Democrats, who run all three branches of government and are therefore to blame for this dumpster fire, have been working to bring their campaign messaging to a perfect balance of subtle distortions and outright lies.”
Monday, October 31, 2022
Democrat Dumpster Fire
Andrew Klavan: “As the mid-term campaign season nears its close, Americans are preparing for election day when the free people of a great nation turn out to weep for what used to be a great nation when they were free people.
Democrats, who run all three branches of government and are therefore to blame for this dumpster fire, have been working to bring their campaign messaging to a perfect balance of subtle distortions and outright lies.”
Democrats, who run all three branches of government and are therefore to blame for this dumpster fire, have been working to bring their campaign messaging to a perfect balance of subtle distortions and outright lies.”
Sunday, October 30, 2022
What societal changes have created the "Nones"
Not all societal change moves at the speed of the lockdown’s spiritual and moral disruptions. Some take decades. So when Charlie Ollermann summarized in Sunday School on October 30 a few details about how Christianity and organized religion are losing both the numbers and the influence game, I took note. It went something like this (a quote from Pew site), “Pew's National Public Opinion Reference Survey found that the majority of Americans -- 63% -- consider themselves Christian, down from 78% in 2007. Meanwhile, 29% of adults list their religion as "none," meaning they consider themselves atheist, agnostic or "nothing in particular." That figure has increased since 2007, when 16% said they have no religion.” As he moved on to our lesson in 2 Thessalonians, I jotted down four societal changes which I thought were the root causes building over the last almost 60 years. I expanded my thoughts here at my blog.
1 ) The War on Poverty (launched January 1964). Trillions (est. 16 in 2014, 27 in 2019) have been spent, the power of the federal government has grown enormously, and both liberals and conservatives strongly disagree on results, or even how to describe poverty. In my opinion religious groups whose Biblical charge was charity, benevolence, feeding and clothing the poor, in short, following the commands of Jesus as outlined in Matthew 25, were severely compromised by taking grants to do their “good works.” (This worsened after GHW Bush’s “thousand points of light.” Yet, over 50% of Americans do not pay federal income tax, and 25 million workers are given money when they file for taxes (EITC, $60 billion). The median income of a single mother household is $49,214, and for a married couple household it is $101,517 (i.e., 2 incomes) according to U.S. Census, 2020. Uncle Sam is not a good step-father, but poverty pays well. Children of married parents rarely grow up in poverty. All four of my points directly or indirectly involve marriage. If poverty were to be ended tomorrow at noon, millions of people would be out of work. . . very well paid jobs with amazing benefits, most in government, but many in non-profits and NGOs. That would require new government programs to aid those recently unemployed.
2 ) Vatican II (1962-1965). Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc. don’t usually think that Vatican II affected us much, but in my opinion the Roman Catholic Church is our mother, or at least a grandmother in our major doctrines—Diety of Christ, the Trinity, a canon of scripture we call the Bible, sacraments as an expression of faith, the Christian life, evangelization, missions, what is heresy, etc. People catechized in the 70s or 80s speak about how poorly they were taught the basics of the faith. When we joined UALC in 1976 our “catechism” book cover was pink and orange with balloons. And that’s also a description of what was between the covers. I’d never seen a Luther’s Small Catechism until Dave and Pam Mann taught a night class at Mill Run about 20 years ago. I think growth of the “nones” reflects on the sloppy, silly and social justice Pablum people educated in the 70s and 80s received. They were not prepared to educate their own children when they were so poorly catechized—both Protestants and Catholics.
3) The Population Bomb and Earth Day (1970s) moving on to earth worship, Green New Deal and pantheism. Paul Ehrlich’s book “The population bomb” scared me to death. He said hundreds of millions of people would starve to death in spite of all the agriculture and aid programs we (many by churches) were supporting. Well, we’d already caved to contraception, so why not abortion? Now in the 21st century we can’t sustain a population replacement rate and killing the next generation is considered righteous even by many Christians. Now we’re forced to accept immigration, even illegal immigration, just to support our economy. But we’ve made a Faustian bargain (deal with the devil) and are taking in drugs, sex trafficking and criminals in the deal to maintain the population. Plus, Christian non-profits are taking huge grants from the government to manage all this. People from 200 countries now come through our southern border adding great stress to those states, which then make us all border states. Communing with nature now replaces “organized” religion designed for the family (which often seems very disorganized to some) with various efforts (and riots) to save the planet, our so-called Mother. This pantheism combined with demonizing men and marriage is reducing society’s need for churches.
4) Second Wave Feminism (early 70s for the general public). Although scholars would date this from the “pill” developed in the 1960s and various books, I didn’t pay much attention until “The women’s liberation movement” became a kitchen table topic among women. I was quite caught up in it myself. I had young children, had a master’s degree, and could really identify with the conversations so many were having. We were already active in a fair housing group, a prison reform group, and a race relations group (all loosely church based). Falling for the seductive message that the male/female differences were just cultural and should be changed was easy for my generation. Between the availability of the pill and free sex (which has never been free for women, only men) and the siren call of fabulous careers, prestige, and a bigger bank account, women were literally fleeing the home for the office. So who passes on the faith to the kids if both parents are working, exhausted in the evening, and using week-ends for family time, especially Sunday morning?
I do not point to the Baby Boomers (born after WWII and before 1965) for initiating these changes. The leaders of the various movements and authors of the transformational books were mostly born in the 1930s, or even the 1920s. But the Boomers as adolescents certainly bore the brunt of the changes and misinformation. They are the parents and grandparents of the “nones” who are not just skipping church-- many live in fear of a collapsing planet and won’t commit to anything, not even a job let alone marriage and a family, made worse lately by Covid, and no faith in Jesus.
