Preventing child abuse and death

In 2017, an estimated 1,720 children died from abuse, and 72% of them were younger than three years old.  April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.  https://www.ojjdp.gov/enews/blogs/042419-ojjdp-child-abuse-prevention.html

There is a media campaign with free images and messages you can download called "We Can."https://cantasd.acf.hhs.gov/we-can/   However, as I looked through them I saw only 2 that showed a Mom and Dad together, both active military, which is odd. Why couldn't there be a message about marriage, or the assumption of married parents? What are they afraid of? Married parents are the strongest guarantee against poverty, and fathers active in their children's lives help with self esteem and positive social behavior.

Title and wording in the 2018 Farm Bill

Before firing people or putting them in jail for using the wrong pronoun for a guy who's feeling girlish today, or maybe “theyish” tomorrow, I suggest renaming the Farm Bill. 80% of the Farm Bill is food assistance, and it's just silly to call it anything else. The 2 issues aren't related at all--but sloppy language increases confusion during partisan debates. The 2018 Farm Bill (Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, HR2) is $867 Billion over 10 years. It dwarfs the budgets of the NIH, CDC and FDA, probably because good nutrition does contribute to good health. 42% of low income women are obese, with a higher figure if they use government assistance.

Depending on which expert you read, and how much you hate Trump/Republicans the various cuts are either a savings or a disaster for the poor. Farm Journal reported it was budget neutral, with a possible savings of $7 million over the 10 years.

And speaking of language, it did clean up some unpronounceable acronyms into simply, FOTO. The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) and Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program ( OASDVFRP or Section 2501) are now the Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach (FOTO) program. That should save some money in printing right there. At least no one should be fired if they mispronounce it.

Note: In reading through the Section 2501 (now called FOTO) previous year's budget and accomplishments I noticed all the money for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers went to minority farmers and ranchers, even though about 40% of those on government assistance are white. I wonder if this is another example of the government picking winners and losers on the basis of ethnicity and skin color.

Another lie you often hear about our assistance programs (with the intent to increase the Farm Bill) is that you can't feed a family on food stamps (SNAP). Maybe that's because it was never intended for that. But actually, a resourceful Canadian has shown otherwise with her cookbook, "Good and cheap," using a SNAP budget for a healthy diet. And it's free on line, or you can order a paper copy. https://cookbooks.leannebrown.com/good-and-cheap.pdf

Our language is always changing

640 new words were added in April to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. I've been saying one of them incorrectly:  I say, "to-go cup" when I’m at Panera’s with my friend Adrienne, and apparently the approved, in the dictionary term is "go-cup."

My senior class high school English teacher, Mrs. Price, insisted we buy Merriam-Webster Collegiate dictionaries, and I'm still using that model (I have the 11th, which you can buy for about $30 or download for free, and I got mine for $1 at a used book store), and I have the 2nd International unabridged Merriam Webster (about 25 lbs) for interesting browsing which my grandmother gave my parents for x-mas in the 1950s.  One of my cousins probably has their mother’s copy.  Grandma was big on giving presents like magazines, books, and art supplies.  My mother continued that tradition with her grandchildren.  You can never know too many words.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/shop-dictionaries/dictionaries/collegiate-dictionary-eleventh-edition

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/new-words-in-the-dictionary?

https://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2008/11/friday-family-photo-its-dictionary.html

Michael Smith chats with a friend

“Paraphrasing a conversation I had today with a friend:

Me: "Let's do a little logic exercise to help you understand what I'm trying to say."

Friend: "OK."

Me: "Do you think if I called you a thief, you would be more likely or less likely to want to associate with me?"

Friend: "Probably less."

Me: "What if I called you a rapist?"

Friend: "Probably even less likely."

Me: "OK, what if I called you a pedophile?"

Friend: "Probably even less likely than the other two."

Me: "OK, so how likely do you think it would be for me to pay attention to people who don't know me and call me a racist, bigot and homophobe? Why would I have any reason to engage or listen to anything they say?"

Friend: "That's different."

Me: "How so?"

Friend: "Because even though you aren't any of those things, people you support are."

Me: "Who are they?"

Friend: "The Republicans in this state and Trump."

Me: "What evidence is their that they are any of those things?"

Friend: "Well, immigration, the Muslim ban and the Charlottesville white supremacist thing right off the top of my head."

