“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
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.”
Be Kind
In this day of entitlement, self-promotion, and impersonal, virtual relationships, many people have forgotten what it means to be kind to one another. To Christians, who are called to become like Jesus Christ, the Bible teaches, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31–32, ESV).
The apostle Paul told the Ephesians to put away six sinful attitudes and behaviors: bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, and malice. Bitterness is an inward frame of mind that refuses to forgive. Wrath and anger are combined here to refer to violent outbreaks of uncontrolled human rage. Clamor speaks of shouting and loud quarreling. Slander means evil speaking, and the Greek word translated “malice” implies wickedness, which is at the root of all the other sins listed here. All these practices to be rejected center on our relationships with others.
In place of these things, believers are to put on kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. These three virtues also deal with interpersonal relationships. In the original Greek, the phrase rendered “be kind to one another” literally means “keep on becoming kind toward one another.” The graciousness of God, which is also found in Jesus Christ, shows us what it means to be kind to one another. Because God acts kindly toward us, we are to behave the same way toward others. Because Christ offered grace as the basis for our forgiveness, so too should we.
Being kind to one another is not optional for the people of God (Micah 6:8; Zechariah 7:9; 1 Peter 3:8). In the very next verses, Paul instructed the Ephesians to “imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God” (Ephesians 5:1–2, NLT). Walking in love means following the example of Jesus Christ.
Paul reiterated the teaching on kindness to the Colossians: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:12–14). Paul mentioned several virtues that believers were to clothe themselves with or “put on”: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love. Again, these all have to do with personal relationships.
Compassion and kindness are closely linked. Compassion can be defined as “heartfelt sympathy or empathy toward those who are suffering or in need.” Kindness is the helpful spirit that sees someone else in need and is motivated to respond through good deeds. Kindness is the tangible action that results from compassion. Kindness goes beyond mere words; it translates into helping and serving one another (Acts 28:2).
Kindness is one of the attributes of God (Titus 3:4), one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), and one of the proofs of a faithful minister of the gospel (2 Corinthians 6:6). Being kind to one another is how we show love: “Love is patient, love is kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4).
Being kind to one another involves caring for others, bearing their burdens, and valuing them above ourselves (Romans 12:10; Galatians 6:2; Philippians 2:3). Kindness motivates us to speak life and encouragement to others instead of death and discouragement (Proverbs 16:24; Ephesians 4:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:11). Expressing support and affirmation instead of condemnation is characteristic of kindness (Proverbs 15:4).
Being kind to one another means finding a way to forgive rather than blame (Matthew 5:7; Luke 6:36; 10:37; James 2:13). Perhaps the most stunning example of this is found in God’s supreme act of kindness that provided for our forgiveness and salvation when He sent His Son to die for us on a cross: “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” (Romans 2:4, NLT; see also Romans 11:22; Titus 3:4–7).
What is it that feeds our battle, yet starves our victory?
January 6 Tapes?
Where are the tapes? Anyone, Anyone? Bueller? Johnson??
Paging Speaker Johnson…this is your conscience calling you out on broken promises.
Evading Reality
Many things the Left believes are simply not true. Right now the focus is on the size and scope of our government, and the many many billions of dollars the government has been spending on no-one-knew-what. None of that money is going to a key role of government. Which, after all, has the sole purpose of protecting rights.
And if you, Leftist Lurker, want to dismiss this as dead white cis-male logic…well, you can call it what you want, but then please just go fuck off. No one here buys that bullshit–logic is logic and facts are facts regardless of skin color–and if you gave it a moment’s rational thought, you wouldn’t either. Of course your worthless education never included being able to actually reason–or detect problems with false reasoning–so I don’t imagine you’ll actually wake up as opposed to being woke.
As Ayn Rand would sometimes point out: Yes, you are free to evade reality. What you cannot do is evade the consequences of evading reality. Or to put it concretely: You can ignore the Mack truck bearing down on you as you play in the middle of the street, you won’t be able to ignore the consequences of ignoring the Mack truck.
And Ayn Rand also pointed out that existence (i.e., the sum total of everything that exists) precedes consciousness–our consciousnesses are a part of existence, not outside of it–therefore reality cannot be a “social construct” as so many of you fucked-up-in-the-head people seem to think.
So much for Leftist douchebag lurkers. For the rest of you, the regular readers and those lurkers who understand such things, well here we go for another week of WINNING against the Deep State.
I confess that the novelty has not worn off.
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.
Yes, we won this time around. Not only did we win, we got to KEEP that win instead of having it stolen from us.
But no one should imagine that that’s the end of electoral fraud. Much work needs to be done to ensure it doesn’t just happen again next time around. And incidentally to rescue those states currently in the grips of self-perpetuating fraud, where the people who stole the last election, make sure it’s easier to steal the next one.
This issue, though it’s not front-and-center right now, is not going away, and if we ignore it, we’ll pay the price. See the article above about the consequences of evading reality.
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.
Gold went up nicely this week and closed in the 2920s Thursday. And then it got beaten with the ugly stick on Friday, dropping 45.60. Although silver took a hit on Friday, also, it wasn’t as bad so this week we see the gold:silver ratio dropping just a bit. Still it’s nowhere near the 83-ish range it was in not so long ago.
*The SteveInCO Federal Reserve Note Suckage Index (FRNSI) is a measure of how much the dollar has inflated. It’s the ratio of the current price of gold, to the number of dollars an ounce of fine gold made up when the dollar was defined as 25.8 grains of 0.900 gold. That worked out to an ounce being $20.67+71/387 of a cent. (Note gold wasn’t worth this much back then, thus much gold was $20.67 71/387ths. It’s a subtle distinction. One ounce of gold wasn’t worth $20.67 back then, it was $20.67.) Once this ratio is computed, 1 is subtracted from it so that the number is zero when the dollar is at its proper value, indicating zero suckage.
The Final Experiment Fallout
The fallout continues.
Jeran is now a glober. To those who have been following this for years (and no, I am not one of them), it’s simply stunning; they could never have imagined it. Austin Witsit has been trying to figure out how he got “fooled” which means he is looking for excuses to remain a flat Earther. It’s an interesting study in psychology. They both saw the same things. One had an epiphany, the other is burrowing deeper into the bullshit that the sights ought to have blasted away.
But of late something else has caught my attention. A South African who goes by the name “Flatzoid” is running hard to be the most obliviously stupid person on the face of the Earth. And yes he has quite a bit of competition from a lot of people on the Left, but from what I see he is up to the challenge.
[Take for instance the fact that he is South African, yet hasn’t noticed that the sun doesn’t rise and set where it should (i.e., to the northeast and northwest) if flat Earth were correct. He once even attempted to measure its sunrise position, and did so on video so people could see he was using a method guaranteed to introduce error. Sure enough he got an answer a few degrees off, loudly trumpeted that the globe earth couldn’t make the prediction…and ignored the fact it was many times further off any conceivable flat earth prediction. Not that they actually make predictions that aren’t just copying off of Globe Earth’s paper during the test.]
It’s referred to as the “upper left” award by the globe defenders; this is an allusion to the Dunning-Kruger effect, which is commonly depicted on a graph like this:
The “upper left” is the peak of stupid but confident, or even arrogant. In this case Flatzoid has accused people far more knowledgeable than he is of being incompetent, and has said so to them in online meetings and debates.
In the case I’m thinking of his target is an Aussie engineer (with almost the same education background that I have), who goes online by “Critical Think” (which makes it very hard to find his channel).
This video is a reaction by an engineer, to the debate between Fkatzoid and Critical Think.
(Warning: You are about to see the worst case of Dunning-Kruger ever. Fkatzoid has no comprehension of the experiment, no actual conception of what it means to control variables, no conception of measurement error, and is so smugly confident he knows more than Critical Think that it can be infuriating at times.)
Flatzoid was on the list to be invited to The Final Experiment, but complained (as his excuse not to go) that he never received an invite. Will Duffy told him (in a livestream) that that was because his email did not appear on his youtube channel page. Flatzoid hastily went to add it so he could claim it had been there all along, but fatfingered his name and it showed as fkatzoid@<whatever the provider was>, so now he’s often called fkatzoid by Globe defenders.
Critical Think was not only invited, but actually did go on the Final Experiment. And he did something very interesting. He brought a very accurate electronic scale with him, along with its test weights. He has been taking those things to various places (like Malaysia), himself lives in (IIRC) Brisbane Australia, and had it with him in Chile–Santiago and Puntas Arenas. And of course Union Glacier camp in Antarctica.
What was he hoping to prove? He was hoping to validate the WGS-84 model of the Earth’s shape. Earth is a very slightly oblate spheroid (not enough so to look “squashed” in pictures–in fact proportionately speaking it easily meets the specs for cue balls) on account of its rotation. This has two effects on the gravity: 1. At the poles you are closer to the center of the Earth than you are at the equator, so you should feel very slightly stronger gravity. 2. The centrifugal effect of the rotating earth should reduce the net gravity on the equator, because the centrifugal effect partly counteracts the pull of the Earth’s mass. #2 is by far the larger of these two effects.
How does one check this? By measuring the force of gravity in different places using the same masses.
You can do this with a scale…but it has to be the right kind of scale. And you have to know how to use it.
And in order for this to make sense, you must understand the distinction between weight and mass. Which Flatzoid clearly does not.
Mass is the amount of “stuff” in an object, and it manifests as a resistance to forces applied to it. You can feel this by trying to push on objects. (Don’t try to lift them for this part.) To wipe out the effect of friction, pick the object up, hold it in your hand, then move your hand toward or away from you. If the object is massive enough you’ll definitely feel it “resisting” the force you’re applying.
This resistance is the same everywhere. Here on Earth. Anywhere on earth. In outer space. You’d feel it even in orbit on the ISS. The Moon. Mars. Jupiter (if there were a surface to stand on). And so on. The same.
Weight on the other hand is the force exerted on the object. The weight of something is actually the force with which it is being pulled, by the Earth.
This is why you can weigh differently on (say) the Earth and the Moon, even without a trip to the bathroom on the way from one to the other, in other words, even though your mass stays the same. The force exerted by gravity is different, and weight is the force.
The distinction usually doesn’t matter for us “groundhogs” here on Earth. Hence there’s a tendency even for STEM people working their STEM jobs to conflate the two. Pounds are actually a unit of force, but it’s not hard to find references to something called “pounds mass” in, say, rocketry, where a lot of the industry stuck with the US Customary System until fairly recently–it’s the mass that on the surface of the earth weighs one pound. (Oh and by the way our customary system is not the “imperial” system as I’ve heard many people call it lately: if you don’t believe that note the difference in volume measurements. A US gallon is smaller than an Imperial one.) So it’s quite correct to say that 100 lb (when she is on Earth) woman weighs 16.5 lbs on the Moon.
The kilogram, the SI unit, is actually a unit of mass. But people are happy to talk about things weighing a kilogram, really meaning (whether they realize it or not): weighing as much as a kilogram does on Earth. (The SI unit of force is the Newton, and to be truly correct, a kilogram of mass weighs 9.8 Newtons. But absolutely no one makes a scale reading in Newtons, though pressure measurements (“pounds per square inch” to us) and torque do reference Newtons.)
Let’s not forget we’re eventually getting back to Fkatzoid vs. Critical Think.
There are two ways to measure “weight” (one of them actually measures mass). 1) A balance beam scale. This is the conceptually simplest variant:
This works by comparing the force exerted by gravity on whatever it is you want to weigh, against the force exerted on known weights. If the two pans are in balance (as indicated by the long vertical bar pointing up from the pivot point), the two forces are equal, and therefore the two weights are equal. For this kind of scale, though, there’s a bonus: You also know the two masses are equal. It can actually be used to measure mass. It would work if you took it to the Moon; the mass of your object would be the same as the mass of the known weights in the other pan, and you will get the same reading.
There are more complex versions of this, including ones with sliding weights where the known weight is moved closer or farther, to balance things like having people of two different weights on a seesaw. The lighter one has to move further out.
If you remember those scales at your doctor’s office with the sliding weights, that’s this kind of scale; it’s set up so that you “hang” from a place very close to the pivot, while the sliding weights are further away; they therefore exert more leverage and a balance can be struck without actually putting something as heavy as you are on the balance beam.
