Sunday, September 12, 2021
Abortion, slavery and the Church
From 1435 to 1890, we have numerous bulls and encyclicals from several popes written to many bishops and the whole Christian faithful condemning both slavery and the slave trade. And guess what? Many powerful and greedy Christians, including some religious orders, ignored the clear message of the church. They followed the ways of the world. Just as Biden and Pelosi are ignoring the clear teaching of the Church on the crime of abortion.
Abortion is treating the unborn, the weakest and most helpless among us, as less than human. Biden is doing that. Slavery has existed from the beginning of time/civilization where the strong had complete control over the weak, to use and abuse their bodies as they wished. The women for sex and men for labor. Sometimes the slavers became the enslaved when someone stronger came along--particularly in Africa--which not only enslaved their neighbors, but then sold them to Europeans and Asians (still do). John Newton who wrote "Amazing Grace" had been a slaver who ended up a slave. With abortion, that doesn't happen --the little body that ends up in the trash doesn't come back to do harm to her oppressors. Justice (and mercy) will wait for Jesus' return.” The Popes and Slavery: Setting the Record Straight | EWTN
Saturday, September 11, 2021
Friday, September 10, 2021
Trump's plans for Afghanistan, August 21, 2017
First, our nation must seek an honorable and enduring outcome worthy of the tremendous sacrifices that have been made, especially the sacrifices of lives. The men and women who serve our nation in combat deserve a plan for victory. They deserve the tools they need, and the trust they have earned, to fight and to win.
Second, the consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable. 9/11, the worst terrorist attack in our history, was planned and directed from Afghanistan because that country was ruled by a government that gave comfort and shelter to terrorists. A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists, including ISIS and al Qaeda, would instantly fill, just as happened before September 11th.
"And, as we know, in 2011, America hastily and mistakenly withdrew from Iraq. As a result, our hard-won gains slipped back into the hands of terrorist enemies. Our soldiers watched as cities they had fought for, and bled to liberate, and won, were occupied by a terrorist group called ISIS. The vacuum we created by leaving too soon gave safe haven for ISIS to spread, to grow, recruit, and launch attacks. We cannot repeat in Afghanistan the mistake our leaders made in Iraq.
Third and finally, I concluded that the security threats we face in Afghanistan and the broader region are immense. Today, 20 U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations are active in Afghanistan and Pakistan -- the highest concentration in any region anywhere in the world."
How very different was Trump's vision from the cowardly betrayal of the Biden Abandonment. Biden has besmirched the memory of all the soldiers who fought there, following 4 presidents, and allowed Afghanistan to again be the launching place of terrorist attacks.
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/21/trump-afghanistan-speech-text-241882
"But we will no longer use American military might to construct democracies in faraway lands, or try to rebuild other countries in our own image. Those days are now over. Instead, we will work with allies and partners to protect our shared interests. We are not asking others to change their way of life, but to pursue common goals that allow our children to live better and safer lives. This principled realism will guide our decisions moving forward."
But there was no "principled realism" in the Biden's Abandonment. It was shameful, and now he's making mandates about vaccines in order to cover for his ugly behavior. And our children and those in the middle east and Israel will certainly NOT have better and safer lives.
Thursday, September 09, 2021
Seeds oils, are they safe
This speaker, Dr. Chris Knobbe, was an ophthalmologist and has switched to nutrition, primarily because of research on macular degeneration.
In fact, industrial seed oils, the highly processed oils extracted from soybeans, corn, rapeseed (the source of canola oil), cottonseed, and safflower seeds, were only introduced into the American diet in the early 1900s. How, then, did these oils come to occupy such an influential position not only in the Standard American Diet but in “”Westernized” diets around the world? The story is strange indeed."
Transition surgery for children is child abuse
How could genital mutilation on a child of healthy organs by a physician and at request of parents NOT be sexual abuse? Call it transition or confirming or affirming, throw in a few thousands hormone blockers, and it is still sexual abuse. If an adult chooses a mastectomy or penile amputation, that's their business. But a child may need the protection of the law. Transgenderism is a hoax, and it's OK if adults want to do it and have other adults changing their pronouns to comply with their confusion.
