“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 man, making Christmas calls from the White House, believes the world is a sphere. And he has even flown around it! So has our beautiful FLOTUS, who happens to be his wife!
Truth and common sense must be valued by us, as individuals, in order to lastingly disempower the authoritarian fake news media. This includes the perniciously smarmy science media, which never answers for its errors and lies. I believe that the media has been responsible not only for leftist pathologies like scientism, medical fascism, and radical gender ideology, but also for reactionary movements like modern flat Earth, rejection of all medicine, and Biblical geological literalism.
Just as Wheatie’s Stormwatch Monday Open Thread was created as a place for people to openly express their thoughts and opinions, so, too, is this Thank God Thursday Open Thread, where honest but civil discussion of all topics is encouraged. This thread is also to be known as Theistic Evolution Thursdays, due to the author’s expected “pontification” about his scientific, religious, and political opinions. You are welcome to pontificate back! Free speech matters!
Please label all AI-generated content as being such, unless it is patently obvious (e.g., humorous AI images). It is important that we as individuals not begin to pretend that socially derived artificial intelligence is actually our own, as this form of stealthy social information averaging and feedback would be one more pretense and deception between people, in service of stupid Marxist socialism, and of those who wish to substitute their communally protected lies for actual truth.
The source of alleged truth matters, not for the truth itself, but for validation.
And yes, it’s THURSDAY…again.
And that’s it. We’re done stealing from Wheatie.
OK – maybe her rules need to be posted.
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
Other rules may be derivable from these, and that conjecture is left for discussion.
If there is nothing beyond the “W” below, then this is a placeholder. For health reasons, I can’t always post a timely opinion before each Thursday, but I will try. Otherwise, you have this placeholder post, where YOU provide the content. Enjoy!
W
So – what is happening on YouTube? Four samples!
(1) Check this out and let us know what you think. Yeah, it’s clickbait, with a clickbait thumbnail image.
SO – is this AI-generated anti-human propaganda – or nasty truth – or both? You can read the comments on the video, too.
(2) Chicks With Tats – How to Deal With Them
(3) Chick with XY blueprints and XX construction – in other words, transed by nature, so to speak.
I had heard of this genetic anomaly – rare but real.
The TRANS-pusher left uses the existence of such people to justify their ideology, but the clear truth is that leftists are using medical sympathy to normalize sterilization of kids, and the medicalization of human sexuality.
I also have a theory about why “they” are pushing TRANS in Utah – and why the CIA basically set up camp there. I believe that they are trying to push the “right side” of the Overton Window on TRANS. The left is already stretched so far, as to have reached a breaking point. They need CONSERVATIVE buy-in on their “progress” agenda. The Mormons are a captive institution now, and can be used like a giant Charlie Manson or Jim Jones cult to lead the way on the CONTROLLED RIGHT. Much CIA research on converting conservatives goes on in Utah, IMO.
If this is correct, there should be other examples of this strategy, to say nothing of the “fake conservatives” on CNN.
(4) Big asteroid flyby today – with room to spare – so no need to be worried. Still, I’m glad they’re keeping an eye out for these things!
The horror – they’re still trying to inject all the kids. Note how they don’t care about superior natural immunity. These people are Pfizerbot monsters. Per the Cleveland Clinic:
If you or your children belong in any of the following categories, you should get at least one dose of the updated 2023 vaccine as soon as possible:
Anyone older than 6 months who’s never had a COVID-19 vaccine.
NEW: ‘Scientist’ Neil deGrasse has meltdown while trying to explain why men should be able to compete in women’s sports. The ‘scientists’ really don’t seem to follow the science these days. Before melting down, deGrasse tried coming up with a scientific explanation for why men should be able to compete in women’s sports. “So I’m wondering whether the future of those sports is, you don’t contest gender with gender. You contest hormone ratios.” The meltdown came when the show hosts asked deGrasse about women being denied opportunities because the playing field is not even. “So fix the playing field, da**it! Don’t, don’t say it’s an unfair playing field. So all of a sudden the big issue is trans women taking the slot of a woman in an unfair playing field, fix the playing field.” “You know something, the day you fix that playing field, this conversation will look completely ridiculous. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.” The only thing that looks ridiculous is you, Neil.
Scummer and Turtle-Head. What a combination. The Senate is fake, I tell ya! It’s all kabuki.
The look on their faces when they learned Ukrainian government workers would be paid during a shutdown, but not American government workers. Priceless? No, pathetic. pic.twitter.com/CScXdqFHtK
Interesting trailer, although it looks like another Hollywood “writer meets reality” / “layers of reality” script. Might be good for some popcorn consumption. Or maybe not.
Kevin the Foot-Dragger. Somebody get him out of my messages and email! Please!
“Mommy, why does that woman have a beard?” Not exactly the same answer as when I was a kid.
Watch this and then ask yourself – is there something in the games that is “training” people? Found at “Not The Bee” HERE.
Back to reality from gaming. See? A pre-existing solution is always available if you just think out-of-the-plane!
Repeating our usual suspects…..
Still not regretting not taking the shot.
And then there’s the BIG CLUB…..
Per the Boss:
Boss correcting now to “Oligarchs including but not limited to George Soros“.
And now for the obligatory message from our sponsors:
Here at the Q tree we believe in the concept of CIVIL open free speech and the discussion that fleshes out ideas. When commenting and participating in the OPEN discussion on this thread all comments MUST NOT CONTAIN personal threats, baiting, name calling, or other anti-social words fomenting hate, violence or destruction. Our host Wolfm00n has strict rules about that.
Fellow tree dweller, the late Wheatie, gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone
Please, stock up on blanks for celebratory gunfire, be ready to swing from the chandeliers…and no messing with the nuclear weapons.
Please remember to remain locked and loaded and ready for trouble should the insurrectionists try to invade your space.
Those who have things to say that do not fit the generally accepted limits of “civil” discussion, Wolf has provided a venue known as the UTree. You’re welcome to visit over there and say hi to anyone hanging out over there. The “Rescue Thread” is also over there. In the event a rendezvous of the tree is needed, please check it out, as well as the newest rescue venue.
Auntie DePat’s requests:
If you see something has not been posted, do us all a favor, and post it. Please, do not complain that it has not been done yet.
The scroll wheel on your mouse can be your friend. As mature adults, please use it here in the same manner you would in avoiding online porn.
Thank you so much for any and all attention to such details. It is GREATLY appreciated by more than one party here.
One other vital note:
Please, review these rules that our host Wolfm00n outlined toward the beginning of the growth of the tree itself. It won’t take long.
As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome.
Please include: President Donald Trump, the Q team, our soldiers in the field, special forces, tactical units, first responders and those working behind the scenes…and any and all people with family members in the hospital, COVID or not.
And…members of the QTree who no longer participate for one reason or another.
We are getting ready to experience a level of evil that will be hard to comprehend. Stay strong. Be prepared.
It is quite clear, as per Wolf’s message from July, that we are under spiritual attack. Building up a robust arsenal of prayer and discipline is a must in fighting the enemy and his minions.
In that spirit, the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel from Tuesday’s threads, and the Breastplate of St. Patrick, not to mention the Litany of Humility are favorites recommended by exorcists in spiritual warfare.
SATIRE SECTION
Not to be confused with current reality. They’re close, we admit.
“Satire has weakened in our epoch, for several reasons, but chiefly because the world has become too absurd to be satirized.” — G.K. Chesterton, 1911 pic.twitter.com/44oWejmfwp
Epps touches part of a metal fence as police attempt to pull it up. Contrary to his testimony and DOJ report, Epps was not helping police. It appears that Epps stays behind 2 individuals standing on the fallen fence.
I remember a few weeks ago when DOJ and Judge Kelly ruled that touching a fence with police close by qualified as a federal crime of terrorism and helped send you to jail for 18 years. In fact, one could be in Baltimore and still be guilty! pic.twitter.com/EwLWoaBs18
I just subpoenaed & obtained two bank wires revealing Hunter Biden received payments originating from Beijing in 2019 when Joe Biden was running for President.
Joe Biden’s Delaware home is listed as the beneficiary address for both money wires from China. pic.twitter.com/jzRX2o1hB1
New allegation: @CIA secretly escorted Dr. Anthony Fauci into Agency Headquarters to "influence" its COVID-19 origins investigation. pic.twitter.com/MilogK6xll
— Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic (@COVIDSelect) September 26, 2023
Memes & Stuff
This one never gets old or wrong.
WARNING!!! GROOMER ALERT!!!
Speaking of Catturd getting swatted…..
Ah, the “usual suspects” must appear!
And, of course, the obligatory George Carlin:
Per the Boss:
Boss correcting now to “Oligarchs including but not limited to George Soros“.
And now for the obligatory message from our sponsors:
Here at the Q tree we believe in the concept of CIVIL open free speech and the discussion that fleshes out ideas. When commenting and participating in the OPEN discussion on this thread all comments MUST NOT CONTAIN personal threats, baiting, name calling, or other anti-social words fomenting hate, violence or destruction. Our host Wolfm00n has strict rules about that.
Fellow tree dweller, the late Wheatie, gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone
Please, stock up on blanks for celebratory gunfire, be ready to swing from the chandeliers…and no messing with the nuclear weapons.
Please remember to remain locked and loaded and ready for trouble should the insurrectionists try to invade your space.
Those who have things to say that do not fit the generally accepted limits of “civil” discussion, Wolf has provided a venue known as the UTree. You’re welcome to visit over there and say hi to anyone hanging out over there. The “Rescue Thread” is also over there. In the event a rendezvous of the tree is needed, please check it out, as well as the newest rescue venue.
