Author: shadowwarrior

Have you ever heard this little ditty? “Beans, Beans, the musical fruit. The more you eat, the more you toot. The more you toot, the better you feel. So eat those beans with every meal.” Granted, not a very high-brow approach to today’s blog topic, but it does draw attention to the power of one of our five senses. So does the short little video clip above. SMELL is a very pervasive sense. We are not like sharks that can smell a drop of blood up to a quarter of a mile away (americanoceans.org), or like a dog that can sniff out drugs, an on-coming seizer, or even a cancerous tumor, but nevertheless most humans can smell many types of odors. Sometimes smells are pleasant, and sometimes they are not.

We often use the analogy of smell to make a point, like “I smell a rat”, or “That smells fishy.” Do we actually SMELL the rat, or fish? No, it’s just a saying drawing attention to the fact that in our opinion something just doesn’t seem right. Over the last few years, as a society, we have been trained to avoid wearing perfumes or colognes in public, as they could possibly trigger an allergic response in a few others nearby. Some who eschew avoiding other’s discomfort, have been known to engage in what has been called “crop-dusting”, where the perpetrator expels “gas” in a store aisle as other unsuspecting shoppers cruise on through the SMELL. Cheap thrills at another’s expense. Regardless of your concern or disregard for another, some SMELLS are uniformly agreed to as disgusting. Most “poops” are foul smelling, whether coming from humans or animals. One flower, the “Corpse Flower”, that blooms once every seven to nine years, “reeks of rotting flesh and death”. (livescience.com.) Many will flock to see and smell it because of its uniqueness. Most rotting food is abhorrent to all. It’s God’s way of telling us it’s probably not safe to eat. An odiferous warning.

We mention all of this to set the foundation for our blog topic today. It is obvious that some SMELLS are disgusting and are worthy of our efforts to avoid. However, some SMELLS have been so pervasive that over time, we have become accustomed to them. A smoker’s house will be permeated with the smell of smoke, in the walls, ceilings and flooring. Over time, it will become imperceptible to the smoker in the house. But for the non-smoker who enters the house, the SMELL will be obvious. For those who work in fragrant shops, it is likely that over time, they too will no longer notice the SMELL. Just like one, who through routine, has become accustomed to simple tasks of life and no longer needs conscious thought for its task completion, so too do humans, and more specifically our Nation’s citizens, become accustomed to pervasive influences.

Unfortunately, our great Nation has been subjected to an onslaught of the SMELL of prejudicial influences over the last several decades. Our Nation fought a Civil War to end slavery, fought and won the women’s suffrage movement, among many other less noticeable battles, but the seeds, the SMELL, of resentment, restitution, and retribution endure today. Many in charge of our institutions of learning and in current positions of governmental power have stoked these simmering seeds of discontent, some for political, financial, ideological and/or egotistical reasons. More tragically, some even seek to supplant our Nation’s Constitution believing it to be a deterrent to democracy. Through these last few decades many of our citizens have gotten used to the SMELL OF PREJUDICE. The SMELL has permeated our society. Many don’t know where the SMELL came from, or even if it still exists.

We are all AMERICANS! We have all been entrusted with the care of this great Nation, one that provides FREEDOM and LIBERTY to all. Why would any of us desire to live with the SMELL of yesterday. As legitimate Americans, we have more in common than what separates us. Sometimes we are more critical of family and friends that are closest to us, yet we will smile and say “Hi” to a complete stranger on the street. As a Nation we overcame the “Great Depression” (1929-1939), and the terrible “Dust Bowl” (1930-1936). We unified as a Nation after our Nation was attacked at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. We did the same after the attack on our Nation in New York on September 11, 2001. In 1969 our Nation landed two Americans on the moon. Our Nation brought the USSR to its financial knees throughout the 1970s and 1980s, finally watching its collapse in 1991. These are just a few of our Nation’s historical events that have unified us as Americans, yet some still SMELL PREJUDICE, even long after its demise. For those that have lived too long in the SMELL of prejudice produced by self-serving elites and institutions, they can no longer recognize that the SMELL of prejudice that pervades them is an aberration. They have been deluded to think that it continues to exist. FREEDOM and LIBERTY need to be brought to those who remain trapped in the SMELL OF PREJUDICE. Your vote for a change in our National leadership is one of the first steps you can take to do your part.

There is a stench in our Nation, the SMELL OF PREJUDICE. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14; NIV.)

A “PLATITUDE” is a very funny creature. It sounds like a very normal animal, but up close and personal, there is more to behold. If you simply just glance at it, you may miss some of its unusual aspects. What is its purpose? Are there secrets about its presence that need to be exposed? Can it be dangerous if not revealed for what it is? These are all legitimate things that must be dealt with when confronting any “PLATITUDE”.

So, we again ask the question found under the short video clip above. Is what is depicted a “PLATITUDE”? What is shown above may “sound” like a “PLATITUDE”, and everything we mentioned in the paragraph above certainly applies, but that creature is NOT a “PLATITUDE”. The video clip above depicts a PLATYPUS, not a “PLATITUDE”. We had better define both so that there will be no confusion, and so that we can fully explain why we have titled our blog, “PLATITUDES”.

PLATYPUS: “The platypus . . . is one of the most unusual creatures in the animal kingdom. The platypus has a paddle-shaped tail, like a beaver; a sleek fury body like an otter; and a flat bill and webbed feet, like a duck.” “Males have a spur, connected to a venom-secreting gland, on each hind foot.” “The venom is not life-threatening to humans, but it can cause severe swelling and excruciating pain.” Adults range from 14.5 to 24.8 inches in length and can weigh from 1.3 to 6.6 pounds. “Platypuses live in Australia”. “They can stay underwater for only 30 to 140 seconds . . .” “Platypuses are carnivorous.” Females lay eggs which hatch after about 10 days and the offspring are bean sized. (livescience.com.)

“PLATITUDES”: “a remark or statement that may be true but is boring and has no meaning because it has been said so many times before.” (dictionary.cambridge.org.) “1. A trite or banal remark or statement, especially one expressed as if it were original or significant. 2. Lack of originality; triteness. 3. The quality or state of being flat, thin, or insipid; flat commonness; triteness; staleness of ideas of language.” (wordnik.com.)

