Number one for me

Gorsuch. Trump's #1 accomplishment. "Gorsuch, in fact, may settle to the right of Scalia. In each of the 15 cases he’s weighed in on so far, Gorsuch has sided with the court’s single most conservative member, Justice Clarence Thomas. More than that, he’s joined every concurring opinion that Thomas has issued so far. That is, he didn’t just agree with Thomas on the outcomes of the case but also with the reasoning by which those outcomes were reached." Fivethirtyeight. com

Gender confusion

It is estimated that 0.3% of all American adults are transgender, but there is no agreement or definition on what that is or how you get there because it is based on a feeling about ones identity, not on biology or fact. "A transgender identity is not dependent upon medical procedures. While some transgender individuals may choose to alter their bodies through surgery or hormonal therapy, many transgender people choose not to do so." (Pew Survey, 2013)  I know anorexics who sincerely believe they are obese, dog owners who sincerely believe their pet is a member of their family, amputees who can still feel their missing limb, healthy people who believe they are sick and helpless, and rich people who live in fear of poverty. The feelings are real, but do we change laws, regulations and common sense to accommodate their feelings?

Wildlife talk at Lakeside

I attended a wildlife talk at Lakeside today (huge crowd). I left when the speaker got to the creepy crawler part. But the kids love that stuff.  The most common squirrel in Ohio is the flying squirrel and we have over 260 eagle nests. Again, children were told not to pick up bird feathers because only Native Amercians can use them. The Migratory Bird act has probably saved billions of birds and was passed in 1918, but the Department of Justice clarified the religious use of bird parts in 2012.

“The Department of Justice has taken a major step forward by establishing a consistent and transparent policy to guide federal enforcement of the nation’s wildlife laws in a manner that respects the cultural and religious practices of federally recognized Indian tribes and their members.”

 Fine. But you would think other religions could be respected for marriage and locker room traditions.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-policy-tribal-member-use-eagle-feathers

What has President Trump accomplished?

This is from the Facebook page of Dr. Jennifer Krawsczyn.  I don't know if she copied it from another source.  A few of the items were well under way under President Obama in my opinion, probably 5 years too late.  He presided over the slowest recovery in history, and for minorities and some professions, there is still no movement. For me, being pro-life, #1 was Gorsuch.  If Trump never accomplished anything else, it was enough to stop the socialist court from ruining the country and return it to its proper role.

"So what is going on Under a Trump Presidency after 6 months even with the push back, obstruction, and witch hunts of the deep state, the Dems, and the whole political insider system?? Let's see...

1. Supreme Court Judge Gorsuch supports Constitutional Law
2. 59 missiles dropped in Syria.
3. No longer in TPP
4. Illegal immigration is now down 70%( the lowest in 17 years)
5. Consumer confidence highest since 2000 at index 125.6
6. Mortgage applications for new homes rise to a 7 year high.
7. Arranged 20% Tariff on soft lumber from Canada.
8. Bids for border wall are well underway.
9. Pulled out of the lopsided Paris accord.
10. Keystone pipeline approved.
11. NATO allies boost spending by 4.3%
12. Allowing VA to terminate bad employees.
13. Allowing private healthcare choices for veterans.
14. More than 600,000 Jobs created
15. Median household income at a 7 year high.
16. The Stock Market is at the highest ever in its history.
17. China agreed to import American beef.
18. $89 Billion saved in regulation rollbacks.
19. Boosted energy independence.
20. MOAB for ISIS
21. Travel ban reinstated.
22. Executive order for religious freedom.
23. Jump started NASA
24. $600 million cut/saved from UN peacekeeping budget.
25. Targeting of MS13 gangs
26. Deporting violent illegal immigrants.
27. Signed 41 bills to date
28. Created a commission on child trafficking
29. Created a commission on voter fraud
30. Created a commission for opioids addiction.
31. Giving power to states to drug test unemployment recipients.
32. Unemployment lowest since May 2007.
33. Historic Black College University initiative
34. Women In Entrepreneurship Act
35. Created an office for illegal immigrant crime victims.
36. Reversed Dodd-Frank
37. Repealed DOT ruling which would have taken power away from local governments for infrastructure planning
38. Order to stop crime against law enforcement.
39. End of DAPA program.
40. Stopped companies from moving out of America.
41. Promoted businesses to create American Jobs.
42. Encouraged country to once again “Buy American” and hire American
43. Communicates directly to American people via Twitter without spin of hostile media
44. Cutting regulations - two for every one created.
45. Review of all trade agreements to make sure they are America First
46. Apprentice program
47. Highest manufacturing surge in 3 years.
48 $78 Billion promised Reinvestment FROM major businesses like Exxon, Bayer, Apple, SoftBank, Toyota...
49. Denied FBI a new building.
50. $700 million saved with F-35 renegotiation.
51. Saves $22 million by reducing white house payroll.
52. Department of Treasury reports a $182 billion surplus for April 2017 (2nd largest in history.)
53. Negotiated the release of 6 US humanitarian workers held captive in Egypt.
54. Gas prices lowest in more than 12 years.
55. Signed an Executive Order To Promote Energy Independence And Economic Growth
56. Has already accomplished more to stop government interference into people's lives than any President in the history of America.
57. President Trump has worked with Congress to pass more legislation in his first 100 days than any President since Truman.
58. Has given head executive of each branches 6 month time Frame dated march 15 2017, to trim the fat, restructure and improve efficiency of their branch.
59. And, last, there is the DEBT. Still way out there, butthe trend has reversed. What’s the difference between Presidents Trump and Obama? Approximately $1 Trillion! President Obama increased the US debt in his first 6 months by $1 Trillion more than President Trump! As of March, President Trump had decreased the US Debt since his inauguration by $103 Billion.

 And, with all the good news above, the draining of the SWAMP that is Washington DC is stalled.
Observe the pushback, the leaks and the lies as entrenched POWER refuses to go silently into that good night!"

False advertising of the Democrats

Anyone can change.  Why not just be honest about your past in slavery, KKK, Jim Crow, civil rights, woman's rights? The DNC may be incapable of looking at their own history.

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/national-party-news/343960-false-advertising-how-the-democrats-attempt-to-rewrite

If they don't drink enough water, why is it my fault?

I've been blamed for the 18th c. slave trade, for the KKK, for Jim Crow, for segregated schools, for income gaps, for health outcomes from asbestos in old buildings in the inner cities, and now because blacks and hispanics don't drink enough water, all because my German and Irish ancestors arrived here without a penny to their names before the Revolutionary War.

"Non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics were 40% more likely to be inadequately hydrated compared with non-Hispanic White adults, the researchers found. People with lower incomes were 20% more likely to be inadequately hydrated compared to those with higher incomes. Tap water intake, which was lower among Blacks, Hispanics, and those with lower incomes, partially explained the racial/ethnic differences in hydration status."

Harvard Public Health Chan Newsletter, July 25 https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/significant-racial-ethnic-income-disparities-in-hydration-found-among-u-s-adults/

Jobs and poverty

The Census report of September 2016 has some interesting findings:  working decreases poverty! Jobs increase household income! Crazy as it may be from all the talk about income gaps and why we need more government assistance for victim groups, adding 2.4 million full time paid people (aka workers) to the payroll, reduced poverty and raised household income.  But also, not reported in the summary is that incomes of Hispanic households rose at a higher rate than white, black and Asian, and real median income of households maintained by a foreign-born person increased by 5.3 percent, while the median income of households maintained by a native-born person increased only by 4.4 percent.  Do you suppose that might cause some hard feelings among the "privileged" whites who are supposed to have all those advantages or black households who've been waiting for hope and change?