The second kind of scale essentially measures the compression or stretching of a spring (or some other device sensitive to force) caused by gravity pulling on whatever it is you’re weighing.
Springs (et. all.) do their thing in response to a force, so these scales measure force. Take a 1 kilogram mass and a scale like this (that reads off in kg though it should technically read off in Newtons) to the moon and it will read 165.4 grams, not 1000 grams. That’s because it’s really measuring a force then, under the assumption it’s being used in Earth’s gravity, converting to read in kilograms. (If you are ever in such a situation, don’t be fooled into thinking the mass has changed.)
Your bathroom scale, the scale you use to measure ingredients in the kitchen, the scale at the deli and the scale at the post office are all this type (unless you’re like me and bought a used medical scale). If you reload you may have a balance beam scale of some type for the powder.
OK, so now to Critical Think’s experiment. He has a scale…of the second type, and it came with a kilogram mass.
Normally, you’d set up the scale, turn it on, make sure it zeros…and then you calibrate it. How? you put the kilogram mass on it, and push a button, which tells it that the force it is detecting right now is from local gravity acting on a one kilogram mass. It’s then smart enough to know what to do if it feels twice that force: it will tell you that what you’ve put on the scale has a mass of two kilograms. Likewise for any other mass: read out in proportion to that force which it has been taught means there’s a mass of one kilogram.
Why the need to calibrate the scale? Because if you don’t, it will be thrown off by the slight differences in the Earth’s gravitational field. Mountaintops, latitude, depressions like Death Valley or the Dead Sea, etc. will all change the force ever so slightly, and by calibrating the scale, you get it to correct for that.
What if you move the scale to another location, and don’t calibrate it? Your mass readings will be off by a bit, because the force you measure isn’t the same. It’s a small amount, a few hundredths of a gram per kilogram, but nonetheless measurable by Critical Think’s scale.
So this is what he did: He calibrated the scale at home. So in his house, the weights read 1000 g. He then takes the scale and weights somewhere else, and repeats the measurement without calibrating the scale. So the 1 kilogram mass now weighs a bit more or a bit less, and the difference is actually due to the difference in gravity.
On returning home, you weight your kilogram mass again to make sure the scale actually did hold its initial calibration. If the scale doesn’t read 1000 g again, something actually fell out of adjustment in the scale.
Critical Think’s data (multiple weighings of the known mass at each site), by the time you do the stats work that every scientist must do with their data, confirms the WGS-84 ellipsoid combined with the rotation of the Earth.
But it’s key: for this to work, you must not calibrate the scale at the other locations. Otherwise all you’ve done is show that the scale will report 1000g every time you calibrate it.
This is totally, completely beyond Fkatzoid’s comprehension. He insists that because Critical Think did not calibrate the scale at each location, the entire experiment is worthless–oblivious to the fact that the point of the experiment was to use the same calibration in different areas.
Furthermore Fkatzoid has no conception of measurement error. Critical Think took multiple readings at each location, and averaged them. This is standard operating procedure when taking data, because of measurement error. However, when this came out in the conversation, that the multiple readings had all been slightly different from each other, Fkatzoid triumphantly declared all of the data worthless, because it wasn’t “repeatable.”
And finally, Fkatzoid insists that temperature and humidity are factors that must be taken into account. Why? Because. Because what? Because. It turns out that Critical Think actually checked these beforehand, by varying the temperature and humidity at home and seeing what effect they had on the scale (by again, calibrating once then measuring under different temperatures and pressures–and noting that they had no significant effect, so he could from that point forward ignore them so long as he stayed within the operating temperature range of the scale. This point, too, is completely lost on Fkatzoid.
He’s trying to argue about basic science with an experienced engineer. Not that experienced engineers are automatically right by any means, nor are they necessarily geniuses. But engineering is where the scientific rubber meets the road in a way that’s visible to everyone. All branches of engineering must study and understand physics at a bare minimum (many branches have to go into other disciplines like chemistry as well), and they must apply it to solve real-world problems.
If the physics they understand doesn’t have a close relationship to reality, their solutions can’t work. And sometimes they “don’t work” badly enough to kill people. The Romans knew this. Their engineers would have to stand under the arches they designed, as the blocking for construction was removed. If the engineer had messed up…he died. Better him than someone who had trusted him.
There are certainly plenty of examples of engineering failures in history. (Engineers get to learn about them!) But even those who fail when pushing the envelope understand the basics.
Fkatzoid never had to learn any science past the third grade level (complete with all of the oversimplifications made to get the basic concept across) and it shows here. I don’t think I’ve every seen someone more obliviously but arrogantly ignorant than Fkatzoid.
And in the wake of the Final Experiment, he’s one of the leaders of the Flat Earth movement.
No Geology This Time
I will try to write something up this weekend, for next weekend.
The above image is courtesy of See’s Chocolates and Google Images.
Health Friday is a series devoted to Big Pharma, vaccines, general health, and associated topics. Today’s offering is a Special Edition in honor of Valentine’s Day. However, the discussion is not limited to what is presented here: It is an Open Thread.
There are Important Wolf Moon Notifications, the Rules of our late, good Wheatie, and certain caveats from Yours Truly, of which readers should be aware. They are linked here.
Yours Truly begins the exploration of the delicious, highly-desired, and — surprise! — nutritious, beneficial food known as Dark Chocolate, here: https://nutritionsource.hsph/harvard.edu/food-features/dark-chocolate/. Yes, dark chocolate has a long and “rich” (no pun intended) history. The ancient Mayans discovered chocolate (what we would call “dark chocolate”) and drank it as a bitter concoction that was sometimes mixed with herbs. From the Harvard article:
The Mayan culture actually used chocolate for currency and for trade. Only members of the royal family and of the nobility were permitted to drink or otherwise consume chocolate. Please see: https://www.newsweek.com/ancient-maya-used-chocolate-money-1001513, “Ancient Mayans Used Chocolate for Money”, 29 June 2018.
When the Spanish Conquistadors discovered what is now Mexico, they began to send chocolate back to Europe. At first, again, it was used there among royal and noble classes as a beverage or as a food item that was chewed. In fact, King Louis XIV of France would send for shipments of chocolate from Mexico for his Spanish-born Queen, Marie Therese, which were packed in roses and herbs to “keep them fresh.” Over time, the availability and consumption of dark chocolate began to increase among all levels of society.
Dark chocolate has several important health benefits. One example of an article that describes these benefits is here: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-health-benefits-dark-chocolate, “7 Proven Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate — Healthline.”, 13 July 2022. The seven benefits:
Dark chocolate is packed with nutrition: A 100-gram bar of dark chocolate with 70% – 85% cocoa has, among other things, 11 grams of fiber and 66% of the daily recommended amount of iron.
Dark chocolate is a strong source of antioxidants, as it contains polyphenols (compounds found in plant foods) and flavanols (a subgroup of flavinoids.)
Dark chocolate can lower blood pressure and help blood flow in the body.
Dark chocolate raises the HDL (“good” cholesterol) level in the body, while also lowering the damage that some forms of LDL (“bad” cholesterol) can do to the body.
Dark chocolate may reduce the risk of heart disease, due to the lowering of the LDL damage as described above.
The flavanols in dark chocolate can help protect the skin from sun damage.
Dark chocolate may help to improve brain function in older persons, while at the same time, assisting in blood flow to the brain in younger persons.
However, there are a couple of negative aspects about dark chocolate of which consumers should be aware. The first is that Lead and/or Cadmium (heavy metals) can be added into the manufacturing process. Please see here: https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/good-food/dark-chocolate-health-benefits-the-good-and-the-bad-to-this-sweet-treat/2023/02, 14 February 2023. There is an embedded link in this article to a Consumer Reports piece regarding high Lead and/or Cadmium levels that were found in certain brands of dark chocolate. The second drawback is that the same 100-gram bar of Dark Chocolate described above also contains about 43 grams of fat. Please see here: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/dark-chocolate, “What are the benefits of dark chocolate?”, by Jamie Eske, 25 October 2023.
There are scientific papers published on Dark Chocolate. Here is an example: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9589144/, ‘Dark Chocolate: An overview of its biological activity, processing, and fortification approaches”, Sharmistha Samanta, et al., 15 October 2022. Below is the Abstract of the paper:
And, from the same paper, Figure 2, on the health benefits of Dark Chocolate:
Finally, a recipe, courtesy of Lorraine Elliott, for Dark Chocolate Energy Bars:
Yours Truly is not advocating that people consume Dark Chocolate as their principal source of antioxidants, fiber, and so on. On the other hand, the above facts may come in handy to rebut allegations along the lines of, “Well, Dark Chocolate is just fattening and can hurt your arteries” from persons who do not know the information in today’s offering. “Moderation is the key.”
Happy Valentine’s Day to all! Peace, Good Energy, Respect: PAVACA
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.”
God’s Grace is Sufficient
Grace is “undeserved favor.” The grace of God is His granting of good things to those who only deserve punishment. The word sufficient means “adequate” or “enough.” Grace being sufficient speaks of the grace of God that grants salvation, preservation, and everything else that the believer needs in this life and in the life to come.
Sufficient grace is a description of the grace of God as revealed in Scripture. The only time the two words are used together in Scripture is in 2 Corinthians 12:9. Paul had some form of physical affliction that caused him real difficulty. No doubt he thought he would be able to serve the Lord more effectively if he did not have this physical ailment to slow him down. He says he asked the Lord repeatedly to take it away from him, but the Lord’s answer was “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” In other words, in this case, God showed grace to Paul not by removing the ailment but by giving him the ability to endure it. In response Paul says, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
The concept of sufficient grace is that God’s grace is adequate (sufficient) for anything we need. First, we need salvation and forgiveness of sin. God’s grace provides that for all who will accept it. Then, the believer needs grace to live the Christian life. God’s grace is sufficient here whether the believer experiences poverty or plenty, pain or pleasure. Often, Christians wonder how they could possibly survive persecution and hardship they have read about in other times or hear about in other places. A Christian might wonder, “If I had a gun to my head, would I deny Christ?” If all that was at work was human determination, it might be a toss-up at best. But the Christian can rely on the fact that God’s grace will be sufficient for the hardship when it arrives, even if it may not be in evidence before.
No Christian is inherently sufficient. Every Christian, left to his own devices, would fail miserably. “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5). When the time comes, God’s grace will be sufficient to carry the believer through whatever he or she may encounter. By focusing on the sufficient grace of God rather than human frailties, Christians can face the future with confidence. With Paul, Christians can enthusiastically embrace their own insufficiencies, knowing that these insufficiencies will push them toward the all-sufficient grace of God. xhttps://www.gotquestions.org/sufficient-grace.html
We suffer down here for our few years With pain, sorrow, anguish and tears. But for all of these painful ways, Peace and Joy flood eternity’s days.
Now would be an excellent time to pay honor to a great American who is probably enjoying the show in our nation from Heaven.
America is back! God bless America and all freedom loving people worldwide.
Time To Get Into The Weeds
This is an appropriate time to discuss Federalism versus Anti-Federalism. Since our leaders in the national experiment called the United States of America back in the day were playing hard, fast and for keeps; we should be made very aware of what was involved. If you have not spotted the truth of this issue still being in play today along with a nasty fight between the political forces aligned with PDT versus the Uniparty, then you need to take a dose of cold reality. The parallels are amazingly similar. Below is a primer to get you started.
Now, extend what you learned or were reminded of and apply it to America today.
Do you consider the federal government your friend and partner, or, the potential usurper of God and/or Constitution granted rights as an American?
If you believe the former, you are probably a Federalist. If you believe the latter, you are probably an Anti-Federalist.
Do you believe the federal government should be involved in curing the perceived weaknesses of society and righting perceived wrongs of equal rights for all classes of citizens, or, do you believe that responsibility to redress should be left to local citizens and/or related state and local authorities?
The former is Federalist, the latter is Anti-Federalist.
If a power or authority has not been assigned by the Constitution to handle a subject or concern of importance to the nation, do you believe it is a federal or a state responsibility per the Constitution to address?
