Monday, December 31, 2018

Happy 48th Anniversary Jeanne and Bob

Image may contain: 2 people, including Jeanne Poisal, people smiling, people standing and indoor 

I’ve never seen them looking better.  This fall they began home sharing and are now in a household with 4 generations, their daughter and husband, their grandson, and his twin girls—plus Diva the dog.  There is lots of activity, which has been wonderful for Bob who has been ill.

10 tips for year-end estate and financial planning

We may not be in a position to do #6 (gift up to $30,000 to an individual if married), but we all need to do #10, organize our records for 2019, and shred documents no longer needed for retention.

Also, in 2018, you can contribute up to $18,500 in your employer-sponsored retirement plan (i.e., 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the Federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan). Employees aged 50 or older who participate in such plans can contribute an additional $6,000 in "catch-up" contributions. #3

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/year-end-estate-and-financial-planning-checklist-make-your-list-and-check-it-twice

Ten resolutions from the American Medical Association

AMA's 10 resolutions for the New Year. I'll need another list. Already have done all of these.

  1. Know your risk for type 2 diabetes--
  2. Be more physically active—
  3. Know your blood pressure numbers—
  4. Reduce your intake of processed foods, especially those with added sodium and sugar—
  5. Take antibiotics only as prescribed--
  6. Alcohol only in moderation, up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men--
  7. Quit tobacco and nicotine, declare your home and car smoke-free --
  8. Properly dispose of any leftover medication and never share--
  9. Stay up-to-date on vaccines—
  10. Manage stress—

https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-offers-10-health-recommendations-new-years-resolutions

Baby new year 2019—Monday Memories

My mother kept a "commonplace book," in which she pasted poems, cartoons, articles from magazines, and things she'd hand copied or typed from books. I see familiar names--McCall's, Chicago Daily News, Farm and Ranch, Christian Herald, and Rockford Morning Star. As a child I would sit and look through it often--a small, 3-ring black leather notebook. I particularly enjoyed the poem, "For a female cat named Horace," because it reminded me of my friend's cat "Butch" who populated Forreston, IL with kitties and the one about how to make a recipe taste like mother's--walk 5 miles before dinner. She may have been saving clippings in a box for years, but the first item was the baby New Year 1946 with a broom greeting old man 1945 giving him a terrible mess. So here it is again, Mom, for 2018-2019. The world is still a mess and we need you.

1946 cartoon

I wrote about her commonplacebook in January  2010, and noted:

“Her final hand written entry (in the scanned copy) is undated; but it was near the end of her life--perhaps the end of 1999. She died in January 2000. There is no attribution other than her name.

    If
    Each day we fill a page
    The year a volume makes
    These last ten books are very full
    of joys
    changes
    sorrow
    growth.
    Gently place this year on the shelf--
    if there is room.
    Close the decade.

Tickle Me Elmo is for all ages

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This is a photo of my nephew David apparently doing a little emergency repair or battery replacement on his grandson’s Tickle Me Elmo.

Someone had given a Tickle Me Elmo to my mother-in-law (maybe us, I don’t remember) when she was in a nursing home.  She loved that toy and would squeeze it, and would just beam when it laughed.  We inherited it after her death in 1998. Bob kept it on a shelf in his office, and one day I suppose the battery malfunctioned and it began vibrating and giggling on its own. Sort of creepy. Not sure what became of it—perhaps we donated it, because it’s not in his office now.  The photo is from 2006.

Image may contain: people sitting and indoor 

Grands 1993 mothers (2)

Our mothers in 1993.

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Just a little word--at

A very common phrase among Christians is, "God will meet you where you're at," and it just hurts my ears. I heard it three times in worship this morning. What is the purpose of "at?" What does it link? Why not, "God will meet you where you are."

So I looked at a grammar page and found, "We meet you where you’re at and bring you where you want to go with a free placement test."  Even the English teachers say it.

Prepositions are difficult for English learners, and we make them more difficult by dropping them where they have no function.

Summer School of Faith-Sixth, 2018-Charles Craigmile, Culture Lost, Culture Reclaimed

June 12:  The Crisis of Culture - How We Lost our Story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smIAuenhqBw

June 19:  The Doctrine of Creation - A Subversive Theology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Foz7_HYn3fo

June 26:  Liturgy and the Eucharist - Bridging the Gap
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=FdcejG3GcVI

July 10: The Church – “Called to Communion” https://gloria.tv/video/AtnhXhUUp3eG2R7AAGTjiod9n

July 17: Death and the Afterlife – “The Passage Home ”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGEXlsNjPlk

First week:  Many anniversaries in 2018. End of WWI in 1918.  Czar in Russia and family assassinated.  200th anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth. We have a sense our culture is in crisis. Catholics are experiencing closings of schools, hospitals, shortage of priests.
Uses “Introduction to Christianity” by Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI)

Week 2 uses Genesis—a radical text.

Week 3, the liturgy and mass, true worship of God

Week 4, The church, the call to communion, uses Ratzinger’s 1991 book, “Called to Communion,” compilation of his speeches

Week 5, Death. Uses “Eschatology,” 1997, by Ratzinger, his last major work as a theologian. The Kingdom of God is the fundamental teaching of Jesus—it is Christ. Eternal life starts now.  The door to mercy is through repentance.

Charles Craigmile holds an undergraduate degree in philosophy, with minors in Latin and Greek from the University of St. Thomas, an MA in philosophy from DePaul University, and an MBA from JL Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Charles has also completed three-years’ course work toward a graduate degree in Theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein. Over the last 25 years, Charles has taught Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) programs across the Chicago area, most recently at St. Mary's in Lake Forest.

Russian bots now linked to Democrat sources—Big Tech implicated now—Linkedin, Yahoo, AOL, Gmail

Hamilton 68 Dashboard, the online tool that purports to monitor and expose narratives pushed by the Kremlin on Twitter, is funded by Democrats and neoconservatives bankrolled in part by NATO and USAID --

The only 'Russian bots' to meddle in US elections belonged to Democratic-linked 'experts' | 28 Dec 2018 | US cyber-security experts have blamed Russia for meddling in American elections since 2016. Now it has emerged that authors of a Senate report on 'Russian' meddling actually ran a "false flag" meddling operation themselves.

A week before Christmas, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report accusing Russia of depressing Democrat voter turnout by targeting African-Americans on social media. Its authors, New Knowledge, quickly became a household name. Described by the New York Times as a group of "tech specialists who lean Democratic," New Knowledge has ties to both the US military and intelligence agencies. Its CEO and co-founder Jonathon Morgan previously worked for DARPA. His partner, Ryan Fox, is a 15-year veteran of the National Security Agency who also worked as a computer analyst for the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Investors pumped $11 million into the company in 2018 alone.

