Income of Americans

Don’t fall for those memes and posters on income disparity, all weepy about how awful things are.  There’s household income, individual income by labor, then there’s income from all sources, then by education, or by gender or by race. The rich do have more, but they also pay most of the taxes.  But no matter how you slice and dice it, Asian Americans (40 different ethnicities) do better than any other group, all the way from Indians ($101,591) to Chinese ($69,586) to Pakistani ($62,848) to Bangladeshi ($44,512). (Nielsen report on Asian Americans) And they are more likely to be married, and to have more members in the household earning money, and to have more education.  The difference between Nigerian Americans ($62,086) and black Americans ($36,544) is much greater than between white and black Americans. (Wikipedia)

The CBO household income figures are higher than any I’ve seen elsewhere because it includes all income including government transfers. In 2013, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s estimates, AVERAGE household market income of $86,000—a comprehensive income measure that consists of labor income, business income, capital income including capital gains), and retirement income. Government transfers, which include benefits from programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance, averaged approximately $14,000 per household. The sum of those two amounts, which equals BEFORE TAX INCOME, was about $100,000, on average. https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/51361-HouseholdIncomeFedTaxes_OneCol.pdf

Monday Memories-- Medical Library Association, Washington D.C. May 15-21, 1992

I arrived in Washington around noon on Thursday, May 14, and was picked  up at the airport, then we rode the metro to a shopping area and had lunch at Slades.  We went to choir rehearsal at Immanuel Presbyterian and also got to see a video tape of the Spring musical.  Really cute.  We saw the famous Falls, after which I assume the towns are named. We ate those yummy cinnamon biscuits in the morning after our walks (surely they cancelled each other out).  There is a very convenient shopping center, Loehmann's Plaza, next door to the apartments where she lives.  Friday we toured Alexandria, an old restored village with lots of cute unique shops. We explored the Torpedo Factory with its wonderful crafts people and had lunch at a little deli overlooking a river (not sure which one).  We shopped on Saturday and bought yummies to eat at a health food grocery. That night we went to see a Goldie Hawn movie, "Crisscross," that was sort of a downer--not her usual comedy stuff.

The area she lives in is really lovely, and Virginia is so pretty in the spring.  She says I missed the peak color, but for one who has lived all her adult life in central Illinois, central Indiana and central Ohio, it looked pretty darn peaky to me! Sunday we went to Boulevard Baptist church where she plays the organ and in the afternoon went to a play, "How to succeed in business."  Karen picked me up there and we whipped into DC on a parkway that Karen knew about so I could register at my hotel and attend the conference of the Medical Library Association.

Washington is such an impressive city--there must be a million things to see and do there.  But the extent of my sight-seeing was one quick walk to the zoo, which was close to the hotel, and a 2 1/2 hour trolly/bus tour around the famous places.  I did get out and walk around the Vietnam Memorial.  It was good to see my friends from the other Veterinary Medicine libraries.  We only see each other once a year, but we have our electronic mail on the computer and a newsletter, so we keep in touch. The group visited the Zoo and talked to the veterinary staff and attended many meetings, none memorable enough to include either then or now!

One highlight of the meeting was when Compact Cambridge (an abstracting indexing service located in Cambridge, MA) took us all the Kennedy Center Tuesday evening for either a performance of the symphony, an opera, or a cabaret.  I saw "Pump Boys and Dinettes" and it was just fabulous.  It was rock, rock-a-billy, gospel, blues, honky tonk, and ballads, all taking place in a gas station with an adjoining dinette.  The actors were so versatile.  We had the best time. After the play we had a chocolate extravaganza, with fabulous desserts. 

The conference met Sunday through Wednesday. The veterinary medicine librarians met with the pharmacy librarians.  In 1993 the conference was planned for Chicago, (see my blog here) and I decided to fly out in the afternoon instead of the evening.  It is just too hard to get going the next day. This year I was back at work for 1 1/2 days, then we had a 3 day holiday, and then a 4 day week.  So I needed a little more adjustment time.

Later in May 1992, the Mid-Ohio  Health Sciences Librarians had their spring meeting in Columbus.

