Back to the Lake for some fall clean up

Our internet is turned off, so I won't be taking my laptop.  I'll be reading my book, Being Mortal by Atul Gawande for our book club discussion on Monday.

When I was about 40, I noticed I was wearing my mother's hands. So whenever I look at them, she is with me! Dr. Gawande writes:   "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 (like me) at the base of the thumb, you will notice that the musculature is not bulging but flat. . . 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 collapses.. . . The hand also has 48 named nerve branches. Deterioration of the cutaneous mechanoreceptors in the pads of the fingers produces loss of sensitivity to touch. Loss of motor neurons produces loss of dexterity (I really notice that--have to be very careful not to drop things). . . Using tiny buttons on a phone or touch screen display, becomes increasingly unmanageable."

I have all my permanent teeth, even my wisdom teeth. Dr. Gawande writes:  "In the course of a normal lifetime, the muscles of the jaw lose about 40% of their mass and the bones of the mandible lose about 20% becoming porous and weak. The ability to chew declines, and people shift to softer foods, which are generally higher in fermentable carbohydrates and more likely to cause cavities. By the age of 60, people in an industrialized country like the U.S. have lost, on average, 1/3 of their teeth. After 85, almost 40% have no teeth at all." p. 29, Being Mortal

California crime statistics

Each state compiles crime statistics and sends them on to the appropriate federal agency which then sorts and recompiles them into different category. This is the address of the California Homicide Report for 2015, Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General.

https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/cjsc/publications/homicide/hm15/hm15.pdf

The first thing you notice in this report (and the older ones which I looked at) is that there is a wealth of information on victims; almost nothing on the offenders. Since most violent crimes are committed by younger males within their own ethnic/racial group, we can only guess at the offender, but it's close.

In California for 2015

28.3% of the victims are black, who are 5.7% of the population for a rate of 23.5.

43.1% of the victims are Hispanic who are 39% of the population for a rate of 5.3.

21.2% of the victims are white, who are 38.5% of the population for a rate of 2.6.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/09/27/violent-crime-rises-in-california-u-s-but-is-still-low-compared-to-past/

http://www.ppic.org/publication/crime-trends-in-california/

The Athlete Crybullies

I don't care if workers peacefully protest climate change or gender dysphoria or abortion or advocate for their religion or non-science on their own time. If I hire an electrician, or pay a bill at the city building, or ask for an estimate to remove the animal in my attic, or get stopped by the police for speeding on Mountview Road, I don't want to get a lecture or advice on their pet beliefs. Football players are hired to do a job. And I'm disappointed to learn that Obama was paying them to "act" patriotic. So when he's out of office, they can start acting like spoiled kids. Now some are trying to make this about race? Well, OK, why is the NBA and NFL allowed to have 80% and 70% one race and not be subject to law suits by the government?

“Responding to a tip from one of his "boys," Smith brought up the fact that until 2009—eight years and a new Presidential administration after 9/11—players weren't on the field for the national anthem and instead generally remained in the locker room. According to Smith's boy (and the researcher at ESPN who checked it), the switch happened "because it was seen as a marketing strategy to make the athletes look more patriotic." " Sports.vice.com

NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart: "We also believe our players have a right to express themselves." Would that include expressing support for traditional marriage, or ridiculing popular beliefs on climate change, or refusing to accept transgenderism in their daughters’ locker rooms?

LeBron on Twitter: "Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!" And this isn't the first time he's dissed the president. Probably 20 or so on Google. Poor loser, just like Hillary. Maybe in his next tweet he can list what Obama ever did for black people.  In December he said he’d never stay in a Trump hotel, and in November he was speaking out against the election.

Bill, the WWII veteran

Before the heat became unbearable,  I was on my walk in the apartment complex close by, and he was on his walker. I stopped to chat with him and found out he was born in 1925 and enlisted when he was 17. "I wasn't afraid to die, but I was afraid I might not be able to do what I was trained to do." He was on a destroyer, manning incredibly complex equipment--before he ever had a driver's license. He injured his hip in the war, and later in life broke it, so thus he's on a walker. The complex where he lives is beautiful and I like to walk there, but rarely meet anyone. Lucky me.