As legal voters in our Nation, we take great offence at those who claim broad and bold statements during campaigns without providing details which could make the claim become reality. For example, “MAGA” means nothing in and of itself without laying out the processes, methods, plans or procedures to be used to achieve the Greatness espoused. Likewise, “Saving Our Democracy”, also means nothing without first laying out what is failing in our Democracy and then producing the processes, methods, plans or procedures to be used to achieve the Salvation desired. Standing at a podium in front of thousands of cheering sycophants, fawning parasites, and saying things like, “I’m going to lower your food prices and rents”, or “I will lower your taxes”, and then not provide the pathways forward to achieve either statement, is an empty promise, voiding the speaker’s pronouncements. Unfortunately, many cheering fans love the goal without knowing the plan.

It’s too easy for a candidate, for any office, to make a grand promise in order to sway voters to win the election. We remember years ago a radio talk show host talked about a personal experience, the subject matter now or the point he was trying to make currently illudes us, but his story helps to lend credence to our blog today. He stated he was a student running for an elementary or high school office against a girl who promised everyone a trip to Disneyland if she was voted into the office. Well, she won the election, but do you think everyone enjoyed their trip to Disneyland. Nope. They got no trip to Disneyland for their votes. It’s too easy to make promises. It’s harder to fulfill commitments. “PLATITUDES” are nothing without nuance. You need the roadmap, the way forward, the details, the refinement, and without any supporting information, you might as well just believe you’ll be getting a free trip to Disneyland. And that ain’t going to happen.

To bring “PLATITUDES” into reality, the candidate must back it up with substance, laying out the problem, then showing the plans forward to solve the problem. For example, knowing that illegal aliens are flowing nearly unimpeded across our Nation’s southern border and bringing deadly opioids and sex trafficking with them, by simply saying, “I will solve that problem” means absolutely nothing. Declaring your plan to solve that problem by building a wall, increasing border security and staffing, and arresting and expelling border and law violators, and drug and sex smugglers, adds the substance to the “PLATITUDE” making it worthy of consideration.

Our FREEDOM and LIBERTY in our Nation are at stake. We can no longer allow our politicians and candidates to throw baseless “PLATITUTES” at us willy-nilly. Citizens of our Nation deserve facts and legitimate policies and procedures to solve our problems. Hold these people accountable to their “PLATITUDES”. If you do not, and if they fail to produce, then they are nothing more than a silly looking mammal with a beaver’s tail, an otter’s furry body, a duck’s bill and feet, and has a potential sting that can cause us extreme pain. To liken some candidates to the creature we showed at the beginning of this blog is a dis-service and demeaning to the very special PLATYPUS.

Beaker, one of our favorite Muppets characters. Innocent, obedient, and always seemingly on the short end of any accident. We suppose that having your hair on fire could potentially have an impact on your brain, maybe even searing it a little. We are defining the word “SEARING” by using “Dictionary.com”: “serving to burn or char the surface of something”. One can sear your meat when cooking it to lock-in the juices and flavor. One can experience a searing pain, or a searing emotional experience that can leave a permanent emotional scar.

Have you thought recently about your “CONSCIENCE”? What is it? Where did it come from? Is your “CONSCIENCE” different from another person, and if so, how and why? It seems evident that “CONSCIENCE” is derived by something that happens within each of our own thought processes. “CONSCIENCE” is formed from our experiences, from our training, from our social interactions, and from our own study. It is developed over time beginning at our birth. There probably is a portion of our “CONSCIENCE” that may come from the seeds of DNA passed on to us by our parents. How and where we are raised, from our early youth on up, help to define and refine our “CONSCIENCE”. “CONSCIENCE” is “An awareness of morality in regard to one’s behavior; a sense of right and wrong that urges one to act morally. A source of moral or ethical judgment or pronouncement. Conformity to one’s own sense of right conduct.” (wordnik.com.) It is obvious that there is an important moral element to one’s “CONSCIENCE”. Each one of us applies our own “CONSCIENCE” to differentiate between right and wrong. For further study on the topic of “CONSCIENCE”, please read our blog posted on June 16, 2021, titled, “WHAT ESTABLISHES CONSCIENCE”. Is it possible to have one’s “CONSCIENCE SEARED”?

The forming of one’s “CONSCIENCE” is to some degree predictable based upon many of the factors we mentioned earlier. One’s “CONSCIENCE” can be corrupted over time due to many of the same factors that developed it. One needs to define what a “corrupted” “CONSCIENCE” looks like. One’s “CONSCIENCE” can be “corrupted” from a center point of neutrality. “CONSCIENCE” can swing toward good or toward bad, either toward right or toward wrong. We would like to believe the preferred state of a “CONSCIENCE” would lean away from neutrality toward that which is good or right. It is counterintuitive to think that a bad or wrong “CONSCIENCE” could be “corrupted” toward that which is good or right. The very definition of “corrupted” is “Marked by immorality and perversion; depraved. Dishonest. Containing errors”. (wordnik.com.) So, we will state that “CONSCIENCE” is our thinking processes that let us know the difference between good and evil, and that the vast majority of us have angels sitting on our right shoulders telling us to do what is morally right and good. The “corruption” of one’s “CONSCIENCE” then allows the devil on the left shoulder to lean one’s thoughts and actions toward thinking and doing what is morally wrong and bad. As we stated in our blog title, this would lead to a “CONSCIENCE SEARED”, a “CONSCIENCE” being “corrupted”.