On Wednesday, the Mid-Ohio Health Sciences Librarians met for their spring meeting and we first had a guided tour of  "In Black and White" at the Wexner Center, our very controversial arts center here at Ohio State.  No, it wasn't a show about race, but fashion and the curator was Charles Kleibacker, Designer in Residence in Ohio State's Dept. of Textiles and Clothing (he died in 2010).  The show brings together actual examples of fashion from the 1920's to the 1990s by designers such as Chanel, Dior, Galanos, Givency, Armani and Mackie.  Everything was either black or white, even the sets.  Samples of designer's studios and workrooms were also worked into the show.  One thing was apparent--if the fabric is lovely and the design good, the dress is timeless.  The dresses from the 20's and 50's looked just as good as the day they were first paraded down a runway in Paris.  (Images of Kleibacker shows)

Then as an unexpected bonus, we slipped into a lecture by designer Shannon Rodgers, (d. 1996) who designed clothes for many movies.  He was designing back in the 1930's so he was in his 80's, but his presentation was very interesting and witty.  He was still working for the fashion museum at Kent State.  He did a mini-fashion show for us with three models.  One was wearing what he designed for Rosalynn Carter, one he did for Dinah Shore, and various other famous people. The Wexner Center is so impossible to show anything in, that a special exhibition space had to be designed to fit within the exhibit area, and that was interesting too.

After the show, we all walked to a campus dive/restaurant to have our business meeting.  As 15 middle-age librarians trooped in, all the tie-dyed, earringed -shaved heads turned to stare. We librarians really know how to shake up a place. The food was great.

(Notes on this memory are from my 1992 letter to my parents about MLA and Mid-Ohio.)

Today I noticed this in the American Library Association State of America's libraries 2017 report. All the buzz words that can fit left of center. Did you pass a bond issue to combat Islamophobia, or have a Democrat tell you what is fake news? Have you ever suggested a Christian magazine or a pro-life title and been told there's no demand?  Try asking for a reading list on social justice for the unborn.

"Our 9,082 public libraries play a vital role in such community services as early childhood literacy, computer training, and workforce development. In addition, they provide a safe place for everyone, reflecting and serving the diversity of their communities in their collections, programs, and services. The thousands of public libraries in towns and neighborhoods across the United States invite community conversations and actions that further understanding and address local needs.

Public libraries nationwide are taking action, using signs and social media to proclaim “everyone is welcome”; creating reading lists on demographics, voting, social justice, and other hot topics; partnering with community organizations to combat Islamophobia and racism and to connect with disenfranchised populations; and developing programs to help community members spot “fake news” (such as false or misleading statements, video or images shown out of proper context, dubious statistics, manipulated content, partisan propaganda, or satire) and evaluate information online."

Morning mass around the world

One of the things I enjoy about Catholic mass, which I sometimes watch while riding my exercycle, is the Scripture readings.  There is so much more focus on the Bible in their services. In Protestant services the focus is primarily on the preacher and the sermon. I also enjoy watching/listening to Eric Waters, our former pastor of UALC who now is in Texas, although I would always be a week behind if I watched on Sunday.

 For a long time I watched the services from Australia--which is a few hours ahead of us.  The participants were rather elderly--and it was intended for the nursing home crowd who are unable to leave their homes.  Even the priests limped or struggled.  Then I tried Canada for a few weeks.  Sometimes I visited the Philippines, although the English was a bit difficult. The choirs were very interesting. Today I tried the April 30 service of the Passionists.  I'd never heard of them, so had to look them up: 

"The Passionists of St. Paul of the Cross Province belong to a world-wide community of Passionists, a Catholic religious community founded by St. Paul of the Cross, one of the great missionary saints of the Catholic Church. (St Pauls Benevolent Educational And Missionary Institute Inc.)

The Passionists of St. Paul of the Cross Province serve in the eastern parts of the United States and Canada in parishes, retreat and spiritual centers, monasteries and residences. You can find us in cities like New York, Pittsburgh, and Hartford; in addition we serve worldwide in poor and remote areas of Jamaica, West Indies, and Haiti."

They were joined in this service by a Catholic boys school in the Bronx. 

Can you spot the lie?

Inspired by various lists going around Facebook, from condiments in the frig to rock events, I decided to try this. It's a list of ten jobs I’ve held, but one I didn’t (there are eleven on the list). Can you guess which one? Can you guess from which I was fired?

newspaper delivery
drug store clerk
specifications writer
journal author
Russian cataloger
Spanish teacher
agricultural worker
babysitter
Translator of medical articles
speech writer
drive in car hop

At an older blog I made a list of all the jobs I had before I graduated from college.