Morgan and Fox have struck gold in the "Russiagate" racket, which sprung into being after Hillary Clinton blamed Moscow for Donald Trump's presidential victory in 2016. Morgan, for example, is one of the developers of the Hamilton 68 Dashboard, the online tool that purports to monitor and expose narratives being pushed by the Kremlin on Twitter. The dashboard is bankrolled by the German Marshall Fund's Alliance for Securing Democracy [sic] -- a collection of Democrats and neoconservatives funded in part by NATO and USAID.

https://www.legitgov.org/Hamilton-68-Dashboard-online-tool-purports-monitor-and-expose-narratives-pushed-Kremlin-Twitter

LinkedIn co-founder 'sorry' for funding 'Russian bot' disinformation campaign against Roy Moore | 27 Dec 2018 |

The co-founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman, has apologized to Republican Roy Moore for funding an organisation that faked a 'Russian bot' involvement to mar his election campaign in Alabama. American Engagement Technologies (AET), which Hoffman gave 750,000 to, put 100,000 of the entrepreneur's m-ney towards New Knowledge, a cybersecurity firm which fabricated some 1,000 Russian language Twitter accounts to follow Moore. The company used the tactic to link the controversial Republican to so-called Russian influence campaigns and then fed it to the mainstream media. They also created misleading Facebook pages urging Republicans to support a 'write-in' candidate instead of supporting Moore.

Yahoo, AOL, and Gmail are caught red-handed trying to influence the 2018 election --"One Test, in Florida, 100% of Republican Rick Scott's emails went to spam in Yahoo, while 100% of his Democratic opponent Bill Nelson's emails went to our Yahoo inbox." | 29 Dec 2018 |

Is the world of email biased against conservatives? ... Our team created email addresses with different email providers and signed up for the email lists of around fifty different candidates, committees, and political nonprofits. In the month leading up to the election, we tracked how many emails were sent from each entity, and what percentage of those emails made it into our inbox. Republicans Were Sent to Spam Far More Often Than Democrats --The results were striking, across every email provider... In Nevada, Democrat Jacky Rosen averaged over 90% placement in inboxes, compared to Dean Heller's over 90% placement in spam. In Florida, 100% of Republican Rick Scott's emails went to spam in Yahoo, while 100% of Bill Nelson's emails went to our Yahoo inbox. While these were the most dramatic examples, this pattern emerged in every toss-up Senate race we tracked.

https://imge.com/news/email-providers-suppress-republicans-2018-election/?

Saturday, December 29, 2018

I bought my husband an MVMT watch for Christmas

But it came with no information, instructions or warranty.  When I wrote the company and asked, I got some of the answer in an e-mail from customer service, and some in an attachment which if printed would be white on black. Really?  So I did what I should have done before I ordered: I looked up the company. It was crowd funded.

“When Jake Kassan and Kramer LaPlante dropped out of college to start MVMT in 2013, they had no clue what venture capital was. Instead, the duo raised around $300,000 in preorders through Indiegogo, the crowdfunding site, to create their first line of watches.

MVMT’s minimalist aesthetic, accessible price points and messaging about cutting out traditional retail middlemen appealed to a segment of millennial shoppers more willing than past generations to try out new brands and not equate high prices with quality.

“Watches are marked by flashy brands and millennials reject that idea,” Kaden, of Union Square Ventures, said.”

               MVMT’s LaPlante and Kassan 

The watches are handsome.  And so are the founders. The instructions aren’t.

“MVMT was also an early mover in podcast advertising and marketing on Instagram at a time when the media formats were growing in popularity but advertising demand hadn’t fully caught up.

It didn’t hurt that they had picked product categories in watches and sunglasses that boasted big profit margins. Tuft & Needle did, too.

By the end of 2017, MVMT had managed to cross $70 million in annual revenue, mainly through its own website but also dabbling with sales on Amazon.

Along the way, its founders did learn what venture capital was — watching the press attention grow for heavily backed consumer startups like Warby Parker and Harry’s — but still kept their distance. Cautionary tales like that of Jessica Alba’s Honest Company — which raised too much capital at too high of a valuation, while convincing itself it was a tech company — spooked the founders.

“Once you do it one year, you have to do it next year; it becomes this bad cycle,” Kassan, its CEO, said. “I think having the discipline and flexibility was just the secret for us all along.”

https://www.recode.net/2018/8/29/17774878/consumer-startups-business-model-native-mvmt-tuft-needle

https://www.chase.com/news/012617-mvmt

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/01/how-two-25-year-old-college-dropouts-built-a-watch-company-that-made-60-million-this-year.html

                                

https://www.mvmtwatches.com/products/bourbon-rose

“The Bourbon Rose takes on a rich brown and gold colorway, pulled from iconic wood tones of California modern design. Italian tanned leather straps, a matte face and domed crystal complete this 41mm stainless steel case. A special exhibition case back reveals the dynamic intricacies of the automatic movement. . .

Automatic watchmaking is a centuries-old and deeply admired practice. Constructed with up to three-times the working parts of our traditional analog quartz watches, automatic movements harness energy through the natural motions of the wearer’s wrist. This powers the intricate series of wound springs and gear trains within the watch to keep time, making the Arc Automatic our most sophisticated timepiece to date. . .

Sleek steel and rich leather embody the core duality of the Arc Automatic. Inspired by the experimental spirit of 1960s architecture, this model explores the tension of modern design and timeless style.
This self-winding machine is distinguished by its intricate mechanical heartbeat. The gears that drive the smooth sweeping motion of the hands are powered by the natural movements of the wearer, revealed by a sculptural exhibition case back.’”

Here’s the small print I didn’t read when we ordered it. . .

“The Arc Automatic is best worn every day to keep accurate time, and should be fully wound before every wear. It’s best to keep in the watch winder when you are not wearing it. Avoid magnets, shocks and water exposure. In the event that water penetrates the case, repair immediately. Avoid setting the date between 9:00 p.m. -- 1:00 a.m. Best to avoid extreme temperatures, as accuracy is compromised below -10°C and above 60°C. Best to service approximately every 3 years to ensure long-term quality performance. In the event of time-delay or other unusual occurrences, service immediately. “

USAFacts—a new way to gather government statistics

This non-profit has been launched by Steve Ballmer and wife Connie.  Although most non-profits established by wealthy capitalists claim to be non-partisan and unbiased, we’ll have to see about that.  When Ballmer gives interviews we’ll see the clues. But since I frequently use government statistics myself in making my points about medical costs, education, immigration, sex/gender, religion, animals, housing, etc., I welcome any source which can make sense of it all, particularly the blending of federal, state and local.  Federal dollars, for instance, are only 3% of total spending on education.

https://www.geekwire.com/2017/full-interview-steve-ballmer-discusses-usafacts-new-10-k-government/

“USAFacts is a new data-driven portrait of the American population, our government’s finances, and government’s impact on society. We are a non-partisan, not-for-profit civic initiative and have no political agenda or commercial motive. We provide this information as a free public service and are committed to maintaining and expanding it in the future.

We rely exclusively on publicly available government data sources. We don’t make judgments or prescribe specific policies. Whether government money is spent wisely or not, whether our quality of life is improving or getting worse – that’s for you to decide. We hope to spur serious, reasoned, and informed debate on the purpose and functions of government. Such debate is vital to our democracy. We hope that USAFacts will make a modest contribution toward building consensus and finding solutions.”

https://usafacts.org/

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The plan is to divide all government statistics by the four items in the Preamble’s mission statement.