Some individuals have been raised, educated, and taught in the ways of sociopathy. Please read our blog on June 13, 2021, titled, “DANGERS OF SOCIOPATHS”. We have heard enough of the lies being told over the last several days during the democratic national convention. Where simple research of the facts, available in multiple ways, would clearly refute unsubstantiated claims promulgated by multiple democratic speakers and supporters. We can only attribute this scourge in our society to be due to many having their “CONSCIENCE SEARED”. They have been “gaslighted” for years, believing lies to be the truth. They have failed to seek truth and are comfortable in believing and spreading lies told by others. They have no problem, nor do they see any conflict in their “CONSCIENCE”, in projecting their own sins upon the lives of others who do not have those same sins. Truly they are comfortable in having their “CONSCIENCE SEARED”. They have no problem living with the devil on their left shoulder. They have found comfort in sinful acts, ones of both commission and those of omission. They have no problem killing those still in the womb. They see no problem in violating any laws if doing so enables their desired outcomes. Morality for them is defined by doing whatever is necessary to get their way. Their beliefs and ideologies are how they would define their “morality”. They often speak using godly and righteous tones, but their actions are contradictory and speak louder than their words.

Let’s look to the authority on a “CONSCIENCE SEARED”. I Timothy 4:1-2. “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” (New International Version.) Their outward sanctity is stained with their hypocritical guile. “Professing to lead others to holiness, their own conscience is all the while defiled. Bad consciences always have recourse to hypocrisy.” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary.)

The only way to counter those who are sociopaths is to defeat them. You cannot debate them or argue with them, for their “CONSCIENCES” are too badly “SEARED”. If you treasure your FREEDOM and LIBERTY, you must vote to change out those who control the power levers in our Nation. However, your vote is not sufficient in and of itself. Prior to casting your vote, you need to insure those with whom you have contact also vote for this change. If they are not registered to vote, register them. If they cannot get to the polls to vote, take them. If they need assistance in returning a mail-in ballot, provide them with the assistance they need. Your small part, your seemingly insignificant part, is part of the vital whole that is required to bring about the changes necessary to save our Nation. Your most sacred duty in our Nation is to vote. Make it count.

Most of us are probably pretty familiar with the folk tale of Chicken Little. If not, then we are certain you have heard the phrase “THE SKY IS FALLING”, which comes from the tale of Chicken Little. In short summary, Chicken Little is walking in the woods, and she gets hit on the head by a falling acorn. She immediately surmises that the “SKY IS FALLING”. On her way to warn the king, she encounters other birds who believe her with no actual first-hand knowledge of the encounter with the acorn. On their way to the king to provide warning, they are met by a fox who cunningly leads them away from the king and to his den where the entourage is never heard from again. “We might [summarize] the moral messages of the story as follows: 1) don’t form incorrect conclusions from insufficient data; 2) don’t stoke fear in others without good cause to do so; and 3) don’t take other people’s word for things, especially when those other people are making extraordinary claims (which should require extraordinary evidence). (interestingliterature.com.)

There are many ways we can relate this tale to current world events. Anyone with a megaphone can espouse their beliefs without adequate proof or justification. Anyone willing to believe the user of the megaphone without first-hand knowledge or personal experience can be equally at fault for believing anything they may be told. Finally, believing a falsehood can lead to your destruction. The story of “the boy who cried ‘Wolf’!’ is a similar tale although in that telling the meaning is clearer. The Chicken Little tale dates back to the Danish folklorist and scholar, Just Mathias Thiele (1795-1874). In America the Chicken Little tale ” had already been [popularized] by John Green Chandler, with the help of Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879), who is best remembered for writing the rhyme ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ and for campaigning to have Thanksgiving recognized as a national holiday in the United States.”

“The Chicken Little story continued to enjoy popularity in the twentieth century, with Disney producing a short film in 1943 warning about mass hysteria, with specific reference to the Nazis. The 2005 Disney adaptation completely changes the plot by adding aliens whose spaceship, or parts of it, really do fall from the sky, and, in doing so, misses the moral message (or messages) of the fable: in this version, Chicken Little is right to spread mass fear among the townsfolk and is thus vindicated.” (Same reference as before.)

So, why are we talking about the Chicken Little tale? Chicken Little was falsely reporting a past event. In our blog today, we are prognosticating future events. While we do not have any actual proof of events that may transpire, nor do we possess a “crystal ball” telling all, and while we have no idea how to “read the tea leaves”, what we can do is lay forth possible events that, based upon past events, can only lead to potential outcomes. With less than three months until arguably the most important national election in our Nation’s history, we will predict two different outcomes depending upon the election results. The events will begin to occur in mid-September and will likely continue deep into 2025.

The current conservative opposition candidate for the office of President of the United States is due to be sentenced on September 18 following the fraudulent court case. It is likely that the biased judge will rule that some form of detention is warranted, either in prison or house arrest in state. This will prohibit the candidate’s ability to campaign throughout the Nation and any temporary release may only occur at the discretion of the judge. This is obviously election interference. Those on the political right will be incensed, although the outcome was predictable, and will undoubtedly bring animosity toward the left to a fever pitch. Outrage will be evident, but the current government and social media’s attempts to censor free speech will only exasperate the animosity and some violent acts will be orchestrated to further lockdown dissent by conservatives. This is only the beginning.

The election in November will be tight, and outcomes may not be known for days leading to the distrust of voting systems and numbers. Lawsuits will fly in both directions, and the predictable dismissal by courts will be “lack of standing”, as has happened since 2020. Few, if any, judges will be brave enough to risk their employment and futures by making courageous and constitutional decisions in favor of the political right. Historical precedence is already the determinative factor. Once the election results are made final, and Electoral votes established, there are only two outcomes possible.

OUTCOME NUMBER ONE: Should the conservative candidate win, the opposition will take to the streets in every major city to protest the election results. Riots will occur, and many cities, institutions, structures and statues will either burn, be ransacked, or defaced in ongoing street protests. Many citizens will be hurt, and many law enforcement officers will be harmed as well, some of both will die. National Guard forces will need to be federalized to quell the violence and destruction. Some conservative businesses and individuals will feel it necessary to use fire power to provide protection which will only further exasperate the lefts incessant efforts to bring down our democracy, for which they touted a need to protect just a few months earlier. The new year of 2025 will be one to forget, one filled with rebellion, destruction, and anarchy.