1 ) The War on Poverty (launched January 1964). Trillions (est. 16 in 2014, 27 in 2019) have been spent, the power of the federal government has grown enormously, and both liberals and conservatives strongly disagree on results, or even how to describe poverty. In my opinion religious groups whose Biblical charge was charity, benevolence, feeding and clothing the poor, in short, following the commands of Jesus as outlined in Matthew 25, were severely compromised by taking grants to do their “good works.” (This worsened after GHW Bush’s “thousand points of light.” Yet, over 50% of Americans do not pay federal income tax, and 25 million workers are given money when they file for taxes (EITC, $60 billion). The median income of a single mother household is $49,214, and for a married couple household it is $101,517 (i.e., 2 incomes) according to U.S. Census, 2020. Uncle Sam is not a good step-father, but poverty pays well. Children of married parents rarely grow up in poverty. All four of my points directly or indirectly involve marriage. If poverty were to be ended tomorrow at noon, millions of people would be out of work. . . very well paid jobs with amazing benefits, most in government, but many in non-profits and NGOs. That would require new government programs to aid those recently unemployed.
2 ) Vatican II (1962-1965). Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc. don’t usually think that Vatican II affected us much, but in my opinion the Roman Catholic Church is our mother, or at least a grandmother in our major doctrines—Diety of Christ, the Trinity, a canon of scripture we call the Bible, sacraments as an expression of faith, the Christian life, evangelization, missions, what is heresy, etc. People catechized in the 70s or 80s speak about how poorly they were taught the basics of the faith. When we joined UALC in 1976 our “catechism” book cover was pink and orange with balloons. And that’s also a description of what was between the covers. I’d never seen a Luther’s Small Catechism until Dave and Pam Mann taught a night class at Mill Run about 20 years ago. I think growth of the “nones” reflects on the sloppy, silly and social justice Pablum people educated in the 70s and 80s received. They were not prepared to educate their own children when they were so poorly catechized—both Protestants and Catholics.
3) The Population Bomb and Earth Day (1970s) moving on to earth worship, Green New Deal and pantheism. Paul Ehrlich’s book “The population bomb” scared me to death. He said hundreds of millions of people would starve to death in spite of all the agriculture and aid programs we (many by churches) were supporting. Well, we’d already caved to contraception, so why not abortion? Now in the 21st century we can’t sustain a population replacement rate and killing the next generation is considered righteous even by many Christians. Now we’re forced to accept immigration, even illegal immigration, just to support our economy. But we’ve made a Faustian bargain (deal with the devil) and are taking in drugs, sex trafficking and criminals in the deal to maintain the population. Plus, Christian non-profits are taking huge grants from the government to manage all this. People from 200 countries now come through our southern border adding great stress to those states, which then make us all border states. Communing with nature now replaces “organized” religion designed for the family (which often seems very disorganized to some) with various efforts (and riots) to save the planet, our so-called Mother. This pantheism combined with demonizing men and marriage is reducing society’s need for churches.
4) Second Wave Feminism (early 70s for the general public). Although scholars would date this from the “pill” developed in the 1960s and various books, I didn’t pay much attention until “The women’s liberation movement” became a kitchen table topic among women. I was quite caught up in it myself. I had young children, had a master’s degree, and could really identify with the conversations so many were having. We were already active in a fair housing group, a prison reform group, and a race relations group (all loosely church based). Falling for the seductive message that the male/female differences were just cultural and should be changed was easy for my generation. Between the availability of the pill and free sex (which has never been free for women, only men) and the siren call of fabulous careers, prestige, and a bigger bank account, women were literally fleeing the home for the office. So who passes on the faith to the kids if both parents are working, exhausted in the evening, and using week-ends for family time, especially Sunday morning?
I do not point to the Baby Boomers (born after WWII and before 1965) for initiating these changes. The leaders of the various movements and authors of the transformational books were mostly born in the 1930s, or even the 1920s. But the Boomers as adolescents certainly bore the brunt of the changes and misinformation. They are the parents and grandparents of the “nones” who are not just skipping church-- many live in fear of a collapsing planet and won’t commit to anything, not even a job let alone marriage and a family, made worse lately by Covid, and no faith in Jesus.
Friday, October 28, 2022
Getting ready for our art show in November
Things are a bit messed up in our house as we pull things out of closets, bags and off the walls in preparation for our combined art show November 13 - December 31 at UALC Lytham Rd. in Upper Arlington. I get to do the computer stuff like figuring out how to make little descriptive cards for the wall (nothing is for sale) and a sheet describing our "history" in art. Here's what I've got so far--although it's a draft.
". . . this show is a story of our lives together with about 50 samples of our watercolors and acrylics. Both of us were interested in art as children, but only Bob pursued it as a career and avocation. He became an architect with a lot of 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 a lot of art supplies and paper, but no classes. Her teachers in kindergarten and first grade “featured” her art of a May pole dance, and drawings of horses were always scribbled in the margins of school papers. The Bruces met at the University of Illinois, dated 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.
We’ve chosen paintings that tell about our lives. In the Library Lounge is time we spent in Illinois where Norma grew up and where we vacationed with our children in the 1970s-80s. Included are some paintings of family—two of our son Phil who died in 2020--Norma’s childhood friends and siblings from the 1940s, and her grandmother in her wedding dress. Norma’s mother renovated her parents’ farm home near Franklin Grove, Illinois, as a religious retreat and we spent a lot of time roaming northern Illinois looking for farms for Bob to paint. In keeping with the farm theme we’ve added some flowers and vegetables, although we don’t garden. These are usually from a workshop at Lakeside or an artist “how to” book.
