“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert.” –J. Robert Oppenheimer
I will get into that science later. And DEEPLY. Right now, I just want to publicize Torba’s latest tactic – to make FREE AI (Free as in 1776) available to patriots.
Torba set up a fast open AI implementation called Gabby, that creates images from simple descriptive inputs. It’s fast, efficient, and most of all FUN.
Here is what I input for my first attempt:
steampunk wolf in the style of Vincent van Gogh
Here are the 4 images I got back:
What’s funny is that I then THANKED Gabby, and Gabby attempted to use my thanks as input, and it gave a pleasingly hilarious response, also in 4 images.
thank you, Gabby – that was awesome!
Torba uses an ingenious method to keep leftard trolls and demonic tranny pseudo-hackers from messing with the system. The only way to reach Gabby is by a DM on Gab, meaning you have to have a Gab account to give it any input, and you have to go through the privacy-protected DM capability.
Gabby is our image-generating AI that can be used by sending a direct message to the @AI account on Gab. The quality and accuracy of…
Asking Gabby for “help” gets this response:
Hi, I’m an AI image artist! I can create images for you based on words you send to me! You can try saying something like: three happy frogs, hyperrealistic, 4k. If you don’t like the first set of images I generate you can say ‘reroll’ to have me try again. For more tips and tricks check out this helpful guide: https://news.gab.com/2023/02/how-to-use-gabby-the-ai-
Sometimes the results can be a bit strange, and miss the mark, but are still kinda cool.
blue cheer outsideinside album cover picture using faces of Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and Rand Paul
The rest are even weirder!
And while it’s not exactly Bakocarl, it can create images fast, with the right inputs.
a wolf in a suit with a pocket watch
Let’s try that again…..
wolf wearing top hat, late 1800s
In my opinion, this is a GREAT way to learn about AI on the slow track. Just give it inputs and see what happens.
Who knows where it goes? Just keep the Bible in your vest pocket, and Trust in the Lord!
Today, I’m starting out a little differently as events in the last few weeks really gelled into a genuine question every American kid on a road trip used to annoy the heck out of their parents.
ARE WE THERE YET?
Have we arrived at the Great Awakening? Clif High offered an opinion last week:
Have you felt it? Are your spidey senses tingling yet?
Look around you, now. Are your co-workers nervous? Anxious? Are they talking about #5GUW yet?
The reason is the FLIP into the PEAK of THE BIG UGLY!
The BIG UGLY is a time of the upending, and overturning of the giant iceberg of public opinion as the 5GUW (5th Generation (global) Unrestricted War) emerges into public discussion.
The BIG UGLY is a time of ‘collective expression of knowledge’, that will produce an ‘upending of the social order’. The ‘upending’ will be spectacularly fast. It will scare the piss right out of you it will be so quickly consuming of YOUR social circle.
Don’t trust what I am writing here? Sure, that’s understandable…I am just some nutty techie guy with a high school education & a twisted mind who was into crypto before BTC was even 1 CENT.
BUT, I could be wrong, after all, I have been forecasting this period since last July.
Have I felt it? Yes. In fact, after all the revivals going on around the nation, and walks for Jesus and increasing numbers of men’s Rosary rallies around the world, Cardinal Dolan of New York making priests available from 7 am – 7 pm in St. Patrick’s Cathedral for distribution of ashes to anyone who wanted them on Ash Wednesday last week – 40,000 people received – I’m convinced something is happening and it’s of God.
This video (it won’t embed) makes the case that the end of the totalitarian reign is near – at least in the Church. It looks to be on the verge of being over in the political realm as well. Once the people are awake, there is no going back. And the people are waking up:
In the Trump -vs- DeSantis storyline the following data points are generally agreed:
♦Approximately 75% of the Big Con “INFLUENCERS” (Big $) and punditry Support Ron DeSantis ♦Approximately 25% of the Small “Influencers” (Small $) and Indy punditry Support Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, amid the voting base the inverse is true:
♦Approximately 25% of the conservative, working-class, base voters support Ron DeSantis ♦Approximately 75% of the conservative, working-class, base voters support Donald Trump
Reconcile this inversion. What does it mean?
It means the people are on to the uniparty crap.
And then there’s the COVID implosion:
Woody Harrelson started his performance on SNL with criticizing Big Pharma: "The biggest drug cartels in the world get together and buy up all the media and all the politicians and force all the people in the world to stay locked in their homes, and people can only come out if… pic.twitter.com/Huji5Dya3t
Yesterday the Wall Street Journal broke a story highlighting a significant change in the SARS-CoV2 origination narrative.
Apparently, with increased admissions the COVID-19 mitigation protocols were all useless, and with actual harm from the vaccine mandates now taking space in the mainstream media narrative, conveniently the Wuhan Lab Leak conspiracy theory is now becoming an official likelihood position from the U.S. government. Funny that….
The shift in the official government position on the crisis origination now seems like a finger-pointing distraction, and effort to avoid accountability for their totalitarian exploitation and dictatorial fiats used in the process of taking advantage of it.
And that’s not the only place the narratives are being challenged.
CNN guest SNAPS on-air over Democrats ignoring suffering of Americans in East Palestine because they voted for Trump— ADMITS quiet part OUT LOUD🔥 pic.twitter.com/gP6WoubXaP
As Juanita Broderick put it: BRAVA! And…why wasn’t the feed cut?
Something’s happening, and it’s just not visible yet.
Also, this came up over the weekend, was discussed in the comments, and I’m leaving it here again if you haven’t watched/listened to it.
Okay, moving on. I took most of the weekend off with a family event on Saturday, and then a Sunday fast of everything but Twitter, so this is more selective.
Sort of.
This first substack is all about how we need to be careful investing time and energy into any one story in the conspiracy world. Jordan Sather does us all a favor in sorting out what really does make us all sound like tinfoil hat wearing lunatics.
Detailing the background, history, and current frauds being run by internet influencers using “NESARA Law” and “Quantum Financial System” disinformation
That’s because there was a concerted marketing campaign last week starting on the weekend. All of a sudden, there was a banner, and hand out ad stuff in the back of one of the Churches where I sing. I doubt it was the only one. Also, Mark Wahlberg talked about using it. It’s not free, so I haven’t gotten it. Yet.
Dr. John Campbell Describes How the COVID Narrative Shattered His Trust in Government
"I've gone from a position where you think our leaders have our best interest in heart to now wondering, really, where the heck some of these decisions are coming from." pic.twitter.com/E8WXGpTsZ6
The US government is now admitting #Covid was created in a lab. Now we must ask. Who created it? Who funded it? Who created a massive regime of censorship for two years to suppress the truth about the origin of Covid? Who is responsible, and who needs to pay for this? pic.twitter.com/o3HtZfZZOk
You're listening to Dr. Edward Herman, the late Emeritus Professor at Wharton, UPenn, and co-author of "Manufacturing Consent" with Noam Chomsky, discussing the United States' involvement in Ukraine's 2014 coup:
Whatever you decide to do for yourself, your family, in your communities or whatever walk of life you’re on, make sure you challenge the obvious lies we’ve been fed. There are many and they are meant to destroy, not “build back better.” That slogan is total… https://t.co/rvRS8em6um
We were right about the lab leak. We were right about natural immunity. We were right about masks. We were right about lockdowns. We were right about the vaccines. We were right about boosters. We were right about them faking COVID numbers. We were right about the deadly…
So they were intentionally trying to hurt or kill people in Red states. What horrible people they are. You see why we can’t reason with these people? pic.twitter.com/U7mf37B6z0
The Canadian Alibaba Group president J. Michael Evans boasts at the World Economic Forum about developing an individual carbon footprint tracker to monitor what you buy, what you eat, and where/how you travel.
I’d throw in a few Rockefellers and Rothschilds also.
Of course, this does not mean committing felonies, but standing up to the forces that want to tear this nation – and humanity apart. The very people XVII told us will be destroyed by the time this movie comes to an end are currently roaming the halls of power…supposedly. It’s a sickening sight.
The discourse on this site is to be CIVIL – no name calling, baiting, or threatening others here is allowed. Those who are so inclined may visit Wolf’s other sanctuary, the U-Tree, to slog it out. There is also a “rescue” thread there for members of the Tree to rendezvous if the main site goes kablooey. A third site has been added for site outages of longer duration.
This site is a celebration of the natural rights endowed to humans by our Creator as well as those enshrined in the Bill of Rights adopted in the founding documents of the United States of America. Within the limits of law, how we exercise these rights is part of the freedom of our discussion.
Fellow tree dweller, the late Wheatie, gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
And Auntie DePat’s requests:
If you see something has not been posted, do us all a favor, and post it. Please, do not complain that it has not been done yet.
The scroll wheel on your mouse can be your friend. As mature adults, please use it here in the same manner you would in avoiding online porn.
Thank you so much for any and all attention to such details. It is GREATLY appreciated by more than one party here.
10“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
PSALMS 34:4-7, 16-19
3O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together! 4I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed. 6This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 15The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous, and his ears toward their cry. 16The face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.
MATTHEW 6:7-15
7“And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread; 12And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors; 13And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. 14For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; 15but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
“God intends to give us what we need, not what we now think we want.” – C.S. Lewis
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do thou, Prince of the Heavenly Hosts, by the power of God, cast down to Hell Satan and all his evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
>>148156518 Amen brother. Q
As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome. Via con Dios.
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Please forgive us, Wheatie, we did not know That you had left us with armor in tow We had no idea with what you dealt We did not know the pain you felt And now we can only imagine With you what really did happen Cause rarely did you complain And/or share your personal pain Of one thing we are most certain You are flying high behind the curtain Watching over us above the crowds Our Warrior Angel above the clouds Thank You, Wheatie, for caring for us While you were here among the fuss We miss you dear you have no idea Since time began in the pangaea With you there was no time In your wisdom you would chime To clarify and magnify The what where how and why We did not question when you left We were not slightly bereft But over time we wondered why You did not at least stop by Now we know where you have gone With the break of this new dawn We could be angry but are not Tho with an arrow we’ve been shot Rest peacefully Warrior Angel dear Send us a sign that you are near A butterfly a flower a kiss of rain From your love do not refrain God sends Angels to watch over us And now we have an Angel Plus A Warrior Angel of Magnificence From today and forward hence
Boilerplate, more or less, but worth reading again and again, if only for the minor changes, and to stay out of moderation.
MINOR CHANGE NUMBER 1
Never talk about committing violence in a reply to Wolf or in response to anything Wolf has said, or you may get put into moderation so that your comments can be screened. This is ONLY because DHS is now playing door-knock Gestapo with people who have spoken at school board meetings, made public comments, etc. DHS regime jackboots are knocking on doors of school board mama bears and stupidly insinuating potential violence from things people say or don’t say on social media. A guy in Ohio pointed his FINGER at the school board, and they went after him, armed with pictures of the pointing, and screen captures of online comments. Yeah.
SO – give the Nazis ZERO ammo. Keep any mention of violence, even joking, away from Wolf, so that he doesn’t have to “explain” humor to humorless jackboots who pretend not to know things.
As for discussion of “violent humor” among yourselves (e.g., “#TeamHeadsOnPikes”), just use whatever discretion you think is appropriate for yourselves. I will only put you in moderation if your comments create problems for ME or THIS SITE, but not if they only impact you.
YOU are responsible for your own comments, if they come knocking. YOUR choice. Just remember this…..
OTHER THAN THAT…….
The bottom line is Free Speech. Theories and ideas you don’t agree with must be WELCOME here, and you must be part of that welcoming. But you do NOT need to be part of any agreement.
Bottom line – respect other people’s FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
Our only additional requirement is that you do so NICELY. Or at least try to make some effort in that direction.
SO….. [ENGAGE BOILERPLATE…..]
We must endeavor to persevere to love our frenemies – even here.
