Mammography and social justice

Who am I to question how medical research money is spent, but when I see this, . . . "research grants for scholars from backgrounds that are historically disadvantaged or underrepresented in research disciplines," I know I don't care about the skin color or ethnicity of the nurse or med tech who could possibly save my life. Wouldn't that money be better spent on a new drug, cutting edge technology or a cure rather than on social goals? And the same for raising yet more money through runs and walks for education and screening. Mammography is detecting more cancers, but hasn't reduced mortality.

Words, will they make a comeback?

We have a new sheriff in town.  Remember when mothers would tell their toddlers, "Use your words, not your fists."  We may regret that. Meanwhile. I think I've heard "Islamic terrorist" more in the last 2 weeks than the last 8 years.

There are over a million words in the English language, and it is global and borrows as needed. There are over 50 words just for sheep.  But in the U.S., the word police have thrown so many words at the wall, any wall, they no longer have any meaning.  Tolerance. Diversity. Privilege. Multicultural. Gender. Sex. Rape. Hunger. Poverty. Microaggression. Disparities. Justice. Fairness. Comprehensive. Invalidation. Underserved population. People of color. Traditional marriage. Hitler. Nazi. Orwell. Male. Female. . And a host of pronouns. . . (feminists killed the pronoun even before the transgender debate).  And now, all of a sudden, Democrats have discovered the Constitution, patriotism and the Bible.  Who knows where this could lead?

The Super Bowl ads

I watched only the overtime of Super Bowl LI, and thought it was pretty exciting when I caught up on what had happened 2nd half. On Monday and Tuesday it was still being debated for non-football reasons--particularly the ads, which I didn't see--also didn't see Lady GaGa. But everything seems to be political.

 "Many Americans watch the game for the ads. Audi hectored us about the phony gender wage gap. But immigration was the dominant theme, with not one, not two but three ads ...moralizing about the issue — the one from 84 Lumber being the most heavy handed. We suspect most Americans vastly prefer to be entertained by humorous and silly commercials than ads designed to shame half the population. The same goes for the sport itself. We watch to see the clash of combatants on the gridiron, not the pouty nonsense of kneeling social justice warriors. Let’s make sports (and commercials) great again." Patriot Post, Nate Jackson, Feb. 6.

I remember when TV and magazine advertising depicted adult women for years as either complete air-heads who couldn't open a box of laundry soap without a male voice-over, or as sex objects suitable only as a clothes rack or to satisfy a man (many women's magazines still do). Now the ads show men as wimps and effeminate clothes racks, or stupid, knuckle dragging beer drinkers. And now they want to preach equality, diversity and sustainability? I don't think so.

Tucker Carlson on Fox

By the time he comes on in his new time slot (9 p.m.) I'm usually asleep, but his is one of the best programs on TV. What I enjoy about Tucker is, unlike Bill O'Reilly, he respects his guests and allows them to have their say, even if you know he'll eviscerate them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqtvZM2oYrM 
Interview with Rand Paul on the Federal Reserve System.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz3RLnuk370
Travel ban analysis.  Like watching paint dry.

The New World Order and pushback against Trump

"Forget most of the complaints and accusations against Donald Trump you are hearing these days. There is a growing, ugly and violent war being waged against the Trump administration and conservatives in general. Most of that war is being orchestrated and funded by massively-financed elites of one general movement – the several decades old movement for an aggressively secular, borderless, de-populationist New World Order and world government."

LifeSite

Betsy DeVos and The Department of Education

I didn't feel strongly about DeVos--except the teachers' unions were against her and that's a pretty good clue. The two Republicans who didn't support her are well funded by teachers' unions. I do wonder about the purpose of the Department of Education except to hand out grants to their favorites and fiddle around with reports no one ever reads or follows. Now, there's been an historic attempt to block the president's choices and an historic vote to break the tie. So far, in two weeks, Democrats have just made themselves look weak and whiny. Something to remember in the 2018 vote.  Teachers' unions have done an excellent job of keeping salaries/benefits high (ca. $58/hour according to BLS) and a poor job of releasing trapped poor kids from their district schools. No wonder they are against DeVos and for all Democrat politicians. Life long politicians need life long victims.

