Religious freedom?

"An estimated 350,000 religious congregations operate schools, pregnancy resource centers, soup kitchens, drug addiction programs, homeless shelters, and adoption agencies. These serve 70 million Americans each year and the value of their services are estimated at over $44.3 billion annually." (Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, Vol. 12, Art. 3 (2016)) This is from a religious freedom brochure. Considering how these "free" organizations are controlled by government regulations and are then manipulated by their grants to continue their work I question how free they are to worship, speak out, to petition the government, or to hold privately beliefs about marriage, education and business.

Legal surrogacy is an industry needing legislation

In case you were out of moral and ethical problems to worry about, have you given thought to legal surrogacy--or rent a womb? Many states outlaw it, as do many countries. Ukraine doesn't. And when the war broke out, there were some babies in limbo, or women left postpartum in a war zone without care after the foreign parents swooped in, picked up the baby on demand, and left. In countries that allow it, it is exploitation of poor women. Now Congress is getting involved, although I can't find the right link. New legislation is being planned (follow the money) to insure that gay men or trans women can have their babies and still have insurance coverage and tax deductions. Family building not as God intended. Just a quick internet search reveals the number of Gay Surrogacy businesses. Since I can't find the information, I don't know if there is any protection for the womb mother. Probably not. Politicians buy off the poor, but they don't really help them. We have a SCOTUS justice who can't define woman, a wealthy, highly educated heterosexual lawyer who can't figure it out. It's now considered a "rights" issue--the proposed legislation has to clarify what is infertility; obviously two gay men may not be infertile, nor a single woman, so that can't be the criteria. But someone better hurry with a definition, because technology and the culture has moved on past that little detail. "Inside the rapidly changing world of reproductive technology." If we leave it up to rights groups and politicians (both left and right) we'll have a mess.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-the-rapidly-changing-world-of/id983782306?i=1000590081088

Emma Waters, Heritage Foundation is the speaker interviewed on the Federalist Podcast by  Emily Jashinsky

Bidenflation--now costing about $7,000 per household

Biden's bungling of the economy (shutting down fossil fuel sources, screwing up trade deals, flooding the borders with job seekers, sex workers, and criminals, making us dependent on foreigners who hate us) has cost the average family $7,000 a year. Now he's bragging that inflation is leveling off. Lies, lies.

https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/12/13/average-american-family-has-effectively-lost-7100-biden-economist-says/

Biden’s six favorite lies about inflation and the economy | The Hill

Biden claims inflation 'averaged 2%' after data shows 8.2% (nypost.com)

The Full List Of Every Lie Biden Has Told As President: 139 And Counting (thefederalist.com)

Who's on first?

 I was confirmed in a Lutheran church (ALC synod) in 1976. But it was only last month I learned that Luther's translation into the vernacular (German) was not the first. "The Luther Bible was not the first German printed edition, for there were already 18 printed Bibles before it, the so-called pre-Lutheran Bibles. In addition to the Martin Luther Bible 1522-1545, the Zurich Bible and the Low German Bible were also published around the same time." It was really Gutenberg, not Luther who enabled people to read the Bible. Before that, it was too expensive for the average person to own, although some did. And then maybe a week later I came across an article that St. Jerome wasn't the first to translate the Greek Bible into Latin (Latin Vulgate), also a move to enable people to read in their heart language and understand the Mass. It seems there were a number of Latin translations, but they weren't very good, so the Pope asked him to translate the definitive edition. One article said Jerome didn't use the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament used by Christians) and another said it was his primary source. I wouldn't want to get in the middle of that argument since it's probably political, but had believed he was the "first,"

Was Luther’s Bible the First German Language Bible? | Veracity (sharedveracity.net)

8 things to know about the Luther Bible – DW – 01/05/2022  If you read these 8 things, you would have no idea Luther wasn't the first to translate the Bible into the common language of the people (Germans).