Those who cannot deal with this easy requirement will be forced to jump the hoops of moderation, so that specific comments impugning other posters and violating the minimal rules can be sorted out and tossed in the trash.
In Wheatie’s words, “We’re on the same side here so let’s not engage in friendly fire.”
That includes the life skill of just ignoring certain other posters.
We do have a site – The U Tree – where civility is not a requirement. Interestingly, people don’t really go there much. Nevertheless, if you find yourself in an “argument” that can’t really stay civil, please feel free to “take it to the U Tree”. The U Tree is also a good place to report any technical difficulties, if you’re unable to report them here. Please post your comment there on one of Wolf’s posts, or in reply to one of Wolf’s comments, to make sure he sees it (though it may take a few hours).
We also have a backup site, called The Q Tree as well, which is really The Q Tree 579486807. You might call it “Second Tree”. The URL for that site is https://theqtree579486807.wordpress.com/. If this site (theqtree.com) ever goes down, please reassemble at the Second Tree.
If the Second Tree goes down, please go to The U Tree, or to our Gab Group, which is located at https://gab.com/groups/4178.
We also have some “old rules” and important guidelines, outlined here, in a very early post, on our first New Year’s Day, in 2019. The main point is not to make violent threats against people, which then have to be taken seriously by law enforcement, and which can be used as a PRETEXT by enemies of this site.
In the words of Wheatie, “Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven that Wolf has created for us.”
A Moment of Prayer
Our policy on extreme religious freedom on this site is discussed HERE. Please feel free to pray and praise God anytime and anywhere.
Thus, please pray for our real President, the one who actually won the election.
You may also pray for our nation, our world, and even our enemies.
Musical Interlude
In honor of dear Wheatie, we now present some music to soothe, inspire, invigorate, or relax.
First, some “epic orchestral steampunk adventure music”!
OK – now for an awesome mix of ACID ROCK and GEEZER ROCK!
And if you want some rock history which pays brief tribute to Blue Cheer, check this out…..
But after that, I’ve gotta do a deep cleanse!
And here’s one for Litenmaus, Tradebait, and our dearly departed sister from Indian Territory!
OK – gotta do JUST ONE MORE…..
Call To Battle
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
If you noticed your iPhone is charging a little slower recently it may be due to a new setting Apple added in iOS 16.1 — Clean Energy Charging
With it turned on, iOS will only recharge the iPhone's battery when the electrical grid uses cleaner energy sources like solar or wind… pic.twitter.com/ANW3GZwYSd
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Wolfie’s Wheatie’s Word of the DayYear Week:
cartel
noun
A combination of independent business organizations formed to regulate production, pricing, and marketing of goods by the members.
A combination of independent commercial or industrial enterprises designed to limit competition or fix prices.
A group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market.
An official agreement between governments at war, especially one concerning the exchange of prisoners.
A written agreement between belligerent nations.
A group of parties, factions, or nations united in a common cause; a bloc.
A combination of political groups for common action.
A group of individuals united in a common cause.
Used in a Sentence:
“I want to be crystal clear. The drugs in this room and the drugs that are flooding Arizona every single day are sourced primarily by one evil entity, the Sinaloa drug cartel,” said Cheri Oz, DEA special agent in charge.
Wait till you find out that @Adrian_Fontes, the man in charge of the 2024 Presidential Election in Arizona, literally did legal work with the Sinaloa Cartel. https://t.co/AIouZPLpZS
*As Long As You Conduct Them Outdoors, or Indoors With a Fire
Having once been a student fan of Linus Pauling, I never thought that anything more “nature nutty” than his seemingly reckless speculations about vitamin C would turn out to to be proven right, but then science said “hold my beer” and came up with what I’m about to tell you.
Allow me to explain.
It turns out that I was a student during what was likely the SECOND WAVE of the isolation, identification, and structural elucidation of healing principles from natural remedies and therapies. The first wave of this scientific activity occurred during the late 1800s and early 1900s, when natural remedies such as cinchona bark were mined for obvious, high-concentration active ingredients such as quinine.
The second wave, during the late 1900s and early 2000s, took advantage of high-powered tools like NMR, HPLC, and routine mass spectrometry, to isolate the most extremely dilute yet powerful agents from natural sources. This is when powerful agents like venoms, toxins, antimicrobials (such as ivermectin), enzymes, vitamins, hormones, metabolites, and transient biochemicals were fully scrutinized.
Because of this background, I can and do respect nature for its healing principles.
Even more so, as a diehard evolutionist AND believer in God, I look at nature as adaptive, intelligent, dense with information, and PROVEN by testing against reality – and thus as a source of highly distributed intelligence both different from and in many ways greater than our own. And yet all that intelligence is merely an infinitesimal subset – a differentially small occurrence, within a uncountable infinitude of possibility. Nature – and even more so the sum of all possible natures – is humbling.
And yet there were places I could not go, in trusting nature.
In an open thread of late October last year, Deplorable Patriot cited a fantastic article about the weird wokism of modern medical schools, causing students to take non-Hippocratic oaths involving all sorts of leftism, paganism, and new-age neologism.
My trouble-making Choctaw side, so paleo-conservative and nature-lovin’ that he is officially radical, thinks this is all just awesome. However, my German side, who studied under various famous scientists past and present, whose names now grace important reactions, finds this situation utterly appalling.
In any case, ALL SIDES OF ME laughed uproariously at this line in the essay.
I doubt this means that the University of Minnesota will now only certify physicians who prescribe rhinoceros horn and healing drum circles. Still, a university spokesperson assured reporters that these kinds of hyper-politicized oaths are a “common practice” in medical schools and are designed to “promote humility, integrity, and beneficence” among future doctors.
Our local herbalist Aubergine, as well as both myself and nikkichico7 (alternately wowohwow1528), commented on the situation.
Aubergine, in particular, made the comment of the century, wise indeed, after we suffered through both killer vents and remdesivir.
At best, remdesivir appeared to be the “drum circle of antivirals.”
And that is where I thought things were, until last night……
…..when I discovered that drum circles can actually help cure COVID-19 in a statistically significant way.
There is a LOT of great science here to unpack, but it’s worth it, IMO. I will do so by sending you straight to the sources – MedCram videos.
This goes back to our “vitamin D buddy”, Dr. Roger Seheult, who is a professor, researcher, practicing doctor, and one of the two founders of the MedCram video series that people have been gobbling up during COVID.
I have repeatedly recommended his vitamin D video, which went viral, and put MedCram on everybody’s map.
You will find a lot of amazing science in that video. If you are at all concerned about COVID-19, then I highly recommend that you ask your doctor to give you a vitamin D test, to make sure that your levels of vitamin D are sufficiently high (a point that Aubergine always makes), since people can have natural deficiencies that require doctor-monitored supplementation. Even if you don’t follow that advice, then at least follow the guidelines in this video, for how much vitamin D you can safely add without talking to your doctor.
Vitamin D deficiency is one of the biggest risk factors in COVID-19, possibly even more deadly than zinc deficiency.
Anyway, YouTube recommended the following video last night, and I decided to take a look. This video expands on the vitamin D effects on health in a big way. It turns out that UV light increasing your vitamin D levels, is not ALL that is going on, when you get proper sunlight.
There is something else going on with sunlight, and it makes a big difference in outcomes.
THAT video is fascinating, but it led me to two other, subsequent videos, which are directly over the target of COVID-19.
First, the proof that drum circles work.
This is where Dr. Seheult found a fascinating study, which proved that even short, weak doses of artificial near-infra-red light (6 watts for 15 minutes per day) had a powerful curative effect on COVID-19, shortening sickness by 4 days on average, and reducing all bad outcomes profoundly and significantly.
The best part is that this was a rigorous, prospective, single-blinded, longitudinal, placebo-controlled trial. I’m a bit “grumpy-cat” about the study not being double-blind, because this doesn’t rule out investigator biases in a way I would prefer. On the other hand, I don’t trust many medical authorities to “hold the keys” on double-blinded trials, because I think that manipulating the hidden identity data is part of how “they” sabotage trials that conflict with their goals. I believe that many scientists have been played for chumps by the nasty psychopaths who are controlling science behind their backs.
Most importantly, the new results make scientific sense. THAT is explained fully by Dr. Seheult, and is why you need to watch the above video, at the very least. There is a solid scientific explanation why near-IR irradiation is so incredibly beneficial, and I think that Dr. Seheult is right on the money here.
NOW – let me be honest – AT NO POINT in these videos, does Dr. Seheult state that DRUM CIRCLES work – but that conclusion is nevertheless 100% supported by what he does say, and what the researchers found – provided that the drum circles are conducted either OUTSIDE or near an active fire producing radiating heat comparable to the sun.
Once you understand that weak, artificial, near-IR radiation is responsible for significantly improved COVID outcomes, and you combine this knowledge with the radiation biophysics which Dr. Seheult explains, it is very clear that whole-body exposure to solar near-IR or incandescent near-IR (meaning a FIRE) is going to accomplish what was proved in the hospital, only with even higher levels of radiation. Moreover, this does not require direct sunlight, because it turns out that “near-IR” reflects off green vegetation almost completely, allowing for intense therapy to occur even on overcast days, and even under a forest canopy.
Being outside under sunlight, or near a fire at night or indoors, is almost all that one needs to do, to obtain the benefits of near-IR radiation. In other words, going outdoors every day for 15 minutes, while you have COVID-19, could literally save your life.
Now – do you have questions? Many people did, and Dr. Seheult dealt with them in yet another MedCram video.
In particular, you need to understand that while this was proven for COVID-19, Dr. Seheult points to historical data that shows the effect likely occurred during the Spanish Flu epidemic.
And that’s not all. This is a very general medical effect. MANY disease states are likely to benefit by similar treatment. A very NATURAL treatment. Now proven – yet again – by science.
So take it from this former skeptic…..
Drum circles are an excellent way to obtain healing rays within sunlight, and moreover to believe that health benefits will actually happen. Because they will. And science says so.
You heard it from the Wolf.
And if you’re not certain that drum circles will work, then I suggest taking nikkichico’s advice, and adding a shot of whiskey, for medicinal purposes only! *wink*
This Rejoice & Praise God Sunday Open Thread, with full respect to those who worship God on the Sabbath, is a place to reaffirm our worship of our Creator, our Father, our King Eternal.
It’s also a place to read, post, and discuss news that is worth knowing and sharing. Please post links to any news stories that you use as sources or quote from.
In the QTree, we’re a friendly and civil lot. We encourage free speech and the open exchange and civil discussion of different ideas. Topics aren’t constrained, and sound logic is highly encouraged, all built on a solid foundation of truth and established facts.
We have a policy of mutual respect, shown by civility. Civility encourages discussions, promotes objectivity and rational thought in discourse, and camaraderie in the participants – characteristics we strive toward in our Q Tree community.
Please show respect and consideration for our fellow QTreepers. Before hitting the “post” button, please proofread your post and make sure your opinion addresses the issue only, and does not confront or denigrate the poster. Keep to the topic – avoid “you” and “your”. Here in The Q Tree, personal attacks, name-calling, ridicule, insults, baiting, and other conduct for which a penalty flag would be thrown are VERBOTEN.
In The Q Tree, we’re compatriots, sitting around the campfire, roasting hot dogs, making s’mores, and discussing, agreeing, and disagreeing about whatever interests us. This board will remain a home for those who seek respectful conversations.
God is in Control . . . and His Grace is Sufficient, so . . . Keep Looking Up
Hopefully, every Sunday, we can find something here that will build us up a little . . . give us a smile . . . and add some joy or peace, very much needed in all our lives.
“This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.” . . . “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Faith . . . a Gift from God
God uses faith to bring salvation to His people. God gives faith because of His grace and mercy, because He loves us (Ephesians 4—5). Faith comes from God in the form of a gift (Ephesians 2:8).