OUTCOME NUMBER TWO: Should the liberal candidate win, many protests from the right will be initiated. Several will be infused with members of the FBI and CIA, among others, to exacerbate the destruction and violence that will be encouraged. This is all the current administration needs to further crack down upon dissenting civilians. Force will be used to invaded private homes and businesses bringing many into custody, into courts, with convictions leading to years in federal penitentiaries throughout our Nation. Opposition to the current elected government will be forced underground, and fear will reign supreme among the conservatives. The “Two Party System” in America will cease to exist, and a new era of political rule will take its place, forcing all into compliance, and if not compliant, limiting the FREEDOM and LIBERTY of conservatives to participate in commerce, speech, participation, and travel anywhere in our Nation and even throughout the world. World conflicts will increase. Inflation will again rule the roost, and food and other material supplies will run short due to the diminishing of fossil fuels and the premature governmental push to non-supportable EV and other similar mandates. A counter insurgency will develop, and our Nation will fall prey to other world nation’s attacks, both with kinetic and “Non-Kinetic Threats” (for further clarification please read “444. Non-Kinetic Threats and the Threshold Spectrum of Strategic Endgame Warnings”) (madsciblog.tradoc.army.mil/444; Robert McCreight; May 11, 2023).

Either way, the immediate future is not bright. We do not want to stoke fear, but we do want all to be prepared for possibilities. Before the election in November, stock up on food and water supplies. Provide for adequate defense for yourself, family, and friends. Do not succumb to “irrational exuberance” but be predictive and smart. Our FREEDOM and LIBERTY are at stake. We are not “Chicken Little”, but we are not stupid either.

No, we have not invented a new word. FEARDOM is “the state of having freedom but being afraid of expressing it.” (urbandictionary.com.)

What does it take to obtain and maintain FREEDOM?

As we approach the final days leading up to the most important election in our lives, and maybe in the life of our Nation. We are being inundated with manipulated polls, where crosstabs are either hidden or intentionally weighted for maximum propaganda. There is an effort to create despair, hopelessness and even resignation among the conservative opposition. It has been a long slog over the course of many years. The Marxists, socialists and Communists have been eating away at our resilience and have slowly and methodically sluffed-off vital pieces of our FREEDOM and LIBERTY. Restrictions, mandates, regulations, shortages, increasing debt and inflation, foreign illegal alien invasions, increasing dangers of racial and ethnic divisions, biased legal prosecutions, increasing social violence, and the manipulation and control of social and national media have tried to bring many conservatives into submission. They have tried to overcome our FREEDOM with FEARDOM.

We may not be technically in a kinetic war overseas, or even seemingly within our Nation, but have no doubt, we are in a war in this Nation with those in control of the power levers within our Nation. Bullets are not yet being fired at us, but one did wound the conservative opposition party leader three weeks ago. Those bullets did severely injure two other conservative supporters, and they did destroy one family life and take the life of its heroic household head. Those in current power within our Nation have used every trick in their playbook to bring about the defeat of conservatives, democracy, and the very heart of morality and justice espoused within our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Sometimes we are called upon to fight on, even when we think our small part of the war, or maybe our effectiveness, has come to an end. We must admit that at times all we want to do is throw up our arms and say “I quit! I can’t do this anymore. My ability to help is all spent.” Do we have it worse than any of those who fought and gave up so much to establish our Nation’s FREEDOM and LIBERTY nearly 250 years ago? Maybe we need a small refresher course in how difficult it was for many of those of our original patriots who help to establish our Nation. Many gave some. Some gave all. In Patrick K. O’Donnell’s book, “The INDISPENSABLES”, his research of facts, along with those patriot’s personal notes and letters, have revealed the extent of their sacrifice and dedication. (Excerpts taken from pages 4, 5, 349, 339-340, 342, and 350.) We hope these excerpts from his book will add some clarity to our desires to flee or to our desires to fight.

First, let’s set the stage for what we will learn later on in this blog. “Nestled between a peninsula known as the Great Neck and a stretch of rockbound coast sixteen miles northeast of Boston lies one of New England’s finest ports – Marblehead, Massachusetts. At the time, the crowded, bustling town ranked second only to Boston on the list of the most heavily populated and prosperous towns in New England. The pungent odor of fish wafted among the more than five thousand souls crammed into hundreds of clapboard houses, many of them ramshackle, set in grimy, meandering streets.” “In Marblehead, fortunes were made and lost on the sea. By the 1770s, Marblehead’s economy relied on fish, especially New England’s most profitable commodity: cod.” “The prominent merchant families of the town . . . amassed their wealth by risking the perils of the icy waters of the North Atlantic. Marblehead fishermen sailed in schooners typically thirty to sixty feet in length, from thirty to seventy tons each, with crews of seven to eight and captains skilled in the art of navigation and leadership. They fished some of the most treacherous waters in the world – the Grand Banks. An area off Newfoundland larger than the state of Maine, a two-thousand-mile round trip from the mainland, the Grand Banks were singularly brutal. Men fought against the sea to wrest their living from it with little more than determination and their bare hands.” “Life at sea was grueling: from 1768 to 1769, more than 120 Marblehead sailors lost their lives to the sea. Twenty-three ships sank in the raging storms of the Atlantic. Such conditions produced hardened men who could surmount almost any adversity.” These were the same men that allowed General George Washington to cross the Delaware River on Christmas eve in 1776 on their way to defeat the Hessians in Trenton, most likely the single most important victory that propelled our fledgling colonies to eventual victory over the British Crown. Speaking of these Marblehead patriots, “They warred in a divided country. They not only fought one of the toughest adversaries in the world – the mighty armed forces of Great Britain – but also some of the most tenacious, the Loyalist Americans who were their neighbors. The greatest foes Americans have ever fought, throughout time, have been their fellow Americans. Had the British stoked this internal division more – through race and the divisiveness of the institution of slavery – and formed more Loyalist American units earlier in the war, and given them equal footing with their British counterparts, the Revolution might have collapsed from its internal division. The British would have divided and conquered. And while years of grueling work lay ahead on race, the diverse men of the Marblehead Regiment broke new ground with a more egalitarian view of race in society that was centuries ahead off their time.”

