A tribute to women on Day 3

Day 3 of the RNC convention coincided with the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and women’s constitutional right to vote.  So there were many tributes.  Let me say, I’ve never been that impressed with how women have used that right.  Particularly women in Congress.  They’ve pushed for killing the unborn; many have eschewed marriage; some have denied the importance of fathers and have denigrated men, who they outlive and women enjoy better health outcomes; women in Congress have insisted on affirmative action, yet want outsized government protection using the federal government like a step-father for their children. But the planners of the RNC convention really did give me a more positive view.  With the national right to vote (women were already voting in local and state elections in 1920) some women used it as a psychological boost even if they misused (in my opinion) their powerful vote.

It’s always been my opinion that it was the 19th century when American women were in their glory fighting for the rights of others and themselves.  They moved a nation with the BIG THREE—may American women someday live up to the expectations of those brave, strong women.

• Temperance, the fight to live without the scourge of addiction to alcohol,
• Abolition, the fight to end slavery in the United State, and
• Suffrage, the fight for women to be able to vote in federal elections.

A hymn to our collective mothers—birth, foster, adoptive and mentors

Faith of our  mothers, living yet
in cradle song and bedtime prayer,
In nurs’ry love and fireside love,
Your presence still pervades the air:
Faith of our mothers, living faith,
We will be true to you till death.

Faith of our mothers, lavish faith,
The fount of childhood’s trust and grace,
O may your consecration prove
The wellspring of a nobler race:
Faith of our mothers, lavish faith,
We will be true to you till death.

(A. B. Patton, public domain)

What else should Trump have done?

We spent a lot of time the 3rd week in February in ICU with our son, and there were no Covid19 protections then and visitors wandered in and out with no problem. The only hint there was a problem was a sign in the waiting area that if one had traveled to China recently, to wear an (optional) mask. There were visitors in his room almost around the clock--none of us wore masks. Even for normal infections, it was terribly casual. This was 3 weeks after Trump announced closing travel to China. And now the Democrat Mafia want to make it about his leadership (constitutional authority he doesn't have). Any excuse to cover for their duplicity and bigotry.

The voter drive among medical professions

The Ohio State College of Medicine's Department of Family and Community Medicine and the medical center’s Anti-Racism Action Plan Policy and Advocacy Action Group are partnering with VoteHealth2020 for a workshop on raising voter awareness to increase participation in the election. This is naive and manipulative.

The Trump Administration has probably been the most proactive in assisting minorities, and has actually accomplished something in areas long neglected (but incessantly talked about) by other administrations in the areas of employment opportunity, prison reform, and education. Because Trump is an outsider to both parties, when the businessman accustomed to achieving looked around and said--"this hasn't been working for 50 years, let's do something, let's fast track something, let's get rid of the dead wood of socialist promises," he's been called a racist.

Will an event planned by an entity called an Anti-Racism Action Plan Policy and Advocacy Action Group even welcome Trump supporters? Will they want more Trump supporters to vote? Are there any conservatives or Republicans in this group, or is diversity just another word for skin color? I wanted to know.

So I looked up the VoteHealth2020 board composition, for ethnicity, education, experience in medicine, political sensitivities and how it could relate to the voting public. Based on the photos and surnames, and a brief bio of each one, I'd say 9 members of the team are Asian Indian, [the wealthiest and most educated minority group in the U.S]. The one black female was born in Ghana, one other female appears to be Japanese ancestry, and one white male might be of Spanish ethnicity. In popular jargon, these are POC, people of color, because they are certainly not African American or that jumble of nationalities we refer to as Hispanic. Only one person on the board has a little gray in his fashionable stubble.

The publicity/marketing for this group does point out that Americans have a lower voter turn out than Western Europe and that doctors have an even lower turn out than other privileged, wealthy Americans. Yet, they don't seem to know our American history--even that of the last 2 decades. Blacks had an incredible turnout for the 2008 and 2012 elections--higher than whites in 2008, and much higher in 2012. And almost double that of Asian Americans, the people organizing the "get out the vote" group.