In the Hall of the administrative wing we’ve included paintings of our retirement travels in Ireland, Israel, Egypt, Alaska, and Spain—some borrowed from the current owners for this show. Bob went with the UALC mission group to Haiti for 10 years and taught architecture there and has offered art instruction for years. At the library door we’ve hung a painting of three children who were our neighbors at Lakeside reading their Bible together. They are homeschooled and Bob helped with their art instruction. Also you’ll see paintings of two of our pastors who’ve had a big place in our lives as Christians. In the Hall we’ve hung paintings of animals—Norma particularly likes to paint horses, and owned one as a youngster (no paintings of him).
We began vacationing at Lakeside on Lake Erie in 1974 and owned a home there from 1988 to 2022. Bob taught many classes at the Rhein Center for the Arts in Lakeside and we both took advantage of the classes in watercolor, acrylic, pastel, pen and ink, jewelry making, silk painting, fiction writing, guitar, trombone and pottery. Bob has been in the Lakeside summer art show for over 40 years. The Lakeside paintings are in the Fireside Lounge and are mostly by Bob.
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Our proxy war
We are protecting Ukraine's borders from foreign invaders. It's called a proxy war. Billions of dollars. But we can't (or won't) protect our own borders. Not smart! Many walls could have been built (Congress voted for it in 2006), many border guards could have been trained, many drug cartels and human trafficking war lords could have been blocked for just a fraction of what we've sent to Ukraine. And even then, we were late to the party and ineffective on their border war too! This has leftist doctrine written all over it. Destroy your own country and culture while pretending to help another country and culture. Our enemy is on the inside--in the DC swamp, in academe, in the entertainment industry, in our "free" press, and in our wealthiest and most essential corporations.
Merrick Garland is dangerous--he hates the Constitution
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has taken a law hastily passed over 20 years ago after 9/11 to stop foreign terrorists (Patriot act) and is using it against parents concerned about the health and education of their children. He is arresting, with Joe Biden's approval and lip smacking grin, people protesting killing the unborn, i.e., American citizens using their constitutional rights under the first amendment. He's using government surveillance illegally to stop journalists who report the truth about use of fetal body parts distributed after abortions. It would seem that Garland does not have the best interests of the USA in mind because he has something against the children of our future.
At the same time, Democrats (and a few Republicans like Cheney) in Congress and in the Media are calling Americans "Nazis" and "Terrorists" for using their First Amendment rights, which is the exact opposite of what they charge. They get hysterical when citizens object to green taxes and coercion. They prove to be thickheaded simpletons who don't know world history of the 1930s and 40s or why American blood was shed in WWII. They demean and insult the millions who died under that regime. National Socialism (aka Nazi) is just one of the many offspring and grandchildren of Marx, Nietzsche, and more recently Foucault that have morphed into BLM and CRT. It's alive and well in our leftist politicians. That doesn't describe our patriots and citizens who want children to live and thrive in freedom.
And although I'm so thankful Garland didn't get his chance at SCOTUS having been blocked by Republicans when Obama nominated him, I do think he's trying to punish half the nation for that 2016 "insult." He was unfit then, and a disaster now.
At the same time, Democrats (and a few Republicans like Cheney) in Congress and in the Media are calling Americans "Nazis" and "Terrorists" for using their First Amendment rights, which is the exact opposite of what they charge. They get hysterical when citizens object to green taxes and coercion. They prove to be thickheaded simpletons who don't know world history of the 1930s and 40s or why American blood was shed in WWII. They demean and insult the millions who died under that regime. National Socialism (aka Nazi) is just one of the many offspring and grandchildren of Marx, Nietzsche, and more recently Foucault that have morphed into BLM and CRT. It's alive and well in our leftist politicians. That doesn't describe our patriots and citizens who want children to live and thrive in freedom.
And although I'm so thankful Garland didn't get his chance at SCOTUS having been blocked by Republicans when Obama nominated him, I do think he's trying to punish half the nation for that 2016 "insult." He was unfit then, and a disaster now.
Christian Martyrs in Nigeria
The slaughter of Christians in Nigeria was a concern of President Trump, so Biden and Blinken had them removed from the watch list! Apparently, didn't think it was a problem or, they want to tamp down the many good things for religious freedom done by Trump. There are now more documented cases of Christian martyrdom in Nigeria than every other country combined according to Revelation Media. Our current State Department is concerned about anti-Muslim hate crimes--but not they people they are killing.
"At the beginning of his administration, Biden called on the State Department to monitor vigilantly countries that do not embrace “transgender rights” and authorized diplomats to meddle in their affairs. A country that upholds the natural moral law is more likely to end up on a State Department blacklist than a country that violates it. To hear Biden and Blinken speak, one would think Christians pose the greatest threat to “global progress.” Biden’s rhetoric about Islamic countries is always very hesitant, but it turns very robust on the subject of “Christian nationalists” like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán."
According to Gallup poll in Dec. 2021, about three in four Americans said they identify with a specific religious faith. By far the largest proportion, 69%, identify with a Christian religion, including 35% who are Protestant, 22% Catholic and 12% who identify with another Christian religion or simply as a "Christian." " And yet both Obama and Biden refuse to call this a Christian nation. Not everything is defined in the Constitution, like what is a woman, and what is a marriage, but sometimes politicians have no common sense about what is common knowledge.
https://spectator.org/christians-warned-biden-and-blinken-about-nigeria/?
Fulani Terrorists Kill More than 70 Christians in Central Nigeria | Christian News Network
Power to Help - Morningstar News
Christians killed in Nigeria (theallineed.com)
"At the beginning of his administration, Biden called on the State Department to monitor vigilantly countries that do not embrace “transgender rights” and authorized diplomats to meddle in their affairs. A country that upholds the natural moral law is more likely to end up on a State Department blacklist than a country that violates it. To hear Biden and Blinken speak, one would think Christians pose the greatest threat to “global progress.” Biden’s rhetoric about Islamic countries is always very hesitant, but it turns very robust on the subject of “Christian nationalists” like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán."
