A month with no processed food

Can we do it? For the month of May we are giving up processed foods (my definition). So today we are finishing up the donuts and potato chips just to get a clean start. We're not milking cows or harvesting wheat here in the 'burbs, so some processing is allowed.

I couldn't figure out how to make our hot cocoa, but found a recipe for using honey. http://montanahomesteader.com/hot-cocoa-recipe-honey/ Of course, cacao is highly processed, but it's also very bitter along with having lots of health benefits, so you need a sweetener. I just might try this.

Supper tonight: ham, steamed fresh baby spinach, grilled bell peppers with onions and mushrooms, fresh fruit on skewers with some cheese.

We live in crazy times

Louie Gohmert on Robert Mueller

https://www.scribd.com/document/377409983/Gohmert-Mueller-UNMASKED#

“I was one of the few who were NOT surprised when Mueller started selecting his assistants in the Special Counsel’s office who had reputations for being bullies, for indicting people who were not guilty of the charges, for forcing people toward bankruptcy by running up their attorney’s fees (while the bullies in the Special Counsel’s office enjoy an apparently endless government budget), or by threatening innocent family members with prosecution so the Special Counsel’s victim would agree to pleading guilty to anything to prevent the Kafka-esque prosecutors from doing more harm to their families.”

On Mueller’s Five Year Up or Out Policy. . . which got rid of a lot of experienced FBI agents

“If an FBI Director has inappropriate personal vengeance in mind or holds an inappropriate prejudice such as those that infamously motivated Director J. Edgar Hoover, then the older, wiser, experienced agents were not around with the confidence to question or guide the Director away from potential misjudgment. I also cannot help but wonder if Mueller had not run off the more experienced agents, would they have been able to advise against and stop the kind of abuses and corruption being unearthed right now that occurred during the Obama administration.

Rather than admit that his Five Year Up or Out Policy was a mistake, Mueller eventually changed the policy to a Seven Year Up or Out Program.”

A movie for the #metoo movement

The Bill Cosby trial and #metoo movement brings to mind a great movie to watch this week-end, just as a refresher in guilt and complicity almost 60 years old. The Apartment (1960).

Jack Lemmon (Baxter) hands over his apartment key willingly to lechers in the firm so he can curry favor and advance in the company. Shirley MacLaine (Miss Kubelik) is the boss's mistress hoping to move up from elevator operator to being Mrs. Sheldrake, for whom Baxter provides the apartment for servicing Miss Kubelik. Fred MacMurray (Sheldrake) has no intention of leaving his wife and 2 kids as he makes the moves on at least 4-5 female employees out of 32,000 including his secretary Edie Adams (Miss Olsen) who after she's fired tells the real Mrs. Sheldrake what's happening at work. The only character even slightly innocent is Baxter's neighbor, Jack Kruschen, (Dr. Dreyfuss) and even he is ethically challenged for covering up Miss Kubelik's attempted suicide in the apartment.

Did none of these #metoo women watch movies? It got five Academy Awards.

Ethnicity vs. nationality

Sunday we celebrated with the Oromo Evangelical Church, which is part of our Lutheran synod. They had recently occupied a church building near Baltimore, Ohio with the financial help of our congregation and other Lutheran churches in central Ohio.  The Oromos are from Ethiopia. I saw many different skin tones and hair styles (and lovely Ethiopian fashions). In this YouTube video the speaker says her parents and grandparents are Ethiopian. But when she referred to herself as African in her video, she got push back from people who said she was too light. Her brother Noah is very dark. So she did a genetics test through National Geographic. 56% east African, about 28% Arabian, some Jewish diaspora (possibly from slavery days in Egypt), some Asia Minor and going way back--Kenya. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a7Z8Q43cfw

If you keep looking through the sequence, there are several people sharing Ethiopian genetics tests on YouTube. I saw one from UK, and one from Canada.  They too said people had told them they weren’t African because they were too light.