“Revenue And Spending

Government revenue and expenditures are based on data from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Census Bureau, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Each is published annually, although due to collection times, state and local government data are not as current as federal data. Thus, when combining federal, state, and local revenues and expenditures, the most recent year shown is 2014, the most recent year for which all three sets of data are available. We show government spending through two different lenses:

Spending by segment: We recategorized several programs and functions to align them with four constitutional missions based on the preamble to the constitution:

  • Establish Justice and Ensure Domestic Tranquility
  • Provide for the Common Defense
  • Promote the General Welfare
  • Secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and Our Posterity

This approach is modeled after what businesses do for their own management accountability and shareholder reporting. Public companies present their businesses in segments – a logical framework for discussing the areas in which the they operate. We do the same for government. In using this constitutional framework, we have made judgements in how we group programs. . .

Spending by function: We also show spending by functional categories such as compensation for current and past employees, capital expenditures, transfer payments to individuals, interest on the debt, and payments for goods and services. “

Friday, December 28, 2018

Flashback 1986 Norwester

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I don’t recall ever seeing this photo of our son’s junior year in high school.  I guess they didn’t get any copies.

We can’t get away from it

Image may contain: textPriceton.org

The new totalitarians aren’t new at all—they go by the names diversity, tolerance and inclusion

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Harley Price, Canadian professor at University of Toronto  Priceton.org

What not to say to a convert

“When I walk into a room and say to people I meet ‘I’m Jewish’ often I will get the response ‘but you’re Black.'” Since when are the two mutually exclusive? People often make offensive racial assumptions about Jews (and converts) of color. Just like we’re not all named Rosenberg, one convert of color says it’s helpful to note that “Judaism is not a ‘race’ of white people. One of the things people should be mindful of is not to assume all people of color in the synagogue are converts (or the help, for that matter).” Yavilah McCoy (The Color of Jews)

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-dos-and-donts-of-talking-to-converts/?

Goy jokes are not funny.

“Words like shiksa (gentile woman) and shaygetz (gentile man) both derivations of the word for “dirty” in Yiddish, don’t make converts feel welcome either. Blondes with blue eyes, converts or not, tend to hear these words more often than converts like me with olive skin and big brown eyes. Still, my first Passover went south after someone repeatedly threw the word shiksa around along with some other ugly words about non-Jews. At the first bar mitzvah I attended, jokes about non-Jews were flying all over the place.”

Much of the advice in this article also applies to Christians. I stopped attending a Bible study by a pastor on a topic in which I was interested because of the sly little digs at Catholics, since I knew some of the invited guests were Catholics, or some grew up Catholic.

Much of if boils down to being an insider or an outsider whether a small town, a group, a church, a club, a resident new to the neighborhood, an alumnus, or a political campaign.  We just can’t assume we are all like minded.

Thursday, December 27, 2018

The trans-movement is destroying real women

“In 2014, when I was a freshman, Mount Holyoke began admitting transgender and “non-gender-conforming” students. That means students who identify as men, or otherwise as nonwomen, can attend.

Doesn’t admitting transgender men to a women’s college undermine their claim that they are actually men? Or is Mount Holyoke simply a male-free zone, open to anyone except biological men who identify as such?”

Wall St. Journal, https://www.wsj.com/articles/my-alma-stops-identifying-as-a-mater-11545868845?

Yes, it’s true.

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I got a Happy Light for Christmas

Overview (Mayo Clinic)

“Light therapy is a way to treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and certain other conditions by exposure to artificial light. SAD is a type of depression that occurs at a certain time each year, usually in the fall or winter.

During light therapy, you sit or work near a device called a light therapy box. The box gives off bright light that mimics natural outdoor light.

Light therapy is thought to affect brain chemicals linked to mood and sleep, easing SAD symptoms. Using a light therapy box may also help with other types of depression, sleep disorders and other conditions. Light therapy is also known as bright light therapy or phototherapy.”

https://verilux.com/products/new-happylight-touch

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Homeless in Seattle

I do not understand how a city can spend so much on the poor and yet have so little effect. What's the answer--it obviously isn't more money. "According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, the Seattle metro area spends more than $1 billion fighting homelessness every year. That’s nearly $100,000 for every homeless man, woman, and child in King County, yet the crisis seems only to have deepened, with more addiction, more crime, and more tent encampments in residential neighborhoods. By any measure, the city’s efforts are not working."

https://www.city-journal.org/seattle-homelessness

Pathological altruism = altruism in which attempts to promote the welfare of others instead result in unanticipated harm, . . ”.

Socialists know more money won’t help so the only answer must be to make the rich poorer.

Four years ago they were asking the same questions.

“Seattle’s liberal voters and politicians don’t mind spending money on social problems. And there’s a lot of money here. King County has the largest United Way in the country. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — the world’s wealthiest — puts money toward the homeless in its home town.

All told, King County officials estimate that a billion dollars or more has gone to help the county’s homeless over the past decade. Nearly 6,000 units of affordable housing have been built, more than in any city except New York or Los Angeles.”

http://www.invw.org/2015/03/02/after-10-year-plan-why-does-seattle-have-more-homeless-than-ever/

"On one night in the greater Seattle region in 2018, 12,112 individuals were experiencing homelessness, with 52 percent living unsheltered. In the Columbus region’s 2018 count, there were 1,807 people experiencing homelessness with 16 percent living unsheltered." https://www.geekwire.com/2018/cities-making-dent-homelessness-seattle-can-learn/

https://seattle.curbed.com/2017/7/31/16072102/washington-state-homeless-student-population

The Orientation and Disorientation of Caregivers by Peter Rosenberger, guest blog

By Peter Rosenberger author of 7 Caregiver Landmines and How You Can Avoid Them

 

(Available in Kindle and Paperback from Amazon) Peter Rosenberger hosts a radio program for family caregivers broadcast weekly from Nashville, TN on more than 200 stations. He has served as a caregiver for his wife Gracie, who has lived with severe disabilities for more than 30 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zete6PeZozA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKxgyymMy4c

“Walking into Waffle House for breakfast, I held the door for two men. The younger man awkwardly helped his older companion with a walker and oxygen tank. No stranger to these things myself, I waited for several moments while nodding to the younger man. Mustering a sad smile, he expressed his gratitude for my patience.

As they slowly exited, I stepped in—only to be stopped by one of the longtime servers. “Peter, go out there and talk to that young man! His name is Randy, and I ain’t serving you breakfast ‘til you do,” she stated forcefully.

Decades of Waffle House visits with her taught me that disobedience usually involved a tongue-lashing. And, she really wouldn’t serve me until I talked with him.

Dutifully returning to the parking lot, I approached Randy, stuck my hand out and said, “I was told to come out here and talk with you—and Judy won’t serve me breakfast until I do. What’s going on?”

Randy’s eyes instantly filled with tears while sharing that this was their last breakfast out before hospice came that afternoon for his partner. Listening, I understood why Judy sent me back to the parking lot.

I speak fluent caregiver.

Randy added, “We’ve been together for 24 years, and I am just so upset. I don’t know what to do. I’m afraid I’ll go into my room and cry—and won’t be able to stop.”

Chatting for a while, as Randy’s companion quietly sat in the car with the engine running, I offered things learned from a lifetime of caregiving for my wife who lives with severe disabilities. Giving Randy my card and sharing he could call anytime, I prayed with him, hugged him, and watched him breathe a bit easier. Returning to the restaurant, Judy, with brimming eyes, nodded her thanks and served me breakfast.

Strengthening and encouraging my fellow caregivers serves as one of my deepest passions. I understand the brutality of the journey in ways few do. I also understand that the caregiving burden borne in the gay community is all too often compounded by judgment from people of faith. People who share my faith.

