The endless ironies

"No one worried much when Obama promised on a hot mic to Medvedev that he would be more flexible with the Russians after his reelection, as if they were to conform to a desired sort of behavior in service to Obama that would earn them dividends from him later on — the kind of unapologetic partisan “collusion” that would have earned Trump a Comey-induced indictment.

 

No one cared that Obama pulled all peacekeepers out of Iraq and thereby ruined what the surge had saved.

 

Nor did anyone fret much about the serial scandals at the GSA, the VA, the IRS, and the Secret Service, or his disastrous reset policy with Russia and the implosion of the Middle East or the strange spectacles of Obama’s interview with GloZell or polarizing Oval Office guests, such as the rapper whose album cover portrayed celebrations over a dead white judge."

 http://www.nationalreview.com/article/448562/donald-trump-ironies-wrecking-ball-long-overdue-may-benefit-country

 

What made the mainstream media and lefty overpaid "entertainers" revere Obama as god-like and sent shivers up their legs, now drives them beyond the bend when a Republican president does similar things. . . even stupid and dangerous things.

About the rhetoric and the left urging violence. . .

"When Kathy Griffin posed with a mock severed head of President Trump, she had more than a few defenders, with actor Jim Carrey saying her only sin was being the brave soul to voice what everyone else felt.

When controversy erupted over an iteration of Julius Caesar that depicted Trump as the assassinated leader, playwright Tony Kushner blamed Breitbart and the right wing media for manufacturing outrage.

Enter David Simon, creator of HBO's hit show The Wire, who less than 24-hours before the shooting on Wednesday, openly called for anti-Trumpers to commit violence, advising them to "pick up a goddamn brick" if they don't get their way." http://www.conservativenews.com/article/3132/just-one-day-gop-congressman-attacked?

Riots break out when a conservative is invited to speak on college campuses; 98% negative reporting on Trump in the MSM; the DNC candidate calling half the country "deplorables;" one major candidate a designated socialist, the form of politics at the root of non-war death in the 20th century; disagreeing about climate change is considered a crime; death in the womb is part of the Democrat party's mission statement.  So who are the violent ones?

Monday Memories--Letter from Dad, June 18, 2001

A letter from Dad.  He always left the correspondence up to Mom, but I did have a few notes from him after her death in January 2000, and found this one recently.  I had been writing him frequently, maybe once a week.

Monday, June 18, 2001
Dear Norma,
As I promised I’m going to write you a letter, so you can tell all your friends.  I’m going to go from Sunday backwards, instead of starting a week ago and go forward like you do.

Church 9 a.m.   June 17
Home at 10:45
Over to 408 Sunset at 12 noon.  Drove to Byron, but before getting out of the car, Ruth said, “This is on me.  I’m filling in for Norma and Joanne.  They would pay if they were here.” Back to Mt. Morris by 2 p.m.
At 3:00 Ruth and I went to the Baptist Church dedication.  The old one burned 2 years ago and they have been worshiping in the Leaf River Grade School since.  I don’t know why the Baptists have all the good speakers and we have none.
Back at 408 by 6 p.m.  Home by 7:30.

Saturday June 16
Went to Rockford to see J. Groenewold. Then to K’s Merchandise to buy electric razor 10 a.m. Home by 12. Nothing except weeds and napping rest of the day.

Friday, June 15
Took Gene and Betty to VFW in Oregon for Fish Fry. I’m sure they liked it.  They have a meal every Friday night as a fund raiser.
Tomorrow night Ruth and I are going to “Good Samaritan” supper as a fund raiser for Pinecrest.  Tickets on Ruth $100.00.

Thanks for all you and Bob have done to make my life at 11 West 1st the joy that it has become. You two were a great help in my adjusting to life without Olive.  I still miss her every day.
Love, Dad

On reading and books

"Today is for celebration but starting tomorrow I humbly urge you to embark on a lifelong relationship with a faithful companion who will always help you and sometimes delight you -- who will never desert you, who will make you smarter, and wiser, who will always be by your side and enlighten you all the days of your life. I am talking about: books.

You must not stop reading books. That's all. If you seek a happy and interesting life, one of depth, meaning and accomplishment, you must read books." Peggy Noonan, commencement address at Catholic University

https://www.cua.edu/speeches-and-homilies/2017/commencement-2017.html

Being left is not being liberal

This is the disease of leftism.