Me: "OK, I know you won't agree but immigration is a matter of law, court decisions and Obama policy and I can show you the total transcript of what Trump said about the situation in Charlottesville, so let me address the Muslim "ban" that wasn't because it is the softest to address."

Friend: "OK."

Me: "OK, let's assume you work for the TSA in Salt Lake and there are 10 people in line in full burkas, covered head to toe. You get a call from the FBI stating that they know one of the 10 is a man wearing a suicide vest. You have no time, what would you do?"

Friend: "I'd get security to quarantine all of them until they could be searched."

Me: "Exactly - given the danger and the uncertainty, that is the most reasonable course of action. Good job. Guess what?"

Friend: "What?"

Me: You just outlined and validated the reasoning behind the travel ban that Trump enacted. The fact the countries were Muslim was coincidental, the purpose was to stop travel from countries that lacked proper vetting for travelers. It had nothing to do with Islam at all."

Friend: "But Trump said bad things about Muslims during the campaign..."

Me: "And those things were not the basis for the policy, that was a creation of your friends in the Democrat Party and their friends in the media because they thing ORANGEMANBAD is a valid reason for everything. It's the policy that matters, not what is said. Obama said you could keep your doctor but you couldn't, so that proves you can't judge a policy by what is said about it, only what the policy actually does."

Friend: "Well, I still don't like Trump."

Me: "But that doesn't make him a racist, bigot or homophobe. Your feelings about him are irrelevant unless you can back those feelings up with facts."

Friend: "Still don't like him."

Me: "You have that right - not asking you to like him, just to be fair. Talk tomorrow, got to run. I'll flip you the full transcript of Trump's Charlottesville remarks from the NYT and some of their reporting on Obama's 2004 immigration policies."

Cubans at the southern border

Imagine that. Mexico is overwhelmed by the illegal immigration headed for our southern border and over a thousand broke out of the holding facility. The majority of migrants moving through Mexico are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, according to Reuters, but Cubans are also joining in large numbers. More than 1,000 people from Cuba are now in Chiapas, according to Mexican officials.

The word has been put out by leftist non-profits that help them and Democrats (but I repeat) that if they can get to the U.S. they will be let go to "return" later for a hearing. And of course, very few do because most are not refugees. But I am curious why Cubans would take these risks to leave their socialist paradise.

Liberal friend Jim (an electrician) believes Cuba’s government failed because of U.S. sanctions. Pfffft. The sanctions are gone, and they never had sanctions from other countries. They had no restricted trade from South America or Mexico or USSR. THE SYSTEM FAILED. I get travel brochures each week showing 1950s automobiles and happy, clappy Cuban dancers. Why do people like Jim still believe in socialism when he’s seen it fail his entire lifetime, and he’s educated and knows the end result is always Cuba or Venezuela or the USSR? Y

Yes, we have a system for asylum seekers, but bussing well dressed, well fed, freely traveling Hondurans and Salvadorans and Pakistanis illegally to swamp our borders, courts and safety net system isn't it.

Joe Biden announces—his hate, but no program

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," Biden said. "I mean, that's a storybook, man." That was 2007 Biden praising Barack Obama for being bright and clean, apparently something he'd never seen before in a black man.

And now he's running for president and in his 2019 announcement he tells another lie about another politician, our President. ""He said there were quote some very fine people on both sides," Biden said. "With those words, the President of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it. And in that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I had ever seen in my lifetime."

Anyone with half a brain who heard Trump speak about the crowds gathered in a park to either defend or destroy statues, knows what he said--and the bad people were the white supremacists and the leftists who'd shown up without a permit to rattle a few cages and the good people were about the statues. Anyone not a Trump hater knows the president said there were good people on both sides of the statue issue. He condemned the skin heads and the Black Lives Matter groups. Town groups on both sides of preserving the statue condemned both the right and left groups.

So once again Biden traffics in the ignorance and gullibility of the American people, saying Charlottesville was a bigger threat to America than 9/11, hundreds of caravans storming our southern border, the government over reach in the implosion of the housing market, the Viet Nam War, climate change, the opioid crisis, the college cost bubble, and our below replacement birth rate.

https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/04/25/if-there-was-a-joe-biden-statue-leftists-would-tear-it-down/

Uber ridiculous!

