At the Moment, Food, Life, Politics

Playing Chicken

Dude – we got chickens.

When Kevin first proposed getting chickens I thought he was joking. But then when he looked me in the eye and told me he was serious, I thought he had lost his mind.

Chickens? I don’t like animals, why would we get chickens?!

And before you animal lovers sit back, cross your arms and sniff in disdain, I didn’t say I hate animals, I don’t like animals. I don’t like owning them. I don’t like how noisy, smelly and costly they are. I don’t like the work it requires to take care of them. Call me lazy, I won’t argue, but I like animals if someone else owns them.

Kevin wanted to get chickens for a few reasons:

  1. He wanted to see if he could raise chickens. He wanted the challenge. He’s crazy like that.
  2. He was curious to see what it would take to raise chickens – what kind of food would they eat? Where would he house them? Could he keep them alive and safe from predators?
  3. If, (when), the world goes to Hell in a handbasket, was he capable of being self-sufficient enough to provide for his family?

We’ve always been fascinated by people who live off grid. What a life that must be! To actually set yourself up in a house, away from the city, and build an energy infrastructure so you didn’t have to rely on the government for power, sewer, water … to grow your own food so that you didn’t have to rely on artificial preservatives, grocery stores … TAXES.

I watched a few YouTubers that have done exactly that – built a life for themselves completely off grid. It looks like a lot of work, (remember – I’m inherently lazy) and wow – you spend all of your waking moments thinking about where your next meal is going to come from and making sure you have enough basic supplies to live semi-comfortably.

But I could do it. I wouldn’t WANT to do it, but I COULD do it. And I KNOW Kevin could do it. In fact, I think he would THRIVE on it because he’s one of those men who thrive on challenges and has the smarts to just figure it out. He’s one of the best problem solvers I’ve ever met in my life. He’s also very handy and can pretty much figure out how to build, or how to fix, anything.

He’s a Jack-of-all-trades kind of man.

I think anticipating the world to end might have been the biggest deciding factor to actually buying the chickens. In case you haven’t been paying attention to all of these food plants catching fire, the skyrocketing price of food and how the government has started the subliminal, (and perhaps not so subliminal) message of EAT BUGS, THEY ARE GOOD FOR YOU campaign, it feels a little like our government is trying to starve us out of a hostage situation.

Not to mention, the crap – the additives, the preservatives – the government puts in our food and water, (like Fluoride in our water), “for our health” and well, you have to wonder if that is one of the many reasons people are sick and need medications.

(Medications means Big Pharma – ah – definitely a topic for another day).

But, back to the chickens.

He bought six chickens. And Oh. My. Gosh. They were SO CUTE when they were little!!! Cheeping away in the box he set up for them. Sunning themselves under the heat lamp. Kevin watched a lot of YouTube videos and spoke to some people at the Farm/Feed stores about how to care for the chickens. He worked hard to make sure they were well cared for and they thrived.

He did have one, the runt in the group, that wasn’t growing as fast as the others and when he did some research he learned that the runt had “poopy butt.”

And henceforth, that was the chick’s name, by the way.

Sometimes chicks will not be able to drop their poop and it sticks to their butts. As you can imagine, this causes problems and some chickens die if it’s not dealt with. So. Kevin went in and dug the poop out and the chicken not only survived, he/she thrived.

He’s nothing if not committed. Ha!

The chicks stayed in their box for a few weeks (?) and then graduated to a bigger, plastic tub and stayed in the tub for another few weeks (?), (I’m estimating the time here because I didn’t really pay much attention to his “projects”), while he worked to make a “home” for them.

I don’t believe I’ve mentioned that they currently live at the rental house across the street from us. The same house that LeRoy and the boys are currently living in. Not sure how the boys actually felt about co-habituating with chickens, I think they reacted to dad’s “experiment” the same way as me, just shook their heads and moved on with their lives, but that’s where they live now.

The rental house has a fenced in back yard and a shed. (It also has a pool which I worried about – what if the chickens fall in? Can they swim? Will the chemicals morph them into a science fiction character?). So he worked on making the shed into their home. He made a little door for them to go in/out and some ladder thingie for them to roost on when they got larger. He rigged up some sort of contraption for them to get water from, (like a pipe with holes in it), though ultimately I think he figured out it didn’t work that great. But my point is, he built them a home and when they were finally big enough to let out of the plastic tub and run around the backyard, they were living like chicken kings and queens.

We watched them grow up into ugly, red chickens. And then we watched with bated breath to see how many, if any, roosters we may have had because believe it or not, you can’t really tell right away.

I was especially nervous about the roosters because we live within the city limits and we’re not supposed to have roosters within the city limits. Now usually I’m not a big government rule kind of girl but this one I understood – our neighbors would not appreciate waking up every morning to a chorus of crowing roosters, I’m sure.

I didn’t want to wake up to a chorus of crowing roosters.

Kevin started experimenting with what to feed them. He often took our leftovers (a bucket we fondly labeled, the slop bucket), over to the chickens to see if they would eat it. They pretty much ate everything but they didn’t like watermelon or carrots but they LOVED bread.

Chickens after my own heart. Ha!

And of course, they LOVE bugs. In fact, quite by accident, Kevin had a bucket underneath an outside house light when he discovered that the bugs that swarm these lights at night would drop into this bucket, (I guess because they got too close to the light??), and for some reason, couldn’t figure out how to get out so by the next day, the bottom of the bucket was full of live bugs.

Kevin would take that bucket to them, dump the bugs on the ground and the chickens had a bug smorgasbord – they went NUTS for it.