Florida restaurant won't serve Biden supporters
A diner in DeBary, Florida, became popular overnight among residents and the international community after announcing they would no longer serve Biden supporters. They sold out of food the same day and temporarily closed.
I don't think this is a good idea. It's unAmerican to deny service due to politics. However, the owner could serve them a piece of cooked crow with every order.
I was a Veterinary Medicine Librarian at Ohio State, and one time I got a call from a New York Chef wanting to know how to safely bake 4 and 20 blackbirds in a pie. Swear to God, a true story.
Nidal Hasan, a killer, approves of Joe Biden
Former Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Islamic radical who murdered 13 people and wounded more than 30 at Fort Hood in 2009, is now celebrating the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan after President Joe Biden's botched pullout of U.S. forces and lauding the opportunity to install Sharia law in the region. (The Blaze)
I'm sure he's not the only one. And he was a citizen who swore to protect Americans.
Ancestral Health--what is it?
Tuesday, September 07, 2021
Ivermectin--why are the media destroying its reputation as a miracle drug?
"It was just another day in the most misleading, murderous coverage of a global issue in modern times, the attempted assassination of poor little ivermectin. Little Ivy, smaller and safer than aspirin and sometimes portrayed as a lovable little blue bird by its worldwide supporters, is the remarkably safe, affordable, FDA-approved, generic, Nobel-Prize winning drug known to doctors as one of the great “wonder drugs” in human history, rivaling penicillin, until it made the mistake of killing both COVID and big pharma profits like nothing known to science ." commenting on a New York Times article. . .
The Texas case
"In the fall of 2020, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh published a study titled, “Development of humanized mouse and rat models with full-thickness human skin and autologous immune cells.” In studying how organs reacted to pathogens or infections on human skin, researchers grafted “full-thickness human skin” as well as thymuses, livers, and spleens from fetuses onto rodent bodies, creating what they call “humanized rat models.”
https://thefederalist.com/2021/05/07/university-of-pittsburgh-uses-taxpayer-funded-aborted-babies-for-medical-research/
Monday, September 06, 2021
C.S. Lewis on the times we live in
“How are we to live in an atomic age?’ I am tempted to reply: ‘Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of chronic pain, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.’
In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways.
It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.
The first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about death. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”
Sunday, September 05, 2021
Blogging--a blast from the past
Saturday, September 04, 2021
Need for vetting of refugees
Time to turn to therapeutics and get rid of the politics
Friday, September 03, 2021
I'm no longer elderly, I'm an older adult
English is flexible and has more words than any other European language. Remember, "The sun never sets on the Union Jack," and the Brits borrowed a lot of words from those they conquered. But government and academe make speech and writing very difficult between going woke and demanding political correctness, plus the old words don't really go away. We still have "handicapped parking" instead of "differently abled parking." In the 1970s when we visited the Ohio Penitentiary (a term invented by Quakers for penance and reflection about crimes) with our church group we were told that "convict" or "ex-con" or "inmate" were not acceptable. And I'm sure no matter what was OK then, it isn't now.
The CDC doesn't just tackle diseases any more, it polices our language. The trend of adding Person with/of, and twisting words and phrases to say something unpopular less directly, is being carried to the extreme. In 21st century English we must be reminded that everyone is a person (except an unborn child) and groups of persons are people or communities. This has the effect of returning English quickly to its Germanic roots--5-10 words to say something that could be accomplished by adding a prefix or suffix or a simple adjective to a noun. So that garbled phrase must then be shortened to an acronym. Like BIPOC--Black, Indigenous and People of Color, a phrase that includes many who aren't any of those.
Today sexually undecided people don't have "reassignment surgery," but instead it's "affirmation surgery" or "confirmation surgery" or "gender congruence surgery." (And if done on children, I call it sexual abuse, but that's another essay.) Just when I was getting used to being elderly or a senior, I'm now just an "older adult," which is what I'd been calling anyone over 50!
You may no longer be a smoker (wasn't that easy?), but a "person who smokes."

