Graigmile back for a 6th season in 2018

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

You don’t need to be Catholic to appreciate the excellent program offered in the summer by The Church of  St. Mary in Lake Forest, Illinois by Charles Craigmile.  He is a theologian turned businessman.  I’ve watched them all.  This season is about the culture and relies on the work of Pope Benedict, “Culture Lost, Culture Reclaimed: The Catholic Renewal.” 50 years ago the Pope wrote “Introduction to Christianity” (as Cardinal Ratzinger). 2018 is also the 50th anniversary of Humanae Vitae, http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae.html and the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI.  Also the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx. 

“Lecturer Charles H. Craigmile holds an undergraduate degree in philosophy, with minors in Latin and Greek from the University of St. Thomas, an MA in philosophy from DePaul University, and an MBA from JL Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Charles has also completed three-years’ course work toward a graduate degree in Theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein. Over the last 25 years, Charles has taught Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) programs across the Chicago area and led summer programs in recent years at Church of Saint Mary in Lake Forest. He is president and CEO of Revenova, LLC, the leading Cloud-based Transportation Management Application built on the Salesforce.com platform. Previously, he was president and CEO of Forseva which he sold to Equifax in 2014.” (From 2014 story in Daily North Shore)

http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/10/fourth-annual-summer-school-of-faith.html

July 26, 1833 William Wilberforce and slavery

I have a morning routine of about 30 minutes which includes some reading and journaling, and before we went to the Lake I’d checked out of the UALC library “The One Year Christian History; a daily glimpse into God’s powerful work” by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten, c. 2003.  The passage for July 26 was on William Wilberforce (b. 1759) and his battle to free the slaves of the British Empire.  On July 26, 1833, when Wilberforce was on his death bed he received word that the Emancipation Act freeing the slaves of the British Empire was assured of passing. (The British slave trade itself had been abolished in 1807. The U.S. Constitution had written into it the abolishment of the slave trade in 1807 and which took effect  Jan. 1, 1808.)  He had been working with a group of Christian men and women, wealthy and powerful,  and although Wilberforce is the name known on both sides of the Atlantic as a dedicated abolitionist, his band of friends were essential to his mission.

This link (not in the book) is additional information on his group, and contains an interesting outline describing when Christians band together in common cause and take the long view, much can be accomplished.  ttp://www.cslewisinstitute.org/webfm_send/471 

The outline of how Wilberforce’s group functioned would itself make an interesting topic for a small covenant group or Sunday school class.

• They shared a common commitment to Jesus Christ and a clear sense of calling.

• They were committed to lifelong friendship and mutual submission was the norm. • Their advocacy was marked by careful research, planning and strategy.

• They worshiped both privately and publicly, gathering twice weekly at the Clapham Church.

• Their friendships were inclusive and focused on the essentials. For example, Wilberforce was a Wesleyan and his closest friend, Henry Thornton, was a Calvinist.

• They made family life a clear priority and delighted in each other’s marriages and children.

• They kept the “long view” on completing projects. Abolition of the slave trade took 20 years!

• They made no dichotomy between evangelism and social action. Their magazine, The Christian Observer, exemplifies this.

• Their faith was integral to all of life, family, career, friendship and more. It was a faith that the younger generation calls, “24/7.” They talked together of a faith that impacted every part of their lives. There were no “compartments.”

• They enabled one another vs. trying to “have it all.” They recognized each other’s passions and supported one another in addressing them.

The Rusten title would make a nice gift—especially for one with a shorter attention span but who can still make it through a few pages.  https://www.christianbook.com/the-one-year-of-christian-history/e-michael/9780842355070/pd/55073

Happy Birthday, Carol

Happy 81st birthday to my sister Carol who died in 1996 at 58. We still miss you. Photo is 1989 with her daughter and son. Recently we got to meet her great granddaughter who visited us at Lakeside with her grandparents. What a treat. Carol was the only one of my family with any fashion flair, and loved beautiful clothes, bright colors, stylish purses, shoes and jewelry. As an enterprising teen, she sold Avon products. Although her primary career was in nursing with a degree from Goshen College, she did own a dress shop in Bradenton, FL.