Auntie DePat’s requests:
If you see something has not been posted, do us all a favor, and post it. Please, do not complain that it has not been done yet.
The scroll wheel on your mouse can be your friend. As mature adults, please use it here in the same manner you would in avoiding online porn.
Thank you so much for any and all attention to such details. It is GREATLY appreciated by more than one party here.
One other vital note:
Please, review these rules that our host Wolfm00n outlined toward the beginning of the growth of the tree itself. It won’t take long.
13At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”
15“Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him.
16As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened,d and He sawe the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”
This one’s good enough to run again, too!
As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome.
Please include: President Donald Trump, the Q team, our soldiers in the field, special forces, tactical units, first responders and those working behind the scenes…and any and all people with family members in the hospital, COVID or not.
And…members of the QTree who no longer participate for one reason or another.
We are getting ready to experience a level of evil that will be hard to comprehend. Stay strong. Be prepared.
It is quite clear, as per Wolf’s message from July, that we are under spiritual attack. Building up a robust arsenal of prayer and discipline is a must in fighting the enemy and his minions.
In that spirit, the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel from Tuesday’s threads, and the Breastplate of St. Patrick, not to mention the Litany of Humility are favorites recommended by exorcists in spiritual warfare.
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Our various sister sites, listed in the Blogroll in the sidebar
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Joe Biden didn’t win.
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Word of The Week:
trinitite
noun
Trinitite, also known as atomsite or Alamogordo glass, is the glassy residue left on the desert floor after the plutonium-based Trinity nuclear bomb test on July 16, 1945, near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The glass is primarily composed of arkosic sand composed of quartz grains and feldspar that was melted by the atomic blast.
You’ll see why I chose trinitite later in this post.
OK – here is the epic orchestral Wheatie music I was looking for….
Maybe some “Celtic mystique” music?
How about “Viking folk music”? No guarantees of authenticity here.
But let’s finish with some orchestral-backed vocals…..
OK – that was inspiring!
Carl was back on Sunday! Praise God!!!
I know it has been a while since I said “Trust The Plan”, but every once in a while I realize that it’s there.
Some very interesting posts (and replies) on X. Let me give you a guided tour.
This is an oldie but goodie on an old QAnon account that does indeed put time frames in perspective.
Now That We Have Confirmation From Dr. Jan Halper-Hayes That There Is In Fact A Military Intelligence Plan In Place Playing Out, This Timeline Puts Things Into Perspective. pic.twitter.com/dNOPGzlz5j
I found the reply here terribly interesting. It’s worth looking at Brian’s full tweet.
You have an enduring spirit—and always keep in mind, in prayer we are saved, even though we cannot see what it is (that’s called faith). With reason, we can see and test it because we can see and touch it…faith and hope are things that you cannot see, you need to trust that one…
This is also going to be big – Lara Logan’s new production on January Sixth.
Trennis Evans pled guilty to one misdemeanor charge of entering a restricted building & he is forced to serve out his sentence in jail where he is held in solitary confinement for a few days at a time. The cell where he is housed is where they put prisoners to punish them. All… https://t.co/OhCoMlGpXn
Now – check this out – a long train of tweets to some fascinating references.
First – UGH – the photo on the right.
Munchausen by proxy (MBP), also known as factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA), is a mental health disorder in which a caregiver, often a parent or guardian, intentionally fabricates or exaggerates physical or psychological symptoms in someone under their care. This could… pic.twitter.com/QbahOR55cn
That post notes the prior self-cutting by the young woman, visible in the photo. A pro-trans poster excuses the cutting as a result of gender dysphoria thereby requiring the surgery, while I might see the surgery as the ultimate form of “cutting”.
As an aside, I think the mom may be relieved of some guilt here. She was likely ready to believe anything that the doctors and trans activists told her. Thus, it is to some extent likely to be a kind of “Stockholm syndrome X Munchausen by proxy syndrome”.
The original poster responds with an excellent old article questioning trans surgeries.
Jest to zwyczajnie nieprawda: nawet lewicowe publikacje były wielokrotnie zmuszone przyznać, że "tranzycja" nie pomaga:https://t.co/4GIbkxsUfj
New Data Show “Gender-Affirming” Surgery Doesn’t Really Improve Mental Health. So Why Are the Study’s Authors Saying It Does?
This is an absolutely fascinating example of “agenda science” and intentional misrepresentation of data. Check out the summary of the article:
Data from a new study show that the beneficial effect of surgery for transgender people is so small that a clinic may have to perform as many as 49 gender-affirming surgeries before they could expect to prevent one additional person from seeking subsequent mental health treatment. Yet that’s not what the authors say. That the authors corrupted otherwise-excellent data and analyses with a skewed interpretation signals an abandonment of scientific rigor and reason in favor of complicity with activist groups seeking to normalize infertility-inducing and permanently disfiguring surgeries.
This is EXACTLY what is wrong with science all over the place now. COVID science is just like this. Mask science, too. This dishonesty of interpretation is everywhere. AGENDA SCIENCE.
Here is the full text of the article, saved from censorship.
A new study appearing last month in the American Journal of Psychiatry concluded that “gender-affirming” surgery is associated with reduced demand for subsequent mental health treatment in a sample of persons diagnosed with “gender incongruence.” Predictably, such news received wide media interest and coverage. And yet even a cursory reading of the study itself tells a far less optimistic story than the media narratives—as well as the authors’ own inexplicable confidence—have offered. Indeed, the analyses would seem to suggest the benefit of a hormonal or surgical course does not outweigh the demonstrable physical and financial costs of such treatments. Future studies might suggest otherwise, but not this one.
The study’s shortcomings have nothing to do with the data, nor the methods employed by its authors (and public health researchers) Richard Bränström and John Pachankis. The data come from the Swedish Total Population Register, a massive, longitudinal survey effort that collected information from over 9.7 million Swedes, or about 95 percent of the country. No complaints there. The analyses are high-quality: the authors tracked respondents over time and assessed their use of mental health treatment (for a mood or anxiety disorder) in 2015, as well as other related measures (such as hospitalization after a suicide attempt), as a function of time since gender-affirming hormone and surgical treatment. Its measurement precision is excellent, and would satisfy most methodological purists. So far, all good news. But then come the scholarly interpretations of the study’s results, which are remarkably out of step with the far more modest conclusions they merit.
The study found no mental health benefits for hormonal interventions in this population. There is no effect of time since initiating hormone treatment on the likelihood of subsequently receiving mental health treatment.
First, a word about the hormones: the study found no mental health benefits for hormonal interventions in this population. There is no effect of time since initiating hormone treatment on the likelihood of subsequently receiving mental health treatment. Given the surge in interest, demand, and supply of hormonal therapies to self-identified transgender persons today, you would think that it is a solution that pays obvious benefits in reduced subsequent need—over time—for treatment of mood or anxiety disorder, or hospitalization after a suicide attempt. Yet there was no statistically significant effect. In fact, the confidence intervals actually reveal a nearly significant aggravating effect of hormonal treatment on subsequent mental health needs.
It is the surgical effect, however, that has grabbed all the attention. Bränström and Pachankis detected a statistically significant effect of time since last “gender-affirming” surgery on reduced mental health treatment. The adjusted (for controls) odds ratio for this was 0.92, meaning that, among respondents diagnosed with “gender incongruence” who then received gender-affirming surgical treatment, the odds of being treated for a mood or anxiety disorder (in 2015) were reduced by about 8 percent for each year since the last surgery. In other words, it would appear that the surgery—or more typically, the series of surgeries—benefited their mental health.
But the authors discuss a “linear decrease” in seeking subsequent mental health care that is simply not visible in the study’s graphs, where post-surgical mental health treatment hovers stably around 35 percent among those in their first nine years after surgery, and then drops to only 21 percent of those patients who are in their tenth (or higher) year since their last surgery. However, only 19 total respondents reported their last surgery as having been completed 10 or more years ago. By contrast, 574 (out of 1,018 total) reported their last surgery as having been conducted less than two years ago. (Surgical treatment is clearly surging.) This means that the apparently helpful overall effect of surgery is driven by this comparatively steep drop in mood/anxiety treatment among only 19 patients. By the math, that would seem to indicate that four out of these 19 Swedes (i.e., 21 percent) sought help in 2015 for mood/anxiety problems.
While the study reports the adjusted odds ratio of the overall effect of time since surgery (0.92), which I cannot replicate without having data access, you don’t need the data to calculate an unadjusted odds ratio from the information presented there. This can tell us the baseline effect of time since surgery on receiving mood and anxiety treatment, only without the controls (like age, income, etc.). Doing this reveals the fragility of the study’s key finding: if a mere three additional cases among these 19 had sought mental health treatment in 2015, there would appear to be no discernible overall effect of surgery on subsequent mental health. The study’s trumpeted conclusion may hinge on as few as three people in a data collection effort reaching 9.7 million Swedes, 2,679 of whom were diagnosed with gender incongruence and just over 1,000 of whom had gender-affirming surgery.
The study’s trumpeted conclusion may hinge on as few as three people in a data collection effort reaching 9.7 million Swedes, 2,679 of whom were diagnosed with gender incongruence and just over 1,000 of whom had gender-affirming surgery.