As I said, they live like chicken kings/queens. It’s also a great way to get rid of the bugs.

Fast forward – the chicks grew up and we didn’t have one, two, or even three roosters, we had FIVE. So, five out of the six chicks he bought were roosters which meant we had to get rid of them. He advertised them on Craig’s List and an Asian lady showed up to take them. I’m sure they ended up on someone’s dinner table, but you know what? I don’t want to know … because I watched these things grow up – lalalalala .. moving on.

(Side note: we didn’t truly know the chickens were roosters until one morning Brandon was in the sun room and a few of them crowed. ha!)

So. We were left with one lone red hen. And she is a pretty hen, too. Fat and spoiled. She follows Kevin around whenever he goes into the backyard. It’s pretty cute, actually. But we still wanted eggs, so Kevin went to some lady .. I think, details are hazy, remember, I can’t keep up with his projects, and he bought five more hens. These were teenage hens, grown enough to know they were hens but not mature enough to lay eggs.

Several weeks went by and … no eggs. Kevin wasn’t sure what he was doing wrong. He was feeding them well, they had a nice shed/roost to sleep away from predators, they didn’t seem stressed, they could get in/out of their house any time they pleased … and still, no eggs.

They were officially on probation. No eggs = chicken soup. (Not that I think Kevin could bring himself to kill the chickens to eat. He said he could but …. I know the man, no way!)

Finally, FINALLY, after weeks of waiting, one hen laid an egg. And a light bulb went on over the other hens’ heads and suddenly, we were getting four/five eggs every day. We had so many eggs at one point that we gave them away to Kevin’s parents and my mom. We had a lot of eggs because I couldn’t bring myself to eat any. And trust me, I LOOOOVE eggs. I don’t know, I just … couldn’t do it. It weirded me out. Which I know sounds stupid because, come on, where do you think eggs in the supermarket come from Karen, but it took me several weeks of making sure Kevin didn’t keel over from food poisoning before I cracked the shell, (see what I did there?) and started eating the eggs.

They’re quite tasty, actually. The yolks are a bright yellow, much brighter than the store-bought eggs. I usually eat three eggs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Yes, on those specific days because I have an eating schedule … more on that in a future post. (I do Intermittent Fasting – STILL).

So now we have a steady stream of farm-fresh eggs from our grandchickens. That’s what we call our chickens because I’m starting to doubt we will actually have any grandchildren the ways things are going now.

Which brings us back to why we wanted our own chickens to begin with.

The coordinated efforts of the US billionaires to decrease our population by tainting our food because of the climate change cult.

STOP.

I can see you rolling your eyes. And maybe I’m completely nuts for going down this rabbit hole but … WHAT IF IT’S TRUE? I mean, think about it, our food is already being injected with all kind of growth hormones, additives, preservatives, CRAP, and animals are being genetically modified in order to produce more, more, MORE food, why is it crazy to think that the elites see an opportunity to inject more nefarious crap? Like, the mRNA from the experimental jab, for example?

You know it’s funny, but when I went to research this topic, I came up with pages and PAGES of “news” sites that debunked the fact that Bill Gates tweeted anything about putting mRNA into our food supply and yet, you see that he did in the above video. Granted, he didn’t specifically mention mRNA but does it really matter? Why do we need our food injected with anything at all?

And it makes me wonder if the cause of a lot of diseases, cancers, aren’t somehow linked to the crap that the government, who care for it’s people and chant like zombies that it’s for the “greater good” aren’t somehow poisoning it’s citizens?

Call me crazy, but I smell rotten meat.

I’m all about getting my news from different sources because let’s face it, all news organizations, whether they are left, right, independent, have agendas. So it’s important to get news from several different sources and make up our own minds, right? But when the media starts censoring these dissenting voices, my BS antenna quivers. What’s the dealio? Why the secrecy? Why the determination to censor people who are simply asking questions and/or seeking answers?

Why indeed?

And then, look what happened to Amos Miller, the Amish farmer who has been fighting the government, FOR YEARS, because he refuses to give his livestock any artificial crap and relies solely on decades of tried and true farming techniques to produce quality food for his family and his community? The government hates people like Amos Miller because they can’t control him. They can’t keep him under their thumbs so they do what any totalitarian government does, they try to shut him down by swatting his property and confiscating his food.

“Today, the Department of Agriculture of the State of Pennsylvania suddenly came, without notice, raided Amos’ farm, and detained everything Amos had in the farm’s freezer. 

The state’s rules require advance notice, reasonable time frames for inspections, and a showing of credentials, none of which occurred here. Instead, the state unlawfully obtained a search warrant based on materially false statements in an affidavit by a high-ranking state official in an agency with a known grievance against independent farmers like Amos, and, after the raid and finding no evidence of wrongdoing, then illegally ordered detained every item of food in one of Amos Miller’s coolers, including buffalo meat not even subject to federal regulation. “

That GiveSendGo account is here, if you want to help with legal fees for this Amish farmer.

If they can do this to an Amish farmer, what can they do to YOU?

Miller’s Organic Farm seize really got Wendy Bell fired up, too. I highly recommend following Wendy Bell’s podcast on Rumble. She’s a conservative talk-show host who is not afraid to tell it like it is. She reminds me a lot of a female Rush Limbaugh. It’s also fun to watch what goes on behind the scenes of her podcast. I hope you’ll take a moment to watch her, she says what we’re all thinking and it’s REFRESHING.

Okay, back to our chickens.

