The anger problem separating us

IBM Watson does polls--including health and in 2018 surveyed Americans on "anger." I heard Al Kresta (radio talk show, Ave Maria, MI, Oct. 14) discussing this, but can't find the details at the poll website, so I'll quote him. And I assumed he used newer material not available to non-subscribers. Also, I couldn't find the wording of the questions, which makes a huge difference in my opinion.

Kresta said, Americans are angrier than ever. In the 2008 election 43% of Democrats were angry about McCain; and 46% of Republicans were angry about Obama; in 2012 56% of Democrats were angry about Romney, and 75% of Republicans were angry about Obama; and then in 2016 the wheels fell off and 90% of Democrats were angry about Trump, and 89% of Republicans angry about H. Clinton. The problem, Kresta pointed out is bi-partisanship is almost impossible when everyone is angry. Which is why Obamacare had no support from Republicans, whereas all social safety net programs in the past were bi-partisan.

He also commented that in 1958 (when I was a freshman in college) 73% of Americans trusted the government and in 2019, only 17% did. (Maybe it was all those WWII movies.) With the advent of the pandemic in 2020 and the tremendous amount of misinformation, cherry picking of which "science" to believe, and the politicization of the virus, I'm sure those 2018 figures are now off the charts.

Anger is a bigger problem for Christians than the rest of you as it is one of the 7 deadly sins, and Paul chastises first century Christians who apparently also had a lot of hard feelings as Greeks, Jews, and pagans all tried to work together. Most of the people on my FBF list are baptized and confirmed Christians who, at least until the churches closed on order of their governors, were attending a recognized Christian sect, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic, etc., regularly or semi-regularly. Paul quotes Psalm 4:4 and says Be angry but do no sin. We feel the anger in response to something we perceive as wrong, so the feeling isn't the sin. Righteous anger is OK, but needs to be channeled to action. However, politicians and the media are using our anger knowing it can motivate or bring more to their side. Like the moderators of the debates and townhalls. They are making both sides angry--first, the ones who believe the lies become irate and second, the ones who are wronged are angry about the lies.

Pastors and priests who think they need to jump on the racism or climate, or income bandwagon for their sermons should probably switch gears and think about the anger seething in their congregations. They can't win, but by avoiding the clashes going on under their noses isn't a winning strategy either.

The Townhalls—only one worked for the candidate

I didn't watch the dueling townhalls (apparently some NBC affiliates didn't carry Trump's), but heard some summaries this morning on the radio. Samantha Guthrie on behalf of Democrats and NBC asked 43 questions and the audience asked 10. Is that a townhall? She asked 4 or 5 questions about white supremacists which the President answered and has answered so many times you can see it's a hate theme for Democrats not an honest question. And she continued to reword the questions. No one ever asks Biden about the violence of BLM and ANTIFA, because he thinks their violence is just an idea, not a threat and it's in our imagination that buildings have been burned and people terrorized.

Also I heard the oddest sex and skin answer at the Biden Townhall. A mother who identifies as a woman asked him about her 8 year daughter whom she identified as transgender. It wasn't clear to me if the daughter was a girl wanting to be a boy or a boy who had announced to the world he was a girl. It also wasn't clear if 8 year olds should be taken seriously, because that wasn't addressed. Anyway, Biden answered her with a personal recollection from his childhood of something his father said about 2 black gay men kissing in public. He can't seem to say anything without bringing up race. And like a lot of old people, flips back to his childhood because those memories are fresh. I haven't seen any research or gossip about gay men wanting to be women, but the gay men I’ve known didn’t seem interested in that. Then just for good measure I think he threw in something about murdered transwomen--I suppose he'll pass a law about making murder illegal.  What a concept.

Although I hate to ever pose such a question to a search engine because of all the kooky stuff that will then appear on my screen or e-mail, I did find an article about murdered transwomen (aka men). It seems a reporter located information for 157 in the last 7 years. All black. If these murders follow the patterns of other murders, they were killed by black men and they were sex workers. This was never brought up in the article which had a political purpose--to get more legislation to protect black transwomen. Federalist actually did some research, and like other murders, the sex of the victim and perp line up. 34 black transgender were killed by other blacks, 2 by Hispanic, and 1 by white. Of the 9 white murders of transgender women, 7 were killed by whites, and 2 by Hispanic. Also, domestic violence, drugs and prostitution were involved in most of the murders.

https://thefederalist.com/2019/11/04/the-left-is-lying-about-a-hatred-and-violence-epidemic-against-transgender-people/

Dennis Prager conversation

How the left became so radical—the lack of debate, "anti-racism" training, corporate wokeness, critical race theory, and infantile thinking. Plus, some excellent advice for those afraid to speak their minds

https://www.prageru.com/video/ep-156-when-childish-worldviews-take-over/

CRT training for the government

Nice work if you can get it--and it's all on our dime.

"One critical race theory training guru, Howard Ross, has raked in more than $5 million in federal contracts for workshops that tell White people they are inherently racist and impediments to “race-based growth.” He's had contracts for workshops on “Difficult Conversations About Race in Troubling Times” at the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Credit Union Administration. Mr. Ross even landed a $500,000 contract with NASA to guide employees through issues of sexual orientation, power and privilege."

Sex and skin color. It's all leftists think and dream about. But that's just the tool to destroy the culture and nation.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/sep/6/christopher-rufo-claims-win-trump-ends-white-privi/?

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.