School closing due to heat

I don't know how many MMHS graduates remember this, but they actually did close the school one September in the 1950s because it was too hot. I was there. Of course, our homes didn't have AC or fans either, but . . . Today Columbus is sending the kids home early due to the heat.

Monday Memories--jury duty September 2002

From a letter. "I am on jury duty for two weeks and have been selected for a jury, but we’re not meeting until 1:30 this afternoon.  It seems like a strange way to run a circus, but apparently the judges are several weeks on civil and then on criminal, so our judge this week has been moved to criminal, so our case is being squeezed in to her new schedule.  This is the county, so there are about 90 people called for each week and you are on duty for two weeks. On the first day several women in our group went to City Center for lunch.  The orientation told us to get to know each other, and it seems a very compatible group. It is interesting to see the different ages, races, genders sitting around chatting like old friends. I'm feeling really patriotic. We get pep talks from court workers, lawyers and judges when they see us wilting from the waiting and the heat. I read on the bulletin board in the jury room that only 45% of Americans are called for jury duty and only 17% ever actually sit on a jury. Most cases go to mediation or are settled before they come to trial. The biggest challenge is getting there and parking.  I practiced several times the week before.

Now that I'm getting really good at navigating the streets of downtown Columbus, dodging the utility trucks tearing up streets, the orange barrels, and the construction sites, I have time to actually read the names of streets as I pass on my way to the construction site called Rt. 315. One main street is called "Commit to be Fit." It was apparently renamed by our mayor who is unhappy that we have won the honor of 5th fattest city in the USA.

 But I came down with a cold late Thursday.  Fortunately, my case didn’t meet on Friday, so I just laid around most of the week-end.  I had to cancel my birthday dinner with Phoebe and Mark, but Phoebe stopped by Sunday with a nice present, and on Saturday Mark brought me a box of Puffs and some tapioca.  Because of my heart medicine I’m not suppose to take any over the counter cold remedies.  So I just have to snuffle and sneeze through the testimonies."

Update 2017:  The case for which I was seated involved Ohio's infamous Scott-Pontzer insurance law which was finally reversed in 2003. It was incredibly confusing and caused me to lose chunks of faith in our laws and our jury system. It was referred to as the Golden Turkey award and had allowed employees and their families injured on their own time in their own cars to collect from their employers’ auto insurance policies

https://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/absurd-at-any-speed/Content?oid=1481862

Think about it.

From Russia, Russia, Russia to KKK

President Trump is tarred and feathered for not naming "Nazi" (before the invesigation) in Charlottesville. Naming them the next day wasn't enough, because, well, he was Donald Trump and no matter what he did, it would be wrong.

But the left, Democrat and progressive media and politicians all gave Obama a pass for refusing to say "Islamic Terrorist," even when the bodies were in front us in Orlando (49 people killed and 58 wounded), Ft. Hood (13 people killed and 30+ wounded, all military) and San Bernadino (14 people killed and 22 others seriously injured) and numerous other sites since 2009. Even when gays and military were targeted and a Christmas party were the scenes of massacres. Couldn't be Islam. Oh No.  Had to be something else. Workplace violence, an unhappy arranged marriage. Discrimination.  Only social media called Obama on it. Never the news media or his star struck supporters.

Donald Trump didn't refuse to use the word Nazi, but Obama refused to link Islam and terrorism. He called them murderers. Which was true. Using their own tactics and reasoning, was Barack Obama an Islamic Terrorist because he refused to say it?

And the media? Based on how they covered those attacks by angry Muslims, wringing their hands that there could be blow-back, they should have been writing editorials after Charlottesville worrying about how Nazis and supremacists were being maligned.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/28/politics/obama-radical-islamic-terrorism-cnn-town-hall/index.html

White hoods and black hoodies--who are the real fascists?

