Come let us eat

I heard this lovely call and response hymn on Sing for Joy today. But it was a choral arrangement (Schola Cantorum) which I can’t find on YouTube and I didn’t care for the drums and organ samples, so just a small item about the Liberian composer. I is a very popular communion hymn.

KWILLIA, Billema. b. ca. 1925. Kwillia is a literacy teacher and evangelist from Liberia in West Africa. He is best known for the hymn ‘Come, Let Us Eat’ (‘A va de laa mioo’), which has been included in several hymnals and ecumenical collections. Kwillia composed the hymn in the 1960s and it employs a characteristic call-response pattern. Margaret D. Miller (b. 1927) transcribed the hymn from a recording in a church service in 1969. This hymn, in the original Loma language and in Miller’s versification, appeared first in Laudamus, a hymnal for the international gathering of the Lutheran World Federation in Evian, France in 1970. (Dictionary of hymnology)

My Luther bookmark

I was pretty sure I’d found this in Luther’s writings and then designed the bookmark, but couldn’t figure out which, so I googled, “if you were able and did not” and sure enough found it was LW 51,9.  It was on a page for sex and gender diversity at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

Inbreeding among Muslims for 1400 years?

I am not at all familiar with Pickerington Post blog. So I haven’t confirmed this “research.”

Massive inbreeding among Muslims has been going on since their prophet allowed first-cousin marriages more than 50 generations (1,400 years) ago. For many Muslims, therefore, intermarriage is regarded as being part of their religion. . .

The BBC’s research also discovered that while British Pakistanis accounted for just 3.4% of all births in Britain, they accounted for 30% of all British children with recessive disorders and a higher rate of infant mortality.

It is estimated that one third of all handicapped people in Copenhagen have a foreign background and 64% of school children in Denmark with Arabic parents are illiterate after 10 years in the Danish school system.

The research appears to be only at right wing website and all cite the same Danish psychologist, Nicholai Sennels .

http://joemiller.us/2015/09/muslim-inbreeding-has-corrupted-islams-psyche-and-the-results-are-alarming/

http://pjmedia.com/blog/the-problem-of-inbreeding-in-islam/

The dissenters: http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/robert-spencer

Dear Mr. Reno, editor of First Things

I don't know about the progressive because I'm a conservative, former liberal, humanist and Democrat. But I do know how disappointed I was in the December issue, "Crisis of our Time." If I could have found your e-mail, I would have said,

"What are you thinking? Capitalism is more dangerous than powers of government and you're leaning to Francis' view?"

Really? Name any global capitalist cabal that has murdered 100 million of its customers as the USSR and China did in the 20th century! What about the kings, monarchs, tsars, caliphates, Imans, and tribal leaders of past eras? Who do you think was at the foundation of 18th c slavery if not the petty tribal and Islamic leaders of that era who sold souls to slavers? Do you think capitalists have killed more of their citizens than they did? Only mosquitoes have killed more people than governments. /And statist governments are the worst.

Indirectly I suppose you could say the abortion industry is capitalism, but in the United States it is the plank of the Democrat Party, and it has destroyed millions of lives and caused American families to decay at the roots.

I've eagerly read your columns with each issue; now I could cry. I'm a Lutheran so technically have no skin in your game, but I do know the Roman Catholic church is the greatest defender of social and political rights in the world, the only entity strong enough to stand up to powerful government interests, especially Marxists. Once you weaken that with this drivel that Francis is promoting, the 40,000 Protestant groups and denominations might as well fold their tents and let the culture die.

Coloring books for adults

Have you seen those coloring books for adults at the book stores? Yesterday I bought some colored pencils and I picked up two Sunday school children's bulletins with b & w drawings at church. It's all good.