 Climate change is more of a threat than Islamic extremism.
You think the cure for terrorism is a hug.
You think the president or people on the right are more dangerous than Islamic terrorism.
You watch The View....
You think Joe and Mika make a cute couple.
You were saddened by the television show Girls being canceled.
You have more disdain for friends who think differently than jihadists who want to kill you.
You need a “safe space.”
You think people should be fired for free speech.
You find yourself protesting in Birkenstocks.
You agree with Tucker’s second guest.
The president has caused you to lose sleep, given you rashes, harmed your sex life, or “broken you.”
You are or want to be a pundit on CNN or MSNBC.
You find Samantha Bee even mildly amusing.
You take ten private jets to a climate change summit
You have private armed security and call for gun control.
You are in the entertainment industry; yes, there are a handful of exceptions, and I mean a handful.
You have had a sexual fantasy featuring Bernie Sanders or Sarah Silverman and think a summer home in Venezuela sounds romantic.
You find Don Lemon informative.
https://spectator.org/leftism-an-incurable-disease/

Democrats still don't understand why Trump won

Democrats, who look down their noses at the middle class, who thought it was hilarious to call millions of Americans "deplorable," are still trying to figure out how Trump won, yet get it wrong. Good piece in the Wall Street Journal. https://www.orangepower.com/threads/why-trump-won.232923/

  "A new Journal analysis of standardized test results finds that over the course of their college careers, many students are not markedly improving their ability to evaluate evidence and analyze information. 'some of the most prestigious flagship universities, test results indicate the average graduate shows little or no improvement in critical thinking over four years,' reports the Journal. Given that more-educated voters broke for Mrs. Clinton, perhaps the lesson is that whether or not university professors can teach kids how to think, they have at least managed to teach them how to vote."

"The bank CEO sums it up: 'No wage growth. No investment earnings growth. No wonder families are stretched and stressed.' And no wonder they lost faith in the U.S. political establishment."

Radical Son--David Horowitz

I guess the left got tired of attacking Bannon and are going after Horowitz. His parents were card carrying Communists (they called themselves Progressives), and he used to be (Berkeley Leftist, fund raiser for Black Panthers), but is now an outspoken writer/philosopher on the right. I read his autobiography (Radical Son) many years ago. I don't see him having the power that WaPo sees. But if it weren't for the blame game, the left would have no game at all. He says during the McGovern campaign, the Left took over the Democrat Party. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DD_8SJKAjc

Horowitz WaPo story

http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-captive-mind-of-trump-true-believer-david-horowitz

http://dailycaller.com/2016/10/27/why-david-horowitz-loved-donald-trump-from-the-start/

"Universities are now totalitarian institutions. . . It's fascism and is embedded in the universities."

"People of color is a racist phrase. . . "

Not a resistance--you can't have that word

If you want to hate Trump, at least don't misname what you are doing.

"No, sorry, YOU ARE NOT A RESISTANCE, because USA is not a dictatorship. Nobody is persecuting you; none of your rights are being violated; no illegal purges enacted; no tortures and disappearances. You didn’t like the results of an election – and want to pretend it is illegitimate, because you don’t want to do the hard work of rebuilding a constituency alienated, “Because you thought correcting people’s attitudes was more important than finding them jobs. Because you turned ‘white man’ from a description into an insult (…) Because you cried when someone mocked the Koran but laughed when they mocked the Bible. (…) Because you kept telling people, ‘You can’t think that, you can’t say that, you can’t do that’,” as Brendan O’Neill has said. Alas, the only people losing their legitimacy are you; who wear little pink hats and take off all your clothes and wander through public spaces offending friend and foe alike; who vandalize coffee shops and write little slogans misspelled on cardboard. No, YOU ARE NOT A RESISTANCE, and you don’t get to have that word."

https://joelhirst.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/sorry-youre-not-a-resistance/

Our internet is back

Our internet, phone and cable are up and running again. Sunday we had a big storm, and lost the use of the 2 TVs with cable boxes, the internet and our phone. Our other TVs (limited channels, no box) were working but not a great picture.   Everything had slowly come back on over 2 days, the interet returning about 10 a.m., but instead of cancelling, we just kept the service call. He went over everything very carefully, and then asked if there were any other cable boxes, so we sent him to Bob's office on the lower level. He was there a long time, and when he came up he was holding a piece of cable pretty well chewed up, from the outside. Apparently it had been the victim of lawn equipment, don't know when. He suspected that as it dried out from the storm, the connections were again working. I hope that stops the various interruptions we've had that our neighbors didn't. Two years ago the remodeling on the unit next door cut our electricity source which went through his attic into ours.

