Suicide of the Liberals

When I saw the title, "Suicide of the Liberals" in the October, 2020, First Things, I thought it would be "our" liberals who wave their little flags at "peaceful" protests led by BLM, and donate to racial justice causes, and meet with other faculty at the university to promote reeducation workshops on American history. But, no. It was about what happened in Russia in the first 20 years of the 20th century--i.e. the Russian Revolution. As the author points out:

"Revolutions never succeed without the support of wealthy, liberal, educated society. Yet revolutionaries seldom conceal that their success entails the seizure of all wealth, the suppression of dissenting opinion, and the murder of class enemies.

There were many groups colluding and cooperating in bringing down the Russian government--the Maximalists, the Socialist Revolutionaries, Kadets, Mensheviks, populists, anarchists, and the Bolsheviks, who finally gained control. The author reports that the liberals in Russian society (referred to as the intelligents) well-educated, not particularly wealthy or of high social class, with a regulated life and obligatory beliefs for a "moral" person, with a devotion not unlike a strict religion.

The Russian liberals of the early 20th century had great distain for anything conservative and could excuse all manner of violence and intolerance as noble and understandable. Like robbery, extortion, murder and demands to abolish the police. Better to side with people a mile to one's left than be associated with anyone an inch to one's right.

There wasn't a word in this article by Gary Saul Morson about 2020 and what is happening in our country, but it certainly sounded familiar. Like Twitter and Facebook yesterday shutting down the Biden China story and the President's press secretary. Or critical race theory appearing in government departments and medical schools attached to major universities. People being threatened or having careers destroyed over a different opinion in politics. Or a candidate for vice president twisting history to fit her wish for a liberal supreme court justice. The willingness to move a mile left and not an inch to the right. Yes, very familiar indeed.

https://www.firstthings.com/article/2020/10/suicide-of-the-liberals?

When did Twitter and Facebook become the Internet Police?

"Senate Republicans said Thursday they will subpoena Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey over the decision to block a news report critical of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

"This is election interference and we're 19 days out from an election," Senator Ted Cruz said, a day after the social network blocked links to the article by the New York Post alleging corruption by Biden in Ukraine." Yahoo News

Republicans are checking to make sure we're not in North Korea.

Could the Biden China e-mails and the broken laptop be a hoax? Well, it's 2020 and anything can happen. However, the blocking of the story by Facebook and Twitter, where it could be sorted out, certainly doesn't look good for the tech giants who are controlling our lives.

“Facebook says it will rely on its fact-checking partners to determine the story's legitimacy, but until then, it is taking steps to tamp down on its spread. Twitter has issued a statement claiming it took action against the article due to the company's "Hacked Materials Policy." Twitter is blocking the post from being shared on its platform.” Brian Boyd

The year was 1215

The Magna Carta, established the principle that no one, including the king or a lawmaker, is above the law, and establishes a framework for future documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. And yes, all you who jump on your victimhood or identity, it didn't include all people, but the principle was established.

And the First Right in what is called the Bill of Rights includes as First among the Firsts , RELIGION. Religion underpins all the rest--the government can't establish religion and it can't prohibit the exercise of it. Then comes speech, press, and peaceful assembly. We've allowed the governors of the states to shred our First Amendment. Take back your rights. They didn't give us these rights, and we shouldn't have handed them over like helpless children who had nothing to protect us.

Good news about masks (observational)

The masks must be working! I attended morning mass at St. Andrew this morning. About 60 people--all but a few around my age. No coughing, throat clearing, nose blowing, gagging or sniffling, and you know how congested old people always are, especially in the morning--and the architecture of the sanctuary encourages echoes. It was heavenly (although I realize heaven is filled with praises to God and may be noisy). I think the masks are cutting back on those other coronaviruses, respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) viruses and rhinoviruses--the ones that cause common colds. So let's hope they can block SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus causing Covid19.

