Mother's Day Painting

 

  

On the lakefront by the Hotel Lakeside

Tip your server and other nice things to do

This is a very nice message. My friend Arlene sent it. However, that's not all there is to changing the world. I know many Democrats who do all of these, yet they support abortion, don't care about 7 million invading the U.S. through the open Biden borders, think Hamas means Palestinians, don't care about the issues of the Russia-Ukraine war, watch the terrible misinformation that spews from the Democrat controlled media like CNN, NPR and MSNBC, contribute to their alma mater despite the raging anti-Semitism embedded there, believe men can become women through magical thinking, and believe what they are doing to President Trump through the "just -us" system is OK. Think before you vote. That's how we change things in this country, assuming no one has stolen it through a Soros funded scheme.

Who wrote Ephesians?

Recently I heard a Bible teaching on Ephesians. When speaking of who is the author of the letter to the Ephesians, she suggested that Paul wasn't the actual author, that instead it may have been a disciple or someone closely working with him, and then she went on. . . without mentioning the option that it is not "settled" science and there are just as many arguments and scholars for Pauline authorship. When I got home I looked at what books I might have to explain that. Unfortunately, although I knew that line of thinking comes from "higher criticism," I no longer have any of those volumes. Here's what I do have, and also my own conclusions.

I have an IVP New Bible Commentary; Revised by Guthrie. He explains the higher criticism view of Ephesians, but completely debunks it point by point (p. 1106)

I have an NIV Archeological Bible, and its article "The Authorship of Ephesians" under subsection "The Reliability of the Bible," points out "some scholars" question Paul's authorship and then supports Paul's authorship with 8 bullet points with citations.

I have an NRSV Catholic edition which confirms that speaker, "It is unlikely that the Letter to the Ephesians was actually written by Paul. It is generally thought to be pseudonymous written after his death. The vocabulary, style and general content of the Letter do not resonate with the same expression and viewpoint articulated in the seven unquestionably Pauline letters." In other words, what most seminaries are teaching their new pastors and church workers. That's from the "Introduction to the Books of the Bible" ( p. lxxi), and it's difficult to say if the same wording is in the Protestant editions (this one contains the Deuterocanonical books removed in the 16th c.) It also provides the higher criticism view of 3 Isaiahs, and casts doubt on the authorship of other NT epistles.

So then I turned to my most scholarly title, the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th ed. 1910 which I inherited from my grandfather Weybright. It really laid out in detail the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries research primarily by German Protestants beginning with the OT and working through most of the NT, until the rationalist, anti-supernatural, post-Christian theories had infected all the seminaries, and because of the date, did not include the rise of the fundamentalists and the major splits in Protestantism. Yet it would not fly the white flag and roundly defended Paul's authorship. Perhaps the most clever and witty paragraph was: "The view which denies the Pauline authorship of Ephesians has to suppose the existence of a great literary artist and profound theologian, able to write an epistle worthy of Paul at his best, who, without betraying any recognizable motive, presented to the world in the name of Paul an imitation of Colossians, incredibly laborious and yet superior to the original in literary workmanship and power of thought, and bearing every appearance of earnest sincerity. It must further be supposed that the name and the very existence of this genius were totally forgotten in Christian circles fifty years after he wrote. The balance of evidence seems to lie on the side of the genuineness of the Epistle.

From my point of view, I looked through some of the homilies of the early church fathers. They were much closer to the "real" author than German scholars who weren't even Christians. They did not doubt the authorship of Paul.

Biden official accused of transferring classified documents on his phone

"The top Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committee on Monday asked the State Department to confirm the allegations against [Robert] Malley, who was quietly placed on unpaid leave last June [2023] and had his security clearance suspended amid a State Department investigation reportedly centered on his potential mishandling of classified information.

 
The State Department has refused to reveal the exact nature of the allegations against Malley, leading Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member James Risch (R-Idaho) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) to launch their own investigation into Biden’s top diplomat for Iran. "

Very serious stuff! He got the Biden garage treatment for documents instead of the Trump treatment. It's been since June 2023.

https://nypost.com/2024/05/07/us-news/biden-iran-envoy-put-classified-documents-on-hacked-personal-email-phone-gop-lawmakers/?

GOP lawmakers allege Biden's Iran envoy kept classified material on personal email, cellphone that were hacked (msn.com)

"Biden tapped Malley in January 2021 to try to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, under which Tehran agreed to limit its nuclear program to make it harder to obtain a nuclear weapon in return for economic sanctions relief. In 2018, President Trump opted to kill the deal and reimpose sanctions on Iran."