CDC's 'woke' new language guide proposes replacing 'dehumanizing' words like ELDERLY | Daily Mail Online
Thursday, September 02, 2021
It's OK to be angry
"I do not think it appropriate today to release a post that ignores the events of the past couple of weeks. Like many of you, my emotions are pretty raw. Though my faith is strong, still, I’m a mix of anger, grief, sadness, shame, and embarrassment. Faith and hope do not insulate against grief, nor do they demand denial.
I’m angry that my nation is led by weak, unprincipled liars.
I’m angry that the innocent have and will suffer - mercilessly.
I’m angry that brave young women and men pay for the stupidity, arrogance, and selfish ambition of spineless bureaucrats, lying politicians, senile puppets, and woke, incompetent, military leaders.
I grieve, realizing the horror experienced by 80-year-old Americans in Afghanistan who were heartlessly abandoned by their government.
I grieve over mothers and small children beaten by demonized animals as they tried to get to the Kabul airport.
I grieve over busloads of them who were stopped and turned away by the “new and different” Taliban.
I grieve for the pregnant woman kicked in her stomach for trying to flee from our government’s “trusted” new partners.
I grieve over those who made it to the airport gates only to be turned away by our “honorable” military leaders.
I grieve for the 13 young Americans and their families who needlessly lost their lives, as well as for the 150 or so innocent Afghans who were blown to pieces.
I am saddened by all of the above.
I am saddened because I know the suffering isn’t over.
I am saddened because I know none of it was necessary.
And I am saddened that some of my brothers and sisters will be martyred.
I am ashamed and embarrassed for my country.
I am ashamed because we have unprincipled leaders.
I am embarrassed that Americans would give a senile, incompetent liar the most powerful position in the world.
I am embarrassed as our shameless government and military leaders, those responsible for all of this, pat themselves on the back with disgusting self-adulation and sycophancy while the torture and beheadings begin. (We’re not surprised that a nation with our wealth, resources, and a military as dedicated and well-trained as ours can evacuate as many people as they did from Afghanistan in 2 weeks. Stop back-slapping yourselves over this. We’re surprised that you wouldn’t allow this well-trained force to go outside the walls and get the rest! And that you took orders from terrorists.)
I am ashamed and embarrassed that we turned our backs on friends, fellow warriors (then called them cowards), allies, and helpless women and children.
I am embarrassed that many of our leaders who wept and ran in fear on January 6th while their desks were overturned and windows broken - and won’t stop talking about it - can smile and boast as they talk about Afghanistan.
Having dumped my all-too-human emotion on you, I want to leave you with a dose of faith and hope...because I still believe! It is imperative that we not give up or grow cynical. Go ahead and grieve - just as I am - but get up and march on! Use the anger; don’t let it use you. We WILL win.
I believe God is good and will infuse redemption into this evil.
I believe principalities are being judged and will be dislodged by Christ and His church.
I believe many Afghans will turn from Islam and to Christ because of the tragic suffering.
I believe this will spread to other people and nations in the region. I believe the Arab World, the Middle East, and other Muslim nations will receive an earth-shaking revival.
I believe America, too, will experience revival.
I believe the EKKLESIA will accomplish everything Jesus said she would accomplish.
I believe the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
2 Corinthians 4:7-9 says, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the extraordinary greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (NASB)
“We are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within so that this immeasurable power will be seen as God’s, not ours. Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed. At times we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option. We are persecuted by others, but God has not forsaken us. We may be knocked down, but not out.” (TPT)
Pray with me:
Father, once again we appeal to You for mercy. We are not asking for what we deserve, we are asking for Your lovingkindness and mercy, which You love to bestow. We plead the precious blood of Jesus over America, asking You to forgive her and restore her fully to your ways and precepts. Revive us; give us Your mercy.
We also ask You for a wind of Your Spirit to blow all across the earth. We ask for this wind to destroy Your enemies and redeem those who are willing to respond to You. Rescue billions of people from sin and darkness. We ask for dreams and visions to be given to those who don’t know You. We ask that angels be sent to show them the truth about Jesus and who He really is. We ask for Jesus to literally appear to many, also.
