ShowMeBlog

Now the Catholic bishops speak up?

“Dear Jim,

Over the past few weeks, the Catholic bishops have initiated an unprecedented campaign opposing new health insurance rules that will expand coverage of contraception. Church leaders are angry that Catholic-affiliated hospitals, universities, and social service agencies were not exempted, and, for this reason, are now reading letters in all 19,000 parishes across the country publicly opposing the new rule.
Catholics United understands that contraception use is a sensitive issue for the Catholic Church, but it is hard to stomach this level of outrage when the bishops have been relatively silent on so many pressing issues of our day.  Where was the public outcry over our nation's past use of torture or our involvement in unjust wars?  Why aren't the bishops reading letters at Mass about the moral scandal of unemployment and poverty in America?  
On top of this, many bishops are using misleading statements and unnecessarily heated rhetoric to intensify the conflict.  In order to help set the record straight, Catholics United wants to make sure that you have the facts about the new health care regulations as they relate to contraception:

• Churches are exempt from these rules.  The new rules require that institutions that employ and serve non-Catholics, such as hospitals and universities, are required to include contraception coverage in their health insurance plans.  No Catholic church or diocesan office will be affected.

• No one is being forced to use contraception against their will.  The new rules simply require that employees have access to these services. Individuals who are opposed to the use of contraception do not have to make use of the coverage.

• There will be fewer abortions because of this decision.  Regardless of your beliefs about contraception, everyone should recognize that greater access to prevention services will result in fewer unplanned pregnancies.  Fewer unplanned pregnancies will result in fewer abortions.  And despite many false claims to the contrary, the contraception covered by this rule does not include abortifacients, like RU-486, that induce abortion.

It saddens me that at a time when so many American families suffer from unemployment and poverty, the leadership of the Catholic Church reserves its loudest voice of moral outrage for issues related to human sexuality.  I sincerely hope and pray that our Church leaders can tone down their rhetoric, refocus their priorities, and begin using their powerful voice to address the vast economic insecurities and conflict in the world and honor the rich heritage of Catholic social teaching.
In the coming months, let's hope that both sides of this debate can come together and find a solution that both meets the medical needs of all employees and protects the religious identity of Catholic institutions.
Sincerely,

James Salt

Executive Director

PS - If you want to share your thoughts on this topic, join the conversation on our blog at www.ourdailythread.org or on our Facebook page.

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Brought to you by Catholics United

P.O. Box 33524
Washington, DC 20033
United States”

 

The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook

  I got the book I ordered from Amazon today.  The book is “The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook” by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann. 
  It looks like a great book.  I have not ordered a rick cooker yet.  I am looking forward to getting one and trying some of the 250 recipes from the book.

  One thing about the book… I am not sure if they were trying to save money by not using black ink or what..but the print is so faint on the pages.   I wish they had done the printing darker.  But I can read it but it is a bite of a pain.  They recipes are red ink on white pages and a bit hard to read.
  Or maybe it is just my eyes going bad with old age.

  I have not read the book yet but I did not know there was so many different kinds of rice. 
I will get a rick cooker later this month and I will let you know what I like and don’t like.

Most Valuable Blogger Awards 2011

  I see that ShowMeBlog is now listed by the CBS DFW on their site.  They have a list of “Most Valuable Blogger” sites. ShowMeBlog is under “Local Affairs” and there are eight sites.  I guess the sites are all the “Most Valuable Blogger Awards 2011.”   I won an award. I won an award! 

Santorum is no Huckabee

  OK you all know I am a liberal Democrat.  There is no way I am going to vote for any of the Republicans.
  Santorum has a big big win tonight.
  Santorum is a Catholic and I happen to be a Catholic.
 
  I can understand why the conservative Republicans would want  Santorum instead of Romney or Gingrich.  Romney is more liberal than conservative and he does change his positions.
  And I can understand why they would not want Gingrich.  Hell who would want him?
 
  I think conservative Republicans see Santorum as a man like Mike Huckabee. 

