President Trump vs. his enemies

Mostly I ignore ad hominem attacks on me and other conservatives. They are intended to deflect the really destructive forces the Democrats have put in play as they prepare for their own downfall from the extreme leftists in their party. But I do have some questions for them.

1) When has President Trump ever led an enthusiastic crowd of Republicans at a rally or convention in a chant to boo God? Why is "Build that wall," or "lock her up," so much more offensive to you Democrats than rejecting and insulting your own Creator?

When has President Trump ever led a blood thirsty segment of his party in an effort to dismember thousands of late term unborn babies, the smallest and weakest among us, all for a peculiar lie that this empowers women?

When has President Trump ever presided over the destruction of a personal product like health insurance to replace it by one designed by bureaucrats and academics?

When has he mandated a fine or prison for not buying a government created product that benefits hand picked companies with millions of new customers?

When has he asked the American people to pay higher taxes for politicians and bureaucrats to reward their favorite donors and supporters in the arts, education, corporations, and the abortion industry?

When has this president told minorities that because of past wrongs they are victims and need to be dependent on the government as payback for sins of the past?

When has he told certain diverse and inclusive groups they can't accomplish anything without his help or without state and federal aid .

When has he insulted half of all Americans with name calling like racist, homophobe, terrorist or deplorable?

When has the President asked that you trust him for FORTY YEARS with the power to influence and control your lives through taxes, wars, red tape and regulations, international agreements and secret negotiations with foreign powers like China?

When has he pretended he could control the climate if you just gave him enough power and money?

When has President Trump given foreign workers priority and safety net benefits and free education over American workers?

When has the President ever told you America was never great, and it's such a racist, uncultured disaster that you should never teach its authentic history in school and instead need to submit to reeducation camps and classes in your universities and places of employment?

When has President Trump encouraged destroying works of art and monuments like ISIS did in Iraq beginning with obscure local soldiers, and moving on to missionaries in California and the nation's founders in DC?

You may recall other major differences between President Trump and his opponents, including some RINOs in Congress, and spoilers in the misnamed Lincoln Project who believe they know better than the 70 million people who elected him. But instead of name calling, let's look at the facts. https://lincolnproject.us/team/ Of course, Lincoln probably would have had them imprisoned, but it's a different kind of war today to destroy and tear apart the nation.

Birds of a feather flock together

I'm a one issue voter--the first one. I'm pro-life. And I'm agnostic on some on this list. But they do flock together.   If your candidate is pro-abortion, he/she probably will fall in line with the rest.

Pro-abortion

Pack the Supreme Court

Get rid of the Electoral College

No voter ID

No voter rolls clean up

Affirmative action

More red tape

Higher taxes

Government health care

Anti-2nd amendment

Anti-1st amendment especially religion

Pro-sex changes for young children

Fluid sexuality

Climate change penalties and taxes

Reparations for slavery

Global climate regulations, but only for USA required

Critical race theory required classes for employees and gov't

Covid lockdowns

Anti-Israel

Pro-Muslim

Pro-China

Anti-border security

Pro-illegal immigration

Pro-chain migration

Trump supporters are threatened

Cynthia Johnson, a Michigan politician, is threaten Trump voters, and urging the military to take them out.  Weren’t women supposed to bring something good to politics?

https://youtu.be/0xKyYX93Rck

Keep your eyes open, not for "news" but for the lack of it.

1) Biden's racist comments about his pick for secretary of defense. Apparently wants to "pay him back" (the implication that it's his race and "him" being all blacks), but he was the guy who helped Biden and Obama and the gun running scheme during their administration. So if a black general orders bombs on a white population in the Middle East it's OK?  Biden makes pitch for retired general to be Pentagon chief (fox23.com)

2) Schumer claiming that with a flick of the pen Biden can and will forgive trillions in student loan debt. I thought the House controlled the purse. Media were calling Trump a Nazi and traitor for even exercising the rights given a president. At least the wall had been voted on and approved (2006 Secure Fence Act). It was just Trump they didn't like when he tried to act on it. And it was Obama who was chief deporter and cage builder, not Trump.

