Things my grandfather used to say

Things my grandfather used to say: By Sean Dietrich (Sean of the South)

Be nice; because if you’re not being nice, what are you being?

Don’t cut in line. Don’t interrupt. Don’t pout. Never, ever take the last biscuit.

Smile, it increases your face value.

The wise man knoweth how to dumb it down.

You can’t think your way into the right action, but you can act your way into the right thinking.

Try your hardest, do your absolute best, and when all else fails, cuss.

Always obey your mother when she is around.

Everyone should pee in his own backyard at least once.

Listen to the elderly, they’re smarter than you. Unless they are men.

Treat other people the way you want to be treated. If the Golden Rule were actually practiced today, there would be no karaoke bars.

You never know what a consummate ass you can be until you give someone else advice.

Never judge a Denny’s menu by the photographs.

Let him who is without sin throw the first boomerang.

Whenever something stinks, check your own diaper first.

Don’t point fingers unless you're standing in front of a mirror.

Always, always, always trust your gut.

Tomorrow is a day with no mistakes in it, but you’ll change all that.

Be nice to kids, one day they’ll be running your nursing home.

Feed strays.

When in doubt, do it the way your wife told you.

Never pass up an opportunity to hold a baby.

A good wife always forgives her husband when she is wrong.

‘Fess up when you mess up. Admit when you’re wrong. Don’t gloat when you’re right. And above all, don’t act like you know everything. Know-it-alls make life so incredibly difficult for those of us who actually do.

Change your oil before you think it needs to be changed.

Quit watching the news for 72 hours and just see how you feel.

Doctors don’t know everything. Neither do preachers. Neither do granddaddies.

Your heart knows a lot more than you give it credit.

Life is too short to work for bosses who treat you like crap.

Make a resolution to rid yourself of all bad habits, you can start with perfectionism.

Never, ever be lazy unless you absolutely feel like it.

Always bury politicians at least six feet below the soil, because deep down they’re good people.

Everyone is screwed up. The only ones who aren’t screwed up live in graveyards.

If you love someone, love them hard. If you hate someone, love them even harder.

There is nothing half as exciting as canceled plans.

If you’re hogging all the credit, you’re going to hog all the blame, too.

This is not the end.

Neither was that.

Ninety-nine percent of the things you worry about will never happen.

If you really want to believe in God, you already do.

Always listen to your grandparents. And if you don’t have any, then you can always listen to mine.

HLN's long journey from founding in 1982

HLN is having a Closer marathon this weekend my husband said. He loves Closer, and since he found it recently on a channel that has been airing it about 6 p.m. I think he's gone through it twice. HLN? Isn't that a cable news channel? I said. So I looked it up. Here's Wikipedia shortened to its most recent merger.

"With the 2022 merger of CNN parent WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery, HLN became a sister to Discovery's true-crime channel Investigation Discovery (ID). In December 2022, new CNN president Chris Licht announced that HLN would abandon original live news programming entirely as part of a reorganization, with HLN now being overseen by ID's staff, and news programming limited to a simulcast of CNN This Morning for contractual reasons."

I thought CNN was in there somewhere.

Oral care for tips for caregivers

I get many inquiries to review books and to post items on my blog. Most I don't accept, but this one on dementia and dental care is one I hadn't thought about. Now that we're not looking at mask mouth (I hope), time to look at mouths.

https://www.newmouth.com/resources/dementia/There are several things caregivers can do to help maintain good dental health for people with dementia.

For example:

• Help the patient brush his or her teeth after every meal. If this isn’t reasonable, have them rinse their mouths out with water after eating or a few times each day. Or, consider wiping out their mouth with gauze or a wet cloth, especially after consuming sugary foods and beverages.
• If you’re reminding someone how to brush, offer short, simple instructions. Go step-by-step and be as patient as possible.
• Demonstrate by brushing your teeth. Brushing together is a great way to help people with dementia remember what they should be doing. It also avoids embarrassment in the early and middle stages of the disease.
• Find a dentist who has experience working with dementia or other special needs patients. This makes those twice-yearly visits less stressful. Also, make sure the patient’s dentist has the contact information of other healthcare providers caring for the patient.

What public figure is the most dangerous?

