Wednesday night Picnic

 On Wednesday evening we head for Perry Park, weather permitting, to eat a hot dog, macaroni salad, baked beans, watermelon and chips.  This is a happy time, with a lot of laughter.  We bring a long our chairs because there aren't enough picnic tables to hold the crowd. In the second photo are Bob and me and Pat and Bob with whom we were sitting, and then some photos of the volunteers who help with the food. It was extremely hot last night, but the breeze from the lake was wonderful. 

The big lie--the U.S. was founded on slavery

In a Q & A session this past week I heard a fellow Christian, a Lutheran, piously repeat one of the biggest lies of our era: that our country was founded on slavery--it's based on the 1619 New York Times misbegotten, misinformation, vanity award of several years ago. No respectable historian ever accepted it, but liberals eager for self-flagellation willingly drink those polluted waters. The wealthy middle class matrons seem to love the topic for their book clubs and tea.

"The 1619 Project is not history; it is ignorance. It claims that the American Revolution was staged to protect slavery, though it never once occurs to the Project to ask, in that case, why the British West Indies (which had a far larger and infinitely more malignant slave system than the 13 American colonies) never joined us in that revolution. It claims that the Constitution’s three-fifths clause was designed by the Founders as the keystone that would keep the slave states in power, though the 1619 Project seems not to have noticed that at the time of the Constitutional Convention, all of the states were slave states (save only Massachusetts), so that the three-fifths clause could not have been intended to confer such a mysterious power on slavery unless the Founders had come to the Convention equipped with crystal balls. It behaves as though the Civil War never happened, that the slaves somehow freed themselves, and that a white president never put weapons into the hands of black men and bid them kill rebels who had taken up arms in defense of bondage. The 1619 Project forgets, in other words, that there was an 1863 Project, and that its name was emancipation.

Finally: the 1619 Project is not history; it is evangelism."

So for Christians especially it is chasing false gods to worship. Sigh. Our country has many flaws--it is after all full of sinners like you and me in need of a Savior and was founded by sinners who wanted worldly rewards. How could it be perfect? But this 1619 drivel is beyond any conspiracy theory the right wing ever imagined. The ignorance, the self-satisfaction, the smugness--it's like trying to escape through a California wild fire with someone using up the oxygen that's left.

https://www.city-journal.org/1619-project-conspiracy-theory

The 1619 Project: Sloppy scholarship and distorted history under consideration for Washington schools » Publications » Washington Policy Center

Down the 1619 Project’s Memory Hole (quillette.com)

The 1619 Project: Believe Your Lying Eyes by Seth Forman | NAS

Yon and Peterson discuss Pandemic, Famine and War

Sri Lanka used to be a food exporter, had a thriving economy. The government decided they needed to go "green" to save the planet (i.e. grab more power and control) and now people are starving and rioting. Netherlands was the 2nd largest exporter of agricultural products even with a population of only 17 million--that tiny country not only fed itself, but others--now truckers and farmers are rioting because power hungry greenies are going berserk. They are trying to demonize the farmers--killing their golden goose and the impact will be starvation for other countries. Yon and Peterson discuss that war creates war, and famine creates famine, and well, we all know about that pandemic. Yet smart intelligent American Democrats support the climate change lie which is trying to destroy agriculture and transportation, not only in developing countries, but in wealthy, well-fed countries.

https://youtu.be/R7gAEkzIgvw YouTube discussion July 28, 2022

https://aboutthenetherlands.com/why-does-the-netherlands-export-so-much-food/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/21/emotion-and-pain-as-dutch-farmers-fight-back-against-huge-cuts-to-livestock

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/20/what-is-behind-largest-protests-in-panama-in-years-explainer?

https://www.dw.com/en/german-farmers-eye-poor-harvest-urge-freeing-up-fallow-land/a-62650482?