A gift is not earned by some good deed or kind word, and it is not given because the giver expects a gift in return—under any of those conditions, a gift would not be a gift. The Bible emphasizes that faith is a gift because God deserves all of the glory for our salvation. If the receiver of faith could do anything whatsoever to deserve or earn the gift, that person would have every right to boast (Ephesians 2:9). But all such boasting is excluded (Romans 3:27). God wants Christians to understand they have done nothing to earn faith, it’s only because of what Christ did on the cross that God gives anyone faith (Ephesians 2:5, 16). Receiving faith is a non-work (see Romans 4—Abraham’s salvation was dependent on faith in God, as opposed to any work he performed).
Suppose someone anonymously sent you a check for $1,000,000. The money is yours if you want it, but you still must endorse the check. In no way can signing your name be considered earning the million dollars—the endorsement is a non-work. You can never boast about becoming a millionaire through sheer effort or your own business savvy. No, the million dollars was simply a gift, and signing your name was the only way to receive it. Similarly, exercising faith is the only way to receive the generous gift of God, and faith cannot be considered a work worthy of the gift.
By knowing our saving faith comes from God alone, it should encourage Christians to “not think of yourself more highly than you ought,” but remember God decides the measure of faith each one receives (Romans 12:3). The apostle Paul gives an example of the godly humility believers should have when they contemplate their own faith: “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:13–14). Paul understood faith in Christ was given to him because of God’s grace in spite of his own sinful life (1 Corinthians 4:7).
The Bible specifies the way, or the means, that God gives faith to people. “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17). It is the Word of God that produces faith. Someone could receive faith while hearing a sermon teaching the gospel, someone else by reading about Jesus in the Bible—any time the true gospel of Jesus is communicated, there is potential for faith. This is why it’s of paramount importance for believers everywhere to act with Christ as our Great Example.
“You are light for the world. Let your light shine in front of people. Then they will see the good that you do and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16), and “In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). Faith is not the product of a preacher’s compelling presentation, his eloquence, or even his theological soundness—faith is given through the message about Jesus. This is the means God has chosen.
Anyone who wants more faith should ask God for it. God freely gives what is good to all who ask (Luke 11:9–12), and it’s good to ask for an increase of faith (Luke 17:5; Mark 9:24). Jesus prayed for Peter’s faith to be strengthened (Luke 22:32). As with any gift from God, it is our responsibility to exercise the gift and not become complacent, lazy, or apathetic (Romans 12:1–2, 6–8).
Christians can find comfort and peace of mind knowing their faith is from God, because He has said He will finish the good work He started (Philippians 1:6). God is the Author and the Perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:2a; Romans 8:29–30).
Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29
It bears repeating . . . we come naked and dirty; God provides all else.
The Door
I stood at the door, naked and dirty To try to see if I could get in I timidly knocked, you could barely hear With noise all around, the bustle and din
In but a moment, the door opened wide A gentle voice said “I know where you’ve been All of us here have been waiting for you Welcome, dear friend, I forgive all your sin”
He gave a white robe and said “Now you’re clean Enter with confidence, you’re now our kin Blest of my Father, you’re safe in His hand Your promised peace and joy now begins
I came with nothing and was given all I came here lost never thinking I’d win All glory to God! Praise Him forever! I was cursed outside, but now blest within
I bring those articles up because drugs are a very good way to limit population growth and to weed out the weak, a major goal of the Eugenicists. I had noticed as a teen, that after the passage of the 1964 Civil rights act, little inner city drug pushers were introduced to our school. As a result a friend’s 6 year old sister was caught stealing money from her Mom’s purse to buy cocaine.
Also in reading this I remembered my old notes on another Arizona Governor who seemed very pro open borders. Those notes are at the bottom of the article.
I have done a very very rough transcript of some of the testimony of the Badlands media presentation in:
Arizona Legislation Joint Election Hearing Coverage – Thur 11:00 AM ET
Seth Keshel was the first to give evidence. He deals with the historical trends, statistics and inflated voter roles.
Please excuse spelling and grammer errors. I am not going to edit this because I want it out fast.
However this is the EXPLOSIVE testimony
Report: Preliminary findings of Activities impacting Arizona’s Election Integrity with specific focus on the 2020 and 2022 Elections
@ 6:42:45 Jackeline Breggor.
She has a masters in Marketing, honor degrees in accounting, financial statistics, economics and business strategy. She owns an insurance agency AND has been the principle investigator with the … Law firm.,,
“We have been investigating multi-state racketeering and corruption… Mr Thaler(sp) is in charge of the investigation, he is a senior partner (32 yrs practicing) The firm specializes in investigating racketeering.for the public and private sector… largest investigation in USA and abroad.
In 2006, Us Attorney’s office in IL, ID and IN investigated the LAUNDERING OF DRUG CARTEL MONEY thru a complex series of single family purchases in those states. By 2009, numerous Real Estate agents, escrow companies and title insurers had been indicted charged and convicted of racketeering. And in 2014 our office was asked to review the case file.
The reason was to determine if moneys had filtered thru homes purchased in AZ specifically Maricopa and Pima county. We concluded that several real estate agents convicted in Iowa had set up laundering systems in AZ. On there after sent the proceeds of sales to the Panamanian corporations.
In 2018 Mr Thaler(sp) discovered ,completely incidental to an independent matter, a series of Trustees evidencing that cash laundered thru single family residences in AZ was pervasive and on going. With that a new investigation began with the focus on money laundered and racketeering activities in Maricopa county as well as in several other AZ counties. We are currently represent several parties directly damaged by this racketeering activities.
The original investigation focused on fake notarization, fake deeds of trust, fraudulent buyers and or sellers of the real property transactions as well as other companies used in real estate transactions. Such as real estate brokers, Mortgage companies, title and escrow cos. real estate inspection cos. And so on.
Over 120,000 documents have been reviewed to date.
These docs have definitely evidenced MULTIPLE RACKETEERING ENTERPRISES WHICH INCLUDE NARCOTIC SALES, MONEY LAUNDERING, TAX EVASION, PAY ROLL THEFT, BANKRUPTCY FRAUD, LIFE INSURANCE FRAUD, AUTO INSURANCE FRAUD, BRIBERY OF ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS CREATING AND MODIFYING PUBLIC RECORD, FALSIFYING PROFESSIONAL LICENSES, AND RELATED CREDENTIALS, SWATTING INDIVIDUALS THAT POSE A THREAT TO THESE ENTERPRISES And LAST BUT NOT LEAST ELECTION FRAUD.
When I walked in I heard about a compromised computer system. Well that will be something I will be addressing in quite some detail.
@ 7:07:00 Katie Hobbs name on several deeds of trust.
Emerge Arizona seems to be a honey trap set-up by the SinaloaCartel to attract women they can bribe and place in politics. Hobbs worked there.
@ 7:09:00 … Since at least 2004 ballot counts have been tampered with. Our county’s data base built between 2014 & 15, has been and continues to be infiltrated and hacked. It’s architects specifically designed the system with multiple back door entries. These allow the up loading of falsified documents and the removal of genuine documents from the county system. We have SEEN Brittany [whistleblower] access the data base and have an eye witness to testify to that. Over the last 15 years Brittany has uploaded falsified judgments etc
Beginning in 2017 the access points have been used to change vote totals and therein election results.
Illegal transfers have been made and PROVIDED TO RUNBECK AND JEFF ELLISON.
The phony deeds in the scheme to move money to candidates are created by Brittany.
For profit and non-profit PACs are also created by Brittany and used to move money for candidates.
During the 2022 election ballot scanners and printers at 70 precincts suffered changes to their printer settings despite being tested the night before the election. The changes in those settings were made through computer infiltration. Not manually or by some never seen before error.
The uncontrolled ballots were placed in Box 3 and allegedly driven to Runbeck. Witness information provided by October 2020 confirms that over 100,000 filled in ballots and more than 13 million dollars were Identified by some of our investigators in 2 unmarked rental cars. These ballots were loaded into the vans with the cash at a private residence in Mesa and driven to Runbeck’s office.
The Runbeck company as you know is operated by Robert Runbeck. We have found deeds for Runbeck.and Ellison.
So, I was going to drive home the point but instead I will move on.
We have heard OK, the statistical improbabilities. With respect to the 2020 election. let’s look at Adrian Fontes (D) and Steven Richer run for Maricopa county recorder. Riker’s win was statistically impossible. Riker won by approximately 6,000 votes. This means 50,000 individuals that voted for the Democrat ticket across the board, had to choose a republican against an incumbent who never suffered a scandal. Never happened, this was a planned loss. Hobbs would receive the Democrat nomination for governor and Fontes would run for Sec of State to replace Hobbs. The strategy appeared to have been planned.
I have shown you that both Fontes and Hobbs have ‘Brittany deeds’ indicating a strong likelihood that they are bribe recipients.
Now it may seem obvious but I do feel it is necessary to explain none the less. Given that AZ is a border state and drug smuggling and Human trafficking is a billion dollar business. It would appear that having our elected and appointed officials ensure the cartel enterprise would remain open for business would be paramount. The Cartel invests substantially to make sure the right people are in key positions so as to ensure their objectives.
The fix for 2020 and 2022 started in 2017 with the appointment of people to elected positions being bribed thru the mortgage scheme and by money being laundered by the appointment of phantom individuals. The problem with these documents are many.
If you look at the recorded appointments from Fontes that were notarized by a ‘Jessica York’, First the hand writing of the written and printed name has been Ided as belonging to Brittany by a document expert. Secondly, the York signatures are the same handwriting but not the same style and that change of style exists even when the documents were allegedly signed on the same day. The clerk handwriting matches Donna. The signature of the clerk at the bottom is actually a tracing of a signature stamp. The time between the signing and the notarization alleged execution of the clerk and thereafter the recorded date are evidence of forgery. Normally it is a 2 to 3 [day?] turn around time. These took multiple months. And all were AFTER the election certification. I have example after example where things do not add up. … Three out of five Maricopa supervisors have recorded documents evidencing acceptance of bribes.
Further we have investigated PACs relating to state office holders and Dark Money transactions relating to said PACs. From late 2018 to 20222, a significant number of questinable real estate transactions were facilitted by several law firms including partners at PERKINS COIE.
Mr Thaler would be here himself presenting this information but there have been been multiple attempts on his life. A tire was slashed with a straight edged knife about 46 inches in such a manner as to cause a catastrophe failure. I am mentioning this because a similar attempt was made on Kari Lake’s daughter during her campaign. To date 6 attempts have been made on Thaler’s life.
In Arizona public officials accepting bribes include members of the legislature, members of the state government more than 2 dosen judges on the Maricopa county Superior court at least two judges on the city of Mesa court, at least one judge in the town of Gilbert court, the mayor of Mesa, at least five members of Mesa city council, several police officers…
INTERRUPTIONS – POINT OF ORDER Not appropriate place… rule can not impute other members of the chamber …. So what I am going to do is this, I need you to wrap up…
Even though our investigations cover multiple states, Thaler and our team have interviewed over thirty witnesses in AZ Several individuals in the public officials list have cooperated with this investigation. The team has interviewed and collected more than 120,000 documents as I have said. The eminence data that we have collected will assist law enforcement agencies to investigate election fraud. Further the data we have collected and the connections we have found, and the vast details of this entire investigations will lead enforcement agencies to those participating in the frauds, and will help you restore election integrity within our beautiful state.
Thank You
Q. To whom have you given this data other than us today?
A. As we said the report was given to Gov Doug Ducey in May of 2022 so he has been made aware. As has as I mentioned in my presentation, FBI, some of the other Attorney Generals especially in New Mexico and California. [She mentioned the IRS too]
Q. How was this given to Mr Ducey?
A. it was given by one of our team members.
Q. Did you give this to the AZ Attorney General?
A. We have not yet presented this to the AZ attorney general. We do know that gov Ducey did share this with the Attorney general at the time.
