Oopsies!  Both of us lost track of time last week and didn’t realize that I hadn’t posted Week 10 until time was closer to Week 11 than to Week 9.  So, we both agreed to “take a bye” (sorta like the Celtics taking one even as they’re supposed to be actually playing on the court).

And from my part, I’m exactly where I thought I’d be at this point – stuck between 182 and 184. I knew this was going to happen and it’s here – 3 weeks in a row.  I’m going to have to jigger something to break out of this but not sure quite what yet.

As for Tom, he said he had broken 290 this week but then, like us all, ate a wee bit more than he should have this weekend so he hasn’t “officially” broken 290 lbs BUT, he’s gaining on me! The tale of the scale:

 

The post The Skip & Tom Weight Challenge – Week 11 appeared first on Granite Grok.

In a heart-wrenching display of callousness and disregard for human life, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) has once again stained the lands of Iran with the blood of the innocent.

Today, we mourn the unjust execution of three more innocent souls, Saeed Yaghoubi, Majid Khazemi, and Saleh Mirhashemi. These tragic victims met their undeserved fate at the hands of a regime that thrives on terror, propagates religious extremism, and perpetuates a reign of darkness upon a once peaceful nation.

Iranians, with their voices amplified from rooftops, have repeatedly warned the world of the horrors committed by the Islamic Republic. The regime’s brutal disregard for the sanctity of life has transformed this once-thriving nation into a terrifying graveyard. The echoes of anguish from grieving families reverberate through the streets, pleading for the world to hear their cries and end the relentless slaughter of their loved ones.

I resolutely affirm that this merciless execution of innocent Iranians serves as a meticulously orchestrated strategy, intended to crush any form of dissent and instill paralyzing fear within the hearts of those who dare to challenge the oppressive rule.

The Islamic regime’s grip on power is built upon the terror they instill in people. But fear and terror can be overcome by courage, and courage can lead to change. Iranians once again must rise above the darkness that engulfs their nation, to stand shoulder to shoulder in defiance of oppression. We must let them know that they are not alone in this struggle; that the world stands with them in solidarity.

Amidst the smoke and debris of shattered lives, the Islamic regime clings to power, exerting its iron grip over the people of Iran. Fair trials, a fundamental pillar of justice, have become an alien concept in this oppressive regime. Instead, innocent individuals are subjected to sham proceedings, deprived of their basic rights, and forced to face a predetermined fate that holds no regard for truth or justice.

The harrowing truth is that today’s executions are not isolated incidents. The Islamic Republic has transformed Iran into a macabre theatre of death, where hundreds of souls have been prematurely ripped from their families this year alone. The IRI is the world’s leading executioner.‘ This brutal regime’s appetite for bloodshed seems insatiable, and if left unchecked, the death toll will continue to rise, leaving behind a trail of shattered dreams and extinguished hopes.

The international community must recognize the Islamic Republic for what it truly is – a terrorist regime occupying a once-peaceful nation. The civilized world must offer its unwavering support to the people of Iran. They should stand in solidarity with their cries for justice, demand for freedom, and yearning for a future devoid of fear. The time for idle condemnation has long passed; action must be taken to end this reign of terror. Diplomatic efforts, economic sanctions, global pressure, and “carrot and stick” must be employed to hold Islamic leaders accountable for their crimes against humanity.

Silence and indifference will only embolden these tyrants, allowing them to continue their gruesome campaign of execution and suppression.

Again, the world cannot and must not turn a blind eye to the plight of Iranians. The blood spilled on its soil is a haunting reminder of the atrocities committed in the name of religion. Let us unite in the pursuit of justice, demanding an end to the merciless slaughter, and work towards a future where the innocent no longer tremble under the shadow of the Islamic regime.

It is crucial to recognize that the struggle faced by Iranians extends far beyond their borders. The Islamic Republic’s brutal tactics are a global threat. If left unchallenged, their ideology of fear and violence could spread like wildfire, engulfing nations in a dark abyss of oppression and suffering.

Iranians pledge to continue to fight for a future where no innocent person trembles at the hands of an unjust regime. Together, they will restore the light that has been dimmed by the darkness of tyranny, ensuring that Iranians can once again live in peace, harmony, and freedom.

The lives lost, the tears shed, and the cries of anguish must not be in vain. Together, we can make a difference and herald a new dawn for the brave people of Iran.

 

The post Unmasking the Repressive Terror Unleashed Upon a Peaceful Nation appeared first on Granite Grok.

About ten years ago, the political Left made a remarkable admission. They announced that whatever you had, be it income, a business, or whatever you’d worked to achieve, was thanks to the government.

You didn’t build that; whatever you had was at the pleasure of your political masters, an old idea that Marxists used to sell the end of class injustice. It didn’t work, has not, does not, and never will, but the appeal for people drawn to positions of power is undeniable.

Communists claimed they would tear down the old system and give the means of production to the people. The result was the complete loss of private property, autonomy, and individual rights. You and your output belong to the state, which will not tolerate dissent.

American Democrats invoke it as an excuse to arrive at the same destination. You didn’t build that. You have what you have because we did not take it from you. And this now includes your children.

My body, My Choice

My body, my choice, is an old and dusty idea that (to the modern Left) applies to scraping babies from the wombs of biological women but not much else. As best we can tell, the defining factor is whether it checks a box for Democrats or they can raise money on it.

Your body is, therefore, yours in the same way as your income. Your rights end at their privilege. This applies to women and men, but women can kill their babies or give birth, after which they belong to the state. That’s the message from Democrats who claim parents have no rights concerning their children.

Even if you homeschool them to avoid the “once they pass through the door, they are ours coalition,” the state believes it can come and take them at any time, no different than your property, at a whim. Search NH Child and family services for the truth if you don’t believe it. The door is the mother’s cervix and, in some cases, conception itself. Mothers deemed unfit have no rights during pregnancy or after birth.

This is now a standard of the Democrat party. They are not your children. You didn’t build that. And suppose you protest their treatment of them. In that case, you should expect to get pilloried by elected officials, canceled by their political allies, and you might even get a visit from a phalanx of (increasingly armed) bureaucrats to tell you differently.

For those who dare to think it would never go that far, your memories are short. During the so-called pandemic, police power was abused to abrogate the First and Fourth Amendments. The political Left and far too many on the right convinced the people this was for their own good.

But nothing the government does is for the good of anyone but the government, and the longer you refuse to believe that, the worse that problem will get.

 

The post The Left’s “You Didn’t Build That” Now Applies To Your Kids … appeared first on Granite Grok.

Texas has been a major front in the Biden administration’s foreign invasion plan of America, offering little or no help to Texas or Texans being inundated with illegal trespassers. But why would they help? The deluge is the point.

And since border security is sometimes a GOP talking point, what should a GOP governor do? Sign onto another tersely worded letter. That’ll fix things.

New Hampshire’s bipolar border governor has done precisely that, but it has been twelve months since he signed the last one, and yes, I went looking. On April 19th, 2022, Chris Sununu joined twenty-five ‘Republican Governors’ creating a border strike force that would “coordinate to share intelligence, disrupt smuggling corridors, and assist border states. They plan to focus efforts on targeting cartel finances and border-related crime.”

That’ll do it. But it didn’t so, on May 11th, 2022, Sununu joined 19 other ‘Republican Governors’ in a letter imploring the Biden Administration to do something about the massive humanitarian crisis created by lax federal border policy.

Finally! Success. No, wait!

This past week there was another letter from twenty-four ‘Republican Governors’ (including Chris Sununu) supporting Texas Governor Greg Abbot and Operation Lone Star.

 

“While the federal government has abdicated its duties, Republican governors stand ready to protect the U.S.-Mexico border and keep families safe.

“All states have suffered from the effects of deadly illegal drugs coming across the border, and every state is a border state due to the devastating influx of drugs in our communities. Republican governors are leading the way to address the border crisis by increasing fentanyl sentencing and increasing support for law enforcement interdiction of drugs, among other measures.

“Texas Governor Greg Abbott has exemplified leadership at a critical time, leading the way with Operation Lone Star, and deploying the Texas Tactical Border Force to prevent illegal crossings and keep the border secure. We support the efforts to secure the border led by Governor Abbott.”

 

I’m sure Abbott is excited to have the moral support. But since the previous two letters, things have escalated not just on the Southern US border but also on the Northern border. Letter-signing Sununu has suggested increased spending on law enforcement to address the invasion of New Hampshire from the north and has asked the border security dilettantes in DC for aid, experiencing for himself the deaf ears upon which such requests fall.

Perhaps he could sign another letter, make copies, and have it posted along the 58-miles border with Canada. It seems pointless but it can’t be less effective than its predecessors.

Meanwhile, in Texas,

 

Operation Lone Star surges state law enforcement and other resources “to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border,” according to a statement from Abbott’s office. “Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 373,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 28,000 criminal arrests, with more than 25,000 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, Texas law enforcement has seized over 402 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.”

Abbott has also been busing willing immigrants to blue “sanctuary cities” like New York and Chicago, though the governors’ letter was silent on that topic.

 

And that’s just one bucket in a rainstorm.

Does anyone know if we have Mexicans crossing from Canada to Alaska? They have a very long border with Canada, and it is America. And there must be jobs up there Biden won’t let Americans do. It’s almost as crazy as Mexicans crossing the border into Vermont and New Hampshire.