An increase of just three treated individuals (from 4 to 7 of 19) brings the overall effect to zero. On the other hand, a decrease of just three treated individuals (from 4 to 1 out of 19) yields an (unadjusted) odds ratio of 0.88, which would enable a claim of a 12-percent reduction in mental health assistance from getting the surgery. These large swings in estimates are due to very small adjustments in the data. As is often the case with small samples, tiny changes lead to large fluctuations in estimated effects. But, for this patient population, you are not going to find larger data collection projects than the Swedish data. This is as good as it gets when it comes to studying transgender medical experiences and outcomes.
Another helpful statistic I calculated is called the NNT, or “Number Needed to Treat.” It’s a measure of clinical impact. In this study, the NNT appears to be a staggering 49, meaning the beneficial effect of surgery is so small that a clinic may have to perform 49 gender-affirming surgeries before they could expect to prevent one additional person from seeking subsequent mental health assistance [ref] In this case, the NNT = -1 * [1/[(OR-1)UER] + OR/[(OR-1)(1-UER)]]. Using an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 0.92 and an unexposed event rate (UER) = 0.453, I get NNT = 49 cases. The UER I employ here comes from the mood/anxiety treatment rate for “perioperative” individuals with gender incongruence, as reported in the study’s Figure 1. The term “perioperative,” however, is vague and not defined by the authors. (It could mean right before or right after surgery.) It is not, however, a control group (that is, of Swedes diagnosed with gender incongruence who have not pursued surgical treatment). However, even such a control group would have limitations, including selection bias (e.g., screening for co-occurring mental illness or a lower level of gender dysphoria). Indeed, a prospective randomized controlled trial is not possible with this population. Nevertheless, the number employed offers a reasonable baseline UER, given the available data. NNTs below 10 “usually denote a worthwhile difference when comparing one intervention with another,” notes Leslie Citrome in “Quantifying Clinical Relevance.”[/ref]. If no other treatment was available, or the treatment was not invasive and the hazards were insignificant, clinics might consider surgery a low-risk but low-payoff approach. But none of those applies here. Conducting 49 surgeries to secure one additional patient who benefits? Unheard of.
The authors are nevertheless quick to declare that “this study provides timely support for policies that ensure coverage of gender-affirming treatments.” I cannot see how such confidence is merited. Time since hormonal treatment yielded no discernible effect on subsequent use of mental health treatment, while the modest effect of surgery hinges on a handful of cases from an earlier era (10 or more years ago) when very few gender dysphoric patients pursued surgery at all. And it’s not a leap to wonder whether those who did so a decade ago are a different kind of group than those who do so today. Moreover, suicide—the threat that seems to prompt all the urgency in doing something radical to alleviate psychological distress in these patients—may well have claimed an unknown number of Swedes who had had gender-affirming surgery ten or more years ago. We just don’t know, because the study does not track completed suicides for this sample.
If this were a clinical trial seeking to establish the efficacy of a particularly invasive medical treatment in comparison with a non-invasive standard protocol, there is no way that these published results would favor the invasive treatment—in this case, “gender affirming” surgery—when the statistical difference in outcomes was so tiny and fragile. This is not, contrary to what Bränström told ABC News, an evidence-informed treatment. That the authors corrupted otherwise excellent data and analyses with a skewed interpretation signals an abandonment of scientific rigor and reason in favor of complicity with activist groups seeking to normalize infertility-inducing and permanently disfiguring surgeries.
Physicians should not be pushed to prescribe such profoundly consequential treatment by threat of call-out, malpractice suits, patient demand, or—in this case—the overreaching interpretations of quality data. Clinicians are being bullied into writing a radical prescription based on fear, not on sensible conclusions from empirical data.
But this reasonable position is getting more difficult to defend. Less than two months after another team of activist psychiatrists landed a weak study on “conversion” therapy in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, its lead author has commenced a movement aimed at a wholesale ban on such a notion. This is alarming, especially since the idea itself—“converting” from having become convinced you are born in the wrong body to concluding that you can live with the body you have—is nonsensical. There is no defined psychotherapeutic method for treating gender dysphoria that can be widely characterized and consistently identified as “conversion therapy” in order to be banned. Nor has there been a clinical trial evaluating specific psychotherapeutic methods of counseling gender dysphoria that could potentially demonstrate whether such methods are helpful or harmful.
This is not how normal medical research works.
Can’t end this discussion without some interesting discussion of trinitite.
Right, there was probably a meteor strike. No way something like that doesn’t get the “why did this happen” treatment from generations to follow. Here’s the Forbes article.https://t.co/6WVj4kxPzs
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Our various sister sites, listed in the Blogroll in the sidebar
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Joe Biden didn’t win.
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Word of The Week:
Brix
unit of measurement
Degrees Brix (symbol °Bx) is a measure of the dissolved solids in a liquid, and is commonly used to measure dissolved sugar content of an aqueous solution. One degree Brix is 1 gram of sucrose in 100 grams of solution and represents the strength of the solution as percentage by mass. If the solution contains dissolved solids other than pure sucrose, then the °Bx only approximates the dissolved solid content. For example, when one adds equal amounts of salt and sugar to equal amounts of water, the degrees of refraction (BRIX) of the salt solution rises faster than the sugar solution. The °Bx is traditionally used in the wine, sugar, carbonated beverage, fruit juice, fresh produce, maple syrup and honey industries. The °Bx is also used for measuring the concentration of a cutting fluid mixed in water for metalworking processes.
As opposed to
Birx
Scarf Wench
Have not read her book, I must admit. Nice scarf.
YouTube says “violins” while I’m looking for “Wheatie epic music”, so let’s go with that….
Hey – what about the cellos?
Yeah! You remember last week…..
But we simply have to finish with the cellos!
Yeah, I’m spending far too much time in the near vicinity of Marxists and their downstream effects, and it shows. But still, kinda fun.
Continuing to pray for Carl. Thank you to DePat for helping out with a perfect Sunday message about Sunday itself!
And now for some useful scoop from the front lines.
TL;DR – Ohio has a sneaky “children’s sexual rights amendment” on the ballot.
In the course of our political work, I’ve come into contact with an interesting assortment of people representing a wide variety of political interests. There is often some “adjacency” and “intersectionality” as the other side loves to say, and in particular we run into specific candidates, issues or causes which matter to our group.
You may or may not have been following the August “Issue 1” vote in Ohio, which was designed to make it harder to amend the Ohio constitution – meaning a 60% vote for passage of amendments instead of just 50%. The proposal had other features that weakened it, but the main factor leading to its defeat was the fact that the Ohio Dems had an abortion amendment coming in November, and that amendment was unlikely to get 60%+ support. The Demmunists got out the vote to defeat fundamental improvement of the Ohio constitution, using abortion. It worked like crazy.
The new abortion amendment is likely to pass in November, ironically as “Issue 1”, but worried Dem operatives have confided that the proposal has two weaknesses which give them a bad feeling. Some have even called these two problems “poison pills” in the amendment.
One is that the amendment leaves open the option for abortion due to “mental health of the mother” until birth, despite otherwise making abortion restrictable once the baby is viable (which is not well-defined). Pro-life forces can usually get voters out to the polls on this.
The other weakness is that the amendment implicitly removes parental rights regarding one’s own children, because the “reproductive rights” are granted to “individuals”, not adults. The term “individuals” is designed to include teens, and even logically includes younger children. So the right-to-life people are focused on the problem of abortion without the consent of the parents. This is also something that can bring pro-life voters to the polls.
But THESE are not the worst aspects of the bill.
The part of the amendment which grants this right to all individuals, which necessarily includes children of unspecified age, covers not just abortion, but anything of a reproductive nature. The amendment uses specific language to say that it is not limited to the examples listed, which include abortion and fertility, but which curiously do not include sex change or “gender affirming care” – and yet these things and more would clearly be covered as reproductive.
In other words, this amendment is a sneaky way to take away all parental rights regarding sex change of children – or indeed, anything else touching on reproduction.
I repeat – this amendment allows children to submit themselves to “gender change”, and takes away all parental rights to oppose it.
The amendment MAY even take away parental rights regarding sex education, or anything where the “individual” has “reproductive rights”.
Do you see what they’re doing here?
The amendment uses tricky lawfare wording to distract and deceive voters, implying that it is mainly about abortion, when it is dangerously relevant to transgender issues.
An overt sexual rights amendment for children could never pass, but an abortion amendment might.
It’s very interesting to note that Ballotpediavery deceptively HIDES the sneaky “not limited to” wording of the amendment in their description of it, except when they are forced to quote the amendment verbatim.
Et tu, Ballotpedia?
The Dems are getting ahead of the storm on the REAL sneakiness by making sure the controversy is all about Republicans changing the term “fetus” to “unborn child” on the text of the ballot issue, which generally clarifies the abortion part without changing the meaning in any significant way, in my opinion. Thankfully, the Republicans did NOT try to conceal the “not limited to” part, so we can still make that case without contradiction.
Very typical Dem behavior – distract to a smaller, winnable controversy. And, of course, the leftist media is helping. And very typical RINO idiot behavior, following the left’s laser pointer focus on minor stupidity instead of WINNING on the fact that this is exactly what the Democrats call it: Ohio Issue 1, Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion Initiative. The trick is, this amendment should really be called Ohio Issue 1, Children’s Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including But Not Limited To Abortion, Sex Education, Gender Reassignment, and Sex with Adults Initiative.
Are you seeing how bad this is, and how stupid the Republicans are?