Q. How do you know that.
A. Because he [Gov Ducey] shared that with Mr Thaler directly. But I personally have not given it to the AZ attorney general yet.
Q. Was Mr Thaler the one who gave this to the governor?
A. No Not directly because Mr thaler is not in AZ.
Q. So how would Mr Thaler know Gov Ducey shared this with the State Attorney General.
A. Because Mr Ducey and Mr Thaler were in contact.
Q. Thank you for coming you are very brave… How this relates to the election is that many officials are bribed or blackmailed to get certain election results and I think that the people have the right to hear that. Because the people in AZ crave truth. Am I correct?
A. Yes absolutely and that is why O am here today. I think we are going round and round and round with the concept of election integrity, but no one is willing to speak the truth of how our did our elections get compromised. And it is the nuts and bolts what actually happened to actually compromise our elections and compromise the integrity of our state.
Q. What political part are you?
A. I am unaffiliated.
Q. How long has it taken for this information to be compiled and how many people worked on this team-building.
A. this information was compiled over approx 3 ½ to 4 years. And we have had approx 5 to 10 people at any given time because it hasn’t always been a consistent number working on this investigation….
Q, How is it that you were invited to address the committee today? By Whom?
A. I was invited by rep Harris.
END
This testimony made me dig into my old notes and look at Janet Napolitano. Was she also compromised? I think it would be worth checking.
I first made the link to the Muslim Jihadists that Obama and Napolitano seemed to be protecting. However the link between the Muslims and the drug cartels can not be overlooked.
NAPOLITANO, OBAMA, HEZBOLLAH, AND THE DRUG CARTELS
This is a collection of news articles that tell the story of the compromise of the state of Arizona by Napolitano and the Obama Administration.
First “Hernández wrote a book about the drug cartels. What make Los Señores del Narco different was linking the Sinaloa cartel, the biggest criminal organization in the world – to the leadership of the Mexico.“ It was originally published in 2010
Hezbollah is IN South America and is financed via Drug trafficking.
In its determination to secure a nuclear deal with Iran, the Obama administration derailed an ambitious law enforcement campaign targeting drug trafficking by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, even as it was funneling cocaine into the United States, according to a POLITICO investigation.…
They followed cocaine shipments, some from Latin America to West Africa and on to Europe and the Middle East, and others through Venezuela and Mexico to the United States. They tracked the river of dirty cash as it was laundered by, among other tactics, buying American used cars and shipping them to Africa. And with the help of some key cooperating witnesses, the agents traced the conspiracy, they believed, to the innermost circle of Hezbollah and its state sponsors in Iran.…
Ayman Saied Joumaa Accused drug kingpin and financier whose vast network allegedly smuggled tons of cocaine into the U.S. with Mexico’s Zetas cartel and laundered money.
The Colombia and Venezuela investigations linked him to numerous international drug smuggling and money laundering networks, and especially to one of the biggest the DEA had ever seen, led by Medellin-based Lebanese businessman Ayman Joumaa.
Joumaa’s network rang alarm bells in Washington when agents discovered he was working with Mexico’s brutal Los Zetas cartel to move multi-ton loads of cocaine directly into the United States, and washing $200 million a month in criminal proceeds with the help of 300 or so used car dealerships. …
Luke Rosiak has written a series of articles (see links at end of this article) that show ONE IN FIVE Democrats used these spies INCLUDING “Three members of the intelligence panel and five members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs were among the dozens of members who employed the suspects on a shared basis. The two committees deal with many of the nation’s most sensitive issues and documents, including those related to the war on terrorism.” LINK
Most curious was Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, of Florida’s absolute refusal to fire the Awan Brothers and her freaking out when “Imran left the laptop, with the username RepDWS, in a phone booth” and Capital Police retrieved it and refused to give it to DWS. LINK
GULFTAINER, the Middle Eastern company that operates the intermodal cargo container terminal at Florida’s Port Canaveral, is co-owned by Hamid Dhia Jafar, the brother and business partner of notorious Iraqi nuclear physicist Dr. Jafar Dhia Jafar (a.k.a. Abou Timmen), Saddam Hussein’s prized nuclear weapons mastermind.
Do not forget the Chinese Connection to the Drug trade and islamic Jihadists.
….Terrorists are able to mix and mingle with the masses of illegal aliens and slip by unnoticed. I’ve been warning about the risk of radical Muslim terrorists crossing the border for over a year now in my many media appearances.
Well my prediction is no longer a fear
. It is now a fact.
My trusted insider source at the U.S. Customs & Border Protection Agency called me only days ago to implore me to “imitate Paul Revere” and tell the American people before it’s too late.
Quote… “We don’t need to wait for Middle Eastern military-age males to invade our border.
They are here.”
Here is the news this trusted border agent reported to me:>>>First, the US government has received an urgent alert from Mexico that Syrian military-age males are in Mexico, headed for the US border. U.S. border agents are on extreme high alert.>>>More alarm bells were set off by the capture only days ago of eleven Pakistanis at the San Diego border. To make matters more alarming, my border agent source says Mexico confirmed all entered Mexico with Pakistani passports….
In June 2005, Ecuadorian security officials uncovered a drug smuggling ring led by a Quito-based restaurateur of Lebanese descent identified as Rady Zaiter. Under the auspices of “Operacion Damasco,” local security forces disrupted his syndicate, which stretched to the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. Although little evidence has emerged confirming that Zaiter was anything other than a prolific drug dealer, Ecuadorian sources are emphatic that Zaiter had ties to Hezbollah and was in fact laundering money for the group [2]. This seems to fit a pattern in Latin America, as more countries attempt to curry favor with Washington by claiming solidarity in the war on terrorism by linking narcotics traffickers to terrorism.
Zaiter was also known by his aliases David Assi Alvarez and Almawla Fares. He is accused of cocaine trafficking and money laundering through a network of local drug smugglers and contacts in the sizable Arab and Muslim immigrant communities of Maicao, a free-trade zone in northeastern Colombia, as well as the capital Bogota. Like Zaiter, the majority of Maicao’s Arab Muslim population is of Lebanese descent. Others trace their origins to Syria and, to a lesser extent, Palestine…
Colombian authorities dismantled a network of narcotraffickers linked to Islamist terrorists. Funds derived from the narcotrafficking are believed to have been diverted to Hezbollah – an Islamist terror organization.…
The growth of Hezbollah is due to the strategic alliance reached by enemies of the United States. These are President Ahmadinejad of Iran and President Chavez of Venezuela. The latter has expressed support for the Shiite Muslims in Iran and Syria and allows them free sway in Venezuela – an important source of petroleum to the U.S. The Venezuelan government owns CITGO, a network of gasoline stations and refineries in the U.S.
Islam has shown growth in Latin America, once a monolith of the Catholic faith. For example, the Wayuu Guajira people of Venezuela and Colombians– native Americans who live in the tropical forests – have provided numerous converts to Islam over the last decade and some of them are declared jihadis – warriors for Islam. Efforts to convert native peoples to Islam have been fostered by Iran with investments of money and other resources. Wayuu Guajira Indians are the largest indigenous group in Venezuela and Colombia (about 135,000 in Colombia and 170,000 in Venezuela).
On October 23, 2006, the police in the Venezuelan capital found two explosive devices near the American Embassy….
….Venezuela is also becoming a hub for international drug traffickers, with shipments to Europe and West Africa rising dramatically. The latter market is especially worrisome, as the narcotics trade is destabilizing West Africa, helping make it a target of opportunity for Islamic extremists.
Hezbollah also would have a natural interest in Mexico’s drug cartels, which account for 90% of the cocaine flowing to more than 240 U.S. cities. The cartels are all-purpose, amoral criminal organizations quick to engage in all things nefarious—from drug dealings to assassinations, kidnapping, and migrant smuggling—provided they’re profitable.
If Hezbollah bag men can do business with Mexico’s cartels, so can its trained terrorists. In the fluid, globalized struggle based on the principles of asymmetric warfare, terrorists constantly seek out our vulnerabilities and soft targets….
She is an interesting addition to the story so let’s go back in time to see what she was up to as head of DHS under Obama and governor of Arizona.
Out of one side of her mouth Janet Napolitano was stating: ” The terrorist threat to the U.S. homeland has continued to “evolve” and may now “be at its most heightened state” since the September 11, 2001” Out of the other side of her mouth she is busy assuring Americans that the southern border is “more secure than ever.” So secure in fact that Homeland security is going to DECREASE the southern border patrol by “several hundred agents.”
Here was the reality on the border while she was in charge.
The Border Fence Morphs
The original version of the border wall.
…To his right stands a steel wall, 20 feet high and reinforced by cement-filled steel piping. To his left another tall fence of steel mesh. Ten yards beyond, a shorter cyclone fence is topped with jagged concertina wire.…
“This wall works,” says Mr. Bernacke. “A lot of people have the misconception that it is a waste of time and money, but the numbers of apprehensions show that it works.”
The triple-and double-layered fence here in Yuma is the kind of barrier that US lawmakers – and most Americans – imagined when the Secure Fence Act was enacted in 2006.
The law instructed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to secure about one-third of the 1,950-mile border between US and Mexico with 700 miles of double-layered fencing – and additionally through cameras, motion sensors, and other types of barriers – by the end of the year to stem illegal immigration.
Bankrolled by a separate $1.2 billion homeland security bill, the Secure Fence Act would, President Bush said in 2006, “make our borders more secure.” …
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0331yuma-wall0331-ON.html?&wired [This URL has been excluded from the Wayback Machine.]
“The Obama administration on May 7 said the Border Patrol “plans to move several hundred Agents from the Southwest Border.“
Signaling a major shift from her predecessor, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Tuesday said she will spend $50 million of stimulus funds originally intended to build a “virtual fence” along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border on other more proven and cost-effective security technology. [‘THEY’ REALLY, REALLY DO NOT WANT THAT FENCE! -G.C.]
The decision to pull back funding on the initiative aimed at protecting the U.S. from terrorists, violent drug smugglers and illegal immigrants comes on the heels of a series of damning reports by the Government Accountability Office, and as Ms. Napolitano attempts to justify to lawmakers a 30 percent budget reduction for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the midst of a raging drug war along the Southwest border.…
Even though the Border Patrol now reports that almost 1,300 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border is not under effective control, and the Department of Justice says that vast stretches of the border are “easily breached,” and the Government Accountability Office has revealed that three persons “linked to terrorism” and 530 aliens from “special interest countries” were intercepted at Border Patrol checkpoints last year, the administration is nonetheless now planning to decrease the number of Border Patrol agents deployed on the U.S.-Mexico border.…
….the Obama administration on May 7 said the Border Patrol “plans to move several hundred Agents from the Southwest Border…
PINAL COUNTY, Ariz. — Authorities in Pinal County dispute the Federal Government’s assertion that the Arizona border with Mexico is more secure than ever.... Tim Gaffney said that Director of Homeland Security Janet Napaolitano’s statements that crimes related to immigration and drug smuggling issues are down is just not true. The numbers county officials provided in the release seem to back up Gaffney’s stance. The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said it has seen a “dramatic” increase in vehicle pursuits, drug seizures and calls to U.S. Border Patrol agents to help deal with illegal immigrants....
It doesn’t take much to see that Janet Napolitano was lying through her teeth about our Mexican border security.
“Three of the four border states are losing their National Guard troops”
Special Guest: Arizona State Rep.-elect Jack Harper
Q …. Jack, in 2007, you passed legislation to create a state-sanctioned militia here in Arizona. The then-governor, Napolitano, vetoed it.…
HARPER: Well, you might have heard that three of the four border states are losing their National Guard troops now. And Arizona is supposed to lose the federally funded National Guard troops in June or July. Well, we’re going to get crushed once the National Guard’s off the border because ….. these forces in Mexico that smuggle illegal aliens and drugs into our country, they’re more concerned with the National Guard than they are Border Patrol. Border Patrol’s … under Janet Napolitano, and that’s not really an intimidating factor.