 

Never a snowflake, after high school graduation in 1955 Carol went into Brethren Volunteer Service and did incredible tasks for one so young, like doing church plant surveys in Denver, helping with clean up after flooding in Pennsylvania, teaching Sunday School and leading worship in Kentucky where she road horseback to services because there were no passable roads, and being a "healthy volunteer patient" aka guinea pig at NIH in Maryland. I wonder if she is one of the results cited in this article.  https://clinicalcenter.nih.gov/about/news/newsletter/2007/oct07/newsletter.html  

She was a survivor of childhood bulbar polio and struggled with many health issues, but cared for many as a home health nurse in her last years.

Today’s smoothie

About 10 white grapes (seedless)

6 large strawberries

1 medium banana

8 oz. carrot juice

few handfuls baby spinach, washed, not stemmed

White grapes are used as a natural sweetener, so this one was a little sweeter than usual.  And things were a little messier since I didn’t have the appliance screwed together tightly and some carrot juice leaked out.  Always check!

Hair today, gone tomorrow

 

January 2016

September 2010

 

Fall 1947

 

Spring 1966

 

May 1996

 

July 1984

 

August 2007 

 

Today, July 24, 2018, new perm

The drive to spy on and impeach Trump

“If the information in the FBI’s Carter Page warrant constituted probable cause for wiretapping an American political campaign, then the process and the officials involved in it carried out one of the most significant known violations of American civil liberties in recent history,” Penn writes at The Hill. “The documents released over the weekend reveal quite clearly that the only information that even remotely connected Page and the 2016 campaign to Russia came solely from Fusion GPS dossier and a Yahoo News report that was based on the same information from the same source.”

The evidence is there was no evidence.

Mark Penn, former Clinton pollster, writing at The Hill.  thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/398276-carter-page-warrant-reflects-attack-on-our-civil-liberties?

Comment on Ocasio-Cortez by request

 

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ’S EMBARRASSINGLY INCORRECT CLAIM
By Kevin Ryan

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made several bizarre claims in an interview with Firing Line’s Margaret Hoover last week that has a lot of people scratching their heads. Ocasio-Cortez, the left’s new darling and self-described socialist, was asked about the strong economy and low unemployment rate. She offered a bizarre explanation.

“Unemployment is low because everyone has two jobs,” she explained. “Unemployment is low because people are working 60, 70, 80 hours a week and can barely feed their kids.”

Huh?

Ok, first of all, that’s not even how the unemployment rate works. It’s a measure of how many people are looking for a job but can’t find one. Neither holding multiple jobs, nor working overtime affects the calculation at all.

Secondly, “everyone has two jobs” couldn’t be further than the truth. The percent of workers with more than one just is near its all-time low, under 5%.

And people aren’t working longer and longer hours to make ends meet. In fact, people are working fewer hours, not more, meaning it’s actually easier than ever to feed your family.

Ocasio-Cortez then goes on to blame capitalism for the above-mentioned made-up problems. Ironically, her dire description of the economy is a more apt description of what life was like BEFORE capitalism, when everyone worked extremely long hours, including children, just to avoid starvation. She seems to long for those days.

“Capitalism has not always existed in the world and it will not always exist in the world,” she said.

SOURCES:
http://www.pbs.org/…/firing…/video/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/
https://www.bls.gov/…/multiple-jobholding-over-the-past-two…
https://www.bls.gov/…/multiple-jobholding-in-states-in-2015…
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS12026620#0
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PRS84006023#0
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/AWHAETP
http://www.politifact.com/…/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-wrong…/
https://www.factcheck.org/…/ocasio-cortez-wrong-on-cause-o…/
https://reason.com/…/…/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-unemployment

NOTE ON METHODOLOGY: Weekly work hours is based on the BLS “Business Sector: Average Weekly Hours” index, which I’ve converted from an index to actual hours. There are many different measures of “weekly work hours,” but all show a long downward trend in hours worked, not an upward trend as Ocasio-Cortez contends.

Today’s smoothie

Banana

blueberries

Strawberries

carrot juice

watercress

water

Here’s the problem.  Blue and orange are used in watercolor to make a vibrant gray, but in food it’s just a yucky brown.  But the taste was fine.