Timeline - Jerome's Bible Legacy (christianity.com) One thing most articles agree on is that Jerome was a disagreeable, difficult to get along with, cranky scholar.  And he taught himself Hebrew in order to translate the Old Testament. 

The Vulgate: Jerome’s Latin Translation of the Hebrew Masoretic Text in 384 AD (bible.ca)

St. Jerome, the Vulgate, and Our Biblical Heritage - Ascension Press Media

The richest county in the U.S. hires Kendi to "educate"

Mega rich racist author Ibram X. Kendi spoke Wednesday evening at the Fairfax County Public Library in Virginia at the cost to tax payers of $22,500. No surprise. Librarians have been woke before radical racist groups came up with the term. When George W. Bush was president I used to blog about the lop sided anti-Bush books on the PL shelves in Upper Arlington, and the almost no selection of Christian books. Public libraries have been under-representing the public for decades, yet the publishing industry depends on their purchases to stay alive. If you did a little deeper, Fairfax Co. also spent about $24,000 on Kendi's books in 2020.

The median value of a home in Fairfax Co. is $595,000 (2021), median household income is $134,00, probably reflecting the high Asian population. In general, Asian is above the national average and white is below.

Library Pays Ibram X. Kendi $22,500 for Woke, ‘Anti-Racist’ Message (dailysignal.com)

Va. District Spent $24,000 On Ibram Kendi Books For U.S. History Classes (thefederalist.com)

Brittney Griner and Viktor Bout

The US arrested Abu Agila Masood, a resident of Libya, on the charge of carrying out the incident known as the Lockerbie Bombing. 270 died. 34 years ago. That's not as many people who have died as a result of the crimes of Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer Biden traded for a basketball player. Guns are OK now--let's remember that in Dems phony baloney blather about the 2nd Amendment. These decisions are never easy, but this one appears on the surface to be 110% political to shore up Biden's base. She was no national or international threat to anyone, just another celebrity violating another country's laws or customs. He, on the other hand, is a danger to people in all countries, including our own.

Dumb and dumber--the Democrats and Climate Change

In the 1960s, I was young and dumb. Can't believe the nonsense I fell for (or over) The Population Bomb was a 1968 book written by Stanford University Professor Paul R. Ehrlich and his wife, Anne Ehrlich and everyone I knew was reading it. Silent Spring came out i 1962, but I don't think it had the same impact, even though Rachel Carson's unproven, unscientific blather killed millions of African children. Ehrlich predicted horrible outcomes including food shortages. Well, we've got all the food we need to feed the world (actually did then too) and it's bad government policy that is starving or creating shortages today, not the climate. Look at what we're going to face with ESG, or what Netherlands and Sri Lanka are going through now not from a shortage of fertilizer, but from a government edict that they can't use it. Democrats are evil, Republicans are weak and useless, and our capitalist/corporate CEOs are rubbing their hands with glee. And although that's our party system, the global warming/climate change nonsense is world wide. Those who won't starve will probably freeze.

Transportation 100 years ago

When my mother was a little girl, her family still kept a carriage horse in the barn that did useful tasks like pulling their cars out of the muddy lanes that approached their graceful farm home two miles from the main road near Franklin Grove, Illinois. I believe she told me the children never rode "Beauty" because she hadn't been broken to ride. Because I was madly in love with horses, I couldn't imagine having a horse that close and NOT riding it. My maternal grandparents were "early adopters" and owned automobiles probably before 1910. Draft horses were still used in the fields because tractors weren't reliable enough, but I believe they were stabled at the tenant farm barn. My father's family in the next county, however, used draft horses regularly in farming. My father told me they sometimes rode one to church, the Pine Creek Church of the Brethren (now disbanded). Draft horses are so massive, so wide and so powerful, I have difficulty picturing this. My grandmother was blind and the four older children would have been quite small. But then, picturing her walking there with little ones doesn't read either. (repeat from 2005 blog about draft horses)

The redefinition of marriage

Ryan Bomberger, chief creative officer and co-founder of The Radiance Foundation (Radiance, www.radiance.life), commented on this “redefinition” of marriage, noting that if liberals are intent to define marriage merely by “who you love,” it follows that any kind of union counts as well.