Summary of findings:
• Real median household income increased 5.2 percent between 2014 and 2015. This is the first annual increase in median household income since 2007.
• The number of full-time, yearround workers increased by 2.4 million in 2015.
• The official poverty rate decreased by 1.2 percentage points between 2014 and 2015.
• The number of people in poverty fell by 3.5 million between 2014 and 2015.

But for all the talk we hear about poverty from academe, from media, from government, I was shocked to read that chronic poverty rate, for 2009-2012, 48 months, was 2.4%. The other figure you see is people who fall into poverty for short periods of time.

And it's a funny thing about graphs, it's very clear in this report that after the most recent recession was over (June 2009) incomes continued to fall, where as if you look at the others  (1961, 1970, 1975, 1983-84, 1991, 2001) they either rose or flattened out, they didn't fall.

And what else?  The household income of a married couple in 2015 was about $85,000 and a single female household was $38,000. Marriage decreases the poverty rate for children. For related children in married-couple families, 9.8 percent and 4.8 million were in poverty in 2015, down from 10.6 percent and 5.2 million in 2014. For related children in families with a female householder, 42.6 percent and 7.9 million were in poverty in 2015, down from 46.5 percent and 8.5 million in 2014.

Income and Poverty in the United States 2015. https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/p60-256.pdf

Joy and a long life

Joy and good relationships are nice, but studies also show personality traits, and even political preferences, are also genetic. This is true: "Since aging starts at birth, people should start taking care of themselves at every stage of life, the researchers say." But you are born with your IQ and personality. You enjoy risk, or you're comfortable with more security.  Work with them.

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo3gOoOSdhY  People vote their temperament.

Diet information sometimes conflicts

A recent article in JAMA says weight gain, even in small increments, before age 55 can make you susceptible to chronic diseases, but then a new article in NEJM based on the famous Nurses’ Study (began about 40 years ago) reports that 12 years of modest diet changes (more veggies, less meat, etc.) can extend your life.  I had a bowl of blueberries for breakfast yesterday, but it was downhill after that. Potato chips for a snack, biscuits and gravy for supper, and so forth. I just love those Pillsbury Grands (frozen).  So much better than mine.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/improving-diet-quality-over-time-linked-with-reduced-risk-premature-death/

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/07/weight-gain-from-early-to-middle-adulthood-poses-risks/

Transgendered in the Military

Diane McDermott writes at Facebook:  "Currently you can't JOIN the military if you have any medical conditions that require constant treatment or excessive accommodation. That's why people with asthma, diabetes, permanent STD's/STI's (like HIV), people with cancer or a recurring history of cancer and individuals with physical disabilities can't serve (except in very rare cases where a specific waiver is granted). Transgender individuals require hormone replacement therapy, they require psychiatric care during transition, and if they elect to get surgery it can take 2-4 years for them to recover to the point of being eligible to deploy. On top of that, after the surgery they are at a higher risk of infection for the rest of their life, which complicates any attempt at sending them to the field to train where hygiene isn't always able to be pristinely maintained or overseas. An overseas deployment also puts the individual at risk because they may not have steady access to their hormone replacement drugs, which leads to withdrawal and hormone imbalances as well as health problems. So, just like diabetics and cancer patients and individuals with physical or mental disabilities, it just isn't feasible to accommodate these people so that they can serve. President Trump makes right decisions for the best of all Americans and it isn't always easy politically, that's the difference between this President, the past presidents and the politicals, he makes the hard decisions regardless of the political fallout."

I do not question the patriotism of the individual men and women who identify as the other and want to serve their country.  I DO question the patriotism of the LGBTQ agenda and political motives. The less safe they make the rest of us, the better.

According to an advocacy website for trans, 19% have HIV (most are trans women, aka men) compared to 1% for the general population. Also, it's feelings not surgery and hormones that determines the status. Suicide attempts are at 41% compared to 4.6% in the general U.S. population. Of course, the blame and responsibility for those health problems are someone else's fault not the fault of the person with the disordered sense of gender.  https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/AFSP-Williams-Suicide-Report-Final.pdf

When the military uses sex instead of security for guidelines

What if the soldier believes she is NOT a woman, but just a man with large breasts and female genitalia, a man who has menstrual cycles and can bear children. She thinks surgery and hormones would be invasive and a violation of her body.   How far will the military go to accommodate her delusion?

What if the Marine says he want to marry a man, or declare him a domestic partner/civil union, but they are both heterosexuals who need the spousal benefits. . . special discounts, housing, access to resorts for vacations,  and healthcare. How far will the military go to accommodate their longing to be married for benefits, not love or sex? Will it demand to see fondling or anal sex?  If they were male and female would their motives be questioned?

What if the Airman wants a 13 day leave for his grandmother’s domestic partner’s funeral, but there’s no record he has a grandmother, in fact according to the records, he doesn’t even have parents. He insists this grandmother was his deceased grandfather’s domestic partner and her most recent partner has died.  How far will the Air Force stretch the definition of family for a man who insists this man is “family.”

What if a Coast guardsman demands to meet the physical fitness test for women because he is smaller and weighs less than the women in his unit. Should he be judged physically unfit just because he has no wish to be permanently a woman when men who’ve had a sex change or declared they are women can qualify under the lesser standards? 

A member of the Foreign Service lists his sister as a domestic partner to whom he is committed for life and they share a common residence. Their birth records have been changed through adoption so legally they are not siblings.

And there are so many other scenarios.There are existing rules, but rules about sex and behavior can be changed as we learned during the Obama years.   Polygamy and incest rules are “judgmental” and who is the government to pass judgment on relationships when changing society is more important than security?

Wednesday was a busy day at Lakeside

On Wednesday morning the ladies of the herb group met at the train station and carpooled to the Mulberry Creek Herb Farm on Bogart Road and had a lovely talk by owner Karen Langan.  She was raised on the farm next door, and after meeting her husband during her post graduate work in horticulture they began this organic herb farm 21 years ago.  What a delightful place just to soak in all the beauty.  There were also chickens (eggs for sale) and a peacock and an Eagle Scout troop dismantling one of the green houses to move to another area. After her talk we had a chance to browse until about noon.

Then three of us went to lunch at Manny's Sports Bar at Rt. 250 and Bogart Rd.  Great food and very pleasant surroundings. I rode with Susan, who lives in Texas and inherited her mother's Lakeside cottage about eight years ago. We had a wonderful time with girl talk and finding out who we knew in common.

Although it was picnic in the park night, we both had eaten late lunches at restaurants (Wednesday is Guys Club and they boat to local restaurants) and weren't in the mood for hot dogs and baked beans, so we just had tomato soup and rhubarb cobbler for dinner.  We're both enjoying reading novels (mine is a Debbie Macomber and he's reading Agatha Christie) on the porch, but also took a walk by the lake to see the craft show developing for tomorrow's tour of homes.