I get asked, said Mike Pompeo, former Secretary of State, ‘Who’s the most dangerous person in the world? Is it Chairman Kim, is it Xi Jinping?’ The most dangerous person in the world is Randi Weingarten,” Pompeo said.

 
“It’s not a close call. If you ask, ‘Who’s the most likely to take this republic down?’ It would be the teacher’s unions, and the filth that they’re teaching our kids, and the fact that they don’t know math and reading or writing,” the former top U.S. diplomat added. "

From The Hill.com 11/21/22. I think Weingarten responded with something blaming Trump and the right wing for children not being able to read, write and do math. She's also not very creative.

The revival at Asbury

There's a revival going on at Asbury University in Kentucky. No one knows why or how, no planners came to town and set up the venue with rock bands, room reservations for seminars, housing and food. God arrived and did his work and the young people prayed. It has happened before--at least 4 times in the 20th century at Asbury. People are coming from all over the nation, some from other countries. These are young people who have had incredible challenges from our culture all their lives--all manner of evil available at the touch of a finger on a small screen; from k-12 and beyond their education system has filled their minds with fears and anxiety about the planet; the entertainers have wooed them with all manner of gross and disgusting images, thoughts, and words; their parents' material luxury has stunted their appreciation for work and merit; not even their science classes in college are safe as they have been lied to about their sexuality and ethnicity. If I were in college, I'd be on my knees, too. Oh praise God, I can join them right here at my desk. Pray especially for their protection, as Satan and his helpers will certainly not be pleased with this.

Isaiah 40: 28-31

28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary,
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.

https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/paul-prather/article272483797.html

https://thebaptistpaper.org/god-is-moving-10-observations-from-asbury-revival/

Trump speaks about the Witch Hunt

"I have been newly reinstated on Twitter and various other social media platforms, and my Tweets, which were taken down by Big Tech censorship, and thus seen by very few, have just been made public. My clear and unequivocal statements on January 6, 2021, which I conveyed to my over 100 million followers, are no longer under “wraps.” The highly partisan January 6th Committee did not want these messages to be part of the Historical and Legal Record, but they have now been fully restored—a sad shock to what I call the Unselect Committee of Political Hacks and Thugs." From President Trump, continue reading: https://sharylattkisson.com/2023/02/read-a-statement-by-president-donald-j-trump-on-the-witch-hunt-of-january-6th/?

Fighting the misinformation police--Check My Ads

The targets, almost invariably, are conservative publications such as Human Events and The Post Millennial, and right-wing media figures such as Dan Bongino and Charlie Kirk. https://dailycaller.com/2022/02/03/check-my-ads-reid-hoffman-good-information-inc/

1. Check My Ads, a group started by Sleeping Giants co-founder and activist Nandini Jammi and advertising consultant Claire Atkin, bills itself as “adtech’s first watchdog” and claims to “cut disinformation off at the source,” invariably targeting conservative publications such as Human Events and The Post Millennial and right-wing media figures such as Dan Bongino and Charlie Kirk.
2. While Check My Ads’ self-declared mission includes fighting against disinformation, the group works with several figures and organizations that have themselves pushed misleading or false content.
3. Both Jammi and Atkin serve on the advisory committee of Good Information Inc., an investment vehicle backed by LinkedIn founder and left-wing philanthropist Reid Hoffman and financier George Soros, and led by Democratic strategist Tara McGowan.
4. Check My Ads’ main project is an initiative to “defund the insurrectionists,” which launched Jan. 5 and seeks to pressure advertisers to abandon several right-wing media figures that Jammi and Atkin believe “incited” the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

Look out--they want your cars, even the EVs

"Replacing all gasoline-powered cars with electric vehicles won’t be enough to prevent the world from overheating. So people will have to give up their cars. That’s the alarming conclusion of a new report from the University of California, Davis and “a network of academics and policy experts” called the Climate and Community Project."

Everything bad begins in "academe." Look out. They don't have enough to do, so they just try to destroy society.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-climate-crusaders-are-coming-for-electric-cars-too-global-warming-energy-power-fossil-fuels-environment-31a692ca

How old is this guy?

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events.

The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.

The Grandfather replied, "Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:
' television
' penicillin
' polio shots
' frozen foods
' Xerox
' contact lenses
' Frisbees and
' the pill

There were no:
' credit cards
' laser beams or
' ball-point pens

Man had not invented :
' pantyhose
' air conditioners
' dishwashers
' clothes dryers
' and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and
' space travel was only in Flash Gordon books.