A homeless man who finds a bag of puppies and rescues them is called a hero, but an Uber driver who won't assist in an abortion is fired and the client wants to sue him.

Poor snowflake. Planned Parenthood just didn't fit her schedule, and when Uber-moral guy said no to the trip when he found out where she was going, and she actually had to call her boyfriend to complete the dirty deed. I think the Uber driver was a hero, the boy friend was a jerk, and Uber is a crappy company if this is how they treat their drivers who have a shred of decency. Are Uber drivers obligated to take a drunk client to a bar? Should an Uber driver be required to take a prostitute to a destination to meet her client?

https://www.dailywire.com/news/46319/woman-plans-sue-uber-after-driver-refused-take-her-amanda-prestigiacomo?

David Shuttleworth’s 20th anniversary party

We attended Dave’s business anniversary event http://www.sco-advisors.com/ last night in a sweet little 19th century restored cottage,  and the food was outstanding both in taste and presentation, so of course, I asked. . . http://party-panache.com/ Mini butter-puffs stuffed with turkey salad, toasted pecans and dried cranberries. . . Nutted Olives, Large queen olives surrounded with cream cheese, rolled in toasted pecans, served halved. . . Asparagus spears wrapped with prosciutto and boursin. . . Balsamic Rosemary Roast Beef Served with red onion confit and horseradish cream on baguette slices. . . Large chilled shrimp, served with seafood cocktail sauce . . . Assorted fresh fruit on skewers with dips . . . delicious finger desserts, especially dark chocolate brownies. . . .and many more delights. Needless to say, I didn’t fix dinner.

I’m working on lowering my cholesterol, but this event, plus a wonderful Easter box sent by our California sister Debbie, (with wonderful pretzels covered with icing) has certainly made it difficult.

How the media turned candidate Trump into a racist

I’ve never heard the President say anything racist. He’s done more for minorities by making America great again than Obama ever could with hope and change (to a more socialist country).   How is it so many Democrats believe this?  It’s our media.  They get paid for every click.

"It began when he announced his intention to run for president in June of 2015. Typical of the media reception he received was the NBC story titled, “Donald Trump Announces Presidential Bid by Trashing Mexico, Mexicans.” What he actually did, of course, was say what every major politician regardless of party [especially Clinton] had already said about illegal immigration at our southern border. Soon, however, virtually every “news” outlet began claiming that he had called all Mexicans rapists and killers." https://spectator.org/trump-opponents-never-tire-of-losing/?

The media got everything wrong during the campaign and in the last 2 years, but they don't learn. Now with Nadler and Schiff they have moved on to obstruction and still cry "impeach him." They have no platform for 2020 except destroy Trump.

Why neither Obama nor Clinton mentioned Christians in the Sri Lanka bombing

"The reason neither of them [Obama and Clinton] mentioned Christians or churches is that the left has essentially forbidden mention of all the anti-Christian murders perpetrated by Muslims in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and of all the Muslim desecration of churches in Europe, Africa, and anywhere else.

This is part of the same phenomenon—that I and others have documented—of British police and politicians covering up six years of rape of 1,400 English girls by Muslim “grooming gangs” in Rotherham and elsewhere in England.

Essentially, the left’s rule is that nothing bad—no matter how true—may be said about Muslims or Islam and nothing good—no matter how true—may be said of Christians or Christianity."

Commentary by Dennis Prager https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/04/23/why-obama-and-clinton-tweeted-about-easter-worshippers-not-christians/?

More reasons not to trust the media.

Rank, rate, percent and number

When reading statistics, watch the terms. Rank, rate, number, percent. For instance, Alaska RANKS 4th in the nation for black homicides. Wow. The RATE of homicide for blacks in Alaska is 29.22 per 100,000 (the national homicide rate is 4.62; 2.67 for white Americans). Must be a very violent place, that Alaska! In most states many fewer women are lost to this violence (about 12%), but in Alaska it's over 37 PERCENT. However, in NUMBERS only eight blacks were killed, 5 men and 3 women. 100% were killed by someone they knew, and 50% of those deaths were because of an argument. (2015 statistics from Violence Policy Center, April 2018, p. 3, state rankings)

I checked 4 sources--each had different figures for black male homicides. But I did see one in VPC that reported of the 7,014 black homicides, 121 were killed by law enforcement--of those where a relationship between victim and assailant could be determined, 75% were killed by someone they knew. Which is more likely to be breathlessly reported for days on the news, followed by a trial and protests?