The program at Hoover was Ciaran Sheehan who with his friend Sarah Pfisterer and a wonderful pianist (don't remember her name) performed a beautiful selection of Broadway tunes.  They had both been in Phantom of the Opera, and he also performed for us "Bring him Home" which he sang at the funeral of Vice President Biden's son.  He was born in Ireland, and the publicity says he began singing in high school and toured with a heavy metal band. He went on to study acting and voice, and made his debut as Babet in Les Miserables. He's also been a producer and has done 3 PBS specials.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4591397/ciaran-sheehan

There are no goats in heaven

In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus explained who will be in heaven, who enters the kingdom, who gets the inheritance; no goats, only sheep the shepherd recognizes. How will the shepherd know the sheep? It's not about who voted for a poverty program or closed down the bad prisons, or who marched for open borders while keeping locks on their homes and passwords on their computers. It's not even about mega churches and fabulous musicians to bring in the crowds. In fact, it's a huge challenge because he demands personal responsibility for changing our own lives, not society. These are the opportunities to meet Jesus face to face. "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’"

Again, help where you can; be compassionate and kind. Maybe that's volunteering at the food pantry, but it could be inviting the new widow for dinner. It could be not coddling your adult children so they can learn to be sheep also. It could be picking up someone else's trash. You will definitely NOT change the world or even transform a life, but it will make you a better person because you've met Jesus.

Orthophobic Christians marginalize others

I was listening to Lionel spout off about Minneapolis kindergarten children are no longer to be called boys and girls, but scholars.  Who is pushing this biological nonsense that children should choose their own gender?  The orthophobic bigots.

"Orthophobic animosity and outright discrimination—some have even lost jobs after publicly coming out as QTBGL.  “QTBGL” stands for “Quietly Totally Believing God’s Law” and is sometimes referred to more simply as “TBGL” (just Totally Believing God’s Law).  The Church needs to do a better job ministering to the QTBGL Catholic in the pew, not to mention QTBGL clergy in the Church, like me."
http://www.crisismagazine.com/2017/orthophobia-marginalized-qtbgl-catholic

Together we can change the world

Isn’t that just about the dumbest slogan?  I’ve heard it or seen it many times in many phrases, and it isn’t true, of course.  Get three people in a room with a white board and marker and you have a case for an argument even to state which world you’re referring to. This invitation to change the world just happened to come in an alumni pitch from the University of Illinois. They want my money.  If Illinois graduates were going to change the world, we certainly would have done so by now.

I’ve seen similar slogans about education, about poverty, about child abuse, about suicide, about the opioid epidemic, about trash in the ocean, about trafficking in persons, about friendships with Muslims, about political parties right and left, and any societal or religious problem out there. 

Our church is doing a “launch out” campaign.  Our summer home at Lakeside is non-stop fund raising—sometimes we go to a dinner, sometimes we’re invited to a really nice cottage to listen to a pitch, sometimes they just pass the plate. Right now it’s $3 million for the new swimming pool and wellness center.

UALC—our church--is calling members to celebrate “how God has moved through the last 60 years of our church’s history, give our thanks as He continues to bless and use our church today, and praise Him for the vision He has revealed to us for the future.”  I don’t know what that vision is. In the late 20th century the vision was to expand to the west of the river and have multiple campuses plus a school, but then that didn’t look like a good idea, so the extra land was sold to pay the mortgage. I thought Peter and Paul and the church fathers had the church’s vision pretty well outlined. 

And the U. of I. wants alumni to “come together for our signature event to celebrate the launch of our most ambitious philanthropic campaign ever.” Claims it has a storied past and bold future.  Sounds a lot like my church launch and vision.

Soon I’ll be getting appeals in my e-mail to change a child’s life by buying a backpack with school supplies for a kindergarten student.  Oh, that it were so easy!

Help where you can; be compassionate and kind.  You will definitely not change the world or transform a life, but it will make you a better person.  And that glorifies God.

Brothers, Sisters, and Technology

A relatively recent development that psychological scientists must account for is the role of technology in helping siblings stay in contact years after they leave the family nest. . .

 

Sixty-three percent of siblings in the study said they were friends on Facebook, according to Conger, and those siblings reported more frequency in sibling contact, greater levels of advice-seeking behavior, and higher ratings of relationship satisfaction compared with siblings who had no Facebook contact. Siblings participating in the study also used other forms of technology to keep in touch, including phone calls (51%), texting (20%), and email (9%). Compared with other modes of communication, phone contact between siblings was associated with greater advice-seeking and better psychological adjustment and overall health outcomes.

“Siblings matter, and they are in a unique, lifelong, dynamic relationship,” Conger said.

 

https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-many-flavors-of-relationships

My site meter has disappeared

I have no idea where it went, and don't recall the numbers.  Blogspot does some tracking, but I don't remember when it started.  As of July 23, 2017 it was thus:

Lancet report on Alzheimer's stresses modifiable behavior

Read the full Lancet Dementia 2017 Commission:
The Lancet: Dementia prevention, intervention, and care

Take away:  Invite an old lady to lunch today. Improve her social contacts.

Ogle County storms July 22

As we watched the weather reports here in Ohio, I could see that northern Illinois was being slammed by storms. Photos and story by Jerry Stouffer of Mt. Morris.

"The overnight storm on Friday night into Saturday morning July 22 turned the mild mannered Pine Creek into a roaring out of control wild river in a mater of a few hours as the unusual storm that hit the Ogle County area with up to 6.5 inches of rain.  The entire lower portion of the White Pines State Park located just south of Mt. Morris was turned into a massive river.  Water was also flowing across the Pines Road at the entrance to the park closing the Pines Road until mid morning.  By late morning the creek had receded back into its banks leaving much clean up to be done in the park before it can be reopened.  Several large trees were uprooted and picnic tables were swept away in the torrent flood waters."

 

This is the area of Illinois (Pine Creek) where my father grew up, and where as a child and teen I attended many school and church functions.

 

 

Friday on the porch and around Lakeside

I'm reading my third Fannie Flagg novel this summer. Great porch reading. Funny. The four books I brought with me, "Why I don't call myself gay; how I reclaimed my sexual reality and found peace," "Ipad for Seniors (for dummies)," "The creed; professing the faith through the ages," and "Rethinking possible; a memoir of resilience," made it out of the book bag onto the end table, but no further.

I believe O.J. was guilty as sin of those murders, and probably over-punished for the minor crimes. I'm sorry he'll be released, but he did the time on those charges. And I'd never heard of the that band Linkin Park or the guy who committed suicide.  I wonder what the rate is for that profession? Suicide is highest among older white men--at least in this country. https://psychcentral.com/news/2016/01/07/why-older-white-men-have-highest-suicide-rate-in-us/97289.html

The author of this Imprimus article was listening to her three children argue. "It was at this moment that I had one of those sudden insights as a parent. I realized that my oldest was a constitutional conservative, my middle child a libertarian, and my youngest a socialist with totalitarian tendencies." We have a Democrat party full of socialists with totalitarian goals in this country. They hate free speech.  It's not the 60s anymore.  https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/lefts-war-free-speech/

Black men who in their private lives love white women, pretend to be anti-white and racist to blacks in their own community says this black man in a Tucker interview. He loves the fruit, hates the tree. NYT should have dumped that race baiting article on white women on sidewalks (which I didn't read). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYTNEjKTxFA

Although I only attended three of this week's offerings on Russia, they were all interesting, especially the film that was premiered here on the Lakeside grounds. Russia is the world's largest country by landmass, beating out runner-up Canada by around 2.8 million square miles. It includes nine different time zones and shares land borders with 14 neighboring countries. 1/4 is in Europe and 3/4 in Asia. It's rich in resources. It has a dictator, but the USA spent years coddling other dictators. Remember Fidel? It would have been a great ally and trading partner but something went very wrong during the last three years of Obama's reign's and Clinton's stint as Secretary of State. What are the Democrats trying to cover up by blaming everything on Trump, who wasn't even a candidate in those years?