So, how did these Marbleheaders fair at the conclusion of the war? “The members of the Marblehead Regiment often fought for no monetary gain and became broken men – physically, economically, and mentally. Some paid the ultimate price, surrendering their very lives. They served honorably, against tremendous hardship, and did not desert their brothers in arms. The price to Marblehead was enormous in blood and treasure. By the end of the war, the town had 378 widows, 35 percent of the female population in the town, and 652 children would never see their fathers again.” “Their generation – America’s greatest – fought for a higher purpose and sparked a Revolution with groundbreaking ideals and principles, creating a constitution that changed the world.”

Back then, as it is today, many wanted to give up, but some persisted on, even at great personal cost. “John Glover, physically drained, infirm, nearly ruined financially, and with his wife sick, decided to part ways with the army. He considered the absence permanent, but in February 1777, Congress promoted him to brigadier general. Glover initially declined the commission, writing to George Washington on April 1, 1777, ‘I Cannot think myself in any Degree Capable of doing the duty, necessary to be done, by an officer of that Rank’.” “Washington responded first by conveying understanding of Glover’s situation and then praising the Marbleheader: ‘After the conversations, I had with you, before you left the army, last Winter, I was not a little surprised at the contents of yours of the first instant . . . . I know of no man better qualified than you to conduct a Brigade. You have activity and industry and as you very well know the duty of a colonel, you know how to exact that duty from others.’ A master motivator, Washington then laid on the guilt: ‘I have with great concern observed the almost universal listlessness, that prevails throughout the continent; and I believe, that nothing has contributed to it more, than the resignation of officers, who stepped early forward and led the people into the great cause, in which we are too deeply embarked to look back, or to hope for any other terms, than those we can gain by the sword. Can any resistance be expected from the people when deserted by their leaders? Our enemies count upon the resignation of every officer of rank at this time, as a distrust of, and desertion from the cause, and rejoice accordingly. When you consider these matters I hope you will think no more of private inconveniences, but that you will, with all expedition, come forward, and take that command which has been assigned you. As I fully depend upon seeing you, I shall not mention anything that has passed between us, upon this subject, to the Congress’.” “Glover relented and returned to the service.” During his continued service, he lost his son John Glover Jr. and his daughter-in-law. Having served and saved portions of the army and having played an important role in the war effort, “By the summer of 1782, Glover had had enough of the war. He wrote to Washington, ‘When I enter’d the service in 1775 I had as good a Constitution as any Man of my Age, but it’s now broken & shatter’d to pieces, good for nothing, & quite worn out; However [I] shall make the best of it.” “The expense of my little fortune, earned by hard labor and industry; to sacrifice . . . and total ruin of a family of young children.”

“The indomitable Henry Knox recalled that freezing Christmas night on the Delaware to the Massachusetts legislature: ‘I wish the members of this body knew the people of Marblehead as well as I do – I could wish that they had stood on the banks of the Delaware River in 1776 in that bitter night when the Commander in Chief had drawn up his little army to cross it, and had seen the powerful current bearing onward the floating masses of ice, which threatened destruction to whomever should venture upon its bosom. I wish that when this occurrence threatened to defeat the enterprise, they could have heard that distinguished warrior demand, ‘Who will lead us on?’ and seen the men of Marblehead, and Marblehead alone, stand forward to lead the army along the perilous path to unfading glories and honors in the achievements of Trenton. There, Sir, went the fishermen of Marblehead, alike at home upon land or water, alike ardent, patriotic, and unflinching, whenever they unfurled the flag of the country’.”

Are you in the grasp of FEARDOM, and afraid to speak and act in FREEDOM? So now we ask once again, “What are you willing to do for your family, for our Nation, to save and maintain FREEDOM and LIBERTY?” Have you given as much as have our Founding Fathers? Are you willing to sacrifice much to save all?

Last week we did a deep dive into the power of WORDS. It seems like new WORDS are thrown at us every week. We can hardly keep up with this inundation. When we began blogging back in 2021, we focused on how those who seek to obtain and maintain power set at odds segments within our Nation. Please spend a few minutes to review the following blogs as they are as prescient today as they were over three years ago. They are: “A FRACTURED SOCIETY”, March 3, 2021; “E PLURIBUS UNUM”, March 7, 2021; and “UNITY IS STRENGTH”, April 7, 2021. Especially review: “DIVIDED WE FALL”, June 9, 2021. We knew then what continues on to this day. Why we allow the opposition to continue to divide us, and how these attempts can be thwarted, the answers seem to be as illusive today as they were over three years ago. But we claim these efforts to divide our Nation extend back not just three years, but in fact extend back decades. While many of us found comfort and ease in our own little protected bubbles, seemingly unaffected by these gradual incursions into our Nation’s founding culture, we failed to recognize the gradual shift in culture and ideology that has now hit us like a Mack truck on the freeway.

So, exactly what are some of these WORDS that have been thrust upon us as of late. You know them well, for they have been forced upon us like castor oil down the throat of a sick three-year-old in the forties. “Yuck! I can’t get the taste out of my mouth!” Try on some of these words for size and see if they fit your experience: Racism, Bigotry, Xenophobic, Transphobic, Antisemitic, and how about Islamophobic. Add to that short list any other word or words ending in “ism” or “ic”. Last week we learned about at least two other “groups” of individuals that have attempted to form a new way to divide our Nation along ideological lines. Did you hear about “White Dudes for ‘X’“, or how about “Karens for ‘X’“. Just another attempt to further divide our Nation, to bring more hatred and distrust among a people who have more in common than what divides.

We are ALL AMERICANS. We All currently enjoy our FREEDOM and LIBERTY, although more and more of that seems to be squeezed from our grasp like sand through our fingers. As we warned more than three years ago, we renew our same warnings today. Do not allow those who seek to divide to be successful. Do not allow those who want to separate us into separate groups to succeed. Do not allow those who want to control the masses by subjecting the same to oppressive measures, restrictive processes, and overbearing rules and regulations to win. We must all do our part to insure those currently in power never again have the same control that they have had over the last four years. Their thirst for wealth and power have diminished the lower classes, brought despair and frustration upon many, and have brought great harm to our Nation within and without her borders. As we have said before, so we say again now. If you want to retain and strengthen your FREEDOM and LIBERTY, then PUT FEET TO YOUR PRAYERS.