Third gender option--Kamala Harris

Candidates chasing the gender realignments looking for new causes. 

1. Destroy God's word and creation stories of all cultures/religions, 

2. Destroy any statistical record in health/accomplishments and athletic prowess awards for women, 

3. Destroy "toxic masculinity" with mind control and hormones. 

4. Slash the birth rate (already below replacement level). 

5. Be God.

In order to identify as "woke", I think Kamala Harris should change her first name to Harris, wear no make-up, shave her head, and put on plumber's pants, complete with the crack.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kamala-harris-third-gender-option-federal-ids?

Jeffrey Varasano says the 2020 platform for the Democrats is "It's a formula for Marxist revolution. Take every pillar that supports your opponent and criticize it from all angles on any grounds. It doesn't matter the reason. What matters is the repetition and that critique come from all directions from within the intelligentsia. So they attack institutions while they simultaneously infiltrate then morph them from within."

Across the pond in Great Britain, "Suzie Green allowed her teenage son to have sex-realignment surgery in Thailand which included penis removal (something that is not permitted in the UK). Caroline Farrow (a Catholic journalist) commented that in her view this was child abuse. Green denies this and says it was done with the best interest of her child, who is now identified as female." Guess which woman is being investigated as a threat in Great Britain--the woman who exercised her authority to remove her son's penis and pump him full of hormones, or the woman who exercised free speech and "mis-gendered" this poor child? And it's coming here.

https://theweeflea.com/2019/03/23/jordan-peterson-caroline-farrow-jayne-ozanne-and-the-death-of-free-speech/?

Only in America

I agree with Jared Kushner

The recently concluded Mueller investigation of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia did far more harm than any dirty tricks Russia tried to do, and failed, during the last presidential campaign.

The Mueller investigation broke families apart, ruined friendships, tore the country apart, made patriotism a nasty word, turned ordinarily normal people into thieves and attackers--knocking down elderly and stealing hats, sent our "free press" on a fool's mission, and drove one of our national parties over the edge of the socialism cliff.

From crisis to crisis

Democrats and media were wrong for over 2 years about Russia, but they just move on to something else. The investigation served them well--more money for the media investors and more donations for the politicians. If we disagree with them, they pull out the laundry list of names--racist, homophobe, xenophobe, white supremacist (even blacks are called that if conservative), or fan of Fox, etc.  This isn't healthy. And now the investigators will be investigated.  Kate Smith has been shut down and silenced because of a song she sang in the 1930s?   When will it stop?

https://spectator.org/refusing-to-admit-when-we-are-wrong-has-become-an-american-crisis/

I remember when Bush was hated—we called it Bush Derangement Syndrome, and that has morphed into an actual condition called the  Trump Derangement Syndrome—TDS.   “In 2003, Charles Krauthammer defined the term Bush Derangement Syndrome: "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency -- nay -- the very existence of George W. Bush.^[1]”  )Conservapedia.com)   https://www.wnd.com/2018/09/psychiatrist-trump-derangement-syndrome-is-real-and-serious/ 

And I recall how race relations deteriorated under Obama—and often he stirred the pot implicating the police and Republicans, even though the actual rioting or protests like BLM and Occupy were not by Republicans or Conservatives.  Those protests were just staging ground for what was to come.  https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/257811-obama-defends-black-lives-matter

Carrying old grudges and burdens is not healthy for any person or any party or any country or any sports franchise (I’m referring to Kate Smith who never kept a black athlete from playing professional ball).

Hands up—lay down your burden.

For Earth Day—no savings with electric cars

"According to the study directed by Christoph Buchal of the University of Cologne, published by the Ifo Institute in Munich last week, electric vehicles have "significantly higher CO2 emissions than diesel cars." That is due to the significant amount of energy used in the mining and processing of lithium, cobalt, and manganese, which are critical raw materials for the production of electric car batteries."

And then what do you do with all those batteries?

I found a report of this in several publications with no link to the research, but had to dig some to get the name of the study. Buchal, Christoph, Hans-Dieter Karl and Hans-Werner Sinn, "Kohlemotoren, Windmotoren und Dieselmotoren: Was zeigt die CO2-Bilanz?", ifo Schnelldienst 72 (08), 2019.