These issues? The messing with our food supply, the swatting of innocent farmers just trying to make a living and produce quality, drug-free food, this is why we want to do something – I realize it’s a minor thing, minute really in the grand scheme of things, but we often think, could we figure out how to be self-sufficient in an end-of-the-world scenario?

I’d like to think so, but … probably not. But hey, at least we would have eggs to eat.

Thanks for reading.

Politics

Hey Snowflakes

I love all types of music.

Save one.

Rap.

I DESPISE rap. Mostly. There is some rap that is tolerable but for the most part, I can’t get behind basically speaking to a beat. I’m sure it’s hard, I can’t do it, but it’s just not my jam.

However,

Tom MacDonald.

To be fair, I don’t have a lot of experience with rap. When you say rapper, I think of the thugs that exploit women, have a mouth full of gold teeth and who yell an expletive every other word. I’m sure there is some really good rap out there, I just haven’t come across it yet. And rapping, in a lot of ways, is story telling to a beat.

I suppose most music is story telling on many different levels.

But Tom MacDonald’s “Snowflakes” song caught my attention. Why? Because he speaks raps the truth.

I watched an interview with him and Brandon Tatum. He started out as a regular rapper, talking about how the police are bad, he wants money, women, etc. The same ole, same ole. Tom started to realize that he’s not doing anything different – he’s just mimicking the artists he admires.

But then he sank to a new low in his life, realized he was an alcoholic, and worked to get his life back together again.

All of this to say, I appreciate the message he’s putting out there. He claims not to be political, and maybe he’s not, but his lyrics speak the raw truth of what is going on in our country right now and I for one appreciate that. Music, TV shows, anything like that, affects your mental health. For example, Brandon talks about taking a 30-day challenge put out there by a Christian music station. They asked people to listen to them, and just them, for 30 days and see if it didn’t affect their attitudes. Brandon says he took that challenge and sure enough, he felt free, light, optimistic, etc. whereas he would listen some other types of music where the message was anger, violence, hate and he would feel angry and violent. You have to be careful what sort of material you surround yourself with because it DOES affect you.

What you put into your head comes out of your heart.

Just like being around negative people can make you feel negative. You have to have a strong mind and be truthful with yourself enough to realize when something is affecting you and step away. Get some fresh air. Get a different perspective. Learn all sides to a story before making snap judgements.

I would encourage you to watch Tom’s video, but better yet, pay attention to the lyrics:


“Snowflakes”

If you lie to the government they’ll put you in prison
But when they lie to all of us it’s called being a politician
You think taking guns away will save our kids from the killings
But your pro-choice abortion kills way more children
If America’s so terrible and racist
It probably isn’t safe to encourage immigration, just saying
All the contradictions are embarrassing
You know who hates America the most? Americans
Trigger warnings used to be on TV for seizures
And now they’re everywhere to protect millennials’ feelings
He, she, his, him, hers, them, they
Screw a pronoun, ’cause everyone’s a retard these days
I hear ’em preaching at a protest that hatred’s the problem
But hating straight men, white folks, and Christians is common
Coca Cola telling people they should be less white
They preaching tolerance but if you disagree, they fight
There’s a race war here, elections based on fear
Black lives only matter once every four years
Soldiers died for this country and every one of us benefits
Give welfare to the bums and forget about the veterans
Black folks and white folks divided by the news
But we’re all the same, we are red, white, and blue
Ashamed to be American? Okay, that’s cool
‘Cause honestly, we are all ashamed of you too

(Chorus) Y’all are so fake, oh no
The forecast said that there’d be snowflakes, whoa-oh
You can’t make us see it your way, no way, gasoline and propane
More flames, oh no
No more snowflakes

They set us up to fail, that’s what they built the system for
Put an ammunition shop across the street from a liquor store
Empowering women used to be different than this before
The role models got OnlyFans or dance on a stripper pole
Screw it, I ain’t tripping, I don’t mean to be mean
But if our children are the future then our future is bleak
They take an Adderall to focus, hit McDonald’s to eat
They’re addicted to phones and they take Xanax to sleep
They blurred the lines dividing communism and democracy
In 2021 we paint the patriots as Nazis
The men playing women’s sports get trophies for winning
Like great, let’s celebrate a man for beating some women
If you’re black, your life matters, you’re supposed to embrace it
If you’re rich or you’re smart then you’re probably Asian
If you’re gay then you’re brave, all of that I’m okay with
But if you’re white, the stereotype is you are a racist
Blaming capitalism like that’s the reason things are tough
While you tweet from an iPhone and sip on a Starbucks
You’re supporting what you stand against you don’t think you are but
A Percocet addict don’t donate money to pharma
Damn dog, we’re all afraid to speak the truth
And the more afraid we get, the more we hate the ones who do
You’re ashamed to be American, okay that’s cool
‘Cause honestly, we are all ashamed of you too

We could all get along but there’s no stopping, ay
Everybody’s wrong, that’s a real problem, ay
They don’t wanna hear it but they still talking, ay
Soon enough we running outta options, ay
This ain’t gonna end till it’s in a coffin, ay
We ain’t gon’ be friends till we try to squash it, ay
I don’t know how we can make amends or we drop it
Snowflakes melt when it’s hot, kid

There’s a lot of truth to his lyrics. This is the kind of stuff that our kids should be listening to – truth. Facts don’t care about feelings.

