Sunday, March 19, 2023
Covid Student Loan Relief
You know, of course, about Biden's plan to forgive students loans and make people who never went to college or who already paid for their college (like the Bruces) pay for those who did borrow. But did you know how much the "pause" or Covid Emergency Relief and Federal Student Aid is costing us? $255 Billion as of March. The good thing is, it makes the $75 billion given to Ukraine not look so bad, right? President Trump began the pause, to last through December 30, 2020. Biden continued it, even though he says the pandemic is over, and even though employers can't find workers to earn the money to pay their loans. It's all part of the inflation which caused the Fed to raise interest rates to cool the economy, which in turn is helping create the bank crisis (and bad management, but that's another story). Everything is connected to everything else. The lockdown's damages in increased death, debts, and divisions among families and friends will not be known for years.
In May 2020 silencing alternate viewpoints was a threat
In May 2020 when our alliance between government and academe was leery of Trump and his populism/power, Harvard International Review could publish this:
"In a time when accurate, scientific information is vital to the well-being of populations around the world, silencing independent media and dissidents is counterproductive. Since the pandemic has hit, the International Press Institute has reported hundreds of violations of media freedom. Radical transparency in communication should be the norm; part of the success of countries like Taiwan and Canada stems from their clear communication about government efforts."
Canada? What a joke.
Later with Biden in power, transparency and independent media were a threat to his freedom strangling administration, and all alternate viewpoints had to be fired, deplatformed or tracked for being against "democracy."
Canada? What a joke.
Later with Biden in power, transparency and independent media were a threat to his freedom strangling administration, and all alternate viewpoints had to be fired, deplatformed or tracked for being against "democracy."
Saturday, March 18, 2023
More opinions on bank failures
Patrick Bet-David and panel Barry Habib, Adam Sosnick, and Tom Ellsworth dig into how Dodd-Frank contributed to the SVB collapse. Silicon Valley Bank Collapse | The Patriot Post
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Inflation and rising interest rates killed Silicon Valley Bank, slowly moving their balance sheet out of balance. Depositors became suspicious and withdrew their money.: Jessica Anderson JESSICA ANDERSON: Congress Killed Silicon Valley Bank | The Daily Caller
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The concern is that these banks hold a significant amount of their assets in interest-rate sensitive financial instruments like government bonds and mortgage backed securities. The value of those older, low-interest investments dropped sharply as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates over the past year."
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"The broader problem, though, is that just as the government had created that brittle 2008 financial industry in the first place, with the too-big-to-fail regime that had begun in 1984, the government also created today’s self-satisfied tech industry. How did SVB’s deposits triple in less than half a decade? Why did Signature Bank start dabbling in crypto? Why on earth did anyone ever trust Sam Bankman-Fried to do anything?The culprit is all the money the federal government has pumped into the financial system over the past 15 years. After the financial crash of 2008, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve wanted to revive the economy by spurring yet more cheap lending and borrowing, ignoring how it was cheap lending and borrowing that had crashed the economy in the first place; household debt levels already stood at record highs. . . " Silicon Valley Bank: Who's to Blame? | City Journal (city-journal.org)
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"In big, bold type on its website, Silicon Valley Bank bragged that “44% of U.S. venture-backed technology and healthcare IPOs YTD [year-to-date] bank with SVB.”
To put it bluntly, this was a Wall Street IPO machine that enriched the investment banks on Wall Street by keeping the IPO pipeline moving; padded the bank accounts of the venture capital and private equity middlemen; and minted startup millionaires for ideas that often flamed out after the companies went public. These are the functions and risks taken by investment banks. Silicon Valley Bank – with this business model — should never have been allowed to hold a federally-insured banking charter and be backstopped by the U.S. taxpayer, who was on the hook for its incompetent bank management."
"In big, bold type on its website, Silicon Valley Bank bragged that “44% of U.S. venture-backed technology and healthcare IPOs YTD [year-to-date] bank with SVB.”
To put it bluntly, this was a Wall Street IPO machine that enriched the investment banks on Wall Street by keeping the IPO pipeline moving; padded the bank accounts of the venture capital and private equity middlemen; and minted startup millionaires for ideas that often flamed out after the companies went public. These are the functions and risks taken by investment banks. Silicon Valley Bank – with this business model — should never have been allowed to hold a federally-insured banking charter and be backstopped by the U.S. taxpayer, who was on the hook for its incompetent bank management."