Biden’s suspended Iran special envoy once pushed engagement with Hamas, Hezbollah terror groups | Fox News

Notice how carefully worded Politico (leftist media) is in the story. FBI probes whether Iran envoy Malley committed crimes in handling of classified info - POLITICO

Is Biden demented or does he want to destroy Israel?

Let's stop making excuses for Biden. He's old. He's demented. He's just a puppet. No. He's just abandoned our closest ally in the middle east, and maybe our closest in the world. Our friends know we will abandon them; our enemies know we won't fight back.

If you are a Democrat, flee the party so you're not culpable like the driver of the car that chauffeurs the gunman. This is not about Israel any longer; it's about wanting to destroy the Jews.

"When Hamas launched its Oct. 7, 2023, rape, kidnap, and murder killing spree against Israeli civilians, President Joe Biden quickly traveled to Israel and pledged that America would have its longtime ally’s back. Since then, he has repeatedly affirmed his “ironclad” commitment to the security of the Jewish state.

But the “ironclad” pledge should concern Baltic states as they face Vladimir Putin’s invasion threats. It should also concern the Philippines as it faces Chinese efforts to carve out an exclusive economic zone. And it should concern Japan as it faces Chinese and Russian affronts to its territorial sovereignty. Because Biden’s support for Israel is molten rather than ironclad.

This Monday, national security spokesman John Kirby refused to say whether the U.S. suspended an agreed arms shipment to Israel and also refused to offer American support for Israel’s effort to eliminate Hamas’s last bastion in Rafah."   https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/2993208/biden-abandons-israel/?

Thoughts on Ben Sira

Ben Sira (also known as Ecclesiasticus or Sirach) is part of the Apocrypha, or more accurately the Deuterocanonical books of the Bible. I've only been in one Bible study that even mentioned this lovely collection of proverbs, wise sayings, advice and counsel to all types of people from physicians to fool. And the female leader (on video) of that class railed against the writer/translator as being a misogynist. Not so. It's a lovely book, and I really like the longer advice pieces. As far as being anti-female, what's wrong with this advice? It's directed at men and how they behave around women.

 
Chapter 9: 3 Keep away from other men's wives or they will trap you. 4 Don't keep company with female musicians; they will trick you. 5 Don't look too intently at a virgin, or you may find yourself forced to pay a bride price. 6 Don't give yourself to prostitutes, or you may lose everything you own. 7 So don't go looking about in the streets or wandering around in the run-down parts of town. 8 When you see a good-looking woman, look the other way; don't let your mind dwell on the beauty of any woman who is not your wife."

 
That advice would work in the 21st century.

But more to the point. If 7% of Sirach is addressed to problems with women, then that means the other 93% is addressed to problems with men. What do Paul and Jesus lay at the feet of men (to whom they were talking) Well, how about Mark 7: greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, arrogance, folly, evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, and blasphemy for starters. Paul was just as straightforward as Jesus: Colossians 3: 8: "But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips. "

Abraham was a liar; Noah was a drunkard; Moses lost his temper and killed a man; Elijah was despondent; David was an adulterer and murderer; Peter denied his Lord; Paul (Saul) chased down Christians and killed them. Thomas doubted. So, it seems the Bible doesn't always reflect well on men, yet they were all part of God's plan of redemption.

I don't recall where I read it, but Luther and Calvin didn't remove those 7 books from the Protestant canon. Later Reformers did that.

CyberCemetery an amazing burial ground for defunct government programs

The CyberCemetery is an archive of government web sites that have ceased operation (usually web sites of defunct government agencies and commissions that have issued a final report). This collection features a variety of topics indicative of the broad nature of government information. In particular, this collection features web sites that cover topics supporting the university's curriculum and particular program strengths.  CyberCemetery - UNT Digital Library

Collections - UNT Digital Library

Don't call the police

What happens when you call the police and they won't come? It's Just Deserts. Police have been maligned and criticized by Democrat politicians, and DC is a town owned by Democrats. George Washington University's students and faculty will just have to suffer at the hands of a minority of spoiled brats and foreigners who need to have their visas pulled. The anti-Jew encampments are illegal at all universities, they are not covered by "free speech" codes. President Ellen Granberg of GW did nothing when the anti-Israel riots started and she's paying for it now. Appeasement of the enemy rarely works. The whole nation sees how these snowflakes are being treated differently that the J-6 protestors. I hope they remember come voting time--assuming the Democrats still allow that.