The Pew Research Center found that the economy (84% of respondents), terrorism (80%) and foreign policy (75%) were the top three issues on voters’ minds in 2016. That's why Trump won. Now in 2020, because of Covid19, health care has moved up, especially for Democrats who also think Trump is an important issue, but in 2016, it didn't even make the list.

Will the medical profession vote for Biden and will it be more likely to convince minorities to change their life style to reduce the problems of smoking, alcohol/drug abuse, domestic abuse, sexual promiscuity and obesity? Just like other groups, life style changes will improve many health problems. If I would lose 30 pounds, I'm sure my exercise routine would benefit. How will the doctors' or patients' voting record change their health? It won't. But they might be able to keep Trump out of the White House and get more federal money for their profession.

It’s not about change, or even revolution

If you thought BLM and ANTIFA wanted change, you are wrong. They want chaos. And here's the proof. Their riots were preceded by unprecedented change, with record low unemployment, increased college enrollment and the highest opportunity ever for minorities. That had to be destroyed.

In 2018, the combined state and federal imprisonment rate (431 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents) was the lowest since 1996.

The total imprisonment rate fell 15% from 2008 to 2018.

From 2008 to 2018, the imprisonment rate dropped 28% among black residents, 21% among Hispanic residents, and 13% among white residents.

In 2018, the imprisonment rate of black residents was the lowest since 1989.

https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p18.pdf

They are Marxists and crooks. If you believe them, you don't know history and you deserve a vacation in Venezuela and real estate in down town Portland.

The first night of RNC convention

The biggest threat to the moldy, dank and dark Democrat party platform and candidates last week is a bright light and fresh air. Watch the August 24 first night of hope, greatness and health. Our neighbor, an 88 year old widow, came across the street to watch, and we were enthralled with the pride and hope the speakers conveyed.

https://www.facebook.com/dralvedaking/videos/342998723741407/

Now its Climate Change, not a virus

So now Covid19 is about Climate Change, according to WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus And things will never go back to the way they were in 2019. No one benefits when more old people die of influenza or falls, but Covid19? Can make a lot of headway with that one.

No wonder no one complains when rioters don't wear masks. "This is where the the dot-connecting by the WHO, the United Nations, and other fanatical climate-crisis pushers comes into play. The solution to the “climate change crisis,” as they see it, can be summed up in two words: wealth redistribution. Even better in four words: massive worldwide wealth redistribution."

The more we're kept in fear and distrusting each other, the more control these power hungry people have.

https://www.redstate.com/mike_miller/2020/08/22/and-there-it-is-who-director-uses-covid-to-push-worldwide-climate-change-agenda/?

Joe Biden has saved many Black lives.

A total of 194 shooting incidents involving black victims occurred in New York City in June, a 177% increase from the 70 recorded in June 2019, according to the New York Police Department. The BLM movement and its liberal apologists in white suburbia are taking black lives, particularly young people, at an alarming rate. It sounds terrible, but the violence is still lower than in the early 1990s when the 1994 omnibus crime bill cracked down on violence, giving the states federal money for more police and equipment, and the streets of the major cities became safer by half. Violent crime rate was 757.7 per 100,000 in 1992, and 368.9 per 100,000 in 2018. That was an uptick from 361.6 in 2014.

Many people, both parties (and especially Harris and DeBlasio), have blamed Biden, who advocated for the crime bill. They don't give him credit for the thousands of black lives saved over a 30 year period, because the crime rate for blacks is about 6x higher than whites, therefore, the criminals incarcerated during those years, where not killing other black men. Also, the incarceration rate had been going up for many years before the crime bill. And "experts" (sort of like "scientists") don't agree on why the crime rate was halved. "Restorative justice" (i.e., ignore the crime based on race like the Parkland school shooting) people want to blame the law for high rates of black criminals in jail, but they don't want to credit it for saving black lives.

As Senate Judiciary chairman, Biden was a prime mover of the 1994 law, promising that "there will be fewer people murdered," and "fewer children will be turning to crime." (Politico) And he was. His efforts saved lives. But times have changed. His legacy must be denied to get him elected.