"At the annual party rally held in Nuremberg in 1935, the Nazis announced new laws which institutionalized many of the racial theories prevalent in Nazi ideology. The laws excluded German Jews from Reich citizenship and prohibited them from marrying or having sexual relations with persons of "German or related blood."" (Wikipedia)

"Yes, there is a fascist threat in America—but that threat is from the Left and the Democratic Party. The Democratic left has an ideology virtually identical with fascism and routinely borrows tactics of intimidation and political terror from the Nazi Brownshirts." (Dinesh D'Souza)

D'Souza in his book The Big Lie says to implement the Nuremberg Laws used the laws implemented by Democrats in the U.S. to determine racial identity, except they modified the "one drop" rule--the Nazis thought that was excessive.

Today Progressives suppress their nasty, vile history, and have moved fascism to the right wing column and distance themselves. If they admit it, it is simply "America," and not the Democrat party of the 19th and 20th century who imposed Jim Crow.  Today, we have Antifa--which is basically fascism, and Democrats won't denounce them. No free speech for fascists, right? Word play and twisting. And increasingly, Trump's Jewish children are being attacked, as bankers were in the last administration, because "everyone" knows who controls the banks. The Jews. The pattern continues.

The leftists who got tired of crying "Russia, Russia, Russia" and now realize Obama hacked the election, have turned to KKK smears, white supremacist links, nationalism, etc. Do Democrats remember the KKK was their terrorist organization and how many years Republicans fought their lynching terrorism? Democrats also know, from electing Donald Trump with constant negative publicity, they can do the same with the KKK. Encourage its growth by giving them free advertising. They are the modern fascists--who else would require citizens to purchase a crappy product and then fine or jail them if they refused?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9YRmWFPZH0

Oregon offers free abortions for all--even illegals

Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a bill which makes abortion free for every resident of the state by mandating insurance companies not charge a co-pay for an abortion. Additionally, the bill sets aside $500,000 tax payer dollars to pay for the abortions of illegal immigrants.

She'd better set aside massive amounts for counseling and increased cancer rates. In Finland the suicide rate among women who had undergone abortions in the prior year was three times higher compared to women in the general population and six times higher compared to women who gave birth. Induced abortions, particularly with a first pregnancy, increases the risk of breast cancer.

The Church's response to Islam

 William Kirkpatrick, The Catholic Thing

"Ironically, one of the factors that is driving people out of the [Catholic] Church is its response to Islamic terror. After every terrorist attack, the Vatican (or some prominent bishop) assures us that the violence has nothing to do with Islam, which we are told is a “religion of peace” – a response not a whit different from the politically correct, secular liberal response.

In fact, Church leaders often put secular leaders to shame in their advocacy for Islam. The Obama administration called for the admittance of 10,000 Syrian refugees; the USCCB called for 100,000. When European leaders began to admit that Muslim migration should be restricted for the sake of national security, Pope Francis responded by insisting that the safety of migrants was more important than national security."

And before you think this is just a Catholic problem, you can hear the same thing in Main Line Protestant churches--just different "authorities." He continues.

"As recently as ten days ago, on the anniversary of 9/11, Pope Francis declared that religions “cannot desire anything other than peace.” Well, technically, yes. Islam desires peace – except that Islamic scholars say that peace can only be achieved by the subjugation of the entire world to Islam.

Church leaders haven’t quite figured out that when Islam talks peace it really means war, but ordinary Catholics are not so Pollyannaish. And as the gap widens between what the hierarchy says about Islam and what Catholics can see with their own eyes, we can expect that many more Catholics will become alienated from the Church."

My adoption story, by guest blogger

I’ve known the guest blogger most of her life and used to sit behind her in church when she was an adorable, wiggly little girl, a little younger than my kids.  She was adopted as an infant and later was joined by two brothers.  She located her birth mother as an adult.

-------------------

I had two burning reasons on why I wanted to find my birth mother:

1. Thank her...
2. Discover my heritage

Now, in my case, when I found out who she was, I made sure to research that she didn't have a family, and wasn't married, as I didn't want to upset the apple cart, so to speak. Once it became known that she was single, living with my birth Aunt, and never had any other kids, I made the call to thank her. This is the very reason of why I do not kick my birth father's nest; he does have children, a few years older than me, and he is still married to the woman he took a brief "break" (wink, wink) from, to "meet" with my birth mother, to create me, I see no need to upset the apple cart there.  Anyhoo, back to my birth mother...