Bomberger commented, “A handful of House and Senate Republicans have handed the Left a dangerous victory — the redefinition of the very institution that every civilization depends upon: marriage. The entirety of the Democratic Party voted to redefine what God designed. The Republicans who voted against their own Party platform, their constituents, the Constitution, and the institution of marriage helped to pass the (zero) Respect for Marriage Act. This bill sues those who won’t comply with a lie.

“The (zero) Respect for Marriage Act and the First Amendment cannot co-exist. They will always be at odds. This is evidenced by widespread Leftist efforts to force religious organizations and people of faith to bow to LGBTQ+ dogma or be fined, fired, de-platformed, sued and/or bankrupted. The ACLU and Lambda Legal have succeeded in shutting down faith-based adoption agencies for who they are (Christians) and who they love (vulnerable children who need a married mom and dad). In government-run schools, such as those where I live in Loudoun County, Virginia, LGBTQ indoctrination trumps reading, writing and arithmetic and students’ safety. Americans of faith, or even no faith, should be deeply concerned when a government starts dictating what we’re able to believe or speak.”

Bomberger continued, “Voters’ moral dissonance is resounding. Hollywood, news and social media have been relentless in swaying the majority (60%) of Americans to support same-sex marriage, yet half (50%) of those polled simultaneously fear the negative impact on religious liberty. Policies have consequences. Bad policies have casualties. What stops the radical Left from legalizing bigamy, polygamy, incestual unions, objectophilia, or marriages between children and adults?

“Love is love, right?”

Bomberger explained, “The legislation’s text starts off declaring: ‘No union is more profound than marriage.’ This is true. Marriage between one man and one woman — and the family (whether biological or adopted) created by that union — is the bedrock of every society. Sadly, that won’t stop a self-identifying ‘Catholic’ President Biden, who blatantly defies Catholic teachings on human sexuality and our fundamental right to life, from disrespecting and dismantling marriage.

“This is just another attempt by the radical Left and ‘Republicans in Name Only’ congressmen to try to control the language by changing the very meaning of words. They also bolster their false ‘equality’ claims by hitching ‘race’ to ‘sexual orientation’ and pretending that marriages like mine (my wife is Greek/Italian, and I’m Nigerian/Ukrainian) are in any way threatened. Marriages of people of different hues of skin are not comparable, at all, to the redefinition of marriage that accommodates two men, two women, and what will eventually have to include polygamous unions or anything else that falls under the #LoveIsLove banner.

“Section 6 of the bill (which acknowledges the First Amendment’s individual religious freedom and conscience protections) actually contradicts the entire purpose of the law which forces persons ‘acting under color of State’ to comply or be sued. Americans who work for the government, like our brave men and women in the military who protect our freedoms, don’t lose their Constitutional rights. There is predictable irony that a ‘progressive’ bill that claims to provide equal protection under the law proudly treats millions of Americans unequally.”

Balenciaga's bad decision and poor apology

Balenciaga promoting the sexual abuse of children in its ads is bad, bad, bad. That said, how low does the New York Times have to be to blow it off as just another conspiracy by prudes and right wingers? Lower than a snake's belly? Lower than all the perps in the Metoo movement? Lower than all the cancel culture idiots? You may read that NYT fish wrapper; perhaps you buy products it advertises; maybe you know someone who works there. Give it up. If this is the best the old grey lady can do, she needs to be put out for pasture. So of course it didn't report on the Hunter Biden laptop and lied about Trump for 4 years + and went along with all the crazy conspiracies cooked up by the left during the pandemic.
Here's the first line, the lead. "Two new Balenciaga campaigns ignited a firestorm that traveled from the internet to Fox News, fueled by allegations that the brand condoned child exploitation." Notice, they got Fox News in the first sentence, and used the Inflammatory line "fueled by allegations." If you even saw the photos, that's no allegation. That's a slam dunk indictment. So much so, Balenciaga is suing the production company for $25 million in the NY supreme court!