Caregiving respects no sexual preference, creed, politics, religion, or race. The harshness of caregiving saves all its assaults…to wage on the bonds of love. In the face of a chronic illness or disability, that love isn’t sexual or about sexual orientation. The love compelling one person to put themselves between a vulnerable loved one and even worse disaster—is something far different and worthy of respect.

Suffering and sorrow tend to put differences into perspective. The ministry of grace vividly displayed from the cross of Christ, can flow from us without this incessant need to fix, change, or dispute those who live differently.

In that parking lot, Randy and I were not gay versus straight. Nor were our doctrines and creeds discussed. While I remain devoutly evangelical with deep convictions, I never asked Randy’s beliefs. I just saw a fellow caregiver grieving as he ministered to a suffering loved one. Randy and I have that in common.

Caregivers struggle. They deserve care—not judgment for their fears, mistakes, or even their lifestyle. No one has ever argued me into a relationship. But there are those who loved me into one.

When the AIDS epidemic crashed upon society, all too many in the gay community were shunned. In the process, a vast number suffered with a horrific disease without the comfort of Christian ministry. That tragedy can’t be undone. Yet, that same community stands in need now, as they grieve while caring for aging and disabled loved ones.

Acceptance is not agreement. In order to care for someone, one is not bound to condone a lifestyle operating in contrast to Scripture. Yet, ministering hands reached into my grief and trauma to help me get to safer ground. I would be a poor steward of that help …that grace …if I didn’t offer it to others as they journey down the heartbreaking path of a caregiver.

While I’ve learned to speak fluent “caregiver,” it’s my Savior’s native tongue.”

More calls from Democrats for Trump to resign

The Dow rose 850 points today, the index’s biggest point increase since October 2008. It gained 3.9%, the biggest percentage gain since August 2015.  https://myfox8.com/2018/12/26/dow-soars-600-points-as-stock-market-bounces-back/ Meanwhile, Democrats for the last week (actually the last 2 years) have been planning Trump's impeachment, this week imploring Republicans to have their come to Jesus meeting with Trump, who actually has a about the same approval rating as Obama at the same time in office.  And Obama had all the help from the media, academe, and entertainment culture that have been attacking Trump. This morning Washington Post was gleeful at the prospect of a financial worldwide collapse--they don't worry about you--just want to attack Trump.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/24/opinion/impeach-fire-president-trump.html

https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/12/13/after-2-years-in-office-trumps-approval-rating-matches-obamas-at-same-point-of-presidency/

Old fashioned lies or bullshit?

If I refer you to an environmental, medical or nutritional story, I do try to use a responsible source, whether it’s about chocolate, red wine, vaccines or pollution from balloons. There are a lot of scare stories on Facebook and the Internet.  Best not to pass them along.

bullshit button

I wish there were a better word, but this does seem to cover the territory.

https://www.llrx.com/2018/12/the-bullshit-algorithm/
Does the story…
1. …feature a powerless, helpless, or disadvantaged victim?
2. …push a political or identity hot button?
3. …result in the most dramatic outcome possible (death versus injury)?
4. …include irrelevant details (details not directly relevant to the crux of the situation)?
5. …suggest a simplistic next step or action (get rid of X, stop eating Y)?
6. …include a “twist” in the story, a surprise, or a big reveal?
7. …feature “scientism” (little evidence with big conclusions)?
8. …include hard to verify evidence (no links to reputable source, or only links to other non-authoritative sources)?
9. …use anecdotal versus statistical corroborating evidence?
10. …make grammatical or spelling errors, or use clumsy language?
11. …use over the top emotional appeals incongruent with the situation?
12. …use scientific jargon (e.g. “dihydrogen oxide” instead of the more common “water”)?
13. …attempt to be relatable using the experience of people “like you”?
14. …make spurious correlations (seeing patterns of related items that could have other causes)?
15. …dangle dread (chemicals!) without explaining the context of risks?
16. …push for urgent, immediate action?
17. …include charts, graphs, images, or videos that don’t have anything to do with the core features of the story?
18. …hint at a conspiracy, that someone is hiding something (ideally, a “big corporation” or “big government”)?
19. …publish first in a “bullshit attractor” (TED Talk, Facebook, etc.)?
20. …include statistics touting its popularity (e.g. how many people are talking about this)?

Are nose rings attractive?

Captive animals, this is what I think when I see a nose ring in an otherwise attractive woman. My rural background, I suppose. Also worn by bulls so they can be led around by paying attention to the pain. I thought it was cruel when I was a child--and now I wonder if the person just didn't have enough problems--had to add some.

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How Chuck Schumer really feels

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Reasons to build the wall

The main objections I hear from Democrats about the wall they were in favor of in 2006, but not in 2017-18 (because Trump is president) are, 1) it won't work, 2) the cost, and 3) it's racist. Let's briefly touch on racism. Border security is not and never was, racist. If it were racist all security methods would also be racist. Even the locks on your doors and automobiles. We wouldn't have security at our northern borders or our airports if protecting borders were racism. During the Obama years, Border Patrol was apprehending illegals from high risk countries coming in from Canada (164 in 2011), and they weren't Canadians, most were recent Muslim immigrants to Canada.

If we judged government programs/policies by cost or whether they work, Head Start, which costs about $10.6 Billion in programing and $5.7 Billion in childcare (2017), would have been dropped years ago. No party will even touch that idea.

It was like pulling teeth to get an impact study (begun in 1998, data collection began in 2002, reported in 2010), but after billions and billions spent on Head Start since 1965, the final impact study showed some social and intellectual advancement in the pre-school years which was lost by the end of first grade. The final study, done by the government and analyzed out the wazoo, showed a huge workforce was paid, children had moderate to good day care, better health care, but the goals of the program were not met. The Head Start children on average did no better than the control group which did NOT receive all those benefits of a government pre-school. Even after a decade of study, the conclusion was--we need more study, more analysis, more explanations, and more money.

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/opre/executive_summary_final.pdf

If high costs and no discernable results are good enough for Head Start for 50+ years, it should be good enough for at least a decade of border security.

Trump’s words more powerful than Clinton’s deeds?

On September 20, 2016, some 6 weeks before the most divisive election I can remember, I wrote in my blog,

“Hillary was speaking at an airport on Sunday in the same zombie voice and blaming Donald Trump for recruitment of terrorists [I had cited  a comment Trump had made about a bombing by a Muslim in NYC]. She stated it as fact. Again, his off the cuff words are more important than her carefully planned actions which helped create ISIS and the explosive situation in Syria from her days as Secretary of State. She even said she has "contributed to acts" and current strategy. Not a good recommendation. Stop when you're ahead, lady. “

Mrs. Clinton contributed to the current mess in the middle east, yet Trump is being heaped with blame for withdrawing our troops from Syria. Obama went through 5-6 defense advisors, including some who didn’t see eye to eye with him, yet losing General Mattis is causing a veritable melt down on the Sunday talk shows. When Obama dumped Hagel, the NYT referred to it as an “itch” for change.  The MSM always have us on the brink of a tsunami/hurricane/tornado/earthquake unlike any other. They keep Democrats and Never Trump Republicans in a constant state of anxiety and hatred.  https://www.foxnews.com/politics/defense-secretary-james-mattis-to-leave-as-of-january-1-trump-taps-patrick-shanahan-as-acting-secretary-of-defense.print

