Alzheimer's disease

Can there be greater suffering than that caused by Alzheimer's disease, particularly to a married couple when one has the disease and the other is their caregiver? One is confused, distracted and annoyed as their brain shrinks. They lash out at their caregiver. It's not their fault. It's the disease. Their caregiver becomes the brunt of their spouse's confusion, distraction and annoyance. 

Both of us are confused, distracted and annoyed. I'm not sure that I'm more confused and distracted as many people my age. I definitely feel that I'm more annoyed than most people in my age group.

Little is known about Alzheimer's disease other than Alzheimer's is a widespread fatal disease for which there is no cure. 

Please pray for those who have Alzheimer's disease, and pray for their caregivers.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/afagen/26639206407

attribution: Adam Fagen and flickr

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how to deal with trolls

what's a troll?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(slang)

How to deal with trolls

"I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it."

George Bernard Shaw

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaslradio/7704795724

attribution: KASL Radio and flickr

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Don't feed trolls

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DoNotFeedTroll.svg

attribution: Sam Fentress (traced to SVG by James Hales), CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

Methuselah for president in 2028

 NEWS FLASH!!! 

Both the Democratic and Republican parties confirmed today that they are courting Methuselah to be their candidate for president in 2028. Through the wonders of modern science, Methuselah, who was Noah's grandfather, and who died at the age of 969, has been brought back to life. Methuselah could not be reached for comment. 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Methuselah_Stained_glass.jpg

attribution: Robert Scarth, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

"knife fight to the death"

 

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/biden-trump-stop-steal-election-2024-1234993149/

Buckle up, buttercup!!!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smartsignbrooklyn/10275383893

attribution: SmartSign and flickr

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

politics

My brother-in-law and his wife are typical dyed-in-the-wool New England hardcore liberal democrats who relocated to Florida. They hate trump. I can't blame them for that. Trump is an old immoral megalomaniac who, after he dies, will have his MAGA followers searching for ways to run him for president. I wouldn't be surprised if radical right-wing crazies have trump's dna code secretly stored in numerous locations anxiously awaiting the return of multiple trump clones. 

I, on the other hand, am neither a democrat nor a republican. Biden is a tired old dyed-in-the-wool hardcore democrat who is single-handedly ruining this country. Afghanistan, Israel, mishandling classified documents, immigration/lack of border control, government spending, national debt, abortion, etc.

Philosophically, I tend to be libertarian. The two party system of government in our country is ruining it. George Washington had it right. 

https://peretiredgoodbadugly.blogspot.com/2018/03/we-need-new-george-washington-style.html 

I'm planning on sitting out the 2024 election like I did in 2016 when both candidates for president were equally bad. If one can't support either candidate, then what's the point?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey/6262122778/

attribution: DonkeyHotey and flickr

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US college campus demonstrations

https://www.inquirer.com/news/pro-palestinian-protests-columbia-philadelphia-20240424.html 

At Villanova University, a “Gaza Solidarity” event has been scheduled by the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine for noon next Tuesday. It’s being described by the chapter as a “disruptive yet peaceful action,” whose members ask participants to “please wear your mask and wear all black.”

Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, Ph.D.

President, Villanova University

Dear Father Donohue,

With all due respect, on behalf of tens of thousands of Villanova alumni, both living and deceased, we pray that the chaos that is occurring at some colleges and universities in the US, will not spread to Villanova.

I humbly suggest that you could alert Villanova's faculty, police, and students (including the seminary and Law School) of the Inquirer report and ask them to participate with you in a counter, peaceful demonstration--surrounding the demonstrators and leading the counter demonstrators in a rosary. These counter demonstrations could apply to any future demonstrations that violate Villanova's principles of "Unitas, Veritas and Caritas". 

Mary, Mother of Jesus, pray for you, and pray for Villanova.

Sincerely,

Ray Koenig

class of 1968

collapse of Maryland's key bridge

In the wake of the collapse of the francis scott key bridge in maryland, governor Wes Moore pledged that it will never happen again. 

https://www.kxl.com/latest-francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse/

so, what's the governor got in mind? I suspect nothing of a specific nature.

Here are some thoughts:

1. replace the main spans with simple spans. when simple spans fail, the failure is limited to one or two spans (if a pier supporting two simple spans fails). when multi-span continuous spans fail, multiple spans fail.
2. install an automated system that closes the bridge when the bridge fails.
3. install an automated system to prevent huge cargo ships from leaving the shipping channel.