At first, I was told that I had the wrong number, knowing I didn't, but I accepted that and thanked my birth Aunt profusely for taking my call, and apologized profusely for my error (again, even knowing I hadn't made an error, because it was the respectful thing to do).
I hung up the phone, and tried to calm the trembles that had taken over my body, and thought, "Well, at least I have a name and can research my heritage from that," and then the phone rang.  I answered it, a deep, raspy voice, similar to mine, asked for me. 

She identified herself as my birth mother, and her first question to me was, "Did you get an education?" It blew me away, I immediately responded yes. She then went on to say that she was not able to provide for me the way she thought she should, and that is why she chose to give me up for adoption, especially when she learned that there was a couple (my Mom and Dad) who was so anxious to start a family and couldn't, and would be able to provide for said child (me) in the ways in which she couldn't (my Mom and birth mother shared the same OBGYN).

At a later date, she said that she had been considering abortion, which brought a whole other round of Thank You's from me. And no, I wasn't angry with her for sharing that with me;  it had to be a tough decision for her.  Thank Heavens, the mutual OBGYN offered another solution, and my parents were there, waiting, to call me their own . I then apologized over and over for finding her, but that I had to tell her Thank you for her choice to allow me to have the life that I have had.

The conversation progressed from there and we wound up meeting each other, and continued to do so for awhile, until life seemed to take over and we lost touch, but again, I am OK with that because I accomplished my two objectives and after meeting her, I am sure she is OK with it too

Orthodox Jews overwhelmingly support President Trump

"The same religion that enabled the Jews to survive slavery, exile and oppression for thousands of years also held the secret to defeating the left. Even when totalitarian systems command your body, only you can give them control of your mind. The left seeks physical power as a means of controlling your mind. What it most wants is for you to become complicit in your own corruption at their hands. If it fails to control your mind, it will lose. That is the lesson to be taken away from the fall of the Soviet Union. If the left is defeated in America, that is how it will fall." They  voted 71% for Trump and 90% for Romney. And their marriage rates and birth rates are much higher than liberal Jews.

Daniel Greenfield in an article about Orthodox Jews

http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/267920/most-pro-trump-jews-america-daniel-greenfield

http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/265449/trumps-jews-and-obamas-jews-daniel-greenfield

Oliver North speaker at PDHC banquet

PDHC had its "Life & Liberty Celebration" at Villa Milano Thursday night, September 21. There was a huge crowd to hear Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, grandfather of 17. At the end of his speech, he held up a check for $1,000 and challenged the audience to contribute 36 checks in that amount for each of the years since it opened.  He raised $50,000 within a matter of minutes.

 

In 2016 PDHC provided support for 872 life decisions, talked to 8,000 middle and high school students in 50 schools about healthy relationships and sexual integrity, provided education and support for 531 families through parenting classes and resource programs, and provided abortion recovery programs for hurting women and men. On average, PDHC has 154 interactions each day through intervention, prevention, extension and recovery components.

Mother of a heroin addict knows her son is safe

If you've watched 60 minutes, you've heard about the heroin epidemic in Ohio.  It happens to good, Christian families who have done everything "right." A terrible tragedy.  Here's a message from my friend whose son died from this scourge.

Hebrews 13 tells us , “I will never, never, leave or forsake you.”

I never realized the true meaning of this verse until I experienced the death of my mom, and then my son. When my mom passed, her last word was, “Jesus.” He then gave me a beautiful vision of my mom walking hand-in-hand with her Lord into paradise. When my son passed, although he was a heroin addict, Jesus showed me my son was not alone when he died. JESUS WAS THERE. He also showed me he was in his grandmother's arms. He was in paradise with Jesus and his grandma. He was freed from the power of that drug. He was healed and made whole.