Monday, December 24, 2018

We’ve always had propaganda, but “fake news” is relatively new—and from the left

According to Sharyl Attkisson, who has researched and tracked it, fake news is relatively recent.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa7QvcKYGZA&feature=share

The fake news meme began with Obama about a month before the 2016 election and the media ran with it--aggressively fact checking every word Trump said or tweeted, but not his opponents. Then came the calls for Big Tech to fact check. Was it a campaign to shape our news, by labeling website and stories "fake?" Follow the money. The money behind the first story by a non-profit First Draft (shortly before Obama's speech) came from Google. Imagine that. The parent company Alphabet was all in for Clinton. And then the smear to blame the right for Hillary's failures by David Brock (former right wing gay journalist in the 80s and 90s who flipped to the progressives and became top Hillary supporter); particularly he blamed Bannon and Breitbart News. He began to pressure Facebook and other social media to label conservatives, alt-right. Actually, since Brock's been involved since 2012 in pushing Clinton on the Democrats, he was just covering for his own failures. He had transformed an ethics group to a partisan group and "resigned." Then H. Clinton, the queen of fake, jumps in--remember her fake video and false Benghazi stories? She starts demanding fake news investigations, like "pizzagate." Wants to protect our democracy and innocent lives. (David Brock's boyfriend owned the pizza store.)

So, keep watching. It's very revealing. Although Trump talks about fake news, the opposition, the never-Trumpers, those with TDS, actually started the meme, and Trump ran with it and called them out for bias and sloppy reporting. The leftist media finally tired of the Fake News when Trump took it over, and they declare it dead and owned by the right. She goes on to explain how political lackeys and reporters work together--aka blackmail, and she has records of 2009 Obama aide e-mails with reporters.

They shall not grow old

Today at the gym I heard about "They shall not grow old" a film about WWI using British footage, and by the magic of technology, massaged to make a wonderful retrospective. As far as I can tell it is/was available only Dec. 17 and Dec. 27, which means we have another chance. In Columbus it's at Cinemark on Bethel Rd., 1 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-they-shall-not-grow-old-review-20181215-story.html

2018 is the 100th anniversary of the end of that terrible war that wiped out a generation of European men. Americans entered it late, but the Ohio History Center has a fabulous exhibit.

“After receiving hundreds of hours of footage from the museum, whose archive is among the world’s largest, the first order of business for Park Road Post was cleaning the film up, removing dust, scratches, tears and other flaws.

Then there was the tricky question of timing, of getting footage that was hand cranked at a variety of speeds to all sync up to today’s 24-frames-per-second standard without looking speeded up or slowed down.

Next came colorization, a process that went to extraordinary lengths to achieve accuracy, including trips to actual footage locations to take thousands of reference photos. No detail, not even the color of a button, was too small to get right.

The same kind of meticulousness went into the soundtrack, where sounds like horses hooves and footsteps in the mud were layered in.”

On December 24

Off to the gym before starting the real workout in the kitchen preparing for our Christmas Eve dinner. Coach Tyler sent an e-mail workout with squats, bridges and step jacks, which I won't do because I'll be busy.

"T’was the workout before Christmas and it’s made to be done in your house…

While your kids and family are perhaps stirring, like a not so little mouse…

Your exercise shoes are tied with great care…

And you know, that St. Nicholas soon would be there…"

Mary’s Yes

I was listening to Benedict XVI's "Jesus of Nazareth; the infancy narratives" (2012, Random House) this morning and he noted St. Bernard's homily about Mary's Yes. So I just had to look it up, first in my books on spirituality of the middle ages, and then on the internet. Although his personality was a bit prickly, his writings are wonderful.

"The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life."

https://www.piercedhearts.org/hearts_jesus_mary/heart_mary/annunciation_mary_fiat_st_bernard.htm

He also cited another idea, which I haven’t tracked down (I’d have to replay that part) that Mary conceived Jesus not through the womb, but through her ear (hearing the Word). I did find this citation. 'Through her ear the Word entered and dwelt secretly in the womb' (attributed to Ephrem, H. Mary 11.6). Something else interesting to look up.

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Whomever/whoever

https://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/whoever.asp

Image may contain: flower, text that says 'To whomever reads this, I hope something good happens to you today.' 

Rule 1. The presence of whoever or whomever indicates a dependent clause. Use whoever or whomever to agree with the verb in that dependent clause, regardless of the rest of the sentence.

Rule 2. When the entire whoever/whomever clause is the subject of the verb that follows the clause, look inside the clause to determine whether to use whoever or whomever.

Santa baby

I have only one firm belief about the American political system, and that is this: God is a Republican and Santa Claus is a Democrat.

P.J. O'Rourke

St. Augustine

“He was a daring, in-your-face iconoclast. A wild fornicator, he had many mistresses and a bastard son. A self-confessed thief who declared “the evil in me was foul, but I loved it.” St. Augustine, A.D. 398.”

https://www.theepochtimes.com/augustines-good-and-evil_2741796.html

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Do open borders mean open security gates around Democrat mansions?

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Let God figure it out

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Non-profits, politics, and Trump Foundation

Nonprofit Organizations: There are 1,571,056 tax-exempt organizations, including:

1,097,689 public charities
105,030 private foundations
368,337 other types of nonprofit organizations, including chambers of commerce, fraternal organizations and civic leagues. (Source: NCCS Business Master File 4/2016)

How many of these non-profits, particularly the foundations which must choose which non-profits to fund, could survive the scrutiny that has been lavished on the Trump Foundation by people who hate the President?

People employed in the non-profit world wouldn't agree with me, but I believe we have too many, that they are too political, and too rich with too many getting their money from government grants, where you "dance with the one who brung you." Non-profits account for 9.2% of all wages and salaries paid in the United States and their share of GDP was 5.3% in 2014.

https://nccs.urban.org/data-statistics/quick-facts-about-nonprofits?

Robert Bruce wins the Arlington Million

  My Canadian cousin reported this in her Christmas letter.  I didn’t know there was such a horse and this was reported in Bloodhorse magazine.  https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/229006/robert-bruce-rallies-to-arlington-million-victory?

Inside library story. We used to get a subscription to Bloodhorse at the veterinary library at OSU where I was the librarian, but didn't catalog it. One day to clear the shelf I put about 2 years on a small table outside the library with a sign, "Free to a good home." Someone put all the magazines on the floor and took the table.

Blacks disproportionately aborted in NYC

"Non-Hispanic black women continue to be disproportionately impacted by abortion. In 2016, as in previous years, more African American babies were aborted than were born alive in New York City”.

I reported this on my blog some years ago and was told I was being racist for reporting it!

https://www.lifenews.com/2018/12/21/more-african-american-babies-are-aborted-than-born-alive-in-new-york-city/?