Your Grandmother and I got married first,... and then lived together..

Every family had a father and a mother. Until I was 25, I called every woman older than me, "mam". And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, "Sir".

We were before gay-rights, computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.

Our lives were governed by the Bible, good judgment, and common sense. We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.

Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege... We thought fast food was eating half a biscuit while running to catch the school bus.

Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.

Draft dodgers were those who closed front doors as the evening breeze started.

Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.

We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.

We listened to Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios. And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.

If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan' on it, it was junk.

The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam....

Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of.

We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel. And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.

You could buy a new Ford Coupe for $600, but who could afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.

In my day:
' "grass" was mowed,
' "coke" was a cold drink,
' "pot" was something your mother cooked in and
' "rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby.
' "Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office,
' "chip" meant a piece of wood,
' "hardware" was found in a hardware store and
' "software" wasn't even a word.

And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby.

How old do you think I am?

I bet you have this old man in mind...you are in for a shock!

Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.

Are you ready?????

This man would be 76years old. today (2023)

(sent by a friend)

----------------------------------

I don't recall cars being that cheap, or gasoline either.

What is the purpose of public higher education in a democratic society?

"Principally, it’s to help students acquire the habits of mind and heart necessary to live as informed, virtuous citizens. I say “principally” because there are other educational aims, or purposes, to a university, such as the cultivation of intellectual autonomy or “universal knowledge,” as John Henry Newman once argued. A university should also aim at career preparation, skill acquisition, and other learning objectives specific to one’s “major.” But United States higher education should primarily be concerned with helping to guarantee the successes associated with the American Experiment; it should educate in view of the Common Good."

True, this was published in a conservation publication (City Journal), and the author was a DeSantis appointee (Henry Mack), but it's been at least 50 years, and maybe 85 since higher education promoted these virtues and objectives. Read the rest at https://mailchi.mp/city-journal/weekly-update-usfs-dei-cult-populism-scotus-nuclear-power-ken-burns-more scroll to the bottom. Today you'd have to avoid higher education in order to be virtuous citizens. They'd have to boot all the woke faculty (probably 90%) before it could be an education for the Common Good.

Daily Signal publishes top woke corporations

I shop at both of these. Find Out Which Companies Promote Leftism (dailysignal.com)

"#4.  CVS. The drugstore chain famed for its mile-long receipts is apparently woke on everything except wasting paper. It “advocates for the Equality Act and transgender participation in girls’ sports” and “the company signed an open letter opposing a Florida bill that would prevent teaching gender identity and sexual orientation in schools to kids in K-3rd grade.” CVS gives employees abortion travel “benefits” and “fired a Catholic nurse practitioner after she refused to prescribe or administer abortifacients, citing her religious beliefs.” In a somewhat surprising twist, though, CVS does say it protects employees’ differing viewpoints.

#7.  Kroger.  If you thought your views on gay marriage would be irrelevant in a supermarket, think again: The grocery store chain “fired two Christian employees who requested not to wear the gay pride logo on their work aprons.” Kroger also “enables community donations to Planned Parenthood” and will pay travel costs for employees to get an abortion. " 

There's a new database that rates the "wokeness" of corporations. I was very sad to see that CVS was #4 and Kroger #7. Neither are my favorite stores, but they are convenient and easy to get to. They are located in a wealthy suburban area, one that does not reflect their values, yet they are back stabbing us as they take our money. https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/02/06/find-out-which-companies-promote-leftism/? Mattel has a trans doll, and many have fired Christians for refusing to support the company's LGBTQ pins or flags or emblems. They have reeducation camps for executives and support the misnamed "Equity Act." 

This is ESG lite--a political tool to turn us all into good little globalists with China in charge. Smaller, non-compliant companies will be bought up or destroyed.  At one time, all these companies stood for merit, hard work, fair play, good service and a good return for their investors. Now, nothing matters except skin color and sex, while the CEOs laugh all the way to the bank as they play the game.

How nations slip from greatness

Although this is circulating as "anonymous" at various sites it is from the opinion column of Don Feder, Front Page, June 17, 2021. https://www.frontpagemag.com/how-nations-slip-greatness.../ Democrats call it hyperbole and misinformation. You may disagree, but this is "his truth," and Dems are all for that.