And we pray for the precious people of Afghanistan. We pray for comfort, deliverance, protection, salvation, and the breaking of the hold of this evil regime. Work miracles to reverse what has occurred there. And for those who are relocated to other nations, may they find Jesus there. We pray these things in Christ’s name. Amen.
Our decree:
We decree that great revival is coming to the people of Afghanistan, and to many others in the Muslim world."
Dutch Sheets, September 1, 2021, Facebook
Wednesday, September 01, 2021
Guest Blogger, Jeffrey Verasano
Herd immunity can be put aside as a strategy. It will not happen. 36% of Americans according to the CDC already had covid by May 31st 2021, so it's at least 40% today. All of the remaining ones will encounter the virus just like we all get colds and flu.
You can stop blaming your neighbor because you can get it from someone who is vaccinated and masked. You will get it and it doesn't matter who you get it from. Therefore lockdowns, masks and vaccine passports are essentially pointless. At best they delay the inevitable. And they do so at the price of creating social discord, depression, continued recession, and empowering power-hungry bureaucrats.
Focus on your own health, your weight, your immune strength, take whatever prophylactics you want such as vaccines, ivermectin, vitamin d, etc. These are all about of equal effectiveness. The vaccine is no more so than the others.
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Monday, August 30, 2021
Visiting Phil's tree in the Memorial Garden
Several mornings this summer I've walked from our cottage to the Lakeside memorial garden (Chautauqua Park) where our son Phil was interred last August. He died in April 2020 after a brief battle with glioblastoma which had been found on October 1, 2019 after he had two seizures. I do that for a destination when I walk--it is beautiful, quiet and peaceful with park benches and fountains. I decided to call it Phil's tree, since there is no real grave. It's a young Oak, surrounded with dwarf Iris, and five magnolia bushes behind the tree. Today I noticed there is a path into the woods to the north that I'd never seen before, so I went from stone and man made memorials, to the deep quiet and the dampness and smells of a forest, almost as dark as dusk although the sun was shining. There were several trails, but I eventually came out at another spot by the shelter where services are held.
Sunday, August 29, 2021
First world problems on a hot Sunday
The neighbors have invited my husband for a sailboat ride, and now it's starting to thunder.
I told another neighbor I saw his daughter waiting tables at the Patio this morning. Staffing is so light the "alumni" wait staff from years ago have been called in. He told me she isn't his daughter, but was friends with his daughter and everyone makes that mistake.
My husband rarely complains about a sermon, but today we had a sweet young thing in her second church and third pregnancy. It wasn't a bad sermon, but for people in our 80s, it was completely irrelevant. We're finding that a lot these days. "How to do it good" sermons and articles just have lost their appeal.
Speaking of that service, Michael Shirtz did a lovely, jazzy contemporary (his own, I think) arrangement of C. Austin Miles' "I come to the garden alone." We don't hear it much these days, but early in the 20th century it was either loved or hated. Adeline Jasper sang it at my grandmother's funeral in 1963, not knowing that my grandmother was one of the haters (according to my mother). She considered it too shmaltzy and danceable for church--as did many others. But it was a very popular hymn in those days.
Last night's program at the gazebo was breathlessly hot, both in weather and music. The terrifically talented Chozen-Few from Cleveand played Motown, reggae, pop, jazz, blues and mostly 80s, so the gen-x grannies and over the hill boomers were getting up to dance to prove they've still got the moves. The squirrels in the tall trees surrounding the gazebo were going crazy jumping from limb to limb. After 1.5 hours we left, and found out today it went on another 30 minutes. We missed the sunset.
I left my beach towel at the Patio Restaurant this morning--I'd used it to cushion the hard bench in the park at morning worship. So I had to walk back in the heat to retrieve it.
On my way to the store, my neighbor on Oak handed me a sack of homegrown tomatoes while packing up his truck to go back to Dayton. When I got them home I put two in the sun to ripen a bit. Now it is cloudy and the sun has disappeared. Wondering, is it too early for Ida to hit Ohio? Ike (2008) did a few years back and in Columbus many neighborhoods were without power for days.
Nap time is beginning earlier and earlier. Today it was 11 a.m.