They should be printing up yard signs in big bold letters:
SAY NO TO CHILDREN’S SEXUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
This bill for an amendment, if it passes, will destroy public education in Ohio. [Admittedly, some conservatives are actually rubbing their hands in glee at this possibility!] Teacher’s unions will be utterly free to “trans your kids” and even more, under the color of an “individual’s reproductive rights”. Whether the bill destroys education completely depends on whether private schooling can lock out transgender ideologues from their teaching staff. Nobody can trust left-wing teachers once this passes.
So watch out for this CHILDREN’S SEXUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT – which is definitely a DEMS CAN TRANS YOUR KIDS AMENDMENT – and see if the national conservative media catches on to its insidious nature RE spreading the trans agenda to red states using abortion. If they don’t, Ohio will join Michigan and California as a “fleeing resident” state starting next year.
Note how the “pro-choice” side and the old feminists (including TERFs) were THROWN UNDER THE BUS by the Pritzker transgender males to get their much bigger agenda into law. “You want to protect abortion, ladies? Here, try this amendment!” The Pritzkeroids don’t care if people catch on and abortion is defeated, because their number one fundraising issue is still preserved if they lose. A simple 12-week bill (Robert Kennedy Jr. gets this) would PASS and WIN in Ohio, satisfying everybody on their bottom lines, but NO, we can’t have THAT!
Does the amendment do anything to protect pedophiles and sexual consent by minors? With the lunatic leftists on the Ohio Supreme Court, I am certain that it does. These goofballs actually decided that bail increases based on danger of the accused individual to the public were illegal, until an amendment to allow higher bails for dangerous criminals was passed over Demmunist objections.
Remember – THIS BILL ENSHRINES REPRODUCTIVE/SEXUAL RIGHTS FOR MINORS.
The left always goes too far. The trick is catching them early.
And here I thought this was an exciting election already!
Next week, we will start a new half-year of Monday posts.
I may take some liberties with the format! Be brave!
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
And yes, it’s Monday…again.
But we WILL get through it!
‘Cuz Wheatie Sez!
Just like Trump!
So HOLD ON for the ride of your life!
Dedication
WHEATIE – OUR WARRIOR ANGEL
by Duchess01
Please forgive us, Wheatie, we did not know That you had left us with armor in tow We had no idea with what you dealt We did not know the pain you felt And now we can only imagine With you what really did happen Cause rarely did you complain And/or share your personal pain Of one thing we are most certain You are flying high behind the curtain Watching over us above the crowds Our Warrior Angel above the clouds Thank You, Wheatie, for caring for us While you were here among the fuss We miss you dear you have no idea Since time began in the pangaea With you there was no time In your wisdom you would chime To clarify and magnify The what where how and why We did not question when you left We were not slightly bereft But over time we wondered why You did not at least stop by Now we know where you have gone With the break of this new dawn We could be angry but are not Tho with an arrow we’ve been shot Rest peacefully Warrior Angel dear Send us a sign that you are near A butterfly a flower a kiss of rain From your love do not refrain God sends Angels to watch over us And now we have an Angel Plus A Warrior Angel of Magnificence From today and forward hence
Boilerplate, more or less, but worth reading again and again, if only for the minor changes, and to stay out of moderation.
MINOR CHANGE NUMBER 1
Now shortened.
Give them nothing.
Play smart. Every minute, the COUPISTS who stole the election – who lied – who deserve to be at the business end of the very same laws they are using so wrongly against the January Sixth defendants – are trying to set you up. Don’t be a chump. Turn everything back against THEM. Every day, every hour, every minute, every second.
YOU are responsible for your own comments, if they come knocking. YOUR choice. Just remember this…..
For an updated version…..
And for a version that includes your having righteously defended yourself…..
OTHER THAN THAT…….
The bottom line is Free Speech. Theories and ideas you don’t agree with must be WELCOME here, and you must be part of that welcoming. But you do NOT need to be part of any agreement.
Bottom line – respect other people’s FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
Our only additional requirement is that you do so NICELY. Or at least try to make some effort in that direction.
SO….. [ENGAGE BOILERPLATE…..]
We must endeavor to persevere to love our frenemies – even here.
Those who cannot deal with this easy requirement will be forced to jump the hoops of moderation, so that specific comments impugning other posters and violating the minimal rules can be sorted out and tossed in the trash.
In Wheatie’s words, “We’re on the same side here so let’s not engage in friendly fire.”
That includes the life skill of just ignoring certain other posters.
We do have a site – The U Tree – where civility is not a requirement. Interestingly, people don’t really go there much. Nevertheless, if you find yourself in an “argument” that can’t really stay civil, please feel free to “take it to the U Tree”. The U Tree is also a good place to report any technical difficulties, if you’re unable to report them here. Please post your comment there on one of Wolf’s posts, or in reply to one of Wolf’s comments, to make sure he sees it (though it may take a few hours).
We also have a backup site, called The Q Tree as well, which is really The Q Tree 579486807. You might call it “Second Tree”. The URL for that site is https://theqtree579486807.wordpress.com/. If this site (theqtree.com) ever goes down, please reassemble at the Second Tree.
If the Second Tree goes down, please go to The U Tree, or to our Gab Group, which is located at https://gab.com/groups/4178.
We also have some “old rules” and important guidelines, outlined here, in a very early post, on our first New Year’s Day, in 2019. The main point is not to make violent threats against people, which then have to be taken seriously by law enforcement, and which can be used as a PRETEXT by enemies of this site.
In the words of Wheatie, “Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven that Wolf has created for us.”
A Moment of Prayer
Our policy on extreme religious freedom on this site is discussed HERE. Please feel free to pray and praise God anytime and anywhere.
Thus, please pray for our real President, the one who actually won TWO elections.
By grace you have been saved through faith; not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8-9
You expect me to believe that Ben Brody a political science student at UCR, a liberal college in California who was unmasked at a protest event is a member of the “far right” organization Patriot Front? Yea right, this guy is an Antifa crisis actor hired by the Feds. pic.twitter.com/BkBNJsO4Jf
I’m proud to say that Peter Hotez has blocked me. 🤣🤣🤣 Given that he has a PhD in propaganda, I’m going to take this moment to reflect on what I did that was so effective. I will then do more of the exact same thing. Tyrants might be liars, but at least they’re cowards too. pic.twitter.com/pYnsE4m7dk
What is an implosion, and what would it have been like for the Titan sub passengers?
The Titan submersible was so deep, experts told NBC News, that the forces crushing it would have been equivalent to the weight of the Eiffel Tower.
The deep-sea water pressure that appears to have crushed the 22-foot craft would have been roughly equivalent in weight to the 10,000-ton, wrought-iron Eiffel Tower, experts told NBC News on Friday. The colossal forces would have acted so quickly that it would be like the vehicle’s carbon-fiber hull “suddenly vanishing” before anyone inside knew what was happening, one expert said.
“They would have known nothing — the minute this body of water hit them, they would have been dead,” said Paul White, a professor at England’s University of Southampton, who specializes in underwater acoustics and forces.
…
“The air inside would compress down to a point, and the forces of the water rushing in and the collapse would be enormous,” he said. “Structurally,” he added, it would be equivalent of the capsule housing the crew “suddenly vanishing.”
“This whole process from start to finish is happening in the blink of an eyelid, the click of a finger,” he said. “I don’t think there would have been any suffering or any knowledge of what happened.”
(I have no idea if this is real or Photoshop – we report – you decide!)
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
And yes, it’s Monday…again.
But we WILL get through it!
As we were always assured by our Wheatie Warrior!
Take it from Trump!
And GRAB THE RAIL if it all gets too exciting!
Dedication
WHEATIE – OUR WARRIOR ANGEL
by Duchess01
Please forgive us, Wheatie, we did not know That you had left us with armor in tow We had no idea with what you dealt We did not know the pain you felt And now we can only imagine With you what really did happen Cause rarely did you complain And/or share your personal pain Of one thing we are most certain You are flying high behind the curtain Watching over us above the crowds Our Warrior Angel above the clouds Thank You, Wheatie, for caring for us While you were here among the fuss We miss you dear you have no idea Since time began in the pangaea With you there was no time In your wisdom you would chime To clarify and magnify The what where how and why We did not question when you left We were not slightly bereft But over time we wondered why You did not at least stop by Now we know where you have gone With the break of this new dawn We could be angry but are not Tho with an arrow we’ve been shot Rest peacefully Warrior Angel dear Send us a sign that you are near A butterfly a flower a kiss of rain From your love do not refrain God sends Angels to watch over us And now we have an Angel Plus A Warrior Angel of Magnificence From today and forward hence
Boilerplate, more or less, but worth reading again and again, if only for the minor changes, and to stay out of moderation.
MINOR CHANGE NUMBER 1
Now shortened.
Give them nothing.
Play smart. Every minute, the COUPISTS who stole the election – who lied – who deserve to be at the business end of the very same laws they are using so wrongly against the January Sixth defendants – are trying to set you up. Don’t be a chump. Turn everything back against THEM. Every day, every hour, every minute, every second.
YOU are responsible for your own comments, if they come knocking. YOUR choice. Just remember this…..
For an updated version…..
And for a version that includes your having righteously defended yourself…..
OTHER THAN THAT…….
The bottom line is Free Speech. Theories and ideas you don’t agree with must be WELCOME here, and you must be part of that welcoming. But you do NOT need to be part of any agreement.
Bottom line – respect other people’s FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
Our only additional requirement is that you do so NICELY. Or at least try to make some effort in that direction.
SO….. [ENGAGE BOILERPLATE…..]
We must endeavor to persevere to love our frenemies – even here.
