general Principles? I answer, the general Principles of Christianity, in which all those Sects were united:  And the general Principles of English and American Liberty, in which all those young Men United, and which had United all Parties in America, in Majorities sufficient to assert and maintain her Independence.”

From the download page: “While Jefferson may seem to be the Patron Saint of the ACLU, his words and actions showed that he would totally disagree with the idea of driving God out of the public square. Doubting Thomas documents that. . .

* Jefferson said that our rights come from God. God-given rights are non-negotiables.

* At the time that he wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom---major contributions to human and religious rights―Jefferson served diligently as a vestryman (like an elder and a deacon rolled into one) for the Episcopal Church.

* In 1777, he wrote up the charter for the Calvinistical Reformed Church in his town with an evangelical preacher, the Rev. Charles Clay--with whom he had a lifelong friendship. Jefferson was the biggest single contributor to this fledgling congregation.

* Jefferson had nothing but the highest praise for Jesus’ teaching, which he studied religiously (even in the original Greek), in order to pattern his life after that which he called “the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man.”

* As president, he attended church on a regular basis at the US Capitol building, even sometimes recommending preachers to fill that pulpit.

* He had many positive relationships with orthodox clergymen and active lay Christians.

* He actively supported Christian causes, financially, in ways that would put the average Christian to shame.

* He set out to create a non-denominational college that accommodated Christian groups of different stripes.

Historical revisionism has distorted the religious views of Thomas Jefferson, making him far more skeptical than he was.  But there is no doubt that by the end of his life, he seemed to privately embrace Unitarian views of the Christian faith, while outwardly supporting and attending his local Trinitarian church. 

http://nashvillephotoboot.com/subjects/biographies-and-memoirs/leaders-and-notable-people/presidents-and-heads-of-state/us-presidents/163047150X.

Academicians tend to quote each other in their peer review journals.  Time to take a fresh look, and get off the anti-America train.

The Kennedys didn’t get rich and powerful by playing fair!

Joseph P. Kennedy III is the 22nd wealthiest member of Congress ($18.6 million). His wife Lauren Anne Birchfield also has some college debt. Her student loans remain (she’s in the hole some $50,000 to the federal government, Harvard and a Des Moines-based educational outfit). Really? I have nothing against the rich dynasty Massachusetts Democrats continue to send to Congress, but with all those trust funds, couldn't they pay us back for college? Roll Call. http://media.cq.com/50Richest/#

The main source of the Kennedy family wealth was amassed by his namesake in banking, real estate, liquor, films and Wall Street holdings. In 1998, the Kennedy family sold Chicago’s Merchandise Mart for $625 million, which the family patriarch had purchased in 1945 for $12.6 million. The deal allowed Kennedy heirs to receive a stake in one of the nation’s largest real estate investment trusts, according to the Associated Press.

Kennedy, who represents the 4th Congressional district, reported most of his assets are held in family trusts. The 2014 range - $18.7 million to $64.5 million – is higher than the $15.6 million to $55.8 million range he reported as a candidate in 2012. His latest report also includes mortgage debt of between $750,000 and $1.5 million on homes in Brookline and Washington, D.C., and student loans – owed by his wife Lauren Birchfield – of between $40,000 and $115,000.

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20150616/NEWS/150617085