After the boat show we packed up and drove back to Columbus, so our daughter and son-in-law could enjoy their vacation at the lake.

When Trump won, you may have lost some family and friends

"On November 9, you awoke from a self-induced, eight-year-long political coma to find that White House press secretaries shade the truth and top presidential advisors run political cover for their boss. You were shocked to discover that presidents exaggerate, even lie, on occasion. You became interested for the first time about the travel accommodations, office expenses, and lobbyist pals of administration officials. You started counting how many rounds of golf the president played. You suddenly thought it was fine to mock the first lady now that she wasn’t Michelle Obama. Once you removed your pussy hat after attending the Women’s March, you made fun of Kellyanne Conway’s hair, Sarah Sanders’ weight, Melania Trump’s shoes, Hope Hicks’ death stare; you helped fuel a rumor started by a bottom-feeding author that U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley slept with Donald Trump. You thought it was A-OK that Betsy DeVos was nearly physically assaulted and routinely heckled. You glorified a woman who has sex on camera for a paycheck.

You have learned all kinds of new things that those of us who didn’t willfully ignore politics for the past eight years already knew. For example, we already knew that illegal immigrants were being deported and families were being separated."

And there’s more.

https://amgreatness.com/2018/05/30/dear-ex-friends-in-the-resistance/

Week 6 at Lakeside 2018

Usually we go home on the Saturday our daughter and son-in-law have their vacation at our cottage, but this year our friends Rod and Judi will be here for the wooden boat show so we’ll go home after church on Sunday.  This promises to be a good week-end of programing so I’m glad we’ll be here. Although I’m sure the artists are disappointed, we were thrilled to welcome the rain around noon.

From the newsletter:

“A collaborative effort blending the craftsmanship of the Lakeside Wooden Boat Show and the artistic expression of the Plein Air Art Festival will create one of Lakeside’s most unique weekends of the summer from July 20-22.

This three-day event begins on Friday, July 20 when more than 30 plein air artists from across the Midwest arrive to paint outdoor landscapes until Sunday, July 22.

The term “en plein air” means painting “in the open air.” The artists will be painting scenes throughout the entire community, and all are invited to watch them paint.  

On Sunday, the Lakeside waterfront will transform into an outdoor showroom of classic wooden boats, as cruisers line the dock and the lawn of Hotel Lakeside for the 15th Annual Lakeside Wooden Boat Show from 12-4 p.m.

More than 80 wooden boats, each classified by the year it was made, will be featured.

The boats are categorized as historic (prior to 1918), antique (1919-1942), classic (1943-1975), early contemporary (1976-1984) and late contemporary (past 30 years). The sizes of the wooden boats featured range from 9’ to 57’.

The show is coordinated by the Lakeside Wooden Boat Society.

And just for fun, I’ve been cleaning the basement for two days.  It’s not a huge basement—maybe 10 x 10—but when you have one, you just save a lot of stuff that should have been thrown away.  So I have 2 sacks of useable things for the Archives (or Hotel) sale on Labor Day like coffee cups, flower vases, cat dishes, 3 iron skillets, some plumbing repair thingies to fix what we don’t know, and then lots of stuff went to the curb (we don’t actually have curbs) for Friday recycling day (some of which disappeared over night because someone needed it), but they would take the old humidifier.  Now we also need to  find a toxic waste collection site for 30 year old cans of paint. I also washed the rugs and rags, so. . . I’m feeling very self-righteous.

Arguing with a liberal today compared to a generation ago, guest blogger

“I have two "friends" who oppose Trump and do Facebook politics. One is a Democrat and the other is a Never Trumper.

The Democrat posted a meme the other day that said something along the lines of "Avocado farmers can't get enough help to harvest the crop. Now's a good time for Trump supporters to prove these are not jobs Americans won't do."

He's a welder and a union man. He's about 60 years old and is only a Democrat because his dad was. Many years ago, I argued politics with his dad, when he was a middle aged man and I was a teen. (Yes, I've been that bad for that long.) He's been gone for several years now, but occasionally, I spar with his son.