  I do not agree that they are like each other.
  I think there is something deep down wrong with Rick Santorum.
  I think that deep down Mike Huckabee is a decent human being.

  I think that if say the United States was 80% Catholic.  I think that Rick Santorum would be willing to turn the United States into a Catholic state the way Spain was and other nations in the past.  I could see him following the directions of the Vatican.
  If the United States was 80% Baptist that sure Mike Huckabee would be talking more and more about religion but I do not think he would try and change the United States and have it have a state religion.
  I think that deep down that Mike Huckabee attempts to live a good Christian life.  I think if he was President of the United States he would try and make sure that the poor and the old were taken care of as Christ wanted and preached.
  I think Rick Santorum’s true religion is authority control.  He likes the Catholic faith because of the controls of the strong church.  I think he loves authority.  He wants to direct and control everything. 

  Right now I do not care who the Republicans run.  All of them have major problems.  All of them look bad and the more we learn about them the worst they look.

  If Romney was elected President of the United States.  Things would not be much different than they are right now.  The problem would be the evil empire members around him and who he would appoint to the courts etc.
  If Gingrich was elected as President of the United States I would be scared.  I think he has mental problems.  I would be scared to think he had the power to launch nuclear weapons.  I do think he is very smart.  But because of his ego and his mental problems I do not think he could listen to others. 
  If Rick Santorum was elected as president I know we would have major problems but I am not sure what they would be.  I think he has some major problems and I think he is very odd and strange.
  If Mike Huckabee was elected I think we would have someone that would try and do the right things.  I think he would be something like President Carter. 

  Right now.. as a Democrat I am loving all of this.

Jesus versus the GOP

  Salon has a good post called “Jesus versus the GOP.” 

  I have commented on that subject many times here.   That the Republicans are not the party of Jesus Christ.  Jesus would not approve of the evil empire. 
  (Of course I am not sure he would embrace the Democrats.)  But for sure He would not approve of the Republicans and their creed of money.   The Republicans should be worshiping a golden cow or should it be a bull?

  I love to point out but no one else seems notice it … That the Bible and the people of the Book do not approve of interest.  

 

“Usury ( /ˈjuːʒəri/^[1] is the practice of charging excessive, unreasonably high, and often illegal interest rates on loans.^[2][3]

Originally, when the charging of interest was still banned by Christian churches, usury simply meant the charging of interest at any rate (as well as charging a fee for the use of money, such as at a bureau de change). In countries where the charging of interest became acceptable, the term came to be used for interest above the rate allowed by law. The term is largely derived from Christian religious principles; Riba is the corresponding Arabic term and ribbitis the Hebrew word.

The pivotal change in the English-speaking world seems to have come with the permission to charge interest on lent money^[4]: particularly the 1545 act "An Acte Agaynst Usurie" (37 H.viii 9) of King Henry VIII of England (see book references)…”

 

Check out Usury in Wikipedia

  I learned a great deal, just now, from reading that information.  I guess mostly the objection is high interest or charging interest to the people of your own religion or people that are poor.

FrackNation vs GasLand

  Fracking is big in Texas.  I saw the documentary GasLand and that is about the first time that I learned about fracking.  I had seen some stories about problems here in Texas with fracking and with the corporations refusing to tell about the stuff they were pumping into the ground.  There was also reports of it being done next to schools and parks.  So little pipes were sticking up from the ground and no one knew there were even there.
  But I learned a lot from the GasLand documentary.  Now I am not a Republican so I don’t take anything I see as fact until I hear other points of view and do some research on my own.

  I guess the right and the fracking people are going to put out their own documentary called FrackNation soon.

Pinterest is 2012’s hottest website?

  CNN has a post “Why Pinterest is 2012’s hottest website.”  How can that be?  I am Jim Howard and I got my first computer in 1978.  I been online 24/7 since 1982.  I been doing a blog since 1982.
  I never heard of Pinterest. 

“Pinterest is a vision board-styled social photo sharing website and app where users can create and manage theme-based image collections. The site's mission statement is to "connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting". Pinterest is managed by a team based in Palo Alto, California…”

 

  They  launched in March 2012.  They never contacted me.  I think they should have asked my permission. 