Another aspect of this I’ve seen conservative talking heads talk about is how it’s refreshing to have a pop-culture conservative message out there. If conservatives want to reach people, especially in today’s culture, we need to relay that message THROUGH pop culture. One of the reasons a lot of young people think conservatives are the devil incarnate is because they are never exposed to the conservative perspective – all of the entertainment they consume does a really good job of making conservatives out to be Hitler re-incarnate which is the exact opposite of what conservatism stands for. Hollywood, musicians, reality shows, all permeate liberal ideologies – young people are not going to sit down and listen to talking heads spout conservative stuff because it’s not fun, it’s not cool. So I’m hopeful that Tom MacDonald sets a trend for more conservative thinkers out there to realize that if we want young people to listen, or even entertain the thought of listening to the “other” side, that we realize that social media outlets and entertainment avenues is basically THE only way to get the message out there.

Do you think it’s a coincidence that “old” people are conservative and “young” people are liberal? It’s because being a conservative means being responsible, rational, logical and young people, for the most part, are immature, impulsive, and impatient.

I guess what I’m trying to say is make conservatism cool and relatable enough for people to pay attention to.

Updated: Here are some interesting, and strangely satisfying, reactions to Tom’s “Snowflakes” video.

One, Two, Three

There are many, many more interesting reaction videos to “Snowflakes.” Honestly, this gives me hope. Maybe enough people will see it, talk about it and learn from it – maybe things will start to change.

Maybe.

Politics

Can Congress Impeach a Private Citizen? Let’s Hope Not

Are you paying attention? Biden has been in office for one week, ONE WEEK, and he’s already signed close to 30 executive orders. Who needs congress when we have a dictator that takes things into his (her – because let’s be honest, Kamala is behind this push, too), hands? Who needs the people when we have a dictator that knows what’s best for the people? Who needs jobs when we have a dictator, and his minions, who simply tell you to “find another job?” Who wants to be energy independent when we can get our energy from foreign countries so they can blackmail us into doing what they want us to do in exchange for said energy?

Biden has “fundamentally changed” America is less than one week. On the surface, this is alarming but let’s be fair, let’s see how this is actually going to translate in the coming weeks. But I’ll be honest, this is a lot in a little time and if that doesn’t make you nervous, it should.

And this whole impeachment thing with Trump? Still? MOVE ON PEOPLE. I swear, some of these left-leaning Democrats are obsessed with Trump and they’re having a hard time letting go of him and their obsession. Newsflash – YOU WON. Let it go! That’s like winning a tennis match and then immediately jumping over the net to beat your opponent to a pulp. It’s petty and disturbing. Trump is no longer a threat to you and your radical agendas. You have a commander-in-chief who is making decisions on your behalf, isn’t that what you wanted? Isn’t it all you dreamed it would be?

Trump is a private citizen now. You can’t, and/or should not, be able to impeach a private citizen. And if our crazy left-leaning radicals pull this off, then every American should be scared because then they’ve set the precedent to come after YOU. Or anyone who disagrees with them. ME.

Senator Rand Paul gives a scorching argument against impeaching Trump. We must have rules in this country – our constitution is our rule document. We must abide by her because if we do not, then the United States is no longer a free country. And judging by Biden’s executive order frenzy? I’m beginning to think we’ve already lost a lot of that freedom.

Paul, with sound logic, rightfully called out Democrats on the unmistakable double standard of the impeachment charade.

Since when did rhetoric from politicians become ripe for unprecedented actions such as a post-presidency impeachment trial? More importantly, as Paul noted on Tuesday, “Democrats insist on applying a test of incitement to a Republican that they refuse to apply to themselves.”

Arguably, the left’s campaign of harassment, intimidation and violence, as well as the progressive advancement of cancel culture, helped lead to the events of Jan. 6 as much as anything. Yet the Democratic Party has absolved itself of years of inflammatory rhetoric that has left millions of Americans feeling pushed into a corner.

In their attempts to undercut and oppose Trump, elected Democrats uttered words and took actions that defied the civility they now claim they want to restore.

But when looking at the incursion at the Capitol, their selective memory on political violence and inflammatory rhetoric shows that they are after what they’ve always been after — the destruction of Trump as a political force and the demonization of all those who supported the former president.

Those loyal supporters supported Trump even in the face of threats, violence and the potential cancelation of their livelihoods.

Democrats are playing the role of victim after years of stoking civil unrest.

The hypocrisy isn’t lost on Paul. It shouldn’t be lost on anyone else, either. Source

Politics, Twitter Messages

Defining Conservative Values – Response to TikTok Video and Tweet

Hang on to your seats, friends, I’m fired up.

I watched this on TikTok and felt compelled to answer Sarah’s challenge on Twitter. Also, good question, Sarah. I think this topic needs to be fully analyzed and explained over and over and over again, if that is what it takes to finally educate people on what Conservatism is. Too many people out there have a vastly incorrect assumption about Conservatives and Conservative values. And that’s really no fault of their own, the media and social media, heck, even our government, has done an excellent job of turning the narrative on its ear and convincing people that the things they say Conservatives are for are actually what the far left stands for. The far left are masters at deflecting and emotive manipulation.

And let me clarify, I’m talking about the FAR LEFT. I don’t believe most Democrats feel this way. I feel like the Democrats have also been hi-jacked and are no longer truly represented because the FAR LEFT have become so loud and prominent in their bullying tactics, thanks largely to Facebook and Twitter, that the Democrat values have been swallowed whole.

And let’s be clear (that seems to be a buzz phrase right now) – I have no ill will against Sarah or this young man in the video. I don’t know either of them. I’m simply responding to this man’s perceptions and Sarah is simply asking a question. I know asking questions seems to be taboo right now but since when I have I ever conformed to group think?

