What’s good about Baltimore?

Baltimore Sun claims DC has more rats than Baltimore, so I looked at a site that compared both cities.  Baltimore is losing population, DC is gaining, but in most demographics the two are comparable, with Baltimore having more single heads of household (usually a significant sign of poverty). But the comments were revealing; this one by William found a lot to like about Baltimore, white also noting the negatives.  I just pulled out the positive.

“For starters Baltimore is a great independent city filled with rich history, great sports teams (present/ past), a variety of cultural foods and local delicacies all wrapped up in a place jokingly referred to as “Smalltimore”. The Under Armour headquarters is based out of here, not to forgot about the growing tech sector, the expanding neighborhoods of Harbor East and South Point, the excellent array of hospitals (John’s Hopkin’s, Mercy, and the University of Maryland healthcare systems) and colleges within the city with so much more; however, like every city there are pockets of good and bad, but with this city there are a lot more bad things than good.

Crime, corruption, pollution/ trash on the roads, jay walkers who will willingly walk in the middle of traffic during a rush hour, a majority populous who only votes for Democratic candidates who mostly are unqualified (the city doesn’t even have a Office of Ethics until 2019), and some of the worst infrastructure I've seen.

Some spots have been gentrified over the years, but there are far more depilated properties once you head north and west. There are great markets spread out throughout the city with one of the largest places smack-dab in the middle of the city. You can find all types of fresh seafood, goods, and even have services performed for reasonable prices. Shopping elsewhere has been more about going out to the county as Towson Town Mall, Arundel Mills, and White Marsh Mall’s have severed the area for decades. There is an array of retailers such as Brooks Brothers, J.Crew, and other haberdasheries if you’re looking for tailored goods - Hat’s on the belfry is a great hat shop for all sexes in Fell’s Point. Target is located on the East side of the city in the expanding Canton neighborhood, and more shops have been added over the last 4 years. There are great corner store markets, and some shoppers enjoy organic options offered from Whole Food’s in Harbor East. There is a lot more than I’ve named and there is something for everyone out there. If shopping isn’t your thing, there are plenty of neighborhood bars, seafood eateries, brunch spots, and high end dining options. If you’re looking for family friendly spots there are plenty scattered throughout the Inner Harbor and the residing neighborhoods. Not only is there great shopping there is world-class entertainment venues and more parks than most cities I’ve visited.

As for the entertainment side, the famous historic Hippodrome is a great spot to check out Broadway plays, or prepare for a night out at the Royal Farm’s area and see big name artists as they play in a remodeled arena; but, there is so much more! You can visit Ram’s Head Live! And see many bands year round in a much smaller area than DC’s 9:30 Club with unrestricted views of your favorite musicians or enjoy a concert overlooking the harbor at the MECU (formerly Pier 6) pavilion. Aforementioned sports in this city are played as some of the best examples of stadiums in the US. The Orioles at Camden Yards is consistently rated as one of the best stadiums to visit and the Baltimore Raven’s M&T Bank is a gem in itself. If you’re not about loud music and sports there is a multitude of museums and art exhibits - the Walter’s has one of the largest free collections I’ve ever seen. Or if you’re into street art, Graffiti Lane is a cool spot to see. ”

Someone named William at https://www.bestplaces.net/comments/viewcomment.aspx?id=E2864B95-262B-4692-849A-719AC3EFDBE5&city=Baltimore_md&p=52404000

June 27, 2019

How Google manipulates voters--Dr. Robert Epstein

A Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on Google and its censorship policy. Google’s public policy and government affairs vice president testified during the first part of the hearing. Witnesses in the second panel included Andy Parker, father of Alison Parker, who was killed during a live TV broadcast, and Dennis Prager a conservative commentator, who claimed that Google and YouTube sought to restrict or remove his video content.

In 2020 all Big Tech are going all out to Democrats and there will be no way to trace it.  Dr. Robert Epstein was a strong Clinton supporter in 2016, but is concerned that Google, Facebook and Twitter are manipulating the voter on a massive scale. Silicon Valley millionaires control our elections. Alphabet (parent of Google) was Clinton's #1 financial supporter.

Between 2.6 million and 10.4 million votes were manipulated in 2016.  No paper trail.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4808035/googles-election

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4808464/dr-robert-epstein-recommends-private-search-engines-startpagecom-amp-duckduckgo-us-senate

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4808140/closing-statement-google-election-meddling

Epstein recommends private search engines Startpage.com & DuckDuckGo in U.S. Senate testimony about Google.  I use DuckDuckGo.