3) The media are giving Biden the soft shoe dance routine, ignoring the things they screamed about when they were trying to undo the 2016 election. Like a civilian run military and how long a general needs to be retired before joining the cabinet.

4) Disagreements on who gets the vaccine, and federal mandate to wear masks--most of the population is at a very low risk. Forcing 100 days of mask wearing (during the same time the vaccine is reducing risk, so he can get the credit) . My generation is at risk, middle age and below, not so much--they are at greater risk for flu. I'm not an anti-vaxxer, but children don't need this until we know the long term affects.

5) If we give the federal government this kind of power (over the states), what will happen when something like MERS with a 50% mortality rate reappears? Covid19 has a mortality rate of .3% overall and about 5% in my age group with co-morbidities.

6) I've heard that at least one of the "unbiased fact checkers" used by Google and Facebook is China owned, Communist controlled, and it has been used to shut down freedom of speech and thought in China. I haven't checked his, but perhaps others have 

 7) Quarantining an entire population and locking down the economy has never been used as a public health measure by any nation, and now practically the whole world (except China) is doing it. On the other hand, we have libraries full of published, peer-reviewed research on what happens to lower income children in one parent families when they fall behind early in education. They NEVER catch up. Why are Democrats/liberals/socialists imposing this on the poor? Because they can.

Alex Azar vs. Xavier Becerra

Joe Biden's pick for HHS is Xavier Becerra, an anti-life, pro-big government, California bureaucrat with no health experience. The current secretary of HHS is Alex M. Azar II. Azar is also a lawyer who clerked for Scalia, and worked in the Bush administration. In this bio, notice the buzz words you'd never find in a Democrat resume: patient-centric, affordable, personalized, patient in control, treated like a human being not a number, transparent price and quality, regulatory relief, and more options. In the rule guide of forbidden words, these will be on the Democrat list. Azar developed and led President Trump’s vision for healthcare: a patient-centric, affordable, personalized system that puts the patient in control and treats the patient like a human being, not like a number. He has pioneered a patient-centered approach to the value-based transformation of the American healthcare system, including through transparency around price and quality, outcomes-based payments, interoperable health IT, provider collaboration, and unprecedented regulatory relief that places patients over paperwork. Under his tenure, HHS has transformed the pharmaceutical marketplace, driving down drug prices through a comprehensive drug pricing strategy and approval of historic levels of generic, brand, and biosimilar drugs. The Department has also worked to make health insurance more affordable and created more options for Americans who lack employer-based insurance." https://www.hhs.gov/.../secretary/alex-m-azar/index.html

President Trump got rid of the hated and illegal mandate, but Sen. John McCain went against his party and the AZ voters who supported him, to stab him in the back on dissolving an over priced and underused Obamacare, which many couldn't afford but were forced to purchase. Even with 5 government plans about 15% of Americans did not have or chose not to purchase health insurance when Obama took office. That administration destroyed adequate or affordable insurance for millions and they definitely did not get to keep their doctor and they were forced to purchase less desirable, less affordable plans filled with features they didn't need. And still over 8% didn't have insurance when he left office. His legacy--more bureaucracy and more interference in our lives.

Biden chooses anti-life leftist for HHS

Biden's pick for HHS--really bad:

"For starters, Becerra has zero qualifications in public health, and, given his relentless culture war signaling not just against President Trump (Becerra has issued over 100 lawsuits against his administration) and against religious liberty, his nomination seems more like vice signaling from the Biden camp. According to the New York Times, health experts friendly with the Biden team were "unhappily" taken aback by the choice. This alone will provide grounds for even Democrats tepid about religious liberty and abortion issues to oppose him. But Becerra's political weaponization of his office makes this an easy slam dunk, so long as Republicans have the stones to pick their battles and fight like hell to win them. "