Precisely.

But let’s break this down for those that are truly interested in learning the truth about Conservative and Conservative values.

First, watch the TikTok video and then let’s break it down:

Here are some Conservative principles:

  • The federal government is instituted to protect the rights bestowed on individuals under natural law. It exists to preserve life, liberty and property — a mission that includes not only protecting the sanctity of life but defending freedom of speech, religion, the press and assembly, and the right of individuals to be treated equally and justly under the law, and to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
  • The federal government’s powers should be limited to only those named in the U.S. Constitution and exercised solely to protect the rights of its citizens.
  • Government functions best when it is closest and most accountable to the people and where power is shared between the federal government and the states.
  • Individuals and families make the best decisions for themselves and their children about health, education, jobs and welfare.
  • America’s economy and the prosperity of individual citizens are best served by a system built on free enterprise, economic freedom, private property rights and the rule of law. This system is best sustained by policies that promote general economic freedom and eliminate governmental preferences for special interests, including free trade, deregulation, and opposing government interventions in the economy that distort free markets and impair innovation.
  • Tax policies should raise the minimum revenue necessary to fund only constitutionally appropriate functions of government.
  • Regulations should be limited to those that produce a net benefit to the American people as a whole, weighing both financial and liberty costs.
  • Judges should interpret and apply our laws and the Constitution based on their original meaning, not upon judges’ own personal and political predispositions.
  • America must be a welcoming nation — one that promotes patriotic assimilation and is governed by laws that are fair, humane and enforced to protect its citizens.
  • America is strongest when our policies protect our national interests, preserve our alliances of free peoples, vigorously counter threats to our security and interests, and advance prosperity through economic freedom at home and abroad. Source

Here is a picture that sums up our values. This picture is specific to Texas but it encompasses all Conservatives.

I hope breaking these down helps. Because ALL information helps one make better choices.

Now. Let’s break down this young man’s erroneous assumptions about Conservatism.

Continue reading “Defining Conservative Values – Response to TikTok Video and Tweet”

Politics

“The Time is Always Right to do What is Right.”

These Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes are still, if not more, relevant in today’s world. He was a kind, loving, insightful man of his time who only wanted to peaceably co-exist with one another. He wanted justice for all, not just for African-Americans. We are all human, our skin color is not important. It infuriates me that the left continually pound this racial divide and yet they claim they want unity and are “tolerant” of others.

If you want unity and tolerance, then practice what you preach. Actions speak louder than words.

 

We will never, NEVER, all see eye-to-eye. It will never happen. And bullying your views onto people who don’t believe or think the same as you WILL NOT UNIFIY US. It will only serve to further divide us. Perhaps that’s the end goal, to drive a wedge so deeply that the gap will never be closed. And if that’s the goal, then own it. Don’t pretend you want to unify and compromise with people as long as they unify and compromise your way.

That’s not the definition of unity and/or compromise. Look it up.

Realistically, I think we are too divided to be united at this point in time. Especially with an incoming party who are prepared to do anything and everything in their power to silence you. Newsflash, that is NOT going to unify America. And of course they know that but they continue to do what they do best, lie to our faces and a large part of the country just mindlessly lap it up.

Here are more MLK quotes that I hope inspire you:

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Meaning: “Justice is an abstraction, a generic and theoretical state of perfect harmony in which everything is in a fair balance. But each injustice is a very real, very specific flaw in that balance. Even if we can’t really pin down what we mean by “justice” overall, it’s relatively easy and deeply true to identify specific injustices, and do something about them. And the thing about injustice is, once one realizes that is what it means (i.e. an unfair imbalance in the social order), it does no good to shrug one’s shoulders and say, “Who cares? Those poor souls may be getting a raw deal but it’s not affecting me any.” Because an imbalance in the system does affect you — it affects everyone. If a boat is capsizing because it’s out of balance, everyone on board is going to get wet, not just the fools who are causing the imbalance. Thus, if we let an injustice — an imbalance — get too far out of hand anywhere, it threatens to undermine and capsize the entire ship of state, to everyone’s harm. That’s why “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Source

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Meaning: “If you’re going to try to drive out hate, you need to bring the love. It won’t be pleasant, but it’s the truth. Bringing the love doesn’t mean you believe as they do, or even that you like them. It simply means that you consider the human bond to be stronger than their hate.

If you match them hate for hate, the world will not be a better place for your effort. What little satisfaction you gain will be temporary at best, and will eventually be to the determent of everyone. That’s neither a good plan, nor is it much of a legacy for our children to inherit, a world filled with more hate than ever.

It is my belief that most hatred is based on inaccurate information, or on stories told about injustices of old. The hate can only be kept alive if the recipients of the hate act according to the script. The most disruptive thing we can do to the script is to show them love and compassion, and blow the narrative apart. Are you willing to try?” Source

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

I love this quote because I think it perfectly summarizes the times we live in right now. It’s easy to step onto our podium, point fingers and “preach” about how we should, or should not live  our lives according to the group who yells the loudest, or throw labels loosely around like so much confetti, especially when everything is peaceful and quiet. We have food, shelter, security, we can afford to be magnanimous. But when things get tough, like it’s starting to get now, our freedoms start being stripped way, our voices are being actively muted, our votes are not worth the paper they are printed on, THAT is when our true characters will shine through. Are we tough enough to stand up and say enough is enough? I think we can be, but I also think we’re not quite there …. yet.

