Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days leading up to a solution to Illinois’ pension liability. And this is one soap opera saga to which onlookers—particularly state workers—would just as soon see an end.

Amidst pension debates during the final few weeks of session in May, state workers began to wonder to what extent potential changes to Illinois’ pension system, namely changes requiring workers to pay more toward retirement, cutting cost of living adjustments (COLAs) and raising the retirement age, would affect their ability to retire, travel and afford health care.

Playing Dominos

Illinois’ pension liability, approaching $100 billion, has become an albatross for the state as well as families, costing taxpayers an outrageous $17 million per day. Continuing to kick the can down the road could lead to a liability as high as $400 billion by 2045.

The pension deficit has been a problem that has mounted slowly but steadily due to failed payments into the five state employee retirement systems, including legislators, judges, downstate schoolteachers, state employees and university employees. Lack of increased employee contributions into the pension system over time and poor investment returns on public pension system assets have also contributed to the liability.

Consequently, the pension problem has created a statewide domino effect of difficulties, bleeding into other areas of the state budget, most notably education, which Governor Pat Quinn, in his $62.4 billion budget address, announced would see cuts of about $400 million. Education is an easy target for cuts, making up about 27 percent of the state budget.

But local community colleges and universities are already feeling the pinch due to a lack of state dollars. Heartland Community College and Illinois State University are both witnessing drops in student enrollment, largely due to cutbacks in state funding; especially MAP grants, which have forced state universities and community colleges to raise tuition. Moreover, an educated workforce is the backbone of a strong economy, an economy that in Illinois is currently seeing 9.3 percent unemployment and close to 1 million people across the state looking for work.

Finding the Best Solution

The pension problem, combined with a $9 billion backlog in unpaid bills, has lawmakers scrambling for a solution before the legislature adjourns May 31. Several bills have been presented but one has yet to reach Quinn’s desk without criticism from teachers unions, Democrats, Republicans or the governor himself. Among the most discussed legislative proposals include a bill introduced early last year by Senate President John Cullerton. The legislation gives state workers a choice between keeping their current retiree health care benefits and accepting a lower COLA or retaining the annual 3 percent COLA and losing access to retiree health care. Competing with this proposal is legislation introduced by House Speaker Mike Madigan that increases employee contributions to pensions by 2 percent. The bill also changes the retirement age to 67 and decreases annual COLAs.

Another controversial proposal includes a cost shift aimed at moving the costs of pensions from the state to schools, colleges and universities. The proposal has received strong resistance from Republicans who claim such a move would only serve to raise tuition and property taxes.

In response to the proposals, anger and worry has set in among state workers and retirees who believe they are being required to clean up a mess they did not create. Still others believe that everyone must sacrifice for the good of the state. For now, the outcome of the uncertainty regarding which plan lawmakers will approve has caused some state workers, including teachers, to retire early in order to retain as many benefits as possible before any new plan takes effect.

Margaret Ovitt, of Macomb, drove 70 miles to Illinois Central College in early May to hear Dr. Neal Barnard lecture on “Power Foods for the Brain.” After the lecture, Ovitt drove home. She made the four hour, 140 miles round trip with the return home at night in a thunderstorm. Ovitt said the lecture was worth it.

Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and author of 12 books and scores of academic papers, spoke about a topic not often discussed in physician’s offices, hospitals and medical schools. About 400 people wanted to hear what he had to say, and they filled the Performing Arts Center to listen to the physician and medical researcher speak about foods that play a role in the prevention of dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease and strokes.

His overarching message is eat a plant-based diet, avoid animal products and avoid added oil. (Don’t even sauté in oil or add oil to salad dressings.) His prescription: eliminate bad fats and metals like iron and aluminum; follow a vegan diet; stress B vitamins, physical activity and mental stimulation.

“Kids today are eating in ways unprecedented in history and are having unprecedented problems” he said, citing atherosclerosis before their high school diploma, doctors talking about bariatric surgery for teens, diabetes medicines for kids. The answer is not to wait for the government to step in but to change the way we eat.

“A generation ago we tackled tobacco. This generation must tackle food issue,” Barnard said, calling this a revolution that has already begun.

Barnard founded Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in 1985 and while he didn’t explicitly say Western medicine focused on pharmaceuticals and surgery is irresponsible, he did review study after study that linked consumption of animal fat with mental decline. He cited examples in his own family where Alzheimer’s and strokes robbed relatives of their memories and lives.

Long known for his advocacy of a vegan diet to fight pain, diabetes and a host of other diseases now endemic in Western society, Barnard built a case that dementia and Alzheimer’s are not inevitable because of genetic makeup.

“Genes are not destiny,” he said. “Alzheimer’s genes do not dictate our destiny. They’re like committees, they make suggestions.”

A diet low in saturated fat can cut the risk of Alzheimer’s by up to 85 percent, he said, noting that “once you know there is a link, every person can make this choice.”

Listing a few foods high in saturated fat, he suggested substitutions: eliminate dairy and drink almond milk, eliminate bacon and eat veggie bacon, skip eggs for breakfast and eat oatmeal.