D.C. Police for Campus Disorder - WSJ

GW president says school needs help from DC police as protesters call for beheadings (ktvo.com)

Live coverage: Encampment begins 11th day without bargaining from officials, students say – The GW Hatchet

How many ways can Republicans find to destroy their unity, party and nation?

Well, let's fight about a Republican governor who wrote in her book that she shot her dog (aka "put him/her down")--a dog that had escaped restraint, killed chickens, couldn't be controlled by the owner, and tried to bite her when finally stopped. I'm not a breeder of hunting dogs, not a trainer, and not an owner. I like dogs--always had one when I was a child. However, this dog was not safe if left to live out a "normal" life around people and other animals.

Yes, it's more sanitary and maybe humane to take him to the vet, and not see the death. But we're on the edge of World War III, we're being invaded by millions at our border, the privileged class college students are rioting in the streets, the Dept. of Justice has become a political tool of the Democrats. We can turn on the TV and see a mockery of our once admired court system by an out of control Democrat judge with serious mental issues and a Democrat, Soros backed, DA so filled with hate he can't do his job.

The death of a dog with an irresponsible owner just doesn't make my list of tragedies we are facing today. I can't find a link, but I learned this years ago probably when I was a veterinary medicine librarian. The #1 killer of pet dogs and cats is elimination problems (peeing in the house). UTIs, incontinence, fear, poor training, or anger at being left alone for 12 hours--it could be any number of triggers which become habits. Owners get frustrated, can't take the time or have the patience to work with the animal, and it goes to the pound where it will be killed. Sounds awful, doesn't it? Millions suffer death at the hands of the owner--just look up the hundreds of products for "pet odor" and think about what the next step is if you want a livable house, but you have a life--a job to go to--kids to raise. But the death of ONE dog will probably ruin the career of a good governor.

Friday Night Date and a Derby Party on Saturday

We tried the "new" Old Bag of Nails (pub food, noisy bar) in Upper Arlington last night with 2 other couples. The Arlington Bag had moved from the Tremont Center near our former home on Abington Rd. to that messy scramble of partially built buildings at Kingsdale on Tremond Rd. Because of the congestion and parking, we'd avoided it up until now, but we all managed.  We found a handicap spot as we were drivers for someone who needed that. There was a lively crowd, lots of middle age and some families. Since it is in a retirement building (Covenant) squished next to the new community center we weren't sure what to expect. The menu was much as we remembered from 25 years ago, and we got the Cobb Salad. The others ordered breaded fish (one order can easily serve 2 and hand helds. 

We asked the waitress to guess the combined years of marriage, but she failed the test. 185. 56 + 64 + 65. We tipped her anyway. She was very sweet and very young--but then, everyone looks young to me! It was an evening with a lot if reminiscing--the days of black and white TV, the old wringer washers, Bill and Joyce met because he was in the Army in the town where she lived, and the rest of us avoided the military because we were pregnant or had a baby, first jobs, first apartments, and most of that was over home-made apple pie with ice cream at Jerry and Joan's home after our restaurant meal. We all get together fairly often, so I don't know why we had so much story telling. Age I suppose. No one else to talk to who remembers this stuff--plus our kids are tired of our stories!  We all have or had summer homes and Bill and Joyce will be leaving in a week or so for Put in Bay on Lake Erie. Jerry and Joan go to Boyne City on Lake Charlevoix in Northern Michigan.  We sold our place in Lakeside on Lake Erie in 2022 after 34 years.

We're going to a Derby party tonight May 4, and I've been wearing the same fuchsia hat for about 5 years. Today I found a new white floppy hat for $3 (still with store tags) at Volunteers of America and wrapped it in blue flowers from the old hat to go with my blue shirt and multicolor floor length skirt I got at the Discovery Shop (cancer) for $6. 

And while I was looking for a hat at the VOA, I just happened to see a Laurel Burch tote for $3. I have one of her umbrellas from 30 years ago. https://colorfulcritters.com/laurel-burch-handbags-totes/ I don't know if it's an old one or new one (she died in 2007) licensed with her name. It looked unused. I love her whimsical designs.

While I was at the VOA I asked the clerk for a tape measure so I could determine if a cute pair of light weight summer pants would fit. She didn't speak English, which has never happened to me in that store. She gestured to the store manager, who also spoke very little English, but figured out what I needed. They were fine. $3.

Now I need to look up the horses who are running, and who are the jockeys.   We each place a $2 bet.