We’ve probably all played the trick on another adult or child where we tell the person to “look over there”, while we steal something from them “over here”. It could have been a piece of candy, a potato chip or French fry, or maybe we switch plates or drinks. When the person looks away, we quickly take possession of our prey of choice, or make the swap. Regardless of the item acquired or switched, when we are the instigator of this “practical joke”, we do so at the expense of another who is unsuspecting and maybe naive. One thing is for certain, the instigator uses verbal power, or words, at the expense the other. Words are a very powerful tool, to be used for good, or to be used for bad. If you are a believer in the Creation, then you know that it was not God’s hand that brought everything into existence, it was done by His spoken Word. “Then God said . . .” (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, and 29). Now that is REAL power. Created in His image, we too have power in our words, that can be used to His glory, or to our demise, or to the destruction of another. The “word” we want to focus on today is the word “DEMOCRACY”. Some are trying to pull a form of “bait and switch”, where what is promised is not what is given, or where that which is professed is not what is practiced.

Our “DEMOCRACY” is being corrupted. It is not the threat of future corruption; it is the act of current corruption. We have explained the concept of “PROJECTION” in a previous blog, but we need to review it once again for emphasis. In Psychology, it is “the tendency to ascribe to another person feelings, thoughts, or attitudes present in oneself . . .” (dictionary.com.) In politics today, if I know I am doing something nefarious, I may use “PROJECTION” to accuse the other party of doing what I am doing in hopes of deflecting attention away from my own nefarious acts. When it comes to claiming the Republican party is going to destroy “DEMOCRACY”, we have only to look at what the Democrats are currently doing to destroy “DEMOCRACY”. While claiming that all votes should be counted, they deny that all legal votes should be counted. They have denied attempts to place a citizenship question on National census questionnaires, thus inflating the House of Representatives with bogus additional Representatives not based on legal citizens alone. They are encouraging illegal aliens to register to vote, knowing that it is illegal for them to do that without proper documentation. They continually deny attempts for voter I.D. (identification). They rebuff any and all attempts to prove the sanctity of election results, knowing full well that fraud will be found. If they were so sure that fraud was void in our elections, they would be first to step forward to prove it to be so.

Democrats have been so enraptured with their own definition of “democracy”, that they have been willing to subvert their own definition by throwing out over 14 million votes for the current occupant of the White House. Those elites in power have orchestrated a “soft coup” to replace him with one apparently less mentally compromised, who incidentally failed miserably and dropped out early in the democrat primary process. In the process of replacing their own candidate by their own power and design, they have negated those peon voters, like you and me, making their votes null and void. That is NOT “DEMOCRACY”. That is setting up an Oligarchy (government by a few), maybe even leading to an Autocracy (government by one).

So where does “GASLIGHTING” come into play. This is another word we have addressed before in an earlier blog post but will briefly review it now for your remembrance. It is the “psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.” (merriam-webster.com.) It is a form of “Stockholm Syndrome”, where when you have been exposed to something for an extended period of time, you begin to sympathize with your captors and come into alignment with their cause. If everyone around you tells you the sky is really green, over time, you may become to believe it to be true, even though the sky is still blue.

Our “DEMOCRACY” is being corrupted. We have been told enough by the democrats that all other parties are a threat to democracy, that some may begin to believe it to be true, even though it is not true. We have been the victims of “GASLIGHTING”. We need to recognize that democrats are using “PROJECTION” accusing other parties of going to do what they themselves are doing now. We need to cut the strings corrupting our “DEMOCRACY”. Our FREEDOM and LIBERTY are in danger of being corrupted as well. Democrats will try to redefine those words, and attempt to expunge them from our founding documents, and even erase them from historical context and from memory itself. If you believe we as a Nation were better off four years ago, then there is only one candidate that can save “DEMOCRACY” within our REPUBLIC. You must vote for a change in the current leadership within Washington, D.C., not just for President, but for all Senators and Representatives, and all “down-ballot” candidates that desire a return to National sanity, to morality, to equal justice an accountability.

The date was July 9, 1755. It was the French and Indian war. Basically, a battle of the French against the British, where the Americans sided with the British, and the Indians sided with the French. A two-hour battle ensued. While riding to the French Fort Duquesne, and only seven miles from the fort, now known a Pittsburgh, the British and Americans rode into an ambush by the French and Indians. A 23-year-old rider was tasked with riding “. . . to and fro on the battlefield, delivering the general’s orders to other officers and troops.” “Of the eighty-six British and American officers, sixty-three were casualties.” “At the end of two hours, 714 of the 1300 British and American troops had been shot down; only 30 of the French and Indians had been shot.” The only officer still on horseback who was not shot down, was this 23-year-old man. “The next day, [this man] wrote a letter to his family explaining that after the battle was over, he had taken off his jacket and had found four bullet holes through it, yet not a single bullet had touched him; several horses had been shot from under him, but he had not been harmed. He told them: ‘By the all powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation’. [He] openly acknowledged that God’s hand was upon him, that God had protected him and kept him through that battle.”

“However, the story does not stop here. Fifteen years later, in 1770 – now a time of peace – [this same young man] and a close personal friend, Dr. James Craik, returned to those same Pennsylvania woods. An old Indian chief from far away, having heard that [he] had come back to those woods, traveled a long way just to meet with him. He sat down with [the young man], and face-to-face over a council fire, the chief told [the young man] that he had been a leader in that battle fifteen years earlier, and that he had instructed his braves to single out all the officers and shoot them down. [The young man] had been singled out, and the chief explained that he personally had shot at [him] seventeen different times, but without effect. Believing [him] to be under the care of the Great Spirit, the chief instructed his braves to cease firing at him. He then told [the young man]: ‘I have traveled a long and weary path that I might see the young warrior of the great battle . . . . I am come to pay homage to the man who is the particular favorite of Heaven, and who can never die in battle’.” (josephsmithfoundation.org.)