Friday, March 17, 2023
Anniversary of our First date, 1959
St. Pat's Ball at The University of Illinois in 1959 was our first date. So, I made a special dinner --Donato's Pizza. We'd never had this Columbus specialty although we've lived here 56 years. It was very good. We got a large, "serious meat" pizza: according to a nutrition website, sausage, pepperoni, ham, bacon, 720 calories per serving, and enough sodium and fat for a week. However, it was a celebration.
https://www.mashed.com/484751/the-untold-truth-of-donatos-pizza/?
Columbus-Style Pizza - Donatos Pizza (experiencecolumbus.com)
Thursday, March 16, 2023
Blessed Gabriele Allegra, 1907 - 1976, translator of the Bible into Chinese
At 18 I transferred from Manchester College to the University of Illinois. A private dorm, McKinley Hall, was recommended to me by a high school friend who was living in a sorority house. (Details are important in serendipity that changes your life.) The housemother knew I was taking Spanish, but didn't know that Brazilians spoke Portuguese, so she matched me with a young woman from Brazil as a roommate. That's how I met my Chinese roommate, Dora Lee. Her family had fled mainline China when the Communists took over and moved to Brazil. Most of her many siblings had since relocated to the U.S. for college and jobs. And since 1958, I've always enjoyed learning about Chinese language, culture and history.
So, this morning I read about Blessed Gabriele Allegra in the March issue of Magnificat, and it piqued my curiosity. While he was in seminary he learned about a 14th century bishop who had begun a translation of the Bible into Chinese, and from that day he decided that was his calling. By 1937, he had a first draft, but it was lost due to the Chinese civil war, so he started over and a full Chinese Bible was published in 1968. In addition, he was a scholar in other areas, and helped and served the poor and diseased (particularly lepers).
Most of my life as a Lutheran I've heard about Martin Luther's achievement of translating the Latin Vulgate into the vernacular German, however he had at least 18 other translations, some predating his achievement by 100 years plus much scholarship to aid his efforts. It looks like Giovanni Allegra first had to learn Chinese and then how to translate it (I don't know which dialect).
The cause for his canonization was started in 1984 by Bishop John Wu in Hong Kong, 8 years after his death. He was declared venerable by the Holy See in 1994 and his decree of beatification was promulgated in 2002. He was the only scripture scholar to be beatified by Pope John Paul II.https://religion.fandom.com/wiki/Gabriele_Allegra
Saint Who? Magnificat, v. 24, no. 13, p, 207 https://youtu.be/8A5yeVHf5A8
For Dora's bio and a peek at her fabulous fiber art: DORA HSIUNG — gallery twist
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
The problem with ethanol
I only saw a few snippets of President Trump's speech in Iowa, and he was criticizing DeSantis' lack of support for ethanol, a big deal in corn-growing Iowa. He needs to do more research and change lanes. In my blog in 2007 I wrote about how ethanol degrades the environment based on information published in 2003. I had become interested in that topic when I worked in the Ag Library in the 1980s. I assume the technology and efficiency have changed in 20 years, but the basics are the same.
"But let's look at the ethics of ethanol.
. . . about 29% more energy is used to produce a gallon of ethanol than the energy in a gallon of ethanol. Fossil energy powers corn production and the fermentation/distillation processes. Increasing subsidized ethanol production will take more feed from livestock production, and is estimated to currently cost consumers an additional $1 billion per year. Ethanol production increases environmental degradation. Corn production causes more total soil erosion than any other crop. Also, corn production uses more insecticides, herbicides, and nitrogen fertilizers than any other crop. All these factors degrade the agricultural and natural environment and contribute to water pollution and air pollution. Increasing the cost of food and diverting human food resources to the costly inefficient production of ethanol fuel raise major ethical questions. These occur at a time when more than half of the world’s population is malnourished. The ethical priority for corn and other food crops should be for food and feed. Subsidized ethanol produced from U.S. corn is not a renewable energy source." Abstract, "Ethanol Fuels: Energy Balance, Economics, and Environmental Impacts Are Negative," Natural Resources Research, Volume 12, issue 2 (June 2003), p. 127-134.
And he doesn't even mention the bioterrorism of a well-placed fungus that could wipe out the Americans' dependence on corn for fuel the way the potato blight sent the Irish running for a new country in the 19th century. Also, when so much of the world suffers from hunger is it even moral to use land to grow crops to run your cars? There's more: Collecting My Thoughts
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/corn-ethanol-bad-farmers-consumers-and-environment?
