New Orleans jazz like the old days

This should wake you up--sleeting here in Columbus (Dec. 17), so I'll probably stay in or go out after the salt trucks pass by. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZdMxFiUf9Q Name of group of street musicians is "Tuba Skinny" http://tubaskinny.com/

One of the viewers of Jackson Stomp wrote: "I started playing jazz in 1952. In recent years I have feared that the music would die out with my generation; you can't imagine how I feel too hear these young people doing their stuff. Not only do they have technique to spare but they play with passion and a real feel for the music. There are lots of copyists of the NO style but this is the real thing."

The trio of clarinet, cornet and trombone are the bomb. Craig Flory, clarinet, Shaye Cohn, cornet, Barnabus Jones, trombone, Erika Lewis drum and voice, Todd Burdick, tuba, Jason Lawrence, banjo. (On one list). Max Bien-Kahn, guitar & banjo; Greg Sherman, guitar & vocals; Robin Rapuzzi, washboard. (On another list)

Get ready for the New Year’s goal weight

Are you getting ready for your New Year's Resolution on weight? Take a look at this NIH tracker/planner. Has some nice features and it isn't preachy.  Since Phil has been ill I’ve put on about 10 lbs from stress eating. So I looked at the nice little tracker and chose 180 days and about 12 pounds. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/bwp  By the end of February I should be at 145.7 lbs.  Maybe my slacks will fit better by then.

This article suggests eating most of your calories over a 10 hour period instead of 14 to maintain weight. https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2019/12/10/why-when-you-eat-might-be-as-important-as-what-you-eat/

James Comey wouldn’t make it through library school

"James Comey has finally admitted some “sloppiness” over the surveillance warrant for former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. The former FBI director should re-read Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report because it lays out a record of willful incuriosity about Christopher Steele and his dossier that is hard to credit as mere incompetence." WSJ editorial board, "The incredibly incurious Mr. Comey."

In my profession (librarian), curiosity is what drove us there, paid the bills and took us home; can't imagine an FBI director with zip, nada, zilch curiosity, but there we have it. A librarian without curiosity and some problem solving skills wouldn't have made it through the first year of graduate school.

Snow blindness question

Dear Dr. Toole,

I’m a retired OSU librarian, and receive the Ohio State OSU Health Beat daily. Although it’s an interesting blog/aggregator/prepackaged digital publication, I think it’s a little sloppy on its research and links. It cites health articles from Reader’s Digest which has used articles from newspapers with no links or citations, or CNN, for instance.

Today it had an index summary of an article on snow blindness, and it refers the reader to a contracted commercial aggregator site, HealthDay, Dec. 15 which it often sites. In that article it credits, but doesn’t link to, a Wexner Medical article of Dec. 5. My concern was that the large photo accompanying the article was of 2 adult skiers, a man and woman, with a baby on the man’s back. The 2 adults had on sunglasses and the baby didn’t. The article explained in some detail the damage to eyes caused by bright sunlight and snow. It’s the first thing I noticed, and thought it was a little odd. So I decided I would try to find the original article. I googled as much as I knew—produced at OSU in December. There I found your name and an article on an inhouse  blog, December 3, https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/snow-blindness. From that I went to the staff directory. From that I went to your vitae. I see a lot of your articles concern children. So here’s my question, which should have been answered at the first link I went to at OSU Health Beat; Is it safe for young babies to be out skiing in the bright sunlight without proper sunglasses-- "Blocks 100% UV-A and UV-B," or "UV400."?

Also, because OSU has its own reliable articles for the layman on health topics (as yours was written), wouldn’t it be better and more authoritative for OSU Health Beat to cite those articles with a link rather than a commercial health cite that has further reduced the level of research providing no link. If HealthDay was able to find your article, why couldn’t the OSU staff?

https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/-/media/Files/WexnerMedical/OSU%20HealthBeat/2019/12/MB-121719

https://optometry.osu.edu/directory/faculty/andrew-toole

https://consumer.healthday.com/eye-care-information-13/eye-and-vision-problem-news-295/snow-blindness-a-wintry-danger-752853.html

https://blog.quiet.ly/industry/aggregators-vs-traditional-publishers/

Wealth, income and living standards—not the same

"The humblest working-class American today enjoys a standard of living and an array of amenities and comforts — from air travel to contact lenses to overnight package delivery — far superior to most of what even a billionaire like John D. Rockefeller could have commanded a century ago." Don Boudreaux, George Mason University, via Jeff Jacoby.

Ask anyone my age about this. After WWII my parents moved from their comfortable 2 bedroom 1 bath home in Mt. Morris to Forreston for dad's job with Standard Oil.  It was a farmhouse on the west end of town, 4 bedrooms, no bathroom (had an outhouse), and a hand pump for cold water in the kitchen. I'm sure my mother was horrified with 4 children, but it was 1946 and a lot of people were in the same situation. She rolled up her sleeves and learned carpentry and plumbing and we soon had a functioning bathroom and kitchen. A year later we moved to a nicer home with 1.5 baths, beautiful wood work, and a nice office for my father.  The economy was booming, and we were moving on up.