1 and 2 should be clear enough to engineers. 

further explaining #3:

similar to providing an automated system that would close the bridge if it fails, an automated system could be implemented that would fire torpedoes at a cargo ship that leaves the shipping channel--with just enough explosives to disable the ship and keep it from hitting the bridge.

a variation of this concept is to line the channel with fixed underwater mines that would yield the same result. above the water line, highly visible fixed buoys would be used to alert tug boats and others to stay clear of the mines.

when all is said and done, the cost of this catastrophe will probably exceed many times the cost of the container ship and all of its cargo. that notwithstanding, how much are lives of people crossing the bridge worth? answer: priceless. 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wes_Moore_Official_Governor_Portrait.jpg

attribution: Maryland State Government via Wikimedia Commons

What the Bible Says About Sin

https://www.learnreligions.com/what-is-sin-700703

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rykneethling/5811115037

attribution: Ryk Neethling and flickr

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

trump is a lying racist

 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-nikki-haley-58b7ffa7e49f626bae481060cf9975d2?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share 

unconditional surrender

https://fdr.blogs.archives.gov/2017/01/10/the-casablanca-conference-unconditional-surrender/ 

Can you imagine during WWII, when tide for Germany and Japan began to change, for the US and its allies to agree to a cease fire--after hard fought and bloody battles in Europe and the Pacific? I can't. The allies demanded "unconditional surrender"--and that's exactly what they got.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Casablanca-Conference.jpg

attribution: Post-Work: W.Wolny, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Public_domain

President Biden, you lied to the us--just like your predecessor. 

On October 7, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would respond to the savage Hamas attacks. He asked Israel's allies for moral support. He didn't ask for advice, money, troops, or anything other than moral support. In essence, he was implying "Israel's got this". 

You, President Biden, pledged to Israel that it has the USA's moral support. You assured us that the USA would not be furnishing "boots on the ground" to Israel. 

Within days, you broke your promise. You, your Secretary of State, and others in your administration are advising Israel to cease fire. You've asked Congress to send billions of dollars to Israel. You sent two aircraft carrier battle groups to the Middle East.

Mr. President, when Prime Minister Netanyahu implied "Israel's got this", instead of meddling, you should have stuck with your pledge of moral support only--and backed off. There are some times that demand action and there are other times to leave well enough alone. 

Worse yet, Mr. President, is the fact that you lied to us. That makes you no better than your predecessor.

It's about time: As Partisan Hostility Grows, Signs of Frustration With the Two-Party System

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/08/09/as-partisan-hostility-grows-signs-of-frustration-with-the-two-party-system/

it's past time to dump the two party system of government. 

how?

answer: stop supporting democrats and republicans.

Trump's Military Cowardice Goes Beyond His 5 Draft Deferrals

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/donald-trump-dodged-the-draft-5-time 

what if the founding fathers could have looked into the future?

needless to say, the founding fathers didn't have a crystal ball. polls weren't in existence when the founding fathers established government for the United States. there wasn't even a United States. just 13 loosely-knit "states", some of whose residents wanted to maintain their "state's" (former colony's) autonomy. 

what if they had had a crystal ball? what if they could have seen what became of their "united states"? 50 states? 335 million people? 

what if they could have seen illegal immigration? thousands of illegal immigrants crossing the borders every day? what if they could have seen the crime, corruption, gun violence, drugs, racism, bigotry, hatred, etc.? what if they could have seen government in action? or inaction, as the case may be?

what if they could have seen how scientific polls can determine the will of the majority with remarkable speed and accuracy? how technology has advanced to the point where citizens could vote securely from home (or a public library) and the results could be known in a matter of hours?

certainly if the founding fathers had had a crystal ball and polls, then the constitution that they would have enacted would be much different than the constitution that they did enact in 1789.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Quartz_crystal.jpg

attribution: Sanjay Acharya, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

fatima apparitions and russia

In 1917 Mary, mother of Jesus, appeared to three children at Fatima, Portugal (Our Lady of Fátima - Wikipedia). War (World War I - Wikipedia) was raging in Europe. During WWI socialists in russia overthrew the government (Russian Revolution - Wikipedia). Mary warned the world of the evils of socialism/communism (Our Lady of Fátima - Wikipedia). 

Those evils persist today. russia, aka putin, invades ukraine. The evils of communism have spread all over the world--china, north korea, vietnam, iran, etc. 

dictators who want to rule the world, e.g. putin, xi jinping, kim jung un, ali khamenei, etc., should take a look at hitler's germany and mussolini's italy to see what happens to dictators (and their countries) who want to rule the world. 

dictators start wars. coalitions of tyrant-free nations will continue to end wars--and the dictators who start them. 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Newspaper_fatima_353.jpg

attribution: Avelino de Almeia, journalist at the O Seculo dialy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Commons:Copyright tags/Country-specific tags - Wikimedia Commons

path to destruction

Stormy Daniels hush money: What to know about NY prosecutors' probe into Trump's role in scheme | CNN Politics

Biden denies $1M in payments to family from Hunter associate, despite bank records: 'Not true'  

"Throughout his political life, and until his death in 1799, George Washington was confident that the country could and should function without the existence of political parties."

Political Parties · George Washington's Mount Vernon

Ukraine

International court issues war crimes warrant for Putin

for more than a year the world has witnessed that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are God-given, inalienable rights. Ukrainians have suffered unspeakable atrocities at the bloody hands of vladimir putin. 

nowhere has the spirit of patrick henry who said "Give me liberty or give me death" been demonstrated more clearly than by the unwavering commitment to freedom by the Ukrainian people. 

God bless the people of Ukraine.

