Thursday, November 9, 2023

unconditional surrender




Can you imagine during WWII, when tide for Germany and Japan began to change, for the US and its allies to agree to a cease fire--after hard fought and bloody battles in Europe and the Pacific? I can't. The allies demanded "unconditional surrender"--and that's exactly what they got.



attribution: Post-Work: W.Wolny, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons


President Biden, you lied to the us--just like your predecessor. 

On October 7, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would respond to the savage Hamas attacks. He asked Israel's allies for moral support. He didn't ask for advice, money, troops, or anything other than moral support. In essence, he was implying "Israel's got this". 

You, President Biden, pledged to Israel that it has the USA's moral support. You assured us that the USA would not be furnishing "boots on the ground" to Israel. 

Within days, you broke your promise. You, your Secretary of State, and others in your administration are advising Israel to cease fire. You've asked Congress to send billions of dollars to Israel. You sent two aircraft carrier battle groups to the Middle East.

Mr. President, when Prime Minister Netanyahu implied "Israel's got this", instead of meddling, you should have stuck with your pledge of moral support only--and backed off. There are some times that demand action and there are other times to leave well enough alone. 

Worse yet, Mr. President, is the fact that you lied to us. That makes you no better than your predecessor.



Monday, June 19, 2023

what if the founding fathers could have looked into the future?

needless to say, the founding fathers didn't have a crystal ball. polls weren't in existence when the founding fathers established government for the United States. there wasn't even a United States. just 13 loosely-knit "states", some of whose residents wanted to maintain their "state's" (former colony's) autonomy. 

what if they had had a crystal ball? what if they could have seen what became of their "united states"? 50 states? 335 million people? 

what if they could have seen illegal immigration? thousands of illegal immigrants crossing the borders every day? what if they could have seen the crime, corruption, gun violence, drugs, racism, bigotry, hatred, etc.? what if they could have seen government in action? or inaction, as the case may be?

what if they could have seen how scientific polls can determine the will of the majority with remarkable speed and accuracy? how technology has advanced to the point where citizens could vote securely from home (or a public library) and the results could be known in a matter of hours?

certainly if the founding fathers had had a crystal ball and polls, then the constitution that they would have enacted would be much different than the constitution that they did enact in 1789.




Sunday, May 21, 2023

fatima apparitions and russia

In 1917 Mary, mother of Jesus, appeared to three children at Fatima, Portugal (Our Lady of Fátima - Wikipedia). War (World War I - Wikipedia) was raging in Europe. During WWI socialists in russia overthrew the government (Russian Revolution - Wikipedia). Mary warned the world of the evils of socialism/communism (Our Lady of Fátima - Wikipedia). 

Those evils persist today. russia, aka putin, invades ukraine. The evils of communism have spread all over the world--china, north korea, vietnam, iran, etc. 

dictators who want to rule the world, e.g. putin, xi jinping, kim jung un, ali khamenei, etc., should take a look at hitler's germany and mussolini's italy to see what happens to dictators (and their countries) who want to rule the world. 

dictators start wars. coalitions of tyrant-free nations will continue to end wars--and the dictators who start them. 


attribution: Avelino de Almeia, journalist at the O Seculo dialy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons




Saturday, March 18, 2023

Ukraine



for more than a year the world has witnessed that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are God-given, inalienable rights. Ukrainians have suffered unspeakable atrocities at the bloody hands of vladimir putin. 

nowhere has the spirit of patrick henry who said "Give me liberty or give me death" been demonstrated more clearly than by the unwavering commitment to freedom by the Ukrainian people. 

God bless the people of Ukraine.



attribution: Sarah Shelmidine



Wednesday, March 1, 2023

hunger: the cry of the poor



Hunger is everywhere in the world. Please consider a donation to World Central Kitchen (World Central Kitchen ) a 4-star charity with a 100% rating according to Charity Navigator (Charity Navigator - Rating for World Central Kitchen Incorporated ).

God bless you.



Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Deuteronomy 5:20

m You shall not bear dishonest witness against your neighbor. 

m. [5:20] Dt 19:1519; Ex 20:16; 23:13; Lv 19:11, 1516; 1 Kgs 21:119; Ps 5:610; 10:79; 27:12; Prv 25:18; 30:810; Jer 7:9; Hos 4:2; Mt 19:18; 26:5960; Mk 10:19; Lk 18:20


people who don't tell the truth can create all kinds of trouble. 




attribution: BLINDFOLD



Sunday, January 8, 2023

how safe is strasburg's (VA) drinking water?

it's a well known fact that one of the signs of contaminated drinking water is intestinal disorders.


"Drinking Water Quality

Surface waters and aquifers can be contaminated by various chemicals, microbes, and radionuclides. Disinfection of drinking water has dramatically reduced the prevalence of waterborne diseases (such as typhoid, cholera, and hepatitis) in the United States. Other processes may also be used to treat drinking water depending on the characteristics of and contaminants in the source water.

Common sources of drinking water contaminants include: 
  • Industry and agriculture. Organic solvents, petroleum products, and heavy metals from disposal sites or storage facilities can migrate into aquifers. Pesticides and fertilizers can be carried into lakes and streams by rainfall runoff or snowmelt, or can percolate into aquifers.
  • Human and animal waste. Human wastes from sewage and septic systems can carry harmful microbes into drinking water sources, as can wastes from animal feedlots and wildlife. Major contaminants include Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and E. coli.
  • Treatment and distribution. While treatment can remove many contaminants, it can also leave behind byproducts (such as trihalomethanes) that may themselves be harmful. Water can also become contaminated after it enters the distribution system, from a breach in the piping system or from corrosion of plumbing materials made from lead or copper.
  • Natural sources. Some ground water is unsuitable for drinking because the local underground conditions include high levels of certain contaminants. For example, as ground water travels through rock and soil, it can pick up naturally occurring arsenic, other heavy metals, or radionuclides.

Effects on Human Health

If drinking water contains unsafe levels of contaminants, it can cause health effects, such as gastrointestinal illnesses, nervous system or reproductive effects, and chronic diseases such as cancer. Factors that can influence whether a contaminant will lead to health effects include the type of contaminant, its concentration in the water, individual susceptibility, the amount of water consumed, and the duration of exposure.
  • Health effects of chemical exposure. Chemical exposure through drinking water can lead to a variety of short- and long-term health effects. Exposure to high doses of chemicals can lead to skin discoloration or more severe problems such as nervous system or organ damage and developmental or reproductive effects. Exposure to lower doses over long periods of time can lead to chronic, longer-term conditions such as cancer. The effects of some drinking water contaminants are not yet well understood.
  • Health effects of consuming water with disease-causing microbes. Most life-threatening waterborne diseases caused by microbes (such as typhoid fever or cholera) are rare in the United States today. The more common illnesses caused by viruses, bacteria, and parasites can result in stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever, and kidney failure. Infectious diseases such as hepatitis can also occur. Hepatitis may be severe in people with weakened immune systems (e.g., infants and the elderly) and sometimes fatal in people with severely compromised immune systems (e.g., cancer and AIDS patients)." 
source: Drinking Water | US EPA

it's a well known fact that the Virginia Department of Health has alerted the public multiple times over the past several years for harmful algae blooms in strasburg. 



North Fork Shenandoah River at Strasburg Park public boat landing in Shenandoah County VA. E. coli levels on Wednesday June 22 versus Thursday June 23, 2022.

source:  FSSP NF Shenandoah River E. coli levels on Wednesday June 22 versus Thursday Jun 23 - FOSR - FOSR  816.4 CFUs per 100 ml !!!--one would expect E. coli levels like this in an open sewer!!!


how safe is our drinking water? It's also a well known fact that the town of strasburg has been searching for water treatment plant operators for a year or more. 

If strasburg residents were experiencing widespread intestinal disorders recently (we have) then how would you know? It's a well known fact that the town of strasburg's communication with its citizens is poor. 

perhaps the newly elected members of the town council can look into this as part of their obligation to look out for the health, safety and welfare of strasburg's citizens--including communicating their findings to strasburg's citizens



Thursday, December 22, 2022

Carrie Marie Johnston

Each Christmas we remember Jenny's paternal grandmother, Carrie Marie. We remember her as loving wife, mother and grandmother. Jenny tells the stories again--about Carrie Marie's and Paul's house on N. Randolph St. in Arlington VA where they raised their seven children. Each year Jenny recalls the details of that house--living room, dining room, kitchen, stairs to the second floor, bedrooms, bathroom (one for nine people), wraparound porch, coal cellar, etc. Pap-Pap would chase Jenny and her cousin around the dining room table, bedroom slipper in his hand, while the children screamed, and Carrie Marie stood by quietly smiling. 