Seventh Day Adventists and people living in Okinawa eat plant based diets and live longer healthier lives, he said. He urged people to avoid cooking regularly in cast iron pans because excess iron can lead to oxidation and free radicals that can damage the brain. Aluminum has also been linked to Alzheimer’s so avoid aluminum foil, use anti-perspirants with no aluminum and check the list of ingredients in food. One brand of baking powder has aluminum but another popular brand has no aluminum. Some salt has aluminum added so it pours more easily, he said. Avoid it. Maalox has aluminum, Tums does not, he said, noting that the human body needs no aluminum yet aluminum is found in the plaque of Alzheimer’s patients.

When evaluating vitamins and nutritional supplements, Barnard recommends food, not pills because pills have not been shown to be as effective. He makes exception, however, for Vitamin D and B 12, recommending that people take the pill form. He also recommends avoiding GMO food by eating organic and getting good sleep with a regular 10:00 p.m. bedtime.

Low vitamin E consumption is linked with higher rates of Alzheimer’s while high vitamin E consumption correlates with lower rates of Alzheimer’s, he said. Memory improvement has been found when diets include more foods rich in B vitamins, grape juice, blueberries and other fruits, tomatoes, carrots and other vegetables, whole grains and legumes. A brisk walk three times a week reverses brain shrinkage and improves memory. Mental activity also helps reduce brain shrinkage.

Ovitt, a nurse, had been diagnosed with an autoimmune problem six years ago. She was already a vegetarian at the time but learned dairy protein may be linked to autoimmune problems so she eliminated dairy from her diet. Three months later, she had lab tests with results she labeled “fantastic.”

Since then, she attended a “Forks Over Knives” immersion course with Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn teaching about the plant-based diet and it was there she learned about Barnard.

“A vegan diet can include oil and processed food,” she said. “But this diet is plant based, whole food, whole grains, no added oil. I can’t understand why more doctors don’t recommend this diet. Evidence shows what we eat can help or harm our health. It’s an easy change, and I urge people to keep an open mind.”

Also attending the lecture were Bob and Joan Ericksen, of Washburn, who started shifting to this diet decades ago.

“It was an exquisite presentation. He referred to a lot of new studies and his own family story watching brilliant people fall apart with Alzheimer’s and dementia” Joan Ericksen said. “Barnard is a pioneer for this generation, leading people out of the darkness of our beliefs.”

Below are two recipes from Dr. Barnard’s Book

Summer Salad

Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side dish

The colors and textures will seduce you even before you taste this salad’s sweet, cooling flavors. Because the flavor gets even better with time, it’s perfectly portable.

½ red onion, diced
1 Mexican gray squash or zucchini, diced
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
2 small tomatoes, diced (and seeded if you like)
¼ cup sliced red cabbage
2 stalks celery, sliced
Kernels from 2 ears corn (about 1 ½ cups)
Pinch of sea salt
Juice of 1 small lime (about 1 tablespoon)
Optional: 3 tomatillos, diced; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro; 1 cup rinsed cooked or canned red beans or 1 cup sautéed tempeh; 1 cup sliced Swiss chard leaves

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and allow the salad to marinate for at least 30 minutes but preferably 2 hours. You can forgo this step and eat the salad right away, though the flavors won’t be melded quite as much.

Options: If you use the tomatillos, peel away the papery part and make sure to wash them before cutting; this removes their sticky outer film and makes them much easier to handle. You can also use frozen corn in this recipe, though it will lack the crispness and sweetness of fresh corn. Want to make this a meal in itself instead of an accompaniment? Add the beans or tempeh and you’ll have a delicious dinner in minutes.

Per serving (½ of recipe): 159 calories, 4 g protein, 36 g carbohydrate, 12 g sugar, 2 g total fat, 32% calories from fat, 7 g fiber, 246 mg sodium

Grilled Eggplant Niçoise

Serves 4

This simple Mediterranean sandwich makes an elegant lunch or a late-afternoon dinner.

4 cloves garlic

1 large eggplant, sliced into thick slabs
Juice of 4 lemons (abt ½ cup)
¼ tsp cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon dried lavender
½ teaspoon saffron
4 large slices French bread or sourdough bread, toasted
1 small fennel bulb, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
¼ cup sliced pitted Niçoise olives or green olives

Smash the garlic and rub each slab of eggplant with the garlic. Place the eggplant in a shallow bowl and pour the lemon juice over it. Add enough water to submerge the eggplant. Allow the eggplant to marinate for at least 1 hour, then drain and place it in a shallow dish. Add the garlic, pepper, lavender, and saffron and let it sit for about 1 hour.

Place the eggplant directly on a grill over medium heat and cook until it is soft on both sides but not charred. Place a grilled slab of eggplant on a slice of bread and top with a couple slices of fennel and tomatoes and about 1 tablespoon sliced olives. This sandwich is served open-faced.

Per serving (1 sandwich): 154 calories, 7 g protein, 35 g carbohydrate, 9 g sugar, 2 g total fat, 9% calories from fat, 10 g fiber, 478 mg sodium

Few buildings in the Peoria area are 81 years old and have been home to nearly 2,000 residents. The stately Buehler Home can claim such distinction and its beautifully landscaped grounds and attractive surroundings continue welcoming women and men to a leisurely way of living.

