is it just me, but do others think that this trend among "celebrity" women having surrogate mothers reek of something diabolical? It's kind of like the Handmaids Tale, but more voluntary? We talk a lot about how the transgenderism trend is the road to transhumanism, but what about wealthy and elite women denying their bodies? I can understand a couple desparate to have children, and maybe the woman's uterus is damaged in some way that would not support a full term pregnancy, but that is not this. This is wealthy people hiring some healthy young woman to carry their fertilized egg to completion. What could go wrong in the laboratory? Check out Paris Hilton's babies head why don't you?
Theres this guy I have known since he was barely a teenager, hippie kid, he went from full blown vegetarian to homesteading, raising meat for his wife and kids. A couple of years back he took up home brewing as a hobby, growing his own hops, etc, a purist do it yourselfer.After studying ancient brew masters from Europe and Switzerland, he started adding various herbs and wildflowers, basically what his land provided, and mixes up specialty batches of these, a local store sells his wares. He uses yarrow, clovers white and red, apple blossoms, sage, coriander, what have you. Our hope lies in self sufficiency and small farms. There is not one state in this abundant land that could not provide food for local markets. These beers and ales, from pilsner to strong hoppy ale, are for people who do not want to pour 12 packs of Clydesdale urine into their gut on a daily basis.
Sugar is a major traded commodity for a reason. Convenience foods and over processing, packaging, from cardboard to plastics are great business. Poorer people gobble up the crap because they are addicted to sugar since childhood, and it is an addiction. I was on the food panty board for years, the pantry was attached to my church. One of the issues was boxed cereal, the parents would come in saying that their kids did not eat the whole oats, that they wanted captain krunch. Trying to explain the health to them was like talking a foreign language.
13? A harder age for girls than boys. While this girl needs someone to listen to her, and gently guide her adolescence and all the changes that happen, they choose this instead? For some girls it is hard to grow mentally into your body, often, some do not welcome this transition from free wheeling child hood, while your body suddenly changes itself, as it is designed to. I remember that as my breasts developed, it was a little painful, on top of that, a period comes, with cramps and messes, out of your control. I had some good support from my Mom, my Gran, and my big sister. Yes, a hormonal young teen might say "I hate my body". That does not mean that kids want to be pushed. This makes me crazy. It's a Mom's or Aunties job to comfort the young girl. Suddenly a childhood that allowed you to jump in your backyard pool without a shirt on, changes into a thing that you have to cover up. Boys teasing girls, girls teasing other girls about being flat chested, etc. The push to make teens sexy, over feminine demands on kids while they are going through one of the most awkward stages that they ever will can push a kid to say that there is a way to stop biology. While all they need is support. A lot of this comes from a girl feeling ashamed about the changes. That is not pathological, it is pretty normal for some. Instead of saying to the girl, "look, I understand, this can be overwhelming, but growing into a woman takes some time, you are just a kid, if you are self conscious, wear a loose shirt, or baggy clothing, you are still a kid". We do not all develop at the same rate, psychologically. If transgenderism was not so available, 98% of these kids would not even think about transitioning. They would just grow into adulthood at their own rate. I do not want to place blame, but some mindful and compassionate parenting, controlling what media the kid has access to, can go a long way. Just yelling at the kid about God's plan does not always work. Before your kid goes into middle school, pay attention to who is teaching and what the general vibe is. Then act accordingly, home school, etc.
I take two Magnesiium gummies Magnesium Citrate, it works so well, even though I doubted that it would, I chew some at around 10 30 at night, can't stay awake past 11, I get a good solid 6-7 hours. If I sleep for 8hrs or longer, its a sure sign I am coming down with something. You may want to give it a try. If you live in the States, I use Natures Made Magnesium Gummies, . Melatonin just makes me feel weird and gives me that twilight sleep that leaves you exhausted.
I am not cheering or booing. Regime change and "running" other countries, from this writers rocking chair, either turns into a quagmire or nothing really happens either way. Its just that I have watched it time and time again. Vietnam, Pinochet vs Allende, Iran/Contra, Bosnia, Afghanistan Iraq. Defeating communist dictators is always a good thing, but it also requires investments in the countries that we liberate, and all become yesterdays news. This is different because it was so fast, and so efficient, Maduro may have some value and the day after he stated that he wanted to work on the relationship with the USA, he was captured. That could have been the green light for our armed forces to move. I am really hoping this is not the same old same old. As I said, not cheering, (but happy for the Venezuelans who are now free from that dictator), not booing. I am feeling oddly neutral and peaceful, but it is not the peace of apathy. It is the peace of God. I have learned to accept that everything happens in Gods time and according to Gods plan.
I live in the USA, and I am skeptical of these numbers of saved children, too. Sorry, I will not believe it without more than a press release. If there were thousands rescued, the press or investigative reporters would be dangling so much money for the story, there would be many takers out of 9,000. There would be more takers from another country. The absolute silence of eye witness accounts, of reunions, tells me it is just more gaslighting. Would the victims be all signing NDA's? All refuse thousands of dollars for "a story"? Nah, not in this country in 2026.