Here's a moving comment on the discussion by a Dutch citizen:

"As a Dutch man I must admit that all the praise and applause for our country brought tears to my eyes. So much I actually paused the video (especially the part at 1:02:19 ). We live in a time where every sense of pride or patriotism is considered a bad thing, so much, in fact, that when other people acknowledge the accomplishments of your nation it (apparently) brings up incredible strong emotions. The cliché mentality of a Dutch person is: stop whining and do your job. Our mothers creed is: "bad weather does not exist only bad clothing". We usually shrug our shoulders and carry on with our lives. This no- nonsense mentality is the strongest within the farmers community. They withstand the horrible Dutch weather with lots of rain and howling winds that blow over the flat lands to feed everybody. Literally. Not just their community, or their country.... no a large part of the world. They are the sort of people that, until a couple of years ago, were characterized as more or less "emotionless". Now their land, their family business, that was so carefully built over generations is taken away from them. It is a bloody shame. They truly are the canary in the coalmine. I stand with them for 100%."

Flowers at the cottage

 Although we've sold our cottage at Lakeside, this year the flowers have been doing beautifully.  So Bob took a photo, and because of the reflections in the porch window, we also have a photo of our neighbors.

Making churches relevant

 This is one more article about why mainline and evangelical churches are shrinking (i.e. dying, becoming irrelevant).  Unfortunately, the author after attempting to describe the problem--cultural suicide--suggests finding a new vision.  Huh?  Have they tried Jesus? This is an irrelevant article about why churches have become irrelevant.

The author is still quoting William Sloane Coffin.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/gloriouslife/2021/01/how-mainline-churches-closed-themselves/

Low fat or full fat? Silver Sneakers' advice

 https://www.silversneakers.com/blog/should-you-ditch-low-fat-foods-for-good/? 

 I try to eat the real thing when available. Real milk. Real butter. But I didn't for years. My mom was all about margarine and 2% milk. Salad greens need full fat dressing, if you want dressing. (Not everyone does.) All that low-fat stuff and no calorie drinks just make one eat/drink more because they aren't satisfying. Not impressed with that plant-based, highly processed substitute for meat, either. If you have an ethical problem with eating animals, that's one thing, but if you think plant burgers will save the planet, you're kidding your self.

Andrew Forrest, preacher of the week at Lakeside

Our pastor this week has been Andrew Forrest. Outstanding. He's beginning a new position in Tulsa, Oklahoma, leaving Dallas, TX, but made the move via Lakeside, Ohio. He was just the best, and left us all in tears Thursday morning. His theme for the week was the Prologue of the Book of Genesis, Chapters 1-11 (Creation to Babel).  It will be interesting to see if someone this good can remain in the United Methodist denomination.  It's a boiling pot ready to spill over.

About — Andrew Forrest

From Lakeside website:

"Lakeside Chautauqua welcomes Rev. Andrew Forrest as Preacher of the Week July 24-28. He will lead the 10:30 a.m. Chautauqua Community Worship Service on Sunday, July 24 in Hoover Auditorium. This week’s service will be live streamed. Visit lakesideohio.com/streaming to watch on the day of the service. This week’s preacher is supported by Dr. James & Betty Jane Young.

Forrest’s Sunday sermon is “Genesis: The Beginning of Wisdom,” and the scripture is Genesis 1:1-2:3. He will also lead Vespers by the Lake at the Steele Memorial Bandstand. Note: Vespers will take place Monday at 7:30 p.m. instead of Tuesday.

Forrest is a husband, father and pastor. Raised in West Africa and Virginia, he has an undergraduate degree from Columbia University in New York and a graduate degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. As a third generation Methodist minister, he was the pastor of Munger Place United Methodist Church in Dallas since it was planted in 2010 by nearby Highland Park United Methodist Church. After 12 years at Munger Place, Forrest became the Senior Pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma on July 1, 2022. His first Sunday at Asbury will be Aug. 7.

Forrest wants to engage culture, teach the Bible, and most importantly, make weekly worship the foundation of everything. He believes the purpose of a pastor is to prepare people to live faith-fully in the world. Forrest blogs at andrewforrest.org."