Located on 15 acres at 3415 N. Sheridan Road in Peoria, Buehler Home is one of Peoria’s most established life care retirement communities. Offering a variety of studio, one-and-two bedroom apartment homes, spacious townhomes, assistance-in-living services, and long-term care in a new Health Center, everything is located on the same campus.

Founded in 1932 through the philanthropic spirit of Phoebe Buehler and her love for her husband, Christian, the home was conceived by Phoebe’s ongoing interest in improving the lives of older adults.” Her will called for the creation of what is now Buehler Home in memory of her husband. Throughout their lives together, Christian and Phoebe were committed to giving back to the people responsible for the couple’s business and financial success.

The home has been managed by the same family for three generations, and now Amanda Amberg, the fourth generation, has been Marketing & Sales Coordinator for the past year. She is also the first female to join the ranks. Her father, Rich Amberg, with 25 years of service, is the Chief Executive Officer. There are 120 caring men and women on staff.

Buehler Home is a life care retirement community. “People are investing in lifelong care,” says Rich. He adds that older adults need to be capable of independent living in order to become a resident. Frequently asked by people already living there is the question, “why didn’t I make this move sooner?” Rich explains, “the average length of stay here is nine years of independent living, and three years with assistance in living and/or long term care.”

When residents need either short or long-term skilled nursing, memory support or rehabilitation care, they transition to the Health Center which is attached to Buehler Home. Embracing a holistic approach, resident care is centered around individual physical, social, recreational and spiritual needs. Unlimited lifelong care on campus is guaranteed.

Amanda says, “We always encouraging folks to do research, and be an advance planner and learn about their options. Don’t get your facts about a community from around the bridge table. Make an appointment and come in and receive accurate information.”

Typical number of people living at Buehler Home is 200. Residents receive laundry and housekeeping services and three meals a day. They may eat in the more traditional dining room or in the bistro. An array of social activities is also planned. Transportation is provided, and Rich says when individuals can no longer drive, that’s often when they realize living in their own house might not be as feasible or convenient as living in a home that offers transportation.

There are two different financial programs, with variations to each option. Amanda explains, “We are willing to work with anybody’s financial situation. The best way to learn about the financial programs, pricing, and general information that pertains to someone’s personal situation is to meet with me one-on-one.”

Sometimes folks are so overwhelmed about what to do with their possessions or the thought of selling their home that they have difficulty even considering a move. Amanda explains there is help for that situation. “We recently added a Best Move Program that helps future residents overcome these obstacles. Whether you are concerned about selling your home, wondering what to do with all your “stuff,” need help getting your house ready to go on the market or need to make a move before your house sells, Buehler Home’s Best Move Program is here for you.”

A personal tour of Buehler Home includes the auditorium where entertainment is often scheduled; the community kitchen on each floor where residents can enjoy a beverage or snack before or after hours; and comfortable, welcoming sitting areas throughout the building. The library, ceramics room, billiards room, woodworking shop, gift shop, and much more are all part of the amenities.

Elaine McHugh says moving to Buehler Home was the best decision ever made, next to marrying her husband. She and her friend, Beth Washburn, concur that it’s an easy place to make friends, their families are pleased with where they live, and that a maintenance free, carefree lifestyle environment is lovely. And they both stress that where they live is very safe and they feel very secure.

Rich says people in the planning stages often comment, “We’re not quite ready yet to make a decision about moving.” He believes it is best to make a move before future health challenges make it a necessity. Sometimes waiting too long greatly minimizes options.

Buehler Home is proud of their reputation of providing exemplary care. They are proud of their caring staff and the folks whose enjoyment of their home is reflected in their friendly and welcoming attitude. Buehler Home specializes in hospitality and secure living and superior service. To learn more or to schedule a personal appointment, please call 309-685-6236 or visit their website at www.BuehlerHome.com

Earl Martin, another good friend, called WOAM’s “Breakfast with Royce and Roger,” and suggested the idea to rename Morton Square after Royce. “Why not?” he asked. “The city renamed a street after Richard Pryor in his old neighborhood,” Martin reasoned. Everyone on the show agreed including regular guest, historian, and Peorian, Norm Kelly. Adding his support that morning was former District 150 Superintendent, Harry Whitaker. Whitaker was raised not far from Morton Square on North Jefferson. Like Royce, Harry attended and played sports at Woodruff High School.

In his lobbying effort, Kelly has written a short story, “The Saga of Morton Square.” It’s an interesting history of the park that Norm has forwarded to Bonnie Noble, Executive Director of the Peoria Park District. There could be no better and or more fitting tribute to the man who brought so much joy to millions of people, locally and nationally, than to rename Morton Square Park as Royce Elliott Park. The ball is now in the “court” of Bonnie Noble and the Peoria Park District trustees. They’ll “score” with a vote to support the name change.

A WORLD SERIES RING

AND ACADEMY AWARD

The Woodruff High School Alumni Association recognized the importance and value of winning a World Series Ring and an Academy Award at its annual Spring Banquet, Saturday, May 4. They named 1949 graduate Zack Monroe and 1992 graduate Tami Lane as Distinguished Alumni for 2013. Zack was honored primarily for becoming the first Peorian to pitch in a World Series game and Tami was chosen after winning an Oscar in 2006 for her prosthetic make-up work in the film, “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and a nomination in the same category this year for “The Hobbit.”