David Keck says (on Facebook): " The reason the NEA and AFT want the Department of Education in the first place has no connection to what is best for kids. What it does is provide a permanent ear and funding stream for their lobbyists in Washington for their own agenda. And the Common Core thing is just the example that it never stops with where they are when they get this department. It always gets bigger. The fact that so many districts and states kowtow to Common Core shows that they are not just "helping" or assuring rights for kids - they are imposing a national curriculum. Yes, I know it is voluntary. So is state highway money. See if you get it if you don't cooperate with the feds' latest crime of the month, e. g. seat belts, uniform speed limits, or whatever.

Don't forget that Reagan campaigned on getting rid of the DOE. He then hired Terrell Bell from Wyoming to run it, and he initiated the "A Nation At Risk" report. I had one of Bell's minions as a professor and he was quite proud of the fact that they snookered Reagan. He said so."

http://nypost.com/2017/02/05/the-war-on-betsy-devos-is-all-about-the-teachers-unions/#.

Sharyl Attkisson: We've been played

"We’re being played. Astroturfers often disguise themselves and publish blogs, write letters to the editor, produce ads, start non-profits, establish Facebook and Twitter accounts, edit Wikipedia pages or simply post comments online to try to fool you into thinking an independent or grassroots movement is speaking. They use their partners in blogs and in the news media in an attempt to lend an air of legitimacy or impartiality to their efforts. Astroturf’s biggest accomplishment is when it crosses over into semi-trusted news organizations that unquestioningly cite or copy it.

The language of astroturfers and propagandists includes trademark inflammatory terms such as: anti, nutty, quack, crank, pseudo-science, debunking, conspiracy theory, deniers and junk science. Sometimes astroturfers claim to “debunk myths” that aren’t myths at all. They declare debates over that aren’t over. They claim that “everybody agrees” when everyone doesn’t agree. They aim to make you think you’re an outlier when you’re not." http://fullmeasure.news/

My favorite is "research shows," or "it is reported," when in fact that includes a writer or two you've never heard of. I even use it occasionally if I remember a story and am too lazy to find the link.  But I'm not being paid.  A year ago I wouldn't have called the New York Times or Washington Post "astroturfers," but in their on going fight against President Trump (because they lost so badly and were embarrassed by their sloppy reporting), they've reduced themselves to that level.

Trump proved right again. Media are silent.

Almost all the popular vote for Clinton over Trump (about 3 million) came from California. There are Democrats who think that should trump the Electoral College vote. Now one of the California state politicians, Kevin de León (D), has announced half his family and that of other Mexican heritiage Californians use false documents to survive. In short, he has just proved Donald Trump right. But oh how the press raged at Trump for suggesting that there is voter fraud. Crickets for this admission.

"I can tell you half of my family would be eligible for deportation under executive order, because if they got a false Social Security card, if they got a false identification, if they got a false driver’s license prior to us passing AB60, if they got a false green card, and anyone who has family members, you know, who are undocumented knows that almost entirely everybody has secured some sort of false identification. That’s what you need to survive, to work. They are eligible for massive deportation." Kevin de Leon.

AB60 is a law that gives illegals drivers' licenses--about 800,000 were issued the first 2 years.

Springsteen and Youngstown, Ohio

Mike Huckabee reports on Springsteen and his (long forgotten) ties to Youngstown, Ohio): “Bruce Springsteen must be taking career advice from the Dixie Chicks. During a concert on foreign soil (Australia), he implied that he was embarrassed by America’s President, then sang a song suggesting it was because Trump hung up on Australia’s Prime Minister – a dubious story from an unnamed source that both parties to the phone call strongly denied.

This is hardly Bruce’s first jab at Trump. Having campaigned hard for Hillary, he’s also on record as calling Trump incompetent and a “moron,” although he did recently add a caveat that that there are “plenty of good, solid folks that voted for Donald Trump.” I’ve said this before, but if he really wants to be a voice for beleaguered working people, he should do what I do: spend time talking to them instead of celebrities, politicians and Rolling Stone writers.