City Council to support abortion with our money

"Today, Ohio Right to Life released a statement in response to Columbus City Council’s recently approved ordinance no. 2215-2022. The ordinance was approved on July 25th, 2022, and is one of several ordinances which compose the city council’s larger initiative to protect so-called "reproductive healthcare" for pregnant women. Ordinance no. 2215-2022 authorizes a partnership with Pro-Choice Ohio to investigate the medical legitimacy of Crisis Pregnancy Centers. The ordinance states that this attack will be funded by $26,500 of taxpayer funds, taken from the Neighborhood Initiative subfund.

“I have personally worked with dozens of pregnancy centers across the state of Ohio during my years of pro-life work. The individuals who work at these pregnancy centers are some of the most kind, caring, competent, and loving individuals that you could encounter,” says Ohio Right to Life's Executive Director Peter Range. He continued, “I invite each city council member in the state of Ohio to visit with me their local pregnancy centers so they can see firsthand the amazing work they are doing for mothers, fathers, and babies in need.”

Ohio Right to Life's Director of Communications Elizabeth Whitmarsh strongly condemned the ordinance, stating “the targeting of pregnancy resource centers will put vulnerable women at risk and strip them of the resources they need on a day-to-day basis.” She went on to say, “the obvious truth here is that the anti-life activists do not care about women in need, and in fact, they are willing to put them at risk of survival if it means they can silence pro-life voices.” Peter Range shared similar sentiments: “The fact that these pregnancy centers are under attack is a clear illustration the left is not focused on women’s health, but just expanding abortion.” "

Too late for these memories?

 I received a notice (in a newsletter) from my alma mater (University of Illinois).

Calling all Former Library Student Employees
Did you work for the Library when you were a student at Illinois? We want to hear from you! Share a favorite memory, why you loved working for the Library, or how the Library helped shape your career path. You may be featured in an upcoming issue of the Library's award-winning Friendscript newsletter.

Fill out this short survey here.

I've been blogging for almost 20 years, (2003) but I can't recall I ever wrote down any memories of being a student employee in the 50s (as an undergrad) and 60s (graduate student) at the University of Illinois Library. 

Med students walk out at the University of Michigan

Medical students at the University of Michigan walked out of their White Coat Ceremony in protest Sunday after Dr. Kristin Collier, who wasn't speaking about abortion, was introduced; her views are known. She has referred to abortion as violence, and it is. She's referred to the unborn as her prenatal sisters, and they are. But let's look at the overprivileged, highly educated students who walked out. First they'd petitioned to stop her appearance, and when they didn't get their way, they stamped their big biased feet and walked out. They can't dare to have their minds warped by someone with a different view point--like the truth about life.

Is that how they will treat patients who want to carry to term but the doctor "knows best" and violates not just their oath, but human decency? Will they refuse to treat blacks or trans people if they don't like their politics? What about those disabled from military injuries if they (the doctors) didn't like the war?

 
I don't think these people are mature enough to have this level of responsibility, but really I don't know where they could go where it is acceptable to be open to views other than your own bubble. If this isn't happening at your local/state university, it's probably because no pro-life people have been hired or promoted.

University of Michigan students walk out on anti-abortion speaker Kristin Collier (nypost.com)

Medical students walk out over pro-life speaker: 'This is generally problematic for our culture' | Fox News

Symphony begins tonight

All of Lakeside looks forward to this.  In 2020, we only had small groups playing at the bandstand in the park, and 2021 had a very limited season.  Now this announcement:

"Under the direction of Music Director & Conductor Daniel Meyer, the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra (LSO) will open its 59th summer residency in Lakeside at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 26 in Hoover Auditorium.

The LSO, established in 1963, is a celebrated tradition at Lakeside and a key component of our arts programming. More than 80 musicians from across the country are members of the symphony, many of whom have devoted years of service to Lakeside.

This summer brings a series of LSO performances for all ages, seven to be exact, with extraordinarily talented guest artists and new opportunities for audiences to share the love of music and the symphony. There will also be an LSO Brass Quintet Family Concert on Thursday, Aug. 4 and four Pre-Concert Lectures on July 29, Aug. 2, 9 and 12."