Yup, Federalist or Anti-Federalist.
We could continue the game, but you probably get the point. The founding fathers worked through the subjects between them and delivered our Constitution and Bill of Rights as the answer to the desires of both sides. Which is the exact same positions we still fight over today for many of the same reasons they did. Let’s review the officially long deceased Federalist Party and what it represented per an accurate Wiki description. Who does that party resemble today?
Backers of the Anti-Federalist movement formed a political party called the Democratic Republican Party with Thomas Jefferson as its leader. These Anti-Federalist influenced backers were for smaller central government, states rights, less regulation, lower taxes and the abolition of slavery. As the years passed the Federalist Party became the limited party of the elites in the New England and eventually died. With Andrew Jackson’s rise to power and the Presidency, the Democratic-Republican Party split with Jackson on the Democratic party side supporting individual and states rights rivaling a coalition formed primarily of remaining Republicans and Anti-Mason Party supporters into the Whig Party. It was led by Henry Clay supporting Federalism and greater power of Congress over the President.
The 1850’s brought the demise of the Whig Party with their support of slavery and elitism. That led to the rise of the Republican Party and eventually Abraham Lincoln and the anti-slavery forces. This Grand Old Party (GOP) as it became known, arose from the Union’s victory in the Civil War. The party typically dominated federal politics for several decades afterward. The Democratic Party became the broad based party of conservatives and agriculture rooted in the “solid south” as well as other scattered segments. As backers of states rights, they generally opposed the anti-slavery changes. They would occasionally win control of houses of Congress along the way.
Fast forward to today. My, oh, my how things change!
We are back to Federalists being Uni-party elitists with cobbled together minority segments in the Democrat Party and RINO’s versus the Anti-Federalists being the rapidly growing, populist America First MAGA segment of the GOP that is all about operating as a republic with states rights being important.
What has happened since our nation’s founding and today is a continuous morphing between these primarily Federalist versus Anti-Federalist viewpoints. America and its politics have never been one thing or the other throughout its history. Yet, the tension remains from the negotiations surrounding the interpretation of the Constitution and with the accommodation provided by the Bill of Rights.
As things stand today, did the Democrat and RINO Uniparty exceed their authority by claiming powers over subjects, issues and people that are not enumerated in the Constitution? Of course they did and still attempt to do. That is why EO’s and EA’s have been flying out of the Oval Office in droves under President Trump already. To increase their power and reach, central governments tend to naturally grow and extend their tentacles increasingly into the business of the people. That is not a question, it is a fact demonstrated over thousands of years in governments all around the globe.
Can a fully decentralized republic adequately defend itself against foreign and domestic forces and enemies without central governance and leadership? Probably not very well in America as the independent states may opt out of their responsibilities and enter into disputes with each other as well as the federal government. There would be no hammer to cover all aspects of government in place to force them back into compliance. Our strength as a nation against foreign powers is in unity, not division.
As a result the pendulum of change has swung both right and left since the Constitution’s ratification in 1788 and implementation in 1789. The excesses of the Uniparty activities in our times are obvious and the reason Donald Trump is POTUS. Very few are willing to admit it, but the Constitution still has problems that the Anti-Federalists foresaw. The compromise over the Bill of Rights did not go far enough. It addressed some of the major issues of the day that would probably survive as time passed. But as we have subsequently learned over time it left gaping holes of how to prevent and penalize federal government overreach when they venture into powers and authorities that are not enumerated. When transparency is the law, those in federal authority have rarely provided it without prodding, outright threats or legal actions. Attempts to permanently change the responses have been unsuccessful at times, just as Anti-Federalists predicted could happen.
The truth is the development and use of political parties has stymied our nation’s progress frequently. The tension of partisanship that is built into the system can help, but it also can hinder as we have seen repeatedly in our times. We will touch more on this and the life of James Monroe in particular down the road in this series.
The partisanship has led our nation into the long overdue corrective phase today that Anti-Federalists of old would celebrate. We populist, American First, MAGA, states rights, kill the Fed, modern day Anti-Federalists won the election despite the current day, Federalist, Uniparty cheating the elections as they have for at least a century. Too big to rig got it done, however, that should not have been required. As a law abiding nation our citizens could choose to be honorable and have integrity. Unfortunately, the past 235+ years years since Constitution implementation reveals the truth that honesty and honor are not always present or enough. One of the primary reasons for that is radical partisanship. Many throw up their middle finger on reasoning and consensus building, two ingredients that are required for effective leadership.
Which is why the theme of the POTUS Trump administration has been “common sense“.
Strengthening constitutional enforcement issues could be a meaningful answer as well as satisfying the obvious need for honest, accurate elections. When one side or the other goes rogue or overreach becomes the modus operandi while in control, they can choose to enforce or not enforce the provisions of the Constitution and related law with minimal blow back because of the mockery they have made of law enforcement activities and the judiciary. We have seen this blatantly demonstrated in the past three decades with the weaponization of the DOJ and Intelligence Community (IC). Political gain replaced bipartisan administration of the law in the highest offices of our land.
President Trump and America First supporters aim to change all of that. We are already seeing a great deal of Anti-Federalist approaches to powers not enumerated and a great deal of leverage applied. President Trump, cabinet, and all supporters are going back to the original intent of the Massachusetts Compromise we discussed in a previous part. That compromise led to that key state’s ratification of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Some of the actions President Trump is intentionally taking will end up on the desks of the SCOTUS due to lawfare by the Uniparty if they are not codified through actions of Congress. We will have clarity on which to base future steps soon. As that happens it will be critical to gain even more patriot control over Congress in the future as the Uniparty will be fighting against us with all they have. There are more amendments to the Constitution that are necessary to assure our nation’s viability for centuries to come.
If history is our guide, political parties based on partisanship control will eventually die and morph into something else. That is exactly where the Democrat Party finds itself today. The GOP through POTUS Trump and supporters morphed from the party of big business to the party of the people over a couple of decades. What signaled that change was coming was when the Democrats lurched left. The Solid South left the party and have become GOP stalwarts.
Given a personal choice of one side or the other, I think readers know I am an Anti-Federalist in my core. Power and money corrupt and nowhere is that seen in a greater display than in our nation’s Capitol. I have personal experiences during my career on which to base my position. I also recognize that in regard to the powers that are enumerated to the federal government, we all must support without reservation as long as the activities are legally conducted. They are not mutually exclusive positions.
On we go to discuss more signers of the Declaration of Independence. We will look at a leader of both the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists as well as one who help reconcile both sides to make it all happen as it did.
George Read
Born in 1733 in North East, MD, George Read was born to John and Mary Howell Read. His father was an Englishman from a family of great wealth. He moved to the colonies and bought a large estate in Cecil County, MD. With six others he went on to found the City of Charleston on the Chesapeake Bay. While there he held numerous military offices.
Soon after his birth, George’s family moved to an estate in New Castle, DE. He went to school with American Patriot Thomas McKean at Rev. Francis Allison’s Academy in New London, PA at age 15. He then studied law in Philadelphia, passed the bar in 1753, and moved back to New Castle to establish his law practice. In 1763 he married the daughter of an Anglican Church rector, Gertrude Ross. They joined the Episcopal Church there. They had three sons; George Jr., William and John.
He was appointed as the Crown Attorney General of three counties in DE by the governor. He remained in that position until he joined the first Continental Congress in 1774. Read preferred that the colonists find common ground with the British and loyalists. When it became time to vote on the Declaration of Independence he voted against it. This caused Rep. Caesar Rodney from the state to ride all night to break the tie for DE to approve the Declaration. However, when it came time to sign it, George Read did so in support.
With the future of the United States on the line in the Revolutionary War. He returned to serve in DE, but soon learned of the capture of the Continental Congress President John McKinley. He was nearly captured himself in Philadelphia, but escaped and served as President of the Congress for six months. He recruited men for the military and helped in the defense of the colonists during the period wile serving in the Legislative Council after the end of his term. He then returned to his home and activities in the state legislature. He took one year away to recover his health.
He was called into service again by DE with the work towards the approval of the Constitution. He was a leader in the fight for a strong federal government, advocating at one point for the abolition of states altogether. None of his fellow representatives agreed with him, so he moved on to protecting the rights of small states versus their larger neighbors. Once those rights were assured he led the approval of the vote for the Constitution for which DE was the first to ratify. In leading these efforts Read became a major voice in the Federalist Party.
The DE General Assembly elected Read to be a U. S Senator in 1789. He served there until 1793. He strongly supported George Washington and believed in centralization, including the creation of a national bank. He left the Senate when appointed the Chief Justice of the DE Supreme Court and served there until his death from heart problems in 1798. His wife passed away five years later. His son George Read, Jr. became the first U. S. Attorney for DE. His grandson, Read III, became the second. He had two brothers serve as officers in the Continental Army and Navy respectively.
George Read was a highly influential American Patriot who gave his all and left a family legacy of doing likewise.
Richard Henry Lee
In addition to prominent Anti-Federalists John Hancock and Samuel Adams, there was Richard Henry Lee. Born in Westmoreland County, VA in 1732, Lee came from a long line of aristocratic military officers, diplomats and politicians in his family. His parents were Colonel Thomas Lee and Hannah Harrison Ludwell Lee. Lee was sent to England to study and during the period both of his parents died in 1750. He continued in Europe until 1752 when he returned home to settle the estate of his parents with his siblings. In 1757 he was appointed justice of the peace and a year later elected into the House of Burgesses, serving until 1775. Also in 1757 he married his first wife, Anne Aylett, with whom he had six children with four surviving. After her death in 1768 he married Anne Gaskins Pinckard a year later. The couple had seven children together of whom five survived.
Lee was strongly in favor of independence and was a founder of the VA Committees of Correspondence. However, he was not in the tar and feathers promoters. He preferred boycotts and verbal persuasion in a gentlemanly manner. In 1766 he authored the Westmoreland Resolution that was against the enforcement of the British Stamp Act. Among those who signed it were several of George Washington’s family members. He was even more actively opposed to the Townshend Acts. He was selected by VA to attend the First Continental Congress. It was Lee who brought the motion for independence in the Second Continental Congress is 1776. The key part of his resolution read,
“Resolved: That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”
He had returned to VA prior to the actual vote, but returned in time to sign the Declaration. Later in 1783 he was selected as the President of the Congress. He served for a year and was selected as U. S. Senator from 1789-1792.
Lee strongly supported states rights and a reduced presence of the federal government. He was very active in the Anti-Federalist movement and instrumental in the inclusion of the Bill of Rights. His proposal of the language of the 10th Amendment was adopted substantially as he presented it. With the compromise, he backed the ratification of the Constitution and had high regard for the performance of George Washington through the years. He soon grew to appreciate the Constitution as he saw how it actually performed. He passed away in 1794 at age 62 with his wife passing away two years later at age 48. He never fully recovered from an overturned carriage accident in 1791. Within the founding fathers as a group, he was considered as important as the bigger names of Jefferson, Adams and Franklin.
Richard Henry Lee was a great American Patriot.
Roger Sherman
One of the patriots who was critical to building consensus between Federalists and Anti-Federalists, large states and small states, providing a compromise that led to the House and Senate structures as well as other meaningful agreements was Roger Sherman. Born in Newton, MA in 1721, Sherman was the son of farmers. His parents, William and Mehetabel Sherman, moved when he was two years old to Stoughton. Sherman had little formal education outside of grammar school and his father’s library. He was also taught by his Harvard educated parish minister, Rev. Samuel Dunbar. His first job was as a shoemaker.
After his father died in 1743, he moved to New Milford, CT with his mother and siblings. He opened a cobbler store with a brother. He became the county’s surveyor two years later. This helped him save money to later purchase land and earn a good reputation among county residents. He married Elizabeth Hartwell in 1749. She passed away in 1760. He then married Rebecca Prescott in 1763. Between the two wives they had 15 children, 13 of whom lived to adulthood. He published a successful almanac for eleven years as well as studied law. He passed the bar exam in 1754. He became very involved in church and civic affairs, resulting in his election as town clerk of New Milford. He was also elected to the CT House of Representatives for several terms during the period. He was named a justice of the peace in 1762 and a judge in 1765. From that position he was named Justice of the CT Superior Court for the next 23 years. During this time he was also appointed Treasurer of Yale College and taught religious studies there for years.