Tragedy on the Ohio State campus

An OSU student from NJ was shot and killed 2 days ago near the  campus at a private party. It's hard to tell, but from the photos, he doesn't appear to be a POC, not even 1/4 or 1/8. The teenager with a police record who is a POC has been charged with his murder. He is not a student. If this were reversed, would there be mobs gathering on campus to protest the systemic racism and would the memorials be replaced with riots?

https://nypost.com/2020/10/11/ohio-state-student-from-new-jersey-shot-dead-near-campus/

https://abc7ny.com/kintie-mitchell-chase-meola-obituatry-ohio-state-shooting/6968887/

Know where you stand

“I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold, and what they do not, who know their creed so well, that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it.” St. John Henry Newman

This was written during a time of anti-Catholic hysteria and anti-Catholic sentiment in England. But the quote fits well in today's secular opinion, on-line rage, "wokeness," and cancel culture. There was a time during the reign of Elizabeth I of England when Protestants were told Catholics had the plague and they shouldn't breathe the same air. They were forbidden to attend their own churches. Sound familiar?

From the podcast of James T. Majewski, Oct. 9 www.catholicculture.org

Which hoax?

The hoax is how Democrats have treated the Covid tragedy. Trump acted promptly as soon as the word was out from WHO.    We have a pandemic with a high infection rate, and a low death rate. I realize that China’s reports are suspect, but that’s also what their first published reports indicated. [Feb. 11, 2020, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, summarized in April 7, 2020 JAMA] 

• Unusual pneumonia Dec. 26, 2019.
• Dec. 30, 2019 first Wuhan case. 
• Dec. 31, 2019 WHO notified by Wuhan Health Commission. 
• Jan. 1 open market closed. 
• Jan. 30, 2020 WHO declares an international emergency.
• Jan. 30, 2020 Trump closes flights for international travelers from China.

Prior respiratory syndromes (SARS and MERS) were the opposite.  Slower transmission, but death rate 10% to 50%.  Death rate for Covid19, even reported by China in February, was 2.3%  for confirmed cases.  This is about the same as U.S. overall (almost zero for children, higher for elderly with co-morbidities)  And because people were anticipating a much higher death rate like SARS or MERS, the U.S. took drastic measures and closed down the economy. Even after it became apparent the damage that was doing to the country in proportion to the virus, Democrats and the media have continued to spread fear and urging that further lockdowns are needed—Biden has all but promised it.  Even when the “flatten the curve” and shortage of equipment turned out not to be true and the emergency hospitals Trump authorized were unnecessary. 

The “hoax” isn’t the virus; even the low death rate is higher than seasonal flu and it can always mutate.  It’s always been serious. We are being hoaxed by people who have demonstrated for 4 years they are desperate to get rid of the President. Even if they have to bury the economy.   If Biden is elected, the day after inauguration in 2021 he will take credit for the incredible drugs developed to further reduce hospitalizations and death rates, and the media will go silent on reporting cases. When the true disaster of mental health, deaths from non-Covid in nursing home lockdowns, educations interrupted, businesses ruined, suicides, churches closed, hospitals bankrupted—then they’ll blame that on Trump and the governors will just run for reelection.

New treatment for A-fib

“Scientists at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center also discovered that atrial fibrillation drivers don’t always have the shape of a closed loop but may instead consist of “hubs” where the electrical activity of atrial fibrillation is multiplied much like a small tornado. The study results were reported in The Journal of the American Heart Association.

“Thinking of atrial fibrillation drivers as hubs may change the way we interpret mapping results of the heart to identify these drivers. Finding these reentrant atrial fibrillation drivers is key for doing targeted ablation and successfully treating AFib,” said Vadim Fedorov, professor of physiology and cell biology at the Ohio State College of Medicine and lead author of the study.

At least 2.7 million Americans live with atrial fibrillation, with some suffering from persistent atrial fibrillation that lasts for longer than seven days at a time. When medications don’t work, physicians use ablation.”

https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/mediaroom/pressreleaselisting/ohio-state-research-pinpoints-heart-condition

OSU has discovered racism—yet again

For decades, academe has been soaking up tax dollars for special departments, workshops, conferences, vice presidents for diversity and inclusion, and now with more CARES money floating around, plus BLM pulling in billions in literally black mail, the medical college which has been on a socio-economic-race kick for longer than I can remember, is launching yet another effort.  This one I’m sure will include Critical Race Theory, because with that, no solutions are ever developed, the problems are just expanded.  But this one has a cutesy acronym.  It means, shut up and listen to us roar at you.