Those who cannot deal with this easy requirement will be forced to jump the hoops of moderation, so that specific comments impugning other posters and violating the minimal rules can be sorted out and tossed in the trash.
In Wheatie’s words, “We’re on the same side here so let’s not engage in friendly fire.”
That includes the life skill of just ignoring certain other posters.
We do have a site – The U Tree – where civility is not a requirement. Interestingly, people don’t really go there much. Nevertheless, if you find yourself in an “argument” that can’t really stay civil, please feel free to “take it to the U Tree”. The U Tree is also a good place to report any technical difficulties, if you’re unable to report them here. Please post your comment there on one of Wolf’s posts, or in reply to one of Wolf’s comments, to make sure he sees it (though it may take a few hours).
We also have a backup site, called The Q Tree as well, which is really The Q Tree 579486807. You might call it “Second Tree”. The URL for that site is https://theqtree579486807.wordpress.com/. If this site (theqtree.com) ever goes down, please reassemble at the Second Tree.
If the Second Tree goes down, please go to The U Tree, or to our Gab Group, which is located at https://gab.com/groups/4178.
We also have some “old rules” and important guidelines, outlined here, in a very early post, on our first New Year’s Day, in 2019. The main point is not to make violent threats against people, which then have to be taken seriously by law enforcement, and which can be used as a PRETEXT by enemies of this site.
In the words of Wheatie, “Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven that Wolf has created for us.”
A Moment of Prayer
Our policy on extreme religious freedom on this site is discussed HERE. Please feel free to pray and praise God anytime and anywhere.
Thus, please pray for our real President, the one who actually won TWO elections.
You may also pray for our nation, our world, and even our enemies.
Musical Interlude
In honor of dear Wheatie, we now present some music to soothe, inspire, invigorate, or relax.
Only one this time. Busy weekend.
Not sure whether I like this or hate it. You decide!
Damn. Can’t just leave on that one. Let’s have another!
OK – that’s enough. LOL.
Call To Battle
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
My teen has a new boyfriend. He's super sweet. One of the trans-girls in the group is SPITTING MAD that he's dating my child, having tantrums that he "wouldn't give her a chance." This boy is straight and he's being made to feel transphobic that he didn't want to date a bioboy.
— Bronwyn E Millar Author (@gingerhaderach) June 15, 2023
Oh, you gotta read the drama! LOL!
Can you IMAGINE the horror of being exposed to an idea you don't agree with?!?
— Photo of John Wayne (@ThatOldCoyote) June 16, 2023
OMG! Le horreur, or however they say it.
If you are LGBTQ+, you should move to Michigan.
If you are a woman who wants to make your own damn decisions, you should move to Michigan.
If you are a worker who wants rights, you should move to Michigan.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
🧵1/ BREAKING: We've obtained internal docs from @FoxNews employees. Fox Corp is celebrating Pride by encouraging employees to read about “glory holes,” supporting a group that gives sterilizing hormones to homeless youth, & deployed woke AI to monitor everyone. EXPLICIT CONTENT:
Good. Judges are an embodiment of the Constitution.
Even Obama judges!
FWIW I’m still pushing for public release of relevant footage with full understanding of security concerns and custodial issues. That said, I’m confident that what I will present will provide important context to what actually happened on January 6.
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Wolfie’s Wheatie’s Word of the Week:
litmus test
noun
A test for chemical acidity or basicity using litmus paper.
A test that uses a single indicator to prompt a decision.
A simple test for the acidity or alkalinity of a substance, using litmus paper.
Use in politics:
In politics, a litmus test is a question asked of a potential candidate for high office, the answer to which would determine whether the nominating official would proceed with the appointment or nomination. The expression is a metaphor based on the litmus test in chemistry, in which one is able to test the general acidity of a substance, but not its exact pH. Those who must approve a nominee may also be said to apply a litmus test to determine whether the nominee will receive their vote. In these contexts, the phrase comes up most often with respect to nominations to the judiciary.
Lichen source of litmus (one of many):
Chemical structure of the color principle of litmus:
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
And yes, it’s Monday…again.
But we WILL get through it!
With Wheatie style!
With our wonderful REALPOTUS in the lead!
HANG ON!!!
Dedication
WHEATIE – OUR WARRIOR ANGEL
by Duchess01
Please forgive us, Wheatie, we did not know That you had left us with armor in tow We had no idea with what you dealt We did not know the pain you felt And now we can only imagine With you what really did happen Cause rarely did you complain And/or share your personal pain Of one thing we are most certain You are flying high behind the curtain Watching over us above the crowds Our Warrior Angel above the clouds Thank You, Wheatie, for caring for us While you were here among the fuss We miss you dear you have no idea Since time began in the pangaea With you there was no time In your wisdom you would chime To clarify and magnify The what where how and why We did not question when you left We were not slightly bereft But over time we wondered why You did not at least stop by Now we know where you have gone With the break of this new dawn We could be angry but are not Tho with an arrow we’ve been shot Rest peacefully Warrior Angel dear Send us a sign that you are near A butterfly a flower a kiss of rain From your love do not refrain God sends Angels to watch over us And now we have an Angel Plus A Warrior Angel of Magnificence From today and forward hence
Boilerplate, more or less, but worth reading again and again, if only for the minor changes, and to stay out of moderation.
MINOR CHANGE NUMBER 1
Now shortened.
Give them nothing.
Play smart. Every minute, the COUPISTS who stole the election – who lied – who deserve to be at the business end of the very same laws they are using so wrongly against the January Sixth defendants – are trying to set you up. Don’t be a chump. Turn everything back against THEM. Every day, every hour, every minute, every second.
YOU are responsible for your own comments, if they come knocking. YOUR choice. Just remember this…..
For an updated version…..
And for a version that includes your having righteously defended yourself…..
OTHER THAN THAT…….
The bottom line is Free Speech. Theories and ideas you don’t agree with must be WELCOME here, and you must be part of that welcoming. But you do NOT need to be part of any agreement.
Bottom line – respect other people’s FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
Our only additional requirement is that you do so NICELY. Or at least try to make some effort in that direction.
SO….. [ENGAGE BOILERPLATE…..]
We must endeavor to persevere to love our frenemies – even here.
Those who cannot deal with this easy requirement will be forced to jump the hoops of moderation, so that specific comments impugning other posters and violating the minimal rules can be sorted out and tossed in the trash.
In Wheatie’s words, “We’re on the same side here so let’s not engage in friendly fire.”
That includes the life skill of just ignoring certain other posters.
We do have a site – The U Tree – where civility is not a requirement. Interestingly, people don’t really go there much. Nevertheless, if you find yourself in an “argument” that can’t really stay civil, please feel free to “take it to the U Tree”. The U Tree is also a good place to report any technical difficulties, if you’re unable to report them here. Please post your comment there on one of Wolf’s posts, or in reply to one of Wolf’s comments, to make sure he sees it (though it may take a few hours).
We also have a backup site, called The Q Tree as well, which is really The Q Tree 579486807. You might call it “Second Tree”. The URL for that site is https://theqtree579486807.wordpress.com/. If this site (theqtree.com) ever goes down, please reassemble at the Second Tree.
If the Second Tree goes down, please go to The U Tree, or to our Gab Group, which is located at https://gab.com/groups/4178.
We also have some “old rules” and important guidelines, outlined here, in a very early post, on our first New Year’s Day, in 2019. The main point is not to make violent threats against people, which then have to be taken seriously by law enforcement, and which can be used as a PRETEXT by enemies of this site.
In the words of Wheatie, “Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven that Wolf has created for us.”
A Moment of Prayer
Our policy on extreme religious freedom on this site is discussed HERE. Please feel free to pray and praise God anytime and anywhere.
Thus, please pray for our real President, the one who actually won TWO elections.
You may also pray for our nation, our world, and even our enemies.
Musical Interlude
In honor of dear Wheatie, we now present some music to soothe, inspire, invigorate, or relax.
Let’s start off in a “Wheatie way” with some epic orchestral violins!
OK – how about some country music? I just heard this one on the radio. Never heard it before.
Now this is just interesting. YouTube keeps trying to suggest Taylor Swift to me, but the first song it suggested was a duet with one of the [Dixie] Chicks, which shows you exactly where Menshevik YouTube was trying to send me – to MARXIST QUISLING CITY.
Well, I looked further down the list of treasonous suggestions, and the same guest vocalist Luke Bryan in the above video is in this one, but it’s six years earlier.
Remember – Taylor Swift started off in country / folk. Then Hollywood does its thing.
Useful strategic information in the culture wars.
But let’s finish off with a real treat.
Some country line dancers send off one of their friends with his favorite song.
OK – I’m not done. ONE. MORE. SONG!!!
Let’s finish off with something “fresh” in SuSE world!
Call To Battle
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
Pursuing his twisted agenda, Biden dishonors the American flag and breaks federal law.
4 U.S.Code Ch. 1, Sec. 7(e): “The flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags…are grouped and displayed…” pic.twitter.com/knFt1ATe4j
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) June 11, 2023
MSM got a memo – “stop using ‘classified documents’ verbiage and change to ‘sensitive documents’…
JENNIFER BILEK: Is humanity ready for LGBTQ+ tech babies and the full erasure of women from reproduction? | Human Events | humanevents. @11thBlog https://t.co/OrZNO1VFuf
Wolbachia is a genus of intracellular bacteria that infects mainly arthropod species, including a high proportion of insects, and also some nematodes. It is one of the most common parasitic microbes, and is possibly the most common reproductive parasite in the biosphere. Its interactions with its hosts are often complex, and in some cases have evolved to be mutualistic rather than parasitic. Some host species cannot reproduce, or even survive, without Wolbachia colonization. One study concluded that more than 16% of neotropical insect species carry bacteria of this genus, and as many as 25 to 70% of all insect species are estimated to be potential hosts.