Friday, December 21, 2018

This is what you get with socialism

“Eighty years ago (November 17, 1938) Stalin ended the Great Terror, citing “local excesses” that had come to his attention. It wasn’t until two decades later that the KGB tallied the victims of the sixteen-month reign of terror at 1,334,360. Half were shot, and the rest sentenced to the Gulag. The Gulag itself continued to grow during and after the Second World War. It reached its peak of 2.5 million prisoners shortly before Stalin’s death. Of these, one out of five were women.”

https://www.womenofthegulag.com/

“Many hoped the Bolshevik Revolution one hundred years ago would usher in a new era of gender and class equality. Following the revolution, Soviet Russia declared “International Women’s Day” an official holiday, and “Marxist feminists” romanticize communism to this day. Women of the Gulag, both a remarkable book and a documentary film, highlights the disparity between the Soviet Union’s alleged gender equality and the reality of life for women under communism.”

Yes, we hear about gender equity from our college students and leftists in business and government.

“Joseph Stalin was responsible for the deaths of over 20 million people. Yet today in America, teaching on the crimes of communism is so bad that almost one third of Millennials think President George W. Bush killed more people than this Marxist mass-murderer. Those who are familiar with the history of Stalin’s Soviet Union might recall the name of Alexander Solzhenitsyn and his iconic Gulag Archipelago. Fewer still know that the majority of those who experienced—and survived—the Gulag were women, and it is their experiences, their memories, that must be preserved and shared to ensure the next generation understands the consequences of Stalin’s failed collectivist policies and his horrific disregard for human life.”

https://womenofthegulag.com/media-press/

Remember the hotel with ghosts? he asked

No, I had no recollection.  I guessed several trips, like to Pennsylvania.  Then to Columbus, Indiana where we stayed in an old restored hotel.  No. That wasn’t it.  And he kept describing—we’d walked through a woods. He had no idea why it had popped in his mind, but he was so sure.  Must have been on one of our architectural tours.  So I opened the blog—and there it was July 25, 2005.

“The 1886 Crescent Hotel is old, creaky, and supposedly visited by ghosts, but we had a beautifully restored room, and the group enjoyed a fabulous morning brunch in the delightful dining room. The gardens host many weddings--one the night we arrived.”

http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2005/07/1295-north-west-arkansas-thursday.html

https://www.americasmosthauntedhotel.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=LCwP5AhTqqo

The Wall Street Journal Christmas Gift to the Country

Published on Christmas Eve in the Wall Street Journal since 1949 written by the late Vermont Royster and it has been published annually since

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar. Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.

But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression — for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?

There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?

Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.

And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.

So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.

But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.

Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wear, and would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter’s star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.

And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

--------------------------------------------------

“Vermont Connecticut Royster (April 30, 1914 - July 22, 1996) was an American journalist whose career at The Wall Street Journal spanned half a century. Royster was no ordinary journalist, he studied literature and classical languages—Latin and Greek —and his writings reflected these influences. He tackled the issues that affected people in their everyday lives with thoughtful insight, touching on the essentials of life. He had an unfailing faith in the American people and in the greatness of the United States as a country blessed by God. His Christmas and Thanksgiving editorials, reprinted every year since Royster wrote them, continue to resonate with people's desires for freedom, peace, and prosperity in a world filled with challenges.”https://uts.edu/news-and-events/615-in-hoc-anno-domini

The Story on Comey, interview with Trey Gowdy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt0xprEaJfU

Different standards for Clinton who had a bevy of lawyers, and Flynn who was told he didn’t need to have a lawyer present.

No one believes Cohen—especially not Democrats—the day before.

So far, the Mueller investigation has been bank fraud, and lies, and collusion is not a crime, but none has been found.

The head of the FBI can’t remember anything, and still doesn’t know anything, showed no curiosity, can’t corroborate anything. And this guy was head of the FBI?  In his mind, he’s always right. The book was a joke—a very high opinion of himself. An amnesiac with incredible hubris.

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She doesn’t want to be wished happiness

Julia Ioffe complained in WaPo article about people wishing her a Merry Christmas. A commenter replied:

"Oh, for heaven's sake! I can understand a Jewish person being sensitive in the current climate, but this sort of "everyone stop what they're doing because it's all about me" wears people out. This is why people hate the left, and I'm a leftie! As an atheist, Ms Ioffe, I typically wish people Happy Holidays, but if they wish me a Merry Christmas, I respond with the same with a warm heart. Not for the holiday, which I dislike more for its retail nature than its religious nature, but for the warm wishes they are extending me. Did your parents never teach you "When in Rome..."? If I were in Israel, I'd do my best to revel in the holidays celebrated there, or at least to tolerate them with a smile. Same thing if I were in Pakistan (and don't get me started on my views of Islam - I'm a feminist for crying out loud and no fan of any religion). I want to sympathize, I really do, but you are not winning friends or influencing people here. Would you have all the world be drab, with no one celebrating anything because, well, someone somewhere won't be into that? Focus on taking tax breaks away from churches to make the separation of church and State more meaningful. But being wished a Merry Christmas? (and really, you had to bring this up just as the right was starting to realize their war on Christmas stuff was nonsense?) Being wished a Merry Christmas is a mind over matter problem - if you don't mind, it don't matter. Get over yourself!"

She wandered off the reservation to address churches, hurting her otherwise sensible advice. Although I think taking grant money from the government is bad for churches, being exempt from taxes predates the founding of the United States, and would seriously damage millions of 501-c3's which are exempt for charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary public safety or sports.

As concerns Julia Ioffe, I don't think she minds at all (says it's because she's Jewish, but I think it's because she was raised a Soviet Russian citizen). She just hasn't been in the news for awhile, and can't resist touching the hot stove. She craves attention--even negative.

https://twitchy.com/sarahd-313035/2018/12/21/still-doing-this-julia-ioffe-doubles-down-on-the-merry-christmas-hate-with-some-help-from-wapo/

Tenure won’t protect you against the social justice witch burners

You think you're safe at your university of college if you have tenure? Not if you come out for western civilization and don't believe in creating pools of victims. Rick Mehta, an associate professor of psychology, has been outspoken on a range of contentious issues. He has come under fire for saying multiculturalism is a scam, there's no wage gap between men and women, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has created a victim narrative. Identity politics are divisive. Duh. All he was suggesting was a discussion. Imagine that--doing what colleges are supposed to do. He had many teaching awards, right up to his firing. Academe has been entrapped by a group of "true believers' [in Marxism]. No discussion is allowed.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/controversial-professor-rick-mehta-fired-from-acadia-university-1.4814950

Janice Fiamengo went from being a radical feminist to a moderate feminist to an anti-feminist after 9/11 when she saw her Canadian colleagues enjoying the event and proclaiming "they deserved it." Also she saw how unjust hiring practices were--very anti-white men. She became outraged when equity hiring meant the most qualified person wasn't chosen . Now speaks out on behalf of men.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upBP2UYyRZU

Nativity beach art

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Suzanne Hanselman reports this was created by Juan Cisneros. It was displayed at a beach in Ventura, California. It appeared on the Vintage Lakeside page suggesting someone could do this there.

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Support grows for the wall

“Support for building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border jumped to its highest level on record, Quinnipiac University announced Tuesday, reporting results of its latest poll:

“This is the highest level of support for the wall since the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN- uh-pe-ack) University National Poll first asked the question in November 2016.”