They are gorgeous, I thought it was a giant purple finch when I first saw them! I have a lot of the evening grossbeaks, but the "RBGB" is rare for me too, I have only seen them about a dozen times in 40 years! I live up near the border in Vermont.The nature pages I follow predicted large flocks from Canada north of here to show up earlier and in larger numbers, due to the wildfires in Quebec, they lost a lot of seed sources. Well, they are all here thinning my purse.
I hate labels. I am a registered Independent I am a Christian. I am known to be generous, I am known to be a prude, mostly I mind my own business. I also lived for several decades, and I have a long memory. The USA has gone downward due to liberal policies, and anyone who cannot see that is in major denial. It also hurts my heart to see people making blanket statements regarding one group of people against another. Maybe we can be more compassionate when we realize that all people are victims of very screwed up systems, its great if you are wealthy enough to rise above all of that, but the majority of us still all need to get along and get through the day. If we live our lives with the guiding principles of Christianity, it starts to become obvious who is wrong and who is right. If you take the leftist philosophy to its conclusion, you will see how many freedoms we lose, if you take the far right to its conclusion, we risk the same thing, both roads lead to fascism or a police state one way or another. In the end, what hill will we die on? Mine is freedom, the idea of any government authority coming into my life uninvited, and wanting to control it, makes me very unhappy. I follow the law, I commit no crime, I earned everything I own and have, so, leave me alone. I am not hurting anyone.
There can be no MAHA while this stands. Pesticides drift, and the death spiral reaches far beyond a field that is sprayed. Wildlife suffers, birds need insects, plants need pollination, and no one needs cancers. This is disgusting. It makes me furious. Please realize that banning pesticides and herbicides that harm the environment is NOT the same as questioning the "Green Agenda", although some pro chemical lobbyists will use that as political influence. There are other ways to control insects, there are other ways to farm, there are other ways to get a good bounty from the land without poisoning our soil and water table. Washing off your produce will not get rid of the poisons the plant sucked up while growing in contaminated irrigation. What a backstabbing.
The new day of a New Year starts much as any other day. Winter in full swing in the Northern parts, a beautiful cover of snow. I am feeding more birds this year than I have seen in 40 years, big healthy flocks of BlueJays and Mourning Doves, finches yellow and purple, juncos, woodpeckers, nuthatches, red and white breasted. Just another morning of putting out seeds, they watch me from high up, "here she comes!", they call to one another, and then, here they come. If life is a circle, it is a shame that we must age through each turn. But, we do. I know a new day is coming, but I don't know what a new day will bring, let alone a New Year. I hope everyone here will have a good New Year filled with hope and new beginnings, but remember, some things do not change with time, either, nor do they age. No Jesus, no Peace, is one of those things that remain solid, if you have the Peace of the Lord, may it sustain you through exterior news and sensations, but as the Lord has promised us in Philippians 4:7, "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" . God in Christ also reminds us that we must stay awake: Matthew 24:42 & Mark 13:35-37: "Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep . It is an annual renewal to HIS word that keeps our minds pondering on these things, and on our purpose, to be at peace while remaining alert. Have a Happy New Year of our Lord in 2026. And remember to keep your bird feeders filled, it will give you hours of delight.
I love animals, and I have chickens for eggs, I let them die of old age, but this is because I can afford to. I keep a few goats for landscaping, keeping an acre clear, and because of these animals, I have great fertilizer and compost. Again, I can afford to shelter and care for these animals because I can afford to. If you shop carefully, there is animal protein that you can source from local farms, or in stores that carry labels that the animals were raised humanely. That is what I do. I am of the genetic makeup of a long ancestory of meat eaters, and fish eaters. I get my fish from Fulton Fish Market, wild caught, flash frozen at the dock or on the boat. You can support small farmers, and also avoid the cruelty and unwholesomeness of the factory farm. It costs more, but in my opinion, if you are buying cheap food so you can make your car payments, you have your priorities messed up. I drive an older car, but my groceries and food cost more because we choose that.
Please be aware that an Occultist named Madame Blavatsky was a proponent of esoteric mysticism and was one of the first western so called mystics that introduced the concept of the 7 rays. It was written in her Secret Doctrine Aleister Crowley was deeply influenced by her. What they followed was a concept known as Theosophy. IT IS NOT CHRISTIAN!!!! It is dark occultism, very popular at the turn of the 19th century.
Vermonter here, there are a lot of MAGA in the rural areas, mostly people who never were interested in voting before, they lined up to register for the 2016 election, to elect Trump. There is still a majority of people who do not vote, period. Trump did around 45 percent of the vote in many rural counties. We dont really have large cities at all, but a lot of villages, a lot of them, and its all paper ballot, mail in became a thing early, almost as soon as it began..I would say it is more independent than anything else.