Kentucky Derby 2024: Meet the jockeys in Saturday’s classic (horseracingnation.com)

The 2024 Kentucky Derby lineup features a competitive field of colts and jockeys. Here’s a look at the full lineup:

1. Dornoch (20-1) - Trainer: Danny Gargan, Jockey: Luis Saez
2. Sierra Leone (3-1) - Trainer: Chad Brown, Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione
3. Mystik Dan (20-1) - Trainer: Kenneth McPeek, Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.
4. Catching Freedom (8-1) - Trainer: Brad Cox, Jockey: Flavien Prat
5. Catalytic (30-1) - Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr., Jockey: Jose Ortiz
6. Just Steel (20-1) - Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas, Jockey: Keith Asmussen
7. Honor Marie (20-1) - Trainer: D. Whitworth Beckman, Jockey: Ben Curtis
8. Just A Touch (10-1) - Trainer: Brad Cox, Jockey: Florent Geroux
9. (Encino, scratched)
10. T O Password (30-1) - Trainer: Daisuke Takayanagi, Jockey: Kazushi Kimura
11. Forever Young (10-1) - Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi, Jockey: Ryusei Sakai
12. Track Phantom (20-1) - Trainer: Steve Asmussen, Jockey: Joel Rosario
13. West Saratoga (50-1) - Trainer: Larry Demeritte, Jockey: Jesus Castanon
14. Endlessly (30-1) - Trainer: Michael McCarthy, Jockey: Umberto Rispoli
15. Domestic Product (30-1) - Trainer: Chad Brown, Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
16. Grand Mo the First (50-1) - Trainer: Victor Barboza Jr., Jockey: Emisael Jaramillo
17. Fierceness (5-2) - Trainer: Todd Pletcher, Jockey: John Velazquez
18. Stronghold (20-1) - Trainer: Philip D’Amato, Jockey: Antonio Fresu
19. Resilience (20-1) - Trainer: Bill Mott, Jockey: Junior Alvarado
20. Society Man (50-1) - Trainer: Danny Gargan, Jockey: Frankie Dettori
21. Epic Ride (50-1) - Trainer: John Ennis, Jockey: Adam Beschizza

  

These are not race horses, but may be the first original art I purchased. Artist is Alison Adams, and I purchased it at Manchester College.  1958. She may have been on the faculty.

Let's hear from the Christian churches on biological sex as it is in the Bible

The Catholic Church has spoken unambiguously: the idea that men can become women or women can become men—or any other “gender”—is not only confused; it is evil.

Now let's hear from the 35,000+ Protestant, non-denominational and Bible churches. All Christian churches are full of Democrats and this evil belongs to them.

Eva Vlaardingerbroek at CPAC Hungary: The Great Replacement Is No Longer A Theory, It's Reality

https://rumble.com/v4rxqj8-eva-vlaardingerbroek-the-great-replacement-april-27-2024-budapest-hungary.html 

Her name is a mouthful, but she's even harder to listen to. The leftists have been ridiculing "The Great Replacement" theory, but she says it's a fact.  I haven't checked her statistics on immigration in Europe.

Follow the money given to the universities

These demonstrations/riots/insurrections from UCLA to Columbia show what a huge FAIL the DEI departments and cabals at the universities are. They all have 150-200 "administrators" and assistants to assistants sucking from the federal tit of special grants. Then each department from dance to archeology to horse breeding has a faculty member tied up in paperwork to assure equity a fantasy. And this is what has come of it. 1) cheat the Asian students out of their freedom to choose a school, 2) kill the Jews, 3) blame all white people. If you teach children that there are only two kinds of people, oppressors and the oppressed, of course you collect a bunch of fascists looking for a cause. Soros has placed a lot of his lawyers in the halls of "just us" and you can watch that being played out in NYC in a court room right now. The next trick will be all the perps will be back on campus after a short trip to court.

Although a lot of bad ideas begin in government, most by far begin in academe. Many universities would close without the money they receive from foreign governments who have to pay full tuition for their students.

The campus riots

I was at the gym this morning surfing the channels. Fox was wall to wall riots on campus, particularly how police (state police?) were handling the UCLA baby babbling Gazans. Everyone was very well behaved. Kids were grinning for the cameras. "Hey look mom; I'm on TV. Send money" (just kidding). Police were using plastic ties and removing masks. MSNBC and CNN, zip, nada, zilch. Lizzie Warren was talking about sending aid to Gaza and encouraging women to kill their babies. There was a celebrity on the other channel talking about his latest food routine or show--didn't stick around to find out. On Fox I could see that the tents were removed and all the "belongings" dumped in a pile of trash, just like removal of homeless. And that's what they are, except the homeless are probably more patriotic and less fascist than these protestors. And maybe these spoiled rich college kids chanting from the river to the sea (genocide) can find out what it means to defecate and urinate on the street, because I don't know if anyone has set up porta-potties for them after they are arrested.