According to Gallup poll in Dec. 2021, about three in four Americans said they identify with a specific religious faith. By far the largest proportion, 69%, identify with a Christian religion, including 35% who are Protestant, 22% Catholic and 12% who identify with another Christian religion or simply as a "Christian." " And yet both Obama and Biden refuse to call this a Christian nation. Not everything is defined in the Constitution, like what is a woman, and what is a marriage, but sometimes politicians have no common sense about what is common knowledge.
https://spectator.org/christians-warned-biden-and-blinken-about-nigeria/?
Fulani Terrorists Kill More than 70 Christians in Central Nigeria | Christian News Network
Power to Help - Morningstar News
Christians killed in Nigeria (theallineed.com)
Nigerian Christians Protest Deborah’s Death...... | News & Reporting | Christianity Today
Monday, October 24, 2022
Raphael and the Salvation Army Band
Last Sunday, October 16, after church we went to the Columbus Museum of Art with our friends Howard and Betty to see "Raphael--The Power of Renaissance Images: The Dresden Tapestries and their Impact." Then at the end of the week, we went to a concert at our Mill Run church of the Brass Band of Columbus and the New York Staff Band of the Salvation Army. The Creation piece was multimedia and just breath taking. A week of glorious fall color book-ended with beauty. I would see the exhibit and attend the concert over again in a minute. The tapestry exhibit ends October 30.
"The exhibition is centered around six tapestries, woven in the 17th century, on loan from the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery of Dresden), Germany, one of Europe’s most renowned museums.
Working in partnership with the Old Masters Picture Gallery (part of the Dresden State Art Collections) located in Columbus’s sister-city of Dresden, CMA will present for the first time to American audiences these monumental and historically significant works, woven directly from cartoons (painted compositions) by the Renaissance master Raphael. The Dresden tapestries underwent extensive restoration in the 1990s but had not been on display since 2008. Following their début in an exhibition for European audiences at the Dresden Picture Gallery last year, this will be the tapestries’ first ever trip to the United States. The exhibition focuses on the creation of the Dresden tapestries and introduces their various patrons and owners through the centuries—in particular, Charles I, King of England, and Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland—while also highlighting Raphael’s broad impact and influence on later artists."
Working in partnership with the Old Masters Picture Gallery (part of the Dresden State Art Collections) located in Columbus’s sister-city of Dresden, CMA will present for the first time to American audiences these monumental and historically significant works, woven directly from cartoons (painted compositions) by the Renaissance master Raphael. The Dresden tapestries underwent extensive restoration in the 1990s but had not been on display since 2008. Following their début in an exhibition for European audiences at the Dresden Picture Gallery last year, this will be the tapestries’ first ever trip to the United States. The exhibition focuses on the creation of the Dresden tapestries and introduces their various patrons and owners through the centuries—in particular, Charles I, King of England, and Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland—while also highlighting Raphael’s broad impact and influence on later artists."
The religion of the Left
The Party's faith in Sustainability, a poem
(by Norma Bruce, based on an idea in How Sustainability is Becoming the One True Corporate Religion by Ellen Weinreb, Dec. 20, 2011)
Their Religion, the One True, is SustainabilityTheir Cult is Climate Change
Their Cathedrals are on every college campus
Their Priests are staffing corporate H.R. departments
Their Sacrament is Abortion
Their Baptism is a sprinkle of mRNA
Their creed is a CRT screed
Their testimonies speak lived experience of oppression
Their church fathers are Marx, Nietzsche, Sarte, Marcuse, and Foucault.
Their testimonies speak lived experience of oppression
Their scripture contains no objective truth
Their Revivals are George Floyd riots
Their Galileo's trial is a January 6 Committee
Their Galileo's trial is a January 6 Committee
Their boards deny Corpernicus a seat
Their choir directors creates castrati
Their choir directors creates castrati
Their missionaries translate language into chaos
Their pulpits are filled with media CEOs and intersectional academics.
Bill Gates, a capitalist who can control the world
Russian fuel for Europe is a problem, yes, but wouldn't be if the U.S. were at full production and didn't have Joe Biden and Bill Gates in charge. He's announced that yes, it's a setback for those who will suffer in the present, but in the long run, those countries will have to accept alternative fuels (which he'll also control) so it's actually good in his demented brain and value system. Think about this. Gates is also the largest "farmer" in the U.S. He has the power to both freeze and starve most of the world. Yes, one man, a very successful capitalist by the way (and when government and business moguls collude to deprive us of rights it's called fascism, not that flimsy definition the Dims wring their hands over of wearing a MAGA hat). His one world/globalist views also include decreasing the offspring of brown and black families through "family planning." And here I am using his company's technology. Ironic, huh?
https://summit.news/2022/10/19/video-bill-gates-says-european-energy-crisis-is-good/?
https://deepstatetribunal.com/bill-gates-now-the-largest-owner-of-farmland-in-america/?
https://summit.news/2022/10/19/video-bill-gates-says-european-energy-crisis-is-good/?
https://deepstatetribunal.com/bill-gates-now-the-largest-owner-of-farmland-in-america/?
The Ross Rant, Joel Ross
10/21/22: The US economy was doing very well when Trump left office. We were energy independent, the stock market was still high, home prices were high, inflation was 1.4%, and consumers had a lot of money, and credit card use was very low. The Federal deficit was too high, but not completely out of control and unsustainable. We were still in Afghanistan holding off the terrorists and Taliban in most of the country, and the Iranians were struggling under serious sanctions. Russia was not threatening Ukraine and China was not obviously threatening Taiwan. Kim was quiescent. The US was still way ahead of the rest of the world in reducing carbon emissions and switching to gas and alternatives. In short, things in the world were OK as the pandemic was getting under control. Then Joe arrived with his band of social radicals and climate change crazies pulling the strings of the puppet. The decline of the US, and now the world, in under two years is a perfect example of how left-wing policies, and ESG, can destroy the world economy and peace in no time. How anyone can embarrass themselves and vote for Dems this election is beyond me. What is it they do not understand. The R’s will control the senate by 2-4 seats, and more governors. The wave is building again. The September inflation report was a killer for Dems. Bezos, Dimon, Bloomberg, Zandi, Interactive Brokers, and Summers all now say, the economy goes down more from here. Mortgage demand at 25 years low. The worst is yet to come. Get under the desk.