Jesus probably didn't wear purple on earth--too expensive, but he is King of King and Lord of Lords, so I took some artistic license for heaven.

http://time.com/4106154/crayola-coloring-book-adults-color-escapes/

http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/why-adults-are-buying-coloring-books-for-themselves

There’s a gremlin in your diet plan

Ghrelin, a hunger inducing hormone, sounds like the word “gremlin,” at least to me. 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 so that makes you more hungry and levels of the nine appetite-suppressing hormones decrease, so they aren‘t doing their job. The word gremlin became popularized in the early 20th century, originally used as a creature that sabotaged aircraft, but the word works for diets, too. Even after 3 years, your body still responds to diets this way. 

http://www.webmd.com/diet/your-hunger-hormones

Report insults and slights to Police—it’s not illegal, but do it anyway

"While cases of hateful and hurtful speech are not crimes, if the individual(s) identified are students, MU’s Office of Student Conduct can take disciplinary action.”  Police at University of Missouri ask students to report speech to the police that hurts their feelings.  Would that be "fatty fatty two by four," or "you're ugly, bitch," or "you're a retard," or "You've got man boobs," or "No, I won't buy you a beer, chink" or accusing a male of "white privilege" when he's 1/16th native American and on campus as a minority scholarship despite blonde hair and blue eyes? Is it OK for a gay guy to use a homosexual insult?  Can a black guy use the N-word? How far will police take this? Really, this hate speech stuff is out of control. Shame, shame on all academe. It's much worse than the "in loco parentis" of the 40s and 50s.

A lesson in good manners

I thought I was done with this, but in case you’ve forgotten how to be polite and cheerful, here it is.

Ben Carson asks for money because media are unfair. Well, duh!

"The media have paid far more attention to Ben Carson's speculation about what the Pyramids were built for, thousands of years ago, than to outright lies that Hillary Clinton told about tragic American deaths in Benghazi, within days after she knew the truth, as her own e-mails now reveal." Thomas Sowell.

That said, if Dr. Carson doesn't stop using the stupidity of the media as a reason to support his campaign, I won't send him any money. GW Bush ignored the terrible way they treated him. Looks darn good in retrospect.

Do we share this problem?

What Pelosi said about Obamacare

Keep Christ in Christmas this year

History of money

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6NRC9aofKU

Lecture series at Hillsdale College.

“Money has been used as a medium of exchange since ancient times. It affects not only economics, but also history, politics, and culture. This second CCA of the 2015-2016 academic year, co-sponsored by the Ludwig von Mises Lecture Series, will examine the history of money, as well as money-related controversies.”

Sunday, November 8:

4:00 p.m. EST
“The History of Money: An Overview”
Kenneth R. Calvert
Headmaster, Hillsdale Academy
Associate Professor of History, Hillsdale College

8:00 p.m. EST
“How the Destruction of the Dollar Threatens the Global Economy”
Steve Forbes
Chairman, Forbes Media
Author, Money: How the Destruction of the Dollar Threatens the Global Economy

Monday, November 9:

4:00 p.m. EST
“Milton Friedman and Monetarism”
Robert Barro
Harvard University

8:00 p.m. EST
“Money in American History”
John Steele Gordon
Author, Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power

Tuesday, November 10:

4:00 p.m. EST
“How to Think About the Federal Reserve”
Peter Schiff
President and CEO, Euro Pacific Capital
Author, The Real Crash

8:00 p.m. EST
“The Problem of Crony Capitalism Today”
William Walton
Founder, Rappahannock Ventures

Dreams, visions and prophecies

Great sermon today by Gemechis Buba, Mission Director of the North American Lutheran Church, at Mill Run, UALC on dreams, visions and prophecies. He reminded us that the culture is pushing the church to the fringes and we need to regain our vision. He reflected that the great churches of Sweden, Norway, Germany, England and Holland sent missionaries to Africa, but neglected their own countries and their children and grandchildren lost the faith established centuries ago. Pastor Buba, who was raised in Ethiopia, noted that a German missionary had baptized him. Now Africa is sending missionaries to Europe to fill their empty pulpits. I crossed the river to hear him and my husband came over after ushering at our Lytham campus. He has a powerful message; will probably be at ualc.org sermon site by Tuesday.