Zack pitched for the New York Yankees in the 1958 World series against the Milwaukee Braves. The Yankees won that series with Zack appearing in 21 games during the season, winning four and losing two. His earned run average was a sparkling 3.26. He won’t brag about it, but I will. Among his list of baseball accomplishments was never having a losing season and he retired Ted Williams, who many consider the greatest hitter in the history of the game. In that game, he beat Boston, 4-2.

Tami is considered as an expert, an accomplished and skilled make-up artist in the movie industry, She has worked in over 21 movies from “Witchmaster” to “Underdog” to “Superman.” For the film, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,”

Tami supervised a team of 16 prosthetic artists, sometimes working 18 hour days. She has done makeup for some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Tami attended the banquet after flying from New York City where she’s working on the latest Superman film. Both Tami and Zack gave interesting and informative acceptance speeches to the delight of alumni attendees.

Another highlight of the evening took place when eleven $1,000 scholarships were awarded to former Woodruff High School students now attending other District 150 high schools. Despite receiving two news releases, the Peoria Journal failed to publicize the names of the scholarship recipients, so I’ll do the honors. Peoria High winners are Shawneka Burch, Destany Coons, Liara Harris, Kelly Hallstrom, Tiffany Lambert, Emily Morris, Jaqui Oseguera, and Carlita Tucker. Other winners are Catrina Warren of Manual and Corey Basfield and Jareth Long of Richwoods.

Sporting big, bright and beautiful smiles, the students gave warm and gracious acceptance remarks. It should be noted this was the final class of Woodruff students that will graduate from the Peoria district. However, the alumni association will continue to award scholarships each year while hoping the local school board will recognize the need to reopen Woodruff.

MEANWHILE……..

The annual banquet of the Woodruff alumni is held in the Commons of their former high school. It’s now called the Woodruff Career and Technical Center. About 240 students in a variety of training programs attend the school that once had a high school enrollment of nearly 1,000 just a few short years ago. Give the school district credit. The school and its grounds are well maintained…….for other high school students. They play baseball on its beautiful diamond and they run track on Boucher Field. Meanwhile, as the halls and classrooms remain virtually empty, the district is pouring millions and millions of dollars into Peoria High, the oldest school in the city, and thousands more buying land in one of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods. There is no logic to these financial and immoral decisions. The latest rumor floating around is the administration and school board are considering moving the Peoria High swimming program to the Woodruff pool where Manual students are already participating. It’s hard to understand. If Woodruff’s facilities are so good that students from other high schools are bussed almost daily to the northside school, why was it closed? We were told it was closed to save a million dollars a year. Yet, we learn District 150 will have a $2.8 million deficit. Peoria Journal spinmaster Pam Adams and her headline writer falsely announced, “District 150 slashes budget deficit.” The claim is based on treasurer David Kinney’s prediction the budget deficit would be $4 million for the year. Hell, that’s like the Cubs predicting they would wind up in last place and they finish next to last. The district wound up with over a half-million dollar loss in transportation costs caused, Kinney said, by higher gas prices. Now who would not be able to anticipate or predict, to use his words, higher gas prices today and next year and the year after that? Could higher transportation costs be caused in part with the busing of students to and from Woodruff and to and from Peoria High and Manual and Richwoods from the Woodruff neighborhoods? I think so.

BEL-WOOD RATES GO UP

Not surprising, daily rates for Bel-Wood Nursing Home residents are going up.

After all, the new nursing home, to be called Heddington Oaks cost over $45 million to construct. The current daily rate for private pay residents is $170.00, but when the new facility opens that rate could jump as high as $245.00. Remember, the rate is for those who are private pay, a small percentage of those living in the county nursing home. Most are on Medicaid or Medicare and the county receives a much lower amount from government payments. No figures were released noting the difference between daily cost and daily charges.

The “cost” is actual costs the county incurs to provide daily care and the rate is what is charged private pay patients. The difference is the profit margin for the county. It would be interesting to learn the daily cost and then compare that with what Medicare and Medicaid pays the county.

In other nursing home news, the anticipated June 1 opening will not be realized. Word is some design and implementation problems of the heating and air-conditioning system caused the change of date for the transfer of Bel-Wood residents. The new nursing home will not be able to open until the Illinois Public Health Department successfully completes its thorough survey and evaluation of the 214 bed facility that will include an Alzheimer Unit.

BU BASEBALL..OUCH!

As I was putting my column to bed, the Bradley University baseball team had an embarrassing Missouri Valley record of a single win against 17 losses, including 15 defeats in a row. Overall, the Braves were 16 and 28. Over overall, Bradley teams are having a terrible year under new Athletic Director Michael Cross.

There are plenty of wild conversations and negative comments about sports on the Hilltop with not a lot of optimism. That’s hurtful. As a student, I worked in the Robertson Fieldhouse and even did some substitute public address announcing for Bob Leu, the golden-voice Bradley basketball announcer. Who can forget those exciting Bradley years.