Anti-abortion groups call Biden health secretary pick Xavier Becerra 'a pro-abortion extremist' (msn.com)

The current Secretary of HHS is Alex Azar.  From the Department bio: “While at HHS, Secretary Azar has developed and led President Trump’s vision for healthcare: a patient-centric, affordable, personalized system that puts the patient in control and treats the patient like a human being, not like a number. He has pioneered a patient-centered approach to the value-based transformation of the American healthcare system, including through transparency around price and quality, outcomes-based payments, interoperable health IT, provider collaboration, and unprecedented regulatory relief that places patients over paperwork. Under his tenure, HHS has transformed the pharmaceutical marketplace, driving down drug prices through a comprehensive drug pricing strategy and approval of historic levels of generic, brand, and biosimilar drugs. The Department has also worked to make health insurance more affordable and created more options for Americans who lack employer-based insurance.”

The Day the World Came to Town, 9/11 in Gander Newfoundland, by Jim DeFede

Our book club (I joined in 2000 when I retired, but I think the group has been meeting about 35 years) met via Zoom yesterday for a discussion of "The Day the World Came to Town, 9/11 in Gander Newfoundland." by Jim DeFede. It's worth a read just to be reminded of what fine, wonderful qualities and skills appear when a tragedy happens. We saw this in the weeks following 9/11 in the U.S., although you'd never know Americans pull together in crisis these days.

Book Review: The Day the World Came to Town, 9/11 in Gander Newfoundland - Redd Reads = Book reviews (reddspace.com)

Our group benefitted greatly because we had an eyewitness share her experiences, and she's been back to Newfoundland 29 times! Her plane load went to Lewisporte. Her enthusiasm for the people and especially the story of creating a scholarship fund for the local children was infectious. When I looked up Lewsporte, I found a photo of Shirley and the 2002 class that received scholarships to go to college. We heard about the captain of her Delta flight, the fireman, the bus drivers, the local Lion's club, the bonobos, one of which came to Columbus and had a baby named "Gander," the Broadway musical "Come from Away," based on the events, the CEO who refused a free trip back to the U.S. so he could stay with his fellow passengers, the rabbi who wouldn't travel on Sunday, the tiny towns and islands, the love story and marriage of 2 stranded passengers, Shirley's meeting with Prince Charles and Camilla, Walmart and the other businesses giving all the passengers free items because their luggage had to stay on the planes (38 jumbo jets). It was just a nice, warm tale of the goodness of people.

Special scholarships for Lewisporte students a lasting legacy of 9/11 attacks | CBC News

Touched by Canadians' 9/11 kindness, Dublin woman continues scholarship efforts - News - The Columbus Dispatch - Columbus, OH

Channel surfing, musings and opinions

Scanning news channels again today while riding my exercycle. There are many new ones, or less well known, out there. I stopped to look at BNC, Black News Channel. Like many news channels, it's rip and read for AP or an MSM channel, but with more sports and entertainment. Today the big story was Trump supporters making threats against poll workers and politicians--although that was the interpretation. I looked carefully at the footage, and saw no one running, looting or burning as we witnessed in the summer. I saw no one shouting down speakers or blocking their access like we see on college campuses when ANTIFA or the local Democrats trying to shut down conservative voices.

Since I wasn't aware of this channel until last week, I don't know how they covered the abuse of ordinary citizens in restaurants or events, or if they reported on people losing their jobs for supporting Trump. Most stories have more than two sides, or they need some nuance or actual investigative reporting. What we've come to expect from our media is polarization, no in depth reporting, and the CEOs (like CNN’s Zucker) setting the standard "dump on Trump" or lose your job. But like the Hispanic channels Telemundo and Univision, there is no racial or ethnic diversity for their on-camera reporting at BNC.

Ah, I can almost hear the "yes, but. . ."