 
The production company isn't to blame, the cameramen weren't to blame, the designers weren't to blame, not the costumers, not the light crew, the child models weren't to blame . . .( but their parents should start parenting classes). Who are to blame--first the people at the top, and not their sub-contractors. Also that ever present, group on the left that has been ripping apart any last shred of decency and history where sex, sexuality, biology, tradition, family, and human relationships are involved. That group is right up there advising your president and his administration about locker rooms, pronouns, athletic events, and court cases involving male/female in America.

And look at the take of CNN. The focus is on the image in the ad of the Supreme Court 2008 case on child porn, not on the disgusting images of the children! I guess because the owners are French they just didn't know what they were looking at? Hello! what about the kids! That might have been a clue. This wasn't "bad judgement" is the culture that is being promoted and pushed every day from the drag queen story hours to the hairy muscular athletes chasing ribbons on the girls' teams.

Balenciaga ads are a symptom of a deadly disease attacking our kids | Fox News

Balenciaga apologises for ads featuring bondage bears and child abuse papers | Balenciaga | The Guardian

https://whdh.com/news/balenciaga-suing-production-company-for-25-million-over-controversial-campaign/

Brittney Grinner

We're always happy when an American can be released from a foreign prison. Too bad Joe left so many behind in Viet Nam in 1975 and again in Afghanistan in 2021--sort of takes the sheen off the glory he'll be strutting.

From Saigon to Kabul: Biden?s response to Vietnam echoes in his views of Afghanistan withdrawal - The Washington Post

Immunity debt

" Immunity debt is not a new idea, though the specific coinage is fairly recent (and some experts bicker over the specifics of what the phrase does and does not mean). Its painful lesson has been learned by American honeymooners who drink the tap water in Cancún, Nigerian Americans who skip malaria prophylaxis while visiting their cousins outside Abuja, and unvaccinated seniors who were hospitalized from COVID-19 while their boosted peers suffered a mere head cold. At its heart, immunity debt is Immunology 101: Hosts whose immune systems haven’t been properly primed are more prone to infection and severe disease."

It seems there's a price to pay for all that unnecessary masking of children the last 2.5 years.

https://slate.com/technology/2022/12/immunity-debt-explainer-rsv-covid-masking.html

Joe Biden worsens the danger for children--Why do Democrats support him?

 " . . . when a school strives to create a “safe, welcoming, and inclusive” environment for transgender-identified students, it greatly increases the chance that children who might otherwise go through a temporary stage of identity exploration or confusion will reject their bodies in favor of a risky experimental medical protocol."

The School-to-Clinic Pipeline | City Journal (city-journal.org)

Art show reception this Sunday

 Reception December 11, 2022, 2-4 p.m.

Bob and Norma, married for 62 years and UALC members since 1976, have both been painting since 1972 and this show is the story of their years together with a few samples of their watercolors and acrylics. Both were interested in art as children, but only Bob pursued it as a career and avocation. Norma enjoyed a library career. He became an architect with fine arts and design classes in high school and college, plus some classes at an art institute as a child. Norma had the family dining room table with art supplies and paper, but no classes. Her teachers in kindergarten and first grade “featured” her art of a May pole dance, and horses were scribbled in the margins of school papers and books. The Bruces met at the University of Illinois in 1959 and married in 1960, but art really wasn’t a focus. Bob’s interest in painting was rekindled by his friend Ned Moore in 1972, so he dug out his old brushes from college art classes. That piqued Norma’s interest so she began taking a few workshops with local artists and later at Lakeside. 