Until after the 2012 campaign, Obama and Putin were close. What did Obama do to change this, and why blame Trump who wasn't even on the radar as a politician. This is a rhetorical question, of course.

Home Free, a "vocal band" put on a fabulous show Friday night at the Hoover in Lakeside. Pretty much a packed house--lots of covers of Oak Ridge Boys, Statler Brothers, Alabama, etc. Loved Elvira. Nice Johnny Cash Ring of Fire, too. A few of the hip hop genre I thought were inappropriate for our regular audience, but they are a quality, fabulous group. Don't miss them if they are performing near you. I think the next 2 are in Canada. Amazing sound--all vocal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXQpDDcrN-w

Almost every morning I've been having grilled fresh vegetables for breakfast.  Then I'm good for the rest of the day in case indiscretions like chocolate chip cookies or rhubarb cobbler suddenly appear. Every day is different, but I always add some brown mustard, and that really helps the blandness. Today (Saturday) is onions, yellow peppers, zucchini, broccoli, but others times it's cabbage, mushrooms, celery, green peppers and carrots.

A very good list

 

I use too many adverbs--especially this one.

Plastic trash--clean it up

I don't know which came first, the plastic water bottle or the misinformation that we need 8 glasses of water a day, but they are ubiquitous.  I see those bottles everywhere.

"Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit that organizes an annual cleanup event in more than 150 countries worldwide, said plastic debris makes up around 85 percent of all the trash collected from beaches, waterways and oceans ― and that’s just the stuff we can see." (HuffPo) Some sources report plastic trash in the oceans would cover an area 24x the size of Manhattan. If I could find a non-profit that isn't a front for Soros or a climate scam that wants to redistribute my income into their pockets, I'd contribute to the clean up--makes more sense than sending our tax dollars to Europe for a bureaucrat to spend. And we can start by not drinking water from plastic bottles and then throwing them in the trash. Today I vow to carry my cloth grocery bag to the Farmer's Market in Lakeside.

God’s plan for marriage N.T. Wright

“I believe, the ­biblical picture of man and woman together in marriage is not something about which we can say, “Oh well, they had some funny ideas back then. We know better now.” The biblical view of marriage is part of the larger whole of new creation, and it symbolizes and points to that divine plan. Every time I, as a priest, celebrate the marriage of a couple, I remind myself, and I frequently remind the couple, that what we are doing is setting up a signpost. We live in a world of many storms and many winds; those signposts can easily get battered and broken. But they are pointing somewhere – and the reality to which they are pointing is the fulfillment of God’s good purposes for creation.

Marriage is a sign of all things in heaven and on earth coming together in Christ. That’s why it is a tough calling. But that is why, also, it is central and non-negotiable. That, for me, is what it’s all about. “ NT Wright, Plough, Sept. 2015.  http://www.plough.com/en/topics/life/marriage/what-is-marriage-for

Family support vs. public policy

JD Vance ponders at the close of his book, "Hillbilly Elegy," whether there is a public policy that can correct/assist/compensate for his disastrous, difficult childhood. Why did he make it from the socioeconomic "hillybilly" bottom rung of the culture to the top--high school, university, Yale, law career, good marriage, high income--when so many don't?

He attributes a great deal of his success to his grandparents (he took their surname as an adult) who were a stable presence, and even his mother with her drug problems, many husbands and revolving door of boyfriends instilled in him the importance of education and learning. His older sister always protected and advised him, several aunts and uncles opened their homes and loved him through the tough spots. Even when he didn't follow them, he had good role models. "I was often surrounded by caring and kind men. . . Remove any of these people from the equation, and I'm probably screwed."

But he also acknowleges the tough, hillbilly, working class culture as giving him and others he knew the strength to work out solutions when the main stream culture and elites were totally foreign to them. For instance, if he hadn't lied for his mother when he was 12, he could have gone into foster care, removing him from all the people who loved him and helped him succeed.

After a successful career in California, Vance has returned to Columbus (he's an OSU graduate) to start a non-profit to address some of the problems like job training, the opioid crisis in Ohio and the crumbling social structures. It is reported his next book is on the decline of community churches.
http://radio.wosu.org/post/hillbilly-elegy-author-jd-vance-back-ohio#stream/0

Hillbilly Elegy, porch reading at Lakeside

JD Vance grew up in Middletown, OH and is the author of Hillbilly Elegy. While stationed in Iraq as a young Marine, he has an epiphany after seeing the delight of a young Iraqi boy over a small eraser.

"For my entire life, I'd harbored resentment at the world. I was mad at my mother and father, mad that I rode the bus to school while other kids caught rides with friends, mad that my clothes didn't come from Abercrombie, mad that my grandfather died, mad that we lived in a sm...all house. That resentment didn't vanish in an instant, but as I stood and surveyed the mass of children of a war-torn nation, their school without running water, and the overjoyed boy, I began to appreciate how lucky I was: born in the greatest country on earth, every modern convenience at my fingertips, supported by two loving hillbillies, and part of a family that, for all its quirks, loved me unconditionally. At that moment, I resolved to be the type of man who would smile when someone gave him an eraser. I haven't quite made it there, but without that day in Iraq, I wouldn't be trying." (p. 173-74)

I've read one review in the New York Times, and heard one review at Women's Club.  Both were condescending, and I think those authors missed the point of the book.

http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2017/05/book-club-titles-for-2017-2018.html

Good food, good causes

I've been browsing "Mennonite Girls can cook" blog. I think they are Canadian. Lots of great, simple recipes. Like "Orange French Toast." http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2017/07/orange-french-toast.html  Yummy.

  

"We are a group of ten women who share recipes and our faith, with a purpose, inspiring hospitality while using our resources to help needy people around the world.  A simple recipe blog that started to document our family favorite recipes began in 2008 has resulted in two cookbooks."
http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/p/about-us.html

ENCORE Chamber Music at Lakeside

Monday night's program at Lakeside Hoover auditorium was stunning. Not a group I'd ever heard of, but one that builds my faith in youth, in music, in live performance; it was delightful--even the woman I sat beside who was 90 and told me about her life. ENCORE Chamber Music is a 6 week summer academy of Northeast Ohio which sends its students into the community to perform. Jinjoo Cho, who has played with the Lakeside Symphony many times is the artistic director and narrated the program of Mozart, Holst and Tchaikovsky. http://www.encorechambermusic.org/mission-overview/

A native of Seoul, South Korea, Cho moved to Cleveland at the age of 14 to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM).

She is a gold medalist of the 2014 Ninth Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, the first prize and orchestra award-winner of the first Buenos Aires International Violin Competition in 2010, and first grand prize at the Alice Schoenfeld International String Competition
.
Cho finished her Bachelor of Music degree both at the Curtis Institute of Music and the CIM. She also received her Master of Music and Professional Studies from CIM.