I’d suggest starting with Joe Marshall Jr. He’s a retired Ohio steelworker who inspired Springsteen’s song “Youngstown,” often hailed by liberals for its sad depiction of the problems of laid-off factory workers in an outsourced-jobs world. In the last election, Marshall was a strong Trump backer. He told the New York Times that the Democrats “failed Youngstown” with overbearing regulations that drove jobs away. Springsteen said he wrote his song after reading about Marshall in a book. Might I suggest talking to Marshall, and other Trump-voting factory workers like him, face-to-face? Judging from the way Bruce fell for one of the countless anti-Trump fake news stories, it appears that he’s not making very good choices of reading material.”

http://occupydemocrats.com/2017/02/03/bruce-springsteen-just-apologized-australia-trumps-behalf-best-way/

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2017/02/02/even-the-mexican-government-is-calling-out-the-ap-for-inaccurately-reporting-call-with-trump-n2280214

Yes, in our era teens all dressed a like

 
We just had prettier clothes in those days. 

Yes, definitely

Our party line was 59-L.  Gayle might remember this.  In Oakwood Hall where we both lived, the pop machine (bottles) began spitting them out with no one inserting coins.  Lots of squealing brought the crowd running. I think she was the hall monitor.

Moles, leakers and Clintonistas in the federal government

As I've puzzled over the anti-Trump reaction to an Obama order now going to the courts, I came across a number of stories of federal workers in various agencies like EPA and DoE organizing to fight Trump through encryption of files, special groups to stay in touch, archiving of files outside the agency, etc. If this is also taking place in Homeland Security (which is charged with carrying out the 2015 order restricting travel to and from 7 nations) I think a pause to clean house, not of immigrants but of federal workers, may be a good idea. Then there is the leaking (inaccurate) of Trump’s phone conversations with Australia’s leader and Mexico’s leader. Both those presidents have denied the account published by A.P. The new term is "fake news." So something is afoot. More collusion between the media (our third party) and the bureaucracy (the Democratic party)? Also, just this past week-end it was revealed that three brothers (don’t know if they were Muslims) working for Democratic Congress members as IT specialists were all fired. That is not related to immigration travel, but it could mean there are moles within both parties and within the federal bureaucracy.

 

 http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/federal-workers-signal-app-234510

 

 http://dailycaller.com/2017/02/04/exclusive-house-intelligence-it-staffers-fired-in-computer-security-probe/

 

 http://ktla.com/2017/02/03/trump-administration-issues-clarification-on-travel-ban-allows-some-travelers-from-7-countries-to-enter-us-under-special-circumstances/

 

thehill.com/homenews/administration/317887-wh-to-probe-leak-of-trumps-australia-mexico-calls

Thoughts on immigration and refugees

Kuwait has travel ban for 5 Muslim countries. "In July 2016, Kuwait had foiled thee terror plots planned by the ISIS. Several pre-emptive raids inside and outside Kuwait ended in the arrests of militants which the interior ministry had said belonged to “Daesh”. Daesh is the Arabic acronym for ISIS. In July 2015, the Gulf country, home to several US military bases, suffered its first ever ISIS-claimed attack, when a blast targeting a Shia mosque killed 27 people and injured over 200."

 No one outside the Obama administration and the Trump administration, not the judges trying to second guess nor the demonstrators, know why those 7 countries were put on the Homeland Security list in 2015. It's not about Islam, or another 43 countries would be on the list. It would seem prudent to wait. That is, unless you voted for Clinton and just hate Trump.

 I see a lot of "we are all immigrants" signs on FaceBook especially from those who just weeks ago under Obama were saying "we" stole the land and enslaved Africans. But there were always rules. My immigrant ancestors had to swear allegiance to King George II of Britain before selling everything or their labor to pay for the journey, and then there was no help from the colonial government of Pennsylvania only from whomever purchased their labor or others of their faith.
 

Michael Smith had a thought of merit: "It seems to me that Trump has set up a situation where the people who oppose this Executive Order are going to have to explain in court why this condition is unconstitutional now and it wasn’t unconstitutional in 2015 when Obama signed the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 in to law. It will also have to be explained to the American people why constitutional rights are extended to non-citizens. I think the challenges may well have the effect of unveiling the true political bias of our judiciary and the feckless nature of our legislature. Trump is making good use of Alinsky's Rule 4: “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.”