They’ve chosen paintings that tell about their lives. In the library lounge are some stories about Illinois where Norma grew up and where they vacationed with their children, Phoebe and Phil, in the 1960s-70s. Norma’s mother had renovated her parents’ farm home in the 1960s near Franklin Grove, Illinois, as a retreat center and the Bruce family enjoyed roaming northern Illinois looking for farm scenes to paint. Included are paintings of family, two by Bob of Phil who died in 2020, Norma’s childhood friends and family from the 1940s, and her paternal grandmother in her wedding dress. Norma’s grandparents owned the Lustron in Mt. Morris on the postcard. It then was purchased years later by her father after her mother died in 2000.

 
In the hall in keeping with the rural and farm theme in the library lounge they’ve hung some flowers and vegetables, although they don’t garden. These are usually from a workshop at Lakeside or a “how to” book. Also in the hall are paintings of animals—Norma particularly liked horses, and owned one as a youngster (no paintings of him).

Also in the hall they’ve included paintings of travels after retirement in Ireland, Israel, Egypt, Alaska, and Spain—two borrowed from the current owners for this show. Bob went with the UALC mission group to Haiti for 10 years and taught architecture there. At the library door is Bob’s painting of three children from Westerville who were neighbors at Lakeside reading their Bible together. They are homeschooled and Bob helped with their art instruction. Also you’ll see Bob’s paintings of two UALC pastors who’ve had a big place in their lives.

 
The Bruce family began vacationing at Lakeside on Lake Erie in 1974 and owned a summer home there from 1988 to 2022. Paintings from those years are in the Fireside Lounge. Bob taught many classes at the Rhein Arts Center in Lakeside and both took advantage of the classes in watercolor, acrylic, pen and ink, jewelry making, silk painting and pottery. Bob has been in the Lakeside summer art show for over 40 years and in 2021 published a book of his Lake Erie paintings.

 
1. Driftwood, Lakeside - Norma
2. Lakeside Transportation - Norma
3. Romancing the Freighter, Lakeside - Norma
4. Bring Three Friends, Lakeside - Norma
5. Marblehead Lighthouse - Norma
6. Post cards of Lakeside – Norma
7. Ice Cream More Ice Cream, Lakeside – Robert
8. Lakeside Women’s Club – Robert
9. Werden’s Porch, Lakeside – Robert
10. Lighthouse Spiral Staircase, Marblehead – Robert
11. Mouse Island Race, Lakeside – Robert
12. Lakeside Orchestra – Robert
13. Keeping Watch, Norma’s father, 1944 – Norma
14. Playmates, Forreston, 1946 – Norma
15. Grandma’s Wedding Dress, 1912 - Norma
16. Phoebe and Phil at the Marblehead Lighthouse - Norma
17. Snow Horse, Forreston, 1950 - Norma
18. Shuffleboard at Lakeside, 1974 - Norma
19. Phil Bruce with Guitar, 2018 - Robert
20. Phil Bruce, 2012 - Robert
21. Daysville Road Farm, Franklin Grove, 1974 - Norma
22. Olive in her Garden, Franklin Grove - Robert
23. Red Barns Vignette, Franklin Grove - Robert
24. Whitney House, Franklin Grove - Robert
25. Reflection no Horizon, 1974, painted at Franklin Grove farm - Robert
26. Red Geraniums in Brown Pot - Norma
27. Pink Geraniums - Norma
28. White Daisies – Norma
29. Squash in a Bowl – Norma