This is not to say that Joe Biden should be president for something that harmed/helped Blacks in 1994, only to say his party is a bunch of hypocrites who have so much hate for President Trump they will continue to lie, cheat and steal to get him out of office.

Why Kamala Harris?

The wealthiest ethnic groups of Americans are Asian, specifically, Indian Americans (household income $123,453). After that it's Taiwanese Americans (household income $102,328). Just for comparison, English and German American household income (my ethnicity who were here before the Revolution) is under $50,000. Even the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribal nation members have a household income higher than English and German Americans. But most whites (as Europeans are called) are not even close to Indian or Taiwanese. Indian Americans used to be grouped with "white" in these divisions until the government needed to slice and dice our ethnicities for political purposes. Whites took a "cut in pay" so to speak when the Indians were lumped with Asians.

So in a party obsessed with identity politics, why isn't Kamala Harris called an Indian American? Tamils, or Indians, the people of her mother, have a population of around 76 million and with a documented history stretching back over 2,000 years. They are one of the largest and oldest extant ethnolinguistic groups in the modern world according to Wikipedia (it's not always the best source, but it's the fastest).

Joe Biden has flip flopped on every race and sex issue in the last 40 years. He didn't need to choose Kamala Harris to satisfy Blacks--he's already announced that he owns them. He needed a "black" female to satisfy his white base, particularly women and the younger demographic. And it looks like a wealthy, privileged Indian American would have filled the bill, even if not very accurate for identity politicking. Democrats will just ignore that they have 2 of the most notorious law and order candidates (in their former lives) in recent history.

The Obama legacy

Larry Elder writes, and I agree, that in 2008, Barack Obama "got a higher % of the white vote than did Kerry in '04. Obama won with 52%, but by the time he entered office Obama's ratings stood at 67%. To show his gratitude, Obama spent his presidency and post presidency telling whites how racist they are.‬"

And his legacy of bigotry, racism, division and turmoil lives on in all the major Democrat run cities experiencing rioting, in academe, in churches, in "woke" corporations," in entertainment, and the Democrats in Congress today.

Reparations in the 21st century

How would reparations work?

First, it's imperative that it has to be about more than slavery, which is the mistake most white and black middle class Christians make when supporting that idea. If it were just slavery, that would leave out Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, Megan Markle, the adoptive children of movie stars and the millions like Ilhan Omar who have immigrated from Africa and the Caribbean in the past 3-4 decades. And I do mean millions. Only 350,000 blacks came during slavery days--you can see more need to be added to the roster of the downtrodden and abused.

Second, it will start with something recent that most people will remember. Maybe it will even be "affirmative action" since it failed to set things right and caused blacks undo hardship with debts they couldn't pay off. Maybe it will be "fair housing" initiatives since the concept caused so much "white flight" and pulled middle class blacks out of neighborhoods that needed them.

Third, it will include obviously bad and racist people, and we'll be asked to provide compensation for those hurt by those who consciously worked against blacks, like maybe a (Democrat) senator, former member of the KKK.

Fourth, it will include legal (at the time) business practices, either defined or redefined. Like red-lining of banks to stall mortgages. And if you've invested in that bank, or its parent company, or even if you use its savings and checking account services, you'll be part of the system, and therefore, guilty. You'll need to pay up.

Fifth, it will include local government services, like schools, parks, transportation. Did the schools in your community fail black children at higher rates than whites? Law suits coming right up. Maybe even the families of the board members and teachers will be held responsible. There goes that nice pension teachers get.

Sixth, it will include nutrition and health. We will be asked to overlook lifestyle causes of health problems, at least as far as reparations are concerned. If McDonald's is deemed to have too many stores in black neighborhoods (black because of redlining by banks) and black children have more obesity related health problems, then Mickey D will have to pay up, and if you've invested, sorry. That McDonald's has provided more top level management jobs for blacks since the early 1980s and been more environmentally responsible than most corporations will not balance the ledger.