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

Meaning: “He’s essentially saying that freedom has to be fought for. It will be not be given to us by those in power and authority; we need to take it for ourselves. Yes, as human beings we’re all free and the Constitution says we’re all equal, but out in the real world we need to struggle in order to gain and secure our civic freedoms. This is King’s general message, one that has universal application to all of us, irrespective of race.” Source

Our freedoms are being attacked right now. You can roll your eyes or you can pull your head from the sand, it’s happening. The oppressor is our government, both federal and local, media, and social media. They are attacking our freedom to voice our concerns, to vote for our candidates and suppressing information. If the thought of no longer having a voice and being part of a collective doesn’t scare the shit out of you, it should.

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.”

Without law and order, we can not have peace. Think of what happened with the BLM and Antifa riots, how out-of-control they were allowed to get because we pushed, and continue to push, to defund the police. Entire blocks of cities were burned to the ground. People were murdered and continue to be murdered because there are not as many law enforcement officers patrolling. And an entire block was “captured” and “renamed” as it’s own province because we were all too scared to stop it.

Would you say it’s peaceful right now? Of course not. Things are worse than ever because we have fallen in line with a radical group of people who tout getting rid of law enforcement. We will never experience peace if we don’t have law and justice.

Never.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Again, this is more true today than ever. Our way of lives, our freedoms, our constitution, is being threatened because we do not speak up about the injustices that are happening right now. But we’re just protecting you from the big-bad virus, we’re just protecting you from social injustice, we’re protecting you from YOURSELVES. It’s a guise to make people feel like they are being cared for when really they are being controlled. And they, meaning the Socialists and the Marxists who are in control right now, will only continue to chip away at your right to live your life the way you see fit because no one will stand up, no one will speak because they are afraid of being called names.

Being called names, or being labeled this or that is PRECISELY the strategy they play because they know it works. Stop caring what people think. Stop caring if someone labels you. If you are standing up for what is right then who cares what others think. At least you’re not going down without a fight.

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

Precisely. When we look back on this time period, we will not remember how our enemy took over or what  our enemy said, we will remember that we, the people, did not stand up and fight back. We allowed it to happen.

“Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.”

I love this quote. So many people say, “but what can I do?” Something. Anything. Start small. Talk to your friends and family. Volunteer in your community. Rally for candidates that you believe in. SPEAK UP. Sitting passively back and allowing the shit to be thrown at you just makes a mess. And no one is happy living in squalor.

“The time is always right to do what is right.”

That time is right now.

Read Martin Luther King Jr’s famous speech here. You can listen to it here.

Politics

Oh Look! There Goes Our Freedom of Speech – Everyone Wave Goodbye!

Watch this:

Did you laugh? Crack a smile?

If not, I’ve got nothing more to offer you.

*sigh*

What a week, right? In a lot of ways, I feel like this actress in the above video – I keep circling back to the same place but I’m lost every time I get there. Nothing makes sense and yet, it all seems familiar.

I had no idea what was happening on Wednesday. I was at work and (thankfully) immersed and focused on clinic. It wasn’t until Kevin text me that I had an inkling of what was happening.

Huge crowds in Washington DC. Trump making speech.

Protestors storm the capital – people have been shot. 

At first, I was like, “cool! People showed up! I wonder if that will help at all.”

And then, “crap. People storming the capital will NOT help at all.”

After clinic was over, I started trolling (reliable) news sources. It looked bad but I reserved judgement.

When I came home, I watched (trusted) commentaries and I. GOT. FIRED. UP.

I sat down and pounded out a heated blog post. I got my frustrations off my chest and I felt satisfied with my words. I scheduled it to post the next day. I went to bed.

I got up the next morning and deleted my post.

It was too heated. It was too biased. And I didn’t want to be a typical Democrat and run off my emotions. I needed to take a minute to breathe and look at the BIG picture. Remember? I challenge myself to remain balance and look at all sides of an issue. It’s not always easy, but I think we all need to challenge ourselves to approach difficult times this way.

And now, here we are several days later and honestly, I think the violence at the capital is the least of our concerns at this point in time.

It’s official, Biden/Harris will be in the White House for the next four years. Georgia elected their Democrat candidates (whether that was a fair election or not remains to be seen – isn’t it sad that we will continue to question the validity of elections from this point on? Even if the Republicans win, we’ll ask ourselves – was it fair??) and now we have a one-party rule. The Democrats are in power and there is NO telling what kind of damage they will inflict the next four years (hopefully two years if we can get more Republican candidates into the House or Senate). They have the power to pass anything. A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G. Whose going to stop them?

NOBODY.

This fact alone makes me very uncomfortable. And a little scared, to be honest. Take notice, readers, who knows what our country will look like by 2024.

The attack on the capital was not cool. I don’t support it. Violence is never the answer. But I understand it. People were worked up into a frenzy these past two months. We had Trump yelling from the rooftops that the election was a fraud and he actually won. We had Sidney Powell yelling from the rooftops that “she was going to bring on the Kracken.” We had Rudy Guiliano touting his legal team and they were building evidence and were confident they could turn this around. These people gave us hope. They made us believe, though not easy, we had one last chance to turn this nightmare around.

And then … crickets. Nothing. All of the hoopla just sort of died down. Still. I was hopeful. Maybe they were keeping their cards close to their chest, I thought. They didn’t want to show their hand too soon. I could understand that. I was thankful they were doing that. I was hopeful they had an ace up their sleeve. And who knows, maybe they did? But when the courts came back and told them they didn’t have standing and then the Supreme Court refused to hear their case, I knew it was over. I just didn’t see how Trump would pull it off. Still. I had a bit of hope. He’s always managed to get things done in the past. Surely he would pull this off? And he continued to give people hope. He refused to concede. He made it seem like we had a chance at the January 6th Electoral Count. He encouraged people to show up to help support him. And he led people to believe if they would just show up in support on January 6th, we could turn this around.