He represented CT in both the first and second Continental Congress. He was one of the Committee of Five who drafted the Declaration of Independence. His involvement continued into the production of the Articles of Confederation and a member of the related Congress. As such he also became a signer on the Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War.
Sherman attended the Constitution Convention with no preconceived positions. He actually preferred amending the Articles of Confederation as he saw the problem with it being primarily the lack of the ability to enforce its provisions. (SOUND FAMILIAR?) 😂
Sherman was the definition of a nationalist and viewed his state in isolationist ways. He saw it being essentially self sufficient and aligned with his religious (Puritan) views. Even then he foresaw the future end to slavery in America (SOUND FAMILIAR?) So, he worked to encourage compromises between the two sides even though he was personally anti-slavery. He was a very active participant in legislative and development sessions no matter the project or meeting. He was not an eloquent speaker as he was described as being very direct and terse in his many presentations. This led to him not being quoted as much as others as well as the fact he did not keep extensive journals of his activities.
He was also an opponent of “paper” money. He saw a national currency of same being a future problem to the individual states.
Roger Sherman was largely responsible for the current organization and voting functions of Congress. He forged a compromise, the Connecticut Compromise, through the Grand Committee he formed to deliver a compromise between the large and small states that would balance the interests of both more fairly. He went on to serve as a U. S. Representative and later, as a U. S Senator of his state until his passing from typhoid in 1793. The great American theologian Jonathon Edwards preached his funeral. His wife, Rebecca, passed away in 1813.
Roger Sherman was the only person in our history to sign all four major documents of the United States from our period of founding; the Articles of Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the U. S. Constitution. His more famous contemporaries Jefferson, Adams and Madison had deep admiration for the man and held all of his works in high regard.
Conclusion
A Federalist, an Anti-Federalist, and a Consensus Builder walk into a bar…
OK, start to a bad joke. However, this has been how America has evolved over many years by building consensus among dissimilar individuals who are linked by the common bonds formed from our great Declaration of Independence.
The above vintage image of vaccine vials and vaccine syringes is courtesy of Shutterstock and Google Images.
Health Friday is a series devoted to Big Pharma, vaccines, general health, and associated topics. As today’s post speaks to the disaster of the COVID-19 BTI (Bioweapon Toxin Injections, aka the “vaccines”), Yours Truly dedicates it to the memory of all persons, or whatever age or location, who have passed away from the negative effects (direct or indirect) of the the COVID-19 “vaccines”, no matter whether the deceased were COVID-19 “vaccinated” or not.
A special note for today’s post: Of your charity, please pray for the repose of the soul of our good DePat (Deplorable Patriot), Susan P. Sampson. Her Funeral Mass is to be held tomorrow, Saturday 8 February, at the St. Roch Roman Catholic Church in St. Louis, Missouri, at 10AM Central Standard Time. Of your charity, please pray for the repose of the soul of Yours Truly’s “fully vaccinated and boosted” brother, Sam. His Memorial Service is to be held tomorrow, Saturday 8 February, at the Peeples Valley Baptist Church in Cartersville, Georgia, at 2PM Eastern Standard Time. Thank you.
Requiem aeterna dona eis, Domine; et Lux Perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.
However, the discussion is not limited to what is presented today: It is an Open Thread.
There are Important Wolf Moon Notifications, the Rules of our late, good Wheatie, and certain caveats from Yours Truly, of which readers should be aware. They are linked here.
Today’s post begins here: https://bailiwicknews.substack.com/p/labeling-deceits-and-omissions-and, “Labeling deceits and omissions, and fake informed consent for vaccines and other legalized biological and chemical weapons.”, by Katherine Watt, 29 January 2025. In this post, Ms. Watt describes the lack of transparency and honesty in several areas of these topics, among them: One, in the labeling of the modRNA COVID-19 “vaccines”; and, Two, in the lack of detailed informed consent documents for people who want to take (or are “mandated” to take) injections of the COVID-19 modRNA “vaccines.” Ms. Watt traces this trail of lies and deceit back at least 1902. Below are some screenshots from her article related to the COVID-19 “vaccines”:
Ms. Watt makes it clear that “our betters” do NOT want the people who took / who continue to take, the COVID-19 “vaccines” to really know what is in the “modRNA” of the injections.
There is another issue regarding the lack of true informed consent regarding the COVID-19 “vaccines” — the fact that the FDA has made it virtually impossible for COVID-19 “vaccinated” people who become “vaccine”-injured, acquire an illness after being “vaccinated”, or even die from the negative effects of these bioweapon injectables, to be able to sue the “vaccines” manufacturers, those who administer these “vaccines”, entities who “require” or “mandate” the taking of these ‘vaccines”, or agencies of the Federal government who push these “vaccines.” The FDA has done this by making BOTH the Emergency Use Authorization AND “full approval” applicable to the COVID-19 “vaccines” in use, thereby “insulating” the above entities and persons from liability.
The FDA approved the use of COMIRNATY (Pfizer-BioNTech) in people OVER 11 YEARS OF AGE. The FDA also authorized the use of “Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (2024-2025 Formula” to be used in people FROM 6 MONTHS THROUGH 11 YEARS OF AGE. Also — notice that the COMIRNATY approval was granted to the GERMAN partner of PfizerUSA (BioNTech Manufacturing GmbH); and that the “Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (2024-2025 Formula” authorization was granted to Pfizer Inc.
But wait, there’s more! Under the “magic” of legalese and bureaucratic obfuscation, here are the links to the websites that the FDA and Xavier Becerra (then-head of HHS) used to perform the “sleight of hand” to grant EXEMPTION FROM LIABILITY to the makers of the “2024-2025 Formula COVID-19 Vaccines” for BOTH the “approved” AND the “authorized” formulations of these injectables. It’s all under the PREP Act:
Regarding a current “Informed Consent” document for the general public, Yours Truly found the following from a search that began here: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/index.html, which eventually (via being “redirected” from other CDC websites that are now shut down with the “The page you are looking for doesn’t exist”-type error messages) led to this: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/current-vis/covid-19.htmlCDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/covid-19.html. It turns out that the “Informed Consent” handouts for patients / caregivers appear to be basically a “Pablum” version of government and/or “vaccine” manufacturer misinformation, disinformation, and downright lies, about the COVID-19 BTI (Bioweapon Toxin Injections, aka the “vaccines”) that the patient is going to have injected into their body (or that parents / guardians are going to have injected into the body of a minor child.)
Let’s look at some screenshots of this FDA-issued Fact Sheet for recipients and caregivers for the EUA-granted “Pfizer-BioNTech 2024-2025 Formula COVID-19 Vaccine” for children 6 months of age to 11 years of age, as an example. The FDA document is found here: https://www.fda.gov/media/167212/download.
The COVID-19 “vaccines” do not “prevent” an infection of COVID-19. In fact, COVID-19 “vaccinated” persons have a much higher chance of coming down with COVID-19. Please see: https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/breaking-sixth-study-confirms-negative, “BREAKING — Sixth Study Confirms Negative Efficacy of COVID-19 mRNA Injections”, by Nicolas Hulscher, MPH, 4 February 2025. The only items, in Yours Truly’s opinion, in the screenshot above that might prompt a medical professional to stop and question whether or not the child should take a COVID-19 “vaccine” would be: an allergy to PEG-2000DMG (one of the lipid nanoparticles in the “vaccine”) or to any of the ingredients of the “vaccine”; a history of myocarditis and/or pericarditis; or has a bleeding disorder. On the other hand, in fact, pregnant women are “encouraged” to take a COVID-19 “vaccine”; and, that immunocompromised persons are “permitted” to take an “extra dose” of a COVID-19 “vaccine.”
Screenshot Three:
So much important information and disclosures regarding the ACTUAL “safety record” of the COVID-19 “vaccines” (for example, the data at https://www.openvaers.com/covid-data); the ACTUAL “clinical trials” data that, for example, Pfizer-BioNTech gave to the FDA regarding the serious Adverse Events reports on BNT162b2; and other items, are missing. The OpenVAERS link takes one to the “Red Boxes” Adverse Events reports and statistics for the COVID-19 “vaccines.” Recall that VAERS receives fewer than 10% of reports of Adverse Events.
How many parents / guardians would go through with having their child (children) COVID-19 “vaccinated” if they knew, for example, that the ingredients and mechanisms of these bioweapon toxin injections change the DNA in their body? Please see: https://doctors4covidethics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/causality-article.pdf, Slide 14.
Screenshot Four:
Which, again, mention nothing of the ACTUAL data as reported at OpenVAERS. Instead, there appears to be a strong effort to minimize the ACTUAL potential for serious Adverse Events to occur after taking a COVID-19 “vaccine.”
Yours Truly was able to find a “Consent Document” for persons over age 18 to read and to sign prior to taking a COVID-19 “vaccine”: https://www.gannon.edu/media/gannon-university/content-assets/documents/health-center/GannonUniversity-ScreeningAndConsentForCovid-19Vaccine.pdf. But, even here, there is no presentation of the ACTUAL data from, for example, OpenVAERS regarding serious Adverse Events reports about the COVID-19 “vaccines.” How many persons over age 18 would take a COVID-19 “vaccine” if they were told in advance that these bioweapon toxin injections cross the Blood-Brain Barrier and can induce multiple types of neurological damage? Below are images of the “Consent Document”:
How many persons would take a “2024-2025 Formula COVID-19 Vaccine”, or have such a “vaccine” injected into their child (children), under ANY circumstances, if they knew in advance that these bioweapon toxin injections were either ONLY “tested” on lab mice; or, were “approved” and/or “authorized” based on “manufacturing and nonclinical data”? For this last is exactly what happened with the “2024-2025 Formula COVID-19 Vaccines.” Please refer back to the FDA announcement of 22 August 2024 further up in this post. Here is the salient portion of this announcement as it regards this “2024-2025 Formula”:
Saratoga. Everything hinged on Saratoga. From history.com we have the following:
“British strategy in 1777 involved two main prongs of attack aimed at separating New England (where the rebellion enjoyed the most popular support) from the other colonies. To that end, General John Burgoyne’s army marched south from Canada toward a planned meeting with Howe’s forces on the Hudson River. Burgoyne’s men dealt a devastating loss to the Americans in July by retaking Fort Ticonderoga, while Howe decided to move his troops southward from New York to confront Washington’s army near the Chesapeake Bay. The British defeated the Americans at Brandywine Creek, Pennsylvannia on September 11 and entered Philadelphia on September 25. Washington rebounded to strike Germantown in early October before withdrawing to winter quarters near Valley Forge.
Howe’s move had left Burgoyne’s army exposed near Saratoga, New York, and the British suffered the consequences of this on September 19, when an American force under General Horatio Gates defeated them at Freeman’s Farm in the first Battle of Saratoga. After suffering another defeat on October 7 at Bemis Heights (the Second Battle of Saratoga), Burgoyne surrendered his remaining forces on October 17. The American victory at Saratoga would prove to be a turning point of the American Revolution, as it prompted France (which had been secretly aiding the rebels since 1776) to enter the war openly on the American side, though it would not formally declare war on Great Britain until June 1778. The American Revolution, which had begun as a civil conflict between Britain and its colonies, had become a world war.“
At one time, France actually had a spine. The colonists rejected their oppressors and earned the assistance of the long time British enemies, France. What is not remembered often is that Spain entered the conflict as an ally of France. America owed Spain a debt of gratitude for what they did to assist. They provided critical supplies and funding. They were in their own conflict with the British and saw it as an opportunity to further weaken their enemy so that that could retake Menorca, which was successful a few years later.
Win-win-win for the colonies, France and Spain. An enemy of my enemy is my friend.
But let’s take a closer look at General Horatio Gates in the fall of 1777, the reported hero General who changed everything for the colonies. From mountvernon.com:
“When British troops under the command of Major General John Burgoyne invaded New York in 1777, Gates’ army defeated Burgoyne twice, on September 19, 1777 and October 7, 1777. Gates’ troops forced Burgoyne to surrender his 5,700 man army near Saratoga on October 17, 1777. This victory, a major turning point of the American Revolution, convinced France to form an alliance with the Americans against Great Britain in 1778.