And there will be more. There are currently national, state and local task forces for each of these. Keep your eyes and ears open. Non-profits are extremely lucrative for those at the top getting donations from foundations and gullible church mission boards. It's sort of a reparation payment all by itself.

The electoral college whine

Hillary Clinton opined again this past week at the vaudeville virtual convention that she won. She wasn't defeated in 2016, she was defeated in the Democrat primaries in 2008, by Barack Obama. She had more votes, in those days feminism won out over color, but Obama got the winner take all, electoral style system Democrats use in their primaries. After 8 years she was too old, too exhausted and too ill to pull it off. By the same token, Sanders won, but Joe Biden walked off with the prize. Bernie's no dummy, however, and has most of the power over the Biden message and campaign. You could call it the Harris-Sanders ticket.

Females that won’t reproduce

Does 2020 need any more disasters? Genetically engineered 750 million mosquitoes are about to be released in Florida in 2021. Females that can't reproduce. Hey, we're doing that with teen-agers and getting slammed by the LGBTQ agenda groups if we object. But that's another disaster for down the road.

I don't like mosquitoes, but after Science in the 19th century first developed DDT as the answer to control malaria, typhus, body lice, and bubonic plague and bringing malaria cases to almost zero, that same Science then declared it an evil for Mother Earth when a non-scientist, Rachel Carson, published a book. I'm a little nervous about what else Science has in store for us. I suspect no one really knows why God designed the mosquito, nor do they remember how we got so many rogue plants, animals and fish (hint: someone brought them here to benefit or control something else).

The Democrat Convention to elect Joe Biden

So what are we to make of the virtual vaudeville virtue signaling we witnessed this week called the Democrat Convention?

American flags, the Constitution, the Star Spangled banner, singing children, and a motherly chat from a former FLOTUS who not too long ago admitted she didn't like us much while her husband reminded us that we didn't build that (hint: slaves did according to BLM whom he won't condemn). That sweet cotton candy side show was to convince the moderates and independents that they really hadn't seen two months of rioting in Democrat plantation cities; they really hadn't witnessed their elected leaders voting to kill the oppressed and helpless babies not yet born.

The race to fantasy land started with a speech by their most prominent Socialist Bernie Sanders claiming that we are experiencing the most serious health crisis in 100 years, the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression, a climate disaster, and a weak, directionless leader at the helm. He then accused that weak leader of being an "authoritarian and a bigot," and that's code for Hitler in Dem-Speak. Well, which is it Bern? Is he a sniveling weakling getting sand kicked in his face or is he Hitler?

Do we have an "authoritarian" in the White House who demanded every Democrat be masked and silent as the 50 governors have done, one who will usurp all power of the states and shut down businesses and churches? I think not. Democrats would have really raged if that had happened. Oh yes, and he warned of an oligarchy--Bernie said the power is there. That sent everyone to the dictionary. That's a small clutch of power brokers. But that describes Big Tech and woke corporations, the ones who've bought into the "systemic racism" chant of the rioters and academics, who approve of NFL revolting (peacefully) against the national anthem, painting BLM on the streets of NYC, and forced pronouns in the work place.

Or do you, Bernie, want a president who is cozy (with his son Hunter) with the Communist Party of China, the country of origin of the virus that struck down the most powerful economy the world has ever seen? Team Biden loves authoritarian China that requires everyone with a cell phone have an APP for Xi Jinping so all citizens can be reeducated in the glorious words and philosophy of the president for life. That's the president you're seeking to install in the White House?

Will you get the vaccine?

"Less than half of American adults say they would get a government-approved [rushed, deadly] coronavirus vaccine if one becomes widely available, new data from the NBC News|SurveyMonkey Weekly Tracking Poll show, with the majority unsure about getting the vaccine or saying they're ruling it out entirely. Forty-four percent of American adults say they would get the vaccine, with 22 percent saying they wouldn't and 32 percent saying they aren't sure... Among Republicans and those who lean Republican, 31 percent say they aren't sure whether they would get a vaccine, while 36 percent say they would and 33 percent say they wouldn't. While a majority of Democrats and those who lean

Democratic -- 58 percent -- say they would get a vaccine, 30 percent say they're unsure and just 12 percent say they wouldn't get vaccinated. Independents align more closely with the Republican groups. Thirty-seven percent say they and their families would get vaccinated, 25 percent say they wouldn't and 38 percent say they aren't sure."