                                            

Practicing a craft

As we traveled between Lakeside and Columbus today I was struck by the beauty of the mid-July green hues. From forest to farm to lawn.  Often this time of year, the vegetation begins to have a dusty, straw color. Heavy storms the past few weeks through central and northern Ohio have taken care of that! We drove through small towns and past farms with 19th century homes, shared the road with construction crews, and passed over railway yards.  Everywhere I looked I saw not just God’s handiwork, but man’s--or hundreds of men. Real work, real hands, real products that lasted well beyond their life times. Even the heavily laden trucks that rolled past us were packed with produce from the farms as we noticed the tallest corn we’d ever seen.  “I hope that’s for feed and not ethanol,” I said.

I settled in for the ride and opened my magazine First Things, August/September 2017.  Whether it was a message or a coincidence, who knows, but the article I turned to was “Back to work,” pp. 33-37, by John Waters, an Irish playwright, writer and author of nine books. I had been thinking about the many useful skills and talents my grandmothers who were 20 years apart in age (born in 1876 and 1896) had and which my generation doesn’t.  Not only do I not know how to use a smart phone as many my age do, but I don’t know how to harness a carriage horse, gut and pluck a chicken, milk a cow, trim a kerosene wick or bank the stove with corn cobs to heat water for a weekly bath.  And there in my lap, author Waters laments the triumph of several generations who have no talent except to manipulate technology. I was shocked to see my own thoughts of the moment in an article drafted months before by an Irishman I’d never heard of until I saw him on Route 4 in rural Ohio.

“I often look at rows of buildings on a streetscape or motorway and think that all this, one way or another, is the outcome of interventions by other men.  Each piece--building, bridge, or flyover--is perhaps the conception of one or two men, but has been executed by dozens or hundreds of other men working together toward a common goal.  Sometimes, walking down a street, I am overcome by shame that there is no place on the face of the earth, aside from the occasional library shelf, which contains any analogous contribution of mine.”

. . . Most of the people I meet in my work these days resemble me in this respect.  We live in cities and judge ourselves superior to those who get their hands dirty out in the sticks.  But really we are slaves of a new kind: indentured to technologies that steal our time, creativity, and imagination.  Technology is actually the “new religion,” not least I the sense that it compels us to believe in things we do not understand.  . . I look around and realize that all those present, male and female, make their livings from secondary or tertiary economic activities, unproductive in any fundamental sense--you might even say parasitical on the main business of wealth creation.”

Waters looks back to July 13, 2012, when President Obama told people who actually do real work and produce real products that “you didn’t build that.”  Even taken out of context, as Waters think it was in the 2012 campaign, he sensed it was the tipping point in the creation of Brexit and the victory for President Trump, a man who represents people who relate to the world in concrete ways, but no longer recognize the world that is presented to them. “They are being discounted when the big decisions are being made.”  For up to half the country, Obama was attacking the very essence of their humanity. 

He concludes: “I cannot be the only man who feels less at home in the world than his father did.  Perhaps this is the deepest meaning of Trump’s election:  the back answer of the dispirited men of America who still want to build and fix things but have gotten on the wrong side of a cultural wrecking ball."

Teen Vogue teaches kids how to have anal sex

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39Z5xC8rpQw

Disgusting.  Get it off the shelves.

A difficult job--police

Borrowed this from a fellow Peace Officer (at our nephew's Facebook page who is also a police officer)

"I have pulled dead, mangled bodies from cars. I have lied to people as they were dying. I said you are going to be fine as I held their hand and watched the life fade out. I have held dying babies. Bought lunch for people who were mentally ill and haven't eaten in a while. I have had people try to stab me. Fought with men trying to shoot me. Been attacked by women who have had the shit kicked out of them by their husband as I was arr...esting him. I have held towels on bullet wounds. Done CPR when I knew it wouldn't help just to make family members feel better. I have torn down doors, fought in drug houses. Chased fugitives though the woods. I have been in high speed car chases. Foot chases across an interstate during rush hour traffic. I have been in crashes. Been squeezing the trigger about to kill a man when they came to their senses and stopped. Waded through large angry crowds by myself. Drove like a mad man to help a fellow officer. Let little kids who don't have much sit in my patrol car and pretend they are a cop for their birthday. I have taken a lot of people to jail. Given many breaks. Prayed for people I don't even know. Yes and at times I have been violent when I had to be. I have been kind when I could. I admit I have drove to some dark place and cried by myself when I was overwhelmed. I have missed Christmas and other holidays more than I wanted too. Every cop I know has done all these things and more for lousy pay, sucky hours and a short life expectancy. We don't want your pity, I don't care for your respect. Just let us do our jobs without killing us."

Shared From Public Post

The war on business is over

“[In the Warsaw speech] President Donald Trump has quickly made it clear that Barack Obama’s war on business is over. He’s also made it clear, through regulatory rollbacks of breathtaking scope, that the Obama war on fossil fuels is over. Trump wants America to achieve energy dominance. He withdrew from the costly Paris climate accord, which would have severely damaged the American economy. He directed the EPA to rescind the Obama Clean Power Plan, which would have led to skyrocketing electricity rates. He fast-tracked the Keystone XL pipeline. He reopened the door for a modernized American coal industry. He’s overturning all the Obama obstacles to hydraulic fracturing, which his presidential opponent Hillary Clinton would have dramatically increased. And he has opened the floodgates wide to energy exports.Right now, U.S. oil reserves are almost in parity with those of Saudi Arabia. We have the second-most coal reserves in the world. There are enough U.S. gas reserves to last us a century. We have already passed Russia as the world’s top natural-gas producer. We are the world’s top producer of oil and petroleum hydrocarbons. And exports of liquified national gas are surging, with the Energy Department rapidly approving new LNG projects and other export terminals. All these America-first energy policies are huge economic-growth and high-wage-job producers at home. But in the Warsaw speech, Trump made it clear that America’s energy dominance will be used to help our friends across Europe. No longer will our allies have to rely on Russian Gazprom supplies with inflated, prosperity-killing prices.” Larry Kudlow, “Trump has Putin over a barrel,” http://www.newsmax.com/Finance/Insiders/LarryKudlow/id-

Who won that war?

Who's winning the War on Poverty, now 53 years old? The "official" federal poverty rate in in 1964 was 19%; in 2016 it was 16% and the episodic poverty rate was 32%. In Ohio that rate varies by county, with Cuyahoga at 18.2% and Scioto at 23%. Cuyahoga is 64% white and Scioto is 95% white, so it isn't just a race problem.    In the federal plan, we have over 80 anti-poverty programs providing a handsome living for government workers, but apparently not doing much to reduce the rate. Ohio has 48 community action agencies employing 6,500 people spending $450... million serving 700,000 Ohioans. "Hunger" is now called "food insecurity," and in Ohio many college students qualify for food and housing benefits, but probably still can go to rock concerts and beer joints. http://www.communityresearchpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/SOP2016_20170320-FINAL.pdf

My career (veterinary medicine librarian and agriculture librarian) was in pig poop and nematodes (worms), so deciphering government budgets and reports is far above my education level, and after 2008 the reports became even more obscure. Technically, Community Research Partners isn't "government," but the agencies do survive on government money.  I do know the last 8 years made things worse for the entrenched poor, yet you'll hear screeches and head banging from the media and politicians about Republicans who want to kill people if anyone tries to stop this gravey train.