Veruschka and me

I saw Veruschka (popular model from 1960s, referred to as the most beautiful woman in the world) on a rerun of Dick Cavett last night. So today I looked her up. She's now 77, a few months older than I. Looks like the rest of us who were never models except she's still 6'4" and I'm still 5'5". I think the most recent photo was about 4 years old, but she didn't appear to have any botox or facial remodeling like Nancy Pelosi, nor was she wearing make-up. She says it's more important to be loving and have a lively mind.

Dear shrinking and aging Democrats

 The wall was voted on years ago, maybe 11 or so, and your team voted for it. It's about 1/3 built. Stop blaming Trump for 16 years of inaction on illegal immigration by Bush and Obama. Your team also voted to go to war during the Bush years, and expanded it through an imperial presidency during the Obama years--no president was at war longer than Obama. This is the mess you left President Trump. Let's see if he can turn your poop into fertilizer.

KURT SCHLICHTER, Townhall, Feb. 2: "So this leads us to the next Democrat lemmingfest as your dwindling contingent in the Senate prepares to go full Thelma and Louise over Judge Gorsuch. Or should I say, Soon-to-be-Justice Gorsuch, because thanks to Harry Reid, your filibuster has been filibusted. He’s getting confirmed no matter what you do. Plus, he’s a great guy who presents well and who normal people will look at and say, “Hmmm. He seems nice.” But please, don’t let something like the fact you have no chance of success and a huge chance that you will make yourself look like complete idiots deter you from your kamikaze crusade to cater to Team Soros. I want you to oppose Soon-to-be-Justice Gorsuch. Loudly. Proudly. Tone deafly. Tell yourself that, “Well, the GOP won the Senate after doing nothing but obstructing Obama, so it’s gotta work for us, too!” Just skip over how the GOP was obstructing stuff that normal people hate, while you geniuses will be obstructing stuff loved by everyone who doesn’t live within walking distance of a feminist bookstore that serves cruelty-free intersectional chai lattes. And pay no attention to the looming 2018 elections where you have 25 seats at stake. It’s all gonna work out fine! Please. Keep doing what you are doing. And we’ll keep luxuriating in that warm bath tub, which we will top off with Chuck Schumer’s tears."

300,000 Californians have moved to Texas to get away from the nonsense we hear at the Globes and Academy, so when the half time preachers get too loud for Super Bowl 51, hit the mute button. That's not what football should be about. I've never figured out what it IS about, but I know it ISN'T having an overpaid, over rated singer tell me what to believe. If Lady GaGa gets all political on us, I expect a quick approval of Gorsuch. Some blondes really are dumb, even if it comes from a bottle.

On the Mike Gallagher show this morning (he had a guest host) I heard a campaign worker for Trump who went door to door for him in blue collar neighborhoods say he thinks Colin Kaepernick put Trump in the White House. Probably hyperbole, but Kaepernick is REALLY unpopular. He's the football player adopted as an infant by white parents who gave him every advantage, and  has now decided he's a black nationalist and loves a Muslim girl.

A tribute to a great dad--our nephew Dan

 
This is a tribute to his father, written by our great nephew Caleb (on the right, back).  Others are Jake on the left (Jacob), Dan (son-in-law), and Joshua.

 "I couldn't ask for a better father. He has never been and still to this day isn't my "friend". He is a dad and he lets it be known. My father wasn't the sensitive type. He didn't come ask about your day or make you feel perfect. He did raise me, come home everyday, be faithful to my mother and we all knew the rules. He may be a hard man but I wouldn't change it. At the end of the day he would go to war for me as I would for him. I am glad i wasn't spoon fed. At least, I knew real life and not that movie fairy tale."

Of course, the Dan we know is a hugger and kidder.  He and Joan have visited us the last two summers at the Lake and came for our 50th wedding anniversary--twice! They are super special people with always more love to share.

