Conservatory a great place to take kids

We had a Lakeside event at the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens Thursday evening, and it was fun to see our summer friends. However, when we toured the building all decked out with wonderful Christmas themes in flowers, plants, model trains, topiary flamingos decked in neon, a gingerbread competition and glass bulb Christmas trees (there are at least 16 special displays), we were particularly impressed by the young people and families flooding in with babies, children and friends. Even when we left about 8 p.m. they were standing in line for tickets.

What are liberals doing to college students?

Some of us, usually Republicans or Conservatives, think it's a bad idea to have such a high percent of our college faculty  liberal/Democrat/progressive. They are turning out graduates with $70,000 debt much of it from the government, who leave with social science degrees and poor earning potential, who can't afford to get married, or to buy a home, or to have children. Then with envy in their hearts they listen to socialists and vote for Democrats. Is this the Democrats' secret plan to bring down the country?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8427-2005Mar28.html  (2005)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/11/the-dramatic-shift-among-college-professors-thats-hurting-students-education/?utm_term=.60388b5d2ab4  (2016)

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/02/27/research-confirms-professors-lean-left-questions-assumptions-about-what-means (2017) defensive

http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/05/07/nearly-40-percent-top-liberal-arts-colleges-have-no-republican-professors (2018)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/most-u-s-college-students-afraid-to-disagree-with-professors-1540588198 (2018, James Freeman)

https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/article/college-students-love-socialism-dont-have-clue-what-it-means

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/01/10/students-more-liberal-but-its-not-because-their-professors-james-piereson-naomi-riley-column/1012622001/ (opposite viewpoint)

Marketplace—a fascinating website

Sometimes I see something on Columbus Marketplace and wonder what Chip and Joanna Gaines (HGTV) could do with this?

When selling property, it never hurts to remove the trash bags from the front yard.  Of course, it says, “as is” and I guess new owner gets the trash.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/columbus/

“4BR 2bath 1846sf SF house in Grove City OH 43123
WB fireplace, finished attic/loft (can be converted to 5th BR), finished basement, 0.3 acre lot, built 1938, Southwestern school district. As-Is. cash/hard money/conventional loan”

https://www.countryliving.com/home-design/a37022/chip-and-joanna-gaines-christmas-decor/

https://www.countryliving.com/shopping/g3403/magnolia-home-decor/

Are they Bush values, and what happened to them?

Daniel Henninger remembers what happened in the 1990s, and it wasn’t President Trump in the Wall Street Journal.

“Most of the Bush values can be found on any list of what are called—or used to be called—virtues. It is telling that these same simple virtues are now being praised by a media that has done so much in the past 30 years to undermine them.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-didnt-kill-the-bush-values-1544053897?fbclid=IwAR3VqUXD2tkEEw39P17-ak0voNmiht5V_InCevSLoZ7sOqK0zTMfkCASJS8

I wasn’t even a Republican back then, yet I thought the way the media savaged Barbara Bush and Dan Quayle was disgraceful. The attacks on the religious right were loud and proud, and Jeff Bezos didn’t even own WaPo then!

Some worry that the Trumps didn’t sing the hymns or recite the creed at Bush 41 funeral

I am a Lutheran and our one congregation has 3 styles of worship, traditional, contemporary and loud rock, and I don't sing many of the praise/songs at some of the alternative services because I don't know them or I don't like them. Also, not all Christian churches use the Apostles Creed, and not all Christians are familiar with it. I've attended services where it sounds like a local committee wrote the creed of the day, and I don't say it. There are 35,000 (approx.) Protestant and non-denominational/Bible only groups, plus multiple rites within the Catholic tradition, many orthodox and Eastern Christian groups. Christianity is a very big tent, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-language and multi-liturgy or no liturgy, and there are no requirements to sing or recite anything, especially when in unfamiliar territory. The trick to attending a different service is to always sit in the back row and observe--which obviously the Trumps couldn't do.

Unfortunately, many in the media used the very lovely tributes to Bush 41 to slam Trump.  They just can’t help themselves.