Kanye and Trump

Although I don't think Kanye's remarks were political or economic (I think it was plain old friendship), the Democrats are deathly afraid of economic revitalization for American blacks. If Trump succeeds, they could possibly lose a locked down voting block. He must be stopped, even if the rising middle class will be hurt. Electing black politicians has never helped black citizens; education, strong families, and creation of businesses has always been the way. Many of our largest cities have powerful political machines from the black population, and still the city struggles. Government can help families with a safety net for hard times, but as a wealth builder, government only builds that for politicians.

The New Yorker called it “galling.”  Vox was inside out about it. Rolling Stone said they are “made for each other.” Huffpo claims Kanye is being erratic and outrageous.  Get over yourselves, leftists.

The importance of relationships in our health

Inheriting good genes and taking care of your body are important, but "Close relationships, more than money or fame, are what keep people happy throughout their lives, the [80 year] study revealed. Those ties protect people from life’s discontents, help to delay mental and physical decline, and are better predictors of long and happy lives than social class, IQ, or even genes. That finding proved true across the board among both the Harvard men and the inner-city participants. . .The people who were the most satisfied in their relationships at age 50 were the healthiest at age 80.”

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/

“Good relationships don’t just protect our bodies; they protect our brains,” said [Robert] Waldinger in his TED talk. “And those good relationships, they don’t have to be smooth all the time. Some of our octogenarian couples could bicker with each other day in and day out, but as long as they felt that they could really count on the other when the going got tough, those arguments didn’t take a toll on their memories.”. . .

“Aging is a continuous process,” Waldinger said. “You can see how people can start to differ in their health trajectory in their 30s, so that by taking good care of yourself early in life you can set yourself on a better course for aging. The best advice I can give is ‘Take care of your body as though you were going to need it for 100 years,’ because you might.”

An interview with Ross Douthat on Pope Francis

Ross Douthat is an author and New York Times Op-Ed columnist. He received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 2002. He is the author of several books including, Privilege, Grand New Party, Bad Religion, and most recently, To Change the Church.

https://www.hoover.org/research/change-church-ross-douthat

Douthat and Robinson spend a large portion of the episode discussing the Catholic teachings surrounding marriage, divorce, and communion. They examine the history of Catholicism and divorce, going back so far as to understand the lessons of the New Testament on divorce and how those lessons were radically conservative for the time. They talk about how problematic the terms “conservative” and “liberal” are when used in the context of the Church as the political leanings do not necessarily correlate with moral leanings of religion. They go on to discuss the future of the Catholic Church under Pope Francis and how the Bishops can handle all of the changes.

What’s in my refrigerator and pantry?

Americans spent 5.5 percent of their disposable personal incomes on food at home and 4.3 percent on food away from home. Food is a good buy. (USDA, 2014)

Fruit

Apples

Oranges

tomatoes

blueberries

orange juice

apple cider

bananas (on the counter)

pineapple juice

pie filling, various flavors

applesauce

Vegetables

cauliflower

broccoli

red cabbage

red, green, yellow and orange peppers

onions, cut and bagged

carrots, whole

mushrooms, whole

mixed salad greens, bagged

leaf spinach

butternut squash

peas (freezer and pantry)

cucumber

V-8 juice

green beans

green beans (canned)

black beans (canned)

Dairy

whole milk

5 kinds of cheese

Greek Yogurt, plain

butter

eggs

ice cream bars

Meat

chicken thighs

beef sirloin

pork roast

sausage links and patties

lunch meat, ham

hamburger

salmon (canned)

tuna (canned)

Grains and Nuts

whole wheat bread

baked brown rice

dry brown rice

cookie mix

brownie mix

Banana bread (from our neighbor Jan)

walnuts

pecans

But what I’d really like is a bag of Fritos or potato chips.

Am I the only one who likes to shop?

“Walmart on Tuesday announced an agreement with restaurant delivery firm DoorDash to expand its grocery delivery service in Atlanta. Walmart plans to expand its grocery delivery to more than 40 percent of U.S. households by the end of this year. The company already has assembled a team of more than 18,000 personal shoppers to implement the service.”  E-Commerce Times, April 25, 2018

After exercising at the gym I went to Marc’s today for bananas, and came home with $32 of groceries.