In my county (Franklin) the unemployment rate was 4.1% in 2015, the success of the recovery(?). But 26.3% of the residents receive Medicaid, a poverty program, and 24.5% of the children are considered living in poverty. So does that mean people aren't looking for jobs, or the jobs don't pay well enough to disqualify someone for poverty programs?  Is that why this war will never be won?

Found on the internet

HOWARD CORBETT, manager of the local Standard Oil Station in Mount Morris, is the son of Joe and Bessie (Ballard) Corbett and was born March 24, 1913, at Oregon, 111. He graduated from the Polo High School in 1930 and attended Mount Morris College for two years. He was a member of the undefeated football team of 1931. He was employed by the Kable News Co. from 1932 to 1936, and in March, 1936, became the manager of the Standard Oil station. Mr. Corbett was married in 1934 to Olive Weybright and they have two children: Joan and Carol.

Mt. Morris Past and Present, rev. ed. 1938

No dignity? No decorum?

"We Right-thinking people have tried dignity.  There could not have been a man of more quiet dignity than George W. Bush as he suffered the outrageous lies and politically motivated hatreds that undermined his presidency.  We tried statesmanship.  Could there be another human being on this earth who so desperately prized “collegiality” as John McCain?  We tried propriety – has there been a nicer human being ever than Mitt Romney?  And the results were always the same.

This is because, while we were playing by the rules of dignity, collegiality and propriety, the Left has been, for the past 60 years, engaged in a knife fight where the only rules are those of Saul Alinsky and the Chicago mob."
https://townhall.com/columnists/evansayet/2017/07/13/he-fights-n2354580

Friday book review, Just Mercy

“We will ultimately not be judged by our technology, we won’t be judged by our design, we won’t be judged by our intellect and reason. Ultimately, you judge the character of a society . . . by how they treat the poor, the condemned, the incarcerated.” Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy.  Today’s book review at the Lakeside Women’s Club.

When I see compelling phrases like this, which incidentally I believe, I am left to wonder why is it the Left see this in Communism and Islam, in cooperation with Iran and ignoring why so many seek to come to the U.S., illegally and otherwise? No poor person was ever elevated by Communism or dictators unless it was by becoming a government lackey, spy or bureaucrat.

Speaking to Russians? It's a crime (according to Democrats)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llM8WgvnbQQ  Tucker looks at this on July 13.

Obama and Lynch are now linked to the Russian lawyer story.  But leftists pretend otherwise.

Democrats, embittered and leaderless

"This bold new agenda [Trump is a Russian agent] has proven so enormously popular that the Democrats have wasted $40 million to lose four special elections. The Democrats are leaderless. Their base has become a roving mob of angry embittered sloganeers showing up at town hall meetings and random political events to scream hate. They threaten to kill the wives, children and dogs of Republican members of Congress. . . They are going into the midterm elections on a conspiracy theory. The theory is backed by their fake news media outlets at the Washington Post, the New York Times and CNN. It just lacks any actual evidence beyond the sort of web of connections usually advanced by conspiracy theorists."

 

"The Democrats couldn’t cope with the fact that a left-wing extremist murdered JFK. So they built a vast array of conspiracy theories that blamed the CIA, the Cubans and the “climate of right-wing hate” in Dallas. The Communist who killed JFK was just a “patsy” for one of those vast right-wing conspiracies.

 

But it was left-wing extremism that killed Camelot. It’s left-wing extremism that is killing the Democrats."

 

 http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/267269/left-wing-extremism-killed-jfk-and-his-party-daniel-greenfield

Stormy morning July 13

Because of the storms, I couldn't walk the lakefront at 6 a.m., so I waited until 9. I saw a whole different population of dogs, grandparents, babies and birds. There was the college crew of groundsmen in matching shirts removing trash; mommies and daddies walking the babies in strollers instead of the early a.m. patrol of grand dads in golf carts so the rest of the cottage can sleep; a gull with a fish almost as big as he was with 3 senior citizens taking photos; grandma with 3 lovely teen granddaughters, but I got a whiff of cigarette smoke (very rare here) and I think it came from granny; walkers on their way to buy donuts at the Patio Restaurant (only serious joggers are out at 6); some "spiritual" but not religious groups at the pavilion; but no skunks--they don't like the activity and daylight, but are visible earlier.

Photo by Beth Sibbring Jennings of the lakefront near Vine St.

The DOJ and the Russian lawyer

Was Veselnitskaya working with the DOJ

Rather than working for the Russians, was she working for Obama DOJ? When these revelations become the hot topic, you can bet the MSN will drop any interest.

"The Russian lawyer who penetrated Donald Trump’s inner circle was initially cleared into the United States by the Justice Department under “extraordinary circumstances” before she embarked on a lobbying campaign last year that ensnared the president’s eldest son, members of Congress, journalists and State Department officials, according to court and Justice Department documents and interviews.

This revelation means it was the Obama Justice Department that enabled the newest and most intriguing figure in the Russia-Trump investigation to enter the country without a visa." The Hill

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/341788-exclusive-doj-let-russian-lawyer-into-us-before-she-met-with-trump

Many Democrats believe churches are the problem, but media are OK!

"If you still wonder why liberal Democrats can’t get elected except in deep blue urban areas (hint: it’s not a Russian conspiracy) and why they seem so out of touch with everyday working Americans, a new Pew Research Center survey may hold a clue. It found that 36% of Democrats believe that churches have a negative impact on American society. Among liberal Democrats, that jumps to 44%. Only 40% of liberals think that churches have a positive impact on society. By contrast, just 14% of Republicans have a negative view of churches. And what do a majority of liberals think does have a positive impact on American society? Fifty-one percent said the national news media do. Enough said." Mike Huckabee

What exactly is collusion?

 The definition is "secret agreement or cooperation especially for an illegal or deceitful purpose: "acting in collusion with the enemy."  John Brennan, Obama's head of CIA, is a good example.

Working with British and Estonian spies, "John Brennan’s CIA operated like a branch office of the Hillary campaign, leaking out mentions of this bogus investigation to the press in the hopes of inflicting maximum political damage on Trump. An official in the intelligence community tells TAS that Brennan’s retinue of political radicals didn’t even bother to hide their activism, decorating offices with “Hillary for president cups” and other campaign paraphernalia.

A supporter of the American Communist Party at the height of the Cold War, Brennan brought into the CIA a raft of subversives and gave them plum positions from which to gather and leak political espionage on Trump. He bastardized standards so that these left-wing activists could burrow in and take career positions. Under the patina of that phony professionalism, they could then present their politicized judgments as “non-partisan.” "  From The Spectator, April 17, using The Guardian, April 13.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/john-brennan-hostility-between-putin-clintons-drove-russias-actions/article/2623908

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/05/did_brennan_collude_with_foreign_spies_to_help_hillary.html

A gift for newlyweds or engaged couples

I haven't listened to this series--after 57 years of marriage and my "kids" at near the mid-century mark, not sure I'd change anything, however, listening to Father Riccardo is a treat, even if he were reading cookie recipes. Lots of his talks are on YouTube.