Liberty | Give me liberty or give me death. I will never for… | Flickr

Creative Commons — Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic — CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

attribution: Sarah Shelmidine

hunger: the cry of the poor

https://youtu.be/w_Q0FjuAUZY 

Hunger is everywhere in the world. Please consider a donation to World Central Kitchen (World Central Kitchen ) a 4-star charity with a 100% rating according to Charity Navigator (Charity Navigator - Rating for World Central Kitchen Incorporated ).

God bless you.

Chef Jose Andres began WCK as DC Central Kitchen in 2018

IMG_9531 | DC Central Kitchen | Flickr

Creative Commons — Attribution 2.0 Generic — CC BY 2.0

Deuteronomy 5:20

m You shall not bear dishonest witness against your neighbor. 

m. [5:20] Dt 19:15–19; Ex 20:16; 23:1–3; Lv 19:11, 15–16; 1 Kgs 21:1–19; Ps 5:6–10; 10:7–9; 27:12; Prv 25:18; 30:8–10; Jer 7:9; Hos 4:2; Mt 19:18; 26:59–60; Mk 10:19; Lk 18:20. 

people who don't tell the truth can create all kinds of trouble. 

attribution: BLINDFOLD

what do you do with a 6 year old who deliberately shot his teacher with his mother's gun? what do you do with his mother?

A 6-Year-Old Shot His Teacher With a Gun Purchased by His Mom – Mother Jones 

595px-Inverted_question_mark_alternate.svg.png (595×768)

User:Stannered, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

how safe is strasburg's (VA) drinking water?

it's a well known fact that one of the signs of contaminated drinking water is intestinal disorders.

"Drinking Water Quality

Surface waters and aquifers can be contaminated by various chemicals, microbes, and radionuclides. Disinfection of drinking water has dramatically reduced the prevalence of waterborne diseases (such as typhoid, cholera, and hepatitis) in the United States. Other processes may also be used to treat drinking water depending on the characteristics of and contaminants in the source water.

Common sources of drinking water contaminants include: 

• Industry and agriculture. Organic solvents, petroleum products, and heavy metals from disposal sites or storage facilities can migrate into aquifers. Pesticides and fertilizers can be carried into lakes and streams by rainfall runoff or snowmelt, or can percolate into aquifers.
• Human and animal waste. Human wastes from sewage and septic systems can carry harmful microbes into drinking water sources, as can wastes from animal feedlots and wildlife. Major contaminants include Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and E. coli.
• Treatment and distribution. While treatment can remove many contaminants, it can also leave behind byproducts (such as trihalomethanes) that may themselves be harmful. Water can also become contaminated after it enters the distribution system, from a breach in the piping system or from corrosion of plumbing materials made from lead or copper.
• Natural sources. Some ground water is unsuitable for drinking because the local underground conditions include high levels of certain contaminants. For example, as ground water travels through rock and soil, it can pick up naturally occurring arsenic, other heavy metals, or radionuclides.

Effects on Human Health

If drinking water contains unsafe levels of contaminants, it can cause health effects, such as gastrointestinal illnesses, nervous system or reproductive effects, and chronic diseases such as cancer. Factors that can influence whether a contaminant will lead to health effects include the type of contaminant, its concentration in the water, individual susceptibility, the amount of water consumed, and the duration of exposure.

• Health effects of chemical exposure. Chemical exposure through drinking water can lead to a variety of short- and long-term health effects. Exposure to high doses of chemicals can lead to skin discoloration or more severe problems such as nervous system or organ damage and developmental or reproductive effects. Exposure to lower doses over long periods of time can lead to chronic, longer-term conditions such as cancer. The effects of some drinking water contaminants are not yet well understood.
• Health effects of consuming water with disease-causing microbes. Most life-threatening waterborne diseases caused by microbes (such as typhoid fever or cholera) are rare in the United States today. The more common illnesses caused by viruses, bacteria, and parasites can result in stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever, and kidney failure. Infectious diseases such as hepatitis can also occur. Hepatitis may be severe in people with weakened immune systems (e.g., infants and the elderly) and sometimes fatal in people with severely compromised immune systems (e.g., cancer and AIDS patients)." 

source: Drinking Water | US EPA

it's a well known fact that the Virginia Department of Health has alerted the public multiple times over the past several years for harmful algae blooms in strasburg. 

source: Harmful Algae Bloom Advisory Issued for North Fork of the Shenandoah River – in Shenandoah County - Public Advised to Avoid Water Contact within Locations of the River - Virginia Department of Health

North Fork Shenandoah River at Strasburg Park public boat landing in Shenandoah County VA. E. coli levels on Wednesday June 22 versus Thursday June 23, 2022.

source:  FSSP NF Shenandoah River E. coli levels on Wednesday June 22 versus Thursday Jun 23 - FOSR - FOSR  816.4 CFUs per 100 ml !!!--one would expect E. coli levels like this in an open sewer!!!

how safe is our drinking water? It's also a well known fact that the town of strasburg has been searching for water treatment plant operators for a year or more. 

If strasburg residents were experiencing widespread intestinal disorders recently (we have) then how would you know? It's a well known fact that the town of strasburg's communication with its citizens is poor. 

perhaps the newly elected members of the town council can look into this as part of their obligation to look out for the health, safety and welfare of strasburg's citizens--including communicating their findings to strasburg's citizens.