"Men, like nations, think they’re eternal. What man in his 20s or 30s doesn’t believe, at least subconsciously, that he’ll live forever?

In the springtime of youth, an endless summer beckons. As you pass 70, it’s harder to hide from reality.
Nations too have seasons. Imagine a Roman of the 2nd. century contemplating an empire that stretched from Britain to the Near East, thinking: This will endure forever.

Forever was about 500 years, give or take.

France was the thing in the 17th and 18th centuries. Now the land of Charles Martel is on its way to becoming part of the Muslim ummah.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the sun never set on the British empire. Now Albion exists in a perpetual twilight. Its 95-year-old sovereign is a fitting symbol for a nation in terminal decline.

In the 1980s, Japan seemed poised to buy the world. Business schools taught Japanese management techniques. Today, its birth rate is so low and its population is aging so rapidly, that an industry has sprung up to remove the remains of elderly Japanese who die alone.

I was born in 1946, almost at the midpoint of the 20th century – the American century. America’s prestige and influence were never greater. Thanks to the Greatest Generation, we won a World War fought over most of Europe, Asia and the Pacific. We reduced Germany to rubble and put the rising sun to bed.

It set the stage for almost half a century of unprecedented prosperity. We stopped the spread of communism in Europe and Asia, and fought international terrorism. We rebuilt our enemies and lavished foreign aid on much of the world.

We built skyscrapers and rockets to the moon. We conquered Polio and COVID. We explored the mysteries of the Universe and the wonders of DNA, the blueprint of life.

But where is the glory that once was Rome?

America has moved from a relatively free economy to socialism – which has worked so well nowhere in the world. We’ve gone from a republican government guided by a constitution to a regime of revolving elites. We have less freedom with each passing year.

Like a signpost to the coming reign of terror, the cancel culture is everywhere. We’ve traded the American Revolution for the Cultural Revolution.

The pathetic creature in the White House is an empty vessel filled by his handlers. At the G-7 Summit, Dr. Jill had to lead him like a child.

In 1961, when we were young and vigorous, our leader was too. Now a feeble nation is technically led by the oldest man to ever serve in the presidency.

We can’t defend our borders, our history (including monuments to past greatness) or our streets. Our cities have become anarchist playgrounds.

We are a nation of dependents, mendicants, and misplaced charity. Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.

The president of the United States can’t even quote the beginning of the Declaration of Independence correctly. Ivy League graduates routinely fail history tests that 5th graders could pass a generation ago.
Crime rates soar and we blame the 2nd. Amendment and slash police budgets.

Our culture is certifiably insane. We have men who marry men. Men who think they’re women. People who fight racism by seeking to convince members of one race that they’re inherently evil, and others that they are perpetual victims. A psychiatrist lecturing at Yale said she fantasizes about “unloading a revolver into the head of any white person.”

We slaughter the unborn in the name of freedom, while our birth rate dips lower year by year.
Our national debt is so high that we can no longer even pretend that we will repay it one day. It’s a $28-trillion monument to our improvidence and refusal to confront reality.

Our “entertainment” is sadistic, nihilistic and as enduring as a candy bar wrapper thrown in the trash.

 Our music is noise that spans the spectrum from annoying to repulsive.

Patriotism is called insurrection, treason celebrated, and perversion sanctified.

A man in blue gets less respect than a man in a dress.

We’re asking soldiers to fight for a nation our leaders no longer believe in.

How meekly most submitted to Fauci-ism (the regime of face masks and hand sanitizers) shows the death of the American spirit.

How do nations slip from greatness to obscurity?

• Fighting endless wars they can’t or won’t win
• Accumulating massive debt far beyond their ability to repay
• Refusing to guard their borders, allowing the nation to be inundated by an alien horde
• Surrendering control of their cities to mob rule
• Allowing indoctrination of the young
• Moving from a republican form of government to an oligarchy
• Losing national identity
• Indulging indolence
• Abandoning faith and family – the bulwarks social order.

In America, every one of these symptoms is pronounced, indicating an advanced stage of the disease.
Even if the cause seems hopeless, do we not have an obligation to those who sacrificed so much to give us what we had?