“This week, the Wexner Medical Center and health science colleges launched a new webinar series, Roundtables On Actions Against Racism (ROAAR). The focus of these roundtables is to elevate critical conversations about racism and engage community leaders to work collaboratively to achieve meaningful and lasting change.”

Science journals’ editorials against Trump

These science journals promote an amazing misuse of a world tragedy. Since I regularly read medical and science journals, especially JAMA and NEJM, let me assure you they have all been way left in their editorial coverage since I began reading them in the 1980s. Also, in clinical trials, they are quick to demand all sorts of fair, unbiased and diverse controls, sex, age, weight, culture, socio-economic status, smoking, alcohol use, marital status, health history, but in this pandemic, they only look at Trump.

I think they are angry that his leadership in cutting red tape and "making deals" has uncovered the stultifying "science" culture which has its own deep state and swamp. This isn't China, David Foster, or even Sweden. In a country where we have a Constitution to protect us from the state, "scientists" see this as a lost opportunity for the federal government to take the same grab for power that the states have with mandates, lockdowns and petty local demands.

The "scientists" (I think Obama had one advisor on this one) have loved the EMR installed by fiat at a cost in the billions (which is why medical costs soared during Obama's reign) with no known benefit to health or reduced cost because it's plan was data diving and not to get you quickly admitted or treated. Now they are called on to do actual research, find new drugs, figure out the mutations, think outside the box--as a businessman would do. We already have many new drugs ready to be on the market--it's called competition--and you can see how the popular and science media have reacted. Why can't everyone get this drug, why compassionate use for a guy we hate, why should he speculate or dream when that's a scientist's job, why does he listen to a virologist or an epidemiologist and not a cell biologist (or someone on our board); and most importantly, why didn't he die!

Trump has shown in 4 years that our bloated government, our stagnant universities, our rigid peer review publication system, our technology sector with embedded lobbyists in Washington to make sure start ups get squashed with new laws needs a shake up. I don't believe the pandemic was a plot (many do), but leftists in every field, every corporation, every university, every church, realize that if they don't act very quickly and get rid of this man, their days of fancy awards, fat grants at our expense, flying to conferences to wine and dine, and living in their self designed bubbles, just might be threatened. Bring him down and get rid of him, no matter the cost. We all know the next Democrat elected whether this year or in 4 years will return things to "normal" crony capitalism, but they are are afraid of the fall out.

The President tamps down fear

Joel Ross of Citadel Realty Advisors opines on 10/8: "Trump did a good thing for everyone by getting sick. He showed the virus is not a death penalty, and now there are drugs to deal with it if caught early. The reality, despite the press pushing FEAR, is that most people do NOT get sick at all, or not very sick, and if you do get it, the chance of dying is 1% or less, and if you are healthy, it is tiny so long as it is caught very early. That is not much different than with most illness. If you act early, there is often a protocol to cure, or at least mitigate it. The media, of course, could not let Trump give a message of hope to everyone. The advances in medicine are terrific now, and much more is coming thanks to AI and other technologies."

Evangelicals increasingly follow the mainline churches and the world

“The irony of the reshaping of the spiritual landscape in America is that it represents a post-Christian reformation driven by people seeking to retain a Christian identity,” noted Dr. George Barna, Director of Research at the Cultural Research Center. “Unfortunately, the theology of this reformation is being driven by American culture rather than biblical truth."