Two Kates

The Deep State Update—Judicial Watch

The scandal in Washington is not about Russia; it’s abuse of power at the highest level, the FBI, the CIA, State Department and embedded and entrenched government loyalists, aided by the media who didn’t even look for any sources other than what was leaked from those agencies. This panel took place yesterday and is an update to discuss “The Deep State Update.”  Panelists are Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Vince Coglianese, Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, Michael Bekesha, and Tom Fitton, who gives the introductions.

https://www.judicialwatch.org/video-update/judicial-watch-expert-panel-deep-state-update/

No crust no pie

No one made a better pie than my mother.  But I used to be good too, and was often asked to bring one to a family get together or church pitch-in.

This is the only pie crust I know, and I think it was Mom's. 1/3 cup of shortening to 1 Cup of flour. 1 tspn of salt to 2 cups of flour. 6 TBSP of water for a 2 crust, and 3+ a smidge for 1 crust. So for 2 crust: 2/3 c. shortening, cut into 2 cups of flour with 1 tspn of salt. Add by sprinkling 6 tablespoons of water, mix very lightly and press and roll half of it out between two pieces of plastic-wrap. Lift the top piece, place the pie pan over the crust, and flip. Scrunch down the crust, put in the filling, and roll out the other half for the cover. Got it? Most of the time now I make a crust with peanut oil, but I don't think it is as good as Crisco. Doesn't stay flaky. I've never used butter.

I never knew Mom to use margarine as one of my nieces does. Mom  used lard in her glory days of the 1940s and 50s until it fell out of favor, then switched to Crisco, and then later in life when watching cholesterol or something, she changed to oil (which is why I tried it) and she always complained it wasn't like Crisco. There must have been some years of pie baking that I missed. I've even tried baking the bottom crust a little before I fill it, and it still isn't like I remember. I had a gas stove until 2002, and I can't remember when I started complaining about it. Our daughter makes a beautiful crust, and never comments on mine which are sort of slapped together. Hers are a work of art with little cut-outs.

April is poetry month

Normal day, let me be aware   

           of the treasure you are.

           Let me learn from you,

           love you, savor you, bless you

           before you depart.  Let me not

           pass you by in quest of some rare

           and perfect tomorrow.

                              -Lynne Wilburn, 2011

Treadmill for seniors

https://www.verywellfit.com/treadmill-walking-for-seniors-3436652

This routine pretty much describes mine.  I go to Lifetime Fitness 6 times a week and walk 40-50 minutes on the treadmill--walking not running.  The only thing that doesn't match up is holding on the hand grips.  I do walk swinging my arms and was hoping that is good for balance (and the article confirms that), but only for maybe 10 minutes.  So I'll increase that--the article says that holding on can throw off your posture, or even cause some new aches and pains.  Then 3 days a week I do resistance, all on pulley machines.  I love it when I find a site that agrees with me!

The recommended amount of cardiovascular exercise for seniors over age 65 is 30 minutes per day, five days per week. If you can't do all 30 minutes in one session, it is permissible to break up that 30 minutes, but your exercise session should be at least 10 minutes long.

You should also do strength training exercise two to three days each week, with eight to 10 exercises. You can do this exercise on the same days you enjoy treadmill walking, or on alternate days. Try a 20-minute strength training workout for seniors or a dumbbell strength training workout for seniors.

What if it were a little prince?

Just heard that Kate and William left the hospital with the new baby. Do you suppose if this beautiful boy were found to have an incurable neurological condition like little Alfie Evans and Charlie Gard the UK socialist health service would demand he be killed? Don't think so! Princes have privilege.  Alfie has been made a citizen of Italy.  Charlie, you’ll remember, died from lack of care ordered by the system and upheld through court appeals.