Tensions between Gates and General George Washington grew immediately following Saratoga, after Gates informed Congress directly of his victory rather than informing his Commander-in-Chief. Washington was further angered that Gates did not promptly return troops sent to help Gates during the New York campaign. General Washington was also convinced that Gates played a role in the Conway Cabal in late 1777, which was a supposed plot to remove Washington from command and replace him with Gates. In November 1777, Gates became president of the Board of War and technically became Washington’s superior. Bickering continued between the two men as Gates drew up plans for an invasion of Canada without consulting Washington.“
Wait… what? There was dissent in the highest ranks during the Revolutionary War? Somebody got the big head after battle victories? Somebody decided to posture for personal career gain like our political and military idgits do today? Tell me it isn’t so! What is this about a “Conway Cabal” being involved? Enjoy reading the backbiting of some of our founding fathers in the link below. Be sure and click on the second page prompt at the bottom left of the first page.
As if Benedict Arnold was not enough, Gen. Gates played politics and showed his pompous azz in the middle of our fight for independence. But in the ultimate “what goes around comes around” result, the following explains what happened next. Unfortunately it came with a heavy cost of lives for the colonists.
“In the spring of 1778, Gates returned to field command in the north, controlling troops in New York and Massachusetts. Gates took command of the Southern Army in South Carolina in July 1780 to meet the British army that had invaded that state earlier in the year. Abandoning the cautious strategy he employed against Burgoyne in 1777, Gates marched his army toward the British troops in Camden, South Carolina, despite the fact that his men were running low on supplies. This action led to the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1780, which was one of the largest American defeats of the war. As the American troops retreated, Gates left the battlefield and abandoned his army, riding nearly 200 miles in three days. Accused of cowardice, his reputation was ruined. Gates was removed from command in October 1780.
Congress briefly reinstated Gates into the army in the summer of 1782, but after uneventful service he left for the final time in 1783. In 1790 Gates sold his Virginia plantation, freed his slaves, and bought an estate in New York called “Rose Hill Farm.” He ended his career serving one term in the New York legislature from 1800-1801. Gates died on April 10, 1806.”
Proverbs 16:18 – Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. We have seen this scripture proven true countless times over the years. We should always heed these wise words.
Time for more signers. Let ‘s go with one of the players in the Conway Cabal debacle.
Benjamin Rush
The most celebrated physician in America post Revolutionary War was Benjamin Rush. He was born in Byberry, PA in 1745. He was born to merchant John Rush and Susana Hall, the middle of seven children. His father died when he was six and he was sent with a brother to live with an aunt and uncle two years later so they could receive an education. He studied under Dr. Samuel Finley at the West Nottingham Academy. Not long after that he graduated at age 14 with a BA degree from the College of New Jersey, which became Princeton later. For the next five years he apprenticed under Dr. John Redman in Philadelphia before accepting an opportunity to study at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland for three years, where he earned an M. D. degree. While there he became fluent in French, Italian and Spanish. He returned to America in 1769 and opened a medical practice while also teaching chemistry at the University of Philadelphia (UPenn – there it is again). Later in life he published the first American textbook on chemistry.
Rush joined the Sons of Liberty soon after his return from Scotland. He was so respected that Thomas Paine consulted him about content in his Common Sense book. He represented PA when he signed the Declaration. In a letter to John Adams he recalled the signing in a similar manner as fellow signer William Elery. Per Wiki, he wrote the following,
He described it as a scene of “pensive and awful silence”. Rush said the delegates were called up, one after another, and then filed forward somberly to subscribe to what each thought was their ensuing death warrant. He related that the “gloom of the morning” was briefly interrupted when the rotund Benjamin Harrison of Virginia said to a diminutive Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, at the signing table, “I shall have a great advantage over you, Mr. Gerry, when we are all hung for what we are now doing. From the size and weight of my body I shall die in a few minutes and be with the Angels, but from the lightness of your body you will dance in the air an hour or two before you are dead.” According to Rush, Harrison’s remark “procured a transient smile, but it was soon succeeded by the Solemnity with which the whole business was conducted.”
He served in the Continental Congress as well as in the war in the field with the Philadelphia militia. He laid the foundation for battlefield treatments of the Continental Army during this time. For a period he served as Surgeon General in the Continental Army’s Middle Department until the lack of medical supplies and underreporting of casualties by officials caused him to make the ill fated Conway related comments, after which Washington asked him to resign. He regretted what he said greatly. Per Wiki, in another letter to John Adams in 1812 he stated, “He [Washington] was the highly favored instrument whose patriotism and name contributed greatly to the establishment of the independence of the United States.” Rush also successfully pleaded with Washington’s biographers Justice Bushrod Washington and Chief Justice John Marshall to delete his association with those stinging words.
Benjamin Rush accomplished an incredible amount in his life in the post revolutionary period. Perhaps the greatest was facilitating the reconciliation of two of the great founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. He had lifelong friendships with both as well as other signers.
A biographical summary is linked below and you will probably be as amazed by his accomplishments as I was.
On a personal level Benjamin Rush was a devoted Christian. He believed (as I do) that the United States of America was the work of God: “I do not believe that the Constitution was the offspring of inspiration, but I am as perfectly satisfied that the Union of the United States in its form and adoption is as much the work of a Divine Providence as any of the miracles recorded in the Old and New Testament”. In 1798, after the Constitution’s adoption, Rush declared: “The only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in Religion.” He had involvement in several denominations through the years and assisted Richard Allen in the formation of the AME Church at one point.
He had married Julia Stockton in 1776. The couple had thirteen children, nine survived past one year. One son, Richard, went on to become part of the administrations of the presidencies of James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincey Adams, Andrew Jackson, James Polk and Zachary Taylor. Benjamin Rush died of Typhus Fever in 1813 at age 68. Julia, 14 years his junior, lived until 1848. Both remained faithful to the Lord and their country throughout their lives.
Benjamin Rush was an incredible American Patriot who left a legacy that continues to this day.
Joseph Hewes
Born in 1730 in Princeton, NJ to Society of Friends (Quaker) parents. He also graduated from the College of New Jersey (Princeton). He left the area soon after and joined a family member’s mercantile business in Philadelphia. He attended Quaker meetings while there and apprenticed in the business. He learned of business opportunities in the port town of Edenton in North Carolina, so he moved and formed a company with Charles Blount there that succeeded for a time. However, the death of his fiancee soured him on life as well as the business, which was dissolved. He recovered and partnered with a local attorney, Robert Smith. His business ventures began to flourish. He owned many properties, warehouses and became involved with shipping at the port; owning multiple ships, sloops and brigs. He created a rope walk to be used between ships as well developing and selling rope and related products to the shipping industry.
Over the years he became a justice of the peace and later was elected into the NC Assembly. He remained active as a Quaker and at one point was believed to have joined the Anglican church. Many historians report he believed as a deist.
He became more and more involved in the independence movement. He joined the NC Committee of Correspondence and represented the state in the Continental Congress. He actively supported the Suffolk Reserves, which called for a termination of trade with Great Britain in 1774. He was sold out to the causes of the colonists and independence. Ultimately this led to his signing of the Declaration.
For a month afterwards he visited his mother back in Princeton, NJ. The gravity of the situation had begun to weigh on him. Per Wiki, “Hewes wrote “I had the weight of North Carolina on my shoulders within a day or two of three months. The service was too severe. I have sat some days from Six in the morning till five, and sometimes Six in the afternoon without eating or drinking. My health is bad, such close attention made it worse. …Duty, inclination and self preservation call on me now to make a little excursion in the County to see my mother. This is a duty which I have not allowed myself to perform during almost nine months that I have been here.” Towards the end of September Hewes returned to Edenton for rest and recuperation.
Hewes fully realized what was to come from the Declaration. He assisted in training the NC militia and began preparing ships for Naval use. In truth, some of this work had been done well before the signing of the Declaration as he saw the course the colonists were on would lead to war. He was appointed to a marine committee that began outfitting of privately owned ships with guns. He even leased one of his brigs to the marine committee in the Continental Congress with the committee providing him insurance for potential loss.
In the late 1770’s his health began to suffer as he dealt with continuous head aches. He served in the Continental Congress until mid 1779 despite a group of fellow marine committee members objecting to the money he made while providing marine services to the country. He returned to office with the NC Assembly and continued to represent the state in the Continental Congress. He returned home from the Congress in October 1779 due to his health. He passed away a month later at 49 years of age.
Joseph Hewes never married. The earlier loss of his future wife was too much for him to overcome. As a result he had no children. Her loss had led him to throw all of his efforts into his business ventures and service to our country in the Revolutionary War period. He was a self made man of great wealth who remained committed to the cause of independence unto his death. In his honor and in a demonstration of respect, members of Congress wore crape on their left arms for one month after his death.
Joseph Hewes was a true, devoted American Patriot.
William Williams
Born in Lebanon, CT in 1731, William Williams was one of ten children of Congregationalist Church minister, Solomon Williams and wife, Mary Porter Williams. He studied both law and theology at Harvard and graduated in 1751 as well as studying the ministry with his father. Four years later he served in a local militia in the French and Indian War. He returned and opened a store in Lebanon. He never owned slaves as he felt it was morally wrong.
At nearly 40 years old he married Mary Trumbull who was about 15 years younger. She was the daughter of CT Royal Governor Jonathon Trumbull. Trumbull went on to serve as the second Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives. William and Mary went on have three children together. He took the job of town clerk, a position he held for 44 years.
Williams spent over two decades as a representative in the CT House of Representatives. He was elected Speaker in four of those years. He was strongly for independence as he was a member of the Sons of Liberty, on the Committee for Correspondence as well as the Council for Safety. At one time he anonymously had a satirical letter published in the local newspaper that confronted the King and his actions. He became an even more fierce opponent to the Crown after the Coercive Acts of 1774. He was elected to replace Oliver Wolcott as a representative from CT in the Continental Congress one week after the Declaration was formally announced, so he did not get to vote. However, he arrived in time to be a signer. Following this act he resigned his militia commission as a Colonel to serve in the Congress. He also served as a county judge for 28 years beginning in 1776.
Williams refused to sign the Constitution. He was opposed because Article VI banned religious tests for government officials. As a devout Christian and Congregationalist Deacon he felt it was a necessary requirement. He lived a life of dignity with a humble attitude and consistency that he felt was necessary for government officials. He lived his entire life as an example for Christ and for America. During the war, he closed his business, gave generously of his time and contributed much of his wealth for the cause. He regularly opened his home for military members to stay and rest.
In his latter days Williams read, meditated and prayed. He passed away at age 80. The day of his death, August 2, was exactly 35 years to the day from the date he signed the Declaration. His wife, Mary, passed away 20 years later.
William Williams was the epitome of a Christian servant leader and American Patriot.
Conclusion
As we wind our way through the Declaration signers, we come across stories such as these with Gates, Conway, Washington and Rush that remind us that nothing in life happens in a linear progression of goodness. Sometimes it all comes across as a soap opera. Yet, somehow the hand of God always has appeared at the right time to steer us in a direction that restores our destiny. Indeed, we are going through such a resurgence of the American spirit today.
It is interesting to me that an active faith in God, in a higher power, always seems to be the catalyst that drives the renewal.
In this story we have two devout Christians and a probable deist from different states who were working on the same team as patriots and signers of the Declaration of Independence. They gave their all for America, just as American First MAGA is doing today.
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.”
A Good King
Josiah was the king of Judah from approximately 640 to 609 B.C. His reign in Jerusalem is discussed in 2 Kings 22–23 and 2 Chronicles 34–35. Josiah was a godly king and known as one of the world’s youngest kings; he began his reign at age 8 after his father was assassinated. A highlight of Josiah’s reign was his rediscovery of the Law of the Lord.