Among those associated with evangelical churches.:

--44% claim the Bible is ambiguous in its teaching about abortion

--34% argue that abortion is morally acceptable if it spares the mother from financial or emotional discomfort or hardship

--34% reject the idea of legitimate marriage as one man and one woman

--40% accept lying as morally acceptable if it advances personal interests or protect one’s reputation

--39% identify the people they respect as being only those who have the same beliefs as their own

And it's even higher in charismatic and Pentecostal churches.

 https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CRC_AWVI2020_Release11_Digital_04_20201006.pdf  American Worldview Inventory 2020

The One Party system

It's a bold, aggressive plan. Turn the U.S. into a one party system. Destroy our freedoms through elections. Republicans never think this BIG.

Democrats, if they win this November,

• plan to pack the court,
• add two new states,
• destroy the Electoral College,
• impeach any appointments of Trump who stand in their way,
• reinstate Iran as a recipient of billions,
• latch on to any foreign plan to control the climate while destroying jobs,
• kick to the curb the successful peace initiatives between Israel and her neighbors, and
• reestablish the power China has over us.

And Biden and Harris won't discuss it.

https://townhall.com/columnists/justinhaskins/2019/03/08/democrats-plan-to-steal-the-senate-in-2020-create-new-states-n2542816?

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/09/19/how-democrats-could-pack-the-supreme-court-in-2021-418453

https://nypost.com/2019/08/22/ocasio-cortez-slammed-for-calling-the-electoral-college-a-racist-scam/

https://www.redstate.com/brandon_morse/2020/08/17/democrats-quiet-israel/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020/climate-change

Regeneron

The President can't say enough or sing the praises loud enough for Regeneron. Now he's been attacked because,

1) his was "compassionate use" cure,

2) the CEO of the company belongs to the same golf club,

3) Trump called it a cure "without evidence," and

4) Trump can absolutely never be allowed a victory in anything, especially not where this one last plot to undo the 2016 election by the Democrats could be foiled.

Democrats were so mad that the President didn't die of Covid, and worse, recovered quickly using a drug developed within months during his administration and encouragement, that now Ms. No-Mask Pelosi is spreading lies and forming a commission to see if he was sick before he got sick. Brilliant

Poverty simulation workshop at Ohio State

Another way for poverty pimps to earn a living--put on workshops for churches, non-profits, and academe. OSU is promoting yet another one. Participants get to feel virtuous by planning a budget using government programs guaranteed to keep people in their place--including the ones who sign up. It's an industry supporting the middle class.

There's nothing like a job to pull someone out of poverty, but consciousness raising never reduced single motherhood, or a poor education, or a prison record, or mental health challenges. Unmarried parents is the primary cause of childhood poverty. Back in the day (early 80s) when I worked for the state of Ohio and either attended or planned these gatherings (we didn't call it simulation then, just information on state and federal resources) we were told by those above us, our experts and leaders who lived on government grants, that one needed to earn at least $10/hour to go beyond what the state/federal programs could offer. For 1983 that was unheard of! Those of us earning our living doing this didn't make that unattainable salary. I don't know what the figure is today, but the 2019 median income for middle class was $68,703. The government, btw, has no official definition for middle class.

Leanne Brown is not a poverty pimp, but she wrote a hugely successful cookbook on eating well on $4/day SNAP budget. And she made it free. She's a Canadian. https://www.leannebrown.com/cookbooks/... I don't know if the OSU poverty simulation teachers will tell you, but I'm telling you, these are really great, nutritious and cheap.

Let’s hear it for Kellyanne

In this 100th anniversary of the vote for women, and women are being honored for all sorts of achievements and not being blamed for some atrocities, I don't hear feminists giving much credit or kudos to Kellyanne Conway, the woman I think put Trump in the White House. She was masterful (if we are still allowed to use this sexist term) in moving him to just the right pockets of supporters and weak spots the Democrats had missed. He was down in the polls before she was appointed his campaign manager and he won the election.

Her marriage, to a former Republican and conservative who hates Trump, is about to be wrecked, not by her loyalty and friendship with the President (since 2006), but by their 15 year old daughter who is being shamelessly used by the vultures on the left who will chew her up and spit her out because Trump is their target.

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/stop-hailing-claudia-conway-as-your-resistance-hero/?

Years from now when she and her mother have mended their fences and hurt feelings, the internet will have archived all the dirty laundry and those who helped kill a family will have moved on to another hate project.