The signs of Lakeside

These signs are political, but those who host them in front of their cottages refuse to call them that. For thousands of years the sign of the rainbow was about God's covenant with Noah, a reminder of His faithfulness. In recent years it's lost that meaning as it has been politicized and used for the LGBTQ agenda. When CEOs or college presidents are fired for saying “all lives matter,” which is Jesus’ message, when business people who believe in God’s plan for marriage are sued or threatened, when the science doesn’t matter and isn't real if it’s biology instead of climate, then, yes, the message is political.

 I am pro-life, which is also Biblical, which is loving our weakest and most helpless neighbor, but if I had a poster of an aborted baby or a pro-life message in front of my Lakeside cottage, someone would be offended and say abortion is a political issue.

 

There's not much in that first sign that is Biblical.   Women are glorified in the Bible--Mary, the mother of God, the women disciples who were the first to tell the Good News to doubting men,  the Proverbs 31  woman, the women who either saved or raised Moses--not much about "rights" at all--only service to others and to God, especially procreation,  and not promoting oneself as special.

All science is based on God's  truth, not fantasy, carbon taxes, and red tape to strangle business. The Bible does promote biology as truth, and not a word that humans control earth's destiny--except as caretakers. All lives matter to Jesus, but that phrase can get you fired if you say it.

Yes, we have no life without water, Lake Erie was formed by a melting glacier as the earth warmed. There are many images of water, God's covenant with Noah--the first rainbow--baptism, crossing the Red Sea, the River Jordan, etc. that are Biblical, but on this sign water has no Biblical meaning.

Serendipity strikes again

When I had settled on retiring in October, 2000, I thought I might need a hobby, so I began keeping a small notebook in my purse to write in at the Caribou Coffee Shop on Lane Avenue in Upper Arlington where I stopped before going to work at the Veterinary Medicine Library at Ohio State University.  Because of the new millennium, the 2000 motif was everywhere, so my little notebook made in China, was “Year 2000 Tribute Millenium Series.”  As I would go through the paper—usually the Columbus Dispatch or Wall St. Journal, I’d jot down things that interested me—group meetings, movies, book reviews, special events, musical groups, recipes, web sites, conversations overheard—just about anything.  I had never heard of blogs at that time (not sure they existed), but that notebook was the start of my blog.

I had forgotten where I put the notebook, but a few minutes ago I was looking for something in my desk and there it was.  On September 22, 2000, I had jotted down “Almost Famous,” a movie with 4 stars. “Fictional account of Cameron Crowe’s teen years with Rolling Stones," I wrote.  Lennox 24, 4:50. Patrick Fugit (17) plays the 15 year old William Miller.”  Then I added later—“very good, saw 9/22/00.”  I had apparently flipped the notebook over and was writing on the verso of pages I’d filled earlier in the year.

Anyway, to make a short story long, I thought, “I wonder what happened to Patrick Fugit.  I recalled he was a very good actor in that movie.  In fact, the whole movie was good.

Internet search:  Found him.  His latest movie—wait for it—is “Robert the Bruce” which was just released last month in Scotland.

Cast: Jared Harris, Zach McGowan, Emma Kenney, Melora Walters, Talitha Eliana Bateman, Anna Hutchison, Patrick Fugit, Kevin McNally, Gabriel Bateman, Angus Macfadyen, Mhairi Calvey, Diarmaid Murtagh, Shane Coffey, Anthony J. Sharpe, Gianni Capaldi.

 

Patrick in 2000

Patrick in 2019

Happy Birthday, Carol

Happy 82nd birthday to my sister Carol who died in 1996 at 58. We still miss you. Photo is 1989 with her daughter and son. Last year 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, and was one of the "number please" voices back when our home phone was 59-L. Although her primary career was in nursing with a degree from Goshen College, she did own a dress shop in Bradenton, FL, for large size women.
 
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 in 1949 and struggled with many health issues, but cared for many as a home health nurse in her last years.

Nunes: There is collusion between Russia and the Democratic Party

Here’s a summary of how we got to yesterday’s circus.

https://youtu.be/LFDnuMAT66U

The DNC, the Clinton campaign, the foreign spy and the Trump haters within the Obama administration and deep state.

Blogger writes about Lakeside and the popsicle vendor

This is a nice blog about Lakeside, and although I noticed the popsicle guy at the Farmer's Market, I didn't stop. Great story.
https://brucestambaugh.com/2019/07/22/theres-always-a-pleasant-surprise-at-lakeside-ohio/

"Derek was 30-years-old. His two nieces, ages seven and 12, live with him. A judge gave him custody of the girls when their mother sadly fell victim to the pandemic opioid crisis. The court decided Derek, their uncle, was the best suitable relative to care for the young girls.