And how about these ‘Republican Governors’ ask their Attorney Generals to investigate that strange and unusual migration pattern? They could “coordinate to share intelligence, disrupt smuggling corridors, and assist border states. They plan to focus efforts on targeting cartel finances and border-related crime” and then report back to Americans. And you’ll get to write yet another letter, which could include a list of indictments. Rumor has it that the UN and the Biden admin have a conveyor belt of camps and busses moving “migrants” up through Mexico. Some people did something and are still doing it. A RICO-style international operation that is robbing US Citizens of their incomes, safety, and security.

We live in a Federal Republic. If you’d like to keep it that way, you’ll need to do better than write a few letters.

 

The post Republican Governor’s Sign Another Letter Supporting … Something-Something … Southern Border appeared first on Granite Grok.

We’ve emailed you before about problems with the Housing Appeals Board (HAB), a state-level, 3-person panel of appointed, industry ‘professionals’ who are now allowed to override your town vote by defying the decisions of any of your town boards (planning, zoning, conservation, school, etc.).

The HAB has, in most cases, already trampled on local control and the rights of towns. Since the HAB was not legally created by a vote of the legislature, it is still our opinion that this board should be disbanded immediately…

We are writing to you today regarding an amendment to HB2 (the budget bill) that affects the Housing Appeals Board (HAB):

A proposed amendment to HB2 (see it linked HERE) would seek to increase the powers of the Housing Appeals Board by changing it to a “Land Use Appeals Board.” (see also HB2, line 107)

This would dramatically increase the scope of the board to hear appeals from local land use decisions to include anything ranging from excavation permits to commercial construction! CNHT does not support the HAB having these expanded powers.

ACTION: EMAIL the Senate Finance Committee and ask them to OPPOSE expanding the powers of the HAB as provided for in the amendment to HB 2.

James.Gray@leg.state.nh.us,Daniel.Innis@leg.state.nh.us,Regina.Birdsell@leg.state.nh.us,Howard.Pearl@leg.state.nh.us,Jeb.Bradley@leg.state.nh.us,Cindy.Rosenwald@leg.state.nh.us,Lou.Dallesandro@leg.state.nh.us,debra.martone@leg.state.nh.us

PLEASE TAKE ACTION ASAP AS THIS AMENDMENT MAY BE DISCUSSED and VOTED ON BY THE COMMITTEE AS EARLY AS MONDAY, MAY 22.

Thank you for helping save the NH Advantage.

The post CNHT: URGENT: Action Needed on Budget Bill appeared first on Granite Grok.

Train derailments are a lot more common than we knew. However, after the mishandling of the chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, people with an itch to look relevant have been thinking about capitalizing on the tragedy for political points.

Fox23:

The CBS13 I-Team previously found state law blocks the public’s right to know. Now some lawmakers want to change that. …

there’s a bill with broad bipartisan support before the legislature Friday hoping to repeal this law and open back up the public records related to the transportation of hazardous materials by train.

Maine law (apparently) puts up roadblocks that prevent people from knowing precisely what chemicals are on what trains running through the state, and I can guess why. Radical Left Wing Democrat party-affiliated radicals like to tip trains. Oh, or maybe some other sort of terrorist.

Knowing what is in transit makes causing a derailment as an act of domestic or foreign terrorism that much easier. You can’t police miles of track, not even near populated areas. Finding a cargo and target could be a few keystrokes away if you were the sort. And they do.

Rail systems are genuine targets. So, while the Maine law sounds good, and we are huge fans of transparency, what assurances can the state provide that they are not inviting disaster? None.

And it’s not as if their recent track record on public health lacks tarnish.

While there are likely a few in the incestuous government NGO cabal who care about public health and safety after the COVID nonsense, no one should blindly assume anything. Maine may appear all giddyup to identify chemicals on trains in the name of health and safety. There continues to be a considerable gap between COVID vaccine efficacy and safety – specifically, the absence of both, including content from politicians and the media to set that record straight.

We might want to worry less about making sure terrorists know which trains to derail and more about the terrorists in government pushing medical policy (even mandates) – without informed consent – disguised as public health.

 

The post Maine Considers Law Ensuring Citizens Know What Chemicals are … on Trains (No, Not COVID Vaccines) appeared first on Granite Grok.

First, I am merely an “enlightened amateur”.  Please vet & check on your own.  Caveat emptor.  Consider these to be priming the pump for your own investigations.  I know this is a long post; I am attempting to put out a lot of information as a resource.  Read or skip sections depending on your interests.

Second, I fear spicy time is very close, but even a month of food, water, etc., puts you well ahead of most of the sheeple.  IMHO, set your minimum sights on a three-month period.

Third, two things will be critical for having the best chance of making it through:

1. Mentality: first and foremost in survival is having a flexible mentality and cultivating the ability to adapt. Vanity has no place in survival.
2. Develop a meatspace network of people that are likeminded: cultivate your community ties and build alliances with neighbors (note: don’t babble about the Jab or globalists or depopulation, or start pointing political fingers when doing this)… and remember, the first rule of PREP CLUB is that there is no prep club.

And please follow both me, Nitzakhon, on Gab… as well as my blog host Granite Grok and also on Telegram Tommy Robinson Official plus his Urban Scoop site.  And don’t forget posts sometimes get cloned on American Reveille as well, which is a good site to check out in general.

FYI, here’s a link to the last Survival Sunday.  Please note that I cannot sustain two of these a week, so I will be folding some of the SITREP stuff in here as I see appropriate.

Apologies for missing last week.  Work, and time in general.

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

He lived through the fall of South Africa and said the US is following the same pattern.

 

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

Top of the fold:

10 Myths About Storing Food In 5-Gallon Buckets – Ask a Prepper

Important!!

An observation about spoiled food: even insect-ridden grain, etc., can become bait in a true SHTF situation.  Some time ago, when I was busy purging ALL my grains because of meal moth infestation, I discovered that the discards were a prime deer attractant.  Tracks in the snow told me.

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

City to Country so NOW What?

 

 

=+=+=

Oddments – random thoughts on prepping:

Joe Biden Is Preparing to Provide US F-16 FIghter Jets to Ukraine – World War III Can’t Come Fast Enough for These Elites | The Gateway Pundit | by Jim Hoft

Soon.  Something’s going to happen soon.  There will be some provocation, something, that will be that final straw.  And then things get messy, in a hurry.

 

 

=+=+=

Prepper Site URLS:

Most have daily articles; revisit daily.  Please recommend others in the comments.

Ask a Prepper, how to prepare, survive and thrive, latest news

Mother Earth News

The Organic Prepper Home – The Organic Prepper

SurvivalBlog.com – The Daily Web Log for Prepared Individuals Living in Uncertain Times.

SHTF Blog – Modern Survival

Survival World – Everything You Need To Know to Survive

Homestead Survival Site – How to Live Off The Grid in Comfort and Style

Urban Survival Site | How to Survive a Disaster in the City

Mind4Survival – Survival and Preparedness

Gray Wolf survival

Sustainable Living (sustainablelivingideas.com)

The Classic Survivalist – Surviving in a Modern World

Primal Survivor – Practical and sensible prepping advice

Em Off-grid – We & Our Off The Grid Life – Em OffGrid

Resource for Practical, Daily Prepping Skills for SHTF & Survival (geekprepper.com)

And three aggregate sites listing their top favorite sites & links too:

TOP 50 SURVIVAL & PREPPER BLOGS

The 50 Best Survival Blogs

Prepper Website – Preparedness • Survival • Alternative News

—

Specific, one-up articles:

25 Survival Items To Hunt For At Flea Markets – Ask a Prepper

I like flea markets in general, but this is a good list.

—

Combat Boots 101 – Ask a Prepper

Examine local conditions – excellent point.

—

4 Prepper Mistakes That You Should Actually Make – Ask a Prepper

Mistakes will be made.  But the only critical mistake is one you don’t learn from.  And remember:

A smart man learns from his mistakes.  A wise man learns from the mistakes of others.

—

10 Amish Survival Hacks You Didn’t Know About – Ask a Prepper

The last is the biggest thing: a tight-knit group of people of similar mindset.

—

How to Remove Rust From Different Surfaces (thespruce.com)

Useful!

—

Related to Spicy Time:

 

 

—

How The Native Americans Used To Hide In Plain Sight (askaprepper.com)

Fundamentally: OUTLINE, CONTRAST, and MOVEMENT.  The infrared factor now plays in, of course.  Though many of the comments are brutal.

—

Related to Bushcraft specifically:

Essential Knots For Bushcraft Survival And Prepping (ukpreppersguide.co.uk)

Anyone remember the scene from Jaws when Quint made Hooper tie an old-style knot?

—

How to Find Water and Filter and Purify or Distill Using the Sun (ukpreppersguide.co.uk)

The biggest new one for me is the idea of gathering water transpired from plants.

—

How To Choose A Good Survival Knife For Prepping, Bushcraft And SHTF (ukpreppersguide.co.uk)

And:

Survival Knife Guide For Prepping, Survival and SHTF (ukpreppersguide.co.uk)

Leading to:

 

Crocodile Dundee – That is not a knife scene!

 

 

Had to.

