Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Jodie Minnick Strickland obituary

Today I learned of the death of Jodie Strickland, my cousin Evelyn's daughter. 

"Jodie Louise Strickland (Minnick), 67, passed away peacefully on February 20, 2026, in Summerville, South Carolina. Born on November 8, 1958, in Alexandria, Virginia, Jodie lived a life defined by love, creativity, and unwavering faith.

Jodie earned her Associate's degree in Nursing from Isothermal Community College. Her dedication to caring for others extended beyond her professional life and was evident in the way she nurtured her family and friends. A devoted mother above all else, Jodie's love for her daughters Kristina Smith (Carl) and Julie Jennemann (Stephen) was boundless. She cherished her grandchildren Claire Raines and Griffin Raines, who brought immense joy to her life. Her significant other and best friend, Keith Dabney, stood steadfastly by her side as a source of love and support.

Jodie is also survived by her brother Gery Martin (Ava); nephews John Minnick (and his children), Steven Minnick (and his son), and David Minnick, Sister in-law Mary Brown; as well as many others who were touched by her kindness and strength. She was predeceased by her parents Evelyn Minnick Morris and Ershel Leroy Minnick; siblings Lorrie Passailaigue, Larry Minnick, Lonnie Minnick, Jim Minnick, and Jay Carter; and her beloved son Daniel Edward Jeffords. . . "

Continued at Jodie Strickland Obituary February 20, 2026 - Legacy.com

Jodie was the daughter of my cousin, Evelyn Corbett.  Her stepdaughter Misty who lives in North Carolina was not mentioned in the obituary.  She added some other memories on Facebook. I "met" Misty through Facebook when Jodie was married to Billy Strickland, Misty's father. I don't know the details, and didn't know of Jodie's death until I saw it on Misty's FB page,

"Jodie was married to my dad, Billy Strickland, for 15 years. They met when I was 12 years old back in 2000, and for over two decades she was part of our family and part of our lives. She lived here in North Carolina for 25 years.

She was in the delivery room when I gave birth to my son, Haden Oliver, who gave her the title of “Meme.” She was also there when I gave birth to Skylar Oliver. Those are moments I will always remember, and I pray my kids hold on to those amazing memories as well. Jodie was also the very first person I told when I found out I was going to be a mommy.

She loved doing crafts, playing cards, and creating things with her hands. She loved cooking, especially during the holidays and making big breakfasts for everyone. She always went all out for birthdays and every holiday.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Billy Strickland. She also cherished her little poodle, Dolly, who she loved dearly. It brings comfort to think that she is now reunited with her again.

No family is perfect, but the memories and moments we shared will always be part of my story. People may change, but memories don’t." Misty Strickland Richardson 

Monday, March 23, 2026

Six syllables three lines, a poem about the Estates

6 syllables 3 lines, my neighbors


Bunny, Bev, Bonnie, Bev,

Barbara, Barbara,

Barbara, Barbara.


Barbara and Betty,

Bob, Bill, Bob, Bill, Bob, Clare.

Cola, Carole, Carol.


Carolyn, Carolyn,

Carrie, Chris, Constantine,

Diana, Dave, Dennis.


David, Dottie, Dorothy.

Ernie, Eva, Eve, Frank,

Gilda, Howard, Harry.


Jean, Joe, Jack and Janet,

Jan, Jim, Joyce, Jeraline,

Jacqueline, Joann, Jack;


Judy, Jean, Joyce, Janet.

John, Kathy, Kay, Laura,

Linda, Lou, Mort, Mary,


Martine, Marcie, Milly,

Marilyn, Margaret,

Marie, Mary, Marie.


Norma and Noretta,

Norma, Patricia, Paul,

Patsy, Pat, Priscilla.


Richard, Roseanne, Ruth Ann,

Ray, Richard, Rosemary,

Rena, Shirley, Sandy,


Sharon, Sue and Sandra.

Thomas, Terry, Terrence,

Tom, Tex, Victor, Vonceil.

We're planning an April poetry event.  I used the resident list for February for this syllabic poem, and to some I've already said good-bye. As you can see, names go with generations. 