But a military uniformed person on the border makes a lot more sense. Now, using the Homeland Security Force volunteers to observe the border and the National Guard to react to incursions across our border is something that we’re going to explore,..
The first bill, though, to establish the Homeland Security Force, I believe I’m going to have bipartisan support again. And I don’t know that …. Governor Brewer will be opposed to that, like Governor Napolitano was….
“While Minuteman civilian patrols are keeping an eye out for illegal border crossers, the U.S. Border Patrol is keeping an eye out for Minutemen — and telling the Mexican government where they are.”
…Minutemen say corrupt, heartless government drives Mexican citizens from home…. [I agree, NAFTA took the livelihood away from Mexican farmers -G.C.]
The government of Mexico yesterday issued a threat of legal action against the Minuteman Civil Defense Corp…
According to the U.S. State Department, the Mexican government has a long and sordid history of human rights violations and corruption that continues today.…
The Minutemen do not blame Mexican nationals for wanting to live and work in the United States, said Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. “Our grievance is with the corrupt Mexican government and the oligarchs in power there who are callously shifting the responsibility of their impoverished population to the United States taxpayer through ineffectual border control efforts.”
Simcox continued, “The border policies of the Mexican and United States governments have created a tragic and dangerous situation for citizens of both countries. Each year hundreds of Mexican and other nationals die a horrible death as they traverse desert wilderness attempting to illegally enter the United States. Among the sea of humanity that moves across the open borders every day, terrorists are free to walk across the border unchecked with chemical, biological and even nuclear materials. This is an unacceptable level of national security risk in a post-9/11 world….
The people on the ground near the border have found stuff abandoned that never makes it into the news.
NAPOLITANO TARGETS PATRIOTS NOT JIHADISTS OR TRAFFICKERS
Remember that in addition to notifying the Mexican Government where the civilian patrols were, Janet Napolitano ALSO put Patriots on the ‘Terrorist’ watchlist while the government took the suspected Muslim Jihadists OFF the terrorist watchlist This was done RIGHT AFTER Obama took office!
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that she was briefed before the release of a controversial intelligence assessment and that she stands by the report, which lists returning veterans among terrorist risks to the U.S.
Washington (CNN) — The terrorist threat to the U.S. homeland has continued to “evolve” and may now “be at its most heightened state” since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told members of Congress on Wednesday.
There is an increased reliance on recruiting Westerners into terrorist organizations, she told the House Homeland Security Committee. State and local law enforcement officers are increasingly needed to combat terror, and the focus must be on aiding law enforcement to help them secure communities, she said….
Gee Janet, you mean you don’t want to defund the police?
The recent Islamic presence in Mexico and South America.
“The Obama administration thinks Iran’s influence in Latin America is waning. That means it does not view the 80 or so cultural centers Iran has established across Central and South America as a threat.
Tehran begs to differ. It views these centers as a vehicle for the spread of its revolutionary ideology to America’s backyard. Iran’s official state visits, diplomatic agreements, commercial relations and volume of trade with the region do not come out to much. Far more important to the ayatollahs are the thousands of Latin American converts who, thanks to the centers’ missionary work, flock to the regime-run Al Mostafa International University in Qom each year for indoctrination.
Cuba is the most recent and unlikely addition to Iran’s growing network of missionary centers. In the last three years, Iran has established a Shiite cultural center and a mosque in Havana that is actively recruiting and converting Cubans. Many of its converts have already travelled to Iran, including one who is training as the first Cuban-born Shiite cleric.”
….Most Americans were unaware of the enormous damage to morale at the Department of Homeland Security, where I worked, his condemnation caused. His words infuriated many of us because we knew his administration had been engaged in a bureaucratic effort to destroy the raw material—the actual intelligence we had collected for years, and erase those dots. The dots constitute the intelligence needed to keep Americans safe, and the Obama administration was ordering they be wiped away.
After leaving my 15 year career at DHS, I can no longer be silent about the dangerous state of America’s counter-terror strategy, our leaders’ willingness to compromise the security of citizens for the ideological rigidity of political correctness—and, consequently, our vulnerability to devastating, mass-casualty attack.
Just before that Christmas Day attack, in early November 2009, I was ordered by my superiors at the Department of Homeland Security to delete or modify several hundred records of individuals tied to designated Islamist terror groups like Hamas from the important federal database, the Treasury Enforcement Communications System (TECS). These types of records are the basis for any ability to “connect dots.” Every day, DHS Customs and Border Protection officers watch entering and exiting many individuals associated with known terrorist affiliations, then look for patterns. Enforcing a political scrubbing of records of Muslims greatly affected our ability to do that. Even worse, going forward, my colleagues and I were prohibited from entering pertinent information into the database.
A few weeks later, in my office at the Port of Atlanta, the television hummed with the inevitable Congressional hearings that follow any terrorist attack. While members of Congress grilled Obama administration officials, demanding why their subordinates were still failing to understand the intelligence they had gathered, I was being forced to delete and scrub the records. And I was well aware that, as a result, it was going to be vastly more difficult to “connect the dots” in the future—especially before an attack occurs….
Remember this was the DHS under the control of Janet Napolitano.
…Haney and his fellow investigators found links from the Tablighi Jamaat network to “Hamas, al-Qaeda, global terrorist funding…
This complex included “a global network of schools, meaning madrassas, where people learn, study Koran, study Islamic law… they’re like colleges, and they’re all over the world,” Haney noted….. it’s a seven year program – and then they come back, and they become imams in the area where they grew up. It’s a whole process….
…his initiative was deemed politically incorrect and shut down by the Department of Homeland Security’s Civil Rights and Civil Liberties division…
….A jihadist cell in Mexico was recently found to have a weapons cache of 100 M-16 assault rifles, 100 AR-15 rifles, 2,500 hand grenades, C4 explosives and antitank munitions. The weapons, it turned out, had been smuggled by Muslims from Iraq. According to this report, “obvious concerns have arisen concerning Hezbollah’s presence in Mexico and possible ties to Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTO’s) operating along the U.S.—Mexico border.”
As far back as 2005, an article entitled “Islam is gaining a Foothold in Chiapas” showcased the inroads of Islam in Mexico…
In addition, according to counterterrorism experts in this report, Islamic terrorists blend in better with Mexicans than with Europeans, thereby enabling them to sneak into the U.S. across the southwest border. This Muslim cleric, for example, discusses how easy it is to smuggle a briefcase containing anthrax from Mexico into America, thereby killing at least some 330,000 Americans in a single hour..
I’ve had cause to consider a few things. Maybe we’re going about it the wrong way, and we need to ditch Trump
Yeah, NO
Trump all the way! Why? Because being hated by the people who hate him is a sign of impeccable character, that’s why.
The haters can go fuck themselves with rusty twelve gauge bore brushes. I’d prefer ten gauge but that’s kind of scarce, so…I’m willing to compromise.
The RINO’s Dilemma
The RINOs who who have burrowed in and taken over most GOP organizations, from the state down to local organizations, have quite a dilemma on their hands, and most of them have their heads too far up their asses to realize it.
OK, I’m not talking about the liberal in a Republican area, who knows they’re in the wrong party, but is there because it’s the only game in their town; they hope to capture a nomination someday, at which point they’re guaranteed to be elected…otherwise, they never will be. These people are a hazard in any heavily conservative area.
No, I’m talking about the guys who are a little bit conservative and want to do some good by going into politics, and they’re in a closely matched area, closely enough that they can join the party they are most aligned with and still have a chance. They think the Democrats…particularly the ones who end up running for office…are nuts.
They don’t think much better of the Deplorable types, either. A bunch of bumpkins whose hearts are in the right place, mostly…OK a bit extreme. But they think Deplorables can’t understand that first you have to get elected, then work within the system to change things…a slow process. They genuinely want many of the things Deplorables want…just not as much. The government is spending too much. Or they need to spend money on highways instead of welfare for illegal immigrants. But they want to work within the system to get these things done.
Or maybe they think things are pretty close to ideal right now, and they want to nail it in place.
The problem is, that means they don’t stand for anything in particular. And it shows. They’re about as unappetizing to the electorate as a puddle of dog vomit. The folks in the middle, who they think they are appealing to because they themselves are not extreme, would honestly prefer a clear-spoken radical to someone who qualifies everything they say to the point where they sound like they don’t believe anything at all.
The problem these “Mild RINOs” have, is they just can’t see that. And the reason they just can’t see that, is their entire sense of self-worth is tied up in not seeing that. In their minds, they’ve worked tirelessly for their party, to keep those crazy Democrats out…only to have to constantly fight with a small number of crazy Republicans–who are only liabilities if they end up as candidates. They’ve fought the good fight, and if they can just find the right candidate, someone with some charisma, they might stop the crazies…without being too beholden to the OTHER crazies. In the meantime it’s not working. What’s a responsible guy in politics to do?
They simply cannot understand that the Republicans can’t succeed as the party of nothing in particular. Not really in the past, and certainly not today when people are starting to realize that no matter what they do in the voting booth, the country is still about to fly off a precipice. If they did see it, they’d suddenly have two choices: Go away and let the GOP succeed, or stay and fight. But “go away” isn’t really an option, because what’s the point of having a party now owned by the crazies, win?
Well, they have a dilemma…and WE, therefore have a problem. And we would have that problem even IF they realized that they had a problem…that they were the problem.
No one ever thinks they are the bad guy. Even Epstein probably thought he was the good guy. Right up to the moment where he didn’t kill himself.
So if you ever wonder why these unappetizing dufuses cling on even when their fingernails are being left behind…that’s why. They don’t understand no one wants them, and can’t imagine that no one should want them. And oftentimes their greatest pride is in all the hard work they’ve done for the party. They’re not going to give that up; it’d be psychological suicide.
If you’ve worked with these people, there’s a good chance you like them and consider some of them your friends. But even if so…we’re going to have to give them a good, hard shove. Because America is more important than those milquetoasts’ egos.
Justice Must Be Done
The prior election must be acknowledged as fraudulent, and steps must be taken to prosecute the fraudsters and restore integrity to the system.
Nothing else matters at this point. Talking about trying again in 2022 or 2024 is hopeless otherwise. Which is not to say one must never talk about this, but rather that one must account for this in ones planning; if fixing the fraud is not part of the plan, you have no plan.
Lawyer Appeasement Section
OK now for the fine print.
This is the WQTH Daily Thread. You know the drill. There’s no Poltical correctness, but civility is a requirement. There are Important Guidelines, here, with an addendum on 20191110.
We have a new board – called The U Tree – where people can take each other to the woodshed without fear of censorship or moderation.
And remember Wheatie’s Rules:
1. No food fights 2. No running with scissors. 3. If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone. 4. Zeroth rule of gun safety: Don’t let the government get your guns. 5. Rule one of gun safety: The gun is always loaded. 5a. If you actually want the gun to be loaded, like because you’re checking out a bump in the night, then it’s empty. 6. Rule two of gun safety: Never point the gun at anything you’re not willing to destroy. 7. Rule three: Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire. 8. Rule the fourth: Be sure of your target and what is behind it.
Industrial metals down…that’s not good news for the economy…well, actually, it’s simply not news for the economy; we all know it’s in the crapper. But gold and silver still decline, because in the foreign exchange markets the dollar is still strong (largely due to high interest rates here).
Fuck Joe B*d*n
Due to complaints about foul language, I’ve censored the most objectionable word in the title of this section.
B*d*n, you don’t even get ONE scoop of ice cream today.
(Please post this somewhere permanent, as it will continue to be true; the SOB will never deserve a scoop.)
Another Conjunction
You might recall the Great Conjunction of December 21, 2020, where Jupiter and Saturn got so close to each other in the sky (as seen from Earth) that you could literally look at both of them at the same time in a telescope. (What a boon for lazy astronomers!)