Forty-three percent of voters support building the border wall, while 54% oppose it, according to the national survey of 1,147 voters, conducted Dec. 12-17, 2018.”

https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/craig-bannister/quinnipiac-poll-voter-support-border-wall-hits-record-high

This will probably be even more important now if troops are withdrawn from middle east civil wars, internecine conflicts, border wars, etc. and the U.S. stops being policeman for the world. The hawks have been saying for 15 years it’s better to fight over there than at home. We have a border sieve/open back door for illegals who want to harm us to come in with those looking for economic opportunity and the run of the mill drug dealer. They also come in on visitor visas, HB1’s for working high tech jobs, and in chain migration.

I have no idea why Trump decided to announce this on a day of victory and bi-partisanship for prison reform, but he does seem to love keeping everyone guessing, including some of his strongest supporters. Hugh Hewett who started as a never Trumper then went to big supporter, is today scratching his head.

There’s a go-fund me page for building the wall that raised about 4 million in the first few hours. I doubt that it is legal, and that’s a long way from 5 Billion. It really makes no difference that much of what Trump has accomplished was supported by Democrats, they hate, hate, hate him, and nothing can satisfy their thirst for his death. I believe the intention is not just to remove Trump, by death, courts, or sabotage from the media with fake news and constant harassment, but to also get rid of Pence; then they can install Pelosi. She’s not Clinton, but still has the body parts plus some that have been added over the years. Compared to what’s coming down the pike with Democrats, she’s going to look like a moderate.

What if she’d gone to another clinic or agency?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ziw_WRCSHCw&feature=youtu.be

One of our gifts this Christmas will be to the Pregnancy Decision Health Center.

The Facebook flap

Everyone is upset about Facebook sharing our data. Our carelessness in exchange for convenience has been going on a long, long time. Read the DSNB disclaimer that comes with your credit or debit card. To have the convenience of a piece of plastic in your wallet, you agreed years ago to share your personal information in any transaction the bank needs to maintain your account, including legal investigations and credit bureaus; you agreed they could use your personal information for marketing purposes; for uses with other financial companies; for their affiliates (whoever that is) to perform their "everyday" business purposes; for those affiliates to use your personal data for their business purposes, and for those affiliates to market to you using your own information you supplied when you applied for credit.

In 1967 when we moved to Columbus we had to request service from the utility companies. On ONE form there was a small error where a number took the place of a letter in my husband's name. That error continued to appear in all sorts of advertising we received for years because all that is sold. And resold.  Same with the BMV. So although the FB theft and misuse of our data is much bigger, we've been carefully eased into this lobster bath of warm water heating up for over 50 years.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2018/04/09/facebooks-data-scandal-impact/

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2018/12/19/facebook-used-data-from-chinese-security-threat-huawei-for-site-feature/

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/technology/facebook-privacy.html

FLOTUS as a fashion trend setter

It's really too bad that the Trump haters have refused to feature the lovely Melania Trump on magazine covers--I'd love to have dresses available that come to mid calf or lower. I might even buy something new. There's not much between jeans with holes and dresses 1" below the panty line.

White House Christmas

Today’s Daily Prayer Briefing

That you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Colossians 1:9

“Several years ago, a construction worker at Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina was issued a ticket for $525 for shoplifting. What did this worker take without payment? A drink refill. Unaware refills in the hospital cafeteria were 89 cents, this man refilled his drink without thought. Thankfully, the federal officer who caught him decided to let him off with a warning – but only after first writing him the expensive ticket.

The poor worker just came to get filled. Today’s passage speaks of a different refill. The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Colossae to say he was praying for God to fill them with wisdom and understanding, as well as knowledge of His will. One would think such a valuable replenishment would come with a price. But all may pray to receive this spiritual gift.

Are you taking advantage of the free refills your Heavenly Father can give? Come today and ask to be filled. Pray, too, for your national leaders to have wisdom and understanding. Help them to know Jesus already paid the cost.”

This anecdote was included in the Daily Prayer Briefing where since the Bush years one has been able to learn the president’s schedule, what issues are before Congress, and other important events.  However, this one, besides having a spiritual message about taking advantage of the “refills” we have with intimate prayer to our Father in Heaven, also reminds me of the ridiculousness of our court system, government regulations, and the pettiness of humans. 

Thank God, we have a holy and just God who does no toy with us.

Note:  Sometimes these “spiritual stories” are apocryphal so I decided to check this one.  Yes, it actually happened in 2014. https://www.foxnews.com/us/va-hospital-backs-down-after-slapping-man-with-525-fine-over-soda-refill

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

When a boy soprano agreed to castration

“[The castrato] was not rejecting his sex.  He was not seized by the madness of believing that he was really a girl.  He had not been taught in school that his sex was responsible for all the evil in the world.  He would not have grown up in a divorce, with a mother infected with feminist fantasies, of a world bleached clean of the masculine.  He would not have been subjected to story-time by men in drag.  He would not have gazed at pornography, just a click away.  He was not in the grip of delusion.  The mutilation really would secure the good in question.

He would not be subjected to one surgery after another.  His body would not be pumped full of dangerous drugs, including puberty-blockers and tissue-growing hormones, the latter likely to prove carcinogenic.  He would not be sentenced to a lifetime of pharmaceutical dependence.  His long bones would still grow.  His body would be rather soft, but otherwise he would look like an ordinary man and not a freak.  He would not be troweled out for a mock vagina.”

https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2018/12/19/some-men-are-born-eunuchs/?

Cecile Richards is joyful over Ireland’s crimes against humanity

Democrats you can salute your queen of ghouls--celebrating the sheer joy of Ireland aborting the innocent and forcing Catholic hospitals, doctors and nurses with a conscience to perform the evil deed. You must be proud. Weep for Ireland.

https://www.lifenews.com/2018/12/19/cecile-richards-celebrates-the-sheer-joy-of-ireland-killing-babies-in-free-abortions/?

Ireland populated Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.  Now she can populate the medical trash.

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From my sister-in-law

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The recipe search

Who has a breakfast potato sausage casserole recipe that uses NO prepared/frozen potatoes, NO Campbell's soup? I've made something up, but would prefer a recipe. I have even gone back to my 1942 Inglenook Granddaughter's Cook Book (found a potato dish recipe by the grandmother in-law of my college roommate, Mrs. Charles Weybright, Syracuse, IN),  Taste of Home annual editions, and old recipes from the 1960s recipe cards from my mother's friends in extension. Potatoes are cheap and nutritious, but rather expensive if you buy them prepared.

Here’s what I’ve made up—expecting 8-9 for brunch on the 6th. I saw a video using instant mashed potatoes and borrowed the idea.

Sausage potato egg breakfast casserole with parmesan cheese

Ingredients: 1 lb roll sausage, peppers and onion, 8 Idaho potatoes, 1 pint sour cream, Panko (break crumbs), parmesan cheese shredded, 8-9 eggs. 10 x 14 pan or dish, 400 degree oven

1 lb roll of cooked crumbled sausage placed in 10 x 14 casserole

Add some red and yellow chopped peppers, and about ½ cup chopped onion--optional

8 cooked and mashed large potatoes mixed with pint of light or regular sour cream.

Spoon the potato mix on top of Sausage

Mix 1 cup Panko with 8 oz. shredded parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the potatoes.

Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees

Make 8 or 9 indentions with a wooden spoon

Crack 8-9 eggs into the indentions

Salt and pepper to taste

Bake for another 30 minutes at 400 degrees

Make 2019 a good year for yourself

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Yes, but you will be called judgmental

Wiesel 

Being neutral on abortion helps no one.  Not the unborn, and not the woman in difficult circumstances.