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Girl Living Off Grid Built The Most Secret Underground Tunnel Shelter Home

 

 

I think my concerns would be:

1. Collapse
2. Water intrusion
3. Ventilation
4. Critters

And in digging this, where’d all the dirt go?  Dirt disposal, like in the classic movie The Great Escape, would need to be well planned out lest a huge pile of dirt be a give-away.

A follow-up video – home no longer hidden:

 

Upgrade her Underground To the Most Secret Underground in the World, Girl Living Off Grid

 

 

One more (link only):

Girl Living Off Grid Build a Complete Warm Bamboo Dugout Underground House for a Week Stay – YouTube

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Short of years and untold wealth, you cannot possibly be fully prepared for everything (I have to keep reminding myself of that).  But even some preparations, ideally at least 90 days of food, water / water purification, etc., puts you head and shoulders in front of the vast majority of the sheeple who will be in jaw-gaping astonishment when the SHTF.  The only relevant questions are:

1. When does it start?
2. How bad will it get?
3. How long will it last?
4. What will the aftermath look like?

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

The Tragedy of Cultural Relativism

 

 

Just what are we importing with this mass migration?

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

I have a FORAGING group on Gab.  I will check 2-3 times a week to see if people have asked to join.

—

Foraging: One-up articles

 

 

—

15+ Wild Edibles You Should Can This Spring – Ask a Prepper

Recognition is the primary issue.

—

Most see “weeds” but we see “medicine!” | Back Forty Farms (gab.com)

Video, two minutes.

 

Foraging (permanent feature):

Foraging (practicalselfreliance.com)

Wild Harvests (arcadianabe.blogspot.com)

Southern Appalachian Herbs

—

Books (permanent feature):

Feasting Free on Wild Edibles (old but good)

The Lost Ways (much more than just foraging)

The Forager’s Guide to Wild Foods

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO EDIBLE WILD PLANTS FOR BEGINNERS

 

 

=+=+=

Shortages, Inflation, and Energy (broadly):

Shortages 2023: 4 goods facing tight supplies this year | Supply Chain Dive

Part of a series.  Related:

10 Biggest Grocery Shortages of 2023 So Far: Eggs, Corn, & More (eatthis.com)

—

Battered By Inflation, 90 Million Americans Struggle Paying Bills As Credit Card Usage Spikes | ZeroHedge

My electric bill, specifically, is over $400 a month now.

—

Bayou Renaissance Man: Inflation, buying a home, and the destruction of the American middle class

All deliberate.

—

Germany’s Federal Network Agency Plans To Ration Electricity As Electric Power Crisis Heightens – Watts Up With That?

Madness.  Speaking of madness – demand people use solar (and wind, which is driven by the sun), then block the sun.  What could go wrong?

CBS News Pushes Bill Gates’ Plan to Fight ‘Climate Change’ by Blocking the Sun

—

 

 

=+=+=

Gardening, Food Storage, Animals, Food Preservation, Health, and Related:

Quick-hit-style on survival foods to grow:

20 Best Foods to Grow for Survival – Soulful Prepper

The 25 Best Foods to Grow In Your Survival Garden (maximumoffgrid.com)

9 Best Survival Crops to Grow in Your Backyard – The Backyard Pros

Top 10 Foods to Grow for Survival – Ask a Prepper

How To Grow A Survival Garden – Do You Have What It Takes? (ruralsprout.com)

Grow 100 kg of food in a small space – YouTube

You’re (Probably) Killing Your Fruit Trees – YouTube

—

Basic Survival Skills – Grow Your Own Survival Food (ukpreppersguide.co.uk)

Nice chart on when to plant, although definitely region dependent.  And IMHO related:

Best Foods To Grow For Preservation and Storage — PLANT FOR CHANGE

—

Three Simple Yet Effective Rain Water Harvesting Methods (ukpreppersguide.co.uk)

I used to gather rainwater off my roof for plant watering until the wife nixed the collection system because it was “ugly”.  I’d get gutters to collect in a cistern down back of the house but that’s enough coin that I don’t have it.

—

Amazing No-Dig Gardening Tutorial With Charles Dowding – Off-Grid

No-dig gardening has some interesting benefits over “ordinary” gardening. Charles uses a compost mulch – which feeds the soil, keeps it moist and suppresses weeds. It also means much less work as the time-consuming digging is eliminated.

—

9 Scents That Japanese Beetles Hate (and How to Use Them) – Pest Pointers

I had these critters munching on some plants last year.  Will have to try these.

—

Fruit and Vegetables to Grow on a Trellis (theepochtimes.com)

I wonder how much cover they generate… can you double-up with something underneath that’s only partial sun?

—

Healthy Sustainable Living: Three Things you Didn’t Know about Chickens and Tomatoes

Interesting.  From the same site:

Healthy Sustainable Living: A Warning About Cinder Block or Concrete Masonry Gardens

I would not have thought of this.  Good point!  Also:

Healthy Sustainable Living: 5 Reasons to Grow Fruit Trees… even in Little Patio Pots

And circling back to tomatoes:

How to Prune Tomato Plants (thespruce.com)

—

Eggshells – Nothing Goes To Waste! | Back Forty Farms (gab.com)

I used to save all my eggshells until the wife went on the warpath against my prepping.

—

 

How to Grow Golden Beetroot from Seed to Harvest

 

 

—

Kerr home canning book (1945 edition) | Open Library

Some knowledge may be outdated, but… good stuff, if only as background.

—

Self sufficient cheese-making. Fresh cheese using only 2 ingredients. I litre of milk and squeeze a lemon and add salt.  Then when it boils leave it to stand for 15 mins. Then separate curds from whey. and press down the curds (solid part) into a bowl.

Refrigerate and leave it to rest for 5 days. Then press out of the bowl and decorate with walnuts or something of your choice. Delicious.

—

 

Transforming a 4 m2 Land to an Abundant Vegetable Garden

 

 

—

Several videos on protecting chickens from predators (links only):

Protecting your hens from predators – YouTube

Keep Your Chickens SAFE from Predators with this SIMPLE HACK (keeps wildlife safe too) – YouTube

How to Install a Predator Apron Around a Chicken Coop – YouTube

Top 10 Chicken Predators – YouTube

No, Your Chickens AREN’T SAFE From Predators (Until You Do THIS) – YouTube

Best Tips to Predator Proof a Chicken Coop – YouTube

5 common chicken predators | and 10 ways to stop them – YouTube

How to PROTECT chickens from PREDATORS | This thing works! – YouTube

How to keep hawks from killing your chickens – YouTube

And an article:

The Common Predators that Kill Chickens – Strombergs (strombergschickens.com)

—

Links on old-time food storage (permanent feature):

Thanks to the Canning and Preserving group on Gab, I now have these links:

Preserving foods by drying | How to dry foods safely (uada.edu)

USDA-Complete-Guide-to-Home-Canning-2015-revision.pdf (healthycanning.com)

Canning | SDSU Extension (sdstate.edu)

Food Preservation– Canning | Consumer Food Safety | Washington State University (wsu.edu)

Canning Timer & Checklist App | OSU Extension Catalog | Oregon State University

National Center for Home Food Preservation (uga.edu)

Canning Recipes | Ball® Mason Jars (ballmasonjars.com)

—

Topical Books (also permanent):

Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking & Curing

Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing

A Guide to Canning, Freezing, Curing & Smoking Meat, Fish & Game

The Prepper’s Canning Guide

Pickled Pantry

Fermented Vegetables

Hydroponics and Greenhouse Gardening: 3-in-1 Gardening Book to Grow Vegetables, Herbs, and Fruit All-Year-Round

Hydroponics for Beginners: The Complete Guide to Hydroponic Gardening, Designing and Building Inexpensive DIY Hydroponic Systems…

The Aquaponics Guidebook: Combining Aquaculture and Hydroponics Combining Aquaculture and Hydroponics

 

=+=+=

Self-defense (broad)

 

Calling 911 After Self-Defense

 

 

From the same channel, link only:

Stupid Self-Defense Mistakes That Could Cost You Your Freedom – YouTube

—

Looter Deterrents You Never Thought Of – Ask a Prepper

The kids want a dog; I’m coming around.

—

WHAT A DISGRACE: Thieves Try to Gun Down Tennessee Homeowner After He Catches Them Trying to Steal His Van — Police Arrest Homeowner for Firing Back in Self-Defense! (VIDEO) | The Gateway Pundit | by Cullen Linebarger

Just because it’s absolutely justified – on a hypothetical objective scale – doesn’t mean they won’t try to arrest you.

 

=+=+=

Hunting & Fishing:

I need to take the safety course and then look for a veteran to “take me under their wing” on this.  Back when I lived in the Midwest I had a friend / coworker who lived to hunt.  I regret not tagging along, but then I didn’t realize how close we were to bad times coming.