30. Vegetables on Lace – Norma

31. Purple Iris – Norma 

32. Jackie’s Daffodils - Norma 

33. Hall Children Reading their Bible -Robert 

34. Pastor Dave Drumel - Robert 

35. Pastor Paul Ulring - Robert 

36. Mendenhall Glacier, 2001 – Robert 

37. Camel and Pyramids, 2009 – Robert 

38. Wailing Wall, Jerusalem, 2009 – Robert 

39. Haitian Girl, Ouanaminthe, Haiti – Robert 

40. Ireland Landscape, 2007 – Robert 

41. Street Scene, Grenada Spain, 2015 - Robert 

42. Postcards of Alaska, 2001 – Norma 

43. Bay Horse, 1974 – Norma 

44. Mustang – Norma 

45. Cat on a Hot Pink Porch, Lakeside – Norma 

46. Baby Duck – Norma 4

47. The Plaza, Grenada Spain, 2015 – Robert 

48. Corbett Lustron, Mt. Morris, 2001 – Norma 

49. Mark fishing at Lakeside, 2022—Robert 

50. Friend fishing at Lakeside, 2022—Robert

 #38

 #21 

Walking backwards

 This is supposed to have health benefits, but I know I would fall down.  But there was a day when I could do it. https://weather.com/health/video/walking-backward-may-have-surprising-health-benefits

Pesky little weasels

 You’ve heard of weasel words? Here’s a few weasel phrases to watch for. Usually, they mean some version of “it’s my opinion,” or “I want you to agree with me” or even, “shut up, dummy.” And although I have heard conservatives say these phrases, usually they are the territory of liberals. Liberals love the words "dialogue" and "conversation," but it's often a monologue or a lecture. My own failure is  adverbs. We need to break up.  You can call me on it.

“Some would argue. . .”
“We need a conversation on . . .”
“Research shows . . .”
“Let’s have a dialogue. . .”

Remembering her Dad, Bob Poisal

A lovely tribute from our niece Julie Kelle, remembering our brother in law, her dad.

"One year ago today I lost my step dad. Very few men are willing to be a father to another man's children. I also lost my biological dad in 2004. I know it is confusing when I use the words "my dad" you don't know which dad I'm talking about. I never liked calling my step father "step" father because he was "my" dad. He was the man that "stepped" up and became that fatherly role model me and my little sister were so longing in our heart. I'm so glad "I picked him" and glad he picked us back.

 
Dad was the hero of the family and a person that was always available to help family, friend stranger, or foe. He was the best at handling emergencies, the best at cleaning up sickness messes, the best jack-of-all-trades. My dad was the best. He came into our lives at the perfect time.

Please remember my mom,  my little sister Joan, and her husband Dan , his surviving biological children Richard , Robert and Luann, his brother Mike, and all his grandchildren and great grandchildren. Our dad, husband, brother, grandpa was the very best and he is greatly missed for he was always a main part of all our lives and holidays. We need your prayers. 

Someday we appear like we are doing good but inside we are still struggling.

 
My heart and prayers go out to each and everyone of you who that have lost a loved one that God will send the "Comforter" until we can be with our loved ones again.

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus." "

Robert Lee Poisal Obituary 2021 - Indiana Funeral Care

The Cat who Saved Books

I just finished The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa and we're discussing it at Book Club this afternoon. Here's my take, which probably no one will agree with. The grandfather could have been anyone other than a Used Book store owner.  Perhaps he could have been a former coach in professional baseball or a retired horse trainer--who has developed a different or related business to his career. His death devasted Rintaro--love, caring, wisdom and security are gone leaving him frightened and empty. The cat and two other adolescents, Sayo and Ryota, from his school come into his life of grief and insecurity as well as odd experiences with adults in a fantasy world with a talking cat. He experiences compassion and empathy, which help him develop courage and a sense of self. Really, it's about relationships, not books, which is why I decided no books need be abused in this story. The cat, yes.

Our parents

In the book The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom wrote, "Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. The moments that used to define them - a mother's approval, a father's nod - are covered by moments of their own accomplishments. It is not until much later, as the skin sags and the heart weakens, that children understand; their stories, and all their accomplishments, sit atop the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives.”

Full court press

 Indictments for Trump.

 Conspiracy theories about Musk. 

More Billions for Ukraine with no accountability. 

Wide open borders, and if you disagree you're a racist. 

Hating on DeSantis ramped up. 

Weasel words from Disney CEO. 

People against child sexual abuse are prudes. 

And finally, old Uncle Joe is quoting his grandfather again.