Being neutral on socialist policies, ever growing, does not stop them, and helps no one get on her feet.

Being neutral on religion (all ways lead to God) could redirect someone to Hell.

Being neutral on pornography is supporting human trafficking.

Being neutral on “do these jeans make me look fat,” is just being smart.

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

My Crazy Ex-girlfriend

I noticed a comment about the CW TV show "My crazy ex-girlfriend" (written, produced, and acted in by Rachel Bloom), so I looked it up and watched part of one episode and read the description (sort of a musical comedy). Everyone is in therapy or sexually confused. Millennials, I think. Is it just a big joke about the culture or is it leading the culture? However, the music is great.

So I watched 3 episodes and sort of got to know the very strange characters, watched an explanation of how the music was written, and then. . . begin to like it.  Then learned 2018 is the last of the series because it’s not doing that well in the ratings.

https://www.cwtv.com/shows/crazy-ex-girlfriend/i-will-help-you/?play=834fff6e-2c14-4185-bc6f-bc7d8816d1f8

Portion Distortion

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https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/eat-right/distortion.htm

Smaller plates at home.

Doggie bag at restaurant, and put half in it before you start to eat.

Don’t buy supersize or value packs of anything.  You’ll just eat more.

Which glass is yours?

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Monday, December 17, 2018

Larisa’s report on Lily’s Leukemia

Parents of ill children go through so much!  Hold this family in your prayers!

“Lily had clinic today. It was her typical monthly check up. Her numbers still look good. I’m waiting for the day they are all in the normal range but that will probably be a while.

We have been working to get her infusions started for her IGG treatment. The process has definitely tried my patience—it’s been 2 weeks now. Not only are Lily’s numbers extremely low which is dangerous but we have a vacation planned at the end of this month and I’m nervous her traveling with such a low immune system.

We have been blessed overall with good insurance and Vandy who has fought for Lily. However these home infusions go through a different provider that works with Blue Cross for approval and then CVS to set up the infusions. I work in the insurance world so I understand the hoops they put up, but the process has been exhausting. I’m pretty sure Blue Cross and CVS wish they had never heard of us as I have set up daily calls with them to discuss their progress with approval.

Finally we got approval today. They say we can start soon. My definition of soon was today but I understand their definition maybe more like later this week. Ha!

Anyway prayers for these infusions to get started, Lily to tolerate them, and for her to get enough prior to our trip for her to be at a safe level would be appreciated.

Later this week, Lily returns to the endocrinologist for a follow up on the issues with her thyroid.”

Grudges hurt the holder

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Sex crimes in the church

Homosexual priests preying on teen age boys, and a Cardinal preying on seminarians. It's been a tough year for the faithful, says Father Murray at The Catholic Thing.

"The faith and love of Catholics for Christ and His Church has been severely tried this year. The common expectation among Catholics that the bishops as a whole shared the same horror of sexual, and in particular of homosexual, immorality among the clergy has been shown to be an illusion. So be it.

Love for the Church has prompted laity to call for a reform of the hierarchy. Accountability for past failures to root out sexual immorality is the first necessity, as is a clear demonstration that a repeat of the career path of a Theodore McCarrick will be impossible in the future.

Bishops will only regain the respect of ordinary Catholics if they truly live up to what we all believe is the Church’s true mission, the salvation of souls. If the dark clouds of 2018 have a silver lining, it’s that there is now at least some chance that immoral and conniving priests and bishops will no longer be tolerated, protected, or promoted, but rather called to repent and held to account."

Sounds like Paul’s letter to the Romans.

https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2018/12/17/a-troubling-year-in-review/

UMC “minister” in West Ohio Conference blesses abortion clinics

laurayoung  “This year, [Laura] Young, a United Methodist minister in the West Ohio Conference, was assigned by Bishop Gregory Palmer to serve as executive director of the Ohio Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. The coalition, which had gone about two years without a director, had fallen largely quiet. Young aims to change that.

Calling herself a “progressive theological thinker and a feminist,” Young said goals include encouraging clergy members to testify at legislative hearings on anti-abortion bills and advocating for organizations that provide women’s health care, including abortions and contraception.”

When we rent our cottage at Lakeside for West Ohio, we’ll have to put a qualifier besides “no pets.” No Methodist ministers who advocate for abortion.

How to draw a reindeer

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Auditory processing disorder

I have APD, but since no one knew about learning disorders when I was a child, I'm glad now I didn't have any of the technology or instruction recommended in this article. I may have just thought of myself as a victim. I was always an A student and retired as associate professor, but even the compensations don't work as well at 79. I only mention it because if you think your child or grandchild isn't listening, it just might be APD. Slow down your speech, make eye contact, and turn off the distractions and see if that helps.

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/dyslexia/the-difference-between-dyslexia-and-auditory-processing-disorder

https://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2006/11/thursday-thirteen-13-things-about-my.html

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Great great nephew in the Christmas chorus at grandma’s church—5 years old

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Jaxon, you were a star! (Great grandson of my sister-in-law) Cornerstone Baptist Church, Indianapolis

And with 3 of his cousins.

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Planning New Year’s Resolutions?

Happy new year 2019 Royalty Free Vector Image - VectorStock 

What are you planning for New Year's resolutions? I went back through my blog and for 2018 it was clean the coffee pot with vinegar and water, so I went back to January 2009 and I had thrown them all out except #5, which was to buy a new floor lamp. About 40 years ago I resolved to stop biting my finger nails, and I succeeded.

On Jan. 1, 2008 I wrote about diets. "It's not rocket science. Reading and following even well-intentioned, healthy recipes can add pounds. A roasted pear, walnut and feta cheese salad has 400 calories. A side dish of fresh, tender crisp asparagus has 88. And if you're like me, the cheese will make you hungry." and also this, "About a year ago [2007], JAMA reported that in a study of the four major diet plans, the only successful people were the publisher and the author/researchers who got the grant. None of the diets worked well, or consistently, and none of the groups (ladies) were really following them." http://huggingchalking.blogspot.com/2008/01/noted-along-way-in-2007.html

The Cohen, Clinton, Trump connection

Christopher Buckley writes:

"Question: How come Clinton fixer Lanny Davis publicly became Cohen's lawyer?

Answer: That was the only way the Clintons could control the situation. That way Davis could hear every single thing that was going on. Cohen belonged to the Clintons and was spying and trying to entrap Trump, then Mueller tried to use him, but there was nothing there to use, Cohen got himself legitimately in trouble, he wasn't nailed on a process crime. He's going to the fancy Club Fed in upstate NYC, but he sure has a lot of information on Hill and Bill... I am 100% certain that Davis was part of the deal to help keep him healthy indefinitely, but I wouldn't be surprised in the least if that's the last we see of Cohen..."

Yes, the way Clinton operatives disappear, I’d be worried if I were Cohen.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/12/14/blue-state-blues-lanny-davis-michael-cohen-hillary-clinton-donald-trump/

https://www.businessinsider.com/michael-cohen-hires-bill-clinton-lawyer-lanny-davis-2018-7

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/lanny-davis-the-ultimate-clinton-loyalist-is-now-michael-cohens-lawyer-but-dont-call-it-revenge/2018/08/23/e1550056-a6b9-11e8-97ce-cc9042272f07_story.html?