Are NBC news survey Monkeys that reliable, or do they get primarily Democrats? And look at the numbers, the vast majority say yes, or unsure (probably waiting on the "science" to settle a little instead of changing week to week).

I will get a vaccine eventually--but like a first year model of a car, I'd want the bugs worked out.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/poll-less-than-half-of-americans-say-theyll-get-a-coronavirus-vaccine/ar-BB185CwG

An old photo of Phil

Today I received a nice photo of our son Phil who died in April. My cousin Sharon who lives in Canada sent it in a letter. It was taken in 1981 at a gathering at my mother's farm in Franklin Grove for the funeral of my cousin, Sharon's brother, Richard Weybright who died when he was 43. Phil was 13. Phil loved our vacations at the farm. I remember being there, but didn't remember who else was there except for Richard's parents. Richard had died in November 1980, so apparently the ashes were brought "home" from Arizona for burial in Ashton, Illinois where my grandparents and their son Clare who died in WWII are buried.

From left: Phil, Aunt Muriel, Chris Corbett, Bob, Dale Jasper

 

Disparities

I wish every preacher, politician, prophet and prognosticator could read (or re-read) THE UNPRECEDENTED EXPANSION OF THE GLOBAL MIDDLE CLASS: AN UPDATE (2017) by the Brookings Institution,   non-profit organization devoted to independent research and policy solutions.  https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/global_20170228_global-middle-class.pdf   Just as an aside, some conservatives consider Brookings part of the “deep state,” i.e. certainly not a Trump supporter.

I commented on that document at my blog in May 2017. I’d forgotten the eye opening research and conclusions and re-read it today.  In light of the current pandemic and the self-flagellation I hear from educated, comfortably middle-class Christian Americans about health disparities, systemic racism, income gaps, struggling inner cities, and failures to thrive of various populations this report is truly stunning.

Here it is:   About TWO-THIRDS of the WORLD are now middle class.  Think on that a moment.  When my great grandfather (b. 1828) set out as a young man to “go west” about 95% of the world existed in overwhelming poverty and the government provided none of the social services we expect today. All that charity was left to the churches and local communities—taking care of the sick and poor and providing children (who often worked in factories or as farm labor) with an education.

In 1990, more than a third of people on Earth lived on less than $1.90 a day, adjusted for local prices (this is the line the World Bank uses as its main metric). By 2013, barely 10 percent of people did; the rate had been cut by more than two-thirds. And most of the recent growth of the last 2 decades has not been among white people (aka Europe and North America) but among Asians and Africans. Even in the U.S. the riches ethnic groups are Asians—Indians and Filipinos. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-biggest-asian-origin-communities-in-the-united-states.html

Of course, the obligatory reporting on global climate change and the percent of rich households (not middle class) consumption being in the U.S. is reported in the Brookings document.  But then, think on this: “India today (2015) is already richer than Germany was when it introduced social insurance for all workers in the late 1880s. Indonesia is richer than the U.S. was in 1935, when the Social Security Act was passed. And China is richer than Britain was in 1948, when the National Health Service was introduced.”  Social programs did not building the middle class—capitalism did.  Brookings, being left of center didn’t say that, but it’s there, in print, and on-line.

Destroying the Trump economy (which actually came after this amazing report) and attempting to make us more dependent on government rather than the values that built our country and those of the countries rising today are critical for those who want global power. Whether you think that means Soros or a global cabal of capitalists, or “woke” international corporations, we seem to be in the battle for our lives.

We need to get back to work and to stop listening to those who are trying to defeat us.

Who are behind the racism hoaxes? Media? Or something more sinister?