The pair helps Derek make the icy treats, and even suggest the unusual flavors and ingredients. In addition to farmers markets, Derek is hired for special events and wedding receptions.

Derek got the mobile icy pop idea from seeing similar operations in large cities that he visited. He thought, “Why not here?”

Besides his business, Derek works two other jobs to make ends meet."

Soviet anti-American propaganda

is now just standard left wing drivel we hear every day.

“The Soviets had an entire “active measures” department devoted to churning out anti-American dezinformatsiya...

Here are some of the most important of the Soviet Union’s memetic weapons...

✔ There is no truth, only competing agendas.

✔ All Western (and especially American) claims to moral superiority over Communism/Fascism/Islam are vitiated by the West’s history of racism and colonialism.

✔ There are no objective standards by which we may judge one culture to be better than another. Anyone who claims that there are such standards is an evil oppressor.

✔ The prosperity of the West is built on ruthless exploitation of the Third World; therefore Westerners actually deserve to be impoverished and miserable.

✔ Crime is the fault of society, not the individual criminal. Poor criminals are entitled to what they take. Submitting to criminal predation is more virtuous than resisting it.

✔ The poor are victims. Criminals are victims. Only victims are virtuous. Therefore only the poor and criminals are virtuous. (Rich people can borrow some virtue by identifying with poor people and criminals.)

✔ For a virtuous person, violence and war are never justified. It is always better to be a victim than to fight, or even to defend oneself. Oppressed people are allowed to use violence; they are merely reflecting the evil of their oppressors.

✔ When confronted with terror, the only moral course for a Westerner is to apologize for past sins, understand the terrorist’s point of view, and make concessions.

We have become all too familiar with these principles as the years go on and we see them demonstrated by the left time and again.

Most were staples of Soviet propaganda at the same time they were being promoted by “progressives” (read: Marxists and the dupes of Marxists) within the Western intelligentsia...

This worked exactly as expected; their memes seeped into Western popular culture and are repeated endlessly in (for example) the products of Hollywood.

Indeed, the index of Soviet success is that most of us no longer think of these memes as Communist propaganda. It takes a significant amount of digging and rethinking and remembering, even for a lifelong anti-Communist like myself, to realize that there was a time (within the lifetime of my parents) when all of these ideas would have seemed alien, absurd, and repulsive to most people - at best, the beliefs of a nutty left-wing fringe, and at worst instruments of deliberate subversion intended to destroy the American way of life.

The most paranoid and xenophobic conservatives of the Cold War were, painful though this is to admit, the closest to the truth in estimating the magnitude and subtlety of Soviet subversion.”

Moses Lambert

Lillian Boxfish takes a walk

Just finished "Lillian Boxfish takes a walk," by Kathleen Rooney (2017). It's a novel inspired by the life and work of Margaret Fishback who wrote ads for Macy's in mid-20th c. and was a published poet in her own right. I have no idea how old Rooney is (40-ish?), but she awfully good at speaking in the voice of an 85 year old. She's written a lot of books--I might be willing to try another one. Her method of telling Lillian's life story through a walk in Manhattan on New Year's Eve 1984 was fascinating. So if you need some more summer (or book club) reading, I recommend this title.

Guy's Club detour

Bob and Dan (our nephew) rode in a car instead of a boat last Wednesday for Guy's Club.  Had a great perch sandwich.  Joan and I went to the Bluebird and had lunch near the water.

Moon landing

The real "love it or leave it" is in the religion of woke

Amy Wax a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania was invited to speak on racial equality at Bucknell University, a small private school founded by Baptists in the 19th century. The campus religion there is now the Church of Woke, and they are scary fundamentalists. These rituals which are also performed at other colleges followed that announcement, according to Prof. Alexander Riley, in "Woke Totemism," First Things, Aug/Sept. 2019.

• The faculty email list exploded with vituperative attacks on her.
• Her works were characterized in scatological terms.
• The abusive language was justified as the prerogative of marginalized minority groups.
• White supremacy has excluded minorities from discourse in the past was the reason.
• Wax's published writings are the equivalent of a swastika or a burning cross.
• Students who invited her are fascists who could be violent and assault students of color.
• Departments sponsoring her lecture were denounced and one rescinded its contribution due to pressure
• Trauma counseling was suggested for students and faculty harmed by her lecture
• Faculty were encouraged to attend a conference on the state of being white as a grave threat to American democracy.

https://www.firstthings.com/article/2019/08/woke-totemism

And he goes on to explain the emotional, physical and superstitions of Woke Totemism based on Emile Durkeim's description of primitive religions and compares classic totemism with today's rituals of multiculturalism.