Getting back to Bradley baseball, here are some interesting tidbits as told by several people with strong connections to the Hilltop. Former Athletic Director Ken Kavanagh was told he was not going to select the new baseball coach when Dewey Kalmer retired. That decision was going to be made by President Joanne Glasser. And so it was. She appointed a friend from Eastern Kentucky, Elvis Dominquez. I’m told Kavanagh had already interviewed at least three excellent candidates.

Here’s the background. Northern Iowa was dropping baseball so its coach, Rich Heller, was available. Another excellent prospect was Mark Kingston, former Peoria Chief, who was interested in coming to Bradley. Kingston was assistant coach at Miami when it won the 2001 College World Series. A third candidate, I’m told, was Bradley pitching coach and former Major League pitcher, Mike Dunne.

Glasser announced that she had hired Elvis Dominquez, who had a career record of 237-294, though that wasn’t revealed. No reason to do so. But, since his appointment Bradley has lost over 100 games. Meanwhile, how about the other guys Kavanagh had considered?

Heller went to Indiana State where his team won the school’s first outright Missouri Valley Championship and an NCAA bid. Last year his team won a school record 41 games and he was named MVC Coach of the Year, an honor he won while at Northern Iowa. He had been named Coach of the Year four times while at Upper Iowa University.

Mark Kingston wound up at Illinois State University. He was named MVC Coach of the Year in 2010 and the following year the Redbirds won 36 games and the regular season championship. In his first three years, Kingston’s teams have accumulated a total of 33 wins. And this season, ISU swept the Braves.

Mike Dunne was replaced as pitching coach and now works with baseball players at Richwoods. The former St. Louis Cardinal was named the Sporting News rookie pitcher of the Year.

I’m told Elvis is a nice guy. Let’s hope he can resurrect Bradley baseball.

CONGRATULATIONS

BRUCE!

He did it again. Bruce Saurs has brought hockey alive in Peoria after the St. Louis Blues dealt what many thought was the end of the sport in Peoria. The Blues sold the hockey franchise to Vancouver and the NHL owners announced they would not send a team to our city It didn’t take long for Saurs to swing into action. Working with John Butler and Bart Rogers, the guys running the Bloomington Coliseum, Saurs has the Peoria Rivermen returning as a team in the Southern Professional Hockey League. Speaking by phone on WOAM’s “Breakfast with Royce and Roger” Tuesday, May 14, Saurs said the quality of play will be outstanding. “Many of the players have been on teams in the AHL and even in the NHL at one time or another.” Saurs said hockey will be played in the Civic Center beginning this fall. Nice going, Bruce!

SPECIAL TRIP

As I file this column, preparations are underway to fly to Santa Barbara, California, for memorial services for my good friend, Jonathan Winters. Though we communicated frequently by phone every two to three weeks for almost nine years, we never met person-to-person. He kept saying he was going to take a train to Chicago and I was hopeful Royce and I could fly out to see him. Sadly, both Jonathan and Royce are gone, but I do have wonderful and loving memories of both. I’m grateful to Jonathan’s daughter, Lucinda, for sending me an invitation to attend the memorial.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life span?” — Luke 12:25

It took Tea Party darling Rand Paul, Kentucky’s junior Senator, to hold an old-fashioned filibuster this spring about drones, forcing the Obama administration to publicly assure Americans that – oh, no – military drones wouldn’t be used over U.S. soil.

However, the Border Patrol and the Customs Service reportedly already have and use 10 Predator drones.

More startling in what’s becoming a giddy stampede to surrender more of our rights, 2012’s Drone Act (the FAA Modernization and Reform Act) requires the Federal Aviation Administration to start using drones, some police agencies are starting to study their use of drones, and a few communities are beginning to appeal to the drone industry to locate testing facilities in their areas for the jobs that might result.

(Willingly relinquishing civil liberties for work is reminiscent of a short chat I had with a building trades leader. I said, “You support anything if somebody promises construction jobs. You’d sign off on a project to build stockades for building trades labor leaders if there was work.” He laughed and said, “How many jobs?”)

After April’s flooding around here, using drones to survey disaster damage might make sense, as would search-and-rescue missions or maybe scientific research. But aerial surveillance? Without warrants?

Did the Fourth Amendment get repealed while the NRA focused on the Second?

Has the technology of airborne electronic snoops made privacy obsolete? After all, anyone who’s looked at Google knows what satellites already made available. (I didn’t realize how faded the umbrella on my deck was until I saw Google’s image from orbit.)

The military use of Predator drones – modern versions of Nazis’ buzz-bomb rockets targeting England in World War II – has become notorious for inflicting massive “collateral damage” (killing innocent bystanders). The UK’s Bureau of Investigative Journalism estimates that more than 800 civilians have been killed in Pakistan, a supposed ally.

Will the privacy Americans take for granted be another casualty?

True, there’s no expectation of privacy in public places, so even ardent civil libertarians haven’t attacked the security cameras that picked up the Boston Marathon bombers on the street. But drones are proposed to be OK to fly overhead if they’re less than 25 pounds and less than 400 feet above us (presumably to avoid commercial aircraft), and the FAA has yet to even draft rules for drones’ use above population areas.

Question: Isn’t that why police want them?

So, Congress and dozens of state legislatures are supposedly starting to draw up bills to protect society from what the FAA predicts will be 30,000 drones and a $90 billion industry by 2020.