Deadly dogs

How awful for the pet owner. Can't even imagine how terrible to experience this. A Yorkshire terrier (adorable, fluff balls) being walked by his owner on a leash, was attacked and killed by two pit bulls off leash in the Columbus Polaris area (heard on radio, don't have link). The pit bulls have been put down. I know those of you who have pit bulls love them and claim they are gentle, but they have been bred to attack and kill if they perceive a prey or a threat. All dogs will bite, but some have the strength and jaws to be lethal.

When I tried to find a link, I was horrified by the number of stories about Yorkies being killed by pit bulls that came up for different states and years.

Christmas party attire

We attended a lovely Christmas dinner with our Conestoga group (Ohio history) last night in Clintonville.  I wore a nice black dress, with full coverage, but that makes no difference when it’s made of a synthetic fabric.  I was freezing, and since we were there early because the couple we went with had some responsibilities, I wore my coat for about an hour before dinner.  We have another dinner tonight with our Lakeside friends at the Conservatory on the east side of Columbus. I’m still not going to wear slacks like most older ladies do, but I’m thinking of a black sweater and skirt with a red jacket with a nice seasonable pin so I can at least be comfortable.  In the “olden days” of wool winter clothing, drafty banquet halls were not such a problem, or else my blood was thicker.

America’s socialists

I keep reading that 51-57% of Democrats favor socialism--more in the younger range, but enough in the 50+ to cause concern. Strange that they call Trump a Nazi. Our school system has failed them, even people my age and older who should know better, who remember Hitler, Mao and the USSR.

Socialism means the state controls the land and the means of production. The only difference between Hitler and Stalin was the length of their reach--one wanted just Europe and the other the world. Their hearts beat together. American Communists in the 1930s weren't worried about Hitler until he attacked their boy Stalin, then we entered the war.

Socialism is Communism-lite. It is a utopian philosophy that has murdered millions under cover of equality and fairness, because the individual means nothing. Bill de Blasio, Bernie Sanders, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, university administrations and faculties, certain Christian clergy and various members of the workers party of Hollywood and late night TV/ sit-coms are just fellow travelers on the path to a system that has failed in every country that got sucked in. There are millions of dead Chinese and starving Venezuelans to prove it.

The future is female, but what is a female?

Kristin Gillibrand (D- NY) has said something really foolish—the future is female.

The Left doesn’t want the word “female” or “woman” written or spoken because the masculine terms male and man diminish womyn’s power.

The Left is systematically destroying the hard won gains of Title IX in sports by insisting a transwoman is actually a real woman, and who knows what they’ll call him when they’ve succeeded in destroying the language!

The Left says gender is a social construct and that sex is bad science.

The Left reports that with enough hormones, pancake makeup, electrolysis and a convincing fantasy, a man with or without the amputation of his penis and testicles can take the place of women in affirmative action regulations proposed by the government.

The Left in one state already on the brink of financial collapse wants 50% of boards of corporations to be “broads.” What an opportunity for men who can’t compete with other men—just “feel” female and insist that only a transphobic capitalist cabal would reject him.

And really, Ms. Gillibrand, if men and women are interchangeable and equal in all ways, why is your party claiming you as a female senator and when will you stop dyeing your hair and wearing make up?

https://www.lifezette.com/2018/12/new-yorks-gillibrand-insists-the-future-is-female-and-intersectional/

Can we legally change our age, like sex?

Every sane person with even a basic science education knows one's sex can't be changed. Sex not a social construct. Gender is a grammar term. But now that the idea that one can also choose to change the years lived, usually reducing, but I suppose some would raise so large numbers could vote, we have a new wrinkle (no pun). If fantasy, wishes and gullibility can change sex, why not age? Hormones and surgery will again come to the rescue! Look at all the laws we have based on age--social security eligibility, voting, driving, running for office, certain professions, marriage, age of consent. It's discriminatory. Yes, why not? We have 6 year old concert pianists; why not surgeons? The ultimate fountain of youth (or age).  I know many 75 year olds that seem to be brighter than college students, at least politically. Why not call them 50 if that's what they desire?

https://amp.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/dec/4/dutch-court-rules-against-man-trying-legally-chang/

10 steps to ending poverty–Jay Richards

Guess what—it isn’t socialism!

This is a Christian solution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XyJd4w5f1g

He’s a little long winded, but when he gets to the point, this is it.