How to Hunt: A Step-by-Step Guide for New Adult Hunters | Outdoor Life

165 Hunting Tips: The Complete Guide to Hunting (misspursuit.com)

Best Pro Hunting Tips for Beginners: How to Hunt Basics and More (atncorp.com)

Hunting Tips For Beginners Ultimate Guide 2023 (huntingsky.com)

15 Deer Hunting Tips that Will Make You a Better Hunter – Silencer Central

50 Great Hunting Tips | Outdoor Life

—

The Absolute Beginner’s Fishing Guide to Success – Outside Online

10 Fishing Tips And Tricks – On The Water

20 FISHING TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU THINK MORE LIKE A FISH | Angling Times

How to Fish – Ultimate Guide on Fishing for Beginners (tailoredtackle.com)

Best Fishing Tips Every Angler Should Know – Fishingery

—

A thought on both hunting and fishing.  If SHTF every goombah and their cousin is going to think of the same thing.  And if food’s really short, they’re going to be willing to use violence to feed themselves and theirs, and screw yours.

 

=+=+=

Concluding thoughts if I’m moved to comment:

As from above, I’ve decided I can no longer support the time to do this AND a SITREP, so I’m folding a few of the SITREP categories in and casting loose the others.

Hopefully, however, I can get to work on finishing some of the original-content essays I have.

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Taking Aim at the Middle Class

 

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Palate cleansers:

 

 

Going to Hell for that one, I think.

—

—

 

Took me a moment.

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Please check out my MEMES collections; last one here.  Mockery, ridicule, and the wrapping of uncomfortable truths inside humor can penetrate the cognitive shields of normies far more effectively – IMHO – than dry facts and figures.

 

The post Survival Sunday – United Edition appeared first on Granite Grok.

The super-majority Democrat legislature in Vermont can have whatever it wants and it has. From terrible energy policy to denying residents of their second amendment rights, Vermont Dems are pushing as hard as they can to take away your liberties.

We’ve been following the Gun-Grabbing, but Vermont Digger has a quick review of this year’s assaults on liberty.

 

This year’s roster consisted of S.3 — already signed into law — which bans paramilitary-style training camps such as Slate Ridge; S.4, which would primarily bring Vermont state laws on straw purchasing and serial number tampering in line with federal law; and most high-profile of all, H.230, which would implement safe storage rules, broaden existing red flag laws and institute 72-hour waiting periods for gun purchases.

 

As noted, S.3 is the law in Vermont. The other two may need a veto override, but as noted, that’s not an issue. Vermont Dems are happy to stand on the victims of gun violence in pursuit of … more victims of gun violence. Everything they propose has been tried and proven a failure. The shadow of gun grabbers is filled with rising crime, including violent crime and gun crime.

Cities like Burlington and Brattleboro are already experiencing this, but since crime prevention is not even a concern for the Left, they will forge ahead at the expense of Vermonters who eighter sat on their hands or bought the lies the Dems keep selling.

Meanwhile, over in Maine, which is on the same downhill trajectory but a few years behind, they are fondling a three-day waiting period for firearms purchases. They are also looking to close the gun-show loophole, which is another made-up problem that does not exist. The real target is private transfers which advocates claim can reduce crime, but criminals don’t follow the law, and cities like Chicago are proof these infringements disarm law-abiding citizens and no one else.

There is zero evidence that Democrat gun-grabbing bills reduce suicides or prevent criminals from obtaining weapons or committing violent crimes. What we do know is that the more of these laws they pass, the worse crime and violence become.

 

The post Vermont Gloats Over Its Gun-Grabbing as Maine Tries to Keep Up appeared first on Granite Grok.

In our Constitutional Republic, we elect certain people to represent us when it comes to the management and oversight of Government. As such, we expect that they will use a blend of what our wishes may be (the “represent” part) as well as our judgment as to who they are, their sensibilities, their ideas, their honesty, and their values when we elect them (the “candidate” part).

That, however, is only the first part – electing them. That is our Constitutional Right (Art 11, NH Constitution and 15th Amendment, US Constitution).

People can change over time or actions bubble up by them that were not visible at the time that we elect them. This can radically change how we perceive them and their actions as they may well no longer align themselves with what and whom we thought they were at election time.  Rights come with responsibilities and with electing our representatives comes a responsibility to hold them accountable:

[Art.] 8. [Accountability of Magistrates and Officers; Public’s Right to Know.] All power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their substitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them.  Government, therefore, should be open, accessible, accountable and responsive.  To that end, the public’s right of access to governmental proceedings and records shall not be unreasonably restricted.  The public also has a right to an orderly, lawful, and accountable government.  Therefore, any individual taxpayer eligible to vote in the State, shall have standing to petition the Superior Court to declare whether the State or political subdivision in which the taxpayer resides has spent, or has approved spending, public funds in violation of a law, ordinance, or constitutional provision.  In such a case, the taxpayer shall not have to demonstrate that his or her personal rights were impaired or prejudiced beyond his or her status as a taxpayer.  However, this right shall not apply when the challenged governmental action is the subject of a judicial or administrative decision from which there is a right of appeal by statute or otherwise by the parties to that proceeding.

Not enough of us, when seeing wrong doing by our Representatives, merely turn a blind eye to malfeasance, simply think “that’s how politics goes / how the game is played”, don’t care at all, or think “you can’t fight City Hall” is a truism.  Some may think that they must wait until the next election to “throw the bums out” or “I can’t afford to take them to court”.

But in staying true to our Constitutions (rather than being merely a framework of how Government is to be structured AND to protect US against Government via Bill of Rights, they are rather inventive and perceptive sociological documents in that our Founders sought to compartmentalize the seeking of Power and the aggregation of Power over the rest of us. They also realized that people change over time and that their aims may turn to using Government to enrich themselves in some manner or to have dominion over others. The lure of Power is strong to those of weak character.

However, short of voting them out of office or taking them to court, there is another way to chastise / rebuke the actions of a few as set up by the NH House – the Legislative Ethics Committee which is set up to handle situations between the two ends of that spectrum (emphasis mine):

Any individual may lodge a complaint with the Committee alleging that a legislator, legislative officer, or legislative employee has violated a law, guideline, rule or regulation of the General Court. Complaints must be in writing and signed under oath or affirmation. Complaints should be marked “confidential” and submitted to…

And so I did. Quietly, which (as you all know), is not my nature. The Duties of the Ethics Committee can be found here and the Penalties for violating the statutes Confidentiality can be brutal (nothing like a Sword of Damocles suspended over your head to make you pay attention to such rules). And its process is here.

So, on May 2nd, Harry Bean received a  letter from the Ethics Committee [his first name added by me]:

Dear Representative [Harry] Bean,

The Legislative Ethics Committee is in receipt of a sworn complaint, a copy of which is enclosed.

And that sworn complaint was by me (notarized and everything) on his illegal actions since August of 2022 (and to which I have written about such multiple times here at GraniteGrok – I merely formalized them all). That sworn complaint is listed below. Yes, I brought receipts:

Skip Murphy Ethics Complain – Harry Bean

Now, I have emphasized that Confidentiality is paramount in the process – so why am I doing this? Well, there is part of the process whereby the Representative can decide to waive that Confidentiality. I had a couple of phone calls with Rich Lambert who manages the process for the Committee members. The first was when I received the latter that Bean had waived that Confidentiality (page 5 below) and Rich confirmed that I could invite people to the hearing and bring cameras if I so felt led. I did ask if I could write about it; he chuckled a bit (I think my reputation has preceded me a bit) but said that he had to check with the Chair. On Friday, that permission was given.

So, for completeness, here are the documents that have been sent to me thus far:

NH Legislative Ethics Committee – NH State Rep Harry Bean

So now the hearing is May 26 at 1:30 pm in Room 104 of the Legislative Office Building (right behind the State House).  Seating is limited.

It looks like Harry Bean has lawyered up: copies of the letters were sent to Laconia’s Paul Fitzgerald, Esq.

 

The post NH Legislative Ethics Complaint Filed – NH State Rep Harry Bean appeared first on Granite Grok.

Have you ever heard of Mao’s Red Guards? They were students who had been indoctrinated and then engaged in domestic terrorism against anyone and anything that Mao perceived as an enemy or a potential threat. The Stasi, the East German secret police, routinely spied on East Germans through indoctrinated family members. Lenin said something to the effect of … give me one generation of youth and I will change the world.

The family is the foremost bulwark against Communism … which is why it was so absolutely vital to the NH-Communists (aka the NH-Democrats and the “Republicans” who stood with them against SB 272) to destroy SB 272, the parental rights bill. They care about children only because and in the sense that they … as the Communists before them did … see children as a vital means to secure and maintain power.

Yet the NHGOP “leadership” are either too benighted and myopic to understand what we are up against or too feckless and Low-T to fight back.

 

The post Opposing Parental Rights Is Supporting Communism … How Is It Possible The NHGOP Still Does NOT Get It? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Modern Man-Made CO2 emissions have been blamed for a long list of things but how about this? The current Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, says “The climate crisis is not gender neutral.”

It exacerbates existing inequalities, creating unique threats to the livelihoods, health & safety of women & girls. To create a sustainable world for all, we need to put gender equality at the heart of #ClimateAction.

The climate crisis is not gender neutral.

It exacerbates existing inequalities, creating unique threats to the livelihoods, health & safety of women & girls.

To create a sustainable world for all, we need to put gender equality at the heart of #ClimateAction. pic.twitter.com/JqVGenHdw8

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 18, 2023

 

The Climate Cult says CO2 harms girls and women (whatever those are). But aren’t these the same people taking jobs, promotions, titles, and trophies from women and giving them to men dressed as women? That would mean the CO2 responsible is coming directly from their chattering pie holes, in which case the only action I can see that’s needed is for them to stop doing that.