The good old days

Whether nostalgia or bad memory or politicians, you may be wrong about "the good old days," crime, climate, income gaps, etc.

"According to a YouGov poll last year, between 21 percent and 45 percent of respondents across the Western world thought that climate change “likely” or “quite likely” will make the human race extinct. At the same time, both the absolute numbers and the proportion of people dying from natural catastrophes like storms, floods, droughts, or wildfires has plummeted over the last century – and that includes all kinds of natural disasters (such as earthquakes and tsunamis) not just the ones that climate change may have worsened."

https://www.humanprogress.org/nothing-is-more-responsible-for-the-good-old-days-than-a-bad-memory/?

A few years ago I recall a report that asked people what percent of the population was homosexual, and many guessed 20-25%. The correct answer was a little over 2%. But it was the topics and characters of films, books and TV programs that caused them to make that wrong estimate. There are some people who think 50% of people who get Covid19 die (99.75% recover).  I think 24/7 news and social media are worsening our memories.

How did American Presidents handle SARS, MERS and Covid19?

April 4, 2003 WebMD - SARS had a death rate around 10% after killing about 80 of the infected. President Bush didn't quarantine Americans who had it until the number rose to 115 and had spread to 29 states by April 2003. No Americans died. Also "China apologized today [April 4, 2003] for not doing a better job of informing the public and international health organizations about the SARS epidemic and pledged full cooperation with the World Health Organization's team currently investigating the outbreak in Guangdong, China."

May 13, 2014, Reuters -"President Barack Obama has been briefed by his advisors on the two confirmed U.S. cases of the deadly virus known as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Tuesday."

MERS, a corona virus, (MERS-CoV) had a 35% death rate. Why didn't Obama close travel and at least quarantine returning doctors from the affected area in Muslim countries?

January 30, 2020, The New York Times - President Trump closed travel from China and restricted foreign travelers who had been to China the previous 14 days before there was a single U.S. death from SARS-CoV 2 (Wuhan Virus, Covid-19) or known spread.

President Donald Trump responded to his health advisors faster than either Bush or Obama did to theirs.

The hoax that Democrats are spreading with help of the media is that by doing something different, Trump could have prevented 200,000 deaths. This is all in retaliation for winning the election in 2016.

Not only are Democrats better at lying, the Republicans are spineless wimps for playing by their rules.

Life has risk, Kelly Ripa

I heard it again.

Kelly Ripa (Live with Kelly and Ryan) is not willing to take the risk to see her or her husband's parents during this dangerous time. (It's Bob's favorite show and he never misses). Life comes at you fast, Kelly. It's been a year today since our 50 year old son (your age) had surgery for glioblastoma and about 6 months since he died. We are your parents age. Is this worth it? Not seeing them to protect them? Is Covid19 their only risk? No heart disease or cancer or falls? If one were to pass from H1N1 or a stroke, you could say, "At least it wasn't Covid?"

This summer of the pandemic and lockdowns:

1. We came early (end of May) and stayed late (mid-October) at our vacation home in Lakeside on Lake Erie. From purple iris to changing maples. It helped with grief, our health, and our happiness even with extreme cutbacks in activities.

2. We watched our neighbors at Lakeside handle this pandemic three ways.

a. Stayed home in Arizona, or New York or Florida where they went nowhere either due to governor lockdown or their own fears for their health.

b. Stayed inside their cottages in Lakeside leaving only long enough to feed the feral cats and go to Walmart for groceries.

c. Were outside attending events, visiting with friends, shopping at Walmart and Bassetts and Erie Rd Market, eating in local restaurants, and taking long walks (most people have dogs, we don't).

3. We've watched more TV than usual, but have enjoyed the porch for reading and chatting with friends and strangers through the screen. I've made frequent use of the "Little Free Library" on our street, found 3 keepers, and donated 5-6 titles.