"In 2011, the terms racist/racists/racism accounted for 0.0027% and 0.0029% of all words in The New York Times and The Washington Post, respectively. What we see over the past decade is a continual dramatic increase in usages of “racism” and its variations. Moreover, the graph shows that this increase occurred a half decade before the arrival of Donald Trump. By 2019, they would constitute 0.02% and just under 0.03% of all words published in the Times and Post—an increase of over 700% and just under 1,000%, respectively, from 2011."

The media (with help from academe and cottage industry workshops on racism hitting up churches and non-profits) expanded on the theme, although there was really no evil downward change in behavior and there were actually far fewer racial incidents and crimes.

"In 2011, just 35% of white liberals thought racism in the United States was “a big problem,” according to national polling. By 2015, this figure had ballooned to 61% and further still to 77% in 2017." Blacks’ perception of racism actually went down!

Notice the huge increase BEFORE TRUMP became president.

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/media-great-racial-awakening

They aren't smart enough to do this on their own--young college journalism graduates and a bunch of media capitalists. Who are behind this?

What’s wrong with the Post Office?

Don't drink the Kool-aid. The problem isn't the Post Office. It's New York taking 9 weeks to count the votes the P.O. delivers. It's the dead voters, the moved voters, the non-citizen voters. It's a state problem that can't handle what the P.O. can deliver. And that's how Democrats want it. Crash the election, make Pelosi the president. Do everything possible to destabilize Trump.

You don’t have to go 3,000 miles to become a missionary

Apparently my subscription to Magnificat lapsed a month, and I didn’t get the August 2020 issue, so I decided to reuse the August 2019 issue.  This morning’s reading (which I don’t recall reading last summer) included a story about Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, daughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne.  I’ve always had a soft spot for him, even though I’ve only read a few items by the popular 19th century American writer.  I remember him for the 4 titles in the deck of cards “Authors” a game which my mother and grandmother encouraged for slow Sunday afternoons at Grandma’s house at her farm near Franklin Grove, Illinois.

Rose was the daughter of two prominent, socially connected families, the Hawthornes and the Peabodys. After she married George Lathrop, also a writer, the couple converted to Catholicism. Later his alcoholism which worsened after the death of their only child Francis, caused them to separate, but she never stopped caring and praying for him.  I haven’t read enough about her life to find out what led her to care for impoverished cancer victims, but that’s the direction of the rest of her life. One article I read noted she was a friend of Emma Lazarus, the poet, who first introduced her to the horrors of 19th century poverty.  At first it was just her working along for the cancer victims, then another volunteer, and eventually, she was allowed to establish a Dominican order,  Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer. 

". . . service to Christ's poor did not simply mean that this lady of culture, education, and social status would put on an apron and offer gifts from her abundance. She decided to live among the poor, to beg for them as they did for themselves, and to establish a home where they could live in dignity, cleanliness, and ease as they faced their final days on earth . . .There was to be no class system, no 'upstairs/downstairs' for her residents. She and her religious sisters would be the servants. The residents would be the object of all their care and concern."

There are 3 houses, and one is in Atlanta, Georgia.

https://georgiabulletin.org/news/2018/12/family-chaplain-speak-of-hawthorne-dominicans-life-changing-oasis/

https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/rose-hawthorne-daughter-nathaniel-becomes-candidate-catholic-saint/

https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/faith-and-character/faith-and-character/the-remarkable-rose-hawthorne.html

Biden and Abortion

 A statement from Mike Gonidakis, President of Ohio Right to Life 

 "While Governor of Ohio, John Kasich’s strong pro-life convictions enabled him to stand against the violence of abortion and work alongside Ohio Right to Life to strengthen protections for Ohio’s most vulnerable. As a man of faith, Kasich claims his policy was informed by what countless people of faith hold dear: that every human life is precious and that abortion is morally unacceptable. It is for this reason that Kasich’s support of Joe Biden is so deeply troubling.” 

 “Throughout his candidacy, Joe Biden has made his wholehearted endorsement of abortion abundantly clear. Supporting a candidate who believes abortion should be legal up to the point of birth flies in the face of faith and even human decency. You cannot faithfully stand for life and back Joe Biden. 

 We call on John Kasich to rescind his support."