Evil Walks In. Statins and Knee Pain. Safe Holiday Party. Mocktail Recipes. Preggatinis. Mayan Apocalypse. Bill of Rights. Sitting Bull.

 

For “Summary Saturday”:

When Evil Walks In – Revisited, Friday, December 14, 2012

“Today's tragic school shootings in Connecticut continue to shock us. How do we begin to understand such a violent act. It reminds us to pray, "Thy Kingdom Come".”

Transcript at: http://www.ucg.org/beyond-today-daily/news-and-prophecy/when-evil-walks-revisited

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Statin Drugs Linked To Worsening Osteoarthritis Of The Knee

“New research flies in the face of a new theory that statin drugs, used to lower cholesterol, may be of value in those suffering from osteoarthritis. To the contrary, statin drugs are likely contributing to the epidemic of knee osteoarthritis in exposed populations.

Symptomatic knee osteoarthritis is quite common in people older than 40 years, and will affect nearly 1 in 2 people by the age of 85 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.[i]

Basic symptoms include

• Pain
• Stiffness
• Muscle weakness and atrophy
• Decreased range of motion

Common causes or contributing factors include

• "Wear and tear," associated with age
• Trauma
• Poor nutrition, e.g. lack of synovial fluid and collagen nutritional co-factors (for instance, omega-3 fats and vitamin C).
• Wheat lectin, and other chitin-binding lectin rich foods.

Now, new research indicates that statin drugs are contributing to the worsening of the epidemic of knee osteoarthritis (OA).”    More at:   http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/statin-drugs-linked-worsening-osteoarthritis-knee-0

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How to Plan a Safe Holiday Party

“Due to the dangers and liabilities involved, companies and individuals alike are coming to the realization that alcohol should not be the main attraction at holiday parties, and there are ways to organize fun, yet safe, festivities that will prevent family and friends from becoming the next alcohol- or drug-related statistic.

Traditionally, alcohol has been a big part of holiday celebrations, but today we know there is danger involved in providing "open bars" to anyone and everyone. The percentage of alcohol- and drug-related traffic incidents increase dramatically during this time of the year.

In recent years, lawsuits have been successfully brought against employers, restaurants, bars and even friends of those who have died or been injured after leaving a holiday party or gathering, placing the liability for those deaths in the hands of those who serve the victims too much alcohol.

Consequently, communities, families, offices and students across the country are challenging the alcohol-based holiday party, according to The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information. The NCADI offers the following information in hopes of encouraging safer holiday gatherings.

It's holiday party time; time to celebrate family, friends and good cheer.  Unfortunately, a whopping  50% of all holiday traffic fatalities are related to alcohol consumption.  Here are some tips on playing it safe this year as a party host or guest.

Get the Party Started

• Encourage lively conversation and group activities, such as games that keep the focus on fun - not on alcohol.
• Prepare plenty of foods so guests will not drink on an empty stomach, and avoid too many salty foods which tend to make people thirsty.

If You Choose to Serve Alcohol

• Offer a variety of non-alcoholic beverages for those who prefer not to drink alcohol. You could even have a contest to create non-alcoholic drink recipes.
• If you prepare an alcoholic punch, use a non-carbonated base, like fruit juice. Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream faster with a carbonated base.
• Don't let guests mix their own drinks. Choose a reliable bartender, who abstains from alcohol while working and keeps track of the size and number of drinks that guests consume.

Before Your Guests Depart

• Stop serving alcohol one hour before the party ends, because only time sobers an individual who has been drinking.
• If some guests have too much to drink, drive them home or arrange for alternate transportation.
• Keep the phone numbers of several cab companies handy.
• Don't let anyone who is obviously intoxicated drive. If they insist, take their keys, ask for help from other guests, or temporarily disable the car. If all else fails, call the police. Remember, you can be held responsible!

Facts to Remember

• More than half of Americans are not current drinkers, so not everyone at your party will want to drink alcohol.
• Impaired driving can occur with very low blood alcohol percentages. For most people, even one drink can affect driving skills.
• Almost 50 percent of all holiday traffic fatalities involve alcohol.
• Holidays are especially dangerous because more people celebrate by over-drinking, making themselves susceptible to alcohol-related troubles.
• Coffee cannot sober up someone who has had too much to drink. Only time can do that. It takes one hour to metabolize one drink.”