Now maybe Trump didn’t come right out and say this, but he certainly implied it – I don’t think he ever flat out denied it. But it was enough to spur people into action and they showed up. By the thousands. Which was cool – it showed that people still cared what happened to our country and were worried a Democrat monopoly would ruin our country. But as is often the case when you have thousands of people show up to an event and emotions are running high and they are frustrated and tired of being ignored and/or labeled every time they express concerns or dare to ask a question, you have chaos.

Who knows what sparked the deluge on the capital. Emotions were running so high it wouldn’t have taken much to light that powder keg to begin with. It was a desperate attempt to try and take back control over something they didn’t have any control over for a very long time. Was it right? No. Of course not. But it was human.

And let’s be honest. The woman who got shot trying to climb into a window with a backpack on … it was the only thing that COULD happen. In the moment, in the middle of sheer chaos, those security guys had no idea what her intention was. They had no idea what was in the backpack. They did their jobs, they protected the capital. It was sad it turned out that way, but you can’t act aggressive in situations like that and not expect consequences.

When that happened, I knew it was over for Trump. And indeed, he has had people jumping ship ever since that incident. People are distancing themselves from him because they don’t want to go down with him. Trump is now toxic, politically speaking. It’s sad, but again, I understand the emotion behind it.

Did I think Trump wanted that to happen? Of course not. Do I think Trump encouraged people to show up and act like fools? No. But I think his rhetoric had that unintentional effect.

Biden had the perfect, PERFECT, opportunity to practice what he has been preaching from the beginning of his campaign – unity. Let’s all come together. That situation was the perfect backdrop – everyone agreed it was unacceptable. No one defended the attack on the capital. But Biden/Harris didn’t do that because they do what every Democrat is pre-programmed to do – they took advantage of the crisis and turned it political. Not only did they turn it political, but they further twisted that screw into the narrative to try and blame racial divide. If this is not positive proof that the Biden/Harris administration has NO DESIRE to bring people together, I honestly don’t know what further proof you need.

This is just a TASTE of the divisiveness heading our way. I hope you have a firm hold of something because it’s going to be a bumpy and ugly ride.

It absolutely sickened me the way Biden and Harris handled that situation. They were almost gleeful that they were able to use this as yet another hit on the wedge between sides. They want it their way, or no way. There is no compromise.

Which leads me to the issue I feel is the most serious – the way the social platforms are treating this. Facebook / Twitter have banned President Trump’s account. Facebook has been going through and deleting conservative groups consisting of a million people. These platforms are systematically “purging” any and all opinions that do not support their agenda. And remember the Section 230 hearing that I broke down for you? It’s been voted down. Approving Section 230 would have made Facebook and Twitter publishers, meaning they would not be able to censor people on their platform – they would, under law, have to allow dissenting viewpoints. But since it was not approved, they are not publishers, they remain private companies and they can do what they please. Which, to be fair, is right. They are private companies. People do not have to use them, but what are the alternatives? Facebook and Twitter have been successful in squashing every competitor. Their latest attempt has been to try and de-platform Parler, a site that is similar to Twitter. Apple Play Store and Google Play Store have already removed the ability to download the Parler app onto your phone. Their rationale? They don’t want to promote hate speech. They believe these platforms are what instigated and coordinated the attack on the capital. The real reason? They don’t want to give people a platform in which they dare to express opinions different than their own. They want to make it difficult for conservatives to have a place where they can voice their thoughts and opinions.

It’s 1984 come to life. It’s what Communist China does to their people. They are allowed to use tightly controlled programs that their government manages so they can ensure their message, and no opposing thoughts or opinions, gets to the people. It gives me goosebumps to think we’re heading in the same direction. And do you think Biden/Harris will stop it? NO. They want to do MORE. They don’t think we’ve done ENOUGH censoring.

And it’s all fine and dandy to agree with this censorship when you agree with what is being pushed, how are you going to feel when YOU’RE censored? How would you feel right now if the conservatives were doing this to you and your opinions were left out to dry? I’m betting you wouldn’t be so supportive at that point. Who’s to say it won’t happen to you? What are you going to do? What can you do? Any and all people who might be able to help have already been silenced.

Was Trump annoying with his messages? Yes. Was he less than tactful at times and a bit of a bully? Unquestionably. Did he deserve to be censored? No. Our freedoms of speech are being seriously attacked here and if we don’t fight this it will disappear.

Even if you’re NOT a conservative, would you want that? Remember. As long as you are agreeing with the agenda and going along with the plan, you’re fine to speak up. What happens if you disagree? What happens when you’re no longer allowed to voice your concerns? What happens when your questions are twisted and distorted and you’re called a racist for simply ASKING A DAMN QUESTION?

*takes a breath*

Whew. I need to calm down. I’m getting heated again. But what is happening right now? SHOCKS AND SADDENS ME. And scares me, quite frankly.

I deleted my Twitter account today. My Facebook account has been deleted for quite some time. And not using those platforms does not bother me, they are free platforms free to do what they want. I figure as long as you’re using their product you have to play by their rules. Don’t like them apples? Them dump the basket. But the fact that they are a monopoly and SO big and virtually untouchable, that scares me. What’s the alterative? Right now, we don’t have one.

But then again, why does it really matter? We have certainly survived without these social platforms before, we shall survive without them again. We have the media to …

Oh wait.