Unless you’d like to argue that rising CO2 is responsible for gender dysphoria, which results in more men parodying women who take jobs, promotions, titles, and trophies from them to the applause of progressive globalists.

There is a direct connection between rising CO2 crime and violence in Democrat-run cities. We can also see that as CO2 has increased, education outcomes in public schools have declined. And while that appears conclusive, it’s not. The problem seems not to be CO2 but Democrats. Places where they have little or no control, have significantly less crime and violence and much better educational outcomes.

That is also true regarding the economy, energy costs, the value of the dollar, and a manifold of factors like quality of life, life expectancy, and family savings. The more Democrats we have, the worse the outcomes in every category.

Women are also less likely to be assaulted by predatory men pretending to be women to gain access to them in bathrooms, locker rooms, and even prisons.

The problem, as we can see, is not rising CO2 but rising Left-Wing political interference. If you want to create a better world for women (and everyone else), the solution is to lower the political emissions of Democrats, by which I mean their numbers in elected office.

 

 

HT | RCSB

The post UN Says CO2 Hurts Women and Girls – Is That Why Men Keep Ending Up In Their Bathrooms? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Al Sharpton and before him Jesse Jackson, created their careers on racism. They have stoked division and kept the concept of systemic racism alive because it was a revenue stream they needed to satisfy their greed.

There has never been a racially-centered event in my lifetime where one or both of these men were front and center. They profess to be men of the holy cloth, but in reality, they are men of the bloody cloth. Give them a crisis, a shooting victim, or any event that involves people of two colors, and Al is on the horn getting his first-class tickets. You can always find him front and center at the memorial service but rarely at the conference table, working on solutions. Solutions do not have the impact of an emotional eulogy.

You will rarely see The Good Reverend Al in Chicago speaking out against Black-on-Black violence because the Windy City does not fit his narrative. He is only interested in black victims of white acts. Sharpton has his platforms on MSNBC and his National Action Network. He could use these platforms to educate the Black and Brown communities, but spawning hatred is far more profitable.

Al was present at the service this week for Jordan Neely, who died in a New York subway car after being subdued by a rider who saw him as a threat to the passengers in the car. The case is still under investigation, but that did not stop Al from using his time in the spotlight to condemn Marine veteran Daniel Perry. Sharpton is playing judge and jury to placate the black community in Harlem, demanding justice for Neely.

Sharpton is a dangerous man, and this is the perfect time for a man with his reach and talents to start defining how he will impact the 2024 elections. Communities like Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are at a boiling point. The Blacks and Browns are feeling maligned by the Whites, but they are also being squeezed for services by the illegal migrants who are transported from the Border to these major cities. This crisis is the perfect storm for Sharpton to stoke the flames of racism.

Systemic Racism in America is a myth. It is also a tool used to leverage power, and Al is a master at keeping the aura of racism alive. He feeds on it and parses it to his flock. In 2020, Al jumped on the Reparations Bandwagon and used it as a litmus test for the Presidential candidates. As the movement for reparations has intensified, you can count on Al Sharpton to work it locally and nationally. He will probably join forces with Cori Bush (D-MO) and her drive for a national plan to address reparations. The Bush plan has a price tag of $16 Trillion, but that means nothing on the Left. Just throw it on the tab and stop whining.

Blacks should see through this ruse. Reparations, like Student Loan Forgiveness, is an empty promise to garner votes. Gavin Newsom formed the Reparations Committee in California, and when they came back with their recommendations, he squashed it, but it had already paid dividends. The reparations carrot was dangled in front of Blacks before the 2022 election, and it paid off with votes cast for Democrats. It may work in 2024, but that carrot must be dipped in chocolate to work again.

 

The post Al Sharpton, The CEO Of Racism Inc appeared first on Granite Grok.

Irony alert. A candidate for elected office had their press conference delayed so the police could arrive and then remove a credentialed reporter who would ask questions about her party’s plans to defund … the police.

 

A video posted by the Counter Signal shows [Independent Canadian journalist Keean] Bexte telling an NDP staffer that he wanted to ask Notley why “a half dozen of her candidates have supported anti-police rhetoric, including actively defunding the police.”

“They’ve supported it and in practice done it. And now that the new Janet Brown poll is coming out, saying that over 50% of Albertans are supporting Danielle Smith. Does she think it’s time to discipline these candidates or re-tweak the anti-police message?” he added.

The press conference was delayed for a time to ensure it did not start until the police came.

 

The reporter says he was charged with trespassing. He’s a credentialed reporter at a press conference. Trespassing? And I get this is Canada and not the US, but this is common practice for tyrants, and those aspiring to the title are taking notes.

He wasn’t ignored, asked to leave, or shown the door. He was arrested and charged. Does she know Gov, Chris Sununu?

And the irony is rich and deep. If Notley gets elected, and her party has whatever passes for a majority in the provincial government, and they defund the police, who will they call to remove pesky reporters, then? Grief Counselors. Gender therapists. Armed agents from the Ministry of Truth? Party mercenaries?

Don’t laugh. Canada has been trampling whatever passes for speech and press rights in The Great Dominion for decades. Just ask Mark Stein about that. Commissions police speech as a matter of public safety, so calling the coppers to escort the wearer of inconvenient questions before any are asked isn’t a stretch. And I’m no pro, but next time don’t tell the party stooge you intend to throw a rhetorical curve ball at the head of the New Democrat Party.

Or are you required to tell them beforehand? That’s what they do in the US when there’s a Democrat at the podium (new or otherwise). Here are the questions and the answers – welcome to our open and transparent democracy.

The one where the government spies on the Press and taps their phones, and still, they defend the deep state.

And before anyone asks, the cover story for this “rescue mission” is that the press conference was at a private venue, and the owner asked him to leave. When he refused, they called the police to remove the reporter for trespass. But wait, there’s more.

 

Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley had security drag at least two reporters out of her Monday afternoon press conference after days of criticizing Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for limiting reporters to one question per media availability.

 

This April 17th report claims Notley had two reporters removed after at least one member of her party accused Smith of running away from questions about “the chaos and corruption in her government.”

I don’t know Smith from Notley, but I know free Press and free speech. Canada doesn’t protect either, not seriously. And at least one of these candidates is not having “reporters” removed in handcuffs and cited for trespassing, whether on private property or not.

If all it takes to avoid inconvenient questions is to hold all the events at which you will take questions from the Press on private property, what’s to stop them from doing that?

Or they could do what Joe Biden does when he “does” press conferences (which is rare) and pick the reporters whose questions he has been given in advance (with answers) to put on a show for the people – and that’s not a new tactic from the Old Democrats in America.

 

 

HT | Lifesite News

The post Police Asked to Remove a Credentialed Reporter from a Press Conference appeared first on Granite Grok.

For decades, the Democrats called themselves the “Party for the Poor,” the “Party of the common folks,” and the “Party of the Working People.” The last was meant to be the blue-collar workers in the fields, mines, and factories.  Those who toiled but not in the middle to C-level offices.

That their preferred policies tried to reflect that.

No more, as this chart handily shows: WHO are their constituents now?

 

(click to enlarge)

 

And now the blue-collar unions are figuring it out as the Biden Administration is killing off the jobs that the unions highly desired.

The UAW is steamed as auto companies are moving more production offshore as the Administration both raises the cost of building cars but radically changes the auto industry and its economics by mandating via regulation that they only sell EVs.

Pipefitters are livid as tens of thousands of jobs evaporated in the energy market as Biden killed off huge pipelines and did the same to fossil fuel mining and production. On and on and on, jobs that kept the union workers working are being disappeared.

Guess where these former Democrats, shoved by their Progressives, Social Warriors, and Eco-Socialists demands, are going to go with the lure of “Drill, baby, drill”?

The pendulum will swing at some point. After all, the Democrats can’t tell them to “go learn to code” anymore as the Biden Administration is making it easier to bring off-shore IT folks here to take their jobs as well as the new threat of generative A.I. products are starting to take those jobs away.

 

HT |  Powerline

The post Screw The Poor: Proof that Democrats Are The Party of The Rich appeared first on Granite Grok.

Democrats in the House and Senate voted against parental rights when they voted against SB272. SB272 would have established a parental bill of rights in New Hampshire.

Democrats said they were standing up for the LBGTQ community because of the provision in SB272 that would have required school staff to answer parents honestly if they asked about their child’s gender status in school. Much of this comes from the model school policy JBAB that was recommended by the NH School Boards Association several years ago. Since then, and after a couple of lawsuits, the NHSBA removed their recommendation. It’s important to note that the NHSBA also opposed SB272. Do you get the feeling the lobbying organization that parents fund out of their school budget doesn’t have much respect for them?

A few years ago Kristie Torbick was praised for her work as a beloved guidance counselor in Bedford, and then worked at Exeter High School. A few months later, she pleaded guilty to raping a child at Exeter High School! Kristie groomed a sexually confused girl.

She had the student babysit her children and met her at playgrounds to sexually assault her, all under the guise of “counseling.” Parents need to know what’s happening with their children, but Democrats want parents to be kept in the dark.

Yesterday ALL of the Democrats in the NH House VOTED to support school personnel like Torbick LYING to parents about their children. Torbick would have been supported by Democrats, the NHSBA, the ACLU, these NH school board members, and every other organization that testified against parents, and in support of school staff lying to parents.