Congress? State lawmakers? Uh-oh

Besides adding to the congestion of airspace (even airliners are at low altitude when they take off and land), isn’t there the possibility of someone hacking a drone system and wresting control from a “virtual pilot” when Chinese hackers seem able and willing to steal technology, intellectual property and other data almost at will?

The United Nations (which sometimes makes the Illinois General Assembly seem functional) recently issued a report denouncing killer robots, which “should not have the power of life and death over human beings.”

Wait what?

And in Europe, an anti-drone movement is gaining traction after Germany asked to buy weaponized drones from the Pentagon, and after England’s RAF announced that it was increasing its drone arsenal to 10 MQ-9 Reapers and to start controlling surveillance and drone strikes in Afghanistan from an airbase in Lincolnshire.

So far in the United States, we have Rand Paul, a lot of indifference and a corporation, Darwin Aerospace [www.darwinaerospace.com/burritobomber], that’s reportedly developed the “Burrito Bomber,” a drone outfitted to carry and drop a parachute-wrapped burrito, which it calls “truly the world’s first airborne Mexican food delivery service.”

For now, as another Flag Day is marked this June 14, we might recall the radio reporter at the end of 1951’s movie “The Thing,” warning, “Watch the skies. Everywhere. Keep looking. Keep watching the skies.”

The weather is getting downright weird. Snow this year hung around well into April. The wildflowers we would expect to encounter were, for the most part, still waiting to brandish their blossoms. It looked more like late March than mid May. What a contrast to last year when we had such a tropical March, flowers and trees bloomed extremely early, and many were damaged when April cooled down.

Some of the strange weather is related to a monumental atmospheric milestone made in May. Carbon dioxide surpassed 400 parts per million for the first time in human history. There hasn’t been this much CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere in the past 2 to 3 million years. ‘400 parts per million’ is the number of molecules of carbon dioxide (CO2) for every million molecules of air. “Only” 400… but just two centuries ago, that number was down around 280 parts per million. If we continue to add carbon to the atmosphere at current rates, we’ll reach a doubling of the pre-industrial levels of CO2 within a couple decades.

Where is all this carbon coming from? The answer is complicated but it’s clear that human generated CO2 is pushing the total up very rapidly. The main source is our coal-fired power plants, followed closely by transportation (cars, trucks, airplanes… etc.). We are burning up immense amounts of coal and oil, releasing reservoirs of ancient carbon and dumping it into Earth’s atmosphere. Humans aren’t the only source of greenhouse gasses, but we currently put out 130 times more CO2 than all volcanos put together.

Politics is muddying the waters as well as polluting the air and the airwaves. Al Gore was attacked for daring to point out the “Inconvenient Truth,” that our reckless use of oil and gas, with it’s subsequent release of billions of tons of greenhouse gasses, is gradually damaging the entire planet by trapping heat. He was belittled, ridiculed, and denigrated… precisely because the facts he was revealing were so… inconvenient.

Gore points out “— we have been recklessly polluting the protective sheath of atmosphere that surrounds the Earth and protects the conditions that have fostered the flourishing of our civilization. We are altering the composition of our atmosphere at an unprecedented rate. Indeed, every single day we pour an additional 90 million tons of global warming pollution into the sky as if it were an open sewer. As the distinguished climate scientist Jim Hansen has calculated, the accumulated man-made global warming pollution in the atmosphere now traps enough extra heat energy each day to equal the energy that would be released by 400,000 Hiroshima-scale atomic bombs exploding every single day. It’s a big planet — but that is a LOT of energy. And it is having a destructive effect.”

Surveys now show that perhaps as many as 70 percent of Americans finally believe climate change is happening. From Rocky Mountain wildfires to eastern heat waves to severe storms, climate change has at last been getting media attention. But unlike the rest of the world, where there has been an awareness of this, most Americans still don’t believe scientists… that it’s human-caused. This is due to a well established and funded “denial industry” backed by big energy. The sad truth is that those making billions by burning fossils, are enthusiastically willing to sacrifice our future on the alter of Mammon.

We’ve been subjected to media-based disinformation regarding the connection between our release of greenhouse gasses and subsequent warming of Earth’s atmosphere. To reverse this trend, according to some, will require dismantling of the “denial industry.” Rather than more pipelines, we need to build a foundation for our future, an infrastructure of clean renewable energy.

We can reduce our collective carbon footprint. By weaning ourselves off of oil, by using efficient and small vehicles, by walking and biking more, by using mass transit, by planting trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals in place of lawn, by using reel mowers in place of gas powered, by keeping homes cooler in winter/ warmer in summer… but this is only a start.

Unfortunately it isn’t enough to simply stop burning up coal and oil. If we were to stop today, the current level of atmospheric carbon would persist for thousands of years. It will be necessary to remove carbon from the atmosphere and sequester it back under ground (from whence it came). This requires a major technological investment. But not only are we not reducing atmospheric carbon, 2012 was another record year for release of greenhouse gasses. Current world annual dumping of CO2 into the atmosphere is somewhere well north of 30 billion of tons.

Some are advocating a more active approach. Civil disobedience. From lying down in front of coal trains to demonstrating against the Keystone Pipeline, people are beginning to protest against what they see as materialistic insanity. Sierra Club President Allison Chin was arrested while leading club members in a protest against the Keystone Pipeline outside the White House. This represents a break with 120 years of club tradition.