This coming Wednesday we have a similar situation with Jupiter and Venus, again in the evening sky after sunset. Similar, but by no means close enough for both of them to be in the same view in a telescope. You can still see a nice little alignment shortly after sunset looking west; Jupiter will be furthest above the horizon, and bright. Venus will be closer to the horizon, and even brighter. (There was hype about this on this last Wednesday, too, because the moon was nearby that night.) They will get within a half a degree of each other, which is less than the width of the full moon.
Venus and Jupiter are the two brightest objects in the night sky, other than the Moon.
Beyond The Simple Cases
Distributed Gravitational Mass & Tidal Forces
Orbital Mechanics VI
Thus far in talking about astrodynamics, I’ve been careful to consider only two bodies (a satellite and its primary), and I’ve been assuming they’re both point masses.
Neither of these assumptions is ever actually true. Because we live in a universe with more than two things in it, and nothing other than a black hole is a point mass–with the entire mass of the object all at one single point in space (and if we are dealing with black holes, Newton’s laws go out the window anyway, at least close in to the black hole).
However in many cases the effects from third, fourth, and other bodies are very very minor and there are actually conceivable cases where you can assume a point mass even when it isn’t.
The first one seems obvious. If other bodies are far away, they won’t have much gravitational influence. (People arguing that the positions of the planets at the moment of birth actually matters have to contend with [or more commonly, ignore] the fact that the obstetrician or midwife has more gravitational influence on the newborn than any other planet ever will.)
The second simplification, that you can sometimes pretend a large body is actually a point mass, is much less obvious.
Here is Newton’s law of universal gravitation, in mathematical form:
And if I were to translate that into plain English, it would read, “The force due to gravitation between two point masses is proportional to the product of their masses, divided by the square of the distance between them, and multiplied by the gravitational constant.”
What this form of the equation doesn’t address is the direction of the force; it’s directed from one object to the other along the straight line between them.
But there’s that awkward “point mass” thing again. What if it’s not a point mass?
What you do then, is (mentally) divide the object (let’s stick with the primary, since it’s much bigger than the satellite) up into much, much smaller pieces, then do this computation for each piece, including accounting for the direction, then add them all up. You’ll get a more precise answer the smaller you make your pieces, but you’ll also do more work because there are more pieces to do the computation for. And if you’re wondering how to add forces in different directions, that’s where vectors come into play (it’s pretty easy actually).
So let’s say you’re aboard a satellite near Earth, and you’re looking out the window at the earth. What’s the sum total of all of the gravitational attractions, of each sandgrain in the Australian outback, of every beer stein in England, of the iron at the earth’s core, and everything in between?
Hmmm, tricky. Or maybe not. Maybe we can sneak up on it.
Let’s replace the earth with a hollow sphere of, say, iron. The sphere is a perfect sphere, the iron is of uniform density, and the shell is of uniform thickness. (Imagine a very, very large ping pong ball made of iron instead of plastic.)
It turns out that under these circumstances you can do various mathematical tricks and shortcuts (these would be tricks and shortcuts that bear the name “integral calculus”) to discover that the aggregate attraction of that entire sphere is the same as another hypothetical object, a point mass at the center of that sphere, weighing the same as the entire iron shell. It makes no difference how thick that shell is, it makes no difference what it’s made out of–balsa wood, platinum, glass, whatever…as long as it’s of uniform density. It can be swapped with a point mass at the center of the shell.
[As a side note, it can also be shown that if you are inside the sphere, anywhere inside it, the net gravitational force is zero. If you’re at the very center, obviously, the mass on one side cancels the mass on the other (they’re the same, and at the same distance, but in opposite directions). But even if you’re near the shell somewhere, you have a small amount of matter close to you in one direction, and lots more matter in the other direction, but farther away…and they cancel each other out again. So the entire inside of the sphere is one big Zero Gravity zone.]
This is what you get when you divide that hollow sphere up into little pieces and add up their gravitational influences. And Newton did this…he invented calculus, in part, to be able to do this. (And yes, Leibniz was also inventing calculus about the same time, but Newton didn’t know about that, so he had to do it himself.)
Now back to talking about the earth. The earth is made up of layers, the crust, the mantle, the outer and inner cores. They’re each of fairly uniform composition, but no two layers…or even depths below ground within the same layer are quite the same. If nothing else lower spots within the same layer are denser because they’re under more compression. (The iron at the earth’s core is notably compressed and is denser than iron on the surface.)
So you can divide the earth into layers, like an onion, treat each of them like a hollow sphere, use Newton’s result above…and what you find yourself doing is adding point masses, all at the center of the earth, to get a total…which is to say, you’re going to end up with the equivalent of a point mass, as massive as the earth, at the center of the earth. Note: you don’t need to know what’s inside the earth for this to work, but you do have to assume that the density profile is the same in every direction out from the center of the earth (which is equivalent to saying that the onion layers will each be uniform).
So this is why you can treat a typical big round astronomical body as if it were a point mass.
Well, almost. In fact you can do it with objects far away. If you’re so far away from an object that it looks like a point to you, you can treat it as one.
But if you’re close to Earth, really really close, then the fact that it’s not a perfect sphere starts to tell.
Most importantly the earth rotates. Because it spins on its axis, centrifugal force makes Earth bulge a bit at the equator. (The same effect is used to make round disks of dough for pizza crusts; the pizza maker tosses a lump of dough in the air with a spin on it to get it to flatten out.)
That bulge will pull on satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and it does so quite a lot, causing orbits’ longitude of the ascending node to shift. The effect can cause the satellite to be 500 miles away from where it “should” be, in just one day. If you pick precisely the right size of orbit, you might even get the ascending node to shift through 360 degrees over the course of a year. This means that the orbit will basically always maintain the same orientation with respect to the sun; these are called “sun synchronous” orbits.
Even without the bulge, the Earth has continents and oceans, and there’s just enough difference in density between those items that even they can perturb a satellite. I talked about geostationary orbits, but in fact most locations above the equator will suffer from perturbations from the small irregularities in the shape of the earth, and a satellite in GEO will actually drift a little bit if it doesn’t use its thrusters for stationkeeping.
The moon is even more irregular; it has “mass concentrations” as if it were a gigantic lump of pudding with bowling balls rather than raisins. I remember being told when I was studying this stuff in college, that the effect of all those “mascons” was that a satellite in low lunar orbit simply wasn’t stable and would eventually crash into the moon.
So much for what happens in a close orbit when the primary is at least somewhat irregular.
What happens if the satellite is irregular?
Imagine a telephone pole in Low Earth Orbit.
Unless it is in precisely the right orientation, one end of the telephone pole will be slightly closer to the earth than the other. Because it IS slightly closer, it will feel earth’s gravity a bit more strongly than the other end. They’re physically attached to each other, and the telephone pole as a whole is moving with the center of gravity (which is what is “in orbit” around Earth). The center of gravity feels no force, because it’s responding freely to gravity. It’s in free fall. Every other spot on and within that telephone pole feels a slight force, the extra gravitational pull from being closer to earth, or the deficit from being further.
Anyhow, since the near end of the pole feels more force towards Earth, and the farther end of the pole feels less force..the whole telephone pole will eventually rotate about its center of gravity, so that it points towards/away from Earth. It’s not much, but there’s no other force to counter it, not even friction. And even after it has done that rotation, the near end and far end feel a very slight “tugging” force, as if some giant were to grab each end of the telephone pole and try to stretch it.
The name for this phenomenon might be surprising: it’s known as a tidal effect. Yes, as in ocean tides. Because they are caused by the same thing. The side of the earth closest to the moon feels more gravity; the side away from the moon feels less gravity. Water can flow freely in response to this so it tends to pile up at both ends; one end feels a net attraction to the moon, the other end feels a net repulsion.
How much is this apparent “stretching” force? Let’s say the length of the telephone pole is 2L; so the near end is L units closer to earth than the center of the pole, and the far end is L units farther away. So if, at some moment, the telephone pole is at distance a from the center of the earth, what happens? The force due to gravity of the center of mass of the telephone pole is proportional to 1/a2. But the near end of the pole will feel a force that is 1/(a-L)2, and the far end will feel a force that is 1/(a+L)2. The apparent stretching force is the difference between these two, so it’s going to be proportional to 1/(a-L)2 – 1/(a+L)2. Now, doing a bunch of algebra, this will simplify to: 4aL / (a4-2a2L2+L4). Now, a is much, much larger than L, and a4 is much, much, much larger than L4, so you can approximate that gigantic mess on the bottom with just a4. Cancelling, the stretching force is proportional to L/a3.
So tidal effects have an inverse cube effect going on. Move your telephone pole to twice the distance (from the center of the earth), and the tidal effect is 1/8th what it was before (not one half, or even one quarter). But it’s also proportional to L; double the length of the pole, you will double the tidal effect.
OK, so imagine something like the moon. It feels a tidal effect. In fact the moon’s shape is such that tidally it should always point the same face towards earth, and it does. In the billions of years since it formed, whatever rotation it started out with has gone away under the relentless, never ending pull from the tidal effect caused by Earth.
Of course we know the moon has a tidal effect on Earth. Is it trying to pull the Earth into a situation where the Earth always presents the same face towards the moon? Yes it is, and that is one reason the Earth is, very gradually, slowing its rotation down, resulting in having to add leap seconds here and there over the years to keep our clocks synchronized with Earth’s rotation. The earth is 81 times as massive as the moon, though, so the moon has 81 times as much work to do slowing Earth down to tidally lock it. Nevertheless the loss of Earth’s rotational angular momentum is causing a rise in the Moon’s angular momentum (angular momentum is conserved, so if Earth loses it, something else must gain it), so the Moon is slowly receding from Earth. (This has been measured by bouncing lasers off reflectors the Apollo astronauts left on the moon.)
The four “big moons” (or “Galilean moons” of Jupiter are all tidally locked to Jupiter in the same way the moon is to Earth. Pluto and its satellite Charon are almost the same mass, each is tidally locked to the other. Seen from the surface of Pluto, Charon never rises nor sets; seen from the surface of Charon, Pluto never rises or sets, either; each of the two objects appears stationary from the other, just like, on the surface of the Moon, Earth does not appear to move; if it’s above the horizon to the west where you’re standing…it will stay there.
Imagine, though, if the Moon were much closer to Earth. Really close. Like, so close that when standing on that spot on the moon closest to earth, the tidal force equals the Moon’s surface gravity.
Nothing would hold you to the moon then; you could just drift off. And that would be true of the lunar soil and rocks nearby too; they would just driff off since there’s no net force holding them to the moon. (And the same would be true on the far side of the moon too, since it feels the same tidal force away from the center of the moon.)
The moon could, if it were even closer to earth, actually be disassembled, since now objects on the surface would be actively pulled away from it!
We think this is how Saturn’s rings formed. Some object got too close to Saturn and was pulled apart by the tidal forces. Or perhaps the “stuff” in orbit around Saturn when Saturn formed simply couldn’t form a moon in the first place! (But the rings themselves are slightly unstable and won’t last more than a couple of hundred million years, which argues for them being formed well after Saturn was.)
Tidal forces can get really strong. Near a black hole for instance. Since a black hole is a point mass, greater, perhaps even much, much greater than the sun’s mass, you can get very, very close to something with very strong gravity. And remember it’s an inverse qube law…getting very, very close means having a LOT of tidal force.
Even enough to rip you apart, if you get close enough. Or anything else for that matter. Astronomers call this “spaghettification” (no, I’m not joking), this alludes to the fact that anything will be stretched until it looks like a strand of spaghetti…and then it will be stretched even more.
Right now astronomers are watching a gas cloud being pulled into the black hole at the center of our galaxy and it, sure enough, is being stretched as it gets closer and closer. I can’t seem to link to the video (and it’s on msn.com so that’s just as well), but it actually labels the gas cloud as being “spaghettified.”