Second Kings 22:2 introduces Josiah by saying, “And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.” In the eighteenth year of his reign, he raised money to repair the temple, and during the repairs the high priest Hilkiah found the Book of the Law. When Shapan the secretary read it to Josiah, the king tore his clothes, a sign of mourning and repentance (2 Kings 22:10–11).
King Josiah called for a time of national repentance. The Law was read to the people of the land, and a covenant made between the people and the Lord: “The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant” (2 Kings 23:3).
Many reforms followed. The temple was cleansed from all objects of pagan worship, and the idolatrous high places in the land were demolished. Josiah restored the observance of the Passover (2 Kings 23:2–23) and removed mediums and witches from the land.
Second Kings 23:25 records, “Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.” God’s wrath would later come upon Judah due to the evil King Manasseh had done (2 Kings 23:25), but the judgment was delayed because of Josiah’s godly life and leadership (2 Kings 22:20).
Much can be learned from Josiah’s life that is positive.
Josiah shows the influence a person can have from a very young age. Even children have enormous potential to live for God and to have great impact.
Josiah lived a life fully committed and obedient to God and was blessed for it.
Josiah properly responded to God’s Word. By the time he became king, the Scriptures had long been neglected, and Josiah’s heart was smitten by the failure of his people to honor God’s Word. Josiah had Scripture read to the people and made a commitment to live by it.
“‘Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken . . . I also have heard you,’ declares the Lord” (2 Kings 22:19).
A promise God made to the Children of Israel which, reasonably, could also be applied to God’s Children: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
Yep, Kurt has noticed that lots of people are getting twanging schadenböners.
And you do not have to be male to get this kind of böner.
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.
Gold zig-zagged across the 2,800 mark (which is record territory) on Friday. Since most people quote bid, not ask, and the bid for gold is 2799.20 you might hear that it closed just short of $2,800 on Friday. (I quote ask, because that’s the buyer’s price and you should be buying, right?) Gold was even above 2,810 at least once on Friday.
Of course this means that the FRNSI is at an all-time high.
Silver, on the other hand, actually dropped on Friday but still up nicely for the week as a whole. At least the gold/silver ratio has dropped a bit.
*The SteveInCO Federal Reserve Note Suckage Index (FRNSI) is a measure of how much the dollar has inflated. It’s the ratio of the current price of gold, to the number of dollars an ounce of fine gold made up when the dollar was defined as 25.8 grains of 0.900 gold. That worked out to an ounce being $20.67+71/387 of a cent. (Note gold wasn’t worth this much back then, thus much gold was $20.67 71/387ths. It’s a subtle distinction. One ounce of gold wasn’t worth $20.67 back then, it was $20.67.) Once this ratio is computed, 1 is subtracted from it so that the number is zero when the dollar is at its proper value, indicating zero suckage.
It is a CULT
Admittedly, the channel I am about to point you to–a brand new one–has one big Dufus Factor involved and that is the silly mask the guy wears for some reason having to do with his other gaming channel.
But when talking about Flat Earth he is spot-on. (And I’ve seen serious content delivered by people in sillier costumes–e.g., dinosaurs.) And…hallellujah! Except for two interviews his videos are short! Anyhow, his comparison of Flat Earth and cults seems spot on.
Nathan Oakley (as in “where are the GUNS, Nathan?!?!?”) tried to respond but of course was selective. As Oakley is credibly alleged to be a child abuser I won’t give him a link (you can surely find it if you want), but the response to his response is here.
CyberWaffle also has a response to the claims that The Final Experiment was done in a studio. Apparently he has some experience with the movie industry.
(In a later video he says he got the cost wrong…it should be 26 billion dollars.)
There seem to be four distinct responses to the Final Experiment from Flat Earthers (based on the interview with MC Toon).
Some maintain it doesn’t matter. “We never made a claim.” Well you still have to be able to explain what was seen.
Some retroactively claim that they were able to predict a 24 hour sun (this is revisionism (i.e., bare faced lying); there are plenty of videos of big-name Flerfers saying they would like to go to Antarctica during Austral summer, see the sun set, and thus prove the globe wrong–they didn’t erase them fast enough). But now they’re claiming that the Sun they saw was a reflection off the dome. (Decisively disproven by sunspot photos.)
One pastor claims the Sun was actually Satan.
But the most common claim is that it was faked; apparently “Flat Earth Dave [Weiss]” (who originally stood up against claims of “greenscreen”) has been brought back into line.
The problem is, they took plenty of videos not yet released to show it wasn’t a fake. Claims it was in a 360 degree surround studio are exploded by a drone flight to about a mile AGL (above ground level), a video that has been released. No studio could be that tall; that’s much taller than any building we have ever built.
MC Toon points out that anyone can go, but clearly the great expense (the Final Experiment cost $31K per participant) is a barrier. He has a standing offer to anyone who thinks it was fake. He will put $100,000 in escrow; they can do the same. Then they go together. Whoever’s right about the Sun gets the money. If they get turned away at gun point the Flerfer gets the money. None of them are confident enough in their position to have taken him up on it. (If they were that confident but poor, they could borrow the money for the trip and the 100K fully confident that they will have $200K afterwards to pay off the $131K loan with. Though perhaps a bank will laugh in their face when they make the application and explain why they are going.)
The Final Experiment team tried to anticipate every possible way that Flerfs could deny they had done what they did. As CyberWaffle put it: “That’s the only really bizarre thing about this trip to Antarctica, where the whole purpose of the trip to Antarctica, the whole time….no one’s ever done an expedition on the pure purpose to have to prove that they did the expedition.”
Here’s an Interview with MC “Where are the GUNS Nathan” Toon. Pay especial attention from 50:36 on and then at 58:00 (though if you have time the whole thing is worth watching).
Another; his most recent (unless he releases one between now (Thursday) and Saturday). This one lays out the best why I harp on this. Flat Earth isn’t just wrong, which is bad enough, it is harmful to the people who believe it. As often as not they lose their friends and even alienate their families.
But here’s a final one, from a totally different source. This one makes a larger philosophical point, and is an interesting exposition on the subject of “respecting one’s elders.”
[Edit to add: This last video’s conclusion could be taken as implying that we should, for instance believe the medical establishment. Maybe he actually does mean that. But I’ll go so far as to say that sometimes the experts disagree with each other and we do have experts on our side in this case. And the “establishment” has plenty of motivation to warp its judgement. That’s quite a different situation than disagreeing with your mechanic.]
CyberWaffle sometimes talks disparagingly of “conspiracy theories” and, in the way he understands the term, he is right to do so. The classic conspiracy theory is impossible to argue with, not because it is true, but because the holder of the theory is primed to dismiss any contrary evidence as faked or a lie, as part of the cover up.
The sorts of things we discuss here are (almost entirely) not like that. We bring a lot here, and so far as I know, if someone were to actually bring contradictory evidence the response here would not be to shove fingers in ears, shake our heads and say “nuh-uh!”
On the other hand, if you ever get to that point of wanting to simply dismiss any counter-evidence as fake, then you’re in danger of disconnecting from reality–in the unlikely event that you haven’t already done so.
That’s a very bad place to be. As Ayn Rand once said (and I’m paraphrasing), one is free to evade reality, but one cannot evade the consequences of evading reality.
And sometimes the consequences may be fatal.
More On Geology The Geologic Timescale
The same Kurt Schlichter article I quoted at the top since Aubergine couldn’t resist calling out the schadenböner reference, has this line (earlier in the same paragraph):
We have more energy than the freshly unleashed Permian Basin.
What is this “Permian Basin”? As it happens there are two of them, one centered on the North Sea in Europe (remember a lot of oil comes from offshore rigs in the North Sea), and the other is the one in West Texas and southeast New Mexico.
If you type “Permian Basin” into Wikipedia, you go to a page that tells you this, and you can then select the one you’re interested in. It also mentions that neither of them are in Perm Krai.
What on Earth is “Perm Krai”? Perm Krai does not have a link (but should). A “krai” (край, plural края́) turns out to be “one of the types of federal subjects of modern Russia, and was a type of geographical administrative division in the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR.” A krai was traditionally a far out, peripheral frontier area (in fact it’s etymologically related to the word “Ukraine”), while an oblast was a bit more central. In today’s Russian Federation there’s no functional difference between a krai and an oblast; a subdivision of Russia is one or the other based on tradition. (Russia also has other kinds of subdivisions: republics, cities of federal significance, an autonomous oblast, and autonomous okrugs. All have equal status as constituent entities of the Russian Federation according to Article 5 of the Constitution of Russia.)
So here’s a map–which unfortunately lost its labeling on the way over from Wikipoo:
In green are “Republics” which have a little more autonomy (the biggest one is Sakha, better known as Yakutsk to Risk players, and is the largest territorial subdivision in the world). Orange are krais, yellow are oblasts, red are the two federal cities (Moscow and St. Petersburg; Sevastapol in Crimea is also a federal city but most nations do not recognize Russian ownership of that or the four Ukrainian oblasts recently annexed from Ukraine [in cross-hatch at the left side of the map]). The one autonomous oblast in in purple, four autonomous okrugs in blue.
Getting back to our subject, Perm Krai is here, tucked up against the Ural Mountains on the west side. (The Ural Mountains form the traditional border between Europe and Asia, since they aren’t really separate continents. The eastern border of Perm Krai is part of that dividing line.)
Perm has its own coat of arms (just like every “Federal Subject” does):
Despite being deep inside Russia, Perm Krai has a significant population of ethnic minorities; some are not ones you’re likely to have heard of, though: Tatars and Ukrainians, Komi-Permyaks, and Bashkirs. Bashkirs are actually Turkic, but the Komi-Permyaks…well, they’re “Uralic” meaning their closest well-known relatives are the Finns and Hungarians. Its largest city is named…Perm (it gave its name to the Krai), with just a bit over a million people. The total population is roughly 2.5 million, down from 3 million when the Soviet Union collapsed.
OK…so that was (maybe) interesting and even has a tiny bit to do with current events, but…why on Earth is an energy-rich place in Texas and New Mexico named for this place?
SO glad you asked!
The Geologic Timescale Today
I struggled with this topic a bit. Trying to just talk about it historically is hard, because a lot of what I am reading assumes you know what we know today. And a lot of this topic is naming conventions and historic holdovers, but a lot is not. If I were to try to trace this from the beginning without some context, it would get a bit confusing. which is unsatisfactory. So I’m going to briefly outline the modern picture, then jump back and try (and likely fail) to explain how we got here. That might be more confusing, but I aim to excel.
The geologic timescale as we know it today is our best effort to order the different rocks we find around the Earth, by time; and since this is science things need to be classified in buckets so that we can see patterns that will help illuminate what is going on.
This is a vast topic so it gets subdivided. In fact it gets sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-subdivided; there are six “levels” of subdividedness (if that wasn’t a word before, it is now); generically referred to as “units.” Except that there are two different names for the levels. When considering the rocks themselves, they are “chronostratigraphic units,” when talking about the times, they are “geochronologic units.” However when we get to looking at specific ones, they have the same names. Thus “Permian” refers to both a chronostratigraphic unit and a geochronologic unit.