 

“Design

Users label and create theme-based image boards. Users can populate their own boards with media found online using the Pin It button.^[2]

Pins show up on the homepage through a Pin Feed that takes into account timing of pin, re-pinning activity, 'like' activity, and comment activity as well as your personal interests based on the board/pinners you follow.

Pins may be divided into pictures, videos, discussions, and gifts. A pin is an image added to Pinterest. Gifts are subdivided into: $1–20, $20–50, $50–100, $100–200, $200–500, $500+. ^[3]

Pictures consist of subcategories of: architecture, art, cars & motorcycles, design, DIY & crafts, education, film, music & books, fitness, food & drink, gardening, geek, hair & beauty, history, home décor, humor, kids, my life, women’s apparel, men’s apparel, outdoors, people, pets, photography, print & posters, products, science & nature, sports, technology, travel & places, wedding & events, other, everything…”

David Beckman is gay?

  Not that there is anything wrong with it.

  I do not know about you but to me David Beckham sounds gay.

“David Beckham has never stuffed his underwear to make his manhood look bigger.

The 36-year-old soccer has posed in his pants for several adverts for Armani and H&M, but insists he has never added anything to his underwear to boost his package.

Referring to comedian James Corden - who parodied him in a shoot, and later admitted to stuffing socks in the underwear - David said: "I've never, ever done a James and padded out my pants, or shoved socks down there though.

"I've never had to for any of the photoshoots I've done because, hopefully, I don't need to. Well, let's just say I've been told I don't need any help in that department. I think I'm pretty OK!"

Despite his famous advertising campaigns, David insists his wife - fashion designer Victoria - prefers him in long johns…”

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/entertainment/David+Beckham+doesn+need+stuff+underwear/6099271/story.html#ixzz1ld5tP4Ck

David Beckham H&M Underwear Commercial

  I am not a sports fan.  I am not a fan of David Beckham.  I also do not want to see anyone with a tattoo.  Well a small one someplace is OK but none on the face.  I also do not want to see someone with them showing all over their arms etc.  That is just me.  I know a lot of you will not agree with me.  It is your body deface it if you want.  I just do not want to look at it. 

 

  It looks like CNN’s Roland Martin is in trouble with gay and gay groups.  He was watching the Super Bowl and tweeting about everything and commented on the Beckham video and how gay guys were commenting about the “steamy” Super Bowl commercial. 

  If corporations would not use people with a lot of tattoos that would help put an end to me and others having to see shit like this on TV.
  Just let the word go out that if you got a lot of tattoos or even one on your face you will not be working in TV, movies or even on the radio. 
  I know it is not going to happen.  I have lived to long.

 

Food Network

  I never watch the Food Network.  I do think often that I would like to learn to cook. 
I went to the Food Network web site and it looks good.

  I am looking right now at a recipe for slow-cooker Texas chili.  I have a slow-cooker. 

  I do not have any of the ingredients that I need.  I just got stock up on some of the stuff so that I have it here.  Then I could try and cook something. 
  I have no brown sugar, no Kosher salt, no vegetable oil, no onion and no clove garlic, green chiles, cumin, chili power, tomatoes etc. 
  I guess that gives me something to do.

  I make chili sometimes and I even made it recently with my slow-cooker.  But I just toss in what I have and do not follow a recipe.  I think my chili is always good but it never taste the same.
 
  I would also like to get a digital rice cooker and food steamer.  I think about a 16 cub size would be good.  I like rice.  I have not done it recently but I used to make rice and I would spice it up with whatever I had around and I would toss in different things I had to the rice. I think it was good but again it never tasted the same.
 
  Russ and I for a time were eating a lot of rice.  I would get the rice in the boxes and make it and add whatever I had to it.  Russ has now gone to liking certain foods and most of them frozen.  I am not sure I could get him to eat rice that I made anymore.

  Dar and Jimmy are going to Kroger today.  She always goes to Walmart for food but today is going to try out Kroger.  She will pick up some stuff for Russ and I. 
  I like that Kroger store.  Jimmy used to work at that store.