4. We've done less entertaining, but

a. Celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary in a neighbor's yard, with prepackaged snacks, masks, social distancing, and 25 guests.

b. We invited a widower to have dinner with us--probably our only dinner guest, which is a cut back, but certainly important for him.

c. A neighbor who didn't have TV came over 2 nights to watch the RNC national convention in August.

d. We rented a cottage across the street and enjoyed the company of my husband's siblings who are also aging, and we don't see them often.

e. We rented a 6 seat golf cart to tour the town with our relatives, and a neighbor took our whole group on a wonderful sail boat ride.

  

f. We invited friends to have ice cream with us on our porch.

g. We hosted a niece and nephew for a week in our cottage.

5. The Chautauqua programs were limited, however,

a. We attended church most Sundays because Lakeside has a nice park, a gazebo with benches, responsible volunteers, preachers and musicians. Hymn singing and communion in pre-packaged cups.

   

b. I attended talks and lectures I would have skipped any other season, and enjoyed them all--especially being out and about and seeing people. Although everything was also available on-line, I only saw 2 such events. Some of the usual Chautauqua fare was only virtual--I skipped those.

c. We enjoyed many music programs in many genres--symphony, concert band, reenactment, jazz, blues, funk--almost all local (northern Ohio) and all as happy to see us as we were to see them.

   

5. We’ve eaten in several local restaurants, most inside.

a. The Patio in Lakeside, usually twice a week, for Sunday breakfast and mid-week perch. Inside, tables spaced and removed.

b. Marblehead Galley for prime rib, outside on deck.

c. Big Boppers for breakfast inside (very windy that day, and there is plenty of outdoor seating).

d. Crosswinds, inside, newly decorated, acrylic panels  between booths.

e. Tin Goose, small airport, inside.

f. Wednesday night picnic in Perry Park, Lakeside.

g. Hotel Lakeside, reservations, week-ends, Chef Stacy.

I walk 4-5 miles a day, but yesterday had to drive to Sandusky for new shoes to protect my feet. On this morning's walk I saw incredible beauty along the lakefront including two islands, pleasure boats, and freighters. The leaves are starting to turn, there are flowers I've never seen in the summer, and there seem to be so many construction projects, including several new homes. Somebody around here is living, and I'm one of them. Tomorrow might be too late.

                                                 Photo by Beth Sibbring, October 5, 2020

Which hoax?

I've heard the Covid19 hoax so often, I think I could repeat it from memory. The virus is real; the Democrat party lies about how Trump enabled it and did nothing are the hoax. He said it very early, and they’ve twisted his words into their lie. And those lies are working, just as the Charlottesville lie and the MS-13 lie worked for the racism charges. The media and the Democrats constantly abuse us with Covid19 fear, lies, and twisted statistics. Intelligent, college educated, Christian Trump haters are passing the hoax around and it's moving faster than the virus. I'm not sure they believe the hoax, but they hate the President more than they love Jesus, that's for sure, and for that, God will not be mocked.

Here’s an example, but believe it or not, it’s more reasonable than most. “I am, however, feeling quite relieved that the person most deserving of contracting the covid virus has finally had to admit that this disease is a health issue, not a political one!!  Perhaps drs. and scientists are the reliable experts after all.”

So not only does she condemn a person who caught a deadly (but treatable on 99.75% of the cases) virus (most likely in the open air, outside ceremony for Judge Barrett) she passes along the lie that he did nothing.  I recall watching him every evening in March, meeting with his  task force and “science” advisors. Democrats complained it was a political stunt.  The science itself, or even the concept and definition of “science,” has become political, not just the virus.  Now that the President hopes to clear the red tape for emergency use of a drug that speeded his recovery but  not yet approved by FDA (he allowed himself to be a guinea pig), the media and Trump haters are already claiming foul, because no success, no peace agreement, no prisoner release, no technology triumph can be accorded to him. It’s a rule in 2020: He must never, ever be given credit for anything.  If anything is passed, reviewed, accomplished, it must be pointed back to Obama, or maybe Clinton. Never, never, never allow this President to have even the barest recognition that he’s a good leader telling us not to be afraid as strong leaders have advised since the beginning of history.