Friday Family Photo--Too many Corbetts

The Mount Morris Index editor, Worthington Thomas, kept track of the town's young men during WWII. From the going away party at his parents' home to his return at Christmas 1945, my father and other soldiers were reported in the town paper. I assume relatives submitted the information. My dad also wrote to Tommy who included his letters in the paper. I found the clippings in the 1990s. I don't know what happened to them.

July 1944
HOWARD CORBETTS TOO NUMEROUS IN CALIFORNIA CAMP

"Many odd situations have been reported by Mount Morris men participating in the present war, but a letter to the Mt. Morris Index from a young Marine located at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, Calif., brings to light one of the most unusual "Believe it or not" stories of them all.

"Dear Sirs: During the past few weeks I have received a few copies of the Mount Morris Index They are addressed to a Pvt. Howard Corbett, 5th Marine Div., Camp Pendleton, T.C. It just so happens that my name is the same, only I am a Pfc. in the 26th Regt., "D" Co., and am from Chicago.

Anyway, my curiosity has been aroused. I would like to know more about the other Howard. Maybe he is in some way related to me. I don't know. But if it isn't too much trouble I would like to know about him.

I joined the Marine Corps in January, 1942. Of these 30 months I have spent 23 overseas. I was a member of Carlson's Raiders and participated in four major battles at Midway, Bougainville and Guadalcanal.

I returned to the United States last February, and as you know, am now at Camp Pendleton. That in short is my life for the last 2 1/2 years and is about what I would like to know about the other Howard. I have sent the papers back to the post office and hope they are being sent on to the right addressee. I would advise your getting his correct address and have him put his middle initial on his record.

Sincerely yours, Howard N. Corbett

The Mount Morris Howard also was located at Camp Pendleton for a time which naturally accounts for the mix-up in mail. However, his present address is Naval Air Station, Marine Brks., Alameda, Calif., and both Howards will get this week's Index, with the suggestion that they write each other and establish their relationship if any."

Dad and Stan in front of our house in Alameda

And the rest of the story: I used the internet to see what had happened to Howard N. Corbett of Chicago, and if I've found the right one, he died in May 2004. After the war in which he was injured he went to college on the GI Bill and became a pharmacist. Howard Corbett Obituary (2004) - Homewood, IL - Daily Southtown (legacy.com)

It appeared from the obituary, that his son Howard, Jr., retired USMC, died a few months later. 

Howard Corbett Obituary (2004) - Chicago, IL - Daily Southtown (legacy.com)

100 Days of Accomplishments

100 Days Of Accomplishments

CUTTING REGULATIONS
Energy Independence Executive Order
Revocation Of Federal Contracting Executive Orders
Reexamination Of CAFE Standards
Review Of Waters Of The United States Rule
Creation Of Regulatory Task Forces
Eliminating Stream Protection Rule
Eliminating Regulations On Extraction Companies
One-In-Two-Out Regulation Reform
Minimizing Affordable Care Act 

JOB CREATION
Buy American, Hire American
Keystone Pipeline
Dakota Access Pipeline
U.S. Material In Pipeline Construction
Partnering With Private Sector

TRADE
Withdrawal From The Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Enforcement
Comprehensive Reports On The Causes Of U.S. Trade Deficits

ETHICS
Federal Hiring Freeze
New Ethics Commitments On Political Appointees
NATIONAL SECURITY
Strike On Syrian Airfield
Travel Restrictions On Select Countries
New Iran Sanctions
Defense Spending In Budget
F-35 Cost Savings

IMMIGRATION
Immigration Enforcement, Including Constructing A Wall
Sanctuary Cities Funding
New Hiring To Enforce Immigration
Prioritizing Criminal Immigration Enforcement And Hiring More Immigration Judges

PUBLIC SAFETY
Commission On Opioid Crisis
Protecting Law Enforcement Officers
Task Force On Violent Crime
Tackling International Cartels

HELPING WOMEN AND MINORITIES
HBCU Initiative
Canada-United States Council For The Advancement Of Women Entrepreneurs
Promoting Women In Entrepreneurship Act
Women And Space Exploration