1. Rule of law.  Like the 10 commandments.

2. Limited government.  Methods in place to limit jurisdiction of the state.

3.  Formal property.  In Haiti, if you wanted to lease land from the gov’t it would take 19 years and 100’s of forms.

4. Economic freedom. Hong Kong is #1.

5. Strong mediating institutions.

6.  Purpose driven universe.

7.  Right cultural mores. Respect for rights of others.

8.  Understand wealth and poverty.  Set up win/win situations.

9.  Focus on your comparative advantage.

10. Work hard.  This works in the U.S., but not in all countries if you don’t have access to property or freedom.

Time served in state prisons

Persons sentenced for murder or non-negligent manslaughter served an average of 15 years in state prison. 57% of violent offenders who were released from state prison in 2016 served an average time of 2.6 years. State prisoners serving time for drug offenses, including trafficking and possession, served an average of 22 months and a median time of 14 months before their initial release. About 3 in 5 offenders released after serving time for drug possession served less than one year before their initial release. BJS November 29, 2018 NCJ 252205

To the offender I'm sure this feels like a long time, but to the victims' families, the time they serve is forever.

https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/press/tssp16pr.cfm

Breakfast

Bush 41, 1992, and thoughts

I never voted for GHW Bush because I was a Democrat then and apolitical. Clueless on campus described me, even though all my values were the same then as now. I was pro-life, pro-capitalism, pro-America.  However, I remember telling my Republican friends in 1992 that they had elected Bill Clinton by voting for the 3rd party candidate Ross Perot who got 19% of the vote. You do have to wonder how different the executive office might be today, and the world, if Bush 41 had had 2 terms.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda is useless, but it's still a good reminder that Republicans don't work together for a distant goal the way the Democrats do. Think of McCain and Flake--completely defying the people who elected them--Republicans; thus we still have Obamacare and stymied court appointments even thought we have a Republican president. Right now, the Democrats' goal is some sort of socialist globalism. It may look like they only have name calling and bullying and no policy, but they are very well organized and have many non-profits and billionaires funding those goals.

If I had any patience

 

Wouldn’t this be great for a holiday decor?  Of course, I’d probably smack the hand that tried to nibble and spoil my work of art. Easy, simple and not expensive.

A touching tribute to Bush 41

I’ve met three of the Shaw sisters and their mother as bloggers (now Facebook friends) and one, Janice, on Facebook where we’re “friends.”  In the 1990s Janice was a speechwriter for GHW Bush and writes a loving tribute about him and those exciting years.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/12/writing_speeches_for_president_bush_41.html?

“There is no way to convey the awe-inspiring experience of actually working in the White House with a pass that enables you to go anywhere in the complex, including the private library on the top floor of the OEOB that can get any publication a speechwriter might need or want.  The sense of history and significance of working as a presidential speechwriter are like nothing else I have ever done. . . 

“After President Bush 41, the baton was passed to other generations of leaders coming from a variety of different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.  The passing of President Bush 41 is not just the passing of a significant American leader who earned the respect of Americans across the political spectrum; it is the passing of a generation who shared experiences and values.  It is the end of an era of shared history.  As we mourn the loss of President Bush 41, we also mourn the passing of an era.”
Janice Shaw Crouse. . .https://www.americanthinker.com/author/janice_shaw_crouse/

Airbnb removes listings from Israeli settlements

Have the billionaires of Airbnb looked at a map of the world lately? Why in this day and age are Jews such a threat to rich Americans? And why does this hyper-morality only apply to Israel where 1/3 of the world's Jews live? Airbnb is established in Cuba! The 3 founders of Airbnb are billionaires imposing their political biases on a few folks who want to rent their apartments to tourists. These Big Tech billionaires are giving Capitalism a bad name.