Obligatory PSAs and Reminders
China is Lower than Whale Shit
Remember Hong Kong!!!
中国是个混蛋 !!! Zhōngguò shì gè hùndàn !!! China is asshoe !!!
China is in the White House
Since Wednesday, January 20 at Noon EST, the bought-and-paid for His Fraudulency Joseph Biden has been in the White House. It’s as good as having China in the Oval Office.
Joe Biden is Asshoe
China is in the White House, because Joe Biden is in the White House, and Joe Biden is identically equal to China. China is Asshoe. Therefore, Joe Biden is Asshoe.
But of course the much more important thing to realize:
Joe Biden Didn’t Win
乔*拜登没赢 !!! Qiáo Bài dēng méi yíng !!! Joe Biden didn’t win !!!
The last time I discussed my new job, thinking Hebrew, involvement in Promise Keepers and a day on the Mall in DC with Stand in the Gap. However, I need to go back a bit into that year and tell the parallel story before moving this series significantly forward.
https://youtu.be/snZKnES4ng4
To everything, there is a season and a time for every purpose, under Heaven…
Career Movement
My cup not only ran over in spiritual matters, it ran over in my occupation. After the equipment company fiasco I had retreated to a home office. I returned to my first love as a small business banker, originating and underwriting loan requests in my region. I was the first officer hired in the expansion of my new banking employer, which was a financial company owned by a bank holding company that owned a half dozen smaller rural banks. Those banks needed earning assets due to the lack of business activity in their areas. Our operation was able to provide them.
The global loan volume for small business loans that were guaranteed by the U. S. Small Business Administration and USDA guaranteed loan programs among other programs did not rise to the level of Wall Street investment houses being interested in the purchase of the guaranteed portions. However, numerous regional brokerage firms had institutional buyers interested in their purchase if packaged into larger pools, which would then be sold and securitized by Wall Street firms for sale into hedge funds, pension funds, insurance companies and so on. As more lenders entered our line of business through the years, industry profitability and influence began to increase due to the number of jobs created or saved with the business financing. The politicians began to take notice and support better as it gave them talking points in their districts.
In summary, what President Reagan and his administration envisioned in the 1980s with their modifications and boost of the industry worked. The ride was bumpy because it was a political football, but trending up as a whole for the industry.
As 1997 rolled around my book of business had grown greatly as professionals in the region learned what type of financing we could provide. That understanding led to many referrals of prospects from their clients. Add in that our company’s loan growth had increased with the addition of a couple more production officers similar to me in other regions of the state. The growth in volume began to concern ownership as we had become the largest volume lender of our type in the state, far surpassing the volumes of the big banks.
Concerned about the monster they created, ownership decided to hire a new senior credit officer (SCO) from the most conservative big bank in America at the time, Wachovia. SCO’s are charged with making sure the loans fit bank and regulator policies and requirements before they are approved and made. Executive management sets the parameters and criteria for approval. So, with the arrival of a new SCO from a highly conservative big bank, we knew we had major changes coming in the loan approval process. The CEO of our operation became concerned immediately as did I. We knew from our past experiences this was a signal of tighter credit and that the owners wanted to slow the loan volume down. Instead of increasing the deposit base to fund additional loan volume, they were choosing to throttle what they had authorized to be built, which was successful. The dog caught the car, became scared and did not know what to do with it.
Our cottage industry’s trade organization had a biannual conference coming up in the spring of that year. As things go for Goober Gump, they were holding the conference in our family’s favorite vacation spot of Hilton Head, SC. In addition to being the industry’s primary trainer, the conferences had become happy hunting grounds for recruiting new hires by employers throughout the country. with a large number of management recruiters on hand.
The holding company major owners had not consulted with us about their obvious plan to decrease the loan volume of our operation, which had already started, when they had other suitable alternatives available. We did not require huge growth in deposits since we sold the 75% guaranteed portion of the SBA loans. My ever growing referral sources and customers needed dependable funding sources as the economy was in high gear. My CEO received a cut of the profits from our company’s operations as his commission. He was a significant stockholder within the bank holding company, whose future profits would also be impacted by the decision that he was not consulted about despite being on the Board of Directors.
My CEO and I made a plan. It was time to go shopping for a new business home.
Boy, was it ever. Goober Gump and his CEO were in demand it seemed. Our steady rise to #1 in the state surpassing the big boys had not gone unnoticed in the industry.
Beach Bums
If you have ever been to the SC beaches in late April and early May, it is usually spectacular. The temps are about 75-80 degrees with loads of sunshine and the environment is gorgeous. Upon our arrival, wife and daughter hit the beach and pool while I was in meetings for a few days. In the evenings there was entertainment and great food with families invited into a pavilion area overlooking the ocean. A photo op waiting to happen. They did things right and good times were rolling with attendees. We became acquainted with many interesting people.
As we visited with each other the discussions would turn into informal job interviews. Part of our plan was to separate and do our own fishing expeditions, which worked well. By the time the conference neared its end both my CEO and I received six informal employment offers, three of which were from the same potential employers.
Landing this many informal offers meant we needed to review them before the end of the conference and rank the three we shared in order of preference. We wanted to stick together as my CEO wanted to stay in management and I wanted to stay in production, so we eliminated the choices that did not include a package deal. We both immediately settled for the same #1 choice and agreed on the #2 that would be the back-up. We scheduled a breakfast with our #1 choice for the last day of he conference.
Boom. It was over quickly. It all fit like a glove and had great upside. Their leader had made calls to his bank’s President/CEO the evening before our meeting and received approvals to proceed. We had met our future boss as well as his SCO, so we knew their loan parameters and criteria. They were both as excited to expand their operation into the eastern U. S. as we were.
Transition
As I look back, it was the single most important and correct career decision I ever made. The Lord had been clearly opening the doors every step.
The new bank employer, SierraWest, was headquartered in beautiful Truckee, CA with a large regional presence also in Reno, NV. The bank already had a large small business finance division in the west, however, they wanted to grow its branch presence and felt that the division could provide the profitability they needed to get that done. By adding an eastern U. S. region, they would also be more attractive for acquisition by a larger bank that may want a national commercial government guaranteed loan presence to springboard into new markets.
When one enters that industry, it is so specialized that you learn you are really employed by the industry, not by your bank employer. Employers in banking come and go. Their appetite for what you do comes and goes with it. However, once you are a proven performer, you will always have a good job and opportunity with active lenders in the industry. The stable of horses who can win is limited. Fortunately with her own banking background, Rock Star began to realize this as well. It was a change from her cradle to grave employment perceptions, but she got past it.
We knew our new employer would probably sell in a few years before we joined them. We also knew California banks were the absolute best in our industry at this line of business and that we would benefit from the experience. We had hitched our wagon to one of the few industry leader stars. He was highly respected, knowledgable, fun to be around, and overall good guy who gave you the tools and got out of your way. If you had a problem or needed assistance, just pick up the phone and call.
If we needed another home in a few years because the bank sold or the lending climate changed, he would take us with him if we did good work. Meanwhile we would build our own network over time and begin building the back office support staff to handle all aspects of credit and loan processing ourselves. That would make us even more valuable to potential employers.
Speed Bump
Not long after I had joined SierraWest and had closed a few transactions in 1998, a health issue stopped me. I was playing some driveway basketball with the neighbor kids and daughter, when I was accidentally tripped and fell awkwardly. A previously balky, problem knee from my younger days in sports was blown out. After a visit to an orthopedic surgeon who handled the athletes at the University of Tennessee, I learned my knee needed reconstruction for an ACL tear and severe meniscus damage. My new employer was gracious and gave me all the time I needed for the surgery and recovery.
While grinding it out in therapy, I spent a couple hours a day, a few days a week with this guy…
He was an iconic fixture in the Knoxville area as a restauranteur, businessman and all around high quality person. I knew of nobody in the area who did not personally like the man as well as his restaurant. He had the quality of being a friend to the homeless man on the corner or the king in a royal court. He mentored many leaders in the industry. However, he was most known for being a very close, lifelong friend of Dave Thomas of Wendy’s. Bill and Dave knew each other and worked together as teenagers, when Bill took Dave under his wing. They remained close all of their lives until Dave passed. He was a frequent visitor to our area as well as in Bill’s home and restaurant.
The only time I had ever witnessed Bill express anger and frustration was toward his therapist who he claimed was killing him after a knee replacement. 😂 We had surgery about the same time and used the same orthopedic clinic and therapy center. We would laugh at each other while the torturers worked the other over. Our experiences would come up whenever I had a business luncheon or took Rock Star to his restaurant. We complained, however, we both acknowledged our therapists were outstanding.
Sold!
Things were going very well and I was able to get a number of higher profile projects and businesses financed locally to build our story. It was in the year 2000 when we were told to be on a conference call.
The expected had happened. The bank was being sold to the much larger Bank of the West out of Walnut Creek, CA, which was owned by the French international banking conglomerate of BNP Paribas. Which incidentally just completed the sale of the same Bank of the West to Canadian banking conglomerate, BMO Financial in January of this year. Will leave BNP Paribas for another day, but let’s just say they don’t mind cheating, violating sanctions and thieving; or paying the resulting huge fines and penalties for having done so when caught. So the net they keep must be off the charts to justify their criminal activities.
My first thoughts were, this will not work. We learned that Bank of the West (BOW) only had three SBA business loans in their entire $10+ billion loan portfolio. By comparison our division closed more loan transactions than that every week. Add in that our average loan size was $650 K while theirs was $3 M. A major loan culture clash was incoming.
It was obvious they wanted our bank to expand their branch banking presence in the west and to put lipstick on the pig relating to small business finance in local communities to assuage regulators. We also learned that our bank’s President/CEO was going be named the head of our small business lending division for BOW with our current boss being given a one year parting gift after he finished transitioning our unit. That was not going to work well either. The President/CEO knew very little about our line of business and our boss was a leader in the industry that was loyal and helpful to his troops. Besides, our boss had moved past being just a manager. He and his wife, who also worked for the bank, had become our friends. The trust factor had been addressed over several years.
Over the next several months we went along with it. Then I noticed an interesting, red flag thing. My regional manager tried to spin it that it would be great being at BOW. I suspected it was primarily because he was receiving a bigger salary while being able to keep roaming around having fun with little responsibility.
Meanwhile, the other production officers were as apprehensive as I was. They all had been contacting me for years as I had been named a senior officer to mentor and answer their questions. I had enough at that point, our pipelines were dying with the changes. After talking it over with Rock Star I informed our manager he had 90 days to find us a new home or I would have to make other arrangements. I wanted to continue doing what I did in a better lending environment. Our relationship had changed over the years from friendship and being co-workers doing what we did well to more of him being a distant supervisor I rarely saw anyway.
About two months into it, the manager called and said he was having no luck in finding a good fit. I doubt he had even tried as I kept getting recruiter calls from prospective employers weekly. He asked that we give it more time, that he expected it would get better as they had announced plans in meetings. I smelled a rat, that he had been given a sweet salary deal to stay, which was confirmed later. About the same time I had the largest deal of my small business career tanked by BOW credit officers through their refusal to use local, more qualified appraisers on a hotel property financing project. It was an intentional, sneaky way of declining a credit worthy loan that had already been approved by our lending partner in the deal, the USDA. It was the final straw. I began talking with recruiters.
A week later our outgoing division boss called me. Previously he had asked that if he landed a good spot, would I be interested in joining him. I told him I would. This time he asked if he could come by and see me after he returned from vacation with his family to DisneyWorld as he was winding down his transition duties at SierraWest/BOW. I asked when, to mark my calendar. Then I nearly fell out of my chair. We were going to be in DisneyWorld that exact same week!
Like I’ve said many times before, stuff just happens with Goober Gump.