The Halifax Explosion

I managed to live to the ripe old age of 81 and had never heard of the Halifax Explosion of Dec. 6, 1917. Until the atom bomb, it was the largest explosion known to mankind. Two ships tried to evade a collision both loaded for the war effort in Europe, but hit each other. The Mont-Blanc was carrying 2,925 metric tons of explosives—including 62 metric tons of guncotton, 246 metric tons of benzol, 250 metric tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT), and 2,367 metric tons of picric acid. About 2,000 people died, and many thousands injured, people come out to watch see only the smoke and then there was the explosion. I happened to hear the author John U. Bacon being interviewed about his book, "The Great Halifax Explosion : A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism."

https://youtu.be/MWlqP4Hxp5o

Quick peek at cousin Kirby on Shindig

My cousin Kirby Johnson (from Byron, IL) was a member of the Wellingtons, a boy band which became a back up group on Shindig a 60s TV show that featured live music by up and coming musicians (like Aretha Franklin and Roy Clark, Righteous Brothers, Marianne Faithful).  This is a link to a 1991 retrospective, and Kirby appears around minute 10 and 18.

https://youtu.be/KdO4TP21Xys

I’ve wrote a blog about the group, originally called The Lincolns because they met as fraternity brothers at the University of Illinois. Collecting My Thoughts  Kirby Johnson died in 1999.

Merle Norman

"Coverage: Medium to Full. Finish: Dewy. For dry skin types.

What makes this Merle Norman original foundation a cult classic? It has kept a multitude of complexions looking young and beautiful. Layer it to achieve maximum foundation coverage. The long-wearing creamy formula provides the base for a gorgeous face by protecting against the drying effects of the sun, wind and environmental pollutants."

Feel beautiful just reading the ad. Dewy. A cult classic. Young and beautiful. Creamy formula. Gorgeous. Protection from environmental pollutants.

I've been using it for 40 years.

Watching i24News for Israeli-middle east coverage

CONGRATULATIONS to our President on the 3rd anniversary of recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, something other Presidents had promised, but then backed down. Since 1995 when it was approved by Congress with a bi-partisan majority, other presidents took the out using a waiver, refusing to recognize Jerusalem as the capital. Most politicians don't keep their promises, but a man who wasn't a politician and who has received 4 years of criticism and hate for not being part of the good-old boys club, got the job done.

Also this week-end Israel is participating in a trade show with the UAE. Another result of Trump's brokering a peace between Israel and its Muslim neighbors. Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met the first commercial flydubai flight, and this week he wished well the pilots of the first Israir flight going to Dubai. And on Wednesday Israelis sent greetings to the United Arab Emirates as it celebrated its national day. Again, this breaking out of peace angered the boys in both parties, who thought nothing could move things ahead except more meetings held over years.

Thank you, Mr. President, for showing the way to get things done, and especially for Warp Speed and the vaccine.

For information on Israel and the middle east that you probably won't get from MSNBC or CNN, try i24NEWS, an Israeli English language international 24-hour news and current affairs television channel located in Jaffa Port, Tel Aviv. It began broadcasting in Feb. 2017.

Psalm 107—message for today from 1936

Yesterday morning the Psalm selection in Magnificat was Psalm 107—titled, "A Psalm with a message for America Today." Erling C. Olsen is so good at going back in history and explaining what was going on in Israel when the psalm was written, what its significance is for the life of Jesus, and then our lives. Except. He was speaking/writing in 1936. That was the Great Depression. The book is based on his radio broadcasts. He comments about the warnings God had given Israel--the people would taste the goodness of God, they would back slide, he would warn them, they would get in great trouble, then cry out and God would save them. He was merciful. Then it would start all over.

By 1936, when he gave this broadcast about Psalm 107 the U.S. had been in depression for 7 years, and in 1934 and 1935 there were serious droughts (the people on the east coast barely noticed because is was happening in the wheat belt and plains). The Americans blamed everybody and everything for our circumstances, he said, except our own sins. The government had ordered the farmers to plow under their fields and slay their livestock. Olsen said he didn't wish to get political but from the president on down, these were godless, wicked doings.**

"Just as God will turn a fruitful land into barrenness because of the wickedness of the people that dwell therein, so upon their repentance He will turn the wilderness into a standing water, and the dry ground into water springs so that the people may sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase. . . . That kind of blessing only comes when a nation bows itself before God and repents of its wickedness. Would to God Americans would do that!"