I’m surrounded by ghosts urging me on: the Union soldiers who held Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg, the battered bastards of Bastogne, those who served in the cold hell of Korea, the guys who went to the jungles of Southeast Asia and came home to be reviled or neglected.

This is the nation that took in my immigrant grandparents, whose uniform my father and most of my uncles wore in the Second World War. I don’t want to imagine a world without America, even though it becomes increasingly likely.

During Britain’s darkest hour, when its professional army was trapped at Dunkirk and a German invasion seemed imminent, Churchill reminded his countrymen, “Nations that go down fighting rise again, and those that surrender tamely are finished.”

The same might be said of causes. If we let America slip through our fingers, if we lose without a fight, what will posterity say of us?

While the prognosis is far from good, only God knows if America’s day in the sun is over." By Don Feder

Normal or crazy

“The dividing line in America is no longer between right or left,” Sarah Sanders said Tuesday night. “The choice is between normal or crazy."

In case you can't decide who is crazy and what is normal, let me remind you that at the SOTU speech, in public, and on TV, some Democrats wore "I love abortion" pins instead of the American flag pin. And they were proud of their evil hearts. Proud of evil, sin and death to the unborn.

Look at the Minnesota law--up to due date; look at the California law.  Now that's certifiably crazy.

Sarah at 40--it's good to have her back

Governor Sarah Sanders in response to Biden's State of Denial on Tuesday said, "At 40, I’m the youngest governor in the country. At 80, he’s the oldest president in American history. I'm the first woman to lead my state, he's the first man to surrender his presidency to a woke mob that can’t even tell you what a woman is."

Republicans are being silly if they think Biden won't be reelected because of his deficiencies and obvious lies. Look who they elected in Pennsylvania--a rich man who's had a stroke and dresses like a bum. They seem to love to elect people like that because they are more easily controlled by those who can't get elected.

Joe Biden plagiarizes Trump's Maga speeches

Although I didn't watch the "State of Denial" on Tuesday, I think I heard about 5 or 6 analyses, mostly conservative, with clips from the fawning, lapdog, non-curious media with their million dollar salaries.

 
1) He tried to out-Maga Trump--appeal for the blue collar vote, the patriotic, police support and praise and bring American business back home. If he'd been coherent I would have thought it was Trump up there mumbling. We heard all that in 2016. It just doesn't work for Joe. All his personal millions have come from China and Ukraine via political deals organized by his son; Trump's came from being in business and his successful TV shows.

2) You don't even need to be a news addict to see both the blatant lies, and the lies he never told, like about the border and the balloon. China and Ukraine barely got a mention.

 
3) The videos of him in 1975, 1984 and 1995 proposing (did he say 4 times?) sunset rules on social security were a nice touch by the Biden-watchers. Sort of deflates his attempts to terrify people getting Social Security (not me, I'm not eligible).

4) I'm thinking the kiss on the lips between his wife and Kamala's husband was a set up to stir the media pot so they'd ignore his other terrible lies and gaffs--and they all fell for it, complete with background music and valentines.

https://nypost.com/2023/02/08/biden-supported-sunsetting-all-federal-programs-including-social-security-and-medicare-as-a-young-senator/

If I get dementia, by Anonymous

This was recently posted on Facebook. It's always a sobering reminder. It seems every month or so I see someone who is acting a little differently.  So perhaps it's time for understanding. . .

“If I get dementia, I want my friends and family to embrace my reality. If I think my spouse is still alive, or if I think we’re visiting my parents for dinner, let me believe those things. I’ll be much happier for it.
If I get dementia, don’t argue with me about what is true for me versus what is true for you.
If I get dementia, and I am not sure who you are, do not take it personally. My timeline is confusing to me.
If I get dementia, and can no longer use utensils, do not start feeding me. Instead, switch me to a finger-food diet, and see if I can still feed myself.
If I get dementia, and I am sad or anxious, hold my hand and listen. Do not tell me that my feelings are unfounded.
If I get dementia, I don’t want to be treated like a child. Talk to me like the adult that I am.
If I get dementia, I still want to enjoy the things that I’ve always enjoyed. Help me find a way to exercise, read, and visit with friends.
If I get dementia, ask me to tell you a story from my past.
If I get dementia, and I become agitated, take the time to figure out what is bothering me.
If I get dementia, treat me the way that you would want to be treated.
If I get dementia, make sure that there are plenty of snacks for me in the house. Even now if I don’t eat I get angry, and if I have dementia, I may have trouble explaining what I need.
If I get dementia, don’t talk about me as if I’m not in the room.
If I get dementia, don’t feel guilty if you cannot care for me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s not your fault, and you’ve done your best. Find someone who can help you, or choose a great new place for me to live.
If I get dementia, and I live in a dementia care community, please visit me often.
If I get dementia, don’t act frustrated if I mix up names, events, or places. Take a deep breath. It’s not my fault.
If I get dementia, make sure I always have my favorite music playing within earshot.
If I get dementia, and I like to pick up items and carry them around, help me return those items to their original places.
If I get dementia, don’t exclude me from parties and family gatherings.
If I get dementia, know that I still like receiving hugs or handshakes.
If I get dementia, remember that I am still the person you know and love... “