Some of the people “chilling out” during our hike asked a good question…“why, if the globe is warming, would there be such unseasonably cold weather in May?” The answer is that climate change resulting from global warming can impact weather in complex and seemingly counter intuitive ways. One thing is chillingly obvious. Changing our ways is not an option, it is a necessity.

And one of the problems was that there were not many projects on the outskirts of town where drainage was ever considered. They tore out green fields and replaced them with parking lots. You had one massive, massive parking lot one right after another. The homes that dotted the landscape between these lots were often flooded out after even mild rains. And on sunny days, the heat rising off these parking lots was horrible.

I drove around the Wal-Mart lot today. Actually, it’s a collection of parking lots running from West Forrest Hill up to West War Memorial Drive. There are a couple strips of mostly ornamental green space, but virtually all the land is used up by parking spaces. All these parking spaces MAY be needed around when Christmas approaches; but on most days, most of these spaces are just sitting there, storing heat from the Sun, contributing to rising temperatures in the city.

The air was cool, with a nice breeze. But the heat coming up off this lot was oppressive.

Most of the rain that hits this lot goes right into the city’s storm water replacement system. None of the rain sinks into the ground (these parking lots were built before permeable parking lots were invented).

These buildings were erected on farmland. But now they are sitting on ground that is as dry as a desert. If Wal-Mart and its parking lot were to be snatched away by aliens, you couldn’t grow anything on it, I don’t think. Not without watering it for six months straight.

I wonder about the safety of that. Will this dry ground even HOLD buildings that heavy in another 50 to 100 years?

We take green land and turn it commercial at the drop of a hat. How often do we take commercial land and made it green again? When we turn a green field into a shopping center, aren’t we essentially telling the Earth that this land will never, ever be part of the ecosystem ever again?

We — and by that I mean the City of Peoria — have to be wiser. It might be “good for business” to get every acre of green field to be converted into shopping malls, but I don’t think Peorians 100 years from now want to live in a city where the temperatures rise to 115 degrees by May 1st.

Of course, Peoria would have to end its practice of giving millionaire developers everything they want, all the time.

The Peoria Riverfront Museum boosters have found their scapegoat for fewer-than-predicted customers

Jim Richarson is out as the CEO of the organization. This move comes as the museum failed to supply the Peoria County Board with audit figures. You see, the county owns the building, and rents it to the museum.

There is no doubt in my mind that if the numbers were good, all the reports would be done.

Apparently, the movers and shakers want us to believe Richarson was standing outside the museum in a fright wig, scaring away all the customers. And I fail to understand how losing their CEO could speed up the document creating process.

A modest proposal 1

Have you ever lobbied state or national government on behalf of a corporation or industry where the CEO earns in excess of $1 million a year? I propose a law wherein you would be hunted down like a dog and forced to clean toilets to make amends.

A modest proposal 2

Have you ever stood in line behind someone at the self-serve soda fountain who will fill his cup to the brim, take a sip, then refill his cup, then take a sip, then refill? I propose a new federal law wherein you would be allowed to kidney punch this person. After getting kidney punched seven or eight times, sociopaths like this would get the hint.

The press is not an elite club

I read an article the other day, written by a member of the press bemoaning the fact that he went to a political convention and met a dentist, who wore press credentials he earned because he was a blogger. The columnist referred to the dentist as a “reporter” (quotes were his, not mine).

Oh, woe, cried the columnist. How could the President even consider asking Congress to pass a shield law to protect journalists when bloggers walked around with press credentials?

Simple. A “journalist” is anybody who does journalism. If you are a guy who occasionally posts “selfies,” (a snapshot of yourself that a Facebook or Twitter user posts) you’re not a journalist, so you don’t really need the protection of, say, a shield law. Now, if that same guy uses his cell phone to post video of cops beating the crap out of a motorist, he just might need some protection from the law.

The trouble is that too many mainstream journalists see themselves as members of an elite club, whose members enjoy some elevated status in American society, with rights and privileges denied the lumpen masses.

The 1st Amendment reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Note that text does not refer to “employees of press organizations.”

Trouble is that the 1st Amendment applies to everybody. From a practical standpoint, freedom of the press used to belong to anyone who owned one. Now we have WordPress, Blogger, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Now, everyone owns one. That may be bad news for those who literally own a printing press. But it’s good news for everyone else.

Ed Klein, Peoria, IL

It’s sad to see those Republicans who are pandering to his eminence, Wayne LaPierre, as they kneel to kiss his ring. What hold does he have on them that they fear to disagree with the NRA gospel? The thought that they might lose votes if they fail to shill for the NRA? Assuming they still have some vestiges of their reasoning ability intact, do they really think that a heavily-armed populace is the way most of us want America to go? What they’re showing us is a lack of integrity, and little ability to be guided by any higher instincts. We wonder at their cowardice in prostrating themselves before a bunch of rabid bullies. 90% of Americans favor comprehensive background checks for gun buyers. As elected representatives of that 90% do they think we are so stupid that we’ll forget their duplicity at election time?