What market economics does not do . . .

https://www.thebalance.com/market-economy-characteristics-examples-pros-cons-3305586

Market economics does not hold that money is all that matters. . .

Market economics does not hold that the world would be perfect if only government stays out of the way. . .

Market economics does not hold that consumers, workers, investors, and entrepreneurs are fully informed and never prone to error or to personal irresponsibility. . .

Market economics does not assume that markets are perfectly competitive and that prices, wages, and interest rates adjust instantaneously.

Market economics does not assume that all foreign governments avoid imposing tariffs and paying subsidies that affect economic activity in the home country.

Market economics does not assume that workers displaced from jobs instantaneously find new jobs at pay equal to or higher than these workers earned in their former jobs.

Market economics does not assume that tax cuts are a miracle elixir, or that current taxes should be cut irrespective of the level of government spending.

Market economics neither discounts the value of work nor denies that people find meaning and dignity in their jobs. . .

https://granitegrok.com/blog/2019/12/notable-quote-prof-don-boudreaux-10  for a longer explanation.

Why do Democrats post Hitler memes?

I've got liberal Facebook Friends who keep posting Hitler memes instead of the truth, which just shows they

• don't know much about biology,
• don't know much about history,
• don't know much about geography,
• don't know about the French they took.

They think France and Poland, England and Holland where jumping the border running into German; they seem to think Germany's economy was booming; they don't know that Hitler disarmed and killed his own citizens.  The President loves Israel and is saving babies and the elderly.  That just doesn’t sound like Hitler.

And they seem to be clueless about Stalin and Mao. Poor, pitiful leftists.

Rudeness is in the eye of the listener

Interesting morning at the fitness palace today. Someone described his very large dog--about 200 lbs--who ate four pounds, yes pounds, not sticks, of butter that had been put out for Christmas baking. So far, only one really bad mess (I think there will be more).

Then my friend, Joanne, and I were catching up on the treadmill after she'd been gone a few weeks. The guy on the treadmill next to her said very loudly into his phone that he couldn't hear the person he was talking to (loudly) because the people next to him were talking! Since I was saying something extremely important to my friend, I just leaned over and said to him. "And you think you're not talking too loud?"

It's not unusual to hear people on cell phones complaining about other people talking (not on their phones) talking too loud.

Daddy date

Caleb, our great nephew and his daughters Halli and Kali making a gingerbread house.

  

Your future is better if you have a toilet

Maybe if more men knew about the problems women have with sanitation and hygiene, fewer of them would be conflicted about their sexuality. https://www.wsscc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/We-Can’t-Wait-A-report-on-sanitation-and-hygiene-for-women-and-girls-WSSCC-WaterAid-Unilever-2013.pdf

"Women and girls living without any toilets spend 97 billion hours each year finding a place to go" and even in developed and western countries it can be a challenge.  Our church supports the collection of hygiene products for school girls and homeless women. Teachers have told me about teens who skip school because they don’t have sanitary products.

This is an interesting report on sanitation and hygiene, particularly as it affects women.  Good graphics.

The benefits of acne

This sounds like a bad joke, but when you think about it, it sort of makes sense. . . Acne as a teen predicts success.

"We use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to investigate the association between having acne in middle to high school and subsequent educational and labor market outcomes. We find that having acne is strongly positively associated with overall grade point average in high school, grades in high school English, history, math, and science, and the completion of a college degree. We also find evidence that acne is associated with higher personal labor market earnings for women. We further explore a possible channel through which acne may affect education and earnings."

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/701436

Media leaks and persecution

This story has a little age--3 years almost--but it's important to remember which president has really been mean and nasty to journalists--Barack Obama. https://theblacksphere.net/2017/02/media-silence-obama-stunning-record-prosecution-journalists/

I looked it up because the Committee to Protect Journalists found at least 250 journalists in 2019 in jail in relation to their work globally. None by Trump. Obama went after leakers big time; Trump not so much and the White House leaked like a sieve. Journalists didn't like it during the Obama years, but it brings in the gold for them in this administration.

https://freedom.press/news/obama-used-espionage-act-put-record-number-reporters-sources-jail-and-trump-could-be-even-worse/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/06/08/trump-rages-about-leakers-obama-quietly-prosecuted-them/

Code words—Constitution and Democracy

The reason we're hearing so often those words rarely ever uttered by a Democrat--Constitution and Democracy--is because they are smart enough to see the hypocrisy of saying Trump asked Ukraine for help for political reasons not policy, when they are trying to impeach Trump for political reasons not policy.

But in fact, the President was following up on corruption--Joe Biden had admitted in public on camera involvement in a quid pro quo and got someone in another government fired in exchange for money. It's part of the president's job to look into that. On the other hand, the House Democrats are trying to impeach Trump for the sin/crime of winning the election in 2016 and defeating their candidate in the electoral college. From the pink hat marchers to Maxine shouting at rallies to investigating endlessly a porn star, they have been political. They have no crimes. Theirs is political, Trump's was not. The IG report shows that all the collusion was on the part of the DNC, the Obama administration and the media.