The virtuous victim (the members of the cult) may outwardly appear similar to Christ on the Cross, but they lack saving power or the will to do good. And this church will only get more shrill and angry.

Of garage door and paint brushes, bursitis and AC

We’re in Columbus with a long to-do list.  I dug around in my files and got out my physical therapy charts for bursitis exercises from 2014. Managing all the stairs in the house is tricky—but I did find my folding  cane.

The van needs an oil change and a good cleaning of the seal around the rims because the tires are leaking. So I’ll need to make an appointment during my exercise routine.  At 5:30 a.m. I went out to buy milk and orange juice and noticed the roads were being blocked, and then Giant Eagle didn’t open until 6 a.m. so I went to Get Go and got what I needed, and while returning home (in the dark) found still more blocked streets.

When we tried to leave for church we discovered the roads were blocked because of a bicycle race and it was almost impossible to go west, but finally found an area with police directing traffic, but for probably the second time in our lives, we were late to church. I sat in the last row thinking I wouldn’t have to walk (limp) to our usual pew, but was fooled again since it was communion Sunday and I had to walk all the way to the front anyway.  I skipped kneeling—figured I’d never get back up!
Leaving for our SALT group meeting at noon (lunch and Bible study) we discovered that the garage door wouldn’t go down.  This had happened a few weeks ago and our son-in-law fixed it, but he’s at the lake.  Bob called, and he told him what to do.

Our furnace was to be repaired this week, but there were 3 messages on the answering machine that the price for the part had gone up and did we still want to do it?  Of course, you can’t reach them on the week-end. Meanwhile, we can only run the AC either full blast or off, so it’s on until it gets cold and we shut it all down.

But huge tragedy—Bob seems to have left several of his favorite watercolor brushes at the Rhein Center where he was teaching on Thursday, and didn’t notice it until we got to Columbus.  He’s had those brushes over 50 years, they are top quality and would cost a fortune to replace.  We’re hoping they didn’t get mixed into the general supply of brushes purchased at Wal-Mart for the kids’ classes.
One thing worked out.  I had 3 empty honey jars, and on our way home from SALT, we stopped buy Steve’s home, turned in the jars and got 2 jars of honey.

And our daughter just called and said the 20” stove we had sitting on the porch at Lakeside has been sold.  I had a sign tacked to the telephone pole, a man saw the stove, knocked on the door and asked jokingly if this was the Thompson cottage (people we bought from in 1988).  Frank Thompson was a well known figure in Lakeside and taught generations of children how to swim—including the buyer. He’s going to move it in his golf cart.

Support for communism with our tax breaks

"Over the next several weeks, from late July through early August 2019, a little-known pilgrimage of American radicals will take place. The Venceremos Brigade, a group that traces its history to the far-Left activism of the late 1960s, will be making its 50th anniversary trip to Cuba in order to labor in solidarity with that country’s communist government. Though the size, structure, and organization of its activities have changed somewhat over the decades, the Brigade still retains its affinity for Cuba’s authoritarian socialist society and its disdain for U.S. foreign policy. And today, it operates as a project of a multi-million dollar 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization [Alliance for Global Justice] with financial ties across the mainstream center-Left."  https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-venceremos-brigade-fifty-years-of-cuban-solidarity/

It seems there is no end to the misuse of the 501c3 classification of "nonprofit."

“Alliance for Global Justice supports numerous leftist causes with it's 501c3 status and "in recent years it has received grants from numerous labor unions like the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers, and the SEIU, as well as other 501(c)(3) nonprofits like the Proteus Fund, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and the Tides Foundation."

These organizations/labor unions all support Communism this way.

Recalling the old fans for hot Hoover nights

On Facebook, Dee Grindley recalled how we got those old fans which have been brought out this week because of the heat. We and our guests took some from our shelves for the Elvia show, plus the ushers were passing some out provided by a local hospice.

“I ordered the first fans from J W Cleary Co., Cols., Oh. (Mike Cleary now has 3 cottages in Lakeside) to raise money for the ’Friends Network” for the infrastruction repairs to Hotel Lakeside. We sold them in the beginning for 50 cents ea. Ordered a better quality (one with picture of Hotel) and sold for $1.00 each. Ted led the ”sales force” at the entrance of Hoover. He held the sales record selling more than 500 on a steamy hot Sat. Night when the OSU Band was appearing. After we ceased our fund raising effort, the Association ordered fans in bulk to use . The late Dorothy Knight helped me immensely with this project. It was fun and productive. Each dime earned was sorely needed to help restore the Hotel. Dee Grindley/”

Investments in early childhood nutrition

Recently it's been reported that use of a nutritional supplement in children (pre-natal through 2 years) has had a remarkable affect on their adulthood--intelligence, physical stature, etc.