Predators who work in our schools have a better chance of abusing children now because LYING to parents is acceptable.  Every Democrat New Hampshire Senator and Representative voted against parental rights, and in support of lying to parents.

Telling children that they will keep secrets allows for a predator to groom the child, just as Torbick did to this victim.

Democrats also made sure that this legislation cannot be brought back up for a vote for two years! They didn’t just remove the provision in the Bill that they said they opposed; they killed the entire Bill for two years. This was never about standing up for the LGBTQ community because those parents have rights too. Why didn’t they bring forward a parental rights bill that eliminated the provision they opposed? They had the power to rewrite the Bill the way they wanted it but chose instead to KILL a parental bill of rights.

As a parental rights advocate in New Hampshire, it is shameful that Democrats now stand against parental rights. All of their talk about supporting parents is not true. If it was true, they would have amended the Bill to reflect their support for parental rights.

The only ones who benefit from this vote are the employees like Kristie Torbick, who have not been caught yet.

 

The post New Hampshire Democrat Vote Favors Child Molesters Over Parents appeared first on Granite Grok.

It never ends, does it? The Left never stops, never gives up. We who simply just want to be left alone and want Government to do what we pay it to do and nothing more and nothing less have to learn that lesson. “You WILL be made to care” (Erick Erickson) you can add “If you try to be a speedbump to their agenda, ya’d better bring yer mob of other speedbumps”. The lesson is that we can’t stop either. I just wish I could enthuse more Normals that while we do have to pick up and wage war in the Culture War the Left has brought (WE certainly didn’t bring Transgenderism, Childism, and Porno books into school), we should look at it as a way to amuse ourselves while doing it. They certainly don’t like Happy Warriors looking back at them (they have little sense of humor and a dour outlook).

And today, a new couple asked for some help writing RSA 91-A Right To Know demands as their School District has been blowing them off – Welcome to our Party!  And there is a larger and larger Party growing (as always, pretty much all is reformatted and emphasis is mine):

• Parents Are Suing Schools Over Pronoun Policies. Here’s What You Need to Know

While the battle over transgender students’ rights at school is waged nationwide, a handful of parents continue to argue that by aiding in students’ social transitions, districts are violating parental rights. Over the last three years, parents in at least six states have sued school districts over policies the districts say support transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary students. The parents who have filed the lawsuits claim that their 14th Amendment rights to direct the upbringing of their children are violated when schools do not inform them of their children’s pronouns or names, or aid in their social transition at school in any other way.

Now, if you go there, remember one thing: Ed Week is a bit of an “Edu-Industrial Complex” trade rag – they are not friendly “outsiders”. WE are the interlopers that are to be dismissed. Note that their stand is that Districts MUST “support” transgenders. In effect, Normal kids are discriminated against and that Free Speech, Freedom of Expression (of religious values), and Constitutional Rights of Parents are the Primary entities in raising their children.  And Chris Erchull, a lawyer for GLAD (who is following GraniteGrok) makes it clear that E Pluribus Unum no longer is in effect such that transgender kids have a higher status than Normal kids:

Chris Erchull, an attorney for GLAD, a legal organization that defends LGBTQ+ rights: “To meet that obligation, schools must support students by, at the bare minimum, dignifying them when they say, ‘this is my name, and [these are] the pronouns that I want to use.’”

Frankly, I don’t care, and I think most parents would agree, with what you call yourself. We DO care that Districts are destroying the First Amendment to “dignify them” while denigrating others. It’s really STUPID that America is being changed in that everyone is being known NOT for their character (honor, courage, decency, manners, knowledge, work ethic) but for what is (or isn’t) between your legs.  We don’t CARE what your sexuality is – drop it and leave it in your bedroom.

Want safer schools? While this goes back to April, it IS a way to harden schools against mass shootings. After all, the nutcase transgender (you have to be really mentally ill to take revenge by killing innocent children) who shot up the Christian Covenant School chose that over a different target that she (using the pronoun that fit her biological sex) had evaluated because the other had a more heightened security environment.

• Gov. Bill Lee To Propose Plan To Put Armed Guard In Every Tennessee School

Every Tennessee private and public school will have the resources necessary to hire an armed guard if Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) gets his plan through a Republican-led legislature.

Next week, Lee will propose a plan to funnel millions of dollars to public and private schools to beef up security following the mass shooting at a Nashville Christian elementary school on Monday. Lee’s plan would place an armed school resource officer (SRO) in every public school and provide funding for private schools to hire armed guards with the same level of training as those in public schools. Private schools would not be forced to join in on the program, The Tennessean reported.

That bill passed and now is in force. The Leftist politicians are always yammering “It’s for the kids!” but have refused to do the same things for those same kids that they themselves have – armed bodyguards and other security measures. Republican Bill Lee has done the right thing!

And then we come to another kind of nutcase embedded in a school environment. Read this next headline and try to think of all the bad ramifications this could have:

• School superintendent: male coaches don’t want naked girls in the locker room, but they should

Assistant Superintendant sic] of the Glendale California Unified School District Kelly King explained in a video call that male coaches feel uncomfortable being in a locker room with trans-identified males walking around naked. This is unsurprising since adult men and naked young girls don’t shouldn’t be mixing. King, though, lectures them that since these are not girls, but boys, they should be fine with it.

Once again, I can call my now elderly dog a racing horse but they aren’t going to let Mieka run in Churchill Downs anytime soon. Or let me identify as a 6’8″ Black power forward in the NBA at almost 70 years old (you racist ageists who ignore what my “authentic self” is!!!!  heh!).  While this Kelly King gal is smirking about this, she must be a misandrist in nature. Sure, subject those male coaches to an environment that anywhere else would get them arrested for being a Peeping Tom (at best) to being, as the post says, a sexual predator. And being that these girls-masquerading-as-“boys” are underage, throw in pedophiles as well. I guess that smirk is for how many years those coaches will be subjected to a different kind of shower environment. But to these transgender-its supporters, it’s this next bit that is key:

But Ms. King is, of course, completely wedded to gender ideology. She appears to see a boy when a girl stands in front of her, and demands that everybody else does too. The comfort of every other person in the world is irrelevant, including both the coaches and the other students. Nobody matters but the alphabet people. Nobody.

Including the parents, whose wishes are also irrelevant. She is perfectly happy to hide what kids do from the parents, up to the point of skirting state law about record-keeping. Abiding by the wishes of the parents is just perfect, but only as long as the parents abide by the wishes of the school.

Boy, have *I* found that to be true! Chris Erchull (of GLAAD employment, above) is responding with a rousing “Huzzah”! Both of those paragraphs PERFECT summarize the situation we Normal people are in – even as Transgenders are crying that we are trying to “erase” them, the gaslighting fact is that the show is on the other foot. It is Erchull’s job to make that happen.

And now there are health professionals that are starting to buck the “peer struggle” that people like Erchull have been using to scapegoat the rest of us by “shading” the medical studies that now, for SOME obvious reason, are not being shown -so why is that and is it for “medical” reasons or others?

• Doctors Expose Just How Experimental ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ Truly Is in Florida Medicaid Case

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Psychiatrists, endocrinologists, neurologists, and other doctors testified in support of a Florida health agency’s rule preventing Medicaid from funding various forms of “gender-affirming care,” such as “puberty-blockers,” cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgeries.

“Patients suffering from gender dysphoria or related issues have a right to be protected from experimental, potentially harmful treatments lacking reliable, valid, peer-reviewed, published, long-term scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness,” Dr. Paul Hruz, an endocrinology researcher and clinician at Washington University School of Medicine, wrote in a sworn affidavit provided exclusively to The Daily Signal. (Endocrinologists treat the endocrine system, which uses hormones to control metabolism, reproduction, growth, and more.)

Hruz joined with other doctors in testifying in support of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, which finalized a rule in August 2022, declaring that Medicaid would not cover “puberty blockers,” cross-sex hormones, “sex-reassignment” surgeries, or other procedures that alter primary or secondary sex characteristics.

So what does the Left always does when it can’t get its way?  Sue. Were they successful?

…In denying that temporary injunction, the court ruled in October that the case centers on whether Florida’s determination that the transgender interventions are “experimental” is “reasonable.”

…Hruz and other doctors argue that the medical interventions often described as “gender-affirming care” are experimental and that the organizations that present standards of care supporting them—the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the Endocrine Society—represent more a political and advocacy effort than an objective analysis supporting these alleged treatments.

AHCA asked WPATH and the Endocrine Society to hand over the documents they used to craft their treatment protocols, but the organizations at first declined, then handed over a limited selection of documents that AHCA found insufficient. AHCA calls “the continued reluctance” of these organizations “significant, especially when [the LGBT groups] and their experts rely extensively on the WPATH standards of care and the Endocrine Society’s guidelines.”

…While “WPATH claims to speak for the medical profession,” it “represents a self-selected subset of the profession along with its many non-professional members” and it “does not welcome skepticism and therefore deviates from the philosophical core of medical science,” Levine writes.

…Levine explicitly calls transition and affirmation “experimental therapies that have not been shown to improve mental or physical health outcomes by young adulthood,” and warns that these therapies “do not decrease, and may increase, the risk of suicide.”