I commented something like this:

"What a strange twist of fate. Many years ago, I would have argued with your dad about this. I would have been on your side, arguing that we should have massive immigration (though I think I would have argued for legal immigration, not illegal immigration) in order to keep prices down for consumers.

"Your dad would have argued that the American working man deserved that job and the companies could pay him enough to persuade him to work for them.

"It's funny how life turns around."

He never responded, but a couple of days went by and he deleted his post.

This week, the "conservative" never Trumper, who is a bureaucrat in DC, posted an article from WaPo about Helsinki and commented that he couldn't believe anyone still supported the president.

The conversation went on at great length, but it included me mentioning his own Pauline Kael moment, the fact that Trump may not have given a well thought out answer, but that the reporter was stupid for thinking he should turn and call Putin a liar to his face.

I went on, after he said I was defending the GRU, to ask where in the world did he get that from and to say that the entire thing was a farce and theater for the weak minded. That if they were actually interested in stopping Russian election activity, it wouldn't have happened in a special prosecutors office, which was staffed with activist Democrat lawyers.

It would have happened secretly in a counter intelligence unit and they wouldn't have announced anything in a press conference, telling everything they knew, but would have worked behind the scenes developing policies and procedures to prevent further damage.

He deleted the post.”

Thank you, good post (used with permission, but no name please).

Today’s smoothie—taking a risk

Today I added a little honey, figuring it might just taste a little—mmm odd.

1/4 yellow bell pepper, seeds removed

2-3 leaves of beet greens, without stems

carrot juice

cantaloupe chunks

banana

1/2 teaspoon of honey + water

Beet leaves are the best part of the beet—the roots really don’t have that much nutrition, although I like them either cooked with butter and salt, or served cold with a sweet sour dressing. Beet greens are an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A (in the form of carotenoids), vitamin C, copper, potassium, manganese, vitamin B2, magnesium, vitamin E, fiber and calcium. They are a very good source of iron, vitamins B1, B6, and pantothenic acid, as well as phosphorus and protein. World’s Healthiest foods.  I didn’t cook the greens, but I think that would be best. If you’re watching your Vitamin K due to a blood thinner, this might not be a good option, since it has over 700% of daily minimum.

And beet greens are more powerful and nutritious than kale. https://www.care2.com/greenliving/8-vegetables-that-are-healthier-than-kale.html

Abandoned art

Artist (at the Rhein Center, Lakeside, OH) Bev Beatty is leaving small pieces of art around our little community called “abandoned art.”  Whoever finds them can keep them, or leave them for someone else to find.  Today at the Wellness Center I noticed something on the window sill and thought someone had forgotten something.  Then I noticed the note inside that it was abandoned art just for me to find or leave as is.  It’s a tiny Christmas tree in blue, pink and taupe, just the colors of our cottage, so of course, I brought it home for the fireplace mantel.

Today’s smoothie

First I prepared an eggnog with honey and vanilla, gently cooked it. Then I used carrot juice, watercress, romaine lettuce and a banana.  Very mild, pale yellow green.  For breakfast.

“Romaine lettuce is an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of carotenoids), vitamin K, folate and molybdenum. In addition, romaine lettuce is a very good source of dietary fiber, manganese, potassium, biotin, vitamin B1, copper, iron and vitamin C. It is also a good source of vitamin B2, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B6, phosphorus, chromium, magnesium, calcium and pantothenic acid. “

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=61

Clinton on Kavanaugh

Hillary Clinton claims that a SCOTUS justice who follows the constitution will return the country to the 1850s. Wow. I'm so thrilled I made the right choice for president. Maybe she should read her party's platform of 1856:

"That Congress has no power under the Constitution, to interfere with or control the domestic institutions of the several States, and that such States are the sole and proper judges of everything appertaining to their own affairs, not prohibited by the Constitution; that all efforts of the abolitionists, or others, made to induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery, or to take incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dangerous consequences; and that all such efforts have an inevitable tendency to diminish the happiness of the people and endanger the stability and permanency of the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by any friend of our political institutions. "
1856 Democrat Party Platform

What is leadership?