"Last week, Airbnb announced that it would be removing all listings from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The news came after supporters of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement campaigned for Airbnb to remove the listings."

https://capitalresearch.org/article/caving-to-bds-activism-airbnb-pulls-west-bank-listings/?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/world/middle_east/group-files-rights-suit-over-airbnbs-israel-settlement-ban/2018/11/29/5bcdc864-f43e-11e8-99c2-cfca6fcf610c_story.html

“Gov. Bruce Rauner [IL] attempted Thursday to pressure Airbnb into reversing its ban on lodging listings in the disputed West Bank, calling for an investigation into whether the company is violating Illinois laws prohibiting backlash against Israel's treatment of Palestinians.” (Belleville News Democrat)

“Jews have owned property in places like West Bank towns Gush Etzion and Hebron for centuries. Under the new Airbnb policy, rooms and units located in those places will not be listed by the company.

But if an Arab owns some property a hundred yards away and purchased it a week ago, it can be listed. That is religious profiling.” Letter to the editor, LA times

Clearly, Airbnb’s foray into foreign policy is naive and discriminatory.

Fall out of the MeToo movement

Will unleash a new torrent of gender and race demands and distortions. We won’t know about the superiority of the candidates not chosen.  “All white male” is a phrase that can produce panic in an HR department. It will make the previous 3 decades look like the golden age of diversity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS_RtvrsoIs

There is a war against merit, not just white males.

There is outrage that there are few or no female composers in symphony seasons. Orchestra boards will be competing for very scarce female conductors.  And Oh—what about a trans-conductor!  Goldmine. All a mediocre male conductor needs is to declare himself female—these days doesn’t even need the surgery and hormones.  Just the feeling.

STEM departments, which used to avoid the craziness going on the humanities the last 3 decades are under the gun to hire women, except there aren’t many in the pipe line, causing the departments to develop their own subdivisions for diversity on top of the bloated University departments of inclusion.

Jeff Flake’s final act of revenge

Outgoing Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) admitted on CNN that he would not be opposing President Donald Trump’s judicial appointments if he was not retiring at the end of his term. (Mediaite).  This means he invalidated all the votes of the Republicans in Arizona who voted for him. Trump won Arizona in 2016.  Far more effective than a Russian bot on Facebook.
 
I expect he will run again as a Democrat if his future career working for CNN or MSNBC doesn’t work out.

And this empire was started by a nun from Akron, Ohio in 1981

"Boldness should be the eleventh commandment."
- Mother Angelica

“EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 38th year, is the largest religious media network in the world. EWTN’s 11 TV channels are broadcast in multiple languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week to over 300 million television households in more than 145 countries and territories. EWTN platforms also include radio services transmitted through SIRIUS/XM, iHeart Radio and more than 500 domestic and international AM & FM radio affiliates; a worldwide shortwave radio service; the largest Catholic website in the U.S.; electronic and print news services, including Catholic News Agency, the National Catholic Register, and several global news wire services; as well as EWTN Publishing, its book-publishing division.”  (http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/ewtn-wins-lawsuit-over-hhs-contraception-mandate)

The reason I describe EWTN and its importance in religious media is because the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit issued an order Thursday vacating a 2014 district-court decision against the Eternal Word Television Network in its lawsuit against the so-called contraceptive mandate issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. The order follows a settlement between the network and the Department of Justice reached Oct. 5.
 
The specifics of the contraception mandate of the “Affordable Care Act” were not included in the original bill, but were announced in January 2012 by then-HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Obama promised EWTN and other religious groups there would be an exception made for them. He lied.  Imagine the money they’ve had to spend just so they didn’t have to provide birth control and abortions for staff.

Seven years!
EWTN Wins Lawsuit Over HHS Contraception Mandate
IRONDALE, Ala., Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a  legal battle that has lasted nearly seven years, EWTN Global Catholic Network has prevailed in its lawsuit against the U.S. government over what has become known as the "HHS Contraception Mandate." In an order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit published Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, the court vacated a June 2014 decision against the Network by U.S. District Court Judge Callie Granade. The ruling by the appellate court follows an Oct. 5, 2018 settlement agreement between EWTN and the Department of Justice. Under terms of that settlement, the Network will not be required to provide contraception, sterilization and abortifacients in its employee health plan, something EWTN found morally objectionable.

And finally some common sense from Washington.
The Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor released two updated rules concerning conscience protections for organizations and individuals in relation to the HHS contraception mandate. We once again are protected by the First Amendment from an over reaching federal government.  Until the next law suit.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/breaking-trump-administration-announces-broad-exemptions-for-hhs-mandate-84021