So for two mornings I went down the street a mile to Panera's to read my e-mail on my I-pad and then in the afternoon I went to the UAPL and used its Wi-Fi. But I'm happy to have the convenience restored.  Although I do get more done when it isn't available.

Monday Memories--The Methodists are Coming, June 1995

The Methodists were coming to Lakeside for their Annual Conference in June 1995--thousands descend--first West Ohio and then East Ohio, or the other way around. One used to be German speaking the other English, but I don't remember which is which.  It is the only time we rented, and it meant Spring cleaning and putting all our personal effects away.  I must have gone up and down the basement steps 50 times (would have been smarter to just go to the laundromat) with bedding, blankets, rugs, and towels. The house is tiny, but the basement is even smaller, and the steps are at a terribly steep pitch. And spiders love it there, so I also swept and debugged the basement. The plastic cover on the deck furniture looked scummy, so I washed that in the machine with Clorox, then the deck looked sort of greenish in spots so I scrubbed it with a Clorox solution. Bob spent the day mowing, clipping, weeding and washing windows. The closets and drawers were stripped and their contents go into the cedar chest. Phoebe and Mark had a few items stashed under beds, so those were removed to a box on the front porch. Two shelves in the linen closet were emptied for the guests, and the medicine cabinet cleaned out. Cupboards were emptied so the Methodists have room for food, and somehow, it is just a good time to make a clean sweep of things, which meant 4 bags of trash. How we accumulated so much in a house we don't live in, I don't know. We finished about 6 p.m. and cleaned up and walked down to the Patio Restaurant for dinner, because I'd had to clean out the refrigerator, too.

The cottage was Grand Central Station that June day in 1995. I decided I should get hot, sweaty and dirty more often, because company shows up. Mike and Donna Conrad had purchased a lovely wooden bench at Wal-Mart and couldn't get it in their car, so I drove Mike there in our van to pick up the bench. Bob had to measure a cottage for which he's doing construction documents, and two unhappy clients showed up (not unhappy with him but with the contractor). And a contractor stopped by. Then Mike showed up with a plate of cookies from Donna, and a another neighbor brought over a kitty litter container she thought we'd like. Her husband, who is an auctioneer, had picked up a bunch of them.

So I've decided what I need in Columbus is a visit from some Methodists! Once a month, say the 15th, I'll declare it "The Methodists are Coming" day, and I'll do one area a month. Five areas upstairs, and seven areas downstairs. I haven't seen my kitchen counter since Phoebe and Mark's wedding, so in honor of the Methodists, I'll probably start in the kitchen. Today I washed 175,000 margarine tubs. I could swear they reproduce. I didn't start buying soft margarine until after the kids were gone, but those babies sure do accumulate!

On Memorial Day Week-end, Mark's parents had stopped by at Lakeside, so we had 8 for dinner. We created a "children's table" on the deck and Phoebe and Mark and Phil and Tiffany sat out there, and Paul and Marylyn and we sat in the kitchen. Marylyn is going to a workshop for choir directors the last week in June, so they had driven over from Cleveland to look for a cottage to rent.

(Notes from a letter to my parents in June 1995)

Fearful of knowing the other side or sides?

Dennis Prager (98.9 fm in Columbus) made an interesting observation today.  He sat next to a Californian, a leftist, on a 5 hour flight.  It was cordial, she was lovely, mid-thirties and intelligent according to him.  But after an hour or so of  discussion he realized she knew nothing she hadn’t heard on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN and MSNBC or one of the news services like AP, or government funded PBS. For conservatives like me it's virtually impossible to be that blind and narrow.  We hear anti-Trump material 24/7, we hear or read complaints about free markets and capitalism all the time.  Even if we find a conservative source, it is reporting on what the liberals say! We endure terribly nasty biased stuff spouted as news when it is someone's opinion. Washington Post is one of the worst--8 out of 10 headline stories that show up in my e-mail are anti-Trump, but some think the New York Times is worse.  Just ask a liberal friend or acquaintance when was the last time she heard something on the news that was positive about this administration. Even Fox has gone leftward, although no declared liberal would watch that channel enough to realize how it has changed in 2017.  How did we get well educated people so narrow and confused? Being a liberal should make you open to new ideas, right?  It’s hard to imagine they’ve been to college and can make it to work each day.