The entire history of the Earth is first subdivided into eons (geochronologic, time) which are each equivalent to eonothems (chronostratigraphic; rock layers). There are four of these according to the standard scheme. In order, newest to oldest (newest is always at the top, because it mimics the principle of superposition, they are:
Phanerozoic (the current eon/eonthem)
Proterozoic
Archean
Hadean (starts with the formation of the Earth)
As you might imagine, the older, the less well understood. Thus, the Hadean is not further subdivided; we have almost nothing to work from with this one. The other three eons are subdivided into eras (geochronologic; time) or erathems (chronostratigraphic; actual rock layers). There are ten defined eras, from oldest to newest these are: The Eoarchean, Paleoarchean, Mesoarchean, Neoarchean, Paleoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic, Neoproterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. As you likely guessed, the first four are subdivision of the Archean, the next three of the Proterozoic, and the final three by elimination are subdivisions of the Phanerozoic; we are living in the Cenozoic era, with rocks being laid down now part of the Cenozoic erathem. To summarize:
Phanerozoic (the current eon/eonthem)
Cenozoic (the current era/erathem)
Mesozoic
Paleozoic
Proterozoic
Neoproterozoic
Mesoproterozoic
Paleoproterozoic
Archean
Neoarchean
Mesoarchean
Paleoarchean
Eoarchean
Hadean (starts with the formation of the Earth)
The eras that are part of the Proterozoic and Phanerozoic (the Archean and certainly the Hadean are not subdivided to this level) are further subdivided into periods (geochronologically, time) equivalent to systems (chronostratigraphic, rock layers); there are 22 of these. You may recognize some of these names, but the ones from the Proterozoic eon/eonthem are new. I won’t be mentioning these much; the last two, however are the Cryogenian and Ediacaran. Once you get into the Phanerozoic, though, the Paleozoic is subdivided (oldest to newest) into the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous (which is a special case, there are two sub-periods of it called the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian), and Permian, and I will be talking about these. (In particular if I don’t discuss the Permian after that intro, someone will probably put a price on my head.) The Mesozoic is subdivided into the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous. (If you have never heard of the Jurassic, you’ve been living under a rock. Maybe even one that formed in the Jurassic.) The Cenozoic is subdivided into the Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary periods (or systems). [Note: the Cenozoic was reorganized in 2008 [edit]. Before then used to be a period called the “Tertiary” instead of the Paleogene and Neogene.] We are living in the Quaternary period; rocks laid down now are part of the Quaternary system.
Phanerozoic (the current eon/eonthem)
Cenozoic (the current era/erathem)
Quaternary
Neogene
Paleogene
Mesozoic
Cretaceous
Jurrasic
Triassic
Paleozoic
Permian
Carboniferous (Mississippian + Pennsylvanian)
Devonian
Silurian
Orodivician
Cambrian
Proterozoic
Neoproterozoic
Ediacaran
Cryogenian
Tonian
Mesoproterozoic
3 periods
Paleoproterozoic
4 periods
Archean
Neoarchean
Mesoarchean
Paleoarchean
Eoarchean
Hadean (starts with the formation of the Earth)
That’s three levels, and that’s as deep as I am likely to get. However, you should remember there are finer gradations, the epoch/series, the subepoch/subseries, and the age/stage (giving the “time” name first, then the “rock” name second). These exist because there’s really no situation where a single distinct rock layer covers an entire period.
I’m certainly not expecting you to remember these last three levels. I certainly won’t. But please be aware that they are there. The systems (hence periods) were often originally built up by combining series (epochs).
(However, even popular treatments will break the Cenozoic down one more level than this down to the epoch level, and all of those have names ending in -cene. None, fortunately were named after the Russian river Ob.)
In some cases which smaller units got grouped into which larger units is arbitrary, but in other cases it’s anything but. There are clear, obvious dividing lines between the Paleozoic and Mesozoic, as well as between the Mesozoic and Cenozoic; as we will see there was a mass extinction event at both of those dividing lines. Other, lesser mass extinctions turn out to be boundaries between periods/systems.
One more thing to add: For historic reasons, the first three entire eons put together are sometimes informally called “the Precambrian,” almost as if they were only as important as a mere period (two levels below them in the schema). This is largely due to the fact that until recently we knew next to nothing about those three eons and had a hard time distinguishing them from each other in any case. It was just some indefinitely long time.
The whole schema as it exists today (and with some text about proposed changes) is laid out in painstaking detail here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale, broken down all the way to Ages where such subdividing has been done.
Which brings us to the question of how we tell these apart from each other (and why those methods failed, at first, with the Precambrian). And so now I will switch to the historical perspective. So tuck all of that away in the back of your minds, wipe the mental slate temporarily, and…here we go.
Historical Development
Back to the late 18th and early 19th century, where we start to see the development of the geologic timescale. Between mining and the coal industry that was firing up to support the Industrial Revolution, geologists started to realize the fossils could tell us a few things. Similar fossils would appear at the same places in a bottom-to-top sequence and they could often be used to establish that the rocks were of a specific age. William Smith could distinguish otherwise-similar formations (i.e, rocks of the same color and texture) based on what fossils appeared in them. Putting things together people like Georges Cuvier and Alexandre Brogniart realized you could set up a complete sequence of rocks, oldest to youngest, based on index fossils. Index fossils are fossils that were widely distributed (hence could be seen in large parts of the globe) and existed briefly, so they’d be confined to one stratum.
When they published in 1811, we saw the birth of modern stratigraphy. We started to see what today we consider the systems/periods within the Phanerozoic.
(Cuvier, by the way, used the sequence to argue for catastrophism. This means multiple disasters–not just one, that caused many of the different abrupt boundaries in the geologic column. And you know what…he wasn’t completely wrong, though it took some time for this to be recognized.)
Note that not every kind of fossil is an index fossil. A good candidate for an index fossil will be something that lived in the oceans (hence was probably nearly global) and doesn’t appear across a long span of time. The narrower the time, the more precisely you can date a formation.
Because fossils were used to distinguish epochs and periods from each other, we really could only get anything useful from a certain time onwards. Before that time the rocks apparently had no fossils in them (we know now this is not quite true). After that time…we have fossils.
This was a very iterative process, with people noting strata and their relationships slowly and a big picture emerging at last. In many cases the epochs were noted first and combined into the periods later; with some re-groupings along the way. So here’s what we ended up with, listed from oldest to youngest, and not by any means in the order they were discovered or got their final names.
English geologists were particularly prolific, identifying the following periods (from oldest to youngest): the Cambrian (from Cambria, meaning Wales), in 1835; the Ordivician (from a Celtic tribe) in 1879; the Silurian (another Celtic tribe) in the early 1830s; the Devonian (named after Devon, England) also in the 1830s, and the Carboniferous (named after the coal) in 1811. Anything older than the Cambrian at the time appeared to have no fossils in it, and as mentioned earlier just got called the “Precambrian”. These periods are abbreviated, respectively, Ꞓ, O, S, D, and C.
In North America, the Carboniferous period was initially treated as two periods, the Mississippian (older) and Pennsylvanian (younger)…so America does make its way into the schema. This kind of monkeywrenched the scheme when one group of geologists talked about the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian and the other talked of the Carboniferous. The compromise eventually arrived at is to consider this period, and only this period, as consisting of sub-periods by those names. Other periods don’t have sub-periods but go directly to being divided into epochs.
(That wasn’t the only dispute by any means. As you might have noticed, the Ordovician was first named much later than the others, and was created by reorganizing what we had before, as a way to settle a different argument altogether.)
England certainly has newer rocks than the Carboniferous, but for whatever reason other countries beat England to the punch as far as identifying and naming more recent periods.
The very next period, the Permian (P), was found in the Ural mountains of Russia and added to the scheme in 1841–and this is how the Permian basin of Texas got its name. It turns out to consist of rocks from the same period. (Famous fossils from the Permian include a lot of corals [an entire reef nows form the Gaudalupe mountains in West Texas] and Dimetrodon, the sail-back lizards, which contrary to popular belief were not dinosaurs.)
(As for how a coral reef ended up way out in West Texas at elevations up to 8751 feet…well, that’s for a future post.)
The next one after that was the Triassic (T), first noted in Southern Germany. This was in turn composed of three rock layers (hence the “tri” in the name). It got that name in 1834, however it had been noted earlier than that.
In the Jura mountains of France and Switzerland, we found the Jurassic (J). This was a markedly earlier discovery from 1795.
The Cretaceous was first identified in the Paris basin in 1822 and the name comes from the extensive beds of chalk (calcium carbonate from the shells of microscopic sea organisms). Its abbreviation is K, not C, from German Kreide, chalk.
Next was the Tertiary. Those rocks are quite new (as such things are measured); it brings us almost to the present day. This name actually goes back to the middle 1700s and Arduino, who divided geologic time into primitive, secondary, and tertiary periods based on what he saw in Northern Italy, so the Tertiary was essentially discovered in Northern Italy. For a time, this period was identified has having been laid down during the Flood.
The Tertiary is now considered obsolete and has been broken up into two periods, the Paleogene (Pg) and Neogene (N). I know that the Tertiary used to be abbreviated T, but that means the Triassic must have had a different abbreviation back then. This relatively recent rearrangement was very controversial and part of the dispute was what to do about the very next (and latest) period…
The Quaternary, which was named such because it followed the Tertiary. It was first identified by Arduino in 1759 (by contrast with the Tertiary) and very nearly didn’t survive the recent reorganization of the Tertiary; it almost got folded into the Neogene. This is the latest period/system.
These periods were (and still are) grouped into three Eras, with the Cambrian through Permian making up the Paleozoic (“old life”) era, the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous making up the Mesozoic (“middle life”) era, and the Tertiary and Quaternary making up the Cenozoic (“new life”) era.
Anything before the Cambrian got lumped together as the “Precambrian.” There were no index fossils in those rocks (at least we didn’t think so at the time), so although we could look at the rocks at one location and do relative dating on them, we couldn’t correlate the Precambrian rock layers in one location with those in another location far away.
Eventually we would overcome this and build up the much more refined timescale we have today, but for a long time the Precambrian was an difficult-to-chart wasteland of geologic time.
Geologists worked on and after two centuries of development, we have today’s schema.
As a reminder, today the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras are in turn grouped together into the “Phanerozoic Eon” and we’ve been able to subdivide the Precambrian into three full eons with some subdividing into eras and periods.
I’m going to jump ahead a bit, and talk about the Precambrian fossils that we have more recently discovered. But first, I have to bring up a basic point.
What are fossils, and what causes them?
A fossil is any preserved remains, impression or trace of past life. Usually these are preserved in rocks, but preservation in amber (a la Jurassic Park) also happens.
We actually have to distinguish different kinds of fossils. Sometimes all we have are “trace fossils.” I always found this name misleading (I’m used to other meanings of the word “trace”), but here it means such things as footprints, tracks, burrows (without any remains of the burrower), and so on…indirect evidence of the critter. Another category of fossil that goes into this bucket is “copralites.” And these are fossilized dung. (Who would have guessed that wokester brain matter existed back then?)
In many cases we have nothing more than trace fossils to identify something, or rather to identify that something existed. We can learn a few things from them, such as that the critter liked to burrow in the sediment at the bottom of a shallow sea and was of a certain size, but we won’t learn a lot.
Sometimes we have external molds. An organism is buried, decomposes, dissolves and is gone…but the void it left in the sediment is preserved as the sediment turns to rock. Sometimes sediments fill an organism’s interior and we end up with an internal mold or endocast.
Sometimes we get an impression of the creature. This can be very interesting since we might learn about skin texture. Skins usually don’t fossilize.
There are microfossils, things you need a microscope to examine. These often are of the critters themselves.
But the “classic” fossil like the skeleton you’ve seen in museums is when a buried organism’s tissues are slowly replaced by minerals coming out of solution. This is much more likely to happen if the organism is buried underwater right after it dies and as you might imagine, that’s far more common for sea life (which is already underwater) than land life.
This turns out to be a big subject, and I am going to take the easy way out and punt you over to Wikipedia if you want to know more. (Note that on occasion a fossil is made out of iron pyrite (fool’s gold)!)
It’s much, much easier to fossilize if you have hard body parts. Skeletons, exoskeletons, shells, etc., because the other stuff is likely to decompose or otherwise be consumed by animals even when buried. The reason why “fossils show up” only in the Cambrian and later is because that’s when hard body parts first show up. (Why not earlier? My speculation: This is when predators first showed up, and critters suddenly needed body armor.)
But we do have some fossils from before the Precambrian, after all.
For instance, fossilized bacterial mats called stromatolites going clear back into the Archean, and not just the late Archean either. (These mats still exist in certain isolated places today–the situation has to be just right, however, or they get eaten before the mats can really form. Shark Bay in Western Australia is one of these places–it’s so important for that reason that UNESCO made it a World Heritage Site.) Those things that look like lumpy brown rocks are alive.