Maybe he's waiting for the churches to open.

**Note: Olsen is referring to the Agriculture Adjustment Act of 1933 (sort of like "Cash for Clunkers" under Obama) when the elitists in government decided prices were too low and the production too high, so herds were slaughtered, and food destroyed, even though people were starving. The farmers had to cooperate or they would get no aid from the government. Is this ridiculous plan beginning to sound like 2020?

Who benefits from the lockdowns, musings and opinions

The lockdowns have benefitted the unions and Big Tech, two entities massively intertwined with politicians. The lockdowns have hurt the church, small businesses, and anyone seeking an education, particularly children. This won't end well. The lockdowns have increased suspicion and animosity between the haves and have nots (of freedom) Even an ordinary person sees that the ruling class tells us to mask up and shut up, while they continue life as usual--parties, restaurants, travel, investments, and private in-school education for their kids. So when Biden says, wear a mask for 100 days, who will believe him that it is about health? If the power brokers and pushers aren't worried, why should we be?

California: the Failed State

The First, a conservative news channel, was showing a special report on California, referred to as California, the cradle of crazy. Not sure when it originally debuted—Saturday morning is usually not that time slot.  Here are some take away. It’s on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jdtxAXjXvKE

California used to be a Red State (Republican, conservatives).  What happened, how did it become a one party state with Democrat super majorities? 

The host of this special asked Chuck DeVore of Texas, who use to live in California.  He attributed it to the loss of the aerospace industry loss after the end of the Cold War.  Also after the 80s amnesty for illegals, there was a huge influx of illegals, who could be bought by the Democrats. Big Tech rather than agriculture  is now dominate, and rather than being libertarian in outlook it is actually socialist.  Hispanic immigration is not monolithic—middle class with education and capital goes to Texas and poor, low skilled to California. (Chuck Devore, John Philips,) Johnnydontlike.com

The news moves east to west, but the culture moves west to east.  California’s culture is being exported to other states. There is an impulse to regulate everything—home ownership is giving way to renters. There are fewer stakeholders and taxes don’t matter.  Middle class renters have a different perspective than home owners.

Katy Grimes, author of California’s War against Donald Trump" was interviewed on corruption in the the state house and executive branch.  Wow.  That was depressing—especially a run down on Kamala Harris, who ignored the San Bernadino terrorist crimes yet went after the Planned Parenthood scandal. Also the guy running for Secretary of State, big anti-2nd amendment guy who was running guns for Islamic terrorists and Chinese.

The Georgia scandal

 Even with the video showing the Georgia scandal of counting votes after sending the poll watchers home after a "water pipe leak" Facebook is calling my post and link about it "fake news." I guess they'll call the GA governor out on that one, too. These twits really irritate me, but Facebook is "free" and can set its own rules about fake. Fakebook. We get what we pay for, folks. An addiction, a vote manipulator, and a really poor source of news.

Biden's shaggy dog tail

 Now Joe Biden says he slipped and broke his foot because he got out of the shower and chased his dog and slipped on a rug.

Adults older than 65 years of age suffer the greatest number of fatal falls. 37.3 million falls that are severe enough to require medical attention occur each year. Will we have 37.3 million people hospitalized with Covid this year? Should we destroy our economy because old people fall and need medical attention? The one-year mortality rate in seniors over 60 is as high as 58% following injuries related to trips, slips, and falls, statistics in the elderly show. For Covid it's 5.6%. Should the schools close? The death rate for older Americans is much higher for whites than blacks--it's much higher in Wisconsin than in Alabama, but to my knowledge no one has a grant to determine the cause of the racial gap.

That said, how do you get the picture of a wet, naked Biden chasing a dog out of your head?