We DON’T have the media. The big names, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, FOX  are just as bad as Facebook and Twitter. In fact, they are worse. Because they cherry pick news stories. They take things out of context and twist them into something that resembles THEIR truth. And people buy it, hook, line and sinker. They bend over and cough. They open their mouths and say, “spoon feed me more of your truth please because it hurts my brain too much to resist your crap.”

*sigh*

This is madness, people. Absolute madness. Where do we go from here? What’s next? I think President Trump has given us a hint:

This was posted on the POTUS Twitter account that Obama set up and will transfer to Biden. I think it’s still active, who knows. But the fact that Trump eludes to something coming gives me hope.

Look. This whole situation goes way beyond Trump. In fact, it’s not even about Trump anymore, it’s about Freedom of Speech. There are some people out there that think Trump should run in 2024. I disagree. I think he needs to be done with politics. I’m confident he will never win the presidency again. And if he ran, that would just prevent another Republican candidate of having any chance at all.

No. I think he should stay out of politics. What I think he should do is build a company, a network, a social media platform, that will give Facebook and Twitter a serious run for their money. I think he should build a platform where conservatives can voice their opinion and have a place to express their freedoms of speech. I think that is the only way we’re going to squelch this gross abuse of power from Facebook and Twitter. Trump has the money, he has the brains, and he has the business sense to get it done. And it would give him the ultimate revenge against these companies that tried to muzzle him, and his followers. I have no idea what he has up his sleeve, but I really hope this idea is on the table for him.

So now what? What do we do now? We stay alert and pay attention to what is going on around us. We take a stand and we do NOT allow anyone to silence us. We have gotten to a point where we can’t even ask questions. If you think the Democrats will be satisfied now that Trump is out of office? Think again friends. With Trump gone, who’s left? Conservatives. Us, the people who dare disagree with their radical agendas.

If this sounds dramatic it’s because it is. We’re reached that point. There are no more obstacles. The Democrats have nothing standing in their way. They can do whatever they want because they have complete control.

You asked for it. Here we go. Whatever happens? Is on the people who voted for Biden/Harris. Be careful what you wish for.

Since we started with something funny, let’s end on something funny. I’ve been a fan of JP’s for a while now. Enjoy.

Politics, Twitter Messages

Evil Santa, Out-of-Control Teacher, Heart-Wrenching Plea

What would you do if Santa did something like this to your kid?

Santa tells this little boy he won’t bring him a nerf gun for Christmas. Why? Because Santa is a leftist and he just can’t resist pushing an agenda. Santa is not rude, but he’s firm. This little boy will forever remember the year Santa denied him his wish. This little boy will likely think he wasn’t good enough because why would Santa deny him his one wish?

There is a time and place to voice your opinion and/or argue or defend an agenda – making children cry when you’re being paid to bring joy and magic to a child’s life is NOT the time.

Asshole.

______________________________________________________

Bit*h, kill yourself. Go f*ck yourself.” That’s what this crazy woman shouted at the protestors across the street.

Dude, she’s a TEACHER.

Why? Because these protestors dared to protest the lockdowns and the insane COVID restrictions these crazy governors have implemented.

What would possess … wait – that’s it, she’s possessed. What would make a person completely lose her mind like this? First of all, learn some control, Chica. Secondly, the people protesting? Have just as much right to voice their concerns as you do to yell obscenities. Thirdly, here’s a thought, ignore them. Fourth, why so ANGRY?! What is up with people just going hysterical when they see a person, or a group, who thinks differently than they do?

Calm down. Seriously. Calm down.

If you’re feeling frustrated and need to vent, as we all do from time-to-time, go punch a pillow, or scream in your car with the windows rolled up and away from people. Let it out in a non-aggressive, non-violent way. Doing this? Screaning your fool head off and completely losing your mind just makes you look straight up crazy.

Did I mention she’s a TEACHER?? Wow. Just wow.

Added: The teacher has been suspended and is on paid leave. First of all, PAID leave? Not very severe consequences for her actions. Secondly, a commenter on the story said something along the lines, “now, we don’t know what is going on with this woman. Maybe she just lost a loved one from COVID.” And yes, there are always two sides to a story. However, NOTHING justifies her out-of-control rage and NOTHING ever justifies telling someone to kill themselves. Ever. I don’t care what side of the fence you eat your French fries on. So no. There is no justifying this behavior. This woman has anger issues and she needs to seek counseling. Period.

______________________________________________________

This made me cry.

This poor woman. You can hear her anguish. You can see her frustration. You can feel her fear. There are THOUSANDS of small business owners all across the country who will not survive these lockdowns. The left is systematically shutting down these small businesses leaving room for the big companies, the conglomerates, a pathway to get bigger and more powerful. How is this compassionate? How is this fair? How is this ethical? How is this LEGAL?? This woman is literally BEGGING for help. We have crossed the line. We continue to over-react to this virus. When will it stop. When will it stop?

Nearly 20% of America’s restaurants have closed permanently because of the lockdowns and another estimated 10,000 will close before this pandemic is over. The government has intentionally decimated this industry. How can anyone feel less than rage over this?? IT’S WRONG AND EVIL to decide another person, or entity’s, future. My God, we are heading down a dangerous road here.

If you haven’t seen these stories, you’re watching the wrong news. I recommend checking out The Tatum Report and NewsMax for more REALISTIC news.

Don’t be a sheeple.

Also – see this post to restore peace and tranquility in your life after this post.

Back to our regularly scheduled blog …