SUPREME COURT
Nominating And Confirming Gorsuch To The Supreme Court

i2.cdn.turner.com

Remembering oleo margarine

Was the Wisconsin dairy lobby the reason we had to buy white margarine and mix it with a blob of color when I was a child? Then it came in a plastic bag and we mixed it by squeezing (still a child's job). Then finally it looked like butter and you could buy it that way. Now, they were right, it was pure garbage, and I'm happily back on butter, but that's the power of an industry. Artisan butter? Might try it. There are law suits.

http://blog.pacificlegal.org/minerva-dairy-challenges-wisconsins-anti-competitive-artisanal-butter-ban/

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/ohio/articles/2017-04-20/ohio-butter-maker-sues-wisconsin-over-enforcement-of-law

http://fortune.com/2017/04/13/kerrygold-butter-wisconsin-lawsuit/

https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/09/22/the-politics-of-yellow/

The vanishing liberal arts degree

For the last few years I've been seeing articles about the vanishing liberal arts degree. Really? The liberal arts vanished a long time ago--probably before I graduated from college. My B.A. from the University of Illinois with Honors in Liberal Arts and Sciences means I had no American literature, no English literature, no art, and no math. I had one science class (chemistry). At the time, I was just relieved--especially the no math. Maybe they don't print the degree now, but there's been no liberal arts for many years.  I checked the author's age--he's 64.

https://www.the-american-interest.com/2017/04/25/the-vanishing-liberal-arts-degree/

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41626661

New credit card scam beware

"So the m.o. of the criminals is this: They will order expensive electronics on a stolen credit card and have the purchases shipped to the home of the legitimate credit card holder. The criminals are hoping the card holder will become preoccupied with disputing the purchase with their bank.

That’s when the crooks strike a second time by sending a return label and package in which the item is supposedly to be shipped back to the retailer.

But if you ship it before noticing that the address on the return label is not that of legitimate warehouse or place of business, the retailer may hold you financially responsible for the cost of the stolen merchandise."

Fully explained here.

Slicing and dicing the quotes

When you see something that doesn’t sound right, check it out.

"Hoodwinking Americans is part of the environmentalist agenda. Environmental activist Stephen Schneider told Discover magazine in 1989: "We have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we might have. ... Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest." Walter E. Williams, April 25, CNS

I love Williams economic and social pieces, but this just didn’t sound right—too much like the pre-legal abortion stuff I’ve read. (numbers vastly inflated) So I decided to check out that quote by a scientist, because all sides slice, dice and edit, and at his webpage he explains it more fully--that it was not his intention to say that, it had been edited. So I read the full statement--and it still said to me, pretty much the same thing although it had been edited. . . when you are an "expert" you need to put things in sound bites so the general public will understand.
Hmmm. What makes it dishonest is Williams' use of the term "hoodwinking." I don't like it when the left does it; and right doesn't need to. Temperatures in earth climate models may well rise half a degree in the next century, but there's no evidence that taxing the rich more will do anything other than give governments--republics, fascists, communists, or dictatorships--more power.

Monday Memories--Medical Library Association Meeting 1993 in Chicago

From May 16 to May 19, 1993, I was in Chicago attending the Medical Library Association then headed to Mt. Morris to work on my publication project. As usual, the Veterinary Librarians had a great meeting. As I hopped off the shuttle from the airport on Sunday, I made a mad dash to the Shedd Aquarium with Melinda Saffer from Tufts who had also just arrived. We met up with our group which was having breakfast courtesy of the Aquarium Library staff. Then we attended a public demonstration in their new Oceanarium, and toured the facility with their veterinarian, seeing many of the back room medical facilities--even had to walk through a special tub of water to disinfect our shoes. There are huge lines to get in Shedd, so we were fortunate to be able to by-pass all that. (I still have the Shedd Aquarium T-shirt I bought.)

After that the librarians gave us a tour of the Shedd library, the largest aquarium library in the country. It was a lovely facility, and I jotted down some disease titles with which I was unfamiliar. The aquarium is on the lakefront only about a 15 minute walk from the Palmer House, site of the conference, so several of us walked back to the fabulous beauty of the flowering trees, Buckingham Fountain and all the yachts against the blue sky and water. And of course, there was the fabulous Chicago skyline, where every famous architect since the great fire has plunked down a building.