History of Wolbachia:
The genus was first identified in 1924 by Marshall Hertig and Simeon Burt Wolbach in the common house mosquito. They described it as “a somewhat pleomorphic, rodlike, Gram-negative, intracellular organism [that] apparently infects only the ovaries and testes“. Hertig formally described the species in 1936, and proposed both the generic and specific names: Wolbachia pipientis. Research on Wolbachia intensified after 1971, when Janice Yen and A. Ralph Barr of UCLA discovered that Culex mosquito eggs were killed by a cytoplasmic incompatibility when the sperm of Wolbachia-infected males fertilized infection-free eggs. The genus Wolbachia is of considerable interest today due to its ubiquitous distribution, its many different evolutionary interactions, and its potential use as a biocontrol agent.
Why Bill Gates is probably interested in Wolbachia:
Note: This is just the beginning. Look HERE for more.
These bacteria can infect many different types of organs, but are most notable for the infections of the testes and ovaries of their hosts. Wolbachia species are ubiquitous in mature eggs, but not mature sperm. Only infected females, therefore, pass the infection on to their offspring. Wolbachia bacteria maximize their spread by significantly altering the reproductive capabilities of their hosts, with four different phenotypes:
Male killing occurs when infected males die during larval development, which increases the rate of born, infected females.
Feminization results in infected males that develop as females or infertile pseudofemales. This is especially prevalent in Lepidoptera species such as the adzuki bean borer (Ostrinia scapulalis).
Parthenogenesis is reproduction of infected females without males. Some scientists have suggested that parthenogenesis may always be attributable to the effects of Wolbachia. Though this is not the case for the marbled crayfish. An example of parthenogenesis induced by presence of Wolbachia are some species within the Trichogramma parasitoid wasp genus, which have evolved to procreate without males due to the presence of Wolbachia. Males are rare in this genus of wasp, possibly because many have been killed by that same strain of Wolbachia.
Cytoplasmic incompatibility is the inability of Wolbachia-infected males to successfully reproduce with uninfected females or females infected with another Wolbachia strain. This reduces the reproductive success of those uninfected females and therefore promotes the infecting strain. In the cytoplasmic incompatibility mechanism, Wolbachia interferes with the parental chromosomes during the first mitotic divisions to the extent that they can no longer divide in synchrony.
Several host species, such as those within the genus Trichogramma, are so dependent on sexual differentiation of Wolbachia that they are unable to reproduce effectively without the bacteria in their bodies, and some might even be unable to survive uninfected.
One study on infected woodlice showed the broods of infected organisms had a higher proportion of females than their uninfected counterparts.
Wolbachia, especially Wolbachia-caused cytoplasmic incompatibility, may be important in promoting speciation. Wolbachia strains that distort the sex ratio may alter their host’s pattern of sexual selection in nature, and also engender strong selection to prevent their action, leading to some of the fastest examples of natural selection in natural populations.
The male killing and feminization effects of Wolbachia infections can also lead to speciation in their hosts. For example, populations of the pill woodlouse, Armadillidium vulgare which are exposed to the feminizing effects of Wolbachia, have been known to lose their female-determining chromosome. In these cases, only the presence of Wolbachia can cause an individual to develop into a female. Cryptic species of ground wētā (Hemiandrus maculifrons complex) are host to different lineages of Wolbachia which might explain their speciation without ecological or geographical separation.
Wolbachia infection has been linked to viral resistance in Drosophila melanogaster, Drosophila simulans, and mosquito species. Flies, including mosquitoes, infected with the bacteria are more resistant to RNA viruses such as Drosophila C virus, norovirus, flock house virus, cricket paralysis virus, chikungunya virus, and West Nile virus.
In the common house mosquito, higher levels of Wolbachia were correlated with more insecticide resistance.
In leafminers of the species Phyllonorycter blancardella, Wolbachia bacteria help their hosts produce green islands on yellowing tree leaves, that is, small areas of leaf remaining fresh, allowing the hosts to continue feeding while growing to their adult forms. Larvae treated with tetracycline, which kills Wolbachia, lose this ability and subsequently only 13% emerge successfully as adult moths.
Muscidifurax uniraptor, a parasitoid wasp, also benefits from hosting Wolbachia bacteria.
In the parasitic filarial nematode species responsible for elephantiasis, such as Brugia malayi and Wuchereria bancrofti, Wolbachia has become an obligate endosymbiont and provides the host with chemicals necessary for its reproduction and survival. Elimination of the Wolbachia symbionts through antibiotic treatment therefore prevents reproduction of the nematode, and eventually results in its premature death.
Some Wolbachia species that infect arthropods also provide some metabolic provisioning to their hosts. In Drosophila melanogaster, Wolbachia is found to mediate iron metabolism under nutritional stress and in Cimex lectularius, the Wolbachia strain cCle helps the host to synthesize B vitamins.
Some Wolbachia strains have increased their prevalence by increasing their hosts’ fecundity. Wolbachia strains captured from 1988 in southern California still induce a fecundity deficit, but nowadays the fecundity deficit is replaced with a fecundity advantage such that infected Drosophila simulans produces more offspring than the uninfected ones.
Wolbachia often manipulates host reproduction and life-history in a way that favours its own propagation. In the Pharaoh ant, Wolbachia infection correlates with increased colony-level production of reproductives (i.e., greater reproductive investment), and earlier onset of reproductive production (i.e., shorter life-cycle). Infected colonies also seem to grow more rapidly. There is substantial evidence that the presence of Wolbachia that induce parthenogenesis have put pressure on species to reproduce primarily or entirely this way.
Additionally, Wolbachia has been seen to decrease the lifespan of Aedes aegypti, carriers of mosquito-borne diseases, and it decreases their efficacy of pathogen transmission because older mosquitoes are more likely to have become carriers of one of those diseases. This has been exploited as a method for pest control.
The first Wolbachia genome to be determined was that of one that infects D. melanogaster fruit flies. This genome was sequenced at The Institute for Genomic Research in a collaboration between Jonathan Eisen and Scott O’Neill. The second Wolbachia genome to be determined was one that infects Brugia malayi nematodes. Genome sequencing projects for several other Wolbachia strains are in progress. A nearly complete copy of the Wolbachia genome sequence was found within the genome sequence of the fruit fly Drosophila ananassae and large segments were found in seven other Drosophila species.
In an application of DNA barcoding to the identification of species of Protocalliphora flies, several distinct morphospecies had identical cytochrome c oxidase I gene sequences, most likely through horizontal gene transfer (HGT) by Wolbachia species as they jump across host species. As a result, Wolbachia can cause misleading results in molecular cladistical analyses. It is estimated that between 20 and 50 percent of insect species have evidence of HGT from Wolbachia—passing from microbes to animal (i.e. insects).
Wolbachia species also harbor a bacteriophage called bacteriophage WO or phage WO. Comparative sequence analyses of bacteriophage WO offer some of the most compelling examples of large-scale horizontal gene transfer between Wolbachia coinfections in the same host. It is the first bacteriophage implicated in frequent lateral transfer between the genomes of bacterial endosymbionts. Gene transfer by bacteriophages could drive significant evolutionary change in the genomes of intracellular bacteria that were previously considered highly stable or prone to loss of genes over time.
The small non-coding RNAs WsnRNA-46 and WsnRNA-59 in Wolbachia were detected in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and Drosophila melanogaster. The small RNAs (sRNAs) may regulate bacterial and host genes. Highly conserved intragenic region sRNA called ncrwmel02 was also identified in Wolbachia pipientis. It is expressed in four different strains in a regulated pattern that differs according to the sex of the host and the tissue localisation. This suggested that the sRNA may play important roles in the biology of Wolbachia.
Outside of insects, Wolbachia infects a variety of isopod species, spiders, mites, and many species of filarial nematodes (a type of parasitic worm), including those causing onchocerciasis (river blindness) and elephantiasis in humans, as well as heartworms in dogs. Not only are these disease-causing filarial worms infected with Wolbachia, but Wolbachia also seems to play an inordinate role in these diseases.
A large part of the pathogenicity of filarial nematodes is due to host immune response toward their Wolbachia. Elimination of Wolbachia from filarial nematodes generally results in either death or sterility of the nematode. Consequently, current strategies for control of filarial nematode diseases include elimination of their symbiotic Wolbachia via the simple doxycycline antibiotic, rather than directly killing the nematode with often more toxic antinematode medications.
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
And yes, it’s Monday…again.
But we WILL get through it!!!
With our dignity intact!
With our dancing shoes on!
And with some LAUGHTER!!!
Dedication
WHEATIE – OUR WARRIOR ANGEL
by Duchess01
Please forgive us, Wheatie, we did not know That you had left us with armor in tow We had no idea with what you dealt We did not know the pain you felt And now we can only imagine With you what really did happen Cause rarely did you complain And/or share your personal pain Of one thing we are most certain You are flying high behind the curtain Watching over us above the crowds Our Warrior Angel above the clouds Thank You, Wheatie, for caring for us While you were here among the fuss We miss you dear you have no idea Since time began in the pangaea With you there was no time In your wisdom you would chime To clarify and magnify The what where how and why We did not question when you left We were not slightly bereft But over time we wondered why You did not at least stop by Now we know where you have gone With the break of this new dawn We could be angry but are not Tho with an arrow we’ve been shot Rest peacefully Warrior Angel dear Send us a sign that you are near A butterfly a flower a kiss of rain From your love do not refrain God sends Angels to watch over us And now we have an Angel Plus A Warrior Angel of Magnificence From today and forward hence
Boilerplate, more or less, but worth reading again and again, if only for the minor changes, and to stay out of moderation.