If we solved poverty, too many people would be out of work

It's not easy being poor, and especially homeless. You have to support so many good middle class jobs. I was looking through the 2014-15 annual report of the Ohio Housing Trust Fund yesterday. It began as a group of concerned citizens in 1990 cobbling together resources to help the homeless and now has a budget of about $60 million. It doles out grants to various non-profits who assist with low income housing and programs for the homeless. I looked at one of the larger grants, Integrated Services of Appalachian Ohio (that's the geographic area that Obama promised to destroy in 2008--coal country). This ISAO has a budget of about $7 million. CEO makes $134,522 (2013), and about 60% of that $7 million goes to salaries. Poverty is big business.

http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2008/11/affordable-housing-in-ohio-and-your.html

http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-is-ocdca-not-obsessive-compulsive.html

Testimony on climate change

Dr. Don Easterbrook, geologist, Professor Emeritus of Geology at Western Washington University. Easterbrook was educated at the University of Washington, where he received the BSc in 1958, the MSc in 1959, and the PhD (Geology) in 1962.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LkMweOVOOI

Republicans could elect another Clinton

For those of you who think the Fox Channel is spawn of the devil because it isn't a mouth piece of the Democrat Party, you're missing a great analysis of the new book by the former President George H.W. Bush. I do wonder why it was released during Jeb's campaign--the left will snip and slice and pull out juicy parts to hurt Jeb and destroy George W. But for Republicans who will see it, it's a good reminder that YOU elected Bill Clinton by chasing after Perot. I didn't, because I was a Democrat then and of course voted for Clinton--never thought anything through in those days except do what the party says. Let's not make the same mistake and elect Hillary by pouting that our candidate didn't make the cut in a field that's the best in our history as a country.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/05/politics/bush-biography-nyt/

ttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/11/05/george-h-w-bush-slams-iron-ass-cheney-arrogant-rumsfeld-in-new-biography-also-faults-bush-41/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/05/us/politics/elder-bush-says-his-son-was-served-badly-by-aides.html?_r=0

Episode 3: Hormones and Hunger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo3TRbkIrow

Why it isn’t just eat less move more.

“Metabolic endocrinology appears to be only slightly more complicated than a nuclear reactor and brain surgery combined. No single hormone controls body composition, appetite, and hunger — and your individual hormonal profile may be relatively unique.

What’s also notable is that dieters who lost more weight on the diet had more significant changes in their appetite. They were probably hungrier while losing that weight.”

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/leptin-ghrelin-weight-loss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOCPyheVesM  Robert Lustig on sugar at Google

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmC4Rm5cpOI  Robert Lustig at Ted Talk on sugar

Jenean Hampton, Tea Party Republican

Republicans also made history in another way. Bevin’s lieutenant governor running-mate, Jenean Hampton, is now the first African American elected to statewide office ever in the state’s history.

Born in Detroit, the 57-year-old Hampton and her three sisters were raised by a single mom who lacked a high school education and couldn’t afford a television or a car. But Hampton was determined to better herself. She graduated with a degree in industrial engineering and worked for five years in the automobile industry to pay off her college loans. She then joined the Air Force, retiring as a Captain. She earned an MBA from the University of Rochester, moved to Kentucky and became a plant manager in a corrugated packaging plant. Then she lost her job in 2012. She used her free time to start a career in politics and becoming active in the Tea Party.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/426555/kentuckys-new-gop-lt-gov-black-tea-party-activist-john-fund

Too much sex at OSU

The Women's Place (Ohio State University) produces a comprehensive report on the status of women at Ohio State. The purpose of the report is to synthesize and disseminate comparative data to evaluate progress towards increasing diversity and promoting equality for women at Ohio State. In doing so the report identifies successful areas and areas where more work is needed."

I read it; mostly about implicit bias and why there aren't more women in top positions. So I wrote them: "I've read the 2015 report. I think I see the problem. Your organization focuses too much on sex (babies, assault, relationships) and not enough on skills, leadership, intelligence and accomplishments."

http://womensplace.osu.edu/assets/files/Status_Report_2014-15.pdf