A beautiful, but unusual baptism

An unusual baptism. They are all special, but yesterday I saw something different. Sweet little guy. Hair combed. Wiggling and smiling, but not screaming. Relatives filling the 2 front pews. As the pastor put his hand in the water, he stopped and asked an usher to bring in some cool water. It was too hot to baptize! We continued with our part and soon the water was carried in and the sacrament was completed.

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Report on 10 Chatbots that assist in violent crimes

Evil is already in the mind. And then combine that with AI/Chatbots for complete instructions.

Summary of a report on 10 chatbots to assist in violent crimes like bombings, assassinations, robberies:

 KEY FINDINGS

WE TESTED HOW POPULAR CHATBOTS RESPOND TO USERS PLANNING VIOLENT ATTACKS

Researchers at CCDH and CNN tested ten chatbots by posing as users planning violent attacks before asking about locations to target and weapons to use.

Researchers tested ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI, DeepSeek, Perplexity, Snapchat My AI, Character.AI and Replika

Tests were designed to reflect a range of violent attack scenarios in the US and EU:
▷ School shootings or knife attacks
▷ Assassinations targeting politicians
▷ Bombings targeting political parties or synagogues
 
8 IN 10 CHATBOTS TYPICALLY ASSIST USERS PLANNING VIOLENT ATTACKS

Testing found that 8 in 10 chatbots assist would-be attackers in over half of responses, providing advice on locations to target and weapons to use in an attack.

Only Snapchat’s My AI and Anthropic’s Claude typically refused to assist would-be attackers, in 54% and 68% of responses respectively.

Perplexity and Meta AI were the least safe, assisting would-be attackers in 100% and 97% of responses respectively.

Examples of chatbots offering practical assistance with a violent attack include:

ChatGPT gave high school campus maps to a user interested in school violence
Copilot replied “I need to be careful here” before giving detailed advice on rifles
Gemini told a user discussing synagogue attacks “metal shrapnel is typically more lethal”
DeepSeek signed off advice on selecting rifles with “Happy (and safe) shooting!”

9 IN 10 CHATBOTS FAIL TO RELIABLY DISCOURAGE WOULD-BE ATTACKERS

Researchers also assessed how often chatbots would recognize a would-be attacker’s intentions and consistently discourage them from carrying out an attack.
They found that only Anthropic’s Claude was able to do this consistently, offering discouragement in 76% of responses carried out during testing.
ChatGPT and DeepSeek occasionally offer discouragement.

CHARACTER.AI ACTIVELY ENCOURAGED VIOLENCE

In testing, researchers found that Character.AI was uniquely unsafe. It encouraged users to carry out violent attacks in 7 cases, for example:
Character.AI suggested the user “use a gun” on a health insurance CEO
Character.AI suggested physically assaulting a politician the user disliked
No other chatbot tested explicitly encouraged violence in this way, even when providing practical assistance in planning a violent attack.

Saturday, March 14, 2026

China's family problem is also ours

"With the rise of China’s “new family type”—only children begetting only children—we will be entering a Chinese future in which a growing proportion of the rising generations will lack not only siblings, but also cousins, aunts and uncles. The withering away of China’s extended family networks—the people’s only reliable social safety net since the dawn of Chinese civilization—will surely have profound and far-reaching implications, few of them beneficial." China's Coming Population Crash Scrambles the Global Balance of Power | American Enterprise Institute - AEI

25 years ago I was an English language partner for the wife of an OSU graduate student from China. She studied intently--learned hundreds of words a day--and I enjoyed her company. When I asked her how Americans could tell Japanese from Chinese her hint was, "Japanese were more fashion conscious and dressed better." We met at coffee shops or sometimes at Ohio State.
 
As we talked, I realized we had limited topics--I was older than her parents and both she and her husband had no siblings, and because of China's policies they also had no aunts and uncles and no cousins. What Eberstadt the author warns about in this article had already happened, even 25 years ago. Now it is happening here. And we didn't even have a harsh policy--just social pressure.