Feeling good

  I do not know why but I am feeling good.  I am not sure if it is the medications I am taking or if it is the compression socks.  It might be that I started taking FlintStones vitamins again the other day.
  I have taken Flintstone like vitamins over the years.  I start taking them and soon I start feeling good and I stop taking them.  I know… I do not understand why I stop taking them when I start feeling good. 
  But the last day or two I have been feeling better. 

  I do know that the compression socks stop the hurting in my legs.  I also know that the socks have made the swelling in my left foot almost go away.  My left foot right now looks almost normal.

What is Schemer?

“Google has a new product that you’ve probably heard of sometime in the past few days. It’s called Schemer, and it’s a guide to finding you things that you can do now, or add to your bucket list for later. But in a crowded market that is only getting more so every day, does it measure up? Read on to find out.

The first thing that you need to know is that Schemer is in an invitation-only beta right now. The next thing to know is that recommendations are only listed for a few select cities, and all of those are in the US thus far. But Schemer did at least get a list of recommendations for things that you can do from anywhere, such as “Buy a Kindle” or “Alpha test more Google products”. See where this is going yet?

So when you sign up, you’re asked to fill in your locations. Yes, that’s plural. This is one place where Schemer is doing something very right. If you’re planning a trip, you can input the location of that trip and find activities that you might not have considered otherwise. If I were to place a bet, I would say that much of the data comes from Google’s somewhat-recent acquisition of Zagat, a company famous for its travel guides.

But that Zagat info isn’t alone. Far from it, in fact. Google has a load of partners with which it is working to provide more diverse suggestions, and that’s another area where Schemer actually does excel. For instance, if you’re a foodie then Food Network has a list of suggestions such as eating carrots with homemade tzatziki sauce, among others. Explorer types might find suggestions from National Geographic, for example, to be more appealing…”   Apps – Part of the Next Web Family

 

  OK gang here is a link that will let you skip the beta waiting list to join Schemer. 
I think I only got 20 of those free openings.  Not sure what sort of message you get after they are gone.  But check it out if your interested.

Pintoli compression socks

  Yesterday I had on all day a pair of Pintoli 1066 unisex moderate compression (15-20 mm Hg)  socks.  Right now Amazon has them for $9.90 and free shipping if you order $25.00 or more.  I will order three pair next month. 
 

• Knee High at 15-20mmHg with reinforced heel and toe, comfortable fit. Cotton Feel.
• Designed to increase circulation to lower extremities (e.g. feet, ankles, calves)
• Comfortable and durable thread knitting to prevent swollen legs and promote blood flow. Additional thickness added to the heel area for extra comfort and reduce the risk of blister.
• Material Content: 65% Cotton, 25% Spandex, 10% Nylon
• Sizing Guide: Please order by American shoe size: Mdeium(6.5 and under), Large(7- 8 1/2), XLarge( 9- 10 1/2), XXLarge( 11 and above)

 

  I guess I should order the XLarge size next time.
  I have no idea yet how these socks are going to hold up.  I fear I am going to hand wash them.  They say you can machine wash but not dry in a dryer.  I suspect they would not hold up long in a washing machine.

My kingdom for 8 hours of sleep

  The water pill is working.  It looks like 80 mg of it works for me.  I am not sure I can go anyplace but it works.  I go to the bathroom a couple of times before go to the mail box or take out the trash and I have to rush back home to take a leak.
  I do not get out often but I wonder how I am going to get to the lab in a month to have them draw blood.  Well I can get their but I want to do it without wetting my pants.
  My weight is 219 pounds.  That is better than it has been. 
  The compression socks are working.
  
  I wish I could sleep all night.  Even six hours would be great.  Of course I am 70 and someday I am going to have a very very long sleep.

  I am not a sports fan but I do like the Super Bowl ads.  I watched about 20 of them at YouTube.  You can see all 62 of them at YouTube.  See Ad Blitz 2012
  Of the 20 I saw I liked best the little boy in the pool that has to go to the bathroom.