I have such thick comfrey plants! They would take over if I let them. I give the plants away, as they will sprout from any decent root segment. we make salve, a cup of comfrey root tea is very good for coughs, just the smashed up root raw, placed on a wound will help heal it. I have used it on bedsores of people I have cared for, miraculous skin healing. The leaves used as mulch is a great way to get cal/mag into the soil. My son brews a "tea" from it in 5 gallon buckets, then bottles it, and sells it at the farmers market as a "green manure tea" fertilizer, and my goats scarf it down when let out to do weed wacking and trimming. It is also an amazing food for bees, the plants when in bloom buzz with it. 40 years ago I planted some seeds, now it fills in so many spots on my land. It can become invasive. the roots know no bounds, and it grows on the worst soil, always making it better.
Covid, Wars, Billionaire "Progressives", The Patriot Act, The Gulf Wars, I could go on. I qualify as an old hippie who went Libertarian, which turned me into a Patriot, and now Patriots are anti establishment. Amazin' ain't it?
yes hmmm, but my first thought is that he is going through some heavy detox, depending on what he was using, he will be pretty sick for another week or two. Or it could be something else, but my gut tells me his withdrawal is of the screaming sweating panic puking kind, thus the suicide wish.
I like my touchable shiny bars and rounds and coins, right under my bed. I avoid touching it too much because they made us read Silas Marner in 6th grade, a very long time ago. My only regret is that I cashed in my gold 1/10 ounces, 30 of them, to buy a car about 7 years ago, when there was a small rally. I won't be tempted again. I can tell you that that box is the best sedative and sleep aid I have ever used, and I dont have to do a thing, like a broody hen, I sit on my nest eggs.
Ahh, I love these kinds of ponderings. I believe people fit into personality types, and each of those types can be predictable as to what their mechanical flexes are. To achieve consciousness, a person must first be aware of what mechanical flex that they have, and then develop an ability to control mechanical reactions or actions. For example, extroverts will appear more confident in a crowd, while introverts may appear less confident. An extrovert will be drawn to paths in life that involve being around people, organizing, sales, social leaders, while the introvert may be drawn to contemplative studies, caregiving, homemaking. These are all mechanical, the person just follows the path that seems most natural to them. Our own "distinct" path can only be realized if we are aware of our "type" following a path that has nothing to do with consciousness, or choice, we just follow the groove we were created with. Serious work begins when we resist the urge to do what is mechanical, and push ourselves to do something that is truly a conscious choice. Growth occurs, options open up, when we force ourselves to do the opposite, and then observe our feelings and sensations about that. An extrovert goes to a rally or a sports event, they cheer and jump up and feel connected to the entire crowd, an introvert sighs with relief that a social commitment has been cancelled so they can go return to their books, or sewing, or tinkering, alone. Both people think they are following their own path, but in "cosmic" reality, they are just showing true to type, there is no decision making, they just follow the groove like water flowing downstream. The growth occurs when we choose to go upstream, against the flow. Not as a lifestyle, but as an excercise in self awareness. God has created us with more than our type, though. Each person does, in fact, contain all possibilities of being, the artist is capable of rebuilding an engine, the mechanic can learn to play the violin. I do believe that our Creator wants us to wake up and use all of our burners. Some cannot, due to disability, life trauma, or "accidents", those that rise above those challenges usually can because of support, prayer, and in some cases divine intervention. Sit back on any bench in any city park, and just watch people, what you will notice is the majority of people are acting out roles they were pushed into a long time ago, it is what we call the "social order". When we become aware of our roles, we often find ourselves feeling empty, controlled, or life meaningless. At that point we become vulnerable, we seek a leader, a cause, anything to give our lives meaning again. I hope that those who find themselves at that point give themselves over to God, become right sized, and dare to choose something they may never have tried before. Can we all achieve consciousness? I am not sure of that, because Jesus Christ, son of God, the great master and Lord of this world, used the statement "Let those who have ears hear, and let those who have eyes, see." This tells me that not all men have the capability of becoming "distinct". It"s not easy to be distinct, all kinds of hurdles are thrown at us, the hurdle of ego being the biggest, the hurdle of temptation to go back to sleep is always there. Without prayer, these hurdles will defeat our individual purpose. Our purpose can be found in countless books, I have read a lot of them, but always return to the Bible and writings of the masters, such as Saint Augustine, Kierkegaard, Thomas Merton, etc.
Nobody can justify 11 bullets in the back on a man who is down, with a face full of pepper spray. It was an execution. Please deport me, as it is very hard to leave this place, I have found some excellent support as a Chrisitian at this site. I cannot be a good Christian and remain. If this was a military operation, the officers would be court martialed. If this was a cop or two, they would be suspended while investigations took place. There is no such thing as unlawful protesting if there is no rioting. Along with reading the Gospel, may I suggest Thomas Paine? Good bye.