He further warns that hormonal interventions “are experimental procedures that have not been proven safe.” So-called puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones can have negative effects on fertility, bone density, brain development, and psychosocial well-being.

Enough of that for a bit – what about what schools are supposed to teach?  And the methodologies used?  Or in this case, a time honored practice that most of us hated but, in retrospect, knew it worked? Yeah, drop-kicked for being racist (what ISN’T racist nowadays? Shouldn’t the question be a different one?

• Maryland School District Reviewing Policies to See If Homework Is Racist, Negatively Impacts ‘Marginalized Communities’

…Montgomery County Public Schools will reevaluate its homework policies, last updated in 1986, “with an antiracism lens” to determine how homework affects “social-emotional learning” and whether it negatively impacts “marginalized communities,” according to a Daily Signal review of a March 16 Board of Education meeting.   Proponents of anti-racism say that America is systemically racist and that racism is built into nearly every institution. They say that just being against racism is not enough—one must be anti-racist and actively work to tear down these institutions.

The homework policy review follows the release of Montgomery County’s “anti-racist” audit results in October 2022. The audit raised concerns about “inequitable expectations, practices, and transparency” in terms of homework policy, according to a slideshow on the policy revision framework.

Ho-hum.  You know, EVERYTHING that is wrong, according to the Left, is the result of some “-ism”. Racism is just one of them and an easy one to hide behind. And IMHO, that’s what its being done. How about install real school discipline? Putting in a great dose academic rigor and setting the expectation by everyone that students should excel – and getting that into these young, skulls full of mush kids that have been molly-coddled too much by school administrators that “fear the woke mobs” instead of Parents turning on them for churning out inferior results:

…The homework policy review comes as new mid-year Evidence of Learning standards in the district show that less than half of sixth grade students met math standards and only 52.6% of third graders met literacy standards.

But that would take Parents turning on them for churning out inferior results – which doesn’t seem to be in evidence. But one thing is very sure, given that schools are turning themselves in taxpayer sponsored emotional sanitariums – and creating permanent life-long victims:

While claiming to equip children with the ability to manage emotions, feel empathy for others, and maintain positive relationships, social-emotional learning integrates critical race theory throughout the education system.

The school district outside Washington, D.C., says it will adjust its homework policies in accord with those of comparable Maryland districts, including Howard County Public Schools, which has “flexible deadlines” for homework assignments, and Frederick County Public Schools, which instructs teachers not to grade all homework assignments to avoid “reveal[ing] biases.”

So do the homework while the kids will never know if it made a difference. Are the headhonchos that stupid to not realize that the kids aren’t that stupid to waste their time doing something that will never matter? At least one Mom gets it:

“Our scores are going down—reading, mathematics, science,” she said. “But they’re spending money and wasting money on something absurd like this.”

Add this as well: Schools axe homework, deadlines in the name of equity: Report

And Government, either in the schools, cities, or the States, keep pushing Childism by actively pushing for any excuse to remove children from their parents. A couple of “quicker takes”:

• In California, parents may soon effectively lose custody of kids 12 and older

In California, “stranger danger” may be about to acquire a whole new meaning. Forget warning kids. It’s the parents in California who will need to be terrified of strangers if a new bill passes. Snuck into AB 665, legislation ostensibly about extending mental health care to lower-income California youths, is a provision that effectively would terminate parents’ rights over their kids as soon as they turn 12.

The California Family Council warns that this bill “would allow children as young as 12 years old to consent to being placed into state funded group homes without parental permission or knowledge.” As long as a mental health professional signs off on it, the kids can go to such a group home—and it doesn’t matter what their parents think.

“This bill is essentially stating that parents are criminals that have to prove their innocence to get their child back,” adds Friday, who is a leader of the parent advocacy group Our Duty.

And by “mental health”, they mean for LGBT children. This, too, is another example of Government taking your children’s future from you – another District forcing their staff to lie to parents (by omission or commision) – just like in my school district, Gilford NH, and in Manchester’s (also NH) school district:

• Teacher says she was told to deceive ‘suspicious’ parents about children’s stated gender identities at school — now she’s suing

…The cable network said attorneys for Mirabelli and fellow teacher Lori Ann West — both of whom taught for decades at Rincon Middle School in Escondido — filed a federal lawsuit last week against the school’s leadership, claiming they were effectively required to lie to parents whose children assumed different gender identities at school.

The lawsuit, which was also filed against administrators with the Escondido Union School District (EUSD) and the California State Board of Education, alleged that the K-8 school district’s harassment and discrimination policies mandated teachers to accept a child’s transgender or gender diverse identity without hesitation and to hide it from families.

The suit also claims they were instructed to use students’ preferred names and pronouns in school, but to revert to their biological pronouns and given names when speaking with their parents. Teachers were told to tell “a suspicious parent” that they were allowed only to discuss “information regarding the student’s behavior as it relates to school, class rules, assignments, etc.,” according to the suit.

…While she was figuring out how to approach the situation, Mirabelli told Fox News she learned from the school counselor that students’ names were being changed in official school records without parental knowledge or consent.

So it’s Canada so I’m a bit shakier ground than talking about the US Constitution but there’s this that mirrors our First Amendment:

The “Fundamental Freedoms” section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states:

2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:(a) freedom of conscience and religion;

(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
(d) freedom of association.

Yet, just like our Constitutional Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression, it seems that the new State sanctioned secular religion of Sexuality trumps deeply held doctrines of faith:

• Catholic Student Arrested After School Suspension for Saying God Created Only Two Genders

A Roman Catholic student in Canada who was suspended for saying that God created only two genders has now been arrested. On Monday, The Western Journal reported on the story of 16-year-old Josh Alexander, who was suspended from St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in Renfrew, Ontario, after saying in class that there are only two genders and leading a protest against trans athletes using the girls’ locker room. The suspension was justified on the grounds that his presence would be “detrimental to the physical and mental well-being” of the transgender students at the school.

“I expressed my religious beliefs in class and it spiraled out of control,” Alexander told The Epoch Times in an interview. His attorney is bringing the matter to an Ontario human rights tribunal, alleging religious discrimination.

…This is a really disturbing case, and it is especially disturbing that it happened at a Catholic school, which one would think would acknowledge the biblical truth that there are only two genders.

Indeed – yet another religious institution that got the Woke and has lost its connection and fealty to its First Principles.

• How about we stop putting books with pornography in school libraries?

Moms for Liberty was launched in 2021 and now claims 275 chapters in 45 states with 115,000 members and counting. The group has grown exponentially after bringing attention to books like “Genderqueer” in school libraries, which the moms have deemed inappropriate. “Never bet against a mom,” Justice said in the CBS interview, “I mean, nobody’s going to defend anything like a mom is going to defend their child.”

…She continued, “We want people who are serving an elected office [to] respect the role of the parent in a child’s life.”

When the “CBS News Sunday Morning” host asked what kind of books they want in libraries, Descovich said they want books that “educate children.”

The host called her answer a “generalization,” and Justice interrupted.

“Books that don’t have pornography in them. Let’s start there. Let’s just put the bar really, really low. Books that don’t have incest, pedophilia,” she retorted.

The host then went quiet.



There is no reason, NONE AT ALL, as to why porn has to be in our school libraries. The Woke /  Trans folks (but I repeat myself) say it is for the “marginalized communities”. Frankly, that’s a stupid dodge and they expect us to swallow that codswallop in one big gulp and like it.

Horsepuckey. There is a reason for it and it isn’t for the marginalized – its meant for conversion of young minds that don’t understand it’s wrong. It’s also evilness being brought against our kids by evil adults that are in on the Woke con.

Remember: “We don’t care about you – we have your kids”.

Don’t let them.

The post Suing over Pronouns, Homework is Racist, Armed Guards in All TN Schools, and More! – Stack of Stuff #47 appeared first on Granite Grok.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s presidential campaign announcement speech on Wednesday included much that advocates of limiting the power of the United Sates government can cheer, including strong criticism of the US government’s crackdown in the name of countering coronavirus and of the series of wars in which the US government has engaged from Vietnam to Ukraine. We’ll be watching and listening as Kennedy in the coming months expands on this criticism and discusses his promised different approach.

Early in his speech and immediately following announcing that he had decided to seek the Democratic Party presidential nomination, Kennedy stated what will be the focus of his campaign and, should he win the election, his presidency. Declared Kennedy: “My mission over the next 18 months of this campaign and throughout my presidency will be to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism in our country, to commoditize our children, our ‘purple mountains majesty,’ to poison our children and our people with chemicals and pharmaceutical drugs, to strip mine our assets, to hollow out the middle class, and keep us in a constant state of war.”

Coming back to this theme later in his speech, Kennedy stated:

All I am saying is you need a president at this time in history who can stand up to his bureaucracy. The bureaucracies are owned by the industries. I’m talking about, you know, NIH and EPA and CDC and FDA and DoT. That train track wreck would not have happened in East Palestine except we have a captive agency at DoT. Our food is terrible because the food companies and the pesticide companies own USDA. We’re in constant wars because the military-industrial complex, the big contractors, own CIA.

Kennedy proceeded to note that he believes most people at the CIA are “patriots” and “good public servants” with “enormous courage and idealism.” That, continued Kennedy, “is the same with most our agencies.” But, he explained, “the problem is the people who end up rising in those agencies generally are people who are in the tank with industry, and that’s how they get corrupted.”