MINOR CHANGE NUMBER 1
Now shortened.
Give them nothing.
Play smart. Every minute, the COUPISTS who stole the election – who lied – who deserve to be at the business end of the very same laws they are using so wrongly against the January Sixth defendants – are trying to set you up. Don’t be a chump. Turn everything back against THEM. Every day, every hour, every minute, every second.
YOU are responsible for your own comments, if they come knocking. YOUR choice. Just remember this…..
For an updated version…..
And for a version that includes your having righteously defended yourself…..
OTHER THAN THAT…….
The bottom line is Free Speech. Theories and ideas you don’t agree with must be WELCOME here, and you must be part of that welcoming. But you do NOT need to be part of any agreement.
Bottom line – respect other people’s FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
Our only additional requirement is that you do so NICELY. Or at least try to make some effort in that direction.
SO….. [ENGAGE BOILERPLATE…..]
We must endeavor to persevere to love our frenemies – even here.
Those who cannot deal with this easy requirement will be forced to jump the hoops of moderation, so that specific comments impugning other posters and violating the minimal rules can be sorted out and tossed in the trash.
In Wheatie’s words, “We’re on the same side here so let’s not engage in friendly fire.”
That includes the life skill of just ignoring certain other posters.
We do have a site – The U Tree – where civility is not a requirement. Interestingly, people don’t really go there much. Nevertheless, if you find yourself in an “argument” that can’t really stay civil, please feel free to “take it to the U Tree”. The U Tree is also a good place to report any technical difficulties, if you’re unable to report them here. Please post your comment there on one of Wolf’s posts, or in reply to one of Wolf’s comments, to make sure he sees it (though it may take a few hours).
We also have a backup site, called The Q Tree as well, which is really The Q Tree 579486807. You might call it “Second Tree”. The URL for that site is https://theqtree579486807.wordpress.com/. If this site (theqtree.com) ever goes down, please reassemble at the Second Tree.
If the Second Tree goes down, please go to The U Tree, or to our Gab Group, which is located at https://gab.com/groups/4178.
We also have some “old rules” and important guidelines, outlined here, in a very early post, on our first New Year’s Day, in 2019. The main point is not to make violent threats against people, which then have to be taken seriously by law enforcement, and which can be used as a PRETEXT by enemies of this site.
In the words of Wheatie, “Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven that Wolf has created for us.”
A Moment of Prayer
Our policy on extreme religious freedom on this site is discussed HERE. Please feel free to pray and praise God anytime and anywhere.
Thus, please pray for our real President, the one who actually won TWO elections.
You may also pray for our nation, our world, and even our enemies.
Musical Interlude
In honor of dear Wheatie, we now present some music to soothe, inspire, invigorate, or relax.
OK
Sorry people, but I heard this here country song today, booming out of a bar, after walking out of a diner, having just eaten the best breakfast in years, and you’re gonna hear this song until you’re sick of it!
DRINKABY
(this version’s for Kalbo!)
WHAT? This song has lyrics? Well, I’ll be! I never noticed! Let’s look at them lyrics!
So how about the official video? Heck – let’s listen to it again!
What the heck! Where’s the beef? DANG! That’s not a video. That a picture!
We’ll have to look at another line dance to make up for the disappointment!
Apparently Korean chicks LOVE this song. There are TONS of videos of Korean gals dancing to “Drinkaby”. So, given that I love ALL CHICKS, and KOREAN CHICKS are a valid subset of ALL CHICKS, we’re gonna watch another one, just to prove I wasn’t lyin’ about it!
Well, shucks. If we can’t find a REAL VIDEO for THAT song, we’ll just grab another Cole Swindell drinking song, and call it good!
Pour another round for the boys, and let’s have a toast to DOUBLE-X, my friends!
Call To Battle
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
🚨🚨🚨 Call your Republican representatives 👇this has to be stopped‼️
— 🔴♦️ ULTRA-MAGA Lori Patriot♦️🔴 (@LiberatedCit) June 4, 2023
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Amen to that! I don't know if people realize it but they are serious about total control over everything. It's their NWO rebranded as the Great Reset. They want to force to eat bugs, control our speech, where we can live, EVERYTHING!
— 🔴♦️ ULTRA-MAGA Lori Patriot♦️🔴 (@LiberatedCit) June 4, 2023
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Wool-Fee’s Weediest Words of the Weak:
malapropism, eggcorn, and mondegreen
nouns
These are very similar and overlapping, and closely related to puns, spoonerisms, Freudian slips, and other linguistic errors, sometimes the source of humor when the error makes sense or pokes fun at an embarrassing truth.
malapropism: the act of using an incorrect word in place of one that is similar in pronunciation.
eggcorn: a mis-heard word that is not nonsensical, but remains sensible and even same-meaning in context.
mondegreen: a mis-heard phrase, in song lyrics or poetry, which is typically nonsensical.
Examples of malapropism (courtesy of Archie Bunker)
“Last will and tentacle…”
“Patience is a virgin.” (virtue)
“A menstrual show.” (minstrel)
“Buy one of them battery operated transvestite radios.”
“A woman doctor is only good for women’s problems…like your groinocology.”
“I ain’t a man of carnival instinctuals like you.”
“Irene Lorenzo, Queen of the Women’s Lubrication Movement.”
“In her elastic stockings, next to her very close veins.”
“In closing, I’d like to say Molotov!” (Mazel Tov)
Examples of eggcorns
afeared (afraid)
agreeance (in agreement; accept the terms; could be a combination of agreement and acceptance)
centerpede (centipede)
conscious (conscience)
eardrop (eavesdrop)
eavesdripping (eavesdropping)
eggcorn (acorn)
expresso (espresso)
ex-patriot (expatriate)
gambit (gamut)
leper (leopard)
nougat (nugget)
overhauls (overalls)
parody (parity)
prospective (perspective)
pylon (pile on)
relative (relevant)
spur (spurt)
saleing (selling)
tellyphone (telephone)
tellyprompter (teleprompter)
tellyvision (television)
topsy (top seed)
upmost (utmost)
wonderlust (wanderlust)
ringer (wringer)
ad homonym (ad hominem)
bad wrap (bad rap)
ban together (band together)
bare witness (bear witness)
bean stock (beanstalk)
beckon call (beck and call)
Cadillac converter (catalytic converter)
chester drawers (chest of drawers)
collaborating evidence (corroborating evidence)
could of (could have)
dead wringer (dead ringer)
deep seeded (deep-seated)
doggy dog (dog eat dog)
feeble position (fetal position)
flesh out (flesh out)
free rain (free rein)
hysterical society (historical society)
ice team (iced tea)
jerry rig (jury rig)
junk start (jumpstart)
laughing stalk (laughingstock)
must of (must have)
mute point (moot point)
nerve wrecking (nerve-racking)
pass mustard (pass muster)
all for not (all for naught)
all intensive purposes (all intents and purposes)
can’t make heads or tales of it (can’t make heads or tails of it)
cease and decease (cease and desist)
chock it up (chalk it up)
coming down the pipe (coming down the pike)
curve my appetite (curb my appetite)
cut to the cheese (cut to the chase)
don’t get your dandruff up (don’t get your dander up)
fair to midland (fair to middling)
far be it to me (far be it from me)
flaw in the ointment (fly in the ointment)
from here on end (from here on in)
get it down packed (get it down pat)
give up the goat (give up the ghost)
Holland day sauce (hollandaise sauce)
in cohorts with (in cahoots with)
in one fowl swoop (in one fell swoop)
much to do about nothing (much ado about nothing)
old wise tale (old wives’ tale)
peaked my interest (piqued my interest)
put the pedal to the medal (put the pedal to the metal)
rot iron fence (wrought iron fence)
safety deposit box (safe deposit box)
straight and arrow (straight and narrow)
Examples of mondegreen:
Africa – When Toto’s lead singer croons, “bless the rains down in Africa,” some listeners mistake the first few words for left my brains.
Away in a Manger – Even Christmas songs aren’t immune to mondegreen. Instead of hearing “the cattle are lowing,” some people incorrectly understand the lyric to say that they’re lonely.
Blowin’ in the Wind–Bob Dylan advises listeners, “the answer my friends, is blowin’ in the wind,” but not everyone hears it that way. Some perceive the first part of that line as saying the ants are my friends.
Bohemian Rhapsody – While this Queen song does have some nonsense words, the tune doesn’t actually reference saving someone from warm sausage tea. Instead, Freddie Mercury sings “… spare him his life from this monstrosity,” with a strong emphasis on each syllable.
Brass in Pocket – The Pretenders tell listeners, “I’m gonna use my sidestep,” but not everyone hears the last word correctly. Some think they’re saying sausage instead of sidestep.
Dancing Queen– Abba says to “feel the beat from the tambourine,” though some listeners insist the singer croons the word tangerine instead.
Every Time You Go Away – People who hear meat instead of me when Paul Young sings “you take away a piece of me with you” must think the singer’s freezer is being robbed.