Dennis Prager has wonderful 5-6 minute videos called Prager University. He uses many different researchers, scientists, historians, etc. with some cartoons and good graphics.  I wish real universities were this clear and entertaining.

The latest is dated June, 5, 2017

https://www.prageru.com/courses/environmental-science/climate-change-what-do-scientists-say

https://www.prageru.com/courses/environmental-science/paris-climate-agreement-wont-change-climate

https://www.prageru.com/courses/environmental-science/climate-change-whats-so-alarming

I care about the environment, but not a carbon tax or silly waste of money

Let me be very clear. God told us to take care of the earth, but spending $100 trillion over 100 years to reduce the climate temperature 3/10 of a degree is not part of God's plan. Let's at least clean up the water in Flint, first. Let's stop releasing balloons into the atmosphere. Stop dumping trash from your car to the roadways. Stop removing the fence rows around the fields so birds have no place to nest. When you walk your dog, the one you say is just like family, clean up the poop. Stop lobbyists from urging Congress to compile new regulations for "sustainable" this and that which put a burden on the middle class and keep minorities locked up in deteriorating neighborhoods because the newer areas are doubled in price with environmental regulations. Let's stop killing the unborn, some of whom just might have the solutions. Then for those that do make it through the birth canal and grow up to attend college, stop their professors from force feeding them nonsense about race and sex.

https://www.fws.gov/news/blog/index.cfm/2015/8/5/Balloons-and-Wildlife-Please-Dont-Release-Your-Balloons

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2012/06/01/the-epa-is-not-the-fourth-branch-of-government

http://www.newsmax.com/JonahGoldberg/xxxx/2016/11/16/id/759200/

http://time.com/4441471/flint-water-lead-poisoning-costs/

Walking for Scotland

St. Teresa of Avila wrote in her journal (paraphrase): Some days I’m on top of the world; other days I feel like an ant. I heard this on the radio during my morning walk. Can't find it in the quote pool, but it certainly reflects reality whether in the 16th century or 21st century. But it was gorgeous this morning, so I was on top of the world.

So today I've walked outside about 5 miles, going out twice in the afternoon, and rather than just go short distances, I'm trying to take longer walks.  Our van in Scotland will get us to the location, but I know from previous trips, there can be long walks from the parking lot and lots of steps inside castles.

Pentecost, the birth of the church

It's been a party party week-end. Yesterday we celebrated the 70th birthday of a friend at a fabulous surprise event at Hyde Park restaurant carefully planned by her husband and daughters, and today we celebrate the birth of the Christian church. And I would certainly recommend that restaurant--great food and staff.

And today, another birthday party--the church.  We Christians call this day Pentecost (Greek for 50th day) and it's the third of the three big ones--Jesus' birth, his resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit to the apostles to establish the church Jesus had talked about. It is celebrated by Christians all over the world 50 days after Easter, and marks the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles while they were cowering and hiding behind locked doors following Jesus’ resurrection. It falls on a Jewish feast day because it's virtually impossible to understand Christianity if you don't know the basics.

Jesus said to Peter the apostle whose name means rock, "Upon this rock I will build my church." There are all sorts of interpretations of this, just pick one. It's one of the reasons there are 35,000 protestant denominations, Bible and non-denominational churches. And people who claim to read the Bible literally, jump through hoops to say Jesus didn't mean Peter.

But he did established the church as he promised. So guys and gals, let's stop cowering and hiding and celebrate.