This man went on to serve in the Revolutionary War but lost more battles than he won. Others wanted him replaced, calling him ineffective. He even had others planning for his assassination. Against many odds, this young man became a leader, serving as a general in the Revolutionary War, standing about six feet two inches tall and weighing about 200 pounds, truly a giant among his peers. You may know him by his name. He became the first President of our United States. He has become known as the “father of our Country.” This young man’s name was George Washington. Had it not been for this “young man”, and God’s hand protecting him, we may today be living under British rule, and not being able to enjoy the FREEDOM and LIBERTY that we currently enjoy, protected by our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

We started our blog today with the title “FIVE BULLET HOLES and the course of our Republic.” So, you ask us, “Washington had four bullet holes in his uniform, why did you mention ‘five’.” Few men stand head and shoulders above others, having the fortitude, wisdom, and vision to lead a nation to become greatest among all others. Washington was the first, but what we witnessed on Saturday, July 13, was a man standing tall, taking a bullet hole in his ear. This was the “fifth bullet hole” which we referenced at the beginning of our blog. The previous President of the United States has not won every battle he has had to fight. He has been hindered by opposing forces at nearly every turn. The opposition has spied upon him from the very beginning, has used the “administrative state”, unelected bureaucrats, to foil many of his efforts and programs to make our Nation safer, more unified, while lifting the down-trodden out of poverty and into prosperity. They have charged him in national and state courts, with contrive, bogus charges, in hopes of imprisoning him for hundreds of years. They have attempted to remove him from ballots in an attempt to prevent citizens their right to vote for him. They have brought unproven charges against him and have taken millions of dollars away from his estate, even desiring to remove from him his ownership of properties. They have used a two-tier justice system to try and bring him down. They have called him every evil name they can think of and in fact congressional leaders and most of the media have used inflammatory language raising unfounded accusations leading opposing forces to anger to the point of violence. Finally, they have failed to assassinate him, leaving him with the “fifth bullet hole” in the ear we referenced earlier. And still, this man stands tall for our Nation.

We live in a very special Nation. Unique in its founding principles, based on ages of previous wisdom, formulated under the direction of Godly men and women. At FREEDOMGOFORTH.COM, we believe that the hand of God was a work to protect the previous President of the United States from the assassination attempt on July 13. God is at work in our lives and in the life of our Nation. We will close with the following text found in Romans 13: 1-5.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid Gods wrath but also for the sake of conscience.”

We are privileged to live in this Nation where FREEDOM and LIBERTY are for all legal citizens to enjoy and protect. We are God’s earthly instruments to be and do good. To be silent is not our job, but our job is to speak boldly and proudly and to proclaim eternal salvation to those who believe. “Fight! Fight! Fight!” for our Nation’s survival. Our Nation was founded with God’s providential hand at work, and our Nation is now witnessing His hand once again in the providential care provided to our last President of the United States. Do your part, however small and ineffectual it may seem to be, for our Creator works in mysterious ways, sometimes using processes and humans in ways we could never imagine, let alone orchestrate.

Okay. We hear your complaint once again. “There you go again, throwing big words or three-letter abbreviations at us! We just don’t understand and get confused with these terms.” We understand your frustration, but that’s the point of those who throw these terms around like free candy. They really don’t want you to understand what it is all about, hoping instead that you will just ignore it all and allow the words or letters heard to simply go in one ear and out the other. The problem lies in the fact that what is being disseminated can alter your existence and frustrate your efforts to appreciate, enjoy, and support your FREEDOM and LIBERTY, not just for yourself, but for your Nation as well.

We all know what a road intersection looks like, where two or more lanes of travel come together, or intersect with each other. Some lanes of travel are more well-traveled and may get preference over others less traveled. You may experience from time-to-time frustration trying to pull out into traffic from a store parking lot when attempting to pull out onto a four-lane road with traffic travelling at forty miles per hour. You could wait for minutes. Pulling across traffic going in a direction opposite to the direction of your preferred travel, without any kind of regulated stop signal, is not only time-consuming but can increase the dangers to you and your vehicle. It certainly impedes your progress in trying to get from where you are to where you want to go.

INTERSECTIONALITY is similar to what we described above but relates to how certain entities or groups within our society have preference over others. Emphasis has been placed on certain segments of our society who feel subjugated by others, so the term was created to bring awareness to this issue. Look at the picture below to better help understand its origins.

Well, there is another term mentioned above that we really don’t want to get into in this blog. Critical Race Theory, or CRT. We’ll set this term aside for maybe a latter blog. We’ll get to the term “DEI”, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”, later in this blog and how it all ties in together with INTERSECTIONALITY. When we strip all the bark of the tree and get down to the hardwood, we basically have a section of those in our society who feel disadvantaged and suppressed by other sections of our society. Those feeling so oppressed have joined forces to create this movement of INTERSECTIONALITY. They include people of color, primarily some blacks, some women, and many of those in the LGBTQIA+ movements. To address the dangers of INTERSECTIONALITY and DEI, consider just for a moment having a traffic light at every store along your main street. How effective would your transportation from your departure point to your destination point be? You may be able to get out more easily into the stream of traffic, but it would be so backed up at every traffic light that your progress toward your destination would be extended not simply by a matter of minutes, but by hours, and maybe even days!