Being sick is very boring

Most aren't old enough to remember scarlet fever, or pneumonia in the pre-penicillin days, and maybe you still have your appendix. I had all three--oh, and infected tonsils, so that's four. But that's pretty much it for 77 years and I still have all my permanent teeth and never a broken bone despite having owned a horse.  But adding up the days those 4 put me to bed in a dark room and stuck in the house doesn't equal my shingles siege of January 2017.  Today I drove the car for the first time since Jan. 6. Yesterday I walked outside a bit.  It came back for a second round and I'm back on acyclovir and still using a steroid for my eye.  As pain goes, it's nothing like cancer, heart attack or stroke.  It's about a 2 on a scale of 10, manageable with Gabapentin and Tylenol. But I'm a whiner and so bored with this.

We only have antenna TV in the guest room, so I've been watching reruns 40 years old.  My goodness, I can't believe how women were depicted in the 1970s. Laugh-In was probably the worst.  So why should we trust Hollywood celebrities in the 21st century to tell us what to think? Like Madonna and Lady GaGa?

For days after I stopped throwing up I could eat nothing but Campbell's Chicken Noodle, the old fashioned kind.  Then fried egg sandwiches with cheese sounded good, reminding me of one of the few things my Dad knew how to cook.  Then Key Lime Pie sounded pretty good.  But in general, eating hasn't been very healthy.

The Left vs. Gorsuch

I'm  challenging the middle schoolers who write for the New York Times, Washington Post, Vox, Huffington Post  and Daily Kos to read a few of Judge Gorsuch's decisions before deciding he's a fascist. Let them bask in simple and easy to understand English and to take in the flavor of making decisions on the basis of law and not opinion. Particularly, read the case about the 13 year old boy arrested for fake burps and disrupting the class. I think the juveniles writing for our major news sources would want a Judge Gorsuch on their team. I'm assisting with a link, because if you try on your own to find this information you'll get 30 - 40 referrals to New York Times and Washington Post, because of the algorithms of Google.

 https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9892606330454881926&q=14-2066&hl=en&as_sdt=4,106,120

List of decisions of the 10th circuit.

Someone named Souza commented

At the Washington Post, it's difficult to find an article that isn't anti-Trump.  But sometimes there is wisdom in the comments. I thought this one had merit to respond to another commenter at "The Democrats are babbling," by Ed Rogers on February 1.

I think calling Trump names like "raging child" disqualifies you as "thoughtful" or "reasonable". Trump is wrong on much, but minimizing his success is not reasonable and thoughtful. He dismantled the republican establishment and crushed the Clinton machine. He was systematic and effective. So what everyone should do is stop responding with craziness when he intentionally does things to make you crazy. He wins when he plays you like a broken toy.

Become analytical and unbiased...if you can. There is nothing outrageous, illegal or immoral about suspending immigration from countries raging in war and terrorism or that express a hatred for American ideals. Other dem presidents have taken similar actions and it was reasonable then to...don't go crying and screaming in the streets with nonsensical signs. Instead recognize that what is unreasonable about the Trump suspension of immigration is that there was no notice and it affected green card holders with a right to be in the USA. Focus on the real issue not the fake one that seems to get the most attention. Lots of people think Garland should have gotten a vote...ok...life's not fair and if the table had been turned the dems would have done the same thing...now stop bashing a reasonable pick for the Scalia seat...and brace for the RBG seat fight...that is where the dems must bow their back....crying about this seat and becoming irrational could cause a rule change that will lose any chance to defend the RBG seat.

Salaries for librarians

I received an e-mail newsletter/update from the University of Illinois School of Information Sciences.  Lots of news about minority recruitment.  I wonder about that.  Librarianship (the old name) requires a master's degree.  With school teachers earning anywhere from $56-$60 an hour, much more than librarians, why recruit minorities?  It's possible that median salaries are listed under some other titles.  Another website listed slightly higher salaries--about $35,000, but nothing that would pay off college debt.

So I sent the school a note:

"I was reviewing “iSchool at Illinois” and what has obviously been a very successful recruitment of minority and male students. I found the microaggression workshop a bit off-putting, but then that's my age--graduate MLS in 1966. From what I've seen of them they are anti-white, anti-male and divisive. So I checked a website for salaries and see a library researcher is $27,848 annually, same as a linen room attendant and $2,000 less than a parking lot attendant/valet. There was no listing for "librarian." Do you have any current salary figures that would make recruitment of men and minorities a worthwhile effort?"