 BIOGRAPHY | danielmeyerblack (danielmeyermusic.com)

Lakeside Chautauqua names Daniel Meyer new symphony conductor - cleveland.com

Vitamins for the eyes -- recommended

 Yesterday my ophthalmologist, Dr. Rogers, suggested I could benefit from vitamins to slow the progress of macular degeneration. The study is called AREDS 2, so I've looked through a few articles that explain it and which are free to download and print.

Abstract Is There an Optimal Combination of AREDS2 Antioxidants Zeaxanthin, Vitamin E and Vitamin C on Light-Induced Toxicity of Vitamin A Aldehyde to the Retina? - PubMed (nih.gov)

"Vitamins C and E and zeaxanthin are components of a supplement tested in a large clinical trial-Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2)-and it has been demonstrated that they can inhibit the progression of age-related macular degeneration. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal combinations of these antioxidants to prevent the phototoxicity mediated by vitamin A aldehyde (ATR), which can accumulate in photoreceptor outer segments (POS) upon exposure to light."

Abstract The Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2): Study Design and Baseline Characteristics (AREDS2 Report Number 1) - PMC (nih.gov)

Purpose

The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) demonstrated beneficial effects of oral supplementation with antioxidant vitamins and minerals on the development of advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in persons with at least intermediate AMD (bilateral large drusen with or without pigment changes). Observational data suggest that other oral nutrient supplements might further reduce the risk of progression to advanced AMD.

The primary purpose of Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of lutein+zeaxanthin (L+Z) and/or omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) supplementation in reducing the risk of developing advanced AMD. The study will also assess the reduction in zinc and the omission of beta-carotene from original AREDS formulation.

We are all paying for transgender surgery through Medicaid

Medicaid represents $1 out of every $6 spent on health care in the US and is the major source of financing for states to provide coverage to meet the health and long-term needs of their low-income residents. The Medicaid program is jointly funded by states and the federal government. Now that states are succumbing to pressure from leftist ideology groups to obscure the truth known from the beginning of time by pagan tribes, rampaging warlords, Greek philosophers, Roman Caesars and thousands of years of the Judeo-Christian traditions with sacred texts (including Bill Clinton and Barack Obama), trans-intervention (called GAHT and GAS) will be covered by Medicaid.

“Gender-affirming surgeries are safe, effective, and medically necessary,” says the ACLU, but in fact they aren't any of those. Certainly not safe or effective when one considers the long term (untested) results of a life time of mental confusion and hormones foisted on people already with high suicide rates. But they want us to pay for their crimes in the medical, legal, non-profit (obviously very well funded) and entertainment fields. They want the government to pay for amputating non-diseased penises, testicles and breasts, and then they want all of us to not only pay for it, but to agree it's right, change our language and submit to being vilified if we speak the definition of a real woman.

Patrick W. Lappert, MD: "Self-identified transgender persons are a small but apparently growing population of persons who experience a severe dissonance between their sex (male or female) and their interior sense of themselves as men or women. It is a condition that is associated with a high rate of self-harming behavior, including alcohol abuse, drug abuse, sexual abuse, prostitution, and suicide. It is a condition that demands merciful care in every regard.

 
Care for transgender persons is presently being compromised by a distortion in our understanding of the human person. Whereas in times past the patient was seen as an intrinsic unity of body and spirit, today we are seeing large segments of the medical community tacitly accepting an understanding of the human person as a kind of spirit creature that may or may not be inhabiting the correct body." Are Man and Woman Interchangeable? – St. Paul Center (stpaulcenter.com)

I only mention Clinton and Obama because Bill admired women and knew the difference, and Obama was a great family man and even in his campaign said marriage was between a man and women until the swamp issued directives about rest rooms during his term, so we can date this official, tax paid insanity to about 2012, a little recent in the history of mankind's approval.

Georgia' Medicaid will Pay for Sex Change Operations for Trans Women (breitbart.com)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33422448/

Baby in womb surgery photo

Republican Rep. Gary Palmer of Alabama briefly showed a photograph of a preborn child at a House subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, but Chairwoman Diana DeGette, D-CO, immediately gaveled him and demanded the picture be taken down. It was a photograph of a preborn child reaching out from his mother’s womb during a surgery, and clasping the doctor’s finger. The surgery was a success, and that child is now in his twenties."