Sunday, October 23, 2022
The 2020 election with Joe in the basement
I wonder how many Democrats would have voted for Joe if he'd campaigned on open borders, rising crime rates, a new war with Russia, higher taxes, destruction of the First Amendment, expanding the pandemic, destruction of our economy, raging inflation, a congressional investigation that exceeds the power of House Un-American Activities Commitee (HUAC) for disloyalty and subversive activities, shutting down desperately needed fuel for the rest of the world and killing the unborn up to full term?
I suppose that's why he stayed in the basement and didn't campaign in 2020. Although I did hear him say on one appearance he was running for the Senate. And another time he called a young woman a lying dog-faced pony soldier, and he sniffed a few little girls, so maybe he did say these things and loyal Democrats didn't care? I know a few, and they seem like normal, thinking, moral people . . . did they know, or did they hate Trump so much they voted for their hate?
I suppose that's why he stayed in the basement and didn't campaign in 2020. Although I did hear him say on one appearance he was running for the Senate. And another time he called a young woman a lying dog-faced pony soldier, and he sniffed a few little girls, so maybe he did say these things and loyal Democrats didn't care? I know a few, and they seem like normal, thinking, moral people . . . did they know, or did they hate Trump so much they voted for their hate?
Saturday, October 22, 2022
Michigan governor silent about a white, elderly woman shot
An 84 year old woman has been shot in Michigan for being a "right wing nut," but Michigan's governor is only silent. But she's certain vocal about being a wing nut for abortion, saying "“Now is the time to use every tool in our toolbox to protect women and reproductive healthcare,” she tweeted after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, adding on another occasion, “Abortion is still legal in Michigan, and I’ll never stop fighting to keep it that way.” No wonder Richard Harvey who shot Joan Jacobson thought he'd help the governor out with her "tool box." That type of inflammatory language gets Republicans put in jail even if they weren't anywhere near a dust up or riot. Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Ms. VP Harris, Speaker Pelosi, California's Mad Maxine Waters and other Democrat high profile women spew political hate speech--not just hate for the unborn, but hate for those who are pro-life, pro-patriotism, pro-law and order, pro-border, pro-Trump, pro-sensible treatment for a pandemic, pro-fossil fuel, etc.
Thursday, October 20, 2022
What is your Red Sea?
Our Sunday sermon series has been on the Covenants of the Bible, and this past Sunday Pastor Steve Turnbull preached on the story of God's faithfulness to Moses, Exodus 14:5-7, 10-14, 21-29. Then on Tuesday evening via Zoom our small group (Edie, Kevin, Jane, Dave, Donna, Howard, Betty and us) met on-line to discuss it. Edie who lives in Florida asked for a copy of a poem I read that was in the Cynthia Maus book, "The Old Testament and the Fine Arts." I was about to send a photocopy, but checked the internet. Annie Johnson Flint was a popular writer of Christian verse and hymns (born in NJ, d. 1932) and had many challenges. She was orphaned young and from a photo it appears she was in a wheel chair (arthritis). Her poem does sound a lot like Pastor Steve's sermon about our own Red Sea struggles. Scroll through the link and you'll read some touching thought. https://www.preceptaustin.org/annies_poems Bob also liked it and shared with his men's group Wednesday, also on Zoom.
The Red Sea Place
Have you come to the Red Sea place in your life,
Where, in spite of all you can do,
There is no way out, there is no way back,
There is no other way but through?
Then wait on the Lord with a trust serene
Till the night of your fear is gone;
He will send the wind, He will heap the floods,
When He says to your soul, "Go on."
And His hand will lead you through - clear through -
Ere the watery walls roll down,
No foe can reach you, no wave can touch,
No mightiest sea can drown;
The tossing billows may rear their crests,
Their foam at your feet may break,
But over their bed you shall walk dry shod
In the path that your Lord will make.
In the morning watch, 'neath the lifted cloud,
You shall see but the Lord alone,
When He leads you on from the place of the sea
To a land that you have not known;
And your fears shall pass as your foes have passed,
You shall be no more afraid;
You shall sing His praise in a better place,
A place that His hand has made.
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Diversity Equity Inclusion in higher education
"Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in higher education involve a range of objectionable elements, such as giving preferential treatment to job candidates from particular race and gender groups and generating a massive administrative staff that encroaches on faculty autonomy and attempts to structure and surveil even informal campus interactions." City Journal, Oct. 18, 2022 DEI Statements: Empty Platitude, or Litmus Test? | City Journal (city-journal.org)
Diversity means division.
Equity is inequality
Inclusion is exclusion.
D.E.I. departments are establishing tribalism in our country not based on kinship or blood ties, but on color and sex. Look how tribalism is working out in Africa. There are major civil wars in two African countries, Ethiopia and South Sudan, both with majority Christian populations and most people killing each other are the same race (just like Europe for many centuries). There are 83 tribes in Ethiopia and over 60 in South Sudan. If you are a member of a small tribe, you'll never get ahead unless a relative comes into power, then it's easy street.
And further, the acronym should be D.I.E. because that is the wish of the bureaucrats in the universities who have sent their graduates out to poison corporations which now also have DIE departments.
Equity is inequality
Inclusion is exclusion.