There are protected classes at Ohio State

Although Ohio State University claims “The university recruits and selects the most qualified individuals for open positions” when you read who is “protected” by the policies of affirmative action and equal opportunity, you see that isn’t true.

“Ohio State does not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, HIV/AIDS status, military status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or protected veteran status, or any other bases under the law, in its education program or activity, which includes employment.

In addition, the university complies with Executive Order 2019-05D, which prohibits any Ohio State employee from discriminating against any other employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, national origin (ancestry), military status (past, present or future), disability, age (40 years or older), status as a parent during pregnancy and immediately after the birth of a child, status as a parent of a young child, status as a foster parent, genetic information, or sexual orientation, as those terms are defined in Ohio law, federal law, and previous Executive Orders, in making any of the following employment-related decisions:

a. Hiring b. Layoff c. Termination d. Transfer e. Promotion f. Demotion g. Rate of Compensation h. Eligibility for In-Service Training Programs

Then we get into a long list of definitions which includes:

Discrimination (disparate treatment and disparate impact) occurs when an adverse action is taken under university authority against a university community member in an educational program or activity and the action is based upon one’s s protected class status. Disparate treatment occurs when one suffers less favorable treatment than others because of their protected class status. Disparate impact occurs when a university policy or practice, although neutral on its face, adversely impacts persons in a protected class.

There is no recourse under university rules if a healthy, white male is not selected for the job even if he is the most qualified, or if he is on the job and experiencing harassment, bullying, unequal assignments, hate speech, unwanted sexual advancements, cyber threats, political discrimination, etc. He’s not protected. But a transfemale lesbian with Asian heritage could file for discrimination for exactly the same workplace experiences.  Actually, the rules are not for the workplace—they include off campus and virtual spaces.

And yes, the pregnancy policy uses the words, “status as a parent during pregnancy” rather than “pregnant woman,” because we all know that in the 21st century men can be mothers too.

This hiring/enrollment policy is not new, but it is regularly revised (I’m quoting from a draft revision) to keep up with evolving identity politics and social injustices.  When I was responsible for hiring a paraprofessional assistant back in the early 1990s, I was first required to interview candidates which common sense would disqualify in the “real” world of business.  I remember the ex-convict who wanted a grounds keeping, outdoor job, but had worked as a student staff in one of the libraries 20 years before so he was sent by personnel and I had to interview him.  Or a candidate who was in a wheelchair and would not be able to shelve books higher than her head or get her wheelchair through the of book shelves aisles.

Affirmative Action, Equal Employment Opportunity and Non-Discrimination/Harassment policy (osu.edu)

Telemundo—still the whitest TV in town

While I was doing 7 miles on my exercycle this morning, I watched an Irish nun give an excellent presentation of Matt. 24. Wow. That will scare the daylights out of you. Then I switched to Telemundo, a Spanish language cable channel owned by NBC which is owned by Comcast. I watched a bit and see that all the stories are exactly the same as any other MSM. Even the Covid19 scare features.

Except. Culture shock. Everyone is white! I forget how integrated all our entertainment and media shows are until I see one that isn't. And such beautiful news folk. My goodness. The women especially are stunning, but it clearly shows the power of "colorism" or "shadeism". Even the actors in the commercials are white. But if they are addressing Spanish speaking Americans why are there no black, brown, Asian, Indian, gay or disabled people like I see on other media?

Vaccines on the market—when FDA says so

Operation warp speed, which worked well cutting years of red tape off development of new drugs, apparently didn't include FDA approval and distribution. Private industry moves in real time, with urgency, and government agencies work in swamp time. The vaccine is being slow walked and I and millions of others have this figured out.

FDA chief Hahn summoned as White House complains about timing of vaccine approval – MarketWatch

Pfizer applies for emergency FDA approval of COVID-19 vaccine (nypost.com)

Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine Goes to FDA | Time

Some drugs get to market without FDA approval. First Alzheimer's blood test now on the market, without FDA approval - CBS News