Shifting to obstruction

When you checkmate a dishonest person in an argument, they shift the discussion, insisting this second concern always animated their position. This describes the response to the Mueller Report from the conspiracy-theory wing of the Democratic Party. They now talk in muted terms, if at all, about Donald Trump conspiring with an unfriendly nation to rig the 2016 presidential election. Instead, they obsess over obstruction of justice, a crime Mueller’s investigators seem agnostic about in noting it could neither prove obstruction nor exonerate the president. Such mental gymnastics seems rich, particularly when one ponders the spectacle of the subject of an investigation obstructing justice over nonexistent crimes. They essentially accused the president of treason. Now they claim that obstruction of justice, a crime somewhat lower on the totem pole, justified this prolonged national nightmare.—Dan Flynn, American Spectator, April 19

Identity politics—guest blogger Patti

I didn't see this one by Patti York when it first appeared in November. . .and thought her analysis of identity politics and being treated like a victim was worth sharing. Her points may give you strength to resist the "poor little me" feeling for the hate and anger you experience. I wouldn't go so far to say I love any president, whether Ike, Reagan or Trump, but I do admire the way Trump energizes and sticks up for the people the two parties have ignored and marginalized—especially the low income, blue collar and minorities. From the WalkAway website (for people who have left the Democrat Party).

"Hello, the turning point for me began in 2007. I was a hard left democrat. I almost voted for Obama, but my gut told me not to vote at all, so I used all of 2009 to vet him as a president and was not at all impressed. During his presidency I witnessed that my party was really not my party at all anymore. They were completely immersed in identity politics. There was no place for me as a visible lesbian who cut her teeth on "questioning authority". Not once in the last twelve years has any democrat ever spoken to me as an American first. They always tried to appeal to my gender or sexual orientation and ignored the fact that I am an American with just as many constitutional rights as any other American. I live in the NYC metropolitan area and people like me are hated for not being good little obedient hard left victims. It's a good thing that I have a thick skin, it has served me well. I love President Trump. He is the quintessential political under dog who soundly defeated 16 talented, seasoned politicians in the primary, then went on to destroy the Clinton cartel in spectacular fashion. He's a street fighter with brass knuckles, that never apologizes for his honesty. We are living in legendary times, just to have witnessed this."

A blessed Easter

Our pastoral, church staff and volunteers went all out for Holy Week at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church. There were two high lights in a week of wonderful worship experiences.  At the Friday night solemn service, there were several teens participating, and one young girl was tasked with lighting seven candles between  the scripture passages read by the pastor and two other teens.  She was taller than me, but the candles were high enough and in a clear glass globe, that her arms were just not quiet long enough even stretched well above her head.  After she struggled with the first 2, our 6’5” senior pastor, Steve Turnbull. quietly stepped up from his pew and stood behind her in the dark.  When she struggled, he stepped forward took the candle lighter from her hands and effortlessly with one arm raised high and the other low to control the tool, lit the candle.  But he didn’t do it until she had tried.  What a beautiful example of God’s love and grace.

And then on Easter Sunday, Pastor Dave Mann gave the sermon at our Lytham Road traditional service.  I suppose it was full of the usual Easter message, but what I remember and what we told our family at dinner was the story he told about John and Ali.  John was having a very busy day, and he passed a black man on Route 23 going north who’d had a flat tire and was attempting to flag someone down.  John felt the Lord tap his shoulder but proceeded on as he had a busy schedule.  Then he felt a firmer tap, so he turned around to help the stranded motorist.  Not only was the tire flat, it was ruined.  Not only was it ruined, but the man, Ali, had no money.  So John paid for the tire himself, and then installed it for Ali.  When they were finished, Ali told him he’d been waiting for two hours and no one had stopped, so why did John stop?  “Because I serve the King,” John told him.  Then Ali said, he’d like to know about this King that John served.  Last Easter Ali was baptized a Christian and joined our Lutheran church.  Dave told him that he would experience rejection and even hate from his Muslim community, but God’s love, through John had touched him and he came to know the living Lord.

Pastor Dave also comments occasionally on Facebook and shares his faith.  Last summer Dave’s little grandson and his adult son both died within a week of each other, and Dave’s witness on Facebook probably reach many weak Christians or non-believers.

Imagine if you can