D.E.I. departments are establishing tribalism in our country not based on kinship or blood ties, but on color and sex. Look how tribalism is working out in Africa. There are major civil wars in two African countries, Ethiopia and South Sudan, both with majority Christian populations and most people killing each other are the same race (just like Europe for many centuries). There are 83 tribes in Ethiopia and over 60 in South Sudan. If you are a member of a small tribe, you'll never get ahead unless a relative comes into power, then it's easy street.
And further, the acronym should be D.I.E. because that is the wish of the bureaucrats in the universities who have sent their graduates out to poison corporations which now also have DIE departments.
Tulsi Gabbard Show
Tulsi Gabbard has left the Democrat party. But she's not a conservative and is not joining the Republicans. However, I've added her to my podcast list. 1) She talks about things both parties refuse to comment on, and 2) She has a beautiful voice, easy to listen to. So many women have voices that just set my teeth on edge regardless of what they have to say.
"It is ironic and scary that 60 years after the Cuban Missile Crisis that brought the world’s two superpowers to the brink of nuclear Armageddon, President Joe Biden warned of possible nuclear “Armageddon” this October 2022, and once again with Russia.
Biden has been harshly criticized for that language, accused of hyping an already grave situation between Putin and the Ukraine and of fanning the flames with unnecessarily incendiary rhetoric. Personally, I think Biden’s warnings are apt. I’ve been stating for months that the potential for a desperate Vladimir Putin to escalate to the level of using nuclear weapons is frighteningly real. A Putin whose army is defeated on the battlefield is an especially dangerous Putin who may well resort to something catastrophic, as we feared in October 1962."
Today she's discussing the nuclear threat with our proxy war with Russia. We've got a demented puppet in the White House and Russia has a crazy man in their house of power (is it still the Kremlin?). She's had recordings of both Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy. She says both parties are war-mongers.
Here's another one talking about the nuclear danger, Paul Kengor. Averting Nuclear Armageddon—in October 1962 and Today (faithandfreedom.com)
Biden has been harshly criticized for that language, accused of hyping an already grave situation between Putin and the Ukraine and of fanning the flames with unnecessarily incendiary rhetoric. Personally, I think Biden’s warnings are apt. I’ve been stating for months that the potential for a desperate Vladimir Putin to escalate to the level of using nuclear weapons is frighteningly real. A Putin whose army is defeated on the battlefield is an especially dangerous Putin who may well resort to something catastrophic, as we feared in October 1962."
This is followed by a review of the 1962 Cuban situation, since most have forgotten.
Submit or get fired
"Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action." Ian Fleming, Goldfinger
They are not the majority; they may be a very small voice. But they are in ALL professions, all of which have codes and standards about truth, service and integrity. That they are everywhere should tell you something. They've been verbally abused, had promotions denied, and lost friends and colleagues; their editors have reassigned them to the back page or their location to Po-dunk; they can't get published or their research doesn't appear in peer reviewed journals; they are dishonorably discharged, or lost access to Twitter, FB, YouTube or Google; they've requested reassignment to different medical rounds and been denied. They may also be the ones who won't change pronouns, who resist the CRT workshops and roll their eyes at more global demands to believe a new green religion.
If your employer fires or muffles those in your profession who refuse, and keep only those who bend the knee and submit, then what have you got? People who won't take risks, who won't ask questions, who won't point out the Emperor has no clothes. A submissive nation. No one needs to fire a shot to conquer that nation. We're already in chains.
This is from the University of Nebraska Medical Center: "The spike protein is unique to SARS-CoV-2 – it doesn't look like other proteins your body makes. So antibodies created against the spike protein won't harm your body, they will only target coronavirus."
Let's take a careful look at this statement, which can't be proven true or false since it hasn't been around long enough to be tested. mRNA was developed in the 90s; this therapy in 2020. Whether you're a Christian like me and believe that God has created us with what we need to treat or stop diseases (mRNA isn't a vaccine which introduces a small amount of the bacteria or virus to assist your body in developing a defense you already have) or you're another religion or not religious at all and believe you've evolved over a billion years from sludge, you know "it doesn't look like other proteins your body makes" sounds like it doesn't belong there. Your civil liberties shouldn't be violated and the first amendment and all our laws dealing with health and treatments shouldn't be tossed out if you object to this treatment.
Just about everything we were told in Spring 2020 about transmission and protection of the mRNA treatment have been proven false but there are still rules and mandates and people continue to be punished. Facts we already knew in 2020--children were at almost no risk and young adults had low risk--have been tossed out the window with no apology or explanation.
Whether you're a lawyer, doctor, rap artist, biologist, athlete, journalist, farmer, teacher or librarian, someone in your profession who believes the historical, moral and ethical standards of the past has tried to speak out or report to the chain of command or get published about a current medical procedure, now in its 4th iteration.
They are not the majority; they may be a very small voice. But they are in ALL professions, all of which have codes and standards about truth, service and integrity. That they are everywhere should tell you something. They've been verbally abused, had promotions denied, and lost friends and colleagues; their editors have reassigned them to the back page or their location to Po-dunk; they can't get published or their research doesn't appear in peer reviewed journals; they are dishonorably discharged, or lost access to Twitter, FB, YouTube or Google; they've requested reassignment to different medical rounds and been denied. They may also be the ones who won't change pronouns, who resist the CRT workshops and roll their eyes at more global demands to believe a new green religion.
If your employer fires or muffles those in your profession who refuse, and keep only those who bend the knee and submit, then what have you got? People who won't take risks, who won't ask questions, who won't point out the Emperor has no clothes. A submissive nation. No one needs to fire a shot to conquer that nation. We're already in chains.