I really disliked President Trump during the campaign of 2016. My loyalties and contributions shifted as the fabulous strong bench of the brightest and best narrowed, my final choice being Cruz, who is, I believe, still the finest speaker and sharpest guy in Congress. About 2 days after Trump was acknowledged as the Republican candidate, I realized although he was no prize personally, he was head and shoulders above the alternative. Time and again he has since proven me wrong about his abilities, intelligence and common sense, and I've seen his brashness, pomposity, energy and shady deals pay off, most recently this week as he seems successfully to be calling Europe to accountability, when 40 years of chiding and mealy mouthed pretty speeches by former presidents resulted in zip, nada, zilch.

I'm reading "Making a Difference; stories of vision and courage from America's leaders" by Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger. It's a collection of stories about what qualities make one a leader--people as different as Tammy Duckworth, Michelle Rhee, and Jim Sinegal. I see Trump's qualities in many of these stories. Sully is a much admired American hero, but if he were to run on a political ticket--either party--he would be roundly denounced.

Lena Raman who Walked Away

There is a growing movement in the U.S. called hashtag Walk Away, and primarily it is former Democrats/Progressives/RINOs and why they’ve left the party that oppressed them.  Lena Raman writes:

“While I was volunteering for an organization in San Francisco, a group of women in hijab came to talk to us about how “America is oppressing them.” I sat in the back row silently listening. When the time came and the girl asked if we had any questions, I raised my hand.

I said, “I am an ex Muslim woman who is half Iranian and half Indian. I’ve lived in Iran for 5 years with little to no rights. Forget having the opportunity to stand before a group of Americans, bashing America. . .I couldn’t even stand before a group of Iranians without a guardian. Today, you stand before me bashing the country which has given me the right your country didn’t. When the Iranians found out that my father was Indian, they would double tax his products. My mother couldn’t leave the house without being harassed. Not saying every Muslim is this way, but why don’t you talk about the extreme oppression which goes on in your country. You are standing on the land of the free. Though the government might not be perfect, but I’d be damned if you said my country oppressed me.”

I didn’t walk away necessarily, but I was asked to leave.

I am a PROUD LEGAL IMMIGRANT. My family fought long and hard to be part of this country. Never will I forget the nightmare I’ve escaped from. It is so easy to point fingers and bash a country which gives you the right to do so. You can’t speak oppression if you can freely practice your religion here. You can’t possibly be oppressed if you can stand in front of a group of Americans, bashing America. You can’t possibly be oppressed if you can leave the house wearing what you want. These are the rights America has given me and trust me when I say. . .
I WILL NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR BEING AMERICAN. “

Today’s smoothie

Watercress
Egg
Milk
vanilla and honey
banana
pineapple

“Watercress contains more vitamin C than an orange, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, and more folate than bananas. The phytonutrients are where the health benefits of watercress are contained. Watercress contains vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, iron, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus, which are required for a healthy body.” https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/vegetable/watercress.html

I made the eggnog first, then heated it to be sure there were no bacteria, since uncooked eggs can be tricky. This turned out to be a pale green.

Taking the low road

Border patrol agents say they are alarmed by the growing number of migrants illegally crossing the border with children – who are not their own – to avoid long-term federal custody. But never mind. It is fodder for the anti-Trump hysteria, food and fuel to keep the masses agitated. Yes, they know it's wrong, that it is hurting children, but it's working and they've sunk this low.

Democrats long road of racism

Ninety nine Democrats and 2 Republicans in Congress signed the “Southern Manifesto” in 1956. The Southern Manifesto declared the signatories’ opposition to the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education (declared separate schools for blacks and whites illegal) and their commitment to segregation forever.  As the South has become more Republican it’s become less racist as has fly over country, leaving the northeast and west coast Democrats to carry on that mantle.  As Democrats gain power in the largest cities, they return to their roots of race baiting, name calling, shaming, and violence which kept blacks in line in the early 20th century.  In Ohio over 40% of abortions are for black women, and nationwide, more black lives are snuffed out in 4 days than in the entire 80+ years of Democratic party terrorism of the KKK and lynching. Abortion is the linchpin of Democrat morality and philosophy. Just watch the hysteria over [fill in the blank] selection for justice of SCOTUS.