"But let's look at the ethics of ethanol.
. . . about 29% more energy is used to produce a gallon of ethanol than the energy in a gallon of ethanol. Fossil energy powers corn production and the fermentation/distillation processes. Increasing subsidized ethanol production will take more feed from livestock production, and is estimated to currently cost consumers an additional $1 billion per year. Ethanol production increases environmental degradation. Corn production causes more total soil erosion than any other crop. Also, corn production uses more insecticides, herbicides, and nitrogen fertilizers than any other crop. All these factors degrade the agricultural and natural environment and contribute to water pollution and air pollution. Increasing the cost of food and diverting human food resources to the costly inefficient production of ethanol fuel raise major ethical questions. These occur at a time when more than half of the world’s population is malnourished. The ethical priority for corn and other food crops should be for food and feed. Subsidized ethanol produced from U.S. corn is not a renewable energy source." Abstract, "Ethanol Fuels: Energy Balance, Economics, and Environmental Impacts Are Negative," Natural Resources Research, Volume 12, issue 2 (June 2003), p. 127-134.
And he doesn't even mention the bioterrorism of a well-placed fungus that could wipe out the Americans' dependence on corn for fuel the way the potato blight sent the Irish running for a new country in the 19th century. Also, when so much of the world suffers from hunger is it even moral to use land to grow crops to run your cars? There's more: Collecting My Thoughts
Opinion: who was at fault for January 6 failures?
"If there was a security failure on January 6, and demonstrably there was, it was probably Nancy Pelosi's fault, and after looking at thousands of hours of footage, we came to the conclusion that many others have reached, which is the Capitol Police were not prepared for what happened, and that's fascinating when you think about it, because there was ample warning. The federal intel and law enforcement agencies knew perfectly well there could be a massive disturbance at the Capitol, but the frontline officers on duty that day didn't know and yet the people who kept that information from the frontline officers were overwhelmed by thousands of people milling around the Capitol building? The people who fell down on the job, who didn't do their job, they were not punished. They were rewarded, and you have to ask yourself, why is that? " Tucker Carlson, March 7, 2023 Fox News
California dreaming a nightmare
It's been a tough week for higher (hi-jacked) education in California, that formerly great state where conservatives used to roamed freely and had constitutional rights. Stanford Law students urged on by a DIE dean attacked, insulted and shouted down US Circuit Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan who was invited to address students; then Antifa was allowed to go after Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA at UC Davis who had been promised the right to speak (which he already had). They destroyed property in the course of illegally attacking an invited speaker. Kirk should sue the media and the chancellor Gary May for the lies they tell, naming names of reporters and both DIE administrators should be fired--they are the ones who poured gasoline on the hot grill. No one said or has ever said anything racist or homophobic, but that's the old, broken down, gray mare trotted out if the speaker disagrees with Leftists. Apparently, there are rich parents out there who are willing to shell out for their adult children to act like assholes, but maybe they agree with them.
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Prodigal evangelicals
This is an amazing, beautifully articulate testimony about the wokeness in the Christian church.
Prodigal Evangelicalism: A Video Essay | Megan Basham | First Things
Megan Basham describes her experience of conversion into the evangelical church and present ideological pathologies growing within it. She discusses the rise of progressive moralizing and the threat it poses to both the nation and the ecclesial health of the evangelical church.
Monday, March 13, 2023
Why would Antifa be assaulting the media for covering a rights event?
"Having lived in our nation’s capital for the past six years, I’ve seen my fair share of unruly crowds. From the inauguration of President Donald Trump to the death of George Floyd to the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, the radical Left has become increasingly more emboldened, straddling the line between peaceful assembly and violent mob.
But not once did I ever think that these groups would feel so empowered and assault a member of the media, in broad day light, in front of police and face no repercussion in the moment."
But not once did I ever think that these groups would feel so empowered and assault a member of the media, in broad day light, in front of police and face no repercussion in the moment."
What are Democrats afraid of?