Source: NCADI. "Party Planning Tips." Healthy Holidays. November 2001.

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The Legal Limit

”In all 50 states, the legal limit for drunk driving is a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .08. A 120-pound woman can reach a .08 BAC level after only two drinks and a 180-pound man can be at .08 after only four drinks.

A "drink" is either one shot of liquor, a five-ounce glass of wine or one beer, all of which contain the same amount of alcohol.”  More at: http://alcoholism.about.com/od/dui/a/impaired.htm

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Mocktail Recipes

“Mocktails are mock cocktails, or those that do not contain any alcohol. Any drink recipe can be modified by simply leaving the alcohol out, however these recipes are some of the more common mocktails. These non-alcoholic drinks are great for serving the entire family and a nice alternative for party guests who prefer not to drink alcohol.”

http://cocktails.about.com/od/mocktailmocktail/Mocktail_Recipes.htm

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Spirits: Taking Mocktails Seriously and Preggatinis.

“It's easy to poke fun at mocktails. Take away the alcohol from a cocktail, and, I mean, like, what's left?

To be honest, nonalcoholic cocktails can present more of a challenge than regular cocktails because liquor usually offsets the sweetness of other ingredients and adds complexity. Take away the booze and you've got to find a new way to layer and balance flavor. There are bartenders out there in pursuit of the perfect mocktail.

(Julia Ewan - The Washington Post)

Here in the United States, mixologist Natalie Bovis-Nelsen  is the primary innovator of virgin-cocktail recipes. In her book "Preggatinis: Mixology for the Mom-to-Be" (GPP, 2008), Bovis-Nelsen focuses on another time of life when you really shouldn't drink alcohol. "Welcome to one of the biggest decisions of your life . . . to give up cocktails for nine months," she writes.

"Preggatinis" presents drinks for those preparing to be pregnant (think milk thistle and antioxidants such as blueberries), for combating morning sickness (think ginger) and for increasing folic acid intake. The latter includes one of my favorites, the Folic Fizz (with cantaloupe and strawberries). Throughout the book she also suggests how to "De-Virginize for Dad," adding back the gin, vodka or tequila to certain drinks.

What I found particularly inventive about "Preggatinis" were the nonalcoholic versions of real drinks, such as the Salty Puppy (a Salty Dog with the usual grapefruit juice and salted rim but subbing tonic water for gin) and the Cosmom (with orange juice and orange syrup instead of vodka and triple sec to mix with the cranberry juice). "I don't want to make you a virgin bloody mary by just taking out the vodka and leaving you with tomato juice," Bovis-Nelsen said in a phone interview.

And she insists that "Preggatinis" are not just for pregnant women. "There are adults who don't drink alcohol," she says.”

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Mayan Apocalypse - End of the World?

Can a Serbian Mountain, stocking up canned goods or building a survival shelter save us?

Transcript at: http://www.ucg.org/beyond-today-daily/news-and-prophecy/mayan-apocalypse-end-world

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On This Day:

The Bill of Rights becomes law, Dec 15, 1791:

“On this day in 1791, Virginia becomes the last state to ratify the Bill of Rights, making the first ten amendments to the Constitution law and completing the revolutionary reforms begun by the Declaration of Independence. Before the Massachusetts ratifying convention would accept the Constitution, which they finally did in February 1788, the document's Federalist supporters had to promise to create a Bill of Rights to be amended to the Constitution immediately upon the creation of a new government under the document.

The Anti-Federalist critics of the document, who were afraid that a too-strong federal government would become just another sort of the monarchical regime from which they had recently been freed, believed that the Constitution gave too much power to the federal government by outlining its rights but failing to delineate the rights of the individuals living under it. The promise of a Bill of Rights to do just that helped to assuage the Anti-Federalists' concerns.