Obama Administration had ZERO intelligence to go after candidate Trump

It was all “trumped” up.  Then Comey “leaked” lies through his buddy to the New York Times. Watch this bombshell interview of Nunes and Bartiromo. In order to launch an investigation you need evidence.  They had none! This is probably the biggest scandal that Obama and the Democrats hide.  At the highest level, a counter intelligence investigation in order to spy on the “other” campaign.  I don’t think this can be blamed on Hillary Clinton—I put it at the feet of Obama.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W54KbYPfkcw

A dad’s review of Black Panther, guest blogger Fred

“a real shame that Black Panther, a movie unique for its black star power and its many thoughtful portrayals of strong black women, depends on a shocking devaluation of black American men.” Boston Review

“I started a new job a few months ago and have been buried. I stuck my head up from beneath a mountain of paper last night and finally took the kids to see Black Panther. I've been looking forward to it because I'd heard some pretty good things about it from people whose opinions I value. And about mid-movie I started questioning the intelligence of my friends. And yet I sat there with my children, all the way until the final moralistic preening message of responsibility and sharing. I really did want to like this movie.

After the movie I talked to my kids about how unlikely it is that a single spectacular resource (even extraterritorial Vibranium) could enable a people to master the physics of aerodynamics, the science of medicine and the fiction of anti-gravity. (Otherwise, perhaps Botswana would live in diamond palaces and be free of HIV/AIDS.)

I told them about the plight of Venezuela, with its fantastic climate, beaches and oil riches. I talked about the century (or so) of "enlightened" thought that enabled American forefathers to create a system of government that established God-given rights to the individual, supplanting what were previously the rights of society and/or the government. I told them about the principles (and hard work) behind laissez-faire economics, arguably the single greatest factor in driving the most extraordinary technological advancements in history.

But a discussion (that sounds more like a lecture from dad) simply can't compete with Hollywood's CGI, 3D soundscape and idealistic naïveté of a better future.”

Guest blogger, Roy, on Common Core math problem

COMPLEX LANGUAGE WARNING: you have to learn the extra baggage of the fixed linguistic element "make 10" to be able to carry out the task. Isn't it a lot simpler to just teach that 8 + 5 _is_ 13? I haven't heard of any really good pedagogical reason for not just taking the easy path in answering such single digit questions, at least. Old school for me meant that a lot of life is simplified by just learning some things by rote. Most people are born with 20 digits-- it makes sense to learn by heart without looking what you could count out from the top and bottom on your hands and toes. Depending on whether your language reads from left to right or right to left and top to bottom or bottom to top, one could learn one's digits in order (assigning each a fixed number between 1 and 20) and have a visual backup for that stuff in one's mind at all times.

In my opinion as someone who at one time started on the road to be a linguist, has studied a good deal of philosophy and managed a graduate theological degree, this the pictured method in the meme above is illustrative of a veiled attempt to take all of education and turn it into something, where the _learning_ process becomes the focus (rather than _reality & objectivity_ and how to distinguish (it's really "all the same" they say)) those two.The rotation of that procedural complex(and its implicitly, for outsider's-- at least, incomprehensible language, laden with new technical terminata) has the explicit, but hidden goal of absolutely taking someone two generations away completely out of the communicative process. Now you add the pubescent storming away from logical reasoning as to why some activity shouldn't take place at the moment while yelling "You don't want to understand me because you hate me." to several levels of "I'm not really sure I really did understand what he was asking, but the way I answered was formed with the goal of engendering understanding-- it seems she doesn't want to be understood" The left wants equal outcomes for everybody. The only way they suggest to get there is to replace meaning with feelings in verbal intercourse and make government bigger. Ergo, everybody has to get dumber and poorer.

Mathematical question for budding statisticians: Is the last sentence of the preceding paragraph a betterment or degradation for society?

The Bush family and Columbus, Ohio

Most of us around Columbus, OH, know about the Bush connection--George H.W. Bush's grandfather Samuel Prescott Bush, was president of Buckeye Steel and built his mansion in Marble Cliff which is now part of Prescott Place luxury condominiums. We admire it during Lent when we go the the fish fry at Our Lady of Victory.  His son Prescott (the senator and father of HW) lived here too and attended Douglas School before going east to a private school. I had forgotten that Barbara Bush's grandfather James E. Robinson was an Ohio Supreme Court justice and lived in Columbus and got his law degree from Ohio State. Wealth and influence married wealth and influence, much like today.

http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/SCO/formerjustices/bios/robinson.asp

http://graphics.wsj.com/jeb-bush-family-tree/