Before we all fall for the lies about Tucker, Taibbi and Musk (who have been exposing the illegal censorship and disinformation tricks of subcontracting to non-profits or just lying) so soon after millions absorbed the lies from the J-6 Congressional clown show, let's just review the riots when Trump was inaugurated back in 2017. They weren't "mainly peaceful," the rioters were armed with hammers and bricks, it was before the George Floyd riots (but perhaps practice for the big show). There was more violence than January 6, 2021 and Trump hadn't yet done a thing. No tax cuts, no energy boost, no middle east peace, no NAFTA reform, no border wall, no prison reform. After this protest, there was an anti-Trump women's march. Remember the pink "lady parts" hats? This hate has continued to this day.
Sunday, March 12, 2023
Using dogs in cancer research
We watched a repeat of 60 minutes tonight that included a segment on how dogs and humans share many genes and cancer research in dogs is helping humans. Cancer is actually more common in dogs, so there are more subjects for research. I was happy to see that glioblastoma (brain tumor) is also one of the cancers being studied. Our son Phil died 3 years ago of glioblastoma, and he loved dogs. After his Lab Rosa died, he began a pet sitting side gig. This cancer's treatment has been stuck (in my opinion) in slash, burn and poison for probably 60 years with little progress, so life expectancy is still about 6 months to a year when the tumor is found at stage 4.
Efforts by the states to defeat DEI, CRT, and ESG
"The efforts in Florida, Arizona, Texas, and Missouri join a bundle of bills that have passed in other states in the past two years or are still pending. These bills either reject the discrimination of critical race theory or establish parents’ bills of rights or guarantee academic transparency. The Heritage Foundation has a handy state tracker that shows where the state of play is in every one of the 50 states.
To understand the significance of these legislative efforts, it’s important to revisit the threat to our national unity and the preservation of American civic order that the leftist agenda poses."
To understand the significance of these legislative efforts, it’s important to revisit the threat to our national unity and the preservation of American civic order that the leftist agenda poses."
Mike Gonzalez, Daily Signal, These States Are Leading the Charge in Fight Against Left’s Agenda (dailysignal.com)
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Taibbi and Shellenberger Twitter testimony
The House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government held a hearing featuring testimony from independent investigative journalists Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger who were involved in the “Twitter Files,” a series of articles on how government agencies and lawmakers interacted with the social media company over content moderation.
Both men are highly respected writers/journalists, yet the Democrats tried to demean and insult their integrity and credentials.
Dr. Meryl Nass discusses how her career was ruined and she was silenced
After defying mask mandates & the CDC on COVID-19 treatments and mRNA vaccines, Dr. Meryl Nass was suspended by Maine's Board of Licensure in Medicine and ordered to undergo a psych evaluation. Though the board claims they received complaints about her medical practice, Dr. Nass says the complaints were fabricated by activists using targeted harassment to censor her freedom of speech.
“The BOLIM, a regulatory extension of policies enacted by Governor Mills, was intent on silencing her,” said Gene Libby, Dr. Nass' legal counsel. Dr. Meryl Nass is a board-certified physician with over 40 years of experience in all areas of internal medicine. She is a nationally recognized expert on epidemics who has consulted for government agencies around the world, especially focusing on anthrax, Zika, Ebola, and biological warfare investigations. Follow Dr. Nass at https://twitter.com/NassMeryl and at https://MerylNassMD.com
Dear Conservatives, I apologize
Dear Conservatives, I apologize (Dr. Naomi Wulf, Democrat) Dear Conservatives, I Apologize (substack.com)
"There is no way for anyone thoughtful, even if he or she is a lifelong Democrat, not to notice that Sen Chuck Schumer did not say to the world that the footage that Mr Carlson aired was not real. Rather, he warned that it was “shameful” for Fox to allow us to see it. The Guardian characterized Mr Carlson’s and Fox News’ sin, weirdly, as “Over-Use” of Jan 6 footage. Isn’t the press supposed to want full transparency for all public interest events?"
"Sen Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate minority leader, did not say the video on Fox News was fake or doctored. He said, rather, that it was “a mistake” to depart from the views of the events held by the chief of the Capitol Police. This is a statement from McConnell about orthodoxy — not a statement about a specific truth or untruth."
"Jan 6 has become, as the DNC intended it to become, after the fact, a “third rail”; a shorthand used to dismiss or criminalize an entire population and political point of view.
Peaceful Republicans and conservatives as a whole have been demonized by the story told by Democrats in leadership of what happened that day."
You can read her entire piece, although she doesn't seem to catch on that the "mostly peaceful" meme repeated by Tucker was a reference to MSM journalists standing in front of burning buildings in 2020 claiming the Floyd riots were mostly peaceful.