Paul and Carrie Marie took in Jenny's mom and brother while Jenny's father served on a LST during WWII (Jenny wasn't born yet). Jenny tells how when she was little that she used to "run away" to Carrie Marie's and Pap-Pap's house. She'd pack up her little suitcase and her father would gladly drive her to Grandma and Pap-Pap's house ten minutes away. 

Jenny tells how Carrie Marie would tuck her in at night and then kneel by the bed to say her prayers. Jenny says that of the many, many times that Carrie Marie repeated this routine over the years that she never once saw Carrie Marie get up from her prayers. 

There are many other wonderful memories, including how Carrie Marie would get all dressed up in her Sunday best, white gloves included, to go grocery shopping. But, the best story of all is how Carrie Marie made her signature cocoa spice cake and cookies (peanut butter and chocolate pinwheels and whiskey cookies) every year for each of her seven children's families at Christmas. She would make them all in her kitchen and fill her pantry with cakes and pillowcases full of cookies. To this day we continue to be amazed how she could accomplish all of this work before Christmas each and every year. 

The tradition has carried on to our family too. 

Thank you, Carrie Marie.

Paul, Carrie Marie and Jenny Marie

cocoa spice cake

whiskey cookies

peanut butter and chocolate pinwheel cookies


 

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Saturday, September 10, 2022

quotes

"If at first you don't succeed, then try, try again."
Thomas H. Palmer (1782-1861) 

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results."
Albert Einstein (1875-1955)

revised quote: 
"if at first you don't succeed, then try, try again. BUT, try something different." 






Tuesday, September 6, 2022

an election ode

trump and biden--
where do they find 'em?
liberal democrats and republican magas--
leave the rest of the country with a case of the gagas.




I approve this message. I don't approve two party government and the media.



Tuesday, August 9, 2022

government impotence

where do I begin? There are so many examples of government impotence that I hardly know where to start. 

Spam, hackers, etc.
a few days ago I received a email from my sister. it looked suspicious. I hovered over the sender and saw "ghazali.upha13@student.usm.my". impotent government can't track this down? why not.

a month or so ago I got an email that I reported to the Shenandoah County Department of Social Services. "

"I am reporting an email scam. my wife and I are in our 70s. We received an email that reads in part: "Your recent order with us has been confirmed and you have been charged $966.66 for 3 years. *This payment will be shown soon within 24 to 48 hours on your Account Statement as GEEK.NET*"      
To: jw849565@gmail.com (***this is NOT my email address***)
Subject: Payment Information (Order Number: XA25R4E5)
Date: Wed, June 29, 2022 11:40 am
there is an attachment which we did not open. 
signature:
Geek Solution
CUSTOMER SUPPORT # +1 (814) 791-9320"


after I submitted my report a message appeared that said "thank you for submitting your report. we will be getting back to you soon". that was over a month ago and I've not heard a peep from SCDSS. impotent government can't even do what they say that they're going to do.

Voting 
so, like many of you, we routinely bank online, we routinely make purchases online, we have medical records online, we file our taxes online, etc. so why can't we vote online? answer: government impotence/incompetence.

I could go on and on, but what's the point? 



Sunday, August 7, 2022

path to destruction

when will citizens of our country realize that the democratic and republican parties have led the government of our country into impotency?


answer: probably not until it's too late. 





Tuesday, July 5, 2022

promises, promises

Highland Park mass shooting: 6 killed at 4th of July parade, person of interest apprehended - ABC News 

where's common sense? 

when will something be DONE about weapons of mass destruction being possessed by criminals and the mentally deranged? 

LOTS of talk, but no ACTION

when will those who govern DO what so obviously needs to be done? 

I'm not holding my breath. 



Saturday, June 25, 2022

déjà vu?




"A house divided against itself, cannot stand."
Abraham Lincoln 


  


what are the biggest threats to us and to our country?
  • people who tell lies--government, politicians, political parties, media, rich people, criminals, etc.
  • people who make bad choices


wise up and rise up.