The newly elected Congress drafted the Bill of Rights on December 25, 1789. Virginia's ratification on this day in 1791 created the three-fourths majority necessary for the ten amendments to become law. Drafted by James Madison and loosely based on Virginia's Declaration of Rights, the first ten amendments give the following rights to all United States citizens:

1.Freedom of religion, speech and assembly
2.Right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of a well-regulated militia
3.No forcible quartering of soldiers during peacetime
4.Freedom from unreasonable search and seizure
5.Right to a grand jury for capital crimes and due process. Protection from double jeopardy, self-incrimination and public confiscation of private property without just compensation.
6.Right to speedy and public trial by jury and a competent defense
7.Right to trial by jury for monetary cases above $20
8.Protection against excessive bail or fines and cruel and unusual punishments
9.Rights not enumerated are retained by the people
10.Rights not given to the federal government or prohibited the state governments by the Constitution, are reserved to the States... or to the people.”

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Sitting Bull killed by Indian police, Dec 15, 1890:

“After many years of successfully resisting white efforts to destroy him and the Sioux people, the great Sioux chief and holy man Sitting Bull is killed by Indian police at the Standing Rock reservation in South Dakota.

One of the most famous Native Americans of the 19th century, Sitting Bull (Tatanka Iyotake) was a fierce enemy of Anglo-Americans from a young age. Deeply devoted to the traditional ways, Sitting Bull believed that contact with non-Indians undermined the strength and identity of the Sioux and would lead to their ultimate decline. However, Sitting Bull's tactics were generally more defensive than aggressive, especially as he grew older and became a Sioux leader. Fundamentally, Sitting Bull and those associated with his tribe wished only to be left alone to pursue their traditional ways, but the Anglo settlers' growing interest in the land and the resulting confinement of Indians to government-controlled reservations inevitably led to conflicts. Sitting Bull's refusal to follow an 1875 order to bring his people to the Sioux reservation directly led to the famous Battle of the Little Bighorn, during which the Sioux and Cheyenne wiped out five troops of Custer's 7th Cavalry.

After the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull and his followers fled to Canada for four years. Faced with mass starvation among his people, Sitting Bull finally returned to the United States and surrendered in 1883. Sitting Bull was assigned to the Standing Rock reservation in present-day South Dakota, where he maintained considerable power despite the best efforts of the Indian bureau agents to undermine his influence. When the apocalyptic spiritual revival movement known as the Ghost Dance began to grow in popularity among the Sioux in 1890, Indian agents feared it might lead to an Indian uprising. Wrongly believing that Sitting Bull was the driving force behind the Ghost Dance, agent James McLaughlin sent Indian police to arrest the chief at his small cabin on the Grand River.

The Indian police rousted the naked chief from his bed at 6:00 in the morning, hoping to spirit him away before his guards and neighbors knew what had happened. When the fifty-nine-year-old chief refused to go quietly, a crowd gathered and a few hotheaded young men threatened the Indian police. Someone fired a shot that hit one of the Indian police; they retaliated by shooting Sitting Bull in the chest and head. The great chief was killed instantly. Before the ensuing gunfight ended, twelve other Indians were dead and three were wounded.

The man who had nobly resisted the encroachment of whites and their culture for nearly three decades was buried in a far corner of the post cemetery at Fort Yates. Two weeks later, the army brutally suppressed the Ghost Dance movement with the massacre of a band of Sioux at Wounded Knee, the final act in the long and tragic history of the American war against the Plains Indians.”

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"ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION is not a new problem...Native Americans used to call it WHITE PEOPLE."

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Yesterday:

Another mass shooting, when will it end?  What do they accomplish?  My heart, and prayers go out to the affected people.

When Ray and I were clearing out the RVport, we had loaded some of Jay’s stuff in the Puddle Jumper, he needs to keep it at his house.  So Misty and I went for her walkabout down there so he could unload it.

We walked around the corner to see the house that had burned the day before, and there was nothing left but the front wall.  Having lost a house to fire, I know how devastating that is.  Fortunately, I had an 18’ motor home to live in, until I bought better accommodations…a 32’ travel trailer.

Jay wanted to go shopping with me, not to go grocery shopping, he hates that, but to go thrift shopping.  After we had dropped off the paper recycling at St. Marks Thrift shop, we each bought little items.  Then we went to Angelic Thrift shop to donate some things that Jay had left at my house for a future yard sale.  I didn’t want them at my house taking up space, as I didn’t think they would sell, and the thrift shop didn’t want several of his items either.  Now I will have to find a dumpster!  No, I’ll let Jay dispose of them!

It was an overcast sweater day, and for once we didn’t have to find a shade tree to park under, yesterday.