"The Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama developed a protein-energy supplement (Atole) and a protein-free control supplement (Fresco), which were offered to pregnant women and young children in four villages; two matched villages each. The investigators followed up 1139 (69%) of 1661 traceable participants from an original cohort of 2392 children enrolled in 1969–77."

This isn't the first or last time we'll see women and children in 3rd world and developing countries used as lab specimens. Many studies are never reported because of negative outcomes or poor designs. Birth control pills were developed and tested this way, and God only knows what long term effects that had on African women and later women on welfare who were the original guinea pigs back in the 1960s. Vitamin supplementation and vaccines were other products tested by pharmaceutical companies in developing countries before being marketed to the west.

However, although most moms are not dieticians or scientists, I think we could have figured out in 1969 (when my children were little) that providing one child with protein while depriving the other, one might see a difference in brain, muscle, skeletal, and intelligence development.

I have great respect for the author of this article, but strongly disagree with the casual way the study was done on which the costs are based.

 https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/child-nutrition-increased-global-investment-by-bjorn-lomborg-2019-07

Here is an earlier description from 2018. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(18)30308-5/fulltext

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5001437/

Lakeside 2019, Columbus Zoo Animals and Suzi Rapp

Family night on Wednesday at Lakeside was enjoyable for all--Suzi Rapp from the Columbus Zoo showcased animals and also showed clips from TV shows which feature the work of the zoo personnel, OSU vets, and the animals. Her explanation of the Cheetah conservation work was very interesting. They won't raise a singleton--in their fragile environment with so many predators, it's not worth the investment of the mom's time and energy, so sometimes the zoo receives a rejected baby to raise. Also the Cheetah has a her own yellow Lab to keep her happy and calm(er). She also did an afternoon show.

Photo by Kevin Sibbring, Lakeside president, who went to elementary school with Rapp in Upper Arlington.

Does Omar envision a New Somalia?

In the new nation that Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota seeks to create, the "capitalist system" will be left behind in pursuit of a "fair and just economy" where the federal government guarantees everybody jobs, housing, health care and free abortions.
How can we know this? She has declared it in writing.

https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/terence-p-jeffrey/omar-end-capitalist-system-guarantee-jobs-housing-medicare-and-abortion?

Democrats endanger lives of illegal immigrants and cheat the legal ones

Based on Census data (ACS) there are about 44.5 million immigrants in the U.S., or about 13.7% of the population. (That number doesn't include foreign born here for other reasons.) Unlike Ilhan Omar, immigrants and children of immigrants are usually among the most patriotic of all Americans--especially if the stories of WWII or the Gulag or the Disappeared have been passed down. By far, immigrants are the most eager to take advantage of our property rights and free markets--something they probably weren't allowed in their country of birth.

Recently, the terms immigrant and "illegal immigrant" have been deliberately morphed although they are very different. Even finding unbiased statistical data is difficult because of slanted meanings of words. But that number gives you an idea why Democrats are rewarding illegal immigrants at the expense of the legal ones waiting and paying high legal fees and the refugees already given numbers to enter (45,000 a year). It's a numbers game for federal money, political power and electoral votes.
They are also putting the illegal immigrants at risk for trafficking, health, employment and education problems, plus 5-10 years down the road they still won't be legal but their children will be causing great stress in families. True refugees are required to apply for a green card to become a permanent resident after one year in the United States. After five years of residency, they become eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. That is not the case for the catch and release, reward the coyotes system for those who fade into the general population.

Getting to know you better

The "gang of 4" claim to love America and stand for her values (which no one seems to agree on). If they were acquaintances you met through an on-line dating service, that's what they might have said in the promo/ad. You know--"looking for love, quiet walks and talks, sexy, smart and woke."

Then when you had a face to face meeting, they began suggesting your clothing wasn't appropriate for the event, that there was a mustard stain on your outfit, and your hairstyle was sort of redneck. Well, OK, all that's superficial, so you try a second date, new venue more to their liking.
Now they start in on your family, your weight, your church and your level of education. Shouldn't you be eating vegan or gluten free; do you really need dessert? Why do you read the Bible? You live in that ZIP code? You grit your teeth and smile because you know this is the "one" all your friends say is so terrific.

Third date, they suggest that because of the distance between you, maybe they could just leave a few items at your apartment--some clothes, cosmetics, and maybe pet food, but they've never mentioned that the pet isn't a dog, it's a wolf. Maybe you were slow to catch on, maybe you were too lonely and needy, but hey, you're not stupid. You excuse yourself to go to the rest room and never come back to the table.