 

Description

Part 1 – Marriage:  Fr. John discuss the two unique creation stories in Genesis. We are made in the image and likeness of God. What implications does that have?
Part 2 – Ephesians 5:  Fr. John breaks down Ephesians 5. This chapter contains one of the most beautiful passages ever written about marriage, but it is almost immediately considered to be out of touch and out of date because of how it starts: “Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord.”
Part 3 – Fatherhood: It is the great mission and task of earthly fathers to be a tangible and visible expression of the heavenly Father’s love for His sons and daughters. Fr. John discusses the important role of fatherhood.
Part 4 – The Dignity of Woman: Mary DelPup, the Director of Evangelization and Catechesis at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church, concludes the “What’s the Point?” series with a talk on the Apostolic Letter, Mulieris Dignitatem or “On the Dignity and Vocation of Women.”

Standing in the gap

On July 10, Lena Dunham announced her intent to sell a significant part of her wardrobe and donate some of the funds to abortion giant Planned Parenthood. See? There should be no worry about defunding PP because rich celebs and loyal Democrats will step up and fill the gap so the killing can continue.

Proof of Trump Putin collusion

https://www.facebook.com/theblaze/videos/1526392697398065/  or

http://www.theblaze.com/video/matt-walsh-i-have-incontrovertible-evidence-trump-colluded-with-russia/

Matt Walsh has uncovered all the links, followed the dots and connected it all.

The Left used to have ideas

Democrats used to admire accomplishments of the West and Western Civilization.  Why is it so offensive to admire our country?  Symphonies are "white nationalism?" Liberals seem to think so.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvtyBODFk04

Ed Gavagan’s Moth story

He was attacked by a gang and left for dead.  He lost his business, apartment and became homeless. He lives in constant fear and when hired as a day laborer weeps on the job and is fired time and again. http://themothbook.org/stories/whatever-doesnt-kill-me

“I walk out of there [Victim Assistance office], and I go to my favorite bartender, who’s this cute Lebanese-Canadian girl. She’s a poet. And she lets me move in and stay on her couch. She’s rocking this Simone de Beauvoir look, and she’s smart and funny.

But the biggest thing is she listened, which was amazing. Because most people—-and they  were all very well-meaning—-had one of three responses.

The first response was, when I tried to talk about my feelings, and my fear, and this turmoil in my head, they would say, “Well, everything happens for a reason.” And that made me want to punch them in the face, and ask them if they knew what the reason for that was.

The second thing that people tended to say was “You’ve just got to get over it, man. You’re alive. You’re lucky. You’ve just got to put this in the past, and move on.” And that made me want to stab them six times and come back and talk to them in six months and go, “So how’s it working out, you got any advice for me now? Because I could really use some help from somebody who knows what I’m going through.”

And the third thing that people would say, and again, very well-meaning, but it just was absolutely no help, was that “whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

The Moth Hour Story Telling

Last summer the Women’s Club at Lakeside enjoyed a book review, The Moth; 50 true stories which was a NYT best seller.  It’s a collection of stories remembered by the storyteller for the enjoyment of the listeners gathered on a porch on a summer’s evening.  Now it is a website, podcast, weekly radio show, live events and archive on the web.  Friends and neighbors are gathering to tell stories.  The first Lakeside Moth Porch event got rained out so it wasn’t on a porch, but it had a standing room only crowd at the Green Gables Women’s Club cottage.

Is Alt-Left dead?

 Alt-left is dead says Lionel Nation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHYT5f8mGm0

I found Lionel while searching for an alternative to cable news, including Fox which has been taken over by the sons, and after getting used to his 5 synonyms for every noun, I enjoy most of his posts.
He was never a Trump fan, but always has an interesting take on how Trump is trolling and destroying all the memes and lies of the Left. Some of the people he chides, like Nikki Haley, I like and don't get his beef.

Well, the 24/7 coverage of Russia/Trump collusion has destroyed the credibility of CNN, Washington Post, and New York Times. So I suppose that's a somethingburger.

I was reading Ivanka Trump's comments on empowering women entrepreneurs and involving the World Bank, IMF, OECD, etc. Forty years ago when I worked in the Agriculture Library at OSU on a grant from USAID with the Ag Econ faculty these methods were already well described using the same institutions. I wonder if anyone ever read the research on how supplying women with small credit opportunity empowered her, her family, other women and the whole village?

Older people need more protein, and 4 other things

Your nutrition needs change as you get older.  Here are five things recommended at the Silver Sneakers website to increase.

1. Protein--to maintain muscle mass and proper functioning
2.  Calcium--1,000 mg to 1,200 mg per day as you pass age 50
3. Vitamin D-- essential to both bone and muscle health
4. Fiber--need increases as we age
5. Water--your sense of thirst decreases with age, so compensate.

https://www.silversneakers.com/blog/senior-nutrition/

Sunday in the park--a polka band

The Chardon Polka Band, an accordion, 2 saxophones, a banjo and drummer, performed in the gazebo in Lakeside central park tonight. They played a wide variety of songs, including "Who stole the Kishka?" The woman next to me, probably in her 80s, leaned over and said, "What is a kishka?" "No idea," I said. So she pulled out her smart phone and asked it. "It's a sausage," she said. Here's video proof that Chardon has a polka band. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il3ZhMt4NgY

 

A sop to Big Ag--ethanol standards and subsidies

I've read all the excuses from the experts, and I don't care what they say, to make ethanol from food stuffs when people are hungry around the world, just sounds immoral. God gave us fossil fuels for a reason. We don't need to recreate them.

"According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data for 2015, approximately 13.5 million bushels of corn were produced in 2015, with 39% being used for livestock feed, 30% for ethanol, 12.5% for various exports, 8% for distiller's dried grain, about 5-6% for high fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners, and 3% for starches and cereals." (World's healthiest foods newsletter).

http://e360.yale.edu/features/the_case_against_ethanol_bad_for_environment

"Two prices determine its [ethanol] profitability: the price of corn and the price of oil. The higher the price of corn, the more expensive it is to divert from feeding animals or making high-fructose corn syrup and instead distill it as alcohol fuel for cars and trucks. Second, the higher the price of oil, the more economically ethanol can be blended with gasoline. When corn is cheap and oil prices are high, ethanol margins are fat. But when corn prices rise and oil prices fall, ethanol margins are flat."

 It's bad for fuel economy AND the environment.  It only profits the growers who support the legislators who keep this alive.

Cyber Attacks on U.S Companies in 2016

Not sure what the Trump administration can do about cyber security given the "deep state" he inherited which is loyal to Obama, because this report for 2016 and the 2014 and 2015 and ones before them show the U.S.--government and businesses--really let us down. Voter records, Treasury, Homeland security, DNC, social network sites, banks, etc. Wonder why DNC wouldn't let FBI investigate. . . http://thf-reports.s3.amazonaws.com/2016/IB4636.pdf

 "This Issue Brief [above] is a continuation of a series of papers on cyber attacks against U.S. companies since 20141 and 2015.2 While the means of cyber attacks vary, the pattern of targets has been relatively consistent. Large databases, as well as point-of-sale systems, continue to be targeted for financial gain. Hackers with possible ties to nation-states continue to target infrastructure as well as systems for political insight."