Police crack down on encampment at UCLA protests; live protest updates (usatoday.com)

WATCH LIVE: Police controlling crowd of anti-Israel agitators on UCLA quad after violent mob riots rocked campus | Fox News Video

The real estate market

I know people looking for houses, and realtors looking for listings. Yesterday in an elevator I met a guy in shorts and t-shirt carrying a bag of food. We chatted, and he apologized for using his phone--said it was his business. He told me he was a real estate agent working as an Uber-Eats delivery/driver to make ends meet. I admire that perseverance and dedication. The ups and downs of real estate are not always about Biden induced inflation, sometimes it's personal choices, but I believe this ridiculous market should send Democrats screaming away from their party.

Biden's folly--IX changes

Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 is a single sentence. It simply bars sex discrimination in any federally funded education program. See what happens in a bureaucracy, in the swamp? The latest disaster is 1,577 pages. Both parties have created a monster, but the Democrats have defied God, nature, science and history. Nothing more evil than that. The party of intersectionality, of wokeism, of feminism, of transparency, of "me too" and rich old fools has dealt a death blow to women's safety and equality in scholarships and ambition. Way to go, Biden.

That Was Fast: 3 Federal Lawsuits Challenge New Title IX Rule (dailysignal.com)

Government bureaucracy drowning in failed programs and thousands of reports--Head Start

While I've been watching the Soros' funded fascist professionals create chaos on our campuses, I've been digging deep into the reports about Head Start, which so far has hit us up for over $1 trillion since its beginning as small test group in the LBJ era to improve the academic and life trajectory of poor children. All evaluations at 40, 50 and now almost 60 years have shown it to be a huge failure to help children succeed, but an outstanding success in providing a good living for millions of academics and government workers.

Here's one example. The culture of the TANF office. I'm pretty jaded about government waste--after all, I was a university librarian buried in task force reports and minutiae of information, data and knowledge. But this one really stunned me. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/understanding-poverty-childhood-and-family-experiences-and-tanf-office-culture-2016 

It's a long, long way from helping a 3 year old get ready for kindergarten in the hope he'll do better in math in high school. (Yes, that's what they believed in 1965). We already know what gives kids the best chance to avoid poverty--married parents who have finished high school and have jobs. It's not the culture of the office that hands out the checks.

ACF stands for Administration for Children & Families, and I think it was created to push Head Start back into infancy since it had failed so miserably to help pre-school aged children. But the genealogy of government agencies and bureaus is fuzzy and fat so I could be wrong. It happens.

The anti-Semitism riots of April 2024

BLM destroyed government buildings killing people and destroying neighborhoods.

 
Biden reaction, kid gloves.

 
Islamist fundamentalists riot, trespass, scream hate speech, interfere with transportation, education and basic human rights?

Biden reaction, look the other way.

 
Patriots demonstrate about a rigged election? An unarmed female veteran killed as a warning to the patriots?

 
Biden reaction, harass, arrest, jail and try them in Kangaroo court.

 
Need clarity? Vote Biden/Harris out of office and flee the Democrat party.

Arguing with Copilot (artificial intelligence)

AI (Co-Pilot) drives me around the bend. I asked for the 2023 household income for married couples because I wanted to update a 2017 blog. So, it provided the tax rate! I'm running out of patience, and really told them/it/her. She/he/it apologized and then gave me about 6 different ways to look at it, and said the latest was 2019! She also again told me to check the government tables. So, I looked up the U.S. Census Bureau and got the 2021-2022 tables. It's $110,800 compared to female head of household of $56,030. I suppose an academic in women's studies will whine about equity, but I know enough math to know that two people have a higher income than one person regardless of the sex. Of course, they now have multiple ways to define marriage, family, and household, so I probably will never be able to accurately update my 2017 blog. In case you didn't know, Asian households are still the wealthiest, the best educated, and more likely to be married.

Indiana trip April 27

We had a wonderful visit with our Indiana family Saturday, good weather for travel, and lots of laughs, and there were about 16 of us. One nephew has 5 children, so that upped the count a little. I took along a lot of Mother's Day cards hoping they can be distributed--I know they'll all show up at the home of my sister-in-laws. We were all exhausted when we got back -- it's about 6 hours on the road for a short visit, but we all had fun.

                                                             Bob and me with his sister