We made plans to meet a day after arrival for dinner with the families. He and I met a couple more times while the families hit the parks. He had accepted the CEO role of the existing small business finance division of Imperial Bank in Inglewood, CA. It was a $5 B in assets, NYSE listed business bank. The division was one of three primary lines of business in the bank. There would be no issues with commitment to what we did or with funding it because it was the second most profitable line of business in the bank that they wanted to increase and emphasize even more. Several of the more productive division employees at the former SierraWest were coming to join him at Imperial.
He wanted me to join them under one condition, that I would be his eastern U. S. Regional Manager who would develop a production, underwriting and processing operation for our part of the country east of the Mississippi River. He was not interested in hiring my manager at all. He then enlightened me on the problems he had with the guy, that he had been placed on a quiet probation recently and that BOW had indeed inked him to a contract that our former SierraWest President/CEO had executed. Seems some palace intrigue had developed behind the scenes. What that former President/CEO thought about my manager proved how out of touch he was.
I was still grateful my soon to be former manager had provided an opportunity when we were going through difficult times as a family. We parted on amicable terms and would visit with each other at conferences. However, I no longer trusted him. It was not long before BOW pulled the plug on his region and job. He has bounced through multiple employers around the country through the ensuing years as a sales manager, which simply reinforced my decision was correct.
The Imperial opportunity meant I could remain in production for as long as I had time for both producing loans and leading the eastern U. S. development. Over time as the region’s volume grew I would exit production and hand off my referral sources to a hand picked successor. I was to be hired as an executive officer of the bank with signing authority to purchase assets needed to open and maintain offices, approve division expense reports, etc. The #2a to go with the SCO in his different function as #2b in the division
Needless to say, he had successfully drug me back into management. It was a no-brainer. This time I was paying attention to what doors the Lord opened instead of doing my own thing.
Our new CEO of Imperial’s division had mentored me into a more advanced delivery system in our industry. I had no idea at the time that I had mentored him into the faith. Over the years at SierraWest and the following years he had invited me to stay in their home when I came out for meetings instead of the usual hotel stays. In doing so we were able to get to know more about each other; our interests, families and career plans. One morning over breakfast in their home before I left to return to TN, they asked me about the book I was reading. They knew I loved the Lord and was a church goer in the Bible Belt. I told them it was a devotional book I read and prayed over every morning. I gave them my witness and asked if they had ever considered placing their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as they never talked about church or anything related. They acknowledged that they went to church some when they were kids, but never really followed up on it as adults. We talked for awhile and I left them my Bible as a gift before he drove me to the airport.
A couple of years later they were happy to tell me that they had accepted Jesus as their Savior and joined a local UMC congregation where they lived in California. They both had gone through divorces previously as had Rock Star and I. They had recently learned she was pregnant, just as we experienced. Something clicked in that they were shown that forgiveness and eternal life are available at the Cross for all who have sinned, troubled or are questioning the meaning of life. They reminded me of how much I meant to them years later as I also reminded them how much his employment and mentoring meant to me and my family. I realized the primary reasons God had placed us in each other’s lives. You just never know… unless your eyes have been opened.
Conclusion
Stick with me as I continue to set the stage for what is to come as it builds. Hopefully you are getting an operational view from inside banking and small business finance as well as how the Lord pays attention to even the smallest details of His children’s lives. He closes and opens doors all of the time if we are paying attention. As always I invite you to…
Jump in, the water’s fine. Ask Asbury University…
There is a hunger in all of us that can only be satisfied one way. Nothing else will do it.
The Bijou was popular for a few decades, but fell out of style after Prohibition. Unlike its popular cousins the Manhattan and martini, the Bijou was unknown until it was rediscovered in the 1980’s. The ingredients in a Bijou cocktail are equal parts:
Gin
Sweet vermouth
Chartreuse liquor
As a note, some people like to change-up the ratios to use less Chartreuse. We decided to stick with the 1890’s equal parts recipe, and we’re glad we did.
Once you’ve got your ingredients, this three ingredient drink takes only 5 minutes to make. Here are the main steps to make a Bijou cocktail:
Stir together all ingredients in a cocktail mixing glass. This is a classic “stirred” cocktail where you stir the ingredients together instead of shaking them. Shaking dilutes the drink with ice. Because this drink is all liquor and no juices or mixers, you stir it.
Don’t have a mixing glass? Use any glass or container you like to mix the drink, then strain it into the serving glass. Or, grab yourself a cocktail mixing glass. (Plus, it just looks cool.)
Doing this late, so the commentary will be sparse. Maybe
If you want to put recombinant proteins, or mRNA or DNA, or even living micro-organisms in people, beer is an excellent choice. It is just a big brew of living yeast cells you can put all sorts of stuff inside. I would bet he didn’t go with yogurt, because most of those consumers were the types who could just be told to take the new medical thing, and they would line up, and even screech at everyone else who didn’t do it.
This is why the internet is still undefeated. One cup of coffee and one moment of brevity and this guy just destroys billions of $ of propaganda 😂 pic.twitter.com/Za6163Xmd5
I never saw this Particular Bill Cooper video. The man that knew too much. Just like Kennedy knew too much. Funny thing is Marilyn Monroe supposedly knew as well! pic.twitter.com/kTsss7B6Bx
Do people not realize that if the WHO Treaty is passed we’ll have a former Veterinarian…Dr. Tedros, the Leader of WHO…Bill Gates, who owns the WHO…Klaus Schwab of WEF…and the UN…will all in unison…be running our entire World?
It was a new standard alright. A new standard of low, and how to kill people.
A plane carrying five environmental scientists heading to Ohio crashes after taking off at the Clinton little Rock airport killing all on board. Just another coincidence right? I'm pretty sure this year of coincidences is going to eclipse the last three years hands down.
— LaughLoveLive, identifies as Deplorable Patriot 🐞 (@LaughLoveLive1) February 23, 2023
We have homeless veterans, an infrastructure that's falling apart, and chemical spills poisoning the land and water, and the priority is Ukraine? https://t.co/UO4tYh3bYj
— LaughLoveLive, identifies as Deplorable Patriot 🐞 (@LaughLoveLive1) February 23, 2023
9 years later and this video has been proven accurate! A must watch video to understand what is going on in the Ukraine/Russia War. This guy took the time to research the facts and shed light on the situation. Don’t hate America, hate our Government! #StopTheWarpic.twitter.com/eAy62SiabT
Pandemic Treaty Reemerges With a Vengeance as WHO Seeks to Become the Global Health Police
If rammed through, the WHO would have the power to both define and declare a pandemic — as well as undermine the sovereignty of nation-states to make their own health policies. @NaomiRWolfpic.twitter.com/gHiLVo8XkB
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Fellow tree dweller the late Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
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1“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. 2Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God. 3`Why have we fasted, and thou seest it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and thou takest no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. 4Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. 5Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD? 6“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. “If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
Hey @FoxNews you better roll out those fake polls! Hint, no one is going to believe Pence is beating Trump so you're stuck with Ron DeSoros. pic.twitter.com/fUueIzL82p
Biotech Analyst Sounds the Alarm that mRNA Technology May Be in Childhood Vaccines
"This is a 911 call," warned biotech analyst Karen Kingston.
"In 2020 to 2021, childhood vaccination rates were down about 15%. But between 2020 and 2021, [serious injuries and deaths]… pic.twitter.com/Lx0jmiv0bG
Buttigieg refuses to answer Daily Caller reporter’s questions on East Palestine, but creepily snaps her photo. He does the photo-taking covertly like domestic surveillance is taught, keeping the phone down and out of sight as he suddenly stops and actively engages her in conversation to distract from it. He wanted to know who she was, and will give the photo to his intelligence handler probably, to ID for him. I had an older woman doing the same thing two days ago, pretending she was photographing price signs in a store, but always getting so I was behind the price signs she was photographing with her phone. Of course, I am videoing too, but I don’t think she noticed. America is probably straight up the creepiest nation to live in these days. Just creepy weirdos all around.
Good for this Doctor for showing up to our local sarasota county Florida hospital board meeting tonight. Because he spoke the truth, the board had him ejected. Take five min and listen. Unreal!!!@ReOpenChris@EpochTimeshttps://t.co/VQhGzpAlBZ
🚨WHO Director General Tedros: “This week, WHO member states are hosting discussions on amendments to the International Health Regulations. Next week, countries will begin negotiations on a 'Zero Draft' of the new Pandemic Accord.”
You deserve to know the origins of COVID. You deserve to know why the DOJ went after parents. You deserve to know why American lives were lost in Afghanistan.
Your Republican majority is in pursuit of the truth and will hold this administration accountable.
Pink Floyd Roger Waters says that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and the rest of the Warmongering Neocons in Washington along with the vassal states in NATO are the… pic.twitter.com/yvoSmVSMln
.@TuckerCarlson Reads from "Cause Unknown": The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021 and 2022
"The CEO of the One America insurance company publicly disclosed that during the third and fourth quarters of 2021, death in people of working age (18-64) was 40% higher than it was before… pic.twitter.com/kmcAhRUjSD
Conservatives. Keep your mouths shut and get on juries. Because left wing freaks like this are going to be running legalized lynch mobs if you don’t. https://t.co/m6UQoUrGAt
'Something Flipped' in 2021: Epidemic of Sudden Death Amongst the Employed
Group Life policyholders (employees of Fortune 500 companies) historically have a mortality rate ranging from only 30% to 40% of the general U.S. population in any given year.
You destroyed any semblance of integrity this already crooked process ever had
Any indictment will be countered w/“your Honor the juror only wanted to subpoena Trump b/c she thought it’d be cool to talk to him” pic.twitter.com/EyAKDhDOKo
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The discourse on this site is to be CIVIL – no name calling, baiting, or threatening others here is allowed. Company manners are appreciated. Those who are so inclined may visit Wolf’s other sanctuary, the U-Tree, to slog out discussions best saved for a wrestling mat. If, for some reason, this site is not available, head over to the UTree and visit the post at the top of the list or the closest rescue thread.
This site is a celebration of the natural rights endowed to humans by our Creator as well as those enshrined in the Bill of Rights adopted in the founding documents of the United States of America. Within the limits of law, how we exercise these rights is part of the freedom of our discussion.
THAT MEANS THAT ALL OF US HERE ARE ENTITLED TO OUR OPINIONS AND PREJUDICES, ETC., SO LONG AS THEY CAUSE NO PHYSICAL HARM TO OTHERS OR DOXX OUR FELLOW TREE DWELLERS.
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Be careful in expressing thoughts as we would all like to think well of the rest of the group, and ill-thought out comments have a way of wrecking that for everyone.
Fellow tree dweller, the late Wheatie, gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:
No food fights
No running with scissors
If you bring snacks, be sure they are made with bacon
Auntie DePat’s requests as we are all supposedly adults and don’t just play them on TV like the body doubles pretending to be the squatter in chief:
If you see something has not been posted, do us all a favor, and post it. Please, do not complain that it has not been done yet.
The scroll wheel on your mouse can be your friend. As mature adults, please use it here in the same manner you would in avoiding online porn.
Thank you so much for any and all attention to such details. It is GREATLY appreciated by more than one party here.
15“See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. 16If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you this day, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to take possession of it. 17But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18I declare to you this day, that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land which you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, 20loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him; for that means life to you and length of days, that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
PSALMS 1:1-4, 6
1Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4The wicked are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away. 6for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
LUKE 9:22-25
22saying, “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” 23And he said to all, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. 25For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
. PRAY ……. Like Nehemiah OBEY ……. Like Daniel LEAD …….. Like Moses BUILD ……. Like Noah FIGHT ……. Like David SERVE ……. Like Martha BELIEVE ….. Like Mary EDUCATE … Like Paul PROTECT .… Like Peter LOVE ..……….Like JESUS
(@ImMeme0) 
and a beer 
for good measure and good spirit(s)
(@paulturner2012) 