That said, Trump is allowed to be political, and so is the partisan Congress. The Democrats can impeach him because they hate him, and for no other reason--they can twist that to high crimes and misdemeanors--it just makes a mockery of the system.

Christmas cheer

I received the most delightful Christmas letter today from a friend with ALS. She is focusing on living, not dying. She's so thankful to be in her specially equipped home with home health aides and doing ordinary things we take for granted like attending church and shopping and getting her hair styled because she was in nursing care for awhile after aspiration pneumonia.

Her friends visit, call, send cards, bring gifts and send flowers, and her husband is with her.

Thanks for an uplifting message, old friend.

What’s for dinner?

You can be married almost 60 years and still be surprised. I offered 2 leftover choices--chili or pork roast with gravy and biscuits. I thought sure I'd get the chili, but I was wrong. . .

There was no bias.

The IG report says there was no bias in the FBI's methods and behavior. Whatever. But it also says the Obama administration was spying on the Trump campaign and using a fake dossier pushed by the Clinton/DNC operatives to get a FISA warrant which was then used improperly.  Seventeen major mistakes (and many more smaller ones), and all made by Democrats.  But there was no bias.

Now maybe that's no bias, but someone owes Trump an apology for the grotesque lies they told. Someone needs to apologize for deceiving the entire country with the media's help. Someone needs to apologize for putting us through this mess for 3 years in their "no bias" campaign to undo the 2016 election and steal the votes of 60,000,000 people. Schiff and Pelosi come to mind--no bias, of course.

But this all began during the Obama administration and he set the whole thing in motion. Yes, the election was interfered with, but it was coming from the White House led by the most powerful man in the world, and that isn't Putin.

What a sweet grandma story!

I saw this on Facebook.  I’ve “known” Carol since 2003 as a blogger.

“Our week of babysitting the two youngest grandgirls ends tonight. One more car rider line pickup at school this afternoon, one more homework-dinner-bath/pajama time this evening - and then their parents should arrive back home right at bedtime - which means that later tonight I'll drive back to my home and sleep in my own bed for the first time since Sunday night over a week ago. What a wonderful week it has been! Snuggle and reading time with each girl individually at bedtime has been especially tender. And bedtime prayers, too. Last night they put on an original farewell song-and-dance production for me that was both entertaining and sweet! I'm so proud of the wonderful way our son and DIL are raising their precious girls. Both girls are strong, smart, sweet, confident, and beautiful. This week reminded me so much of the times I babysat Lily and Sophie when they were younger. And I know that my days of being needed as a babysitter are numbered. Children grow up so quickly!”

51,312 abortions 2017-2018

What Warren Buffet gave through his foundation in 2001-2012 paid for 2.7 million abortions. One of the reasons he was able to complain about his low taxes (said his tax rate was lower than his secretary's) is that his taxes were reduced by these "donations." So we helped pay for the abortions he wanted.

No gulags; no death camps; no gas chambers; no lynching. Just financing abortions.

https://www.lifenews.com/2019/12/10/warren-buffet-foundation-spent-77-million-on-abortion-enough-to-kill-220000-babies-in-abortions/

You go girl—Nikki Haley

Usually I don't reply to party, candidate or non-profit surveys--they are always an appeal for money. But yesterday I got one for Republican something or other with Nikki Haley's name as the headliner. So I filled out the survey, added some money, then an orange sticky note,

"Nikki Haley for President 2024."
Three term SC House; Governor SC 2011-2017; Ambassador to UN 2017-2018. Graduate of Clemson; experience in business; active in civic affairs. Parents are both immigrants from India. Wife and mother of 2. She has stated, "I'm not pro-life because the Republican Party tells me, I'm pro-life because all of us have had experiences of what it means to have one of these special little ones in our life." She was rejected for a child beauty contest because she didn't "fit" in the black or white categories for SC which had 2 contests. You've come a long way, Nikki.

Are needy people losing SNAP?

Have you heard your Democrat friends (if you still have any) howling or posting memes about 700,000 people losing food stamp (SNAP) benefits? Actually millions have come off Food Stamps because of Trump's improving economy, but we'll have to fight that later. The October poverty report was amazing.

“The change is limited to able-bodied adults without dependents, so you don't need to envision little AOC crying with no food after daddy died.

There are currently 3 million such people—able bodied adults with no children--receiving food stamp benefits. The overwhelming majority have zero employment and earnings.

Under the rule, some recipient able-bodied adults without dependents who have received aid for more than three months would be required to take a job; if a job is not immediately available, recipients would be required to undertake training, perform community service work, or at least look for a job.
The reform is quite modest: Two-thirds of all recipient able-bodied adults without dependents are exempt from the requirements.”

This sounds a lot like the welfare reform of the mid-1990s. Able body adults need to work for their own self-esteem and work experience so they can move ahead.

https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/12/08/the-truth-about-the-new-food-stamp-work-requirements-effects/?

I admit, having worked in a jobs program for JPTA in the 1980s, I know there are people who will NEVER be eligible in a meaningful way for work.  We will need to support them the rest of their lives.  You wouldn’t want them near you, either stocking shelves or emptying bed pans. Jobs today can be terribly complex, even checking numbers on a clip board.