It was not a photo of abortion, it was a photo of a live baby and life saving medical help, high tech, correcting spina bifida. I thought Democrats loved that. Science. But because it proves them wrong, this photo infuriates Democrats and pro-abortion forces.

The baby was anesthetized for the surgery, so technically he didn't grab the finger. Makes no difference. This is a living child.

https://cnsnews.com/commentary/terence-p-jeffrey/handshake-photo-taken-down-congressional-hearing

https://idoc.pub/documents/samuel-armas-sarah-switzer-in-utero-fetal-surgery-for-spina-bifida-dr-joseph-bruner-dr-noel-tulipan-vanderbilt-umc-born-twice-the-miracle-of-life-m34m0kygkml6

Prepare yourselves for Biden's Climate emergency

Prepare for the Climate Emergency--Biden could shut you down--take your fuel, your money, your future, and Democrats will fall for it. Even some Republicans are dumb enough to fall for it. All to save something 2 centuries from now, they don't know what, and destroy what we have today. People who can't figure out men don't have babies are telling you to be afraid of climate models.

I just did an internet search--something really simple about when Ohio was under a glacier and it melted. I had to go through about 100 entries of scare stories that had nothing to do with the subject to find this:

"When the earliest ice sheets penetrated Ohio they dramatically changed drainage patterns in the state. The Erigans River was destroyed and the Teays River was dammed in southern Ohio. A large, ice-dammed lake, Lake Tight, formed in the valleys of southern Ohio, and adjacent Kentucky and West Virginia. Eventually, the lake spilled over low divides and cut new channels. This was the beginning of the creation of the Ohio River. The deep valleys of the Teays River and its tributaries were filled with sediment as they were overridden by the glacier. In some places in western Ohio the buried valley of the Teays River is more than 400 feet deep but no hint of it is visible on the flat surface of the landscape.

The advance of the Illinoian glacier 300,000 years ago continued the modification of the Ohio landscape, eroding bedrock and older sediments and depositing sediment as it melted. This glacier advanced the farthest south of any of the glaciations in Ohio. Deeply weathered Illinoian deposits are present in southwestern Ohio and in a narrow band through east-central Ohio.

The most recent and best preserved glacial deposits are from the Wisconsinan glaciation. This glacier entered Ohio about 24,000 years ago and was gone from the state by 14,000 years ago." . . .

https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Ice_Age_Ohio

Biden labels climate change an ‘emergency,’ stopping short of declaration (msn.com)

Biden announces new climate change programs, no emergency declaration (cnbc.com)

What Would a Biden Climate Emergency Declaration Actually Do? (gizmodo.com)

Christians who voted for Biden

 If you are a Christian who voted for Biden, remember he doesn't use the words safeguard, protect, promote or support when it comes to children in the womb. He doesn't now and never has asked for swift and coordinated action at the border to keep drugs away from your children. When has he ever established an "interagency" gender policy to protect children from the misinformation and lies about their sexuality? Where is the EO for protection of crisis pregnancy centers now under attack by abortion terrorists?

FACT SHEET: President Biden to Sign Executive Order Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services | The White House

The nightmare is not over

"The nightmare is over. In his masterful opinion for the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Justice Samuel Alito consigned the constitutional right of abortion to the ash heap of history. Alito’s criticisms of Justice Harry Blackmun’s opinion in Roe v. Wade are deep and cutting — and entirely justified. Roe was, Alito wrote, “egregiously wrong from the start.” It was “on a collision course with the Constitution from the day it was decided.” " National Catholic Register, June 24.