Then back to the hotel, registration, (my key was stolen and I narrowly missed an assault) lunch with friends, and that evening, Faxon (book vendor) took us to the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building. It was dusk, and as the lights of the city came on it was one of the prettiest sights I've seen. To show how chocolate improves the memory--it's been almost 25 years--I think it was a Chocolate themed buffet.

On Monday the distributor Majors (library subscription vendor) gave us a walking tour of Michigan Avenue with free T-shirts and breakfast. The Executive Committee of the Veterinary Medical Libraries Section (I was treasurer) met for several hours hearing reports, discussing next year's meeting in San Antonio, what to do about journals from former Communist countries, etc. I attended a session after lunch, then walked down to view the new Washington Public Library, which is quite controversial, but was only two blocks from the Palmer House.

Monday evening Compact Cambridge, a company developing CD-ROM data bases (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) which were all the rage then, hosted an event at the Field Museum, and we toured many exhibits from Egyptian tombs to Guatemalan pottery. Between the time they had committed to this reception and the actual event, they had been bought out by SilverPlatter, another CD-ROM company, but the event was held anyway.

Tuesday the Veterinary Section had its Business meeting, and then its own programming. Two new products, one a prototype, were demonstrated. Tuesday was free day at the Chicago Art Institute, so David Anderson from California and I went together after lunch. There was a nice display on the 1893 Columbian Exposition, photos of its construction, "Constructing the Fair: Platinum Photographs of the World's Columbian Exposition" which I was very interested in. Grandma Weybright graduated from high school in June, 1893, so I'm guessing her trip there was a graduation present because there are some souvenir items in the Weybright collection from this exposition. Tuesday evening we had our section dinner at a Greek restaurant, Dianna's Opa, which I didn't think was very impressive, but everyone enjoyed it.

Wednesday morning I caught the shuttle back to O'Hare Airport, then the bus to Rockford where Mom and Dad met me at the bus, we had lunch, then went on to Mt. Morris. Thursday, Friday and Saturday were spent ferreting out missing titles, checking imprints, recording recollections, etc. for my personal library of farmers publication project.  Mom went to Washington to Julie Clark's graduation on Friday, so Dad and I did the Pine Creek tour and I recorded some of his stories--may call it "The Pine Creek Chronicles." (I wrote it up and distributed it with the cookbook I was preparing for the reunion that summer.)

On Friday I also had a three hour breakfast with Lynne and Sylvia. On Sunday we went to church and then out to eat with Aunt Marian and Connie Brebner. Dad drove me back to the bus on Sunday afternoon and I got home about 7:30 p.m. I returned to work on May 24th, and used two more days of research time entering data, making corrections in the data base and checking catalogs.

(Information taken from a letter I wrote to my parents June, 1, 1993,--and this is only part of it.  If you think this is long, imagine their boredom in reading it!  Somewhere I have photos.)

The Didache--an ancient message for today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_w7OApgi1I

The Didache is a record of the early days of the Christian church in the first century A.D.  Some scholars put it as early as 50 A.D. It refers to false apostles and prophets, and how to determine who is authentic. Concerns basic morality, the sacraments, and a bit about end times. 

"Lost for centuries, the Didache was discovered in a Greek manuscript at Constantinople in 1873, and published by Bryennius ten years later.  Two small Greek fragents have since been published from two leaves of a parchment manuscript found at Oxyrhynchus, and a longer Coptic frangment in the British Museum was published in 1924.  Two extracts in Ethiopic also have come to light, and a Georgian version. "
The Apostolic Fathers, an American Translation, Edgar J. Goodspeed, Harper, 1950. p. 10.  I own this book--bought it about 30 years ago at a book sale.

The early church knew these prohibitions which the 21st century church has forgotten. . .

Chapter 2, 1-7:  The second command of the Teaching is:  You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not corrupt boys (pederasty), you shall not commit fornication, you shall not steal, you shall not practice magic, you shall not use enchantments, you shall not murder a child by abortion, or kill one when born.  You shall not desire your neighbor's goods, you shall not commit perjury, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not speak evil, you shall not hold a grudge.  You shall not be double-minded, nor double-tongued, for the double tongue is a deadly snare.  Your speech shall not be false or vain, but fulfilled in action.  You shall not be covetous or rapacious, or a hypocrite or malicious or proud.  You shall not entertain an evil design against your neighbor.  You shall not hate any man, but some you shall reprove, and for some you shall pray, and some you shall love more than your life."