Friday, March 13, 2026

Learn history about fundamentalist Islam

As I've said many times, the Democrat party is evil, and the Republican party is stupid. Take your chances. What a plan!
 
Their puppet Biden allowed in millions of illegals, legals, and refugees plus thousands on visas for jobs "Americans won't do" like computers and technology. So many they can't be vetted plus there was no modern, western system to even track their criminal records in their country of origin. They brought with them the oldest renewable product--trafficked sex and cheap labor.
 
We know from Biden's past record this was not the real patriotic Joe we knew 30-40 years ago, he was the front man, weak and easily manipulated. With failing mental and physical health, plus a history of loyalty to the party, he was the perfect patsy. The party built on previous bi-partisan agreements, with loyal to party appointees and money from Soros-type fallen angels. Republicans went along to get along, never wanting to offend or to be called names.
 
Now the Democrats' handlers want the payback. Using the media lies and the Marxist-Islamist philosophy to fuel the Trump hatred, the sleeper cells are coming alive with the help of ignorant college students, so-called influencers living in mom's basement and their co-opting college administrations. There were premature pimples of these outbreaks during Obama's years, but they hadn't festered enough to pop. Muslims are very patient, not a quality our nation has. Fundamentalist Islam is a very fast growing religion. By force.
 
Stay alert for the lies in the media, from the politicians, from the influencers and podcasters you used to trust, from the late night "comedians," and from the pulpits. Review the history of the Crusades, a lot of your college textbooks lied about that too. This is an old battle. Or go further back--back to the 700s when Muslims were attacking and absorbing Christian nations. It was not by peaceful trade and expansion. It was ethnic and religious cleansing. Watch out for those who want to return to 1950 and blame you for Jim Crow (an invention of the Democrat Party) instead of the Arab Muslim slavers of Africa who still export labor and sex. It's a distraction.
 
Focus. Focus. It's not Trump. Don't let them gaslight you.

Thursday, March 12, 2026

Plurals and gender, what's an old person to do?

"Each is" or "each are." No matter how many are in the group, club or lunch bunch, it's still Each of the ladies is going to pay her own bill. But I have to admit, with all the gender blending going on beginning in the lower grades with woke trained teachers, trying to align a noun and pronoun is a challenge.

Sometimes I just have to blog it.  If I say anything, I'd be asked to be the editor.

Suspected terrorists are working within USA and Democrats in Congress are helping them, in my opinion

More Americans being attacked--at home, today it was Michigan and Virginia, tomorrow maybe your city or state. I'm sure the Democrats in Congress will find an excuse and say it's Trump's fault. But they just won't be able to fund protection for Americans by stepping up and doing their job, the same job that Obama and Clinton said was so important.

Who's the judge that let this guy out? "Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36, stormed into a classroom inside ODU’s Constant Hall and asked if it was an ROTC class. When someone confirmed that it was, he launched the suspected terror attack, shooting the professor several times, law enforcement sources said." Old Dominion University gunman ID’d as former National Guardsman convicted of plotting attack to support ISIS

"The vehicle used in Thursday’s attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, is registered to a naturalized U.S. citizen from Lebanon who lives in Dearborn, according to three law enforcement sources who spoke to Fox News." How many of those Biden let in are now in sleeper cells patiently waiting and trained? https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/michigan-synagogue-shooting?


A 2016 assessment of Obama's failures to be passed on to the next president (Trump). President Obama's Controversial Legacy as Counterterrorism-in-Chief | RAND

Saturday, March 07, 2026

Home Ec skills come in handy

Today I used one of those skills. I've been ill for about 7 days--"just" a cold--but a doozy. I didn't take Home Ec in high school but I think it was required in junior high. So, I opened a can of chicken noodle soup. I remember we did that in Home Ec class, I just can't remember where the class was. Did we walk next door to the high school? As I recall we also had to set a table and eat the soup. Does that sound right for 1953? Teacher was Mrs. Knodle. Did we wash our dishes? Well, it was a useful skill for days like this. Now those school buildings are gone, but Campbell's Chicken Noodle is still with us.