Copy and paste in Honor of someone you know or knew who has dementia/alzheimer's.....

Article 2 Section 2

I've been reading the Constitution. The President doesn't even get the honor of being Article I--that goes to the Congress. The President is Article 2. And Section 1 of Article 2 explains how he is elected. Not until we get to Section 2 of Article 2 do we get to the job description: he is the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy; then the power to make treaties and appoint ambassadors and fill some vacancies in Congress. Section 3 says the President shall from time to time give a State of the Union. Section 4 says he can be impeached. That's about it.
So in the State of the Union I think he should mention how he and his advisors blew it because that balloon could have been anything, even chemicals or another virus, but most likely gathering information on how cowardly the poorly prepared government is, and it was covered by Section 2 of Article 2. If the people of Montana hadn't noticed and alerted the media it could still be "calling home."

Afghanistan
Ukraine-Russia
China

One job and he's done nothing but put our country in danger since he took office.

Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

Does anyone know why Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for doing nothing? Even his ego probably didn't request it. I recently noticed a comment about that committee which choses the winners and losers in an Ethiopian newspaper (from 2021, but it's still true). Someone is always at war in that part of the world, and we hear little about it here in the U.S.

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has developed a lazy habit, at best, and, at worst, displayed dubious motives when it awards its Peace Prize to distant third-world countries like Myanmar and Ethiopia.

It never adequately does its homework when it throws prizes at leaders who promote their perverted version of ‘peace’; always couched in words amenable to Western ears, but always with ulterior priorities in their minds.

This is especially so when the committee adds other factors than unadulterated peace in its calculation, such as ‘the indispensability of Ethiopia’s stability to the region’ or ‘promoting democracy in the region’ that the West has been peddling with for decades, to the detriment of minor actors in the region. A little bit of vetting would have provided the committee with a complex picture of Abiy, enough to put doubts even on the biased minds, however implicit, of its members." ethiopia-insight.com

George Santos' lies

 

Loneliness affects health

"The Weaponization of Loneliness" [book] offers a message of hope. We can resist this psychological warfare if we have strong bonds in our families, faith communities, and friendships. Let's resolve to talk to one another openly and often, especially about the consequences of giving in to social pressures and media hype. Indeed, totalitarians always seek to destroy private life because it is the very fount of freedom. (promo)
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/.../the.../1142494107

I haven't read this book, but research in the social and medical sciences had long shown for decades the importance of faith communities and friendships for good health. (Remember "Bowling alone?") So what do you do when the government tells the churches to close because they aren't essential? Well, we know the answer to that one. The churches (all but a few) complied.

Two years ago (too late to help much) research at Harvard reported by Fee.org noted the damage isolation had done. "The most obvious solution to the accelerating loneliness epidemic during the pandemic response is to lift the lockdowns and related public health policies that keep people cruelly separated from one another." Follow the science didn't apply to the obvious; the "science" was too busy trying to destroy President Trump. But research did find younger people were hurt more than older. Liberals and the over-educated academics and politicians particularly revered the bad advice of Fauci and the Biden Administration which damaged the young both physically and mentally for years ahead.

Yesterday I stopped at Panera's for a cup of coffee.  A group of about 12 women rearranged tables for their get-together.  Didn't look like a church group--could have been retired teachers.  As they were gathering, I heard one of them say she'd had Covid three times.  Remember three years ago how thrilled we were to get the vaccination, only to learn later the protection only lasted about 3 months?