And a number of soft bodied creatures did manage to get impressions preserved in the rocks from immediately before the Cambrian; this led to the recognition, for the first time in 120 years, of a new period, the Ediacaran, named after the Ediacara Hills of South Australia, at the tail end of the Neoproterozoic era. Interestingly, many of these fossils were first noticed in England by schoolchildren, and the paleontologists around them, knowing the local surface rocks were Precambrian, dismissed their stories until one of them went with the kids and looked. These organisms look like nothing around today (unlike the Cambrian ones), and they are collectively called the “Ediacaran biota” though they only appear in the more recent part of the Ediacaran system. Here is an artist’s impression (very speculative)
And here are some pictures of the actual fossils, first charnia:
And dickinsonia.
Before that we have fossils of algae. Such as stromatolites.
Fossils versus Index Fossils
I’m going to make one more thing clear. I’ve noted that the periods were defined by index fossils..in fact in many cases the fossils actually identify epochs and ages within the periods. Completely distinct rocks in widely separated locations can be identified as being from the same epoch or age based on the index fossils they contain. The narrower the time span, the better. Not every fossil is an index fossil. Sometimes the geographic range is too small (the creature wasn’t wide spread enough) and sometimes that particular species was around for far too long.
But those non-index fossils are still confined to a certain time range, even if it’s a broad one.
Take trilobites, an entire class of creatures. (Mammals are a class. Insects are a class. Trilobites were that big a grouping.) There isn’t a single trilobite alive today. All of them lived from the middle of the Cambrian to the end of the Permian. The fossils were found in those systems so they date to those periods. (In fact the abrupt disappearance of the trilobites is one of the reasons the Permian–and the entire Paleozoic Era–is regarded as ending right then.)
We’ve identified, from fossils, 22,000 distinct species of trilobites spread out over the entire Paleozoic. There were surely many, many more. Some got to be 28 inches long. Some were scavengers, some were predators, some were filter feeders. They were an incredibly diverse and successful class. I can’t find anything to say for sure (I’m running out of time), but I would be surprised if at least some specific species of trilobites weren’t index fossils.
But you never find a trilobite after the Permian system. Never. They died out at the end of the Permian in a mass extinction, among the victims of the biggest one of all time. You can’t tell what period a generic trilobite is (though if you can identify the specific species, you have a better shot at it), but if your rock has a trilobite fossil in it, it’s Paleozoic, not Mesozoic or Cenozoic. And certainly not Precambrian.
Similarly, dinosaurs lived at characteristic times. Tyrannosaurs, for instance, are from the very end of the Cretaceous. Allosaurus and stegosaurus (and closely related species) are Jurassic. You never see these creatures outside of those ranges.
And not just for these examples, but for every species we have fossils of. This sort of precise and consistent location within the geologic column is very, very hard to explain if someone wants to claim that the entire column was laid down all at once. And this is what Young Earth Creationists claim…the whole thing was laid down in one year by the Great Flood.
But if a single flood event laid down the entire geologic column with the fossils all being things that drowned in the Flood, why would you not find drowned trilobites and tyrannosaurs and brachiosaurus and apatosaurus and pelycosaurs and ambulocetus and archaeopteryx and anomalocaris and eurypterids and camerata and ammonites and I could go on and on and on, but especially fossilized fish and gigantic Mesozoic marine reptiles of various extinct species (which could surely have held out longer) throughout the entire geological column if the whole thing happened within one year, or at least with lots of overlap? Instead we see things strictly segregated by layers. Even if you want to appeal to objects forming layers by density a) the brachiosaur bones would be in the Precambrian not the Cretaceous–in other words things didn’t sort by density and b) even if we grant for the sake of argument that they did, we’d see at least SOME cases of things not falling as far as they should because some piece of debris got in the way. Enough that we couldn’t ignore them. But we don’t. They’re segregated too perfectly by era, period and epoch. The segregation is so good because something would have to be thousands of years out of its time at the very least to end up in the wrong layer (and how would that happen? Time travel?), not just “it needed to fall for just a few more seconds to the right layer but something else blocked it.”
I’m sorry but the “all due to Noah’s Flood” claim is absurd. And this is just one line of argumentation that that is so.
Is there plenty of evidence of flooding in the geological record? Oh, yes, yes indeed, but there is no indication that it was a single event, or that any of the multitude of episodes were global. We can do relative dating on these things, after all.
(So Georges Cuvier, who as far as I can tell, believed in global catastrophes, was wrong. Or was he? Stay tuned.)
Not a Single Number?
You may have noticed that I have not given any numbers here. When were these periods? Just for instance, what’s the timespan of the Jurassic period? From when to when?
We didn’t know back then. We could look at index fossils and say that this rock from Russia was the same age as this other rock from Texas (even though from totally different formations). We could say that that rock was older than this other rock, and newer than yet a third rock. This is called relative dating. But other than crude order-of-magnitude estimates like was done with Etna, we could not do any sort of absolute dating where we could assign an actual number to the age of the rock. We could say “millions of years” or “more millions of years.” And by the way, there’s a symbol for that: Ma means “million years ago,” so 66 Ma means 66 million years ago.
How we got to absolute dating is a future topic (I might cover some other things before that). I know something about the modern methods. I have no idea (yet) how precise they were able to get before the modern methods were available, and I hope I can find out. (I may even have to walk back some of what I said in the prior paragraph if I’ve underestimated the cleverness of 19th and early 20th century paleontologists and geologists.) This is a learning experience for me too.
The above still image of Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman from the 1944 film, Gaslight, is courtesy of Google Images.
Health Friday is a series devoted to Big Pharma, vaccines, general health, and associated topics. As today’s post speaks to the disaster of the COVID-19 BTI (Bioweapon Toxin Injections, aka the “vaccines”), Yours Truly dedicates it to the memory of all persons, of whatever age or location, who have passed away from the negative effects (direct or indirect) of the COVID-19 “vaccines”, no matter whether the deceased were COVID-19 “vaccinated” or not. However, the discussion is not limited to what is presented here: It is an Open Thread.
There are Important Wolf Moon Notifications, the Rules of our late, good Wheatie, and certain caveats from Yours Truly, of which readers should be aware. They are linked here.
Yours Truly begins here: https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/the-evidence-is-clear-its-time-to, “The Evidence Is Clear: It’s Time to Permanently Ban the COVID-19 mRNA Injections”, by Nicolas Hulscher, MPH, Epidemiologist, and Administrator of the McCullough Foundation, 18 January 2025. There is a video of an interview with Mr. Hulscher by Luiza Asyamova, along with links and graphics from numerous scientific papers, in this article. One of these linked papers is this: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14269255, “COVID-19 spike protein pathogenicity research library”, Dr. Martin Wulcher, Erik Sass, et al., 3 December 2024 (also found here: https://zenodo.org/records/14269255). There are over four hundred papers listed in this particular compilation.
Yours Truly will focus on one other linked item in the Nicolas Hulscher article cited above, regarding the activities of the United States Department of Health and Human Services to increase uptake of the COVID-19 “vaccines.” The first example is here: https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/the-us-hhs-risk-less-do-more-propaganda, “The U.S. HHS “Risk Less. Do More.” Vaccine Propaganda Campaign”, by Nicolas Hulscher, 19 December 2024. Below are two screenshots regarding the HHS campaign:
HHS launched this propaganda campaign a few months ago, under then-Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra. The agency has already released over 80 videos on its You Tube channels, among many other gaslighting / propaganda items, to “convince” Americans to get the COVID-19 BTI (Bioweapon Toxin Injections, aka the “vaccines”); the influenza virus “vaccines”; and the RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) “vaccines.”
The agency, apparently, was already “alarmed” over the “lack of vaccine uptake” among Americans. Please see here: https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/americas-compliance-with-federal, “America’s Compliance with Federal Vaccine Recommendations as Collapsed”, by Nicolas Hulscher, MPH, 24 November 2024. The CDC’s MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) article regarding this issue is here: https://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7346a1, “Influenza, COVID-19, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccination Coverage Among Adults — United States, Fall 2024”, Jennifer L. Kriss, et al., 21 November 2024. The salient graphic from this article is below:
Which is filled with, in YoursTruly’s opinion, misinformation, disinformation, and outright falsehoods (for example, not mentioning and even dismissing the increasing cases of serious adverse reactions from taking a COVID-19 BTI (the “vaccines”).)
But wait, there’s more! Here is the portion of the HHS gaslighting / propaganda website for medical professionals: https://www.hhs.gov/risk-less-do-more/for-health-care-providers/index.html. In this part of the HHS gaslighting / propaganda effort, one can read through the various “Use these on your “vaccine-hesitant” patients” techniques to “convince” them to agree to having one of the above “vaccines” injected into them. Below are examples from the “Discussion Guides” section of https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/talking-your-patients.pdf, “Talking to Your Patients About Flu, COVID-19, and RSV Vaccines” from the HHS gaslighting / propaganda website. Below are examples culled from this section: the first, how the physician is to “initiate” the gaslighting / propaganda discussion with a patient: and, the second, how the physician can “steer” the conversation if the patient is “vaccine-hesitant”:
Note that the image of the “patient” is that of an elderly male. There are similar “Discussion Guides” for the flu “vaccines” and for the RSV “vaccines.”
Yours Truly will also note the following regarding the above HHS gaslighting / propaganda campaign materials: One: The use of an “elderly male patient” in the example “discussion” with the physician. The CMS (Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services) is involved up their eyeballs in the campaign, due to the payments that CMS receives from every injection of a COVID-19 “vaccine”, an influenza “vaccine”, and/or an RSV “vaccine.” Please see here: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/covid-19/coding-covid-19-vaccine-shots, updated 2 January 2025. And, Two: The AMA gets a “royalty payment” from every CPT code that is used for medical procedures or treatment billing, including injections of “vaccines” such as the ones listed above. This is because the AMA owns the rights to use the CPT codes. Please see here: https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/cpt/big-changes-will-streamline-cpt-coding-immunization, 5 January 2024. The “new, all-inclusive” CPT code for any “vaccine” injection administration is 90480.
So far, all of the above has applied to persons over age 18. What about persons under age 18? For this, Yours Truly turns to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) “Redbook” post of 20 November 2024, found here: https://publications.aap.org/redbook/pages/Immunization-Schedules. “Immunization Schedules for 2025” PDF, subtitled “Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule by Age.” These mirror the CDC Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule, found here: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-schedules/child-adolescent-age.html, 21 November 2024. These are CDC recommended immunization schedules; they are not the law. However, many state legislatures in the United States have adopted this recommended immunization schedule and turned it into state law for children who wish to attend school (public, but in some areas, also private or even home-school situations) within their state. For example, here is the link to the required “vaccines” schedule that children must take if they wish to got to public school in North Carolina: https://immunization.dph.ncdhhs.gov/schools/k-12.htm, “K-12 School Requirements – NC Immunization Branch”, 23 August 2024.
So, it would appear that the Department of Health and Human Services is engaged in a full-on gaslighting / propaganda campaign to “convince” American adults to take the COVID-19 “vaccines”; while, at the same time, the CDC immunization schedule for children and adolescents (which clearly indicates that the COVID-19 “vaccines”, along with the other “vaccines” on the schedule, are NOT law, but arerecommended), have been added into state public school “vaccination schedules” statutes, thus making these recommendations the law of the state. Adults are free to refuse and and all recommended “vaccines”, but persons under age 18 are, in effect, required to take them if they wish to attend public school.
Then, there is the phenomenon of potential COVID-19 “vaccine” shedding. If adults who take a COVID-19 “vaccine” can potentially shed the ingredients of these injectables onto other persons, it would follow that children and adolescents who take these injectables can potentially shed the ingredients. And what about persons under age 18 who are immunocompromised? It is now known that the COVID-19 “vaccines” damage or destroy the natural immune system of the “vaccinated” person. The immune systems of the immunocompromised are already at risk; it can be fairly argued that taking a COVID-19 “vaccine” could put the already-at-risk natural immune system of these persons at further risk.
However, the other links above in today’s post are still active (at least until today 30 January 2025); it appears that the Trump administration order is not retroactive to 20 January 2025. Therefore, the “Discussion Guides”, the handouts, the billing / coding information, and so on, listed in today’s post, are likely still being used.
THERE. MUST. BE. JUSTICE. Yours Truly believes that the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services needs to happen as soon as possible: so he can end the HHS gaslighting/propaganda efforts, to start.