As you watch Kennedy’s presidential campaign proceed, keep these comments from his campaign announcement speech in mind. They will likely be important for well understanding his future comments and proposals.

Kennedy’s ability to gain support in the race may end up largely dependent on his ability to bring along voters to understand and agree with both his take on the “corrupt merger of state and corporate power” and his pitch that, as president, he would successfully counter that problem.

 

Copyright © 2023 by RonPaul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.

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A few hours ago, Skip shared NOAA’s predictions for the summer weather – above Average temps and normal or slightly above for precipitation. And this is where I remind everyone how bad NOAA is at this.

Political science has taken over at the agency, so it is difficult to take anything they say seriously – and recent failures do not help matters. They totally blew last year’s hurricane forecast and then guessed wrong again for most of their winter prediction. If NOAA’s confidence is high, yours should be low, at least around here, especially given the El Nino situation.

We’ve been expecting it, the El Nino, and it’s coming, but there’s no conclusive data one way or the other to show us what that means for weather in New England. None I can find. But the warnings and the big red-brown-yellow maps are on the loose, and that means Climate Cult Zombies and their digital sandwich boards predicting the end of the world on every virtual street corner.

The end of the world unless you give them your property. A sort of personal belongings drought that never ends. And on the subject of drought, New Hampshire is still in one of its wettest periods in history which suggests – using their science – that higher CO2 concentrations equal less drought (more rain), but that’s not entirely accurate.

Let’s look at the entire country from 1895 to 2023. There is (net) zero evidence of any relationship between the “emissions” and how wet or dry it is.

 

USPA Wet Dry US 1895-2023 NOAA

The CO2 line would be an upward-angled curve from the bottom left (Jan 1895) to the top right (Apr 2023): nearly 130 years of “climate” data and no correlation. But in reality, Fake news, CNN is all in on the El Nino scaremongering.

 

Scientists consider 1.5 degrees of warming as a key tipping point, beyond which the chances of extreme flooding, drought, wildfires and food shortages could increase dramatically. https://t.co/k3FwSnhIQ6

— CNN (@CNN) May 17, 2023

 

I don’t spend much time reacting to that sort of Twitter garbage, but I couldn’t resist.

 

I remember when a rise of 1.0 Degree C was the end of the world (2005)? We passed that, and nothing happened, so they moved the goalposts.https://t.co/egOrGnYt9M https://t.co/SMeBLEeORs

— Steve Mac Donald (@TheRealNHSteve) May 19, 2023

The fact that the “earth” has warmed 4.0C since 1750 without anything going sideways is also mentioned at that link which means we’ve come a long way during our interglacial, but odds are swinging back the other way. So, when you’ll need cheap, abundant energy more than ever, the Climate Cult’s political allies are working overtime to limit access.

And much like NOAA’s predictive ability, there’s no science to it. It is wild conjecture, and since NOAA is hit or miss most of the time just a few months out, the failure rate any further into the future is exponentially ridiculous, as is basing any policy on it.

So, yes, we’ll be watching to see how badly they called it, with the caveat that even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

 

The post Since Skip Mentioned NOAA and Drought… There’s No Evidence Connecting CO2 and Drought (Or NOAA and Predictions) appeared first on Granite Grok.

Educators often use the metaphor of the three-legged stool to convey the ideal parent-teacher-child relationship.  If one leg is weakened, the stool inevitably becomes unstable.  Over the past few years, this three-legged stool has become more and more wobbly.

We want to thank NH State Rep. Arlene Quaratiello for this Op-Ed. Please submit yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.

Last Thursday, one of the three legs broke as the New Hampshire House of Representatives failed to pass the Parental Bill of Rights (SB272).  This bill sought to strengthen the three-legged stool, ensuring that students, teachers, and parents could have cooperated in a partnership that would have worked in the best interests of children.   It was intended to enshrine in law that the relationship of these three groups be based on truth and respect, two values that must be highly upheld in any free society.

The House Democrats, along with the help of a few nominal Republicans, “indefinitely postponed” the bill, ensuring that parental rights cannot be discussed again during this current term of the current legislators.  Before this motion was passed, an all-ought assault was launched on SB272 as a group of representatives with no regard for parental rights sought to gut it with a number of pernicious amendments.

In addition to those parental rights already codified in law, SB272 sought to grant parents the right to ask questions pertaining to issues of gender identity and to be truthfully answered by school personnel.  It would have prohibited the current policies of some school districts which demand that school personnel give parents erroneous information regarding their children, information that contradicts the reality of what is actually going on in the classroom.  In other words, this bill asserted that familiar age-old mandate “You shall not lie” upon which free societies have always been based.

The failure to pass the Parental Bill of Rights and to legally uphold the right to get truthful answers to questions will destroy parents’ trust in their children’s schools. Since it sends the clear message that parents are not respected, the defeat of this bill will be “the last straw” for many parents who have been considering alternatives to public education.  Now that SB272 has failed, the noticeable decline in public school enrollment that began in response to detrimental COVID policies will likely accelerate as more and more parents abandon a governmental education system that obviously considers their children mere wards of the state.

Since the legislature did not pass the Parental Bill of Rights, the three-legged stool of our public education system can no longer stand.  In fact, the use of this metaphor has become ludicrous.  If our laws fail to reflect our deepest values as a society, if they don’t assert parental authority, prohibit secrets and lies, and uphold the importance of “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” our democracy itself might not survive.  We need only look to historical precedent—the Communist Russian Revolution’s “Family Code” of 1918, Hitler’s Youth, and the Maoist Cultural Revolution—to see what happens when parental rights are not upheld and truth is no longer considered essential.  We can also look to literature, in particular Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, a novel that portrays a dystopian society that seems more believable with each passing day—a society in which the state not only believes that it is more qualified to raise children than parents themselves but in which parents have been completely eliminated.  To counteract this toxic mindset, parents must assert their God-given authority.  They will have the opportunity to do this at the ballot box in 2024 when they can elect candidates who will truly support parental rights and restore the three-legged stool that upholds our society.

Rep. Arlene Quaratiello
Atkinson
Education Committee Member

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My mother passed away at the age of 77. Her life in China was tragic, and it took me a while to write about her life and death because I had to confront the complex feelings and meaning of her legacy.

I loved my mother for her kind and gentle soul. She was meek, although often in ways I did not understand: bulliable, submissive, & conflict-averse. Her interactions with China Communist Party (CCP) officials were characterized by obedience and tolerance to their inhumane treatment of people like herself & I was long haunted by a childhood memory illustrating the aforementioned, where she got on her knees and begged a CCP official for a raise at her factory job. She sacrificed her dignity only to be cruelly denied. I used to assume I was entirely my father’s child, as he was a fighter whose strength was like the factory steel he worked: firm, resilient, & tough. I spent my life assuming that my defiant nature was the product of my father, but now I am not so sure.

In an unremarkable village in Penshan, China, a sickly child cursed by fate was born. Her mother believed her too weak to survive & left her to die in peace, yet the child refused. Fighting through labored breathing, she produced a cry so loud & enduring that her mother could no longer ignore it. She fed that night & would live to see the morning. The child that defied a peaceful death for a difficult life was my mother.

Growing up poor with an elementary education resigned her to a life of labor in a state-run factory in the capital of Sichuan. The oppression of her social condition was matched by her physicality: measuring under five feet tall, she was frail & strongly nearsighted. Despite this, she won the love & adoration of my father, an illiterate orphan whom she married & blessed with three children. Raising children under Mao’s regime was an arduous burden. We lived in a primitive worker’s row house sharing one restroom & faucet with 8 families. Our mud floor would sprout mushrooms after flooding; we were dirt-poor.

In spite of this, my mother’s heart never hardened. She was known for approaching beggars in the street with small gifts & the words: “Buddha bless you!” Her generosity defied the cruelty of her reality. Despite this, she found happiness in music (which she only sang after a little Chinese moonshine). She was elegant, clean, & loved pretty, pink clothing, which was frowned upon under Mao’s regime. Using what little money, she saved to buying pink fabrics was a small act of defiance against Mao’s Cultural Revolution.

Happiness was often short-lived, however, as she was ill most of the time and required frequent care in the decrepit state-run Chinese hospitals; a product of socialized medicine. While undergoing surgery in the eighties she received a blood transfusion infected with syphilis that was discovered a decade later when I brought my mother to the United States. Despite a course of antibiotics, her brain had already suffered the consequences of neurosyphilis. She displayed signs of dementia at the age of 60. Though ill, America offered my mother a degree of peace, even if it was momentary. She & my father converted to Christianity & lived peacefully, attending a Chinese church every Sunday. In the end, her advanced dementia collided with COVID-19 & after being hospitalized, she died in 2020.

My mother’s legacy is one of defiance. It began with a cry that defied death, lived through compassion that defied pain, & endures in me. This revelation testifies to the miracle of God’s design; subtle, yet purposeful. For God imbues in each of us a part of his divine essence. For my mother, she bore the suffering & submission to pain that Christ knew; not out of weakness, but out of love for her family, so that they may have survived. She embraced God’s Word that we defy evil not through the hardening of our hearts, but through turning the other cheek & committing to compassion.

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