OUR GOD LOVES YOU WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE. DRAW NEAR TO GOD AND HE WILL DRAW NEAR TO YOU!

  "The study, published online August 14, 2017 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that food purchases paid for with SNAP benefits consisted of higher spending on less healthy foods, including sugar-sweetened beverages, red meat, and convenience foods, and lower spending on healthier foods such as fruits and vegetables, compared with purchases paid for with other means."

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/snap-program-spending-less-healthy-foods/ 

http://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(17)30343-4/fulltext

Using the S word--sustainable

 
If you need an "S" word, use "stewardship." Sustainable is a totally squishy word which used to imply renewable resources, respect for early methods and traditions of planting and harvesting, and kind to the earth. Increasingly it has come to mean anti-capitalism, anti-good jobs, thousands of little organizations and non-profits with ties to big-left money and handsome salaries for their CEOs standing on the backs of people who produce, foundations begun by capitalists now controlled by marxists, and efficient laundering funds for Democrat candidates.

Sustainable? Don't wear clothes, especially cotton (it's also racist) sit on the floor because couches and chairs use fabrics, sleep on the floor without mattresses or blankets, no rugs or carpets, no towels for showers, no curtains or lampshades, don't live in cold climates because you can't have coats. Floors should be mud, because otherwise you're cutting down trees or using fossil fuel to make fake wood. Native American women chewed leather to make it soft for clothing, you can, too. Oh wait. Check with PETA before you use animal skins.

Facebook will help with Russia investigation

So Facebook will turn over records of a Russian firm using ads on FB during the 2016 campaign. Given all the money the government of Russia sunk into the Clinton Foundation, it should be interesting.

Will Facebook turn down fake ads from American firms, even Democrats?  Will it turn down Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos, probably the biggest seller of misinformation. Will Facebook turn over ads by U.S. interests (aka U.S. government) appearing during Brexit campaign, or Canadian elections, France, Germany etc.? They were worth billions.  Where does the collusion between FB and Congressional Democrats end? What other special interest ads, say, from conservative PACs, or from Christian non-profits and para-church organizations, will FB decide were subversive or at least working against Clinton?

And what about the billions in free advertising our own main stream media provided Trump by covering every outrageous thing he said, did or rally he held? Or even the constant attention he got on FB and Twitter from his enemies which seemed to energize his campaign base? I was a Cruz supporter in the summer of 2016, and stopped watching Fox because of all the freebies it gave Trump.

About a month ago former President Obama was "interferring" again in Kenya's election. Does that count? Or can retired presidents influence foreign elections? Charges against Kenyatta for his violent tactics are well over a decade old, yet Obama supports him.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html?mcubz=1

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2740140/Its-time-America-Barack-Obama-Joe-Biden-use-Labor-Day-fire-Democrats-ahead-Novembers-elections.html

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-facebook-russia-20170921-story.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/kenyan-president-uhuru-kenyatta-funded-and-orchestrated-violence-of-feared-mungiki-militia-after-9991224.html





 

Happy Fall

Sustainable--a growing industry for non-profits

 

 

 I wonder if this sustainable fiber and textile advocacy group knows they have a racist photo of cotton on their website July 2017 report. A customer in Hobby Lobby recently took to social media to be outraged about cotton stalks in the store, and a college president apologized to black students for having them in decorative floral arrangements in his home.

 

 I think this is an organization to fight "fast fashion" which provides much of the market for cotton. The word "sustainable" has become a political buzz word; always be careful when you see it.

"This paper argues that U.S. foundations currently have a key moment of opportunity to invest in the sustainable fiber and textile sector in ways that will mobilize consumer awareness and accelerate improvements in many stages of the textile production  chain. Such improvements would in many cases tie into and further strengthen the sustainable agriculture movement in the U.S. and abroad. Sustainability in textiles also involves many aspects of toxics reduction and labor issues, thus highlighting the close connections between environmental and human health impacts and presenting opportunities  for foundations already involved in environmental  health and justice work. http://www.safsf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/SAFSF_CommThrd_D7_FINAL.pdf