Happy– When Pharell sings “happiness is the truth,” some people think he’s actually saying that “happiness is the zoo.”
High on You – The words of this Survivor song reference “piercin’ eyes like a raven,” though listeners often mishear the song as saying glistening eyes.
I‘m a Believer – After the Monkees croon, “then I saw her face, now” some think they follow up with “I’m gonna leave her.” What they really say, though, is “I’m a believer.”
Livin on a Prayer – Contrary to popular belief, Bon Jovi doesn’t suggest nudity in this song. Some mishear the last part of “it doesn’t really matter if we make it or not” as saying naked or not.
Losing My Religion – R.E.M. croons, “That’s me in the corner. That’s me in the spotlight.” Many listeners mistake the word “me” for pee in both of these sentences.
Money for Nothing – Listeners often think this Dire Straits song references free chips, when the lyrics actually reference “money for nothing and your chicks for free.”
Our Lips are Sealed – The Go-Gos sing about “the jealous games people play,” but some people hear Dallas instead of jealous.
Smells Like Teen Spirit – In this Nirvana song, Kurt Cobain sings, “here we are now, entertain us,” though some people interpret the last two words as in containers.
Suspicious Minds – Elvis Presly croons, “we’re caught in a trap,” but some listeners seem to think the last word is actually trout.
Drift Away – When Uncle Kracker sings, “Give me the beat boys and free my soul,” it sounds a bit like he’s saying Beach Boys.
Waterfalls – In this song, TLC advises readers, “don’t go chasing waterfalls.” though some readers think they’re trying to keep someone named Jason Waterfalls from leaving.
We Found Love – When Rhianna sings “what it takes to come alive,” some listeners mishear the end of the line as form a line instead of “come alive.”
Rocket Man – The Elton John line “burning out his fuse up here alone” has been misheard many ways, including running out of fuel and heading home and burning up the trees on every lawn. Volkswagen even used this mondegreen in a commercial.
Mondegreen in a video
Malapropism via Text-to-Speech or Auto-Correct Eggcorn
“I had no idea what the butchers do to the trance people.”
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
And yes, it’s Monday…again.
But we WILL get through it!!!
With or without zombies!
Get your dancing shoes on!
And hang on for some TRUMP GRAVITY!
Dedication
WHEATIE – OUR WARRIOR ANGEL
by Duchess01
Please forgive us, Wheatie, we did not know That you had left us with armor in tow We had no idea with what you dealt We did not know the pain you felt And now we can only imagine With you what really did happen Cause rarely did you complain And/or share your personal pain Of one thing we are most certain You are flying high behind the curtain Watching over us above the crowds Our Warrior Angel above the clouds Thank You, Wheatie, for caring for us While you were here among the fuss We miss you dear you have no idea Since time began in the pangaea With you there was no time In your wisdom you would chime To clarify and magnify The what where how and why We did not question when you left We were not slightly bereft But over time we wondered why You did not at least stop by Now we know where you have gone With the break of this new dawn We could be angry but are not Tho with an arrow we’ve been shot Rest peacefully Warrior Angel dear Send us a sign that you are near A butterfly a flower a kiss of rain From your love do not refrain God sends Angels to watch over us And now we have an Angel Plus A Warrior Angel of Magnificence From today and forward hence
Boilerplate, more or less, but worth reading again and again, if only for the minor changes, and to stay out of moderation.
MINOR CHANGE NUMBER 1
Now shortened.
Give them nothing.
Play smart. Every minute, the COUPISTS who stole the election – who lied – who deserve to be at the business end of the very same laws they are using so wrongly against the January Sixth defendants – are trying to set you up. Don’t be a chump. Turn everything back against THEM. Every day, every hour, every minute, every second.
YOU are responsible for your own comments, if they come knocking. YOUR choice. Just remember this…..
For an updated version…..
And for a version that includes your having righteously defended yourself…..
OTHER THAN THAT…….
The bottom line is Free Speech. Theories and ideas you don’t agree with must be WELCOME here, and you must be part of that welcoming. But you do NOT need to be part of any agreement.
Bottom line – respect other people’s FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
Our only additional requirement is that you do so NICELY. Or at least try to make some effort in that direction.
SO….. [ENGAGE BOILERPLATE…..]
We must endeavor to persevere to love our frenemies – even here.
Those who cannot deal with this easy requirement will be forced to jump the hoops of moderation, so that specific comments impugning other posters and violating the minimal rules can be sorted out and tossed in the trash.
In Wheatie’s words, “We’re on the same side here so let’s not engage in friendly fire.”
That includes the life skill of just ignoring certain other posters.
We do have a site – The U Tree – where civility is not a requirement. Interestingly, people don’t really go there much. Nevertheless, if you find yourself in an “argument” that can’t really stay civil, please feel free to “take it to the U Tree”. The U Tree is also a good place to report any technical difficulties, if you’re unable to report them here. Please post your comment there on one of Wolf’s posts, or in reply to one of Wolf’s comments, to make sure he sees it (though it may take a few hours).
We also have a backup site, called The Q Tree as well, which is really The Q Tree 579486807. You might call it “Second Tree”. The URL for that site is https://theqtree579486807.wordpress.com/. If this site (theqtree.com) ever goes down, please reassemble at the Second Tree.
If the Second Tree goes down, please go to The U Tree, or to our Gab Group, which is located at https://gab.com/groups/4178.
We also have some “old rules” and important guidelines, outlined here, in a very early post, on our first New Year’s Day, in 2019. The main point is not to make violent threats against people, which then have to be taken seriously by law enforcement, and which can be used as a PRETEXT by enemies of this site.
In the words of Wheatie, “Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven that Wolf has created for us.”
A Moment of Prayer
Our policy on extreme religious freedom on this site is discussed HERE. Please feel free to pray and praise God anytime and anywhere.
Thus, please pray for our real President, the one who actually won TWO elections.
You may also pray for our nation, our world, and even our enemies.
Musical Interlude
In honor of dear Wheatie, we now present some music to soothe, inspire, invigorate, or relax.
FIRST – a quick, 3-minute version of the end theme from Gladiator, including dialog. I posted this earlier in a reply to Tradebait on his latest BMID. I consider Gladiator a very symbolic movie, which has a lot to say about Christianity, but very subtly, and mixed well into everything else.
If you liked that, an extended version, starting earlier, with the movie showing in the background!
How about something YouTube suggested? From the EP “Luna”, by Tony Anderson, a title called “Eternal Spring”. The visuals are really something!
And now – some fine country music just for today!
Finally, some music to go with our featured image “fantasy tree”!
Call To Battle
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Wolfie’s Wheatie’s Word of the DayYear Week:
equity
noun
the state or quality of being just and fair.
something that is just and fair.
sustice achieved not simply according to the strict letter of the law but in accordance with principles of substantial justice and the unique facts of the case.
the amount of money that would be returned to a company’s shareholders if all of the assets were liquidated and all of the company’s debt was paid off in the case of liquidation.
the value of company sales minus any liabilities owed by the company not transferred with the sale.
the book value of a company.
payment-in-kind.
the pro-rata ownership of a company’s shares.
Wolf’s additional definitions:
how tyrants and criminals violate both the letter and spirit of the law, in the name of “fairness” and “justice”, while tipping the scales to favor themselves, their friends, and their fellow criminals.
injustice under the color of justice, ironically often done for the sake of “color”.
a redundancy, in that “equitable justice” really means “just justice”, meaning je ne sais quoi justice, or seat-of-the-robe justice.
justice by feeling and not by law.
an admission that the law is not working, so “fuck the law – we’ll just do what we like.”
a legal kludge, which is easily abused, where judicial algorithms break down, and people resort to flimsy neural net solutions, typically with strongly biased inputs.
Wikipedia definition (financial):
In finance, equity is an ownership interest in property that may be offset by debts or other liabilities. Equity is measured for accounting purposes by subtracting liabilities from the value of the assets owned. For example, if someone owns a car worth $24,000 and owes $10,000 on the loan used to buy the car, the difference of $14,000 is equity. Equity can apply to a single asset, such as a car or house, or to an entire business. A business that needs to start up or expand its operations can sell its equity in order to raise cash that does not have to be repaid on a set schedule.
When liabilities attached to an asset exceed its value, the difference is called a deficit and the asset is informally said to be “underwater” or “upside-down”. In government finance or other non-profit settings, equity is known as “net position” or “net assets”.
Investopedia definition:
Wikipedia definition (legal):
Equity is a particular body of law that was developed in the English Court of Chancery.[1] Its general purpose is to provide a remedy for situations where the law is not flexible enough for the usual court system to deliver a fair resolution to a case.[2] The concept of equity is deeply intertwined with its historical origins in the common law system used in England.[2] However, equity is in some ways a separate system from common law: it has its own established rules and principles, and was historically administered by separate courts, called “courts of equity” or “courts of chancery”.[2]
Equity exists in domestic law, both in civil law and in common law systems, and in international law.[1] The tradition of equity begins in antiquity with the writings of Aristotle (epieikeia) and with Roman law (aequitas).[1][3] Later, in civil law systems, equity was integrated in the legal rules, while in common law systems it became an independent body of law.[1]
Used in a Sentence:
“Climate equity is the goal of recognizing and addressing the unequal burdens made worse by climate change, while ensuring that all people share the benefits of climate protection efforts. Achieving equity means that all people—regardless of their race, color, gender, age, sexuality, national origin, ability, or income—live in safe, healthy, fair communities.” -US EPA