DEI has been incorporated into many of our society’s firms, entities, businesses, organizations, and corporations for years. The attempt being made is to counter the perceived inequities in INTERSECTIONALITY. While it is true that many segments of our society face challenges not faced by other segments, what is dangerous about this push toward “equity” is that those who may be most qualified may not be the ones promoted to higher positions or offices. In a previous blog we talked about the concept known as THE PETER PRINCIPAL, where sometimes an individual is promoted to their level of incompetence. Just because you may belong to a group who feel suppressed, doesn’t mean you have the talents or abilities to handle higher levels of responsibility. To bring this point down to something all of us can relate to consider the following scenarios. Consider that you are about to be operated on with a procedure that can be life-threatening if not accomplished in the most skillful manner. Of all surgeons available, you have been assigned one not based upon skill but based on DEI, a person advanced to this job not based on skill, but based upon race, gender, and maybe even ideology, one that could be opposite to yours. How comfortable would you be for a successful outcome of your operation? Here is another scenario. Consider you are about to climb aboard an aircraft known to have had some maintenance problems in the past, some even leading to death of hundreds of passengers. Who do you want to Captain your flight? Would you prefer Captain “Sully” who landed his powerless passenger jet in the Hudson River saving all aboard, or do you want someone up front flying who was advanced to that position based only on their gender, race, and ideology? INTERSECTIONALITY and DEI is another way of imposing quotas on businesses and corporations and has been of late most observed in the center of our Nation’s government. Lest we forget, the United States “Supreme Court guts affirmative action, effectively ending race-conscious admissions”. Affirmative Action was used for years that allowed universities to consider a person’s race in the admittance process, and in doing so mandated racial percentages regardless of “challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned . . .”. (npr.org; updated June 29, 2023; Nina Totenberg.) But INTERSECTIONALITY and DEI have taken the place of Affirmative Action in a much broader way, extending well beyond the college institution experience, in a surreptitious way imposing “quotas” either by government mandate or due to the threat of government and social media retaliation.

Finally, INTERSECTIONALITY and DEI have not only invaded our social and business institutions but have reached deeply into the fabric of our National government. Consider for a moment what the current occupant of the White House said when preparing for a Supreme Court nomination. “The president also reiterated his commitment to nominating a Black woman to the nation’s highest court.” (cbsnews.com; updated on January 28, 2022; Kathryn Watson.) He was a man of his word. “[The current occupant of the White House] nominates Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman on Supreme Court.” (abcnews.go.com; February 25, 2022; Devin Dwyer.) So how deep was the pool of potential Justices for this position? “2.28% of all lawyers at firms were black women.” (forbes.com; updated March 20,2024; Jeffery Johnson, J.D.) In selecting the candidate for the Supreme Court, over 97% of all potential attorneys were excluded from the process. Now we are not saying the person selected was not the most qualified, but do you really believe she was the most qualified among all attorneys within our Nation? This was INTERSECTIONALITY and DEI at work.

Our FREEDOM and LIBERTY are being peeled away from us right before our eyes. We have allowed those in charge of our National government to use restrictive ideologies to put many in charge of vital functions of our National infrastructures. It is impossible to claim the best and brightest, the ones most qualified because of “challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned” have filled the powerful positions within the halls of our current National government. If you recognize the dangers posed by INTERSECTIONALITY and DEI, then you must vote to replace those currently in power of our National government. Do this for yourself, for your prodigy, and to be counted among those who through the ages have fought and sacrificed much to establish and maintain the greatest Nation that has ever existed on the face of the earth. Put feet to your prayers and actions to your words.

THE PLEDGE OF ALLIGIANCE. Who and what are we pledging to and for? Sometimes this process sounds a little Communistic, where we are being forced to show solidarity to the powers in control of our lives and destiny. We believe a little bit of history is in order place THE PLEDGE into its proper context.

“The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by the socialist minister Francis Bellamy (1855-1931). It was originally published in The Youth’s Companion on September 8, 1892. Bellamy had hoped that the pledge would be used by citizens in any country. In its original form it read: ‘I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’ In 1923, the words, ‘the Flag of the United States of America’ were added.” “In 1954, in response to the Communist threat of the times, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words ‘under God,‘ creating the 31-word pledge we say today.” (ushistory.org.) Going back slightly further, “The first version, with a text different from the one used at present, was written in 1885 by Captain George Thatcher Balch, a Union Army officer in the Civil War who later authored a book on how to teach patriotism to children in public schools.” (wikipedia.org.)

Other things were incorporated into saying the pledge, some gestures still stand, and some do not. Men are still asked to remove non-religious and non-military head ware, and soldiers are asked to offer a hand salute, straight forearm and hand, with the palm down, to the forehead. What is not done any more is to offer a hand extended upwards, with the palm up, toward the flag, but with the rise of the Third Reich and their salute, that similar gesture was dropped by the U.S., asking instead that the right hand be placed over the heart area. THE PLEDGE is still given when opening “. . . legislative sessions of the United States Senate and countless other government, public and private gatherings.” (religionnews.com.) But a review of the history of THE PLEDGE is not the only purpose for this blog.

First, and more simply stated, is that the currently used pledge should be recited slightly differently than how many say it. When saying the phrase, “. . . one nation under God . . . “ There is NO comma after “one nation”! There is NO pause between the words “nation” and “under”! (oklahoman.com; one among many other articles.)

Call it a pet peeve, but we at FREEDOMGOFORTH.COM see an enormous amount of hypocrisy when it comes to those on the left who say our “democracy” is being threatened by the return of the former President of the United States. The left constantly and irreverently claim that our Nation is a “Democracy”, when in fact, it is a Constitutional Republic. Yes, there are democratic principles within our Republic, but our system of government was set up to not simply always favor the majority, but to favor equality for all. A smaller minority could be voted out into extinction if their rights under our Constitution are not protected. Smaller, less populated states, have the same weight when it comes to National issues as do those larger, more populated, states. The Electoral College helps to provide this protection for all states equally. So does the makeup of the Senate, where each state, regardless of size and population, have equal representation, two Senators per state. But this leads us into the major point of our blog today.

The major hypocrisy displayed by those on the political left, who keep claiming they are the saviors of “democracy”, fail themselves to understand that our Nation is NOT a “democracy”. We started our blog today talking about THE PLEDGE. Yes, it was a good history lesson, but the purpose for starting our blog this way was for this last point in our blog today. When those on the left say THE PLEDGE, do they understand that they are pledging their allegiance to “the REPUBLIC “, not to “the democracy”. Those on the left are hypocritical, duplicitous, and to say it in maybe a less threatening way, ill-informed and unknowledgeable. Our FREEDOM and LIBERTY are threatened by those who practice gaslighting and “newspeak” (see our blog on June 16, 2024, titled, “INGSOC”.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”