Let's take a careful look at this statement, which can't be proven true or false since it hasn't been around long enough to be tested. mRNA was developed in the 90s; this therapy in 2020. Whether you're a Christian like me and believe that God has created us with what we need to treat or stop diseases (mRNA isn't a vaccine which introduces a small amount of the bacteria or virus to assist your body in developing a defense you already have) or you're another religion or not religious at all and believe you've evolved over a billion years from sludge, you know "it doesn't look like other proteins your body makes" sounds like it doesn't belong there. Your civil liberties shouldn't be violated and the first amendment and all our laws dealing with health and treatments shouldn't be tossed out if you object to this treatment.
Just about everything we were told in Spring 2020 about transmission and protection of the mRNA treatment have been proven false but there are still rules and mandates and people continue to be punished. Facts we already knew in 2020--children were at almost no risk and young adults had low risk--have been tossed out the window with no apology or explanation.
Monday, October 17, 2022
Now that we know, what should be done
Sometimes we can't know what we don't know. What happened from March 2020 through today (when I saw people still wearing masks inside their cars with several dirty masks on the dash) would have been unimaginable in western, democratic, free countries as recently as December 2019, but did happen.
- The vulnerable and most at risk for the disease weren't protected
- Those not at risk were forced to comply as though they were in danger of dying
- There were mass violations of civil liberties
- Unknown risks have been passed on to the next generation because pregnant and lactating women were included in the madness
- Young men in the prime of life have been forced through peer pressure, government edict, and threats of job loss to take heart risks with odds they would never consent to for a plane flight
- Laws involving elections were violated or made up on the spot
- Minor, unelected officials assumed great authority and power
- Small businesses were ruined; massive businesses got wealthier
- People skipped treatment for cancer and heart because government was protecting hospitals and not patients
- Safe alternative treatment options were forbidden--even their names could not be spoken
- Anxiety and mental health issues soared from both lack of care and the sufferers being terrified and sickened by media
- Lockdowns separated the dying from their families, their last comfort, or contributed to their early death
- Even when it was learned that the jabs didn't prevent getting the disease and didn't stop transmission to others, ridiculous rules stayed in place, controlled by teachers' unions, businesses, the White House, and CDC
- "Trust the science" became a joke and punch line with our elected officials bowing to the power and money, not laws or common sense or honoring the people who elected them
- One unelected man, an aging bureaucrat controlling two presidents and billions in grants to pharmaceutical companies, claimed to be the face of "Science" and if we distrusted him, we were traitors
- There should be town halls in every village, town, city, church, business, club and university to sort this out. Maybe financial reparations will never happen, but we deserve an explanation for the cowardliness of our so-called leaders who needed to step up and STOP THE INSANITY.
- For the friends and family who died, for the grandparents who didn't see their grandchildren for 2 years, for the jobs lost, the friendships destroyed, the trust stomped on we need to make sure it never happens again.
Time, ambition or will
Although I often say I'm rarely busy, I do have a dilemma right now because I can't get done what I'm planning in my head. It's taking up a lot of space there between my ears and probably melting brain cells--particularly during my morning quiet time when I could be reading the Bible, reading something for book club, or researching. I know the time is available--it would take about two-three days of intense research, writing or using the telephone (I hate that). Other than going to doctors' appointments, shopping for groceries and exercising at the gym (which is only about 2 miles away) I really am not a busy person. The ambition for doing anything at all is flagging, and since I've always been highly distractable I don't finish a lot of projects (I suspect if I'd ever been tested for ADHD I could have scored high enough for the school system to have upset my mother). So it's probably will. I just don't have the will (determination, strength of character, self-discipline, backbone, tenacity) to sit down and do it. Just do it. Isn't that a slogan?
- Prepare a well thought out argument about the wisdom of UALC's proposed capital campaign for remodeling both campuses. I know no one will listen--I've been through this a number of times since I was 11 years old. For this I've gone all the way back to 1951 when the Mt. Morris Church of the Brethren (see below 1956, $321,000) began its campaign to "add a few classrooms" for $13,000 to its building on Seminary Avenue and I conclude (in my busy mind) with Covid lockdowns, inflation, use of space in our current huge buildings, needs of our mission partners, and our current bond issue to increase even more our real estate taxes (just had a huge bond issue 3 years ago).
- Research the seven books of the Bible (Septuagint) removed by Luther and now called "Apocrypha" by Protestants--Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, I and II Maccabees - plus sections of Esther and Daniel. It's the Bible Christians used for 1500 years. Most of my personal library about the Bible is Reformed, Lutheran or Baptist, so it would take some effort to find balanced research. The public library is useless. Sometimes the internet is no help--either has too much or only the "approved" version.
- Find out why two words (without Christ) were added to the confession we use on Sunday. Even the 10 minutes I took to look at my old hymnals started me down a rabbit hole of thinking about how hymnals are revised and the copyright works.
- Many art discussions and shows. Raphael tapestries (yesterday) being the most recent, but find many others, particularly in Magnificat. I have 2 magazines subscription, New Criterion and First things that have wonderful articles, but they sit on the living table for a month before the new issue arrives, then they are moved to my office.
- Cull and take to resale, books and clothing. A never ending problem. Too much sentimental attachment.
- My latest decorating mistake--new bedspreads for the guest room--didn't turn out well. Need to replace, and that means shopping and spending money.
- Research advantages of a smaller car. Our Pacifica is too big and we're getting smaller.
- Practice math. I need to start talking to myself, something like "I'm good at math," or "I can do this," or "Time to work through a few math problems."
- Analyze the cost and advantage of new garage doors (most of the residents all ready have them, but since ours was less than 15 years old, we were exempt). It would replace one massive door with 2 smaller ones.
- Find out how to get an approved Covid test for an upcoming colonoscopy. I don't want to drive to the east side just because I'm part of a particular group and that's what COPC does.
- Plan for our upcoming art show which will be hung on November 11, but the room for the reception is Sunday November 27. Write my stories about the paintings, some of which go back to 1974, some using old photos, 1912, 1944, 1950, plus old Lakeside Rhein Center paintings in workshops.