New York Times outs an undercover spy

In an article published Friday, The New York Times outed the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) top spy overseeing the organization’s efforts in Iran. The paper justified its outing of the undercover CIA spy and his role within the agency by saying it was necessary since the agent is “leading an important new administration initiative against Iran.” This is how much the media hates Donald Trump. For all progressives, Communists, leftists and Democrats, treason is just fine. Just don't use the N-word or say a 10 year old boy isn't a girl.

https://thefederalist.com/2017/06/02/new-york-times-just-outed-cia-chief-iran/

Carbon Dioxide is your friend

CO2 is not the enemy. It's a benefit. We can't live without it. We are all being lied to. CO2 means regeneration and health. Climate change has existed from the beginning. And no, 97% of scientists do not agree--that's another misreading of the bumper sticker created by a grad student. We are still in the current ice age--the very one that melted the glacier that covered Ohio and gave it wonderfully fertile soil, terrific lakes, building stone for mansions, and rolling hills, some with coal for our use to pull the world out of millennia of poverty.

 We are currently in the “Quaternary Ice Age,” which is either the coldest or the second coldest period in the last 500 million years. Scientists don't know the reason for the cold periods, but the warming cycles within the cold periods last about 15,000 years and that is well studied. Political leaders and holy men like John Kerry, Barack Obama, Bill Gates and their agitprop choir in the media believe they can hold back what has been going on for millions of years based on computer models that are always wrong if you just give them enough money and hold back further development. And no, I'm not a scientist, just a librarian who has learned there's always more to learn. https://www.britannica.com/science/Quaternary

Even if Climate Change is your religion, examine your beliefs and stop the hymns to hysteria. The power brokers lusting for your dollars are laughing at us, and not because Trump got us out of a voluntary, non-binding, peer pressure driven, bullying agreement that let China off the pollution hook.

Come to Ohio and see what melting glaciers can do.

 http://trekohio.com/2013/07/16/ohio-geology-in-10-minutes-or-less/

That 97% figure is WRONG.  https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexepstein/2015/01/06/97-of-climate-scientists-agree-is-100-wrong/#7d5509e23f9f

Climate change marathon.  Best education you'll get on this important topic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qufEhDXdGnc

It's National Donut Day

I noticed a big donut shape of flab around my middle while trying on clothes at Kohl's. Must be that National Donut Day thing; hope it's gone tomorrow. I thought I needed a new long sleeve blouse for the Scotland trip.  The weather will be coolish.  41-60.  Found one in some colors I like.  REALLY loud.

This morning on my way to Kohl's I heard a news stories that children who have a TV in their bedroom are more likely to have a weight problem before age 11. Then that story was followed by one about National Donut Day.

It's Obama who really stopped the Paris agreement

Listening to the hysteria about the climate, you would think Republicans or Trump who hadn't yet run for office had stopped this non-binding, 3 Trillion dollar worthless agreement in the Senate, but of course, they didn't. It's Obama that stopped the Paris Accord from getting to representatives of the people. He was king, but he's not any more.

The Democratic mayor of Pittsburgh is not happy with what Trump said (he represents Pittsburgh and not Paris), but there are about 10 other towns and cities named Pittsburg, so maybe he's the president of those towns?

Steven Colbert has been using Trump to boost his flagging ratings. This Climate thing will really help. Alternative energy companies can now really develop. Wind mills and solar panels are not forbidden. With a booming economy, and fewer regulations they may actually do much better. And when they are economically viable, they can replace fossil fuel if it's needed.

Friday family photo--the three Bobs

It was 1977 and Bob's father was visiting in Indiana from California. Bob Poisal, Bob Bruce, Sr., and Bob Bruce, Jr.

40 years ago, Bob, Bob and Bob

What about that 97% consensus?

So many who have never questioned the origin of that sacred 97% consensus, need to read further.

The “97 percent” statistic first appeared prominently in a 2009 study by University of Illinois master’s STUDENT Kendall Zimmerman and her adviser, Peter Doran. Based on a two-question online survey, Zimmerman and Doran concluded that “the debate on the authenticity of global warming and the role played by human activity is largely nonexistent among those who understand the nuances and scientific bases of long-term climate processes” — even though only 5 percent of respondents, or about 160 scientists, were climate scientists. In fact, the “97 percent” statistic was drawn from an even smaller subset: the 79 respondents who were both self-reported climate scientists and had “published more than 50% of their recent peer-reviewed papers on the subject of climate change.” These 77 scientists agreed that global temperatures had generally risen since 1800, and that human activity is a “significant contributing factor.”
 http://www.nationalreview.com/article/425232/climate-change-no-its-not-97-percent-consensus-ian-tuttle

Digging even deeper.  https://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/12/10/an-oopsie-in-the-doranzimmerman-97-consensus-claim/