"According to the FBI, about 4000 ransomware attacks happen every day.  In the United States alone, victims lost $209 million to ransomware in the first quarter of 2016.  Even worse is the threat to critical infrastructure, as seen by the malware infections at electrical distribution companies in Ukraine that caused outages to 225,000 customers in late 2015.  Recent reports on the Russian hacks into the Democratic National Committee and subsequent release of emails in a coercive campaign to apparently influence the U.S. Presidential Election bring further national attention to the inadequacy of cyber deterrence.  The U.S. government seems incapable of creating an adequate strategy to alter the behavior of the wide variety of malicious actors seeking to inflict harm or damage through cyberspace."

http://www.heritage.org/cybersecurity/event/strategic-cyber-deterrence-the-active-cyber-defense-option

Make America Great Again song

How would a you analyze "Make American Great Again" song unveiled on July 4?

 

Vanilla . . . simplicity and clarity. . . not striding boldly to a new future. . . too familiar. . . egregiously unsurprising. Missed opportunity. . .

 

 http://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/music-theory/analysis-trump-make-america-great-again-song/

Can we say. . . condescending?

Can heterodoxy survive on campus?

The Leftists have redefined so many words and concepts (even pronouns) as racist and sexist and transphobic, I'm not sure Heterodoxy can make it in academe. Librarians led the way, but now leftist ideas control the academy.

 "Heterodox Academy was founded in September 2015 to call attention to this trend and the problems it is causing for scholarship, particularly in the social sciences and related fields (such as law and public policy). The word heterodox means “not conforming with accepted or orthodox standards of beliefs.” We chose that word to contrast with “orthodoxy,” which refers to conforming with accepted norms and beliefs. Orthodoxy has religious connotations, but it can be applied to any view that becomes dogma or dogmatic, such as “orthodox Marxism,” “social constructionist orthodoxy,” or “free market orthodoxy.”" https://heterodoxacademy.org/problems/

Wesley Snipes is an author

Today I received an offer to review Wesley Snipes' spiritual "thriller" novel. I said no (I've never read a thriller), but I think the concept and author are interesting. The pitch. "TALON OF GOD (Harper Voyager; on-sale 7/25/2017) is a high-voltage cinematic saga with strong spiritual themes. The novel centers on Lauren Jefferson, a beautiful young ER doctor and daughter of a Baptist minister, dragged into an apocalyptic battle between Heaven and Hell—and at her right hand is Talon Hunter, spirit warrior. Co-authored by writer Ray Norman, the book stands out as the Harper Voyager imprint’s biggest book of the summer."

President Trump in Europe

"Mr. Trump is taking a clear stand against the kind of gauzy globalism and vague multiculturalism represented by the worldview of, say, Barack Obama and most contemporary Western intellectuals, who are willing, even eager, to concede the argument to critics of the West’s traditions. This is the speech Mr. Trump should have given to introduce himself to the world at his Inauguration. In place of that speech’s resentments, his Warsaw talk offered a better form of nationalism. It is a nationalism rooted in values and beliefs—the rule of law, freedom of expression, religious faith and freedom from oppressive government—that let Europe and then America rise to prominence. This, Mr. Trump is saying, is worth whatever it takes to preserve and protect." (Wall St. Journal)

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2017/07/07/trumps_powerful_speech_in_poland_134405.html

"Trump offered a concise, powerful statement of western achievements and why they are worth defending. “We write symphonies,” he said. “We pursue innovation. We celebrate our ancient heroes, embrace our timeless traditions and customs, and always seek to explore and discover brand-new frontiers. . . . We cherish inspiring works of art that honor God. We treasure the rule of law and protect the right to free speech and free expression. We empower women as pillars of our society and of our success. We put faith and family, not government and bureaucracy, at the center of our lives. And we debate everything.”

Full speech in Poland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=Adpgw93_DfE

Survey on cyber security, 2017

This is an interesting survey. Since the Obama Administration left us so vulnerable, could the "new White House" be worse? Apparently so, according to the Black Hats who recently met. But 15% in 2016 thought there would be a major security breach, and 13% in 2017. How safe is any organization when the head of the DNC has a password of "password," and the data gets leaked? Let's hope President Trump creates a safer environment than Obama did.

https://www.blackhat.com/docs/us-17/2017-Black-Hat-Attendee-Survey.pdf

The most feared cyber attacker is someone with inside knowledge of their own organization. The average consumer needs to fear phishing and other social engineering attacks, not the government. The weakest link in security is end users who violate security policy and are too easily fooled by social engineering attacks. For some reason (not explained) the lack of diversity among security IT professionals is a reason for a shortage. Sounds like an obligatory response. Blame society if women prefer studying dance or law.

What's behind denial of biology?

There have been attacks on God's Word from the days in which it was passed along through tradition and story telling, to the compilation of letters by apostles sent to believers (the Bible), through false leaders denying the Trinity, discounting the body and blood of Jesus, on to inventing new theories for salvation, and scrambling to deify the culture in every century and especially in the seminaries. But the latest and most hostile attack is the hoax of transgenderism, that our unique design and sexuality and how God formed us male and female for the preservation and furtherance of the human race is just a human construct to be dismantled and revised as needed. It is just one more way to control people.

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/socialissues/sexuality/transgenderism/understanding-transgenderism

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/july-august/understanding-transgender-gender-dysphoria.html

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-christianity-alone-offers-transgender-persons

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2015/10/how-should-christians-respond-to-the-transgender-phenomenon

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/state-agencys-new-rules-accept-transgenderism-or-face-ban-from-working-with

My issue is not with the less than one percent  who are confused about their gender.  My objection is the forcing by government regulations of their confusion on the rest of us with special pronoun rules, non-profits declaring we are "less than" and bigoted because we believe God's plan, and parents and doctors who sexually abuse minor children with reassignment surgery and hormones.

Friday Family photo-me at the lake

My favorite t-shirt--Chocolate God's gift to women

Friday morning is Farmer's Market in Lakeside, so I walked down to Walnut and bought a rhubarb pie from the pie lady and half a bag of decaf at a vendor I'd never seen before,  Fresh2UCoffee.com. I walked back home and brewed a small pot in my Mr. Coffee. My, that's tasty. (If you can say coffee tastes good--it should be it tastes less awful.) So I decided to go back and get another one. Fresh roasted, organic, fair trade, and locally owned. But the lady ahead of me got the last half size bag, so I walked back to the cottage and got more money.

News new and fake

CNN - Dateline Philadelphia - Breaking News
Jim Acosta reporting.

"CNN can now report that it has just discovered the long lost, yet to be ratified, Twitter-eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States which states "Ye shall not post GIF's to Twitter about CNN that CNN finds offensive."

Written by Ben Franklin himself, the draft for this amendment fell between the benches in Independence Hall as the Constitution was being drafted at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787.
This is not #fakenews at all. Swearzies."

Hash browns like mom made them

"But the best part is that they do hash browns right. No, not hash brown patties, nor shredded potatoes. These are the hash browns I grew up having from my mother. They are griddled while constantly chopping the potatoes into smaller and smaller bits. Smaller bits equals more surface area equals more crispy bits. But you get a variation in size that actually allows for some larger, soft chunks of potato. That tension between the crispy and the creamy makes for my ideal kind of hash browns. Of course, they are better when my mom makes them, but St. Francis Fountain is the next best thing."   http://www.insidehook.com/san-francisco/meal-plan-david-barzelay