- And my goodness. So many things to relearn on the current computer (labels, database creation, scanning photos, pdf, etc.) that I knew for the old computer. So many things on the smart phone which I've had since February.
- November book club. Will I read it?
- Request several titles from UAPL, but will I read them?
- Do something, or at least think about the musty smell in all the books and papers in the basement--I mean the "lower level" or the "man cave" aka office. Had them all cleaned about 5 years ago. Should I call Janet again--I can't get on a ladder anymore and she's just a few years younger; need to research the right solution to safely wipe down shelves and books.
- And did I mention going through all the "archives" of our art collection? Two painters, plus all the paintings we've collected by other artists since the 1960s. We have frames, glass, acrylic, pieces of matt board, pieces of backing board, all standing up in a closet, or on shelves.
- Should I buy more food for emergency storage? Joe is talking Armageddon and nuclear war so we've got a crazy leader in Russia and a demented leader in the USA, and I don't even have extra batteries in the house, and I see a lot of pasta in my "emergency tornado" food box. How would we cook pasta if Putin dropped a bomb on NYC or DC? Remember in the 1950s when the basement of our school building was lined with huge bundles of dried (I assume) food stuffs. Must have been for the whole town. And we learned to duck under our school desks. Sure, that will solve the problem our government doesn't know how to fix.
- I'd better go do my hair. Washed it this morning.
Saturday, October 15, 2022
The new bivalent dose isn't catching on
Remember how everyone was trying to get the first dose of the vaccine? We went out in blizzards and stood in lines in February 2021. 80% of Americans trusted the CDC, President Trump, Fauci, and our local governors to keep us well. Now only 5% have received the latest bivalent dose that's been available for a month. But when the Democrats who had bad mouthed its development in 2020 did a flip and started pushing it while destroying the careers of medical people who suggested treating the disease and confining only those most vulnerable, and demanding lockdowns and school children get it when they weren't in danger, distrust of any politicians hawking the wares of Big Pharma set in.
Friday, October 14, 2022
Investing in your retirement and other boring topics
I got a late start in preparing for retirement. I was in my mid-40s with a full time tenure track job at Ohio State University and a put and take savings account. When I read the pension forms that came with all the other forms I might as well have been reading Russian, Распишитесь, пожалуйста. I began reading the Wall St. Journal--which was delivered to the Veterinary Medicine Library. I was trying to figure out the difference between a stock and a bond, learning about long term gains, what is a mutual fund, figuring out defined benefit and tax deferred annuities. And I'd call my Dad or talk to my brother who was a stock broker. We still made horrible mistakes by anyone's gauge of naivete.
But early on I know I decided I didn't like certain stocks, and that some investments weren't worth the return because they were in violation of my core beliefs. I didn't know what it was called but I wouldn't invest in tobacco, alcohol, certain food, health and beauty products (animal testing), and viaticals (insurance plan cash out, like for people with AIDS). Eventually, because large corporations eat up smaller ones, if I liked a snack product it later would be owned by a tobacco company (R.J. Reynolds and Nabisco or Philip Morris and Kraft). And then that group would split or merge into an even larger blob. But still, for awhile I could feel smug and self-righteous--I was a Democrat then and that's what they do.
That's the principle when talking people into accepting ESG--environmental, social and governance investing. Most of us do want to be moral, upright and kind to the poor and patriotic. The rub is who gets to decide, and who is pushing this? At this point in our history, the left is moving from the locker room pep talk to a full court press. This is how a Republican study committee looks at ESG:
The Left’s ESG Movement Is Coming After All Americans (dailysignal.com)
What Is Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing? (investopedia.com)
And as far as retirement goals? Nothing has hurt us as badly as Biden's inflation and killer green economy, or helped us as much as Trump's Make America Great Again ambitious plan.
But early on I know I decided I didn't like certain stocks, and that some investments weren't worth the return because they were in violation of my core beliefs. I didn't know what it was called but I wouldn't invest in tobacco, alcohol, certain food, health and beauty products (animal testing), and viaticals (insurance plan cash out, like for people with AIDS). Eventually, because large corporations eat up smaller ones, if I liked a snack product it later would be owned by a tobacco company (R.J. Reynolds and Nabisco or Philip Morris and Kraft). And then that group would split or merge into an even larger blob. But still, for awhile I could feel smug and self-righteous--I was a Democrat then and that's what they do.
That's the principle when talking people into accepting ESG--environmental, social and governance investing. Most of us do want to be moral, upright and kind to the poor and patriotic. The rub is who gets to decide, and who is pushing this? At this point in our history, the left is moving from the locker room pep talk to a full court press. This is how a Republican study committee looks at ESG:
"A small handful of leftist bureaucrats and board members are behind ESG. Americans never voted for it, but ESG is still making the entire country poorer, more reliant on foreign oil, and less free. ESG is a cornerstone of Democrats’ Green New Deal agenda and one of the most serious long-term threats to energy independence and Americans’ pocketbooks. The Republican Study Committee will push to make combatting ESG a priority after 2022."
In other words, we won't be able to make the choices and mistakes I made in the 1980s about what values and products I wanted to take care of me in my old age. However, if you google, bing, brave or duck-duck-go the term ESG, you'll find several pages of only the most wonderful, positive and downright religious sounding explanation. But if you start or own a company, you won't be able to invest, expand or even use a bank to pay your employees if you don't meet the government (or United Nation's) ESG goals for climate, equity, sustainability (never defined), science, gender, guns, abortion, etc.
The Left’s ESG Movement Is Coming After All Americans (dailysignal.com)
What Is Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing? (investopedia.com)
And as far as retirement goals? Nothing has hurt us as badly as Biden's inflation and killer green economy, or helped us as much as Trump's Make America Great Again ambitious plan.
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