Mr. LaPierre attempts to convince us that background checks wouldn’t have prevented Sandy Hook, Aurora, Tucson and other shooting tragedies. My question to you, Mr. LaPierre is, how in the hell do you know that? Frankly, I think he’s starting to see the handwriting on the wall and is afraid of what it is saying. As a result, he’ll say anything, do anything, and tell lies, and hope that by sheer bombast, we’ll believe him.

The NRA, I fear, has become a religion of idol worshippers. Their idol, of course, being the gun, and their holy book the Second Amendment, which they use to proselytize those unsaved who allow themselves to be bamboozled by the message of fear the NRA is peddling. Their modus operandi is to sell us on the idea that we are in mortal danger from lawless groups – including the US government – who have one purpose in mind, and that is to take away our freedoms. But – not to worry – the NRA has the answer: a gun in every home. I have yet to hear them say anything about universal firearm training or classes in responsible gun handling. That’s something to think about when putting powerful weapons in inexperienced people’s hands.

On the other end of the spectrum, a group known as The Sandy Hook Promise has dedicated itself to common sense gun control measures. This movement is growing, along with other groups and individuals who, while fighting for sensible gun legislation, do not … I repeat not … want to take our Second Amendment rights away or confiscate anyone’s weapons.

These groups don’t have the big bucks or resort to deceptive bombast like the NRA. But, what they do have is a sense of obligation to promote the safety of peace-loving Americans, along with the moral integrity, common sense, and the ability to recognize that living in the kind of fear-driven society the NRA wants to create is no way to live at all.

Welcome to the Women’s Liberation Movement, Congressman

by Dolores M. Klein, Peoria, IL

Paul Ryan recently expounded on the kind of America he wants: One in which abortion is not just illegal, but one in which abortion is not even considered!!!

Ever since we gained The Vote, we have struggled against cultural and legal barriers which keep women making desperate choices. One of them is the desperate choice of abortion.

Ryan has referred to his moral standards as being Catholic social teaching (however there are many who see those as more like Ayn Rand’s!).

Many women try very hard to fulfill the traditional roles of mother and homemakers, while holding down outside jobs. Congressman Ryan, how did you vote on the Equal Pay Act during the President’s first term? How does Ryan vote on issues important to homemakers? In the 1970’s, NOW issued a Homemaker’s Bill of Rights. Ryan should check that out.

He has much Unlearning, as well as Learning to do if he wants an America in which abortion is NOT EVEN CONSIDERED!!!

If you read my column regularly, you know my dad died in January, 2011. Each month’s article in 2012 was written in honor of the life he lived and the godly inheritance he left me and my brothers. I know I have completely mourned his passing, but the other day on my way to church a song on the radio opened up my eyes to something I hadn’t seen before, something about the place where he died.

The song, by Chris Rice, was Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus), one of my favorites. I was just singing along, relishing the reminder that I am love by a wonderful Savior when the last verse of the song burst my heart open:

And with your final heartbeat,

Kiss the world goodbye,

Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory‘s side… and

Fly to Jesus,

Fly to Jesus,

Fly to Jesus and live,

Fly to Jesus,

Fly to Jesus,

Fly to Jesus and live!

Extreme joy flooded my whole being, forcing a cool stream of tears from my eyes. In my mind’s eye, I saw my Daddy in his prayer chair looking up into the eyes of his Savior who personally came to take him home.

How do I know that’s how it happened? Well, according to my mom, Daddy, came downstairs that Wednesday afternoon and sat in his recliner next to hers to have a fruit cup and watch TV. He had just spent about an hour snow-blowing the six-to-eight inches of snow that had fallen the night before and was worn out. Within seconds of sitting down, he was in the midst of a massive heart attack. Mom jumped up when she saw his contorted face and said, “I’m calling 911!” Daddy said, “No don’t.”

The paramedics were there in minutes and later, one of them told us that when they got him into the ambulance, they tried to put a nitro-glycerin tablet under his tongue to help jump-start his heart. Daddy closed his lips tight so they couldn’t force it in and shook his head, “No.”

In the ER, a doctor and his team worked on his chest with paddles, shocking his heart over and over when all of a sudden Daddy lifted his hands and waved them all off, shook his head as if to say, “No more,” and died.

Why would someone in the midst of such a life-threatening crisis refuse the help of capable hands? I believe it’s because Daddy finally got to look into the eyes of the One Who created him in his mother’s womb; the One Who saved him from a deadly fall after a night of drinking with his U.S. Air Force buddy in Berlin in 1956. I believe it’s because he got to look full into the perfect face of the One Who gave him a new life that night so long ago when he embraced the cross of Jesus Christ as payment for his sin—an acquittal from the damaging choices he had made up to that point. Daddy wanted to go home! He wanted to fly to Jesus and live!

Do you have a prayer chair? Do you have a place where you meet your Creator in person every morning, a place where you feed your soul for the day? My Daddy did and now I do, too. Every day I long to look into those forever eyes like my Daddy did on that day. I want to know Him, the Father of Lights, as he is called in the Bible. I want to know Him so completely that when it is my time to leave this earth and He comes to take me home, nothing on this earth will keep me here. My prayer chair will be empty and my Bible will be there next to it because I will be with its Author, the World’s Best Father!