In Chapter 15 "bishops and deacons" in this translation are "overseers and assistants"--obviously a Protestant translation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb7cNdUMpfA  Biblical Literacy Class recorded 01-18-2015, Mark Lanier, a Houston lawyer who "teaches regular classes at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas on Biblical Literacy that are also posted on the Internet in video, audio, and written formats. Lanier and his family built the Lanier Theological Library, one of the world's largest private religious studies library open for public usage." (Wikipedia)  I just came across this video today looking for material on the Didache and will look at this archive more carefully.  He recommends Aaron Milovec translation.

This is one of my favorite series, St. Mary's, 2014 lectures on the early church fathers, by Charles Craigmile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56_oKrRAtZw  and the Didache section starts about 32 minutes. 2015 series is on Catholic Social Teaching. 2016 is on Christian Apologetics: Overcoming Secular Barriers to Faith.

Scientists demonstrate against Trump

Yesterday was the bigly demonstration by "scientists" in a number of cities. I haven't interviewed them, but here's my take. This was about climate change, the belief that despite millions of years of evidence, humans can stop the climate from changing if they tax the rich more (I live in an area of the country that used to be glacial). These same people also believe humans cannot stop the march toward killing the unborn, the disabled, the mentally challenged and the elderly through abortion and euthanasia. They trade saving lives today of their next door neighbor on the tiniest possibility that someone could benefit 300 years from now if they live on a coast line and if the temperature goes up one half a degree (it could also go down, which has frequently happened). Of course, that person 300 years out won't be there because today's globalists and earth worshipers killed their ancestor

Look at the palm of your hand

From "Being Mortal" by Atul Gawande, p. 30-31.

"You can see all these processes [of aging] play out just in the hand; 40% of the muscle mass of the hand is in the thenar muscles, the muscles of the thumb, and if you look carefully at the palm of an older person, at the base of the thumb, you will notice that the musculature is not bulging but flat. In a plain X-ray, you will see speckles of calcification in the arteries and translucency of the bones, which, from age 50, lose their density at a rate of nearly 1% per year.... The hand has 29 joints, each of which is prone to destruction from osteoarthritis, and this will give the joint surfaces a ragged, worn appearance. The joint space collapses. You can see bone touching bone. What the person feels is swelling around the joints, reduced range of motion of the wrist, diminished grip, and pain. The hand also has 48 named nerve branches. Deterioration of the cutaneous mechanoreceptors of the pads of the fingers produces loss of sensitivity to touch. Loss of motor neurons produces loss of dexterity. Handwriting degrades. Hand speed and vibration sense decline. Using a standard mobile phone, with its tiny buttons and touch screen display, becomes increasingly unmanageable." 

Yup. So when an elder can't open a pill bottle or is slow pulling out her ID, remember, in a few years it will be you. Now go look at your palm.  I wonder if typing on phones with thumbs will lessen the viability of the thenar muscles for today's millennials?

Losing a father

Forty years ago in 1977 we flew to California with our children for an extended visit with my in-laws, Bob and Rosemary. My husband's father, a large athletic man, bigger than either son, had lost about 50 pounds that year, as had my own father, and my husband's step-dad, Jim. I had lost one entire father just from their dieting.

Kitchen grade coconut oil for skin?

I'm not the one to give advice on cosmetics--the industry would be a fraction of its size if everyone used as little make-up as I do. Especially now at my age.  "Less is more" is a saying for architects before they all started designing with computers, but it should also be scrawled on the mirrors of anyone over 45 or 50, and I'm well beyond that.  You don't COVER wrinkles with foundation and powder--wrinkles are a trap for make-up which will emphasize the lines.  But a neighbor invited me to a home party event for cosmetic sales, so I was looking at the CEO's blog and story of how she got into the business.  In the video she's wearing jeans and what looks like no make-up.  There was a list of no-no ingredients on her blog, so I did take a peek.  And that led me away from her page to looking at one of my favorites--coconut oil.  I found this quote about cosmetic grade coconut oil at another high priced beauty product site.  None of this introduction has anything to do with being invited to my neighbor's (but I do love her home--she uses a non-functioning grand piano as a buffet bar), but I needed to explain why I'm blogging about coconut oil, which I love using as a skin moisturizer. It's very inexpensive (for skin use) and when I run out, I just get a few tablespoons from the kitchen jar (rarely use for cooking).  I just looked at the label and it says "organic," but it doesn't say VCO, which usually in the past I've used. So I'll have to look for something more "virgin."

“Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is cosmetic grade—this oil is pressed from coconuts a day or two after harvest. There are a variety of ways to produce VCO, but in my opinion the best is no-heat fermentation, because the heat-sensitive elements of the oil are retained. However, very little difference in technical chemical analysis is found between certified VCOs, so whatever the pressing-process, any VCO can be applied generously to the skin without irritation. Coconut oils used for cooking are generally much cheaper. The copra, or coconut meat, is dried in the sun, then refined, bleached, and deodorized to produce oil for cooking, and chemicals are often used in this process. Invariably, irritant reactions may happen if applied to skin: do not use these kinds of coconut oils as cosmetics.”  Dr. Vermén M. Verallo-Rowell, MD, dermatologist, dermatopathologist  http://www.vmvrmd.com/dermatological-effects.php  

Western Kentucky University students propose reparations

These students at Western Kentucky University are misinformed. 

1.  Slavery has been a condition of the human race since recorded history. Everyone now living probably has slavery in her background if you go back far enough. 
2.  There is more slavery today than during the 18th c. cross Atlantic slave trade. 
3.  Freed American blacks also owned slaves as recorded in the 1830 U.S. census; Louis Gates reports 3,776 free Negroes owned 12,907 slaves, out of a total of 2,009,043 slaves owned in the entire United States. In some states a higher percentage of free blacks owned slaves than the white population. 
4.  More African immigrants have arrived voluntarily as free persons since 1990 than the number who once came as slaves. These immigrants have far higher employment and education levels than native-born blacks. 
5.  For over a decade the rate of college enrollment for black high school graduates has been higher than whites. 

How will the WKU victim collectors for the Democrat party sort all that out? Special quotas? Political party? Skin color? Wealth? That blacks are succeeding despite certain elected officials and political shenanigans is very upsetting to the left.  Need to try something new.

 "They acknowledged the move was largely symbolic."

Remember the huge dust-up when Ben Carson referred to black slaves as immigrants?  Well, it sort of disappeared when someone found out President Obama had made the same reference over 10 times in his speeches.

Diet soda and dementia--the link

"Higher consumption of artificially sweetened soft drinks was associated with an increased risk of both stroke and dementia in an analysis of more than 4,000 participants in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort, researchers found." http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/early/2017/04/20/STROKEAHA.116.016027

White matter in baby brains and grey matter in mommy brains

A new study led by UNC School of Medicine researchers concluded that patterns of white matter microstructure present at birth and that develop after birth predict the cognitive function of children at ages 1 and 2.

"To our knowledge, this study is the first to measure and describe the development of white matter microstructure in children and its relationship to cognitive development from the time they are born until the age of 2 years," said John H. Gilmore, MD, senior author of the study and director of the Early Brain Development Program in the UNC Department of Psychiatry
.
The study was published online on December 19, 2016 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

White matter is the tissue in the brain that contains axon fibers, which connect neurons in one brain region to neurons in another region. White matter is critical for normal brain function, and little is known about how white matter develops in humans or how it is related to growth of cognitive skills in early childhood, including language development. In the study, a total of 685 children received diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans of their brains. DTI is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that provides a description of the diffusion of water through tissue, and can be used to identify white matter tracts in the brain and describe the organization and maturation of the tracts."  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161219200955.htm

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"Pregnancy causes "long-lasting" physical changes to a woman's brain, with significant, but seemingly beneficial, grey matter loss in parts of the crucial organ, a study said today. Some alterations lasted at least two years, they reported but did not appear to erode memory or other mental processes." http://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/health-and-wellbeing/201216/pregnancy-causes-change-in-womans-brain-study.html

 Hmm.  I remember "baby brain" and I'm not so sure it doesn't affect mental processes.  Article appears in Nature Neuroscience 20,287–296(2017), and primary authors appear to be women--probably mothers.