Most of this is true, and I agree, except the nightmare IS NOT OVER; it's just begun no matter where you are on the pro-life continuum. From conception to dementia and physical collapse in old age, people will need to be thinking through what they believe about God, natural rights, the Constitution, state laws, the minority opinions, investments in corporations supporting abortion for employees, medical and obstetric training for doctors and nurses in states that criminalize abortions, financial and emotional support for women who struggle with a decision, talking to neighbors, relatives and friends about touchy topics, what our children are taught about sex and biology in school and what will be preached and taught in our churches. Jesus' command to love our neighbors is being challenged by society at so many levels. Are we prepared?

In New York, there's nothing to stop an abortion/killing up to the moment of birth, and ground work is in place to allow infanticide for some years after birth. That's very different than Ohio's heartbeat law, or Mississippi's law which bans abortions based on the sex, race, or genetic abnormality of the fetus. And then there's all the issues about language with people being unable to identify a woman, or which words to use about "life" and your employer vested with the power to destroy your career if you can't subscribe to the thought control of management or the university administration.

The nightmare is not over.

Peter Noone, Herman's Hermits at Lakeside

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg-ChNN8yso

We enjoyed Herman's Hermits--Peter Noone--and it was a great evening, Saturday June 16.  All the baby boomers in the audience at Hoover Auditorium were jamming.  Our neighbors (about 73-74) brought their 10 year old granddaughter, but she was playing games on her phone. It's happy music, with a lot of audience participation. Since this video is just a few months old, I think it represents him well.

Women on a bus in 1957

"On a recent trip to visit family, I found myself frequently travelling alone on public transportation. As a female, out of my usual surroundings, I always looked for the safest place to sit. Where might I be safe on this subway, in this train, on this bus? Is there anywhere safe anymore?

Over and again, I found myself seeking out the nearest mother with a child in a stroller in order to seat myself near them. Did that mother have a special forcefield around her? Why did I gravitate to the mother with the child as the safest haven? Because I realized that this mother had made a conscious decision to stand on the front lines." https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2022/07/16/we-are-the-front-lines/?

That's a quote from an article about how Christians are on the front lines in the culture wars. However, for me, I recall an exact incident like this in June 1957 that happened to me. My parents had taken me to the bus stop in Dixon, Illinois, to begin a very long trip by myself at 17 to Fresno, California for a summer term in Brethren Volunteer Service. I've written about it at this blog with photos. https://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/Fresno I certainly didn't have experience at 17 of traveling alone, but I looked for the first adult woman with children (she had 3) I spotted on the bus and sat with her. She couldn't have been more than 20 herself and had an Appalachian accent. I ended up being her babysitter half way across the country, sitting with the little girl and telling her stories while I combed her wispy hair, stories my mother had told me to keep me quiet about critters who snarl the hair of little girls. I think I also used my own money to buy her snacks because her mother didn't get off the bus when we took meal breaks. I felt safer, and the mother was certainly trusting, as I took the little daughter into the rest room, helped her with the toilet and cleaned her up while mommy tended to the boys (the children all had the strong odor of unwashed clothing and bodies).

Maybe it's instinct for women to seek each other for safety. With the culture wars of today, who can you trust?

Losing our Linden (Basswood or Tilia Americana)

The linden, in the fervors of July,
Hums with a louder concert. When the wind
Sweeps the broad forest in its summer prime,
As when some master-hand exulting sweeps
The keys of some great organ, ye give forth
The music of the woodland depths, a hymn
Of gladness and of thanks.

William Cullen Bryant

It has been providing shade here for 90 to 100 years, our neighbor Bill Dudrow says.  About 20 years ago a large section fell on the deck, but after having it trimmed (actually major surgery) we were told it was healthy although somewhat deformed.  Then this summer we noticed a large area of decay developing.  The tree  man came out yesterday and told us the old damaged trunk was splitting and that was the cause of the decay at the bottom.  It will have to come down.  Sigh.

  

The Linden range extends from New Brunswick south to Georgia, and west to Nebraska and Texas.  It is a soft wood, and I hear it's good for carving and cabinets. It has heart shaped leaves and early in the summer develops clusters of blossom-buds in greenish-yellow, which bees love, and the deck requires constant sweeping.

Information from "Our Trees: How to know them" by Arthur I. Emerson. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 5th ed., 1936.