"I believed a farrago of lies. . ."
"There is no way for anyone thoughtful, even if he or she is a lifelong Democrat, not to notice that Sen Chuck Schumer did not say to the world that the footage that Mr Carlson aired was not real. Rather, he warned that it was “shameful” for Fox to allow us to see it. The Guardian characterized Mr Carlson’s and Fox News’ sin, weirdly, as “Over-Use” of Jan 6 footage. Isn’t the press supposed to want full transparency for all public interest events?"
"Sen Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate minority leader, did not say the video on Fox News was fake or doctored. He said, rather, that it was “a mistake” to depart from the views of the events held by the chief of the Capitol Police. This is a statement from McConnell about orthodoxy — not a statement about a specific truth or untruth."
"Jan 6 has become, as the DNC intended it to become, after the fact, a “third rail”; a shorthand used to dismiss or criminalize an entire population and political point of view.
Peaceful Republicans and conservatives as a whole have been demonized by the story told by Democrats in leadership of what happened that day."
You can read her entire piece, although she doesn't seem to catch on that the "mostly peaceful" meme repeated by Tucker was a reference to MSM journalists standing in front of burning buildings in 2020 claiming the Floyd riots were mostly peaceful.
Jesus Revolution and Isaac Watts
I haven't seen the new movie "Jesus Revolution" yet but reading through the history of the movie and the era, I realize it coincided with the years we became involved in the church in the late 1960s, first at First Community Church in 1967, then at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church in 1974, both in suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. So, our participation was more with small service groups within established churches, than with the worship movement. Whether or not we were aware of it, we were participating through prison reform, a fair housing group, marriage encounter groups, Cursillo, and the move at UALC to add a contemporary worship program to the regular Sunday schedule (which we no longer attend) beginning on week-nights crowded into the fireside lounge with guitar music.
This morning I was reading about Isaac Watts, born in the 1600s, and who as a teen-ager decided church music was too stuffy and boring and began to write his own hymns, which became very controversial, outraging many older church goers, but which also became extremely popular and spoke to the needs of the people. He wrote over 600 hymns, many we still sing today (Joy to the World, When I survey the wondrous cross), and paved the way for the more prolific Charles Wesley, who wrote thousands of hymns.
The Wesleys, John and Charles, went on to awaken and evangelize our country in the 18th century, and so the tradition of periodic movements to refresh and revitalize Christianity continues. And we saw it again last month in Asbury, KY.
This morning I was reading about Isaac Watts, born in the 1600s, and who as a teen-ager decided church music was too stuffy and boring and began to write his own hymns, which became very controversial, outraging many older church goers, but which also became extremely popular and spoke to the needs of the people. He wrote over 600 hymns, many we still sing today (Joy to the World, When I survey the wondrous cross), and paved the way for the more prolific Charles Wesley, who wrote thousands of hymns.
The Wesleys, John and Charles, went on to awaken and evangelize our country in the 18th century, and so the tradition of periodic movements to refresh and revitalize Christianity continues. And we saw it again last month in Asbury, KY.
Friday, March 10, 2023
David Clyde Bartow, 1939-2023
Sorry to learn of the death of my old friend and high school classmate, Dave Bartow. We had many sparing matches on FaceBook and many others chimed in on our arguments, but he was such a sweet guy. I think I last saw him about 20+ years ago at a reunion. I remember in high school he was an outstanding athlete and always had a big smile.
Obituary of David Clyde Bartow
David Clyde Bartow, 83, passed away on March 8, 2023. He was born July 11, 1939 to Clyde Orval and Elizabeth Mary (Schueller) Bartow, the youngest of five children: Bettie, John, Harry, Robert and David. He was raised in Mt. Morris, IL where he graduated high school after lettering in track, football and basketball. Dave enjoyed spending time with furbaby Copper, golfing, fishing, long car rides and watching the Chicago Bears. He wasn't a cold weather fan so he shared his time between Pensacola, FL and Columbus, WI. He is survived by his children; Terry, Steve and Tammy (Joe), grandchildren; Lisa (Jeff), Elizabeth (Grant) and Ashley (Ti), great-grandchildren; Kaiden, Kaliana and Lukas; ex- wife and mother of his children Marilyn (Maxey) Breunig; many nieces and nephews; as well as many good friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings. A memorial gathering will be held at a later date in Poynette, WI.
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